Mount Hood

Student reactions to the dorm guest policy petition

Western students react to a petition in favor for changing the dorm guest policy

Stephanie Moschella | Digital Media Manager

How many students voted: 68

Students in favor for changing the dorm guest policy: 41 (60%)

Students against changing the dorm guest policy: 27 (40%)

 

Highlighted student responses: 

     Name: Kendra Acker

     Year: First-year

     Major: Education

“Or at least guests from other halls, because there’s nowhere to hangout with friends from other halls except outside, especially when it’s raining and gloomy out. Or now with the freeze, we can’t even meet and hang in Valsetz. Idk *woman with black hair shrugging emoji*”

 

     Name: Erich Muehe

     Year: Senior 

     Major: Political Science

“I voted in support of the petition because I know it would be good for other students as they would be struggling in this time. I currently live off campus but I know many people that would benefit from this change.” 

 

     Name: Robby Scharf

     Year: Sophomore

     Major: Education 

“Considering the depopulation of the dorms that has already happened, and is going to continue to happen until the end of the term and possibly last in some considerable fashion into winter term, the danger of widespread community transmission of Covid-19 continues to decrease with time. The people living in the dorms currently are the least likely to spend considerable time in other communities and bring Covid-19 to campus, as those who live anywhere near WOU are considerably more likely to just live at home or elsewhere off campus. The ethics of the no-guest policy are becoming more and more ambiguous, in my view, daily.”

Letter to the Editor

Jennifer King outlines her “Concerns for the President” in light of SCHH staffing cuts

Guest contributor Jennifer King

October 29, 2020

Dear WOU Administration and Campus Community,

It is with utmost concern that I relieve my conscience prior to my departure from this institution regarding the lack of access to adequate medical and mental health care. 

I am well aware of what the pandemic has done to funding for this university and decisions that have been made to cut staffing were not easy nor taken lightly. That said, I cannot understand the decision to cancel student health fees for the majority of students (many still residing in rural Monmouth) resulting in elimination of services and provider layoffs leaving the health center able to provide the absolute minimum in care during a global health pandemic of which is wreaking havoc on our country both by the disease itself as well as the decline in overall mental health and well-being. 

Other universities, including OSU, have not opted to remove the fee as full services are still offered and utilized via telehealth and in-person visits.

I know that administration is overwhelmed with a budgetary crisis and important decisions concerning the future and even the longevity of WOU, but please consider this information from a medical professional. The ramifications of continuing to remove the nominal student health fee and how that affects access to affordable, local and quality women’s health, mental health, and general health care as well as capability for COVID-19 testing within our community are significant.

We are professionals with expertise in treatment, prevention and planning and were not consulted or asked for input in regards to protecting and providing for the physical and mental health needs of the student population. Rather, decisions were made by administrators with no medical knowledge or expertise in healthcare, and we have been told what we will do and how we will do it.

With the cuts, we will be left with one male practitioner who has specialized in mental health for the past 20 years.

Not to his discredit, but he recognizes his need for frequent consultation from his medical director (me) and former colleague regarding women’s health and acute care in office procedures and diagnoses unrelated to his area of expertise.

He was previously using continuing education to become more current in these areas, but there will be no funding nor time off for this either.

In addition, he is a front-line worker, considered by self-report to be high risk should he contract COVID, leaving him with undue anxiety not only concerning his own health, but leaving the clinic unstaffed should he become ill or simply need a break from the constant burden of working in this field. He has already had to self-isolate for 10 days due to possible COVID symptoms leaving no medical provider in the office.

In addition, leaving one highly specialized provider to perform all health visits is a liability to him and to the institution, and his voiced concerns (emails earlier in the term) of this have seemingly gone unheard by his superiors.

We also see a number of female students requesting a female provider for general sexual health and wellbeing screenings, contraceptive services, personal concerns, post sexual assault as well as cultural considerations that preclude them from seeing a male medical provider.

We are in a limited access rural health community with few options for our students to receive health services without a personal vehicle.

