Mount Hood

Thanks, Obamacare

By: Stephanie Blair
Editor-in-Chief

On March 24, fewer than 20 days after its initial release to the public, the bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and replace it with American Health Care Act was pulled from the House floor before being put to a vote.

“We did not have quite the votes to replace [Obamacare],” said Speaker of the House Paul Ryan, R-WI. “We are going to be living with Obamacare for the foreseeable future.”

The Affordable Care Act was passed in March 2010 and has provided insurance coverage for 20 million adults in its first six years, as estimated by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The proposed bill would have discontinued the individual coverage requirement, which would also provide the demise of the ACA’s famous penalty for those who can afford coverage but do not have it. As stated on healthcare.gov, “The penalty is 2.5% of household income or $695 per adult … whichever is higher.” Penalties are paid through federal tax returns.

Students do not receive a special exemption from the aforementioned penalty. For students who are not listed on their parents’ insurance plan, finding healthcare coverage is required. Because Western does not offer a student health plan to domestic students, any uninsured U.S. students should either attempt to be added to their parents’ plan or fill out an application for insurance using the Health Insurance Marketplace.
Regardless of Oregon residency status, students should apply for insurance in the state they attend school in. The Oregon Health Plan has open enrollment, year-round.

Special coverage is available for those who cannot afford insurance and meet certain criteria: Medicaid and the Children’s Health Insurance Program. These programs, “… provide free or low-cost health coverage to millions of Americans, including some low-income people, families and children, pregnant women, the elderly, and people with disabilities,” as stated on healthcare.gov.

The Oregon Health Plan and Medicaid can both be applied for online at oregonhealthcare.gov.

For more information about healthcare penalties, exemptions and more, visit healthcare.gov.

For information about resources specific to Oregon, visit oregonhealthcare.gov.

Contact the author at journaleditor@wou.edu

Reflecting on the life of Mary Maples Dunn

By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

March 19, 2017 marked the death of 85-year-old educator, scholar and historian Mary Maples Dunn. She is regarded as, “… a champion for women- and women’s history” according to Smith College.

Dunn did her graduate work in U.S. colonial history at Bryn Mawr College in Pennsylvania and began teaching there as she worked to complete her Ph.D. Her career at the women’s liberal arts college was extensive. Among other positions she held, Dunn took on the role of Dean in 1978, and ultimately became Academic Deputy to the president in 1981.

From 1985 until 1995 Dunn served as Smith College’s eighth president. During her time at Smith, she faced multiple challenges but left a positive impact by the end of her presidency.

The Smith College Archives note that the time of Dunn’s presidency was, “… an economically troubled period for the college. Campus diversity, internal communication flow, and socially responsible investment were also significant issues.”

Dunn’s hard work at Smith paid off: she helped the women’s college raise more than $300 million during her time there, which helped allow the opening of the Bass Science Center and the Young Science Library on campus. Five majors were added to the curriculum as well as the improvement of on and off campus communications. Her tenure at Smith saw the introduction of the internet, email and voicemail on campus as part of her process of getting Smith on the “Information Highway,” explains the Smith College Archives.

Approaching retirement in 1995, Dunn stated that, “… it’s true that acquiring budgetary accountability is among my most important achievements, but I hope I’ll be remembered as a president who helped open the college up to a more diverse population,” according to Grécourt Gate, Smith College news.

The New York Times reports that her work in diversity at Smith was partially prompted by a number of racist incidents that had occurred on campus. Following those incidents, Dunn’s administration instilled a number of programs, one of the most notable being the 1988 Smith Design for Institutional Diversity.

“By the time she stepped down in 1995, minority enrollment had risen to 571 from 342, out of a student body of about 2,800. And minority representation on the faculty had increased by about six teaching positions,” the New York Times stated.

The programs primarily dealt with race, but also touched on derogatory language, race and physical disabilities as noted in the Smith College Archives, adding, “… Dunn maintained a cheerful image and a sense of humor throughout, and persevered through the trials of her difficult position.”

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

Sanctuary city proposal update

By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

On Feb. 21, the proposal to make Monmouth a sanctuary city was brought to the City Council for a third time.

Unlike the two previous city council meetings where the proposal for sanctuary status was met with less than two motions, and as a result further discussion was unable to take place, a promising turn of events took place for those pushing to have the proposal go into effect. This time, many members of the community were present and ready to discuss the topic.

Hector Virgen-Marquez, one of the six Western students that have been working on getting the community involved with the proposal, said, “I am immensely proud at how quickly and efficiently our community is willing to mobilize for topics of this matter.”

