Western to welcome Washed Out & Kisses, p. 4 AS, city council push for rental licensing, p. 8 Students jewelers get crafty for extra income, p. 10
Vol. 29 #14 1.21.14
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Deer fuzzy with their winter coats stop to munch on some leaves near Old Main. Cover photo 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 © 2013. 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 under-represented issues, inclusive coverage, informing readers and promoting dialogue.
IN THIS ISSUE NEWS 5 Diva Karaoke The Underground Coffeehouse and Appreciate Beyonce Club to host Diva Karaoke Night
8 The Fight for
Renting Safety AS Board of Directors, Bellingham City Council push for renting regulations
STUDENT LIFE 10 Students Use Etsy to Sell Crafts
These artists use their crafty talents to generate income
COLUMNS 11 Don Jon Falls Short After attending AS Productions Films’ showing, C Hayley Halstead was left less than impressed by “The Don”
12 What the Stickers? A glance at a few Vikings who decorate their possessions with sticker memorabilia and what each sticker means
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.
THE AS
REVIEW Cade Schmidt Kylie Wade Isaac Martin Trevor Grimm Kelly Mason Andrew Wise Annika Wolters C Hayley Halstead Dominic D’Angelo Designer Kristina Huynh Adviser Jeff Bates
Editor in Chief Assistant Editor Lead Photographer Photographer Copy Editor Writers
Ashley Allen, employee of Babeland - Capitol Hill’s famous sex shop - describes the female anatomy at “Babeland: The Sex Ed You Wish You Had,” sponsored by the AS Sexual Awareness Center, Women’s Center and Queer Resource Center on Jan. 14 in Arntzen Hall. Photo by Isaac Martin // AS Review
Jan. 21, 2014 • 3
EVENTS QRC Drag Show Auditions
Diva Karaoke Night
Jan. 21-23 // 6 - 8 p.m. // 6 - 7 on Jan. 23 // VU 565 A, B & C // Free
Jan. 23 // 7 p.m. // UGCH // Free
It’s that time of the year again: time for the AS Queer Resource Center’s Drag Show - coming later this quarter. Performers of all skill-levels and identities are welcome to bring their four-minute or less performance to the event’s auditions. On Feb. 6, the QRC will host “Dressing Down Drag,” a workshop addressing drag culture’s history and contemporary issues.
Dave B. w/ Key Nyata at the Underground Coffeehouse Jan. 22 // 8 p.m. // UGCH // Free The second installment of this quarter’s Wednesday Night Concert Series in the UGCH will welcome 2013 Experience Music Project’s SoundOff! winner and rising Seattle emcee Dave B. Rapper Key Nyata will open.
VP for Business & Operations Candidate Forum Jan. 23 // 5 - 6 p.m. // VU 552 // Free The campaign period for AS Special Election to fill the VP for Business and Operations vacancy begins this week, with the voting period beginning on Jan. 27. Meet the two candidates, Morgan Burke and Ben Gamman at this candidate forum.
Could this be Western’s very first Diva Olympics? Find out by heading to the Underground Coffeehouse Thursday evening to see your friends release their inner-Gaga at this event cosponsored by Appreciate Beyonce Club. Folks interested in singing their hearts out should arrive at 6:30 to sign up. Kings and queens of all identities are welcome.
Mirai - Story of a Survivor Jan. 24 // 6 p.m. // Arntzen 100 // Free Come hear the powerful story of Asia University America Program [AUAP] student and 2011 Japan Earthquake and Tsunami survivor Yumi Higano. AUAP and the Japanese Student Association are cosponsoring this event, which will also collect donations for Michinoku Mirai Bokin - a foundation that supports survivors of the tsunami.
Dead Parrots Society Jan. 24 // 8 - 10 p.m. // Old Main Theater // Free Escape the cold to watch Western’s favorite flock of parrots improv-comedy the night away with their third show of the quarter.
