* MUSLIM AT CENTRAL “I am a ‘CWU student’ before I am a ‘Muslim CWU student.’” PG. 24
1,200-POUND ATHLETE PG. 30
Mark Pickerel PG. 10 1
table
of
contents
O n t h e f r o n t c o v e r : C e n t r a l s t u d e n t Z a h i a h A l k h a r n d a // P h o t o b y X a n d e r F u Back cover photo by Jack Lambert
our town 8 / RED SAND PROJECT 10 / A MARK PICKEREL STORY
lifehacks 16 / 10 HEARTBREAKING MOMENTS FOR 90s BABIES 17 / WESTWORLD VS. REAL WORLD
passport 1 8 / A D AY I N L E AV E N W O R T H 22 / ABROAD & AFRAID
spotlight 2 4 / M U S L I M AT C E N T R A L 3 0 / 1 , 2 0 0 - P O U N D AT H L E T E
valentine’s special 3 6 / VA L E N T I N E ’ S D O ’ S & D O N ’ T S 3 8 / P. S . I LO V E M E 4 0 / W H AT M E N WA N T
fashion 4 2 / W I N T E R LO O K B O O K 48 / STREET STYLE
food & drink 50 52 53 54
/ / / /
FA D D I E T S E AT T H I S , N O T T H AT T E Q U I L A O R WAT E R . . . YO U D E C I D E SHAKEN, STIRRED & SUGARY
after dark 57 58 60 62
/ / / /
MUSICIANS & MEDIA THE COACHELLA FEMALE PROBLEM PULSE8 / NOLAN GARRETT BAR CALENDAR
pulse staff N I C O L E T R E J O -VA L L I / e d i t o r- i n - c h i e f VA N E S S A C R U Z / c r e a t i v e d i r e c t o r
editorial MANDI RINGGENBERG / associate editor SIMONE CORBETT / features editor BAILEE WICKS / assistant editor LEXI PHILLIPS / copy editor ELIZABETH MCCANN / copy editor
design & photography JACK LAMBERT / director of photography MADDIE BUSH / graphic designer XANDER FU / photographer ELIZABETH MASON / graphic designer TAY LO R M O R R E L L / g r a p h i c d e s i g n e r ELIZABETH WEDDLE / photographer
contributors C H R I S T I N A B L A C K , DA N I E L C AVA N AU G H , J O N N I E C R O S S L A N D , J E S S I C A G R I F F I N , M C K E N N A L A U T E N B A C H , J O N AT H A N O L S E N KOZIOL, MANNY RIVERA, MEGAN SCHRENK, RUNE TORGERSEN, J E S S I E W H I TA K E R , YO O YO U N G L E E
faculty adviser JENNIFER GREEN (509) 963.1066 / jgreen@cwu.edu
business manager TA R A LO N G (509) 963.1026 / taral@cwu.edu
Pulse Magazine is a student-run lifestyle magazine, both in print and online at www.cwupulse.com. Student editors make policy and content decisions for the magazine, which serves as a public forum for student expression. Pulse serves the Central Washington University community with informative, engaging and interactive content covering campus and community life, trends and issues, and providing practical magazine and multimedia training.
editor’s note My mom is a very proud woman, who originally wasn’t born as a U.S. citizen, but became one after she moved to California from Mexico. She established her own trucking company called RIGINI Inc., named from the first two letters of my and my siblings’ names. The topic of immigration really hit home for me, especially with it being on everyone’s minds these days. With the ongoing court cases concerning Trump’s proposed travel ban from seven majority-Muslim countries, our staff felt the need to write about this topic. In this issue, we cover reactions to Trump’s policies and talk with Muslim students about what it’s like to be a Muslim at Central right now. You can find their story on page 24. This story is near and dear to my heart because I have several friends who aren’t U.S. citizens and who are also concerned whether or not they can leave the country for fear they may not be allowed back in the states. Another story we haven’t done before—which is surprising since we live in a town surrounded by rodeo—is the 1,200-pound athlete. This story is an insider’s look into the sport of rodeo, found on page 30. For our local readers, we feature hometown celebrity Mark Pickerel, former drummer for Screaming Trees, and current singer of Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands, on page 10. And, if you want a more light-hearted read, see our Pulse staffers and myself as we ditched the pen and paper and became models for the day for our “Winter Lookbook,” on pg. 42. I am still at a loss for words knowing that I, Nicole Valli, am the Editor-in-Chief of Pulse Magazine. I joined Pulse exactly a year ago and it was the best decision I could’ve made. From the first moment I started contributing I felt empowered and confident in my writing, which I never felt before. So, to everyone who pushed and encouraged me throughout my journey—thank you. And a special thanks to my mom, who is someone who has been my rock throughout my whole life. I remember when I was younger I almost got held back in the 1st grade for not being able to read well. She argued with the teacher and principal because she knew I wasn’t being treated fairly, so she moved me to a different school with a more positive learning environment. My mom has always been the type of person to give support and stand up for what is right, something I’ve always admired in her. And I hope to someday become half the woman she is, even though she may have her crazy moments, but who am I kidding, we all do.
Re ading Yo u r P u l se The three Pulse staffers behind our Fall 2016 feature story, Sexual Assault on Campus, share what it was like to report and write this story, and the responses they've had. They recall long nights lying in bed thinking about how best to get the story’s message across, reconsidering every word choice and the responsibility they felt in tackling and bringing awareness to such an important topic. You can read the original article in Fall 2016 Issue 2 on www.cwupulse.com. Bailee Wicks: After the article was published, I
was approached personally by someone who had just been through a sexual assault case and told me her story. It is heartbreaking to know someone has or currently is struggling with being sexually assaulted. It is difficult to hear the stories of others going through harm and harassment, especially at Central. You would think that because I wrote the story and am aware of the statistics that I wouldn’t be surprised, but it is a totally different thing when you see the face of a survivor and hear their story explained. Simone Corbett: Sexual assault is one of those
things we subconsciously think will never happen to us. But the reality is women and men become victims every single day and the majority won’t ever tell a soul. Since the publication of this story, a friend unintentionally confessed to me that she had been sexually assaulted. Weeks following the event, I was the only person she had told, and she didn’t even realize that what she had gone through was considered sexual assault. Nicole Trejo-Valli: Looking at what we did and
how we were able to touch people and make them feel comfortable enough to tell us their story is the most rewarding part of it all. Taking on this role as storyteller was far from easy. I remember the day we were going live I had done two extra interviews
on top of the six we had already done. We probably looked like chickens with our heads cut off by the end of it because we ran around so much with little to zero sleep making sure we did this right. The eye twitches, the research, the interviews, and the no sleep was worth every single word. Bailee: None of us had experience with anything
that qualifies as sexual assault, so we had to do a lot of interviewing and fact checking to make sure we were representing this topic accurately.
Nicole: As I begin to write this I can feel the
memories start to flood back, and it almost gives me chills. I have never been so physically, emotionally, and mentally attached to a story in my life, and it wasn’t even my story that I was telling. Simone: Although the fact-checking, research and
follow-up phone calls didn’t end until minutes before our issue went live on the web, I wouldn’t take back any minute of this experience as it reminded me why I want to be a journalist in the first place. If there’s one thing I hope someone takes away from reading our story, it’s to speak up. Don’t fall victim to the easy route of being a bystander—speak up for those who are unable to speak for themselves.
CWU CAMPUS CLIMATE STUDENT VICTIMIZATION RESULTS*
6
Sexual Assault; defined as non-consensual sexual touch, no attempted rape since at CWU (n = 1,103)
Rape; non-consensual, completed oral, vaginal, or anal penetration since at CWU (n = 1,099)
18.8% of women experienced sexual assault 5.2% of men experienced sexual assault 18.5% of trans/gender-queer identified students
7.1% of women experienced rape 3.6% of men experienced rape 3.7% of trans/gender-queer identified students
experienced sexual assault 9.2% were reported to CWU administration
11.1% were reported to CWU administration
experienced sexual assault
*Sample includes both undergraduate and graduate students and both online and Ellensburg campus students
b e h i nd the sc en es
Winter 2017 | Issue One
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#RED SAND PROJECT
OUR TOWN
Contributions by Maddie Bush, Elizabeth Mason, Mandi Ringgenberg, Nicole Trejo-Valli Photo by Jack Lambert Design by Vanessa Cruz
The Red Sand Project was initiated by Molly Gochman—a New-York based artists and activist—who started the project a few years ago and now it has become a nationwide installation. "It is an interactive art installation project that we are doing over the next two quarters to raise awareness of human trafficking,” said Ellen Avitts, an assistant professor of Art History and the coordinator for Central’s installation of the project. “The red sand symbolizes the people that we walk past every day who have fallen through the cracks in society." Avitts brought the idea to the student art club, who voted to have it at present at Central. It was the first time an interactive art installation piece had ever been done on campus; in particular, one that students could participate in. Avitts doesn’t want to completely give away the meaning of the project, but instead wants students to see and question its purpose. Next quarter, there will be a more in-depth discussion on campus about the project. Photo gallery available on PulseLens at cwupulse.com
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
Story by Mandi Ringgenberg Design by Taylor Morrell Photos by Xander Fu 10
Mark Pickerel runs his fingers across bins of old vinyl records, looking for just the right spot to place the one in his hand. His eyes trace one after the other until, finally, he finds a good spot to slip the record into place. He stops occasionally to rub his hands together, warming them back up on this chilly January afternoon. The air smells of sweet, Honeycrisp apples as local produce lines the first floor of the Thorp Antique Mall. A few dozen bins of vinyl sorted by genre, vintage cowboy boots and plaid and leather jackets line the inside of his booth on the second floor. After warming his hands, he returns to sorting records and folding denim blue jeans. This vintage stand is just one of Mark Pickerel’s many creative endeavors.
