AS Review - October 06, 2014

Get to know the AS Review Staff, p. 4 A night with To Write Love On Her Arms founder, p. 7 Commiting the ultimate college crime: Dormcest, p. 11 Vol. 30 #3 10.6.14

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Seattle hip-hop artist Sol & The Zillas perform in the VU MPR on Tuesday, Sept.

30. 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 6 Inclusivity and Ice Cream!

Event preview for the Queer Resource Center

9 October is

Domestic Violence Awarness Month

STUDENT LIFE 7 TWLOHA AS Special Events brings founder and musican for a night of acceptance

10 Western Club

promotes body positivity Read about Middle Women

FEATURES 11 Dormcest Our writer tells all about her dorm relationship experience

12 A week of music thanks to ASP

A photo recap of different performances provided by AS Productions

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 C Hayley Halstead Auzin Ahmadi Ian Sanquist Terry Thammawan Designer Keghouhi Bedoyan Adviser Jeff Bates

Editor in Chief Assistant Editor Lead Photographer Writers

Disability and Donuts, hosted by the Disability Outreach Center, gave students a chance to get to know the DOC and enjoy free donuts. Photo by Trevor Grimm // AS Review

The Disability Outreach Center is located in VU 513, you can reach the DOC in person, by phone at 360.650.6116 or by email at as.disability@wwu.edu

10. 6, 2014 • 3

EVENTS Wednesday Night Concert Series: Reina Del Cid w/ Justin Froese Oct. 8 // 8 p.m. // UGCH // Free The folk-rock sounds of Reina Del Cid come to the Underground Coffeehouse.

Enjoy this free concert and some Underground coffee. This concert is a part of the Wednesday Night Concert Series which brings local bands to the UGCH for a free show every Wednesday night beginning in October and ending November. The UGCH is located in the VU on the 3rd floor.

Queer Resource Center’s Ice Cream Social

Kinesiology Club Volleyball Tournament

Oct. 9 // 6-8 p.m. // VU MPR // Free

Oct. 11 // All day // Comm Lawn // $20 per team, $5 per person

Join the Queer Resource Center in celebrating its kick-off event. Enjoy free Mallard Ice Cream while you get to know the QRC. Folks of all identities are welcome! The Viking Union Multipurpose room is located between the Viking Union and the Viking Commons. For more information, check out p. 6

Western’s Kinesiology Club is hosting a four versus four co-ed volleyball tournament. Anyone can play, however teams must consist of four people. There will be free pizza and a prize for the winning team. If it rains, the event will be relocated to Carver gym. To sign up a team, check out Kinesiology Club’s OrgSync page.

Manatee Commune headlines ASP High Street Music & Arts Festival on Saturday, Sept. 27. Photo Trevor Grimm // AS Review

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Meet the AS Review Staff Auzin Ahmadi

Position: Writer Major/Interest: English Literature major & Women Studies minor Class standing: Sophomore Nickname: Auzin

If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?

Cosmetics What’s your motto in life?

People can change if they want to.

If you could eliminate one thing from your daily schedule, what would it be and why?

Sleeping. I would have so much more free time!

What’s the worst thing you did as a kid?

Fought with my little brother.

Abigail Ramos If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?

Beans. I love love love beans.

What's your motto in life?

La vida es una gran aventura [Life is a grand adventure] If you could eliminate one thing from your daily schedule, what would it be and why?

Doing laundry, I can’t do Position: Editor in Chief laundry unless I’ve showered and Major/Interest: Double major in I only like to shower at night.

Communications and Journalism What's the worst thing you did with a minor in Spanish as a kid?

Class standing: Sophomore I once made my mom pretend Nickname: Abby, Abbsters she didn’t know a word of English for a biology presentation in high school . She’s a fluent Spanish and English speaker.

Nontawat Thammawan

Position: Writer Major/Interest: Public Relations Class standing: Senior Nickname: Terry

If you could have supply of one thing, what would it be?

Japanese non-wasabi mame What's your motto in life?

Be optimistic about the future, which you decide. Be pessimistic about the past, which you have survived. Be truthful about the present, which you cannot deny If you could eliminate one thing from your daily schedule, what would it be and why?

Cleaning dishes after cooking my meals.

What’s the worst thing you did as a kid?

