Mary Geanelli Bernardo, Author at The Western Howl

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

I had the kind of grandparents who referenced everything related to video games as “a Nintendo”, which was an easy thing for individuals unfamiliar with gaming to do with how prominent the name was.

Despite large success since 1997, Nintendo was at its financial peak with 2006’s Wii, selling 101.1 million units as of 2016, more than both the Playstation 3 and the Xbox 360.

Since then, Nintendo has been pushed to the very back of the console market, with the WiiU selling only 13 million units. Not only was the WiiU the lowest selling Nintendo product, but it sold less units than any of Sony’s or Microsoft’s consoles. The WiiU’s hardware just couldn’t compare with the Playstation 4 and Xbox One.

While the original Wii’s hardware couldn’t keep up with the modern consoles, the main selling point was fun. Both “Wii Sports” and “Mario Kart Wii” quickly became fan favorites and helped contribute to the console’s success. The WiiU lacked memorable games and couldn’t run popular games, so it was much less desirable and the sales of other modern consoles soared instead.

2017 will see the release of Nintendo’s new console, the Switch. Nintendo told The Wall Street Journal that they’re producing three million units to start out and are anticipating selling 10 million by the end of 2017, almost catching up to the WiiU.

With optimized hardware to play modern games, such as “The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim”, and a large list of new original games including “The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild” and “Super Mario Odyssey”, Nintendo is attempting to appeal to gamers on all levels.

The $300 price tag isn’t stopping fans from taking to social media with excitement. The console has already developed a large fanbase online with users on sites like Reddit collecting all the information they can.

The Nintendo Switch releases on March 3, 2017, with more games and support releasing later.

Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou

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Defensive skills not enough

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

The Wolves lost 45-65 to Western Washington and 49-60 to Simon Fraser.

Junior guard Shelby Snook put up 19 points against 15th-ranked Western Washington.

Junior forward Savannah Heugly made her second start in a row, and put up 9 points while grabbing 6 rebounds.

Western Washington benefitted from depth. Their bench put up 20 points while the Wolves’ bench could only score eight.

The Wolves forced 18 turnovers but couldn’t capitalize on them as well as the Vikings.
Against Simon Fraser the Wolves forced even more turnovers, with 21.

Though the defense was solid once again, the offense couldn’t generate enough to top 21st-ranked Simon Fraser.

Sophomore forward Ali Nelke and junior guard Sydney Azorr both but up 10 points.

The Wolves will be back in Monmouth on Feb. 7.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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That’s a wrap

By: Alyssa James
Staff Writer

On January 29, the Sundance Film Festival came to a close in Park City, UT. It started on January 19, showing over 100 new, feature-length, independent films throughout the 10 day festival according to sundance.org. Within this festival, there are multiple different sections for the films which include: U.S. dramatic competition, U.S. documentary competition, world cinema dramatic competition, world cinema documentary competition, and next. As 2017 continues, we will start to see some of these titles more and more as they make a presence in the theaters.

One film shown within the U.S. dramatic competition was “Ingrid Goes West.” The film showcases the social media idolization of this age. As a young woman, Ingrid, played by Aubrey Plaza, grows an obsession with Instagram user Taylor Sloane, portrayed by Elizabeth Olsen. Because of her obsession, Ingrid decides to moves to L.A. to become friends with Taylor. According to slashfilm.com says the film is, “not just your average comedy film, but a smart commentary on our social media obsessed world.”

“Last Men in Aleppo” is a documentary that follows some of the founding members of The White Helmets, the group of men who go around in attempt to save people from the war-stricken state of their country, Syria.Kutv.com reported that, “everything about the fly-on-the-wall documentary is deeply grim. There are no interviews, just cameras showing the raw struggle to save lives.” This documentary is directed by Feras Fayyad and Steen Johannessen and has been said to be one of the documentaries that is most difficult to see this year, according to theguardian.com.

Kumail Nanjiani and Emily V. Gordon wrote the screenplay for the comedy-drama film, “The Big Sick,” based off their own lives and the difficulty of their interracial romance. It focuses on the culture-clash between Nanjiani’s pakistani culture and the culture of Emily, an american. Sundance.org wrote that Nanjiani mined “… his personal stories for comedy gold, he shares his experiences that are uniquely Pakistani but will resonate for everyone who has ever fallen in love.” This film was a huge hit at the Sundance Film Festival and is anticipated to have major success.

There was a vast variety of films showed at Sundance. As people are talking about the films that are receiving Oscars for this year, this festival sets up the movies that will be contenders for next year. The Sundance Film Festival desires to make available a place for artists to present the work that they poured their heart and soul into to create. All of the filmmakers have something that they want to convey to their audience and the best part is that we are able to watch and enjoy these films, and maybe even be moved by them.

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Club spotlight: Black Student Union

By: Paige Scofield
Campus Life Editor

Student organizations are a very important part of a college education. They allow students to branch out and find their passions, as well as meet new people and make new friends. They teach students how to organize events and meetings as well as how to work as a team.

The Black Student Union is an organization on campus that is part of Western’s University Diversity Committee. Recently, they helped end Western’s MLK Celebration Week with a slam poetry event held in Café Allegro.

