5.2.14

theJournal

Baseball and softball win GNAC regular season titles see pages 8 and 9

Volume 14 Issue 18 | Friday, May 2, 2014

ASWOU elections valid by narrow margin

Glove-stealing dog draws national attention

by Iain Dexter Managing Editor

by Allison Opson Clement News Editor

ASWOU page 4

Western made national news with a video recorded at a home softball game against Simon Fraser University Sunday, April 27, but not really because of the game itself. The crew at wouTV captured the nowviral video of a dog named Boyka who decided to join in on the game.

Boyka bolted out of the Wolves’ dugout and onto the field to join the action, running past pitcher Kelli Demianew before snagging the glove right off the hand of shortstop Melanie Pfeiffer. Boyka then bolted for the outfield, setting his sights on a more suitable piece of leather in left-fielder Danielle Harcourt’s glove. Boyka took a victory lap around the field with his newfound toy, gaining the attention of not only those attending the game, but also television stations and Internet sites across the country.

The owner, Bazoo Basudan, said his pitbull snuck out of the house while they were cleaning it. He traveled a few blocks, past a busy inter-

section and through the on-campus housing to make his mark on the softball game. Basudan was not at the game and found out about his dog’s mischief later on.

The video was acquired by, most notably, ESPN, MLB Fan Cave, Yahoo Sports, “The Huffington Post”, “The Oregonian” and another dozen multimedia groups. The Wolves were able to win the game and win the conference regular season championship, but Boyka stole the show and the spotlight.

The moment must have been scary for some of the players who didn’t know whether the dog was vicious or friendly, but turned out to be a funny experience that none of them are likely to forget.

Boyka is still waiting on a phone call to appear on ESPN’s SportsCenter or, at the very least, become Western’s new mascot.

Illustration by Jimmy A. Willder

see

Boyka (right) stole the show at a Wolves’ softball game, making national news. Here he is with his owner Bazoo Basudan.

Photo by Iain Dexter

Photo by Allison Opson Clement

The 10 percent population sample was barely met for the Associated Students of Western Oregon University (ASWOU) elections, with 550 votes total: 533, which is 10 percent of the student population of about 5300, were needed, leaving a margin of less than 20 votes.

“It was really close,” said Greg Cronk of the ASWOU elections committee. “It was down to the line.” According to Cronk, 50 votes were still needed on Friday, but those came in.

If the elections were found to be invalid, because of a lack of voting, then the polls would have remain open until the 10 percent mark was reached.

Only two positions were contested, and there were only six candidates total for four open positions. No students ran as official candidates for ASWOU Senate President, or for the 15 available senate seats, three justices or three Incidental Fee Committee (IFC) member positions.

Write-in candidates were offered by voters for unfilled positions. The elections committee, Cronk and Ryan McBee, along with others, will be calling each of the individuals who were voted for to offer them the position they were nominated for.

Cronk is not optimistic about getting vacancies filled by write-in candidate, although there are roughly 400 total write-in votes, even with many names duplicated.

Each call they make, they have to wait to hear back from someone declining the position before they can move on to the next nominee in line.

“I think we put in a good effort,” said Cronk. “A lot of people just choose not to vote.” One population that doesn’t vote as much is the graduating senior class. “I think you should vote if you have the opportunity,” he said.

Events were held throughout the week (such as two barbeques and two morning coffee tables) to raise awareness, with computers available for students to vote. Despite efforts to publicize the elections, some

No Blacks Allowed

holocaust remembrance // page 5

david sterling // page 12

N

www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal

2

theJournal

News

Friday, May 2, 2014

theJournal 503-838-8347

Editor-in-Chief Laura Knudson Managing Editor Iain Dexter Copy Editor Marissa Thompson News Editor Allison Opson Clement Entertainment Editor Amanda McMasters Staff Writer Jennifer Halley Rachel Shelley Designers Haunani Tomas Caitlin Martin-Frost Jimmy Wilder Web Manager Jordan Salazar

campus public safety blotter Monday, April 21

Motor Vehicle Accident Public Safety took a report of a hit-and-run in Lot H. The damage was valued at $500.

Theft Public Safety and Monmouth Police Department took a theft report of a $750 phone stolen from the HWC.

Wednesday, April 23

Computer Crime Public Safety responded to Computing Services after a student reported that someone accessed her Wolfweb account twice in the past month and dropped her spring term classes.

Thursday, April 24

Medic Assist/Illness Public Safety received a report of an unconscious female in the Education building.

Saturday, April 26

Informational/Intoxicated Female Public Safety received a report of an intoxicated female.

