Mount Hood

Recent campus closure announcement

Written by: Gretchen Sims | Editor in Chief,  Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

Fall of 2021 marked the completion of the initial steam pipeline construction project; however, due to the lack of efficacy of the current pipeline, the vaults are now being replaced.

In an email sent on March 19, students were notified that “Work on the steam pipeline project will impact vehicle and pedestrian travel on Monmouth Avenue, starting March 26 through September 2024.” 

Also noted were the crosswalk closures on Church and Jackson Streets, as well as the parking closure on Church Street — all construction pathways will meet the Americans with Disabilities Act., ADA, specifications. 

Western, along with many other higher education institutes, uses steam to heat its campus, which runs through a series of pipes, vaults and boilers. What Western lacks for this system is tunnels to run the pipeline through every building, something that is vital to the system’s stability and maintenance. 

Due to the absent tunnel system, Western must bury the steam pipes directly in the ground. The steam system initially relied on cast iron pipes, which are durable and resistant to abrasion but not flexible and are prone to rusting. Due to the high acidity in Oregon soil, the pipes experienced rapid corrosion, and the initial project to repair this corrosion was compromised, prompting the new construction project. 

Groundbreaking begins on April 14. To prepare for this, 3,000 feet of fencing was put up over Spring Break to ensure student safety — with students getting trapped in the fenced off areas being a point of concern. 

Starting the second week of the spring term, signage will be posted around Western, breaking it into different quadrants. This signage is intended to direct people around campus so they don’t find themselves at a dead end and be forced to backtrack.

“I find it interesting, first of all, that this notice went out to campus about it being closed over spring break through September, but it’s open right now, which is confusing to me. Church Street parking is completely open when they said it was going to be closed from spring break,” said Sarah Lockwood, Western’s facilities scheduling manager. 

Jason Krawczyk, director of capital planning and construction, oversees all projects that require bringing in a contractor to campus or projects that are over a certain price threshold.

Krawczyk clarified the timings of the closure stating that access to Church Street from Monmouth Avenue is currently inaccessible, but Church Street will be fully fenced off, and the parking closure will be enforced, in the upcoming weeks — Jackson Street access, however, will be accessible until Summer Term. 

Krawczyk stated that the reason they ultimately decided to close Church Street is due to his staff’s commitment to student safety. Trucks will have to run from behind the New PE building up through Church Street, thus moving against the flow of traffic and posing a danger to not only vehicles, but also pedestrians and construction workers. If cars were parked on both sides of the road, vehicle operators would not be able to see pedestrians easily and pedestrians might not expect the vehicle to be there. 

Notice of the closure was not announced until the end of finals week, just days before the intended start of the project. Due to this short notice, questions were raised regarding the lack of information and prior notice. 

The first closure announcement was made through the @westernoregonuniversity Instagram page, four days before an email was sent out to the general student body. 

“We don’t put out any communication that hasn’t been approved and the approval process takes a long time. So it might seem like it is coming out last minute, but it’s because we only put out information that is 100 percent accurate,” said Krawczyk.

Many voiced concerns came from student veterans on campus regarding both students and community members who have served. Veterans already have limited exclusive parking spaces on campus — four spots for the one-hundred-plus veterans that Western serves — and usage of these spots requires both a Zone One parking pass and Veteran or Armed Forces license plates. 

One anonymous student veteran was concerned about how late the information was shared with the general student community. 

“The only official communication that I heard was through the Instagram post,” said the student veteran. “The rest was word of mouth from staff that were notified before us.”

The Veteran Resource Center, the VRC, puts on events throughout the year for all members of the Veteran community and those with connections to the Armed Forces. Another concern that arose from this is the parking access to the Werner University Center and, thus, the VRC, for disabled veterans from the community and their family members who attend these events. 

