Though Oregon has entered Phase One of Governor Brown’s plan to reopen the state, Western’s plans for a virtual graduation ceremony haven’t changed. On June 13, at 10 a.m., Western will host a virtual commencement for the class of 2020. Graduates will have the chance to watch with their loved ones as their name, degree, personalized quote, and graduation photo is displayed. An email sent out by President Rex Fuller on May 5 also invites the class of 2020 to walk with the class of 2021 next year, if possible for the individual.
Virtual Black and Lavender Graduations will also still be in effect. Black graduation will take place on Friday, June 12 at 3 p.m and be hosted on the platform Marching Order. Black Graduation mimics Western’s overall commencement format, but honors Western’s black students specifically and also includes a special keynote presentation and the singing of the Black National Anthem, where students also receive a kente cloth and a certificate for participation. Conversely, Lavender graduation, a ceremony created by Dr. Ronni Sanlo, a Jewish lesbian who was barred from attending her children’s graduation because of her sexual identity, according to the Human Rights Campaign, will take place on Thursday, June 11, at 6 p.m. over the Zoom platform. Lavender Graduation celebrates individuals of the LGBTQ+ student body at Western and will include live guest speakers chosen by each graduate, and student’s display of their rainbow cords and tassels. Both of these events are private and only available for participation by those who registered for the event prior.
In his May 5 email, President Fuller acknowledged that “a virtual ceremony is not how you envisioned celebrating your accomplishment and we want to help make this as special as possible, so we are offering additional opportunities for celebrating your achievement. These plans are, of course, contingent on the advice of health experts.”
In the meantime, however, graduating students are attempting to make the best of the situation.
ASL/English Interpreting Major and senior, Keelie Carlson, is planning to “celebrate by watching the ceremony with their parents, sisters, and grandparents.”
Likewise, senior chemistry major D-Dre Wright, will be “inviting some of their close friends and family over to watch the ceremony at the lovely hour of 7 a.m., since they’re in Hawai’i.”
The class of 2020 is graduating under the duress of unprecedented times, but they’re leaving behind a legacy at Western that will help them progress in their chosen futures.
The Oregon primaries took place on May 19, but despite already being a vote-by-mail state amidst COVID-19, Oregon saw only a 46% turnout of registered voters, or 1,320,789 individuals out of 2,845,326, according to oregonvotes.gov. With regards to percentages, Wheeler County saw the highest number of voter turnout at 67.03%, while Umatilla County saw the lowest at 36.64%. In Polk County, 42.57% of registered voters contributed, or 25,173 individuals out of 59,140. Oregon participates in a closed primary, where only those registered to vote for their respective party can cast their votes and registered independents cannot.
Overwhelmingly considered a ‘blue’ state, Oregon’s colors were closer to purple when counting votes for both the Republican and Democratic presidential nominees; representing 66.09% of Democratic votes, former Vice President, Joe Biden, won the primary, with 405,066 votes while President Trump won the Republican primary with 357,976 total Republican votes, representing a landslide 93.56% of Republican voters. Oregon also had one senate seat open, which a whopping 98.65% of registered Democrats voted to be filled once more by current Senator Jeff Merkeley, and 49.28% of registered Republicans voted to be filled by Joe Rae Perkins.
Polk County also faced some major primary decisions; falling under the 5th congressional district, 68.83% of Democratic voters elected for Kurt Shrader’s return to office as the district representative, while 53.26% of Republican voters nominated Amy Ryan Courser. Current state representative for the 20th district, Democrat Paul Evans of Monmouth, was shown support for re-election with 98.44% of Democratic votes, while Selma Pierce and Kevin S. Chambers were neck-in-neck for the Republican votes, with 50.75% and 48.40%, respectively.
Finally, the positions for Secretary of State, State Treasurer and Attorney General were also voted on in the primaries. Mark D. Haas and Shemia Fagan nearly tied for the Democratic vote for Secretary of state; Haas received 35.52% of votes, while Fagan narrowly beat him with 36.21%. Republican voters gave a majority vote to Kim Thatcher, with 85.64% of votes. The position for State Treasurer was also almost tied for votes between the Republican and Democratic candidates; Tobias Read garnered 98.69% of Democratic votes, while Jeff Gudman amassed 98.9% of Republican votes. The outcome was similar for the position of Attorney General, where 98.99% of Democratic votes went to Ellen Rosenblum and 96.69% went to Michael Cross for the Republican vote.
As the 2019-20 school year approaches closure, Western prepares to send off not only its graduates, but also the staff and faculty members who have contributed to its legacy. One such staff member is Cathy Clark. Known by many as the “sandwich lady,” Clark has accumulated 33 years of service at Western as a staff member at Valsetz Dining Hall.
Clark is renowned for her positivity, of which elementary education major and senior student, Kaiana Bradley had this to say: “Cathy made every student who came through that sandwich line feel special. She was incredible with remembering faces and sandwich preferences and would go beyond that to ask about students’ days — always with a smile, every single time.”
