Mount Hood

Nightmare on Monmouth Avenue: A look at sports that have made it to the Western athletics graveyard

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

Western Oregon has existed as a school of many different names for 156 years. In this over a century and a half, the school has seen the birth and death of many different sports.

Since these sports departure the fields they called home have since been abandoned and forgotten. Welcome to the Western sports graveyard.

Tennis 1923-1990s

Tennis was first spotted on the Oregon Normal School campus as early as 1923. The program was split into a men’s team and women’s team and over the years these teams saw varying levels of success. There are years with no recorded mention of a tennis team, but its spirit lived a full life in Monmouth, finally seeing its death of an unknown cause in 1990.

Women’s Field Hockey 1925-1980s

The mysterious women’s field hockey team seemed to elude the history books for the better part of the 20th century. Pictures can be found of Oregon Normal School students playing field hockey during the 1925 school year. Skip forward 45 years and women are seen playing again. Their last sighting was in the early 80s, and not much is known since.

 

Golf 1920s-1980s

Another granny of the campus, along side the tennis program, golf has been spotted on the campus of Oregon Normal School, Oregon College of Education and Western Oregon State College. Perhaps the golfers would rather play a few holes than take a picture as records of the team are hard to come by. Lost on the back nine, the team seemed to fade from existence in the 80s.

Wrestling 1927-1991

Wrestling saw its first official team in the year of 1927. The wrestling team saw years of wins, losses, close-matches and eventually some national championship contenders. Wrestling is the only sport in the graveyard with a true murderer however. The team met a cruel fate after their 1990-91 season with the new Measure 5 ruling that defunded and killed the successful program after 64 years.

Swimming 1927-1980s

Splashing into pools for the first time in the late ‘20s, Oregon Normal School’s swimming team was host to all sorts of aquatic shenanigans. The death of the swimming program is lost to time as the history books have no clear answer to why they never made it out of the 80s.

Gymnastics 1971- 1980s

Blink and you’ll miss it, the gymnastics program was only alive for a short 10 years on the campus of Oregon College of Education. The team never saw much success in the gym, as noted by the Lamron staff never seeming to report on a match that was won. Evidence of the team can still be found on the walls of New PE showing off the teams of yesteryear.

 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of previous Western yearbooks: “The Norm” and “The Grove”

Say hello to Gritty

Lake Larsen | Sports Editor

Monday, Sept. 24, a date that will live on for all time. The National Hockey League’s Philadelphia Flyers presented their newest addition to the organization. No — it was not a new offensive star; no — it was not the signing of an all-star free agent. It was the announcement of Gritty, the Flyers’s new mascot.

Sprinting through a thick blanket of smoke, the crowd was blessed with this… creature. Dawning a bright orange Flyers uniform, black hockey shorts, and a helmet to match Gritty was a gift to not just hockey fans but every man, woman, and child in the entire world.

Initially he was met with criticism for this long, bright orange scroungy fur, long beard, twisted hair and aggressive googly eyes. However, many quickly came to realize Gritty is much more than just a mascot, he is a hockey hero.

Other mascots simply represent the name of the team. A bear mascot for the Bears, a dolphin for the Dolphins, an eagle for the Eagles. But not Gritty. Gritty is what can best be described as a muppet that was injected with 50 cc’s of adrenaline straight to the heart.

He represents what were once known in the NHL as the “Broad Street Bullies” due to their fearsome play style. And nothing puts fear into your heart quite like a massive, hairy, open-mouthed tongue hanging out creature staring into your soul with his googly eyes.

He sets himself apart from other mascots by being an abomination of a mascot. Some teams want a strong and masculine mascot. Others want something cute and cuddly. Gritty is not strong nor cute. Instead of being strong, he has an enormous beer belly. Instead of being cute, his terrifying stare would make children cower in fear.

That is why Gritty is great — he is a nightmare. Mascots have fun by dancing around the field and getting fans excited. Gritty is instead caught falling on his head at mid-ice during his premier game. Normal mascots take cute pictures with fans, Gritty mimics the Kim Kardashian “Break the internet” photoshoot with a Gatorade bottle and his frightening looks.

In Gritty’s short career thus far, there is one moment that stands out more than others. Within mere minutes of his announcement, the Flyers rival, the Pittsburgh Penguins, responded on Twitter to Gritty.

“lol ok” read the Tweet from @penguins, the official Twitter of the Pittsburgh Penguins.

The Penguins have a history of league dominance, winning a total of five Stanley Cups. But this did not scare Gritty. His response, from @GrittyNHL, was short, but packed a punch.

“Sleep with one eye open tonight, bird.”

