The Easterner: Volume 102, Issue 14

Volume 102, Issue 14

www.TheEasterner.org

Jan. 30, 2019

100 days of dance Partly inspired by the character Mac from "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia," senior Justice Forral began his new art project, “100 Days of Dance” to get people to come out, express themselves and interact with people they normally wouldn’t.

Bailey Monteith for The Easterner

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Sports

Features

News

Battling through injuries

Activist-in-Residence

Rokkos leaves Cheney

After four years of ineligibility due to transfers and injuries, junior guard Andie Easley looks back on the challenges she faced early on in her college career.

Social justice activist focuses on health as a broad platform for activism at EWU.

After six years of calling Cheney home, Rokkos Teriyaki & BBQ has relocated to Coeur d'Alene.

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Managing Editor Jeremy Burnham easterner.mngeditor@ewu.edu Multimedia Director Richard N. Clark IV easterner.multimedia@gmail.com Chief Copy Editor Amanda Haworth News Editor Dylan Harris easterner.news@gmail.com Sports Editor Taylor Newquist easterner.sports@gmail.com Arts & Features Editor Erik Rotness easterner.aef@gmail.com Web Editor Colleen Ford Social Media Editor Matthew Pennell Copy Editor Sam Jackson Reporters Kendall Koch Drew Lawson Kaisa Siipola Emmaline Sylvester Nicolas Zerbe Photographers Mckenzie Ford Bailey Monteith Director of Student Newspaper Carleigh Hill Faculty Adviser Jamie Neely

Editorial

Transgender military ban is discriminatory THE EASTERNER Editorial Board On Jan. 22, the Supreme Court allowed the Trump administration’s ban on most transgender people from serving in the military to go into effect.

The nine justices, which ruled 5-4, didn’t take a stance on the legality of the new policy, meaning it will make its way through the lower courts first. The policy makes exceptions for individuals already serving openly and those willing to serve in “their biological sex.”

This reverses a 2016 decision by the Obama administration to allow transgender people to serve in the military.

In July 2017, Trump tweeted about the policy. “After consultation with my Generals and military experts, please be advised that the United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military," Trump wrote. "Our military must be focused on decisive and overwhelming victory and cannot be burdened with the tremendous medical costs and disruption that transgender in the military would entail.”

The problem, President Trump, is that the medical costs wouldn’t actually be tremendous.

A 2016 RAND study examined the implications of allowing transgender people to serve openly in the military.

It found that total health care coverage for active personnel would only increase by 0.04 to 0.13 percent (or between $2.4 million and $8.4 million).

Furthermore, even with the loftiest of estimates, less than 0.1 percent of the overall force would request transition-related health care that could prevent them from deploying, according to the report.

Lt. Col. Carla Gleason, a Pentagon spokesperson, released a statement to CNN following the Supreme Court decision.

“As always, we treat all transgender persons with respect and dignity,” the statement said. “(The Department of Defense's) proposed policy is NOT a ban on service by transgender persons.

It is critical that DoD be permitted to implement personnel policies that it determines are necessary to ensure the most lethal and combat effective fighting force in the world."

From reading the Pentagon’s statement, it is clear that the Department of Defense considers

Courtesy of Pixabay

Editor in Chief Michael Brock 509.359.6737 easterner.editor@ewu.edu

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transgender people less capable of serving in the military than cisgender people.

But why?

The 2016 RAND study notes that there is no evidence to suggest transgender people are a detriment to the military.

“The limited research on the effects of foreign military policies indicates little or no impact on unit cohesion, operational effectiveness, or readiness,” the report read. “Commanders noted that the policies had benefits for all service members by creating a more inclusive and diverse force.”

So if the policy isn’t scientifically backed and won’t actually save much money, why is Trump so adamant in following through with the ban?

It’s simple: the president is inciting hatred and fear in his base.

“We tend to be scared of things we do not fully understand,” said Nick Franco, the EWU Pride Center manager. “So it makes sense that folks want to keep transgender people—a group that is so often misunderstood and demonized—segregated from parts of society.”

As Franco pointed out, this fear has been at the core of other issues in recent years, including genderenforced restrooms.

While it is smart to let the cases work their way through the lower courts before making a ruling, the Supreme Court did not need to allow the policy to go into effect.

It is unconstitutional discrimination and sets a dangerous precedent for an already-turbulent president. •

Policy Information Most transgender people are now disqualified from military service except: 1. Those who have been "stable" for three years in their biological sex before joining the military.

Essentially, 36 months have passed from the completion of surgery and hormone treatments.

2. Those diagnosed with gender dysphoria after joining the military can stay if they are still deployable and don't request a change of gender.

3. Those who were diagnosed with gender dysphoria before the effective date of the policy can still serve and receive medical treatment.

4. Transgender people without a gender dysphoria diagnosis or history can serve in their birth sex.

About The Easterner Mission We, as independent student journalists at The Easterner, inform our EWU audience of the governance, activities and views of our community.

We provide a voice and a learning environment for students to engage, connect and make informed decisions.

Circulation The Easterner publishes a weekly print version as well as web content during the week at http://www.

TheEasterner.org. The Easterner is distributed throughout the Cheney campus and business district as well as Riverpoint and various Spokane businesses. If you would like the Easterner to be distributed at your business call the Advertising Department at 509-359-7010.

www.TheEasterner.org

Corrections The Easterner never knowingly publishes inaccuracies. If any error is found, The Easterner is obligated to correct the error as soon as possible, regardless of the source of the error.

The Easterner does not remove any editorial content from TheEasterner. org. However, if there is a factual inaccuracy in a story, the editors will run a correction or an update as needed.

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Rokkos closes Cheney location MICHAEL BROCK Editor in Chief The Rokkos Teryiyaki & BBQ restaurant in Cheney has closed, the restaurant announced Jan. 15 on Facebook.

This comes a month after owners David and Inez Hall opened a new Coeur d’Alene location in December. The couple declined to comment for this story.

Over the last several months before closing shop, the Halls tried to secure a reliable management team to look after the Cheney location while they got the ball rolling in Idaho, according to the post. Unfortunately, the pursuit was unsuccessful.

“We knew it was a tall order to find responsible people to maintain the quality that we insist for our customers,” the post read.

The Halls opened the original Japanesestyle teriyaki restaurant in 2012. The new establishment has the same menu, including hefty portions of chicken, beef, tofu, vegetables and meatballs served with sides of rice, green salad and wasabi mac salad. Other items comprise of yakisoba noodles, loco moco, fried rice and spam.

“It was pretty disappointing,” EWU senior Bobby Nguyen said. “My girlfriend and I drove up here (from Spokane Valley) to go

eat there like two weeks ago and saw it was closed. We looked on Facebook and realized they weren’t going to reopen in Cheney.”

Still determined, Nguyen and his girlfriend made the drive back through Spokane to Coeur d’Alene to get their Rokkos fix.

