November 2020
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N ov e m b e r , vo l . 3 1 i s s u e 4
The Election Issue
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r a g u o C Van TEAM November 2020
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Emily Baumann MANAGING EDITOR Brody Voge
WEBSITE MANAGER Austin Cari
LAYOUT EDITOR Samantha Deshazer
REPORTER Tessa Hensley
COPY EDITOR Olivia Eldredge
REPORTER LeeLee Parr
PHOTOGRAPHER David Priymak
Social Get
@thevancougar
our
Mission
The VanCougar, a student-run newsmagazine, informs and engages the WSU Vancouver community while practicing the highest standards of timely, ethical journalism.
Corrections s r e t t e L to the 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
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A melting American flag in front of the White House with the cover entitled "The Election Issue."
November 2020
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Letter from the editor Climate Change How The Electoral College Works students and voting President & Vice President Q&A The Congressional Race Coug Convos
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November 2020
A Letter From
T h e Editor
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s we anticipate one of the most prevalent elections in American history, The VanCougar introduces to you a special edition this November, the election issue. My team and I have done diligent work to assemble a collection of stories ranging from topics such as climate change, the Electoral College, voting and much more. We hope these stories spark conversation among students, equip readers with knowledge and overall encourage our campus to remain alert and active about key issues happening within the WSU Vancouver community. An influential principle I have always stood by is that politics are personal. We understand these stories may ignite a strong passion within some readers and challenge current beliefs about our political climate, but rest assured we have treated these stories with the utmost care.
Our organization aims to represent all voices of WSU Vancouver. We will always promise to provide our readers with accurate reporting, non-biased information and are willing to accept critiques and criticism aimed towards The VanCougar. We hope you enjoy this issue and the rest of our publications moving forward. If you have an opinion, critique, comment or story pitch, please send a letter to the editor at van.vc.editor@wsu.edu, we would love to hear it. As always, our issues can be available by signing up for our free mail subscription located on our website and more stories can be read by subscribing to our weekly newsletter, sent directly to your student inbox.
Best regards, 2020/2021 Editor in Chief
Emily Baumann
November 2020
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Opinion: 6
November 2020
Dear America,
Time's up LeeLee Parr | Reporter
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olitical debates, conventions and rallies have consumed much of our attention this November. The more America gets swept up in chaos surrounding this year’s election, the less we focus on another pressing issue that warrants our attention now more than ever. Climate change is a globalized term used to describe human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, such as carbon dioxide, that change weather patterns, weaken the quality of natural resources and increase human risk for diseases and chronic illnesses. Associate Professor Stephen Solovitz teaches mechanical engineering at WSU Vancouver and conducts research in fluid mechanics, a topic involving renewable energy. He speculated climate change has not received a whole lot of attention in this election due to newer issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic. “I would say this particular election has not seen as much discussion of climate issues because there's really one overarching issue that is affecting everybody right now, the COVID-19 pandemic has totally dominated everything. And there have been a lot of things going on in the world. … But climate change is sort of this overarching issue that's been there. We've known about it for decades,” Solovitz said. While Professor Solovitz highlighted the pandemic has rightfully taken up our attention, climate change will not come to a screeching halt to make room for COVID-19. As climate topics were forced to take a step down, we must not forget it will ultimately pose the same threats to humanity as COVID-19, the only difference being these impacts will come later and last much longer.
November 2020 But, why does any of this matter? As we all know, this election is critical and climate change needs to be a large factor when casting our ballots for a multitude of reasons. First off, our response to climate change is going to largely depend on the next U.S. president. The president has the influence to reinstate jobs that assist in promoting clean energy that curbs carbon dioxide and creates an eco-friendly economy. While both major parties are focused on a strong economy in our pandemic recovery, cutting emissions will only support that goal. We need to ensure our climate priorities are not forgotten even after the outcome of the 2020 election. Another reason to be mindful of this crisis is America’s involvement in the Paris Climate Agreement, established by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2015. In this contract, the UNFCCC parties have agreed to take aggressive actions to maintain global temperatures below 1.5 degrees Celsius to protect our planet from the drastic impacts of global warming. However, the U.S. emits 15% of the world’s carbon dioxide emissions according to the CO2 Country Profile. Whether we stay in the Paris agreement depends on the next president, but rejecting this globally accepted deal signals to our national partners that climate change is not on America’s list of priorities.
