The Observer, Spring 2023 - Issue 1

DIVERSITY

Expanding campus traditions: Iftar dinner creates cultural community

Pg. 3

Trump indicted and charged with 34 felonies

CWU Political Science professor breaks down what this might mean

posts were described in the article as “destructive and threatening.”

OPINION

Living with a ‘ Tripawd’

Pg. 9

SPORTS

Men’s rugby looks forward to postseason after historic year. Pg. 10

Former President Donald Trump was charged with 34 felony counts of falsifying business records on Tuesday, April 4. Trump, who said 10 words in total during the entire proceeding according to AP News, pleaded not guilty. According to Reuters, all of the felonies combined could lead to a prison sentence of over 100 years for Trump.

This is the first time a former president has been indicted and charged with felonies.

The next hearing, which will look over new evidence found between now and then, will take place on Dec. 4. The judge has asked Trump to stay off of social media until the next court date.

The indictment came from a Manhattan grand jury, and involved the money paid by former Trump lawyer Micheal Cohen in the amount of $130,000 in return for Stormy Daniels’s silence on her bedroom encounter with the former president.

According to MSNBC, the judge had to issue a protective order regarding discovery materials, meaning that any information gathered for further use in the court proceedings will be held confidential.

MSNBC reported that Judge Merchan said Trump could face immediate imprisonment if he continued his “concerning rhetoric.” This was in regard to emails and social media posts that Trump had recently made directed at the proceeding and those involved in the trial.

One cited post included an edited photo of Trump hitting district attorney Alvin Bragg’s head with a baseball bat.

Todd Schaefer, political science department chair at CWU, said this case has the potential to be the first of many criminal charges for Trump to face.

“Yeah, it could be [the first of many cases],” Schaefer said. “On the other hand, he could ski away from the avalanche.”

Schaefer referenced other ongoing probes into Trump’s business dealings, his involvement with the Jan. 6 insurrection, his involvement in the 2020 elections and claims of fraud and election interference in Georgia, and missing and inconsistent tax records.

Schaefer said he thinks that the grand jury has to have a strong case if they even considered charging it against him in the first place, despite some prominent figures alleging they do not have a strong enough case.

“If they went to the trouble of going to grand jury, they must have a solid case,” Schaefer said. “Otherwise they would have settled out of court.”

Schaefer said that he is on the fence on whether or not this will impact Trump’s performance in the upcoming 2024 election, where Trump is anticipated to run again as a candidate.

According to Schaefer, this could strengthen his Republican base, but may hurt him when it comes to nationwide voting.

“So far it has helped him, because he can claim he’s been victimized, so I’ve seen his poll numbers go up,” Schaefer said. “In the short run it will help him, in the long run, if he’s actually convict-

Trump returned home to Mar a Lago to give a speech directly after the arraignment, where he talked briefly about the case before listing off other grievances, including the topic of election fraud and Hunter Biden’s laptop.

Spirit Therapeutic Riding Center offers healing through horses

Horses, healing and hope take the reins at Spirit Therapeutic Riding Center (Spirit TRC), located on Sorenson Road in Ellensburg.

Spirit TRC was founded by Evelyn Pederson in 2006, after she went through a challenging time in her life and started volunteering at Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center in Redmond, Washington.

Pederson said that she started driving for two hours every Saturday. The director of Little Bit Therapeutic Riding Center asked Pederson if she would like to volunteer for more than one lesson to make it worth her time. The director then asked Pederson if she would like to job shadow an instructor.

According to Pederson, it became her dream to open up a therapeutic riding center in Ellensburg. She said she is happy to allow the participants of Spirit TRC to be truly who they are, and that she has learned something from all of them each week.

“You will see a tear of joy in my eye and a smile on my face as I watch you transform and heal,” Pederson said.

Pederson said she is the vessel to allow the magic to happen between the participant and horse, all the while keeping them safe.

According to their website, the mission of Spirit TRC is to “provide equine-assisted activities to individuals with physical, emotional and learning disabilities, as well as senior citizens and challenged learners. We focus on capabilities and promote independence.”

According to their website, the therapy programs available include Therapeutic Horsemanship and Riding, Life Skills, Reading Round Pen, Senior Support and a Summer Camp Program.

“Our therapeutic riding and the horsemanship are for people with… learning, emotional and physical disabilities,” Pederson said. “We do a lot of cross-body things and that fires the brain in different ways, and there’s a beautiful peace and calm that you get to witness during that time.”

Ellensburg community member, Nancy Kibler, has been taking her son to Spirit TRC to participate in the therapeutic riding program after he was diagnosed with PTSD.

“He couldn’t focus,” Kibler said. “School was a nightmare … His heart was always racing. He was always looking around …I was just searching and praying, of ‘where’, ‘what can I do’, ‘how can I help him, ‘how can I help me,’ because I knew I needed to do something.”

After seeing a float for Spirit TRC in the parade, Kibler said she decided to call Pederson and Pederson was able to give her insight into how Spirit TRC could help her son.

“His horse was Captain,” Kibler said. “I think the horses [and] just their gentle, rhythmic movement was just a constant and they were safe … He could love on them, and they wouldn’t reject him.”

Kibler said that after a while, she saw her son start to become a different kid. She said her son’s counselor even suggested that he stop seeing them and just go to Spirit TRC, because the counselor felt he was getting more out of it.

“Just the independence that he gained, the self-confidence, he gained the ability to feel grounded,” Kibler said. “He will be okay … this is our safe place.”

Pederson said that volunteers play a vital role in the riding therapy. One volunteer will lead the horse and two will walk on either side of the horse when working with clients.

Geri and Tom Lund are two of the volunteers that help with the side walking and horse leading. Geri Lund has been volunteering with Spirit TRC for five years, and Tom Lund has been volunteering for four years.

“With Geri, I think it was she was looking for something to do that was helping children that are special needs and also working with horses,” Tom Lund said. “I saw the wonderful feeling or mood she came home [in], the high it gave her from working with these kids. I started volunteering because I thought this looks really neat.”

Tom Lund said that being able to work with these kids is special because some of them are non-verbal and don’t make eye contact, but then one day they will look at you or reach out and touch your hand.

Geri Lund said a favorite memory for her was volunteering for lessons for a kid who was nonverbal and also didn’t touch anyone.

