How to find the best birth control
By: Shaylie Pickerel Staff writer
On Thursday, March 9, Abby’s House hosted an event to inform students about birth control options. Although their guest, Jennifer King from a care provider at the student health and counseling center, was sick, they still gave all the information they had collected from her, as well as wrote down any unanswered questions that they will relay to her.
Aislinn Addington, the director of Abby’s House, stated multiple times that, “We are not licensed health care professionals, but will provide the best information we can.” When discussing curiosities about birth control, Addington responded with, “If you’re interested in birth control on campus at the health center, there’s no fee to talk about options and the cost for the actual birth control is case by case depending on insurance.”
Addington then went on to discuss the different types of birth control that are available. The different types of birth control are labeled on a five to one star effectiveness scale when “used properly,” as Jessica Fontaine, a Abby’s House volunteer stated. The five star methods include: nexplanon the arm implant, skyla and mirena IUDs and sterilization for men and women. The three star methods include: the pill, the patch, the ring and depo-provera the shot. And finally, the one star methods include: fertility awareness, the diaphragm and condoms for men and women.
The ones that are most likely to be available at the health center are the pill, the implant, IUDs, the ring and condoms. Condoms are the only form of birth control that protect from STIs and are best used with other birth control methods.
During the question and answer portion, they answered common concerns that most people have when thinking about sex or birth control. “It’s best to take the least amount of estrogen needed,” said Addington. She also explained the side effects of UTIs and yeast infections and that they, “… aren’t gender exclusive. You can also get a UTI if you have a penis and they can also be transferred between partners.”
In addition to the options on campus, Planned Parenthood in Salem is also a valuable resource. If one has any more in depth questions about birth control, contact the health center. If this causes stress and is uncomfortable, Abby’s House is willing to help make the phone call to schedule the appointment for whoever needs it.
Contact the author at spickrell15@wou.edu
Winning weekend for baseball in Portland
By: Burke De Boer Sports Editor
Wolves baseball busted out the brooms in a series sweep of Concordia, extending their conference record to 6-0 to start the season.
Western Oregon’s trip to Portland saw them win the first game 6-3, then pull off both halves of a double header 2-1 and 9-2.
The wins helped Western Oregon baseball climb back into the National Collegiate Baseball Writers west region poll, now ranked at number eight.
The winning pitchers were first year student Connor McCord, junior Craig Grubbe and senior Trey Smith. First year student Kade Mechals and junior Cam Walker both picked up saves for their late inning efforts.
The first game saw the Wolves go into the eighth inning trailing 2-3. Nine Western runners had been left stranded throughout the first seven innings.
Starting pitcher Brady Miller had been pulled and McCord brought on in relief. Since McCord took the mound at the end of the fourth inning, Concordia was held to their three points. McCord had surrendered no hits and struck out two. But the Wolves offense would need to close on scoring opportunities if the defensive performance was to garner anything.
The eighth inning opened with first year outfielder Torreahno Sweet, who had batted in one of the Wolves’ earlier runs, getting on base with a single. Junior Jay Leverett then slugged a home run over left field to take the lead.
The runs continued to pour in and McCord shut down Concordia, picking up a total of six strikeouts in his four and one-third innings.
“It felt great to help my team win this week,” Sweet said, after getting his first at bats of the season. “We worked hard at practice and the results showed.”
The Wolves never trailed throughout the Sunday double header as they powered their way to the sweep.
The first game of the day was a defensive match, as the Wolves won 2-1.
Craig Grubbe struck out five, allowed only two hits and gave up no runs in his six innings pitched.
The final game of the series was the most explosive for the Wolves as they put up nine runs on Concordia. Sophomore catcher Justin Wakem scored two runs and batted in a third. Junior third baseman Nyles Nygaard had three RBIs on the day.
“Once the game starts, it’s all about picking up your teammates and focusing on the little things to achieve our common goal,” Nygaard said. “Our coach emphasizes a term, ‘This pitch.’ If we focus on the pitch at hand, we will win every game because we are taking care of what’s present. We aren’t looking ahead at the what-ifs and we aren’t looking back.”
The six game win streak to open conference play sees Western Oregon on top of the GNAC standings and the only undefeated team in conference.
The Wolves are in Monmouth this week, hosting Corban on March 15 and Central Washington on March 18 and 19.
Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu
Spring into action
By: Alyssa James Staff Writer
Winter term is coming to a close which means that after next week, spring break will be here. Oregon may not be the ideal spring break destination spot for most; however, Oregon offers various excursions that students can enjoy.
