Opinion – Page 39 – The Western Howl

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.

The Western Howl

Home » Opiniontitle_li=Sports

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.

The Western Howl

Home » Opinion

Commendation to University Computing Services for speedy network fix

Laura Knudson Editor-in-Chief — Laura Knudson
Editor-in-Chief

From the early hours of the day to the late hours of the night, phone and computer screens are illuminated by professors checking emails and students browsing the web. Clubs update their event calendars and students turn homework in on Moodle. Western portal tabs are opened again and again, all with little regard to the inner workings of our network.

Yet, the moment Wi-Fi cuts out, students are quick to complain and point fingers. But do they know who they are pointing at?

It’s time to call attention to a behind-the-scenes department working around the clock to support academic and administrative life.

University Computing Services (UCS) is responsible for network maintenance and other campus IT services.

But they are not who you should be pointing at. They are who you should be applauding.

On Wednesday, students, staff and faculty found themselves unable to access the internet. Although this was probably frustrating, it was nothing in comparison to what UCS went through.

A core router was overwhelmed with 99 percent usage causing the network to shut down. On top of that, a host server happened to be attacked at the same time. The IP was traced to China. 430,000 attempts to break into Western’s system occurred within two minutes.

Talk about a bad day at work.

After phone calls to multiple Cisco engineers, they were able to get the network back up. By 9 p.m., they were finally able to go home and get some shut-eye. But that is only the beginning. They now continue to work to diagnose exactly what went wrong with the router and how to fix it.

What seems like a long day without internet for us was much longer for those working to fix the problem.

And it wouldn’t be the first time.

Let us not forget Dec. 2, 2013 when one of the transformers blew in the main uninterruptible power supply (UPS) located in the administration building causing the entire Western network to shut down. UCS arrived at 5 a.m. to find the basement filled with smoke.

Physical Plant removed doors and built ramps in order to haul the 1800-pound UPS device out of the building to be replaced with a brand new one that Bill Kernan, director of UCS, had, (lucky for us) ordered a week before.

The rest of their day was spent skipping meals, connecting and testing the new UPS which they had up and running by 9:30 p.m. — less than 24 hours.

When the network is down, let us not assume it’s as easy as flipping a switch. Assessing, diagnosing, testing and securing the problem all need to happen, not to mention finding time to inform the campus and brief the University president.

Homework due dates can be extended, emails will wait in your inbox and other activities can replace Netflix.

It is easy for those who use the network to take it for granted. Let us not forget those who maintain it.

The ongoing, timely dialogue presented through Kernan’s blog, faculty senate updates and all student/all faculty emails keeps everyone in the loop.

The Journal would like to commend UCS, Bill Kernan, Paul Lambert, Dave McEvilly, Michael Ellis, Megan Eichler and all others involved, for working long hours to get the network back up and running Wednesday.

We appreciate you going above and beyond in your jobs, so the rest of us can do ours successfully.

The Western Howl

Home » Opinion

Old fashion methods still effective in job hunt

Take it from an experienced alumnus. The “old fashioned” ways are still the most effective when applying for a job and keeping it even with the convenience of modern day technology.

In the decade since my wife and I graduated from WOU, I have experienced professional setbacks that could have been avoided had I better utilized the resources that were available to me when I was a student. Because of that, I have decided to convey some of my advice to you all in this article. The focus of this article will be the proper use of technology when seeking employment and when you are employed.

To start, let me provide you with a comparison of what kind of technology was available in 2002 verses now. E-mail was not a major form of communication. You had to either call your professors or meet with them during their office hours. Assignments were submitted in paper form, not by e-mail. A fast Internet connection was 1.5 megabytes, not gigabytes, and was accessed through a DSL modem. Wireless intent was a theory. MySpace, Facebook and LinkedIn did not exist. The first iPod had just been released and you downloaded your music from Napster and LimeWire, albeit illegally.

Web sites largely consisted of text, pictures and drop down menus. You could not post your resume on a web site; you had to hand deliver it to the person who would make the hiring decision. This is where my first piece of advice comes in.

