Daniel, Author at The Western Howl

By Laura Knudson
Editor-in-Chief

An invasion of labels appearing on grocery stores shelves nationwide bearing the G-word have become a roadmap for those seeking a healthier lifestyle. Deemed the latest food fad, gluten-free diets are the target of mockery.

Dieters are accused of going g-free because someone in their Pilates class told them to. Meanwhile, supporters argue gluten is unhealthy and can have adverse effects on the body. But is the roadmap misleading? Should gluten be avoided or is it all a bunch of hype?

First, let’s establish what gluten is.

A protein composite found mainly in wheat, rye and barley, gluten comes from the Latin word glue; appropriate since it is responsible for the elastic texture in dough that works to bind and maintain shape, holding food together.

Unfortunately, this binding characteristic makes it a staple in processed foods. While some minimally processed foods are healthy like bagged spinach or pre-cut vegetables, boxed or packaged food containing additives and artificial flavors are not.

Think along the lines of frozen pizza, crackers and other ready-to-go foods. Loaded with fat, sodium and a high glycemic index, these processed foods have little nutritional value and one big thing in common: gluten.

And companies are certainly making it easy to avoid. There’s no doubt that every trip to the store yields more g-free products. Entire sections and aisles have sprung up; a good thing for those suffering from celiac disease, allergies and sensitivities.

With one in every 133 Americans suffering from celiac disease according to the National Foundation for Celiac Awareness, celiacs now have a plethora of gluten substitutes at their fingertips.

And for some, the extra cost is worth the wheat-less versions of their favorite snack. It’s literally the best thing since sliced bread.

However, dieters joining in on the fad, void of medical reason, are taking the wrong approach.

Gluten substitutes are not the answer. Consumers are often fooled by products labeled “gluten-free,” “all natural,” and “organic.” These substitutes are not necessarily healthier as they are still processed junk food. Labels expose similar amounts of sugar, fat and sodium.

So let’s be clear: highly processed foods with gluten are bad and highly processed foods without gluten are bad.

As someone with a gluten allergy, I can say from experience that a box of gluten-free cookies won’t make you feel any better than ones made with flour.

So, apart from those with celiac disease, allergies, or sensitivity, gluten in and of itself is not necessarily bad. It is all the stuff gluten is processed with that is bad.

Still, gluten and unhealthiness are synonymous to many.

This false connotation is perhaps why the very mention of the word gluten evokes skepticism from critics.

Nonetheless, these are but faint cries squashed by the steamroller that is the food industry.

Food companies wouldn’t dare curb the ignorance when the industry is worth $4.2 billion, according to Euromonitor, an international marketing research company.

It should also be clear that the gluten-free industry and substitutes are not a bad thing.

In fact, they’re wonderful for celiacs who never knew what a doughnut tasted like before Udi’s put their maple glazed banana ones on the shelf.

Substitutes, though, should not be relied on by any g-free dieters.

Those without medical reason to divest from gluten should not aspire merely to a gluten-free diet, but rather one free of processed food.

On their own, gluten substitutes do not achieve instant health.

After all, cutting an entire food group can be dangerous, according to WebMD.

Dieters may not be getting enough fiber, vitamins and minerals if not incorporating other grains like quinoa into their diet.

Ultimately, even if the g-free diet is a trend, it doesn’t mean it’s a bad one.

If conducted the right way, the diet helps celiacs by providing food options and promote healthier eating for the general public.

So long as the right approach is taken, health devotees should be able to have their gluten-free cake and eat it too.

The Western Howl

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Flashback Friday: Living on Campus in the 19th century:

By: Alisha Wenger, Freelancer

Western Oregon University has changed in a variety of ways, including what the school used to be titled, since its foundation in 1856.

When it was originally founded as Christian College, Abraham Lincoln was not yet president, and the Civil War had yet to take place.

Campus life and the student body, at what was then Christian College, looked much different back in the late 1800s than it does today.

Men wore suspenders and nice pant suits, and women wore dresses that covered the neck and reached all the way down to their shoes. Fashion was modest and practical at that time.

Three societies were held on campus and “neither sex was allowed to participate in the exercises of the other,” the Centennial Story of Monmouth said.

Despite the segregation, however, Christian College prided itself on being a mixed school, having both male and female genders in the same classroom.

“Young gentlemen and ladies exercise a refining, restraining, yet stimulating influence over each other, which nothing else can supply,” the Christian College Catalogue of 1871-72 said.

According to the same catalogue, students were to stay in their rooms at night unless given permission to leave. They were not allowed to leave class without faculty permission and they were not to go “beyond the immediate precincts of the village, without permission of the president or faculty.”

