101
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
A
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.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Isaac Hinson Editor-in-chief
T
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.”
Page 02
February 8, 2024
Beyond Our Coverage Local
National
Global
CWU volunteers, both students and staff, help build homes for Habitat for Humanity in Northern Ellensburg, according to the Daily Record. Dubbed ‘Stuart Meadows,’ the housing development will consist of 18 homes primarily designed for low-income Kittitas Valley families and community members.
Donald Trump is currently ahead of President Joe Biden in the elections today. According to the Boston Herald, Biden’s approval rates have dropped down to a low of 37% mainly because of his current handling of the war between Israel and Palestine.
Poor ice conditions on the Rideau Canal have forced organizers of the Ottawa Ice Dragon Boat Festival to cancel upcoming races. According to CBC, it’s the second straight year that mild weather has forced the cancellation of the race events. The previous two years saw the festival canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The public is invited to meet the final candidates for the post of superintendent of the Ellensburg School District later this month. According to the Daily Record, “Three public sessions with the candidates are planned at 5 p.m. Monday, Feb. 12; 5 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 13; and 5 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 14 at Ida Nason Aronica Elementary. The meetings will be held as special meetings of the school board.” Unity Park in downtown Ellensburg to be decorated with art by Kittitas County grade school students during construction, according to the Daily Record. Based on the prompt — “What does unity look like?” —15 pieces by young artists will be featured on banners displayed on the temporary fencing around the park’s construction zone. The Unity Park remodel will consist of a half-acre gathering space, removing existing structures and parking.
The US House has voted against the legislation to send $17.6 billion to Israel. According to CBS News, this bill required two thirds of the House to pass, but only received 250 votes out of the 430 possible. The US House failed to impeach Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas. According to CNN, the impeachment articles brought up against Mayorkas stated that he had committed high crimes and misdemeanors for his handling on the southern border.
A thick fog on the road has caused a string of car crashes on Monday in northern Italy, killing at least three people and injuring dozens, according to officials. More than 150 vehicles were bottled up on the road following the crashes, which caused the temporary closure of more than 70 kilometers of the A-22 highway in Emilia-Romagna, between Reggiolo and Carpi. The 171-run stand between the skipper and Sachin Dhas for the fifth wicket, after they were reduced to 32/4 in pursuit of 245, helped India beat South Africa and enter the fifth straight U-19 World Cup final. According to Indian Express, Punjab’s Ranji Trophy skipper Mandeep Singh remembers a teenager who came along to challenge his dominance at the yo-yo test. That boy, Uday Saharan, not only showed impressive fitness but also caught the eye with his leadership skills.
Letter from the Editor Can you hear the music CWU? We’re over halfway through the quarter now, and in turn over halfway through my first tenure as Editor-in-chief of The Observer. I was anticipating being exhausted physically, mentally and emotionally at this point of the term, but I’m thrilled to say that I have actually never felt more motivated and fulfilled with my work. This is due in large part to my fantastic editors and writers this quarter, who I would like to take a moment to acknowledge. I am so so so proud of each and every one of our staff reporters this quarter, I truly think we have a spectacular group. Each of them has gotten better every week as they bring their own unique insights and talents to the newsroom. I couldn’t have asked for a better group of writers for my first quarter. As for my editors… wow. There have never been more laughs shared at a design night in my six quarters here. What a special and talented collection of people. How this quarter has turned out just makes my heart full. And once again, big ups to our designers. Shout out. We’ve got a great issue in store for you this week, you’ve hopefully already started to read our front page story about Raymond Santana, which features an exclusive interview that goes beyond what was covered at the event. Just look to the page next to me to finish that story. We’ve also got a profile on Ellensburg’s new Poet Laureate, coverage on the men’s baseball team, a wide variety of opinion pieces and coverage of this Sunday’s Super Bowl. Personally, I’ve got KC taking it home. I’ve spent the better part of my conscious adult life watching Patrick Mahomes win Super Bowls, and the only person who has ever been able to stop him is Tom Brady. No offense, but I don’t think Brock Purdy is gonna be the next guy to do it. Thanks for reading, ‘til next week, Photo by Megan Foster
