April 24, 2017
TheVanCougar.com
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Issue XVI
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Volume XXVII
Mascot campaign taps school spirit #WeNeedButch calls for furry friend's return
Members of the Student Activities Board join the effort to bring Butch back to campus. Photo credit: Julie Mercado By Emily Bratcher On a campus that prides itself for its school spirit, student leaders recently discovered that Washington State University Vancouver is not allowed to use the WSU mascot costume of Butch the Cougar. Policies put in place
by administrators in Pullman regarding the use of Butch the Cougar costumes have led to students beginning a social media campaign, called #WeNeedButch, in hopes of bringing the beloved cougar back to campus. WSU Vancouver used to see Butch’s friendly cougar face at
special events like ROAR. However the evening of the 25th anniversary of the university changed that for students on the satellite campus. Mel Netzhammer, the chancellor of WSU Vancouver, explained that Butch stopped appearing on campus in late 2014. “Around the time of our 25th anniversary, we reached out to athletics for a new costume. At the 25th anniversary event, our Butch and the WSU Pullman Butch were both present, which created some awkwardness and tension,” Netzhammer said. “President Floyd had a number of other priorities at the time and asked that we withdraw our request, which we did,” Netzhammer said. “That was pretty much the end of Butch's appearances on the other campuses, except when we pay for them. It has also ended Butch's appearances at events in our community, which has been noticed and is
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First Copy Free
8th annual drag show cancelled and stage equipment. By Megan Peaker
For the past eight years, Cougar Pride Club’s annual drag show has been a part of Washington State University Vancouver’s event schedule. However this year, the event was canceled due to contract and planning difficulties, according to event planners. The drag show is regularly one of the campus's signature events. It serves as the club’s major spring celebration, with the Monster Ball highlighting Cougar Pride Club’s fall events. Drag is a performing art where performers dress in elaborate costumes of the opposite gender and either sing or lip-sync to music. Some performers dance as well. Club organizers said they were faced with scheduling difficulties. They also said that they were unable to secure a contract for lighting
Rather than presenting a lackluster show, Cougar Pride Club decided to cancel the event. Jared Harding, vice president of the club said, “Our contract request form for our lighting and staging fell through.” Contract request paperwork is due at the OSI front desk at least five weeks before the associated event. Harding remained hopeful however, and said, “We just have to be prepared next year.” The club plans to host the event next year. They said they hope to make sure it happens through earlier planning and better advertising. Organizers say this has been a challenging learning experience for club members. Club advisor Nolan Yaws-Gonzalez said “The group will move forward with an earlier, more aggressive timeline.” To stay up to date on Cougar Pride Club’s activities and events visit their pages on CougSync and Facebook. n
Hot off the press! Celebration unveils reimagined arts journal Increase in submissions makes this year’s Salmon Creek Journal stand out By Yuliya Nikiforets
There was spin art, free pizza, even the chance to build your own terrarium. Washington State University Vancouver students, staff, faculty and community members visited the Firstenburg Student Commons to pick up a copy of the newest issue of Salmon Creek Journal and enjoy the party celebrating the 2017 issue's launch. This year's issue of the journal broke new ground by blending traditional and digital art in a print edition and a digital edition of the publication. Salmon Creek Journal is an art and literary publication at WSU Vancouver. The journal began in the 1990s and has since grown to display local creative work. The 2017 issue saw a record number of submissions, and was both longer and larger than previous issues. Kaitlyn Slorey, the social media manager for Salmon Creek Journal, said "There was some really quality work this year. I was so impressed with everything." The Salmon Creek Journal staff goes on an annual retreat to review all the work and decide what gets published. The process is done through blind submission and judging so bias can be eliminated in the staff ’s decision-making process. Austin Lewis, web and layout manager, commented on the difficulty of choosing the best