It has always been a goal of the Rokkos management to open up a second location,

and when the Coeur d’Alene site became available they knew it was the right fit, according to the post. The Halls also have aspirations of owning a mobile Rokkos food truck and packaging their own signature sauces and mac salad for grocery stores.

“We believe that the consistency of revenue flow that the CDA location provides will allow us to do this and more,” the post

read. “We plan to work very hard to get a mobile truck and visit Cheney for various athletic events, festivals and more.”

On Nov. 19, Rokkos announced on Facebook that they’d be closed for the week of Thanksgiving. They wrote a week later, on Nov. 26, that they’d be closed for the remainder of 2018. The next day, the restaurant published a post stating that they were opening up a location in Coeur d’Alene and gave a reason for the end-ofyear closure.

“We didn’t have the staff necessary and freely available during December to run the Cheney operation in a manner that is acceptable to us or our customers,” the post read. “December is historically our worst month and felt that it was the best opportunity for us to dedicate our energy towards the second location.”

Although M.R. Piggy’s BBQ Cafe recently opened in downtown Cheney, Nguyen says Rokkos' departure leaves a void in the college town.

“It leaves Cheney with a pit,” said Nguyen, whose favorite meal at the restaurant is the loco moco. “It’s like if the Monterey (Pub & Grub) closed. What else is there to eat here?

There’s like six actual restaurants.” • Photo by Michael Brock for The Easterner

Proposed plastic bag ban in Washington state aims to reduce plastic waste Shoppers who forget their reusable bags at home could still use the paper bags at checkout stands, but would be charged an additional 10 cents per paper bag KENDALL KOCH Reporter Heart-wrenching videos of turtles with straws stuck in their heads or birds with their necks caught in plastic bags shed light on the seriousness of the ocean's problem with trash. However, a new plastic bag ban for Washington state could reduce the amount of plastic waste that is left behind

by Washingtonians.

According to the Seattle Times, the Democratic controlled government legislation wants to reduce the amount of microplastics that end up in the oceans or on the coasts. Many grocery stores, including Safeway, support this bill. If passed, the bill would ban single-use plastic bags and charge a 10 cent fee for paper bags.

However, Todd Myers, the environmental director of the Washington Policy Center, disagrees with the bill and believes that using a biodegradable plastic bag would be better for the environment.

Currently, EWU uses biodegradable

grocery bags, utensils and cups. EWU is also making recycling more available to students in residence halls in an effort to become more environmentally responsible.

Marissa Elsinghort, a senior and the vice president of the ECOeagles Club, said that the public should be more educated about where the waste ends up.

“Currently we’re already in a state of crisis with landfills filling up and new ones opening all the time, trash getting dumped in the ocean and in third-world countries,” Elsinghort said. “Although taxing the single use plastic bags isn’t the save all solution, it does make a difference and brings awareness to one of the most important

“Currently we're already in a state of crisis with landfills filling up and new ones opening all the time, trash getting dumped in the ocean and in third-world countries.”

- MARISSA ELSINGHORT ECOeagles club vice president

www.TheEasterner.org

issues our planet faces. The bags currently used on campus are somewhat helping the situation, but it is still creating more waste than there needs to be.”

Erik Budsberg, the Sustainability coordinator for EWU, encourages multiple use bags or items.

“Promoting the decreased use of singleuse disposable plastic bags and increased use of durable reusable bags has multiple benefits for the communities and the environment,” Budsberg said. “Decreased use of single-use disposable plastic bags means a reduction in the use of resources to produce an item that is in general intended to be used for a short period of time and then disposed of.”

The campus here at EWU may be affected by the legislation, but the school will continue the use of their biodegradable bags for the time being. This is just the latest of efforts across Washington state to encourage its residents to be more environmentally friendly. •

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Matt A.J.

Longest government shutdown in US history comes to an end

Then-presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a 2015 campaign stop at the Mid-America Center in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The government shutdown, which ended on Jan. 25, was the longest in U.S. history, lasting 35 days.

President Trump signed a bill on Jan. 25 to reopen the government until Feb. 15 while border wall negotiations continue; date set for delayed State of the Union DYLAN HARRIS News Editor The longest government shutdown in U.S. history came to an end, at least temporarily, on Friday, Jan. 25. President Donald Trump agreed to a bill that will reopen the federal government until Feb. 15.

The $5.7 billion that Trump demanded for the controversial border wall was not included in the bill, however Trump and Congress plan to continue these negotiations.

“If we don’t get a fair deal from Congress, the government will either shut down on Feb. 15, again, or I will use the powers afforded to me under the laws and Constitution of the United States to address this emergency,” Trump said during his press conference.

Despite Trump’s plans to continue discussions regarding border wall funding, Democrats have still given no indication that they will agree to providing wall money.

“The president thought he could crack Democrats, and he didn’t, and I hope it’s a lesson for him,” Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said.

The bill includes back pay for roughly 800,000 federal government employees.

“I will make sure that all employees

receive their back pay very quickly, or as soon as possible,” Trump said.

While many across the country have been affected by the shutdown, students at EWU did not feel the impact with regards to financial aid and grants, as reported by The Easterner’s Nicolas Zerbe on Jan. 23.

While financial aid delays were not a problem at EWU, it is safe to assume that there are likely members of the EWU community who have friends or family members that were affected by the shutdown.

Another aspect of the 35-day shutdown was the decision of when Trump would deliver his State of the Union address.

Trump and Democrat House Speaker Nancy Pelosi agreed upon Feb. 5 for the address.

“When I wrote to you on January 23rd, I stated that we should work together to find a mutually agreeable date when government has reopened to schedule this year’s State of the Union address,” Pelosi wrote in a letter provided to CNN. “In our conversation today, we agreed on February 5th.”

While hundreds of thousands of federal workers can rejoice for the time being, there are numerous Republican critics who have expressed disappointment that the president ended the shutdown

without securing funding for the wall.

Conservative commentator Ann Coulter called Trump “the biggest wimp” in a tweet.

Democrats have remained outspoken against funding a border wall that Trump previously said Mexico would pay for, but they say they are open to other technology that could improve security.

Despite concerns from those in favor of continuing the shutdown until money for a border wall was guaranteed, Trump’s approval ratings continued to drop as the shutdown dragged on.

The Easterner will continue to follow this story as negotiations proceed and the Feb. 15 deadline approaches. •

Westside Church of Christ A Place for New Beginnings 13520 W 6th Ave Airway Heights Sunday Bible Class - 9:30 am Worship Service - 10:30 am College Age Class

Contacts: Jonathan Carpenter Youth Minister (EWU Grad) jonathan.carpenter93@gmail.com

www.TheEasterner.org

Patrick Newbill Minister

psnewbill@yahoo.com 509-951-9316

r y s e

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Coffee connects police and students As the local and statewide peacekeepers, police officers can be viewed by some as intimidating or hard to talk to. Sharing a cup of joe, however, is one solution that many police departments are using to improve relationships with the public.

