Mount Hood

Campus Dining opens new cafe at Valsetz

Valsetz Dining Hall to begin serving Starbucks coffee

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

As of Feb. 22, Valsetz Dining Hall has officially opened their new Valsetz Café located in the backstage section of the hall. Prior to Valsetz Café, Campus Dining re-opened Caffè Allegro during fall term, but the campus coffee shop was closed due to low popularity. 

“When we decided to open again we thought a coffee shop would be more successful in Valsetz because it is closer to the residence halls for students and we already receive a lot of traffic due to students picking up their meals at Valsetz throughout the day,” said Campus Dining Marketing Program Assistant Tatianna Brock. “This will be a permanent installment. When we are able to open The Press and Caffè Allegro again, The Valsetz Café will turn into a late night cafe. We will still serve Starbucks beverages, but we will also open our convenient store and offer individual pizza, calzones and more.”

In preparation for the cafe opening, Valsetz has prioritized staff training.

“Some of our Valsetz staff members that will be working in the Café received barista training and our new student employees hired on also received barista training,” said Brock. “A Starbucks representative stopped by Valsetz to train our staff on preparing Starbucks coffee and gave us training materials.”

In addition to staff training, Brock also explains the cafe has been designed to ensure student and staff safety.

“We have floor stickers throughout the Café area limiting the amount of spots available for customers,” said Brock. “There are three floor stickers for the ordering line and then other customers will be directed to wait outside Valsetz for the next available floor sticker.”

At this time, the cafe has a mask mandate and has sanitizer dispensers available for customers to use. Additionally, Valsetz has four floor stickers placed in the pickup line to help customers stay six feet apart when waiting in line.

According to Brock, the cafe will function similarly to The Press — a coffee shop found in Hamersly Library. On the ordering menu, students can choose from espresso drinks ⏤ including lattes and mochas ⏤ chai tea, refreshers, shaken iced tea, lemonade and other items. The full menu is accessible to students on the Campus Dining website on the “Menus” tab or “Campus Coffee” page.

For additional questions, students can email brockt@mail.wou.edu.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

What students need to know about current Oregon legislation

Oregon legislators working on passing new legislation that benefits college students

Chris Smith | Freelance write

In every even numbered year, the Oregon State Legislator has a long legislative session.

There are nine bills that directly affect Oregon students ⏤ four of which, if implemented, would bring significant change to Oregon college campuses. These are House Bills 2835, 2919, 2542 and 3012.

(HB 2835) Basic Needs Navigators

Finding aid for basic needs such as Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program and others is difficult for anyone. HB 2835 seeks $4–4.5 million for a new staff member at all 17 Oregon community colleges and seven university campuses for both years of the fiscal biennium that is specially trained to assist students navigating these federal aid programs. The staff member will connect and inform students on benefit programs that will increase their academic completion and reduce the hardship of food insecurity.

(HB 2919) Textbook On-Time Adoption

This will require faculty to make textbook information ⏤ including price ⏤ available to students at the time of course registration. This legislation will allow for students to get an idea for the complete cost of a course, thus financially plan better, and incentivize faculty to adopt no to low cost materials to help combat rising textbook prices.

(HB 2542) Mandatory Fees Transparency

Currently, students are billed fees without an explanation for where their money actually goes.

Under the proposed bill, public universities and community colleges are required to prominently display mandatory fees, defining every fee, noting fee expenses, where the money will go and the beginning and end dates of said fee. Additionally, public universities would have to provide the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC) a report detailing their compliance with the requirement.

(HB 3012) Student Incidental Fee

The current Incidental Fee Committee statute ⏤ ORS 352.105 ⏤  is vague in its current language. Under this proposed bill student government and administrative roles would be clarified.

As of now, only HB 2835 has had a public hearing but, along with the rest of the bills, is currently in the Oregon House Committee on Education. If approved, all bills except for HB 2835 will go to the house floor for amendments, a floor vote and then sent to the Senate for the same process.

If approved by the required majority vote, the bills will go to the governor’s office to become laws upon her signature.

Contact the author at aswousenate@mail.wou.edu

Winter storm damages Oregon’s storybook theme park

Enchanted Forest owners plan to reschedule spring reopening 

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

Oregon’s family owned fairytale theme park, Enchanted Forest, was hit hard by the mid February ice storm, causing an estimated $500,000 worth of damage.

Already enduring the financial strain brought on by COVID-19, the Tofte family ⏤ the park owners ⏤ intended to reopen on Mar. 19 after holding various fundraisers to get them through the winter season last year. However, the planned grand reopening has been postponed as a result of the ice storm.

According to Susan Vaslev, an owner of the park and daughter of owner Rodger Tofte, this is not the first time the park has endured a weather related disaster.

