The Easterner: Volume 101, Issue 19

eaGS The

striKe back Wednesday, March 7, 2018

www.EasternerOnline.com

Volume 101, Issue 19

2 | The Easterner Editor in Chief

Brandon Cline 509.359.7010 easterner.editor@ewu.edu

Managing Editor

Logan Stanley easterner.mngeditor@ewu.edu

Volume 101, Issue | Mar 2018 Volume 101, Issue 1919 | Mar 7,7, 2018 3 News | 6 Entertainment | 7 Police Beat | 8 Basketball Preview | 10 A&E | 14 Sports

Easterner Asks:

Chief Copy Editor

Amanda Haworth easternercopy@gmail.com

News Editor

Josh Fletcher easterner.news@gmail.com

Sports Editor

Christian Escobar, Freshman

Michael Brock easterner.sports@gmail.com

Arts & Entertainment and Features Editor Dayana Morales easterner.aef@gmail.com

Multimedia Editor

Audrey Seda easterner.social@gmail.com

Art Director

Andrew Watson easterner.photo@gmail.com

Social Media Director

Richard Clark IV easterner.online@gmail.com

Copy Editor Taylor Waring

Reporters

Sam Jackson Jeremy Burnham Katherine Senechal Kaitlyn Engen

Graphic Designer

Theresa Lee, Junior

“Hate speech shouldn’t be allowed. It’s not right, everybody should be accepted and encouraged, especially in college.”

“I am actually pretty divided. I think free speech definitely has some positives, but like anything, like hate speech, it’s going to be abused. Just because you have an opinion doesn’t mean you need to voice it, but that opinion shouldn’t be taken away.

In your opinion does hate speech fall under free speech, why or why not?

Forrest Vig, Senior

Desiree Samuelson, Sophomore

“I would say no because there’s limitations. And when your speech is infringing on other people’s right and your speech is downgrading other humans, that should not be allowed.”

“I wouldn’t say they’re the same thing. Free speech you should say what you want to, but it shouldn’t hurt others at the same time.”

Corrections In the article titled “EWU program gives a voice back to those suffering with Parkinson’s” published in Issue 17, The Easterner incorrectly stated that EWU received $650,000 in funding from the Parkinson Voice Project. The Parkinson Voice Project received that money and use it to award funds to organizations who want to replicate their speech therapy programs.

The story also incorrectly stated that it was the EWU Parkinson’s Voice Project. The Parkinson’s Voice Project is a nonprofit organization founded in Dallas, Texas. Four speech language pathologists from EWU traveled to Dallas to be trained how to replicate the Parkinson’s Voice Project speech therapy program at the EWU Hearing and Speech Clinic.

In the article titled “Drag queens sparkle and shine at 20th annual drag show” published in Issue 18, The Easterner incorrectly stated that the EWU Pride Center was the organizer of EWU’s Annual Drag Show. The event was organized by Eagle Entertainment, along with support from Eagle Sound Productions and SAIL.

Student Photo Corner Sunset in Cheney Multimedia Editor Audrey Seda snapped this photo near Eagle Point.

“The sunset seemed to peaceful. The colors that mingled together in the sky made me feel a sense of contentment.

The serenity of nature clashes and yet complements the quiet hum of the streetlights. I just wanted to capture the moment.”

Gail Powers

Photographers Mckenzie Ford Bailey Monteith

Faculty Adviser Carleigh Hill chill26@ewu.edu

Our Mission The mission of The Easterner is to inform the students, faculty, staff and nearby residents of Eastern Washington University of the governance, activities and views of the campus while providing a learning environment for students interested in journalism and related fields. Our main goal is to publish high-quality news content to the community of Eastern Washington University.

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

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 Easterener does not remove any editorial content from easterneronline.com.

However, if there is a factual inaccuracy in a story, the editors will run a correction or an update as needed.

Submission Guidelines

To submit photos to The Easterner, attach the largest filesize in an email to the Art Director at easterner.photo@ gmail.com, accompanied by your first and last name, photo name and no more than 50 words describing your photograph.

The picture does not have to correlate with any content being printed the week of.

All submissions must be received by Monday night the week you would like it to be published. Photos must be appropriate and not include obscenities.

Mar 7, 2018 | Volume 101, Issue 19

The Easterner | 3

News Students hold Unity Rally in response to Neo Nazi posters Jeremy Burnham Reporter Around 200 EWU students gathered at the campus mall on Feb. 27 for what organizers called a unity rally. The student-organized rally was in response to white supremacist propaganda that was found posted around campus on Feb. 18.

Kyle Carroll, ASEWU’s diversity outreach officer, was one of the rally’s organizers. He said students needed to speak out in response to the hate speech that was spread through the posters.

“This is a relatively new problem, we haven’t seen a resurgence of this in a while,” Carroll said. “But this type of thing needs to be responded to.”

The posters were put up by an organization called Identity Evropa. On its website, Identity Evropa says that its members “are a generation of awakened Europeans who have discovered that we are part of the great peoples, history and civilization that flowed from the European continent.”

The organization promotes ending all immigration and is classified as a Hate Group by The Southern Poverty Law Center.

Identity Evropa is known for spreading hate speech to college campuses, and The Gonzaga Bulletin, the school’s newspaper, reported that the group has posted similar posters on the Gonzaga campus.

Speakers at the rally included students and a school official. Dr. Shari Clarke, EWU’s vice president of diversity and inclusion, told the crowd that EWU is committed to being a school that serves a diverse population.

“You are important and you matter,” Clarke said. “I want you to take these words with you, and keep them with you as you go about doing right in society.”

EWU student Marixza Torres had a similar message.

