Mount Hood

Men’s basketball tested in Alaska

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

The Wolves had their most dominant win of the season in Fairbanks on Saturday, Jan. 21, and came away from a trip to Alaska with a win and a loss.

Junior guard Demetrius Trammell impressed in both games in Alaska, first scoring a team-high of 17 against the University of Alaska Anchorage Seawolves, then contributing 15 against the Alaska Nanooks.

But even a 17 point performance from Trammell wasn’t enough to top the Seawolves in their Thursday night game.

It wasn’t the only point of frustration: the Wolves had deeper team play, with the bench putting up 40 points while UAA’s only scored 15. The two teams committed the same amount of turnovers but Western was more efficient with their opportunities. They scored 22 points off of turnovers while the Seawolves could only manage 16.

Despite all this, Western lost 73-81.

On the heels of the game that should have been theirs, the Wolves came out quick against the Nanooks. A three-pointer from Ali Faruq-Bey opened the scoring at 15 seconds and they never gave up the lead.

At 83-51, the Wolves put up with the widest margin of victory they’ve had all season.

Bryan Berg lead the scoring with 22, while Tanner Omlid and Akil Reese contributed 19 and 14 points respectively. Trammell and Faruq-Bey rounded out the top scorers, with Faruq-Bey putting up 9 points throughout the game.

The Wolves are on the road again this week, traveling to Northwest Nazarene and Central Washington.

They now sit at 9-9 on the season, and their 6-4 record in the GNAC ranks them fifth in the conference

Contact the author at journalsports@wou.edu

The celebration of free speech

By: Shaylie Pickerel
Staff Writer

Free speech, politics and a step back into 1962 pop culture, is what covers the walls of Western’s Hamersly Library. On Jan.18 Hamersly Library held the opening of a new art exhibit including works done by James Masnov. Masnov has curated the exhibit named “Free Speech Culture, Politics and the Art of Expression Then and Now.” It all started with his passion for free speech and the importance of the right Americans have to express differences of opinion.

When asked why free speech is such an important concept, Masnov replied, “Defending someone’s free speech right is not the same as defending their views.” He continued, “I defend people’s free speech right even if it’s a topic I don’t agree with, which is what Ellis Stebbis had done.”

Ellis Stebbis, the interim president at Western in 1962, allowed Gus Hall, the general secretary of the Communist Party of the United States, to speak on campus. Although Stebbis did not agree with what Hall had to say, he believed in his right to freedom of speech and agreed to let him speak if both the democratic and republican parties on campus agreed.

This event inspired Masnov to research what transpired at Western when Hall spoke, and draw creativity from politics, pop culture and modes of expression from 1962.

Masnov’s exhibit has the history of Stebbis and Hall, as well as all the hate mail Stebbis received for his actions. He displays other historically significant events that also deal with the matter of free speech in chronological order. The exhibit also includes displays of art and pop culture events relevant to 1962 to give the viewer an idea of what was going on in society during the event at Western.

This exhibit underlines the importance of free speech and the opportunity for people to advocate for their rights. It also reminds viewers how far we’ve come as a society and how important it is to keep advocating for free speech.

To learn more about this event, more key events in history and everything that 1962 had to offer, find the exhibit on the second floor of Hamersly Library until March 9.

Contact the author at spickrell15@wou.edu

In defense of the genre: musicals

By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

As an Arts major with an emphasis in theatre, I’ve learned to break apart scripts and movies and, at times, over-analyze and search for meaning in shows that I watch. A common idea among those around me is that a story must be complex or have a deeper meaning to be interesting. While that’s a valid thought, it discredits shows that focus on spectacle over plot; particularly a large portion of musicals that invoke just as much, if not more, feeling in a wider range of audiences.

“La La Land” is easily described on the Internet Movie Database as, “A jazz pianist falls for an aspiring actress in Los Angeles.” The musical starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone won a record-breaking seven Golden Globes awards, along with many others since its Dec. 9, 2016 release. Upon finishing the movie, I was disappointed due to the lack of a complex plot. The story is one that has appeared time and time again, especially in musicals: a woman aspires to become famous, falls in love and in the end everything works out. The simplicity is one that can easily infuriate those who go to the cinema to be served with a challenging plot filled with risky ideas. I see it otherwise.
Now, take a moment to think about how a simple plot could result in something much more impactful than one might have originally considered, specifically in the musical genre. A complex plot needs time and focus on the story in order to achieve its goal. Without the words, an audience can get easily lost, and in my case, will result in losing interest.

Musicals are an important bridge that brings enthusiasts of theatre, regular movies and TV together. Why? Because of the spectacle that the musical genre is known for. Simplicity in plot gives room for the characters to sing and dance as a way of expressing emotion, which can be consistently more attention-grabbing than spoken dialogue in a roughly two hour movie.

Along the same lines as “La La Land,” “The Last Five Years” is a fairly simple story about the relationship of Jamie, an upcoming novelist, and struggling actress Cathy from beginning to their not-so-happy ending. Although the story of the musical can be described in a single sentence, the style it’s portrayed in is anything but bland. For Cathy, the story goes in reverse chronological order, and Jamie’s side moves in chronological order. The style in which the story is told adds complexity, which works well because of the simple plot.

Next time you leave the theater disappointed because the plot didn’t open up a realm of new ideas, or make a ground-breaking statement, take a moment to reflect on how the cinematography or music affected your emotions. Power can come from more than words.