Made my mother cry.

Kelly Mason

Position: Assistant Editor Major/Interest: Creative Writing major and Psychology minor Class standing: Junior Nickname: Kelly

If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?

Money. Time is money, money is power, power is pizza, pizza is knowledge.

What's your motto in life?

Poop to live. Live to poop If you could eliminate one thing from your daily schedule, what would it be and why?

Waking up. I would just sleep all day if I could.

What's the worst thing you did as a kid?

Ask my mom.

Photos by Trevor Grimm

10. 6, 2014 • 5

The students that make us great!

Ian Sanquist

Position: Writer Major: English Secondary Education Class standing: Senior Nickname: Ian

If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?

Petroleum. I could sell at prices that would vastly undercut the oil companies.

What's your motto in life?

Always be willing to adapt your motto in life.

If you could eliminate one thing from your daily schedule, what would it be and why?

Washing my roommate's dishes. It's a vicious cycle of neglect and passive aggression.

What's the worst thing you did as a kid?

Taking the lord's name in vain.

Trevor Grimm

Position: Photographer Major/Interest: Biology [Pre-med] Class standing: Sophomore… with Senior credits… but I’m not graduating this year…

Nickname: Ice T

Photos by Trevor Grimm

If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?

Nutella. Hella Nutella.

What’s your motto in life?

It’s better to regret doing something than to regret not doing something.

If you could eliminate one thing from your daily schedule, what would it be and why?

Filling out questionnaires for the paper…. NAH I’m just playin’.

What’s the worst thing you did as a kid?

I pegged my baby cousin in the face with a snowball. I was under the misconception that if you yelled, “snowball fight!” everything became fair game. I blame TV.

Keghouhi Bedoyan If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?

I would go so far in life with an unlimited amount of twinkies.

What’s your motto in life?

YOLO. If you could eliminate one thing from your daily schedule, what would it be and why?

Buying food on campus, it’s Positon: Lead designer way too expensive.

Major/Interest: I’m a design ma- What’s the worst thing you did jor, with an interest in graphic de- as a kid? sign and illustration.

I was never bad, I was an angel Class standing: Junior as a kid and have been ever since.

Nickname: Kiwi

C Hayley Halstead

Position: Writer Major/Interest: Business Administration/Marketing Concentration Class standing: Senior, graduating Fall 2014 Nickname: C

If you could have an unlimited supply of one thing, what would it be?

Money can’t buy you happiness, but it can sure buy plane tickets and lodging accommodations.

What's your motto in life?

Don’t cry because it’s over.

Smile because it happened.

If you could eliminate one thing from your daily schedule, what would it be and why?

I would eliminate the need for me to sleep.

What's the worst thing you did as a kid?

I was a fan of prank calling people when I was younger. I would call random numbers and pretended to be a cat litter sales representative.

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I scream, you scream, we all scream for Inclusivity and ice cream!

By Ian Sanquist Design by Keghouhi Bedoyan On Thursday Oct. 9 the Associated Students Queer Resource Center will host an Ice Cream Social Kick-off Event from 6-8 p.m. in the Viking Union Multipurpose Room. The event is free and open to all.

AS QRC Coordinator Nika Renée said the Ice Cream Social is an event focusing on inclusivity for queer-identified and transidentified students on campus.

“We’ll be there to talk to anybody who’s interested in talking,” she said. “We just want to create an outlet for incoming students and really just anybody to meet other people in the community.”

Not only are queer and trans communities welcome, but the event is open to allies and anyone who’s interested in creating a welcoming environment.

In addition to free Mallard Ice Cream, there will be crafting stations at the event, including button and patch making.

“We also have plans to get butcher paper

and have people write what queer means to them,” Renée said. “We’d like to have that as artwork, in our office or in the Resource and Outreach Programs somewhere.”

The QRC provides outreach and support for queer and trans students on campus. However, all students are welcome to come into the office which offers peer counseling and referrals to other resources, like the Legal Information Center or the Equal Opportunity Office.

In addition, the QRC has a library of books and DVDs featuring queer and trans themes and information. Renée said the QRC hopes to expand the library to include more comics and graphic novels with queer-identified and trans-identified protagonists. Anyone is welcome to check out material from this library.