“All of you here matter,” Torres said.

“Seeing those flyers around my campus hurt me. Not because they were threatening me as a Mexican-American, but because they were threatening my peers.”

Clarke told The Easterner that the university welcomes people expressing themselves, but draws the line at hate speech.

“In a university setting, you get all kinds of people with all kinds of opinions

Jeremy Burnham for The Easterner Students gather at the Campus Mall to speak out against racist flyers posted around campus. The unity rally was to show that EWU does not stand for hate and discrimination.

and values,” said Clarke. “And everyone has the right to express themselves because we are a democracy and that’s what we do. However, hate speech, and any speech that is racist, we do not condone here.”

The EWU Police Department had three officers present, though the rally remained peaceful. The officers spent the majority of rally listening to the speakers and having conversations with attendees. •

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4 | The Easterner

Volume 101, Issue 19 | Mar 7, 2018

News FUSE career fair sparks job opportunities for area students Colleen Ford Contributor Over 700 students gathered in the West Ballroom of the Spokane Convention Center for the FUSE Career Fair on March 1. Around 117 local, national and international businesses were represented at the fair.

Students from EWU, Gonzaga, Washington State University and Whitworth were invited to attend the event at no cost.

Represented employers included big-name companies such as Hershey and the U.S. Marine Corps, as well as local businesses such as Spokane Baseball Umpires and the KXLY Broadcast Group.

The careers ranged from real estate to seafood and everything in between.

The fair has been around for the past 20 years and is available to both students and alumni of the four colleges. The main goal is to provide networking opportunities for both the businesses and attendees.

“It’s interesting to see everything that’s out there,” senior Khyler Howland said.

Howland receives plenty of job and internship opportunities through his professors at EWU, but was glad he came to check it out anyway.

Students milled around the ballroom, swapping resumés for leaflets and free merchandise handed out at the rows of tables, while many stopped to talk with representatives about future employment options.

“I’ve been to the fair before,” senior Connor Irvin said. “It’s a good way for people to get a little experience in their career field.”

Mitchell Fenton, senior, and Clark Rabe, junior, are both computer science majors at EWU. The two of them enjoyed being able to explore the variety of work available after graduation.

“It’s about learning how all these businesses and companies differ from each other,” Fenton said.

One of the companies represented was Gravity Jack, an American company providing mobile apps, virtual and augmented reality, computer vision and more. Rabe expressed his excitement at being able to personally talk to representatives of such a successful company.

Not everyone found such satisfaction with the fair, however.

“I would personally like to have more of a specialized fair,” junior Baily Britz said. He studies construction management at EWU and did not find the fair to be very fulfilling. “I’ve already finished talking to the only construction management guy here.”

The career fair was arranged by the Career Services departments from each of the colleges. The FUSE fair is just one of the opportunities EWU provides to network with professionals.

In addition to providing job fairs, Career Services provide internship workshops, salary negotiation Colleen Ford for The Easterner workshops and drop-in resume editing sessions. • Students talk to various companies offering jobs at the Spokane Convention Center. EWU, WSU, Gonzaga and Whitworth students were all invited to attend.

EWU professor wins regional Outstanding Educator Award Colleen Ford Contributor Professor Uri Rogers was awarded the Outstanding Educator Award from the Spokane Section of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) at their student presentations on Feb. 22. Dr. Rogers was presented the prestigious award at Luigi’s restaurant in downtown Spokane by fellow

members of IEEE. Dr. Rogers is a professor in the Electrical Engineering department at EWU and has been teaching at the school for four years.

Caught completely unaware, Rogers was stunned and elated at the moment he was announced as the recipient of the significant award.

“I knew something was up,” Rogers said, addressing his suspicion toward the many emails students were sending to make sure he’d attend that night.

Jeremy Mattfeld, Dr. Rogers’ former electrical engineering student, read a nomination letter written by another former student in the same major, Eric Williams.

“I can say without reservation that Dr. Uri Rogers has been one of the best educators I’ve had the pleasure of learning from,” said Williams.

Williams is not the only student who believes Rogers offers something unique to his students.

“I don’t know if there’s a different approach or style to my teaching,” Rogers said. “It’s just that I care.”

Rogers makes an exceptional effort to be available to his students. His office is always open to anyone with questions, concerns, or even just to sit and chat for a while. He responds to emails at all hours of the day and night, acclaimed Williams in his letter, and he makes time for students whenever possible—even on weekends.

“Find someone who is a mentor who will help you with you and with what you want to accomplish,” said

Rogers, offering a piece of advice to his students.

Rogers worked in the industry for years before his switch to teaching. His reason? To give back to the people who inspired him to work harder. In each lesson he teaches there is a common question, “what does it mean?” He encourages students to think beyond the classroom and find out how the information will apply to their work, their job, or to life.

Rogers’ philosophy is to give his students the support and skills needed to succeed both in and out of the classroom. His classes may be difficult and his students may be pushed harder, but he does it so they are as prepared as possible to thrive in their environments.

“We push ourselves beyond our perceived limits inspired by our leader,” continues Williams’ letter, read passionately by Mattfeld, “perhaps convinced that the greatest thanks we can give him for his dedication is our earnest effort.” •

The Easterner | 5

Mar 7, 2018 | Volume 101, Issue 19

Events

Women and Eastern: Making History

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

What is it: A Wikipedia editing event. The research and writing will be focued on Mary Monroe, the first female EWU trustee and the EWU Women’s Center in recognition of its 40th anniversary.

When: Wednesday, March 7 Time: 10 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Where: JFK Library Alcove.

Cost: No cost.

