The Observer, Winter 2023 - Issue 2

L&L and Farrell Hall may be replaced with new North Education Complex

Carroll News Editor

The governor’s proposed budget introduced by Gov. Jay Inslee in December will include the following renovations to CWU: a new North Academic Complex to replace the Language and Literature Building and Farrell Hall, begin the design stage for a new Psychology Building, the pre-design phase for the new Art Education Complex and increased staff compensation.

According to President Jim Wohlpart, the largest request that they made this year was for $103.7 million to build a North Education Complex. The North Academic Complex, also known as the Humanities and Social Science Complex, will replace the Language and Literature building and Farrell Hall.

According to Chief of Staff Andrew Morse, every two

years CWU evaluates the needs of campus and the student body. The Capital Planning and Projects (CPP) and the Executive Leadership Team (ELT) deliberate what changes and updates the campus needs. CPP is also responsible for sending the submission, with the approval of the ELT and the President.

The legislature will decide what aspects of the proposal to keep after a budget assessment in March. According to Wohlpart a final decision is expected by the end of April.

Wohlpart said the reason that these buildings were chosen to be replaced was because of the structural state they are in.

“All these buildings are in pretty rough shape,” Wohlpart said. “To spend money trying to fix them would be throwing good money after bad. It just would not be a good choice.”

According to Wohlpart, these buildings have internal

consistent water damage that has become expensive and tedious to repair.

Farrell Hall also doesn’t have a solid foundation and has sunk into the ground. The sinking has made the building crooked, causing some of the doors to not shut entirely.

Wohlpart said that the Language and Literature Building and Farrell Hall were built in the 1970s and therefore are not designed with energy efficiency in mind. The buildings are not currently complying with the Americans with Disability Act (ADA) because they are made with brick and concrete interior walls. According to Wohlpart, tearing these buildings down would reduce energy consumption by 30% and save the university $80 million in repairs.

Wohlpart said the reason he thought it was so important to make a new building for the humanities and social sciences is because of how vital the programs are to the student

Title Wave: Learning Commons tutors detail allegations against supervisor

go through our Humanities and Social Sciences program.”

The North Education Complex will be built north of the Language and Literature building, where all the inter national flags currently are. According to Wohlpart, the plan is to build a new plaza for the flags connected to the North Education Complex, and to save as many of the

lition of the Language and rell Hall will not begin until after the building is built, so students in the humanities and social science programs will still have a place to learn

into the design phase.

“We have a pretty good idea of what our Psychology Building will look like,” Wohlpart said. “We have a couple of potential sites.”

The two current options that Wohlpart mentioned are to either build the new building where the old one was before, or to put the new building where the Language and Literature building was.

Wohplart said that the primary reason for the replacement of the Psychology Building is to mitigate greenhouse gasses.

The second priority for CWU with the budget is the design for a new Psychology get has allocated $8.2 million

“What we really want to do is make sure that we’re reducing our carbon footprint in all of the buildings that we’re building,” Wohlpart said. “Some of the [old] buildings have a really bad carbon footprint.”

Another priority of CWU’s is to begin on the pre-design for the new Art Education Complex, which would replace Randall Hall and Michelson Hall. According to Wohlpart, the primary goal in the pre-design phase is figuring out where the building will go.

Wohlpart said the reason for a new art complex is due to poor accessibility.

“If you’re in Randall or Michaelson halls, if you want to go to the faculty offices you either have to go up a set of stairs or down a set of stairs,” Wohlpart said. “If you’re in a wheelchair or disabled in any kind of way, you’re not able to get to the faculty offices.”

Morgana

Photo by Beau Sansom

Beyond Our Coverage

Local National Global

A bill was proposed which will lower the driving Blood Alcohol Concentration limit from 0.08% to 0.05%, according to King 5 News. There is only one other state that currently has the lower BAC law.

According to the Daily Record, Ryan Wales has invested $2 million into restoring the old bowling alley on University Way in Ellensburg, which has been closed since 2015.

Valley Community, a trailer park in Yakima, has faced “steep” rent price increases, a usage cap on water per month and a newly-added burden of paying for garbage collection, according to The Seattle Times. Some residents have faced homelessness as a result.

Hope this finds you in high spirits CWU,

Investigators think the shooting of six people could be gang-related. According to NBC News, the shooting occurred in California, and authorities believe it was a targeted attack.

California has been facing severe winter storms for the last three weeks, according to AP News. The University of Berkley recorded 49.6 inches of fresh snow since Friday, in addition to rain and flooding.

Former Chair of the House Intelligence Committee Rep. Adam Schiff stated that classified documents discovered recently in President Joe Biden’s home from his terms as Vice President “need to be assessed for their national security implications,” according to ABC News.

Letter from the Editor

As we all get reimmersed into our academic sphere, we are given opportunities to gain insight about ourselves by witnessing the perspectives of others.

Last November, employees of the Learning Commons came forward as sources about a case they were involved in alleging gender and sex discrimination, sexism and religious discrimination in the workplace. I listened to them and felt their discomfort as they shared intimate details of their lives. The Respondent of the case replied to my emails for the first time the night before publication, and we have offered to interview him for a follow up and are waiting on a response.

The Observer made three public records requests to obtain this case; the most recent of the requests was sent last week and is projected to be fulfilled by the end of the month. We were provided a copy of the case from an anonymous witness in December, and have chosen to publish the story based on this copy to ensure that the information is shared in as timely a fashion as possible.

As the dust settles in the wake of this two-month-long story writing process, I feel a lot of weight knowing that I am the mouthpiece for many marginalized community members who share diagnoses with me. I also feel a lot of weight knowing the Respondent no longer works on campus and realizing how this story could affect his life. Our actions and words impact others in ways that matter, and this case is evidence of that. More complainants have come forward about other Title IX cases, and we look forward to deep diving into it all. I hope our readers will join us for the ride that is and has been our “Title Wave” series.

A bomb went off during a church service in Kasindi, North Kivu. According to CNN the attack injured around 50 people and killed around 12.

A Russian missile hit the Ukrainian city of Dnipro on Saturday, according to AP News. The death toll is currently nine, with 64 others reported to be injured.

Mafia Boss Matteo Messina Denaro was caught and arrested on Monday according to AP News. After 30 years on the run Denaro, Italy’s most notorious mob boss, was caught when he attempted to get medical attention in Sicily.

With care, Katherine Camarata Lead Editor

Photo by Dylan Hanson

Sharing perspectives

Supportingawareness

Veganuary in the ‘Burg: how to participate

MJ Rivera Staff Reporter

“Veganuary” is a movement that was created to inspire people to try a vegan diet during the month of January according to the official website veganuary.com.

Veganism is a lifestyle that omits consumption or use of any animal product. People choose to be vegan because of the health, environmental, and financial benefits.

The Veganuary website offers vegan breakfast, lunch and dinner recipes from around the globe, including Mexican, French, Turkish and Chinese food, and even holiday recipes for Christmas and Easter. The site also features an ‘Eating Guides’ page including vegan menu options from fast food restaurants, many of which have locations in Ellensburg.

