Volume 16 Issue 9 | Wes tern Oregon University | Friday, Dec. 4, 2015
CAMPUS LIFE Light it up
WOU celebrates the 48th annual tree lighting Page 7
Photo by EVERYCAMPUSAREFUGE.ORG
Every Campus a Refuge seeks shelter for Syrian refugees ENTERTAINMENT Unconventional Christmas Movies More reasons to get into the season Page 7
EDITORIAL Pets are friends, not presents
Why you should reconsider the Christmas puppy Page 11
Program encourages universities to lend a hand By Alvin Wilson | Staff Writer In an attempt to help refugees of the Syrian civil war, a professor at Guilford College in North Carolina has started a project called Every Campus a Refuge. Every Campus a Refuge is an initiative that encourages colleges and universities to work with local refugee placement agencies to house a refugee family for 90 days during the resettlement process. Diya Abdo, the Guilford College professor who created the program, explained the inspiration behind his idea during an interview on NPR. Abdo stated, “When the pope called on every parish in Europe to host a refugee family, I began thinking deeply about that call for cities to become a place of refuge.” “I thought well, a campus is very much like a city. We have facilities for housing. We have medical facilities. We have hundreds of hu-
Wolves dominate Concordia 92-59
Blow-out victory over Concordia christens GNAC opener By Jamal Smith | Sports Editor The Western Oregon men’s basketball team crushed Concordia University (CU) 92-59 in their GNAC con-
man beings with various skills. We have cafeterias,” said Abdo, “So why not, why not take on the Pope’s call and become a refuge?” Abdo believes university and college campuses can make the transition stage for refugees much easier. “When refugees come in, they’re only given a one-time stipend - each refugee. And that stipend they’re supposed to use to pay rent, to pay for food, for transportation,” Abdo said. “But if a campus houses them for those 90 days, after which they’re supposed to become self-sufficient, then they don’t have to use that stipend and they don’t have to worry about all the things they need to worry about. What they can do in those 90 days is focus on adjusting culturally, emotionally, psychologically.” But is this initiative something all universities should participate in? Dr. Paula Baldwin, assistant professor of communications here at Western, said the program sounds great, but there is a lot to consider when thinking about housing a refugee family from a completely different cul-
ference opener on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2015 in Portland, Ore. This game was the first-ever meeting between the two schools in GNAC conference play. Concordia joined Division II and the GNAC conference earlier this year. WOU took the lead before the ball was tossed up at midcourt due to an administrative technical foul called against CU. Senior Jordan Wiley (G) made the free throw to give the Wolves a 1-0 advantage. The first five minutes of the game belonged to the Wolves who outscored the Cavaliers 17-3. CU came within 9 points of lead on two occasions
ture. Dr. Baldwin said, “My question is: where would they be housed? Do we have the space? Do we put them on a food program like the residential food plan, or do we try to put them in a faculty space where they would have a kitchen?” “How can we respect their cultural needs while helping them acclimate? When we think about housing them, we have to think about all of these factors,” said Baldwin. Even though it might make us feel good, it’s really not that simple, Baldwin explains. “We think about it very simply. We’re offering them refuge. We’re offering them shelter. Sometimes we do good deeds and we think, ‘okay, we got a roof over their head and food in their bellies. It’s good, right?”’ “It’s a great idea, and I think it’s a great teaching moment, but we need to think beyond that,” Baldwin said. She said it would be important to integrate them into the community so they don’t feel excluded. “Think about how they could be integrated
Continued on Page 3 in the first half, but could not chip away at the lead any further thanks to Western’s stifling defense. The first half ended with the Wolves up on the Cavaliers 45-29. In the second half, the Wolfpack continued their consistent play on both sides of the ball. WOU outscored the Cavs 47-30 in the half and kept a double-digit lead throughout. Redshirt-senior Andy Avgi (F), the 2014-15 GNAC Player of the Year, led all scorers with 27 points on 10 for 16 shooting from the floor. Avgi excelled from distance, shooting 4 for 5 from the beyond the arch and also adding 6 rebounds and 2 blocks. Wiley was one of three Wolves in double figures and
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