May 19, 2021
Vol. 119 NO. 7
Wildcats baseball hopeful heading into GNAC tournament By Isaiah Salevao
SEE HOW THE PANDEMIC HAS AFFECTED CWU ATHLETICS, PAGES 6-7.
The baseball team heads into the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) this week after winning three out of a four game series against Saint Martin’s University (SMU) last weekend. The team finished out their regular season with a 16-12 overall record. Before the series against SMU, the team went 2-2 in a four game series against Montana State University Billings (MSUB). Senior infielder Yi-Fan Pan reflects on the victory over MSUB. “The energy we had throughout the weekend and we were able to hit fairly well throughout the lineup and the pitchers did a good job of throwing strikes and keeping us in the game,” Pan said. The Wildcats ended the weekend on a twogame winning streak before preparing for SMU. Pan said this year’s team is different from any other year because of the bond they share together and how they match each other’s energy on and off the field. “For the rest of the season, I think we will end the regular season strong and just focus on what we can accomplish, and the rest will take care of itself,” Pan said. Pan said he believes this team is a group of fighters and they will fight every game for the remainder of the season to come out victorious. “I think we have a really good chance of winning the conference this year,” Pan said. Senior pitcher Ryan Marstiller said the season so far is great, but they know they could do better.
Baseball, Page 10 Page 3 Police out in higher numbers
Page 4 Orientation
APOYO offers volunteering opportunity By Sam Harris Summer is right around the corner, meaning many students will suddenly have holes in their schedules. Volunteering can be a great opportunity to not only fill that hole, but also help out the community of Ellensburg. Allied People Offering YearRound Outreach (APOYO) is a nonprofit food bank that has been diligently working through CWU since 2001 to support the Ellensburg community. APOYO’s main mission is to provide their services as a food bank, but the food bank wishes to eventually help the local Hispanic community open up a facility of their own. According to Secretary Patricia Garrison, APOYO offers free food, water, clothes and diapers to anyone who needs it. APOYO serves anyone who has needs that they can fulfill— even students. Whether it’s for groceries or just a light snack, APOYO provides their services to everyone. “If you’re hungry, you get food,” Garrison said. “We know how hard it can be to come here, so we’ve made the process as worry-free as possible.” The food bank provides all of their services without collecting any personal data or turning anyone away, no matter how much food they take. For many people, going to a food bank can be embarrassing, so APOYO makes the process very quick. Because APOYO primarily supports the local Hispanic community, most board members are also bilingual to mitigate difficulties. APOYO is able to be so laissez-faire with distribution because they are supplied almost exclusively by donations. Most of what APOYO distributes comes from Northwest Harvest, a larger nonprofit distributor. Their inventory of clothing comes from donors who would rather not have their clothes sold at a thrift store like Goodwill. Any donations of money goes right into their inventory of supplies. Even the building they operate in is donated—it used to be the CWU maintenance building, which is now located just across the street.
APOYO, Page 3
Page 9
Page 11
Asian food is “the best”
GNAC Multi’s championship
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This week, online
CWU forms partnership with TimelyMD to create WildcatCare 365.
May 19, 2021
WIDE ANGLE
Softball awaits decision on postseason.
Panelists speak about artificial intelligence.
Editorial: Standardized tests were an unfair admissions advantage for the wealthy CWU has joined the other public universities in the state in announcing that standardized admissions tests will now be optional for incoming students. In the announcement, Provost and Vice President for Academic and Student Affairs Michelle DenBeste said students would not be penalized for not submitting test scores during the admission process. “We are joining our counterparts across the state to strongly support a more holistic approach to admissions that focuses on the whole student,” DenBeste said. “Instead of primarily basing our admissions on test scores, we will take into consideration other factors including diversity, leadership, academics, extracurricular activities, and school and community engagement.” These tests were a barrier to student success that unfairly benefitted those from wealthy families. Students from wealthier families tended to perform better on the SATs, since they were able to afford more expensive testing prep as well as the test itself. During the 2018-2019 school year, the cost of the full SAT was $64.50, while it cost $26 to register for the ACT and $22 for each test. When reporting on the discrepancies, The Wall Street Journal said like other aspects of American life, the wealthy were given unfair advantages. “Given the widespread use of the SAT in college admissions, the implications are obvious: Not only are the wealthiest families best equipped to
pay for college, their kids on average are more likely to post the sort of scores that make admissions easy,” The Wall Street Journal wrote. According to the Washington Post, in 2014 “students from families earning more than $200,000 a year average a combined score of 1,714, while students from families earning under $20,000 a year average a combined score of 1,326.” A study from Inside Higher Ed showed that low-income students performed worse in all three sections of the test than higher-income students. For example, in the reading section, a student from a family that made less than $20,000 a year averaged a score of 433, while a student from a family that makes more than $200,000 a year averaged a score of 570. According to a study by the University of Pennsylvania, the gap in scores among high- and low-income students was twice as large as the one between African American and white students. And a lot was riding on the results. Those scores could decide whether a student could attend a four-year university or not. Colleges would admit students if they met a threshold score on the ACTs and SATs. Students who scored too low were denied from attending these colleges and denied the benefits that a degree from that school would bring. This decision was a step in making higher education more attainable, and the application process more equitable for students.
