’
June 5, 2025
Vol. 131 NO. 9
By the students, for the students
Brandon Mattesich Co-Editor-In Chief
T
his past academic year, CWU has undergone major changes both in policy and in student life and activities. But, throughout the year, students have also shown pride, power and influence that has been felt not only at CWU but across Washington as well. Now, with the final week of Spring quarter wrapping up, and with this being the final issue of The Observer until the 20252026 academic year, The Observer is looking back on all the major developments of this past year in our official “Year In Review.”
The S&A budget, student media and defunded programs Over Spring break the Services and Activities (S&A) committee proposed new budgets that would lead to one of the longest and most influential chain of events in CWU’s recent budget history. The proposed budgets threatened defundings of various aspects of student media and student expression across the CWU campus, and they directly caused multiple protests and eventually influenced a changing of the original S&A proposal by the Board of Trustees at CWU. The Observer, one of the programs in the proposed defunding, extensively covered the situation as it developed a series of articles and published statistics surrounding the events. The S&A budget is decided by students on the committee, and funding is given to primarily student lead programs, specifically not tied to curricular activities. The following are headlines
from some of the more pivotal moments of the budget controversy: “The Observer threatened by defunding on its 110-year anniversary as campus newspaper,” released April 3, 2025 “Nearly 100 people attend S&A meeting to protest proposed budget cuts,” released April 17, 2025 “‘NO FREE SPEECH WITHOUT FREE PRESS!’ Students lead protest against mass defunding,” released May 15, 2025 “Board of Trustees accept S&A budget proposal, but only for a year, in “middle ground” decision,” released May 16, 2025
Rugby is cut in controversial decision at CWU In what quickly became CWU’s most controversial decision of the past year, varsity rugby’s sponsorship was discontinued by administration at CWU, ending both the men and womens teams time as national recognized competitors in the division one rugby scene. The Observer’s initial coverage of the event was an article offering eight athletes’ responses to the situation. In the story, one athlete, Quaid Hunt, commented on the decision, stating, “Devastating is the best word that a lot of us have used to describe this… I mean, we played our game, we got home, turned in our gear and then the day after we had an informal meeting … Dennis [Francois] was there, he broke the news to the team in pretty short order, not a lot of detail. That was it, it’s all over.” The Observer also published a follow-up article in
which Athletic Director Dennis Francois responded to the situation in an interview with Co-Editor-InChief of The Observer Jackson Roberts. During the interview, Francois said, “We made the final decision sometime in February … There is no doubt it turns their world upside down and impacts the lives of these young women and men in a very significant way and the implications of those go beyond what we foresee sometimes.” The decision continues to make waves at CWU, and the impacts of it are still being felt by the athletes and staff involved in the program. The following are two headlines from The Observer’s coverage of this decision: “‘They are breaking up a family:’ Athletes call CWU’s decision to cut rugby ‘devastating’ as the push to transfer begins,” April 20, 2025 “Athletic Director Dennis Francois discusses the controversial decision to cut Varsity Rugby,” May 8, 2025
Higher Education responds to The Trump Administration Decisions around higher education have rocked institutions across the nation since Trump took office in January, and CWU has felt the effects as well. In what is shaping up to be one of the most pivotal moments in history for colleges across the United States, Trump is taking a strong stance against Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) policies, and fighting a fierce legal battle with Harvard University over their lack of compliance with what they argue are “illegal” demands.
CONTINUED ON PAGE 3
Emy Ntekpere jumps into the record books
Kittitas County Pride, a parade for the ages
Will “Fantastic Four: First Steps” flop?
PAGE 5
PAGE 6-7
PAGE 9