Courtney Briscoe, a senior psychology major, has been a part of the Black Student Union for three years and is now president of the organization.

“The Black Student Union is a student organization that works to promote diversity around campus as well as social issues. It is meant to be a fun and welcoming environment where all members of [Western] can go to to talk,” said Briscoe.

She wanted to be very clear that this club is not exclusive, “One thing I want people to know about BSU is that you do not have to be black to be a part of it. Being part of a small ethnic group here we like to see other members of the [Western] community attend. It’s nice to feel supported by our fellow peers.”

Black Student Union has meetings every Tuesday, located in the Klamath room of the Werner University Center at 4:00 p.m. Feel free to attend to learn more about Black Student Union and your fellow peers.

“BSU is important to me, because it gives me an environment to talk to people I identify with either ethnically or socially,” said Briscoe. “It’s a place where I feel welcomed and excited to go to every week! It’s a place where I feel I can talk about issues that are dear to me and the community I am a part of, without feeling like my opinion is invalid.”
To learn more information, visit Western’s website and search University Diversity Committee.

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu

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Pro women’s hockey fights for a future

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

It was only recently that women hockey players in this country began to be paid for their sport.

Now the National Women’s Hockey League is midway through its second season and the Boston Pride tops the table. The three teams below them are the Buffalo Beauts, the New York Riveters and the Connecticut Whale.

It is a faster-paced game than what is played on NHL ice, with less pauses to fight. And while NHL rosters tend to be dominated by Canadians, here American women lead the way.

Which only makes sense, as Team USA has won the world championship in each of the last three years.

While the Pride are undefeated, sitting at 11 wins from 11 games, the remaining three teams have played largely balanced games against one another.

League founder and commissioner Dani Rylan built the league on a strong business model, the likes is seen across all of professional sports. This attracted team owners, investors and sponsors. ESPN’s online streaming service ESPN3 has aired matches, and Dunkin Donuts gave the league a multi-year sponsorship deal.

But to make it over the hump that every new business faces, some concessions had to be made. The most notable was a pay cut early into the 2016-17 season. The 10,000 dollar minimum player salary was cut in half last November.

This is seen as an unfortunate yet necessary step from management. The first women’s league to pay its players does not intend to fold. The goal is to return to the original salary next year. But before that can be accomplished, the league must see financial improvements.

The league will continue to provide all uniforms and equipment to its teams. This too is a first for post-collegiate women’s hockey leagues in America.

The sports world certainly benefits from having a salaried women’s hockey league. What remains to be determined is just how far it will go.

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

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Editor’s picks

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

Editor’s Recommendation:

A large amount of “Star Wars” content outside of the films relies heavily on the characters and events in them. True originality is difficult to find in the “Star Wars” universe; the recent “Rogue One” struggled with that.

Luckily, the animated television show “Star Wars: Rebels” has the perfect amount of originality. The show follows a crew of rebels, long before “A New Hope,” on their many adventures.

“Rebels” doesn’t rely on the movies at all. When an event or character is referenced, it’s done for pure enjoyment rather than plot reliance.
All characters have their own struggles and arcs that viewers easily get attached to. The character relationships are so rich that reliance on the movies is not necessary.

Editor’s Disparagement:

ABC’s “Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” has aired alongside Marvel films since “Thor: The Dark World.” The show takes places in the cinematic universe and follows Agent Coulson from “The Avengers” and his team of agents.

The show’s concept is exciting but the execution is not great. Existing alongside Marvel films doesn’t excuse the weak plots and thin characters.
When a new film releases, the show minorly ties in. Watching the show made the beginning of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” make more sense, but it took 13 episodes of boring filler to get there.

One or two moments of payoff per season is hardly a reason to watch a show, and that’s just what “Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D” requires viewers to do.

Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu

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Men’s Basketball goes 3-1 on Road



By: TK Layman
staff writer

Western Oregon Wolves Men’s Basketball finished a two-week road trip with a pair of wins last week.

The Wolves ended up edging out the Northwest NazareneCrusaders in a 69-67 victory. Ali Faruq-Bey totaled a team high 23 points that night, tacking on 5 defensive rebounds and 2 steals. Tanner Omlid had a great overall performance, totaling 13 points with 9 rebounds, 3 blocked shots, 6 assists, and 6 steals.

Rounding out the road trip the Wolves had an 85-68 win over the Central Washington Wildcats. Wolves Faruq-Bey continued his scoring performance with 21 points, scoring 15-of- 21 behind the arc. JJ Chirnside helped with a great defensive performance adding 8 rebounds to his 13 total points for the game.

Following the road trip the Wolves sit with an 11-9 record, 8-4 GNAC, putting them in third place for men’s GNAC standings.

They return home Thursday, Feb. 2 where they take on the Saint Martin’s Saints in the Hall vs. Hall night.

Follow the Wolves online at wouwolves.com
Contact the author at tlayman16@mail.wou.edu

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.

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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.

The dethroned king of gaming

Defensive skills not enough

That’s a wrap

Club spotlight: Black Student Union

Pro women’s hockey fights for a future

Editor’s picks

Men’s Basketball goes 3-1 on Road

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