of the many great submissions they received. Lewis said that the staff spent one hour deciding which one of two pieces should make it into the journal. "There are so many parts of the creative community on campus and I'm glad that this year we were able to diversify the amount that we could display and showcase," said Tyler Hickey, prose and poetry editor. This year's journal also features a digital version online in order to display pieces like animations, podcasts, videos and websites that were not necessarily created for or well represented in print. "This journal wouldn't be the same if it wasn't for all of us," Editor-in-Chief Amanda Flynn said as she looked at her team. Turning back to the audience she continued “but it wouldn't be the same if it wasn't for all of you." Artists recognized with editors’ choice awards had the opportunity to explain their pieces or read their submission to the audience. Marilyn Johnston, a poet and writing teacher from Salem read her flash fiction piece titled "Final Notice." Before reading it she assured listeners that the good thing about flash fiction is its short length. The editor's choice for poetry was a piece written by Elizabeth Lester, titled "One Thirty A.M." As an intermission, several faculty members from the English department spoke about
Left to right: Kaitlyn Slorey, Jason Cardenas, Austin Lewis, Tyler Hickey and Amanda Flynn reveal the 2017 issue of the Salmon Creek Journal at the recent launch party. Photo credit: Zeke Estes classes that would be offered next year. Howard Aaron, a professor at WSU Vancouver, introduced English 451, a class for advanced creative writing that will be offered in fall 2017. He stated that the class will be very self directed because "It’s up to you to write about what you want to write about, not [up] to me to dictate what you should write about." More submissions were recognized after the faculty intermission. Kate Palermini's
“Episode 5: Dungeons and Dragons” of the “We're All Nerds Here” podcast was selected as the performance arts editor's choice. "The Fortunate Cat Occurrence" by Abigail Hughes, a story about hospice care she described as “edgy,” was chosen as the editor's choice for prose. For artwork, "A Version of Us" drawn by Valerie Parrish was chosen as the visual arts editor's choice. The piece itself took months to draw and is a part
of a set that Parrish has been working on for about five years. Other editor’s choice pieces included a visual arts piece titled “Lovely Vermin” by Grace Edwards and a digital art piece titled “Diamond in the Rough” by Brianna Savage. The event concluded with each member of the Salmon Creek Journal presenting their thoughts on the work they
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2 | CAMPUS NEWS Research Showcase displays top research projects
Students present innovative findings of their work
Left to right: Robby Boney, Samantha Edgerton, Daniel Hughes and Andrew Jamison represented several dfferent fields in their award winning undergraduate podium presentations. Photo credit: Zeke Estes in South Seattle area alone,” By Layne Bauer From baby-eating fish mothers and fibrous microbiota to migraines and marijuana, the annual Research Showcase did not disappoint. On April 13, Washington State University Vancouver hosted the event that welcomed undergraduate and graduate students to display and present studies they conducted and discuss the implications of their findings. Following poster and podium presentations, an award ceremony took place to recognize the achievements of individuals involved. WSU Vancouver is the only Carnegie Tier 1 research institution in the Portland metro area, and the Research Showcase displayed the various research efforts put forth by students from a variety of different fields. Psychology, nursing, history, electrical and mechanical engineering and biology were just some of the majors represented at the event. The Research Showcase gave students an opportunity to present their work to community members, field professionals, fellow students and faculty. The research presented was often weeks, months and in some cases years in the making. For many presenters, the work they completed was merely scratching the surface of their subjects of study. Madaline Goldmann is a graduate student studying nursing who has worked in Seattle conducting research with the Somali Health Board. She studied the need to tailor health education to specific health risks in communities. “With over 40,000 Somali refugees
Goldmann said, “ideally, I would like to continue helping with research and assessment on how we culturally tailor education towards type two diabetes for demographics like these.” Dozens of poster boards and presenters filled the Firstenburg Student Commons, providing a buffet of food for thought for viewers. As attendees sampled platters of knowledge with interest, presenters responded to quench the thirst of inquirers. Innovations and revelations across the board caught the attention of many and drew crowds towards the 70 presenters. Innovation was seen at the event. Carlene Goodbody has worked to improve the capabilities of consumer electronics. “Current designs of patch antennas can only send or receive signals nonsimultaneously,” Goodbody said. “We have created one that can do both.” By redesigning former models and increasing their
