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Vol. 121 NO. 8
Fall enrollment projections spark concerns over NTT faculty job security; Wohlpart says ‘too soon’ to know By Katherine Camarata Senior Reporter Early projections for fall 2022 budget and enrollment have caused concern among faculty, staff and department chairs over the future of many Non-Tenure Track (NTT) faculty positions across the university. Multiple sources told The Observer they were worried they could lose anywhere from 10-50% of NTT positions in various departments, with one-third being the most common figure reported. In an interview on Feb. 23, Wohlpart said: “When I have talked to deans and department heads, I said it’s too soon for you to know how many NTT faculty you’re going to need or not. Our adjunct faculty are mostly general education courses, mostly freshmen and sophomores. We don’t know exactly how many NTT faculty we are going to hire until we have the freshmen.” Nonetheless, comments from faculty and staff across campus reflected a wave of concern. The Observer reached out to 10 department chairs, three deans, three NTT faculty members and representatives of the Faculty Senate, the Academic Department Chairs Organization (ADCO) and the Provost’s Office.
In addition to President Wohlpart and Provost Michelle DenBeste, sources from six different departments were willing to comment for this story. All of them asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity and timeliness of the topic. Several sources said they want to give Wohlpart, who is in his first year at CWU, a chance to be transparent on the issue and handle the changes as compassionately as possible. Wohlpart, DenBeste and two other people interviewed suggested enrollment numbers could improve between now and spring. One department chair said their department was not expecting any staff changes. “We have not really ever done enrollment projections for freshmen in January and February,” Wohlpart said. “We’re doing things way earlier than we have in the past and these numbers are very tentative.” He said he expects to have a better sense of fall freshmen enrollment by May or June, at which time students sign up for orientation and commit to housing. “If the numbers get pushed out there and they’re all wrong and the message gets sent that our enrollment is going to be down, it becomes this self-fulfilling prophecy. That’s why I’ve been very careful
when I’ve shared the numbers,” Wohlpart said. According to Wohlpart, “Our primary focus has been on increasing our enrollment so that we can keep all of our faculty and staff. I really don’t expect to see large decreases in any of our numbers.” On March 1, he said, “Next week, we’ll have a new projection and new budget. So all of this is going to change by next week.” Faculty Concerns One department chair said: “The department chairs have been told to be prepared for a smaller freshmen class. These are tough times for CWU, and we have been told to not hire back faculty next year. Our NTT faculty, some who have been at CWU for many years, will be the first to experience these drastic reductions.” “Ellensburg is a small community and the impact of losing so many faculty all at once won’t go unnoticed,” the department chair added. “It could hurt the local economy and even challenge the trust between the school and community. I know we can do a better job as a university by addressing these cuts early and with clarity while also showing respect and compassion for our colleagues. The NTT faculty bring diversity to the university and
Photo Courtesy of CWU Flickr.
specialized value to the courses they teach.” An administrative staff member said: “Classes are not filling as they used to, and classes with low enrollments are at risk for cancellation. Low enrollments could be a result of the pandemic, shifting social and cultural changes, student debt worries and more. Our NTT faculty are concerned that if enough classes don’t fill, they may not have a job to come back to in the fall.” Another department chair said: “I am doing what I can to protect NTT faculty in our department. We value them, and our students do too. The budget is based on enrollment predictions, which is factored in with the reduction in the number of students we have had over the past two years. These are driving decisions about the need to reduce the number of classes and be strategic with offerings for students to be able to graduate in a timely manner. I am telling faculty that I cannot guarantee them the same class schedules that they have had in the past.” An NTT faculty member said: “If it’s correct that the deans have the budgets, I think demonstrating care and respect and value to the NTTs would move that communication down through the department chairs and to faculty quickly. We hope CWU will consider the best interest of NTTs in matters of timing and communication. I’m a former administrator, there’s an administrative responsibility to have a secure budgeting process and a transparent one and I think this is what is being done here.” “In the past, the university has had the best interest of the university in mind. Now, please, have the best interest of the NTTs in mind at the same time. I think if they do, that will send a very powerful statement to the NTTs, those that are not rehired and those that are rehired, because the way they do this might have a chilling effect on the NTTs that stay.”
