Mount Hood

Live action: take two

Written by: Gretchen Sims | Editor-in-Chief

Content warning: this article contains spoilers.

When Netflix announced that they would be re-remaking “Avatar: The Last Airbender” as a live-action series, expectations were high. As a childhood favorite to many, another failed remake was all that was on fans’ worried minds. 

Starring Gordon Cormier as Aang, Kiawentiio as Katara, Ian Ousley as Sokka and Dallas Liu as Prince Zuko, the release of “Avatar: The Last Airbender” was, unfortunately, met with mixed feelings. 

When the show was set to hit production, Netflix announced that the original creators of the Nickelodeon cartoon, Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko, would work as executive producers on their live-action remake. This news excited fans who were, not long after, met with the disappointing news that DiMartino and Konietzko had departed from the show, citing creative differences — the two received writing credits for the first and sixth episodes. This disheartening turn of events raised questions regarding the show’s integrity to the original cartoon. 

First, I want to preface with the fact that this new remake was nowhere near as awful as the first attempt, which went as far as to mispronounce its character’s names. It was not as good as the original, I think anyone could have guessed that, but it wasn’t horrible. However, there were a few aspects of the remake that caused it to fall short of the cartoon. 

Growing up, Katara was always my favorite character. As a sister to annoying siblings, who often took on an authoritative position in their lives, I felt myself relating to her. In the Netflix remake, I didn’t get any of that. I felt like the energy and life Katara brought to the cartoon were lost in the live-action — it was as though she were flat and two-dimensional. 

Additionally — and there has been a lot of online discourse surrounding this — Sokka’s sexist character arch was cut from the adaptation. In the Nickelodeon series, Sokka starts the show with very sexist views that were instilled in him throughout his childhood, but he slowly loses them as he meets strong women throughout their quests. 

While there is an argument for cutting this arch, I think that writing Sokka’s initial sexism out of the show erased an important lesson the original writers wanted to portray. Talking about sexist themes is crucial to fighting gender biases — especially in children’s TV shows. 

The show’s creators stated that they wanted to make things darker to make the series not only for kids but “…people who are big fans of ‘Game of Thrones’” as well. 

This attempted direction fell more than short and left viewers with a weirdly “edgy” feel — in a “not at all edgy” sort of way.

The cartoon was supposed to be lighthearted to appeal to children, while also teaching valuable lessons to this younger audience. Because this was executed so well, the original “Avatar: The Last Airbender” show was a hit among all ages. Sadly, this new remake does not quite reach this mark — completely overlooking the essence of the original show. 

If one is debating whether it is still worth a watch, it is important to ask oneself why they fell in love with the original in the first place. Like I said in the beginning, it’s not horrible, it just leaves out some key components that can leave a returning viewer wanting more. 

6.5/10.

Contact the author at howleditorinchief@wou.edu

It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I feel fine

Written by: Claire Phillips | Entertainment Editor

“It’s The End Of The World As We Know It” — R.E.M.

“Skyfall” — Adele

“In a Week” — Hozier feat. Karen Cowley

“Seven Devils” — Florence + The Machine

“Apocalypse Please” — Muse

“Everybody Wants To Rule The World” — Tears For Fears

“(Don’t Fear) The Reaper” — Blue Öyster Cult

“As the World Caves In” — Sarah Cothran

“Exit Music (For A Film)” — Radiohead

“Blue Spotted Tail” — Fleet Foxes

“Losing My Religion” — R.E.M.

“Who Wants To Live Forever” — Queen

“Enjoy the Silence” — Depeche Mode

“Time is Running Out” — Muse

“Bottom of the River” — Delta Rae

“Stare at the Sun” — Mutemath

“I Know It’s Over” — The Smiths

“Alone Again Or” — The Damned

“The Sound of Silence” — Simon & Garfunkel

“Everybody Loves You When You’re Dead” — The Stranglers

“Victory Dance” — My Morning Jacket

“Highway to Hell” — AC/DC

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

NCAA women’s basketball champions

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

The University of South Carolina’s women’s basketball program recently beat the University of Iowa, clinching their third national title and second title in three years. After losing to Iowa in the Final Four last season, the South Carolina Gamecocks have not lost a game since — the tenth perfect season in National Collegiate Athletic Association women’s basketball history. 

