Issue 26 by The Collegian

Ne w s p a p e r o f Wa l l a Wa l l a U n i v e r s i t y

Collegian The

Volume 102 | Issue 26

Creamy Peanut Noodles pg. 6

“WHOMST?” - Kyra GreyEyes, Creative Director for The Collegian, every single week

May 31, 2018

VILLAGE HOUSING CONTRACT VIOLATIONS: A CASE STUDY

Last Things First college place, wa | walla walla university

| May 2018 Issue 26

Don’t Try to Cheer Me Up By Meghann Heinrich Sometimes I get in a mood. My mother used to call it a “funk.” My sister just calls it, “Meghann would you get a grip!?” Between you and me, it really is just downright crankiness brought on by any number of stimuli: hunger, tummy troubles, stress, embarrassment, blue skies and sunshine, grey skies and rain, people in love, bird poop on windshields, misquoted lines from “Princess Diaries,” cats who don’t love me and so on. My father used to do his best to cajole me out my funk, which is the surest way to plunge me deeper into the depths of grouchiness. He’d say, “Darlin’ are you mad?” which was the equivalent of pouring a gallon of gas on a pile of firecrackers. As I seethed in silence he’d go on; “Because, it seems

Hey Thanks! “Hey thanks powers that be for only making 7 required community credits this quarter, Tuesdays just got a little brighter.”

like something might be bothering you.” Now he’d basically dumped a pound of gunpowder over the top of the pile, and as I glared at him with all the misguided hatred I had at life as a product of the mysterious funk, my father would laugh, lighting the match. And I would explode. Well, this evening as I sit down to write what promises to be another mediocre attempt at humor geared toward a collegiate audience, I am feeling the all-too-familiar irritation of a funk creeping in—and it’s not pretty. So, instead of conjuring up one of my many mildly amusing childhood memories or failed attempts at adulthood, I reserve the next few hundred words as dedicated rant space, and there is precious little you can do to stop me. First of all, I am a decent driver.

I’ve never been pulled over, I’ve never put a dent in the car and I’ve never even hit any wildlife (except snakes—I purposefully swerve to end their miserable lives). So when I am driving along, hands at 10:00 and 2:00, and on an off-day make one miniscule mistake that causes you a minor inconvenience because I was stopped in a left-hand turn lane for a full two seconds after the arrow turned green, I do not think it is appropriate, nor good form for you, sir, in your whippy zippy little Subaru to toot-toot your little horn at me. I do not like you. Next, I honestly cannot comprehend why, after months of freezing to my core, I am now subjected to sweltering heat day and night. I do my best to increase the airflow in my room, but that means opening my window

Verbatim

at night, which is a gamble at best. Why? Oh, I’m glad you asked. Because in a nutshell, there are some strange people who walk by my window in the wee hours of the morning. Just a few nights ago I was tossing in the heat of my smothering room when I heard footsteps approach. It could’ve been classified as merely a nuisance until the footsteps stopped directly outside my window, and I heard a man growl at me. It wasn’t a very realistic growl, but it was enough to make me play dead until I heard the trespasser depart. That is where I draw the line, sir. I don’t care for you one little bit. I could go on. I have strong opinions on a number of controversial subjects, including but not limited to: the amount of time it takes to make food, the rules of pedestrian right-of-

way (spoiler: I’m in favor, power to the people), unprotected left-hand turn lanes, when and where it is appropriate for your mother to comment on your acne (spoiler: it’s never) and farty noises—real or arti-fart-ial—I hate them all. Okay, I’m feeling better now. I think I was just hungry, but my little sammy from Jimmy John’s seems to be subduing the funk. I can just start to make out the Carpenters singing “Top of the World” in my head, so things are looking up here in my little corner of the world. I hope you go make someone smile today, but if not, then make your grumpy count.

The Artist oh you draw the comics? I thought they got them off the internet!

“Churchill wrote his speeches in poetic verse. What is it? Pentalic hexameter?” - Professor Terry Gottschall “I can only aspire to be that crazy mathematician in my declining years, spitting out gibberish on my deathbed.” - Professor Tim Tiffin

“Hey thanks maple syrup for being a socially acceptable way to smother food in liquid sugar.”

“I’m going to poop because that’s what teachers do.” - Teacher Jacob Patterson “I like corruption though.”

“Hey thanks procrastination for making the last 2 weeks of the quarter more work than the first 8 combined.”

- Professor Monty Buell, talking about political corruption with the railroads in the PNW

Email your faculty verbatim or thank yous to meghann.heinrich@wallawalla.edu to be featured!

My name is right there.

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May 2018 Issue 26 | walla walla university | college place, wa

Editor-in-Chief Daniella Silva

Twitter

Assistant Editor Kate Beckner

@aswwucollegian

Instagram @aswwucollegian Facebook

@aswwucollegian

Layout Design Sophie Bailey Ashley Henry-Saturne Liam Hirst-Graves Copy Editors Geoffrey Lopes Karli Hart Jocelyn Griffin

Creative Director Kyra GreyEyes Life Editor Angelica Chan

Backpage Editor Meghann Heinrich Head Copy Editor Brielle Tym Cover | Sophie Bailey

Office Manager Victoria Ico Distributer Sydney Peck Beau Gerber Advertising Manager Amanda Maizar

Writers Feature Michael Jensen Jake Sloop Cynthia Ochoa Food & Culture Daphne Novak Hannah Thiel Media & Tech Matt Fennell Outdoor Niqolas Ruud Science Forrest Sheperd History Zachary White Religion Peter Flores

The opinions of our writers do not necessarily reflect the views of The Collegian or Walla Walla University.

EDITOR’S NOTE

Daniella Silva Dear Reader, Partway through this school year, students in village housing heard that they would be required to sign a new contract that, among other things, removed the 48-hour notice before Walla Walla University staff would be allowed to enter an apartment. Many village students either refused to sign the contract or just never got around to signing it. Legally, therefore, they are still bound to the old contract that they signed at the beginning of the year. What happens if village housing doesn’t keep track of whom has signed those contracts? What if one housemate signs a contract and the other does not? In this week’s feature, The Collegian investigates a case study in which village housing personnel violated their contract with a WWU student who had not signed the updated version. The case is not cut-and-dry as that student also violated their original contract with the University, but that fact might never have been discovered if the university had given the student a full 48-hour notice before coming to the apartment. You can read more on page 5.

This month is also Asian-Pacific Heritage month. It’s a time to acknowledge the invaluable contributions of Asian Pacific Americans in the U.S. Our Collegian Office Manager, Victoria Ico, has also written a short article about the month, which you can read on page 8. As usual, if you have any questions or comments, you can send them to me at aswwu.collegian@wallawalla.edu. However, any article submissions we receive will not be able to be published until next fall quarter at the earliest because this is the last regular issue of Volume 102 of The Collegian. It’s been a crazy year, and I’ve been honored to manage this publication throughout it all. So to say goodbye, I’ll just tell you to stay snazzy and stay tuned for our Special Issue Release Party on June 7! Daniella Silva

DANIELLA SILVA

KATE BECKNER

SENATE NEW BUSINESS 8.1 GL16 — AIA Delegation Change 8.2 GL17 — Employee Eligibility Appeals 8.3 FL20 — Yoga Mats for Girls’ Dorm

APPROVED 9.2 FL8 — Ice Vest for Mascot

Senate meets Tuesday nights at 8 p.m. in WEC 217

ART BY GEOFFREY LOPES

COLLEGIAN WISDOM This is the last regular issue of Volume 102 of The Collegian

ASWWU JOBS

Be nice to the new team.

