Mount Hood

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

Consent, communication and control

By: Shaylie Pickerel
Staff Writer

For Sexual Assault Awareness Month, Abby’s House held an educational and inclusive presentation titled “Ethical Power Exchange.” The guest presenter, Heather Rowlett, talked about consent and communication being essential components of any intimate relationship, but when intentional power dynamics are introduced these issues become vital in a new way.

On April 27, the presentation was held in Ackerman and was open to the public. The event began with an ice breaker that had participants partner up and take turns drawing the person their partner described. The ice breaker was used to highlight the importance of communication between partners. Afterwards, Rowlett began to discuss the different types of consent and the importance of consent as a whole.

She underlined the importance of being able to give and have consent by stating that it is, “Your body, your orgasm, your sex.”

Understanding consent within a relationship also means setting boundaries. Creating boundaries and communicating them with a prospective partner is the best way to truly understand what someone expects and deserves from one another.

Rowlett also talked about the current beliefs and stigma on ethical power exchange, also known to some as BDSM, and how it’s seen in our current culture, which she says “is no place to learn about ethical power exchange and there’s a lot happening unconsented.”

Rowlett then introduced the different levels of ethical power exchange, of which there are five. Which span from the first level called conditional compliance, which has the most limited power, and is most likely to happen during a single meetup. To the fifth level, which involves serious and emotional commitments. It goes from long-term to complete ownership, but the fifth level, absolute ownership, was stated to not be realistic.

Rowlett then discussed the importance of safety within a power exchange relationship stating that some partners “won’t always be as committed to your safety as you are,” and that, “The first time you meet, make it non-physical.”

The first time meeting up with a prospective partner, should be a time where both people can discuss what each of them are looking for in a ethical power exchange relationship and establish boundaries.

Abby’s House hosts many events like this on campus and are always open downstairs in the Werner University Center. Abby’s House embraces a feminist model that empowers all people to actively stand against all forms of violence, harassment, verbal abuse, discrimination and hatred.

Contact the author at spickrell15@wou.edu

Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team visits campus

By: Jasmine Morrow 
Staff Writer

Abby’s House hosted University of Oregon’s Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team on Western’s campus to hold a presentation and discussion on consensual sex.

SWAT is a team of undergraduate students who believe consent is the most important part of a healthy relationship. Their definition of consent is a yes that is freely given when an option of no is vital: consent can be revoked, consent must be a verbal response and both participants need to be 100% sure and have healthy boundaries.

During the presentation, SWAT performed scenes about consent. Conscious that there
are multiple different kinds of sexuality
and relationships, they performed several different examples for as many scenarios as they could. SWAT wants people to know how to have safe and healthy sexual experiences.

The presenters held a workshop that consisted of interactive activities where the audience had the chance to speak about their thoughts or even act in some scenes. Before the workshop started, SWAT noted that self-care comes first and if anyone felt uncomfortable at anytime, they could talk to someone who was waiting in the back, or just leave entirely.

In the first activity, the audience to closed their eyes and remembered a pleasant sexual activity. Then, once they opened their eyes, they were asked to turn to the person next to them and tell them the experience. Because that’s usually an uncomfortable situation, many laughed and didn’t share what came to mind. This activity was to show how survivors of sexual assault feel when they have to talk to someone about their experience: awkward and uncomfortable.

The second activity was a scene between two actors from SWAT, who talked about sexual experiences using a baseball metaphor and a pizza metaphor. The baseball metaphor showed that there is a competitiveness and that there is a winner and a loser in a relationship. The pizza metaphor showed that sex as a shared experience, as it should be.

SWAT also talked about consent when drugs or alcohol are in effect. Alcohol is the number one cause of non-consensual sex. Drugs and alcohol impair how to read body language; it’s hard for a verbal ‘yes,’ when one lacks control and one can be mentally incapacitated.

Those in healthy sexual relationships know that sex is a choice: it has boundaries, respects values and requires communication. No matter what gender or sexuality, partners should always respect each other’s boundaries.

