Mount Hood

Closed school, open pool

By: Jasmine Morrow
Staff writer

On April 7, Western’s Health and Wellness Center held a “No School Swim” event for students from the local high schools, middle schools and elementary schools to come and enjoy a day in the pool when their classes had been cancelled.

According to Western’s website, the event is a time for the whole family to have fun and release some energy with some aquatic games. It’s a great activity for kids to be active, but have fun while doing so. This is the fourth time the Health and Wellness Center has opened its pool for students to enjoy themselves on a day off from school.

Melissa Bergeland, the event coordinator and assistant director, said, “We know if kids are out of school, they need something to do. We don’t want them to drive their parents crazy, we don’t want them to get into trouble, so we want to give them something to do. So, we offer this extra REC swim in there so that they can come play in the water.”

There aren’t any specific games or activities that are planned out for the participants, but they have the water basketball hoop or the water volleyball net put up so participants can choose what they wish to do in their free time at the pool.

Bergeland finds this event important because it teaches kids and parents about water safety, and allows Western to connect with the community. The lifeguards on duty during the No School Swim event are student employees from Western. One of the lifeguards, Jennifer Sprueill, sophomore criminal justice major, has lifeguarded this event four times. Another student, Jennifer Lindley, junior early childhood education major, has only lifeguarded the No School Swim event once. Both Sprueill and Lindley agree that the most important thing about lifeguarding is the water safety and keeping people safe. They just want people to have a safe and enjoyable time and have things run smoothly.

“Lifeguarding has always been associated with kids; keeping them safe and having fun with the kids” said Lindley.

Though the event was small in numbers, they are hoping to get the word out and so more participants show up for the next No School Swim.

Contact author at jmorrow16@mail.wou.edu

The fork goes on the left

By: Paige Scofield
Campus Life Editor

On April 10, Western’s Service Learning and Career Development Center hosted an Etiquette Dinner in the Pacific Room of the Werner University Center. The Etiquette Dinner was held to teach students the “proper” way to interact in a formal business dinner setting.

This event featured keynote speaker Mindy Lockard, an etiquette consultant. Lockard is an internationally known etiquette writer and speaker. For over a decade, Lockard has worked with colleges, businesses and corporations, speaking about the power of interpersonal interactions. She has been in many magazines because of her work, including “Forbes Women.”

“It is such a pleasure to be here tonight. I think this is my sixth year on campus doing this dinner,” said Lockard. “It is an honor. I travel around the country and around the Pacific Northwest doing these workshops and I’ve always loved it when I get the chance to come to Western.”

Throughout the five course meal that was served, Lockard taught the participants the correct way to set a table, hold silverware, eat, drink and other valuable tips to dine properly, including how to correctly butter bread.

This event was held to help students get comfortable in situations like dining in a high class restaurant, because when going into the business world, most of the discussions and events revolve around dinner.

Shelby Worthing, senior economics major and Service Learning and Career Development Center employee, helped coordinate the Etiquette Dinner. She explained that the dinner, “… is really great, because in our society, today, we don’t just graduate college and then get a job.”

“There’s a lot of networking that’s involved,” continued Worthing. “You might be out to dinner with someone or interviewing over a dinner … it’s a great learning experience. This is about manners, and we need those everywhere.”

The event lasted for two hours and, while the participants were eating, Lockard would walk around and correct them or answer any questions that came up.

“I really want to encourage you to be bold” said Lockard, “I want to encourage you to use and refine these skills, so that when you get into a situation professionally, that you can really be bold.”

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu

21 and up

By: Paige Scofield
Campus Life Editor

Spring is on its way, and there’s nothing better than a nice refreshing drink on a sunny day. Let’s kick off spring term right, with a refreshing mojito cocktail. This recipe is fairly simple, but some of the ingredients might not be in everyone’s home, so a grocery store run may be in order.

 

What you need:

6 mint leaves
.75 ounces simple syrup
.75 ounces fresh lime juice
1.5 ounces white rum
1.5 ounces club soda

 

 

Directions:

In a shaker, lightly muddle, smash or grind the mint. Add the simple syrup, lime juice and rum, and fill with ice. Shake well and pour unstrained into a highball glass. Top with the club soda and garnish with a mint sprig.

