The Easterner: Volume 102, Issue 19

The Seagull opens at EWU

Volume 102, Issue 19

www.TheEasterner.org

Mar. 6, 2019

Written by Russian playwright Anton Chekov in 1895, this passionate play filled with aching souls and dark comedy is set to open on March 8 at the EWU Theatre.

Page 8

Bailey Monteith for The Easterner

News

Special

Aspiring entrepreneurs compete

The 2019 Big Sky Championship poster

The EWU Center for Entrepreneurship launched the second qualifying round for its third annual business pitch competition.

The event consisted of 20 teams competing for $500 and a spot in the semifinals by explaining their entrepreneurial ideas to judges from all over the community.

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This week our sports section is packed with basketball coverage as we head into March Madness. Open up the center spread to see The Easterner's Big Sky Championship poster and bracket.

You don't want to miss out... Trust us.

Center Spread

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2 - The Easterner Editor in Chief Michael Brock 509.359.6737 easterner.editor@ewu.edu 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 Marco Vargas Nicolas Zerbe Photographers Mckenzie Ford Bailey Monteith Director of Student Newspaper Carleigh Hill Faculty Adviser Jamie Neely

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Editorial

Why a free press matters THE EASTERNER Editorial Board

NOTE: A version of this editorial ran in the Oct. 3, 2018 edition of The Easterner. In light of U.S. Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas’s opinion stating the Supreme Court should reconsider New York Times Co. v.

Sullivan, the editorial has been updated with appropriate information.

New York Times Co. v. Sullivan is a landmark case in 1964 that set the bar for the standard of proof a public official must produce when suing for libel.

In a 9-0 decision written by Justice William J. Brennan, the court ruled that public officials must show “actual malice” by the defendant. The ruling described this as requiring that the content be printed “with knowledge of or reckless disregard for its falsity.”

The case in question involved a public official suing the Times over an advertisement that got some minor statements of fact incorrect. For example, the ad claimed African-American children were protesting while singing “My Country ’Tis of Thee.” Sullivan argued it was libel because the children were actually singing “The Star Spangled Banner.”

The justices did not want to discourage criticism of public officials. Brennan wrote, “Even a false statement may be deemed to make a valuable contribution to public debate, since it brings about the clearer perception and livelier impression of truth, produced by its collision with error.”

In a concurring opinion, Justice Hugo Black wrote, “I doubt that a country can live in freedom where its people can be made to suffer physically or financially for criticizing their government, its actions, or its officials.”

It is clear that the justices wanted an atmosphere where the media could feel comfortable in its ability to do its job.

Watchdog role A function of the media is to hold the powerful accountable. This function has been acknowledged by countless American leaders throughout our nation’s history. President Thomas Jefferson wrote, “If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be.

The functionaries of every government have propensities to command at will the liberty and property of their constituents.

There is no safe deposit for these but with the people themselves; nor can they be safe with them without information.

Where the press is free, and every man able to read, all is safe.”

The media’s role as a watchdog over the powerful is an important one, and it is vital that the press continues to play that role.

The Washington Post represented this with the release of the Pentagon Papers in 1974. The Boston Globe is responsible for bringing child sex abuse in the Catholic Church to the public’s attention in 2002.

There are recent local examples as well.

Last year, newspapers across Washington state, including The Seattle Times, ran front-page editorials bringing attention

to the fact that state lawmakers rushed to pass a bill that would exempt themselves from Washington’s Public Records Act. This led to public outcry, and Gov. Jay Inslee opted to veto it.

The media is not perfect. When it does make mistakes, it must correct them. New York Times Co. v. Sullivan simply protects the media from being sued after human error if it does not contain “knowledge of, or reckless disregard for its falsity.”

It is important to remember that news organizations are made up of human beings. And while they should attempt to remain unbiased, the perfect, impartial human being does not exist. This is one reason why a free media is so important.

Different media outlets are often correcting each other. Something said on MSNBC might be challenged on Fox News later that same day, and vice versa. A free media means many voices engaging in a marketplace of ideas. This public exchange of information is the free media at work.

As the late Sen. John McCain said in 2017: “If you want to preserve democracy as we know it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. And without it, I am afraid that we would lose so much of our individual liberties over time. That’s how dictators get started.”

Again, this editorial board feels the media must correct mistakes that it makes. However, allowing journalists to suffer penalties over mistakes that lack actual malice punishes human error, and will discourage members of the media from doing their job. And that is something a free nation cannot afford.•

“ If you want to preserve democracy as we know

it, you have to have a free and many times adversarial press. ” - John McCain

Late Senator of Arizona

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.

Corrections: 1. In Issue 18's article titled "Butler serves up school records," The Easterner incorrectly stated Dominique Butler's class standing in a photo caption. Butler is a senior.

2. In Issue 18's article titled "Board of Trustees evaluate football playoff budget," The Easterner incorrectly cited who was responsible for estimating the added media value of the football team's national championship appearance. It was the strategic communication and marketing team.

News

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Contestant Parker Burchett (left), the first-place winner of the second qualifying round, pitches his GPA Online idea to John Manning (right), one of the judges for this event. The semifinals will take place on March 14 at the Riverpoint campus.

Mckenzie Ford for The Easterner

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Semifinalists selected for third annual Eagles' Nest business pitch competition KAISA SIIPOLA Reporter

The EWU Center for Entrepreneurship launched the second qualifying round for its third annual business pitch competition on Feb. 26.

The event consisted of 20 teams competing for $500 and a spot in the semifinals by explaining their entrepreneurial ideas to judges from all over the community. By the end of the second qualifying round, another set of six teams moved on to the semifinals.

“One of the things that we have always pushed on is that a big part of this event is practicing and learning how to talk about your ideas and learning how to hear feedback because that is huge,” the Center for Entrepreneurship Director Bruce Teague said.

Changes were made for the second qualifying round because the Center for Entrepreneurship is always thinking of ways to make the business pitch competition better as they aim to resemble an entrepreneur mindset, Teague said.

Referring to the feedback from the first qualifying round, judges preferred to have the option to sit down rather than remain standing throughout the competition while critiquing the teams, according to Teague.

The second qualifying round was in the style of speed dating. The tables each had a number and were equivalent to the number of ideas that were registered. After seven

minutes or so, teams would rotate to the next table to present their ideas.

The judges were separated so that different background experiences weren’t clustered together. This made it so teams would end up with an interesting cross section of experience and backgrounds as they rotated from table to table.

“The other big change is that for the first time, we are offering prize money with our qualifiers and I expect that this will continue into next year,” Teague said. “So we have never done that before, but we decided that maybe it would make it a little more exciting if something is being won at the qualifier itself.”

The majority of judges that were present at the event were also at the first qualifying round. In the qualifiers there isn’t a concern with overlap because it’s all about engaging with the community and different perspectives, Teague said. In the semifinals and finals there will not be overlap with the judges.

One of the judges from EWU was Jeffrey Stafford, professor of communication studies. Stafford said that he likes to be supportive of the entrepreneurship program and thinks that the program is a wonderful opportunity for students.

“Communications and entrepreneurship enhance each other because entrepreneurs have got to communicate out to their external clients, but also got to communicate with their suppliers and employees,” Stafford said. “And especially when you start talking about, you know,

not just talking communication, but how is your company organized even when you’re a company of one, how do you pursue quality, things like that are all communication as well as entrepreneurial.”

