AS Review - January 25, 2015

Inside this issue: An attendee’s perspective on Viking Lobby Day. PAGE 10 What to expect from two weeks of Hip Hop with the Underground Coffeehouse. PAGE 8 Applications for AS Productions Battle of the Bands open this Thursday!

PAGE 4 Celebrate the Lunar New Year with the Chinese Student Association on Saturday at their heritage dinner.

PAGE 5

Vol. 31 #15 01.25.16

Vol. 30 # #.#.#

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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

Kameron Peck’s portrait of the late starman David Bowie, part of Peck’s and Max Singler’s live drawing exhibit “See What Happens!?” at the B- Gallery.

© 2015. 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.

The Viking Lobby Day group poses for a photo on January 18 outside of the State Capitol.

Photo by Marina Price // AS Review

We welcome reader submissions, including news articles, literary pieces, photography, artwork or anything else physically printable. Email submissions to as.review@wwu.edu.

We welcome letters to the editor. Please limit your letter to 300 words, include your name, phone number and year in school, if you’re a student.

Send them to as.review@wwu.edu. Published letters may have minor edits made to their length or grammar.

Editor in Chief Assistant Editor Lead Photographer Writers

Marina Price Alexandra Bartick Trevor Grimm Ian Sanquist Chris Beswetherick Morgan Annable Will McCoy

Adviser Jeff Bates

AS Productions Director Jonah Falk hands out fliers for the Tig Notaro show. The comedian performed at Western on Friday, January 22. Photo by Trevor Grimm // AS Review

31.3. 2015 • 3

EVENTS Poetry & Lyric Night Monday, January 25 // 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. // Underground Coffeehouse // Free Sign ups are at 6:30 p.m. show starts at 7 p.m.

Viking Radio Theatre Club Meeting Tuesday, January 26 // 4 - 6 p.m. // Miller Hall 135 // Free Viking Radio Theatre’s club meetings are a chance to catch up on the production of the radio program. Students interested in radio theatre, voice acting, script writing or sound engineering and encouraged to attend one of the clubs meetings.

Open Mic Night Tuesday, January 26 // 6:30 - 9:30 p.m. // Underground Coffeehouse // Free Have an amazing hidden talent? Want to knock the socks off of all your friends?

Brave enough to perform in a 5 minute slot? Then come to Open Mic Night!

Every Tuesday at the Underground Coffeehouse, third floor VU. Sign ups at 6:30 pm, show starts at 7 p.m.! Free as always!

Wednesday Night Concert Series: The Living Arrows with The Little Brown Mushrooms Wednesday, January 27 // 7 - 9 p.m. // Underground Coffeehouse

// Free Free concert featuring The Living Arrows w/ The Little Brown Mushrooms. Part of AS Production’s Wednesday Night Concert Series.

Game Design club meeting Wednesday, January 27 // 6 7 p.m. // CF 110 // Free

Hip Hop trivia night Thursday, January 28 // 7 - 9 p.m. // Underground Coffeehouse // $1 This trivia night is part of two weeks of hip hop themed events hosted by the Underground Coffeehouse. Come show off your knowledge of hip hop.

Buy-ins are $1.

SVA film fest closing reception Thursday, January 28 // 6 - 9 p.m. // VU Gallery // Free ASP Viking Union Gallery presents the closing reception for SVA Film Fest: An Exhibition of Senior Thesis Films from the School of Visual Arts!

You’re invited to visit the gallery after hours and enjoy the culmination of these SVA students’ work. Plus, there will be free snacks!

CSA heritage dinner Saturday, January 30 // 6 - 8:30 p.m. // VU MPR // $6 student, $10 public

Top Ten: November 5-12 1

Blackstar David Bowie

2

Thank Your Lucky Stars Beach House

3

Art Angels Grimes

4

Another One Mac Demarco

5

Currents Tame Impala

6

The Waterfall My Morning Jacket

7

What Went Down Foals

8

Timeline Mile High Club

9

The Beyond/ Where Giants Roam Thundercat

10

Every Open Eye Chvrches 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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AS Productions teams up with Makeshift Artspace for annual Battle of the Bands

BY WILL MCCOY This Battle of the Bands will be in its second year, but AS productions has decided to put a new spin on it, Aarin Wright, AS Marketing and Entertainment Coordinator, said.

This event will be a collaborative project between AS Productions and The Makeshift Art Space in downtown Bellingham.

Partnering with Makeshift allows everyone in the community to get involved, Wright said. Last year, only bands with students in them could apply, now there are no requirements.

Starting Jan. 28, the application process will open.

Bands must go online to the AS Productions page to apply, Wright said.