 

Contact the author at llarsen13@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of  @GrittyHNL 

Letter to the Editor

From Campus Recreation Facility Supervisors

We have been happy to see all of the students back in the Health and Wellness Center this Fall term. Already this term we have seen over 50 percent of the student population through our doors which is fantastic. Yet, the last thing we want to do is make all these people feel attacked or uncomfortable to workout or be in our facility. Over the summer, staff at Campus Recreation had numerous discussions about how we should enforce, or quite plainly if we should even have a dress code. This is a hot topic of discussion at collegiate gyms all across our country at the moment. For us here at WOU Campus Recreation and most other collegiate gyms, we do not want our dress code to be about what is appropriate or not, we want it to be about the safety and health of our students and peers.

We (Campus Recreation) have researched the topic and are more than willing to sit down with any student or student group to explain the risk factors about skin infections within gyms and recreation centers. An example of this type of skin infectious bacteria is CAMRSA (Community-Associated Methicillin-Resistant Staphylococcus Aureus) which is transferred from the skin to any surface. Hypothetically, if you are sitting on a piece of equipment or pad with your skin directly touching it and the person before you didn’t clean off where their skin touched, this can transmit that bacterium to you. Even if you have a sweaty shirt on you still have a barrier to the equipment or pad which has the potential of reducing disease transmission.

Our main thing here is that we want to limit your skin contact with all these gross bacteria. Yes, we try and clean the equipment as much as we can, and we ask that you clean the equipment before and after you use it as well, but you can never be too careful. Of course, we can’t prevent you from sweating at the gym and working hard, but we ask everyone to consider your health and safety when you are choosing what to wear to help us keep everyone healthy. By cleaning equipment, personal hygiene, and wearing proper workout materials that cover your body, (students can take) important (actions) to prevent the spread of germs and diseases.  

To clarify, wearing a tank top or razor back tank top is not against our clothing policy. Our only goal is to educate everyone. However, you still need to wear a shirt that covers your chest, abdomen, back and side areas from hip to armpit (including your midsection) at all times while in our facility. All our staff is also working through how to approach this issue, so if you ever have questions or concerns don’t be afraid to have a conversation with us at the front desk or talk to the staff member upstairs!

We want all students to leave as healthy as they were when they came in.

 

This letter is in response to an editorial titled “The reality of gym dress-codes” published in Issue 2 of the Western Howl.

Review: “Halloween”

Caity Healy | Editor-in-Chief

As Sheriff Brackett put it in the 1978 film by the same name, “It’s Halloween — everyone’s entitled to one good scare.” With the 2018 “Halloween” release on Oct. 19, audiences everywhere got just that, as they were invited into the next generation of horror.

As an avid “Halloween” fan, I have to say that I was pleasantly surprised with this sequel. Choosing to ignore “Halloween 2” through “Halloween: Resurrection,” this installment simply took place 40 years after the infamous 1978 Halloween night — a decision that ultimately paid off, as, in my opinion, it has been the best installment in the series thus far, aside from the original.

Three generations of “final-women,” two new scream queens and the same knife-wielding villain took the screen for a slasher filled with more gore, and a far higher body count, than its predecessor.

While the film is generally enjoyable, especially for someone looking for a fun, slasher flick, it did have its flaws.

The character development felt drastic to me. Laurie Strode, the heroine, had one of the most obvious changes. A scared, 17 year old in the original film, morphed into a revenge-seeking, ultra-protective grandmother in the sequel was a significant change.

However, the character development that I mostly struggled with was Michael Myers. In the original film, his kills were methodical. He stalked, watching from afar and moved in a slow, menacing way. In this new installment, he moved more quickly and killed anyone that crossed his path. My guess is that it had to do with pent up aggression from being locked up for four decades.

His character also felt more human. For a good portion of the movie, he was unmasked. It made him feel more real, and in my opinion that took away from the inherent evilness that inhabits him.

The plot involved a lot of unnecessary detail that didn’t really add anything to the storyline. It almost felt as if they were trying to include as many nods to the previous installments as they could, and in doing so, added extra fluff.

That being said, I was actually a huge fan of the small references to the original series. The gas station from “Halloween 4: The Return of Michael Myers,” the woman with hair curlers from “Halloween 2,” and even short lines from the original were enough to make me smile when watching this film.

Overall, the film was enjoyable. However, it wasn’t very scary. Most of the scares are seen in the trailer, so I’d recommend seeing it without watching the trailer first.

I found the film to be entertaining, and it’s one that’s sure to please any generation of “Halloween” fans.

 

Overall Rating: I recommend this film.

 

Contact the author at howleditor@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of universalpictures.com

A Cappella club discusses plans for this year

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

“Last year was our…first time integrating and so now we’re starting out this year strong,” said A Cappella club President Violet Trammel. At the beginning of the 2017-2018 school year, Western’s two A cappella groups — Suspended and 15 Miles West — integrated and became one coed group. Since then, they have been focusing on performing more events, and gaining more visibility through community outreach.

