Volume 66, Issue 6

LETTER: Editor-in-Chief of The Easterner apologizes to EWU community, Page 8

EasternerOnline.com

Election Spread: Why students should pay attention to local politics, Page 5

October 29, 2014

Est. 1916

Homecoming unites campus to community causes

Volume 66, Issue 6

GamerGate uncovers mysogyny in world of gaming Gender roles on video game players heighten harassment, threats on female gamers

By ZoË Colburn copy editor

Hannah Gunderson, an EWU sophomore and member of Gamma Phi Beta sorority, volunteers at the “Rake a Difference” event on Oct. 28.

Photo by Laura Lango

“Rake a Difference,” community service events evoke EWU vision of helping others

By Nathan Peters managing editor Community service is a part of the annual events of Eastern Washington University’s Homecoming Week.

“Rake a DifferHOMECOMING ence” was this year’s Eagle Spirit Week community engagement project, held on Oct. 28.

The event was this year’s community caring team challenge, co-sponsored by Cheney Parks and Recreation, and Cheney Kiwanis Club.

Eastern clubs and organizations on campus formed teams to volunteer at the community service event.

The teams were assigned to eight locations

to rake leaves in residents’ yards; volunteers then disposed of the leaves at the Cheney Recycling Center in downtown Cheney.

Student Activities, Involvement and Leadership Associate Director Samantha Armstrong said Eagle Spirit Week is about students taking pride in their institution and community. She said it is a week to reflect on what it means to be an Eagle.

The event is about “showing [Eastern cares] about the community,” said Armstrong.

One volunteer location had two teams that joined forces: Gamma Phi Beta sorority and Beta Theta Pi fraternity.

Sophomore and Gamma Phi Beta member Hannah Gunderson said, “It’s a good

opportunity for us to come together as a Greek community and give back to the [Cheney] community.”

Gamma Phi Beta freshman Mika Norrish said she thinks volunteering for community service makes people feel good to help other people out.

“It’s a community project to help out in the community and put a name out there for ourselves,” said Laj Tripp, Beta Theta Pi member and EWU freshman.

Armstrong said Cheney Kiwanis Club donated a majority of the rakes, the Office of Community Engagement provided gloves and SAIL purchased the garbage bags.

“

Photo by Laura Lango

It’s a good opportunity for us to come together as a Greek community and give back to the [Cheney] community.

RAKING-PAGE 6

Hannah Gunderson EWU Gamma Phi Beta member

EWU basketball teams, students celebrate Eagle Madness

By Elohino Theodore senior reporter

Photo by Laura Lango Swoop dances with EWU students at the Eagle Madness event.

INSIDE:

The women’s and men’s basketball team celebrated Eagle Madness with the EWU community on Oct. 23 in honor of the 2014-15 season.

The night started out with both teams warming up on opposite ends of the court and music blasting over the loudspeakers. It was time for introductions as Eastern’s cheerleaders came out and entertained the crowd. As this season’s rosters for both teams were announced, each of the players threw frisbees and free shirts into the crowd and greeted EWU students and Swoop.

Head coach of the women’s basketball team Wendy Schuller enjoyed the

atmosphere of the night. “I thought it was a lot of fun,” said Schuller. “It’s cool to get both squads out here and interacting with our fans, I thought it was a really great event.”

Men’s basketball assistant coach Alex Pribble gave his views on the position men’s basketball is in this year. “Eagles sports are moving in the right direction and we want to be a part of that,” said Pribble. “[We are] really excited about the team we have this year. We have high expectations for ourselves and we want the whole community to be a part of it.”

Students came down to the court to take part in various activities during the night, which included a contest involving cotton balls.

Teams were divided and the point of the contest was to

transfer the most cotton balls using their nose and Vaseline from table to table.

The 3-point shooting contest was next on the agenda.

Two teams were split up once again; redshirt senior guard Lexie Nelson and a student from the crowd represented the women’s team and senior guard Parker Kelly and another student represented the men’s team.

In what proved to be a close game, the men’s team came out on top.

“I thought the 3-point contest was pretty exciting,” Schuller said. “That’s one of my favorite things.”

The next activity involved pingpong balls. Students had little pouches attached to their waists; the objective was to release as many

EWU MADNESS-PAGE 10

From a movement that began by requesting better journalistic ethics, GamerGate evolved into what some have called a hate movement over the past few months.

As a movement based almost entirely on 4chan, an anonymous online forum, it can be hard to pin down what GamerGate is attempting to gain, or even what GamerGate is about. According to TIME magazine, some gamergaters claim the movement is intended entirely to bring awareness to poor journalism ethics.

However, many who use the gamergater label have harassed prominent women in the gaming industry, going so far as to send highly specific death threats and attempt to get the women to kill themselves.

TIME magazine reported that in August 2014 programmer Eron Gjoli wrote a series of blog posts about his relationship with indie game developer Zoe Quinn; specifically about the end of their relationship. The post that sparked GamerGate accused Quinn of sleeping with game reviewer Nathan Grayson to get a good review on her game “Depression Quest.”

From there, it took on new life. Although many Gamergaters believe it is still a movement only requesting better ethics in gaming journalism, it has also been linked to anonymous death threats towards, and the release of personal information of, four specific women: Quinn, feminist critic Anita Sarkeesian, game developer Brianna Wu and, as of Oct. 23, actress Felicia Day, TIME magazine and Gawker reported.

All of these women were attacked only after they spoke out against sexism in the gaming industry, or the abuse that was occurring, according to TIME. In the case of Day, her details were released after expressing fear at the idea of saying anything remotely negative about the movement.

“I have not said many public things about Gamer Gate,” she wrote on her Tumblr blog Oct. 22.

GAMERGATE-PAGE 2

NEWS PAGE 2 • EAGLE LIFE PAGE 3 • ELECTIONS PAGE 4 • COMMUNITY PAGE 7 • OPINION PAGE 8 • SPORTS PAGE 9

Upcoming Events: October Oct. 30: “Odds Against Tomorrow.” Racial, Ethnic and Gender Approaches to Community Health, 12 p.m. in 207 Monroe Hall. Sponsored by the Women’s Center.

Oct: 30: #EWUHomecoming Community Bonfire, Pep Rally and Bed Races will occur in downtown Cheney starting at 7 p.m. May the best bed win.

Oct. 30: The EWU Community Canned Food Drive will be accepting canned and perishable food in the PUB from 1 - 3 p.m.

Oct. 31: The EWU Harvest Festival is a trick-or-treat children’s event that will occur from 3:30 - 4:30 p.m. on the main Cheney campus. All children are welcome to attend!

A costume contest will follow afterwards.

November Nov. 1: Homecoming Game EWU will play against North Dakota on the red turf starting at 2:05 p.m. The Homecoming parade will be before the game, starting at 11 a.m.

For more information, visit ewu.edu/homecoming

SPORTS: Rail Jam Winter comes early to Eastern as outdoor snow sports enthusiasts and professionals take to The Grind, page 9

For the most up-to-date events in Cheney and Spokane, follow us: @EasternerOnline Photo by Jessica Hawley

page

NEWS

2

Washington prepares for the spread of Ebola

Abroad options explored at fair

By Katie Dunn staff writer

The EWU study abroad fair on Oct. 23 showed the different options available to students have who aspire to study abroad in countries ranging from Costa Rica to Australia.

The fair had several representatives from different companies that help send students out of the country to give interested students a smooth introduction to studying abroad.

Elena Axton, a study abroad adviser for the Office of Global Initiatives, said, “We have a study abroad fair twice a year to help do outreach to our students about study abroad options that are available to them, so they can talk to program representatives that come to campus face-to-face. It’s their only chance to do that.”

Shelby Shanstorm, a junior who studied in Spain, said, “As far as getting abroad, Eastern made it really easy. They really help you along.”

Axton said the fair has been successful in helping send students abroad.

“The fair is bigger, we have more programs that come to it than we used to because we’re sending more students abroad, so with that comes more students who are going [abroad],” she said.

To meet the eligibility criteria to study abroad, a student must be of sophomore standing or higher, have a minimum cumulative GPA of 2.5 and complete the EWU study abroad application, according to a study abroad flier.

Students who missed the fair can still receive information from the Study Abroad Resource Center in Hargreaves Hall or can attend the first meeting for the Study Abroad Association, a new club at Eastern.

The first meeting for the Study Abroad Association is on Nov. 12 in Streeter’s Global Connections LLC from 3:305:00 p.m. Interested students can contact Jared Dineen at jdineen@eagles. ewu.edu about the study abroad association, or Axton at eaxton@ewu. edu for general study abroad information.

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Kitsap County health district, said in a phone interview that all qualified labs need to go through proficiency testing before the CDC Washington state is far away from the will provide them with Ebola testing kits.

Ebola outbreak in Africa, yet the threat of According to the Washington state pubinfection is still taken seriously. lic health laboratories, Ebola testing by KREM2 news reported on Oct. 20, that polymerase chain reaction will only be permisconceptions about Ebola were spreading formed after getting approval from the CDC. around Spokane thanks to a lack of knowlThe National Center for Biotechnology edge, which is why the the SpoInformation defines a polymerase kane Regional Health District chain reaction test as a technique “From a (SRHD) is sending out weekly that amplifies DNA sequences Spokane situation reports. by separating the DNA into two perspective, The SRHD released their secstrands and then incubating it, a the relative ond Ebola situation report on process that can be performed a Oct. 20 covering Oct. 11 to 17. isolation of the billion times. Once amplified, the The SRHD report said that DNA segments would be comcity may, in a within the Providence healthcare pared to nucleotide segments from system, Sacred Heart Medical- major outbreak, a known source, Ebola in this case. be helpful.”