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Commencement back in person By Sean Bessette Editor-in-Chief All graduating seniors will get the in-person commencement experience this year. Director of Executive Events and Protocol Lauren Zeutenhorst confirmed that in-person commencement is set to take place this June for the first time since 2019. “We are feeling very good about this and think that we have all of our bases covered to make sure this happens, barring anything major, of course,” Zeutenhorst said. The previous two commencements have happened virtually, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. Commencement for graduates in the College of Business and the College of Education and Professional Studies will take place on June 11 at 9:30 a.m. Graduates in the College of Arts and Humanities and the College of the Sciences will have their commencement at 2 p.m. on June 11. Those dates and times are tentative and could change. The full tentative schedule, with information for graduates of CWU’s university centers, can be found at cwu.edu/commencement.
A LOOK BEYOND
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Visuals by Sarah Stewart Story by Meghan Salsbury and Sarah Stewart
Beyond Our Coverage Local
National
Ellensburg resident Greg Armstrong and his new wife and step-daughter fled to Poland to escape Ukraine, according to King 5 News. Arriving in February, Armstrong said tensions escalated throughout his stay, and fled days after his wedding. A solo art exhibit by CWU senior Braydon Maier is on display at Gallery 231 starting Tuesday, according to The Daily Record. The exhibit named “A Walk in the Woods,” is inspired by Maier’s days spent hiking, hunting and fishing and features large oil paintings on canvas, woodworking projects and wood- and kiln- fired clay pottery. Gov. Jay Inslee held a press conference at 1 p.m. Monday focused on an earlier announcement of lifting the mask mandate on March 12, according to The Seattle Times. Inslee also announced an effort to sever connections with any Russian state entities or large Russian businesses.
World
Three bears, including ‘Hank the Tank’, continued to give residents of a Lake Tahoe neighborhood strife, according to CNN. The bear has caused damage to 33 homes and entered 28 homes by force. The White House announced relaxed mask mandates effective March 1, according to The New York Times. Fully vaccinated individuals will no longer be required to wear masks on the White House campus.
Ukraine officials said Russian troops advanced on Kherson on Monday, a southern Ukraine city between Myolaiv and New Kakhovka, according to live coverage from BBC News. According to the coverage, a large convoy approximately 40 miles long is also advancing on Kyiv. Additionally, over the weekend President Vladimir Putin put Russia’s nuclear forces on alert. Several countries have imposed sanctions, and the Russian ruble has reportedly sunk in value, according to another BBC article.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell said there is no room in the Republican Party for “white supremacists or anti-Semitism” after Reps. Marjoire Taylor Greene of Georgia and Paul A. Gosar of Arizona participated in a conference organized by a white nationalist, according to The Washington Post. Nicholas Fuentes, the organizer of the event, reportedly asked the crowd to “give a round of applause for Russia,” to which the crowd obliged.
Stories compiled by Addie Adkins
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Continued from Pg 1 Another NTT faculty member said: “A distinguishing trait of CWU is that its adjunct (NTT) faculty aren’t really adjunct. They’re core faculty, teaching here full-time for decades, often serving on committees and even directing programs. We are not moonlighting. We’re not flashes in the pan. NTT faculty at Central generally moved here with a commitment to dedicate their professional lives to Central. In urban areas, adjunct faculty are commonly ‘freeway fliers,’ rushing around teaching part-time at each of several institutions. CWU’s geographical isolation prevents this. Where else would Central’s NTT teach?” The faculty member continued: “Faculty cuts may well be unavoidable, but if Central is really going to use a ‘relational’ rather than a ‘transactional’ model, NTT faculty facing the prospect of losing their careers and livelihoods should be treated with as much respect, compassion and transparency as possible. They should not just be abruptly discarded.” A Faculty Senator shared a statement from that body: “The Faculty Senate supports all NTT faculty and will do whatever possible to help them through this difficult situation.” Administration’s Response According to Provost DenBeste, all of the deans were given budgets based on projected enrollments, and the projections
are lower than the Provost’s office anticipates they will end up being. “Budgets that we gave them were better than they were expecting,” DenBeste said. “It’s not a horrifyingly scary budget. We are trying to be more strategic about our budgets than we have ever been. We intended to tilt and turn one way or the other, and that makes people frustrated because they don’t know what to expect.” DenBeste said a group of eight faculty members and people involved with budgeting have been meeting and guiding decisions about budget plans. “We’ve tried to be more consultative, we’ve had a bunch of different groups talking about this,” DenBeste said. “We know we will have fewer students because we have had smaller classes during the pandemic, but if we have a good amount of incoming students, that will mitigate some of that.” A“Enrollment is a driver for our overall budget,” he said, explaining that the budget is determined by both state appropriation and tuition based on enrollment. Enrollment has been down the last couple years because of COVID-19, according to Wohlpart. “That’s true across the nation, we’re like all other institutions,” Wohlpart said. “Our new freshmen numbers went from around 2,000 down to I think it was under 1,700, then last year just under 1,500. What we have to do is replace those small classes with a bigger freshmen class.
