Mount Hood

Western holds 63rd annual Family Weekend

Ashlynn Norton | Photo Editor

Families from various locations and walks of life came to Western’s campus from Feb. 8-10 to partake in the 63rd Annual Family Weekend put on by Student Engagement.

The weekend’s festivities started off with a dinner Friday night to welcome families. President Rex Fuller began the festivities with a welcome speech and then gave the floor over to the entertainment of the night: a murder mystery improv show. Guests were given name tags displaying the names of celebrities and interacted with the actors while they tried to find out who the murderer was. In the end, when all was said and done, only one table correctly guessed that it was Taylor Swift who was in fact the murderer.

Saturday was a chock-full of events for every age.

For those 21 and up, there was wine tasting out at Eola Hills Wine Cellars. Family Weekend guests were able to travel to the winery and not only taste wine, but also be educated about the different types that were available.

Back on campus, there was rock painting, a photo booth and a caricature artist in the Summit inside the Werner University Center. At the same time, over in the Health and Wellness Center, the 2nd Annual Cornhole Tournament was underway. There were educational seminars sprinkled throughout the day where families could learn about how to better communicate with their first-year student, get a crash course in how money works, or even how to journal.

The night ended with a doubleheader of men’s and women’s basketball games.

The weekend came to a close on Sunday when families gathered once more in the Pacific Room for brunch while winners of various activities were announced.

Trina Lowther from Forest Grove, Oregon, visiting her first-year daughter Abi Lowther, a psychology major, said her favorite thing about Family Weekend was, “that we got to spend so much time together, like as a family.”

Western will also be holding its first ever Siblings Weekend in May for siblings who are in grades 8-12. Registration for this event will open in March.

 

Contact the author at anorton17@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Western whoops Montana State Billings

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

After losing a close match to Concordia on Feb. 5, the Wolves were ready to rebound against Montana State Billings. With students and their families filling New P.E. on Feb. 9, the home-court advantage seemed to already take effect as the Wolves took the court. Western had already smashed Montana State Billings earlier in the season, so the odds of another big win looked good for the Wolves.

The Yellowjackets made a quick jump to the lead as Western was slow to start. After a pair of good three-pointers, Montana State Billings stood over the Wolves by four. This lead, however, seemed to only be a small hiccup for the Wolves as they quickly regained control of the game after having only played three minutes. From that point forward, it was Western’s time to shine.

As with many other Western matches, this game quickly devolved into a Wolves shooting gallery. Three’s were followed by layups, followed by jumpers. Basket after basket was scored with Montana State Billings unable to do anything to halt the power of the Wolves. By the midway point of the match, Western had a commanding 23 point lead.

The second half saw no change in pace for the Wolves as they continued to extend their lead. Point by point, Western pushed their control to a new high as the students and families looked on with excitement. Just over five minutes were on the clock and Western had pressed their lead to 30 points. By the final whistle Western has in front by 32.

With the scoreboard highlighting the 97-65 win, Western looked forward to their next match. The Wolves pack up and head on the road to take on Seattle Pacific in a Valentine’s Day match on Feb. 14.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

From the humor section: Booze and reviews of “They Came Together”

To get ourselves ready for the upcoming Feb. 14 holiday, three 21+ staff members decided to write our completely honest reviews of a romantic film that we had hardly heard of: “They Came Together” (2014). In order to make our reviews as honest as possible, we decided to do it while being not-so-sober.

These reviews were only edited for clarity and appropriateness, so get ready to enjoy our super-tipsy and very sincere thoughts.

Please remember to drink responsibly.

 

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

Okay so I just finished watching “They Came Together” and some thoughts! While I was watching the movie I decided to take some notes to make sure I could recollect my thoughts when all was done so, here are my thoughts on this film.

First of all, that movie was too self-aware for its own good. Like okay, I feel bad dissing on an Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd movie, but like, it felt like a rom-com version of “Scary Movie,” or like a worse version of “Wet Hot American Summer” (which, to be clear, I love that movie). I don’t even know how to explain what that means, but like you have to watch the movie to fully understand.

