AS Review - October 13, 2014

Transcend preconceived notions of gender, p. 4 An in-depth look at what’s really in your wallet, p. 6 Who is Western President Bruce Shepard? p. 10

Vol. 30 #4 10.13.14

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“Transcendence” by Jess T. Dugan comes to the Viking Union Gallery until Oct. 30.

Designed by Tristan Wood // 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 4 Higher One card An in-depth look at what’s really in your wallet

5 Comedians & Coffee

New Comedy Open Mic Night in the Underground Coffeehouse

STUDENT LIFE 6 Transcendence An exploration of the newest exhibition in the Viking Union Gallery

8 Fashion forward, fall is back

Western students express themselves through fashion

FEATURES 8 Who is Bruce Shepard?

Take a look at a typical day in the life of Bruce Shepard

12 Clayton Beach A beautiful rockclimbing spot right on the beach

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 Travis Grimm C Hayley Halstead Ian Sanquist Nontawat Thammawan Auzin Ahmadi Designer Keghouhi Bedoyan Adviser Jeff Bates

Editor in Chief Assistant Editor Lead Photographer Writers

Sophomore Andrew Wise rock climbs at Clayton Beach. Read his review of the climb and the beach on p. 12. Photo courtesy of Andrew Wise

10. 13, 2014 • 3

EVENTS The Closet: A Critical Discussion on Coming Out Oct. 14 // 6-8 p.m. // VU 464 // Free Join the AS Queer Resource Center for an evening of community building, free pizza and discussion. At this safe-space event, there will be a critical discussion about the process of coming out and what it means to come out.

Resume & Cover Letter Workshop w/ Sandy Brown Oct. 15 // 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. // Haggard Hall 223 // Free Come and learn how to perfect your resume! This workshop, lead by Sandy Brown, will help you get your resume in tip-top shape and ready to be submitted for jobs and internships. No personal laptops needed.

Wednesday Night Concert Series: Susy Sun w/ Courtney Marie Andrews Oct. 15 // 8 p.m. // UGCH // Free Enjoy free music at the Underground Coffeehouse as part of the fall Wednesday Night Concert Series.

This week’s musicians include singer/ songwriters Susy Sun and Courtney Marie Andrews.

Comedy Open Mic Night: A Comedian’s Open Mic Oct. 16 // 6:30 p.m. // UGCH // Free Enjoy a night of laughs with Western’s stand-up comedians. Anyone is welcome to perform. Sign-ups begin at 6:30 p.m., and performances begin at 7 p.m. For more information on this event, check out p. 5

Top Ten: October 1-9 1

Say My Name Odesza

2 Herbal First Aid Workshop

Rainy Taxi Spoon

3

Oct. 17 // 4:30 - 6:30 p.m. // Fairhaven Outdoor Classroom // Free

Around Town The Kooks

4

Left Hand Free Alt-J

5

I’m Not the Only One Sam Smith

6

Queen Perfume Genius

7

Adult Diversion Alvvays

8

Heartbreak Overdrive Ballet School

9

Rainbows Run King Tuff

Learn how to make an herbal antiseptic spray, treat bee stings, allergies and muscle soreness from plants found in the Outback Farm. Impress all your friends with your knowledge of first aid and plants!

Dead Parrots Society: Squawktoberfest Oct. 17 & 18 // 8 p.m. // Old Main Theatre // $3 What’s more fun than a Dead Parrots Show? TWO Dead Parrots Society shows. Catch the improv group Friday and Saturday as they perform an Upfront Theatre Blender. These shows are part of Squawktoberfest which features Dead Parrots Society shows every Friday and Saturday all throughout October.

10

Girls Slow Magic KUGS is the Associated Students’ student-run radio station. Listen online at kugs.org. If you’re interested in getting on the waves, pick up a volunteer application in the station’s office on the seventh floor of the VU.

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An in-depth look at what’s really in your wallet

By C Hayley Halstead In spring quarter of 2012, 79 percent of Western students who voted in the election opted in favor of passing the Higher One Initiative.