Another judge was EWU alumnus Ramsey Pruchnic, who graduated in 2010 with a degree in marketing. Pruchnic is the founder of the Spokane businesses Hello Sugar, a donut shop, and president of Strategy Labs, a performance marketing agency.

Pruchnic’s advice for any aspiring entrepreneurs is to seek opportunities to get mentors and internships and expand the research side of a business idea by exploring the market, the target audience and the financial costs.

The Center for Entrepreneurship will be starting a co-curricular certificate in entrepreneurship next fall.

“The big thing is that the pitch competition is building and is becoming a big EWU tradition,” Teague said. “But as of next year, this is going to be a part of earning points towards the co-curricular certificate in entrepreneurship.”

Dave Gorton, the director of outreach for the Center for Entrepreneurship, had eight of his students participating in the event and wanted his students to go out, meet people and gain feedback.

“Not only are they going to talk about the power of their idea, (but) also how to form that and go from here,” Gorton said. “What we are trying to teach them is not just have a great idea, is actually take the idea and take it forward.”

www.TheEasterner.org

Tied for sixth place were the pitches Goldmine

by Connor Skinner and Lot Spot by Connor Eakin, Kyler Oblad and Kristina Kostenyuk.

Originally in fifth place was the pitch Web Genesis by Lisa Faulkner and Kayla Camozzi, though they have decided to withdraw from the semifinals because they are graduating.

The two alternate pitches that were invited to compete in their place were Drag and Shovel by Rob Sten and Tech Inc. by Enrique Sydney and Isaac Nokes.

In fourth place was the RKG Inc. pitch by Gabriel Cesar, Yajaira Orozco and Kimberlin Bennett and in third place was the Green Dog pitch by Ryan Halterman, Junichi Minakata, Bobby Nguyen and Hayden Leslie.

In second place was B-Active Performance Wear, pitched by Bradley Alexander II and the overall winner was Parker Burchett who presented an idea called GPA Online.

The purpose of B-Active Performance was to increase athletic performance through weighted compression wear, and try to change the market, according to Alexander II. Alexander II came up with the idea in high school when he ran track and played football. Initially he was nervous, but found his groove after the first round of pitching and was surprised to hear that he is moving on to the semifinals.

Burchett, the first-place winner, declined to comment for this story.

Thirteen teams will be presenting a video pitch in the semifinals on March 14 at the Riverpoint campus and the final Eagles’ Nest Pitch Contest will be on May 17 in Showalter Hall. •

News

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Bailey Monteith for The Easterner

4 - The Easterner

Employees at the Eagle Store, EWU's bookstore, ringing up and assisting customers. The Eagle Store now sells its books right off the shelves instead of online only.

MARCO VARGAS Reporter The unveiling of a statue of Swoop, EWU’s mascot, presented a brand new beginning for the Eagle Store during its grand reopening on Feb. 27.

Business has been doing well for the Eagle Store since it moved back into the PUB this past January after its remodel, according to Devon Tinker, the Eagle Store director. She said that business feels different from two years prior when the PUB had its old version of the store. She said that the foot traffic is part of the difference and that there were long lines in the store.

“People would get off the bus and come through the building,” Tinker said. “We don’t have that movement.”

Lynne Junge, the assistant director, said that it’s nice having the foot traffic come through the coffee shop, which is a new feature that the EWU dining service runs inside the Eagle Store. Tinker said that the coffee shop is a draw-in for students.

“I think the Eagle Store is now busier in the PUB than when it was back in Anderson Hall,” said Kristin Zitterkopf, the marketing manager.

According to Tinker, students have been highly attracted to the new version of the Eagle Store. She mentioned that a student was praising the store with her parents one afternoon.

“I was just leaving and she goes, ‘Oh my goodness, the store is so pretty and beautiful and they have cool things.’ And then they talked about our merchandise a lot," Tinker said.

Tinker said that she was excited to see the Eagle Store return home to the PUB, saying that it looks so much better in the new building than in the old building.

“The old PUB had been our home since 1995,” Tinker said. “But it’s glamourous here now. It’s a beautiful and clean building. We can show our products off so much better than in our old store. It is really nice.”

Tinker said she hopes that the new store will be kept cleaner, including having polished floors.

“Carpeting gets old and tired,” Tinker said. “That last carpeting in the PUB was like 20 years old. It was icky. It took on its age and countertops have changed so much.

In the old store, we had old gray laminate that would wear off. (In the new store), there is no wearing. It will always be white.”

Tinker and the rest of the staff are expecting a big improvement, including getting back to installing fun activities, which they did in the old store.

“We’ve done Valentine cards and Christmas decorations in the past,” Tinker said. “And we’ve done children’s programs.

We’re really excited to return to that because that’s part of the community. I personally can’t wait for football season. (Students) are spending money because they want to wear Eastern gear (during football games).”

Tinker mentioned that the Eagle Store and the Inferno Team Shop, which is located at Roos Field, are very busy during football seasons.

Tinker and her staff want everyone to know that they will always be in support of students and all of EWU at the Eagle Store.

“Student success is a big deal to us,” assistant manager Sherri Rowe said. “We can do whatever we can to provide the tools that they need to be successful in life.”

Bailey Monteith for The Easterner

Eagle Store hosts its grand reopening

The new fiberglass statue of Swoop, EWU's mascot, in the Eagle Store. The Eagle Store is located on the first floor of the PUB. With the Eagle Store now back in the PUB, students can go back to searching for textbooks on the shelves instead of walking to a computer and ordering them online like they had to do when

www.TheEasterner.org

the store was in Anderson Hall for two years.

For more information, visit bookstore. ewu.edu. The Eagle Store is located on the first floor in PUB 116. •

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News

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Caitlin Kenney

Rifle training course comes back to EWU

Dan Nield of the 56th Medical Group out of Luke Air Force Base aims his airsoft rifle down the range at the Air Force Wounded Warrior Adaptive Sports Camp in 2013.

EWU's rifle training course will be offered this spring as a military science class.

NICOLAS ZERBE Reporter The ROTC is bringing the basic rifle marksmanship class back to EWU. The class, which will take place in Cadet Hall this spring, is back from hiatus thanks to Sgt. David Ratliff of EWU’s ROTC. The course is open to all students, not just those in the ROTC program, and is listed as a military science course for those wanting to register.

Students registered will be practicing their rifle skills using a Crosman CH2009 CO2 rifle, which is provided by the ROTC.

The current iteration of the course is new, though EWU has had marksmanship classes in the past. The school was also host to a shooting team, which it hopes to bring back, according to Lt. Col. Jonathan C. Stafford.

“Our shooting team has historically been very good here,” said Stafford. “We had two Olympic medalists that came out of the ROTC program here.”

The new course will cover threeposition shooting, meaning students will be practicing firing a rifle from the prone, kneeling and standing positions.

There is currently a cap of 20 students in the course.

Training will take place in Cadet Hall’s indoor range, which features a 10-meter

firing line, the distance that those wanting to compete in EWU’s shooting team, which will begin the following quarter, will need to be proficient in.

The shooting team will compete in postal matches, meaning they will shoot for competitions at EWU and send their targets to be graded elsewhere.

Before getting their hands on the CO2 rifles, however, students will need to complete five weeks of coursework, taught

by Ratliff.

This training will include instructions on safety, the three positions of shooting, as well as a written exam.

It’s only then that students can handle the guns themselves.

“They’ll take what they learned in the classroom and start applying it,” said Ratliff.

“They’ll get used to the three positions, how to sight the rifles in, how to fire, how to utilize all the fundamentals and then apply it to shooting.”