Student Media Adviser Shelby Case

Submissions theJournal encourages readers to share their opinion through letters to the editor and guest columns. Submissions must be typed and include the writer’s name. Contact information will not be published unless requested. Unsigned submissions will not be printed and original copies will not be returned.

Letters to the editor may be up to 300 words and guest columns should not exceed 500 words. theJournal does not guarantee the publication of all letters or columns. theJournal reserves the right to edit for punctuation, grammar, and spelling, but never for content.

Please bring submissions to theJournal at Terry House, or e-mail them to editorinchief1314@gmail.com.

Submissions must be received by Wednesday at 5 p.m. to be considered for print.

All options expressed in columns, letters to the editor or advertisements are the views of the author and do necessarily reflect those of theJournal or Western.

www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal

please recycle your copy of this issue

theJournal

Campus Life

Friday, May 2, 2014

Abby’s House promotes sexual assault awareness House. “Much of our educational programming is dedicated to bringing awareness to topics concerning power, privilege and opHave you ever been sexually assaulted? pression and how we are personally able to Do you know anybody that has been sexually bring about political, economic and social assaulted, but not reported the incident due change.” to fear or shame? According to whitehouse.

Abby’s House utilizes students that “are gov and oneinfour.org, One in five college trained advocates in order to support their women have been raped or sexually assaulted, peers in the WOU community,” Hugmeyer and typically the atsaid. “But they are also tack was by someone change agents, willing to she knew, according promote causes and ideas to whitehouse.gov that are often marginalized and oneinfour.org. or silenced in our culture.”

Rape does not just Sexual assault is an ishappen to women – it Much of our sue that is taboo in society; can happen to men, many people find it uneducational too. But too often, comfortable to talk about, sexual assault vicprogramming is and therefore, victims retims do not seek help main silent. Between April dedicated to either because they 21 and 25, Abby’s House are ashamed or they bringing awareness to put on a walk for Sexual don’t know where to Awareness Month; this topics concerning get help. walk, according to HugAbby’s House is power, privilege and meyer, was “a passive disan organization that along Monmouth Avoppression and how play aides victims of sexenue. Stakes were placed ual assault, but that we are personally able in the ground with signs is not all it offers. Acattached to them that had cording to the Abby’s to bring about political, statistics about the pervaHouse home page, economic and social siveness of sexual violence it is a safe place that in our society.” change. offers resources to “[We] included in“any persons of any formation about it in our ANDREA HUGMEYER gender. We offer reweekly Abby’s House email Abby’s House Program Coordinator sources and referrals updates and on our Facefor a large variety of book page. The display was issues. You can come also featured on a collabhere if you need help orative poster with Housfor yourself, a family ing,” Hugmeyer added. member, or friend.”

The sexual assault Some issues Abby’s awareness walk has been House deals with, effective, according to aside from sexual assault, are suicide, depres- Hugmeyer: Abby’s House has “noted an insion, relationship violence, women’s health, crease in sexual assault referrals during the STDs and much more. month of April as more attention is directed “We consider Abby’s House the center on at the issue during this time.” campus that promotes social justice issues in Abby’s House is located downstairs in the order to empower all people,” said Andrea Werner Center, room 106.

Hugmeyer, program coordinator of Abby’s

by Jennifer Halley Staff Writer

“

”

3

Heads up, Wolves!

Today, Friday, May 2 at 9:30 a.m. a helicopter from the National Guard will be landing on Western’s intramural fields, and again on Sunday, May 4 at 2 p.m.

The helicopter is only landing to pick up passengers and will depart immediately afterward. There will not be a display or visiting time.

Campus Public Safety requests students stay out of the area in order to allow for the landing.

ASWOU Elections Results & Vote Tally President

Corbin Garner 470 votes Write-in 29 votes

Vice President

Kellon Hughes 293 votes Ryan Ripp 260 votes Write-in 4 votes

Student Activities Board Director

Kara Kelsey 223 votes Cheyenne Standing-Elk 281 votes Write-in 6 votes

Judicial Administrator

Jenesa Honda 474 votes Write-in 17 votes

Judicial Board

Write-in 87 votes

Senate President

Write-in 64 votes

Student Senate

Write-in 125 votes

Incidental Fee Committee

Write-in 61 votes

Werner University Advisory Board Write-in 24 votes

www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal

4

theJournal

News

Friday, May 2, 2014

Housing application process moves online

by Allison Opson Clement News Editor This year, Western’s on-campus housing renewal system ran completely online, without an in-person room signup night.

The decision was made by a subcommittee from University Housing, made up of members from the housing office staff and operations team.