The purpose of this initiative was for Western’s administration to be more transparent about its relationship with the Higher One credit card company. As of now, Western is the only university in the United States that has made their contract public.

Higher One is a third-party vendor that provides financial aid disbursement services for universities. The appeal is that the refund of financial aid money can be instantly accessed upon creating a checking account with Higher One through a debit card.

On the other hand, other refund options [depositing the money into another account or receiving a paper check via US mail] can take days, even weeks.

While creating an account with Higher One may initially appear to be the more convenient choice of the refund delivery methods, students have been unhappy with the fees they are charged when using this service.

“When I first started at Western, I was told I should apply for Higher One,” said Sophomore Trisha Christianson. “I got all of my refund money in the account, and since I wasn’t moving the money, I was being fined a ridiculous amount.”

According to Higher One’s fee schedule, students are charged $2.50 for using a nonHigher One ATM, $0.50 per transaction when using the card and entering a PIN and $25 for an outgoing wire transfer. These are just a few of the 21 fees listed on their website.

“They were basically taking my money. It was really upsetting,” said Christianson. “I just got screwed over and lost a bunch of money.”

While opening a Higher One account may

“Students are consumers, and it is important they have all information made available to them regarding the financial products that are marketed to them at school. Unfortunately, students do not have access to impartial information. ” -- A letter to Arne Duncan, Secretary of Education appear to be the only way to receive money, some students were more skeptical and waiting it out, like senior Charles Ngyuen.

“The Higher One card is a debit card where they get a piece of every purchase I make on it, that is the choice they want me to make. I wanted a check, so you know, I could not give them my own money,” Nguyen said.

“It took me three months and around a dozen phone calls and visits from me to finally get that check.”

Nguyen and Christianson are not alone in their battles with Higher One, and since its introduction to campus in 2011, student leaders have been working towards remedying these conflicts with this financial institution.

AS Election Coordinator Mayra Guizar recently returned from a lobbying trip where she spoke with United States Senator Patty Murray’s staff and worked with other students in the United States Student Association to draft a letter to Secretary of Education Arne Duncan.

“Students are consumers, and it is important that they have all information made available to them regarding the financial products that are marketed to them at school,” the letter says. “Unfortunately, students do not have the access to impartial information.”

Representatives of USSA from all over the country advocated to government officials to help protect students by including three provisions in the Department of Education’s rule: contracts that are formed between

financial institutions and college should be created with the best interest of students, have greater transparency and clearly define rules for financial products and services marketed to college students.

“I feel like this wouldn’t have been something the office did if USSA didn’t come in, lobby and talk about predatory financial institutions,” Guizar said.

One of the divisions of USSA is the Student Labor Action Project which engages in helping students achieve economic justice in higher education.

National Coordinator for SLAP Beth Huang described that because of these contracts universities are signing with companies that are able to have a monopoly over a large captive audience.

“It’s student voice and advocacy that makes the difference between the Department of Education helping us versus helping financial institutions,” Huang said.

During her visit, Guizar was told that lobbyists from Higher One were previously in Senator Murray’s office and claiming to have lowered fees for students.

However, Guizar shared that the fees Higher One lists on its website have not changed since she was a freshman.

“Right now the biggest struggle is making sure these contracts are public across the country,” Guizar said. “The overall goal would be to get rid of these ridiculous fees or get them off our campus.”

10. 13, 2014 • 5

Comedians & Coffee The perfect combination all in one place at the Underground Coffeehouse’s Comedy Open Mic Night

By Ian

sanquist

On Thursday, Oct. 2, the Associated Students Underground Coffeehouse held its first Stand-up Comedy Open Mic night. The event takes place every first and third Thursday of the month from 7-9 p.m.

Sign-ups start at 6:30 and are limited to the first 20 people. StandUp Comedy Klub President Jake Foerg hosts the open mic. SUCK meets on alternate Thursdays to workshop jokes, discuss comedy and provides a supportive community for those interested in the challenging art of performing stand-up comedy.