Keep an Eye Out on June 8 for The Collegian Special Issue Release Party! It’s special because it’s on nice paper.

Applications to work for The Collegian next year are open Be a copy editor—because every time a writer makes a typo, the errorists win.

Next week is Dead Week No, I will not call it Review Week.

Are you ready for finals? I’m not. No, really, I’m not.

Congratulations to all of the 2018 graduates! Now go out there and make me proud.

Applications are still open!

Assorted Collegian Positions Apply online at aswwu.com/jobs.

college place, wa, walla walla university

| May 2018 Issue 26

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SUBMISSION THIS MONTH IN HISTORY

Not Black And White: Racial Profiling By Kyra GreyEyes Friday, May 4, 2018. Colorado State University was doing what every university does: inviting high schoolers to visit their campus in hopes of gaining more students. The tour was going along swimmingly until two brothers showed up a tad late, joining the group partway through the tour. The problem was that these two brothers were not white. The boys were Native American, they were wearing black clothing and they showed up late. One mother thought that these factors made them highly suspicious and called the police, saying the boys (who she believed were Hispanic) made her “nervous.” When the police arrived, they pulled the boys aside, away from the tour that continued on without them. The boys were confirmed to be prospective students who were just there to tour their dream school, but by the time they were allowed to rejoin the group, the tour was already gone.1 Racial profiling is the act of suspecting or targeting a person based on their actual or perceived race.2, 3 When most people think of racial profiling, they think of instances similar to the one that took place earlier this year when two African-American men were arrested at a Starbucks. In fact, most issues revolving around racism seem to revolve around black versus white. However, the world is not just black

and white. Research done at Harvard University says that over a third of Native American people face discrimination in one way or another.4 Hispanic drivers are 65 percent more likely to be ticketed while driving.5 Asian-Americans face the stereotype of being a “model minority,” the assumption that they are all exceedingly smart and are held up to the highest of expectations.6 Though African-Americans deal with a heavy amount of racism and always have, they are not the only minority group to face discrimination, and people tend to forget that there are more than two races. This is not to downplay racial issues centered around African-American people, but rather to remind the world that racism is not simply white against black—a single group against another. Racism knows no bounds. 1 https://www.cnn.com/2018/05/04/us/colorado-state-university-racial-profiling-trnd/index.html 2 http://www.dictionary.com/browse/racial--profiling 3 https://www.aclu.org/other/racial-profiling-definition 4 https://www.hsph.harvard.edu/news/press-releases/ poll-native-americans-discrimination/ 5 https://vittana.org/24-frightening-racial-profiling-statistics 6 Felicia R. Lee, “’Model Minority’ Label Taxes Asian Youths,” New York Times, March 20, 1990, pages B1 & B4.

Thomas Kanewakeron Gray, left, and Lloyd Skanahwati Gray. The brothers were stopped by police while touring Colorado State University. (CNN)

Kyra GreyEyes is a contributing writer.

DEAD WEEK EVENTS Midnight Mayhem Saturday @ Peterson Memorial Library, 9 p.m.

Movie Under the Stars Monday @ Centennial Green, 9 p.m.

De-Stress Fest Tuesday @ Bowers Hall, 7 p.m.

Yard Sale Wednesday @ Administration Building, 6 p.m.

Late Night Breakfast Thursday @ The Atlas, 7 p.m.

YEAR END PARTY! SATURDAY @ CENTENNIAL GREEN, 9 P.M.

RELIGION HELPING THE MARGINALIZED

Adventist Priorities: A Call For Activism By Peter Flores If you read anything about the Old Testament prophets you know they were concerned with forthtelling. No, not foretelling, forth-telling—the desire to change the here and now as opposed to the future. This desire was ingrained into prophets like Isaiah, Jeremiah and Micah. They were concerned about the people who were marginalized in the present and urged for justice. Even in the days of dear old aunty Ellen G. White, there was an urgency to do something for the oppressed. The priority at the time was to help the black people living in America. White felt the need to do something to help: “I am burdened, heavily burdened, for the work among the colored people…For many years I have borne a heavy burden in behalf of the Negro race. My heart has ached as I have seen the feeling against this race growing stronger and still stronger, and as I have seen that many Seventh-day Adventists are apparently unable to understand the necessity for an earnest

(ADRA.ORG)

work being done quickly. Years are passing into eternity with apparently little done to help those who were recently a race of slaves.” 1 White’s priority was activism. She didn’t want to see anyone marginalized, so she spoke up and acted by involving black people in the church. Her own son Edson White responded to her call to action: “He and his wife Emma, joined by William O. Palmer and his wife and Captain A. T. Orton, built a steamboat they called ‘The Morning Star.’ Once the steamboat was completed in July, 1894, the Whites and Palmers sailed the Centennial Lake at Vicksburg where they brought over 1,000 books to share with residents. By winter they had over 150 students enrolled in Bible studies.” 2 The Whites and Palmers weren’t only giving Bible studies; they were handing out hope—hope that a better life away from hatred and racism could be achieved. There is light in a life lived for Jesus. At the end of the 19th cen-

tury, Adventists including the Whites were concerned with helping those in need. Today, we are still going about our Heavenly Father’s business. The Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) 3 is all about helping the marginalized and those in need. On ADRA’s website, there are sections dedicated to both social justice and gender equality. Both are carried out on a global scale and are highly successful. While it is great that we have this organization under the umbrella of the SDA church, what White said still rings in my ear: “I have seen that many Seventh-day Adventists are apparently unable to understand the necessity for an earnest work being done quickly.” To me, this statement speaks volumes. It says that we need a wake up call to remind us how many people suffer, not just globally, but in our social circles and peripheral vision. This work isn’t the responsibility of ADRA alone; it should be the responsibility of every Seventh-day Adventist. This situation is

“all hands on deck.” What are our priorities today? If the comment section of online Adventist media is any indicator, we are in trouble. We are so concerned with fighting amongst ourselves that we can’t see past the sea of Ellen G. White quotes taken out of context to reveal the seemingly-insurmountable pile of issues both in and out of our church. We send thoughts and prayers when we could be extending our arms to help. We blame conservatives, complain and ditch the church just because our view isn’t the same as theirs. We talk when we should listen and are deaf to the cry for help from outside our pristine church sanctuary. I know that to tackle anything of this magnitude in the church seems like a lot of work—it is. One thing we can do today is learn to listen and then sit down and re-evaluate our individual Adventist priorities. Honestly, whether you believe in God or not, you have to realize

that things on this planet can’t get better without help from everyone. This article is a call for activism, not conversion—Adventists aren’t the only important people on this planet. You don’t have to be Adventist to help, but you do have to realize that there is a great need for helping others. My challenge to you is to find something in this world that you are passionate about and do something about it. All it takes is a spark to start the fire of change. Don’t talk about it. Be about it. 1 Ellen G. White, Testimonies of the Church, “Proclaiming the Truth Where There is Race Antagonism.” vol.9 pp. 204.2 2 Ibid. 3 For more information and statistics, visit: https:// adra.org/

Peter Flores is a theology major.

