Web Designer, Author at The Western Howl

By: Conner Williams
Editor-in-Chief

There’s a couple things that have caused me to become extra irritated lately (that’s my PC way of saying they piss me off).

There are few things that professors do to piss me off more than those that can’t be bothered to send the class an email that class is cancelled.

No, I assure you, I just love walking the mile from my apartment in the rain to see a stupid note on the door that class in cancelled. Thanks so much. Feel free to take three minutes to send an email notification to your students.

I can’t imagine how outraged I’d be if I commuted from out of town, like a large majority of the students at this school do. Have some common courtesy; you aren’t the only one whose time is valuable.

Next up: motorists. I’m not sure if people haven’t grasped the fact that Monmouth is a college town or not, but newsflash, there’s a university right smack in the middle of town. And that means there are pedestrians everywhere, all the time, at all hours of the day.

I was almost hit the other day because a driver was doing at least 35 in a 20 mph zone. Since many people commute to town for class, cars are often parked along the sides of the roads and make it difficult for pedestrians to see down the road for oncoming traffic barreling down the road.

I really don’t feel like dying, and I’m sure you don’t feel like having a manslaughter conviction on your record, so do everyone a favor and go the damn speed limit, and slow down at intersections.

Contact the author at journaleditor@wou.edu or on Twitter @journalEIC

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Maria Dantas-Whitney

By:Chelsea Hunt
Guest Contributor

A large poster of her hometown Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, leans up against a wall in Maria Dantas-Whitney’s office. Lining surfaces are colorful, miscellaneous objects given by international students to this professor of both English for Speakers of Other Languages and Bilingual Education.

They reflect her colorful personality, said friend and colleague Tracy Smiles.

“She’s always bright and friendly,” said Smiles.

From her professional pursuits to her mentoring, collaboration is just the way Dantas-Whitney lives her life. It’s one of the reasons she came to Western Oregon University to teach. She felt that she would work well with the other professors.

“This was a really good fit,” said Dantas-Whitney.

While at Western, Dantas-Whitney has collaborated with her colleagues to bring in grant money for different projects, most recently the SPELL grant which is now in its final year.

A colleague congratulated Dantas-Whitney a day before she got the official notification that the grant had been approved to the sum of nearly $2 million.

“It was a big surprise,” said Dantas-Whitney.

Although Dantas-Whitney is the project director, it was a group effort. Ella Taylor from the Teaching Research Institute helped write the grant, and Carmen Caceda, professor of Teacher Education, has helped with the grant work.

Project SPELL, which stands for Sustainable Practices for English Language Learners, is a five-year grant that provides federal funding for teachers from Salem-Keizer and Woodburn to get an ESOL endorsement through Western.

More students today have first languages other than English, so teachers need to know how to help these students succeed, Dantas-Whitney explained.

Amanda Larsen, who taught in Salem-Keizer, was one of the people who participated in the program.

“Having an endorsement in ESOL allows me to use some of the knowledge I gained and help those English language learners that are in my classroom,” said Larsen.

Larsen found Dantas-Whitney to be an effective advisor for her thesis as she worked towards getting a master’s in ESOL.

“Immediately you get the impression that she is competent and on top of things,” said Larsen.

In addition to her competency, Smiles said that Dantas-Whitney’s warm personality sets her students at ease.

“I’ve met few people who are as charming and responsive as Maria,” added Smiles.

For Dantas-Whitney teaching and mentoring are collaborative efforts and this influences the way that she works with students who are writing a thesis.

She first asks them to look at the areas that interest them because they need to be passionate and curious about their topics.

Because she is a humble person, as her son Thomas Whitney put it, Dantas-Whitney does not see herself as someone who tells students what they should do.

“I consider myself a mentor,” said Dantas-Whitney.

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Dear Esmeralda

Dear Esmeralda,
My parents showed up unannounced at my apartment the other day. They ended up seeing my giant bong. Now they are threatening to cancel my trip to France this summer. What do I tell them to understand and let me go?