Foerg proposed a stand-up open mic to AS Productions Underground Coffeehouse Program Director Jonah Falk at the end of the last school year. In previous years, SUCK performed just one show a month. Foerg said this is simply not enough time on stage to develop as a comedian.

“If you have a stand-up set and you’re going to a workshop you don’t have to be as polished,” Foerg said. “If you’re going to a show you’ve got to make sure that your stuff ’s actually good.”

Stand-up comedy is sometimes associated with raw, uncomfortable and potentially offensive material, and the nature of an open mic allows anyone to sign up. However, in organizing the event, Foerg has implemented a two-strike rule for unacceptable material. After a second strike, a comedian will be blacklisted from the comedy open mic for the remainder of the year.

“I want to make sure the shows are a safe space for the audience and the other comedians,” Foerg said. “Bellingham’s very socially progressive. We’re very privy to social issues. I think that’s wonderful, but sometimes, I think it makes doing stand up harder, and that makes it better, because we can’t fall to those petty jokes.”

The stand-up open mic is distinct from Open Mic Night held every Tuesday in the Underground Coffeehouse, which consists primarily of musicians. Comedians who perform there have, at times, been received without much enthusiasm.

Stand-up Open Mic Night puts the focus explicitly on comedy. “[The open mic] will give comedians an appropriate audience mentality,” Falk said. “Everyone’s expecting some comedy and standup, so I think they’ll be better received at this event.”

Falk said he hops that the event will foster new comedians, in the way that the Tuesday Open Mic Night fosters new musicians and performance artists of many kinds.

“Everyone should take the stage and express themselves at some point,” Falk said. “It’s a really healthy experience and I think everyone can grow from that.”

Performing comedy, Foerg said, is the only way to get better at it, but it can also be a very nerve-wracking experience due to the lack of filter between audience and performer.

“If you’re not doing well you know immediately, because the audience isn’t laughing,” Foerg said. “If you’re not doing stand up well, the audience is gonna be silent, just like if you are not playing guitar well.”

Later in the year, Foerg plans to organize some pre-cast comedy shows. He will select performers for these shows from the open mic, looking for comedians who perform regularly and who are consistently funny.

Sophomore Ben Briggs, a business major who performed at the open mic, opened his set with a joke about his Catholic education which left him with the constant thought of death.

“There’s this pragmatism about being a Catholic that I think is really conducive to good standup,” Briggs said.

Briggs transferred to Western from Gonzaga University, and said that he plans to perform at every open mic.

At this point he is mostly concerned with making people laugh, but at the same time he wants to work toward material that is both universally funny and meaningful.

“If you want to do this for your entire life, you have to be thinking about jokes that are funny, not just niche,” Briggs said. “The joke I told last night had to do with death. And that is always ahead of me, so I can always use that.”

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Transcend preconceived notions of gender An exploration of the newest exhibition in the Viking Union Gallery: “Transcendence”

By Ian

sanquist

“Transcendence,” an exhibition of twelve portraits by photographer Jess T. Dugan, will be on display in the Viking Union Gallery starting Oct. 8-31. This exhibition has been brought to campus through several Western departments.

The photographs in “Transcendence” depict people within the transgender and gender variant community, challenging preconceived notions of gender and focusing instead on the identity of individuals.

AS VU Gallery Director J.L. Gazabat said he hopes that hosting “Transcendence” will help to initiate conversations about gender issues that can be difficult or uncomfortable for some students. “[Dugan’s] work shows that there are a near infinite number of gender variations, but at the same time highlights the shared human experience that everybody can identify with,” Gazabat said. “You look at the portraits, you look into these people’s eyes and you say, ‘That’s a human.’”

Dugan’s series “Transcendence I” included portraits of individuals both on the female-to-male and on the male-to-female spectrums. The portraits in “Transcendence II,” which are on display in the VU Gallery, focus specifically on individuals in transition from female to male.

Professor of Art and Photography Garth Amundson became aware of Dugan’s work through one of his students, Western alum Katie Hudak. Amundson was struck by the work’s dissection of identity, and knew that he wanted to bring Dugan to campus.

