Mount Hood

New committee named to oversee in-state transfer students

By Jack Armstrong
News Editor

Western is among a collection of four-year Oregon universities that could soon see a shift in their policies concerning community college transfer students and their credit allocations in the coming years.

Recommendations for inter-college credit transfers and course requirements for possible transfer students were all previously handled through the Joint Boards Articulation Committee (JBAC) and the Higher Education Coordinating Commission (HECC).

According to their website, JBAC is an organization formed in 1992 by the Oregon University System (OUS) to “address issues related to student transfer and articulation.”

The committee played an integral role in the past decade with the creation of the Associates of Art Oregon Transfer degree (AAOT), and the Associates of Science Oregon Transfer degree (ASOT). They also helped plan the Oregon Transfer Module (OTM), which compiles community college courses and their corresponding four year credit labels.

These degrees allow Oregon students to gain the first two years of a four-year degree at a community college and then smoothly transition to a four-year university to complete their undergraduate work.

The dissolution of the OUS had left the future of the JBAC in doubt due to rapidly shifting standards during the transition, but recently the JBAC received permission from the HECC to be reorganized into the Joint Transfer and Articulation Committee (JTAC).

In its first iteration, JTAC will be chaired by Western’s own provost and vice president for academic affairs, Stephen Scheck.

“JTEC’s ultimate goal is to streamline the process of transfer so that students get the most out of the coursework they take at the community college prior to transferring to a four-year university,” Scheck said.

The new JTAC model will operate in a similar capacity to JBAC but will be focused on creating and maintaining a complete list of courses offered at the community college level, and the corresponding requirements at the four-year level.

According to the Provost’s report to Western’s faculty senate, “an immediate request from the JTAC is for the four year schools to identify essential pre-major courses to be taken during the first and second year at the community college so students can transfer directly into junior-level course work.”

This will require the dean of each department at the four-year level to compile a “request list” of required course work so that transfer students experience as little overlap as possible when making the switch from an associate program to a bachelor program.

Currently, Western is a popular transfer destination for Oregon students due in large part to the relative ease of transferring in.

“The process was super easy and there is a high volume of acceptance for some students,” said Juan Esparza, a 2015 Western business school graduate who transferred from Blue Mountain Community College (BMCC) in Eastern Oregon.

“I knew coming in that I would probably be accepted because I had completed all of my LACCs at BMCC,” he added.

While students from in-state schools have an easy time transferring to Western, some out-of-state transfer students have had a more complicated experience.

“I had to go to each department individually and argue for my transfer credits to be counted,” said Elizabeth Aldrich, a third-year public policy major transfer student from Front Range Community College in Fort Collins, Colorado.

“I have about 12 credits still that have not transferred over from my junior college in Colorado,” she said.

Western’s administration has voiced their intention to focus on making the transfer process easier regardless of student origin.

“Western has a diverse student base, and a lot of our population comes from community colleges in the area seeking further education. We will look to continue strengthening this tie with local community colleges moving forward,” incoming Western President Rex Fuller said.

CAMPUS BLOTTER

Bark Dust Fire
At 4:24 p.m. May 7, Campus Public Safety discovered a bark dust fire in Parking Lot Q.
Criminal Mischief/Graffiti
At 9:00 a.m. May 8, Campus Public Safety took a report of graffiti located at the Werner University Center Patio.
Electrical Fire
At 6:46 p.m. May 5, Campus Public Safety was contacted regarding an electrical fire at 584 Knox St.
Harassment
At 10:38 p.m. May 4, Campus Public Safety responded to a harassment call near Ackerman Hall.
Informational
At 6:19 p.m. May 5, Public Safety was contacted concerning an altercation in Hamersly Library.
Theft – Bicycles
At 8:12 and 8:45 a.m. May 6, Campus Public Safety was contacted regarding two separate bike thefts in Butler hall and Landers hall. The value of the bikes was unknown.

Just Do It: President Obama in Portland

By Jenna Beresheim
Staff Writer
Courtesy of whitehouse.gov

President Barack Obama arrived in Portland May 7 as part of a multi-faceted trip, including a fundraiser and a visit to Nike.

According to OregonLive.com, after the fundraiser, Obama was to “give remarks on free trade at Nike headquarters near Beaverton.”

Routes and specific plans were undisclosed for security reasons. Traffic in Portland intensified with the president’s 20-car escort navigating through the area during May 7 and 8.

“We have to make sure that America writes the rules of the global economy,” Obama said in his speech at Nike, “and we should do it today while our economy is in the position of global strength.”

A 12-nation Trans-Pacific Partnership trade pact with correlated fast-track legislation plan was proposed. The agreement would open up commerce amongst the U.S. and 11 other Pacific Rim countries.

The trade pact could potentially open up over 10,000 new jobs for American workers through Nike. Reducing tariffs in the U.S. and other countries would allow Nike to manufacture more shoes in the U.S., which in turn would create more manufacturing and engineering jobs locally.

“Nike has factories all around the world, and let’s face it, some of these countries, they don’t have the standards for wages and labor conditions that we have here,” Obama said during his speech.

The hope would be to cause these countries to raise their labor standards, setting a minimum wage and passing safe workplace laws to protect their workers. It would even allow workers the freedom to form their own unions if they chose to do so.

This became a plan that immediately had backlash from the public, and those within the government as well.

Opponents of this proposal planned to protest outside of Nike, while Oregon Senator Ron Wyden joined in the mix by voting against the fast-track proposal.

Wyden, who was mentioned in Obama’s speech, was unable to attend.

Wyden was not the only one fighting this proposal.

The Statesman Journal reported, “more than a dozen other pro-trade Senate Democrats voted against a Republican proposal to begin consideration of legislation that would give Obama fast-track authority to negotiate trade agreements.”

60 votes were required for the proposal to pass, with the overall score falling to 52-45, canceling out the President’s ability to fast-track the proposal.

The main focus was not even on the fair trade proposal, but in the way it was proposed by the President. Many people took offense in how Obama addressed individuals, particularly liberal Democrats.

Labor unions were also skeptical of the move. U.S. News quoted Eric Hauser, an American Federation of Labor and Congress Industrial Organizations spokesman who stated that past trade agreements “have taught us that corporate-driven trade policy too often accelerates a global race to the bottom.”

The real question becomes whether the proposal will go through, fast-track or not, and what the impact will be, not only in the U.S. as a country, but in our own home state of Oregon, where Nike’s headquarters lies.

Obama reinforced the idea by echoing Nike’s common slogan of “Just do it.”

Consent is Sexy

By Evelina Ramirez
Staff Writer
PHOTO BY EVELINA RAMIEREZ
PHOTO BY EVELINA RAMIEREZ

Abby’s House and Western’s Campus Against Sexual Assault (CASA) invited the Sexual Wellness Advocacy Team (SWAT) from University of Oregon to interact with students and give them insightful information about sexual assault and violence.

The workshop took place Monday, May, 11 in the Werner University Center.

SWAT is a sex-positive program that values all sexual relationships as long as they are healthy.

SWAT organized their presentation in workshops that included a sexual assault’s survivor monologue followed by interactive discussions with other characters involved in the narrative.

