Mount Hood

Watching anime can inspire, embolden and transform

Written by: Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor

Anime. Such a peculiar hill to die on. I think so too. I also think we all have some innate urge to share what is close to us, especially if it has a great impact on who we are as a person or changes the way we think.

Consumption of inspiring media, such as sports or shonen anime, can be of great benefit for personal growth. Many of my personal tales are centered around, and can partially be attributed to, beliefs and values I determined for myself while watching anime. 

In my senior year of high school, I read Haikyuu — a manga about high school volleyball players. I decided I wanted to play professionally — like the main character. “He who climbs the ladder must begin at the bottom” — Ittetsu Takeda. 

I played in community college for two years as the starting libero. I became an All-American. I was one of the top junior college liberos in the country — among other accolades. I flew to Nebraska to demonstrate in front of Division One coaches for a national conference. It was there that I met the Team USA Olympic Coach, Karch Kiraly. I walked up to him and told him, “I play at community college, I am going to transfer to university and then I am going pro.” 

I didn’t have any commitments or any prospects at the time. 

Regardless, he invited me to go to the national open program, so I flew to Colorado Springs to play with the top volleyball players in the nation. Then I flew to Connecticut to sign with Southern Connecticut State; only to be contacted by the coach shortly after canceling my recruitment. 

I felt that I had failed. I had no options. I laid in bed for a week. I watched Naruto. “A hero is not the one who never falls. He is the one who gets up, again and again, never losing sight of his dreams” — Rock Lee. I got out of bed. I sent emails. I received emails back. I ended up here, at Western. 

When I got here, I was overwhelmed with the intensity and difficulty of the program. I watched Demon Slayer. “If you are feeling disheartened, that you are somehow not enough, set your heart ablaze” — Kyojuro Rengoku. 

Last Tuesday, I was asked to share my quote for the week. I chose this: “It is only those brave enough… those bold enough… to follow the difficult, demanding path of competition, who have the right to reap the wealth of experience and memories it can bring. For today, you happen to be the defeated. But what will you become tomorrow?” — Haikyuu.

Anime is not just for laughs, and it isn’t pure entertainment. It can constitute the way of life one chooses to take, as well as the decisions one makes. It certainly did for me.



Contact the author at howllifestyler@wou.edu

Dorm Decor

Written by: Hannah Field | News Editor

Western’s move-in day featured hundreds of Western students flooding their respective halls and clamoring into their dorms so they could hang tapestries, adorn their walls and prop their stuffed animals upright against their pillows.

Bookshelves were put to full use while some opted for vinyls over paperbacks. While some students hung lights over their private desk spaces, others added picture frames and fake flowers. Important letters, heirlooms and other homely items were set up in dorms to bring a semblance of home. 

Finding a theme was important to a lot of incoming students, corresponding colors from their blankets to picture frames. Others brought their favorite comfy items from home —one student having obtained a handmade quilt from her grandmother.
Cluttered desks showed off calendars, friendly faces, flowers and jars of pens. Each student’s personality and favorite pastimes showed through their desk design and personal item arrangement.

On the outside, resident assistants were welcoming their fellow student residents, having decorated their halls with themed adornings, interactive games and colorful lists of rules and guidelines for all residents. Some offered coloring pages, sticky notes with empowering words for the taking and introductory boards with helpful information regarding the local resident assistants.

Being fully settled into dorm life, residents may better function in a home-away-from-home as they progress through the Fall term.

Contact the author at howlnews@mail.wou.edu

Move-in Day: Freshmen here for Fall

Written by: Hannah Field | News Editor

On Sept. 17, approximately six-hundred Western students brought with them their belongings and stood with their families outside of the dorm buildings — waiting to officially move in for the Fall term.

The move-in process was smoothly regulated by Public Safety — an integral part to Western’s systems of operation. Western staff and student workers kept busy cheering on and directing new students, assisting with move-in and renting out big red bins for students to fill with their belongings and lug upstairs.

First-year Resident Assistant Arianna Gsell participated in the productive day as a member of the set-up crew and pop-up helper for students, otherwise known as a ‘floater’, meaning she had no particular task to fulfill. “We started set-up for move-in day at 8 A.M. We had tables out front where a rotation of five RAs sat all day for check-in.” Gsell said.

From there, incoming students were divided into lanes directed toward the floor of their new residence. They signed room condition reports, were given their room keys and eventually shepherded toward their respective dorms.

Inside the dorm rooms, students got to work setting up their decorations, dividing up their belongings and meeting their roommates as well as their resident assistants and neighbors. Many roommates met for the first time on move-in day — the beginning of a long nine months of close contact.

“The only thing I saw go ‘wrong’ on my end of the day was we had a set of pegs for the bunk beds that got stuck in the beds and we had to have multiple RAs work at it with pliers,” Gsell said jokingly. “But we got it out.”

Each resident assistant took the residents of their hall to Valsetz Dining Hall for food and proper introductions in the evening at 5 p.m. After that, the groups attended their first community meeting with the Resident Directors of Heritage Hall and Ackerman.

Contact the author at howlnews@mail.wou.edu

Men’s rugby ranked 17 in Coach’s poll

Written by Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

For most, fall means back to school, football and pumpkin spice; for Western’s men’s rugby team, it means the start of a season. With an updated schedule having been released on Aug. 25, the team had plenty of time to prepare for their upper division matchups — four of their six posted matches are against division one schools.