Iowa started in the lead for the game, with Caitlin Clark adding 18 points on the board for Iowa and another record to her name. Clark was the NCAA Division One all-time point scorer across both men’s and women’s basketball. 

But even Clark could not stop the powerhouse that was the Gamecocks’ basketball program. After ending the first half up by three, South Carolina paced the game and Iowa could not pull ahead. Some South Carolina players called the road to the championship a “revenge tour.”

Tess Johnson led the Gamecocks with 19 points on the night, but senior Kamilla Cardoso was truly the most valuable player of the game, boasting a double-double of 15 points and 17 rebounds. Te-Hina Paopao and Chloe Kitts both followed closely with 14 and 11 points on the night. 

Clark was not the only one who broke records — the game itself was a record breaker. Airing on network television for the first time since 1995, the game surpassed the men’s game by 4.1 million views — 18.9 million and 14.82 million views respectively. 

“You’re seeing the growth in many places: attendance records, viewership and social media engagement surrounding March Madness,” University of California, Los Angeles coach Cori Close said. “I don’t think you can attribute it just to Iowa, though. A rising tide does lift all boats. But I think all those boats have been on many different waterways. The product is really good, and the increase of exposure is getting rewarded.” UCLA lost to third-ranked Louisiana State University in the Sweet Sixteen. 

This game was also one of the most watched non-Olympic women’s sporting events on United States television, second only to the 2015 Women’s World Cup final between the USA and Japan.

This year boasts a large class of players who have amassed large followings and prospects to go professional: LSU’s Angel Reese, Cardoso and Clark are all top prospects for this year’s Women’s National Basketball Association draft. 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

The newest men’s collegiate basketball champions: University of Connecticut

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

The University of Connecticut clinched back-to-back National Collegiate Athletic Association — NCAA — men’s basketball championships over Purdue University on April 8, 2024. 

The first half was a close match-up, but UConn went on a 15-7 run from a point deficit to pull ahead at the half. This deficit was the first time Purdue trailed after the first 20 minutes of play. 

In the second half, UConn’s run of 8-2 was used to bring their double-digit lead. But, most importantly for the team, they kept Purdue’s seven foot four inches tall center, Zach Edey, scoreless for a total of 12 minutes of play. UConn also limited Purdue at the 3-point line — the Boilermakers went one for seven in the second half. In the entire tournament, UConn only trailed for a total of five minutes and 42 seconds, never trailing by more than five points. 

“We were going to go to the well with Zach as much as we could at that point,” Purdue Head Coach Matt Painter said, talking about his team’s second-half trouble. “In a game like this, we had to be able to rebound defensively better, and then we had to have something balance that out. That was threes. They (UConn) stayed home with us. They did a really good job defensively.”

UConn is the eighth team to win back-to-back championships — the University of Florida was the last team to achieve this in 2007. This is also UConn’s sixth championship, becoming the fourth team to win six or more championships in their program’s history. This feat has been achieved by the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of Kentucky and the University of North Carolina. 

All of UConn’s championship wins have occurred since 1999, which is more than any other men’s team in that same span, and are second only to UConn’s women’s team, who have won 10.

Purdue has never won a national championship, despite appearing in the Final Four three times. They have only appeared in a championship game once, which was this most recent appearance. 

However, it was not a UConn player who led the game in stats. Edey claimed a double-double — scoring 37 points and 10 rebounds in Purdue’s defeat. Four of UConn’s five starters scored in double digits: Tristen Newton scored 20, Stephon Castle scored 15, while Cam Spencer and Donovan Clingan both scored 11. 

“Credit to my teammates and coaching staff for putting me in the right positions to make plays, score, get people involved and get the win tonight,” said Newton. Newton was selected as the Final Four’s Most Outstanding Player. 

“You can’t even wrap your mind around it, because you just know how hard this tournament is,” UConn coach Dan Hurley said post-game. “What a special group of people.”

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Westerns women’s basketball update

Written by: Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor

The Howl previously covered the cancellation of the Western women’s basketball season. The article covered allegations of abuse and harassment from players at Western and also Salem University, where head coach Jessica Peatross and assistant coach Demetrius “DJ” Marlow led the women’s basketball program during the 2022-23 season. Following a legal investigation prompted by the athletic department, the administration has chosen to remove the coaches from administrative leave and reinstate both Peatross and Marlow for the 2024-25 season.