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May 2018 Issue 26 | walla walla university | college place, wa

MEDIA/TECH TV, MOVIE, GAMES, PODCASTS

My Idiot Brain: Meaning, Purpose and Understanding Through Stories By Matt Fennell When I applied to work at The Collegian a year ago, I figured that if I got the job, 1 as an engineer, the column I’d most likely inherit would be one for technology or science pieces.2 While I enjoy both technology and the sciences and have made their study and application my profession, they aren’t at the top of my list of creative passions. Needless to say, I wasn’t extremely psyched by the prospect of a year of

the world. Once we’ve done that, we all can, should and must share our stories. There is no greater duty or honor than to add our small threads to the massive yarn ball of stories that’s out there right now.” Spoiler alert: I got the job, and it’s been everything I dreamt it would be. During my time here at The Collegian, I’ve tried to keep the message of that writing sample in the back of my mind and have done my best to share my love

Ocean At the End of the Lane Audio Cover. (KOBO) tech pieces, but I really wanted to write for the paper and decided that I’d spend a full year writing about physics and malware attacks if that’s what it would take to get published. Near the end of the interview process, Daniella asked me to submit a writing sample, mostly so that she and Kate could make sure I had a handle on the English language but also as a way to gauge the tone and style my potential pieces would take. While trying to find a writing sample to submit, I realized I didn’t have any creative writing or reporting on science or tech topics. In a desperate Hail Mary play, I decided I’d ditch the science/tech angle and make a pitch for a dream column where I could write about the topics I was passionate about: movies, books, TV shows, podcasts, music, video games and really just anything with a story to tell. I pulled out the notes I’d taken while writing my final speech for speech class, tied them together with a few margin notes and blasted the whole thing off with a note apologizing for not having any tech writing to submit. Here’s a bit of that submission: “Understanding, whether it be understanding ourselves, each other, or the world we live in, is hard. But, immersive, varied stories allow us to better understand each of those things. By taking on the experiences of others, and boiling down big ideas into understandable story chunks, we can better understand the world, and the place each of our own stories takes in

of stories with our campus. Has that vision always worked? Absolutely not. I know my limitations as a writer, and I’ll be the first to point them out. I’ve written some clunkers, some rush jobs and some really bland “reviews” this year, but I hope that I’ve been able to share a story or two that helped some of you understand, reflect or even just kick back, turn off and relax.

And now, in a sort of counterintuitive first-comes-last sort of style, we get to the first part of the title of this article: “My Idiot Brain.” Because I’m stupidly sentimental and place incredible value on details, memories and the media related to those memories, I have a ridiculously long and specific list of media that’s important to me, so in this, the first-ever self-declared season finale of a Collegian column, I’m going to “lightning round” through some of those things to leave you all with one final quasi-grab-bag. Let’s do it. Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs” was the first non-TobyMac, non-Beatles album that I ever loved, and it’s my all-time favorite piece of music. “The Suburbs” is a moody and haunting reflection on growing up, and as I’ve gotten older, it has only become more meaningful to me. Even though I have no clue what songs like “we used to wait” actually mean, the story that I’ve come up with—about finding strength in remembering why we are the people we are—means so much to me. While we’re on the topic of music, Relient K’s “Forget and Not Slow Down” is perfect for a morning run, The Offspring’s “Americana” is great driving-to-andfrom-summer-errands music, and Tycho’s “Awake” is the only thing to listen to if you’re stuck behind a train on the way home after a long day of work. I started reading “Paper Towns” mostly as a joke in the days leading up to Spring Break 2015, after my roommate David and I watched the original “Robocop” and the excellent Kevin Bacon cop-drama “The Following.” Shockingly, “Paper Towns” was the only one of those three things that didn’t end up becoming a convoluted inside joke. John Green’s mega-sappy coming-of-age novel about a boy and his friends who go looking for a girl who’s disappeared is a not-so-subtle reminder that placing people on a pedestal and forgetting that they’re human (just like us) is always a mistake. Also, the book’s secondary message, that we should enjoy life’s little moments as they come rather than always trying to figure out what’s going to happen next,

Cover of The Suburbs by Arcade Fire. (ALL MUSIC)

The Omega Men Vol. 3 2. (DC WIKIA) was a great thing to read as an anxious dude navigating his first year of college. This book is a quick read, and page 187 contains one of my all-time favorite insults. Other good meaningful books I didn’t get to talk about this year are Neil Gaiman’s “The Ocean at the End of the Lane,” and Austin Grossman’s “YOU.” I haven’t really talked about comic books too much this year, so here’s a quick shout-out to “Omega Men,” Tom King’s 12-issue miniseries that is part “Green Lantern” and part “Guardians of the Galaxy” but mostly a reflection on the war in the Middle East. I read “Omega Men” in the back of Ethan’s car while he, Ryan and I road-tripped out to the Oregon Coast on Memorial Day Weekend 2016. That trip is one of the highlights of my time here, and the memories I made during it, including my speed-reading of “Omega Men” and its poignant message about the horrors of war, will be with me forever. More good comics are “Superior Spider-Man,” Fraction and Aja’s “Hawkeye” and the Mark Waid/Fiona Staples “Archie” reboot. Honestly, I could spend five or six more pages just listing off stories that I love, but I’m all out of space, and I’ve already gone 8,924 words over the amount allotted to me for the year. So, as I wrap up: keep finding stories to enjoy, cherish every day, find ways to make things a little easier for those around you, and live a life that people

will tell stories about. Thank you for reading, and have a good one. I love you all.

1 Which I felt was a big “if.” 2 It’s important to note that the paper is not built through inheritances and bequeathals but is a living thing composed of creativity and compromises. At the time, I didn’t know that. I assumed that columns were set in stone, and The Collegian had to have the same ones each year. Moral of the story: if you want to do something different, just ask.

Matt Fennell is a computer engineering major.

SCIENCE SCI-HUB

How to Access Research Articles for Free By Forrest Sheperd If you’ve ever tried to research a topic for a class, whether it’s for research writing or a senior project, you know it can be frustrating. In a world of publicly-funded research and freely-available information on the internet, full-text research articles are almost always behind paywalls. Yearly subscriptions to a journal can be thousands of dollars, and access to individual articles can be upwards of $30. Although we are fortunate enough to go to a university that gives us access to many databases with full-text research articles, this process can still be frustrating. Oftentimes after hopping between databases on the WWU library website one comes up empty-handed. More recently, however, a controversial website called Sci-Hub has been providing free access to nearly every research article out there at the click of a button.1 All the researcher needs to do is paste the title of the article or the article’s DOI into the search bar, and the network will bring you a PDF file of the full article within seconds. Before Sci-Hub, researchers had to either be affiliated with a major institution or communicate on online forums to request articles from those who were. However, in 2011 Kazakhstanian researcher Alexandra Elbakyan created

the website Sci-Hub, which bypasses journal paywalls and illegally provides almost every research article ever published instantaneously for anyone with internet access. The website works by first attempting to download a copy of the article from the database of pirated articles called LibGen. However, if this does not work, Sci-Hub will bypass journal paywalls using access keys donated by researchers at institutions with access and retrieve a PDF of the full-text article.2 Next, the network donates the retrieved article to the LibGen database, where it will remain available to the public for free. Sci-Hub has over 19 million users every day 3 and now boasts over 50 million articles, many of which are supposed to be behind $10 billion worth of paywalls, and the number of articles grows every day as both old and newly published articles are harvested.4 Who exactly is using this website? It’s not exclusively shady people and poor researchers in small institutions who can’t afford scholarly journal access; a recent review in the journal “Science” concluded that almost everyone downloads pirated papers,5 this is partly because the $10 billion access paywall is restrictive even to institutions such as Harvard University, 6 and