The EWU Police Department gathered in the JFK Library lobby on Jan. 24 offering coffee, conversations and a chance to pet K-9 Facility Officer Hilani. Coffee with a Cop is a nationwide event on campuses and in cities everywhere.

“The city of Hawthorne, California started this event as a way to bridge the gap between citizens and officers,” Officer Tiffani Archie said. “It has been going on for eight years.”

According to the Coffee with a Cop website, its goal is to break barriers with a

Bailey Monteith for The Easterner

KENDALL KOCH Reporter

EWU Police Department's K-9 officer Hilani posing with a coffee cup in the JFK Library. Coffee with a Cop is intended to bridge the gap between police and civilians. cup of coffee. The program has even grown beyond the U.S., reaching parts of Canada, Europe, Australia, Latin America and Africa.

More than 10,000 events have been held worldwide since 2011 and all 50 U.S. states have hosted a Coffee with a Cop event.

According to Archie, EWU has been

hosting this event for a year and a half to help improve relationships between police and the students on campus.

“We want to make a positive first contact with students, instead of unfortunate circumstances,” Archie said. “And to make (sure) the feelings of ‘us versus them,’

isn’t as strong when those circumstances do arise.”

The Coffee with a Cop event will be continuing on the EWU campus on Feb. 19, March 14 and into spring quarter. For more information go to the EWU Police Department website. •

Majority of students not graduating in four years ANTHONY CARROLL Contributor Over half of first-time EWU students are not graduating in four years. According to the 2017-2018 graduation rates posted by EWU, 52 percent of students graduate in six years and just 25 percent of students graduate in four years.

This is not happening solely at EWU, however. According to the National Center for Education Statistics, about 60 percent of students who began seeking a bachelor’s degree at a four-year institution in fall 2010 completed that degree within six years; the six-year graduation rate was 6 percent higher for females than for males.

Reasons for these numbers vary and are dependent on the situations of individual students.

“We’ve got to stop making assumptions that students are coming in here and they’re college ready,” said EWU academic adviser Melanie Thomas. “For as long as I have worked at Eastern, that has been our population of students.”

College is an educational environment,

but it is also a place where many students can transition into adulthood. College, after all, is a vastly different environment than what most 18-year-old students have been used to.

“Jumping over to university was a big change,” said freshman Juan Vasquez. “I’ve had a few friends that already had to drop out with plans of coming back because they could not afford it currently.”

He also said that these are friends who were receiving financial aid, but their award packages were not covering the full costs of attendance.

The financial aspect cannot be ignored when analyzing reasons students are not graduating on time. Tiffany Brown, a transfer student at EWU who has been in college for five years, three at EWU, said since she started her college career, she has worked full-time while going to school. She said at one point she worked two jobs. Brown said that due to the intense workload she decided to take a few quarters off, and enroll part time.

While college is an environment for academia, the social experiences must be addressed as well. It is clear that drinking

under the age of 21 is illegal, but that doesn’t mean all underage people don’t drink.

“A lot of my students have no idea what a serving size is,” Thomas said with regards to heavy drinking.

Partying, illness, family issues, relationship problems and tragedy can all be contributing factors that delay student graduation. Life, itself, can be rough at times, and it is important for students to know where they can go to seek counsel.

It is imperative that students know about the resources available to them and

how to access those resources. Events are occasionally held to help students navigate these resources.

College can be a time for students to become more independent. Some students come into college ahead of the curve, but for others, this may be their first time on their own. Due to a variety of circumstances, students have to maintain their focus in order to graduate in four years. Valuable time and money are spent on the extra time it takes students to graduate. •

“We've got to stop making assumptions that students are coming in here and they're college ready.”

www.TheEasterner.org

- MELANIE THOMAS Academic adviser

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Courtesy of the ASEWU website

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2018-2019 ASEWU members and advisers posing for a group photo. The ASEWU has an executive branch, a council and a superior court.

ASEWU sets goals for remainder of year KAISA SIIPOLA Reporter ASEWU is working toward goals and objectives for the rest of the school year.

One of its main priorities is to make EWU tobacco-free.

ASEWU has been working on creating a tobacco-free campus for a few years now, but the proposal has been submitted a few times and the university is testing a tobacco-free zone in the campus mall first.

“The university has decided to make the campus mall smoke-free and may possibly expand it to the whole campus,” Jenniges said. “Our idea was to mirror the policy at the Riverpoint campus.”

ASEWU is divided into three branches, the executive, council and superior court. It wants to enhance its communication within itself and with students, and its leaders hope to ensure that what they’re doing is known on campus, according to ASEWU Executive Vice President Ashley Jenniges.

Executive The executive branch represents the students and works to comply with and enforce all approved council legislation and superior court decisions.

Jenniges has been working on establishing an exemption form for the PUB that includes all the new policies for student organizations and departments.

The form would allow these groups to request special consideration for posting and promoting flyers within the PUB. An art committee is being developed

by Jenniges for students and faculty to showcase their artwork and make the PUB more welcoming.

Jenniges has been collaborating with a few ASEWU members to consolidate some committees instead of having separate

advisory committees. An example would be combining the food service committee and the student health advisory committee.

Council The ASEWU council members respond to students’ questions and concerns, and implement ideas and legislation to inform and promote opportunities for student expression.

ASEWU Diversity Outreach Council Rep. Josiah Martinez hosted a Unity Day event on Nov. 8 at the campus mall for students of underrepresented groups to be heard.

Martinez intends to host another Unity Day in the PUB or JFK Library the first week of March, and expand from the last Unity Day by bringing in more student groups and possibly some performances. Martinez is also planning a Flags for the Fallen event from Feb. 23-24 with a dodgeball tournament that is currently being developed.

Martinez will continue to reach out to departments and organizations such as the Women’s and Gender Education Center, communications studies, Africana Studies program, American Indian Studies program, the Office of Diversity and Inclusion, the Multicultural Center and the Pride Center to check if they have any questions, concerns or upcoming events that they would like to promote.

ASEWU Academic Affairs Rep. Sarahi

Gutierrez has collaborated with Victor Rodriguez, EWU’s manager for New Student Transitions and Parent Programs, on the winter and spring resource fairs for incoming students that arrive at EWU during the year. The spring resource fair will be at EWU on April 9 and at EWU Spokane on April 10.

Gutierrez is working with the new adviser on the EWU Spokane campus to create a trivia night to include both EWU quarter and semester students. She is also planning a workshop to show students how to use Handshake, EagleNET, LinkedIn and quarterly leadership training with SAIL and ASEWU. Furthermore, Gutierrez intends to create another type of platform for students to express their feedback on campus or to reach out to clubs and organizations.

ASEWU Legislative Affairs representative Angelica Gracias-Macias provided students with a survey at her “I care about…” event, which intended to learn about and better represent the student body on legislative issues that EWU can possibly advocate for. Her primary focus was getting students to register to vote since there was a midterm election at the beginning of the quarter.

Gracias-Macias is recruiting and encouraging students to attend Lobby Day to advocate for the issues that were

“The university has decided to make the campus mall smoke-free and may possibly expand it to the - Ashley Jenniges whole campus.”