Isaac
By the students, for the students
Editor-in-chief Isaac Hinson
Copy Desk Lead / Opinion Editor Megan Foster
Scene Editor
Isaac Dobmeier
Faculty Adviser/ Editorial Consultant Francesco Somaini
Sports Editor Charis Jones
News Editor
Winnie Killingsworth
Graphic Designers
Brandon Davis, Z Morris
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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Staff Reporters
Lee Beck Devanee Lopez Raya Miron Astor Powell-Pedersen Jackson Roberts Layla Taha
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Page 03
February 8, 2024
Raymond Santana: a voice for the voiceless
It wasn’t until 2002, when most of the boys had already finished serving their sentence for the wrongful conviction, that the actual criminal, Matias Reyes, confessed that he, and he alone, was in fact guilty in the Central Park Jogger case. You may be wondering how these boys were convicted of this heinous crime with little to no evidence supporting that they had done so. This grave injustice occurred because it was a failure of the state institutions, or rather, the state institutions working in the way they were intended to all along. Santana and the other four exonerated were not just failed by the justice system and the police; they were also failed by journalists. Once news broke out about their case in 1989, media companies were quick to slander the boys in outwardly racist coverage of the case. Luckily, Santana said in this regard he was ‘blessed’. “I never made bail,” Santana said. “So I stood inside the whole time… I was kind of sheltered from that a little bit [when he was on trial and while serving time in prison].” However, once Santana was out of prison, that was a different story.“Once I started to understand the magnitude of when I got out… [it was like] walking on eggshells,” Santana said. “Socially, it was hard… The sentence that was given wasn’t just a death sentence, but it was social death.” The economic repercussions Santana faced were just as challenging for him.“It was difficult to obtain employment,” Santana said. “There were no jobs for me… I’m filling out applications, and I am getting rejected… that’s what I had to realize ultimately, that once it has a hold on you, it’s very hard to get loose.” The emotional impacts Santana faced after prison came as a shock to Santana. “If I was eating food, I would eat it in like 2.5 seconds,” Santana said. “If I took a shower… I would get in the shower with my boxers on… and then if there was somebody who was interested in a relationship and she had a child, no [that wouldn’t work] because I was considered a level three sex offender… that’s what ultimately led me back to recidivism because of all those aspects.” Santana today has used his unfortunate experience to shed light on the horrors of the prison and justice system. Santana is cur-
rently doing work for the Innocence Project, a nonprofit organization aimed at freeing wrongfully convicted prisoners and working to reform the criminal justice system. Through events like the one held on Feb. 1 at CWU, Santana aims to bring about change and highlight the work American politicians need to do to bring about that change. “I feel like they [current American politicians] say nothing… the politicians have given us broken promises, and they [have] let us down so many times,” Santana said. “Even dealing with our [his and the four other boys’ wrongful conviction of the Central Park jogger case] we go through an 11-year civil suit with the city, and we went to the politicians. A lot of them [would say] ‘we’ll help you,’ and they never did.” One of the issues Santana fights to change, as he has first-hand experience with it in prison, is the continuation of slave labor as prefaced in the 13th amendment. Santana, having worked in prison, carries a strong and insightful view on this. “You have to do something about that… because here it is that the system is operating on a level of punishment and not rehabilitation… and the only reason why they do that is because they’re chasing those million-dollar budgets,” Santana said. In prison, Santana worked in a tailor shop and expressed how poor working conditions were, “The highest you can make… was 45 cents per hour… you start at like 16 cents [per hour].” Santana’s work with the Innocence Project attempts to highlight and bring justice to similar wrongful conviction cases. “There have been over 300 exonerations… we know that a great population in prison are innocent… we know that for a fact… we know that because due to trumped up charges and how NYPD runs the system… and [how] the district attorney runs the system… and nobody’s doing anything about it because everybody’s getting paid.” Cases like Santana’s leave the country to wonder what can be said about the systems in America. Santana, in his inspiring closing point, had this to say, “[it] says that those of us who are against it got a lot of work to do… we got to figure out a way how … [to] turn the system from being punishment back to rehabilitation.”
Mal Stewman.
