Mount Hood

A timeline of the Israel-Hamas conflict

Written by: Cami Ansley | Copy Editor

As of Tuesday, Nov. 7, the Israel-Hamas conflict has officially surpassed a month with no end in sight. Since the initial attack on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, Israel has been consistently retaliating against Hamas, a militant group located in and governing the Gaza Strip. As of Nov. 13, the death toll has reached more than 1,400 Israelis and over 11,180 Palestinians. Here is a timeline of key events in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

During the early morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 7, Hamas launched a barrage of thousands of rockets targeting Southern and Central Israel and infiltrated small towns and Kibbutz, slaughtering and kidnapping men, women and children.

One of these targeted locations was the Negev Desert, where the Supernova Universo Paralello Festival was being celebrated. Thousands of people were sent running for their lives as Hamas militants paraglided into the area and sprayed bullets in their direction. Some attendees took to hiding in bushes, finding refuge in nearby buildings, and playing dead. At least 260 Israeli bodies were recovered from the Festival site, while an unspecified number of people are still missing and/or are suspected of being taken as hostages. 

On Oct. 9, the Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza, starting by cutting electricity, food, water and fuel from entering the territory, and mobilizing 300,000 troops — the most Israel has ever gathered in such a short amount of time. On Oct. 13, leaflets were dropped over Gaza ordering all citizens to move South to avoid being hit by the upcoming missile attacks from Israel.

On Oct. 14, Egypt, Israel and America came to an agreement to let Palestinians enter Egypt for refuge through the Rafah Border — causing a surge of Gazans to flock to the border. However, the Rafah Border was not opened to citizens or aid services at this time. 

On Oct. 17, an explosion hit the al-Ahli hospital, killing over 500 people. Hamas blamed Israel for the attack while Israel claimed that the explosion was caused by a “failed missile launch” by Islamic Jihad, another militant group. 

As a result of the hospital explosion, a summit scheduled for Oct. 18 between Jordanian King Abdullah, President Biden, Egyptian President Sissi and Palestinian Authority President Abbas to discuss the state of affairs in Gaza was mutually canceled on Oct. 17. Two American hostages were also released by Hamas after being kidnapped from a kibbutz they were staying at in Southern Israel.

On Oct. 18, President Biden visited Israel for seven hours, showing support for Israel while also encouraging them to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. An agreement was made between Israel and Egypt to allow 20 trucks of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza through the Rafah Border.

On Oct. 23, Hamas released two elderly female Israeli hostages. On Oct. 27, Israel cut off all communication to and from Gaza and amped up their ground offensive in preparation for their upcoming invasion.

On Oct. 29, the UN reported that thousands of Palestinians had broken into their warehouses, taking basic items and hygiene supplies. On Oct. 30, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel rejects the calls for a ceasefire with Hamas.

Following negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Egypt, the Rafah Border Crossing was opened to allow sick and wounded civilians as well as dual nationals and aid organization staff to enter Egypt on Nov. 1. By the end of the day, more than 350 dual nationals and 76 injured/sick had crossed the border.

On Nov. 2, Israel claimed they had completely surrounded Gaza City. During a televised speech on Nov. 3, Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected the idea of a temporary ceasefire unless Hamas released all their hostages.

On Nov. 6, the Rafah Border was temporarily reopened to allow pre-approved foreign passport holders and some injured to enter Egypt. By early evening, a total of 80 dual nationals and 17 injured had crossed over.

On Nov. 7, over 500 more evacuees, including foreign and dual nationals as well as 19 injured, crossed the Rafah Border Crossing. On Nov. 9, Israel agreed to four-hour pauses in fighting in Northern Gaza every day from then on. 

On Nov. 12, the Al-Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza, went “out of service” after losing electricity and thus, the ability to perform surgeries, life-support and other services. 



Contact the author at howlcopyeditor@mail.wou.edu

Oregon graduation requirements changed

Written by: Libby Thoma | Freelancer

Oregon’s essential skills requirement has been dropped at least until the graduation of the class of 2029 due to Senate Bill 774.  The essential skills requirement, known as the Assessment of Essential Skills, is the requirement of students to pass a standardized test containing basic skills such as reading, writing and math skills. 

Senate Bill 774 is a bill addressing the decrease in education and learning due to the pandemic. 

The test was dropped not only because of the amount of learning and education decreasing during lockdown but also because the standardized test format was found harmful to marginalized students. Marginalized students include students of color, students with disabilities, students with English as their second language and more. 

