Join the club Pg. 7 Drug take back Pg. 8 Gyasi Ross Pg. 11
Vol. 33 Vol. 30 # #16 #.#.# 2.19.18
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Photo by Hailey Hoffman// AS Review.
Event Calendar Club Showcase Feb. 19-23 // 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. // Red Square // Free
Viking Union 411 516 High St. Bellingham, WA 98225 Phone: 360.650.6126 Fax: 360.650.6507 Email: as.review@wwu.edu as.wwu.edu/asreview @TheASReview facebook.com/theasreview © 2018. Published most Mondays during the school year by the Associated Students of Western Washington University. The AS Review is an alternative weekly that provides coverage of student interests such as the AS government, activities and student life. The Review seeks to enhance the student experience by shedding light on underrepresented issues, inclusive coverage, informing readers and promoting dialogue. We welcome reader submissions, including news articles, literary pieces, photography, artwork or anything else physically printable. Email submissions to as.review@wwu.edu. We welcome letters to the editor. Please limit your letter to 300 words, include your name, phone number and year in school, if you’re a student. Send them to as.review@wwu.edu. Published letters may have minor edits made to their length or grammar.
Editor-in-Chief Assistant Editor Lead Photographer Writers
Erasmus Baxter Kira Stussy Hailey Hoffman Josh Hughes Gwen Frost Julia Berkman Hailey Murphy Photographer Jaden Moon Adviser Jeff Bates
Club leaders will be recruiting new members in Red Square this week. Come check out some of the clubs Western has to offer!
Women in Politics Feb. 21 // 6:30-8 p.m. // MH 152 // Free This is the first speaking event in the speaking series, The Politics of Diversity. The speakers include, Pinky Vargus and Dr. Shirin Deylami. Light refreshments will be provided. This event is hosted by Young Democrats of Western.
Wednesday Night Concert Series: New Track City w/ Black Magic Noize Feb. 21 // 7-9 p.m. // UGCH // Free
her experience as an illustrator in the Seattle area. There will be a Q&A afterwards and refreshments will be provided.
PALS Presents: Poetry Slam Feb. 22 // 7-9 p.m. // UGCH // Free Come hang out in the Underground Coffeehouse during Poetry Slam! It’ll be a creative and moving night.
FIMRC Club Meeting Feb. 22 // 5:30-6:30 p.m.// MH 15 // Free This is a weekly meeting of the Foundation for International Medical Relief of Children. The club discusses community service and projects to help children.
Community Care Debrief Feb. 23 // 4-6 p.m.// VU 714 // Free
This week, bands New Track City and Black Magic Noize are playing as a part of the Wednesday Night Concert Series in the Underground Coffeehouse. Don’t miss the sweet tunes and coffee this wednesday!
Every Friday this is a space to destress. Whether that means doing art, reading or listening to music, this is a space for you to unwind after a long week.
WWU Design Club Speaker Series: Seattle Illustrator Kelly Bjork
Feb. 23-25 // all day // VU 150 // $65
Feb. 22 // 6-7 p.m. // 254 Art Annex // Free This event, hosted by the Design Club, includes speaker Kelly Bjork discussing
Snowshoe to Stevens Pass Hotsprings Come and explore the great (wintery) outdoors with this excursion through the Outdoor Center. The days will be spent playing in the snow and relaxing in a natural hot spring! Sign up deadline is Wednesday, Feb. 21!
2.19. 2018 • 3
International student program outline advances, concerns remain
EVENTS
BY HAILEY MURPHY
Progress is being made to implement a program to increase the number of international students at Western, even as concerns remain about the specifics of the program. Last September, Western signed a ten-year contract with Study Group, a for-profit corporation that recruits international students. This contract establishes a Global Pathways Program on campus, in which international students attend a pathway year to improve their English and other skills before becoming a full student. Western, in return, pays hefty portions of international student’s tuition to Study Group. On January 23, the Academic Coordinating Commision (ACC) unanimously passed the Academic Working Group’s outlined proposal for the Global Pathways Program pathway year. On February 12, the faculty senate also approved the plan. However, some concerns remain with the plan. A cohort of faculty and administration traveled to James Madison University in Harrisonburg, Virginia on January 19. The group included representatives from the faculty union, the College of Business and Economics and the Institute for Global Engagement. It also included Jeff Young, faculty senate representative, and Brent Carbajal, provost and vice president for academic affairs. “After considering the long conversations with the Academic group and the information we gathered in this field trip, I am convinced the Global Pathway Program is an important effort by Western,” said Ricardo
Lopez, the faculty union representative on the trip. “What the faculty senate has in front is a framework to be implemented so that the program can move forward. But we, as academic group, are quite aware that such framework will need to be evaluated, changed, and reformed along the way.” The approved Academic Working Group plan outlines placement in to different levels of the Intensive English Program– a test score of five on the International English Language Testing System exam will place a student in level four of the Intensive English Program at Western, while a score of six will place them at level six. It also includes a list of academic content courses that will be available to pathway students. Each english program level includes a different list of courses and a different credit requirement. Field Trip to JMU and Program Concerns JMU has worked with Study Group since 2008 and was the first North American university to implement international recruitment and a pathways program, according to Young’s report on the project. JMU’s program offers a four-semester,two-year-long pathway, while Western is offering a three-quarter, one-year-long pathway . The data provided in Young’s report throws into question if a three quarter pathway will be sufficient for Western’s pathway students. “2-semester [one year] students are reported to be
Continued pg. 9
A forum on Study Group with faculty, Dec. 7, 2017. Hailey Hoffman // AS Review
Top Ten Records: Feb. 4-10 1
A Moment Apart Odesza
2
Offering Cults
3
Glade Spice Boys
4
I Love You Like A Brother Alex Lahey
5
Wash (EP) Tourist
6
Polygondwanaland King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard
7
The House Porches
8
All These Worlds Are Yours HOLY
9
Matterhorn Heaters
10
Plunge Fever Ray KUGS is the Associated Students’ student-run radio station. Listen online at kugs.org. If you’re interested in getting on the waves, pick up a volunteer application in the station’s office on the seventh floor of the VU.
