Mount Hood

RHA hosts first ever Sustainability Month

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

For the entire month of February, Western’s Residence Hall Association has been hosting events as part of their first ever RHA Sustainability Month with the help of both Green Team and National Residence Hall Honorary.

“Eliza (Sleezer, RHA president) was the person who spearheaded this project. What we wanted to do was, as a part of our sustainability theme, we wanted to get a lot of input from Green Team on this,” said Josh Salsbury, sophomore math major and RHA finance director. “It’s really just been a huge collaboration effort.”

As two members of the RHA Executive Board, Salsbury joined with Kaiana Bradley, junior elementary education major and RHA publicist, to talk about all that went into planning this inaugural event.

For the first week’s event, each member of the Executive Board participated in a challenge.

“Last week we had a zero-waste challenge, so everyone on Executive Board carried around a bag for the day and whenever they had to throw something away — whether it was food waste, paper towels from the bathroom, … wrappers and things you would physically put in the trash can — you put in a bag,” said Bradley. “And we all made posts as a social media campaign about how that experience was for us, challenging other people to be conscious of how much waste they produce in a day and how they could change that.”

Salsbury then shared why he actually enjoyed partaking in this challenge.

“When I did mine, I think the biggest thing I noticed was that it was really fun since I had to physically carry around a bag that my friends, when they saw me around campus, could ask what I was doing,” said Salsbury. “And I was able to explain to them about what we’re doing for sustainability month.”

Reaching out more directly to the Western community, a few of the events from the month involved the team providing students with resources that could help them be more sustainable: on Feb. 7, NRHH posted sustainable living tips in the various residential communities; on Feb. 11, RHA gave out five Hydroflasks; and on Feb. 25, RHA will be passing out reusable bags in Valsetz Dining Hall from 11 a.m. – 2 p.m.

Finally, a couple of their more interactive events are their Sustainability Craft night on Feb. 21 from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m. in the Mt. Jefferson Room in Valsetz Dining Hall and a recycling competition between each of the residence halls that is continuing throughout the entire month of February. As of Tuesday, Feb. 19, Landers Hall and Barnum Hall are in the lead for the competition.

Throughout this process, Salsbury and Bradley stated that their hope was to help provide students with tools and to cause them to think about how they can make sustainable choices.

“I’m just hoping that inspires people to maybe make changes to their life and be more conscious, and hopefully with the craft night people can see that you can upcycle and make things for your house — whether it’s decor or storage — out of things that that you already have,” said Bradley.

“It’s really important just to be aware of your impact on the environment. So, anything that we can do to make people just actively think about how they’re affecting the area around them is going to be beneficial,” said Salsbury.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Paul F. Davis

Grand opening of Western’s new Child Development Center location

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

Western’s Child Development Center has been open since 1980, but on Jan. 7, it began its relocation to a new home behind the Campus Public Safety Office, where Western’s ROTC program used to be located.

To celebrate the move, the CDC hosted a grand opening event on Feb. 13 with a treasure hunt for students, tours of the new facility, a cake, visits with Wolfie and a speech from President Rex Fuller.

“This whole project came about because of a question I was asked during the State of the University Address a couple of years ago,” said Fuller. “’Hey, what about a better space for the child development center?’ After that, we did some analysis and started the project.”

Currently serving 51 students from the community ranging from ages 18 months to 12 years old, the CDC is open to children of Western students, staff and faculty as well as other member of the community.

When asked about the reasoning behind the move, CDC Director Tammy Gardner shared that Todd Hall was lacking some amenities and safety qualifications that the new site has.

“We were just finding it very cramped over there in Todd Hall. The building is very old, so there were some earthquake safety issues with us there to be able to evacuate a building,” said Gardner.

With their new facility, which has been heavily remodeled, Gardner celebrated a number of new amenities: big bathrooms, a spacious backyard, a lobby and nicer classrooms, amongst other things.

In addition to the facility, Dr. Fuller added that another strength of the CDC is its staff.

“We currently have a director, five teachers, 11 student staff, and six volunteers,” said Fuller. “They really do great work and go above scale in terms of providing a safe and welcoming learning environment for our students. It’s exciting to see that.”

Gardner added how excited she is to have staff members who are able to connect with the diverse group of children that they serve at the CDC.

