Mount Hood

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.

ASWOU Candidates

By JACK ARMSTRONG
 News Editor

New ASWOU candidates are starting a three-week process on their road to elections.

The 11 candidates will be spending their time leading up to elections learning the ins and outs of ASWOU election by-laws, introducing themselves and campaigning to the student body, and finally casting their votes.

Candidates have already presented at their first of two open forums. During the forums, the student body is welcome to come and ask questions of the candidates. Each candidate also makes a presentation about their qualifications and their intentions if they are elected.

The last open forum is scheduled to take place Thursday, April 16, from 7-9 p.m. in the Mt. Hood room of Valsetz. The meeting is open to the entire Western community.

After the final open forum, candidates will be campaigning around campus attempting to secure potential voters up until the election.

Voting begins Monday, April 20 and ends Friday, April 24, at 3 p.m. This year, ASWOU is shifting from the Portal system used in past elections to a new, OrgSync-based system.

Cat Bracken, the ASWOU elections committee chair, said “OrgSync will be faster and more efficient than having the votes on the Portal as they have done in previous years.”

In addition to OrgSync, the elections committee will staff polling stations located throughout campus where students can stop by and vote via laptop with directions and help if necessary.

The following photos and information about the candidates was taken directly from their candidate applications. Candidates responded to the question, “If elected, how do you intend to improve or change WOU or ASWOU?”

For more information on the voting process or becoming involved in ASWOU, visit the ASWOU office in the Werner Center room 121A, or call 503-838-8553.

Disclaimer: The Journal does not endorse any candidates or their policy. Photos and information were made available by individual candidates. The Journal made minor edits in punctuation and grammar for clarity.

Senator:

Colette Thomassians
First-year public policy and administration major
“I intend to close the gap between the students and their representatives. I plan to listen to students and get their input on things that affect them – directly or indirectly.”

ASWOU President:

Alyssa Chiampi Second-year public policy administration major “If elected, I want to change the current climate of ASWOU, making it a safe space for the students they serve. I would do that by ensuring that appointed cabinet members, as well as the members of the Judicial Board and Student Senate are an equal representation of the student body they serve. In my time working with ASWOU, countless students have approached me saying that they are not comfortable with the current climate of ASWOU because they feel underrepresented. Another priority of mine would be Tuition Affordability. Keeping tuition low is a high priority for the majority of students, and I would work with the newly institutionalized governing board to do so. Having the hard conversations with those board members and being able to be a voice for our students is a role that I am more than willing to assume.”
Alyssa Chiampi
Second-year public policy administration major
“If elected, I want to change the current climate of ASWOU, making it a safe space for the students they serve. I would do that by ensuring that appointed cabinet members, as well as the members of the Judicial Board and Student Senate are an equal representation of the student body they serve. In my time working with ASWOU, countless students have approached me saying that they are not comfortable with the current climate of ASWOU because they feel underrepresented. Another priority of mine would be Tuition Affordability. Keeping tuition low is a high priority for the majority of students, and I would work with the newly institutionalized governing board to do so. Having the hard conversations with those board members and being able to be a voice for our students is a role that I am more than willing to assume.”
Corbin Garner Third-year exercise science major “While external advocacy is an important part of ASWOU’s role on campus, I feel that there are other areas that deserve more immediate focus and improvement. First, ASWOU is in need of better methods to communicate with and involve our clubs and students. This is an issue I have already taken efforts to address, and can ensure the successful transition to these new methods, such as the ASWOU Representative Assembly, as they have been my major project in my first year as president. Another area for improvement is the Food Pantry that ASWOU oversees. I intend to alter an ASWOU officer’s job description to put more focus on the Food Pantry. We need to increase awareness through advertising campaigns and find new ways to reduce the negative stigma about utilizing this amazing resource, such as online food requests to reduce face time in the pantry.”
Corbin Garner
Third-year exercise science major
“While external advocacy is an important part of ASWOU’s role on campus, I feel that there are other areas that deserve more immediate focus and improvement. First, ASWOU is in need of better methods to communicate with and involve our clubs and students. This is an issue I have already taken efforts to address, and can ensure the successful transition to these new methods, such as the ASWOU Representative Assembly, as they have been my major project in my first year as president. Another area for improvement is the Food Pantry that ASWOU oversees. I intend to alter an ASWOU officer’s job description to put more focus on the Food Pantry. We need to increase awareness through advertising campaigns and find new ways to reduce the negative stigma about utilizing this amazing resource, such as online food requests to reduce face time in the pantry.”

IFC Member:

Justin Ross Postbaccalaureate computer science major “My hope is, that through the IFC, to focus the fee on where it will impact the greatest number of students while keeping tuition affordable to as many prospective students as possible.”
Justin Ross
Postbaccalaureate
computer science major
“My hope is, that through the IFC, to focus the fee on where it will impact the greatest number of students while keeping tuition affordable to as many prospective students as possible.”

ASWOU Vice President:

Kellon Hughes Third-year psychology major “I would continue the course that I have been on while being on this position, by improving the accountability of the organization. I would improve the transparency of the organization, allowing for more student input into larger decisions. Improve the accountability of the organization by continuing to preach the proper use of the funds, keep staff members accountable and supported, and interact with WOU students.”
Kellon Hughes
Third-year psychology major
“I would continue the course that I have been on while being on this position, by improving the accountability of the organization. I would improve the transparency of the organization, allowing for more student input into larger decisions. Improve the accountability of the organization by continuing to preach the proper use of the funds, keep staff members accountable and supported, and interact with WOU students.”