Beginning March 24, the Wooden Shoe Tulip Farm is putting on their annual Tulip Fest. With 40 acres of land to walk about with views of the mountains, this is an ideal place to visit to enjoy the start of spring. There is a $5 ticket cost to enter, but once inside there are a few different gardens to explore, food onsite from the Mt. Angel Sausage Company, a coffee cart and more. This may be just the way to kick off the spring season.
Over 21 and want something fun to do? The Cider Rite of Spring is taking place in Portland on March 25. According to nwcider.com, Cider Rite of Spring is an event that celebrates the “blossoming Northwest Cider industry” and is “an annual cider tasting event welcoming the return of Spring.” The event runs from 12 to 6 p.m. and costs $25 to attend. With entrance, attendees receive a complimentary glass and access to a total of 30 local cideries offering almost 100 different types of cider.
For someone who doesn’t want to spend a bunch of money over the week-long break, taking a trip to one of the numerous hikes within Oregon may sound like the ultimate way to spend one’s time. A few options that may be worth looking into are Silver Falls State Park, Ankeny National Wildlife Refuge and Multnomah Falls. One thing to always remember is that when going on a hike, staying safe is the top priority. Whether hiking, enjoying cider, or admiring tulips, there is something to enjoy for everyone during spring break.
Contact the author at ajames16@wou.edu
Review: “Kong”
By: Ashton Newton Entertainment Editor
“Sometimes the most dangerous things are the most beautiful,” says Tom Hiddleston’s “Kong: Skull Island” character, explorer James Conrad.
A fitting quote for a movie of such monstrous proportions. It’s difficult to watch “Kong: Skull Island” without being constantly blown away by the beautiful South Pacific setting and the fantastic cinematography.
Each scene of terror is followed by a scene of beauty. The wonder of the uncharted Skull Island is shown throughout, causing smile-inducing scenes of beauty around every corner, which helps to make “Kong: Skull Island” an excellent adventure film.
Accompanied by music and outfits from it’s 1973 setting, “Kong: Skull Island” makes great use of the time period, set up to feel like a Vietnam War film.
The film makes great use of its cast. Samuel L. Jackson, John C. Reilly, Brie Larson, Tom Hiddleston and John Goodman all bring unique and compelling performances to the table. Working with an ensemble cast of well known actors can make for thin characters, but in “Kong,” everyone has their moment to shine.
Even Kong himself is an incredibly done character. Both terrifying and sympathetic, Kong’s special effects help to make him realistic enough to feel like a real threat to the viewer, rather than an animated joke like some “King Kong” movies in the past.
The film does fall into standard action movie tropes though. When the soldiers are focused on in the film, I found myself having heard the same dialogue and seen the same problems. “Kong: Skull Island” doesn’t do much to set itself apart from every other action film.
The plot is also weak. Two hours of “get from point A to point B with monsters” gets redundant and annoying after a while and would be a total bust without the accompaniment of great performances and excellent visuals.
With a great cast and beautiful cinematography, “Kong: Skull Island” is one of the best “King Kong” films ever made. Although brought down by action movie tropes and a weak plot, “Kong” is still a great, beautiful movie that definitely deserves a watch.
Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu
¾
+ Great cast
– Weak plot
Let my people go
By: Zoe Strickland Managing Editor
I want to preface this by saying that I identify as being culturally Jewish rather than religiously Jewish. I was raised in an interfaith household; my mom is Jewish and my dad isn’t religious, though his family somewhat is.
That being said, I’ve always been closer to my Jewish roots than my Christian ones. I know the beliefs, prayers, history, holidays. Growing up I didn’t go to Hebrew school, but I went to synagogue on Fridays and celebrated the high holy days. I have Jewish family members who moved here as a way of escaping Hitler’s regime. I’m proud of my heritage and I’m proud of what we’ve survived.
So when I see that there have been over 150 bomb threats to Jewish community centers and repeated instances of vandalism to Jewish cemeteries, I get angry. I get angry that this has been happening for months, and that the president waited until Feb. 28 to address it. I get angry that the religion I was raised with, one that promoted nothing but kindness and acceptance, is now being targeted because people are somehow still stuck in the 1930s. It’s sickening.
All of this has been done before: the threats, the vandalism.
During the Nazi regime they would set up days that were fully devoted to toppling down Jewish headstones. We’ve seen this before, we have a general idea of what it leads to, but there isn’t an active effort being made to combat the threats that are being made. Having one speech that denounces acts of hate is great, but it doesn’t prevent anything.
According to CNN, the bomb threats have been happening in waves “On Jan. 9, 15 Jewish centers and schools received bomb threats. Since then, the threats have occurred in waves, with a series of threats on Jan. 18, Jan. 31, Feb. 20,” reported an article from March 1. These threats are premeditated, they’re clearly being timed and put out in a specific way.
