Mount Hood

Ron Swartzendruber, a pillar at University Computing Services who dedicated over 21 years of service to Western, passed away on Feb. 19.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  | News Editor

Friends who knew Ron Swartzendruber best describe him as someone who built bridges — a man who connected databases as much as he connected people. On Feb. 19, he passed away at the age of 48 after suffering a sudden cardiac arrest, and is survived by his wife, Whitney Ware; parents, Warren and Jackie; and brother, Erik. 

Bill Kernan, the Director of the University Computing Services department, is the man who originally hired Swartzendruber back when the university’s server was on a PC sitting in the basement of the Administrative Building. Though it was originally thought that he would only be staying for five years, Swartzendruber went on to dedicate over 21 years of service to Western as one of its main programmers at UCS. Western’s portal, as well as many other programs utlized on campus, are credited, in part, to Swartzendruber’s endeavors. The campus lost an asset in the programming world, but those at UCS lost a friend. 

Kolis Crier, the Banner Solutions and Integrations Manager at UCS, recalled the first time he met Swartzendruber, saying “he had a welcoming and happy spirit … and an infectious laugh.” Crier, whose desk has neighbored Swartzendruber’s for years, added that, “he was always engaged, he always had the answer, or was willing to share information.”

Yet, according to Kernan, he had no ego whatsoever —  a characteristic that Kernan called a “rarity” in the IT world, considering Swartzendruber’s intelligence. In fact, Swartzendruber was an active member on Quora, an online platform for sharing information, where it was discovered he made over 5,000 posts in his lifetime, many of them responses to people struggling with personal issues.

“Ron had a ministry on Quora. He helped thousands of people he didn’t know, for no other reason than the fact that he likes helping people,” said Tony Manso, the Mobile and Systems Programmer at UCS. 

In one of the last posts before his passing, Swartzendruber responded to a prompt that read “Is it good to demonize the reality of our world by making it worse in our mind and then experience it with less pain?” 

His answer?

“If we have trained ourselves to expect the worst, it would be far harder to choose anything besides staying in our comfort zone and letting life pass us by …. that’s too high a price for whatever reduction in pain we might get gain in exchange,” said Swartzendruber. 

A man who always wore Birkenstocks unless it was snowing, and who loved Sci-fi and Cliff Bars, Swartzendruber was “a teacher … and the glue between many of the staff and groups at UCS,” according to Michael Ellis, the Assistant Director of UCS.

Members of the UCS team have identified over 40 projects in which Swartzendruber was the main contributor. They are currently collaborating in order to finish what he left behind. 

“Ron’s scope was so large, that we’re just having to pick off the most important ones first,” said Kernan.

Since Swartzendruber was an avid cyclist who biked to work every day and once even across the United States, there are plans for one of his bicycles to be incorporated into a sculpture in his memory. And, there will be two services to honor Swartzendruber; one will be a private family service, and the other will be held at Western on March 14th to celebrate his contributions to the university and to his campus community.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photos courtesy of Bill Kernan, Director of UCS

ASWOU’s Lobby Day at the Capitol was spent gaining support for legislation related to food insecurity, credit transferability, and diversity resources.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  | News Editor

Members of Western’s student goverment, the Associated Students of Western Oregon University, and additional student volunteers had only 10 to 15 minutes to advocate for issues pertaining to the entire student body during the last Lobby Day on Feb. 6. 

As a part of the Oregon Student Association, Western’s lobbyists met with Senators Betsy Johnson and Denise Boles and Representatives Brad Witt and Paul Evans to push for legislation supporting reductions in food insecurity, ease of credit transferability and the underrepresented student taskforce. These issues, “impact students across all public universities and community colleges in the state of Oregon,” according to N.J. Johnson, ASWOU’s Director of State and Federal Affairs. 

Johnson said that their strategy was to split the team into who would speak on each issue and who would make the final legislative ask, in which the members would learn if the legislators planned on offering their support.  

“The legislators cannot be educated on every bill; our job is to share a brief summary and our insights into how that impacts us as college students … and as we don’t have a lot of time to make things happen, we chose to advocate for bills that already had some momentum going,” said Johnson. 

For food insecurity, Western’s lobbyists focused on endorsing a bill that would force the legislature to compile data on food insecurity across college campuses in Oregon. If the data reveals high instances of food insecurity, legislators would then be expected to create legislation that helps fund food pantries and prevent food insecurity down the road, informed Johnson. 