Senate President:

Jessica Freeman
First-year biology major with a preprofessional
emphasis
“If elected, I intend to improve the ASWOU recruitment process specifically contributing to the Senate body. After participating in the recruitment process this year, I noticed how difficult it became to recruit as time went on because students became involved with other clubs and organizations. If elected, I will focus on recruiting students early in the year in order to build a stronger senate body.”

Dean Wright
Third-year elementary/
middle education major with a history focus
“If elected I want to get ASWOU more out to the public. As the senate should be representing all students on campus, then the senate needs to be out on campus talking with students to get as much feedback as possible. If elected to Senate President I also want to bring life to the Senate, make senate something that is fun and builds leadership for the Senators. How I plan to do this by having senators partake in already established leadership activities, creating leadership workshops for them, and having weekly one on ones.”

Judicial Administrator:

Christina Sekafetz
First-year mathematics
education major
“If elected, I would improve the communication between students and their elected representatives. Students are not informed well enough about programs or events that happen around campus, including but not limited to ASWOU events, and most of them are beneficial to their education or exploring other interests.”

Jenesa Ross Fourth-year biology major “While advocating for the students of Western Oregon University is an overarching duty of any student government member, in regards to the position of Judicial Administrator, I am also excited to carry on the work I have been doing these past years. Within the Judicial Board, the Justices and I have been holding all groups within ASWOU to a higher standard. I have implemented a system of legislation review which has made the Judicial Board more efficient and effective as an interpretive body, and has led to the large scale editing of the ASWOU Constitution and By-Laws, as well as the creation of Statutes for our Clubs and Organizations. This editing process has served to clarify and clean up the governing documents, as well as rectify any deficiencies which have been noted within the documents. This has been hard work, and it is nowhere near finished since these documents have not seen a large scale editing in many years. I hope to continue this work next year with the Senators and Justices so that the Constitution and By-Laws can be clear, concise, and serve the purpose of serving WOU students.”
Jenesa Ross
Fourth-year biology major
“While advocating for the students of Western Oregon University is an overarching duty of any student government member, in regards to the position of Judicial Administrator, I am also excited to carry on the work I have been doing these past years. Within the Judicial Board, the Justices and I have been holding all groups within ASWOU to a higher standard. I have implemented a system of legislation
review which has made the Judicial Board more efficient and effective as an interpretive body, and has led to the large scale editing of the ASWOU Constitution and By-Laws, as well as the creation of Statutes for our Clubs and Organizations. This editing process has served to clarify and clean up the governing documents, as well as rectify any deficiencies which have been noted within the documents. This has been hard work, and it is nowhere near finished since these documents have not seen a large scale editing in many years. I hope to continue this work next year with the Senators and Justices so that the Constitution and By-Laws can be clear, concise, and serve the purpose of serving WOU students.”

SAB Director:

Javier Garcia
Second-year business major
“Have different events. I already learned this year what worked and what did not work with some events, so I know where to spend more time in improving.”

Maggie MacKenzie
Second-year
communication studies and dance major
“I want to bring performers that the students want to see, and put on events that students are interested in. I would love to get more students involved in SAB and involved in our events. We love to have students either perform or help put on the creation of the event, and I want to get as many students involved, if they wish, as I can. I also want to make sure that every person who attends an event feels welcomed and that we are glad they are there.”

2015-2016 ASWOU leadership positions up for election

By Conner Williams
 Staff Writer

The student government positions of the Associated Students of Western Oregon University are open for all-student elections starting the week of April 20 -24.

The ASWOU General Elections Applications are due by today, April 3 by 5 p.m. Once all of the applications have been processed, the candidate list will be announced and made public on Monday, April 6.

According to information from Cat Bracken, elections committee chair and ASWOU director of public relations, the election process spans for about three weeks, and each contender has the opportunity to campaign for his or her desired position.

The first week, April 6-10, is “mainly informational, where the candidates learn the campaign rules,” Bracken said.

The second week, April 13-17, is Campaign Week. Bracken said that week is “where the candidates campaign to the students to try and secure possible voters.”

During these first two weeks, there will be two candidate forums in which students have the opportunity to ask each candidate questions. Then, once the campaigning and forums are finished, voting will begin.

The system for voting in this year’s election is set to change slightly from voting systems of past elections.

“In the past, voting has been done through the Portal,” Bracken said. “The hope for this year is to hold the voting through OrgSync.”

Bracken said, “I am working with Megan Habermann and our OrgSync Campus Coordinator to try and make this possible.”

Profiles of all the candidates will be featured in The Journal prior to the elections.

Once the votes have been counted, the elects will begin their terms at 5 p.m. on Monday, June 1 and will then hold office for one academic year, through spring term of 2016.

Bergeson Resigns

By Rachel Shelley
 Freelancer

Great Northwest Athletic Conference Coach of the Year Brady Bergeson will be leaving Western after four years as head coach of the men’s basketball program. Bergeson heads to Regis University in Colorado, another NCAA Division II team, as the new men’s head basketball coach.

Bergeson led the Wolves to season and program highs this past season, finishing with a record of 69-45 (.605) through his career. He also leaves with the seventh most wins as a coach in school history.

