Mount Hood

Thoughts and Gifts Project invites community to grand opening

The Thoughts and Gifts Project welcomes Polk County residents to celebrate the move to their new permanent location 

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

On Feb. 20, the Thoughts and Gifts Project nonprofit organization will be commemorating their permanent move to 427 Main St. E from 1 to 3 p.m..

Established in 2018 by founder Jean Love, TAGP celebrates the birthdays of underserved youths and qualifying senior citizens by providing $30 worth of gifts, three books and two birthday cards. 

Prior to COVID-19, TAGP would host one large birthday party each month for all participants within their program. Adapting to COVID regulations, the nonprofit does not have large birthday parties, but now does monthly prize drawings with donations from the Dollar Tree in addition to their other gifts.

Love had the idea after listening to a Toys for Tots commercial on the radio during Christmas time.

“It’s great that there’s such an outpour of support for one day, but what about the other 365 days of the year?” explained Love.

When the organization first began providing services to the public, their original location was temporary. 

“We had a partnership with the Polk County Service Club … They allowed us to use their club house free of charge and we were there for three days a week,” said Love, “but we did not have on site storage.”

According to Love, they spent the next few years fundraising until they were able to purchase a storefront in Monmouth during the fall of 2020. 

“We thought about doing a grand opening in October, but at that point you’re getting into November and December where the main focus is Christmas,” Love explained. “We don’t want to compete with anything Christmas because there is too much good that happens then.”

For the event, TAGP is doing a ribbon cutting ceremony in front of the store at 1:30 p.m. in addition to three different game stations.

“They will be quick fast games and after they can win prizes,” said Love.

Participants will also be able to receive some TAGP swag bags that contain various branded items. At this time, food will not be provided due to COVID regulations. People interested in attending the event are required to wear a mask, but no RSVP is required.

“We’re really doing something positive for our community,” said TAGP volunteer Kathy Grudle. “It’s such a wonderful feeling to be able to say this something we’re giving you and because we care about you having a birthday.”

To learn more about qualifications or to donate to The Thoughts and Gifts Project, students can visit their website at thoughtsandgifts.org.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

IFC concludes spring term discussions and moves on to the next school year

The IFC has finalized spring term and are working on next year’s budget

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

Western’s Incidental Fee Committee has completed their process for establishing fee and budgetary allocations for spring 2021.

During their Feb. 5 meeting, seven IFC members voted to approve the motion of allocating all budgetary requests from all 15 funded areas while one member abstained. For the money allocation, the committee supplied three areas with additional funding: Student Media received $2,750; the Creative Arts department, $1,500; ASWOU, $81.

For spring term, the committee opted to lower the $150 fee students saw on their bill this term due to lower budgetary requests, according to IFC chair Makana Waikiki. From the meeting transcript, it was revealed by IFC member Quentin Kanta that only one student voted on the fee preference option and voted for a $125 fee to be charged on student billing next term.

The operating costs for spring term total $585,886.67. Under the current proposed fee, the IFC anticipates collecting $502,750 and supplying the remaining funding using money from their $800,000 worth of reserves. The difference between winter and spring term’s operating budgets is approximately $330,000 less. The difference is due to the athletics department not making any budgetary requests for spring due to sufficient funding from their winter term requests.

The IFC is also working on drafting budgetary allocations and fee proposals for the 2021-2022 academic year. All funded areas have been asked to pitch 10%, 20% and 30% cuts. The reason for this request is due to the uncertainty of enrollment for the upcoming year and the unpredictability of COVID-19.

At this time, only 11 of the 15 areas have proposed their budgets for the upcoming school year. All areas were supposed to finish their proposals on Feb. 12, but the IFC chair cancelled the meeting because of the ice storm, and anticipate resuming proposals on Feb. 19.

For students that are interested in the IFC’s process, the committee holds their meetings via Zoom every Friday starting at 9 a.m. All committee meetings are open to the public and the link to the meeting can be found at their website wou.edu/ifc/. For all other inquiries regarding the IFC, students can email the IFC chair at ifcchair@mail.wou.edu.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

Booze & reviews: “Valentine’s Day”

A comedic romance in the perspective of three drunken reviewers

Kyle Morden | Head Designer

Allison Vanderzanden | Lifestyle Editor

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

“Valentine’s Day” may not have scored high on Rotten Tomatoes, but it sure makes for a great drunk movie night. Read our full reviews in our online issue, which may contain spoilers. Please drink responsibly.

