Mount Hood

Bike theft rages through campus

Photo by Paul F. Davis
Sam Dunaway | News Editor

Many Western students are utilizing bicycles this fall to ride to class, complete errands or enjoy the last remnants of sunshine before the rain takes over. But for many students, the ongoing issue of bike theft on campus leaves them without their only mode of transportation.

Seven campus bike thefts have been recorded since the beginning of fall term, an unusually high number according to Public Safety Office Manager Angela Barry and Public Safety Officer Jessica Roberts. They have tips for students and staff on keeping bikes safe and reducing the number of bike thefts.

First, it’s wise to register the bike with Public Safety. Any individual that will be bringing a bike on campus can take it to the Public Safety office where they will note the serial number of the bicycle and put a registration tag on it. Registration is completely free, and the serial number of the bike will go into the law enforcement data system.

“The biggest thing is trying to identify who it belongs to,” explained Roberts. “We’ll see a hundred bikes out there and have no way to figure out who the owner is. It gives you that identification piece and if it does get stolen, then it’s easier to locate the owner.”

Second, report the bike theft immediately both on and off campus. Bicycles that are stolen on campus can be taken off campus, so it would be wise to notify the Monmouth Police Department of the theft in addition to Public Safety.

Lastly, keep the bike in a safe area. This includes properly locking it to a bike rack, even for short periods of time. Barry and Roberts suggest investing in a sturdy, metal lock instead of the easily-broken plastic type.

If individuals are concerned about leaving bikes unattended, university housing allows students to keep the bikes inside a residence hall room as long as it doesn’t pose a fire hazard.

Bike lockers are also an option. Located near APSC, ITC, Bellamy Hall and the old education building, bike lockers provide a safe and reliable alternative to bike racks.

Roberts notes, “basically theft comes down to a crime of opportunity; people will see bikes unlocked or easily accessible and it becomes an issue.”

Public Safety is open 24/7 for bicycle registration or reports of theft.

 

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

Free birth control, STD testing offered at Student Health and Counseling Center

Sam Dunaway | News Editor

The CCare program, also known as Oregon Contraceptive Care, returns to Western to offer its services to students free of charge.

The program provides free birth control services, emergency contraception, Pap smears, STD testing and health education and counseling to qualifying individuals.

To qualify for the CCare program, a person must live in Oregon, be a lawful permanent resident, have a Social Security Number and meet the income requirements found on the Oregon Health Authority website. Individuals must reapply for the program on an annual basis to continue receiving its services. Benefits from the CCare program are completely free for qualifying students.

Various birth control methods are available for students to choose the what’s best for them. Options include pills, condoms, the Depo-Provera shot, a subdermal implant, spermicide and diaphragms. Staff are also hoping to add the contraceptive ring to that list soon. The program provides a one-year supply of birth control.

Services not covered by CCare include treatment for bladder infections, pregnancy testing and treatment for STDs, but these services are offered at the Student Health and Counseling Center for a fee.

Individuals that do not meet the qualifications for the CCare program are still able to receive all of the resources that the SHCC provides, and a fee will be charged to the student’s account.

SHCC Administrative Assistant Trisha Guy wants to encourage students to take advantage of the new program.

“It’s important to everybody to sign up for it that’s eligible. I can’t think of a reason why somebody wouldn’t want it,” said Guy. “Consider it carefully before you turn it down because it’s no cost to you whatsoever and I can’t see a downside to having it… Even if you’re not sure or don’t need it now, there’s nothing wrong with signing up for it now in case you need it later.”

The Student Health and Counseling Center is not the only clinic that offers CCare programs; various centers such as Polk County Public Health, Planned Parenthood Columbia Willamette and Marion County Health Department also offer the CCare program. Students enrolled in the program on Western’s campus can also receive services from other CCare providers.

Call the Student Health and Counseling Center at 503-838-8313 for more information on the Contraceptive Care program.