Bands of all-ages from around the community can submit an application and two musical samples to the

Battle of the Bands committee.

Wright is currently compiling a group of judges for the application process as well as the actual event.

These judges will come from different parts of the community, and will have diverse tastes in music. She hopes to get representatives from KUGS, Makeshift, and some local performers.

The only disclaimer is that the band and their songs must uphold the values of the AS, which is to be inclusive and supportive of all groups, Wright said.

The biggest change this year is that most of the shows will be played at the Makeshift, Wright said.

Nine bands will be picked for the competition.

Three preliminary rounds will be held at Makeshift in the spring. The final round of the competition will be held in the VU MPR, she said.

Within each preliminary round, a winner will be chosen as well as one audience-picked wildcard.

These bands will face off in the final round at the VU MPR. “The Underground Coffeehouse is doing something called ‘The Sounds of the Underground’, which gives Western students who are involved in Battle of the Bands the opportunity to also perform in the Underground Coffeehouse,” Karimeh Daneshmendi, Underground

Design by Ozzy Flores // AS Publicity Center

Coffeehouse Coordinator, said.

Wright hopes that this special showcase will be an incentive for Western students to apply.

Daneshmendi is in charge of the showcase hosted by the Underground Coffee House, and she decides what bands will play.

Bands that bring a unique sound that will resonate with the student body will be selected to play the Wednesday night showcases, Daneshmendi said.

“It is nice that Bellingham has such are large music community, and it feels great to contribute to the Battle of the Bands and be a part of the planning process,” Daneshmendi said.

Another aspect AS Productions wants to do this year is bring in more diversity. Along with a diverse group of judges, they want different types of genres to make it to the final, Wright said.

“We are trying to bring more diversity into this competition. Last year there were a lot of all-male rock bands, which is great, but we want all styles of music to be represented and judges that appreciate all types of music.”

Any band may sign up for this event; applications will be accepted until the end of the quarter, March 18. Battle of the Bands will start in spring quarter after the finalists have been decided.

RIGHT: Tom Nook performs at Sounds of the Underground on April 29, 2015. Photo by Trevor Grimm // AS Review

31.3. 2015 • 5

CSA heritage dinner celebrates the Lunar New Year

BY CHRIS BESWETHERICK Every year the Chinese Student Association (CSA) prepares a heritage dinner open for all students of Western to attend; typically curated with back-toback performances from traditional Chinese art forms such as music and dance. However, to make the event even more attractive, the CSA has added another component: more food.

CSA president Philip Chen, Public Relations Coordinator Julia Miau and the rest of the CSA have been preparing tirelessly to put on their event.

“We want to spread more awareness of Chinese heritage,” Chen said, “in ways such as food, dance and what’s going on in China.”

At the event, the CSA will present an assortment of entertainment to showcase the Chinese culture.

“We are going to start off with the traditional line dance for about 20 minutes,” Chen said. “Our other feature is taiko drums and a group from Seattle is coming up to perform for us. It’s full of energy.”

These two performances will give the audience the opportunity to engage and participate in Chinese culture. Of course, after these performances, students are then free to obtain food catered by Western’s catering services.

“Food is the main thing in Chinese culture because China is very big and you have a lot of variety of food,” Miau said.

Traditional Chinese food, hand-selected by the

Design by Bailey Kass // AS Publicity Center

CSA will be the featured food. In previous years, the CSA did not highlight the food available at the event, instead they mostly featured the performances.

“We want to spread more awareness of Chinese heritage in ways such as food, dance and what’s going on in China.”

- Philip Chen, CSA president All in all, the event connects students to China in a multi-faceted fashion. Moreover, the CSA also plans to broaden the applicability of the event to other ethnic student groups.

“We are celebrating the Lunar New Year and not specifically Chinese New Year so it is open for other ethnicities to celebrate,” Chen said. “Korean, Japanese, Vietnamese.”

Considering this event is the CSA’s biggest of the year, the expected number of attendees is 230.

“This has been consuming all our time,” Miau said.

“All the students are working really hard together to

put this on.”

For 230 students, preparations had to be done early and productively. However, with a theme in mind, preparations are coming more naturally.

“This year is the year of the monkey and whenever we think of monkeys we think of the “Monkey King: The Journey to the West,” Miau said. “So our theme this year is ‘journey to the west.”

The Journey to the West was a novel published during the Ming Dynasty in the 16th century and became one of the most renowned pieces of literature in Chinese culture.

“In almost every Asian country, they know the story of the journey to the west,” Miau said.

