March 2020 – Page 4 – The Western Howl

Hannah Greene | Sports Editor

Highlighted this week is Gha Ming Ng, a Western Women’s Club Soccer player and newly Western Women’s Rugby player. Ming was part of the team that flew to Texas to participate in Nationals for club soccer and part of the rugby team that continues to dominate its opponents.

Ming “is a force to be reckoned with,” said D-Dré Wright, a teammate on both soccer and rugby. Though short, Ming makes up for size with her speed and aggression against any opponent, along with her undying passion to help her team succeed. Ming has been playing soccer for most her life and went from, “thinking that I would never play soccer out of high school, to being a part of a new club team,” said Ming about her excitement over being able to play soccer longer.

Currently, Ming is majoring in Psychology with a minor in Health. She was born and raised in Honolulu, Hawaii, where her main sport was soccer. Ming decided to go out for Women’s Rugby this Winter Term and has been killing it since. Ming is also a supervisor in the Valsetz Dining Hall and a WOU Ambassador.

Ming creates a positive atmosphere, both on and off the field, and is able to bring any heated player to an even tempo. She plays each second with tenacity and drive, proving every practice that she belongs on the field during game play. As a senior, graduating this term, she has shown her natural leadership skills and her ability to be a role model to underclassmen.

Through injury, Ming keeps pushing and never lets anything hold her back.

“Ming is an endless source of energy on the field, whether it’s for soccer or rugby. Her perseverance on and off the field is incomparable,” said Wright, acknowledging her teammate’s power and recognizing Ming for her ability to step out of her comfort zone and join the Women’s Rugby team, “I wish I had joined earlier,” Ming said about her growing love for rugby.

“I am grateful that WOU has the options of intramurals as well as club sports where students can compete at different levels and overall just have fun,” said Ming about her time as an athlete at Western — getting the chance to continue her love and passion in soccer and now rugby.

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

Photos by Emily Prall

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From the Sports Desk: You win or you lose, no inbetween

Hannah Greene | Sports Editor

Currently, we are raising our children to have unrealistic expectations in life, that in turn, do not help our society grow or prosper.

Growing up, trophies or ribbons were never given to anybody who got lower than third. Each team had to earn every part of that first place trophy, and if you failed you went to practice and worked harder than before to get there next year. Though sad, it taught me about failure, an experience and feeling we should all experience at some point in our lives, multiple times. In soccer, I learned that there will always be someone better, faster and stronger — but to never lose sight of what I was capable of or what I brought to the team. This allowed me to continue to grow as a player and realize where I belonged on the team — while also giving me hands on experience that I could translate into the “real world.”

My dad was very humbling. When I started track and field, ribbons were given out to every place up to eighth. Anytime I got one that was below third place with no personal best time, my dad would throw it away. I understood what this meant and it only enhanced the idea that I had to work for and earn that first place ribbon.

When we watch the Olympics, there is no fourth — if you didn’t get gold, silver or bronze, you didn’t do good enough. In the World Cup, there is no second place, there is only one World Cup trophy, for first place.

By giving multiple trophies out we are teaching our future generations that they do not have to work hard or put in the time for something great — that they are deserving of something just because they wanted it and participated in it. We are teaching a behavior to children that will not get them far in life — a behavior that society accepted when they were children, but won’t when they are young adults. So why do we give out unnecessary nonsense? To make everyone feel included, like they have achieved something. In many eyes of parents this is a good thing, something that should be done everywhere. And thanks to these parents, it is everywhere.

But, according to Dan Gould, a sports psychologist, “For rewards to work, they need to be earned” not handed out like a free-for-all. In life we will experience loss, watch someone else get what we wanted and know failure — and if we don’t when we’re young then we will be incapable of overcoming defeat in our futures.

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

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Men’s Baseball win two of their four home games

Hannah Greene | Sports Editor

Sunday, March 1, marked for a day of Western Baseball. From Feb. 29 through March 1, the Baseball team played against the Montana State University Billings Yellowjackets, a 4-game series. Saturday showed for a win-loss day, both the Wolves and Yellowjackets got a bite out of each other.

The following day wasn’t much different; the first game going to the paws of the Wolves and the second and final game went to the stingers of the Yellowjackets.

Each team showed great battles and entertained the spectators, with multiple runs and hits to bases. The Wolves were able to hold the Yellowjackets off in two of the games due to innings being shutout and runs being made.

This weekend showed that the Wolves were able to hold their own and have the ability to have a strong season, but also gave them the insight they needed on what to work harder on and improve upon.

Coming up, the Wolves head to Central Washington University in Ellensburg for two games on March 7 and 8. Their next home games are March 14 and 15 against Concordia University, with George Fox University coming to Monmouth on March 18.