b0fd-073d5930a7b7_story.html?noredirect=on&utm_ term=.95c3805526c7. 5 Bohannon, John. “Who’s Downloading Pirated Papers? Everyone.” Science, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 29 Apr. 2016, science. sciencemag.org/content/352/6285/508. 6 “Faculty Advisory Council Memorandum on Journal Pricing.” Faculty Advisory Council Memorandum on Journal Pricing | Highlights | Harvard OSC, Harvard.edu, 2012, osc.hul.harvard.edu/about/ highlights/2012/04/faculty-advisory-council-memorandum-journal-pricing/. 7 Faust, Jeremy S. “Sci-Hub: A Solution to the Problem of Paywalls, or Merely a Diagnosis of a Broken System?” Annals of Emergency Medicine, vol. 68, no. 1, July 2016, pp. A15–A17. Elsevier, doi:10.1016/j. annemergmed.2016.05.010. 8 Ibid.

(TECH CRUNCH) simply because it’s faster than using traditional databases.7 Although what Sci-Hub is doing is technically illegal, for the most part only database companies are retaliating. Most researchers are in favor of their articles becoming more widely available and agree that the system of vastly expensive paywalls is less than ideal.8 Will Sci-Hub simply begin to dissipate after finally being defeated by lawsuits? Or will it turn the tables toward a world of more public and freely-accessible research? Only time will

tell, but at this rate Sci-Hub is growing rapidly. Due to its controversial nature, the website’s address changes occasionally. As of now, the website can be reached at Sci-Hub.tw or Sci-Hub.hk. 1 Oxenham, Simon. “Meet the Robin Hood of Science.” Big Think, Big Think, 10 Feb. 2016, bigthink. com/neurobonkers/a-pirate-bay-for-science. 2 Ibid. 3 Ibid. 4 Rosenwald, Michael S. “This Student Put 50 Million Stolen Research Articles Online. And They’re Free.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 30 Mar. 2016, www.washingtonpost.com/local/this-student-put-50million-stolen-research-articles-online-and-theyrefree/2016/03/30/7714ffb4-eaf7-11e5-

Forrest Sheperd is a biology major.

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Feature college place, wa | walla walla university

| May 2018 Issue 26

Village Housing Contract Violations: A Case Study By Michael Jensen, Jake Sloop and Daniella Silva Editorial Disclaimer: Because the subject of this case study has been granted anonymity. and because university employees are bound by FERPA regulations that prevent them from responding to specific details of his case, certain statements the subject made in his interview have been prefaced with “he claims,” and others have been struck from the record all together. Nevertheless, we felt the story was still an important one, especially for students living in WWU Village Housing who may be operating under false assumptions about the specific details of their tenant rights. It is also an important story because it exposes a clear miscommunication between the administration and its students regarding its housing policies, which is not in the best interests of either party. If you are a Walla Walla University student living in campus-owned village housing, you have undoubtedly received several emails from Dorene Hackett over the past several months encouraging you to sign a new housing contract. If you missed or ignored the first of those emails, which explained the details of the changes, you may have wondered what was different about this new contract or what would happen if you chose not to sign it. You may have correctly heard that the new contract removes a clause from the old contract that required the school to give you 48 hours of notice prior to inspecting your abode, the removal of which allows housing officials to inspect your residence at will. Most likely, if you have not signed the new contract, you are living with the reasonable assumption that you are legally bound by the old contract—the one you actually signed. Unfortunately, a recent incident that unfolded between the University and one of its Hallmark tenants suggests you may not be as safe as you had assumed. On Dec. 7, Hackett sent out an email to all students in Village Housing that outlined updates to the Village Housing Handbook, including updates to the entry, search and confiscation policy: “Entry, and if necessary, subsequent search, by a university official may occur for a number of reasons. Examples include: To insure that health and/or safety standards are being met, including safety inspections during vacation periods/Christmas break; For the purpose of repair, construction, or inventory; or When there exists reasonable suspicion that a violation of university policy or law is being committed, or has been committed; and or that a delay in such entry would endanger the health and safety of the resident, residential community or property, or result in the probable destruction of material relating to the violation. Where possible, notice of intent to enter a residence will be given to the resident in advance. However, advance notice of entry may not be practical when emergencies arise. The university reserves the right to confiscate, retain, and dispose (at any time) of any illegal, dangerous, or prohibited items, regardless of value or ownership. Items confiscated under this policy are generally not available to be returned to a student. Refusal of a student to comply with university officials, Campus Security, or law enforcement officers while performing their duties will be considered an admission of guilt, and will be treated accordingly.” While the email does outline this and other changes to the housing handbook, it also states that “the name change alone [where the housing department officially changed its name to Village Housing] . . . makes it necessary for all residents in Village Housing to sign a new Rental Agreement.” One could easily understand that this implied signing of a new contract was necessary for the housing handbook updates to legally take effect. Before continuing to read the case study, it must be noted that the student, who we will refer to as Steve, was, regardless of any opinion on how the University handled his case, guilty of violating the original contract he signed. Alcohol was found in his apartment, contrary to the Drug and Alcohol Policy outlined on page 8 of the Village Housing Handbook.1 As you will see below, Steve feels that the school handled the situation inappropriately, while university representatives like Kristen Taylor, Director of Residential Life and Housing, continue to stand by their actions. Steve’s Perspective When Dorene Hackett and Kristen Taylor from Village Housing arrived at Steve’s apartment to perform an inspection, Steve initially assumed

that he had missed the 48-hour notice that he thought was guaranteed by his housing contract. Believing that he was caught through his own carelessness, Steve decided to save Hackett and Taylor some time and pointed out where all of his alcohol was stored. Two days later, he received notice that due to his policy violations, he had three business days to move out.

case. The University and its employees] “will deny accountability all the way through. Every single person I have talked to about what’s happening to me, every person who’s imposing consequences, sanctions, searching my house, all of it—all of them have said they don’t want to be doing this. ‘It’s not me! It’s . . .’ They’ve all tried to pass it off to some ominous third party

the judge to grant the warrant, “police must show probable cause that a crime was committed and that items connected to the crime are likely to be found in the place specified by the warrant.”4 Because of the arrangement between the University and its tenants, a search warrant is not required for inspection of a student’s home. However, someone must still authorize the inspection and

What the original contract said: “Landlord’s Entry: Landlord shall have access to the interior of the house or apartment upon 48 hours’ notice to Tenant, except in emergencies, when no notice shall be required.” What the new contract says: “Entry: University Officials shall have access to the interior of the Premises.” What is identical or similar in both contracts: “Modification: This agreement shall not be altered or modified other than by written agreement signed by the parties.” [Identical in both contracts] “Tenant or Landlord may terminate it [the landlord-tenant agreement] without cause or reason by written notice to the other giving at least thirty (30) days prior to the intended move-out date.” [New contract replaces “Tenant or Landlord” with “Student or the University”] “In any action under this agreement or upon appeal of that action to higher courts, reasonable attorney fees, costs and necessary disbursements, including pre-litigation legal expenses for demands or negotiations, will be awarded to the prevailing party.” [Identical in both contracts]