frequency range, Goodbody helped develop technology that has the potential to impact a variety of different consumer-based electronics. While the poster presentations were going on, a round of podium presentations occurred. Following all of the student-led research presentations, an award ceremony celebrated the works of all of those who participated. First place winners even recieved a small financial award. Participants were divided into four categories: Undergraduate and Graduate Poster and Undergraduate and Graduate Podium. Undergraduate poster winners included Katherine Kofoed, Andrea Lee, Vince Chavez and Imee Williams. For graduate posters, the winners were Sofia D’Ambrosio, Alexandria Camino and Sean Nolan. Winners of the undergraduate podium contest included Andrew Jamison, Daniel Hughes, Samantha Edgerton and Robby Boney. Graduate level podium winners were Phillip Uribe, Brian Dincau and Jocelyn Glessing. “Our research has established a suitable model for people affected by CAPD, or Central Auditory Processing Disorder,” said Chavez, as he commented on how his research was significant to its field. To learn more about the Research Showcase, visit vancouver.wsu.edu/showcase. n
Poster presenters had the opportunity to discuss and answer questions about their research with a curious audience. Photo credit: Zeke Estes
2017 THE OFFICIAL STUDENT NEWSPAPER OF WASHINGTON STATE UNIVERSITY VANCOUVER The VanCougar is a student-run newspaper serving the students, faculty and staff of WSU Vancouver. The VanCougar is available at distribution sites in the lobbies of most WSU Vancouver buildings. The VanCougar may be viewed online at TheVanCougar.com.
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The VanCougar welcomes brief letters (250 words or fewer) 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. Letters and suggestions may be delivered to the Office of Student Involvement, the VanCougar office (VDEN 160), or e-mailed to vancouged@wsu.edu. For more information about the VanCougar's policy on letters and other information, please visit the VanCougar policy section of TheVanCougar.com The VanCougar | Dengerink Administration Building (VDEN) Room 160 | 14024 NW Salmon Creek Ave. | Vancouver, Wash. 98686 | 360-546-9524
Washington State University Vancouver
STAFF DIRECTORY EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ALEXANDER PERU . vancouged@wsu.edu MANAGING EDITOR HALEY ELMER . vancougme@wsu.edu ADVERTISING MANAGER DAWN BAILEY . vancougad@wsu.edu LAYOUT AND DESIGN EDITOR CHARLES MITCHELL . vancouglo@wsu.edu WEB AND SOCIAL MEDIA MANAGER AUZ BURGER . vancougso@wsu.edu TEAM EDITORS AUZ BURGER REPORTERS KELLI ANDERSON LAYNE BAUER EMILY BRATCHER SAVANNA FORD ANDREW HANCHETT
QUETZALI RAMIREZ YULIYA NIKIFORETS MEGAN PEAKER
Engineers take to the skies for capstone project
WAZZU SkyCougs take 5th place in international aero competition
Left to right: Nick Saunders, Artyom Klochkov, and Nick Rains prepare for the presentation component of the competition. Photo credit: WAZZU SkyCougs early as possible to avoid feeling By Yuliya Nikiforets As the semester comes to an end, seniors are frantically working to finish their capstone projects. These projects are intended to reflect the culmination of their college education. The WAZZU SkyCougs, a team of mechanical engineers, wrapped up their project in Fort Worth, Texas at the Society of American Engineers Aero Design competition. Nicholas Rains led the team consisting of Cristian Compton, Artyom Klochkov and Nicholas Saunders. The VanCougar first featured the aeronautical exploits of the group in February. Since then, the team has been busily working on making the final parts, balancing and optimizing the plane and of course, finalizing the cosmetics "to make sure that she looked good," said Rains. The team members definitely felt pressed to complete the aircraft on time. The decision to use carbon fiber as a building material meant that building parts was far more difficult than if the team had used conventional balsa wood. A few of the parts had to be remade multiple times. When asked if there was anything that they would go back and change, Rains said "Perhaps make the plane out of balsa! While composites are amazing to work with, the learning curve was so steep that it consumed a huge amount of time in both prototyping and final construction." Composites can take up to a week to cure and can only be taken out of their molds after 24 hours whereas balsa wood can be used immediately. The team received very little sponsorship and not all four members were able to attend the competition. Compton recommends to future students who may take on such projects to "seek sponsorship early.” According to Compton, “the school is not going to help you. Look for both material and cash donations." Rains explained the team’s preparation for the competition as "not being ready, but being ready enough." The team intentionally arrived at the competition as
