The Eyes, Ears and Voice of the Students at WSU-V

Washington State University Vancouver December 4, 2008 www.vancougar.com

Happy
Holidays
Handling Holiday Hassles
Sanely Managing
the Festivities and
In this issue: Finals Frenzy
By Jake Kleinschmidt

Illustration by Danielle Mosier

The VanCougar

It’s the most wonderful time

of the year, or so we’re told. As we
students end our semester and the
holiday season enters our minds,
we often get overloaded or over-
whelmed. Or just plain panicked! So,
what should we do to maintain our
sanity—and get good grades—while
making sure everyone in your family thing Sleep-
has a nice holiday season? going ing and eating well sound
Dr. William Meek, the campus around us. Now good, but is it really that
counselor proved to be an excellent that we understand the why effective? Yes. It may sound
resource for good answers on what behind our pressure, lets see on what
WICKED we should do to survive this Decem- we can do about it.
crazy, but if you do take/find/make
the time to do those things, you will
A Review ber. I asked him what causes all the According to Meek, “There are find yourself being more productive
stress that we get this time of the year. a wide variety of techniques people and most of all, less stressed. Meek
n A.C.E., 9 The question may seem easy, but ad- can use and easily find online, but emphasized this point, “It’s never too
dressing “the why” can shed light on nothing will replace good planning, late to start eating better, exercising
HOME for the more specific causes and help us un- consistent performance throughout
derstand why we can feel like we are the semester, and the ability to think
more, and sleeping a good amount.”
What about the people out there
HOLIDAYS going to explode.
“Pressure
through the complex problems.

who are so overwhelmed that even
such techniques would not be enough
Recipes and More cranks up for many “Stay focused on what is
people at the end of important, trying to remain there is one
“However, if for them? Meek has advice for this as
well, “If anyone is at a more serious
n FEATURES, 18 & 19 the semester since thing people level [of stress] then it could be im-
the major projects present-focused rather than should try and portant to find some help quickly—
past/future-focused.” do…take good
Apple Cup
and tests for classes whether that is coming to see me for
are often due,” said care of their a few sessions to help cope with the
Meek. “For many people, when the physical health.
Photo Spread
end of the semester and stay at a high
stakes go up so does the stress level. Sleeping, eating well, and exercising level of functioning, or moving to-
Some of that is beneficial, but it can are extremely important for us dur- ward something else that has worked
become overwhelming and negative- ing times of high stress, and those are in the past.”
VanCougar reporters Katie Wells ly impact performance.” usually the first things we compro-
and Kati Hughes took the rooter The largest problem for students
Obvious, yes, but sometimes mise.” at winter semester’s end is the “dou-
bus to Pullman to bring you their overlooked because our minds are “Stay focused on what is im- ble whammy.”
report from the sidelines. so overloaded that we don’t take the portant, trying to remain pres-
time to reflect on the whys of every- ent-focused rather than past/future- n Hassles, 5
n SPORTS, 10 & 11 focused.”

New editors take helm

By Kati Hughes
The VanCougar
As the term comes to a close
things are picking up at the Van-
Cougar office. The Fall editorial
staff are moving out and making
way for a new Spring editorial
staff. Even as the final issue of the
newspaper for this semester was
being completed, Katie Wells and
Michael Hatch were making plans
for the upcoming term.
On Friday, November 14, Ka-
tie Wells was voted in by the WSU-
V Student Media Board (SMB) as
the Spring 2009 editor in chief of
the VanCougar. On the same day
the SMB confirmed Michael Hatch
as the Spring ’09 managing editor.
Both have been working for publi-
cations for years.
Katie Wells has been the Van-
Cougar’s Sports and Recreation
editor for the Fall semester. She
has attended sports events, pho-
tographed them, written articles,
and laid out the sports section for
every issue this semester. In ad-
dition to her experience here at
WSU-V, she has had experience
working for high school publica-
tions.
As editor-in-chief, Wells has
said that she plans to focus more
on “hard news” rather than fea-
tures. “I hope to get the reporters
more involved with the students
here so they get more quotes and
personal stories about campus life
and less narrative style writing,”
says Wells. “Hopefully soon the
lines of communication between
our staff and the campus as a
whole will improve,” says Wells,
“and we will be able to cover ‘hard
news’ as it happens.”
Wells also plans to try and im-
prove readership of the newspa-
per. “I want to continue moving
the VanCougar forward in a way
that gets more people interested
in reading it.” Aside from these
plans, only time will tell what ex-
citing changes will come out of the
paper this semester.
Michael Hatch has worked
in a number of capacities at the
VanCougar for the past two years.
Hatch’s previous positions include
copy editor, layout assistant, and
web editor. Hatch has said that he
has plans to improve the VanCou-
gar website. “The big thing I’m
going to be focusing on is a digital
VanCougar, which Greg and Kati
have started,” says Hatch. “I want
to continue improving the Van-
Cougar’s online presence.”
With news media in general
moving towards an electronic me-
dium, Hatch is planning to keep
up with the times. In addition
to improving the website, Hatch
plans to improve campus con-
nectedness. “I want to reach out
to all of the departments to gather
info about events and fun things
Katie Wells and Michael Hatch pose
outside of the VanCougar office just
after they were voted in by the Stu-
dent Media Board.
happening on campus [as well as]
better inform and promote gen-
eral on-campus enthusiasm,” says
Hatch. “I also want to improve
managerial structure and organi-
zation.”
The outgoing editors are con-
fident that Wells and Hatch will be
successful in the upcoming semes-
ter.
The position of Sports and
Recreation Editor is currently
open now that Katie Wells has
moved up in the ranks. Students
interested may inquire by e-mail-
ing the new editors at vancouged@
vancouver.wsu.edu or by filling
out an application and turning it
in to the VanCougar office.
Can a tree
give joy?
The Student Business Organi-
zation (SBO) hopes you’ll partner
with them in the business of mak-
ing Christmas bright for local chil-
dren. In cooperation with the Van-
couver YWCA the SBO has set up
“Giving Trees” about the campus.
“The Giving Tree is a great
opportunity for WSU students to
give back to the community,” said
SBO president Ashley Cormican.
“The YWCA is in desperate need
of gifts especially with the econo-
my the way it is today.”
It works like this: You stop
by the “tree” and pick up a “gift
tag” that features a child’s first
name and a gift they would love to
have. The tag is also coded so that
the gift will get to the right child.
Gifts range from about 50 cents
to $25—a Matchbox car to a win-
ter coat perhaps. You buy the gift
and return it to the collection site
on campus and a child’s Christmas
lights up!
Many of these children come
from single parent homes with
minimum wage incomes. We’re all
a bit more strapped these days, but
think how good you’ll feel in giv-
ing such a big smile this holiday
season. Why not stop by one of the
displays and check it out? See the
display ad on the back page for lo-
cations and more information.
Students can also get involved
with the Student Business Orga-
nization (SBO) by attending our
upcoming meeting on Tuesday,
December 9th at 3:00 pm in VLIB
260.
2 The VanCougar EDITORIAL
The VanCougar Man on the Street:
What do you want for Christmas?
The VanCougar is a student-run newspaper
serving the students, faculty and staff of WSU
Vancouver. Copies of The VanCougar are
available free of charge every other Monday
during the school year .
Story & Photos by Jake Kleinschmidt
The VanCougar
Editor-in-Chief
Gregory E. Zschomler Lonneke Eeuwes Scott Breslin
Managing Editor
Post Doctorate Science Biology
“A cure for AIDS. I just think “My degree, I just want to finish
Kati Hughes
that it is important that a cure school.”
Ad Manager for AIDS is found.”
Dan Rauchenstein
Advisor
Dean Baker
Copy Editor
Willy Chi Shue Tsang
ACE Editor
Beau Baxter Rosser Alisa Astrakhan
Mike Woodman Biology
Sports & Rec Editor Biology “Prince charming, coming at me
Katie Wells “A Jeep, one of those four door very fast on a white unicorn, hold-
ones with a hard top.” ing a sword, that’s made out of Sty-
Staff Writers & Photographers rofoam. And he should be holding
Beau Baxter Rosser, Rosann Bartel, flowers, and the reason the sword is
Robert Chu, Matt Hunter, Collin made out of Styrofoam is because
Rickman, Willy Chi Shue Tsang, Louise violence is bad. Oh and they should
Wynn, Jason Garcia, Katie Wells, Hannah be white roses, because I like white
Walker, Shane Monroe, Kevin Raymond, roses. And the reason it should be a
Danielle Mosier, Ruth Zschomler, Kyle white unicorn instead of a purples
Ralston, Jake Kleinschmidt, Isaac Madsen, unicorn with sparkles is because a
Matthew Wright Kevin Raymond white unicorn is more formal.”
Illustrators Environmental Science
Danielle Mosier and Anita Fleming “Probably already got it for my- Gideon Syfrett
self what I wanted for Christmas:
Layout and Design rock climbing shoes. Other than Mechanical Engineering
Greg Zschomler and Kati Hughes that someone to pay off my stu- “A road bike, nothing else re-
dent loans, road bike and a fixed ally. ”
Web Editor
Michael Hatch car. ”

© 2008 The VanCougar

CLS 212
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Vancouver, WA 98686
Phone: (360) 546-9524
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General e-mail , comments,
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vancoug@vancouver.wsu.edu
Letters to the editor, guest
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212 for more information.
A Martha Stewart Holiday By Gregory E. Zschomler
After weeks of preparation by scores
of technicians, staff consultants, cre-
ativity and artistic directors…
Director: “Cue music and…roll ti-
tles!” Camera one zooms from the table-
top centerpiece of candles and greenery.
“And action!” Panning slowly right it
comes to rest on a neat, blond woman
standing in a beautiful kitchen. Camera
one takes on a slow zoom.
“Good evening and welcome to
my Inn. I’m Martha Stewart. There’s
nothing quite as satisfying to me as
preparation for a holiday. There’s
something especially exciting this
evening, as we are live here in Beth-
lehem for what promises to be the
event of the ages.
“I’ve prepared a sumptuous
meal of herbed lamb, roasted gar-
lic, toasted pita bread, and myrrhed
wine. I’ve chosen the very best lamb
from my flock, only my finest grapes
(which were pressed under the feet
of eunuchs and fermented for 36
except my stable. She was with child
and near her time. They had searched
throughout the town, and it was the
same all over—no room. I gave them
what I had. Lucky for them I am also
a skilled midwife.”
Cut back to the tabletop. “This
evening I offer you my very best in
holiday décor and fine dining. Notice
the cut of these greens—meticulously
harvested at their peak and beveled
just so. Now, take a piece of floral
wire exactly one cubit long. Twist it
firmly around the stem of the green-
ery and insert it into the floral foam
at a precise 53.7 degree angle.”
Cut to camera two; a medium shot
of our hostess. “Detail and prepara-
tion are everything. Planning ahead
is the key to any successful occasion.
The couple out back could have eas-
ily sent a courier for reservations
had they thought ahead. You’d never
catch Martha off guard like that.”
Cut to remote cam. “Notice the
child’s fair mother, Mary. She is all
frankincense, in the center of the
greenery circle. There you have it—a
fragrant royal centerpiece for the en-
tire house to enjoy. Now on to the
meal. Behold the lamb, without spot
or blemish…”
“Now it came to pass…a woman
named Martha received him into her
house. And she had a sister called Mary,
who sat at Jesus’ feet, and heard his
word, while Martha was busy with serv-
ing. She came to him, and said, ‘Lord, do
you not care that my sister has left me to
serve alone? Tell her to help me.’
“And Jesus answered, ‘Martha,
Martha, Martha, you are so care-full and
troubled about many things, but only
one thing is really needful: It is Mary
who has chosen that good thing, which
will not be taken away from her.’”
(KJV Bible, Luke 10:38-42, paraphrased)
Have yourself a Mary Christmas!
Reprinted from the 1998 Holiday issue of The
VanCougar.
Illustration by Danielle Mosier

Letters to the Editor

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months), freshly ground grains have wrapped up in her child, just as he
been combined in just the right mix- is wrapped up in swaddling clothes.
ture, and only my premium garden She is entirely unprepared for this
herbs and garlic have been selected. festive occasion. She has neglected
It’s a meal fit for a king!” to make plans for the celebration and
Cut to camera two showing a bed she and her family are missing out on
of cut greens, a candle, and other trim- the best the holiday has to offer.”
mings on a simple wood table. A slow lapse-dissolve brings us
“At the start of my show you back to camera two. “Unlike my-
saw the beautiful centerpiece I cre- self, she has missed the boat,
ated for this momentous occasion. so to speak. Now set the home
Here’s how I did it…” The manicured cast candle, gently scented
hands flash to work as a gentle Jewish with
lullaby plays softly in the background.
Cut to remote cam outside in a
humble stable. There a newborn infant
rests on a bed of straw. Standing near the
babe are a beautiful young girl and her
husband. Silently they ponder the child.
Voice Over: “Earlier tonight, after my
inn was quite full, a lovely peasant
couple came to my door in search of
lodging. I had nothing to offer them
OPINION December 4, 2008 3

Let’s get physical

And speaking of transitions: Did
Caffein’d By Kati Hughes
Kati’s curiously captivating
coffee-addled commentary