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May 19, 2021
NEWS
3
Ellensburg sees better weather and more police cars By Libby Williams The number of law enforcement driving around Ellensburg has seemed to increase in recent weeks, including vehicles from other cities and counties. State Trooper John Bryant said it can be chalked up to better weather and a decrease in COVID-19 restrictions, leading to a higher demand for officers to keep everyone safe. “The weather’s been getting better, there’s more events that … might lead to people having a little too much fun, like Cinco De Mayo,” Bryant said. “The weekends are getting busier, folks are starting to go out a lot more with the loosening of COVID restrictions. So, they’re out a lot more, we need to be out a lot more.” Bryant, a patrol officer with an emphasis in public information, said there has always been more officers than people realize, and getting out more might make it seem like there’s a sudden uptick. “Central Washington University has about a dozen fully commissioned officers, Ellensburg P.D. has about 30, the sheriff’s office will take you up to 40, with 17 or so on reserve, and the patrol has two different attachments in the area,” Bryant said. Students and locals may have also noticed law enforcement vehicles from
APOYO from Page 1 Stephanie Wickstrom, the executive director at APOYO wants everyone who visits to get as many of their needs met as they can. APOYO supports the local houseless population, field workers, undocumented immigrants and anyone who needs support. “Besides providing food, clothing and other material support, we offer volunteer and educational opportunities, and referrals to other services.” Wickstrom said. Such services include intercultural education, vaccina tion clinics, rental assistance
other cities. Bryant said that could be because of our location relative to the rest of the state. “Ellensburg is a center-point in the state for traveling because of I-90, it’s the easiest way to get back and forth to the west side,” Bryant said. “So, you have a lot of different types of troopers and law enforcement agencies coming through for meetings, to get fuel, to stop at different places. It’s busier than you think in terms of law enforcement coming through.” Bryant said with classes being online and less students living on campus, it may have seemed like there were less cops around, but
students can expect that with classes returning to in-person in the fall, there could be an increase in law enforcement. “There’s not a lot of students there because of COVID … we probably haven’t been in town as much as we usually would when there’s full capacity students, and you’ve got the Friday nights and all the businesses open,” Bryant said. “When that comes back, weekend nights we’ll be driving around along with the county and CWU … just to keep everybody safe on the streets.” Bryant said the main concern for law enforcement, especially in Kittitas county, is keeping drivers safe on the road.
“We put a lot of emphasis on seat belts, whether in town or on the highway … distracted driving is also a big problem, as well as driving under the influence,” Bryant said. “Anytime we stop an impared driver or someone who’s speeding or not wearing a seat belt, we’re saving a life, because a lot of our fatalities come from those things.” Bryant said that if anyone does decide to drink, be safe about it. Get a designated driver or walk, just don’t get behind the wheel. “We love designated drivers,” he said. “It’s always worked and it always will, so please, please, keep that tradition up.”
Photo by Sam Harris/The Observer
As more classes return to an in-person format and more students return to campus, expect to see an increase in law enforcement.
and legal assistance for undocumented immigrants. Anyone can help out, and there’s no need to sign up or register. According to Garrison, APOYO has seen a drop in membership recently due to more people going back to work. APOYO is currently looking for a student advisor to provide a student’s perspective on food shortage and distribution, but all help is welcomed. New volunteers are welcome to visit during normal distribution site times. Distributions take place every Wednesday from 6-7 p.m. and Saturday from 1-2 p.m. Photo by Sam Harris/The Observer
On top of non perishable foods, APOYO is supplied with fresh vegetables, fruit, dairy, eggs, and meat.
4
NEWS
CWU adjusts summer orientation for COVID-19 By Jackie Tran While the COVID-19 vaccine will be required for students attending on campus in the fall, the vaccine will not be required for the summer orientation event. Organizers strongly encourage getting the vaccine before visiting. Face coverings will still be required but social distancing will not have as much emphasis. “We’re excited for fall and really doing our best to provide a safe opportunity for students, families, and our faculty and staff on campus. We’re just doing our best to keep moving towards that goal.” Mounsey said. CWU will be hosting orientation with both in-person opportunities and online content. The event will be a one day experience and its’ format will depend on the individuals’ choice. “Students are not required to participate in person this summer,” Mounsey said. “We know that we’re ever transitioning and still in the midst of the pandemic. We wanted to have options. We’re trying to mix things up and reimagine some different things too.” Held in July, those who attend in person will be in groups of 50 students with each student allowed one guest. There will be a maximum of 200 people on campus on any given day.
Photo courtesy of CWU Flickr
Orientation group sizes will be 50 students, with each student allowed to bring one guest.
Hoping to create an experience more similar to past years, the orientation team is working to present students with skits, recorded presentations, one on one meetings and possibly even residence hall tours. In addition, they are working to organize a wildcat success day and club tabling. “We typically do a wildcat success day,” Mounsey said. “We do tabling and
There will be in-person and online orientation opportunities offered this summer.
information, helping students get ready for the next quarter.” For 2021 sophomores, the school is looking to include these students in the welcoming activities that they missed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. While the orientation team is planning for a more normal orientation and welcome week, these plans are subject to change. “We will be providing some in person opportunities during the month of July but we will still be supplementing that with online content,” Mounsey said. Virtually, emails are in the process of being sent out. The courses Central 101 for freshmen students, and Central 301 for incoming transfer students, are available to help direct students with extra information. The two courses have been offering content since January. Additionally, there will be three print pieces delivered to further inform and support students. “It’s a collection of initiatives that span an 18 month period for admitted students through their first year,” John Mounsey, Director for Orientation and Transition Programs said. “We keep serving them and will serve them … providing them with resources, connections, and opportunities to make sure they’re successful.” Such is the goal of CWU’s orientation team.
