News

See Herstory month, Page 2

By Ondrea Machin

Photos by Peighton Bortle/The Observer

Students participated in the WOMXNS MARCH starting at Black Hall last Wednesday afternoon. Both men and women joined together with crafted signs in support of the “All of Us or None” movement.

The future is looking amber-colored for CWU students

Craft Brewing program opens to all students providing opportunities to refine their beer brewing skills

By Joshua Smith

The Craft Brewing program at CWU has opened its doors to all majors, regardless of scientific background, to enjoy hops in its multitude of flavors.

According to the Director of Craft Brewing Dr. Eric Graham, the limiting factor of requiring a student to declare their major in the Craft Brewing program was barring students who had the prerequisites from exploring their hops-related educational pursuits at CWU.

“We’ve opened [craft brewing classes] up to anyone who may have the prerequisites,” Graham said. “That is a lot of science majors, but we also have a lot of classes that don’t require chemistry.”

However, all classes do require students to be at least 18 years of age, with two classes, CRBW 450, Sensory Analysis for Brewing and CRBW 490, Cooperative Education, requiring a minimum age of 21.

In This Issue

News Scene Opinion Sports Engagement 1-3 4-8 9-10 11 12

Page 3 Vaccine clinic on campus

Page 8 Stop Asian hate

But this may soon change. According to Graham, they will be adopting a sip and spit method like that used in wine culture, opening the program to younger students.

Craft Brewing, Page 4

Page 11 Tennis team update

By Sean Bessette

The first of two ASCWU virtual debates took place last Wednesday night over a Zoom webinar.

The positions of president, executive vice president, director of Governmental Affairs and senate speaker are unopposed and only have one candidate.

Director of Equity & Multicultural Affairs and director of Student Life & Facilities both have two candidates in the general election.

The lack of competition for some of the positions didn’t stop the debates from carrying on as planned.

Each candidate had a minute to give an opening introduction. Following the introductions, two rounds of questions

In honor of Women’s History Month, 30 students attended the Herstory March on April 14 to support and empower women, as well as bring awareness to the issues of equality.

The Diversity and Equity Center put on the march to celebrate all women, whether that be LGBT women, trans women, women of color, straight women and any other women from other backgrounds. The DEC also wanted to highlight the intersectionality that gets left out of traditional feminism, according to Student Initiative Coordinator with a specialization in the Heritage and History Month Joey Packer.

“It takes all of us to bring fairness and equity to all female bodies and how people can be allies,” Packer said.

Freshman Emma Cavin said for her, the march was about empowering everyone, “women, men, trans, as well as equality for all.” Cavin also said everyone deserves to be heard and everyone needs to stand together, rather than stand against each other.

“Everyone’s here, getting to know each other and doing a movement that’s going to impact us all and so why not help it,” Cavin said.

Junior Communications major Chante Jacobs said the march was about supporting women of all backgrounds and love for all women. She said women can change the world and can be anything they put their mind to.

“I feel like I know so many strong women and the people that have imprepared by the elections commission took place. Each candidate was asked one question per round and had three minutes to answer each question.

The debate ended with 10 minutes of an open Q&A session. If a candidate wanted a rebuttal, they’d have the opportunity to do so. The debate took place for an hour, and nobody asked for a rebuttal once.

Common themes among the questions asked included resources equity, representation for students who the candidates don’t personally identify with and fall 2021 reopening.

Geoffrey Odoch, executive vice president candidate, said during the debate, “My premise of running for this position is on the idea of accessibility, equity and then accountability. This is because we need equitable resource distribution and accessibility to resources.”

Multiple candidates stressed optimism and excitement for more in-person activities in the fall.

“We’re hoping that everything will be in full gear this coming fall,” Syafiq Mohd Suhaimi, one of the candidates vying for the director of Student Life & Facilities position, said.