have heard unofficially that a

I read the news today, oh boy
As I depart I want to recognize
and thank all of the great writers and
artists that I’ve had the chance to work
with at The VanCougar. Remarkable
people every one of them. A variety of
personalities, talents and strengths all
made the experience special. Some-
times I mentored, sometimes I learned.
What a wonderful exchange of ideas!
A special thanks to my co-editor,
Kati Hughes, and our advisor, Dean
Baker. Both were essential to my sanity.
Saying goodbye is never easy; moving
on and leaving behind—difficult. But, I
do so with confidence in the new editors
(Katie Wells and Michael Hatch), fond
memories (mostly), and well wishes.
It will be interesting to see what
the new editorial staff does with this
rag. Or, for that matter, what it be-
comes in the next few years. The news-
paper industry is changing, you know.
There’s talk of The Columbian going
under. Other dailies have folded or
transformed themselves into weeklies.
The fact is that most younger folks
get their news online and through oth-
er electronic sources; they don’t read
newspapers. The news-in-print as we
know it will likely soon come to end.
Sure, a few papers will morph
into something new—a local news-
mag, or some ‘zine hybrid perhaps. But
most likely there will be a convergence
of technology—streaming web-based
TV—that will deliver interactive, mul-
timedia news content.
That means it’s time to prepare.
The VanCougar, along with the DTC
program, must look into the possibili-
ties of new media—podcasts, blogs,
facebook, twitter, flickr, youtube…etc.
As news reporters transform into “con-
tent providers,” new talents and skills
will be required. However, good news
writing, will always be foremost. In
some ways I wish I could be here to aid
in the transition.
you take the Recreation Survey? Will
The VanCougar see the survey results?
Will the raw data be released or some
spin version? Student Government
needs to hear your voice on this issue.
Do you really want to have $300 per
semester added to YOUR tuition for a
Rec Center? Would you get that much
use out of it?
We’re still a commuter campus.
Many of us have jobs and families. Do
we have time? Most of us don’t, so why
should we have to pay for it? Wouldn’t
the money be better spent on academ-
ics? I’m all for physical education, but
did you know the Salmon Creek Gold’s
Gym offers student memberships for
less than $30/month (less than $120/se-
mester). $300? Think about it. Wouldn’t
that be better spent on parking, per-
haps?
Pave paradise and put up a parking
lot
And so, as I exit the Orange lot
for the last time I will breathe a sigh of
relief. I will also offer up a final prayer
for those left behind to shell out their
hard-earned cash for a place to park. [I
guess it could be worse, see the article
“Worth the commute if it doesn’t kill
you” in this issue.]
So okay, I’ve made my case, I’ve
set my plea; if change be in order it will
happen only with even-handed pres-
sure from a good number of students
speaking out. I’ve heard the murmur-
ings; now come out and make it of-
ficial—speak your mind! Parking fees
after all are part of our educational cost
and as such should be included in the
price of tuition. It makes more sense
than a Rec Center. Amen?
Four more things: 1) Tia Oster-
gren won the hoody donated by the
Bookie for answering last issue’s ques-
tion. The headings were first lines from
three Charles Dicken’s classics—A Tale
of Two Cities, A Christmas Carol, and
The Pickwick Papers. 2) Those “ban-
nering” union folks at the bottom of the
drive—are we just ignoring them? Let’s
not. [See the related article in this issue
and, again, speak your mind.] 3) Kudos
to WSU’s President Floyd for turning
down his proposed raise. I hope he’ll
get by okay on the $600,000 a year he
already gets. 4) Do let our nation’s new
President Elect know we want out of
Iraq. Peace. Hasta la Vista!
Managing Editor few of the other coffee shops I
My time at the VanCougar is reviewed are on their way out of
coming to an end, and the same business. What does this mean
is true for coffee shops all over for our community’s “third plac-
es”? Where will we go to relax in
town. Small café’s are currently
these stressful times?
being ground into the ground
by the recent crash in the econo- One thing is sure for WSU-V
my. In my final Caffein’d article, students: our cafés will be here
I thought I would take the time as long as there is a demand.
to call attention to the dire need This means they will be around
of small businesses like many of for quite awhile, since students
the coffee shops I review. who used to go to Starbucks and
When I reviewed Crema are now pinching pennies spend
Dolce on 4th Plain Boulevard their cash on campus.
in Vancouver, it had been there While it may defeat the pur-
for years. Each time I went pose to have your “third
place” away from home
there for cof-
and school/work at
fee and gelato
the place was school, the cafes on
abuzz with campus have a totally
activity. It different atmosphere
seemed like than other campus
there were al- spots. In the Cafeteria
ways Clark Col- you can get a variety
lege and Fort of different drip cof-
Vancouver High fees if that’s your thing,
School students and the espresso is top
just hanging out notch. In addition to the
quality of the coffee, the
there.
deals are great as well.
It was a place
to unwind and relax Each day there is a differ-
without having to deal ent special, and the prices are
with the responsibilities of work/ college-friendly. Pay with your
school or home management. Cougar Card and avoid the has-
“Everybody needs a third place sle of spare change!
besides their home and office The Commons Café is a lit-
to relax,” says Greg Zschomler, tle bit more of a relaxed setting.
editor in chief of the VanCougar. The TVs and comfortable chairs
“The idea comes from Ray Old- in the same room make the café
enburg’s book The Great Good seem a lot more laid back than
the busy hustle and bustle of the
Place.” This atmosphere of the
cafeteria.
“third place” as Oldenburg puts
it, is in danger of being obliter- Have some time to kill and
ated by the failing stock market. don’t feel like you can study one
By the time I reviewed Cre- more hour? Grab a coffee and
ma Dolce, they had already dis- play some ping-pong in the com-
continued their gelato due to mons. As far as conversational
the cost. I was told that people atmosphere goes, what better
were less willing to spend ex- place than your college campus?
tra money on Italian ice cream Everyone in the campus cafes
when they could get a carton of automatically have at least one
Haagen Dazs for the same price. thing in common: Cougar pride.
So talk shop, talk class, and talk
One of the key aspects of Crema
coffee. Don’t lose hope for the lit-
Dolce’s uniqueness was the fact
that they sold authentic gelato tle guy though. In time I’m sure
along with their espresso. Un- places like Crema Dolce will be
fortunately, in times like these up and running again.
specialty shops like Crema Dol-
ce are some of the first to go un-
der.
I recently went to Crema
Dolce for a little bit of studying
and stress-relief. Imagine my
surprise and disappointment
when I found the place empty,
desolate and essentially gut- 
ted. There was not even a hint
of the former coffee shop, other 

PUBLIC NOTICE than the sign on the building.

It is truly a sign of the times. I



Hearing on Proposed Amendment to the 
Washington Administrative Code--
WSU Policy on Student Education Records 

Washington State University will conduct a public hearing on revision of 

WAC 504-21 – University Policy on Student Education Records on December
11, 2008 at 4:00 p.m. in Lighty Student Services Building, Room 405, Pullman,
WA 99164. Notice of this public hearing is hereby given in accordance with
provisions of RCW 34.05.320(4). The University intends to amend the WAC
rules in order to accommodate administrative and location changes and to
clarify the procedures for student requests to dispute and seek amendment
to student education records. The University also intends to add graduate
appointment and assignment to the definition of directory information.
CAR + HOME = BIG SAVINGS
The University will adopt the amendment based on the statutory authority
found in RCW 28B.30.150. HARRY HOFFMAN, Agent
360-574-5222
071808R2933076

You may review the proposed amendments in the Office of Procedures, Re-
cords, and Forms, Information Technology Building, Room 3089, or by going
to the website at http://www.wsu.edu/~forms/ProposedWAC.html. You may 1307 B NE 78th St., Ste 1
testify at this meeting. You may also direct written comments to Ralph Jenks, Vancouver, WA 98665
Director of Procedures, Records, and Forms, Rules Coordinator, mail code www.harryhoffman.net
1225, Pullman, WA 99164; e-mail forms@mail.wsu.edu; fax 335-3969.
Submit all written comments by 5:00 p.m., December 11, 2008.
State Farm Mutual Automobile Insurance Company, State Farm Indemnity Co. – Bloomington, IL
4 The VanCougar
Neo-Conservatism:
When conservatism becomes ideolical
The Sluice Box
By Matt Hunter
As stated in the previous
issue, this space for the next
few issues will focus on the
various forms that conser-
vatism takes in America to-
day. Perhaps the best known
of conservative categories is
neo-conservatism. Like all
generalized perspectives,
there are many different fla-
vors of neo-conservatism.
Brevity, however, requires
that this column cover only
the more common charac-
teristics of this conservative
perspective.
As its name implies,
neo-conservatism is a reason-
ably new category. Its foun-
dations can be found at the
red dawn of the Cold War as
the threat of the Soviet Union
loomed ever closer. To a de-
gree, neo-conservatism is re-
actionary. In contrast to the
vehement secularism of the
More Questions We Can’t Answer
Why do you ask?
By Louise Wynn
Today’s question: Why
haven’t economists predicted
the economic troubles we’re
experiencing as well as some
people (one person, anyway)
can predict election results?
I refer of course to
Nate Silver’s Web site, www.
FiveThirtyEight.com, which
called the presidential elec-
tion long before the better-
known pundits and pollsters
did.
Silver didn’t come out
of nowhere with his politi-
cal projections. He’d been
working a day job at Base-
ball Prospectus, which uses
the algorithm he invented
for predicting baseball teams’
and individual players’ per-
formances. (He named the
algorithm PECOTA, which
stands for “player empirical
comparison and optimization
test algorithm.”)
So what? Here’s what:
Silver’s PECOTA system pre-
dicted that the Tampa Bay
Rays, up until this year gen-
erally believed to be the worst
team in baseball, would win
90 games this past season.
The Rays actually won 97
Soviet Union, neo-conserva-
tism is a strong proponent of
religion, particularly Christi-
anity.
Similarly, neo-conserva-
tism holds that an unrestrict-
ed market is the best possible
economic system. Rush Lim-
baugh—perhaps the most
influential neo-conservative
today—is the personification
of this ideal. One can hardly
come away from listening to
his show without thinking
that he really believes that
a completely unrestricted
global market would free all
people.
Given its roots, neo-
conservatism is particularly
concerned with national se-
curity. Ronald Regan—the
patron saint of the move-
ment—personified this as-
pect through his intensive
growth of the military dur-
ing the 80s.
Neo-conservatism is
not anti-big government.
Sure, it is against welfare and
socialized healthcare, but,
like liberals, it too has a deep
seated affection for large
government. Perhaps no bet-
ter example of this phenom-
enon is President Bush’s “No
Child Left Behind” educa-
tion plan, which essentially
games (they lost 96 games in
2007) and went on to play in
the World Series.
Baseball predictions are
usually based on past perfor-
mance of players and teams,
in the form of statistics (wins
and losses, batting averages,
runs batted in, earned-run
averages, and so on). But Sil-
ver used the “sabermetrics”
system, which recognizes
that an individual player’s
batting average isn’t really
going to tell you how many
runs his team will score and,
thus, whether it has a chance
of winning a game. Since
ballgames are won by runs,
it’s more important to know
how much a player will help
his team score—and to score,
he has to get on base. So, us-
ing sabermetrics, you would
use the on-base percentage to
make more accurate predic-
tions.
Back to politics: As I’m
writing, Nate Silver has just
updated his Web site to pre-
dict that Al Franken will win
the senatorial race in Minne-
sota, currently in a recount,
by 48, 120, 121, or 136 votes.
(Other political commenta-
tors have been predicting
a win by incumbent Norm
Coleman.) By the time this
issue sees print, we’ll know
how right Silver was.
It’s not hard to figure
out how he does it, because
he provides a running com-
mentary on his Web site about
the model and its predictions.
He explains how he came up
with his four scenarios—vari-
allows the federal govern-
ment to regulate education.
Neo-conservative does
have conservative elements.
Belief in private property, be-
lief in an enduring moral or-
der, belief in prudent restric-
tions on power—these are
all conservative principles as
outlined in my previous col-
umn.
However, neo-conser-
vatism could be said to be
the least conservative form
of conservatism today, name-
ly because of its reactionary
nature. For one, it is ideo-
logical. “Free markets good,
Restrictions bad!” would
have been the chant of the
animals in Animal Farm had
they been neo-conservatives.
This is not surprising given
that neo-conservatism grew
out of an era of overregula-
tion and socialism. Howev-
er, it has resulted in neo-con-
servatives caring very little
about environmental issues
and the fate of communities.
Thus, in an era when
communism is no longer an
outside force to be reckoned
with, the neo-conservative
movement has lost much
of its fervor and appeal. In
many respects, liberals have
grasped the problems of mo-
ations between simple, gross
and net models, and the use
of LOTS of details that the
pollsters haven’t paid much
attention to. Also, Silver rec-
ognizes that, just as not all
baseball statistics are the best
predictors of a team’s suc-
cess, not all polls are equally
reflective of the way voters
are really going to vote. In the
Minnesota recount case, he’s
even looking at which kinds
of challenges the contestants
are going to use, and which
of those are more likely to
succeed.
And now, back to eco-
nomics, not un-coinciden-
tally Silver’s college major
(honors, University of Chi-
cago): Maybe someone will
persuade Silver to create a
model for predicting the eco-
nomic future.
Or maybe some of the
economists currently work-
ing in the field could improve
their techniques. “Economics
needs a scientific revolution,”
writes physicist Jean-Philippe
Bouchaud in the Oct. 30 is-
sue of “Nature” (volume 455,

  
WSU Vancouver Library
www.vancouver.wsu.edu/library

ASWSUV
dernity much better than
neo-conservatives. Liberals
criticize corporate executives
that run companies into the
ground and then walk away
with a golden parachute.
Neo-conservatives—out of
fear of appearing socialist—
simply shrug and call it the
nature of the market.
Liberals see there is a
problem with massive, dis-
tant, corporate farms pro-
ducing our food. Neo-con-
servatives simply avoid the
subject. So in some ways,
neo-conservatism has ad-
mirable qualities, but it fails
to fully address some of the
ways that modernity has ad-
versely impacted the human
institutions of family, com-
munity, small scale business,
etc.
Next issue’s column will
look at agrarianism: a form
of conservatism that tries to
address the difficulties of
modernity more effectively
than neo-conservatism.
The views expressed in the
Opinions section are those of the
authors and do not necessarily
reflect those of The VanCougar.
page 1181). Economists have
been basing their predictions
on axioms (like the rational-
ity of economic agents and
efficiency of markets) instead
of empirical data. These axi-
oms are followed even when
the facts don’t agree, which
is bad because “markets are
not efficient, [and] humans
tend to be over-focused in the
short-term and blind in the
long-term.”
He suggests that mod-
els like those developed by
physicists to explain how
short-term changes keep sys-
tems from staying in an op-
timum state be applied to
economic systems. Also, he
writes, it’s a good idea “to fo-
cus on data” instead of “per-
fect equations and aesthetic
axioms.”
So maybe we’ve an-
swered today’s question, af-
ter all. Maybe it’s just that the
economists who could create
models with scientific rigor
and predictive power are
more interested in baseball
and politics—and who can
blame them?
 
FEATURES December 4, 2008 5
n Hassles, cotinued from pg. 1

You are a student (at work
on finals), and you have a fam-
ily who expects your resources
(time, money) for the holiday
season. And for some, family
isn’t something we prefer to be
around. Even if we do love our
family they can become a time
consuming pressure on our stu-
dent lives.
Again Meek addresses the
student factor: “The most com-
mon things [in student stress
are] related to fear. This can take
many forms—from academic
performance anxiety, fear of fail-
ure, worry about disappointing
people, concern about the future,
etc. The pressure of classes and
the importance that is placed
on grades kicks all of this into a
higher gear near the end.”
Then “for a lot of students
the holidays add levels of stress
to the already pressure-filled se-
mester. Some students use these
times as breaks to return to what
is most important in their lives.
Others have holiday expe-
riences that return them to old,
unhealthy patterns and they
have unpleasant experiences that
make working through the end
of the semester that much more
difficult,” said Meek.
“Holiday stress for stu-
dents is much like holiday stress
for anyone else. If there is tension
or a lot of underlying problems
with family, bringing everyone
together can be quite stressful,
as are other things like buying
gifts, having increased economic
strain, etc.
“One thing that is unique
for college students is that as their
lives begin to change because of
their growth at the university,
they may have experiences at
family gatherings where they
notice themselves being different
or notice things about their fam-
ily for the first time. Sometimes
these are positive, but they can
also be frustrating and anger
provoking.”
Most importantly, don’t
let all of it get to you; there is a
rather simple solution if you can
focus enough energy into chang-
ing your mindset. Meek’s clos-
ing advice? “Staying focused on
what is important—trying to re-
main present-focused rather than
past/future-focused, and actively
choosing to make the best of the
situations presented rather than
engaging in more destructive
WE’VE EXTENDED OUR DEADLINE!
situations can be good ways to
cope.”
To recap: Orient your By popular demand, Salmon Creek Journal has extended its sub-
goals, sleep and eat right, get
some exercise, and don’t let the
mission deadline to January 15, 2009. Students currently enrolled,
stress consume you. And never faculty, staff, and alumni at Washington State University Vancouver
forget, you are not alone, we all are encouraged to submit their poetry, prose (fiction, non-fiction,
deal with the same or similar or essay), and visual art to be considered for publication in the 2009
stress. Happy Holidays.
ten a bean paste, or a salt- Salmon Creek Journal.
ed duck egg yolks substitution,
ham, double-yolked duck eggs, 2009 Salmon Creek Journal
vegetables, or fruit, is what
brings their unique flavor. They The Literary Journal at Washington State University Vancouver
are said to be world renowned
and can also be found in several NEW SUBMISSION DEADLINE IS
China town areas in the United
States, especially San Francisco.
Within the Jewish culture JANUARY 15, 2009
in Israel, Sukkot—or Feast of
Booths—is celebrated as their
autumn festival. It is an eight or
Visit our new website for submission guidelines
nine day celebration, depending & the submission form:
on where it is held, in which the
people recognize the hardships W W W. S A L M O N C R E E K J O U R N A L . C O M
and suffering of the 40 year wan-
dering of Moses and his follow-
ers in their exodus from Egypt. Or contact us at:
Small huts are made from scj@vancouver.wsu.edu
palm leaves and branches that
are to represent the huts the Is-
raelites made in the desert. They
will spend the festival period liv-
ing in the huts and feasting with
family and friends.
It is interesting to see what 2009 Salmon Creek Journal
traditions and celebrations have
stemmed from different cultural
Now accepting submissions of poetry, prose and visual art
history. One that I found in our salmoncreekjournal.com
own culture is The President’s
Pardon, a celebration that is said
to have been started by Presi-
dent Roosevelt in 1943 in which
a lucky turkey is designated to Jake the Rake:
be an honored guest at the White
House. “Jake and the Fat Man”