Its importance in Chinese culture inspired the CSA to make the theme what it is. The dinner will be held in the multi-purpose room (MPR) on Saturday January 30. For Western students, entry costs $6 and tickets are $10 for the general public.

The CSA welcomes students of all ethnicities to attend their event out of a genuine desire to share their culture with the school.

“The point of CSA is to gather the people [who are] interested in Chinese culture or have Chinese background,” Chen said. “We want them to be able to gather all together, be able to hang out together, study together.”

The club is consistently welcoming new members so as long as someone is interested, the CSA will welcome them like family.

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Staying active this winter with Morgan Annable:

Mt Baker ski area

Club Spotlight: Photography Club

BY CHRIS BESWETHERICK

Western’s Society of Photographic Education (SPE) club is planning a trip to Las Vegas right now and is raising money to do so.

This is an arts-based club dedicated to the development and progress of their students’ roles in the art field.

“The whole point of SPE is to get students more involved with the professional world of photography,” Kim Bolla, president of the club said. “We are making portfolios of our work to take to the conference, and right now we are fundraising for it.”

In year’s past, the SPE has done Santa Photos for the school in order to raise money.

Right now, the SPE is planning a print sale at the end of February. A date has not been set, but the SPE will be selling prints of their photographs to students interested in buying art.

The passion of the club members is most notable.

“We are all interested in photography and we want to pursue it either educationally or professionally,” Bolla said.

This club is the beginning of many of the members’ career in photography. Joe Rudko, a previous western graduate proves that. He was once a member of the SPE and participated in several years of conferences and work for the club. Now, he is a successful photographer who most notably designed and created the album cover for “Death Cab for Cutie’s” new album “Kintsugi.”

The club has a responsibility for discussing and presenting photography for the Mt Baker. Photo by Ken McGee of US Geological Survey school.

“We have given presentations during scholars week about our artwork and phoDo your friends keep heading to Baker and inviting you but you fell like you have to tography in general,” Bolla said. “When we get back from Vegas, we will give a presentation decline because you have little to no experience? Now is the time to gain that experiabout networking and being professional.” ence so you no longer have to miss out on the fun. Baker offers daily lessons and you

However, the club will have a difficult time reaching Las Vegas without funding. can choose between the beginner class and the intermediate class.

The members of the SPE are always willing to do any photography work for anyone in Both levels of classes are offered at 9 a.m., 11:30 a.m., and 1:30 p.m., and attendees Bellingham, or any students needing portraits done. As their club has a high regard, each should sign up an hour prior to the lesson. Instructors try to limit the classes to six or photographer has professional credibility and is capable of capturing quality photographs. seven people so they can focus their attention on every learner during the one to 1 ½

For anyone interested in photography, contact Garth Amundson the adviser of hour time slots. the club or Kim Bolla the club president to learn more, at garth.amundson@wwu.edu and Intermediate skiers and snowboarders who feel confident in their ability are also enbollak@students.wwu.edu. couraged to sign up for a lesson because the instructors provide individualized advice to help learners improve their technique.

The beginner class is for first timers as well as skiers and snowboarders who are working to refine their turn shape on green runs. The intermediate class is geared toward skiers who are working on parallel turns with pole use on blue runs and snowboarders who can consistently link turns on blue runs. The Mount Baker Ski Area also teaches classes for advanced skiers and snowboarders who want to refine their skills in all conditions and all terrain.

On weekends and holidays, go to the Mountain Shop to the east of the Heather Meadows Day Lodge to sign up for a lesson. On weekdays, sign up at the White Salmon Day Lodge. The location where you sign up for a lesson is also where you can rent equipment.

Instructors recommend wearing layers like polypropylene that will wick moisture, one pair of socks (because two pairs reduce circulation to the feet), a wind/waterproof jacket and pants over your other layers, sunscreen, a hat, and goggles. Bring a trail map with you as well. Trail maps are available at ticket windows, administrative offices, instruction desks, and in the lodges.

Photography Club takes a field trip to UBC this past fall. Photo courtesy Now all you need to do is sprinkle some mountain lingo into your vocabulary and Photography Club you’ll be ready to shred the gnar!

31.3. 2015 • 7

The Underground Coffeehouse Wednesday Night Concert Series

Band of the Week

Ra Scion A MUSIC REVIEW FROM IAN SANQUIST

Vervex plays at the Underground Coffeehouse in 2013. Photo by Trevor Ra Scion plays in Tacoma last year. Photo courtesy of Ra Scion Grimm // AS Review Facebook page Ra Scion, formerly of the Seattle hip hop group Common Market, will perform in the Underground Coffeehouse this Wednesday at 7 p.m.

