T he V oice 2019/ Volu m e 1/ Issu e 7
Creators of this issue Anita Harris Charlene Frett
LETTER FROM
THE
Emmalyn Guzman
EDITOR-
Tanisha Willis
IN-CHIEF
Katelyn Joyner Olivia Steffey Katie Silvestri JD Protiva
Cover ph ot o by Kait lyn Joyn er
@eou t h evoice
Mounties,
next, just realize that it doesn't
The past is impor tant. Some of
matter. You can spend all of your
us spend our free time
time r uning towards something,
reminiscing about it, while other
only to end up on a completely
tr y their best to for get it. If
different path in the end. Life a
there's one thing I lear ned about
jour ney. If there's anything that
the past, it's that you need it
all my wor r ying has taught me,
shape your future. Don't resent
it's that the r ide is what counts,
it, but use it to lear n and prepare
not the destination.
for the future.
Stop wor r ying. Stop over
Now, the future, that is what
thinking. Use your past to
scares me. I have spent my entire
br ighten your future.
life prepar ing for the future, and
In this issue, we will be looking
now that it's hear....I'm not sure
at the past and the future of
what to do. It has taken
EOU. There's a lot you can
numerous yoga classes, hour s of
discover about this campus when
ther apy, and sleepless nights
you just take a moment to slow
tr ying to figure out what comes
down and look.
- Anita Harris
Con ten ts 2
Edit or Message
4
The Grand St air case
14
Ar t ist t o Appr eciat e
11
Rem em ber Us, Always
Ph ot o by Kait lyn Joyn er
The Histor y and Futur e Hope For EOU?s Gr and Stair case By Em m alyn Gu zm an
archi tect John Bennes and
especi ally the stai rcase. The
com pleted i n 1929 duri ng
w ear and tear becam e m ore
the foundati on of EOU, sti ll
evi dent. Because of i ts gradual
under the nam e of Eastern
deteri orati on, the stai rcase
Oregon Norm al School,
w as closed off from the publi c
servi ng only as a teacher?s
i n 2004 and sadly enough,
trai ni ng school. Over the
som e students w ho have been
years, courses w ere added,
here for years don?t even k now
the student di versi ty
the locati on of the structure,
expanded, the school?s
let alone the long hi story
nam e w as changed (four
behi nd i t.
ti m es), the school becam e a
In recent years, attem pts to
From the Grande Ronde Ri ver to
four-year publi c uni versi ty,
the Hot Lake Hotel, La Grande i s
and the stai rcase w ent
the hom e of m any natural and
unnoti ced by the student
m an-m ade beauti es. One that
body.
has often been overlooked i s our
Throughout the years, the
Endangered Places Li st i n
i ntri cate, Itali an
m erci less w i nters of La
2015. Thi s year, the proposal of
Renai ssance-i nspi red Grand
Grande took thei r toll on all
a com plete restorati on has
Stai rcase located ri ght behi nd
of our i ndustri ous
been m enti oned i n a board
Inlow Hall. It w as desi gned by
educati onal bui ldi ngs,
m eeti ng i n Apri l. Governor
save the stai rcase and preserve i t has com e up, i ncludi ng putti ng i t on the Restore Oregon?s Most
Kate Brow n recom m ended
stai rcase renovati on
a budget to the 2019
project. A trustee by the
Legi slator w hi ch i ncluded
nam e of Cheryl Marti n
a generous $3 m i lli on to
stated: ?The Grand
restore the Grand
Stai rcase i s so uni que and
Stai rcase. Her generosi ty
so beauti ful [? ] We need to
w as m enti oned i n a post on
m ake sure i t?s m ore vi si ble
the Facebook page
and accessi ble for people.?
sponsori ng the stai rcase. The post i s opti m i sti c, show i ng that even though the plan sti ll has a long w ay to go, recogni ti on for the stai rcase?s restorati on i s fi nally bei ng noti ced.
board of trustees approved the proposal of restori ng the resi dence halls to add enough room s to house up to 100 m ore on-cam pus students (EOU page). As for
i n Apri l, restorati on of the
i m provem ents have already
stai rcase plan of acti on
been started. There i s even
w as m enti oned, and the
a new i nterpreti ve si gn
overall proposal w as
coveri ng the hi story of the
revi ew ed. Accordi ng to an
m onum ent that i s i n i ts
arti cle coveri ng the
fi nal stages and i s new ly
m eeti ng, along w i th the
i nstalled as of thi s May.
budget of $12.5 m i lli on to
After thei r fi nal deci si on,
renovate Inlow Hall addi ng
the Cham ber of Com m erce
?classroom [s] and offi ce
sent a letter to the school,
space, sei sm i c
show i ng thei r support and
m odi fi cati ons and
upcom i ng plans.