Worth the commute Political opinion by Jake Kleinschmidt

The VanCougar

if it doesn’t kill you
By Gregroy E. Zschomler
Editor-in-Chief
Javier Torres, 25, commutes
to Washington State University
Vancouver five days a week
from his home in Troutdale,
Ore. A Political Science major,
he transferred from Mt. Hood
Community College where he
served as student body vice
president. Even though he
works full time, his school of
choice came down to money.
“I got more scholarships
to come here,” said Torres, but
“what it really came down to
was parking.” Fuel costs and
parking add approximately
$2,000 per semester to his edu-
cational expenses.
He considered attending
Portland State University, but
with parking fees in the city,
“It’s actually cheaper to go here
than downtown Portland,” said
Torres. He said that a parking
fees at PSU were $400 a year,
but that you could not always
get a space after you got a per-
mit. Then you had to find park-
ing blocks away in a parking
garage for $10 a day. That could
easily shoot costs up to $800 a
year, he said.
Driving his mother ’s Sat-
urn three days a week saves
some money over driving his
own Lexus ES333, which he
uses two days a week. Torres
averages $120 a week in gas for
his roundtrip loop from home
to WSUV, to work and back to
home. Even though he works
fulltime as a custodian for Rex
Putnam High School, he felt he
had to cut corners somewhere.
That meant buying a grey lot
parking pass.
At Mt. Hood “we never paid
for parking,” he said, walking
to his History 102 class from
the north grey lot, a grey North
Face pullover warding off the
cold of the grey day. He bought
his parking permit the first day
they went on sale. “They were
sold out the first day of school,”
he said. “If you’re not there the
first day you’re screwed.”
The park and walk from the
lot to Multimedia Classroom
Building or Administration
Building adds 15 minutes to his
40-minute commute. “It’s okay,
but for what you pay it’s a little
inconvenient, I think,” he said.
“If you get here early you’re all
right.”
It wouldn’t suprise me if some people thought the song “Jingle
Bells” wasn’t about a sleigh, but rather the sound a cash register
makes. To start, the economy may have brought the average per-
sons spending down by $150 this year, but those people who did
go shopping this Black Friday tended to be more violent. This is
evidenced by at least two key events that took place. Two people
were killed by gun fire in a Toys-R-Us store, and one worker was
trampeled to death in a Wal-Mart. There have been many fingers
pointed in all directions. Some people blame the companies for gen-
erating so much hype about Black Friday, others blame Bush or even
that fictional fat man, Santa Claus.
The fault lies with the people. Why would anybody who goes
shopping on Black Friday? There are sales that can be exploited
all year long. If you shop on Black Friday you’re probably insane
or score less than 90 on an I.Q. scale. If it isn’t either of those then
its likely you do it for the adrenaline rush, and/or so you can brag
about it at the dinner table on Christmas Eve.
Do not blame a company for what people do. Wal-Mart can not
control your mind to make you run over a man and kill him just be-
cause you want to buy a Nintendo Wii at 5 a.m. You are responsible
for your own rational thought. Or lack of it.
Worst of all, Black Friday seems to give people reasons to buy
a new toaster when they never really needed one. What happened
to the real meaning of the season? No, I am not talking about the fat
man in a red suit. I am talking about the season of giving.
Yes, I beleive in the fat man, but not as an actual man. I beleive
as the month goes on, a general, kinder, more giving mood spreads
around the population. To me, this is who good ol’ Saint Nick really
is. Regretfully though, his power has been fading over the years.
Instead of the “hap hapiest season of all” it is a season of greed and
bloodshed. At least the green (money) and red (blood) color theme
has remained the same.
6 The VanCougar NEWS
From the President: Semester End

Happy Holidays everyone!

