Mount Hood

In defense of Lego

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

When I was little, building Lego with my dad was one of my favorite things to do. We’d dump our giant buckets of Lego onto the living room floor and, in my little mind, enter a whole different world of magic and creativity.

As I look back, the beauty of those experiences with my dad wasn’t about how I felt, it’s how I remember the proud look he gave me when I built a building, or the excitement on his face when he showed me something he built.

I grew up building Lego, both alone and with my dad. Unlike some people, I never stopped. My Lego bucket still occasionally gets dumped out on the living room floor and I can’t remember a Christmas where there wasn’t at least one set on my list. Lego may be in the toy aisle, but it’s far from a toy.

First off, Lego promotes creativity in an adult world that looks down upon it. Some people like to write, some like to make music and some like to build. Creating things out of Lego that are incredible is a lot like drawing a really nice picture. It’s therapeutic to be creative, and creativity is what Lego is all about.

Having small models of things you love is another great reason to build Lego. As a “Star Wars” fan, having an X-Wing on my shelf is really cool. Lego partners with lots of movies like “Lord of the Rings,” “Harry Potter” and “The Avengers”. Whether or not you like building them, collecting Lego is almost as exciting.

Whether it’s with kids, siblings or friends, building Lego can also be a social experience. Some of my best memories with family or childhood friends are building Lego together and comparing what we built. Watching my little brother get older and start building his own sets has been an incredible experience as well.

Lego is expensive, but you don’t need a lot of money to get creative. With places like eBay and Craigslist, finding piles of cheap Lego is totally possible. Plus, the new video game “Lego Worlds” just came out. The game lets players build anything they want virtually with endless possibilities.

With sites like Reddit, Lego fans from all over the world can come together and share their creations. Whether an adult, a college student or a kid, Lego is an incredible hobby for anyone who likes to be creative.

Contact the author at anewton15@wou.edu

Let my people go

By: Zoe Strickland
Managing Editor

I want to preface this by saying that I identify as being culturally Jewish rather than religiously Jewish. I was raised in an interfaith household; my mom is Jewish and my dad isn’t religious, though his family somewhat is.

That being said, I’ve always been closer to my Jewish roots than my Christian ones. I know the beliefs, prayers, history, holidays. Growing up I didn’t go to Hebrew school, but I went to synagogue on Fridays and celebrated the high holy days. I have Jewish family members who moved here as a way of escaping Hitler’s regime. I’m proud of my heritage and I’m proud of what we’ve survived.

So when I see that there have been over 150 bomb threats to Jewish community centers and repeated instances of vandalism to Jewish cemeteries, I get angry. I get angry that this has been happening for months, and that the president waited until Feb. 28 to address it. I get angry that the religion I was raised with, one that promoted nothing but kindness and acceptance, is now being targeted because people are somehow still stuck in the 1930s. It’s sickening.

All of this has been done before: the threats, the vandalism.

During the Nazi regime they would set up days that were fully devoted to toppling down Jewish headstones. We’ve seen this before, we have a general idea of what it leads to, but there isn’t an active effort being made to combat the threats that are being made. Having one speech that denounces acts of hate is great, but it doesn’t prevent anything.

According to CNN, the bomb threats have been happening in waves “On Jan. 9, 15 Jewish centers and schools received bomb threats. Since then, the threats have occurred in waves, with a series of threats on Jan. 18, Jan. 31, Feb. 20,” reported an article from March 1. These threats are premeditated, they’re clearly being timed and put out in a specific way.

The police caught one of the people who was making the threats directed at New York community centers, and he was perpetrating the threats as a way of setting up his ex-girlfriend because he was mad at her. Bomb threats against any place, religion or organization aren’t justified. They aren’t a ploy to use to get back at someone you’re mad at. It’s a form of targeted, misplaced retaliation.

This past weekend was Purim, a Jewish holiday that’s meant to celebrate the resistance against an ancient Persian king’s plan to annihilate the Jews. During Purim, there was another wave of threats towards Jewish community centers. According to the PewResearchCenter, Jews make up 1.9 percent of the United States. The bomb threats not only target a specific group of people, but they also threaten the safety of a minority community in the United States. Regardless of the community, religious or not, we should all be concerned when any group within the country is threatened.

So far, in the United States and Canada, there has been a combined total of 154 threats to the Jewish community. We’re nearly three months into 2017 and 72 years past the end of WWII; why is this still going on?

Contact the author at zstrickland14@wou.edu

Look to the stars

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

I don’t want to be cliche and begin this with a “Star Trek” quote, but it’s hard not to with NASA’s announcement of the discovery of TRAPPIST-1.

TRAPPIST-1 is a star 39 lightyears from Earth, and is about the
size of Jupiter. It was found when scientists noticed small, recurring blips in its light. These blips were the seven Earth-sized planets that orbit TRAPPIST-1, four of which are in the “sweet spot” in distance from the star to hold liquid water, and subsequently support life.

