The Easterner: Volume 101, Issue 24

asterner The_Easterner

The Easterner

@EasternerOnline

Eastern Washington University’s Independent Student Newspaper

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

www.EasternerOnline.com

Jazz with panache and pizzazz

Volume 101, Issue 24

Hickey’s in: new athletic director named Kin

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Sam Jackson for The Easterner

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The passing of a titan

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Courtesy of the Idaho Statesman

2 | The Easterner Editor in Chief

Brandon Cline 509.359.6737 easterner.editor@ewu.edu

Managing Editor

Logan Stanley easterner.mngeditor@ewu.edu

Volume 101, Issue | April 2018 Volume 101, Issue 2424 | April 25,25, 2018 3 News | 6 Entertainment | 7 Police Beat | 8 Feature | 10 A&E | 13 Sports

Easterner Asks: Ashley Rust, Freshman

“Probably Survivor because you would get to travel to all of the different countries they go to and it would be funny to watch the contestants struggle through the competitions.”

Dr. Okera Nsombi, Professor

“I’ve always liked The Price is Right. There is something about having a game show where someone is spinning something and no one knows where it’s going to land, the anticipation of it.”

Chief Copy Editor

Amanda Haworth easternercopy@gmail.com

News Editor

Josh Fletcher easterner.news@gmail.com

Sports Editor

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

Jeremy Burnham

Reporters

Sam Jackson Katherine Senechal Kaitlyn Engen Taylor Newquist

Graphic Designer Gail Powers

Cloud City

Drew Kennedy, Senior

George Duvall, Professor

If you were the host of a game show, what would it be? Why?

“Jeopardy. I try to watch it as much as I can, it’s on at 7 every night, so I try to be around the TV for that half hour. I just love the way the game plays and how fast it is. Definitely Jeopardy.

Shout out to Alex Trebek.”

“It would have to be something where you have to make the other person laugh. Whoever lasts the longest without laughing would win a prize or something like that.”

Morgan Williams, Freshman

Matt Pennell, Senior

“I think I would want to host Family Feud, that would be so much fun. Steve Harvey looks like he just has so much fun while he is doing it and he is so energetic.”

“A racing style of cooking, like fast items, I think that would be pretty sick. You know, watch people scramble to cook food, sometimes it would turn out terrible because they don’t know what it is.”

Student Photo Corner

Sophomore Whitney Bolar took this picture while coming back to Cheney from Nashville, Tennessee.

“This picture was taken on an airplane coming back from Nashville, Tennessee. The clouds from up above were really captivating and I needed to take a picture. It was not too often I got an opportunity to take a photo like this.”

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.

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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.

The Easterner | 3

April 25, 2018 | Volume 101, Issue 24

News

(Left) Courtesy of OrderofBooks.com. (Right) Courtesy of WSU Manuscripts, Archives and Special Collections Patrick F. McManus was a celebrated author who sold millions of books. McManus taught at EWU for 24 years and has a scholorship in his honor.

Life and influence of former EWU professor commemorated Kaitlyn Engen Reporter Former EWU professor and author Patrick McManus died on April 11 at the age of 84.

“He was the Mark Twain of the Northwest,” said Dr. William Stimson, a journalism professor at EWU and a lifelong friend of McManus.

Renowned for his works, influence and personality, McManus will be remembered by the many people whose lives he touched.

Beginning his career as a humor columnist for Field and Stream magazine, McManus used his childhood as inspiration for his characters and stories. He built his reputation as a respected writer from the start.

Spokesman-Review journalist Rich Landers met McManus while working as an intern for Field and Stream in the 1970s. The two soon developed a long-lasting relationship.

“I went on several hunting and fishing trips with Pat,” Landers said. “He liked to go

fishing with people in the business because he liked to talk about writing while he was fishing […] He was the type of person that made you want to be better as a writer.”

To call McManus a humorist would not be an unfitting description to many of those who knew him.

“He was very wise and funny; he was a philosophical comic,” Stimson said. “He never took life too seriously, but he understood life, and still saw the humor.”

Humor columns later turned into the novels that made McManus the recognized author he was. By the end of his career, he had published two dozen books that sold a combined 6 million copies. McManus made The New York Times Best-Selling list for three of his books.

“I just love to write stories. It’s not about the accolades or money…but I don’t mind it,” McManus said in an interview in 2013. “I see a future in nonfiction stories, with humor folded in.”

Pat Spanjer, also a former student of McManus, was admiring of the way McManus was able to bring his playful demeanor into his work as an author and journalism professor.

“He taught us to tap into our own childhood—what’s funny about the world, what’s interesting about the world— to make ourselves more vulnerable,” Spanjer said.

Spanjer nominated McManus for the EWU Distinguished Faculty Award in 2013.

In her letter, she credits his teaching and mentorship for her own successes, as well as many other students of his that went on to pursue journalism and writing careers. “’Distinguished?’ I don’t know how ‘distinguished’ I am!” said McManus upon receiving the nomination, according to Spanjer.

McManus was a professor at EWU from 1959 to 1983. In 2007, he created the Patrick and Darlene McManus Scholarship in Creative Writing and Journalism.

“He wasn’t just in it for himself, he wanted students to learn creative writing and

journalism in perpetuity,” Spanjer said.

McManus will leave a legacy that reaches past EWU. Many still engage with McManus’ undying sense of humor from the works he left behind.

Stimson recalled a specific example of a letter to McManus from a child who, startled by the noises coming from his room, found her terminally-ill father laughing hysterically at one of McManus’ stories.

McManus received numerous letters from people of all ages, some even as young as elementary school age.

“He was proud of the fact that he got letters from 5th graders: ‘Dear Mr. McManus, your book is the first book I ever read,’” Stimson said.

For many of the people impacted by McManus, his death serves as a time to commemorate McManus for the person he was.

“His reputation is going to last,” Stimson said. •

4 | The Easterner

Volume 101, Issue 24 | April 25, 2018

News

EWU breaks the silence of sexual assault Kaitlyn Engen Reporter EWU Health, Wellness & Prevention Services and the Scary Feminists Club have joined forces to host Sexual Assault Action Week– April 23-27– headed by Health Education coordinator Lindsey Fulton.

A survey conducted by EWU Health, Wellness & Prevention found that 1 in 10 students have experienced some sort of sexual violence.

“We can get ahead of the problem,” Hannah Stephens said. president of the Scary Feminists Club who has worked in sexual assault advocacy for four years at EWU. “This is a pervasive issue,” said Fulton.

“It really could start younger, but college is a time when it really becomes prevalent.