“Our main goal is to harbor an inclusive queer community, and just make it easier for queer-identified students to find other queer students,” Renée said. “We’re really pushing for having more low-key social events that people don’t feel intimidated by, but also events where we unpack what it is to be queer.”

AS QRC Education Coordinator Coco Dunbar said one of the concerns the QRC has had this year is that there are currently no active clubs specifically for queer-identified students on campus. At the event the officers of the QRC will be available to connect with people interested in starting clubs.

“Clubs are a big source for meeting people,” Dunbar said. “A symptom of heterosexism is that there isn’t as much visibility and it’s harder to just connect with people and know if people are queer.”

Future QRC events to watch for include the Queer Experience, a testimonial event that will be held in the spring, a queer homecoming dance, the Drag Show, the Queer Music Showcase and Pride Prom.

Dunbar said they are excited for the ice cream social to be a great kick off event that can start a lot more dialogues about what issues exist in the queer and trans community, along with how members of these communities can best support each other on campus and outside of it.

10. 6, 2014 • 7

A night with To Write Love On Her Arms: music, a message and self acceptance

By C Hayley Halstead Nearly ten years ago, a man by the name of Jamie Tworkowksi crafted a story that touched hundreds of thousands across the world about his friend, 19-year-old Renee, who had struggled with self-injury, depression and addiction.

He named this story “To Write Love on Her Arms,” it has sense gone viral and launched into a massive non-profit organization, seeking ways to help and providing hope for others all who have found themselves in the same shoes as Renee.

On Wednesday, Oct. 1, Western welcomed Tworkowski and Seattle singer and songwriter, Noah Gunderson to the Performing Arts Center.

The event was hosted by AS Productions Special Events.

Gundersen left the audience in awe as he glided his fingers across his acoustic guitar while accompanying his pieces with strong vocals.

During the finale, he performed without a microphone allowing his to fill up the entire room.

After Gunderson’s performance, Tworkowski delivered a message to the audience which was repeated multiple times through stories of Renee and his personal life: everyone is living a story.

“When you look at your story, there are parts of your story we don’t like,” Tworkowski said. “The thing I want to suggest is that all of it matters”.

Tworkowski shared that there are more than 350 million people worldwide who suffer from depression. He also stated that untreated depression is the leading cause of suicide, and the statistic that hit him the hardest is that two out of three people who struggle with depression never get help.

“I just hope students realize that there are people they can go to for support. If you don’t feel like going to people on campus or your friends, there’s a bigger movement that can support you,” said ASP Special Events Coordinator Danielle Oyam. “There are people out there who truly love you and care about you.”

Although Tworkowski continues on his tour across America visitng college campuses, educating and inspiring thousands of students, and the event has come to an end, TWLOHA still has a place here at Western as a club.

“We have the weekly meetings where there is a lot of conversation,” said Vice President of the TWLOHA chapter at Western Emma Palumbo. “We occasionally have guest speakers come in to talk to the group, but we also put on three major events.”

The club was pleased Tworkowski’s agent contacted Oyam to sched-

Noah Gunderson performs at An Evening with To Write Love on Her Arms at the Performing Arts Center Wednesday, Oct. 1. Photo by Trevor Grimm // AS Review

ule the show to add an additional event to the calendar.

“TWLOHA is a national organization, and the goal behind it is to reduce social stigmas associated with depression, mental illness, suicide, self-harm and other things of that story,” said Social Media Coordinator of the club, Thomas Clinkenbeard. “The way we do this is through conversation, community and education.”

The TWLOHA club is proud to plan and execute the annual Walk of Hope, Lyrics in Conversation Night and Love Moves: 5k Fun Run/ Walk. These events are designed to raise awareness about suicide, depression, addiction and self-harm. TWLOHA has responded to approximately 200,000 messages thus far from over 100 countries.

“What that has allowed me to believe is that these are not American issues, these are not white people issues, these are not emo issues,” Tworkowski said. “This stuff is very much universal. It’s part of being a human being on this planet.”

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JSA: A cultural learning experience

By Nontawat Thammawan The Japanese Student Association’s first meeting was swamped with more than 60 new participants Monday, Sept 29 in Miller Hall 17.

“JSA is still a new club right now, but we’re definitely working on making it a bigger, club” said JSA President Jesse Alvarado.