Center is the facility selected to Lindquist said anyone wantadminister medical care for coning to be tested would first have firmed Ebola patients and that test to show signs of Ebola and prove samples for Ebola would be sent they were in one of the three to the Washington State Health countries with an outbreak or Laboratory and the Centers for were around an Ebola patient.

Medical Professionals Disease Control and Prevention.

“The local health jurisdiction Health program director The Washington State Departwould be involved; we’d confer ment of Health has on record that here at the public health lab with the their public health laboratories are one of 13 state department of health and we would authostate labs nationwide that are approved by rize the test here,” said Lindquist. the CDC to conduct initial testing for Ebola.

He said it would be the same for samples from Scott Lindquist, a clinical assistant pro- other states, which would only be sent to Washfessor of epidemiology at the University of ington after approval from the local health departWashington and health officer of Bremerton- ment, state health department and the CDC.

Frank Houghton

By Alex Miller staff writer

Classified

October 29, 2014

Frank Houghton, Medical Professionals Health program director and associate professor at Eastern, said contagious diseases tend to follow transport flows and will often spread to major population centers before cascading out to more local networks.

“From a Spokane perspective, the relative isolation of the city may, in a major outbreak, be helpful,” said Houghton.

Washington does have the Sea-Tac International Airport, but the Department of Homeland Security made an announcement on Oct. 21 that all passengers flying to the U.S. from Liberia, Sierra Leone or Guinea have to fly to one of the five airports doing increased screening for Ebola. All five airports are located on the eastern side of the nation.

Houghton said at the Washington State Public Health Association's annual meeting and at a health conference in Seattle, Washington, Washington’s Secretary of Health John Wiesman, DrPH, and hospital executives all stated that their preparations were proceeding on the basis of “when Ebola reaches Washington” rather than “if.”

“There have been no cases of Ebola in Washington state and we’ve tested no one in Washington state, but we are just about to start the flu season which is a very concerning disease,” said Lindquist. “People in Washington die every year from the flu and we want people to be ready for something that’s here and coming, and that’s the influenza season.”

October 29, 2014

EAGLE LIFE

Mr. and Ms. Eastern crowned into royalty Eastern turns

‘spooktacular’ for Halloween campus events

By Carly Estey contributing writer

GAMERGATE:

Photo by Anna Mills Sapna Basy, sophomore, was crowned Ms. Eastern alongside Bryce Dressler, sophomore, who was crowned Mr. Eastern on Oct. 27.

Homecoming pageant winners recognized for talents, charity work

By Ayanna Fernandez staff writer Eastern hosted its annual Mr. and Ms. Eastern Pageant on Oct. 27, crowning two new students into university royalty.

Eagle Entertainment Chairperson HOMECOMING Mike Cardenas said the pageant started in the 1940s and has been a tradition at Eastern ever since, as well as how beneficial the pageant is to EWU. “I think the biggest significance in the pageant is having Eastern students represent Eastern,” said Cardenas. “We have [Mr. and Ms. Eastern] participate in parades to help

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represent the school.”

In Showalter Hall auditorium, the pageant commenced at 6 p.m.

There were 15 contestants who took the stage, ready to perform and showcase their talents in front of a full audience of judges, friends and other students.

In the first round of the pageant, each contestant was asked to explain to the audience why they chose to run for Mr. or Ms. Eastern, and share the charity projects they have been working on, what they wanted to work for and what organization or group sponsored them to participate in the competition.

For the second round,

each contestant had to answer a random question selected by an audience member.

The final round was the talent segment of the competition. Many contestants danced, some sang a song, recited poetry and a few even did comedy.

After all the performances from the contestants were done, the judges exited the auditorium to cast their votes.

When they returned, they announced the winners.

Senior Kyle Hamlin took third runner up for Mr. Eastern. Madison Azim, a junior, took third place for Ms. Eastern.

Sophomore John-Henry Woodward took second place for Mr. Eastern and senior

Michaela Morse took second place for Ms. Eastern.

The title of Mr. Eastern was given to sophomore Bryce Dressler, and sophomore Sapna Basy won the title of Ms. Eastern.

Both winners said the title meant a great deal to them.

“It means a lot,” said Dressler. “It adds even more motivation to further better the community and myself.”

Basy jumped for joy with a big smile across her face as her name was called for the title.

“This title means the whole world to me. I never thought a five feet girl could win the crown,” Basy said.

“It’s not about your height

PAGEANT-PAGE 7

Graphic by Kayla Lee

them because they’re women.”

What GamerGate brought to the forefront was the active and continued harassment of female gamers.

“There obviously have been threats and intimidation used toward women in the gaming industry and players,” said Kamp. “And I don’t think you can discount the ‘and players’ of that.”

Lorna Harris, Gamers’ Club president and EWU junior, said while playing “World of Warcraft,” she was asked to be in an online relationship with a male gamer. When she said no, he began spreading rumors about her.

“It got to the point where I couldn’t even log in without them saying things, and I was well-known throughout the server, and it just got

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to the point where I was like, ‘I don’t even want to do this,’” she said.

Kamp called the defensiveness shown by many male gamers against the women who speak out against sexism, misogyny and abuse in the gaming industry, “pathetic.”

“I can’t think of another word that describes it more than just pathetic,” he said. “Because what we’re really talking about is the male section of the gaming industry, whether it be production or play or whatever, not being able to come to grips with the fact that there might be female players. That’s just pathetic. But what goes to a deeper reason I would call it pathetic is that they’re games.”

Beyond the one problem she had, Harris has not had many problems in general as a gamer.

“There will just be some guys who, they’ll think you don’t know a lot about it, and then you start talking about the details of the game and they look at you, like, stunned,” she said. “Sometimes, with the incoming freshmen, when they’re asking about the Gamers’ Club and you tell them, ‘Oh, I’m the Gamers’ Club president,’ and they like take a step back like ‘Whoa! That’s awesome!’”

Despite the good, though, Harris does believe there can still be an overreaction — whether positive or negative — to female gamers. “[Male gamers] should pay more attention to the way that females behave, and they should just treat females like gamers,” she said. “Gamers are gamers. We just want to play our games.”

3

#EWUHomecoming What Homecoming events are you attending this weekend? • Tweet us your responses @EasternerOnline

CONTINUED FROM FRONT “I have tried to leave it alone, aside from a few @ replies on Twitter that journalists have decided to use in their articles, siding me against the hashtag. Why have I remained mostly silent? Self-protection and fear.”

Only minutes after the post went up, her personal details were released by a user named “gaimerg8,” reported Gawker.

What is perhaps the frightening part of GamerGate is the ease with which the threateners seem to find these women’s personal information.

“I don’t think it takes that much for people to find out,” said Carol Taylor, Ph.D., department chair for computer science, and specialist of computer security. “I think we’re more public than we ever have been before, and like I said, all they would have to do is [ask], like, well where does she live?”

There is no true expertise required to find the personal details most people try to hold close to their chest, such as their address or personal email.

“There just is so much information that gets compiled on you. I don’t think it would be that hard.

You wouldn’t have to be a cyber expert, let’s put it that way,” said Taylor. “They’re normal people that have some kind of a reason to research [Brianna Wu].”

While GamerGate has become a nationally-recognized controversy, the harassment of women in the gaming community is more common than some may think.

Gaming development instructor Brian Kamp asked students in each of his three classes what they thought of GamerGate: “All of the women who game basically said at some time they’ve been, I don’t know if discrimination is the right word, but have been intimidated or people just won’t play with

page

In the midst of Spirit Week, Eastern organizations will be hosting multiple Halloween events catering to students and local community members.

Eagle Entertainment invites students to join them for a Haunted Scavenger Hunt on Wednesday Oct. 29th from 4-6:00 p.m. in the EWU Campus Mall. Following the scavenger hunt there will be a movie night in Showalter 109 at 7 p.m. featuring the movie “A Nightmare on Elm Street.”

On Halloween, Eastern’s Office of Community Engagement will be teaming up with the Cheney fire department and Cheney Kiwanis Club to host Harvest Fest, a carnival and trick-ortreating campus tour, for toddlers to fifth-grade children.

Tours begin at 3:30 p.m. in the Campus Mall and continue to 5 p.m. The carnival will run from 4-6 p.m. at the URC ice skating rink. “[Harvest Fest] creates a wonderful, safe environment for kids,” said Eagle volunteers program coordinator Gabby Ryan. “It shows them that a college campus isn’t scary.”

The tour consists of seven locations around campus where EWU staff and faculty will be distributing candy to the costumed children.

According to Ryan, this studentstaffed event reached its maximum capacity of 160 volunteers and there are 800 people projected to attend the event, including children, their siblings and their parents.

There will also be a Halloween Paintball Event on Halloween from 3-6 p.m. on the Intramural Fields, hosted

by EWU Campus Recreation as part of Eagle Spirit Week. Students can visit the EWU Paintball website for more information on gear, fees and eligibility.