“By inviting Jess, who makes very powerful work that’s pushing the boundary of identity... I really think that’s the kind of discussion, that’s the kind of dialogue, that’s the kind of stimulating challenging topic that we need to have at a university,” Amundson said. “Not pastoral landscapes and seascapes...the work should be provocative, it should provoke a discussion with a broader community. And we shouldn’t have to reinstate that fact—that should just be part of going to a university that you’re going to be challenged on every level.”

The photographs in “Transcendence II” also mark Dugan’s own transition from shooting in black and white to shooting in color.

“I really loved the intensity of the color,” Dugan said. “I loved how I could influence the emotion or the psychological space of a photograph through the color.”

These photographs are confrontational in their subject matter, but their technique reveals a deep compassion.

Dugan took each portrait using a 4 x 5 large format camera, which requires a slow, methodical process.

Cooperation from the subject is crucial, and Dugan made her

A photo of one of Dugan’s subjects injecting testosterone.

Art by Jess T. Dugan, Photo by Trevor Grimm // AS Review portraits in spaces where her subjects would feel comfortable, often in their own homes.

“That I’ve been welcomed to make that portrait in a personal space shows the sense of trust between me and my subject,” Dugan said. “I also think it creates a more vulnerable image in a lot of ways.”

Often the subjects make direct eye contact with the camera, as if challenging the viewer to look back and try placing them in an unequivocal category of gender.

“It really unnerves people to not be able to classify the identities of the people they’re looking at,” Dugan said during a 2013 lecture at Elon University. “I want to blow these categories of gender out of the water

10. 13, 2014 • 7

Dugan’s portraits represent gender variance and emphasizes the lack of categorization into steretypical gender norms.

Art by Jess T. Dugan, Photo by Trevor Grimm // AS Review and make them a little bit useless, and try to get people thinking about actually presents and then how they’re treated by society at large, how what it is that compels us to so desperately need to identify people and their exterior self matches their interior self, and whether or not those figure out exactly what their gender is, what their sexuality is, in order things feel aligned, and whether or not they feel that their body allows to understand them. I’m much people to see them and treat them more interested in asking people as they actually see themselves,” to focus on the individual.”

Dugan said. “[Dugan’s] work shows that there are near Prior to the portraits in “I was trying to show, trying to infinite numbers of gender variations, but at “Transcendence II,” Dugan’s work speak about something even bigger the same time highlights the shared human had largely shied away the physical than one specific experience or aspect of gender variance. one specific identity, but to speak experience that everybody can identify with....

She said that images she had about it through the specifics of You look at the portraits, you look into these seen of transgender individuals in one person’s body or one person’s people’s eyes and you say, ‘That’s a human.’” popular culture often fetishized experiences.”

-- J.L. Gazabat and reduced the trans identity When one ceases to look for to being exclusively about the clues to a prefabricated identity body, a representation her work to place around this person, one challenges. is able to realize that these photographs are not about being male or This series includes an image of one of Dugan’s friends injecting female—they are about being human. testosterone, and multiple images of shirtless people with visible scars The Viking Union Gallery is open Monday through Friday from 11 from chest reconstructive surgery. a.m. to 5 p.m. “Transendence” will be featured in theVU gallery until “I think there’s an intense relationship between how someone Oct. 31.

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Fashion forward, fall is back The AS Review explores Western’s fashion scene. We’ve asked students to describe their own personal style.

Story

by

Kelly Mason & Auzin Ahmadi, Photos

by

Trevor Grimm

Etanne Neumann First-year transfer student Etanne Neumann derives the inspiration for her style from pop culture and history. She is pictured wearing a floral dress and a grey jacket.

“I get my inspiration from movies, the 1920s and shows like Mad Men,” she said. “I like lots of dark colors mixed with pastels.”

Colby Kennedy First-year transfer student Colby Kennedy describes his style as “essentially punk.”

He is pictured wearing green pants and an ironic t-shirt as he sits on the stairs between Haggard Hall and Wilson Library.

“I like wearing stuff that is both funny and expresses my values,” Kennedy said.