Ratliff, the course instructor, has a storied history in competition shooting, having competed with success during his time in his high school ROTC program.

There, Ratliff took first place in not only his region and home state of Tennessee, but all the eastern U.S., and finally took third in the entire country.

Those interested in the one-credit class can find it listed as MLSC 288 when registering. •

According to Stanton, the order of merit is based on community service, high performance in quarterly leadership, outstanding physical fitness, a high GPA and peer or cadre evaluations.

“One candidate from each university or college is then hand selected and is to attend the GCM seminar annually,” Stanton said. “While in attendance, the main topic of learning and understanding is to be able to see the future expectations of the Army’s fighting force, and how we as an organization are to transform our battlefield strategies with the evolving technology that has surmounted the previous years on the battlefield.”

Lt. Col. Jonathan Stafford, a professor of military science and the department chair, said that Stanton is a great example of leadership for the EWU ROTC Program.

“Bryce is a bright and intelligent student in school, our highest performer in physical fitness tests and (an) all around

awesome person with strong leadership skills,” Stafford said.

The conference will be held at Fort

Leavenworth, Kansas, where the top cadet from each ROTC program in the U.S. will attend to develop their leadership skills even more. •

ROTC cadet selected to attend leadership seminar KENDALL KOCH Reporter Bryce Stanton, a cadet from EWU’s ROTC, was chosen to attend the George C. Marshall Leadership seminar this summer in hopes of gaining more knowledge on how to be a better leader. The seminar, named after former U.S. Secretary of State George C. Marshall, is an opportunity for cadets in the 274 ROTC programs across the country to potentially attend.

Stanton, an EWU Cadet, said he is excited about attending this seminar and all the information that will come from it.

“I was chosen to attend the seminar due to high performance and leadership capabilities within the EWU ROTC program,” Stanton said in an email to The Easterner. “Cadets who have the highest points regarding the order of merit list are placed within a top percentage amongst the program.”

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

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Patrick Newbill Minister

psnewbill@yahoo.com 509-951-9316

6 - The Easterner

News

Shapiro was initially denied the opportunity to speak due to safety concerns NICOLAS ZERBE Reporter

Last November, Gonzaga faculty blocked the university’s College Republicans’ request to have conservative political commentator Ben Shapiro speak on campus.

Shapiro, a prominent conservative voice in the media, is mostly known for his stances on gay marriage, abortion and political correctness.

The university originally cited concerns over safety in the proposed venue, the John

Gage Skidmore

Conservative speaker Ben Shapiro coming to Gonzaga University

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Ben Shapiro speaking at the 2018 Conservative Political Action Conference.

Shapiro will speak at Gonzaga University, though the date is yet to be confirmed.

J. Hemmingson Center ballroom, as well as issues with verbal and physical altercations among protesting groups at previous Shapiro events nationwide.

Thayne McCulloh, Gonzaga’s president, stated in a news release that after an indepth risk assessment, that included input from law enforcement agencies was conducted in January, his concerns over holding such an event at Gonzaga were reduced.

On Feb. 4 McCulloh released a statement via email to students and faculty, according

to The Gonzaga Bulletin, reversing the university’s stance on the issue.

He stipulated Shapiro could present on Gonzaga’s campus, but the event must be held at the McCarthey Athletic Center, Gonzaga’s 6,000-seat indoor arena.

"We could not be more excited to host Mr. Shapiro in the near future," College Republican President Olivia Johnston said, in an email to The Gonzaga Bulletin. "This approval is in line with free speech and for that I am proud of our club for standing our ground preserving through this process."

EWU’s own College Republicans have yet to invite speakers to campus, but don’t have plans to bring anyone other than local Republicans, said EWU College Republicans president Joseph Hernandez, though they are looking forward to seeing Shapiro speak at Gonzaga.

“I know a lot of conservative students are excited about him coming,” said Hernandez. “He’s a pretty exciting figure.”

As of yet, there is no set date for Shapiro’s visit to Spokane. •

and the importance of Eastern. This is a chance to share some records that we have in our archives and in library shelves with students who get a chance to look at them and see how easy it is to use those records and artifacts to tell a story.”

In each of its four years, the Wikipedia event has been beneficial and received positive feedback from students who participated in the activity, according to Rosenzweig.

“We’ve had a real successful series of partnerships with different student groups,” Rosenzweig said.

He also said that the honor society group has been the most consistent group that enjoys helping and taking the opportunities to make the event happen.

“It seems like students have responded really positively,” Rosenzweig said. “The really nice thing is these articles are student writing. (It's) work that students have done together to help tell a story and then anybody around the world can read it. We see that as a nice benefit.”

Kellie Knerr, an EWU graduate of 2018, said she loves working in the Wikipedia event.

“It allows history about our local area to be representative in a manner in which people can understand it, especially today’s

generation,” Knerr said. “I love the process of it.”

Rosenzweig said that the event has had an impact by bringing students together to work on stories that matter. This event also included students from the History Department and students from the Women’s and Gender Studies program. The event also gets a mix of students all over campus through a sign-in sheet, which the students write their majors on.

“We think anybody should do this (event),” Rosenzweig said. “We’ve had freshmen, graduate students and staff and community members come and help us work on this.

We’re always glad to work with anybody who has an interest. We’d love to see as many people get involved as they can.”

Rosenzweig said that the event is an opportunity for students to try working or editing on Wikipedia, especially for those who have never experienced that before.

Other communities beyond the Spokane and Cheney areas also get a share of what EWU has done with this event.

“We often reach out to organizations, especially when they have materials that are a part of the story that we’re needed to tell,” Rosenzweig said.

He mentioned that at the event a couple years ago, students worked on articles

about fires that happened on campus and contacted local police for the records.

“We also work with Wikipedia,” Rosenzweig said. “Wikipedia has a process for featuring new articles on just the main page of the site. Each year for a portion of one day, one of the articles that we wrote has been featured on the Wikipedia main page. That’s a situation where we really do try to spread the word as widely as we can.”

Knerr said that the event provides all the primary source materials and guides the students in the progress. “(Students) can write the stories and the sections of the page,” Knerr said. “It creates a legacy for not only themselves, but for Eastern.”

Rosenzweig said that he would love to have more opportunities to involve students and work with the students who were involved before.

“It would be wonderful to be in a situation where we had attracted so much student support,” Rosenzweig said. “I think the challenge for us is just to continue to find partnership with student groups and to be creative in trying to find new stories to tell about Eastern’s history.”

The updated Wikipedia pages of James and Eleanor Chase can be visited right now.•

Students and faculty contribute to Wikipedia MARCO VARGAS Reporter Many people love to write stories. Some people like to write about people that were important to a community, and some of those stories are shared online for the public. This was the case Feb. 27 during a biography-writing event about two people who were important to the Spokane community.

EWU held a small event at the JFK library that involved students and faculty building two Wikipedia pages about James Everett Chase, the 35th mayor of Spokane and Washington’s first African-American mayor, and his wife Eleanor Barrow Chase, a former Spokane civic leader and the first African-American woman on EWU’s Board of Trustees.

James Rosenzweig, an education librarian who helped set up the event, said that the purpose of the event is to share stories about the Cheney and Spokane areas and for students to be a part of the research process.

“This is our fourth year doing this event,” Rosenzweig said. “We think that writing Wikipedia articles about people who are connected to Eastern is a good way of helping people learn just about the history

www.TheEasterner.org

Arts

Easterner Asks

What has been the biggest life lesson for you so far?