DEI Commission First Meeting Six newly elected members tasked to connect the community
The first meeting of the Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Commission was off to a positive start according to Nancy Goodloe, the council representative and chair for the commission. Recently the committee was able to elect six members for the commission. The six members include Landis Hansen, Tylene Carnell, Kandee Cleary, Daniel Amos, Veronica Acevedo and Sara Omrani. The two-step process of choosing these six members was initiated by the subcommittee. First, the subcommittee asked the applicants to answer four questions that were specific to the skills and abilities needed to be on the commission. After the responses were reviewed, a few applicants were selected to have an interview. After interviews, the subcommittee was able to make a recommendation
Ibram X. Kendi speaks to CWU in Zoom webinar By Mariana Gonzalez
Photo courtesy of CWU Flickr
By Milenne Quinonez
May 19, 2021
to the city council. Those questions were asked in efforts to narrow down the 34 applicants to six members. The DEI Commission reviewed ordinances establishing Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, discussed staggered terms, amount of terms people can serve and reviewed duties of commission. The commission also discussed a comprehensive plan and what the group needs to establish in the DEI chapter. Goodloe said the biggest task they will get to council within the next six months is a community engagement plan that includes activities such as forums and community gathering events to help connect people in the community. “We are tasked with identifying all our partner groups and organizations that we will be working with to sponsor some events,” Goodloe said. The DEI commission is tasked with creating strategies to improve
communication in the community and city council regarding the diversity, equity and inclusion committee. “We just need stronger communication,” Goodloe said, “and we need energy devoted to creating bilingual documents because we have a number of folks who live in the community who don’t speak English.” During the meeting they were also able to elect the Vice Chair, Tylene Carnell. She will manage the meeting when Goodloe is not available. “We had a really good meeting,” Goodloe said. “For the first time that all this group has been together we had great conversations, they were all engaged. Everybody is very excited and pumped about doing this work, so I thought we got off to a really positive start.” The DEI Commission has now committed to meeting twice a month on the second and fourth Tuesdays of each month, to meet deadlines of the work they need to do.
Renowned author, professor, and antiracism scholar Ibram X. Kendi spoke to CWU via Zoom on Wednesday May 12. The Zoom webinar was from 4-5pm. Around 500 attendees were present for the webinar. Kendi is the founding director of the Boston University Center for Antiracist Research. A contributing writer for The Atlantic and correspondent for CBS News. Kendi was named as one of Time Magazine’s 100 most influential people in 2020 and is the author of the New York Times Best-Seller “How to Be an Antiracist.” The Zoom webinar was moderated by Robert Nellams, vice chair of the CWU Board of Trustees. It was hosted by Kandee Cleary, vice president of inclusivity and diversity at CWU. Kendi spoke about his book “How to Be an Antiracist” and on the topics of racism and antiracism. “When someone claims to me that they are not racist,” Kendi said. “My first response is, how do you define the term racist? Because you can’t know for sure you are quote ‘not racist’ if you don’t even know what it means to be racist or even not racist.” In his book “How to Be an Antiracist,” Kendi advises against using the term “microaggression.” Kendi suggests using the term “racial abuse” instead. During the panel Kendi was asked to clarify on this. “I think the term ‘microaggression’ is fundamentally focused on the individual act,” Kendi said. “For instance, if I walk out of my house right now and I’m walking down the street and I’m coming upon a woman who catches her purse and then I continue. That’s first my quote microaggression…All of those are individual, what people would call microaggressions. By the time I get home, I’m not thinking of them in an individual way, I’m thinking of them in a collective way. And they’re making an impact on me, they’re causing me to feel physically and mentally harmed in the way abuse does.” The last twenty minutes of the panel were reserved for questions from the audience. Questions asked included how to make people recognize responsibility and complicity where they typically renounce it, defining the term “defund the police,” how educators should address recent legislation that has banned teaching critical race theory, among other thought-provoking questions. Kendi’s book “How to Be an Antiracist” is available for purchase at the CWU bookstore. A recording of the Zoom panel will be available to those with CWU accounts until May 26. The recording can be accessed in the CWU media page, the CWU Diversity and Equity page and the Diversity at CWU page, all of which are on the CWU website.
May 19, 2021
5
SCENE
Asian Studies program invited guest speaker to discuss ‘Women and Buddhism’ By Lexi Wicks How do women engage with Buddhism? It is one question among many that Jin Park addressed May 13 in a women and Buddhism webinar. By taking a look into the life of Kim Iryǒp (1896-1971) Park hopes to find the answer. The webinar had a total of 23 people in attendance, including Park. Park’s passion for the subject reflects in her extensive credentials as she obtained a doctorate from the State University of New York, Stony Brook, is currently the professor and chair of the department of philosophy and religion at American University, and was the first person to translate Kim’s writing to English. According to the Department of Philosophy and Religion Studies Chair and Director of the Asian Studies Program, Jefferey Dippmann, this webinar would have not been possible without the distinguished speakers grant funded by the Korean Foundation and Northeast Asian Council of the Association for Asian Studies. The two hour long webinar focused on the writings of Kim, a writer, feminist and Zen Buddist nun. Kim’s unique experiences throughout life piece together several concepts, allowing students to connect with at least one. In Kim’s youth, she was able to get an extensive education which was highly unlikely for women in Korea during this time. Through this, she became increasingly aware of the gender discrepancies within society. Women had arranged marriages, were not given the education men were and were expected to stay home to raise a family. Because of this, Kim used her strength
in writing to advocate for change by starting a magazine called Sinyoja (translates to ‘The New Women’) in 1920. The New Women was a magazine specifically for women, created by women that preached liberation and “free love” defined as the concept of having freedom to be with someone or many people for the sake of love rather than an arranged marriage. Just eight years after the start of her magazine, Kim began Buddhist meditation and later joined the monastery in 1933 where she stayed until her death in 1971. Kim lived two very different lives, one as a feminist writer and the other a celibate Zen Buddist nun. Park analyzed both lives and said she found they were not so different after all.