The police caught one of the people who was making the threats directed at New York community centers, and he was perpetrating the threats as a way of setting up his ex-girlfriend because he was mad at her. Bomb threats against any place, religion or organization aren’t justified. They aren’t a ploy to use to get back at someone you’re mad at. It’s a form of targeted, misplaced retaliation.
This past weekend was Purim, a Jewish holiday that’s meant to celebrate the resistance against an ancient Persian king’s plan to annihilate the Jews. During Purim, there was another wave of threats towards Jewish community centers. According to the PewResearchCenter, Jews make up 1.9 percent of the United States. The bomb threats not only target a specific group of people, but they also threaten the safety of a minority community in the United States. Regardless of the community, religious or not, we should all be concerned when any group within the country is threatened.
So far, in the United States and Canada, there has been a combined total of 154 threats to the Jewish community. We’re nearly three months into 2017 and 72 years past the end of WWII; why is this still going on?
Contact the author at zstrickland14@wou.edu
March Madness returns
By: Burke De Boer Sports Editor
We are now in the ides of March, and madness once again descends upon us; referring of course to the NCAA Division I men’s basketball tournament.
The most hyped bracket of each year released its 2017 edition on March 12, the result of a madcap Selection Sunday.
The top seeds in each region were Villanova in the east, Kansas in the midwest, Gonzaga in the west and North Carolina in the south. Duke’s spot as number two in the east could set this bracket up for a Duke-North Carolina final.
In a highlight of the east region, Wisconsin fans were left baffled at how their Badgers were deemed an eight seed. On the other side of the bracket, Minnesota was crowned a five seed, despite not playing in the Big Ten championship.
Wisconsin’s trip to the Big Ten championship and ranking second in the conference didn’t seem to help their rank in this tournament. Even Maryland scored a higher seeding, despite bombing out in the Big Ten’s quarterfinals.
Wisconsin’s spot as an eight seed puts them against ninth-seeded Virginia Tech. This is going to be a game to watch, despite all the salt of Badgers fans for their team being underseeded. Josh Parcell reported an interesting stat on Twitter, in that Wisconsin is 307th in the nation when it comes to defending three pointers. Virginia Tech, meanwhile, ranks ninth in the country in three point offense.
The midwest region looks almost like a Big Twelve tournament, as three of the conference’s schools were all seeded together. Top seeded Kansas is the natural favorite for the region, but with Iowa State and Oklahoma State both in contention, some conference rivalry is certainly possible.
Iowa State shouldn’t overlook their matchup against Nevada though. March Madness is always full of upsets, and the twelfth seeded Wolfpack just won the Mountain West championship.
It’s Nevada’s first trip to the big dance since 2007, but they have some tricks for their first round matchup. Guard Hallice Cooke played for Iowa State just last year before transferring to Nevada, bringing their scouts and coaches an inside view of Iowa State’s operations.
One stat that will help Nevada regardless of insider info is the fact that Iowa State is one of the worst teams in the nation at rebounding, ranked 295th. All around they’re a smaller team filled with good shooters but lack the power of the Wolfpack. Nevada big men Jordan Caroline and Cameron Oliver have a combined rebound average of 17.9.
The south region is perhaps the most wide open of the four, as top seed North Carolina has underperformed on the road this year.
Tenth seeded Wichita State is also considered to have gotten the Wisconsin treatment. The Missouri Valley champions were largely pegged for around a six seed, but somehow fell to double digits. Make no mistake, they have the potential to go far in this bracket. They are one of only ten teams in the nation to be ranked in the top 25 for efficiency on both defense and offense.
The three-peated SEC kings Kentucky come into the south region with a number two seed. In 2014, Kentucky and Wichita State played one of the instant classics of March Madness history, and the selection committee is likely chomping at the bit for a rematch.
Making a notable appearance in the west region is Northwestern, who have received a tournament bid for the first time in school history. Northwestern are the only Power Five school to have never played a tournament game, a legacy that comes to an end when they face Vanderbilt in Salt Lake City.
The Wildcats were sure to make the tournament after beating Michigan on March 1, the result of a full-court Hail Mary pass from Nate Taphorn to Derek Pardon in the dying seconds of the game. Pardon put the lobbed ball through the basket as time expired in one of the incredible highlights of the regular season.
March Madness is a time for stories, and this year’s selections prove to have many. No one has ever gotten the bracket challenge right, at least those placed by online bets. So pick your favorite teams and spite all your rivals. We’re all going to be wrong. Have fun.
Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu
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