Part-Time and Summer Job Fair

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

What is it: A chance to talk to employers about volunteer opportunities, part-time jobs, summer jobs and internships.

When: Thursday, March 8 Time: 11 a.m. - 3 p.m.

Where: Tawanka Hall Room 215 B/C. Cost: No cost.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

The Migrant Experience Blood Drive

Salary Negotiation Information Session

SQL Saturday and Networking

What is it: CAMP’s annual blood drive.

When: Thursday, March 8 Time: 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Where: Monroe Hall Event Space, parking lot P15.

Tawanka Hall Vendor 2.

Cost: No cost.

What is it: Learn what you need to know to effectively negotiate compensation in your first job and beyond.

When: Thursday, March 8 Time: 4 - 5 p.m.

Where: Patterson Hall 239 Cost: No cost.

What is it: A free one-day training event for Microsoft Data Platform and SQL Server professionals, providing a variety of high-quality technical sessions.

When: Saturday, March 10 Time: 8 a.m. - 5:30 p.m.

Where: Computing and Engineering Building 102 Cost: No cost.

6 | The Easterner

Volume 101, Issue 19 | Mar 7, 2018

Loose Change & Filler Text

Entertainment

Andrew Watson for The Easterner

EWU Sustainability Club

Join in environmental prosperity, economic security and social justice on campus!

Meet Tuesdays at 3pm in JFK Library L20! ewu.sustainability.club@gmail.com

EDITORS’ PICKS TV Show: “Everything Sucks” Set in the 1990s in the town of Boring, Oregon, “Everything Sucks” is a drama-comedy detailing the lives of teenagers in Boring. While on the surface level the show may seem light, the writing is deep and touches on real-life situations we face growing up including sexuality, bullying and yearning for acceptance. The premise of the show is set around the A/V (audio/visual) club teaming up with the Drama club to produce a school movie. This comingof-age show will hit you right in your feelings—trust me, the nostalgia is real.

(Logan Stanley)

Courtesy of Midnight Radio

TV Show: “The Frankenstein Chronicles” This historical fiction crime drama takes the Victorian Era to a whole new gritty level. John Marlott, played by Sean Bean, is a former soldier and current policeman hired to investigate the appearance of a body that washed up on the shores near London -- body put together from the mismatched parts of children. “The Frankenstein Chronicles” takes a deeper look at the seedy politics of 19th-century England, following the intrigue, Courtesy of deceit, and murder centered around the Rainmark Films budding medical sciences.

(Andrew Watson)

Eagles Set to Rumble in Reno

8 | The Easterner

Volume 101, Issue 19 | Mar 7, 2018

Predicting the Big Sky Women’s Tournament Staff

Big Sky Champs

MVP

Dark Horse

Mikayla Ferenz Guard (Idaho)

Michael Brock Sports Editor Reporter

Logan Stanley

Savannah Smith Guard (UNC)

Brandon Cline

Savannah Scott Guard (UNC)

Managing Editor Editor in Chief

2,000 Points Club

Predicting the Big Sky Men’s Tournament

Bogdan Bliznyuk

Delaney Hodgins

Staff

2,060 career points, thirdmost in Big Sky Conference history.

5-time Big Sky Conference Player of the Week in 2017-18.

2017-18 Big Sky Most Valuable Player and unanimous All-Big Sky First Team selection.

Averaged 20.4 pts., 6.9 rebs., 4.1 asts., 51.3 percent from the field and 91.4 percent from the free throw line.

Has made 74 consecutive free throws, most in a single season in NCAA history.

2,105 career points, third-most in Big Sky Conference history.

3-time Big Sky Conference Player of the Week winner in 2017-18.

2017-18 All-Big Sky First Team.

Averaged 22.6 pts., 7.3 rebs., 2.4 asts., 2.3 stls. and 1.5 blks. per game in 2017-18.

Robbed of the Big Sky Most Valuable Player award.

Delaney Hodgins Forward (EWU)

Jeremy Burnham

The Easterner | 9

Mar 7, 2018 | Volume 101, Issue 19

Big Sky Champs

MVP

Michael Brock

Bogdan Bliznyuk Forward (EWU)

Jeremy Burnham

Bogdan Bliznyuk Forward (EWU)

Logan Stanley

Michael Oguine Guard (Montana)

Brandon Cline

Ahmaad Rorie Guard (Montana)

Sports Editor Reporter

Managing Editor Editor in Chief

Dark Horse

The Easterner’s

2018 Big Sky Women’s Basketball Championships Wednesday 3/7

Friday 3/9

Saturday 3/10

#8 Montana

#4 Weber State #5 Idaho State

#2 Idaho

2018 Tournament Champion

#3 Eastern Washington #6 Portland State

* Red indicates EWU’s potential path

Women

Men

The supporting cast. The Eagles are a much better team when Delaney Hodgins isn’t having to do it all by herself. When Hodgins gets scoring support, the team plays better. Hodgins scored 46 points in the season finale, Kapri Morrow had 23 points and Uriah Howard had 16. Scoring from the supporting cast stops teams from double-teaming Hodgins.

Shooting. During conference play, the Eagles were near the top of the league in free throw percentage (1st), three point percentage (4th) and overall field goal percentage (2nd). EWU knocked down a season-high 16 threes in the season finale.

Free throw shooting has already won a couple games for the Eagles this season, and the 81.1 percent accuracy may come in handy during the tournament.

Another factor will be Brittany Klaman’s play at point guard. The team struggled in the first game playing without former point guard Symone Starks, turning the ball over 11 times in the first half. The Eagles must take care of the ball to beat the better teams in the conference, and this starts with Klaman.

Defense.

