VOL. 30 # #.#.#
2 • as.wwu.edu/asreview A walk out was held at all Bellingham high
Event Calendar
schools and middle schools in protest of recent school shootings. Madison Ruppel
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 © 2018. 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. 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.
Dead Parrot’s Society Performance
WWU Jazz Combo
Feb. 26 // 7-9 p.m. // UGCH // Free
Come down to the Underground Coffeehouse fo some relaxing jazz music to
The Dead Parrot’s Society is performing this Monday night. Come for a night full of improv and laughs.
Erasmus Baxter Kira Stussy Hailey Hoffman Josh Hughes Gwen Frost Julia Berkman Hailey Murphy Photographer Jaden Moon Adviser Jeff Bates
accomany your caffenated beverages.
Comedy Open Mic Night Open Mic Night Feb. 27 // 7-9 p.m. // UGCH // Free Every Tuesday you have the opportunity to show off your unique set of talents at this Open Mic Night in the Underground Coffeehouse, hosted by AS Productions.
Hypothermia Help Feb. 27 // 4 p.m. // OC // Free Get all the information about hypothermia so you can be better prepared for all your cold weather adventures. Hosted by the Outdoor Center.
SASA Bake Sale Feb. 27 // 11 a.m. - 5 p.m. // Vendor’s Row // Free The South Asian Student Association is having abake sale! Come and show your support (and grab a yummy treat). It’s a win-
Editor-in-Chief Assistant Editor Lead Photographer Writers
Feb. 28 // 7-9 p.m. // UGCH // Free
March 1 // 7-9 p.m.// UGCH // Free Do you like to laugh? Do you like to make other people laugh? Either way, this is an event for you! Come and show your comedic talents, or just come and enjoy the show.
Whitewater Rafting/ Eagle Watching March 2-3 // All day // OC // $55 This adventure filled weekend will be teeming with white water rafting and eagle watching. Get your thrills in the water and your relaxation looking up at the sky. This is an Outdoor Center Excursion.
Beginning Ski and Snowboard March 2-3 // All day // OC // $70 This is an excursion for beginners. Join the Outdoor Center for this trip where you’ll learn the basics of skiing and snowboarding. Come and make new friends and enjoy shredding the powder.
win.
Come work with us at The AS Review! https://www.jobs.wwu.edu Follow us on Twitter! @theASReview
1.26. 2018 • 3
Letter from the Editor Dear Readers, The future is coming to the AS Review. To be completely honest, it has passed us to a degree and we’re trying to catch up to it. While most students get their news from the internet and social media, our model has been built around producing a weekly paper. A paper that comes out four days after we put it together, practically a lifetime in our world, where news seems to be breaking constantly. In the next few weeks, I will present our assessment recommendations to the Associated Students Management Council and ultimately the AS board. Contained in those recommendations will be small suggestions about equipment fund management and staff training, but most importantly, it will lay out a plan to transition to becoming a digital-first paper. This will entail cuts to our publication schedule. We will not publish during the first short weeks of the quarter, or during finals week (which is not different from how many editors have done it in the past), and starting next Spring we will reduce publication to every two weeks. The flip side to this is we will be able to budget to have writers work for 15 hours a week instead of 12. This increase is small, but taken as a whole it will help allow us to produce more indepth, high-quality content. That is my promise to you. Though the paper will come out only every two weeks, it will feature more longform, and deeper stories then we are able to do on a weekly basis, giving you a reason to pick it up and keep it around for two weeks. This same model has been used effectively by The Stranger, a Seattle alt-weekly that I greatly admire, to excellent results. Following us online will still give you access to the same news content as now, but in an even more timely manner. Some of our savings will also go towards boosting our posts on social media to ensure they keep appearing in your timelines. We will also soon be debuting a weekly newsletter that will allow you an exclusive rundown of our stories in one place, without worrying about what tweaks to an algorithm are being made by someone in California. These changes are an experiment. If we are able to be most effective online, then considering the budget issues facing the AS, maybe we should gradually begin to head in that direction. If we see a surge in interest in the paper edition, then that is something we will keep around. In all, our goal is to serve you, all 16,000 Associated Students of Western Washington University, and we will keep working to find how we can best do that and serve as a part of the fabric that ties us together and makes us stronger as a community. Just let us know how. Erasmus Baxter AS Review Editor in Chief as.review.editor@wwu.edu
Sustainability, Period.