But Clark herself says that she “had no clue to the potential lives (she) would affect and be affected by,” rather she just “strove to make a home-like atmosphere for all who called WOU home,” because she believes that “all people matter.”
Campus Dining Assistant Director, Jane Cameron, says of Clark “she will be greatly missed by Faculty, Staff and Students and future generations who will not get to experience Cathy’s dedication to the Campus.”
In addition to Clark, there are many other mentionable soon-to-be retirees across all departments. They include Valarie Alapai, of Financial Aid; Warren Allen, an instructor for Health and Exercise Science; Dean Braa, professor of sociology; Nick Backus, of communication studies; Mary Bucy, professor of education and leadership; Arlene Courtney, chemistry professor and Dorothy Hendrickson, who works in the Registrar’s Office. Among others are the head of cross country and the track and field coach, Mike Johnson, a Margaret Malloy, an Elias Montemayer, Kent Neely, of the theater department, Thomas Rand, an English professor, Bonnie Sherrill, the accounting coordinator, Linda Stonecipher, the graduate studies director and Tommy Udell, the director for the center of early learning.
These individuals are crucial members of the Western community and, as Western sends off the graduates, it also remembers all of these folks who helped them along their educational journeys.
Content Warning: This story shares quotes from residents of Polk County explicitly describing their experiences with racism. These quotes may be seen as graphic and triggering.
Caity Healy | Managing Editor
“Everyday we are met with hate.” This is what Dallas, Oregon resident Crystal Hayter had to say as to why her and her wife, Jasmine Hayter, decided to protest on June 4 in Monmouth, Oregon. Crystal self-identifies as a caucasian woman, and Jasmine self-identifies as an African American woman. They shared what a day in their life looks like for them as Polk County residents.
“She wasn’t allowed to go on my lease after we were married because she’s African American … There are certain businesses that refuse to do service with my wife unless I bring them the money. They will not take it out of her hand,” Crystal shared. “Just two days ago, our neighbors were out on the porch telling her, ‘Go back inside N-word.’ And honestly, that’s our everyday life in Polk County.” She shared stories of people in Dallas threatening to run them out of town, saying they should be tarred and feathered, and even saying that they miss the town’s “lynching tree.”
Jasmine went on to add that, “I want this to end, and I want this to end peacefully. People need to stop dying.” Her voice trembled as she spoke and she shared her story. Jasmine is one of many who shared sentiments as to why they were protesting on the intersection of Pacific Avenue and Main Street.
Carrying signs with messages such as “Black Lives Matter” and “No Justice, No Peace,” at 4:30 p.m. on June 4, as well as on June 3, people took to the streets to protest police brutality in the name of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and other black people whose lives were taken by police. Most wearing masks, as this protest came in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cloth over their mouths could not keep them silent. Chants and honks were heard from far reaching ends of Monmouth. Some were there to be heard, others were more quiet but attended as an act of solidarity, some were passing out water bottles to those in attendance, but there was a general consensus amongst those present: change needs to happen.
Organizer of the event, Monmouth resident Carol McKiel, along with her husband Allen McKiel, stood alongside everyone holding their “Black Lives Matter” signs. Carol explained that the reason she formed this event was due to her questioning, ‘what can I do?’
“I just got up on Monday morning and thought, I have a ‘Black Lives Matter’ sign, and I’m going to stand on the street corner and I’ll do that as long as I need to.” So, Carol, along with Allen and a couple of her friends, did just that. It started with just the four of them, but by contacting their neighborhood, it slowly reached more people. By June 3, Carol claimed that there were over 120 people protesting on the street with her.
“I think what’s really significant is we have white people standing out here with ‘Black Lives Matter’ signs … White people need to take this on if we’re going to fix it,” Carol added. Allen, her husband, chimed in as well.
“This is a way for everybody to show everybody else that we’re concerned. We’re not alone in being concerned and this is really, really terrible, and we’re waking up to the fact that it’s been terrible all along.”
Another resident of Monmouth, one who lives in the same neighborhood as Carol and was invited to the protest through her message, shared a similar sentiment. Her name is Rebecca Salinas-Oliveros, and she self-identifies as a Latina woman. She expressed her concern with what’s going on, and especially with how it will reflect on her daughters.
“I’m out here to show my daughters that there’s still a little bit of hope. They’ve been really grieving. And this has been very hard for them,” Salinas-Oliveros said. “And as a mother, I have to be real with them. It’s hard to maintain hope, and just to make sure they know, yeah, it’s probably not going to get better any time soon, but we have to continue to try.” However, she expressed some hope and optimism due to the fact that Monmouth, a rural town, was able to come together for this protest.
“I didn’t expect it. I don’t think anyone really knew what to do. And this… this helps just not to be sad all the time. It gives me hope that even in a small town, there are white people willing to step up,” Salinas-Oliveros added. “And that’s really what we need. We need white people to step up because that’s where the power and the privilege is in our country. And they’re the ones that are going to create the change and people are going to listen to. So seeing the number of white people out here gives us hope.”