Have a great break!
See you all on January 12th!
~Peter Sterr, ASWSUV President

Prof. Tripp book on revenge

set for January release
By Rosann Bartel idea. He wanted to study this topic and we would say things like, ‘Tell Tripp says. “Insulting you in a meet-
The VanCougar and invited me.” us about a time when you got even ing is not illegal. Is it nasty? Sure. But
Workplace drama. Odds are if They planned an academic at work, and what were you getting it’s not illegal. So if you want justice
you’ve had a job, you’ve experienced book about it, but various compli- even for, and why did you feel like for that, where are you going to go?
it. Maybe office gossip has gotten out cations halted their progress. “Ten it was the right thing to do,’” Tripp You’re going to have to do it yourself.
of hand, your boss seems to pick on years passes, explains. “We ran some experiments. We look at the wild old West, for ex-
you more than and then I get a We did a lot of surveys, particularly ample, with the so called vigilante
others, or some- cold call out of with government employees. [In justice, where people just sort of set-
one is persistently the blue by this the experiments and surveys] we tle scores all by themselves.”
rude during office publisher say- do things like give them personality He and Bies don’t promote re-
meetings. When ing, ‘Hey, you tests and so forth, at least for a couple venge, however, and offer alterna-
subjected to such got any books of personality traits, trying to see if tives for those who are considering
workplace hostil- in ya?’ So, ‘As anything’s there.” it.
ity and given few a matter of fact Some of their findings? Men, “We have a list of counting to
or no options for I think I do.’ I younger people, and those who ex- 10. Does the offense and your cir-
justice, one might said ‘Hey Bob, I hibit negative affectivity are more cumstances pass these 10 criteria? It’s
take matters into got approached likely to get revenge, and tend to be really hard to pass all 10. So, hope-
their own hands. by this publish- more vindictive in their pursuit of it. fully that cools people off and they
This is the sub- er, and I’m not But one’s personality is not a depend- find another way around.” They also
ject of the book going to do this able predicator of whether or not they give advice for managers who want
Getting Even: book without will get even at work. to prevent workplace revenge and
The Truth About you.’” “Personality variables and de- promote peace. But Tripp makes it
Workplace Re- B o t h mographic variables combined nev- clear that the book isn’t for employers
venge—And How Tripp and Bies er explain more than about five to who seek to change their employee’s
to Stop It, written specialize in 10 percent of it,” personalities
by WSUV profes- workplace psy- says Tripp. “So in order to
sor Thomas Tripp chology and 90 plus percent control their
and his friend and have together of it is something behavior.
colleague, Rob- studied the else.” He cites sit- “There’s not
ert J. Bies. I spoke phenomena of workplace revenge uational factors as a lever or a
to Dr. Tripp about the origins of the for the past 15 years. They’ve inter- a more reliable ex- knob that
book, its content, and the research in- viewed nearly 300 people, many of planation, saying you have
volved. them MBA students from Vancouver that variables like that you can
“Well, ten years ago, Bob said, and Georgetown, where Bies teaches. justice and power pull or twist
‘Hey, we should write a book,’” says They’ve collected about 800 stories, can explain twen- to get the
Tripp. They’d been studying work- most of them situated in white collar ty to thirty percent behavior out
place revenge for about five years at settings, though not exclusively. of workplace re- of them that
that point. “[the concept] was Bob’s “We interviewed these people venge incidents. you want,”
Based on their he says.
research, the most Rather, they
common types of advise that
revenge are so- managers
cial withdrawal, alter their
the exchange of managerial
verbal insults, style. Tripp
pranks, slacking stresses that
off, and having the book is
a bad attitude. A more from
boss, meanwhile, the employ-
might get revenge ee’s perspec-
by making one do tive, and is
unfavorable tasks. advocating
The most extreme for their
form of revenge they recorded was welfare and an appropriate pursuit
litigation. Workplace violence is very of justice.
rare and was not factored into their As far as future books go, Dr.
research. Dr. Tripp is explicit in the Tripp is open to possibilities. “I’ve
distinction between workplace re- had so much fun writing this book.
venge and workplace violence. We’re not writing to other professors.
“Most workplace violence is We’re writing to regular people. . One
not revenge motivated, and most of the most fun things for me to do is
workplace revenge is not violent. explain things to others. That’s why
I’m talking about mundane things, I’m a professor, I enjoy explaining
like badmouthing somebody. These things. And books like this, it’s sort
are normal people who feel they are of a new way to explain things. And
pushed to the extremes by extraordi- yeah, I’d like to do more of it.”
nary circumstances. I’m not talking
about going postal. You go postal, The release date is January 26.
man, you’ve got a lot more prob- Though the book is finished, other
lems.” details are still being ironed out,
Tripp explains that most people particularly where the book will
get revenge because they don’t feel be stocked. But The Bookie has or-
that justice will be served otherwise,
since there often isn’t a system in dered copies and Tripp will have a
workplaces that effectively settles book signing at an alumni event
disputes. in March. You can also preorder
“A lot of the offenses for which it on Amazon.com. Official site at:
people are getting even aren’t illegal,” www.friendsofgettingeven.com
 ARTS, CULTURE & ENTERTAINMENT
ACE
Arts, Culture
Entertainment
UPCOMING
EVENTS
MOVIE TICKETS ON SALE!
Discounted Regal Cinemas tick-
ets will again be on sale in the
Cashier’s Office in early December.
Watch for dates and times.
Photo Courtesy of the Drexel.edu
WSU-V Choir Fall Concert
Friday, December 5, 12-1 p.m.
VADM 110 (Auditorium)
Come enjoy music from the South-
ern Hemisphere, admission is free.
WINTER Concert
Friday, December 5, 7 p.m.
FREE concert by the Vancouver
Community Concert Band
in Firstenburg Commons.
Rumble at the Roseland
Sat, December 6, 7 p.m.
Roseland Theater, Portland
Caged Promotions, LLC presents.
Tickets available at VSSB Cashier.
$20.00, limit 2 per person.
Photo Courtesy of the Boston Herald
December 4, 2008
“Quantum” is more pain and more parkour
By Collin Rickman
VanCougar Staff
When “The Bourne Identity” ar-
rived in theaters in 2002, it brought a new
sense of urgency to the art of killing. Not
content with mere explosions and obligato-
ry gunshot wounds, Hollywood realized it
was not enough to push the human body to
the limits. Instead of injury, agony. Bones
deserved breaking, limbs needed bending
at awkward angles, and blood needed to
flow.
Fans of Daniel Craig’s first outing
will likely be pleased to see that he’s still
in top physical shape and still very much
pissed off. After losing the love of his life
– the traitorous Vesper Lynd – in 2006’s
“Casino Royale.”
He wastes no time getting down to
business in “Quantum,” as the events re-
sume where “Royale” ended. The mysteri-
ous Mr. White, having been shot in the leg
previously, has now been carted to a seem-
ingly secure location and survived a car
chase through Italy.
The rapid-fire events following that
initial confrontation will likely divide more
experienced fans who prefer their martinis
shaken from the younger fans who prefer
their martinis spilled all over the floor.
Gone are the days of double entendres, un-
derwater cars, and henchmen with bowler
hats and metal teeth. Everything here is
crammed together, gritty and grim, with
Bond racing from locale to locale in search
of the next target. Blowing through link
after link, M (Judi Dench) has to remind
Bond to “try to not kill” anyone who could
provide helpful information.
The plot is as frantic as the fight
Thirsting for “Twilight”?
By Rosann Bartel & Danielle Mosier
VanCougar Staff
The Twilight series. The criminally
overrated, poorly written, borderline mi-
sogynistic drivel that is beloved by people
of all ages, from all over the world. Yes, I
hated those books. I hated them so much,
I devoured all nine zillion pages as fast
as I could and kept stringent tabs on the
progress of the movie adaptation. Just as
the ‘heroine’ Bella is dimwittedly drawn
to the vapid, melodramatic, bloodsucking
Edward, I’m unreasonably addicted to all
things Twilight.
I saw the movie with my friend Dani-
elle, another Twilight addict/critic. After
viciously lambasting the books in many
conversations, we decided it was only fit-
ting to do this review together.
DANIELLE: There was an inor-
dinate amount of shrieking and
generally girlish reactions from the
audience, especially from one row
in particular when Edward made
on-screen appearances. They must
have all been on “Team Edward.”
Having also read the books, I’ve got
to say that Edward just doesn’t do it
for me. I’ve been on “Team Jacob”
since he appeared in the novels as a
viable love interest (oops... better not
give anything away!). I really wish
we could have seen more of him.
ROSIE: Edward didn’t do it for me,
either, in the books or the movie. In
the movie, he looked mildly consti-
pated most of the time. And anemic.
Bella was prettier. Even though she’s
supposed to be so very Plain and
Ordinary. Also, when Edward “spar-
kled,” he looked like a sugar cookie.
I guess many a fan girl was enraged
about that scene, because they loved
how Bella and Edward had their own
meadow and how “romantic” it was
in the book.
D: Holy Cow! All of the vampires
looked overdone and constipated,
except, maybe for Alice. Dr. Cullen
looked like he dipped his head in a
7
Photo Courtesy of MGM Pictures
Business for Daniel Craig in “Quantum of Solace.”
scenes, following Bond as he envelops Roger Moore, patron saint of 1970’s
himself in a murky mess. After targeting 007 camp is said to have been troubled by
the sinister criminal organization “Quan- the scene in “For Your Eyes Only” where
tum,” in the tradition of other mysterious he kicks a car with an occupying baddie off
names such as SMERSH and SPECTRE, of a cliff. While supportive of Craig in the
he uncovers a massive conspiracy by Dom- role, he says he dislikes the new direction
inic Greene (Mathieu Amalric) to control the series has taken.
the world’s supply of a valuable liquid. “I am happy to have done it, but I’m
He is joined by Camille Montes (Olga sad that it has turned so violent,” he said.
Kurylenko) –– a fiery woman with a tragic “That’s keeping up with the times. It’s what
history of her own. cinema-goers seem to want and it’s proved
“Quantum” is even more of a de- by the box-office figures.”
parture from the rest of the canon than its So now that Bond’s growing pains
prequel. And purists are crying foul. The are apparently at an end, it’s unclear what
music, the gadgets, the larger-than-life vil- he is going to do with the rest of his life
lains are all on vacation in the new millen- now that he’s all grown up. If the movie’s
nium. In “Casino Royale,” Bond devoted
some time to wisecracking and chasing tail.
conclusion seems to indicate that his “train-
ing” is complete, is it possible to return to
This time around, it seems as if Bond has a less bloody, more detached Bond? Will
decided business and pleasure can’t mix audiences respond to a quieter mission now
anymore. Or perhaps, that his business has that the bar has been set so high?
become his pleasure. My cards are riding on “no.”
bowl of flour. Bella’s
Photo Courtesy of Goldcrest Pictures
friend (Jessica?) de-
scribed Jasper well
when she described
him as “the one who
looks like he’s in pain.”
I don’t remember if
she describes him as
such in the book, but
he definitely matched
the description!
I pictured Edward’s
sparkling as being
more like diamonds
or beams from prisms
shooting every-
where... not like he
was dusted with sug-
ar and left under the
light in a pastry shop!
R: Yes indeed! In
the book, the vam-
pires were described
(over and over and
over again) as im-
possibly, amazingly
crap-your-pants gor- Thrilling Vampire/Human relationships in Twilight
geous, and in the violence, rape, murder, and eternal
movie they just looked powdery and damnation, but Twilight is essential-
sleep deprived. ly a vampire story about abstinence.
I liked Movie-Bella more than Then again, it doesn’t get too hot and
book-Bella. Probably because we heavy in the movie. I wonder what
don’t have to constantly hear her ir- that would have raised the MPAA
ritatingly shallow thoughts. Reviews rating to.
of Kristin Stewart’s performance have R: Yikes, I wonder how they’ll do
been pretty bad, but I thought she the fourth book! That’ll be...interest-
was fine. To be fair, not even Meryl ing. I hope they get a new director.
Streep could pull off some of that dia- I didn’t like all of the cheesy flash-
logue. backs. I guess the grainy sepia tones
I loved the scene where her and Ed- were supposed to make them look
die boy start making out on her bed romantically archaic and totally cool,
and she is such a naughty vixen, he’s dude, but I just thought it was lame.
forced to push her away...and she’s Do we really need to SEE everything
not wearing pants. That happened that a character says? Also, I puked
about three thousand times in the a little when Edward said, “And so
book because Edward’s all perfect the lion fell in love with the lamb.”
and chivalrous and you should to- They fall in love so abruptly in both
tally wait until you’re a married vam- the book and the movie, and it’s just
pire before you lose your virginity. not believable. Though I did like the
D: Of course you should wait ‘til chemistry between the actors.
you’re married. Otherwise, you’ll
surely die! It’s funny that vampire
n Twilight, 8
stories tend to be fantasies about
 8 The VanCougar
Game Review: Fable II
By Beau Baxter Rosser
ACE Editor
It seems like all western-style role-
playing games (RPG) these days give
the player the option of evolving their
character as good or evil. BioWare’s
2003 Star Wars game, Knights of the
Old Republic, brought this game me-
chanic to the mainstream by allowing
players to make the choice of dark side
or light side.
Roughly a year later, Lionhead Stu-
dios released an RPG by the name of
Fable, which furthered the idea of ethi-
cal choices that dramatically changed
the physicality of your character as
well as how people responded to you
within the world.
Four years later, Lionhead Studios
has once again revisited the world of
Albion with Fable II.
In Fable II, players once again are
charged with making good or bad ethi-
cal decisions to further the story and
evolve their character as they see fit.
Game Review: Ninjatown
By Beau Baxter Rosser
ACE Editor
Who would have thought that
such snuggly little ninjas could be so
dangerous?
Southpeak Games’ Ninjatown is a
welcomed addition to the Nintendo
DS’s line-up with its tower defense-
style play mechanic and extremely
adorable art style.
For those of you out of the loop,
Ninjatown stars the cute little ninja
characters from the Shawnimals toy
and plush lines. Things were going
fine in Ninjatown until the nefarious
Mr. Demon and his wee devil min-
ions started to invade and terrorize
the town’s residents. Now, it’s up to
the wit and wisdom of the Ol’ Master
Ninja to overcome the odds and
keep Ninjatown safe.
Players are charged with building
Ninja hut after Ninja hut in order to
stop the oncoming waves of wee
devils. At the outset, the player has
the ability to build two types of
Ninja, both of which specialize in
hand-to-hand combat. As the game
progresses, new types of troops are
incorporated into the mix.
When I began playing Ninjatown,
I could barely see any kind of strat-
egy being used, and I was arbitrarily
building Ninja huts to kill off the
enemies. As different types of Ninja
became available for use, I found the
strategic elements of the game fall
into place. Each map was approach-
able in various ways and breathed
fresh air into what felt repetitious.
Like other tower defense games
Twilight continued from 7
D: I don’t know... Movie-Edward
seemed like he belonged on an epi
sode of “To Catch a Predator.” I expected
Chris Hansen to show up any second
with, “What are you doing with a 16 year
old human, Edward? I see here that you’re
over 100 years old. Have a seeeeat.” He
didn’t seem in love with her at all in the
movie, just in pain with “blood lust.” I
Photo Courtesy of Entertainment Weekly
get the whole ridiculous teenage love
thing, though. I just think it’s irrespon-
sible to pitch it to teenagers as something
that could conceivably happen. Yeah, it’s
appealing to the intended audience, but
give me a break.
R: Haha! Yeah, the whole, “You’ll fall
in love and it will be perfect and you’ll
be together forever THE END” is so an-
noying. I hate how Bella cares more about
Edward than living. I hate how she has
no personality, no goals, no aspirations,
no passion for life, except to be with him
forever. It’s a terrible message to send to
Players begin their quest as a young
kid – be it male or female – in the poor
district of a major city.
From the outset, players are pre-
sented with decision-making situa-
tions that will drastically change the
way the character is perceived within
the world. For instance, I was asked to
go into a storeroom and clean out the
cockroaches for the shop owner for a
small reward. After entering the store-
room, a man in the window informed
me that he put the cockroaches in the
storeroom and that if I broke all of the
shop owner’s supplies instead, then he
would reward me favorably.
Being the good-natured person that
I am, I decided to kill the cockroaches
instead of wrecking the supplies. After
making the right and ethical choice,
the shop owner paid me the money
he promised. However, the man that
wanted me to break the supplies got
angry by my good choice, and told me
that I had made an enemy out of him.
That small decision made me a hero
before it, being able to build certain
types of troops means the player will
also be assaulted by enemies with
particular weaknesses: the snowball
throwing “Ice-cream” Ninja can slow
the fast devils down, the Sniper Ninja
takes down the flying devils, and the
fast-moving Business Ninja is ideally
equipped to fight the slower mov-
ing devils. However, once the player
realizes the patterns and what-hurts-
what play style, each encounter can
young girls. And Edward is boring! All
he ever does is whine. Jacob is better. He’s
funny, endearing, and real.
D: I agree. I think Jacob is the most
developed character in the entire series.
Too bad we don’t see much of him. ...Oh
wait, I’m supposed to be talking about
the movie ... I hope we see more of him
in the next movie, though I might wait for
the DVD. As much as I loved laughing
at the sheer cheese factor of this movie, it
was just a little too much. A 500-odd page
ARTS, Culture & entertainment
in the townspeople’s eyes, but a villain
in the eyes of the man I “wronged.”
Throughout the entire game, players
are presented with similar ethical situ-
ations, some outright good or bad, and
others not so black and white. Over the
course of the game, the player’s char-
acter will physically change according
to the decisions made. The good per-
son or bad person character dynamic
makes Fable the definitive replayable
game.
Apart from the decision-making by
the player, the combat and presenta-
tion of the game is top notch. Just like
in the first Fable, melee strikes, projec-
tile weapons and magic are mapped to
three different buttons for a simple and
easy-to-use interface. The only prob-
lem with the combat that I found was
trying to change from one magic attack
to the other during combat.
Other than the minor magic issues,
I had no other problems with Fable
II. Fable II has pushed the envelope
in what it means to be a good or bad
be easily overcome.
As the player defeats enemies,
they are rewarded with cookies that
can be used to upgrade the Ninja
huts, giving the Ninja of that hut
more power. Sadly, there is little
to no visual indication that a hut
is already upgraded or needs up-
graded without tapping the hut with
the stylus. Having to tap each hut
individually while being attacked
became a stressful procedure that
book condensed to under 2 hours? Puh-
leeze. It left no reaction time.
Edward: Say it
Bella: Vampire
Edward: Meet my family
Rosalie: Why aren’t you hungry?
Bella: I ate
Rosalie breaks a bowl, hilarity erupts
from the audience.
Dr. Cullen: How considerate. Let’s all
play baseball and run away from stranger
vampires who want to hunt Bella for an
unknown reason unless you’ve read the
books.
R: I know, the whole “I want to eat your
human girlfriend!” twist probably makes
no sense to folks who haven’t read the
book. But I did like how the evil vampires
were introduced early on rather than ap-
pearing out of nowhere at around page
500, when Stephenie Meyer realized she
had to make something happen. I also
liked how funny the movie was...even if
some of (most of) the humor was unin-
tentional. Like the scene when Bella slow-
character and I cannot wait until future
games take the template used in Fable
II and push it even further.
could have been easily overcome
with some kind of visual clue.
The game itself is broken up with
the main action and user input
handled on the bottom touch screen
and the zoomed out map of the
playfield on the top. My main com-
plaint with the map screen was the
fact that the developer only used
half of the screen for the map. The
other half is used to show the Ol’
Master Ninja floating high above
Ninjatown in his hot-air balloon. It’s
a pretty neat graphic, but I feel that
space could have been better suited
as an expanded stats and map visual.
For the most part, user input is
handled well with the stylus. Picking
the appropriate Ninja hut to build,
choosing which huts to upgrade,
and selecting the Ol’ Master Ninja
powers work seamlessly with the sty-
lus, but I found moving the camera
around the battle field felt clumsy
and slow. Sometimes, as I placed
the stylus on the screen for camera
movement, the camera would not
react as fast as I needed it to, result-
ing in a few more dead Ninja on my
conscience. Luckily, the d-pad is us-
able for camera movement as well.
If you are the type of gamer
that has no time for this holiday’s
blockbuster console games, then I
recommend you pick up a copy of
Ninjatown, sit down for about an
hour a night, and enjoy the cuteness
levels beaming from this solid, tower
defense game.
That’s right, I said it – cuteness
levels.
mo struts into the classroom and the fan
blows her hair all alluringly and Edward
covers his nose. And I liked Charlie, too.
Cleaning his gun.
D: I think most of Charlie’s scenes
were intentionally funny (Hot damn!
Rainier beer and guns!), but you’re right.
Most of the laughs elicited from the film
seemed to be completely unintentional.
Either way, I enjoyed watching it, but I
think it was mostly because I’ve read all
the books and wanted to see what they
would do with a movie version. I’m not
sure someone who hasn’t read the books
would understand or enjoy the movie as
much. It wouldn’t make sense, for exam-
ple, why Edward covered his nose when
Bella walked in the class, but that’s all ex-
plained in the book.
R: Yeah, I thought it was a fun movie.
Cheesy, silly, annoying at times, but
mindlessly entertaining. But I think my
amusement had a lot to do with having
read the books. I’m not sure if I’d been as
invested otherwise.
Arts, culture & entertainment
WICKED
A Review
By Vanessa Pritchett
The VanCougar
Something Wicked
this way comes
Have you ever wondered what
happened in Oz before Dorothy ar-
rived by a treacherous tornado and
killed the Wicked Witch of the East?
Or where the Tin Man, the Scare-
crow, and the Cowardly Lion came
from? Have you ever wondered
how the Wicked Witch of the West
became so, well, wicked? Or what
really happens to the Wicked Witch
of the West after the infamous buck-
et of water? The answer to all these
questions lies within the brilliant
Broadway musical Wicked.
Recently I traveled to New
York City. While I was there, I had
the opportunity to see the Broad-
way musical Wicked—the back
story (told as a flashback) of how
the Wicked Witch of the West (El-
phaba) became the Wicked Witch—
based on the best-selling book by
December 4, 2008
Gregory McGuire.
Wicked is currently touring
throughout the United States on
their national tour, traveling all
across America, “sweeping” the
nation with catchy songs like the
comic “Popular” and the show-
stopping final “Defying Gravity”
(written by multiple Oscar/Tony
award winner Stephen Swartz),
hilarious dialogue, and inspiring
characters.
Wicked will be in Portland at
the Keller Auditorium from March
4, 2009 to April 5, 2009. Tickets go
on sale December 7, 2008. For more
information on dates, locations and
more go to www.wickedthemusi-
cal.com or www.Ticketmaster.com.
This is your chance to see the action
for yourself. Don’t miss this excel-
lent and exhilarating musical that
inspires and embraces individuali-
ty, the power of friendship, and the
beauty of love.
Note: This show sold out with-
in hours on its last visit to Port-
land.
9
Pet Peeves By Will & Greg
Will: Ya know Bro, Pet Peeves is a favorite target of ours in this column. We are
both pretty laid-back dudes, until we get that wasp of irritation buzzing around.
Then we need to do some verbal swatting. Well, why don’t we step back a bit and
talk about… pets!
Greg: Me? I’d rather talk about peeves. However, pets are a peeve of mine—
while not a pet peeve—being about pets I guess it makes it a pet peeve by default.
Obama is shopping a new White House dog, so okay, why not? You don’t own any
pets do you?
Will: No. The ants that cohabited fell victim to carefully and deliberately planted
toxic snacks. The spiders are dosed with something stronger upon the instant of
discovery. Or just gished. I no longer practice ‘catch and release’ with spiders, not
since that ninja spider jumped out of the cup onto my thumb. I’d trapped it in my
‘Mickey 50th Anniversary’ mug. Promptly dropped the mug on the sidewalk when
said ninja spider rappelled onto my digit. Spider survived. Mug did not.
Greg: Mickey on the mug? Truly a loss. Spider deserves to die! Anyway, I was not
speaking of the wild “squatting rights-shackin’ up” type of insect, nor of the rodent
variety that tend to move in during the winter, uninvited. I speak of intentional
pests—um, I mean, pets. (How’d that extra ‘s’ get in there?) Goldfish, cats, dogs,
hamsters and birds.
Will: Lions, tigers and bears? Fortunately or not, my apartment doesn’t allow
such without a hefty deposit. However, I’m a cat person. They have such strong
personalities, just like little fur-covered people. And I like their independent streak.
Unlike dogs, you are not the center of a cat’s universe. The cat is. You are sometimes
allowed to orbit. Like at lunch time. Or when a warm lap is required.
Greg: Cats, I believe, do deem us the vapid species. A dog, however, will look
up to you with admiration. I do like both. Do not understand goldfish as pets. Feed
‘em, they poop, you clean the water, the cycle begins again—the sum of the entire
relationship. Rewarding, no?
Will: No. Unless you’re breeding them for bait (illegal in many states) or to pro-
vide that same soothing random motion provided by a (lower maintenance) lava
lamp. I’ve got a screen saver with a fish tank setting that is just as relaxing and
more entertaining. I can set it so some of the fish eat the others. Ha ha.
Greg: Really? I want that program! The best thing about it: no poop. Hey, speak-
ing of fish as food, didn’t you have a tank of piranha at Clark?
Will: It was just one piranha: Sid Vicious by name. Lived in the biology lab. He was
rationed five goldfish a week. Morbid curiosity made me watch a feeding – once.
First off, those goldfish knew they were in trouble the minute they splashed down.
I’d never seen the domesticated critters blast around a tank so fast. Then ol’ Sid
would flick a fin and there would be four fish. Blink, three fish, and part of a fin
floating calmly and soothingly to the bottom of the tank. Sid was pretty serious
about his feed.
Greg: Vicious fishes eating fishes, making fishes viscous. Ewh. Now that would
make some good Suessian material. Okay, nuff said; moving on. I’ve been thinking
about a pet for Christmas. Did you notice that “Christmas arrived” last week?
Will: Dude, you’ve had your head in the books too long. It arrived the day after
Halloween, yo? But the problem with a pet as a gift, is it is also a burden to the re-
cipient. If they don’t want a pet, it’s not fair to lay on them. You knew that. Now, as
far as amusement, I get a kick out of watching the parakeets at PetSmart. I mean,
they have SO much to do. They have to boss each other around, nibble woodchips,
hang upside-down from pegs, maybe balance on one foot and catch some Z’s. How-
ever, I’ve noticed that the aviary for the critters is soundproof. I imagine if you had
twenty parakeets in a cage in your house, the noise would drive you bonkers.
Greg: True, but they are so pretty. Much prettier than the ferret we saw. There
he was, all weaselly-like, ferreting around in his cage. Way too hyper for me. I know
some folks that have a pet squirrel that sleeps with them. I couldn’t deal with that.
Squirreling around under the sheets…
Will: For the sake of your health, you should move out of reach until I can contain
the urge to smack you over the head with a chair. OK. Yes, ferrets. They are enter-
taining and quirky as well. But you’ve gotta keep ‘em caged or leashed. Like cats,
they sleep a lot. Kind of like you.
Greg: Parakeets are somewhat active as well, but require less grooming and
attention I would think. They’ll sleep, too, if the lights are out. Still, birds are a lot
like fish—not much affection. Mammals, save for rodents, seem more attentive to
their master. Could be an intelligence thing—maybe emotional. They’re recently
observed the mourning process of a mama gorilla at the loss of her young. You can
see it on YouTube, and it’s quite sad. I DO think that certain animals have feelings.
Take Emo, my cat, so named for its early self-disparaging personality (and its blond
streak). Anyway, a bird is what I think I want.
Will: You’ve certainly got the brain for it. Together, we provide a suitable medium
for the absorption of their waste. That is, this column makes for a dandy ‘keet cage
liner. Alas, not for long though.
Greg: Yes, with my graduation this semester, we will no longer appear in The
VanCougar. However, there remain a few back issues available in the newsroom
should anyone require fodder for parakeet bingo (a game of betting on who’s col-
umn is eliminated upon first). And so, with these final parting words, we say good-
bye to our faithful readership.
Will: Up here on the hill, anyway. We’ll get together for more of these bird-
brained columns. For now: Sit! Stay!
10 The VanCougar RECREATION & SPORTS

Nico Grasu kicks Hu 1. Butch is always ready for a picture.

