Opinion – Page 27 – The Western Howl

By Conner Williams - Editorial Editor

The Health and Wellness Center hosts, on average, 5,440 users per week, according to Rip Horsey, director of campus recreation. It can become cluttered and busy at peak times, and following these simple tips will make everyone’s workouts better and their experiences more enjoyable.

Disclaimer: This list was not obtained from the Health and Wellness Center. It was compiled by the editorial editor of The Journal.

1. Put your weights away

• This is number one for a reason. Seriously, put your weights away.

2. Wipe down your equipment
• This falls in close accordance with number one. Nobody wants to have to use a bench or machine that is covered in your sweat. Great job on working hard, but please clean up after yourself.

3. Don’t idle on machines or stations
• Everyone rests between their sets, but that doesn’t mean the machine or bench then serves as a place to take a load off while you text away. Get off your phone, and let someone else work in.

4. Do your exercise at least 5 feet away from the mirror
• We all know the key to building big arms is to stare intently at yourself while doing curls, but that doesn’t mean you need to stand directly in front of the dumbbell racks. Leave enough room so that other people can grab and put away the weights they need.

5. Use headphones
• Nobody wants to hear your music, or you singing along to it. Attention-seeking behavior is just plain obnoxious. Go to Bi-Mart and buy a $6 pair of Skullcandy earbuds.

6. Use a spotter
• There is a thin line between arrogance and ignorance. If you’re going to attempt a lift that you know you can’t do more than twice or will struggle with, ask someone to spot you. We’re all happy to help, just as long as we don’t have to lift all the weight for you because you want to show off with some immovable heavy weight.

7. Wash your hands after using the restroom
• This one is pretty self-explanatory. According to the Center for
Disease Control and Prevention, washing your hands prevents illnesses and the spread of infections to others. Who would’ve thought? Thousands of hands touch the gym equipment every day, so let’s try to keep it as sanitary as possible.

8. Don’t take over someone’s station or machine
• You just saw that person using that piece of equipment, so before taking it from them, ask if they are done. If not, ask if you can work in with them. Most people are happy to share equipment. After all, this is a public gym.

9. Be aware of your surroundings
• Don’t blindly walk around the gym with your eyes glued to your phone. There are people everywhere, and running into someone can cause a very dangerous situation.

10. Use deodorant
• This cannot be stressed enough. You may not be able to smell yourself, but the rest of us can, and it isn’t pleasant. Go buy a $2 Speed Stick, and keep it in your gym bag.

11. Keep the between-set conversation to a minimum
• You’re here to work out, not to chat and take up valuable gym space. If you need to take a phone call or text someone, do it off to the side of the weight floor.

12. Keep your workout tips to yourself
• Unless someone is performing an exercise with excessively poor form that can cause injury to themselves and/or others, your fitness advice probably isn’t welcome.

13. Try not to stare at other people
• This one mostly applies to the men of the gym crowd. We’ve all been caught creeping at least once, but try to keep it on the down low, and don’t make anyone uncomfortable by conspicuously staring wide-eyed while they’re mid-deadlift.

The Western Howl

Home » Opinion

To struggle beautifully

By JENNIFER HALLEY
 Copy Editor

Do you know what it feels like to have your mind spinning, somersaulting out of control with thoughts, at such a high intensity, it drives you nearly crazy? Do you know what it feels like to spend gross amounts of money without having any control in the decisions that prompted you to do so? And to feel that gut-wrenching guilt that comes with it? Or to sleep with a knife under your pillow because you’re swallowed up in a thick, wet blanket of black that consumes you?

Yeah, I don’t either.

But my sister does. My beautiful, baby sister. She knows what it feels like to lay in a steep, heavy darkness, with its fingers at her throat, her own fingers clutching a knife buried under her pillows that, with one clean sweep, could end it all – silence everything. She knows how much it affects every aspect of her life to spend and spend and spend and then lay in a dried-out pool of funds and embarrassment. And every day still, she knows too well the screaming thoughts in her head that try to consume her every move and sometimes, do.

Medication. Therapy. More medication. Diet. Exercise. Get enough sleep. Be healthy.

Don’t smoke weed. Don’t drink. Don’t. Do. Don’t. Do. These things are pushed on her constantly, in an effort to manage her Bi-polar disorder. Every day is a struggle for my baby sister.

