Mount Hood

Clubs come together for social issues

By AMANDA CLARKE
 Staff Writer

The Criminal Justice Club and the Black Student Union will be collaborating to host “Discussing Ferguson: Lessons Learned and Underlying Social Issues” on Jan. 27 at 3 p.m. in the Pacific Room of the Werner University Center (WUC).

“It represents all minorities,” said Dolan Kasnick, a member of the Criminal Justice Club who organized the event. “It is an uncomfortable issue; it is ugly, but it is time to have a reasonable conversation about it. But if we ignore this, who knows if we’ll see it again.”

Guest speakers include a representative from the New Asian-African Strategic Partnership, a police officer to talk about current events, a professor who was an officer during the Rodney King riots, and Dr. Dean Braa, from the Sociology department. They will be discussants at a roundtable format.

“I have some background on issues of race and ethnicity, specifically some thoughts and/or theories on racism,” Braa said. “One key issue is the history/evolution of predominantly Black communities as part of metropolitan areas”

The event will talk about historically similar events such as the Rodney King riots, and will speak about what can be learned from the past as well as what steps can be taken now.

It will cover various issues that caused the events that the United States is currently experiencing, such as Ferguson and other riots.

“Lots of questions, but not so many answers,” Braa said. “How is it that Ferguson evolved into a mostly Black suburb? Is residential segregation part of the problem in race relations? Why has the predominant Black population of Ferguson not taken control of city government? Will this happen in the future? How do
we connect issues of race and class in understanding problems in communities like Ferguson?”

The purpose of the event is to hopefully reach a conclusion and learn from the past events in American History.

There will be a table in WUC Thursday and Friday as well as Monday and Tuesday regarding the event.

The event is free and open to all students, faculty and guests.

For more information,
contact Dolan Kasnick at
dkasnick11@wou.edu

Monmouth Momiji open for business

By KATRINA PENAFLOR
 Campus Life Editor

The much anticipated sushi restaurant, Momiji, finally opened its doors last Friday, Jan. 16.

Momiji already holds a popular location in Salem, but the new restaurant, located on the corner of West Main Street and Monmouth Avenue, is the ideal spot for students.

“You don’t have to drive far,” said Shauna Fansler, an education major.

Much of the buzz amongst students can be credited to Momiji’s active presence on Facebook and Instagram.

Jeff Berneski, the manager of Momiji, has been the force behind the strong social media presence. He actively posts photos of sushi dishes and video updates about the restaurant and credits a lot of the anticipation to the timing and content of the posts.

“You have to know when to post,” he said, “[and] what will grab people’s attention.”

And the “people’s attention” has definitely been grabbed, with lines forming out the door. The overall consensus: the food and atmosphere are a hit.

“Best decision Monmouth ever made,” said Jessica Esparza, an English and psychology major.

Students trying Momiji for the first time said the service is fast, friendly, and efficient. And if fortunate enough to be seated at the bar, you can watch the sushi be made right in front of you.

“As a junior, I’ve waited three years for a sushi restaurant to open in Monmouth,” said Janessa Rook, a communication studies major. “I could not be happier.”

The menu suits a large variety of tastes, with options for fresh sushi rolls, tempura dishes, bento boxes, crepes and more.

Students who have never had sushi, or are perhaps hesitant, are encouraged to come in and give it a try. Berneski is confident he can form a roll to suit someone’s individual tastes, and the menu is diverse enough to have something for everyone.

Lunch specials are also available, with combo choices of select rolls, salad and soup for $8.95.

Aside from the regular sit-down dining experience, customers will also be able to call ahead and order meals to go: a convenience that is always helpful for students.

Jeff says the restaurant is excited to show students and the community their great food and service.

“Come in and be ready to have some of the best sushi you have ever tasted,” Berneski said.

For restaurant hours and more information head to over Momiji’s Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/Momijimonmouth, check out their Instagram @momijimonmouth, or call 503- 837-0111.

ASWOU presents “The Rocky Horror Picture Show”

By KATRINA PENAFLOR
 Campus Life Editor

The Associated Students of Western Oregon University organized a performance of the cult hit “The Rocky Horror Picture Show,” Wednesday, Jan. 21 at 6p.m.

The movie adaption centers on the couple Janet Weiss and Brad Major, famously played by actors Susan Sarandon and Barry Bostwick. The two stumble upon the mysterious mansion of Dr. Frank-N-Furter, and are immediately thrust into a world of transvestites, human creations, and of course, music.

Fans of the live performance know the production to be a wild and interactive good time. Full of music, dancing, sexual innuendos, and the tradition of throwing things at the stage. Prop bags were available to buy for $2 each. They were filled with cards, glow sticks, and more to throw and wear during the show.

Tony Young, the emcee for the evening and actor of the character Dr. Scott, got the crowd riled up and ready for the show. He welcomed all Rocky Horror “virgins” to come forward and participate in several saucy and hilarious activities. From a duel ended Slim Jim eating contest to “how many sex positions can you reenact in 30 seconds,” the emcee made sure all new-comers were laughing, comfortable, and ready for the show to begin.

Tony even facilitated a faux wedding between audience members Janessa Rook and Felice Lilly.

The performers were a group called The Denton Delinquents from the Kiggins Theatre in Vancouver, Wash. They donned classic Rocky Horror costumes and acted simultaneously with the movie playing in the background.

The audience was included throughout the whole performance. Actors, while singing and dancing along to the movie, would sing and connect with audience members while performing.

“It’s really interactive,” said early education major, Tianna Flannery.

Playing cards and glow sticks were among some of the items thrown and used during the performance, all playing along with the tradition of the show. People also donned newspapers on their heads during the rain scene of the film. The emcee encouraged people to shout “slut” and “asshole” when the characters named

Janet Weiss and Brad Major were mentioned.

During the famous Time Warp song, the crowd all stood up and danced along with the performers.

The show was outrageous and fun. Die hard Rocky Horror fans were impressed and first time viewers enjoyed the lively show. ASL interpreting major, Gabriela Guzman, said the show was, “very enjoyable, unless you are conservative.”

Lilly, a public relations and graphic design major, loved having the opportunity to attend Rocky Horror on campus.

“I think it’s really great to have a student organization who can bring a show like this to the university,” Lilly said.

Facebook-like program brings campus together

By ALLISON OPSON-
CLEMENT
News Editor
Beginning this term, students have access to OrgSync, a system coordinating clubs and organizations on campus, including a comprehensive calendar.

According to Kara Kelsey, ASWOU’s director of clubs and organizations, the goal is to get everything centralized.

“Its value is providing student leaders and student organization members with a new more interactive way to communicate with members and other student leaders through a one-stop platform,” said Ekpeju E-Nunu of Student Leadership and Activities (SLA).

All the information is in one place, including an events calendar. Events can be approved through the system, without the organizers needing to run around to different offices any more.

“We really want people to get into this, but we realize that technology can be confusing,” said Caitlin Bracken, ASWOU’s director of public relations. If students need help, they can ask ASWOU, or the Office of Student Leadership and Activities.

“Any time your implement a new system, there’s going to be growing pains,” said Megan Habermann, assistant director for SLA but added, “Students are already utilizing OrgSync in a lot of ways.”