Despite having just the seventh-ranked defense in conference, the EWU men had the third-best scoring margin, thanks to a defense that allowed only 69.2 points per game (2nd in BSC). The Eagles held their opponents to 70 or fewer points in 12 of 18 conference games.

1

#1 Northern Colorado

#7 Montana State

Keys To The Tournament

2

1

2

2018 Big Sky Men’s Basketball Championships Thursday 3/8

Friday 3/9

Saturday 3/10

#1 Montana #8 North Dakota

#4 Weber State #5 Northern Colorado

#2 Idaho

2018 Tournament Champion

#10 Southern Utah

#3 Eastern Washington #6 Portland State

* Red indicates EWU’s potential path

10 | The Easterner

Volume 101, Issue 19 | Mar 7, 2018

A&E

Artist draws and paints her idea of chaos in our society Sam Jackson Reporter Currently, the EWU Student Art Gallery is showcasing new works by Laura Carpenter Truitt. The body of work is titled (de)clutter, which examines creation and destruction in interior and exterior spaces.

Truitt recently moved to Spokane to work as a professor at Gonzaga, where she teaches painting and drawing. Her new work was inspired by her move from Colorado to Washington with her husband and two children.

This new body of work is somewhat of a new concept to Truitt. Though, her work has focused on architecture and continues to incorporate her excitement for featuring more interior images rather than her usual exterior viewpoints.

“I mean, my work has always kind of been architectural and it’s usually using

Bailey Monteith for The Easterner Left to right: Exterior Strata is a 48” x 60” oil paint on linen. Interior Strata is also a 48” x 60” oil paint on linen. Conglomerate is a 22” x 16” oil paint, charcoal, colored pencil and oil pastel on paper. Artist Laura Carpenter Truitt examines creation and destruction in interior and exterior places.

ASEWU

Services and Activities (S&A) Fee Committee

Open Meetings • • • •

Friday, February 9th, 2018 – 12pm-1:30pm Friday, February 16th, 2018 – 12pm-1:30pm Friday, March 2nd, 2018 – 12pm-1:30pm Friday, March 9th, 2018 – 12pm-1:30pm

Patterson 204 See how your student dollars get put to work!

For more information or to review funding requests: bit.ly/ewu-sa-fees To request disability accommodations for this event, please call 509.359.7852 three days prior to the event.

perspective and it’s usually using an exterior view point,” Truitt said. “Like you’re looking at the outside of a building or maybe you are looking through it. As for this work, there is some of that — but it’s also these interiors. I was trying to sort of turn inward a little bit and examine that interior.”

A lot of this work is related to the environment. As Truitt was traveling to Washington and going through Montana, it was the peak of the fire season. Along the ride, Truitt would document the fires with photographs as the beginning of her process for producing the artwork.

“There was a lot of smoke, there was a lot of concern over the fires, and there was a lot of talk about it being one of the worst fire seasons ever,” said Truitt.

“Also, how the extreme wet of the winter before created all this underbrush, and then it was like the worst fire season ever because it was so dry but there was all of this underbrush. That switch from extremes is the hallmark of global warming and so I feel like I’m sort of hinting at that. You know that this a reality now. That there are these natural concerns really that are caused by extreme weather.”

Truitt likes her work to be right on the edge of abstraction and realism. She

said her work is where you think you can find your way through it but at other moments you realize that it’s just paint next to paint.

“It feels like our society is really chaotic, fast, messy and loose,” said Truitt. “It feels really anxious and I feel like the interior mess explains that better than the exterior. The exterior is like you stand afar observing it and the interior is like we are in it right now. That this is happening right now and interesting times are happening right now.”

Truitt will be presenting multiple drawings and paintings that distinguish her idea of chaos in our society and environment. The exhibit began on Monday, March 5 and will run through Friday, April 6. There will also be an artist’s reception March 15 from 4:30 to 6 p.m. The gallery is open Monday through Friday from noon to 5 p.m. •

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Mar 7, 2018 | Volume 101, Issue 19

A&E

Local poetry movement continues to engage and expand Kaitlyn Engen Reporter The Power 2 the Poetry movement continues to exceed expectations, rise above limitations and break down false foundations of the Spokane and Cheney communities.

Bethany Montgomery, AJ McKinney, and Marie White— the “Core 3”—plus the team of artists and coordinators pulling ropes behind the scenes, put on the movement’s first Poetry Slam competition last Wednesday night at Auntie’s Bookstore.

The bookstore overflowed with almost 200 people anticipating satisfaction to their ears and minds that the power of poetry would bring that evening.

Montgomery and McKinney said they were both very pleased with the slam’s turnout.

“I have never seen this many people at a poetry slam or event before—it makes you just smile from the inside and out,” McKinney said.

The slam’s lively atmosphere cannot only be attributed to the high energies from “Core 3” and the audience, but also to the individual poets and cast members bringing their dynamic spirits to front stage.

Twahan Simultaneous, a rising poet in the Spokane Poetry Slam competitions, was the host for the evening. He took his opportunity as host to kick off the event warming up the audience with a poem about societal issues and social change, giving them a flavor of empowerment to start off the night.

Judging the event were Nick Franco (Pride Center Richard Clark IV for The Easterner manager at EWU), Wendy Levy, Kianna Baker, Jac Archer, EWU alumna Bethany Montgomery is the creator of the organization Power 2 the Poetry. Almost 200 people gathered at Auntie’s and Mercy Aguilar.

McKinney referred to those individuals as, Bookstore last Wednesday for the movement’s first poetry slam.

“Monumental influences in Spokane society.”