This cocktail is sweet, simple and can be made simply for one person, but can also be made for more just as easily. This is the kind of drink that makes you want to find a good book and a nice chair in the sun to relax in. Please enjoy and drink responsibly.

Recipe courtesy of Dale DeGroff from Liquor.com.

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu

Club spotlight

By: Paige Scofield
Campus Life Editor

Western is home to many clubs and organizations that are willing to open up and share culture with the rest of campus. This is important for students, because they can get the ability to peer into and enjoy other cultures to better understand their peers.
Among these clubs that so kindly share their culture is Hawaii club.

Hawaii club is a campus organization that promotes the sharing of Polynesian culture on Western’s campus.

“It was also created to be a place for Hawaii students to go. Coming from a small island it can be a culture shock for a lot of the freshmen” said Nolan Arasato, Hawaii Club president. “It’s to share our Aloha spirit and knowledge with the people here at Western.”

“We sometimes perform at campus events like the International Nights or some banquets on campus,” said Arasato, “But we put on a Luau every year during spring term.”

This event is the biggest and sometimes only event Hawaii Club puts on the whole year.
It’s an event that takes a lot of planning, and Western students get the chance to go to it again. The Luau is held on Western’s campus for anyone to come enjoy and learn about Polynesian culture.

“It is a dinner and hula show that is planned and performed by the club and we share our Polynesian culture with people that attend. We have songs and dances from all over Polynesia,” said Arasato.

This is the 11th annual luau that Hawaii Club has put on, and it will take place on April 15. Admission is $5 for students with a Western ID and general admission is $7.

Arasato also wanted to make it very clear that everyone is encouraged to join Hawaii Club. “Anyone can join the Hawaii club. Even if you’re not from Hawaii. It is a place where we learn from one another’s experiences. Please feel free to join us and maybe even perform with us on stage at our next Luau,” said Arasato.

“Hawaii Club is important to me, because the Hawaiian culture is a dying culture. The only way we can help our culture, is by sharing and educating others about where we live and who we are. We are an oral culture, meaning a lot of our history was told through stories, chants and hula. Without language we have nothing,” stated Arasato.

Hawaii Club meets Fridays at 6 p.m. in the Columbia or Pacific Room in the Werner University Center. Attend meetings to learn more about Hawaii Club, Polynesian culture, dances and history. Feel free to drop into any of the meetings to meet and learn about fellow peers on Western’s campus.

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@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 Arts in visual communication design entails, and the kinds of work fields it can lead to.

Emma Douglas is a junior at Western who is currently in the process of working towards receiving a degree in visual communication design. Her specific focus in this major is in graphic design.

“Ideally I want to work in an animation house like Disney, Gobelines or Laika. Another passion of mine are zines and illustration. Doing either of those freelance is also a possibility” said Douglas. Douglas came to Western because, “The cost is significantly less than art colleges, and it provides the same quality of education. Campus is beautiful and that was also a big deciding factor.”

“Graphic design approaches images and type as powerful tools giving shape to ideas,” according to Western’s website, “In graphic design courses at Western, students learn to bring together message, meaning and form to create memorable communications. They gain a broad range of practical skills, applying typography and design processes to challenging creative projects guided by supportive faculty. Graphic designers must thoughtfully incorporate type and image into visual experiences fueled by the design elements and principles inherent in all art processes.”

Western’s visual communication design major has three foci which include graphic design, video and animation and interactive media. Western is, “… exponentially less than actual art colleges. We also have great studio spaces, and the nature around campus is so inspiring,” said Douglas.

When asked what her favorite class was that’s offered for her major, Douglas replied, “The A320-A322 graphic design sequence I’m in at the moment. I’ve learned so much in these past semesters about how graphic design works and my own process. It’s been really helpful in guiding my style.”

According to Western’s website, “Visual Communication Design is a broad profession that includes many specializations and covers all ends of the creative spectrum. Many of these job descriptions overlap heavily, and an education in VCD will serve useful in many fields.”

An education in visual communication design can place students in advertising and marketing, speciality design jobs, such as book or editorial design, and even public relations positions like brand or product managing.