“At the end of the year…he would start grunting, he would touch your hand and he grabbed it just to hold it, which was just amazing,” Geri Lund said.

“You can see how he progressed throughout that year and that totally amazed me and he’s still going there today.”

Megan Rogers News Editor

Morgana Carroll

News Editor

EvelynPedersonfoundedSpiritTRCin2006. Photo courtesy of Evelyn Pederson

Photo courtesy of flickr Photos complied by Brandon Davis

In preparation for wildfire season, the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is heading an expansion for the “Wildfire Ready Neighbors Program” from eastern to western Washington, according to mynorthwest.com. The program has helped thousands to prepare their homes for wildfires and will be launched at the Pacific Northwest Wildfire Conference and Exhibition in Sea-Tac.

A CWU alum is now part of the Kittitas County Chamber of Commerce, according to the Daily Record, Chelsea Cramer graduated from CWU in 2021 and now works as the Events Coordinator.

Ellensburg police responded to a package thief captured on a doorbell camera, on Sunday morning and caught the thief later that afternoon. According to NBC, the driver and passenger have been arrested and are in the Kittitas County Corrections Center.

Missouri Democrats called for the removal of current chairman of Missouri Commission on Human Rights, Timothy Faber, after his opposition of a bill that would promote LGBTQ+ rights, according to US News. The bill would protect against landlords refusing to rent to people who fall under the LGBTQ+ banner and employment discrimination.

Environmentalists lost their first legal battle against the Willow Project on April 3, according to AP News. The environmentalist groups were protesting against the building of the oil project on Alaska’s North Slope.

Police have found out that the shooter planned the shooting at The Covenant School, a private christian, for months. According to NBC News, The shooting caused the death of six people. The police are yet to find out a motive.

Letter from the Editor

Here we go again CWU,

We’re back for a final quarter of torture, and by that I mean quality education. This will be my third and final quarter as Lead Editor of The Observer, and of course it’s giving me mixed emotions. I will severely miss the radiant faces of our staff and watching how much their skills have grown since we all started together. In fall of 2021, I started with minor journalism experience and a blissful unawareness of what Associated Press style rules even were. However, as the quarters flew by and I became more connected to my community and purpose as a writer, I felt like I finally found something that challenged me in a healthy way and expanded my skills exponentially. I’m clearly biased, but I really do recommend The Observer or other student media classes for creative people looking for an outlet and a vast portfolio.

Our staff is eager to share the diverse voices of our community, on and off campus, and to collaborate with as many people as possible this quarter. Fall and winter held so many surprises, I can only imagine what spring may have in store. We are all settling back into the grind, and as we do, keep in mind what it is you love and want out of life. Don’t lose sight.

Take care and may your classes start with a BANG,

Katherine Camarata Lead Editor

Staff

Lead Editor Katherine Camarata

Scene Editor MJ Rivera

News Editors

Morgana Carroll

Megan Rogers

Sports Editor Isaac Hinson

Copy Desk Lead / Opinion Editor

Brittany Cinderella

Assistant Copy Editor Kai Kyzar

Online Editor Madison VanRavenhorst

Assistant Online Editor

Deacon Tuttle

Faculty Adviser Jennifer Green

Graphic Design Lead

Glacie Kehoe-Padilla

Assistant Graphic Designer

Brandon Davis

Photo Editor Yohanes Goodell

Senior Reporter

Zileni Milupi

Staff Reporters

Anna Fridell

Ryan Gildersleeve

Tre’Jon Henderson

Charis Jones

Mykah Koke-Filimaua

Hunter Rhea

Beau Sansom

Quincy Taylor

Elliott Whanger

Somaini

Finland will become the 31st country to join NATO, according to AP News. Turkey, who was opposed to Finland’s inclusion, ratified the country with a letter of approval on March 28. This action has doubled NATO’s border with Russia.

Scientists in Japan set two records, filming the deepest fish seen in the Pacific Ocean and furthest depth caught. According to CNN, the caught creatures are Pseudoliparis belyaevi, a rare species of snailfish found in the Japan Trench.

Pope Francis was discharged from the hospital on March 31, according to AP News. The Pope was being treated for bronchitis in a Rome hospital, and he baptized a baby in the pediatric ward while he was there.

Guest Column: Thoughts on QAnon

I can recognize a Conspiracy theory because it is so kludgelike, so huggermugger—it looks like one; it sounds like one; ergo, it must be one. Pizzagate is generally considered a predecessor to the QAnon Conspiracy theory (Wiki). It follows a dialectical good vs. evil narrative. On the one hand, Satanic pedophiles, organized by Hillary Clinton and Georges Soros and Hollywood elites, running a worldwide sex-slave cult that ritualistically drains the blood of children for adrenochrome, are in opposition to Ex-president Trump and his minion, special prosecutor Mueller, who are in cahoots to root out the pedophiles in the Deep State before the Coming Storm. This notion is as dystopian as it is preposterous.

In the runup to the 2020 presidential election, QAnon entered the mainstream consciousness via social media. The followers of the mysterious Q, receiving encrypted messages from the Dark Web see themselves as chivalrous patriots saving children from a global cabal of leftist pedophiles to energize their propagandist web of disinformation, all in hopes of changing the outcome of an election. Of course, a completely counter-conspiracy on the Left might be perpetuated about a sex slave ring run from a fried chicken outlet with tasty menu entries (white meat or dark, thighs for boys, breasts for girls, mashed potatoes for orgies, and an array of fluid-gendered side dishes) owned by the estate of the late Jeffery Epstein (suicided by operatives of the Deep State led by reptilian Mitch McConnell) which, in turn, is a

false flag to cover up a real cabal of pedophilic priests intent on packing the Supreme Court with Catholics.

In his book, Conspiracy Theories (Polity, Cambridge, 2019), Quassim Cassam contends that the motivation to accept one conspiracy over another is based more on political ideologies than on personality profiles, and he suggests that there is a seductive quality to believing in a theory that fits into an already evolved belief system. He says that consumers of CTs “…are inclined to accept particular Conspiracy theories or particular types of Conspiracy theory…that are in line with their political outlook” (49). In this sense, it is the epistemological form of the CT that fits the person and not the other way around.

