Mount Hood

IFC planning to cut 5.5% from Campus Recreation, your activities

Hannah Greene  | Sports Editor

Intramurals are a way to get out and be active; they happen all year long with multiple teams one can join each term. Not only do students actively participate in Intramurals, but the league also provides jobs for more than 25 students, from referees to scorekeepers to supervisors. 

Currently, the IFC, Incidental Fee Committee has released a preliminary decision to reduce the Campus Recreation Department budget for next year by 5.5%, amounting to about $61,000. 

What does this mean for fellow students? As of right now, Volleyball during spring would no longer be offered, multiple free tournaments would be taken away — golf and bowling for example — and the champions of the Rogue tournaments would no longer receive a free Championship shirt. 

Right now, Campus Recreation is hoping that students will share their voice to help reverse these proposed budget cuts. There will be one more hearing this month where Campus Recreation is encouraging students to attend the final open hearing to speak about their experience with Intramurals and the Campus Recreation Department in an effort to curb the finalization of the preliminary decision. On Feb. 27, an Open Hearing is scheduled for 4 p.m. in the WUC Pacific Room; a sign-in sheet will be provided for those wishing to speak, as an individual or as a group. There will also be smaller group discussions where one is able to speak to a smaller crowd — these will take place after the hearing. 

The IFC will have a table across from the bookstore where one is able to voice their thoughts and concerns to their peers — Feb. 26 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Feb. 27 from 12 to 3 p.m

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

IM Basketball scoreboards

Hannah Greene  | Sports Editor

Women’s Wednesdays

Team Wins Losses Ties Total
Big Baller$ 5 0 0 15
HOOP THERE IT IS 3 2 0 9
KAUAI BALLERZ 1 4 0 3
Alpha Chi Omega 1 4 0 3

 

Men’s Competitive Wednesdays

Team Wins Losses Ties Total
Backdoor Buddies 4 1 0 12
Cade and Company 4 1 0 12
Mamba Forever 1 3 0 3
The Mandos 1 4 0 3

 

Co-Rec Mondays

Teams Wins Losses Ties Total
Retired 

Basketball Players

5 0 0 15
Ball Don’t Lie 4 1 0 12
Public Safety 4 1 0 12
EXS Squad 3 2 0 9
Narps 3 2 0 9
Kawhi So Serious? 1 4 0 3
Wolverine 0 5 0 0
Nothing but Net 0 5 0 0

 

Men’s Rec Tuesdays

Teams Wins Losses Ties Total
Shot Blockers 3 1 1 10
The HC’s 3 2 0 9
Hot&Fluffy 3 2 0 9
Sport Balls Basket Hoops 3 2 1 10
The IA 2 3 0 6
Tod and the minions 0 5 0 0

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

ASWOU’s Lobby Day at the Capitol was spent gaining support for legislation related to food insecurity, credit transferability, and diversity resources.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  | News Editor

Members of Western’s student goverment, the Associated Students of Western Oregon University, and additional student volunteers had only 10 to 15 minutes to advocate for issues pertaining to the entire student body during the last Lobby Day on Feb. 6. 

As a part of the Oregon Student Association, Western’s lobbyists met with Senators Betsy Johnson and Denise Boles and Representatives Brad Witt and Paul Evans to push for legislation supporting reductions in food insecurity, ease of credit transferability and the underrepresented student taskforce. These issues, “impact students across all public universities and community colleges in the state of Oregon,” according to N.J. Johnson, ASWOU’s Director of State and Federal Affairs. 

Johnson said that their strategy was to split the team into who would speak on each issue and who would make the final legislative ask, in which the members would learn if the legislators planned on offering their support.  

“The legislators cannot be educated on every bill; our job is to share a brief summary and our insights into how that impacts us as college students … and as we don’t have a lot of time to make things happen, we chose to advocate for bills that already had some momentum going,” said Johnson. 

For food insecurity, Western’s lobbyists focused on endorsing a bill that would force the legislature to compile data on food insecurity across college campuses in Oregon. If the data reveals high instances of food insecurity, legislators would then be expected to create legislation that helps fund food pantries and prevent food insecurity down the road, informed Johnson. 

