Mount Hood

ASWOU presents “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”

By KATRINA PENAFLOR
 Campus Life Editor

The Associated Students of Western Oregon University organized a performance of the cult hit “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 6p.m.

The movie adaption centers on the couple Janet Weiss and Brad Major, famously played by actors Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick. The two stumble upon the mysterious mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, and are immediately thrust into a world of transvestites, human creations, and of course, music.

Fans of the live performance know the production to be a wild and interactive good time. Full of music, dancing, sexual innuendos, and the tradition of throwing things at the stage. Prop bags were available to buy for $2 each. They were filled with cards, glow sticks, and more to throw and wear during the show.

Tony Young, the emcee for the evening and actor of the character Dr. Scott, got the crowd riled up and ready for the show. He welcomed all Rocky Horror “virgins” to come forward and participate in several saucy and hilarious activities. From a duel ended Slim Jim eating contest to “how many sex positions can you reenact in 30 seconds,” the emcee made sure all new-comers were laughing, comfortable, and ready for the show to begin.

Tony even facilitated a faux wedding between audience members Janessa Rook and Felice Lilly.

The performers were a group called The Denton Delinquents from the Kiggins Theatre in Vancouver, Wash. They donned classic Rocky Horror costumes and acted simultaneously with the movie playing in the background.

The audience was included throughout the whole performance. Actors, while singing and dancing along to the movie, would sing and connect with audience members while performing.

“It’s really interactive,” said early education major, Tianna Flannery.

Playing cards and glow sticks were among some of the items thrown and used during the performance, all playing along with the tradition of the show. People also donned newspapers on their heads during the rain scene of the film. The emcee encouraged people to shout “slut” and “asshole” when the characters named

Janet Weiss and Brad Major were mentioned.

During the famous Time Warp song, the crowd all stood up and danced along with the performers.

The show was outrageous and fun. Die hard Rocky Horror fans were impressed and first time viewers enjoyed the lively show. ASL interpreting major, Gabriela Guzman, said the show was, “very enjoyable, unless you are conservative.”

Lilly, a public relations and graphic design major, loved having the opportunity to attend Rocky Horror on campus.

“I think it’s really great to have a student organization who can bring a show like this to the university,” Lilly said.

Commendation to University Computing Services for speedy network fix

Laura Knudson Editor-in-Chief
Laura Knudson
Editor-in-Chief

 

From the early hours of the day to the late hours of the night, phone and computer screens are illuminated by professors checking emails and students browsing the web. Clubs update their event calendars and students turn homework in on Moodle. Western portal tabs are opened again and again, all with little regard to the inner workings of our network.

Yet, the moment Wi-Fi cuts out, students are quick to complain and point fingers. But do they know who they are pointing at?

It’s time to call attention to a behind-the-scenes department working around the clock to support academic and administrative life.

University Computing Services (UCS) is responsible for network maintenance and other campus IT services.

But they are not who you should be pointing at. They are who you should be applauding.

On Wednesday, students, staff and faculty found themselves unable to access the internet. Although this was probably frustrating, it was nothing in comparison to what UCS went through.

A core router was overwhelmed with 99 percent usage causing the network to shut down. On top of that, a host server happened to be attacked at the same time. The IP was traced to China. 430,000 attempts to break into Western’s system occurred within two minutes.

Talk about a bad day at work.

After phone calls to multiple Cisco engineers, they were able to get the network back up. By 9 p.m., they were finally able to go home and get some shut-eye. But that is only the beginning. They now continue to work to diagnose exactly what went wrong with the router and how to fix it.

What seems like a long day without internet for us was much longer for those working to fix the problem.

And it wouldn’t be the first time.

Let us not forget Dec. 2, 2013 when one of the transformers blew in the main uninterruptible power supply (UPS) located in the administration building causing the entire Western network to shut down. UCS arrived at 5 a.m. to find the basement filled with smoke.

Physical Plant removed doors and built ramps in order to haul the 1800-pound UPS device out of the building to be replaced with a brand new one that Bill Kernan, director of UCS, had, (lucky for us) ordered a week before.

The rest of their day was spent skipping meals, connecting and testing the new UPS which they had up and running by 9:30 p.m. — less than 24 hours.

When the network is down, let us not assume it’s as easy as flipping a switch. Assessing, diagnosing, testing and securing the problem all need to happen, not to mention finding time to inform the campus and brief the University president.

Homework due dates can be extended, emails will wait in your inbox and other activities can replace Netflix.

It is easy for those who use the network to take it for granted. Let us not forget those who maintain it.

The ongoing, timely dialogue presented through Kernan’s blog, faculty senate updates and all student/all faculty emails keeps everyone in the loop.