Photo by Yohanes Goodell

Jampa Dorje Guest Columnist

Expanding campus traditions: Iftar dinner creates cultural community

MJ Rivera and Yohanes Goodell

Scene Editor and Photo Editor

“Allah Subhanahu wa ta’la, it’s just to honor him, we fast to remember what we’re grateful for.”

- Esmeralda Aceves, Junior, Biology

“Being away from home, you have to make a home where you are and this is what we’re going to do right now, make a home where we are at the moment, bring all the Muslim students together, so we don’t feel alone.”

- Ibtisam Siraj, Sophomore, Law and Justice and Psychology

“[Ramadan] means a time of togetherness and really being able to connect with my faith, and kind of forgetting all the worries of the world and just really dedicating time to God.”

- Marya Khan, Junior, Biomedicine

“I think it’s really important because Muslims are a minority here, so I think it’s important for people to see how we partake in our culture.”

- Marya Khan, Junior, Biomedicine

AttendeesenjoyedtheRamadancelebration. Photo by Yohanes Goodell

StudentsserveuptheirRamadandinner. Photo by Yohanes Goodell

RamadandinnerwasservedonMarch31intheSURCBallroom. Photo by Yohanes Goodell

StudentsenjoyanIftarmealfroRamadanatCWU. Photo by Yohanes Goodell

THEMAC

No gas, no brakes, all updates: the effects of the campus police Tesla

“Some officers just simply can’t fit in it,” Berthon-Koch said.

going to last longer than that.”

The CWU campus police force attempted to cut down on fuel costs and greenhouse gas emissions by purchasing a long-range all-wheel-drive Tesla Model Y in 2021, and CWU Police Chief Jason Berthon-Koch provided an update on the impact of the new vehicle.

“The Tesla has been great and officers who drive it, they love it,” Berthon-Koch said.

Some challenges campus police officers have faced as a result of the new vehicle include the Tesla battery dying in the middle of a scene and the vehicle being more quiet than gas vehicles and less detectable as a result, according to Berthon-Koch.

“There’s white markings on the police car and also a light bar,” Berthon-Koch said. “It’s not going to be too sneaky. But it also creates an issue that people don’t hear you like a normal car, and they have to be much more aware of where you’re going and where you’re driving.”

Berthon-Koch said comfort should be a priority in police cars because they serve as offices for police officers, who spend upwards of eight hours a day in them.

“Many seats and vehicles are not made for police gear … So, it’s important when we talk about cars and the type of cars they are going to have, we have to wonder, will it fit the officers? So I think for the ones who drive it, they like it. It’s comfortable. It drives nice and it’s quiet.”

In response to questions students posed about why campus police officers are driving what some view as a luxury vehicle, Berthon-Koch said the investment was projected to save money and support CWU’s goals of sustainability.

“I get that’s the stigma of Tesla, that it’s like a waste of money, that this is a status thing,” Ber thon-Koch said. “To us, we were trying to be sustainable and try ing to save money.”

The Tesla cost $56,783.91 in cluding tax, according to email receipts provided through a pub lic records request.

“There’s always times in your life that you have to make an investment to save money,” Berthon-Koch said. “We chose to spend about $5,000 - $6,000 more right up front, to save $18,000 over five years … So we’re thinking this car is

While Berthon-Koch said the Tesla was intended to cut back on rising fuel expenses, he said the exact efficacy is difficult to measure.

“Fuel costs spiked, and gas is expensive,” Berthon-Koch said.

“It’s very difficult for me to tell you exactly how much we spend on energy for the vehicle because the way we use our billing facilities, because we buy our gas from the facility, so they just give us a lump sum, ‘here’s what you owe us.’ So I can’t give you an exact number.”

A public records request found that the Tesla costs were covered by the university Police and

When asked if more Teslas would be purchased in the future to follow the executive order, Berthon-Koch responded: “We don’t have the infrastructure to charge it. We can’t bring more electric cars because … we do not

have enough space for a second electric car at this time. It would be very cost prohibitive right now. I believe that executive order that he [Inslee] signed also may have had an exemption for law enforcement.”

Katherine Camarata and Yohanes Goodell

Lead Editor and Photo Editor

To us, we were trying to be sustainable and trying to save money.”

“There's always times in your life that you have to make an investment to save money.

15 MVP Season Pass Memberships for the Seattle Mariners

Graphics by Brandon Davis

CWU Telsa Campus Police Car.

Photo by Yohanes Goodell.

Photo Illustration by Brandon Davis

“Some officers just simply can’t fit in it. Many seats and vehicles are not made for police gear …”

- Police Chief Berthon-Koch

- Police Chief Berthon-Koch

Washington bill may extend statute of limitation on sexual assault lawsuits

Morgana Carroll News Editor

Lawsuits for the sexual assault of a child must be reported within three years, meaning that a case must be filed within three years of the incident happening or within three years of when resulting harm has been discovered, according to wa.gov.

House Bill 1618 (HB1618) was introduced in Jan. and would remove the statute of limitations entirely, allowing for suits to be filed any time.

Roger Schaefer, an associate professor of law and justice with a background in sexual assault cases, said this is important because it will allow more time for the victims to do what they need to do.

“This allows more time for prosecution for them to file charges or report the crime to authorities that can then conduct investigations and seek out formally charging these individuals,” Schaefer said.

Schaefer said that he thinks there will be a substantial im -

pact from this bill if it gets passed.

“Sexually based crimes are underreported, and particularly children won’t report these crimes because the perpetrator is family or friend,” Schaefer said. “It’s somebody that they’re afraid to report that they really don’t know what to do or how to deal with that. So when they get older they feel more secure, or they’re in different life circumstances … so they can do this.”

According to Schaefer, one

of the reasons that sex crimes are underreported is the societal stigma behind them, so the removal of the statute of limitations would allow them more time to come to terms with what happened.

“The fact is, there’s a lot of fear. There’s a lot of internalized stigma. A lot of internalized blame,” Schaefer said. “For the victim that encounters this, it is terrible. Having a longer period of time where they can seek out the justice system’s involvement is giv -

ing them the opportunity to do so.”

On March 2, the bill passed the house 82 to 14 and is currently in the state senate. Schaefer said that he thinks there will be little pushback against the bill in the senate.

