Mount Hood

Turkeys weren’t the only ones taking L’s this weekend, as Women’s Basketball held two home games

 

Hannah Greene  |  Sports Editor

Western Women’s Basketball hosted two teams during Thanksgiving weekend, only to fall to both, Texas A&M International and South Minnesota State University.

Both teams challenged the Wolves, making for an edge-of-the-seat game each day.

Full bellies and families sent the Wolves ready and amped for their game against the Dust Devils — a non-conference game. Wolves fell behind shortly after the whistle blew to start the matchup, with the Dust Devils scoring consecutive three-pointers.

The Wolves didn’t take kindly to this, coming back with multiple unanswered points from the Dust Devils, to put Western ahead — but not for long.

Throughout the second quarter, the Dust Devils dominated over the Wolves, scoring 17 points in a row with no response from the Wolves, making for a hard lead to catch up to.

Fourth quarter, the Wolves turned it on — catching up and making their score only seven points behind the Dust Devils’ 49 points.

Wolves’ defense put up the blocks and held the team on their backs. Unfortunately, the Wolves’ offense could not find a way to score and break the 50-point mark.

Dust Devils held the rest of the game, scored a few more times and left with a W on their horns, 51-42.

SMSU Mustangs came equipped with their A-game to battle it out against the Wolves.

For the first two quarters, the Wolves and Mustangs were neck and neck, each winning one quarter — with the Wolves taking a three-point lead into the second half.

The Wolves’ defense and offense showed fire and spark coming off the bench into the second half, fit for whatever the Mustangs were about to bring.

Scoring and gameplay seemed to be in favor of the Wolves’ hands during the third quarter, with one point after another — which created for a solid lead. Cali McClave, a first-year guard for the Wolves, hit a wide open three pointer to take the Wolves’ lead even higher by 10 points.

The Mustangs began to catch up until McClave drained another three-pointer with only 30 seconds left on the clock. Western lead 50-47, coming into the final quarter of the match.

Fourth quarter showed for a loud battle, multiple fouls and a final score leaving the Wolves empty handed. Mustangs took the win, 70-62, with an eight-point lead.

Though the Wolves attack game was fierce, it was not dicey enough to beat the Mustangs’ defense — a tough final pre-conference game to send the Wolves into GNAC, ravenous.

Dec. 5 marks the start of the Wolves GNAC conference games, where the Wolves will travel to the University of Alaska Fairbanks to matchup against the Nanooks.

The Wolves face Corban University for their next home game, a non-conference game, on Dec. 16 at 6 p.m.

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

Photos by Hannah Greene

Club Sports signing off

Hannah Greene  |  Sports Editor

The trees no longer have leaves, the ground has been covered by drops of rain and specks of snow — the time for fall Club Sports has come to a close. Quite the season the Wolves had, with titles battled for, championships that were held at home, new faces that joined the teams and outcomes that were never expected.

Men’s Rugby entered fall with a lot of seniors gone, first-years and transfers and the team having to step up to fill any gaps — this didn’t seem to have fazed the team, with everyone working cohesively to find a way to win. The team showed for many exciting games for the spectators and proved themselves to be a tight-knit squad. Their overall record was 5-1, losing their final game during the Championship match against Oregon Institute of Technology. Though Men’s Rugby wasn’t able to bring home the Championship, they did not disappoint.

Women’s Club Soccer came into this season with high expectations and a large target on their backs — being the 2018 Small School Division Champions. The season began with the hardest team in their league, University of Oregon – Gold, a fresh team with a solid mix of returners and new additions. Throughout their season, they were unable to find a way to bring home wins, with consecutive ties that finished each match. Before their season was complete, they headed down to Texas where they played in the National Intramural and Recreational Sports Association tournament — where they played against schools five times larger than them. 

