Mount Hood

Opinion: Mental health days should be an option

Howl Editorial Board

Picture this: a student has work until 9 p.m.; an 8 a.m. class to attend the next day — with a class right after and another at 2 p.m.; five assignments due in a couple of days; is currently running on four hours of sleep and is most definitely in need of a break to give themself time to breathe. Yet, the idea of taking a day off from classes brings them more stress, since one of those classes is big on attendance and this particular student doesn’t have a doctor’s note to excuse themself from being absent.

As college students, we are constantly balancing many different things at a time — rigorous school-work, part-time or full-time jobs, maintaining personal relationships and taking care of ourselves. This gets extremely overwhelming, yet students don’t have much of a chance to take time for themselves during the term. That’s when we should have the option to take a mental health day, whether that’s for relaxing and taking a break from overstimulation, or using it to catch up with schoolwork. 

However, Western’s policy indicates that a student must have a doctor’s note to excuse themselves; this is implying that mental health is not a good enough “excuse” to miss school, and can force students to feel the need to attend class when they are not at their best. This is infantilizing, as we are grown adults who can decide for ourselves if a day off is needed to better our well-being. Furthermore, this assumes that everyone has access to a doctor at their beck and call, which isn’t always true — not to mention, a bit unrealistic. Everyone struggles in different areas, and a mental health day is an escape that’s needed occasionally in our day-to-day lives.

The fact that a student could risk their grade dropping severely is an additional stress that’s unneeded, but can affect a student’s mental health even further. If a class has someone drowning in schoolwork, that student should be able to take a day in order to one, catch up with all of the damn assignments, and two, better themselves fully, without getting “permission” from a doctor to do so. 

The problem with it being unexcused without this piece of paper is that some classes don’t allow more than two unexcused absences; this contributes to the stigma of students putting their classes above all else, including their jobs, social lives and overall health. As students, we live with the stress of juggling dozens of responsibilities at once, and we don’t need the added stress of our grades dropping due to attendance while we are trying to get well. Even if we’ve reached out to get homework on the days that we’ve missed, if we have still done the readings, gone to those study groups or sought out tutoring — at the end of the day, all you amount to is how well your brain or body is functioning, right? 

Students should feel comforted knowing they have the option to willingly take a day off without their grade suffering. If the university allowed students to have at least one mental health day, they can come back feeling rejuvenated and ready to come back stronger. Most of us are paying money to be here; most of us see a future with us holding a diploma; we understand that it’s up to us how we get there and we don’t need educators or administrators policing that process.

 

Opinion: Designed for connection — a Deaf lens

Dr. Kara Gournaris  | Guest Contributor

I started working at Western Oregon University on Jan. 1, 2010. I still remember the first time I walked through the doors of the old College of Education (COE) building. The yellowish color of the walls caused me to squint my eyes as I walked through the halls. I walked up the stairs and made my way to my new office, room number 222. 

I opened the door on this new chapter of my journey, but everything inside the office walls showed signs of their age, not new at all. The blinds on the windows hung loosely, and the pull strings didn’t work anymore.  Half of the metal blinds were bent and I had to tie them back with a hairband I fished out of my bag. When I opened the window to let fresh air in, the breeze would send the blinds banging against my window, a visual distraction that caught my eye every time they moved. Right in the middle of my office, there was a huge stain that looked as if it had been there for many years and my only option was to buy a rug to cover up the space. 

As a Deaf person, my sense of sight is keenly developed, and everywhere I looked caused my eyes to twitch a little.  Banging blinds, half falling off my window.  A hidden spot beneath a neutral colored rug. Yellow walls that surrounded me on all sides as I worked. My colleagues all faced the same eye sores, though they were all hearing, and I often wondered if those visual markers had the same impact on them as they did on me. 

My office was in the middle of a very narrow hallway and as students or other colleagues walked past my office and stopped to say hello, I remember having to constantly shift where we were standing because using American Sign Language in that hall blocked people from walking by. We would get a few sentences into our conversation, have to pause and move to the side, and then just as we got started again, someone else would need to pass. Not only were the hallways inaccessible for those of us trying to have conversations in ASL, they also were hard spaces for people to navigate when using a wheelchair, pushing a cart or moving furniture or other large items.  