ASEWU Executive Vice President

www.TheEasterner.org

provided on the survey. Lobby Day is on Feb. 15, but it’s a three-day event from Feb. 14-16. A training session will be on Feb. 7 in snyamncut lounge for students to learn how to talk to legislators.

Overall, Gracias-Macias wants to get students engaged in political issues and help them understand the political climate by opening up discussion and getting students to talk to legislators.

“I am trying to represent all walks of life and make change happen,” Gracias-Macias said.

Superior Court The ASEWU Superior Court examines and enforces bylaws and constitutional amendments for the ASEWU Council, along with supporting student organizations with bylaw structure and parliamentary procedure.

ASEWU Superior Court Clerk Taylor Coffell said the court’s goals and objectives for the remainder of the year are to make its presence known to the students, increase voter registration, hold a Title IX presentation on April 18 and conduct a Law Day event on May 1.

“We did this by having Coffee with the Court in the library as well as collaborating with the legislative affairs council member for a voter registration party in November,” Coffell said.

ASEWU superior court will be holding a Tenant's Rights event which includes the EWU Police Department, Tenant's Rights Union members, Spokane County Bar Association members and students with negative experiences with landlords.

Anyone who has any questions or is interested in getting involved with ASEWU can visit the ASEWU website or PUB 207 for more information. •

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Easterner Asks

Looking Back

What has been your hardest struggle at Eastern?

Former President Gerald Ford

Courtesy of EWU Archives and Special Collections 007-0852 # 5-2-1

“The hardest struggle is making friends. I went to WSU and the social environment is different.

Everyone is reaching out and there are always events. Here, everyone has their own life."

- Sofia Desimore, Senior "Parking is terrible. I’ve tried to make it to class on time and it doesn’t work. Just trying to find that balance between school and work is hard."

- Bryona Wilson, Senior

- Andrew Boston, Sophomore "I guess in my freshman year it was making friends. Just kind of getting out of the dorm room and meeting people was hard."

- Skylar Robison, Sophomore "Probably dealing with a couple of difficult teachers. I guess just trying to get through to make them understand where students are coming from."

- Hayden Huasman, Junior "Currently I just switched my major and then figuring out which pathway to continue. I switched from criminal justice as my major and psych as my minor.”

- Taman Sandifer, Sophomore

Above is former President Gerald Ford, the 38th president of the U.S., moments before giving a speech at EWU. Ford was a guest speaker during the school's 1982 Centennial celebration.

DYLAN HARRIS News Editor Washington state Attorney General Bob Ferguson came to EWU this past November to discuss current political and legal issues facing the nation with students and faculty. Ferguson is not, however, the first politician to visit EWU.

Former President Gerald Ford, pictured above, visited EWU in 1982 as a guest speaker at the school’s Centennial celebration.

Ford, the nation’s 38th president, took office after the infamous Watergate scandal. In a controversial move, Ford pardoned former President Richard Nixon for his role in Watergate.

Much of Ford’s presidency was spent

dealing with economic woes and the ongoing Vietnam War. In 1976, Ford won the Republican nomination, but was defeated in the general election by Democrat opponent Jimmy Carter.

Ford died in 2006 at the age of 93. He is still the only person to serve as both vice president and president without being elected to either position. •

Brief EMMALINE SYLVESTER Reporter For the first time ever, the Washington Trail Association is organizing a volunteer work party to maintain trails in the snow.

The WTA, a nonprofit and volunteerrun organization, has explored, advocated for, preserved and maintained Washington's hiking trails since 1966. According to their website, the WTA has built the largest volunteerrun trail maintenance program in the country, leading 160,000 hours of volunteer work annually.

Every week in January, members of the Eastern Washington region were invited to snowshoe and spend the day maintaining Mount Spokane’s scenic trails, guided by crew leader Jane Baker.

Baker invites EWU students to participate in the upcoming snowshoeing work party on Jan. 30 and give back to the community.

Getting involved in future work

Courtesy of Jane Baker

"My hardest struggle is balancing between being college football player as well as keeping up with school. The courses start to get tougher each year and that’s a struggle during the season."

Two volunteers move a log while maintaining trails at Mt. Spokane with the Washington Trails Association. The last opportunity to volunteer is Jan. 30. parties organized by WTA provides an opportunity for students to get community service hours and a sense of accomplishment from clearing a trail that thousands of people will use according to Baker.

“For those who enjoy outdoors this is an opportunity for them to give back, a win-win situation,” Baker said.

The upcoming snowshoeing work party will begin at Mount Spokane on

www.TheEasterner.org

Wednesday, Jan. 30 at 9 a.m. Volunteers need to bring a willingness to work, snow-appropriate and warm clothing, extra gloves, snowshoes and a lunch.

The WTA will provide hard hats, training and tools. Volunteers can find more information and register online at the WTA website and volunteer page.•

Feat

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Senior Justice Forral dances at the campus mall on Jan. 28. Forral began his "100 Days of Dance" art project to give people a chance to express themselves. |Bailey Monteith for The Easterner

Dancing the days away KAISA SIIPOLA Reporter As you're walking from class to class in the crisp cold air, you might have noticed a man dancing like nobody was watching in the campus mall throughout the week.

The man dancing is EWU senior Justice Forral, who began his new art project, “100 Days of Dance,” on Jan. 3 to get people to come out, express themselves and interact with people they normally wouldn’t.

Forral took a break from dancing after high school and recently picked it up again.

He realized that he likes to dance as a way to express himself while playing Just Dance over winter break.

His project was inspired by the song “Days Go By,” by Dirty Vegas. Forral also drew inspiration from the character Mac from the TV show It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and his attempts to express himself through dance.

Forral started dancing in eighth grade by teaching himself dance moves from YouTube videos and was the captain of the break dancing team at his high school in San Diego.

Forral was scared to dance by himself, when he first started the project.

“I felt very vulnerable, in a sense naked, because I’m doing something where people don’t really want to stare at me,” Forral said. “But at the same time there’s

a curiosity of like, what is going on over there?”

EWU sophomore Makayla Tarbox thought it was cool that a student had the confidence to come out and dance in front of people.

“I think it’s really cool and inclusive because he invites everyone to come join him,” Tarbox said.

Forral will dance at the campus mall Monday through Friday from 1-2 p.m. and at Riverfront Park on the weekends as long as there aren't any schedule conflicts.

To view Forral’s dancing, go to his YouTube account, AstronautFarm, or his livestream on Twitch.tv/astronautfarm.•

“I felt very vulnerable, in a sense naked, because I'm doing something where people don't really want to stare at me.”

- JUSTICE FORRAL

Senior

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Features

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Courtesy of Pineda

New year.

New website.

Same great news!

Rowena Pineda is the current Activist-in-Residance at EWU. Pineda was chosen because of her reputation as a community and public health activist.