EVENTS
BY JOSH HUGHES This past Thursday, February 22, the AS Environmental Center, the Womxn’s Identity Resource Center, WWU Prevention & Wellness Services and Zero Waste Western put on an event focusing on menstruation products and environmental issues. Advertised as an event that provided both information about sustainable period products and samples of those products, the evening featured three guest speakers on the topic. Tracy Dahlstedt-Rienstra, health educator for Prevention & Wellness Services, opened up the event by talking about the general stigmas against conversations around periods. After thanking the Sustainable Action Fund for funding the event and the free menstrual products available to attendees, Dahlstedt-Rienstra asked students some previous notions they’d grown up with about periods. The words “gross,” “unsanitary,”and “dirty” got thrown around very quickly. “I’d been taught to not be ashamed about my period, but also to not talk about it,” said one student in the audience. The reception was just what Dahlstedt-Rienstra was expecting, as she next proposed the question of “Can periods be terrific?” She then showed a rather unique “music video” that could be reduced to this: “I like my period, so even if you don’t like yours let me be!” “Some people who identify as female don’t necessarily have a period,” she continued, emphasizing inclusivity. All this discussion led to an examination of some alternative menstrual products that considered factors such as cost, comfort, lifestyle and environmental impact. Dahlstedt-Rienstra held up a Diva Cup, a menstrual cup that can be reused and washed extensively. She also showcased reusable pads that, unlike most menstrual products, were more environmentally friendly and cheaper. Next, Gwen Larned, coordinator of Zero Waste WUU, spoke in depth about some of the environmental concerns involving period products. She presented some depressing facts about the amount of waste generally created by humans. For instance, the average menstruating woman goes through 300 pounds of tampons, pads and applicators in a lifetime. 12 billion tampons are thrown away in the U.S. each year. She used these grim statistics to open up a conversation about more sustainable alternatives. Diva Cups, for example, can last up to ten years if cleaned properly. Even those that remain uncomfortable with certain products can still use organic products, which,
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Top Ten Records: Feb. 11-17 1
A Moment Apart Odesza
2
Masseduction St. Vincent
3
Lotta Sea Lice Courtney Barnett and Kurt Vile
4
Glare Spice Boys
5
Harmony of Difference Kamasi Washington
6
Little Dark Age MGMT
7
Pencil Me In Fovea
8
Polygondwanaland King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
9
Somersault Beach Fossils
10
Automatic For The People R.E.M. 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
AS Board meeting: Student Tech fees, food pantry funding, Ethnic Studies BY GABRIELLE VAILENCOUR The AS Board meeting on February 21, 2018 commenced at 6:13 p.m. and adjourned at 8:37 p.m. Student Technology Fee Changes A referendum was presented regarding the Student Technology Fee. Students will still owe $35 per quarter, but the money will be dispersed in new ways. The changes include putting more money toward computer replacement due to inflation, increasing the printing quota of students while charging them less, making services under the Student Technology Center more costeffective and eventually giving students full access to all computer labs. The AS board suggested rewording the statement on the document so that students understand the fee will remain $35 per academic quarter.
brought to light by the AS board so that students will know what they are voting on. To show students the impact of the referendum passing, providing additional text on the ballot was suggested.
Election Code Student Advocacy and Identity Resources Center Many changes were made to sections of the Election Concerning the Resource and Outreach Programs Code, i.e. bribes, incentives or compensation for votes Restructure, the board discussed a request to the are prohibited, only reserved table spaces in dining change the name of ROP to Student Advocacy and Identity Resource Centers, as well as increase positions of Assistant Coordinator to Coordinator to reduce hierarchy and allow the SAIRC a budget of $4,000 for the corresponding position changes.
Legislative Affairs Council Charge and Charter The charge and charter was given a slight change, in that the Graduate Student Advisory Council Representative will be voting instead of non-voting. The AS Board approved the updates with a majority. Sustainable Action Fund The Sustainable Action Fund was given a new name: Sustainability, Equity and Justice Fund. An SAF-approved proposal was brought to the board meeting, which requests an increase in fees, due to a decrease in SAF funds, and to change its renewal from every 3 years to every 4 years. The decision to pass the proposal was rushed due to limited time, and SAF members are now reconsidering its passing after further discussion. AS board members are thus encouraged to attend the next SAF meeting. Ethnic Studies An Ethnic Studies referendum was presented which would ask whether students want to support the renewal of the College of Ethnic Studies. A request to clear up the language used in the document was
Undocumented Student Resource Fund. An edit of language within the document may be required to provide students with clarity, and may be presented within the coming week.