Diversity and Equity Center director. (Photo courtesy of CWU University Relations)
CONTINUED
FROM FRONT PAGE Raymond Santana. (Photo courtesy of CWU University Relations)
Students paying close attention to Santana. (Photo courtesy of CWU University Relations)
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Page 04
February 8, 2024
Connection through poetry
Lee Beck Staff Reporter
A
rt is everywhere in Ellensburg, whwether it be murals on the side of historic buildings, or music ringing through the summer air. But, where can we find Kittitas Valley’s literary arts? Look no further than Marie Marchand, Ellensburg’s first poet laureate and one of eleven official poet laureates in Washington. The Ellensburg position was implemented after previous arts commissioner Cassandra Town noticed the arts scene in Ellensburg was vibrant and growing, yet lacking in the literary aspect. Thus, through a grant from the Ellensburg Arts Commission, the Ellensburg poet laureate position came to fruition. Marie Marchand is serving the second year of her two-year civic position as Ellensburg’s poet laureate. Her position ends June 31, after which a search will be conducted for the new poet laureate, who will start in January of 2025. “It’s been an honor serving in the role.” Marchand said. She also noted her excitement to see what someone else will do with the position, and how she wants to support them. So what does a poet laureate do? It all dates back to 14th century Rome, specifically to Francesco Petrarco, often called Petrarch. Petrarch was a prolific poet, writing over 350 sonnets over his lifetime. Inspired by the tenacity of this man, 17th century nobles would often have poets in their courts to write and recite poems about important events, such as the birth of a new heir. Now, poet laureates will do something similar, just not for kings. They will organize and attend events for the city, and write or recite poetry at them. Marchand also wrote the city poem, which can
be found in Ellensburg City Hall. Marchand, being a peer counselor in her day-to-day life, wants to foster connection and a feeling of value through this position. She also mentioned poetry as a personal healing modality. “I write poetry and read poetry to heal my mind and my soul,” Marchand said. “As poet laureate I try to lead workshops that foster self-discovery and community building.” One way she does this is by hosting poetry nature walks, the next of which is May 11 at noon. Marchand’s personal poetry is heavily inspired by aspects of nature, “There are so many rich metaphors in nature. It’s easier to teach poetry outside,” Marchand said. She chose these nature walks to help inspire others to write poetry. Marchand attends events held by other organizations as well as organizing her own. Marchand recently attended the CWU Chamber Choir retreat, where she held a poetry workshop. She mentioned that groups at CWU occasionally invite her to lead these workshops as a team-building exercise. “I think the most important part of the job is connection,” Marchand said. She felt that fostering a greater connection between CWU and the Ellensburg community was important to her as poet laureate. Marchand mentioned some collaborations with CWU throughout her tenure, including the CWU Chamber Choir performing a poem she had written at city hall in April 2023. She said her favorite thing to do as poet laureate was write for musical composition. Marchand mentioned another collaborative event with CWU student Mariah Sebastiani, the upcoming open mic at NuWave Gallery on March 7 at 5:30 p.m.. “I write a lot about how the metaphors in nature affect my life; my
mind, my emotional life,” Marchand said. She mentions the metaphor of surrender she feels from rivers, noting the magnificence of the Columbia River. Marchand also spoke openly about poetry’s effect on her mental health journey, and how poetry has helped her to discover much about herself. “I think a poem is successful if it makes you happy and when it reveals something about you that you didn’t know before,” Marchand said. Despite being a published poet, Marchand still frequently gets rejected after submitting a piece for publication, often calling it the “poetry industrial complex.” Continuing with: “Poets are soft empaths, so it’s hard for us to get rejected,” Marchand said. She mentioned how she liked to give poems to people as gifts to thwart these feelings of rejection, and to simultaneously make someone else feel valued.
Art by Linnea Tobias
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Marie Marchand, (photo courtesy of Sami Jo Photo)
CWU Observer
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Page 05
February 8, 2024
Winnie Killingsworth News Editor
E January February
3
Barbie
10
Mythology
7
14 Taylor Swift
17 Dance Moms 24
Grey’s Anatomy
28 R&B Music
Disney
March
31 Adventure Time
6
Sitcoms
- 6 p.m. 2024 5Every Wednesday
Trivia Nights
In the Learning Commons
Come join the Peer Mentors in weekly trivia; where you’ll have the chance to win prizes and show off your mad trivia skills!
veryone has something they love and know a lot about. Getting to see if they know more than their peers for clout and a fun prize is what CWU students and others can now do on a weekly basis. Madalyn Hagan, a sophomore, said “I like the social atmosphere and to test myself. [To] see what I really know.” In Brooks Library, the Learning Commons is hosting a trivia night on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. this quarter at. Thus far, topics for trivia have included “Barbie,” mythology, “Dance Moms,” Disney, “Grey’s Anatomy”, and “Adventure Time.” Emily LaPlante, a graduate peer mentor at the Learning Commons, was the lead for prep for “Adventure Time” trivia. “It’s my comfort show that I watch all the time, so it’s really fun to share that with everyone and bond over it with people who come to trivia,” she said. The process of the trivia happening has been in the works since fall quarter. The team of peer mentors all work to make sure that each week will be fun and well done for everyone to enjoy. They dedicate hours to do deep dives into resources to prepare for the hour long trivia events each week. “When I was working on the “Adventure Time” trivia, I spent hours scouring the internet for the best artwork to use for each section of questions,” LaPlante said. “We want our trivia to be fun, but we want to have done enough research that we know our answers are right.”
