Mount Hood

Visiting lecturer Dr. Asoa Inoue discusses white language in education

Natalie Dean | Freelancer

Imagine if the pressure to perform to the highest standard in school was completely removed. An “A” could be earned through the amount of effort put into the material, rather than frantic memorization. A “D” was no longer reflective of things done wrong, but rather of the amount of labor put into an assignment. By exploring these alternative grading methods, Dr. Asoa Inoue, a professor at the University of Washington Tacoma argued, it is directly challenging institutionalized racism within education.

These are themes that Dr. Inoue spoke about on Oct. 29. As a professor and the Director of University Writing, Dr. Inoue is well-versed in the impact of unchanging grading systems. He elaborated that the current grading system is failing students — specifically students of color — through hidden white supremacist values. This is due to the fact that our grading policies for writing and linguistics prioritize enunciated speaking, formal tones and rigid dialects — and the opposite is seen as “uneducated” or lazy.

He explains this as a direct result of the colonization of the US, which favored white-centric ideals early on. Code-switching, the act of flipping from one language to another midway through during a conversation, such as from English to Spanish, has been looked down upon as a failure to fully assimilate into American culture. American culture is often referenced and made an example of in our education systems; language and culture hit the same vein.

Dr. Inoue reminds students that these values are not set in stone and that institutional change can happen. By analyzing where these expectations of writing and literature come from, it can allow for alternative grading methods, such as labor-based grading contracts.

Labor-based grading is an agreement between the students and professor that states if students meet specific criteria, they will earn a certain grade. It focuses on the content of the course and how it’s evaluated and “graded.” So if a student fails, they are held directly responsible for the effort put into the project.

With this method, students can take an active role in their learning, while fully understanding the work and dedication that goes into an “A.” When asked about students’ reaction to this program, he stated that 8/10 students are willing to at least try this alternative method and many have found it helpful for their writing overall.

“I’m going to go into High School Education for English,” said senior humanities major Madeline Hannah, who was in attendance. “And it definitely opened my eyes to some of the problems that affect a lot of students of color. I’ve been looking into different ways to assess and grade, and this gave me an option that could be more equitable for everyone.”

If students or faculty have any questions regarding the impact of white supremacist language in today’s educational systems, Dr. Inoue can be contacted at asao@uw.edu.

 

Contact the author at ndean17@wou.edu

Math major profile

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

Of the 52 majors offered at Western, sophomore Josh Salsbury has chosen to be a math major. After finding success and being awarded Outstanding Freshman in Mathematics last year by the Math Department faculty, Salsbury currently works as a tutor in The Math Center and as the Finance Director for Western’s Residence Hall Association — both positions that relate directly to his major.

When asked about his motivation in becoming a math major, Salsbury reflected back on experiences he had before coming to Western.

“I had a really awesome calculus teacher when I was in high school,” said Salsbury. “It was that combined with learning that the way math is taught in schools isn’t a good reflection of what math actually is. Learning that there was a lot more to (math) really inspired me to learn more about it.”

In learning about math, Salsbury shared that there is more to the process than many people initially think.

“With a math major, it’s not just about being able to do math,” Salsbury said. “A lot of what it teaches you…is doing things efficiently or finding the best way to do something.”

According to the Mathematics page on Western’s website, there are a number of career opportunities that are available to a math major. Amongst them, a few options listed include computer scientist, cryptographer, business operations specialist, elementary and secondary math teacher and financial analyst.

Salsbury is still deciding which pathway to pursue within mathematics.

“I was originally going to go for a career in software engineering because I’m also getting a computer science minor…but I’ve been talking to a couple of professors and they think I’d make a really good professor…(and) it’s something I’ve been considering.”

Besides the future possibilities the major holds, Salsbury also values the Math Department for another reason: the people involved.

“The Math Department is one of my favorite communities on campus,” said Salsbury. “And that’s a combination of both the faculty and the students. It’s a small enough department that it’s really easy to make friends and get to know people.”

Salsbury also praised the math faculty who help make the program what it is.

“I don’t think I’ve met a group of professors so dedicated to getting to know their students and helping them succeed in life,” said Salsbury.

Whether students are interested in math or not, however, Salsbury offered a piece of advice:

“If you look hard enough you will find your community. There are always more places to explore, people to get to know. And, in my experience, it’s been really easy to make close friends. And the more you put yourself out there, the more likely you are to find those people that you really care about.”