Illustration by Annabelle Barrett halls can be used for campaigning and advertisement, no student can endorse another at all and a candidate who chooses to drop out of an election will not be compensated, no matter the reason. Upon further discussion, the lack of compensation may be subject to change. Major changes to the Election Code such as the requirement for 100 signatures to become a candidate have been left undecided and will reappear during the next meeting. Undocumented Student Support Fee The Undocumented Student Support Fee Referendum requested that students pay a fee of $1 per quarter which will go directly toward the
Board Reports • Men’s Resiliency is hosting Ending Rape February 22 at 7 p.m. in the PAC. • Registration is coming up & drop-ins are available in Academic Advising. • Suicide Prevention is putting on an art show, Transcendence, and art is due on Friday March 2. The show will be in the Fine Arts Building on March 5-16. • Suicide Prevention Trainings will be available for the next couple Tuesdays. • The Food Pantry cannot be funded but was able to set up a Viking Funder • The Student Financial Aid Center is planning events in April for financial literacy. Miscellaneous Reports Revisions were made to the agenda so that the “Other Businesses” subheading was removed due to time constraints, and the STF subheading was moved up. Western’s AS Student Life is curious if students want campus to be smoke-free and is questioning the outcomes if this idea gains a lot of student support.
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Rosa in the House By Rosa Rice-Pelepko and Zoë Evans-Agnew This week we saw a lot of action in the capitol! Over President’s Day weekend Western students headed down to Olympia to lobby legislators about issues pertinent to the Ethnic Student Center, the Environmental and Sustainability Programs and the Disability Outreach Center. Later in the week, the House and Senate both released their proposals for the supplemental budget. We are currently in the second year of the legislature’s two year cycle, and any revisions to the budget passed last year are included in the supplemental budget. Around 60 students lobbied on behalf of Western to increase legislator awareness about issues that directly impact college students. The Ethnic Student Center (ESC) agenda focused on supporting undocumented students as well as promoting programs that would give communities of color greater access to higher education. The ESC also worked heavily to encourage senators and representatives to implement an Ethnic Studies curriculum in the K-12 school system, because many underrepresented populations do not see their histories and experiences in current school curriculum. The Environmental and Sustainability Program (ESP) worked to advance their environmental justice agenda, which included items such as implementing a carbon tax and ensuring that the area around Seatac airport is kept free of dangerous emissions. The ESP worked especially hard to support policies that both improve Washington’s public health and ensure environmental protection and equity for all, especially low-income people. It was the Disability Outreach Center’s (DOC) first time lobbying down in Olympia and they accompanied the other two groups to deliver a strong agenda. Their agenda items focused on ensuring employment equity at public universities as well as increasing funding for disability services. The students worked with legislators to educate them on important issues of access and inclusion in all areas of Western, as well as push for increasing aid and assistance to people living with disabilities. It was great to have so many Western students on the Capitol campus. It started off a great week in the legislature. Following the lobby days, both house budget proposals were released. The economic forecast released two weeks ago indicated the state had an additional 600 million dollars more than expected. With the news of the budget surplus, the Washington Student Association and other higher education stakeholders took the opportunity to push full funding of the State Need Grant this year.
Student lobbyists tracked down their legislators and key budget writers to make a case for full funding, organizers on campus organized phone calls of support and students attended town halls to pressure legislators to keep the State Need Grant a priority this session. This effort was heard in the legislature. The House’s proposed budget included an additional $25 million this year for the State Need Grant and a plan to fully fund it over 3 years! This is an amazing proposal, the largest allocation to State Need Grant that we have seen in nearly a decade. The proposed Senate Budget included an additional $9.8 million this year, still a sizable increase, but we will be urging the Senate to raise this investment. The final budget will be released in the next two weeks as House and Senate leadership negotiate details of both proposals. Student action is needed!! If you are from the 3rd, 23rd, or 34th districts, your Senators Billig, Rolfes, and Nelson respectively, are key budget writers. Call or email them now and urge them to fully fund the state need grant in the budget. Students called Western’s own Representative Lytton to fully fund the State Need Grant, and the House budget reflected this ask. If any of the above agenda items from our student lobby days resonate with you, please consider reaching out to learn how to get more involved. Students have always taken part in social advocacy, and Western students continue to uphold this legacy on and off campus. For questions or comments, please contact me at as.legislative.liaison@wwu.edu, or attend the Legislative Affairs Council, Tuesdays at 5pm in VU 567.