Michael Hurt discussed Korean LGBTQ history By Ondrea Machin The fight for LGBTQ rights has been a highly discussed topic across the globe for the past few years and continues to gain traction with each passing year. But even with all the progress, there is a continued battle between the younger generation and the older generation. On May 14, over 40 participants joined the webinar of Michael Hurt’s talk on “The Battle for Normal and the Queering of Korea.” Hurt is a photographer and professor living in Seoul, South Korea. He uses his photographs to capture the digital subculture of South Korea, as well as the political economy of “the pay model on Korean Instagram,” according to Hurt. In June 2020, Hurt said he documented a Black Lives Matter solidarity march and other Koreans wondered why they should care about the BLM movement. Hurt said he came to the conclusion, after covering many political and LGBTQ movements, that it is a heavy battle for the “soul of the country” in a young generation versus the old generation. “What I think is actually happening here is a battle between two very different notions of what it means to be a member of the Korean national community and a member of global society,” Hurt said. Participants said they were curious how other political movements, similar to BLM,
related to queer movements and LGBTQ communities in Korea. The link is not direct but the idea behind the movements are similar and were created by bigger cultural shifts, Hurt said. An example Hurt provided was Heezy Yang. Heezy Yang helped create these big movements, such as the Drag Parade, the LGBTQ movement and political movements. During a few of the Queer Culture Festivals and other gay pride events, Koreans who are against LGBTQ held an antiprotest in what Hurt called “The Performance of Fear (2015).” In this performance, young girls were dressed and performed in a way to show racial and cultural purity, old Christian values and “good old fashioned girls,” according to Hurt. It was interesting to see a generation gap between the older and younger generation and how the young generation suffers because of the older generations values placed on sexuality, according to the participants. “This is not just a generational riff or a gap, this is about completely different Koreas co-existing on top of one another,” Hurt said. “My dramatic way of expressing this is that one has to die, one will live.” Hurt said there has been progress for LGBTQ rights in Korea but there are still high levels of racism and homophobia, mainly from older people whose minds are already made up and have no intention of changing them.
Throughout both lives, Kim sought out one thing: freedom. In her early days at The New Women she searched for freedom through the concept of free love which we see in her writing for the magazine. After joining the monastery Kim did not write for nearly two decades. However, she later published some of her writing in the 1960’s that was less like a call to action and more of a testimony. Her later writings consisted of personal stories from her youth, her friends stories, philosophy and Buddhism practice. Expressing philosophical concepts and buddhism practice through personal narratives made her story different from the others and more interesting to many.
These writings shed light on the compatibility and overlap between concepts such as gender, Buddhism and feminism. Park discussed the overlap of concepts in great detail by both bringing in her knowledge of Kim, the Buddhism practices, direct quotes from Kim’s writings, as well as other quotes from similar works. The last thirty minutes of the webinar was set aside for questions. Several students asked questions all varying in topic and detail. Park took the time to address and answer each one as thoroughly as possible. Dippman said this webinar was “very relevant to the 21st century and for what we have been going through with the pandemic.” This claim translates into the presentation as there were many parallels within today’s society.
CWU researchers develop spacebased system to rapidly detect large earthquakes, tsunamis By Justin Zabel CWU geophysicist Timothy Melbourne and his colleagues reported the development of a global earthquake monitoring system based on measurements of crustal deformation that can be detected by Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) receivers. “The monitoring system can rapidly assess earthquake magnitude and fault slip distribution within seconds for earthquakes of magnitude 7.0 and larger, making it a potentially valuable tool in earthquake and tsunami early warning for these damaging events,” Melbourne said in a press release. This system has satellite orbits that will send a receiving message to the station on Earth giving them a warning that this is about to hit a section of the planet. This here will help prevent eruptions that will take place after the earthquake hits. This research that Melbourne and his colleagues constructed is the first of mankind to have sensors set up with the data, then have that data transmitted back to the internet connected devices. “The researchers assessed their system over one typical week, using data from 1,270 receiver stations across the world,” Melbourne said. “They found
that the average time it took data to travel from a receiver to the processing center at CWU was about half a second—from anywhere in the world. It took an average of about 1/200th of a second to convert that data into estimates of GNSS position.” With this research that has been done, Melbourne and his colleagues found out that the biggest earthquakes can be prepared for within minutes before it even happens. This gives people time to prepare for cover and make sure they know when it may occur. GNSS has been used in construction and mining but it depends on the open-source data that is provided. However, there are times when countries have data which is sold to build and maintain these receivers. For instance, GNSS operators in New Zealand, Ecuador, Chile and elsewhere partner with Melbourne’s group, benefiting from the decade of work that the team has put into their GNSS positioning system. They send raw data from receivers in their countries to Central Washington, where Melbourne and colleagues position the data and send it back in under a second for their earthquake and tsunami monitoring, Melbourne said in the press release.
Photo courtesy of CWU athletics
Athletics depa revenue than expec By Jared Galanti With the COVID-19 pandemic still going strong, it hasn’t just hurt the financial side of the sports season, but also the dreams of one day making it to the next level. This year’s low attendance and merchandise sales hurt the finances of the athletic department. Dennis Francois, director of athletics, said that due to the pandemic the CWU athletic department has lost $100,000 in ticket revenue due to no fans being allowed at games. Merchandise sales have dropped a lot as well due to a number of reasons. “All that merchandise at the [CWU] bookstore or at Gerold’s any place that has [wildcat merchandise] all those proceeds go back to the university, to the athletic department on our royalties with CLC (Collegiate Licensing Company),” Francois said. However, with no WIldcat Days or orientation days, students and parents were not able to be on campus to purchase merchandise.
