Mount Hood

Men stand up to toxic behavior

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

In her New York Times article, Maya Salam defines toxic masculinity as “what can come of teaching boys that they can’t express emotion openly; that they have to be ‘tough all the time’; that anything other than that makes them ‘feminine’ or weak.”

Aiming to discuss this concept with the Western community, Abby’s House and Omega Delta Phi joined together on Jan. 24, seeking to start a conversation.

Leading the two-hour discussion, Aislinn Addington, director of Abby’s House, and Tim Glascock, director of the WOU CASA and Campus Suicide Prevention programs, shared the vision they had for the conversation.

“It’s about exploring what it means for all of our campus men to play a positive role in preventing sexual assault, dating violence and stalking,” said Addington. “It’s about what that means for our whole campus community.”

Glascock then communicated that people can start by simply listening to the experiences of those around them.

“We want to recognize that everyone has a story to tell, and we’re here to hear those stories and to connect with one another,” said Glascock.

Individuals then shared stories of how toxic masculinity has impacted their lives. And, while each person had their own unique story, there were some ideas that could be tracked throughout many: toxic masculinity is often used as a defense, intersectionality can contribute to the different masculinities seen in various communities and identifying harmful gender stereotypes is necessary before people are able to combat them.

After the discussion I spoke with Keith Mathew, a senior community health education major and Abby’s House advocate, who shared his perspective that toxic masculinity is not a problem exclusive to heterosexual men.

“It is apparent in all kinds of relationships, and the example I shared about another man who was messaging me for romantic reasons had such a narrow definition of masculinity,” said Mathew. “I think it’s important to show that gay men — we’re not all perfect. We’re not the perfect woke community. We still have our issues that we’re figuring out.”

Additionally, Erik Morgan, senior philosophy major and ASWOU Vice President encouraged men to realize that there are others out there who looking to engage in these conversations.

“Men helping other men overcome toxic masculinity — that’s one of the most important drivers,” said Morgan. “It just can’t be any single person. It has to be an entire movement: not just one, but the many.”

If students would like to learn more about toxic masculinity or contribute to the conversation, they can contact Addington at addingtona@wou.edu or Glascock at glascockt@wou.edu.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Bailey Thompson

Christopher Coleman speaks on living life to the fullest

 Bailey Thompson | News Editor

A sold-out event: fried chicken dinners, award-winning essays and a keynote speaker. On Jan. 23, the Pacific Room of the Werner University Center was filled to the brim for the Martin Luther King Jr. Celebration Dinner. This event, which was sponsored by the University Diversity Committee, benefited the WOU Food Pantry.

After dinner, the top essayist in the Martin Luther King Jr. Student Essay Competition, Natalie Gomez, read her essay “I Don’t Give up on the First Try” before the crowd.

Gomez’s essay challenged those present to be strong and to stand up for the same values that Dr. King sought to protect while he was alive.

“Modern man suffers from a kind of poverty of the spirit which stands in glaring contrast to a scientific and technological abundance; We’ve learned to fly the air like birds, we’ve learned to swim the seas like fish, and yet we haven’t learned to walk the Earth as brothers and sisters,” said Dr. King in a speech on Feb. 27, 1967.

“Society has come so far in science and technology; however, my mother and I cannot walk down the street without sideways glares or stares for using our Spanish,” read Gomez. “Something was made very clear to me, not for my own doing, that I was brown. Labeled like a crayon. I wasn’t the only one.”

After sharing her story, the final element of the event was the keynote speech by Christopher Coleman — a man with a story of triumphing over life’s circumstances.

Shortly after birth, Coleman was brought back from being declared dead, and his parents were told that he would live in a severely confined manner with what they thought were both physical and mental disabilities. 45 years later, he has become the first person in his large family to graduate from college, and he works as a life coach, keynote speaker and author.

In his speech, Coleman emphasized that, even though there are obstacles that some people have to face, it is vital for them to not let it define who they are.

We cannot conduct ourselves as second-class citizens,” said Coleman. “We cannot let our circumstances dictate our character … to rise above expectations, we must embrace who we are.”

With this mindset, Coleman explained how it can be dangerous to see ourselves as unequal to others because this can lead to either pride or low self-esteem.

“Equality is understanding there is no one in the universe more important than we are and no one in the universe is less important than we are,” said Coleman.

Anyone who is interested in learning more about Coleman’s life story can find additional information at christophercoleman.net.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Bailey Thompson

Western community rallies against hate

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

Back in November, an instance of hate speech graffiti was found in the Monmouth community which consisted of swastikas and the words “Proud Boys” and “MAGA.”