After the inspection, Steve wondered why he had never seen the 48 hour notice he expected prior to inspection. “I looked at my email afterwards to try to find [the notice] . . . and what I found was that . . . three hours earlier they had sent me a notice at 12:57 p.m. with a ‘notice of intent to enter and inspect’ between 4:00 and 6:00 o’clock. So that was three hours instead of the 48 that I was guaranteed.” It appeared the school was holding Steve to the terms of a contract that he had not signed. Curious about the damage caused by the way in which the school handled Steve’s case, I asked him to outline the impact of the consequences: “Well, I’m not allowed to march for graduation. Finding [a new apartment] quickly was expensive. I’m going to have to go to Serenity Point Counseling for alcoholism . . . that’s $159. And if they find that I am not an alcoholic, then they will have me do a class on alcoholism, which will cost even more,” not to mention the fact that the Univer-

that they can wash their hands of. Even the committee that sentenced me to be kicked off campus and denied graduation, the people who searched my house—all the way through, everyone has denied that they want to be doing any of these things to me. Which sort of begs the question, ‘so why? Why do them then?’ If it’s not you, there’s no one else in the room, so who is it?” Ultimately, Steve believes the school violated its contract with him, causing significant financial and emotional damage. During one of his hearings, he asked why he had been held to a contract that he had never signed. He told me that one of the deans responded, “Well you’re living in the housing and it’s our policy, so the contract applies.” Interestingly, both the original contract that Steve signed and the new contract he never signed include a clause which states that the “agreement shall not be altered or modified other than by written agreement signed by the parties.” 2 To Steve,

presumably have certain grounds akin to “probable cause” for doing so. With that in mind, I spoke with both Hilary Catlett, Assistant Vice President of Student Life, and Kristen Taylor, Director of Residential Life and Housing, to figure out how the process works. When asked who decides if housing officials will visit a residence, Taylor responded, “Typically it would be myself or Dorene [Hackett] . . . but it could come to us as a recommendation as well. So if administration or if student life in general made a recommendation for that, we can do that.” When asked why an apartment search might occur, Taylor explained, “Our housing policy is we try to be as consistent and fair to all of our students. With a raid, we’re not busting down doors, trying to police everything. We just want to make sure, as a general rule, that as we receive any notification [of potential misconduct], generally speaking, we follow up on that appropriately.”

RCW 59.18.150: Landlord’s Right of Entry “(6) The landlord shall not abuse the right of access or use it to harass the tenant, and shall provide notice before entry as provided in this subsection. Except in the case of emergency or if it is impracticable to do so, the landlord shall give the tenant at least two days’ written notice of his or her intent to enter and shall enter only at reasonable times. The notice must state the exact time and date or dates of entry or specify a period of time during that date or dates in which the entry will occur, in which case the notice must specify the earliest and latest possible times of entry. The notice must also specify the telephone number to which the tenant may communicate any objection or request to reschedule the entry. [. . .] (7) The landlord has no other right of access except by court order, arbitrator or by consent of the tenant.” RCW 59.18.040: Exemptions for Universities Living arrangements exempted from chapter. (18) “(1) Residence at an institution, whether public or private, where residence is merely incidental to detention or the provision of medical, religious, educational, recreational, or similar services, including but not limited to correctional facilities, licensed nursing homes, monasteries and convents, and hospitals.”

sity confiscated “about $400 in liquor.” He continued, “So it’s been expensive. Being kicked off campus has made it harder to work on my senior project, but still manageable.” This reference refers to one of the disciplinary actions he claims the school took, banning him from campus property—including the University Church—except for Kretschmar Hall and the Counseling and Testing Center between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m.* Furthermore, Steve’s status as a graduating senior might also be at risk. He said, the school “told me that they actually might be revoking my degree.” Fortunately for Steve, that particular decision does not seem likely. During the disciplinary process, Steve was required to attend a disciplinary hearing with several university employees present, and he was upset with the lack of accountability he felt they expressed when dealing with his

the fact that the signed agreement apparently shifted beneath his feet raises some questions about the values of the institution. The school’s handling of this situation “says that they are not particularly concerned with being honest. They are given to saying one thing and then doing something else entirely,” he said. We at The Collegian wanted to make sense of the school’s response, so one of our other feature writers, Jake Sloop, talked to two of the key university employees involved. Administration’s Perspective Who was responsible for searching the apartment? Before law enforcement officers can search any premises, a judge must issue a search warrant authorizing the officers “to search a particular location and seize specific items.” 3 For

Why was Steve only given a threehour notice? I then asked if, when inspecting apartments on a three-hour-notice, administrators check to see if the new contract has been signed. “No; in the original contract, it says students have to follow the [Village Housing] Handbook,” said Taylor. “All of those changes were communicated to students through email, the official means of university communication. If any student chooses not to come in and sign that new contract, that doesn’t mean they can just ignore what the changes are.” Since the original housing contract includes a clause stating that “[t]his agreement shall not be altered or modified other than by written agreement signed by the parties,” I questioned whether simply notifying tenants via email was legally sufficient.

Taylor responded, “I think within [the contract] there’s a statement that says that the handbook [must be followed]. We’ve modified the Handbook to reflect [the changes seen in the new contract]. So I think that the Handbook adequately reflects any changes that might not necessarily be reflected in a housing agreement form.” Taylor is correct that the original contract does contain a clause stating that “the Walla Walla University Housing Handbook is incorporated into this agreement and violation of such could mean a fine or eviction.”5 Apparently, Taylor believes that this loophole means that the new housing contract need not be signed in order for its terms to be applied so long as the desired changes are made to the Handbook as well. Since tenants agreed to abide by any changes to the Handbook when signing their original agreement (changes that do not require an updated signature from the tenants), any emails reminding students to sign the new housing contract mid-way through the school year were purely a formality. When asked if she felt that the actions taken breached the contract, Taylor responded, “I feel like we adequately [notified the Village residents that there was a change in contract] so I don’t see where breaches of contract could happen in that if it was adequately communicated.” What about Landlord-Tenant Laws? In some cases, Washington State laws mandate a 30-day notice for eviction. However, universities are not bound by the same laws as regular landlords. According to RCW 59.18.040, both public and private universities are exempted from the 30-day notice in RCW 59.18.150: Landlord’s Right of Entry. Taylor explained that exemption from these laws has allowed WWU (in collaboration with its attorneys) to transition away from being seen as a traditional landlord. “Instead of like a traditional landlord-tenant, then we’re just seeing ourselves as like a general oversight of housing. So it’d be very much looking at it the same way you’d look at a residence hall.” This exemption allows for policies that differ from state landlord-tenant laws, including when it comes to eviction notices. Taylor said, “We have multiple [eviction notices]: we have a 3-day eviction notice, a 10-day eviction notice and a 30-day.” When asked what offences garner a 3-day eviction notice, Kristen Taylor said, “Typically that would be something along the lines of a more direct policy violation, so drugs and alcohol. It could be failure of compliance.” A failure of compliance might be something like a repeat offense, where a student has been asked to fix something or change their behavior but has not done so. “I’ll talk generally speaking,” Taylor said, “but sometimes those [short notices] are because there are other issues. . . . Often when you see certain notices, it’s hard for the person that’s just looking at that notice to be like, ‘Oh wow, that’s all [the notice] they got!’ when in reality, there’s probably other things or other discussions that have happened beforehand.” In Conclusion This situation illustrates an unfortunate scenario of miscommunication between student expectations and Village Housing policies. Clearly, students choosing to live in university-owned housing should follow the school’s rules and abide by all elements of their housing contract. Similarly, the school should honor contracts in a transparent and straightforward way so that no legal or ethical confusion is possible. Cases like Steve’s demonstrate the trouble that can ensue when this communication does not happen. *When asked to comment on Steve’s banning from the University Church, Kristen Taylor offered no comment (likely due to FERPA concerns).