archi tect?s ori gi nal outli ne?, a quarter of that sam e $12.5 m i lli on w i ll be put i nto the
created to rai se aw areness for surroundi ng com m uni ty m em bers and current college students about the updates on the stai rcase. They are also offeri ng donati ons for the restorati on project.
the stai rcase, updates and
approach to m eet the
Instagram page, have been
After the m eeti ng, the
Duri ng the board m eeti ng
landscapi ng the bui ldi ng?s
Facebook page, along w i th an
There i s som e debate on w hether or not the project i s salvageable, but there i s also hope that li es w i th the stai rcase and the students, alum ni and com m uni ty m em bers w ho w ant to restore the Stai rcase to i ts form er glory. As to quote a post from the Facebook page: ?We appreci ate every step that has been taken along the w ay to save thi s archi tectural treasure. Slow and steady w i ns the race.?
For m ore i nform ati on on how to donate to the restorati on of the Grand
As the w ai t for constructi on preparati on goes on, support from soci al m edi a i s on the ri se. The Fri ends of the Grande Stai rcase
Stai rcase, em ai l savethegrandstai rcase @gmai l.com .
1967 EOU Grand Staircase. Photos from Restore Oregon & Savethegrandestaircase.org
2019 EOU Grand Staircase. Photos by Olivia Steffey
Ph ot o by Olivia St ef f ey
The Past of Acker man Hall By Kat ie Silvest r i In 1929, Eastern Oregon Normal School was
purpose was for teachers to be able to work
founded. Normal School refers to the norms
in live settings of classrooms. Ackerman
of teaching being taught at the school for
Elementary was a fully functioning school.
teacher education. At first, there were only
One of the ways the students got to school
200 enrollees of the school with a two-year
was the Grand Staircase. Two other ways
teaching certificate offered. Even though the
were walking up the large sledding hill on 8th
majority of teachers at this time were mainly
or a winding path where Badgely Hall is
women, men had enrolled in Eastern Oregon
located now. Some parts have not been
Normal School as well. Due to the growing
altered from the original elementary school
number of teachers in the making attending the school, a training school needed to be
There have also been a lot of changes. The IT
constructed. It was not until 1936 that H.
Tech room used to be the children's library.
Ackerman Elementary School was founded.
Ackerman 111 used to be the cafeteria where
It was merely an elementary school, and its
the students received their food before
walking into another room
professors in the
of the world. The
and eating; on the bottom
education programs.
Undergraduate Elementary
floor was the gym. A
Eastern Oregon
Education program and
current faculty member still
University stays firm in its
Masters Education program
teaches, though their
education roots. The
would not be what they are
previous job was as the
education program has
today if it weren't for the
principal of Ackerman
been growing for 90
ability to train in the
Elementary School.
years now and will
classrooms at Ackerman
Compared to now, there is
continue for many years
Elementary School. EOU's
not just a two-year teaching
to come. In many eyes,
education programs are
certificate, but at the
such as the U.S. News &
known for their numerous
minimum a four-year
World Report, EOU is an
hands-on hours in
Undergraduate Elementary
excellent program for
placements for future
Education Program, and at
future teachers. In 2000,
teachers to practice teaching
most a ten month Masters
U.S. News & World Report
in real classes. Many
Education Program. The
ranked EOU as one of the
universities are not fortunate
classes for teachers in the
top four public liberal arts
enough to have as many
making are still held in
colleges in the West. That
hours as available here at
Ackerman Hall, although
was 19 years ago, and the
Eastern Oregon University.
the in-class training is not
program has grown into
Thank you to Ackerman
held at the Ackerman
many changes that keep
Elementary School for
Elementary School since it
the students up with new
starting a type of training
was closed in 1996. In the
regulations for licensure.
that is so valuable until this
multitude of schools
The groundwork laid by
day, 73 years later.
around what is now known
previous professors and
as Eastern Oregon
future teachers has
University, the student
grown into a flourishing
teachers are placed in
university with many
in-class training. They have
talented future educators
supervisors that include the
Remember Us, Always A Sh or t St or y by Ch ar len e Fr et t I take a small sip of this
always about business with these
him to respect me more,
champagne, feeling it warm my men, never about pleasure.
especially when they are times
senses as it travels down my
he doesn't.
