Mount Hood

Civil rights film series on campus

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Civil Rights Film Schedule:
Jan.30 Eyes on the Prize (Continued episodes)
Feb. 6 Freedom Riders (Famous bus trips across the South in support of desegregation)
Feb.13 The Black Panthers (A documentary on the Panthers and their demise)
Feb. 20 A Good Day to Die (The story of Dennis Banks and the American Indian Movement)
Feb. 27 Incident at Oglala (The Leonard Peltier story of injustice on the Pine Ridge Reservation)
Mar. 6 American Outrage (The struggle of Western Shoshone women for tribal rights)
Mar. 13 The People Speak (Howard Zinn and friends provide a critical, social movement based history of the  U.S.)

The three months that make up winter term hold within them many significant dates: the anniversary of the women’s march (Jan. 20, 2018), Martin Luther King Jr. day (Jan. 21) and Black History Month (February), to name a few.

Winter Term also offers a class that focuses on film from the civil rights movement. For six years, Dr. Dean Braa has been teaching Sociology 407.

“I invented it, sort of. Years ago (the sociology department) had a discussion and we discovered that a lot of students, most students, didn’t know anything about the civil rights movement,” commented Dr. Braa. “Not many students have that opportunity, and we have looked at US history books … and most of the US history books I use, even around here, say little or nothing about civil rights.”

The film series is open to everyone, no matter if they are registered for the class or not. Participants watch 12 films across the term, including the documentary series “Eyes on the Prize” and documentaries following the Native American civil rights movement.

“We try to make it fun, I tell people ‘bring popcorn, bring snacks, bring your dinner if you want to,’” said Dr. Braa.

In the 50 years since Dr. Martin Luther King Jr’s death and the 37 years since the end of the Black Panther Party, civil rights film has been replayed in educational settings across the country. But why is rewatching this film so important?

“Well (the class) raises consciousness about social movements, it raises consciousness about racism and how terrible it is … this racism wasn’t just in the south,” explained Dr. Braa. Watching films from and about the civil rights movement is not only educational, but can teach about present-day movements as well. Dr. Braa discussed, “(injustice) is still going on now. We haven’t fixed it … (the film series) serves to show a connection; we gotta keep this movement going.”

Film and other art that was born out of the civil rights movement can show how successful social change happens.

“You want people to understand, positive change doesn’t usually come from within government, it comes from outside,” said Dr. Braa. Film from this specific period of American history shows that change usually happens when the status quo is upset.

“Social movements that kind of threaten government or put government under duress, that’s where positive change comes from,” remarked Dr. Braa.

A film is shown every Wednesday night from 5:30 to 8:00 p.m. in the Health and Wellness Center in room 203. All are welcome to attend.

“What we hope you’ll take from this: to see (America’s) past but apply it to the present and see we still need to make some big changes,” concluded Dr. Braa.

 

Contact the author at howlentertaiment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Dodie Clark’s “Human” EP review

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Back in 2007, Dodie Clark started started posting her original songs — and covers — onto her Youtube channel, doddleoddle.

Since the its birth, Clark’s main channel and second channel, called doddlevloggle, have blown up, becoming a staple on Youtube. Hailing from Essex, England, Clark writes and performs on a variety of instruments, including ukulele, guitar and piano. On her first channel, Clark has over 1.7 million subscribers and has surpassed 200 million views; her second channel has seen similar success, with more than 900,000 subscribers and 100 million views, according to socialblade.com. Clark also has a VEVO channel, dodieVEVO.

Clark has released three EPs over the years, including “Intertwined” and “You.” Her most recent EP, released on Jan 18, is titled “Human,” and like her other EPs, was self-released. The title track to the album was released in September as a single and a teaser for her new project.

“Human” includes seven songs, most of which are studio-recorded versions of acoustic songs that Clark has posted on her Youtube channel previously.

The EP has a newly recorded version of Clark’s song “She,” which is arguably her most well-known song. “She” tell the story of Clark’s infatuation with a female friend and her struggle with accepting her sexuality.

This very personal collection of songs analyzes complex emotions and themes such as falling back in love after being hurt, losing friendships and the crushing pressure and guilt that often comes with internet fame. Clark’s intense vulnerability and her superb writing ability have only gotten better with age. When an audience gets to witness one of their favorite artists grow and mature through their music, the bond between them grows stronger.