Women’s Health Night Jan. 24 // 9 - 11 p.m. // Wade King Rec Center // Free Check out this collaboration between Wade King Rec Center, the AS Women’s
Center and Disability Outreach Center that will transform the gym into a workoutspace that’s fun and safe for people of marginalized gender-identities. The event will address additional health-related topics like mental health and self-care.
Chinese Student Association presents: Lunar New Year Jan. 25 // Doors at 6:30 p.m. // 7 9 p.m. // VU MPR // $3 w/student ID, $5 general admission Kick off the Year of the Horse with the CSA’s annual Lunar New Year celebration. The event will include performances, crafts, silent auction baskets and of course - food.
Nacho Picasso Jan. 25 // 9:30 p.m. // Wild Buffalo // $6-8 Nacho Picasso saw his rise at music festivals throughout the Pacific Northwest last summer. The Wild Buffalo will welcome this up-and-coming rapper and his dark sense of humor on Saturday.
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Life in Paracosm: AS Pop to welcome Washed Out By Andrew Wise The “chillwave” is set to crash over Bellingham when Washed Out, a.k.a. Ernest Green, takes the stage with Kisses and Manatee Commune at the Viking Union Multi-Purpose Room on Sunday, February 2, thanks to AS Productions’ Pop Music. Washed Out is touring behind his latest album, “Paracosm,” released in August. His sound is characterized by dreamy and spacious instrumentalism with heavy use of vintage synthesizers. The high-quality production of “Paracosm” represents a substantial artistic progression for Green, who debuted with the lo-fi EP “Life of Leisure” in 2009. “Feel It All Around,” a song off of that release, became famous as the theme for the acclaimed IFC comedy “Portlandia.” After what many found to be an overreaching sophomore slump with 2011’s “Within and Without,” which had a darker, colder sound, “Paracosm” is a comforting return to Green’s “Life of Leisure” roots. “On ‘Within and Without,’ it seemed like he tried to make it a lot more clean and I wasn’t sure that I was a huge fan of that. He didn’t go backward with ‘Paracosm’ but he kind of went in a new direction. I think it’s a good one,” said Jeffrey Crabill AS Productions Marketing Coordinator of Music & Entertainment. Crabill has been listening to Washed Out since his “Life of Leisure” debut. “I just like how the music has a really relaxed vibe. I feel like a lot of
Banner design by Keghouhi Bedoyan // AS Publicity Center
music in the last few years has been trying to get more technologicallyadvanced, sophisticated and complicated. But Washed Out kind of goes the other direction. It’s nice and easy-flowing but there are still plenty of layers to the music as well,” Crabill said. That relaxed vibe is definitive of what many are calling the chillwave genre, topped by artists like Toro y Moi, Neon Indian, Small Black and Washed Out. Kisses, also occasionally lumped in the chillwave genre, will open for Washed Out. The outfit hailing from Los Angeles, consists of Jesse Kivel on vocals and guitar with Zinzi Edmundson on the keyboards. Kivel’s voice features prominently over playful and smooth electronic instrumentals. Kisses consistently utilizes techy synths, at times bringing back hints of the 1980s, but in a good way. Manatee Commune, a.k.a. Western sophomore Grant Eadie, offers a little local flavor. Eadie’s songs utilize some of the same undulating synth sounds as Washed Out and Kisses, but with an even more freeflowing feel. He also dubs bird sounds and spoken word recordings to create a sleepy, comfy vibe. Crabill gets “weird feelings” about lumping all of these bands together under the banner of chillwave. “It’s weird to call chillwave a movement. It’s more of a sound,” he said. That sound might just bring the tropical and easygoing vibe to a cold, stressed Western campus. Get your tickets at the Performing Arts Center box office: $14 with a student ID, $18 for everyone else. The show starts at 8:00 pm.