It’s important that if we’re going to do something, we do it now.”

This week’s events will carry weighted themes and topics that intend to change how students view sexual assault and uplift sexual assault victims.

The people behind this year’s Action Week are emphasizing the issue of victim-blaming in sexual assault cases. There are two events

in particular, “Denim Day” and the “What Were You Wearing?” art installation, where they hope to do just that.

The “What Were You Wearing?” art installation, open to students all week in the JFK Library, displays the outfits of anonymous victims the night of their attacks. The installation aims to convey the message that a victim’s outfit choice is not a determinate as to whether a sexual assault happens.

“The ‘What Were You Wearing?’ is setting aside a myth that victims were ‘asking for it’ or deserved to be raped because they were wearing something provocative. No one ever deserves to be raped, no one is ever asking to be a victim of rape,” said Michelle Helmerick, student support and advocacy manager at EWU who spends about half her time working directly with sexual assault victims.

“Denim Day” on Wednesday, headed by Stephens, observes the story of an 18-yearold sexual assault victim from Italy whose case went to the Supreme Court in 1999.

Her perpetrator’s release due to the judge’s statement that the victim’s tight jeans made the rape consensual sparked protest in Rome the next day.

Globally, people now wear jeans on “Denim Day” to commemorate and address misconceptions about sexual assault. “‘Denim Day’ is to recognize the different reasons that there are little to no convictions made by perpetrators for snap judgements,” Stephens said.. “We [Action Week committee] have been shifting a focus away on victim-blaming and teaching women how to help themselves.”

Victims’ fears of being blamed, disregarded or even punished themselves could be a factor leading them to not report their assaults. This means that sexual assault may be more prevalent than what the statistics show.

“Victim-blaming is real, and it happens a lot more than it should,” K9 officer Tiffini Archie said, who handles trauma-based incidents on campus. “When somebody is a victim of any other crime, we don’t ask ‘well, what did you do to become that victim?’”

During Action Week, victims can be reassured that they have a variety of resources and support at EWU throughout their healing processes.

“They may not want to go the legal route with it, but we can get them the resources that they need to help heal, and that’s our

biggest thing, is the healing process,” said Archie. “We want them to know that at the end of the day that ‘we believe you’. We are going to listen to what you have to say.

We’re not worried about the actions that took place before that. We’re worried about what happened to you.”

With the discussions and events that will be available to students this week, EWU hopes to continue to break the silence of sexual assault on and off campus.

“This is just one week out of the entire year, but these are conversations we need to continue having throughout the year.

Even though it is a difficult topic to discuss, we should be discussing it,” Fulton said.

An enduring conversation at EWU can create a larger blanket of support for sexual assault victims, which might encourage more victims to speak up against hidden injustices.

“Change comes about because of education,” said Helmerick. “Change looks like people feeling more comfortable to come forward. I hope to see lots of people on Wednesday wearing denim.” •

Fraternity wrecks lodge in northeastern Washington Brandon Cline Editor in Chief On April 18, The Chewelah Independent reported that an EWU fraternity, Beta Theta Pi, left over $4,000 in damages at the Northern Lights Lodge near Northport, Washington.

Chase Lea, the fraternity’s treasurer who booked the lodge, has been charged with second degree malicious mischief and first degree criminal impersonation. Lea pleaded not guilty to those charges in Stevens County Superior Court on April 19.

According to the police report filed by Deputy Eric Middlesworth, Lea claimed to be with the Washington State University Bird Watching and Wildlife Club, which does not exist. In emails from Chase that the lodge provided for law enforcement, Chase “clearly” states that he is a member of the fictional club.

The representative for the Northern Lights Lodge stated that they would have never rented the lodge to the group if they or any of the lodge’s staff knew that the group was a fraternity.

Beta Theta Pi threw a party during one of the two nights it had rented the lodge. According to the police report, the representative for the lodge said the party was attended by over 100 people and caused some $4,800 in damages and over $2,000 in lost profits due to the lodge not being available to be rented out to other vacationers.

The Northern Lights Lodge representative contacted the EWU Student Rights and Responsibilities Director, Tim Orton, and told him about the incident, according to the police report. Orton allegedly told the representative that he would begin an investigation and re contact them once he “found something out.”

The representative then stated in the police report that they were contacted via email by Lea, “who stated he knew there was damage and wanted to make restitution and settle the issue between the two parties.” The representative stated that they ignored the email because they were waiting for a response from Orton.

Later, after contacting Orton again and being told that he was starting his own investigation with the fraternity over the matter, the representative was contacted by Lea. In the

email, Lea admitted to “hijinks” by misrepresenting what organization he was affiliated with, and stated that the trip was sanctioned by EWU. In the police report, Lea stated that all remaining weekend getaways for Beta Theta Pi were suspended for the rest of the year.

On March 19, Deputy Middlesworth contacted Orton and “advised him that the investigation had become criminal,” according to the police report. “[Orton] stated he was doing his own investigation and told me that due to school rules he would not be able to provide any information about its students.”

In the report, Deputy Middlesworth said that “there is probable cause to believe that Chase committed the crimes” of criminal impersonation in the first degree and malicious mischief in the second degree, due to the fact that Lea represented himself as a member of another organization to rent the lodge, where a party took place that caused over $4,800 in damage to the lodge.

The charges filed against Lea carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison or a fine of $10,000. •

The Easterner | 5

April 25, 2018 | Volume 101, Issue 24

Events

Kaitlyn Engen for The Easterner

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

What Were You Wearing? Art Instillation

SlutWalk

What is it: Health, Wellness and Prevention Services is hosting the “What Were You Wearing?” display as part of its event schedule for Sexual Assault Action Week.

When: Wednesday-Thursday, April 25 and 26 Time: All day Where: JFK Library room M-17 Cost: Free.

What is it: This is the second annual SlutWalk hosted by EWU Generation Action and a coalition of diverse student clubs. This year’s theme is Women of the World, bringing awareness to gender-biased violence.

When: Thursday, April 26 Time: 2 - 5 p.m.

Where: PUB Mall Cost: Free.

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Photo courtesy of Eagle Entertainment

Spokane Walk to Defeat ALS

May Day March

Adam Grabowski Comedy Show

What is it: The Walk to Defeat ALS is an outlet for communities across the nation to demostrate their concern for the need to find a cure for ALS. When: Saturday, April 28 Time: 10 a.m. - 1 p.m.