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WSU Vancouver School of the Environment Assistant Professor Deepti Singh, who specializes in climate change, acknowledged that while the largest effects on climate change are observed at the national level, personal actions are important. “General action that people take traveling, using electricity and using various environmental resources [have an impact]. I think just continuing to be mindful of that can contribute [to emission reductions] as individuals,” Singh said. With Singh’s statement in mind, when we focus our attention on the direct environmental consequences of our actions, populations have a stronger urge to act climate-friendly (remember when plastic straws were phased out by unpopular demand?). Helping the public see the priority of climate change encourages us to behave with greener actions. When these individual shifts and behaviors are adopted by an entire population, suddenly those personal actions don’t seem so small. While we all have topics that hold near and dear to our hearts during this election, I encourage you to have climate change be one of them. Regardless of who you voted for in the 2020 election, the planet is still waiting for you to take action For more information on this topic, check out NPR’s “2020 Election Presents A Climate Change Crossroad For U.S.”
A 2017 graph showing the increasing trend of global carbon emissions. (Graph provided by the Carbon Dioxide Information Analysis Center)
November 2020 guide on the Electoral College A8 voter's
Tessa Hensley | Reporter
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he Electoral College has been a huge debate topic among politics since Trump’s 2016 win, making many VanCougs question, will your vote make a difference in the 2020 election?
Typically, electors vote in favor of the state they are representing. However, this does not always happen. The Supreme Court unanimously claimed this year that states do The Electoral College, a constitutionally have the power to control who their mandated process, is used to elect the electors vote for, according to NPR. president and vice president of the United States. Each state votes for its electors, To complicate the process further, and the electors then vote for the pres- most states also adopt a winner take ident. Some argue the Electoral College all system, where all of the electortakes away from individuals and their al votes for a state are given to the votes, while others believe the Elector- candidate who gets the most elecal College is beneficial in how it favors toral votes in that state. Thiers exstates as a whole over individual voters. plained there are 51 separate elections for the president, as 50 states, Paul Thiers, an associate professor of po- including the District of Columlitical science and public affairs at WSU bia, all get their own vote within Vancouver, shed light on how the num- the Electoral College. Aside from ber of electors per state is determined. two states, Nebraska and Maine, all electoral votes are given to whoev“The Electoral College is a way for the er wins the popular vote in the state. will of states to be used to elect the president and vice president. So each state gets the number of electors that is equal to its number of members of the House of Representatives, plus the two members of the Senate, and those are its electoral votes which that state can cast to elect t h e president,” Thiers said.
Professor Mark Stephan, an associate professor in political science, also elaborated on how the winner take all system can lead to situations like the 2016 election, where battleground or swing states determine the outcome.
A map showing how many electoral votes each state had resulting from the 2016 election
Professor Mark Stephan (Photo courtesy of Mark Stephan)
“Other states are evenly divided between [the two parties], and that is really where the competition happens. So that is why they are called battleground states. … It is not clear who is going to win that state and they are going to decide the election based on that. But take away the Electoral College, [and] it is wherever you can get votes. In a sense, every single vote matters across the country,” Stephan said. Arguments against the Electoral College include the proposal that it delegitimizes elections, and makes people feel like their votes do not matter. This argument is mostly supported by the fact that three elections in recent history had outcomes where the winner of the popular vote was not the winner of the election.
