News // Events // Student Life
Review
NICK OFFERMAN
‘Parks & Rec’ star to visit on Feb. 7, pg. 5
Vol. 28 #14 2.5.13
10 • as.wwu.edu/asreview
VALENTINE’S DAY EATS A restaurant guide for a romantic date
Photos by Cade Schmidt By Lauren Simmons
MOUNT BAKERY 308 W Champion St. Bellingham, WA 98225 (360) 715-2195 Fairhaven Location: 1217 Harris Ave. Bellingham, WA 98225 (360) 778-1261 A family-owned bakery and creperie featuring local, organic ingredients in their award-winning treats, breakfasts and lunches. Different cookies, pasties and desserts are available for Valentine’s Day. Linzer Heart Cookies; Framboise Tortes made with raspberry, chocolate and no flour; shortbread conversation-heart cookies and chocolate-covered strawberries are among the offerings . Now taking orders for Valentine’s Day.
CHUCKANUT MANOR SEAFOOD & GRILL 3056 Chuckanut Dr. Bellingham, Washington 98232 (360) 766-6191 A 15-minute-drive from campus, located on scenic Chuckanut Drive. Open for lunch, and begins serving their Valentine’s Day menu at 4 p.m. Special menu includes raw oysters, Chuckanut Clam Chowder and King Salmon. For $145, the“3 course Prix Fixe” is also featured on the Valentine’s Day menu, a three-course dinner for two; each person gets to pick a soup or salad, then the couple shares Alaskan king-crab legs, center-cut beef tenderloin with mushroom demi-glace, prawn and cantaloupe napoleon, roasted asparagus and fingerling potatoes, and for the dessert there is an assortment of chocolate truffles, vanilla bean panna cotta and layered chocolate cake.
NEW YORK PIZZA AND BAR 902 N. State Street Bellingham, WA 98225 (360) 733-3171 In the heart of downtown, and close to campus New York-style dining with an extensive happy hour menu, drink offerings and vast offerings of pizzas, burgers and pastas. Happy hour lasts from 2-6 p.m., and 9 p.m. to close. Couples can share an appetizer from the menu an a 10-inch pizza of their choice, then finish off the meal with any of New York Pizza’s desserts. This offering is $29. Make reservations online or call the restaurant.
Other places great for Valentine’s Day Anthony’s at Squalicum Harbor 25 Bellwether Way Bellingham, WA 98225 (360) 647-5588 Anthony’s Hearthfire Grill – Squalicum 7 Bellwether Way Bellingham, WA 98225 (360) 527-3473 Giuseppe’s 21 Bellwether Way Suite #112 Bellingham, WA 98225 (360) 714-8412 Dirty Dan Harris Steakhouse 1211 11th St. Bellingham, WA 98225 (360)-676-1087
February 5, 2013 • 11
EVENTS CALENDAR Tuesday, Feb. 5
“Lunch & Learn” Discussion: Resilience, sustainable design and more Where: Wilson 265 When: 12-1 p.m. Price: Free
Wednesday, Feb. 6
Underground Nigh Concert Series: The Bad Tenants w/ Triceracorn Where: Underground Coffee House When: 8 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 7
p. 5
Saturday, Feb. 9
An Evening With Nick Offerman Where: Wilson 265 When: 7:30 p.m. Price: $18-24
Backcountry Ski/Snowboarding Where: Glacier When: All day Price: $40
Friday, Feb. 8
Sunday, Feb. 10
Concert: Zion I, A-1, DJ Triple Crown Where: Wild Buffalo When: 9 p.m. Price: Free
Snowshoeing Day Where: Cascade Mountain Range When: All day Price: $30
DOCUMENTING DESIGN
Industrial design professor creates documentary Todd Wells • AS Review
ing through a similar transition in his life. how he became this person.” “I was a professional industrial designer, then I Over the past year Morris has been on an investigalooked at what else I could do after I had accomplished a tive journey to learn more about Teague. One major lot of the goals that I had wanted to accomplish,” he said. piece of that journey was visiting Teague’s grandchildren “That led to me teaching Industrial Design.” in New York, Baltimore, Aspen and Colorado. Morris Now Morris teaches classes in industrial design vary- also spent a week in New York and some time in Vering from introductory classes for freshmen to studio mont doing research and conducting interviews, includcourses for upper classmen. ing one interview with the director at the Smithsonian. In recent years, Morris has discovered another pas“The process for me is really enjoyable,” Morris said. sion: film-making. “It’s kind of a detective’s story “I was always intertrying to figure out the story of ested in film-making someone’s life.” but never had too many In producing his film, Moropportunities to do it,” ris has also been able to incorMorris said. “I did this porate the work of industrial Hoima Bicycle Project, design students at Western. ason orris and I thought ‘well, this “Since there are a lot of is something that I really should film because I think it’s scenes that happen in his life that we don’t have any phogoing to be pretty exciting to see what happens.” tos of, we’re going to use drawings,” Morris said. When Morris entered his film on the Hoima Bicycle Morris has met with students to create computer Project into the Northwest Projections Film