3. 14. 11 V. 26 #21
PHOTOS OF THE QUARTER Capturing images from the last 10 weeks P. 6-7
Vagina Memoirs wins international award P. 5 The AS is hiring! Details on P. 4
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PARROTS from page 9 Luhrs remembers being in high school and attending a theater workshop at Western hosted by the Dead Parrot’s Society. “I knew I wanted to be part of it,” she said. “I knew that was what I wanted to do when I came to college.” Luhrs said improv has limitless possibilities, unlike any other form of acting. “If I’m having a calm day, I can get up there and do something normal. But what I love is that it allows you to be as zany as you want to be. If you want to do a scene in an aquarium in outer space, you can. And there’s nothing wrong with that,” she said. She said the key to performing improv well is having trust in your teammates on stage, something not all teams have. The group name comes from a spoof of the film “Dead Poets Society,” as well as a sketch from Monty Python. The group has two regular rehearsals per week, one on Sundays for team members, and another on Tuesdays which are open to everyone. As a freshman, Vila attended open rehearsals until he got a phone call to join the actual team. Standing where he is now, he said he can’t believe so much has happened in the past four years. “It’s like a validation. Before all this, it was like, ‘Oh, well we’re just this college group in the corner of the country who thinks we do pretty good stuff but who knows really?’ to ‘Yeah, we do good stuff,’” Vila said. “All that work we’ve done and put in and all that other things we’ve experienced through telling these stories and creating these pieces has really paid off and really means something. It’s really validating.” Along with winning the national tournament, the Parrots will be representing Western on an international level as they were guaranteed a spot in the world’s largest improv competition, the Chicago Improv Festival. In April, dozens of teams from eight different countries will come together, but only one college team is invited. Scott said she plans to move to Seattle and expand her resumé, then eventually live in Los Angeles or Chicago. In the long term, she said her dream is to own a theater company and make it a part-time comedy club and part-time theatrical space. But she has other dreams as well. “Everybody wants to be on SNL,” she laughed. “That’s a big dream.” ■
TOWELS from page 4 He said that dealing with the towel issue is in its preliminary stages right now, but he has been looking into several different options and taking advice and ideas from other colleges. Several suggestions have been tossed around, such as having a towel check-out system or having students pay a towel deposit at the beginning of the year. “We’re really trying to find a way that isn’t going to create lines, isn’t going to bog down students and isn’t going to make the Rec Center any Photo by Joe Rudko/ The AS Review less fun or useful,” Agosti said. A front-loading washing machine containing 75-100 towels in the “But it’s also going to save us.” Wade King Recreational Center. Nearly half the amount in this load Agosti said if this issue can be goes missing in an average week. solved, there could potentially be additional services provided to students if the “It seems kind of absurd to me that we can’t find money allocated to replace missing towels wasn’t a better system to track these,” he said. “The fact being spent. that we’re spending [money] on towels that have “It’s a great service. You can come into the Rec been stolen from the Rec Center, that’s [money] with nothing but your Western card, either swim, that can’t go to other services for students, which is work out, shower afterwards and dry off. And that is ridiculous.” a service that we still want to provide,” he said. Agosti said what it all comes down to is AS President Colin Watrin said he was surprised knowledge and enforcement. Students need to be at the statistics on lost and stolen towels when he aware that innocently forgetting a towel in their bag first heard of the issue during a presentation on as they walk out of the gym is costing the university student fees. money. ■
FORAGING from page 8 After her foraging teacher died, Hahn was given her old field guides, which led Hahn to continue foraging through college.
“There’s something mystifying about knowing exactly where your food came from.” -Jennifer Hahn Fairhaven instructor However, it wasn’t until college that Hahn decided to change the course of her life. Already on her way to a law degree, a college professor took Hahn and a few other students on a trip along the Inside Passage, a route on the Pacific coast that stretches from Alaska down to northwest Washington, with a goal to live off the land and ocean for one month.