Many argue that taking away this test also takes away the ability for students to get the extra help in school they need. Others argue that the test holds marginalized students back, not just grade wise or diploma wise, but also by taking away their ability to join an elective because of tutoring.

The school board claims there’s a lack of evidence that the extra education stemming from the test helps students progress toward college or work. Those in favor of disbanding the tests believe in the harmfulness to marginalized students. Those for keeping the standardized test believe that not testing students for essential skills leads to the value of a diploma decreasing and making achieving a diploma “easier” — as they believe — are not helpful for students. 

Oregon doesn’t have much room to do worse in education, as Oregon is 42nd in the U.S. in education K through 12.  Throughout upcoming years, time will tell if this decision is the correct one. 

Contact the author at ethoma23@mail.wou.edu

A fireside chat with the President

Written by: Gretchen Sims | Edition-in-Chief

Western’s President, Jesse Peters, joined by the Executive Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Dominique Vargas, and the Vice President of Student Affairs, Tina Fulch, got down to earth by meeting students face-to-face in a very casual manner — around the fireplace in the Richard Woodcock Educational Center no less.

This Nov. 2 meeting was a way for students to bring their concerns to the attention of people who have the power to take them into consideration and enact real change. 

The chat offered a comfortable environment that encouraged students to speak their minds — the inclusion of hot chocolate, tea and sweet treats also helped students feel invited to bring forth their grievances.

One of the first topics brought up by students was the mysterious disappearance of scholarship funds. Many students were missing scholarships this school year. Many were forced to pay their student bills without finding out what had happened to their money — despite many unhelpful and uninformative calls to the financial aid office. 

Tina Fulch answered this question with great concern, stating that if this has happened to any student, they should not give up on their scholarships. The financial aid office is horrendously understaffed and it is taking longer than usual to distribute funds. 

If one has already paid their student bill before getting some or all of their scholarships, the funds will be returned in the form of a reimbursement check at the end of the term. 

Another issue raised by students was the unreliability and impractical design of the school’s portal — citing that the widgets at the top are all different shapes and spaces apart. Additionally, crashes almost prevented them from paying their student bill on the day it was due. 

Fulch considered this and will bring up a possible redesign to the Director of UCS.

Faith DeVyldere, an Education student at Western who student-teaches at Oregon Child Development Coalition in Independence, brought up the fact that student teachers are unable to afford school and housing due to the fact that they hold unpaid positions. Western has many education students, but they are struggling because there is no help for them once they begin their stints as student teachers — rent and school can be expensive if one is working without pay. Fulch recommended talking with the Dean.

Overall, the general consensus was that people are starting to come out from hiding after COVID and are beginning to become active on campus again. Western’s campus has come to life this past year, and the small things, like this fireside chat, prove that the students are ready to make a difference and change Western for the better.  

Contact the author at howleditorinchief@wou.edu

Climate change, causes and effects

Written by: Libby Thoma | Freelance Writer

Climate change affects every being on Mother Earth — even humans. Worries surrounding climate change have been rising for years and continue to rise daily. So, are these concerns valid?

The short answer is yes, but there will most likely not be devastating effects directly to the current generations. However, if there isn’t major change, then there could be devastating effects to not only the earth, but to the future of humanity. 

Although the effects of climate change may not be critical yet, there are still effects of climate change to our generation, as well as those after us such as a rise in heat, more severe weather, drought, flooding, decrease in food availability and human health — with air quality, diseases spreading and food not being as healthy. 

These effects will continue to worsen with the temperature rise. What actually is climate change? Climate change, simply put, is changes in weather patterns and temperatures. Climate change is caused by greenhouse gasses getting trapped in the atmosphere and trapping the heat from the sun in the earth. 

This causes icebergs to warm and melt into the ocean, not only decreasing drinking water, but also decreasing albedo feedback — reflection of heat — and continuing to trap more heat. This also ruins land and sea creatures’ habitats. 

Climate change is destroying the earth and humanity. The current state of climate change continues to worsen, temperatures are rising twice as fast as they previously were as of 1981, and earth’s temperature has risen 2° F in total since 1880. The 10 warmest years ever recorded have all occurred from 2010-2023. 

Each of the symptoms of climate change worsen as the temperature rises annually. Although the state of the earth may sound dire, individuals can contribute to stopping climate change in its tracks.