Mike Hanson, associate director of campus public safety, put the concerns regarding disabled veteran access to the VRC to rest. “The disability spots campus wide are reserved for any person who has a valid disability placard. They are able to park in any lot with any (Western) permit. That includes a guest day pass. If a person is a guest and is not eligible for a guest pass but has a valid disability placard they also have the ability to park at any meter without paying the meter. This is in accordance with state law ORS 811.635,” said Hanson.

However, some students have a better vision for the future of parking. “A few veterans have said that they wish they could park anywhere as long as they had the veteran plate and the parking pass,” said the student veteran. 

Employees who live on campus also spoke on various concerns about the closure of Church Street. 

“I can’t afford a parking pass because my wages don’t equal out to ‘just buy a parking pass,’” said one anonymous student employee. “You’d have to have another job… that’s the only spot I can park.”

Some Western employees who commute simply do not want to pay for a parking pass, as they may only spend a few days a week on campus — not making the cost of a parking pass worthwhile. Other students, staff and faculty concerns revolve around access to locations needed for commencement. Because Church Street will be fenced off during June, access to the New PE building and the football stadium will be limited. 

Krawczyk wants to reassure any event planning committees that “During any construction project, we’re willing to work with groups that have events happening on campus as long as we know about them ahead of time and can plan for them,” said Krawczyk. 

Access to Church Street will be made available for commencement.

Additionally, the closure of Church Street has caused a parking crisis among students and staff alike over the loss of free street parking. 

“I went for a walk today and I counted (the) parking spaces… there are 54 just normal parking spaces, there are four handicap-accessible parking spaces and there are three to four — depending on how many cars fit — 20-minute parking spots that are right by the front doors (of the WUC),”  said Lockwood.

Students share many concerns about the closure of Church Street, some of them include the fact that, because the announcement was so late notice, purchasing a parking pass was not an expense these students planned for. 

Church Street is city property and, therefore, Western is not responsible for the replacement of these spaces. However, the parking options now available to students are not comparable to the number or type of parking spaces lost due to the closure. 

Lockwood reached out to Parking Services in an attempt to request a suitable alternative for the loss of parking. “Parking services, when reaching out to them about the street being closed, they were very matter-of-fact about there not being any replacement parking. The street was going to be closed and the options were for students to use metered parking… or pay for a parking pass, or find street parking on the perimeter of campus,” said Lockwood.

On Lockwood’s walk around campus, she noted that there were approximately ten metered parking spaces and a few empty street parking spaces around the perimeter of campus, but these numbers will not make up for the 54 lost spaces that were filled. 

Addressing student concerns regarding the loss of handicapped spaces, Hanson said, “For any person to park in a disability spot anywhere on campus there are two requirements. The first requirement is having a valid WOU permit (this includes guest permits) and a valid disability placard.”

Despite the losses of the parking spaces on Church Street, Krawczyk and the construction crew on this project are doing their best to alleviate the issue. 

“With the student success center, I think it’s important to note that we worked closely with parking and actually paid for thirty spaces so that the construction people on that job site would not be taking the free public parking on the road. And the same thing is happening with this. By taking Lot E, for our laydown area and construction worker parking, that means that all of the added people brought to campus by this construction project will not be taking free parking from students. We know that we will have an influx in people and we try and make sure that they don’t… anger the community by parking in front of their houses at 6 a.m. in the morning with loud diesel trucks, and don’t anger our student population by when they show up for an 8 (a.m.) class and all the free parking is gone,” said Krawczyk.

One proposed resolution to the loss of parking spaces due to the closure is the opening of P Lot as a free parking Zone. There are a comparable amount of parking spaces in the lot as were lost from Church Street, and it is usually fairly empty. 

“In general with the road closure, like there should be a safe spot to park if there’s nowhere to park on Church Street. They should have everybody park in P Lot, but then have an officer on standby to walk everyone back,” said the anonymous student employee. 

Lockwood also recommended a few spots in H Lot be converted into 20-minute parking spaces for easy access to the WUC. 