The more they use it, she said, the more they’ll get used to it, and come to love it.

According to E-Nunu, the system works by letting each student organization create their own individualized portal to communicate with members, talk with smaller committees, set tasks for these groups, and even work on smaller projects. OrgSync also enables students to create a way to publicize their events to a campus wide calendar and also advertise their social media sites.

“It’s like a bigger, better, all-encompassing Facebook, if it was only for Western,” explained Bracken. “We want it to be a one-stop-shop where you can instantly find something.”

Bracken said that OrgSync is the way to make everything really easy and streamlined for students. She considers the program to be pretty user-friendly.

“It’s only going to be great if we can get people to use it,” Bracken said. “Our hope is that, if we put everything on OrgSync, then students will go there.”

There are polls and news feeds, as well as a place to ask questions, and forums for discussion. Plus Team applications are already available on OrgSync.

“It’s good advertising too,” Kelsey said. Students can look at clubs on campus, and request to join them. According to Bracken, because everyone uses posters, students may develop poster blindness.

Bracken said that her ultimate vision is to make OrgSync a place that is everyone’s first thought of where to go to learn more about things on campus. She added that they want feedback, and to hear people’s opinions, because then they can make changes and keep improving the OrgSync system.

According to Habermann, the process of acquiring the program began last year. Together, ASWOU and SLA asked the IFC committee for the total cost, about $26,000, she said, for three years’ use of OrgSync.

That cost will need to be paid again to continue usage, but ASWOU and SLA have started factoring that cost into their budgets, so they won’t be asking for that full amount from IFC every three years.

Habermann stressed that setting up a profile to get started literally takes two minutes, and it’s an easy first step to take to getting more connected to campus. OrgSync can be found in students’ Portals.

“The more people that use OrgSync, the better and better it will get,” said Bracken. “It’s such a good investment for our students.”

‘Perfect storm’ incapacitates campus computer network

By ALLISON OPSON-CLEMENT
News Editor

 

Western’s network was down from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Wednesday, Jan. 14, because of a router overload due to increased traffic, partly because of an external hacking attempt; the campus system was restored by University Computing Services (UCS) workers, and diagnostics are ongoing.

“There’s a whole bunch of ‘don’t know’ right now,” Bill Kernan, director of University Computing Services, said, adding that he and UCS are taking a forensic look into what happened.

The focus was on getting Western’s computers going again. Kernan said his entire team worked continuously, not stopping for lunch at all, and stayed clear until the end: many left only at 9 p.m. that night, after almost twelve hours of non-stop work.

The network interruption was noted at 9:30 a.m., and Kernan and his team were contacted.

They spent the next hour troubleshooting.

“The typical issues weren’t there,” Kernan said.

He started calling in help from off-site backup. By the end, UCS was on the phone with, off and on, up to three engineers simultaneously, all coordinating and working on the problem.

“I got as many resources thrown at it as I could,” Kernan said.

He called what happened a “perfect storm.” Two things happened nearly simultaneously, but either one alone could have been sufficient to bring down the network, because both resulted in traffic flow beyond what the main router on campus has had to deal with before.

He said it was like two fire hoses of information: the streams were too strong, even alone, but together, it was tremendous.

Increased usage overwhelmed the router. In addition to the increase of normal traffic, it also had net flow logs which were running. These help in diagnostics for determining the types and amounts of usage when that can help UCS.

“It’s not like we did something new recently,” he said. “Net flow shouldn’t have done this to us.” The whole network had been stable up until this incident, but in this case, the net flow logs happened to be the tipping point on the scales.

The other thing that happened was that the main host server for the campus system experienced an attack from external sources. The hackers’ IP addresses were traced back to computers in China.

“They used the server as a launching pad for an attack against the network,” Kernan said. The attacks took the router down via the compromised host server. He called this a malicious compromise of the system, a directed denial of service attack.

No data was compromised, Kernan said. Only the one server was affected, and it is currently out commission.

Kernan said they made the choice to get campus back up and running. The system was restored to operation by temporarily taking it out from behind the protective firewall. This was done with fewer than half of the most important of the 22 campus networks, and only between 1 p.m. and 8 p.m. on Wednesday.

Without the fire wall, there was less stress on the router, and service resumed. During the time the fire wall was down, UCS decided that it was necessary to temporarily function without the net flow logs, and removed those to keep the system operational.

At 8 p.m. the system was returned behind the firewall. There were no ill effects of operating without the firewall, Kernan said, partly because it was such a short time frame.

UCS also attempted to reintegrate the compromised server, but within the two minutes that it was on, it was the target of 430,000 attacks. It is currently off the system.

Western’s system is up and running. A forensic investigation is taking place, according to Kernan, but this is only secondary to keeping the campus computer network functioning.

“It was a complicated problem,” Kernan said. He will be posting more details on his blog in the next couple of days as they learn more.

For more information as it becomes available, visit wou.edu/wp/underthehood

Western Oregon staff member performs in “Dr. Dolittle”

BY JENNIFER HALLEY
CAMPUS LIFE EDITOR

 

For this weekend only, Salem’s community theatre, Pentacle Theatre, is presenting the musical “Dr. Dolittle,” at Central High School in Independence.

Patrick Moser, interim director of Werner University Center, is one of the performers.

The play is designated as a fundraiser for Pentacle, and according to Moser, all proceeds go to the theatre itself and its future productions.

“Dr. Dolittle” is an extra production by Pentacle and is produced with a limited set. It is based off the books by Hugh Lofting, as well as the Fox movies, starring Eddie Murphy.

The production starts Friday, Jan. 8 at 7:30 p.m., with two performances at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 9. A final matinee will be performed at 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 10.

Students Share Their Talents through Karaoke

BY AMANDA CLARKE
STAFF WRITER

Open-Mic Night was held in the Willamette Room of the Werner University Center by the Student Activities Board on Tuesday, Jan. 6 at 7 p.m.

Members of the audience volunteered and sang karaoke songs.

“It gives students a break and a chance to get their talents out,” said Kara Kelsey, a member of the SAB.

There was a wide variety of music, including Spanish songs, songs by the Beach Boys and “Happy Birthday,” which was performed for one of the audience members.

“I really like to get the audience involved,” SAB Small Programs Coordinator Kevin Alejandrez said, who participated in the karaoke and let the audience pick the song he sang.

Members of Kappa Delta Chi also performed.

The next Open Mic Night will be held on Tuesday, Feb. 3.

Veteran Success Center supports ex-military students

BY ALLISON OPSON CLEMENT
NEWS EDITOR

The Veteran Success Center helps college students who’ve served in the military connect to each other and find resources they need.

It offers a space for the variety of presentations and meetings it hosts, as well as a hang-out area.

The center opened its own location in the Werner University Center earlier this year, and is growing as a resource to student veterans.

“There does need to be something out there for student veterans,” said Veterans Coordinator Kyle Rodgers. “College is hard for anybody.”

With the added challenges vets face re-entering academia, it’s important that they have somewhere to turn when they need help, he explained.

A 2012 study by the Colorado Workforce Development Council estimates that 3 percent of student veterans graduate from university; 88 percent drop out within their first year.