The Journal would like to commend UCS, Bill Kernan, Paul Lambert, Dave McEvilly, Michael Ellis, Megan Eichler and all others involved, for working long hours to get the network back up and running Wednesday.

We appreciate you going above and beyond in your jobs, so the rest of us can do ours successfully.

Old fashion methods still effective in job hunt

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By MARC MILLER Guest Column

Take it from an experienced alumnus. The “old fashioned” ways are still the most effective when applying for a job and keeping it even with the convenience of modern day technology.

In the decade since my wife and I graduated from WOU, I have experienced professional setbacks that could have been avoided had I better utilized the resources that were available to me when I was a student. Because of that, I have decided to convey some of my advice to you all in this article. The focus of this article will be the proper use of technology when seeking employment and when you are employed.

To start, let me provide you with a comparison of what kind of technology was available in 2002 verses now. E-mail was not a major form of communication. You had to either call your professors or meet with them during their office hours. Assignments were submitted in paper form, not by e-mail. A fast Internet connection was 1.5 megabytes, not gigabytes, and was accessed through a DSL modem. Wireless intent was a theory. MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn did not exist. The first iPod had just been released and you downloaded your music from Napster and LimeWire, albeit illegally.

Web sites largely consisted of text, pictures and drop down menus. You could not post your resume on a web site; you had to hand deliver it to the person who would make the hiring decision. This is where my first piece of advice comes in.

Although you may have to post a resume online as part of the process, you should deliver a paper copy to the person who could be your future boss. I have witnessed a person being hired on the spot because they were the only candidate that submitted their resume personally.

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can provide you with a place to promote yourself, your skills, experience and interests at no cost and with little effort.

However, be careful what you post. Employers will look at your accounts and form an opinion of you. Also, I recommend not including your boss as one of your “friends” or “followers.” Your personal opinions could cost you as they did me. A good rule to follow is to keep your personal and professional life separate.

At the same time, do let everyone know when you are seeking employment. Recommendations from professors and WOU staff can make the difference of you getting an interview.

Oregon State basketball win against Arizona raises question

By Haunani Thomas Managing Editor
By Haunani Thomas
Managing Editor

College students and basketball enthusiasts alike were (not so) pleasantly surprised when the men’s Oregon State basketball team unexpectedly beat No. 7 University of Arizona on Jan. 11.

ASU, then ranked at No. 7 in the AP poll, now stands at No. 10.

Although the Beavs performance was undoubtedly a highlight in the season thus far, it is of great interest to reflect upon the Beavs’ preseason performance, or lack thereof, against Western.

Throwback to Jan. 7 when the Wolves (very, very unexpectedly) beat the Beavers 57-47 in an exhibition game at Gil Colesium.

While it’s easy to say that OSU played a bad game or (my personal favorite) the odds were in Western’s favor, the score stands unforgotten. We also remember the Beav’s inability to break 50-points against a Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) team.

The recent unforeseen turn of events raises the very contentious question: is Western capable of beating top 10-ranked Arizona?
Without considering the circumstances, this question seems laughable to anyone. How could a GNAC division II team beat a Pac-12 division I team?

Oh, wait a minute. That did happen.

After a loss to the Wolves, any Pac-12 or division I team would decribe the experience as “humbling.”

I also imagine the Wildcats basketball team would consider their loss to the Beavs as “humbling.”

According to ESPN, the last time Oregon State beat a top-ten team was when the Beavs beat No. 3 Arizona 70-69 on March 2, 2000. I was six years old.
Fifteen years ago.
FIFTEEN.

A loss to Western provided the motivation for Oregon State to perform it’s best at home since their 1981-82 and 1983-84 seasons.

It’s safe to say that the Beavs, predicted to finish last in the Pac-12 for the 2014-15 season, were nowhere near the Wildcats’ radar, who were ranked in the
AP poll top 10 for the past 29 weeks.

However, claiming that Western would be able to beat Arizona based on their performance against the Beavs implies that they would also beat the list of teams the Beavs beat in the season hitherto — in addition to alls division II teams.

Division I prospects like forward Andy Avgi, Jordan Wiley and Devon Alexander who frequent Western and GNAC’s athlete of the week make assumptions like that believable.

Simply said, Oregon State capitalized on turnovers and foul shots in their game against Arizona, much like Western exploited the mistakes made by Oregon State.

Case in point: Avgi recorded 21 points against the Beavs, more than both Oregon State leading scorers combined.

Go Wolves.

In addition, Western beat the Beavers by 10 points where as the Beavers beat the Wildcats by a lay up. With numbers like that, assertions such as “Western can beat Arizona” become credible.

However, there are many factors that impact a game, namely location, level of play and, obviously, the players. Duh.