At one point, Judge Judy made a cameo? I was literally like “question mark”. And I can’t really remember everything but I do remember that Paul Rudd at one point said, “greEEN beans!” and I laughed so hard that I spit my drink out. So maybe this movie was actually funny to be honest but who knows. Oh also! John Stamos and Adam Scott made a cameo, and that was a good time. It was literally like a two second cameo, but I’ll never turn down a cameo from either of them.

This film was a whirlwind. For anyone that chooses to watch it, expect to laugh, expect to ask yourself, “excuse me, what?”, and expect there to be TWO Benjamin Franklin cameos. TWO. Sometimes you’ll be so confused by what’s going on you’ll literally feel like you’re in some kind of dream. Like what? I swear, I’m not sure if it’s the AMF/multiple Jell-O shots remembering for me but I swear that at one point it repeated the same thing like at least 10 times.

Overall, this was honestly a good choic3 to watch for a Valentine’s Day movie. It wasn’t like every other rom-com. Well, it was, but it was different. It was the same as all of those other movies in a sarcastic way. So, give it a watch. If you don’t like the movie at the very least you’ll get to see Paul Rudd.

 

Contact the author at chealy16@wou.edu

 

Rebecca Meyers | Lifestyle Editor

Introducing: one of those satire movies to watch just to waste time tbh. Like watching an hour and a half of The Onion.

I guess there should be specifics: basically it’s a parody of every rom-com ever featuring Amy Poehler and Paul Rudd. That’s right, Leslie Knope and Bobby Newport from “Parks and Recreation.” Except imagine Leslie is more on Bobby Newport’s level.

Okay so a few minutes in and I’m thinking, “was this made in Monsanto cause it’s soooooo corny.” But it quickly becomes clear it’s meant to be satire, which is a good thing to realize because you WILL cringe at some point in this movie unless you’re one of those people that exclusively watches comedies that try too hard and have become immune to that kind of thing.  

It starts out with Rudd and Poehler dating different people — Rudd is dating Robin from “How I Met Your Mother” — actually no, Molly (Poehler) just broke up but basically same thing cause Rudd is ‘boutta break up too. You see where this is going right.

Basically just picture the most basic rom-com plot. They live in New York — surprise effing surprise — then date, then break up, then get back together in the most dramatic way imaginable. Sidenote: imaginable is hard to spell while drunk. But it’s like a really weird trip with an extra dash of that one satire comedy tool where they’re overly specific instead of talking like normal people (Ex: “If I were to be about to marry someone and then not want to marry them I’d go to the Brooklyn Promenade.”) Also, white supremacists appear and whatshisface played by Paul Rudd is the only one who seems to think that’s effed up.

My only takeaways: the one scene where the bartender just repeats the same line over and over and it’s literally the worst and just gave me violent flashbacks of the one kid in class who hadn’t bothered to come to a class ‘til like week three forcing us to listen while the professor had to repeat the same concept to them; the actually surprising plot twist feat. Judge Judy; and of course, “ALL HAIL JOEL.”

 

Contact the author at rmeyers17@wou.edu

 

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Okay so “what the f*** is up Kyle?” “They Came Together” is the blockbuster of this sentury. Communism, gay, and AMMMMYMYY POEHLER. Too bad there’s white supremacists.

There’s a black best friend too, which I think is a racist stereotype. Also white supremacists? There are some white supremacists in there. There’s also a man named Eggman and he cries.

This movie obviously glorifies capitalism. Yuck. Something goes zooooommmm and I only know that because of the very extensive and professional notes I took. It was like Amy Poehler and all her friends got together and downed a gallon NyQuil and set aside two hours and made a film.

White supremacists. 🙁

Men are dumb and they play football at one point. I mean, that’s all you need to know about this film.

The movie is really unrealistic because someone owns a candy store and no one is ever in it. How does she pay her bills? How does she support her son? Oh yeah, she has a son, but he’s never around and his dad is a felon. So, really, this movie glorifies an irresponsible parenting style. Wow.

Paul Rudd and his hamburgies. And his green beans. He truly is an American classic.