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The Western Bookstore is relocating!
As of Tuesday, February 20, the AS Bookstore will be relocating to the Viking Union Multipurpose Room due to the commencement of the new Multicultural Center project. Something to keep in mind if you go looking to buy any Western sweatshirts or water bottles in the near future.
Graphs and rendering courtesy of Western
Huskey commits to student involvement on Multicultural Center planning BY GWEN FROST On December 7, at the Associated Students Board meeting, students from the Ethnic Student Center stood and gave a statement. Read by Junior Millka Solomon, it called for support from faculty, students and the University to ask that Western act transparently in the development and implementation of the multicultural center. As majority stake holders, Solomon asked for the opportunity to communicate and implement what students of the ESC need, “not what the university thinks we need.” “We want to be very clear that as ESC students we will not be silenced,” Solomon said, asking for impactful communication as opposed to the University using their identities as a diversity initiative. “Our existence on this campus is more than just a percentage.” About 84 percent of the new space will be for AS usages between the Resource and Outreach Programs and ESC, and then about another 14 percent will be six individual offices, according to. This 14 percent is being called “Multicultural services.” The student’s statement voiced disapproval of the University “going into the construction of the center without us knowing what will be going into that space. It is then why we (as majority stakeholders) are demanding the University not only include us in the process for deciding what will be in that space but also give us the right to decide what services WE as students need, not what the University thinks we need.” In response to the ambiguity surrounding plans for Multicultural services, Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services Melynda Huskey said on February 15 they have not yet made any decisions about who might be housed in those six individual offices. “When I arrived in July, they had preserved some space knowing that there are gaps in the services we are currently providing, and professionally staffing for students,”she said.“We’ve got 18 months before we have a grand opening, that gives us time to really think through and make sure we’ve consulted all of the right people. The students asked that among possible designations, the space could be used for an Undocumented Student Center, a Tribal Liaison, a Culturally-Proficient Counselor, and/or LGBTQ+ Resource staff. Huskey said those were “all sensible options.” However, she said the Tribal Liaison may be housed in a different place. “It’s really an intergovernmental job rather than a student services job,” she said.“There’ll be a student services dimension, but that’s a government-to-government job.” Huskey also said that the MCC could however be the right spot for an LGBTQ+ director, but that an Undocumented Students Center needs to definitely be considered with an emphasis on exploring safety measures, and appropriate location, especially “when we’re thinking about a place where vulnerable
students can gather that’s publicly labeled and known.” Said University Communications and Marketing Director Paul Cocke, “nothing has been decided, and there’s time to decide in consultation with students and others.” Huskey said that AS VP for Diversity Erick Yanzon has started scheduling Visioning Conversations, where students who currently use the ESC can have communication about current gaps in services, and further opportunities for the implementation of said services. “I think it’s fair to say that students have a high level of frustration about the past years that it’s taken to get things done,” she said. “Sometimes you have to go slow at first to go fast at the end. I need a little bit of time to go slow before I can go fast before I really know what’s going on before I jump in.” “I really want this to be right. It really matters.” The MCC has been a student initiative, specifically students of color, and has been built on the unpaid labor and economic support that students have been and continue to provide for this project. “ I think just the space itself is going to do some of that recognition and that history-keeping of the hard work of students and the difficult challenges they faced at different times,” Huskey said. Bringing in professionals who are properly aligned with similar goals can help take some of the burden off of students’ shoulders, which is another way the University is recognizing students efforts, said Huskey. Huskey worked at Washington State University for 20 years, which has a 25-year-old Multicultural Center. WSU’s MCC has a peer mentor program, funded by external foundations, which gives stipends to students who can connect with new students and provide a touch point and connection to cultural communities. “It is a program I would love to move towards here,” said Huskey. With 18 months until the opening, there isn’t yet a hard deadline for when decisions on these six offices will be made, but Huskey said that students will be included in representation on hiring and vetting committees. “We’re working towards a process of making sure we invite students to serve on committees wherever possible,” she said. In further consideration of including majority stakeholders (the students) on the decision making going on for the MCC, Huskey said she has met with students individually to communicate. “We seem to kind of communicate by declaration here. There’s a written statement that goes out on social media or email, from ESC or different student groups, and I hope we can works towards cultivating more direct conversation and interaction.”
Multicultural Center construction accessibility addressed
2.19. 2018 • 5
BY JULIA BERKMAN
After Western students with disabilities raised concerns that construction of the new Multicultural Center would make the Viking Union less accessible, members of Dawson Construction and Western administrators met with them in order to make sure they were being heard. Dee Mooney, coordinator for the Disability Outreach Center, raised concerns that during the constructions, students could be affected by factors such as loud noises, new routes to enter the VU and the air quality of the area surrounding construction. So, project managers for Dawson Construction met with Associate Dean of Student Engagement and Director of VU Facilities Eric Alexander and Forest Payne, the project manager and architect for the new center, to hear concerns from Mooney and other Western community members. This information is condensed from what was said by Payne, Project Manager at Dawson Construction John Pulver, Dawson Superintendent Bob Dunbar and Western’s Onsite Construction Coordinator Dale Kraus.
floor and head towards the bay to the next set of elevators, which will lead to the 6th floor lobby. The Concern: Will the sidewalks have accessible crosswalks? The Response: Yes. There will be one new ADA accessible crosswalk in front of the entrance to the Viking Commons. The other sidewalk next to Wilson library will be unchanged.