They also mentioned how and how not to support a survivor of sexual assault. To help sexual assault survivors, SWAT said that one must believe them, tell them it is not their fault, and lead them to other helpful resources.

Additionally, they provided resources for survivors of sexual assault and a demonstration of healthy and unhealthy communication.

“I like the interactive nature of this workshop because not only do they give the information, but they give the skills and then you actually get to use what you’re learning,” said Mary Ellen Dello Stritto, director of Abby’s House.

Michele De La Cruz, SWAT member and sociology major, said: “Being a survivor myself, who has dealt with a lot of the things that we discussed in the workshop such as slut shaming, I think I am able to add aspects of realism and more depth to it.”

According to their website, swat.uoregon.edu, sexual assault, dating violence, and sex positivity encompasses many other issues, therefore is it not uncommon for SWAT’s workshops to touch on other topics such as: sexism, racism, homophobia, and more.

“What I love about this group is that it’s a serious topic, yet they make it really fun,” Dello Stritto said.

Their moto being “Consent is Sexy,” SWAT reinforced that consent is mandatory regarding any sexual relations.

Incoming first-year students see tuition rates rise

By Jack Armstrong
 News Editor

Western is expected to experience another rise in tuition for the incoming students of the 2015-2016 academic year, beginning Fall term 2015.

According to the faculty senate minutes, incoming first-year students can expect to see a rise of around 2 percent for the total cost of tuition for the typical school year.

This increase would see entering students with Oregon residency paying $1,976 in tuition and fees for a 12-credit, full time enrollment.

Currently enrolled students with the WOU Promise program will not experience a rise in tuition, and will continue to pay their existing level of tuition.

This increase, while not insignificant, it is about half of what other students at many other universities in Oregon can expect to see.

“Tuition increases are the lowest at WOU out of all the Oregon public four year institutions,”
Western president Mark Weiss said. “2 percent for next year compared to an average of 5 percent for others.”

Part of the lower than expected tuition increase comes from a higher than expected amount of funding granted by the Higher Education Coordinating Commission.

According to their website, the HECC is a 14 member volunteer board who is responsible for “advising the Legislature, the Governor, and the Oregon Education Investment Board on higher education policy.”

“There are two pieces of information used by the HECC in making funding decisions,” Eric Yahnke, Western’s vice president of finance and administration, said. “The first factor is enrollment level and student credit load while enrolled, and the second is a the graduation rate of students with a degree.”

“We expect that Western will receive a higher amount of state funding under the new outcomes-based formula based on information provided by the HECC,” Weiss said. The increase in funding is said to be around 20 percent compared to previous years.

Western’s administration has also been working as a unit to reduce the costs across the university in an attempt to curtail rapidly rising tuition costs. President Weiss made it a focus of his time at Western.

“It is imperative that we lower the relative cost of attending a university for Oregonians,” Weiss said. “I believe that affordability and student debt load are among the highest priorities that we must address in providing a college degree.

Students also play a vital role in keeping costs down. Western students are particularly active in voicing their opinion at the legislative sessions in Salem.

“I believe that Western Oregon students are the most active in the legislature when the tuition rates are up for debate,” Yahnke said. “During the most recent presentation to the Oregon State Board of Higher Education, we had by far the most students in attendance representing their cause.”

This task is certainly easier said than done. Oregon has seen a decade of steady divestment in higher education, which coupled with a rapidly rising enrollment rate contributed to an overall increase in tuition costs for incoming students.

Slightly lower enrollment can also have a temporary effect on Western’s tuition prices. According to the faculty senate, “enrollment has declined this year about 4 percent overall.”
“Enrollment can have an effect on fixed costs and the current services offered by the university,” Yahnke said.

“Higher enrollment keeps current faculty engaged, and we have an administrative staff that is set up to deal with a certain number of full time students,” he added.

This dip in enrollment is expected to reverse moving into the 2015 academic year with “a potential 10 percent rise in enrollment with the 2015 entering class.”

Western’s new independent university board could also have an effect on future rates of tuition.

With the Oregon University System no longer retaining voting control over Western’s budgetary future, the costs facing the entering class of 2016 will be decided by the new board and incoming president Rex Fuller.

“The WOU institutional board will approve or modify the administration’s recommendation,” Weiss said. Western students are also asked to participate in the discussion when it is possible.

“A student tuition fee committee is apprised of the university budget and is offered the opportunity to voice their opinion on the recommendation,” Weiss said.

Looking at a smaller increase than usual has left Weiss feeling like Western’s efforts to provide the best education at the lowest price possible has been a success.

“Our students get a top notch education from faculty and staff dedicated to their success,” said Weiss.

Even at a lower price than expected, higher education does come with its pitfalls.

According to the National Center for Education Statistics, the national average of debt for students upon graduation with an undergraduate degree hovers around $29,856. This is the highest it has ever been, even accounting for the effects of inflation.

“I encourage all students to receive the necessary advising assistance to graduate in a timely manner and avoid the cost of extra years to degree completion,” Weiss said.

He added: “Lastly, I encourage students to take responsibility for themselves to appropriately manage their debt load, and make certain they graduate with a degree to launch their futures.”

Kellen Hendrickson recognized for Staff Excellence

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By Jenna Beresheim
Staff Writer

Kellen Hendrickson, a Trades Maintenance Worker 2 on campus, has been announced as the winner of the 2015 Pastega Award for Staff Excellence.

According to the Western Pastega Award homepage, the Award for Staff Excellence “recognizes classified or administrative staff members who demonstrate exceptional service to the university.”

Similar to the Pastega awards for Excellence in Scholarship and Excellence in Teaching, the Staff Excellence award winner also receives a $1,000 honorarium.

A trades maintenance worker is hired through the physical plant on campus. Work orders are sent in through the Portal, allowing both students and staff to notify workers of issues around Western — specifically the dorms and Valsetz.

“I work exclusively on the housing side of campus doing repairs of any kind,” Hendrickson said, explaining the physical plant’s type of work. “An example of a typical day includes repairing lighting fixtures, heaters, furniture, plumbing, and I also do patching and painting work.”

Hendrickson is a Tillamook, Oregon native and began attending Western as a student in fall 2001.

By Spring Break 2003, he had begun working for the paint crew at the Physical Plant, and said he found the flexible schedule and understanding staff a blessing for a student with an ever-changing schedule.

Hendrickson graduated from Western with a social science degree in history, remaining on campus to extend his time at the physical plant.

“After I graduated, I was asked to continue working as a temporary full-time employee,” said Hendrickson. He was given the opportunity to attend electrical school for two years, moving up in rank at work from TMW1 to TMW2.

“I never thought about working here after college, but Western has given me so much,” he said. “I’ve been able to meet and work with some amazing people here.”

After spending years working at Western since graduating from the university, Hendrickson said he finds joy in his work every day.

Outside of work, two children keep him busy for the time being. Once they are older, Hendrickson would like to become more involved with campus activities outside of work.

Working amongst exceptional mentors as well as a previous Pastega Award recipient, Hendrickson was honored to receive such recognition for the work done for the campus community.

