Mount Hood

Disbursement and deferment dilemmas

By: Jenna Beresheim
News Editor

Despite an efficiency measure added to the deferment process this year, those students who submitted their financial aid application past the priority deadline are feeling the financial crunch.

By submitting the FAFSA after the priority deadline, a delay is created in the processing of financial aid, which in turn causes trouble for students who may face a series of late fees.

“I submitted my FAFSA after the priority deadline, and I received an email from the financial aid office saying that I could defer,” stated Berenice Gabriel, a fourth year psychology major.

Gabriel’s financial aid has yet to come in due to this delayed submission. With the deadline for the initial payment swiftly encroaching, Gabriel and many other students have filled the Financial Aid Office in hopes of deferring payments to a more reasonable date.

Deferment is used to avoid late fees and allow extra time for students to pay their current term’s bill. One third of a student’s bill must be paid by Oct. 2, 2015, or else a $100 late fee will be charged.

Paying the $12 deferment charge will save students from being charged the $100 while they wait for delayed financial aid to come in, or if they do not receive aid, to save up enough to pay the third of their bill.

Students who need to apply for an emergency loan may do so in the Business Office. These loans are for emergencies that a student may have other than institutional charges.

A separate promissory note is required for these loans. A more detailed statement of this policy is available at the Business Office.

The Financial Aid office has developed a new online payment system for students, allowing students to pay for their term or request deferment online through the WolfWeb system.

“I believe this streamlines the process for students to do their deferments,” states Darin Silbernagel, the Director of Business Services.

If students are interested in paying online rather than in-office, the process is as follows: after accessing the student menu in WolfWeb and choosing Account Summary by Term, there will be a link to the deferment and payment options at both the top and bottom of the page.

This system was created as a tool to meet short-term needs while simultaneously minimizing fees for the students.

“Students who need to defer or who do not want to be charged the late fee I would strongly urge to take action before this Friday at 5,” Silbernagel encouraged.

The second payment is due by November 1st, 2015, and the final payment for the term is due by December 1st, 2015.

The Financial Aid Office also reassures that this situation is a very rare occurrence. For those students needing more information, the Financial Aid Office is happy to assist with any questions and clarification.

New year brings new smoke free campus

By: Brianna Bonham
Freelancer

Western Oregon University has begun the transition into the new school year with a new campus policy regarding the prohibition of tobacco products for all students and staff.

“The policy is being marketed as an educational approach,” says Craig Wimmer, the Assistant Director of Wellness Education at the Student Health and Counseling Center.

“I helped advise the Student Health Advisory Committee students on their work with developing, presenting, and organizing the policy,” Wimmer said.

As the policy took effect Sept. 1, those found smoking or using any form of tobacco on campus will be documented and potentially fined. To help enforce this new policy, old smoking shacks around campus are being converted into bike racks.

Over the past few years, schools nationwide have begun an initiative to create cleaner, safer campuses for their students. Western students voted, and agreed that in order to create a cleaner campus, eliminating smoking would sustain air quality while improving student health overall.

Western has joined other schools in this movement, such as University of California and New York University. Western was the last public school in Oregon to create such a policy.

“Are there ways for students and staff to get help if they’re trying to quit smoking?” asks Connor Bernett, a first-year student. “We’re working to support transitions into this new policy,” Wimmer responded.

Those who are struggling with the new policy can visit either the Student Health and Counseling Center to talk to a counselor or pick up a “Quit Kit” that contains resources geared to help someone quit smoking.

These resources are available free of charge to students and staff at Western.

If you or someone you know is in need of additional outside resources, please visit Smoke Free Oregon at quitnow.net or call the toll free number 1-800-Quit-Now to speak with a staff member.

Taking Stage: Why Theatre Needs Punk

By: Declan Hertel
Entertainment Editor

Back in the seventies, disco was king: meaning it was grandiose, self-important, and by the late seventies had metastasized into an elitist ball of sonic suckitude that engulfed popular music.

But then punk happened. Punk was raw, messy, and caused a massive shift in the world of music, taking everything that disco represented and smashed it beneath a hundred moshing feet. It brought meaning and humanity back to music.

I bring this up because there is a problem with a different artistic medium that is near and dear to my heart: theatre. Here it is, folks: the modern theatre is disco.

Disco was the predominant popular music of its time. Sure, there was interesting, non-sucktastic stuff happening beneath it, but it was beneath it. So to with theatre. The contemporary face of theatre is dominated by the blockbuster musical and revivals of blockbuster musicals; “Wicked”, “The King and I”, and their ilk.