The city council decided that rather than declare sanctuary status right then, a work session will be held on March 21, which will be open to all members of the community. During this session, the details on what a sanctuary city looks like, as well as what needs to be done to follow the proper procedures will be examined.

Following the work session, another city council meeting will be held on Tuesday, April 4, at 7 p.m. to discuss whether sanctuary status will be implemented in Monmouth or not; community members are welcome to attend and speak their minds during this meeting.

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

Incidental Fee Committee reaches final decision

By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

After the extensive process of preliminary decisions and open hearings, the Incidental Fee Committee has reached their final budget decisions for the 2017-2018 school year. The final meeting took place on on Friday, March 3 and was approved by ASWOU Senate on Monday, March 6.

At the start of the process, the IFC committee didn’t have a set plan on what they wanted to increase, with the fee or specific program budgets. However, they did respond positively to groups that focus on student employment.

The total incidental fee that students will owe each term for the upcoming school year will be $349, an $8 increase from the current academic year; the summer 2018 fee reflects a $20 increase compared to the summer 2017 fee, which will bring the total to $153. Regarding the club’s and organization’s individual budgets, only a few faced significant changes from the preliminary decisions to the final one. ASWOU received an $11,793 increase from the preliminary decision, giving them a total budget of $277,132 for the 2017-2018 year. Student Engagement received an increase of $6,570 from their projected budget, putting them at $1,289,707 for the 2017-2018 school year.

Rather than seeing a significant increase, Athletics faced a $5,841 decrease between the preliminary and the final decision. Athletics will have a budget of $1,284,159 for the upcoming academic year.

A big change that came up during the final decision process was the enhancement that was granted to Campus Recreation. The purpose of the enhancement was to upgrade an existing part time position to full time. This enhancement was one that was not included in the preliminary decision; it was also one that received no discussion from students during the open hearing process.

Campus Recreation was given the enhancement, which added $37,126 to the final incidental fee budget: this will reflect in a $3 increase to the fee paid by students each term in 2017-2018.

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

Western’s distinguished women alumni

By: Jade Rayner
News editor

March has been observed as Women’s History Month since 1987, as designated by Congress through Public Law 100-9. Since then, the National Library of Congress, National Gallery of Art and other notable locations use March to “… join in commemorating and encouraging the study, observance and celebration of the vital role of women in American history,” according to womenshistorymonth.gov.

Western has had numerous alumni that have made a difference either as educators, politicians and artists among other professions. Actress and painter Ariana Richards is among Western’s distinguished alumni.
Ariana Richards attended Western in 2006. Her career as an actress is expansive; one of her most famous roles being Lex Murphy in “Jurassic Park,” she has also played parts in “Tremors” and “Spaced Invaders” to name a few.

She won the Young Actors Award for “Best Young Actress Starring in a TV movie” both in 1991 and 1992 for her parts in “Switched at Birth,” and “Locked Up: A Mother’s Rage.” The Internet Movie Database credits Richards as, “… one of the most accomplished young artists of her generation.”

In addition to Ariana Richards career as an actor, she is also recognized as an accomplished painter. She is a member of both the Portrait Society of America and the California Art Club. Artists that she credits for her inspiration include John Singer Sargent, Anders Zorn and Mary Cassatt. She focuses on working in a more traditional style with oil paint as her primary medium.

Richards has earned the Art of the West Award of Excellence at the Oil Painters of America Western Regional Competition in 2006; in 2013 she was named the “Official Artist for the Children for Children Organization-Interpretational Painting of Music.”

She has created work for multiple exhibitions, although her current focus is on painting specially commissioned pieces for individuals. Her work can be viewed online at galleryariana.com.

Nawwal Moustafa, a recent graduate of Western, is the creator of Dreamboat Productions, and works as a teacher at Elevate Oregon, a program aimed at building relationships with urban youth to promote education and leadership skills through year-round mentoring.

Moustafa created and self-published a 54-page coloring book titled “Chin Up, Dreamboat!” in 2016. The production of her coloring book was completely crowdfunded on Kickstarter within five hours, according to chinupdreamboat.com. The coloring book gained recognition from Buzzfeed, The Daily Dot and Bustle to name a few.

In an interview with metro.co.uk, Moustafa stated that, “I had this idea after I ended a relationship where we rushed into some serious commitment … It was a typical, over-committed too soon relationship. So, I created this. As a tool for others, and a tool for myself.”

She went on to explain that she chose a coloring book as an outlet to share her story because it’s interactive, and that “… coloring in the images works as the perfect self-therapy to process all the crappy parts of a breakup – gay or otherwise.”

More information about “Chin Up, Dreamboat!” including how to purchase the book and other available products can be found at chinupdreamboat.com.