“I think most people will look at it and realize that these crimes are very underreported,” Schaefer said. “They’ll say, ‘yeah, we can understand why [three] years might not be enough time for a victim to come forward.’”

Milton Kuolt Professor of Business Andy Parks joins training taskforce for employees of color

CWU’s Milton Kuolt Professor of Business Andy Parks was appointed the first co-chair for the Washington Employers for Racial Equity, Black Talent Development Task Force this year. Parks said his passion and role is making sure employees of color are prepared for positions with leadership training.

“What I’m doing as part of that task force is training and development for BIPOC employees that are either one to five years into their position at their company, or one to five years in the company itself,” Parks said.

According to Parks, they are currently running a 12-week pilot training program, which is taking place from Jan. 12 through March 20. The companies involved are Microsoft, Delta Dental, Lease Crutcher Lewis, the State Board for Technical and Community Colleges and Vista.

Each employee is also paired with someone from their company who is either a mentor or sponsor, Parks said.

“What we’re doing is we’re teaching leadership skills to both the early-career professionals, you can also call them mentees and mentors,” Parks said. “After the program is over, the mentors will continue to work with their mentees, but also take the tools from this training program and spread them throughout their organization in a pay it forward type model.”

What is unique about this program, according to Parks, is that it is not just CWU doing the teaching. The program was able to partner with the University of Washington, Seattle University and Washington State University to bring together four faculty members.

According to Parks, the 12 weeks of training were divided among the different universities:

There were two weeks of mindfulness training taught by Washington State University.

There were four weeks of emotional intelligence training taught by CWU.

There were two weeks of business development training (negotiation and inclusive leadership) taught by the University of Wash-

ington.

There were four weeks of mentorship, sponsorship and networking taught by Seattle University.

Parks said this training is important because it teaches leadership skills to employees to help them succeed and excel.

“Two-thirds of Black employees don’t have access to their senior leadership,” Parks said. “The promotion rate from manager to executive is 4.9% for white managers, and 2.6% for Black managers.”

According to Park, companies are working to improve diversity, break down systemic barriers and create more openings for employees of color.

Equitable hiring at CWU

Executive Director of Human Resources, Staci Sleigh-Layman, said for the 30 years she has been at CWU, they have always been having conversations about diversity in the workforce.

“We understand that students are more successful when they feel like they belong,” Sleigh-Layman said. “Where they see people just like them teaching in the classroom and

supporting them in their educational and personal journey.”

According to Sleigh-Layman, she also works in tandem with the Vice President for Diversity and Inclusion to bring a diversity advocate to campus.

“They work with each individual search committee to determine a selection process that is not biased,” Sleigh-Layman said. “That person also supports employees as they enter the workforce.”

Sleigh-Layman said there are two reasons why it is important that

CWU looks at its equitable hiring practices: the first being legal reasons because there are laws that forbid discrimination, and the second being that students need to be able to envision themselves as part of the staff and faculty.

“I always hate to use the legal part because that makes it feel like you’d have to,” Sleigh-Layman said. “I think CWU is in a position where we want to, we want to ensure that our students have the very best opportunity to be successful.”

Megan Rogers News Editor

WashingtonState’slegislativebuildingandstatecapitol,Olympia. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

MiltonKuoltProfessorofBusinessAndyParks. Photo courtesy of Andy Parks

Continuing Keith Karns, K EITH KARNS

“I think the tradition have here,” ger I’m how music stretching

Top photo by Yohanes Goodell

Middle photo by MJ Rivera

Bottom photo courtesy of Keri Kunz, CWU Hype

Continuing a legacy at CWU: Karns, the new director of jazz

MJ Rivera Scene Editor

From a lifestyle of traveling and playing jazz all hours of the day and night, to igniting a passion for jazz in CWU students full-time, Keith Karns is finishing out his first year as the new director of jazz.

Originally a trumpeter, Karns gained experience performing and teaching to prepare him for the legacy he will continue at CWU.

Karns talked about how growing up, everyone in his family was musical to some degree; his mother and sister played piano and his father played trumpet and guitar, but they didn’t make music their career.

“When I decided I was going to be a professional musician, I don’t know how successful they thought I was going to be in that, but they were supportive, and I was very lucky to have that support,” Karns said. “That’s what enabled me to be a professional.”

In high school, Karns said band was something fun to do, but in college, he started to view performing as a job.

“Everything about playing music, everything that trumpet was, was work and I had to be serious about that in the same way that a lawyer would be serious about their job,” Karns said.

One of his favorite performances as a trumpeter was when he became a finalist at the National Trumpet Competition. This year, a few of CWU’s students made it to the semi-finals of that same competition.

In his career, he played alongside big names in jazz, but he also has fond memories

of playing in a small cafe when he lived in Texas.

“I played in just kind of a pickup big band on Thursday nights for many years,” Karns said. “We played from 11 p.m. - 3 a.m. in the morning, and I think everyone in the band made $15, and those are still some of my best musical memories.”

When asked about his driving factor to not give up on music, Karns said that he is just really stubborn.

“I think in this business, you just have to be,” Karns said. “Practicing was never a hard part for me because I was committed to getting better.”

In his 20s, before his son was born, Karns propelled himself into the musician lifestyle in Texas where he was living.

“I was teaching at two different community colleges, I had to do all my teaching Monday and Tuesday, and then on Wednesday, I’d have a gig in Dallas, Friday, a gig in Houston, Saturday, a gig in Austin,” he said.

He also played church services and taught private trumpet lessons, and performed around the country, including in Michigan, Kansas City and New Orleans.

Karns has accepted awards from JEN (Jazz Education Network) and others, but he said that he focuses less on the awards he wins and more on the quality of his work.

“If I get recognized for [my work], I’m thankful, but, I’m mostly focused on the task at hand here, and that is working with students at [CWU],” Karns said.

His favorite performance with CWU so far was the Duke Ellington Nutcracker Suite performed by the Jazz I ensemble in Dec. 2022.

“We did that show at The Seasons Performance Hall in Yakima, and that’s something of a tradition here,” Karns said.

“I think I just want to continue the tradition of excellence we have here,” he said, “The longer I’m here, the more I realize how kind of legendary this music program is in the area, stretching back decades.”