That’ll take us a year or two, but then we’ll get back up to 11,000 or 12,000 students.” While DenBeste said that early enrollment projections initially caused concern, she is hopeful that university efforts will continue to turn things around. “We’ve had really good responses at our Wildcat preview days, our admissions and enrollment teams have been doing things quite a lot differently than previously, working to build relationships, housing is getting paid deposits, so I think that our first year enrollments are going to be a lot better than they have been the last two years. I feel like we are on an upward trajectory,” she said. Wohlpart pointed to fall quarters of 2015 and 2016 as a model. During those years, CWU had fewer applications, like this year, but more admissions. He said he is optimistic that fall of 2022 could be similar to those years. Wohlpart said if enrollment is progressing as it did in fall of 2015 and 2016, there is a chance fall enrollment numbers could be as high as 1,800 or 1,900 freshmen, which would be close to the average number of freshmen who enroll in a standard year. “Because we’ve been tracking this, our numbers have actually gone up,” Wohlpart said. On March 1, he said the university had over 1,000 students accepted. “In fall of ‘16, I think we had about 930. We ended up with almost 1,900 freshmen [in 2016]. If we end up like that, we’re going to be good.”
NEWS
President Jim Wohlpart, Photo Courtesy of CWU.
Provost/Vice President for Academic and Student Life, Photo Courtesy of DenBeste.
One potential benefit to collecting early numbers is having more time to react. “We have been making changes to our admissions practices and our marketing practices all year long based on what it is that we’re seeing in the numbers,” Wohlpart said. “In January, we started doing a new and different advertising campaign to recruit new freshmen and that has made a difference.” According to Wohlpart, the admissions staff is reaching out to prospective freshmen more and more as the quarter progresses, shifting from a ‘transactional’ to a ‘relational’ model for recruiting students. A transactional model involves purchasing information about high school seniors to target them specifically, while a relational model focuses on building connections with prospective students, their families and school counselors. “What caused the lower projections that we came up with about a month ago, five weeks
ago, I think had everything in the world to do with the fact that it took a little while for our counselors to get into the high schools, for our marketing to get taking off,” Wohlpart said. “Our admissions counselors are doing a remarkable job building relationships with high school counselors, students and their families, which is what has turned our projected enrollment numbers around.” Wohlpart said this boost to admissions outreach is building strong markets and being featured in newspapers, on social media, on the radio and includes geocaching high schools when people visit. “That is going to turn our enrollment around for sure,” Wohlpart said. “The group that makes the determination of what our projection is, they are meeting next week and they will have a better projection next week,” he continued. “Department heads will have a whole new set of information next Tuesday or Wednesday.”
Executive Leadership Team faces upcoming change
Schactler and Bohman to leave CWU; replacements will be announced soon By Sean Bessette Editor-in-Chief Two members of CWU’s Executive Leadership Team are leaving the university, according to a release from President Jim Wohlpart on Feb. 23. Chief of Staff Linda Schactler will be leaving to work in public affairs consulting. She will remain in her position until June 1. Schactler has worked for the university for 12 years. She worked as Vice President of Public Affairs and Executive Director of Public Affairs prior to her current role. Additionally, she has been serving as Secretary to the Board of Trustees. “[Schactler’s] leadership in the president’s office will be missed tremendously. She has a great deal of knowledge about CWU and offers me great wisdom and counsel on a daily basis,” the release stated. Wohlpart credited Schactler for helping diversify board appointments, navigating the Great Recession and coordinating the presidential search that took place last year.
According to the release, Wohlpart will start a national search to find her replacement, but “filling her shoes will be a major effort.” Vice President of Operations Andreas Bohman will be joining the University of Washington as the Vice President for Information Technology and Chief Information Officer (CIO). Bohman’s last day at CWU will be March 15, according to the release. Wohlpart will announce an interim vice president soon. “Andreas leaves behind a strong team that also helped create the first incubation of a tech start-up on campus, establish both the Sustainability and Project Management Office, and support a safe and secure campus,” the release stated. Bohman has been working for the university since 2013. He started as Chief Information Security Officer, transitioned to CIO and has currently been working as Vice President of Operations. He has also taught within the Information Technology and Administrative Management department.