JSA is a part of the Associated Student Ethnic Student Center. The club is committed to promoting a better understanding of Japanese culture at Western and providing opportunities for students to share their interest for Japan, according to the club’s description on OrgSync.

It was first established in 2012 when former Western student Mizue Aoki created the club with the purpose to raise awareness and

do some fundraising for the tsunami and earthquake incidences in Japan.

“I am focusing on getting members more involved with JSA events and projects,” Alvarado said. “The officers this year are outstanding individuals, and each has some great ideas to contribute to the club this year.”

JSA officers are planning for their heritage dinner next spring with intention to attract more people to the club. The heritage dinner is a way of celebrating and honoring the heritage of Japanese community by creating Japanese-style performances and serving traditional food to educate Western students about the culture.

“We are also expanding our reach outside of Bellingham so we can have events in other places, such as Seattle and Canada,” Alvarado said.

Japanese Student Association officers pose for a photo after their first club meeting held Monday, Sept 29 in Miller Hall 17. Photo Trevor Grimm // AS Review

Alvarado has special interest in Japanese culture because he was once lived in Japan with his family for three years when he was younger.

He decided to volunteer to help out with a JSA event the moment he saw the club on OrgSync a couple years back.

Sometimes JSA has its role with the Asia University America Program at Western as well.

“JSA is mostly consisted of Western students who are interested in Japanese culture, but sometimes Japanese exchange students from the AUAP program come to participate in big JSA events. Such as Japan Night, potlucks or movie nights to hang out with American people” former JSA officer Liana Teofilo said.

Officers are highly active with the AUAP program and their students on campus. A lot of officers are friends with AUAP students through volunteering for the program and taking part with certain events. They usually invite the students to club meetings and events, Alvarado said.

“This gives our members a good chance to also experience the Japanese culture while sharing American culture with the transfer students,” Alvarado said.

Freshman Marissa Ludwig is one of many participants at JSA’s first meeting, and said it would have been better if the officers were more prepared for the number of people that were coming.

“I haven’t really got much of a feel for it because it’s the first meeting, but I definitely want to come back,” Ludwig said.

Japanese Student Association When: Mondays at 6 p.m.

Where: Miller Hall 17

10. 6, 2014 • 9

October brings Domestic Violence Awareness Month

By C Hayley Halstead Design by Keghouhi Bedoyan “When I was raped, I was screaming ‘no’ and struggling against him. It was obviously not consensual, but he was turned on by my distress,” said 21-year-old Emma Sulkowicz from Columbia University in an interview with TIME. Sulkowicz has made a public statement to increase conversations after filing a police report and a Title IX complaint of how the university had taken care of rape and sexual assault cases: she carries her dorm mattress with her everywhere on campus while her alleged rapist continues to attend her same school.

Although students on Western’s campus aren’t carrying around mattresses, this recent case that continues to develop at Columbia resonates with students here at Western. Violence can strike anyone anywhere, and these kinds of cases on college campuses aren’t few and far between.

In the last year alone on campus there were three forcible sex offenses, three aggravated assaults, two cases of stalking and three cases of domestic violence according to Western’s Annual Security and Fire Safety Report. Take into consideration that these are only the crimes that had been reported.

October is recognized as Domestic Violence Awareness Month. According to Consultation and Sexual Assault Support, “dating/domestic violence is a pattern of assaultive and controlling behaviors including physical, sexual and psychological attacks against an individual, children, property or pets.”

CASAS also cracks the myth that domestic/dating violence only involves physical abuse onto another person because it can include anything from emotional abuse to inflicting fear to stalking. Approximately one in four American women have reported being physically abused by a husband or boyfriend.

“No one is immune to violence,” said CASAS Coordinator Katie Plewa. “It happens to anyone, regardless of gender, race, class, socioeconomic status, etc... This means that it can happen, and might already have happened, to people we know, love and care about.”

In fact, dating and domestic violence is not just a heterosexual issue. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a study four years ago titled, “2010 Findings on Victimization by Sexual Orientation.” The study states that, “sexual minority respondents reported levels of intimate partner violence at rates equal to or higher than those of heterosexuals.”

The CDC reports 26 percent of gay men, 37 percent of bisexual men and 29 percent of heterosexual men experiencing physical violence, rape and/or stalking by an intimate partner.