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Calling all divas: UGCH to host “Diva Karaoke Night”
By Annika Wolters
Stop singing along to your favorite tunes with the car windows rolled up. Quit limiting your vocal talent to the shower. Let your lyrical gifts debut at Diva Karaoke at 7 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 23 at the Underground Coffeehouse, cosponsored by the Appreciate Beyoncé club. “Anyone can come and sing whatever song they want. I think divas come in all shapes and sizes and genders,” said Hannah Carter, president of the Appreciate Beyoncé Club. Carter encourages all music and karaoke lovers to perform. Sign-up begins at 6:30 p.m. on the night of the event. The event will be much a like an open-mic night, except with divas, Carter said. “At open-mic night, people come to take the stage and do their thing,” said Cammy Quaife, Underground Coffeehouse Coordinator. “But a lot of people don’t know how to accompany themselves, and we have a lot of talent and a lot of people who want to let their inner-diva come out.” This is not an event targeting people who can sing like Beyoncé, Quaife said. It’s an opportunity for people to put their own spin on their favorite diva’s record. “I’m thinking people [in the audience] will want to sing along. It will be fun to see people’s interpretations of a prima donna kind of song,” Quaife said. “It could even be a Bruce Springsteen song. I feel like he is kind of a diva.” Diva Karaoke will work like any typical sing-along setting elsewhere: there will a microphone and words projected onto a screen for performers to sing along to. Divas may also come with their favorite YouTube karaoke songs for accompaniment. The Underground Coffeehouse is not a place for critics, Quaife said. Heckling or booing is highly unappreciated by performers and audience members. “[Heckling] could come up. But in general, I think the students at Western are extremely respectful of all levels of ability,” Quaife said. “There is always that time at open-mic night when you are cringing during someone’s stand-up routine—because you can hear the crickets—but no one is booing or being rude.” The mission of the Appreciate Beyoncé Club is to create a community of people with the commonality of loving Beyoncé, Carter said. Okay, so maybe not everyone loves Beyoncé, but divas will be divas. Carter said she is expecting to see a variety of performances, spanning from dramatic face-melting solos to lulling ballads. It all depends on the performer and crowd, Carter said. The Beyoncé Appreciation club was founded in May 2010, and makes effort to hold one meeting and event every quarter, Carter said. More information can be found on the club’s website: wildwesternclubs.weebly.com/appreciate-beyonceacuteclub. Prospective members may also visit the Facebook page entitled “Appreciate Beyoncé Club of WWU.” Carter said, “Our goal is to get everyone who wants to sing a chance to sing that night. If it becomes popular, then maybe we’ll do more than one event.” Other clubs who are interested in throwing similar events should look to collaborate with Quaife. Contact her at as.coffeehouse@wwu.edu.
Top Ten: January 6-13 1
Cupid Deluxe Blood Orange
2
Reflektor Arcade Fire
3
It’s Alive La Luz
4
Stuck Inside Port Townsend B/w Man Vacation
5
Paracosm Washed Out
6
Want To See Pulaski At Night [EP] Andrew Bird
7
Curiosities Lord Echo
8
Listen Within Slim
9
Small Sound [EP] Tennis
10
The Run Around Wild Child
Lovers Without Borders
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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Bundle-up and hit the slopes: Outdoor Center geared-up for winter excursions
Left: Louie Dawson makes a descent during a sunny day in the Whistler Backcountry in British Columbia, Canada. Middle: Zack Deluca carves down the mountain as the sun sets on Scottish Lakes High Camp near Leavenworth. Right: Eric Messerschmidt skis in the Mount Baker Backcountry. Photos courtesy of Jason Davis.