Hanson reasoned against the handing out of free parking spaces saying, “…we were not able to just give out free parking to those that do not have (parking) permits. (This) would cause issues with the spring events that occur on that portion of campus including, but not limited to, Baseball and Track and Field events. The other issue would be the equality for those who have already purchased permits. The free parking would cause the issue of why some people have to pay for permits while others do not have to pay to park on campus.”

“We understand the effect that this closure has on the parking. (Western) Parking has worked with the city of (Monmouth) and Independence to provide an alternative resource to students, staff and faculty. The parking near campus and the nearby neighborhoods have had a longtime pressure on available street parking. The Monmouth Independence area was given funding to research and implement the MI Trolley service. This is a free ride service that travels from (Western)’s campus all the way to Riverfront (Park) in Independence. This service gives those without a permit a free option to ride to campus,” said Hanson.

“Unfortunately, the project is too long, it can’t just happen over the summer months, and we can’t do it, also, during the rainy season. So doing it spring and summer was really our only option,” said Krawczyk.

Contact the authors at howleditorinchief@wou.edu and howlsports@wou.edu

American football in Tunisia

Written by: Gretchen Sims | Editor-in-Chief

It’s hard to imagine the world of football outside of America, without the billion-dollar industry, massive stadiums and enthusiastic fans. However, American football is played across the globe with leagues in Germany, Canada, France, Japan, Brazil, Australia, Netherlands and, recently, Africa. 

While American football was established in Egypt and Morocco in the early 2000s, newer teams have begun to take over the scene as the sport works to make itself a recognizable sport across Africa.  

One of these African teams, the Carthage Eagles, sprung out of Tunisia and has secured its place as the National American Football Team of Tunisia. However, creating an American football team in Tunisia was not easy, nor did it happen overnight. The idea was first put forth on social media and grew from there by word of mouth. 

While the program grew slowly at first, the Eagles now consist of players from all over the world — most based out of Germany, France, Italy and Turkey — who are of Tunisian descent. This does, however, lead to obstacles in team building such as language barriers, travel challenges and differing levels of play.

Amine Ben Abdelkarim, an Eagles’ linebacker and the current program President, founded the first Tunisian team in 2014. Abdelkarim reflected on this as well as what inspired him to pursue building the team. 

“…I started practicing football when I moved to France in 2013. I joined a French team, Garches Kiowas. In 2014 I heard that Morocco and Egypt played two games to reach the World Cup, so I said to myself how come there’s no Tunisian team? Starting that day, it became my aim. Building a Tunisian national team based on experienced players who have Tunisian origin,” Abdelkarim said.

To many, the thought of an American football team in Tunisia was implausible. Additionally, Abdelkarim, the linebacker with a dream, had many obstacles stacked against him. 

“I started football at the age of 32… The age players end their careers…” said Abdelkarim. “(It was also crucial to) convince Tunisian authorities that we can practice that sport in Tunisia and it can attract people.”

The Tunisian government was persuaded to accept American football after the team hosted a program for over 70 Tunisian children, where they demonstrated their passion and love of the sport to the next generation. The camp was observed by the sports minister and mayors of the country. After the camp, approval was granted for the sport to integrate itself as a part of Tunisian society. 

The team’s success, however, can not be credited to just the players’ passion and love for the game. None of this would have been possible without Head Coach and Offensive Coordinator, Cevin Conrad, who assimilated players of all different levels, molding them into a cohesive team. 

Conrad was born in Oregon and moved to Germany after meeting his wife. It was there that Abdelkarim approached him about coaching the Tunisian team. 

“I started by looking for Tunisian players and at the same time a HC (Head Coach) who could be interested (in) the project. And this is how I met Cevin Conrad — the godfather of my daughters now,” said Abdelkarim.

Conrad was interested in the idea of a Tunisian national team.

“It seemed like such a crazy idea — and I helped build up football in Germany — I knew how tough something like that would be and I kind of wanted to hear what it would be about because it sounded kind of strange. That’s how I got in contact with Amine,” said Conrad.