Not that there is anything wrong with those, they fill the same niche as “The Avengers” does for movies: it’s a big, bombastic, fun spectacle. I saw the Broadway touring company of “Wicked” in 2012, it was dope, and anyone who left that theatre thinking that it wasn’t was wrong. But these shows are, unfortunately, indicative to the same unsettling trend that the Marvel Cinematic Universe exemplifies in cinema: style over substance.

The other big issue with the modern theatre is that it is perceived in the mainstream as being inaccessible, as an art form for the old and powerful. Audiences are dominated by the old, the white, and the rich; in other words, the people who have the least impetus to change the world.

The old aren’t going be here for long, the white have it good, and the rich have it better. It’s out of reach to the average American, or at least it looks like it. The average middle class American needs to use the money they would spend on tickets to pay rent; this reality combined with the fact that the “cheap” end of professional theatre tickets is generally over $20 only pushes theater further away from the lower end.

I can hear you thinking: “Why should I care?”

You should care because, friends, theatre used to be dangerous. As Western’s own Dr. Michael Phillips says in his Theatre History class, people have been killed because they were theatre artists. Theatre strikes fear into tyrants and has been known to lead, sometimes directly, to their demise. Why? Because theatre is human.

Theatre, at its best, is the pulse of a culture. It is an inherently visceral art form. In theatre, you are in the same room as these people. You are directly witnessing their struggles, their passions, their loves and hates and triumphs and failures, with nothing more between you than an implicit divide between actors and audience. There’s nowhere to hide from the truth.

No other art form has such ability to create empathy. This unique property is wasted on huge, feel-good musicals. Sure it’s saddening to see the injustices perpetrated on a green-skinned witch, but it’s downright devastating when a play shows you the injustices suffered by your fellow humans every day. Theatre does more than tell you what’s going on, it slaps you in the face and dares you to do something about it. It shows you exactly what’s wrong with the world you live in, and makes you care.

There needs to be a punk rock revolution in the theatre. Too long has it languished in the clutches of the elite, too long has it been an inaccessible art form, unavailable to the common man. Theatre has always been a voice for change throughout the world, a voice for those who have no other voice, but not in the America of today.

Important works are being written and premiered regularly, but the “high-class” perception of theatre has relegated their viewership to those who have no stake or vested interest in what they stand for, and those who do have an interest are put off by the saturation of blockbusters homogenizing down the form.

In these troubled times, we need all the help we can get. What I ask of you is this: seek out shows that tackle today’s issues, and support them. Support small, underground theatres. Go and experience the unbelievable power that theatre holds, and let it fuel you to change the world you live in, in whatever way you can.

 

Western welcomes students back to a new year.

By: Amanda Clarke
Staff Writer

For Western’s New Student Week (NSW), which took place Sept. 20-26, first-year students were invited to walk the red carpet and learn more about WOU’s campus and their fellow students.

The theme of this year’s NSW was “HollyWOUd: Lights, Camera, Take Action!” Freshmen had the opportunity to learn more about Western through a variety of events held during the week.

Austin Davis, Peer Leaders Understanding Students (PLUS) Team Member and a sophomore Criminal Justice major, said that the theme for NSW was selected after vigorous brainstorming by the whole PLUS Team.

“There was so much you can do with this theme,” Davis said, “the theme we chose was very inclusive, we didn’t leave anyone out.”

The PLUS Team at WOU helps new students during registration, Summer Orientation Advising and Registration and NSW in order to ensure students feel more comfortable about starting college life.

Peer Mentors and PLUS Team members work together in order to help first-year students get to know one another. Freshmen were required to attend several events to teach them more about Western’s campus.

There were multiple hour-long sessions which helped students learn how to write essays, use DegreeWorks, and become certified in Leadership, as well as other events that involved other subject areas.

Some events promoted student bonding and teamwork, such as volleyball and capture the flag. There were also excursions to Portland and Lincoln City on Saturday.

Julianna Deckter, a freshman accounting major, said that the events on campus “have been fun. They’ve been very lively, and inclusive, and just fun in general.”

Students were also able to learn more about various clubs, job opportunities, and local businesses through several large-scale events, including the Welcome to Monmouth/Independence Fair in the Grove on Sept. 23.

The fair offered a wide range of free merchandise for students to take home including bags, posters, live goldfish, and food.

Allie Highberg, a first-year elementary education major, said, “I have really liked pretty much everything that we’ve done. All of the meetings we’ve had were fun and educational.”

Highberg also stated that she learned something new every time she attended events, of which there was a wide-variety.