To continue following our coverage of the EWU community, please visit:

www.TheEasterner.org

Getting Active SAM JACKSON Copy Editor For the first time, the Activist-in-Residence Program has recruited an activist instead of choosing from multiple applications of candidates. The topic of activism will emphasize health with this year’s activist— Rowena Pineda.

The Activist-in-Residence program has been at EWU for six years so far and was organized by the Women’s and Gender Studies program and the Women’s and Gender Education Center. The program brings a regional or local activist to campus to work with students, staff, faculty, Spokane and Cheney community members. “(It is) to strengthen the commitment between community engagement to Eastern, Spokane and Cheney, and to help students learn skills to become more engaged on issues they care about within their communities,” Women’s and Gender Education Center Manager Lisa Logan said.

A new activist in residence is chosen every winter quarter. In the past, the program has selected activists through a competitive application process, but last year’s students who attended the program expressed they were interested in health. This year, the program reached out directly to an activist and chose Pineda.

“We heard from the multiple people in the city of Spokane that Rowena is the person we want if we were focusing on health, because she has a long history of being an organizer and activist on things related to community and public health,” Logan said.

Pineda is a program manager at Spokane Regional Health District. There she leads Neighborhoods Matter, a program that “connects neighbors, promotes built environments that support positive interactions, and works to improve economic opportunities for all,” according to the SRHD website. Pineda also has experience working with other community

organizations concentrating on social justice issues including: Idaho Community Action Network, Center for Third World Organizing, Parent Voices and People’s Action.

Pineda’s main goal as the Activist-inResidence is to promote curiosity among students through her workshops and panels by analyzing health in a “very broad” sense.

She says it affects every aspect of our lives and that the topic of health should not be limited to just health care and access to health care.

“Our health depends on where we live, where we work, where we go to school, places where we worship, our access to food, our access to places to exercise. That all impacts our health,” Pineda said. “It’s connecting with our neighbor, and having access to healthy food. Or if we look more upstream, having access to affordable housing. It’s all what makes for a healthy community.”

There will be six Activist-in-Residence events throughout winter quarter. Students, faculty, staff, and Spokane and Cheney community members are welcome to attend any of the events. Students that attend at least four of the events will receive a certificate recognizing their training for community engagement in activism.

The certificate can showcase student involvement and help students in the long term by showing that they care about their communities, according to Logan. Pineda will host a panel called Health is Political on Feb. 6.

During Feb. 13, 20 and March 6 the activist will showcase workshops focused on community engagement, health disparities and promoting policy change. All of these events will be held in Monroe 207 from 3:15 to 5 p.m.

On Feb. 27 there will be a field trip with the activist to the Spokane Regional Health District, where staff will demonstrate a tool they use to analyze policies in development and their potential impacts.

For more information on the program contact Logan by email at llogan83@ewu.edu.•

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Solving gun violence, one bandage at a time To really make a difference, we need to focus on what's important: mental health

NICOLAS ZERBE Reporter

The Alliance for Gun Responsibility, one of the driving forces behind Washington Initiative 1639, has set its sights on high-capacity magazines.

Initiative 1639 sought to bring stricter background checks for the purchase of firearms, impose storage requirements and increase the minimum age to buy rifles, all of which does little to deter actual criminals—but absolutely succeeds in inconveniencing lawabiding gun owners.

According to the alliance, the few seconds that it takes to reload a firearm is the difference between life or death.

Those magazines, the alliance claims in their 2019 Gun Responsibility Policy Agenda, “make shootings more deadly and allow shooters to fire more rounds, faster.”

In a test that was admittedly less than scientific, it took me just four more seconds to fire three standard 10-round magazines versus two high-capacity 15-rounders.

Four seconds.

The .380 took five—I fumbled on the reload.

All told, I personally own nine magazines that the alliance would consider high-capacity: that distinction being anything over 10 rounds.

If giving those up meant an end to gun violence, I’d be the first in line—well, maybe not the first, but once it died down a little I’d definitely hop in.

The problem is—it won’t make a dent, at least according to a study by Christopher Koper, an associate professor in the department of criminology, law and society at George Mason’s Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy.

Nicolas Zerbe for The Easterner

Nicolas Zerbe is a reporter for The Easterner. The opinion expressed in this article is his own and does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Easterner's editorial board.

A Beretta 92FS handgun with four, 15 round magazines. The Alliance for Gun Responsibility would consider these magazines to be high-capacity, since they hold over 10 rounds.

The study, which covered the effects of a 1994 assault weapons ban that included magazines of more than 10 rounds, found the difference to be negligible.

“We concluded that the ban had not had a discernible impact on gun crime during the years it was in effect,” the study said.

High-capacity magazines don’t cause an increase in shooting fatalities any more than laying on my gas pedal makes me overshoot my destination. I’ll get where I’m going regardless, and if a lunatic wants to see someone dead, a few seconds to swap magazines isn’t going to be the difference.

These magazines will continue to exist regardless of any ban, the only ones who it will have any observable impact on are law abiding citizens—because highcapacity magazines aren’t sold exclusively to criminals, they’re sold to everyone.

Of the five most popular rifles in the U.S.—the DPMS Oracle, Ruger AR-556, Kel-Tec SUB-2000, Colt LE6920 and Smith & Wesson M&P15 according to cbsnews.com—only one, the Kel-Tec, does not come stock with high-capacity magazines.

These aren’t 100-round drums. They hold 15-30 bullets, an amount that makes a negligible difference on the total time spent shooting—but is less of a hassle for hobbyists and hunters who have to reload in the field.

Groups like the Alliance for Gun Responsibility are targeting the wrong issue with their cause. Blaming high-

“High-capacity magazines don't cause an increase in shooting fatalities any more than laying on my gas pedal makes me overshoot my destination.”

- NICOLAS ZERBE Reporter for The Easterner

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capacity magazines for gun violence is ludicrous.

Going after guns and their components instead of taking a hard look at the mental health of those who commit violent crimes and asking why there wasn’t more done to prevent the act in the first place is a notion that I can’t make sense of.

There is, without a doubt, a problem with gun violence in the U.S.—but attacking the weapons themselves instead of taking a closer look at the ones committing the acts is, to me, foolhardy. •

Features

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Spoken word speaks to students Members of the audience were glued to their seat as rhythmic and lyrical spoken art echoed across the main floor of the JFK Library. Students shuffling in and out of the Library would stop in their tracks and seek out the source of the powerful words, eager to listen to something bigger than themselves. Poets, wordsmiths and rappers alike connected with students on social, racial and emotional issues.

The Eagle Entertainment Coffee House series invited Power 2 the Poetry, a group founded by Bethany Montgomery, who was voted best local poet at the 2019 Bartlett Awards, to perform at the JFK library on Jan. 23.

“We are the spark which ignites the flame,” Montgomery said. “Stand up and be the change.”

Performers Performances from EWU graduates invited by Montgomery filled the night, beginning with a love poem about nose hair, performed by Zachary Anderson-White, followed by a message about the importance of self-love from Afaria McKinney (AJ the Wordsmith) to Nik Michaels prompting the audience to close their eyes and take a breath. Power 2 the Poetry captivated the audience that night.