One of their main obstacles was finding players and then bridging language gaps and distance between them.

“Amine told me about his dream to have football in Tunisia — have the Tunisians come together — and how they were a minority and how difficult it all was. I thought, well if I didn’t help them, probably nobody else would or could. So I decided to help Amine realize his dream.”

Soon after, Defensive Coordinator, Rene Hesse, was brought on board. The Eagles also occasionally host guest coaches from America. 

In 2017, the newly fledged Tunisian team faced off against the established Morrocan team for the Africa championship. This was the first African v. African game. Tunisia, who hosted, was far from taken seriously. American football in Morocco had been an established program for 10 years and their national team had played before, while this was the Tunisian team’s first game.  

The Tunisian team knew that putting up a good fight in this match would cement the validity of their program. 

Many of the players sacrificed much to be at the game. They left their families, their homes and, often, their countries to chase a dream that many didn’t think possible — the true underdogs. 

There was no extravagant stadium waiting for their arrival, nor millions of spectators, yet the enthusiasm that day rivaled that of an NFL game. Abdelkarim led his team onto the field, not knowing this game would put them in the history books and solidify the Eagles’ position in Tunisian sports. 

Yassin Ouarghi, a defensive tackle for the Eagles, was there in the 2017 game against Morocco. 

“It was a great experience. The victory was an amazing feeling because we worked so hard to become a close-knit team. It was our first official national game, and then we won by such a large margin. Additionally, the game was a home game, which made it truly special. Despite the sport not being very well-known in Tunisia, quite a few spectators came. Some relatives from both abroad and within the country came to watch the game. During the week leading up to the game, we held a workshop with children from the region. They also attended the game and were really enthusiastic and cheered along with us,” said Ouarghi.

The Morrocan team assumed they had the game in the bag.

Before the game, the Moroccan coach informed Conrad that, when they were 30 points ahead, he would send in his second-string players out of mercy so the Tunisian team would have a chance at scoring. 

“The statement from the Moroccan coach spurred me to push even harder to defend and represent myself, my team, and my country. The victory in the end was a real satisfaction. We were significantly superior to the Moroccans in every position and practically overran them,” said Ouarghi. 

The final score was 36–0, with Tunisia pulling out the underdog win.

It wasn’t just a victory for the Eagles, it was a victory for the future of American football. Conrad, an advocate for expanding American football to the rest of the world, was ecstatic about this win. 

“It was inspiring. A lot of things were riding on my back, but I just really wanted to help these people. So it was really moving to see the exuberation, the happiness, that these people, my team, the group, all together reached what they, at the beginning, considered an unreachable goal” said Conrad. 

“I didn’t do it for me, I did it for them. It’s a beautiful thing to see when you give to people and see how they can grow, and it brings people together. It was very very very inspiring. One of the memorable moments of my life.” 

Now, the Carthage Eagles only have the future to look forward to. 

The Tunisian team held a training camp at the end of December 2023 in Gummersbach, Germany. There, many newly recruited team members from around the world met for the first time. 

Skander Riou, an Eagles’ guard, was one of these recruits. Even though the team only had a few days together, they were able to bond ahead of the 2024 African Championship against Egypt.

“The team dynamic is pretty cool. It was my first time with the Tunisia team, but I had the impression I know everyone and we are all friends,” said Riou.

The next step for the team will be competing in the World Cup, but the Eagles have their eye on something more. 

The year 2028 will be the first Summer Olympic Games to include American flag football, allowing the Eagles to compete on the world stage. The Tunisian team, however, is a full-contact football team with little experience with flag football. There is hope for future Olympic cycles to include tackle football, but for now, teams must adapt to flag rules. 

To prepare for a potential bid for the Olympics, the Eagles have begun implementing flag football leagues into Tunisia’s established American football program. 