Ten All-GNAC players, one GNAC Player of the Year, one GNAC Newcomer of the Year and the first NCAA basketball All-American in Western men’s basketball program history and
have played under Bergeson.

He also led the 2014-15 season team to Western’s first-ever GNAC regular season title and the first tip to the NCAA Division II National Tournament as part of the West Regional.

During the same season, Bergeson broke the 20-win season mark, the first time since the 1996-97 season as well as the program’s first-ever NCAA Division II national ranking. Western ranked as high as No. 15 in the National Association of Basketball Coaches’ Poll.

“The national ranking is a great honor. It’s something that is in the history books and our kids and fans can be proud of. Additionally, we are proud that we have been able to give national recognition to our university,” Bergeson said in an interview Feb. 4.

Prior to coaching at Western, Bergeson earned his master’s degree in negotiation, conflict resolution and peace-building from Cal State Dominguez Hills in 2007 after earning an undergraduate degree in psychology with honors from Chapman in 2000.

At Chapman, Bergeson played point guard where he finished his four years with a 66-34 record and was the Student- Athlete of the Year and team captain during his senior year.

Final Four

Western has entered the final stage of the process to replace retiring university president Mark Weiss.

After Weiss announced his retirement, a search committee was created to help select his replacement. As of March 30, Western had announced four finalist candidates to take
over the position: Dr. Rex Fuller, Dr. Fernando Delgado, Dr. Margaret Madden and Dr. Christopher Ames.

According to current Western president, Mark Weiss, the most important consideration in selecting a new leader is to look for a candidate who “has distinguished themselves
as leaders and understand the importance of institutions like Western, and the difference we make in the lives of our graduates.”

Weiss said, “I am delighted to say that each of our candidates has shown this potential from their previous work in a university structure.”

It is clear from the brief biographies in the most recent press release published by the search committee that all of the candidates have served at similar levels of higher education administration before being considered for Western’s presidency.

Fuller served as provost and vice president of academic affairs at Eastern Washington University (EWU) since 2010. Fuller oversaw the development of the EWU College of
Health Science and Public Health.

Delgado serves as provost and vice chancellor of academic affairs at the University of Wisconsin-River Falls since 2009. Delgado began his career in education administration
serving as a dean for both MSU-Mankato and Hamline University.

Since 2002, Madden has served as provost and vice president of academic affairs at State University of New York (SUNY) – Postdam. Her focus was in expanding and improving
the network of campuses that comprised the widespread SUNY.

Ames is currently the vice president for academic affairs at Shepherd University in West Virginia. He supervises seven academic deans in addition to the school’s division II
athletics program.

The committee tasked with selecting the possible candidates was organized by Judy Vanderburg, director of human resources, and contains a wide range of individuals representing Western, the alumni and the Oregon University System.

The committee is chaired by Jim Francesconi who is a member of the Oregon State Board of Higher Education. While the search committee has made their recommendation of the four finalist candidates, OUS has the final decision of who will actually be appointed.

According to Western’s website, “the OUS Board will be making the final decision regarding the next president since the first WOU Board of Trustees doesn’t become active by law until July 1, 2015.”

Before OUS can consider their final decision, the search committee and the Western board of trustees will make a recommendation of their first choice candidate from the four finalists.

Part of the discussion concerning the committee’s vetting process will take place behind closed doors, but the Western community and student body will have a chance to participate through campus interview sessions of the four finalists.

The candidates will be participating in various activities through the first two weeks of spring term, and each candidate will participate in an open hearing style interview in which students and faculty along with the community are welcome to ask questions.

As of today, Delgado and Ames have already participated in their open forums and community receptions.

Madden will have her open forum April 6 from 3:30-5 p.m. in Rice Auditorium to be followed by community reception in the foyer from 5-6:30 p.m. Fuller is scheduled to have his open forum April 7 from 3:30-5 p.m. in Rice Auditorium. The community reception for Fuller is also in the auditorium foyer from 5-6:30 p.m.

After each forum, attendees are asked to fill out a campus reaction survey online (https://wou.edu/president/presidentialsearch/) located in a link below their respective profiles on the presidential search website. This survey will ask respondents basic information about their role at Western and their reactions to the candidates during the events.

The results of the survey will be combined with the results of the private interviews conducted by the committee before they submit their candidate recommendation to OUS.

Weiss, who previously served at Western as the vice president of finance and administration, said he “under-went a similar procedure of vetting and recommendations for my initial position.” Weiss was appointed to the presidency by OUS four years ago.

After Weiss officially retires, he hopes to stay as involved in campus as is appropriate.

“I expect to attend campus-related events but I am mindful that with my retirement I must provide clear separation, respectfully, for the new board and president,” Weiss said.

“I can tell you this has been the most gratifying position I’ve had the pleasure to have because of the positive impact this institution makes in the lives of so many of our students,” Weiss concluded.

The new president will officially be taking office July 1, 2015.

For more information regarding the presidential search, resumes and biographies of possible candidates, or the timeline for the appointment of a new president, go to https://wou.edu/president/presidentialsearch/ or contact Judy Vanderburg at vanderj@wou.edu.

