April 19, 2010 • Issue 16 • Volume 15 | WWW.VANCOUGAR.NING.
| WWW.VANCOUGAR.NING.COM >>
Student Leadership
Recognition
Program celebrates
achievements
PAGE 2
Drag Show page 4
GRANT HELPS PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT BUY 21ST CENTURY EQUIPMENT
Associate Professor Steve Lakatos (right) and TA Justin Walthers (left) demonstrate the infrared eye-tracking workstation in the new
Research Methods Psychology lab.
Prof. Lakatos earns grant
National Science
Foundation awards
WSUV grant money
Katie Wells/Editor-in-Chief
T
o properly deceive
someone without being
detected, one needs to
break down the steps. Trembling
knees exude the nervousness of
false commitment; keep a relaxed
stance. A racing pulse illustrates
the desire to flee; breathe slowly.
Twitching eyes epitomize dishonest
thoughts; maintain eye contact.
A shaky voice announces the lie;
speak calmly. Most importantly,
remove the Galvanic Skin Response
(GSR) electrodes from your fingers
– they have the ability to detect lies.
Seven undergraduate Psychology
students are using GSR amplifiers
and electrodes in their Research
Methods class, Psych 312, to
understand the psychophysiology
From the Chancellor:
Dear Students:
It has come to my attention
that recent efforts by some of our
students to promote a new event on
campus met with some challenges,
Visit our web site for online newspaper, videos, pictures, and more!
The
• Rec Center interns leaving page 10 • DTC Letters to the Editor page 15
of lying. This equipment was
purchased with a $145,032 grant
earned by Associate Professor
Steve Lakatos from the Course
Curriculum and Laboratory
Improvement Program within the
National Science Foundation. The
grant has provided the Psychology
Department with the means to create
a new problem-based learning
laboratory on campus. With help
from his TA Justin Walthers and
others, Professor Lakatos has built
six lab stations within the Research
Methods classroom using the grant
money. A seventh workstation,
sensation and perception, will be
completed this summer.
Undergraduate students taking
Research Methods spent the first
seven weeks of the semester in a
lecture setting while the stations
were being built. After months
of hard work, Professor Lakatos
presented the workstations to his
students allowing them to utilize
their newly learned methods. The
specifically removal of notices
advertising the event. That troubles me.
We come together at WSU
Vancouver to learn. We exist in
an environment that is rich with
new thoughts and ideas. We won’t
Washington State University Vancouver
Katie Wells/The VanCougar
six workstations include infrared
eye-tracking, exercise physiology,
wireless surveying, and human
physiology. For their final class
projects, the 35 students are
developing their own experiments
to analyze problems specified by
Professor Lakatos and Walthers, a
senior majoring in Psychology.
The problems include ‘racial,
gender, or sexual preference
discrimination’, ‘exercise and
motivation’, ‘the psychophysiology
of lying’, ‘test anxiety’, and ‘factors
causing food xenophobia.’ Each
group of five to six students was
assigned to one workstation in
order to create their experiment.
For example, the infrared
eye-tracking station is being
used by the researching group
experimenting with racial, gender,
or sexual preference discrimination.
Participants will observe stimuli
on a computer screen while the
researchers analyze the pupil
dilation, and length and location of
always agree with everything we are
exposed to, but we must learn to be
respectful no matter.
WSU Vancouver offers a safe
environment for individuals to
pursue a myriad of interests. We are
a tolerant university. We welcome
everyone. And we value each other’s
interests and pursuits. All members
of the university community are
INFORMATION
•$145,032 Amount
awarded in NSF grant
•Seven research work-
stations will be available
this summer
•Three proposals
turned down prior to
earning this grant money
their gaze. With data collected,
the students will try to distinguish
the participants’ preferences and
prejudices. According to Walthers,
the Research Methods projects
were very basic in the time before
they received the grant. “When
it came time to do the research
projects, students were very limited
to basically pen and paper surveys.
The benefit now is that students get
a glimpse into what psychological
researchers are actually doing.”
See PSYCHOLOGY on page 2
responsible for creating a working,
learning and living environment that
is free of all forms of discrimination
and harassment. Please join me in
making that clear to everyone who
comes here.