Kyle Morden | Head Designer

This needs to be put out there. If Allie doesn’t say this, SHE IS PISSING WHILE WRITING THIS> 

Love, cheating, thriller, jason, harry styles, queen beyonce, and valentines day — a day full of lonely a– b—–s who somehow get a love interest by the end of the day?? EVEN THIS LITTLE A– 7 YEAR OLD GETS HIS ONWN MOTHER BACK?? “Lmao im 7 and love sick” B—H WHAT ABOUT MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEWSEFERSFDRSGFDRGFGFRGdfgfsjhfvsgfsjhghkjfbvdjkbfhjsdbhjvhbfhbhjvbjnkvbjnkfnk?????????fjkhsgjcgkhhbjkhjkgfbgjfhgfxhjgyibfhhsdjkbzakuhks. Btw. military families amitire? Love em. Thank god that military mom came back for her son. Btw tbh i only remember the actors name (bradley cooper hit me up)

Valentines day is a day where a lot of people get f—-d (up to your interpretation uwu)

Ok ok so “valentine’s day” a movie full of twist and turns and sharkboy and lavagirl — without the lava girl and shark. How the f–k do you get two taylors into one movie??? LET ALONE HAVE THEM DATE EACH OTHER??????????????????????

ANNIE HATHAWAT IS OKAY WITH PEOPLE WITH FETISHES, BUT BACK OFF. SHES MINE. SO IS BRADLEY COOPER — HE LOVES ME. B—H

I accidentally deleted my last paragraph, so go watch this movie yourself.

GAY COUPLES ARE THE ONLY COUPLES. ALSO DONT F—–G GROUP ALLIE WITH ME. SHES CRAZy. She said shes rolling, but idk if she means the drug or literally rolling on the floor? Dont do drugs, drink responsibly

How much do i need to type? I dont remember a word count. I KNOW HOW TO FINISH THIS.

Overall review: Let’s get naked~ uwu

Slide into my dms @_kylemorden on instagram 😉

Or contact the author at chealy16@wou.edu

Allison Vanderzanden | Lifestyle Editor

Okay first of all i was NOT too into this movie i was just having fun. MY ROOMMATE was into it tho

I would like to preface my review with the fact that i know none of the characters names, only taylor and taylor. I am inept when it comes to celebrities

Rotten tomatoes is WRONG, I had an AMAZING time watching this movie even though I was really confused. Who’s at the airport??? Whos barely legal in high school??? I could not tell you I could not

But listen. Really. It’s a fun movie to watch drunk. Tbh itd probably be Bad if I was not intoxicated. But it was cute! It was nice! There was representation! Gay men and single mums! We support them all!!! GAY BRADLEY COOPER!!!!!!!

Even through the confusion i was extremely satisfied w/ the ending. Through the MULTIPLE PG-13 sex scenes, there was still a sweet undertone where everyone got a happy ending uwu Not that I shouvlde expected ANY less from a 2010 rom com. Google “romcom drinking games” and watch this movie, you’ll have a fantastic time.

Contact the author at avanderzanden19@mail.wou.edu or don;t

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

Okay so this what I got from this, please note this is my first time being drunk in my life. There were a lot of straight people but at some point we were gay and it was beautiful. I’m convinced all of these people were stunt doubles cause there absolutely no way all these famous people got together. The stunt doubles failed to give me wolf man and sharkboy there was sex scenes sometimes which was fine but i wasn’t really paying attention because I was busy eating my chili fries there was a little boy with a lot of angst for no reason over a cougar woman In conclustion roses are expensive af, and this mans was throwing them in the lake to feed ducks and thats acceptable.  THE MILITARY MOM CAME BACK AND IT WAS BEAUTIFUL. Im going to bed 

Dont email me, i wont’ reply email thank you

A sign of love from the ASL Club

Stop by ASL Club’s Valentine’s Day tabling event

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

The Werner University Center has permitted clubs to hold small tabling events, which the American Sign Language Club is taking advantage of. In honor of Valentine’s Day, the ASL Club is hosting a pre-Valentine’s Day tabling activity on Feb. 10 from 12 to 3 p.m. to inform students about the club and answer any questions people have in regards to the Deaf community.