Where: 507 N. Howard St. Spokane, WA Cost: Free, but you do have to register at: https:// bit.ly/2HpImnN

What is it: The purpose of this march is to have Cathy McMorris Rogers listen to her constituents about supporting a clean Dream Act, protecting DACA and TPS recipients not only in District 5 but in all of America.

When: Tuesday, May 1 Time: 4 - 6 p.m.

Where: 507 N. Howard St. Spokane, WA Cost: Free.

What is it: Adam Grabowski will be performing a 60 minute comedy show for students on campus.

When: Tuesday, May 1 Time: 7 - 8 p.m.

Where: Showalter Auditorium Cost: Free.

6 | The Easterner

Volume 101, Issue 24 | April 25, 2018

Entertainment

Rampage: funny or ridiculous?

Emily Bonsant Contributor It seems like every time a trailer comes on a screen Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson is in another movie.

In Rampage, Johnson plays the primatologist Davis Okoye, meaning he likes animals more than people.

George is an albino gorilla that Johnson’s character rescued from poachers. George is intelligent; he has a sense of humor and communicates through sign language. The CGI gorilla is debatably funnier than “The Rock.”

Johnson, like in all of his recent films, has the occasional one-liner.

But this movie isn’t begging for the audience’s laughter, the jokes are good. This film is a mashup of Jurassic Park and Godzilla, but funnier. Rampage also follows the plot of every 1950s monster movie where the hero must save a city, or Chicago. Basically, everyone has seen the monster movie again, and again, but Rampage is also about the wrongs of poaching and animal cruelty. Although this doesn’t come in until the middle of the film and is then dropped quickly, it explains why George and Okoye have a bond.

Rampage has a perfect balance of action and story. Unlike other action

films, the action sequences go on just long enough. There is not fifteen minutes straight of fighting, nor is it dialogue or joke heavy.

The Wyden siblings, Claire and Brett, play the villains. They are one-dimensional, like they came straight from an arcade game, which is convenient since Rampage is a 1986 arcade game by Bally Midway.

The sister is greedy and conspiring, while the brother is stupid. Brett is more comedy relief and Claire is just evil for no reason. The logic is that Claire is bad because she is. Then there is Agent Russel (Jeffrey Dean Morgan), or the cowboy with a badge.

He prances around with his good old boy Texan shtick and he magically appears every time he is needed. He is the most interesting character, but gets the least screen time. This film is ridiculous with all of the flaws in the plot, but Rampage seems to be aware and is playing with the audience by pointing out the plot holes. Rampage is cheesy, but intentionally so.

Don’t take this movie too seriously, the cast and screenwriters obviously didn’t. It is campy, but still fun. Save your money for Infinity War and rent Rampage, or see it at the Garland.

Kids will love it, but it is PG-13 for some crude humor.

Loose Change & Filler Text

Andrew Watson for The Easterner

EDITORS’ PICKS App: “MLB At Bat” At Bat is the official app of Major League Baseball. Most baseball fans in college do not always have time to watch MLB Network in between class and work so the best solution is to watch play-by-plays during the games you are missing out on using your phone. Choose your team as the primary app setting and follow MLB news, scores, standings and more using the free At Bat app.

(Amanda Haworth) Courtesy of MLB At Bat

Podcast: “Back to Back”

Courtesy of Back to Back

The Back to Back podcast is a daily production about the National Basketball Association. However unlike normal basketball podcasts, this show adds a unique, conversational voice to sports talk. Back to Back is part of the Count the Dings podcast network, which was founded by former ESPN employee Jade Hoye. Recurring members of the show include basketball personalities Zach Harper, Tom Haberstroh and Amin Elhassan. With the NBA Playoffs ongoing, it is the perfect time to add Back to Back to your podcast catalogue.

(Michael Brock)

The Easterner | 7

April 25, 2018 | Volume 101, Issue 24

Police Beat Josh Fletcher News Editor

Suspicious Circumstance/Voyeurism April 17 EWU PD has caught a man, who for the past year, has been spying on men and following them into the men’s bathroom. Police said he would put paper over the sensors so the toilets wouldn’t f lush, and one person caught him peeking under the stall while he was in it. Police believe there may be more victims out there and ask that if you were a victim of his spying to contact them.

Fraud April 21 Last Saturday a student reported to police after she was scammed out of over $900. These scammers called her mother first saying her daughter needed to go to jury duty or there would be a warrant out for her arrest.

About an hour later they called the female student and said there was a warrant out for her arrest and in order to pay it off she would need to send them $915 in prepaid cash cards. She bought those from Safeway and gave the information to the scammer who got away with the money. Police have been able to trace the callers from the Tacoma area, and ask people to be on the lookout for similar such scams and to contact them if you believe you are being scammed so they can look to see if there has been other reported scams in the area.

Drug Offense April 21 A CA from Streeter Hall called police to alert them of the smell of marijuana on the fifth floor. Police arrived and confronted the student who said he had to keep it in his room because his car was broken down off campus and it was getting towed away, so he couldn’t leave his marijuana there. Since the student was over the age of 21, he will get his product back if he wants to pick it up from the police station on campus.

Illustration by Gail Powers for The Easterner

Liquor Violation April 22 Police were called to snyamncut Hall by a CA after reports of a woman vomiting in the bathroom on the fourth floor. By the time police arrived, she was helped back to her room by her roommate who did not drink that night. The woman was given a breathalyzer test and blew a .03--less than half the legal limit. The roommate said they were at a party and she was drinking. Both students were under 21.

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8 | The Easterner

Volume 101, Issue 24 | April 25, 2018

The Easterner | 9

April 25, 2018 | Volume 101, Issue 24

Feature

Feature

A program split: EWU cross country runners divided over former coach’s dismissal Logan Stanley Managing Editor Disclosure: The author of this article briefly trained with the men’s cross-country team in fall 2016 before deciding to leave the sport of running altogether to focus on his duties at The Easterner.

He was not present for any of the allegations.

EWU cross country runners reacted to their former coach’s actions, with expressions ranging from discomfort to approval.

On Dec. 19, Chris Shane EWU cross country head coach Chris Shane received a letter of termination from university president Mary Cullinan.

A press release issued by the university on Feb. 27 explained the termination in full detail, and addressed a Spokesman-Review report.

The Spokesman-Review reported on Jan. 5 that Shane had been fired due in part to a 57-page investigative report that detailed 18 allegations of misconduct.

“Eastern exercised its contractual right to end Shane’s employment based on convenience. Mr. Shane was not terminated for cause as a result of the investigative report identified in the January 5th article,” according to the press release.

In addition to the press release was a letter of recommendation for future employment signed by Pam Parks, senior associate athletic director for EWU. The Easterner reached out to Pam Parks, who declined to comment.