November 2020 “There is a strong movement to try and make the electoral college irrelevant,” Thiers said. “I think that the more likely pathway is to actually have a constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College, but that will be difficult because small states will fight it.” Caressa Milgrove, a senior public affairs major, believes the Electoral College takes away the voice of the people. Caressa Milgrove; Senior and public affairs major (Photo provided by Clark County Today
“John F. Kennedy, George W. Bush and Donald Trump were all elected, even though they got less votes in the popular vote than their opponents. I think that what those elections make clear, is that the electoral college delegitimizes those elections. That is not the primary factor, but it is a factor in the decline in support for democracy generally, in the United States,” Thiers said. Sharing his opinion, Professor Stephan believes the Electoral College does not have a place in today’s U.S. government. “I actually think [the Electoral College] does not have any benefit. I think it should be gone, because I think the Electoral College is too messed up in terms of how it is structured,” Stephan said. According to Professor Thiers, it is likely the Electoral College will soon be abolished, but it will not go away so soon, without a fight.
“The people have had such a small voice in comparison to the rhetoric that we are taught as having this thriving democracy. It is the image of one, we get to vote, but how much our vote counts, that is the question,” Milgrove said. No matter how you plan to vote in this year’s presidential election, familiarizing yourself with the election process can be beneficial. Should we keep the Electoral College? Has it done the American people a favor? That is up to the voters to decide.
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November 2020
Young voters are ditching 'Voter Apathy'
Olivia Eldredge | Reporter
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n today’s politics, some believe young people do not race to the polls like older generations. Truth be told, college students are often blamed for the lack-of-voting phenomenon, coined as the term “voter apathy.” While there are several reasons behind the gap in generational votes, The VanCougar asked students about their decision to vote, and why, or why not, they believe their vote counts.
“I believe that young people are more interested in voting now than they ever have been before.” - Paul Thiers
Considering the context behind student votes, Paul Thiers, associate professor in political science and public affairs, said he chooses to avoid the term “voter apathy” when describing individuals who cannot vote either by restriction or choice. “Most of the reasons why young people vote in lower numbers is because of registration barriers, and because they are poor. Research that asked people why they did not vote, for young people, the most likely reasons are, ‘I cannot get off work’ and ‘[I have] no transportation,’” Thiers said. However, despite some of these obstacles, college students can still make up a large percentage of eligible voters throughout the U.S. Thiers said he has seen more young people interested in exercising their right to vote today, versus in past elections. “I think that more so than I've ever experienced, young people seem aware that elections really matter. And so I believe that young people are more interested in voting now than they ever have been before,” Thiers said.
Paul Thiers, associate professor in political science and public affairs, explains why elections matter. (Photo courtesy of WSU Vancouver)
Regan Smith, a sophomore at WSU Vancouver studying special elementary education, said the 2020 presidential election will have been the first time she has ever exercised her voting rights. Smith plans to vote in all future elections, both locally and nationally.
November 2020 “Voting is extremely important. Having the right to vote allows citizens to have a say in who runs the nations, what acts they do and do not support, allowing their voice to be heard and what they hope to be able to achieve in the future. Voting is also one of the key components of keeping us a democracy, not a dictatorship,” Smith said. Katherine Orth, a U.S. Marine Corps veteran and a junior at WSU Vancouver majoring in political science, said she has voted in every state, local and national election since she was old enough to vote. Orth’s service to the military has also impacted her decision to vote in the 2020 election, and in the future. “I feel that I have an obligation to exercise my right to vote. I served
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“This election is the most important election of our lifetimes. With the Affordable Care Act and pre-existing conditions on the line during the worst pandemic in a century… We must come together as a nation and vote like our lives depend on it because they do,” Orth said. Thiers stated many other significant changes could take place in the next few years, but it all comes down to the outcome of the election. “Elections really do matter for all kinds of outcomes. The strength of the democracy, the continuation of the political system, but especially elections matter for specific policy areas, tax rates, college tuition,” Thiers explained. The 2020 presidential election depends on the votes of millions, including young people and college students. To learn more about voting or other government resources, visit the USA government website for more information.
in the military to preserve the rights and freedoms of [U.S.] citizens, and suffragettes had to fight for women's right to vote. Not voting, for me, would be against the constitutional oath I took when joining the military. Right now, my only way to support and defend the Constitution from all enemies foreign and domestic is to vote whenever there is an election and especially now,” Orth said. Urging people to vote, Orth said the 2020 presidential election is a historical moment in American politics, which could impact the lives of so many who live in the U.S. She referenced changes to the Affordable Care Act, reproductive rights and other aspects of healthcare.