“We really wanted to try to do something in person,” said junior ASL/English interpreting major and ASL Club treasurer Shayla Barnes. “We just want to provide a little beacon of friendliness and personal connection in a time where Zoom reigns supreme.”

According to Barnes, the purpose of this event is to connect like minded people interested in developing their knowledge of ASL; Barnes explained all experience levels are welcome to join. For people who are new to ASL and are not completely comfortable with their level of signing, the Office of Disability Services was able to provide interpreters to attend the club meetings in addition to the students that are already in the club.

“I would encourage people to look into ASL for numerous reasons,” said Barnes, “first it’s a wonderful language with a wonderful community around it. Secondly, there’s a huge Deaf population.”

Barnes recalled her own experience learning more about the Deaf community, citing how surprised she was at the amount of famous people associated with ASL.

Additionally, students who attend the tabling can expect club members to offer free Western merchandise.

If a student needs an accommodation to participate in the tabling, contact the ODS at least 72 hours in advance at 503-838-8250 or ods@wou.edu.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

IndyMo celebrates a month of buying from local businesses

IndyMo businesses reward locals with utility bill discounts and in-store coupons

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

In honor of Valentine’s Day, Monmouth and Independence have come together to dedicate the entire month of February to the purchase of products from local businesses, known as the “Love Local” event. In each town, residents are rewarded with different benefits. 

For Monmouth, all patrons who purchase $20 worth of goods from local retail stores, restaurants, fitness facilities or personal service businesses with a physical storefront will be credited with $10 towards their next utility bill. Participants can earn this $10 credit up to three times per account.

Photo courtesy of Love Local Indy 2021

“(We’re) trying to get some recreational things happening out here,” said Dancing Muse Costume Shop owner and Vice President of the Monmouth Business Association James Martin.

“I have to remind people that there’s fun still. Even if you are stuck in the house because of COVID-19, you can still go to a Zoom meeting and hang out in different costumes.”

Martin explained he intends for his patrons to escape the mundane life activities brought on by COVID.

“I enjoy dressing up and having fun and I want to have other people dress up too,” said Martin. “Drinking a mug of ale with a bunch of friends and singing sea shanties while dressed as a pirate, well there’s nothing better, even if it is through Zoom.”

Photo courtesy of City of Monmouth – Love Local Challenege

For businesses in Independence, patrons who make purchases from any of the 14 participating businesses will receive a scratch it ticket worth $1, $5, $10 or $20 that will go towards their next purchase. 

For more information on the event, contact Suzanne Dufner at 503-838-0722.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

IFC moving towards final fee decision for next term

IFC announces preliminary budgetary plans for spring 2021

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

The Incidental Fee Committee has announced preliminary decisions for spring 2021.

In an email announcement sent out on Jan. 21 by IFC Chair Makana Waikiki, the committee provided a spreadsheet of budgetary allocations and two variations of the IFC fee for next term.  During the Jan. 15 meeting, the IFC narrowed down the spring term fee to $115 or $125, to be voted on by students in a survey due Feb. 4. The budget sheet shows that the committee has opted to lower the $150 fee students saw on their bill this term due to lower budgetary requests, explained Waikiki in an open hearing on Jan. 27. 

Under the current proposed fee options, the IFC anticipates collecting either $462,500 or $502,750, depending on the fee option that is chosen. During fall term, the operating expenses from the 15 areas funded by the IFC totaled around $580,000 ⏤ about $400,000 less than last term’s operating budget. For the money allocation, the committee supplied two areas with additional funding: Student Media received $2,750; the Creative Arts department, $1,500.

At this time, the IFC is projected to finalize budgetary evaluations for spring term by Feb. 5. 