Over the course of two-plus months, The Easterner sat down with individuals from the men’s cross country team.

Through this process, multiple members of the team shared their reactions to the allegations in the report to The Easterner. Due to the sensitivity of the allegations, some individuals have asked to remain anonymous.

The following are accounts from athletes regarding four of the allegations that The Easterner has been able to confirm as well-founded in the investigative report, which was released on Nov. 30.

The report details 18 total allegations and was conducted by Jeff Lamoureaux, EWU senior investigator and Title IX coordinator. Out of those 18 allegations, 11 were substantiated by Lamoureaux.

As senior investigator, Lamoureaux’s role is to be a neutral fact-finder.

Lamoureaux goes through an evidence collecting phase for each allegation and then compiles his work into a report.

Lamoureaux is not involved in any decision-making, nor does the report offer any recommendations for future action.

Allegation #1

The first allegation dealt with an event “on or around October 30, 2017.” At a practice, Shane made a joke to an athlete, sophomore Miguel Vargas.

“We were in a meeting that was really serious,” Vargas told The Easterner. “It was after conference and we didn’t perform well, and that was the whole reason why were having the meeting. He [Shane] just got off topic—I don’t remember how it even came up. He was like, ‘Do we build the wall?’ Like do we do this, ‘Do we deport Miguel?’ And like, ‘Yeah, we deport Miguel.’ And he’s said kind of like, I guess, racial jokes. But I’ve never thought anything of them because we’re cool enough to be on [that level for] those jokes. He never really crossed the line until the last two weeks I was with him.”

Vargas had not competed in a meet since the Montana Invitational on Sept. 29 due to injury.

“I don’t think he was trying to make me look bad or anything, but in that environment that we were in, it wasn’t appropriate for that at all because it was a very serious environment,” said Vargas. “And then you have the whole team there and they’re just basically laughing at me.”

Vargas mentioned this type of banter had happened before. Previously, Vargas did not consider the joking to be malicious.

This time, though, the jokes struck a different chord with Vargas.

“Honestly, [I felt] a lot of anger,” said Vargas. “I thought about walking out of the meeting, but I just looked down and didn’t really want to show my anger.”

This allegation was substantiated by Lamoureaux’s investigation.

The Easterner spoke with Shane over

the phone in late February to get a full perspective on what transpired. For this particular allegation, Shane told The Easterner he was just being “chummy” with the joke. This lines up with Shane’s response in the investigative report.

“Shane stated he had made comments regarding Vargas being deported during a meeting because he was attempting to loosen up the meeting. Shane said the meeting was serious and he was trying to be funny to lighten up the mood,” the investigative report stated.

Shane said in no way were his words meant to be harmful and that he’s very accepting of anybody, regardless of their ethnicity.

Allegation #2

The second allegation concerned another incident involving Vargas. While on a visit with prospective recruits, Vargas was helping show some of them the EWU campus. The group was in front of snyamncut Hall when the allegation occurred.

“I was correcting him on the pronunciation of it [snyamncut Hall], and he [Shane] was like, ‘How do you pronounce it?’ and I was like, ‘sin-YA-mensoot,’” Vargas said.

Vargas said Shane responded with, “Oh yeah, that’s your people.” Vargas then answered with, “No, that’s Native American.”

Immediately, Vargas said he could see that this comment made some of the recruits uncomfortable. Vargas said he personally felt the comment was inappropriate and made him feel uncomfortable as well.

This allegation was substantiated by Lamoureaux’s investigation.

Shane told The Easterner that his comments had no malicious intent and they were taken out of context. Shane reiterated his accepting beliefs, mentioning he has respect for all races.

This response matches up with what Shane said in the investigative report, which redacted the names of student athletes.

“Shane admitted he did make some comment about [xxxx] and “brown people” in reference to the dorm Snyamncut. Shane said again he did not make the comment as an insult but as a joke with [xxxx]. Shane further explained he had a good relationship with [xxxx] that involved both of them

making jokes about ethnicity. Shane treats everyone the same and welcomes diversity,” the investigative report stated.

Since the investigative report was released, Shane said Vargas and he have connected and smoothed out any differences. Vargas confirmed this with The Easterner.

After the fall quarter, Vargas left EWU and transferred to Spokane Community College.

Allegation #12

The third allegation The Easterner looked into, which is listed as Allegation 12 in the investigative report, dealt with an incident on a team trip “on or about October 28, 2017.”

Three athletes, who asked to be unnamed and were present in the vehicle at the time of the incident, confirmed the following with The Easterner.

The men’s cross-country team was heading back to its hotel after a race in Salt Lake City. Shane was driving when another vehicle on the road honked at the van. The other occupants in the vehicle appeared to be upset at Shane and were making vulgar gestures.

Shane then rolled down his window and yelled to the other vehicle, “You don’t have to honk. I did not honk at you because you are fat and ugly,” the investigative report stated.

This allegation was substantiated by Lamoureaux’s investigation.

Shane told The Easterner this incident did occur, but he did apologize to the athletes.

This response is in accordance with what Shane said in the investigative report and what Lamoureaux discovered in his findings.

“Shane was asked about a road rage incident in Utah while he was driving the van. Shane admitted there was an incident he described as ‘not my best moment.’ [...] As he began to merge lanes in traffic with his signal on, the vehicle in question would not allow him to merge but Shane continued to ease into the lane. The vehicle began to honk excessively at Shane. The driver of the other vehicle then drove up along Shane’s driver’s side and lowered their window.

“Shane lowered his window and told

the driver that it was unnecessary to honk at him because he had used his turn signal. The driver then displayed their middle finger at Shane. Shane responded by telling the driver they were ‘fat and ugly.’ Shane said after it happened he realized he should have not acted that way. Shane apologized to the athletes for his behavior,” the investigative report stated.

For the athletes in the van, some viewed the situation differently than others. One senior member of the team did not think it was appropriate.

“This is a joke,” one athlete said. “You can’t act like that as a coach in front of your athletes.”

But a different senior member of the team disagreed.

“That’s a team moment kind of thing,” another runner said. “No one would ever know about it. It’s something you don’t take a note about.”

Allegation #14

The last allegation The Easterner looked into, which is listed as Allegation 14 in the investigative report, concerned an incident during a team meeting on Nov. 2.

Earlier on Nov. 2, a few athletes on the men’s cross country team expressed their displeasure with Shane during a team run.

After the run, Shane received a phone call from a senior member of the team detailing what had occurred, according to athletes on the team.