The fun has only begun as

Karns gears up for a spring quarter full of events, including Women in Jazz Day on April 22, at which a few nationally-known performers and educators will be playing music with CWU students. Then, that same day, Jazz I is going to North Bend, Washington for the North Bend jazz walk where they will headline at Boxley’s Jazz Club. On May 5 and 6, the annual John Moawad jazz festival will take place in McIntyre Hall.

The historical legacy of jazz at CWU

Professor Vijay Singh teaches vocal jazz and helps direct the jazz combos at CWU. He described the history that CWU created in jazz.

Jazz music, in the 30s and 40s, was the popular music of the time. So, it didn’t have much validity in academic settings, where classical music took precedence.

“Back in 1947, a number of students actually convinced one of the faculty at [CWU] at that time to actually create a jazz instrumental ensemble so that they could play the music that they listened to,” Singh said.

The faculty member worked to make the jazz ensemble into a class for credit and over the years, other universities followed suit. People started realizing that it had real academic validity and cultural significance.

“All the other types of music, for the most part, had come from other parts of the world. Jazz is truly an American art form,” Singh said.

It was around the same time that North Texas University, where Karns studied, began also introducing jazz education.

Those two programs, CWU and North Texas, are monumentally part of the foundation of what we consider jazz education now in academia, according to Singh.

“It’s a pretty cool legacy for our students to know,” Singh said. “This is one of the places where jazz education actually was first being taught and ac -

cepted, and now, you can go to any university across the country and almost all of them have some kind of jazz program.”

John Moawad was one of the directors who got CWU recognized when he directed jazz and percussion. In the mid ‘90s, he retired and the music department dispersed his responsibilities in jazz to two people: Singh, who came on as the director of vocal jazz, and Chris Bruya, who came on in the early 2000s and directed the jazz bands. Together, these two built upon that legacy for about 20 years, until Bruya retired in 2021.

Singh and Karns co-teach the jazz combos now, and Karns also directs all three jazz bands.

“He’s a very good musician, a fine trumpet player and arranger,” Singh said of Karns. “He might not have the same level of experience that some of us have as far as teaching for a broader length of time, but he’s got all the skills to succeed down the road.”

“Following a legend like John Moawad is not easy, following a legend like Professor Bruya is not easy,” Singh said. “So, he’s going to have to make that transition like a lot of us have done, and usually that means that you honor the past of what came before you, and then try to add your own thing and take things in the direction that you want and contribute to the legacy.”

One of CWU’s music professors who teaches trumpet and jazz, John Harbaugh, met Karns when they were both living in Alaska. Harbaugh gave trumpet lessons to Karns when he was in high school, and he remarked that Karns was always a go-getter.

Now that Karns is on CWU’s team of music educators, Harbaugh believes that he is putting in the work to uphold CWU’s standards.

“I think the program is in good hands, I think he’s got all the bases covered,” Harbaugh said. “He has great experience as an educator, he’s a player and also a writer, and that’s a mixture of what new jazz faculty have to have. ”

think I just want to continue tradition of excellence we here,” he said. “The lonI’m here, the more I realize kind of legendary this program is in the area, stretching back decades.”

- Keith Karns

‘Everything Everywhere’ sweeps, and the future of the Oscars

The 95th Academy Awards took place on March 12, and A24’s “Everything Everywhere

All At Once” swept in historic fashion. The heavy frontrunner coming into the ceremony, everything went according to plan for this season’s darling.

“Everything Everywhere,” won Best Picture, Best Director (Daniel Kwan and Daniel Scheinert), Best Original Screenplay (Kwan and Scheinert), Best Film Editing (Paul Rogers), Best Actress (Michelle Yeoh), Best Supporting Actor (Ke Huy Quan) and Best Supporting Actress (Jamie Lee Curtis).

A24 also took home Best Actor for Brendan Fraser’s work in “The Whale,” beating out other frontrunner and my personal pick, Austin Butler. This made them the first studio in history to take home seven of the top eight awards of the night (Picture, Director, the four acting awards, and Original Screenplay), missing out only on Best Adapted Screenplay, which went to the much-deserving Sarah Polley for “Women Talking.”

Sweeps at the Oscars are rare.

“Everything Everywhere” became the first film to win seven awards since 2013’s “Gravity,” and is the third film in history to win three acting categories, following 1951’s “A Streetcar Named Desire” and 1976’s “Network.”

While I think that there is much to be celebratory about regarding the wins, mainly Michelle Yeoh becoming only the third woman of color and first Asian actress to win Best Actress, I can’t help but wonder how this ceremony will be looked back upon as the years go on.

Lee Curtis and Huy Quan’s wins for the film both were undeniably narrative-based. I do think Huy Quan was legitimately deserving, he had my favorite performance in the film, and his character was one of the vessels for the films central themes of kindness and empathy. But, his nomination stems from his comeback story, and an expert campaign trail.

Lee Curtis’ win is far more egregious in my mind. While I love Jamie Lee Curtis for her work in the handful of good “Halloween” movies and “True Lies” among other things, this award reeked of being a career achievement for those films, rather than for her actual work in the “Everything Everywhere,” which was minimal and nowhere near Oscar-worthy.

The win is even more disappointing when her co-star Stephanie Hsu was also nominated, gave a far better performance and was so much more vital to the film than Curtis was.

With “Everything Everywhere” going home with seven awards, and Netflix’s “All Quiet on the Western Front” picking up four, that left little room for

other films to sneak away with anything. “Avatar: The Way of Water” left with just Best Visual Effects, “Top Gun: Maverick” brought home Best Sound, and “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever” won Best Costume Design.

“Tár,” “The Banshees of Inisherin,” “Elvis,” “The Fabelmans,” “Triangle of Sadness” and “Babylon’’ all left with zero wins. Cate Blanchett deserved to win Best Actress for her role in “Tár,” flat-out. It was one of the greatest performances I’ve ever seen, and I predict that will be a snub we look back on in the same vein as David Fincher (“The Social Network”) losing Best Director to Tom Hooper (“The King’s Speech”) in 2011.

But, at the same time, it’s impossible to not be incredibly happy for Yeoh. She was great in “Everything Everywhere,” and we don’t know if she will ever get an opportunity like this again, which is a whole other problem in terms of diversity.