“This award tells you that the campus community has noticed your hard work and wants you to know it’s appreciated,” Hendrickson said. “I don’t come to work every day hoping for an award. I come here because I enjoy what I do and who I work with.

“My hope is that each one of the students here finds something that makes them happy,” Hendrickson added. “For me, just helping out the students and the staff makes me happy. Ensuring that their day goes better is the only award I need.”

WOU.edu to move to a more mobile friendly platform

By Sydney Joa
Freelancer

Western will be unveiling a new design for its website, with the official update day set for May 15.

Many of the changes are cosmetic, including a shift from a red banner to a black one. The new website, which is set to be complete by the 2015 fall term, has also made deeper changes to the basic functionality of the site itself.

Screenshot of new website (1)3

While the official roll out date for this update is later this month, the project will continue development over the summer so as to not affect the students’ and faculty’s ability to access the
Western website during heavy traffic times like finals.

Students and faculty will still be able to freely access both the Western homepage and the WOU Portal sites while the changes are being made.

With the complete website slated to be finalized by fall term, those who visit the site during summer term will see each page changing almost daily.

The decision to make these changes mainly has to do with mobile access; the current website lacks true mobile friendliness.

The web provider utilized for the WOU website has started to list and rank web users by whether the website is mobile friendly and in order to elicit a better ranking for wou.edu, the mobile friendly switch was necessary.

Aside from the company push to update the site, looks and general updated design were other catalyzing factors.

“This new design will be generally more user friendly and definitely more cohesive,” said Danielle Gauntz, the lead website designer for Western.

Each department’s page is getting an updated look alongside with the university’s home page.

Newly designed pages for the departments will feature a series of new, easy access majors and programs tab to better locate general information. Each one will also feature a specially designed look to go with the department.

The use of more visible, easy access links and tabs will make getting around the new and improved sites much easier and browsing time more efficient.

Although each department page is getting plenty of individual attention, a large portion of the attention is also being focused on making each page more accessible from one another.
Or, as Gauntz puts it: “The geography of the site will be much easier to navigate.”

ASWOU elections committee finalizes polling results

ARTWORK CREATED BY CARLY FISTER
ARTWORK CREATED BY CARLY FISTER
By Jack Armstrong
News Editor

 

The Associated Students of Western Oregon University have announced the results of their general election for the upcoming 2015-2016 academic year.

The election was originally slated to last one week from April 20 to April 24. The polls were extended to May 1 when student turn out threatened the legality of the election results.

“In order for the election to be valid, we need 10 percent of the student population to vote,” said Alyssa Little, a third year Community Health major. “As of Friday (April 24), we didn’t have the 10 percent.”

Many students expressed a lack of interest in the outcome of the elections. Some felt that they didn’t have enough access to information concerning the candidates and the bills being considered.

One hindrance to voting this year, according to some students, was the new utilization of the OrgSync system to process and count votes.

“It was really difficult to get to the voting page, it is kind of a doozy to find,” said Kyler Freilinger, a first year integrated science and teaching major.

Even candidates suggested that OrgSync had contributed to the delay.

“I honestly think that elections were extended due to the difficulty of voting through OrgSync,” said Alyssa Brooke Chiampi. Chiampi was running for ASWOU president against Corbin Garner.

When students were able to vote, they were faced with a decision on several hotly contested bills, most specifically the divisive Bill 4.15.

Bill 4.15 sought to seek student opinion concerning Western’s membership to the Oregon Student Association, a group that represents Oregon colleges and universities, as a voice in the Salem legislature. Many student groups on campus formed to support both arguments for and against maintaining membership.

Results of the election are listed below, in addition to being posted on the door of the ASWOU offices in Werner University Center. For more information concerning the election process, contact ASWOU at 503-838-8553.

Championships will be held May 8-9 at McArthur Field in Monmouth

By Rachel Shelley
 Staff Writer
PHOTO BY RACHEL GOSNEY
PHOTO BY RACHEL GOSNEY

Wolves track divided into three separate meets this past week along Oregon and Washington.

The team brought home four individual titles at the Titan Twilight in Eugene, including a 1-2-3 sweep in the men’s 800-meter run and a provisional qualifying mark in the women’s javelin.

Badane Sultessa, Josh Hannah and Josh Dempsey finished 1-2-3 in the 800 in 1 minute, 51.67 seconds, 1:52.29 and 1:52.79. Dempsey set a career best and Hannah set his season best with these times. In the 1,500, another individual title came from David Ribich who won in 3:53.19, a career-best time. Kaleb Dobson would win the last individual title for the men in the 110-meter hurdles. This was his third title during the outdoor season, winning in 15.16 seconds.

For the women’s javelin, Shila Limas De La Cruz became the second Wolf to earn a NCAA Division II provisional mark with a 40.65-meter throw. She finished third overall in the meet and moved her up to eighth place in the GNAC rankings. Rebecca Laible would take home the last title winning the triple jump in 11.37.

In Bellingham, Washington all 10 athletes competing placed in the Top 10 in their events, set four lifetime personal bests and won the women’s shot put.

Emmi Collier won the shot put with 13.35, winning by two feet. Liable improved on her triple jump mark, increasing to 11.50, placing second in the event.

Kenny Klippel set a pair of lifetime records in the shot put and discus. His marks were also GNAC provisional marks of 14.32 and 43.25, respectively. Zach Holloway placed second overall in the 3,000 steeplechase with a lifetime record of 9:16.39. Jeremy Moore would throw towards two GNAC provisional marks in the discus and shot put with distances of 43.99 and 14.44, respectively.

Sam Moore would be the only Wolf to compete at the GNAC Multi-Event Championships, finishing eighth overall, a lifetime best with 4,048 points. She set lifetime best marks in the long jump with 4.95, earning her 546 points. In the javelin, she set a personal best with 31.36, earning 502 points. Her last lifetime best would come in the 800 when she ran 2:39.55 to earn her 578 points. This was a lifetime best by more than six seconds, concluding the heptathlon. Her point total was 66 points better than her previous lifetime best of 3,982 at the Mt. Hood Multis.

The Wolves compete at the Oregon State University High Performance meet and the Mt. Hood Track Festival before the GNAC outdoor Championships on May 8-9 in Monmouth.

Dr. Rex Fuller set to take over Western presidency

By Jack Armstrong
 News Editor

Western has announced Dr. Rex Fuller as the new president of the university, effective on July 1, 2015. Fuller will be taking over for president Mark Weiss, retiring June 30, 2015.

Weiss announced his retirement at the beginning of the 2014-2015 academic year and a committee was appointed to find his replacement. Members of the committee included representatives from the Oregon State Board of Higher Education, the Western board of trustees, and the president’s office.

Fuller was selected from a group of four finalists which also included Dr. Fernando Delgado, Dr. Margaret Madden, and Dr. Christopher Ames.

The four finalists were further vetted after their announcement on March 30. All of the candidates were interviewed both behind closed doors, and in an open-to-the-public, town hall style forum.

Once the interview process was completed, Western’s committee passed their recommendation for selection on to the OSBHE. The State Board voted Fuller in as the official replacement April 16.