Rodgers says that those numbers may not an entirely accurate reflection of current trends, at Western in particular, but noted that such reports can highlight a major problem that needs to be addressed.

“Some of the stuff is pretty minor,” Rodgers said of the challenges student veterans have to deal with. “But then, some of the stuff is pretty serious.”

Cody Knight, veteran liaison, said that the age and experience gap between traditional students fresh out of high school and military veterans can create a huge divide.

The Veteran Success Center helps people navigate their GI Bill benefits gaps and caveats, which may have a significant impact on the ability of a veteran to continue their education.

Student veterans are supposed to have a full ride to college, and yet their drop-out rates are consistently above average, in some cases by a wide margin.

By and large, Rodgers said, the GI Bill is still a big advantage, but negotiating through it takes some work.

“All that stuff kind of compounds,” Rodgers said. The center can help bridge the gap to success. There are hundreds of programs to support veterans, and he can tell them where to look.

Drop in support groups and other meetings are held on Tuesday. Along with Rodgers, two work study students are paid by the VA. All three are veterans.

According to Knight, more people are coming in this term, now that news of the Veteran Success Center on campus is spreading.

Rodgers’ role focuses on the recruitment to and retention of veterans at Western. Students who are connected to campus are more successful academically, and are less likely to leave. Rodgers says he tries to put on at least one program every week or every other week.

One presenter helps with resumes; another helps with financial planning.

“Even though you’re 22, 23, and expected to know all this, you don’t,” Rodgers said.

In addition to helping individual veterans, if many people have the same problem or idea, Rodgers can help them get together and make it actionable.

“We can then bring a collective voice to ASWOU or the administration,” Rodgers said.

Rodgers said that it is important to get the Veteran Success Center and the people it supports involved in the community.
They helped with the Toys for Tots drive, and Rodgers said that he is trying to raise more awareness this term; for fall, he said, it was a learning curve figuring out what works to get veterans’ attention.

“We bring our collective knowledge here to help each other,” said Dolan Kasnick, the third member of the center’s team. The center is intended to help get ex-military students better connected to campus, and help them succeed in their time here.

Having the center also helps out the rest of campus, said Rodgers, because it frees up the registrar’s office from veterans’ questions, which helps streamline their process more, and they may be able to provide more assistance.

Veterans should come to the center, first, even before approaching the Registrar’s office.

Western’s Veteran Success Center is also home to an affiliated chapter of the national Student Veterans of America (SVA), which is dedicated to providing help to ex-military members, for graduation and beyond.
This allows the center to offer SVA-exclusive scholarships and additional opportunities to Western’s student veterans. Western’s SVA chapter has about 40 members.

“It’s nice to be able to come in here to talk to other guys who know what you’re talking about,” Knight said.

Kasnick said the goal is to collaborate to help today’s veteran students, and also to enrich the life of future returning military service members at Western.

“It’s that whole thing of not having to go it alone,” Rodgers said. “It’s nice to at least know where resources are.”

The Veteran Success Center is located in room 108 of the WUC.

Rep visit begins opening new sorority Alpha Chi Omega chapter on campus

By Allison Opson Clement
News Editor

Representatives of Alpha Chi Omega national sorority visited Western Monday, Dec. 1 in preparation for opening a chapter on campus by next year.

Jen Patterson, director of collegiate growth for Alpha Chi Omega, and Courtney Schmidt, associate director of collegiate growth, toured campus and conducted focus groups to gather a sense of the campus culture and local community.

“When we come to a campus, we want to learn from the beginning,” Patterson said. “We want to build a chapter that’s a solid part of the community.”

The national brand for Alpha Chi Omega is “Real. Strong. Women.” Founded in 1885, it has over 135 chapters nationwide.

“We partner with the university to build a plan that’s right for each campus,” Schmidt said.

Alpha Chi Omega will work on empowerment of women, social issues and increased education. Members take on philanthropic work, including raising awareness of domestic violence and helping local organizations around each chapter.

Sofia LeVernois, treasurer of Kappa Delta Chi, said that what she took away from the focus groups is the type of sorority that Alpha Chi Omega is: one with strong values that they strive to fulfill.

“We want to inspire them to learn how to be the best they can be,” Patterson said.

Patterson said that Alpha Chi Omega has a very strong, well-rounded experience to offer members. Schmidt added that they work to make Alpha Chi Omega membership exemplary, not mediocre, which includes investing in the highest quality advisors and building a very strong community.

“It’s really exciting to come to a new campus,” said Schmidt, adding that she enjoys learning about the specific culture of each. Schmidt said that she wishes she could have been at Western for the tree lighting, since that was one of the things that students seemed to be excited about.

“Western has a campus culture that is friendly and caring but also provides motivation for students to succeed,” said Cody Kollar, treasurer of Kappa Sigma fraternity on campus and participant in one focus group. “That goes along with what Greek life is all about.”

Focus groups helped Patterson and Schmidt get a sense of the current desire and need for another sorority on campus, to give them a better idea of Western’s culture and a sense of the community they are looking to join, and what Alpha Chi Omega could bring to it, as well as what it takes to be Greek on this particular campus.

“We’re familiar with this part of the country and we’re excited to grow that brand and that sisterhood,” said Patterson. Several Oregon universities have their own chapters of Alpha Chi Omega already.

These are very preliminary stages, said Schmidt. The next step is marketing to raise awareness, and eventually formulate chapter life with new members.

Eventually, the first women involved, who are the founding mothers, will create the initial interest group and work towards establishing Alpha Chi Omega on campus.

“It’s your time to figure out who you are,” Megan Habermann, assistant director for student leadership and activities, explained of the interest group, which will become a colony with more pledges.

She added of the founding mothers, “They’re going to have their work cut out for them because they’re going to have to figure out how Alpha Chi Omega will work on campus.”

The colony, after a period of about six months to one year to allow enough time for raising membership, will become the Western Oregon University chapter of Alpha Chi Omega. The fall of 2015, Habermann explained, will be the real beginning of the official chapter.

“Every organization is different,” Habermann said. “It really depends on the women who start the organization.”

According to Habermann, a sorority will maintain certain membership standards, such as in academics and professionalism, but will generally be open to all women within those standards.

Choosing potential pledges will be a matter of making sure the women’s values match those of the organization, so that everyone gets the most possible out of the experience Habermann, said.

“I think that adding Alpha Chi Omega to campus would be a good thing for women who are interested in joining a sorority because it gives different ladies on campus the chance to choose between Alpha Chi Omega and Kappa Delta Chi to see which one will best suit them,” LeVernois said.

“I was excited to hear about another chapter coming to WOU,” Kollar said. “There is something out there for everyone and Alpha Chi Omega on campus will help even more students find that experience they are looking for.”

A sorority has national organization dues for its members, in addition to a $15 fee per person per term through Western; these funds go towards paying for building use and other group necessities.

Habermann said that not every organization is interested in expanding, perhaps in part because the Greek system at Western is small and young, which may make some cautious as well. Expansion may be approached carefully.

“Greek life is a great way to get to know people on campus and make future business connections,” LeVernois said. “Members get to meet many people that they possibly would not have met if they had not joined Greek life. From volunteering to just hanging out with your chapter, Greek life is a ton of fun.”

