AS Review - Nov 28, 2016 by ASWWU

VOL. 32 #10 11.28.16

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TOKiMONSTA performs on a smokefilled stage at the ASP electronic music concert. Cover photo by Ricky Rath // AS Review

Viking Union 411 516 High St. Bellingham, WA 98225 Phone: 360.650.6126 Fax: 360.650.6507 Email: as.review@wwu.edu as.wwu.edu/asreview @TheASReview facebook.com/theasreview

© 2016. Published most Mondays during the school year by the Associated Students of Western Washington University. The AS Review is an alternative weekly that provides coverage of student interests such as the AS government, activities and student life. The Review seeks to enhance the student experience by shedding light on underrepresented issues, inclusive coverage, informing readers and promoting dialogue.

IN THIS ISSUE Interview with

4 President Sabah Randhawa One writer interviewed Western’s president on a variety of important issues.

ASP hosts an 6 electronic music concert After the success of last month’s hip-hop concert, AS Productions tried a different genre.

“Emergence” 7 exhibit in VU Gallery This new exhibit will showcase student work from the Art Studio BFA cohort.

Interview with 8 Noemi Ban Local Holocaust survivor Noemi Ban shares her story of life after the war.

The film “A Last Stand for Lelu” chronicles the struggle of water protectors in Washington State.

Humans vs. 10 Zombies Most students enjoy this campus-wide game, but for some, the game is all too real.

A note from the editors: In our last issue, Vol. 32 #9, published on November 14, we ran a story profiling computer science professor Dr. Filip Jagodzinski. The article stated that Dr. Jagodinski is an associate professor. It should have said that he is an assistant professor. We apologize for the error.

We welcome reader submissions, including news articles, literary pieces, photography, artwork, letters to the editor or anything else physically printable. Please limit letters to 300 words, include your name, phone number and year in school. Send all submissions to as.review@wwu. edu. Published letters may have minor edits made to their length or grammar. The AS Review is distributed via electric bicycle, the purchase of which was made possible by the Sustainable Action Fund Grant Program.

Morgan Annable Alexandria Baker Ricky Rath Erasmus Baxter Julia Berkman Josh Hughes Chris Beswetherick Photographers Jonathan Pendleton Jaden Moon Janna Bodnar Adviser Jeff Bates

Indigenous struggles draw support

In other news, this is the last issue of fall quarter. We hope you have enjoyed the publication so far this year, and we will be back on stands around campus starting the first day of classes of winter quarter, January 4.

Editor-in-Chief Assistant Editor Lead Photographer Writers

ABOVE: President Sabah Randhawa met with a reporter to discuss a wide variety of issues, from support for undocumented students, fossil fuels and even his Thanksgiving plans. Photo by Ricky Rath // AS Review

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EVENTS

CALENDAR OF EVENTS Emergence Nov 21 - Dec 7 // 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. weekdays // VU Gallery // Free Check out the new art installation in VU 507, and read about it on page 7.

Star Wars Trivia Night Nov 29 // 7 p.m. // Underground Coffeehouse // Free Test your knowledge of George Lucas’s famous space opera.

“Solar Mamas”

Tchaikovsky-Ellington Nutcracker Dec 2-3 // 7:30 p.m. // PAC 155 // Free with student ID Western dance faculty and students have collaborated with music department colleagues to bring this Christmastime tale to life.

6th Annual Holiday Make. Sale

Top Ten: Nov 28 - Dec 9 1

A Moon Shaped Pool Radiohead

Sunlit Youth Local Natives

Good Luck and Do Your Best Gold Panda

IV BadBadNotGood

Certainty Sloucher

Nov 30 // 6 p.m. // Miller Hall 138 // Free

Dec 2-3 // 6-10 p.m. Dec 2; 12-6 p.m. Dec 3 // Make.Shift // 306 Flora St. // Free

Western Reads presents the story of a woman leaving Jordan for the first time to learn engineering skills she can bring back to her community.

Spend your money locally as you shop for holiday gifts. Artisans will be offering everything from soap to mugs to unique clothing.

Peter and the Starcatcher

A Shayna Maidel Auditions 6

Nov 30 - Dec 4 // Various times // PAC Mainstage // Various prices Fly away to Neverland and learn about Peter Pan’s backstory with this play based on the novel by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson.

Best Beard in Bellingham Contest Nov 30 // 7 p.m. // Aslan Brewing Company // 1330 N Forest St. // Free In honor of No-Shave November, Aslan invites people to bring their beards for an evening of hilarity and celebration. If you can’t make it to the event, submit a pic on Instagram to compete.

22, A Million Bon Iver

Dec 4 // 7 p.m. // Bellingham Theater Guild // 1600 H St. // Free

Tween Wye Oak

This play portrays the poignant story of a family in the aftermath of the Holocaust. Performances run from Jan 27 - Feb 12.

Manatee Commune Manatee Commune

Hot Hot Heat Hot Hot Heat

Banff Mountain Film Festival Dec 6 // 7:30 p.m. // Mount Baker Theatre // $7 for students ASP Films once again brings the best of films about all things mountain-related to Bellingham. Buy tickets at the PAC box office on campus for at MBT before they all sell out!

Signs of Light The Head and the Heart KUGS is the Associated Students’ student-run radio station. Listen online at kugs.org. If you’re interested in getting on the waves, pick up a volunteer application in the station’s office on the seventh floor of the VU.

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A conversation with Sabah Randhawa BY ERASMUS BAXTER On November 15, AS Review reporter Erasmus Baxter had the opportunity to speak with Western President Sabah Randhawa and University Office of Communications and Marketing Director Paul Cocke about a variety of issues, including support for undocumented students, divestment from the fossil fuel industry, international students and Randhawa’s commitment to listening to student concerns. Here, the AS Review is happy to present the transcript of the interview, edited for clarity and slightly condensed due to space restrictions in the print version of the publication. For the complete version, visit wp.wwu.edu/theasreview. .