Another issue that Western’s lobbyists focused on was credit transferability. During Lobby Day, Western student Susana Cerda-Ortiz, shared her experience as a transfer student who was told she would be required to take 18 credits per term her senior year or three to four years of schooling in total to graduate, even after having already received an associate’s degree. The bill that Western’s lobbyists were advocating for in regards to credit transferability is “a portal to creating a portal,” according to Johnson, who added, “it would force the universities and community colleges of Oregon to come together and unify their process so that students can transfer more easily.”

The last legislation that Western’s lobbyists advocated for was creating more representation for students who are underrepresented. Johnson stated that underrepresentation is broadly defined and applies to more than just the following: people who grew up in rural communities, low-income students, students of color and students with disabilities. In this case, the bill they were campaigning for would, “make university and campus spaces more inclusive to those folks,” said Johnson.

Currently, legislation is in the short session, a process which takes 35 days. 

Johnson called lobbying “empowering,” stating that “it’s an incremental process; you don’t always see immediate progress, but it matters.”

He encourages students to join youth lobby groups, and asked those interested in lobbying for Western students to contact him at aswoustate@mail.wou.edu.

“I think so many things happen legally because the stakeholders impacted most aren’t at the negotiation tables or involved in the conversations. Our job as the student government is to allow students who are affected to have their voices be heard,” Johnson concluded.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Emily Wanous, OSA lobbyist

Western implements a new simulation service, Kognito, to help students communicate about sensitive issues.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  | News Editor

Western’s Health and Counseling Center has recently implemented an interactive simulation service called Kognito to teach students communication strategies regarding emotional and psychological distress. 

Kognito is an online program co-founded by New York-based clinical psychologist and Baruch College professor, Dr. Glenn Albright, who originally developed the idea for the project when he recognized the need for faculty to have trauma-informed training after observing many students struggling. 

According to Kognito’s website, “his research involves integrating empirically-based findings drawn from neuroscience such as emotional regulation, mentalizing, and empathy, as well as components of social cognitive learning models including motivational interviewing and adult learning theory.” 

Kognito applies this research by employing a communication style known as “motivational interviewing,” which “helps people open up and make changes in their lives,” by reportedly making them feel less judged and more likely to open up, according to Albright.  

The simulations include computerized people programmed with personality and emotions and many are free and accessible to the public, available on one’s personal technological devices. And, since its inception, Kognito’s database has broadened to include simulations for veterans, K-12 students and teachers, members of the LGBTQ+ community, doctors and parental figures, teaching individuals how to approach sensitive topics and how to educate others about important issues, such as correct antibiotic use. 

At Western, the simulations are mostly used for educating students and faculty about how to talk to individuals who are experiencing psychological distress and how to motivate them to seek help from the counseling center.

Albright calls Kognito “a new and innovative simulation technology that can result in changes in people’s physical and emotional health which can be completed in privacy.”

Students can visit the SHCC, call 503-838-8313 or explore Kognito’s website for more details.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo by Kay Bruley

Philip Harding advocated for the HR763 Bill during his Feb. 18 lecture on sustainability, explaining how it creates jobs and supports innovation.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  | News Editor

Philip Harding didn’t come to Western to convince students to believe the research of climate scientists and he certainly didn’t come to blame individuals for the climate crisis: he came to help students realize that individual practices, while helpful, are not enough to spur change, and that, instead, they should consider supporting the HR763 bill.

A chemical engineer currently working as the Director of Technology and Sustainability for the Willamette Falls Paper Company, Harding spends his free time advocating for the bill as a member of the Citizens Climate Lobby both in Washington D.C. and at local universities, like he did at Western on Feb. 18.  

Because he works in manufacturing product development where his team is consistently trying to produce paper created from non-wood and recycled fiber, Harding says he recognizes that money is the central problem preventing change. 

“It’s really slow to get people to embrace (sustainability) … because of money,” Harding said. 

However, he believes that HR763 could provide a solution.