In the previous article, one anonymous source from the Western women’s basketball team went into depth on alleged National Collegiate Athletic Association — NCAA — violations, verbal abuse, sexually charged comments and a season-ending injury possibly caused by assistant Coach DJ Marlow. Multiple players from Salem University and another NCAA Division Two university located in West Virginia came forward to speak about their alleged experiences with Coaches Peatross and Marlow as well — many of the allegations followed similar patterns of verbal abuse, neglect, inappropriate behavior and a lack of response from their athletic administration. 

While the coaches have been on paid administrative leave since February, an investigation was initiated, though it is unclear who exactly hired the firm. The law firm, by the name of Littler Mendelson, specializes in employer clients and conducted the believed-to-be unbiased third-party investigation. The spokesperson for the firm released a statement saying that “the allegations against the coaches were not sustained.” The coaches were officially reinstated following the conclusion of this investigation. The Western women’s basketball players were then offered the option of entering the transfer portal, but in order to stay on the team they would need to meet with Coach Peatross individually.

The season cancellation caught the attention of sports commentator and Instagram personality Timothy Martin, who regularly posts content related to the NCAA and professional sports. Following the release of our previous article, Martin posted an update that garnered over four hundred thousand views. We reached out to Martin about the reinstatement of Peatross and Marlow, to which he said, “Based on the situations and stories from former athletes and those associated with the team — it’s shocking from an outsider’s perspective like myself to hear the results of the investigation from the university. For a Collegiate season to be cut short and nothing come of the investigation seems very odd. I’m an outsider and have no association with the university, but have been following this situation since it was announced over a month ago and honestly have more questions now than I did when the investigation started.” 

Derek Holdsworth is a Western track and field and cross-country alumni and current head coach of Growing Runners Track Club, a youth track club in Williamsburg, Virginia. During his time at Western, he broke the all-time Western record and all-time Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) record for the 800-meter run. Holdsworth has been keeping tabs on the status of the women’s basketball team after hearing the news about the season cancellation. “I always felt safe at (Western) with my coaches and staff around me, so it’s incredibly disappointing to hear that not only do students feel uncomfortable with their current coaches but their coaches lied about their experience to get the current positions that they have. It’s frustrating to hear this as someone who’s currently in search of a career outside of my athletic pursuits. I know the staff at WOU has the ability to do what’s best for their student-athletes, they just might need a little push,” Holdsworth stated. 

Multiple faculty and staff members at Western have expressed discontent with the decisions made by the athletic administration, but out of fear for their job security and safety, have declined to comment. One Western faculty member spoken to agreed to have their quote released under the condition that they remain anonymous. “I’ve worked with dozens of student-athletes in my time at WOU. Generally, this group of people doesn’t complain unless there are real problems. They are used to grueling schedules, high demands and hard work. They put up with a lot. Then they do it again the next day. It’s inconceivable to me that these students are being silenced and ignored. There needs to be better leadership from both athletics and WOU administrators. The least powerful and least protected people are essentially being told they don’t matter. That’s not what WOU represents.” 

Another faculty member also shared their opinion on the outlook of recruiting future athletes – “reinstatement of the women’s basketball coaching staff is a clear indicator of the absence of any wrongdoing. Recent history of the administration’s mismanagement of the situation can have detrimental consequences for recruiting down the line.”

An anonymous source from Salem University, who contributed to the previous article as one of the players in Peatross and Marlow’s 2022-2023 program, made a second statement to the Howl. “Honestly, I think it’s crazy. It just shows how bad the outside world doesn’t pay attention to athletes calling and seeking out help. In this world especially as college athletes, athletes in general — we overlook our mental health and in this situation, the staff at WOU overlooked theirs. I just hope that both coaches find it in their hearts to start off with a clean slate and allow the girls to come back and play. That school is their home.” This source was instrumental in gathering information and sources of all different opinions from Salem University.