Erasmus Baxter: You’ve talked about how important student input is to you. I understand you have a listening session coming up this Thursday [November 17]. What are your hopes and goals for this listening question? Sabah Randhawa: Good question! It’s always difficult when you have a campus of 15 to 16 thousand students, how you connect with a lot of people. Certainly I’ve had the opportunity to meet on a fairly regular basis with the AS leadership and with the ESC Council and a number of other formal groups, but I thought about having an open session and just inviting students to come and talk a little bit about themselves and about Western. I think the biggest thing I’m hoping to learn from [students] is what excites them about Western. As we think about the future of this wonderful institution from their perspective, what are some programs and some services that are really important and helping in their mentorship, in their education at Western? Are there other areas we need to strengthen, that we need to improve? There are things we perhaps haven’t thought about, maybe there are programs we haven’t thought about, and they’re coming from a different perspectives in terms of how they view our society and the social and economic forces that are shaping it. So really, I’m going in with a very open mind just to listen and to learn. One of the questions I always ask some of the other groups I’d met initially is, “If there was something we are not doing, that you think we should be doing at Western,

what is it?” EB: And you have another session in December as well? SR: Right. So we are starting off with a couple of sessions and then we’ll see how it goes and maybe we can follow it up with some more directed dialogue. And I’m having the same thing with faculty too to get their perspective.

EB: Do you have any plans beyond those sessions to find a way to get input on a regular basis from students in that kind of open way? SR: Again that’s a conversation that we’ve been having with [AS President] Stephanie Cheng too. We’ve been talking about some office hours, joint office hours. Stephanie and myself. Designating a few hours during the term, we’re there having a cup of coffee, please stop by and tell us what’s going on in your life. We also talked about some kind of open, fireside chat type session. I want to see how the first two sessions go. If we don’t get too many students stopping by, is there a different way to look at this? Maybe the timing or the venue or the format? So we’ll see. What we do next will be shaped by how these two sessions go. Let me put it that way. [At this point in the interview, Baxter, Randhawa and Cocke spoke about the concerns of undocumented students and a recent public letter released by the Blue Group, an on-campus organization dedicated to undocumented students’ rights. This section of the interview is available on the AS Review website, wp.wwu.edu/theasreview.]

EB: When you were at Oregon State University there was a large growth [in students], including a large growth in the number of international students who came to OSU. And you were a big proponent of this program. I guess people are wondering whether to expect an increase in the number of international students at Western. SR: I’m still a big proponent of internationalization. In terms of domestic and international diversity, sort of coming together around global diversity, just because we live in a global environment that is so interconnected. You need to know values and culture of different places, so I am a strong proponent of internationalization from that perspective.

Not just in terms of international students on our campuses, but in terms of our students having the opportunity to go and live in and experience different cultures and different values. There is a lot to be said for it, and I think across the globe, the type of understanding and tolerance we are talking about, and I honestly think the way to do it is through these type of globalization efforts. More than anything else, I’m hopeful about your generation. You are really going to help us get to a better place from that perspective. To your specific question about international student and Western: Currently, I think our international students are about 1 percent [of the student body] and that about 10 percent are non-resident students. Eighty to ninety percent are resident students from the state of Washington. Which I think is great. While you said we had a lot of international students at Oregon, I was also a strong proponent that it should not come at the expense of qualified Oregonians, and I still believe in it here. That if you do grow international students, which I do think we need to, 1 percent for student body of almost 16,000 is anything but diverse, at the same time, it should not be at the expense of qualified Washingtonians. And that is the mission of our university, first and foremost to provide education to the citizens of Washington. But I do think there is a happy medium. What we did at Oregon, is not necessarily what needs to happen here. Institutions are different, cultures are different, histories are different. But I do think in terms of the value of diverse multi-cultural perspectives, I think that is really important. So as we look at the strategic plan over the next year or so, put together a plan around growing internationalization, both in terms of students, but also increasing the experience of our own students. And how do we do it in a controlled manner that doesn’t impact our commitment to the state of Washington.

EB : What would you say to students or faculty members who may be concerned that the university is using international students as a way to increase the diversity of the student population on paper, but not necessarily increasing its commitment to diversity within the state and students who have traditionally been underserved in Washington in higher education?

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An AS Review reporter chats with the university president about a variety of important issues that concern many students SR: Yeah. I totally hear that particular perspec-

tive,and I totally understand that. I honestly think the proof is in the outcomes that you deliver. We can talk as much as we want to, and I’ve said it all along that the first priority is how do we increase success for all students here at Western, and how to eliminate achievement gaps. And really the achievement gaps to a large degree are around students who are coming from first generation students, or economic backgrounds where they didn’t have role models, and unfortunately there is a correlation between students or families from low-economic backgrounds and race. It’s not the same thing, but there is a correlation between the two. I think the students who would benefit from that are disproportionately students from backgrounds that have been disadvantaged. So to me, trying to focus on internationalization without focusing on equalizing success is a no go. We need to make sure that we focus on success for students from the backgrounds you are referring to. We need to take care of the house before we start changing the world, to put it mildly. So what you’re saying is absolutely critical to us.

EB: So moving away from the diversity issues, to the issue of divestment. I know someone asked you about that when you first came to campus. As the president you have a limited amount of control on it, as it is controlled by the [Western] foundation. But, just speaking personally, what are your thoughts on the issue? Do you think it’s appropriate for Western to be invested in fossil fuels? Should we be trying to move in a different direction? SR: I think, again, a very thoughtful question. The structure not just at Western, but at other universities too, is foundations are separate 501(c) (3) entities that have a separate board. And particularly for campuses of our size that have relatively smaller endowments, I genuinely think the Foundation is really trying to figure out the balance between social responsibility and fiduciary responsibility. Especially since the return from investments directly come to support programs and student scholarship and so forth. One thing I am really interested in, and I am learning about the Foundation and how they operate, is: Are there vehicles where people can invest

in socially responsible investments? I know the Foundation has had conversations with the students over the past few months, and I am going to pick up that conversation with the Foundation in terms of where we are. I know they have been exploring that. It provides a vehicle, at least in the short term, for donors or individuals who would like to have that opportunity, or have that alternative, I think it’s very fair to have that as part of the foundation portfolio. I understand the complexity that they are dealing with, and I think in the long term we do need to move towards responsible investments that make sure that this planet is there for generations and generations to come. The challenge always is how do we make those transitions in a way that doesn’t impact other parts of the system inadvertently, or in a way that... Paul Cocke: and it is more difficult for a midsized public university. Unlike Stanford university which, for example, might own thousands of shares of Exxon, and they can quickly divest, it’s different. The Foundation can explain it better, but they’re in mutual fund investment vehicles that make it difficult to pull that part. SR: Exactly. But the point is well taken, we certainly need to keep that issue in front of both the university and the Foundation and see if we can work towards a more sustainable solution there.