Obviously, not winning Oscars isn’t the end of the world for the people behind the camera, or for the people watching. But I can’t help but fear that films like “Tár,” “Banshees” and “The Fabelmans” won’t be remembered as highly as they should be because of a lack of recognition.

However, my main gripe is that this sweep signals an era for the Oscars which would eliminate unpredictability. I’ve kept my ears against the wall for this awards-season, following as

much coverage as I can (Mostly from “The Big Picture” podcast, which has become my hyperfixation over the last 9 months) and pretty much every single win of the night had been telegraphed for months prior. The only slight roadbump in the way of “Everything Everywhere”’s sweep was “All Quiet on the Western Front” dominating the BAFTA awards, otherwise “Everything Everywhere” coasted through awards season.

The only true surprise of the night came when “Wakanda Forever” won for Costume Design.

Perhaps this year is an anomaly, but if we are entering an era of hyper-predictability, then what is the fun in talking about, writing about and debating the Oscars in the first place? I correctly guessed 17 of the 22 awards at my Oscars party (I would’ve had 20 but I voted with my heart for Blanchett and “Babylon’s” nominations), and while I did win a $50 Fandango gift card, I much rather would’ve been consistently surprised for the duration of the show, instead of feeling like I was going through the motions.

Thankfully, 2023 seems to be on pace to be a fantastic year in film. Movies like “Creed III” and “John Wick: Chapter 4” while not necessarily being Oscar-contenders have already set the stage to expect quality projects in the mainstream. And even so, with the ascendance of “Avatar” and “Top Gun” into being involved

in the Oscars race, it wouldn’t be particularly impossible for Chad Stahleski to see his name involved in the Best Director conversation for “Wick” come the winter. And perhaps Cruise finds his way back to the awards show with this summer’s “Mission Impossible: Dead Reckoning - Part One” (Greatest title ever.)

On the other end of the spectrum, many high-level filmmakers make their return to the bigscreen this year, many of whom will be gunning for the gold. Martin Scorsese returns with “Killers of the Flower Moon” starring Leonardo DiCaprio this fall. Michael Mann’s biopic on Enzo Ferrari starring Adam Driver “Ferrari” is expected to release this year as well. Plus, Christopher Nolan’s “Oppenheimer” and Greta Gerwig’s “Barbie” open on the same day this summer, July 21. But all will be forgiven if this trend of sweeps continues with “Dune: Part Two.” Let the spice flow, baby.

Isaac Hinson Columnist

The cast and crew of ‘Everything Everywhere All At Once’ accepting Best Picture.

Photo courtesy: The Academy of Motion Picture of Arts and Sciences

Photos courtesy of Pexels.com.

Living with a ‘Tripawd’

Brittany Cinderella Columnist

There’s no easy way to tell a dog owner that their 11-anda-half-year-old husky needs to have her leg amputated to save her. Unfortunately, I had to have that discussion with my dog’s vet in December of 2022, but I’m forever grateful I did.

Around November of 2022, I noticed a lump on my husky Shimmer’s right shoulder area. After numerous visits to her vet and lots of tests, it was determined that she likely had a soft tissue sarcoma (cancer) tumor growing at a steady rate.

According to VCA Animal Hospitals, a soft tissue sarcoma is a “broad category of tumors including those that arise from the connective, muscle or nervous tissues in dogs and cats.” There is no way to prevent them from starting or stopping easily, but in most cases, they present as the “15% of cancers of the skin affecting dogs,” according to the VCA website.

After booking her an appointment with an oncologist, a cancer specialist, we were able to see what her options were moving forward.

To be honest, I was worried, I was waiting to hear that cancer had spread too far for her to be saved from it. Thankfully, with the amazing team she had working on her, they removed her right arm from her shoulder blade to her paw, hoping to isolate and remove the cancer in time.

I couldn’t be there for the surgery or the start of recovery, given I had to get back to Ellensburg, and she was over on the west side for surgery. She woke up and I got to video call my parents to check in. She looked a bit off from the anesthesia, but the dying skin infesting her arm

difficult but not impossible

was gone, and I think she was the happiest about that part.

After finals week, I was finally able to get home and see her. She was excited to see me, and even walked over to me! Her new balance stood on three legs and I got to watch her learn and adjust to a seemingly impossible task.

I was not prepared to adapt to a three-legged dog. For all of her life, she had all four legs and ran to her heart’s content. To keep her steady now, we had to get carpets and rugs down for her balance and had to put a t-shirt fitted to her size on her to stop any effort to touch the stitches. I was told she’d learn to get out a dog door on her own, figure out how to run and even that most dogs aren’t worried or upset about losing a leg.

It’s been almost a month since her surgery, and she’s been running around our yard, playing with her sister Shadow, as if nothing has happened. Sometimes she struggles with the deck, so we built a step for her, and are accommodating her every step of the way.

There’s no how-to guide on learning to live with a threelegged dog, but if I had one piece of advice, it’s to let them show you how amazing they are in recovery. I doubted a lot, but now she’s running, happy as can be, as if nothing has ever changed in her life.

The internet calls her a “tripawd”, a tripod dog, and it’s such a cute nickname that I can’t resist calling her that! Sometimes, I forget she lost her paw, or that she even had anything going on since she is still the same husky that I love and adore. As for her progress, she’s getting a chest x-ray in June and the vets are extremely happy with her condition now that her stitches are out.

A sweet old therapist of mine told me how damaging diet culture is for people, especially for women in college like myself. According to the January 2022 issue of the Women’s Studies International Forum, diet culture is a term that is “often used by those within the broad anti-diet movement to critique the pervasiveness of dieting norms and practices,” according to sciencedirect.com.

Of course, when I initially set out on my weight-loss journey, I was overwhelmed by the amount of miraculous 20-day diet programs and gym routines that I found online, and that’s where the issue with diet culture lives. Diet culture rhetoric sounds like, “you either commit yourself fully to the rigorous fitness lifestyle, or you’re unhealthy and undriven.”

One of the things my therapist said in the anti-diet train of thought was, “if I want to go to McDonald’s and get myself a small fry just for the hell of it, why shouldn’t I?” Of course people shouldn’t fear food or deny themselves treats, but my problem was that I didn’t want no damn small fry, I was ordering multiple meals, just for myself, every time.