Ra’s website boasts that his new album with Vox Mod, “Sharper Tool; Bigger Weapon”, is both “impassioned reflection on the nature of the human condition and a bold declaration for the enduring spirit of man.”

This seems a bit vague, and also, one might hope, self-evident. After all, what is music if not an declaration of spirit and endurance? What is music if not an effort to soar above the day-to-day routines of obligation and grief? The world is full of sound—to make music from it takes discretion and generosity.

But the songs on “Sharper Tool; Bigger Weapon” are sleek, forward-looking, aggressive and chilled out in equal measure.

They are generous and evocative; Ra’s

voice simmers over gleaming and spacious electronic beats produced by Vox Mod. In “Laurel & Wine”, the bass swells like a heavy electronic lung as Ra unspools psychedelic imagery for the information age.

“Blowing peppermint scented candy-coated information/Through these frequencies and systems via rhythmic intonations.”

Pinpoint piano tones build around the edges of the beat like constellations. “Be here, present/We took your blessings with us when we went,” Ra repeats at the beginning of every verse.

These aren’t lyrics that tell a story so much as set a mood, and that mood is undoubtedly one of reflection, and maybe meditation. Ra goes cosmic on the opening track, “Passage to Transience”, rapping, “Origin empyrean, so the embers’ in us – trace the inference/Energy, intensity, remember we infinite.” What does this mean?

All I can tell is that thoughts are passing overhead and Ra is snatching them in a kaleidoscopic net. Lyrically, this is hip hop that looks inward, finding hermetic states of body and mind. It’s hip hop you might bring with you to a yoga retreat, or the kind of hip hop you might record after returning from a yoga retreat. Vox Mod’s beats offer a similarly interior mood, building with a confidence and spaceage experimental depth that sounds like something from Aphex Twin or Forest Swords.

The video for “Fixed” continues a tradition of Pacific Northwest occultism in music videos (check out the video for Kithkin’s “Fallen Giants”) showing Ra rapping from the end of a dock in mist, a solitary church in the forest, and a woman cloaked in red riding on a white horse.

And Ra is still at it, imploring someone, maybe this woman or maybe an eye in the sky, or maybe the earth itself to, “Destroy

what’s devoid of all signs of life/Restore this resource; we beseech thee, pour forth”.

Another video from this album, Venus in Transit, is full of tastefully elegant imagery, saturated with neon lights in dusky purple and blue tones, like the ambience of Nicholas Winding Refn’s “Drive”.

Dancers in an upscale club are frozen like statues in evocative poses. The song itself is full of heavy nocturnal bass notes and snapping snares. It’s chilled out boutique club rap, nocturnal disco, picking up where the Chromatics left off on the excellent but occasionally lethargic “Kill for Love” and adding thrust to it.

Vervex will open the show. Vervex is Jake Barrow, who was last at the Underground in October, headlining. Vervex plays upbeat indie pop with dense electronic textures.

Ra Scion will play in the Underground Coffeehouse this Wednesday at 7 p.m. with Vervex.

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Two Weeks of Coffeehouse Hip Hop

BY WILL MCCOY

hop albums. movie that would fit the tone of the event.

Western is full of music, even the surThe film points out the difference He had several different films that he rounding community is full of talented between the materialist commercial hip thought would be perfect, but he decided hop and the underground community, musicians. Although our campus has a to present a documentary. thriving music community, some would Sawtell said.

“I wanted to show a documentary belike to bring awareness to the lesser “I think Stones Throw is known for cause it presents straight facts,” he said. known genres. being unique with all the artists they The film he chose is “Our Vinyl Weighs present, and they bring a sense of truthKarimeh Daneshmendi, the Underground Coffeehouse Coordinator, is the creator of “Two Weeks of Hip Hop”, and she hopes to bring more awareness to hip hop during this event.

All events during these weeks will be held at the Underground Coffee House.

These two weeks will be filled with different events like hip hop trivia, karaoke, a film and special artist performances.

This will be the first appreciation week for any genre on Western’s campus.

“With a special event like this, it is nice to provide several art forms that students would like to experience,” she said.

Daneshmendi is the creator of the event, and she is in charge of booking the artists and setting up trivia and karaoke night. Although she is the leader, she still had help.

“I understand that I’m not Design by Publicity Center staff. // AS Publicity Center a person who knows a lot about a Ton: This Is Stones Throw Records”. hip hop, so this has been more of a team fulness to the music,” he said.