10. 13, 2014 • 9

Western students express themselves through personal style

Hana Alsaeed Hana Alsaeed chooses to wear “classic, light, neutral colors” to express her style. Alsaeed, who is originally from Saudi Arabia, is one of many students participating in Western’s International Programs and Exchanges program.

Jessie Ghosn Sophomore Jessie Ghosn describes her style as “comfy, manageable, cute, colorful and inspired by boho fashion.”

Teena Thach Senior Teena Thach prefers her clothes to be comfortable, yet sophisticated.

“I like comfortable, baggy clothes and I’m inspired by streetwear and urban style, but I also have a sophisticated side,” she said.

No matter what she is wearing she makes sure it’s her own.

“I think fashion should be what you want to wear, not just what’s in magazines.

Fashion is what you make it,” Thach said.

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Who is Western President Bruce Shepard?

By Abigail

ramos

& Nontawat Thammawan

A typical day in the life of Western President Bruce Shepard usually begins around 6 a.m.

“I love to roast my coffee beans, so every morning I’ll make two double lattes,” Shepard said.

After breakfast, Shepard feeds his two Boston Terriers, Andy and Lucy. Besides his morning routine, Shepard says his day is never the same.

“That’s what I like about the job,” Shepard said. “There is no average day for me.”

Shepard is off campus more than he is on campus. When he is

on campus, Shepard enjoys walking around and stopping at Zoe’s Bookside Bagels. When in his office, Shepard starts some mornings off with conference calls with other Presidents from other universities in Washington.

When on campus, Shepard enjoys getting Mongolian beef, chicken and broccoli from QQ Li’s on vendor’s row. Shepard says he’s a fan of spicy food.

“I love to cook my own Thai food,” Shepard said. “I can cook a really good beef Padseaew and Padthai”.

As a part of the job Shepard spends quite a bit of time off campus, traveling to Olympia and Seattle.

“My job is really to make sure that everybody is going in the same direction,” Shepard said. “There’s a saying I learned ‘Your job as a president is to steer and not to roll.’”

“I believe that leadership should have no fingerprint. You don’t need your associated with things, I’ve felt deep satisfication standing back and witnessing everything that has happened.”

-- President Bruce Shepard

Western President Bruce Shepard’s eyes sparkle as he poses for a picture. Photo courtesy of Matthew Anderson

Shepard and his wife Cyndie Shepard enjoy having students over their home. Shepard says the craziest thing he has ever done was to have traveled to Thailand for school.

“I did not know the family that I lived with, it was a life changing experience,” Shepard said.

During his spare time, Shepard enjoys sailing and wood working, he says he also enjoys working with computers. He also enjoys watching shows that have to do with political science, such as “The West Wing” and “The Good Wife.” When it comes to sports Shepard enjoys his swing at golf.

“I like golf because I can talk business at the same time,” he said.

Shepard dedicates his time to his work: taking it home with him, out on the golf course and up and down the Pudget Sound.

“I believe that leadership should have no fingerprint” Shepard said. “You don’t need your name associated with things, I’ve felt deep satisfaction standing back and witnessing everything that has happened.”

10. 13, 2014 • 11

From Thailand to Bellingham: A world of differences

By Nontawat Thammawan Have you ever wondered what it’s like to study in a land where the social norms and language are completely unknown to you? I do.

I was born and raised in Thailand, and began studying in the United States in 2011. Before coming to Western, I studied at a community college in Auburn, WA. The first course I registered for was called American Minority and Ethnic Studies—my worst nightmare.

In class, I only understood about 30 percent of my professor’s lecture. Once every few sentences, I would hear the word “race,” which my precious dictionary told me meant: “a competition between runners, horses, vehicles or boats, to see which is the fastest in covering a set course.”

I couldn’t help but ask myself what racing had to do with minority and ethnic studies. The longer time I spent in the US, the better I became at adjusting to the new environment.

I started holding the door open for people, eating cold pizza before bed, hugging female friends, smiling at strangers, high fiving people for pretty much everything.

My language also changed. To the point where I began saying “What’s up, bro?” instead of “How are you doing today, sir?”