EB : Those discussions you’re talking about beginning with the Foundation, is that a new initiative that you’re starting, coming in as the new president? SR : I wouldn’t say a new initiative, because I think the conversation has been going on, and I really respect the work that the students have done too, and I know there are some faculty who have also been part of those conversations. So I wouldn’t call it new, but it’s something that, going forward in terms of my conversation with the Foundation, I would like to see where we go with it. I know that, I had been briefly briefed that, they had been thinking about that alternative, so I’d like to follow up and see where we are in that conversation and what do we need to do during this academic year.

EB: So there was one thing I wanted to give you the opportunity to address. Last spring I was on the Western Front and I covered the trustees meeting where they finalized your contract and we were talking about in class afterwards, and one thing that struck professors and students was the size of your compensation package. Your package was a 12.5% increase from President Shepard’s and you get a house and a car, as I’m sure you know. To some students who are struggling with tuition, or adjunct faculty who are making $30k a year, this seems to them perhaps like a double standard. What would you say to those people who feel that way? SR: I again, hear and I can certainly understand their position. I think to a large degree, well, it is something that is to be market driven and certainly I understand that it is a 12% increase from what President Shepard was making, but it is also a 12% decrease from what I was making at Oregon State. So if you look it that way, in many ways I said, that to me, the insulation is more important than trying to match or exceed the salary. And I tell you that there aren’t many folks who will take a salary cut, wherever they’re going. And if you can’t match our salary it’s a no-go. But to me, again, I was really excited about Western. EB: Cool! Well, final question. Do you have any Thanksgiving plans? SR: We do. Initially our thinking was just to stick around and have our daughter join us, but then we learned we have some old friends in Oregon whose son is getting married so we’ll have to go down to Salem, Oregon for that. Since my daughter is finishing her degree in Oregon, what we’ll do is just go have Thanksgiving with her, then the celebration, which will be an opportunity, you know a lot of our old friends will be there. Knock on wood it will be a quiet Thanksgiving, there won’t be any emergencies. Otherwise, I’ll be here. .

Thank you for reading. To speak with Sabah yourself and bring up your own questions, concerns and thoughts with the president, consider attending the next listening session, which will be held on December 1.

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Big Wild, TOKiMONSTA, Manatee Commune, Ca$h Bandicoot After hip-hop concert success, AS Productions hosts electronic music concert BY JOSH HUGHES

“Thank you guys so much, this is the first sold out show here since 2013,” Big Wild said, a couple of songs into his headlining set in the VU MPR. Students filled the entire space, illuminated by brief flashes of light and an overhanging disco ball. Spirits were high and hands pulsed in the air with every passing beat. On November 18, AS Productions put on Sound Block, a concert consisting of Ca$h Bandicoot, Manatee Commune, TOKiMONSTA and Big Wild. Following October’s hip-hop show, this set catered to the EDM and electronic crowd at Western, aptly booking Bellingham’s own Manatee Commune. Each of the acts have been on their own respective tours, but this show gave them a chance to all share the stage for one night. After the enormous line outside vendor’s row slowly paraded into the venue, Ca$h Bandicoot immediately broke into a DJ set that largely consisted of current trap music. The already lively crowd burst out singing along to Lil Yachty’s “One Night” and the dancing ensued during snippets of Travis Scott’s “Goosebumps” and A$AP Mob’s “Telephone Calls” among other songs. His

set only lasted some thirty minutes, but Bandicoot gave the crowd a suitable appetizer for the following acts. Between small bursts of a fog machine somewhere on stage, Manatee Commune, or Grant Eadie, came on to a screaming applause. His setup, which consisted of an oddly placed Ableton Push, drum pads, and a couple cymbals, encroached around Eadie as he swiftly went into a set of organic chillwave and bedroom electronica. Manatee Commune takes some influence from Odesza, Western’s inescapable EDM giants, but he also draws from other mellow electronic artists such as Giraffage and Slow Magic. All the same it would be unfair to reduce his sound to a few influences, considering halfway through the set Eadie brought out a violin and started playing along to a skittering beat in the background. Manatee Commune gave a dazzling performance, playing live drum pads and also breaking out his guitar for a couple tracks. Over appropriately nature-based visuals, his hour-long set ended with some cuts from his new self-titled record, which topped the KUGS charts for a few weeks in October.

ABOVE: TOKiMONSTA thrills the crowd with her industrial sounds. Photo by Ricky Rath // AS Review.

Next up was TOKiMONSTA, the stage name of Jennifer Lee, a producer from L.A. who just released her fourth album, “Fovere,” in March. “I’m gonna take you guys on a little journey, are you ready to go with me?” asked Lee as she came on stage. Her setup, which landed closer to a typical DJ template, put her front and center as more and more fog developed in the energetic, sweaty crowd. Staying true to her word, TOKiMONSTA took her set all over the map, starting with mellower cuts and ending with an explosive Daft Punk remix. She interspersed her own tracks with remixes of Kendrick Lamar’s “Alright,” D.R.A.M.’s “Broccoli” and Keith Ape’s “IT G MA,” the last of which may have been the most intense moment of the whole night. As each song progressed and morphed into the next one, TOKiMONSTA got the crowd

just as amped up as her successor Big Wild would. Her set sounded like the rigid, more industrial counterpart to Manatee Commune’s natural sounds, but each song burst to life as everyone in the crowd compacted closer and closer. Finally, nearing 11:15 p.m., Big Wild came on for the final performance of the show. With a full keyboard, another drum pad, some cymbals and his laptop, the Seattle

ABOVE: Ca$h Bandicoot started off the night with a set of trap music. Photo by Janna Bodnar // AS Review.

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LEFT: Audience members enjoy good vibes and a hand-held light show. Photo by Janna Bodnar // AS Review. producer made his set worth the wait. While the previous artists all encompassed live elements into parts of their productions, Big Wild integrated live drumming and keyboard playing into nearly everything he did. Over tracks bursting with horns and bell kits, Jackson Stell had everyone dancing and clapping along as he pulsed around on stage, his long hair thrashing around. When things couldn’t seem to get more exciting, Stell brought out a cajón and started drumming on it during song buildups. Animated visuals were projected in the background, and Big Wild finished his set with some of his more well known tracks like “Afterglow” and “Invincible.” He closed his set by once more thanking the crowd, looking dazzled at the sheer amount of people in the room. Once the show had ended, students struggled to file out of the packed MPR, leaving the lingering fog and pulsing lights behind for the November Washington air.

