February 2021
1
F e b rua ry , vo l . 3 1 i s s u e 7
Black History Month: Dismantling Microaggressions
The renewal of Re-Imagined Radio
2
r a g u o C Van TEAM February 2021
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Emily Baumann
WEBSITE MANAGER Austin Cari
MANAGING EDITOR Brody Voge
REPORTER Tessa Hensley
Get
Social E Q D
@ thevancougar
our
LAYOUT EDITOR Samantha Deshazer COPY EDITOR Olivia Eldredge PHOTOGRAPHER David Priymak
Mission
The VanCougar, a student-run newsmagazine, informs and engages the WSU Vancouver community while practicing the highest standards of timely, ethical journalism.
s terthe Corrections Letto editor The VanCougar welcomes letters and commentary from members of the WSU Vancouver community on current issues. Letters must include the author’s full name, contact information and WSU affiliation: year and major for students, department for faculty and staff, degree and year graduated for alumni. The VanCougar does not publish anonymous letters. Send letters and commentary to van.vc.editor@wsu.edu. Once received, letters become property of The VanCougar and are subject to editing for length, clarity and style.
The VanCougar is a source of honest, factual information. If you see an error, we want to address it. Please contact the editor-in-chief at van.vc.editor@wsu.edu for corrections.
Cover
on the
Evans Kaame, junior political science major at WSU Vancouver. (David Priymak / The VanCougar)
in
this Issue
4
February 2021
3
Evans Kaame discusses the impacts of microaggressions within the WSU Vancouver community. (David Priymak / The VanCougar)
13
8 Alumna and graphic designer, Holly Slocum. (Sydnie Kobza / The VanCougar)
The renewal of Re-Imagined Radio
The History 10 of dating
11 SCJ CONTEST
Digital Technology and Culture Professor Will Luers. (Photo courtesy of Holly Slocum)
Professor q + a
14
cOUGAR bITES: valentine's day edition
4
February 2021
Now is the time to
dismantle microaggressions Olivia Eldredge | Copy Editor You may have heard the term “microaggressions” when referring to offensive comments geared toward someone else, particularly Black Indigenous People of Color. However, it is a lot more complicated than simply describing them as regular insults. Microaggressions are unintentionally painful remarks in everyday conversations that reinforce negative stereotypes towards one's race or cultural background, and they can be extremely harmful.
microaggressions at Clark College. She began instructing courses about how to spot microaggressions after witnessing her daughter receive racially targeted insults at school from other children on a daily basis. Lewis knew how damaging this was, especially after seeing her daughter’s teachers allow other students to use repeated microaggression insults without penalty.
Specifically, microaggressions actively reinforce white privilege, destroy an inclusive culture and are especially offensive when targeting BIPOC people. While microaggressions present themselves in a multitude of ways, authors Ella F. Washington, Alison Hall Birch and Laura Morgan Roberts of the Harvard Business Review offer a few examples of microaggressions and their impacts. Jessica Jones, a senior psychology major
“Originally when I created the class, it was specifically for teachers who needed to take the training, and who I felt like could use benefits from some microaggression training. My daughter suffered from kindergarten to fourth grade. … I pulled her out of school in March of 2020 because of all the microaggressions and systemic racism. It was just devastating to her, so that’s why I started the class,” Lewis said. As a part of the NAACP, Lewis has taught her microaggression classes since January 2020 through Clark College’s Economic and Community Development program. She now uses Zoom to teach, and offers two microaggression training classes for youth, one for children ages 13 to 17, and one for young adults over 18 years old. In her classes, Lewis explains that to understand the impact of microaggressions is to look internally and understand your implicit biases toward others.
