Web Designer, Author at The Western Howl

By: Ashton Newton
Staff Writer

“Star Wars: The Force Awakens” (TFA) opened on Dec. 18 with the biggest worldwide opening weekend of all time at $529 million. Since then, TFA has become the top-grossing movie in America, surpassing James Cameron’s “Avatar.” The film has broken numerous other box office records, including the top grossing IMAX opening of all time.

Reviews for the movie have been mostly positive; TFA is currently sitting pretty on a 93 percent score on Rotten Tomatoes. Reviews say that the movie is great for veteran fans and newcomers alike. In a review for Empire magazine, Helen O’Hara said, “It packs a planet-sized punch, launching a new generation of characters who – by the end – take a place next to Han, Leia, and the rest. Star Wars is back, and this is just the beginning.”

Fans don’t have to wait long for a new Star Wars film; Gareth Edwards’ “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” comes out this December, starring Felicity Jones (“The Theory of Everything”) and Mads Mikkelsen (“Hannibal”). “Rogue One” takes place between episodes III and IV. After “Rogue One” in December, fans will have a six-month wait until episode VIII in May 2017 and Episode IX in 2019.

Anthology films much like “Rogue One” will also be coming out. In 2018, a Han Solo movie directed by Chris Miller and Phil Lord (“The Lego Movie,” “22 Jump Street”) will be coming out, as well as a Boba Fett movie in 2020.

Rumors have resurfaced recently that Ewan McGregor has been in talks for three upcoming movies with Disney. Fans have been asking for a Kenobi movie for a long time, focusing on Obi-Wan’s life during the 18 years between episodes III and IV. Ewan McGregor also had one line hidden in “The Force Awakens,” reciting Alec Guinness’ famous “These are your first steps” so I wouldn’t be surprised to see him reprise the role as a ghost in future Star Wars films.

New Star Wars material is available right now, too, if you can’t wait until December. Disney has released a number of new canon books including Check Wendig’s “Aftermath” and Claudia Gray’s “Lost Stars.” There are also a number of comics out and more are being rapidly released. There is also Disney’s “Star Wars: Rebels,” which will be returning to finish out season two later this year.

“The Force Awakens” is out now, and there are plenty more Star Wars adventures to be had in the coming months.

The Western Howl

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Leg-humping can get you pregnant?

By: Stephanie Blair 
Copy Editor

When I was 13, my mother told me that if a married couple gets a dog, in two years they’ll have a baby. This wasn’t a scientific study she read, just her own observation. She watched all of her twenty-something friends get engaged, married, a dog, a baby – in that order.

So what about people, like me, who don’t want kids? Is there a safer (but still furry) alternative?

The answer: cats.

As the “mother” of two rescues, I can say that the joys of parenthood that are so often described to me by older, female members of my family who strongly believe that I’ll change my mind about kids, are present in the ownership of fur-babies.

I found a tiny, shivering, adorable ball of fluff and bones last May: an abandoned six-week-old kitten. I got to watch her development as she grew from a meek, pocket-sized miracle to a confident, athletic ruler of the house who, all too often, wakes me up at 6 a.m. for food. There is something magical about raising a living being, I’ll given my baby-crazy relatives that, but not having to risk my health to start its life is a big plus.

And let’s be real: I get to put my baby in ridiculous clothes. Tiny cat sweaters are, in fact, as cute as baby shoes.

As if that all weren’t enough, the woes of fur-baby bearing are also much less than those of the naked man-children.

For one thing, kids are expensive. The US Department of Agriculture estimates that the amount it will cost to raise a child born in 2013 to the age of 18, with adjustments made for projected inflation, is over $300,000. And while a raising an animal isn’t free, businessinsider.com used ASPCA data to calculate the cost of owning different pets over their lifetimes, and cats, who live to be about 15 years old on average, cost their owners approximately $7,500.