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
“I am nostalgic, but I try and not let nostalgia become the central focus of my life. I try not to live in the past. I am a forward thinker.�
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OUR TOWN
A LONG AND WINDING ROAD
Pickerel, an Ellensburg native whose father, Tom, is a renowned local artist, got his first taste of fame back in 1984 when he first joined the psychedelic, garage-rock group, Screaming Trees. The Trees were popular in the Northwest music scene and earned comparisons with the likes of other regional music giants such as Nirvana and Soundgarden. But Pickerel isn’t particularly interested in talking about his years with the group. As he recalls, he didn’t find his permanent “calling” being a drummer and a “supporting character” for the Trees. “I was becoming more and more frustrated with this role of a subservient drummer and never knowing when the carpet was going to get pulled from underneath of [me],” Pickerel says. He is much more interested in talking about the creative process. But it’s clear his winding path to get to where he is today informs the music he continues to make. Pickerel’s varied work history is a who’s who of Seattle music. From 1989 to 1991, he worked parttime at legendary record label Sup Pop Records and played with numerous bands. When Pickerel finally left the Trees in 1991, he relocated to Ellensburg and opened up his own record shop, Rodeo Records. There, he cultivated his passion for records, customer service and music history. But meanwhile, he continued to drum for a variety of artists throughout the ‘90s, including Seattle band Truly, Mark Lanegan’s (Screaming Trees) side project, The Jury, Brandi Carlile (and later with the Hanseroth twins) and Neko Case. After deciding to close Rodeo Records in 2005, Pickerel moved to Seattle and quickly began working again with Carlile and Case. Going from psychedelic, garage rock to their more country and folk sound was a turn of musical style for Pickerel, but he learned to tailor his style of music. “I enjoy my drumming a lot more now having spent time playing that kind of music,” he admits. Providing drums and working with great local talent was his passion, but the inconsistency in job opportunities in the Seattle area at the time wasn’t reassuring. Pickerel eventually decided to move back to his hometown and start a family with fiancée Keely, and his daughter.
EVERYONE NEEDS HELP
While jumping from one band to the next, Pickerel had already loosely formed his own band, Mark Pickerel and His Praying Hands. With a revolving door of band mates, His Praying Hands has started to become a more cohesive unit. And by 2014, they released their debut album “Tess.” Naming the band was a tricky process for Pickerel. “I agreed to use my own name, but felt I needed a suggestion that there was a real band and the band was kind of starting to develop around me. So literally, within a few days of having to commit to a name, I saw a tattoo of the classic praying hands on someone’s shoulder, and I was like, ‘Man, that’s it, that’ll work.” “[The praying hands] reinforces this idea that everyone needs help, has to have some grace, some guidance in their life. Acceptance of their own ‘smallness,’ no matter how big they are. It was sort of one of those things that came to me. I just decided to commit,” Pickerel recalls. Resistant most of his life to personally identifying with Americana and country music, he later found a particular soulfulness to it that he couldn’t ignore when shaping the sound of his band. “It took a really long time until the ‘rootsier’ country started to appeal to me,” he recalls. “At a certain point, I became more and more interested in that part of our musical heritage and I never made any choice to participate and perform in that kind of music, but that was what sort of came out of me when I started pursuing writing.” One issue his latest album covers is alcohol consumption. Pickerel is honest about the reality of the music industry, where he says musicians are surrounded by alcohol – “readily available and free.” He admits to over-indulging himself, and talks about missed opportunities. He calls it “a lifestyle full of blurry images, missed opportunities, regret, temporary glimpses or displays of blissful grandeur, followed by cold, harsh, rude awakenings,” he says. “The one thing drinking almost always produces, besides a hangover, is a good story. I love a good story, but I’ve come to enjoy a sober sunrise even more!”
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
THE CREATIVE PROCESS
Every morning, before his two daughters, an 8-year-old and a 1-year-old, wake up, Pickerel dedicates at least an hour to writing music. He often starts with song lyrics, then moves into melodies, then back to lyrics. “I still have so much empathy for people who are poor or addicted or who are desperate. I can relate to the lonely and the down-trodden in our society. Those are the characters that I still write about and do character studies or sketches on when I write,” Pickerel admits. But, he adds, “As a challenge to myself, I want to be able to write about other interests and aspects of mine. Of aspects of life that I am intrigued or fascinated by.” Pickerel describes the creative process of writing music with cinematic or photographic visuals, as if watching a movie reel unfold behind his eyes as he writes lyrics and melodies. Ever since he was a boy, Pickerel was fascinated with black and white films and film noir. They heavily influenced his creativity as he got older and started writing music for himself. “Film noir and noir fiction and literature continue to be a big influence on me. I grew up with it. Something about the pace of those movies and the symbolism and the texture of those films spoke— appealed to me. They just became a portal of escapism for me.” Matt Stephens, a close friend of his for about 20 years, agrees that Pickerel’s vision when writing music is purely photographic. “He definitely takes a picture with his songwriting,” Stephens says. Keely Pickerel, a copyeditor and project manager for Yakima-based Field Group, says her husband has always had a passion for music and writing, much like herself. “He enjoys the songwriting process, collaborating with other artists in practice sessions and recording, and the art involved in recording be-
cause it is such a challenge to get down that sound you hear in you head,” Keely says. “He has a gift many musicians wish for – melodies just come to him.”
THE PAST AND THE FUTURE
For the past two years, Pickerel has been driving back to Seattle once a week to play music, or busk, inside the SeaTac International Airport. He says it’s a great experience for him to play for a big audience without having to travel too far to do it. “It’s an interesting window into the world,” says Pickerel, who is no longer touring like he once did. “Getting to meet people from all over the world without having to leave the Northwest is a pretty cool opportunity.” Ellensburg has been a good thing for the Pickerels. Keely, who is from Yakima originally, says, “I love that we’re close to family, live in a safe community that’s rich with artists and academics, and that we have both been able to make ends meet practicing our skills.” Since running into Brandi Carlile again a year ago, Pickerel has helped provide drums for local artists the Secret Sisters on an upcoming album which will be co-produced by Carlile and Phil and Tim Hanseroth. “I continue to get as much pleasure backing up artists from behind the kit as I do writing and performing my own music.” He’s also recording locally with plans to release a full-length album sometime in the next year, and has a song produced by legendary Seattle producer Jack Endino currently on Amazon Prime Music. In between his musical endeavors, he runs the vintage stand at the Thorp Antique Mall. With a career many musicians would be envious of, and ambitious for his future, Pickerel says he doesn’t let his past affect what lies ahead for him. “I am nostalgic, but I try and not let nostalgia become the central focus of my life. I try not to live in the past. I am a forward thinker.”
“Getting to meet people from all over the world without having to leave the Northwest is a pretty cool opportunity.”
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
10
HEARTBREAKING MOMENTS FOR
‘90s BABIES
Story by Bailee Wicks // Design by Vanessa Cruz
For all of us born in the 1990s, childhood was much simpler than kids’ today. Back then, we didn’t need a drivers license to operate a motor vehicle (or Goo-Goo Buggy) in Super Mario Kart, and we were the kings and queens of our backyards when our parents finally caved and bought us a Super Soaker. But even our adolescence was plagued with many upsets. Back then, we had to beg our parents to use the internet on the one computer in the house, and we were lucky when the closest thing to internet, our LeapFrog console, worked more than once every fifteen minutes. The ‘90s wasn’t all Otter Pop-stained lips and Rugrats reruns—we had some pretty iconic heartbreaks. Grab your tissues and Furbie as we share with you these most memorable heartbreaks that only ‘90s babies will truly understand.
1.
When the original word art on Microsoft Word was changed.
2.
When Tamagotchis were banned from your elementary school.
3.
When Steve left Blue’s Clues for "college" and had Joe take over.
5.
When they rereleased Furbies... our lives will never be the same.
you read/watched 9. When the second half of Bridge to Terabithia.
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4.
When your favorite Beanie Baby was out of stock.
6.
When your Sims character died too young.
7.
When you fell off Rainbow Road in Super Mario Kart.
8.
When your glitter gel pens ran out of gel.
10.
When Scar kills Mufasa… RIP
LIFE HACKS
Westworld vs. Real World Story by Jon Olsen-Koziol // Design by Elizabeth Mason
what is westworld? Westworld is a scripted sci-fi drama on HBO. It takes place sometime in the near future when humanity has perfected artificial intelligence (A.I.) and with it, they start a wild west reality-based theme park titled Westworld. In Westworld, the A.I. hosts are property of humanity, the A.I. are to be used as humans see fit because they aren’t conscious beings. It’s basically Red Dead Redemption brought to life with robots, and if you don’t know what that is, think Grand Theft Auto with horses and six-shooters. Guests pay 40 grand per day to do whatever they want, whenever they want, within the confines of the park. It mostly consists of drinking, having sex and killing the A.I. hosts (just like Grand Theft Auto.) The plot of the show revolves around guests and A.I. attempting to find meaning within the park and the meaning of consciousness itself, while competing forces vie for control of Westworld’s resources. The Future is Weird The technology in Westworld is grandiose and long away, but we are quickly approaching something similar. Elon Musk is the founder and CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and real life Tony Stark. He has famously compared the rise of A.I. to “summoning the demon.” Musk recently invested in a non-profit that will research and vet out information regarding artificial intelligence, basically acting as an academic safeguard against our cybernetic overlords, according to The Verge. If this scares literal rocket scientists, it should scare you too. Bradley Charvet is opening a café in London that is selling robot fellatio alongside your coffee, The Verge reports. You read that right, cyborg blowjobs and coffee. Life-like sex robots will be available to the masses in 2017, according to robotics expert Da-
vid Levy. We should expect nothing less from the same species that made six Sharknado movies. When a host A.I. is killed in Westworld, it is fixed much like a race car. They are shipped in for repairs and diagnostics, get fixed and then shipped back out as quickly as possible. Humans aren’t far from being fixed in similar fashion. Last year, scientists fit a paralyzed monkey with a device that bridged the neuropathic gap between the brain and the spine, and allowed it to walk again, according to Indpendent.co.uk. Although it isn’t ready for human trials just yet, it may only be a few years away. Are we already inside a Westworld-like simulation? While in Westworld, visitors enjoy an experience that is indistinguishable from real life. What if that has already happened? What if our reality is another civilization’s simulation? Well, people much smarter than you and I have theorized this: it’s called Simulation Theory. Nick Bostrom proposed “the simulation argument” in 2003, according to Wikipedia. Without boring you with the details, the argument is that if there is even the slightest probable chance that humanity can advance to the point of creating games or simulations indistinguishable from reality, who’s to say we aren’t already existing within such a simulation? Musk not only thinks this is a possibility, but a preferable outcome. If we don’t create the ultimate simulation, humanity will probably destroy itself, Musk said. Technology is advancing at a torrid pace, what’s to think it won’t happen? We went from Atari to PS4 in 30 or so years, what happens in another 40? Another 400? As uncertain and potentially scary times lie ahead, only one thing is for sure. In the future, everyone’s getting laid.