Classes offered in the beginnings of Christian College were much different than today. Students in their first term would take: “Latin Grammar and Caesar, Greek Grammar and Reader, Algebra (University), Geometry, Plane and Solid and English Grammar,” the catalogue said.

A regular morning consisted of reading “the Holy Scripture, singing and prayer, followed by a lecture on some theme connected with sacred literature.” Morals were enforced by biblical examples.

An anonymous student’s late 1800s scrapbook showed the importance of poems, music, traveling and death in this early college campus society.

According to the Jerrie Lee Parpart, Western archives and exhibits coordinator, people used to memorize poems and enter into poem recitation contests on a regular basis.

“The pride of Monmouth in the 1870s was the Silver Cornet Band,” The Centennial Story of Monmouth Oregon said. The band, which consisted of solely men, had concerts in the college chapel and in other neighboring towns.

Traveling was a luxury to be had. An early 1900s School of Norm said that it took an hour and a half by train to get from Monmouth to Salem, and according to the 1911 edition when traveling in Portland, it was important to “chew gum freely on the train to prevent sickness.”

In the anonymous scrapbook, the places that the student visited were shown only by black and white postcards, since people were unable to easily snap pictures on the go.

This scrapbook also contained obituaries of students, explaining cause of death and their age.

The Western Howl

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Workshop offers understanding of dynamics for deaf & hearing coworkers

What: Deaf-hearing workplace dynamics workshop
Where: Columbia Room, Werner University Center
When: 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday Nov.22
Admission:
For more information, contact: Dr. Cheryl Davis at davisc@wou.edu, or call 503-838-8053

By Katrina Penaflor, Freelancer

Deaf-hearing cross cultural conflicts in the workplace will be addressed with a workshop by Western’s Regional Resource Center on Deafness Nov. 21 and 22.

The hands-on event, presented in American Sign Language, is five hours each day and open to students, faculty, staff and community members. Dr. John Gournaris and Alison Aubrecht will be co-facilitating.

The focus of the workshop is to study and explore the different dynamics between a deaf culture and a hearing culture in a workplace, to discuss how these differences can affect each culture, and how people should learn to respect and embrace the different dynamics instead of devaluing them.

“People who are interested in psychology, social dynamics, cultural diversity, social justice, public policy and politics will all find something of interest in this training,” said Dr. Cheryl Davis, chair of the special education division at Western and director of the Regional Resource Center on Deafness.

Topics will include: why hearing people choose to work with deaf people, how deaf people sometimes approach hearing people and vice versa, and dynamics of cross-cultural conflict. Friday will be a day filled with information, while Saturday will provide more hands-on activities.

If an individual works in a field that requires continuing education units, for example interpreters or counselors, completion of the workshop will result in 1.0 CEU earned.

“I hope that people will be able to take this experience and apply it to their interactions with deaf students, and generalize the concepts to working with others as well,” Davis said.

The workshop runs from 4-8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 21, and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, in the Columbia Room of the Werner University Center.

If interested in registering for the event, contact the office of disability services or download a registration form at wou.edu/rrcd. Registration will also be taken at the door.

The Western Howl

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Living in a small town:

By Jennifer Halley – Campus Life Editor

Whether you live in Monmouth, Corvallis, or Dallas, you know what it’s like to live in a small town – a place that is just a blip on the map.

But small town living, despite its slow pace and lack of variety, can be a rewarding place to be a part of: less noise, everything is nearby – you don’t have to drive everywhere – and small, local businesses offer originality.

This does not mean that small towns aren’t associated with the tell-tale signs it is, indeed, a small town. But that’s what it makes it fun, right?

Here are 6 signs you live in a small town:

1. You have to drive 20 minutes just to go to the mall, and the nearest Taco Bell is 15 minutes away.

Generally speaking, small towns are secluded from everything else. And surrounded by rural land, it is a drive just to get to the next town or city. While shopping at Bi-Mart can be a convenient, one-stop trip – and you can buy everything from light bulbs to nail polish – it just isn’t the Salem Center Mall.

2. Almost everything closes after 9 p.m., and the midnight munchies are put on hold.

With small towns come early closing hours, the exception being one or two restaurants, and the corner quick stop. And from 9-midnight, those places are packed with the late-night owls, the student trying to pull an all-nighter, or the people trying to find something stimulating to do. But other than those few open-till-midnight-or-later places, your choices are limited.
Ashleigh Hawkins, a senior at Western Oregon, grew up in Medford, Ore, a city that is considerably larger than Monmouth.

