AS Review - February 09, 2015

Don’t just talk about it, be about it, p. 5 Valentine’s Day gifts to hasten your break up, p. 6 Last week in photos... p. 8

Vol. 30 14 2.9.15

2 • as.wwu.edu/asreview

Center Kayla Bernsen attempts a shot against Northwest Nazarene University on Feb. 5, the Vikings won 7069. Photo by Trevor Grimm // AS Review

MAKING YOUR LIFE BETTER, ONE PAGE AT A TIME 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 © 2014. 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 NEWS

STUDENT LIFE

4 Here ye, here ye:

7 This time again in

Here come the clubs

Western’s clubs invade Red Square this week for the 2015 AS Club Showcase

5 Don’t just talk

about it, be about it AS Resource and Outreach Programs presents a talk by Mikki Kendal

the VU Gallery

The Viking Union Gallery features “This Time, Again,” a new exhibit

8 Last week in photos...

In case you missed it: spoken word, sex talks and abstract art

FEATURES 3 Getting

#Lobbylicious down in Olympia Update #4 from AS Legislative Liaison Heather Heffelmire

6 Valentine’s Day gifts to hasten your breakup

Stuck in a dead end relationship?

Demonstrate your disdain through gifts

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.

Abigail Ramos Kelly Mason Trevor Grimm Ian Sanquist Nontawat Thammawan Marina Price Alex Bartick Designer Keghouhi Bedoyan Adviser Jeff Bates

Editor in Chief Assistant Editor Lead Photographer Writers

Sophomore Tia Briggs attempts a shot against Northwest Nazarene University on Thursday, Feb. 5. The Vikings won 70-69. Photo by Trevor Grimm // AS Review

2. 9. 2015 • 3

EVENTS

Free Yoga!

Every Monday & Thursday // 4:15 - 5:30 p.m. // Mondays VU 562 & Thursdays in VU MPR // Free Join the Outdoor Center every Monday and Thursday during winter quarter for free yoga! All yoga levels are welcomed. Bring your own mat and enjoy the relaxation.

AS Club Showcase

Feb. 9 - 20 // 11:30 a.m. - 1:30 p.m. // Red Square // Free Find out what clubs Western has to offer and get a free donut! For more information check out p. 4

Let’s Talk About the F-Word

Environmental Racism Feb. 11 // 5 p.m. // AW 204 // Free

Join Western Students Against Violence for this dynamic panel, featuring multiple speakers, and discussion on the word ‘feminism.’

The AS Social Issues Resource Center, the Environmental Center, the Ethnic Student Center and Western’s Office of Sustainability team up to bring you a look at environmental racism.

Silver Torches w/ City Hall

Hood Feminism: Life at the Intersection

Feb. 10 // 7 p.m. // AW 204 // Free

Feb. 11 // 7 p.m. // UGCH // Free Enjoy free music at the Underground Coffeehouse as part of the Wednesday Night Concert Series. This week features pop/rock Silver Torches and indie rock City Hall.

Feb. 12 // 5 p.m. // VU MPR // Free The AS Social Issues Resource Center, the Queer Resource Center and the Women’s Center present a talk

by Mikki Kendal of HoodFeminism. com. For more information turn to p. 5

Getting #Lobbylicious down in Olympia Hello Western Friends, I’m writing my fourth update from Olympia and I can’t believe I’ve already been living and working down here for over a month.

Time flies when you’re #LOBBYLICIOUS! The third week of session felt slower than my two previous weeks and it brought a few changes to the Washington Student Association’s messaging and practices.

I ended my week in Arizona [not for the Super Bowl, y’all] for a United States Student Association meeting. The USSA is like the Washington Student Association, but on a national level!

Before leaving for Arizona on Thursday, I testified to the House Higher Education Committee on House Bill 1052, a bill which would extend early registration to the partners and spouses of active duty military personnel. I’m happy I was able to make my opinion on the issue known.

Another WSA student lobbyist, Steffini Hedstrom from University of Washington-Tacoma gave testimony on HB 1154. This bill was controversial, as it would potentially take the State Need Grant, which gives students money to help pay for tuition, and turn it in to a loan program. Steffini did an awesome job testifying and giving the student perspective on this bill.