The old COE building did not have a space for ASL and interpreting students to hang out before or after classes, which meant that if students wanted to practice their ASL skills, they had to go to the library or some other space that was more accessible. This was a huge missed opportunity for incidental learning to occur because moving to another space meant being away from the four Deaf instructors who were working here at the time. Rather than students milling about and learning to use ASL by engaging with the Deaf instructors and one another, students often resorted to using spoken English in the halls because as people tried to pass them in narrow spaces, they eventually just gave up and stopped using ASL. 

As our Deaf faculty walked those same halls, we felt heavy-hearted that students who were learning ASL just hours before in our classrooms, were now passing by us in the hallways using spoken English without signing at all. The Deaf faculty often lamented feeling left out a majority of the time because our language was often relegated to use only in classrooms or inside of our office walls. 

Some days, students would ask to have class outside because it was sunny and warm and those were always the best days because other teachers and classes would often be out there and we could all join together in the common use of our beautiful language.

In 2016, my entire experience at Western shifted. Richard Woodcock donated money that went toward funding a new education building. This new building is called the Richard Woodcock Education Center (RWEC), and it was purposefully designed with the use of visual American Sign Language in mind. The design committee was familiar with Gallaudet University’s “Deaf-friendly” design, and they wanted to create a space at Western that was designed for Deaf, Hard of Hearing and DeafBlind people, and anyone else who uses ASL.

By making the hallways wider, conversations in ASL are no longer paused every time someone passes by in the hallway and the building is more accessible for people in wheelchairs or those who use other mobility devices. There was so much careful thought and attention given to this open design, and each detail has made an impact on our community.

In 2016, we went from four Deaf faculty members to nine and we were allowed to choose which hallway we wanted our offices to be located in; that officially began our coveted “ASL Hallway.” 

Now, when I walk through the lobby on my way to the classroom or my office, I see students hanging out, chatting in ASL, studying for an exam, resting or working on a project together.  As I pass by, students greet me in ASL, and as they smile and catch me up on the latest news, I feel grateful for the chance to work with such amazing humans. I keep walking and I see other students walking in a line of five, all joking in ASL and laughing hysterically.  As I turn the corner, a student on her motorized scooter with her service dog passes by and smiles and says hello on her way to class. 

Just as I am about to enter the room, I see a DeafBlind faculty member walking with several students, and showing them the wooden art display on the wall that she uses as a tactile marker to orient herself to where she is in the building. Just down the hall, there are students who are making use of the little nooks that have curtains that draw closed so they can film a last minute homework assignment and upload it to their GoReact account. In the next nook over, there is a Deaf student using the Video Phone to call and order Yeasty Beasty for lunch.  Everywhere I look, there are examples of my language, my culture and beautiful people who embrace what it means to be part of the Deaf Community.  

Just like in the old education building, there are sunny days that prompt students to beg to have class outside. Through the windows in the classroom, I can see one of my colleagues teaching her class on the RWEC patio, enjoying the fresh air and smiling as students pass by and wave hello.  I look around at the faces staring back at me and nod my head in agreement. 

These college-aged students quickly become like little kids again, excited to head outside for a great adventure. As we walk by the other ASL class and my colleague, we all smile and wave, and I stop and count my blessings for this new space. RWEC has become a home for many of us, and it has made us more than just a community — it has made us a family.  

 

Letter to the Editor

Submitted by Erik Morgan Jr.  | President Associated Students of Western Oregon University

To the WOU student body: 

I’m writing to you to encourage each and every student to participate in the Incidental Fee Committee Open Hearing on Thursday, February 27th at 4pm in the Pacific Room, WUC. The IFC is charged by the ASWOU student government to allocate budgets for various WOU departments funded by mandatory fees paid by students attending WOU. Departments that are funded by incidental fees include, but are not limited to, Student Engagement, Campus Recreation, Abby’s House, and the ASWOU student government itself. 

In a year, that has seen WOU’s enrollment decrease; now, more than ever, the IFC needs to hear from WOU students how they want their incidental fees to be spent. The IFC is faced with either making cuts to funded departments in order to keep the incidental fee lower or with raising the fee so that funded departments are able to keep providing their services to the WOU community. The incidental fee allocation process is a student-run, student-led process that functions more effectively when we all participate. 