“A lot of what the poets had to say about how they were perceived due to their race resonated

Mckenzie Ford for The Easterner

EMMALINE SYLVESTER Reporter

Alumnus Afaria McKinney performs at the JFK library on Jan 23. McKinney spoke to students on the importance of self love.

with me,” freshman Ayesha Bergman said.

Bergman added it was nice to hear different perspectives on similar issues that she faced growing up underprivileged as African American and as a member of the LGBTQ+ community.

Conveyed through humor, rap and poetry, junior Chris Cogswell found it enlightening to be educated on the struggles that many of the poets faced that he doesn’t personally identify with as a white male.

“It was very interesting to hear the breadth of issues not only racially but also emotionally from a completely varied and diverse group of people today,” Cogswell said.

Junior Lilly Solis appreciates that poetry

works as a pathway to activism and provides an outlet for individuals to communicate about the marginalization they may be facing in society.

“Getting right in people’s faces really wakes people up and leads to progress,” Solis said.

Solis appreciates the steps that EWU takes to reach out to marginalized groups with the events and resources that the outreach programs and diversity groups have to offer.

“Many students are wondering how they can impact the world and bring about change,” Solis said.

She thinks that students can do that by

taking advantage of the programs and events that EWU offers as an opportunity to educate themselves and better understand the experience of oppressed students to promote social justice within daily interactions.

“We don’t have much to lose but so much more to prove, the change starts with you,” Montgomery said. “So please Spokane, Cheney, EWU be the breakthrough.” The Coffee House series is a biweekly event organized by Eagle Entertainment. EWU alumnus and comedian Harry J. Riley is invited to perform at the next Coffee House event which will be on on Feb. 8 at 7 p.m. at the Mason Jar in downtown Cheney.•

Tunnel of Opression coming to spread opression awareness EMMALINE SYLVESTER Reporter The Tunnel of Oppression, organized

by Multicultural Center Director Vanessa Delgado, is coming to the EWU campus for the first time beginning Feb. 19.

The Tunnel of Oppression is a guided multimedia tour made to spread awareness of various types of oppression that may affect marginalized individuals on campus.

Privelage and opression Charlie Shih, Multicultural Program Coordinator, explains that marginalized identities go hand in hand with privilege and oppression. Privilege, a set of unearned benefits that a group may have due to being favored by society, can generally be characterized as the flipside of oppression.

Equity educator and senior Alexander Brooks explains that sometimes it's difficult for those with privilege to put themselves in others shoes. It’s important to see marginalized individuals 'experiences and problems as valid.

The tunnel The tunnel will begin with four rooms illustrating daily injustices and prejudices that individuals of marginalized identities face. The themes include domestic violence, ableism, racism and transphobia.

“We’ll have different videos and short simulation activities in these rooms to give students an idea of what it’s like to experience different forms of oppression,” Shih said.

Following the rooms, there will be a Wall of Hate and a Wall of Resistance filled with pictures of oppression and activism.

After passing the walls, there will be a

debriefing period where staff members will talk with participants about the experience and answer any questions they may have.

According to Shih, a lot of students may be asking themselves, ‘what do I do now?’ after the event.

“When we talk about different forms of oppression they seem like really big ideas that seem hard to tackle,” Shih said.

“But there are smaller things you can do everyday. Even just becoming more aware and educated takes away the responsibility that many underrepresented groups feel they have to educate others.”

Taking action To help students take steps toward promoting social justice, the Multicultural Center prepared a list of action items to share with students. The list is designed to provide students with examples on

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how they can be allies for marginalized students in everyday situations.

“No matter where you’re coming from or what your identities are, there is always something to be learned when you go through the Tunnel of Oppression,” Delgado said.

Delgado hopes that this event will encourage an open dialogue across campus and give students an opportunity to learn about and engage in what is happening in the world today to be better colleagues to marginalized people in future careers.

“Everyone has an opportunity to be an ally for an identity they don’t represent,” Delgado said.

Groups have the option to reserve a tour on the Multicultural Centers website. Tours will be available from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. between Feb. 19-21 in Hargreaves 201.•

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Sports

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Player Profile

DREW LAWSON Reporter At 6:30 a.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays, while most EWU students are either fast asleep or grumbling through their morning routine, Samantha Vo can be seen with the ice skating club, gliding across the ice at the URC. The freshman from Tacoma has been president of the ice skating club for about two weeks, with the club meeting for the first time on Jan. 23. She wanted to start the club with a friend earlier in the school year, but her friend transferred, so the club didn’t get off the ground until this month.

“I saw (EWU) had a really nice rink but didn’t have an ice skating club,” Vo said.

“Technically it’s been active all year, but we’re just starting to kick it up.”

When Vo was 11, she discovered a love for skating in Tacoma through her mom, Marisol, going to the ice rink that was nearby. She began to compete, and in 2012, took part in and won the U.S. Figure Skating Northwest Regionals in Spokane.

She advanced in Northwest Regionals for the next four years after that, getting two more first-place finishes and two third-place finishes.

“This sounds super cocky,” Vo said with a laugh. “When I skated (competitively) I was good up until I got injured.”

After an injury forced Vo to quit competitive skating when she was 16, she decided to transition to coaching. She took a test called USFS Moves in the Field to find out what her coaching abilities were.

“It’s testing to get your level so you can or can’t do different sorts of coaching,” Vo said. “I have my Junior Moves in the Field and I’m a novice in freestyle, which includes jumps and stuff.”

Vo, who plans to major in physical therapy and exercise science, hopes to one day reach gold status as a skater, which is one of the highest levels an individual can reach. This ranking encompasses both player and coaching status.

“It’s just a title to (achieve),” Vo said.

“It’s a (rank) as a whole.”

Since entering college, Vo has eased back into skating through presidency of the ice skating club. She first got acquainted with EWU’s ice rink through campus events and social gatherings. The first was RecSplosion, an event EWU puts on during Welcome Week in the URC to welcome new and returning students.

“When the rec center had that explosion thing, that was really fun,” Vo said. “Then me and my friends have skated the public (skates).”

The club meets from 6:30 to 8 a.m. on Wednesdays and Fridays at the URC Ice Rink. Thus far, the club has four members, the minimum required by EWU to secure club status. One member is first-year student Grayson Farbo, who takes ice skating lessons at EWU in addition to being a club participant. Farbo discovered ice skating on a field trip to Mountain View Ice Arena in Vancouver.

“My first time on the ice was an honor roll sixth grade field trip,” Farbo said. “I really liked it, so when I found out they had lessons at (EWU), I was like, ‘I want to do that.’”

Vo texted Farbo before club meetings began and said that the club will be a time to practice whatever moves or tricks members want, which isn’t always the case during free skating times.

“You can kind of practice whatever,” Farbo said. “Jumps and stuff, (but) I’m not there yet. I don’t think during the normal open skate you’re really supposed to do jumps because there’s too many people … I really want to get my backward crossovers down.”