Although you may have to post a resume online as part of the process, you should deliver a paper copy to the person who could be your future boss. I have witnessed a person being hired on the spot because they were the only candidate that submitted their resume personally.

Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn can provide you with a place to promote yourself, your skills, experience and interests at no cost and with little effort.

However, be careful what you post. Employers will look at your accounts and form an opinion of you. Also, I recommend not including your boss as one of your “friends” or “followers.” Your personal opinions could cost you as they did me. A good rule to follow is to keep your personal and professional life separate.

At the same time, do let everyone know when you are seeking employment. Recommendations from professors and WOU staff can make the difference of you getting an interview.

The Western Howl

Home » Opinion

Oregon State basketball win against Arizona raises question

College students and basketball enthusiasts alike were (not so) pleasantly surprised when the men’s Oregon State basketball team unexpectedly beat No. 7 University of Arizona on Jan. 11.

ASU, then ranked at No. 7 in the AP poll, now stands at No. 10.

Although the Beavs performance was undoubtedly a highlight in the season thus far, it is of great interest to reflect upon the Beavs’ preseason performance, or lack thereof, against Western.

Throwback to Jan. 7 when the Wolves (very, very unexpectedly) beat the Beavers 57-47 in an exhibition game at Gil Colesium.

While it’s easy to say that OSU played a bad game or (my personal favorite) the odds were in Western’s favor, the score stands unforgotten. We also remember the Beav’s inability to break 50-points against a Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) team.

The recent unforeseen turn of events raises the very contentious question: is Western capable of beating top 10-ranked Arizona?
Without considering the circumstances, this question seems laughable to anyone. How could a GNAC division II team beat a Pac-12 division I team?

Oh, wait a minute. That did happen.

After a loss to the Wolves, any Pac-12 or division I team would decribe the experience as “humbling.”

I also imagine the Wildcats basketball team would consider their loss to the Beavs as “humbling.”

According to ESPN, the last time Oregon State beat a top-ten team was when the Beavs beat No. 3 Arizona 70-69 on March 2, 2000. I was six years old.
Fifteen years ago.
FIFTEEN.

A loss to Western provided the motivation for Oregon State to perform it’s best at home since their 1981-82 and 1983-84 seasons.

It’s safe to say that the Beavs, predicted to finish last in the Pac-12 for the 2014-15 season, were nowhere near the Wildcats’ radar, who were ranked in the
AP poll top 10 for the past 29 weeks.

However, claiming that Western would be able to beat Arizona based on their performance against the Beavs implies that they would also beat the list of teams the Beavs beat in the season hitherto — in addition to alls division II teams.

Division I prospects like forward Andy Avgi, Jordan Wiley and Devon Alexander who frequent Western and GNAC’s athlete of the week make assumptions like that believable.

Simply said, Oregon State capitalized on turnovers and foul shots in their game against Arizona, much like Western exploited the mistakes made by Oregon State.

Case in point: Avgi recorded 21 points against the Beavs, more than both Oregon State leading scorers combined.

Go Wolves.

In addition, Western beat the Beavers by 10 points where as the Beavers beat the Wildcats by a lay up. With numbers like that, assertions such as “Western can beat Arizona” become credible.

However, there are many factors that impact a game, namely location, level of play and, obviously, the players. Duh.

Without getting into logistics, statistics, starting line-ups or play-by-plays, its important to remember why we love college sports: they are completely unpredictable.

Yes, we expect teams to perform to their ranking and are blind-sighted when our predictions are incorrect. We make a science out of predicting performance based on games past.

Whether you win against a ranked team or lose to an opponent in a different division, people don’t forget.

Both of the above mentioned games have brought to fruition the underlying fear that an underdog team has the potential to rival an otherwise undisputed competitor.

Realistically, we’ll never know. Most importantly, the potential is there and it always will be. The possibilities that lie in the realm of college sports is fickle at best and creates the thrill of uncertainty we collegiate sports fanatics thrive on.

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.

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

Commendation to University Computing Services for speedy network fix

Old fashion methods still effective in job hunt

Oregon State basketball win against Arizona raises question

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