1 https://www.wallawalla.edu/fileadmin/user_upload/ Res-Life-Housing/2017-2018_Village_Housing_Handbook.pdf 2 Village Housing Contract as of December 2017 3 https://www.justia.com/criminal/docs/search-seizure-faq/ 4 Ibid. 5 Village Housing Contract as of September 2017

Michael Jensen is a mechanical engineering major. Jake Sloop is a biochemistry major. Daniella Silva is an international communications major.

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May 2018 Issue 26 | walla walla university | college place, wa

WEEK IN FORECAST

May 31-June 6 31

Thursday

tWWUnes @ SAC, 7 p.m. -- Smoothies are half off with a tWWUnes director signature, just $1.50! Museum After Hours: Presenter David Jepsen @ Fort Walla Walla Museum, 5-6 p.m. WWU Symphony Orchestra Concert @ FAC Auditorium, 7:30-8:30 p.m.

National Nail Polish Day National Go Barefoot Day National Hazelnut Cake Day National Say Something Nice Day National Doughnut Day

Saturday

TOPS Walk Washington @ Murr Sports Park, 8-9 a.m. ASWWU Surprise! @ Campus Life, 11-2 p.m. Outdoor Church @ Centennial Green, 11:45-1 p.m. Spring Choral Concert @ WWU Church, 5-6:30 p.m. String Quartet Recital @ FAC Auditorium, 8-9 p.m.

National Smile Day

The Three Musketeers @ WWU Village Hall, 8-9 p.m.

National Macaroon Day

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Friday

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FOOD THE LAST SUPPER

Creamy Peanut Noodles

By Daphne Novak This is probably one of my favorite weeknight meals for several reasons—not the least of which is that it is incredibly quick to make. The recipe

B makes a lot of food, it’s cheap and it’s very hearty. The recipe is adapted from Six Vegan Sisters.

Daphne Novak is a psychology major.

Ingredients Adapted from Six Vegan Sisters

Ingredients

S t

w w fi d w w I g t

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1/4 cup peanut butter (I prefer crunchy)

•

1/4 cup soy sauce (like Braggs)

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2 tablespoons sriracha

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1 teaspoon maple syrup

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1 teaspoon rice vinegar

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1 teaspoon sesame oil

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4 ounces rice noodles

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4 ounces cubed tempeh

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3 green onions and more for garnish, chopped

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1 small head of broccoli

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2 handfuls of kale, chopped with stems removed

R w O O W

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Sesame seeds, for garnish

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Chopped peanuts, for garnish

t w w b

Directions 1.

Start by whisking together the peanut butter, soy sauce, sriracha, maple syrup and rice vinegar. Set aside.

Heat sesame oil in a wok or large saucepan over high heat.

Add chopped tempeh and let cook for four to five minutes.

While the tempeh is cooking, cook the noodles according to the instructions on the package.

Turn the heat of the wok down to medium-low heat and mix in the chopped green onions, broccoli and kale.

Add a splash of water and continue mixing. Let cook until the broccoli softens, the kale gets semi-wilted and the water has boiled off.

Add the peanut sauce to the tempeh and veggies and mix.

Add the cooked noodles and mix well.

Sprinkle with sesame seeds, peanuts and green onions to taste.

(SIX VEGAN SISTERS)

CULTURE LOVIN’ SUMMER

Walla Walla in the Summer By Hannah Thiel It’s almost time to leave Walla Walla for the summer, but if you’re staying here for summer classes, work or maybe you just live here, no worries! Despite being a college town, there’s still a lot to do or try in Walla Walla over the summer. 1. The Milton-Freewater Drive-In Theater. The drive-in experience is not to be missed, so if you haven’t gone to one before, you should try it out this summer! The drive-in shows two movies back-to-back, so you get two movies for just $7—cheaper than you would get at the movie theater, even on

$5 movie night. Make sure to pack lots of blankets if it’s a cool night. 2. Summer produce. Walla Walla has a delicious variety of food available during the summer. There’s fresh corn on the cob, yellow Hermiston watermelons (they’re super sweet), you-pick blueberries at Lampson’s Berries in Milton-Freewater or you can try some of the town’s namesake onion-themed food at the Walla Walla Sweet Onion Festival on July 21. 3. Veterans Memorial Pool. Last year, Walla Walla opened its water park for its first season! It has several water slides and a lap pool. It’s still

really new, so it’s very clean and only costs $5 for a day pass. The pool opened May 25, so you could even check it out before you leave for the summer.1 4. Treat yourself. Summer is the perfect time of year to get a cold treat, especially in Walla Walla where it’s consistently 80-100°F during the day. You could get ice cream at Bright’s or Klickers, or get a milkshake at Ice-Burg. If you like fair food, I’d suggest visiting Pioneer Park on the Fourth of July. 5. Spend time outside. Walla Walla in the summer is beautiful! You could go hiking at Bennington

Lake, biking in the Blue Mountains, or swimming at Jubilee Lake. If you want to explore farther afield, you could go to Wallowa Lake. The Wallowas are perfect for hiking and backpacking, but the nearby towns (like Joseph, Enterprise and Wallowa itself) are fun to explore, with unique shops to visit and delicious places to eat. 6. Explore downtown Walla Walla. Walla Walla Valley Transit offers free rides downtown during the summer, so even if you don’t have a car, you can still spend time there. If you haven’t made it downtown much during the school year, some of the best places

to start would be Book & Game, Earthlight Books, Bright’s Candies, Sweetwater Paper & Home, the Walla Walla Public Library and the Patisserie. https://www.wallawallawa.gov/depts/parksrecreation/veterans-memorial-pool 1

Hannah Thiel is an art major.

college place, wa, walla walla university

Sunday

Monday

The Three Musketeers @ WWU Village Hall, 2-4 p.m.

ASWWU Tread Shed Group Rides @ Tread Shed, 5:30 p.m.

Spring Jam @ Centennial Green, 4-6 p.m.

Bites on the Green @ Between the Atlas and Tread Shed, 6:45 p.m. -- Enjoy snacks after the ASWWU Tread Shed Bike Ride!

ASWWU Global Service Food Fair @ Centennial Green, 4-8 p.m. National Chocolate Macaroon Day National Egg Day

Walla Walla Food Truck Night @ Burwood Brewing Co., 5-9 p.m.