Sincerely,
Hal Dengerink
Chancellor
page 4
Speaker
chosen for
graduation
Alumus and Regent,
Scott Carson, is
keynote speaker for
commencement
Press Release
W
ashington State
University
Vancouver will
welcome Scott Carson, alumnus,
Regent, Washington State
University Board of Regents,
and retired Boeing executive,
as its keynote speaker at the
university’s 2010 commencement
ceremony at 1 p.m. May 15 at the
Sleep Country Amphitheater.
Carson will present
“Leadership Lesson of a
Lifetime” to graduates and their
friends and family.
Until August 2009, Carson
served as president and chief
executive officer of Boeing
Commercial Airplanes where
he was responsible for all of the
company’s commercial airplane
programs and related services,
which in 2008 generated revenues
of more than $28.2 billion.
Named to that position in
September 2006, Carson also
served as a member of the
Boeing Executive Council and as
Boeing’s senior executive in the
Pacific Northwest.
In August 2009, Carson
announced his intention to
retire at the end of the year.
Carson joined Boeing in 1973
as a financial analyst on the B-1
bomber avionics program. He
moved into management in 1976.
Carson enjoyed a successful 36-
year career at the aerospace giant
and continues to support special
projects there.
Born August 1946, Carson
graduated from Washington
State University with a
bachelor’s degree in business
administration. He later received
a master’s degree in the same
discipline from the University of
Washington.
In September 2007, Carson
was appointed to the Washington
State University Board of
Regents by Washington Gov.
Christine Gregoire. Carson also
serves on the board of governors
of the WSU Foundation; is chair
of the WSU College of Business
and Economics national board of
advisors; and is on the College
of Engineering and Architecture
advisory board.
 2 CAMPUS NEWS
Psychology
Continued from page 1
Katie Wells\Editor-in-Chief
T
he new technology
from the grant money is
allowing students to have
a more hands-on learning experience,
and providing an opportunity for
advanced projects. Unfortunately,
the grant did not come easy. Lakatos
was awarded the $145,032 after three
previous proposals to the National
Science Foundation, the first of
which was in 2003. “It’s not just a
pure equipment grant,” said Lakatos.
“You actually have to propose a novel
way of using the equipment. It is a
very popular program—almost 1,000
people apply for it every year, and
they fund only about eleven percent
of those proposals.”
Professor Lakatos explained that
the goal of the grant program is to
help educators in fields of the natural
and social sciences to be able to
upgrade their equipment and change
the way they approach teaching.
The idea of problem-based teaching
evolved in the 1960s through medical
schools and focuses on students
solving actual problems with actual
equipment. According to Lakatos,
Recognizing student
leaders on campus
Nominees may be
awarded one of
four awards
Amy Thielen/Staff Writer
O
n Thursday April
22 at 4:30 p.m.,
students can
gather in the Firstenburg
Student Commons (FSC)
to support fellow student
leaders being honored with
one of four unique awards
from the Student Leadership
Recognition Program. The
program has quickly become
a recent annual tradition at
WSUV, having been held since
spring 2008.
Not only will the event
include the presentation of
the awards to the chosen
student leaders, but desserts,
coffee, and music will be
provided for the guests in
attendance. “The Student
Leadership Recognition
Program serves to honor
students who have exhibited
excellence in leadership
at WSU Vancouver,” OSI
program coordinator Rachel
Samuelson explains. “Students
will be recognized for their
contributions to the campus
and the broader community.
Four student leadership awards
will be presented at the event.”
The four awards being
presented are the Humanitarian
Award, Emerging Leader
Award, Student Leadership
Award, and Club of the Year
Award, each with its own
4/19 Science Seminar in VELS 12 from 3 - 4 p.m.: “Leeches, Logs and Loadings” by Associate Professor James E Gawel, PhD
The months spent
assembling these
workstations, which
Lakatos and Walthers
did by hand, were very
much worth it according
to the two. Each of the
35 students in the class
is actively participating
in their experiments and
projects, and all seem to
be enthusiastic about the
direction the program is
heading. Lakatos made
it clear to his students
that he was not going
to mediate the groups –
they would need to find
each other’s strengths
and weaknesses in order
to work together as a
real research team. The
Katie Wells\The VanCougar students do come to
These undergraduate Psychology students are running an experiment to see if music affects the body physiologically while exercising. Walthers and him for
help, but they essentially
students learn quickly and retain stick with you a lot longer.” way I proposed the grant was that we have free reign of their own projects.