Furthermore, we see a number of uninsured, financially constrained students, DACA included, who repeatedly use and benefit from having access to unlimited, on campus medical and counseling appointments and who otherwise would have no access to any affordable health care.

I understand that perhaps the consideration to withhold health fees was somehow seen as beneficial and benevolent to our students from an overarching mindset that we are saving them money.

That is not the case in most instances as being told they now must pay the fee (most do not even realize they pay this) to access services after financial aid and scholarships have paid their tuition and fees seemingly makes them think and/or feel it is “out of their pocket” now.

Just as President Fuller volunteered to decrease his salary significantly as mentioned in the Town Hall, I would have been willing to discuss my own salary, hours, as well as benefits to continue to offer students the option to have some access to a female medical provider. 

If you polled the students, and perhaps you should, ask them about how they have been put at ease and cared for by a diverse group of medical professionals during their most vulnerable times.

Ask them if they mind being automatically assessed the health fee for unlimited access to all medical and mental health services by a cohesive team of professionals of different backgrounds and expertise.

Ask them if they would like easy and timely access to care should they experience a medical or mental health crisis or need something simple like a COVID test or prompt treatment for a sexually transmitted infection, fall from a bicycle, emergency contraception, or other unforeseen traumatic event.

Students have consistently stated in surveys that the SHCC was one of the most valuable services on campus. Someone should have asked their thoughts prior to the decision to dismantle our team of dedicated health care providers, and the fee-paying students should be informed of the now severely limited and inadequate access to care.

This has not been communicated to the student body which is grossly inappropriate.

My concerns are not of my position being terminated, but of the greater good and concern for public health, our student and campus community’s access to comprehensive care, and the absolute need of having a medical voice on this campus during a pandemic.

 

With Utmost Concern,

Jennifer King, MSN, FNP-BC

Medical Services Director

Western Oregon Student Health and Counseling Center

 

Opinion: The gentrification of Independence-Monmouth

With the popular food trucks in Indy-Mo gone, it brings up questions on gentrification

Stephanie Moschella | Digital Media Manager 

Gentrification is defined by Google as “the process whereby the character of a poor urban area is changed by wealthier people moving in, improving housing, and attracting new business, typically displaying current inhabitants in the process,” but I’m sure a lot of people didn’t catch the underlying racist speech in the definition of this word itself.

Poor, urban, Black, drugs, Mexican, Hispanic, uneducated, streets, hood, slums, the projects. The ghetto. 

The shifting of neighborhoods, the betterment of the community, cleaning up the slums. “We’re doing it for the kids!” “We’re making it more appealing for new tenants!” We’re dusting the streets of the people of color that were once there, and replacing them with a year long process of construction. We’re mixing the color of their skin with the cement being poured to smooth and blend out their edges.

We see this pattern repeatedly against marginalized communities. They’re given unreliable scraps of society only to have the rug pulled under them at any given moment to make room for the wealthy, improved and traditionally acceptable. However, this destruction of culture and revenue to the community is only noticed by those who’ve carved a space for themselves through their sweat and blood. 

These renovations deemed for the “betterment” of society only goes to show that the creativity of young, marginalized groups will always be deemed as lesser and disposable. The black square on your Instagram account will never be enough to make you understand, because you will never understand. 

Those that live in the Independence-Monmouth area probably know that the food trucks that were in The Annex left. Whether or not they were kicked out with only a 12-hour notice or asked to leave months ago doesn’t matter — this community has been stripped of a beautifully unique aspect, only to be replaced by “clean” commercial spaces and unaffordable apartments. 

Gentrification colloquially means the process where a neighborhood garners wealth and where the population becomes more rich, more young and more white. There’s no hiding what Indy-Mo is becoming, forcing its residents further and further out. Sure, it’s just Independence to Monmouth, but this exact thinking is what happens when people get too complacent, and eventually, kicked out. 

