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@cwuobserver, cwuobserver.com

Vol. 117 NO. 3 September 29 - October 6, 2020

Students quarantined after testing positive for COVID-19, CWU confirms Bailey Tomlinson News Editor Sixteen students were confirmed to have tested positive for COVID-19 by an email sent to the campus community by President James L. Gaudino on Sept. 24. According to the email, most of the students are living and isolating off-campus and “appear to be weathering the effects of the virus well.” The email confirms that the healthcare capacity of Kittitas County has not been strained by these positive cases. Information was not provided on how long after the school year began students began to test positively, if the 16 cases were associated or isolated incidents, or whether the university has a threshold at which it will switch to entirely remote learning.

“The tracing reports underscore the vital importance of maintaining physical distance from one another,” the email reads. “Our experiences and those at colleges and universities across the country show that social gatherings, often off-campus, pose the most significant risk of widespread infection.” This is the first public report CWU has made regarding any number of students testing positive. Sept. 24 marked the 10th day of instruction for fall quarter. “After consulting with academic leaders, health professionals, and campus leadership, it is clear that the virus is likely to pose a significant health risk through the academic year,” the email reads. Along with the positive case number, the email outlined a tentative plan to continue emphasizing hybrid class modes,

university employees working from home if they are able and prioritizing health and safety protocols through both winter and spring quarter 2021. “The uncertainty will remain for a while longer because we do not yet have answers to vital questions such as the availability of federal aid, the impact of flu season, our willingness to continue social distancing, and the availability of an effective vaccine,” the email reads. “There is one certainty – that we will persevere. ... We can and will overcome these and future challenges by working collectively and by having confidence in the strength we possess as a community.” The email included a reminder to avoid gathering in groups and to practice health and safety measures, such as wearing face coverings, maintaining social distance and washing hands frequently.

moved there after a planned remodeling. “We’re planning to turn that building into a multicultural center, just a sneak peak,” Espino said. He hopes that they can move APOYO back to that building as a permanent place instead of the temporary situation. The main point of the move to the New York Teriyaki building would be for APOYO to have time to figure out a permanent residence.

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Ty McPhee Staff Reporter

In This Issue 1-3 4-5 6-7 8-9 10-11 12

News Scene News Opinion Sports Engagement

Casey Rothgeb/The Observer

The APOYO food bank is still looking for a new permanent location on campus. ASCWU Director of Governmental Affairs Edgar Espino said his position was to get more of ASCWU involved in the matter and that he had proposed the idea of moving APOYO from temporarily being housed in the New York Teriyaki building to permanently being housed in Old Heat. “It just doesn’t sit right with me, the fact that they want to evict a food bank off a university during a pandemic,” Espinio said. Old Heat was APOYO’s previous building before its current lot. It would be

Jayce Kadoun Staff Reporter Despite the majority of classes being held remotely this quarter, many of the on-campus amenities remain accessible to students both in physical and online form. The Recreation Center in the SURC, Dining Services around campus and an array of activities and opportunities through Student Involvement continue to be available for students. University Recreation Director Matthew Boyer said the Recreation Center has opened most of its services this quarter, though it feels much different now than it did in the past. “The biggest changes, aside from spacing all equipment out, are that we require facial coverings at all times while in our facilities and that each person is receiving a cleaning bottle and towel when they enter,” Boyer said. According to Boyer, the climbing wall is open for bouldering, and personal training is accepting clients. Intramural sports are offering small scale tournaments, esports and virtual events. Sports clubs are having practices and meetings and Outdoor Pursuits and Rentals is renting equipment for students to create their own adventure. Boyer said the Recreation Center has decreased their hours slightly in the evenings to allow for the staff to do a thorough cleaning. Over the weekends, they are closing earlier as well to perform the same cleaning procedures and are open nine hours fewer per week than last year. Dining Services Director Dean Massucio said main dining operations at Central Marketplace,Cat Trax East and West, Holmes Dining Room, Panda Express, Northside Cafe and Market and Jimmy B’s in the library remain open. “These first couple weeks have been a kind of trial and the next couple of weeks we’ll continue to be monitoring just how active those locations are, so they are all contingent or subject to change I guess I would say,” Massucio said. Massucio said Dining Services has introduced mobile ordering to campus

CWU and APOYO still in talks to move to new location on campus Allied People Offering Year-round Outreach (APOYO) is still waiting to hear from CWU on its potential relocation to the New York Teriyaki building after its lease with CWU was not renewed. APOYO is a no-paperwork, no questions asked food bank offering support to those in the Ellensburg area. CWU recently did not renew its lease on the building APOYO is currently housed in. Prior to the pandemic, APOYO distributed clothes along with food to those in need of it. Since then, it has only been distributing food, most of which comes from Northwest Harvest, a Washington state hunger relief agency. When talking about APOYO moving to the New York Teriyaki building, Patricia Garrison, secretary and treasurer of APOYO, said it would be a much larger space and a nice change for the food bank. Currently, the distribution center is located in a small house right next to CWU’s Challenge Course. The New York Teriyaki building located on East University Way is the current proposed temporary location that CWU is planning to move APOYO to.

What’s open on campus?