Photo taken by Jacob Thompson/Thompson Sports
Photo taken by Jacob Thompson/Thompson Sports
Photo taken by Jacob Thompson
Photo courtesy of CWU athletics
Francois said the bookstore sa are lower than usual due to not hav the influx of parents and new stude buying merchandise for themsel and not being able to sell merch dise at sports games. Francois said t with a new royalties contract negoti ed 18 months ago, they were expect an increase of $120,000 a year in n royalties. However, this year they up to only $50,000 in new royalties Francois also said the total loss is known due to other fees that have come up like the PPE and COVID testing fee. “We are waiting to see what kind impact that will be when we get t final bill from the UW labs for all testing we have done,” Francois said Francois said that he expects vast majority of the bill to be cove by insurance, but is worried that next bill for testing won’t due to number of vaccines available. Th why he said he fully supports the CW mandate of vaccinations. “Once we have a [COVID-19] v cine fully approved by the FDA I th
Photo taken by Jacob Thompson
Photo taken by Jacob Thompson/Thompson Spo
Photo taken by Jacob Thompson/Thompson
Photo courtesy of CWU athletics
artment sees less cted due to pandemic
ales ving ents lves hanthat iatting new got s. sn’t en’t D-19
d of that the d. the ered the the hat’s WU
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Photo courtesy of CWU athletics
Photo taken by Jacob Thompson/Thompson Sports
the insurance companies are going to CWU’s financial hit isn’t the only say that they aren’t going to pay for thing the pandemic has caused. Betesting anymore,” Francois said. “[The cause of some games being cancelled, companies will say] there is a vaccine student athletes are getting less recout there that we will pay for, but we ar- ognition from scouts for potentially en’t gonna test you every week for three- interested MLB teams. four months straight and pay for it.” Justin Hampson, a senior outFrancois said CWU was optimis- fielder for the baseball team, said tically conservative when it came to that while COVID-19 has limited the making decisions this year with hopes amount of games to showcase your that 2022 can make up for the lost rev- talent, he believes that if you have enue of this year. the talent that is there to make it to “We didn’t suddenly ramp up and say the next level, scouts will take the we would be back up to the $100,000 time to see if you play. level in terms of ticketing,” Francois “For making it so that players can said. “We were a little more conserva- make it to the next level, if you’re tive knowing that not everyone wants good enough they are looking at to come out in these mask group set- you,” Hampson said. “We have a coutings anymore, and this is of course as- ple guys on our team that I think are suming we are gonna have essentially legit. And while they missed a couple no restrictions in terms of attendance.” weeks they show week in and week He said that they will continue with out what they got. So I don’t think it Photo taken by Jacob Thompson this approach as the country and state con- truly impacts them. You got to look tinue to navigate through the pandemic. at it with glass half full.” “A lot of things that we scaled back Hampson said that with only four a bit were not thinking we are go- games left to go in the regular season ing to be back 100% pre-COVID-19,” the team is taking this time between Francois said. games to prepare for playoffs.
Photo taken by Jacob Thompson/Thompson Sports
Photo courtesy of CWU athletics
Photo courtesy of CWU athletics
Photo taken by Jacob Thompson/Thompson Sports
8
AB
The Beat Drop SCENE
May 19, 2021
BA E A T E B B TA T By Sean Bessette
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The real is back, the ‘ville is back.
It took 1,120 days for J. Cole to release his sixth studio album, “The Off-Season,” the follow-up to his 2018 album, “KOD”. Instead of being in connection to his recent albums, “The Off-Season” pays homage to his earlier mixtapes, “The Come Up,” “The Warm Up” and “Friday Night Lights.” “The Off-Season” is a masterclass way for Cole to wrap up that segment of his career. The Build-up Following the release of “KOD,” Cole went on one of the greatest feature runs of all time, providing amazing verses to Dreamville collaborators Bas and Cozz, 6LACK, Jay Rock, Royce Da 5’9”, Wale, Offset, Ty Dolla $ign, Young Thug and maybe most notably in regards to “The Off-Season,” 21 Savage. On “The Off-Season” documentary, released four days before the album, Cole touched specifically on the feature run. “Do you really want to look back and be like you didn’t work with nobody, you didn’t have no songs with nobody? You just cool with that?” Cole said. “No? Okay, then start saying yes to some features.” Cole treated the feature run as an album and as an opportunity to cement himself not only as a great solo artist but as a sensational collaborator. Then came “Revenge of the Dreamers III (ROTD3),” the third collective project from Cole’s record label, Dreamville, in July 2019. 35 artists and 27 producers made the final cut for the album, many of them being smaller and gaining notability because of Cole. After ROTD3, Cole went dormant. That was until July 2020, when Cole released “Lewis Street,” a two-song EP including the tenth track from “The Off-Season,” “t h e . c l i m b . b a c k.” At the time, these two songs were released as singles for Cole’s next and final album, “The Fall Off.” While “The Fall Off” is still considered to be Cole’s last album, it wasn’t until an Instagram post on Dec. 29, 2020, from Cole that showed a more lengthy timeline, including that his next project would be titled, “The Off-Season.” The beginning of the release process had begun.