The stringed instruments layered into the background and the vocal harmonies add a new depth to Clark’s songs. Clark has managed to keep the simplicity in her music that attracted her fanbase in the beginning, but she has also incorporated a new complexity that keeps her EP fresh.

Overall rating: I would recommend this album.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of dodie.co

 

Art on campus: “Soliloquy”

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

In the first stairwell of Hamersly Library hangs an intricate tapestry that many students may not give a second glance. “Soliloquy” by Shelley Socolofsky has been living in the library since it opened its doors. The art piece was commissioned specifically for the library as a part of the Percent for Art program.

The Oregon Arts Commission started the Percent for Art program in 1975, when it applied only to Marion and Polk counties. The program legislates that any building with a budget of $100,000 or more must set aside one percent or more of their budget for public artwork. In 1977, the legislation took effect in all Oregon counties.

Shelley Socolofsky is currently based in Portland, Oregon. According to her website, shelleysocolofsky.com, “informed by long histories of textile production with its orientation to pattern and decoration, her work explores the material, conceptual and poetic nuances of ‘craft’ through a hybrid practice incorporating both digital technology and analogue hand processes.”

“Soliloquy” is a tapestry in Gobelin Tapestry style, a technique born from Les Manufactures des Gobelins in Paris and Uzes, France, where Socolofsky completed an apprenticeship. According to Hamersly Library’s website, Gobelins is a tapestry style that was developed during the middle ages in Europe from cloth making traditions developed over centuries.

“Part of why I like it so much is that it’s huge, and it represents so much work,” said Paula Booth, an art professor and director of the Cannon Gallery of Art in Campbell Hall, “I also find that it looks totally different when you’re standing at a distance.”

The tapestry features a woman whose head opens into a cloudscape. Flowing upward, clouds turn into tree branches and finally the top of the tapestry sits baby birds, mouths agape. The pieces represents the hunger for new knowledge, open-minded thinking and the search for new ideas. Woven behind the image of the woman are excerpts from an Anne Sexton poem; the words are very subtle and visible only at a semi-close distance. The tapestry captures the mission statement and vision of a library — the pursuit of knowledge and exposure to new ideas.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

A look inside intramurals: Female participation

Mikaela Wong | Freelancer

Intramural sports have become a well known opportunity for students to take part in organized sports without the need to commit to the high-levels of competition that student-athletes do. It’s a common way to meet friends, get some physical activity in or just take a break from studies.

From Fall Term of 2017 to Fall Term of 2018, the three most popular intramural sports at Western were volleyball, basketball, and flag football per IMleagues.com/wou. According to the participation by class, first-years and seniors were the most active students to sign up for IMleagues. However, the biggest disproportion of participation was the female vs. male statistics. Out of 1429 participants in the 2017-2018 school year, 975 (68.2%) of them were male and only 454 (31.8%) of them were female.

While some may argue that this lack of participation from females is due to lack of opportunities, Western offers equal opportunity to males and females. Basketball, for example, offers a women’s, men’s, and co-ed league. Also, the co-ed league offers some different rules such as female players getting awarded more points per basket.

When asked about this rule difference, senior exercise science major Tori Cambra weighed in.

“The fact that girls get more points per shot makes it more fun for us because everyone wants us to score. And the men’s ball is heavier than the women’s ball anyway, so it evens it out,” said Cambra.

Another potential cause for the disproportion may just be that some women enjoy playing pick-up games at the Health and Wellness Center more rather than joining intramurals.

“I like playing for fun and I feel like a lot of people’s mindset is to be competitive … I wish there were more teams who just wanted to have a good time, or at least made that clear in their team name when we want to sign up,” said junior communications major Mia Medina.

On the reverse side, there are girls who play multiple intramural sports per season and love it. Emily McMillian, a junior education major, is one of those girls. When asked why she thought the female participation within Intramural sports was so different, she offered her personal insight.

“I think girls do a lot of things in groups and it’s either everyone does it or no one does,” said McMillian. “But if you have the mindset of just wanting to have fun and put yourself out there, you’ll make a lot of new friends who love doing the things you do. No one is going to force you to do anything in college, so if it’s up to you to make that jump and just do it.”

Compared to some national averages, Western does an above average job at getting females to join and play, per researchgate.net. However, there is always room for improvement and Western’s Intramural Department is looking for suggestions to help grow the options for all athletes.