Katherine Orth, U.S. Marine Corps veteran and WSU Vancouver student majoring in Political Science. (David Priymak / The VanCougar)
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November 2020
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The new era of leadership:
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A chat with ASWSUV’s president and vice president elects Now stepping into the role of ASWSUV’s president, Armando Antonino, and new vice president, Evans Kaame, are both prepared to lead the university through the unprecedented 2020-21 academic year.
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ne summer evening, Vice President Armando Antonino received a letter of resignation from his partner and previous president of Associated Students of WSU Vancouver, Vita Blanco. Leaving him no choice but to fulfill the presidential position, Antonino and vice president, Evans Kaame, are committed to letting no barriers stop them while serving the student body. Q: When did you find out the previous president had resigned and you were going to be the new president? Armando: We had a little meeting. … I had no idea what the next steps were for ASWSUV. I did not even think that I would be the president, so it was a lot of emotions because I wanted to make sure that the previous president was doing okay, and everything was fine with her and sort of take a moment to breathe. Eventually, I was happy, and I was like ‘what a crazy turn of events.’ It has been a great honor and privilege.
Tessa Hensley | Reporter Evans: It was something that we did not expect, and Mando stepped up into the position of the presidency and has been doing great work, and everyone has been seeing that.
student body president] he is so enlightened and smart. I cannot get over that, he was like a backbone for the summer administration. So, I thought it was only appropriate EvQ: How was the new vice presi- ans would be an amazing fit for VP. dent selected after you assumed Q: What are your goals as presithe president position? Armando:: It is in our bylaws that the dent and vice president? Armando vice president steps up to the president role, and then the president now Armando: I feel my goals include makwould be in charge of recommend- ing sure that every student knows that ing a [vice president] to the senate we are here for them during these difand then the senate elects the VP. ficult times and advocating as strongly as we can to make sure that the stuQ: Was Evans your first choice dent’s needs are put first. … Connecting students with resources is another for vice president? huge one. Making sure the students Armando: I actually found out about know what resources are on campus Vita’s resignation through Evans. At in the community, and how we can first, it was not clear. I was just going better improve those resources. But through a lot at the time, still getting also have fun. Everything is very seriaccustomed to being the president, fig- ous, and always life or death. So I just uring out our next steps. I think I knew try to have fun with everyone, meet because Evans was there all summer, as many new students as I can, get to always helping us out [and with] his know them, their stories, why they previous experience [as Clark College’s chose WSU and what keeps them going.
November 2020
Vice President of ASWSUV Evans Kaame was previously Clark College's student body president before attending WSU Vancouver. (David Priymak / The VanCougar) Evans: The first one is to serve students in any way possible. ‌ The second goal is to support the president and the cabinet and the executive staff with any initiative, any proposals, anything to support the executive leadership. The third thing is to help the senate whenever they need me, either in interpreting the bylaws or interpreting the constitution and how to change the constitution, or how to change the bylaws currently. Q: What was your leadership experience before your current positions? Were you in leadership in high school or anything like that? Armando: No, actually, this is really my first time in a leadership position. I was in a few clubs in high school, and that was pretty much the extent of my leadership. In college, I was the president of the Fashion Club and I was pretty much only leadership in that. Then I worked at the cafeteria for two years. I was serving
students, just in a different area. I sort of just took that leap of faith, and now I am the president, but everything I feel like has sort of combined to help me be this type of leader. Evans: I was part of the student government over [in Kenya], but that was more of a high school mentality, like getting some social status kind of thing. There is a difference. I can take a day to explain that leadership in college right now is so different from how we were serving students back in high school. Q: Was moving to the states in 2018 a big change for you? Evans: It has been a blessing for me. This community over here has been a really welcoming community for me. The Clark College community embraced me as an individual and as someone who is passionate about leadership and so into serving people. ‌ I realized the first
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ASWSUV President Armando Antonino states he will prioritize his goals by connecting students to campus. (David Priymak / The VanCougar)
three months that I came to the United States, or I began to take lessons at Clark, I was born to serve people, and I never knew that until that conviction was put into my heart. Q: Do you both plan to run again next year? Evans: I think we still have this passion to serve the students, and as long as we get to be at Washington State, we will still be serving the students in any capacity.