Men’s Club Soccer had a filling season — starting off on the wrong foot, but finished strong on the right, to bring home a championship from the Cascade Collegiate Soccer League 2nd Division, or CCSL. The team continued to stay positive all season long, which in turn helped them finish on a high note. Men’s Club Soccer held their defense tight and organized, while their offense took advantage of multiple plays to finish the ball in their opponents net.

Yes, these teams’ seasons are done, but they will have more games come winter. Along with them: Women’s Rugby, Men’s Basketball, Men’s Lacrosse and Rock Climbing. The Dance Team will also be performing at the Varsity Men’s Basketball home games.

Stay tuned come this winter for the Club Sports schedule.

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

After months of preparation, Western launched several new program options in 2019.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  |  News Editor

This year, many new majors and minors — as well as degree options — have been added to Western’s official catalog, and future additional options are underway. Three additions in particular have opened up new pathways for student success: a master’s in Organizational Leadership, an Applied Baccalaureate in Liberal Sciences and the new major of English Studies. The following will offer descriptions about each program and detail the benefits related to obtaining a degree through these new options. 

 

M.A. in Organizational Leadership

 

As an interdisciplinary program unaffiliated with any one academic department featuring instructors from a variety of related fields, obtaining a master’s in Organizational Leadership would benefit “anyone who wants to enhance their leadership skills and be prepared to effectively lead in any type of setting,” as stated by psychology professor David Foster. Continuing, he said that the program “is designed to help people build the behavior, cognitive and social competence necessary to be an effective leader,” developing qualities sought after by human resources.

After first developing the organizational leadership minor with fellow professors Nick Baccus, of communication studies and Paul Disney of business, the three collaborated to design the master’s degree program which co-adhered with President Rex Fuller’s plan to “expand WOU’s graduate offerings by developing programs that would be appealing for people living in Salem,” said Foster. While taking courses based at the WOU:Salem campus targeted towards working adults, students have the ability to gain Operational Leadership and Executive Leadership certificates, furthering their workforce qualifications. 

“(Businesses) need programs like ours to help their people develop the competencies they need to be effective leaders,” said Foster. For more information about this program, students can follow the link to the graduate program’s page through Western’s webpage. 

 

Applied Baccalaureate in Liberal Sciences

 

Also offered at Western’s Salem campus, the Applied Baccalaureate in Liberal Sciences degree was created to provide further education to adults who have already acquired an Associate of Applied Science degree. It’s designed to give working adults the advantages of a four-year degree without them having to repeat coursework, letting them build upon their previous education. Students will “complete foundations courses, dive into the arts, humanities, social and natural sciences, explore interests, and tie it all together in small seminars with fellow students,” stated a video published by wouTV titled “WOU:Salem: What’s Next.” The video also describes the program as essentially an “upside-down degree,”  giving students who have already mastered specific trades the ability to take broader educational classes. 

 

English Studies Major 

 

Nine years in the making, the English studies major features a core of linguistics, literature and writing classes and offers students a way to virtually design their own program, while limiting the amount of credits needed to graduate. 

“We saw a pattern … that the average English major was graduating with 211 credits. That’s a lot … we were really creating barriers for our students” stated Katherine Schmidt, an English professor and the director of the Writing Center at Western. 

The English Studies program is now made of mostly classes counting as upper division credits and has gotten rid of the two-year language requirement consisting of 24 credits. The program also boasts a common core curriculum of 41 credits, allowing for students to take more electives specific to their interests. 

“Instead of being a mile wide and an inch deep, we’re encouraging students to go a mile deep and an inch wide … to do what (they) love and to spend most of (their) time doing that,” said Schmidt, providing an example of a student writing historical fiction taking history classes relevant to their craft. Although, of course, students still have to justify the course’s complementary connection to the program. 

In the future, the program is planning on reinstating a publishing class, and providing a Professional Writing Certificate, which will launch next year. The Professional Writing Certificate is 20 credits and is targeted towards “people who already have their degrees,” stated Schmidt. 

“Students have shown a desire to specialize in professional writing and we want to give that opportunity to them,” said Schmidt, citing the full grant-writing class offered Winter Term as evidence. 