Unfortunately, those who should not be participating have been affecting the process. WOU institutional president Rex Fuller has announced that he intends to reject any IFC proposal that would raise the incidental fee over 5% of last year’s fee. The institutional president made this decision far in advance of the IFC even forming, much less waiting for any student deliberations to happen. This decision by President Fuller demonstrates a complete disregard for the departments funded by the incidental fee and is a direct challenge to the ability of WOU’s student body to allocate a fee that has its own best interests in mind. If President Fuller and the WOU Administration do not value the contributions that the student-fee-funded departments bring to the WOU community, then we need to show them that we do. In short, President Fuller’s premature decision to veto a 5% increase to the incidental fee is at best a political move in a non-political, student controlled process. At worst, it is an intentional attempt to intimidate the WOU student body into making a decision that benefits the administration more than it does the students. 

Once again, I encourage every student to come to the next IFC Open Hearing on Thursday, February 27th at 4pm in the Pacific Room, WUC. The student voice should be what’s valued during the IFC process, not any others. 

If you have any questions, please contact me via email at aswoupresident@mail.wou.edu or by phone at 503-838-8655. 

 

In solidarity, 

Erik Morgan Jr. President Associated Students of Western Oregon University 

 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in guest opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Western Howl. 

Guest opinion: WOUnews is still not news

Stephanie Blair  | Western Oregon University Class of 2018

I recently received word from a current student that Western’s Marketing and Communications (MarCom) department has just launched “Today at WOU” and included in the subject line of this all-student email blast the words, “your news source.” It reminded me that the more things change, the more they stay the same. It’s an old adage, but it rings true on Western’s historic campus.

In October 2017, I was a senior attending Western and was serving as the editor-in-chief of what is now known as The Western Howl. That month I wrote an editorial titled “Newsflash: WOUnews is no news” which criticized Western Oregon’s Marketing and Communications (MarCom) department for peddling a publicity blog for the school as a news source for students. 

I was frustrated, having worked for our independent student newspaper for all four years of my college career. I was proud of the work my staff was doing, the impact we were having and the awards we were bringing to Western but MarCom was making continual efforts to overshadow us for the sake of the university’s bottom line.

After that editorial was run, I had stirred the pot. The MarCom representative on our oversight board stepped down — though only to be replaced by another from that department. I was treated differently by some staff and many students who wrote for that blog. And, in hindsight, I can understand their perspective. Who was I to criticize them? They knew little to nothing about me, about the career I was building for myself.

But now, as a professional journalist who got her start in Western’s Student Media program, I would like to say again: public relations is not news, it’s propaganda.

The students who staff The Western Howl are accountable to journalistic ethics and their fellow students — they write about anything and everything that matters to the student body with no agenda but practicing the craft and bringing information to Western’s tuition-payers. MarCom’s job is to bring in money to the institution and increase enrollment — which also brings in all of that tuition. I would ask the students of Western to please consider which one of these is more likely to address problematic behavior by the administration, give a voice to students who are looked over by that same administration and most accurately represent Western to the world — for better or worse.

I am disappointed to see not only the disregard that MarCom has for the Howl, but its active efforts in replacing it with a sanitized money-grab. However, after all this time, I am still not surprised. This independent, student-run newspaper has been in existence for nearly a century — this is far from the first time something like this has happened.

It is up to the students to decide who they trust: their peers or the institution. I know who I will bet on every time.

 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in guest opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Western Howl.

Letter to the Editor

Submitted by Dr. Rob Winningham

President Fuller has stated that WOU is committed to becoming the first four-year public university in Oregon to become a Hispanic Serving Institution (HSI). After reading the thoughtful opinion piece that Mia Sierra wrote for the Western Howl, I thought it was a great opportunity to share some context around becoming an HSI and where WOU is on that path.

Colleges and universities need to have “25% or more Latino undergraduate full-time equivalent enrollment” before they can become a federally recognized HSI. There is a time-lag between the current enrollment and when it is reported to various agencies. But, at this moment, approximately 19% of our students identify as Hispanic. In addition, our Willamette Promise students, earning WOU credits while in high school, are also factored into our enrollment. We are waiting for final confirmation but WOU appears to be close to the 25% threshold. 

