Opinion/Special – Page 5 – The Western Howl

Written by: Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

Content warning: gun violence, murder

We all have a friend who has been close to us for years. For me, it was a boy named Alex. Alex and I met during our junior year of high school during football season. He had just transferred from the 6A school in our area and was on the football team. I was the football team manager. I don’t really remember our first meeting in all honesty.

Alex and I became fast friends and then like siblings. We were tight. 90% of my Snapchat memories from Senior year are from that f—-r either sleeping or pulling some shenanigans in class. He was especially close with my mom, sometimes even preferring to hang out with her over me when we’d fight over petty s–t.

Alex didn’t always have the best life. His biological mother abandoned him, and his adoptive family kicked him out as soon as he was 18. But, we still tried our best to stay in contact, even with our busy schedules, me with school and work, him sometimes out of service for months working for Grayback Forestry.

The last time I heard from him was Aug. 14, when he warned me about a fire that was close to Salem. My last two texts have remained unread since. Ten days prior, he had done the unthinkable.

I didn’t know about it until recently, maybe two weeks ago, only a few days after his arrest. My mom had called me and told me the news — she had found out from her former coworker. The world spun constantly that day.

Information on what happened is limited. I can’t even find the full story, but, from what I understand, Alex was somewhere he should not have been with some friends he should not have been with. Their day out ended with shooting someone and then to ensure he was dead, ran him over with their truck. His “friends” had been arrested almost immediately — it took them longer to connect Alex to the crime. The idiot had sent texts about covering up the crime and had photos of the victim’s firearm on his phone.

I think I cried all day that day. I was angry and felt like I failed my friend, like I didn’t do enough to help him. His last texts to me were looking out for me. I don’t think when the police searched his phone they even read my messages. They are still unread.

For me, the hardest thing is finding out someone you would trust with your life could do something so horrible. Alex was the person I trusted everything with in high school, the person who knew almost everything about me. We walked together at graduation. He is my brother.

Finding out what he did was the worst.

This is not the Alex I know.

The Alex I know is sweet and funny. He makes smart decisions and has a somewhat steady head on his shoulders.

At the same time, it terrifies me. What if this is truly who he is and he had just hidden it all this time? What if I had done more to help him stay on track and out of trouble?

My mom feels like she failed him too. Alex had been in her ERC — Educational Resource Center — classroom for his ADHD and that is mostly where their bond formed — where she developed her maternal feelings toward him. She still calls him her kid.

This is not the Alex she knows either.

As I sit here on my laptop, staring at what he is being charged with, I am sobbing. This was my best friend and now he is someone I no longer know.

So far, he has had two court dates, one for the first three initial charges: second-degree murder, criminal conspiracy and aggravated assault. There was a second court date adding on two more charges: hindering prosecution and tampering with evidence. My high school best friend is being charged with four felonies and a misdemeanor.

I am not sitting here and telling this story without a purpose or a reason. Part of me wanted to share this because I know, somewhere out there, people are going through the same thing. Their brother or sister or father or mother has done something unspeakable and they don’t know how to feel. Sometimes it’s horror, sometimes it’s pain.

I also wanted to highlight how unexpected life can really be and how it changes people. I had gone weeks without thinking about Alex and this news suddenly came up and rocked my world. I was not expecting it at all. And I think in a way, him not answering my texts was almost how he could avoid having people close to him questioned about his character by the police. His way of trying to keep the people close to him out of this.

I still feel angry at my friend. I feel sad. I will not get him back for years and when I do, he will be a completely changed person, and so will I because of his actions. He will be hardened, brittle and angry. I will likely be a wife and a mother by the time he is released. And when he is, I will still be there to support him and hopefully get him on his feet.

No matter the stupid things he does, Alex is my brother and best friend. He always will be, murder charges will never change that. Especially when I think about the situation he had to be in to do such a thing.

Alex will always be my brother.