Hahn said she really honed her skills and became a true forager on that trip. From then on, she leaned away from learning law and began taking more natural history courses instead. Shortly after, Hahn started a kayak touring company to give others the opportunities she was given,to learn about the surrounding area and the possibilities it holds, from food sources to medicine. “There’s something mystifying about knowing exactly where your food came from,” she said. “It’s nourishing on a spiritual level as well.” In the future, Hahn wants to continue passing down her knowledge while encouraging others to invest in their natural surroundings. “I feel like all is right with the world if all these edible communities keep popping up season after season,” she said. “When I wrote the book, I wanted people to fall in love with conservation of these species through the palette.” ■
March 14, 2011 • 11
PHOTOS> Students spend night on Old Main lawn to protest budget cuts, March 9.
FEATURE>
The key facts of higher education
Compiled by Kelly Sullivan/ The AS Review
At the beginning of the year, the Washington Higher Education Coordinating Board released a report titled, “Key Facts about Higher Education in Washington.” The report presented data on the funding levels, student population and educational benefits from colleges and universities across the state. These are excerpts from the report, which is available in full at www.hecb.wa.gov. • In 2009, there were 125,997 students enrolled in four-year colleges and 269,334 enrolled in two- year colleges in Washington state.
Photo submission by Neil Baunsgard
A group of Western students pitched tents and spent the night on the lawn in front of Old Main Wednesday, March 9, to protest potential budget cuts to Washington state higher education.
• After the state ordered spending cuts in 2010 to deal with the effects of the national recession, a $687 million gap opened up between the available funds for public higher education and the amount needed to maintain education programs at the same level as before. • Colleges have tried to make up for this gap by increasing tuition by 14 percent at four-year colleges, and 7 percent at two-year colleges, as well as cutting staff and programs. • There are no laws in Washington state that protect the number of higher educational services the state is required to have available for its residents, which is why higher education is so heavily hit when it comes to reductions in state funding. • Washington state’s total operating budget for 2009-11 is $60.2 billion, $9.4 of which is allocated for public colleges and universities. This budget includes federal stimulus money.
Photo by Joe Rudko/ The AS Review
Western students Neil Baunsgard (left) and Kelly McGivern curled up in their sleeping bags on the Old Main lawn after spending the night in protest of potential budget cuts.
• Western Washington University received $111 million from the $9.4 billion of the state’s allocation to public colleges and universities. The University of Washington received $628 million. UW received significantly more because it is primarily a research college and also operates a hospital.
Please see KEY FACTS on page 12
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COLUMN>
The Om(nom)nivore’s Dilemma
College Budget Cooking
Lindsay Kucera/ The AS Review
Happy π Day!
T
hat’s right people, March 14 is π Day! And what better way to celebrate than with delicious, single-serving pies? You’re right, there is no better way! I’m glad we agree. I had the good fortune to spend some time last week with PieJinx, a local group that builds community ties through baking and sharing pies. When we got together, we made a batch of apple-berry “cuppies,” cupcake-sized pies that fit oh-so-beautifully in small containers perfect for lunches or anytime. Cake lovers may groan about this recipe, but it’s probably because they’re jealous that they don’t have a holiday. Apple-berry “Cuppies” Makes: One dozen “cuppies” Ingredients: For the filling: 5 apples, in chunks 3 cups mixed berries (can be fresh or frozen) 1 cup sugar 3 tablespoons flour 2-3 tablespoons minute tapioca 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon Directions: In a large bowl, mix the ½ teaspoon nutmeg chopped apples, berries, sugar, flour, For the crust: tapioca, cinnamon and nutmeg. 3 cups flour In another bowl, mix together the 1 3/4 cup shortening flour, shortening, sugar and salt, Pinch of sugar adding in the ice-cold water until the Pinch of salt dough is moist and stretchy. Roll out About 8 tablespoons ice water on a floured surface in small circles, a
KEY FACTS from page 11 •It currently costs $9,981 to provide one student with one year of education at Western. It costs $10,993 to provide one student one year of education at UW. •Tuition covers 47 percent of the cost of one year’s worth of schooling, while the remaining 53 percent comes from state support. The average annual loan for students seeking financial aid is $9,119. •In 2007-08, Washington ranked first in the nation in the number of degrees earned for every 100 students enrolled in college. However, based on total state population, Washington ranked below the national average for the number of degrees earned for every 1,000 residents. ■
Photo by Lindsay Kucera/ The AS Review
little larger than a cupcake pan. Put crusts in each of the cupcake molds. Fill with the fruit mixture, cover with another layer of crust, brush with milk or melted butter. Bake at 350F for about 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Recipe graciously provided by the PieJinx Project. ■
Our next issue will be published on April 4. Good luck on finals. Enjoy your break!