“I just hope that it speaks to the audience on the campus, while also encouraging them to tell stories in whatever way they see appropriate,” Anthony White Visiting Artist
“Quiet Hour”
Seattle artist Anthony White shares ‘all-encompassing’ work
CULTURAL CRISIS EXHIBIT MARRIES LOW-BROW SUBJECT MATTER WITH HIGH-END ARTISTRY Written by Katherine Camarata Senior Reporter The hypnotic, technicolor creations of award-winning Seattle artist Anthony White are now on display at the Sarah Spurgeon Art Gallery in Randall Hall, and the work has been captivating community members and inspiring students to think outside the box this quarter. White graduated from Cornish College of the Arts in 2018 and is represented by the Greg Kucera Gallery. He has shown his work all across the globe in galleries from Chicago to London. White received the 2021 Seattle Art Museum Betty Bowen Award, the 2020 Neddy Painting Award and the 2020 Fellowship Award from Artist Trust, according to his website. White said his artwork is, “Immediate, all-encompassing, reflective. It captures a lot of contemporary content, and reflects on society, nostalgia, closer-to-home.” The exhibit opened on February 15, during a reception attended by approximately 100 people at the gallery following White’s artist talk in the SURC Theatre. “I was really stunned and inspired by the turnout of the
Photos by Dylan Hanson Photographer opening reception,” White said. “There were a lot of students, faculty and people from the community that showed up, and I was really happy to meet them and talk about the work.” Heather Horn Johnson, the Sarah Spurgeon Art Gallery director, said the overall reaction to the exhibit has been positive and students appreciated interacting with White at the opening. “It seems like a lot of students really enjoyed talking to Anthony, and Anthony is close in age to the students here,” Horn Johnson said. “He was really open to talking to them about developing their work and expressing their own identity through their work in the way that he does.” Horn Johnson said she is excited to feature White’s perspective and creative vision at CWU. “The material is unique, and deals a lot with popular culture and all the symbols people use to define themselves,” Horn Johnson said. “It also deals with social media. It talks about how we all experience the world through our phones. There are some images here that deal
with queer identity, and it’s nice to have that perspective represented here.” White’s medium of choice is PLA plastic, commonly-used in 3-D printing. He said he was fascinated with 3-D printing technology when he first encountered it in the fabrication lab at Cornish. “It just kind of made sense,” White said. “That’s what I render on panel, becoming realized in real life with very similar or the exact same material.” Many of White’s compositions include layers of items and iconography representing certain moments and trends in history. He said he starts each of these works by focusing on a few different objects that craft some sort of narrative. “Each piece usually starts with a few objects in mind that tell an interesting story or create a very unique shape, or there’s a pun or a joke between a few things that I want to expand on,” White said. “It starts with an interest or curiosity between the first few things and then building off of it is like, ‘Okay, this object tells a funny story with this one and it’s related to that one.
There’s a discreet relationship between these two and if you put this one next to that one, there’s a conspiracy theory.’” White said he has a chaotic yet intimate relationship with his intricate works of art. “I spend so much time with each piece that I make, they take hundreds of hours per piece,” White said. “I fall in love with them each in a different way, and it’s like a rollercoaster, love-hate, toxic relationship between me and each one.” Horn Johnson chose to feature White’s self portrait entitled “Quiet Hour” for the materials promoting the exhibit. White said he created “Quiet Hour” during the height of the BLM protests in 2020. “There was this looming gloom over everything at the time, so I wanted to create a piece that has this figure in a spotlight that’s sort of haunting and ominous but also still and calm,” White said. “That’s where the title gets its name, the stillness of the world at that time and the inner dialogue that everyone was having while there were people fighting for life and taking a stance on a very important cause.”
White said “Quiet Hour” was inspired by the work of American artist Kerry James Marshall, particularly his piece called “Nude in Spotlight.” When asked to choose his personal favorite pieces of the collection, White said the pieces titled “Final Fantasy,” “Creative Play,” and “Freeze Frame” were especially meaningful to him. Horn Johnson said she hopes the exhibit will have a resounding impact on the community by providing representation for diverse perspectives. “We want to show different points of view in the gallery and present it as a safe space, where people can come in and they can possibly relate with the artists,” Horn Johnson said. White said he hopes his work will spark important discussions and inspire students. “I just hope that it speaks to the audience on the campus, while also encouraging them to tell stories in whatever way they see appropriate,” White said. “Hopefully it encourages them to put things out there that bring communities together to start dialogue and ask questions.”
White’s work is available to view on his website, www.boywithplastic.com.