‘Spirit Splash’ competition personifies school spirit and pride

By Rebekah Frank staff writer

Photo by Anna Mills Left to right: Madison Azim; Michaela Morse; Sapna Basy, Ms. Eastern; Bryce Dressler, Mr. Eastern; John-Henry Woodward; Kyle Hamlin.

Contest spin off creates EWU club friendships According to Stacey Reece, direc- get to know more people in your dorm tor of SAIL, the tile decorating contest or in your organization that you’re with, is part of the team challenge for Home- and you get to be creative with it, which is really cool,” said Holman. coming Week 2014.

Locke and Holman designed their The tile decorating contest was full of Reece said teams entered the contest colorful designs as teams grabbed paint- to decorate new ceiling tiles to represent tile around the meaning of the word snyamncut. According to Holman, brushes, pencils and sponges to help deco- their Eagle pride. snyamncut is a Nativerate ceiling tiles while dancing According to Reece, this conAmerican word meaning to music. test is a spin off of the old win“It’s another “gathering place.”

Eagle Entertainment host- dow decorating competition.

Holman and Locke “We changed the format HOMECOMING ed the tile decorating contest way to get to painted the word “synamnon Oct. 27, which took place in because often the weather know more cut” on their tile and drew PUB 204. This event was overseen by Mike would interfere with the people in your the “S” so that it flowed Cardenas, Eagle Entertainment chair. painting of windows,” said Reece in an email. “We also dorm or in your into a river; the river flowed into handprints that surwanted to create artwork organization the Eastern Eagle. that could last and be used that you’re with, rounded Holman said this design inthroughout the year.” and you get corporates Eastern as well Cardenas said this event is pretty relaxed when students to be creative as their residence hall. is my first time come to express their artiswith it, which ever“This doing this, but so far tic thoughts and feelings for is really cool.” it’s fun,” said Locke.

Eastern.

Unlike Locke and Hol“The rules are pretty much man on the synamncut to show your Eastern pride team, the EWU Competition and try to incorporate your Dance Team did not collabteam. Some are from the [resiorate on their tile. dence] halls, some are from EWU freshman According to the team’s sororities and fraternities, head captain, Hope Morsome are from clubs and orrow, the team decided that ganizations and I think there is actually one team that is just a group one member would paint the tile beof friends that decided to do it this year,” cause she was good at painting and the rest of the team would offer their unarsaid Cardenas.

Freshman Laura Holman and junior Erin tistic moral support.

Photo by Rebekah Frank Locke were part of the snyamncut Hall team.

Holman said she enjoyed the contest because Erin Locke, right, and Laura Holman, left, TILE DECORATING-PAGE 7 of the opportunity to be artistic. represented snyamncut Hall at the contest.

“I like it because it’s another way to

By Rebekah Frank staff writer

Laura Holman

The EWU Homecoming Spirit Splash Contest winners were announced on Oct. 28. The contest judges for the best Eagle spirit decorations of residence halls, departments and local businesses for EaHOMECOMING gle Spirit Week.

According to Rick Scott, EWU coordinator of club sports, there were three categories for the Spirit Splash: Residence hall, business, and department.

Scott said each category was critiqued by five judges in accordance with contestants’ entry submissions by the deadline and the Eagle Spirit Week theme.

Scott said the winner for the department category was the Office of Global Initiatives and the runner-up was Records and Registration. The winner of the business category was Cheney Parks and Rec. After tallying the scores, the winner for the residence hall category was Dressler Hall and second place was Louise Anderson Hall.

Seth Cook, hall council president for Dressler Hall, said the decorations in the hall were designed to incorporate the “Paint the Town Red” theme.

“We have Dressler in our sky line thing, but the main thing was paint the town red so we tried to incorporate that as much as possible,” said Cook.

Cook said he and other Dressler residents were up late putting up the decorations the night before judging.

He said he is really glad that all of their hard work paid off.

“I made a lot of the posters and it was just fun to help out and be a part of it,” said Cook.

Administrative Community Adviser for Louise Anderson Hall Austin Heddon said the decorations in L.A. showcased businesses in Cheney such as Maverik and the Cheney Police Station. Heddon said he really enjoyed the opportunity to show Eastern pride during the event.

“I like it a lot, I think especially for like Parents’ Weekend, it’s really cool because the parents get to come into the buildings that are all decorated,” said Heddon.

2014 ELECTIONS

2014 ELECTIONS

House of Representatives preliminary polls

Senate preliminary polls

Poll information from results.vote.wa.gov

Poll information from results.vote.wa.gov

Joe Pakootas 30.46%

Cathy McMorris Rodgers 49.46%

Michael Baumgartner 57.23%

Joe Pakootas vs. Cathy McMorris Rodgers

By Katie Dunn staff writer Joe Pakootas, D, is running for the U.S. House of Representatives as the democratic representative of Eastern Washington’s fifth district. Susan Brudnicki, his campaign manager, said in an email, Pakootas is running for Congress to be the voice of middle class families who could benefit from an increase in federal minimum wage and equal pay for women.

Pakootas’ campaign website said he has been a small business owner for 30 years and is the current CEO of the Colville Confederated Tribes.

Campaign fliers provided by Brudnicki reported Pakootas’ focus on regional employment, education, health care, immigration reform and the environment.

Pakootas is trying to create jobs through initiatives to give work to the unemployed and incentives to corporations for U.S. relocation. Brudnicki said Pakootas believes the tax code needs to be restructured to make it a more even playing field for Americans.

Pakootas’ website shows he plans to invest more money in education at every level and he supports the idea of student loan reform because college and university students should not graduate in debt.

According to Pakootas’ fliers, he will try to secure affordable healthcare for everyone, which includes reproductive health services for women.

Brudnicki said Pakootas wants to vote on S. 744, the bipartisan vote the Senate passed July 27, 2013, on reforming the United States immigration system.

According to the Immigration Policy Center, S.744 would address border enforcement, helping nonimmigrant workers supplement the workforce and obtain legal status for 11

Illustration by Lauren Campbell

million undocumented immigrants in the U.S. The Supreme Court of the United has on record that Pakootas was responsible for the Unilateral Administrative Order, issued by the United States Environmental Protection Agency, that forced the Canadian corporation Teck Cominco Metals to stop using the Columbia River and Lake Roosevelt as a dumping ground for their heavy metals.

Brudnicki said Pakootas will continue to hold polluters accountable for their waste.

By Alex Miller staff writer

By Alex Miller staff writer

Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R, is the current chair of the House Republican Conference and is running for re-election as the republican representative of Eastern Washington’s fifth district.

McMorris Rodgers’ campaign website said she spent her early years working on her family farm in Kettle Falls, Washington. She graduated from Pensacola Christian College, an independent Baptist liberal arts college in Pensacola, Florida, with a BA in Pre-law.

She earned her Executive MBA in 2002 from the University of Washington According to McMorris Rodgers’ campaign fliers, she is concerned about national debt, the economy, education, disabilities and U.S. energy.

Audrey Scagnelli, spokeswoman for McMorris Rogers, said in an email that McMorris Rodgers plans to deal with national debt, which is nearly at 18 trillion, by reducing government spending with a constitutional amendment which limits spending to 20 percent of the U.S. economy.

McMorris Rodgers’ website said she is continuing to push for another vote on the Balanced Budget Amendment. The amendment would not allow the federal government to run annual budget deficits or spend more than their income.

Scagnelli said McMorris Rodgers supports private sector jobs and wants to give small business owners the confidence to invest and expand.

Her website reports she has co-sponsored bills such as the Energy Tax Prevention Act and the “Path to Prosperity” budget to help reverse current economy trends.

With the Nov. 4 election day approaching, the race for the sixth district state senate seat between incumbent Michael Baumgartner, R, and challenger Rich Cowan, D, is coming to a close.

Baumgartner is running for his second term as a state Senator. He was first elected in 2010 and is credited with creating a plan that kept college tuition from rising for the first time in nearly 30 years, and he secured the funding to build Spokane’s new four-year medical school, according to Baumgartner’s campaign page.

Former Governor Christine Gregoire spoke highly of Baumgartner’s education reform bill when she called it the “most significant transformation of state government in 20 years.

Baumgartner’s biggest goal is to create more jobs. “As your Senator, creating job opportunities continues to be my number one priority,” said Baumgartner on his site.

A challenger of the Affordable Care Act, Baumgartner said, “I’ll continue to work to mitigate the damage done by this federal intrusion into our hospitals and doctors’ offices, and work to ensure that patients are able to choose the doctors they want and treatments they need.”

Another issue Baumgartner is keen to fix is education: “To get our education system back up to the top, we need serious changes that start with the government,” he said.

According to Baumgartner’s site, his priorities for education are to create reforms that benefit students, focus on ed-

Baumgartner’s competitor, Cowan, is also a Spokane native. He is co-founder of North by Northwest, a video and film production company based in Spokane, according to Cowan’s campaign page.

Cowan’s campaign page reports him featured as one of the “Power 25” business professionals in the region by Inland Business Catalyst Magazine.

According to Cowan’s campaign page, he said, “When I started my production company, I was motivated to grow an industry, stimulate our economy and create jobs that would allow people to raise their families in the Spokane area.”