overwhelmed by watching other planes fly first. The group said the event was buzzing with energy and excitement, as many teams were working to put theoretical engineering into practice. The team did a lot of research to make sure the plane was designed within competition specifications. The judges performed a technical inspection for safety and to ensure that it conformed to the technical design that they had originally submitted as alterations would incur penalties for the team. Two small discrepancies were found but were easily remedied. Arriving early allowed the team to be the second to compete. Although the plane before theirs flew successfully, it was very unstable. Prior to the competition, the team only had time for three test flights with limited loading. "There were more unknowns than knowns. [I wondered] would she fly?" Rains said. At the competition, a professional remote control pilot flew the plane. After providing the pilot some information about landing, she was off ! For the first five flights, there was no damage to the plane. "Even with the high speeds at landing, the plane never had any issues. The carbon fiber really proved its worth in this regard," Rains said. Between flights the team would examine the plane and complete a checklist to make sure that each component was ready for the next flight. When the plane successfully flew with 2.6 pounds of payload for a total loaded weight of 3.8 pounds, the team was excited to step it up a notch. On the sixth flight, the payload was increased to the maximum of 3.5 pounds for a total loaded weight of 4.7 pounds. Although the plane launched well, the right wingtip stalled as the pilot was trying to counter a slight roll to the left. As a result, the plane crashed hard. "At 30 mph and 4.7 pounds weight, that’s a lot of momentum,” Rains said. “The energy from this crash broke the
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CAMPUS NEWS | 3 Aw a r d w i n n i n g Po r t l a n d w r i t e r t e l l s her story
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I wrote short stories because I love to write short stories.” Malone said she is inspired by Jim Shephard. When responding to questions about wanting to quit, she said, “Keep doing it, if you want a book, keep doing it and it will happen.” She went on to say that stories need a personal touch, stressing that writing is only genuine when it comes from the heart. When she thinks a story is done, she asks herself, “Is there a little bit of my blood in this story?” Malone then finished by reading a story from her book and answering the rest of the audience’s questions. For more information about Margaret Malone, visit her website at http://www. margaretmalone.com/. n
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The final presentation of the Professional Writers Series concluded the series' 2017 run with a look at the journey of becoming a writer. Margaret Malone presented a talk called “One Writer’s Path” and discussed the process she went through to become a writer. Series organizer Howard Aaron introduced Malone. “I could say so many wonderful things about her but I better let her say wonderful things about her,” Aaron said. Margaret Malone graduated from Humboldt State University with a Bachelor’s degree in philosophy. She currently resides in Portland where she is a cohost for an artist and literary gathering called SHARE. Malone has also volunteered as a facilitator for the non-profit organization Write Around Portland.
Malone’s writing can be found in the “Missouri Review,” “Oregon Humanities,” “Swink” and “Propeller Quarterly.” Her collection of stories entitled “People Like You” was published by Atelier26 and was also a 2016 PEN/Hemingway Award finalist. Malone received the 2015 Balcones fiction prize. The Oregonian, The Portland Mercury, Powell’s Books and The Quivering Pen all selected “People Like You” as book of the year for 2015. During her presentation, Malone told the story of how she became a writer. According to Malone, she started late in life at the age of 27. It took her 14 years to write and finish her first book “People Like You.” Some of the stories featured in it were written 12 to 13 years ago and she kept re-writing them. When people asked her why she writes she said, “I wrote because I love to write.