Local vegan options

Vegan items have found their way to many local eateries doing their part to support vegan diets.

Julep, a new locally-sourced spot on Main Street, offers vegan chili, fried dill pickles, fried tofu bites, cauliflower bites, an autumnal vegan salad, a tofu po’boy sandwich, a fried cauliflower sandwich and other vegan sides.

Another restaurant that caters to vegans is The Early Bird Café, located on Main Street. The café offers dishes such as the ‘vegan bowl’, which includes house potatoes, scrambled tofu, a roasted veggie medley, sweet potatoes, avocado, salsa and green onions.

Jeannie Bayles, the owner, began her culinary career on the west side of Washington where she managed restaurants for several years. When she found the location in Ellensburg, she said she knew she wanted to turn it into a café that served great food that everyone can enjoy.

When asked why she felt it was important to include vegan options she said,“in the Pacific Northwest, people are much healthier and food-conscious. We like to be able to offer something that can appeal to everybody. We have a wide demographic of customers, and so we just want to make sure that we are including all eating types.”

Bayles also mentioned that they can substitute the meat in any dish with roasted veggies because they make everything from scratch and can modify 99% of menu items to be vegan/vegetarian.

Other popular dishes amongst vegans and non-vegans at the café include avocado toast made veg-

an and the cinnamon brown rice porridge made with coconut milk, maple syrup, cinnamon and fresh berries.

Ellensburg offers yet another restaurant that supports vegan diets: The Lunchbox Café, located across the Safeway parking lot on Ruby Street. Owner Margo Cordner began her Ellensburg career at the Yellow Church Cafe for 10 years as a kitchen manager.

According to Cordner, she wanted to create a space where anyone could feel comfortable when dining. Their menu features a vegan deli sandwich with hummus, cucumber and tomato, as well as an organic curry tofu salad, a romaine wrap, the “cranberry craze” salad, the simple spinach salad and four sides made entirely vegan and gluten-free.

“I want everyone to have something to eat,” Cordner said. “There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of that around, so we want to make sure you’re taken care of.”

Some of Cordner’s favorite items on her menu are the sandwiches. Including the curry tofu sandwich and the pickled beet reuben. She said the soups are also excellent, especially at this time of year, and a sweet vegan treat they offer is their raspberry oat bar.

On-campus vegan options

Vegans on the CWU campus can also get their fill of diet-friendly foods. CWU Dining Services Executive Chef Joe Ritchie said, ”There have been student requests in the past [for vegan options]. I came here four years ago and that was one of the first things that was mentioned … It’s a work in progress, but it’s something that we’ve made a lot of progress on in the last couple of years.”

Ritchie said not many students had mentioned it to him before, but that it is a movement that is gaining traction. In his experience, “vegan students tend to be very proactive. They’re very health-conscious, and they know what they want.”

According to Ritchie, his favorite vegan option on campus is the ‘spicy miso ramen’ found in Holmes Dining Room, served during lunch 11 a.m. - 2 p.m. Monday through Friday.

“It’s been fun because I’ve cooked every possible vegan dish I could think of in the last couple of years,” Ritchie said. “Some of those items are gradually going to start making it on the menus downstairs.”

Perspectives of CWU community

Emily Dart, CWU student and vegan said, “I didn’t really want to eat animals and science documentaries made me learn more about how we’re not really meant to process red meat in our bodies.”

According to Dart, one of the challenges she faces in making healthy, non-meat choices in Ellensburg is that a lot of restaurants don’t have many vegan options.

She said that Beyond’s plantbased burgers are a great way to satiate meat cravings during the beginning of trying a vegan diet. After being vegan and vegetarian, Dart said eating meat and dairy now would make her feel sick.

Dart said. “There’s a lot of changing in that way, but there’s still a lot of social challenges. If you’re out with friends at a restaurant, you need to be able to stand your ground. There’s this social talent of being comfortable explaining why you’re eating a diet that you know people might not understand.”

Former CWU student and vegan Aeryn Kauffman said she used to make fun of her vegan friends before she learned how the lifestyle can benefit her health and the world.

After watching the documentary “What The Health,” Kauffman went on her own research journey to discover the truths and myths of American agriculture and veganism.

Kauffman said. “Everybody might think it’s lame to care about animals or think that vegans are so extreme … there’s been a push in recent decades to move the focus away from animals suffering, but I want people to know that it’s okay to care.”

According to Kauffman, anyone wanting to try a vegan diet would benefit from dedicating three months of time to adjust.

-Aeryn Kauffman, CWU student

TheLunchboxCafe. Photo by Katherine Camarata

CustomersenjoyingthesouthernvibeJulipprovides. Photo by Brittany Cinderella

“There’s been a push in recent decades to move the focus away from animals suffering, but I want people to know that it’s okay to care.”

Title Wave: Learning Commons tutors

Supervisor no longer employed

Katherine Camarata Lead Editor

Accusations of discrimination based on disability, gender identity, religion and sex were investigated last summer as part of a Title IX case filed against former University Writing Center (UWC) coordinator Jared Odd.

Odd remained in a supervisory position at the Learning Commons throughout the investigation, according to the report, however he has since ceased working for the university. In an email to The Observer Lead Editor, Odd said his employment was “terminated” on Jan. 3. Official Sources at CWU would not comment about the reasons or conditions for Odd’s departure.

Last November, students held a protest outside Brooks Library alleging that the case was mishandled (see “Learning Commons organized protest against Title IX violations on Nov. 1.”)

Four complainants and 19 witnesses were interviewed as part of Odd’s investigation, which resulted in a 33-page report finding the Respondent [Odd] “responsible for discriminatory behavior, on the basis of sex and gender identity,” but determined he was “not responsible” for discrimination “on the basis of religion and disability.”

The Observer was given a copy of the report in December by one of the witnesses in the case. This witness was one of six sources (a mix of complainants and witnesses) who gave exclusive interviews to The Observer about their experience working in the Learning Commons. The document provided recommendations for how Odd and his supervisor could address the behaviors of concern going forward.

The Observer also reached out twice to Odd and Director of Learning Commons Julia James for comment, first in November and again last week. After the most recent request, The Observer was informed that the report should be sent by Jan. 24.

In an email to The Observer Lead Editor on Jan. 17, Odd stated: “I am writing to inform you that CWU Public Affairs no longer has my permission to comment on my behalf regarding this case or anything pertaining to it.” This was the first response The Observer received from Odd since initially reaching out in November.

In November, Vice President of Public Relations Andrew Morse responded to The Observer with a statement in regards to multiple Title IX protests that read, in part: “We [CWU] … take complaints of gender-based violence—or any other forms of harassment, violence, and discrimination—seriously, and are following established university policy to investigate allegations in accordance with federal law and regulation.”

All sources on this story requested anonymity due to the sensitivity of the topic and fear of retaliation. The Observer labeled sources by number in sequence according to a timeline of when they were interviewed.