BY GABRIELLE VAILENCOUR
Suicide prevention trainings
Content warning: Suicide Suicide is a serious topic which is not often brought up during discussions. As a result, many individuals may not understand the urgency of this issue, and thus ignore potential signs of suicide within those who are struggling. As a way to educate students and faculty, Western’s Human Resources offers numerous Question, Persuade and Respond trainings all over campus. Access to these can be found on the Human Resources website under “We All Have A Roll To Play In Suicide Prevention.” These QPR trainings focus on illuminating and correcting many myths and stigmas concerning suicide within society, providing trainees basic knowledge of the emotions which cause suicidal thoughts, how to recognize warning signs and ways to refer individuals to mental help resources on campus. Suicide is a real issue which requires sensitivity and compassion for those who are struggling, and QPR trainers work to reduce negative connotations and blame that are often associated with this subject. These trainings are not meant to make anyone an expert, rather they are offered to give some insight to the reality of suicide. Ian Vincent, Western’s men’s resiliency specialist, has worked alongside Western’s Suicide Prevention Coordinator KaSandra Church, to help make these important trainings happen. “The QPR mission is to re-
duce suicidal behaviors and save lives by providing an innovative, practical and proven suicide prevention training,” Vincent said. These powerful trainings bring positive change to the way society views suicidal individuals and provide skills that can help reduce the number of deaths by suicide. “It can be thought of similarly to CPR,” says Annie Gordon, AS Vice President for Student Life. “Many folks are CPR trained and might never use the training, but it’s a good tool to have in your back pocket.” Gordon has assisted in training AS employees and has arranged so that supervisors may pay Western employees for attending these suicide prevention trainings. “Because suicide is such an important topic,” Gordon explains, “I would argue that it’s relevant training for all to receive, and could greatly impact a work environment and a university setting, so in my mind, getting paid for it seems right.” Educating as many as possible can greatly benefit students on campus, as well as family members and friends of those who become QPR certified. Lasting from one hour to 90 minutes, QPR trainings provide valuable information that can be used in helping struggling individuals stay alive. “We believe that every life is a life worth saving,” Vincent said. “And we all have a role to play in suicide prevention.”
6 • as.wwu.edu/asreview
Lunar New Year! New Year is here! Yes, new year has passed on January 1, but there is also another new year celebration that takes place later than that. It is the Lunar New Year! Although westerners will see it as Chinese New Year, it is not just for Chinese people, but other ethnic groups who celebrate the Lunar New Year too. Vietnamese, Korean, Singaporean, and many other Asian groups celebrate the Lunar New Year. But the most common celebration we see in the local area is the Chinese Lunar New Year. With that, on Sunday, February 18, Western Washington University’s Chinese Student Association put on a great New Year Celebration for the Year of the Dog. The event took place at the PAC from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. CSA partnered up with the community of Bellingham, and invited Western’s President, a council member of Bellingham, and the County, and a former Bellingham Mayor, in which they are all in support of the Chinese people. Not only did CSA (Chinese Student Association) partner up with the greater Bellingham community, but also with the greater Chinese community in Bellingham. CSA paired up with the NWCCA (Northwest Chinese Cultural Association), a non-profit, non-political organization located here in Bellingham. I talked to Terrance Wong, the Vice President and student of WWU about working with a different organization, and he said it was pretty hectic. “I think that communication could’ve been better and following through what was the original plan would’ve been easier for everyone,” Wong said. He told me it was because some of the performers did not follow directions of the showrunners that well. “It was hard to get things done because there were a lot of changes done to our original script and performance schedule. I would say that it was stressful to get things done, but in the end, it turned out alright,” he continued. I guess you could say that running an event with a lot of attendees is a handful to take care of but it’s also important to celebrate the subject at hand. I asked Wong what the Lunar New Year meant to him. “To me, it’s a time to where you spend time with the family, eat good meals, and collect red envelopes,” he said. I also asked another student, who happens to be the President of CSA, Fraser Lin, when I had some time to speak with him. He told me that Lunar New Year is “a time, to me personally, to celebrate my culture, eat good and interact with people I probably don’t see too often.” CSA hosted this event with the sponsorship and support of the NWCCA to celebrate the Year of the Dog.