The following day, organizations at Western began releasing statements that renounced the behavior and promised action.

“We had two students — Logan Jackson and ZZ Braatz — suggested that we do a march in response to this. So, we started planning late November or early December, and it was a three-step process,” said Kelsey Murray, Ackerman Hall Resident Director and one of the march’s organizers. “The first part was that we put up ‘End Hate’ signs that link to the bias-motivated incident response form, we did tabling for a week where we advertised the campaign as well as the march and then the third part was the march.”

Leading up to the march, a committee was formed, and they tabled to spread awareness in the community for the upcoming event.

On the morning of the march, Jan. 26, members of the Monmouth and Western community came together to listen to speakers as they made signs.

“The graffiti placed here is not only a manifestation of a larger act, but an escalation of hate that must be conquered,” said Monmouth City Councilor Christopher Lopez. “To oppose bad things in this world, we must not only feel the good and embrace it, but act upon it. This togetherness, love, caring, openness, kindness and understanding only has power when it is paired with action.”

Building off of this idea, Linda Williams read sentiments in a letter from Representative Paul Evans about how vital it is for people to combat hate that they see around them.

“Something has happened in our nation, state and community. Somehow, we have drifted into treacherous waters,” wrote Evans. “We have tolerated a downward spiral in our basic civility and…respect. We have allowed the fragile fabric of our union to unravel.”

Moving forward, though, Evans also offered a message of hope.

“Hate has no place in America, in Oregon or in our community…we are one — together against bigotry, intolerance and racism. Together we can defeat hatred through compassion and empathy,” said Evans.

The final speaker before the march was Nathan Soltz, ASWOU Senate President, who shared his perspective on the act of hate.

“I thought it was really difficult to put into words what my visceral reaction was because, as a Jew, when these events happen I feel compelled to remember the hatred that the generations before me faced,” said Soltz. And while…gross ignorance isn’t really as noticeable today, the bigotry persists. And it can be seen really obviously in the graffiti, but it can also be a lot more subtle.”

Soltz then explain how this bigotry can take a number of forms.

“It can take the form of someone crossing the street when they see a person of color walking towards them on the sidewalk,” or “an unqualified man telling a qualified woman how to do her job … someone thinking that someone with a disability is somehow less important … not recognizing that someone’s gender is what they say it is, not what you think it is,” said Soltz.

Rounding out his remarks, Soltz shared how disappointed he was that the Monmouth Police didn’t acknowledge this incident of graffiti to be “threatening.”

“I hate that we have to actually have a march against hate — that we have to stand up and say that being a Nazi is bad, because apparently today that’s no longer a given,” said Soltz.

At this point, the marchers practiced their chants and were ready to head out. The whole group marched through town and all the way to the site of the graffiti near Southgate Park, where city officials had agreed to let participants write countering messages in chalk on the sidewalk.

“I’m sure that the incident of vandalism really made them feel isolated, and I hope that the community feels a little less alone,” said Murray at the end of the march. “And I hope that the people who attended the march feel more empowered to be the active bystander and to stand up to hate that they witness. Especially in our current political climate, I hope that they feel that they can make a difference.”

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Ashlynn Norton

A blast from the past: 163 years of Western

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

As an institution, Western Oregon University has a rich history that extends back to 1856 — three years before Oregon even became a state. Starting out as Monmouth University, the school as it is known today has experienced a great deal of growth and development since its founding with a total of seven different name changes.

On Jan. 18, Western commemorated its 163rd birthday with free cake and a visit with Wolfie for anyone who was interested in celebrating with their community.

According to Western’s website, the university as it is today has 5,382 students in total enrollment as well as 52 majors and 74 registered student organizations.

But it hasn’t always been that way.

Looking back at the earliest yearbooks in Western’s archives, there are a number of notable ways in which the dynamics and culture of the organization have evolved over time.

“A brief perusal of the roll of graduates published in the annual catalogue will disclose the fact that 780 men and women have completed the course during the past 22 years,” stated The Courier, Western’s oldest yearbook on record that was published in December of 1905. This number, when compared with even just the current enrollment of the school, briefly highlights the extent to which the university has grown over the last century.

However, even though Western has developed a great deal since its founding, it can be observed that there are activities and values that have persevered over time:

“One afternoon in early June the students were all out on the campus, the boys playing lawn tennis and the girls promenading in the shade of the magnificent grove that shadowed the school building, while peals of merry laughter rang out, mingled with the voices of the tennis players,” said the December issue of The Courier from 1906. This description, although worded more formally, does not sound unlike a typical spring afternoon in the Grove today.