Child Care and Development Center Receives Prestigious Award

IMG_011123
Kids take a break at award-winning Child Development Center. PHOTO BY SHANNEN BROUNER – CAMPUS PHOTOGRAPHER

 

By JACK ARMSTRONG
News Editor

Western’s Teaching Research Institute and Child Development Center was recently awarded a five-star rating by the Oregon Quality Rating and Improvement System.

TRI-CDC, Western’s child care center, is located in Todd Hall. Students, staff, faculty and community members’ children between the ages of 30 months and 10 years can spend their day at the center enrolled in a variety of classes and activities while their parents attend or teach class across campus.

TRI-CDC director Ingrid Amerson said, “having TRI-CDC on campus is a huge draw to perspective faculty and students.”

For 35 years, the center has been open to Western’s community of parents. According to Amerson, the center offers an opportunity for busy student-parents to “know that their child is being cared for in a safe and stimulating environment”
The center also offers an opportunity for Western students, who are focused on education and early childhood development, to volunteer and hone their skills.

Students can “volunteer in our program to enhance their skills working with the children, and learn about developmentally appropriate practices through hands-on experience,” Amerson said.

Amerson also said that students have the opportunity to “work in our Center when positions become available,” allowing for interested students to gain resume-building job hours.

TRI-CDC offers new parents a wide range of parenting-centric seminars and classes. According to Amerson, parents have the chance to learn more about the child-rearing process at the center at least twice a year.

The draw of TRI-CDC for prospective students and faculty with children has been boosted by the Oregon QRIS awarding the center its highest rating of five stars.

Oregon’s Early Learning Division oversees the Oregon QRIS, a rating system developed by early childhood development experts from Western.

The award is a certification by Oregon state officials that TRI-CDC has “demonstrated to the state, the community and the families that we excel to the highest levels in the
essential standards that support quality learning for all children,” according to Amerson.

“We worked hard to achieve this award,” Amerson said.

TRI-CDC spent more than a year compiling a portfolio that demonstrated the center’s proficiency in a number of state standards such as learning and development, family
partnerships and business practices among others.

The five-star rating lasts for three years, at which point TRI-CDC will have to prepare another portfolio for review. Amerson said the center will definitely “go through a process for the rating to be renewed.”

The center is currently looking to expand its operations to further benefit the Western parent community.

Amerson said that by mid-spring the center will be “refreshing both our indoor and outdoor learning classrooms with new furnishings to give us an up-to-date environment.”

TRI-CDC is also partnering with other programs such as Central School District, Community Action Head Start and Polk County to open the Central Child Development Center.

The new center is focused around teen parents with infants and toddlers. Amerson said “enrollment will include children of Central High School teen parents” as well as infants and toddlers of Western students and faculty.

Funding for these expansions will come in part as a direct result of the five-star rating. As a reward for the TRI-CDC receiving five stars, the Oregon QRIS awarded the center $3,500 in grant money.

The work toward improvement is unfinished even after the rating was announced.

“Continuous quality improvement is the heart of the QRIS. Our field is changing quickly with new research helping us determine how to best meet the needs of our children and families,” Amerson said.

For more information about the TRI-CDC, how to enroll a child, or the center’s programs, contact Ingrid Amerson at iamerson@mail.wou.edu or call 503-838-8783.

ASWOU looks to improve student input

By CONNER WILLIAMS
Staff Writer

In mid-February, the Associated Students of Western administered a representation survey through the OrgSync portal page.

According to ASWOU President Corbin Garner, the email prompt to take the survey was sent to about 6,800 students and faculty alike.

About 155 people have participated in the survey thus far. Anyone that has yet to take it has until the third week of April. The survey will be active until the upcoming ASWOU elections.

To take the survey, participants must be logged in to their WOU Portal page and select the green OrgSync link at the top of the page. A link to the survey is on the OrgSync home page and takes about five minutes to complete.

The survey has two sections. The first four questions ask students if they feel ASWOU effectively represents their interests and concerns, with answer options ranging from “strongly agree” to “strongly disagree,” and a “neutral” middle response.

The second part of the survey says that ASWOU is “evaluating models of representation for its students on campus, in the community, and to that state,” and then asks students which model they feel does a better job representing them.

The first model “encourages cooperation with other university student governments to accomplish a broader student movement and its goals.”

This external model of representation allows ASWOU to coordinate with and learn from other student governments more often and effectively by attending conferences and other state and federal events.

The second model is an internal one that differs from the external model in that, according to the survey, it “encourages cooperation with different student groups on campus: with administrators, staff, and faculty to accomplish goals for the university as a whole.”

The internal model focuses on representing the students and faculty at Western and identifying issues that affect students directly.

The survey then asks participants their school year, as well as which groups on campus they are involved with.

The survey has resulted in a 39.10 percent response of “somewhat agree” that ASWOU’s student representation is effective, and a 4.49 percent response of “somewhat disagree” for the same category.

Garner mentioned that it was important to note that about 45 percent of respondents stated that they “know little” about ASWOU.

“These results have led to the implementation of changes in policy,” Garner said. One of the proposed changes involves a requirement for all ASWOU executives to take one hour per week of their scheduled time to go out on the campus and talk to students.

The goal is to hopefully provide a greater base of knowledge about ASWOU itself, as well as address any concerns students might have.

Garner encourages students and faculty to take the survey, as it allows ASWOU to gain an understanding of their effectiveness and find ways to improve.

