The 11th annual WOU Mania will be held on Friday, June 5 at 7 p.m. in the Werner University Center. This year’s WOU Mania has a sports theme; students are encouraged to wear their “finest sports jersey” to the event. Students who RSVP ahead of time via Orgsync will be entered to win door prizes.
In addition to offering alluring free food, WOU Mania will also have multiple sports that students can participate in, such as one-on-one basketball and inflatable bouncy boxing.
This year’s WOU Mania will feature two comedians: Byron Bowers will be performing at 9:45 p.m., and Kendra Corne will be performing at 10:30 p.m.
Kya Rasmussen, a first-year early education major, said WOU Mania sounds “awesome.”
“I’ve never really been one for sports, but it sounds like a fun time,” Rasmussen said. She also mentioned her interest in the henna that will be offered at the event.
From its humble beginnings in 2004, WOU Mania has grown to be composed of multiple free events including a competitive eating contest, photo booth, caricatures, henna artists, a surf machine, and one-on-one competitive sports, just to name a few.
The event is sponsored by Student Leadership and Activities/Werner University Center with the intention of drawing students to participate in on-campus events.
WOU Mania was one of the Student Activities Board’s highlight events of last year, and in 2013 Mike Winfield, from Comedy Central, was invited to perform at the event.
“The mechanical bull [last year] was fun but really tough. It was better if you didn’t wear socks,” said Clifford Mullen, a junior social science major.
Previous years also included a Cat in the Hat photo booth as well as one-on-one competitive sports. Pictures from previous years are located on the SLA Orgsync page.
For more information, contact Ed E-Nunu at enunue@wou.edu.
By Jerry Creasy
Business and Economics Club President
ARTWORK CREATED BY Carly Fister
The continued rise in inflation-adjusted college tuition over the years has been a systemic problem, creating huge financial burden for students across the country. On average, tuition increases more than it should when adjusted for inflation. Inflation occurs when the average price for all goods and services increases from what they were the year before. This would also include wages, which hypothetically should be going up along with inflation. However, this has not been the case, but that is another matter altogether.
Between 1994 and 2003, inflation-adjusted tuition rose by about 4 percent per year, meaning that compared to all other goods, it increased 4 percent more than everything else. This is astronomical and leaves a devastating burden on the country’s educated workforce.
Educated people are often the most productive, and creating such a disincentive for people to pursue a higher education will have a negative impact on the country as a whole. If it doesn’t stop them from getting a college degree, then it will leave them financially strapped afterwards so that they will not buy a house or consume as much as they would have otherwise, thereby hurting the economy due to less aggregate consumption.
In addition to the economic cost of tuition, the impact is also felt emotionally. Students are often left stressed out and unhappy in their daily lives due to the financial burden that they are required to take on in order to receive an education in the first place.
The next question we need to ask, and probably the most important one, is: why is tuition going up so much? As with most problems facing social scientists, and especially economists, there is usually more than one simple answer. Unfortunately, the real world is not a math equation.
This question is rather hard to answer and is not as simple as many might think. There are a few different theories as to why this has been happening. Historically, many have thought that a decrease in state funding over time has caused students to foot more of the bill than they would have otherwise. However, this does not fully answer the question because in reality, public funding has grown, but the overall cost of education has also increased, and it is felt by a wider audience than just college students.
Another explanation is that increases in student loan limits have caused more demand for education than would have normally occurred in the market. This causes universities to justify raising tuition since students can pay for it with loans.
Under this theory, universities charge more for tuition than they otherwise would have because they know students can afford it. Increased competition between universities may also be another explanation. When one university builds a nice new building, other universities feel inclined to do the same. This causes costs to spiral as they compete to outdo each other with little real benefit to students’ education.
Also, administrative costs continue to increase due to constant expansion. According to a recent article by Paul Campos of The New York Times, between 1993 and 2009, administrative costs expanded by 60 percent. Over time, more administrators have been hired and salaries have increased tremendously. Tuition then must go up in order to pay for rising costs in both of these sectors.
Still, others argue that education is a bubble that has been expanding because people overvalue the benefits of higher education. Everyone wants to buy it, which then causes prices to escalate over time. High demand for anything can cause prices to increase because supply struggles to meet demand.