1.26. 2018 • 7
BY TOMMY CHA The performers consisted of the Silk Road Dancers, Mei Hua Chinese School, singers from Whatcom Community College, a Qipao show, instrument players and a calligraphy demonstration. The Silk Road Dancers did a lot of traditional Chinese dances, which included Chinese ribbon dancing, a Mongolian dance, a Northern dance and other dances that are from different regions or time periods. They performed dances that were from the Song Dynasty and Qing Dynasty, along with a modern dance. Mei Hua Chinese School had students who performed poem recitals, singing songs, and a Gong Fu Fan performance. There were two instrument performances. The instruments played were the Gu Zheng, and the Er Hu. The Gu Zheng is a plucked string instrument that has been around for more than 2,500 years. It has at least 16 strings, but the modern-day Gu Zheng usually have 21 strings and is about 64 inches long. They sound very calming and beautiful. Unlike the Gu Zheng, the Er Hu is much smaller, and has two strings, hence the word, “二” (er) which means “two” in Chinese, and “胡“ (hu), a word that is used for bow instruments. Both the Gu Zheng and Er Hu require a lot of skills to master, and both sound equally soothing. The Er Hu is so versatile that Shawn Liu, one of the Er Hu players was able to play “Perfect” by Ed Sheeran. He dedicated the song to all the lovers post-Valentine’s Day. Performances were not the only attraction for the event. Between the performances, there was an intermission for food and for the people there to get together and talk. “The food was so good! I honestly thought there would be just small appetizers, but there was more than enough to fill everyone up,” Western student Shazmi Hipol said. The food provided consisted of dumplings, egg rolls, crab rangoon, sushi, cake, sugar puff cakes, oranges, sesame balls and other snacks. Although they were only appetizers, the crowd seemed to enjoy the food that was given. Many responses I received were that they were much better than the usual caterers that make the foods for the campus events. All in all, the Lunar New Year Celebration was filled with joy, excitement and a friendly community that welcomed everybody in. With New Year’s still being celebrated for another two weeks, take the time to learn about the Lunar New Year and celebrate with your friends!
8 • as.wwu.edu/asreview
Antisemitism vs Anti-zionism: Behind the controversy BY GWEN FROST The international debate over antisemitism’s relation to criticism of the state of Israel came to Western’s campus last week. StandWithUs is an international, non-profit Israel education organization, sponsored a talk on February 2 to discuss antisemitism versus legitimate criticism of Israel. As well as spreading information about Israel the organization has worked to counter the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement, which seeks to use economic means to advance rights for Palestinians, on campuses, including hostinga yearly conference dedicated to combating the movement.. The speaker, Noa Raman, is the Northwest campus coordinator and has been working for StandWithUs for three years. We asked WWU Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights (SUPER) and Assistant Professor of History Sarah Zarrow to respond to aspects of the talk to bring in more perspectives. Zarrow works in research areas of Jewish history, nationalism and Central and East European history among other topics. Zarrow taught “History of the Jews” in fall at Western, and will be teaching it again this spring.
government for its violations of international law, regardless of the religious group that it claims to represent,” they said. Additionally, “a significant percentage of the international Jewish community does not support Israel and actively opposes their occupation of Palestine,” which furthers the inability to equivocate Jewish peoples and the actual entity of Israel and its inhabitants, they said. Zarrow acknowledged that it was possible for the two terms to overlap. “I have seen criticism of Israel’s policies kind of launch into this ‘Oh yeah, and you know, the Jews control everything’ and then this has gone in a direction where this is no longer about policy, this is no longer about human
denial was supported by the evidence that both Hebrew and Arabic are recognized by schools, and that all citizens are allowed to vote regardless of race.
The Context: SUPER denied the claim that both Hebrew and Arabic are equally recognized in Israeli schools. “Arabic, when taught, is taught as a military training tool, as a language for intercepting ‘terrorist plots,’” they said. The leadership said that while it is true that non-Jewish Arabs can vote in Israel, there are example of apartheid characteristics of the state of Israel in its immigration policies. “Palestinians, even Palestinians born in Palestine who are now refugees from 1948 or 1967, are barred from returning to their homeland (against international law). Meanwhile any person of Jewish heritage can travel and immigrate to Israel as part of the Birthright program,” they said. “There are countless other examples of Israel’s apartheid policies, and it is disingenuous to suggest that Palestinians in Israel are equal citizens just because they can vote.” Israel was been called “an apartheid regime that oppresses and dominates the Palestinian people as a whole,” in a 2017 The Statement: Raman defined United Nations report commissioned zionism as “a jewish liberation movement and produced by the UN Economic and based on justice for the oppressed Social Commission for Western Asia that and the right of Jewish people to selfalso cited Israel’s immigration policies. determination in their homeland.” “Israel defends its rejection of the Raman argued that anti-zionism Palestinians’ return [to Israel] in frankly is sometimes just antisemitism in racist language: alleging that