The Response: Hopefully not, but if they do, call Kraus and he’ll have them moved. The Concern: How can people with visual impairments prevent being hit by car mirrors? The Response: Kraus acknowledged that that was a good point that he had no answer to at the time. Additional Concerns: The Concern: How loud if this going to be, and when will it be the loudest? Will there be any sudden noises? And, when it’s loud, what will happen to places like the Harry Potter Room where the noise can clearly be heard? The Response: According to Pulver, it’s going to be loud. “There’s no way to sugarcoat it, and it’s probably better you know now,” he said with a chuckle. Thankfully, there shouldn’t be any sudden loud noises. Just consistent jackhammering. The loudest times are going to be during the demolition phase, from March to May. Alexander and Payne both agreed that they would need to talk to the Library directors about setting up more quiet areas that face away from the construction.
The Concern: Will the air quality be affected The Change: by dust? The Viking Union entrance will be The Response: Yes, but very slightly. Dunbar changed to the entrance closer to the said that they’ll be funneling air out towards the PAC plaza by the Arntzen Starbucks. bay as well as using water to tamp the amount of The entrance that faces onto High dust released into the air. The floor plan of the seventh floor of the new Multicultural center. Street will be closed for the duration of Courtesy of Western construction. The Concern: Are any maps being made to The Concern: show visitors how to get around during conWill the new entrance be completely struction? How will people know the quickest ADA accessible? Western student Lisa Osadchuk said that way to get into the VU? push buttons need to be the wider 4x4 plates for service The Change: The Response: Payne and Alexander believed that dogs or people with impairment to be able to hit it better. The VU bus stop is being moved across the street from those maps could be made during spring quarter. The AS Visual impairment might also impact buttons being gray the Wilson bus stop. Publicity Center is also making signs that can direct peoon gray versus bright and accessible. The Concern: Will that cause more congestion along ple to the best route to enter the VU or bookstore. The Response: High Street? All new doors will be equipped with a 4x4 push button The Response: No, in fact, Alexander says that having While there were a lot of questions, the overarching that opens them. New ramps and sidewalks are being the bus stop over by the PAC means that there will be theme of the meeting was that the administrators are built along the side of the PAC to ensure the fastest route more room for cars to pass by while busses in both direcopen to listening to any concerns people in the Western to the VU. tions are stopped. The busses can also now move along community may have about accessibility. The Concern: Is there another entrance closer to VenHigh Street at the same time. “There are going to be missteps, we want to know about dors’ Row? them, we’re absolutely going to work with you to make The Response: Yes. The service elevators and stairwell The Change: sure that the impact is the least in can be. There are going attached to the MPR will soon be open for public use. Dawson construction cars will now park on the curb to be times where it is loud, where we have something Unfortunately, that route does not allow access to the across the street from the VC. in the way and- I apologize now,” said Dawson’s Onsite 6th floor. To get there, take the elevator to the 5th or 7th The Concern: Will those cars block the walkways? Coordinator Morgan Davis.
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Black History Month summit features celebration and learning BY JOSH HUGHES
Western students model clothes from LuChrist Modern African Fashion at the Bellis Fair Mall. Christelle Fotsing, the founder of LuChrist, is originally from Douala, Cameroon, and designed the collection with vibrant colors and intricate patterns to promote African culture and fashion. Hailey Hoffman // AS Review
I
n conjunction with the Western Gallery exhibit “Back to the Sandbox: Radical Art & Pedagogy”, Western held a Black History Month Summit on February 9 and 10. Sponsored by Woodring College, University Residences, and the Counseling Center, among others, the weekend was filled with exciting panelists, presentations, and workshops. On Friday, February 9, professor of Secondary Education Dr. Karen B. McLean Dade hosted a participatory workshop called “Africa to America”. An author, educator, and researcher of cross cultural studies and social justice, Dr. Dade took the audience on an educational journey for an hour and a half spanning the American history of African people. The evening started with a brief reception and art exhibit in the PAC lobby. Dean Horacio Walker and Dean Kit Spicer, two professors at Western, gave an opening welcome as people perused the artwork. Soon afterwards the crowd funneled into a performance hall for the main event. Johnnae McDaniels, a Western student, recited the poem “won’t you celebrate with me” by Lucille Clifton as an introduction. Next, Ibidunni Ojikutu sang the Black National Anthem, “Lift Every Voice and Sing” to roaring applause from the audience. Just before Dr. Dade’s talk, fourteen black people from diverse backgrounds modeled clothes for an African Diaspora Fashion Walk. They wore clothes from Christelle Fostsing’s company Luchrist Fashions, located in Bellis
Participants of all age learn the dance that tells the story of the journey of slaves as they were taken from Africa to America. The dance began in a celebratory fashion as they celebrated the birth of an imaginary child. Hailey Hoffman // AS Review
Fair Mall. Fostsing herself introduced the walk by talking about some of the goals of her company. “I want to promote African culture in Bellingham, so that children, students, parents, and anyone can access this sort of clothing.” said Fostsing. Students that participated in the fashion walk came from everywhere from Seattle to Panama to Nigeria. Prefacing Dr. Dade, Lynden high school student TJ Robinson gave a powerful reading of Langston Hughes’ poem “Let America Be America Again”. “Out of the rack and ruin of our gangster death, the rape and rot of graft, and stealth, and lies, we, the people, must redeem the land, the mines, the plants, the rivers. The mountains and the endless plain— all, all the stretch of these great green states—and make America again!” ended the poem. The last line rang out multiple times, leaving the audience with plenty to ruminate on even before Dr. Dade’s workshop started. “I want to invite you to my classroom,” said Dade just before motioning the audience onstage to join her. “In an hour and fifteen minutes I hope to take you through 400 years of African culture.” she continued. As co-director of the entire Back To The Sandbox project, Dade focused heavily on the power of experimental education and education through action. About half of the audience joined her participatory workshop, while the other half remained in their seats. She stressed the importance of staying an active participant and engaging with the material, even from the comfortable seats of the PAC.