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IN THE
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"Aero team," continued from page 2
Students were able to hear and view art, as well as create thier own, at the Salmon Creek Journal launch party. Photo credit: Zeke Estes "Salmon Creek Journal," continued from page 1 put into this year’s edition. Flynn fought back tears as she expressed how proud she was of the entire team. "I would consider this one of the best small groups that I've worked in," said Jason Cardenas, visual arts editor, as the team members all nodded in agreement. "We put effort into it of course, but it was so effortless in a sense. We worked as a cohesive unit," Cardenas said. "All of us put in a lot of work and it was all to represent your pieces and be able to display them in a way that is representative of how amazing they all are," Hickey said. Slorey encouraged the audience saying "Your artwork is amazing, don't ever
discourage that. Your work has value and never hesitate to come to us and submit." Lewis challenged the audience to think about helping with the creation of future editions of the journal, noting that several positions were opening up. "If anyone in here is looking for next year's position and is interested in applying, I would like to encourage and challenge you to do better." Applications for next year's positions may be found on CougSync or on the Salmon Creek Journal website. The journal's editors encourage students pick up a copy of the latest edition of the Salmon Creek Journal in the Office of Student Involvement or visit their website. They also encourage students to keep producing creative works so they are ready when submissions open for next year's journal. n
them such as Georgia Tech and the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Texas have dedicated aerodynamics programs. They received the high score for their 2D drawing and placed second for their presentation. They also placed fifth both for most payload carried and for payload fraction. Next year, another team from WSU Vancouver may liftoff on the same project. Rains recommended to "start building early… [and to] have a trained pilot fly the plane. Doing so takes a lot of pressure off of the team for this and allows the engineers [to] be engineers. Leave the flying to the pros." n
carbon fiber nose and tail of the fuselage. These areas had been lightened significantly by removing material and so it was no surprise the plane failed at these locations." The plane crashed on its last scheduled flight. Despite the crash, the team was impressed with the aircraft’s performance. When asked how he felt about the performance, Rains said "Not shocked – relieved." The WAZZU SkyCougs competed against 24 other teams in their design class. Overall, they placed fifth. The team said this accomplishment was even more impressive considering the schools who placed above
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The Library has extended hours during Dead and Finals week! Extended Hours April 22 – May 5 • Saturdays/Sundays: 4/22-4/23 & 4/29-4/30 10am – 7pm • Mondays – Thursdays: 4/24-4/27 & 5/1-5/4 7:30am – 11pm • Fridays: 4/28 & 5/5 7:30am – 7pm
Washington State University Vancouver
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Author uses her journey as a lesson in writing
4 | CAMPUS NEWS
Event fees impact student led activities Charging policy needs clarification and refinement, student leaders say
The chart shows a selection of OSI events over the semester. Red bars represent the cost quoted for the event, while gray represents the price actually paid. Variations between the two are explained in parentheses when data was available. Source: WSU Vancouver Facilities Operations pool. The senate allocation or a garbage can is priced at $5. the department did not have Organizers often avoid using the By Andrew Hanchett Earlier this year, clubs and organizations learned that they would be charged fees for setting up campus events. This change led to confusion and concern among event planners and clubs. “It would be nice to send out an official statement,” said Jasmine Rucker, president of Black People United, in reference to the university's events office. According to Lynn Valenter, vice chancellor for finance and operations at Washington State University Vancouver, the primary reason for introducing event space fees this semester was “trying to find a structure that would encourage and reward self-efficiency.” She said the purpose was to encourage the use of a class setup without additional labor. Valenter said that events on campus were growing significantly and so an “increasing amount of custodial resources were required to support the events.” She said
"#WeNeedButch," continued from page 1 really unfortunate for WSU.” Brenda Alling, the marketing and communications director at WSU Vancouver, explained how the atmosphere on campus can change when Butch is here. “The spirit that is associated with our campus is present when Butch is here. It is missing when he is gone. You get such a big reaction whenever he does come out. He is a tie to the cougar spirit and cougar family,” Alling said. “Whenever I talk about Butch, I talk about Mickey Mouse,” Washington State University Vancouver