But every day is also another day my sister gets up and faces this invisible illness – staring it valiantly in the face – which rears its ugly head every possible second it can. She’s insightful, intelligent, hard-working and beautiful – a beauty that radiates from within. She’s got deep dimples and big blue eyes. Who couldn’t adore her?

I didn’t, at one point. In fact, I was so angry with her I convinced myself I hated her. But it is impossible, as I’ve come to realize, to hate someone that is such a part of you. That hatred you feel is just an aching love that clutches your insides.

My sister and I were the best of friends growing up. We played with each other day in and day out; as punishment – instead of swallowing soap or weeding – mom would separate us, not allowing us to play with one another for the whole day, which made us incredibly distraught. Luckily, we were cute kids and mom would give in. But still! The thought of being apart for a whole day! We were inseparable.

Fast forward a decade or so to my second year of college and her senior year in high school: the sweet, innocent, sensitive, gentle baby sister was replaced with an angry, careless, spiteful girl who treated her family with contempt and hate. She could not have cared less, in my eyes. She stayed out late, made risky decisions and slept very little. She was withdrawn and furious. As her senior year continued, she began cutting herself and sleeping with a knife under her pillow. You couldn’t talk to her without the conversation turning sour; her mood swings were a light switch. We all had to walk on eggshells around her.

I was so angry. With her. At her. Each decision she made was, in turn, hurting our parents, hurting me. My parents spent hours, days, weeks – that whole year – tirelessly trying to help her when she didn’t want it. They were exhausted and it made me so mad. How could she do this to our parents, her family? Admittedly, I thought she was doing it for attention. Or to be rebellious. I thought she was being so selfish.

Bipolar disorder never even crossed my mind, or my parents’ mind.

As her senior year drew to a close, and she went off to college, her life was a continual spiral. And I worried. I worried so much. She had free reign now: no parents to watch over her every move, no rules, no curfew, no sisters to meddle in her business. None of that. I was so afraid she was going to get addicted to drugs, raped at a party, or caught up with an abusive boyfriend. My baby sister was not a baby anymore and I couldn’t protect her anymore.

Now, at 22 years old, she is doing well. The sweet girl, who when she was younger and saw an ambulance whiz past us in the car, would say a quick prayer of protection, is back again. She has her moments and her days. I mean, we all do; we’re human. We get tired, stressed and cranky. But for a person like me who is not dealing with an invisible illness, that’s it. I get tired, stressed, irritable; sleepless nights can be remedied by a good night’s sleep the next night; moodiness can often be attributed to hormones. Stress is a result of work and school.

But to someone like my sister, a night of too-little sleep can result in a manic episode that sends her reeling back three steps. Missing a DAY’S dose of her medication? Five steps back. Small, meaningless decisions for us can be huge for my sister and can result in periods of anxiety that stall her from moving. You ever feel like you just can’t sometimes? Well, she feels that way far too often. Some days, She Just Can’t. She’s stuck in a whirlwind of anxiety and depression, thoughts crowding her brain and a fog which ways her down so hard.

She’s tried a variety of medications, seen an array of therapists and tries hard, every day, to manage her illness. And she is so incredibly strong for it. And so brave. So very, very brave.

According to nimh. nih.gov, mental disorders are common, affecting tens of millions of people each year. But only half of those affected receive treatment.

To my baby sister: I want to commend you for taking that HUGE step in trying, tirelessly, everyday, to figure out how to manage this illness that no one can see. I want to tell you I look up to you, so much, because you fight a battle I know nothing about and are still able to be funny, wonderful, kind and an amazing sister to me. You have bad days and good ones, both of which I think deserve acknowledgment. I will never know what it is like to walk a minute in your shoes, and I am sorry I could not protect you from this monster. But just know, that each and every day, through the thickest of thick and the thinnest of thin, I love you. I love YOU. Every part of you. You make me so proud, baby sister, and I hope you know that.

Bipolar disorder is a HARD one to live with – hard for everyone involved. And those who choose to do so, man, how beautiful are they? As I watch my sister blossom into an adult, into her own person, I think I’m beginning to understand what it means to struggle beautifully. She does it. Everyday she does it. And I’m a better person because of her.

So, I’ll say it again: I love you, baby sister. Forever and always.

The Western Howl

Home » Opinion

Generation of Disillusionment

Carly Fister - Designer — Carly Fister – Designer

According to dictionary.com, a millennial is: “a person born in the 1980s or 1990s, especially in the U.S.” The generation of millennials seem to have a bad reputation; we are often regarded as lazy, entitled, and out of touch with the world, particularly the political world.