Regardless of the challenges, the Tunisian team is currently planning to take their team to Los Angeles in 2028. The team paints themselves as the next Jamaican bobsled team — striving to achieve the impossible — and asks for any American football players of Tunisian descent to consider joining their cause as they work towards etching their names into history books.



Contact the author at howleditorinchief@wou.edu

School strike

Written by: Hannah Field | News Editor

For some — if not most — kids, dressing up on Halloween, overindulging in candy and having school canceled the next day is a dream come true. Portland students found themselves in the same situation and, at first, it was fun — until the teachers’ strike began to threaten their summer and winter breaks.

Eighty-one schools in the district have not had a school day since Nov. 1, when teachers first walked out of classrooms. Since then, it has almost been a month of no school for the Portland school district. Thanksgiving break is expected to end Nov. 27 — with school days planned to continue as usual. However, it is uncertain whether or not the Portland teachers’ demands will be met by that date — a process that includes an agreement between the Oregon school district and the union.

It is required for Oregon students to reach a certain amount of instructional time in the classroom based on grade per year. Due to the strike, students have not met that requirement, and therefore, Portland is heavily considering extending the school year into the summer until the required hours are met — as long as the other vacations in the year do not provide the proper amount of days.

Teachers had multiple reasons for rallying. As listed by the Portland Association of Teacher’s website, it is for the students as much as the teachers. 

“Our students deserve more one-on-one attention from dedicated and well-qualified educators … they deserve small classroom sizes and meaningful instruction and assessment.”

On the website, they have three goals listed. In summary, they are as follows: all needs and interests for students and educators should be dutifully met, education spaces should be safe, clean, well-maintained and fully staffed and, lastly, educators need better salaries as well as teams. Staff should have training and teams who are well educated in social issues, such as forms of prejudice and bias, to better serve the student population in Portland.

The website goes as far as to publish bargaining updates as the discussion continues. The petition initiated by the Portland Association of Teachers reportedly has over 7,000 signatures — but the petition itself does not showcase the number.

The Nov. 20 bargaining update summarizes a 24-hour meeting the Portland Public Schools team and Portland Association of Teachers had discussing the agreement. A settlement was reportedly met from both sides’ bargaining teams with good benefits and proper adjustments that the PAT desired – just before the PPS bargaining team returned to inform the PAT that the PPS board rejected the settlement — the settlement agreed upon by their own team.

“To have the deal pulled after working so hard, and making tough compromises to win on our key issues, was incredibly frustrating,” said the PAT. 

The post goes as far as to say that the PPS has been posting proposals that are “…out of date and out of context.”

In a different update, the PAT’s update states, “This crisis of their own making unnecessarily prolongs the strike, and demonstrates the inability of district leadership to govern Oregon’s largest school district.”

However, multiple topics of interest, presented by the PAT, were acknowledged by PPS — such as class size, parent involvement, expanded overage pay, more planning time and planning days, adjusted cost of living adjustments, added mental health staff and safer education facilities. Seventeen articles in the contract were agreed upon by both sides, but three more remain, as well as two appendices.

If both parties sign all articles, it will then be reviewed and then a comprehensive, tentative agreement would be signed. Union members would then vote to ratify the contract, validating it.

The PAT reported with hopeful spirits that big wins were secured in that discussion, and they are waiting on the PPS to consider approving the deal they laid out for them.

PPS has already made moves on cutting winter break short for Portland students — Dec. 18–22 a full school week starting two days before Christmas Eve.

Portland Public Schools Board Chair Gary Hollands’ car was struck by vandalism, with the word “SHAME” written on three sides of the vehicle in spray paint. Beyond that, leaflets and papers were stuck to the car, broadcasting messages about funding classrooms and giving students the classrooms they deserve.

The Portland Association of Teachers condemned this act and vandalism as a whole.

As tension continues to rise between both sides, it remains that over 40,000 students have been out of school since the beginning of November. 