Cowan does not want to stop there, though, he wants everyone in Spokane to have jobs and stimulate the economy.

“I am deeply concerned about so many of our family, friends and neighbors who were hit hard by the recession and continue to fall further behind,” he said on his campaign site.

“I will apply my skills through service in the Washington State Senate so that many other Spokane-area employers, employees and all facets of our society can succeed.”

Cowan said on his campaign site, “Jobcreation, education and transportation are among my top priorities. These areas are in great need of improvement if we are to grow and strengthen our middle-class.”

By Jasmine Ari Kemp news editor

Photo by William Hayden

have to provide reports on funding and make them public. The reports would also have to be submitted to the Supreme Court, that way the public and the court can see if the legislature is properly making an effort to allocate funds for K-12 education.

Why students should vote in local politics

By Tom Hawley contributing writer Many people pay closer attention to politics at the international and national levels than they do to political events closer to home. This is understandable. Major events on these levels tend to dominate the news and they occasionally are of greater importance than politics at the local level.

Still, state and local-level politics can be of considerable significance to one’s daily life. It’s for this reason that college students should be aware of local political issues and vote in local elections just like any other.

Illustration by Lauren Campbell

The Senate has not voted on these bills.

In Congress, McMorris Rodgers has been working on increasing educational opportunities by removing employment disincentives and simplifying the tax code for individuals with disabilities.

Scagnelli said McMorris Rodgers wants to lower energy prices and reduce the United States' dependence on foreign resources by investing more into American oil, gas, solar, wind and biofuel energy.

One reason is because local politics are often of more immediate relevance to one’s day-to-day life than events far away. The mayor and city council of your town, the composition of the school board, or the kinds of local ordinances under which you live can all have a profound impact. College-age voters are affected by these kinds of things just as much as any other person, so even if you’re living here for just a few years it’s still a good idea to be informed on the issues, vote, and get involved.

Nowhere is this more evident than in the tuition you pay to attend a public university like EWU. Your representatives in the Wash-

ington State Legislature make major decisions every year concerning how much tuition you pay. That amount has gone up significantly in the last five years. Locally-elected representatives (Cheney is in the 9th Legislative District), make those decisions. But because college-age students vote in such low numbers, elected representatives have very little incentive to pay attention to their concerns. Instead, the voices of those who do participate get heard.

So, while it might not seem like it matters much, local politics has real effects on the lives of everyone and therefore deserves your careful attention.

Illustration by Lauren Campbell

ucation to prepare students for jobs and reduce college costs.

A father of two and a native resident of Spokane, Baumgartner said on his site he hopes to have the opportunity to serve the area again.

State Representative Race for District 6 Position 1 state representative

Position 2 state representative

Kevin Parker, R, is seeking re-election for District 6, Position 1 State Representative.

Parker was first elected in 2008, according to the State of Washington Voter’s Pamphlet, and has developed a reputation as a compassionate listener and effective leader in his three years as state representative.

Parker Parker said he teaches in the MBA programs at both Whitworth University and Gonzaga University and also owns a chain of coffee shops in Spokane.

Parker said on his website that his focus is on school funding and preparing students for higher education, affordable health care, controlling government spending, fair distribution of tax dollars in transportation projects and approaching crime with a common sense vision and collaborative community effort Donald Dover, D, is running against Kevin Parker for Representative of Spokane’s 6th District, Position 1.

On his website, Dover said he is running for the Dover same reason he ran for Cheney City Council in 1983; voters should have more than one choice.

According to the State of Washington Voter’s Pamphlet, Dover went to Eastern Washington University, where he studied communications, business and management.

In a recent statement on his website, Dover said he is passionate about education and, according to the voter’s pamphlet, he wants to ensure K-12 programs are funded at adequate levels.

Jeff Holy, R, is running for re-election for District 6, Position 2 State Representative.

Holy said on his website that he has lived in Spokane for 32 years and is committed to community service. He is an Army Veteran and retired from the Spokane Police Department in 2006 after 22 years of service.

Holy According to the State of Washington Voter’s Pamphlet, Holy is a private practice attorney who provides probono legal services, is a board member of Law Enforcement and Firefighter Retirement Board and has served as a precinct committee officer.

In his statement for the voter’s pamphlet, Holy said he will continue to fight for Eastern Washington, focusing on ending wasteful spending and balancing the budget without raising taxes.

Representatives of Holy said in an email that if elected, he is committed to holding the line on tuition stating, “students should not be graduating college with a mortgage and no house to show for it.”

Siegfried Ziggy Siegfried, D, is challenging incumbent Holy in the race for District 6, Position 2 State Representative.

Though he has no elected experience, he said he is very involved in local community and said it is time Spokane has a “regular citizen” representing the district.

According to the pamphlet, Siegfried is a full-time maintenance worker at WSU Spokane and a part-time landscaper, which he said has taught him the value of hard work.

Representatives of Siegfried said he is a community activist who fights for environmental, economic and social justice and wants to clean up the mess in Olympia.

If elected, Siegfried’s representatives said he will work to pass a transportation budget that includes the completion of the North/South Freeway project in Spokane.

Siegfried’s representatives also said he will fight to bring a family wage and family wage jobs to Washington state, work for full funding of K-12 education and increased funding for higher education and the Washington Dream Act.

By Aaron Bocook staff writer

the state of Washington. The court found that the Washington legislature has a duty to make an effort to provide funding for general education.

While enforcing that duty, the initiative also provides benchmarks. The legislature would

Michael Baumgartner vs. Rich Cowan

By Katie Dunn staff writer

Initiative proposes better education Initiative Measure 1391, if voted into law, will reduce class sizes for grades K-12 over a four-year period. As of now, the average class size for the fourth grade is 27 students. If reduced, the class size would be 25 students.

The initiative would also add another distinction that reduces class sizes: poverty. A school is considered high poverty if 50 percent of the student body is eligible for free or reduced meals in the prior school year. These schools would see class sizes further reduced. Instead of a 27-student class, the class would be 22 students.

In addition to reducing class sizes, the measure would provide funding for support staff like librarians, guidance counseling, school nurses and teaching assistants. More funding would let schools hire more people for these respective positions to a designated ratio.

Overall, Initiative 1391 is a check on a Washington state Supreme Court case, McCleary v.

Rich Cowan 42.77%

[

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON KEVIN PARKER AND JEFF HOLY, VISIT: www.kevincparker.com/biography www.donalddover.com www.ziggysiegfried.com/index.html www.votejeffholy.com

By Aaron Bocook staff writer

]

[

]

Illustration by Lauren Campbell

FOR MORE INFORMATION ON MICHAEL BAUMGARTNER AND RICH COWAN, VISIT: votebaumgartner.com/content/meet-michael richcowan.org/bio

Knezovich, Orr running for Sheriff

By Aaron Bocook staff writer

Spokane County Sheriff Ozzie Knezovich, R, is seeking re-election in 2014 after serving two consecutive four-year terms.

According to the Spokane County website, Knezovich was originally appointed to the office on April 11, 2006, and was officially elected to the Office of Sheriff in the fall of 2006. 2014 marked his 24th year in law enforcement.

In a recent statement released

by Knezovich, he said serving as sheriff for the last seven years has been an honor. He said, “Spokane County has many great communities within its borders,” and he believes working together as a region will help solve problems that these communities have in common.

According to the county website, Knezovich is responsible for overseeing law enforcement of unincorporated areas of Spokane County, several contract cities and towns and managing the county’s corrections system and department of energy management.

Knezovich said on his website that crime is one of the biggest problems facing Spokane County. Since the 2007 formation of the Violent Crimes and Gangs Task Force, violent crimes in unincorporated areas of Spokane County have gone down 56 percent and in the City of Spokane Valley, the crime rates decreased by 24 percent.

On his website, Knezovich said he attributes his success as Sheriff to new policing models such as Intelligence Led Policing, bringing back Crime Check, volunteers in the Sheriff’s Community Oriented Policing Effort (S.C.O.P.E.) and to training, which he said is “essential in developing an effective and professional Sheriff's office.”

Spokane Police Detective Doug Orr, R, is running against

Illustration by William Hayden

incumbent Ozzie Knezovich in the 2014 Spokane County Sheriff race.

According to his campaign website, Orr has served in three departments over a period of nearly 30 years.

Orr said over the phone that his education sets him apart from his opponent. Orr holds a Ph.D. in criminal justice from Washington State University, a Master’s degree in organizational leadership from Gonzaga University and an MBA from Saint Leo University in Florida. Orr said he hopes his education translates to voters as ability to write policy based on empirical research and training.

If elected, Orr said there are three major things in Spokane County that need to be accomplished.

First, he said civilian oversight is needed in law enforcement, some-

thing he said has gone undone for too long in the city and county.

Second, Orr said he plans to focus on an evidence-based response to property crimes. He said he plans to bring in programs that have worked for other Washington communities that work to increase accuracy in arrests.

Third, he said instead of building another large jail in the region, he wants to focus on smaller community corrections centers.

Aside from his work as a detective with the Spokane Police Department, according to his website, Orr has worked closely with legislators from Washington, Idaho and South Carolina to craft public safety legislation and currently sits on the Firearms and Violence Panel for Peer Review at the National Institute of Justice.