Presidential candidate Madeline Koval will be the first president that isn’t a person of color in the past five years. During the Q&A session, she was asked how she plans to continue the work former presidents have done to keep underrepresented voices engaged in student government.

“I think this is important to discuss because I want to make sure that I’m respecting the space and acknowledging my own white privilege and using that for good,” Koval said.

Additionally, Koval said she wants to make sure the Center for Cultural Innovation (CCI) is still in production.

“I want to work towards to make sure that momentum does not slow on that project because we really need this project [CCI],” Koval said.

According to an Observer article published in October. 2020, ASCWU wants to turn the Old Heat building next to Munson Hall into the CCI. The article states the planned start for reconstruction depends on funding but is projected to start fall 2021.

The second and final ASCWU virtual debate will take place tonight at 6 p.m. Students are encouraged to register to attend and can do so at cwu.edu/ ascwu/elections.

Herstory month from Page 1

Photo by Peighton Bortle/The Observer

pacted my life the most have been women, so to do anything to further show the support for my fellow women is something to make my voice heard,” Jacobs said.

Jacobs said she hopes that other people will see some of the same ideas that she has and continue to empower each other.

Freshman Art major Kaitlyn Ness said the march was to spread awareness of an ongoing injustice and help other women.

“I know there is a stigma around women putting other women down for what they want but it’s important to bring everybody up and help everybody,” Ness said.

Ness also said she hopes other people will “get on board” with the movement

During the march participants chanted “People of quality do not fear equality.”

because she feels ignoring the meaning of the march is not going to help or change anything.

Student Initiative Coordinator and leader of the mentorship program for women of color students Jaeda Nelson said having the march gave students the opportunity to come together and really think about what feminism means.

Nelson also said the event was meant to offer a relaxed and comfortable community where people could empower others, whether they identify as women or just want to support the movement.

“Having a support system around you and encouraging people that they are doing the right thing continues the work,” Nelson said.

Packer said he enjoyed seeing so many people of all ages come out and support the march, all the people who made signs and being able to provide people with the opportunity to come out and make a difference.

“I would just encourage anyone on campus who feels like they aren’t connected to any communities to come to us come to the DEC and our whole of the job is to help people find community,” Packer said.

At the end of the march, the DEC crew passed out some cards that had sentences with some missing pieces in the middle. Participants filled in the missing pieces with words or phrases that they felt described them.

The point of this activity was to encourage participants to build a relationship with themselves, remind them to empower themselves and see the beauty of who they are as a person, according to Nelson.

The Observer Staff

Editor-in-Chief Abigail Duchow Online/Social Media Editor Amy Morris

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Photographers Abigail Stowell Samantha Cabeza

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Staff Reporters

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By Samuel Harris

Applications for the Student Board of Trustees have opened for the 20212022 academic year.

The Student Trustee is a position hand-selected by Gov. Jay Inslee and is responsible for many important decisions at CWU like selecting the President of the University. The current student trustee, Nate McMillon helped select the incoming President A. James Wohlpart.

“As the trustee, it’s just [about] making sure that all the best decision making [is happening] for all of these Central students, and really in the larger picture, the students of Washington state as a whole,” McMillon said. “I knew this transition of looking for a new president was something that was going to be crucial to how Central is going to move forward in the future, even past the point of me being here.”

With the position opening every year, McMillon said students who want to see CWU improve and move in a positive direction should consider applying.

Graphic by Javier Medrano

“It is a one year opportunity to be in the role, but you still have your chance to have your voice heard and to be a representation for, as I said earlier, all the Central students in decisions that affect Central at an institutional level,” Mcmillon said.

For a convincing application, McMillon said to show how you are already involved with CWU.

“It hasn’t been easy to get involved, but you want to show something that shows how you engage with your community, how you engage with both your peers [and] leaders around you, even staff and faculty,” McMillon said. “That shows that you can be [not only] friendly, but you can [also] communicate easily with any type of people.”

Students from all majors can apply for the position, as long as they want to make a positive change for their fellow students.