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Clubs looking for new members

Online mental health training

Local team on chopping block

2 September 29, 2020

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News

Demonstrators gather to raise awareness about climate change On the corner of University and Wildcat Ways, a small crowd of demonstrators waved at cars and displayed signs reading “Greta Thunberg,” “one planet” and hand drawn sketches of Earth on Friday, Sept. 25. Diesel trucks revved their engines and cars honked loudly as they drove by on the busy intersection. Meghan Anderson, an Ellensburg resident and one of the event organizers, said Friday was the day many Global Climate Strikes were held around the country. According to The Guardian, the Global Climate Strikes were originally organized Sept. 20-27, 2019 and inspired by the Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. They were previously held across the world to raise awareness about climate change. This year, Sept. 25 was the day of strike organized by multiple climate change awareness organizations across the U.S., and Anderson got involved and helped organize an Ellensburg strike. Anderson said they were demonstrating to get the attention of the

general public as well as the Ellensburg City Council. “The city council doesn’t appoint the utility to have a planned transition from our natural gas of 5,000 customers,” Anderson said. “They need to have a plan, 10-year transition to equitably transfer those gas furnaces back to electric, and the city council is not appointing the utility to do that.” According to Anderson, the Ellensburg city utility natural gas service emits over 38,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions each year. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports this number as 37,998 metric tons for the City of Ellensburg for 2018. The U.S. Energy Information Administration published a report titled “U.S. Energy-Related Carbon Dioxide Emissions” for 2018, showing an upward trend in carbon dioxide emissions from 2017-18. “These are real emissions and we need to address them,” Anderson said. Judy Hallisey, a Cle Elum resident and president of the Kittitas Audubon Society (KAS), a nonprofit focusing on “an appreciation of nature through education and conservation with a focus on birds,” said the KAS sponsored the Friday demonstra-

tion. She said climate change is harming bird populations. “It is causing a shift in habitat. The birds are not adapted to the change in the vegetation which blooms out earlier in the spring, before they migrate. The timing of when the birds arrive and have their young and need to feed their young is out of sync with when the food’s available,” Hallisey said. Hallisey also said the public needs to realize how climate change is affecting their personal lives, not just the lives of wild animals. “Birds are warning us that things aren’t right with our environment, and that [if] birds

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It’s not a political issue. It’s a question of accepting the science or rejecting the science. - Barry Brunson, retired mathematics professor for University of Kentucky

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Aeryn Kauffman Copy Desk Chief, Opinion Editor

aren’t going to be able to survive in this environment, humans aren’t either,” Hallisey said. As a retired firefighter, Hallisey said recent wildfires on the western coast of the United States are one consequence of climate change. “I have been on wildfires throughout the west in the last 45 years,” Hallisey said. “I’ve seen the shift in the fire seasons. I’ve seen the explosive nature of fires that have been occurring over the last 20 to 25 years. The sheer size of the fires has expanded, and it’s all climate change-driven.” Barry Brunson, a Cle Elum resident and retired mathematics professor for the University of Kentucky, became interested in the Global Climate Strike after reading about the effects of climate change on the planet. “It’s not a political issue. It’s a question of accepting the science or rejecting the science,” Brunson said. As a grandfather and father, Brunson said the public should consider future generations of people, and he wants people to know climate change is an issue that isn’t going away. “Please pay attention to the science. The science is important both for global warming and for COVID-19,” Brunson said. “Scientists should be leading the way, and people should pay attention.”

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Cynthia Mitchell / cwuobserveradviser@gmail.com Editorial Policy: The Observer is a public forum for student expression, in which student editors make policy and content decisions. The mission of The Observer is two-fold: to serve Central Washington University as a newspaper and to provide training for students who are seeking a career in journalism. The Observer seeks to provide complete, accurate, dependable information to the campus and community; to provide a public forum for the free debate of issues, ideas and problems facing the community at large; and to be the best source of information, education and entertainment news. As a training program, The Observer is the practical application of the theories and principles of journalism. It teaches students to analyze and communicate information that is vital to the decision making of the community at large. It provides a forum for students to learn the ethics, values and skills needed to succeed in their chosen career. If you have questions or concerns, email us at cwuobserver@gmail.com.

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News

Locals rally in support of President Trump Abigail Duchow Scene Editor

A group of people supporting President Trump gathered on Sept. 25 at South Entry Park on the corner of Canyon Road and Mountain View Avenue. Onlookers in cars stared, honked and sped by. Some thrusted their middle finger out the window. Members of the crowd were holding different flags including American Flags, “thin blue line” flags in support of police officers, “Trump 2020” flags and Gadsden flags, which feature the “don’t tread on me” slogan. The crowd played country music and the national anthem through large speakers throughout the event. John Schultz, an Ellensburg local and president of Reclaim Ellensburg, was accredited as the Abigail Duchow/The Observer Rally goers held various flags including American flags, ‘thin blue line’ flags, ‘Trump 2020’ flags and a ‘don’t tread on me’ flag. organizer of the event. “Reclaim Ellensburg is a citizens organization of the local opposing what they were rallying ties and the constitution. He said “This is all about freedom or people of Ellensburg and Kittitas for, but those types of interactions people don’t realize how import- Marxism, and this is a free counCounty,” Schultz said. “This is a “don’t serve their purpose” so they ant it is to have these things, and try. If you want Marxism, move. political rally, we’re here support- try to avoid it. people take them for granted. Move to Venezuela or some creepy ing President Trump and other Brad Chalcraft, Cle Elum “These colleges that are damn country. Leave this one conser vative resident, was teaching kids how to hate our alone,” Patterson said. candidates for a participant country is beyond me. There’s He said he believes it is imoffice, and that’s of the rally. people dying to get in here ... portant to rally in support of Our main goal for mainly what Chalcraft was because they’re enslaved,” Chal- America, Trump and Republithe rally is to tr y to our purpose is holding up craft said. “If Joe Biden gets in cans because America is a free raise awareness of the here today.” an American [office], that’s exactly where country, and he does not want to coming election and Schultz said and a “Trump they’re going to put them, in see socialism in America. get people to get out, the rallies have 2020” flag. slavery, financial slavery.” “We will not give this country exercise their rights been going on “I’m conChalcraft said while the rally- up, we will fight you, we will kill for a couple of cerned about ing group gets a lot of support, he you. It’s as simple as that: You start and vote months now, our country would like to see more. screwing with the [veterans] in John Schultz and typically and where it’s “I would love to see more that this country, they will come out of on a rally day going ... I have are aware of what is going on in the woodwork,” Patterson said. about 40 people will show up. He three kids and two grandkids our country, because a lot of peoPresidential Debate said the people who come to the that I’m out here for,” Chalcraft ple are not aware. Yes, they’re The first debate will take rallies are working people who said. “So this is why I’m out Trump supporters and they’re take time out of their days to at- here, for them, this is going to Americans but they’re not aware place today, Sept. 29, from 6-7:30 p.m. tend the events. be their country.” of how important this election is,” Schultz said they had expeChalcraft said the reasons he Chalcraft said. There will be two more rienced verbal and physical ha- was at the rally were to stand up Randy Patterson, a Kittitas presidential debates, as rassment in the past from people for American freedoms, liber- County resident, said he came well as a vice presidential to the rally to show support for America, Trump and the repub- debate before the election on Nov. 3. licans running for office.