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EAGLE LIFE

6

October 29, 2014

@EasternerOnline - What changes would you like to see happen to academic advising? Let us know on Twitter.

COMMUNITY

October 29, 2014

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7

@EasternerOnline - Catch up on the latest news, events and updates that might not appear in print. #GoEags

ASEWU T-shirt event marks beginning of Spirit Week

By Catherine Gosen contributing writer A Monday morning was brought to life as music blasted through the campus mall, the smell of cotton candy rose in the air and dozens of students gathered around tables stacked high with T-shirts for the HomeHOMECOMING coming Spirit Week Kick Off event on Oct. 27.

The event was centered around the Tshirt and hoodie swap. Students brought any lightly used T-shirts or hoodies from other college campuses to trade them for a limited edition Spirit Week T-shirt with the EWU Fight Song across the back. All articles of clothing traded in were then donated locally. There were only 250 T-shirts available.

The T-shirt swap was meant to be a new EWU tradition; if this year’s T-shirt swap goes well, there will be more available next year.

SAIL and ASEWU worked to get students, faculty and community members fired-up for the rest of the week’s events.

Have an idea for the comic strip?

Send your ideas to

Hot 96.9 provided the music while the students of EWU provided the enthusiasm.

“The atmosphere is, honestly, so welcoming,” said DJ Jigre, ASEWU president.

He said everyone focused on having a good time and that is what the event was all about.

The purpose for the kickoff event was to “set the mood for the whole Eagle Spirit Week,” said Jigre. “Make them hear you all the way in Spokane.”

Students danced, laughed, listened to music and gathered together in the mall to be a part of the kickoff event.

Jigre said EWU is a fun campus and a great community to be a part of; this is the students’ time to shine.

This year’s Homecoming events were designed to be more inclusive to members of the community. This year, “Homecoming and Parent and Family celebrations are wrapped into one,” according to the ASEWU Facebook page.

For more Homecoming and Spirit Week event information and entry forms, visit ewu.edu/homecoming.

easterner.me@gmail.com Comic by Joseph Weeden

Photo by Anna Mills Students exchange T-shirts in celebration of the EWU Homecoming kickoff event on Oct. 27.

Academic advising leaves much to be desired by students

By Ayanna Fernandez staff writer

Academic advising is an important part of any college student's experience. Advisers help students plan their course schedules to graduate with their degree.

Roy Caligan, assistant director of General Undergraduate Academic Advising, said academic advising does not have to be confusing because there are always resources available at Eastern Washington University to help students, one being the academic advisers.

“The Academic Center is one primary component of student development,” said Caligan. “Our department particularly specializes in the undergraduate student and monitors how well the first-year student is developing.”

“We want to make sure [students] are starting off

well in their academics, of discouraging,” said Calespecially in the core cur- lender. “They tried to lead riculum, the general edu- you on a path of what is cation curriculum,” said safe. They didn’t really try Caligan. “We make sure to help you if you have bigthey are doing what they ger goals or dreams during need to do as far as going or after college.”

According to class, comto Callender, pleting their she wishes assignments, “They tried to she would connecting lead you on a have been with their inpath of what is pushed more structors and safe. They didn’t in her youngreally feeling that connecreally try to help er years and feels there tion to the you if you have are other stucampus.” bigger goals or dents who S e n i o r dreams during or feel the same.

Rachell CalS e n ior lender, a govafter college.”

Le’Naecha ernment major, said her Roberts, an interdisciexperience plinary studwith Eastern’s ies major, advising had EWU senior said her exnot been experience with ceptionally advisers was poor. good nor terribly poor.

“The advisers that were “My freshman year, maybe fall quarter, [my assigned to me, I think advisers] were helpful, but they are all poor quality,” after that they became kind said Roberts. “It’s like they

Rachell Callender

don’t know the curriculum. My adviser made me retake a class I passed with a 3.1.”

Caligan said his department is aware of the issues students can have between their freshman and junior year, and they are trying to fix it.

“If a student feels like they are not being served by their academic adviser, maybe there is a personality clash between the two.

I would say, go talk to the adviser’s boss. ” said Caligan. “… Nothing bad against the adviser, just a, ‘Hey, I don’t feel like I am connecting with my adviser. I’d liked to see if I can get somebody new.’”

Both Callender and Roberts sought help from different resources.

Roberts said from the disappointing advising she received her freshmen year and nowhere to turn, she began self-advising herself during her sopho-

more year of college. When she became a junior, Roberts said things changed.

“I heard there was a new director in the Africana department and went to introduce myself,” said Roberts. “It all just escalated from there. I needed help and she wanted to help, so one day we sat down and went over my schedule and she slowly became my adviser.”

Callender took a college course she said that made a positive impact on her college career.

Callender said, “It was a class that tried to help you find out your career. That class was kind of helpful because it gave me an outlook at all different careers and things that I could do after college is over.”

According to Caligan, the academic advisers really cannot act as the only resources, so for that reason, the academic center is available to help point

students towards other resources available around the campus to receive help.

“If you need help with a tutor, we’ll point you to the learning commons and the PLUS groups,” said Caligan. “If you need help with math, we’ll point you to the math lab. Basically what we do, we help the student connect [to] all of these different resources on campus if they are having a struggle.”

According to Caligan, the TRiO Program is also available to students. Only so many students qualify for this program, but that should not stop students from seeking help.

In the future, Callender said she hopes EWU advisers start trying to really understand who their students are and what they want, so that all students can be as successful as they wish to be. She hopes the advisers will start challenging their students.

Photo by Anna Mills Students show their Eagle spirit tiles for the decorating event on Oct. 27.

TILE DECORATING:

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 5 “The judges are between Eagle Entertainment, ASEWU and SAIL offices.

The top three tiles will be hung in the ASEWU office. The winners will be announced at the homecoming game,” said Cardenas.

Photo by Rebekah Frank

The contest lasted about two hours; teams were standing, sitting and dancing as they painted their tiles to represent their Eastern pride.

“Well if this ceiling tile is going to hang up in the building for like a thousand years, it is pretty legit. It’s definitely our favorite. It’s about leaving a legacy, right?” said Morrow.

Watch for our special #EWUHomecoming spread in next week's issue of The Easterner. It will be published Nov. 5.

Address: The Easterner EWU, Isle Hall 102 Cheney, WA 99004 Writers’ Meetings: The Easterner is open for any EWU student or faculty who wish to write or copy edit news stories.

• Writers’ meetings are Mondays at 3:30 p.m.

• Copy editing meetings are Saturdays at 9 a.m.

News Line: If you have a tip, letter to the editor, press release or an idea for a story please call The Easterner tip line at 509-359-6270 or the general office line at 509-359-4318.

About your paper: All content in The Easterner is either produced or chosen by EWU students. Our goal is to provide relevant information to the students, faculty, staff and residents of the communities surrounding EWU. Circulation: The Easterner publishes a weekly print version as well as web content during the week 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.

Purchasing: The first copy of The Easterner is free. Additional copies may be purchased at Isle Hall 102 during staff hours.

Advertising: If you would like to place an ad or classified ad, call 509359-7010, Fax 509-359-4319 or send an email to advertising@ ewu.edu

CONTINUED FROM FRONT Marci Lachapelle, Gamma Phi Beta sophomore and one of the event leads said she thought the event was well organized.

The teams ran out of

eagle life editor

page designers

garbage bags and rakes at one location, preventing people from participating.

Lachapelle said, “I think they were expecting a lot less of a turnout.”

“It would have been easy to cancel with the weather, but staff and students came out anyway,” said Armstrong.

managing editor

sports editor

staff adviser

Nathan Peters easterner.me@gmail.com 509-359-4318

online editor

Brian Patterson easterner.online@gmail.com

$1,000 per month?

You can’t beat that.

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Fetlew Gebreziabher fgebreziabher@gmail.com

chief copy editor

Eric Long easterner.copy@gmail.com

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Jasmine Ari Kemp easterner.news@gmail.com 509-359-6270

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Samuel Deal easterner.sports@gmail.com 509-359-2273

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staff writers Aaron Bocook Alexander Mills Alla Drokina Ayanna Fernandez Chris Mudd Katie Dunn Mike Hantho Rebekah Frank Shawntelle Moncy

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Danielle Matthews Lauren Campbell

or figure anymore, it’s about your talent and how much joy and happiness you can bring to the public.”

Cardenas said the title comes with responsibilities and duties the winners must uphold.

“They have to help and represent Eastern at some events on campus,” said Cardenas. “They have to represent Eastern at some parades throughout the year.”

According to Basy, the competition was more than just winning a title.

“I believe platforms like this are an effective way to raise awareness to social issues and problems that need attention,” said Basy.

Dressler said the pageant presented him with many opportunities.

“I left after high school and joined the military and now that I am back,” said Dressler. I don’t know a lot of people. The things I have done have helped me kneel on new people and I think this will help me kneel on new friends.”

Dressler said he has plans to better the campus too.

“The campus is already really involved and everyone is very spirited,” said Dressler. “I love being involved with the student body and the people, so I really want to amplify it even more.”

According to Basy, she is going to do her best to be a perfect reflection of a person to represent Eastern and continue to grow as a person. “[The pageant] was awesome,” Basy said. “It gave me everlasting memories as I won; nothing could be better than that.