Without getting into logistics, statistics, starting line-ups or play-by-plays, its important to remember why we love college sports: they are completely unpredictable.

Yes, we expect teams to perform to their ranking and are blind-sighted when our predictions are incorrect. We make a science out of predicting performance based on games past.

Whether you win against a ranked team or lose to an opponent in a different division, people don’t forget.

Both of the above mentioned games have brought to fruition the underlying fear that an underdog team has the potential to rival an otherwise undisputed competitor.

Realistically, we’ll never know. Most importantly, the potential is there and it always will be. The possibilities that lie in the realm of college sports is fickle at best and creates the thrill of uncertainty we collegiate sports fanatics thrive on.

Innovative Films Win Big at Golden Globes

BY NATHANIEL DUNAWAY ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR
BY NATHANIEL DUNAWAY
ENTERTAINMENT EDITOR

It’s awards season for Hollywood, and one of the most hotly anticipated ceremonies of the year -the 72nd Annual Golden Globes – aired on Sunday, Jan. 11, with some winners bringing little surprise and others coming seemingly out of nowhere. Here’s a brief rundown of the night’s winners and a look at whether or not this year’s Globes may have predicted the upcoming Academy Awards.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Drama
Julianne Moore (“Magnolia”, “Children of Men”) took home this award for her starring role in the film “Still Alice,” in which she plays Dr. Alice Howland, a university linguistics professor who’s diagnosed with early onset Alzheimer’s.
Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Drama-
This award went to relative newcomer Eddie Redmayne (“Les Miserables”) for his portrayal of theoretical physicist Stephen Hawking in “The Theory of Everything.” The film focuses on Hawking’s early life as a student at Cambridge, his marriage and his eventual diagnosis of motor neuron disease at the age of 21.

Best Actress in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical
Amy Adams won her award for the film “Big Eyes.” Directed by Tim Burton (“Big Fish,” “Beetlejuice”) and co-starring Christoph Waltz (“Django Unchained”), “Big Eyes” is based on the true story of artist Margaret Keane (Adams) and her husband Walter (Waltz), who took credit for her paintings in the 50s and 60s.
Best Actor in a Motion Picture, Comedy or Musical-
Considered by many in Hollywood to be past his prime, Michael Keaton’s comeback in last year’s mind-bending “Birdman” earned him a Golden Globe. Keaton stars as Riggan Thompson, a washed-up superhero actor attempting to mount a Broadway play as his big comeback. Keaton is one of the top contenders for the Oscar for Best Actor.

Best Screenplay,
Motion Picture
Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone, Alexander Dinelaris, Jr. and Armando Bo won this award for their screenplay for the aforementioned “Birdman,” which was also directed by Iñárritu and edited to appear as though the film was shot in one long, continuous take.

Best Director,
Motion Picture
Richard Linklater (“Dazed and Confused,” “Bernie”) beat out the competition to take home the coveted Best Director award for his film “Boyhood.” Shot over a period of twelve years and co-starring Ethan Hawke (“Before Midnight”), Patricia Arquette (“True Romance”) and Linklater’s daughter Lorelei, “Boyhood” shows the coming-of-age of a young boy named Mason, played by Ellar Coltrane.
Best Motion Picture, Drama-
“Boyhood” also earned the prized Best Picture, Drama award. Like “Birdman,” it was an immensely ambitious undertaking for Linklater and company, and there’s nothing else in the world quite like it. “Boyhood” is easily the top contender for this year’s Best Picture Oscar.

Best Motion Picture,
Comedy or Musical
Undoubtedly the biggest surprise of the evening was this award being given to the Wes Anderson (“Moonrise Kingdom”) comedy “The Grand Budapest Hotel.” Released way back in March, “Budapest” was considered by many to have little chance against the awards juggernaut that is “Birdman.” The 1930s set ensemble piece features Wes Anderson alumni Bill Murray, Jeff Goldblum and Owen Wilson, alongside stars Ralph Fiennes and Tony Revolori.
The Golden Globe Awards are typically seen as strong indicators for Oscar-winners, but surprises and snubs are nearly as common as correct predictions in the awards business. Will Best Actor go to Redmayne or Keaton? Or will Steve Carell steal the show for his haunting performance in “Foxcatcher”? And which film will find itself alongside the other historic Best Picture winners, such as “The Godfather” and “The Silence of the Lambs”? Predictions are running wild, but we’ll all have to wait for the 87th Academy Awards, airing Feb. 22, 2015.

Review: “Marco Polo”

By DECLAN HERTEL
Staff Writer

 

Netflix’s “Marco Polo” released its first season in December 2014 to find it widely panned by critics; review aggregate site Rotten Tomatoes says a mere 27 percent of professional reviews were positive.