“Though the issue is inherently problematic, one way to prevent

this would be to educate people from a young age on gender and domestic violence,” said Queer Resource Center Coordinator Nika Renée.

“Just as rape is rape, abuse is abuse. It should be clear that regardless of which people it occurs between, it’s still abuse.”

Domestic violence cannot only impact someone’s emotional wellbeing, but also can affect their health and academics. Plewa shared that in addition, if a student is involved with dating or domestic violence, that they could possibly experience isolation from their friends and family members because abusers commonly will assert their power and control by using this tactic. As a result, it may be difficult to receive support from others.

Resources are readily available for students on campus, including but not limited to CASAS, Western’s Counseling Center and the AS Women’s Center.

“It’s important for people to be aware so that they can see if it’s happening to them, a close friend or a loved one so that they can see the warning signs and try to help out themselves or their friends before anything escalates to a dangerous level,” said AS Women’s Center Vagina Memoirs Coordinator Sara Richards.

Violence is everywhere in the American culture. Consider some of the most popular video games, movies and even jokes you and your friends share where this tolerance of violence has been normalized. Then think about the reason you or the people you’re close to are scared to walk home alone in the dark.

“If more students become committed to confronting violence-tolerating behaviors, or if more of them intervene when they see a potentially dangerous situation, then our community will be safer,” Plewa said. “Our campus can define its own cultural norms and we can create

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Western club promotes body positivity

By Auzin Ahmadi Two and a half years ago, Western junior Rebecca Rivero found herself losing track of time and surfing the internet late into the night. Her travels through the web led her to a very dark corner of it: blogs and websites are dedicated to weight loss, posting pictures of extremely thin women, helping people attain dangerously unhealthy body types and glorifying or documenting struggles with anorexia and other eating disorders.

As a survivor of disordered eating, Rivero related to the hopelessness and the need for control which others were discussing online.

She realized that there was an empty space for an online presence which celebrated and uplifted women as they are, in all of their diversity, no Photoshop or starving oneself required.

April 11, 2012, Middle Women was born.

It began with one un-retouched photo shoot of Rivero, and has since grown into a full-fledged company with various social media pages and a popular club on Western’s campus.

Rivero is now the Founder and Executive Director of Middle Women and runs the organization with recent Western graduate Thomas Webber, who is Middle Women’s President and Club Advisor. Together, the two plan to make a difference in the world by implementing Middle Women’s mission statement: “to cultivate self-esteem and promote positive body image.”

According to the Middle Women website, the organization’s title “comes from the concept of spectrum thinking and speaks to the idea that every aspect of a woman’s body falls somewhere in the middle of a spectrum…and that no point along the spectrum is superior to any other point.”

These spectrums can range from lightest to darkest, smallest to largest, least to most and embrace the vast diversity of women’s bodies.

Students attending Middle Women club meetings can expect an open and safe community, individualized processes for each person’s particular struggles and small discussion groups led by peers who have been trained in

The first Middle Women club meeting of the year occured Tuesday, Sept. 30. Photo Trevor Grimm // AS Review

providing safe space and having difficult, but necessary, conversations.

Webber is adamant about the fact that Middle Women meetings are not just “pizza and a one-hour lecture,” as many other clubs can be. They are meant to help you grow at your own pace, but also challenge you.

“The ultimate goal always is trying to create a community of dialogue, as opposed to us pushing out information,” Rivero said.

Each month is given a theme and the curriculum is based around a word—October’s is “aspire”—which guides the club’s weekly discussions and fits into the year-long lesson plan that Middle Women has developed.

Webber and Rivero want to “establish a community which encourages [people] to look inwards,” with an end goal of “helping people meet their potential.”

All students are welcome at the club’s meetings, regardless of gender identity. Whether they want a safe, informal, non-judgmental space to visit or they want to help out fellow students who are struggling emotionally, the club’s leaders will work to meet their needs.

Everyone needs a shoulder to lean on sometimes, and being that shoulder can be just as rewarding.

If someone is combating low self-esteem or negative body image, they can attend a meeting knowing that they are not alone in the struggle with these issues. “[We want people] knowing that it’s a supportive community where they can have some personal free space to take a chance on themselves—if we could get everyone to reach their full potential we would be very, very happy,” Rivero said.