VU Gallery displays “emergent” work of 10 Western BFA students Story by Josh Hughes

n November 21, the VU Gallery opened a new exhibit called “Emergence” that will run until December 7 in VU 507. The exhibit focuses on the 20162017 school year Art Studio BFA cohort, which is comprised of ten senior art students. This year’s group, which consists of Beaudry Allen, Jessica Bloom, Maggie Carr, Renee Cheesman, Kaitlin Howland, Vian Nguyen, Eleanor Ortland, Caroline Paulson, Kam Peck and Dylan Vogel, has work that ranges from painting and photography to mixed media and sculpture, all of which is on display in the gallery. The exhibit is meant to showcase the artists’ emergence as creators and unique visionaries in the vast world of art. Since the cohort is only one-third of the way through their senior year, “Emergence” puts an emphasis on their continually developing processes as they work on their theses.

The cohort spends much of their academic year collaborating with peers and faculty to work on their artistic practices, and “Emergence” does an excellent job of showcasing the breadth of the cohort’s work. Shining a light on Western’s academic excellence, the exhibit gives a brief glimmer into the visual creativity and skill that exists on campus. Since this is an early show in the 2016-2017 year, the cohort gets a chance to experiment and have fun with the possibilities of a gallery setting. The pieces on display each come into their own, but they intermingle and coexist like any art in a museum must. The contorted, elegant, and monstrous bodies of Eleanor Ortland’s “Fall” juxtapose the slight body horror of Margaret Carr’s “Caving.” Renee Cheesman’s satirical and politically charged “Brain Dead” also plays on intense body imagery, even though all three pieces are distinct-

LEFT: “Fall” by Eleanor Ortland. Acrylic ink and gouache on paper, 22” x 5’. BELOW: “Caving” by Margaret Carr. Acrylic and oil on canvas, 65 x 55. RIGHT: “Obsession” by Vian Nguyen. Oil on canvas, 48 x 24. Photos by Janna Bodnar // AS Review

ABOVE: Local artist Manatee Commune plays violin, bringing a different sound to the concert. Photo by Janna Bodnar // AS Review.

ly separate in their own right. Dylan Vogel’s photographs of gloomy, modern architecture parallel the muted palette of Vian Nguyen’s “Obsession,” and Beaudry Allen’s “Transparency Experiment” set of photographs sits alongside these pieces as well. Interspersed are sculptures by Caroline Paulson and Kaitlin Howland, and in the corner of the space resides a triptych of enormous, mind-bending comic book pages by Kameron Peck. Jessica Bloom’s pigment prints finish off the gallery in their beautiful, subdued abstractions. Most importantly, the work of the cohort is displayed here with effective curatorial decisions that help make each artist’s work pop out and stand on its own. These artists are sure to only further develop their style as the year goes along, but don’t miss out on this opening exhibit of the new phase of Western’s BFA students.

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An interview with Noémi Ban Teacher and Holocaust survivor shares stories

BY CHRIS BESWETHERICK

oémi Ban is not just a Holocaust survivor, but a lover of life. She is a public speaker for thousands of people, sharing her story of life after liberation. Ban discusses communism, anxiety and reaching the point of sharing; she believes her duty is to share her experiences of the Holocaust in order to prevent another. She shares to heal herself, those she lost and those she loves. . . . Chris Beswetherick: Why did you leave Hungary to come to the United States? Noémi Ban: The fact remains that, after finally I survived and I was alive, during the war the Russians were against Hitler and Mussolini and Italy, but then came the Cold War and that meant our European countries got taken over and Lenin, Stalin and Marxism [became apparent.] They came although nobody really wanted them to, but they came to Hungary and this is really the reason we were thinking about leaving. The thing is though, they were telling us that freedom is most wonderful, but it was not. I was thinking about when you went to vote. Everyone had to leave their apartment and had a communist leader walk us to a place to vote. And then, how did you vote? You got a little paper, on it one name, and we had to take and look at that very name and put that paper in a box. And then the communist man walked us back to our home.

Chris: What was eating like? Noémi: After teaching, if we needed bread, you would go

home, but we got in line. A long line in front of the store, and then you had maybe five or six people still ahead of you and the man came out of the store and said ‘go home, everything is gone, there is no more bread.’ It was very simple, but it is a big deal when you are working, and you have a family and you want to go home and make a lot of something when you go home, but then you stand for hours and they say ‘go home.’

Chris: Were you a teacher in Hungary? Noémi: I had been teaching seventh and eighth grade boys

and one day the communist people who wanted to listen to it came and listened with paper and pencil. They listened to my teaching, then I had to go into the principal’s office. And they said it was nice and good but there was a big mistake: they never ever heard Stalin, Lenin, Marxism. “You were not teaching communism.” Of course how could I teach that when I had a beautiful poem? There was no room for communism and I was told that was not good teaching because they did not hear anything about what communism is. Many many things came together and we had a feeling of ‘let’s get out of here.’