Not to mention, cats are much more self-reliant than dogs and human babies. The stereotype of spoiled, needy cats is colored heavily by dog-lovers in the movie industry. The reality is that my cat washes herself and goes to the bathroom on her own. My boyfriend’s dog has to be let out and bathed by his owner.

So, in short, if you don’t want to get pregnant and have a baby, but you love companionship that doesn’t hump your leg, go adopt a cat. They’re great.

The Western Howl

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Wolves go cold from the floor against Alaska Fairbanks

By: Jamal Smith 
Sports editor

The Western Oregon women’s basketball team traveled to Alaska and inevitably fell to the University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) 55-75 on Saturday, Jan. 7.

The Wolves had two players score in double figures. Senior Michelle Bromagem (G) led the Wolves in scoring with 15 points on 5-10 shooting from the floor and went 3-6 from distance.

Sophomore Jasmine Miller (G/F) tallied 10 points on a perfect shooting night, shooting 5-5 from the floor.

Western got on the scoreboard first off with a Bromagem 3-pointer on the Wolves first possession of the game, but the Wolves went through a four minute scoring drought. The Nanooks took advantage of the Wolves’ cold stretch and scored 9 unanswered points.

UAF’s lead would balloon to a 16 point advantage with less than a minute remaining in the first quarter. The Wolves showed their never-say-die mentality and clawed their way back into the game, cutting Alaska’s lead to single digits at 30-38 going into half time.

In the third quarter, Western would again go cold from the floor. To make matters worse, UAF dropped 20 points in the quarter, and the Nanooks took a 58-41 lead into the final quarter.
UAF’s lead proved to be too much for the Wolves to come back from, and the fourth quarter played out like the rest of the game had.

The Wolves had a tough shooting night and finished the game shooting 0.396 from the floor and 0.222 from beyond the arch. Although Western outrebounded UAF 30-25, the Wolves committed 25 turnovers witch led to 27 UAF points.

The loss brings the Wolves overall record to 2-12 and 1-5 in GNAC conference play.

Next up, the Wolves host Montana State University of Billings at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 16. The Yellow Jackets currently sit in second place in the GNAC with an overall record of 9-5 and 5-1 in GNAC conference play.

You can purchase tickets online or at the box office on game day.

The Western Howl

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History and Art at Hamersly

By: Amanda Clarke
Staff Writer

On Wednesday, Jan. 13, from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. in Hamersly Library, there was a reception night for the newest exhibits.

The reception was free and open to the public and gave those attending an opportunity to ask questions to the artists. The exhibits will be available to view between now and March 18.

“The exhibits are selected by topic. Because we are the library that serves all of campus I try to get things that cover a majority of disciplines on campus,” said Jerry Parpart, the Archives and Exhibits Coordinator at Hamersly.

The art exhibit on the second floor is titled “Guilty About Not Being Guilty,” which is a collection of art by Gamira Thakur, an Assistant Professor of Interactive Media and Graphic Design at WOU.

Thakur stated that her art “explores the paradoxes I experienced as a daughter growing up in India.” One of her art pieces, titled, “Don’t Walk Like a Boy,” showcases a pair of bright red high heels on a platform.

Several feet directly above the shoes are two books with the spines facing outwards. The space between the two objects is large enough that one could imagine a girl standing in the shoes, with the books on her head, learning how to walk in a dignified manner.

On the third floor, the exhibit “Paintings” by visiting Chinese artist Chi Wang, an Associate Professor of Art at Changzhou University in China, is displayed. Most are portraits of people, however there are also some landscapes included in his exhibit, and some are so detailed they look almost like photographs.

The other exhibit on the third floor is “American Folklife: a Commonwealth of Cultures,” presented by the Library of Congress Corner. It is a collection of photographs from around the United States with captions explaining each photo.

“We’ve added in the local culture with archival photographs and music,” said Parpart. This exhibit includes a video presentation of Monmouth Folklife, which entails the activities and music of the Western community, including background music from a concert recorded in the 1940’s.