In an interview last November, Source #1 said: “I don’t think they handled this in a correct way. I think that he [Odd] should have been suspended honestly once all of this came out and all of us came forward about this, so that he could not cause further harm during the situation, which he did.”

Source #1 claimed that after bringing up concerns about Odd to his supervisor Julia James and mentioning a potential HR report, Odd “started sitting with us to, I believe, try to ensure that we were not talking about anything that he didn’t like, specifically his bad behavior. He would say things to direct the conversation away, or he would just interrupt the conversation with a completely different topic point.”

Source #3 said they hope bringing this case to the press will prohibit the administration from sweeping it under the rug as they feel has happened in the past.

“There were a couple incidents last year where he got reported, and all his higher ups tried to hide and

cover for him and basically pretend it never happened,” Source #3 said. “I think by having all this publicity and all the protests, it basically makes that option impossible.”

Source #4 said they hope for the Learning Commons to be a safe space for those who go there and don’t feel this has been achieved.

“We want students to feel like it’s a safe space where people can come to, and I think having these experiences and knowing tutors who have had these experiences in the Learning Commons can make it hard to tell students that they are safe here and that they will have positive experiences,” Source #4.

Investigative report

Case 12574 began in June 2022 and is titled “Employee Discrimination Complaint and Resolution Investigative Report.” It summarizes the evidence and conclusions of the investigation into Odd’s alleged violation of “Nondiscrimination Policies and Programs Pertaining to Students.”

Complainants made four primary allegations in Case 12574 about behaviors dating back as far as 2019.

One was that Odd demonstrated “differential treatment of the student tutors in the Writing Center based on sex… [and] based on the gender binary as well as sex and gender stereotypes.”

Another complaint alleged that Odd “disclosed transphobic, genderist and negative perceptions of using gender pronouns outside of the gender binary… by indicating that they/them pronouns were grammatically incorrect and were an agenda being forced on the Respondent [Odd] that should not be used in the Writing Center.”

A third allegation was that Odd “disclosed ableist and negative perceptions of having disabilities, including autism and ADHD, by indicating that autism should be cured… and that they wanted to prevent their chil-

dren from getting ADHD…, which caused tutors that have those disabilities to be impacted differently and/or treated less favorably.”

A fourth allegation suggested Odd “demonstrated differential treatment of the student tutors… based on their religion, specifically demonstrating favoritism toward tutors that identify as Christian… [T]he complainants allege that the Respondent inappropriately spreads their religious ideology as a supervisor in the workplace… as well as demonstrated differential treatment toward student tutors based on their religious beliefs that created a silencing, toxic, and stressful environment.”

Sex and gender discrimination complaints

Source #1 said they started working as a tutor at the UWC from 2019 - 2021. They said they eventually quit due to Odd’s behavior.

Several sources detailed various instances of perceived sexism at the Learning Commons that were disruptive for their work environment.

Source #1 detailed an instance where male tutors from the University Math Center were drawing a graph on the white board and “the graph basically explained that the crazier a woman is the hotter that she is.” Source #1 claimed to have asked the two math tutors to erase the graph, because they saw it as inappropriate and felt it could offend people.

“They refused to do so,” Source #1 alleged. “They thought it was just having a fun time, just guys. I got up, went over to Jared’s office, pointed out his window toward where this is happening, explained it and he didn’t seem to think it was an issue. They were laughing and having a good time being real loud, and apparently, that was not an issue. But us

talking, women talking in the center … if we were talking too loud, it was gossip or it was too cliquey.”

Another tutor in the UWC, Source #6, said they felt offended when academic conversations among women tutors were referred to as “catty” or “cliquey.”

The Observer spoke to two other tutors who worked in the Writing Center, Source #3 and Source #4, who both said they also felt there was unequal treatment between the Writing Center and Math Center.

“The math tutors were left largely unsupervised while the writing tutors were under pretty much constant supervision,” Source #4 said.

A tutor who has worked at the Writing Center and Math Center at various points, Source #5, said they also noticed some differences in treatment between female and male tutors.

“The Math Center was pretty much allowed to talk, while the Writing Center was expected to sit quietly,” Source #5 said.

According to the report, the Respondent [Odd] said he wasn’t aware that “gossip is a sex stereotype related to women,” and claimed his concerns about gossip were related to past experiences and “the damage gossip can do in the workplace.”

A separate instance of sexism alleged by Source #1 involved a male tutor being potentially forced into an unwanted harmful situation.

“He [Odd] told a male tutor in a staff meeting that he was responsible for stopping and confronting violent students up to and including active shooters, because he has a larger stature,” Source #1 said. “He [the tutor] looks, I guess, traditionally intimidating. That’s obviously not something you want to put on any student. That student does not like confrontation whatsoever.”

A witness in the case

detail allegations against supervisor

employed at CWU as of January

currently working as a tutor in the UWC, Source #2, said working with Odd wasn’t always negative but they wish the environment was different.

“I’ve been working with him for a while now and so it’s definitely hard, because it hasn’t all been bad,”

Source #2 said. “It’s a job that I really, really appreciate … but it’s just upsetting that this job that’s so close to what I love and what I want to do, that it has to be in an environment where I’m made uncomfortable, or where I don’t feel listened to, or that I don’t feel like I’m able to fully be myself.”

Source #2 said they felt they had to hide parts of their gender and sexual identity as well as their disabilities while working at the Learning Commons.

“I have a transgender sibling,”

Source #2 said. “He [Odd] would talk about the idea of they/them pronouns being an agenda. [Odd] said that we should not use they/ them pronouns … and that we should just assume based on the student’s name and their appearance, rather than using they/them as a default or asking what pronouns they use.”

Source #1 shared a similar experience: “[Odd] directly told a nonbinary tutor he would not use their pronouns back in 2019, and he would not let tutors wear pronoun pins in the center, because he didn’t like their political implications.”

Source #4 detailed the same incident during which a group of office assistants in the Learning Commons wanted to create pronoun pins.

“Last year, our name tags never had pronouns on them,” Source #4 said. “He kind of discouraged me from making them.”

Source #4 said Odd expressed concern that people would feel pressured to wear the pronoun

pins, which may make them feel left out or uncomfortable.

Source #3 reiterated that there was some concerning discourse regarding gender non-conforming people in their workplace.

“He [Odd] was not afraid to just argue with an openly nonbinary tutor in front of a big group about the usage of they/them pronouns,”

Source #3 said.

Disability discrimination complaints

Odd was also accused of discriminatory behavior against those with disabilities, specifically ADHD and autism. One source claimed they were demoted two weeks after disclosing to Odd that they had autism, and they believe the demotion was due to their diagnosis.

According to the report, a complainant alleged that Odd told them vaccines cause autism and that autism should be cured.

Source #2 said: “There were times where Jared said things not knowing that the things he was saying applied directly to me. There was one point in time where he mentioned that he wouldn’t want his kids to have ADHD. He said that in front of myself and two other tutors who all have ADHD. Just knowing that he sees it in a negative light, that he wouldn’t want his children to have it, that he sees it as purely a bad thing was just disheartening to hear because it’s … not something you choose to have.”