Now, this will inspire me to work hard each and everyday of my life.”

Corrections for Issue 5: On the front page, the deck should read Jordan West among standout players, not Jared West.

On page 6, the horoscopes were written by Jessica Miklas, copy editor.

E ast e rne r

editor-in-chief

Nicole Ruse easterner.editor@gmail.com 509-359-6737

RAKING:

PAGEANT:

CONTINUED FROM 5

Advertising Manager Renee Houchin advertising@ewu.edu 509-359-7010

Photo by Laura Lango Students volunteered their time on Oct. 27 cleaning up properties around Cheney.

Photo by Laura Lango Volunteers came together at eight locations to rake leaves in the community on Oct. 27.

Sophomore Sapna Basy announced as Ms. Eastern at the pageant event on Oct. 27.

Cameron Bowers

Now Hiring W anted : S taff W riters Send a résumé, cover letter and three writing samples to Nicole Ruse, editor-in-chief, at easterner.editor@gmail.com.

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OPINION

8

October 29, 2014

Vampires vs. Werewolves: Monster’s efficiency in killing Letter of apology

By Larry Ty Holmes opinion editor to EWU community

By Nicole Ruse editor-in-chief Dear Readers, We owe you an apology. As I reflect upon the nature of The Easterner’s editorial decisions regarding a column on race published on Oct. 15, I understand and accept that Ruse we, the editors, failed in our duties to be thoughtful and responsible journalists.

We also failed to understand the impact this article would have on the African-American community, Eastern students and faculty. The article lacked key facts and proper context and ignored the history of racism in America.

Equally important, the column lacked student voices.

The Easterner completely disregarded the principles of fair and balanced journalism and thoughtful opinion writing.

Gary Crooks, associate editor of the editorial page at The SpokesmanReview, said, “Writing an op-ed is like dipping into a river. The water has a source. What is it? Why does it flow in this direction? How has it impacted the landscape? The river doesn't acquire meaning the moment you happen upon it. Delve deeper before writing.” The writer failed to delve deeper and had an unstable foundation when asking readers questions in relation to his standpoint about looting, the protestors and racial issues in Missouri, as well as in the U.S. overall.

At The Easterner, our mission 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. All Easterner staff members are EWU students. We will continue to strive to give voice to the voiceless and to reflect our entire community. I want to ensure you that this one opinion article does not, in any way, shape or form, represent the ideas of The Easterner team or the university.

To the readers who were understandably disappointed and offended by the column, I sincerely apologize to you on behalf of The Easterner. We are changing our opinion article guidelines so columns like last week’s never appear again in our pages. It is unfortunate to have this opinion article taint the reputation of The Easterner. We are taking responsibility for our mistakes and learning from this through the EWU community.

A newspaper is nothing without its readers.

We plan to learn from our misjudgment and as part of that process The Easterner staff team will be undergoing diversity and sensitivity training throughout the rest of the school year so we can be better for you, our readers.

I encourage students, staff and faculty to send letters to the editor and have a conversation about this.

Which is the more efficient killer, werewolf or vampire?

Since this is an opinion based on the generalization that these two monsters evoke, we need to grab the extremes of each to narrow the decision or we’ll never get one.

When we Holmes talk about vampires, the obvious example should be Bram Stoker’s Dracula. This original vampire needs to be staked in the heart and his head has to be chopped off at the same time. On top of this, sunlight does little other than prevent him from transforming into a bat, a wolf, and mist, among others.

To kill, this hardcore vampire has strength, agility and telepathy to control anyone he’s bitten across the world. The other alarming abilities he has include weather manipulation, control of

defend themselves.

What is the deciding factor?

Capability.

Honestly, werewolves have a primal drive to eat human but have a one-track method. They get up, hunt and kill. Vampires

have an array of methods to kill someone. The majority of your time isn’t spent in your house and if a vampire is trying to get in a building that’s not your home you’re . . . hold on, there’s someone at the door.

“Justice too long delayed is justice denied:” Civil rights, oppression and a lesson learned ican history, he would understand the difference between civil rights and oppressed communities.

The question Mr. Streicher asks, “Why the ‘black community’ has its own set of problems?” That is something that maybe if a few questions were asked, or even researched events that have happened in “black communities” he would understand. It is proven that poverty stricken AfricanAmerican neighborhoods are in need of much help and reconstruction. This question was insulting and degrading. We as a community don’t jump on board every time there is an injustice of an African-American claiming foul play or corruption. We understand as with any ethnicity that wrong is wrong. We understand as a culture that we have to teach our youth to present themselves with respect to earn respect.

Mr. Streicher comments, “In reality, they are treated the same, or even better in most cases, as white Americans.” He continues, “In the past 20 years African-Americans have been treated very well in the U.S.” How did he come up with this statement? This is his opinion because he did not grow up in an African-American neighborhood or have been in the situation that African-Americans have been in. He is taking for granted because he has not seen, heard or experienced injustice that it has not happened. We as African-Americans are still fighting to be seen, heard and respected.

Next, the last two paragraphs closing the article: “This tragedy has been used to push an agenda for the leaders in the African-American community is wrong,” and “Looking at all aspects of the tragedy and figuring out a way to change the community for the better and not play the blame game as if we are children.” All I can say is "How dare he," make a statement like this. Did he research that, Iyanla Vanzant, an African-American inspiration speaker, lawyer, spiritual speaker, life

McMorris Rodgers is a career politician, cares most about re-election Cathy McMorris Rodgers is just another politician who has mastered the art of saying a lot, without actually saying anything. She cares more about getting re-elected than she cares about standing up for what is right. People claim that her critics lack specifics. When in reality it is Cathy who lacks both specifics and solutions. Ask her about the economy and she responds with, “well we need more jobs.” Ask her about climate change and she says, “well I’m not a scientist.” Heck, ask her about anything and all you will get is a long response that lacks in both substance and specifics.

Cathy is nothing more than another career politician who is looking to cash in on her political office. The vast majority of her campaign

contributions have come from large out of state donors. Whereas the vast majority of donors for the Joe Pakootas campaign come from small indistrict donors.

We don’t need career politicians who refuse to sway from the party line. We need politicians who know how to negotiate. We need a representative who has a history of doing what is right. We need someone who is willing to fight for those who can’t fight for themselves. I believe that Joe Pakootas is what’s best for both our district and for our country.

By Marlo See Spokane, Washington

Ferguson column illuminates local police issues To Whom It May Concern, In last week's issue of The Easterner there is an opinion piece titled “Protests in Missouri unfair to local businesses” by Tanner Streicher that is chock-full of dog-whistle racism dressed up as criticism of what he refers to as the "African-American agenda.” He piece shows he has no sense of the history, culture, or government systems that lead to events in Ferguson. Framing the experience of black people in Ferguson through a lens of whiteness is uneducated and misguided. Asserting that property owners are exclusively white is obtuse. Arguing that the defense of property is superior to the protection of human life is unconscionable.

Mr. Streicher indicated that if police shot an unarmed white man, that there would not be a similar reaction. There has been such a case on the local level. I respectfully suggest that Mr. Streicher do a simple Google search of Otto Zehm and educate himself on what kind of re-

Eastern shreds at annual Rail Jam

action the local community had to this white man's death at the hands of the Spokane Police Department.

I would also point his eyes towards the two riots by white people over this past weekend in Keene, NH and Morgantown, WV. What were all the white people so upset about? Was there a shooting of an unarmed white man?

No. It was because of a pumpkin festival and a Mountaineers game.

I am hopeful that the Easterner staff will do their jobs when it comes to articles in The Easterner: copy editing and fact checking. This was not done in regards to Mr. Streicher’s piece.

By Suzanne Vennard Halberstadt EWU student Women’s & Gender Studies and Sociology major

9

coach and author went to Ferguson and spoke to the community encouraging peace and change.

She met with police and leaders of the community to help find a resolution. She spoke to the community for days, praying and educating them the correct way to solve the misfortune that occurred. Did it occur to Mr. Streicher that other avenues were occurring within the community? Peace talks, patience, standing down, protest peacefully. Judging the whole community because of the actions of a few who just want to do violence is unjust. Does Mr. Streicher know that there were other races in protest against the crime that happened? It was not just the African-American community as it was portrayed in the media. There were numerous Caucasian-Americans, Asians and Hispanics.

For Mr. Streicher to insinuate that every bad event that happens within the African-American community is a reason to make an agenda for the leaders of the African-American community to step in and heighten such tragedies is ridiculous.

In closing, I believe in the words that Martin Luther King, Jr. stated in his Letter from a Birmingham jail: “Justice too long delayed is justice denied.”

I hope in the future of this paper that nothing as amateur and insulting as this will be published again.

By Shakira Fernandez Mother of EWU student

Serving the EWU community since 1916 letters to the editor

Larry Ty Holmes Opinion Editor easterner.opinion@gmail.com

Requirements:

-Letters should be 300 words or less and typed, or legibly handwritten.

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

-We reserve the right not to publish letters; furthermore, all letters are subject to editing.

-Letters must be received no later than Monday at 10 a.m. in order to be considered for publication the following Wednesday.