packed schedule with activities on pretty much every weekend,” said Excursions Assistant Coordinator Jason Davis. Davis, along with Excursions Coordinator Kelsey Ball created With temperatures rapidly dropping below freezing and leaving Bellingham under a thick blanket frost every other day, it’s safe to the schedule at the close of last quarter. After tweaking dates and say that winter is here. While some are unveiling their fancy new deadlines, as well as taking inventory of the required equipment, the flannel jackets, or huddling for warmth around soy lattes, the AS schedule was made into what it is now. Between Feb. 5 - 23, there will Outdoor Center is preparing for be a backcountry ski course. For those who are ready to grab winter by the icicles and have some fun “I’m really excited for this winter quarter, a $150 course fee, participants will learn the nuances of how to with its recently released calendar we have a very jam-packed schedule with backcountry ski in the classroom of winter excursions. and on the slopes, as well as all of This winter the Outdoor activities on pretty much every weekend.” the necessary tips and tricks that Center has prepared a plethora might accompany that sort of venof activities, ranging from a visit ture, like avalanche awareness. to the Seattle Aquarium, raft“These are super-fun trips, but I also want people to be able to ing down the Skagit River, snowshoeing, cross country skiing and snow caving, to more advanced activities like ice climbing in British do these things safely out on their own,” said Davis. On Jan. 15 will be $45 trip down the Skagit River where particiColumbia and back country skiing. Additional dates for free yoga and snowboard/ski tuning and waxing workshops are currently be- pants will be exposed to moderate rapids while observing the flocks of bald eagles. ing scheduled. “I’m really excited for the eagle float. That’s something that “I’m really excited for this winter quarter, we have a very jamBy Dominic D’Angelo
Jan. 21, 2014 • 7
everyone always has a lot of fun on,” said rafting trip leader Peter Dykes. “We usually have really good equipment, so that even if it snows like it did last year, people are still enjoying themselves.” On the Feb. 4 there will be a $35 cross country ski trip. Gear is included in the cost. From Feb. 14-17, ten lucky participants will be able to go ice climbing in British Columbia. This $180 trip will teach participants how to ice climb as well as expose them to the natural beauty that can be found in Canada’s Lillooet. The OC will offer students the opportunity to go ice-camping from March 1 to 2. Included in its $60 cost will be a trip out on snowshoes, a lesson on how to build your own snow cave, and the personal experience of being able to say “I went camping in the snow.” An advanced snowshoeing day will take place on March 8 for $35.
“We just revamped our snowshoe collection, so we have a lot of new material in that department,” said Davis. Days to wax and tune your skis and snowboards will be on Feb. 5 and Feb. 26. In addition, the Outdoor Center is also gearing up for their newly offered Spring Break trip, an event that hasn’t occurred for the last seven years: a mountain biking trip to Moab, Utah. Once again, all of these activities are listed on the as.wwu.edu/ outdoor. Further information is also available in the Outdoor Center in Viking Union 150.
Louie Dawson shreds the slope near Heliotrope Ridge Trail at Mount Baker. Photo courtesy of Jason Davis.
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Students continue to fight for safe renting conditions By Dominic D’Angelo In the late spring of 2012, senior Paul Hyun Park and his roommates went looking for off-campus housing. Because they got into the housing-search later than most, they ran out of options and settled for a Google-one-star rated company: Lakeway Reality. “We knew this, but we said ‘you know what, let’s go’. If we pay our bills, we’ll have a house. They’ll fix it up,” Park said. “It was dangerous because we made a bunch of assumptions where we thought they would keep their end of the deal and that they would respect us as tenants.” From the get-go, they knew they were dealing with something that wouldn’t end well. Park’s initial meeting with his landlord was marred by the official showing up two hours late. Park was disgruntled, but when his roommates did the walkthrough of their new place and deemed it satisfactory under the assumption that Lakeway would take care of some obvious problems, he agreed to go along. After signing-off on the lease and moving in, Park quickly realized that something was deeply wrong. The front door failed to lock and was made of easily breakable material. Broken light bulbs were left exposed around the building. There wasn’t a stovetop, the carpet was tattooed with burn marks and a partially decomposed rat corpse was found in the basement. “I was so sketched out that I didn’t sleep in that house until my roommates did,” Park said. Park then spent the next month rebuilding his house, paint layer by paint layer, carpet by carpet until he deemed it livable. He was reimbursed by Lakeway for the cost of the paint, but not for any of the time and labor it cost him in his busy college schedule. As time went on, other problems continued to develop. On one particular occasion, a clerical error with Lakeway nearly put Park in a situation where he’d be out $1,000 or be evicted. Luckily, Park is an accountant-in-training and knew how to navigate an accounting ledger. After exchanging a set of emails and going through the books, he managed to explain the mistake to his realtor. “What would have happened if a tenant wasn’t an accountant though? A lot of people don’t know even where to start with a general ledger, so there’s a good chance that they’d be out $1,500 or more,” Park said. Lakeway Realty wasn’t able to comment on this information at the time of print. “I wanted to go on a social media rampage… I wanted to take them to court, but my problem is that I’m involved in campus. I’m taking my CPA [Certified Public Accountant Exam] and I just don’t
Top left: Rodent feces were strewn about Paul Hyun Park’s house on New Street he rented from Lakeway Realty. Top right: Holes in the wall of the house were never fixed. Bottom left: A half decomposed rat corpse found in the basement of Park’s house. Bottom right: Blinds on a window in Park’s house weren’t properly attached. Photos courtesy of Paul Hyun Park.