Also during this week, the WSA decided to streamline our messaging and hone in on our target pieces of legislation. We finished our one-pagers for our specific issues like voter access and new and dedicated revenue. Many of our bills will be heard in committee soon, so it’s important we’re speaking to the right legislators and expending our resources where they’ll be most effective.

On Thursday I left Olympia to head to the USSA Board of Directors meeting at Arizona State University. I love the USSA and it’s an organization that I’m so proud to be a part. I serve on this board as the Vice Chair of the Pacific Northwest Region along with the amazing Mayra Guizar who serves as the other chair. As I mentioned in my previous article, my time down in Olympia has at time been quite challenging. I’m often the only woman of color in a large room, I face microaggresions and I feel uncomfortable every day. The USSA is an extremely inclusive organization and it was so appreciated to be a space where I feel so safe and at ease.

If you want more information on USSA, the WSA or my #LOBBYLICIOUS adventures in Olympia, feel free to visit my colleagues in the REP office located in VU 435 or email me at heatherheffelmire@ yahoo.com -Heather Heffelmire STAY #LOBBYLICIOUS Y’ALL!

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Here ye, here ye: Here come the clubs!

Associated Student Club Activities Office presents the 2015 AS Club Showcase

By Nontawat Thammawan Poster by Megan Lees Behold, clubs! Here come the amazing opportunity to show off your club spirit to fellow Western students, Associated Students Club Showcase 2015 is happening.

The AS Club Activities Office is hosting the Club Showcase from Feb. 9 – 20 in the high traffic areas of campus near Red Square.

Tables will be set up every day for two weeks from 11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m., except on Feb. 16.

Western students can take a break from studying to check out the Showcase and talk to representatives for information about the clubs.

During the event, the AS Club Activities Office staffs will be handing out free donuts to the people who stop by and talk to the clubs.

“We have 100 donuts to hand out per day,” AS Club Coordinator Ashlyn Doltar said. “If you speak to one of the clubs about what they’re doing or sign up for their emails, they’ll give you a sticker or a token, which can be exchanged for a free donut.”

The Showcase is a chance for Western students to find people with similar passion to theirs and get a sight of a different variety and a vast number of clubs here on campus.

“Western has more than 260 clubs on campus, and most people are not aware of that,” Vice President for Activities Giselle Alcantar Soto said.

The club that gets the most email sign-ups will receive a $50 reward, as well as the club that is considered the most enthusiastic, the club with the best display and the club that best represents their purpose.

“We’re changing the prize a little bit where this year, we’ll have two winners for the most sign-up—$50 each—which is different from last year because we used to only have $100 for one winner,” Doltar said.

Awards will be determined by the AS Club Activities Office staff who will be observing all club activities during the event. AS Club Support Specialist Walter Lutsch said the Showcase is the golden opportunity for new clubs that start after the Info Fair to spread their name out to the community.

“If you’re a new club that starts after the beginning of the year, this is your priority because the next opportunity such as this one will be the Info Fair, which is in September,” Lutsch said.

Although clubs can normally table by themselves in Red Square or in Vender’s roll throughout the year, the power in numbers is what make the Showcase special and highly significant, Alcantar Soto said.

“In this event, it depends on how you approach people,” Alcantar Soto said. “If you’re just sitting down waiting for people to ask questions, that’s not very effective. But if you have a nice display and actively interact with people, then you’re more likely to get participants.”

The AS Club Activities office offers all Western students the opportunity to create any club they are interested in. If you want to start a club, grab five students and head down to the “Club Hub” located in VU 425.

Showcase Showcase FEB 9-20

RED SQUARE

For disability accommodations please call (360)-650-6121 Western is an equal opportunity institution

2. 9. 2015 • 5

Don’t just talk about it, be about it

By Marina Price Poster by Enkhbayar Munkh-Erdene On Thursday, Feb. 12, feminist speaker and writer Mikki Kendall will take the stage in the Viking Union Multipurpose Room to speak about the inconsistencies within feminism and educate students on intersectionality.

Kendall will be giving a speech on the need for the feminist movement to build trust in marginalized communities, and will help facilitate a workshop session afterwards, along with the Social Resource Issues Center, the Queer Resource Center and the Women’s Center.

For many, intersectionality represents a battle between multiple forms of oppression.

For Vice President for Academic Affairs Jaleesa Smiley, the word intersectionality gave meaning to her everyday experiences as a black woman.