more when taught in this format. “It’s For that reason, Professor Lakatos were going to bring these two classes From April 19 to 23, the students
amazing how little is retained from is hoping to combine the Research together.” Starting this summer, will rotate to each workstation in
the current statistics class,” Lakatos Methods class with the other required Lakatos plans to integrate the classes order to be experimental participants
admitted. “That’s not good. That psychology class, Statistics. “The as both an experiment and stepping in their classmates’ final projects.
means that we, as professors, aren’t stats and methods go together,” he stone to the future of the Psychology “As the first Methods class using
doing our job because we are teaching explained. “You collect data, and coursework. “Since the teaching this equipment, this is really kind of
it in a way that encourages people to then you analyze it. So the problem of the research techniques and the a trial run, where we do all of the
cram it in and then forget it. I think is, students would learn all of these analysis techniques will be side by debugging,” said Lakatos. “Things
that if you have to learn the statistical statistical techniques, but they’d say, side, the students will go, ‘Okay, now are working well. There haven’t been
technique in the context of collecting ‘Okay, so I know the formula for I understand why I’m learning this,’” too many problems.”
data at these workstations, then it will this, but what do I use it for?’ So the said Lakatos.
specific eligibility criteria.
Students were able to apply
for any of the four awards
themselves or nominate a
student or club they believed
was deserving of an award.
The Humanitarian Award
seeks to recognize individuals
who make “significant
contributions to the community
with their time, actions and
dedication.” The Emerging
Leader Award will honor an
individual who has exhibited
leadership qualities in his or
her first year as a student at
WSUV, either as a freshman,
transfer, or graduate student.
Nominees for the Student
Leadership award are students
who have demonstrated
leadership achievements
throughout their careers at
WSUV. Finally, the Club of
the Year Award will honor
an “outstanding Registered
Student Organization (RSO)”
which “demonstrates quality
leadership attributes, is
actively engaged in campus
life and promotes student
involvement.”
All WSUV students as well
as faculty and staff working
with student leaders are
welcome to attend the event.
Samuelson explains that there
will be a slideshow of student
clubs and organizations shown
at the event and any students
wishing to have their group
included in the slideshow
should send photos of their
group’s activities to osi@
vancouver.wsu.edu

Historical review:
Dates to remember
James Monroe
April 28, 1758
Neal Q. Herrick/Contributing Writer
Let us . . . promote intelligence among the people
as the best means of preserving our liberties.
- James Monroe, in his first inaugural address
Earth Day M
onroe placed a high value on
planting
education as a means of “promoting
intelligence among the people” – this
enabling us to “preserve” our own liberties. He
was the last of our presidents to have fought in the
Revolution, dropping out of The College of William
and Mary at age 18 to join the Continental Army. He
was wounded at Trenton and fought at Brandywine,
Monday, April 19 Germantown and Monmouth, attaining the rank of
Lieutenant Colonel. He became our 5th President
in 1817.
Monroe: Political Philosopher
Monroe believed that the US Constitution was
ushering in the most important “epoch” in the history
of mankind. He wrote, “if we fall, the fault will
be in ourselves, and we shall thereby give the most
discouraging example to
Candid Cougs
mankind that the world
ever witnessed.” He
added, “If they” (the
people) “make judicious
selections for office,
reward those who have
Jake Kleinschmidt/Managing Editor merit, and punish those
who commit offenses,
“If you had your own TV show, what would it be called?” the whole movement”
(toward representative
democracy) “cannot fail
Geoffrey Wallace – DTC to be . . . successful.”
Why Did I Do That? Why not? America: Past and
Present
In Federalist 9,
Hamilton predicted
that we would become
Golnaz Koloushani - Accounting “the broad and solid
Goli’s Life foundation of other
edifices, not less
magnificent . . .” A
Jenny Mockford – Business century ago, Lord
Just Another Jenny Acton could still write
about our forefathers’
ideas “bursting forth”
from America and
transforming the world.