Ten poets were picked randomly from a pool of 22 to compete. The competition was organized into three stone for the Power 2 the Poetry movement. Even with Events to find them at will include the Spokane Woman’s rounds that left two remaining competitors in the final rising fame and popularity, the message of “express, Club workshop (March 10), the Women’s History Month round Devin Devine and Salem Del Cielo. expose, ignite” stays the same.

Edition Open Mic (March 20), the 50 Hour Slam Film Del Cielo sent the audience into shocked hysterics with Montgomery’s hope for the movement’s audiences is Festival (March 23), the Get Connected conference (March her performance of a twisted poetic version of the story that they can see the bigger picture of the messages they 28), the Power 2 the Poetry-hosted poetry workshop (April of the Virgin Mary. She received honorable mentions want to send.

3), the Spokane NAACP General Meeting (April 18), the from both Montgomery and McKinney for the amusing “We are so diverse in what we can do and say,” said Student-Led March for School Shootings (April), the performance and her fifty-point perfect score.

Montgomery. “I wanna try to talk about issues that people “Listen to Your Mother” show at the Bing Crosby Theater “Me and Beth almost fell over from laughter,” said don’t normally think that we talk about. Last month was (Mother’s Day), and finally, multiple performances during McKinney. “I never once, in all my years of poetry slam, Black History Month so we really pushed that, but this EWU Diversity and Inclusion Week. have ever seen a perfect score.” month is Women’s History Month, so I’m gonna be doing “We’ll be putting out some heat during Diversity and Devine is also a frequent participant in the Spokane a lot of feminist poems.”

Inclusion Week,” said Montgomery, “We’re really gonna Poetry Slams. From her humorous impersonation of Power 2 the Poetry has done and continues to do surprise some people.” the Greek goddess Hera, which referenced issues and substantial amounts of outreach for the Spokane Though the movement is only a month old, Spokane and intricacies of marriage and womanhood, to her symbolic community, putting a majority of its focus towards youth.

Cheney are already feeling the vibrations that Power 2 the narrative of Nancy Drew the Alcoholic, Devine brought “We are in the schools, working with kids, teaching Poetry is putting out, and there is a lot more to come from enough personality, spunk and emotional richness to the these kids about poetry, teaching them how to express this group. • stage to win her the entire competition, and the $100 prize. themselves, and not be ashamed of what they have to “This is what I’m trying to show Spokane: all the say,” said Montgomery. “My main thing is coming up with capabilities and the talent that’s out there that you guys projects for the kids. We are working with the kids to help may not see,” McKinney said. them create social justice projects.”

The Slam last Wednesday could be a major stepping The “Core 3” will be busy in the upcoming weeks.

12 | The Easterner

Volume 101, Issue 19 | Mar 7, 2018

A&E

Sam Jackson for The Easterner Owner Lazer Larry is originally from Los Angeles, California. Larry has been piercing for over 22 years and branding for the past 11 years. The shop opened six years ago.

Garland Tattoo and Piercing: going above and beyond the competition Sam Jackson Reporter Garland Tattoo and Piercing specializes in not only custom tattoos and quality piercings, but is also the one shop in Spokane that does body modifications.

The owner, Lazer Larry, moved from Los Angeles 11 years ago and originally worked at The Missing Piece Tattoo in Spokane for five years and eventually opened up his own shop on Garland six years ago. He opened up the shop there because he believed that the spot would have a lot of potential within the Garland District.

Growing up in Los Angeles, Larry was consistently hanging out in the renowned piercering shop, Cliff Cadaver’s, where he discovered an interest in the industry.

Though Larry has been piercing for over 22 years, his true passion is branding,

which he’s been doing for the last 11 years.

“Branding is kind of my thing,” Larry said. “It’s not like strike branding like caddle and what not. I use an electric surgical scalpel, which basically dissolves the tissue when I go over it and I can create scars that are different designs.”

Larry is the only person in Spokane that does branding professionally.

“When it goes over it makes smoke and your skin just vanishes,” said Larry.

“It’s one of the most painful things you will voluntarily do to yourself. It’s not much of a thing in Spokane. I get a lot of people that travel from Seattle and Boise and different places like that.”

As an experienced piercer, Larry chooses to follow the guidelines provided by the Association of Professional Piercers, APP, without being an official member.

“Basically everything we use is going

to be implant grade for initial piercing,” said Larry. “Implant grade is ASTM F138 which is classification of steel and ASTM F136 is a classification of titanium. They are both standards put out by the APP … Although I follow the guidelines, the only reason this shop isn’t APP is just because I do the tattoo removal and the branding, and APP states that your piercing room has to be only piercing and I just don’t have the room for it.”

Ryan Chapman is the only tattoo artist at the shop and has been doing it professionally for 10 years. He used to skip school a lot when he was 15 years old and hang out in tattoo shops because he felt that the people there are more true to themselves and offer up a kind of societal freedom.

“It’s just a place where you modify your shit,” Chapman said. “We like putting pretty things on people. We are

both artsy, I paint and he pokes holes in people. It’s a custom shop.”

Chapman’s process of creating tattoos starts with picking his clients’ brains and, putting it through the filter of his brain and then combining that and creating artwork onto their skin.

“I’m a custom-only artist, so most of why I like doing what I do is connecting with my client and kind of feeling their vibe and seeing what styles they like,” said Chapman. “I adapt my artwork to fit each client uniquely. As long as you have good themes, good ideas and there’s a message behind what you want to do then I’m going to enjoy doing it.”

The shop is located at 608 W. Garland Ave. and is open every day from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. except Tuesdays and Sundays. Larry and Chapman recommend calling to make an appointment or to get prices. •

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Mar 7, 2018 | Volume 101, Issue 19

A&E

EWU student finds her groove in Nashville Dayana Morales Arts and Entertainment Editor Singer-songwriter and Cheney High School graduate Kären McCormick will be releasing her first new single, “Just a Song,” on March 16.