This documentary follows the story of a event,” Daneshmendi said. “Different AS Daneshmendi created this event bepopular Los Angeles based record label, coordinators and community members cause she wants Bellingham’s music scene Stones Throw Records. It shows the labels to grow. have contributed a lot of knowledge surrounding hip hop.”Nate Sawtell, AS Films rise in the industry during the 90’s, and “With a lot of the controversial things the production of several well-known hip happening in America and in our comCoordinator, was in charge of finding a

munity involving social justice, I think it is important to bring up this genre of hip hop,” Daneshmendi said. “Not only to appreciate the content of the music, but to focus on the history of the genre that is deeply rooted in social justice.”

There is a large presence of indie and folk music, she said, but not every student is into that.

This event will expose students to a genre they might not know a lot about.

The key word for this event is “presence”, Daneshmendi said. She wants to give students a place where they can enjoy the genre or a piece of their life that is important to them.

Sawtell hopes that people leave this event with a new appreciation of the hip hop genre. This event will do a good job of showing hip hop in a light that isn’t presented by mainstream music.

The first event during Two Weeks of Hip Hop is trivia night on Jan. 28. The last event will be the documentary, which is shown on Feb. 12. Regular scheduled events, like open mic night, will continue throughout the Two Weeks of Hip Hop.

Grammy- award winning ensemble comes to the PAC

BY MORGAN ANNABLE Grammy-award-winning musical ensemble Roomful of Teeth is coming to the Western Performing Arts Center Mainstage on January 27 at 7:30 p.m.

The eight-member group’s mission is to “mine the expressive potential of the human voice.”

They have studied with masters of various vocal

techniques all over the world, and their repertoire includes Tuvan throat singing, Inuit throat singing, Korean p’ansori, yodeling, and belting, as well as musical styles from Sardinia, Georgia, Hindustan, and Persia. The members of Roomful of Teeth continuously work to expand their musical range.

When the octet performs, it is visibly apparent that they are jubilant to share their unique mu-

sic with the audience. Their sound is clear and precise; each member has their own job to do and while each would seem out of place as a solo, the individual voices and minimal instrumental backing weave together to form a sound that is bigger than it seems that eight people could create.

They released their first album, also called Roomful of Teeth, in 2012 and it was nominated

31.3. 2015 • 9

Discover Western’s hidden dark room

BY CHRIS BESWETHERICK

F

or over 50 years, Western has had a seemingly unknown photo lab open cess from Western’s alumni who have also used the photo lab. to all students interested in photography. Normally, the photo lab would “Joe Rudko received his BFA in 2013 and is probably one of the most profesappear exclusive to all photography majors and art students, so those not sionally career-driven artists that we’ve produced at Western for some time,” within the program could not gain access. However, the lab is in fact open to all Amundson said. “Most notably he produced the cover art for Death Cab for students interested in photography; now the resource is available.

Cutie’s new release. He is also represented by two galleries and has participated in The photo lab is located in the fine arts building on the second floor in room countless exhibitions.”

202. The lab provides all necessary equipment as well as the chemistry needed Other prominent alumni from Western’s photo lab include Kai Caemmerer to develop film. However, students are responsible for supplying film, paper for who received a full-ride scholarship to Columbia College as a result of his strong printing and their own camera. Nevertheless, the lab offers everything to develop photography. As well as Sheldon Sabbatini who operates one of Portland’s most film. Additionally, the chemistry used by the lab is eco-friendly so using the lab successful photo galleries. does not threaten the earth in any way.

WWU’s photo lab acts as a testament to Western’s value in art. The professors In order to gain access to the lab, there are necessary prerequisites and experiof the art department strongly push their students to success and will support ence. anyone interested in any form of art.

“We don’t teach people how to print, draft and develop film,” photo lab director If interested in having access to the photo lab, visit Nathan Cranston in the Fine Nathan Cranston said. “[Users] are expected to know that already.”

Arts Building in room 203 and ask for the blue sheet that provides all the inforCranston also requires a brief orientation and walk through of the lab. The mation regarding prices for the photo lab. orientation covers the lab’s chemicals and how the machines work. Once the There is more than enough space in the lab for anyone interested in using it and orientation is complete, a payment of $100 is due for a quarter’s worth of use. the department welcomes anyone eager to learn and to develop photos.

However, every week, the price declines by $10 in order to make the most out of the payment. There is also an option for a single-use of the lab which is $10. After all this, students are given complete access to the photo lab when it is available or open.

“It’s open about 70 hours a week,” Cranston said, “closed Saturdays.”

There are also some periods of time when classes are using the lab and the lab is theirs for the reserved time. However, the lab is not reserved enough to interfere with the times students would like to make use of the lab.