Following this conversation, Shane decided to hold a team meeting to address the situation. Shane wanted the team to stop talking negatively about each other, according to athletes on the team.

The team headed to Shane’s office during the evening of Nov. 2 for the meeting. Shane asked the team who had made those comments, but no one admitted to it, according to athletes on the team.

Then a few athletes spoke up. It was during this exchange with two of the runners on the team, who both asked to be unnamed, when Shane made a comment, according to athletes on the team.

Shane referred to the two runners as a “cancer” and the “biggest thorn in the side of the team,” according to athletes on the team.

Eventually one of the athletes was kicked out of the meeting by Shane, which ended shortly after the comments were

made, according to athletes on the team.

Six athletes interviewed by The Easterner confirmed this account. One athlete who was present for the meeting, senior Isaac Kitzan, said Shane did apologize to those athletes. Kitzan said a majority of the allegations were either false or taken out of context, and expressed support for Shane.

This allegation was substantiated by Lamoureaux’s investigation.

Shane told The Easterner those comments were made, but they were not intended with hostility. Shane said he wanted to make a point to the team that the current environment was not acceptable.

The complaints were brought forward by one runner to EWU Human Resources on Nov. 3, the day after the team meeting. Shane took the team to the NCAA West Regionals in Seattle on Nov. 10. After the meet, Shane was notified of the investigation.

On that trip to Seattle, Dave Nielsen,

jump and multi-events coach for the EWU track and field team, traveled with the cross country team. It was the first and only time that Nielsen accompanied the cross county team for a competition during the season, according to one athlete on the team.

“For me, I felt like it was a big issue to have him [Shane] still coaching while he was under investigation,” one runner said. “I don’t feel like there’s been any accountability.”

On Nov. 30, Lamoureaux completed his investigation. Lamoureaux said he could not comment on individual investigations.

Another athlete, when he heard that Parks had written a letter of recommendation for Shane, called the university’s actions “deplorable.”

During the entire time that Shane was under investigation, he was never placed on administrative leave by the university. It was 19 days after the report was completed when Shane received a letter of termination.

The university-issued press release on Feb. 27 stated that Shane was not fired due to the investigative report. Shane’s contract at EWU included a “for convenience” clause that allowed the school to terminate Shane without any reason given, according to Dave Meany, director of Media Relations for the university. That was the case with Shane’s termination.

Shane has since moved to Utah following his departure from EWU, and told The Easterner he plans to pursue another coaching opportunity in the future. •

10 | The Easterner

Volume 101, Issue 24 | April 25, 2018

A&E

Grad student jazzes up Spokane with festival Sam Jackson Reporter EWU graduate student Rachel BadeMcMurphy brought seven days of jazz to Spokane through the Imagine Jazz Festival. The festival is closing with a beat by presenting the jazz legend, Willie Jones III. With this being the first time the festival has ran, Bade-McMurphy has been imagining the possibilities since January. She plans to put it on for years to come and incorporate smaller events like it to bring more jazz culture to Spokane.

Through this festival, many guest artists and local artists have been able to perform. As a student studying jazz pedagogy, she wanted to include master classes and clinics by guests artists for students throughout the event.

The vision for the festival goes beyond having a major jazz headliner.

The festival has included many EWU students and faculty. Bade-McMurphy, who has been attending jazz festivals for 20 years, says that community was an aspect that should be incorporated into the festival. “The jazz festivals that I’m the most fond of have a sense of community and excitement of seeing each other [...],�

Bade-McMurphy said. “That sense of community amongst the musicians and amongst the fans, that’s what we’re trying to go for here.�

Junior Matt Hensen, an EWU student studying music composition, played the saxophone with his band, The Larsen Group during the festival. “I learn more from going to concerts than from practicing my instrument,�

Hensen said. “The reason it’s so important is because we have to understand where we came from and where we’re going, there’s no better way to do it than actually getting out and experiencing it [...]. The idea of becoming a better jazz musician is getting out and listening.�

For attendees of the festival, it gives them the opportunity to listen to music that is not typically available to this degree in Spokane. “I feel like it’s an underrepresented type of music, but it’s a big part of music

Sam Jackson for The Easterner The Larsen Group playing together on April 20 at the House of Soul. They dedicated their set to renowned saxophonists, Bob Reynolds.

culture and this city needs it,� said Greg Larrick, graduate student at EWU. Tickets for the Willie Jones III Quintet concert are on sale now and can be purchased on the Imagine Jazz Festival webpage. Seating tickets cost $25 and standing tickets cost $10. The show will be at the House of Soul in downtown Spokane on Wednesday, April 25 at 7:30 p.m. “I just want to see some people make some great music and have some audience members get excited about that music,� said Bade-McMurphy. “Beyond that with bringing Willie Jones III it’s inspiration.

Seeing the masters play is really just a shot in the arm as a musician.� •

 � � � �

 ­ € ‚ ƒƒ €

The Easterner | 11

April 25, 2018 | Volume 101, Issue 24

A&E

Feed Cheney provides free scratch-made hot meal Sam Jackson Reporter Once a month, the organization Feed Cheney provides a free scratchmade hot meal, groceries and volunteer opportunities for the community.

As a food security program that focuses on building community, Feed Cheney has a restaurant-style dinner service setting with live music and grocery distribution on the last Monday of the month. There are no income qualifications or proof of residency required to attend the event.

It is also a volunteer opportunity for members of the Cheney community that does not require travel to Spokane.

“Feed Cheney is a community program that believes in neighbors helping neighbors through food and friendship because everyone matters,” Natalie Tauzin, Feed Cheney’s organizer said.

The meal starts at 5:30 p.m. and people typically show up around 5 p.m. The earliest arrivers get the first number of grocery distribution. Feed Cheney serves between 75 to 85 families which is about how many ticket numbers go out.

“If someone wants to be able to get their groceries quickly and if they are pressed for time, they can show up a little earlier,” Tauzin said.

With the focus being on community effort, Feed Cheney has several local partnerships. One of their key partnerships is Women and Children’s Free Restaurant in Spokane. This organization is also a nonprofit and provides 80 percent of the meal.

“The program is 8 years old and we have been working with Women and Children for all of those eight years,” said Tauzin.

“They provide a scratch-made soup and scratch-made dinner like entrees.”

Feed Cheney supplements the meal with a green salad, ranch dressing and a freshly made dessert. The beverages provided are coffee, water and tea. Second Harvest in Spokane has also partnered with Feed Cheney to provide the produce and some frozen meat and dairy products for the grocery distribution at no cost.