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

Photos by Kay Bruley

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Linguistics and Writing professor, Dr. Cornelia Paraskevas, has worked around the state to redesign curriculum, advocating as much for educators as she does for students.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow | News Editor

At the Willamette Promise advisory meeting last Thursday, Feb. 26, the board spent over five minutes praising Dr. Cornelia Paraskevas for her contributions to the project — and she wasn’t even in the room, according to Sue Monehan, the Associate Provost for Program Development at Western. The Willamette Promise is a project focused on designing and evaluating an accelerated credit program for high school students from Eugene all the way to the Portland Metro area. Dr. Paraskevas was one of the founding members of the project, stepping in just nine months after its establishment; now, she’s stepping down from that position, but her legacy of advocacy for both educators and students endures.

Through the Willamette Promise, Dr. Paraskevas has led the state in innovative practices, creating models for teaching an accelerated credit program focused around the idea of college-level portfolios that are manually assessed for proficiency. This ensures that the work of college-level high school students reflects the skills they need to further their education. She has testified in front of the Higher Education Coordinating Commission on behalf of the project and spoken with faculty at other institutions, which, according to Dr. Monehan, hasn’t always been well-received, as much of her work challenges popular practices — like the five-paragraph essay. Nevertheless, by working with over 100 teachers, she has enabled approximately 1,700 students to earn college credit for Writing 121 and sometimes Writing 122.

“I watched Dr. Paraskevas work with teachers in the region and faculty around the state … I watched her and her colleagues develop resources for teachers that are changing the way teachers approach teaching in high schools, said Dr. Monehan, “she has a much richer understanding of what students can do with writing if they engage in a writing process.” At Western, Dr. Paraskevas is known as a student advocate; it took her over seven years to convince the university to adopt the Integrated English Studies program — which aids students in graduating with less credits while also gaining in-depth knowledge in a variety of English-related fields. Her other accomplishments include providing a valuable perspective by sitting on the Board of Trustees, advising and advocating for dozens of students and being an active scholar in her field — regularly publishing material.

Of Dr. Paraskevas’ continuous advocacy for students on campus, Dr. Monehan relayed, “she’s very centered on what it is you’re learning and how it’s contributing to your learning, and making sure that everything you’re doing is for the students and their learning and not our own purposes … she’s trying to figure out how to build and enhance who students are and what they will be able to do in the world.”

Dr. Paraskevas is reportedly retiring at the end of the 2021 school year, but as Dr. Monehan stated, “I believe that she will continue to make a difference. She may be retiring, but I don’t think she’s going to stop working with our schools.”

Statements from Western Students regarding Dr. Paraskevas:

Sean Tellvik: “One of my favorite things about Dr. Paraskevas is how student-oriented she is. In the classes I’ve taken with her, she has been highly receptive to content students are struggling with, and she changes her approach accordingly, whether that is by adjusting the lessons or providing more resources. To me personally, she has been supportive and encouraging, even outside of just Linguistics, which has helped me gain confidence in my abilities.”

Noah Nieves-Driver: “Cornelia helped me find my passion in langauges and linguistics. I am thankful to have had such an amazing teacher and person be a part of my schooling.”

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Sean: Courtesy of Sean Tellvik

Noah: Courtesy of Noah Nieves-Driver

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During Black History month, part of BSU’s festivities included three-minute presentations on historically-significant black figures and events.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow | News Editor

February was Black History Month, and students from the Black Student Union at Western planned many events related to the celebration of black culture. One event new to this year was the introduction of three-minute presentations on a historical figure or event related to black history, such as the Black Panthers, the Birmingham Bombings, Andrew Foster and Janelle Monaé. Tati Whitlow, the membership outreach coordinator for BSU, said the event was “highly successful because of its high turnout rate,” adding that multiple organizations came to the event — such as the Stonewall Center and Heritage Hall Government.

Whitlow said that the idea for the three-minute presentations derived from the realization that black historical figures and events weren’t being represented in the classroom.

“We picked people that weren’t in our history books,” said Whitlow. “We’re all constantly learning … if you’re not straight, cis and white, you’re basically blacked out of history and it’s horrifying.”

The presentations were included in the Black History Month festivities, but Whitlow says they may continue afterwards, with student support.

“It’s something we’re just now trying out … it was very fun and educational and it might be good to do on a monthly basis,” they said.

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

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Volunteers at the Food Pantry named the last week in February “Food Insecurity Awareness Week,” with the intent to reduce stigma on campus.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow | News Editor

Last week, from Feb. 24 to 28, was Food Insecurity Awareness Week at Western, which coincided with the Governor’s Food Drive and the Food For Fines event. Students at Abby’s House, who volunteer at the Food Pantry, planned educational events — like discussions about nutrition and sustainability — to bring awareness to food insecurity on campus and reduce the stigma related to it.

Rachel Bayly, the Community Coordinator for the Food Pantry, says she believes that Western is “already a fairly aware campus,” citing the two full barrels and three boxes of food collected for the Governor’s Food Drive as proof that Western is aware of and is contributing to solutions regarding food insecurity.