Festival, a graphic animations and other multimedia illustrations Bellingham based regional film fest, he ended up winfor the video. ning best documentary short. Realizing his knack for When finished, Morris plans on submitting his film film-making, he went on to produce three other short to various film festivals including the Northwest Projecfilms over the next few years: “The Tree Was Here,” tions Film Festival and the Seattle International Festvial, “Form Function” and “Designing for People.” All of these but more than anything he wants to produce a quality films were also selected to be featured at the Northwest film. Projections Film Festival. “It’s something that I want to be proud of and someBut Morris’s feature length documentary on Teague thing that I want people to see and appreciate,” Morris is going to be different than these previous films. said. “It’s going to be about his life, his background and For more information on the documentary visit: also about his professional career,” Morris said. “You www.facebook.com/WDTeague. have to understand where he came from to understand
“
I was always interested in filmmaking but never had too many opportunities to do it.
J
M
“
Associate Professor of Industrial Design, Jason Morris is on a mission to tell a story. His story is that of the life of industrial design pioneer, Walter D. Teague, and will appear as a feature-length documentary. “To me, Teague is kind of like a grandfather,” Morris said. “He’s like the great-grandfather you always wanted rto learn more about.” - Walter Teague grew up in a small town in Indiana, 9but at age 19 he moved to New York to follow his passion for art. In New York, Teague was able to make a career nas an artist and start a family. Later, however, at age 43, lTeague grew fascinated with industrial design and his professional focus shifted. Shaping his career as an industrial designer took off quickly. In 1934 Teague came up with one of his first popular designs, a Kodak Camera called the Baby Brownie. The Baby Brownie was the first molded camera and was made available to the public for only $1. Throughout the rest of his life Teague went on to design numerous other popular products, from the first Texaco gas station chain to the Boeing 707. Teague also started his own design firm called Teague Industries, which is still in business today in Seattle. Like Teague, Professor Morris has a strong passion for industrial design. After graduating from college, Morris went to New York to work on exhibits and interiors. Afterwards, he went to Boston to work as a product designer. “I met another young designer who was interested in starting a company, so we started a small design firm together in 2000 called Tool,” Morris said. Not unlike Teague’s midlife transformation that sent him to pursue industrial design, Morris talked about go-
12 • as.wwu.edu/asreview
MAGIC NUMBER 10: Photos by Cade Schmidt // AS Review
Lady Viks take out University of Alaska Fairbanks for tenth straight win
Junior Logan Evans performs with WWU Step2This during the club’s half-time routine. Britt Harris shuts down UAF’s
offense with an impressive steal.
Unofficial mascot Kevin Ernest cheers as the game begins.
Cheerleader Rachel Persson keeps Vikings pumped.
Starting guard Corinn Waltrip gets some love from her teammates as the starting five are announced.
Forward Sarah Hill Guards Benissa Bulaya after UAF gets Trishi Williams goes for a rebound.
possion of the ball
2 • as.wwu.edu/asreview
Promotional poster for Nick Offerman’s upcoming show for Associated Students Productions Special Events on Feb. 7.
NEWS
8
Illustration by Elliot Snyder
review
Viking Union 411 516 High St. Bellingham, WA 98225 Phone: 360.650.6126 Fax: 360.650.6507 Email: as.review@wwu.edu Online: as.wwu.edu/asreview @theasreview facebook.com/theasreview
©2013. Published most Mondays during the school year by the Associated Students of Western Washington University. We are a student-produced, alternative campus weekly covering news and events that are of interest to the Western community. We support all programs, offices and clubs affiliated with the AS. We have a direct connection to the AS board of directors, and although we report on board actions objectively, our relationship should be made clear. Submissions: We welcome reader submissions, including news articles, literary pieces, photography, artwork or anything else physically printable. Email submissions, or send them to the mailing address above. They will be returned as long as you include a self-addressed, stamped envelope. Letters: We also welcome letters to the editor. Please limit your letter to 300 words and include your name and phone number. Published letters may have minor edits made to their length or grammar, if necessary. Calendar/Ads: We don’t sell ad space. Sorry. Email as.review@ wwu.edu to have an event listed in the calendar.