Fuller received his undergraduate degree from California State-Chico, and proceeded to get his Ph.D. in economics from the University of Utah.

Fuller will begin his time as the 23rd Western president this summer by leaving his current position as provost and vice president of Academic Affairs at Eastern Washington University, which he has held since 2010.

“Being a provost and serving as a vice president is a full time job,” Fuller said. “It can be all consuming.”

The transition to his new position is promising for Fuller, who said, “being a provost is almost exclusively an internal administrative job, but the presidency gives me a chance to work out and about on campus.”

While the title of president will be new, Fuller is no stranger to the administrative side of university life. He started his current carrier path serving as a full-time dean for more than 20 years at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and Colorado State University.

Fuller has made his way to EWU, which has around 13,000 students, more than double the size of Western’s student body. Fuller said he believes that this smaller size can be advantageous to Western’s approach to recruitment.

“Western is small enough to have conversations with all of the faculty and students on a regular basis,” Fuller said. “But, we are still large enough to have the academic diversity of a regionally comprehensive university.”

Regionally comprehensive universities like Western typically offer a broad spectrum of academic programs from science to the liberal arts. They were originally created to service a specific region within a state, but always have more of a focus on teaching as supposed to research.

Western still remains a unique challenge for Fuller though, and he looks forward to expanding the university in any way he can.

“Western has the opportunity to draw students from throughout the I-5 corridor,” He said. “We have to make the case for why Western is the best choice, a very positive choice. We have to reach out to the community.”

Overall growth is a long term goal for Fuller; in the interim, he intends to focus on getting to know the new board of trustees that will take the place of the Oregon University System board here at Western.

“My first few months will be working with the new legislative board and getting to know my new team,” he said. “I think it’s an advantage to work with the new independent board; I’ve worked in both systems and the independent universities have more control over their own destinies.”

Fuller added: “I’ve always aspired to be a university president; it is the right moment for this opportunity for my wife and I, and we are really excited to have been selected. Western has a great tradition of success and excellence and we look forward to being a part of that.”

ASWOU election deadline extended

By Jenna Beresheim and Madison McCammon
 Staff Writer and Freelancer

This year’s ASWOU elections have seen low enough initial turnout rates to cause the original close date for the polls to be extended from Friday, April 24.

This extension was put in place until enough votes have been submitted to have a legal election. Speaking on Thursday, April 30, ASWOU elections director Cat Bracken said that “turnout has improved enough that the elections will officially be closed on Friday, May 1, 2015 at 3 p.m.”

“We technically passed the turnout percentage required for the elections to be legal as of Thursday,” Bracken said, “but we wanted to keep the polls open longer to increase student representation.”

“In order for the election to be valid, we need 10 percent of the student population [to vote]…As of Friday, we didn’t have the 10 percent,” Alyssa Little said, a third year community health major.

“In an election that only has roughly 5,000 eligible voters, every single vote can make a difference. Please vote and make your voice heard,” said Megan Habermann, assistant director of the student leadership and activities board.

She added, “If you want to see change or see things continue, make that opinion known. ASWOU cannot represent students fairly and accurately without their input and involvement.”

The current candidates and incumbents alike have increased their efforts to encourage students to vote. OrgSync has been a notable change to ASWOU elections this year as students are required to cast their votes through OrgSync rather than through the portal as in years past. OrgSync is a relatively new platform for Western.

Some have found OrgSync difficult to use to the extent that it has prevented votes. However, other students have found the process easy. “I honestly think that elections were extended due to the difficulty of voting through OrgSync,” Alyssa Brooke Chiampi said, a second year public policy and administration student.

Third year business major Dacota Ashwill, said that voting involved “too much work; it is just too much effort to use,” when talking about the switch to OrgSync as a platform for organizing other events and campus info.

“It was really difficult to get to the voting page, it is kind of a doozy to find,” Kyler Freilinger said, a first year Integrated Science and Teaching major.

“College students thrive for simplicity, and I believe OrgSync created a difficult barrier,” Chiampi said, who is also running for ASWOU president.

She added: “I think OrgSync is great, but it is not so great for students that have not had the OrgSync training provided by the student leadership activities board.” Conversely, some students reported little to no difficulty in voting through OrgSync.

“It was pretty simple to use,” Becca Hazel said, a third year community health major. Hazel added that she felt the process was “pretty fast,” for it being her first time using OrgSync.

Many students also reported difficulty in attempting to find information concerning the candidates and bills before making their decision.

This process has been particularly difficult for off-campus students, such as Allissa Phoenix, an ASL studies fourth year student.

“I feel like this year there were not as many advertisements attracting students to vote,” Phoenix said. “This is unfortunate, but as college students we have a lot going on and need reminders around campus to compel us to participate and inform us on the issues in question.”

As the elections have reached their required turnout, results will be reported in next week’s Journal issue as well as the ASWOU OrgSync page.

Breaking the Silence

Addressing sexual assault on campus
By Laura Knudson
 Editor-in-Chief

With national discussion building in response to the 89 colleges under investigation for mishandling sexual assault cases, one thing has become glaringly hard to ignore: sexual violence can happen anywhere.

Since the start of this school year, half a dozen sexual assault cases have been reported at Western, according to Dr. Gary Dukes, vice president of student affairs.

“So far we’ve had the most consistent amount of referrals we’ve ever had,” said Andrea Doyle Hugmeyer, assistant director of Abby’s House, a resource and referral center available to persons of any gender for a number of issues.

In previous years, Doyle Hugmeyer said reports were scattered, with some months yielding no reports. So far, Abby’s House has had weekly referrals from sexual assault survivors since fall term started.

In 2013, six reports of sexual assault were filed with Campus Public Safety, and seven anonymous reports were filed with the Office of the Vice President of Student Affairs, according to Campus Public Safety’s published statistics, indicating that there may have been as many as 13 reported sexual assaults in 2013, or as few as six.

Although there is a rise in consistent reports already this year, it does not necessarily mean it’s happening more on campus. Doyle Hugmeyer said she hopes it means people are using Abby’s House as a resource more than before.

“I don’t know if people are reporting more because there is more support, but I think there is more awareness because of the culture,” said Nancy Minnick, Campus Public Safety Committee Scribe.

Students acknowledge sexual assault as a reality on campus. Whether it is sexual, verbal, or on social media, “assault happens here,” said Brittany App, Senior ASL major. “It happens everywhere.”

“Our campus doesn’t differ from anywhere else,” said Bryan Kelley, junior Humanities major.

Studies conducted since the 1980s have shown a consistent figure of one in four college women reporting that they survived either rape or attempted rape, at some point in their lifetime, according to oneinfourusa.org.

“Until that number is gone, it will always be an issue,” said Marissa Onshus-Womble, Advocate of Abby’s House.

A 2007 national rape study funded by the Department of Justice found 11 percent of college women who experience rape, report it to the police.

Rape is the least reported of all violent crimes according to a 2009 National Crime Victimization Survey.

DEFINING SEXUAL ASSAULT

In attempts to diminish sexual assault, the Obama administration launched their “It’s On Us” campaign in September, aimed at engaging men in prevention measures, effectively responding to assault by increasing transparency in the federal government’s effort to enforce laws.

