May 9, 2016
TheVanCougar.com
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Issue XVI
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Volume XXVI
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First Copy Free
SINCE 1994
May 9, 2016
TheVanCougar.com
salMon crEEK Journal launch Party
ART AND LITERARY JOURNAL DEBUTS P. 2
thE vancougar gEts nEW lEadErshiP
SAY HELLO AND GOODBYE P. 4
Onward, VanCougs! 975 graduate in Class of 2016
Story By: ALEX PERU Photos By: ALEX PERU & QUETZALI RAMIREZ The VanCougar On May 7, at the Sunlight Supply Amphitheater, 975 Washington State University Vancouver students received doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s degrees. Steve Horenstein, chair of the WSU Vancouver Advisory Council, and Chancellor Mel Netzhammer, made opening remarks. Chancellor Netzhammer recognized Dan Harmon, one of the owners of Hoffman
Construction, for his contributions to the university. Harmon sponsored the Second Chance Scholarship, which gives students who are at risk of not being able to finish school due to financial difficulties financial aid to finish their senior year of college. Outgoing ASWSUV president Shain Wright gave the commencement address. Wright reminisced on his time as part of the WSU Vancouver community and the memories made with many people on campus. He then spoke of a bright future for all graduating students.
After Wright spoke, students received their degrees. Walking across the stage, degree in hand, students showed all manner of excitement at their achievement. Tamara Shoup, a graduate with a 2007 bachelor of arts in human development, welcomed graduates into the WSU alumni community. Chancellor Netzhammer then made final remarks, and the graduates proceeded out of the amphitheater to celebrate their graduation with friends and family members. n
2 | CAMPUS NEWS
THEVANCOUGAR.COM
Cougs camp out for the 2016 Salmon Creek Journal launch Polaroids, musical performances, refreshments and more By: QUETZALI RAMIREZ The VanCougar The 2016 Salmon Creek Journal Launch was an event held to celebrate the release of the 2016 edition of the Salmon Creek Journal. The event featured an appearance of a guest speaker, awards, food and refreshments all leading up to the unveiling of this year's journal. The launch took place April 27th in the Firstenburg Student Commons. Students mingled around tables where stacks of gift-wrapped journals were available for attendees to take and later open. Each table was decorated with pinecones and twigs that encompassed this year’s outdoor camping theme. Furthering the outdoors theme, students were able to take home a Polaroid picture of themselves huddled around a paper fire
at a small campsite set up in the commons. KOUG Radio played music as students arrived and found their seats. Shortly after, while enjoying food and refreshments, guest speaker Susan Finley discussed the meaning of arts based research and the way art is used to interact in the world. Finley said, “Some things are better said through [a] type of art. We have to know the world through all of our senses, using art to read the world.” Following the keynote speaker students who submitted work to the journal for publication were awarded with the editor’s choice in the categories of visual arts, performing arts, prose and poetry. The winners were “Thirteen Minutes” by Lucas Wiseman for prose, “Yellow” by Grace Elizabeth Edwards for visual arts,
The Salmon Creek Journal staff taking a well-earned break. | Photo Credit: Salmon Creek Journal
“Tadasana” by Stephanie Pisarek for poetry and “Kakistocracy: A Morality Play” by Jaymes Condon for performing arts. Senior Jennifer Schwartz, the journal’s poetry editor, expressed appreciation for the hard work that was put into making the journal as well as the bittersweet
feeling of this being her last year at WSU Vancouver. “It has been life-changing to be a part of SCJ for two terms,” Schwartz said. “It has shown my true calling in pursuing publishing as a career, including to aid in expressing diverse and unique poetic voices that have
difficulty finding the light." Stop by and pick up your copy of the newest version of the Salmon Creek Journal in the OSI Office and keep a look out for open submissions for next year. n
University resources still available during summer By: TERESA HOYT The VanCougar
Th e
Kevin Gordon performing for the crowd at the launch Photo Credit: Salmon Creek Journal
Students attending summer classes at Washington State University Vancouver will have access to campus services. Campus resources will have new hours for the summer semester. The library is open to students in the summertime from Monday to Thursday from 9 a.m. until 8 p.m., on Fridays from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and on the weekends from 12 p.m. until 5 p.m. Library services also include the computer labs and study rooms which will be open during summer hours as well.