During the lab’s open hours, work-study students work in the lab to grant access to students. Cranston supervises these work-study students and also maintains and repairs all of the lab’s equipment. Along with Cranston, photography professor Garth Amundson works to maintain and better the lab. Cranston believes there are too many prerequisites for students unwilling to pay the fee. Western requires 5 per-requisites, while many other schools around the country require far less.

“I’ve been at Western since 2000 and have made a concerted effort to make the photo lab accessible to more students,” Amundson said. “I’ve authored four successful Student Technology Fund Grants and have secured cameras and other equipment that are now shared with the entire student body.”

Amundson advises the Society of Photographic Education (SPE) club and is working to generate funds for a trip to Las Vegas for a photography convention.

The dark room. Photo by Trevor Grimm // AS Review Amundson strongly believes in pursuit of artwork and has witnessed much suc-

for three categories in the 56th Annual Grammy Awards in 2014. The project received the Grammy award for Best Chamber Music/Small Ensemble Performance, beating Beethoven’s Violin Sonatas and three other nominees.

Their next upcoming project is a music-based documentary video entitled “The Colorado.” It will focus on the way water, land, and survival are intertwined in the Colorado River Basin.

The group has studied two different types of throat singing, which are undeniably distinct

from each other. Tuvan throat singing originated in Mongolia and is a type of overtone singing in which the performer simultaneously produces two or more tones. Mongolia’s open landscape allows the sound travel great distances, and throat singers often travel to find just the right shape of river or mountainside.

Inuit throat singing is typically sung in a duet between two women who are competing to see who can hold a note longer. It originated as a game to entertain women while the men were

away on hunting trips. A bout usually lasts between one and three minutes and the winner then competes against another woman.

P’ansori is a form of Korean storytelling involving a vocalist and a drummer. It originated in the 1600s, during the Joseon Dynasty, and the twelve stories sung are referred to as the twelve madang. Five of the madang are performed today, usually highlighting the more popular sections and cutting out the less popular ones.

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Winter quarter’s Fairhaven Viking Lobby Day: An World Issues Forum

BY MARINA PRICE

7:30 a.m. is admittedly not my favorite time to be in the Viking Union. I am not a ‘morning person’ and my feeble morning brain, operating at 10% did not register that there was no way that the Viking Union Starbucks

BY MORGAN ANNABLE Fairhaven College has presented a series of lectures focusing on global issues every quarter would be open at 7:30 on a Sunday over a holiday weekend.

This is where the group met on the morning Sunday, January 17 for Vifor the past 16 years. This quarter’s series began on January 13 with a talk about the impact of king Lobby Day. There seemed to be nearly 100 of us, exhausted but excited upstream development on rivers and wildlife. The remaining lectures focus on topics ranging to be lobbying, many of us for the first time. The group would board the from climate change to the American prison system to understanding ISIS. charter busses at 8 a.m., for the long rainy ride down to the Olympia state Shirley Osterhaus, Coordinator of the World Issues Forum and Senior Instructor at Faircapitol. haven College, said that the goal of the forum is to provoke dialogue and critical thinking Viking Lobby day really is an incredible opportunity. Even if you expect about global issues and to lead people to better engagement as citizens of the world. to never be involved in politics in your life, the amount you learn about the This Wednesday, January 27, the lecture is presented by Western Environmental Studies legislative process in just two days is enough to give a pretty decent undergraduate student Jill MacIntyre Witt, Lummi tribal member Freddie Lane, and Bellingham standing of how lobbying works, and how bills are decided on a state level. attorney Seth Fleetwood. All three of them went to the Paris climate summit last fall and they For those who didn’t go or who don’t know what lobbying is: lobbying will be discussing climate change, what led them to become environmental activists, stories is essentially the process of meeting with legislators and attempting to from Paris, and what to do now. convince them to vote a certain way. The job of the legislators is to vote on On February 3, American writer, activist, and political commentator Phyllis Bennis will bills, many of which have to do with funding and the allocation of resources present a talk entitled “Understanding ISIS and the New Global War on Terror.” In her lecacross the state.