have the time.” Park’s story holds a stark similarity what other students have experienced with realtors in Bellingham. Without time or money, many are left out in the dry if they have a problem in their place of living. Some instances of poor renting conditions can be financially dangerous, while others with consequences like mold, gas leaks or biohazards like raw sewage or rodents can be potentially life-threatening in short and long terms. In many cases, it’s difficult for students to fight against shady realty because their issues would only be dealt with in the small claims court where the legal strength of their realtors often outweighs them. Often the small settlement they could get in the end is dwarfed by the
Jan. 21, 2014 • 9
consequences of being kicked out of their house by their disgruntled landlords or personal damages left behind from living an unfit home, said senior Theo Bickel, a local renters’ rights activist. At the end of his sophomore year, Bickel moved into a house with a group of roommates. “I used to sympathize with my friends who would have issues like this. But I never thought it was abnormal, that it was just something that we had to deal with,” Bickel said. Like Park, Bickel got into the housing-search late. Although his initial introduction to his house and landlord were good, red flags quickly came up. The first came when one of his roommates misread a lease clause regarding subletting and tried to invite another roommate. Although it was a simple misunderstanding, the landlord threatened to kick Bickel’s friend out. It was in this situation that Bickel first realized how much the odds were stacked against him and other college renters. “After arguing with the landlord ourselves, our roommate’s mother got involved and tried to get help from Western. Eventually she got in contact with the Campus Community Coalition, who, although they do some stuff with promoting information about renters’ rights, they didn’t have the legal infrastructure to protect us,” Bickel said. “We eventually started reading Washington State law, but the issue more or less subsided.” In the beginning of Theo’s junior year, he and his roommates returned to the house. Although their landlord made numerous promises to keep the place clean, they returned to find their bathroom still in construction, dust and dirt spread throughout the dwelling, their windows broken or sealed shut and a plastic bag and broken fan piece inside their furnace. The furnace later became a cause for concern as it began to click on and off at will. When Bickel and his roommates eventually had the piece inspected, it was found to have a broken regulator, a consequence that could have led to the furnace catching fire. With Bickel’s roommate’s bedroom located a yard away from the furnace and the only nearest exit locked with a key that only the landlord possessed, Bickel speculates that if they hadn’t noticed the problem when they did, the consequences could have been fatal in something that is easily preventable. “No question about that,” he said. After this, Bickel turned his frustration into action and joined the AS Legislative Affairs Council. By sharing his experience and empowering others to talk about theirs, Bickel worked alongside his peers and AS Vice President for Governmental Affairs Kaylee Galloway to draft the 27-page “Rental Safety Proposal,” approved by the AS Board of Directors during Dec. 11’s board meeting. The proposal will be included in the Local Legislative Agenda, which AS Local Liason Joseph Levy will lobby on with city and county officials. The proposal makes clear expectations, like “Bellingham
needs new city ordinances passed to ensure that the law is enforced.” The document also highlights the physical, financial and psychological harm that poor renting conditions may have on tenants. Further, key aspects noted in the document include educating landlords and tenants about renting expectations, creating a registry of local landlords available to the public and enforcing city-wide inspections at all leasing locations for health and safety purposes. While the education aspect can mostly be covered by the Associated Students, and is currently being discussed in the Legal Information Center and Board of Directors, other suggestions in the proposal will require measures to be implemented at the city level. Levy believes that the majority of Bellingham City Council members will favor with the arguments made by student tenants. Galloway agrees that the