Classes for the certificate will be based at WOU:Salem, and is “complementary to an Organizational Leadership degree,” said Schmidt.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Multiple new changes made to Western’s various technology outlets, a focus on security cited as cause.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  |  News Editor 

Recently, students have received multiple emails regarding changes to Western’s technology including student access to their portals, Adobe Creative Cloud and an upgrade to Windows 10 for all campus computers. Many of these changes have been initiated to reduce threats to security. Director of University Computing Solutions, Bill Kernan, said, “current news talks about election hacking, corporate attacks, and data breaches … It’s so easy to fall into the trap that is being set … Having another layer of protection that uses something the hacker can’t access is paramount.” 

To increase security, Western is installing the Duo program, which will act as a two-step verification process that works by sending push notifications to one’s smartphone asking for authorization. By accepting the notification, students are able to access their information; if they are not the ones attempting to gain access, they simply have to press “deny.” For students, Duo launches in February, and Kernan assures that it “doesn’t require any additional passwords … the only information Duo stores is username and the phone number associated with that username, so that authentication can work correctly.”

Similarly, Adobe has changed their login system “in attempts to protect their assets from abuse,” according to Kernan. Many individuals and departments across campus rely on Adobe for their jobs. Now, “users that use Adobe products will log in with their username@wou.edu which will redirect (them) to WOU’s portal,” stated Kernan. 

Switching to Windows 10 also benefits the university from a security perspective. According to Kernan, Windows 10 provides enhanced security through its operating system and access to improved software and apps, while also being mobile friendly. 

Kernan also said that students have the ability to learn about additional security procedures through the Information Security Training Tool that automatically notifies students through portal when there is a new lesson available. The lessons are three to five minutes long every two weeks, making “information easier to attain,” stated Kernan. 

“The training will include topics like SPAM, phishing, encryption, etc…” and, “ is totally responsive, so everyone can view it easily on phones, tablets or laptops” Kernan concluded.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo by Sage Kiernan-Sherrow

An Accessible Pedestrian Signal has been implemented after conversations about accessibility for Monmouth’s DeafBlind community were sparked.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  |  News Editor

As the DeafBlind population increases within Monmouth, discussion about accessibility has increased, and small changes have been implemented to promote that accessibility. One such change is the addition of Accessible Pedestrian Signals (APS) at the intersection of Main Street and Highway 99, which was made possible through the advocating of several parties, including Jelica Nuccio. 

Jelica Nuccio is a DeafBlind individual who moved to Monmouth a year ago from Seattle, Washington, bringing her business “Tactile Communications” with her. Tactile Communications focuses on, “providing education to individuals that are DeafBlind as far as adaptive skills and reading in Braille. 

“For many people, if they’ve grown up visual, then when they become DeafBlind, they need to incorporate touch-based strategies to get information. So, we do a lot of training…” Nuccio said, likening the training to learning how to drive a car. 

Training also includes learning how and when to cross the road safely — now made easier through the APS system.

Nuccio credited Amy Parker, the coordinator of the Orientation and Mobility program at Portland State University, with garnering support from the City Council and the Department of Transportation to implement the APS system.   

“It became much more complex than originally anticipated,” Nuccio stated.

Despite this beneficial addition, there are still more ways to improve accessibility in the community. Nuccio mentioned adding additional APS systems along Main Street, more stop signs to increase driver awareness, bumps on the road serving as tactile markers, English and Braille combined menus and mats in front of doorways acting as signifiers as improvements that could be made. 

“We’re hoping that with more visibility, that will create more awareness, and that will create a more unified front and we can actually start making some of these significant changes, but they haven’t happened yet,” said Nuccio. 

Despite the need for improvements, Nuccio relayed feeling welcomed in Monmouth, saying that “there’s a different kind of patience here … people are just very welcoming, and they’re immediately talking about what they can do to change the community and make it more accessible.” 