“We’re very multicultural,” said Gardner. “We’ve got three bilingual staff members that are Spanish-speaking, and we’ve got two bilingual volunteers who speak Mandarin, so that’s really helped with some of our visiting scholars.”

Throughout her remarks, Gardner reaffirmed a number of times how caring and helpful different people and organizations from the university have been towards the CDC, and how grateful she is to be a part of this community.

“We feel very very supported and loved by the WOU community, from facilities to Valsetz and President Fuller. They’re our champions who really got this project going. It’s amazing.”

Gardner also shared that, for anyone who would like to get involved with the CDC, they can email her at gardnert@wou.edu or visit the volunteer link on their webpage.

“We’re open to volunteers, suggestions, or invitations,” said Gardner.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Paul F. Davis

I <3 Female Orgasm comes to Western

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

After much anticipation and hard work from the numerous campus organizations who sponsored the event, renowned sex educators Lindsay Fram and Marshall Miller brought the program “I <3 Female Orgasm” to Western on Feb. 7. This event packed the Columbia Room in the Werner University Center, with a number of seats being added and still having several people standing in the back of the room.

“Presented over 500 times to over 100,000 people in 44 states, the female orgasm program has become one of the most popular college sex-education programs in the country,” said Abby’s House Peer Advocate and senior community health education major Keith Mathew while introducing the program.

From the get-go, Fram communicated that this event would cover things that were lighthearted, but also serious at times.

“This is a fun topic, but it’s not only a fun topic. There are a lot of really important health reasons that we all need access to good information about our bodies and our sexuality,” said Fram. “There’s this lie all around us that there’s just one way to be sexual. That all of our bodies work the exact same way — that we all want the exact same thing. Or even the lie that says that we’re all interested in being sexual. Because if we can reclaim our pleasure … that’s a huge act of resistance.”

In this way, the talk began by acknowledging the diversity of experience that would likely be in the room — both in terms of sexuality and gender identity.

“One of the questions that some people may have had even before they got here tonight is ‘how are they going to define female?’ And we define it super inclusively,” said Fram. “We’re going to talk about people who were assigned female at birth, people who identify as women — we know sometimes those categories overlap and sometimes they don’t.”

With this established, Fram and Miller set out to explain a variety of things about the female orgasm: the science behind it, the different strategies to achieve it and the myths that surround it.

One thing that the presenters said was valuable for people to note is that there is a physical difference that exists surrounding orgasms for males and females, which some women may not fully realize.

“On average, it takes someone with a vulva and clitoris about 20 minutes of direct stimulation in a way that feels good to them to reach an orgasm,” said Fram. Miller then contrasted this idea by saying that, “it takes a person with a penis two to five minutes.”

Taking this into consideration, Miller and Fram expressed that it is important that partners are willing to take the time to make sure that they are both being fulfilled when they are intimate.

“It’s really important to do the hard work and listen to what your partner is trying to say and to try and see things from their perspective. That can really give a huge boost to your sex life,” said Fram.

However, the pair also emphasized that this kind of experimentation with pleasure is also something that people can pursue on their own.

“If you have never had an orgasm before and you are interested in learning how, a lot of people say that masturbation is the fastest and easiest way to learn,” said Fram. “By the age of 15, only about half of people with vaginas have figured out how to have an orgasm, but a lot of people with penises have figured that out. So, it’s totally normal to be college-aged and still figuring out how to have an orgasm.”

The overarching message of this presentation was that there are many ways to experience pleasure, so people should not get too caught up in the rules and limitations that they have heard from society.

“We really hope that you’ll say goodbye to taboo and hello to more pleasure because, whether it is by yourself or with someone who you respect and respects you back, orgasms are awesome,” said Fram. “They reduce stress, they relieve headaches and menstrual cramps, they burn calories, they relieve junk food cravings and they are a great way to spend a Thursday night.”  

For anyone who is interested in learning more about the “I <3 Female Orgasm” program, they can find additional information at ilovefemaleorgasm.com.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Out and Proud educates students about STDs

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

Out and Proud has been an event that has celebrated intersectional LGBTQ+ issues at Western since 2009. Ten years later, the MSU-sponsored event was able to have one of the founders of the original Out and Proud event, Joseluis “Louie” Antonio Arce, come and speak before a new generation of Western students.