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November 2020
Jaime Herrera Beutler vs. Carolyn Long: Students weigh in on heated congressional debate Olivia Eldredge | Reporter
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“Herrera Beutler voted nay on H.R.1425, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Enhancement Act, which would have expanded the ACA. … Voting nay on H.R.1425 is a partisan effort to try to limit, and eventually repeal the ACA. The ACA has helped many people,” Holtslander said. “She also voted yes on H.R.3762 which would eliminate Medicaid funding for Planned Parenthood for one year. Limiting a woman’s access to safe, affordable, accessible healthcare is wrong. Herrera Beutler has been a vocal opponent of the ACA and has voted many
all 2020 is the time for candidates to face off in a series of campaign trails, speeches and debates. Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler currently represents the 3rd Congressional District of Washington state, and Carolyn Long, WSU Vancouver’s very own associate political science professor, is Herrera Beutler’s primary challenger. On Oct. 9, the candidates discussed many issues ranging from the climate crisis to healthcare. In reThomas Spencer, Associated Students of WSU sponse to the debate, students shared Vancouver's director of legislative affairs and senior public affairs major. their opinions on both candidates (David Priymak / The VanCougar) and what policies they currently stand for. “Carolyn Long is running on progressive policies that are likely to appeal to younger “I have consistently been in faSenior public affairs voters, specifically her support for student vor of fixing the Affordable Care major, Tom HoltAct, which is under assault by loan reform.” - Thomas Spencer slander, is the intermy opponent and the Republican nal director of legisParty, including in the Supreme lative affairs for the Court through the Trump adAssociated Students of WSU Vanministration, during a global pantimes to further its repeal without couver. More in favor of Long, Holtdemic. This is unconscionable, but a clear, robust, replacement policy.” slander disagrees with Herrera BeutI do not think that the Affordable ler’s choice to repeal the Affordable Care Act goes far enough, so I am While Long supports the ACA, Care Act, which reduces the cost strongly in favor of a public option, she announced that addressing of healthcare for those who qualify. where people if they choose to do healthcare is her number one isso, can access health insurance right sue, and wants to bring more covfrom the government,” Long said. erage to as many people as possible.
November 2020 On the subject of healthcare, Herrera Beutler came back with a rebuttal, saying she has determined to protect people’s healthcare, and coverage for pre-existing conditions, in other ways through alternative actions in Congress. “I have co-sponsored legislation that would make permanent coverage for people with pre-existing conditions irrespective of what happens to the Affordable Care Act. I also believe in and have fought to slash prescription drug prices. In fact, I have crossed party lines and joined with a bill that would bring down the cost of prescription drugs, that Big Pharma was so enraged over they ran attack ads against me. I am not in their pocket, I am not afraid to stand up to anybody,” Herrera Beutler said. Thomas Spencer, ASWSUV director of legislative affairs, is a senior public affairs major, and has also planned to vote for Long in the upcoming election. Spencer disagrees with Herrera Beutler’s politics and lack of policy record, a large factor that has influenced his opinions on their candidacy.
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Carolyn Long is running on progressive policies that are likely to appeal to younger voters, specifically her support for student loan reform,” Spencer said. Cecilia Hoxeng, a senior majoring in integrated strategic communications, said she thinks the debate between the two candidates was very much needed. Having four kids, Hoxeng tries to provide them with as much information as possible so they can form their own political opinions. She is interested in what others have to say about their own personal views, and why they feel the way they do, but also believes that policies being discussed today are becoming more important than ever.
“I know politics can be intimidating, but the feeling of being uncomfortable with something is going to make you feel more encouraged to [be] informed. The more informed and educated you are about something, it will give more power to us as a community. I consider my community my family, so for that Cecilia Hoxeng, a senior majoring in integrated reason you [will] want to help, strategic communications. (David Priymak / The VanCougar) you want to keep everybody as healthy and [involved] as possible. I think politics can do “The more informed and educated you are that. Unfortunately, right now I also see the side of about something, it will give more power divisiveness in our country. to us as a community." - Cecilia Hoxeng But, we have to fight that. We have to,” Hoxeng said.