Tuesday

T-Waffle Tuesday @ ASWWU Offices, 8-10 a.m. -- Come enjoy coffee, tea, cocoa, and cider with some waffles and toppings! Celebration of Service @ TBA, 11 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

| May 2018 Issue 26

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Wednesday

Children’s Storytime @ Plaza Library, 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. Big Band Concert @ FAC Auditorium, 7:30-9 p.m. National Applesauce Cake Day

National Veggie Burger Day

National Drive-In Movie Day

National Gingerbread Day

National Running Day National Higher Education Day

National Cheese Day

National Cancer Survivor’s Day

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OUTDOORS RUUD REMARKS

Bad Weather Blues By Niqolas Ruud Things don’t always line up. Schedules change, people change and the weather changes, too. I mean, it would be great if life were perfect and everything was always as I wanted: the snow was always firm, the ice was always sticky, every day was a bluebird one, there was no wind, I was always tan, my studies were always done before bedtime, and I could teach myself to have a photographic memory, etc. But that’s just not the way it is. So, what do you do when conditions aren’t perfect? What do you do when you didn’t get enough sleep? Or when you have lots of great weather but minimal time? Well, let the grand “we” here at Ruud Remarks offer some suggestions with the following list of the “Top 10 Outdoorsy Things to Do When Your Other Outdoorsy Things to Do Didn’t Work Out”: 1. Take a shower. Yes, you don’t have to limit yourself to only one or two each week. A

bad weather forecast for the weekend could easily lead to more time spent on personal hygiene. Use shampoo to wash your hair this time and don’t just run water through your hair; heck, maybe even splurge a little and go get a fresh cut! 2. Eat. Have you been skipping meals again to get your homework turned in on time? Well, when the schedule you hashed out on that daily planner doesn’t go according to plan you can always separate your usual one-mealper-day strategy into three equal parts. Eat the three sections at different times while maintaining the same overall portion sizing for a healthy balance. 3. Go for a run, a bike ride or a swim. These three activities are great since they do not take the full-day commitment that other activities such as backpacking, rock climbing or river rafting do. Instead, you can go catch seven or eight miles in those sweet new kicks you ordered from FootLocker between your O. Chem test and the

start of that ethics class. This way, you get exercise without having to wade through the logistics of a weekend alpine endeavor. 4. Do what you wanted, just faster. This option may actually come in handy if the weather forecast says that there is going to be an electric storm at the campsite you had planned on hiking to. Instead, alter your plan to exclude your sleep system, cookware and pajamas, and swap out that heavy pack for a pair of trail runners. You’ll cover just as much ground, only faster. 5. Drink more water. This is a great activity to take up no matter the occasion. As Kyle Proctor says, “Drink more water. Or you might die.” 6. Read a book about what you were going to do. Let’s say you were planning to hike the entirety of the Pacific Crest Trail, but instead you busted your knee in a softball collision with someone named Carston Haffner. Now you

The author ascending Mount Rainier via the Gibraltar Ledges. (CHAD NELSON)

might need a backup plan. This would be a great time to use your local library to search for books with the keywords “Pacific,” “Crest” and “Trail” in hopes that some fascinating read comes to your attention. 7. Write a book about what you were going to do. If reading is not your thing, maybe writing could be! Take up pen and pad to detail what you envisioned your climb of Denali to be like. Was there a blizzard? Did you see an avalanche? Did the tedious tasks of basecamp life become much easier when a mythical dragon came down and melted snow into water for you? If so, tell us about it using the written word! 8. Train so you can do it next time. Maybe your plans didn’t work out because “it’s too cold,” or you “ate too much,” or your “shoes are too tight” or “the rock is too sharp and pointy!” If these excuses are the reason your plans didn’t work out, maybe you just need to suck it up and hit the hangboard or the weight room or the

stair-climbing machine. Essentially, just spend some time inside pretending to be doing what you love outside and probably hating every minute of it. 9. Plan. Pore over maps, guidebooks and other resources about the location of your next adventure. Listen to a podcast about the area, or make your own about your lack of knowledge and how you just can’t wait to learn more. Better yet, write a book about it, and then drink a glass of water when you’re done writing because once you’re actually there you’ll know everything there is to know and also be hydrated! 10. Sleep more. Sleeping is actually pretty easy if you don’t have other non-sleep activities that keep you from it. However, unless your name is Mason Parks, this specific “outdoorsy thing” is optional (especially if you do it indoors).

Niqolas Ruud is a religious studies major.

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May 2018 Issue 26 | walla walla university | college place, wa

SUBMISSION A RESPONSE TO ITTO

Ellen G. White University By Daniella Silva Two Sabbaths ago, we had the chance to attend “Is This Thing On?” (ITTO), an event where students got the chance to ask “tough” questions to our North American Division (NAD) leaders. The event was well-thoughtout and informative. I left with the impression that we, young and old alike, are all aware that there are problems that need resolutions within our church. I feel that having the leaders of the church on the same page as us is at least a step in the right direction. During the event, questions were asked about highly controversial topics such as LGBTQ+ treatment, and women’s ordination, but the conversation that intrigued me most was on Adventist education. As much as we like to direct our attention towards bigger problems that both our church and our nation are struggling with, I feel as if a few problems with the Adventist education system are often overlooked. At ITTO, I got the chance to offer one solution for our struggling system of education; however, I felt as if the 45 seconds of on-the-spot microphone time I received was just not enough to elaborate on the possible solution I have concocted to save the future of our private education system. With the space I have been given in this issue of The Collegian, I plan to expand on a few of Adventist education’s issues that have been pointed out and some suggestions for how to address them. A few of the problems include, but are not limited to: 1. decreasing enrollment, 2. increasing prices, 3. questionable education, 4. underrepresentation of race and 5. competitive recruiting. The list could probably go on, but these are just a few that I want to tackle in this article. My Idea: Ellen G. White University (still working on the name) The general concept would be to combine many of our smaller Adven-

tist colleges and universities into a larger, well-attended university. For those of you who are unaware, the Adventist higher education system has 15 colleges and universities within the U.S. and Canada. There are also four or five small colleges (including Weimar College) that are “closely aligned” with the practices of the SDA school system. I had personally never heard of any of these closely-aligned colleges until I started doing some research for this article. Some of these smaller colleges host anywhere from 40-120 students. Although this may seem like a decent number for students who came from a 12-person high school, I can safely say that schools like this would only be missed by about 50 people if they were to ever close. With that being said, our 15 official colleges and universities host an average of 1,500 undergraduate students per year, which again, is not terrible, but I think we could do better. If we were to be realistic, the probability of combining all 15 colleges and universities is unlikely. Although this could be a solution for the future of SDA education, for the purpose of this illustration, I would like to propose a “plan B.” The foundation for my idea would involve combining all the SDA colleges and universities into three, larger universities at different campuses that would function under one name. These universities would most likely be located in Loma Linda, California (the west coast campus); Lincoln, Nebraska (the central campus); and Silver Spring, Maryland (the east coast campus); all of which would run under the same name (EGW University). I realize the potential issues that could stem from consolidating our schools, such as a smaller variety to choose from, more travel for students, etc., but think of all the problems that this idea could solve and consider how these solutions could outweigh the problems they might spawn. We would not be

the first religious school system to use a consolidated university system. The Church of Latter-Day Saints also operates all of their official colleges and universities under one name. Brigham Young University, located in Utah, is the main campus for Mormon higher education with smaller campuses in Idaho, Hawaii and Virginia. Mormons from across the country travel all the way to Utah every August to attend a university that supports their faith, and it works! They host about 30,000 students every year and have been recognized as a top-competing school in academics, athletics and creative arts. I believe that if we were to do the same, we could boost our enrollment from 1,500 per campus to a total enrollment of 25,000 students under the university name, with 7,500 or so at each campus, growing both the name of our university and the name of our faith. Ellen G. White University would solve not only our enrollment issues but also the other issues I mentioned. Having one big university would mean that all of our funding from Adventists churches and alumni would be devoted to one school system rather than several smaller schools. Our higher education system is built against itself in a sense. Andrews, Walla Walla, Southern, La Sierra, etc. are constantly competing for donors, students and better programs. We tend to work against each other, rather than working together to keep Adventist education alive and further the mission of the Adventist Church. Combining our schools would lower the amount of competition and force us to collectively work together to recruit students, donors (which in turn could potentially lower prices) and even staff members. Speaking of recruitments, the athletics programs could be improved if we were to combine our programs. If we were to take all the best players from each SDA college or university and put them