“The floor isn’t wood, it’s soil. It feels good and you’re sinking into it. I’m gonna take you to Africa!” said Dade. Over the next hour Dade took the audience through a journey of African dance and experience. She had everyone imagine that they lived in an African village and were celebrating the birth of a child. Eventually things took a grim turn as a group of slave traders came into the village and took the participants to America to be traded as slaves. Some of Dade’s students served as accompanists in the performance, with some leading dances, some acting out parts, and some performing music. Additionally, the workshop would occasionally pause for another poetry reading. The participatory segment of her talk ended with a horrifying reenactment of a slave auction. After the audience had made their way back to their seats, her students came onstage with various protest signs reading “End Racism”, “Justice For All”, and “Stop Segregation”. Then student Jade Jordan performed an exceptional contemporary dance to Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright”. Eventually the students flipped their signs to reveal that they all said “Black Lives Matter” on the other side. It was a touching, powerful ending to a quick history of Africans in America. “This hopes to address issues of race and racism, but also of resilience and love,” said Dade. “This is part of an ongoing conversation addressing how we can use the arts as a means of social justice and understanding,” she concluded.
Join the club
2.19. 2018 • 7
Don’t miss the club showcase this week in Red Square
BY TOMMY CHA It is a dry and cold day. People are breathing in the chill crystals of air. Some may be appalled by this, some feeling revitalized. But nonetheless, the weather has no effect on these students at Western. Not just an ordinary students, but the ones who are willing to sit outside in Red Square for a long period of time, giving up their free time to the clubs they represent. There are over 200 clubs that currently exist at Western, and many people may not have heard of at least a few of them. That can be a problem for students and clubs alike. This is where the AS Club Showcase can help. The AS Club Showcase, atwo-week-long event, takes place in Red Square, every weekday, from 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 a.m., starting Monday, February 12,, and ending on Friday, February 23. According to Douglas Van Druff, AS Club Events Coordinator, the purpose of this long event is to expose clubs to the students of Western, in hopes of increasing club retention, due to Winter Quarter having a decreased amount of membership within clubs. Along with that, the AS attracts students by using donuts as an incentives to talk to the clubs that are present. A few clubs expressed thoughts towards the event, saying that it livens up the mood on Red Square, and makes it very interactive. Many people said they liked the free donuts! Some of the clubs that were a part of the AS Club Showcase were: Campus Christian Fellowship Cascadia Climbers WWU The INN University Ministries NAMI WWU Robotics Club To Write Love on Her Arms WWU Swing Kids WWU TAG Team Just in case you missed out on a day, and wanted to know about a few of these clubs, here is a little bit of information and
interesting things about them! The Campus Christian Fellowship has small groups with each and every dorm on campus, with male and female separated groups. Every Friday nights, there is a big group get together. Cascadia Climbers WWU, a place and club to build a friendly community! This club meets every other Mondays. A few interesting things about Cascadia Climbers is that they give out free gear for rent! And if you are not a climber, they can teach you! During each Spring Break, the Climbers go on trips. Last year, they went to California. Ever wanted to learn a bit more about technology? Robotics Club is the place! Joseph Renault, a club member, said they “build a community of curious folks to expand what we know.” They meet Fridays at the Communications Facility from 4 to 6 p.m. The Robotics Club has projects that happen each quarter. The projects can vary from Arduino cars to the team making robots. As Renault saidL: “Don’t know how to code? No problem! Project? Bring it in!” The WWU TAG Team is a club for students who identify as non-conforming, or transgender. It is a safe place for those students to feel comfortable and not need to worry about being misgendered. They have also done a fundraiser where they charged one dollar for people to ask transgender folks questions. TAG team also focuses on community and friendship building! Now that was only a few of the club on campus. As mentioned earlier, there are over 200 clubs at Western, and the number is only growing! Just a word for those who are not in clubs, joining clubs can help people grow and learn a lot more about themselves and their interests. Go and explore more clubs, as the AS Club Showcase ends on Friday, February 23, 2018.