One might try eating less meat, preserving energy in their home, using more clean energy and avoiding driving or flying regularly. If everyone contributes, climate change can be lowered, but the biggest climate change contributors are not average citizens, rather rich people constantly flying private jets, large corporations unnecessarily producing mass amounts of greenhouse gasses and superfluous mass production of factory products. 

So, as an average citizen, the best actions to take are signing petitions, protesting, participating in walkouts, public or social media advocacy and promoting climate change education — all of which are also extremely important. Climate change is extremely damaging and even deadly, so it is time humanity does something about it. 

Contact the author at ethoma23@mail.wou.edu

The faster the fashion the faster the controversy

Written by: Taylor Duff | Freelancer

Fast fashion populates many people’s homes and lifestyles, making familiar fashion brands such as Nike, H&M, and the cheapest on the market, Shein, extremely popular. 

The brand has become highly desired on the internet because of the thousands of influencers who participate in showing clothing hauls — to sway customers to make mass purchases of items due to their impossible-to-beat prices. The prices of clothing on Shein are just a fraction of what all other clothing brands charge — making over-consumerism undeniable. 

Shein is an internet-based retailer in Nanjing, China that was founded in 2008. Due to the rise of social media, Shein became an overwhelming success in 2020. As popular as the company is, Shein has been followed by much controversy throughout its standing.

One example of this is speculation on whether or not the company properly pays its employees or that its employees are being subjected to rigorous hours — also known as forced labor. 

With the mass amount of clothing being produced, and trends changing constantly, it’s hard for many consumers to believe that clothing items can be made and shipped promptly without constant movement. 

Another complaint with fast fashion, with Shein at the core of the debate, is that, because of the large consumerism especially with social media influencers, a lot of this clothing is contributing to landfill pollution. Many fast fashion companies, like Shein, have been accused of burning their unused clothing to keep up with seasonal trend demands for new and more sought-after pieces. 

Many high-end brands such as Ralph Lauren and Doc Martens have sued Shein for copyright infringement, saying that Shein has stolen ideas and designs, making their products closely resemble the higher-end brands. From a consumer perspective of those who can’t afford the higher-end prices, Shein could be a great alternative.  

Many fast fashion companies face similar charges and many brand owners and designers have sued. Similarly, Shein has racked up many lawsuits — many of which are ongoing. 

Another company that is receiving controversy, and, not surprisingly, competes with Shein, is Temu. Temu is another online retailer that has been accused of collecting user information to track trends and personal information. 

Temu does what Shein and many other brands do and makes faster, cheaper products to sell at a massive scale and sway consumers to purchase more. These are allegations many online marketplaces have received. 

Overall, being aware of spending habits and the quality of clothing, as well as how much is being bought, is important because it contributes to how much is being produced. People purchase clothing and dispose of it just as fast. It makes perfect sense to get the quickest and cheapest fashion possible for the same styles the high-end brands are producing. 

Finding more efficient and safe ways to donate and recycle is important. Just being aware is all the better; purchasing affordable clothing is a wise choice, but spend wisely and help save the planet. 



Contact the author at: tduff23@mail.wou.edu

Weed’s positives and negatives for college students

Written by: Libby Thoma | Freelance Writer

Everyone has heard of the negatives of marijuana use, especially those of us who are in college. In 2020, college student’s marijuana use escalated so much that one in 12 college students used marijuana daily, and this statistic continues to rise. Therefore, if there are so many known negative effects of marijuana, why do so many people use it and rely on it, given that marijuana isn’t technically addictive? The students of Western should be aware, not only of the negative effects of marijuana, but also the positive effects that many know exist. 

The effects of marajuana, particularly on students who are attending college, are overwhelmingly negative. There are three main ways it has been proven to affect students, mainly occurring during marijuana use and for up to 24 hours after use while the drug is wearing off. 

Attention is the first ability to be affected, which is necessary for understanding topics in class, understanding and finishing homework. The second of these effects is memory. College students are very aware of how important memory is for learning and achieving good grades. Memory isn’t just crucial for memorization for tests, but for making connections between the course material, building upon subjects and remembering what was learned throughout class. Finally, articles state ‘learning’ as another detriment of smoking weed while being a college student. This seems to mean overall learning through slower processing speed. 