Committee Spotlight: Sustainable Action Fund BY CHRIS BESWETHERICK

Students can make a difference at Western by being on committees. One of these is the Sustainable Action Fund (SAF) Committee. afraid. Plain clear fear. I did not know if the person in the At Western, there are several committees next apartment to me was a Nazi. I did not know if they that take action to amend and create policies wanted to kill me still. I was afraid so much so that when I at the Associated Students. was teaching after the war (and I went through that horrible Students who are not AS employees are thing and I love to teach and share with kids) I did not tell encouraged to join committees to in order not one word about Auschwitz. to make their voices heard. These committee members are known as students at large. This Chris: How did you begin talking about the Holocaust? means they represent the larger student body Noémi: At the Garden Street Methodist Church, that was and speak for them at committee meetings. the first time I was not afraid. Then, the rabbi of our congreThese committees are responsible for gation, was a good friend of the minister and he invited us. meeting at least once per quarter where they That was the first time out of my congregation I talked about voice what changes and developments they the Holocaust. There I was not afraid anymore. The next day can enact in the AS. after my talk, a Bellingham Herald reporter called telling me On October 12, the SAF committee he wanted to interview me. I said to my husband ‘no no no’ discussed how to improve their charge and and he said Noémi, try, try.’ Then I said ‘Okay.’ I was thinking charter, something they authored last year. and told my husband it would be a little part I had. He asked The charge and charter declares how the questions and I felt free and talked more, and the next day it committee works and who makes up the came and on the first page there was my face.” committee membership. According to the document, the committee is responsible for Chris: Do you still speak about the Holocaust? overseeing the outcomes and operations reNoémi: Every school year I go and I keep talking and I am sulting from the Sustainable Action Fund. no longer afraid anymore. I am not afraid. I am opening up. They review project applications, discuss And even more and more reason I have. long-term projects, critique the program and Chris: Do you hate? discuss how to better it, while also interpreting and maintaining the terms of the fund. Noémi: If I hate, if you hate, if he hates, anyone who hates The committee also pondered how to inis wrong. I wanted people to learn that we got a high level volve more students. They were asked if they culture, music, books, a way of life from Germany, but that doesn’t mean I love the Nazis. I wanted people to learn there should be trustees for the student body, or a support for the Director of Sustainability. are Nazis and Germans. They should not fear that because At the end of their meeting, they adthey are from Germany, they have to hate them, because then journed with a preview into the next meetI am doing the same thing Hitler did to us. It is not easy to ing. do that, because boy what we got, and what I lost... my little In this committee meeting, the group brother was six months old, he would have been three or learned about the SAF Grant and its terms, four years older than my own son. I wanted to show if you and debated purchases by Campus Recreare a human being, you have to know what is hate and what ation Services, as well as the Green Power it does. I was a prisoner in the camps, and if I were to hate I Purchase opportunity. would be a prisoner of hate. The AS announces all of these meetings Chris: What image from the Holocaust resonates with you on the REP section of their website. There, the most? you can locate every committee and their Noémi: That is very hard to understand because everything meeting minutes. It is entirely open to the was standing out. Absolutely unbelievable. That is the Holopublic, both online and in person. This site caust: every single thing was out of order. That is why it is so will give you everything you need to know unbelievable that you here sitting here, looking at me. to attend the meetings. This resource gives . . . students the ability to make change in the campus, and take part in an inclusive group. If you want to hear more of Noémi’s stories, look for posters up around campus for the next time she speaks at Western.

Chris: How did communism make you feel? Noémi: During communism, religion is a no-no. I was

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Beyond Standing Rock: Indigenous struggles draw student support BY ERASMUS BAXTER

nly a 20 hour drive to the east lies the Standing Rock Reservation. A protest camp has been established there by the Standing Rock Sioux, in the path of an encroaching oil pipeline. They are fighting to preserve their sacred lands and natural resources. This has drawn national media attention and is therefore known by many people. Less known is this: a similar distance away to the north, two camps have been established. They have been established by First Nations peoples, the Lax Kw’alaams and the Unis’tot’en. The goals of these camps are the same as those of Standing Rock: to protect land, water and indigenous rights. Soon, they will be joined by students, some of whom are from Western. The reason for the students’ visit is as follows: they are needed. The First Nations’ opposition are fossil fuel companies as well as the Canadian government. People, supplies and time are all needed for the indigenous peoples to continue in their struggle. Their opponents possess these things in abundance but they are scarce for the native peoples. The students will help provide these things. The group traveling to the aid of the Lax Kw’alaams is named Students for the Salish Sea. Money is needed for this endeavor, so they are fundraising. One way they are doing this by auctioning art. Another is by holding a salmon dinner. Both of these will occur on the night of December 8.

After these events, there will be a movie. The movie is called “A Last Stand for Lelu.” It is a 24-minute documentary about the Lax Kw’alaam’s resistance. The story of that resistance is this: Liquid natural gas is produced in Northwestern British Columbia by Progress Energy using fracking. Progress Energy is owned by Petronas, a Malaysian government oil and gas company. Another company owned by Petronas, Pacific NorthWest LNG (Liquid Natural Gas), decided to build an export terminal so that gas could be exported to Asia. Progress Energy hired a company to build a pipeline to get to that terminal. The place that the terminal would be built is called Lelu Island. It is next to the Flora Bank, a massive sand bar that is part of Canada’s second largest salmon run. It is also the traditional land of the Lax Kw’alaams people. Petronas offered the Lax Kw’alaams 1.25 billion dollars to use the land. The Lax Kw’alaams voted no unanimously three times. The government of British Columbia ignored this. In July 2015, they approved the construction of the terminal on Lelu Island. Test drilling began in September. This was anticipated, and a camp was established on the island in late August by Sm’yooget Yahaan, or Donald Wesley, the hereditary chief of the Lax Kw’alaams. By land and by sea, contractors attempting to access the area have been turned away.

Of concern to the Lax Kw’alaams is the impact the terminal and connecting pipeline would have on salmon habitat. The Flora Bank is a unique and necessary habitat for salmon. For this reason, over 200 scientists and salmon experts have written letters opposing the project. This did not deter the prime minister’s cabinet from conditionally approving the project. It was the final step that Petronas needed. Three lawsuits oppose this. Two argue that First Nations’ rights were violated. The third says that the environmental assessment data provided by Petronas are incorrect. Lawsuits take time. The camp has existed for over a year. Volunteers and supplies are needed to make sure it continues to exist. Students for the Salish Sea will provide both. This fundraiser’s money will help pay for their winter break trip, and the supplies they will deliver. To the east lies the camp of the Unis’tot’en. For over seven years they have lived in this camp that lies in the path of a proposed pipeline. They refuse to allow pipeline companies access to their land as it would threaten their traditional food supplies on water and land. The Canadian government has harassed them as a result. They ask for volunteers to help with winter preparations and construction at the camp. Currently, Students in Solidarity with Indigenous Peoples are undertaking fundraising to answer that call. If successful, they will travel to them over Winter Break.