Douglas Van Druff of the club To Write Love on Her Arms displays a variety of buttons and Valentine’s Day goodie bags, enticing students to ask more about the club. The club is part of a movement seeking to give hope to individuals struggling with depression, suicide and other mental illnesses. Hailey Hoffman // AS Review
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Extra drugs? Pls dispose BY HAILEY MURPHY
With intentional overdoses as means to commit suicide, a national opioid crisis and growing environmental concerns regarding clean water, it’s more important than ever to properly dispose of your medications. Despite popular belief, however, you can’t just flush medications down the toilet. Disposal of medications is often more complicated, more expensive and much more inconvenient in neighborhoods where disposal sites aren’t readily available. Uncontrolled medications like antihistamines or high blood pressure medications can be returned to pharmacies. However, controlled medications, such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Ritalin have to be taken to a police department. “If you walk into the pharmacy you’ll see these lockboxes…the pharmacist will go over, they will unlock it and then you can toss your medications in there,” said KaSandra Church, Western’s suicide prevention coordinator. “You can black out your name– they just want to see what it is. And they want to see what it is, not because of a privacy breach but because the pharmacies can’t take back controlled substances. And that’s not a Washington thing, that’s a national thing.” Another way to dispose of medications is to get involved in National Prescription Drug Take Back day, held by the Drug Enforcement Agency. The DEA holds this event twice a year in communities across the country, in which you can drop off unwanted medications. The next drug take back day will be April 28, and there will be a location in Whatcom County. Locations for the event will be posted to the DEA website on April 1. All this being said, disposing of medications is inconvenient, which results in dangerous medications lingering in your medicine cabinet. These medications can end up in the wrong hands, and it’s for this reason that students and faculty involved in the Suicide Prevention Advisory Committee started discussing having a drug take back program on campus. “It’d be aimed at being a safe disposal method on campus for unused medications, including controlled substances, and would be aimed at reducing the likelihood of intentional misuse or accidental use,” said Sarah Cederberg, a student at large on the Suicide Prevention Advisory Committee. By eliminating access to lethal means like controlled substances, suicides can be prevented. “We encourage people to either dispose of their unwanted drugs or lock them up so that they’re out of the hands of others,” said Church. “Most individuals in Washington who attempt suicide use firearms, but for women nationally the preferred means is through overdosing.” Unfortunately, the implementation of a drug take back program was never followed through. Discussions were had between committee members, the Whatcom County Health
Department and Bellingham Police Department. According to Church, however, there wasn’t enough buy-in for the idea, so the effort fizzled out before it started. Additionally, there are many costs associated with such a program, like storing the drugs in a safe location, transporting them to an incineration sight and then the incineration itself. That being said, there are many reasons why you should care about drug disposal. Besides preventing suicides, properly disposing of medications is good for the environment. Don’t just throw your medications in the trash, for example, because those drugs end up in landfills and pose a danger to wildlife. As stated on the Washington Poison control website takebackyourmeds.org: “Drugs can be very toxic for people and wildlife, even in low doses. Just as we do not put used motor oil or leftover paint thinner in the trash, we should not put these extremely potent pharmaceutical chemicals into unsecure curbside trash cans.” You shouldn’t flush medications down the toilet, either. These medications end up back in our water systems, which is harmful to marine populations. This problem is widespread, especially in the Pacific Northwest. The issue was even featured on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert, in which he cited a report from environmental scientists stating that salmon in the Puget Sound are filled with drugs such as Prozac, Aleve, Tylenol, Zoloft, OxyContin and many more. “The Puget Sound salmon even tested positive for cocaine,” said Colbert. Besides harming wildlife, flushing of drugs can be harmful to people as well. These drugs get into our water supply, and according to Church, they’re rather difficult to filter out, meaning people could ingest them as they drink. Another issue with improper drug disposal is that controlled substances are highly addictive– that’s how they come to be controlled in the first place. By disposing of medications, you take them out of the hands of those who could potentially abuse them. “Many people who go on to have issues with substances like heroin– and as we’re seeing now, issues with substances like fentanyl that too many people tragically end up overdosing and dying from– a lot of those individuals start with painkillers and medications that they find in their parents medication cabinet,” said Church. If you think implementing a drug take back program on campus would be a good idea, contact members of the AS Board like AS VP for Student Life Annie Gordon. Or, if you’re feeling inspired to get rid of some old medications, take them to a pharmacy! There is one local pharmacy, the Walgreens on Sunset Dr., that can take controlled medications, according to Church.
Rosa in the House S BY ROSA RICE-PELEPKO, AS LEGISLATIVE LIAISON
College is expensive, and for students, financial burden and stress can impact all aspects of life. Conversely, financial aid and other opportunities can drastically increase college education attainment. For public institutions, the state legislature plays a key role in the cost of education, and making college affordable for students. The Washington Legislature has the ability to set tuition rates, allocate funding students, provide tuition waivers, and grant money to on campus programs that will allow students to access critical services or resources at low cost. You may have noticed, but this year tuition increased 2 percent from last year, and is set to increase 2.2 percent this coming fall. College affordability is always forefront of the legislative agenda for the ASWWU and the Washington Student Association. This year, we have various affordability priorities we are pushing that will provide students with financial support. The Washington State Need Grant, the largest single source of aid for low income students at the state level, has been drastically underfunded the past several years. Statewide, this impacts around 21,000 students who are eligible but do not receive the aid. A total of 3,860 Western students are eligible for the State Need Grant, 36% of whom do not receive it. If you aren’t awarded the grant with your financial aid package, it is possible that you would not even know you are eligible. Fully funding the State Need Grant in this year’s budget is a top ask for students at the Capitol. Wednesday February 14th, was the House of Origin Cutoff in the Washington Legislature! Any bills that was not passed out of the i p house of origin floor, are now dead for this session. House Bill 1488, which would expand financial aid opportunities h to undocumented students and U and T visaholders which are granted to some who have been victims of certain crimes or traf- D ficking, passed the House floor on Tuesday evening, the final vote e count barely breaking the party line at 56 - 42. Among those who e voted nay are some 42nd’s Representatives Luanne Van Werven and U Vincent Buys. Kristine Lytton and Jeff Morris of the 40th legislative o t district (LD) both voted yes. This means that this bill is halfway through to making its way to the governor’s desk! A similar version t
Study Group cont.