“It is the group of us that all have stake in the renewal process,” said Schuyler Asman. “We really based the decision on student feedback.”

“If success can be measured by the lack of problems and complaints at the introduction of a new system, then we can count the launch of the online housing renewal process a great success,” said Chris Kempton, the office manager for University Housing. “It took hard work and careful planning (along with innovative technical support) to be able to make a process such as this seem easy.”

“The new process is truly just an online version of the room renewal night,” explained Asman. “That’s actually where we started when we were designing it; we walked through the event and identified what each station did and then created an online step for it.”

“We are in a technology era, and students really want a simple and efficient process,” said Asman. “The online system allowed students to renew their room from their room, or on any mobile device, rather than set aside an evening to come to an event in person.”

“We see our students using online services more and more for nearly every aspect of their studies, and are happy to accommodate this trend,” said Anderson. “Empowering students to be in control of their room selection has been a long-time goal of University Housing staff.”

Preliminary work started in October and November.

John Rushing, residential computing manager for Western, worked on the actual system. He said he tweaked the code of a partly-premade system to match Portal, then manipulated the program and put it through extensive test-

ing. It was important that the program be able to adapt to student requirements. “[There was] a lot of making sure it was performing the way it was envisioned to,” said Rushing.

Kempton and Lori Anderson, a processor for University Housing, worked directly with the software system HMS to manage student housing applications and their room placement.

“Taking a very large, complex process like room renewal and relying completely on a computer system is a bit nerve-racking the first time around,” said Asman. “Most of us who were not involved in the direct programming/coding of the system spent most of our time reviewing the system, brainstorming scenarios and then doing a lot of tests on the system to see if we could trip it up.”

“The team that worked on this project looked for the loopholes that might break the system for many months, so that when our students finally came to use the end product, their experience would be smooth and uneventful,” said Kempton.

Previously, students attended Room Sign-Up Night in person and waited their turn to pick their rooms for the following year.

“University Housing tried an online process a few years ago, and it was not very successful so we went back to an in-person process,” said Asman. “However, technology and people’s habits around the use of technology have come a long way in the past few years, so we really felt it was time to give it another shot.”

Asman said that some experience was pulled from that “to fix a lot of the issues that students and staff had, and make a much more comprehensive process.”

“To me it makes a lot of sense [to change],” said Rushing. “I think people are getting to the point where they’re really using technology now.” The point is to get them through the housing renewal process as smoothly as possible: not to over-process, but to use the tools at hand.

Rushing said some students like the one-on-one attention they got at Room Sign-Up Night. However, there didn’t

seem to be any student complaints after the change.

“There’s still people in the housing office who want to help them,” Rushing assures.

“One major benefit of doing it online is that students didn’t have to assign proxies to attend Room Sign-up Night for them if they had class or work during the event,” said Anderson. “The online process enabled them to log in from anywhere and participate remotely. In the past, having a physical location and limited time frame to sign up was a hindrance for many students. The online process relieved all of that.”

“The online process has been spectacular this year,” said Anderson. “All participants seem to be happy with the process and their selections—no complaints have been received.”

According to Asman, a more formal assessment of the process will take place shortly, once it’s complete.

“Students seem to have enjoyed the efficiency of the process,” said Asman.

“It went really smooth,” said Rushing, adding that it’s usually a good idea to anticipate some issues with a new system being implemented for the first time. In this case, though, everything went off without a hitch. “I got a lot of positive feedback,” he said.

The program gathered a pool of those who completed the first step of indicating they wanted to sign up to live on campus in 2014-2015, and allowed these to move on once their allotted time came around.

Those who currently live on campus were allowed earlier access, which translates to first pick of the locations.

“As long as they’ve stayed with housing, they get to keep that really good priority date,” said Rushing.

The online housing renewal process is still open, available for students to continue to sign up to live on campus next year.

“Altogether the process has been a wonderful success,” said Anderson. “With a tad bit of technical adjustments for next year, we’re anticipating it to be even more successful next time around.”

ASWOU from Front Page students still were unclear on the procedure or dates for voting.

“Campaigning was almost nonexistent,” said Corbin Garner, who was elected next year’s ASWOU President in an uncontested race. “I’ll be honest with you – I didn’t do much.” With few candidates, there are fewer people reminding students about elections, according to Garner.

“I didn’t feel the need to be very aggressive,” he said.

“How do I tell the difference between these people I’ve never met?” Junior Emily DuMond wanted to know.

She said that though she collected some slips of paper from campaigners on the street, she wasn’t aware of when the elections were taking place, or how to vote. Some students, like her, prefer email as a contact; however, sometimes all-student emails don’t reach her. In this case, it meant she never voted this year.

