Mount Hood

Why go out this Halloween when we have a list of horror films to die for

Never Retallack  | Entertainment Editor

The month of October is the perfect time to delve into the world of horror. Not sure what to watch? The staff at The Western Howl have compiled a list of different horror movies to watch to get into the Halloween spirit.

 

For those who prefer a good laugh while watching horror: “Young Frankenstein” (1974), “Dracula: Dead and Loving It” (1995), “Tucker & Dale vs. Evil” (2010),  and “Scary Movie” (2000).

If you have an itch for psychological torture: “Midsommar” (2019), “The Babadook” (2014), “Candyman” (1992), “Mama” (2013), “Us”(2019), “Goodnight Mommy” (2014), “Lunacy” (2005), “Saw” (2004), “Teeth” (2007),  “Donnie Darko” (2001), “Silent Hill” (2006) and “The Blair Witch Project” (1999).  

Those who enjoy spooky possession and haunting movies: “The Devil Inside” (2012), “Insidious” (2010), “The Conjuring” (2013), “The Others” (2001), “Sinister” (2012) and “Paranormal Activity” (2007).

Sometimes a good horror movie is also a thriller that keeps you on the edge of your seat: “Resident Evil” (2002), “House of Wax” (2005), “My Bloody Valentine” (1981), “A Quiet Place” (2018), “Get Out” (2017), “Creep” (2014), “The Boy” (2016), “From Dusk Till Dawn” (1996), “Gerald’s Game” (2017) and “You’re Next” (2011).

Don’t have time for a full movie? Check out these bone-chilling shows: “The Haunting of Hill House” (2018), “American Horror Story” (2011-2019), “Channel Zero” (2016-2019), “Two Sentence Horror Stories” (2019), “Another” (2012), “Corpse Party” (2013).

With so many recently released horror movies, it’s important to go back and watch the classics: “The Texas Chainsaw Massacre” (1974), “Halloween” (1978), “Silence of the Lambs” (1991), “The Lost Boys” (1987), “Bram Stoker’s Dracula” (1992), “The Shining” (1980) and “Psycho” (1960).  

For those who aren’t into being terrified but don’t want to be left out: “Hocus Pocus” (1993), “Halloweentown” (1998), “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993), “Ghostbusters” (1984) and “Corpse Bride” (2005).

 

Contact the author at Howlentertainment@wou.edu 

Knock knock, Men’s Rugby team knocking down doors to reach new endgame, bringing home a win against Oregon State University

Hannah Greene | Sports Editor

Saturday morning called for misty skies, hot tea and the first home game for Men’s Rugby. Oct. 5, the Wolves played Oregon State University as their debut match for the 2019 season, bringing home a well-earned win.

Stepping onto the pitch, players and spectators could barely see 10 yards in front of them, as the mist circled each player as they warmed up. The fog continued to lay across the field, claiming its stake.

“This is great rugby weather!” exclaimed the sir of the match. 

Bernard Barber — a senior for the Wolves, studying business with a focus in marketing — felt confident in himself and his team to start this season on the right foot. 

“We’ve done a lot of preparation… watched a lot of film. I believe every guy is prepared today, I believe we’re more confident this year,” Barber said. 

With a lot of seniors from the previous team now gone and a tough playoff loss in the previous season, the Wolves have something to climb for. 

“We want to come back and prove ourselves this year and be better than we were last year,” said Barber. The Wolves got an early start to the season by beginning their practices during the summer, as well as adding an extra day, making practice five days a week.

The start of the game was filled with energy and consistenecy from both teams. Oregon State University, a rival, has been a difficult opponent for the Wolves in the past. Throughout the match, the Beavers put up great battles to stop scoring opportunities for the Wolves. Oregon State University won some rough tackles and completed two unanswered tries before Western could put one down. 

The Wolves continued to push on to get some points on the scoreboard. 

Breakthrough player — first-year on the team, Keegan Echevarria — scored a try after an intense run, being tackled into the point. This was followed by a conversion of two points from kicker and player — a returning sophomore, Braedon Eltagonde — leaving the Wolves hungry for more. 

Keegan Echevarria scored the Wolves’s second try as well, catching them up to the Beavers. The Wolves kicker completed the second two-point conversion putting the team ahead of Oregon State University.

But the Beavers weren’t done yet. They answered the Wolves point with another completion, making their score 19. Unfortunately for the Wolves, Echevarria was unable to finish the game due to an injury sustained during play, leaving them a man down. That didn’t stop them, though, as they continued gaining momentum. 