After the support from Second Harvest, Feed Cheney spends about $400 a month purchasing staple groceries.

“We typically will purchase enough for each family to have anywhere from three

Photo courtesy of Todd Hays Feed Cheney is a nonprofit organization that provides a once a month scratch-made hot meal. The Feed Cheney program is eight years old.

to six additional meals so that they can get through the end of the month, ”said Tauzin. “That is why Feed Cheney is almost the last Monday of every month with just a couple of exceptions being some holidays.”

Volunteers are urged to use the Feed Cheney website to sign up for different volunteer opportunities including set up, serving, clean up, fundraising, inventory, social marketing, graphic arts, playing music and taking photos.

“By going on the website we have a sense of how many people are coming and then we are able to keep everyone busy and make it worth their while to come volunteer,” Tauzin said.

Feed Cheney is its own separate organization outside of the Cheney Food Bank, Cheney Outreach and Cheney Clothing Bank. A donation to those organizations does not contribute to Feed Cheney. It is a separate nonprofit. Feed Cheney falls under the United Methodist Church. The United Methodist Church 501(c)(3), is the nonprofit organization that has been recognized by the IRS as being tax-exempt by virtue of its charitable programs. However, Feed Cheney has its own bank account and there are no commingling of funds.

“So, any donations, 100 percent goes to providing the meal for the guests and

for groceries,” said Tauzin. “There is zero overhead. No money goes to administration.”

Feed Cheney is meant to extend and supplement the access to food. The organization has recognized that other food benefits like SNAP run low by the end of week two during the month. Also, other community service organizations are typically open only during business hours. That is why the event is during dinner time, to serve the people that are unable to get benefits at the time other organizations offer them.

“All of the other services for the community that are part of that community organization are held during

Nightly

the work week during business hours that are not necessarily hours that are people who are working, making minimum wage would ever be able to access,” said Tauzin. “It’s meant to provide additional access through hours that aren’t currently available for working families. Also for families with children.”

The next Feed Cheney event will be on Monday, April 30 at the Wren Pierson building in downtown Cheney at 5:30 p.m. •

• Weekly • Monthly (509) 235-4058

12 Columbia St. Cheney, WA 99004 Call Us Today to See Our Rates!

12 | The Easterner

Volume 101, Issue 24 | April 25, 2018

A&E

Office of Sustainability moves ahead with new project

EWU sets plan to restore farmland and preserve natural land on campus Sam Jackson Reporter With less than 1 percent of the Palouse Prairie remaining today, EWU is embarking on a revival journey by restoring the once f lourishing ecosystem and pursuing the Palouse Prairie Restoration Project.

The university itself is about 340 acres, and of that land about 140 acres is stretched across campus behind Roos Field, which has been used as wheat cultivation since 1953. During summer 2017, EWU Sustainability started the project to turn that land back into its native prairie form, saying that the campus and community would benefit vastly from it.

“We decided that while wheat farming is a great thing, that we could use this land a little bit better for campus purposes,” said Erik Budsberg, Sustainability Coordinator and Project Manager. “What we’re looking at is taking it out of wheat production and

restoring it to native grasses and native habitat on campus.”

EWU Sustainability is starting this project with four conceptual goals in mind: creating educational opportunities for the students, faculty research, recreation and value toward the broader community.

In order to pursue its focal goal of promoting educational opportunities for students, the project is exploring options like outdoor classrooms within the area, various research opportunities and informational kiosks along the trails in the region.

“The phenomenal thing about it is it’s so close,” Justin Bastow said, assistant professor in Biology. “We are really fortunate in this area on how much natural habitat there is around, but it can still be difficult to get a class way down in the Palouse in a three-hour lab period and back.”

Bastow and other faculty who are a part of the biology department at EWU have already started getting involved with the project and conducting their

own research during the early stages.

“This is a great opportunity for a lot of faculty to do various extra research, apply for grants and really track this process,” said Budsberg. “Part of that is collecting baseline data. So they have to collect data with the site as it is now. So we’re working with them to make sure that we can stay on track with that, stay well informed and so just really valuable work that they are doing.”

A major aspect of this project is making sure that everyone who wants to be involved feels welcome and free to add their input. EWU Sustainability has already been working with the athletic department to further pursue it’s recreation goal. They have also reached out to students who are involved in public health to explore community outreach.

“I think my biggest concern right now is just trying to reach out to people,” said Budsberg. “I don’t want to exclude people from the process.”

According to the project timeline, the physical start of the restoration work

is set to begin fall 2019. The process of maintaining the success of the restoration project is planned for fall 2024.

“It is kind of big, remarkable and unusual for a university to be doing such a big restoration project […],” said Bustow. “I mean the grasses are pretty easy to get established. In terms of kind of getting back all of the diversity that was there in the Palouse, that one’s a little bit trickier. So that may take some more time and more hands and effort by us, but there’s a lot of folks who are really fascinated and following it.”

For more information and to get involved with the project, you can contact EWU Sustainability directly on its webpage on the EWU website. •

EWU celebrating nine years of Pride Week Tania Nuñez Contributor This year marks the ninth annual Pride Week at EWU, which celebrates LGBTQ+ voices and strives to connect individuals, not only on campus, but across the Inland Northwest. Pride Week kicks off Monday, April 23 and ends Friday, May 4.

“It’s important to bring folks together every now and then,” Dr. Nick Franco, the Pride Center manager said. “When I hear students talk about Pride Week, it’s like this is a time for us and they often don’t feel there are times for them on campus.”

The theme for this year’s Pride Week, “20-Gay-Teen,” was inspired by musician Hayley Kiyoko’s tweet at the beginning of this year, which says, “It’s our year, it’s our time. To thrive and let our souls feel alive. #20GAYTEEN #expectations2018.”

Pride Week begins on April 23 at 5 p.m.

with a screening of “Big Eden” at the Pride Center, located at Showalter 105.

On Tuesday, a panel discussion titled “Are Gay Bars Safe Spaces?” will take place at 1 p.m. at Patterson 117. This session will focus on educating and informing members and allies of the LGBTQ+ community on the impact and culture of gay bars.

Also on Tuesday, at 6 p.m. in the Showalter Auditorium, the Eagle Pride Talent Show will commence.

Myranda Schee, a student who participated in the talent show last year, voiced excitement for this year’s show.

“Everyone was just so encouraging of each other and everyone has different things; people read poetry or sing songs,” Schee said. “You get to connect more with the community.”

Wednesday’s event is the clothing swap in Monroe 205 from 1-2 p.m. This is the first clothing swap for the Pride Center that

focuses on allocating clothes for transgender and nonbinary persons.