“Misfortune County,” a western produced by student filmmakers, is also sponsored by Hamersly Library and showcased on the second floor at this time. The film screening will be in Hamersly Library room 107 on Jan. 29 at 6:15 p.m.

The Western Howl

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Avgi leads Wolves in victory over Saints

By:Jamal Smith 
Sports Editor

1,100 fans packed the New P.E. Building on Saturday, Jan. 9 to watch the No. 13 Wolves defeat Saint Martin’s University (SMU) 74-61.

The Wolves had three players in double figures. Redshirt-senior Andy Avgi (F) led Western in scoring with 24 points. Senior Jordan Wiley (G) filled up the stat sheet with 16 points, 7 rebounds, and 2 assists, and redshirt-sophomore Alex Roth (G) tallied 10 points on 4-6 shooting from the floor.

“Andy Avgi is a tremendous offensive force, and I thought Jordan Wiley really played like a senior with 7 rebounds and 2 assists with no turnovers,” said Head Coach Jim Shaw after the game. “I thought he did a good job and I thought some guys made progress off the bench. Kadeem Strickland did some good things and it was good to get Nick [Nestell] back.”

After the Saints scored the first basket of the game on the opening possession, Western answered by hitting their first two shots to take the lead; a lead the Wolves would hold the rest of the game.

Western hit seven shots from beyond the arch in the first half and took a 35-30 lead into half time.

In the second half, the Wolves buckled down defensively and Avgi, the 2014-15 GNAC Player of the Year, caught fire. Avgi had 16 second-half points and played tough defense against the Saint’s big man, seven foot center Fred Jorg.

“Usually I guard people that are taller than me, but he had more weight on me. I think that he is around three-hundred pounds to my two-seventy, and that was a real load on defense,” said Avgi after the game. “It really got me tired at times, but I just kept on going at him and I think he only shot one for three. If I can do that against bigger guys I think we will do great.”

Western’s lead ballooned to 20 points with 6:46 remaining for the game, but SMU chipped away at the lead, and looked to bring Western’s advantage to single digits. Avgi’s 3-pointer with just over two minutes remaining all but sealed the Wolves’ victory.

The Wolves shot 0.431 from the floor and 0.387 from long range and out-rebounded the Saints 36-34. Ball security and limiting turnovers were also a key factor.

“I thought that we didn’t have the level of energy in the first half that I thought we needed and I thought that we picked that up in the second half,” said Coach Shaw. “The best thing that we did today was not turning the ball over. We only had five turnovers for the entire game, which is hard to do.”

“We defended the interior better tonight than we have. I think that we need to improve our three point defense. They were 8 from 23, which I would have liked to see that about 6 for 23,” added Coach Shaw. “Overall I think we played solid, just not great.”

The victory improves the Wolves’ overall record to 12-2 and 5-1 in GNAC conference play.
After dropping two out of the last three games prior to the start of the week, the Wolves got back on track with a 96-90 overtime victory on Thursday, Jan. 7 against Seattle Pacific University and have now won three in a row.

Avgi’s 34 point performance on Thursday’s game combined with his 24 point performance against the Saint’s, earned Western’s big man the GNAC Player of the Week honor.

Up next, Avgi and the Wolves travel north to play Western Washington University on Saturday, Jan. 16. The next home game is on Thursday, Jan. 21 against the University of Alaska Anchorage at 7 p.m. in the New P.E. Building.

The Western Howl

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Musings from a woman on the edge

By: Katrina Penaflor 
managing editor

I’m convinced my Facebook feed is just an increasing pile of things I never want to read about, but continue to look at on a daily basis.

Facebook, in a sense, is like fast food. It sounds so good at first, it’s super convenient, and it’s absolutely amazing when you first start. Then, as time goes on and you consume more of it, like a lot more of it, it sort of makes you sick.

I’ve definitely hit the side of overconsumption where Facebook is making me sick, or maybe I’m just sick of Facebook.

The other day I saw this post that was shared thousands of times, and at least five times by people I’m friends with on Facebook that talked about splitting up the lottery winnings. Maybe you’re familiar with it; it said something along the lines that if the 1.3 billion dollars was split evenly among all the people in the U.S. then everyone would get four million dollars.