Source #3 also shared an experience where they felt certain mental disabilities were not supported in the Learning Commons.

“I was working on a handout and I told him I had ADHD and I wanted to make it accessible for people with learn- ing dis -

abilities, format wise,” Source #3 said. “Then when I looked back at it later, he’d gone in and completely changed the formatting.”

According to the report, the Respondent said he has a disability himself and “does not think it is wrong for people to think that disabilities are unwanted.” He also claimed that he does not believe those with disabilities are “less than in any way.”

Source #1 said: “A lot of neurodivergent people, we already have barriers to education, and I think that he [Odd] is just creating more social barriers, more structural barriers for neurodivergent people to seek help when they’re the ones who maybe need it the most, who need to come into the tutoring center and get extra help or need something explained again in a way that they understand. It’s just so harmful to tell somebody that they need to be cured … maybe they don’t want to be cured.”

Religion discrimination complaints

The final allegation focused on the Respondent showing preferential treatment toward tutors who shared the same religion as him. Claimants alleged that he inappropriately spoke about religious ideology, such as God, Heaven, Hell and damnation, at work meetings.

Source #1 detailed a staff meeting where Odd spoke about a student he overheard outside the Learning Commons using expletive language in a dismissive way toward others. Source #1 claimed Odd asked his staff what this student’s phrase meant, which caused confusion among tutors.

“He started talking about how ‘fuck’ meant you were damning

someone to hell,” Source #1 said. “He started talking about heaven and hell in a very religious context and about how there’s no bad people … It was very confusing why this was happening in our work meeting. It didn’t seem like training at all.”

Source #3 corroborated this story based on their own experience and claimed he “talks like a youth pastor.”

“He’ll bring up theology in staff meetings when it’s not work related,” Source #3 said.

According to Source #6, “He [Odd] would talk about the specific Mormons that he thought were really good examples, and he wanted us to use some Mormon principles in our tutoring.”

Source #1 said they told Odd this messaging had to stop because it had nothing to do with “writing pedagogy.”

Source #1 continued: “He [Odd] told me that it is his job as a Writing Center Coordinator to make students and student employees more politically centrist, because he believes that colleges push liberal ideologies onto students.”

Findings & recommendations

The report recommended that the Respondent [Odd] “develop consistent expectations” on how to ask students “how they identify or would like to be called,” to avoid requiring employees to “engage in sex and gender stereotyping” by assuming the gender of those who come into the Learning Commons.

The Respondent was also recommended to create clear expectations for displaying and using pronouns in email signatures, on pins, buttons or nametags, or on the website. The report continued, stating that the Respondent should “aim to use the correct pronouns for stu-

dents and employees to the best of their ability.”

According to the report, “as the Respondent [Odd] has been notified of this harm [caused to neurodivergent people] the Respondent and their supervisor must find effective ways of considering this in future discussions with student employees as well as considering how to best present norms or ideals that are held in society as these beliefs can have a differential impact on those with personal experience related to historically marginalized and misrepresented social identities.”

The report recommended that the Respondent find methods to ensure he has “respectful relationships with all their student employees.”

The report recommended that the tutor whose pay and position was reduced after disclosing they had autism have their pay be restored to that of a Lead Tutor again.

A recommendation was made for the Respondent to “develop clear and consistent expectations in the Learning Commons around providing and ideally documenting performance feedback to supervisees,” as well as “clear expectations of the lead tutor role(s).”

The Respondent was informed that he could attend and provide training centered around working with neurodiverse students or those with disabilities.

The report recommended that the Respondent be given the opportunity to “examine unconscious bias and sex and gender stereotypes,” as well as find ways to change “their approach to working with and supervising students and employees to eliminate bias and discrimination toward those parties.” The report recommended that the Learning Commons clarify issues like “noise, student privacy and FERPA implementation.”

Jampa Dorje Guest Columnist

The Federal Bureau of Investigation searched Mar-a-Lago on August 8, 2022, the club-like residence of former U.S. President Donald Trump in Florida, for documents that were a part of the national archive. The warrant was requested by the attorney general of the United States and was approved by a federal judge. Trump’s allies likened the FBI’s search to political persecution. The terms “Nazis” and “banana republic” were bantered about.

According to an August 2022, article in The Washington Post: “What began as a low-level dispute over the Trump White House’s chaotic and haphazard record-keeping had morphed into a deeply serious probe of whether the ex-president had endangered national security by hoarding highly classified documents, some potentially related to nuclear weapons.” Trump’s secrets: How a records dispute led the FBI to search Mar-a-Lago | Flipboard

A letter dated February 18, 2022, sent by archivists at the National Archives to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform detailed how President Trump’s staff had not preserved many social media records and that many paper documents had been destroyed by the former president. The letter went on to reveal that after Trump left the White House, the torn-up paper records had been transferred to the agency. The letter claimed that, “although White House staff during the Trump Administration recovered and taped together some of the torn-up records, a number of other torn-up records that were transferred had not been reconstructed by the White House.” Bill seeks to strengthen presidential record keeping, citing Trump | MyStateline.com

Throughout these revelations, Trump insisted that the documents were his personal property. He also claimed that the top-secret documents were declassified by his thinking them to be so and that there was not a necessary protocol for doing this. In an article published on November 2022 in Truthout, Chris Walker wrote: “In an interview with Fox News’s Sean Hannity on Wednesday, former President Donald Trump claimed that he could have declassified government documents he removed from the White House upon leaving office simply by using his mind.

‘There doesn’t have to be a process, as I understand it,” Trump said.

“You’re the president of the United States, you can declassify just by saying it’s declassified, even by thinking about it.’”

My top five favorite hiphop albums of all time

Omar Benitez Senior Reporter

If you’re a returning reader, you may know that I recently created a similar list to this one in the past (See “Top 10 Hip-Hop Albums of the 2010’s” on our website) which goes over what I thought were the best hip-hop albums of the past decade.

Now, this list consists of my favorite albums, albums that no matter how much time or how many listens later, I can still always go back and completely jam and vibe out.These are what I would call classic albums. Now, let’s get into it.

“1999” - Joey Bada$$ (2012)

The only repeat album from my last list and a testament to how much I truly love and enjoy this album. Joey bursts into the rap scene at age 17. His style was reminiscent of Nas, Wu-tang and many other New York legends that came before him. You could say this album gave very similar vibes to when Nas dropped “Illmatic” at age 19. Joey has three songs with his mentor and Pro Era founder, Capital Steez. The album is loaded and showcases a host of young talented rappers from the aforementioned Steez; from CJ Fly to Nyck Caution and many more talented Pro Era members. The album has production on songs like “Pennyroyal,” “World Domination” and “Snakes” from late legendary Hip-Hop producers MF DOOM and J Dilla respectively. The ‘90s New York vibes are crazy strong with this one and the jazz inspired beats and a raw New York flow make for some of the best hiphop you can listen to today.