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Pregnant? You don’t have to make decisions alone Visit us:

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One of the other ideas Espino heard was to turn the current lot with the house into an actual food bank.

“They’re exploring their options at the moment,” Espino said. Garrison said the deadline for the negotiations with CWU for their move is Oct. 31, with them unsure about whether it would be moving out of their current lot or for them to find a permanent solution.

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Scene

The club fair looked different this year Abigail Duchow Scene Editor After checking in for contact tracing using their student IDs, masked students browsed the various clubs that were being tabled for on Chestnut Mall outside the SURC on Sept. 25. Students mingled with club directors, received plenty of goodies and fought against the infamous Ellensburg wind. ASCWU President Mickael Candelaria said he was happy a club fair was finally able to happen and thought the turnout was good for a Friday afternoon. “This is actually one of the only club fairs that we were allowed to have. The first two initially got cancelled because of all the smoke and everything going on, so I’m super happy with the club fair,” Candelaria said. Candelaria said the COVID-19 restrictions in place at the club fair were very smart and that checking students in for contact tracing is helpful. “It is a little difficult to be six feet away from each other all the time,” Candelaria said. “The facial covering requirement I think everybody has adhered to very well and I think it will definitely keep our community safe.” Danielle Hegarty, a sophomore majoring in history education, is the secretary for the Cosplay Club. She said the club is functioning a little different this year due to COVID-19, but they are still doing virtual workshops to teach and show people the “ins and outs” of cosplay. “It’s a very open club, any major, any year, even if you don’t know what cos-

Abigail Duchow/The Observer

Christian Castilleja, treasurer (left) and Heidi Flores-Montiel, president (right) of the Environmental Club tabling at the club fair. play is, come to one or two meetings and find out about it … you could be doing it for 10 years or 20 minutes, it’s a really really open club,” Hegarty said. Hegarty said she enjoyed the club fair a lot with the only downsides being the wind and the Cosplay Club’s table being near the end of the row of tables along Chestnut Mall. “I’m seeing that a lot of people are leaving before they get to the end, but honestly

Abigail Duchow/The Observer

Danielle Hegarty showing off her cosplay of Penny Polendina from the show “RWBY.”

I like that we’re still doing a club fair even with [COVID-19], because clubs are still having meetings and it’s good for people to get involved on campus,” Hegarty said. Heidi Flores-Montiel is a junior majoring in environmental science and is the president of the Environmental Club. She said the purpose of the club is to advocate for a more sustainable campus by doing stream cleanups, working at the Wildcat Neighborhood Farm and talking about current issues. The Environmental Club’s poster was continually being beaten down by the wind, but Flores-Montiel said she didn’t mind how the club fair was set up. “It’s working, people come in and out, it’s socially distant. The poster isn’t holding up so well, but you know, we’re just holding onto it and meeting new people,” Flores-Montiel said. Catholic Campus Ministry’s President and Peer Minister Allie Cerny is a second-year psychology major. Cerny said Catholic Campus Ministry does events throughout the week with the biggest one being mass on Sundays at the local parish. Cerny said she had never experienced a club fair at CWU before the

COVID-19 pandemic, but she felt CWU was doing the best it could to keep students safe. “I mean there’s not much more that they could probably do, but I like that it’s outside, it’s kind of a little more open and not so stuffed in one room … and that’s always nice,” Cerny said. Liza Betancur, a sophomore double majoring in Japanese and Asian studies, is a board member for the Filipino American Student Association (FASA). Betancur said FASA spreads awareness about Filipino traditions and culture. She said anyone who wants to can join. “You don’t have to be Filipino to join in. I’m Mexican but I’m on the board and everything … we accept everybody for who they are as long as they respect the Filipino culture,” Betancur said. Betancur said the club fair felt somewhat normal, but it also felt abnormal due to the time limit for the event, social distancing and other COVID-19 guidelines. “I’m just glad we’re able to be able to do it in person still rather than always on Zoom and stuff like that, so I’m grateful we’re able to do it now,” Betancur said.