The Viking Lobby Day group represents Western’s interture, Bennis will address how ISIS rose to power and remained there, as well as the intersecests, and therefore attempts to convince legislators to invest more in Higher tions of terrorism, war, refugees, and racism. Bennis will also present her lecture at 3 p.m. at Educationparticularly Western, and it’s many components. This year there Whatcom Community College and at 7 p.m. at Village Books. were four specific things we were lobbying for at Western. They were: Aaron Dixon will discuss the similarities between African-American struggles and Palestinian struggles in his presentation on February 10. Dixon finds it ironic that the American government supplies Israel with the same weapons that it uses against its own African-Amer- Student Success The most highly emphasized thing we were lobbying for was more fundican population. Additionally, the gentrification that has forced millions of black Americans ing for support outside the classroom. From the legislative agenda, “ Student from their communities mirrors the involuntary relocation of Palestinians. For these reasons, services at WWU are overburdened; this lack of access affects all of campus Dixon suggests that an effort should be made for the alliance of black and Palestinian justice but has disproportionate effect on the recruitment and retention of marefforts. ginalized communities. ” This includes things like the Counseling Center, The next week, on February 17, a presenter still to-be-announced will speak on the topic of Academic Advising, tutoring, disAbility accommodations, and support for mass imprisonment that has led legislature to pass which has devised ways to impose finanstudents who have trouble meeting primary needs such as housing and food cial penalties against criminal offenders and promoted a perpetual lower-class. due to financial difficulties.

One key fact that was a concert to legislators: the On February 24 Rashad Shabazz, associate professor at Arizona State University, will also amount of students who request disAbility resources has increased by 77% speak about the criminal justice system in a talk entitled “Carceral Interstice: Between Prison since 2009, and the supply has not at all increased with the demand. and Home.” Shabazz will focus on the impact of housing projects in Chicago and the way that policing and surveillance are used to control populations.

Support for Survivors of Sexual and Domestic Violence Two Fairhaven students will present for the forum on March 2. Both Le’Ana Freeman and From the agenda, “the ASWWU is concerned about the vastly under-reRichard Vihn received Adventure Learning Grants in the 2014-2015 school year. Freeman used her grant money to travel to South Africa where she taught children and to India where ported instances of sexual violence on our campus. We strongly believe that with increased funding at the state level, more students will be able she explored the connection between racial politics and personal identity. Vihn traveled access support and legal services with the confidence that their needs will through five countries in South America playing banjo and studying urban planning. Both be met.” Specifically, we advocated for specialized personnel, resources and students will speak about the ways they connected with communities around the world via staff training within Western’s counseling services for this specific cause. We music, food, and education. also advocated for the implementation of a mandatory training program for This is the 16th year of the World Issues Forum, which started right after 9/11.

“The students here at Fairhaven at the time had so many questions about what was going on all University staff, faculty and administration, which would teach how to create safe environments for students and teach appropriate vocabulary for in the world that they hired me to have a weekly brown bag lunch meeting,” Osterhaus said. discussion.

“It’s grown now from a zero credit class to one credit to two credits to three credits to four credits to a GUR.” Osterhaus also teaches the class that accompanies the forum. She helps her students explore Civic Education in Public K-12 independent media sources to get different perspectives than the ones seen in corporate me- This item on the agenda had to do with an issue that stems from outside of Western’s campus- the lack of civic education in public schools. Civic dia. The class meets on Mondays to share the research they have done in small groups. education equips young people to be effective in their local governments “I have the philosophy of education that I learned from my Mexican mentor many years and communicate to legislators their concerns and what could be done to ago,” Osterhaus said. “He said ‘I will tell you what I know. You tell me what you know, and improve their education and experience. This item on the agenda is in part then we’ll all know more together.’ So that’s my philosophy of education.”

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attendee’s perspective a response to the general presumption by many older folks that young people are apathetic when it comes to politics, they don’t vote, therefore they don’t care. We argued that they do care, but because of a lack of education on how processes work and what they could get done, young people are hesitant to involve themselves.

Voter Rights and Access Similar to the Civic Education agenda item, voter rights and access deals with young people and their access to vote. From the agenda, “ ASWWU believes that voting is a right and recognizes that many communities do not have the constitutionality protected access they need in order to fulfill this right. Current laws make it difficult for students to register to vote or update their mailing address.” We suggested amendments to the process, such as allowing 16 and 17 year olds to pre-register to vote at the Department of Licensing as part of the Motor Voter, system, which is active in both California and Oregon. We also advocated for the inclusion of pre-paid postage on ballot envelopes. In many of Washington’s counties this is a given, but for Whatcom County it is not, and as Washington is a mail-in only state, this seemingly small barrier can mean the difference between someone voting or not voting, especially for students who may not have access to transportation or the time to make the trip to the post office.

large blanket draped over the couch I was sitting on that featured a giant portrait of Johnny Depp’s Captain Jack Sparrow, upon which a stuffed cat toy was delicately arranged to appear as if it was sleeping.

Upon our discussion, we discovered Representative Kirby was a very strong advocate for education, and spoke about the decline of civic education in public schools for long enough that his secretary had to interrupt the meeting to inform him that he was 20 minutes late for a legislative meeting.