Favorite three songs: “Third Eye Sh*t,” “Snakes” and “Killuminati”

“Man On the Moon: The End of Day” - Kid Cudi (2009)

I will start off by saying I had a really hard time selecting a Cudi album because there’s so many that I like, but I ultimately decided on his debut album, “Man On the Moon.”

The album showcased Cudi’s unique alternative hip-hop style to the world. Cudi was also one of the first rappers to rap about mental health and this album very much centers around the theme of loneliness and depression. We see this in songs like “Soundtrack 2 My life,” “Man On the Moon,” “Solo Dolo” and his smash hit “Day ‘n’ Nite.” Cudi is not afraid to rap about these topics and they are topics that will carry on to many of his future albums. In this album, we got to see Cudi really come into his own and embrace his differences and unique style from traditional rappers. The album is considered one of his best.

Favorite three songs: “Pursuit of happiness,” “Hyyerr” and “Sky Might Fall”

“The Sun’s Tirade” - Isaiah Rashad (2016)

Described by Rashad as ‘an album you’d listen to when you’re having a bad day,’ I truly love this album, it’s definitely one of my most listened-to albums and one I can always enjoy. Rashad’s debut album came at a time when he was struggling with alcohol and substance use, issues that risked him almost getting dropped from his label and the album almost never coming

out. Luckily, for us, the album did come, and it was amazing. The album was filled with deceptively upbeat flows and beats but if you look beyond that, you find some real substance in the lyrics. He greatly details his struggles with substance use and depression and how he was able to overcome them. The album is truly made for when you’re having a bad day and I know it definitely helped me get past many of them. He’s got full support from his TDE label mates like Jay Rock, Kendrick Lamar, SiR and SZA; it’s definitely an album I’d recommend to any and everyone.

Favorite three songs: “Rope//rosegold,” “4r Da Squaw” and “Tity and Dolla”

“Section.80” - Kendrick Lamar (2011)

I could have put many Lamar albums on this list but I did that on the last list I made, so I’m going to limit myself to one. For this list, I decided to go with my favorite one, “Section.80.” This is some of the most raw and pure hip-hop albums out, there is nothing commercial or mainstream about this album; just pure hip-hop and Lamar rapping and showcasing his skills. Songs like “Rigamortis,” “Chapter 10” and

“Blow my high,” really showcases his rapping ability and I love the chill, relaxed, just unbothered flow that he has throughout the entirety of the album. This was Lamar’s first official full-length project and he fully delivered. He covers serious topics like institutionalized racism, drugs and violence along with other struggles his generation faced while growing up in ‘90s in Compton. He does this all while flowing impeccably over many jazz inspired beats that make for an album that I will surely be listening to until old age.

Favorite three songs: “Kush & Corinthians,” “Poe Man’s Dreams” and “F*ck Your Ethnicity”

“Graduation” - Kanye West (2007)

At arguably the height of his career, Kanye West released the master-class album, “Graduation.” West completely shook up the hip-hop world when it was released. The sound of this album was unlike anything that was out at the time, with the market mostly being dominated by gangster rap for the past years. Some would say this album even marked the end of gangster rap after West soundly defeated fellow rapper, 50 Cent, in an album sales battle. Rightfully so, West completely changed the sound and mold of hip-hop at the time with samples from Daft Punk on hit “Stronger,” Michael Jackson on “Good Life” and Elton John on “Good Morning.” West left behind the soul samples he was known for on “The College Dropout” and “Late registration,” in favor of a much more electronic vibe filled with synthesizers. His production does not suffer for it at all, with West being listed as lead producer for every song. West comes to the top with this album because it’s filled with bangers, has a sound unlike anything else, and has been unmatched to this day. Features from legends like DJ Premier, Mos Def and Lil Wayne cement this as one of the greatest hip-hop albums of all time.

Favorite three songs: “Good Life,” “I Wonder” and “Flashing Lights”

Photo courtesy of pexels.com

BSERVED

OPINION SECTION

Pop-punk’s not dead: five best pop-punk albums of 2022

Andrew Ulstad Columnist

Pop-punk had its heyday in the early 2000s with hits from Blink182’s “The Rock Show” in 2001, Good Charlotte’s “The Anthem” and Simple Plan’s “Perfect,” both in 2002. For those who are thinking, “wait, that’s just alternative rock,” well, you’re not wrong. Pop-punk is a subgenre of rock that can share some common characteristics with many other genres.

The common threads that tie pop-punk songs together lie in the messages of each song. While not a hard and fast rule, most tracks include messages about love, lamenting a rough living condition, hopes for the future and the general vibe of “f*ck you and the world, my friends and I will make our own way.”

In my mind, the best pop-punk music does at least one of two things: makes you move (pop) and makes you think (punk). With all that in mind, here are the 5 best pop-punk albums of last year.

“Growing Up” by The Linda Lindas

The Linda Lindas’ debut album perfectly epitomizes the eclectic nature of pop-punk with a little bit of everything. Want a protest-punk song about boomers in power? Listen to “Fine.” A Spanish language song asking how many times “people are people” has to be said? That’s “Cuantas Veces.” How about something with heavy Joan Jett vibes; Check out “Why.”

What’s even more impressive is how the disparate sounds of ‘80s punk, ‘60s pop and current power pop blend together to create a cohesive listening experience created by the group of teenagers.

Best song: “Growing Up”

This song takes ‘my friends mean the world,’ to the next level. It’s a call to action: don’t take everything on alone. Your friends are there to be leaned on, just as you should be

for them. While not explicitly stated in the lyrics, the rest of the album makes me believe that one could consider this song a ‘call to action’ for a generation.

Best lyric from any song: From “Fine”

“You know we’re dying but you say that we’re cured. You keep on going, you think it’s fine.” I want this played on loop in front of so many government offices.

“f.e.a.r.” by Sand Atlantic

This is the most pop-influenced album on the list. With a little bit of autotune, plenty of electric drum beats and a heavy dose of cynicism, there are so many catchy tunes on this record. I had “Pity Party” and “Dumb” stuck in my head for a week when they first came out. If you’re new to pop-punk and looking for something that’s easy to listen to, “f.e.a.r.” is a great introduction to the sounds the genre has to offer.

Best song: “Pity Party (featuring Royal & the Serpent)”

Everyone has that person in their life. The one who has a different crisis every week, and treats every single one like it’s the end of the world. Well, Stand Atlantic has finally said what we’ve all thought at least once: “f*ck you and your pity party.”

Best lyric from any song: From “Cabin Fever”

“I’m a headache, I’m a headache, and I’m running from my demons on the freeway, and I won’t take sh*t just to please ya.”

“The Great American Novel” by Proper

This album is grippingly powerful. Proper’s Twitter bio tells listeners “don’t overthink it,” but this album WILL set up permanent residence in your head if you allow it. While skewing away from their pop-punk roots towards a more experimental progressive rock sound, the trio created exactly what the al-

bum title suggests: a novel.