“There’s a lot of restrictions on candidates,” said Cronk.

Posters are limited to two blocks on Monmouth Ave. between the entry to campus and the Werner University Center (WUC), and must be the standard size from the print shop: 17 by 11 inches only. In addition, each candidate is allowed only 20 posters total. According to Cronk, this makes it more difficult to get the on-campus students to vote, also due in part to further rules that disallow any campaigning in the residence halls.

As such, students living in the dorms may have limited access to information about the elections and candidates.

“It’s not a lot to grab everybody’s attention,” said Cronk. He added that he and others hope to make some changes to the restrictions on campaigning, in the hope of increasing student involvement and voting.

“It’s a problem with how people view the organization,” said Cronk. Students may not understand what ASWOU is, what it does or how to get involved. Without

www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal

active involvement, ASWOU can’t do its job, to help and represent students. They do what they think is best, but that may not align with what the rest of the student body wants.

Cronk and Garner agree that it is important to target incoming freshmen at the beginning of the year and advertise ASWOU at key events during New Student Week.

“New students coming into campus never really learn who we are,” said Garner. He hopes to sponsor future efforts to get people involved with ASWOU and make the faces of its members recognizable. “Hopefully the term ‘ASWOU’ won’t be as abstract,” he said.

“I’m always optimistic about student leadership,” Cronk said. His hope is that each succeeding group of student leaders will be better than those who came before.

theJournal

News

Friday, May 2, 2014

5

N Photo by Allison Opson Clement

25,000 flags honor Holocaust victims in Western’s annual memorial

by Allison Opson Clement News Editor

To honor the 12,500,000 victims of the Holocaust, dozens of volunteers spent three hours setting up flags in the grass on campus on Sunday, April 27, for the tenth year. Each flag represented 500 individuals killed.

“The first time I saw it I just could not believe it,” said Angie Barry, who has spent several years participating as able in the annual setup and dismantling of the memorial. “It’s just astounding.”

Trenton Nettles, the coordinator for campus life and student activities, is responsible for the programs for Holocaust Remembrance Day. He coordinates the bundling of flags, organizes volunteers and designates where flags are placed.

Nettles said a lot of work goes into this event; flags are collected and bundled before being placed in specific buckets corresponding to their location on Monmouth Ave. “One of my favorite parts about this event is the reaction people give us as we are placing the flags on the lawn,” said Nettles. He said that passersby stop to ask questions and that drivers literally stop in the middle of the road to ask questions and take pictures. A few years ago, there was a fender bender because someone was distracted by the flags while driving by.

Stakes and signs are now used to delineate the colors of flags and the victims

they correspond with. Barry likes this arrangement, because it forces people to walk through the memorial and experience it more fully.

“Each year changes, since the landscape of the university continues to develop,” said Nettles.

According to Nettles, this is one of the highest-regarded and most impactful programs put on by the Werner University Center and Student Leadership and Activities. He said that the first time he took part in organizing the display he had two feelings: nervous, but honored to be a part of such a tradition at Western.

“So many people are impacted by this event and I hold myself to high standards to make sure everything is in place for things to be successful,” said Nettles.

“Although I have been doing this event for a few years now, I still take the same amount of care and detail when organizing it because it is so powerful. I am constantly exploring ways to expand this event beyond the flags.”

Nettles receives emails saying how thankful and humbled people are by the flag display every year. As early as February, students start asking when they should make themselves available to put out the flags.

“It is such an awesome feeling,” said Nettles.

The flags are color-coded to represent the following groups: Large Yellow Jewish Adults Small Yellow Jewish Children Brown Roma and Sinti (Gypsies) Pink Homosexuals White Jehovah’s Witnesses Orange Mental/Physically disabled Red Soviet Prisoners of War Blue Polish Catholics Lime Green Spanish Republicans Green Serbians

Safe Zone celebrates 8th birthday on campus

by Allison Opson Clement News Editor Safe Zone, Western’s LGBTQ Ally-training program, celebrated eight years on campus Wednesday, April 30, and hosted several events to mark the anniversary.

After their realization as an official campus organization in the autumn of 2005, members decided that Safe Zone needed a birthday to celebrate. Cheryl Meredith “C.M.” Hall, a founding member, celebrates April 30 as the day she herself came out to her own family, and the date was adopted by the organization. Angie Barry, Safe Zone executive chair elect, said that the spring date is good because freshmen usually have an awareness of Safe Zone by this time of the year.