Contact the author at jrayner14@wou.edu

Incidental Fees: Where does it all go?

By: TK Layman
Staff Writer

Western’s Incidental Fee Committee meets every winter term to determine the budget for on-campus organizations and events.

The committee began meetings last week to discuss potential budget increases and cuts. Once a week on Friday from 12-4 p.m. in the Willamette Room, a panel of advisors from on-campus organizations, faculty advisors, elected student committee members from presidential faculty appointments, ASWOU appointments and current ASWOU members meet to discuss the 2017-2018 projected extracurricular budget.

Some of the student organizations in attendance include Student Media, Campus Recreation, Abby’s House and the Student Activities Board. Along with allocating and budgeting for campus organizations, they also set the rate of the incidental fee charged to student accounts per term, with a projected rate of $341 for the 2017-18 school year, according to a memo released by the IFC.

Over the duration of the term, the committee will look at potential variables such as student enrollment and minimum wage increase to help come to a decision. They make information public through OrgSync on their open page. There you can find updated meeting minutes showing the main topics through the discussion, and current meeting agendas.

Contact the author at tlayman16@wou.edu

A new time to help Tibet

By: Burke De Boer
Sports Editor

With last week’s inauguration of a new president came an immediate question on everyone’s mind: what about Tibet?

Well, maybe not so much. President Donald Trump came to power basing his campaign on economic issues. When he did address foreign policy it usually came from an economic bent: notably his promise to renegotiate Chinese trade deals.

Unfortunately, it’s been some time since Tibet’s occupation has been a heavily discussed issue in America. But the international community has been reacting to a fresh and recent attack on Tibetan culture from the Chinese government.

Larung Gar is the largest Tibetan Buddhist academy in the world and last summer China set upon it, demolishing buildings and physically removing nuns and monks that live there. 4,500 people have already been removed as the Chinese government approaches its population target of 5,000. This time last year, over 10,000 people resided in Larung Gar.

I am reminded of last year’s calamity at Standing Rock, which saw an outpouring of support from our community. Enough to move the planned pipeline.

However America has been unable to pressure China to relax on Tibet. This has been the case ever since China soured on Soviet relations.

America has had a strange relationship with Beijing ever since former President Jimmy Carter abandoned Taiwan to exclusively recognize the People’s Republic as the Chinese government.

Trump took on the Obama Administration’s handling of China throughout his campaign. His promises of aggressive trade and renegotiations with China did excite some Tibetans. Prime Minister-in-exile, Lobsang Sangay, expressed optimism in an interview with Reuters, calling Trump’s view of China a “realistic” one.

When, as president-elect, Trump accepted a phone call from Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen, it became the first time that the two nations’ leaders had spoken since 1979. Some were worried that this would anger Beijing. What they fail to see is how abandoning a one-China policy would give the American government better leverage to pressure the People’s Republic on Tibetan oppression.

But if Trump is realistic on China, we should also be realistic on Trump. He could potentially be the best ever president for Tibet, but this is the man who wrote “The Art of the Deal.”

It’s impossible to rule out the idea of Tibet and Taiwan being used as a bargaining chip in trade negotiations. In fact it seems more likely from a president who campaigned based on economic issues more so than foreign policy.

Which is why activist organization in the Tibetan cause is so important. We saw the power of activism to stop government powers at Standing Rock. But international activism is severely and consistently undermined by trade relations.

If the new president follows through in establishing a tough stance on China it will only strengthen the movement for Tibet.

There is reason to be optimistic, and reason to think the actions at Larung Gar can be stopped. It’s not that Trump will be a pro-Tibet president; a firmer stance on the People’s Republic from the United States will only provide solid footing for pressure from outside of the new administration.

Organized activist movements like Students For a Free Tibet and the NGO Free Tibet lead the way for international pressure on China and they will continue to do so. In the coming years I see their position only becoming stronger.

Contact the author at bdeboer11@mail.wou.edu

For better or for verse

By: Jasmine Morrow
Staff Writer

During MLK Celebration Week, Western held many events to honor Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. To finish, the MLK Celebration Week ended with Slam Poetry. The event was held at Café Allegro, so volunteers could perform a poem or short story of their choice.

Slam poetry, which is known for being powerful, meaningful and artistic, brought many students together to honor the late Dr. King. The audience filled café Allegro with support and applause. Some of the pieces performed were originals written by the performers, while others read some of their favorite poems from other authors. Although a handful of people performed, there were two performers who took the microphone more than once.

Nathan Mirles, who has been interested in slam poetry for 11 years, performed two original poems named “Flowerbud” and “TWO GAY DUDES AND THE BEACH.”

“Being able to share with other people is fantastic,” said Mirles, who had been to a few other MLK events earlier that week to become more culturally literate and to be educated and to learn about diversity. Mirles has been to many other slam poetry performances, such as: Voice in New Mexico, Hillsboro High School, here at Western Oregon and frequently at the Insomnia Café.

Another performer, Courtney Briscoe, read poems by her favorite poet, Maya Angelou. Briscoe has been doing slam poetry since high school. This event meant a lot to her because, “It’s a great way for BSU to interact, and it is a safe space to share thoughts and feelings.” When she isn’t performing slam poetry, Briscoe is involved with the drag show here on campus.

The slam poetry event was a slam-bang finish to the end of MLK Celebration Week. There will be more slam poetry events around campus throughout the year so be sure to keep an eye out for them.

Contact author at jmorrow16@mail.wou.edu

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