The album dissects why the ‘American Dream’ is more of a nightmare, from ditching antiquated but deeply ingrained thoughts about same-sex relationships in “In The Van Somewhere Outside of Birmingham,” to discussing racial indifferences that are frequently swept under the rug in “Americana.” Lead singer Erik Garlington described the release as “a concept album that’s meant to read like a book; every song is a chapter following the protagonist through their twenties. Imagine a queer, black Holden Caufield-type coming up in the 2010s.”

Best song: “Juvie”

This song describes the fight to become more self-aware as we grow up. I really don’t want to give away too much for those who want to experience the album as a narrative story but the general theme of this song is, ‘you are not the main character.’ It creates this sense that even in the worst times of your life, you still need to be accountable to yourself and those around you.

Best lyric from any song: From “Americana”

“They told me racism ended back in the seventies, but the good old boys still have senate seats and the ones not cut for politics became police.”

“Pop Drunk Snot Bread” by Bowling for Soup

If there are any aging pop-punk fans like myself reading this that haven’t heard at least a single from this album, you’re doing it wrong. Bowling for Soup has been one of the most fun bands to listen to for years (if you’re doing a deep dive, go find Hooray for Beer) and they’ve continued that into their latest release.

Singles like “I Wanna be Brad Pitt” and “Getting Old Sucks” create the kind of levity required for addressing some of the harder topics discussed on this album.

Best song: “Hello Anxiety”

Remember those staples of poppunk from the beginning of the article? “Hello Anxiety” hits on damn near every one of them. The lyrics discuss a situation many of us are familiar with: facing down a Monday with the weight of anxiety pulling you down, turning every molehill into a mountain. This heavy lyrical composition is juxtaposed with music that could be described as a mix of classic punk and ‘50s doowop.

Best lyric from any song: From “The Best We Can”

“And all the aggravation was based on expectation that you and I could never live up to. Let’s just do the best we can.”

“Kings of the New Age” by State Champs

This album perfectly combines the driving guitar lines of punk, with poppy drum and bass beats to create energetic songs that really lean into the themes of love and self-reflection. State Champs has always been one of the best on the poppy side of the spectrum, and “Kings” will have you singing and bouncing along by the third track.

Best song: “Eventually”

This song is a master’s class in self-reflection.

The first lines are, “I wanted to leave, but it’s difficult with hands around my neck. It’s harder to sleep when you always keep me up in side my head.” This is lead singer Derek DiScanio talking about the fight between what may be ex pected of him and what he actually wants.

The chorus continues to examine the idea that wrong decisions or decisions that you go along with despite your disagreement, will eventually catch up to you: “Started running from what made me paranoid. Eventually, it caught up to

me. Maybe I’m the one I can’t seem to avoid.”

The second verse and bridge really seal this idea of introspection in the lines. “No, I haven’t come to terms with myself yet. I’m grinding my teeth while I’m dealing with the fear that I protect,” and “I can’t imitate at any cost, but I can ride it ‘til the wheels fall off,” I hear this as DiScanio saying the only way to come to terms with your mistakes, is to face them with your own set of morals in mind.

Best lyric from any song: From “Fake It”

“Nobody knows we’re empty, so we fake it right through that Monday smile.”

Bowling For Soup has been consistently makingmelaughatmyterriblelifechoicesforoveradecade. Photo by Chris James Ryan Photography via Shutterstock

Photocourtesyofpexels.com

Men’s and Women’s Basketball teams set to play in Nicholson Pavillion

Deacon Tuttle Tre’Jon Henderson Staff Reporters

The newly renovated Nicholson Pavilion is game-time ready for CWU and their upcoming opponents. On Jan. 21, CWU basketball will be facing off against Northwest Nazarene University (NNU).

Neither CWU Basketball team has played a home game due to the reconstruction of the Pavilion.

Guard Camron McNeil shed light onto head coach Brandon Rinta’s approach to practicing out-oftheir-element.

“Coach emphasized entering the season that we would be battling adversity every week.” McNeil said. “[...] We cannot let things outside of basketball dictate our effort and energy going into our games’’

Senior Guard Landis Spivey said the members of the team have disdain towards not being able to practice in their own building.

“I think everybody on the team hates not having access to our own gym or locker rooms,” Spivey said. “It is all different for everybody because everyone comes from somewhere different, so it is challenging but we work through it every day.”

While the Pavilion won’t be finished until next fall quarter, everyone will be able to appreciate the progress achieved thus far. One person sure to attend is CWU President Jim Wohlpart.

“Renovation of Nicholson Pavilion is a game-changer that will take our athletics facilities and our health-education facilities to the next level,” Wohlpart said.

A new addition is the Pavilion’s wrap-around walkway that surrounds the court from above. New locker rooms are set to be implemented as well, according to Wohlpart.

Both the men’s and women’s basketball teams have spent the better half of a season playing in various venues off campus. Wohlpart is ready for the Wildcats to be in a centralized location again.

“I so enjoy watching them play and I enjoy watching the coaches interact with the players as they’re

coming on and off the court,” said Wohlpart. “[...] Just the vibe that you get in that room.”

In a wider celebration, Wohlpart highlighted the student-athletes at CWU.

“Our student-athletes have won the conference academic all-honors,” Wolhpart said. “This is the first time that we’ve gotten it two years in a row… Intellectual, emotional, psychological, all of that, they take all of that very, very seriously.”

Joseph Avenado, a strength and conditioning graduate assistant, works with multiple teams across CWU including both basketball units.

Avenado is anticipating the changes to the Pavilion, and thinks it will impress not only CWU students, but the teams they’re playing as well.

“It’s supposed to be the best in the GNAC,” Avendo said. “I would also assume competitors are looking forward to being in a facility that nice.”

According to Avenado, training and preparation hasn’t changed despite the construction.

“Wherever they’re going and wherever they’re competing, the expectation for them is to compete at a championship level,” Avenado said.

Many important CWU players are starting to reach the end of their college careers and Avenado says that has played a role in getting the Pavilion back up and running.

“We’re trying to get it to the point to where these seniors can have the ability to play in this gym before they leave Central Washington,” Avenado said. “[Seniors like] Samantha Bowman, who breaks every single record in the books.”

On the flip side, several players will be playing in the Pavilion for the very first time. According to Avenado, this will impact the rest of the season with fresh experiences and their new home.

“I think it will give a lot more appreciation to what they have now, and what they will be getting,” Avenado said.

NicholsonPavilionremainsfencedoff. Photo by Andrew Ulstad

Deterioratingceilinginthepavilion.

Photo by Andrew Ulstad

ThePavilionunderconstruction. Photo by Andrew Ulstad

Constructionworkersalongthesidewalk. Photo by Andrew Ulstad

ThebarebonesofthenewPavilion. Photo by Andrew Ulstad

Samantha Bowman makes Wildcat history

By:IsaacHinson

May the Seattle Seahawks rest in peace. Seattle’s dream team lost to their rivals the San Francisco 49ers this past Saturday. Seattle made a valiant effort in the first half, valiant enough to actually lead going into halftime. But whatever 49ers Head Coach Kyle Shanahan told the team in the locker room during half must’ve worked, cause they came out like a buzzsaw, turning the 17-16 lead Seattle had at half into 41-23 final score. Alas, Seattle looks forward to the draft, where they are sure to make some noise.