enough resources to maintain the desired standard for events. Individuals seeking to organize an event are asked to fill out an event space request form that can be found on the WSU Vancouver website, along with a detailed event price guide. Event organizers can choose from several packages that have a fixed priced. No charges will be applied if the event uses equipment already existing in the space and the furniture is returned to its original layout. Valenter noted that her department “worked hard to develop a reservation that was at no cost,” however, this reservation still has to be within scheduled hours. Packages that require labor and a more extensive use of equipment are charged a fixed fee. Charges will also apply to any additional equipment not outlined in the package itself. For example, additional chairs can be requested for $1 per chair. The use of an extra table
Rucker said she would prefer to see broader packages that would give organizers more flexibility instead of making “petty” charges for every additional individual piece of equipment. Jose Scott is the president of the Pre-Law Society. Recently the society held a mock trial and according to Scott, the club received an unexpected labor charge it did not have the funds to cover. “We had to set up the room ourselves,” he said, “and we needed that time.” Both Rucker and Stefani Mammenga, president of the Cougar Pride Club, said that the implementation of fees added an extra step to the process. In order to cover the cost of event fees, students and clubs have been requesting additional funds from the ASWSUV senate. As stated on the WSU Vancouver website, recognized student organizations can request funds from the ASWSUV senate allocation
pool is in turn supplied by the Services and Activities fees taken from student tuition. ASWSUV Senator Tawny Maruhn said the fees “make sense” as they encourage individuals to “use campus resources a little more wisely.” Maruhn pointed out that even though it is not necessarily the responsibility of the facilities operations department, in the past its staff spent a considerable amount of time setting up for events. She said individuals wishing to host an event now have to be more creative and intentional in order to either make events more economically feasible or to avoid the fees altogether. However, Maruhn said the structure of the fees is “a little unrefined” and observed that some of the requests for event funding have doubled due to event space fees that took effect in January. She said the fees are coming at the cost of the events themselves.
Firstenburg Student Commons since the space “is just very expensive these days,” she said. According to Maruhn, the senate was not able to fund a request from the Cougar Pride Club due to a lack of funds. She said the event was eventually canceled. Maruhn also said that the fees affected the senate as they “limited our options and available funds to solve student issues on campus.” “Right now the senate allocation pool is completely gone,” said Maruhn, “it has all been used up.” The senate budget was increased by $15,000 for next year and Maruhn said the event space fees have largely impacted the increase. For more information on the event pricing, visit https:// admin.vancouver.wsu.edu/sites/ admin.vancouver.wsu.e du/ files/event-price-guide.pdf. The event request form is available at https://admin.vancouver. wsu.edu/events-office/ event-space-request-form.n
Alling said. “There [are] Disney theme parks all over the place, Mickey Mouse is at all of those places right? So if Disney can work it out, WSU can work it out, if there is more than one mouse then there can be more than one Butch.” Faculty and students have campaigned for the last month to bring Butch back to campus. Julie Mercado, a student ambassador, came up with the hashtag #WeNeedButch to get the movement rolling online and on social media. Many student entities have made spirited videos singing and chanting for the return of Butch, while waving
crimson and gray to gain Pullman’s attention. (The VanCougar staff recently participated in the making of one of the videos.) “I think the situation is unfortunate,” Netzhammer said. “Butch is a major symbol of Washington State University, and he's important to our students, who are diehard Cougs. So, I'm pleased that our students are raising their voices and using the power of social media to express their dissatisfaction with the current situation. I also think it has put more energy behind the work that was already going on to resolve this.”
Alling said, “I think the student campaign is great, I think it is a request that comes best from students.” With voices being heard from faculty and students, short term and long term solutions are being worked on. Butch will be at the spring commencement ceremony to honor those who are graduating and to spread some cheer to the Cougar family. “We have been working since then to resolve the situation, but the expense or the unavailability have made that impossible to date. We have gotten permission from the president on a few
occasions to use our old costume, and we will continue to do so while we work toward a long term solution,” Netzhammer said. To view the videos made by different campus organizations about the absence of Butch, search for the #WeNeedButch hashtag on Twitter. n