I wanted to lose the 65 pounds that I had gained in my freshman year. No matter how many times I told myself that my body is amazing and I can do anything no matter my size, I couldn’t change the fact that I didn’t recognize myself in the mirror. And, for me, my sense of self is extremely important.

By July 2022, I had (safely) lost 35 pounds. I wrote down some of the things that people told me after they noticed.

“Do you starve yourself?”

“You look great.”

“What’s your secret, besides diet and exercise?”

“You look…different.” “I lost 35 pounds.” “I mean, I wasn’t going to say anything like that, but… yeah.”

“Are you okay?”

“Congratulations, way to go!”

America struggles with body image and health conversations. We either associate health and fitness with scary diet culture, or assume that anybody who is bigger is making excuses and being lazy, but neither of these views are accurate.

Here’s another issue I never would have anticipated: food is pushed at us everywhere, all the time. At CWU orientation last year, people handed out candy from every table and donuts were served outside the SURC theater. Walking into the Fred Meyer in town, there is always a seasonal display of cupcakes and cookies right inside the entrance by the produce. At the CWU gym, sometimes there is Food Network playing on the TV. At a meal with my coworkers, my boss scoffed when I politely declined dessert.

Some things my friends said are, “Oh, come on, you can eat that,” and, “Diet? Pssh, that’s so stupid.” None of these obstacles even crossed my mind before I decided to change my eating habits, but once I did, they were all that I noticed.

If you really want to know my secret, here it is:

Loosely count calories. Calorie tracker apps can be helpful in the

beginning, but once you have a better idea of how many calories most foods have, you can just make a mental note to yourself about your intake.

Getting too specific is too hard to maintain, and diets that are too hard to maintain can lead to “yoyo dieting,” or frequently gaining and losing a lot of weight. You’ll need to do your own research to decide how many calories you need each day for your body.

One idea that I love is that you can always eat something delicious, at any time. The reason this idea was so helpful was that it allowed me to say “no” more often. I’ll say no to a cupcake right now because I can always say yes later, when I really crave one.

I went to the CWU gym fourto-five days each week for a couple months, and I just went on the elliptical for 20 minutes. That’s it.

When people say, “losing weight is difficult,” I feel like they’re dancing around saying, “you will be very frustrated at times, you will not want to say ‘no’ to anything in the beginning, and you will cave in and cry while eating a bunch of snacks at midnight, more than once.” But, if you have a goal that you are passionate about, whether it be your self-image, your inner health, your energy level or your discipline, you will succeed.

My relationship with food is mine, and I never developed an eating disorder or exercised too much. I lost 55 pounds in 2022, and I see it as a challenge that I overcame because I had been using food as a coping mechanism.

I feel stronger and more accomplished now, but that’s just my story. Do what you need to do for your body and your goals.

Trying to lose weight in college while caught between diet culture and body positivity:

MJ Rivera Columnist

Photos courtesy of Pexels.com.

Shadow (left) and Shimmer (right). Photo by Brittany Cinderella

Men’s rugby looks forward to postseason after historic year

Isaac Hinson

Sports Editor

The CWU men’s rugby team have punched their ticket to the playoffs. Finishing the regular season with a nearly undefeated 8-1 record, the Wildcats cemented their best ranking in team history, earning the number one seed in the West Region of the College Rugby Association of America’s (CRAA) D1A postseason.

The Wildcats will be entering the postseason on an extended break. Their final match of the regular season, which was scheduled to be against number five seed Lindenwood University on April 1,

prove fruitful for the team’s health.

“Potentially having three weeks off compared to two can be a little bit too much,” Thornley said. “But I think for our situation, in terms of managing some swole bodies and a few injuries and things like that, the runway is giving us a little bit longer to get those guys back and be more patient with them.”

The additional time-off also gives the team a chance to look at how they feel about themselves heading into the tournament, and make any adjustments they feel necessary.

“We can really focus on refining our identity and what we do well and trying to make that even better,” Thornley said. “I think given our situation, it’s really important that we’ve had this opportunity to refresh a little bit, but also grow

The Wildcats lone loss this season came by one point against fivetime national champions Brigham Young University (BYU) on March 18. In the playoffs, they will be playing the winner of the BYU vs. University of Arizona (UA) game happening on April 8.

Fifth year flanker and 8 Man Marques Fuala’au said the team is hungry for redemption if they end up on the field with BYU.

“That loss really hurt,” Fuala’au said. “BYU is one of our bigger rivals, so getting an opportunity to face BYU again would be awesome.

I think the boys want to prove that we had more. We left more on the table. We want to lay it all out there if we get the chance to see those guys again.”

Thornley said that the team’s

Sports Spectated

By: Isaac Hinson

preparation won’t change much based on who the Wildcats end up playing, as he sees similarities between the two teams.

“They play very similarly in terms of the way they use the ball,” Thornley said. “So for us from a preparation standpoint, nothing really changes in terms of what we need to do well, regardless of what the opponent is. That makes it less challenging.”

Heading into the tournament, the Wildcats have confidence in themselves against both possible teams. Alas, they’re prepared for any result, and admire both teams as competitors.

“As a whole we’re pretty excited about either opponent,” Thornley said. “We have a lot of belief that we could beat either, but we also have a lot of respect for them. It’s a whole new season in a way… We lost to BYU by a point, and then managed to scrape by Arizona. [But] those results don’t really mean anything when it comes to knockout rugby now.”

Along with the bye-week, the Wildcats will also be treated to having home-field advantage through every game of the tournament, besides the championship game which is set to take place in Houston, Texas on May 6.

CWU’s loss to BYU came on the road in Utah. Thornley said he looks at playing in Ellensburg as a disadvantage for the incoming opponent just as much as he does an advantage for the Wildcats.

“It’s just so hard to travel to Ellensburg from the places that our opponents would have to come from,” Thornley said. “It’s definitely affecting them. Also just having our own home comforts, our own bed and then a field that we’re very well aware of and used to playing on.”

Thornley and Fuala’au both anticipate being able to play in front of the CWU faithful, and for Fuala’au it’s been a long time coming.

“It’s huge,” Fuala’au said about playing at home. “I’ve been here for five years now, we’ve never had the opportunity to host a playoff game… BYU’s crowd gets real row-

dy down in Utah, and I think we get the opportunity to show them how rowdy Ellensburg can be.”