The single was produced by Matt Carey and recorded in Nashville, Tennessee while McCormick was interning at Warner Music Nashville.

McCormick has always loved Nashville.

“I plan on moving there when I graduate,” said McCormick. “I really wanted to get an experience of living in Nashville before I graduated and the best way for me to do that was an internship. I had a couple internships before here at KHQ and things like that but obviously I wanted something more musically inclined.”

McCormick was a journalist major at first but she then discovered she was more interested in a music business program, so she switched over to communications.

“I applied to 30 internships for the summer and only got an interview with one and I didn’t get it,” said McCormick.

“So then in the summer I tried again for fall and Warner was the first one I applied to and fortunately ended up getting it. So I interned in their publicity department from August to about December. It was so fun. I got to go to the CMA after party, got to meet a lot of my favorite singers and I ended up writing Blake Shelton’s bio on Spotify, so it’s all been really fun.”

McCormick discovered her passion for singing when she was seven years old.

Her father noticed that she liked singing around the house so he suggested she join her church’s choir. McCormick enjoyed the choir but her passion for singing took off after getting her first guitar at 13 years old.

She hasn’t stopped playing since.

McCormick’s first real performance was at 16 years old at the Bing Crosby Theater in downtown Spokane.

This is not McCormick’s first original song but it is the first one she is releasing to the public. When the song was first written McCormick was thinking about holding back on releasing it. She wanted to enter it in the Nashville Songwriters Association contest instead.

“Winner gets like $5,000 and they get to have a mentor session with a famous singer-songwriter,” said McCormick. “So

when I wrote the song and finished it I planned on just entering it in the contest, I wasn’t planning on putting it on iTunes or anything like that. I played it for the guy [Carey] who ended up producing it, on my guitar and he started bringing it to life and as he started bringing it to life I was kind of falling more and more in love with it. I was like ‘ok, I think this might be the moment, this is the one.’

Really it was when he brought everything to life I decided to release it and I am really glad that I did.

I am really excited.”

McCormick’s inspiration for this song came to her while she was in the car listening to a Keith Urban song, “Break on Me.” “When I was listening to that song it took me back to when I was in Photo courtesy of Kären McCormick the car months before McCormick is still working on performing her new single at other venues, such as coffee shops and wineries. “Just a with an ex of mine and Song” is the first single that she is going to be releasing to digital retailers. we both really liked this song, but now when I celebration, I am really excited,” said am going to have fun little extra things that was listening to the song it had a different McCormick. “It’s going to be really fun. It’s I don’t want to say this yet, but it will be attachment to it,” said McCormick. “So I going to be a small little intimate setting fun.” kind of got this idea of, for everyone else in and I am going to have Drey Davis who The release celebration is Thursday, March the room if a song comes on it might be like graduated from Eastern, he plays the drums. 15 at The Mason Jar at 7 p.m. The song is ‘oh it’s not big deal,’ but for someone else it He is going to play the Cajon and I am going available for preorder now on iTunes. • may be like this means so much more to me to have my guitar and we are going to sing. I than it means to them. That’s really where I got the idea. That is why the tagline is “it’s so much more than just a song.”

McCormick wrote the song in a matter of four hours. After that the recording started in the middle of August.

“We had the first recording and then we started building on it and I wrapped up everything in December,” said McCormick.

“But it didn’t take four months to do it, it was just that I had a lot going on with the Nightly • Weekly • Monthly internship. So I got the official final version (509) 235-4058 in December and then we started working on the artwork.”

12 Columbia St. Cheney, WA 99004 The Mason Jar is the first place she is Call Us Today to See Our Rates! going to perform her new single at.

“It’s going to be like a little single

14 | The Easterner

Volume 101, Issue 19 | Mar 7, 2018

Sports

Track’s Alexis Rolan: Blazing her own trail

Taylor Newquist Contributor “Her performances as a freshman, meet in and meet out, are what coaches dream about,� EWU track women’s head coach Marcia Mecklenburg said about freshman sprinter Alexis Rolan.

Rolan received the Big Sky Conference Female Freshman of the Year award on Feb. 26, becoming the first EWU track and field athlete to claim the honor. “Not every freshman gets that out of the whole Big Sky Conference,� Rolan said. “That’s rewarding to me.�

Rolan ended her season with secondplace finishes in the 60-meter dash and the 200-meter dash at the Big Sky Conference Indoor Championship on Feb. 24. “It was a good feeling—the first time at a college championship was very exciting for me,� Rolan said.

Rolan’s times of 7.45 seconds in the 60 meter and 24.18 seconds in the 200 meter at the BSC Championship were both personal-bests. “I was just like, ‘I need to focus, I need to run the best race that I can run,’� said Rolan on the championships. “No matter what anyone is doing around me I just need to focus on myself, because there were a lot of people out there and a lot of distracting things.�

Rolan’s 17 points in the indoor championships were first among freshman

women and led the EWU women’s team to a fourth-place finish, the second-best in school history. “I am so excited for Alexis, coach Stan Kerr and our track and field program that Alexis was awarded outstanding freshman of the year,� Mecklenburg said. “She has been consistent all season long with her performances and had an amazing conference championship meet. What an awesome way to put a cap on her first indoor season.�

EWU senior sprinter Rebecca Tarbert finished first in the 60-meter dash, 0.03 seconds ahead of Rolan in the Big Sky Indoor Championship. “[The race] turned out to be as exciting a race as I had hoped,� said Mecklenburg. “Alexis also came back and had a personal-best in the 200. She was a workhorse for us and as a freshman. She has a great future ahead.�

Tarbert and Rolan have had close finishes in the 60-meter all season. Tarbert edged Rolan by 0.04 seconds at the Husky Classic on Feb. 10, one week after Rolan finished 0.03 seconds ahead at the Idaho Duals on Feb. 2. “We have a good relationship,� said Rolan. “We practice together... And we both push each other to run our best times that we can run. It’s always good to have competition.�

Rolan improved her 60-meter time from 7.62 seconds to 7.45 seconds between her first and last race of the season.