Faculty Senate approves implementation of LEAP framework

Laura Knudson
 Editor-In-Chief

The Faculty Senate approved a proposal Nov. 25 to replace Western’s existing institutional aspirations with undergraduate learning outcomes modeled after the “Liberal Education, America’s Promise” (LEAP) framework.

Started by the Association of American Colleges and Universities, LEAP provides “essential learning outcomes” and “principles of excellence” for liberal education. This creates a format to guide students’ progress through college.

“LEAP is a really clear statement of what Western students can expect to learn by the time they graduate,” said Dr. Sue Monahan, ex officio of the ad-hoc LEAP committee and dean of liberal arts and sciences.

It helps Western “communicate with students about purposes of their education,” she said.

Before LEAP, similar content called “Institutional Aspirations for Learning” was found on page five of the university course catalog and applied to major, minor and general education requirements.

Aspirations included critical thinking skills, development of advanced research abilities, ability to work effectively in teams, etc.

Students might see these learning outcomes displayed in a course syllabus. Often, professors list course objectives on a syllabus that are in line with the institutional aspirations, Monahan said.

In the LEAP proposal submitted to the faculty senate by the ad-hoc LEAP committee, it said while the current institutional aspirations reflect university values and goals, they are “difficult to assess meaningfully.”

New language in the modified LEAP outcomes will make academic aims of the university clearer.

“This just helps us communicate it better,” Monahan said. “Students learn best if they know what it is they’re aiming for.”

Modifications to language in the essential learning outcomes include student use of technology, ‘embodied’ education, inclusion of signing as a form of communication and creativity as an essential outcome.

Under Intellectual and Practical Skills, “using appropriate technology” will be added to the “practiced extensively” statement.

“Healthy course life decisions” will be added to the “anchored through” statement under Personal and Social Responsibility.

The written and oral communication outcome will include signed communication and the word “listeners” will replace “audience” in its definition.

The “critical and creative thinking” outcome will be separated into two outcomes and “and practice” will be added to the new “creative thinking” outcome.

The outcomes may be adapted in the future, Monahan said.

“The LEAP framework provides a clear and concise way to communicate these goals to our students,” university President Mark Weiss said in an all faculty/staff email Dec. 1. “It provides resources so that we can more effectively assess our work and continuously improve our curricular and co-curricular programs.”

Academic assessment, a requirement of all accredited universities, will be made easier with the implementation of LEAP rubrics.

These step-by-step guidelines will aid departments and divisions in assessing student work at the end of the year to determine if institutional goals are being met.

This will also create better understanding of Western’s assessment for outside groups working with the university, Monahan said.

Aside from clarifying learning outcomes and improving assessment, LEAP can also be used by students later in life.

“It’s not just for the sake of academics,” said Paul Disney, ad-hoc LEAP committee member and business and economics professor. “It’s what employers are looking for.”

“Students will have to make a case for themselves,” Monahan said of future postgraduates. They will need to be able to communicate what they have learned, she said.

With the move to independent governance through the board of trustees and the ongoing search for a new university president, the implementation of LEAP is “perfect timing,” Disney said.

“I think it’s really important in a time of change to know where you’re going,” Monahan said.

LEAP is something that has been “adopted and adapted by universities across the country,” she said. “We should not reinvent this; we should use these good resources that are already there.”

“I believe it’s important for our university to remain relevant,” Disney said. “It aligns us with a national standard.”

Monahan’s hope is that LEAP is institutionalized and made part of the university’s practice.

“The committee wants it to be more than just words on a page in a catalog,” she said. “We really want it to be a living thing for students to connect with.”

Though LEAP will be implemented in next year’s catalog, Monahan said they will begin using it for assessment before then.

MORE INFO:
Visit wou.edu/president/facultysenate/committees/leap
Contact Dr. Sue Monahan at 503-838-8226 or smonahan@wou.edu

New course evaluation system opens

What: Online course evaluations
Where: WOU Portal
When: Until 6:15 p.m. Friday, Dec. 12
By Allison Opson Clement 
News Editor

Western’s new course evaluation system is being used for the first time across campus, returning to students the ability to provide feedback on classes and professors for the first time in a year.

CollegeNet’s What Do You Think? program was chosen last spring, and after testing over the summer, this is the first time it will be used on a university-wide scale.

Dr. Mary Pettenger, chairperson of the Joint Committee on Course Evaluations, said that it is definitely past time to resume regular evaluations.

According to Pettenger, there were several problems with the former system and the university had a hard time keeping the program operational.

“It’s been a long process to try to come up with a new system,” Pettenger said.

The old paper system, prior to Western’s latest online evaluation system, was prohibitively expensive, and difficult to manage, according to Pettenger. Data access is also much easier with the new CollegeNet system.

According to CollegeNet.com, What Do You Think? saved the University of Oregon over $200,000 in paper, printing, scanning and labor in the first year of use.

Dr. Mark Perlman, president of the Western Oregon University Federation of Teachers (WOUFT, Western’s faculty union), said not having course evaluations is not option, because faculty members need to have a tool to judge their work.

“Students should have a voice, and we want to hear what their answers are,” Perlman said. “We’ve gone long enough without having a system; it’s kind of embarrassing.”

First year Westin Kmetz said it is good to have course evaluations, because the teachers gain a better understanding of student opinions and perceptions in their classrooms. Keeping communication open between students and teachers is important, Kmetz added.

“When you don’t get feedback as a teacher, I feel like you keep doing the same things,” Kmetz said. He feels that evaluations are useful to help the teacher understand what they are doing right or wrong.

Dr. Bryan Dutton, chair of WOUFT’s bargaining team, said evaluations are important.

“I really value it because it’s a way to make improvements,” Dutton said. “It’s clear that faculty are pleased that evaluations will be a regular part of our process.”

Yet, the evaluations can’t do anything if they’re not filled out.

“In order to get reliable data, we need to figure out a way to get students to respond,” Pettenger said.

“It also improves response rates when students believe they are being heard,” said Dr. Cat McGrew, former chairperson of the Joint Committee on Course Evaluations and current director of academic affairs. “No one wants to waste their time, so knowing you can make a difference, makes a difference.”

The university administration and the faculty union are in the beginning stages of discussing the impact of potentially using open-ended short-answer questions in course evaluations, according to McGrew.

Perlman said there are people that are skeptical of open-ended questions, and there are some who want open-ended questions.

“I wish I had more freedom in it,” Kmetz said, adding that the multiple choice questions worked for most people. He added that there may be too many meanings behind some answers, which may confuse the teacher over the kinds of responses they are getting.

To clear up communication, said Kmetz, the possibility of adding open-ended responses to the multiple-choice would be the most useful, efficient style. Students wouldn’t have to respond with more if they didn’t have anything else to say, but that would be an option for students who wanted to say more.

“I see it as a positive because it will allow faculty to have a greater understanding of what the numbers mean,” McGrew said of open-ended questions.

McGrew has a file of email print-outs from students who contacted her office, commenting that they wanted a place to explain their responses to multiple-choice questions, or wanted a place to add more about their course or professor. They want to say what they think, McGrew said; they want to be heard.