Signed,

Desperate for that Parisian Kush

Dear Desperate for that Parisian Kush,

First of all that is the weirdest name I have ever been made to read with my own two eyes, so props to you for that kitty girl! Now, I, myself, do not take part of the devil’s lettuce so I can’t say this has ever happened to me and as you may know I pretend to be French when it suits me.

However, according to my research (aka typing some jargon into Google and scanning the first result), whacky tobacky is illegal in France so, keep that in mind. One thing that should be taken into account is your age, if it’s legal for you, in our wonderful state, to partake of laganja estranja I don’t see a reason they should be mad at you. Also, at the age of 21 you are legally an adult (even if, like myself, you don’t feel like it) so, maybe politely bring that up. But, if you are still heavily reliant on them I wouldn’t do it.

As long as you can balance your own financial stuff and don’t have to start working at the Spearmint Rhino to pay for school, you should be fine. Be mature and that’ll get you through! Good luck, dear!

Esmeralda

Contact Esmeralda Dharma LaChance on Twitter @miss_ezi or find her on Facebook with your questions on love and life!

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Cocktail Corner

By: Rachael Jackson
Campus Life Editor

Let’s talk about gin. You know, that liquor that is made from a ghastly overwhelming amount of botanicals. It isn’t the alcohol for everyone, I get it. But, and I am not trying to offend anyone, if you don’t enjoy gin than you have a poor palate and should explore your alcohol options a bit more.

You can buy the fancy gin like Tanqueray, but in my home you’ll always find a healthy supply of Monarch gin because I can get a giant plastic bottle for less than $30 at the local liquor store. I can’t for the life of me tell the difference when it’s mixed in a drink. Sue me!

Here are some drinks to get you started:

Gin and tonic

Add ice into a glass, add in a shot or two of gin, and fill the glass with tonic water. Finish with a thick slice of lime.

Rickey: Replace tonic for carbonated water (I used lime-flavored La Croix) and throw in half a lime instead of a slice. I like to muddle the lime with some fresh ginger before adding the other ingredients.

Gin martini

It may seem intimidating to make, but don’t be a baby about it. Fill a shaker with ice and add a shot of gin with a heavy splash of vermouth. Shake it for a good while and pour into a martini glass (or a Solo cup, it is college, after all). Add a pimento-stuffed green olive and you have dinner.

Dirty martini: Pour a shot of the olive juice into the shaker and add at least three olives to the glass.

Dry martini: Toss half a teaspoon of vermouth into the glass, swirl, and toss out. Shake the gin and ice separately. Serve with a cocktail onion or lemon twist instead of an olive.

Peach Dharma

Fill a pint glass with ice, pour in two shots of gin followed by half a shot of peach schnapps (feel free to add more). Squeeze in half an orange and fill the glass with lemonade. This is a great for summer, and is sweeter than the others.

Cheers!

Have any drink suggestions or cocktail creations? Send them to the author at rjackson13@wou.edu or on Twitter @rachaelyjackson

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Campus garden blossoming after relocation

By: Brianna Bonham
Photo Editor

The campus garden is overflowing with green after its relocation two years ago due to the construction of the new education building. Now located in between the old education building and Rice auditorium, it houses a plethora of plants that student volunteers tend to.

Asia Cohen, a junior ASL studies and special education student, is one of the main caretakers of the garden. Cohen said that the garden focuses on the community, and sustainability.

“Community is so important,” said Cohen. “We need people to function.”

When asked to describe the garden and it’s goals, Cohen responded by saying, “Sustainable, available, educational, volunteer-based, community. Take what you need, not what you want … We teach about weeds, pests, the struggles of overgrowing. Getting our hands in the dirt takes us back to our roots.”