“For trans and nonbinary folks, shopping for clothes that align with the gender that you know yourself to be […] can be very intimidating and scary and discriminatory,” said Franco. “This is a shopping experience that, regardless of how you identify, you will be welcomed and affirmed.”

Senior Mels Felton, who helped organize the clothing swap, emphasized the importance of this event.

“There’s an opportunity to get pretty much free clothing, which is like getting a new wardrobe,” Felton said. “It’s one of the more financially difficult things about transitioning besides actual surgery and therapy.”

Donations for this event should be dropped off by Tuesday, May 1.

On Thursday, the fourth annual student drag show featuring Vida Amoré Divas will begin at 6 p.m. in the Showalter Auditorium.

Pride Week concludes with Lavender Graduation at 6 p.m. in the Hargreaves Reading Room. This is an event that honors LGBTQ+ and ally graduates on campus.

“What’s really special about Eastern’s [Lavender Graduation] is that it’s open to any LGBTQ or ally graduate in the Inland Northwest,” said Franco. “So our ceremony invites any high school student, community college student, or any of the other university students to come and be recognized.”

According to the Cooperative Institutional Research Program Freshman Survey data from 2015, 12.1 percent of EWU freshmen identified as LGBTQ+. Franco cites this information as another reason signifying the importance of Pride Week.

“Pride Week is about helping other people on campus recognize that this is a significant portion of the student population,” said Franco. “This is about, yeah, we’re visible.

We’re here and we’re queer, here we are.” •

The Easterner | 13

April 25, 2018 | Volume 101, Issue 24

Sports Quick Hits • Football Red-White game set for Saturday

After a month of practices and drills, the EWU football team will close out its spring with the annual Red-White Game at Roos Field on Saturday, April 28. The game, which is open to the public, is scheduled to kickoff at 2:05 p.m. and will air live on SWX. Squads were selected on April 23 by 10 seniors (five for each team) who served as co-captains.

• Women’s golf competes at Big Sky Conference Championships

Last weekend, the EWU women’s golf team placed fifth overall at the BSC Championships in Boulder City, Nevada. The Eagles shot 894 overall (306, 289, 299) in three rounds. Freshman Alexa Clark tied for seventh place individually, shooting a 220 overall. Sophomore Madalyn Ardueser was 12th with a score of 223. Senior Kimberlie Miyamoto (227), junior Kirsten Ishikawa (232) and sophomore Ashley Ohland (235) rounded out the field for the Eagles.

• Women’s soccer begins spring play

Photo courtesy of San Antonio Express-News Lynn Hickey at a University of Texas, San Antonio press conference in 2016. Hickey, who left UTSA in 2017, was hired as EWU’s new athletic director on April 25.

Lynn Hickey named EWU athletic director Taylor Newquist Reporter Lynn Hickey has been named EWU’s permanent athletic director, university president Mary Cullinan announced on Wednesday. The decision came after Hickey and Vince Otoupal presented their case to search committee members at open forums last week in Spokane.

“Lynn Hickey emerged as the ideal candidate to fill this important role at Eastern,” Cullinan said in a news release.

“During her time on campus she has also displayed excellent leadership skills and a vision for how to transform our athletics department into a model program.”

Hickey has served as EWU’s interim athletic director since Feb. 12, and was previously the athletic director at the University of Texas at San Antonio. In her tenure at UTSA she added football, women’s soccer and golf programs to the university.

“I am truly honored and excited to lead Eastern’s Athletics Department into the future,” Hickey said in the release. “I want to continue the work I’ve started toward solidifying a diverse athletics department that is committed to academic achievement and competitive excellence.”

Hickey won over the search committee with her presentation on April 19, where she started with what drew her to stay at EWU. “Quite honestly when President Cullinan called me in I thought this was a position that would help me stay in the business and navigate to my next position,” said Hickey. “After being here two weeks this place kinda grabbed my heart. I just really felt comfortable with the fit I offer, but also [feel] very excited about the future.”

She highlighted her previous experience at UTSA as a time when the administration was proud of itself for doing more with less,

On April 22, the EWU women’s soccer team played the University of Washington to a 2-2 draw in Seattle. This kicked off a four-game spring schedule for the Eagles. Sophomore forward Emma Vanderhyden scored twice for the Eagles, who lost 10 players from last season to graduation. The team signed 16 incoming freshman, however they won’t join the team until summer. The Eagles will play their lone home game of spring against Central Washington University on Saturday, April 28 at 1 p.m. at the EWU soccer fields.

and equated it to the current situation with EWU. “You get to a certain level and it’s hard for people to keep going,” said Hickey. “I think the commitment now is to have a bigger vision, to set higher expectations and to put the resources in place so that we take our place as leaders in this conference.”

Hickey emphasized building the brand of EWU athletics to make the school a more accessible and attractive destination to incoming students.

“Due to the visibility of athletics and due to our American culture, this sports stuff has been put on a high pedestal and probably overemphasized,” said Hickey. “But it is a piece of our campus culture that if we utilize it well, if we can invest in it appropriately, and if you’re successful, it can have a tremendous impact on the campus. It can open doors to other things on campus as far as donations, giving and visibility.”

Hickey believes that athletics on a campus need to do three things for the university: provide fun and enjoyable entertainment, recruit students and staff and engage the community.

“With the community of Cheney, we need to be their little darlins’,” said

Hickey. “We need to have every elementary kid, every middle school kid, the high school should be there, so that our brand overtakes that town. Then hopefully we can start to do the same thing in Spokane.”

As part of building the Eagle brand, Hickey referred to common hand signals and traditions top athletic departments share with their fans to build loyalty in the community. She also urged EWU fans to ask shops in Spokane for more Eastern apparel to be sold, and cited the football team as a way to sell fandom to people living in Spokane.

One of the biggest problems Hickey currently sees on the EWU campus is the lack of athletic infrastructure. She said that the student athlete experience should be the driving force behind investing in new facilities because of the amount of time they spend there.

“We have some big facility issues,” said Hickey. “They are very visible and we need to answer those. Right now, at Eastern we’re a little short changed, so we’ve got to find a way to address all that infrastructure and give them the experience that they need to have.”

Hickey also noted that she would like to see the operation budget go up $4-5 million. •

14 | The Easterner

Volume 101, Issue 24 April | April25, 25,2018 2018

Sports

Mckenzie Ford for The Easterner Sophomore Keshun McGee competes in the triple jump at the Pelluer Invitational on April 14. On April 21 at the Beach Invitational, McGee triple jumped 51–4 1/4 feet, placing him first overall in the Big Sky Conference and No. 20 in the nation.