“I created Out and Proud 10 years ago in 2009 when I joined MSU. I was a freshman, and I saw a bunch of things on campus — I saw MEChA, I saw MSU, I saw Triangle Alliance — and all of them were me,” said Arce. “These are all a part of who I am as a person, but there was nothing for gay people of color. So, I decided to work with my club … and I created Out and Proud. And I’m so glad that it’s (continued) for 10 years.”

Arce then shared that his journey has been one of a gay, Latino male who became HIV positive nearly 12 years ago and who is driven to use his platform to educate young people about safe sexual practices.

Starting off his story, Arce began by remembering a phone call he received on the day he was diagnosed.

“This day was different because I know it was my doctor’s office, and they had my results,” said Arce. “My honest-to-God first thought was, ‘I have it. I have AIDS, and I’m going to die.’”

After he was given the news, though, Arce shared how his perspective changed.

“All I could do to keep from losing it was laugh,” said Arce. “I felt alive. I had just received the worst news I had ever heard in my life, but for the first time I was living in the moment.”

Beyond that day, Arce shared that he invested time to learn things about HIV that he didn’t know before.

“I was learning so much. I always thought that AIDS was an actual virus, but … HIV is one thing, and AIDS is the status of your virus,” said Arce. With this in mind, he has worked to take care of himself and to keep his CD4 count low.

“I have been fighting to stay positive — both inside and out,” said Arce.

In light of this story, the organizers of Out and Proud also had representatives from Polk and Marion County Health and Human Services to talk with attendees about their sexual health.

“Because of Louie’s story, we just want you guys’s input about what we can do at the health department to promote testing and to make sure that you’re aware of STDs and HIV and what you guys can do for prevention,” said one of the health department representatives.

Overall, both Arce and the representatives wanted to make sure that students knew that there are resources available to them, including the Student Health and Counseling Center, online resources, Planned Parenthood and Marion and Polk County Health and Human Services.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Western holds 63rd annual Family Weekend

Ashlynn Norton | Photo Editor

Families from various locations and walks of life came to Western’s campus from Feb. 8-10 to partake in the 63rd Annual Family Weekend put on by Student Engagement.

The weekend’s festivities started off with a dinner Friday night to welcome families. President Rex Fuller began the festivities with a welcome speech and then gave the floor over to the entertainment of the night: a murder mystery improv show. Guests were given name tags displaying the names of celebrities and interacted with the actors while they tried to find out who the murderer was. In the end, when all was said and done, only one table correctly guessed that it was Taylor Swift who was in fact the murderer.

Saturday was a chock-full of events for every age.

For those 21 and up, there was wine tasting out at Eola Hills Wine Cellars. Family Weekend guests were able to travel to the winery and not only taste wine, but also be educated about the different types that were available.

Back on campus, there was rock painting, a photo booth and a caricature artist in the Summit inside the Werner University Center. At the same time, over in the Health and Wellness Center, the 2nd Annual Cornhole Tournament was underway. There were educational seminars sprinkled throughout the day where families could learn about how to better communicate with their first-year student, get a crash course in how money works, or even how to journal.

The night ended with a doubleheader of men’s and women’s basketball games.

The weekend came to a close on Sunday when families gathered once more in the Pacific Room for brunch while winners of various activities were announced.

Trina Lowther from Forest Grove, Oregon, visiting her first-year daughter Abi Lowther, a psychology major, said her favorite thing about Family Weekend was, “that we got to spend so much time together, like as a family.”

Western will also be holding its first ever Siblings Weekend in May for siblings who are in grades 8-12. Registration for this event will open in March.

 

Contact the author at anorton17@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

Mental health grant brings resources to Western

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

Beginning on Nov. 7 and into mid-December, Tim Glascock — the project director for WOU CASA and Suicide Prevention — encouraged Western students to participate in the Healthy Minds Survey. Having received the three-year Garrett Lee Smith Campus Grant in Fall Term of 2017, Western sought to use this evaluation tool to better understand mental health and service utilization on campus.

“This gives our campus a better understanding of the health issues that need to be addressed on campus,” said Glascock. “This initial use of HMS was meant to provide a baseline on these topics.”

In the future, Glascock imagines that the data collected in this survey will be used to better serve the mental health needs of those in the Western community.