"Thinking about what other people are going through before you react to something. I feel like a lot of people overreact because they don’t think about that other person."

- Demie Wamslele, Junior "I think not dwelling on the past so much. I think people need to learn from their mistakes and need to move forward with that and apply that to every opportunity in the future."

- Abisai Espinoza, Senior “I would say my biggest life lesson is believing in myself. My mom is my inspiration in life. She is always believing in herself and telling me that I can do anything I want and to put my mind to it.” - Kairah Bush-

Johnson, Junior

“My biggest life lesson would be to never give up. Always say you can and always do the most you can. It just gave me the courage to never give up in pretty much everything.”

- Dylon Evanson, Junior

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Looking Back

Woman sharpshooter hits national record ROGER SANDON Easterner Archives This story was originally published in The Easterner in Vol. 24, No. 17 in 1974 and has not been changed except for AP style.

Eastern's Wanda “Deadeye” Oliver found herself among the elite in riflery as she fired perfect 300 for 300 in the Intercollegiate Sectionals held here last weekend.

Oliver’s first ever feat established a new national record in the individual International target competition.

The record was previously held by 11 other shooters with scores of 299 for 300 including the top woman shooter in the world, Margaret Murdock.

Oliver’s record also includes four extra bullseyes from the standing position.

“Deadeye” Oliver also tied the international record in the kneeling position shooting 199 for 200.

It turned out to be a record smashing weekend as Eastern's Red Team established a new school record on international targets of 2268 for 2400, erasing that of 2251 set in the fall of 1972. Oliver led the team with 580 for 600, followed by Martha Jo Messex with 569, Ray Oliger firing 563 and team captain Rich Rains hitting 556.

In the Conventional competition it was Eastern's red team arising victoriously for the second time as the edged Montana State by one point in a tie breaker, 773 to 772. Again it was Oliver taking scoring honors

The Easterner, Vol. 24, No. 17, February 28, 1974

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SHARPSHOOTER IN ACTION - Eastern Washington's Wanda Mason is shown in a practice session. She fired a perfect 300. with 295 for 300, followed by Rains with 293, Oliger 293, and Messex 288.

“It takes a while for something like that to sink in,” said Oliver of her new national record. She also mentioned that she is extremely pleased with her rifle, a 52E model Winchester, which is about the first of its kind to “make it.”

“Work for your goals and you will definitely get there. Never be disheartened. Life pretty much taught me that. You go through a lot of tough times and you learn."

- Sammy Singh, Junior "Communication with people. When I came here I didn’t really talk to a lot of people in class. Now, it seems like I have a good conversation with pretty much every person in class."

- Jeff Bergeron, Senior

www.TheEasterner.org

Oliver is a candidate for All-American recognition, and with her eyes on the future Olympic Games she will soon be attempting to gain a position on the U.S. Rifle Team.

This weekend the team travels to Reno, Nevada to compete with 18 other schools, again including arch rivals, MSU. •

MEN: March 13-16 No. 1 Seed No. 8 Seed

GAME 1

GAME 4 Game 1 Winner

No. 9 Seed

Game 4 Winner

GAME 8 No. 4 Seed

WOMEN: March 11-15

Big Sky Championship 2019

Game 8 Winner

No. 1 Seed Game 4 Winner

Game 8 Winner

Game 5 Winner

GAME 5

Game 5 Winner

GAME 6 Game 2 Winner

No. 10 Seed

WOMEN’S 2019 Tournament Champion

No. 9 Seed No. 4 Seed

GAME 5

No. 2 Seed

Game 6 Winner

GAME 9

Game 6 Winner Game 9 Winner

Game 9 Winner

Game 7 Winner

GAME 7

REGULAR SEASON

Game 7 Winner

MVP

Game 3 Winner

No. 11 Seed

#�34 Jesse Hunt Per Game Averages

14.3 Points 8.5 Rebounds 45% Shooting 11 Double-Doubles

GAME 6 Game 2 Winner

No. 7 Seed

GAME 2 No. 10 Seed

GAME 9

The Easterner’s

No. 3 Seed

GAME 3

GAME 1

GAME 10 MEN’S 2019 Tournament Champion

No. 2 Seed

No. 6 Seed

No. 8 Seed

No. 5 Seed

GAME 10

GAME 2

Game 1 Winner

GAME 8

No. 5 Seed

No. 7 Seed

GAME 4

No. 3 Seed

GAME 7 Game 3 Winner

No. 6 Seed

GAME 3 No. 11 Seed

Kapri Morrow #�12

Per Game Averages

18.7 Points 6.3 Rebounds 44% Shooting

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Arts

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'The Seagull' lands at EWU ERIK ROTNESS A&F Editor A passionate play filled with aching souls and dark comedy, EWU’s production of “The Seagull” opens on March 8 at the EWU Theatre.

Written by Russian playwright Anton Chekov in 1895, the play is built around four main characters: Trigorin, Nina, Arkadina and Konstantin.

“He sets it in a country estate in Russia in 1895, and it’s the home of Soren the landowner and his sister Arkadina who is a famous Russian actress (and) is coming back and visiting the estate where they grew up,” Senior Lecturer of Theater Jeffrey Sanders said. "Really the story centers around Konstantin. Konstantin is a young man who desires to be a writer (and) he is passionately involved and in love with a young country girl named Nina.”

Arkadina brings the famous writer Trigorin, with whom she’s in a relationship, back to the estate with her.

Konstantin’s love interest Nina falls for Trigorin, and the love triangles ensue.

“A lot of the plot … revolves around three or four different love triangles … and a lot of the characters are pretty young,” senior and actress MJ Daly said.

“In the first act they’re all 19 to 25. A lot of these characters who are all in love with the wrong person at the wrong time are 19 to 25 and it kind of captures that youthful love … it’s very passionate, both intellectually (and) physically, and I think that is pretty relatable to us young kids running around doing life in college. And relationship drama is always relevant.”

While the core of the play is focused on the four main characters, the supporting roles add their own interesting dynamics.

“You have a character named Masha who always wears black because she’s in mourning for her life,” Sanders said. “You

have Medvedenko who’s a schoolteacher and he’s in love with Masha.”

“My character’s name is Masha,” Daly said. “She’s 22, same age as I am … she’s in love with a guy who’s absolutely not in love with her who kind of treats her badly through a lot of the show, not because he’s a mean person, so much as he just sees her as a nuisance … she doesn’t really do a whole lot to actually get him because she realizes he’s happier with someone else. It kills her inside, but the whole play she’s just trying to push that feeling down.”

The play deals with heartache but is still supposed to make the audience laugh.

“This is a play where everyone loves the person who loves someone else,” Sanders said. “You know, our keg light, our soul beam is pointed at one person and that person is pointing it in a different direction than us … (Chekov) blows it up to the point that it’s passionate, it’s tragic but it’s also funny. (Medvedenko’s) an earnest soul, but no one’s quite interested in him. It’s got these little, 'Ow!' these little ‘ouches’ where you’re like 'Ah if only we could turn that soul glow in the right direction …’ It’s horrible, but it’s also funny.”

Daly says that the style of humor is still familiar to today’s audience.

“Although it was written in the late 1800s … it’s surprisingly modern,” Daly said. “There’s a lot of modern comedy, it’s very self-deprecating and like, ‘Oh we’re all gonna die anyway so I guess we’ll just be miserable together.’ And that’s honestly kind of what Chekov is.”