“For Black people, [microat WSU Vancouver, explains the damagaggressions] are ubiquitous ing impacts unintentional microaggresacross daily work and life. sions can have on those around you. Here are a few seeming(David Priymak / The VanCougar) ly innocuous statements that, in the context of rac“In my experience with teaching the class, it doesn’t become ist assumptions and stereotypes, can be quite dama conscious effort for other people, it becomes a conscious aging. … ‘When I see you, I don’t see color’ (sigeffort for yourself. The only way that microaggressions can naling that the person doesn’t acknowledge your be eliminated is if yourself, your peers, your coworkers, Blackness or won’t hold it against you), ‘We are all your bosses, everyone around has to be open to the idea one race: the human race’ (signaling that your expeof microaggressions. If I come to somebody and say ‘hey, rience as a Black person is no different from the exI feel like you just committed a micro-assault,’ you have to perience of people of other races) [and] ‘You are so be open to saying ‘okay, well let’s talk it out,’ you can’t be articulate’ (signaling that Black people are not usualon the defense,” Lewis said. “[Eliminating] microaggresly capable of competent intellectual conversation).” sions is really looking at the biases of everyone individually, not just pointing fingers. So, it’s still a new thing.” Ruby N. Lewis, secretary of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People’s Vancouver branch, teaches classes covering information about
Jessica Jones, a senior majoring in psychology at WSU Vancouver, says it is important to take a look into how potential microaggressions might appear in daily conversations, and how sometimes certain comments could hurt someone where you least expect it.
February 2021
“Focusing on your communication and how it makes people feel is where it starts. Really if you’re paying attention enough, you can notice how certain conversations might make a person feel. … Like if you hear someone who speaks broken English and you automatically say ‘where are you from?’ A lot of those people can be from the U.S., they could just have an interesting accent,” Jones said. “So, pointing out that otherness in something like that is a microaggression, in general finding more appropriate conversation topics to have with the person is good when it doesn’t have to do with their background.” When examining the impact of microaggressions within WSU Vancouver’s community, Evans Kaame, a junior political science major and vice president of Associated Students of WSU Vancouver, says eliminating microaggressions has to do with unraveling one’s perceptions and being mindful of blind spots when conversing with others.
Evans Kaame, a junior political science major, hopes students, faculty, staff and leaders at WSU Vancouver will have open conversations to resolve consequences caused by microaggressions. (David Priymak / The VanCougar) “Most of the time, we assume things, and that’s the essence of microaggressions. We have different perceptions of things, and those perceptions are either informed or uninformed. When we have those perceptions, we tend to say things that are not intentional or unintentional. When we do that, they can hurt somebody when we don’t know," Kaame said. "The challenge is, are we willing to know that we have those blind spots? If the answer is yes, then the next step is, how do we reconcile when that happens? How do we have conversations with the people that we hurt unintentionally?” To solve and identify microaggressions, Kaame suggests people talk issues out with each other in a constructive way. Being open-minded and having vulnerability, he says, is the key to forgiveness. “By putting your ego aside, and being able to tell somebody that ‘I did not know that hurt you, next time I promise I won’t ever do that [again], would you forgive me?’ is courageous,” Kaame said. “That vulnerability and understanding, I think are the most important things, and I hope that others, and student leaders too, can emulate that.”
5
6
February 2021
February 2021 February 2021 7
7
8
February 2021
The renewal of Re-Imagined Radio Olivia Eldredge | Copy Editor
C
ombining several elements of sound, visuals and storytelling, Re-Imagined Radio’s unique broadcast is a staple within Vancouver’s performing arts community. Re-Imagined Radio has hosted live performances at Kiggins Theatre, located on Main Street in Vancouver, for the past several years. However, due to safety protocols caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, producer and WSU Vancouver’s digital technology and culture professor, John Barber, was forced to find a new avenue for the show to continue. Barber originally established the radio show as part of a creative research-based project with his digital storytelling class in 2013. Over the years, Barber has made several community partnerships to improve the assets of Re-Imagined Radio, including teaming up with a local performing arts center, social media management company, a graphic designer and producer. While Re-Imagined Radio’s ways of operating have changed significantly, Barber says this might be an advantage for the program. “In October, I was very lucky, and was able to strike an arrangement with KXRW-FM (99.9 FM), the local FM low power community radio station here in Vancouver,” Barber said. “So this seemed like an incredible opportunity to be able to continue Re-Imagined Radio, but also to communicate with a huge audience.” To continue his legacy of preserving and reviving the “golden age of radio”, Barber asks voice actors from the Vancouver-based Metropolitan Performing Arts center to read different show scripts from old radio shows and record audio from their homes using their own equipment. Barber will then take all of the individual audios and edit them into one whole broadcast. Now, instead of having only a few in-person shows throughout the year, working remotely allows him to play Re-Imagined Radio’s audio through local radio stations in Vancouver. Barber says this will remain a consistent project for him as he maintains the broadcasts, but still looks forward to the return of Re-Imagined Radio’s presence at Kiggins Theatre once it is safe.