Rental Safety Proposal and other rental-related action in Bellingham will be successful this year in ensuring students have safer renting experiences. In a unanimous vote last June, city council members asked Mayor Kelli Linville to ensure that an analysis of Bellingham’s rental climate would be included in the 2014 budget. The council is currently discussing plans to implement rental licensing and inspections. With this in mind, students who are currently renting or are planning on renting should know that there are resources on campus that can help them. “Most students move off campus. So this is an issue that hits home, in more ways than one,” Galloway said. The Legal Information Center is the first resource that students can call upon in the event of conflict with a realtor. Although the office has been spearheading many initiatives for campus-wide education about rental issues in Bellingham, it also functions as a safe-space where students can talk about their rental problems and seek advice. LIC Coordinator Samantha Goldblatt said the office has legal resources on hand that can help students take their arguments to the next level if needed. “I try to help people weigh the pros and cons of their situation, and then empower them to make a decision based on that,” Goldblatt said. Lastly, the LIC would like to invite all students to get involved in the community conversation regarding renting in Bellingham and attending rental issues-related events. At noon on Feb. 3, local lawyers will be available in Red Square to educate students on their legal options, thanks to the LIC. That evening, students who have experienced renting problems in Bellingham are invited to testify at the Bellingham City Council meeting at 7 p.m. and City Hall. “If I could say anything to students, it’s that it’s so much more fun to party, have fun and study, when you have a nice place to go home to,” Park concluded.
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Getting thrifty on Etsy: Students turn to crafty talents for extra income By Kelly Mason College is expensive. With tuition, housing, textbooks and food - enough said. While some students get jobs to offset these expenses, others prefer to turn to more creative ways. The mind might wander towards some illegal ways to make an extra buck, but seniors Meghan Sternal and Taylor Lyon have a way of earning extra dough that’s a bit more crafty. Sternal and Lyon transformed their fun hobbies into artful money-making. Sternal utilizes the skills she learned from working in a bead store to craft stylish jewelry while Lyon crochets headbands, a hobby she taught herself how to do from watching YouTube videos. Sternal and Lyon began selling their products by posting it in Western’s “Thrifty Exchange” group on Facebook, a group created so that students can buy and sell clothing and accessories with each other. Friends and family both urged Sternal and Lyon to turn their hobbies into a moneymaking venture. Sternal decided to sell her jewelry after hearing her friends and family share stories of people complimenting the pieces they were wearing. Lyon began selling her headbands after running out of friends and family to give presents to. “I made them as Christmas
presents for everyone and people were like ‘we don’t need headbands,’” Lyon said. “But I still liked making them, so I ended up having a huge bag of thirty or forty headbands and I didn’t know what to do with them. I figured I’d start selling them.” Lyon crochets headbands from a range of different yarn colors and takes request for specific colors. She sells them through the “Thrifty Exchange” group for about $10 each and has been successful thus far. “I’ve sold close to fifty, it’s been pretty good because I make them so quickly,” Lyon said. “It’s an easy thing for me to do on the side while I’m watching Netflix or something.” Lyon also offers to donate extra headbands to a women’s shelter through a program at her church. “If people want to go buy yarn themselves - since I can usually make two headbands from one skein of yarn - I would make one headband for them, and with the rest of the yarn I would donate that headband to the women’s shelter,” Lyon said. Sternal crafts necklaces, earrings and bracelets and sells them for about $20 each. She uses patterns she learned from her time working in a bead store, but adds her own special twist to everything she creates. She draws the inspiration for her jewelry from her love of the ocean. “I really like blues and greens.