The club hosts two campus-wide events per quarter. In the third week of October they will host a Consent Event as a solution-based, positive movement to establish consent culture. Middle Women hosts a film festival in the winter, an Empowerment Through Music concert and many other events to bring awareness the club and its mission.

10. 6, 2014 • 11

Committing the ultimate college crime: Dormcest!

By Auzin Ahmadi Design by Keghouhi Bedoyan Before my freshmen year of college at Western, I spent a lot of time reading books and online articles geared towards college preparation.

The subjects ranged from how to keep up your GPA, to the best microwaveable meals on a budget, to how to adjust to life away from home.

I was also guilty of having read the occasional article on dating in college and without fail, the number one piece of advice in those articles was: don’t commit dormcest.

“Dormcest,” an icky combination of the words ‘dormitory’ and ‘incest’, refering to the situation one faces when dating or hooking up with somebody who lives on the same floor or building.

I never took the warnings against dormcest seriously, thinking that it would be unlikely to happen to me and that if it did, I would be mature enough to handle the situation.

When I moved into the Ridge last year, my only concerns were about my first college classes, making it work with my roommates and trying to stuff all the clothes I had brought into my tiny dorm closet.

Fall Quarter passed by and I began dating one of the boys who lived next door to my room. Right next door. At first, it was fantastic. It was easy to spend time together, I became friends with his friends and my “walk home” took two seconds.

The convenience was very appealing to me. There was the shared experience of living in the same building to bond over and all we had to do was knock on the door to get a lunch buddy or movie date. I felt like the close living quarters were conducive to a closer relationship.

You might have guessed that it didn’t work out and you’re. That’s one of the defining qualities of dormcest. Being so physically close to each other can actually be a strain on the relationship because there is no time to actually miss the person.

Time apart is essential to a relationship so that you can both have fulfilling independent lives, and dating somebody who lives next door makes that very difficult. You may end up missing out on the college experience because you’re too busy spending time with your significant other, rather than getting out and doing all the things college has to offer.

Additionally, it’s easy to get sick of the other person when you see them all the time and are constantly faced with their personality quirks or tendencies, which may quickly become annoying.

There I was at the beginning of spring quarter: no boyfriend, no new friends, no clubs joined and no extracurricular activities. I had to make a change, to re-focus my priorities and figure out what I wanted from the rest of my freshmen year.

So, instead of staying in and watching Netflix, I invited girls I wanted to become better friends with out to the movies. My afternoons

were freed up, so I got an X-Pass and started going to Wade King Recreation Center six days a week. My ongoing job hunt was finally successful and I got a part-time job off-campus.

At first, keeping myself busy was a strategy to take my mind off of the break-up, but eventually I realized how much I enjoyed constantly being occupied and productive.

And the decisions that I made were beneficial to my life—I ended up with more friends [including the lovely ladies I am living with this year], a healthier lifestyle, and a bit of pocket money.

Dormcest can be an appealing option—it helps you feel more at home in the alien environment of college, and it is incredibly convenient. But good relationships don’t come from convenience, and intimacy isn’t the same as physical proximity.

Establishing your own, independent life in college will take you far because you won’t have to rely on another person for experiences or entertainment.

If you do choose to date your freshmen year, getting off your floor will help you see more of campus, meet more people and avoid any awkward situations in the place where you are supposed to feel most comfortable and safe.

Take a risk. Don’t settle. Remember that it’s never too late to change, and it’s always a good time to focus on the most important person in your life—you.

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This week in music...

Sol & the Zillas, Manatee Commune, Noah Gunderson and more

Top row, left to right: Sol & the Zillas perform at the Viking Union Multipurpose room Tuesday, Sept. 30.

Middle left: Manatee Commune performs at High Street Music and Arts Festival at the Performing Arts Center Plaza on Saturday, Sept. 27. Bottom left: Seattle singer and songwriter Noah Gunderson sings at An Evening with To Write Love on Her Arms on Arms on the PAC mainstage on Wednesday, Oct. 1. Bottom Right: Bellingham native Manatee Commune takes the crowds attention with his barefoot performance during AS Productions music festival. Photos by Trevor Grimm // AS Review