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
Story by Rune Torgersen // Photos by Jack Lambert // Design by Taylor Morrell
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PASSPORT
The smells of mulled wine, burning wood, and fresh snow greet visitors to Leavenworth, a town still known by locals as Little Bavaria. The architecture is reminiscent of a typical Bavarian mountain village. So, naturally, we decided to see how much fun we could squeeze out of this land of Germanic make-believe. Pulse documented the experience as a reference for others who might seek happiness in the land of schnitzel and beer gardens. According to the Leavenworth City of Commerce website, Leavenworth was founded in 1890, and was originally named Icicle Flats. The times brought their fair share of mining disasters and railroad tragedies, but things really took a turn for the worse in the 1930s, when the great depression hit. Things were a ghost town right up until 1960, when Leavenworth remodeled their whole image into a Bavarian village, in order to attract tourism. They began putting on their signature Autumn Leaf and Christmas Lighting festivals in the mid60s. Then in 1998, Oktoberfest began and Leavenworth has been a tourism-driven boomtown ever since. It has its fair share of tourist shops that sell the same uninspired “witty” t-shirts and salt-water taffy, but if one is willing to look underneath that, there is a genuinely relaxing and interesting experience just waiting to be discovered.
MORNING
We arrived in Leavenworth around 10 a.m., after a slippery, stressful drive. The surrounding mountains were shrouded in fog, and it was snowing a fair bit. Naturally, we decided the only cure for our travel-weary bodies was brunch. To reach Leavenworth from Ellensburg, drive to Old Highway 10 until you can take a right onto WA 97 N. Follow that, right up until it ends, then take a left onto the I-2 towards Leavenworth (follow the signs). Be wary of wintery conditions in the pass. We went to Pavz, a crepe place on Front Street, where we ordered the chile relleno and the frittata—each cost in the realm of $15. For dessert, we enjoyed the best apple crepe we’ve ever had. The restaurant itself was decorated to look like Spanish town, with local artwork hanging on the wall for sale. After breakfast, we decided to start shopping. The first store on the list was The Cheesemonger’s
Shop, recommended purely for their excellent selection of local and exotic cheeses, not to mention their varied beer and wine section to pair with said cheese. Free samples are available for just about every cheese in the store, so it’s hard not to leave without purchasing a block or two of something good. Next door, we found a shop named Cup and Kettle, which sells a large variety of teas and spices, all of which can be sampled. Pricing is relatively modest for the product you get. Then we went to A Matter Of Taste, which sits further down Front Street. This is where your inner daredevil comes out, with its extensive collection of absurdly spicy hot sauce practically begging you to take potentially unhealthy risks. They sell other sauces and novelties as well, such as homemade mustard and interesting salt and pepper shakers, but the main attraction is definitely the spicy products. Pavz, 833 Front St. A rustic-chic cafe known for their crêpes and steaks. The Cheesemonger’s Shop, 819 Front St. Cheese, wine, beer, and assorted specialties. Cup and Kettle, 819 Front St. Teas, spices, and assorted cooking essentials. A Matter Of Taste, 647 Front St Sauces and spices, particularly crazy hot sauces, slight tourist markup.
AFTERNOON
As the clock struck 1 p.m., we agreed it was time for coffee. So, being Seattleites at heart, we found the most hipster-looking coffee shop around. J5 Coffee is a small, locally owned and operated coffee roaster, which serves a fantastic cup of espresso. The owner is also very willing to talk about the process involved in manufacturing his wares. Now properly caffeinated, we made our way to Waterfront Park to take in some of the local nature. It was still snowing up a storm, but the riverside park had nature trails and spots to overlook the scenery. Even though it was cold and wet outside, it was well worth it. Thoroughly soaked, we meandered towards a quick lunch at München Haus, an outdoor Bratwurst grill and bar, which every single website insisted was the best place to get a fast bite in Leavenworth. After having gone, we couldn’t agree 19
Winter 2017 | Issue One
more. There were absolutely no frills involved here, just a well-grilled sausage and a great selection of condiments to eat with. The outdoor seating felt comfortable, even in the cold weather, due to the well-placed torches and other heat sources. Because food is a big part of our lives, we stopped by Cured, a store filled with, well, cured things, like beef jerky and pickles. We bought $3 worth of beef jerky to sample, and decided we were fans. Then, once again, we decided our next stop had to be coffee. We paid a visit to Argonaut for something to warm us up. They serve Blue Star coffee there, which is always good. We then got ourselves lost in Kris Kringl, a store which seems convinced that Christmas is a state of being, as opposed to a specific holiday. Two full stories of yuletide cheer, odd ornaments, cheesy CDs recorded by has-been celebrities, and at least one singing reindeer. We recommend just taking a walk around the store, embracing the aggressive Christmasiness the store has to offer. For those more comically inclined, there’s a
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comic and board game shop right across the street called Krampus Kave, which has an excellent stock of all the nerd accessories you could ever dream of. An excellent place to grumble ‘bah, humbug’, while more yuletide-friendly friends go starry-eyed in Kris Kringl. J5 Coffee, 215 9th St. Home-roasted coffee, artisan chocolates and accessories. München Haus, 709 Front St. Craft beers, German sausages, and open courtyard for music and events. Cured, 636 Front St. Cured meats and vegetables. Argonaut: Espresso Bar, 617 Front St. Quant, sidewalk coffee stop with homemade donuts Kris Kringl, 907 Front Street, Year-round Christmas emporium. Krampus Kave, 900 Front St. Comics, board games, and collectibles.
PASSPORT
EVENING
In the midst of our snow-inspired euphoria, we noticed the fog was parting, and the sun beginning to set over a distant mountaintop. The sunset over Leavenworth that evening was one of the most beautiful sights ever to be seen. It truly managed to capture all the natural splendor of the area surrounding the town, and left an impression we couldn’t forget. We sat and watched for the full duration of the spectacle, and when the final rays disappeared in the distance, we realized it was dinnertime. We legged it back to Andreas’ Keller, and soon found out why many people recommend going there at least once. If I had to describe it in one sentence, imagine eating a feast of pork, cabbage, and potatoes in a Hobbit-hole, to a soundtrack of an accordion and guitar duo. The atmosphere was seeping out of the walls, and in the heat of the moment, we ordered the sausage sampler, jagerschnitzel, and the most ludicrous-looking dish on the menu, the schweinshaxen. It was a
lump of pork the size of our head, served on a bed of potatoes. Along with the other stuff, finishing it proved to be a task beyond our meager stomachs. Nevertheless, for a truly magical, friendly, and enjoyable experience, I can recommend trying it at least once. It isn’t the cheapest dinner in town, but we got what we paid for in both the food and the experience. And with our full stomachs and smiling faces, we began the drive back to Ellensburg. Leavenworth is by no means an accurate representation of Germany. However, it is a fun experience waiting to happen for those willing to just relax and enjoy the ride. We also recommend bringing a sled during the winter months, because this town is built to let your inner child run loose. Surrounded by beautiful nature and gorgeous architecture, everything begs the visitor to just unwind and enjoy the moment. Andreas’ Keller, 829 Front St. Good German-style cooking and live music on weekends.
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
&
Abroad
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CATHERINE GARRITY Rome, Italy
MOLLY HAGGERTY Rome, Italy
ODA BERG Bellingham, Washington
Catherine Garrity studied abroad in Rome, Italy. She realized most of her hardships involved the public transportation- where she got lost often, and would have to find her way home alone. Although getting lost was a common theme, it was miniscule compared to her interactions with people. While in Florence, one interaction was particularly peculiar. “A funny little man poked his head right under my umbrella and said something like ‘beautiful lady’ and then waved at me with a HUGE smile on his face until I disappeared from his view, which was at least a fiveminute walk away,” she said.
Molly Haggerty studied in Rome, Italy where she ran into some unexpected hardships. “I think the worst thing that went wrong was when Sarah needed immediate medical attention for the abscess in her throat,” Haggerty said about roommate. Haggerty said she trekked all over the city in search of an emergency care with doctors who could understand English. The two girls then took a bus that broke down on the side of the road. At this point they were not only stranded, but their phones weren’t working either. By the end of the day they spent $260 worth of Uber rides and didn’t receive adequate medical attention.
To the average American, the U.S. seems easy to navigate, but we forget the difficulties that lie ahead when people visit from other countries. Oda Berg, who is originally from Oslo, Norway, studied in Bellingham, Wash., for a year. One struggle she recalls vividly is when she had to find her way home from a friend’s house at night. “I ended up walking home because I had no money, and my phone was dead so I couldn’t call my host family,” Berg said. Since then, Berg makes sure to never leave the house without her phone charged and with enough money to take the bus home.
PASSPORT
Story by McKenna Lautenbach & Jessie Whitaker // Design by Vanessa Cruz
While studying abroad can be an exhilarating time, there are aspects of international travel that can be bizarre, scary and even dangerous, especially for female travelers. Maybe it is these moments of extreme culture shock that most expand our minds and help us see the world from a different perspective, but that doesn’t make them any less intimidating. Pulse spoke with students who studied abroad to hear their shocking moments. We’re calling it “Abroad and Afraid.”
OLIVIA WITT Munich, Germany
CASSIDY KUNST Amalfi Coast, Italy
AMANDA WAKEFIELD Rome, Italy
While studying in Germany, Olivia Witt had the opportunity to experience Oktoberfest. Her and her friends were camping in the middle of the woods during the festival, and while everything went smoothly for Witt, her friend wasn’t so lucky. “My tent mate and I got separated at the festival, so she tried to make her way home. You have to take two short train rides to get back to where we were camping, and when I found her she told me that she was drunk and crying with no idea how to read German,” she said. Luckily Witt and her friend found their way home, and they were careful not to leave each other’s side again.
Traveling can be scary all in itself, but what happens when you are injured and abroad? Central student Cassidy Kunst, had a first-hand experience while studying abroad over the summer in Italy. Kunst was sitting down with her tea in the morning when something made her jump and spill steaming hot tea all over her leg. “I got a third degree burn, and the emergency doctor made me have my leg wrapped the entire time,” Kunst said. “I couldn’t go swimming, and walking to class every day was a struggle.” For Kunst, drinking tea may never be the same.