However, we don’t just want to be a Hispanic enrolling institution but rather a Hispanic serving institution; in order to do that we need to create a space for campus community discussion and input. In pursuit of those goals, a steering committee representing students, staff and faculty have been preparing to host a summit entitled “Becoming a Hispanic Serving Institution: Together We Succeed,” on April 3 from 9:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. The goal of the summit is to provide an opportunity for the campus community to learn more about what it means to be an HSI and our current services, resources and support for our Latinx students. In addition, we are striving to create a platform for people to share ideas and give feedback so WOU can support all of our students, including Latinx students, in an effective and culturally sensitive manner. I hope you will consider participating in the Summit and adding your voice to the conversation.

 

Written and submitted by Dr. Rob Winningham, WOU’s Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs

 

Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in guest opinions are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Western Howl. 

Opinion: An evaluation of hierarchies in relationships

Kay Bruley  | Photo Editor

Valentine’s Day is here finally, and love is in the air. It’s not just one day really though; all month you will see pink and red decorating the world. For many though, it seems like all year, with romance feeling like a constant celebration surrounding American culture.

You’d have difficulty finding a storyline in any popular film, TV show or book that doesn’t feature a prominent romantic narrative. Children from a young age will interact with each other and adults will assume there must be some undertone of a crush. And don’t think of mentioning an event occurring with the opposite gender unless you’re prepared for the suggestive comments — double win for a romance-centered AND heteronormative society.

The result of such oversaturation of romance in media and real life is the current mindset of it being the most important thing to happen in a person’s life. You think of important milestones and what comes to mind is “find the love of your life, get married, have kids” — in that order. Young people are force fed this narrative and treat it as the highest priority, creating shame in virginity and lack of dating experience. You’ll often hear reluctance in admitting to being single and people in their 20s will frequently worry about being ‘off track’ on the schedule of life.

With all of this, what’s become of platonic relationships? Too often, friends are viewed as backup relationships, side characters or people you hang out with when you aren’t with a significant other — or don’t yet have one. Romance represented in the media and real life supports the unimportance of friendships, which is a cultural flaw. Have you ever been close with someone and then after they find a partner, you stop hanging out as much? Experiences like these only further the mindset of friends being second class relationships. It’s a cycle of culture supporting unfulfillment in platonic relationships, which leads people to undervalue them, which then makes them unfulfilling.

The prompt here is to re-evaluate your priorities when it comes to the relationships in your life. Maybe even redistribute the value you place on each of these relationships. Keep questioning why we think about these things the way we do. Why do we pity the 40 year old that’s single? Why do we insist that deep connections must be inherently romantic? Why do we believe friends can never be enough for someone to be happy?

 

Contact the author at mbruley19@mail.wou.edu

Opinion: Soulmates, not what we think they are

Hannah Greene  | Sports Editor

Soulmate: a person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner. Destiny, chance, meant to be, etc. Why do soulmates have to refer to a friend or someone we love? Why can’t this beautiful term represent a connection with anything that one may feel throughout their entire lives?

We are told that we have one true soulmate, that we have been connected to forever, that one day we will meet them and we will just know — this goes for our best friend and our significant other. But this is all so false; a soulmate can be anyone or anything that left a mark on our hearts and in our minds. A soulmate isn’t just a human, but can be an animal, a tune, a fragment of nature or just a natural connection to something way beyond our eyes.

In Australia, the word ‘mate’ is used as a form of endearment, to show someone platonic love or joy in their presence. The word is thrown around to everyone, it’s not used in the way of “mating” with someone, or the “mate” that is your significant other — it is in fact, just a mate.

Our souls live way beyond our bodies ever will, meaning the connections we will encounter will never truly end. Our souls truly see and are able to direct us to the connections we need, whether we can actually see it or not.

When I was little, I believed that I had one soulmate and that was who I was going to spend the rest of my life with… I was an idiot. Each year I have come across people, animals and moments, even if for the briefest moment, that have made an impact in my life that have bonded with my soul, leaving a little etch in my heart, causing it to grow more. Each passerby has shared my soul in a way that the next cannot. Each connection is never the same as the last, making each connection just as valuable as the last, even if I will never come across that person or thing again. 

Let’s cherish the mates our souls have found, embrace the teachings they have shown us and seize the seconds they give.

 

Here’s to the many mates my soul has introduced me to — the ones I am no longer able to see or hold, and the ones I hope to see again.

 

Contact the author at hgreene18@wou.edu

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