Bracelets, necklaces and earrings by senior Megan Sternal. While living in Chicago, Sternal learned to make jewelry working at a bead shop. Photo by Isaac Martin // AS Review
I interned at the Monterrey Bay Aquarium and lived with my grandparents. They’d always be like, ‘Oh you’re the ocean girl’. So, ocean colors are kind of a theme,” Sternal said. Each has made their own account on Etsy.com, which is essentially a virtual flea market for people to buy and sell hand-made products. However, as seniors, Lyon and Sternal both feel that lack of time holds them back from expanding their crafting hobbies. For now, they continue to market their products on the “Thrifty Exchange” group. To those who look to follow in Lyon and Sternal’s footsteps, the girls offer this advice: go for it! “Find something that you like
to do, but don’t make it like you’re trying to do this to make money,” Lyon said. “I think it’s better if you start off with a hobby, and if it takes off, it takes off. But if it doesn’t, you’re still having fun,” Sternal said. “It’s all about having fun. If something isn’t working, try to find a different path that’s going to work for you. Maybe not quitting, but navigating.” Lyon’s headbands can be found on her personal Facebook or on Etsy at www.etsy.com/shop/ TailoredSparkle. To find out more information about Sternal’s jewelry, email her at Meghan.sternal@gmail.com.
Jan. 21, 2014 • 11
“Don Jon” falls short of climax By C Hayley Halstead When AS Productions Films announced its Jan. 16 free showing of “Don Jon,” I was ecstatic at the thought of seeing a movie that not only stars Joseph Gordon-Levitt himself but was also written and directed by the 32-yearold California-born actor. After all, he captured my heart in “500 Days of Summer” with his charming smile and played a charismatic, determined high schooler in “10 Things I Hate About You.” “Don Jon” follows the story of the highly-overplayed character of the macho New Jerseyan, Jon Martello (Gordon-Levitt) and
Willing to please the “most beautiful thing [he’s] ever seen” and perhaps one of the most high maintenance things he will ever tolerate, he obediently follows Sugarman’s requests, but is unable to comply with the rules regarding her dissatisfaction with his pornographic habits. One of the reasons behind Martello’s addiction to pornography, is that he finds that he can lose himself in it, while actual intercourse proves to be unfulfilling because of his unrealistic, one-sided expectations. “Real p***y is not as good as porn,” Martello says. This movie shows a man’s inability to stop watching pornography, as demonstrated
“It shows a man’s temptation with a laptop propping itself open, readily available for him to enter into a world of breasts, butts and ‘money shots.’ What it doesn’t show is a realistic portrayal of struggles with ending an addiction.” his satisfactory lifestyle as a bartender and clubber. His top priorities: his body, pad, ride, family, church, friends, girls and porn. He holds the nickname “The Don” for his ability to lure in a different “eight, nine or dime” woman in his weekly sex cycle. Then like a hero, he shares those stories to his less successful pals. The disruption to his cycle arises when he encounters the oh-sosexy Barbara Sugarman, played by Scarlett Johansson. She’s the dime he’s got to have. Sugarman won’t permit Martello to have his way without playing by her rules. He’s pressured into meeting Sugarman’s friends, family (and vice versa) and enrolling in night school to obtain a better job before fulfilling his intimate desires with his new girlfriend.