“At home I am used to Fred Meyer being open until 11 p.m. and having a 24 hour Winco about five minutes from my house,” Hawkins said.

3. Everyone knows everyone.

“There is no such thing as anonymity,” Mary Eiswerth, a woman who has lived in Monmouth for 15 years, said.
Eisworth has it right. And depending on how you look at it, that can be a blessing or a curse. Everyone knowing everyone can give one a sense of community, and for Alyssa Loza, who used to live in Corvallis and now lives in Monmouth, that was what she liked about a smaller town.

“Personally, I enjoy living in a small town. I like the environment and living here to go to college helps me stay focused on school.”
That is not the case for everyone, though. Andrea Byars, a former student at Western, said that small towns are crowded and that it is “either a blessing or a curse, depending upon you, your lifestyle and where you want to be.”

4. You will get stuck driving behind a tractor. Multiple times.

Yes. You’ve all been there – just driving along, music blasting through the speakers and all of a sudden, traffic is backed up due to a tractor. Although by this point, it’s a common thing and you’re used to it.

“If you’re going to live in a small town,” Byars said, “I hope you’re prepared to stare blankly at the back of a tractor for 15 slow miles.” Small towns are known for their slower ways of life; tractor traffic is just an aspect of that.

5. “Where’s that at?” is a common question when you explain where you live.

Being a small town means that not everyone knows where you are located. Confused looks, raised eyebrows and “huh?” follow the “where do you live?” and it’s a feat to try and get them to understand where your little town exists.

Stefanie Mathers has lived in Lebanon, Oregon for the past 20 years and said she gets confused looks from people when they ask where she lives.
“I have to explain that it’s by Oregon State University (OSU) in Corvallis,” Mathers said.

6. You are a part of the community.

College towns such as Monmouth and Corvallis host community festivals for the 4th of July, according to Westerndays.net and downtowncorvallis.org. Monmouth has had an annual tree lighting celebration every December since 1967, the archives at Western said. You really get to know people and for Randy Caamel – a Monmouth resident – he actually knows who his neighbors are, something not seen in bigger cities.

Ashley Sigl, who lives in Amity, similarly said, “It’s kind of like growing up with a huge family. Some members are quite distant and estranged, whereas others are at your house every weekend for a beer and a campfire. But regardless of how close you are, when you need them, they’re there.”

Living in a small town can be a different experience for everyone.
“Big cities stimulate [and] small towns nurture,” Eiswerth said.
It just depends on the experience you want to have.

The Western Howl

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Tips for a safe winter at Western

Residents should prepare for cold weather, including hazardous winter conditions, by keeping up to date with weather patterns and forming plans for how to deal with potentially hazardous situations.

General tips:

An emergency supplies kit should include: a three days’ supply of water and food for each individual, spare batteries, medical supplies and flashlights; it may also contain additional blankets and extra warm clothes. The National Weather Service provides up-to-date information; battery-operated radios are useful for keeping informed about weather conditions and forecasts.

Pedestrians should wear shoes with good traction, and especially be aware while walking, including watching for slippery patches, and avoiding uneven surfaces or unfamiliar areas.

Travelers should check other locations’ weather before departure and arrival, to be mindful of potential trouble spots, as well as packing to fit the situation they will be entering.

Drivers should check the condition of their cars, including tires, and check for maximum visibility before driving. Every vehicle should be stocked with emergency supplies, such as water, food, a first aid kit, a flashlight and a blanket. In addition, a candle may provide a small but crucial source of heat and light.

Oregon Department of Transportation’s TripCheck provides a free service for travelers to keep up-to-date with road conditions and the local weather conditions and forecast.

Campus

Notifications of current campus conditions, such as closures or delays in opening, will be made on the school website, over local radio stations, on television, and through the Campus Inclement Weather Hotline.

During a closure, Hamersly Library, the Werner University Center, Valsetz Dining Hall, the Health and Wellness Center and all University Residences (dorms) will remain open with essential staffing only.

The Western Howl

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Debut Turkey Chase offers introduction to new WOU Running Club

What: Turkey Chase Run/Walk
Where: Registration at WUC Plaza. Race begins on Church Street and ends on Western’s track.
When: Nov. 22, check-in at 9 a.m.; walkers begin at 9:45 a.m.; runners begin at 10 a.m.
Cost: $4 or three non-perishable food donations with preregistration, or $6 day of race
Contact: Courtney Greif cgreif12@wou.edu
More information: facebook.com/wourunningclub

By Amanda Clarke, Freelancer

The WOU Running Club will host the 5k (3.1 mile) Wolves Turkey Chase Thanksgiving Run (and walk) Nov. 22, with check-in beginning at 9 a.m. at Werner University Plaza.