According to Glascock, specifically, there are four main areas that are focused on with the grant: “Increase gatekeeping behaviors,” or in other words, encourage bystanders to notice and reach out to someone struggling, “increase educational events that focus on mental health or life skills … increase marketing and campaigns that focus on addressing many of the topics that HMS addresses, and finally updating or proposing new policies or procedures related to suicide and mental health.”

With this grant in place, Glascock expressed that one of the most significant accomplishments that has resulted from it so far is “the implementation of a new website focused on suicide prevention and mental health promotion.” Students can explore the website wou.edu/mental-health and the variety of resources that it has to offer.

Another success that has come from this grant is the creation of a new campus organization.

“A new student club called Wellness Advocacy Group (WAG) formed at the beginning of this year and will focus on mental health promotion efforts,” said Glascock. Amongst these efforts, this group is in the process of organizing an Out of the Darkness walk in May.

An additional outcome of this grant is that 14 staff members on Western’s campus have been trained to conduct trainings on QPR, which stands for Question, Persuade, Refer.

“QPR is a bystander intervention training that teaches folks how to recognize someone in distress, how to reach out to them, and how to refer them to services,” said Glascock. “It is just like CPR — the more people who are trained to recognize someone in distress, the higher the chances of folks being recognized and utilizing services.”

Upon reflecting on these changes, Glascock also had a few words of practical advice for any individuals in Western’s community. A couple of the major things that he emphasized are that it is important for people to continue working on their own mental health and to continue talking about these issues so that they are normalized in our society.

“There is a difference between mental health and mental illness,” said Glascock. “Mental health is a generic term just like physical health; it can be good or bad, regardless of whether there is a mental illness present.  It is also worth mentioning that someone with a mental illness can be just as successful as someone who doesn’t.”

Finally, Glascock encouraged any students to seek help if they or someone they love needs it.

“Reach out, both if you suspect that someone is struggling, but also if you are struggling,” said Glascock. “The worst thing that can happen if you reach out to someone is that they may get mad, but at least they know you care about them.  Saving a life is more important than saving a relationship.”

If students are interested in learning more about the mental health resources available on campus, they can go to the new webpage or email Glascock at glascockt@wou.edu.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

How to protect yourself from measles

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

In the first month of 2019, 79 cases of measles have been confirmed across 10 states in the U.S., according to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Amongst these states, both Oregon and Washington have had confirmed cases.

Before attending school at Western, students are required to have two documented doses of the measles vaccine, which must be reported in the health history form that is submitted to the Student Health and Counseling Center. This requirement can be waived if a student has a medical reason, such as pregnancy or breastfeeding, or a religious or personal conviction.

However, Beth Scroggin, the director of the SHCC, sent out an all-student email on Feb. 1 explaining that this waiving of the requirement could impact students if there were to be a local outbreak.

“Please be aware that waived students may be removed from classes if an outbreak of the disease occurs,” stated the email.

If students are unsure of their vaccination status, they can go to the SHCC and check their immunization records. There are also vaccinations there for students who would like to get one.

“(We) encourage you to be vaccinated not only protect yourself but to protect others that are unable to receive the vaccine as well,” said Scroggin.

For any who are unaware, measles generally starts out with a high fever, cough, runny nose and irritated eyes, according to the CDC. Furthermore, within a few days, tiny white spots may appear inside the mouth, and later on a rash develops and spreads throughout the body.

“Measles is a serious respiratory disease (in the lungs and breathing tubes) that causes a rash and fever. It is very contagious. In rare cases, it can be deadly,” said Scroggin.

Although measles is most dangerous for younger children, the CDC reports that one in every four people who get measles will be hospitalized, so it is something that ought not to be taken lightly.

If anyone has questions about measles and how it could affect them, visit www.cdc.gov/measles or call the SHCC at (503) 838-8313.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Western Oregon University

Facebook   Instagram   Twitter  YouTube

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

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

Tools

Campus Maps
Canvas
Find People
Portal
Virtual Tour
WOU Email
Technical Support

Resources

A-Z Index
Accessibility
Academic Calendar
Class Schedule
Jobs at WOU
Partnerships
Student Services

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

Accessibility    Public Records    Privacy    Student Consumer Information

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