Campus Blotter
Western trips the light fantastic
By: Ashton Newton Entertainment Editor
Western students have been hard at work rehearsing for the 2017 Spring Dance Concert. Directed by Darryl Thomas, the Spring Dance Concert features 12 different dances from student and faculty choreographers, including a performance from Rainbow Dance Theatre and a guest piece from Tim Cowart.
Students have been rehearsing since January for multiple days a week for the 
performances, which will be May 11-13 at 7:30 p.m.
One student, Brooke Cross, sophomore elementary education major, recounted her experience preparing for Spring Dance Concert as a positive one.
“It was fun right away. I really enjoy learning choreography. Technique is good in dance classes, but I miss the whole learning a dance, performing it, having the lighting and costuming – everything like that is just really fun,” said Cross.
Cross is performing in two pieces, which has kept her swamped since the first auditions in January.
“I’m performing in a faculty piece done by Sharon Oberst. It’s a tap number and it’s done to three box songs. One is a minuet, one is a rondo and one is badinerie. We wear tuxedos and it’s very fun,” said Cross. “The other one, I’m in a student piece by Jordan Daniels called ‘The Place That Never Changes,’ she’s basing it off of a story about her grandparents house, a special place for her.”
The 12 dances each incorporate the different styles of the choreographers, and each dancer brings their own unique style to it as well. Coming from a dance team background, student dancer Jesse Johnson, first-year undeclared, expressed that working on these dances has been a much different experience than anything she’s done before.
“It’s not dance team, so staging and where your formation is doesn’t really matter necessarily,” said Johnson. “It’s not about the big overall movement, it’s about the little cool things that you get to do because you only have around eight people. Creatively you can do so much.”
The Spring Dance Concert auditions were open for any Western student, so the performance is filled with both dance students and students who just love to dance.
“It’s cool to see everyone from different dance backgrounds come and do a piece that a student choreographed. It’s really cool to be in something like this,” said Johnson.
Johnson is also performing in two dances, both of them student-choreographed.
“One of them is Caitlin Rose’s piece ‘Primordial Awakening.’ It’s kind of a druid dance. There are two main people and we fight until the end, until we come together. It’s powerful and really cool. It’s more ballet heavy, which isn’t my forte, but I really like the music, it’s very tribal,” recounted Johnson. “I’m also really excited for Brittany Hortert’s piece ‘Incognito.’ We’re pretty much running away from something the whole time. We wear sunglasses and a jacket, we look like spies the whole time. We get to play around with character and facial expressions, it’s just a lot of fun.”
Johnson also expressed her excitement for seeing some of the other dances in the Spring Dance Concert that will be performed alongside hers.
“There’s one piece that I’m particularly interested in watching called ‘Nasty Woman.’ It’s a solo piece and the way [Hayleyann Evers] has recorded some choreography ahead of time and will put that out as she dances to music is going to be one that I really want to see. It pertains to what’s going on right now and that’s really cool,” expressed Johnson.
Both Cross and Johnson are excited to put their hard work to the stage and to see the other dances that their fellow dancers have rehearsed.
“I’m excited to perform for the other students and the members of my family that are coming. I’m really proud of the dances that I’m in and I think they’re great,” said Cross.
The Spring Dance Concert will run from May 11-13, beginning at 7:30 p.m. each night in Rice Auditorium. Tickets are available now for $12, or $7 with a Western I.D.
Contact the author at journalentertainment@wou.edu
21 and up
By: Paige Scofield Campus Life Editor
Remember when you were a kid, and all you wanted was a Capri Sun? You’d see the commercials of those teenagers drinking a pouch of that delicious juice, turn into silver liquid-people and then do something athletic, like surfing.
Well, now that you’re older, you can buy Capri Sun whenever you want. Despite this, as you get older tastes change and sometimes cravings turn a bit more alcohol-y. The Main Street Pub & Eatery in Monmouth can give you exactly what you’re looking for with their original drink, aptly named the Capri Sun.
The cocktail includes cherry vodka, amaretto, cranberry juice, a splash of Sprite and lime. Believe it or not, it tastes exactly like a fruit punch Capri Sun. It’s sweet, but not sugary, easy to drink and hides the flavor of the alcohol well. That last part can be a blessing and a curse, so be sure to know how much you are consuming. Just six dollars, and you’ll be on your way to becoming a liquid silver-surfer.
This cocktail receives five stars from me, an ametuer drinker and college student, because of its sweet and easy to drink qualities.
The Main Street Pub & Eatery is located at 169 Main St. West in Monmouth. They’re open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 1 a.m., Friday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. If you’re of age, be sure to pop in and give the Capri Sun cocktail a try.
Contact the author at journalcampuslife@eou.edu
Come one, come all, to the Carni-Ball
By: Paige Scofield Campus Life Editor
Bungee run, obstacle course, dunk tank, strength tester, plinko, raffles, potato sack races and free food. All of these were available at the Landers and Barnum Hall Government’s Carni-Ball. On May 6, the Carni-Ball was held in the Grove for Western students to play some games, eat some food and have a good time. Even though the carnival only lasted from 3 p.m. to 7 p.m., there was the Afterglow dance at 8:30 p.m., so students could continue to have fun even after the carnival was over.