Abigail Duchow/The Observer

April Yabes (left) and Liza Betancur (right) tabling for FASA.

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Scene

Students rediscover old hobbies, find new ones during quarantine

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Central Marketplace has seating Continued from Page 1 available and we’ve modified the seating to meet the current guidelines,” “These first couple weeks have been a Masuccio said. kind of trial and the next couple of weeks Executive Director of Student Inwe’ll continue to be monitoring just how ac- volvement Jeffrey Rosenberry said altive those locations are, so they are all con- though many of the usual on-campus tingent or subject to change I guess I would events have been altered to be held say,” Massucio said. virtually this Massucio said quarter, his deDining Services partment has has introduced worked to orgaWe’re really trying mobile ordering nize in-person to keep the spirit alive to campus which activities as well. of what it means to be allows students According to order and pick to Rosenberry, a Wildcat and to keep up their food there will be many that engagement in without causing in-person events as many ways as we congestion in the happening outpossibly can. dining areas. The doors for as long option is curas the weather perrently available mits. He said they -Jeffrey Rosenberry in Central Marhope for a long fall ketplace and Cat and that they can Trax East but will continue to hold likely be at other locations in the future. activities and events until the first or second “All of the food is packaged to go, week of November. so it’s easy to take with you wherev“We’re really trying to keep the er you choose to dine. We do have spirit alive of what it means to be a reduced seating available within the Wildcat and to keep that engagement Student Union operations. So, the in as many ways as we possibly can,” Holmes seating area is available and Rosenberry said.

a little worse so I kind of amped up my art abilities.” She said instead of just coloring she would paint and draw cartoons to help her mental health improve during all the time spent inside. “Coloring wasn’t doing it for me anymore,” Sanchez said. “I wanted to have an outlet to release my stress and put all my frustrations down.”

Water St Main St

What’s open on campus?

A portrait of a cow drawn by Bianca Sanchez.

Railroad Ave

A mixed media portrait done by Bianca Sanchez in an attempt to maintain her mental health.

Photo credit Bianca Sanchez

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Photo credit Bianca Sanchez

was something he initially played infrequently, but he has become more of a serious player during quarantine. Christian Wilson, a junior psychology major, also had some accomplishments during quarantine he was very proud of. “I started to read more,” Wilson said. “I read about six books during quarantine.” Wilson, who admitted that he despised reading as a kid, said the reason he got into reading was that one of his friends gave him the book “Dear Evan Hansen” right before quarantine, and he really enjoyed it. “I really loved the musical ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ and I kind of fell in love with the fact that I could picture the scenes in my head,” Wilson said. “From there I wondered, ‘what other fun books could I read?’ So I read some of the other books that we happened to have on the shelf in our house.” Wilson said he enjoyed reading during quarantine so much, he is still reading books today. Bianca Sanchez, a junior double majoring in psychology and public health, picked up a skill in which she already had a little practice in. “I picked up art,” Sanchez said. “I used to just color as a form of art therapy to maintain my mental health. But during quarantine my mental health got

N. Pacific

Being alone in a house when going outside and seeing friends is not allowed can be rough for some people. However, just because students are stuck at home doesn’t mean they can’t get anything done. Nathan Sauther, a sophomore music education major, said quarantine allowed him to focus a lot more on studies and his passion for jazz music.

“I got a bunch of stuff out of the way for my school work that I wouldn’t have been able to otherwise,” Sauther said. “Now that I can go back into the music building I can work on other stuff.” Sauther, who has been playing both piano and drums since he was little, said he wanted to understand different harmonies when it came to jazz. He also said he really wanted to play an instrument that had notes, and piano

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Wellness Center provides online mental health training for students Written by Jessica Perez Not everyone is prepared to deal with a friend having a mental health crisis. That is why the Wellness Center teamed up with a vendor called Kognito Campus to offer a virtual game that teaches students how to approach difficult conversations about mental health. Kognito Campus is a vendor the Wellness Center is already familiar with. Before using Kognito Campus to provide students with mental health training, it was used to train faculty members on how to work with student veterans.

Designed by Bekah Blum Wellness Center Director Marissa Howat believes expanding the license to include mental health training for students is beneficial. “Students are more likely to reach out to a friend before they make an appointment with Student Counseling Services,” Howat said. “We are really hoping to increase the number of ‘gatekeepers’ at CWU, people who are trained about signs and symptoms of mental health and feel confident having conversations about resources with others.”

The training is called At Risk and it is in the form of a role-playing game. Howat said the Wellness Center chose this type of training because role-playing helps people learn. The game starts by giving players a list of four friends. Then, it shows the behavior of these friends over time, and it is the player’s job to determine which of them is struggling with mental health. After determining which friend is in trouble, the player goes to the friend’s home to check on

them. The player is then given a set of phrases to choose from to encourage the friend to open up and reach out for help. There is a virtual assistant in the game that offers advice if players don’t know how to respond to the in-game scenarios. The game also has an undo button, so if the player selects something that makes the friend in crisis defensive, they can undo what they’ve said and try again. In a real life situation where you are encouraging a friend to reach out for help and say

100% 90% 80% 70% 60% 50% 40% 30%

Would recommend training to peers.

20% 10% 0%

89% 85%

97% 84%

Number of people who took the training.