“[Long’s] platform is more or less in line with my views. … [Herrera] Beutler has represented the 3rd Congressional District for five terms because voters outside of Vancouver tend to lean Republican …
As election season has ended, choices about various legislative policies will have to be made promptly as the government makes a fresh transition into 2021. To form your own opinions about congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler and Democratic challenger Carolyn Long, consider visiting their campaign websites for more information.
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November 2020
New coug convos event sparks political discourse
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romoting political conversations around campus, two VanCougs created a new event series entitled Coug Convos, where students chat and engage in informative discussions during the critical weeks before the presidential election. The event started one month before the November 3 election and lasted from Oct. 6 through Oct. 27. Created by a partnership between the American Democracy Project and the Associated Students of WSU Vancouver, Coug Convos established a space for students to express their political opinions and create meaningful discourse among staff and peers. Political science professor and co-creator of the event, Mark Stephan, serves as the ADP faculty lead on campus. While encouraging students to get involved in politics, Stephan stated Coug Convos is meant for educational discussions rather than debates. “There has got to be some commitment to this civility or else this kind of conversation cannot happen. … [We are] trying to have just an open conversation with whoever arrives. … The desire is to be conversational rather than a debate. It is not a debate,” Stephan said. Senior and public affairs major, Tom Holtslander, collaborated on the creation of Coug Convos. While also serving as the current internal director of legislative affairs for ASWSUV, Holtslander acknowledged political disagreements can inspire discomfort which sparked his inspiration for the series.
LeeLee Parr | Reporter
“Politics is not a spectator sport. You have to participate, ” Holtslander said. “I wanted to do Coug Convos and get people together to talk in a civil way, a facilitated way. We can help guide conversation but also have open different political ideologies, and have a legitimate discussion about certain issues,” Holtslander said. Jesus Morfin-Hernandez, a freshman studying public affairs, said he was inspired to join one of the Coug Convos due to his fascination with politics. Morfin-Hernandez believes his generation has become more politically aware and engaged, especially as the election approached.
strangers, politics and religion. How are you going to get to know somebody and build community if you are not allowed to talk about the things that we hold so close to us?” Holtslander said. Overall, both Stephan and Holtslander could see additional events like Coug Convos occur in the future and encourage the VanCoug community to continue civil discussion, remain respectful and be more open-minded to learning more about one another’s political perspectives.
“Being [apart of] Generation Z, I feel we are definitely getting a lot more into politics because we see the state of which things are in and we recognize we have to do something about it. This is our country, this is our future,” Morfin-Hernandez explained. While Holtslander thinks students may be growing sick of politics, he is in favor of promoting political discussion among students, viewing it as a necessity to build a strong sense of community. “We’re kind of conditioned, early on, to not talk about two things in public to
Tom Holtslander serves as the internal director of legislative affairs and was a key figure in creating Coug Convos. (David Priymak / The VanCougar)
November 2020
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November m a r k yo u r c a l e n da r . . . tues.
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Election Day Empowered to Rise: Acknowledging My Multiple Identities, with José Rosario 11:00 - 12:30
mon.
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CILA Community Space 3:00 - 4:00
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Fall 2020 Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Summit. 1:00 - 3:00
First-Generation Students THRIVING! 12:00 - 1:00 Tech 101 workshop 12:00 - 1:00
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Wellness Exams 11:00 - 4:00 BaCE Workshop, “Art and Letters of Affirmation” 11:30 - 1:00
COVID-19 Town Hall 11:00 - 12:00 Documentary, “Black Indians: An American Story” 4:30 - 5:30 Transgender Day of Remembrance 2020 10:00 - 12:00 Cultural Arts & Equity Hip-Hop Series: Olmeca
Native American Painting History & Acknowledgement of Lands. 4:30 - 5:30
Next issue of the vancougar ships dec. 7
Photo courtesey of Laura Dutelle
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November 2020