2. Thousands of jingling keys accompanied
Cougar fan cheers. 3. Reid Forrest, the Coug
Punter, waves around a towel as he cheers on
his teammates. 4. Fans go wild when Ryan
Perkins misses his FG to keep the double
overtime going. 5. WSU Alumni were among
the hundreds that stormed the field after the
Apple Cup win. 6. It takes three Huskies to
bring down Logwone Mitz. 7. Deon Ford took
down this UW player with few minutes left on
the clock. 8. To end the game and win it for
the Cougars in double overtime, Nico Grasu
successfully kicked his FG.
1.
2.

First Time Fan...

By: Katie Wells KW: Well once the game started, did your reac-
an interview with Kati Hughes tions change? Did you get riled up?
Katie Wells: So you’ve never been to a football KH: Yes I did! At first I felt like i was on a to-
game before this one? tally different planet because I couldn’t figure
out why people were doing the things they did.
Kati Hughes: No, I have never been to a football But after I figured it out, I joined in. It was awe-
game. My high school didn’t have sports. some.
Photo Credit: Kati Hughes

KW: Interesting...Well, your first game ever was
the Apple Cup. What was your first reaction
when you walked out to the field?
KH: That it was a huge place. And very cold! And
I’d never seen so many people so riled up before.
I was thinking to myself, all this for football?
KW: [Laughing] That’s good to hear. So not only
did you get a chance to be a fan at a game, but
you were able to get down on the field and take
pictures. How was that?
KH: I was pretty afraid of getting tackled, but 3.
I’d like to think of that as just part of the ex-
citement of being on the field [Laugh-
ing].

KW: So how close did you come to be-

ing tackled? Did it seem like the players
were gigantic?

KH: The thing is, when I’m looking through

a camera, everything looks farther away
than it really is. I’d think they were a cou-
ple feet away, but when I’d take the cam-
era down, they were very close! I wouldn’t
say I almost actually got tackled, but I
was afraid of it.

KW: Well it seems like you had a pretty

good time at the game. What was your
favorite part?
4.
KH: The fact that we won. I was expect-
ing to go and see a pretty, well, boring
game. Not boring in general, but since I
don’t know much about football, it would
be boring. Even though I didn’t know
much about football, I got caught up in
the excitement in the fourth quarter
and OT quarters. Everyone did look at
me funny when they’d score and I’d yell,
“Goooaaalll!” Just kidding. But having
the entire band chant “Fuji Film” as I
walked by was an interesting experience.
[Note: As press, you are required to wear a
neon-green, Fuji Film vest on the field.]
One time, in Pullman...
By: Katie Wells
The Subaru Forester was packed full
of bags and suitcases. The Hansens’ ‘MM
Bop’ was blaring from the speakers.
Myself and three other brave adventurers
were on our way to Pullman for a football
and volleyball game. Kendal Mantzke,
Kevin Guzman, Erik Beaulieu, and I were
ready for the long and treacherous journey
ahead. As we pulled out of the school
parking lot in the WSU official vehicle,
I mentioned to my passengers that I’d
only been in six accidents. Though it was
completely a joke, the boys didn’t have
faith in my driving skills.
I believe we had been on the freeway
for about five minutes, ironically o
a few minutes after my driving rec
comment, when I unexpectedly slam
on the brakes. Though I found it hilar
that both Kevin and Erik almost hit
front seats and Kendal and I alm
slammed into the dashboard, it wa
complete accident. A motorcyclist had
the brakes in front of me and my light
on the brakes turned into an all-out, d
stop. Turns out, I need to get the brake
my own personal car fixed if the amoun
force I usually use will stop a Subaru d
in its tracks. Well after that entertain
moment of driving, we continued on
way toward Pullman, singing along
Colbie Caillat.
The next adventure occurred at a
 RECREATION & SPORTS December 4, 2008 11

uskies to the Dawg-house

Story and Photos By Katie Wells
Recreation & Sports Editor

A rush of crimson and gray swarmed the field

after the double overtime win in the 101st annual
Apple Cup. Fans surrounded the exhausted players
who were jumping up and down in the center of the
field, lacking the ability to contain their excitement.
But why should they have? This rivalry game
meant everything to these players. Having a one-
win season, though better than UW’s 0-10 record,
wasn’t good enough for the Cougars. Until the end
of the third quarter, WSU was having a hard time
proving how badly they wanted this win. Wanting
wasn’t going to get them the win though, earning it
would. And earn it they did.
With three minutes left on the clock in the third
quarter, the Cougs scored their first touchdown.
Logwone Mitz had a 57 yard rush to score followed
by Nico Grasu’s first of four successful kicks.
Leading into the fourth quarter, the score was 10-
7 Huskies. The final fifteen minutes of the regular 8.
game were filled with great rushes, long passes,
and luckily for WSU, missed field goals by UW’s
Ryan Perkins and Jared Ballman.
As the minutes passed, the Cougars’ energy level
rose and they did everything in their power to stop
UW from scoring. They succeeded. Still trailing by
three in the final minutes of the game, WSU gained
69 yards via four completed passes from Kevin
Lopina. With each successful pass, the crowd
became more confident that the Cougs would make
a comeback. The players must have thought so too.
Knowing they were within range for a game-tieing
field goal, Nico Grasu was once again called to
the field. As he prepared for his 28 yard field goal,
the Cougar fans went silent. Just as the clock ran
out, Grasu sent the ball flying straight toward the
goal posts. Every head in the crowd turned to the
referee’s as they held up their arms. The kick was
good. The game was tied.
The first overtime quarter ended with back to
back field goals by both teams. The score was tied
again, 13-13. Fans went crazy when the game was
then sent into double overtime. UW had possession
of the ball first and attempted another field goal
from 37 yards. Once again, with a disappointed sigh
from the Husky fans and a ear-splitting cheer from
the Cougars, Ryan Perkins’ kick was no good. 7.
A 37-yard kick, though proving to be difficult for
Perkins, was a simple task for Nico Grasu. After 3
hours and 12 minutes of football, the game was over.
The hundreds of fans who joined the players on the
field made sure that the team was congratulated.
Hugs, high-fives, tears, and cheers were seen and
heard throughout the crowd. As many exited the
stadium through the tunnel, a familiar cheer was
echoing loudly —“F**k the Huskies!”

only station in Oregon. People across the river
cord just love the fact that someone pumps their
mmed gas for them. I, on the other hand, am not
rious a fan. This tattooed and pierced gas station
t the attendant walked out to the Forester just
most in time to greet me, out of my car, at the
as a pump. I realized that I was supposed to be
d hit in my vehicle still, but instead of actually
t tap getting back in it, I awkwardly stood next
dead to the man while he pumped the gas. As if
es in this wasn’t embarrassing enough, he asked
nt of for the school’s debit card pin number. My
dead response? “Umm…yeah. I don’t actually
ning know that. Let me go call someone.” So
n our I spent the next couple minutes talking to
g to Eric Davidson on the phone so he could
tell me how to find the pin number. At this
a gas time, Erik Beaulieu was jollily cleaning
the millions of bugs off the windshield.
I’m not exaggerating about the fact that
he was jolly. He honestly loved to clean
the windshield. Anyway, we finally got
the gas paid for and left. The gas station
attendant, I’m sure, was glad to see us go.
After this stop, we trekked on toward
our final destination while attempting to
not become hypnotized by the quickly
flying bugs that continued to splat against
the windshield. It was getting really dark,
and none of us knew where we were
going exactly. We were simply following
the unreliable and sketchy MapQuest
directions. All of us had unanimously
decided we were lost and seconds before
exiting to turn around, we saw a helpful
sign. It read: Colfax. Colfax we knew.
5. 6.
Colfax was directly before Pullman.
The road to Colfax is quite winding and
dark. As we were rounding one corner of
pitch-black darkness, we saw two giant
creatures on the side of the road. At this
time, Kevin was sleeping in the back and
Erik was dosing off. These elk, though
on the road, were completely out of the
way of the car. I simply wanted to slow
down to look at them. The brakes in the
Subaru, didn’t agree. Once again, the car
stopped instantly in the road. It scared the
elk and left both Kevin and Erik stressing
out. Oops!
We eventually made it to Pullman just
in time to catch the volleyball game. The
football game the next day was pretty
uneventful: it was the USC vs. WSU
game, so guess what? We lost. When it
was time for all of us to head back to the
school, we loaded back into the Subie and
began our six-hour trip back. For some
reason, we ended up driving in circles, in
the middle of Eastern Washington; let me
rephrase that, in the middle of nowhere
for an hour. When we finally got back on
the right track, an unexpected hitchhiker
tagged along. Well, it wasn’t a hitchhiker
per say, it was more of a bird. This bird
flew in front of the car in an attempt to
get past us; we all thought that the bird
was successful in his attempt. We were
wrong. When we stopped in Kennewick
three hours after the bird incident, we
all went into Walgreens to get food. On
our way back out to the car, something
caught Kendal’s eye. The poor little bird
had actually been sucked into the grill of
the Forester. He looked so alive, so “in-
flight”. He looked like a Roll’s Royce
hood ornament in the way that he was
sprawled out, spread eagle. None of us
wanted to touch him, so, as cruel as it was,
we left him there until we got home. And
honestly, we left him there for someone
else to clean up. So whoever had to bury
our little bird friend, I’m sorry!
I personally enjoyed the trip to the games
even though it was full of adventures. As
far as the other three go, I’m pretty sure
they had a good time…except maybe for
the whiplash. And finally, for the bird,
I think he would have rather stayed in
Pullman.
 12 The VanCougar FEATURES
WSU Christmas Tree

Photos by Ruth Zschomler

at Festival of the Trees By Ruth Zschomler
The VanCougar

Nov. 28, 2008—Christmas has descended like a jolly old man in a red suit
squeezing down the chimney. Unbelievable? Yes. True? Also, yes.
The day after Thanksgiving, the Vancouver Rotary Foundation’s Festival of
Trees kicked off month long holiday festivities. Thirty-seven themed Christmas
trees decked the Heritage Ballroom at the Hilton Hotel at 301 W. 6th Street in
Vancouver, Wash.
Local businesses and non-profit organizations, including the Washington
State University Vancouver Foundation, each sponsored and decorated a tree.
Regaled in crimson and grey, WSU-V’s flocked tree showed true school spirit.
WSU Christmas stockings, Christmas lights, and souvenirs representing our local
university covered the branches. Even the presents under the tree were wrapped
in WSU Christmas paper.
Ballot boxes were stationed at each tree and, with dollars, people voted for
their favorite trees. While visitors enjoyed the decorations, piano music, per-
formed by Keyboard Sensations, filled the air. Throughout the weekend, vari-
ous local talents took the stage.
A blue ribbon was awarded to the tree named “Tool Time (Dad’s Dream
Tree)” sponsored by Miller Nash, LLP. It was designed and created by Laurie
Cantonwine of LC Sewing. The tree sported saw blades, tools, and other as-
sorted paraphernalia found at any hardware store.
Eight themed tabletop trees, as well as the larger trees, were set for an on-
line auction. The money raised goes to support the Vancouver Rotary Founda-
tion. The proceeds help “support scholarships and charitable grants in our com-
munity and around the world.” According to Lea Pfau, Office of Development
and Alumni Relations, the WSU-V tree sold for $700. This money will be added
to the Rotary Scholarship fund.
And the jolly old man in the red suit? He could be spotted here and there
with his helper elves throughout the festival.

Robots are here!

Photos by Michael Hatch

“Gobble gobble gobble!” By Gregory E. Zschomler botics: Hardware and software. If it