“[We’re] very fortunate that we have some great fans that come and watch our games and pack the stadium out,” Thornley said. “It’s nice because we’ve been on the other side of it, in terms of having to travel to playoff games and things like that… I do think it’s an advantage that we can hopefully make the most of.”

With nine seniors on the team, Fuala’au among them, this season will prove to be the last chance for many of the players on the team to win a championship. Fuala’au said the Wildcats are ready to prove what the years of work have been for, while also highlighting Thornley’s impact as a coach.

“We’re just lucky enough to have a head coach like Todd who puts in so much time and effort,” Fuala’au said. “Just growing this program from pretty much the dirt to where it is now and sticking to it, I think our fruits of our labor are starting to show. It just means so much. We were just talking about it this weekend with some of the other guys who are just really locked in and trying to throw everything at this, because not many times do people get an opportunity like this.”

Thornley himself said he is ready to give the seniors he’s been with for the last four years their championship, and hopes to help bring them to that ultimate goal.

“One of the best parts of the job is seeing guys come in as fresh-faced 18-year-olds and then seeing what they leave us as,” Thornley said. “This class is no different. They’re what I want this program to be all about. They’re hard-working, good people who care about other things apart from themselves … We’re going to miss them deeply. Absolutely we want to do everything we can for them because they’re doing everything they can for us, and make sure we can go out on a potentially very high note.”

The Wildcats will play the winner of BYU vs. UA on April 15 at Tomlinson Stadium.

It’s over. It’s so over. The Trail Blazers are awful at everything. After finding themselves on the outside looking in with the play-in race (Not even the playoffs. The play-in), the team decided to shut down Damian Lillard, Anfernee Simons, Jerami Grant and Jusuf Nurkic, looking to lose as many games as possible to increase their odds at the number one overall pick, and in turn generational prospect Victor Wembanyama. Then on Sunday night, after losing six straight games, the team (which at this point is full of former G-Leaguers and rookies) decides to beat the Minnesota Timberwolves. In Minnesota. Loosening their grip on the fifth best odds in the lottery.

They can’t even lose properly.

The win can be attributed to the emergence of Shaedon Sharpe as a true number one option, which ultimately is a good thing. Sharpe has been averaging 22.9 points-per-game, 5.4 rebounds-per-game and 3.5 assists-per-game on 47.4 field-goal-percentage and 42.6 three-point-percentage over the last eight games. Sharpe sealed the game against the T-Wolves with a heavily contested lay-up game-winner against 3x Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert. He’s that man. I love him more than multiple family members.

The Mariners season is also now in motion, and they haven’t exactly come out swinging. They’re currently 1-4, after winning just one game in their opening series against the Cleveland Guardians, and being down 0-2 in their ongoing series against the Los Angeles Angels. But, I maintain faith in the team. It’s an extremely long season and I can’t imagine Julio Rodriguez will accept a losing season.

April 1

Win 9-4

BaseballvsMontana StateBillings

April 1

Loss 6-2

SoftballatSan FranciscoUniversity

April 2

Loss 0-4

Softballat ChaminadeUniversity

WashingtonState’slegislativebuildingandstatecapitol,Olympia. Photo courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

Todd Thornley observing. Photo courtesy of Jacob

Thompson /Thompson Sports Media

Wildcat Words:

What is your favorite cultural food or tradition?

“Thanksgiving, because you get to spend time with family.”

“My grandma is from Holland, so I’m Dutch, and I really love stroopwafels … we make a hot cup of tea and put it over the cup and let it get warm and mushy, and you eat it with your tea and it’s perfection.”

“There’s this really cute Pho place by my house back home that makes really good food.”

Q&A Q&A

Ellie graduated from CWU in 2022 with a B.S. in Family and Child Life, specializing in Child Life, and minors in Accessibility Studies and Social Services. She’s currently back at CWU as a Master’s student in the Child Development and Family Science program.

“Since I am Polish I love pierogi and Surówka, since my mom used to make it all the time.”

“I love Japanese pork katsu curry since it’s a comfort food for me and reminds me of growing up and doing home

4 p.m. - 5 p.m. - Rob Rhee Artist Talk in Randall 117

7 p.m. - 10 p.m. - Ramadan Iftar Dinner in SURC 201/202

9 p.m. - 10:45 p.m. - The Hot New Jam show in SURC 210

What got you inspired to pursue the Family & Child Life major?

I knew I wanted to pursue becoming a child life specialist after I spent time in the hospital as a teenager. The child life specialist who worked with me was the best part of many of my hospitalizations, and I wanted to bring that joy to other children and families!

How did you find out about CWU?

I found out about the Child Development and Family Science program at CWU because it has the only undergraduate program certified by the Association of Child Life Professionals in Washington.

What makes you passionate about working with children?

I love working with children because they are our future! I think it is so important to nurture and support children to become the best humans possible.

What do you hope to achieve with your degree and masters?

Easter Day

10 a.m. - 3 p.m. - Blood Drive with the American Red Cross in SURC 137 A/B (sign up at cwu.edu/slice use code Centralwau)

10 a.m. - 5 p.m. - Grad Kickoff in SURC Ballroom 4:30 p.m. - 6 p.m. - The Attic Opening Reception in Brooks Library

10 a.m. - 5 p.m. - Grad Kickoff in SURC Ballroom4 p.m. - 5 - What Employers Want

My degree will allow me to become certified as a child life specialist, which means that I can work in hospitals and other stressful environments to help children understand and cope with different situations.

What has been your favorite memory during your time at CWU?

Some of my favorite memories from CWU are from club meetings and hanging out with others in my program!

What’s one podcast you can’t stop recommending to people?

I have been listening to a lot of cool podcasts lately! Some I recommend are: National Parks After Dark (true crime and paranormal stories from the world’s national parks), Marked Safe (disasters) and This Podcast Will Kill You (diseases)!

Graham Wolhart Jr. Psychology

Brooklyn Hobbs Sr. Elementary Education

Bethany Warnick Sr. Biomed

Q & A compiled by Brittany Cinderella

Andrew Ulstad and Yohanes Goodell

Jay Keltner Fr. Theater Studies

Natalie Cortez Sr. Philosophy and Comparative

Ellie Chaffin