Dawn Freeman – Biology Today, however, our
The Slow Road to Insanity national conduct is far
from exemplary. Our
judiciary opens the
floodgates to special
Kathleen Hughes – English interest campaign
Shut Up, Nobody Likes You funding. Our legislature
trades its constitutional
powers for donations and
favors. Our presidents
Jon Perry – DTC
The Many Lives of the Chameleon Caffe Piccolo Paradiso
309 NE Birch
Auna Zingelmann – HD Camas, WA 98607
Beautiful Disaster. Not Really. 360-834-7044
Nice people, fresh coffee and pastries, pretty setting.
VANCOUGAR.NING.COM
4/20 Health Professions Graduate School Fair in Firstenburg Student Commons from 10 a.m. to noon. Free and open to the public!
CAMPUS NEWS 3
usurp congressional
powers, illegally
invade other nations
and authorize torture.
According to The Nation,
our mercenaries “are
at the center of a secret
program” (in Pakistan)
“in which they plan
targeted assassinations”
and “snatch and grabs.”
America’s “fall from Neal Q. Herrick
grace” is not the fault
of our presidents, judges or representatives. They
are simply acting rationally.. They weigh the
consequences of honest, lawful behavior (frustration
and reduced campaign donations) against the
consequences of corrupt, lawless behavior (gifts,
favors and increased campaign donations) – and
choose the latter. The fault is not theirs; it is ours.
Monroe tells us that, when acts of the federal
government are constitutional but objectionable,
“the people might correct the evil by an amendment
of the Constitution.” We have not done so.
Monroe’s Philosophy of Government
Monroe took a realistic view of human nature.
He said, “The principles and passions of men are
always the same . . . Self-interest is the ruling
passion.” The provisions of our Constitution
determine whether it is in the self-interest of our
civil officers to be lawful – or lawless. These
provisions are established by us and “unalterable
by the government”
Learning From Monroe
There are key requirements we could establish
for our civil officers that would make lawfulness
in their self interest. Term limits and a prohibition
against the use of private funds in federal elections
come to mind. But perhaps the most important
requirement would be for the swift and certain
removal and disqualification of miscreant civil
officers. Monroe tells us, “. . . impeachment . . .
is the main spring of the machine of government.
. . If (it is) preserved in full vigor . . . every branch
of government will perform its duty.” We should
now reestablish impeachment in its full vigor by,
among other things, transferring the power to try
most impeachments to the judiciary.
The Road to Governmental Reform
Genuine reform cannot be achieved by statute.
Statutes are the province of Congress and the
congressional fox cannot be relied upon to guard
the chicken coop. Genuine reform can be achieved,
however, by constitutional amendment, since
amendments are the province of the people. Thirty-
eight state legislatures (or state conventions) could
finalize an “anti-corruption” amendment in the face
of the certain opposition from all three branches of
our federal government.
Neal Herrick retired from the University of
Michigan as a Visiting Professor. His most recent
book, After Patrick Henry: A 2nd American
Revolution (Amazon.com) was awarded an IPPY
gold medal for best book of 2009 in the “freedom
fighter” category.
 4 STUDENT INVOLVEMENT
Brothers From Different Mothers
Professional jugglers
showing off tricks
Jake Kleinschmidt/Managing Editor
O
n the April 13,
professional jugglers
performed in VADM 110
showing off their various tricks that
were intermixed with exchanges of
humorous insults aimed at each other.
The two performers, Matt Baker
and Alex Zerbee, teamed up over a
decade ago and have dedicated their
lives to the stage.
The brothers, who prefer to be
known simply as Matt and Alex,
are both products of the Northwest.
Matt comes from Eugene, OR and
Alex from Olympia, WA. Matt and
Alex have both been performing
for 15 years. They met at a foot bag
competition and decided to team
up doing the show ‘Brothers from
Different Mothers’.
Their show at WSUV consisted
of acts such as the Chinese Yo-Yo,
which is an hourglass shaped object
that rides on a string. As they juggled
the Yo-Yo’s back and forth they
also exchanged insults that range
anywhere from internet humor to
topics of today’s interests. At one
point, Matt commented that he
was “sweating like Sarah Palin at a
geography exam.”