Eagles continue climb up Big Sky ranks Taylor Newquist Reporter The EWU track and field team flew to California last week to compete in three different meets. The Pacific Coast Intercollegiate on April 19, and the Beach Invitational on April 20-21, were hosted in Long Beach. Meanwhile in Torrance, top athletes competed in the Mt. Sac Relays on April 19-20.

Sophomore Keshun McGee led the way for the Eagles on the weekend. At the Mt. Sac Relays, McGee finished first in the triple jump at 51-0 3/4 feet — a personal-best.

The next day McGee jumped at the Beach Invitational, upping his mark to 51-4 1/4 feet and placing him first overall in the Big Sky Conference and No. 20 in the nation.

McGee earned the only top-five finish for the Eagles at the Mt. Sac Relays, while senior Leanne Asper set the pace for the

women’s team by breaking the EWU outdoor record in the 800-meter. Asper’s time of 2:10.61 edged the previous record held by Katie Mahoney of 2:10.96 in 2016.

Asper also broke the indoor record earlier this year at the Husky Classic.

“It was on my birthday so it was a great birthday present for myself,” Asper said. “I was so close at the beginning of the year so it was really good to get under and get that record.”

Asper also said that she hopes to get a regional mark this weekend and lower her time under 2:10.0 minutes.

At the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate, junior Trey McAdams and senior Jeremy VanAssche finished in first place for the Eagles. McAdams ran his personal best time of 54.23 seconds in the 400-meter hurdles.

VanAssche posted a time of 10.53 seconds in the 100-meter dash, which is his best time of the season and ranks No. 2 in the Big Sky.

April 2018| Volume 101, Issue The April 25,25, 2018 24 Easterner | 15

Sports “I got out well and hit pretty good until 70 meters,” VanAssche said. “I died a little bit at the end and I didn’t finish very well. I have quite a bit of room for improvement on that.”

VanAssche is also a part of the 4x100-meter relay team that ran at the Mt. Sac Relays, and finished in 10th place at 41.20 seconds.

“For 4x100 we still have a lot of stuff to clean up,” said VanAssche. “On the first leg when Joe [Gauthier] was going to hand it off, there was a guy kind of standing in his lane that he had to dodge a little bit. That slowed us, but most of us ran pretty well and we’ll be able to drop that time.”

Other relay team members, junior Jonah Mathews and freshman Joe Gauthier, set personal-bests in the 100-meter at the Pacific Coast Intercollegiate. Mathews finished in seventh place at 10.71 seconds, and Gauthier in ninth at 10.75 seconds.

After the weekend, relay team members control three of the top five spots in the Big Sky for the 100-meter: VanAssche at No. 2, Mathews at No. 3 and Gauthier at No. 5.

With sponsored professionals and topcollegiate athletes competing at the Beach

Sports

Invitational, the Eagles’ best finish was Keshun McGee’s fifth place in the long jump. That’s not to say the Eagles cracked under pressure, as multiple personal-best times were posted amid the competitive environment: senior Rebecca Tarbert in the 100-meter, freshman Vernice Keys in the discus, freshman Alexis Rolan in the long jump, freshman Colton Kautz in the shot put, junior Parker Bowden in the 110meter hurdles, senior Logan Stahl in the 800-meter and junior Trey McAdams in the 400-meter.

“The number of lifetime and seasonal personal records indicated our crew knew this was an opportunity to do their best,” men’s head coach Stan Kerr said. “I’m very proud of the vigilance our team showed in terms of staying in the ‘here and now’ and not being distracted by factors that could take away from performances.”

The Eagles travel to Corvallis this weekend to compete in the OSU High Performance Meet on April 27-28. It is the second-to-last meet of the outdoor season before the Big Sky Outdoor Championships begin on May 8. •

Bailey Monteith for The Easterner Senior Rebecca Tarbert competes in the 4x100 at the Pelluer Invitational on April 14. On April 21 at the Beach Invitational, Tarbert placed fourth in the 100 meters with a time of 11.88 seconds.

16 | The Easterner

Volume 101, Issue 24 | April 25, 2018

Sports

Bailey Monteith for The Easterner Sophomore Brandon Wong (left), senior Clinton Sibolboro (middle) and junior Tanner Walt practice their boxing skills on April 20. Sibolboro is the president of the club, which was established in 2001.

Boxing club offers students alternative exercise Brady Linerud Contributor Senior Clinton Sibolboro didn’t expect to step in to his role as president when he first joined the boxing club two years ago.

Regardless, he gladly took responsibility after the former president graduated.

“Boxing is a tremendous source of cardio and a great workout for people who want something different,” Sibolboro said. “Boxing is super fun and one of the best sources of cardio outside of running, and nobody likes running.”

The boxing club was founded in 2001 by Romeal Watson and has been offering to teach students basic boxing techniques ever since.

Currently, the club meets three times a week on Monday, Tuesday and Friday at 5 p.m. on the second floor of the Phase. Each practice runs about an hour, but members are welcome to stay and work out as long as they’d like. There is a $10 fee to join the club. Once that fee is paid, members are allowed access to the boxing club room whenever the Phase is open.

“Boxing club is the only club that I know of that once you become a member you can use the gym whenever you want,” said Sibolboro. “It’s like paying $10 for a three-month gym membership.”

The club is not allowed to spar regularly since the club is not a certified boxing program at the university. This also means no official bouts take place.

“I teach fundamentals only,” said Sibolboro. “Intermediate to advanced stuff is different for people in different weight classes. It’s up to them to develop their own fighting style [...] Unless they’re close to the same weight as I am, I don’t teach anyone advanced techniques.”

Sibolboro recommends that anyone who joins the club wait at least a month before they partake in even light-sparring.

The objective of the club is not to determine who is the toughest guy in the gym, but rather to offer a fun and safe environment for anyone at any level to get a tremendous workout while learning the nuances of the sweet science of boxing.

Sophomore Brandon Wong, a current member, said that the club is welcoming to inexperienced members.

“I’ve had no boxing experience before joining the club and it’s had no effect on the overall experience I’ve had,” Wong said.

Another current member of the club, junior Tanner Walt, has had a positive experience using boxing as his main source of cardio.

“I like the athletic aspect of boxing to go along with breaking a sweat. It’s a really hard workout but it’s a really fun one, too,” Walt said.

Anyone who is interested in joining— or just curious to see what the club is about—can attend a practice. •