Another issue that Western’s lobbyists focused on was credit transferability. During Lobby Day, Western student Susana Cerda-Ortiz, shared her experience as a transfer student who was told she would be required to take 18 credits per term her senior year or three to four years of schooling in total to graduate, even after having already received an associate’s degree. The bill that Western’s lobbyists were advocating for in regards to credit transferability is “a portal to creating a portal,” according to Johnson, who added, “it would force the universities and community colleges of Oregon to come together and unify their process so that students can transfer more easily.”

The last legislation that Western’s lobbyists advocated for was creating more representation for students who are underrepresented. Johnson stated that underrepresentation is broadly defined and applies to more than just the following: people who grew up in rural communities, low-income students, students of color and students with disabilities. In this case, the bill they were campaigning for would, “make university and campus spaces more inclusive to those folks,” said Johnson.

Currently, legislation is in the short session, a process which takes 35 days. 

Johnson called lobbying “empowering,” stating that “it’s an incremental process; you don’t always see immediate progress, but it matters.”

He encourages students to join youth lobby groups, and asked those interested in lobbying for Western students to contact him at aswoustate@mail.wou.edu.

“I think so many things happen legally because the stakeholders impacted most aren’t at the negotiation tables or involved in the conversations. Our job as the student government is to allow students who are affected to have their voices be heard,” Johnson concluded.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Emily Wanous, OSA lobbyist

Western implements a new simulation service, Kognito, to help students communicate about sensitive issues.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  | News Editor

Western’s Health and Counseling Center has recently implemented an interactive simulation service called Kognito to teach students communication strategies regarding emotional and psychological distress. 

Kognito is an online program co-founded by New York-based clinical psychologist and Baruch College professor, Dr. Glenn Albright, who originally developed the idea for the project when he recognized the need for faculty to have trauma-informed training after observing many students struggling. 

According to Kognito’s website, “his research involves integrating empirically-based findings drawn from neuroscience such as emotional regulation, mentalizing, and empathy, as well as components of social cognitive learning models including motivational interviewing and adult learning theory.” 

Kognito applies this research by employing a communication style known as “motivational interviewing,” which “helps people open up and make changes in their lives,” by reportedly making them feel less judged and more likely to open up, according to Albright.  

The simulations include computerized people programmed with personality and emotions and many are free and accessible to the public, available on one’s personal technological devices. And, since its inception, Kognito’s database has broadened to include simulations for veterans, K-12 students and teachers, members of the LGBTQ+ community, doctors and parental figures, teaching individuals how to approach sensitive topics and how to educate others about important issues, such as correct antibiotic use. 

At Western, the simulations are mostly used for educating students and faculty about how to talk to individuals who are experiencing psychological distress and how to motivate them to seek help from the counseling center.

Albright calls Kognito “a new and innovative simulation technology that can result in changes in people’s physical and emotional health which can be completed in privacy.”

Students can visit the SHCC, call 503-838-8313 or explore Kognito’s website for more details.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo by Kay Bruley

Philip Harding advocated for the HR763 Bill during his Feb. 18 lecture on sustainability, explaining how it creates jobs and supports innovation.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  | News Editor

Philip Harding didn’t come to Western to convince students to believe the research of climate scientists and he certainly didn’t come to blame individuals for the climate crisis: he came to help students realize that individual practices, while helpful, are not enough to spur change, and that, instead, they should consider supporting the HR763 bill.

A chemical engineer currently working as the Director of Technology and Sustainability for the Willamette Falls Paper Company, Harding spends his free time advocating for the bill as a member of the Citizens Climate Lobby both in Washington D.C. and at local universities, like he did at Western on Feb. 18.  

Because he works in manufacturing product development where his team is consistently trying to produce paper created from non-wood and recycled fiber, Harding says he recognizes that money is the central problem preventing change. 

“It’s really slow to get people to embrace (sustainability) … because of money,” Harding said. 

However, he believes that HR763 could provide a solution.

The bill, currently supported by over 80 legislators is “a proposal that would charge a fee for fossil fuel usage based on what we think people would need to gradually and predictably adapt, upon which the fee would be refunded to the people,” said Harding. 

Harding wants students to understand that pricing carbon isn’t negative and that it actually creates jobs by changing companies perceptions and forcing them to invest in clean energy. 

Harding invited students to participate in a role-playing scenario where they were to imagine themselves as investment bankers should HR763 pass. Following student responses, Harding said that he predicts that bankers would invest in renewable energy companies, who would then expand and hire humans who would then be able to afford renewable energy products, creating a cycle that would be mutually beneficial. 

Harding says that changing how we consume energy is a highly complicated issue that involves too many political fights. HR763, on the other hand, is a comprehensible solution.

Harding encouraged students to call their representatives to show support for the bill, stating that “all you have to do is care and believe in doing something positive” to make change. 