Moments later, Trever Kahunahana — one of the Men’s Rugby team captains — left to the sideline after a strain in his right leg kept him from finishing the game, leaving the team to play two men down. 

This had no effect on the Wolves. They came back with another completion by Bernard Barber and a two-point completion by Braedon Eltagonde, making the score 19-21, Western. 

The last minutes of the game had everyone on the edge of their seats with the seconds ticking away. The final whistle blew as the Wolves rushed the field to celebrate their first season win. 

“We put it all together out on the field… makes me feel good, feel proud of everyone out here,” said Riley Bardes, a senior studying Exercise Science, in regards to their first win at home. “We have a pretty bright future — a lot to live up to — but we’re more than ready to do it.” 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photos by Hannah Greene

Men’s Soccer has a rocky start to season with big loss to University of Oregon

Hannah Greene | Sports Editor

A perfectly sunny day welcomed the Men’s Soccer team to the pitch for their first home game. Oct. 6 our Wolves played the University of Oregon Ducks — the team that has showed no mercy to Western in the past. 

As warm ups began, nerves were shaken out. The Wolves brought a squad of only 12 men including one goalkeeper, meaning only one substitute was available during the game. 

In the first three minutes of the game, the Ducks scored their first goal from a slip pass to an unmarked forward, making the score 1-0. 

The Wolves’s goalkeeper — first-year Wyatt Haak — heightened the energy with a tackle against a Ducks’s forward, not only taking the ball but taking out the forward as well. 20 minutes into the game, Western’s own forward stepped off of the field due to an injury leaving 10 players on the field, giving the University of Oregon a huge advantage.

The Ducks took a corner kick bringing the goalkeeper out for a 50/50 ball, leaving the goal wide open. Wolves’s defender made the save and kicked the ball out of the goal before it could cross the white goal line.

An offensive attack from the Ducks created another opportunity, making the defense work hard and save yet another goal by clearing the ball out. At the 31 minute mark Wolves’s goalie made another save against an unmarked Ducks’s forward, tackling the player and hitting the ball out. Western’s defense continued to maintain the tempo of the game to keep University of Oregon at only one goal.

The Ducks connected a one-two pass to the goal and shot the ball with a fast spin; Wolves’s defender went to stop the ball and it came off his foot wrong and right into Western’s own goal, making the score 2-0 Ducks.

The Wolves got multiple breakaways and transitions towards the Ducks’s goal, but were unable to find a way to finish. The last five minutes of the first-half, the Ducks gave high pressure and continued to take chances at the goal, causing panic among the Wolves, but the Wolves kept pushing forward to keep the first half 2-0.

The Wolves started the second half on the wrong foot; only 10 minutes in and the University of Oregon scored two more times to make the score 4-0. 

Both teams continued to show perseverance and effort, with strong battles to every ball. Even though the Wolves had no luck to score, they created multiple chances and kept a cool head in the game. 

Towards the end of the game, the Wolves began to show frustration with each other, with the defense unable to find any offense. Then, out of nowhere, the Wolves hit a long ball over the Ducks’s defense, leaving Western’s forward to shoot the ball, only to have it hit the keeper. The forward didn’t stop and kicked the ball again to see it to the back of the net. Western Oregon University now had one point on the scoreboard. 

The final score: University of Oregon 6 and Western Oregon University 1.

Although the Wolves lost their first home match, they made for a game that kept the audience on the edge of their seat. While only having 10 men on the field for a portion of the game and no subs, the Wolves stayed strong and left every bit of energy on the field.

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu 

Photos by Hannah Greene

The Government proposes amending current SNAP eligibility; Oregonians and students may feel the effects.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow | News Editor

Under the Trump administration, the Food and Nutrition Service department — a subset of the U.S Department of Agriculture — proposed a revision of the categorical eligibility in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program on July 24. The proposal called for stricter criteria when determining eligibility as well as a nationwide program consistency. It would eradicate “a loophole that allows states to make participants receiving minimal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families benefits automatically eligible to participate in USDA’s Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP),” according to the USDA website, and is portrayed as a system that will heretofore ensure universal fairness. 

This proposal would have a particularly strong effect on Oregonians as Oregon is the fifth state with the highest number of SNAP recipients. In 2017, 16% of Oregon’s population was reported to be on food stamps; that accounts for 681,000 individuals, of which 55% of participants are in families with children, according to the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities’s website. Under the proposal, an estimated 35,000 families would be losing their benefits in the state of Oregon. 