TOP LEFT TO BOTTOM RIGHT: ”Boyz of the Wild”, Sarah Spurgeon Art Gallery, “At the Surface”, “Thicc Water”, “Pay 2 Play”, detail of “Pay 2 Play”.
“We want to show different points of view in the gallery and present it as a safe space, where people can come in and they can possibly relate with the artists,” Heather Horn Johnson Sarah Spurgeon Art Gallery director
OPINION SPORTS
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Edith and Ethel: Ask the Aunties By ‘Edith and Ethel’ Columnists Dear Aunties, I keep having dreams about my friend’s ex. How can I make it stop? Sincerely, – I Never Even Liked The Guy Ethel: Well, the only thing I can say of comfort is that it probably has nothing to do with the guy other than being on your mind. Have you been talking about him with your friend lately? I notice when I talk about people with my friends, they end up showing up in my dreams a few days later. Edith: I have had a few times where people had shown up in my dreams as my romantic partner even though they had no reason to be. Sometimes it is just the fact that I care about these people, so they show up subconsciously. Ethel: This is pretty hard to advise on to be honest. I’m not a psychology major, but I do know that we don’t really have control over our subconscious, which I believe is what is active during the dream state. Edith: Exactly. It is similar to nightmares - you aren’t wishing to be covered in bugs right? I know I’m not. It’s just a dumb thing our brain does from what I can tell. When something is on your mind so often, it can appear in random contexts in your dreams. Ethel: I wouldn’t be too worried about it. It probably means nothing, especially if you never even liked the guy as your name suggests. Edith: I would say brush it off for right now, but if you’re stuck on these dreams… maybe there is more to it. I mean, if you’re thinking about that possibility longer than the original “what is going on?” thought. Ethel: Oh, I suppose that’s true. If you keep dwelling on it, it will turn into a vicious cycle. And maybe you need to do that. Get down to the root by continuing the dreams. What’s the worst that can happen? You fall for the dude? Edith: I wish I could continue a dream’s storyline and see where it was going to end. All the dreams I had of going to concerts and my favorite band member noticing me like a Wattpad fanfiction.. Nice. Anyways, back to the topic at hand - think about how you truly feel! Maybe the dreams are a sign. Or maybe, they’re your brain being dumb. Good luck!
Write in!
submit your questions to cwuobserver@gmail.com (all questions will remain anonymous)
March 02, 2022
Opinion: The Sounders are Seattle’s most exciting pro sports team By Jake Hassebrock Columnist Whether you attend games in the stadium, tune in to live broadcasts or just watch postmatch highlight videos on YouTube, professional sports collectively are a very fun part of our culture to engage with. Seattle is home to several professional sports teams and while each are interesting in their own ways, the most exciting local professional sports franchise right now is the Seattle Sounders FC for a variety of reasons. History of Success It may be easy to say that the Kraken, Seattle’s new NHL hockey team, are the most exciting team in Seattle because they are the newest addition to Seattle’s lineup of pro sports franchises. The problem is that while new things are fun, sports fans typically like to see their team win and the Kraken have struggled to do so. The current NHL standings show the Kraken in last place with six fewer wins than the next-best team.
Speaking of teams that struggle to win, the Mariners are currently the only team in MLB who haven’t appeared in a World Series and it has been over 20 years since the last time the Mariners even made it to the postseason. The Sounders, on the other hand, have proven that they can consistently win games in both the regular season and the playoffs. In 2014, the Sounders won the MLS Supporters’ Shield, which is given to the team with the best record at the end of the season. Additionally, the Sounders have never missed the playoffs in their 13 year history in the MLS. In those 13 playoff appearances, the Sounders have made four MLS Cup finals appearances, two of which resulted in championship victories. That’s in addition to the Sounders’ four U.S. Open Cup titles.
success, they lack in home game atmosphere. This is partially because the Storm draws in far fewer fans than the Sounders do. According to a Seattle Times article, the Storm had an average attendance of 8,100 fans during the 2018 season. An article on soccerstadiumdigest. com shows that the Sounders averaged around 40,000 fans at their home games during the same year. It’s not just numbers that make the Sounders’ crowd exciting to take part in though. A section of fans called the Emerald City Supporters leads chants and songs throughout the entirety of the game, flags and banners are flown in the stands, and the crowd roar during goal celebrations or the “boom boom clap” tradition is enough to send chills down your spine.