Perlman said these ten questions do provide enough information for students and professors to start with now. The rest of the discussion, such as the potential for open-ended questions, will take place later.

“We wanted to get the bulk of it rolling,” Perlman said. For now, everyone settled on ten multiple-choice questions, he said.

Faculty objections seem to be not over course evaluations or open-ended questions in general, according to Dutton, but in the implementation. Professors may be concerned about how the questions are asked, shaping the kinds of answers given, as well as what will be done with these responses, Dutton said.

According to Dutton, there is a real science behind the formulation of questions, which is part of why the faculty union has the right to approve the final draft of questions, and open-ended questions will be discussed later.

Perlman explained that there are a variety of factors that impact what kinds of questions are asked, and especially how they are asked.

“We haven’t really explored all the issues with open-ended questions,” said Dutton. He said that conversation will be taking place soon, probably through this academic year, and added that there is no real timeline that can be established until they know all the issues and all the positions that will arise.

Workshop offers understanding of dynamics for deaf & hearing coworkers

What: Deaf-hearing workplace dynamics workshop
Where: Columbia Room, Werner University Center
When: 4 p.m. to 8 p.m. Friday Nov. 21, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday Nov.22
Admission:
For more information, contact: Dr. Cheryl Davis at davisc@wou.edu, or call 503-838-8053

By Katrina Penaflor, Freelancer

Deaf-hearing cross cultural conflicts in the workplace will be addressed with a workshop by Western’s Regional Resource Center on Deafness Nov. 21 and 22.

The hands-on event, presented in American Sign Language, is five hours each day and open to students, faculty, staff and community members. Dr. John Gournaris and Alison Aubrecht will be co-facilitating.

The focus of the workshop is to study and explore the different dynamics between a deaf culture and a hearing culture in a workplace, to discuss how these differences can affect each culture, and how people should learn to respect and embrace the different dynamics instead of devaluing them.

“People who are interested in psychology, social dynamics, cultural diversity, social justice, public policy and politics will all find something of interest in this training,” said Dr. Cheryl Davis, chair of the special education division at Western and director of the Regional Resource Center on Deafness.

Topics will include: why hearing people choose to work with deaf people, how deaf people sometimes approach hearing people and vice versa, and dynamics of cross-cultural conflict. Friday will be a day filled with information, while Saturday will provide more hands-on activities.

If an individual works in a field that requires continuing education units, for example interpreters or counselors, completion of the workshop will result in 1.0 CEU earned.

“I hope that people will be able to take this experience and apply it to their interactions with deaf students, and generalize the concepts to working with others as well,” Davis said.

The workshop runs from 4-8 p.m., Friday, Nov. 21, and 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 22, in the Columbia Room of the Werner University Center.

If interested in registering for the event, contact the office of disability services or download a registration form at wou.edu/rrcd. Registration will also be taken at the door.

Tips for a safe winter at Western

Residents should prepare for cold weather, including hazardous winter conditions, by keeping up to date with weather patterns and forming plans for how to deal with potentially hazardous situations.

General tips:

An emergency supplies kit should include: a three days’ supply of water and food for each individual, spare batteries, medical supplies and flashlights; it may also contain additional blankets and extra warm clothes. The National Weather Service provides up-to-date information; battery-operated radios are useful for keeping informed about weather conditions and forecasts.

Pedestrians should wear shoes with good traction, and especially be aware while walking, including watching for slippery patches, and avoiding uneven surfaces or unfamiliar areas.

Travelers should check other locations’ weather before departure and arrival, to be mindful of potential trouble spots, as well as packing to fit the situation they will be entering.

Drivers should check the condition of their cars, including tires, and check for maximum visibility before driving. Every vehicle should be stocked with emergency supplies, such as water, food, a first aid kit, a flashlight and a blanket. In addition, a candle may provide a small but crucial source of heat and light.

Oregon Department of Transportation’s TripCheck provides a free service for travelers to keep up-to-date with road conditions and the local weather conditions and forecast.

Campus

Notifications of current campus conditions, such as closures or delays in opening, will be made on the school website, over local radio stations, on television, and through the Campus Inclement Weather Hotline.

During a closure, Hamersly Library, the Werner University Center, Valsetz Dining Hall, the Health and Wellness Center and all University Residences (dorms) will remain open with essential staffing only.

Debut Turkey Chase offers introduction to new WOU Running Club

What: Turkey Chase Run/Walk
Where: Registration at WUC Plaza. Race begins on Church Street and ends on Western’s track.
When: Nov. 22, check-in at 9 a.m.; walkers begin at 9:45 a.m.; runners begin at 10 a.m.
Cost: $4 or three non-perishable food donations with preregistration, or $6 day of race
Contact: Courtney Greif cgreif12@wou.edu
More information: facebook.com/wourunningclub

By Amanda Clarke, Freelancer

The WOU Running Club will host the 5k (3.1 mile) Wolves Turkey Chase Thanksgiving Run (and walk) Nov. 22, with check-in beginning at 9 a.m. at Werner University Plaza.

“This is our first event as a club,” said Courtney Greif, co-founder of the WOU Running Club. “We hope to make it a race that happens every year.”

The event is also supported by Weekend Wolfpack and Campus Recreation.

The WOU Running Club is a running/fitness club that is open to the general public on campus. It was founded by Grief and Jacob Howard in spring 2014.

Walkers and runners are welcome to participate. Animals are also allowed on the course, but they must be kept on a leash at all times. People are also welcome to line the course to watch and cheer on the participants.

Preregistration is $4 or three non-perishable food items. The non-perishable food items will be donated to the WOU Food Pantry, and the registration cost will help the WOU Running Club take field trips to nearby trails. The cost is $6 the day of the race and canned goods will no longer be accepted.

The preregistration form is available at the front desk of the Health and Wellness Center, which is also where paperwork and payment can be submitted. Cash or checks made out to WOU Running Club are accepted.

“The course will be well marked, and will also have lovely volunteers from Hall Government along the way to help direct athletes on the course,” Grief said.

After the race, refreshments will be available to all participants and there will be a raffle for gift cards and items from local Monmouth businesses. There will also be an award for top male and female runner.

“The real purpose of WOU Running Club is to foster a culture of running here at Western and connect a community of runners here at WOU,” Howard said. “We want to promote running in whatever they do.”

According to Grief, the WOU Running Club is focused on giving people a place in which they can engage in physical fitness as well as participate in local events as a representative of Western.

“I want people to enjoy the great physical ability that we are given during our college years,” Howard said. “I want people to push themselves to their own personal and physical goals, and reach that and know that they can use this ability anytime and in any place.”

WOU Running Club meets weekly for group runs every Wednesday and Thursday at 4 p.m. outside the Health and Wellness Center.

Trench warfare

BY FILMON TEKLAY - FREELANCER

Dr. Edwin Dover, professor of political science at Western, compared the national division of political parties to the trench warfare of World War I in an analysis of the recent midterm election.

“We have more or less a 10 mile trench where we fight our partisan battles,” Dover said of this country’s political divisions. “Both sides probe around for a soft spot, both sides mobilize massive levels of resources to gain a few miles.”

According to Dover, the dividing line is in the suburbs, which is where the battles are found, state after state. The Democrats dominate major urban areas he explained, while the Republicans control rural territories around the country.