-If your letter is in response to a specific article, please

Editorial policy We encourage the EWU community to submit letters and opinion pieces that conform to the requirements listed above. Opinion articles and letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect the views and opinions of The

Students sound off on Percy Harvin trade to Jets

By Brandon Cline contributing writer

Illustration by Lauren Campbell

letters to the editor Hello Gentlemen and Ladies, I am writing you in regards to the article: “Protests in Missouri unfair to local businesses.” Written by: Tanner Streicher. Although this article title is great, the deliverance was wrong. Yes, the local businesses are being treated unfair by the rioting.

However, this article does not focus on how the rioting has affected the businesses at all. The title does not project what the article entails. This article was turned into a race issue made off of personal opinion. I am an African-American mother who is raising young women to believe in people and the world is capable of change.

I have taken an interest in your paper mainly because my daughter became a student at your school fall of 2010. I was very proud of her being hired on with your paper last year. I have enjoyed the articles as well as other positive things that happen at EWU campus.

In this article, there were several things that caught my eye and appalled me. When writing you are never to write to insult an audience or show prejudice to a race, gender, religion, culture, sexual orientation, etc. There is a way to argue to inform and not argue to insult. Mr. Streicher needs to learn cultural differences in logical arguments.

This article was very offensive and ill-informed.

It was written with personal opinion that shows lack of evidence, character or facts. It also upsets me that this article was not proof read by someone who would catch the disrespect and require editing to be done. This is learned in English 101/102.

First, let’s start with the constant comments of “they.” This could have been corrected with stating: Protestors or demonstrators or even AfricanAmerican protesters. The entire comment of paragraph six is offensive and written to disrespect not to inform. If Mr. Streicher would have taken the time to learn something about the African-Amer-

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@EasternerSports - Were you at The Grind Rail Jam? Send us any pictures taken at the event.

@EasternerOnline - Which do you prefer? Vampires or werewolves? • Share your opinion with us.

nocturnal animals and the ability to live without blood, which is only meant to rejuvenate him. If he wanted to hunt you down, the only things slowing him would be crucifixes, garlic, sacramental bread, not being invited into your home, crossing running water and not having home soil.

When we talk about werewolves, the Lycans from the “Underworld” film series comes to mind. They have strength, speed and agility on par with Dracula, but are known for their fury. They break through cement walls, rip people in half and work in groups to bring down their prey. With a name enunciated the same as lichen, they spread their disease as quickly as they can, wherever they can.

To kill, their most troubling abilities include heightened senses, their decision to change at will and their incredible regeneration speed. These abominations are the equivalent of tanks; they take a ton of physical damage and kill with bloodlust.

Silver is needed to kill a Lycan but most people don’t readily carry a sizable hunk thinking to

SPORTS

October 29, 2014

Photo by Jessica Hawley Snowboarders watch another participant as they wait in line at the rail jam to shred powder on Oct. 5.

EPIC hosts The Grind Rail Jam

By Mike Hantho staff writer EWU students were able to snowboard and ski right on campus as fake snow piled the ground with rails and jumps set up to enhance the experience.

This was The Grind Rail Jam and was hosted by Campus REC on Oct. 25.

The Grind is an annual snowboarding and skiing event that takes place on the field behind the JFK Library.

Dustin Semb, athletic specialist and co-organizer of the event, said this was the eighth year that EWU has hosted The Grind.

For $10, students could watch or ride five different snowboarding and skiing events.

Semb also said a lot of free stuff was given out to spectators and riders, including tickets to Mt. Hood, helmets, T-shirts and many other prizes.

“The Grind keeps getting better,” said Semb.

“Each year we are getting bigger sponsors, giving out more lift tickets and selling trips through EPIC. We even have professional judges for The Grind this year.”

Dorothy Nutter, a Spokane resident, said The Grind was amazing and it was an excellent way to practice before winter season snowboarding arrives.

“It’s awesome to get the feel of snowboarding before the season starts,” said Nutter. “It gets you in the mood and gets you stoked [for snowboarding].

I love competitive snowboarding, which made the rail riding [here] very enjoyable. The Grind overall lived up to my expectations.”

Nutter also said it was great how the sponsors came out to support The Grind.

Nate Adams, a senior, said, “It’s sick how people not even from Eastern are also participating, just like a community. I also like how many sponsors we were able to get, and I want to thank them. It’s pretty sweet overall.”

Adams said he hopes EWU is able to continue hosting The Grind and get more sponsors.

“People should be here [at The Grind],” said Semb. “There are not many other places where you can walk out of the residence halls and get a free snowboard. There are new features every year, so each year just gets better.”

Photo by Jessica Hawley Student Tyler Hymer rides the terrain park at The Grind Rail Jam on Oct. 5.

Eastern women’s basketball team gears up for the regular season

By Fetlew Gebreziabher online sports editor The Eastern women’s basketball team is preparing for the upcoming season with the shared goal of adding banners to the rafters of Reese Court.

“The bottom line is we just look up at the wall everyday and think about putting a couple banners up there. We want a banner that says ‘Big Sky Champions’ and we want a banner that says ‘NCAA Tournament,’” said head coach Wendy Schuller.

Luckily for Schuller, who is heading into her 13th season as head coach, the team will have four returning starters to help complete those hopes. “It helps me sleep at night. It definitely does,” said Schuller.

“It just feels good to have a group of players that have great cohesion, who really understand our culture on how we want to be on and off the floor and to be able to teach our young players on how to be a part of that,” she said. “And I think our older players have done a great job on embracing our young ones, and teaching them our systems. It's going to carry us a long way.”

With the return of the four

starters, senior Melissa Williams more mature and much said the best is yet to come. more focused than they “I have no doubt that it’s go- were a year ago. ing to be our best season here,” “We are seeing a lot of said Williams. “I have so much the individual skills transfaith in my team this year and late onto the floor and be we have four returning start- positive for them. Any time ers, so I think that you get affirmathe possibilities are tion, in terms of “I have so limitless.” results, much faith in positive Redshirt sophoit encourages my team this more Cece Pearl you to keep doyear. ... [T]he ing that action also said the leadership of the returning and to work at it possibilities players will make a that’s been are limitless.” and big impact. great,” she said.

“I think [having] Williams said the four returning she also sees starters is going to the growth and be so big for us just maturity of her EWU senior to lead us throughteammates. She out this season,” said everything she said. “I think not only do is moving naturally and we have those returning start- flowing well together. ers, but we have returning playAlong with working ers who played a lot of minutes, on individual skill growth, so either way we’re going to be Schuller and her coaching led this year and it’s going to be staff used the offseason to good for the rest of us.” teach the players to use their The Eagles finished last sea- strength to be a more physison with a 16-14 record, 12-8 in cal team. conference play. They would go “Our strength coach on to play in the Big Sky Con- worked really hard with our ference tournament and in the team to put together a proWomen’s National Invitation gram that would get us in Tournament, but were still “dis- a position to be one of the satisfied,” said Schuller.

BASKETBALL-PAGE 10 Schuller said the team is

Melissa Williams

Percy Harvin, known for being lethal on jet sweeps on the football field, was traded to the New York Jets from the Seattle Seahawks in a move that caused a stir amongst fans on campus.

The Seahawks gave up multiple draft picks to acquire Harvin from the Minnesota Vikings last season, as well as giving him a six-year $67 million contract according to NBC Sports’ Pro Football Talk.

“I was fairly distraught. I felt that Harvin was a fairly explosive player, and he added a big dynamic to the team,” said freshman Tanner Bauman.

Freshman Isaiah Tanksley was also caught off guard. “I was surprised, a little disappointed. I thought they were going to get better assets in return,” he said.

Not all students initially felt the trade was bad for the Seahawks, though, and had faith that the front office was making the right calls.

“I did not really care because it is my belief that one man doesn’t make a team,” said sophomore Forrest Vig. “I believe enough in Pete Carroll’s ability to coach that if he so chooses to trade a member of the team like Harvin, he has his own reasons to where they are viable.”

Details of altercations with teammates were soon being reported by multiple news outlets after the trade, causing speculation that the move had more to do with off-the-field problems.

According to a Seattle Times report, Harvin had a scuffle with then-Seahawk Golden Tate during the week of the Super Bowl, resulting in a black eye for Tate.

Harvin also allegedly had an altercation with wide receiver Doug Baldwin during the preseason, giving Baldwin a cut on his chin. As of late, Harvin refused to enter the game late in the fourth quarter in a week-six loss against the Dallas Cowboys.

“In ways I can see why Pete Carroll would trade him, but at the same time most NFL players are fairly superficial and I feel like it is the coach’s job to wrangle him in and to build that camaraderie. So I feel like it is almost saying that Pete Carroll is not a good enough coach,” said Bauman.

Tanskley said he understood the move and recognized Harvin may have been negatively affecting team chemistry.

Vig was impressed that the Seahawks were able to put their ego aside and cut ties with a player as dynamic as Harvin over off-the-field issues.

“Now that its been a couple days and I’ve heard what’s been going on in the locker room, I do appreciate that Pete Carroll got rid of [Harvin],” said Vig. “I mean, punching one of your fellow players in the face right before the Super Bowl is not an appropriate thing to do, nor is arguing with your quarterback.”

“Terror Trot” a runaway success for cross-country and track fundraiser

By Mike Hantho staff writer

EWU’s track and cross-country teams hosted the Terror Trot on Oct. 24.