Door Debut

Photo By Shannon Brouner - Staff Photographer
Photo By Shannon Brouner – Staff Photographer

By CONNER WILLIAMS
Staff Writer

Construction of Western’s bookstore is expected to be finished as of today, March 13. Construction of the door began on Feb. 23.
The old door was a roll-down-style fire door that had many technical issues.

Whenever the electricity to the old unit was shut off, intentionally or not, the door would close suddenly without warning, creating an extremely hazardous condition for anyone nearby.

“This happened multiple times, and each time the manufacturer came out to fix it, it cost the university thousands of dollars,” said Chris Rupp, textbook purchaser for the bookstore.

Rupp also added that instead of spending excess money on numerous attempts to fix the issue with the old door, the new door could have been purchased sooner instead.

According to Patrick Moser, interim director of the Werner University Center, the cost of the new door amounted to about $32,000. Moser also said the frequent need for repair made it cost prohibitive to keep the old door.

“The new door is also more aesthetically pleasing,” Moser said, while additionly offering increased safety and functionality features.

While still remaining fire safe, the new door is transparent, and it opens on frame-mounted hinges like a traditional door.

“It allows students and customers to have the ability to actually see into the store, unlike the previous one,” Moser said.

The new door is expected to last longer and be more cost effective than the old roll-down-style unit.

Dancing with Wolves

By GUY PERRIN
Staff Writer

The men’s basketball team will make their debut in the NCAA Division II men’s basketball tournament when they take on number-one seed Azusa Pacific University Friday, March 13.

The Wolves, who made their first-ever appearance at the Great Northwest Athletic Conference tournament, earned an at-large bid from the selection committee thanks to an impressive 23-6 regular season record in the.

“I am looking forward to our first game, and that is all what’s in my mind,” said forward Andy Avgi, who was voted GNAC Player of the Year.

Despite the upset in the GNAC conference tournament semifinals to rival Western Washington, Western will play in the NCAA D II tournament.

The Wolves got 29 points from Avgi but couldn’t quite catch up after Western Washington used a 21-10 scoring run in the firsthalf to take a nine-point lead into halftime.

On a 10-game winning streak, the Vikings shot an incredible 61 percent from the field to hold off Western in the second half to claim the 88-79 victory and advance to the final.

“The motivation is always there but what the loss did was make us beg for a second chance,” said guard Devon Alexander. “Now that we got a second chance, every little detail is crucial. When we heard our name called, the whole team went bananas because we know how big this is for us as a team and university.”

Despite the loss, the NCAA tournament selection committee deemed the Wolves regular season performance worthy of a spot in the Big Dance. This will be Western’s second time facing Azusa Pacific this season. Previously, the Cougars prevailed 81-74 in a back and forth contest.

The Wolves have already shattered expectations this season.

In addition to their GNAC tournament debut and a berth to the NCAA tournament, the Wolves earned three post-season individual awards: Avgi, GNAC Player of the Year; guard Julian Nichols, Newcomer of the Year; and head coach Brady Bergeson Coach of Year.

“It’s been an amazing year so far,” Nichols said. “It’s an honor to have received the award, but I could not have gotten it without my teammates and coaches believing in me, and all the hard work that’s been put in.

First year here and making it to regionals — it’s always been a goal of ours. We’re looking to take it one game at a time and simply enjoying the moment.”

Web comics you SHOULD be reading

By Declan Hertel
Staff Writer

There are things on the internet. You know
this. Several of these things are “webcomics,”
much like the comics in the local comic store or
the ones in the Sunday paper, except with more
creative freedom. There are so many it can be difficult
to sort through them all, so below I have offered
some of my favorites. Give these a look-see!

“Hark! A Vagrant” by Kate Beaton: A perfect
blend of eloquence and slang, Beaton delivers
laugh-out-loud hilarious strips about historical
figures, mythology, literature, and one particularly
silly mash-up of “The X-Files” and “Pride
and Prejudice.” One of the most admirable things
about the comic is that even if you are unfamiliar
with the subject matter referenced, you will always
find something to laugh about. Beaton, for
all her skill at allusion and commentary, will never
make you feel stupid. Her illustrations have
a charming sketchy quality to them, and her comedic
ability with facial expressions is second to
none. “WICKED CHIVALROUS.”

“Broodhollow” by Kris Straub: This psychological
horror comic tells the story of the young
Wadsworth Zane, a paranoid, neurotic, encyclopedia
salesman who is brought to the town of
Broodhollow to accept the inheritance left to him
by an unknown relative. It is a stellar entry in my
favorite genre of fiction: “strange-things-happenin-
small-town.” All the inhabitants of Broodhollow
are quirky and rounded, the horror is spot on
and scary as hell, with all the ghouls and ghosties
rendered brilliantly and beautifully by Straub, juxtaposed
with the frankly adorable cartoony art style of
the rest of the work. I read the entire second “book” in
one night. Near the end, I was terrified, my heart was
racing, and I was pleading with no one that things
were not actually as they seemed. Both charming and
scary, this is one I cannot recommend enough.
“Perry Bible Fellowship” by Nicholas Gurewitch:
I’m not sure where to begin with this one, other
than with the fact that I love it. A classic among
webcomics, some strips are depressing, some hilarious,
some incredibly dark, and some utterly inexplicable.
PBF is always weird and irreverent, but rarely
misses the mark. Gurewitch’s art is particularly impressive
and varied. Some strips are done in a simple,
colorful, lined style. Others are astoundingly beautiful
and well-crafted, and would be breathtaking were
it not for the fact they’re depicting Jesus in a fistfight
with Ganesha.
“Toothpaste for Dinner” by Drew: I grew up
with Gary Larson’s “The Far Side,” and as such, I
have a special place in my heart for single panel comics,
and “Toothpaste for Dinner” is one of my favorites
in the genre. I can best describe the art style as “three
minutes.” All the comics appear to have been drawn
very quickly in the short while between getting a
funny idea and working that funny idea to death. As
such, many comics are very funny while some are just
baffling, but it’s never unentertaining.