Contact the author at howlsports@wou.edu

Written by: Claire Phillips | Entertainment Editor

With every passing year, Christmas decorations begin to appear in stores across the country earlier and earlier, screaming — buy me. Department store Santas invite children to sit on their laps while anxious parents buy last minute gifts to put under their decked-out trees. The genuine significance of the holiday lies far beyond neon lights and Black Friday sales — if you simply dig a little deeper.

Scrambling together enough money from last month’s paycheck to pay for gifts isn’t the only Christmas stressor. Many families prepare their homes to look home magazine-perfect before their extended relatives come to visit. Then, there’s the Christmas dinner and listening to Uncle Craig talk about politics again. For many Americans, Christmas is an anxiety-inducing time of year.

However, it doesn’t have to be. Many have lost sight of the lessons the holiday season is supposed to teach. The capitalist society of America has driven Christmas to the forefront of minds even before Halloween. The earliest I’ve seen Christmas decorations arrive in stores is right after the Fourth of July passes.

Something about the green and red popping up reminds consumers of the money they have to spend — or probably shouldn’t spend — on holiday goods. The truth is, Christmas is an easy holiday to commercialize. Companies are smart; they know what people like to buy, and that is nostalgia. That little rush of dopamine is what fuels companies during the holidays.

What was it that made Christmas so special as a child? Was it really the presents under the tree, or was it the traditions made with friends and family? Looking back, my fondest memories were reading “The Night Before Christmas” with my dad and baking cookies for our neighbors with my mom. Though waiting up for Santa to deliver toys was fun, too.

This year, many have taken to the internet to show off their handmade Christmas gifts from items they already had at home to inspire others to do the same. Garlands can be made out of dried oranges or paper stars. You can even create unique wrapping paper out of recycled paper bags and personalize each present with doodles. The opportunities for creating are endless.

Many Christmas gifts are bought simply to check another person off the list, without considering their interests.

Stephen Hartley, a junior at Western, discussed this dilemma. “If you buy something, don’t buy it for storage,” he said. “And that’s most of what Christmas gifts are, to add to the consumerism.” Though it seems like time is extremely finite at this point in the year, try to consider what each person you’re shopping for would find personal, so their gifts don’t end up in the landfill.

You don’t need to buy an “ugly” sweater from Old Navy you’ll only wear once, the point is to peruse your grandmother’s closet for a new favorite hand-me-down. And if you don’t go to the stores, they will come to you first — “I got an email today… about getting ‘extra spending points’ if I buy things between Nov. 30 and Dec. 7… it’s like oh, I’m already getting advertisements personalized,” Hartley said.

So, be extra careful around the holidays when it comes to spending money. Chances are, you already have all the materials for a festive time somewhere in your home.

I love giving and receiving gifts as much as the next person. However, what makes Christmas truly special is the people you spend it with. Hartley countered this opinion — “I think you don’t have to have a holiday… to celebrate with people you love. If I want to see people, I’m going to see people.”

Especially for college students, going home for the holidays is more sweet than ever. As an out-of-state student, I cherish every moment I am able to spend with my family and friends at home. Sometimes the rush of school, work and making travel plans does get in the way of what my winter break means to me.

This holiday season, take a moment to reflect on spontaneous spending habits and think about what you’re participating in. I’m not telling you to not buy any presents — that would make me a Scrooge. Gift receivers would appreciate something more sentimental rather than a stocking stuffer that will be thrown away, or even re-gifted. Don’t deny it — we’ve all been there.

It’s a tough task to face when advertisements are constantly in your face, tempting you to constantly give in to buying goodies. I understand the difficulties concerning consumerism around the holidays. There’s a bright future ahead, however, that is more sustainable and still includes everything we love about Christmas today.

If you blink, you’ll miss the magical aspects of the season. I still look forward to playing with my grandma’s handmade Christmas countdown just like I did when I was little. My grandpa still marks the See’s Candy as being delivered from “Santa,” and I love to see him happy when I play along with it. The joy of Christmas is found within the delight you bring to others.

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

Not who I knew

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