For a second i thought that it would turn gay when Amy’s character kisses her best friend. To my chagrin, it did not turn gay. In fact, in turned more straight. LET THEM BE GAY. GIVE ME A GAY AMY POEHLER.

Also the whole time you expect the “Parks and Recreation” theme to start playing. We all know that song is a banger.

In summary: white supremacists, Paul Rudd, eggs.

 

Contact the author at cweedon16@wou.edu

Inside the Student Health and Counseling Center’s wellness coaching

Rebecca Meyers | Lifestyle editor

In its ongoing quest to help students reach their maximum mental and physical health, the Student Health and Counseling Center has a recent addition to their services: wellness coaching. The purpose of wellness coaching is to help students make a plan for tackling their obstacles and working towards their goals.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow, a junior English major, who has already taken advantage of the program, spoke about her experience.

“I often feel frustrated with my lack of knowledge about different aspects of wellness and find myself wishing that I had some sort of guide. So you can imagine that this email felt like it came at exactly the right time,” Kiernan-Sherrow said, referring to the notice the SHCC sent to students about the program.

At first she thought the coaching would be more focused on physical fitness, but in fact the coaches focus on whatever aspect of the student’s life they want to work on most. The students are asked to fill out a survey that identifies their strengths, which the coaches then use to help them figure out how to work towards their goals.

“My wellness coach is named Pam, and she and I instantly connected,” Kiernan-Sherrow told me. “She made me feel comfortable and she was adept at identifying my strengths and how to apply them to my future goals. We decided to focus on building my confidence and to begin that we collaborated to think of short-term activities that would benefit my long-term goals.”

After hearing positive feedback from others, I decided to try some wellness coaching myself. I took the survey and then met with Craig Wimmer, the SHCC’s other wellness coach. Over the hour-long meeting, we discussed both my long-term and short-term goals, as well as what areas of my life I felt needed the most work or improvement. I was surprised to find that just voicing some things made me see my life a little bit clearer, and having to write out the steps I would take to make improvements made them seem much more attainable.

Kiernan-Sherrow described leaving at the end of the meeting feeling “extremely validated, valued and understood,” and I would say I felt the same way after my own meeting. I will likely return for a follow up, which many students do, to see how the wellness coaching affected my outlook and approach to life. Students interested in setting their own appointment for wellness coaching can do so through the patient portal, found at wou.edu/health.

 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

How to manage stress after midterms

Rebecca Meyers | Lifestyle editor

After midterms, students are often in need of both physical and mental de-stressing. It’s a struggle that comes around every term, but luckily there are plenty of ways to help shake the post-testing stress.

One of the most accessible options is right here on Western’s campus. The Rest and Relaxation room, located in the Student Health and Counseling Center, is designed to help students manage their stress at any point in the term. The room can be reserved in half-hour time slots at wou.edu/health, making it easy to slip into busy schedules. The room features a massage chair — the main attraction — a full-spectrum therapy light, a meditation spot and a few technological items to help students monitor their stress levels.  

For the more introverted, or for the most exhausted, sometimes the best option is simply to follow “Parks and Recreation” character Tom Haverford’s advice: “treat yo’ self.”

This might not necessarily be in the sense of spending money on material things, but instead by staying in, putting on a favorite movie or show and eating a favorite snack.

For the more structure-oriented, it might help to do the opposite. Taking some time to get reorganized — updating a planner, getting back on a sleep schedule and planning some healthy meals — can help students feel more relaxed by being more prepared for the second half, and usually the most stressful part, of the term.

Sometimes, however, the best way to unwind from school is to ease mental usage and focus on the physical, either with workouts or distance from the source of stress. One of the upsides of Monmouth being a small town is that it’s surrounded by popular hiking spots. According to Harvard Health, studies support the idea that just being out in nature can relieve a certain amount of stress. On top of that, any type of exercise can help lift a person’s mood, even if it’s minimal.

In the end, everyone’s different and what works for some might not work for others. Learning which stress-relieving activity is the most effective through trial and error is, for many, an integral part of the college experience.