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

Start your morning with vigor

Caity Healy | Lifestyle Editor

While the amount of sleep you get in a night is incredibly important for your health and the quality of your day, the way you choose to get up in the morning is also a large determining factor. It may be easiest to roll over, check your phone and scroll through a newsfeed for 30 minutes, but doing so will cause you to start your day in a sluggish and dull way.

How you choose to start your day will set the precedent for the rest of it. Do yourself a favor; choose to be productive. Turn off that alarm on the first ring, sit up straight, stretch to give your body some energy and get yourself out of bed.

Right after waking up is the perfect time to determine what your goals will be for the day. Forcing yourself to think about this early in the morning will allow you to plan ahead and keep that thought in the back of your head when making decisions throughout the day. Additionally, it will motivate you to get a head start by beginning whatever needs to be done that morning.

If you’re an early bird, use this time to get your workout for the day done. It may be rough, but you’ll find yourself feeling accomplished and energized for the rest of the day, allowing you to be more productive overall.

If you’re not an early bird, that’s okay, too. Find a morning routine that works for you and stick to it. Perhaps it involves going over your notes and drinking a cup of coffee, or maybe it means using the time to clean your room. Whatever it may be, make sure it will be beneficial to your day.

Finding small ways to make your mornings useful to you, your health and your workload will ultimately change the outcome of your entire day. So take advantage of those early hours, and, of course, start your day with a healthy breakfast, giving you the endurance to get your morning started right.

 

Contact the author at chealy16@wou.edu

Struggling to plan effectively

Caity Healy | Lifestyle Editor

I’ve always struggled with finding ways to properly manage my time. Being a full time student, working two jobs and finding breaks to take care of myself and my mental health can be incredibly exhausting; it’s definitely not an easy thing to do.

Pairing this with the fact that I’m also someone who will never leave a job unfinished can often lead to grueling, long nights of stress crying, a lot of complaining and inevitably more procrastinating that only fuels the vicious cycle.

With the start of the new school year, I wanted to try as best as I could to avoid making this habit become a serious problem. So, instead of letting it fester as time goes by, I’m trying new techniques that have been significantly easing the workload.

To-do lists have become my new best friend. Every week I create a new one, and add to it as each day goes by. Looking at everything I need to get done in an orderly fashion helps my brain envision my plan of attack. Plus, it feels incredibly relieving to be able to cross things off and see the list shrink before your eyes.

I also make sure to prioritize. For someone like me, everything that I know must be done is of equal importance. However, I’m learning to weigh the pros and cons of each task and figure out what truly must be done first. In the end, if time doesn’t permit me to get to a specific task, I’m learning to understand that it’s okay. My mental health is far more important than any assignment.

Managing time is a learning process for me, and an incredibly beneficial one at that. The better I’ve been getting at it, the stronger I feel as a whole. The tactics that I’m teaching myself now are one’s that I will continue to utilize through the rest of my life. What better time to pick up this skill than now?’

 

Contact the author at chealy16@wou.edu

Review: “Little Nightmares”

Jade Rayner | Copy Editor

If you’ve ever wondered what it would look like to combine the style of Tim Burton with the adventure and covert horror of Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away” — “Little Nightmares” is here to deliver.

“Little Nightmares,” a side-scroller suspense-adventure game by Tarsier Studios, was released on April 27 and is perfect for getting in a spooky mindset for Halloween. The game centers around Six, a small child trying to find their way out of The Maw, a cruise ship full of large, grotesque characters that will eat Six if they get the chance.

Much like the “Amnesia” games, the monsters must be ran from rather than fought, with a few exceptions. “Little Nightmares” also shares similarities with Playdead’s “Limbo” in that they are both side-scrollers which focus on a child protagonist, and puzzle-solving is needed to travel through the game.