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

FAFSA needs to improve

Written by: Libby Thoma | Staff Writer

A college degree is necessary for many higher-level jobs that pay a fair and livable wage, but are inaccessible to many who are of lower income. The Free Application for Federal Student Aid — FAFSA — as most students already understand, is vital for receiving financial aid for college and therefore, for most, vital to being able to attend college. Although it is widely understood that FAFSA is the key to the future students dream about, it is overall unfair and discriminatory towards those in underprivileged communities. 

Before contemplating the prejudices of FAFSA, the technical issues must be addressed. FAFSA has an entire website page dedicated to its issues. These issues include not being able to find one’s school, parents not being able to access FAFSA after starting the form on behalf of the student, FAFSA saying the form is in progress even when completed and an entire list more. These issues can prevent students from accessing the financial aid they need, especially in a timely manner.

Completing FAFSA promptly is necessary due to the application being on a first come first serve basis. 

Along with these technical issues, FAFSA bases a student’s financial aid benefits based on their parent’s income. This is a problem in a multitude of ways. In the U.S., a person 18 or older is considered an adult, so it must be asked — why are adults’ financial aid being based on their parent’s income? How does being an adult not automatically make one an independent person? Due to many parents not paying tuition and possibly being unwilling to fill the required forms, shouldn’t fall into their hands either. Students looking to receive what they need to be able to attend college can make huge decisions, such as getting married or joining the armed forces, just to receive an often necessary education. Parents should not be in charge of a student’s financial aid, the student should be.

FAFSA puts those in underprivileged households or families, such as undocumented citizens, children without access to parents or legal caregivers who aren’t considered independent, at more of a disadvantage. Although FAFSA’s website states otherwise, students with parents missing an SSN were unable to complete the FAFSA without their SSN. Although this was seemingly fixed recently, FAFSA’s ‘first come first serve’ approach has caused students to miss out on financial aid opportunities because of this oversight. Along with this, students who are labeled as ‘dependents’ on their parents’ taxes but are not on speaking terms with their parents or caregivers are also at a disadvantage. In this case, students would not be able to receive financial aid through FAFSA unless they contacted their parents. People may cut ties with their families for many reasons such as abuse, unacceptance of their identity and so much more, and that should be honored and respected. Instead, FAFSA will not grant any financial aid to these students, limiting their educational opportunities. 

Contact the author at ethoma23@mail.wou.edu

Excessive healthiness can be unhealthy too

Written by: Libby Thoma | Staff Writer

Content warning: This article contains mentions of eating disorders

Health influencers and gurus have flooded social media exponentially over time, and an obsession with an ill-defined idea of physical health has been promoted to many consumers on a daily basis. These influencers give supposed “hacks,” ideas and even inspiration to lead a physically healthy lifestyle. This obsession with health and being perfect has caused some people to take it too far. 

Where do we draw the line when dealing with health? Too far, as described in this article, is any situation taken far enough to be considered an eating disorder. According to the National Institute of Health, an eating disorder can include any preoccupation — or obsession — with food, body weight or body shape. This leads to the conclusion that those who are extremely obsessed with being physically healthy, which includes the realm of food and usually weight as well, have an eating disorder.  

There are many examples of said preoccupation, and some include obsessing over natural foods. A person could scrutinize the correct amount of healthy calories and refuse, no matter the situation, to nourish their body properly. One could obsess over exercise — which tends to be one of the more problematic and more noticeable obsessions. 

Anything that gets in the way of daily tasks and enjoying daily life should be considered a disorder. While it is of utmost importance to be healthy, it is important to maintain that and not go overboard. Ideas of going overboard could include purposefully and drastically hurting one’s body and/or brain to exercise, including in sports. This could include an inability to go anywhere where a person is unfamiliar with the food served out of fear for eating something unhealthy. This could include refusing to go see one’s parents due to fear of losing out on time to exercise — the list goes on. 

9% of the U.S. population has an eating disorder according to ANAD, and if people with obsessions regarding exercise, being healthy or fit are included, as they should be, the statistic would rise.

If the reader feels that they are experiencing any of these symptoms, it is important to realize these feelings are valid and to seek help. If any of this sounds familiar, contact the National Association of Anorexia Nervosa & Associated Disorders at 888-375-7767.

Contact the author at ethoma@mail.wou.edu

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