“We don’t really have blue states or red states, what we have are Urban vs. Rural,” said Dover.

Dover broke down his analysis into three parts, commenting on the local, state and national elections.

Dover uses the aftermath of the election to illustrate the use of trench warfare in local, state and federal races across the country. He explained that the Democrats won one seat, the local race in District 20, in the Oregon House of Representatives, while the remaining seats in the Oregon House went to the same party that held them before.

The local race in District 20 took place between Paul Evans and Kathy Goss. Dover was involved in Evans’s campaign and he followed the race closely.

“This was a hard fought battle because it is where the suburban fault line rests,” Dover said. “This was the most expensive campaign for the state legislature in Oregon.”

Evans and Goss each spent about $500,000, and both campaigns received support and contribution from their respective parties. Evans defeated Goss by a three percent margin, and Dover thinks Goss was defeated mainly because her campaign made a couple of fundamental mistakes.

“Sometimes that three percent may not be part of the national trend,” Dover said. “It may be something esoteric to a campaign.”

According to Dover, the first mistake Goss made was her reluctance to debate Evans on numerous occasions. She was also not able to capitalize on advertising, while Evans was able to build both positive advertisements toward himself and attack advertisements aimed at Goss.

The Democrats gained two seats in the Oregon State Senate.

Dover said Washington County, Marion County and Clackamas County are the three areas that more or less decide State elections in Oregon, and these counties are primarily suburbs.

Other states have similar political scenes to Oregon, and Dover expanded his idea about the division of politics in regards to suburban battle lines to a national context.

All of the races for seats in the House of Representatives were fought in suburbs of various cities and states such as Miami and New Hampshire. Dover analyzed the recent changes in the House of Representatives and the Senate.

“The Democrats gained 11 seats in 2012 and lost 12 seats this time,” Dover explained, adding that, over time, most of the seats remained the same. Overall, neither party gained any ground in the House of Representatives.

On the other hand, the Senate “is where the Republican Party made significant gains,” said Dover. “The Republican Party so far has gained eight seats and probably nine – the ninth seat is Louisiana.” The advancements made by the Republicans gave them 54 seats, and control of the Senate.

The races for Senate were in Republican states or battleground states which is favorable terrain for them.

“In the next election, there will be 24 Republicans and 10 Democrats up for Senate in 2016, and many of the Republicans are in very Democratic states,” said Dover. “So the Republican Party will have a little trouble keeping this majority.”

Dover discussed the difference of turnout between Presidential elections and off-year elections, explaining that people over 60 tend to have a greater turnout for off-year elections, while people younger than 30 do not have a significant turnout for off-year elections.

Students urge foundation to divest from fossil fuels

By Laura Knudson
 Editor-In-Chief

Students campaigning for campus divestment from fossil fuels have been met with disappointment from lack of action taken by the Western’s Development Foundation.
Members of the environmental club spent the last week collecting over 350 signatures from students, faculty and alumni. They hope to reach at least 600 signatures, demonstrating student support to the foundation, a private, nonprofit organization that financially assists the college.

“Last year, Oregon State University attempted divestment and was rejected, which spurred us to take up our own campaign at Western,” said Beth Bello, creator and president of the environmental club. “Divesting from fossil fuels is so important because, as many of us are aware, global warming is now a scientific fact.”

The issue first gained campus attention at the Oct. 28 Faculty Senate meeting with a presentation by Dr. Mark Van Steeter, associate professor of geography.

Divesting entails the foundation getting rid of stocks, bonds or investment funds that are part of the fossil fuel industry, according to a written proposal distributed at the meeting.

It’s “when you take the money you have invested into fossil fuel companies, and invest into a more ethical company like renewable energy,” Bello said. This does nothing to stop the oil companies, she added, but it makes a symbolic statement.

The proposal also stated, “Unlike some large universities that receive significant funding for research from the fossil fuel industry, we do not.”

The goal of divestment, Van Steeter said, is to send a social message. Industries should use its resources and innovation to transition toward a low carbon economy, he explained.
An added benefit includes landing Western as the 14th school in the nation to divest.

“I see this as a real possibility to get positive PR and put us on the map,” Van Steeter said. “It really makes sense for Western.”

The presentation sparked debate with university President Mark Weiss weighing in.

“In my view, it’s pretty hypocritical to take this position,” he said. “How many of us don’t live locally? How many of us get on an airplane to go to conferences every year,” he said.
Vansteeter responded saying, “There’s always a reason to be found not to act.”

In a guest column authored by Weiss appearing in the Nov. 13 issue of the Statesman Journal, he said, “From the beginning of the industrial age, American’s simply neglected to consider the consequences of burning fossil fuels.” Titled “The world crisis we’d rather ignore” Weiss’ column also states that divesting in oil and gas companies may provide satisfaction that something is being done, but “it is not apparent this action would contribute to solving the problem.”

As the discussion heated up during the senate meeting, other senate members chimed in.

“Just because you can’t do everything, doesn’t mean it’s hypocritical to do something,” said Michael Baltzley, faculty senate member and associate professor of biology.

Also in attendance at the meeting was Tommy Love, executive director in the Office of University Advancement and WOU Foundation. Love said divesting is a complicated issue and the foundation wants to make sure they do what’s right.

One environmental club member has made it his mission to raise awareness by visiting more than 15 campus club meetings.

“By demonstrating large scale student support for divestment, the foundation will listen to student voices,” said Karl Amspacher, senior geography major.

Amspacher was disappointed when the foundation declined his request to speak about divestment at their upcoming December meeting.

In a Nov. 10 email to the foundation, Amspacher asked for five minutes to present on divestment.

His request was met with a reply from Love which said he had already spoken with Van Steeter about divestment and “the specific topic of divestment is not planned for the agenda at the December board meeting.”

“It’s a brush off,” Amspacher said.

An earlier request submitted via email by alumnus Zander Albertson’s was also denied by the foundation.

“It’s difficult to believe that the foundation takes divestment seriously given that it has been given no further consideration,” Albertson said. He was also disappointed in the foundation’s unwillingness to put divestment on the agenda.

“I wish they would have just opened the discussion,” he added.

Prior to the start of school, Van Steeter requested five minutes to present the issue to the foundation. He met with the finance and planned giving sub-committee.

“We wouldn’t lose anything by divesting,” Van Steeter said in an interview. “We could do the right thing and not pay a price for it.”

Apart from the meeting and Van Steeter’s presentation to the faculty senate, no other formal forum has taken place between the foundation and the environmental club.

When asked in a Wednesday interview if he felt this was fair and sufficient, Love said, “I think it is for where we are at this point.”

The other side has had time to think and plan regarding divestment, he said. “The topic and issue recently came to us. We’re trying to get our arms around this.”

And there is much to consider when discussing investments, Love said.

For starters, moving investments from fossil fuels into green energy does not necessarily guarantee things will stay the same in terms of revenue.

“There’s always risk in that,” said Love. “That’s the stock market in general.”

For 2014, the foundation’s total revenue was $4,302,690 according to the foundation’s audit report, available on Western’s foundation webpage. Realized gains from investments, the amount received from the sale of investment holdings, was $673,045. Unrealized gains or the current value of those investments was a reported $564,593.