Another distinguished woman is Western’s College of Education Alumni of Special Note Kate Dickson. Since graduating from Western in 1977 with a master of science in education, Dickson has had an active career as an educator.

Her work as vice president of education policy for the Oregon Chalkboard Project has led her to become head of an initiative to instill what’s learned through the Chalkboard Project to teacher preparation programs.

Oregon’s Chalkboard Project is an initiative of Foundations of a Better Oregon. According to their website, the project’s mission is, “… to help create systemic transformation in the quality, accountability and stable funding of Oregon’s K-12 public schools.”
Previous to her work on the Chalkboard Project, Kate Dickson has also been in the roles of Oregon Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction, principal and teacher in the Salem-Keizer school district.

Reflecting on her education, Dickson noted that, “… my graduate work at Western was high quality and established a strong foundation for valuing intellectual rigor, critical thinking, and problem solving complex public education issues.”

More information about her, and other distinguished alumni can be found at wou.edu/education/alumni.

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

National Women’s March takes Salem

By: Stephanie Blair
Editor-in-Chief

On Jan. 21, protesters around the world gathered in major cities to join in sister marches of the Women’s March on Washington. Despite the thunderstorm warning, approximately 4,200 people gathered across the street from the capitol steps to join the Salem Women’s March. Men, women, children and dogs filled the crowd holding up nearly as many signs as umbrellas.

An hour long rally was held before the mile-long march began. Speakers, such as Gov. Kate Brown and Salem city councilor Cara Kaser, advocated to the crowd about LGBTQ+ rights, reproductive rights and health care reform, as well as other women’s issues.

Though the Portland march lost attendance due to racial tensions and a dropped NAACP endorsement, the Salem march’s numbers were bolstered by hiring ASL interpreters for the rally and choosing a level march route.

Those in attendance ranged in age; some marchers were unable to walk because they had yet to learn how, while others were restricted to wheelchairs in their old age. At the front of the rally, one such woman held a sign which read, “Proud to be 94 and ‘nasty.’”

Haley Morris, a junior psychology major, was also in attendance. When asked why she chose to march, Morris replied, “I think it’s extremely important as the “building block” generation to be involved in the national and global conversation, especially on topics of injustice and inequality.”

Many signs at the event held messages such as, “Hate has no home here,” “Hear our voice” and “We must be vigilant, not vigilantes,” which held to the goal of the march as set by the organizers. On the Facebook event page organizers stated that, while signs were welcome, no hate speech would be permitted.

Political commentary and satirical caricatures, however, were rampant in the crowd’s signs. Some held fairly general statements, for example, “It’s not about politically correct, it’s about mutual respect.” Others were more pointed towards President Donald Trump, with signs reading, “Keep your tiny hands off my healthcare!” and “Make America think again.”

Similarly, the crowd was smattered with pink: eared hats referred to as “pussy hats” and signs that read “this pussy grabs back” in response to the president’s comment made in 2005.

“For me personally, I went to the march with less of an anti-Trump sentiment and more of a pro-people and pro-rights standpoint,” said Morris. “You can argue about who you think is the best leader, but you can’t argue over someone’s human rights.”

The event was coordinated with the Salem Police Department and was entirely peaceful; no arrests and no property damage occurred.

“All in all, I think the march went great. Almost double the number of people expected to come showed up and marched and cheered and danced in the cold and the pouring rain,” said Morris. “I think we accomplished our mission to peacefully but assertively stand together in solidarity to show our leaders and the world that we will not back down or remain voiceless in times of uncertainty and fear.”

Contact the author at journaleditor@wou.edu

ASWOU Senate meets to discuss potential changes

By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

The Associated Students of Western Oregon University held a senate meeting on Monday, March 6. The meeting went over various topics including, but not limited to, hiring senate secretary, parking meters and drone usage on-campus.

A proposal to discuss a safe place on campus to fly drones was brought to the ASWOU Senate meeting because, “There is no safe place on campus for students to fly radio-controlled drones … there are at least 20 students and some faculty that would support there being a safe place on campus to fly … there are currently no guidelines for where students can fly their drones,” among other concerns.

A majority of the discussion on drone usage was centered around rules that would need to be put in place for on campus drone flying. One senate member was concerned about drones being used for inappropriate reasons.

“Even the cheapest drones that we sell at Home Depot, they have a mile radius. So it could be very easy for somebody to do something promiscuous or inappropriate with drones, which is why I’m bringing up this conversation; it’s one we need to have,” they went on to say.