However, the team feels no sweat going into the season. Coaches polls posted to Instagram on Sept. 21 by National Collegiate Rugby placed Western men’s rugby originally at 15, until revised polls posted Sept. 26 placed them at 12 on the national level. At the start of the 2022 15s season, the team was unranked, which means this is a huge jump in favor of the team this season.

This ranking additionally comes from a strong 2022-2023 full season of both 7s and 15s — these numbers denoting how many men are on the field at a time. In the National 7s Tournament, having taken place in Washington D.C. during the last weekend of April, they finished in the tenth spot nationally — after being knocked out of the tournament by Babson College, the current small college national leader. 

Western men’s rugby finished their 2022-2023 season strong, winning champion titles in 7s and 15s, and have high hopes to bring in two more titles this year. This high ranking from the start compounds their hopes, as it is a favorable position and they can continuously strive to move up in the rankings.

This Saturday, the rugby team faces off against Oregon State University at home on the turf fields. Coming off a 5-39 loss against Boise State, they hope to add a win under their belt this next week. Updated coaches polls posted on Oct. 3 placed them at 17, following their loss at Boise. 

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Volleyball team hits early lead with strong preseason

Western’s women’s volleyball team is currently off to a strong start to their Fall season with a record of 8-5. This week they were on the road, playing Central Washington University and Northwest Nazarene University. Western lost against CWU in three sets and won against NNU three sets to two, with a day in between for rest. 

Last week, they played Saint Martin’s University, but were unable to pull out the win. The team had a slow first set, hitting 0.044% with 11 successful hits out of 45 attempts. Western had one service ace and one block, but nine attack errors and two service errors. 

Both teams scored their first points off a hitting error, but it was an attack up the middle from senior Bella MacLellan followed by a service ace from sophomore Chloe Asciuotto that brought Western the energy they needed to rally with Saint Martin’s. 

The first set finished 21-25 in favor of Saint Martins, but the second set was a positive note for Western — ending 25-18. The team’s hitting percentage improved, rising to a .467% with 17 successful kills out of 30 attempts. Western started in a point deficit early in the second set, but kills and errors from Saint Martin’s aided their success. 

The third and fourth sets were not as successful for the wolves, with 0.21% and 0.225% hitting percentages and 12 and nine errors, for a combined 21. On the positive side, in the third set Western had 10 successful kills and two service aces, and 15 successful kills and one service ace in the fourth. 

Western kill leaders were junior outside hitters Bailee Hartsook, Sarah Strus and Madison Hornback. Hartsook had 12 kills, and Strus and Hornback both had 11. Strus was also a service ace leader, along with junior setter Laney O’Neil and sophomore middle blocker Chloe Asciuotto. Strus, Hartsook and Hornback were also point leaders for the night, scoring 13, 12 and 11.5 points. 

Western’s next home game is Oct. 5 at 7 p.m. against the University of Alaska Fairbanks in the New PE Building and will be streamed live on Western Athletics YouTube.

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Next up for Western Athletics

Thursday, Oct. 5 

5 p.m. — Women’s Soccer @ Montana State University Billings

5 p.m. — Men’s Soccer @ Northwest Nazarene University

7 p.m. — Volleyball, HOME v. University of Alaska Fairbanks

Friday, Oct. 6

All Day — Cross Country @ San Francisco State Invitational

Saturday, Oct. 7

11 a.m.  — Men’s Soccer, HOME v. Saint Martin’s University

1:05 p.m. — Football, HOME v. Western New Mexico University

2 p.m. — Women’s Soccer @ Seattle Pacific University

2:30 p.m. — Men’s Rugby, HOME v. Oregon State University

7 p.m. — Volleyball, HOME v. University of Alaska Fairbanks

Thursday, Oct. 12 

12 p.m. — Men’s Soccer, HOME v. Western Washington University

3 p.m. — Women’s Soccer, HOME v. Central Washington University

Saturday, Oct. 14 

All Day — Cross Country @ Linfield George Oja Invitational

11 a.m. — Football @ Montana State University Mankato

1 p.m. — Men’s Rugby, HOME v. Central Oregon University

2 p.m. — Women’s Soccer, HOME v. Saint Martin’s University

7 p.m. — Volleyball @ Western Washington University

Sunday, Oct. 15 

12 p.m. — Men’s Soccer @ Simon Fraser University, British Columbia

Tuesday, Oct. 17 

7 p.m. — Men’s Basketball @ Portland State University (Preseason)

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

A, B, Coffee: for your next coffee order

Curious about coffee? Wanting to spice up a routine caffeine run? Here are some options in a comprehensive, educational list to start the school year off right. 

Americano — Espresso and hot water

Affogato — Espresso over ice cream

Cafe au lait — Espresso and warmed milk

Cafe Misto — Half drip coffee, half steamed milk

Cappuccino — Equal parts espresso and milk foam

Cortado — Espresso shots marked with steamed milk

Drip Coffee — Its coffee b—h

Espresso — Simple espresso shots served hot or iced 

Flat White — Ristretto shots with lightly foamed steamed milk

Latte — Espresso with steamed milk

Long Black — Ristretto with more espresso, less hot water

Macchiato —  Steamed milk with espresso shots poured on top

Mocha — Latte made with chocolate

Red-eye/Shot in the Dark — Drip coffee with a shot of espresso

Ristretto — Smaller, sweeter espresso shots

Traditional Macchiato — Espresso shot ‘marked’ with milk

Contact the author at howldigitalmediamanager@wou.edu

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