Staff
Editor in Chief Assistant Editor Lead Photographer Designer Writers
Megan Thompson Spencer Pederson Cade Schmidt Bradley O’Neal Nick Markman Lauren Prater Lauren Simmons Kylie Wade Todd Wells
Adviser Jeff Bates Corrections from Jan. 29th:
‘Music as a Movement’ on pg. 7 was written by Lauren Simmons Underground Coffeehouse and inside cover photo were taken by Cade Schmidt The cover photo was a piece in Western’s B Gallery by Jake Reller
INFO FAIRS Major and Career fairs on Feb. 7, Feb. 14 respectively
EVENTS
5
SPEAKER SERIES Student Marketing Association presents speakers for February
4 5
WATER BOTTLES The fight to end water bottle sales on campus continues
NICK OFFERMAN Esteemed comedian to visit campus on Feb. 7
STUDENT LIFE
6
BRA MANIA Bras donated in the Viking Union to go to underprivileged women
FEATURES
10
VALENTINE’S EATS Find romantic dinner date spots around Bellingham
9
11
11
EVENTS CALENDAR See what’s happening around Bellingham this week
VOID WALKER Student-produced sci-fi series returns to KVIK
DESIGN DOCUMENTARY Industrial design makes documentary, will premiere this month Bras donated through Free the Girls are sent to Mozambique. See the full story on pg. 6.
February 5, 2013 • 3
WESTERN GALLERY: FACULTY EXHIBIT
photos by
Cade Schmidt // AS Review
From left to right: “Mojácar Azul” by Garth Amumdson and Pierre Gour, design pieces by Elsi Vassdal-Ellis, Sculptures by Pat McCormick. Disclaimer: Pat McCormick is a current professor to the photographer Cade Schmidt
4 • as.wwu.edu/asreview
BOTTLED-WATER FREE CAMPUS Western students unite to push initiative forward
Sam Bliss • Guest Submission Nearly one year ago, Western students approved the proposal to prohibit the sale of water in single-use, disposable containers on our campus. Yet all of the university’s markets and vending machines still carry Aquafina. The issue is still relevant and the process continues. The Bottled Water Free campaign remains hard at work; progress at our university meanders slowly but steadily toward joining the ranks of colleges across our nation that have already ended the sale of bottled water. Associated Students club Students for Sustainable Water Presidents Sara Purington and Carolyn Bowie presented to Western’s Faculty Senate on Jan. 14. The Senate includes a representative from every department of the university, in addition to members of the administration. The two presenters asked members of the Senate to consider how bottled water is currently used in their department, presented alternatives to minimize its consumption and provided an update on campus efforts to become bottled water free. Some faculty representatives asked for particulars of the proposal to remove bottled water from Western. “They were very receptive,” said Bowie. “We have already received several enthusiastic responses.” Last spring, the student body of Western voted in favor of the AS Ballot’s Bottled Water Free Initiative, which reads: “Shall we the students of WWU find the selling of bottled water to be an unsustainable practice and strongly urge the university to take action to discontinue
the sales and distribution of bottled water on campus?” Of the students who voted in the 2012 AS elections, 73 percent answered, “Yes.” In an Oct. 2, 2012 interview with The Western Front, Western President Bruce Shepard was asked what vision he has for the future of this institution. “If I have a vision it doesn’t matter what it is,” Shepard replied. “The question is: what is the university’s vision for itself? The job of a president is to ask that question in many different ways and to listen carefully, to hear what people are saying and then to feed it back.” The university’s vision for itself is clear. The overwhelming majority of Western students spoke last spring, voicing support for a university free of corporate-produced, minimally regulated, high-priced bottled water. On Nov. 28, 2012, the AS Board of Directors voted unanimously to approve an amendment entitled, “Water Bottle Free Initiative,” to the Hospitality policy of the Viking Union, Student Activities and the AS. This new legislation was enacted as part of the actualization of the goals stated by last year’s AS ballot measure. Purington and Bowie represented the amendment, which will entail considerable effort from AS Programs and Services to eliminate single-use water bottle distribution at all AS events, offices and clubs. The time and energy invested in this effort will be paid back, plus more in savings generated by the new policy. Distributing commercially produced bottled water at events and
meetings costs Western more per gallon than gasoline and thousands of times more than tap water. A 2010 article in The New York Times criticized the University of California campuses in Berkeley and San Francisco for their combined expenditure of about $2 million per year for bottled water in spite of budget cuts. For those not persuaded to take a stance against bottled water based on the environmental costs, surely the monetary cost to our school is reason enough, with significant annual tuition hikes and program cuts becoming the norm for the university. In addressing the Faculty Senate meeting, Bowie expressed optimism that each of Western’s eight colleges will adopt a policy similar to that of the AS. “This will bring faculty and students across campus together in a united position against bottled water,” she said. We are progressing toward a school free of bottled water. This is just a small piece of a global effort against the privatization and commoditization of freshwater resources. To learn more about the issues surrounding the bottled water industry, students, faculty, staff and community members are invited to view the 2009 documentary Tapped on Wednesday, Feb. 13 at 6:30 p.m. in Communications Facility room 115. The event will also include information about the Bottled Water Free campaign and how to get involved. Bottled water will not be provided.