Articles like “Millennial Workers: Entitled, Needy, Self-Centered?” by Jada Graves and “Millennials Frustrate HR Execs,” by Sean Bisceglia look into the traits attributed to our generation. Companies say we have unrealistic expectations about what a job will be like once we are hired, with specific regard to promotions. We think we are owed the job for going to college.

The baby boomers look at us and say we are entitled and narcissistic, based on our greatest contribution to the world: the “selfie.” We are a joke to the older crowd, who
view us as a generation of young people removing themselves from the reality they created who don’t care what happens. They see people who are more interested in partying or tweeting and picking out a filter for their newest Instagram photo instead of voting.

But has anyone stopped to think about what we tweet? It’s not all about the Dress and Kim Kardashian.

According to Aaron Moy’s article “Four Insights about Millennials on Twitter,” 53 percent of millennials tweet about current events but only one in four will show up to
the voting booths to cast a ballot.

We may not participate with rallies or signs, but we are very much aware of the political climate around us. The problem is, we just don’t like what we see.

Personally, I dislike politics. I dislike the bias of the parties. I dislike the judgment and the bad mouthing that our political system has become, and I dislike the
fact I can’t really ever seem to get a straight answer on what a politician believes.

I would describe my party affiliation as a politically agnostic, which is defined by Urban Dictionary as “One who is a registered voter and politically informed, but is basically indifferent and non-committal toward the popular political parties (Democrat or Republican in the U.S.). [He/she] Probably believes that the political parties are so ideologically similar and so mired in their own bureaucracy that they have outlived their usefulness.”

I remove myself from the political process, but not because I don’t care what happens in our government or am too lazy or out of touch to know who or what I am voting
for. I believe that our system is fundamentally broken.

In her article “Why Millennials Don’t Vote,” Danielle Chilton explains, “Voting is all too often viewed as an ineffective form of expression by Millennials. In a sea of millions of votes, it’s hard to feel like your solitary ballot really means that your voice is heard.”

And I agree.

Each political party is too busy attacking the other to come up with any real solutions, and even when an answer presents itself, our represented officials seem more concerned with tearing down the other side of the political fence to support what could be a positive change for our country. I don’t see any politician or political party
that I can say, “yes, I feel represented here.”

Our country will be inherited by the millennials, not the older generations who are currently in office: a generation that doesn’t take me, as a young person, seriously.

A generation that has no politician whose values reflects my own. A generation that, frankly, is screwing me over.

It seems funny that the most credible source of news to me is “The Daily Show with Jon Stewart” and not MSNBC or the “Today” show. I enjoy that the news is delivered
in both a way that is interesting and informative. I enjoy that Stewart criticizes both parties.

When reading up on current events, more often than not I start with a Buzzfeed article or do more research into a hashtag rather than scanning OregonLive.

I have discussions with my peers about what they think and force myself to listen to opinions I disagree with rather than shoot them down. I play devil’s advocate on issues to see the legitimacy of all sides of an argument.

Organizations like Rock the Vote look at how millennials get involved and try to find ways to increase voter turnout. Ashley Spillane, president of Rock the Vote, explains that millennials are “looking to take problems in real time and fix them.”

Whether it be tweeting about their political views or work in their community with a local startup or volunteering, we millennials care about the issues that matter to us enough to go out and do something about it.

Our involvement may not look like what the baby boomers think it should, but I think that is probably a good thing. Our system needs a change and the only way to change it is for us to find a new way to approach it.

So maybe we millennials are a bunch of passive kids who have a short attention span and spend way too much time on our phones, destined to live in our parents’ basements. Or maybe we are waiting for a time when our voices and opinions are represented in politics, allowing us to make the change we wish to see in the world, one bill at a time.

Or maybe we are just waiting for our time to make the change we all need to see in the world.

The Western Howl

Home » Opinion

Up in Smoke

The daily duties of a convenience store cashier are fairly straightforward. The customer ponders the multitude of preservative-laced delicacies and, upon deciding that four corndogs, a 44-ounce soda and nachos will hold them over for the evening, hands the items over to me to check out.