2.19. 2018 • 9
ready or close-to-ready to matriculate, and often use the year as a ‘soft landing,’” the report states. “The 3-semester students have high pathway program success rates, while the 4-semester students have a lower rate of matriculating into the general student population.” Additionally, some of the data in this report strokes fears faculty have expressed since the beginning about lack of diversity within the program. JMU’s current population of pathway students is 85 percent students from China, with 60 to 70 percent of the students majoring in business. Giffen expressed these concerns back in November. “Faculty are concerned about the recruitment practices that we don’t have control of, that we’re relinquishing admission and recruitment practices to this company… which will be recruiting largely in countries like India and China,” said Giffen. However, at a faculty senate meeting in November, Carbajal insisted that this wouldn’t be an issue. “One of the reasons we went with Study Group is their commitment to recruit students… from all over the world, not from those [India and China]. And more importantly, their commitment to multiple areas of study,” Carbajal said. But it’s a possibility that students won’t want to come to the United States at all, no matter where they’re from. “Admissions are quite significantly down because of the political climate, which isn’t completely unexpected,” Giffen said.. “[This] suggests that this could be a particularly challenging time [for Western] to be initiating such a program. [JMU] typically has 100 to 150 students in their pathways program, and right now they have 73.” These concerns were brought up during the February 12 meeting with the faculty senate. According to Carbajal, however, the current political climate shouldn’t affect Study Group’s ability to bring more international students to campus. “If the difficulties in recruiting international students persist, we will still be doing much better than we were before, regardless if we meet our goals of 75 undergraduate and 25 graduate students for next year,” said Carbajal. Admission standards are another concern for faculty. According to the contract with Study Group, students
must have a 2.5 GPA and score 4.5 on the International English Language Testing System to be considered for admission. An international student without the program would typically need a minimum score of 6.5. On top of that, there is no SAT or GMAT requirement for admission. It appears that other universities have had issues with Study Group’s admission standards as well. “The JMU administration describes Study group as a good partner, however there has been some friction between Study Group and JMU over maintaining admissions standards,” Young stated in his report. While Western is ultimately in charge of all admission decisions, this line suggests that Study Group may push universities to lower their admission standards. That being said, control isn’t and won’t be relinquished to Study Group. “JMU felt that they drive the standards and the curriculum for their international students,” said Mark Stanton from the College of Business and Economics. On Monday, January 29, Emily Williams Knight, a Managing Director at Study Group, came to a faculty senate meeting to answer questions. “I thought the meeting was not terribly helpful,” said Allison Giffen, president of the faculty senate. “I became more confused rather than less confused. I was disheartened by her language that referred to students as commodities.” One thing made clear during the meeting with Williams Knight, as outlined in the faculty senate minutes, is that Western is in control of admissions. Recruiting agents pass on applications to Western for acceptance, and Western decides if students are ready to matriculate into the university after going through the pathway program. Pathway Year in Detail The Academic Working Group has been working since fall to compose an outline for the pathway program. The group is composed of representatives from the Intensive English Program, the Institute for Global Engagement, the faculty senate and various colleges across campus. The pathway program drafted by the Academic Working Group outlines a three quarter pathway for students
who score a five on the English language exam, which will place them in level four of the intensive english program, defined as “early advanced.” Students who get higher exam scores will be placed in level five or six of the program and will spend less quarters in the pathway before matriculating into the university. The proposal also lists academic content courses international students can take in their pathway year. Students in level four of the program are expected to take four to five contact hours per week of any given math class (101, 112, 114, 124, 156, 157). Students in level six are expected to take eight to ten contact hours of academic content, but have more options such as Dance 101, Finance 216, and Leadership 101. In order to matriculate into the university, students must complete level six with a 2.0 GPA in both their English courses and their academic content courses. In the current program, students in level six may sit in on academic content courses. However, they are simply observing, and are not receiving credit for the class. International students in the pathway will be expected to get a 2.0 in these courses at levels as low as four, which has raised questions among some faculty. “I’m concerned about students coming in here who don’t have adequate language skills and then have to do the pathway year, in which they’re taking IEP classes... They might have [the language skills] on paper to succeed here but then are taking four credit classes at levels four, five and six and need to get a 2.0 to matriculate into our program,” Giffen said. “That puts a lot of pressure on these students and I’m not persuaded that we have the counseling services and the infrastructure yet to support them.” The minutes from the January 29 meeting with Williams Knight state: “A faculty member expressed concern that the GPP allows students with a level 4 in Intensive English Program (IEP) to take credit bearing courses, stating that if it were possible for students to successfully take credit-bearing courses at level 4, than it would already be happening. Carbajal stated that Western has not had a dialogue on this possibility before now and that IEP was focused on a different target market. Carbajal added that Study Group is focused on recruiting students for the [Global Pathways Program.]”
in the Senate passed a few weeks into session, so we’ll be pushing the two of these bills as they progress in the opposite house. Among dead bills this session include Senate Bill 6101. Dubbed the evergreen investment scholarship, 6101 would essentially provide free college education for those who make equal to or less than the state median family income by 2025. Unfortunately the bill did not make cut off, and was not voted on by the Senate Floor. The ASWWU advocates for steps towards free college education, and so I testified in favor of this bill in its first hearing in the Senate. We’d love to see future
proposals such as this one in coming years. In addition to policy bills, changes in the state funding or other business can be written into the state budget. Both the House and Senate write their own version of the budget. Being a supplemental budget year, there is not much additional funding to go around during session, as most of our state budget was allocated for last year. However, the fiscal forecast released last week indicated a larger budget than expected, so we are urging legislators to prioritize State Need Grant with this wiggle room in the budget. Please take a moment to reach out to your legislator through call or email to let them know
that you support fully funding the State Need Grant this year. You can call the legislative hotline at 800-562-6000 or find individual contact info at http://app.leg.wa.gov/districtfinder/. I hope you are as excited about this session as I am! Please feel free to contact me with any comments or inquires about the legislative session at as.legislative.liaison@wwu.edu. Additionally, the Legislative Affairs Council meets weekly from 5-7pm in VU 567. Feel free to join to learn about what we do and how you can help shape the legislative action of your campus.