Palestinians disguise, and that antisemitism could be constitute a ‘demographic threat’ legitimized by taking on the appearance Noa Raman speaks to students at an event on Feb. 2 sponsored by Israel and that their return would alter the of anti-zionist or anti-Israel sentiments. demographic character of Israel to the education group StandWithUS. Hailey Hoffman // AS Review point of eliminating it as a Jewish state,” The Context: SUPER took issue with reads the report, written by Richard equating criticism of Israel and prejudice against Jewish rights, this is about some broader issue with ‘the Jews,’” Falk, a former UN rapporteur, and Virginia Tilley, a political people. Zarrow said. science professor at the Southern Illinois University. “Anti-Zionism means fighting against both the “And that to me is the line. It’s not about Israel or Israel’s Zarrow emphasized the current basic structure of occupation of Palestine and the settler-colonialist government, it’s suddenly about Jews everywhere.” citizenship in Israel. movement that resulted in the creation of the state of Israel “At the moment, Israel has two groups of people who live on indigenous Palestinian land,” said SUPER’s leadership, in The Statement: Among the legitimate criticisms of Israel, within its borders. It has people who are citizens, and it has a statement. Raman noted these: Having a discussion about Israel’s 1967 people who are under military occupation,” said Zarrow. “Both of these are issues with the actions of the Israeli borders, arguing that Israel should have a greater separation “To me, that is not a democracy.” government, not the Jewish people. of church and state, and acknowledging that Israel has a Within these two groups in Israel, there is a group of SUPER clarified they believe there is a distinction long way to go regarding LGBTQ+ rights. Palestinians who are not citizens, and there are Israelis, who between criticizing Israel and criticizing Jewish people. Despite these concessions to criticism of Israel, she denied are citizens, she said. “It is necessary that we be able to criticize any the characterization of Israel as an apartheid state. This “To essentially have separate systems for different groups
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Bringing men in to the sexual assault conversation
BY GWEN FROST
CW: Sexual Assault assault, a group of college aged men were Ending rape starts with unlearning the asked to check off those which they’d done, roots where it has taken hold. Keith Edwards and “84% of these men didn’t believe their gave a presentation called Ending Rape on actions were illegal.” Thursday, Feb 22 in the audience-packed But this “I didn’t know” logic isn’t enough Performing Arts Center Concert Hall. for Edwards, nor for anyone else. “No surviEdwards has spoken at over 150 colleges vor is ever reassured by finding out that her universities in the past 15 years, ranging from perpetrator didn’t mean it,” said Edwards. topics of sexual violence prevention to men’s Edwards believes the problem lies within identity education. how boys and men are taught to engage sexu“1 in 4 college-age women have experially, their whole lives. Rape culture “encouragenced assault or attempted-assault,” the screen es, condones, and teaches sexual violence. read. “We literally teach men to rape women,” Edwards asked us to raise our hands if we said Edwards. “We just don’t call it that.” knew someone who had experienced sexual How we define masculinity by sexual conassault. For those who didn’t raise their hands, quest heavily contributes to rape culture. Feelhe said “if you think you don’t know anybody, ing ‘not manly enough’ or emasculated often I assure you, you do.” results in a need to embody stereotypical mas“They just haven’t told you yet.” culine characteristics, like domination and Senior Hailey Lozano is an advocate for the aggression. “Not a single one of you feels man domestic violence sexual assault services and enough,” said Edwards. “But if you identify as researching sexual assault on campus, and felt a man, you’re man enough. Congratulations.” Keith Edwards speaks in the PAC, Feb. 22, 2018. Hailey Hoffman // AS that this 1 to 4 statistic was an “underestimaAfter the talk, Senior Austin Clark shared Review tion.” how “growing up in high school, there’s these “A lot of people have a hard time opening instances where you don’t feel like you’ve lived concluded. up,” said Lozano. Some people don’t even realize it happened up to everyone else’s expectations as a man.” For women, men, and trans and gender non-conforming to them, or they “feel like it’s their fault, so they don’t really talk folks, “men are overwhelmingly the perpetrators of sexual viMen being the primary perpetrators has “a lot with learning about it with other people.” olence,” said Edwards. “We need to stop seeing sexual violence things incorrectly growing up, around obligations that we have There are four steps in responding to someone who comes towards women and sex,” said Clark. as a ‘women’s issue’ and start seeing it as a ‘men’s issue.’” to you saying they were assaulted, said Edwards. First, make Anecdotally, no one person has ever made an audience If an issue belongs to a demographic, does that mean it is sure they’re safe, if there’s a possibility the perpetrator may laugh so much during a conversation about assault. Edwards this demographics responsibility to absolve it? “It’s everyhurt them again, or if they need to go to the hospital. Second, managed to make us at ease, yet attentive, and relaxed, but body’s issue,” said Lozano, after the speech. As a society, we Edwards asked us to believe them. “Just believe the survivors,” heavily aware of the pain we were discussing. have historically put it on women, but “having a discussion as said Edwards. “Most survivors start blaming themselves before it being a man’s issue has a very big implication that it’s not one “In the words of Cornel West, ‘I am not optimistic, because anyone else gets the chance to.” the data is not good,’” said Edwards. “‘But I remain so hopeful.’ specific gender’s issue.” Repeat “it’s not your fault,” and empower survivors, Edwards Because of you.” After looking over a list of acts that were legally considered