Kiggins Theatre, located on Main Street in downtown Vancouver, had once hosted Re-Imagined Radio performances for local live audiences. (David Priymak / The VanCougar)
February February 20212021 9 9 “The plan is to return to Kiggins, and we would then be able to offer a live performance, which could be streamed at the same time so people can be anywhere in the world and listen to the performance. Being streamed will also record each performance, and then [we would] edit that recording down to fit inside the constraints of a one hour program. Then, it becomes an archival program too,” Barber said. On Jan. 14, Re-Imagined Radio’s first show of 2021 played a resounding broadcast over the air. The show, entitled “New Year,” features episodes from both radio shows “The Whistler" (1947), and “Guy Lombardo’s New Year’s Eve Party" (1957). Barber says his inspiration to choose these radio shows comes from Janus, the Roman god of beginnings and endings, which signifies the meaning of New Year’s Eve to reflect on the past year and look forward to a new one. “The Whistler” was a popular crime mystery that played over the radio between 1942 and 1955, and “Guy Lombardo’s New Year’s Eve Party'' was one of the yearly New Year’s Eve performances by violinist, Guy Lombardo, and his orchestra. While doing extensive research on the shows, Barber had his heart set on choosing these two episodes as part of his first 2021 broadcast. Barber also was able to use sound editing and add his own remastered twist to the audio, making the show a huge success on-air. As for other members of Re-Imagined Radio, graphic designer and WSU Vancouver alumna, Holly Slocum, works on making advertising posters for each performance occurring on the live
Holly Slocum, an alumna of WSU Vancouver, once worked in the Electronic Literature Lab as a student, and now uses her graphic design skills to create posters for Re-Imagined Radio's audio shows. (Sydnie Kobza / The VanCougar)
radio show. Being a digital technology and culture major, Slocum began working with Barber and Re-Imagined Radio in WSU Vancouver’s Electronic Literature Lab. Her role with the program was originally to create social media posts, but has now transitioned to Re-Imagined Radio’s graphic designer. Although Slocum says she might not have called herself a graphic designer in school, she has since found her passion for digital art by making sleek, modern and professional posters for the performances. “I think I would describe my designs as very modular and clean. Something that calls to modern-day interface design. I kind of translate that into graphic design, so I don’t have a lot of really detailed illustrations or anything like that. … I work a lot with silhouettes,” Slocum said. As for the direction behind some of Slocum’s designs, she explains her inspiration comes from Barber’s goal to preserve the “golden age of radio” within a new on-air platform. “We have tried lately to really bring our designs to calling back to that specific ‘golden age of radio,’ especially with our recent shift back to our traditional roots while we can’t be in person. While having our radio shows, we’re really trying to call back to that, so I think our designs have gone in that direction,” Slocum said.
Professor John Barber masterfully revives the “golden age of radio” by combining visual and audio storytelling. (Kassidy Young / The VanCougar, Edited by Sydnie Kobza / The VanCougar )
While the COVID-19 pandemic has certainly presented new challenges for Re-Imagined Radio, Barber and his team are presented with new opportunities to grow while the broadcast’s fans continue to listen over the airwaves.
February 2021 10 10 February 2021
Love at first S ‘ uper Like’: The evolution of casual dating
Tessa Hensley | Reporter
Love has never been an easy feat. No matter the generation, obstacles always get in the way with matters relating to the heart. Distance between partners, social norms and family class status have all influenced romantic partnerships in the past and present, but has dating gotten any easier? With this question in mind, The VanCougar takes a look at the history of dating in the U.S. over the past century.