“We decided we wanted to pull a double whammy to reach out and create a sense of community in a way,” said Leah Coyle first year communications major, “We’re doing a carnival by day and a dance by night to reach out to introverts and extroverts, and we really made sure all of our food options were available for everybody too, so everyone feels welcome.”
When asked why it’s important to have events like this on Western’s campus, Coyle replied, “We wanted to show that we are all one big community, and we believe that is super-duper important to have on our campus.”
Not even 15 minutes after the event was open for the public, the grove was flooded with people. Participants enjoyed free food, including burgers and candied apples, played games, and had the chance to win different raffles. When entering the the raffle, participants had the chance to win a basket of goodies including popcorn, candy, “La La Land” and other movie watching treats. As well as a chance to win a 32 inch flat screen television. The Landers and Barnum Hall Government did not cut short when planning this carnival.
“We just wanted to have something for everyone, and we thought a carnival seemed like a thing that has little things that everybody can enjoy,” explained Coyle, “Whether they want to run an obstacle course, or try one of the little carnival games, we think and hope that everyone has the chance to enjoy it, and that everybody can have good time.”
The grove was filled with chatter and laughter, and the occasional sound of someone falling into the dunk tank. Students were enjoying themselves on a nice sunny day on Western’s campus.
“We really enjoyed putting this on, and we hope everybody will base their future events off of community and inclusion,” concluded Coyle.
Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu
A night of bravery and support
By: Jasmine Morrow staffwriter
The Coming Out Monologues can be summed up in one word: powerful. On May 2, The Stonewall Center hosted the Coming Out Monologues in the Pacific Room. The live monologue performances left the audience members in awe.
There were 18 speakers in total who spoke in front of the crowd and told their stories of how they came out or simply how they feel about the LGBTQ+ community. The speakers consisted of students, faculty, alumni and staff of Western. The entrance fee was only $2, and all of the revenue went towards the Safe Zone scholarship and teaching Western students about the LGBTQ+ community.
Before the monologues began, 75 of the LGBTQ+ Western alumni got the chance to meet up at a reception held in the Willamette Room.
The coordinator of the Coming Out Monologues, Western alumni and faculty member, CM Hall, with the help of the Alumni Association, hosted a pre-show reception to celebrate and support show participants, as well as connect and reunite alumni and supporters within the LGBTQ+ community. The alumni and supporters enjoyed appetizers, drinks and had the chance to connect with friends from the past.
The Coming Out Monologues aren’t annual, the Stonewall Center likes surprises. The last time the Coming Out Monologues were performed was in 2015. So, when the event does happen, it isn’t anticipated and people appreciate it more.
Many people who showed up to listen to the speakers’ stories and support them in any way they could. The 18 speakers were incredibly brave, as sharing personal stories to a crowd can be difficult and intimidating.
Their monologues were touching, some drew tears of sadness, while others from laughter. Javan Davis, a Western student, said a line in his monologue that summed up how to help the LGBTQ+ community be more comfortable: “Just support and validate.”
At the end of the last monologue, there was a standing ovation to the whole cast. Noah Seiber, another Western student, said in his monologue, “My identity doesn’t define me, but it does matter.” The line was incredibly powerful and truthful.
Everyone who spoke that night was truthful and brave. Each story was different, just like every person is different. We all have our own experiences and the LGBTQ+ community has been holding events like this on campus in the hopes that the Western community will continue to show support, as well as listen to their show.
Contact the author at jmorrow16@wou.edu
Get to know a major
By: Paige Scofield Campus Life Editor
Western offers a wide variety of degrees that students can major in, many of which students don’t know are offered, or know next to nothing about. This week, take a look at what receiving a Bachelor of Science in criminal justice entails, and the fields of work it can lead to.
Anthony Preston is a senior at Western who is currently in the process of receiving a degree in criminal justice.
When asked why he decided to become a criminal justice major Preston replied, “I just grew up in an area where there is a lot of gang violence … so I thought 
going into criminal justice would give me great opportunity to give back to the community I grew up in, and help out.”
“I just finished my application for the Portland police bureau about a week ago. I plan on working with them for the first three years as just a regular police officer,” explained Preston. “Then hopefully staying there and then going into gang enforcement. After that I want to be a school resource officer in a high school.”
“Being a criminal justice major you can go into a lot of fields,” stated Preston. “A lot of people only think you can be a police officer, but there are a number of different fields you can do just with a criminal justice degree.”
According to Western’s website those fields include: “Residential Treatment Specialist, Investigators, Victim Advocates, Court Counselors, Youth Program Workers, Community Service Coordinators & Officers, Law Enforcement, Parole & Probation, Correctional Officers and Victim/Offender Mediators.” The criminal justice major also prepares students to enter law schools and graduate schools.
Western’s criminal justice page describes the major as a, “combination of a strong liberal arts curriculum with a rigorous set of core classes and specialized elective coursework in law enforcement, corrections and community crime prevention makes each criminal justice degree and certificate programs unique and exciting.”
The criminal justice department offers classes that lecture on homeland security and community preparedness, forensic anthropology, history of law enforcement, ethics, legal research, criminology and much more.
“All the faculty members are great. The head of the criminal justice department, Vivian Djokotoe, she’s probably one of my favorite people on this campus. She really just gets down on your level and gets to know you,” explained Preston. “I’m a little biased, but it’s my favorite department on campus, and I’m proud to get my degree in criminal justice from here.”
Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu
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