The bill, currently supported by over 80 legislators is “a proposal that would charge a fee for fossil fuel usage based on what we think people would need to gradually and predictably adapt, upon which the fee would be refunded to the people,” said Harding. 

Harding wants students to understand that pricing carbon isn’t negative and that it actually creates jobs by changing companies perceptions and forcing them to invest in clean energy. 

Harding invited students to participate in a role-playing scenario where they were to imagine themselves as investment bankers should HR763 pass. Following student responses, Harding said that he predicts that bankers would invest in renewable energy companies, who would then expand and hire humans who would then be able to afford renewable energy products, creating a cycle that would be mutually beneficial. 

Harding says that changing how we consume energy is a highly complicated issue that involves too many political fights. HR763, on the other hand, is a comprehensible solution.

Harding encouraged students to call their representatives to show support for the bill, stating that “all you have to do is care and believe in doing something positive” to make change. 

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Do something fun this leap year

Rylie Horrall  | Lifestyle Editor

This year is a leap year, which means there’s an extra day tacked onto the end of February, subsequently pushing forward the rest of the months to follow by a day. For those who don’t know, this happens every four years, and, if they didn’t exist, we would already be in the year 2021. Here are some ways to commemorate the extra day that we have this month.

Play leapfrog

Spend this year’s leap day playing leapfrog with a group of friends. It’s just the same as any other day, but why not play into the theme of ‘leaping?’

Celebrate a birthday

Have any friends that were born on a leap day? Celebrate their birthday with them, since it technically only happens every four years, making them only five years old. Go all out and invite a bunch of people, grab some food and get an activity set up such as a movie marathon or various board games.

Have a self-care day

The end of the term is nearing, which can mean that tests and classes become more stressful. Having an extra day could be beneficial for some much needed rest and relaxation. Take a bubble bath, hang out in pajamas all day, watch some favorite shows or partake in some hobbies. It’s important to give the mind a break and take a mental health day if it’s needed.

Sleep in

For anyone that feels like they’re behind on sleep, having an added day may be a blessing. This Feb. 29 is a Saturday, so it’s a great chance to sleep in and catch up on some much needed z’s that have been lost due to late night studying and early morning classes.

Enjoy the day

Take the day to relax and spend time with friends. Go out and enjoy the sunshine that’s been slowly creeping in by planning a picnic. Since this is Oregon, however, double check the weather the day before to ensure that unexpected rain doesn’t diminish plans the day of.

Memory box

Create a box that can only be opened on Feb. 29; fill it with pictures from the day or just overall favorite photos. Another addition can be a note to a future self or group of people, or some sort of memorabilia from a group gathering. Once the next leap year hits, then it can be opened again to see a progression of change from the last four years. 

 

Contact the author at rhorrall17@wou.edu

Photo by Kay Bruley

Photo by Kyle Morden

This week in completely made up horoscopes

[fruitful_tabs type=”accordion” width=”100%” fit=”false”]

[fruitful_tab title=”Aries 3/21-4/19″] AYYY BEP BEP BEP BEP BEP BEP. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Taurus 4/20-5/20″] Just give up already, not working anyway. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Gemini 5/21-6/20″] Dude, Gemini’s and their little rat fingers. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Cancer 6/21-7/22″] Be more like Obi-Wan. Take the high ground. Be the high ground. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Leo 7/23-8/22″] How does take to screw lightbulb in.      25.63 [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Virgo 8/23-9/22″] I scream, you scream, we all scream. Everyone’s incompetent. Dick Cheney made money off the Iraq War. Stars. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Libra 9/23-10/22″] Have you heard of the Giant Salamander? [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Scorpio 10/23-11/21″] Better out than in I say. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Sagittarius 11/22-12/21″] BIG BOTO [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Capricorn 12/22-1/19″] Do you hAve any moRE AlmOnd mIIILLLLk? [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Aquarius 1/20-2/18″] Look out. I’ll eat a pig any way, any day. [/fruitful_tab]

[fruitful_tab title=”Pisces 2/19-3/20″] Don’t let this sunshine deceive you. It’s still like -30 degrees outside. [/fruitful_tab]

[/fruitful_tabs]