AS Review - November 17, 2014

Remember, remember the 20th of November, p. 4 ESC: Stronger than max capacity, p.5 Industrialization as an art form, p.6

Vol. 30 #9 11.17.14

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Bernese mountain pup, Herman, explores Western’s arboretum and is adorable. 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 4 Remember, re-

member the 20th of Novemember The Queer Resource Center brings Trans Day of Remembrance

7 Where is your

money going?

Learn more about where your student dollars are going

STUDENT LIFE

FEATURES

5 ESC: Stronger than

6 Industrialization as

The Ethnic Student Center hopes to expand and relocate

Industrial design students upcycle materials to create an art showing in the VU Gallery

max capacity

an art form

8 Think before you swipe

C Hayley Halstead writes about her experiences with the app Tinder

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 Nontawat Thammawan Designer Keghouhi Bedoyan Adviser Jeff Bates

Editor in Chief Assistant Editor Lead Photographer Writers

Artist Rachel Hsu’s plaster outline lays in a wooden bedframe as her voice whispers through the speakers for her art piece “The Time We Have Spent” in the Fine Arts B Gallery. Photo by Trevor Grimm // AS Review

11. 17. 2014 • 3

EVENTS Western Takes Olympia

Rental Clinic

Nov. 17 // 4:30-6 p.m. // VU 565 // Free

Nov. 19 // 7-9 p.m. // AW 204 // Free

Get pumped for Viking Lobby Day! Every year on Martin Luther King Jr. Day Western students head down to Olympia to lobby for students’ rights. Learn and train for Viking Lobby Day at this fun, interactive event! Hosted by AS Representation and Engagement Programs and Western’s Political Science Association.

Wednesday Night Concert Series: Maxwell Hughes w/ Jessie Thoreson Nov. 19 // 8 p.m. // UGCH // Free Enjoy the last concer t of the Fall Wednesday Night Concer t Series. This week’s free music is provided by acoustic/instrumental ar tist Maxwell Hughes and singer/ songwriter Jessie Thoreson. Don’t worry the Wednesday Night Concer t Series will be back next quar ter!

Learn about rental safety and your rights and responsibilities when renting. Speak with the experts at the AS Legal Information Center and Whatcom Law Advocates.

Top Ten: Nov. 5 - 12

Art In Industry Opening Reception

1

You Make Me Wanna Die The Shivas

Nov. 20 // 6-8 p.m. // VU Gallery // Free

2

Patiently Waiting Minus The Bear

3

180db_ Aphex Twin

4

Tesla Flying Lotus feat. Herbie Handcock

Trans Day of Remembrance

5

Nov. 20 // 6-8 p.m. // VU 552 // Free

Left Hand Free Alt-J

6

Bad Attitude Wampire

7

Black Moon Spell King Tuff

8

Kiss Me Again The Drums

9

Our Love Caribou

Welcome a new exhibit to the VU Gallery, Art In Industry, at the Opening Reception. This exhibit features work from Western’s design and engineering departments. To learn more about this event, check p. 6

Join the AS Queer Resource Center in an open discussion on trans issues, violence and ways to operate in solidarity. To learn more about this event, read p. 4

10

Poster by Tristan Wood

Kindness World Restart 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.

4 • as.wwu.edu/asreview

Remember, remember the 20th of November

By Auzin Ahmadi Banner by Amelia Barlow The Associated Students Queer Resource Center will be hosting Trans Day of Remembrance on Thursday, Nov. 20 in VU 552 from 6-8 p.m.

Trans Day of Remembrance has been an annual, nationwide occurrence since 1999. Gwendolyn Ann Smith, a trans woman, founded the day as a way to memorialize those who have died as a result of transphobia.

Transphobia refers to prejudice or hatred against people who identify as or appear to be transgender or of a non-binary gender. Trans Day of Remembrance is intended to recognize the lives that have been lost to transphobia and hatred gender non-conforming individuals. The day brings attention to and acknowledges the violence that takes place towards these individuals every day.