As for the outdoor season, Rolan plans on building off her early success as an Eagle. “Seeing what all the other competitors can do, and what I can do is reassuring to me,� said Rolan. “It lets me know what I need to do to get to where I need to be.�

Rolan missed first place in indoor by 0.03 seconds in the 60-meter, and 0.43 seconds in the 200-meter, but the Big Sky Conference Female Freshman of the Year’s confidence and desire to improve remains undeterred. “I want to win conference and do well in the outdoor championships,� said Rolan on the upcoming season.

Rolan and the rest of the EWU track and field team begin their outdoor season on March 17, at the Whitworth University Buc Scoring Invite. •

Quick Hits • Basketball alumnus Jacob Wiley signs in Germany

On March 4, Jacob Wiley signed a contract with MHP Riesen Ludwigsburg of the German top division. Wiley, who spent one season with the Eagles, won the 2017 Big Sky MVP. He went undrafted, but signed a two-way contract with the Brooklyn Nets last summer. After playing six games in the NBA and 16 with the Nets’ G League affiliate, Wiley was waived in mid-January while dealing with nagging injuries. • EWU women’s golf update

On March 6, the EWU women’s golf team completed their third and final round at the Battle at Boulder Creek. The Eagles placed third out of 12 teams, and first among competing Big Sky Conference schools. Individually, sophomore Madalyn Ardueser placed eighth among 60 athletes. Freshman Alexa Clark finished 11th overall, while senior Kimberlie Miyamoto tied for 14th. EWU will next participate in a two-day duel match in Spokane against Gonzaga on March 18-19. • EWU Football Pro Day set for March 9

As many as nine EWU seniors are expected to workout at Roos Field for professional scouts on March 9. The indoor portion will be closed to the public due to limited space. The outside drills are slated to begin at 12:30 p.m. Among those participating are defensive end Albert Havili, defensive lineman Andre Lino, punter/kicker Jordan Dascalo, running back Jordan Laurencio, wide recievers Nic Sblendorio and Keonte White; and defensive backs Victor Gamboa, Jake Hoffman and John Kreifels.

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The Easterner | 15

Mar 7, 2018 | Volume 101, Issue 19

Sports

Men’s basketball finishes third in Big Sky Conference Bogdan Bliznyuk named MVP after averaging 20.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game as a senior Michael Brock Sports Editor EWU men’s basketball head coach Shantay Legans has been saying it all season: the Eagles have the best player in the league.

On March 5, the majority of the Big Sky Conference coaches agreed—senior forward Bogdan Bliznyuk was voted the 2017-18 BSC Most Valuable Player.

By statistics alone, Bliznyuk was a shoo-in for the award. In his final season as an Eagle, the Ukraine native put up 20.4 points, 6.9 rebounds and 4.1 assists per game. Those standards bumped up to 22.6 points (3rd in Big Sky), 7.6 rebounds (5th) and 4.8 assists (2nd) per contest in league games, to rank as the only player in BSC to be in the top 5 in scoring, rebounding and assists (or the top 20 for that matter).

In addition, Bliznyuk set EWU’s all-time scoring record and became just the fifth player in BSC history to eclipse 2,000 career points.

When the focus shifts to team success, the selection makes even more sense.

The 2016-17 Eagles were 22–12 overall (and 13–5 in BSC), finishing second in league standings. But gone from last year’s rendition was Jacob Wiley, who averaged 24.6 points, 10.3 rebounds, 2.5 blocks and 66.0 percent shooting from the field in conference play en route to winning 2017 BSC MVP.

Richard Clark IV for The Easterner Senior forward Bogdan Bliznyuk shoots a free throw against Northern Arizona on March 3. With this made free throw, Bliznyuk set a new single-season NCAA record with 74-straight made from the charity stripe.

As a result, EWU was selected to finish sixth in the preseason media poll and seventh in the coaches poll. With Bliznyuk manning the attack, the Eagles did much better.

With two wins in the final week of the regular season, the Eagles (13–5 BSC) locked up the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the BSC Championship tournament, which tipped off in Reno, Nevada on March 6. EWU will play the winner of Portland State University and Sacramento State University on March 8 in the quarterfinals.

To secure the No. 3 seed, the Eagles beat Southern Utah University on March 1 (74–51) and Northern Arizona University on March 3 (85–68).

SUU got out to advantages of 2–0 and 4–2 over EWU, but would not lead again. After opening the game 2-of-2, the Thunderbirds missed their next 10 shots. The Eagles (and Bliznyuk), meanwhile, caught fire.

EWU went on a 24–2 run to lead 26–6 as Bliznyuk poured in 14 points early on. The senior forward had 24 points by halftime, more than the entire SUU team.

The Eagles led 44–22 after 20 minutes, shooting 53.3 percent for the half and 7-of-16 from three.

The second half was evenly played, but the Thunderbirds never drew closer than 16 points. EWU held a 20-plus advantage most of the way to a 74–51 victory. Bliznyuk finished with 32 points,

15 rebounds and five assists for the game.

Junior guard Ty Gibson had 13 points (on four triples) and four rebounds.