Charis Jones Staff Reporter

CWU’s own Samantha Bowman exceeded 1,000 career rebounds during the women’s basketball game on Jan. 7, making her the first ever student-athlete at CWU to surpass 1,000 in both points and rebounds.

When asked what makes her such a great rebounder, Bowman explained that rebounding is all about effort. Crashing the boards and pursuing the ball every play is no easy feat, but she prides herself in her work ethic as well as crediting her coaching staff for her determination on the court.

“It’s hard to continue to pursue the ball and attack the boards every play of the game, a lot of people aren’t willing to work that hard,” Bowman said. “I pride myself in my work ethic. My coaches have developed me into a really hard worker. My strength coach told me my freshman year that usually when we feel like we’re at our breaking point, it’s about 40% of what we can actually do physically.”

She then went on to explain how this is a quote she comes back to often during challenging points of her games.

“In games when I feel exhausted like I can’t give any more, I go back to that and think ‘I can physically give more, I just need to push myself mentally,’ because the first thing that’s going to go is your mind. [Once] you fix that, you can accomplish a lot.” Bowman said.

Though Bowman was aware that she may cross the milestone heading into the game, she said she had mixed feelings given the team’s fall to Simon Fraser University.

“I actually didn’t think about my

rebounds at all just because we did lose and it was a hard loss,” Bowman said. “There’s no ‘I’ in ‘team’ so it really didn’t matter how well I did because it’s not about individual success, it’s about team success.”

Despite falling short, CWU demonstrated a persistent effort in their scoring attempts. Bowman led the team with 23 points, followed by Valerie “Sunshine” Huerta with 11 points and close behind Claire Heitschmidt with 10 points.

Head Coach Randi Richardson had good things to say about Bowman’s career achievements. She explained that there wouldn’t be many people out there that will care more or put more effort into what they do than Sam and as a coach, it’s a dream for her.

“She’s been an absolute joy to coach and a major impact player for our program,” Richardson said. “She has the humility to look at her weaknesses and an eagerness to work upon them which is why you’ve seen the development that you’ve seen in Sam in her time here.”

Richardson also expressed her conflicted emotions about it being Bowman’s final season here at CWU.

“It’s always hard to see seniors graduate, especially the ones that have been a part of your program since they were freshmen,” Richardson said. “One of the most rewarding things of my job is seeing them come in as young women right out of high school and seeing them develop into the women that they’ll be for the next stage of their life.”

Bowman’s recent efforts have resulted in her winning GNAC Player of the Week for the third time this season.

However! Down south in Portland the Trail Blazers look like a real basketball team... finally! Thank God! They’ve won two of their last four games, beating the Dallas Mavericks twice and holding MVP candidate Luka Doncic to just 15 points. Damian Lillard is averaging 40 points and 6 assists in his last 5 games, including a 50 point explosion against the Cleveland Cavaliers, and is making a real case to be a part of the All-Star game in Salt Lake City this March. In addition to Lillard’s surge, forward Nassir Little is off the injury report and contributed three three-pointers in Sunday’s game against Dallas, and guard Gary Payton II is playing consistent minutes as well, logging four steals in his first four minutes in Saturday’s game.

SamanthaBowmanreadingtheoffense.

Photo by Jacob Thompson / Thompson Sports Media

SamanthaBowmancontrollingtheboards. Photo by Jacob Thompson / Thompson Sports Media

SamanthaBowmangettingtheblock.

Photo by Jacob Thompson / Thompson Sports Media

CWU signs two-year contract allowing APOYO to remain on campus

Megan Rogers Assistant News Editor

CWU signed a contract with Allied People Offering YearRound Outreach (APOYO) on Oct. 18, which will allow APOYO to remain in their on-campus facility until Oct. 31, 2024.

Associate Professor and Director of the Museum of Culture and Environment, and APOYO Board member Hope Amason said when APOYO made the agreement with CWU in 2020 they were hoping to relocate to their own facility off campus when their previous agreement expired in 2022.

“We had started gathering information about what kinds of costs it would take to be able to build that new facility for APOYO. We started fundraising over the last couple of years, it kind of became apparent that because of permitting with the city and the county, as well as just raising funds, we were probably going to need a little bit more than two years,” Amason said.

APOYO’s Executive Director Stefanie Wickstrom, said APOYO is pleased to be able to stay on campus and continue their relationship with CWU.

“We’re grateful to [CWU] for providing us the space. They pay our utilities and give us a space for rent free and in exchange we provide educational opportunities; everything from volunteer work for students, to internships. We also provide food to [CWU]

students,” Wickstrom said.

According to Wickstrom,the plan for APOYO is to build a community outreach center off campus so they can have a bigger space.

“We’ll still have our food pantry operations, of course, but we’ll be able to have a gathering place. A place where we can have workshops and classes, and social activities,” Wickstrom said.

APOYO began operating on the CWU campus in 1998, Wickstrom said that having a food bank within the campus and the community is important because of the economic circumstances that we are currently facing.

“From November of 2021, to November of 2022 grocery store food prices rose 12%. That’s one of the highest increases in food prices in history, and in 2023 they’re expected to rise an additional three to 4%,” Wickstrom said. “Everyone is in need of food and that need is increasing.”

Amason said having food banks in college towns, like Ellensburg, is important because the median income is lower since the majority of college students are under the poverty level.

“It’s hard for students to be able to have healthy food and having food banks and food pantries in your community is one way that people can work to make ends meet,” Amason said.

Grab a SLICE: CWU clubs receive travel funding from SLICE

Benitez Senior Reporter

The Anime Club, Cosplay Club, Horn Club, Art and Design Club, and the Exercise Science/ Clinical Physiology Club, among several clubs, were awarded with funding this past Thursday Jan. 12 by Student Leadership, Involvement, and Community Engagement (SLICE).

The funding is meant to support the clubs with traveling activities such as going to conventions, events and trainings. As well as helping cover travel expenses including hotels and transportation.

Some of the activities the funding will help with include the Anime and Cosplay Club Attending Sakura-Con, The Horn club being able to host a horn festival event on campus and the Art and Design club being able to attend a photography convention in Denver.

According to SLICE Director of Student Leadership Involvement and Community Engagement Amber Hoefer, the requests were first proposed to SLICE by each club. Where they were carefully evaluated before being presented to the SLICE board members for a decision.

“Student club members register their organization first, if they’re active and in good standing, then they can submit funding requests,” said Hoefer. “Before we even send it to the funds council, we make sure all of those checkboxes have been answered from a departmental standpoint and make sure the funds council has all the information they need to make a decision.”

According to Hoefer, the funding comes from Service and Activities (S&A) funds which comes from the fees students pay throughout the year.

The funds council, which consists of several students who are members of different clubsheld

the Registered Student Organization (RSO) funds meeting where they voted on and finalized a decision on the requests. Several club’s members came out to support their club’s requests. That included Many club leaders and their members presented their cases for requests after the board opened for public comments.