Stadium Atmosphere The Seattle Storm may have won more championships than the Sounders with four WNBA finals victories, but what the Storm have in
Current Trajectory While the Seahawks are another Seattle team who has claimed a title and hosts a famously loud group of fans, the Seahawks are currently not
looking as promising moving forward as the Sounders are. If you look at the Seahawks last few seasons though, you see a downward trend. In 2019, the Seahawks made the playoffs but were knocked out in the second round, the following season saw the Seahawks bow out in the first round of the postseason, and they failed to make the playoffs in their most recent year with star quarterback Russell Wilson missing games due to injury for the first time in his career. The Sounders recent seasons show a pedigree of success. All the Sounders’ MLS Cup appearances have come in the last six years. Additionally, five current Sounders players have been called up to their respective countries’ national teams in the past year. If nothing else, the Sounders are exciting to watch right now because their season has just started with their first regular season game having taken place on Sunday, Feb. 27. Now is a great time to start watching the Sounders and see what excitement is to come in their 2022 season.
Opinion: Pregnancy is the best and most terrifying thing in the world Tapanga Krause Columnist From the shock of an unplanned pregnancy followed by the overwhelming joy to the morning sickness, pregnancy is the best, but it’s also the most terrifying thing in the world. When that cheap drugstore pregnancy came back positive last December, I was surprised, but the shock didn’t set in until the more expensive drugstore pregnancy test with the electronic reader came back positive. The nine-letter word stared up at me and my heart exploded, yet sunk at the same time. A billion thoughts began rushing through my mind as I made my way, test in hand, to deliver the news to my fiancé. That’s when the shock hit me like a weight I haven’t felt in years, I sank to my knees as a mix of happy and scared tears poured down my cheeks. I started to wonder what this next chapter of my life had in store for me. The Good Side of Pregnancy According to Wendy Wisner’s article “20 Surprising
Perks of Pregnancy,” one of the few perks of pregnancy include feeling your baby move, reminders of what matters most in life and one of the most intimate experiences you’ll ever have. Wisner said that there is nothing more amazing than the first time you feel your baby move. It’s something that never really gets old because, it’s a reminder that you’re carrying this tiny person inside of you. It makes all the aches and pains of pregnancy worth it. Pregnancy is also a good time to think about what really matters in life. It’s not a job promotion or paying that parking ticket, although you should pay that ticket. It’s about the people you love. I’ve had a lot of time to think about my life. The way I grew up, the plans I have and the people I surround myself with. I know that this baby is going to be loved by everyone in my life, of course, no one more than me. But I also agree with Wisner when she says that pregnancy is one of the most intimate experiences a woman will ever have.
The sheer thought of growing a tiny person inside your body is an amazing thought. This is usually when a woman’s unwavering love and protection of their child begins to blossom. And I’m definitely one of them. I still get so overwhelmed by the love that I already have in my heart for this person that I have yet to meet. The Terrifying Side of Pregnancy In her article “The Truth About Pregnancy” Rachel Holmes discusses her experience with pregnancy. It was shocking because she had this notion of how good it would be. “I would be a glowing earth-mother-type, floating around cornfields in a tentsized dress and smiling beatifically,” she said. The first trimester is described as the worst, mainly because of the morning sickness that women are presented with. It’s not just in the morning, the nausea sticks around all day. For me, this was the worst part of the first
trimester. I could never really seem to get rid of the ever-present pit in my stomach. It made it very difficult to put food into my stomach. What’s even worse is, according to my OBGYN, Dr. Casey; not having food in your stomach makes nausea 10 times worse. Stephanie Watson with her article “I Hated Being Pregnant: Here’s How I Got Through It” further proves how bad pregnancy is. To help with nausea she tried ginger and seasickness bracelets, but they didn’t help her much. And the exhaustion didn’t help much either. The most terrifying thought for me is the fact that I am bringing my child into a world that is full of pain and unjust situations. Not to mention, I didn’t have the best mother figure growing up. So, the thought of becoming her is a scary thought. At the end of the day, I know that I am trying my best. That is all I can do. Pregnancy is different for everyone, but no matter the circumstance, it’s still the most amazing gift to be given.