 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Meyers

A review of Chen’s Family Dish in Salem

Rebecca Meyers | Lifestyle Editor

Among the many dining options in Salem, on 2138 Lancaster Dr NE #139 sits Chen’s Family Dish, a Chinese restaurant that now has multiple locations in Oregon. Some may have visited the Dallas location, but the Salem location is unique in that it also has a bar. Never having visited either, I decided to try out the new Lancaster location to get a feel for the restaurant.

Though the outside might be underwhelming, the interior feels much more like a refined restaurant. Because I went during lunch hours, it was fairly empty, which allowed me to fully take in the environment. The restaurant has a sophisticated ambiance, with soft lighting, understated decor and calming music playing in the background. The staff was also very friendly and helpful, informing us of the different menu and substitution options.

The menu features some Chinese classics such as sweet and sour chicken, egg flower soup and lo mein. I ordered the Mandarin chicken from the lunch menu, which turned out to be a great choice. Eight dollars got me a large portion of chicken, the soup of the day and a side of fried rice and crab puffs. I knew instantly I was going to need a to-go box, but I still finished most of the dish.

In my opinion, there was a perfect sauce-to-chicken ratio that made it very enjoyable. My friend who went with me was eager to try the egg flower soup, a favorite of hers, and it lived up to her expectations judging by the empty bowl at the end of our meal.

Chen’s family dish is an excellent addition to Salem’s restaurant options. I would highly recommend this restaurant for those looking to go out somewhere that feels somewhat classy but is still reasonably priced and has great food.

 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Meyers

Tips for first tattoos

Rebecca Meyers | Lifestyle Editor

According to quora.com, about 29 percent of Americans have at least one tattoo, though most don’t stop at just one. It’s becoming increasingly more common to see people with tattoos, especially on college campuses. Though the decision of whether or not to get inked is ultimately up to each individual, there are some things everyone should consider before making it final.

 

Pain levels — When considering a tattoo, the question that inevitably comes up is “will it hurt?” or, more accurately, “how much will it hurt?” Some go looking for specific answers to that question, understandably wanting to know exactly what to expect. However, the truth is that pain levels are slightly different for everyone, and there are many factors that affect how painful a tattoo will be. Sometimes, like in my case, this leads to lots of stress leading up to getting inked. There are, however, some factors that can give a general idea of of how uncomfortable a tattoo will be, such as placement and size of the tattoo.

Timing — Some first-timers don’t realize that timing is an important thing to consider when scheduling a tattoo. Tattoo care involves things like keeping the area dry, away from potential infections and out of direct sunlight. Therefore, getting a tattoo right before a vacation to somewhere warm and sunny might not be the best choice. Though exact conditions can’t always be predicted — I got my first tattoo in October and did not expect to have to shield it from the hot sun — having an idea will keep the tattoo on the track to healing.

Quality and price — Tattoos are one of the best examples of the phrase “you get what you pay for.” While some might find it tempting to have an unexperienced artist friend buy a kit off of eBay Inc. and have them do the tattoo, a safe and quality one is usually much more expensive. If a professional artist costs more, it’s usually because they are more experienced and are very skilled at their trade. Going to a professional usually means a percentage of the price has to be paid up front at the time of the appointment, and the rest is paid in cash afterwards. Also, it won’t save much money in the long run if it has to get covered up or removed, or becomes infected due to not being done properly and requires medical attention.

 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Western Oregon University

Facebook   Instagram   Twitter  YouTube

WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY
345 Monmouth Ave. N.
Monmouth OR 97361

503-838-8000 | 1-877-877-1593

Tools

Campus Maps
Canvas
Find People
Portal
Virtual Tour
WOU Email
Technical Support

Resources

A-Z Index
Accessibility
Academic Calendar
Class Schedule
Jobs at WOU
Partnerships
Student Services

Western Oregon University’s Land Acknowledgement
Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Luckiamute Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

Accessibility    Public Records    Privacy    Student Consumer Information

WOU prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in all programs, activities and employment practices as required by Title IX, other applicable laws, and policies. Retaliation is prohibited by WOU.