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Volume 26 Number 21 ▪ March 14, 2011
NEWS 4
EVENTS
DON’T TAKE THE TOWELS Student money going toward replacing missing and stolen Rec Center towels.
5 MEMOIRS AWARDED 2010 production of “Vagina Memoirs” receives international recognition.
FEATURES 8
LEARNING TO FORAGE Going wild for wild food.
3
EVENTS CALENDAR Look to your right.
COLUMNS 12 OM NOM: WE LIKE PIE. DO YOU? You better.
PHOTOS 6-7 PHOTOS OF THE QUARTER 11 STUDENTS CAMP OUTSIDE OLD MAIN TO PROTEST BUDGET CUTS
9 DEAD PARROTS SOCIETY Western improv group earns spot in world’s largest improv competition. 11 KEY FACTS OF HIGHER ED. Washington state public education by the numbers.
Cover photo by Joe Rudko/ The AS Review
Editor in Chief
Assistant Editor
Events Editor
Lead Photographer
Evan Marczynski
Lindsay Kucera
Olena Rypich
Daniel Berman
Staff Writers
Photographer
Adviser
Matt Crowley • Kirsten O’Brien Chelsea Asplund • Kelly Sullivan
Joe Rudko
Jeff Bates
©2011 The AS Review is published most Mondays during the school year by the Associated Students of Western Washington University. Submissions/Letters: The AS Review welcomes submissions and letters to the editor. Submissions include news stories, literary pieces, photography, visual art and anything else physically printable. E-mail material to as.review@wwu.edu, drop it off in the Viking Union at VU 411 or mail it to the address below. Submissions will be returned if you include a stamped, self-addressed envelope. Letters to the editor need to be no more than 300 words and need to include your name and phone number. We reserve the right to make minor edits to the length and content of letters. Ads/Calendar: The AS Review does not sell advertising space. Sorry. E-mail the Events Editor at as.pr@wwu.edu to get your event in the calendar.
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The AS Review: VU 411, 516 High Street, Bellingham, WA 98225 Phone: 360.650.6126 • Fax: 360.650.6507 • E-mail: as.review@wwu.edu Online: asreview.as.wwu.edu.
Making your life better, one page at a time.
EVENTS
March 14, 2011 • 3
Contact the Events Editor at as.pr@wwu.edu
FRIDAY March 18 Wilderness First Responder Course March 18-27 $625
This 80-hour “WFR” certification is the standard for outdoor professionals worldwide. This course emphasizes decisionmaking, hands-on skills and theoretical knowledge necessary to progress on to more advanced levels of training. Participants may be eligible to receive five credits from Western for this course. Register at www.remotemedical.com.
FRIDAY April 1 Bag it 7-9 p.m., Performance Arts Center $7 adults; $3 students, kids and senior citizens This public screening of the film “Bag It” focuses on Jeb Berrier, who makes a pledge to stop using plastic bags. This gets Jeb thinking about all kinds of plastic as he seeks to unravel the complexities of our plastic world. The film examines our society’s use and abuse of plastic, focusing on plastic as it relates to our society’s throw-away mentality, our culture of convenience and our overconsumption of throw-away products and packaging, things we use once and throw away without thinking. The film shows overflowing landfills, clogged rivers, islands of trash in our oceans and even our own toxic bodies.