“This is our first event as a club,” said Courtney Greif, co-founder of the WOU Running Club. “We hope to make it a race that happens every year.”

The event is also supported by Weekend Wolfpack and Campus Recreation.

The WOU Running Club is a running/fitness club that is open to the general public on campus. It was founded by Grief and Jacob Howard in spring 2014.

Walkers and runners are welcome to participate. Animals are also allowed on the course, but they must be kept on a leash at all times. People are also welcome to line the course to watch and cheer on the participants.

Preregistration is $4 or three non-perishable food items. The non-perishable food items will be donated to the WOU Food Pantry, and the registration cost will help the WOU Running Club take field trips to nearby trails. The cost is $6 the day of the race and canned goods will no longer be accepted.

The preregistration form is available at the front desk of the Health and Wellness Center, which is also where paperwork and payment can be submitted. Cash or checks made out to WOU Running Club are accepted.

“The course will be well marked, and will also have lovely volunteers from Hall Government along the way to help direct athletes on the course,” Grief said.

After the race, refreshments will be available to all participants and there will be a raffle for gift cards and items from local Monmouth businesses. There will also be an award for top male and female runner.

“The real purpose of WOU Running Club is to foster a culture of running here at Western and connect a community of runners here at WOU,” Howard said. “We want to promote running in whatever they do.”

According to Grief, the WOU Running Club is focused on giving people a place in which they can engage in physical fitness as well as participate in local events as a representative of Western.

“I want people to enjoy the great physical ability that we are given during our college years,” Howard said. “I want people to push themselves to their own personal and physical goals, and reach that and know that they can use this ability anytime and in any place.”

WOU Running Club meets weekly for group runs every Wednesday and Thursday at 4 p.m. outside the Health and Wellness Center.

The Western Howl

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Students urge foundation to divest from fossil fuels

By Laura Knudson
 Editor-In-Chief

Students campaigning for campus divestment from fossil fuels have been met with disappointment from lack of action taken by the Western’s Development Foundation.
Members of the environmental club spent the last week collecting over 350 signatures from students, faculty and alumni. They hope to reach at least 600 signatures, demonstrating student support to the foundation, a private, nonprofit organization that financially assists the college.

“Last year, Oregon State University attempted divestment and was rejected, which spurred us to take up our own campaign at Western,” said Beth Bello, creator and president of the environmental club. “Divesting from fossil fuels is so important because, as many of us are aware, global warming is now a scientific fact.”

The issue first gained campus attention at the Oct. 28 Faculty Senate meeting with a presentation by Dr. Mark Van Steeter, associate professor of geography.

Divesting entails the foundation getting rid of stocks, bonds or investment funds that are part of the fossil fuel industry, according to a written proposal distributed at the meeting.

It’s “when you take the money you have invested into fossil fuel companies, and invest into a more ethical company like renewable energy,” Bello said. This does nothing to stop the oil companies, she added, but it makes a symbolic statement.

The proposal also stated, “Unlike some large universities that receive significant funding for research from the fossil fuel industry, we do not.”

The goal of divestment, Van Steeter said, is to send a social message. Industries should use its resources and innovation to transition toward a low carbon economy, he explained.
An added benefit includes landing Western as the 14th school in the nation to divest.

“I see this as a real possibility to get positive PR and put us on the map,” Van Steeter said. “It really makes sense for Western.”

The presentation sparked debate with university President Mark Weiss weighing in.

“In my view, it’s pretty hypocritical to take this position,” he said. “How many of us don’t live locally? How many of us get on an airplane to go to conferences every year,” he said.
Vansteeter responded saying, “There’s always a reason to be found not to act.”

In a guest column authored by Weiss appearing in the Nov. 13 issue of the Statesman Journal, he said, “From the beginning of the industrial age, American’s simply neglected to consider the consequences of burning fossil fuels.” Titled “The world crisis we’d rather ignore” Weiss’ column also states that divesting in oil and gas companies may provide satisfaction that something is being done, but “it is not apparent this action would contribute to solving the problem.”

As the discussion heated up during the senate meeting, other senate members chimed in.

“Just because you can’t do everything, doesn’t mean it’s hypocritical to do something,” said Michael Baltzley, faculty senate member and associate professor of biology.

Also in attendance at the meeting was Tommy Love, executive director in the Office of University Advancement and WOU Foundation. Love said divesting is a complicated issue and the foundation wants to make sure they do what’s right.

One environmental club member has made it his mission to raise awareness by visiting more than 15 campus club meetings.