Nearly all customer-clerk encounters occur without protest, save for the occasional high price complaint (which is apparently my fault that something is priced 30 cents over his allotted junk-food budget), the always pleasant break-a-hundred-for-this-89-cent-purchase customer, and the person who feels they need to point out every flaw in the physical makeup and structure of the business.

Most of these instances trigger a reaction in me nothing more than a shake of the head and faint sigh. But, the one that tops the podium and makes me question my morals and my job duties is that of the pregnant smoker.

Cigarettes are one of the highest selling products in a convenience store. I am required to stock and count the cigarettes daily as well as record all sales. It is against the law to sell tobacco products to individuals under the age of 18 and I card everyone who looks under 30. Many of the customers that come in are regulars and I know what they want as they walk in the door.

Most of the time, customers ask for their particular brand of addiction-easers and I toss the pack(s) their way without so much as a shrug. They quietly thank me and go on about their business. However, there was one instance that made me question the written law as well as my own personal ethics.

Just like any other day, a woman came in to buy a pack of smokes. She was of legal age and I obliged to her request. No big deal, until I did a double-take as she left and saw the protruding baby bump I had failed to notice under her jacket when we were face-to-face.

What had I just done?

Generally, I am not a person who is quick to judge or make unfair assumptions about people, especially strangers. She could have simply been overweight or buying them for someone else. However, I was certain that she was pregnant, and they were for her; seeing her “pack” the box and slip one into her mouth on her way out only confirmed my suspicions.

I forced myself to stay put and resist the urge to confront her about her unquestionably irresponsible and unethical actions. Then, I had a similar train of thought about alcohol.

How many pregnant women had I sold beer or wine to?

How many women void of compassion for their unborn child had put me in the awkward and uncomfortable position of addiction supplier?

I have no interest in playing enabler, especially when the result is the harming of a human that is unable to defend itself from the barrage of carcinogens and immeasurable defects, stunted growth, facial abnormalities, central nervous system problems and mental retardation, to name a few.

I know that clerks at my store are allowed to refuse service if a customer is being unreasonably angry or rude, but I knew nothing about the policy on refusing to sell cigarettes and alcohol to an individual that meets the legal age requirements.

My manager was not present, so I decided instead to take a look at the legal side of the spectrum. I pulled out my phone and did a little research to find out if I was legally allowed to refuse service to a visibly pregnant woman attempting to purchase tobacco and/or alcohol products.

Sure enough, there are no laws that make it legal for a clerk to refuse to sell alcohol and/or tobacco to visibly pregnant women. The decision is left up to the business. If the business has a “We reserve the right to refuse service” sign, then the discretion is left up to the employee and would then have to be validated to the manager or owner.

However, I have read on several online forums, such as one on expertlaw.com, that refusing service to a pregnant woman could be seen as an act of discrimination, similar to declining service to someone because of sexual orientation or ethnicity, in which case the matter could end up in civil court.

Under ORS 471.551, all retail alcohol licenses require retailers to “post the pregnancy warning sign at the entrance to your business or at all points of sale.” The sign bears the message: “Pregnancy & Alcohol DO NOT MIX. Drinking alcoholic beverages, including wine, coolers, and beer during pregnancy can cause birth defects.”

There is no such sign, however, warning about the effects of tabacco. The warnings are placed on the packs themselves, that are hardly noticed as the pack is torn open in a frenzy.

Now, obviously I am not able to put myself in the exact mindset of a pregnant woman, but I like to think if I was caring for another human being growing inside of me that depended on everything I did and put into my body, I might be able to overcome my addiction. I know that the physical effects of addiction are strong and severe and difficult to overcome, but the well-being of an unborn child should always supersede one’s own selfish choices.

I realize it is not my place to judge others; my job is to shut up and give the customers what they want. However, it is my place to judge myself. I should have the choice to opt out of being in the situation of contributing to the harm of an unborn child. Unfortunately, I do not have the financial freedom to question the type of employment that I place myself in, but I should have the ethical freedom to question the types of customers that I do, or do not, serve.

There is one more piece of legislature which deserves some discussion: according to ORS 471.412, it is against the law to sell alcohol to a visibly intoxicated person, as he or she is not able to mentally make viable health decisions on their own behalf. The same could also be said of selling to pregnant women. If a woman is willing to drink or smoke while pregnant, it seems to me that they either don’t know about the inherent dangers on their unborn child, or they don’t care. Both cases provide an argument that she is not mentally able to make practical health decisions for her unborn child. A lack of education or empathy is, in my opinion, good cause to allow me to refuse service.