As for the trivia nights for the rest of the quarter, the remaining topics are Taylor Swift on Feb. 14, R&B music on Feb. 28 and sitcoms on March 6. Each week there are prizes for winners that are often themed to the trivia focus. Simply for attending, you can get a raffle ticket for a grand prize that will be drawn at the end of the quarter. The more you attend and when you win, you get more tickets for the grand prize. There is even another way to earn raffle tickets. “If you’re extra motivated by the mystery grand prize, make an appointment with a peer mentor for up to three extra raffle entries,” LaPlante said. With over half of the trivia events for the quarter done, the future of trivia is still up in the air. The return of trivia spring quarter is not yet known. LaPlante said that “feedback from students could definitely help sway us one way or another.” The Learning Commons are not just open for trivia. The peer mentors offer a variety of resources to students to help with general college skills. LaPlante also encouraged all students to visit the Learning Commons. “If you want us to hold more events like this in the future we need students to utilize our services,” she said. “Our website has tons of information – like how to make an appointment with us. If you have questions or want to chat about things you’d like to see the peer mentors do next, feel free to email our supervisor Madison at madison.vanravenhorst@cwu.edu.”
Trivia themes courtesy of the Learning Commons Sponsored by The Learning Commons & CWU Libraries
CWU is an AA/EEO Title IX Institution. Anyone with a disability that needs accommodations to attend these event should contact Disability Services at (509) 963-2214 at least 72 hours in advance.
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SUPERBOW in Las Vegas Page 06
Jackson Roberts Staff Reporter
T
he NFL conference championships have wrapped up and fans finally have their answer for who will be playing in the 2024 Super Bowl. The San Francisco 49ers will take on the Kansas City Chiefs for the NFL’s 57th Super Bowl matchup. The game will take place on Sunday, Feb. 11 at 3:30 p.m. located at Allegiant Stadium, the home of the Las Vegas Raiders. The two teams faced off in the 2020 Super Bowl where the Chiefs came out on top 31-20. Both teams looked a little different and have adjusted since then but most of the key players remain. For the Chiefs they lost superstar receiver Tyreek Hill. The 49ers lost their quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, but second year quarterback Brock Purdy has replaced him well, bringing the 49ers back to the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are looking to go back-toback winning two Super Bowls in a row. They took on the Philadelphia Eagles last year and the Chiefs won in a high scoring matchup of 38-35. This win secured quarterback Patrick Mahomes along with many other Chiefs players their second Super Bowl triumph. All eyes have been on the Chiefs’ tight end Travis Kelce this year as he is publicly dating globally recognized pop superstar Taylor Swift. She has attended many games and the camera is always panned in her direction. It has been one of the biggest storylines of the year and now she has an opportunity to watch her boyfriend bring in more hardware. Swift was just awarded her fourth Album of the Year from at Grammys; so if Kelce secures a win this weekend, it will be a big week for the two. The 49ers have yet to win a Super Bowl win since 1995 against the then San Diego Chargers. They have a defense built for championships, Fred Warner and Nick Bosa are some of the best at their respective positions. They each are one of six players
who have made an all pro team for the 49ers. They are very deep at nearly every position and even with injuries they have had someone step up. Their offense was boosted once they added one of the best running backs in the NFL in Christian McCaffrey. The Observer conducted a poll on their Instagram account @CWUObserver, and found that 80% of the polled followers think that Kansas City is going to win. Offline, that consensus doesn’t seem to be completely shared. Sophomore accounting major Josh Durfee shared his thoughts on the matchup. “I have the 49ers,” he said. “As far as I believe they’ve got the pieces on every level of both sides of the ball.” Durfee made sure to acknowledge the greatness of Mahomes saying, “I think he goes down as the most talented QB of all time.” Junior accounting and management major Gavin Bradford broke down the 49ers roster and the reasons he also believes they will come out on top. “They’ve had a championship roster for years and have never been so loaded with talent,” Bradford said. “The Niners are not only filled with talent, but great NFL stories like Purdy and McCaffrey.” Much like Seahawks fans being matched up with the 49ers twice a year for divisional games, Bradford is a Denver Broncos fan who sees the Chiefs two times a season. Seeing that Mahomes’ career record is 12-1 against the Broncos, Bradford has witnessed what this quarterback is capable of many times. Giving his overall opinion of the Chiefs’ success, Bradford said “Putting bias aside, Patrick Mahomes and Andy Reid have done
remarkable things that have not been done since Tom Brady and Bill Belichick and have deserved all the accolades given.” Mahomes has had much success in the playoffs in his career. In his six years starting as quarterback for Kansas City, Mahomes has made the American Football Conference Championship Game every season. Despite the early struggles of the season he has still shown up in the playoffs like usual. Second year secondary math education major and Seahawks fan Cole Miller drew upon his own experiences having seen the Chiefs’ playoff success and took this into consideration when he made his call, “I’ve got the Kansas City Chiefs; I think that Patrick Mahomes in the playoffs is just a different beast,” Miller said. “It would take a quarterback opposite him better than Brock Purdy to win.” Purdy was the number 262 pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. That pick is the last pick of the entire draft and is always known as “Mr. Irrelevant.” He has been far from irrelevant so far in his career and now he is taking on Mahomes and the Chiefs at the biggest stage in football.