However, campuses like the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) found students were unsure of what constituted sexual assault. An MIT survey showed 17 percent of female students fit the sexually assaulted description, but only 11 percent checked yes on the survey when asked if they had been.
Dukes said victims are not always sure if they have been assaulted.

According to Western’s sexual misconduct web page, sexual misconduct is defined as non-consensual sexual contact. Sexual contact includes “touching of any private body part, including, but not limited to genitalia, buttocks, anus or breasts of another or causing such person to touch genitalia, anus, buttocks or breasts of another.” It also includes attempts to have non-consensual sexual contact, the threat of such contact, sexual exploitation, emotional/psychological abuse, sexual harassment and stalking.

The webpage categorizes behavior non-consensual if “no consent is freely given, the person is substantially impaired by alcohol or drugs, or the person is otherwise without the physical or mental capacity to give clear consent.”
When it comes to consent, Abby’s House supports the “Yes means yes” campaign. “Yes means yes” legislation adopted in states like California, put the focus of sexual consent on mutually agreed-upon sexual activity. Consent is mutual and continuous and requires partners to pay attention to physical and emotional cues as well.

Verbal consent should be repeated often, said Onshus-Womble.
“Just because you consented one time doesn’t mean you will the next,” she added.

“And you have the right to change your mind,” said Jessica Fontaine, another advocate for Abby’s House.

Both said students should consent every step of the way whether it be kissing or having sex.

For students who may still be unsure of whether or not they were assaulted, Fontaine said it was simple.

“The difference between someone who was raped and someone who wasn’t is that the person who was raped was in the presence of the rapist,” she said. “That’s the only factor.”

THE SURVIVORS YOU DON’T HEAR ABOUT

When most people hear the word rape, they visualize a woman being assaulted by a man, Doyle Hugmeyer said. But there are other victims we fail to acknowledge.

Males can be sexually assaulted, as can persons in same-sex relationships.

One in six men are found to have experienced sexual assault before age 18 according to 1in6.org.

 

“Abuse and assault is linked with asserting power and trying to control power happens in various forms,” Doyle Hugmeyer said. “You can be assaulted by someone of any gender or any sexual identity.”

The reason we don’t hear about male sexual assault is because men are typically viewed as physically stronger and more powerful than women, Doyle Hugmeyer said. “To be sexually assaulted means that the victim is put in the position of being controlled,” which is something we associate more with women, she added.

When men report sexual assault it “basically feminizes them,” she said.

Similarly, one reason we may not hear about same-sex relationship violence, is due to the “the layer of additional stress and barriers because some people are homophobic,” said Doyle Hugmeyer.

Despite stigmas and myths that sexual assault only happens to women, students acknowledge that it can happen to everyone.

“I believe that men can and sometimes are sexually assaulted, be it by men or by women,” said Isaac Golden, Junior Psychology major.”

Jenna Beresham, senior ALS major agreed saying, “Anyone of any race, gender, sexuality and so forth can be sexually assaulted.”

“I think that there are a lot of men on our campus that share these beliefs in the sense that they want to see change happen,” said Doyle Hugmeyer.

SURVIVING IN A VICTIM-BLAMING CULTURE

Victim blaming culture refers to an attitude that the survivor is at fault for their assault because of their behavior.

Deborah Thompson, executive director of Sable House, an organization in Dallas, serving domestic violence and sexual assault survivors, said, commonly used excuses for assault include: “She shouldn’t have been wearing that low-cut blouse,” “She was out late,” and “She didn’t fight it off.”

“I absolutely do not think any girl alive has asked to be assaulted,” said Bridget Conklin, senior English major.
Yet, some feel clothing options do play a role.

“Sexual assault can be intensified by choice of clothing and is a factor, but if someone intends to sexually assault, it doesn’t matter what is being worn by others,” said Jennifer P., senior.

The drug enforcement agency of the Department of Justice lists alcohol as the number one most common used drug in sexual assault

Dress attire and alcohol consumption could be reasons why some colleges aim sexual assault education at risk reduction, teaching students how to be safe.

Doyle Hugmeyer says while discussions of risk reduction are important in terms of staying conscious of safety, instructing potential rape victims to dress more modest or drink less should not be the only way to address sexual assault. It takes responsibility off the perpetrator, she says, and can be difficult to identify when discussion boarders on blame, ultimately making things worse for survivors.

“It’s a hard line to identify and try not to cross,” she said. “On one end it’s important to acknowledge how to stay safe on campus. But if that’s the strongest method that prevails in our community, we aren’t doing it the right way.”
In terms of improving how sexual assault is addressed on campus, “Eliminating the victim-blaming culture is the biggest thing we can do that,” said Fontaine.

PUTTING FOCUS ON THE PERPETRATOR

Focus should be placed on “not raping,” Doyle Hugmeyer said, and focusing on the offenders.

“We get a lot of models of sexual behavior from the media and often times sexuality is tied to power and control,” she said. “So if we were to change the model to reflect different behaviors like getting consent every step of the way, that would be huge in seeing sexual assault diminish.”

Most importantly, “If a woman tells you she was sexually assaulted – believe her,” said Doyle Hugmeyer. “That’s a big step in putting the attention on the perpetrator. It means that we are validating the experience.”
These conversations have occurred for quite some time, said Doyle Hugmeyer. “I think now is an appropriate time to formalize the conversation and put things into action on campus.”

Combating assault with campus-wide conversation

A men’s social justice group is in the works for Abby’s House, lead by advocate Kevin Gutierrez, in attempts to start a conversational group, discussing topics related of masculinity and gender norms.

“The goal is to create a campus discussion, said Doyle Hugmeyer. “We hope that clubs emerge out of that group that would essentially do educational programming and activism related to meet these issues from a male ally standpoint.”

After receiving grants from the WOU foundation, advocates also put together a media campaign, creating sexual violence posters and informational video clips.

A phone app will also be available on iTunes in a few weeks, providing campus and community resources and information on what to do if you experience sexual violence.

Through Western’s Campus Against Sexual Assault grant (CASA) from the U.S. Department of Justice, Abby’s House is looking into funding a Sexual Assault Nurse Examiner. Doyle Hugmeyer said they would hire a “SAME” nurse on campus or in

Dallas to be available for “safe kits.” When a person is sexually assaulted they are able to seek a safe kit, which includes DNA swabbing, vaginal examination, urine samples and other forensic procedures.

“As of right now the closest nurse to do that is the Salem hospital,” Doyle Hugmeyer said, which can be a problem if the student does not have transportation.

In creating campaigns and starting discussion groups, the hope of Abby’s House is to create many opportunities for students to seek help. “It’s something every campus should be moving toward,” she said.

“Ideally we’d like to have an environment where sexual assault doesn’t happen,” said Dukes. “I generally feel like we are doing a good job, but clearly we can always do a better job.”

REPORTING SEXUAL ASSAULT

When asked what the first thing a victim should do after being sexually assaulted, Doyle Hugmeyer said, “It’s going to vary by victim, but go to a safe place.” She said this could be the counseling center, or to a member of the CARE team, a friend’s house or even to an Resident Assistant.