Star Wars-themed house show venue Mosh Eisley invites you to “Mosh Wisely” BY JULIA BERKMAN Mosh Eisley smells like moss and couches. Mosh Eisley looks like my eclectic grandmother’s house. Mosh Eisley is one of the most accessible and safe house show venues in Bellingham. The Bellingham house show scene has been growing and changing for years on end. New venues are popping up all the time, from Blue Manor to the recently refurbished Karate Church. Mosh Eisley itself is only a year old, but under its previous nom de plume, “the Loudhouse,” it has been hosting shows for much longer. Why the name change? Junior Kat Varela, a longtime Mosh Eisley volunteer and insider, explained the new name. “It was named [Loudhouse] because the owners said ‘all the other venues aren’t gonna let really loud bands play, so we’re going to be the ones that let bands play,’” they said. Varela and the other new owners of the venue found that concept to be a bit too preten-

tious. Once the house was under new management, the crew set upon a new name: Mosh Eisley. Yes, the name is a Star Wars pun! Varela themself came up with the name, a play on Mos Eisley, the cantina in the original Star Wars films. “All of us love Star Wars,” Varela said. “We just settled on Mosh Eisley, with the slogan being ‘Mosh Wisely at Mosh Eisley.’ I got a bunch of Star Wars cutouts and we just ran it from there.” In the last month, Mosh Eisley has hosted a techno show, a folk acoustic night and a hiphop show, in addition to their usual hardcore or queer punk shows. “We book bands/artists who air [sic] on the experimental and/or heavy side of music and that push the musical envelope so to speak,” their official Facebook page says. They host

longtime Bellingham bands like Tetrachromat and House of Blue Leaves, to local new bands like Chimney. Some bands come all the way up from Seattle and Portland, such as the queer punk ensemble Babe Waves and the macabre Sweeping Exits. “Whatever bands that wanna play, friends that wanna play, bands that are touring and need a place to crash, if we’re on the map for them it’s whoever wants to play.” Varela says. “We definitely give anyone a shot.” Mosh Eisley also boasts one of the safest spaces in Bellingham’s list of venues. “WE DO NOT TOLERATE INTOLERANCE,” is written in bold text on their Facebook page. Many members of bands they book, as well as residents and volunteers, are queer, POC or trans. Mosh is determined to make their venue a place where people of all identities can congregate and get real sweaty. When asked what they would change about the space, Varela said

that they wish that Mosh Eisley was wheelchair accessible. Mosh Eisley isn’t a free venue per-say, but they understand the struggles of college life. “We live in a college town, there’s no way I would be able to afford $5 every week for shows,” Varela says. Because of that, five dollars is the expected donation, but no one is barred entry. Sometimes the venue gets handed a crisp twenty, sometimes they get a linty pile of quarters. Either way, all the money goes to the bands that play that evening. If you can’t catch a show at Mosh, Varela recommends checking out Karate Church. It’s a venue on High Street run through the alternative library. They recently hosted Tetrachromat’s EP release show on the 19th and Squelchfest over the Halloween Weekend. If you can, try to attend an event at Mosh Eisley. They have an upcoming show on January 6 that’ll blow your socks off.

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Humans vs. Zombies is an opportunity for some, an annoyance for others HvZ mods, professors and students weigh in on the topic BY JULIA BERKMAN Several times throughout the year, Western’s campus is overrun with neon-clad, nerf-toting warriors against the undead. Yes, you’re in the midst of a round of Humans vs. Zombies (HvZ). Whether or not you want to be caught in the fray is a different question. HvZ has been a Western tradition for seven years. The club is run through the Associated Students, but it started at Goucher College in 2005. “The sense of community is the most important part of the game – almost anyone you talk to will say it’s as their favorite part of HvZ,” Natalie Lang, a HvZ moderator, said. The theme of the club, zombies, is a hot topic. It was at the inception of the game and it remains so today. Shows like AMC’s “The Walking Dead” enthrall and terrify us with the feral undead humans displayed on the screen. Humans vs. Zombies takes that fear and transforms it into an immersive multi-player game. The most important rule? Stay alive. Players labeled as “humans” congregate in “safe zones” all over campus, or run from one class to another, to avoid getting caught by the designated “zombies.” When tagged by a zombie, a human becomes a zombie and must catch other players. Humans can carry weapons (nerf guns or balled up socks) in order to stun zombies so they can escape. The nature of the game is what drove Western professor Chris Friday to cancel all of his classes for the duration of a game in 2014 in protest. Friday had a few reasons for canceling a week’s worth of classes. “[HvZ] condones and legitimizes violence, dehumanizing the “other” and stems from a long, racist history,” Friday said in an email interview. “[HvZ] creates an atmosphere in which ‘mob’ violence is acceptable.” The “racist history” to which he is referring is based on an idea championed by Roger Luckhurst, a professor at the University of London. Lockhurst discusses the zombie narrative as a racist takeaway from the Haitian revolutions during the slave trade. White settlers’ tales of voodoo and cannibalism in

reference to the Haitian natives are directly correlated to the first zombie lore. It is difficult to find evidence to the contrary, but does this mean we should write off the entire idea of zombies as a whole? Saba Farwell, a Western student, thinks the modern-day climate would not be kind to any man of color who decided to pick up a nerf and join the fun. “Black men would probably never be permitted to form a group of nerf gun carrying black males,” Farwell said. The recent rash of publicized instances of police violence against people of color has escalated the use of toy weapons in public after the shooting of Tamir Rice, who was holding a modified toy gun. Farwell, a black student, feels distinctly uncomfortable during the times in which HvZ is played. “The game is, from what I can see, predominantly played by white males,” Farwell said. Although Humans vs. Zombies is definitely not a segregated event, the lack of people of color playing probably holds some relation to the climate of America concerning guns. For many people of color, gang violence and shooting are their reality. Dr. Friday agrees. “[HvZ] refuses to recognize needs of those who may find these activities threatening, disruptive, and unhealthy,” he writes. People who grew up around gun violence or have posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) may find it extremely hard to stay calm amidst the battleground atmosphere HvZ brings to campus. “Because of the nature of our game, we do work closely with Western’s veteran community, especially the Veterans Outreach Center,” moderators, also known as “mods,” have stated. The mods of HvZ work hard to enact strict rules about play zones and etiquette. “We put every effort into preventing the game from becoming hostile and any involvement of non-players,” Lang said. However, because of the lack of supervision inherent in gameplay of HvZ, players of the game have basically free reign to interpret the game however