Safe Zone offers Ally trainings to help educate people about dealing with the LGBTQ community and the chal-

lenges it faces, including an ongoing “Lunch and Learn” series where participants eat and are given information about a meeting’s particular theme or topic.

“It’s almost overwhelming, sometimes,” said Barry; the workload can be difficult and discouraging, because there’s not always enough volunteer support. Board members are only able to do this in their spare time, as they all work full-time jobs. However, many individuals help out and participate in training.

Safe Zone was started by Jon Taylor, a former employee of Western, who modified training materials from those of the Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network (GLSEN, or “glisten”). Barry, a founding member, also worked with Taylor on the material, and has been involved ever since.

“I ended up always staying involved,” said Barry.

She wanted to show people that their gender identity or sexual orientation don’t matter. “It shouldn’t be an issue. That’s

the thing: it shouldn’t be an issue.”

The organization attends summer Pride rallies in Salem, Corvalis and on the Oregon coast, demonstrating active commitment to diversity. They bring application materials as well, and get some applicants for Western.

“There’s more than one student that’s come here because of our contact with them,” said Barry. “It’s good to get out there.”

For more information on Safe Zone, or for resources, email safezone@wou.edu. Amanda Valdez, the current intern, checks that email daily; as a student, says Barry, Valdez may be a more comfortable correspondent. However, for crises (immediate aid is required), locations such as Abby’s House and the Student Health and Counseling Center can provide additional resources.

www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal

6

News

Friday, May 2, 2014

theJournal

www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal

theJournal

Sports

Friday, May 2, 2014

Track and field down to final weekend before championships

by Iain Dexter Managing Editor

7

Wolves’ track and field competed in their second-to-last meet before the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) Outdoor Championships beginning Friday, May 9.

The teams split up for the Titan Twilight in Eugene on April 24, the Triton Invitational in La Jolla, Calif. and the Mt. Hood Community College (MHCC) Track and Field Festival in Gresham, both on April 26.

The women’s 4x100-relay team of sophomore Rochelle Pappel, junior Audrey Hellesto and seniors Madison McClung and Shanai Campbell ran the third fastest time in the GNAC this season, finishing in 48.17 seconds.

Junior Tyrell Williams won his heat of the men’s 100-meter. His time of 10.78 places him third this season in the GNAC. Seniors Kody Rhodes and Brett Campbell had strong showings in the men’s 110-meter hurdles. Rhodes finished with a time of 14.89 and Campbell ran a season best of 15.25, an automatic qualifying mark for the conference championship for the senior.

Freshman John Schifferer hit a provisionally qualifying mark for the GNAC championships in the men’s 400-meter hurdles with a time of 56.05.

Sophomore Neil Gravatt also provisionally qualified for the GNAC championships in the men’s javelin with a throw at 177-5 (54.09 meters).

The Wolves also sent senior Eric Gaines and freshman Emily Moe to compete in the GNAC Multi-Event Championships in Ellensburg, Wash. on Tuesday, April 29. Gaines placed fourth in the decathlon with a total of 6,000 points. Moe finished ninth in the women’s heptathlon with 3,611 points.

The Wolves complete their regular season with two events at the Pacific Twilight in Forest Grove and the Oregon State University High Performance meet in Corvallis, both beginning Friday, May 2.

REGISTER STARTING MAY 5 CLASSES BEGIN JUNE 23

R E M SUM ESSION S Get on the fearless fast track to graduation with summer session • Complete a full year of coursework in only nine weeks • Take popular classes that are usually difficult to get into • Ease your course load during the academic year • Explore new fields of study

FEARLESS

FAST TRACK

APPLYING TO PSU IS QUICK FOR NON-DEGREE STUDENTS. Credits easily transfer back to your home school.

pdx.edu/summer

www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal

8

theJournal

Sports

Friday, May 2, 2014

weather

Forecast gathered from www.dailydressme.com

Chance of Rain Mostly clear.

Lows around 50.

Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Photo by Elizabeth Parker Rain Partly cloudy.

Not as warm.

Highs 70 to 75.

West wind 5 to 10 mph.

Softball set for conference playoffs after whirlwind end to season

by Iain Dexter Managing Editor

Chance of Rain Mostly cloudy.

Slight chance of rain or drizzle in the evening... then a slight chance of showers after midnight.

Lows 45 to 50. West wind 10 to 15 mph. Chance of precipitation 20 percent.

Chance of Rain Mostly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain.

Highs 60 to 65. Southwest wind 5 to 10 mph.

Softball became the 2014 Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) regular season champions with a two-game sweep over Simon Fraser University (SFU) on Sunday, April 27.