By Michael Hatch
The VanCougar
ASWSUV’s Thanksgiv-
ing Dinner held the Thursday
before Thanksgiving break was
a success, according to several
who attended the fully catered
event.
“It was definitely a suc-
cess,” Eric Davidson, the Ac-
tivities Director for ASWSUV
said, “Almost 40 people were
there; everybody was fully
engaged in conversation, even
those who didn’t know each
other.”
The price of admission was
a donation of three cans of food
to a local charity organization.
The dinner was planned
primarily by Nikki Netland, one
of the members of the newly
created Activities Board, made
up of four voluntary positions.
Michelle McIlvoy, the
Student Involvement Manager
shared her enthusiasm about the
event. “It was great. The turn
out was great. Good food. Good
good good!”
The event also spurred
interest in “perhaps doing a
medieval dinner in spring,” said
Davidson.
Editor-in-Chief
Robots are everywhere. That
is not some statement of paranoia,
fearing world domination by some
android species, but a statement of
fact. Robots and artificial intelligent
systems serve us everyday. The term
“robot”—from the Czech word robo-
ta meaning “forced labor”—drums
up ideas of human-like machines,
but robots—most present-day robots
anyway—are more often than not
just mechanical arms or remote-con-
trolled wheeled devices that aren’t
anything like humans. However, that
is changing.
Robots may one day come in
every shape and size—from micro-
scopic medical micronanobots to
incredible mammoth-like walking
or flying war machines. Some may
have simple “minds” designed for
one small, repetitive task; others may
seem brilliant, achieving human-like
reason—or, perhaps, a superiority to
human rationale.
These are all serious consider-
ations under research and develop-
ment worldwide at major universities
and in industry. It’s not surprising that
WSU is in on the research. The WSU-
Vancouver School of Engineering
and Computer Science, with degree
programs in Mechanical Engineer-
ing, Computer Science and Electrical
Engineering, is at work in the field.
Each degree has its own area of em-
phasis in a wide-range of disciplines;
many of them relate to robotics.
There are two main parts to ro-
helps, think “body” (the mechanical/
electrical stuff) and “mind” (the pro-
gramming). WSU-V has both under-
graduate and graduate programs in
Mechanical Engineering and Com-
puter Science. Electronic Engineering
is only offered as an undergraduate
degree at this time. Mechanical En-
gineering and Electrical Engineering
build hardware, Computer Science
writes the software.
Dr. Hakan Gurocak (Ha-kahn
Gur-o-jock) is the Director of the
School of Engineering and Computer
Science and serves as Associate Pro-
fessor of Mechanical Engineering.
He said that WSU-V’s Mechanical
Engineering program has three dis-
ciplines: Design and Manufacturing;
Micronanotechnology, “essentially
assembling atoms and molecules;”
and Mechatronics (a term the Japa-
nese coined to include studies in me-
chanics, electronics, automation and
robotics). The Electronic Engineering
program, he said, also offers three
specializations: Digital Systems;
Electronic Devices and Materials,
and Networks and Communication
Systems.
Gurocak said that students learn
about existing technology and how to
integrate systems—computing, elec-
tronics sensors and actuators—along
with “software [that] acts like a glue”
bringing it all together. The software
creates an artificial intelligence (AI)
that, on a small scale “mimics human
decision-making.”
Robots, P. 13
FEATURES December 4, 2008 13
ROBOTS ARE everywhere!
Continued from Page 12
Students learn how to write the
software to “capture” human intelli-
gence in a mathematical model.
“You might have a mobile robot
going around in hallways…” he said,
“How would it avoid objects? Hu-
mans don’t even think about it; for a
machine it’s very challenging.”
“Another recent application,”
according to Gurocak, “are large re-
search groups building prosthetics
[that are] interpreting [bio-neuro] sig-
nals.” He said the research at WSU-V
is interdisciplinary—a sort of cross
study mix. Many of the applications
use “fuzzy logic,” an A.I. that “learns
from its own mistakes—almost like
a toddler.” The undergraduate pro-
gram is “concentrating on educating
engineers who can work in industry
using existing technology”—discov-
ering new uses or applications for
existing know-how.
But some technologies are
bound to go the way of the dodo.
For instance in a recent article by
Emi Endo in Newsday, Steve Pren-
tice, vice president and fellow at
Gartner—a marketing-research firm
in Stamford, Conn.—states that the
computer mouse’s “demise will be
hastened by the move toward 3D en-
vironments, which encourage a more Doruk Senkal, one of Dr. Guracak’s graduate students, demonstrates a haptic glove. Photo by Kyle Ralston
complex range of movements…and innovations to make it smaller and create programs for “making better because lots of graduate students
by the growth of multimedia appli- lighter. decisions.” continue to “waste” their time.
cations and manipulation, which en- Prior to these studies and re- He compared the two: one be- Wallace said that WSU-V is in-
courage a more natural interface.” search the program developed ing a closed-box system that is only volved with “a bunch of the smaller
WSU-V is at work on such a de- some walking robots, but nothing concerned with the results and an- schools in the Pacific Northwest
vice. At the masters level research as advanced as the work of Honda other looking in the box to see how it [that] share expertise and curricu-
is on haptics (Greek, meaning “the and Sony who have created biped thinks (what it does to get the result). lum” in studies of AI and computer
feeling of touch and sense”). Guro- humanoid robots like ASIMO (see Some want to “reproduce the human gaming. The group received a recent
cak and his graduate students, Du- www.honda.com) who can not only behavior, both good and bad,” he $382,000 grant from NASA to study
ruk Seakal and Graham Kryger, are walk and run on two legs, but climb said. Such applications could be used how games can be used to teach AI
at work on a haptic glove interface. stairs, interact with humans, navi- to predict actual human behavior in and “as an experimental test bed for
A glove, he said that “helps you to gate complex environments, rec- a given situation. some AI problems.” They collaborate
reach inside a computer [generated] ognize people, gestures and voice His goal, among others, is to via “video conferencing, quarterly
image and grasp [virtual] objects.” commands and much more. One day make AI safer and make the systems meetings and through electronic
Users wear a virtual reality [VR] hel- such robots may be in our homes. more robust. He asks, “What do we sharing.”
met and see these virtual objects. But, all mechanic developments do when we’re not even sure what In a nutshell, the two arms of the
Normally, he said, “I can’t feel need control systems utilizing com- exactly it [AI] should be doing?” If WSU-V School of Engineering and
the objects because they are digital.” puter programming. That depart- computers are to make decisions Computer Science, working together
With the glove, “You can actually ment falls under the tutelage of Dr. they need to “have checks and bal- and with others, to develop indus-
reach out and have the sensation of Scott Wallace, Assistant Professor of ances [put] into software systems.” trial applications that will improve
holding the objects” which is help- Computer Science at WSU-V. After all, robots with complex AI, left the quality and safety of life with ro-
ful for assembly of objects into vir- Wallace said, “People tend to to their own development, might be botics, AI and other mechanical and
tual prototypes. This project has cen- classify AI in one of four catego- hazardous. Think HAL, from “2001: electrical devices both existing and
tered on creating smaller actuators ries.” “Like Hakan [Gurocak],” he A Space Odyssey” and other sci-fi ro- future.
so that the gloves become less bulky. explained, to “1) behave like a hu- bots that have evolved to take over And, one day soon you may
The actuators they have created fea- man, 2) make rational decisions, 3) the world. wear a glove and VR headgear that
ture magnetic fluids that can lock at think like a human, [or] 4) think ra- Marvin Minsky, at MIT, one will immerse you, as a gamer, in
points of virtual contact using elec- tionally.” of the first scientists to discover your game, giving you a true sense
tronic signals that change the fluids He indicated the nuances come and demonstrate that robots have of object manipulation—you will not
viscosity. from the many schools of thought no knowledge of the real world, only see and hear, but FEEL the expe-
He believes such a glove could concerning AI that include computer doesn’t see that happening. He has rience. Maybe that’s not as important
be used in medical training, design scientists, psychologists, philoso- said, “AI has been brain-dead since or lofty as the goals of the school, but
and as an advanced interface. You phers and mathematicians. The dif- the 1970s…the worst fad has been a side benefit, none-the-less. Pretty
may be thinking about game apps— ferentiations address different stan- these stupid little robots. Graduate cool science.
certainly a possibility. The third gen- dards and areas of interest. He said students are wasting years of their
eration of the haptic glove is under- some wish to mimic “human deci- lives…” [Mighty Robots, by David
way. Graham Kryger is working on sion making” while others wish to Jones] But others obviously disagree,

Chancellor’s Series: that might not otherwise be able to

Artifical Intelligence
By Gregory E. Zschomler
Editor-in-Chief
In preparing the audience
for the guest speaker in the latest
Chancellor’s Seminar Series, Chan-
cellor Hal Dengerink said that
some people had implied that Sen.
John McCain was so old he didn’t
know how to use e-mail. As we age,
“it’s possible that technology could
become more important to us,” he
said. He also noted his “smart”
heating system at home could note
the ambient temperature and “de-
cide” when to turn on so that the
house would be toasty when he
was to get out of bed.
With that he introduced Dr. Di-
ane Cook of WSU Pullman’s School
of Electrical Engineering and Com-
puter Science. Cook hopes “Smart
Environments” will aid people
with a whole lot more. She and her
students are looking at how artifi-
cial intelligence (AI) might be used
in home and work environments to
aid in independent living for those
do so.
“I wanted to look at AI inno-
vations,” said Cook, “I started a
wish list of what our homes would
do.” Homes doing? That’s right. Dr.
Cook set out to discover how our
homes might recognize our pres-
ence and the environment, learn
our behaviors and needs, and re-
spond accordingly. She noted that
sprinkler systems can access the In-
ternet, check the weather to see if
rain is in the forecast, and “decide”
if they will need to turn on.
Cook pointed out the num-
ber of “intelligent appliances” we
already have in our homes—ev-
erything from smoke and motion
detectors to robot vacuums and
lawnmowers, even refrigerators
that keep track of their inventory
and “write” shopping lists.
To create a test bed in Pull-
man, Cook began by wiring an
apartment with various sensors
and remote control devices that
would respond to the movement
and needs of the student resident.
For example, when the front door
was opened a motion sensor would
convey a trigger to a light switch
and the light would come on. Not
necessarily anything groundbreak-
ing, but the foundation for further
advancements.
Cook’s goal has been to create
“an environment able to acquire
and apply knowledge about the
resident and the physical surround-
ings to improve the resident’s expe-
rience.” In the first level this was
applied to comfort and productiv-
ity, in the second health and safety
and, finally, toward energy and
sustainability.
When these systems are linked
to a computer that computer can
record data and then mine the data
for frequent patterns. Machine
learning algorithms “use the infor-
mation [to create] an automation
policy,” said Cook. The software
model can eliminate 76% of manual
instructions.
Such “smart environments”
can assist the infirm, aged, and
handicapped to attain independent
living. Homes with smart features
can be safer for these individuals
by regulating water temperatures,
turning off forgotten appliances,
reminding the resident to take their
medicines and more. Additionally,
the computer system monitors the
movement and task-completion of
the resident. The information can
be relayed to a remote location to
report their “well-being” to loved
ones or caregivers. The information
can even be used to detect patterns
of dementia.
The “smart” apartment was
equipped for the modest fee of
$5,000 though many other tech-
nologies—such as RFID tags and
robot assistants (such as Honda’s
ASIMO)—could drive costs up
considerably, depending upon how
high-tech these homes might get.
In the meantime Cook and her
students seek to simply “keep older
adults functioning independently
in their own homes [for] as long as
possible.” And that means keeping
costs affordable. Cook notes that
nearly one quarter of the U.S. pop-
ulation will be 65 or older by 2045
and we are unprepared to facilitate
their needs.
For more information about Dr.
Cook’s research, please visit:
http://ailab.eecs.wsu.edu
 14
KOUG Radio coming together Shooting video
not given a shot
KOUG radio continues to
stream online while stu-
dents at WSU-V work out
the logistics.
By Shantel Erickson
The VanCougar
With the help of students at
WSU-V, KOUG AM580 could be up
and broadcasting with a student
based team pushing it along by
spring semester. Zane Wagner and
Spring Atkinson have been hard at
work to revive KOUG radio. At this
moment, Atkinson is the only staff
member of KOUG radio. She has
put together several meetings gath-
ering about 20 students to discuss
the future of KOUG radio. Atkin-
son believes, “the best way to build
a strong radio station is to involve
as many students as possible.” This
is the belief of Wagner as well.
Zane Wagner is one hopeful
The VanCougar
candidate for station manager of
KOUG radio. His fate will be de-
termined at the next Media Board
meeting held on December 12th.
The Media Board is made up of stu-
dents, faculty, and media advisors.
Chair of the board is Robert Chu,
a WSU-V student and an ASWSUV
senator. Everyone on the Media
Board is determined that KOUG
radio to remain student-based.
The new preliminary business
plan for KOUG reads: “KOUG ra-
dio should be an active entity on
campus that involves students and
provides a forum for the expression
of student ideas and concerns.”
Involvement with local bands
is on Wagner’s to-do list. This has
always been a goal of KOUG ra-
dio, but seldom ralized. In Novem-
ber 2007, KOUG held a fundraiser
where local bands serenaded at-
tendees while a silent auction took
place—raising an estimated $500 to
support KOUG.
While local bands are encour-
aged, so are mainstream artists.
Wagner says, “As for music, I would
like to see a focus on local artists,
but if a student wanted to DJ a
show that featured a certain genre
(country, alternative rock, hyphy), I
would absolutely encourage that! I
don’t think there should be any re-
strictions on music genres.”
So what’s in store for KOUG
radio? Wagner says, “I hope to see
KOUG broadcasting talk shows
and news shows created by stu-
dents, in addition to running live
shows with DJs.”
If you would like to get in-
volved, send an email to koug.
manager@gmail.com. The possibil-
ities are endless: DJ’s, sound engi-
neers, talk show hosts, advertising
or campus outreach.
FEATURES
By Jake Kleinschmidt
The VanCougar
What would you do if someone
came into your classroom and start-
ed killing your classmates? Such
a question rarely enters our mind.
We don’t think about it because
the scenario is so rare that it’s al-
most not worth mentioning. How-
ever, it could happen, and Lt. Dave
Stephenson knows it. That is why
on Tuesday, Nov. 17, Stephenson
showed twice a video called Shots
Fired on Campus: when lightning
strikes.
The video was presented by
the Center for Personal Protection
and Safety and is part of a large
scale violence preventive program
in Washington. The 20-minute vid-
eo was aimed at preparing people
for that “what if” situation.
Shots Fired on Campus fo-
cuses primarily on what happens
before the police arrive because
most of the incident is over before
the police can get there. “Police

New building goes up, blocks view
By Shantel Erickson
The VanCougar
Birds are chirping this morning on
the southeast corner of the Washington
State University-Vancouver campus. But
you’d have to strain to hear them as heavy
equipment growls to life.
“Hey,” a construction worker yells
from a rooftop, “bring me that extra har-
ness you got down there.” The smell of
mud, gasoline, and exhaust quickly over-
powers the crisp morning air. This is not a
typical scene on the WSU-V campus.
With the wind blowing and the
rain holding off, Triplett Wellman Contrac-
tors continue their work on the new un-
dergraduate classroom building. The $15.7
billion dollar project began in January and
is scheduled to be completed by the end of
June 2009.
“Everything is on schedule to be
completed by the deadline,” foreman Dan
Reef says. The sounds of man-lifts, sorters,
and backhoes make conversation difficult
on the construction site. However, Reef’s
office provides a quieter place to talk.
The office is full with site plans,
paperwork from more than 60 subcontrac-
tors, and a continually ringing telephone.
The project has presented challenges, Reef
says.
Photos by Gregory Zschomler
“The biggest challenge on this proj-
ect,” he says, “is the lack of space for stor-
age and parking.”
Seven portable buildings used for
offices and storage sit on the 12-acre lot
inside the fenced off area. The only place
for the portables is in front of the work-
out room, thus blocking the Mount Hood
views for people using the facility. That ir-
ritates some of the people using the work-
out room, Reef says.
“There wasn’t anywhere else to put
the portables,” he says. “I offered to paint
a mural of Mount Hood on the back of my
office.”
The burnt red brick of the new
three-story building also blocks views of
Mount Hood for the Multimedia Class-
room Building. So far, Reef hasn’t heard
any complaints about that.
The exercise enthusiasts in the fit-
ness center may have to wait until this next
summer to get their view back, but they can
get out for a walk to enjoy the mountain.
In addition to the building, construction
crews also built disabled-accessible paths,
connecting the lower and upper walking
paths on campus. The paths are complete
and open to the public.
can’t respond before it’s largely
over, most of your survivability lies
with you,” said Stephenson. The
video is said to be realistic though
there was no blood or people seen
being killed. However, there were
“active shooters” being shown
walking around a campus.
The advice Shots Fired on
Campus provides is priceless. First
and foremost, people need to un-
derstand that the gunshots heard in
the movie and the sound of real life
gunshots are very different. There-
fore, if you think you hear what
might be a gunshot, assume it is un-
til you know for sure it’s something
else. The most important piece of
advice this video gave was to trust
your instincts. If that is to follow
the leader or to take action, do it.
You might picture your-
selves in a classroom during an
incident, but you could be in the
hallway or outside. Think about
what you might do ahead of time.
The best course of action is to take
immediate cover, process the situa-
tion in your head and then try to get
out. When you are safe you should
call the police and tell them what’s
going on. Don’t assume someone
else has.
Sometimes you may not be
able to hide and you may have to
confront the shooter. Work with
students and other people to spread
out and work out a plan to “take
out” the shooter should s/he come
into your hiding place.
The video ended with a
short question and answer session
with input and advice by Dr. Wil-
liam Meek. He encouraged anyone
ever suspecting that someone might
have ill intentions or may be prone
to causing violence to tell the WSU-
V police or [Dr. Meek] himself.
The downside of what was
otherwise a fantastic video was the