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Abby’s House hosts Take Back the Night during Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

Despite the rain pouring outside, a room full of Western students and staff came together on Oct. 25 —­ in the midst of Domestic Violence Awareness Month — to offer community and support to those affected by domestic and sexual violence. Paper hearts with messages of hope and Abby’s House Advocates dressed in blue vests were spotted throughout the room.

To open the event, Abby’s House Director Aislinn Addington and a number of the student advocates explained that Take Back the Night was first held in the United States in 1975 when a young microbiologist named Susan Alexander Speeth was murdered while walking home from work.

“Today, we know that attacks and assaults do not only happen in the night,” Abby’s House Advocate Gisela Ayala shared. “Data shows that women are at risk at all times of the day because women are most likely to be abused or attacked by people that they know, not just strangers in the dark. We also know that folks of all genders experience interpersonal violence and we are here to support all survivors.”

Then, advocates led the crowd in a silent reflection where attendees listened as a gong sounded every nine seconds — a sound that symbolized the amount of time that passes between each instance where physical violence occurs in the United States.

At this time, Addington introduced Carli Rohner, the Campus Advocate Coordinator from the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force.

“Violence is preventable, and we all have a role to play in that,” said Rohner. She shared that their goal is to figure out how to “build communities that…can respond and take care of each other better,” and to “make sure that (domestic and sexual violence) doesn’t have to happen.”

Rohner also encouraged those present to think about a reality in which violence is not rampant, although she acknowledged that this can be hard for many to do.

“Culture is not stuck,” said Rohner. “When we think about it over time, our humanity, collectively, has done some really wildly different things if we look back 40, 50, 60, 100, 200 years ago. We’re doing things differently now…and most of the change that we see, especially with in the United States context, is driven by students.”

If Western students want practical, tangible steps they can take, Rohner emphasized that most things that are interruptive of negative behaviors really don’t take long to do: go to a Green Dot training, share campus resources like Abby’s House or the Student Health and Counseling Center, support people with marginalized identities and don’t be afraid to take time for self-care.

The biggest and most basic things she suggested — to believe survivors who come to you.

“No matter what they tell you,” said Rohner. “I’ll give you two phrases: ‘I totally believe what you’re saying’ and ‘It wasn’t your fault.’ When folks hear that…they are 80 percent more likely to get help and assistance moving forward and much less likely to experience some of the bad things we talk about in terms of like PTSD and other effects of trauma.”

Following the talk, students were given the microphone and a platform to share their stories and experiences with violence. An emotional time for all, a number of students gave accounts that moved them and the audience to tears. For many, these memories were hard to share, but freeing to not carry alone anymore.

To conclude the event, marchers took up signs and glow sticks and chanted in unison as they walked through campus. With empowering statements including “we won’t take it anymore,” “violent acts have got to go” and “survivors unite,” they joined together to take back the night.

After marching, the group gathered in a circle, lit candles and shared why they wanted to end domestic violence — daring to dream of a brighter future.

If students would like to talk with someone about these issues, they can contact Carli Rohner at carli@oregonsatf.org or visit Abby’s House or the Student Health and Counseling Center on Western’s campus.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

The Western Howl staff pick their favorite Halloween-themed movies

Compiled by: The Western Howl staff

Chrys — “The VVitch” (2015). My favorite scary movie has to be “The VVitch.” I remember going to see it in theaters when it came out in 2016. This movie mastered the art of atmospheric horror. I can’t sit through this movie without squirming in my chair, and comfort is an impossibility. The film still remains spooky without excessive use of jump scares, which I really appreciate. The cinematographer Jarin Blaschke and director Robert Eggers have created a visual environment that is dark, anxious, and horrifying. Anya Taylor-Joy is truly at her best and her performance really enhances it to all it’s uncomfortable, horrible glory. I would strongly recommend this film.

Contact the author at cweedon16@wou.edu

Caity — “Halloween” (1978). This movie will never not be my favorite horror flick. It set the precedent for what a slasher film would be, and ushered in a decade of holiday-centered horror films that tried to imitate what this classic did. No matter how many times I watch it, the haunting — but simple — score, matched with the heart-racing scenes, are enough to make this the most memorable scary movie I’ve seen yet. Introducing Jamie Lee Curtis, as director John Carpenter’s nod to Curtis’s mother Janet Leigh, star of “Psycho,” the film helped create the scream queen of slasher flicks. While this movie is a horror masterpiece, the sequels don’t even come close to the original, so I’d recommend only watching the first installment.