The Wolves needed a bit of help to take first place in the conference, entering the day in a two-way tie with Western Washington University (WWU), but on the short-end of the tiebreaker. WWU took the season series with wins in 3-of-4 against Western, but were beaten by Saint Martin’s University (SMU) in game one of their doubleheader Sunday, clinching first place for the Wolves.

Western needed to take care of business first against SFU to give them a shot at the conference title.

The Wolves were dominant, defeating the Clan in two mercy-rule-shortened games. Western won by scores of 9-0 and 10-2, each after five innings, moving their record to 30-20 overall and 18-6 in conference.

The Wolves not only celebrated their conference championship, but also the collegiate careers of their seven seniors. Pitcher Eryka Brill, shortstop Melanie Pfeiffer, catcher Bridjet Box, first baseman Ashlie Gardner and outfielders Danielle Harcourt, Danielle Hannan and Ashley Cashin were honored by their friends, families and teammates as a part of Senior Day. Junior Kelli Demianew pitched a five-inning shutout in game one, allowing just four hits while striking out five. The bats gave Demianew an early lead to work with, putting up a six-spot in the bottom half of the first inning highlighted by Box’s three-run home run over the left-center field fence.

Outfielder Amanda Evola was perfect at the plate, finishing 3-for-3 with one run batted in (RBI). Box had two hits with three RBIs, junior third baseman Jourdan

www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal

Williams finished 2-for-3 with a double and two RBIs and seniors Cashin, Gardner and Hannan finished with a hit and RBI each.

A lengthy rain relay ensued between games one and two, but the Wolves’ bats could not be doused as they opened with 10 runs scored in the first inning.

Box, Harcourt and Gardner each had a two-run single to open the game 6-0 before Evola blew the game wide open with a grand-slam home run to center field, plating four runs.

Williams was the starting pitcher for game two, picking up her sixth win of the year after throwing three innings with one run allowed. Brill finished the final two innings, allowing one unearned run in her last regular season appearance.

The Wolves had a chance to capture the GNAC regular season title against WWU, but fell short in both games 2-1 and 6-3 respectively Saturday, April 26.

Western could not solve WWU’s pitcher Jenna DeRosier in game one, who threw all seven innings for a complete game, allowing just one run. Demianew almost matched her, but allowed two runs over her seven innings, picking up her ninth loss of the year. Williams had the lone RBI for Western in the defeat.

Brill struggled in game two against WWU, allowing six runs on 12 hits in six and two thirds innings.

The Wolves trailed for most of the game, but were given hope at a comeback after Harcourt crushed her first home run of the season, a two-run shot, cutting the Vikings’ lead to one in the sixth inning. WWU came back with two runs in the top half of the seventh though and held on to the 6-3 victory.

The Wolves will head to Richland, Wash. for the first-round of the GNAC Championships, taking on #4-seed SMU on Thursday, May 5. Western swept the regular season series against SMU, taking all four games by a combined score of 18-3.

theJournal

Sports

Friday, May 2, 2014

9

athletes of the week Information courtesy of wouwolves.com

Amanda Evola

Softball

Evola broke the Western record for RBIs in a single season. She now has 48 this season, surpassing teammate Jourdan Williams’ year-old record of 45. Evola has 125 in her career, which is second on the school’s career list. She went 7-for-13 at the plate over the week, with a .923 slugging percentage. She had a home run and two doubles. Evola drove in five runs and scored six times.

Baseball takes GNAC regular season title

by Rachel Shelley Staff Writer

Spenser Watkins Baseball

Watkins (6-3) had a perfect game through the first six innings of game 1 against Saint Martin’s. He grabbed the win after allowing two earned runs on two hits in 6.2 innings of work. The senior matched his season-high 12 strikeout total against the Saints. He tossed three walks as well.

The Wolves took two victories on Saturday against Saint Martin’s University (SMU), winning 5-4 and 2-1 respectively to clinch their 13th straight Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC) regular season title.

Western finished 22-10 in the conference, claiming the top-seed in the GNAC tournament and hosting it for the second straight season beginning Thursday, May 8. The top three teams in the conference will take part in the two-day tournament.

“We are excited to have the opportunity to host the GNAC tournament,” said head coach Kellen Walker. “There will be three quality teams in the tournament and it’s a great event to have on our campus.”