turnout. Most in attendance were

either faculty or staff. This was
advertised fairly well for students
and would have been an excellent
tool for them in case such a horrible
thing occurred. In any case it was
good that faculty and staff attended
because, as Dr. Meek mentioned, it
is likely that the students will look
to staff as leaders during such an
incident.
FEATURES
Un-Belize-able: My trip to Central America
Story and Photos By Kayla Page
The VanCougar
Upon arriving to the country of Belize,
it became apparent that this was a place un-
like any other. Traveling via a Royal Caribbean
cruise ship proved troublesome due to the bar-
rier reef surrounding the port of Belize, so we
dropped anchor and boarded catamarans to
take us ashore. It was then that I learned of the
many wonders of Belize, and why locals say it is
un-Belize-able.
Carlos, our tour guide, was no stranger
to tourists. After introducing himself and his
coworker Randy, he unloaded a barrage of fas-
cinating facts about his native land. He began
by thanking us for our business as, due to re-
cent flooding at the end of hurricane season ap-
proached, he has been unable to find work for
the past month. “Belize is very dependant upon
tourism,” he said “so tell your friends about
what a good time you had here, and tell them
to visit Belize.” The flooding had also caused
the beautiful, clear blue water of the Caribbean
Sea to turn a grimy, muddy brown. The recent
flooding was also an inconvenience to my fam-
ily because we had originally scheduled a cave
tubing and zip-line tour through the jungle. We
were told that the only road that goes to the oth-
er side of the country was washed out by flood
waters from neighboring Guatemala. The only
road that goes to the other side of the country!
As Americans this was a nearly intangible fact.
Carlos was prompt in relating the size of Belize
to something we could fathom. “Belize is about
the size of Massachusetts,” He told us, “but the
population of Massachusetts is much larger.”
Twenty time larger in fact, with a population
of a little over 6,000,000 people, Massachusetts
towers over Belize’s mere 300,000 people. That’s
about twice the population of Vancouver alone!
With this small of a population, it creates a venue
for a rich understanding of culture and commu-
nity, which is a major part of a native Belizean’s
life. We boarded our second boat after securing
a snorkeling trip in place of our original plans,
but we were still discouraged by the murky wa-
ter surrounding us. Carlos was not worried, and
he continued to explain the history, language,
and geography of Belize.
He began by telling us that Belize was
most recently known as British Honduras, al-
though it was originally a Mayan country, be-
fore the Spanish invaded it. These influences
still play a huge role in all that is Belize. One of
the most notable and intriguing facts that Carlos
shared, was in regards to the language. Belize is
the only Central American country where Eng-
lish is the official language. “We learn English in
school, but we speak Spanish at home,” Carlos
explained. He also noted that many Belizeans
are trilingual, as Creole (think New Orleans)
is often spoken. Creole is an amalgamation of
French and English, or as Carlos called it “bad
English”. For the remainder of the boat ride,
Carlos demonstrated his bilingual techniques
by speaking in both English and Spanish per the
request of native Spanish speakers on the boat.
Our trip continued to our final destina-
tion of Rendezvous Island, a small island located
about 10 minutes from the mainland. Along the
ride, we noticed patches of trees growing spo-
December 4, 2008 15
radically throughout
the ocean, and to our
surprise (and relief)
the water returned to
its expected beauty.
Carlos explained that
this color change was,
in fact, due to the trees
we had been notic-
ing. “These are man-
groves,” he explained,
“they grow their roots
deep into the water,
and they filter out all
of the dirt.” There is a
barrier of mangroves
that grows right off the
coast of Belize, so past
this barrier the water
is crystal for miles.
The mangrove barrier
is not the only one, as
we soon learned.
Prior to this
trip, I was told Belize
was famous for it’s
snorkeling, but I nev-
er really considered it,
nor did I comprehend
the urgency previous
snorkelers tried to
convey to me. Friends
said, “Kayla you
have to snorkel in Be-
lize!” It was not until
I jumped off the boat
like a wounded seal,
with my flippers flap-
ping and my goggles
suctioned to my face,
did I understand. Be-
lize is home to a bar-
rier reef, second only
to the Great Barrier
Reef in Australia. Sec-
ond, well it must have been a pretty close race, back on deck, Carlos proceeded to tell us that
because this was an amazing sight. Belize, and the reef is home to over 400 types of fish, and
its barrier reef was recently a topic of discussion some 300 types of coral. The trip was far from
on a Today Show series “The ends of the earth”. over; our last stop, the Belizean Keys!
Belize is a place of growing ecological research We arrived at Rendesvous Island, one of
due to the vast underwater ecosystem, and as 450 of the miniature islands that make up the
a result, a site for conservational precautions. Belizean Keys. This island is a popular tourist
Measures are being taken to limit the amount destination, as is it home to a water trampoline,
of humans allowed to visit the reef, simply to restaurant, bar (of course), sand volleyball net,
preserve its beauty for centuries to come. and what else but a monkey! Yep, a monkey. The
We were safely led by Randy through the Ca- locals call him Mojo (Powerpuff Girls anyone?)
ribbean Sea. The reef creates a huge wave in the and he is quite popular. Once everyone got wind
middle of the ocean, so it is necessary to have of the monkey sighting, it was photo shoot time.
a guide for a safe trip. There is a break in the Mojo posed high up in his tree, as many tried to
tide, and this is where we were led. Equipped coax him down with bananas, but I’m sure he
with my Kodak underwater camera, I snapped has seen that trick before. After about ten min-
pictures left and right of sting rays, lobsters, utes the crowd dispersed and Mojo decided it
octopuses, blue tangs (think Dory from “Find- was safe to move to another tree. Amidst a vol-
ing Nemo”), and too many other fish and coral leyball game I glanced over to see him waltzing
to name. Randy would dip down and coax out to an adjacent tree as if to say ‘And scientists say
more species of who knows what, and I was con- you all evolved from me!’
tinuously astonished. Feeling brave, I tried to As the day wound to a close, I sat on a
imitate Randy’s diving moves, but I only man- lounge chair and recounted the day’s recent
aged to swallow a mouthful of salt water, and events. I would like to honor Carlos’s request,
possibly a few fresh pieces of seaweed. It was all and to say that Belize is a worth while trip, be-
in the name of a great adventure. As we flopped cause it is truly, 100% un-Belize-able.

Photo by Gregory E. Zschomler

VJ Fleet [redux] came, saw, and conquered

For more info, visit vjfleet.com
On November 22, the efforts of DTC
students in the Interactive Media course
and Canadian digital artists Julie Andreyev
and Simon Overstall did not go unnoticed.
The performance, which included
the setting up of projection screens on the
hoods of three Honda CR-Vs and the show-
ing of a 30-minute journey through Vancou-
ver, took place at three locations. It started
at dusk in front of the Classroom Building
at WSU Vancouver then moved on to the
Grand Central Shopping Center and con-
Three cars, three screens, one revved up show.
cluded in front of the North Bank Artists
Gallery in downtown Vancouver.
One of the central aims of the project
was to comment on the car culture of the
city, which was demonstrated by some au-
dience’s refusal to exit their own vehicles to
see the performance.
Other passers-by shared their enthusi-
asm for the project, one noteable response
including the statement that “if things like
this happened more often, this town would
be much more interesting.”
16 The VanCougar COMMUNITY

Center for Social and Environmental Justice:

Forum asks “What’s the right thing...”
By Gregory E. Zschomler

Photo Credit: Katie Wells

Editor-in-Chief

Sometimes it’s just easier not to care—

to go along your merry way until some-
thing catches up with you and life barrels
over you like a steamroller. Even if “what
goes around” didn’t come around and get
personal, the right thing to do is not: do
nothing.
There are WSU-V students and faculty
who care about the right, the just, the fair
thing. They are not content to sit idly by
and merely watch while wrong or injus-
tice prospers at the expense of the inno-
cent. Instead they are the whistle-blowers,
the cavalry, the “watchmen on the wall”
looking out for their fellow citizens.
This semester the Center for Social and
Environmental Justice (hereafter referred
to as “the center”) asked some probing
questions, confronting issues that some
would just as soon sweep under the rug.
One of those issues has been the ongoing
labor dispute against WSU-V by the local
carpenter’s union concerning the subcon-
tract hire of Delta Drywall.
Earlier this term the center organized
a forum to address the issue and invited
interested students, faculty and staff to
join them in dialoging with the university
(Capitol Planning), the union, the contrac-
tor and subcontractor. Several students,
three faculty members, a concerned citi-
zen, and a union representative showed
up. The contractors and Capitol Planning
neglected or declined to send a represen-
tative. In all, 16 persons were present.
One of the faculty members on hand
was co-organizer, Desiree Hellegers who
noted that, “Capitol Planning at both Pull-
man and Vancouver declined to send a
speaker.” Dave Smith heads Capitol Plan-
ning and WSU-V.
Jason Sheckler, who was arrested on
campus for trespass while leafleting early
this semester, was the guest speaker from
the carpenter’s union. He presented many
changes and grievances against Chris
Troxel, the owner of Delta Drywall, citing
unfair and illegal labor practices as well as
shady business dealings.
“There is a continuous pattern of ex-
ploitation,” said Sheckler, “We need to
set standards and define these standards
for all workers.” Some of the allegations
against Troxel have been: paying under
the table to avoid taxes and paying ben-
efits; working laborers 40 hours, but only
paying them for 18; under reporting the
number of workers to the state in order to
pay less taxes; etc.
He said that laborers for Troxel com-
panies either worked without complaint
or ended up not working at all. He said
that a real grievance process needs to be
put into place so that workers are not
afraid to stand up.
Concerned citizen Shellynda Mi-
chalek, who’s husband has worked for
Troxel, said that Troxel “preys off the
workers…hiring illegals” who are afraid
to speak out. She cited his underhanded
Jason Sheckler speaks to a group of students about ethics in hiring practices at a forum sponsored by the WSU-V
Center for Social and Environmental Justice
tactics designed to avoid paying medical
benefits.
“I guarantee, if it was Hal [Dengerink]’s
or Dave [Smith]’s daughter laying in the
hospital,” she said, we wouldn’t put up
with this.
Sheckler presented a pile of documen-
tation—the same documentation he pre-
sented to Smith earlier in the year—out-
lining the history of Troxel companies eth-
ical misdeeds. He also presented a copy of
House Bill 2010 that outlines “responsible
bidder criteria.”
Desiree Hellegers said the bill, “Ex-
tends considerable new desecration to
agencies to define exactly what a ‘respon-
sible’ bidder is.” The bill was signed into
law on July 22, 2007 and gives state agen-
cies—including universities—the right to
refuse the hire of a bidder on grounds of
irresponsibility regardless of whether or
not they meet the state’s lowest bidder
requirement. In other words the “respon-
sible bidder criteria” law can trump the
“lowest bidder” law.
Hellegers said that the university’s
“position is they’re operating within the
letter of the law.” The position of the union
and the club is that: one, that does not
mean its right and, two, there is an out, if
they want to take it.
“It’s a really pivotal moment for WSU
to do the right thing,” said Hellegers.
Taj Mahon-Haft is a faculty advisor
for the Center for Social and Environmen-
tal Justice. He cited the reason for raising
this important issue, “In sheer reality this
guy [Troxel] gets the money and we take
care of the workers [through taxes and so-
cial services]. Clearly the university isn’t
going to pay attention…unless we stand
up and make a stink about it.”
“We here are all going to be work-
ers…” said Mahon-Haft, “We’ll hope for
some semblance of worker’s rights.” He
said as university stakeholders we have
the right and responsibility to hold the
university accountable. He noted that
“student activism creates change.”
According to Mahon-Haft WSU-Pull-
man’s Progressive Student Union pres-
sured the university into a policy against
buying apparel from companies utilizing
sweatshops last year. On this campus stu-
dents have lobbied for Fair Trade Certi-
fied Coffee.
Mahon-Haft noted that WSU’s mis-
sion statement spells out 9 standards; the
ninth standard is ‘institutional integrity.’
“This,” he said, “is not adhering to…high
ethical standards.”
Sheckler said that the carpenter’s
union will continue calling attention to
WSU’s affiliation with and participation in
unfair labor practices until they “remove
Delta from the job” and set in writing a
policy of ethical hiring standards.
Meanwhile, Sheckler and the carpen-
ter’s union are still fighting a legal battle
over the university’s charges against them,
the union is still bannering at the bottom
of the south entrance, and the university
and general contractor are still in contract
with the subcontractor, Delta Drywall.
To learn more about this issue or the Cen-
ter for Social and Environmental Justice,
Social and Environmental Justice Club
or SEJ certificate program email: social.
environmental.justice@gamil.com or hel-
legers@vancouver.wsu.edu.