Contact the author at smoschella20@wou.edu

 

Student reactions to the presidential election

Western students speak their mind on the results of the 2020 presidential election

Stephanie Moschella | Digital Media Manager

 

“Tbh kind of shocked but I’m not mad”

Name: Kendra Acker

Year: First-year

Major: Education

 

“I’ve cried, cheered, and created an endless cycle of worry in my head.”

Name: Maddie Endicott

Year: Sophomore

Major: Political Science 

 

“THANKGODTHANKGODTHANKGOD”

Name: Abbie Funk

Year: Junior

Major: Fisheries and Wildlife Sciences 

 

“I feel like I can breathe again and I hope for our country. I’m no longer afraid.”

Name: Felicia Martinez

Year: Junior

Major: Communications Studies

 

“Beyond ecstatic, I didn’t know just how excited I was until I heard the breaking news!”

Name: Chris Smith

Year: Junior

Major: Public Policy and Administration

 

“Oh thank god”

Name: Steve Richmond

Year: Senior

Major: Communications Studies

Editorial: Current information keeps our staff and students safe

Increased communication is crucial to the community 

The Editorial Board

It has been a little over nine months since students from Western and around the world have adapted to a new, virtual lifestyle. All things considered, Western has done as much as they can to provide us with a safe environment. However, there is a need for more transparency with information regarding positive cases, and further precautions to be taken on campus.

Some of the controversies started when Western took a long time to announce that fall term would be taught virtually, leaving students abroad scrambling to prepare for another stressful term. And then, Western failed to be clear with their community about the number of COVID-19 cases. 

Information regarding the number of positive coronavirus cases has been notoriously hard to track down due to privacy concerns. However, the university can disclose these numbers while still respecting the patient’s privacy. Plenty of other universities disclosed their numbers to the community, all while respecting the boundaries of privacy. Oregon State University reported a total of seven confirmed cases as of Nov. 4; and, Southern Oregon University has 19 confirmed cases — they even specified if the individual lived on or off campus. Additional information is posted on both of the university’s websites, under “OSU-Cascades Dashboard” and “SOU COVID-19 Cases.”

Eventually, Western followed suit. Now, as of Nov. 16, there are less than 10 confirmed cases in the community. This information, while originally hard to find, is now updated and available at wou.edu/coronavirus/.

While it is reasonable to respect the privacy of positive patients, Western shouldn’t have left their community in the dark for as long as they did. These numbers inform whether or not safety protocols are working or if they need to change.

With those things out of the way, it’s safe to assume that some students of Western appreciate the improved effort. But now, a new problem has arisen in regards to COVID testing for both staff and students. When further researched, it is inconclusive if free testing is offered for staff. 

If you were to look on the COVID-19 webpage — which is ridiculously difficult to navigate by the way — they detail the steps you can take if you are seeking testing. However, the webpage doesn’t help you understand whether or not you should seek a test in the first place. How are students who may be asymptomatic supposed to know what to do? None of this is specified.

The problem is if you check “yes” on the CDC’s survey that you’ve been in contact with someone who tested positive, they will tell you to wait out the 14-day isolation, and if you develop symptoms at the end of that period, you go take the test. While there’s quite a bit of information regarding symptomatic cases, there’s not a lot of specification for asymptomatic cases, which leaves folks uninformed.

Western is a smaller school with already limited funding and budget cuts left and right, so we may be tight on funding, but that doesn’t mean that people deserve to be uninformed. Transparency with Western students and the greater community is what establishes a trusting and close-knit feeling for everyone, especially for a small town like Monmouth.

Students who are looking for information on testing can find it at wou.edu/coronavirus/students. If an appointment needs to be set up, call the Student Health and Counseling Center at 503-838-8313.

Opinion: WOU students are treated like a joke

WOUmemes is more informative than WOUnews 

Stephanie Moschella | Digital Media Manager

It has been said many times before and needs to be said again: WOUnews is just a PR team that endorses the university. They have a couple of grown a-s adults sitting behind their computer and phone screens telling students how to wash their hands, when they should be informing them about what is actually happening on campus.