Trans identities encompasses individuals whose gender identities differ from those they were assigned at birth. It’s an umbrella term which includes all those who are not cisgender—a term which refers to people who identify with the gender they were assigned at birth.

“The amount of violence that takes place on the daily for trans and gender non-conforming individuals is enough in itself to have a day where folks come together and acknowledge what is happening,” said Queer Resource Center Assistant Coordinator Dreya Williams said. “Trans women, especially trans women of color, are more likely to experience violence than others on the LGB spectrum.”

According to the Trans* Violence Tracking Portal at transviolencetracker.org, there have been 49 reported acts of anti-transgender violence in the United States alone, including 10 murders, 34 violent attacks and four suicides. There were 102 acts of transphobic violence reported from around the world during

the first four months of 2014.

These numbers must always be taken as underestimates of the true amount of violence occurring because they only measure the violence that were actually reported.

The QRC hopes to start conversations around this matter and to bring attention to trans and gender non-conforming individuals on our campus and in our community.

Students attending Trans Day of Remembrance can expect a dialogue and history surrounding trans issues, violence, and ways to operate in solidarity.

The event will include a discussion on the history of trans people, the realities of police brutality and violent transphobia, the deaths of people in the trans community and the marginalization that trans people face within the queer community itself.

“The Queer Resource Center offers ongoing educational resources for both transgender and cisgender people,” Williams said.

“We offer a safe space for trans students to be validated and ask questions about how to navigate resources and institutions. We try to host critical events that cover and center trans topics.”

It’s important for those who identify as

cisgender to recognize their privileged place in society and their decreased chance of experiencing transphobia or violent acts with a transphobic basis.

The topics which will be discussed during the Trans Day of Remembrance event concern the everyday realities of trans people, but are essential and informative for people of all gender identities and expressions.

“Some ways of acting in solidarity with trans people are to listen and validate their experiences, offer more spaces in your everyday life where you state your pronouns, advocate for more access to gender neutral restrooms at events, do not assume you know anyone’s gender identity before they disclose that to you, and continue to educate yourself,” Williams said. “In that process do not assume that a trans person wants to educate you about trans issues; educate yourself independently by researching online or coming into the Queer Resource Center to ask questions.”

If one is in need of support after this event, the QRC is available to talk about what that support might look like for the individual. If disAbility accommodations are in need, give the QRC a call at 360.650.6120 or send an email to as.qrc@wwu.edu.

11. 17. 2014 • 5

ESC: Stronger than max capacity

By Nontawat Thammawan Members of the Associated Students Ethnic Student Center assembled and studied together on the skybridge in Wilson Library Monday, Oct. 27, in an act of silent protesting about the lack of space at the ESC location.

Western sophomore Lulu Sapigao, who created this event, said it’s time for students of color to get out of the basement of the Viking Union and expose themselves to a more visible place on campus.

The ESC has been on campus since 1991, providing academic advising, social support and a sense of “a home away from home” to all students.

For many years the ESC has always been on the fourth floor of the VU, but most students aren’t aware of its existence due to low accessibility and the small size of its location.

“The VU is a really confusing building, and [the ESC] is hiding on the lower floor,” Sapigao said. “We need a bigger and easier-access space to accommodate different types of the ESC events.”

Currently, the ESC consists of a lounge, a study room, a small computer lab and staff offices. While the facility accommodates different types of activities, the size only allows one event to happen at a time.

“If someone is watching TV, you will hear people laughing and talking, and that’s not the best environment for study group and club meeting if both of those happen at the same time,” Sapigao said.

Besides these problems, several incidences in the past have shown that the ESC’s current location is incapable of accommodating the size.

At the beginning of fall quarter, ESC Program Coordinator Ana Palma-Gutierrez created a kickoff event to welcome all new and returning students to the ESC, attracting more than 160 students to the event.