Students

Faculty and Staff

Agree that simulation scenarios are relevant to them. Data source: “a Kognito Campus report”

something that makes them defensive, Howat recommends apologizing and letting the friend know that you are concerned about them. However, people shouldn’t assume someone having a bad week is struggling with their mental health, she said. If it goes on for a long period of time, it may be time to express concern, and the same goes for students feeling down themselves, Howat said. “It’s hard to tell,” Howat said. “If you’ve been feeling low for a while and it’s affecting your daily life, then we want you to reach out.” Howat also said students shouldn’t try to force their friends to go to counseling if they don’t want to. Instead, she said to listen to what they have to say.

According to Howat, since the Wellness Center began offering At Risk, 147 faculty and staff as well as 314 students have gone through the training. Trainees

According to a Kognito Campus report, 89% of students who took the training would recommend it to fellow students. That number increases to 97% for faculty or staff. Eighty-five percent of students said they agree the Since the Wellness Center simulation scenarios are relevant to them and 84% of faculty and staff agreed. “Anxiety and depression are treatable conditions,” Howat 147 said. “Earlier intervention and faculty and staff have gone treatment are associated with through the training better outcomes. We hope that having more people trained leads to more people getting 314 students have gone support, earlier.” through the training Students can access this online mental health training by going to https://www.kogniare asked to complete a survey on tocampus.com/. The second how they feel about the training step is to create an account before and after completing it. with your CWU email and

• •

then enter the access code. The access code is CWUARUS. This training will be available until 2022. According to the Kognito Campus website, these simulations have been licensed by 500 health, education, nonprofit and government organizations. The training it provides is meant to help people practice how they would approach a mental health discussion. “Kognito creates digital experiences that prepare people for the conversations that matter most,” Kognito Campus’ website reads.

Students can access online mental health training by...

“If you’ve been feeling low for a while and it’s affecting your daily life, then we want you to reach out.”

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- Marissa Howat, Wellness Center director

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Link:

https://www.kognitocampus.com/

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Create an account using your CWU email and access code

CWUARUS.

Training will be available until 2022.

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Opinion

Chase what you love, don’t chase money Graph

ics by

Riel H

anson

/The

Look deeper inward and ask, what am I truly passionate about? What gets me going in the morning? What is the one thing that I could do a million times over and want to do again? Now, this article is not to say that you should go and become a professional gamer because you love to hit the stick when you have free time. But instead, look deeper. What are your passions? What is that one thing that when it punches you in the gut, and after the pain wears off, the feeling of fulfillment of that feeling is still there, so you want it to punch you in the gut again? What is it about the video games you enjoy? Is it the graphics? The game itself? How can you take that game and apply it to your everyday life?

In an article by Business Weekly titled, “Life’s Too Short: 4 Reasons to Do What You Love for a Living,” the four reasons are: you’ll feel more fulfilled, you’ll be more productive, you’ll inspire others and you’ll succeed. When I asked myself these questions, I started to realize what I was passionate about and good at. The Constitution is the most beautiful written document in the history of the world because of the idea behind how it was made, the theory behind it and the human science aspects. In an article written by Alex Madajian, Madajan wrote, “The authors of the Constitution understood it would be impossible to rein in a corrupt human being, so they simply constructed a government which pitted corruptible human beings against each other.” Aristotle called political science “the master science.” While you might

not see it, everything in your life is political in one aspect or another. This is why I chose to get a degree in political science. It also pushed me to be a better student every single day because defending arguments is something I love to do. I chose public relations because I love communication, and words are important. Reading through articles or press releases and trying to figure out what the writer really meant behind it is my idea of a good time. It appears that in today’s society, students are using colleges as trade schools. What I mean by that is students go to school to get a job, and that’s it. Students are just going to get a job. Instead, use the general education pathway presented by CWU, which is a list of classes that you can take that not only help with your general education classes, but it gives you a wide variety of choices to take some classes that pique your interest. If you do that, maybe you will find your gut punch.

At a young age, we are taught to think for ourselves and to work towards a future where we do not need anything from anyone. Our teen years are filled with independent stepping stones like turning 16 and having the privilege of owning a driver’s license. Or at 18, citizens can vote and contribute to politics and most people at this age are moving out of their parent’s house and living separate lives from their families. There is not anything wrong with individualism at its core. Plato believed in “knowing thyself,” and he often taught his students that the best way to contribute to the world is to become the best you possible. America’s individualism has led to great innovation and discovery and has made America one of the leading nations in industry. The problem occurs when we begin confusing individualism with selfishness. Our society has focused so much on freedom and our right to it that we are willing to step on our brothers and sisters in the name of free choice. Ironically, Aristotle actually believed in the collective good just as much as an individual accomplishment. He even once said, “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.” I like to think that we do not deliberately choose to be selfish. I hope that

a lot of the time, we do not understand or have not seen it through another perspective. A new study done by ABC News found that only 55% of America’s population is wearing masks. I recognize that we have the rights to question the government and we have the right to disagree. I have these rights because of someone’s sacrifice. Millions of people have shaped this country to be what it is today and because of that, I want to do my best to use my God-given and American rights to better our community and society as well. I am going to just admit an extremely embarrassing fact. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, I was one of those people who thought it was ridiculous to wear a mask in public. I did not think it was ethical to require citizens to wear face coverings with so little evidence of its effectiveness, and I refused to. I could blame it on my conservative upbringing or say I was enacting my right to question the government, but in reality, I was just being stubborn and honestly, pretty ignorant. My older brother helped me see that my choice to not wear a mask did not just affect me, but my community as a whole and the people I loved and cared about back home. I may hate it and I may despise that it has become a part

of our daily life, but I understand and respect that it is not for me anymore, but for the collective good. Coronavirus has been the only event in recent history to affect every single being on this earth. Even young children who have no idea what a virus is are now having to adjust to wearing masks and using remote learning. In America alone, 205,000 people have died from this virus. If we cannot learn how to care about the collective good during COVID-19, will we ever? How do we change and learn to care about the collective good? The quick answer is not to stop questioning the government. Our country was built for the people by the people and I wholeheartedly believe that we must not give up our rights. The truth is, the first thing we have to do is admit there is a problem. Independently and as a community we must commit to making decisions based on how it affects everyone. We have to look at difficult conversations and topics through other perspectives and practice putting our personal wants on the back burner. If we can learn to care more about the collective good, America may finally find the true equality, peace and freedom it has been looking for since 1776.