February 5, 2013 • 5
FEBRUARY SPEAKER SERIES TO HOST LOCAL MARKETERS
Lauren Simmons • AS Review
Even though February is the shortest month of the year, Western’s Student Marketing Association is making the most out of it by putting on a February Speaker Series. The Student Marketing Association, an Associated Students club included under the College of Business and Economics, is bringing an individual from the marketing industry to speak on their experiences and provide insight about different industries from a marketing standpoint. The club’s board surveyed its members at the end of last quarter in regards to what they wanted out of the club, and many of them wanted to learn more about different industries such as sports and music, said Jordan Renshaw, vice president of activities for the Student Marketing Association. The February Speaker Series will feature one speaker on each Wednesday on Feb. 13, Feb. 20 and Feb. 27. The events will be held from 6 p.m. to 7 p.m. in Parks Hall 228. After the speaker gives their presentation and tells their story, there will be time for questions, as well as networking opportunities, Renshaw said. “This is a way for current students to connect with marketing alums who have internship and job opportunities available and really want to help our students!” said Wendy Wilhelm, the club’s advisor, in an email. The three speakers coming to speak at Western are Jason LaBaw, Mandy Lincoln and Austin Santiago, Renshaw said. LaBaw is the CEO of the Bonsai Media Group, a digital-marketing agency; Lincoln is a Western alum and the marketing manager of the Seattle
Mariners; and Santiago is the talent buyer for the Wild Buffalo downtown. “I’m looking forward to networking with Mandy from the Mariners,” Renshaw said. The first speaker of the series is Lincoln, and she will be speaking on Wednesday, Feb. 13. Lincoln, who graduated from Western in 2007, began working with the Mariners in March of 2008, according to a Western Front article. Santiago is the second speaker of the series, speaking on Wednesday, Feb. 20. The last speaker of the series is LaBaw from Bonsai Media Group. Based in Seattle, the Bonsai Media Group is a group of designers, developers and marketing “ninjas,” according to their website. The group works with complex codes, Photoshop and search engine algorithms to fashion an effective websites. This is Renshaw’s first quarter on the board for the club, and he is helping make it more interactive. The club meets every week to talk about different opportunities, internships and projects, as well as to host workshops and speakers, like the February Speaker Series, he said. The event is free, open to anyone and beneficial for all majors, Renshaw said. The speaker series is a great way for our students to learn about marketing careers, marketing career paths, what to expect, how to get a job, how to interview and get self-branding advice, Wilhelm said.