The Western Howl

Home » Opinion

Stachtastic: the return of the mustached man

INFOGRAPHIC BY CARLY FISTER | Designer *Information courtesy of americanmustacheinstitute.org, howtogrowamustache.com, and medialcaldaily.com — INFOGRAPHIC BY CARLY FISTER | Designer
*Information courtesy of americanmustacheinstitute.org, howtogrowamustache.com, and
medialcaldaily.com

At work the other day, I looked up to find a 20-something-year-old man sitting in front of me, stroking his waxed, handlebar mustache like it was his prized possession. Caught off guard by this image, I ended up watching him as he casually spoke with his friends, drank and ate, and generally went about his normal business, all while stroking his mustache.

Even after he had gone, I kept remembering the mustached man, unable to put my finger on why he stuck with me. It may be because a small part of me kept picturing him as the villain in an old black and white film, twirling his mustache as he laughed maniacally before the damsel tied to the train tracks met a very rough end. Or maybe it was just the sheer amount
of times he touched his own mustache — 15 that I noticed.

But I had this nagging feeling that while those both seemed odd, they were not what fascinated me so. It finally hit me as I was about to fall asleep that night…I hadn’t seen a fully- grown mustache such as that in a long time, especially on someone who was roughly my age.

With this new thought, I decided to do some digging, as anyone would. It turns out, I was right: the mustached man has been a rare site for the last several decades. Of course there are always the outliers, but the majority of society had abandoned the mustache and all its glory.

So what made it return?

Some exploration led me to the American Mustache Institute’s web page, which was full of information and interesting facts about mustaches. But more than facts or statistics, it gave explanations, such as a timeline of the mustache throughout history. Through this timeline, one can begin to determine the trend of the mustached man.

A number of factors have surely contributed to the rise of the mustache: the popularity of No-shave November, or Movember as it is fondly known, the media or TV shows that prominently feature mustached men, such as Anchorman’s Ron Burgundy or Ron Swanson.

But it’s more than that.

The traditional adult is no longer what we picture as children, which sort of looks like the cast of “Mad Men,” all business people with power suits and important jobs. Not to say there are not still people like that, but it is no longer the norm. Having a full-time job does not always mean working from 9 to 5. Being a parent doesn’t mean you hide your tattoos, but display your sleeve with pride. A mustached man is not Ron Burgundy and the channel 4 news crew, against the progression of women and society.

So who is he?

Perhaps he is a hipster, growing his ironic facial hair to emphasize his creativity and open-mindedness. Perchance he wants to be a powerful man, or is a powerful man and wants to have facial hair he feels accurately displays what he wants to say to the world. Maybe he just really hates shaving. But whatever the reason, the mustached man is making his comeback. I, for one, applaud him!

The Western Howl

Home » Opinion

Adapting to the Age of Connectivity

By TREVOR JACKSON
 Guest Columnist

Last week, I made a trip to Chicago. I’m studying theater, and I planned to go and audition for graduate schools. On Sunday, I woke up at the absolute crack of
dawn so I could drive with my father from Monmouth to PDX.

After the hour drive, 10 minutes to park, 10 minutes to walk to the terminal, and an additional hour of waiting in line (it happened to be Super Bowl Sunday), we approached the Alaska Airlines counter only to find that our flight had been canceled.

Fortunately, there was another flight in the next two days, and it wouldn’t conflict with my audition. But the situation was nonetheless extremely frustrating.

See, I still live in the 20th century, and I don’t own a smartphone. On the drive over, if I only owned some sort of smart device, I could have received the cancellation notice ahead of time and saved the trip. But alas, I had no such
device. And the ironic thing is, my father works for Verizon.

I decided to purchase for myself a Samsung Galaxy, a tablet computer with a 7-inch screen. Some people, like my father, believe they can be just as productive while “living-off-the-grid.” But let me tell you: as someone who has made a lifestyle switch in the very midst of the Age of Connectivity, there is no other way to live if you want to count yourself as a part of the American workforce.

Now, I know the audience I am writing for, and that, quite frankly, I’m preaching to the choir. I would wager that 99 percent of you, the readers, know the immediate benefits of being consistently connected to the internet. How fortunate it is the campus is covered in Wi-Fi signals.

