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Meet Ellensburg’s first poet laureate See Page 4
Baseball team steps to the plate, starts their season
Criticizing University 101: a freshman’s perspective See Page 8
See Page 10
Vol. 127 NO. 5
February 8, 2024
By the students, for the students (Photo courtesy of CWU University Relations)
Raymond Santana
Speaks with The Observer ASCWU finalizes letter standing in solidarity with Palestine
Layla Taha Staff Reporter
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s a first-hand victim of the brutalities of the state, Raymond Santana is now the voice for the voiceless. On April 19, 1989, a night in Central Park for then 14-year-old Santana would forever alter the trajectory of his life. An Evening With Raymond Santana: One Man’s Journey From Wrongful Imprisonment to Exoneration, was held on Feb. 1, in the McIntyre Music Building. Santana shared the simultaneously heartbreaking and enraging story of his wrongful conviction that led to his exoneration. In 1989, Santana, along with four other boys, Korey Wise, Kevin Richardson, Antron McCray and Yusef Salaam, would all be wrongfully convicted of attempted homicide and rape of Trisha Meili. At the time, these boys ranged in age from 14 to 16. Although there was little to no evidence supporting the fact that these boys had committed these crimes – other than the coerced confessions they gave after 15 to 30 hours of vicious interrogations – these boys would spend the rest of their teenage years and crucial years of their adult lives in prison.
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Isaac Hinson Editor-in-chief
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he Associated Students of CWU (ASCWU) student government organization finalized a letter standing in solidarity with Palestine amidst the ongoing ethnic cleansing in Gaza and elsewhere. The conflict, which has been deemed attempted genocide by the International Court of Justice, has been a topic of concern and debate amongst ASCWU for weeks now. As recently as ASCWU’s general assembly meeting on Jan. 22, a motion to reject an older version of the letter was made by Eliasib Alvarado, representative of the First-Generation Student Organization. Now, just over two weeks later, the letter has made it past the voting process and been sent to the public. “Dear Wildcat and Ellensburg Community, The Associated Students of Central Washington University wish to bring heightened awareness to the atrocities of the conflict between Israel and Palestine.
We recognize the Israeli aggression against Palestine as attempted genocide, as determined by the International Court of Justice. We stand in solidarity with the Palestinian people, our students, and all others facing this monstrous action both overwaters and in our own community impacted by this conflict and mourn the losses of all parties involved. At Central Washington University we have a mission focused on equity and belonging, it is important to recognize that work extends beyond the perimeters of our campus. We do this by engaging in efforts to resolve injustice wherever we see it and honoring the impact injustice surely has on all of us. We call on our university and Ellensburg community to extend resources to people being directly impacted by this conflict. We also call on our community to stay informed about this conflict and to join efforts to raise awareness and, most importantly, urge our local and state representatives to call for an immediate ceasefire. Sincerely, The Associated Students of Central Washington University.”
“The process of the letter was more complicated than I anticipated,” said ASCWU president Malik Cantu in a statement to The Observer. “Truthfully, I am disappointed that it took this long. The fact we had to wait almost 3 months before it finally came together is ridiculous, but it is, admittedly, a reflection of my leadership. I take that responsibility and will move forward certain to do better responding to student needs.” Cantu continued with acknowledgment towards the students who pushed ASCWU to make a statement. “However, I am proud of everyone who spoke up and contributed to the conversation,” said Cantu. “It takes incredible bravery to advocate for your needs and to engage in such heavy work but my colleagues and the students advocating for this letter demonstrated that bravery and more. ASCWU will continue to engage in conversations about how to support students being impacted by this conflict and I hope that students will continue to engage with us.”