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“The Off-Season” This album is special for so many reasons, whether it’s the flawless production, Cole’s flows, his notable and obvious lyricism or the surprise features from 21 Savage, Lil Baby, Morray, 6LACK and Bas. The first listening experience was extremely memorable. When artists hide features in their tracklists, it makes me significantly more curious to hear if someone might hop on the track. Thankfully, Cole did that and then had their names appear on streaming platforms a day later so those artists get their deserved recognition. “9 5 . s o u t h” - A very, very solid introduction to the album. Cam’ron’s and Lil Jon’s vocals fit perfectly over the Boi-1da beat. Cole showcases his ability to rap on and off the beat and still make it sound elite. “a m a r i” - Named after Dreamville’s label manager Ibrahim Hamad’s son, this track is the common story of Cole’s rise from Fayetteville, North Carolina and includes many bars of a braggadocious lifestyle. Cole’s heightened intensity during the middle of this verse elevates this song for me. “m y . l i f e” - This is my favorite song on the album. This song is an instant classic. Cole’s verse is flawless. His lines about Ja Morant to selling out Wrigley’s Field were great. Morray’s hook and 21 Savage’s verse fit perfectly. I don’t know what it is, but when Cole and 21 Savage link up on a soul sample with a simple, rising beat, they deliver. “a p p l y i n g . p r e s s u r e” - This song is the definition of Cole just doing his thing. He’s just rapping to rap and flaunting his wealth over production done entirely by himself. This song includes some of the brashest Cole vocals in his discography. “p u n c h i n ‘ . t h e . c l o c k” - This is my least favorite song on the album. While I understand the purpose of the lyrics about putting the time in and perfecting your craft, I felt as if it wasn’t executed to the standards that Cole sets for himself. “1 0 0 . m i l ‘ “ - I like this song, but I don’t love it like how I love the majority of the tracklist. He’s rapping about topics he’s already covered in better songs on this album. I think he included it because of the vocal intensity he showcases. Bas’ vocals were solid. The Michael B. Jordan line was notably corny and it stands out every time I’ve listened. “p r i d e . i s . t h e . d e v i l” - This is my second favorite song on the album and sets the tone for the second half of the album. The first thing I noticed was the sampling of Aminé’s 2020 song, “Can’t Decide.” Lil Baby’s guest verse is flawless and I normally am not a fan of Lil Baby guest verses. The way he steps in and goes toe-to-toe with Cole is phenomenal. I never expected this collaboration but I am so happy it came to fruition. On top of the exceptional performances by both
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The Release It’s a rare occurrence nowadays for rappers to have a proper, thorough release process and it’s so special when it happens. From November 2020 to May 2021, Cole finished and perfected “The Off-Season.” On May 4, he made it official. “Just know this was years in the making,” Cole said on social media as he finally announced the album release date of May 14 and showcased the cover. Cole released another single, “i n t e r l u d e,” a week prior to the album’s release. Cole had a lot of audacity to release an interlude as a single. It’s goal was to give fans a much-needed teaser and that’s what it did. A few days later, he premiered a 12-minute documentary titled “Applying Pressure: The Off-Season Documentary” on YouTube. The video covered the complete creative process Cole went through to make this album. Hours before the album’s release, Cole shared the official tracklist and producer list. Most notably, the tracklist didn’t include any features. Was this going to be another solo Cole album or were there surprise features? Nobody knew.
Through two weeks, Cole created the most hype for an album that I’ve felt this year. He had set the stage and it was time for the music to perform.
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rappers, the lyrical value of this track is unique and strong. “l e t . g o . m y . h a n d” - This is my third favorite song on the album. This song holds the most lyrical value on the album. The slower, more intentional approach by Cole on track is what makes me love him so much. His wordplay describing his fear of being a father raising aBlack son in America is exceptional. The additional vocals from Bas and 6LACK are fitting. This song is reminiscent of the vibe of “4 Your Eyez Only,” Cole’s 2016 album. “i n t e r l u d e” - This track was a great teaser for the album and it fits its place on the tracklist. While only being about two minutes long, Cole’s lines about his presence at the top of the industry sound good and they make sense on this album. “t h e . c l i m b . b a c k” - The lyrical value of this track is great. After releasing “KOD,” Cole lost some of the love he had for rapping. I love that he made a song directed towards him rediscovering that love and passion. I think this might fly under the radar for some people since it’s been released for 10 months but this track is exceptional. “c l o s e” - As one of the shorter songs of the album, a lot of information is packed into a little bit of time. Cole raps about losing a friend to drugs and gang life while sampling and paying homage to MF DOOM. “h u n g e r . o n . h i l l s i d e” - This is just a great outro. It’s a fitting ending to an amazing album. Bas’ vocals are impressive, once again. His contributions to this project were one of the lowkey highlights of the project. Cole raps about trying to stay the same person, now that he’s found the passion for rapping again, as he navigates through his future. The flaws on this project are tiny. One of the most annoying parts of this project might just be how he spaced out the letters in the tracklist. I think that “p u n c h i n ‘ . t h e . c l o c k” and “1 0 0 . m i l ‘ “ are slightly unnecessary, but that doesn’t make them bad songs. “The Off-Season” feels like an appetizer for a five-course meal. The whole album feels like a teaser for the projects Cole has coming soon. This is easily the best album of the year so far. It has set a high bar for any other album attempting to come for the throne as the album of the year.
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The Future As of right now, Cole is in Rwanda, playing professional basketball for the Rwanda Patriots in the inaugural season of the Basketball African League As it pertains to his music, it looks like he has two more projects left to be released before he hangs up the microphone. According to the Instagram post I referenced earlier, his next project will be titled “It’s A Boy” and his final album will be titled “The Fall Off.” These projects could come as soon as early as this year or as late as years down the road. It all depends on the timing for Cole.
May 19, 2021
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OPINION
How I changed my negative mindset By Ondrea Machin For a long time I always doubted myself and kept thinking I was never good enough or that I would never be good enough for myself or others. I didn’t know that my negative mindset was hindering me from being my best self. For the last four months, I have been changing the way I think about everything and changing my perspective to see the positives throughout my day. Retraining my brain to think positively was a challenge and at first, I didn’t know how to stop thinking negatively. But then, I came across a TikTok video of a creator, @biteswithbuddy, talking about finding one positive thing everyday and making that one positive thing the reason to have a good day. So, I started with that and it was a simple way to start a chain reaction within myself. Looking for one positive thing that happened in my day seemed simple and in the beginning it was not due to previously having a strong negative mindset. I self-sabotaged my progress and began to give up on changing my negative mindset. This TikTok creator also recommended reading the book “The Four
Ondrea Machin Agreements,” by Don Miguel Ruiz and, wow, did that book change my life for the better. This book pointed out that we tend to make agreements with ourselves; for example, when I would say “I’m not good enough,” I made myself believe it was true even though it isn’t. But since I made that agreement, I believed I wasn’t good enough. One of the four agreements that has really helped me change my negative thinking was to not take anything personally. This agreement allowed me to realize that what others do, say
and think about me has nothing to do with me. Instead, their opinions and actions are a projection of themselves that they pushed onto me. Once I stopped taking things personally, I felt much happier and mentally freer. The second agreement that really helped me was to be impeccable with my word. Each day, I try to remember to think positively about myself and others because this agreement surrounds the idea to only say what you mean. If I say negative things about myself it defeats the purpose, but if I use my words in the direction of truth and love, then I can make positive agreements about myself. This agreement is a bit more difficult and I’m still figuring out how to do it. “Don’t make assumptions” is a third agreement in the book and this one is more helpful in not judging others. When we make judgments of people, we are projecting our judgments on them and making them believe our judgment, thus making them agree with our judgment. But making these judgments can cause misunderstandings and create drama. To avoid these issues, it is best
to ask questions, express what you really want and clearly communicate with others. Lastly, the fourth agreement: always do your best. All we can ever do is our best, and it is constantly changing as we change and grow. Doing our best also changes with how we are feeling; for instance, my best will be different when I am healthy from when I am sick. There is a difference between doing my best and doing too much or too little. If I do too much, I deplete my energy and it will take me longer to reach my goals but not doing enough I risk being overly stressed and self-judging. Taking in this agreement can help to avoid self-judgment, self-abuse and regret. I have been on this journey for about four months now and since I decided to make this change, I have never felt better. I am happier than before, I feel more motivated and, honestly, less stressed about life. That’s the thing with having a negative mindset, it made me worry about the “what if’s” of life and had me questioning everything; but now, I am becoming free of past agreements and living my life to the fullest.
