May 5, 2021
Vol. 119 NO. 5
Spring festival celebrated various AAPI cultures By Lexi Wicks
Fire at Wahle Complex causes $50,000 in damages
The Spring Festival brought some members of the CWU community together on April 28 as staff and students celebrated Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander culture. Several students and staff attended the event, including many that watched from the Diversity and Equity Center’s (DEC) Instagram live. Laughs and chatter filled SURC 137 Wednesday night. The room was lined with tables, each representing a different Asian, Asian American and Pacific Islander culture. There were a total of five tables representing Japanese, Chinese, Philippino, Korean and Vietnamese cultures. Each table had information boards that included background on the culture as well as snacks, games, stories, clothing, photos and more. Everyone in attendance had the opportunity to participate in traditional games where they could win prizes. Kim Nguyen, event coordinator, attended virtually through Zoom to help introduce each part of the event including presentations and performances about each country. The first activity was connection bingo. Attendees were given the chance to mingle and get to know each other by asking a series of questions related to the bingo board provided to them at the entrance of the event. The first three people with a full bingo sheet won a DEC tote bag. After the prizes were handed out, Nguyen started off the presentations by giving a slideshow on where she grew up, Vietnam. She spoke about the variety that Vietnam has in many aspects of its culture, traditions and landscape. Vietnam is home to cities, oceans, beaches, lakes, mountains and forests. Their cuisine is just as diverse. Nguyen made it a point to recommend Vietnamese coffee as a start, as she said she finds it to be amazing. Her presentation also highlighted traditional clothing, practices and celebrations such as Lunar New Year. She finished by playing a clip of her singing, making her Spring Festival’s first performer of the night. Following Nguyen was student Koki Yoshizawa who gave a presentation on his home, Japan. Throughout his presentation the audience learned everything from basic in-
By Jackson Sorensen A fire occurred Tuesday evening at an apartment in the Wahle Complex that caused an estimated $50,000 in damages. No injuries were reported. Deputy Fire Chief Rich Elliot responded to reports of a fire minutes before 5:00 p.m. “We were responding to a stove fire that was dispatched as a structure fire because fire had spread to the cabinets and the walls,” Elliot said. “The building was sealed up but we could see signs of an active fire.” Elliot said the windows in the apartment were stained and cracked from the heat and smoke. A fire engine arrived on location minutes after Elliot arrived and was able to knock down the fire within a few minutes. Elliot reported the fire was caused by unattended food on the stove. “The smoke alarms alerted the residents and potentially saved them,” Elliot said. “They didn’t know there was a fire until the smoke detectors went off.” The residents are working with CWU Housing to relocate and some of their belongings were damaged in the blaze. Elliot urged renters to purchase renter’s insurance to ensure that their belongings can be replaced after events like these. He also urged residents to not remove the batteries from their smoke detectors, as they could save lives. “The school has always been good with providing alternate housing to students,” Elliot said. “There were people on-scene from housing that were assisting the residents with relocating.” Casey Mengert and James Akina are neighbors and witnessed the fire. They, along with the residents in the uninhabitable apartment, are having to relocate as well. Their neighboring apartment
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