So, while students from the early days of Western often participated in literary societies like “The Delphians,” “The Normals” and “The Vespertines,” students today frequently feel connected to the community through a Greek organization, an intramural team, a club or a leadership group.

Fundamentally speaking, the values and goals that the city of Monmouth has held haven’t seemed to have shifted all that much throughout the years.

“Enter heartily into the student affairs,” suggested President E. D. Ressler in 1906. “To be sure these are the incidental of your school life, but they also form the centers around which in after years cluster the fondest memories.”

The university president also went on to describe the integrity that students and faculty alike ought to work towards in the pursuit of higher education.

“Strive to attain the ideals presented both in the class room and on the play ground,” said Ressler. “The good opinion of instructors and fellow students is worthy of all honorable effort and is usually the reward of straight forward conduct and unselfish effort for the good of the school.”

Despite all of the ways that Western has evolved since 1856, there are still a number of ways that the original spirit of the university has been preserved through the people who live, work and attend school here.

If anyone is interested in learning more about Western’s history, there is a wide variety of resources available on Hamersley Library’s website in the digital commons.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of omeka.wou.edu

BSU member discusses the importance of MLK Day

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

Even though Martin Luther King Jr. died over fifty years ago, his life and legacy of civil rights and racial justice advocacy is still honored by many today. Every year on Jan. 21, MLK Day serves both as a reminder of hope and that there is still work that needs to be done in our society.

Reflecting on the significance of this holiday, Tatiana-Marie Whitlow, a first-year psychology major and Black Student Union member, shares why she feels that MLK Day is still relevant in modern culture.

“I feel like society only sees MLK Day as a day off from school,” said Whitlow. “I don’t see that we celebrate it enough considering how important it is.”

Whitlow also expressed her frustration with the number of judgments that people have made on account of her skin color.

“MLK Day has always been important to me because a lot of places I’ve been to I’ve always been singled out — always been the black sheep amongst the white sheep — and I’ve always had to have been okay with that,” said Whitlow. “I’m from Hawaii and, at my high school, I was the only black kid that danced hula. I would always have to prove someone wrong.”

Remembering other occasions where she was discriminated against, Whitlow shared how — even when she was in the back seat — a police officer recently asked for both she and her friend’s IDs. She also refrains from bringing a purse with her into stores to avoid unwarranted suspicion.

“I fear that if I bring my purse with me to a store I’ll get followed or asked to leave,” said Whitlow. “So, I don’t bring anything except my wallet and my keys in my pockets. And it kind of sucks because one of my friends who is white-dominant can bring this big purse with her and be totally fine.”

Another issue surrounding MLK Day is how people can be allies to the black community. In Whitlow’s opinion, it is important to stand up when people make racist jokes or comments, to not buy into stereotypes about black people and to not go around touching people’s hair without permission.

“(Touching people’s hair) is such a big thing because not only will the oils rub off on their hair and probably damage it, it’s also really annoying,” said Whitlow.

Whitlow also encouraged students to join Black Student Union.

“You do not have to be predominantly black to join BSU: come as you are. But please, be for the black community and not against it,” said Whitlow.

If students would like to learn more about MLK Day, Western is having a dinner on Jan. 23 from 6-8 p.m. which will feature keynote speaker Christopher Coleman and honor the memory and life of Martin Luther King Jr.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

A march for gender equality

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

With painted cheeks, decorated signs and their own reasons for marching, a substantial crowd of different gender-identities gathered together on the morning of Jan. 19 to support the diversity and strength of womanhood.

With the first march having only taken place two years ago, the Women’s Wave is back for its third year to “harness the political power of diverse women and their communities to create transformative social change,” according to the mission statement.

For this particular event, a number of sponsoring organizations and vendors set up camp on the capitol mall while people socialized and waited for the six women who were scheduled to speak before the march.

The first speaker, Danielle Meyer, is an openly transgender woman who serves as the chair of the Salem Human Rights Commission. She is an activist, a public speaker and a community volunteer. After sharing her story about struggling to come to a place of confidence in who she is, Meyer had a message for those present.

“Find a way to physically participate in the community,” Meyers said. “It’s important that we work for the team of humanity, not just for the team of women or certain religions or political beliefs. We do our work to unconditionally help everyone.”

After Meyers, Sarah Bennett — a wife and mother who works both as a caretaker and in the Oregon National Guard — emphasized the worth of traditionally undervalued jobs like caretaking to the crowd and encouraged them not to see such work as insignificant or unimportant.