Brock Purdy. (Photo courtesy of Pexels.com)
(Art by Brandon Davis)
WL SUNDAY
Page Page 07 07
Patrick Mahomes.
(Art by Brandon Davis)
76% CHIEFS
Polled from @CWUObserver on Instagram.
24%
Fantasy Football Trophy. (Photo courtesy of Pexels.com)
49ers
101 Page 08
February 8, 2024
The failure of University 101 Astor Powell-Pedersen Columnist
I
t’s no secret to any first-year student here at CWU that the required University 101 course in the 2023 fall quarter was something akin to a trainwreck. At CWU, along with all of your other classes in your first fall quarter, every student is required to take University 101. The purpose of this single-credit class is supposedly to prepare students for the rest of college and to introduce them to standards, policies and campus resources in a more expansive way than simply attending Week of Welcome. Or so I’ve heard because this year’s incoming class experienced something a little different. In past years, University 101 has been a physical, in-person class that students take, to learn the basics of college life. It’s never been perfect, no class ever really is, so this year it seems that CWU decided to go a different direction with it. Instead of taking a class, students were instructed to download the Suitable app on their phone, attend Week of Welcome and follow the canvas page. Easy enough, right? Attend an event that you had to anyway, scan a barcode and get it over with. And for the most part, that’s all it was, at least for the first week. Sure, there was always
a technical issue here or there, and yeah, maybe some of the events felt a bit boring or redundant, but what else was there to do? Problems started at the same time that general classes began. Aside from Week of Welcome, the main part of University 101 was attending events on your own time. We had to attend workshops for general education and academic planning, as well as twelve other events, three in each category of stewardship, belonging, engagement and student success. These were normal campus activities, things you’d find in the Hype booklets, and you had to go in at the beginning of the quarter and mark down on a Google form which activity you would be doing for each category. But being outside events run by different organizations across campus and not by our (in nothing but name) professor, events were all at different times, different places, and of course, subject to change or cancellation. In my first quarter, my classes were all in the afternoon, and then I worked almost every day in the evening. This meant that even after I planned each event around my class schedule, let my boss know what days I couldn’t work for the entire quarter and made sure to get all of my events lined up in my calendar, things still went wrong.
‘Saltburn’: “Brilliant, shocking
Class is hard enough in your first quarter of college when you don’t have a professor sending you to events that got canceled without any notification, and then blaming you for not knowing to check a site that you were never provided for updates. And yet, that is exactly what happened to many students throughout the quarter. I think the idea was fun, alright? Getting students to come together across campus, giving us an excuse and a reason to socialize outside of classes and make new friends. But it becomes an unreasonable request when the required events are completely out of the instructor’s control and, quite frankly, completely unrelated to any real learning. Students who have to work their way through college should not fear that they are going to fail a required class because they cannot make it to eat cookies with police officers or play video games in the SURC. Students should not have to skip their real classes to attend these events. I do not feel like I learned anything from this year’s University 101 class, making it a waste of time and money that quite frankly I do not have. I hope that next year’s incoming class can get more out of it than we did.