The Center for Social and Environmental Justice catalyzes

collaborations between WSU faculty, students and commu-
nity partners to foster rigorous analysis of social, economic,
racial and environmental justice issues and promote human
rights and conflict resolution at local, national and global
levels...
COMMUNITY
Free Speech Zone:
Infringing on rights?
Free Speech
Zone
By Anita Fleming
The VanCougar
Many on campus are unaware
that there is a specific zone on the
University property in which free
speech can be fully exercised.
Even so, the rules surrounding
its use are ambiguous and are not
comprehensive, leaving Univer-
sity policy open to interpretation.
The existence of such also begs the
obvious question “Why isn’t ev-
erywhere on campus a free speech
zone?”
The area designated the “Open
Forum” zone in University policy
(available online in the Student
Handbook) includes the cafeteria
in VADM and the outdoor pavil-
ion extending from the east wall of
the cafeteria to the stone wall. Ac-
cording to the WSU-V webpage,
the zone is available for use from
9 a.m. to 8 p.m., Monday through
Friday.
The University states that the
“[o]pen forum areas may be used
with administrative approval,
for a specified period of time, by
groups and individuals, in accor-
dance with [university policy] . .
. .” In apparent contradiction, the
University goes on to state that it
“supports each individual’s right
to peacefully express their view
and opinions for or against actions
or ideas in which they have an in-
terest.”
The “free speech zone” attract-
ed some attention at the beginning
of the semester when three mem-
bers of the Carpenters Union were
arrested on campus for trespass
while handing out flyers with re-
gards to the unlawful labor prac-
tices of a subcontractor employed
on campus. At the time of arrest,
those handing out handbills were
not in the area designated as a free
speech zone. One of the Union
members arrested, Jason Sheckler,
states that he and his fellow repre-
sentatives were not informed that
there was any such area until after
they were arrested.
According to Sheckler, mem-
bers of the Union had handed out
flyers on campus previously with-
out incident. As a result, he ques-
tions the officer’s justification in
arresting him. However, on purely
legal grounds, the action seems
justified, so far as the law and Uni-
versity policy are concerned. Uni-
versity regulations clearly state
that “[p]ersons not connected with
December 4, 2008
the University are not authorized
to distribute handbills or other
materials without prior approval
of the Facilities Use Committee.”
In addition, the Student
Handbook notes that “individuals
. . . who violate these regulations
. . . will be requested to leave the
University property. . . . Failure to
comply with such a request will
subject such individuals to ar-
rest.”
Therefore, even if Sheckler and
his fellow workers had known of
the Open Forum Zone, they would
have had to submit paperwork
requesting the right to distribute
flyers to students and faculty on
campus. By requiring that outside
parties go through this process,
the University discourages the
free flow of information and, in ef-
fect, infringes on the right to free
speech.
For students and student or-
ganizations that wish to engage
in public speech on campus, cur-
rent available University policy is
ambiguous and incomprehensive.
Bylaws do not specifically address
the issue of individual free speech;
clubs and organizations must get
approval from the Facilities Use
Committee or the Director of Fi-
nance and Operations in order to
set up tables or otherwise use the
Open Forum space, according to
the Student Handbook.
Under a section of the Facili-
ties Use Policy titled “Advertis-
ing Policies”, the use of chalk on
University sidewalks is prohib-
ited. The term “advertising” is
not clearly defined; it does not
necessarily indicate publicizing a
product for profit. For example,
student government elections are
addressed under the heading of
“advertising.” Therefore, are other
forms of free speech prohibited on
campus?
The ambiguity of University
bylaws introduces the opportu-
nity for subjective interpretation
that serves the interest of those
in charge of enforcing the laws.
More importantly, the existence
of the Open Forum zone demands
that we ask why the university,
an historically liberal institution,
embraces the idea that free speech
can be relegated to zones and that
it must first pass through direc-
tors and committees before being
heard.
Social and Environmental
Justice Club for world change
By Anita Fleming
The VanCougar
The newly re-formed Social
and Environmental Justice Club
(SEJC) met on campus for the third
time on Wednesday, November
19th, and plans to hold its next
meeting on December 3rd. In ad-
dition to the relatively mundane
business of club officer appoint-
ment and review of the club consti-
tution, members discussed action
that they would like to take to raise
awareness of the new club and to
instigate progressive change in
their community.
The most immediate is the on-
going labor dispute with regards
to one of the subcontractors, Delta
Drywall Inc., which was hired to
work on the new Undergraduate
Classroom Building on campus.
Delta Drywall is one of several
subcontractors hired by the gen-
eral contractor, Triplett Wellman
Inc., and specializes in drywall,
metal stud framing, and acoustical
ceiling construction. Jason Sheck-
ler, one of the three Carpenters
Union representatives arrested on
campus in August, commented
on the Union’s efforts and aims.
He stressed that the Union is not
advocating that Delta Drywall be
kicked off the project; also, Sheck-
ler pointed out that Delta’s status
as a non-Union company is imma-
terial to the Union’s efforts to make
the University and students aware
of Delta’s business practices.
It is purely a matter of Delta’s
failure to pay area standard wag-
es and benefits. Members of the
Union are reportedly picketing
against Delta at Willamette Uni-
versity, where the company is also
being subcontracted.
According to a report compiled
by the Pacific Northwest Regional
Council of Carpenters (PNRCC),
the subcontractor and its sister
companies have been involved in
several lawsuits. In one instance,
Finishers Corporation, one of Del-
ta owner Chris Troxel’s half-dozen
contracting companies, declared
bankruptcy in order to avoid pay-
ing almost $100,000 as the result of
an insurance fraud conviction.
Of Troxel’s seven contracting
firms, five have gone out of busi-
ness since 1996. The companies
also allegedly violated minimum
wage laws and consistently failed
to report accurate working hours
for their employees.
The report refers the reader to
the website www.closerlookatdel-
ta.com. While it does not actively
cite the sources of its information,
it does include reproductions of le-
gal documents pertaining to Trox-
el’s companies’ lawsuits. It also
provides contact information for
Ben Basom, the Representative of
the PNRCC. He can be reached at
(503) 261-1862.
According to Sheckler, the
Carpenters Union sent materials
to the general contractor, Triplett
Wellman, when it first heard that
Delta Drywall was bidding on the
job. The Union received no ac-
knowledgment or response from
the contractor.
The University, while acknowl-
edging the Union’s statement, has
proverbially washed its hands of
the matter, stating summarily that
17
since the general contractor hired
Delta, there is nothing the Univer-
sity can do. Sheckler begs to differ,
contending that the University is
fully capable of setting standards
(and enforcing those standards)
that will discourage companies
who engage in dishonest business
practices.
The SEJC has drafted a peti-
tion which demands that the Uni-
versity cease doing business with
Delta Drywall and drop the charg-
es brought against the Carpenters
Union members arrested for tres-
pass while flyering against Delta
on campus at the beginning of this
semester.
However, according to Univer-
sity policy, the officer who arrested
them was well within his rights.
The university’s Facilities Use Pol-
icy states that “persons not con-
nected with the University are not
authorized to distribute handbills
or other materials without prior
approval of the Facilities Use Com-
mittee.” For more information on
the Carpenters Union arrests, see
the adjoining article about the on-
campus “Free Speech Zone”.
While not the first Social and
Environmental Justice club on cam-
pus, the current SEJC aims to focus
on specific local issues of social jus-
tice, particularly those that are rel-
evant to students of the University
and members of the surrounding
community.
Last year’s SEJC, according
to the WSU-V webpage, aimed to
provide “environmental aware-
ness and commitment through in-
dividual oral group projects focus-
ing on local and regional levels”,
and reportedly focused on projects
such as bringing fair-trade coffee
into the cafeteria.
As a response to the recent sex-
uality-based incidents on the Pull-
man campus, the SEJC is discuss-
ing an on-campus reading of “The
Laramie Project”, a play based on
the 1998 killing of Matthew Shepa-
rd. This would take place during
school hours in the quad on the
south end of campus. In order for
the reading to be a timely response
to those recent events, the club
hopes to recruit participants as
soon as possible. The SEJC is also
considering a showing of a film
about Matthew Shepard in the near
future.
Globalization and Latin Amer-
ica are the subjects of a film festi-
val whose opening night will be
on campus on January 22nd and
which the SEJC is promoting in
conjunction with the Portland Cen-
tral America Solidarity Committee,
which has been active since 1979.
The SEJC encourages other student
clubs to sponsor a night of the film
festival, which will run three days
and include six films. Students and
clubs interested in doing so can
contact Amy Burton or the SEJC.
For information about joining
the SEJC or information about
the labor dispute petition or any
of the other events mentioned,
please contact Taj Mahon-Haft at
mahonhaft@hotmail.com or the
SEJC at social.environmental.
justice@gmail.com.
18
Happy Christma-Hanu-
Kwanzaa-Ka to you!
December
is a month of
celebration.
From Christ-
mas, to Hanukkah (Chanu-
ka), and Kwanzaa, different
religions and/or ethnicities all
celebrate miracles of victory
and hope. All three celebra-
tions mentioned here have in-
teresting historical roots, and
all three fight the temptation
to swerve from those roots
into the consumerism of the
modern winter holiday.
HISTORY
Hanukkah is the oldest
of the three, and was first cel-
ebrated on the 25th of Kislev
164 BCE. According to Rabbi
Elizabeth Dunsker, “Chanu-
kah is a celebration of two
miraculous events.” The first
being the military victory in
which a Jewish army defeat-
ed a superior invasion force
of Syrian Greeks under An-
tiocus IV Epiphanes reclaim-
ing their land and temple.
The second miracle was
that the Ner Tamid (the eter-
nal light), which must never
go out, was running out of
oil. Because of the war, no oil
was close by to keep it burn-
ing, yet the oil miraculously
lasted for eight days until the
messengers sent to find the
oil had returned.
Dunsker spoke of another
reason for instating Hanuk-
kah, “We have a very impor-
tant Festival called Sukkot
which takes place in the fall
and lasts for 8 days. The year
of the war with Antiochus,
the Israelites were not able to
celebrate Sukkot in the fall.
When they did celebrate it,
late after their victory, it be-
came Chanukah.
Christmas, as well, has a
deep historical background.
The organizer of NW Colle-
giate Ministries on campus
and an associate pastor at
Cross Point Church, Charlie
Grenade, expounded a little
on the origins of Christmas, “A
number of different cultures
celebrate December 25th,” he
said. “It was a Greco-roman
holiday, a Persian holiday
and yolla.”
According to Grenade,
these other holidays predated
The VanCougar
By Isaac Madsen
The VanCougar
Christian-
ity. December
25th didn’t become
the day for celebrating the
advent (meaning “coming”
or birth) of Christ in the 300’s
and 400’s. [Editor’s note: There
are many opinions as to the
dating of the Christian event,
which corresponds to the Ro-
man celebration of Saturnalia.
Theories range far and wide,
but most align the birth of Je-
sus with a cosmic event (the
star) described in the Bible
and various phenomenon re-
cording in history.]
The third holiday that
many celebrate in Decem-
ber is Kwanzaa. Dr. Thabiti
Lewis, who has organized
Kwanzaa celebrations at
Willamette University, says
Kwanzaa “was first practiced
in the 1970’s by Dr. Karenga
and members of his immedi-
ate community in California,”
he said. “Other community
activists and organizations
soon followed in major cities
like Chicago and New York.”
FEASTS
A feast of some sort is im-
portant to all three holidays.
On the last day of Kwanzaa
there is a big meal. “Many of
the ideas around Kwanzaa are
influenced by West African
harvest rituals,” Lewis said.
“In fact, Kwanzaa roughly
translates to mean ‘in-gather-
ing.’”
Dunsker said, “Most
Jewish Holidays have spe-
cial foods that go along with
them and Chanukah is no ex-
ception.” A common Hanuk-
kah food is potato pancakes
which can be prepared in a
verity of different ways de-
pending on your family’s tra-
dition. The primary food in
Israel for the holidays is “Suf-
ganiyot” (sooof-gan-ee-yot)
which is a kind of jelly filled
donut. There are eight nights
in Hanukkah, none of them
more important than the oth-
er, any of them acceptable for
a Hanukkah meal.
Christmas dinner is a
major part of the Christmas
tradition
in America,
along with such
foods as ginger bread, and
chestnuts. Candies and cook-
ies are big traditions in many
families. Usually ham or tur-
key is served. Today many
foods have been Christmas-
ized for instance Christmas
blend coffees and teas.
SYMBOLS
“The Chanukiah (meno-
rah) is the main symbol, and
it is supposed to be visible,”
said Dunsker. The menorah
is a candle holder with nine
candles one of the nine is sep-
arated from the rest. This can-
dle, called the Samash, is used
to light the other candles one
each day until on the 8th day
when all the candles are lit.
The clearly visible and
most prominent symbol of
Christmas is the Christmas
tree. There are of course many
other symbols associated with
Christmas today including
the symbol/legend of Santa.
Today Santa is a story we tell
children and a fat, happy man
that we frost onto our cookies
or stick in our yards.
“Santa Clause –Saint
Nicholas was really a saint,”
said Grenade. “He was a rich
person who ended up giving
away a lot of his possessions.
Santa Nicolas is the Dutch
pronunciation of Saint Nicho-
las, and how we got the name
Santa.”
There are seven basic
symbols and two additional
ones of Kwanzaa. “Many of
the symbols such as candles,
mats for fruit and vegetables
[Mekka], and ears of corn and
fruit focus on children as the
future and the very notion
of harvest celebration,” said
Lewis. Kwanza also has its
own set of colors red, black,
and green.
REMEMBRANCES
These holidays also share
the tradition of gift giving. In
Hanukkah and Kwanzaa the
giving is centered on children,
and at Christmas it is a tradi-
tion for the whole family.
features
Each holiday encourages
its followers to remember a
certain culture or historical
event, and to strive for the fu-
ture.
Chanukah at its very root
is a victory celebration re-
membering a few brave peo-
ple laid their lives on the line
for God and homeland. “Me-
norahs should be placed in
the window so that every one
passing by can be reminded
that not every one does things
the same, and that we can be
proud of our differences,”
said Dunker.
Christmas is a great vic-
tory for Christians as well. It
is a celebration of the coming
of God [Jesus] into human
flesh, and his subsequent vic-
tory over sin and death on a
Roman cross for forgiveness.
Grenade emphasized the im-
portance of following Jesus’
example of giving, not just at
Christmas, but at all times of
the year.
Kwanzaa has a list of sev-
en principles one for each day
of the celebration. The seven
principles are Unity, Self De-
termination, Collective Work
and Responsibilities, Coop-
erative Economics, Purpose,
Creativity, and Faith.
Each of these is a remind-
er to encourage practitioners
to live out each principle in
their daily lives. Faith, the
last of the seven, also shows
the importance of victory. It
means, according to Lewis,
“To believe with all our hearts
in our parents, our teachers,
our leaders, our people and
the righteousness and victory
of our struggle.”
Now that we have “the
new and improved” holiday
that encourages us to buy
our happiness it is good to
look back at what these three
holidays are based on and re-
member the things that really
matter. Each, in essence, cel-
ebrates a victory. So, whether
you are celebrating a victory
of the past, present or future
have a Merry Holiday sea-
son.
FEATURES December 4, 2008 19
Holiday Recipes from the
VanCougar Staff

Working Woman’s Challah Bread Magic Cookie Bars

By Louise Wynn By Greg Zschomler
Editor-in-Chief
The VanCougar
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
2 cups warm water or milk 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
2 packages dry active yeast 1 (14 ounce) can EAGLE BRAND® Sweetened Condensed
6-7 cups bread flour Milk
1/2 cup sugar 2 cups semisweet chocolate morsels
1 t. salt 1 1/3 cups flaked coconut
1/4 cup oil 1 cup chopped nuts
1 egg
Heat oven to 350 degrees F (325 degrees for glass dish). Coat
Dissolve 13x9-inch baking pan with no-stick cooking spray.
the yeast in warm
(about 75- 120 Combine graham cracker crumbs and butter. Press into
degrees F) water, and bottom of prepared pan. Pour sweetened condensed milk evenly
stir in the sugar and salt. Then add over crumb mixture. Layer evenly with chocolate chips, coconut
about half the flour and mix it up pretty well. and nuts. Press down firmly with a fork.
Then add the eggs and oil, mix, and then mix in the
rest of the flour. Cover the dough with a damp cloth and put it in Bake 25 minutes or until lightly browned. Cool. Cut into
a warm, moist place until it rises to about double its original size. bars or diamonds. Store covered at room temperature.
If you want to hurry, you can put it over the pilot light of your gas
stove, if you have one. Or you can leave it in the fridge overnight.

Divide the dough into three pieces. Cut the first piece into
three pieces and roll each of those into a 16-inch-long rope. Put
the pieces next to each other on an oiled baking sheet and braid
them. Do the same thing with your second of the three large pieces,
making this braid about five inches apart from the first one. With
the last large piece, cut it into six pieces and roll each piece into 17-
inch-long ropes. Make two braids out of these, and put one of them
on top of each of the large braids. Pinch the ends and tuck them
under to make nice loaves.

Bake the loaves in a preheated 375-degree oven for about 35

minutes. Brush the tops of the loaves with melted butter as they cool
on a wire rack.

Cranberry Christmas Salad Maria’s Flan for Christmas Eve

By Louise Wynn
By Katie Wells The VanCougar
Sports & Rec Editor

Melt 2 tbsp sugar with a little water in a loaf pan until the sugar
caramelizes. You can add some grated orange peel to make orange
flan, or almond extract for almond flan, and so on.

Beat together:

4 eggs

1 can sweetened condensed milk

STEP 1: 1 can evaporated milk

16 oz Fresh Cranberries Chopped Course 1 tsp vanilla

10 oz Mini Marshmallows
1 ½ C. Sugar or Splenda Pour the beaten mixture into the sugar-coated loaf pan and put
the pan in a large pan of water to bake at 350 degrees F for about 1
Mix and place in Freezer overnight hour 10 minutes
(Step 1 can stay in the freezer for two weeks before you do
step 2)

STEP 2:

1 - 20 oz can Crushed Pineapple / Drained

1 C Chopped Walnuts
1 pnt. Whipping Cream whipped
With 1 tsp. of Vanilla

Mix and add to step one. Put back in Freezer. This can last
for a month.
20 The VanCougar TAIL END
DECEMBER 2008 The VanCougar Bulletin
To include a bulletin on this page, drop a flyer for a school or club-related event into
Dec. 4: Winter Craft Night our “Bulletins” folder outside VCLS 212 or email vancoug@vancouver.wsu.edu.
Firstenburg Student Commons / 7:00 p.m. Free for registered student organizations!
Gingerbread houses, families welcome.

Dec. 5: WSU-V Community Choir Concert

Administration Building Room 110 / 12:00 p.m.
Music from the Southern Hemisphere

Dec. 5: Collage / Altered Books

THE GIVING TREE
Multimedia Building Room 107 / 12:00 p.m. Between December 1st and 15th in the lobby of the
Bring magazines or other images to cut up.
Library, VCLS. VADM, and Firstenburg.
Dec. 5: Free Holiday Concert
Firstenburg Student Commons / 7:00 p.m. This is a wonderful opportunity to help families in our
The Vancouver Community Concert Band surrounding communities have a blessed Christmas.
Dec. 8: Resume Writing Workshop
Student Commons Room 104 / 4:15 p.m.
Free and open to students and alumni.
Brought to you by SBO and YWCA Clark County

Dec. 10: Financial Aid 101 Workshop If you have any questions or
Administration Building Room 110 / 6:00 p.m. need aditional information,
Blue Lot Parking for $3 for this event. please contact Erin Dengerink
Dec. 10 & Dec. 17: Open Gym at Chinook
Madarang. (360) 546-9551 or
Basketball Open Play / 8:00 p.m. madarang@vancover.wsu.edu
Free. Sign-up at Chinook Gym. or ashley-cormican@wsu.edu

Announcing auditions for the

JUNIOR SYMPHONY OF VANCOUVER
on Thursday, December 11.
Auditions are arranged by appointment only with application, available
online at www.oregonchamberplayers.org. The concert for this session
will be presented Saturday, March 14.

Call the JSV at (360) 696-4084 for applications and further

information, and check out our website at
www.oregonchamberplayers.org

P.M.B. 32, 11500 NE 76TH STREET, SUITE A3, VANCOUVER,

WA 98662
360-696-4084 E-mail: orchplayers@wans.net
www.oregonchamberplayers.org