This concept would be similar to the housing bubble that we all experienced a few years ago when everyone wanted to buy and sell a house, thereby causing prices to go up drastically. These are just a few educated guesses as to what is causing tuition rates to rise so rapidly. There are still other theories up for debate.
It is almost impossible to say which of these theories is driving tuition up. It is more than likely a combination of them all with some playing a stronger role than others. It is hard to say what can be done to solve the problem.
Reducing competition between schools might be detrimental to education. In addition, it is difficult to say how any reform might take effect without actually implementing it. One thing is for sure though: making it harder for people to get an education and thus reducing the percentage of the population holding a bachelor’s degree is probably more harmful than it is beneficial.
In an economy so bent on knowledge and skill rather than brute strength or endurance, we can see how a more educated society will be a more productive one. In developed countries across the world, having a well-educated workforce is strongly associated with having a sturdy economy. Knowing this, it may be inadvisable to do anything except encourage higher education, but the cost must be lowered if we want to see a more educated society.
At the beginning of fall term, 2015, Western will become a tobacco-free campus — like many other universities in Oregon.
On Tuesday, May 26, President Mark Weiss sent out an e-mail to all students regarding the tobacco policy change.
Weiss said that “[the] use of tobacco on campus-owned property” will be banned at the beginning of next year. This includes any and all tobacco products including e-cigarettes and vaporizers.
First-year theatre major AJ Saddler is a part of the Heritage Hall Government, a division of the Residence Hall Association. On behalf of Heritage Hall residents, Saddler and his co-workers were asked to vote on the issue based on what they thought was best for the campus.
“I was in favor, personally, of doing smoke-free, and that’s what I voted for. The vote that passed was tobacco-free and I realized that tobacco-free was the best option for this campus,” Saddler said.
Even some current smokers like Brandt Van Soolen, a junior philosophy major, saw some benefit to the policy.
“In a way [the policy change] is kind of a problem, because I smoke. And in another way, I don’t disagree with it,” Van Soolen said. “Not only did they address the problem, but they saw other problems that would come about from it and took care of that too.”
This policy has been under debate for more than five years. As the last public four-year university in Oregon to allow smoking on campus, some faculty felt that the change was overdue.
“[The policy] has been on the table of discussion for about five years, but faculty and student turnover—such as graduation — has impeded the process,” said Craig Wimmer, health education coordinator.
Some concerns raised regarding the policy change are the consequences for noncompliance and what smokers/tobacco users can expect next year.
“What future consequences occur for those not in compliance will be determined as appropriate,” Weiss said.
Weiss emphasized that even in his absence, the policy “will be implemented the WOU way —that is, with respect and consideration of those that need help complying…We will make sure to have on-campus resources in place to help our students and staff.”
“As a former smoker, I know quitting or regulating tobacco use is both stressful and can feel like an infringement on liberties we all share in America… I have seen up close and personal the effects of tobacco use,” Weiss said.
According to the Western Website Policies and Procedures page, the tobacco-free policy will become effective on September 16, 2015 and will be up for review in September 2020.
While smoking or the use of any tobacco products will not be allowed on campus, those who choose to will still be allowed to go off-campus in order to use their tobacco products.
President Weiss requests that those who do choose this option will be respectful of the residents of Monmouth.
“[Western] needs to be good neighbors to our bordering residents,” Weiss said.
Se canceló un día entero de clases para los estudiantes de Western en reconocimiento de la 10ª Muestra anual de Excelencia Académica.
Los profesores animaron encarecidamente a los estudiantes a participar en el acto, incluso cancelando la clase o exigiendo que se entregaran papelitos durante las presentaciones para demostrar la asistencia. Algunas clases exigen que los estudiantes vean presentaciones relacionadas con el material típico del curso, mientras que otras animan a ir más allá y ver cualquier cosa que llame la atención del estudiante.
"Estoy nerviosa y me siento honrada", declaró Caitlin Masterson, estudiante de cuarto curso de estudios de ASL, que presentó "La batalla de los sexos: El efecto del género en los estudiantes de ASL".
Masterson afirma: "Me entró curiosidad por saber por qué había tan pocos hombres en las clases de ASL. Investigué mucho para intentar averiguar si el género desempeñaba un papel en nuestra capacidad para aprender idiomas."
Tanto la Sociedad de Honor Phi Kappa Phi como el Programa de Experiencias de Investigación para Estudiantes de Grado organizaron la Muestra de este año.