Some of their acts involved the
audience. Participants either juggled,
Performers Chiffon Valentine (top left), Syrin Scities-Trimaine (below left), Aroura B. Star (center), Vegas St. James (below right), and Joey Darling (above right) gave the audience an unforgettable show.
04/25 Brunch Cruise Aboard the Portland Spirit with unlimited food and beverages. Tickets in OSI for $8 on 04/20
Alex Zerbee juggling the Chinese Yo-Yo.
Unleash the Prom Drag Queen
Catwalk provides stage for
Drag Queens and King
Katie Wells\Editor-in-Chief
O
n Friday, Apr. 9, Cougar
Pride transformed the VFSC
into a night club complete
with loud music, flashing lights,
launched apples, or had a writing
pen knocked out of their mouth by
juggling pins. Meanwhile, Matt
showed the audience how he gave
a new meaning to the phrase “hat
trick” by juggling several hats
onto his head or off of his elbows.
Their comedy act earned them
a spot on Americas Got talent,
and they have a Guinness World
Record from 2007. Alex himself
boasts about being the eighth best
foot bag player in the world. The
brothers have toured all over the
Globe. Matt and Alex have even
entertained U.S. Soldiers.
Before Sarah Palin became a
household name, she was one of
the audience members chosen for
one of their acts. It ended with
Alex kissing her on the cheek.
Since then their popularity has
taken to new heights, and their
reviews from celebrities and major
media outlets have been positive.
Thanks to the efforts of
student Aaron Clevenger we
were fortunate enough to have
the brothers on campus. Videos
of the brothers performance
including more information and
even links to their facebook and
youtube page are located at www.
differentmothers.com
Aaron Clevenger is currently
the president of the Foot bag
and Juggling club. For more
Joe Creager/The VanCougar information about the club, contact
him at aaron.clevenger@email.wsu.edu.
paparazzi, shirtless bartenders, a cat-
walk, and Drag performers.
The five performers, Queens
Aroura B. Star, Syrin Scities-Trimaine,
Joey Darling, and Chiffon Valentine,
and King Vegas St. James performed
original dance routines to popular
songs.
See DRAG QUEEN on page 16
Katie Wells/The VanCougar

Club of the Week: Who is John Galt Club?
Discussing the
philosophy of Aristotle
and Ayn Rand
Rup Brar/Staff Writer
W
hen Gene Ligman
applied for a culture is based on
scholarship to the Ayn
Rand Institute two years ago, he was
simply seeking some funds for his
education, but instead he adopted a
philosophy for life.
“I did not win the scholarship, in
fact I did not even get past the first
round,” Ligman admits. “However,
shortly after that, I was contacted by
the Ayn Rand Institute about starting
this club on campus.” Ligman
brought this idea to the club fair, and
started the first ever Objectivist club
on campus, last fall.
In their meetings, members delve
into discussions on current events
and Ayn Rand’s writings. Currently,
there are about 10 active members.
“Most members are business and
engineering students,” says Dr. Eric
Mapes, who serves as the faculty
advisor for the club.
Objectivism is a philosophy based
on Aristotelian principles, which
was used by our founding fathers
used when formulating our nation’s
political structure, explains Ligman.
The right to life, liberty and property
are all Aristotelian ideas.
“And a right is a protected ability
for you to pursue what you want.”
That does not mean somebody is
going to hand it you, you have to
Night in Japan
Traveling to the world of
the Japanese
Kelly Hudson/Staff Writer
On Apr. 8, WSUV took a trip to
the Far East; Japan, specifically.
Multicultural Events Coordinator,
Evan Moriwaki took the event
participants there through traditional
Japanese activities, food, and film.
Students could learn origami, or
the art of paper folding into animals,
objects, or almost anything else
imaginable. One of the most well
known figures is a crane, and a few
cranes could be seen resting on the
table in front of students who had
learned to make them. While some
people participated in that, others
socialized and anticipated the movie,
as well as the traditional food that
was being set out for them.