Students remain the objective of the strike according to both teams. Students may continue to be out of school until Portland Public Schools meet the demands of the Portland Association of Teachers, who have made it very clear that they will continue to gather at the picket lines until all their demands are met.

Update: Both sides have come to an agreement concluding with higher wages for teachers, soft cap sizes on classrooms and extended prep time per week. Breaks for students have been pushed back a few days for the purpose of making up the 11 lost school days. 

Contact the author at howlnews@mail.wou.edu

A timeline of the Israel-Hamas conflict

Written by: Cami Ansley | Copy Editor

As of Tuesday, Nov. 7, the Israel-Hamas conflict has officially surpassed a month with no end in sight. Since the initial attack on Israel by Hamas on Oct. 7, Israel has been consistently retaliating against Hamas, a militant group located in and governing the Gaza Strip. As of Nov. 13, the death toll has reached more than 1,400 Israelis and over 11,180 Palestinians. Here is a timeline of key events in the Israel-Hamas conflict.

During the early morning hours of Saturday, Oct. 7, Hamas launched a barrage of thousands of rockets targeting Southern and Central Israel and infiltrated small towns and Kibbutz, slaughtering and kidnapping men, women and children.

One of these targeted locations was the Negev Desert, where the Supernova Universo Paralello Festival was being celebrated. Thousands of people were sent running for their lives as Hamas militants paraglided into the area and sprayed bullets in their direction. Some attendees took to hiding in bushes, finding refuge in nearby buildings, and playing dead. At least 260 Israeli bodies were recovered from the Festival site, while an unspecified number of people are still missing and/or are suspected of being taken as hostages. 

On Oct. 9, the Israeli Defense Minister, Yoav Gallant, ordered a “complete siege” of Gaza, starting by cutting electricity, food, water and fuel from entering the territory, and mobilizing 300,000 troops — the most Israel has ever gathered in such a short amount of time. On Oct. 13, leaflets were dropped over Gaza ordering all citizens to move South to avoid being hit by the upcoming missile attacks from Israel.

On Oct. 14, Egypt, Israel and America came to an agreement to let Palestinians enter Egypt for refuge through the Rafah Border — causing a surge of Gazans to flock to the border. However, the Rafah Border was not opened to citizens or aid services at this time. 

On Oct. 17, an explosion hit the al-Ahli hospital, killing over 500 people. Hamas blamed Israel for the attack while Israel claimed that the explosion was caused by a “failed missile launch” by Islamic Jihad, another militant group. 

As a result of the hospital explosion, a summit scheduled for Oct. 18 between Jordanian King Abdullah, President Biden, Egyptian President Sissi and Palestinian Authority President Abbas to discuss the state of affairs in Gaza was mutually canceled on Oct. 17. Two American hostages were also released by Hamas after being kidnapped from a kibbutz they were staying at in Southern Israel.

On Oct. 18, President Biden visited Israel for seven hours, showing support for Israel while also encouraging them to allow humanitarian aid to enter Gaza. An agreement was made between Israel and Egypt to allow 20 trucks of humanitarian aid to enter Gaza through the Rafah Border.

On Oct. 23, Hamas released two elderly female Israeli hostages. On Oct. 27, Israel cut off all communication to and from Gaza and amped up their ground offensive in preparation for their upcoming invasion.

On Oct. 29, the UN reported that thousands of Palestinians had broken into their warehouses, taking basic items and hygiene supplies. On Oct. 30, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu declared that Israel rejects the calls for a ceasefire with Hamas.

Following negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Egypt, the Rafah Border Crossing was opened to allow sick and wounded civilians as well as dual nationals and aid organization staff to enter Egypt on Nov. 1. By the end of the day, more than 350 dual nationals and 76 injured/sick had crossed the border.

On Nov. 2, Israel claimed they had completely surrounded Gaza City. During a televised speech on Nov. 3, Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected the idea of a temporary ceasefire unless Hamas released all their hostages.