El acto suele estructurarse por áreas de interés, como música, informática y filosofía. Esto permitió a los estudiantes elegir áreas de interés y asistir a muchas presentaciones seguidas sin tener que correr frenéticamente por el campus entre una presentación y otra.
Las presentaciones se plasmaron en carteles, presentaciones orales y réplicas de números de danza y obras de teatro.
Brenda Puhlman y Sarah Pettigrew presentaron una de las ponencias en tándem. Su presentación se titulaba "Las aventuras de dos SSP: De Seabeck a Oklahoma" y hablaron de sus experiencias personales trabajando con personas sordociegas en esa zona.
"Tuve una experiencia general fenomenal con la Muestra de Excelencia Académica", dijo Puhlman, estudiante de tercer año en el programa de interpretación ASL/inglés. "Fue una oportunidad increíble para compartir mis experiencias y compartir sobre una cultura con la que no mucha gente está familiarizada".
Hubo incluso una representación completa de la obra "Frankie's Flights of Fancy" en la que los estudiantes pudieron participar gratuitamente. Tras la representación, los miembros del reparto se quedaron para responder a las preguntas y comentarios del público.
En definitiva, fue otro año de éxito para que los estudiantes mostraran el trabajo que les hizo destacar del resto.
Campus Public Safety’s weekly crime reports have seen a rise in the number of alcohol-related violations reported over the past few weeks. For the past two weeks, over half of the reported contacts made by CPS on campus have been for alcohol-related incidents.
Both CPS and the University Housing Program stated that the rise in contacts made by CPS is not indicative of a wide spread problem on campus, but simply more violations requiring the intervention of CPS.
“In a year [the number of violations] ebbs and flows, there are times where there are more incidents and times where there is less,” said Charisse Loughery, University Housing program coordinator.
Loughery stated, “there might be more incidents being reported to CPS right now, but I wouldn’t say there has been an overall increase in alcohol issues.”
Often, incidents that happen within the resident halls are dealt with directly by either the Resident Assistants or the Resident Director.
“We try to use our RA and RD resources rather than public safety,” said Tina Fuchs, dean of students and judicial affairs. “But sometimes the involvement of CPS is necessary, and perhaps that is what is being represented in the blotters.”
With the end of the term approaching and the summer weather taking hold in the Pacific Northwest, more and more students are looking to spend their free time outdoors. This change in activity could be responsible for the increased CPS activity in on-campus housing.
“Spring hits, and it’s a little nicer out; people tend to be out and about, so we can experience more violations of housing policy in general,” said Fuchs.
Director of Public Safety Rebecca Chiles offered a counter-point, suggesting that the number of incidents overall has remained fairly stable despite the weather.
“In my experience, it’s not unusual this time of year versus any other time of year,” Chiles said. “This is my first year here, but I haven’t noticed anything out of the ordinary with the numbers.”
In addition to the restless students at the end of the term, CPS and University Housing are faced with the possibility of a sharp increase in the number of marijuana violations when the fall 2015 term begins.
“We are looking to campaign with a lot of education up-front concerning the marijuana policy. I believe we might have confusion due to the legality in Oregon,” Fuchs said. “I think some kids will think that it will be okay for them to bring it to campus.”
University Housing and CPS were both quick to stress that despite Oregon’s legalization, Western’s campus policy regarding marijuana will be unchanged.
As stated by the WOU student handbook, “the university will initiate disciplinary hearings for possession, consumption, manufacturing, or sale of illegal drugs or any other controlled substance on or off university owned or controlled property.”
“We have to comply with the drug-free schools’ policies,” Loughery said. “We receive funding from the federal government. Our current zero-tolerance policy in university housing will continue.”
In addition to the federal government’s prohibition, Western recently implemented a complete non-smoking policy on campus.
“I expect our marijuana policy will mirror the non-smoking policy that will be taking effect on campus in the fall,” Chiles said.
By Jack Armstrong and Madison McCammon
News Editor and Freelancer
The Student Leadership Recognition Awards were held Tuesday, May 12. This awards ceremony is an annual event on campus.
“This was the 25th year of these awards here at Western,” said Gary Dukes, vice president for student affairs.
This year’s ceremony entitled “Lead Long and Prosper,” was presented in a classic Star Trek theme, and even provided party-goers with the opportunity to utilize a photo booth featuring Kirk and Spock.