Contact the author at jmorrow16@wou.edu

Heritage and celebration

By: Paige Scofield
Campus Life Editor

The Multicultural Student Union hosted the 24th annual Native American Pow Wow on Western’s campus on April 29. The Pow Wow program describes the event as, “One expression of Native American culture. It is a significant way in which American Indian traditions and culture can be presented to contemporary people, Indians and non-indians alike.”

The Pow Wow is a celebration of heritage and ancestors to pay respect to forefathers, elders, families and veterans.

“For some, the ceremonies and other events may appear to be only a form of entertainment with colorful regalia, drumming, singing and dancing,” states the program. “But the Pow Wow is far more than that; it is a reenactment of certain spiritual and emotional aspects of our humanity.”

At noon, the Pow Wow began with the blessing of the arena. By burning sage, traditional dancers Tony Whitehead and Wayne Chulik purified the arena and all of the people in attendance. Once that was completed, the master of ceremonies for the event, Nick Sixkiller asked the Grand Entry to begin, as a way to thank and honor all veterans from every battle of war.

Throughout the event, participants performed many dances, including the Welcome Dance, Blanket Dance, Men’s Fancy Dance, Men’s Traditional Dance, Women’s Fancy Shawl Dance, Women’s Jingle Dress, Women’s Traditional Dance and Jackpot Dancing. During the Pow Wow there was a dance competition for children and adults to participate in front of the audience. The Pow Wow dances were accompanied by live singing and drumming from several small musical groups, including the Woodsmen.

“It brings a lot of cultural awareness to our campus about the different communities and ethnicities we have here,” said Jovany Romero, senior Spanish and interdisciplinary studies major and co-coordinator of the Pow Wow. “Showcasing the Native American Culture is awesome. A lot of people don’t really know what a Pow Wow is, and having it here on campus opposed to somewhere else, offers easy access. The Native American culture is slowly fading, and we want to keep it alive.”

The Multicultural Student Union’s co-secretary, sophomore Shelby Brooks, a middle/high school Spanish education major, talked about why people should come enjoy the Pow Wow.

“Pow Wow is free, so everyone should come down and check it out. It lasts all day from 12:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. We serve free Native American tacos that are made with fry bread, which is kind of like elephant ears, but without the sugar,” explained Brooks. “Everyone should check it out.”

Along with the Pow Wow dance performances, many booths were set up downstairs in the Werner University Center selling jewelry, pelts, drawings, pens, dream catchers and much more. The Multicultural Student Union will be putting on another Pow Wow next year, so make sure not to miss it.

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu

Break the silence

By: Shaylie Pickerel
Staffwriter

The annual, countrywide day of action called Day of Silence was held again on Western’s campus. The Day of Silence is a day of action to spread awareness about the effects of bullying and harassment that the LGBTQ+ community faces daily.

Though the Day of Silence is important and meaningful, it’s just as important to break the silence and create a Night of Noise. On April 21, Triangle Alliance held the Night of Noise event in the Mt. Jefferson Room in Valsetz. The event allowed the LGBTQ+ community to express and enjoy themselves. During the event, there were opportunities to win prizes through raffles and bingo games, as well as get to enjoy many snacks.

There was an open mic portion of the event, where people could share their thoughts, poetry or personal stories to help express the importance of the event and the importance of self-love within the LGBTQ+ community.

This year, Western alumni Nawwal Moustafa spoke at the event.
Moustafa shared stories from when she was in college, about some of the struggles she’s been through and the struggles she continues to go through. While giving her speech, Moustafa made many important points about being true to yourself and how hard coming out can be.

“You don’t need anybody’s permission to do whatever the hell you want,” stated Moustafa. Being able to admit to yourself that you are who you are and being able to accept yourself is difficult enough without having to worry about what others think of you.

When talking about the experience of coming out, she said, “You never come out once,” because each experience and interaction with a new or old friend is different and nerve-racking. But she ended her speech on a note of hope stating that,“Thriving happens when you can own every single piece of your story.”

Night of Noise was a safe event that allowed those within the LGBTQ+ community to truly be themselves in a welcoming environment.

Triangle Alliance holds many events on Western’s campus throughout the year. For more information on Triangle Alliance’s future events, check out their Facebook page: WOU Triangle Alliance, or visit them in the Stonewall Center downstairs in the Werner University Center.