Contact the author at chealy16@wou.edu

Bailey — “The Nightmare Before Christmas” (1993). This Disney flick is an innovative story that serves two genres: Christmas movies and Halloween movies. Now a cult classic, “The Nightmare Before Christmas” combines the creative mind of Tim Burton with the musical stylings of Danny Elfman to create a movie that the whole family can enjoy. In fact, there’s even a ride at Disneyland that is made-over with a “ The Nightmare Before Christmas” theme every year. And this year, the lovably misguided Jack Skellington, “Pumpkin King” of Halloween Town, is getting re-released on Blu-ray as a celebration of the film’s 25th anniversary. This funny and frightening tale made over 75 million dollars in the box office, and I would strongly recommend it to anyone.

Contact the author at bthompson15@wou.edu

Kyle — “Hocus Pocus” (1993). During one night of Halloween, three villainous witches made their way back from the dead to bring us the Disney film, “Hocus Pocus.” This cult classic became my favorite Halloween-theme movie when I was a child. It includes the right amount of comedy, horror and music. No matter how many times I watch it, I can never get enough of the Sanderson sisters. It’s as if they put a spell on me. Although meant for children, the director was able to sneak jokes that only adults can understand, so I would strongly recommend this movie to anyone.

Contact the author at kmorden17@wou.edu

Rachel — “Sleepy Hollow”, starring Johnny Depp and directed by Tim Burton, is my favorite Halloween movie. It is based on the legend of the Headless Horseman. It’s a gothic supernatural horror film, although I didn’t find it too scary. It’s about Ichabod Crane, a police constable, who is sent to solve the mystery behind the murders taking place in the town Sleepy Hollow. I would recommend this movie to anyone who likes dark themed movies, without a lot of scares.

Contact the author at rhetzel18@wou.edu

Ashlynn — “Corpse Bride” (2005). “The Corpse Bride” is another classic Tim Burton animation that is perfect for Halloween. It’s not a scary movie, but it does have the right amount of creepiness to celebrate this spine-tingling holiday. This lighthearted movie is perfect for anyone who is like me and loves a good laugh and a happy ending. It is a sweet story of a soon to be groom who gets the jitters. He unknowingly proposes to a corpse and has to figure out how to reverse what he has done. It’s a spoopy film that I always watch on Halloween and highly recommend to others.

Contact the author at anorton17@wou.edu

Becca — “Hush” (2016). What I liked about this movie is that it doesn’t fall into the usual scary movie tropes of having main characters who make terrible decisions that have you yelling at your screen. The main character in this movie is a young Deaf woman who is being stalked in her house by a killer. Unlike many other horror movies, in this one she actually makes smart, methodical decisions and the movie is full of constant suspense. The ending was also unexpected for me. While I usually find myself leaning towards supernatural when watching horror movies, this one stuck out to me.

Contact the author at rmeyers17@mail.wou.edu

 

Cora — “Halloweentown” (1998). Witches and goblins and skelies, oh my! No Dylan, we’re not in Cleveland, we’re taking the bus to St. Helens, Oregon, a.k.a. “Halloweentown.” Watch as future head of the Cromwell line, “I’m 13…I’m practically a grown-up” Marnie, stumbles through finishing a spell her not-so-responsible grandmother started (before literally walking into a trap) to reverse the evil magic seeping its way into the heart of Halloweentown. Don’t worry about Marnie being the most inept witch ever, her seven-year-old sister Sophie saves the day; and like a true hero gets none of the credit, leaving community health major senior Keith Mathew to cry “what about Sophie?!” With a dash of 90s radical slang, spoopy Halloween hijinks and a wholesome the “true power is love” moral, “Halloweentown” (and its three sequels) should appear in everyone’s Halloween movie marathon.

Contact the author at cmcclain17@mail.wou.edu

Paul — “Scared Shrekless” (2010). Our favorite childhood meme team is back at it again competing to see who can stay in Lord Farquaad’s old castle the longest by telling spooky stories. This short contains three sections that are told as separate stories. Gingy, our lovely little sentient gingerbread man, tells us about how his tumultuous love life led to him getting eaten by a zombie lover. Our friend Boots then tells us about his worst fear which is too intense to mention in such a short review. Finally, Shrek tells us about his experience with Pinocchio’s demonic possession and the mild psychosis that came along with it. Overall, if you need some fun short goofs with your favorite childhood characters you’ll really enjoy this show.