Observ

David Hartless Columnist With the beginning of the school year in full swing and a new crop of Wildcats on campus, the majority of them are stuck with the decision, “what am I going to college for?” As an older and truly nontraditional student, many people said to me, “have a plan when you go to college.” Being older, I needed to have a plan in place and stick that goal. When deciding to go back to school, that was the mindset! Go to school for that one job that would open the door to the most money right out of college. One quarter and a business 101 class later, I had the realization that going to college to make money was not the real reason for me going to college in the first place. Being a true definition of a nontraditional student, I have been in the real world, and prior to attending college, I made good money. I still chose to leave the job and go back to school. Why? Because money didn’t translate to happiness for me.

It’s not just about you, it’s about the collective good RachelAnn Degnan Columnist In our society, we like to believe that if our lives were made into a movie, we would be the main character. We rarely consider the fact that our lives are not just about our growth and our strength but what we contribute to the community. A study done by Psychological Science, a leading international organization dedicated to advancing scientific psychology, found that Americans who had to do tasks involving teamwork were less motivated to help others. According to Geert Hofstede’s book, “Culture’s consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions, and Organizations Across Nations”, America scored the highest for individualism when compared to all other societies. This means the United States values the individual over the collective good. We expect someone who is struggling to figure it out on their own or ask for help themselves and we praise those who never need assistance. The Greek philosopher Aristotle taught his ideas of equality, independence and freedom. When the Founding Fathers were laying down our government, they chose to be inspired by his teaching about individual good.

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Opinion

It’s time we stand up for ourselves Star Diavolikis Columnist It is time for Native Americans and all people of color to unify and combat oppression. KIMA Action News, a news station reporting for the Yakima Valley, covered a story regarding a Native American boy being hurt by police at the Central Washington State Fair in 2018. A group of teens were fighting as Yakima Police were called to break up the dispute. A bystander started recording the commotion, where it is shown the boy was pepper sprayed within a close proximity and yelled at before being violently kicked in the back by an officer, which sent him slamming into the ground. The Yakima Herald, a Yakima Valley newspaper, reports that the officer was deemed justified to use that

amount of force on the victim. If you watch the video, it is clear he used enough force to break a door down. This leaves a lingering thought of how the event would have played out if the victim was white and the officer was black, Native American, or Latino. There have been many times where my family, which consists of my brother, mother and I, are simply trying to do activities in public when we are treated like we committed a crime for simply existing. My mother and I will walk in the grocery store, and many older white women will clutch their purses as we walk by, and they expect us to move out of their way. We went to a seafood restaurant for my brother’s birthday dinner, got seated after 20 minutes, and sat there for half an hour with no server. However, a white family of 10 came in a few minutes after we were seated, got

seated instantly, and had their orders taken within five minutes. This upset us, as we were not in a hidden corner. We were seated right in the entryway where waiters walked past constantly. As we attempted to leave, the old white male who was supposed to be our waiter blocked me from getting out of the booth by standing directly in my way and having his legs pressed against the booth. It ended with me yelling and panicking, running out as the man scoffed and grumbled. Nobody batted an eye at the commotion. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health’s website presents readers polls regarding discrimination made towards Native Americans in 2017. Published on Nov. 14, 2017, the article states, “More than one-third of Native Americans report slurs, violence, harassment, and being discriminated against in the workplace.”

Also within the article, it is stated 23% of Native Americans stated they were discriminated against when going to a doctor or health clinic. Furthermore, 15% of Native Americans stated they avoided seeking healthcare due to fear of being treated poorly and/or being discriminated against. We people of color need to start speaking up more. Do not be afraid to call out a business for racial profiling or to tell your friend they are talking over you when you speak on these issues. We are simply trying to exist in society. We are not savages. We are not some “drunks on a dirty rez” or “drunks that work in the fields.” Let’s try to abolish normalized racism once and for all. Native Americans, and all people of color, need to defend ourselves so everybody knows we are not jokes. We are real people and deserve to be treated fairly.