Once the table was prepared,
students lined up to taste the variety
of food. The table featured many
different types of sushi as well as
teriyaki chicken skewers, edamame,
and miso soup. Edamame are green
soybeans served in their pods. Miso
soup is made with tofu and is usually
served in a bowl, where the person
consuming it drinks it straight from
the bowl instead of using a spoon.
Later during the movie, mochi
was served. Mochi is ice cream
wrapped in pounded sticky rice. The
flavors featured at the festival were
strawberry, mango, and green tea.
4/27 Last Chance Luau: hula performances and lessons plus a delicious Hawaiian barbecue from 4-7 p.m. in VFSC
STUDENT INVOLVEMENT 5
downfall. does not offer any philosophy classes
“A philosophy of a teaching Objectivism.
nation is at the core of Along with finishing his Bachelor’s
its politics. Government in Mechanical Engineering, Ligman
is a function of politics. is also working to start up a business.
Politics is based on the “If the business takes off, I will
culture that is prevalent be here and so will the club,” said
in a nation…and the Ligman.
The John Galt Club meets every
the philosophy of the Wednesday at 3 p.m. in VCLS 225.
people that make up that Anybody wishing to discuss or debate
region,” said Ligman. the workings of this philosophy is
Individualism and welcomed.
independence is at the
core of American ideals.
Ligman fiercely 5 PRINCIPLES OF
opposes the increasing OBJECTIVISM
control by government
of an individual’s life. • Reality based What we
According to Ligman, perceive is real.
Health Care Reform,
Chau Nguyen/The VanCougar pushed forward by
Dr. Eric Mapes, a math instructor, and his student, Joey Smokey, love discussing philosophy and are two Obama administration, • Epistemology What do
of the most frequent members of the club
is a terrible step toward
I know and how do I know
socialism. it. How do I validate my
pursue it,” said Ligman. Galt asked a very important question Students can definitely benefit knowledge?
Ayn Rand, founder of Objectivism, and that was, ‘What is right,’” said from understanding and adopting
was a Russian-American author/ Ligman. According to Ligman, with this philosophy. Familiarity of • Ethics Building a moral
philosopher. Rand escaped the Objectivism, there is only one person Rand’s ideas can deeply impact how
communist regime in the Soviet who can choose what is right, and well a student performs in school.
code based on what you value.
Union in 1926, and became a that person is the individual. What is Ligman explains that, “if a student
All good things come from
fierce critic of Communist ideals. good is what is of value to you as an understands this philosophy, they acting in your self interest.
Objectivism ideals adhere to minimal individual. will understand the law of cause
governmental control, an individual’s Rand’s philosophy has also drawn and effect. So if I want to have good • Politics Capitalism-right to
right to own and keep property, much controversy over the years. grades, I have to work for it, if I want own what you earn, and keep
and a strong belief in principles of Her works drew strong criticism from to get scholarships, I have to get good
capitalism. academia during her time. Recently, grades, and if I want to get a good job
what you earn. There are no
Rand’s fictional works became her ideals have been hailed by the or get into a graduate school, I have
other rights.
the platform for her philosophy. John Tea Party Protestors, while criticism to get scholarships.” Objectivism and
Galt, the club’s eponymous mascot, has also grown from the left. Critics Aristotelian logic are the only two • Aesthetics Art and the
is the protagonist in Atlas Shrugged, blame her ideals of selfishness philosophies that teach the law of beauty of all things.
Rand’s most famous novel. “John and free markets on the economic cause and effect. Currently, WSUV
While everyone was enjoying
their food, the main event started—a
Japanese film titled “Zatoichi”
(2003 in Japan, 2004 in the U.S.),
starring Takeshi Kitano. This film
has won many awards in many
different countries, including awards
such as best director, best film, best
supporting actress, among many
more. The movie is about a masseur
who also happens to be a master
swordsman. The only problem? He is
advanced in age and blind. However,
this adds to some of the quirkiness
of the movie because he can easily
defeat any enemy, even if he is far
outnumbered. He is also known for
his skills in gambling. This movie
has many fight sequences, but it also
has many comical scenes, usually at
the expense of the bumbling nephew,
Shinkichi (Gadarukanaru Taka), for
example, when he takes an umbrella
with holes into the pouring rain or
attempts to teach his “students” how
to fight when they are obviously
better than he is.