“The park was through something similar but not as extensive about 12 years ago, also from a big ice storm,” said Vaslev. “This is much worse. It looked like a war zone initially with trees uprooted and limbs and debris so thick you could not walk through the park.”

After being notified by the park caretaker a day after the storm on Feb. 13, Vaslev reported immediately texting contractors the park had worked with in the past, such as Pfeifer Roofing, Dalke Construction and Carter’s Fire and Sprinkler. Over the course of the cleanup initiative, Vaslev said a lot of progress had been made on general cleanup efforts. 

“Our own employees have worked for two weeks now on (cleaning up) and cutting trees,” said Vaslev. “Pfeifer Roofing has had crews out there solidly for two weeks repairing extensive damage to roofs. Dalke Construction has been out there daily working on reconstruction and tree/debris removal. (F&W) Fence is working on fences. Bethel Excavating is working on underground pipes. Carter Fire and Sprinkler recharged and inspected our sprinkler system.”

Park staples like Humpty Dumpty and the Witch’s Head were unharmed, however the park’s Kiddie Train was completely crushed by fallen tree limbs and the castle roof covered seating area at the theatre has been damaged. Vaslev reported that the big rides appear to have had only minor damage once all trees were removed.

“Thanks to fundraising like GoFundMe, insurance was paid in full,” said Vaslev. “There is a high deductible and it will not cover everything.”

At this time, the park is not taking volunteers to help with the clean up because, according to Vaslev, Enchanted Forest is not a nonprofit organization and any volunteers would have to be paid.

“Reopening date is unknown at this time,” said Valslev. “Hopefully before summer.”

For more information on Enchanted Forest, visit their website enchantedforest.com or follow them on Instagram @enchantedforest.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

Q&A with ODS’ Assistant Director for Accessibility and Inclusion Rian Gayle

Learning all there is to know about the Office of Disability Services with Rian Gayle

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

There are a variety of services on campus dedicated to providing students with a more supportive college experience. The Office of Disability Services is no exception, providing students with academic accommodations and connecting them to a community that cares. ODS’ Assistant Director, Access & Inclusion Rian Gayle answered some questions through a sign language interpreter, Benjamin Cavaletto.

What is ODS?

The Office of Disability Services, commonly referred to as ODS, is here on campus to provide accommodations and also disability awareness building for the campus. We make the university compliant with federal laws that require us to provide accommodations. 

What are some services ODS offers?

We offer a variety of services; these are not services that are based on what we assume a student should have. We actually have conversations with students based on documentation they provide. Some examples of accommodations would be extra time for exams, interpreting services, note taking services, transcriptions and furniture accommodations in classrooms. Now during COVID, we’ve noticed an increase of students being in online courses, so there’s been a strong reliance on extra need for extended test time and services that can be provided online.

What is proper paperwork for students to be able to use the services provided by ODS?

Typically we require students to have some form of documentation to receive services. That documentation can be a 504 plan from high school, or it can be an Individualized Education Program that they had from K-12 education. If a student does not have a 504 plan or an IEP, they can go to any medical provider and have a diagnosis written. 

Can students use the services on campus to get a diagnosis?

You could go to the Student Health and Counseling Center, but they would not be able to serve all diagnoses. They may refer you to another place for other kinds of treatment if it’s not within their capabilities.

What are some examples of what they (SHCC) cover?

From my experience, I have seen that they have diagnosed students with ADHD. I think that’s the most prevalent I’ve seen. It’s possible that they could do other diagnoses but I don’t want to give you false information.

Have you seen grades improve after students enter ODS?

Yeah we have seen grades improve and students be able to graduate. We know that because we’ve been emailed. We get thank yous and people have said “If it weren’t for you I’m not sure how I would have done.” At the same time, I want to make sure that people are aware that if you do get accommodations, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to solve all of your problems. 

What’s one thing you’ve grown to love about Western?

When I applied for the job, one of my concerns was how communication would happen. My first language is not English. It’s often that communication barriers will occur in the workplace, but Western was able to support me using my first language. The people around me are able to sign and understand me, and that is something that really attracted me to the position.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

Veteran Resource Center’s director accepts teaching position with the DoD

Vetertan Center director Colin Haines leaves Western

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

After three and a half years of serving student veterans attending Western, Veteran Resource Center director Colin Haines has resigned.

The announcement came after Haines accepted a teaching position with the Department of Defense’s Science and Technology Academies Reinforcing Basic Aviation and Space Exploration program. Founded in 1991, the program was tailored to provide 25 hours of military personnel demonstrating science, technology, engineering and math in “real world” scenarios to fifth grade minority students.

“The DoD Starbase program combines everything I strive to be as a professional educator,” said Haines. “(Western), along with its students, faculty and staff, will always hold a place in my heart, but I felt the time was right to progress my career and make an impact on young students who need me the most.”