While the play was written in 1895, making it feel antiquated in some ways, Sanders said Chekov’s brilliance is that he touches on central and universal themes that won’t feel removed to an audience today.

“I mean we all like the girl that doesn’t like us or is not quite as into you as you are into her,” Sanders said. “We’ve all felt tortured by it you know? We’ve all felt self-

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conscious about not being talented enough or smart enough. It hits ‘em right in that spot, that kind of insecurity of life. And what do I do with my life?”

At the time Chekov wrote “The Seagull” he knew he had tuberculosis and had been sick for years.

“His brother had died from tuberculosis and so I think he knew in a sense that time was running out,” Sanders said. "I think his plays write with that theme at its core that time is running out for these characters and we have to get out the story, get out what we feel, get out our life experience, and so ‘The Seagull’ to me is representative of all those that live in and within us that are yet unfulfilled.”

Sanders said that he’s hired guest artist Chris Beazer to perform all of the original music for the show, and that Beazer has written additional music for this production.

Sanders said he’s also hired Spokane actor Patrick Treadway for the performance to play Sorin.

“He’s an incredible actor,” Sanders said.

“To have the students work with him and learn from him has been really positive.”

While “The Seagull” is a difficult production according to Sanders, he wouldn’t have attempted it without confidence in his performers.

“I really feel as a student cast I have probably, in my opinion, the strongest student cast I’ve had in my tenure here at Eastern,” Sanders said. “I have a group of students that are extraordinarily talented.

I actually wouldn’t have done this play if I didn’t feel like I had a really wealthy base of talent.”

Performances of “The Seagull” will be March 8, 9, 15 and 16 at 7:30 p.m., March 10 at 2 p.m. and March 14 at 5 p.m. Tickets are $10, cash or check only, at the door and free for EWU students with a valid student ID. Tickets can be reserved by calling 509-359-2459.

Who took it.

Anton Chekov's 'The Seagull' brings love triangles and heartache to the EWU Theatre, opening on March 8

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Arts

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Konstantin (Jared Martin) presents his love interest Nina (Isa Jackowich) a dead seagull during the dress rehearsal of "The Seagull" at EWU on March 6. "To me, ('The Seagull') is a celebration of the human ache that is passion," Senior Lecturer of Theater Jeffrey Sanders said. "It's a passion for living, a passion for love, for a better life. It hits all those universal topics."

Bailey Monteith for The Easterner

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Arts

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Courtesy of the EWU Art Gallery

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"Untitled," mixed media, 2019. Art for Roger Ralston's "Field Research" exhibit is on display at the EWU Gallery of Art starting March 3. Ralston created watercolor paint and drawings for the exhibit as well as plaques with found objects adhered to them to display the structure that is revealed in the material.

The everyday put on display SAM JACKSON Reporter While some people just notice snow on a roof, Roger Ralston sees snow umbrellaed off a ledge revealing a crystalline appearance abundant in color by sunlight.

That might be why Ralston describes himself as a “romantic wanderer” who gets captivated in the discovery of beauty from his everyday surroundings.

Ralston implements a method of investigation provoked by curiosity into his

artwork, and his collection "Field Research" will be showcased at the EWU Gallery of Art from March 3 to April 25.

In addition to teaching art classes at EWU, Ralston works as a 3D lab technician for the art department and is the Art Building’s health and safety manager. He can typically be found in the art building’s ceramics and wood studios. Ralston is a part of Saranac Art Projects: a Spokane artist cooperative membership gallery that supports and educates artists within the community.

There he displayed "Field Research" during

November 2017, consisting of watercolor paint and drawings. The collection represents research Ralston’s conducted from “looking at things” and how he’s “been pulling together fragments of (those) lookings,” he said.

This show is different from the Saranac Art Projects gallery because it extends the watercolor and drawing exhibit with an array of art pieces using objects Ralston collected including rocks and tossed pieces from the ceramics lab.

The exhibit will feature shelves displaying objects Ralston collected throughout his research. There will also be plaques with objects adhered to them that have been shredded or naturally damaged.

Gathering random materials like pieces of wood or forgotten ceramic sculptures, and breaking them in an uncontrolled manner are considered “research projects” for Ralston, because he can analyze how the texture of the objects change.

“One of the things I like is the structure that is revealed in that material,” Ralston said.

The exhibit will also include drawings of maps displaying fictitious buildings featuring canals. The maps are inspired by Ralston’s dreams of urban spaces that he describes as “kind of dark and dure.”

“They are really cool, and they are really entertaining to do because you

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can start thinking about where you are or what’s going on in this neighborhood,” Ralston said.

Ralston says “it happens all the time” that he catches himself in the moment observing investigative possibilities for his art work. He has even found himself wandering down stray streets just to look at something.

“It’s like as I wander around, I’m not sure if I’m looking or observing as really a reflective process; it’s (about observing) larger forms, larger objects (and) more about life on surfaces,” Ralston said. “(For instance) how the sun moves through the day, (and) how it changes the color of the different surfaces of the buildings. Or the luminosity of a tree.”

The exhibit will display about 30-40 total pieces of plaques, objects, water color paint and drawings, according to Ralston. He hopes that people viewing the collection will have fun analyzing his work.

“Some pieces I hope they start to look at some of the things around them and they just start to find maybe a bit of beauty there, kind of like I do," Ralston said.

The EWU Gallery of Art is located in the Art Building. An opening reception of the show will be on March 13 at noon in the gallery. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission to the exhibit is free.•

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Features

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The History of Drag explains the art Learning about history doesn’t have to be a drag at EWU. The History of Drag was hosted by Jason Johnson, a Spokane Drag performer whose drag name is Nova Kaine, on Feb. 27 in the PUB to educate students on the art prior to EWU’s annual drag show. The event was sponsored by the EWU Pride Center and Eagle Entertainment.

According to Eagle Entertainment Diversity Outreach Coordinator Shannalee McCarthy, 82 students were in attendance for the History of Drag.

“The History of Drag has been a workshop that has occurred since 2011 during the middle of February to the beginning of March. It has not been held every year since then. However, it is usually a well-attended event when EWU has been able to hold the workshop,” EWU Student Activities, Involvement and Leadership Director Stacy Reece said in an email to The Easterner.

Reece added that the person who originally started the History of Drag workshop was former manager of the Pride Center, Sandra Williams, who wanted to create an event where people could learn about the vibrant history of drag queen performance and how it has been impacted by various social movements in U.S. history.

Williams was the one who approached Johnson to do a presentation on his character and the history of drag after hearing him speak at Pride Parade in Spokane, according to Johnson.

Johnson has been doing drag for over 30 years and this is his eighth year as a speaker for the History of Drag and 15th year performing at the drag show at EWU as Nova Kaine.

When Johnson comes to Cheney he describes it as an entirely different audience because it’s a college town and people are from different areas, saying in Spokane he’s limited to the people who live there.

“To be the first impression of what drag is to some of these people who have never been to a drag show, for me, that is my highlight of coming to EWU,” Johnson said.

This is the fourth year that Pride Center manager Nick Franco has been involved with the History of Drag, and they think attending helps clarify some of drag’s misconceptions.

“The more that we know about things, the less scary they are,” Franco said, whose pronouns are they and them. “By coming and by being exposed to it, it kind of demystifies what it is and when you’re able to demystify something or make something seem or a concept or community seem more familiar you’re less likely to act in ways that are intolerant.”

EWU Pride Center employee Riley Bushard said that there’s a lot of misunderstanding about what drag was even within the LGBTQ+ community and what it means for each person.