Abby’s House is also a place where victims can seek help from trained members in regard to referrals for sexual assault or just to come in and talk, Fontaine said.
The first step is confiding in a campus resource or someone you trust, Fontaine said. “We can’t have justice for our survivors if we don’t know that it happened to them.”

To report a sexual assault or seek help regarding sexual/domestic violence, contact Abby’s House at 503-838-8219, abbyshouse@wou.edu or stop by their location on the bottom floor of the Werner University Center, room 106. To file an official report for criminal action, call Campus Public Safety at 503-838-8481, or the Monmouth Police Department at 503-838-1109. To file a student conduct report, contact the WOU Office of Student Conduct at 503-838-8930.

IFC final decision sets fees for 2016 academic year

By Jack Armstrong
 News Editor

Below is the breakdown of student fees per term for the 2015-2016 school year. Students will pay $327 per term, which will be allocated to the following funded areas. The values listed below are based on the average of the projected enrollment for the 2015-2016 school year and the final decision from the IFC. Values were rounded up.

Screen shot 2015-04-24 at 3.33.09 PMAffordability for our students is paramount, and fundraising relieves the student body from increased cost to attend.”

Western’s incidental fee committee has had their proposed budget for the 2016 academic year officially approved by President Mark Weiss. This version of the budget is now set to take effect fall term of 2015-2016.

The IFC is a group of student leaders supervised by staff advisers. The only voting members of the process are the students who sit on the committee.

Incidental fees are collected separate from students’ tuition every term and are used for student clubs and activities that fall outside the realm of academics.

IFC voted through their final version of the budget Monday, Feb. 16. The proposal was then ratified by the Associated Students of Western Oregon University senate Wednesday, Feb. 18.

Once the budget was agreed upon by both student organizations, the decision was moved to President Weiss for final approval.

“I respect the diligence of the IFC members and the role of student senate in reaching a conclusion,” Weiss said. He approved the budget on first viewing within the five days allotted to him though the by-laws.

Now that the budget has been finalized by the administration, the per-term fee for 2015-2016 will increase $5 from 2014-2015 to $327, or $981 per year total.

This year’s decision was met with resistance from students and staff alike in departments who were chosen to take cuts. The athletics department received the heaviest cut, taking a 5 percent overall reduction in their budget.

Many student-athletes reacted angrily to this cut in the series of open hearings held by the IFC Thursday, Feb. 5, and Monday, Feb. 9. In fact, the majority of the students at the meeting were athletes looking to affect change in the committee’s course.

When Weiss was asked whether this turn-out had made his decision more difficult, he said, “I was made aware of certain changes to past funding levels, but I deferred to the democratic process in place.”

In addition to looking at a reduced budget, the athletics department also had some requested enhancements turned down.

Enhancements differ from the overall budgets because they are a one-term increase in funding for an organization to be put towards a specifically requested item.

The athletics department had been initially approved to receive a replacement on-field headset for the football program with a one-time enhancement priced at $43,712.

IFC decided to remove this enhancement in the final version of the budget in an attempt to keep the overall fee increase as low as possible.

During IFC’s presentation to the ASWOU senate Wednesday, Feb. 18, IFC member Jessica Hand said, “We have a responsibility to the entire student body to keep costs as affordable as possible, and any enhancements we approve should benefit as many students as possible.”

President Weiss said, “My experience has been that the approved budget is representative of views for those students that participate in the process, but the result may not necessarily represent the views of the student body as a whole.”

Similarly, IFC also decided against granting the enhancement that gives students free tickets to most of the school-run theater productions at Western.

“There wasn’t enough data provided by the department about student attendance to provide approval,” Hand said.

Now that the budget for next year is set, some clubs are already turning to fund raisers and other alternative forms of filling in the financial gaps.

Weiss believes that this approach is a good compromise and said, “I encourage all clubs to fundraise as much of the cost of their programs as possible.

2015 Pastega Award winners announced

By Jack Armstrong
News Editor

Western has announced the 2015 winners of the Pastega awards. Dr. Kevin Walczyk has been selected for the Excellence in Scholarship award and Dr. Maureen Dolan has been selected for the Excellence in Teaching award.

The Pastega awards are an annual honor given to two professors selected by students, faculty and the administration. According to Western’s website, the awards were created by “noted Oregon philanthropist Mario Pastega.”

Pastega donated to Western annually and part of that money was used to recognize educators who strove to push the students and the university to higher levels of excellence. The first recipients of the awards were honored in 1985, and it has been an annual ceremony since.

According to the Pastega Award website, the Pastega family made a $40,000 donation that was matched by the Oregon University System in 1997 to maintain the awards well into the future.

The Excellence in Teaching award is given to a professor who “engages, inspires and educates students to the greatest possible learning.”

The Excellence in Scholarship award is given to a professor who maintains “significant and enduring scholarly or creative achievement,” alongside their professorial duties. This can include ongoing research or publishing articles.

The decision on which professors will be honored is handled by the Pastega committee.

Chair of the committee Tom Bergeron said, “the work of choosing is done by the recipients from the two previous years,” in addition to a member of student government, and President Mark Weiss.

Last year’s winners were professor of history David Doellinger, awarded for Excellence in Scholarship, and the director of the writing center, professor of English Katherine Schmidt, was awarded for Excellence in Teaching.

The award is accompanied by a $1,000 honorarium.

Dr. Kevin Walczyk: Professor of Music

Dr. Kevin Walczyk grew up in a musically diverse family, and as a result he was exposed to an array of musical knowledge and styles from an early age.
This knowledge and exposure soon turned into a passion and he continued his musical pursuits throughout his time in college at Pacific Lutheran University and University of North Texas.

While attending university, Walczyk shifted his interests from playing and enjoying music to composition. Walczyk said that composition seemed “unexplored and invigorating.”

Upon his graduation, Walczyk looked for a way to translate and convey his passion for composition to the younger generation, which pushed him to move into teaching.

As a first generation college graduate for his family, Dr. Walczyk said he chose to teach at Western in 1995 largely because of its reputation for excellence in serving first generation college attendees such as himself.

He also said he expressed interest in helping to build Western’s fledgling music program, and as a result he was given the opportunity to help orchestrate program development. The chance to involve himself in the new program featuring modern music composition and jazz techniques was both challenging and intriguing.

Walczyk said, “I am not only training future musicians, I am training future teachers, future mentors, and future role models of our society who will pass on their passion to future generations.”

Speaking about the award itself Walczyk said “this is a very humbling honor, particularly when one considers the number of outstanding faculty on the WOU campus.”

Dr. Maureen Dolan: Professor of Sociology

Earning a Ph.D. in Sociology in 1993, Dr. Dolan specializes in Latin American studies, class analysis, state theory, and gender studies.

Having graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Maureen made her way to Western in the same year, and she began teaching a wide range of classes under her umbrella of specialties.

Many of these attribute back to her interest in Latin America, which stems from a study abroad opportunity in Chile taken during her own years as a student.