1900's
Near the beginning of the 1900s, courting became more about romantic feelings, and less about family arrangements and social status. According to the National Women’s History Museum, instead of marrying solely for family, security and money, young women let their feelings guide them rather than letting parents decide who they marry. Valentine’s letters began to emerge and became critical in wooing potential partners. The more creative they were, the more likely a suitor would be chosen, leading to the popular Valentine card created in 1913 by Hallmark.
1920's
Erin Blakemore of the History Education Network, says the roaring 20s brings parties, extravagance and casual dating to the lives of young singles. This era allowed young people to date multiple partners at one time, deeming it socially acceptable for the period. Additionally, drag balls gained popularity and were integrated with modern LGBTQ nightlife and culture.
1960's
Operation Match, considered to be one of the first computer matchmaking services according to The Harvard Crimson, was created by two Harvard students, Jeffrey Tarr and Vaughan Morrill in 1965. Operation Match was a mailing service that had clients fill out a paper survey answering 75 questions about themselves and their dating preferences. They would then mail their answer sheet, and three weeks later received a another sheet of paper with names and contact information of their six potential matches.
1990's - 2010's
Invented by Tim Berners-Lee, the World Wide Web, or the internet as we know it today, is now in full force. Dating websites followed shortly after, starting with Kiss.com which emerged as the first modern dating website in 1994, followed by Match.com in 1995. More couples began to report meeting their significant others on dating apps, and less reported meeting through usual methods of friends, family, church or work. A 2017 survey conducted by Stanford University showed that 39% of heterosexual couples met online, which is a significant increase from the 22% who found love online in 2009.
2020
Alas, 2020, the year everything seemed to go wrong. The COVID-19 pandemic forced restaurants and other fun dating spots to close to keep the virus at bay, and face coverings became mandatory when in crowded public spaces. Dating may be more challenging than ever, but the answer lies with video chatting platforms, continued use of dating apps and socially distant activities for the foreseeable future.
Visual Arts Mini Contest Finalists
On Jan. 18 the Salmon Creek Journal, WSU Vancouver's literary arts journal, hosted the Visual Arts Mini Contest. Students were asked to take three stock images and incorporate them into their piece. These are the winners of the contest:
February February2021 2021 11 11
First place “Bloom” by Nicole Davis
Second place “Maribel the NatureWitch” by Madiera Vath
Third place “Growth” by Abigail Pandina
12
February 2021
What have professors learned from online instruction?
Q&A
Olivia Eldredge | Copy Editor
Last semester was considered a trial run,
causing many instructors to scramble when adapting to the new remote environment brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. While WSU Vancouver settles in for another online semester, The VanCougar asks professors what they have learned from virtual instruction.
o
February 2021 13 February 2021 13
Professor Ron Pimentel, Business and Marketing
“I have learned that many things can be accomplished remotely and to utilize more of the capabilities of Blackboard. However, I have also learned how inadequate Blackboard is and have switched to Canvas LMS earlier than I would have otherwise. It is more difficult to motivate students without meeting in person, but most students can adapt to change very well. Going forward, I will probably use Canvas more than I did before the pandemic, and I will also value contact with students more.”
Professor Leonard Reed, Communication Professor Michael LeVan, Communication “I learned students can do excellent work online despite all of the crushing pressure and anxiety on them. I learned that having some grace and empathy goes a long way, and I don’t want to forget that when we aren’t in a pandemic. It’s important, especially online, to touch in with my classes frequently and to give them a solid structure and routine that they can count on. … As for changing from fall to spring, I think I learned some lessons about a few types of assignments that didn’t have the kind of payoffs I hoped for. But I always try to fine-tune my courses by updating content and trying new types of tools or assignments.” Professor Will Luers, Digital Technology and Culture “I would say there is much about online classes that are better for students studying coding, because my pre-recorded lectures and demos of web design can be followed at the student’s own pace. … I do miss the personal contact before and after class, or the community feel during collaborative projects in class. I try to make up for this with Zoom workshops and one-on-one meetings and that can work, but Zoom is better with small groups I think. … There is a balance that I am looking for that may continue when we go back to the classroom.”