“We are always open to suggestions on how to improve IMs and how to get more IM participants. In fact, most of of the changes we have made are a direct result of participant feedback,” said Assistant Director of Intramural and Club Sports Andy Main. “To make such suggestions, simply contact me at: maina@wou.edu”

To join or start a team, visit IMleagues.com/wou.

 

Contact the author at mwong16@mail.wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Club sport statistical breakdown

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

In the previous season, Western’s lacrosse team missed the conference playoffs by a razor-thin tie-breaking vote. However, the team only graduated two seniors while they brought in a slew of first-year players for the upcoming season. This new youth in the program have a chance to set a foundation for success over the next few seasons. The Wolves take the field for the first time on Feb. 9 against UC Davis at a neutral site in Ashland.

Photo courtesy of Paul F. Davis

 

The 2018-19 season for the Men’s rugby program has been a historic year for the club. During the fall season, the Wolves were unstoppable after rebounding from a narrow loss on Oct. 7 against reigning conference champions Central Oregon Community College. While there is still a lot of rugby left to play, the Wolves have already obtained a bid to the Challenge Cup for the regional championships after being chosen to host the tournament. The Wolves hope to right the path on Feb. 2 after losing their first match in over a month on Jan. 26 against Oregon State

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

 

After being a club for barely one year, the women’s soccer club has already shown they’re not too young to dominate. The club was started during the middle of the 2017-2018 school year and only played a handful of matches before the end of the season. However, during the fall of 2018, the Wolves showed they meant business. Western dominated their opponents in every game, earning them an undefeated record as well as a small school championship win before losing in the overall championship game. The Wolves first spring match is set for Feb. 9 against Portland State University.

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Men’s Basketball falls to Northwest Nazarene

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

After a huge win over Central Washington on Jan. 24, the Wolves continued their road stint against Northwest Nazarene University. The Nighthawks sat just above the Wolves in the GNAC standings at second place. With a chance to move ahead in the conference, the Wolves took to the court on Jan. 26.

In the opening minutes of the first half, the Wolves pulled ahead of the Nighthawks. However, this lead was short lived. What was once a multiple possession lead was quickly erased as Northwest Nazarene shot ahead. As the minutes ticked away on the first half, Western fell deeper and deeper into a hole with seemingly no way to fight back. At the half, the Wolves were down by 14.

In the opening minutes of the second half, the Wolves again fell victim to precise shooting and suffocating defense. The Wolves looked outmatched and out-classed as the Nighthawks put the pedal down and began to run away with the game. Finally, with the final half reaching the midpoint, the Wolves fought their way to a single-digit deficit. Unfortunately, this seemed to only be a minor speed bump to the Nighthawks as they quickly shot back ahead.

In the waning minutes of the match, Western again had brought the game to only being a few points down, but the match was all but over. Western hadn’t seen the lead beyond the opening minutes of the first half and as a result lost 70-78. The Wolves remain at third in the conference and still have chance at a postseason.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Women’s basketball won’t go down without a fight

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

Coming off of a loss to Concordia, Western’s women’s basketball found themself in a familiar place — desperately in need of a win. After losing on Jan. 22, the Wolves sat just below .500 on the season. Their away match in Billings, Montana on Jan. 26 was a must win if Western wanted to pull their season’s record to even.

During the first quarter, the Wolves looked out matched. The Yellowjackets were relentless and deadly accurate in their shooting. Western’s offense seemed to keep gasping for air with a shot scored every few possessions, but Montana State Billings kept the pressure on. The Wolves found themselves buried in a double-digit hole at the end of the first quarter.

The gap between the teams was narrowed slightly by the Wolves midway through the second. Bringing the lead to only single digits highlighted that the Wolves would not just roll over to Montana State Billings. By the end of the first half, Western trailed by nine.

The glimmer of hope that Western had before the half was quickly squashed minutes into the second half. Throughout the third quarter, the Yellowjackets nailed shot after shot. By the beginning of the final quarter the Wolves found themselves down by 20.

Entering the forth quarter, the game was all but over. Montana State Billings clung to an over 20 point lead. However, the Wolves weren’t done competing. Although the game was all but lost, Western kept pushing. With less than seven minutes in the game the Wolves outscored Montana 23-10 to bring the score to 65-53 when the final whistle was blown.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

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