“What’s cool about this year, opposed to last year, we’re actually doing a fall concert,” said Vice President Cole Aldred, “we didn’t last year because it was kind of a hard transition to get the new cohesive group in motion.”

Last year, The West of Us was part of the ICCA competition: the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. The event took up a lot of time, which resulted in the club being MIA for most of the year.

“Sometimes people are like ‘we have an acapella group?’” said Trammel when asked why she wanted to focus on getting more visibility on campus.

The A Cappella club is completely student-led. Most of the songs performed by the club are arranged by its members. There are 16 members total, which helps the group achieve things they weren’t able to when there were two separate clubs.

“Overall, in terms of musicality and things that we’re able to achieve, integrating has been the best for us. We can make so much more and we can do so much more with our songs having a larger group,” remarked Trammel.

Both the President and the Vice President agree that their favorite part of being involved in A Cappella is the friendships they’ve formed during their time in the club.

“The friendships you make in A Capella are super lasting and they’ve been the closest people to me,” commented Trammel.

The West of Us holds auditions for performance roles every fall term: “We’re looking for people that wanna have fun, that are musically inclined, and that want to have a good time on stage,” said Trammel.

The club’s next performance is their fall concert on Nov. 12 (location and time TBD).

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Paul F. Davis

Lacy M. Johnson writes a new book of essays about hot-button topics

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

“You probably want him dead, strangers tell me.” This quote contains the main theme of the first essay in Lacy M. Johnson’s “The Reckonings.” In an essay by the same name, Johnson analyzes a culture that glorifies and searches for revenge— American culture. She has faced this culture directly many times, especially when she started telling her story. In her 20s, Johnson was kidnapped by her then-boyfriend who attempted to kill her. But she doesn’t want revenge.

“‘I don’t want him dead. I want him to admit all the things he did, to my face, in public, and then to spend the rest of his life in service to other people’s joy,’” writes Johnson. Johnson calls this a reckoning; she writes that wishing suffering on people who hurt us only compounds sorrow and injustice instead of cancelling it out.

This book contains 12 essays that cover topics from sexual assault, to environmental activism to racism. Johnson’s book is covertly a discussion of philosophy and ethics, with memoir stirred in.

“We human beings are not born with prejudices. Always they are made for us by someone who wants something,” commented Johnson in the essay “Goliath.”

Each essay is itself a new beginning, and covers a topic that is as serious and worth contemplation as the others.

“Silence is pathological. Apathy is pathological,” Johnson says in her chapter about white supremacy: “On Whiteness.” In this essay and in many others, Johnson dives into the idea that anyone who considers themselves innocent is out of touch with the world and the systems of privilege that exist within it.

The themes discussed in this book are very relevant and would be considered by the general population as hot-button issues. Johnson’s handle on these topics and her poetic style leave her sentiments with the audience long after this book is read.

 

Overall Rating: I would strongly recommend this book.

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of simonandchuster.com

Campus art feature: “Iberian Venus” sculpture by Manuel Izquierdo

Chrys Weedon | Entertainment Editor

Located in a back corner of the Grove, surrounded by beauty bark and concrete, is Manuel Izquierdo’s sculpture “Iberian Venus.” The marble sand once covering its exterior is mostly eroded away, leaving smooth white patches in its curves and crevices. Moss and crumbling concrete remain.

Installed in September 1975, “Iberian Venus” was commissioned, according to library archives, by Western’s student body. Funding was provided by what was then called the Associated Students of OCE, which would be equivalent to ASWOU now. The sculpture was supposed to include a reflection pool at its base, but upon observation, it doesn’t appear to have one.

Manuel Izquierdo arrived in Portland, Oregon in the 1940s. Izquierdo was born in Madrid, Spain and travelled to Oregon as a refugee from a war-torn Europe. In his career, Izquierdo created 27 corporate and public commissioned pieces and has participated in 25 solo exhibitions. Izquierdo died from illness on July 17, 2009.

The library archive article titled “Outdoor Sculptures on Campus” reports some controversy among Western’s students upon installation of the statue. It was argued by some students that the final sculpture did not resemble the original proposal approved by the committee.

Paula Booth, assistant art professor and director of the Cannon Gallery of Art in Campbell hall spent most of her interview brushing leaves, cobwebs and moss off the sculpture to the best of her ability, but there’s only so much one can do if they’re not trained in refurbishing art.

“It kind of breaks my heart, to be honest. I feel like it’s so neglected, and it’s by one of Oregon’s most prominent sculptors,” commented Booth.

In a secluded corner and blocked on three sides by a grassy slope, this sculpture doesn’t stand out, especially now that its white marble sand coating has been reduced to nothing. It can’t be easily seen from the surrounding sidewalks or roadways.

“Especially when you have art outdoors, you need to have it properly cleaned periodically, you need to have it fixed periodically,” Booth remarked after examining the sculpture’s deteriorating state. “It’s completely not how the artist intended it to be.”

 

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

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