Amanda Wakefield studied abroad in Rome, Italy. She got lost on her first night, which turned out to be the first time of many. Not only was the area new and confusing, but an incident on the public transportation scared her for life. Wakefield was on the tram minding her own business when she looked down at her phone and noticed a disheveled man standing holding onto the bar right beside her seat. She turned her head to the right and was suddenly eye level with the stranger’s penis. “That was pretty scary and scarring for life,” she said. This unfortunate interaction teaches us one thing for sure, you might literally have to face your fears head on if you want to travel the globe. 23
Winter 2017 | Issue One
Story by Lexi Phillips & Simone Corbett // Design by Taylor Morrell // Photos by Xander Fu
During his candidacy, President Donald Trump talked about the possibility of implementing a “Muslim registry,” and on Jan. 27, a mere week after taking office, he signed an executive order to ban travel from seven predominantly Muslim countries to the United States for a 90day period, and to suspend refugee admissions for longer. Protests broke out across the country, chaos ensued at airports, and within a week the order was suspended by a federal judge right here in Washington State. As of press time, the suspension was pending appeal and looked likely to wind up in the Supreme Court. 24
Trump’s actions have sparked conversations about the larger issue of Islamophobia and possible discrimination against Muslims in the U.S. What are people saying at Central? In a letter to the campus community following the executive order, Central President James Gaudino said the ban may affect one student but did not affect any Central employees. “Central Washington University welcomes people from all walks of life, from all places on earth,” Gaudino’s message read. “We do not judge people by the origin of their birth, but by the content of their character. We embrace the value of a community enriched by diverse experiences, abilities, and cultures.”
SPOTLIGHT
Pulse reached out to scholars and Muslim students to get their responses to recent events, and to find out what life is like at Central as a Muslim.
“NO REASON TO FEAR”
“All of us know the misconceptions being said about Muslims and Islam,” says Zahiah Alkharnda, a third-year cellular and molecular biology student originally from Saudi Arabia. She describes some of those misconceptions: “That we have some sort of idea to do Sharia law in America, or that we’re all terrorists, or that we have some kind of hate for other religions or other people from other beliefs.” Even before he took office, Trump was criticized by many for his use of language that could be seen as promoting some of these misconceptions, particularly his use of the provocative term, “radical Islamic terrorism.” “I think Trump’s candidacy emboldened individuals who were already prejudiced or Islamophobic to come outright and say it, and act upon it,” says Dr. Geraldine O’Mahony, interim director of the Douglas Honors College at Central and professor of theology. In fact, the FBI reported a 67 percent rise in hate crimes against Muslims in the United States between 2014 and 2015. Anti-Muslim intimidation crimes, defined as threatening bodily harm, rose in 2015 to their highest reported levels since 2001, according to a Pew Research report. Alkharnda describes a recent incident in Ellensburg where a man in a truck with a Trump sticker on it pulled up alongside her and said, “Do you know why I almost ran you over? Because you don’t belong in this country!” Another man stopped to intervene, and she says she just walked away. “It really shocked me, because this was Ellensburg! This was CWU! And we’re really a diverse campus. We’re very welcoming, and everybody’s so nice.” Despite this experience, she says, “I would never say that the whole American community is like that. But you can imagine if one Muslim person came out and did something, boom, we’re all terrorists. We’re all like that.” O’Mahony says the Muslim population is misrepresented by terrorist groups like Al-Qaeda, Al-Shabaab and Boko Haram, which make up an infinitesimal percentage of the world’s Muslim population. “I think the fact that he lumps all Muslims in together is shocking and ignorant, but also his un-
derstanding of the threat of terrorism is so myopic, that when he talks about ‘radical Islamic terrorism,’ as he phrases it, he’s actually, in a weird way, giving more power to the terrorists that he’s saying he’s fighting,” asserts O’Mahony, who lived and worked in various countries in the Middle East and holds a Master’s Degree in Islamic Studies. She says terrorists claiming to be Muslim “have taken their own idea of Islam and twisted it to justify their political goals and a lust for violence.” Alkharnda adds, “There are wrong things that Muslims do, but not Islam. And that’s really important to differentiate, because in every culture and every religion, people do wrong things. So, just because I’m a Muslim, and I’m a Saudi, it doesn’t mean that all of Saudi Arabia and all Muslims do the same as I do. Because again, we are individuals.” Mayowa Makinde, a Muslim first-year student from Nigeria, says, “People have no reason to fear Muslims.” He refers to the Qur’an’s teaching of peace: “If someone has labeled themselves Muslim, then they can testify that they don’t like trouble.” For these students, being Muslim isn’t just about religion, it’s a way of life. Alkharnda says, “Islam is not just a name, it’s a behavior.” “So, even if I don’t wear my hijab… I am a Muslim because of the way I act with people and the way I behave. If you are a good person, I believe you are a Muslim.”
THE “MUSLIM BAN”
In response to the recent “Muslim ban,” as the executive order on immigration is being called by many, third-year safety and health management student Khalid Alamoudi from Saudi Arabia argues it’s hard to make a connection between the law and religion or religious-based terrorism, as the order doesn’t apply to all Muslim-majority countries. Majed Alhumaidani, senior political science student from Saudi Arabia, additionally suggests that none of the countries selected are home to people or groups who pose a threat to the U.S. Banning or registering people based on their religion “is something that should terrify every citizen—or non-citizen—in this country,” O’Mahony warns. “I bet if you talked to Germans during World War II, when they started seeing Jews being registered, and the Jews had to start wearing yellow stars, they probably thought it could never happen.” 25
Winter 2017 | Issue One
O’Mahony suggests “nothing is beyond the pale in terms of possibilities” when it comes to the future of Muslims’ safety in the U.S. From many people’s perspective, singling out a single religious group is not just offensive, it’s anti-American. “One thing that makes America special,” says Tariq Alyoussef, a fourth-year information technology and administrative management student also from Saudi Arabia, is that “it’s accepted all of the religions and all of the beliefs.” “That’s why when I was little, I wanted to go to America, because I knew how the freedom was, and the open-mindedness, how they were going to accept me.” But, he says, Trump “is going to change many people’s beliefs about America.”
FAMILIARITY BREEDS TRUST
O’Mahony, who is originally from Ireland, recalls feeling fascinated by the fact that such a large portion of the U.S. follows the religion of Islam, yet so many don’t know anything about it. Ignorance can lead to misconceptions. “If we in America want to have relationships with people in other parts of the world, we need to be able to comunicate and listen, and hear, but also to understand different perspectives,” O’Mahony says.
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Saudi student Alkharnda agrees. “If you care enough to understand and learn about other religions and cultures, you will be able to communicate with these people from these cultures. If you don’t know it, you will not trust it.” Dr. Michael Hundley, a lecturer in Central’s Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies, suggests that learning about other religions allows you to better understand people and see the world on their terms, which can be vastly different from the lens we view our world from. Not only does learning about different religions and cultures help you to communicate more effectively, it also helps you to better yourself. Alyoussef experienced this first-hand. “I have been to Japan, and I spent all of my trip [learning about] the temples and the beliefs, which was really interesting to me. I learned a lot, and I don’t have to follow their religion, but that will help you understand something else to add to your personal value,” he says. “I believe understanding other cultures will really make you a better person.” O’Mahony shares the same idea. “Learning about other religious traditions has helped me work through various stages in my life—what’s important to me and what isn’t, what I do or do not believe. It’s actually clarified a lot within the tradi-
SPOTLIGHT
tion that I grew up in, and I think people will find beauty in every tradition that they look at.” Nigerian student Makinde says this learning goes both ways. “I’m taking an introductory religious course; I think it helps me… I want to become religiously literate so I don’t see people do stuff and then just look down [on others],” he says. “I think people should learn at least a basic understanding of what [Islam] is about so they don’t go about having misconceptions.”
COMMON MISCONCEPTIONS
Anybody who uses social media, watches TV or has one particularly bigoted relative has probably seen or heard at least one stereotype surrounding Muslims or Islam. The big one: all Muslims are terrorists. Other misconceptions relate to whether Muslims can truly be Americans, and how Muslim women are treated. “Because I look like I’m not American, or because I look like I’m a Muslim person,” Alkharnda says, people assume “that I don’t know how to speak English, or write in English. It makes me really uncomfortable, especially when it’s from professors, not only students.” “We’re just here, as students. That’s the first thing that people should know: we are individuals… I’m a ‘CWU student’ before I am a ‘Muslim CWU student.’” O’Mahony explains a related misconception she often comes across is the idea “that Americans aren’t Muslims, or that Muslims can’t be American. Islam is the fastest-growing religion in the United States; there [is] no shortage of Americans embracing Islam and converting to Islam.” Alyoussef recalls a remark made to him by a woman who “was mentioning that she understands that in my culture, men don’t respect women, and women are [less than] dogs,” he says. “That really shocked me, because we really value women in our culture… Women are really important, we would protect them with our lives.” According to Alkharnda, there is an entire chapter dedicated to women in the Qur’an. She says Islam is one of the first religions to speak about women’s rights. “Maybe cultures [or] countries don’t practice that right for women, but in Islam, women have a huge, important part in life.” O’Mahony also talks about the issue of veiling, which is a Muslim woman’s choice to cover herself using a type of veil such as a hijab, chador, niqab or burka, to name a few. “It’s one way to express belief and faith,” she explains. “There are Muslim women who choose not to veil, there are Muslim women
FIVE PILLARS OF ISLAM
The foundation of Muslim life, The “Five Pillars,” are: Shahadah: Declaration that there is no deity but Allah and Muhammad is his Prophet; Salah: Establishment of the five daily prayers; Zakaat: Mandatory giving to the needy; Siyam: Fasting during the month of Ramadan; Hajj: The pilgrimage to Makkah for those who are able. Source: theislamiccenter.com
DIFFERENT TYPES OF VEILS Hijab: From the Arabic for veil, a scarf that covers the head and neck. Al-Amira: A two-piece veil consisting of a fitted cap and a scarf, which cover the head and neck. Shayla: a long scarf wrapped around the head and tucked or pinned at the shoulders. Khimar: A long veil that hangs nearly to the waist, covering the head, neck, and shoulders. Chador: A full-body cloak, often worn with a headscarf underneath. Niqab: A veil for the face that often covers everything but the eyes, worn with a headscarf. Burka: A veil that covers the entire face and body, with a mesh screen covering the eyes. Source: bbc.co.uk 27
“When I was little, I wanted to go to America, because I knew how the freedom was, and the openmindedness, how they were going to accept me.”