“The questions I come back to when slapped in the face with microaggressions are always: Is it because I’m black or because I’m a woman?” Smiley said. “Intersectionality says it’s because of both and to be able to

name my experience, any experience, is so damn powerful.”

In August of 2013 Kendall’s twitter hashtag #solidarityisforwhitewomen brought forth an online discussion centered around how important it is for feminism to “branch out beyond white, able-bodied, straight, upper-middle class, ciswomen,” according to the SIRC. “It’s brought out this big question of ‘what is feminism?’ and how can we make it more inclusive?” SIRC Outreach Coordinator Israel Rios said.

Kendall has since written for The Guardian, National Public Radio’s Code Switch and is a co-editor for the blog HoodFemenism.com where she posts her perspective on current feminist issues, particularly focusing on race representation within feminism.

Rios believes that this event will not only be educational, but hopes that members of all races, genders and sexualities attend the event.

“This event will definitely empower people who identify as feminists but maybe have felt excluded from feminism before,” Rios said, “but even if you’re not part of the movement, it can still be good to go get

information and see the discussions that are happening.”

According to Western’s diversity statistics website, 76.4% of students who identify as female at Western are white.

“On this campus white feminism is the only feminism discussed, and that’s indicative of the demographics, but now is a great opportunity to learn about black feminism and the ways in which white feminists on this campus can be an accomplice to other feminists,” Smiley said.

Rios believes that this event will be very beneficial to this demographic, as it will open up discussion questions like, “How can I be more inclusive?” and “How have I been excluding this group?”

The workshops will also encourage students to let marginalized identities within feminism speak for themselves, and encourage white, straight, ciswomen feminists to listen to the needs of marginalized identities, instead of trying to determine what they need for them.

If you’re interested in other events or have general questions, you can visit the ROP on the VU fifth floor.

*Ciswomen or cisgender women refers to women who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.

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Valentine’s Day gifts to hasten your breakup

By Ian Sanquist Illustration by Keghouhi Bedoyan Trapped in a dead-end relationship with someone that you’re dying to escape from, but can’t find the magic words? This Valentine’s Day, let your thoughtless gift-giving do your talking for you. If you’re at a loss for which gift will express just the right level of scorn, or lack of care, the AS Review has you covered with our guide to Valentine’s Day gifts to hasten your breakup!

A box full of bugs

Get one of those classic and cliché heart-shaped candy boxes, however instead of chocolates or other candies, fill it with an assortment of insects. Not only are insects filled with protein, but they demonstrate how much your significant other means to you - the more legs it has, the more you love ‘em.

Tube of toothpaste

Whether there are underlying implications behind this gift or not, the recipient is sure to feel that there are implications that something stinks, precisely, their breath. And what are relationships about if not hurt feelings and lingering suspicions?

The tube of toothpaste presented as a gift will provide a tangible symbol onto which long-standing suspicions and feelings of inadequacy can finally be directed, guaranteeing hours of argument and joy for the emotional masochist.

Sandpaper

Give your special someone a massage they won’t soon forget.

Sandpaper is renowned for its exfoliating qualities!

Hooked on Phonics

Nothing lets your significant other know how much you value good communication in a relationship like an educational program designed to help them learn to read and write at the first grade level and beyond!

Stick in jar of mud

You can tell them it was a flower, or some kind of plant, but all the leaves and blossoms fell off. In any case, you still felt the symbolism was appropriate, perhaps even more so. Have a nice life.

Soiled paper plate

Maybe you had a slice of pizza and the grease seeped through the

crust into the paper. Maybe it was a burrito and there are smudges of beans and salsa. Or maybe it was a slice of cake and the frosting has dried to the plate. Either way, your special someone is in for a sensual experience as they try to guess what you ate from this plate before you presented it to them soiled with food scraps!

Bag of bags

If you’re like me, you’ve got a plastic bag stuffed full of plastic bags in a drawer or cabinet somewhere in your kitchen, maybe on top of your refrigerator.

You’ve been saving these bags on the theory that since they’re clean, it would be wasteful to throw them away, but you’re mostly unable to find a use for them, and they continue to accumulate as you never think to bring some with you to the grocery store, and instead end up taking new plastic bags for your produce and bulk foods.

This Valentine’s Day, why not give these unwanted bags to a special someone in your life who is also unwanted?

All things being relative, one person’s trash being another’s treasure, etc., you may find that one or more of the gifts on this list has the opposite impact, and, far from impelling the end of your relationship, actually brings you and your special someone closer together.