they would like. Though extremely discouraged by mods, honor system play can lead to gun modifications and the wearing of military gear. “When I see people who are in full combat gear running around on campus, it’s jarring,” Junior Trisha Patterson said. “If it’s not contributing to making the game fun, it seems okay to ask them to stop,” Nathan Lux, a sophomore who supports HvZ, said. Many people in the Western community would agree that the concept of the game sounds pretty fun. The complaints arise for a few reasons, one of which is the area of play. Western’s students and faculty have not consented to turning the whole outdoor campus area into a battleground. Many students have been used as “human shields” or hit while players are running from assailants. “Human shields are a serious offense in our game and anyone who engages in this type of dangerous activity will be banned from our game,” mods said. “While ‘safe zones’ exist all throughout campus, there is no guarantee of the safety of those who do not participate,” Friday said. He has also raised complaints about the lack of free will people on campus are afforded. “Use of public spaces make all others part of the enactment of ritualized violence,” he wrote. Mods of the game have attempted to talk with Friday about his views on the game. They respectfully disagree with him about his opinions on the game. “We take all community complaints seriously and do our best to be accommodating,” mods said in a joint statement. There are many benefits to playing the game, including exercise, community and a way to get to know campus. Mods have maintained that this is a game with strict rules and expectations for all players. They accept any and all complaints, and will continue to revise the registration contract all players must sign. Now it’s up to you to form your own opinion of Humans vs Zombies. Players, remember to respect your fellow Western students, faculty and passersby.

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Underground Coffeehouse hosts Star Wars trivia contest BY JOSH HUGHES On Tuesday, November 29 at 7:00 p.m., the Underground Coffeehouse will be hosting a Star Wars Trivia Night instead of its usual Open Mic Night. Teams of four to five will compete and test their knowledge to win movie themed prizes. The newest addition to the franchise, “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” will be released on December 16 of this year. In honor of the upcoming film, the trivia will encompass all seven movies, with questions ranging from basic information to the most nit-picky, irrelevant details. Test your own Star Wars knowledge and get prepared with some of these questions, divided by easy, moderate, and difficult sections:

DIFFICULT

EASY

MODERATE

1. Who is the Jedi Master that gets killed by Darth Maul in “The Phantom Menace”? 2. What color is Mace Windu’s lightsaber? 3. Who is also known as Darth Sidious? 4. Who kills Greedo in the Mos Eisley Cantina? 5. What planet does Yoda live on? 6. In “Return of the Jedi,” who leads the rebel fleet? 7. In “The Force Awakens,” what is the name of the group that the stormtroopers work for?

1. What lettered “wing” ships are there in the original trilogy? 2. According to C-3PO, what are the odds of successfully navigating an asteroid field? 3. What are the names of Luke’s uncle and aunt that he lives with at the start of “A New Hope”? 4. What is the only lightsaber color to appear in every movie? 5. What type of armor do Boba and Jango Fett wear? 6. In her first scene in “The Force Awakens,” what is Rey sifting through? 7. What does the TIE in TIE fighter stand for?

1. In the Mos Eisley Cantina, how many players are in the band? 2. Who sat next to Luke Skywalker in briefing scene before the Death Star battle in “A New Hope”? 3. What kind of gas is mined by the Cloud City at Bespin? 4. When is the only time during the original trilogy that Han Solo uses a light saber? 5. How does Jedi Master Plo Kloon die? 6. Who is the first character to utter any speech in the original trilogy? 7. What game does Lando lose the Millennium Falcon to Han Solo in?

1. A, B, X, and Y. 2. 3,720:1, yet Han Solo successfully makes it through. 3. Owen and Beru, who are killed near the beginning of the movie. 4. Red, even though green and blue are also common in the movies. 5. Mandalorian, traditionally worn by warrior clans of Mandalore. 6. The remains of an Imperial Star Destroyer. 7. Twin Ion Engine.

1. There are seven members in the band, which is entirely composed of the species Bith. 2. Wedge Antilles, another starfighter pilot. 3. Tibana gas, which was used in hyperdrives and starship weaponry. 4. When he slices open the Tauntaun in “The Empire Strikes Back”. 5. He was shot down by clones in “Revenge of the Sith.” 6. C-3PO, who says “did you hear that?” while talking to R2-D2. 7. Sabacc, a popular card game.

1. Qui-Gon-Jinn, who makes Obi Wan Kenobi promise that he will train Anakin Skywalker before he dies. 2. Purple. 3. Emperor Palpatine, who was once a Senator from Naboo in the prequel trilogy. 4. Han Solo- but who shot first? 5. Dagobah, a remote planet full of swamps. 6. Admiral Ackbar, who delivers the famous “it’s a trap” line in the same movie. 7. The First Order, which was inspired by the principles of the Galactic Empire.

What a visit to Planned Parenthood is really like BY JULIA BERKMAN Everyone has heard of the actions the US government is attempting to take with Planned Parenthood. The controversy surrounding the clinic seems to increase with each new politician defaming it. But what is the reality of Planned Parenthood like under the veil of criticism it receives? In order to kill two birds with one intersectional stone, I made an appointment at Planned Parenthood to discuss birth control options. After the election, many people began donating money in honor of our Vice President-Elect, Mike Pence. Pence is a known hater of abortion and intersectional rights. Now his office is receiving certificates of donation from Planned Parenthood by the thousands. The first thing you notice about Planned Parenthood as you walk in is its security. There are two doors visitors have to pass through to get to the waiting room--a feature common at places that prize their patient confidentiality. Once you’re checked in, they point you in the direction of the waiting room. The waiting room is covered in posters that would discomfort some people. Interracial couples, trans* people, LGBTQ couples, you name it. Their images line the walls with descriptions of the many services Planned Parenthood provides. And there are many of them. The inclusivity is carried over onto all their forms, who ask both your assigned gender and your gender identity. Your previous partners are not Men or Women, but rather “People with a penis” or “People with ovaries.” This inclusive phrasing makes Planned Parenthood a safer space for people of all identities. Planned Parenthood is certainly famous because they perform abortions (as does any gynecologist or hospital), but the other services they offer are far less controversial. Breast exams, pap smears, providing birth control, you name it. If it has to do with reproductive and sexual health, Planned Parenthood has a wealth of services and information. The best part about the services provided are their cost. Planned Parenthood has a sliding scale system, which guarantees that you’ll pay the correct amount for your income level, insurance or not. A general rule is that if you make less than $900 a month, the healthcare you receive will be as close to free as possible. The healthcare I received at Planned Parenthood was nothing short of fantastic. The entire staff is trained to help people quickly and efficiently. So you can only imagine the certain brand of anger I felt upon seeing the protesters outside. I would encourage anyone who is uncertain in their support of Planned Parenthood to schedule an appointment there and experience the way they provide healthcare. I myself received a respectful and informative visit.