who choose to veil. It’s a particular way of understanding modesty and one’s relationship to Allah.” Alkharnda says whether Muslims wear a hijab or not is a personal decision. She explains wearing a hijab as an expression of one’s identity in Islam. For women and men, “hijab is a concept, it’s not just a piece of clothing,” she says. “It means a barrier and it’s not only to cover my hair or to cover my body, it’s also to cover my actions.” Not only does wearing a hijab allow Alkharnda to express her confidence in her religion, but she is also able to express her sense of fashion through it as well, she notes. In Western society, veiling is often thought of as a way for women to be controlled or suppressed by men. “The idea that the only way women can express themselves as ‘free’ is to wear less... is rather antithetical to freedom itself,” says O’Mahony. “It’s also denigrating of Muslim women; it treats Muslim women as if they are pawns and have no agency.” O’Mahony continues to relate the issue to one that Western women similarly face. “I think this is embedded in the sexism and the misogyny of this
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country and the West, in that we think it’s okay to tell women that they don’t know their own minds,” she says. “Muslim women in particular are getting the blunt end of that right now.” Why might non-Muslims be so stuck on these skewed ideas of Islam? The answer, according to Hundley, lies in what we see in Hollywood and in the media. “You hear from some people that it’s a religion of peace, but that’s all you hear, and no one really explains to you what that means and why they understand it that way. So, you kind of have that on one side of your brain, but [on] the other side of your brain, you see all the stuff in Hollywood, and you have a very clear image of this bad stuff,” Hundley explains. “So, when someone tells you it’s peaceful, it sounds nice, and you want to believe it, but you need some substance or a new image to replace the other one with.” Saudi Arabian-born first-year accounting student Muhannad Alanazi agrees. “The media made a picture of Islam,” he says, advising fellow Americans to do their own research, as not everything in the media is going to be 100 percent accurate.
SPOTLIGHT
MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN
Many of Central’s Muslim students are international (see sidebar). The students Pulse spoke to say they have enjoyed their time in Ellensburg overall. “I would say [being at Central is] a pretty great and fun experience,” says Alkharnda. “I feel like I definitely learned a lot about other cultures and even about myself—I developed, being here.” Alyoussef agrees. “I think what’s good about CWU [is that] we have a lot of cultures here, and being with others—like, for example, the Japanese culture or the Chinese culture—helped me a lot to [adapt to] this culture.” Makinde says his first year at Central has been a bit more of a challenge: “It’s not all that easy, but I think I’m going to pull through in the end… This is my first college experience, so I think I’m still adjusting.” Cultural adjustments include religious concerns. “There isn’t a place for prayer at Central,” Alkharnda notes. “That was one thing that I would say almost every single Muslim student who came here wanted. Because that’s really important; we have five prayers a day, and we have almost two of them that we do during class times. So, if I don’t have a nearby place to go to pray, that would be really difficult for me.” Alyoussef adds, “The international office provides a room every Friday, which is nice of them, but we would still like a room so that we can practice every day.” Alkharnda says they’ve been trying to secure a permanent room for daily prayer for about two years, and hopefully will be getting one soon. It’s part of the legacy she hopes to leave behind when she departs Central. She also expresses a desire for a private room for Muslim women to exercise in, as she says many feel uncomfortable exercising in the gym in layers of clothing. Alhumaidani suggests he’d like to see a larger variety of religious texts, both in English and other languages, at the campus library. These might be their messages for President Gaudino. And if these students had a message for President Trump? “Don’t fear Islam or Muslims,” Makinde says. “Islam is peace and Muslims are peaceful.” Alkharnda adds, “Muslims are part of this country, and they’re part of building America, and they’re part of making America great again.”
MUSLIM POPULATIONS
About 370 international students call Central their home—160 of which identify as Muslim, according to the Office of International Studies and Programs. That means Muslim students make up about 43 percent of the population of international students on Central’s Ellensburg campus. International Studies recently released a video emphasizing that students from all countries are welcome at Central. The video, called #youarewelcomehere, can be found on the International Programs page of the Central website. Data from Pew Research Center estimates 3.3 million Muslims lived in the U.S in 2015. That number is expected to double by 2050, according to Pew Research. In fact, by 2040, Pew reports that Muslims are expected to be the second largest religion in the U.S. behind Christianity.
ABOUT THE SAUDI STUDENT ASSOCIATION Officers of Central’s Saudi Student Association say their club aims to introduce and unite their culture with others on campus. The club spreads awareness about the Saudi culture through hosting events which celebrate Islamic holidays, such as Eid alFitr and Eid al-Adha. The club members emphasized this club is not just for Muslim students; all are welcome regardless of their religious beliefs. “We’re really open and we’re really friendly. We learn about other religions and we can be friends with you guys,” says club president Tariq Alyoussef. “We love to communicate with [other religions].” To learn more about Muslims or Islam, the Saudi Student Association holds “Talk to a Muslim” sessions Thursdays from 12 p.m. to 3 p.m. in the SURC, and they encourage you to approach them if you have any questions or concerns, or if you just want to have a conversation.
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
1,200-POUND ATHLETE: THE EQUINE STARS OF COLLEGE RODEO Story by Jonnie Crossland Design by Maddie Bush Photos by Elizabeth Weddle
You speak to this athlete through your body language, with the gentle touch of your hand. This athlete has all the power to win you the gold buckle, or land you in the hospital. This athlete is up to ten times your size, with a mind of its own. This athlete is the horse of college rodeo. Ellensburg is home to some of the most famous cowboys and cowgirls, and one of the most famous rodeos in the country. Because the town is a natural cowboy attraction, college rodeo students come to Central not just for an education, but also to compete on the college rodeo team. The team has some of the most talented horses in the Northwest Region, and even the country. For the last three years, Central has sent some of its finest athletes to the College National Finals Rodeo (CNFR) in Casper, Wyo. But what makes Central’s college rodeo athletes successful? Rodeo is a team sport between the horse and its rider, and the performance of the horse can make or break your success in rodeo.
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SPOTLIGHT
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
MEET THE ATHLETES
“RODEO IS A SPORT AND YOUR HORSE IS THE MAIN PLAYER.”
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Central student Jordan Tye and his horse, Mac Bandito Jiggs, or ‘Mac’ for short, currently lead in the calf roping event for the Northwest Region. They’ve been competing together since the fall, but Mac has already started to make his name known in the region. He is a nine-year-old sorrel gelding that has ranching experience, but as a team, Jordan is working to bring Mac to new heights in rodeo competitions. Central student Kiley Streeter and her barrel racing, breakaway roping, and team roping horse, Roxy, are no stranger to the region and winning. Roxy was Streeter’s sister’s horse, and qualified for the CNFR three years in a row for barrel racing. This 13-year-old sorrel mare is proving herself as a breakaway horse this year, leading the event in the region. She is also sixth in the barrel racing and eleventh in the team roping events.
THE UNBREAKABLE BOND
Central’s Rodeo Coach, Gerry Bremner believes it’s important his team invests in owning their own horses, as it allows them to learn responsibility and dedication to their animal. Both Tye and Streeter found it easier to develop a bond by having their own horses, and being able to work through the kinks. Respect, trust, and dedication are all traits both athletes found were important in being a successful team with Mac and Roxy. While Mac and Tye are a relatively new team since the fall, Tye knows it’s important to know your horse. He describes Mac as smart, and a horse that aims to please. Being new to the event, Mac is a little more high strung, while Tye is more of a calm rider. Together they balance each other out. “I just knew I had a feeling that it would be good,” Tye described the experience with Mac when he was figuring out if he would be a good fit for him. He said the first run went perfect, and Mac did everything Tye expected. Even though the next run wasn’t as good, Tye believed the horse could do it again.
SPOTLIGHT
Streeter and Roxy are also a fairly new team, but their bond has developed more into a relationship. “You can be short and sassy with each other, but you will do anything in the world to protect each other,” Streeter said of the trust her and Roxy have. “I have never been on a horse that I can put my whole heart and all my faith into,” Streeter described the trust that is a big factor that Roxy brings to her and Streeter’s team. She adjusts to the different circumstances that each arena brings; if the ground is too slick, she will be sure to travel safely through the pattern with her rider. If the ground is perfect, she ensures that her rider trusts her to win. Even though the teams both practice year round, both Tye and Streeter feel excitement when it comes time to work and compete on both Mac and Roxy. “Rodeo is a sport and your horse is the main player,” Streeter said.
HEART OF GOLD
Mac and Roxy aren’t just the powerful, focused horses seen in the arena. They, too, have personalities of their own that their owners have grown to love. Mac enjoys his feeding routine, and Tye knows it. He anxiously awaits his feed, and Tye enjoys playing with him, but also ensuring that his horse is looking good. He takes time to inspect Mac, and make sure he made it through the day and night without finding his way into any mischief that could ultimately put his career on hold. Streeter’s sister, Kelsey, said Roxy is a typical girl. “She comes off as someone who is independent, confident, beautiful, talented, yet she also desperately needs someone by her side at all times. “Even though she may think she needs a companion, Streeter said she’s just like humans—she wants a friend to build her up, even though she is strong enough to be alone. While Roxy may be an all-around horse, and competes in three events, she enjoys her leisure time. Streeter said on mornings when she is tired, she refuses to get up. “She has to
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do everything on her own time,” Streeter joked. When Roxy is done competing in an event, she knows what’s next. She stops right outside the gate and reaches back for her treat Streeter has waiting for her. Despite enjoying her lazy days, Roxy has also had a very important job for Streeter. During Streeter’s senior year of high school, she was involved in a horse wreck in barrel racing; shaking her confidence in that event. She had to go to Harbor View and get three cadaver ligaments placed in her left knee from when her horse fell down on her. Although Streeter has always still been competitive in breakaway roping, Kelsey Streeter believed that what her sister needed was a horse like Roxy, to bring back Kiley’s confidence. “I think that’s Roxy’s job now, she needs to help Kiley be confident and go for her goals.” Her sister Kiley agreed that Roxy was just the horse that she needed to bring back her confidence. “When you trust someone or something with every ounce of you, this is when you start to heal,”
said Kiley Streeter. “I have so much faith in Roxy that she will take care of me no matter what in the rodeo arena that I feel like I am finally starting to recover from that accident.” It’s these personality traits that make the bond between horses and riders evolve into a friendship.