10 • as.wwu.edu/asreview
STF(not U)
It ain’t going up
BY TOMMY CHA Changes on the Student Technology Fee? Fear not!!! The fee is NOT getting more expensive, nor is it getting cheaper! It is more so changing its allocations, so where the money from it will be distributed. The STF charges $35.00 per academic quarter for full-time students, and $17.50 for part-time students. All in all, the total price of the STF (Student Technology Fee) will stay at $35.00, the way it has been for the past 5 years. If you think this is expensive, you may want to reconsider. s. The STF makes it possible for students to download free software, use computer labs around campus, and access the Student Technology Center. This is where students can go and rent out equipment for class. Whether it be cameras, recorders, tripods, and laptops, a lot of tech is available there for free! Well, of course with the fee that is paid at the beginning of each quarter. I conducted an interview with Hunter Eider, AS VP
for Academic Affairs. He feels these changes are great, and said “We’re just trying to keep the interests of the students in mind.” I was told that every 5 years, the Student Technology Fee is worked on. In this interview, I learned that the changes being made are for the good of the students. One of the major changes that the Fee will impact could be the computer labs on campus. As many will see, most of the computer labs that occupy the areas are for general use, and are free for everybody to use. There are some computer labs that is opposite to this, afew labs are for college departments only.For example, a computer lab in the Academic West building is ONLY for Psychology majors. This is where the change comes in. Hunter told me that with the change to the Student Technology Fee, they wanted to cover computer labs that are open to ALL students, and not just department-based students.
STC Employee Paul Weidner checks in on fellow employee Ryan Haight to make sure everything is running smoothly. Photo by Jaden Moon // AS Review.
With the change, the Directors will give the college departments a year’s notice, and will not fund their computer labs anymore if their labs continue to be department-based only. The reason for this is because students are paying for the fee, which currently covers the exclusive labs, but will change in the future, to where the fee will only cover general labs that all students can use. The amount paid for print quotas will be reduced from $2.00 down to $1.75.Originally, the $2.00 fee gives students a $2.50 quota. With this fee being reduced by 25 cents, the students will then receive a $3.00 quota for printing. Lots of savings! The reason for this gap is that within the past 5 years, students have been saving on the printing, so in the future, the fee is rewarding the students, and giving the $3.00 quota compared to the $2.50. Another change in the fee is the budget for wireless networks. It is changing from $4.00 to $5.15. With the raise in this portion of the fee, the school will be able to purchase more wireless networks to be place around campus as students own many devices that connect to the internet. Less lag and better internet performance! Do you use the free Microsoft Office provided by Western? Well, that will be knocked off the list and be defunded. It was worth $6.00 of the $35.00 fee. The reason for this is that Office 365, the emailing platform used by the university, has Word and Excel. “I know it’s part of our tuition, and a lot of people don’t realize that we’re paying a lot for this”, Johnathan Yu, a student at WWU said. “I didn’t know there were changes.” I also mentioned about the print quotas to him, and he states that “It’s nice that they’re giving back.” He also expressed feelings towards the defunded decision of Microsoft Office, saying “What if somebody doesn’t always have access to the internet? It makes it harder for them.” Some students said they did not mind any kind of changes to the Technology Fee, as they use the school’s computers and techs quite often. More information can be found by contacting the AS VP for Academic Affairs. Keep everything in mind with the changes on the Student Technology Fee, these decisions will soon be a referendum for students.
2.19. 2018 •11
Gyasi Ross BY GWEN FROST
Activist, writer, hip hop artist, lawyer and speaker Gyasi Ross visits Western’s Performing Arts Center theatre for 2 days of events.
Interview lightly edited for conciseness. AS Review: You’ve got a lot of different mediums! Which medium is the most therapeutic for you? Gyasi Ross: I never thought about in regards to therapy, but I think most natural for me is writing. I’m generally an insular person and I exist within my own head a whole bunch –and that sounds really, really self-centered– but I do! I think a lot of writers do, it’s a by-product I think of growing up in largely rural areas where you didn’t have a lot of outlets. My two sisters are way older than me, and they were (like most women of color, native women) expected to have grown-woman responsibilities at a young age, and I was allowed to be a little boy at those same ages. So they were already out of the house doing homework and stuff, and then my little brothers, 13 years younger than me, so there was a big gap, and my only form of catharsis was basketball and writing.
doing this for a long time. These conversations are new to a mainstream audience, but to us these are things we’ve known about, this is ancestral knowledge, and I happen to be a very mediocre conduit for that information, but one that does for better or worse have the platform. To me it’s not about social change, it’s not even about justice, or activism. I don’t consider myself an activist, Gwen. I consider myself a storyteller. I take that note from one of my mentors and role models Winona LaDuke who says that she’s just a concerned citizen and a mother whose trying to ring that alarm. We come from cultures that have town criers who are charged with telling people the truth. And then hopefully people respond in a correct way to that truth. But that’s not activism, that’s self-preservation. No, I want my kids to be cool. I want all my family to be cool. AR: So you’re a father, what do you want your kids to know, above all else, I know that’s a big question… GR: That’s a huge question.