Haines reported that his time serving students at Western had been impactful ⏤ personally and professionally. He went on to say the student leaders of Peer Advisers for Veteran Education program have always provided student veterans or veteran-dependents with quality information regarding Veteran Affair benefits and academic life on campus.

“The fact that I have such an outstanding student staff who are more than able to help their peers during the period between directors allows me to leave with a bit of (peace) of mind that our student veterans will not be left hanging,” said Haines. 

At this time, Western has hired a new director, and Haines said he has confidence in the hiring authorities’ ability to identify and nurture great talent. To learn more about the new director or learn more about veteran benefits on campus, email sva@mail.wou.edu.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou

Thoughts and Gifts Project invites community to grand opening

The Thoughts and Gifts Project welcomes Polk County residents to celebrate the move to their new permanent location 

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

On Feb. 20, the Thoughts and Gifts Project nonprofit organization will be commemorating their permanent move to 427 Main St. E from 1 to 3 p.m..

Established in 2018 by founder Jean Love, TAGP celebrates the birthdays of underserved youths and qualifying senior citizens by providing $30 worth of gifts, three books and two birthday cards. 

Prior to COVID-19, TAGP would host one large birthday party each month for all participants within their program. Adapting to COVID regulations, the nonprofit does not have large birthday parties, but now does monthly prize drawings with donations from the Dollar Tree in addition to their other gifts.

Love had the idea after listening to a Toys for Tots commercial on the radio during Christmas time.

“It’s great that there’s such an outpour of support for one day, but what about the other 365 days of the year?” explained Love.

When the organization first began providing services to the public, their original location was temporary. 

“We had a partnership with the Polk County Service Club … They allowed us to use their club house free of charge and we were there for three days a week,” said Love, “but we did not have on site storage.”

According to Love, they spent the next few years fundraising until they were able to purchase a storefront in Monmouth during the fall of 2020. 

“We thought about doing a grand opening in October, but at that point you’re getting into November and December where the main focus is Christmas,” Love explained. “We don’t want to compete with anything Christmas because there is too much good that happens then.”

For the event, TAGP is doing a ribbon cutting ceremony in front of the store at 1:30 p.m. in addition to three different game stations.

“They will be quick fast games and after they can win prizes,” said Love.

Participants will also be able to receive some TAGP swag bags that contain various branded items. At this time, food will not be provided due to COVID regulations. People interested in attending the event are required to wear a mask, but no RSVP is required.

“We’re really doing something positive for our community,” said TAGP volunteer Kathy Grudle. “It’s such a wonderful feeling to be able to say this something we’re giving you and because we care about you having a birthday.”

To learn more about qualifications or to donate to The Thoughts and Gifts Project, students can visit their website at thoughtsandgifts.org.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

IFC concludes spring term discussions and moves on to the next school year

The IFC has finalized spring term and are working on next year’s budget

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

Western’s Incidental Fee Committee has completed their process for establishing fee and budgetary allocations for spring 2021.

During their Feb. 5 meeting, seven IFC members voted to approve the motion of allocating all budgetary requests from all 15 funded areas while one member abstained. For the money allocation, the committee supplied three areas with additional funding: Student Media received $2,750; the Creative Arts department, $1,500; ASWOU, $81.

For spring term, the committee opted to lower the $150 fee students saw on their bill this term due to lower budgetary requests, according to IFC chair Makana Waikiki. From the meeting transcript, it was revealed by IFC member Quentin Kanta that only one student voted on the fee preference option and voted for a $125 fee to be charged on student billing next term.

The operating costs for spring term total $585,886.67. Under the current proposed fee, the IFC anticipates collecting $502,750 and supplying the remaining funding using money from their $800,000 worth of reserves. The difference between winter and spring term’s operating budgets is approximately $330,000 less. The difference is due to the athletics department not making any budgetary requests for spring due to sufficient funding from their winter term requests.

The IFC is also working on drafting budgetary allocations and fee proposals for the 2021-2022 academic year. All funded areas have been asked to pitch 10%, 20% and 30% cuts. The reason for this request is due to the uncertainty of enrollment for the upcoming year and the unpredictability of COVID-19.

At this time, only 11 of the 15 areas have proposed their budgets for the upcoming school year. All areas were supposed to finish their proposals on Feb. 12, but the IFC chair cancelled the meeting because of the ice storm, and anticipate resuming proposals on Feb. 19.

For students that are interested in the IFC’s process, the committee holds their meetings via Zoom every Friday starting at 9 a.m. All committee meetings are open to the public and the link to the meeting can be found at their website wou.edu/ifc/. For all other inquiries regarding the IFC, students can email the IFC chair at ifcchair@mail.wou.edu.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

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Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Luckiamute Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

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