CARE
Each horse, like every athlete, has its own program and season. It’s important to the horse, because this is where the preparation and competition begins. “There’s no real ‘off ’ season [in rodeo],” Tye said, which is why Mac stays in shape year round. While college rodeo season is in the fall and spring months, Mac still goes to jackpots and rodeos in the winter and summer. Along with training, Mac is on a strict diet and gets his teeth and shoes done every six to eight weeks. Roxy, much like Mac, stays in shape year round and gets her feet done on a regular basis. The feed program she is on also helps her get the nutrients she needs to perform the best.
UNPAID DEDICATION While one of the best-paying, and most glorious, jobs in the country is being a university coach, CWU Rodeo Team’s Head Coach Gerry Bremner volunteers his time. He attends the weekend rodeos and spends at least four days a week coaching from 4:30 p.m. until 8 p.m., allowing his athletes to use his horses, facilities, stock, and equipment- All this, while trying to maintain his job, family, and his own livestock. Bremner’s efforts as a coach have brought the CWU Rodeo Team back into full swing. From 2014 when the team trailed at the back of the pack, to a CNFR Women’s team qualification in 2015, his coaching has brought the team to new heights. 34
SPOTLIGHT
Streeter described the shape Roxy needs to be as “that of a marathon runner.” She said it’s because Roxy does three events twice in a weekend, and needs to be able to maintain enough energy and strength.
No rodeo budget looks exactly the same, but many spend upwards of thousands of dollars to maintain the health of their equine athletes.
HEART OF GOLD
Mac and Roxy have been working year round to prepare for the college rodeo season. While they have one rodeo weekend under their belt (Ontario, Ore.), their next rodeo is in Walla Walla, Wash. March 10-12. The athletes will then have a break for a few weeks, but are back in full swing April 15-16, where they’ll be traveling to Milton-Freewater, Ore., to compete. The following weekend there will be a home rodeo in Ellensburg before their final the next weekend in Hermiston, Ore. The top three athletes in each event and top two schools in the region will have an opportunity to compete at the College National Finals Rodeo in Casper, Wyo. Mac and Roxy are both looking to win a spot for a trip to the CNFR.
“I can say if I didn’t have all my horses and cows, trucks and trailers, I would have a lot more money. But I probably wouldn’t know what to do with my life and wouldn’t be as happy,” Tye says of the pros and cons of the expense of being a college rodeo athlete. “This is my life and it’s what I love. It takes a lot to have all them and feed them, but the feeling I get riding, roping, and competing, and winning is all worth it.” Both Tye and Streeter described the expenses tied to their horses, including hay, grains, supplements, vet care, hoof care, dental care, and their tack, including saddles, saddle pads, bridles, bits, and other equipment used to compete. But the expenses don’t stop there—the athletes pay for fuel to travel to rodeos, maintain their own trucks and trailers, and pay entry fees.
When did you decide to help the college rodeo team? “It must have been 2013, after the college rodeo here in Ellensburg.” What motivated you to do so? “I guess the truth is we were helping anyways, and my steers were in there. It was pretty irritating that our team was the bad news bears, but we had the top 25 rodeo in the world.” What changes have been made since you’ve started coaching? “Oh we have practice now! Since I’ve started coaching, I’ve recruited some
WHAT’S NEXT ATHLETES?
kids; recruited out of state, gotten better cattle—more cattle. We’ve gotten better competitors and more people that are willing to learn more and work hard.” How do you throw a minimum of four days a week of rodeo into the mix of work and a family? “My family sacrifices a lot. I have a boss that’s super understanding. And I sleep four hours a day. You just run from one project to the next.” What was your most memorable experience while being a college rodeo coach?
FOR
OUR
“The year that you and Kelsey and Lexi made it to the CNFR. I was hoping just to be competitive that year, and you guys did ten times better than I had hoped that we could do... Winning second in the region.” Is it worth your time, energy, and expense to coach this team? “Oh I think so. To see the kids, you guys, reach your goals and have success, is well worth the time. You get see rodeo continue to grow and keep going.
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
Do your hair in a style that suits the intended mood
Understand that flowers make any room more appealing Dress up modestly, yet fashionably Serve your beverage of choice in a suitably classy glass
Remember chocolates (as they are the symbol of love) Light candles, for atmosphere
Concept by Rune Torgersen & Jack Lambert Photo Illustration by Jack Lambert Design by Maddie Bush
VALENTINE’S DO’S
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VALENTINE’S SPECIAL
Think “I dunno, you decide” means you get to eat chicken nuggets for dinner
Poorly attempt to conceal your energy drink behind your red solo carrots
Wear sunglasses inside, at night
Leave your shirt open in a desperate attempt to draw attention to the fact that you are, in fact, naked underneath your clothes
Mistake carrots for flowers, and a solo cup for a vase
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
Story by Megan Schrenk Design by Maddie Bush Photos by Jack Lambert
If you are loved enough by someone else, you can learn to love yourself just the same. It’s a strange concept, but it’s one many people have learned to accept. Countless men and women only view themselves as being worthy after someone else affirms their value. Knowing your own self-worth and acknowledging it can be a long, winding path, but everyone must begin somewhere.
I N E E D YO U Dani Pro, a junior at Central Washington University, has personally struggled with self-love, especially back when she was in high school. “I didn’t understand why I was an outcast,” says Pro. “I constantly felt like I was doing something wrong. I was surrounded by all of these people who I thought were my friends, but I still felt like I was completely alone.” Needing constant affirmation from people you have relationships with can hinder or destroy those ties over time, says Dr. Meaghan Nolte, an assistant psychology professor at Central. “It also builds a need-based relationship, rather than a healthy independent coexistence.” “My high school boyfriend was abusive and my best friend moved around a lot, 38
but we always managed to stay in contact,” says Pro. “I was also disappointed constantly by my friends because I was looking in the wrong place for that affirmation. The breaking point was that month leading up to graduation though. I had a horrible break up and my best friend left me without any closure.” It’s frightening to lose the most stable people in your life. It can feel like your whole world is crumbling down around you. And all the time you spent trying to fit in, it backfired in the worst way possible. This kind of experience led Pro to seek help. “After graduation, I knew I needed help. I ended up going to a doctor and a therapist. Being able to sit down and talk with someone was essentially the biggest turning point,” says Pro. Central’s Wellness health coach Doug Fulp says, “All too often we want to be responsive or reactive to our environment. By being preemptive, you can avoid the tumbling downfall towards self-deprecation. Seeking out professional help is one of the best, most humbling ways to begin loving yourself.”
I NEED ME “I was diagnosed with ADHD and social anxiety, but knowing that connected a lot of dots for me. I spent so much time just re-
VALENTINE’S SPECIAL
searching these disorders and sometime Fulp discovered when people find a niche during all of that I began to slowly discover and a place where they feel most comfortable, things about myself. My fears and weak- their personal growth increases. nesses were starting to become clear to me,” Loving yourself begins with knowing says Pro. and discovering who you truly are as a person; She decided to challenge her way of realizing what you value, what your strengths thinking by using what Fulp says about hav- are, and admitting to what you think your ing a positive outlook and identifying what is weaknesses are. However, part of self-love is going well. Since then, Pro has started to view not giving into those weaknesses and instead her negative thoughts in a positive way. capitalizing on your strengths. “Little by little I challenge myself to smile and say ‘Hi’ to everybody while at work. I L O V E M E I started asking questions more because that The ability to tell yourself that you are was one of my biggest fears. The more I did perfect the way you are is the pinnacle of selfthat the more I realized that I was not the perworth. “I love that I have anxiety,” Pro adds. son who I thought I was. I had these strengths “It reminds me to slow down, to reflect, and I did not think I possessed. I was becoming to be alone. And to be okay with that.” more self-aware as a result of taking on those One thing Pro commends is to embrace fears,” says Pro. being alone.“Solitude lets you Self-actualization is a learn how to be reliant on your“DOING THINGS key part to loving yourself self. Go exploring, even if it is just ON MY OWN and being proud of who you hiking alone. Teach yourself how HELPED ME are. When you can realize to do something. Changing a tire REALIZE I CAN your strengths, as well as your may be simple, but knowing that RELY ON MYSELF weaknesses, you can begin you can do that and don’t need RATHER THAN moving forward. You can also RELYING ON to rely on someone else is invigoboost your own self-awareness OTHER PEOPLE. IT rating,” she says. That, and never by trying out new activities IS ABOUT ME AND letting an opportunity pass you by such as exercising or traveling AT THE END OF because it may just be life changalone, which were some things THE DAY I AM IN ing. Pro says before her Costa that Pro found really benefiCONTROL.” Rica trip, her father had passed cial. away and she strongly considered “I started getting into canceling her trip, but her friends and family yoga to begin focusing on what my body encouraged her to forego the trip; something needed and to express myself. I also fell in she was glad she did. If Pro had not gone on love with dancing. The best thing I did for the Costa Rica trip, it may have taken her myself was traveling alone, specifically down much longer to finally embrace self-love. Her to Costa Rica with a volunteer program to personal journey and much like many others work with sea turtles,” says Pro. “Doing to self-love was long and tedious, filled with things on my own helped me realize I can rely good and bad times, but ultimately it helped on myself rather than relying on other peoher reach a better mindset about herself. ple. It is about me and at the end of the day I “I love how open minded I am now,” am in control. Costa Rica brought everything she says. “I recommend that anyone who is full circle for me. It was during that trip that discovering their own self-worth be open I realized I can be independent and rely on to all sort of different values, ideas, and myself to get me through tough times.” activities. You never know what you might For those of you struggling with acceptend up loving. ” ing yourself, this can be a huge breakthrough. 39
Winter 2017 | Issue One
Women have a tendency to stereotype men into categories and think they’re all the same, with one thing on their minds. But sometimes, they completely swipe the rug out from under your feet and contradict all the stereotypes. How clear is the line internally between men and women? Do we all over analyze, worry about the same things, and cope with our emotions the same? Or are the stereotypes real, and not just illusions we’ve made up? Pulse asked both men and women what they think about male stereotypes and this is what they had to say.