“What I really appreciate is that all the board members there really appreciate having a student trustee on the board, and appreciate getting a student’s perspective,” McMillon said.

Other than the mandatory meetings, McMillon said he dedicates five to ten extra hours to the Board per week.

McMillon said he applied for two reasons: the first being a personal feeling of responsibility.

“I wanted to make sure that we’re steering the ship in the right direction through this pandemic, because nothing’s going to be the same, nothing is going to be life as usual anymore,” McMillon said.

The second reason was making sure all students got their voices heard.

“Before coming onto this I wasn’t even aware that this was the year that we were going to be bringing on a new president, so when I found that out, he just gave me an opportunity to be just as vocal as I could be about what students are looking for in this experience, and being able to share that at a board level was just an opportunity I didn’t want to pass up,” McMillon said.

McMillon said he recommends students use all options available to make their voices heard and to begin having those conversations with those around them.

“It isn’t necessarily about a platform [or] changing facets,” McMillon said. “If you can educate one person, if you can change the perspective of the individual, then that can continue to have a domino effect.”

Applications for the student trustee position are due by April 30. More information, as well as the application itself can be found on the events calendar at https://www.cwu. edu/event-calendar.

CWU offers on-campus vaccination clinics

By Libby Williams

Two hundred and sixty-five doses of the Moderna vaccine were administered to eligible students, faculty and staff on April 13. This was the first vaccine clinic offered on campus, and more dates have already been announced in the coming weeks.

“We want to see as many people as possible get vaccinated so our campus and our community can return to normal activities by this fall,” President James L. Gaudino said in a press release on April 14. “We were able to get to this point with the help of our community partners – KCPHD, KVH, and our local police and fire departments – and we look forward to working with them even more as we plan for a safe return in September.”

The clinic originally planned to administer the single dose Johnson & Johnson vaccine, but after federal health officials called for a pause in the use of J&J on the morning of the clinic, a quick switch to Moderna was made.

“That change was impressive,” Kasey Knutson said. Knutson is the special programs coordinator at the KCPHD, as well as the public information officer for Kittitas incident management. “Students, staff and the folks running the clinic responded beautifully.”

Knutson said that while local clinics have the resources to accommodate students, providing the vaccine on campus helps with convenience and accessibility.

“I think it’s fantastic to make sure that [the vaccine] is easily accessible, and to go where people are already comfortable and more likely to get those vaccines,” Knutson said. “We

Photo courtesy of David Dick Photo courtesy of David Dick

Following a federal pause on the J&J vaccine, the clinic switched to Moderna.

want people to get vaccinated. Anything that’s going to encourage that is absolutely a win in Kittitas County.”

Knutson encouraged anyone who has questions or is feeling hesitant about the vaccine to reach out to a trusted health official.

Zoe Whittaker Jameson, a senior studying elementary education, received her first dose on Tuesday. She heard about the clinic through her boss at CWU Hype, where she works as the Street Team coordinator.

“I woke up to a phone call from Jenna Hyatt,” Whittaker Jameson said, “and she said, ‘is it okay if we give you Moderna instead?’ and I said, ‘yes that’s fine!’”

Whittaker Jameson and everyone who attended Tuesday’s clinic will receive their second dose on May 11. She said she’s looking forward to being fully vaccinated.

“I wanted to get the vaccine so I’m safe and protected,” Jameson said, “but also I am looking forward to go back and do my volunteer experience in the elementary school, and part of that is being vaccinated.”

As of April 14, CWU added two more vaccination clinics. The first one occurred April 20, while the second will take place on April 27. The clinics will be available for all CWU students and staff from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the SURC ballroom, and second dose appointments will be announced soon. The KCPHD plans to administer 300 doses of the Moderna vaccine.

Signups for the April 27 event is on a first-come, first-served basis and can be completed through Signup Genius. If appointments fill up, applicants will be placed on a wait list.