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

The Incidental Fee Committee’s partial preliminary decision shows large overall departmental cuts.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  | News Editor

Every year, the Incidental Fee Committee is tasked with determining how they are going to allocate funds permitted by student fees, if any changes to the incidental fees need to be made, and which departments will be granted enhancements or have their budgets cut. 

Over the past month, the student-run IFC has been debating these aspects while facing a $150,000 deficit reportedly caused by low enrollment, culminating in a final 5.5% cut proposal that drastically affects student resources. Their preliminary decision resulted in a $270,941 cut to base budgets, and only one enhancement was granted — $250 towards Campus Recreation.

“Before we started making preliminary cuts, the IFC members agreed to being apprehensive towards cuts that would put student safety at risk, decrease student wages, interfere with the growth rate of incoming students, and decrease the accessibility of childcare,” said Logan Baker, the Chairperson of the IFC. 

However, childcare was one of the top six areas affected by IFC’s preliminary decision — confronted by a 7% in budget cuts — and many other departments are facing cuts which directly correlate to student pay and accessibility to campus resources. 

Another impact of the proposed 5.5% cut would be a reduction in student pay — and study space — through the closing of Werner University Center on Saturdays. 

The alternative to making these cuts is to raise student’s incidental fees. Two plans are presently being considered to determine what students will be charged per campus credit, but a decision has not yet been reached regarding the projected percentage for that increase. President Rex Fuller has allegedly stated that he will veto any plan to raise the fees past 5%, a declaration that is being challenged by some students, department leaders and IFC members. 

Daniel Woolf, an elementary education major and Judicial Administrator of ASWOU stated that President Fuller’s position, “takes power away from the students who should be making that decision” and relayed his observation that “students (at the first preliminary hearing) overwhelmingly stated that they would be willing to pay more for (departmental) services.” 

A 5% increase of the current $375 incidental fee would result in an $18.75 increase per student, or $393.75 total.

If President Fuller vetoes the decision, mediations would then ensue. 

In the meantime, students passionate about how their fees are being allocated still have the opportunity to advocate for themselves during the next open hearing on Thursday, February 27, from 4-6 p.m. in the Pacific Room located in the Werner University Center.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Infographic by Kyle Morden 

A Q & A with former U.S Representatives, Rod Chandler and NIck Lampson, about the shifts in our political climate, and the growing need for civic literacy.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  | News Editor

Congress to Campus is a program focused on educating the public about and encouraging the practice of civic literacy and public service. Last Thursday, Feb. 13, former U.S. Representatives, Rod Chandler and Nick Lampson, came to Western as participants in the Congress to Campus program, and were intent to discuss those ideals. I sat down with them to learn more about it:

 

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about yourselves and your experiences as former representatives?

C: I represented the eighth congressional district in the state of Washington. I grew up in Oregon, attended Eastern Oregon College, and then graduated from Oregon State University. I have a Masters degree from UNLB in education.

L: I’m from Southeast Texas, and I represented the ninth congressional district until the state of Texas had a redistricting effort in 2003 and I lost the opportunity to serve in that district, so I moved to district 22 and ran again, going back to Congress for my fifth term.

 

Q: I understand that Congress to Campus is a program that focuses on civic literacy. Can you tell me a little about what civic literacy means to you and why it’s important?

L: I served in the Congress during a time of even greater transition than what was around while Rod served. He served mostly in the 80s and I served mostly in the 90s. The camaraderie that existed and, in my opinion, had done so much to help us achieve fantastic goals as a nation, began to wane. The ability for people to sit and enjoy conversations with another, work through difficult differences, and find common ground and compromise was going away. We seem to have less respect, less willingness to listen to our counterparts, and therefore less of an ability to achieve the goals of our nation. Our need for civility and a search for common ground is of the utmost importance if we are going to have good legislative action.

C: We want to inspire young people to participate. We aren’t coming in and saying “be a democrat, be a republican,” we’re saying “get involved.” Understand the issues, look at the candidates, and get involved in helping them get elected. Participate in the process of public policy itself; go to Salem, if you’re for something, go lobby for it, if you’re against it, go against it.

 

Q: My generation has been told since we were little that a lot of issues are going to be up to us. What are representatives doing to support young people who are trying to make a difference?

L: We’re going to college campuses. We want that engagement; we want to show why you should have an interest in the things that we have already done. You need to be preparing yourself to step into the shoes that we’ve worn before. It wasn’t too very long ago when we were in exactly that same situation as you, and we were looking up to people doing these things. They had the ability to inspire us to go and work in Congress. If we can leave a little bit of interest on the part of the students we’ve touched, then we will have accomplished our goal. We have to have you step into the positions to carry on what our founding fathers started 250 years ago, or we won’t continue to exist. 