NICK OFFERMAN
Comedian to visit campus on Feb. 7 Lauren Prater • AS Review Occasionally Western is blessed with the presence of a celebrity, whether it be a talented musician, a gifted speaker, or this time, an accomplished comedian. On Thursday, Feb. 7 at the Performing Arts Center, wellknown comedian and seasoned actor Nick Offerman will perform his comedy routine “American HAM” to a sold out crowed on campus. Offerman is famous for his role as Ron Swanson on the TV series “Parks and Recreation” but has also appeared in films such as Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous, 21 Jumpstreet and Casa De Mi Padre. His comedy routine will consist of original acoustic songs, anecdotes and original pieces from his show, including plenty of his well-known improv. “I am the biggest Parks and Rec fan,” stated Western student Maddie Neuman in an email. “I find Nick’s character hilarious. I appreciate that he is so strong, but at the core, he is so simple.” Neuman was the winner of the AS Special Events Facebook contest, winning herself free tickets to Offer-
man’s show. Opening for Offerman will be Western student John Lee, who was the winner of the most recent Last Comic Standing event. “I am very excited to be opening for Offerman,” Lee stated in an email. “I am also very excited to be performing to a sold out PAC.” The event sold out almost immediately. AS Special Events Coordinator Jordan Renshaw believes that spreading the word on Facebook is how the event grew to be so big in the first place, but he may not have realized exactly how quickly the event would spread. The PAC box office sold 500 tickets on the first day back from winter break, and the rest of the tickets were gone over the following five days. “This is my last year in this position, and I knew we haven’t had a stand-up comedy act in a long time,” Renshaw said. “I wanted to put on something huge that I hope to be remembered by.”
6 • as.wwu.edu/asreview
February 5, 2013 • 7
It’s raining bras
“FREE THE GIRLS”
A
By Kylie Wade
Bra drive held to support women in need
bra seems like a simple thing. Most women in America wear them every day and have a drawer full of them at home. But for women halfway across the world in Mozambique, bras are a luxury item, commanding top dollar in the used clothing markets that thrive throughout much of Africa. That simple realization inspired Dave Terpstra and Kimba Langas to use the power of bras to enact change. In August of 2010, Terpstra and Langas founded Free the Girls, a nonprofit organization that works to provide job opportunities to women rescued from sex trafficking. After moving to Mozambique and seeing vendors making a living off of nothing more than used bra sales, Terpstra came up with the idea to gather gently used bras in the United States and ship them to Mozambique to supply women with an innovative job opportunity. Western students Ashley Manzoni and Brianna Morrow heard about the organization and decided to throw an event at Western to help support Free the Girls. Morrow and Manzoni organized a bra drive that took place all of last week, collecting bras from members of the Western community and shipping them to Langas to send on to Mozambique. Neither Morrow nor Manzoni had any experience organizing an event on campus, and both were nervous about throwing their first one. They said the response they received from the Western community has been overwhelming and inspiring. “It feels really good. I’m really excited to put on more events like this,” Manzoni said. “It’s really validating to know that other people support you and it feels good to actually help the women who are getting out of trafficking to be able to be self-sustainable.” Langas, the Co-Founder and Executive Director of Free the Girls, explained that the majority of women rescued out of sex trafficking were abducted when they were 8 to 10 years old, never completed schooling, HIV positive after years working in prostitution and often mothers struggling
to provide for their children. These realities make it difficult for them to find and hold jobs. Selling bras offers the women flexible hours, the ability to work primarily with women after lifetimes of abuse can make them weary of men and the opportunity to make a good living. “Not only are we providing a job opportunity, but we’re providing a good income,” Langas said. “The girls in our pilot program made up to five times minimum wage. If they really work at selling the bras, they’re able to support themselves, support their families and have a little bit of money left over to put towards their long term dreams. It gives them not only a step up, but a step ahead.” Free the Girls partners with Project Purpose, an organization in Mozambique that works to find and rescue women off the street. Free the Girls has already sent 32,000 bras to Mozambique and has gathered 45,000 more since their last shipment. Their program in Mozambique has expanded to 12 women who are now each selling around 100 to 500 bras per month and they have big dreams for the future. “My dream is to see every survivor of human trafficking be restored, healed, and building their lives and their dreams, whatever that looks like for them. The bigger picture for me and what excites me about the work we do at Free the Girls is I would love to see women all over the world uplifted and having the opportunities that they deserve – education, equality and safety,” Langas said. Their success is spurred by a continuous flow of bras arriving from all over the world, many gathered in bra drives like Western’s. Morrow and Manzoni were blown away by how many members of the Western community stepped forward to support their idea to hold a bra drive. The event was officially put on through the newly created WWU Vagina Club, which is an offshoot of WEAVE, Women’s Empowerment and Violence Education, a program run through Western’s Prevention and Wellness Services. It also received support from Western Men Against Violence, a club run through
Men’s Outreach and Violence Education. The drive ran from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday last week and collected box after box full of bras. Many men without bras to give stepped forward to donate money to cover the costs of shipping. “I didn’t come in with any expectations, I was just proud of myself for getting it out there,” Morrow said. “I’ve been so pleasantly surprised by the outcome. I was like, honestly, even if I send in ten bras, I’m going to be excited about it. On Wednesday, I hauled a garbage bag full of bras up the stairs and it felt great.” Morrow said she encourages other people to try their own bra drives. She said she received extensive support from Free the Girls, who provided a support person assigned specifically to the Western bra drive to help create posters, advertise the event on social media platforms and answer any questions. Langas said the support staff is run by a group of volunteers and encourages anyone interested in getting involved with Free the Girls to consider becoming a volunteer event concierge. To those that want to get involved but aren’t sure how, Langas says to focus on what you can do with what you have, where you are. “I always felt like you can’t make a difference if you can’t do something big, but it doesn’t have to be something big,” she said. “Sometimes making a difference can be just finding an old bra that you don’t wear anymore and dropping it in the mail to us. That bra could provide half a day or a full day’s wage for a woman halfway around the world and it really does make a big impact.” In 2013, Free the Girls hopes to collect another 50,000 bras and open pilot programs in other countries, including Uganda, Kenya, El Salvador and Mexico. Manzoni and Morrow said after the success of their first event, they are excited to find new ways to work towards positive change. They encouraged anyone interested in getting involved with causes like this one to consider joining WEAVE or the WWU Vagina Club.