The Quantitative Skills Center offers assistance in classes such as chemistry, math, mechanical engineering, microeconomics, physics and statistics. According to George Salos, director of the Quantitative Skills Center, tentative summer hours are Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. and on Friday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. Students who are struggling with mental health issues, like anxiety and depression, are welcome in the Counseling Center. Counseling services during the summer semester are offered Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. until 4:30 p.m.
2016 STAFF DIRECTORY
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.
Editor-in-chief
Correction Policy
Managing Editor
Rob Schubert . vancouged@wsu.edu
It is the policy of The VanCougar to correct errors. Please contact the editor via e-mail at vancouged@vancouver.wsu.edu.
Michael Williams . vancougme@wsu.edu
Representation
haley elmer . vancougad@wsu.edu
The existence of advertising in The VanCougar is not meant as an endorsement of any product, service or individual by anyone except the advertiser.
Employment
Washington State University is an equal opportunity/affirmative action educator and employer.
Letters to the Editor
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@vancouver.wsu.edu. For more information about the VanCougar's policy on letters and other information, please visit the VanCougar policy section of TheVanCougar.com Note: companies beginning with "R" or "S" are ficticious. That work was done by Rob Schubert.
The VanCougar | Dengerink Administration Building (VDEN) Room 160 | 14024 NW Salmon Creek Ave. | Vancouver, Wash. 98686 | 360-546-9524
Washington State University Vancouver
Patience McGinnis, lead psychologist and manager of counseling services and access center, said that counseling services are available to all students. To be eligible for these services, students must be enrolled in at least one credit over the summer semester or enrolled in an online class affiliated with the Vancouver campus. For updates service availability and hours check WSU Vancouver’s official website at www.vancouver.wsu. edu/. n
Advertising Manager Web and Social Media Manager, Layout and Design Editor ERIK RINGEN . vancougso@.wsu.edu Team EDITORS DAWN BAILEY REPORTERS CORALEE BAUER AMANDA FLYNN Teresa hoyT MEGAN JOHNSON
AUZ BURGER ALEXANDER PERU QUETZALI RAMIREZ GREGORY WALKER
EDITOR PHOTOGRAPHY REAL STYLE INC., CONCEPTual CONSULTATING KEROLD LAYNE JEFFREY, PHOTOGRAPHY
OPINION | 3
THEVANCOUGAR.COM
Album review: 'Beat the Champ' by the Mountain Goats drops the elbow By: M.M. JOHNSON The VanCougar When you think about a concept album, ideas of space travel or the future come to mind. But for the Mountain Goats, a concept album means singing about professional wrestling in the 1980’s. Strange,
hall / Wait for your name to get called / Burn like a hillside on fire / In the squall of the ringside choir / High as a wire” is it no wonder Darnielle identifies with this profession. Very much like being in a smaller band, being a wrestler is made up of seconds of excitement, then hours and days of waiting.
"The Mountain Goats have brought something to the ring no other band could dream of defeating."