Sustainability, Period. continued as she went on to talk about, are also safer for human health. Larned talked about how most tampons have rayon in them, which can leave residue in vaginal walls and lead to serious health issues. Additionally, most products contain dioxins which can lead to cancer, reproductive problems, and interference with hormones. Organic, reusable options cut out some of these issues that arise with big-brand tampons and pads. Lastly, Larned talked about the privilege that comes with even having these options. She explained that the Diva Cup donates to organizations that offer healthcare, empower-
ment, and education to women and children around the world. Additionally, Luna Pad, another brand, donates to a student in Uganda for every pad purchased. Even though some of these options can be more expensive, they also provide other, less fortunate women with some of the same opportunities. All students that attended the event got one free menstrual product of their choice, including the Diva Cup and Luna Pad. Finally, Celeste Mergens, founder and CEO of Days For Girls International, gave a talk about the program she started and its global impact. “Through volunteers, through enterprises,
and through public and private partnerships, Days for Girls is working to shift how women and girls see themselves and are seen by their communities” reads the organization’s goal, something that Mergens reiterated throughout her talk. “Originally it hadn’t occurred to me how many worldwide issues there are on menstrual products,” she continued. But now she understands quite well, as Days For Girls has reached 121 nations and over 1 million girls in their pursuit to give all womxn the menstrual care they need. The organization goes to remote, impoverished areas and provides people with reusable
and sustainable menstrual products, sex education courses and even self defense classes. The aim is to get rid of different forms of menstrual stigma and reduce health concerns and issues that occur around the world because of improper access to safe product. While Mergens didn’t talk much about volunteer opportunities, Days For Girls offers an array of ways to get involved, a list of which can be found online at https://www.daysforgirls.org/get-involved. After her talk concluded, students had the chance to go to various booths and examine the different types of menstrual products being offered to them as samples.
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Where are all the women in politics?
BY GWEN FROST
“You can’t be it if you can’t see it.” “A woman’s place is in the House, and the Senate,” joked one T-shirt sitting in the audience. Young Democrats of WWU hosted “Women in Politics” on February 21, the first speaking event within the series “The Politics of Diversity.” Spring quarter will continue the series with “Race in Politics” and “LGBTQ+ in Politics.” Committee Member of Young Democrats Katie Sando said the club wanted to promote conversation, and “get people to start thinking about politics in the ways that they currently aren’t.” “I think it’s really great that we can get people talking about it, and just being exposed to it,” said Sando. “Politics is a conversation.” First speaker was Dr. Shirin Deylami, professor of Political Science and an affiliated faculty member with the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program, the Queer Studies Program, and the Islamic Studies Program. “American politics is a gendered game,” said Deylami. “When we think about the ideal candidate, we often turn to masculinist ideals.” Overall, Women make up 19.9 percent of Congress, but women who do run actually tend to win at about
the same rates as men, said Deylami. The misrepresentation isn’t because women are losing elections; it’s because they aren’t running in the first place. But why? The candidacies of Hillary Clinton and Sarah Palin have also turned women off of running, said Deylami. After the 2008 elections, media reinforced an impossible double standard of womanhood that both women failed to embody. Deylami asked us to encourage women to be leaders. “Show students political figures that are women,” said Deylami. “You can’t be it if you can’t see it.” Pinky Vargas is currently a Bellingham City Council Member and a candidate for the 42nd District State Senate seat (running against incumbent Doug Ericksen) in the 2018 midterm elections. She discussed a media response to her accord in a City Council Meeting, where the Northwest Citizen said she had “temper tantrum.” Vargas said male colleagues were often very expressive as well, “but none of them had ever had this happen to them.” “Men can wear the same two suits for a year,” said Vargas. “If I wore the same suit, or didn’t comb my hair,
you can bet that nobody would care what I said.” Attendee and previous Western student Maggie Norton felt inspired and surprised after the event. ”Not going to school, and not being a part of politics, you kind of forget that there are a lot of good people out there, and not just terrible people that are trying to destroy our lives,” Norton said. “Having women at the table will change our lives,” said Vargas. “It will change the conversation.” One audience member asked, “what is the biggest obstacle moving forward toward this goal of incorporating women into politics?” The biggest obstacle that Deylami saw is that we’re “focusing on Donald Trump.” “We can’t just respond, we have to envision something that’s different,” said Deylami. “The outrage machine is really easy, but we have to find solutions.”