To those that are wary about how predominant technology has become in our lives, I say “get over it.” Imagine working as a chef in a competitive kitchen, except you’re the only one that has to go cook everything in the fire pit out back. Meanwhile, I’ll stay inside with my industrial stovetop.

The Western Howl

Home » Opinion

Google self-driving car takes control

By TREVOR JACKSON
 Guest Column

The other day I was riding in the car with my father; we were talking about this and that, very casual like, and I bring up the subject of Google’s self-driving car. I say, “You think you would ever buy a self-driving car?”
His response? “Hell, no!” I was surprised. We debated and bantered over the subject.

“I like having control,” he said, gripping the steering wheel of our Subaru a little tighter. He held on even tighter when I mentioned that Google’s most recent prototype, in fact, had no steering wheel. Or even pedals. And starts testing on public roads this month. Admittedly, even I find this a little freaky. However, I am still on board with autonomous driving, and for two big reasons.

The first is that computers are so much cooler, calm and collected than humans are. Human beings are fragile; our driving can be inhibited by so many different factors: alcohol, lack of sleep, medication, road rage, etc. We have lives; we have worries; we have distractions; we have so many things that can put us in danger when we get behind the wheel.

But, the Google Car is a machine whose existence is entirely dedicated to and limited to getting you from A to B. The Google Car does not get drowsy; it does not get inebriated; it does not get loopy from medication; it does not get blinded by road rage.

It has over $100,000 worth of technology within it, all dedicated to driving. It has a LIDAR 64 beam Velodyne laser system mounted on its roof constantly reading and interpreting its surroundings, generating a 3D map of its environment for itself in real time. Tell me, do you have a LIDAR 64 Velodyne laser system when you drive? Huh? Do ya, Dad?!

The second big reason I’m for it is the convenience aspect. It may seem obvious,
everyone can imagine what they’d do with their free time: read a book, play a game, do homework, watch the game, take a nap, it’s endless.

But let me paint a bigger picture for you: It’s the middle of February, and you’re going to the movies with your significant other. You both get into your regular four-door sedan that you have to operate yourself, and you’re on your way.

For the 20-minute drive, you’re focused on the road, jittery from your Dutch Bros., and your significant other is focused on their phone for the whole ride, because they don’t want to distract you. For the whole ride, you don’t talk
much.

You get to the movie theater and the lot is full, and you have to drive down the
street and park on the curb. And damn it all, you suck at parallel parking. It takes a few tries to get it right; you step out to inspect your handiwork
only to find that you still are a good two feet from the curb, so you get in try it once more to correct it.

You finally walk to the theater, rush to get your seats (the trailers are already playing by this point), and sit down for your date. When the movie is done, its dark out and around 26 degrees outside. You walk down the dark and sketchy street to your car, and sit for another 10 minutes while you wait for the windshield to defrost.

It’s awfully cold. On the way back, you combat drowsiness, trying to focus on the yellow line, with the oncoming traffic headlights blaring in your eyes. You finally get home, and the both of you fall into bed, exhausted and defeated.

Now, let me paint another picture: It’s the middle of February, and you’re going to the movie with your significant other. You both get into your Google Self-Driving Car, and you’re on your way. For the 20 minute drive, you hold hands and fall asleep in each other’s arms for a little nap.

You arrive at the theater, get up, stretch, and the Google Car drops you off at the front door. You press a button, and the Google Car goes off to find itself somewhere to park.

You and your significant other stop to get a popcorn and Red Vines (you have
plenty of time), and sit down just in time for the trailers to start playing. At the end of the movie as the credits are rolling, you press the “Return” button on your key, and by the time you step out of the theater the Google Car is waiting for you at the front door, heated, ready to protect you from the cold and take
you both home to bed.

I will let someone, or something, do the driving for me any day. But if you, like my father, prefer having control, go ahead and grip your steering wheel tighter. I, on the other hand, am going to enjoy my nap.

The Western Howl

Home » Opinion

The peril of online courses

By Haunani Thomas Managing Editor — By Haunani Thomas
Managing Editor

Speaking as a college student with self-diagnosed “senioritis,” getting out of bed is highly exasperating, to say the least. Waking up to go to class is comparable to taking out the trash: nobody wants to do it. Luckily, online education is extremely convenient.

You can complete assignments from the comfort of your own bedroom and continue to stay there because guess what? No assigned meeting times! Who wouldn’t refuse that offer?After taking two online classes within the past two terms, me.