I’m beyond excited about this discovery. Not just about the potential for liquid water and life, but because TRAPPIST-1 seems like something out of science fiction. TRAPPIST-1 is an ultra-cool star; cool as in temperature, despite my obvious opinions. The planets are so close to each other that one could stand on the surface of one and see geographical landmarks on the next. The planets don’t rotate, so one side is stuck in an eternal day while the other is stuck in darkness. Small details like this about TRAPPIST-1 seem so exotic to us, but are actually more common than what we deal with on our own planet.

Getting to TRAPPIST-1 is completely impossible with our current technology. Even the closest star to ours, Proxima Centauri, is completely unreachable at four light-years away. We don’t have the technology to reach it, but that doesn’t mean it’s not an exciting discovery.

Focus being put onto studying TRAPPIST-1 has not only excited me, but many others have taken to the Internet to voice their excitement as well. Already, the discovery has sparked creativity. The star’s official website, www.trappist.one, is filled with poems, short stories and artwork inspired by the discovery.

Neil DeGrasse Tyson responded to the discovery by suggesting that the planets be named after the seven dwarves. Other people on Twitter have suggested naming the planets after the seven wonders of the world or even the seven dwarves featured in “The Hobbit.”

With a lot of stress in everyday life, looking to the stars and learning about breathtaking discoveries in our galaxy is a great way to take a break from the world and think about the future.

It’s exciting to think about the potential discoveries that could be made in the future as our technology gets more and more advanced. TRAPPIST-1 is not only an example of how cool our galaxy is, it’s an example of how cool our technology is getting.

Contact the author at anewton15@wou.edu

Get your head out of the clouds

By: Stephanie Blair
Editor-in-Chief

So, space is great and all, but no one is going to make it to the TRAPPIST-1 planets in our lifetime. Not only do we not have the technology, but the distance makes it physically impossible. Maybe it’s my deep-rooted pessimism or my penny-pinching upbringing, but I think that maintaining this planet is more important than trying to reach another planet, let alone another solar system.

I’m all for excitement and hope, but shouldn’t it be placed in something tangible? Get excited about humanity reaching Mars, okay. Dream about going to the moon on a SpaceX tourism trip, sure. But spending time being excited about the possibility of reaching TRAPPIST-1 is on par with panicking about the sun’s inevitable collapse that will result in the earth being engulfed in flames.

It’s just not a practical use of energy; it’s not happening in this lifetime.

So, what is a practical use of energy? Going super Al Gore on your friends.

Work to lower your personal carbon footprint: grow plants, recycle, go vegetarian. Heck, join the Green Team on campus!

There are so many ways to help slow, and eventually reverse, climate change, which would negate the necessity of moving humanity to another planet.

Well, at least until it comes time for the great sun collapse.

That’s not to say we shouldn’t work towards reaching other planets for the sake of science: I’m all for NASA checking out Mars. The keyword here is necessity; humanity shouldn’t be seeking ways to other planets because we have to, or worse, because people just didn’t want to clean up their own mess.

If a reversal remedy for cavities was found, making drilling and filling obsolete, wouldn’t you rather keep your original teeth? Think about the shift in attitude that would surround the dentist: no more dread and shame, just a nonchalant partnership to repair what’s been damaged. Why not work towards this with our planet? Especially when it’s so easy and there’s so much work to be done. Come on, y’all.

I’m glad that the TRAPPIST-1 discovery has provided some with a spot of excitement in these heavy, politically charged times, but it’s too little, too soon to reasonably hold as hope.

Contact the author at sblair13@wou.edu

How do you solve a problem like misrepresentation?

By: Stephanie Blair
Editor-in-Chief

Each year the Ralph J. Bunche Center publishes a “Hollywood Diversity Report” which examines the diversity of gender and race in all aspects of Hollywood, from writing to acting, directing to talent agencies. Despite minorities making up around 40 percent of America’s population, the film industry is underwhelmingly diverse. This is, in large part, due to the lack of diverse parts.

Viola Davis put it best in her 2015 Emmy speech: “You cannot win an Emmy for roles that are simply not there.”

Whitewashing in Hollywood isn’t a new problem, but the Asian community seems to receive the worst of it. There often aren’t Asian roles, and when there are, they are often still given to white people. While yellow-face seems outrageous to most now, it’s present in a classic film: the most racist acting I’ve ever seen comes from Mickey Rooney in “Breakfast at Tiffany’s.” What’s disappointing is that this is still happening over half a century after that disgusting performance, yellow-face may have disappeared but now, instead, race is simply being visually erased.

The stereotypes are not the sole focus of the characters anymore, but even when there is an Asian role, it’s often given to a white actor. Recent examples of this include Emma Stone, a freckle-covered red-head, being cast as a half-Asian character in “Aloha” and Scarlett Johansson being cast as Motoko Kusanagi in “Ghost in the Shell.”