Contact the author at pfdavis14@wou.edu

 

Photo courtesy of Paul F. Davis

Humor: Night of the living dead mascots

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

Western has never been good at commitment. In the 156 year history of the school, Western has been called by six different names. While the name changes actually represented the changes in the school’s curriculum, Western’s changes in other areas show an attempt to try to be “hip” and “cool.”

These were the changes of the mascot on campus. But calling these creatures “mascots” is kind of a disgrace to the term, as Western’s previous attempts at a mascot can best be described as terrifying and hellacious.

Prior to 1980, the only thing resembling a mascot was a stuffed wolf with terrifying fangs. Typically a mascot is cute, fun or strong. Instead, the students at Oregon College of Education were represented by a hellhound that would more likely be seen tearing the face off a child than cheering on a sports team.

In 1981 Western Oregon State College attempted a real mascot. Emphasis on the term “attempted.” The head of the beast named Waldo was made from paper maché and the lost soul of a demon. His body looked closer to a cross between a gorilla and freakishly large dog. Thanks for the nightmares, WOSC.

1987 to 1991 saw the best mascot ever to bequeath the campus in Monmouth. It was a real live Alaskan Malamute. He had two different colored eyes, a gorgeous coat of fur, and, while I didn’t personally know him, can only assume he was the goodest boy.

1988 was the return of nightmare fuel on the WOSC campus. The next version of Waldo looked more cuddly than before and actually had a cute face with light grey fur. However, don’t look too closely into the eyes of this demon in disguise. His eyes are as black as the void and probably are home to the students of past years that never made it out of finals week with their sanity.

1994 took a turn for WOSC and instead of designing the mascot after the embodiment of fear, they went for pure stupidity. Waldo 3.0 had an enormous snout with a foot long tongue hanging out of the side of its mouth. Looking at the bright red, floppy tongue only brings up one question: “why?”

1999 brought home a mascot that honestly wasn’t awful. This new wolf was still roaming around the campus nearly 20 years later.

However, by 2015 Wolfie had definitely seen better days. His fur looked closer to a shag carpet that had been worn out for years. His eyes were matted over and were as dead as every student in an 8 a.m. class.

2016 was the birth of the current Wolfie. This Wolfie is actually cute, not terrifying. Strong, not stupid. Fun, not horrifying. So, I guess, thank you Wolfie for actually being normal and not a demon or a dunce.

 

Contact the author at llarsen13@mail.wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Denise Visuaño

Students display their jack-o’-lanterns

Rebecca Meyers | Lifestyle editor

Halloween is here, and for many this means their pumpkins have become jack-o’-lanterns. Western students are no different and have been busy getting creative, making everything from classic spooky jack-o’-lanterns to nontraditional works of art. They’ve drawn inspiration from multiple different sources, such as social media and their passions for art.

Those looking for last minute ideas have similar options as far as sources of inspiration. For senior Michelle Soutar, her spooky jack-o-lantern served to help create the atmosphere for her halloween party. For junior Jackie Shepherd, her pumpkin was a way to use her artistic strengths, which happen to be painting. Others like junior Madison Gaylin and myself simply browsed Pinterest until they found the idea that spoke to them most.

In addition, I’ve assembled a compilation to display their carved creations and hopefully bring more ideas for those still looking for the perfect one.

“Happy Halloween” by Jackie Shepherd, junior, education major.

“I really love to paint flowers, so I saw this as an opportunity to incorporate beautiful fall colours into my favourite subject.”

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Meyers

 

“Pokemon” by Megan Bricco, junior, education major

“Gengar was just the first thing I thought of.”

Photo courtesy of Madison Gaylin

 

“Carved Flower” by Madison Gaylin, junior, education major.

“I saw other floral pumpkins that inspired me to make this one.”

Photo courtesy of Madison Gaylin

 

“Classic jack-o’-lantern face” by Michelle Soutar, senior, communications major.

“I originally wanted to put a fog machine behind it…I saw a similar face done…and thought it was spooky so I attempted it.”

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Meyers

 

“Bats” by Rebecca Meyers, senior, international studies major.

“I usually do the usual Jack o lantern as a face, so I wanted to change it up this year.”

Photo courtesy of Rebecca Meyers

 

Contact the author at howllifestyle@mail.wou.edu

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