throat, attempting to smile at each guest my husband introduces me to, all the guests he does business with. Most are men of course, their wives by their side, smoothing their tuxes as they shake my hand or kiss me on both cheeks. They would introduce their wives wearing diamond necklaces and silk dresses to me, and the women would smile as a sign of greeting as if they don't have a voice of their own. W ith my husband, it's
My hand is resting on his forearm as he leads me through the jazz
A man jokes about a colleague
club, occasionally caressing the
of my husband's and I laugh
back of it to make it known to men
when they do. Surely, they are
that I'm currently unavailable. If I
convinced I'm listening to every
had to be honest with you, it's quite
word they say which you see, is
flattering when they stare, when
hardly the case at all. I'm
their eyes roam the length of my
looking for someone, a man I
body in this silver satin dress, when
should say, someone I once
their lips open in awe at my mere
knew long ago. I'm aware that
presence, when they pause in their
he would make an appearance,
step to take a peek at a woman
that maybe I'll catch another
who doesn't mind the attention. I'm
glance at the man who makes
delighted my husband worries
women fall at his feet. He said
about the men I can get. It reminds
he might stop by, that I should
save him another dance?just like old times. I try not to seem desperate in looking, my eyes falling upon the jazz band that plays in front of the room. A handsome young man plays the saxophone as if he's making love to it, pouring out his heart and soul into the instrument, making you feel his emotion within the jazzy tunes. I always admired musicians, the way they are able to find passion in something they love and make a living out of it. My husband says I don't need to work, that my hands are too beautiful to be ruined. I'm still trying to convince him otherwise. "Are you doing alright, my darling?" I hear my husband ask beside me, placing his hand over mine. And then I see him, a man leaning against the bar with a glass of whiskey in his hand. He takes a sip before noticing me, a grin tugging on his lips as I do the same. I have to say, he was right about having the best tailor in town. His tux fits him quite well! His hair is slicked back for style and he has an aftershave glow, having a sudden urge to feel it against my cheek. He places the glass on the counter and begins walking towards me. "I'm doing just fine, darling," I say to my husband, giving his arm a gentle squeeze, "just fine." My husband notices the man approaching his wife and I hear him quietly clear his throat, wondering what brings him to us. "Mr. Callahan, I'm sorry to interrupt. My name is Mr. Jake Bentley, " they both shake each other's hands. "Jim Callahan, and this is my wife, Isabel," I give a nod, and Mr. Bentley takes my hand and gently kisses the back of it, "Jake Bentley. You wouldn't happen to know Dave Bentley, would you?" Mr. Bentley chuckles, "Know? I'm his son." Dave Bentley is one of the top five owners of a successful business, but Mr. Bentley doesn't like being known for just being Dave Bentley's son. He wants to make a name for himself, especially since he isn't even that close with his father. Both of the men become well acquainted with each other for a brief moment before Mr. Bentley asks my husband if he can dance with me. My husband suspects nothing, and agrees to his proposal. Mr. Bentley leads me to the dancefloor and a new song begins to play. He takes my hand in his as his other hand rests against the midst of my back. I bring my arm up to place my hand behind his upper shoulder and we begin to dance, swaying against the soothing tones of jazz while he leads each step and movement we make. We look into each other's eyes in utter bliss, both of us remembering what it was like to be like this again, to finally dance the night away and forget the realities we created for ourselves. "I was afraid you wouldn't come, Mr. Bentley," I say.
"Of course I would, Bel. Of course I would," he smiles. We don't speak for a while, just letting the music take us, letting ourselves just be within this moment. We leaned in closer to each other, our bodies almost pressing against one another. I feel as if we are both attempting to withhold the temptation we feel, understanding that he too wants us to embrace each other, that he too wants our lips to touch. We have so many memories, of us leaving town together and exploring the city, of us laughing at the mud on our shoes and sweat on our brows, of us telling stories and dancing in his kitchen, of us laying in bed and kissing our fears away. But then he left, unexpectedly, and my heart broke, aching for him, needing him. It's been over ten years since he left, and then I saw him at the garden shop yesterday, looking as if he hasn't changed a bit. "Do you love him, Bel?" I hear him say, "do you really love him?" I feel something inside me collapse, hoping he wouldn't ask tonight, at this very moment. I look up at him, "Oh, Jay. I?I wish things were different. I loved you, I did." "But you love him," he says, seeing a bit of sadness in his eyes as if he was young again, as if we were young again. "He was a good man?and he still is a good man, Jay," I sigh, fighting the urge to smooth the back of his neck like I used to, "if I would of known you'd come back, I would of waited for you. I loved you then. I loved you once." He closes his eyes for a brief second as if he's trying to take in my words. "I know, baby. I'm sorry?I'm?I'm so sorry." And that is all he can say as we continue to dance, knowing that the timing of this is not aligned to fit our souls, that sadly, it is too late for us to just be, for us to just be together. So we dance and dance and dance, dance until we can't anymore, until reality speaks its harsh words and reveals our woes, until we become aware of the people who dance along with us, until I see my husband from behind the tables watching our movements, until the song finally ends. We applause the band and look into each other's eyes, knowing we can't ever embrace or kiss, that we can't escape the present and travel into the past. He then leans down to whisper he loves me in my ear, to whisper goodbye. Before I could speak another word, he leaves, just like he did before.
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