On Nov. 6, the Rafah Border was temporarily reopened to allow pre-approved foreign passport holders and some injured to enter Egypt. By early evening, a total of 80 dual nationals and 17 injured had crossed over.

On Nov. 7, over 500 more evacuees, including foreign and dual nationals as well as 19 injured, crossed the Rafah Border Crossing. On Nov. 9, Israel agreed to four-hour pauses in fighting in Northern Gaza every day from then on. 

On Nov. 12, the Al-Shifa hospital, the largest in Gaza, went “out of service” after losing electricity and thus, the ability to perform surgeries, life-support and other services. 



Contact the author at howlcopyeditor@mail.wou.edu

A fireside chat with the President

Written by: Gretchen Sims | Edition-in-Chief

Western’s President, Jesse Peters, joined by the Executive Director of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, Dominique Vargas, and the Vice President of Student Affairs, Tina Fulch, got down to earth by meeting students face-to-face in a very casual manner — around the fireplace in the Richard Woodcock Educational Center no less.

This Nov. 2 meeting was a way for students to bring their concerns to the attention of people who have the power to take them into consideration and enact real change. 

The chat offered a comfortable environment that encouraged students to speak their minds — the inclusion of hot chocolate, tea and sweet treats also helped students feel invited to bring forth their grievances.

One of the first topics brought up by students was the mysterious disappearance of scholarship funds. Many students were missing scholarships this school year. Many were forced to pay their student bills without finding out what had happened to their money — despite many unhelpful and uninformative calls to the financial aid office. 

Tina Fulch answered this question with great concern, stating that if this has happened to any student, they should not give up on their scholarships. The financial aid office is horrendously understaffed and it is taking longer than usual to distribute funds. 

If one has already paid their student bill before getting some or all of their scholarships, the funds will be returned in the form of a reimbursement check at the end of the term. 

Another issue raised by students was the unreliability and impractical design of the school’s portal — citing that the widgets at the top are all different shapes and spaces apart. Additionally, crashes almost prevented them from paying their student bill on the day it was due. 

Fulch considered this and will bring up a possible redesign to the Director of UCS.

Faith DeVyldere, an Education student at Western who student-teaches at Oregon Child Development Coalition in Independence, brought up the fact that student teachers are unable to afford school and housing due to the fact that they hold unpaid positions. Western has many education students, but they are struggling because there is no help for them once they begin their stints as student teachers — rent and school can be expensive if one is working without pay. Fulch recommended talking with the Dean.

Overall, the general consensus was that people are starting to come out from hiding after COVID and are beginning to become active on campus again. Western’s campus has come to life this past year, and the small things, like this fireside chat, prove that the students are ready to make a difference and change Western for the better.  

Contact the author at howleditorinchief@wou.edu

Homecoming schedule and events

Written by: Gretchen Sims | Editor in Chief

Homecoming. While some view this as a chance to revel, others roll their eyes at this throwback to high school. However, campus-wide events like homecoming can be an excellent way to bring Western students together and get them acclimated to campus life. 

Western’s 2023 Homecoming kicked off on Oct. 16 and will conclude this Saturday, Oct. 21, with the Homecoming Game against Midwestern State University Texas. 

Although it seems routine, Homecoming marks the first campus-wide event of the academic year — making it the first opportunity for students to bridge the gap between coming to campus exclusively for classes and getting involved with campus life. 

Besides, Homecoming is nostalgic. It gives first-year students comforting high school flashbacks and helps make college seem less intimidating. 

As college students begin to feel comfortable with their new lives, they adopt an identity through the school — accumulating school spirit and pride in their university and peers. 

One of the best ways to outsource that pride is through school-affiliated sports. Homecoming gives students the opportunity to immerse themselves in spirit alongside their peers and fosters a sense of community and belonging.

Within this sense of belonging lies the true roots of community that Western supports in its students. 