Vo hopes that one day the club will enter collegiate competitions put on by the United States Figure Skating Association.

“I don’t know if anybody in the club would be interested in (competing),” Vo said. “But I definitely want to be recognized

by USFS and compete like that.”

Students who are interested in joining the ice skating club can sign up on the EWU Club website or by visiting the desk downstairs in the URC.•

Freshman ice skating club president Samantha Vo prepares to jump at practice on Jan. 24. Vo competed with the Lakewood Winter Club in the juvenile division until suffering an injury when she was 16.

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Bailey Monteith for The Easterner

Freshman figures Eagles need a skating club

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Sports

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Eagles still even in Big Sky play after road trip The Eagles finally secured their first road win of the year against Sacramento State last Saturday, moving EWU back up to even in conference play, but the win did not come easy.

The Eagles (6-13, 4-4) held a 10-point lead with one minute and 43 seconds remaining in the second half. Sac State guard Marcus Graves banked in a 3-point shot with one second left to send the game into overtime.

EWU scored 18 points in overtime to come out on top, led by sophomore guard Jacob Davison with six in the frame. The win marked the Eagles’ third out of their last four games, after losing to Portland State on the road, and beating Montana and Montana State at home.

After starting Big Sky play with a 1-3 record, the Eagles have moved up to No. 5 in the conference. This week they will host the two teams that are a half game behind them in the standings: Southern Utah (9-9, 4-5) on Feb. 2, and Northern Arizona (6-13, 4-5) on Feb. 4.

“It’s going to be great to get back home and play in front of our home crowd,” head coach Shantay Legans said. “We have to be smart with how we go at these guys, because they are pretty dang good opponents.”

EWU has started to find a scoring rhythm as of late. In the past four games the Eagles have averaged 49.2 percent shooting from the field. In their previous four conference games EWU shot 41.3 percent.

Part of EWU’s problems earlier in the season were due to the Eagles allowing gamedefining runs to their opponents.

In the first BSC game against Weber State on Dec. 29, EWU allowed a 22-5 run to open the second half. Against Idaho, EWU allowed a 34-7 run at the end of the first half that led to a 74-71 defeat.

Senior forward Jesse Hunt said that junior forward Mason Peatling returning to the team’s lineup has made a big impact on stopping those large runs.

“When we get down sometimes I even tend to drop my head,” Hunt said. “Mason is always bringing us in and saying, ‘hey lets go.’”

EWU still has 12 games until the BSC tournament begins on March 13. After the upcoming homestand, the Eagles will have played every team in the conference and will reach the halfway point in their conference schedule.•

Bailey Monteith for The Easterner

TAYLOR NEWQUIST Sports Editor

Sophomore guard Jacob Davison drives into the lane against Montana State on Jan. 19. Davison is second on the team in scoring with 14.3 points per game. He is shooting 48 percent from the field, which is also second best.

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Player Profile

“I think about the little girl that just wanted to play basketball.”

Left: Junior guard Andie Easley drives toward the basket as a standout at Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Arizona. Right: Easley dribbles around a defender against Portland State on Jan. 24. Easley is averaging six points in seven games this year for EWU.

Bailey Monteith for The Easterner

Courtesy of andieeasley.com

- ANDIE EASLEY Junior guard

Easley's four-year fight back to the court DREW LAWSON Reporter After grinding through four years of transfers and injuries to play in her first game, junior guard Andie Easley does not have fond memories of her early college career.

“It was miserable,” Easley said. “Nobody really understood how badly I wanted to be on the court.”

Easley grew up in Phoenix and attended Horizon High School in Scottsdale, Arizona.

She found the game of basketball in fourth grade while playing with her neighbors, who were important figures in her life.

“Growing up, my mom was sick all the time in the hospital,” Easley said. “My dad worked a lot, so my neighbors helped take care of me.

They had boys who were my age in a rec center league, and I always wanted to play with them.

At my elementary school they had tryouts and I told my parents I wanted to (play).”

The redshirt junior started her college career at the University of Hawaii, moving there in 2015 and participating in preseason workouts with the Rainbow Wahine. Before the season and her career could begin, a family concern made her realize she needed to move back to the mainland.

“I wasn’t happy,” Easley said. “My mom was going through a kidney transplant, and it was too expensive to fly back and forth from Hawaii. I needed to be in the mainland so I could be there for her.”

Easley decided to transfer to EWU, which was the first school that recruited her when she made her initial decision to attend Hawaii. She was able to be closer to her mom as she attempted to recover

from her kidney transplant. “(Assistant coach) Bryce (Currie) recruited me,” Easley said. “When I decided to leave Hawaii, Bryce and (EWU head coach) Wendy Schuller were the first people to reach out to me, so I felt really comfortable with them.”

Due to NCAA transfer rules, Easley had to sit out the remainder of the 2015-2016 season and half of the 2016-2017 season. She began to practice at the beginning of the 2016-2017 season, but then she was struck with injury problems.

“I had multiple stress fractures in my leg,” Easley said. “The (doctors) couldn’t figure out why, and we couldn’t get them to go away. They were getting worse … I tried to play through them in practice, and it got to the point where after each practice I could hardly walk.”

Some doctors suggested to Easley that they insert a titanium rod into her left tibia that ran from her knee to her ankle, saying that would heal the fractures and keep them from coming back. The procedure did not have the desired results.

“For some reason, my leg reacted wrong,” Easley said. “That first surgery is why I missed the rest of that second year. The rod was in my leg … it hurt constantly.”

After nine months of having the rod in her leg, Easley saw many doctors and concluded that the rod needed to be taken out, which required a second surgery. That surgery forced Easley to miss another season—this one being the 2017-2018 campaign. The second surgery had painful side effects as well.

“They took the (rod) out and it was supposed to promote more healing in my bone,” Easley said. “But to get the rod in and out, they had to

cut my patellar tendon in my knee completely in half. They cut it and pulled it apart to get the rod in, and then they reopened it to get the rod out. After the second surgery, no matter how much rehab I did … nothing would work.

Every time I tried to get back out on the court I was in too much pain.”

In summer 2018, Easley traveled to Seattle to see another specialist, seeking clarity on how she could get back into playing shape.

She discovered that her patellar tendon was still torn, so the specialist did a procedure on the muscle. That third surgery finally healed her leg after two and a half seasons.

At this point, it had been four years since Easley had played in a competitive game. She said watching others from the sidelines was the toughest part of sitting out.

“Seeing everyone else get to play while knowing how bad I want to play was (hard),” Easley said. “I didn’t understand why they got to play and I didn’t.”

Easley said her faith and determination to play the game she loved allowed her to keep working toward a comeback.

“I believed that God didn’t forget about me and He had a plan greater than I could understand,” Easley said. “Doctors and even friends and family would try to talk to me sometimes about the possibility that I would never play again but I refused to listen to them because I love the game too much to have believed it was over.”