Bailey Monteith for The Easterner

KAISA SIIPOLA Reporter

Jason Johnson speaks to students out of drag at the History of Drag event in the PUB on Feb. 27. Johnson spoke to students about the history of drag, LGBTQ+ rights and the Civil Rights Movement.

Johnson says a common misconception people have about drag queens is that they’re all gay or transgender.

“A lot of people automatically assume that drag queens are all gay and that’s not always the case because I know several drag queens and drag kings that are heterosexual and in heterosexual relationships,” Johnson said.

Johnson said that those interested in drag should reach out.

“If it’s something that they’re really interested in, I would tell them … don’t be disheartened, to stay focused, to keep your eye on the ball, it can be a very difficult industry because drag queens are very vicious to one another and they’re very vicious to people who are just trying to start out,” Johnson said. “The best thing is to find a drag queen that you admire, a drag queen that you respect and ask that individual to help.”

Bonnie Bair, a first year in the Occupational Therapy Graduate Program on the EWU Spokane Campus decided to RSVP to the History of Drag on Orgsync for multiple reasons.

“I have an assignment to experience a culture different from our own,” Bair said.

“As occupational therapists, we will work with a variety of people from varying backgrounds and it is important to know how to be sensitive to their needs and understand where they’re coming from.”

Bair had only seen drag on television and in movies and wanted to understand drag history to enhance her knowledge.

As diversity outreach coordinator, McCarthy thought the event was a great way for students who haven’t been exposed to anything like this to have an opportunity to attend an introductory drag event that is laid back and not over the top. She

“To be the first impression of what

drag is to some of these people who have never been to a drag show, for me, that is my highlight of coming to EWU. ”

- Jason Johnson Drag performer

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commends Johnson for keeping students engaged and giving a thorough history about drag, LGBTQ+ rights and the Civil Rights Movement.

“It’s good to spread awareness and let people be themselves,” Bair said. “It’s pretty neat that it would be open to the student body and allow others to learn more about it.”

Johnson refers to drag as an expression of art and says drag is a theatrical production he enjoys performing in front of an audience.

“The big thing about drag is it’s fun,” Johnson said. “Every drag performer comes from a different history, a different background. Drag is something different to every individual that performs.”

EWU sophomore Casey Swim said that it’s cool that EWU is hosting drag events for people that may not know a lot about drag, such as herself.

Bushard said that EWU hosting drag events shows that they support LGBTQ+ students on campus and it’s an interesting and fun way to break down gender norms, but it doesn’t ostracize people who haven’t started thinking about that stuff yet.

Franco said that they haven’t received any feedback directly from students regarding the drag events hosted on campus.

“I do hear from students that they’ll be walking by a history of drag or drag show flyer, or any actually queer related flyer, and sometimes students will overhear other students making a funny comment, using a purgative term or slur,” Franco said. “So I think there is still some pushback that people keep to themselves or don’t make as big of a deal about it.”•

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News/Opinion

Letter to the Editor

Letter to the Editor

Climate change is nothing new Letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Easterner, its staff members or Eastern Washington University.

Dear Editor, One of the main jobs of Earth scientists is to unravel the history of the Earth. They have determined that climate change has been with us throughout Earth history.

The Earth has undergone thousands of episodes of cooling and warming. In fact, for about 75 percent of Earth history, the Earth has had a warm and damp climate lacking polar ice caps. As Elmer Fudd might say, “those climate changes occurred long before wascally Wepublicans were dwiving stately sport utility vehicles.”

The evidence for historic climate change comes primarily through the study of sedimentary rocks. The texture, composition, and isotopic character of the sedimentary rocks deposited throughout geologic time bear silent witness to the changing climate since different climatic regimes result in subtle differences in sedimentary rocks.

Thousands of studies have been completed by earth scientists regarding Earth history. These various studies are published, and then reviewed by thousands of other Earth scientists.

This process of peer review is one of the cornerstones of scientific methodology, whereby honest mistakes can be rectified and outright humbug can be discarded.

That is the way science works.

Earth scientists have determined that over the last 11,000 years, mean sea level has risen by about 500 feet. Dr. W. Tad Pfeffer, a respected Earth scientist from the University of Colorado in Boulder, has determined that about 90 percent of that sea level change occurred from about 9,000 B.C. to about 4,000 B.C., long before “mean-spirited” Republicans began snatching toys from weeping children. Sea level change has also occurred countless times throughout Earth history prior to the arrival of Homo sapiens.

Similarly, a recent paleoclimate study was presented to the Canadian Senate by Dr. Ian Clark, an Earth Science professor from the University of Ottawa. He showed the science-deficient politicos that there was a very close correlation between solar energy output and global temperature.

Energy from the sun is not constant.

He also showed another graph which conclusively demonstrated that global warming precedes an atmospheric carbon dioxide increase by an average of about 800 years. That presentation can be seen by anyone, free of charge. It can be accessed by typing in Ian Clark on YouTube.

What could have caused the gross misconception regarding historic climate change that currently prevails? Why is there a pervasive hysteria about a natural event that has occurred continuously throughout Earth history?

There are two possibilities. The first is the widespread scientific illiteracy spawned by the failed public education system. The second is the idol worship and resultant preposterous scientific credibility granted to semi-literate airhead entertainers by pop culture, providing entertainment idols with the same or greater credibility as competent scientists. The taxpayer will likely be saddled with the eventual cost of ignorance resulting from crony capitalism and trendy, inefficient “green technologies” that require government subsidies to survive. That is the way government works. Check out Dr. Ian Clark’s presentation on YouTube. You will then be light years ahead of the Cletusville High School alma mater. ­— James Ebisch James Ebisch is a Cheney resident and an Earth scientist who has spent the last four decades in the field. Ebisch is the founder of Wyoming Mines, a consulting business for the mining industry.

News

New Cheney restaurant closes DYLAN HARRIS News Editor Barbecue lovers in Cheney can’t catch a break.

Just weeks after opening its doors, M.R. Piggy’s BBQ Cafe is now closed for business.

The restaurant came as a timely addition to the local food scene—Rokkos Teriyaki & BBQ announced its own closure on Jan. 15, a week after the opening of M.R. Piggy’s.

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At the time of this story’s publication, there has been no public statement by the owners or anyone affiliated with the restaurant.

The building has been vacated and there is no sign explaining the abrupt closure. The restaurant’s Facebook page has been deleted.

Nobody from M.R. Piggy’s responded to The Easterner’s calls or messages to comment or offer explanation.

The Easterner will continue to update this story if more information is made available.

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Submission Guidelines 1. Letters should be 500 words or less and typed, or legibly handwritten.

2. Send to our Editor in Chief Michael Brock at easterner.editor@ewu.edu.

3. Include your full name, signature, telephone number and email address for verification.

4. We reserve the right not to publish letters; furthermore, all letters are subject to editing for adherence to Associated Press style.

5. Letters must be received no later than Monday at 10 a.m. to be considered for publication.

6. If your letter is in response to a specific article, please list the title and date of the article.

7. We encourage the EWU community to submit letters and opinion pieces that conform to the requirements listed.

8. Letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The Easterner, its staff members or Eastern Washington University.

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Sports

Paving his way

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Junior guard Tyler Kidd carves a path from community college to EWU starting point guard

Junior guard Tyler Kidd passes the ball against Sacramento State on Feb. 28. Kidd earned a starting role against Montana on Jan. 10 and has held it for 14 straight games.