SATURDAY April 2 Latino Student Union Heritage Dinner 7 p.m., doors open at 6:30 p.m. Viking Union Multipurpose Room $10 with Western ID; $15 general admission This is the 6th Annual LSU Heritage Dinner. Individualmente Unicos, juntos en harmonia: We are One! The food will be provided by University Dining, but will be based off of family recipes provided by members of the club. There will be recipes from Cuba, Mexico and the Dominican Republic. Entertainment will feature dance performances by Western’s Ritmo Latino Salsa Club, Baile Folklorico, Bachata and music by Panduo, a steel-drum band. Design by Jill MacIntyre Witt
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NEWS>
Towel Banditry
Rec Center racking up bill to replace missing and stolen towels
Chelsea Asplund/ The AS Review
The freshly bleached, crisp white towels sit stacked on the counter, nearly sparkling under the overhead light. Clean and ready to be used by gym patrons to dry their sweaty faces or necks, these towels are one hot commodity. But lately these towels are becoming less about wiping off sweat and more about wiping out student dollars. In a single day, anywhere from 2,000 to 3,000 students walk into the Wade King Recreational Center. In a single week, an average of 50 towels goes missing. Adam Leonard, associate director for campus recreation, said in an e-mail that the Rec Center spends about $8,000 to $10,000 on towels annually. That money comes from a combination of the recreation center fee and revenue generated from services in the building such as locker rentals, memberships and facility rentals. While the amount spent to replace missing towels is a small portion of the Rec Center’s total budget, it still costs a substantial amount of money to keep the towels fully stocked. Leonard believes that when students leave the gym in a hurry, they may or may not realize that they still have their towel with them. “We believe that some patrons place towels in their bag either accidentally or deliberately, and leave the building with them,” he said. “We are alerting our staff to be more cognizant of the issue and try to notice if patrons are leaving with the towels.” Associated Students Vice President for Student Life Jamin Agosti, who sits on the Recreation Center Advisory Committee, said this issue has been brought up a few times in the past. Given that the $95 quarterly student fee that goes toward funding the Rec Center is one of the highest student fees that the university charges, Agosti said it is important to examine and review the services the fee funds, as well as consider where potential savings could be made without hindering those services. Please see TOWELS on page 10
Design by Kyle Marmesh/ AS Publicity Center
March 14, 2011 • 5
NEWS>
Vagina Memoirs 2010 production given international award Performance’s success attributed to everyone who has made the show possible
Kirsten O’Brien/ The AS Review
The “Vagina Memoirs,” an original theater production created through the Associated Students Women’s Center, has impacted the lives of performers and audience members for the past seven years. In February, the 2010 production of “Memoirs” received an award from the Association of College Unions International for Student Driven Program of the Year. Lisa Rosenberg, assistant director of student activities and supervisor of the Women’s Center, wrote the nomination for the program based on last year’s show, which was created by 17 student performers and three student staff members. “It’s hard to pinpoint ‘Memoirs’ success on one person, even though nomination was based on last year’s cast,” said Lizzie Lamb, Women’s Center coordinator. “There was so much work before that that was put into the ‘Memoirs,’ and it’s not just the coordinators and not just the cast that are winning this award, it’s everybody. It’s really exciting and really humbling at the same time.” Vice President of Business and Operations Ben Brockman and Vice President for Activities Alisha Beck accepted the award at the 2011 ACUI conference that took place from Feb. 26 to March 3 in Chicago. The ACUI is a nonprofit educational organization that brings together college unions and student activities professionals from hundreds of schools throughout seven countries. Within the ACUI, there are 25 institutions outside the United States and 557 intuitions total. Laura Bohórquez, a Western senior and 2011 “Vagina Memoirs” cast member, said that the award not only recognizes the production itself, but the stories and truths being told by the performers. She said that although this was her first time performing in “Memoirs,” she had attended the show for the past two years and always felt very inspired by the production. “When I heard they won, I was very happy,” she said. “Not only is it empowerment for individuals,
Archive photo by Erik Simkins/ The AS Review
Last year’s cast performing the “Vagina Memoirs” in the Fairhaven Auditorium. but it is recognizing their stories and the power of their words. In a sense, I felt empowered because they empowered me.” The 2011 “Vagina Memoirs” production ran from Feb. 23 to Feb. 26. Sixteen memoirs were performed, including memoirs told by Western students and Bellingham community members. Fifteen of the performances were by female-identified individuals, and one performance was by a transgender maleidentified community member. Lamb said about 1,900 people attended “Memoirs” over the course of the four nights. “The general atmosphere was awesome, especially toward the last few nights; people were really energized in the audience. It was a packed house every night,” Lamb said. “We got a lot of positive