Kathleen Austad, Mackenzie Lynch and Brianna Marrow of Women’s Empowerment and Violence Education toss the collected bras in joy. Bras collected at the drive will be donated to the nonprofit organization “Free the Girls” and given to women rescued from sex trafficing in Mozambique. Gently used or new bras were collected from Jan. 28 to Feb. 1 and collected boxes full of bras.
8 • as.wwu.edu/asreview
CAREER AND MAJOR FAIR
Career Services Center and Academic Advising Center help students chose career paths Nick Markman • AS Review There tends to be a rift amongst college students. There are those individuals who are undecided about which academic major to pursue and then there are those who have declared a major, but are unsure about what career to embark upon after college. Luckily, the Career Services Center and Academic Advising Center will host two events during the first few weeks of February that can help aid the decision-making processes for both of these cases. The Majors Fair will take place on Thursday, Feb. 7 from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. and the Winter Career Fair will take place on Thursday, Feb. 14 from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Both events will be held in the Viking Union Multipurpose Room. The Majors Fair brings together all the different academic departments at Western for a gathering where undecided and undeclared students can come and learn about all the different majors Western offers, their prerequisites and the process of declaring a major. Students who are unsure as to what major they wish to pursue can talk with academic department staff, faculty and declared students to gain insights into the various departments and majors. “The Majors Fair is a great opportunity to connect with a lot of different departments all in one space and kind of compare and contrast different various majors that students might be discerning between,” Academic Adviser Heather Brett said. The Winter Career Fair will take place one week after the Majors Fair. Around 60 different companies from all ends of the business spectrum will be present at the event to talk with students about available internships, career opportunities and information on their respecphotos by
Cade Schmidt // AS Review
tive company. From huge corporations like Amazon and Hewlett-Packard to small local nonprofit organizations, students will find a wide variety of companies present at the event. “We try to have an array of industries represented and a selection of profit versus nonprofit organizations,” Assistant Director of Operations for the Career Services Center Aaron Ignac said. “Hopefully, there is a real opportunity for a wide variety of students to find this effective and even line up a summer internships or if they’re close to graduating, an actual career opportunity.” Ignac said that even individuals who are not ready to get their first internship or career-oriented job could find the experience gained from attending the Career Fair valuable. He said that the experience of talking to recruiters and understanding how to present oneself and communicate professionally can put an individual at an advantage over their peers when the time comes to grab that first job or internship. “In the Career Center here, we are really focusing on internships as a way to improve your employability after graduation,” Ignac said. “We know that students who have internships tend to get their jobs sooner after graduation, have a higher starting salary and can work within their field more often than a person who does not have an internship.” In preparing for the Career Fair, Ignac said that research is key. Many of the companies attending the fair have the positions they are recruiting for posted on the Viking CareerLink website. Ignac said that it is a good idea to read up on some companies you are interested in, find out what they are looking for and custom tailor your resume and 30-second “elevator speech” for that particu-
lar position within the company or organization. The 30-second “elevator speech” should be the introduction you give to recruiters at the fair. Ignac said that in this speech, you should include your major, some personal background information, and most importantly – what you can contribute to the particular organization. “If you’re most passionate about a particular company, don’t go to that recruiter first,” Ignac said. “Go and break in your spiel and get comfortable to the setting and find out what kind of questions the recruiters are asking, and then go to your recruiter of most interest.” “You need to present the benefits that you can bring to the company,” Ignac said. “It shows a refined understanding of what the company is looking for.” A surplus of helpful material is available online on the Career Service Center’s website that goes over more preparation and Career Fair etiquette including how to dress, what to say and good methods for following up with recruiters. Ignac said that the Career Fair seems intimidating to a lot of students. He said it is important to remember that the recruiters understand college students and that attendees should not view the event as a formal interview, but rather as an opportunity to gain access to applying and searching for jobs and internships. “Recruiters understand that they are coming to a college campus. They are not expecting ten years experience on a resume,” Ignac said. “There really is an understanding from the employer side of things, so it doesn’t have to be that scary.” For more information about the Career Fair and for a list of employers who will be attending, visit www.wwu. edu/careers.