the Hamsters, released in 2000. I didn’t know how to classify that song back then, so I didn’t know it was EDM. I just knew I liked to dance to it, and of course, I liked the vocal effects. It wasn’t until high school that I started seriously getting into EDM, with the rise of Skrillex. Though Skrillex isn’t the type of EDM I usually listen to these days, I loved his “Scary Monsters and Nice Sprites” and recognizable sound. He’s managed to keep himself in the limelight by collaborating with rap and pop artists such as Rick Ross, Ty Dolla $ign and Justin Bieber, but I listened to him mostly in the height of his fame around 2010-12. It was then that I began to hear intense criticism against Skrillex and, apparently, EDM as a whole. I think for a lot of people, Skrillex may have been their introduction into EDM, and because of the (admittedly) obnoxious sounds in some of his songs as well as the

perception that it isn’t as difficult to produce EDM as, say, playing an instrument, many people wrote EDM off as brainless and lacking musical complexity. This is likely because EDM is often made using a computer. Why are we so amazed at what we can do with computers and smartphones except when it comes to music? We all roll our eyes when we hear “young people these days, with computers making school/work/life so easy for them,” so we should roll our eyes at people who say EDM isn’t music. If you have any sort of formal musical training, you can tell who knows what they’re doing behind the computer and who doesn’t. Further, it takes creativity, patience,

originality and musical knowledge such as chord progressions to produce good EDM. Artists such as GRiZ, The Glitch Mob and The Prodigy use real instruments, if that’s important to you. Don’t get me wrong, though. Tiësto, Aviici and Calvin Harris are still great. Just because EDM is often made on a computer doesn’t make it any less musical.

From ‘Sandstorm’ to ‘Turn Down for What’: give EDM a chance Aeryn Kauffman Columnist Saying you don’t like electronic dance music (EDM) is like saying you don’t like rock, pop, rap or any other large, diverse genre of music. Whether you want to dance, work out, party or drive fast, it’s the perfect music for that, and you can find a subgenre of EDM you’ll like. There’s a long and rich history to EDM dating back to as early as the 1960s, and in 2020, there are a ton of subgenres to choose from. For those who like vintage arcade games, there’s chiptune. For the cardio-obsessed, there’s drum and bass, such as Pendulum’s music, which has an average beats per minute of 165-180, perfect for heart-thumping running and biking. Been to a football game? Every sports lover can get down to “Sandstorm” by Darude and “Kernkraft 400” by Zombie Nation. When I worked at the post office and I spent all day performing repetitive motions, my favorite was house such as deadmau5, with a beats per minute rate of around 120-130. According to the Mayo Clinic, that’s a heart rate of a brisk walk. It’s great for if you want to focus on a mindless task and move quickly but not manically, like how I feel sometimes listening to drum and bass. EDM has been in my life for a long time. The first EDM song I ever heard was “The Hampster Dance Song” by Hampton and

Graphics by Riel Hanson/The Observer

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Sports

Athletes unsure about potential return in fall 2021 despite additional eligibility Sean Bessette Staff Reporter The NCAA DII administrative committee recently approved a waiver that would allow all fall sport student athletes to play their sport’s maximum amount of competition and receive an extra year of eligibility. The waiver would allow redshirt senior Will Ortner to play a potential season this year, if a season occurs, and another season in 2021. For Ortner, he just does not see a reason to leave yet. “I’ll play football until someone won’t let me play football. I want a full senior year,” Ortner said. “I think we have a pretty good team here and I think we have a chance at making a far run, so why would I leave?” The same message was echoed by teammate redshirt sophomore TaiJohn Mizutani. “As a team, we have a lot to prove and this is a great opportunity to showcase that,” Mizutani said. Mizutani said there are a lot of competitors on the football team and he would take an extra year of eligibility. He views the extra year as more time to compete and prove himself to the coaches. Although the decision to take an extra year of eligibility is an easy decision for some, it is not for others. “Everyone is their own individual. There are guys like me but there are also external factors that need to be thought about,” Ortner said. Sophomore Peyton Vogel is experiencing those external forces. She would

Photo credit Will Ortner

CWU’s fall athletes have been granted an additional year of eligibility, and Will Ortner plans to take the NCAA up on their offer. not take an extra year of eligibility. For her, it’s not just about playing soccer. “I need to get on track with my career,” Vogel said. “We have had our lives planned out to where we go to college for these four years and play soccer and after those four years are up, we’ll start our careers.” Vogel is looking to move back to California and start her career as a

teacher. Taking an extra year of eligibility would mess up the timing of getting a job in the school district she wants to work at. “The longer I wait, the messier it gets,” Vogel said. The waiver the DII administrative committee passed is similar to the waivers passed on July 22. Those waivers gave student athletes additional eligibility if

their team completed 50% or less of the sports dates of competition. Those waivers still apply for winter and spring quarter sports. The committee decided to expand on those waivers passed in July for fall sports because fall sport athletes will not have the opportunity to compete for NCAA championships during the 202021 academic year.

The rise of electronic sports RachelAnn Degnan Staff Reporter Quarantine opened the door for online gaming to become one of the leading competitive events in the world. CWU Intramural Sports and Special Events Coordinator Shana Kessler defines the term electronic sports, or esports, as “any type of video gaming opportunity that can be taken online.” At CWU, there are recreational opportunities for gamers where students can connect and share information without any level of competition. Kessler and her team have set up a Recreation Discord channel for students. “It took a lot of work from a lot of students during spring quarter to get it set up,” Kessler said. The Discord page is open to anyone and is customized towards its members. “If we see that students are looking for new things, we will just add a room for them,” Kessler said. “There is a chance for people to connect and play in any game.” There are also competitive opportunities in League of Legends, Fortnite, Overwatch, Madden, NBA2K, Fifa,

Casey Rothgeb/The Observer

The Nintendo Switch is among the many consoles students use to play electronic sports. Mario Smash Bros and Rocket League for people who want to win prizes. “The way we design our recreational and competitive leagues is that we don’t put a game number on it,” Kessler said. “It doesn’t say it’s Madden19 or Madden20. It just says Madden.” Registration for the fall competitive leagues will close at 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 30.