The foundation does not disclose what they invest in.

Albertson said this is concerning because it leaves one to conclude the foundation portfolio contains a fairly significant amount of carbon-based investments.

“As a private foundation, we have not released those holdings,” Love said.

But, aiding in what Love calls the “complex layers” of divestments, are mutual funds.

“There are components we have that are related to fossil fuels because we have mutual funds,” he said.

Mutual funds refer to professionally managed investment programs funded by shareholders that trades in diversified holdings.

Because these investments are managed by a company, they change all the time, even daily, Love said.

Furthermore, “if we divest, someone else is going to buy those stocks,” he said. “Divestment in and of itself is not going to make a true impact.”

The foundation is interested in looking at the bigger picture of climate change, he added.

“I don’t want students to think that the foundation and myself do not recognize the issue of climate change,” Love said. Divesting is “one way to do it, but let’s have a campus-wide conversation to address global climate change.”

For example, “Not commuting in [to campus] I think would have a bigger impact,” he said.

Ultimately, Love said aside from the “moral obligation” concerning climate change, “we also have an obligation as a foundation.”

“We don’t want to make any rush judgments,” he said. “Especially when we have to think about other things outside of fossil fuels.”

“I make no commitment [to either side],” he said. “I do commit to continuing dialogue.”

Love encourages interested parties to contact the foundation with comments.

The social science division will vote on fossil fuel divestment resolution of support Dec. 2, Van Steeter said. If approved, “it will be a template for other divisions to follow,” he said.

The environmental club will be protesting outside the building during the Dec. 6 meeting, Bello said.

“This is a movement to improve our school,” Amspacher said. “We’re doing this to make Western a better place.”

How to get involved:

WHAT: Environmental Club
WHEN: 4:30 p.m. every Wednesday in HSS room 230
MORE INFO: Contact club president Beth Bello at bbello11@wou.edu or call 503-798-7763

Foundation:

Direct questions or comments for the foundation to Tommy Love, executive director in the Office of University Advancement and WOU Foundation. He can be reached at lovet@wou.edu or 503-838-8134.

Campus Blotter: Week 7

The following information is from the public records of Campus Public Safety.

ROOMMATE DISPUTE

At 6:12 p.m. Nov. 4 in Noble Hall, Public Safety was contacted in regards to a mental health/roommate dispute.

ALCOHOL VIOLATION

At 12:05 a.m. Nov. 5 in Spruce Hall, Public Safety responded to an alcohol violation involving a non-student.

At 2:07 a.m. Nov. 9 in Heritage Hall, Public Safety discovered an alcohol violation.

WEAPONS POSSESSION

At 10:39 p.m. Nov. 5 in the Ackerman smoke shed, Public Safety was contacted in reference to a weapons violation involving a stun gun. The weapon was moved off campus.

MARIJUANA VIOLATION

At 12:22 a.m. Nov. 6 in Barnum Hall, Public Safety was contacted about a marijuana violation.

At 9:08 p.m. Nov. 7 in Butler Hall, Public Safety responded to a marijuana violation.

MEDIC ASSIST/MENTAL HEALTH

At 9:25 p.m. Nov. 6 in Heritage Hall, Public Safety responded to a medic assist.

At 5:46 p.m. Nov. 7 in Spruce Hall, Public Safety responded to a medical/mental health issue.

At 3:37 p.m. Nov. 8 in the Health and Wellness Center, Public Safety responded to a medic assist.

At 11:38 p.m. Nov. 9 in Barnum Hall, Public Safety responded to a medical assist.

DOMESTIC HARASSMENT

At 8:40 p.m. Nov. 7 on Stadium Drive, Public Safety responded to a domestic fight near J-Loop and the Sequoia Commons.

R.E.A.L. Fair advocates social justice

BY ALLISON OPSON CLEMENT - NEWS EDITOR

 

Students from Dr. David Foster’s Psychology of Leadership class are gaining real-life experience with teamwork, promoting social justice through their project, a resource fair which will run from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Nov. 18 in the Werner University Center Pacific Room.

The second-annual Responsibility, Equity, Accessibility and Leadership (R.E.A.L.) Fair will create a space to promote the services of attending organizations, said Foster, who taught the course that started the first R.E.A.L. fair last fall, and urged his students to take up the challenge again this year.

This event is a chance to explore social issues facing the larger community and find help from the right source if they need it, as well as find a cause they may wish to support themselves through volunteer work or other support.

“Having the hands-on experience, taking it out of theory and into practice, has been really useful,” said Kristin Osborne, a student in the class and member of the event leadership team.

Foster explained that people are graduating college, but still lack the skills companies need. These skills include abilities like communication and getting along with other people. Training in leadership and teamwork sets students ahead of the game, he added.

“Organizations are having a huge leadership crisis right now,” Foster said. “I think these classes are good for anybody.”

The event is sponsored by Abby’s House in addition to the psychology students. Other organizations represented will include Stonewall Center, Green Dot, the Multicultural Student Union, the Office of Disability Services, Campus Public Safety, Peer Mentors, as well as over half a dozen others. According to Foster, this is a greater number than attended the previous fair.

“A side benefit would be that those organizations could network among themselves,” Osborne said. The event includes a food drive to raise donations for and awareness of Western’s resource for hungry students.

“It highlights the WOU Pantry, which a lot of people don’t know exists,” Foster said.

A drawing for gift cards to local food businesses will be held at the end of the fair. Students may enter both by donating to the food drive and filling out a survey about the fair.

Since the first program was a full year ago, Foster said, there was little left to work with, so this year’s group resurrected the event nearly from scratch in many cases.

“It kind of organically came about,” Osborne said of the process. She called this a fully collaborative effort. “We all walk around in a little pack.” There haven’t been many big issues, Osborne added, because “all the people in the group have the same objective.”

They brainstormed a list of organizations they wanted to invite, including some that were present last year as well as several new ones, narrowed that list down, and divided up the call list.
“People have had lots of good ideas and we narrowed that down,” Osborne said of the list.

The group has been working on this project since the second week of term.

“We’ve got some people and some talents that really fit,” said Foster, adding that the group members are doing very well.

Some psychology courses (including Foster’s classes), may offer extra credit for attending the fair, as well.

“These guys are doing a really good job of reporting, advertising already,” Foster said. “My goal after the first R.E.A.L. Fair was seeing it continue.”

Controlled burn sparks neighborhood interest

A controlled fire offered hands-on experience for trainees of Polk County Fire District No. 1 in the evening of Sunday, Nov. 9, drawing attention from locals.

“This is the closest thing that we have to the real deal,” said Lieutenant James Nisbet. “The biggest thing was that we got some of our newer members on the department some good experience from it.”
“We try to notify the neighbors and be friendly and courteous,” said Neal Olson. “We usually send out a letter.”

The hand-delivered letter was delayed until one day prior to the burn this time. “I didn’t put this one in the newspaper because it came on so quick.”

As a precaution, neighboring buildings and plants were thoroughly soaked prior to the first fire being lit just before 4 p.m. Water was continually applied, though everything was already wet thanks to a good rain, which, according to Nisbet, helped.