feedback from it too. In the event evaluations, some people say it’s the best program they have ever seen at Western.” Danela Butler, a Western Sophomore and 2011 “Memoirs” cast member, said that she had never seen “Memoirs” before, and that it was a blessing to be a part of this year’s production. She said that “Memoirs” is an important tool of healing not only for the performers, but that it can provide audience members a feeling of camaraderie and community. “It assures people they’re not alone in whatever they’re going through. We can share our stories, which can also be someone else’s story as well; that way they’ll have the courage to stand up and say,
Please see MEMOIRS on page 8
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March 14, 2011 • 7
The AS Review Photos of the Quarter
WHEN IT STOPPED RAINING, IT BEGAN TO SNOW. But that’s okay -— here in the Pacific Northwest, we’re used to making the most of winter. In the last 10 weeks, Western was host to concerts, fashion shows, art exhibits and exciting basketball games. As winter turns to spring, take a look at the best work this quarter by AS Review photographers Daniel Berman & Joe Rudko. Have a great break and see you in the spring! ■ Starting left going across the top: Photo illustration for Against Civilization (Rudko) Palisades perform in the Underground Coffeehouse (Rudko) Snow blankets south campus (Berman) The Vagina Memoirs in the VU MPR (Berman) Right: Excited fans at Western v. Central b-ball (Berman) Below: The ensemble band Eclecticity performs for a packed, eager crowd at Localpalooza 2011. (Photo submission by Brooke Warren)
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FEATURE>
Go wild for foraged foods
Fairhaven instructor to teach class on wild harvesting Matt Crowley/ The AS Review
When thinking about foraging, most of us probably picture a hearty but less-than-appetizing meal of berries and leaves. However, for Fairhaven instructor Jennifer Hahn and many other foragers like her, the possibilities in the forests and bodies of water that surround us are more delicious than we may think. Hahn learned how to forage years ago and has made it one of her life passions, writing multiple books on the subject and even teaching classes at Fairhaven, including one titled “Northwest Wild Foods,” which will be offered spring quarter. On Friday, April 8, Hahn will host “GO WILD: Coastal Foraging and Cuisine” at the Bellingham Public Library. The event will include a lecture, wild food samples and a book signing for her newest work, “Pacific Feast.” Professor John Tuxill, who also teaches at Fairhaven, is a forager himself and has worked with Hahn in the past. During spring quarter, he will be teaching an ethnobotany class that looks at the multiple uses of plants such as for food, medicine and clothing. “I love making dishes and preparing food based on what I can find,” Tuxill said. “Once you cover some of the basic costs [of fishing/ foraging licenses] it’s basically a free meal.” Tuxill and Hahn both warned about some of the dangers of foraging, both for people and the ecosystem. “There are a few cases where you may need to think about where exactly you’re harvesting,” Tuxill said. “Because plants take up what’s in their environment, if there’s a site where the soil is contaminated, you might want to think carefully before eating plants growing there.” Hahn noted the importance of conservation and why it’s important to keep sustainability in mind when foraging. Since hundreds of other organisms share the same ecosystem, over-foraging of a particular area can make for both short and long-term negative effects. “I’m all about sustainable,” she said. “I can’t imagine how I would feel harvesting things without thinking about what other animals are eating them as well.” For Tuxill and Hahn, foraging is as much about the experience as MEMOIRS from page 5 “This is what happened to me. I want to be healed from this, I want to rise above this and no longer be a victim,” Butler said. “By this award, it will help not just women, but men to also step forward and want to be a part of the production too,” Butler added. Lamb said that the “Vagina Memoirs,” an original Western production, is often confused with “The Vagina Monologues,” a collection of 15 stories from women compiled by author and performer Eve Ensler. Lamb said that while “The
Photo by Daniel Berman/ The AS Review
Fairhaven instructor Jennifer Hahn will be at the Bellingham Public Library on April 8 to give a lecture on foraging and sign her newest book, “Pacific Feast.” it is a skill. Both consider liberating to know exactly where your food came from and to have the experience of fending for yourself. Like many other foragers, Hahn began “experimentally” foraging as a child, trying everything from crabapples to acorns. Since her father was a teacher, she and her
family traveled extensively during the summers, including to Washington state, where berries, clams and fish were as plentiful as they were delicious. At age 10, Hahn met an individual she described as an “old world forager,” who taught her the secrets of nature and the foods it has to offer.