Following Bennett, Shelaswua Bushnell Crier, a teacher, community activist and lawyer spoke about the importance in seeking unity in the midst of chaos and hatred.

“Let’s make an effort to talk to one another. Let’s make an effort to talk to people who don’t necessarily agree with us on everything,” said Crier. “Everybody has a story. That person who voted for Trump has a story. There’s a reason.”

Crier then stated that the only way the United States will be able to progress is if its citizens choose to embrace each other and work together, despite any differences they may have.

During the event, Crier’s two daughters also shared their gifts in singing “Quiet” by MILCK and “Lean on Me” by Bill Withers before the crowd.

Next up, Jennifer Hofmann, author of the political blog “Americans for Conscious Checklist,” shared how recent events have spurred her to action, and how she hopes that it will do the same to others.

“Instead of fighting the current administration, let us support our neighbors impacted by its intolerant ideas,” said Hofmann. “I challenge you to take your big heart to any community already working for justice and commit to supporting their work.”

The following speaker, Professor Wendi Warren Binford, brought an important, but a somber message. She has been one of the few private citizens allowed to go and observe the children held at our country’s border, which has left her with a number of horrifying stories.

“People ask me, ‘Is it really as bad as the media reports?’ and it is. In fact, I would say that it’s much worse than you have heard in the media,” said Warren Binford. “Indeed, today you can be assured that there are children in cages down on our country’s border.”

Despite the horrendous scenes she witnessed, Warren Binford has a vision for the future.

“We need to make sure that our children know another America — the America you represent, the America I’m fighting for, the America we need to take back,” said Warren Binford.

The final speaker of the day was Maria Reyes Patino, an immigrant from Oaxaca, Mexico who is a DACA recipient and works with the Oregon DACA coalition to help educate immigrants about what is happening in our system and to help support them. She is also an addiction treatment specialist and a college student.

“I am being silenced because you see my skin before you see my heart,” said Reyes Patino. “I am proud of my culture — where I come from — because I find beauty in my brain and in my strength.”

She also issued a challenge to those in attendance: passivity is not enough.

“It’s not enough to be not racist and not homophobic — we have to be anti-racist and anti-homophobic,” said Reyes Patino. “And the best we can help those around us is to educate ourselves.”

To round out the event, marchers took to the streets: chanting, holding hands and embracing hope for a brighter future for women everywhere.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Bailey Thompson

The National Student Exchange and Western

Bailey Thompson | News Editor

The National Student Exchange is a collegiate study away program that gives students the opportunity to pursue new academic, personal and professional experiences at one of 165 institutions within the U.S., the U.S. Virgin Islands, Canada, Puerto Rico and Guam.

For students at Western, the requirements to participate in this program are to have a 2.5 GPA, to be in good standing at Western and to have at least 45 credits completed. If these are met, there is a three-step process to participate in NSE: research different universities, apply, and get placed.

To help students learn more about available school, Western’s NSE Coordinator Emmanuel Macias shared that there is a comprehensive resource online which offers an overview of different locations.

“The website nse.org is really helpful because, when you click on it, it has the map of the United States and all of the universities,” said Macias. “If you click on a university, it’ll give you a profile with all kinds of information about them.”

Through NSE, students have the choice of universities with a variety of cultures, sizes, structures and locations that can provide them with whatever unique experience they are looking for. And on top of that, students confer with their advisers to make sure that the courses they take will count for some course requirements that they already are working towards.

“We ensure that the classes they are going to take will satisfy something here at Western — it could be a major requirement, minor, maybe general education or elective,” said Macias. “Either way, they will work with their adviser to identify that.”

Another selling point for NSE is the cost. Students are offered two different payment plans, and they are able to choose the one that works best with their financial aid.

“Plan A means that you pay the university where you’re at, and Plan B means that you’re paying Western tuition but you’re taking classes over there,” said Macias. “So maybe students are getting Western-specific scholarships or they’re getting the Oregon Opportunity Grant. They wouldn’t be able to use that money with Plan A because their financial aid would be coming from another university, but under Plan B everything would stay the same because the money would come to our financial aid office.”

For any students who would like to learn more about NSE at Western, they can go to nse.org or find NSE on social media: @NSEWOU on Facebook and @wounationalstudentexchange on Instagram. Students are also encouraged to attend the final information session for NSE on Jan. 17 at 10 a.m. in the Rogue Room or to visit Macias in his office in the Vice President for Student Affairs Office, both of which are in the WUC.

 

Contact the author at howlnews@wou.edu

Photo courtesy of Bailey Thompson

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