Western has been the highest contributing Oregon university to the Governor’s Food Drive for the past 13 years.

However, Western’s food insecurity rate is higher than the national average, according to Bayly, and there’s always ways in which the campus can improve its practices to reduce it.

“I’ve been working with someone who’s on the ASWOU Senate and works at Valsetz and she came to me because she was appalled with the amount of food that was thrown out there and wanted to see what we can do as far as a leftover program with the pantry or something like that,” Bayly stated, adding that they’re likely to bring this issue to the Head of Dining in the future.

According to Bayly, there is an additional plan to combat food insecurity through a bill in the Oregon House of Representatives, which ASWOU lobbyists are currently trying to push through in the short session.

“If you are struggling with it, it’s not something to be ashamed of … There’s a problem with the system and I hope that people can feel proud that they are a part of a community that supports that and access that resource when they need that and go on later to give back in whatever way they can,” Bayly said.

Bayly stated that students interested in alleviating food insecurity on campus can help through volunteering at the Food Pantry, participating in food drives and being a supportive individual to anyone who is experiencing food insecurity by sharing the knowledge of the resources available one campus.

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo by Sage Kiernan-Sherrow

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Ron Swartzendruber, a pillar at University Computing Services who dedicated over 21 years of service to Western, passed away on Feb. 19.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow | News Editor

Friends who knew Ron Swartzendruber best describe him as someone who built bridges — a man who connected databases as much as he connected people. On Feb. 19, he passed away at the age of 48 after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest, and is survived by his wife, Whitney Ware; parents, Warren and Jackie; and brother, Erik.

Bill Kernan, the Director of the University Computing Services department, is the man who originally hired Swartzendruber back when the university’s server was on a PC sitting in the basement of the Administrative Building. Though it was originally thought that he would only be staying for five years, Swartzendruber went on to dedicate over 21 years of service to Western as one of its main programmers at UCS. Western’s portal, as well as many other programs utlized on campus, are credited, in part, to Swartzendruber’s endeavors. The campus lost an asset in the programming world, but those at UCS lost a friend.

Kolis Crier, the Banner Solutions and Integrations Manager at UCS, recalled the first time he met Swartzendruber, saying “he had a welcoming and happy spirit … and an infectious laugh.” Crier, whose desk has neighbored Swartzendruber’s for years, added that, “he was always engaged, he always had the answer, or was willing to share information.”

Yet, according to Kernan, he had no ego whatsoever — a characteristic that Kernan called a “rarity” in the IT world, considering Swartzendruber’s intelligence. In fact, Swartzendruber was an active member on Quora, an online platform for sharing information, where it was discovered he made over 5,000 posts in his lifetime, many of them responses to people struggling with personal issues.

“Ron had a ministry on Quora. He helped thousands of people he didn’t know, for no other reason than the fact that he likes helping people,” said Tony Manso, the Mobile and Systems Programmer at UCS.

In one of the last posts before his passing, Swartzendruber responded to a prompt that read “Is it good to demonize the reality of our world by making it worse in our mind and then experience it with less pain?”

His answer?

“If we have trained ourselves to expect the worst, it would be far harder to choose anything besides staying in our comfort zone and letting life pass us by …. that’s too high a price for whatever reduction in pain we might get gain in exchange,” said Swartzendruber.

A man who always wore Birkenstocks unless it was snowing, and who loved Sci-fi and Cliff Bars, Swartzendruber was “a teacher … and the glue between many of the staff and groups at UCS,” according to Michael Ellis, the Assistant Director of UCS.

Members of the UCS team have identified over 40 projects in which Swartzendruber was the main contributor. They are currently collaborating in order to finish what he left behind.

“Ron’s scope was so large, that we’re just having to pick off the most important ones first,” said Kernan.

Since Swartzendruber was an avid cyclist who biked to work every day and once even across the United States, there are plans for one of his bicycles to be incorporated into a sculpture in his memory. And, there will be two services to honor Swartzendruber; one will be a private family service, and the other will be held at Western on March 14th to celebrate his contributions to the university and to his campus community.

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photos courtesy of Bill Kernan, Director of UCS

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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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Western player spotlight: Gha Ming Ng

From the Sports Desk: You win or you lose, no inbetween

Men’s Baseball win two of their four home games

Linguistics and Writing professor, Dr. Cornelia Paraskevas, has worked around the state to redesign curriculum, advocating as much for educators as she does for students.

During Black History month, part of BSU’s festivities included three-minute presentations on historically-significant black figures and events.

Volunteers at the Food Pantry named the last week in February “Food Insecurity Awareness Week,” with the intent to reduce stigma on campus.

Ron Swartzendruber, a pillar at University Computing Services who dedicated over 21 years of service to Western, passed away on Feb. 19.

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