Near the end of the senate meeting, a request that the ASWOU Senate President Corbin Garner attend the Monmouth city council meeting on behalf of Western students was placed. Specifically the meeting taking place on Tuesday, April 4, that will be discussing whether or not to declare Monmouth a sanctuary city.

Reasons for this request include “sanctuary cities are currently a pertinent topic … some WOU students may feel unsafe coming into the city of Monmouth for school … WOU is a sanctuary campus that is meant to help people feel safe and included … some WOU students have expressed their support for making Monmouth a sanctuary city” as summarized by the senate.

The request was examined, but not voted on during the senate meeting.

All ASWOU Senate meetings are open to students to bring up any issues, or discuss anything on their mind about Western. The ASWOU Twitter account advertised this opportunity using the hashtag #WOURantAboutIt on March 6. They can also be contacted by email at aswou@wou.edu.

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

Breaking down gender stereotypes

By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

A small, but lively group gathered at the Lord and Schryver Conservancy in Salem on Friday, March 3, to attend one of the final installments of the Oregon Humanities’ Conversation Project.

“Mind the Gaps: How Gender Shapes Our Lives” a discussion led by Jade Aguilar, an associate professor of sociology at Willamette University, discussed the ways in which gender affects every aspect of people’s lives from the moment they are born.

The event was centered around participation from those attending: Jade Aguilar kicked off her presentation by telling the room, “it is a conversation, so I’ll do a lot of talking but I really encourage you to jump in at any time … so prepare to speak as well.”

At times the conversation would go beyond questions about gender, and expand to discussing many other factors. In response to this, Aguilar said, “That’s what makes this both so fascinating and so complicated … we map gender on things, but sometimes it’s about size, or institutional level power … or it’s about power within families. It’s hard to unpack it all, because it’s not just one of those, it’s about a lot of things.”

Aguilar pointed out the way in which everyone, even those that regard both women and men as equals, has internalized sexist thoughts. She explained this by using a study done on a baby playing with a jack-in-the-box toy as an example:

“they took a baby, and dressed the baby in yellow … of course it’s a baby so you can’t tell [the gender], and they took a little video of it, and they did the jack-in-the-box. The jack-in-the-box popped up, the baby was startled, it made out a large cry.”

The video was then shown to two different classrooms; one class was told that the baby was a girl, the other a boy; both were asked to describe what the baby was feeling.

Summing up the results of the experiment, Aguilar continued, “The students that thought it was a little girl were more likely to say that they thought she was scared … and the ones that thought that it was a little boy were more likely to think it was angry.”

One participant added that she felt uncomfortable the first time she had a female dentist; Aguilar responded to that explaining, “There’s no way you can’t be sexist. Even if you’re a woman and you know women can do anything. We have stereotypes, we’ve internalized them, we have a conscious bias … so you see your female and you think ‘oh, I hope she knows what she’s doing;’ it’s deep in you.”

This was the last talk in the Oregon Humanities’ Conversation Project schedule to take place in Salem. The next free community discussion will be “In Science We Trust?” in Stayton, Oregon on March 22 at the Stayton Public Library. For more information about the project go to oregonhumanities.org.
Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

Safe restrooms for all humans

By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

At Western, there are multiple all-gender restrooms that can be found across campus. However, finding gender neutral or all-gender restrooms becomes increasingly difficult when wandering beyond campus.

In 2014, REFUGE Restrooms was created “to provide restroom access for transgender, intersex and gender nonconforming individuals,” as stated on www.refugerestrooms.org. The service began as a website originally, but has recently become an application that can be downloaded for free on both Android and Apple devices.

As explained in further detail on their website, the purpose behind creating REFUGE was, “one of the biggest battlefields upon which the fight for transgender rights is taking place daily are restrooms. It seems that every other week a transgender child is made the center of a national news story because they used the restroom assigned to the gender they identify with. Obviously, we believe that every transgender person should have the right to use the restroom they want to. However, we also realize that despite legislative victories in recent years regarding restroom usage, many transgender individuals still face both verbal and physical harassment simply for using the restroom. Nobody should have to face that.”

A similar online resource, Safe2Pee, was created in 2005. When the website stopped working in 2014, REFUGE gathered their first 4,500 resources from the Safe2Pee database and continued the effort to locate safe bathrooms.

REFUGE Restrooms continues to be a growing, collaborative resource between the designers and users of the application; it is encouraged that users pin locations of safe restroom locations, meaning all-gender or unspecified single-stalls when they come across ones that have not already been added to the map.

For more information regarding the application, and for ways to get involved visit www.refugerestrooms.org or download the application for free.

Those who would like a list of all-gender restrooms at Western can find them at https://wou.edu/wp/safezone/on-campus.