For students that are interested in the IFC’s process, the committee holds their meetings via Zoom every Friday starting at 9 a.m. All committee meetings are open to the public and the link to the meeting can be found at their website wou.edu/ifc/. For all other inquiries regarding the IFC, students can email the IFC Chair at ifcchair@mail.wou.edu.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

 

Western launches new study group app

Western has expanded its online academic support network through an app called CircleIn

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

Western has announced their new partnership with an established educational support app known as CircleIn.

Founded in 2017 by Chief Executive Officer Gerald Meggett Jr., CircleIn was originally created to address the discrepancies in college graduation statistics for African American males and minorities across the country. However, the app is useful to all students pursuing higher education, according to an article written by Meggett.

Last spring, Western surveyed students about the challenges they are facing in online school.  Following up, Western reached out to CircleIn after original contact had been established in 2019.

“CircleIn automatically connects students with their classmates so they can form study groups, share useful materials and ask questions,” said Dean of Library and Academic Innovation Chelle Batchelor.

The app provides students with study tools to manage their workload, prioritize assignments and keep organized. After students log in to the app, they are provided with four color coded rectangles labeled “overdue,” “upcoming,” “in progress” and “done.”

“To help with motivation, CircleIn is gamified,” said Batchelor, “which means that as students complete various tasks and activities in CircleIn, they can earn points for rewards such as gift cards and scholarships.”

In the app, students can select from 26 major brands to earn rewards for, including Target, Spotify, Taco Bell and Starbucks.

“I already made $10,” said junior education major Elijah Thompson.

Prior to CircleIn, Thompson used to write assignments down as a reminder, and now the app CircleIn rewards the behavior.

“My printer just ran out of ink and now I might be able to afford more,” said Thompson.

In addition to a virtual planner, CircleIn automatically syncs to a student’s schedule to form study groups for all who are in the class. Batchelor stated that Western is currently exploring the idea of adding tutors within the group to provide additional support for online learning. 

Students interested in the CircleIn app can download it on their phones or go to the website circleinapp.com and access the services with no paid membership required.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

West Valley Hospital moves second vaccine distribution site to WOU

Western’s Pacific Room is being used to allocate COVD-19 vaccine during Phase 1A 

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

Last week, West Valley Hospital relocated their second distribution site for the COVID-19 vaccine from the Polk County fairgrounds to Western’s campus.

 “We were able to put up our first week there,” said Pathway Program and Community Outreach Administrator Jenny Von Derahe. “We moved here because it’s a central location and the technology is adequate for our needs.”

According to Von Derahe, the clinic was furnished in a day with the help of hospital facility workers, the environmental services team and kitchen staff.

“It feels safer and more comfortable than the fairgrounds,” said Polk County resident Wendy Brockhouse. “It just seemed weird in the big old barns … this just seems more a part of the community and safer.”

At this time Western is not charging West Valley to rent out the Pacific Room. According to Von Derahe, Western is not funding employment for the workers or volunteers of the clinic, however there are discussions of potentially allowing Western students interested in the medical field to volunteer at the clinic. Additionally, the clinic is not administering vaccines to administrators, faculty, staff or students unless they qualify within Phase 1A.

“One positive that’s come out is the collaborations that have taken place,” said Western Alumnus and District 1 Polk County Fire Chief Ben Stange.

Stange explained that Western has worked extensively with the community to facilitate a functional clinic on its campus.

“The Pacific Room would normally be used for this or that … but we (Western) can’t have events so it’s available. So what can we do to help the larger cause,”said Stange.

According to the Oregon Health Authority, Polk County has partially vaccinated 8.5% of its population and fully vaccinated less than 1% of the population. 

“It’s been such a huge deal to our people,” said Stange. “We were transporting positive patients every couple days, and it’s been difficult to see. The opportunity to actually hands on start to fix a problem that we’ve really felt we’ve had zero control over has been nice.”

Stange explained that, just like other health care professionals, their focus is to take care of people during emergency situations.

“There hasn’t been anything really till this moment that we’ve felt like we can do to make a large impact,” said Stange.