Why Asian food beats all the rest By Jackie Tran Asian cuisine is one of, if not the best, types of food out there. Food appeals to people in all kinds of ways. Assaggio Boston, a highly rated Italian restaurant on OpenTable, says, “Food presentation is the key to pulling all five senses into the experience of eating. Hear the food being cooked, smell the ingredients, enjoy the texture as you eat, create an unforgettable taste, and of course, visually taste the food before it ever hits your tongue.” By this definition, what is most important about food is what we can detect using our five senses: touch, taste, smell, hearing and sight. Asian food can easily cover all of the mentioned senses as well as brag about an abundance of health benefits. One of the first things noticeable about cooking is the smell of the food. Asian cuisine is full of spices and fragrant scents that can fill up a room. Take, for example, the slightly nutty aroma of toasted sesame seed oil, or the salty savory scent of oyster sauce or soy sauce. Even sweets bring their own fragrance in the form of ripe or dried fruit such as the coconut scent accompanying Vietnamese sweet rice. The sounds of cooking are also appealing with the hot splashes of sizzling oil from stir frys and the steady sounds of knives mincing through garlic or ginger. In terms of sight, Asian food is far from lacking as many dishes display a glistening array of meats and vibrant vegetables topping rice or noodles. Colors are often present in the food in
the form of the ingredients themselves or the rich sauces that coat them and add flavor. Outside of the food itself, the dishes used to serve the food will commonly have designs of flowers, or bright colors to create a more striking contrast against the food. Some Asian dishes, like the century egg, may seem a little too exotic to try but the flavor generally bridges any gaps in appearance. T o u c h is something that doesn’t
seem related to food as much as a lot of Asian food is picked up with chopsticks; however, there are dishes that are eaten with the hands. In Indian cuisine, it is not uncommon to scoop one’s food up with a piece of naan rather than any utensils. Food Republic says, “Hand-tomouth eating is still a very real custom in parts of Asia, the Middle East and Africa.” Even outside of countries like India,
there are other finger foods such as egg rolls and onigiri. Touch is something you experience with food when you put it in your mouth as well in the form of texture. There is such a diversity of dishes, you will never be lacking in different textures while eating. Finally, taste is still the most important factor. While taste is largely up to the individual, there are flavors galore in Asian cuisine. There are salty dishes as well as savory, sweet, sour, spicy and some that mix a variety of flavors such as Thai sweet and sour pineapple chicken. For the spice lovers, there are dishes that range from a warmth in your mouth to food so hot that there are warnings on the menu. Each county has varying styles and tastes as well so there are plenty of options to try if you prefer one flavor to another. Ingredients also play a critical role in the healthy nature of Asian cooking. While flavors aren’t exactly the same across Asia, there are some ingredients used in several places such as ginger, curry paste, soy sauce, rice wine, lime and several others according to Kitchn. Ginger has long been known to have medicinal benefits according to Healthline and foods like curry that use a lot of spices like turmeric also have a series of health benefits. The large amount of vegetables used in everyday cooking are also ideal for anyone looking to up their vegetable intake. All things considered, Asian food meets and exceeds all of the sense standards and is healthy to boot making it the best food across the board.
Graphic by Rebekah Blum
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May 19, 2021
SPORTS Baseball from Page 1
“This season is going great so far, we are winning games and playing baseball as a team. Our bond as a team has grown and we are headed in the right direction,” Marstiller said. Marstiller said he believed all it tooks to defeat Saint Martin’s was everyone doing their job to the best of their ability and limiting mental mistakes. “We have a great pitching staff and a powerful offense that is going to score a lot of runs. We also have
great team chemistry so as long as we play like we’re capable with high energy as a team, we will come out on top,” Marstiller said. On the victory over MSUB, Marstiller said their confidence and high level of energy gravitated them towards getting the victory. Marstiller said he loves being a part of this group of guys as they’ve built a bond and a brotherhood over the years. The CWU Baseball team will first face the Northwest Nazarene Nighthawks in the GNAC tournament in Nampa, Idaho from May 20-21.
courtesy of CWU Athletics Photo taken by Jacob Photo Thompson/Thompson Sports
Photo taken by Jacob Thompson/Thompson Sports
Photo courtesy of CWU Athletics
• •• • • .•.•••••-.._
CWU baseball relies on teamwork to get them through as they head to the GNAC tournament.