If this happens to you, no need to fret. The next best solution is simply to ignore all calls and texts, until the relationship bleeds to its logical dying place. On the path of least resistance, you may find yourself sharing the road with the cast from “Night of the Living Dead.”

All jokes aside, if you want to end things with your significant other, the best way to do that is to be straightforward and communicate how you feel.

2. 9. 2015 • 7

This time again in the VU Gallery...

By Alex Bartick Everyone has their own notion of what a shared experience is. In a world of massproduced objects that are created to help us express our experiences with others, it can become difficult to communicate exactly what the experience meant.

“This Time, Again,” a collaboration art show in the Viking Union Gallery between Western Bachelor of Fine Arts students Rachel Hsu and Caitlin Christopher, showcases the issue of communicating intimacy and the significance of shared experiences with two sound pieces and one video piece.

“We’re told that you have to give somebody bouquets or chocolates to show your affection but it’s a genuine feeling that you’re expressing through a mass produced object,” Hsu said. “That interested me in that sense,

the difficulty of communication so we substitute it for this object that we’re told to use to express those feelings.”

When you walk into the gallery, the first thing you notice are four pairs of pillows lying on the floor. The installation piece titled “Slumber” brings the viewer into the concept of shared experiences.

To create this installation Hsu slept next to different friends over the course of eight days and recorded the sounds of them sleeping and then embedded these recordings into the plaster pillows.

Hsu’s examination of shared experiences first stemmed from sharing a bed with her sister for several years. Her artwork focuses on the bed because she thinks it is a shared experience that can be very intimate without necessarily being sexual.

Inside the gallery Hsu also installed a

Rachel Hsu’s exhibit “This Time, Again” is on display in the VU Gallery until Feb. 20 Photo by Trevor Grimm // AS Review

small bedroom. The inside of the room is lined with wallpaper that is made of a repetitive pale orange rose bush pattern against a white background. There is a bed in the room with bed sheets and a pillowcase that match the print of the wallpaper. Christopher printed the wallpaper and bed sheet for this installation piece.

The installation, titled “Tell Me Again,” was created based off of the idea of our constant need for affection. Hsu gained the inspiration for this piece from a Hallmark card that reads, “The best thing that ever happened to me is you.”

“If you were to say words of affection over and over again like ‘the best thing that’s ever happened to me is you,’ is it still meaningful or does it lose its meaning?” Hsu said.

Hsu wanted this piece to be a collaboration between her and Christopher because as a printmaker you work with repetition and making sure all of the prints you create look the same. The repetition on the wallpaper deals with the repetition of words of affection.

As a large-scale sculptor, Hsu wants people to walk into her artwork and interact with it.

“I would like people to make their own experiences through a process through which I shared an experience with someone else to make it,” she said.

This aspect of interactivity in Hsu’s artwork is what really attracted VU Gallery Director J.L. Gazabat to her artwork when Hsu approached Gazabat about putting on an art show.

“Something I’ve been trying to do throughout the year is bring varied exhibits into the gallery,” Gazabat said. “‘This Time, Again’ focuses on intimate spaces and boundaries and the way that people perceive those, it’s a very persona show. You have to get up close and personal with the artwork.”

“This Time, Again” will be in the VU Gallery until February 20.

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Last week in photos...

Babeland On Feb. 5 several offices from the ROP and Babeland, a Seattle based sex pleasure shop, presented a night of information and fun!

Left: Babeland educators, Status Causey and A.J. Brodwell, present general ideas about sex. Right: Status Causey asks audience members “What do a clitoris and wishbone have in common?”

Underground Left: Mr. Thomas X Markell performs in the Underground Coffeehouse on Feb. 4 as a part of the Wednesday Night Concert Series. This quarter, the Underground is featuring student openers for the concert series. Right: DeShaun Dowdy recites a poem for Poetry and Lyric Open Mic Night at the Underground Coffeehouse on Monday, Feb. 2.

“This Time, Again” Left: Rachel Hsu’s installment, “This Time, Again,” presents introspective art revolving around intimacy, boundaries and space. The exhibit will be on display until Feb. 20 in the Viking Union Gallery. Right: Western student Rachel Hsu [right] discusses her exhibit with fellow onlookers.

Photos by Trevor Grimm // AS Review