Wolves improve to No. 15 in the country

By JACOB HANSEN
 Staff Writer

Aired as the ROOT Sports Great Northwest Athletic Conference Game of the Week, the men’s basketball team defeated GNAC rival Saint Martin’s University 66-56 on Feb. 11 — a win that clinched the conference’s first berth to this year’s GNAC tournament. The No. 15 Wolves are now the highest-ranked West Coast team in this week’s poll.

“To be in the Top 20 nationally is a great honor not only for the program, but for the university as well,” said Head Coach Brady Bergeson. “Our guys have worked hard all season and to be recognized on a national stage is such an honor.”

Bergeson was featured in Monday’s edition (Feb. 16) of the Orange County Register, which is a newspaper that serves the Southern California communities of Anaheim, Long Beach, San Juan Capistrano and more. Bergeson’s career, family and team at Western are referenced in the article.

The Wolves (21-3 overall, 13-1 GNAC) were once again lead by offensive juggernaut forward Andy Avgi who was 10-of-11 from the field and had a game-high 22 points. Avgi has scored double figures in 23-of-24 games this season alone and has scored 1,130 points during his 71-game career as a Wolf.

Guard Julian Nichols did his part contributing 11 points, four rebounds and four assists. Forwards Marwan Sarhan and Lewis Thomas had eight rebounds a piece. Sarhan had eight points of his own.
“Just look at what the big men did, they really pulled though,” Nichols said.

Nichols ranks second in the GNAC in both assists per game (with an average of 6.0) and in free-throw percentage, hitting 86.7 percent (72-for-83) of his shots when fouled.

As a team, Western combined to shoot 26-for-51 (51 percent) from the field which included 61.5 percent (16-for-25) in the first half. The Wolves also shot a combined 3-for-15 (20 percent) from beyond the three-point line and 11-of-17 (64.7 percent) at the free throw line.

The Wolves hosted Western Washington on Thursday, Feb. 19 (The Journal went to print before the end of the game). For the final home game of the season, the Wolves host Simon Fraser Saturday, Feb. 21 at 4 p.m. for Senior Night, honoring their four seniors.

“We have to keep the streak going,” Sarhan said. “All of the faculty and staff will be there and we want as many students as possible to come too. These are big.”

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber resigns amid ethics scandal

PHOTO FROM OREGON.GOV Former Secretary of State Kate Brown was sworn in as Oregon’s 38th governor on Feb. 15.
PHOTO FROM OREGON.GOV
Former Secretary of State Kate Brown was sworn in as Oregon’s 38th governor on Feb. 15.
By JACK ARMSTRONG
 News Editor

Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber has resigned after mounting pressure from constituents and fellow legislators amid allegations of ethical wrongdoing by the four-term democrat and his fiancée, Cylvia Hayes.

Prosecutors allege that Hayes used Kitzhaber’s position to funnel government contracts to her environmental consulting firm 3E Solutions. Hayes also used the title “First Lady of Oregon” while speaking on paid, for-profit tours and consulting jobs.

A subpoena requesting a wide range of documents concerning the investigation was delivered to the governor’s office just prior to his resignation.

As the investigation into possible violations of ethical policies by the former governor continues, Oregon appointed Kate Brown (Democrat) to run the state in the interim.

Kate Brown was sworn in as Oregon’s 38th governor Wednesday, Feb. 18. She has previously served for five years in the Oregon House of Representatives, and 12 years in the Oregon Senate.

Unlike most other states, Oregon does not have a lieutenant governor, the office that normally succeeds the governor if they are not able to carry out their term. Brown held the next office in line of succession, secretary of state.

Governor Brown came to Oregon initially to attend Lewis and Clark Law School with a focus in environmental law.

After being elected as secretary of state in 2008, she led the creation of the online voter registration system to make voting more accessible for Oregonians. She also headed various committees striving for more clarity in the state legislative process.

She is well known for her years of service to the state, but as she has moved further into the public spotlight, she has also become known for her sexual orientation.

Governor Brown is a self-declared bisexual, and is the first governor in United States history to be openly bisexual.
While she is married to a man, Dan Little (now First Gentleman of Oregon), Governor Brown has stated that she is attracted to both sexes.

Her sexual orientation has come with its share of difficulties. In an essay Governor Brown submitted for the “Out and Elected in the USA” project in 1992, she wrote “some days I feel like I have a foot in both worlds, yet never really belonging to either.”

She experienced resistance from fellow legislators after a story published in The Oregonian revealed her bisexuality to the public.
Her public outing did not slow her drive to enact legislative policy that took aim at inequality in civil rights and marriage issues.