Contact the author at spickrell15@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 psychology entails, and the fields of work it can lead to.

Jaremy Calderon is a junior at Western, who is currently in the process of receiving a degree in psychology.

“End goal, career-wise, I want to work with the youth of the LGBTQ+ community, within a mental health setting,” said Calderon. “Whether that’s like a therapist or a counselor, I just want to make sure that queer youth feel very positive and good about their identity and where they fit in the world. Once I get established enough, I would like to open up an organization that does pro bono work with queer youth of color. Since people of color and queer people of color have barriers to mental health help.”

When asked what his favorite thing about being a psychology major is, Calderon replied, “I like that I get knowledge about how the human mind works. I feel like being a psych major has really improved my communication and being able to understand people. I feel like it utilizes the empathy and wanting to understand people and help people that I already have, and it’s giving me those skills so I can actually do it better and make an actual difference in people’s lives.”

According to Western’s website, “The Psychology degree is designed to provide the student a broadly based program in behavioral science.
The psychology major may be pursued as a component of a general liberal arts background, as preparation for a variety of service oriented occupations, or as a basis for graduate study in psychology and related fields.”

In 2011, Western’s psychology department surveyed graduates from the psychology program between 2001-2010, to see the variety of jobs the alumni have acquired.

“Former students were employed in a variety of occupational fields with diverse job titles including social worker, geriatric care manager, adolescent counselor, attorney, teacher, registered nurse and physician’s assistant,” states Western’s website. “When asked about further education, 38% of Alumni reported that they were in the process of or had completed further education, with the majority completing a Master’s degree. Receiving a degree in psychology prepared alumni to succeed in diverse graduate programs in social work, clinical/counseling, education, business, law, and medical fields.”

Western’s psychology major is a degree that gives students the opportunity to explore the different fields they wish to pursue.

When asked what he liked about the department, Calderon replied, “All of the psych teachers that I’ve had here have been amazing and great and thoughtful and they really care. My advisor Dr. Strapp is amazing, she’s always there for me, always willing to help. I can walk into her office and I know she’s going to be there for me.”

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu

A time to remember and reflect

By: Paige Scofield
Campus Life Editor

On April 24, in honor of Holocaust Remembrance Day, the office of Student Engagement coordinated 16-20 volunteers who planted thousands of flags on Western’s campus to represent all of the lives that were tragically and painfully lost during Hitler’s reign.

According to ushmm.org, “The internationally recognized date for Holocaust Remembrance Day corresponds to the 27th day of Nisan on the Hebrew calendar. It marks the anniversary of the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising. In Hebrew, Holocaust Remembrance Day is called Yom Hashoah.”

Volunteers planted different colored flags to represent different groups of people who lost their lives during the Holocaust. Each flag planted represented 500 lives that were lost.

8,534 yellow flags represented Jewish adults, 3,500 small yellow flags represented Jewish children, 1,000 brown flags represented Roma and Sinti, 30 pink flags represented homosexuals, six white flags represented Jehovah’s Witnesses, 550 orange flags represented mentally/physically disabled persons, 6,600 red flags represented Soviet Prisoners of War, 6,000 blue flags represented Polish Catholics, 40 lime flags represented Spanish Republicans and 1,400 green flags represented Serbians.

“I think the visual impact an event like this has really brings to home the enormity of the loss of life in a different way, and reminds us that as a society we can never let anything like this happen again,” said John Wilkins, leadership and inclusion coordinator for Student Engagement.

Though the flags only stay up for one day, the office of Student Engagement has also planned an event in May for students to continue to learn and understand the struggles of Holocaust survivors.

“On May 2nd we will be showing a documentary of Alice Koppel Kern, a holocaust survivor, where she went back to locations in Europe that she was at during the holocaust. Her daughter, Debbi, will be joining us to also host a Q&A for us after the movie and give more details of her mother’s story,” said Wilkins.

Holocaust Remembrance Day is an important event to have on campus so that society never forgets the genocide and pain that millions of people dealt with during World War II.

“It is a time to reflect on the holocaust and be sure we never forget,” concluded Wilkins.

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu

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