To register, go to imleagues.com/cwu and log in using student credentials. Senior and Intramural Manager Spencer Dalzell considers esports to be more than electronic sports. “It is typically associated with competitive video games, but I like to think that it is up to interpretation,” Dalzell said. “When the university

shut down, we were looking for ways to get involved. So [esports] is how we have had to adapt with this whole social distancing thing.” Dalzell is planning new virtual events and games in hopes of bringing students together. “I am excited about our trivia night,” Dalzell said. “We get to partner with Campus Activities so we have access to an actual studio and decorations.” The esports team is hoping to return to in-person events as soon as possible. “We actually like the hands-on stuff when we get to do it,” Kessler said. “In the past, we have done in-person esports tournaments and we are hopeful that once things start to return to some sense of normalcy and it is safe for students to do so, we will be able to offer these opportunities.” Until then, Dalzell encourages students to get involved. “We are still trying to get enough participants for specific leagues and we are restricted by participation,” Dalzell said. “The easiest way to get involved is to go to the website cwu.edu/rec and then go down to intramurals.”

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Sports

Tri-City Dust Devils among MiLB teams on contraction list

Derek Harper/The Observer

Minor League Baseball (MiLB) offers fans in rural areas to see baseball up close, although the fans in the Tri-Cities could soon lose this opportunity due to the MLB’s plan to contract the team. Derek Harper Staff Reporter

ties losing their teams or even major league affiliation, it’s the ability for those in the community to go see a level of professional Major League Baseball (MLB) is contract- baseball they might not get if they don’t live ing a large number of Minor League Baseball in a big city or if there wasn’t a team affiliated (MiLB) teams ahead of the 2021 season and the with an MLB club. impact will be felt hard in many communities “It’s access to a level of baseball, professionnationwide. Some communities will lose their al baseball. It’s access to the sport that is, you team altogether while others may see their know, probably going to go away. Hopefully it team join a summer collegiate league or profes- just transitions into wood bat leagues like the sional independent league. Other communities Pickles or something like that,” Kees said. will see their team switch leagues or competiBlaine McCormick, former Boise Hawks tion level and many broadcaster who is will see affiliation now with the Richchanges. mond Flying SquirIt’s access to the For some teams, rels, also touched on sport that is, you a change in competiwhat a team means tion level will mean to the community, know, probably going a change in season especially the youth. to go away. Hopefully length. Two teams The Pioneer League, it just transitions into in the Single-A which is an Adwood bat leagues like the Short Season Northvanced Rookie league Pickles or something like west League said to with teams in Idaho, that. be on the hit list are Montana, Colorado the Salem-Keizer and Utah is supposed -Ryan Kees Volcanoes and Trito get cut altogether. City Dust Devils, “You look at Billwhile the others will ings, you look at Mistransition to full season which will see the start soula, Great Falls, all those guys are on the hit of their season moved up from June to April. list right now, all the Pioneer League is on the Team officials within MiLB point to mul- hit list. You’re losing that impact, you’re losing tiple reasons or officials within the business those players going to those communities and they claim to be the cause of it. you know, giving those kids that are in the Manager of Corporate Partnerships for the stands an opportunity to see something that Gwinnett Stripers Ryan Kees, who spent time they might want to do in the future,” McCorwith the Hillsboro Hops for a few years prior mick said. to moving to Gwinnett, Georgia had input Roughly two hours southeast of Ellenson everything going on as well as the impact burg, this is the reality that fans of the Trion communities. The two main factors Kees City Dust Devils are facing. Current Padres mentioned as the reasoning for this happening sensation Fernando Tatis Jr. spent time with are travel and money, with the latter being the Tri-City in 2016, and current Seattle Marmain reason in his mind. iner Ty France spent time with the Dust According to Kees, for the communi- Devils in 2015.

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Funding Request Deadline The Services and Activities Fee Committee will be considering requests for continued or new base funding for the upcoming quadrennial FY 2022-2025. If you would like to request funding the form is available at this website: http://www.cwu.edu/servicesactivities/forms-and-resources

The deadline for requests is December 1, 2020 If you have questions, please call (509) 963 - 1515

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Engagement

EVENTS

Sept. 30 - 3:30-5:30 p.m. Find Your People: Undergraduate Students of Color Virtual Location for Online Events

Fall Time Fun Word Search!

7-8 p.m. Accounting Resume Blitz Virtual Location for Online Events

Oct. 1 - 4-9 p.m. Basketball Skills Challenge Student Union and Recreation Center Gym 153A

5-6

p.m. ASCWU/B2B Collab on The State of Politics

Virtual Location for Online Events

Oct. 2 - 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Virtual Accounting Career Event (ACE) Virtual Location for Online Events Oct. 3 - 10-11 a.m. Archives and Museums Crawl and Panel - Virtual Edition! Virtual Location for Online Events Oct. 4 - 2-5 p.m. Backyard Games Student Union and Recreation Center North Lawn Area Oct. 5 - 3-4 p.m. Mindful Monday-Ying Yoga Series Student Union and Recreation Center Gym 153D 4-5 p.m. Everything You Need to Know About Internships Virtual Location for Online Events

Oct. 6 - 5-5:30 p.m. Applying for Grad School Virtual Location for Online Events

6-7:30 p.m. Student Senate Meeting Virtual Location for Online Events

Oct. 7 - 5-6:30 p.m. Find Your People-LGBTQ+ Virtual Location for Online Events

Candy Cold Leaves Thanksgiving Friends Football

WORDS Beer Hike Pumpkins Knitting

Octoberfest Cider Spice Pie Family Wine