yes, but “Beat the Champ” is also provocative and heart-warming. With its precise and lush instrumentation and lyrics that are unparalleled in uniqueness, The Mountain Goats have brought something to the ring no other band could dream of defeating. Founded in 1991 by John Darnielle, the Mountain Goats have produced 15 records most without a major label. Darnielle is still the principle songwriter and composer for the band, while collaborating constantly with other musicians like Peter Hughes and Jon Wurster to round out their sound. They identify as an indie folk rock band, but utilize a diverse symphonic sound. Their latest album, “Beat the Champ”, is a biographical chronicle of pro wrestling in Southern California during the territorial era. Even though this is an unusual field to construct an album around, Darnielle has made it accessible for those who know nothing about the sport. The tracks on this album are catchy, poignant, and wild with metaphors so that anyone can understand the emotions behind the words. The album begins with “Southwestern Territory”, a quiet ballad about the life of someone in the wrestling industry. It is not necessarily a lament but a reflection on a life well spent in staged entertainment. The vocals are piercing and evocative, tonally high but sung with an enticing whispery quality. The piano and woodwind mixture add warmth to the ensemble, an auditory hug for the listener. With words swimming through the airwaves like, “Stand in that cold empty
“The Legend of Chavo Guerrero” is next, a much more upbeat ditty with a full rock set up: drums, bass, guitar, vocals, and even a tambourine. This tune makes you want to bob your head, and at only the minutes long, it is well worth it. Lyrically, Darnielle discusses the power of one of his favorite fighters as well as powering an ever-growing fanatic obsession. Lines like, “I need justice in my life. Here it comes”, and “He was my hero back when I was a kid / you let me down but Chavo never once did” shows how important this character was to a young Darnielle, giving him someone to look up to. This song is a very catchy pop track that will have you singing the chorus by the end of the song. “Foreign Object” is a straightforward jam about jabbing someone in the eye with a foreign object, while “Animal Mask” is a metaphor for Darnelle’s experience in the delivery room with his wife. The juxtaposition of a literal song with a metaphorical one is a reflection of the reality of wrestling’s physical toll and the artifice of wrestling character. The next song brings you back up with a furious energy. “Choked Out” has a punk energy with lyrics you can actually understand. “Heel Turn 2” describes a fighter who is getting the stuffing kicked out of him. The song is a metaphor for trying to escape an oppressive environment as the chorus pleads “Come unhinged / Get revenge / I don’t want to die in here / I don’t want to die in here.” The most well-conceived and delivered track on this
album is “Stabbed to Death Outside San Juan”. The first two verses are spoken and sound like a verse from a Cake song. The orchestration is spectacular, a great cacophonous use of strings, guitar and resonating bass. This song relates the last hours of Bruiser Brody, a wrestler from the 1970s and 80s who died as the result of a violent altercation in a locker room shower in Puerto Rico. The album ends with “Hair Match”, easily the calmest song on the album. The dissonant plucking of the guitar strings are paralleled by bright, encouraging vocals. This is another somber sound about the loss of a hero, but with the way the musical lilts every few bars there is hope yet left in this young fan. The hollow percussion and minimal organ use make it feel like a far-off funeral, but filled with flutes and the sound of sonic rain. “Beat the Champ” is one of the most dynamic, original, and wondrous albums that exist. There is nothing else that sounds or makes the listener feel like this album makes you feel. Even with little to no understanding of the sport of wrestling, The Mountain Goats have managed to make it understandable and riveting.
Campus EvEnts Tuesday, May 10
Saturday, May 14
n New Alumni Career Connection 3 - 5:30 p.m. VDEN 129 WSU Vancouver graduates only Free
n Preview Day 1 p.m. VDEN 110 for freshmen FSC for transfers Free
Wednesday, May 11 n Business Growth Map Recognition Celebration 5:30 p.m. Firstenburg Student Commons Free
$10 in advance, $15 at the door
Monday, May 30 n Memorial Day University holiday, campus closed
Wednesday, May 18 n Smart Succession: Preparing Yourself and Your Business For the Future 8:30 a.m. Pacific Continental Bank Community Room Want your event featured here? Email details two weeks in advance to vancougme@vancouver.wsu.edu
Within the liner notes of the record, Darnielle said, “[Wrestlers] were comicbook heroes that existed in physical space. I was a child. I needed them, and every week, they came through for me.” Everyone understands the need for stability and something to root for: wrestling was that for Darnielle and thousands of others across the globe. “Beat the Champ” is an excellent tribute to those who understand wrestling’s pull or to anyone who sought out something to cheer for at any stage in their life. Varying song structure, rhythms, rhyme
schemes, and emotive qualities run rampant through this album, and everyone can grasp the want for something tangible to idolize. The Mountain Goats delivered a jump from the top rope with this album, and you can experience it on vinyl or on Spotify, but be prepared to be humming about violence for the next several days. n
Congratulations Graduates!
The WSU Vancouver library faculty and staff extend our warmest congratulations to all graduates of the class of 2016. Thank you for being part of our campus community. Best wishes!