Senior outfielders Daniel McNabb and Chris Bradshaw finished 2-for-7 and 3-for-7 respectively at the plate on day one of the four-game series. Bradshaw had a run batted in (RBI) and McNabb had three. Senior pitcher Spenser Watkins had a perfect game through the first six innings of game one. Watkins matched his season-high of 12 strikeouts against SMU. The Saints hit a home run in the seventh inning, cutting the Western lead to 5-3, but the Wolves held on the 5-4 victory. Senior infielder Parker Miles had an RBI single in the third, junior outfielder Tim Rausch had an RBI double and McNabb a two-RBI single in the fifth. SMU left eight runners on base while Western left 11. The Wolves had one error in the game.

The second game of the series saw a McNabb RBI that scored junior outfielder Matt Taylor in the third inning. Junior infielder Garret Harpole scored on a fielding error in the fourth inning. SMU had their only run of the game in the sixth.

The second day of the series, the Wolves fell short 11-9 and 5-3 against SMU. The game featured a 45-minute rain delay in the sixth inning of the first game and a pair of extra innings.

McNabb went 3-for-8 on the day, walking twice and scoring three times. Harpole had three RBIs and sophomore infielder Nathan Etheridge was 3-for-7 with three walks. The first game saw five home runs, four ties and four lead changes.

SMU and Western combined for 29 hits scoring 21 runs in the first game on Sunday. The game lasted nearly four hours and was 11 innings long.

The second game of day two, SMU had a 3-1 lead in the fifth. Western had one hit in the fifth and loaded the bases in the seventh with a pair of singles. Saint Martin’s secured their win 5-3 in extra innings once again.

The Wolves will take on Lewis-Clark State, the No. 3 team in the National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics, in a non-conference series Friday, May 2 and Sunday, May 4 in Monmouth. They will remain at home for the GNAC Championships the following week.

“LC State is a historic program and is having a very good year,” said Walker.

“This weekend series is another great opportunity for us to compete against a quality club and make any final adjustments we need to before the conference tournament.”

Photo by Iain Dexter

www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal

10

theJournal

Entertainment Friday, May 2, 2014

upcoming movie

Auditions for Summer Production The Western Oregon Department of Theater and Dance is holding auditions for “The Boys Next Door,” a comedy by Tom Griffin. The auditions will take place in the acting studio of the Math and Nursing building, room 108, at 6 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, May 2-3. The production will be casting seven men and up to four women. The auditions will consist of monologues and cold readings.

“The Boys Next Door” is a play set in Boston and focuses on the lives of four men with mental disabilities living in a group home together. The production gives a comedic commentary on the men’s lives through various scenarios.

“The Boys Next Door” is set to premiere July 30th through Aug. 2nd, with rehearsals takings place throughout summer term. For more information, contact Professor David Janoviak at janovid@wou.edu.

Although the cast list was just released, fans have already started creating “Star Wars” posters.

‘Star wars’:

Open Life Drawing Sessions On Tuesday and Thursday nights from 7-9 p.m. the Western Oregon Art Club sponsors Open Life Drawing sessions in room 111 of Campbell Hall. The sessions are open to everyone, free to students and $5 for non-students. Students may come with their own art supplies to draw.

EPISODE VII CAST ANNOUNCED

The new “Star Wars” movie, opening worldwide December 18, 2015, will begin shooting in a few weeks.

The new members of the cast include John Boyega, Daisy Ridley, Adam Driver, Oscar Isaac, Andy Serkis, Domhnall Gleeson and Max von Sydow.

Making a comeback from the original saga will be Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill, Anthony Daniels, Peter Mayhew and Kenny Baker.

Artist Wanted Are you an aspiring artist interested in creating a comic strip for theJournal?

Scan and submit your strip of four to eight pictures to Laura Knudson at editorinchief1314@gmail.com, or bring it to theJournal office, located in Terry House. theJournal does not guarantee the publication of all submitted comics. Comics may be drawn in color or black-and-white.

www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal

theJournal

Campus Life

Friday, May 2, 2014

11 Photos by Elizabeth Parker

Senior year, softball and elephants:

Melanie Pfeiffer

by Iain Dexter Managing Editor

M

elanie Pfeiffer is a senior softball player at Western from Reno, Nev. Pfeiffer is in her second year at Western, after transferring from Western Nevada College where she also played softball.

The social science major plays shortstop for the Wolves and has started all 50 games this season. She has 72 hits in 181 at-bats for a .398 batting average.

Her 47 runs scored this season put her at number two on the school’s all-time list while her 72 hits placed her first. I recently talked with her about her senior year, softball and elephants.

Q. When did you first begin playing softball and why did you choose it over other sports?

A. I started playing softball when I was six years old. I think I initially played because my mom played and cousin played and my uncle got me into it. I absolutely loved this sport and was hooked from the start. I didn’t really do multiple sports besides football at recess until middle school and at that point softball wasn’t offered. That’s when I knew I didn’t want to live without it so I got onto a summer team and progressed from there.