Story by Nicole Trejo-Valli // Design by Maddie Bush
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WINTE
Winter 2017 | Issue One
WINT ER L O O KB OOK Concept by Simone Corbett & Jon Olsen-Koziol Photos by Jack Lambert Design by Vanessa Cruz
There is really no winter like an Ellensburg winter. But we aren’t letting the ice cold temperatures kill our vibe this season. Layer up for extra warmth, throw on some cool boots for a little edge and remember: “Fashion is the armor to survive the reality of everyday life.” — Bill Cunningham
Urban Outfitters Scarf
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E R FA S H Swardusky Fur Coat
Modeled by Simone Corbett, Kathryn Kramer, Ian Lambert, Jon Olsen-Koziol, Christian Stafford, & Nicole Trejo-Valli Looks styled by Amanda Fronckowiak
Hardy Jacket
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Jon Katayama Tenet Rings
FASHION
Target Fur Vest
Zara Leather Jacket
JustFab Combat Boots
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LOOKB Winter 2017 | Issue One
Boston Trader Flannel
Charlotte Russe Necklace
STYLE 46
BOOK
FASHION
Robert Geller Sunglasses
H&M Skirt
Levi’s 511
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S T RE E T S T YL E Story & Photos by Jack Lambert & Xander Fu Design by Vanessa Cruz
As the winter cold takes ahold of Ellensburg, and more snow accumulates on the ground, our photographers at Pulse went out to find students who have managed to create a chic look while bundled up in down coats, wool socks and big ol’ boots.
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FASHION
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Story by Elizabeth McCann & Megan Schrenk Photo illustration by Jack Lambert Design by Elizabeth Mason
FOOD & DRINK
Every new diet craze seems like it might be The One that takes no effort and guarantees incredible results. The sad truth is: there is no one-size-fits-all magic diet. Does this mean every fad diet is malarkey? Not at all. For some people, fad diets can be quite helpful in shaping healthy habits. With the help of a nutrition expert, we figured out how to get healthy results from various forms of fad diets. #IIFYM If It Fits Your Macros (IIFYM) has been taking Instagram by storm, with fitness gurus gushing over the simplicity, and flexibility of this new trend. In essence, IIFYM is the ‘no-diet’ diet. Each individual has a certain macro-nutrient break down, meaning they have so many grams of carbohydrates, proteins, and fats they can consume each day. Outside of that, it’s up to you to determine what foods fit into your macro-nutrient chart. The only catch is, you cannot go over or be too far below each goal. Many people enjoy this diet because it feels like eating whatever you want, but with the structure and control of a diet. “If all you eat are processed foods, then you still will not achieve the health you want,” says owner and founder of Healthy Eats Nutrition Services, Elaina Moon. If you want to approach a lifestyle using IIFYM, be prepared to fill your plate up with whole, unprocessed foods. While you might hit your macro-nutrient goals eating heavily processed foods, your body will always function better when fueled by whole foods.
probiotic pills. Have your doctor help you match which pill would be most effective for you, this way you know it is going to work.” Other ways to help boost your gut health include adding foods that have been fermented to your diet. Some good examples are yogurt, vinegars, and even dark chocolate. Burn Fat Not Sugar Of all the diets, Burn Fat Not Sugar (BFNS), is the most serious lifestyle change in that it requires 100% dedication (and no cheat days) to really work. According to Dr. Naimen’s website, burnfatnotsugar.com, the only difference between processed sugar and gluten is the rate at which it affects your blood. Sugar hits hard and leaves the bloodstream quickly, while gluten steadily raises your blood sugar over a long period of time. The solution? Stop messing with your blood sugar by training your body to burn fat for energy instead of sugar. To see exactly what proportion of protein and fat is required, Naimen points to eggs: “You know an egg is the perfect food because if you leave it alone, you get a whole chicken out of it.” There are numerous high fat, low carb diet plans out there, but Dr. Naimen insists this version works. However, Moon warns against cutting out carbs, unless you have an allergy,” says Moon.
Nothing can substitute wholesome foods.
The Probiotic Craze Science and medicine have played a huge part in the occurrence of the probiotic boom among consumers. This diet doesn’t just revolve around food, but is a bridge between healthy eating and supplementation. Many health professionals are taking an interest in the health of gut bacteria, because it can have a huge impact on your immune system, metabolism, and ability to store and use macro-nutrients. This is where probiotics help by boosting the health of your gut bacterium, making your body function at a higher level. “Consult your doctor before taking any probiotic pills, however,” Moon says, “Everyone’s microbiome is different, and so are the different
Detox Cleanses If there is one fad diet that looks like a magical cure-all, it’s detoxifying cleanses. Drinking a copious amount of bitter fluid seems like an effective way to flush toxins out of your body. However, according to What Can Tea Really Do for Your Health from Cleveland Clinic, there is no clinical evidence to suggest an all-liquid diet will detoxify your body more effectively, than simply adding green tea to your regular diet. In fact, Moon says, “Most liquid cleanses lead to weight loss because you are not eating enough calories to maintain your current weight,” and explains that all-liquid cleansing can actually slow down metabolism by tricking your body into starvation mode. Instead, Moon suggests doing a “whole foods cleanse, where you cleanse your diet of all processed foods for a month to reset your system.” These health professionals recommend to reintroduce processed foods slowly after your month of eating only whole foods.
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
eat this NOT THAT
Story by Megan Schrenk Design by Elizabeth Mason
While you may believe you are buying the most nutritious food for your dollar, that might not always be the case. Next time you go shopping, take along this grocery list to make sure you are getting the best food for your money.
Broccoli Price: $1.49 per pound Calories: 26 per ½ cup Sugars: 2 grams Protein: 3 grams Fats: 0 grams Cooking Tip: Steam or bake with some yummy seasonings
Ground Turkey (93% Fat Free) Price: $4.79 per pound Calories: 160 per 1/3 cup Protein: 22 grams Fats: 6 grams Cooking Tip: Substitute this with any recipe that calls for ground beef!
Cottage Cheese Price: $1.66 per pound Calories: 88 in ½ cup Sugars: 5 grams Protein: 13 grams Fats: 0 grams Cooking Tip: Add fresh fruit or natural honey for some mix and match flavor!
Simple Truth Protein Bar Price: $.80 per bar Calories: 190 per bar Sugars: 8 grams Protein: 21 grams Fats: 4.5 grams
Quinoa
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Price: $2.39 per pound Calories: 222 per 1 cup Sugars: 0 grams Protein: 8 grams Fats: 4 grams Cooking Tip: Mix up your salad by adding some of this on top!
Carrots Price: $1.19 per pound Calories: 20.5 per ½ cup Sugars: 6 grams Protein: 1 gram Fats: 0 grams
Ground Beef (93% Fat Free) Price: $5.99 per pound Calories: 170 per 1/3 cup Protein: 24 grams Fats: 8 grams
Chobani Greek Yoghurt (Fruit Flavoring) Price: $3.77 per pound Calories: 120 in ½ cup Sugars: 15 grams Protein: 12 grams Fats: 0 grams
Cliff Bar Price: $1.96 per bar Calories: 250 per bar Sugars: 21 grams Protein: 10 grams Fats: 6 Grams
Brown Rice Price: $1.99 Calories: 218 per 1 cup Sugars: 1 gram Protein: 5 grams Fats: 2 grams
Story by Danny Cavanaugh Photos by Jack Lambert Design by Elizabeth Mason
It’s Thursday night and you’ve been working out all week. Your muscles are sore, and your brain is fried from long hours of studying. You know what time it is—it’s time to sit back, relax, and let loose. What’s the easiest way to do that? Drop the water bottle and grab yourself a bottle of tequila. Tequila is said to have benefits over water because it’s made from agave syrup. The more agave, the better, and where can we find 100% agave tequila? The answer is Mexico! Mike Barrett, CEO of Seems Right, travels to Mexico every year for vacation and understands the difference between tequila in the States, and tequila across the border. “Theydo it way better in Mexico. They have tequila bars like we have 7 elevens,” Barrett says.
According to Barrett, “tequila in Mexico is really rich, like a microbrew.” While this could be culturally based, the tequila you drink at the bar here in Ellensburg is probably not the same quality as a good Mexican tequila. Top-shelf tequila can aid in digestion, weight loss, fighting osteoporosis, and can even help curb insomnia, according to the article, “10 Surprising Benefits of Tequila You Never Knew” from lifehack.org. Now, does this mean we should stop drinking water? Of course not. Obviously our bodies need water for hydratio. But, maybe tequila should be a supplement in our diet. So, if you’re a tequila drinker, just remember: tequila isn’t all bad, and sometimes a little tequila in your life is all you need.
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
Story by Christina Black // Design by Elizabeth Mason
Buckle up, boys and girls. We’re about to be hit with the sobering truth of how much sugar content is in our favorite mixed drink. Whether at the bars or homemade, the average consumption in grams of sugar per drink is equal to a Starbucks latte. In other words, 10 to 16 grams of sugar per eight to 10 oz. of fluid. This information comes from a national breakdown of adult alcohol consumption, provided by the National Institutes of Health website. So what if we narrowed the lens to Ellensburg alone? For those numbers, we took to the streets. First stop, Palace Café. The reputable friendliness of the bartenders initially drew us in. Right away, we were able to talk to Alyssa Braman, a bartender at the Palace. According to her, the three most popular mixed drinks ordered at the Palace are wells, vodka cranberries, and the traditional rum & coke. However, she mentions the fancier orders are lemon drops. And on a busy night she will make around 200 orders of their most popular drinks. Next was the Tav, where we spoke to the bartenders Kayla Green and Trevor Palmer who were working that night. Kayla reported a high number of mixed drinks and beer being around
500 on their busiest night. When fully staffed, Trevor added that 500 is split up to about 30 mixed drinks per bartender. Granted, their serving size is an eight oz. glass meaning less room for sugar. But the Tav’s most popular drinks are wells and AMFs, whose size alone makes up for the number of drinks in just one serving. And finally we ended our search at the Frontier. The number one drink they serve beside various beers is a vodka soda, another one from the sugar shelf. With each of the three bars generating approximately the same number of mixed drinks on average of, let’s say, three days a week, is about 100 pounds of sugar per day. Even if the sugars are natural like fructose, they can still build up in your arteries. But how much sugar is the actual bar-goer drinking? At approximately three eight oz. drinks a night, topping out at six for the adventurous, they’ll be ending their night with 16 to 32 ounces of sugar. We’re not here to say abandon our favorite cocktail and pick up a whiskey on the rocks. Not in the slightest. We love mojitos as much as the next, so we’re going to list the healthier substitutes for the sugar in mixed drinks that still retain the same taste.