Students also had a chance to sign their names on the sidewalk between the Grove and the Old PE building in Western’s colors: red, white, and black.

“It seemed like everybody so far has been very friendly, and I hope it impacts them to be more social and connect more,” Davis added. He said the week went well.

Some of the keynote events of the week included the Dating Doctor, David Coleman, a hypnotist, and the Variety Show, which took place on Saturday evening.

On the back of the New Student Session Booklets that were handed out, students were able to fill out a “VIP Pass” in order to have a chance to win a prize. Prizes included WOU swag, a TV, an iPad Mini, a GoPro, and a gift card to the campus bookstore.

The acts at the Variety Show included multiple dancers, an electric guitar performance, several comedy groups, a monologue from “Laughing Wild,” and a piano/voice performance of Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.”

The PLUS Team also put together a video of the various events that occurred during New Student Week and had an additional dance performance that followed. Throughout the Variety Show, drawings were done randomly by a PLUS Team member to announce the winners of the “VIP Pass” prizes.

Deckter said she feels like this year is “going to go easy.” Adding, “I definitely feel like the community is very welcoming and you’ll have support no matter what.”

 

Changing of the Guard.

By: Megan Clark
Campus Life Editor

This past summer, Western Oregon University appointed a new university president, Dr. Rex Fuller.

President Fuller’s past positions include provost and vice president of academic affairs at Eastern Washington University (EWU).

During his time at EWU, he developed a long list of achievements and recognitions, all of which can be found on his WOU webpage. In addition to his other numerous accomplishments, Dr. Fuller was involved with developing student success and community college dual admission programs.

Hoping to bring his expertise to Western, Dr. Fuller said “WOU has a reputation of being student focused…we hope to continue to build on the success we’ve already had.”

He has also stated that Western will undergo an accreditation process to help identify the strengths and weaknesses of current academics according to the Northwest Commission on Colleges and Universities standards, which will then be addressed in 2016.

When asked about implementing EWU programs at Western, Dr. Fuller pointed to the dual admission program saying that it could be implemented; especially given the existence of the Oregon Promise.

The Oregon Promise financially assists students seeking a community college education.

President Fuller has also been supportive of interacting with the local community, both at EWU and at Western. “I believe the university is a vital component of the greater area and the community, in particular the city of Monmouth, but also the city of Independence, as well as the mid-Willamette Valley,” said Fuller.

He also mentioned that students could get involved with the community through service learning projects or clubs.

Fuller is also reaching out to Western alumni, with plans to “invite them back into the wolf den.” Fuller said that through the alumni and their associations with organizations, Western students can find greater opportunities for internships and employment.

Looking to the future, Dr. Fuller hopes to increase “our academic array and presence in Salem” in order to help working professionals pursue their graduate degree through “hybrid opportunities that involve face to face meetings and other means.”

When they are not occupied with university related business or unpacking from their recent move, President Fuller and his wife, Susan, can be found around the Monmouth community, trying the local cuisine and wineries.

Getting reviewed: Associate Collegiate Press critiques The Journal.

MeganColor

By: Megan Clark
Campus Life Editor

Last year, The Journal submitted a selection of its work to The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP), an organization that critiques and gives rankings to collegiate newspapers.

Recently, the critique was returned and The Journal was selected for a merit award, and given mark of distinction in the category of Photos, Art & Graphics. In the category of Photos, Art & Graphics, the ACP marked the paper at 145 out of 150 possible points.

The paper was given an overall honor rating of 701. The honor rating of 701 places the paper in the second-class rank, the third best rating in the scale.

According to their website, ACP “promotes standards and ethics of good journalism” by offering reviews and comments about college and university newspapers.

The critique was broken down into multiple categories; The Journal scored well in Layout & Design and Coverage & Content, though it scored highest in Photos, Art & Graphics.

According to the judge, Shawn Murphy, The Journal should “keep up the photo coverage. This is a strength.” Though The Journal received high marks, there is still room for improvement in others.

Conner Williams, The Journal’s editor-in-chief, has also been selected as one of ten finalists for Story of the Year in the Editorial and Opinion category. Williams was nominated for his April 2015 opinion piece titled “Up in smoke: The ethical dilemmas of a convenience store clerk”.

When asked about the paper’s direction for the new school year, the Editor-in-Chief said, “For this year, we’re going to increase our social media and online presence, conduct investigative reports, especially in editorial pieces.”

Williams also focused on “making sure all stories go through rigorous copy editing to make sure all stories are as accurate as possible.”

With the judge’s comments in mind, The Journal hopes to improve its scores in the other categories and rank even higher for the next ACP review.

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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.

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