Vagina Monologues” is a great way to speak about the experience of being a woman, it leaves out perspectives of other gender identities. Lamb said that “The Vagina Monologues” do not include stories from women of color, queer or transgender people. The “Vagina Memoirs,” Lamb said, is not a set theatrical play; the production changes from year to year based on the stories of the new group of performers. “The ‘Memoirs’ are local, and give really honest, tangible human perspectives that are contemporary and much more inclusive,” she said. “It is much
more healing and much more cathartic than any possible iteration of the ‘Monologues.’” Lamb said that Robin Marquis and Saraswati Noel, who facilitated the 2011 cast through the process of writing their memoirs, were especially helpful in making this year’s performance a success. Marquis and Noel were performers in the awardwinning 2010 “Vagina Memoirs” cast. Lamb added that Noel and Marquis have nicely summed up this award-winning, all-inclusive production: “The ‘Memoirs’ are for anyone who has been marginalized based on their gender identity.” ■
Please see FORAGING on page 10
March 14, 2011 • 9
FEATURE>
And now for something completely different
Dead Parrots Society heads back to Chicago to compete in international improv competition Chelsea Asplund/ The AS Review
For most people living in Bellingham and
most certainly those attending Western, the word “parrot” means something different than what you may think. The heart of the theater department hosts a group of 10 performers who collectively make up the Dead Parrots Society, Western’s very own improvisational comedy group. For more than 10 years the group has performed improvisational acting all over the country, most recently coming in first place at the National College Improv Tournament in Chicago on Feb. 26. “Winning the tournament was literally the best moment of my life,” said member Allison Luhrs. “We were clutching each other, crying backstage. That entire weekend doesn’t feel real still.” The road to that weekend was a long one, and the Parrots have been rehearsing around the clock since winning the Northwest Regional Championship in November. They were among 12 college improv teams that competed on a national level in a series of two rounds. From previous year’s competition experiences, Luhrs said the group consulted with each other and decided to have only five members perform. She said performing can be stronger with fewer bodies on stage. February’s national competition featured a preliminary round, followed by two separate rounds. The first format was called “Toaster Montage,” a mix of two different games. The second was known as “Coffee Date,” lending itself to the more narrative structure that the Parrots specialize in. One sketch began with Luhrs and group member Rashawn Scott sitting in a restaurant which then, following prompts, became a 15th century scene with a hunchback and an evil knight, shifting to an ogre in a Dairy Queen and a bomb inside a cake that needed to be disarmed by an agent of the CIA: the “Cake Intelligence Agency.” Senior Miguel Vila has been involved with the Parrots since he came to Western, and said they focus on long-form improv, creating 90-minute plays based off audience suggestions. They specialize
in storytelling, something he said is one of his favorite components. “The thing I love most when I’m improv-ing is not only getting laughs, but hearing other noises from the audience, like if they gasp. It’s engaging the audience and getting a variety of emotional reactions through the art of storytelling,” he said. Vila, who began attending open rehearsals his freshman year, said winning nationals was a very validating experience. “It’s the ability to reach people and to be relatable. I think humor opens that door and softens people’s barriers and inhibitions. Through that softening of people’s inhibitions, they start to get closer to your character and invested in the storyline. You can
really build up to climatic moments.” Scott, who has also been involved with the Parrots since her freshman year, said in theater actors are constantly creating a world on stage. In improv, that world has to be created is done on the spot before the audience, without actors knowing anything before it happens. “I love the spontaneity of it all. You really have the ability to create a world on stage, a really fantastic world that only you can create,” Scott said. “It’s an odd thing, people just go along with whatever you say and hang on to your every word. If you don’t give 100 percent, then the audience doesn’t go along with you.”
Please see PARROTS on page 10
Photo by Joe Rudko/ The AS Review
Dead Parrots Society (from left): Austin Bridges, Noel Wamsley, Jake Barrow, Rashawn Scott, Mario Orallo-Molinaro and Miguel Vila. (Members not pictured: Alison Luhrs, James McGrath, Zach Wymore and Nathan Streifel.)