But with convenience also comes laziness, a lack of urgency and, ultimately, procrastination. Case in point: last term I turned in my last two Writing for the Web projects late. As in last-day-of-finals-week late (Sorry, Dr. Lewis.)

If you know me, turning in homework is one of my biggest phobias. It gives me anxiety and makes me feel like I did when I watched Black Swan: extremely uncomfortable. That being said, the reason why I am not fond of online classes is because I turn in my homework late. If I didn’t make it clear before, I’d like to point out that it is very out-of-character for me to submit past due assignments.

Very.

Last school year I was enrolled in Marketing and the Internet. It was a hybrid class meaning we completed the coursework on our own time and only met for exams.

Although I totally bought into the idea of not having to attend class (again, who wouldn’t be?), all of the coursework started building up.

Instead of having a regular lecture, we’d have readings, videos, audio lectures and case studies to complete, in addition to responding to each other on Moodle. I am 100 percent sure I did more reading for that class alone than the entire “Harry Potter” series. I know this because I’ve read the entire series.

Thrice.

What I’m trying to say is that I don’t think I’ve ever put that much effort into a
“normal” class. Although the readings weren’t difficult, there were just so many details that I was unsure of which ones would be important on the exams. There was no real interactive communication between us and our professor. We responded to prompts just because we were supposed to, not because we truly wanted to share our standpoint(s). Half of the responses were just students regurgitating what other students, who had actually done the readings, had an opinion about.
Additionally, I sucked at submitting assignments on time. No need to sugar coat it.

When I had an assignment or project due on Wednesday, I waited until Wednesday morning to begin, thinking I could wake up at nine and finish said assignment before two.

There’s just something about physically attending class that gives me incentive to complete work on time.

Which brings us to this: online coursework should be supplementary to in-class discussion, assignments, etc.

For example, the majority of the homework assigned for Math 111 was online.

Although the problems took forever (or really like three and a half hours) to complete, I was able to get them done… eventually.
It is an understatement to say that I am terrible at math. So, the online portion of the class was not to blame for my poor overall performance. It actually saved my grade.

However, the online assignments made it easier for our professors to assign homework without having to grade it. I also liked that our textbook was offered online because I can’t stand lugging around textbooks for every class. Plus, I don’t know what I would have done without the “View an Example” feature on Pearson MyLab.

Therefore, in the future, I’d like to refrain from taking an online-based class due to my tendency toward procrastination and laziness that develops whenever I do so.

In spite of that, I do think professors should utilize online homework if it complements the coursework and the professor’s instruction. Based on my experiences, I believe that online education should be used as one of many mediums to teach and, not relied on as the sole vehicle for teaching and learning.

There’s just something about face-to-face, in-class interaction that is not well-replicated via online courses. However, the struggle for waking up to go to class will always remain.

The Western Howl

Home » Opinion

Stay Secure: Being safe in an age of cyber warfare

By Daniel Frank Web Designer — By Daniel Frank
Web Designer

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, victims of identity theft in America
rose from 8.6 million victims in 2010 to 16.6 million victims in 2012.

Today, we are hearing more and more about cyber attacks like the infamous 2013
hack on Target, where millions of names and credit card numbers were stolen.

In light of most recent events like Western’s Internet outage from a Direct Denial of Service (DDOS) attack and phishing attacks targeting Western employees, many students may be wondering how to keep their personal data safe from intruders.

Here are some good basic practices to protect your information from being exposed to snooping eyes:

1: If it doesn’t need to be online, don’t put it online.

From family photos to the photos that you might dare to send through Snapchat: if
you don’t want people to see them, don’t let them leave your phone or computer. Events like last year’s “The Fappening 2014” scandals are a good example that not even Apple can completely protect your privacy against social engineering hacks.

2: Encrypt, encrypt, encrypt.

Next time you’re web browsing on your phone or your computer, look at the URL of the website you’re on. At the far left of the URL, you should see an ‘http’ or ‘https’. The ‘s’ in ‘https’ stands for secure, meaning that your session with that
particular website is secure. ‘Secure’ in this case means that each packet of data being transferred between you and the website is encrypted with a special key.

If you only see ‘http’, your information is readily available to anyone connected at some point between your computer and the server, and you should not transfer sensitive data such as credit card numbers, social security numbers, or other vital information.

3: Stay updated.