This affects students at Western, too. Bilingual Advocate Outreach Coordinator and Supervisor of the Food Pantry, Lisette Servantes, as well as two of the Coordinators from the Food Pantry, Josh Salisbury and Rachel Bayly discussed food insecurity on campus and how this new proposal might affect Western’s students. 

The Food Pantry is a free resource dedicated to alleviating food insecurity on campus. 

Servantes stated, “food insecurity happens at every college and we see that need … some students are missing meals to pay for books or classes. We definitely don’t want that to happen.” Of Western’s student population, Bayly had mentioned that “monthly we average around 900 visits and 350 people … if you break it down to students specifically, about 60% of people coming in are students, so about 200 people per month.”  

However, Servantes also wanted to highlight some of the positive changes made within the Western community to address and provide assistance to those suffering from food insecurity including “a new student voucher program” where if “Western students come have a quick conversation with (her) just to assess their needs and determine if it’s more of a long-term or short-term solution that we need to find … (students) are able to get a $25 certificate to Waremart or WOU Dining.” In addition to that, there is a “new student criteria where if students go meet with the DHS representative … and state their specific intentions and career goals … that waives their student criteria, (making) it easier for students to get approved for SNAP benefits.”

As a parting thought, Salisbury commented, “In our country for college students, we expect them to sacrifice a lot to go to college in terms of time, money, and energy — you shouldn’t have to add your nutritional health to that list. I think that even if our country as a whole doesn’t support our college students as a whole that doesn’t mean that we can’t try to make a difference on our campus.” 

 

Food Pantry hours and information: wou.edu/foodpantry

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo by Sage Kiernan-Sherrow

“Zones” are a new parking strategy created by public safety in response to affordability concerns.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow | News Editor

Many changes have been made to Western’s campus, including a new parking system that has left Western’s students with mixed opinions.

The director of Campus Public Safety, Rebecca Chiles, released an email on Sept. 17 which introduced Western students to a newly-established parking system. Under this new system, students will be required to buy parking permits as they have been in the past, except this time there is more than one permit option. The system is based around parking zones, with  “Zone 1” — zones with higher demand — or “Zone 2 — which are zones with lower demand — representing the type of permits that students can choose from. 

Students wanting to park in higher demand Zone 1 areas will pay $150 dollars for a resident permit, a considerably higher rate than those who prefer lower demand Zone 2 areas, with their permits costing half the price at $60. Non-resident permits for “Zone 1” will cost $125, with “Zone 2” permits remaining $60. New parking rules also include free parking between the hours of 6 pm-6am, making campus events more accessible for all students. 

The email cites affordability and community solidarity as reasons behind the change. Campus Public Safety was put in charge of parking just last year, according to Rebecca Chiles, who asserted that she was charged by President Fuller with coming up with a new strategy that would prioritize “affordability for our students.” 

After attending multiple conferences including a “parking and transportation summit at OSU in March” and “talking to other universities,” Chiles stated that they were forced to accept that Western was “in the dark ages” in terms of how they were executing parking. 

Regarding the process of approval for the now newly-implemented system, Chiles said that there is “a parking review committee… (with) students on that committee,” and that they “presented the whole entire concept to them with maps and zones and layouts … and it was unanimously accepted.” 

Despite approval from the committee, Chiles cited that there have been some “growing pains” and acknowledged that there has been some lashback from students, particularly regarding accessibility. To set matters to rest, Chiles admitted that, “maybe (she had) not done a good enough job talking about disabled parking,” and wanted to clarify that, “anyone who has a state-issued government placard … can buy the cheapest permit and be able to park in any of the zones on campus.”

Chiles also expressed some frustration that there is an overall lack of understanding of the system, despite the university’s and Campus Public Safety’s best efforts to keep students informed. 

“We added a new thing on Portal this year where, to get your permit, you have to click that you have read the rules and regulations,” said Chiles, who also mentioned a brochure attached to the permit with the same information that she says often gets ignored. “We wish people would educate themselves with the materials that we have provided for them.” 

The consequences of ignoring such information can be huge, Chiles stressed. “You can get a citation… if you get enough citations, your car can get booted.” However, Chiles also encouraged students to know their rights and “take part in the appeal process” should they “believe something (has) happened unfairly.”

In the future, Chiles divulges that she would like to see the use of pay-stations on campus. She believes they would be helpful in cutting down the time spent on getting “permits for every single visitor” in a large group, something that they have to do every day. 