@ the Library
Washington State University Vancouver
4 | EDITORIALS
THEVANCOUGAR.COM
Breaking news: regime change imminent at VanCougar When I started this job, I had hair. I also had open weekends. I started at the VanCougar three years ago because I was looking for something to put a little extra cash in my pocket and I figured this might be a good fit. Becoming editor-in-chief was never necessarily my goal. As it turned out, this side job I casually picked up turned into something that meant a lot to me. In my time here, I met a Pulitzer Prize-winner, won three national awards, ended up on a first name basis with staff all over campus and made some of the best friends I have ever had. I am writing this on my last day as editor-in-chief. To anyone reading this, I urge you to find something that interests you and jump in with both feet. It will change your whole college experience. If you have already done that, find someone you think can have a positive impact and push that person to go further
than they are. It was the encouragement of my predecessor, Audrey Miller, which gave me that push. I never would have applied for this job in the first place had she not told me that I would be a good fit. I simply did not think I was qualified, but she thought I could handle it. That encouragement from someone made all the difference, and I encourage everyone to find someone they can do that for. As for me, I am excited for the future of this paper as I hand leadership off to my successor. The VanCougar would not be the same without the hard work of our new editor-in-chief, Alex Peru, or our managing editor, Haley Elmer. I am excited to see where they take the paper, and though I am not sure where their destination is yet, I know it will be fantastic. Admittedly, I would do this job forever if they would let me, but it is only fair to let someone else have a turn. So I would like to start
by thanking my managing editor, “Handsome” Mike Williams, for two years of handling our time cards, hiring staff and the other administrative work he spent hours on so I would not have to. The past two years have been real. To our new editor-in-chief, “The No-Imitation Voice of a Generation” Alex Peru, I just want to say: this show is all you now. You have a staff to rely on and a partnership with Haley “Please Don’t Give Me a Nickname in the Paper, Rob” Elmer, but an organizational culture starts at the top. Whatever one you decide to make, make it a good one. Thanks for bearing with me for the past two years, readers. I now go to Valhalla, where I shall ride eternal, shiny and chrome. Rob Schubert Editor-in-chief, The VanCougar 2014-2016
The results are in... The final 2016 Annual IT Survey results have been compiled and published. Please visit: vancouver.wsu.edu/it to view the complete report. A big THANK YOU
The end of a school year always signals for many the end of a season, for some the end of an era and for a few, a changing of the guard. I have worked for the VanCougar as a staff reporter for two years, and have written about a myriad of interesting and exciting events in the campus community. However, the end of the spring 2016 semester is bringing changes for myself and the VanCougar. For two years, Rob Schubert was editor-in-chief of the VanCougar. He has now graduated from WSU Vancouver, and the role of editor in chief has become mine. I look forward to continuing on the tradition of excellence that Rob has established and carried out in his time as editor in chief. I
know I have a large role to fill, but I look forward to the challenge. Fortunately, the task of leading the paper does not fall on myself alone. Managing editor Michael Williams has been in that position for two years, but is also transitioning into a new phase of his life. His role is being filled by my friend and colleague Haley Elmer. The VanCougar is in capable hands with her as managing editor, and I look forward to working with her to continue bringing news excellence to the Vancoug community. As I transition into this new role, I would like to recognize the contributions and efforts of my predecessor, Rob Schubert, as well as Mike Williams. They have both
done more for the VanCougar than can ever be realized. They have helped me get to where I am today, and for that I am grateful. The VanCougar is what it is today because of them, and I will be thankful if my leadership can even come close to theirs. And so, the guard has changed at the VanCougar. I look forward to the challenges and opportunities this will bring, and am humbled that I have the opportunity to lead the VanCougar. Here’s to the past, but here’s to the future as well! Alex Peru Incoming editor-in-chief, The VanCougar
to all Students, Faculty and Staff who participated! Your feedback is very important and we are listening!!!
Go Cougs!
l o ñ a p s E H a bl a Earn 15 credits in Spanish this summer at Centralia College With Centralia College’s new intensive Spanish classes this summer, you can finish your foreign language requirements in just a few weeks. Tuition is affordable. Registration opens May 12.
www.centralia.edu 360-736-9391, ext. 455 mgorecki@centralia.edu Centralia College does not discriminate against any person on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, sex, genetic information, or age in admission, treatment, or participation in its programs, services and activities, or in employment. All inquiries regarding compliance with access, equal opportunity and/or grievance procedures should be directed to the Vice President of Human Resources and Legal Affairs, Centralia College, 600 Centralia College Blvd, Centralia, WA 98531, or call 360-736-9391, ext. 671.
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