Mount Hood

ACP individual award winners

By: Katrina Penaflor
Managing Editor

The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) announced the winners for the national Pacemaker and Individual Awards at the National College Media Convention in Austin, Texas, Oct. 31, 2015.

According to the organization’s website, ACP “promotes the standards and ethics of good journalism as accepted and practiced by print, broadcast and electronic media in the United States.”

The Journal’s Editor-in-Chief, Conner Williams, was nominated for the individual awards under the “Story of the Year” category.

Sections in the category included “News,” “Feature,” “Sports,” “Editorial/Opinion,” and “Diversity.”

Williams’ piece, “Up in smoke: The ethical dilemmas of a convenience store clerk” was a top ten finalist for “Editorial/Opinion,” receiving an honorable mention after the final judging.

Rhys Finch, student media advisor, said, “Regardless if a student receives first prize or an honorable mention, to be considered on the national level for your writing is exemplary. Honors such as these put not only the student in the national spotlight, but the campus publication as well.”

The top award for “Editorial/Opinion” went to Leah Johnson, from the Indiana Daily Student, for her piece titled “Color of conscience.”

Williams’ placement in his category puts him among the top ten writers in the country for editorial writing, an accomplishment that should not go unnoticed.

“I am incredibly proud to be advising Conner, who has proven himself to be a strong, and improving, writer as well as an ambitious Editor-in-Chief,” said Finch.

The Journal wishes Conner congratulations on his achievements in editorial writing.

ASWOU election

By: Katrina Penaflor 
Managing Editor

ASWOU recently held a special election to fill the vacant positions of Vice President, Senators, and Justice.

The initial voting threshold for the election to be legitimate is 10 percent student involvement (students casting votes), but for this election ASWOU was only able to get 5.6 percent participation.

The committee ultimately decided to accept the 5.6 percent student vote and not wait for it to reach 10 percent.

The final results elected Dean Wright Vice President with 233 votes.

Newly elected Vice President Wright, senior and elementary middle education major, said he is excited for his opportunity to serve students in this role. Wright went on to add, “I look forward to the work that ASWOU is going to accomplish this year, and I encourage any students interested in ASWOU to come to our office and talk with me.”

“ASWOU is very excited to have a Vice President as willing and excited to serve WOU students as Dean Wright is,” said Jenesa Ross, ASWOU Judicial Administrator and Elections Chair. “He has already started work and is working very hard to catch up on what has been happening the past six weeks,” she concluded.

Courtney Thomas, receiving 260 votes, was elected as the fourth Justice to the Judicial Board. Ross adds in her enthusiasm for what Thomas will bring to the table.

The final decisions for Senators are still awaiting approval for grades and judicial checks.

The Journal will update the information when the final Senators are announced.

A bike thief’s paradise

By: Alvin Wilson 
Staff Writer

In case you haven’t noticed, bikes are everywhere on campus. In front of almost every building, you can find dozens of bicycles awaiting their owner’s return.

But, for many Western students, the bikes aren’t always there when they get back.

According to data from the Monmouth Police Department (MPD), about 31 percent of bike thefts that they have responded to this year happened at Western, with even more occurring in the neighborhoods surrounding campus.

What is the first thing students do when their bikes are stolen?

“If someone has their bike stolen on campus, then they typically will call us first,” said Rebecca Chiles, director of Campus Public Safety.

But Campus Public Safety responds only to thefts that take place on campus.

“It has to have happened on campus for us to be involved at all, even if it’s a student who lives off campus,” Chiles said.

Students who report a bike theft on campus can have the MPD make an official report as well.

“We ask everyone who reports a crime if they want the MPD involved,” Chiles said. “Generally, people want an actual police report on it.”

Bike theft is a common occurrence on college campuses everywhere. According to the MPD, the average value of a stolen bike in Monmouth is $682. Bike thefts have cost the citizens of Monmouth more than $26,000 so far this year.

But there are simple ways to help reduce your risk of becoming a victim.

Buy a good lock

“Typically what we see is students parking their bikes and using a cable lock,” Chiles said. “Those are really easy to defeat.”

Cable locks are one of the most popular style of bike locks used. Unfortunately, they are also one of the easiest to cut with a pair of bolt cutters.

U-locks may be more expensive, but the added cost is definitely worth not having to buy a new bike.

“We suggest using a u-shaped lock made of hardened steel” Chiles said. “Really, you need to have a four-foot set of bolt cutters to cut those. You can defeat them, but typically people don’t carry that around.”

Lock your bike correctly

Christopher Lynch, Community Service Officer for the Monmouth Police Department, said, “One thing I’ve noticed around campus is that some people don’t lock their bikes to an object. They only lock the tire to the frame.”

Locking your bike up properly can make it extremely difficult for a thief to succeed in taking your bike.

“Using a u-lock in combination with a cable lock, or two u-locks to lock the tires and the frame is going to protect your bike the best,” Lynch said. “You need to lock both tires and the bike to a solid object if you really want it secure.”

Register your bike with CPS and MPD

“The best thing you can do is register your bike with the campus,” Officer Lynch said. “In addition to that, you can come to the police department to fill out our bicycle registration form.”