Barry Keoghan as Olvier standing above chaos. (Photo courtesy of Amazon, MGM Studios)
and unexpected”
Raya Miron Columnist
I
t’s a murder on the dance floor, but you better not kill the groove hey-hey, heyhey. Frankly I think when anyone hears the song “Murder on the Dancefloor” by Sophie Ellis-Bextor, we are all just going to think of a naked man running around dancing because of this movie. “Saltburn” is a film that was released at the end of 2023 and is labeled as a comedy/thriller that is rated R. I personally feel “Saltburn” should have a jump scare warning, it was brilliant, shocking and unexpected. When I was watching “Saltburn,” I had no idea what to expect or what it was even about. All I heard was the rave about how Jacob Elordi was really hot in it and so obviously I had to watch it. “Saltburn” is a film about, “A student at Oxford University who finds himself drawn into the world of a charming and aristocratic which his classmate is. His classmate invites him to his eccentric fam-
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ily’s sprawling estate for a summer never to be forgotten,” (IMDB.com). Barry Keoghan also known in the movie as Oliver Quick has this obsession with Elordi known as Felix Catton. Quick says he has a “hard” family life, so Catton tries to take him in as one of his own and that is where the obsession starts because Quick has never been seen by anyone. One thing I surely recognized while watching this movie is that it moves really really slow. I felt almost bored watching it until the intriguing things happened. When looking at other people’s reviews of the movie, they enjoyed how slow it went and the development of each actor, but I was not a fan. I enjoy fast-paced movies where you can’t predict the ending. But once the bathtub scene hit, the pace of this movie started to pick up. But I will admit I did not predict the end of this one. Another thing I noticed was that movies nowadays are set in current time, but this movie was set in 2006. It had that aesthetic of fuzzy quality, really long and
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very dark. I don’t know how I feel about it though, the aesthetic of this movie seems like 2006 is too early for it to be a thing, I see it more as a 1990s-type movie. Something that was pretty special about this movie was the soundtrack they used. There is a ton of popular songs in this movie and a lot of people recognized and made the movie even better. This movie holds a lot of nostalgia for watchers because of the fact it is set back in 2006 and the soundtrack is made up of songs from back then. As crazy, and some may say disturbing, as “Saltburn” is, it is a masterpiece. The director put this film together beautifully and hit every category needed to make this film successful. From picking to correct actors to setting the scene to the font and type of movie. Everything fit the aesthetic and was executed perfectly. Everyone will have their own thoughts and opinions, and this movie is not for everyone, but it is worth the watch. In the words of singer Sophie Ellis-Bextor, it’ll “blow you all away.”
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February 8, 2024
OPINION SECTION
Winnie Killingsworth Columnist
T
ouchdown! First down! Pass interference! I’ve heard these words my entire life. Both my parents, each of their fathers and now my sister, husband and father-in-law say them. Even I am saying them now. For a long time, I hated football. I didn’t understand it and no one would explain it as the NFL game was on so I could see what they meant. I’d call the games modern day gladiator fights. My husband also watches arena football. His favorite NFL player, Kurt Warner, actually started in arena football. I went to a couple games with my husband and father-in-law. Hated it. I’d start seeing red when drunk men would fearlessly yell vulgar slurs and personal insults at players simply for being on the other team. Some bought seats by the visiting teams benches just to verbally assault and demean whoever their team was up against that game. I never thought of any of them as much of a mastermind and still hope karma comes home for them. The NFL actually is a part of me and my husband’s love story. It’s a moment I remember all too well. When we were dating, he was watching a game and I was next to him, bored by the game and wanting to spend time with him. Something on screen happened and my now-husband and his father reacted in a way that piqued my interest. I asked a question to understand why. My husband turned away from watching the game and gave me his full attention as he answered. I had expected to be ignored or told I would be answered later. This showed me that this guy I was dating was a keeper. Then, for our wedding, my two little brothers were the ring bearers and wore football jerseys from the bride and groom’s respective teams and walked down the aisle holding footballs. I wasn’t really a football fan yet though. I just wanted to have fun at my wedding. Every year, my husband and I host a Super Bowl party. Even before I was a football fan, I loved the community the Super Bowl creates through the game itself, the commercials, the halftime show and the food. But last year, that all changed.