And yet, feedback from its audience tells a different story: the people watching it absolutely love it, with user ratings of 8.3/10 on IMDB, 8.7/10 on MetaCritic and 93 percent positivity on Rotten Tomatoes.

I believe this is a great — if harsh — summary of the show: it is imperfect and by no means high art, but, oh man, is it entertaining.

The show is a highly fictionalized account of famed explorer Marco Polo’s time spent in the court of Kublai Khan in the latter part of the 13th century. And boy, is it epic in every sense.

It’s bursting with court intrigue, martial arts mysticism, medieval brutality, challenges to honor, overly dramatic dialogue, beautifully rendered costumes, one extremely handsome Italian and more rarely justifiable female nudity than you can shake a scimitar at.

It has the makings of a wild roller coaster ride through medieval Asia, but instead moves at a satisfyingly tense slow burn, more of a feast-for-the-eyes boat ride with occasional thrilling bursts of speed.

While ostensibly about the adventures of the titular Italian played by Lorenzo Richelmy, they are hardly the best part of the show. Polo’s character arcs occasionally feel like an afterthought, as if the writers sometimes forget he’s in the show.

His romance is flat and his character goes from highly engaging to highly boring at random intervals, but he is fun when he gets a chance to be with just enough shine to him that I hope he gets further building in later seasons. He’s also very attractive. Just saying.

Despite the title, the truly exciting part of “Marco Polo” is the intrigue in the court of Kublai Khan. Betrayals, wars, disgraces, insults, beatings and a touch of gout all come together to create an ever-shifting map of favors and plans presided over by the Great Khan, masterfully portrayed by Benedict Wong.

He commands the attention and respect of the viewer in the way his character commands the same from his court. In an ensemble of actors of varying ability, Wong stands tall; I found myself glued to my screen absorbing every second of his screen time. Without exaggeration, the show is worth watching purely for his performance.

All said, “Marco Polo” puts into perspective my dislike for much entertainment criticism: it often neglects the spirit of the work. “Marco Polo” is not high art; it’s somewhat inconsistent and uses some pretty tired tropes.

But it’s always good with enough moments of brilliance to hold its own, and it is an epic adventure as entertaining and fun as anything I’ve seen.

That is the spirit of the show: a grand epic. No moral, no message, just epic.

I will certainly be revisiting the court of Kublai Khan upon the release of the second season. I hope you will join me there.

Track prepares for first indoor meet, promising returners hope for successful season

By GUY PERRIN
 Freelancer

The Western Oregon men’s and women’s track teams will open the 2015 indoor track & field season on Saturday, Jan. 17, at Dempsey Indoor Arena in Seattle, Wash.

The indoor track & field facility is located on University of Washington’s campus, and will be the site of many of Western’s competitions this season.

The Wolves, led by head coach Mike Johnson, will have the difficult task this year of replacing the production and leadership of the teams departed seniors.

With the likes of Kody Rhodes, Brett Campbell, Madison McClung and Ryan Hansen having graduated, it will be up to the returning athletes to replace their production at competitions, as well as the invaluable leadership that they provided in practice every day.

“The Dempsey arena is one of the best places to compete in the nation,” said coach Johnson. “Unfortunately that means the entry standards are very high, and we need to be ready to compete with only about 12 days of preparation.”

The men’s team will rely heavily on junior distance runner, Josh Hanna, who will be looking to defend his conference title in the 800m run, as well as returning senior distance runner, Brady Beagley, who will be able to compete for one last time this winter in the mile and 3,000m runs.

Beagley will be looking to add a gold medal to his impressive career resume.

Jeff Howard, who placed in both the 60m and 200m sprints at last year’s conference meet, will be tasked with shouldering the load for the sprinters this year as he looks to earn a spot at the podium by the end of this season.

“This year’s budget restrictions will reduce the number of competitors we are able to take to each meet, and fewer of them will benefit from this experience,” said Coach Johnson.

The women will lean on returning juniors, Audrey Hellesto and Rebecca Laible, as they look to improve on last year’s 7th place finish in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference. Hellesto, a sprinter, placed 3rd in the 400m sprint at last year’s conference meet by less than a second, and will look to take home the gold at the end of this season. Laible returns this year following a 3rd place finish in the triple jump last season, and she will also look to build on an impressive sophomore campaign and bring home a gold medal in February.

The women bring a deep group of distance runners that will look to surprise this year after a disappointing 2014 campaign. The team features a promising group of returners, including Bailey Beeson (7th in 800m), Stephanie Stuckey (11th in Mile, 12th in 3,000m) and Rachel Crawford (12th in Mile) as they look to be the strength of the team throughout the season.

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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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