 

Q: Early, you were discussing how some respect for opposing sides has diminished. In your opinion, is that being helped along by the media in any way? Are you seeing media misrepresentation of what Congress does?

C: I think the media looks for the sensational. Those seeking media attention behave sensationally. It is an element, for sure. Go back to, say, the 1960s, where you essentially had three major television networks and newspapers that were extremely thick. All of that has pretty much gone away with the news sources that we have now, and it’s really tragic.

L: I think it was an intentional effort by politicians to run against what we thought to be the mainstream media, a project of anti-journalism that has been successful. And it’s too bad, somehow we have to find a way to replace it with something that is more acceptable. Discussions like we are having now are fairly rare, today. 

C: Divorcing your opinion from what you’re reporting is really hard to do, but at least when you’re attempting that, then you’re more apt to get good information to the citizens. We don’t see that anymore. 

 

Q: Going back a bit, what were the biggest challenges of being a representative when you were in office? What do you want the public to know about your position?

L: I looked at being a representative as having three different jobs: I had my policy job, which meant I had to do a lot of reading, preparing for committee meetings, and deciding which policies we were going to support, constituent services, which meant responding to letters, taking phone calls, responding to requests for help, and campaigning, which in a district that was not competitive, I had to be constantly raising money and preparing for the next campaign. Any one of those would be considered a full-time job, and when you put the three of them together, time was the greatest resource that I could pray for.

 

Q: What are the biggest issues that we are facing currently, which people should be paying attention to?

L: I think that you don’t solve any of the issues that we face until we address the divisiveness of the nation. Our division has prevented us from having a conversation. I believe that there is no issue where we can’t find some common ground. From there, I’ll hand it the question off to Rod, because the issues are going to be the same for both of us.

C: Firstly, the fiscal budget; we are spending your generation into debt that is just immoral, a trillion-dollar deficit in the president’s proposed budget. Next, the environment; we’ve got to deal with global warming, not just as a nation, but globally. We’ve got to partner with the rest of the world.

L: And healthcare, that’s of a critical nature. And because this is the end of the interview, I’d like to make a point, if you don’t mind. Rod and I represented a different era of Congress than what is there now. I believe that if the public would recognize how we were able to work together in the past few days together at Western, and sought to have people of similar minds that we have, we’d solve the problems that face our communities. 

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Earlene Camarillo

Rallies in response to the cap-and-trade bill draw participants from far and wide.

Sage Kiernan-Sherrow  | News Editor

The Timber Unity protest against Senate Bill 1530 on Thursday, Feb. 6, reportedly rallied over 2,000 people and brought over 1,000 trucks to the capitol, according to The Statesman Journal. It was countered by Renew Oregon, a coalition of groups in support of the bill on the following Tuesday, Feb. 11, when over 1,000 individuals rallied at the capitol in its defense. 

Senate Bill 1530, or the cap-and-trade bill as it’s often referred to, would target Oregon’s highest polluting companies of carbon emissions and hold them accountable for emissions higher than the proposed cap would allow, causing them to pay to utilize those emissions and eventually resort to more sustainable options. However, there are concerns over its economical feasibility. 

Kathy Hadley, a local farmer and member of Timber Unity, said the bill has extremely negative consequences for rural Oregonians, who believe their costs of living will dramatically increase after the bill causes companies to move out of state and fuel prices to rise.

“We’re concerned about the money it would cost and the way it’s being handled, how they’re trying to pass such sweeping legislation on a partisan line with so significant effort to address the concerns of the minority,” Hadley stated. 

Oregonians supporting the efforts of Renew Oregon say that the bill is in response to what they believe is a current climate emergency and that the government and the fossil fuel industry are lying about the state of the environment. They counter Timber Unity’s argument, saying that the bill will actually work to provide more jobs, while acknowledging that sacrifices need to be made in order to survive.

A speaker at the rally on Feb. 11 and a youth activist, Maya Stout is a fifteen-year-old student at Newport High who became passionate about advocating for the environment after witnessing changes in her community and stated, “we have to define what an impacted community is … climate change destroys not only the environment but the economy sustained by it.”

Eric Richardson, the Eugene-Springfield NAACP president, added that “this is not a political issue, it’s a moral issue,” and reminded the crowd that rural people, marginalized people and people of color are fighting on the frontlines against climate change.

Timber Unity remains unconvinced. 

Hadley expressed doubts over the bill’s ability to help save the environment, stating that Timber Unity had proposed ways to commit to seeing immediate change, and that she would rather people recognize the good that people are trying to do, rather than just taxing the negative.

To read the bill itself, visit https://olis.oregonlegislature.gov/.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photos by Sage Kiernan-Sherrow

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