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

Incidental Fee Committee makes preliminary decisions

By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

The Incidental Fee Committee held their preliminary budget decision meetings for the 2017-2018 school year on Friday, Feb. 10 and Friday, Feb. 17. As of now, the projected incidental fee cost for the 2017-2018 school year is $345 per term, a 1.17 percent increase from the current school year. As part of that fee, the Health and Wellness Center cost per term will remain unchanged at $67.

Incidental fees are used to pay for on campus organizations including, but not limited to, Abby’s House, Athletics, WOLF Ride and Service Learning and Career Development. A total of $4,376,199 will be made from those fees for the 2016-2017 school year, and it is estimated to raise up to $4,437,195 for the 2017-2018 academic year.

Preliminary decision meetings consist of the IFC setting the tentative budgets for on-campus organizations and events before open hearings begin. Once open hearings begin, individuals can make a case on behalf of their organization for additional or continued funding, if necessary.

In addition to setting the base budgets, enhancements were also discussed. When a club or organization on campus is asking for an enhancement, they are requesting additional funding beyond their budget for a specific event, trip or job that is needed.

The largest projected budget cut for the upcoming academic year is going to ASWOU, with a 10 percent decrease, which is much smaller than a previously proposed 18 percent cut. Part of the reason behind the large budget cut is the confusion about what exactly ASWOU accomplishes for students through their day to day operations. The cut will be reflected by taking their requested budget of $294,821 down to $265,339.

Another organization whose necessity was discussed was the Creative Arts department, specifically the Smith Fine Art Series. IFC members criticized the program because of the imbalance between how much students are paying for the series and the lack of student attendance at the events. The series will be facing an 11 percent cut, which will take the $329,541 budget they asked for and leave them with $322,891.

Organizations that are proposed to receive enhancements are ASWOU, specifically the Student Veterans of America, Campus Recreation and Student Engagement.

Students who would like to make a case to the IFC on behalf of a club or organization may do so at the second open hearing this Friday, Feb. 24 from 2 p.m. until 4 p.m. in the Werner University Center. The first open hearing took place on Tuesday, Feb. 21 from 8 p.m. until 10 p.m. Individuals are allotted three minutes to speak; groups receive five minutes.

More information about the IFC process, including policies and meeting minutes, can be found at wou.edu/ifc.

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

Monmouth community and Western students join to create a safer city

By:Jade Rayner
News Editor

The movement to declare Monmouth, Oregon a sanctuary city is one that began roughly two months ago by a concerned member of the community and has gained a growing amount of support since then.

HOMESTEAD, FL – NOVEMBER 16: Demonstrators including students from local high schools as well as a college rally in front of Homestead City Hall against President-elect Donald Trump and are asking that the city be used as a sanctuary city and their respective schools be sanctuary campuses on November 16, 2016 in Homestead, Florida. Mr. Trump has said he will crack down on so-called Òsanctuary citiesÓ or cities that donÕt help federal authorities seize undocumented immigrants. (Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty Images)

There is no concrete definition for what it means to be as sanctuary city; it varies from place to place. For a city to declare sanctuary status, it’s stating that it will protect its citizens from unlawful prosecution from federal immigration, relating to the Oregon law ORS 181A.820 that states: “No law enforcement agency of the State of Oregon or of any political subdivision of the state shall use agency moneys, equipment or personnel for the purpose of detecting or apprehending persons whose only violation of law is that they are persons of foreign citizenship present in the United States in violation of federal immigration laws.”

According to information provided by Western student Hector Virgen-Marquez, the proposal to make Monmouth a sanctuary city was brought to Monmouth City Council by Patty Dixon, a concerned member of the community that was trying to help other community members. She was met by a motion from city council member Laurel Sharmer, but it was not met with a second. Therefore, the proposal did not pass.

Upon hearing about this, Virgen-Marquez explained that, “Marshall Guthrie the director of the Student Enrichment Program had heard of this, and rallied a few students together to make a second proposal. He contacted students from MEChA de WOU, and UNIDOS and brought six motivated students together to propose, for a second time, that Monmouth declare sanctuary city status.” The students involved were Evelyn Guzman, Sandy Estelle, Juan Navarro, Jaime Hernandez, Aminadab Diaz and Hector Virgen-Marquez.

Additionally, Western student Erika Azua and Dr. Maureen Dolan, Professor of Sociology led an outreach committee to reach out to other members of the community, Western administrators, businesses and clergy leadership.