Sadly, only half of the attendees could comfortably fit inside the area.

“As a kick-off event, it makes sense to bring people in the actual location of the ESC, but what we actually ended up doing was half of the people were inside the ESC, and another half were out in the lobby in front of the Publicity Center,” Palma-Gutierrez said.

The ESC is looking for a space where they can allocate its now 16 clubs and enables them to promote the sense of diverse community at Western.

Right now most of the ESC clubs have their meetings in reserved room on campus simply because those rooms are bigger than the ESC, Palma-Gutierrez said.

Western has established a task force to identify the needs of students and potential solutions to the problem. The assesment process is scheduled to complete by the end of this fall quarter.

The task force is co-chaired by Division Director of Budget Linda

ESC students take a break from class to hangout in the lounge area. Photo by Trevor Grimm // AS Review Beckman, Dean of Students Ted Pratt, AS President Annika Wolters and AS Vice President for Diversity Cristina Rodriguez.

The ESC’s new location, if found, will most likely remain inside the VU because there isn’t a single space on campus to take over without impacting someone else.

“My desire is to make sure we can have the process that is cost-effective in term of making some changes and can be done in the reasonable period of time,” Senior Vice President for Enrollment and Student Services Eileen V. Coughlin said. “If people are talking about a longrange issue, I’m willing to have us looking at all kinds of thing. But I don’t want to move this issue all the way down the road. I want to find an answer to how we can be responsive now.”

A new location for the ESC would not only mean finding a comfortable environment for current ESC students, but would allow for new members to join, thus growing and expanding the ESC “I’m not expecting that we’re going to have 300 students show up and the next day we’re going to get the new space for the ESC,” Sapigao said. “We just want to really show that the students of the ESC are really serious about this.”

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Industrialization as an art form

By Ian Sanquist Banner by Zach Becker Art In Industry, an exhibit featuring repurposed products, will be on display in the Viking Union Gallery from Nov. 17-Dec. 5.

An opening reception will be held on Nov. 20 from 6-8 p.m., during which the artists will be present and refreshments will be served.

This show features work from 12 students from Western’s Industrial Design department, and will also include two cars designed and built by Western’s Vehicle Research Institute.

Each year, the junior class of the Industrial Design department does its ReMade project, where trash is turned into products in a process called “upcycling.”

This year the theme of ReMade is pet care products. Some of the products on display include Nolan Shinn’s birdhouses made from expired fire extinguisher tanks and reclaimed red cedar wood and Leah Cohen-Sepida’s bowlshaped cat cave made from decommissioned climbing rope.

“I think fire extinguishers, in an industrial sense, are an incredibly beautiful and gorgeously simple shape. A vibrant red

cylinder with rounded ends,” Shinn said in an email. “Melting metal takes a tremendous amount of energy...it’s much more efficient to continue to use the same basic shape [a cylinder] and simply cut it into a unique shape than it is to melt it into one.”

The ReMade project emphasizes such sustainable manufacturing processes in tandem with elegant design. Cohen-Sepida said her interest in rock climbing provided inspiration for the design of the “Flexture” cat cave.

Climbing rope, made from nylon, is unsafe to use for climbing after it’s been stressed. Nylon is very difficult to recycle, as it must be broken down to its chemical compound.

“There’s a cave and then if you push the back of the cave towards the opening it creates a little bed,” Cohen-Sepida said. “I was babysitting a cat for about three weeks while making this...I put some of his food in [the cave] and then slowly watched him get closer and closer to it, and then the next morning I just kept seeing him inside.”

These products and many others will be on sale at Ideal, a design store on Cornwall Avenue, until Nov. 21. Design students have manufactured twenty each of their product.

“People are in contact with designed products every day,” Associate Professor of Industrial Design Arunas Oslapas said in an email. “Someone has to define how a product should work, how humans interact with it, what a product should look like, and how it could be mass produced...In essence, designers create the future as their concepts are realized.”