“They weren’t in a huge, major threat,” Nisbet said of the local buildings, adding of this particular fire, “Really that one wasn’t too concerning.” The structures were distant enough to be protected from the blaze.

“It is real fire, it’s just a little more controlled and regulated.”
A property is also thoroughly evaluated for safety before a burn. Once a structure has been deemed safe, Polk County Fire District No. 1 assumes control of the property, and crews use it for a variety of exercises.

“This is super valuable to people who don’t have a lot of experience,” said Nisbet. This particular property was employed all summer for various training exercises; it couldn’t be lit up because of a burn ban.

“We can use that structure for quite a while ahead of time; there’s lots of things that we train on outside of the actual live fire,” said Olson. “We were probably in that building, doing drills, for probably close to 30 hours over the summer.”

With between 10 and 20 people in each crew, he added, “Thousands of training hours were received by us having that structure, which was really good.”

Practice scenarios include ventilation, forcible entry, and search and rescue among other drills, according to Olson. For ventilation, crews must climb ladders to cut holes in the roof with chainsaws.

Forcible entry is needed when a door must be broken down in order to enter the building or the room. By filling the house with smoke or simulating the collapse of a roof, crews also gain experience with realistic situations.

Everyone on site had a specific job, and a crew to which they were assigned. This is the group they practice with, shifting duties so everyone gets a chance to experience it.

“It’s a real detailed plan as to how we’re going to rotate the crews,” said Olson. “We do all of that training based on national fire protection association guidelines.” He added that he referenced at least 17 pages of material on how to handle every aspect of the controlled burn.

Five fires were planned for the building, in which crews would be able to see how the fire behaved, and gain valuable experience working in realistic conditions. After the fourth lighting, the fire got into the attic. Based on the condition of the attic, this wasn’t a surprise, according to Nisbet.

“Once we got to that point, we just went immediately into free burn,” Olson said. Everyone was ordered out of the building, and firefighters monitored it as they let it burn to the ground.
Nisbet facilitated the lightings, including observing the interior fire conditions while crews rotated through, to make sure the fire stayed contained.

“For the condition of the structure and just kind of time frame, that was more than we were anticipating,” Nisbet said. “We were very happy that we were able to get as many out of it as we did.”

In addition to training individual firefighters and improving their experience, Olson said that the exercises helped to build team cohesion. According to him, the burn also served as a kind of neighborhood cleanup, as the building was not very appealing. “We come away with a lot of training,” Olson said. “Everybody has a place and it’s really detailed.”

Extra vehicles – ambulances and fire trucks – were brought to the scene of the controlled burn. Nearly the entire force on duty was present last night, according to Olson, so if a real call came in, they had to be prepared to mount a response from the field.

“We still have to provide our service to the remainder of the community,” Olson said. This time, he added, they were lucky; “We didn’t have any interruptions.” Other practice burns have been complicated with actual emergencies. “It can be really exciting at times,” he said; with different calls coming in at the same time, there can be a lot going on, which detracts from training.

“A majority of our force are volunteers,” Olson said. On a daily basis, Polk County Fire District No. 1 maintains three full-time firefighters on duty; there are nine career individuals to respond to any incident. The remaining 65 firefighters are volunteers, such as those who received training Sunday.

“If we were able to do it three times a year, that would be great,” said Olson. “We need to have them twice a year,” but he acknowledged, “It doesn’t always work like that.” On average, they are usually able to practice controlled burns once or twice a year.

Spectators gathered to watch the flames for several hours. Rebekah Degner, Nisbet’s girlfriend, watched the fire from a camp chair for over an hour. Other people came and went well into the night, when the fires began to die down.

“You don’t see that every day,” said Elder Lima of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, who, after seeing the smoke, stopped by with Elder Goff to make sure everything was alright and if they could help.

Many watchers that night commented that they initially thought that this was an actual fire. After the building had been burned, it was returned to the control of the owner. Olson said that an apartment building with 22 units will be constructed on the property.

Normalizing the conversation

by Allison Opson Clement, News Editor

 

“What we’re there to do is to provide a safe place for people to talk about their feelings about death and dying” – Dr. Paula Baldwin

 

Death Cafe will open a free, informal discussion to the public about death and dying, at 2 p.m. in Gentle House on Sunday, Nov. 2.

A Death Cafe is an informal venue: people sit at tables, snack and talk. Typically, each table will have a facilitator, whose task is to keep the conversation focused on death.

“What we’re there to do is to provide a safe place for people to talk about their feelings about death and dying,” said Dr. Paula Baldwin, assistant professor of communication studies and the main organizer for Western’s first Death Cafe.

“There’s a tremendous amount of superstition about talking about death,” said Baldwin. For example, Baldwin said, people may retain the sense that if they speak about dying directly, it will happen to them. “The Grim Reaper, it’s like that’s a real person,” she added.

To deal with that feeling, many euphemisms were developed to avoid the direct mention of death. People speak of losing a loved one, Baldwin explained, but that person is not simply wandering around the building; if someone has ‘moved on’ they aren’t living in the next town over.

“People have a hard time talking about death and dying. You know, there’s a lot of metaphors and figures of speech we use,” Baldwin said. It’s a grassroots movement to help normalize the conversation, she added.

“This doesn’t come from a morbid place, no,” said Kate Brassington, a Portland Death Cafe organizer. “My focus is on life, and on the living and what death means to those.”

The Death Cafe welcomes a variety of individuals: those who have suffered a loss, those who may be aware that they are coming to the end of their own lives, even people who, for whatever reason, are simply curious, or interested in talking about death in an open way.

“I don’t think the appropriate time to talk about it is towards the end,” said Baldwin. “None of us are getting out alive.”

However, this is not a grief counseling group. That, said Baldwin, they leave to professionals.

“Every other person I’ve invited into this conversation, with an open heart and an open mind, looked me in the eye, and took my hand, and thanked me, for letting them be who they are: a person who will die, and who has one chance to do it, and who has one chance to live, because of it,” said Brassington.

After one email, 18 of the 25 spots had been taken within five days.

“For me, this seems like a natural extension of what I do,” Baldwin said, who has been involved in end-of-life research since 2007.

Historically, as family members aged, their relatives would take care of them, ease them through their final days, prepare the bodies and bury them. These days, however, people frequently have only minimal experience, which only serves to exacerbate the problem.

“It’s very much removed from the actual process,” Baldwin said. She considers this shift similar to what happened with the food industry: whereas people formerly had to kill and prepare animals they intended to eat; now we get our meat in plastic packages.

John Underwood and Sue Barsky Reid used Swiss psychologist Bernard Crettaz’s ideas to create the first Death Café. A social worker named Lizzy Miles met Underwood and brought back the idea to the United States. Since its beginning in 2011, according to deathcafe.com, over 12,000 people have attended Death Cafes.

“That was a rousing success,” said Baldwin. “It’s taken off.”

Baldwin said that one London group is planning to make theirs a permanent fixture, rather than assembling for individual meetings.

“Whatever that spark is that makes us alive, if you’ve ever seen a dead body, you know that that’s gone,” said Baldwin. “It really gives you a nice appreciation of life.”

For more information, to learn how to find a Death Cafe or start your own, visit deathcafe.com.

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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.

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