The Terror Trot is a 5k running course that started and ended at Roos field.

According to cross-country head coach Chris Zeller, the Terror Trot is an event designed to bring people in the community together, raise funds for the track and crosscountry teams and have fun with a Halloween-themed event.

Zeller said this is the second year for the event and said he hopes that each year will get better and more creative.

“It’s an entirely new course,” said Zeller. “Last year it was on the streets of Cheney, and still starts and finishes on Roos field. This year, it will be around the intramural fields, practice fields, generally staying on campus.”

Kelsey Mosier, a postgraduate student, said the Terror Trot was a very fun and creative event.

“I liked how a lot of the track team dressed up like zombies,” said Mosier. “It was festive for Halloween and everyone was really motivating throughout the race.”

Mosier went on to say the run was not as scary as she had expected it to be, but still had its memorable moments, such as a tunnel where dressed up team members jumped out at runners to scare them.

Eric Rasmussen, assistant track coach, said the Terror Trot is a fun activity that gets better with each passing year.

“The athletes have fun scaring the runners,” said Rasmussen. “Everyone last year said they would do it again and this year a lot more people said the same.”

Rasmussen said each year the track and cross-country team are able to add more to the Terror Trot and make it more creative.

Joe Cordes, a senior, said it was a fun event to be a part of while also supporting the cross-country team.

“There wasn’t really a dull moment,” said Cordes. “People are scaring you, there are things to look at and be aware of. It was fun running on the field and the track. It definitely lived up to my expectations.”

Cordes also said he urges students to go out and support the track and cross country as much as possible and get involved with EWU events.

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SPORTS

10

October 29, 2014

•How are you feeling about your favorite sports season? Let us know @EasternerSports.

Late rally puts Eagles away for first Nelson and Hodgins recognized by Big Sky conference loss in over two years

Photo contributed by goeags.com Running back Quincy Forte (22) takes the ball downfield.

By Sam Deal sports editor A Northern Arizona Lumberjacks’ late rally chopped down the Eagles, 2827, bringing an end to EWU football’s 14-game conference win streak.

In a back-andforth game, the Lumberjacks used a last-minute touchdown drive to grab the lead. With only seven seconds left in the game, Eastern failed to convert for

a score by attempting a play that featured a series of laterals, securing the victory for Northern Arizona.

Head coach Beau Baldwin put most of the blame on himself for the loss; one decision in particular has many Eagles fans scratching their heads.

“I understand losing happens and it bugs me. It’s not okay what happened, but it‘s okay moving forward as long as I know our players

EWU MADNESS:

CONTINUED FROM FRONT pingpong balls as they could no the floor to win the game. With music playing over the loudspeakers, participants were upside down and jumping up and down to get rid of the pinpong balls.

The dunk contest was next; junior forward Venky Jois. Sophomore center Frederik Jorg and freshman guard Sir Washington were among those who participated.

Jorg ended up winning the contest.

are fighting and playing as hard as they can,” said Baldwin.

“That loss is on me in my opinion.”

With 51 seconds remaining in the game, the Eagles faced a fourth-and-3 on the NAU 23. A field goal would have put the Eagles up by eight points.

Instead, Baldwin put the ball in the hands of sophomore back-up quarterback Jordan West. He threw an errant pass in Cooper Kupp’s di-

rection, turning the ball over on downs and allowing the Lumberjacks to race down the field and take the lead.

“It is a catch-22,” said EWU fan Mitchell Urlacher. “The field goal seemed like a sure thing, but it is easy to look back and say they should’ve kicked it. The defense also should not have allowed [Northern Arizona] to go 77 yards on three plays.”

The loss drops

“My favorite part was mage and a halfcourt shot the dunk contest because shooting contest. Men’s I was in it,” said junior and women’s basketforward Kyle ball were split Reid. up into teams “I think we by jersey color.

A dance conplay better The white jertest involving Swoop also took with a bigger seys represented place where the home team crowd.” four students and the red and were chosen to black jerseys dance in front of represented the the crowd. Afvisiting team. ter an array of The final EWU freshman moves, only one score was 38dancer could 27, with the red win. Freshman and black team Ashlee Vaoifi walked away earning the victory. A the champion. halfcourt shooting contest The final two activities ended the festivities. Eastof the night were a scrim- ern’s basketball teams and

Haley Shaner

the Eagles to 7-2 overall and 4-1 in conference, putting them in second place behind the University of Montana Grizzlies. The Eagles play the Grizzlies at Roos Field on Nov. 8, a game that will have major implications on playoff seedings.

As disappointing as the loss was, there were plenty of bright moments for EWU. “Quincy [Forte] played his tail off and did a great job,” said Baldwin.

Forte’s return after missing four games was a boost to the team’s offense, as he was also able to punch through for a touchdown.

Special teams had another strong game, highlighted by a 41yard Kupp punt return that set up the first touchdown of the game.

Eastern will look to rebound on Nov. 1 when they return to Cheney for h o m e c o m i n g against University of North Dakota.

“The stretch we’ve been on has been tough,” said Baldwin. “But we have to move forward and find a way to go 1-0 next week.”

members of the crowd all lined up on the court to shoot halfcourt shots. An EWU student ended up winning as people in the stands started to file out of Reese Court.

Redshirt freshman Haley Shaner explained why it is important for the community to support Eastern’s teams.

“It brings a lot of energy to us, I think we play better with a bigger crowd,” said Shaner. “We love our fans; we want to give them a good show.”

By Elohino Theodore senior reporter

College Sports Madness named EWU basketball’s redshirt senior Lexie Nelson and redshirt junior Hayley Hodgins to their 2014-15 Nelson preseason All-Big Sky Conference team on Oct. 15.

Nelson made the first team roster as a guard/forward, and Hodgins made the second team roster at the guard position. Eastern is the only Big Sky Conference school this season with more than one player receiving the honor.

“I feel very fortunate to be a part of that group,” said Nelson. “[There are] a lot of great players on that all-conference team, so I think it’s a testament to what we did last year.”

Hodgins said it is a Hodgins great feeling for her as well. It allows her to work toward being on the regular season all-conference team among other goals.

“I want to win the league as a team; individual honors [are] great, but it doesn’t really mean much if you don’t have overall success,” she said.

Head coach Wendy Schuller said she has confidence in Nelson and Hodgins as players.

“Coming into the year, I think it’s just more than anything reassuring to know that we’ve got some proven guards,” said Schuller. “It’s more than anything a testament to their work ethic and the fact that there’s a high level of respect for them around the conference. I expect that they’re going to have great seasons for us.”

Last season, Nelson started all 30 games and led the team in scoring with 15.9 points per game.

She also averaged 44 percent behind the 3-point line

BASKETBALL:

CONTINUED FROM PAGE 9 stronger teams in the ‘Big Sky,’’’ said Schuller.

According to goeags. com, the Eagles have been picked to finish third and fifth in the media and coaches preseason polls, respectively.

“We talked briefly about it, but in the end we don’t pay a lot of attention to it because our league is so diverse and every year you just have no idea who’s going to pop up out of nowhere and be great,” said Schuller.

Regardless of poll vot-

while shooting 89.5 percent behind the free-throw stripe. Nelson was also honored with First Team All-Big Sky last season.

Hodgins had highlights for the Eagles last season as well; she started in all of Eastern’s games while averaging 13.5 points per game. Hodgins also shot 67 3-pointers last season and received honorable mention All-Big Sky recognition for the 2013-14 season.

“We’ve been just working hard at practice, really trying to bring high energy every day,” said Nelson.

She said the most important things in practice are staying focused and having high energy.

“I think we’re really prepared as a team and we’re only getting better every day,” said Hodgins.

“We’ve been putting in lots of hours every week.”

According to Schuller, there is no specific role on the team for Nelson and Hodgins. Schuller said that every year athletes grow and get better. She said both players just want to win basketball games for the team, so they’re going to try their best to help the team be successful.

“I’ll expect them to lead for us, I’ll expect them to be players who can step up and make things happen when we need things to happen,” said Schuller.

“I’ll expect them also to sometimes wrap their arms around the younger kids and get them on our page and understanding what we’re trying to do.”

Nelson and Hodgins both said they appreciate the honor; however, they want to win with their teammates and look at their team as a support system.

“It’s never been about one person,” said Hodgins.

“Me and Lexie getting honored, we kind of put that towards our team.”

“For me, I’m not looking at those honors so much,” said Nelson. “Winning the Big Sky is what I really want. I feel very fortunate to be a part of that, but for me, I’m just looking to win that championship.”

ing, expectations are still the same for the lady Eagles. Williams, who is playing her last season in an Eagles uniform, wants that conference championship for her team.

“We definitely want to make it to the [Big Sky Conference] tournament.

Our expectations are to win the league and win the tournament and anything else would be a disappointment,” said Williams.

The Eagles open up their championship run on the road Nov. 14 against Utah Valley University.

The Basement

“An unexpectedly awesome nightclub located by Eastern Washington University.”

Mon-Sun: 7:00 pm - 2:00 am 315 1st St Cheney, WA

HALLOWEEN NIGHT beer pong & pool tables

DJ: X

$100 for best costume $100 for sexy costume Drink specials include: $3 Corona

“Easy going down, hell coming up!”