She said that she moved from Seattle to Monmouth after visiting Monmouth for work-related purposes where she was surprised to enter a restaurant and have a waitress immediately begin communicating with her in protactile. 

“I immediately felt so comfortable and comforted in knowing that people understood that I communicate through touch,” Nuccio said.

For students interested in learning about DeafBlind culture and protactile communication, Nuccio recommended they take Professor CM Hall’s class in Winter Term and Nuccio’s own class taught in Spring Term, which is entirely taught in protactile. 

“Protactile is not the same as hearing a language or seeing a language — there’s no book on it. You can’t write a book on how something feels or how to communicate tactilely, so it would be very difficult to explain even in a video. So, all of the instructions has to be done in person,” Nuccio said.

For those seeking a creative, immersive experience, a PT play will be held on Dec. 14.

“In protactile theater everything is communicated by touch, so you don’t see anything or hear anything — this is a brand new thing that has just occured in our community and it’s blossoming,” said Nuccio.

Those interested can RSVP at TcPTPlays@gmail.com.

To conclude, Nuccio stated, “I’m just as human as everyone else, I just have different means of communication. But different, doesn’t mean separate. We can all communicate with each other.”

For more information on who Jelica Nuccio is and what she does, visit https://www.tactilecommunications.org/.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo by Sage Kiernan-Sherrow

Thanksgiving Controversies: An Opinion on Sarah Miller

Hannah Greene  |  Sports Editor

From the get go, we are told that Thanksgiving is a time for family and friends to come together, have quality time, catch up and eat a lot of food. Sounds like a solid plan, but this plan was based on false customs and false history. Meeting up with family and friends to cook together and enjoy each moment can be a beautiful thing — so why do we only “celebrate” this once a year? Why aren’t we making a Grateful Holiday to be a few times a year? The world may never know.

According to the History Channel, the “First Thanksgiving” was celebrated ages ago in 1621 where Native Americans joined the Pilgrims for their first harvest, which lasted three days during October. Thanksgiving became a national holiday during President Lincoln’s time in office, that was to be held every November. The original story presented throughout adolescent education makes the holiday seem bright and cheerful, but in reality it masks the bloodiness of the time between the Native Americans and the settlers.

This day was constructed on lies and stories of “positive” exchanges of pilgrims and Native Americans. The pilgrims learned from the Native Americans about growing crops, harvesting those crops, how to hunt and fish from the foreign land and “became friends” with each other. Though the settlers did learn — quite a lot — from the Native Americans, it is in fact “false,” in the voice of Dwight Shrute, that these people were friendly among each other. What the bright, happy story covers up is the bloodshed, battles, rape, murder and disease the pilgrims brought upon the Native people.

Rather than celebrating a holiday based on the pain and suffering of people native to this land, let’s acknowledge what our past pilgrims have done, how the Native American people helped propel us to where we are now, and have rememberance in the destruction of the Native American culture and the taking/raping of their land and women. By turning a blind eye to these events, without respecting the Native American people, we continue to be those same selfish pilgrims. 

Enjoy the food, create new memories, try to not let Suzie bring up politics and RECOGNIZE what our forefathers did and how this affected Native Americans then and continues to today. Mourn for the fallen, for the raped, for the murdered and give thanks to selfless acts of the Native Americans in aiding the new settlers on this land and teaching them their ways of survival.

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

Climate change — NIRSA Soccer Tournament in Round Rock, Texas

Hannah Greene  |  Sports Editor

Women’s Club Soccer was selected to participate in the 2019 National and Recreational Sports Association tournament, in Round Rock, Texas — a first for the team and a huge step in advancing club sports and getting the Western Oregon name out there. The tournament took place during Nov. 21 through Nov. 22.

The journey began when the team left Monmouth and headed to the Portland airport to catch a flight down to California, and a second flight to Austin Texas. From 5 p.m. to almost 2 a.m. the Wolves traveled and made it safely to Round Rock. The time change is two hours ahead which definitely affected the team’s sleep and eating schedules — a few players had upset stomachs — but overall, they adjusted quickly.