Software is riddled with vulnerabilities. As researchers discover these vulnerabilities, they inform the programmers that can patch those security holes. The patches are released as updates. Those annoying pop-ups that harass you every day to update not only enhance your software to run faster, they also protect you
from the latest exploits.

4: Don’t download it. Don’t open it.

Don’t download and open things that you are unsure of. Emails from unknown senders are almost guaranteed to have malware in whatever attachments are attached to the email. On the contrary, emails in .zip format from known senders could also be dangerous if you don’t know why you’re receiving that email from that person.

Malware will compromise your computer and can do anything from completely locking
you out of your computer to sending every single stroke of your keyboard to an unknown location for the malware’s creator to use as he wishes.

By following these four guidelines, you will reduce your chances of getting your
personal information stolen. But the truth in the matter is that your information is never truly safe once your computer is exposed to the Internet.

When you swipe your card at the grocery store, your card information travels over the Internet. New exploits are being discovered every day that can compromise even the most secure systems. But by following safe practices, you can limit the chances of your identity from being stolen.

MLS looks toward expansion with 2015 Super Draft

For most sports franchises, the two most exciting dates on the calendar are the championship game and draft day. With MLS moving more toward the youth academy system of talent development used in the English Premier League and others like it, the super draft may soon be a thing of the past.

For now though, 2015’s draft was still front and center in the growing league. The creation of two new expansion teams, Orlando City SC and New York City FC, in addition to the recent restructuring of Chivas USA, combined to create higher than usual demand for the available young players.

The Super Draft structure is similar to drafts in other American sports and the players are still attending university at the time of the selection, although many are also attached to USL (United Soccer League) teams as well.

Orlando City SC was granted the first pick in a coin toss and selected Canadian national team regular and UConn Huskies star forward Cyle Larin. The second overall pick — forward Khiry Shelton — chosen by New York City FC has been playing for Oregon State since 2011, and he has even made several appearances for the US Men’s National team.

When Shelton begins training with his new teammates, he will join the likes of former Chelsea hero Frank Lampard, and David Villa of Barcelona fame.

Local favorites Portland Timbers FC acquired the fifth overall pick in the first round as a part of a trade deal with the Colorado Rapids for Portland native Danny Mwanga (forward).

After a disappointing 2014 campaign plagued by injuries and poor results, the Timbers looked to make waves in the off-season with their highest selection seed since 2011.

Timbers’ first pick, Nick Besler (midfield), was a regular starter of Norte Dame’s 2013 national championship team and was named to the 2014 NCAA All-American team.

With an eye for bolstering all areas of play, the Timbers also selected University of Washington’s Andy Thoma (defender), Southern Illinois’ Christian Volesky (forward), and Virginia Commonwealth’s Kharlton Belmar (forward).

With the first and second rounds of the Super Draft completed in Philadelphia, and the third and fourth rounds set to occur via conference call on Jan. 20, there is still plenty of room for new players to make their entrance into America’s premier soccer system.

The question for the MLS moving forward though is whether or not the Super Draft is really the best approach.

Instituted in 2000, the draft was an attempt to streamline the development of America’s underserved soccer talent. The league has benefited as the draft has grown alongside it, but the US Men’s National team has not benefited much and the MLS is still considered by many to be a farm league on the international scene.

There has been talk of switching over to a strictly academy style system with a draft becoming a secondary approach. For example, in England players can be selected to play in a club academy from a very young age (as young as 9). This allows the coaches of both major clubs and international teams to observe players as they develop, and it means that a wider scope of talent can be recognized and nurtured to greatness.

However, this system is greatly aided by the fact that England has roughly the same land area as Washington State. Even if an academy on the other side of the country is looking to sign a player, the transportation is still achievable. Frequently, younger players in America just don’t have access to the same level of development programs.

Regardless of where you fall on the draft, however, you can look forward to great season of MLS in 2015. The strength of the players and size of the draft pool this year indicates that soccer’s participation and fan bases are growing in America, and with the larger fan base comes a bigger group of people willing to help youth players achieve their dreams of success.

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.

Gym Etiquette: The Do’s and Don’ts of Frequenting the HWC

To struggle beautifully

Generation of Disillusionment

Up in Smoke

Stachtastic: the return of the mustached man

Adapting to the Age of Connectivity

Google self-driving car takes control

The peril of online courses

Stay Secure: Being safe in an age of cyber warfare

MLS looks toward expansion with 2015 Super Draft

Tools

Resources