Being taught by exiled Brazilian scholars was just the start of an in-depth trip in the South American country. While there, Dr. Dolan immersed herself in the local customs and agriculture, collaborating with the Nicaraguan Ministry of Agriculture in regards to agrarian development.

In this case, agrarian development is a set of factors, including technological and economical, that may have an effect on agricultural practices.

In relation to the entire trip, Dolan said “it was important in my formation of an understanding of sociology as a discipline that is critical, public, and engaged in the practice of social justice.”

Today, Dr. Dolan lives in Salem with her family following the creation of a service-learning course known as the Latino Mentor Program in 1996. Through educational and community outreach like the mentor program, Latinos are helping areas in Oregon that are underserved.

This community movement can involve tutoring programs in schools locally, and now even internationally since the program has spread to Mexico, Nicaragua and Argentina. The groups working with the international segment of the program focus on incarcerated youth and even the LGBTQ community.

“It is also a great honor to work with WOU students who bring their energy and insight to the Latino Mentor Program,” Dolan said. “In the development and expansion of the program, I have listened to my students and followed their lead in identifying our involvement in community projects.”

Dolan said she considers the Pastega Award “a great honor to be recognized by the WOU community for developing a curriculum that links teaching, research and service in the Latino Mentor Program.”

Summary of Bills 1.15, 4.15, 6.15

In addition to the breakdown of ASWOU’s relationship with OSA and Oregon Senator’s Letter to the Editor, here is a summary of the amendments concerning ASWOU’s involvement with OSA:

 

Bill 1.15

Senate Bill 1.15 pertains to the operations of ASWOU and ASWOU senate, specifically the ASWOU president’s ability to use executive orders. Bill 1.15 would give the ASWOU president a broader scope in which to use executive orders, and it would modify the current standards for communication between the president and the senate when utilizing executive orders.

A vote of YES on Bill 1.15 would expand the ASWOU presidential power to use executive orders as explained above.

A vote of NO on Bill 1.15 would maintain current standards for use of executive orders by the ASWOU president.

Bill 4.15

Senate Referendum 4.15 asks the Western student body whether or not they want to maintain ties to the Oregon Student Association (OSA). OSA is a student-run organization that works with state legislators to increase the access to, and affordability of higher education in Oregon. Currently membership to OSA costs Western students a total of $28,839 per year, and the total will increase to $29,679 in the 2015-2016 academic year.

A vote of YES on Referendum 4.15 would end Western Oregon’s relationship with the Oregon Student Association.

A vote of NO on Referendum 4.15 would maintain Western Oregon’s relationship with the Oregon Student Association.

Bill 6.15

Senate Bill 6.15 proposes the creation of the ASWOU Representative Assembly. The ASWOU Representative Assembly would be a monthly gathering of student groups, clubs, and service departments (NonTrad, Veterans, etc.) to discuss issues and concerns around Western’s campus. These meetings are intended to address concerns of ASWOU interaction and representation of student groups and organizations.

A vote of YES on Bill 6.15 would create the ASWOU Representative Assembly.

A vote of NO on Bill 6.15 would maintain current ASWOU representation of student groups.

Fairy Tale Films on the Rise

By Emily Pate
 Freelancer

This spring, Disney released “Cinderella,” the latest in their live action fairy tale adaptions, following last year’s “Maleficent.” According to the International Business Times, these two films will soon be joined by similar adaptations, including Emma Thompson’s “The Beauty and the Beast,” as well as “Mulan,” “The Jungle Book,” and numerous others.

And why not, with how popular these new versions have been? In fact, the recent wave of fairy tale retellings has even been enough to catch “Saturday Night Live’s” attention, which refers to both “Maleficent” and “Cinderella” in their parody trailer of a live-action “Bambi” starring Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson.

Many of Disney’s most popular recent movies have been a retelling of fairy tales. “Frozen,” according to the Daily Mail, recently became the fifth highest grossing film of all time. The only four that have earned more are “Avatar,” “Titanic,” “The Avengers” and “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2.” This means that, of the five films that have made the most money globally, three are adaptations of preexisting stories.

“Frozen” is a new version of Hans Christian Anderson’s “The Snow Queen.” The Disney version of this story was then adapted to television in ABC’s “Once Upon a Time”; the Huffington Post reports there are currently stage and on-ice versions in the works. Disney has also recently released the film “Into the Woods,” an adaption of a play of the same name, which was – in turn – an adaptation of the many fairy tales that take part in its plot.

These films and TV shows are just a few of the fairy tale adaptations that can be found in recent media. There are also, among many others, the ongoing show “Grimm,” which presents a new view of the family most famous for recording fairy tales, and “Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters,” which transforms the classic story into an action film. The number of these new versions only seems to be rising.

As an adult watching the animated films of my childhood, I often wonder why the characters do what they do. What does Maleficent try so hard to hurt Sleeping Beauty? Why does Cinderella stay in a house where she is unhappy?

These new adaptations try to supply the answers, but what never changes is the fact that fairy tales are good stories. There are infinite ways to tell them – evident by the skyrocketing popularity of the genre, and as they shift for new mediums and audiences, I’m sure there will be even more versions in the future. I, for one, am hoping so.

Oregon Student Association supporters fight referendum severing ties with ASWOU

By Jack Armstrong - News Editor
 and Haunani Tomas - Editor-in-Chief

The Oregon Student Association is currently campaigning against bill 4.15 introduced into the upcoming ASWOU elections beginning Monday, April 20 through Friday, April 24.

Bill 4.15 would effectively sever the current ties between the OSA and ASWOU. Both organizations are designed to provide advocacy on behalf of students, with ASWOU being specifically centered on Western Students.

The ballot asks: “Should WOU students leave membership with OSA?”

WHAT IS OSA?

Created in 1975, the OSA is, in part, a reaction to what Oregon students saw as rapidly decreasing student involvement in higher education administrative decisions like tuition, incidental fees, and on-campus policies. Since then, OSA has become the second largest voter registration in the United States.

According to the OSA mission, their purpose is to “represent, serve, and protect the collective interests of students in postsecondary education in Oregon.” The organization collectively represents more than 120,000 college students in Oregon, and serves much like a student labor union.

OSA’s short-term goals involve working with legislators and decision makers to act as a lobbying for students to the state.

“Lobbying is an ambiguous concept to people,” said OSA Executive Director Emma Kallaway. For reference, lobbying is the act of attempting to influence the actions of public officials, especially legislators.

The 45-member non-profit organization consists of a team that firmly believes in their mission: “protect the collective interests of students in postsecondary education in Oregon.”

HOW DOES OSA BENEFIT US?

While advocating for post-secondary education affordability, OSA works to prevent sexual violence, accounting to cultural competency, increasing accommodations for those with disabilities, and collecting data about the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bi-Sexual, Transgender, Queer) community to better serve the needs of college campuses.

More recently, OSA petitioned for an increase in financial aid, lower tuition and an increase in the quality of education.

The OSA’s efforts include organizing student rallies like the Rally to Restore Higher Education. Held on Feb. 12, 2015, the rally brought together students from 26 universities and community colleges to push for a reinvestment of state funds to freeze tuition costs.