For the full Q&A, visit wou.edu/westernhowl

 

To read the full parking rules and regulations, refer to https://wou.edu/safety/parking-services/parking-brochure/

To contact Parking Services, call 503-838-8267.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo by Caity Healy

Students may have noticed that former student involvement and outreach program Orgsync was replaced by WOU:Engage. Here’s what happened:

 

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow | News Editor

Fall term has ushered in many changes for the students of Western. One such change began over the summer when the student engagement portal formerly referred to as “Orgsync” was disbanded after the company was bought out by CampusLabs. Following the disbandment, a new portal deemed “WOU:Engage” has replaced Orgsync as the main mode of relaying information regarding clubs and organizations on campus. 

Students are encouraged to use WOU:Engage to “find out where club meetings are, events, updated info on clubs and organizations,” explained Megan Habermann, who is the associate director for Student Engagement. However, she noted that “it’s different (from Orgsync) in the fact that it’s a lot simpler and because it’s simpler,” adding that “it does things … more efficiently.” 

One of the previously popular features of Orgsync was the blog designed to help students connect with one another regarding subjects like finding a roommate. Habermann assures that this feature still exists and is now being called a “news post.” Students wishing to make one of these posts can find more information on WOU:Engage by following the “latest news” category and then clicking on “classified ad.” 

The function of the WOU:Engage is almost identical to the original but, as Habermann points out, there are a few unique differences. One of the primary differences is an app called CORQ which is situated within WOU:Engage which allows students to make events open to the general public should they choose to. Another difference is the ability to use filters and keywords to get more precise search results; entering in the keyword “free food” will show students every event with a free food component. Lastly, WOU:Engage boasts a “really robust form system” that Habermann remarked will become an asset to clubs and organizations as “future execs will have access to (any form created) because it will attach to your organization,” adding that there’s “no more starting from scratch.” Despite these positive changes, Habermann says that Student Engagement “appreciates feedback” regarding the site, as it is still in its early stages. To contact Student Engagement, email seoofc@wou.edu.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Tucky’s food truck review

Rylie Horrall | Lifestyle Editor

Tucky’s Southern Kitchen and Pantry is a food truck located across the street from City Hall in Monmouth. It’s owned by chef Brian Etienne, who opened the food truck here in early 2019.

Etienne initially wanted to create a brick and mortar style eatery that would be located in a refurbished gas station, but decided to put the idea on the back burner in order to branch out. He began doing catering along with focusing on wineries and craft breweries, however felt he was still lacking a connection to his own food.

Etienne decided to set up Tucky’s in Monmouth after moving here in December 2018. Monmouth itself houses many different small businesses that are supported wholly by the town’s locals, which is one of the things he loved about the town. 

“I’m a city boy by nature but have always held a place in my heart for country living, simpler things and that storybook small town. I felt Monmouth was that town,” Etienne said.

Tucky’s is a food truck that sells southern style comfort food that is made to “warm the heart and feed the soul,” according to their website’s philosophy statement. According to Etienne, their signature dish is all around their fried chicken ⏤  which you can get on its own, in a sandwich or combined with the mac & cheese bowls.

For first time customers, Etienne recommends both the Crazy Rooster Sandwich and the Mac & Cheese. The Crazy Rooster is a unique take on classic southern fried chicken, thrown together into a sandwich with a “light and bright” slaw and house made pickles. The Mac & Cheese is made with a gluten-free cheese sauce that’s rich and creamy. In the future, completely gluten-free mac & cheese will be available.

Tucky’s offers a secret menu that gets posted only to their Instagram, however Etienne prefers for the secret menu items to be passed around through people, saying that it’s more fun that way. A previous item they had on this menu was the Wolf Pack Attack, which is a 10” tall burger made with grilled mac & cheese buns, meatloaf, barbeque, pulled pork, sweet onion jam, sriracha pimento cheese, fried chicken skins and house pickles served with a five cheese dipping sauce. Currently, there’s no new secret menu items, but he hopes to have some more in the near future.

Along with serving food, Tucky’s also gives back to the community through drives and small things for customers. Right now, they offer a Redemption Card program that allows customers to get discounts on their food. In addition, Tucky’s will also be doing a Food for Food program where customers will get a discount on their meal in exchange for donating non-perishable foods that will be donated to Western’s Food Pantry. 

“I am all about giving back to my community,” Etienne said. “We always post on social media our current goals or drives we create to give back.”

Tucky’s can be found on Instagram with the handle @tuckyskitchen, on Facebook and on their website tuckyskitchen.com. The business is open Monday–Friday from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m. while supplies last.

 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

Photos by Cora McClain