During the Feb. 7, 2017 Monmouth city council meeting, the six Western students brought up the sanctuary city proposal. Much like the first time with Dixon, the proposal was met by a motion from council member Sharmer, but no second was offered by the remaining city council members. “Needless to say, this was a great defeat, as we had failed to prove to our council members that this is an important topic that deserves discussion in a public setting such as this. But regardless, that only helped fuel energy to push us to try again,” Virgen-Marquez stated.

When asked what it would mean to the Western community for Monmouth to declare itself a sanctuary city, Hector Virgen-Marquez replied, “… it will show the students at Western that the city they live in also cares about them, and for those who are currently under a degree of fear – it shows that they are able to go out to the city without feeling uncomfortable and anxious of federal prosecution.”

These students will be bringing the proposal to the Monmouth City Council again on Feb. 21, 2017.

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

“Hard to Believe” documentary aims to raise awareness of organ harvesting

By: Byron Kimball
Freelancer

On Feb. 23, Salem resident Timothy Gebhart held free viewings of the 2015 PBS documentary “Hard to Believe” for local residents. Directed by Ken Stone, the documentary concerns the practice of forced organ harvesting from Chinese prisoners.

Filmed in the style of a police procedural, “Hard to Believe” is one of many documentaries in recent years that aims to raise awareness of the issue.

A CNN report done on June 24, 2016 claimed that China was “… still engaged in the widespread and systematic harvesting of organs from prisoners.”

As the documentary discusses in further detail, the organs, ranging from kidneys to hearts, are often harvested from a person shortly after execution. The organs are then sold to so-called “transplant tourists,” who travel from all over the world to China for life-saving organ transplants.

For Gebhart, the issue is personal. He is a long-time practitioner of the meditation practice Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, which has been outlawed in China since 1999. Many of the victims of forced organ harvesting are fellow Falun Gong practitioners, according to www.stoporganharvesting.org.

When asked to share his thoughts about both organ harvesting and the documentary, Gebhart responded, “Not too many people are aware of organ harvesting in China or of the persecution of Falun Dafa practitioners in China. We have found that once people know of this issue, and are familiar with it, it is much easier for change to occur.”

He suggests that viewers emboldened to action after viewing the documentary help raise awareness through social media and by writing to their local legislators.

Viewers who wish to learn more about forced organ harvesting are encouraged to visit both www.hardtobelievemovie.com and www.stoporganharvesting.org to learn about the practice and find out what they can do to help.

Contact the author at bkimball16@wou.edu

Possibility of life beyond Earth

By: Zoe Strickland
Managing Editor

After decades of searching for the possibility of life beyond Earth, scientists have found what they were looking for. On Feb. 22, NASA announced that a new solar system containing seven Earth-size planets was discovered.

TRAPPIST-1 is located in the Aquarius system and is around 40 light-years away from Earth. The exoplanet system was named TRAPPIST-1 after a telescope in Chile. Researchers using the Chilean telescope found the first two planets in the TRAPPIST-1 system in May of 2016. The five remaining planets were discovered using the NASA Spitzer Space Telescope, which enabled them to have a more in-depth examination of the planets.

The research effort to locate and classify the planets was led by the scientific research team at the University of Liege.

“The seven wonders of TRAPPIST-1 are the first Earth-size planets that have been found orbiting this kind of star … It is also the best target yet for studying atmospheres of potentially habitable, Earth-size worlds” said Michael Gillon, leader of the team of astronomers that discovered TRAPPIST- 1, in a press release put out by NASA.

Though the seven planets are a similar size to Earth, they boast different features. All of the planets in the newly discovered system are closer to each other in orbit than the planets in our own solar system. According to the report that NASA put out, “If a person were standing on one of the planet’s surface, they could gaze up and potentially see geological features or clouds of neighboring worlds, which would sometimes appear larger than the moon in Earth’s sky”.

Though scientists are still trying to find information regarding the makeup of the planets, they have found details that indicate whether the newly-discovered planets could be habitable. “While the other planets in the system could only have liquid water over a small part of their surface, these three planets e, f and g could contain oceans similar to those on Earth, ” said Julien de Wit, a post-doctoral student at MIT who is in charge of heading up the atmospheric studies of the planet, in a University of Liege release.

In addition to the difference in planet proximity and makeup, TRAPPIST-1’s star has features that mirror the sun. According to the University of Liege press release, the star of TRAPPIST-1 is classified as an ultra-cold dwarf, which means it’s both smaller and significantly colder than the sun.

Though the discovery of the new planets has jolted the scientific world, there is still a significant amount of research to be done. In 2018, NASA is sending the James Webb Space Telescope into space to look for more information regarding TRAPPIST-1.