ASP VU Gallery Director J.L. Gazabat said that the idea for the show stemmed from his interest in Bauhaus, an art school active in Germany from 1919 to 1933. The idea behind the Bauhaus school was to create a “total” work of art, emphasizing harmony between the function and form of an object. The Art In Inudustry exhibit puts focus on the everyday applications of art, and uses the gallery space to show objects that may not ordinarily be seen as art in a light that casts them as such.

“Somebody designed a desk,” said Gazabat, pointing to a desk. “And arguably it’s a piece of furniture, but also it’s a piece of art, because somebody drew every piece of that, somebody made every piece of that, so much time and energy went into that...it’s about appreciating what could be called the ‘every day’ in a new light.”

11. 17. 2014 • 7

Where is your money going?

By Nontawat Thammawan Years ago, the Washington state government used to provide the majority of funding for student education. Today things have changed. Most student services, such as technology, come out of students’ own pockets. Generally speaking, the money students pay goes to tuition and mandatory fees. These fees are the main foundation for Western as they cover what the state funding doesn’t provide.

Students pay more for tuition now than ever before, so let’s take a closer look at where that money really goes.

Tuition consists of the Capital Building Fees and the Operating Fees, which are vary depending on the amount of money Western receives from the state, said Student Business Office Supervisor Bob Putich.

The operations fee, which is generally funded by the state, is dedicated to serve the university’s primary mission and education of its students.

It funds library, student, administrative and maintenance services.

The capital building fee is used for construction of academic facilities, which don’t include students housing or dining buildings. In addition, 3.5 percent of the total tuition collected is dedicated to fund student financial aid.

On top of tuition, all full-time students are required to pay $195 per quarter as Service and Activites fee used to supply the Associated Students and student activities such as musical activities and events, intramural sports. According to AS Business Director Morgan Burke, the Service and Activities fee was tied to tuition until two years ago when Student Business Office decided to separate the bill for purpose of letting students know exactly what they’re paying.

To service and activities fee consists of a $99 Recreation fee, an $85 Health Services fee, a $39 Student Building fee [used for the Viking Union], a $35 student technology fee, a $26.25 Alternative Transportation fee, a $7 Green Energy fee and a $1 legislative action fee. Students pay these fees every quarter along with their tuition.

In Fall 2014, the Recreation fee, required for all student who enroll in six or more credits, was increased from $95 to $99 to cover the cost of the annual equipment replacement and to help fund a portion of the Harrington Multipurpose Field’s operation. The increased fee, used for the construction, operation and maintenance of the Wade King Student Recreation Center, is expected to generate approximately $152,000 annually, according to Western’s meeting report.

The $85 Health Services fee is paid to support the operations and staffing of the Student Health Center, Prevention and Wellness Service and a portion of the Counseling Center. In other words, students pay to gain full access to medical and mental health, as well as, wellness services on campus.

In Fall 2014, the Health Services fee was increased from $72 to $85, which will generate an estimated $546,000 in annual revenue. The fee increase was proposed to increase the number of staff, which will reduce wait time and lessen the number missed classes and the cost for overtime work hours.

“The mandatory fees all have to be passed through the Board of Trustees,” Putich said. “Particular departments or services that are using the services must present reasonable needs to the increase of that particular fee to the budget office.”

The $26.25 Alternative Transportation fee provides funding for student Whatcom Transportation Authority bus passes, operation of the Student Shuttle, salaries of AS Alternative Transportation Coordinator, said Student Transportation Program Support Supervisor Kay McMurren.

In Spring 2013, the Alternative Transportation Fee was increased from $25 to $26.25 because WTA installed new fare boxes on their buses and conducted surveys on the possibility of expanding the shuttle services to students living in the Happy Valley neighborhood.