The first day the team headed to the Round Rock Sports Complex to get their lactic acid out and get some touches on the ball before their games the next day. 

A team dinner was held at famous Buca di Beppo, where the team shared a family meal consisting of lots of greens and lots of carbs — fueling them for the games to come.

Thursday morning at 8 a.m. was the starting moment for the National tournament and a long day for the team. This game the Wolves played against University of Iowa, a team they would never play during the regular season, and a team that definitely gave them a run for their money. They lost 4-0 — the Wolves made many opportunities with no completion. Wolves let the game go and rested for their next game. 

The humidity and climate change played a huge role in how the team could perform, as well as having to travel for an entire day and regulate the time change.

The Wolves took on the University of Vermont Catamounts, another name for the American mountain lion.

Though tired from the game before, with little rest between the first and second game, the Wolves stepped on to the pitch ready and excited. Multiple injuries from the first game cost the Wolves with little to no subs, making the field players work until absolutely no more gas was in the tank.

It was a tough battle, with multiple players from the Catamounts playing dirty and hacking, the Wolves hung in and kept pushing. The first half of the match, the Wolves controlled and put extremely high pressure on the Catamounts defense, but had no luck in finding the back of the net.

Before the first half concluded the Catamounts finished a lucky and hard-to-reach goal, making the score 1-0.

The second half, the Wolves level of play dropped, having no more fuel to keep the fire going — especially with the Catamounts consistently subbing more than five players every five minutes — fresh legs for the Catamounts versus the tired and exhausted legs of the Wolves.

The game finished with no more goals from either team, but another loss for the Wolves.

Off the field and back at the hotel the team was feeling every ache and pain, icing and resting as much as they could before their final game on Friday — while also trying to finish school assignments. This posed to be quite difficult for multiple players due to being in a different state, sleeping schedules flipped upside down, being 100% exhausted from playing and being in the humidity and sun all day, traveling and all around having fun bonding and getting closer.

Friday, Nov. 22 was the final day for soccer for this women’s team. At 8 a.m., the team stepped onto the pitch and began their warm up to face Central Michigan University. 

Whistles were being blown across the soccer complex, initiating the start of all the 8 a.m. games, and the final game of the NIRSA tournament for the Wolves.

The air was cold, the wind was rude and the clouds started to sprinkle the field and players with mist — this kept the Wolves on their toes and the subs cuddled together to stay warm. 

Concentration and one goal in mind kept the Wolves playing fast and their pressure high — though legs were tired, knees were swollen and bruised, injuries held players out of the game, the team didn’t stop. 

Western’s first goal sent adrenaline across the entire team — Kawehi Taniguchi, a returning senior, kicked a picturesque corner kick, where Haley Wilmott, a returning sophomore, was there to connect the ball to the back of the net, Wolves 1, Catamounts 0.

With the first half ending and the Wolves ahead, the momentum was at the feet of the Wolves going into their final half of their time in the tournament. 

During the last 15 minutes the Catamounts returned the Wolves point with one of their own, after Seidree Kealoha-Albarado, a first year, fouled a Catamount and drew her first yellow card. Catamount player kicked the ball over the defensive line and fellow teammate slid to kick the ball into the Wolves goal, 1-1.

Before the final half came to a close, the Wolves popped away one last goal. Defender and left footer, Sydni Manuel, a first year, cleared the ball forward to have it bounce and go right past the Catamount’s goalkeeper — the final whistle blew and the Wolves won their first game of the tournament, 2-1.

Unfortunately, the team had no other scheduled games, but the overall chance to play against division one schools, some being five to ten times larger than Western, in Texas, was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. 

“I loved getting to spend time and get to know my teammates better — traveling brings a team together because you are with them 24/7,” said Gha Ming Ng, a senior defender, about getting the chance to play alongside her teammates in nationals.

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

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