Students can register their bikes with both Campus Public Safety and the MPD. This helps both agencies find your stolen bicycle more easily and efficiently.

“You bring the bike here, we take a picture of it, get the serial number, and fix our own number on the bike,” Chiles said of the campus bicycle registration process. “It doesn’t keep it from being stolen, but it helps us track it.”

In addition to these risk-reducing tips, students should also be prepared to report any bike thefts they see or experience.

“If people don’t report them stolen, then there’s nothing for us to go on,” Lynch said. “If we don’t get the reports, it just makes our job that much harder because we can’t catch the people doing it.”

The next time you lock your bike up on campus, keep these tips in mind and remember: your bike is worth more than that $20 lock.

Food Day 2015

By: Jenna Beresheim,
News Editor

The nationally celebrated Food Day came to Western for a two day event this year.

Typically, Food Day is held on Oct. 24, but with the event falling on a Saturday this year, campus decided to push the event forward to the 22nd and 23rd.

The event supports making informed food choices, sponsoring local farms, decreasing carbon footprints, recycling, changing food policies, and much more. The national theme this year was entitled “Toward a Greener Diet.”

The Oct. 22 activities included a free movie viewing of “Living on One Dollar” and a Green Passport event in Valsetz with activities and prizes including pumpkins.

The focus for the day was on sustainability and greener choices, such as making jack-o-lanterns from empty milk jugs and battery operated tea lights.

Friday, Oct. 23 was food focused and packed with samples. A “clean” eating meal was featured at Valsetz, vendors from near and far filled the WUC, and outside the building WOU food pantry traded pumpkins for non-perishable food items.

“Some people donate one food item, and others will donate two, or five,” explained Christie Colasurdo, a fourth year community health major and director for the WOU food pantry.

“Even if you just get 10 cans, that’s still something, and you know that someone who needs a meal is going to be able to get it,” said Colasurdo.

All pumpkins were donated from Charlie’s Produce in a large flat, and were traded for both cash donations as well as food.

Within the WUC, Samuel Benjamin, a representative for Portland Roasting Coffee, poured samples for interested participants. Scattered along the table were several types of coffee, as well as some flavorings to customize drinks as necessary.

“I love when people are enthusiastic and open to learning more about coffee,” said Benjamin, “there is always more to learn and I love being able to provide that.”

“Both the Morning Blend and Italian Blend are available in Allegro,” reported Benjamin’s coworker, Nikolai Cherny.

Another vendor present was the WOU Campus Garden, a volunteer-run garden overseen by their advisor Dr. Emily Plec, a professor in communication studies.

“You can have an individual plot or garden collectively with other students,” stated Plec.

“Volunteers get first crack at the harvest, and anything else goes to the food pantry here on campus,” Plec continued.

Herbs from the garden are also donated to campus dining to use in their dishes.
Students interested are encouraged to find the campus garden on Facebook at “Campus Garden WOU.”

Over 14 separate vendors participated in this event, from large companies such as Odwalla to smaller homegrown entities like Jamie’s Jellies.

WOU Food Day started four years ago and has gained popularity since, emsuring that there will be more events in the years to come.

“Eating real [food] can save your own health and put our food system on a more humane, sustainable path,” reports the Food Day website.

For more information regarding the national event, please see http://www.foodday.org/

“Amp” up the park

By: Katrina Penaflor
Managing Editor

The Main Street Park in Monmouth is getting an upgrade. In fact, students may have already noticed the recent developments underway for the building of Monmouth’s new outdoor amphitheater.

Plans for the park’s upgrade began “back in 2008, when the city updated its park masterplan,” said Mark Fancey, community development director for the city of Monmouth.

2013 marked the beginning of an open and public design process for the amphitheater.

Residents were polled, and their opinions were taken into consideration to help create a design that would best benefit downtown Monmouth.

When complete, Fancey said the amphitheater will be able to accommodate crowds of around 500 people, with the possibility of holding nearly 1,000 if the entire park is utilized.

The amphitheater will create the perfect venue for the Monmouth’s Music in the Park series, a collection of summer concerts that take place in Main Street Park every year.

Fancey said the park will benefit Western students in addition to town residents by providing a place to host and perform “plays, drama, and dance.”

An estimated cost for the construction comes in at $1.2 million.

When the project initially began, Fancey said, “The city had the funds in place,” providing half the cost and receiving a $500,000 loan from the city’s Urban Renewal Plan.

“The City of Monmouth Urban Renewal Plan contains goals, objectives, and projects for the revitalization of the Monmouth Urban Renewal District,” according to the city’s website. In this instance, the area of the district is downtown Monmouth.

Construction plans call for the amphitheater to be completed by April or May of 2016.

The completion of the park will mark the third successful park project for the city of Monmouth. The first two were the Madrona Park and the addition of the fountain in the Main Street Park.

Oregon Senators aspire to lower cost of college

By:Conner Williams
Editor in Chief

U.S. Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Jeff Merkley (D-OR) introduced a bill on Wed., Oct.
2, 2015 that aims to reduce the cost of college for students across the nation.