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March 02, 2022
SPORTS
Walk-on tryouts produce new addition to CWU football team By Evan Couch Staff Reporter CWU’s football program hosted walk-on try-outs on Feb.18. For any CWU students in good academic standing who were interested, try-outs were a chance to showcase their work and dedication in hopes of making the football team. First year student Nathan Blauman has been a part of the team in a managerial role since Aug. 8, 2021. Before coming to CWU, Blauman left Washington State University’s walk-on program in Nov. 2020 due to COVID-19 shutting down the season for walk-ons. In November of 2021, Blauman spoke with The Observer about looking forward to try-outs with hopes of making the team. At the time, Blauman said these tryouts felt like his last chance to make a team and get to play football at the collegiate level. “This is kind of my last
chance,” Blauman said. “I want to make it count.” Blauman made it count as he was informed on Monday, Feb. 21 that he made the cut. “It meant a lot to me,” Blauman said. “I haven’t played in a long time now, and I have been wanting to play on a team for awhile and I worked really hard to get to this spot.” Blauman said working with the team has been a long journey and getting the confirmation that he made the team meant a lot to him. “I was confident with [my performance at try-outs], but I didn’t hear about it for a little bit so I was a little worried that potentially I didn’t make it,” Blauman said. Blauman had to wait three days after the try-out before being informed that he made it. Blauman said he had been training in various ways to prepare, such as maintaining strength by lifting weights as well as staying in shape and cutting weight by running and conditioning.
Photo Credit: Dylan Hanson/The Observer, Nathan Blauman (pictured) has gone from a managerial role with CWU football to making the team via tryouts.
Photo courtesy of Nathan Blauman
Blauman said on the mental side of preparation, it was all about preparing for the uncertainty of a try-out. “Mentally, [I was] just preparing, whether I made
at all. That’s definitely one of the main things if you want to play any sport.” Looking ahead, Blauman said he is excited for what is to come now that he has made the team. Blauman said there are some goals he is looking forward to now that he has accomplished this step in the process. “[I look forward to] making a name for myself on the field,” Blauman said. “Earning a spot to where I can potentially see some playing time, just prove that I can play.” Blauman will look for the chance to prove himself when spring ball starts next quarter as the team prepares to play their spring game on Apr. 23.
SERVICE. PURPOSE. OPPORTUNITY.
it or not, for that moment,” Blauman said. “So I wouldn’t react too much to it one way or the other, so I wouldn’t be too down about it or excited, just even keel throughout the process.” For other students looking to attempt to walk-on and go through this process, Blauman said one of the biggest strengths is to be coachable. Blauman said from his perspective, coaches always appreciate when an athlete is coachable. “I definitely think that helps,” Blauman said. “If you don’t listen and aren’t being coachable, they’re going to move on and not be interested
Scholarships. Leadership training. Over 100 career paths. Central Washington University
AFROTC Detachment 895 • www.cwu.edu/airforce • www.AFROTC.com • 509-963-2314
Photo Credit: Dylan Hanson/The Observer, Blauman (#45) said now that he made the team the next step is making a name for himself.
EVENTS
Page 08
March 02, 2022
Wildcat Words: If you had a theme song, what would it be?
Emma Cavin
Max Cox
Laura Nelson
Herman Villagomez
George Athans
So. Forensics
Fr. Undeclared
Fr. Film Production
Sr. Law and Justice and Sociology
Sr. Computer Science
“‘Blood in The Cut’ by K.Flay.”
“‘Goddess’ by Xana. It’s very empowering and I like that the artist is LGBTQ.”
“The song from Mulan, ‘I’ll Make a Man out of You’ by Donny Osmond. It’s just one of the first songs that comes to mind and it’s catchy.”
“The theme song from Rocky. It’s very uplifting. It’s the underdog story and I can relate to that. It has a good message.”
“It would probably be ‘2011’ by Five Seconds of Summer. It’s just like a bunch of memories and it makes you want to go back to that time. Sometimes I can be childish and so it really suits me.”