And this goes beyond race; Deaf representation is severely lacking in Hollywood as well. In the 2016 film “Hush” Kate Siegel, a hearing actress, plays a deaf character. While her acting was convincing to a hearing audience, there are a plethora of deaf actresses who could have played the part just as easily. This film didn’t even have the excuse that they wanted a well-known actress to lead; Siegel, who co-wrote the film, decided to play the part herself rather than cast a deaf actress.

The danger of casting hearing people in Deaf roles is the misrepresentation. Last year, Ben Jarashow came to Western to give a talk titled “The Cycle of Ideology: The Image of Deaf People in Hollywood.” In the presentation, Jarashow shared some of the common misrepresentations of Deaf people in films and television from the start of film to the present because this is a very real problem still facing the Deaf community.

These decisions erase identity for people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, the Deaf community and countless other societal groups. They can also perpetuate wrong information and harmful stereotypes. The Bunche Center’s 2015 report stated that “films with relatively diverse casts enjoyed the highest median global box office receipts and the highest median return on investment.” There’s not even an economical reason not to include more diverse roles.

So, what can a lowly college student do to affect Hollywood? Boycott! This is a time honored tradition that works.

In June of 2016, a stage production of “Prince of Egypt” was in the works as a park concert that would potentially head for Broadway later on. However, in a play about Egyptians and middle-eastern Jews, the cast was entirely white. This sparked controversy and backlash online which ultimately led to the concert being cancelled.

Speaking out about representation can work, boycotting can work, but only if people take part. Don’t support films that whitewash and that don’t represent a character and help support minority communities.

Contact the author at sblair13@mail.wou.edu

Speak while everyone’s watching

By: Ashton Newton
Entertainment Editor

Celebrity activism has always been a big deal in the world of entertainment. Whether celebrities speak out by taking to social media or writing targeted speeches for award shows, the wide audiences that popular celebrities reach make for an opportunity for their voices to make a large impact. No matter the issue, or whether I’m for or against it, celebrities sparking up discussions is healthy for society and gets people thinking.

Celebrities speaking out about the election, both for and against President Trump, has been big in the news lately, but celebrity activism is far from a new thing. 

One of the most notable examples was during the 1973 Oscars, when Marlon Brando refused to attend the ceremony or accept his award for best actor in “The Godfather” to protest the treatment of Native Americans by the film industry and at Wounded Knee. Instead, an Apache trade member named Sacheen Littlefeather was sent to announce that he couldn’t accept the award.

Leonardo DiCaprio used his award platforms for “The Revenant” to discuss issues as well. During his speech for best actor at The Golden Globes, DiCaprio advocated for the Native Americans who live in the areas where the film was made.

“I want to share this award with all the First Nations peoples represented in this film and all the indigenous communities around the world. It is time we recognized your history and that we protect your indigenous lands from corporate interests,” said DiCaprio.

Award speeches are moments where fellow celebrities, the media and massive audiences of people all have eyes on someone, and I think bringing up a social cause that most people wouldn’t think of is a great thing to do while everyone is listening.

Afterwards, people take to social media voicing their opinions on what was said. While some individuals are mean and hurtful, a lot of people honestly voice their opinions on either side of the issue. The sharing of opinions, the small dinner table debates, it’s what creates a healthy, thoughtful and intelligent society.

Numerous celebrities took to the streets for the Jan. 21 Women’s March, using their voices to reach wide audiences with information and encouragement; Scarlett Johansson, Lady Gaga and Cher were all present at the Women’s March in Washington DC. Among the celebrities present, there was also actor and comedian Nick Offerman, who took to Twitter voicing his support and sharing photos of the march.

Whether it’s marching for causes, speaking out on Twitter or dedicating an award speech to a cause, celebrity activism provokes thinking and is positive for society.

Contact the author at anewton15@wou.edu

Individualism in a state of togetherness

By: Kristin Norman
Copy Editor

Being in a healthy relationship can help someone learn about themselves and what they need from another person. As a young, recently married person, I have a lot of growing to do despite my personal relationship. In what many call a process of self-actualization, I will spend the rest of my life working to love and know myself more.

While it is great having someone hold me accountable for my actions, challenging me to be a better person and encouraging me in my efforts, the bottom line is that only I can decide to change.

Nobody else can do the difficult task of self-improvement for me. I’ve witnessed far too many people my age seek out self-fulfillment in others while forgetting that they are not who they date.

That being said, I don’t agree with the idea that people should only try dating as a means to understanding who they are and what they want. This way of thinking implies that singledom is something to be overcome instead of embraced.

It may sound overly cliché coming from a married person, but there are times when I miss the independence that comes with being single. Singleness provides the opportunity to explore avenues of life without the influence of another person. However, I also believe it’s possible to be with someone who doesn’t hinder your ability to explore those avenues.

With Valentine’s Day just around the corner, remember that being in college is a masterful balancing act that involves the process of self-actualization. If you’re single: be empowered and take the opportunity to know and love yourself. If you’re in a committed relationship: find time to better yourself with the help of someone you love.

Please contact the author at keck14@wou.edu.com