“By demonstrating large scale student support for divestment, the foundation will listen to student voices,” said Karl Amspacher, senior geography major.

Amspacher was disappointed when the foundation declined his request to speak about divestment at their upcoming December meeting.

In a Nov. 10 email to the foundation, Amspacher asked for five minutes to present on divestment.

His request was met with a reply from Love which said he had already spoken with Van Steeter about divestment and “the specific topic of divestment is not planned for the agenda at the December board meeting.”

“It’s a brush off,” Amspacher said.

An earlier request submitted via email by alumnus Zander Albertson’s was also denied by the foundation.

“It’s difficult to believe that the foundation takes divestment seriously given that it has been given no further consideration,” Albertson said. He was also disappointed in the foundation’s unwillingness to put divestment on the agenda.

“I wish they would have just opened the discussion,” he added.

Prior to the start of school, Van Steeter requested five minutes to present the issue to the foundation. He met with the finance and planned giving sub-committee.

“We wouldn’t lose anything by divesting,” Van Steeter said in an interview. “We could do the right thing and not pay a price for it.”

Apart from the meeting and Van Steeter’s presentation to the faculty senate, no other formal forum has taken place between the foundation and the environmental club.

When asked in a Wednesday interview if he felt this was fair and sufficient, Love said, “I think it is for where we are at this point.”

The other side has had time to think and plan regarding divestment, he said. “The topic and issue recently came to us. We’re trying to get our arms around this.”

And there is much to consider when discussing investments, Love said.

For starters, moving investments from fossil fuels into green energy does not necessarily guarantee things will stay the same in terms of revenue.

“There’s always risk in that,” said Love. “That’s the stock market in general.”

For 2014, the foundation’s total revenue was $4,302,690 according to the foundation’s audit report, available on Western’s foundation webpage. Realized gains from investments, the amount received from the sale of investment holdings, was $673,045. Unrealized gains or the current value of those investments was a reported $564,593.

The foundation does not disclose what they invest in.

Albertson said this is concerning because it leaves one to conclude the foundation portfolio contains a fairly significant amount of carbon-based investments.

“As a private foundation, we have not released those holdings,” Love said.

But, aiding in what Love calls the “complex layers” of divestments, are mutual funds.

“There are components we have that are related to fossil fuels because we have mutual funds,” he said.

Mutual funds refer to professionally managed investment programs funded by shareholders that trades in diversified holdings.

Because these investments are managed by a company, they change all the time, even daily, Love said.

Furthermore, “if we divest, someone else is going to buy those stocks,” he said. “Divestment in and of itself is not going to make a true impact.”

The foundation is interested in looking at the bigger picture of climate change, he added.

“I don’t want students to think that the foundation and myself do not recognize the issue of climate change,” Love said. Divesting is “one way to do it, but let’s have a campus-wide conversation to address global climate change.”

For example, “Not commuting in [to campus] I think would have a bigger impact,” he said.

Ultimately, Love said aside from the “moral obligation” concerning climate change, “we also have an obligation as a foundation.”

“We don’t want to make any rush judgments,” he said. “Especially when we have to think about other things outside of fossil fuels.”

“I make no commitment [to either side],” he said. “I do commit to continuing dialogue.”

Love encourages interested parties to contact the foundation with comments.

The social science division will vote on fossil fuel divestment resolution of support Dec. 2, Van Steeter said. If approved, “it will be a template for other divisions to follow,” he said.

The environmental club will be protesting outside the building during the Dec. 6 meeting, Bello said.

“This is a movement to improve our school,” Amspacher said. “We’re doing this to make Western a better place.”

How to get involved:

WHAT: Environmental Club
WHEN: 4:30 p.m. every Wednesday in HSS room 230
MORE INFO: Contact club president Beth Bello at bbello11@wou.edu or call 503-798-7763

Foundation:

Direct questions or comments for the foundation to Tommy Love, executive director in the Office of University Advancement and WOU Foundation. He can be reached at lovet@wou.edu or 503-838-8134.

Western Oregon University’s Land Acknowledgement
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.

Accessibility Public Records Privacy Student Consumer Information

WOU prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in all programs, activities and employment practices as required by Title IX, other applicable laws, and policies. Retaliation is prohibited by WOU.

A deeper look at going G-free

Flashback Friday: Living on Campus in the 19th century:

Workshop offers understanding of dynamics for deaf & hearing coworkers

Living in a small town:

Tips for a safe winter at Western

Debut Turkey Chase offers introduction to new WOU Running Club

Students urge foundation to divest from fossil fuels

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