Mount Hood

How to start a new club

Rebecca Meyers | Lifestyle editor

Western is home to a wide variety of clubs and organizations, from Unidos to the Communication club to the Triangle Alliance. There’s something for just about everyone. However, there’s always room for growth, especially when there are so many topics and interests to cover. For those considering adding to Western’s collection, here’s the basic steps needed to create a new student organization.


Step One: One of the first things a club needs, aside from its founder, is an adviser. Advisers aren’t students but are often professors in topics related to the club. Before moving onto the next step, the club will also have to recruit a minimum of five student members.

Step Two: The founder(s) can start the registration process on OrgSync through Portal, where other students can join the club. The application requires a name for the organization and a categorization of the club — Greek, academic, student government, etc. It also has a place for the founders to give a brief description, a website, and keywords to help other students find the club based on their interests. The organization will also need some way for others to contact, such as their own email address and someone to be in charge of said address.
Step Three: All the organization will then need before becoming official is a meeting time and place, as well as a president and any other positions needed by the club.

Step Four: The organization will also require someone to write a constitution outlining the guidelines and a mission statement to inform potential members of the organization’s purpose.

 

The process may be long and difficult, but worth it in the long run to help more students find a group they find interest and belonging in.

 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Clubs from Western’s history

Rebecca Meyers | Lifestyle editor

Today, Western has grown to around 5,000 students, and with the population the number of clubs has grown. We have a number of clubs that are more recent additions, but some, like some of the fraternities and the Black Student Union, have been around for a few decades. Others have come and gone.  In the 1940’s, Western had many clubs that have since died on campus.

International Relations Club: Before Model United Nations — and not too long after the real United Nations was formed — there was the International Relations club. At first it may not seem so long ago, until reading the yearbooks that stated a “tour of Hawaii” speech was given 1948, before Hawaii even joined the United States.

Archery Club: An all girls club, the archery organization advertised in a yearbook from the 1940s as the embodiment of Robin Hood and Sherwood Forest. The team practiced in an indoor shooting range in the basement of Campbell Hall, or in an open field near campus. They also competed in the National Archery Tournament.

The Campfire Girls: Another all girls organization from 1940, the Campfire Girls sponsored a number of school events and guest speakers — including a monthly Charm School. In one case, the guest speaker was a Native American woman from another school who talked about the meaning behind certain Native crafts and traditions.

Wolf Knights: A men’s service organization that lasted from the 1930s through the 1970’s, the Wolf Knights volunteered as the “official welcoming” and student advisors to Western’s campus.

La Danza Club: Meeting twice weekly in the 1950s, La Danza was a club that encouraged enthusiasm for creative dance.

Forensics: Created in the 1960s and lasting through the 1970s, the co-ed Forensics club went to annual competitions to test their public speaking skills and brought home a number of trophies and awards.

 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

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

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