Cougs Help Cougs during holiday season

Emily Baumann| Reporter Cougs DURING Holiday season

WSU Vancouver flag waves in front of Manor Evangelical Church. (Emily Baumann/The VanCougar)

While many celebrate with family and friends over a hot meal during the holiday season, some are not that lucky. Meant to be a time of joy and cheer, the holidays pose major challenges to many people, including students. VanCougs give back to other VanCougs and community members with Noel Christmas, during this  nancially-challenging time of year.

Cougs in the Community partnered with Manor Evangelical Church to help families and students in need with “Noel Christmas” event.

On Dec. 14, Cougs in the Community, a program designed to help students connect to community engagement opportunities, partnered with Manor Evangelical Church to host their annual event titled, Noel Christmas.  e event consists of providing a Christmas experience by giving 20 families a hot meal, presents, coats, wreaths and a family photo.

Elizabeth Becker, WSU Vancouver’s development and alumni relations coordinator, explained how these events highlight the need for student engagement in the community and how this partnership impacts WSU Vancouver families and others in need.

“I think it’s 85% of our students are in some sort of  nancial need basis, and we have the food pantry on campus, but that doesn’t always give everything that the families need. So, I think having this experience shows that there are other people that are out there who want to help our students and community…  ere’s people that care about them and there’s other resources too,” Becker said.

"It’s one of my favorite things to do. Just giving back and helping the community is really important to me. " — Riana Vincent

From left to right: Katie Siewert, Jessica Wells and Elizabeth Becker get festive by giving back to the community. (Emily Baumann/The VanCougar)

there was a need for helping college students during the holiday season. Crume shared her past experiences of struggling to provide for her family while she was still in school. Erryn Crume, head organizer of Noel Christmas, sports reindeer antlers. (Emily Baumann/The VanCougar) Erryn Crume, head organizer of Noel Christmas, started the event last year with the help of Manor Evangelical Church when she recognized

“I was a college student. I had a child and I had to choose between education or my children, rent, bills and Christmas,” Crume said. She explained that she wondered how other struggling families compared to her when it came to dealing with Christmas and children. “I really prayed about it and this vision came to me. It was the Noel project,” Crume said.

According to Crume, Noel Christmas originally started to help WSU Vancouver students in need, but has since reached the Battle Ground community.

Riana Vincent, alumni coordinator and former VanCoug volunteers at Noel Christmas. (Emily Baumann/The VanCougar)

"It’s one of my favorite things to do. Just giving back and helping the community is really important to me. It’s also really important to teach my kids how to do that and there are opportunities and options for people that need help or ways to give back,” Vincent said.

According to Becker, Cougs in the Community reported they will be hosting several events throughout the year to provide opportunities for WSU Vancouver students to give back.  ey plan to continue to grow a support system for their fellow students and community members.

COMING: What VanCougs Should Know About Inclement Weather Brody Voge | Reporter

As winter approaches, students and faculty are preparing for the harsh weather that the Paci c Northwest is known for. WSU Vancouver has a number of sta members on-call to ensure the campus remains open during inclement weather.

Predicting weather outcomes can be di cult, which is why WSU Vancouver’s facility services are assigned to respond to these cases any hour of the day. Bill Hooper, vice chancellor of facility services explained that during harsh weather, facility services' shi s are temporarily adjusted as needed.

Hooper said that one of the reasons the campus rarely closes due to weather is because WSU Vancouver  nds closing disruptive. “We have a good reputation of being very responsive in the event of extreme weather,” Hooper said.

 e faculty is dedicated to keeping the campus open year round. Hooper explained that during previous inclement weather, some faculty members volunteered to sleep on campus to address the hazardous weather expected to fall. “[Workers] also have to make a personal decision in regard to their own safety,” Hooper said, regarding faculty’s safety commuting to campus. WSU Vancouver Public Safety O cer Jeannette Hurt is one of the employees that has chosen to sleep on campus to  ght against conditions that could lead to campus closure.

According to Hurt, she has slept on campus multiple times. “If I le , there’s no telling anyone to come back in,” Hurt explained. Hurt said WSU Vancouver public safety o cers have a sleeping cot ready, in case of extreme weather.

Timing is a major element in determining if extreme weather will pose a challenge or not, according to Hooper. If snow falls in the early a ernoon, it is harder to deal with, due to the increased tra c from students and faculty. Hooper said if snow falls later in the evening, it is easier to manage because of the quick response of facility services and public safety at WSU Vancouver.

 e WSU Vancouver inclement weather policy states that students and faculty must take personal safety into account in the event of inclement weather.  e policy was created by factoring in the various micro-climates students and faculty commute from.

 e policy states instructors should not penalize students for missing class due to hazardous weather and Hooper advises students to communicate with their professors in the event of inclement weather.