NEXT WE
in the AS
Review
EK
Electric Shadow Films presents ‘Gothingham’
February 5, 2013 • 9 Poster by Tiffany Hsu // AS Publicity Center
KVIK’S ‘VOID WALKER’ RETURNS FEB. 6
Nick Markman • AS Review
What do aliens, ghosts, the apocalypse and a talking sandwich have in common? They have all been themes in KVIK’s fantasy science fiction thriller show, Void Walker. Now entering its third season, Void Walker is an ambitious student-produced show that serves as a creative outlet for the bizarre, weird and supernatural. The season premiere of Void Walker will take place on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 6 p.m. in the Underground Coffee House. It will be a free event. Void Walker is an ongoing series that tells the story of an unnamed, unseen, deceased protagonist that is traveling through a very strange manifestation of the afterlife. Throughout the Void Walker’s journey, he frequently encounters visions of other deceased individuals trapped in the same afterlife. The visions are presented as two unique short films in each episode. While the short films are unrelated and occupy the majority of the episode, the progressive narrative of the Void Walker’s passage through the afterlife serves as the backbone plot to the series. “Essentially, what the Void Walker has to do is to get to the end of this mysterious hostile realm where he can then supposedly go into his final resting place,” Executive Producer Ian Coleman said. “As far as the ongoing narrative goes, it’s entering a new phase. We’re starting to see new characters introduced. We have a sort
of central antagonist figure now. Things are going to be ratcheting up and getting a little more high stakes.” Each season of Void Walker consists of two episodes. In the episode premiering on Feb. 6, the Void Walker continues his travels and experiences visions of an apocalypse orchestrated by mysterious hooded figures and of a businessman that is forced to confront his own ego while trapped inside an elevator. “One of our directors actually built an elevator set in his house,” Coleman said. “We filmed some scenes in a real elevator and for a lot of the more ambitious shots, we used the set.” Void Walker is the only non-humorous show on KVIK. When Coleman and KVIK Coordinator Robert Bojorquez came up with the idea for the show back in 2011, they hoped to create a program where the students who write, direct and star in the show could express their darker side. “We thought it would be a good outlet for people who wanted to write things that weren’t necessarily that funny, that could have darker undertones to them and be able to explore different story types other than sketch comedy,” Bojorquez said. Coleman said that for being as ambitious and strange of a show as it is, there are not many difficulties that go into producing Void Walker. He said the hardest part of
creating the show is the ability for the writers and directors to emotionally connect with the audience and sell them on some of the more bizarre occurrences that go on in the show – like talking sandwiches. “As far as the production value type stuff goes, it’s really just a matter of using our creativity,” Coleman said. “We just sort of put our heads together and come up with ways of doing things. We’ll run down what we want to see and we’ll work with whatever tools we have to make it work.” Void Walker episodes are conceptualized during meetings every Thursday at 6 p.m. in Bond Hall 108. Bojorquez said that the show is always looking for new writers, directors, actors and crewman, and that anyone is welcome to stop by and provide input. Coleman, who is a senior and will graduate this spring, said that he has every intention of passing the show on after his departure from Western. “My intentions at the end of this year are to do some things with the narrative that propel it forward into an entirely new phase,” Coleman said. “Basically, we’re going to change a lot and for whoever takes it over, I’m going to leave a little rule book behind, a series bible if you will, and create a lot of space for some new, creative, ambitious minds to go in some awesome new directions.”