Cohen said that the new area for the garden is a better location due to the fencing and that the plants are doing well. The garden club encourage students to help tend to the garden, anyone is welcome and there is a garden guide posted on the fence.

The garden is home to many plants, including potatoes, spinach, strawberries, raspberries, artichokes, onions, carrots, and various types of herbs. Seeds used to grow the plants in the garden came from local seed shares such as the Monmouth Public Library. Any seeds that are not used get donated again.

The garden is working toward growing enough food to give to Valsetz dining hall.

The garden club also gives fresh produce to the Western Oregon food pantry, where students in need of food are encouraged to take what they need. They are hoping to produce enough that they can give some to local family businesses, such as Yang’s Teriyaki and Yeasty Beasty.

The garden club works with the Environmental Club to promote sustainability through the garden.

“The campus garden is a place where students are able to explore hands-on sustainable practices. We can read and talk a lot about sustainability, but you can’t beat experiencing it. The garden provides a space for that. Getting your hands dirty, smelling the soil, and seeing new life emerge from your efforts can be a very powerful experience,” said Mark Van Steeter, professor of Geography at Western and advisor to the Environmental Club.

If you’re interested in getting your hands dirty, Cohen has garden hours that get posted on the WOU Campus Garden Facebook page.

Contact the author at bbonham15@wou.edu or on Twitter @WOUjournalphoto

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What’s in a delegate?

By: Conner Williams
Editor-in-Chief

If you’ve been paying attention to this election cycle, you’ve likely heard the term “delegate” being tossed around quite a bit. The process for electing a new president is quite complex, and there are many moving cogs in the machine that is our democratic system.

To start, we’ve got the presidential primaries. These decide which candidate from each political party will be selected as that party’s nominee for the presidency. The voters cast their votes, and those votes are then converted into delegates. Those delegates are party officials from each state that are pledged to vote for the candidate represented by the people’s votes. Each state has a different amount based on its population, and if a candidate reaches a certain number of delegates before their party’s national convention, they will have secured the party’s nomination for the presidency. For the Republicans, 1,237 delegates are needed in order to secure the nomination; for the Democrats, 2,383 delegates are needed.

However, the process for how a candidate earns the votes of the delegates is a bit strange as well. For example, if a candidate wins delegates in a state and then later drops out of the race, what happens to those delegates? Well, they are then awarded to a different candidate.

In addition to regular delegates, there are also superdelegates that are a part of the system, and this is where things get a bit more complicated. First, a quick definition: superdelegates are restricted to the Democratic Party, and they are delegates that are free to support any candidate at the party’s national convention. So, even if one candidate won the delegate count for a certain state, that state’s superdelegate count could, in turn, vote for a different candidate than the one the voters cast their votes for during the primary.

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ASWOU Elections Update

By: Jenna Beresheim
News Editor

ASWOU elections were upon Western’s campus once more the week of April 18 with booths and multiple events lined up throughout the week to draw in voters.

“This year we had seven events on campus ranging from campus-focused to residence hall-focused. These events provided a grueling schedule for those of us running them, but it has been more than worth it seeing the students get involved,” said Jenesa Ross, a senior biology major and Judicial Administrator for ASWOU, as well as the current Elections Committee Chair.

“There are a lot more people running and even more of them voting this year,” said Jaime Hernandez, a sophomore political science major, and candidate for ASWOU president.

“There were more votes by Tuesday this year than there were all week in last year’s [election],” said Cynthia Olivares, a sophomore early childhood education major. Olivares is also running for vice president of ASWOU this year.

There are nine candidates overall this year, and the 10 percent minimum requirement for voting had already been surpassed by Thursday.

“I think some of these will be close races,” said Ross, “several opposing candidates are working very hard to get their name out there to the students.”

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.

Feels bad man

Maria Dantas-Whitney

Dear Esmeralda

Cocktail Corner

Campus garden blossoming after relocation

What’s in a delegate?

ASWOU Elections Update

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