on one team, I would like to believe we could compete on a D2 or D1 collegiate level of play. Washington Adventist University, our sister school located in Maryland, competes in D3 basketball with only 900 students enrolled in their school. Just think of the possibilities we could achieve with a few extra thousand students enrolled. Issue 3.—questionable education. Students are often afraid to enroll in Adventist education because they feel as if our higher education system is more of a joke. Out of my graduating class of about 40 students, less than 10 are now currently enrolled in Adventist higher education. Combining our schools would give us a better opportunity of strengthening our academics. We would be able to hire top staff from all of the smaller universities, fund up-to-date equipment and offer an extensive number of majors and minors to students, ensuring that they could trust us with their education. Finally, Issue 4. —diversity. Many of us are aware of the diversity issues within our SDA school system. Depending on what college you choose to enroll in, it is likely that there will be more of one race and less of others. Although there is nothing wrong with this, I believe integrating our colleges would help create more diverse and welcoming campuses to students of all ethnicities. It would be amazing to see the three campuses of EGW University replicate that of Andrews University, where there are no majorities or minorities; where every person has a niche that they can be welcomed into, but also new communities that they can learn more about and appreciate. In my opinion, I feel that Heaven will basically be a big campus of intermingled people from all backgrounds, open for everyone to appreciate and enjoy. Rather than continuing to separate ourselves from each other, I see value in consolidating our campuses and

getting a head start on the intermingled ideology that we may be practicing in the near future. These are just a few of the problems that combining our higher education system could solve. I am positive there are more arguments that could favor the idea of a larger Adventist university system; however, because I am only so creative, I would like to leave the rest up to you all to think about and improve upon. As a church and school system, it is important to continue to progress. I believe the consolidation of our school system would set a tone for academies and elementary schools who also struggle with similar problems that our colleges and universities are trying to combat. I encourage you all to spread this news article with your friends, families, pastors and principals back home so that they could also have this seed planted in their head. If you have any concerns or proposals that could be added to this idea, please shoot me an email at jeffrey.fennell@ wallawalla.edu. Thanks for reading!

Jeffrey Fennell is a contributing writer.

SUBMISSION PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE

May: A Month to be Asian By Victoria Ico May is a month of celebrations. Between Cinco de Mayo, Mother’s Day and Memorial Day, the parties don’t seem to stop. Here is just one more thing to celebrate: Asian Pacific American Heritage Month. As February is set aside to celebrate African-Americans, May is dedicated to the 5.6 percent of Americans who identify as Asian-American.[1] These people consist of those with origins from the Asian continent and the Pacific islands of Melanesia, Micronesia and Polynesia. There are many ways to celebrate the diverse cultures that make up this population, such as enjoying a certain country’s music, learning new bits of history or eating the various cuisines the continent has to offer. Educating yourself on the Asian-American journey and how the two worlds have intertwined is key to understanding how this population came to be. Figures such as Yuri Kochiyama, an Asian-American activist who worked alongside Malcolm X, and Amy Tan, a widely successful Asian-American writer, have their chapters in history, as well as the era

of Chinese railroad workers and the reasoning behind the bloom of great Chinese restaurants in the U.S. Back in 1979, the celebration of Asian heritage was the week following May 4 and was only approved by President Jimmy Carter after two previous attempts from Congress. [2] The reason for May being the designated month was due to two anniversaries: the first for remembering when the Japanese first immigrated to the U.S. in 1843, and the second for remembering the completion of the First Transcontinental Railroad since most of the track was laid by Chinese immigrant workers in 1869. In keeping with the diversity celebrated this month, I asked several Asian-Americans from other SDA schools to give their reasoning for what makes them Asian-American. “I am of Chinese descent, but I was born and raised in the United States.”—Cheryl Wang, Southern University “I am Asian, and I live in America. I am American based on my beliefs of growing up in America. I am also Asian with some ethnics of how to be Asian, but I am more American than

I am Asian.”—Dylan Lane, La Sierra University For some people, being Asian-American means they identify with their family’s country of origin, but they wholeheartedly take on the American culture that they were born and raised in. It doesn’t make them any more or less Asian or American; they appreciate the cultural aspects of both. Because they were raised on U.S. soil, Asian-Americans often find a clash of values and beliefs stemming from what they’re taught from their family and their American peers. It’s not always bad, but certainly thought-provoking for those who are figuring out their personal identity. “I am Asian-American because I was born in Malaysia, and my family is from Malaysia, but my life is here in America. I can’t deny my roots and I love where I come from, but in the end I will say ‘California’ when asked where I’m from.” —Yasmine Siagian, Andrews University Everyone’s life is written as an intricate story, and immigrant Asian-Americans are no exception. They have stories of past lives in their country of origin. They have vague

memories when they were just small children but have more distinct ones from growing up in America. There are stories of struggle and sacrifice and success. Their story could be as simple as “we moved and that’s it,” but their life stories are still their experiences on two different soils. Many Asian-Americans have strong ties to the country their families came from but are quick to embrace the American title as well. These Asian-Americans will mix the two cultures together in a lifestyle of familiar and different, which creates a new culture. “I would say it is through the food. Growing up as Filipino-American, we would throw huge birthday parties and it was loaded with so many Filipino dishes. There would be rows of food, from lumpia to pancit sotanghon to kare-kare. Then at the end of the table there would be pizza for kids who didn’t want the traditional food. The fact that there can be Asian and American dishes on the same table shows an accurate representation of being Asian-American.” —Karyssa Dela Cruz, Walla Walla University Food, traditions and habits often flow between one culture and the oth-

er. Every Asian-American household is different in how they want to uphold different aspects of cultural identity, but one thing is for sure: they do not lose it. In one way or another, their heritage is celebrated in their daily lives. Some find American traditions as important as their Asian ones, so they participate in both. Asian-Americans find it important to keep their heritage alive to remember where they came from. Being Asian-American, I feel it is important to know where we came from and how that affects where our future goes, especially in the U.S. As a Filipino, I hope to see more and more ethnicities recognized and represented as this country attempts to progress into a welcoming and diverse one. I appreciate this month for having an opportunity to celebrate the achievements and culture of Asian-Americans. Enjoy the rest of May and find some way to participate in Asian Pacific American Heritage Month.

Victoria Ico is a contributing writer.

POLL Last week’s question and responses:

Are you satisfied with WWU’s recently updated village housing policy that removes the standard 48-hour notice before allowing university officials to enter an apartment?

NO 88.5%

YES 11.5%

I get that they are a school and I choose to go here and live here, but I still think i should have some privacy.

*we only had one person comment for “yes.”

By not giving a notice, WWU is stripping legal adults of freedom. It is disrespectful to students, and violation of privacy. I understand the intent, but honestly it feels like prison. This is a bad policy. It is intrusive and it makes administration look incompetent.

I understand they probably did it in part to protect against misuse of their own property. I would consider doing the same thing in their shoes.

26 total responses