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Junior guard Tyler Kidd organizes the offense in EWU's 59-56 loss to Sacramento State on Feb. 28. EWU is 9-5 overall with Kidd in the starting lineup.

As a starter, Kidd averages 13.9 points, 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals per game.

Bailey Monteith for The Easterner

Junior guard Tyler Kidd’s path to the EWU roster is unlike any of his teammates.

Kidd is the only Eagle to not make the jump to Division I basketball straight out of high school.

The Seattle native graduated from O’Dea High School in 2014, and played two years at Skagit Valley College where he averaged 12.3 points per game and shot 49.9 percent from the field.

His then-coach at SVC, Brock Veltri, said that he was trying to tell Division I coaches Kidd would excel at a higher level because of his quickness and outside shot moving off of ball screens.

“Tyler in my mind was definitely skilled enough from the moment he got here,” Veltri told The Easterner in a phone interview. “Where Tyler showed great growth was with his leadership abilities and his ability to play through the tough times in the game.”

Kidd got the call from EWU to come join the team, and he sat out last season as a redshirt.

This year, the Eagles struggled to find a consistent starter at point guard. Leading up to a game against Montana on Jan. 10, EWU had a 4-10 record and had started conference play 1-3.

Head coach Shantay Legans gave Kidd the nod against the Grizzlies and he hasn’t looked back since, starting him 14 straight games.

“He’s come a long way,” Legans told The Easterner. “He earned his way into the starting lineup by playing really well and maturing. He’s been a shot of adrenaline in the arm and he’s been playing great basketball.”

The Eagles have a 9-5 record since Kidd has entered the starting five. He is averaging 13.9 points per game with 4.1 assists and 1.3 steals, and is shooting 39.2 percent from the field with 40.3 percent from 3-point range.

“I’m just living in the moment right now,” Kidd told The Easterner. “It’s been a long road, but I’m happy I’m here.”

Standing at 5-feet-9-inches would be an impediment for most people stepping onto the court. Kidd said that his size hasn’t stopped him in the past because of his athleticism.

“Since I’ve got here (size affected me) a little bit, but I’ve just got to work on my finishing,” Kidd said.

“It’s been a learning curve this year.”

Kidd proved to be an important accompanying piece to sophomore guard Jacob Davison, who caught a hot hand against Montana State on Jan. 19, the game after Kidd entered the starting lineup.

Alongside Kidd, Davison went on an eightgame span where he averaged 23.8 points, until suffering a high ankle sprain against Northern Colorado on Feb. 16. The injury will likely sideline him for the remainder of the season.

Kidd’s role continues to grow in importance with Davison injured and two games remaining in the regular season.

In EWU’s last two home games against Sacramento State and Portland State, Kidd scored 13 points in each, but wasn’t nearly as efficient. He shot a combined 32 percent from the field with 25 percent from 3-point range.

He had eight turnovers to his four assists.

If Kidd is able to right the ship and perform at the peak level he has this season, the Eagles could make a run in the BSC Tournament. If not, it may be difficult for the Eagles to pull off successive victories, and they could see an early exit.•

Bailey Monteith for The Easterner

TAYLOR NEWQUIST Sports Editor

Sports

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Courtesy of EWU Athletics

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The 1987 EWU women's basketball team poses for a team photo. The team was coached by Bill Smithpeters (back left), who was inducted into the EWU Hall of Fame in 2010. The team as a whole was inducted into the EWU Hall of Fame in 2013, and are the only EWU women's basketball team to make the NCAA Tournament.

'87 Eagles defined women's success DREW LAWSON Reporter In 1987, the EWU women’s basketball team traveled to Missoula for the Mountain West Athletic Conference Tournament and beat Montana in the championship to become the first team to make the NCAA Tournament in school history.

Since then, EWU has made four postseason appearances, but is still waiting for its second NCAA Tournament bid.

The 1987 team was coached by EWU Hall of Famer Bill Smithpeters and was led on the court by fellow EWU Hall of Famer Brenda Souther, who averaged 21.9 points and 10 rebounds per game. The year prior, the Eagles had been beaten by the Grizzlies in the MWAC Championship, and EWU was seeking revenge.

“We had finished so many years second to Montana,” Smithpeters told The Easterner.

“We lost six seniors … (but) things seemed to fall into place.”

EWU defeated UM 77-74 to advance to the NCAA Tournament. Smithpeters said the day after, The Missoulian ran a picture of UM crying in the locker room after the game on its front page.

“They had already made their postseason reservations,” Smithpeters said.

Smithpeters said that the 1987 team was the first time that any EWU team,

including men’s basketball and football, made the playoffs after EWU became a Division I school in 1983.

“People would tell you that they enjoyed watching women’s basketball,” Smithpeters said. “It was a big deal at the time.”

Mike Divilbiss, who was an assistant coach on the team, and is currently the athletic director at Lakeland High School in Rathdrum, Idaho, told The Easterner more about the 1987 team.

“We had some really talented players,” Divilbiss said. “We played Cheryl Miller’s team at USC and played them tough …

We won 12 of 13 … and got hot in the tournament.”

Divilbiss said that Smithpeters’ coaching style was key in reaching that particular group of players.

“He was so patient,” Divilbiss said. “He had a tremendous heart for people … which that group of kids really needed.”

After their BSC Championship victory in Missoula, the Eagles lost in the first round of the NCAA Tournament to the University of Oregon.

Under current head coach Wendy Schuller, the Eagles have gone to the Women's National Inivitational Tournament three times and the Women's Basketball Invitational once. The first WNIT bid came in 2010, when EWU won the Big Sky Conference regular season title before

losing in the BSC Tournament semifinals.

Schuller was named BSC Coach of the Year, while Julie Piper was named BSC Most Valuable Player and Brianne Ryan won BSC Defensive Player of the Year. The Eagles played UO in the first round of the WNIT and were soundly beaten 95-66.

“There were a lot of really good players on that team,” Schuller said. “I think probably the best thing about that team was we had six or seven players that on any given night could get 20 (points). We were really versatile.”

The Eagles next made the WNIT in 2013, a bid that ended in heartbreaking fashion at the University of Washington. Schuller told The Easterner about the nail-biting finish.

“We lost in double overtime,” Schuller said.

“Hayley (Hodgins) got an offensive rebound in front of the rim with two seconds to go (in regulation). The referee blew the whistle, and she was like, ‘Oops! Inadvertent whistle.’

I swear to you, she called an inadvertent whistle, two seconds to go, our ball in front of the rim to win the game ... We ended up losing in the second overtime.”

Under the leadership of Hayley and Delaney Hodgins, EWU won in the first round of its third WNIT bid in 2015 against Washington State University 67-65. The Eagles then lost in the second round to BSC foe Sacramento State 84-49.

The most recent EWU postseason appearance came in 2017, when the

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Eagles received an invitation to the WBI for the first time after making the BSC Tournament semifinals. They won against Texas State University 66-62 in the first round of the WBI before falling to Idaho 7467 in the second round. EWU was led by alltime leading scorer Delaney Hodgins, Tisha Phillips and Ashli Payne.

“I think our seniors were pretty phenomenal about ending their senior season on a high note,” Schuller said. “(Phillips) and Payne both were potent offensively and could do a lot of things … It was a pretty solid team.

I remember those two seniors not wanting their season to end.”

For this year’s team to make the postseason, EWU will likely need to run the table at the BSC Tournament, which starts March 11 in Boise. The Eagles currently stand sixth in the BSC with two regular season games to play.