The Student Technology Fee is $35 per quarter for students taking 6 credits or above and $17.5 per for students taking 1-5 credits. It is dedicated to broaden and upgrade Western’s technological equipment. The fee is not expected to increase until the summer of 2018.

The $7 Green Energy Fee is initiated by students and used for the sole purpose of purchasing renewable energy. This fee is charged $0.70 per credit to a maximum of $7 per quarter. Lastly, the $1 Legislative Action Fee is dedicated to increase student representation and advocacy efforts at the state and federal level, according to Western’s catalog.

Every time a fee increases, it was proposed under thorough consideration by the experts in a particular department to the AS Board of Directors, who represent Western students, for approval. In other words, students always have the say in most of the decisions made about their money, Burke said. For student-initiated fees such as Green Energy Fee, Alternative Transportation Fee or Legislative Action Fee, it must be voted on and approved by students during the election process in order for it to become official.

“At the end of the day, it’s all about what’s best for students and whether student say yes or no,” Burke said. “It’s unfortunate when students don’t vote because, then, we don’t get the representation of the entire population.”

These fees are proposed and increased to maximize students’ educational benefits. More importantly, some of these dollars actually return to students in the form of financial aids or salaries. These are what students pay for, and the more informed they are about their money, the more advantage they’re able to take out of it.

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Think before you swipe...

By C Hayley Halstead Illustration by Zach Becker Trigger Warning: Sexual harrassment It’s late at night, and I’ve already blown off my friends to go to bed. What they don’t know is that right before I sleep, I’m messing around on my smartphone for who knows how long on the app known as Tinder.

Tinder is a smartphone application that allows users to match with other people nearby. You can share a short bio and a few pictures in attempt to warrant that desired swipe of the finger to the right, indicating attraction.

Only when both parties have swiped right will the ability to message one another be available, and that’s where the fun starts.

I used to be embarrassed to tell people I was on Tinder. “I just got it so I could write an article,” was the easiest justification I had

for this hookup app. And it worked.

A year later I’m still on it.

Hundreds and hundreds of “matches” will accumulate in my inbox. I’ll have a conversation with over a dozen men in a day who clearly want to get in my pants.

As disgusting as the messages were, I liked the superficial attention and instant gratification of knowing that I was desirable.

In this perfect world, I was the one these men wanted, and I completely would ignore the fact that the same messages being sent to me were probably being sent to all the other hundreds of people the guys would match with.

After messaging for a few times, I’ve taken that scary step to meet these strangers in person and see what they’re all about.

Tinder’s reputation as a hookup app, rather than a dating app has been one of the reasons I’ve gotten myself into trouble.

Even though I explicitly state that I’m not looking for a hookup, my “no means no” to them when we meet doesn’t seem to be clear enough.

Instantly upon meeting some of my matches, I’ve had them try to caress my body or take me back to their home. In some cases, I’ve had men expecting to have sex disregard my boundaries and try to force themselves upon me anyway.

Sometimes Tinder has been really scary to use, yet I still open it habitually throughout the day.

My friends and I exchange Tinder stories, and from what I’ve heard, a lot of them will swipe right for everyone. It’s part of game theory. There are no negative consequences for swiping right, so it gives more options of people in the area just waiting to chat.

I used to try this out, but it got to the point where I was swiping right for teen dads, guys with dead animals in their pictures or the frustrating group picture where you can’t tell which one you’re talking to.

I’m pretty sure that Tinder has completely altered how I see dating.

It’s made me incredibly judgmental about people’s appearances and view people more like commodities.

It’s that first photo and snazzy bio that’s the deciding factor for whether or not I swipe left or right.

Tinder has altered the way I meet people.

I’ve used Tinder to find someone to work out with at the gym find someone to spend the day with in a new town, and I’ve even met some guys I’ve gone on a couple dates with from Tinder.

Some of my very own friends have even found their monogamous partner from Tinder. Tinder is what you make of it, and while online dating doesn’t seem to be as taboo, still proceed with caution.