At this time, West Valley is charging a $60 administration fee for the vaccine that will be billed to the patient’s insurance. If uninsured, the hospital waives the fee. Due to the unpredictability of vaccine dose delivery, clinics are not open daily. To learn about hours and vaccination qualifications, visit their website at salemhealth.org.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

United States Capitol hosts the 59th Presidential Inauguration

Joe Biden and Kamala Harris are successfully inaugurated into office following the attack on the Capitol

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

On Jan. 20, President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris made a peaceful transition to office.

Themed “America United,” the ceremony featured creative talents such as Amanda Gorman, Lady Gaga, Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks.

“This inauguration marks a new chapter for the American people — one of healing, of unifying, of coming together, of an America united,” said Presidential Inaugural Committee CEO Dr. Tony Allen in a Jan. 11 press release. “It is time to turn the page on this era of division. The inaugural activities will reflect our shared values and serve as a reminder that we are stronger together than we are apart, just as our motto ‘e pluribus unum’ reminds us — out of many, one.”

Following tradition, Biden made his presidential vows over a Bible that’s been in the Biden family since 1893. In an interview with Late Show host Stephen Colbert, Biden explained the Bible had all the important dates from being sworn into any government office. Veering from tradition, former President Donald Trump did not make an appearance at the ceremony, and had Vice President Mike Pence stand in his place.

“We have worked hard. We left it all — as the athletes would say — we left it all on the field,” said Trump in his farewell address to Joint Base Andrews. “I wish the new administration great luck and success. I think they’ll have success. They have the foundation to do something really spectacular,” said Trump.

The former president concluded the speech, announcing he would return in some capacity, before flying to Florida on Air Force One for the last time.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

WOU finalizes purchasing agreement with Wise Education for new proctoring system

Western expands pilot of new online proctoring system Wise Proctor

Sydney Carpenter | News Editor

Western’s Academic Innovation Department has launched a broader version of the proctoring system Wise Proctor.

In spring 2020, the transition to remote instruction raised concerns about testing integrity. 

“Academic Innovation investigated different remote proctoring solutions and ultimately selected Wise Proctor for a pilot,” said Academic Innovation Director Michael Reis.

After a summer test trial, Western moved forward with a large-scale pilot currently funded by Library & Academic Innovation. Reis explained that the department rearranged savings from temporary operational changes brought on by COVID-19 in order to fund the program. At this time, Western does not require or intend to require professors to use Wise Proctor; but, in departments like biology, some professors have opted to enter the pilot program.

“It can be difficult to ensure academic integrity and fairness in an online system,” said Assistant Professor Gareth Hopkins, “and so this is a way to try to ensure that in my classes.”

According to Hopkins, there had been a desire for a proctoring system by several biology faculty members for classes that are important prerequisites for programs such as medicine, dentistry and nursing. However, some faculty have opted out of using the system.

“My main reason is to ensure equity in my classes,” said Assistant Professor from the Department of Chemistry Dr. Feier Hou. “What if a student does not have a camera on their computer? What if the student has poor internet connections…? What if the student is not comfortable showing their household to the proctor or me?”

Hou had heard from other universities that their proctoring systems had given false positive results to students with learning disabilities for having different eye movements when they work on an exam.

However, Wise Education President Ian Hartley said the company has researched body movement extensively.

“We’ve got a very advanced AI algorithm,” said Hartley. “We’ve trained on hundreds of thousands of photos and scenarios in the real world. It’s detecting all the things that you’d want while eliminating false positives.” 

Hartley assured that the company was built on prioritising student privacy and students are made fully aware they are being filmed by giving their consent while using the program and Wise Proctor is not downloadable software that has access to your computer at all times

For professors who have chosen not to use the new system, some have altered how they give quizzes and exams entirely.

“I realized that the traditional way of testing … may be testing more on students’ ability to take tests or perform under stress, than on their knowledge in chemistry,” explained Hou. “So I made my big exams open-book, and rewrote the exams so that they contain more open questions where students have to explain and show their … understanding of the materials.”

Additionally, Hou acknowledged that some students might see her as a “push-over” and cheat on exams, but she reported a vast majority of her students are not like that.

“I choose to trust my students, and if someone is going to cheat, they will eventually get the consequences later in their lives,” said Hou.

Contact the author at scarpenter18@mail.wou.edu

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