Meet Dr. Susan Kaspari, a CWU professor in the Geological Sciences department since 2009. With a background in Environmental, Climate and Earth Sciences, her research centers around climate change, including reconstructing climate and environmental change using ice cores from glaciers and factors causing snow and glaciers to melt. She has studied climate change in Antarctica, Tibet and the Himalayas, the Washington Cascades, and will spend a year in Norway studying Arctic climate change in Svalbard next year. She wants to raise awareness to students about sustainability opportunities on campus. Q: What first interested you in geological and sustainability studies? A: Since I was in high school I’ve been concerned about the impact of humans on the environment. During graduate school I studied how humans are modifying climate, and became very interested in how we can lessen human impacts and find sustainable solutions. Q: Living in dorms and apartments, it may feel difficult as college students to “do our part” in participating in sustainability initiatives and combating climate change. What can we do to help? A: I’m very excited that CWU will be launching a new Sustainability Living Learning Community this fall in Wendell Hill Hall B, which is open to students from all majors and levels. For students who will live on campus next year, this is a great opportunity to live with students with a shared interest to live more sustainably. The community will be focused on all three pillars of sustainability: equity, economy and environment. There are many other ways for students to get involved, such as coming to one of CWU’s quarterly Sustainability Cafes, which brings together the campus community to work on sustainability projects. Join clubs or build community with like-minded students (e.g. through the Environmental Club, SLICE, or the Diversity Equity Center). Q: How can we as students make intentional decisions in our day to day lives keeping sustainability in mind? A: There are small choices that everyone makes every day, including students living in the dorms or apartments. Everyone can make small efforts to reduce their impact. Examples include walking to class instead of driving, turning down the thermostat a couple degrees, reducing consumption and buying second hand items, recycling (available in every dorm!), choosing to eat more plant based foods (e.g. Meatless Mondays), or getting a plot to grow food in CWU’s community garden. The important thing is to identify the small changes that you can commit to, and build from there. Q: Are there any services, programs or departments on campus you think could have more sustainable practices, and how can we as students make that happen? A: CWU has been making a lot of efforts towards sustainability in recent years, but there is still a lot of work to do! Nearly every aspect of university life could be made more sustainable, whether that is in dining, residence halls, lab-based courses, typical office settings, or campus grounds. Know what your realm of influence is, and how you can influence change. If you see something that can be improved on, but don’t know how to implement that change, bring your ideas to CWU’s Sustainability Council or Dr. Kathleen Klaniecki, CWU’s sustainability coordinator. Sometimes meaningful change can start just by having conversations about sustainability issues with people who trust you and with whom you have shared values. Q: What environmental or geological courses do you think all college students should take if they are interested in, but not majoring in, such studies? A:There are so many great course offerings! For students who want to get actively involved in taking action to improve sustainability, I encourage them to take ENST480 Campus Sustainability, which allows students from any major or any level to work on a project to improve sustainability. I’m teaching that class this spring. CWU also has a Sustainability Certificate Program. Environmental and geology general education courses which allow students to learn more include ENST201 Earth as an Ecosystem, ENST202 Environment and Society, GEOL201 Water and Climate, and SUST301 Introduction to Sustainability. There are dozens of other courses across colleges that are focussed on or include sustainability. This year Heather Spalding and I are serving as Provost Sustainability Fellows, and as part of this effort we are creating an inventory of sustainability courses. That information will be made available to the campus community later this spring. Q: What are your favorite local hikes, favorite Washington hikes and favorite national hikes? What international hikes are on your bucket list? A: Locally I frequently visit Manastash Ridge (my favorite hike is the Prater Trail), Rattlesnake Ridge in the Yakima Canyon, and I love to go birding in the mornings at Irene Rinehart. In Washington I have too many places I love to choose a favorite; I love anywhere that takes me into high alpine environments and near glaciers, and I love wildflower and berry season. In the United States my favorite places are wherever there are mountains, in the Colorado Rockies where I grew up, and the Washington Cascades near home. Right now my international bucket list is dominated by places I am looking forward to exploring in Norway next year. Q: If you could be any animal, what would it be and why? A: I would be a Western Tanager, which is a beautiful songbird that migrates long distances and eats a lot of fruits and berries. I’d love to be able to fly and travel the world under my own power, and I’m happiest to eat a plant based diet!
QA &
with
DR. SUSAN KASPARI
weekly events 2
WED
3
THURS
12-1:30 p.m. Community Resilience in Times of Change: Processing Traumatic Events Panel Discussion @ Brooks Library 255 10-11 p.m. Improv Night The Hot New Jam @ 4-5 p.m. Center210 for Cultural SURC Theater Innovation Open Forum @ SURC Pit (100C)
4
9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Education Career Fair @ SURC Ballroom 10 a.m. - 7 p.m. First Friday Art Walk @ Downtown Ellensburg
5 6 7
National Pickle Day 12-5 p.m. Softball vs Northwest Nazarene University @ Sport-Varsity Softball Field
8
7-8 p.m. Composition 12-3 p.m. Women’s HerstoStudio Recital 137A/B @ McIntyre ry @ SURC Hall 174 12-3:30 p.m. Find Your
FRI
SAT
National Oreo Cookie Day
SUN
MON
TUES
7 p.m. & 9:30 p.m. Monday Movie Madness: “The Matrix: Resurrections” @ SURC Theater 210
Voice Conference @ Hopin Video Platform
Photos courtesy of Susan Kaspari Wildcat Words - Dylan Hanson. Q&A - Addie Adkins
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