“I didn’t have any doubt in my mind that we would come out and play like we did tonight,” Legans said postgame. “I thought we came out and played hard for all 40 minutes.”

The victory over NAU on March 3 was Senior Day for the Eagles, as Bliznyuk, Sir Washington and Benas Griciunas were honored pregame.

Early on, the game was back-andforth, with the Lumberjacks holding a 9–8 advantage. That’s when the Eagles went on a 14–2 run, capped off by a three from redshirt freshman guard Jacob Davison, to lead 22–11.

EWU kept a reasonable distance the remainder of the opening frame, and led 38–23 at halftime. Davison led the Eagles with 12 points in the first half, while freshman guard Jack Perry had 9.

The second half was more of the same, as the Lumberjacks never got within single-digits. The Eagles led by as many as 23 before winning 85–68. And that would have been that, except Bliznyuk decided to make history one more time before being crowned league MVP. With 3:46 remaining, Bliznyuk knocked down a pair of free throws, his fifth and sixth for the game. As a result of those makes, the senior forward set a new NCAA

single-season record with 74 straight made three throws, passing Gary Buchanan who made 73 straight for Villanova in 2000-01.

After a stoppage in play, Bliznyuk checked out to a roaring Reese Court crowd for the final time. He finished with 15 points and 10 assists.

Fellow senior Sir Washington scored 13 points for the Eagles, who knocked down a season-high 16 three-pointers. Perry had a career-high 18 points (on six triples), while Davison scored 14. Sophomore forward Mason Peatling had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Peatling earned honorable mention All-BSC honors on March 5.

Next up is the BSC Championship tournament. EWU will tip off on March 8 in the quarterfinals against the winner of PSU and Sac State at 8:05 p.m. The Eagles beat Sac State twice and split with PSU in the regular season.

EWU has qualified for three straight national postseason tournaments, including an NCAA tournament appearance in 2015.

They have a decent chance to make it four straight, but time will tell whether that comes in the Big Dance.

The winner of the BSC tournament gets an automatic berth to the NCAA’s and the Eagles have as good a chance as anyone.

They are entering the tournament on a six-game win streak, and have a benefit no other team possesses.

The best player in the conference. •

16 | The Easterner

Mar 7, 2018

Sports

Women’s basketball snags No. 3 seed as Hodgins makes history Jeremy Burnham Reporter To say Delaney Hodgins had a productive week would be an understatement.

In the final week of the regular season, the senior forward set her single-game career high in points, not once, but twice. With wins over Southern Utah University and Northern Arizona University on the road, the Eagles wrapped up the No. 3 seed and a first-round bye in the Big Sky Conference championship tournament, which tipped off on March 5.

Along the way, Hodgins set new BSC records for points in a game (46) and threepointers in a game without a miss (seven).

Hodgins had already broken her career high twice this season. She scored 30 on Jan. 18 against Northern Arizona, and 31 on Feb. 17 versus Montana State.

The Eagles entered the week in a fourway tie for No. 3 in the BSC. With the top four teams receiving a first-round bye in the BSC championship tournament, EWU needed two wins.

Sophomore Symone Starks, the Eagles’ starting point guard, left the team earlier in the week for “personal reasons,” the EWU Athletic Department told The Easterner. Sophomore guard Uriah Howard replaced Starks in the starting lineup against SUU, and freshman guard Brittany Klaman moved to point guard.

The Eagles struggled to take care of the ball in the first half, committing 11 turnovers.

SUU was able to take advantage, and went into the halftime break with the 29–25 lead.

EWU started the second half on a 10–0 run, and they never looked back. Hodgins had 22 points in the half (and 37 for the game) while the Eagles committed only four turnovers. EWU cruised to a 70–49 victory.

“I was pretty pleased with that second half,” EWU head coach Wendy Schuller said.

“Defensively, we really worked to be solid in the second half and it showed. What a special game for Delaney. You don’t get to see kids in the zone very often, but we saw it today. I think she made a statement tonight.”

As good as Hodgins was against Southern Utah, she was even better against Northern Arizona. This time, the team was comfortable with its new starting lineup and avoided the slow start they suffered against SUU. Hodgins scored early and often for the Eagles. Her first field-goal attempt was a three-pointer, which she sunk. It would be the first of seven made three-pointers for Hodgins. She would not miss from behind the arc in the game.

Hodgins had 26 points in the first half, and the Eagles took a 56–31 lead into the break.

The game was mostly decided by halftime.

The second half saw Hodgins trading baskets with NAU senior forward Kenna McDavis. McDavis had her career high of 39 points in the loss, but it wasn’t enough to counter Hodgins’ 46 points. EWU won 98–83. Junior guard Kapri Morrow had 23 points for the Eagles, and Howard added 16.

“Delaney is unbelievable,” said Schuller after the game. “She is playing like the league MVP and an All-American.

This is a young lady who has worked so hard for four years and all her success is deserved. I feel lucky that I have gotten to be her coach.”

Hodgins finished the season scoring over 30 points in four of her last five games. She certainly made a case to be the MVP, but that honor went to Northern Colorado’s Savannah Smith.

Smith won the award, despite finishing below Hodgins in scoring, rebounding, field-goal percentage, three-point percentage, three-pointers made, steals and blocked shots. Smith finished ahead of Hodgins in assists.

The Eagles now head to Reno, Nevada for the BSC tournament. With the firstround bye secured, EWU will tip off the tournament in the quarterfinals on March 7 at 8 p.m. They will play the winner of the first-round game between Portland State and Northern Arizona. The Eagles swept NAU in the regular season, and split a pair of games against PSU. •