LOOK WHAT YOU MADE ME DO:
FOOTBALL FAN EDITION Are you ready for it…? Super Bowl LVII where the Kansas City Chiefs and the Philadelphia Eagles faced off to see who would win the reputation of being the best team in the NFL was part of what really hooked me into football. The Kelce brothers playing on opposite teams felt like I was watching a feature film before it was made. I also love getting to watch and talk football with my little sister and my husband. If I facetime her during a game, she and my husband will start talking and I won’t have a phone till I take it back or the phone dies. In September 2023, my sister and I went to the Seahawks first home game of the season. It was against the Los Angeles Rams, which is my husband’s team, so I was especially hopeful I’d get to see my team beat the Rams live and torment my husband about it when I got home. Unfortunate-
ly the Seahawks didn’t win but I adored being there. And thankfully my husband was a gracious winner and didn’t gloat when I got home. I’m also a swiftie (can you find the easter eggs in this??), so when Taylor Swift started being seen with, and then officially started dating Travis Kelce, I was even more into watching football; especially the Chiefs games. Getting to explain to my husband the references to Swift that show up during the games makes my day. It’s fun to get to explain something to him after all these years of him answering my questions about football that will continue to keep coming for evermore. The more I watch, the more I come to appreciate the strategy and physical prowess of the game. AND I’m slowly getting the language right! Although, I don’t always get it right. I’m excited to learn more and watch more as time goes on.
Killingsworth and her sister at the seahawks season opener. (Photo by Winnie Killingsworth)
Killingsworth’s sister cheering for the Bengels when they played the Rams in Super Bowl LVI. (Photo by Winnie Killingsworth)
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Page 10
February 8, 2024
A SWING AND A MISS FOR CWU BASEBALL
CWU baseball leaves the huddle before the start of their first match against UBC. (Photo courtesy of Jacob Thompson / Thompson Sports Media)
Devanee Lopez Staff Reporter
T
he CWU men’s baseball season is officially underway as they traveled to Bellingham, Washington where they had an unfortunate start to the season. On Saturday, Feb. 3 they competed in a double-header against the University of British Columbia (UBC) Thunderbirds and fell short in both matches. The Wildcats were originally set to start their season on Thursday, Feb. 1 against Concordia University Irvine in California but this was delayed as the game was canceled due to weather conditions.The team will now be traveling to California today, Thursday, Feb. 9 for a double-header against the Cal State San Bernardino Yotes. “We’re not going to California right away with the cancellation of the games,” senior pitcher Alex Brady said. “But when we went to California last year, we didn’t start as hot. I think our goal is to start a little bit harder this year, and kind of come together a little bit quicker than we did last year. Getting off to a good start is a good momentum boost for us and I think we’re ready to do that.” The team has been playing mostly indoors for the past two seasons; last season they practiced in a gym for
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four weeks before they were able to touch an outdoor field. “We’re inside not even touching the baseball field,” senior pitcher Reid Rasmussen said. “So the grit that we had to continue to do the same thing over and over for four weeks shows that we have a lot to prove. I think that’s what people don’t think about.” Seeing that Ellensburg, Washington is often faced with adversarial weather conditions that limit the team’s capacity to train, they’ve had to adapt in order to stay afloat. The team also suffered heavy losses in the offseason as they are short almost a dozen players from last year. “We [have] got to keep everyone healthy, we don’t have a lot of numbers, so we [have] got to stay healthy in that aspect that I can’t lose any players,” head baseball coach Desi Storey said. Despite these factors outside of their control, the Wildcats’ goal this season is to make it to the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) tournament and win it. Despite their struggles last season, CWU hopes to have a more successful campaign.
CWU was ranked third place in the GNAC preseason coaches poll. This had no effect on Rasmussen, “It doesn’t matter. May is what matters. [It] doesn’t matter what people think now, it matters how we’re playing them in May and when we want to put a ring on our finger.” Rasmussen stated. While Western Oregon University clinched first place in the same poll, Storey shared Rasmussen’s tunnel vision approach. “I don’t take much shock in the preseason polls to be honest,” Storey said. “It’s based on past history, [and] has nothing to do with where we are now … Our rivalry goes back 20 plus years, we’re similar schools, both state schools, so it’s a good rivalry.”
Senior pitcher Reid Rasmussen on the mound.
(Photo courtesy of Jacob Thompson / Thompson Sports Media)
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February 8, 2024
Page 11
Cativities Leaky Windows Megan Foster
TAYLOR & TRAVIS
My window is leaking again The slow trickle of the water down the pane And the puddle on the sill
CROSSWORD
I patched the leak Now the trickle may stop And the puddle may dry But every winter it happens again The cold slips in through the cracks And the warmth fades away I hate this time of year It just feels exactly the same And they always say it gets easier So I’m waiting For the rain to stop And for the time to change
Across 1. What was “Lover” going to be called initially? 3. What was on the matching friendship bracelets? 6. Where did the guy on the Chiefs show up? 7. Who is Taylor named after? 10. What is Taylor’s new position? 11. What was the car they were spotted in?