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May 19, 2021
11
SPORTS
GNAC Multi’s Championship: A strong step towards the conference title By Noah Wright With the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Outdoor Track and Field Championship the first week of May, the Wildcat track and field team saw themselves going into the final competition strong. The CWU Multi athletes competed in the GNAC Outdoor Multi’s Championships on May 3-4 and showed promising results despite the additional challenges this year has presented. “Multi’s is a combination of the jumps, sprints and throws,” multi’s coach Brittany Aanstad said. “All the events are then combined together for a total score.” Aanstad said that multi athletes are typically talented in multiple events and that a separate championship gives them the ability to test their skills in a cumulative way. “On the men’s side of the competition, senior Braydon Maier placed first and freshman Ryan Thoma placed third,” Aanstad said. “On the women’s side, sophomore McCall Dechenne placed fourth and freshman Hailey Holsey placed fifth.” According to Aanstad, this is a good result, not only because of the high placings, but also because Maier was the only athlete from CWU that had competed in a Multi’s Championship before. “I think my teammates did really well for it being everyone’s first time at a championship,” said Senior athlete Braydon Maier. Maier said that Thoma did especially well because the decathlon is hard, but Thoma competed at a high level the whole time. Even though Maier secured his victory with 6,776 points, 192 points more than the second-place athlete, he said his performance wasn’t one that he was happy with.
“Even though 192 is a pretty good margin, I have had a better score in the past,” Maier said. “I am happy with the win, but I could’ve done more.” On the women’s side, sophomore athlete McCall Dechenne said that her performance was one that she is happy with. “I think I did well. I came away with a personal best in the hurdles and 800m which are where I get most of my points,” Dechenne said. “The field events weren’t as strong as I had hoped, but they still came out pretty well.” As this was her first year competing at a Multi’s championship, Dechenne said the experience was something she won’t forget. “Having missed the championships last year,” Dechenne said, “I had higher expectations for myself. But this gave me a baseline for what to expect going forward.” Both Dechenne and Maier also took part in the GNAC Outdoor Championship on May 14 and 15. Maier competed in the 110 hurdles, long jump, high jump, javelin, pole vault and 4x400 relay. Dechenne competed in the 100 hurdles, 400 hurdles and 4x400 relay. “The regular championship is a big deal, but I’d say the Multi’s championship helps come into the normal championship a bit more relaxed,” Maier said. “All of us that competed at Multi’s have already performed in a championship, so we aren’t as nervous.” With only a week between the Multi’s championship and the final competition, head coach Kevin Adkisson said his hopes were high for the team. “The men brought home 16 points and the women brought home nine
Photo courtesy of CWU athletics
Brandon Maier running during an event at the GNAC Multi’s Championship. points from the Multi’s championship,” Adkisson said. According to Adkisson, CWU had a jump on the rest of the competition by going into the team championship with some points under their belt. “Usually at meets, the events are scored in descending order,” Adkisson said, “with the first-place athlete getting eight points and the eighth-place athlete getting one point.” Adkisson said having some points already on the board allowed for CWU
to come into the championship with higher confidence. “We didn’t score as many as Seattle Pacific and they are our main competition, but 9 points is better than no points when the competition is close,” Dechenne said. According to Aanstad, there are a lot of athletes to keep an eye on. The GNAC championship is filled with stronger competition and the grander stage brings out a higher performance from the athletes.
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12
May 19, 2021
ENGAGEMENT
PULSE Magazine presents a Q&A with
COOL CAT: ABBY WATERHOUSE Interview by Paije Maas | Photos by Derek Campfield | Design by Itzel Montoya
Teachers are the ones that guide us, and the ones that push us to be our very best. This past year, many teachers may have been struggling to keep their students engaged and on board with online learning. Abby Waterhouse, senior majoring in family and consumer sciences education, is passionate about lifting the spirits of others and letting her students know their growth does not go unnoticed. She is currently a long-term substitute and is reveling in the experience. She has dreamed of being an educator since she was only five years old, and now her passion grows more each day. Here is why you should know this Cool Cat.
What is your favorite childhood memory?
My favorite childhood memory was winning goalie wars at a soccer tournament. I felt like the coolest 12-year-old.
what are some of your hobbies?
Walks by the river, hammocking, playing frisbee golf, tennis, whiffle ball and hiking.
what are your personal goals?
Travel more, turn my weaknesses into strengths, be mindful of the media I consume, and prioritize self-care.
what are your career goals?
My goal is to teach high schoolers in a Family Consumer Science Classroom, and help build a program that uplifts and inspires students to dream big and believe in themselves. I also hope to coach at least one sports at the school I work at.
What are three fun facts about you?
I have five siblings. I have traveled to five out of seven continents. I am a long-term sub at Quincy Middle School right now teaching Health.
what is a quote you live by?
The quote I live by is: “Be somebody who makes everybody feel like a somebody.”
where can we find you hanging out?
The weather has been hot, so, you can find me out on the lake or river floating with my friends.
THIS WEEK ON CAMPUS
19 WED
4-7 p.m. Fresh Check Day SURC, SURC Patio East, SURC North Lawn Area 5:30-6:30 p.m. Multiple Marginalization: The Intersection of Gender, Sexuality and Immigration Public Lecture*
23 SUN
International Turtle Day
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20 THURS
12-2 p.m. Virtual Career Trek with Albertsons Supply Chain* 7-9 p.m. Geek Out, Game Out SURC Rooms 137A and 137B, SURC Pit (100C), *
24 MON
11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Blood Drive with the American Red Cross SURC Rooms 137A and 137B 7-9 p.m. Student Appreciation Monday Movie Madness: Wonder Woman 1984 - Recreation Sports Complex
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21 FRI
4-7 p.m. PolyGrad Drive Up Celebration - SURC Patio East
25 TUES
3-5 p.m. Student Appreciation: Club Fest - SURC North Lawn Area 4-5 p.m. Taco Tuesday with Latinx Alumni Association - SURC Patio East
22 SAT
10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Mountain Bike Trail Ride - Outdoor Pursuits & Rentals Patio 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sport Clubs: Dance Tryouts SURC Group Exercise Room 287
26 WED
4-7 p.m. Student Appreciation: ESC Spring Block Party - SURC Patio East *Virtual Location for Online Events
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