You see, in my country, we don’t do any of these things. If you hold the door open for someone, they’ll probably leave you hanging and walk through the other one.

We microwave our pizza because it just makes sense that way. Friends don’t usually hug one another unless they’re in a relationship, so it was especially strange

Nontawat [Terry] Thammawan began studying in the United States in 2011. Photo

by Trevor Grimm // AS Review for me to see a man holding a “Free Hugs” sign on campus.

We do high five people once in a while, but it’s become especially addictive in the U.S. After a year in college, I finally realized there is still so much to learn about American culture and I could never understand it unless I embarrassed myself for knowledge, which was totally worth it.

I decided to overcome my fear by joining the improv comedy club—the world where embarrassment is admired and unavoidable.

Since first moving to the U.S., I have developed my skills in the English language and have now become more comfortable with being a student at Western.

Although I have had a difficult journey to where I am now as an international student, I would not have traded any of the countless stories I can share with people.

Unlike other international students, I went out of my way to not stay in my room all day and challenged myself to live with people who I wasn’t familiar with.

In the long run my courage helped me break out of my shell. I met new people and had new experiences.

For international students, there are numerous opportunities that don’t come looking for you, so you have to look for the opportunities. You have to ask those embarrassing questions and make yourself look like a fool. If you don’t, then why are you really here?

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Clayton Beach: A climb by the bay

By Andrew Wise It was while sitting at the top of our last problem of the afternoon, watching the sun dip down toward surface of the bay, that I lamented the coming cold and rain of fall and the many late nights on the crowded Wade King Rec Center climbing wall that lay between now and Spring.

But the sea breeze carried those thoughts away, and I settled into that warmth of the rock. This time of year in Washington is all about snatching the last days of summer. As convenient climbing in Bellingham goes, Clayton Beach is a steal.

I should say that I’m pretty new to climbing. Basically, I met a girl a year ago and she had grown up rock climbing. It didn’t take long to figure out that I wanted to spend as much time as I could with this particular girl, and that inevitably meant picking up a pair of rock shoes and heading to the campus climbing gym as often as I could.

We parked in the lot at the Lost Lake trailhead, which requires a discover pass. If you don’t have one, there is plenty of roadside parking as well.

The walk down from the road to the beach feels like a tunnel through dense trees and brush, which makes the eventual reveal of the beach that much more dramatic.

We started with the face directly adjacent to where the trail opens up onto the beach. It was easy climbing with tons of hold options, as well as a nice big crack to work on.

Even on easy stuff with a below, being 15 feet up on a rock face had my blood pumping much more than it ever had in the gym, where the massive blue pillow is waiting to catch you. But the more we climbed, the calmer I became, the smoother I moved.

The considerably more legit overhanging problems can be found slightly to the north of where the trail enters the beach. The holds are made clear by leftover chalk and felt very solid. These problems were, at least for me, quite a bit more challenging, but also wicked fun.

As the afternoon carried into evening, we took longer and longer breaks between attempts, basking in the low sun and waving at passing sea kayakers.

Despite Clayton’s reputation as a popular and crowded climbing spot, we had it almost completely to ourselves for the entire afternoon.

This was possibly because we showed up during high tide, which limited the number of climbable problems, but what we had was enough.

Whether you’ve been climbing for years, or you went to the climbing gym for the first time last week, Clayton Beach is worth checking out. Half of your buddies don’t have any interest in climbing whatsoever? Bring them anyway. Pack a big picnic and set them loose on the

beach. A beautiful place is a beautiful place, whether you’re climbing or not.

The AS Outdoor Center has a copy of “A Rock Climber’s Guide to Bellingham Rock”, a guidebook that includes routes at Clayton Beach [1997]. It’s worth checking out before hitting the road.

There’s something infinite about those moments where sun and sea and sand come together perfectly, where sound and sight and smell envelope you and there’s little else on your mind besides the place and the people you’re sitting next to. On the right day, that equation comes together on Clayton Beach, and the climbing is just icing on the cake.

Sophomore Brittany Grant scales a rock at Clayton Beach.

Photo courtesy of Andrew Wise