Deylami outlined four reasons why women are misrepresented in politics: 1. Women tend not to want jobs surrounding power and conflict, due to intimidation tactics that women generally react negatively to. 2. Women perceive the electoral environment as biased against women. If there is an opportunity for a job but you know that the hirers are biased against you, you’re a lot less likely to try to get it. 3. Women just don’t get asked as much to run, either. By either men or women. 4. Women don’t see themselves as qualified, or as qualified as men. City Council Member and State Senate candidate Pinky Vargas (left) and Dr. Shirin Deylami, Political Science professor. Hailey Hoffman // AS Review
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StandWithUs continued of citizens who enjoy different rights (these are very basic fundamental rights, rights to free travel, rights to equal educational systems)… that is not a fully democratic country,” she said. The Statement: According to Raman, antisemitism is not a far-away issue, in either history or location.There have been 11 antisemitic incidents on Western’s campus in the last year, she said. Western is a very antisemitic campus on a national scale, Raman said, and this juxtaposes with Western’s widespread liberal ideology. The Context: Three antisemitic hate incidents were reported to Western in the first two months of 2016. After these events, Western’s Equal Opportunity Office investigated, and the Task Force on Preventing and Responding to Antisemitisim was formed, which thenpresident Bruce Shepard said would work to “recommend ways to educate and help people better understand the impact of anti-Semitic actions,” as reported by the Seattle times. From Spring 2016 to Winter 2017, there were 11 antisemitic incidents on Western’s campus, according to the Task Force. Monday, February 19, around two weeks after Raman’s talk, more antisemitic graffiti was found in the fourth floor men’s bathroom in Wilson Library. Graffiti included accusations that “Israel did 9/11” and the star of David equated to “serpent servants,” as well as alluding to connections between Israel and ISIS. Host of the event Student Sophie Rittenberg voiced in response that there hasn’t been much dialogue around antisemitism on campus. “I’ve seen things happen and I’ve experienced it,” said Rittenberg. “There’s this idea with antisemitism, we don’t feel comfortable talking about it.” The Statement: Raman also pointed to what she called the United Nation’s institutional bias against Israel. The UN Human Rights Council has passed more resolutions against Israel than against any other nation, she said. The Context: From 2012 to 2015, there were 93 resolutions criticizing countries, and 83 were about Israel.
The Statement: To justify rights to land, Raman argued that for over 3,000 years, Jewish People have been indigenous in the what-isnow the state of Israel, and talked about how they have faced centuries of displacement and violence from countries across the world. One argument in advocacy for the state of Israel is that Jewish people have been displaced throughout history, so they need to have a safe state, even though the development of this space has relied on the actual displacement of Palestinians. Rittenberg emphasized that Jewish people have historically had ties to the land as well. “The homeland is really important to the three monotheistic religions; the Muslims, the Christians and the Jews all have ties to the land,” Rittenberg said. “When it comes down to it, eventually our peace will be all of us being able to coexist there, but to say that one group or another doesn’t have a claim to the land is just completely negate all of history.” The Context: Zarrow explained that the Jewish political power historically located within Jerusalem (which is different from the modern state of Israel) ended in the year 70, and since then, Jews have been in diaspora. “In terms of a state that’s formed in 1948, I’m not sure what weight of history there should be, what role history gets to play,” Zarrow said. “[In determining rights to land], do we look to biblical records of civilization? That makes no sense to me.” After the presentation, Raman declined to be interviewed and asked instead to be e-mailed so the questions and responses could be reviewed by StandWithUs’s public relations people before being received by the AS Review. Editor’s note: While Raman said that the presentation was “off the record,” agreements for publicly available information or conversations to be “off the record” must be mutually agreed upon between all parties. The presentation was advertised as being open to the public and was on matters of public concern to the Western community, and involved statements of opinion that needed contextualization from experts and dissenting groups in our community. One of the goals of journalism is to drive informed discussion in our community, and that is what we have attempted to do here.
Photo by Jaden Moon // AS Review
Q: What kind of aspects of campus allow you to feel safe? A: I think partially, the location of campus allows for me to feel safe. The fact that we’re up on a hill, for the most part, there’s not gonna be as much people walking through campus that shouldn’t be walking through campus. Also, it’s very well lit. I don’t feel as if there are any areas I have to walk through that are too dark. I really only feel unsafe in situational aspects, such as when I’m walking through the C-lots late at night. -Celine Gross, Senior
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WALKOUT
Photos by Hailey Hoffman // AS Review