12 • as.wwu.edu/asreview

Music ensembles will brighten spirits with their jazzy jingles BY CHRIS BESWETHERICK This quarter of concerts from Western’s various music groups culminates with several end-of-quarter performances from jazz ensembles, combos and chamber orchestras the week of November 28 to December 4. Starting off the week is Western’s Viking Vocal Jazz, a jazz choir club, with “Swingin’ to Winter.” Their performance is scheduled for Monday November 28 in the Performing Arts Center 016. Their show offers free admission, but encourages audience members to donate. At the performance, there will be food for sale; proceeds will fund the jazz group. The jazz choir group at Western has been reemerging in the music department over the past few years under leadership from Serena Williams. Western’s jazz choir faded away several years ago, so revitalizing the program has been demanding, but more and more members have joined recently. In fact, just last year anyone could join the club, however now the group holds auditions. Like other styles in the music department, jazz choir is looking forward to their end-of-the-quarter holiday performance. On November 29, Chamber I, an ensemble of percussion, brass and wind instruments, have their final concert of the quarter in PAC 155 at 7:30 p.m. Then, the following night at the same place and time, Western’s symphonic band will perform their end-of-thequarter show. Chamber II also plans a final-performance on Thursday December 1, also in the concert hall (PAC 155) at 7:30 p.m. “I simply cannot believe there are so many concerts happening in just one week,” Steven Wright, a member of Western’s jazz combo two said. “It must be so stressful for our teachers and everyone involved. I am so excited to see the performances, though. I know our department is talented.” Somehow, the department made room for yet another high-scale performance. Western’s Jazz Ensemble I, along with Western’s symphony orchestra and dance BFA, has rehearsed Duke Ellington’s rendition of Tchaikovsky’s “Nutcracker Suite.” The piece will be conducted in two parts, the orchestra with the traditional suite and the jazz ensemble with Duke Ellington’s “The Harlem Nutcracker,” and to top it off, a dance choreographed to the music. Ellington’s version of every movement transforms classical sounds into a jazz version. “The Nutcracker” is a familiar performance for many students and families. The jazz department’s decision to split the performance up into two parts will allow students to see multiple sides to music and how it can be arranged creatively. “This music has been a challenge to learn,” sophomore Krista Turley, a member of Jazz Ensemble 1, said. “Jillian Roth, another member of the band, and I needed to practice diligently outside of class so we could actually perform. Some of the pieces are difficult to read through and translate into the music.” Turley is a baritone saxophone player so her breath is vital to her performance. “There is one part where there are so many 16th notes and even when I play it slow I cannot figure it out,” Turley said. When she demonstrated this piece, her breathing became rapid and she powered through. Her face became red, but her instrument sang the familiar notes of “The Nutcracker.” “What’s even cooler about the performance is we are not the only part of the show,” Turley said. “There is a choreographed number from the dance BFA.” The groups scheduled two performances of this show, one December 2, and the other on December 3. The performance begins at 7:30 p.m. and tickets cost $15, which goes to the music department’s scholarships. This week of performances displays the amount of artistic talent at Western. These groups are celebrating the end of the quarter with this music, so join them to celebrate the holiday season through music.

Western Reads hosts screening of surreal film, “The Fall” BY JOSH HUGHES

hroughout fall quarter, Western Reads has put on a series of movie events entitled “Diversity & Diverse Voices In The American Cultural Landscape”, and the culminating event will take place on November 29 from 6-9 p.m. in Bond Hall 105. Tares Singh’s “The Fall”, a surreal fantasy movie, will be the movie being shown, and admission is free and open to the public. This year’s Western Reads book “Between the World and Me” by Ta-Nehisi Coates, which is written as a letter from Coates to his son, addresses the pervading sense of racism that has haunted both his and his son’s generations, and it functions as a powerhouse of culture and diversity. While the movies for the diversity series do not directly correlate with Coates’ book, they try to tie in elements and motifs from his novel and the overarching yearlong theme of diversity. “The Fall” is no exception; the film centers on five fictional characters that range in culture much more than a stereotypical adventure film. Set in a hospital, a gravely injured stuntman, played by Lee Pace, befriends a young girl who has just broken her arm, and he starts to tell her stories so that she’ll sneak him morphine. The stuntman’s tale revolves around these five characters, which consist of an Indian warrior, a black ex-slave, and Italian explosives expert, Charles Darwin, and a masked bandit. The film encompasses ideas about companionship, love, loss, and failure, but the diversity included in the picture resonates through the entire runtime. A visually dazzling movie with very few contemporary influences, “The Fall” takes the viewer down a rabbit hole of a bedtime story, remaining self aware within its double narrative. Taking place in an ambiguous, imaginary time in America, the stuntman depicts a vivid tale that journeys across the globe and revels in the power of cross-cultural storytelling. Filmed in South Africa, India, the Czech Republic and Italy, among other locations, the movie takes twists and turns in the blink of an eye that give the film a nearly dreamlike quality. The fictional characters in the stuntman’s tale don’t act so much as caricatures as they do abstract, surreal visions of their respective characters. This adds depth to the sense of diversity and inclusivity that Singh paints in his film. Alexandria, the young girl, is also Romanian born, and it seems like a necessary balance to Pace’s young American man. Already a decade old, there’s still a strong relevance to Singh’s film and the way he seamlessly blends cultures and backgrounds into a mildly twisted fairy tale. It’s refreshing to see him rely on so few tropes that usually make their way into both adventure movies and children’s stories, and the film will serve as an apt ending to the movie series. Be sure to look out for further events this year from Western Reads, and learn more about Coates book and the goals for the year on their website at wp.wwu. edu/westernreads/

A note from the editors: This is the last issue of the AS Review for Fall quarter. Please enjoy your winter break, and look for our next issue the beginning of Winter quarter on Jan 4, 2017.