While Salinas-Oliveros did express a level of optimism, not all in attendance felt the same. One man, who chose to remain anonymous, opened up and shared what he was thinking while protesting.
“Being a colored person myself, it just hurts bad,” he said. “When this is all over, I’m still colored. It’s going to happen again. Nothing’s gonna change. All we can have is hope.” He added that, “I don’t know if tomorrow I’m going to make it … I could be going down the street and all of a sudden I get pulled over and I’m gone. Just like that.”
Noticeably, there were no Monmouth police officers present at the event; this didn’t sit right with him.
“They haven’t been here. They were not seen, and I’m like, do they even care? The people care who are here protesting, but do the cops care? The way I see it, they don’t.” He was not the only one who was uncomfortable with the lack of police solidarity.
“We don’t even see any cops around here, so we don’t even know if they’re listening to us. We need to see change from them,” said another anonymous source. “We come out here to support this movement but we don’t know if anything is gonna happen because they’re just sitting over there doing whatever they want. We don’t see support from them.”
The protesting continued from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. For the most part, it was met with honks, waves and smiles. There was some retaliation, though; some waved their middle fingers at the protestors, some yelled “All Lives Matter” in return to their chants, and some even went as far as to yell “F–k you” to the protestors. Thirty minutes later, and just eight miles away, protests were happening in a neighboring town: Dallas.
The protest in Dallas, organized by resident Chaney Poulsen, was considerably smaller than the one in Monmouth. It was met with some waves and approval, with even the local Dominos donating a few pizzas to the cause. But similarly, it was met with two people waving “Trump 2020” signs, one yelling at the protestors “Trump 2020” and many heads shaking to express disapproval. In attendance at this protest were two people who also attended the one in Monmouth, Crystal and Jasmine Hayter.
“Enough is enough,” Crystal concluded. “(Jasmine) could be the next person, and I’m not okay with that.”
The protests in Monmouth are planned to continue daily in the same place at 4:30 p.m. Carol McKiel says to bring umbrellas, because they’ll be out there shouting “Black Lives Matter” come rain or sunshine.
[fruitful_tab title=”Libra 9/23-10/22″] Im a zebra [/fruitful_tab]
[fruitful_tab title=”Scorpio 10/23-11/21″] Wait, I didn’t realize that my online classes weren’t optional. Rough. [/fruitful_tab]
[fruitful_tab title=”Sagittarius 11/22-12/21″] Sagittarius will be gone this week. Hello, my name is kaiyo and here’s my message for you, “I’m going to hydro flask you.” [/fruitful_tab]
[fruitful_tab title=”Capricorn 12/22-1/19″] *hears classes will be online next term* nO NO you put that sentence back in your mouth. [/fruitful_tab]
[fruitful_tab title=”Aquarius 1/20-2/18″] Goose!
Ew, why did I just do that? [/fruitful_tab]
[fruitful_tab title=”Pisces 2/19-3/20″] Please excuse me as I watch ten straight hours of “Gilmore Girls” and pretend that this term is over already.[/fruitful_tab]
Graduation and Western’s virtual Commencement ceremony are approaching quickly, with important deadlines coming and going. While the deadlines for Grad Packs and registration for the ceremony have already passed — although the latter statement may have been extended, according to Western’s website — there are still some things seniors should try to complete before the final hurrah.
Attempting to have professional graduation photos may be a struggle due to the current situation of the world, but that doesn’t mean they have to be skipped. Roommates, friends or family members may be willing to lend a hand to memorialize the coming occasion, or perhaps a timer on a camera or smartphone may be the way to go. Western’s campus is closed for courses, however it’s still a viable option for some last pictures at the university.
Continuing from that point, the deadline for submitting a graduation photo and personal statement for commencement is May 31. While it isn’t the same as an in-person celebration, this can give students a chance to still have a special final moment during the viewing at home.
This last term could have been draining for students; some may find themselves lacking motivation to finish or struggling to balance projects amid trying to ensure all graduation requirements are met. Nevertheless, it’s still important to finish the final term strong. For many, students will have the satisfaction of knowing, despite potential challenges from throughout the term, that they ended their college journey on a good note.
Before leaving Western, it wouldn’t hurt to start networking while on the hunt for jobs post-graduation. Professors in a chosen major field would be a great resource to turn to, or peers and former classmates who have already graduated who already went through the process. It would also be beneficial to obtain letters of recommendation for future job opportunities, which could come from previous professors, advisers and staff members.
The Oregon primaries took place on May 19, but despite already being a vote-by-mail state amidst COVID-19, Oregon saw only a 46% turnout of registered voters, or 1,320,789 individuals out of 2,845,326, according to oregonvotes.gov. With regards to percentages, Wheeler County saw the highest number of voter turnout at 67.03%, while Umatilla County saw the lowest at 36.64%. In Polk County, 42.57% of registered voters contributed, or 25,173 individuals out of 59,140. Oregon participates in a closed primary, where only those registered to vote for their respective party can cast their votes and registered independents cannot.