The awards themselves are focused on recognizing students who display great effort and achievement in both their on campus, and off campus activities.
“Students can be nominated by anybody on campus, although it is usually faculty,” said Dukes. “Then, once a student has been nominated, there is a committee of faculty and staff who makes the final decisions.”
Some of the awards were campus-wide nominations but some were department or club specific.
“Each department has their own process for award determination. Some are peer-selected, others are staff-selected and some are selected directly by the university committee,” said Megan Habermann, assistant director for student leadership activities.
Kylie Roth, recipient of the Julia McCulloch Smith Outstanding Graduating Women Award, said she felt “very honored and grateful” to be given the award. Roth, a senior psychology major, also received the Karl Amspacher award and a Who’s Who certificate.
Roth has been chosen to be one of the speakers at commencement as a result of receiving the award. Roth said she still is not certain what she intends to speak about.
“In general, I plan to talk about the things that stood out to me during my four years at WOU and encourage all graduates as we move forward with our lives,” she said.
Two other graduating students were selected to speak at commencement ceremonies after receiving their awards.
Eli Zachary was announced as winner of the Delmer Dewey Outstanding Graduating Men Award, and Erica West Oyedele was announced as winner of the 2015 Outstanding Graduate Student Award.
Oyedele was recognized by her supervisory professors for her work on her thesis entitled “Persistence of African-American/Black Signed Language Interpreters in the United States: The Importance of Culture and Capital.” She was also recognized for her commitment to complete her program remotely from California.
“I don’t know exactly what they saw in me,” said Oyedele, “but they saw something, and for that I am grateful.”
Even though the award ceremony lasted much longer than expected, winners and attendees left happy.
“It was a special, fun night, and my congratulations go out to all of the deserving winners,” said Roth.
The registrar’s office at Western has seen a rise in the number of international students from Saudi Arabia requesting enrollment in online and hybrid classes.
For some, this is no problem, but for Saudi students who receive grants or scholarships from the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission (SACM), enrollment in online classes is strictly forbidden if there is a classroom option available.
According to their website, the Saudi Cultural Mission was created by the Saudi Arabian government in 1951. Along with several other programs created at the same time, the SACM is designed to create and administer programs and policies to aid Saudi students studying abroad in the United States.
One of the programs strictest polices concerns students enrolling in online or hybrid courses.
“Online degree programs are strictly forbidden,” states the SACM policy handbook. This means that Saudi students are required to attend traditional brick and motor colleges.
While attending traditional U.S. universities, SACM students are also limited in how many online or hybrid courses they are allowed to take, and must limit these classes to special circumstances.
Western Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Stephen Scheck said this policy is in place to ensure SACM students experience the full spectrum of what it is like to be an American student during their time abroad.
“SACM wishes for the students to have face-to-face engagement with professors and other students in the class,” Scheck said. “This allows them to gain as much exposure to American culture as possible.”
According to the policy handbook provided by SACM, students are allowed to enroll in online classes if the course is required and a face-to-face option doesn’t exist, or if it doesn’t otherwise fit into their current schedule.
“If a face-to-face class offering exists, we would not wish for a SACM student to enroll in the online section,” said Scheck, “but recently we have experienced an increased number of inquiries from the Saudi Arabian Cultural Mission about why students enrolled in on-line courses.”
As a result of increased scrutiny on the part of the SACM, Western’s registrar’s office has been instructed to increase their diligence when enrolling Saudi students in online sections.
SACM students will now be automatically prevented by a BannerWeb hold from registering for online or hybrid classes.
According to the new Western policies, “holds will be removed if the student provides the International Education and Development Office documentation that SACM has approved enrollment into a specific on-line/hybrid course.”
“We are being more proactive to ensure that students stay in compliance with scholarship requirements — hence the additional steps Saudi students must fulfill to enroll in online coursework,” Scheck said.
Despite the extra steps now required of both Western faculty and Saudi students, Scheck remains confident that SACM’s policies are beneficial to the international scholars.
“[SACM’s] oversight is a resource for students and their families adjusting to life in the United States,” Scheck said. “This is just like other students on scholarship, restrictions may be applied that must be met such as maintaining a minimal GPA, or making progress toward major completion requirements.
Saudi students seeking assistance in enrolling in these classes have been asked to contact Ambre Plahn in the International Office at 503-838-8434 or plahna@wou.edu.
ES 
EN