And in the words of our Tav hostess Kayla: “Keep it simple.” So should you be asking for unsweetened juices at bars? Probably not. All of the substitutes provided above should be tinkered with at home until you find the blend that fits your personal liking. Only this time, you’ll enjoy it more knowing there’s no significant amount of sugar in it.
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Try some healthier alternatives! moscow mule
(509) • 933 • 2070 This one is a simple fix. Put in alcoholic ginger beer rather than nonalcoholic. And a spritz of lime juice tops it off nicely. That has only about 3 grams of sugar in an eight oz. glass.
the wells
425 N Main Street, Suite 1 Ellensburg, WA
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Pick a clear liquor over a brown one; i.e. tequila or vodka over rum (fewer calories). Opt for seltzer water instead of club soda; seltzer water doesn’t have minerals added to it and it’s cheaper. Have garnishes of citric-acid based fruits like limes and grapefruit, or don’t add them at all. Combine all those alternatives and you have about four grams of sugar per serving.
vodka cran
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Instead of cranberry concentrate, cranberry cocktail, or a blend of berry juice, trying opting for unsweetened cranberry juice. Not only will a bottle last you longer because of the strong tart taste, the completely artificial sugar-free factor will help avoid the chance of a hangover. Cutting out the sugary juices reduces it to about 5 grams of sugar per 16 ounces.
$15.00 OFF ANY HAIR COLOR With Stylist Melodie 55
THE
Story by Jessica Griffin Design by Elizabeth Mason
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AFTER DARK
With the abundance of crowds gathering around the world in January to stand for women’s rights, one of the year’s most anticipated music festivals is catching up with the times as well. Even for those who wouldn’t consider themselves ‘huge music fans’, Coachella captures the attention of people of all interests. From the season’s festival-wear, to the attractions, and even celebrity appearances; Coachella doesn’t need a lot of help in the press department. However, this season, the lineup is making even more headlines than normal. After a decade of all male headliners, a change was needed. Beyoncé is not only the first female to headline in this decade, but is also the first black female to headline in Coachella history. Though this three-day event has included some major female performers, Björk is the only female to have headlined the music festival before, back in both in 2002 and 2007. It wasn’t until the last few years that the press started to take notice and call Coachella out for their lack of headlining females. This won’t, of course, be Beyoncé’s first time performing on one of the Coachella stages. Back in 2010, Jay-Z headlined the first night of the festival and Beyoncé surprised the crowd by joining her husband on stage. An active voice in female rights and equality herself, Beyoncé has voiced her beliefs not only in her songs, but in her visual albums and shows as well. Sophia Ferguson, a Central film and video studies senior, and currently a program director at
KCWU-FM, 88.1 ‘The ‘Burg’, feels strongly about the iconic artist and her unappologetic activism. “In light of the recent political events that happened in January, as well as recognizing Beyoncé as an activist herself, I don’t see Beyoncé just getting up on the Coachella stage and singing without making any comments or stands on the current issues,” Ferguson adds. Rosa Tran, a Central freshman who attended the Formation Tour, says Beyoncé included spoken word clips about women of color from her latest album, Lemonade. Tran also mentions that before performing her hit song, “Run the World (Girls),” Beyoncé gave a short speech about women’s independence and power. Central senior Bri Anderson also attended the Formation Tour and the On the Run Tour with Jay-Z. Anderson had the same experience, noticing Beyoncé’s activism at her shows, specifically with “Flawless,” another hit song shining a light on women stereotypes, expectations, and the true meaning of a feminist. Tran and Anderson both agree Beyoncé is one of the most talented female entertainers, if not one of the biggest entertainers in the business. Her accomplishments as an artists and presence overtime in the media will surely draw in a larger crowd at Coachella this season. “Giving a black female the headlining slot for what is arguably the largest music festival in the U.S. is huge, but it should have happened way before now. Beyoncé is no stranger to being a powerhouse and an image of female and black empowerment,” Ferguson says. On top of all her success, Beyoncé’s voice of activism is heard in everything she does. Just add Coachella to the long list of things Queen B has ruled.
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CWUPULSE.COM
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AFTER DARK
Story by Jessica Griffin // Design by Maddie Bush
Studying can get tedious, and students usually turn to social media as an outlet for a mental break. But that break usually turns out to be longer than the time actually spent studying, and who can blame them if their favorite musicians and artists just started streaming a live video? Musicians are becoming more active online, and the marketing strategies are changing to match these new forms of communication. Thanks to music streaming sites like Spotify, Amazon Music, Pandora Radio, and going live on social media, artists no longer use radio stations to advertise new music. Earlier in January, after being absent for over a year, Ed Sheeran released two singles from his upcoming album and received an overwhelming response by fans. He posted one or two hints a day over a span of four days, and drove up enough curiosity and excitement that no other marketing was needed. He made it to the number one spot on Billboard’s Hot 100 just a week after his release. These features not only allow A-list celebrities to have more personal interactions with their fans, but also benefits artists who are trying to expand their fan-base. Marc Scibilia, who lives and works out of East Nashville, Tenn., is one of those artists trying to grow in the music industry. Scibilia said social media is a great way for him to stay in touch with his fans and know how they feel about his work. It also plays a huge factor as to whether a record label signs an artist by their numbers. However, there are downfalls to changing these marketing strategies in the music industry.
“I would say it is possible that people might be spending less time getting great at their art/finding their voice and more time taking selfies and trying to stay ‘active’ online,” said Scibilia. “So, the art suffers, but at the end of the day maybe that’s all this internet machine wants from us… a nice selfie.” Sarah Gardner, a senior at Central, actively follows artists because in a way it “humanizes them,” she said. As a fan, she appreciates walking with artists as they create new material and seeing how they come up with the whole process of putting together a new project; it gives the audience the feeling that they were there to see it all happen. As for the marketing aspect, Gardner mentioned she follows artists who do a lot of secret releases for their fans, and nowadays, it almost makes the process of labels pushing for advertisements obsolete. Central junior Chris Lebien said one of the main pulls to remain an active follower of his favorite musicians is about feeling connected to the artist. “Being a musician myself and following these incredibly talented bands and artists keeps me true to what I love to do, and that is playing music,” he added. Lebien and Gardner both agreed that the connection you feel while watching an artist create music is an incredible part of the process. Communication platforms are constantly evolving, and it’s these changes that are giving us more accessibility to our favorite artists—whether they are A-listers or up-and-comers.
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
PULSE8 features
nolan garrett Story & Photos by Jack Lambert Design by Vanessa Cruz
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AFTER DARK
Nolan Garrett, a teenage rock musician from Tacoma, started playing guitar at a young age and opened for Chris Isaak at just 16. Three years later, he now lives across the pond and attends Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts. We caught up with Garrett at his last show in Seattle in January.
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W h at w o r d s d o yo u li v e by?
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W h at g oa l a r e yo u c ur re n t ly w or k in g t owa r d s?
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W h at a r e yo u m o s t pr o u d of ?
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W h O i s yo ur favo r i t e a r t ist / m u sic ia n r ig h t n ow?
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I try to work hard at anything I do.
Right now I’m just trying to write new material for my next project.
The Question EP, I recorded it myself and did most of the mixing. On the song “One More Time” I composed the strings on it, and got to record those as well. That was a very rewarding experience!
Anderson Paak. He is just something new I think, it’s a perfect blend of r&b, hip-hop and funk. Everything melds together, it’s incredible.
W h at m i s ta ke d i d yo u le a r n f r om ? I think I often make mistakes about assuming things about people. I try to remind myself to be a very unassuming person.
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W h at d o yo u e n j oy m o s t a bou t wh at you d o?
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W h at i n s pi r e s yo u t o w r it e ?
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W h at ’s t h e la s t t h i n g you l ist e n e d t o?
I enjoy performing; [it’s] where it really happens for me. I feel connected with the audience and with myself.
I don’t know, really. A lot of times, writing is just a stream of consciousness. I just write anything that comes to mind and sometimes it ends up being something.
Jordan Rakei, he has a EP called called groove curse. It’s so sick.
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Winter 2017 | Issue One
ELLENSBURG
DAILY SPECIALS MONDAY
WEDNESDAY
Starlight $5 signature martinis
Blue Rock $5 burgers
Wings $2 Bud Light
Starlight $2.50 single & $4 double wells
The Tav $5 wells, $2 tequila wells, $7 Patrรณn
The Porch $5 mojitos
Wings $2 Coronas, $3.50 loaded Corona, $5 Coronaritas
FRIDAY
The Tav $1.50 PBR
The Porch $5 glasses of wine
TUESDAY
The Palace $4 Moscow Mules
Blue Rock $1 tacos Starlight Half of liquor 9-close Wings 59 cent wings, half off bomb shots The Porch $2 tacos, $2 Coronas, $5 loaded Coronas, $3 well tequila shot The Palace 79 cent tacos, $2.50 Coronas, $3.75 loaded Coronas
Starlight $2 shot specials 9-close The Palace $3 Fireball shots The Tav $2.50 Fireball shots
The Tav $7 domestic pitchers during happy hour
SATURDAY
THURSDAY Blue Rock $1 beer, $5 long island teas Starlight $5 long island iced teas Wings $1 off all bottles & 16 oz beers
The Palace 79 cent tacos, $2.50 Coronas, $3.75 loaded Coronas
Starlight $2 shot specials 9-close The Tav $2.50 Fireball shots
SUNDAY Wings All drink specials
The Porch $4 pints
The Tav $7 domestic pitchers
Design by Vanessa Cruz // Photo by Jack Lambert 62
AFTER DARK
Starlight 3—6 p.m. Half off appetizers, dollar off all house wines, beers and martinis
Roadhouse 3—6 p.m. & 9—close Thursday-Tuesday All day Wednesday
The Porch 3—6 p.m.
The Palace 4—7 p.m.
301 5—7 p.m. $2.75 single $3.75 double 9—10 p.m. $3 PBR
The Tav 3—5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday half off appetizers, $2.50 wells
TIME FOR
HAPPY HOUR 63
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