Some of the members who showed up in support of their clubs were Art and Design Club member Arely Reyes and Club Secretary Jen Arnautovic.

“It’s a big opportunity to expand our wings and be able to be in a professional space, you don’t really get a lot of opportunities for that,” Reyes said. “I know that I personally couldn’t justify paying for the trip and I know I’m not the only person in the club that couldn’t.”

According to Arnautovic, receiving this funding is the difference between being able to attend this important event where they are able to showcase their work with professionals in their field or not for many members.

“Without the funding I myself wouldn’t be able to go on this trip and I say more than 50 percent would not be able to go without this funding,” Arnautovic said. Apart from the funds they received, several clubs also engaged in fundraising events.

The “organized chaos” of a community on wheels

Jordyn Rossmeisl Staff Reporter

As the sun sets in Ellensburg and people begin to wind down for the night, the Ellensburg High School (EHS) gym comes to life. Readers may be wondering, ‘what could be going on in a high school gym after hours?’ Here’s a little hint: it’s a fast-paced sport on wheels. If you guessed roller derby, you’d be correct!

The Rodeo City Roller Derby team, a tight-knit community of players, gathers twice weekly at the EHS gym for practice.

Roller derby team member April Rohrbach, also known as “Fastest Cactus,” described roller derby as “organized chaos … a pretty full contact, kind of wild sport, but it’s fun to watch and really fun to play.”

President of the team Lynn Bethke, also known as “Hildegard of Bring It,” said, “It is played on eight wheels, on skates, and you’re playing offense and defense at the same time. Which, like April says, makes it chaos.”

Bethke said there “aren’t that many [full-contact sports] for women and gender expansive individuals,” which contributes to

the “bad-assery” of the sport. According to their website, rodeocityrollerderby.com/, the sport “is played on a flat, oval track, with two teams of fifteen players. Play is broken up into two 30-minute periods, and within those periods, into units of play called “Jams,” which last up to two minutes. There are 30 seconds between each Jam. During a Jam, each team fields up to five Skaters.”

The Skaters are split into categories, “Blockers” and a “Jammer.” The Blockers try to block the opposing team’s Jammer, whose job it is to get past the blocker in a lap. The players learn the rules and go through training to keep the game fun and safe.

According to Bethke, the sense of community fostered in roller derby stands out.

“One of the things about roller derby is that it’s a community,” Bethke said. “We’ve had a ton of new people, so I feel like we are still growing some of these new bonds, but people are here for each other which has been a really great thing about this particular league.”

Rohrbach said, “yeah, we will hit you, but we’ll help you get

back up. It seems pretty intimidating at first … some of the people seem a little scary, but everyone is really super sweet.”

According to Bethke, anybody has a place within the roller derby community, regardless of their body type or prior experience.

Kayla Robinson, also known as “Slabretooth Tiger,” shared this sentiment.

“There’s a spot for anybody, whether it’s skating, being an official [or] being a non-skating official, so we have positions where you don’t even have to put skates on,” Robinson said. “ My advice for people who are interested in joining roller derby, in general, is: don’t wait.”

Robinson said the team is always interested in volunteers, like photographers and artists.

“A lot of people put it off because they’re like, what if this happens? What if this happens?”

Robinson said. “You’re always going to have something in your life. My other advice is, if you‘re not sure because you haven’t tried it out, we have loaner gear. We’re able to assist for at least a practice or two.”

In addition to meeting for practice, the team often plans bonding activities and participates in competitive matches called “scrimmages” with other teams from all over the region.

If you would like to see one of these scrimmages yourself, you

can check out the new skaters’ scrimmage on Jan. 28.

“That’s where you’re gonna see all these new skaters … quite a few of them get to debut in their first real scrimmage,” Rohrbach said.

If you would just like to get to know the team, they are doing a pint night at Iron Horse Tap Room on Jan. 26. In addition to meeting the team, the event will include raffles and a costume contest.

As for those who are interested in learning more or want to join right away, people may reach out to their email, newskaters@rodeocityrollerderby.com. For more information, you can check out their website, rodeocityrollerderby.com/.

Rollerderbyteam. Photo courtesy MJ Rivera

Omar

Photo Courtesy of: APOYO on Facebook

of your own making.

That the ponderous smoke of it belongs to this world. That your heart feels the burn of wild timber and sky. That the deep well of your soul reflects the tender longing of humanity.

No, I won’t say these things even though they may be true.

What will I say to you as you walk through your cloud of sorrow?

That the light at the end is closer than you think.

That you don’t have to make it out of the tunnel before you can see it.

That it’s here now.

That the light is you. You are the light. That’s it. That is what I want to say to you as you move bravely through this life.

Walk on, my friend, embracing the light that blazes within.

Sierra Zahnow is a current student at CWU, earning a degree in child development. Sierra is the current cheerleading captain.

Sierra Zahnow is a current student at CWU, earning a degree in child development. Sierra is the current cheerleading captain.

Sierra Zahnow (Cheer Captain)

When did you start cheerleading?

I started cheering during my senior year of high school.

Why is cheer so important to you?

Cheer is important to me because it’s an outlet for stress and anxiety. I also get to be a part of a team where I get to build friendships with amazing people!

What skills have you found helpful as a cheer captain that you did not expect? I have found that problem-solving is a skill I have used a lot as a captain. I use it when we are trying to fix stunting problems or other issues that may arise on our team.

What is your favorite cheer memory so far?

When we got to go to UW and cheer at the basketball game. It was a different experience because we were down on the gym floor sitting next to a hoop because at the D1 level cheerleaders can’t be standing during play. It was a new and exciting experience and we also got to stunt and show off some of our skills so that was fun to see people’s reactions. Also just being on the cheer team with my sister!

What do you wish more people knew about cheerleading?

It’s harder than it looks. Sometimes when people think of cheerleading they think of cheerleaders just standing on the sidelines chanting. However, there’s a lot more work that goes into getting prepared for games. We have group stunting, and we have to clean those up and get the timing right, and then pyramids which almost always uses the whole team. As well as sideline dances.

Do you have a favorite song to listen to while you’re getting ready?

My favorite getting ready song is called Give it to me Timbaland. What gets you excited for game day the most? What gets me excited for game day is being able to show off the skills we work so hard to

pyramid and hearing the crowd’s reactions is my favorite part of game days.

Shawn Woods Jr. ITAM

“The food. [The] pizza’s good, quesadillas are good, but Lions Rock could use improvement in my opinion.”

Julian Martinez Sr. Electrical Engineering

Jamie Taylor So. Biology

“Well, I’m in ROTC right now with the army and I’d make a cadet lounge for the military, specifically the army

Alex Wood

Jr. History and Political Science

Jamie Bowers

Fr. History Teaching

“I want to go abroad next year, so I think there should be more clubs about going abroad.”

“It’s good. I like the programs that are here. I’ve been to different buildings. All

Wildcat

Words by Andrew Ulstad

If you could change one thing about CWU what would it be?