OSA also sends students to Salem when the legislature is in session to speak on behalf of Oregon students. OSA has several students speaking to the legislative body concerning debt at a university budget hearing Tuesday , April 14, 2015.

Western students attended the Rally to Restore Higher Education, and some of the organization on the Western end was handled through ASWOU, but if bill 4.15 passes then Western will officially resign their membership to the OSA.

“There is an increased level of difficulty getting legislatures to support individual schools,” said Kallaway. “[OSA provides] a nearly 40-year long relationship with state officials that [Western students] have access to.”

Instead of lobbying for individual campus needs, OSA has the utilitarian lens of looking at the bigger picture.

“OSA has the ability to view what’s best for the entire student body population of Oregon versus the needs of an individual institution,” said Kallaway.

Western’s membership with OSA is funded through incidental fees, which are collected from students every term and used to fund student clubs and activities that fall outside the realm of academics – such as special interest clubs, health and wellness, athletics and student leadership activities.

These fees have been initially approved by both ASWOU senate and the incidental fees committee (IFC), but according to WOU Students Against 4.15, a student action group, “ASWOU senate recently passed a bill that was contrary to their [already voted upon] budget and decided to give students the opportunity to approve OSA membership on the ballot.”

Affordability being OSA’s chief objective, it costs students $1.49 per term to be members of the OSA.

Kallaway describes the per-term membership fee as being “less than a cup of coffee.”

“It save [students], at minimum, hundreds of dollars per student,” she said.

IF PASSED, HOW WILL BILL 4.15 AFFECT US?

This referendum would completely strip students’ ability to advocate for themselves at the state and renders students powerless. In other words, Western would be removed from OSA.

Proposed referendum measure that is being voted on next week would completely strip students of its collective power.

Consequently, OSA field organizer Brittany Duffy-Goche said this would leave Western students with “little to no power in Salem to be able to fight against tuition increases and policy that helps promote a safe and inclusive learning environment.”

“Students of Western would lose their impact,” said Kallaway.

Duffy-Goche explained that Western would be removed from the OSA, which would “sever our ability to effectively advocate for students on a statewide level.”

Some students on campus have already spoken out against the proposed changes. The student-lead group WOU Students Against 4.15 writes on their website that “withdrawing membership from the Oregon Student Association is a huge mistake.”

“If this referendum is passed, it would be detrimental on a multitude of levels,” said Duffy-Goche.

Students Against 4.15 believe that departure from OSA would severely limit Western’s ability to advocate on behalf of the student population without the power in numbers that OSA offers.

Students Against 4.15 writes: “be extremely wary of any attempts to limit your collective student voice in Salem. We need to work together in order to achieve real victories for higher education in Oregon.”

College of Education initiates curriculum reform

By Jack Armstrong - News Editor

Western’s College of Education has received permission to move forward with adjusting their current curriculum to better meet student needs.

In last month’s faculty senate meeting, the proposed changes were voted through unanimously. The department aims to have the reforms fully functional within the course catalog by fall quarter 2015.

All of the changes are taking place within the undergraduate program, leaving the Master of Arts in Teaching program intact.

Dr. Mark Girod, dean of the College of Education, said the changes are intended to “improve seamless transfer from community college to Western, to shorten time to degree completion, and to more tightly align courses to state and national teaching standards.”

New courses like ED 200 – Foundations of Education will take the place of the current introductory classes such as ED 100 and ED 312.

This new class also serves to align more closely with local community colleges introductory education courses so that transfer students to Western don’t lose as much progress if they choose to make the switch.

The college has also attempted to shorten time to graduation. According to the information submitted to the faculty senate, this will be achieved through a “removal of electives,” that fall outside of the education major, but double up on material covered in other classes.

This means in part that students will no longer be required to take introductory courses like a 100 level communications class, or additional electives to the education program, like business writing.

“The changes will improve rates of degree completion as well as the preparation of future educators” Girod said.

The College of Education is also making adjustments so it will attract more students to utilize the new Richard Woodcock center, set to be completed in 2016.

“The center is designed to promote collaboration, the latest technology, and specialized learning spaces,” Girod said.

Faculty involved with the College of Education are also always concerned that standards and credit requirements placed on the current students have fallen out of step with the ever changing licensure requirements for the state of Oregon.

In an attempt to better align with state standards, some new offerings are being added to next year’s course catalog. Some of these new classes are counterparts to classes already offered, but specialize in a specific area of the topics covered.

For example, one course currently offered in the college is ED 270 – Teaching and Learning with Technology. This course will remain but there will also be an alternative, ED 326 – Technology in Inclusive Early Childhood Settings (Birth-4th Grade).

Dr. Girod hopes that this specificity will help enhance the separate tracks that future educators can train for, whether that’s early childhood development, middle school, or high school.

“We seek to make our programs better and better,” Girod said. “School districts in Oregon expect excellence from us, and we will always provide.”

Suspect turns himself in after wrecking on campus

By Conner Williams
 Staff Writer

An intoxicated man crashed his pickup truck several times on Monmouth Avenue early Saturday, April 4, including a building and a car, according to Monmouth Police Department.

Yanel Avilla Castro, a 25-year-old, of Independence went out Friday night for drinks at Main Street Pub in Monmouth. Castro ended up causing thousands of dollars in damage on his drunken journey through downtown Monmouth as well as Western’s campus.

Castro is in custody after turning himself in around 4 a.m. the same morning. According to Sergeant Kim Dorn of MPD, he is currently facing charges of driving under the influence of intoxicants and three counts of failure to perform the duties of a driver, otherwise known as hit and run.

Castro left the bar at around 2:10 a.m. and headed toward the Shell gas station at the intersection of Main Street and Highway 99W.

“I was working inside when I saw this guy in a white truck pull up to pump one, and then he flew across the lot over to pump five where these other two guys were,” said Matt Cheney-Estes, the store clerk on shift during the incident.

“He got out of his truck and tried to get these two guys to fight him,” said Maddie Cole, a witness to the altercation at the gas station.

Cheney-Estes went outside to confront Castro, and then he returned inside to call the police, at which point the man sped out of the lot and onto Main Street in Monmouth, headed back in the direction of Monmouth Avenue.

Around 2:24 a.m., MPD started to receive multiple calls, including the one from Cheney-Estes. Castro turned right onto
Monmouth Avenue North and then crashed into 110 N. Monmouth Avenue, the building complex that houses Homestead Property
Management as well as several other businesses.

IMG_15502

“That was the first hit and run,” said Dorn. “He then continued on Monmouth Avenue and proceeded to hit a parked car
and a tree, finally wrecking his truck in the grass area in front of the WOU education building, hitting a lamppost and a sign.”

Castro then abandoned his vehicle and set out on foot, eventually turning himself in to the police shortly afterwards.

Cheney-Estes said that a police officer came to the Shell later looking to collect witness statements and told him that Castro had caused upwards of $45,000 in damage.

“I can’t verify those figures yet, but the damage is going to be costly,” said Dorn.

If you have any additional information regarding the incident, please contact the MPD non-emergency line at-503-838-1109.

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

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