I don’t even know where to start on addressing this. The math, first of all, couldn’t be more inaccurate. And on a second note, when I read the comments beneath this post I was actually convinced that some people will believe anything they read online.

And this madness of believing 1.3 billion divided by 300 million equals four million has actually become the norm for what I see online.

I’m constantly seeing things that leave me shaking my head and wondering why I’m still reading post from people that I never interact with in real life. The “unfollow” or “unfriend” button is continually getting pressed.

I’m finding that the only good things I see on Facebook are those addicting Tasty videos that show me how to make pizza dips and Oreo stuffed donuts. Or pictures my cousin uploads of his new baby.

So why do I keep logging on and reading what everyone has posted and shared? Why can’t I pull myself away from what some would consider internet garbage?

Maybe food videos and baby pictures are enough to keep me logging back on. Or maybe I’m just stuck with the fear of missing out on something that’s actually important.

The Western Howl

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Executive order an attempt to curb gun violence

By: Alvin Wilson 
Staff writer

President Obama issued a series of executive actions regarding gun control on Tuesday, Jan. 5. He issued the order with the intention of reducing gun related deaths in the U.S. by tightening already existing laws.

The White House website released a statement regarding the executive order, explaining the reasoning behind it and what they hope it will accomplish.

1. Keep guns out of the wrong hands through background checks.

The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF) will require any person “in the business of selling firearms” to obtain a license and conduct background checks. The language is intentionally broad, but it essentially limits online sellers and collectors from selling their firearms without going through a licensed dealer. The FBI will overhaul the background check system, making it more efficient, according to the statement from the White House. The FBI will hire an additional 230 staff members to help process the background checks.

2. Make our communities safer from gun violence.

The President’s budget includes funding for 200 new ATF agents and investigators to help enforce existing gun laws. To track illegal firearm sales online, the budget provides more staff and an additional four million dollars for the National Integrated Ballistics Information Network, a system that helps to identify lost or stolen firearms.

3. Increase mental health treatment and reporting to the background check system.

The order proposes a $500 million investment to increase access to mental health care. The Social Security Administration will now be required to “include information in the background check system about beneficiaries who are prohibited from possessing a firearm for mental health reasons.” Soon states will also be able to provide information about mental health history for background checks.

4. Shape the future of gun safety technology.

The order also directs the Departments of Defense, Justice, and Homeland Security to “conduct or sponsor research into gun safety technology.” It directs the departments to conduct research on smart gun technology, and to explore potential ways to increase gun safety.

The controversial nature of this executive order has caused a large debate, especially in the 2016 presidential field. Any time a president bypasses Congress to get something done, it has often been met with opposition.

Despite claims about the constitutionality of the order, Dr. Ed Dover, professor of political science at Western, claimed the order was within Obama’s authority.

“When a president issues an executive order, he is more or less dealing with the implementation of public law. A lot of what he is introducing is based upon the USA Patriot Act, which was passed right after 9/11. It gave the president and the government a lot of discretion when dealing with acts of terrorism,” said Dover.

“There are laws that allow the president to take various actions to prevent people from having guns. We gave him a lot of power, and he’s using it.”

Dover briefly explained the history of important executive orders, and why sometimes it is necessary to bypass Congress.

“There are some very powerful instances when presidents have used executive orders because they can’t find that congress will allow them […] It took until the 1960’s to get a Civil Rights bill through congress. But Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1941 issued an executive order requiring equal employment opportunity in the federal government and the defense industry […] It started with an executive order and, in time, grew to the point where it is now federal and state law.”

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.

Box Office Force: “Star Wars” Soars

Leg-humping can get you pregnant?

Wolves go cold from the floor against Alaska Fairbanks

History and Art at Hamersly

Avgi leads Wolves in victory over Saints

Musings from a woman on the edge

Executive order an attempt to curb gun violence

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