Mount Hood

Letter to the Editor

Any attempt to withdraw membership from the Oregon Student Association on this campus is an attempt to silence students and diminish statewide student power.

The OSA is the only statewide, student-led, student-run advocacy group that works to ensure that all Oregon students have access to an affordable and accessible college education. The OSA represents over 120,000 students across Oregon, and it is with that collective statewide power that they are able to effectively advocate for students in the state legislature. Every student at Western benefits immensely from being a member of the OSA and withdrawing membership will be a detriment to all. Please help save statewide student power by voting NO on Bill 4.15 in the upcoming student government elections.

As Western alumni and former student body presidents, we know the importance of the OSA to every student on this campus. The OSA is the organization elected officials rely on to bring a student voice to issues facing higher education in Oregon. Western Oregon students have built incredible collective statewide power and fought for amazing legislative victories that have only been possible because of the work done by the Oregon Student Association.

The OSA fights every year to limit tuition increases and make college more affordable and accessible.

By leveraging its statewide power and influence, students won a tuition freeze for in-state undergraduates on this campus for the last two years.

OSA is also the only lobbying organization that fights for an increase in financial aid.

The OSA was also the leader in winning the long fight for Tuition Equity in Oregon.

The OSA ensured that students had representation in the new government structure at Western and pushed to safeguard student control over the student incidental fee on campus.

These triumphs for Western students would not have been possible without the leadership of and collaboration with OSA.

The OSA not only benefits student through legislative victories, it helps make students better leaders on campus. Through on-campus training and campaigns, the OSA developed us as student leaders and made it possible to affectively advocate for Western students on the statewide level. The ongoing training and development that the OSA provides is essential for creating good leaders at Western. Without the OSA, we would not be the leaders and people we are today and Western would not be the campus it is today.

The OSA is the only advocacy group in Oregon that always puts college students first. Withdrawing membership from the OSA is a huge mistake for Western students to make. Not only would it weaken Western students’ ability to work with other students across the state, it would severely limit students’ influence and power in the state legislature.

Since ASWOU students sit on the Board of Directors for the OSA, then changes could be made from within rather than attempting to duplicate efforts without this collaborative effort statewide. Leave nine other campuses in the state to go it alone is short sided and not strategic.

Be extremely wary of any attempts to limit the collective student voice in Salem. We need students across the state to work together in order to achieve real victories for affordable and accessible higher education in Oregon. Please support statewide student power and the continued membership in the OSA by voting NO on Bill 4.15 in the upcoming student government elections.

As a group of former Western student body presidents we ask you to vote NO on Bill 4.15.

Max Beach ASWOU President 2008-2009
Evan Source ASWOU President 2009-2010
Yasmin Ibarra ASWOU President 2010-2011
Jonathan Farmer ASWOU President 2011-13
Krystonia Kotoa ASWOU President 2013

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

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
weights
• 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 headphonesheadphones
• 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 restroomD5812
• 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 machine8933661-fitness-vecteur-icones
• 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 peoplestare
• 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.

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?

jengraphic

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.

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.
millennials
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.

Up in Smoke

IMG_03342
By Conner Williams Staff Writer

 

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.

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!

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.