Easley finally stepped onto the court in a regular season collegiate game at Idaho State on Dec. 31, 2018. She played eight minutes and scored three points. She’s played in seven games total for the Eagles, averaging seven points per game while averaging 17 minutes

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of playing time. While her statistics aren’t necessarily eye-popping, her journey has inspired EWU head coach Wendy Schuller.

“If you look in a dictionary and see ‘resilience’ and ‘determination’, you’re gonna see Andie’s picture next to it,” Schuller said.

“That young lady has been through the gamut in terms of injuries and setbacks.

Just about every other person in the world would’ve given up. Andie loves the game of basketball, she’s a gym rat, and I’m really really happy for her because she’s worked so hard to get back on the court.”

Senior guard Kapri Morrow, the team's leading scorer, was excited about what Easley could bring to the team.

“She (brings) scoring (and) another ballhandler,” Morrow said. “She just does what she has to do for us.”

On Feb. 2, EWU will play at Northern Arizona. That game will carry extra meaning for Easley, as her mother will get to watch her play for the first time in four years. The disease her mother carries caused her body to begin to reject the kidney transplant she had received, so she remains ill.

“Her biggest goal has been to still be around to watch me play again,” Easley said. “It’s a huge blessing she will be able to come watch in Arizona.”

Easley’s dream as a child was to play professional basketball. While she acknowledges the setbacks may make that goal difficult, she hasn’t given up on it yet.

“I’ve always wanted to play professional basketball,” Easley said. “That’s part of what has … gotten me to persevere and kept me motivated. (I) think about the little girl that just wanted to play basketball.”•

Sports

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. 2 2, 2 019 Harris

Andrew Harris

Tyler Hilinski

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Student athletes are not immune College athletics' plan to combat a spike in mental health problems among 15 to 24-year-olds TAYLOR NEWQUIST Sports Editor Content warning: This article discusses topics of suicide and suicide prevention. If you are depressed or have suicidal thoughts please call the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-8255.

Suicide rates among college students and those aged 15 to 24 are at a 36-year high according to records kept by the Center for Disease Control, and student athletes are not immune to becoming part of the statistic.

Andrew Harris was a senior defensive end for the University of Montana. On Jan. 22 he was found dead in his Missoula, Montana home of an apparent suicide. He was 22 years old.

Harris’ death came a year and six days after WSU sophomore quarterback Tyler Hilinski was found dead in his apartment with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Hilinski was 21 years old.

At their lowest point in 1999, 3,901 teens and young adults took their own lives, climbing to 6,252 in 2017. Suicide is the second leading cause of death for people aged 15 to 24 according to the same CDC records.

When the EWU football team traveled to Pullman this past year, head coach Aaron Best laid flowers on the three yard line to commemorate Hilinski. Best said that he reached out to Montana head coach Bobby Hauck after Harris’ passing to let him know his (EWU) family was there with open arms if they need them.

“It makes you want to squeeze your kids a bit more,” Best said. “It makes you want to find ways to be creative and put your arms, eyes and heart around your guys. Part of coaching is building those relationships and knowing what your kids are needing and struggling with.”

This past week at the 2019 NCAA Convention, the Power Five conferences passed legislation that will mandate all schools in their conferences to, “make mental

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health services and resources available to its student-athletes through the department of athletics and/or the institution's health services or counseling services department.”

Non-Power Five schools will not be mandated to comply with the new legislation, but will have the option to opt-in.

EWU Athletic Director Lynn Hickey said that this is something EWU is already doing for the most part, with help from the school’s counseling department.

“I think we have some good things in place,” Hickey said. “But I think we can be better. That’s an ongoing process. I don’t think you would ever get to a point where (you say), ‘yes we’re satisfied.’”

Hickey said that the athletic department has partnered with the Hilinski’s Hope—a nonprofit foundation created by Tyler’s parents to destigmatize mental illness.

Hilinski’s Hope sponsored a workshop called Step UP! Bystander Intervention to speak to a number of universities’ athletic departments, including EWU last fall.

“The big thing is following up,” Hickey said. “Sometimes what happens is you’ll see something and everyone responds really well, and you jump to help the person, but you forget how much stewardship there has to be after the fact.

It’s not just going to disappear.”

Hilinski’s Hope will also be sponsoring two more workshops at EWU in the spring with Step UP! part two and Behind Happy Faces—both workshops aim to educate

on mental health. Hickey said she wants athletic trainers to be more informed on topics of mental health and be able to help detect warning signs.

Keely Hope is an associate professor in the psychology department, who teaches mental health counseling and has researched suicide prevention. She said that having professionals trained in identifying warning signals regularly involved with the team would go a long way.

“The stigma in our society is that you need to take care of yourself,” Hope said. “If you talk to somebody about not feeling 100 percent then you are (considered) less than. If the message you’ve received your whole life, either from your family, other teammates or coaches is that you just tuck in and get the job done, then you maybe wouldn’t seek help. There’s something to be said for this idea of normalizing it.”

Hope said that there are risk factors with the added stress of being a college student, and that she would guess student athletes have to balance that stress with the stress of competing on their team.

“We all need a little bit of help sometimes,” Hope said. “I really do think it's getting better, but sometimes it's hard to break through those messages we’re getting from every other place.”

Another risk factor associated with athletics is potential head trauma. Chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE) is a condition associated with repeated blows to the head.

CTE can only be diagnosed posthumously, but can alter memory, personality, and increase aggression and depression.

"It makes you want to find ways to be creative and put your arms, eyes and heart around your guys."

- AARON BEST EWU head football coach

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A July 25, 2017 study published in the Journal of American Medical Association discovered that out of 202 brains of former football players, 87 percent had CTE. Out of 111 brains of former NFL players, 99 percent had CTE. Hilinski’s parents revealed he was diagnosed with CTE six months after his death. His father, Mark said on NBC’s TODAY that the medical examiner told him that Hilinski had the brain of a 65-year-old.

EWU head athletic trainer Brian Norton said common perception is pointing toward CTE being diagnosed in someone who could have just one significant head injury.

“Research is starting to show it's not just the NFL football player that’s played for 15 years,” Norton said. “It could be somebody who has been in an automobile accident and had a serious concussion. That damage to the brain just kind of persists on.”

Over the past few years football has evolved to focus on player safety. There are added protections to players with targeting calls that will eject a player from the game for leading with the crown of his helmet on a tackle, and there have been advancements in helmet technology.

Norton said that he worries more about high school and youth sports when it comes to concussions because of the difference in resources on the college and pro levels.

“A lot of times you may sign up to play Pop Warner and they have a room full of helmets,” Norton said. “They just find the best one that fits you and put it on you and say, ‘go’.”

Research on CTE continues, and athletic programs keep developing systems for dealing with mental health. While some blame football, neither Best, Hickey nor Norton blamed the sport as the main culprit for mental health problems in athletics.

“There’s not enough research done at this time,” Hickey said. “We had more concussions this year for volleyball than we did football. I do not believe we are doing anything that is harmful to our students.”•

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