Rex Fuller leaving in a crisis, confirmed COVID-19 cases on campus, money being used to shut student run organizations up, upwards to a $1,000 added hidden fee, almost getting rid of the food pantry which feeds whole a-s families and WOUnews has said nothing about it. The only thing students do not have to pay for is the anxiety and depression that they will be too poor to get help for once WOU is finished draining students pockets. They siphon young impressionable students and their s—-y income to pay for their Netflix accounts and Amazon Prime. 

WOUnews is the official Instagram account for the university, but despite idiotically claiming this handle, they do not seem to post a lot of news. One glance at their mediocre feed displays the sheer lack of decency towards the students of Western, as they have posted nothing in regards to IFC, increased tuition, or the godforsaken online course fee. They do not respond to comments from eloquently spoken students expressing their concern and only reply to ones that blindly praise the school (most of them from parents). WOUnews forcibly bird feeds its students with posts about how campus looks during the fall and to bring “your own frisbee (and) try out the WOU disc golf course” all while ignoring the devastated students weeping in its corridors.

WOUmemes on the other hand, should have love letters pouring into their DMs as this is where students actually gather information about what is happening on campus. News about the COVID cases did not emerge until they openly and gallantly posted about it. They always respond to students who comment on their posts with questions — reaffirming and agreeing with their beliefs as well as consoling them in times of need — all while providing a spark of joy in unprecedented times. This student-run Instagram account, which only started a few months ago, has garnered more attraction and respect amongst students than the university’s legitimate account. 

Of course, The Western Howl has its own personal beef with WOUnews, as prior articles by Stephanie Blair stirred up controversy regarding the topic. But I am not talking about previous arguments or petty rivalry the school created to have its way, what I am saying is that this is not the first time this has happened. There has been a first, second and third, yet the school chooses to not do anything about it, to sit complacent and watch the students tick away the days left before they get to leave. A factory of students that is essential to it continuing; yet they act like we are all disposable, expendable, unnecessary.

WOUnews is not providing adequate information to their students. Students desperately need it during these uncertain times because they are already anxious about their livelihood due to COVID. WOUmemes is the one supplying more actual information that students care about whilst maintaining a humorous ease amongst students in comparison to the inadequacy of WOUnews. Right now, anxiety and depression in students are at an all-time high and WOUnews is not fulfilling its purpose at satiating the nerves of young students who have never encountered a worldwide pandemic. 

Anyways, go follow @wou_memes on Instagram.

Contact the author at smoschella20@mail.wou.edu

Press Release: WOU Employees Reject President Rex Fuller

The staff and faculty of WOU press release on the vote of “no confidence” against President Rex Fuller

Dr. Scott Beaver | WOUFT Communications Officer

On Oct. 28, WOU faculty and staff unions initiated a vote of “no confidence” in President Rex Fuller in response to concerns raised by employees across the campus. Fuller recently implemented layoffs and announced plans for program elimination, after several years of declining enrollment and eroding shared governance under his leadership. More than 85% of the 240 respondents stated that they had no confidence in President Fuller’s leadership. The no confidence ballots also included a question asking respondents whether a survey regarding possible censure of other members of the upper administration should be conducted. The unions (WOUFT and SEIU Sub-local 082) cited failures of leadership, persistent management problems, and damage to the campus climate as primary reasons for conducting the no confidence and censure vote. The censure question indicated that 91% of the 240 faculty and classified staff wished to conduct a survey of possible censure for one or more members of President Fuller’s administration. This is the first time in institutional memory that a vote of no confidence has been conducted at WOU. Employees expressed their desire for the WOU Board of Trustees to take seriously their concerns about WOU’s leadership team and to take decisive action to correct the problems identified with the university’s upper administration. 

For more information, contact Dr. Scott Beaver, WOUFT Communications Officer by email at scottforrestbeaver@gmail.com or by phone at (503) 871-5444