According to a press release from the office of Sen. Wyden, the Promoting Access and Retention Through New Efforts to Require Shared Higher Investments in Postsecondary Success (PARTNERSHIPS) Act “encourages states to hold down college tuition costs by creating a program that provides federal matching funds for states that agree to end tuition growth at their public colleges and universities.”

For universities that choose to eliminate tuition growth, the bill provides matching federal funds “based on how much funding a state provides for public higher education operating support on a per student basis, compared and indexed to the maximum Pell Grant award,” the press release stated.

The bill asserts that states that generally spend more per student already can receive federal matching rates upwards of about $1700 per student.

Colleges and universities usually increase tuition due to rising funding cuts for higher education at the state level.

According to the press release, this means that states “currently spend about 20 percent less per student on higher education nationally than they did in 2008.

“College students in Oregon and across the country feel like they’re getting hit by a wrecking ball when it comes to the cost of tuition,” Sen. Wyden said.

“It’s time for our federal and state governments to partner [together] to bring down tuition costs and reinvest in higher education here in America,” Sen. Merkley reiterated.

Wyden and Merkley met with students from the University of Oregon, Southern Oregon University, and Lane Community College to discuss the rising costs of tuition and to converse about methods of decreasing the cost of college.

In addition to providing matching federal funds for states that eliminate tuition increases, the PARTNERSHIPS Act “would expand and make permanent the American Opportunity Tax Credit, which is available to families to help pay for college,” the press release said.

The bill would increase the tax refund for lower-income families that do not owe any taxes, and would make all Pell grants awarded tax-free.

There will be a follow-up story in next week’s issue with additional information from the western administrators.

Take Back the Night: domestic violence affects all of us

By: Alvin Wilson 
Staff Writer

Tuesday, Oct. 27, Abby’s House presented this year’s Take Back the Night event.

The event is held every October in honor of National Domestic Violence Awareness Month.

It is a one-and-a-half hour event that takes place during the evening hours in order to raise awareness about domestic violence.

“Our student advocates have been working very hard to raise awareness about domestic violence, especially in the last few days,” said Mary Ellen Dello Stritto, Abby’s House director, during an opening statement. “We’re trying to address ways to support survivors of violence in general.”

Take Back the Night events started in 1975 to help empower women who had historically been told to stay indoors during outbreaks of violence.

After Stritto’s opening statement, Abby’s House student coordinators gave some history behind Take Back the Night.

“Take Back the Night has its origins in the fears and anxiety that women have historically faced while walking home alone at night,” Hannah Towle, Abby’s House Sexual Violence Resource Coordinator, said.

Abby’s House external program development coordinator, Jessica Fontaine, said, “Over the last 30 years, Take Back the Night has focused on eliminating all forms of violence. Thousands of colleges and universities, women’s centers and rape crisis centers have sponsored events across our country — and the world.”

After the opening statements, there was a moment of reflection. The room went silent as a gong was sounded every nine seconds to symbolize how often a woman is beaten in the United States.

During the reflection period, attendees could read encouraging words that were written on paper hearts across the room. The hashtag #selfiesforsurvivors was printed below a personal message on each heart.

After the moment of reflection, the keynote speaker, Jackie Sandmeyer, was introduced.
Sandmeyer is a training specialist for the Oregon Attorney General’s Sexual Assault Task Force.

“I want you all to keep something in mind,” Sandmeyer said. “Tonight we’re not just here to take back historically unsafe spaces, such as the night. I want you all to know that we’re also here to empower those around us who have experienced violence.”
Sandmeyer’s speech focused on educating the audience about domestic violence stereotypes, and empowering the audience to make a difference.

“You don’t have to experience violence to get loud,” she said. “Tonight is about breaking the silence that a lot of survivors in our own community bear the weight of every single day.”

During her speech, Sandmeyer provided statistics about domestic violence.

One in five women are victims of domestic violence, she said, and men aren’t far behind with one in seven being the victim of domestic violence.

Disabled, gender non-conforming, and minority peoples have an even higher risk of experiencing domestic violence.

These statistics, Sandmeyer said, are the reason to continue having events like Take Back the Night.

“It’s about making that which we overlook every single day, and which we stay silent about constantly, echo through our streets,” she said. “That’s why we do chants during our march. The idea is that we want to pass strangers and friends alike and know that we’re safe. Just for this one night.”

Sandmeyer has traveled across the country trying to find ways to stop violence in all forms.

“If I’ve learned anything,” she said, “it’s that the product of violence is fear, and the product of fear has been silence. When we come together to stand with those who wish to speak, and when we protect the silence to be broken by those who own it, fear becomes a lot less relevant.”

After the speech, attendees marched down the campus streets holding candles and signs with such phrases as: “our life, our night, our right,” “my dress does not mean yes,” and, “consent is sexy!”

Sandmeyer left the attendees with some closing words.

“Tonight, I’ll say that we’re all more than the statistics people apply to us. We’re a lot more than the one in five. And tonight, I want to challenge us all to remember that, for this one night, we’re more than victims as well. Because tonight, each and every one of us are survivors.”