Our next meeting was in direct contrast to the one with Rep. Kirby. Senator Dean Takko is well known for being an alumni of Western, so we went into his office hoping for a similar experience to the one we had just had with Rep. Kirby. It was alas, not the case, Sen. Takko unfortunately gave us the impression he believed that civic education and voter access should be something that you need to strive after yourself, not have placed in your lap. Takko’s office was stark white, with entirely bare walls all except for three giant deer carcass heads mounted above his desk.

Although for us it’s called “Viking Lobby Day” it’s not just us down in Olympia lobbying.

Legislators meet with groups from all over Washington. We saw teams from Planned Parenthood, teachers unions, mental health advocates and more. The goal for us was to stand out among the crowd, to make sure that the legislators remembered us when it came time to vote for the future of our school.

Lobby Day was an incredibly rewarding experience. As many of the legislators relayed to us, the fact that there were so many of us there eager to represent our school makes a world of a difference and does greatly impact their decision-making process. Knowing this, I encourage anyone even remotely interested to attend next year’s Lobby Day. It’s worth it.

So how do we get all of this across? The day before our lobby session, we were taught how to do just that. Our giant group of 100 was divided into smaller groups of three or four people, who would work together for the session and meet with the legislators as a small team. Groups attended special sessions where we were filled in on the details of the agenda items, and attended a session called ‘Lobby 101’ where we learned the ins and outs of convincing legislators to side with you.

Monday was our lobbying day. I had a great team with me, and prior to our first meeting we figured out a game plan for how we were going to approach our legislators. We divided up the agenda items so we each had something to talk about.

We had meetings with six different legislators over the course of the day, each 15 minutes in length. The Olympia capitol campus is a beautiful one, each building poised with an air of distinct authority, compromised of clean white marble and brassy accents. The ceiling of the main legislative building has beautiful ornamental designs sculpted and painted into the ceiling, which admittedly distracted me as we went to and from meetings.

As for the lobbying process, it definitely got easier the more meetings we got through. We were all a bit nervous for our first meeting, which was with Representative Brian Blake from the 13th district, but by the time we got to our last meeting with Representative Vincent Buys from the 42nd (that’s up near here in Lynden) things were smooth sailing.

The reaction you get from the legislator you’re meeting with is different nearly every time, and its harder to predict than you think. Our group did research on each legislator we met with prior to our meetings. We knew if they were a democrat or a republican, what they’ve voted on in the past, how long they had been a legislator for. But that wasn’t always indicative of how the meeting was going to go. In the early afternoon we had a meeting with Representative Steve Kirby, a highly respected legislator who had been around for more than thirty years, and was known for influencing opinion on either side of the political spectrum. Needless to say, we were nervous.

When we got to his office however, he greeted us warmly from a large leather office chair. His office was unlike any other we’d seen so far: it was huge, complete ABOVE: My lovely lobby team of Kallan Gustafson, Jeneca Lynema and with a fireplace and two large leather sofas. His walls were fully decorated with Jamie Tesberg. BELOW: A lobby group creates a memorial made of chalk eclectic artwork and posters (notably one poster with a photo shot from behind of a man flashing a statue with the caption “expose yourself to art!”) He also had a dedicated to black lives lost to police brutality. Photos by Marina Price

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The Sex Ed You Wish You Had On Wednesday, February 3 the AS Queer Resource Center, AS Women’s Center and the AS Sexual Awareness Center are hosting the Sex Ed You Wish You Had. This event is meant to be a queer and disability inclusive presentation on sex, relationships and loving yourself. Two speakers from Babeland will be presenting the event which will include demonstrations on sexual techniques and a Q & A. The event will be held in Artzen Hall 100 from 7 - 9 p.m. on February 3 and is free. The event is open to all identities.

Two speakers from Babeland present the Sex Ed You Wish You had at last year’s event. The event included advice, techniques and a Q & A. Photos by Trevor Grimm // AS Review

“See What Happens!?”

TOP LEFT: Kameron Peck (right) and Max Singler (left) working in real time for their live drawing exhibit “See What Happens!?”. TOP RIGHT: Kameron Peck (pictured) and Max Singler painting in real time for their live drawing exhibit.

BOTTOM LEFT: Kameron Peck’s piece “Heroes”, part of Peck’s and Max Singler’s live drawing exhibit “See What Happens!?” in the B-Gallery BOTTOM RIGHT: Kameron Peck’s portrait of the late starman David Bowie, part of Peck’s and Max Singler’s live drawing exhibit “See What Happens!?” in the B-Gallery.

Photos by Trevor Grimm // AS Review