I would say a big pro and con for this game is how accessible it is for a wide range of gamers and non-gamers alike. Being one of the worst gamers I know, I obviously died at least 40 times over the course of this fairly-short game, and I’m sure that is missing a good handful of them. However, for those well seasoned at gaming, it might not pose the same challenge that “Limbo” would. Although the beginning sets the scene differently, most of the game is well-lit and the monsters aren’t very difficult to escape, especially if you died once and have been able to see their movements. The first level is by far the most difficult, but you will be rewarded if you choose to make it throught the whole game.

There’s something for everyone within The Maw. Childlike playfulness and imagination is encouraged while the player learns to navigate the mouse-sized Six around the massive rooms in The Maw. Once the monsters come out, horror fans are presented with fast-paced suspense, but it’s never too much to handle. For those sticklers like myself who demand an aesthetically pleasing design in their entertainment, there are no disappointments. I cannot stress enough how beautiful and unique a world Tarsier Studios created.

My recommendation is this: drop whatever game, Netflix series or memoir you’re working on, and do yourself a favor by immersing yourself in the world of “Little Nightmares.” It’s not a big time commitment considering it only took me — a “noob” of a gamer  — a total of four or five hours to complete. Throughout the journey of completing this game, I felt both emotionally and physically frustrated, angry, excited, sad and in love for a variety of reasons. No other game has ever sparked as visceral of a response from me as “Little Nightmares,” and if that doesn’t intrigue you, nothing will.

“Little Nightmares” is available on PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Microsoft Windows through Steam.

 

Contact the author at journalcopy@wou.edu

Men’s cross country runs to the title, women’s ranks sixth

Zoë Strickland | Managing Editor

On Oct. 21, Wolves cross country headed to Bellingham, Washington to compete in the GNAC Championships.

The men’s cross country team, currently number 12 in the NCAA DII rankings, took home two trophies — their first team title, as well as a first-place 8,000-meter trophy for senior David Ribich.

The team win is the first GNAC Championship win in Western history — it also beat a seven-year winning streak from University of Alaska Anchorage. The Wolves came close to a win 10 years ago, but ultimately ended up in second place.

Ribich, currently GNAC Athlete of the Year, won the 8,000-meter with a time of 24:54.82, coming in 0:48.83 seconds in front of Edwin Kangogo from University of Alaska Anchorage.

Western junior Dustin Nading placed eighth in the same event with a time of 25:32.76. Wolves Tyler Jones, Parker Marson and Justin Crosswhite came in at 11th, 12th and 13th, rounding out the top 15 spots in the event.

The cumulative scores of the men’s team resulted in the 51-point win for the Wolves.

Senior Kennedy Rufener took the lead for Western’s women’s cross country, placing seventh in the women’s 6,000-meter run. Rufener finished with a time of 22:07.73.

The second Wolf to place was senior Suzanne Van De Grift, who came in 21st with 22:53.51.

The Wolves stay in Monmouth for the next cross country event. The NCAA West Regional meet is slated for Nov. 4 at the Ash Creek Preserve.

 

Contact the author at journalmanaging@wou.edu

 

Know Your Enemy: Azusa Pacific

Zoë Strickland | Managing Editor

On Nov. 4, the Wolves go head-to-head in the homecoming game against Azusa Pacific. Azusa is currently ranked third in the GNAC with a conference score record of 3-3. The Wolves are ranked fourth, following right behind them at 1-5.

Though Western’s history with the Cougars isn’t long, it is torrid. The teams first played each other in 1999, with the Wolves missing the win by a mere four points. The next year, Western creamed Azusa to the sound of 44-14. That was the last time the teams would face each other until 2009, when Western won the battle yet again.

Looking at more recent history, Western has lost the past three games against Azusa and has lost at home for the past two seasons.

When the Wolves played the Cougars on Sept. 30, they lost 17-48.

To find out if the Cougars will pounce on the Wolves yet again, or if the Wolves will thrive at home, go to the homecoming game on Nov. 4 at 1 p.m. or read our coverage in issue 6, printing on Nov. 8.

 

Contact the author at journalmanaging@wou.edu

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