“Nothing, in my view, replaces in-person teaching: three-dimensional people in a common space with the myriad awarenesses of body language, speech inflection and shared environmental experience. By contrast, the two-dimensional experience of engaging folks remotely on a screen is stripped of rich contextual information, in-home backgrounds notwithstanding, requiring the teacher and student more effort at communicating energy and purpose. … I find it helps to talk briefly in every class about the strain and weirdness of navigating life during a pandemic, not to mention college classes, often at home with struggling family or friends. … As for changes, I'm going shorter and faster on frequent writing assignments, to keep engagement up and to administer more frequent and short true or false quizzes, this to ensure the class progresses at roughly the same pace and to protect outliers against drifting.”
Cougar Bites presents: 14
February 2021
rt a e th ee Sw
Cookie s
Tessa Hensley | Reporter
Valentine's Day. A holiday dedicated to true love, corporate con-
sumerism and opportunities to indulge in sugary snacks. No matter how you feel about the love fest celebration, Valentine’s Day is a great excuse to buy heart-shaped candies and participate in fun baking activities. As cookies have proven to be a path to everyone’s heart, The VanCougar presents two sweetheart cookie recipes that you are sure to fall in love with this February.
8 8
Ginger Sugar Cookies Ginger Sugar Cookies are great for adding a little bit of spice into your valentine sweets. For this recipe, the ingredients needed are 1/2 stick of butter, 1 ½ cups of sugar, 1/2 teaspoon of vanilla extract, 1/2 teaspoon of baking soda, 2 cups of flour and 2 to 3 minced preserved ginger stems. After gathering all the ingredients, set your oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. While the oven is preheating, combine the butter and sugar into a large bowl and mix until it is light and fluffy. After these ingredients are blended, continue mixing in vanilla extract, baking soda and flour. Finally, add minced ginger and stir thoroughly. Once your dough is prepared, add a bit more flour and work it into the dough so it sticks together while being flattened. Lay your dough on a lightly floured work surface and begin rolling the dough until it’s about a quarter of an inch thick. Cut out your shapes with heartshaped cookie cutters, and place the cookies gently onto prepared baking sheets. Lastly, bake them for 8 to 10 minutes, or until very lightly browned around the edges.
Red and Pink Cake Cookies These fresh, flavorful, bakery-style cookies are a perfect fix for anyone’s sweet tooth. While using cake mix within the recipe, The VanCougar recommends refraining from using water in the batter and one less egg than what the box recipe calls for. For these cookies, you will need a 15.25-ounce box of either strawberry or red velvet cake mix, ½ cup of vegetable oil and 2 eggs. Mix all the ingredients, then let the dough sit in the refrigerator for 20 minutes. Once the dough is firm, start rolling the dough into small portions between your hands in a circular motion. Sizing is optional, but if the cookies are larger, the cooking time will be longer. Place the dough on the baking sheet in the oven at 350 degrees F and bake for 9-11 minutes.
When decorating, we recommend using white frosting, red food coloring, red strawberry flavored writing gel, white chocolate chips and sprinkles for an extra flair to make your cookies truly spectacular.
We hope you enjoy these lovely recipes and wish all VanCougs a happy Valentine’s Day!
February 2021
15
February m a r k yo u r c a l e n da r . . .
mon.
1
First Day of Black History Month Groundhog Day
tues.
2
Resume and Cover Letter workshop 3:00 - 3:50 p.m.
sun.
14
Admissions 101 5:00 - 5:30 p.m. mon.
thurs.
4 wed.
Flowers bloom on WSU Vancouver's campus. (Laura Dutelle / WSU Vancouver)
“A Place to Call Home: Housing and African American Experience post-WWII” 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
15 thurs.
10 12 fri.
Valentine’s Day
Creative Writers Series: Chigozie Obioma 7:00 - 8:00 p.m.
25
Breaking Down Professionalism and Bringing Your fri. Authentic Self to Work 3:00 - 4:00 p.m. Lunar New Year
26
President’s Day
Negotiating Salary: Closing the Wage Gap 3:00 - 3:50 p.m.
CILA’s Student Social Hour 3:00 - 4:00 p.m.
Next issue of The VanCougar ships March 1
16
February 2021