AR: What do you think is the Dates of events: most inspiring mediums for others February 20th, 2:30-4:00 pm to experience? AR: Okay, well, in terms of growing up in Activism and Empowerment – open GR: You know the one that gets the PNW what’s something you would tell session for students. the biggest reaction is when, people them every morning? like hearing me speak. They like it. GR: Well I do tell all of my kids this is literFebruary 21st, 10-11:30 am And a lot of the time its native people ally ground zero for the treaty rights struggle Support and Social Justice – open who aren’t used to seeing us in those for native people. And what the treaty rights session for faculty and staff. sort of public capacities. And it’s not struggle really is, is a fancy way of saying this 3-4:00 pm Community and because we haven’t been capable, but is a struggle for humanity, for people to recLiberation – open session for instead because we’ve been generally ognize that native people are actually human students. precluded from those mediums. beings. That’s really what treaties are about, And so, a lot of times when I speak that we’re human beings, and you’re going to in places that challenges authority or gives history in a way that is recognize that. more complete than the educational institutions, a lot of the time This is ground zero, and as such, you’re in the midst of that those people seem to be very enthused and moved by that. struggle every single day and this is not an abstract thing, it is something that is live and real every single day. AR: What are you hoping for people to take away from this event? AR: Both titles of your books have the word “Indian” and I GR: What I always hope for- well- it’s different for different was curious, because “Native American” is used more and more audiences. For example, one of my little brothers, he’s a native kid frequently in society, so how does this intentional vernacular who goes to Northwest Indian College, said that they’re bringing decision you made for your books reflect your experiences, and a bus over from NWC. That’s one audience. And for them, it’s why did you use this terminology? really important for native young folks, native people in general, GR: That’s a great question! You ask great questions, that I it’s important for them to take away that we are the best storytellers haven’t been asked yet. Yeah, it was intentional. One reason is I’m a lawyer, and American Indian, Alaskan/Native is the legal termi- in the world. And when we tell our stories, we have a prophetic quality and power to us. And when we tell those stories bravely, nology that the United States Government still chooses to use in courageously, unabashedly, we can literally change the trajectory of regards to Native people. history. AR I didn’t know that! For non-native audiences, it’s that listening to native people is GR: Yeah, Native American has literally zero legal effect. That’s not an exercise in political correctness or philanthropy or altruimportant right? Number two, is it’s a generational thing. I was ism. But instead, and we see it here in the Pacific Northwest more raised a lot by grandparents, and older generations of native people starkly than any place else in the country, but it’s actually a matter almost invariably say “Indian.”Thirdly, I use the word “native” a of survival. lot, because I’m largely a product of this generation. I use native in We have something of value to say, and it’s important that all speech. But I realize that my audience is not me, and I wanted to audiences listen to us. Again, not out of political correctness, but use terminology that different generations feel access to, and not because it helps all of us be stronger. make it an attempt to sound smarter than I really am. Because I’m really not that smart! I wanted something that was very accessiAR: What does it look like to you to hold a space for social ble and not speak over, or beyond what other people were really change or a difficult conversation? processing. GR: For me, it’s not difficult. We have people who have been
12 • as.wwu.edu/asreview
Western Lens
BY JADEN MOON
Straight outta Federal Way New Track City to perform at Underground Coffee House BY JOSH HUGHES
Q: "So why do you prefer to sign up for the earlier spots for presentations?" A: “It’s all about grabbing the bull by the horns and getting it done as quick as possible. If you’re the first one to raise your hand it looks good AND professors grade the first presentation a little higher from my experience. It's paramount to me as a student to be on top of everything and give myself less to stress about. It's a step in the right direction" Maks Moses, Junior
This coming Wednesday, Federal Way rap group New Track City will be performing an in-house set at the Associated Students own KUGS. Later in the evening they will also do a set at the Underground Coffee House as part of their weekly concert series. Bem and Chi. Stone, the two MC’s of the group, make up quite the charismatic duo. Most New Track City songs feature one of the two handling chorus duty, followed by two utilitarian verses of intricate wordplay, similes and layered meaning. Producer Dru on Beats rounds out the trio, providing the rappers with jagged jazz grooves and clever trap influences. To borrow a phrase from Groggs from Injury Reserve, “this ain’t jazz rap, this that this that spazz rap / this that raised by the internet ain’t had no dad rap”. New Track City adhere loosely to this blue-collar rap manifesto, existing somewhat outside the normal sphere of contemporary hip-hop yet never sounding outdated or out of place. “They’re from Federal Way, which is by Lynwood, where I live,” said KUGS Specialty Music Director Rebekah Way. “I was excited upon first hearing them because there’s never anything that comes out of there— it’s mainly just suburbs.” In their late twenties, the members of New Track City rep their hometown proudly. As most groups from the surrounding areas claim Seattle as their hometown, there’s something exciting about a fresh hip-hop sound coming out of an area with little to no rap culture. To get a feel for their music, their production flutters between Chance The Rapper indebted gospel sounds and minimal 808s & Heartbreaks percussion by way of Noah “40” Shebib or Mike Dean. The open-
ing of their latest record, “Lose Sight of Shore”, features a jazzy piano loop that perfectly combines these two styles. Later in the record, songs like “Close” even feel inspired by the dead-mall blues of vaporwave. Lyrically, however, they’re much more comfortably situated outside the sphere of mainstream rap references. Opening track “Right Now” shouts out both Gil Scott-Heron and Tupac within two bars, and many of their one-liners involve references to philosophy and their college years. The name of the album itself comes from a term coined by French philosopher Andre Gide. “Is it right, is it wrong? / I spent my whole life saying we about to be on, but now we’re here though,” reads a line from their song “Ghetto”. It’s a good statement about what the group is all about. While they’ve yet to break out of their semi-local sphere, New Track City are gracefully edging their way into the scene where they feel like they belong. At the end of “Time”, the last track on their EP, the two MCs have a seemingly candid conversation about where they’ve been and where they’ve gotten to in their careers as rappers. “We’re in our twenties, about to be in our thirties— we don’t wanna be those people who have regrets. And if we do have regrets we want them to be regrets we can live with,” says one of the MCs, providing the ever under-appreciated rap album thesis statement. New Track City will be performing on air, live, at KUGS this Wednesday at 3 p.m. Their set at the coffeehouse will occur later in the evening at 7 p.m.