Q. What led you to come to Western?

A. Well, it was either Western or UTPB. I ended up choosing Western because after I came on my visit, I loved the school itself and the town. I also liked how fresh and green Oregon was and I felt it was a great fit. I was right and these last few years have been some of the greatest times of my life. Now that Coach Sargent and Coach Farler are here, the program is going up and the team’s recognition is bursting. We are not only making a difference in our community but throughout our conference as well.

Q. Do you have any interesting superstitions for before or while you play games?

A. I’m not very superstitious but there are a couple of things that I do always before games. I have to be in a certain spot in our warmup lines and I have to go in a certain order during hitting warmups. Also, we do a chant and I have to be next to the same people every time as well as with our prayer. These are little things, but in this game they mean so much!

Q. What is one of your favorite activities/hobbies besides playing softball?

A. I really enjoy coloring, cleaning, hiking. Something new that I really enjoy is cooking.

Q. As a senior, what goals have you had for this season?

A. As a senior for this season I wanted to do what was best for my team. I wanted to lead by example and win more games than last year. As anyone’s goal I want to win the conference tournament and go as far as I can and playing as best as I can knowing it’s my last season.

Q. Is there anyone who most inspires you in your life?

A. There are two people that have really inspired me in my life. One is my grandma because she had the courage to raise me as a single grandparent and give me a wonder-

ful life. She taught me to have great morals and values and to appreciate everything in life. She inspires me to be a better person each and every day. The second person that inspires me is my uncle Steve. He has been there for me since day one and has helped to bring me up with a positive outlook on life. He always believes in me whether it’s for softball, school or just life in general. He, like my grandma, has taught me so much and I’m so grateful to have both of them in my life.

Q. What is your favorite part about playing softball?

A. My favorite part about playing softball is the teamwork used to be a successful, winning team. I think our team has learned to play together which has made us successful and that’s an extremely important part of the game. Also, it’s a huge release from everything else in the world. It’s a time to work and play hard and do amazing things while being with the people you love: your team, your family. Softball has helped open so many relationships that I know I will have for the rest of my life. It teaches me not only lessons for softball and how to be successful for that but also it teaches me life lessons such as responsibility, teamwork and trust. I love this game and my passion for it will live forever as I plan to coach and continue down the road of competition.

Q. Do you have a fondest memory either from this year or past years on the team?

A. I think one of my fondest memories was last year on one of our bus trips, I hid in one of the overhead bins and as soon as my coach started to talk I piped out and scared him.

Q. What is something that people may not know about you, if you don’t mind sharing?

A. Something that people may not know about me is that I love elephants and hope to visit Africa and hopefully ride an elephant. Africa is the place I want to honeymoon. I’m also a sock hoarder. I love socks!

Q. So why elephants?

A. Umm ... I don’t know. I have loved them for my entire life. Now to me, they represent strength and I actually have a tattoo of one on my leg with a cancer ribbon and it always reminds me to stay strong.

www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal www.wou.edu/student/westernjournal

theJournal

12 The Tail-End Friday, May 2, 2014

No Blacks Allowed

Donald Sterling

by Iain Dexter Managing Editor

The owner of the NBA’s Los Angeles Clippers was banned for life from having any contact with his team and the NBA, announced Commissioner Adam Silver Tuesday, April 29. Sterling was recorded making racist comments against specifically African-Americans after a woman he was involved with, known as V. Stiviano, posted a photo of herself and Earvin “Magic” Johnson on Instagram.

Sterling says to Stiviano during the recording, “It bothers me a lot that you want to broadcast that you’re associating with black people. Do you have to?”

NBA

“You can sleep with [black people],” he continues. “You can bring them in, you can do whatever you want. The little I ask you is not to promote it on that … and not to bring them to my games.”

Sterling picks out Johnson when he says, “Don’t put him [Johnson] on an Instagram for the world to have to see so they have to call me. And don’t bring him to my games.”

Many of the comments Sterling makes during his recorded conversation with Sterling contradict each other.

Sterling speaks highly of Johnson saying, “I think the fact that you admire [Johnson] – I’ve known him well, and he should be admired.”

Sterling then continues to say, “And I’m just saying that it’s too bad you can’t admire him privately, and during your entire f***ing life your whole life – admire him, bring him here, feed him, f*** him, I don’t care.”

Sterling was banned from the NBA for his blatant racism, and Commissioner Silver will urge the remaining NBA owners to vote to force Sterling to sell the team.

Illustration by Jimmy A. Willder

Bigots