Now, onto the positive effects of marijuana use. Positive effects from marijuana mostly stem from helping specific health issues. These specific health issues include; epilepsy, cancer and the negative effects from chemo, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Multiple Sclerosis, mental health problems, anxiety, chronic pain, sleep issues —specifically insomnia, eating disorders and so many more. 

A common misconception is “marijuana is impossible to be addicted to.” This is purely untrue. As anything can be addictive, such as food, caffeine and so much more, it is safe to say that an actual drug can be addictive. Though the addiction is different from that of a typical drug, it is considered a ‘use disorder.’ A person won’t experience withdrawals, but one will experience ‘dependence’ to marijuana — this is when a person goes without the substance and experiences symptoms such as irritability, sleeping difficulties, a decrease in appetite and more — much like when a person quits nicotine. The National Institute on Drug Abuse states that about 9% of people who use marijuana will become dependent on it. 

Once a college student reaches the age of 25, these negative effects, and negative long-term effects not spoken about in this article, lessen. 

In the end, marijuana use without a need for it from other health effects will likely result in the outweighing of negative effects over positive effects for a college student. If marijuana is a necessity for health, the positives effects of it will outweigh the negatives. If there is not a need for marijuana, rather used recreationally, the negative effects will then outweigh the positives. To do well in a college career, one should steer away from recreational use, at least not using it as often or using it before one needs to do anything learning related. 

The best plan of action would be to consult a doctor and get assessed for the need for medical marijuana. It is understandable that some people do not have access to medical care, and if this is the case and one can not gain access to medical marijuana, then one should honestly evaluate whether they need it, but either way, one should be using as little as possible for needed reasons and be prepared to dedicate more time to ones learning. 

Contact the author at ethoma23@wou.mail.edu

Learn about Western National Student Exchange Program

Written by: Sierra Porter | Staff Writer

In high school, some of us stressed to get straight A’s, some stressed to live their most active social lives and some just attempted to get by each day. Regardless of how we lived our high school careers, all of us had to reach the difficult decision regarding what we wanted to do after we walked across that stage. 

For those of us that choose to go to college, there comes the second decision of choosing which college to attend. Thankfully, students here at Western have the chance to take advantage of the National Exchange Program (NSE) with universities from 50 states, Canada, Guam, The US Virgin Islands and Puerto Rico. 

What are the requirements? Full time enrollment at Western, at least one completed academic term and at least 45 completed credits by the time of the exchange — freshmen, don’t worry, that just means there is plenty of time to plan where you want to go. When it comes to grades, you must have at least a 2.5 GPA, including at the time of exchange, and no incomplete grades from previous terms. Lastly, students must also be in good academic standing and must not be on any probationary status or any pending legal judgments — on or off campus. 

The first step of the application process is to visit the NSE website, to gather more information about the program and make an appointment with the NSE Coordinator, Cameron Mortensen, to discuss what options are best for you. Next, make sure you’ve applied for FAFSA for the next academic year and take a look at your financial resources; the NSE budget worksheet form can help with planning a budget. Finally, fill out and turn in the completed application, form and essay by mid February. Be aware, there is a $200 fee for application submission that is non-refundable. 

What does the cost look like? Generally, you can choose to pay the host payment or the home payment. The host payment includes paying all resident tuition fees for the campus you will exchange to; some host schools can also provide a tuition plan. The second option is to pay Western Oregon University’s tuition and fees at their current rate — other fees may be added so check out the website for specific payment plan offers for each university. 

Edith Santoyo, a sophomore at Western, shares her NSE story and favorite experiences in San Juan at the Universidad de Puerto Rico. 

Santoyo let the Howl in on her amazing experience with extremely fun locals, beautiful sand beaches, new friends and a culture in San Juan that has been nothing but welcoming and kind. Some of these new experiences include getting used to a whole new university environment. Since attending Universidad de Puerto Rico, she has learned about these different school cultures and said it has amazing benefits. Edith said, “Unlike at Western, I have three advisors” and she also said the campus is so large “…there are 9 libraries.” For all the cat lovers out there, Edith said her favorite part of Puerto Rico is that there are cats roaming all around, “This is quite literally cat island,” Edith said. Her favorite experience was when her mentor gave them salsa lessons and then took them to a local restaurant to show off their new moves. When asked if she would recommend the NSE program to other students she said absolutely; “It gives them an opportunity to be in a completely new environment that helps you grow as an individual, discover new things about yourself, become more independent while also helping you appreciate what you have back home.”

Contact the author at  howlstaffwriter@wou.edu

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