Schuller said the team is still improving and will need to continue that trend to make a push.

“I think we’re playing better basketball,” Schuller said. “I think we’re in a pretty healthy place. We really have learned a lot from our experiences and are playing much more as a unit ... We have to continue to get rid of the lulls that we sometimes have.”

Both regular season games remaining are at home, the first against Idaho State on March 7 and the second against Weber State on March 9 for Senior Day.•

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Sports

You can't trust the Big Sky at the Big Dance EWU is a shining example of a Big Sky team that didn’t stack up against teams outside its conference. The Eagles finished 2-9 in nonconference play, with one of those wins coming against Corban University of the Cascade Collegiate Conference (Division II).

The BSC team with the best record is Montana at 21-7 (7-4 nonconference). The Grizzlies are the favorite to represent the conference at the Big Dance later this month, looking to enter the conference tournament as the No. 1 seed after the final two regular season games.

Last year, UM entered the NCAA Tournament as a No. 14 seed and lost to University of Michigan 61-47. Don’t be fooled, the experience won’t pay dividends.

A BSC team hasn’t won a NCAA Tournament game since 2006, when the Grizzlies beat University of Nevada 87-79.

Before that you have to go back to 1999 when Weber State beat University of North Carolina 76-74.

I may not be a math guy, but a combined 2-20 record in the first round of the tournament since I was born doesn’t bode well for my confidence (that's a 9.091 win percentage for the math guys).

Everyone should fill out a bracket; it's a great way to add some personal investment into the games, especially if you throw down a $20 bet between your friends and family.

I’ll be trekking back to Yakima to continue a Thursday and Friday tradition of melding into the couch with my dad.

Enjoy the process. Drink a beer (probably two). Soak up every dunk and buzzer beater, but don’t pick a BSC team.•

Bracket ballers

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Former EWU guard Tyler Harvey shoots over a Georgetown University defender in the first round of the 2015 NCAA Tournament. In EWU's second-ever appearance in the NCAA Tournament they lost 84-74 to the No. 4 seed Hoyas.

EWU aims to play a postseason tournament for the fifth straight year TAYLOR NEWQUIST Sports Editor Men’s basketball has played in a postseason tournament the past four years, with a total of six appearances in the program's history.

The last three seasons have been more forgettable with EWU playing in the

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Former EWU forward Ognjen Milijkovic drives against a Georgetown University defender in the 2015 NCAA Tournament. Milijkovic came to EWU from Serbia.

College Basketball Invitational, the thirdstring tournament behind the NCAA Tournament and the NIT. But in 2015, EWU made the NCAA Tournament for the second time in school history, after beating rival Montana in the Big Sky tournament championship game.

Former EWU head coach Jim Hayford fondly looks back on the day the Eagles were crowned Big Sky champions.

“I can still remember all the confetti coming down and the Montana fans walking out,” Hayford told The Easterner in a phone interview. “You want your players to have an unbelievable experience, and making the Big Dance there’s nothing greater you can give them.”

The 2015 team earned a school-record 26 wins and was led by guard Tyler Harvey, who led the nation in scoring with 23.1 points per game. Forward Venky Jois added 16.4 points per game with 8.7 rebounds.

“They were fearless,” Hayford said of the 2015 team. “On different nights we had five or six guys that were our leading scorer. We found new ways to win games.”

Senior guard Cody Benzel is the last remaining EWU player from the 2015 team. Benzel was a redshirt freshman at the time, only playing in EWU’s opening exhibition against Puget Sound.

Benzel told The Easterner that earning a NCAA Tournament bid was awesome.

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“It was a great vibe with the team and on campus,” Benzel said. “When you grow up as a kid you don’t hear about the CBI, you hear about the NCAA Tournament and that’s your goal.”

For Benzel and the rest of the Eagles to get another chance at playing in the NCAA Tournament, they will have to win the Big Sky Conference tournament starting March 13, in Boise, Idaho.

Head coach Shantay Legans, who was an assistant on the 2015 team, said that to win the conference tournament the team will have to get hot at the right time.

“You’re going to see some upsets in this tournament,” Legans said. “You lose one key guy and it changes the whole tournament. You have to play confident basketball and let it fly.”

The Eagles are likely to be without one of their key guys, sophomore guard Jacob Davison. Davison had his cast removed on Monday, but is recovering from a high ankle sprain.

"He's been getting some light running in," Legans said. "I'm hoping Jacob can be like a gametime decision."

EWU is in the No. 5 seed in the BSC with two regular season games remaining.

The Eagles are tied with Weber State with a 10-8 conference record, and play the Wildcats on March 9 in the last regular season game of the year.•

Sports

Welcome to March V102 I19 - 3.6.19

Mckenzie Ford for The Easterner

16 - The Easterner

The Eagles celebrate a 3-point winning buzzer beater by freshman Kim Aiken, giving EWU a 68-66 win over Portland State on March 2. The freshman clinched the win on EWU's senior night, the last home game of the year.

Aiken's 3-point buzzer beater officially kicks off a month full of Madness College basketball is the lone sport to have an entire month dedicated to it.

Synonymous with March is Madness, because of the thrills brought by the men’s NCAA basketball tournament.

Arguably the most thrilling and iconic moments come at the final buzzer, where hearts are broken and legacies are cemented.

Whether it be Christian Laettner’s turnaround jumper to give Duke University a win over the University of Kentucky in 1992, or Kris Jenkins' pullup 3-pointer to win the championship for Villanova University in 2016, college hoops hold some of sports’ most memorable last second plays.

EWU freshman Kim Aiken made the first buzzer-beater of the month on March 2, stealing a 68-66 win over Portland State. Sophomore Jack Perry found Aiken with a cross-court pass in the corner, and Aiken’s shot swished through the net with zero seconds left on the clock.

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The rest of Aiken’s teammates swarmed him in celebration.

“I was still looking at the ball and making sure it went in,” Aiken said. “It was unbelievable. For them to rush me like that, I’ve never had that happen. I kind of wanted to cry.”

That night the play was featured on SportCenter's Top 10 plays at the No. 6 spot.

Aiken’s shot was instrumental for EWU in Big Sky Conference standings.

The Eagles moved into the No. 5 seed in the BSC, which is the lowest position to guarantee a first round bye in the conference tournament beginning on March 13.

EWU’s last two regular season games are road games against Idaho State on March 7 and Weber State on March 9, that will determine each teams' position for the conference tournament. The Eagles could finish anywhere from third Sophomore Jack Perry (right) to seventh after the two games. embraces freshman Kim Aiken (left) For a full recap of Aiken’s game winning after Aiken scored a buzzer beater to shot over PSU, and recaps of every EWU beat Portland State on March 2. Perry home game, visit theeasterner.org.• assisted Aiken on the final play.

Mckenzie Ford for The Easterner

TAYLOR NEWQUIST Sports Editor

Column

@The_Easterner

Don't count on a Big Sky Cinderella this year Taylor Newquist is the Sports Editor 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.

TAYLOR NEWQUIST

Every year the hardest Sports Editor part of filling out a March Madness bracket is scouring through the list of schools and choosing the team that is inevitably going to pull off a shocking upset, busting brackets across the country.

Here’s a gimme: the team representing the Big Sky will be bounced in the first round.

Throughout this season, there hasn't been one team in the conference that has been impressive.

BSC teams finished 47-64 in their nonconference schedules. Remove games against Division II and III schools, and the conference was just 26-63 in those games.

See Newquist, pg. 15

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