According to her official state biography, she helped pass the “Oregon Equality Act.” This act officially took effect in 2007 and addressed issues of discrimination in housing on the basis of sexual orientation.

Seeing the success of the Equality Act, Brown became instrumental in passing the “Family Fairness Act” which brings legal recognition to committed same-sex partners, allowing them to gain the same protections as heterosexual domestic partnerships.

Brown’s most lauded achievement has been the streamlining of small business licensing procedures in Oregon with the Business Xpress website. The site enables business owners to conduct the majority of their licensing processes rather than having to deal with physical paperwork.

The new governor will remain in interim office until 2016, at which time she will have the option of running to win the last two years of Kitzhaber’s term in a general election.

IFC and ASWOU Debate Fees *UPDATE*

By JACK ARMSTRONG
 News Editor

Western’s Incidental Fee Committee and Associated Students of Western Oregon have both voted to ratify controversial budget decisions made by IFC for the 2015-2016 academic year.

If approved by university President Mark Weiss, the per-term fee for 2015-2016 will increase $5 from 2014-2015 to $327, or $981 per year total.

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 to uphold the majority of the preliminary decision Monday, Feb. 16, but several changes were made before the budget was ratified.

The committee first considered the changes to the overall budgets of each funded area. Once again the debate focused on athletics and the possible 5 percent cut.

Several of the voting members relayed the information they had gathered during the open hearings, and Barbara Dearing, executive director of intercollegiate athletics, made a final appeal to reverse the decision.

The committee ultimately ratified all of the general budgets from the preliminary decision for each funded area.

Every budget except for athletics was approved with a unanimous vote. Only six of the eight committee members voted to uphold the 5 percent cut to athletics while two members abstained.

While calling the meeting to order, IFC Chair Quinn Forner addressed the recent debate surrounding the divisive cut to athletics. “Any decision will make a lot of people unhappy, especially in a lean budget year like the one we are facing,” Forner said.

After the general budgets were approved, the committee moved on to vote concerning enhancement requests.

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

While most of the funded areas had no change to the decisions made about enhancements in the preliminary budget, athletics, creative arts and campus recreation experienced reductions in previously approved enhancements.

Athletics had been initially approved for an enhancement to replace
the football program’s coordinator headsets that are used by coaches to talk to each other during the games.

The headset replacement unit, priced at $43,712, was taken away in the final decision leaving athletics with $14,060 budgeted for other
enhancements.

Speaking on the decision to remove the headset funding, Forner said “we recognized the need for additional athlete safety, and we felt other department requests would fill the same need.”

Removing the headset enhancement was intended to free up funds for the creation of electronic athlete medical records, a new weight room treadmill, and padding for the fence surrounding the softball field (a NCAA requirement).

Creative arts had initially been approved funding to continue to offer free tickets for Western students to all on-campus performances and productions. IFC voted down this initial approval.

Committee member Jessica Hand explained that “there wasn’t enough data provided by the department about student attendance to provide
approval,” but she added that if enough evidence could be provided next year, IFC would consider reversing their decision. The committee also decided to deny the hiring of a new drum line instructor for creative arts, reducing the overall enhancements granted to the group by $11,748.

IFC then voted to alter campus recreations’ enhancements by removing the funding allotted to hire a new executive accounting and support specialist for the department. This resulted in the allotted funds being reduced by $32,402.

After IFC voted their final decision, the budget was sent for review by the ASWOU senate on Wednesday, Feb. 18.

ASWOU is the official student government of Western. Members are elected by the student body to serve as representation in various capacities like administrative meetings.

Much like the United States branches of government, ASWOU, IFC, and Western’s administration all act as oversight for each other. Jenessa Ross, ASWOU judicial administrator said, “ASWOU reviews the IFC process, not the numbers submitted.”

Voting on IFC’s process is a way for ASWOU to review the guidelines
and rules that the fee committee followed while making the preliminary and final decisions.

“ASWOU is a check and balance system,” Ross said.

One of the guidelines discussed was student body involvement. ASWOU members noted the official IFC handbook which states that the fee committee must do their best to create a budget that represents the majority opinion of students.

ASWOU’s vote was unanimous with all five voting members expressing confidence that the incidental fee committee had performed their job within the necessary rules and regulations.

Now that ASWOU has ratified IFC’s decision, the process now moves to President Weiss. According to the IFC regulations, Weiss has to make a decision “no later than (5) days” after the budget has been received by his office.

If the president was to decide that the budget presented was unacceptable, IFC would meet again to attempt to reach a compromise.

Disclaimer: The Journal is funded through Incidental Fees via Student Media

Faculty senate passes divestment resolution

By LAURA KNUDSON
 Editor-in-Chief

The faculty senate is encouraging Western’s Development Foundation to investigate and provide information on fossil fuel divestment.

In an (18-4-0) vote, the senate passed a resolution Tuesday calling for the collaboration of the foundation, environmental club, Associated Students of
Western Oregon University, and the administration.

Divesting refers to getting rid of stocks, bonds or investment funds that are part of the fossil fuel industry.

The foundation is a private, nonprofit organization that financially assists the college through investment returns and gifts from donors. Last school year, the foundation’s total revenue was $4,302,690 according to their audit report.

Earlier this year, the environmental club, comprised of about 15 to 20 members launched a divestment campaign, collecting signatures in favor of divestment, representing more than 10 percent of the student body. They also protested outside at a Dec. 6 foundation meeting after being denied a spot on the agenda.