Katelin Granger, the coordinator of Student Activities and Inclusion, said that the connection between Western students makes Homecoming, Homecoming. 

“Western draws such unique students that have such diverse qualities and interests that it’s a unique place where you can find a home for you and I think that is where it becomes important that you feel connected to our campus, and you feel like you embody what it is to be a Western Wolf,” Granger said. 

Encouraging such diversity allows for students to find a place where they can call home — despite the constant turmoil that frequents daily life for college students. 

A recent alteration to the Homecoming tradition of Homecoming King and Queen accentuates Western’s devotion to diversity. Western now chooses two graduating seniors, regardless of gender identity, and crowns them Wolf Royalty. 

Voting for Wolf Royalty will be open until Friday, Oct. 20. 

Diversity has always been a staple in Western’s core beliefs, so much so that remnants of it can be seen even in something as trivial-seeming as Homecoming.

Western’s Homecoming offers a variety of activities for everyone — to help foster that relationship of students connecting with other students. 

Though this year’s Homecoming is already underway, there is still time to join in on the festivities and add your unique voice to Western’s diverse community. 

Thursday 

7–8:30 p.m. — I Love Female Orgasms, hosted by Abby’s House, “Join us to learn and laugh about the ‘Big O.’”

Friday 

6 p.m. — Wolf Wars: Class vs Class Dodgeball Tournament, in Old PE

8:30 p.m. — Bonfire Pep Rally, on the Field by the Public Safety Building 

VOTE FOR WOLF ROYALTY

Saturday 

12 p.m. — Homecoming Football Game

                  Tailgate and Spirit Table

                  Wolf Royalty Announcement, during Halftime

Be sure to vote for the Wolf Royalty Court. Use this link until Oct. 20 https://wou.presence.io/form/wolf-royalty-voting-2023.

Contact the author at howleditorinchief@wou.edu 

Western’s Model United Nations Trip

Written by: Gretchen Sims

Recently, from Feb. 23 — Feb. 25, members of Western’s Model United Nations club took part in a well-established academic tradition — the London International Model United Nations. 

Model UN is a popular activity for students interested in political science and allows participants to simulate the proceedings of an actual United Nations conference. 

Each participant is assigned a committee that replicates an actual committee in the UN. In that committee, the student represents a randomly assigned country — sometimes this can be a specific person, but this is quite rare.

Once these committees are assigned, students are given a real-world topic and are tasked with accurately representing and bolstering their country’s interests.  

Two Western MUN members were assigned to the United States on the Security Council. This was an interesting predicament for these students, as being assigned to the state from which you originate is rare and did not sit well with other participating schools. 

While Western delegates did not win an award, members did exceptionally well. The delegates were working on energy security and the energy crisis, and went against the grain. While most focused on the energy pipelines and creating a singular energy grid, the U.S. Security Council felt ignored and decided to take action. mozambique, an elected member of the Security Council, was trying to start a resolution paper — one of three circulating the General Assembly — however, it kept getting looked over and shut down. 

It was then that Russia decided to back mozambique’s paper — a big deal due to the P5, one of the five permanent members on the security council, state’s veto power.  Sharon Mann and Max Laine decided to beat Russia at their own game and back mozambique’s paper as well. This left the rest of the states in deep trouble because, with the backing of two P5 states, the previously overlooked resolution was protected by two veto powers.

Immediately, the U.S. Security Council delegates were the center of attention — with everyone suddenly begging the U.S. to work with them. However, the U.S. used its veto power to its full capacity and shut everyone down in true American style. 

However, at the end of the day, this was a huge accomplishment for Western. 

Mann, one of the two students on the Security Council, said that “All the schools that went to this conference were big-name schools internationally. Universities from France, Spain, lots from London — I think there was a delegation from Oxford there… It was big! We were one of the only American schools — I think there was one other one from New Jersey — but we were Western Oregon. At this huge conference that thousands of people went to, and it wasn’t like U of O going, or even Stanford.”

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

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