This list of jobs doesn’t cover all of the careers that can be pursued with a visual communication design major, even more can be found on Western’s website. Visual communication design is a broad field which gives Western’s students the opportunity to explore the different fields they wish to pursue.

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu

Communication from the heart

By: Paige Scofield
Campus Life Editor

The walls on the third floor of Hamersly Library are adorned with art and poetry from its newest exhibit entitled: “Meeting of Hearts in Monmouth.” On March 1, a reception was held for students to come partake in the viewing of the new exhibit. The exhibit will continue to be in the Hamersly Library third floor gallery until March 24.

The artist of the pieces is An (Andy) Haifeng, a foreign exchange student from Guangxi Arts University in China, who is majoring in printmaking. Upon arriving in Monmouth, Haifeng met English poet Janet Avery, who moved to America from England 25 years ago, and then moved to Monmouth in hopes of being closer to the university. Avery houses foreign exchange students, including Haifeng, which is how they met.

The exhibit is described as: “Meeting in Monmouth this fall, Haifeng and Avery use paintings and poems as a common ground to communicate the similarities and differences of their own cultures. The exhibit shows how they have joined their creativity to portray a shared view of the community of Monmouth, Oregon and beyond.”

They found common ground through their mutual appreciation of poetry, art and culture. They soon realized that the two art forms they worked with, poetry and art, could easily accompany and compliment one another. Each of Haifeng’s paintings were inspired by one of Avery’s poems.

His paintings are created on Chinese art paper, with ink and watercolor. Each piece working with pops of color against the cream white paper. By pairing his art with Avery’s poems, it opens up a way of communication between the arts and people. The overall arc of the works is communication.

Coming from China to Monmouth, Haifeng had to adjust to new surroundings, and had to find ways to communicate while he still worked on his english. He luckily met Avery and was able to find a way to connect and communicate with someone from an entirely different culture through art and poetry.

Within the exhibit, Haifeng has a small binder filled with short chapters about his life so far here in Monmouth, and his journey to find the best way to communicate with others. He decided, “The best language should be from heart to heart.” He discusses that many artforms such as poetry, fiction, painting, song and dance, are all a language from the heart, “… but in different translations.”

Haifeng believes that you first need to understand yourself and then let your, “heart language translate to other people,” Haifeng said. “ So when you face the world with your heart, the world is real, the world is full of warmth and hope. When you meet a bosom friend, you are lucky.”

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu

How to find the best birth control

By: Shaylie Pickerel
Staff writer

On Thursday, March 9, Abby’s House hosted an event to inform students about birth control options. Although their guest, Jennifer King from a care provider at the student health and counseling center, was sick, they still gave all the information they had collected from her, as well as wrote down any unanswered questions that they will relay to her.

Aislinn Addington, the director of Abby’s House, stated multiple times that, “We are not licensed health care professionals, but will provide the best information we can.” When discussing curiosities about birth control, Addington responded with, “If you’re interested in birth control on campus at the health center, there’s no fee to talk about options and the cost for the actual birth control is case by case depending on insurance.”

Addington then went on to discuss the different types of birth control that are available. The different types of birth control are labeled on a five to one star effectiveness scale when “used properly,” as Jessica Fontaine, a Abby’s House volunteer stated. The five star methods include: nexplanon the arm implant, skyla and mirena IUDs and sterilization for men and women. The three star methods include: the pill, the patch, the ring and depo-provera the shot. And finally, the one star methods include: fertility awareness, the diaphragm and condoms for men and women.

The ones that are most likely to be available at the health center are the pill, the implant, IUDs, the ring and condoms. Condoms are the only form of birth control that protect from STIs and are best used with other birth control methods.

During the question and answer portion, they answered common concerns that most people have when thinking about sex or birth control. “It’s best to take the least amount of estrogen needed,” said Addington. She also explained the side effects of UTIs and yeast infections and that they, “… aren’t gender exclusive. You can also get a UTI if you have a penis and they can also be transferred between partners.”

In addition to the options on campus, Planned Parenthood in Salem is also a valuable resource. If one has any more in depth questions about birth control, contact the health center. If this causes stress and is uncomfortable, Abby’s House is willing to help make the phone call to schedule the appointment for whoever needs it.

Contact the author at spickrell15@wou.edu

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