Foundation meetings are closed for confidentiality, so groups or individuals must be invited to speak.

Karl Amspacher, environmental club member, recently submitted a resolution to ASWOU, calling for the foundation to divest over the next five years or explain their reasoning if they chose not to.

In a 0-5-0 vote Jan. 28, the ASWOU senate did not approve the resolution. At the same meeting, Amspacher asked the Senate to withdraw the resolution because, “It felt like it wasn’t going to pass, and it’d be better to have something pass then have it voted down,” he said.

Since Senator Braden Shribbs had written the legislation and is, therefore, the only one who can withdraw it, the vote took place because Shribbs was absent from the meeting.

Corbin Garner, ASWOU president, said the resolution was not approved because “the students [senators] conversed with were not well informed, and we felt that divestment at this point was not the right option.”

Amspacher was disappointed in the decision to move forward with the vote. “They could have tabled it indefinitely,” Amspacher said. “Instead they chose to vote on it, and they voted unanimously.” He added there is clear student support in favor of divestment and ASWOU is “disregarding their mission” as a voice for students. “Whatever their motives are, it’s not in support of students,” he said.

ASWOU has not taken a stance on divestment, Garner said, because, “We don’t feel it’s our place to take a side.” The environmental club plans to introduce legislation to ASWOU modeled after the faculty senate legislation that was passed.

Dr. Emily Plec, co-adviser of the environmental club, has taken over for Mark VanSteeter, who is on sabbatical. Plec said the club is shifting their strategy to a “longer approach focused on multiple goals.”

By working to increase campus awareness and educate on divestment, they will “pull back from the force with which they had approached foundation partners in finding out more information,” she said.

“There’s been this perception on campus that the foundation has avoided any conversation and that’s not true,” Tommy Love, executive director in the Office of University Advancement and Western Development Foundation said in a Tuesday interview.

While the foundation does not disclose where they invest, Love did contact the foundation fund managers, Ferguson Wellman Capital Management in Portland, requesting information on the foundation’s investments in energy.

He was provided with a graphic demonstrating 5 percent of the foundation’s endowments are in energy. Of that 5 percent, not all is necessarily in fossil fuels, Love said.

Fund managers who weighed in also disagree with divestment, Love said. “They don’t think it will have any impact.” “We’re not giving these companies an influx of cash; we’re buying an ownership stake,” Love said. “That’s essentially what stock is.”

Love is not alone in this regard. “I don’t think divestment deals with it in the slightest,” President Mark Weiss said in a phone interview Wednesday.

While Weiss acknowledges climate change is a serious issue, he said, “There’s no incentive to not burn fossil fuels. It doesn’t do anything to solve the problem.”

“I absolutely agree with Mark when he says that the WOU foundation divesting will not impact the industry in any quantifiable way,” Plec said in an email Wednesday.

For Amspacher, divestment is about doing the ethical thing. “Western’s foundation by itself is not going to have a big impact,” Amspacher said. “While it’s just symbolic, if other schools follow what we do, then it loses its purely symbolic action and it becomes something with a tangible impact.”

Though both sides may be in agreement that divesting will have little-to no impact on fossil fuel companies, the question has been raised whether or not
it could hurt student scholarship money brought in by the foundation.

With the first American college, Hampshire College, Mass. having divested in 2011 according to gofossilfree.org, quantitative data of divestment’s impact is hard to come by. This leaves Love unsure of the consequences when it comes to student scholarship money.

“To say that by having our school divest, our financial returns won’t be hurt is untrue and unpredictable,” Love said in a presentation to ASWOU Jan. 14 according to senate minutes.

In the 2013-2014 fiscal year, the foundation awarded $663,669 in scholarship support.

Love said the risk of losing financial returns and hurting scholarships for students is prevalent.

“We have the moral obligation to provide as many scholarships as we can,” he said. “At this time the foundation is not looking to divest.”

“Some universities have received new donations specifically because they divested, and it is possible that some donors do not support divestment,” said a Jan. 22 memo from Plec and VanSteeter addressed to faulty senate.

However, “Some of our most significant contributions for the benefit of students and our campus have come from individuals in the business chain of big oil,”
Weiss said in a Wednesday email.

In a follow-up phone interview, Weiss said, “Just in the past two years, we’ve gotten approximately $3 million from donors that have ties to energy.” Some significant donors have ties to road construction companies or major trucking
companies, he added.

Weiss said he wants to see the conversation shift toward solving global warming and what can be done on campus.

Love said just because the foundation doesn’t support divestment doesn’t mean they’re not interested in a discussion on climate change.

Plec said the environmental club will focus the rest of this term on educating the campus. Beginning this term, they will also work to give the foundation incentive to divest. This will be done through divestment initiative donation
request forms given out to organizations, institutions, donors and individuals.

Money raised from pledges would work to offset any possible short-term negative financial divestment consequences. The form can be found on the environmental
club’s Facebook page.

“Whether or not we succeed with divestment, we’re going to measure our success by how informed and thoughtful people are about the issue,” Plec said. “I think when you make real social changes, there’s a lot of leg work involved.”

Finding a way to make divestment profitable for Western is the environmental club’s new goal. Plec said it’s time to “put our money where our ethics and values are.”

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