Contact the author at journalmanaging@wou.edu

Voices raised at Salem rally

By: Stephanie Blair
Editor-in-Chief

Domestic abuse and sexual assault survivors, advocates and loved ones of survivors gathered on the Oregon Capitol building’s steps on Feb. 22 to support the services and protections infor survivors of domestic and sexual violence.

Despite the low-number of attendees and the cool, overcast weather, the crowd was lively and garnered a large amount of television coverage.

The rally began with speeches from various survivors and state officials, after which some attendees went into the capitol building to speak with senators and house representatives, as well as to find more information about how to support the Oregon Coalition Against Domestic and Sexual Violence and the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force, who partnered to organize the rally.

The mission statement of the OCADVS, a non-profit founded in 1978, as stated on their website is to promote “… equity and social change in order to end violence for all communities.” The coalition aids crisis centers and other resource centers for victims with training, connection to other centers and communities as well as providing other technical support, like posting job opportunities on their website.

The other sponsor of this event, Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force, has three main programs: the Prevention Program, the Sexually Assault Training Institute and the Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner Program. These three branches each help to provide training and resources for organizations and communities.

According to the OCADVS, one in four women and girls in Oregon will experience domestic violence in their lifetime and one in five are sexually assaulted in their lifetimes.

On campus, Abby’s House provides resources for those struggling with or who have been affected by sexual and relationship violence. Trained student advocates are available to aid those in need.

If you would like to volunteer with Abby’s House, contact them by email at abbyshouse@wou.edu or by phone at 503-838-8219. Information is also available at the Abby’s House office, located in room 106 of the Werner University Center.

Contact the author at journaleditor@wou.edu

21 and up

By: Paige Scofield
Campus Life Editor

My Bloody Valentine? More like my bloody mary. February, the month of love and the color red is the perfect month to enjoy a nice, red bloody mary. Crisp and delicious, this drink will make your morning or evening one for the better. The recipe is as follows:

What you need:
1 1⁄2 ounces vodka
3 ounces tomato juice
The juice of one lemon
1⁄2 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 drops Tabasco sauce
pepper
salt
1⁄4 teaspoon celery salt
1⁄2 tablespoon prepared horseradish (optional)

Directions:
Add ice to glass. Mix Vodka, tomato juice, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, Tabasco, salt, Pepper, celery salt and horseradish and pour in glass. Garnish with lemon or lime wedge, celery stalk, green onion or pickled green bean.
Please drink responsibly and enjoy.
Recipe courtesy of the user riffraff on Food.com

Contact the author at journalcampuslife@wou.edu

Protesting in peace

By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

On Sunday, Feb. 19, an estimated 1,010 people gathered in front of the Oregon State Capitol building in Salem for the Immigration Rally: part of the Immigrants’ March on all 50 State Capitols protest that took place on President’s Day weekend.

According to the event’s Facebook page, the purpose of the rally was to empower all citizens, foreign or native, and to stand “in unity and solidarity with all immigrants.”

In contrast to the pouring rain and heavy wind that lasted for the duration of the event, both the speakers and attendees alike held their heads and their signs high to spread the message that they, immigrants, weren’t going anywhere.

Western students Gabe Heredia, a senior community health/education major, and Madelyn Hay, an interdisciplinary studies major were two of the many students attending the rally. When asked what brought them to the event, Hay replied that, “One of the biggest reasons we wanted to come is Gabe’s family is actually immigrants … that’s something that kind of struck with us. Like if this had happened 50 years ago, we never would have met … they were given their chance and we think everyone deserves their chance.”

Salem resident Taylor Emery was also among the many who stood in protest.

“I’m here today because this is something that I passionately believe in, and I wasn’t able to go the Women’ March … so I’m here to support the immigrants that supported me at the Women’s March,” Emery explained.

“I want to try and be involved as I can … this is just something that I think shouldn’t even be an issue. Diversity is needed.”

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

Emergency ASWOU election comes to a close

By: Jade Rayner
News Editor

Last week brought with it the result of the Associated Students of Western Oregon University’s emergency election. Due to the death of Alma Pacheco, president of ASWOU, the role of vice president needed to be filled.

ASWOU is the student government at Western; their role is to advocate for student’s rights on campus, as well as in the state of Oregon.

Samantha Dunaway, a junior majoring in biology with an emphasis in zoology will be taking on the role of vice president; her new responsibilities will include organizing meetings, and completing tasks assigned by the new president of ASWOU, Cynthia Olivares.

Samantha Dunaway is already very familiar with Western’s student government. Before being elected as vice president, she was working as the ASWOU director of student organizations, overseeing all of the student clubs on campus. Her work with the organization has included training student clubs to use OrgSync and financial policies, and giving them the tools to be successful.