Down 2. What does Travis have a bachelor’s degree in? 4. What is the tagline for the Kelce’s podcast? 5. What is the name of Travis’s clothing brand? 8. What reality show was Travis on? 9. What is Travis’s nickname for Taylor? 12. What is the first song Taylor wrote?
Key to Crossword in next issue @CWUObserver
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Page 12
February 8, 2024
is your Wildcat Words What Super Bowl LVIII prediction?
Jahmari Stith
Fr. Accounting
Fr. Criminal Law
“Taylor Swift’s team.”
Gerardo Lopez-Medina
“The Chiefs just because they’re better.”
Interdisciplinary Studies & Anthropology Major Elise Bingay is a senior at CWU. She moved to Ellensburg from Everett in 2020 to further her education and pursue her passions. Bingay is double majoring at CWU to graduate with a degree in interdisciplinary studies and anthropology. After graduation, Bingay plans to continue her journey and pursue her masters.
Elise Bingay
Q&A compiled by Megan Foster (Photo courtesy of Elise Bingay)
A A & & Q Q
Why did you decide to come to CWU? “I decided to come to Central for a few reasons. Firstly CWU had programs that were within my interests, specifically being Interdisciplinary Social Science, Anthropology, and American Sign Language. Although I didn’t know what I wanted to major in yet, knowing I had three options was extremely appealing to me. Secondly, I fell in love with the campus. It was a sunny spring day and the size of the campus was large enough to feel like I had space but small enough that I wouldn’t get lost. Thirdly, the location would allow me to feel far away enough from home, but close enough to drive back in only a few hours.” What influenced your decision to attend CWU? “I got into Anthropology because I love the study of people, and CWU’s Anthropology program had a four-field approach. The four-field approach is studying anthropology from the four fields: Archeology, Linguistics, Biological Anthropology, and Cultural Anthropology. At the time I was interested in biological anthropology and cultural anthropology. The four field approach enabled me to find my exact interests in the study of people.” How would you describe anthropology to someone who doesn’t know about it? “Generally, anthropology is the study of humans. There are 4 fields within anthropology, that of which being archaeology, linguistic anthropology, biological anthropology, and cultural anthropology. Archaeology looks at people from the past by means of material remains. Linguistic anthropology looks at the study of people through language. Biological anthropology looks at biological variation and evolution. Cultural anthropology looks at groups of people and societies.” What does being Co-President of the Anthropology Club entail? “Duties as a Co-President include coordinating with the Anthropology and Museum Studies faculty, students, and overarching departments to facilitate several meetings, events, and resources. In both general and officer meetings I am responsible for organizing club events, opening the floor for officer and general member input in club affairs, taking attendance and minutes, and ensuring there is a welcoming environment. I am also responsible for coordinating with other faculty, staff, and department heads for ASA’s organization and funding for our trip to the Northwest Anthropological Conference. I couldn’t do all of it without the other ASA officers though, we all work together to create a welcoming environment and ensure things run smoothly.”
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Emma Zawadzki
Fr. Computer Science
Sr. Child Development and Psychology
“Probably the Niners.”
“Honestly, I don’t care. I’m just excited for the snacks.”
Weekly Events 4 to 5 p.m. - S&A Committee Meeting: on Zoom 5 to 6 p.m -Top Rope Clinic: Recreation Center 8 to 10 p.m - Geek Out Game Out: Holmes Dining Room
8 THURS
7 to 8 p.m - CWU Music Winter Faculty Showcase: Dr. Wayne S. Hertz Concert Hall 10 a.m. to 4 p.m - OPR Snow Tubing Trip 8 to 10 p.m- Winter Comedy Night with Justin Rupple: SURC Theatre 2 p.m- Declan Brennan Voice Lecture Recital: Recital Hall 7 p.m- Over-the-TOPera: Dr. Wayne S. Hertz Concert Hall
SAT
11 SUN
Noon to 1 p.m - Darwin Day Presentation on Alfred Russel Wallace: Dean Hall 4 to 5 p.m - RSO Info Session: SURC Pit
Galentines Day 7 p.m - Bassoon Studio Recital: Recital Hall Valentines Day 10 a.m. to 3 p.m - American Red Cross Blood Drive: SURC 137 5 to 6 p.m.- Trivia Night - Taylor Swift: Brooks Library
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FRI
10
Super Bowl Sunday National Guitar Day
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12 MON
13 TUES
14 WED
(Design by Brittany Cinderella)
“If I have to choose, I would have to say the Chiefs.”
Rosalva Zamora
Oscar the Observant.
Dev Carson Fr. Flute Music Performance
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