when Sugarman snoops through Martello’s Internet history and finds his 46-porn site loot of the day. It shows a man’s temptation with a laptop propping itself open, readily available for him to enter into a world of breasts, butts and “money shots.” What it doesn’t show is a realistic portrayal of struggles with ending an addiction. “You’re like a junkie. You can’t stop it,” says classmate Esther [Julianne Moore]. It wasn’t how Gordon-Levitt seemingly integrated foul language into every sentence and overdid the cliché macho-man caricature that made me find the movie poorly done. It wasn’t even how Martello weekly heads to his Catholic church to confess his routine sins of premarital sex, masturbation and pornogra-
phy that left a bland taste in my mouth. “Don Jon” has no climax. There was a lack of character development and the first 20 minutes of the movie felt like re-watching its trailer. The movie was fast-paced, with short dialogue, quick scene rotations and unclear elements of the plot. Which part was the climax? Was it when Jon ended up with Sugarman? When they first had sex? When she caught him watching porn? Where was the rising action in this movie? A positive aspect of this film could be in its candid depiction of modern objectification of women. Gordon-Levitt inserts a scene of his family sitting down for dinner while their TV shows Nina Agdal writhing on a white-sandy beach in a barely-there bikini while caressing a fish burger in Carl’s Junior’s famous Super Bowl commercial. “More than just a piece of meat,” is the tagline slapped on. While Jon and his father drool over Agdal, his mother and sister remain clueless. The Martello family even shares how they came together - Mr. Martello saw Mrs. Martello and said, “That’s mine.” That’s deep. The movie also further exhibits objectification and control in Sugarman’s expectations of Martello. He has to miss out on opportunities to spend time with his friends in order to accommodate dinner plans with Sugarman. He even gets demeaned for cleaning his own floor, while his girlfriend has the luxury of a house cleaner. Essentially, the movie shows what it means for a man to be “whipped” by his girlfriend. Trying to isolate those two positives from the movie alone isn’t substantial enough for me to consider this a movie I might purchase. But if your preference for a movie is poor plot execution, over-exaggerated stereotypes and an ensemble cast done-up to resemble that of Jersey Shore, then perhaps you’d like to take a peek at this film.
12 • as.wwu.edu/asreview
What do your stickers say? By C Hayley Halstead // Photos By Trevor Grimm What began with the Romans needing a way to carry fresh water by using clay and animal skin, has turned into what we now know as the reusable water bottle. Walking through campus, the careful eye can find water bottles strapped all over backpacks, messenger bags and bikes. However, with the evolution of the water bottles comes a form of expression that hasn’t always been seen: plastering stickers onto it. Though some stickers may be placed on someone’s personal belonging because it was free and looked cool, look deeper into the meaning behind your peers’ stickers and see what you can learn about them that perhaps you didn’t already know.
MATT KNEIPP Matt Kneipp symbolizes his involvement the Surfrider Foundation with a sticker from the Blue Water Task Force, a volunteer water quality monitoring program. Another sticker from the Surfrider Foundation skims across Kneipp’s water bottle reading, “Surfing is not a crime.” “If I see a sticker that I think looks cool,” is how Kneipp determines if a sticker can earn a spot on the Nalgene bottle. In addition to the Surfrider Foundation, Kneipp keeps a sticker from a rock climbing gym located exclusively in Missouri and Illinois, Upper Limits. The bottle also features a smudged spot where a sticker of local Bellingham band, Walking Stick For The Giant, used to be.
HANNAH BESSO One of the trip leaders with the AS Outdoor Center, Hannah Besso has an array of colorful insights into her background. The decal saying, “I’d rather be in the North Cascades,” comes from the North Cascade Institute in Sedro-Woolley, Wash. “I’m happiest when I’m outside, so that sums that up pretty well,” Besso said. A Non-GMO Project occupies a spot in the top corner of Besso’s laptop. “It’s not only important to know where your food comes from, but also to support local farms and the community,” Besso said. Referencing the Backcountry Essentials sticker, Besso explained, “Supporting local businesses and buying used things is pretty important to me because we need to conserve resources.”
ALEA CLYMER Alea Clymer, a Viking Union Gallery attendant, has covered almost every inch of her Nalgene bottle. Her laptop and Nalgene bottle have a collage of stickers indicating her background and passion. Clymer points out some stickers that are from a bagel shop and coffee shop in different Colorado cities, representing where she’s from. However, the majority of her decals stand for Ultimate Frisbee. “I’m on the women’s Ultimate Frisbee team. I really like the sport, and they give us a lot of stickers at tournaments,” said Clymer. “It’s fun to promote the spirit of the game.”