When asked what plans she had for improving student life at Western, Dunaway replied that, “My main goal is to support all students on campus. My door is always open for students to voice their concerns about our university, and I will always be open to addressing those concerns. I know how many students struggle with paying for college, pay tuition out of pocket and work multiple jobs to make it through college. I will do everything in my power to support these students and work to decrease tuition rates. My other goals include making Western more environmentally sustainable, increasing involvement in clubs and organizations on campus and helping to create a strong team environment within the ASWOU cabinet so that we can better serve the student body.”

As a final note, ASWOU Vice President Samantha Dunaway added, “I want students to know that my door is always open. I love Western Oregon University, and the best part of this school is the students. I want them to know that I am always available to address questions, concerns, and ideas on how to improve our school. Also, everyone in ASWOU is here to serve the students. Come by our office and say ‘hi!’”

Students with concerns regarding Western can contact the Associated Students of Western Oregon University at aswou.@wou.edu, or they can stop by their office in Werner University Center room 122.

Contact the author at journalnews@wou.edu

Month One in Trump’s America

By: Alyssa James
Staff Writer

When President Trump took office on Jan. 20, he immediately began to take action on issues that he spoke about during his campaign. On that day, per United Press International, he expelled an insurance rate cut for new homeowners which was set by the Obama Administration. He also began the process to repeal the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare. UPI.com states that, “Trump’s order asked federal agencies to ‘prepare to afford the states more flexibility and control to create a more free and open healthcare market.’”

Since that first day in office, he has been working left and right on presidential duties. For example, he has taken action against the Trans-Pacific Partnership, abolishing the deal that America made with Asia. According to UPI.com, this was done due to the fear that the TPP had the possibility of killing U.S. jobs. Along with that decision, President Trump made a change toward federal workers, bringing about a temporary hiring freeze; the freeze excluded military and some security positions.

A very well-known order that President Trump has put into action is the prevention of U.S. funds being used toward select health charities that aid with abortion. This order has been on and off in America since the Reagan Administration.

Another important decision that was made was in regards to the Supreme Court. As of recent, Judge Neil McGill Gorsuch has been nominated to be the replacement of Antonin Scalia.

Considering the Dakota Access Pipeline, which has received a lot of attention, an executive order was signed making the completion of the pipeline possible. With that signed, the process of creating the pipeline from Canada will begin again. In a release on Feb. 8, 2016, Energy Transfer Partners stated that, “The Dakota Access pipeline … and the Energy Transfer Crude Oil Pipeline… (together, the “Bakken Pipeline”) are expected to be in service in the second quarter of 2017.”

Within the Trump Administration, there has been a number of executive orders pertaining to immigration. Federal grant money has been stripped away from “sanctuary cities,” which are cities that protect immigrants who are not authorized and giving them access to city services. It is noted on UPI.com that President Trump, “also seeks to hire 10,000 additional immigration officers, build more detention centers and prioritize immigrants for deportation.” Not only that, but many have heard and are aware of the infamous Trump Wall. Building the wall has not begun; however, he has taken action by signing an order to begin the preparation for building the wall on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The United States visa vetting process is being reworked as well due to Trump’s presidency. This executive order demands for a thorough security check for people from foreign nations who desire to obtain a U.S. travel visa.

President Trump has initiated an order to strengthen the U.S. military. This legislation wants to rebuild our armed forces in order to increase our national and global security. Along with this, he has restructured the National Security Council, which will aid the President in choosing the best course of action on security issues. Within this new NSC, President Trump added the CIA to be a part of it.

It has been a just over a month of Donald Trump being President.

Throughout the past few weeks, there have been a large number of orders signed. If anything is certain, President Trump has been an active president since being inaugurated last month.

Contact the author at ajames16@wou.edu

Western Oregon University

Facebook  Instagram  YouTube LinkedIn

WESTERN OREGON UNIVERSITY
345 Monmouth Ave. N.
Monmouth OR 97361

503-838-8000 | 1-877-877-1593

Tools

Bookstore
Campus Maps
Canvas
Find People
Portal
Technical Support
WOU Email
Technical Support

Resources

A-Z Index
Accessibility
Academic Calendar
Class Schedule
Net Price Calculator
Jobs at WOU
News
Explore WOU
Partnerships
Student Services
Freedom of Expression
Immigrant Resources

Western Oregon University’s Land Acknowledgement
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.

Accessibility    Public Records    Privacy    Student Consumer Information

WOU prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, sex, national or ethnic origin, age, religion, marital status, disability, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity, and gender expression in all programs, activities and employment practices as required by Title IX, other applicable laws, and policies. Retaliation is prohibited by WOU.