Where is Moriwaki taking WSUV
next? He says that the Far East Film
Festival is only the first of many
events to come. He is planning on
taking us to Hawaii next, where we
will take part in a luau. The event is
planned for April 22nd, so all who are
interested in a mini “vacation” should
come! Find out more information
about this and other future events
on the ASWSUV web site. Happy
travels!
 6 FEATURE

Free Koug: Living on a budget MLIA College Comfort

Cheap activities for the When: Thurs., April 22 What: Art Party Life is pretty normal today.
Where: Clark College When: Sat., April 24 Submit your own at www.mylifeisaverage.com or via the newspaper!
average, poor, college Time: 1:30 to 4 p.m. Where: The Brickhouse Bar &
student Cost: FREE Grill, 109 W 15th St.
This year marks the 20th Time: 6:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. Today, I realized that whenever people post asking people out or proposing, they have to
Triana Collins\ACE Editor wait a couple of months for their story to actually get posted. That sucks. MLIA
Anniversary of the gift of the Cherry Cost: $5 suggested donation

O
MG... WTF... We’re
almost done... WWJD?
I think he’d finish
everyone’s backed up homework in
one night, complete all projects early,
and then make sure it’s sunny and
hot all summer long. Anyways, like
I said, we’re almost done, and yes I
know you’re so busy, and you’re so
stressed, and you’re pulling your hair
out and eating it for dinner because
you’re so poor. But you gotta have
a fun night once in a while, so here’s
some FREE suggestions.
What: Meet the Mayor
When: Wed., April 21
Where: Hudson’s Bay High
School Commons
Time: 6:30 to 8:30 p.m.
Cost: FREE
If you’ve never met the mayor
before, here’s a great opportunity to
tell him what’s on your mind in an
informal setting.
What: Sakura Festival
Trees to Vancouver from the former
president of Japan, which led to
Joyo, Japan becoming a Sister City
of Vancouver. The event will include
all things Japanese, including tea
ceremony demonstrations, Sakura
dance performances, music, and
martial arts demonstrations.
What: Native American Ceremony
When: Sat., April 24
Where: Great Meadow, 5th St.
& Fort Vancouver Way
Time: 10 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Cost: FREE
This Native American Ceremony
is a memorial to remember Chief
Redheart’s band, and will include
singing in honor of the ancestors,
the Riderless Horse (Empty Saddle)
ceremony, the Sacred Pipe ceremony,
and recognition of veterans. After all
the ceremonies, a traditional Native
American meal will be prepared
and served by the Northwest Indian
Veterans Association with donations
accepted.
This event is kinda free, if you
wanna be really cheap. But might as
well give to a good local cause: the Today I got a phone call from a school. The teacher asked me if John could be let out early
all new, all awesome, Space Artist from school. I said “sure” and hung up. I don’t have a son named John. You’re welcome
Collective. They are throwing a John. MLIA
“Spring Fling Art Party” where paint
will be flung, and music will be sung
by local bands Brother Elf and Little The other day, I was complaining to my sister about how expensive books are. I then told
Band. Being that it’s in a bar, there her that I would read the book and then return it, so I could get my money back. I was
will most definitely be booze for your pretty proud of this idea and wondered why nobody thought of this before. My sister then
enjoyment as well. pointed out that someone did-its called a library. MLIA
What: Bike Ride
When: Sat., May 1
Today, I went to a French restaurant in Chinatown. All the employees were Mexican. MLIA
Where: all over Clark County
Time: 7 a.m.
Cost: FREE
The Vancouver Bicycle Club has Today my grandpa and I were having a bonding moment when I told him I liked my coffee
organized their 27th Annual Ride with cream and sugar. He told me he liked his coffee the way he liked his women, hot,
Around Clark County, a family blonde, and sweet. I love old people. MLIA.
bicycle ride that offers rides of 18,
35, 65, or 100 miles. Rest stops,
mechanics, road support, and more
A couple of weeks ago, we were watching one of those really easy videos in US History
are provided. For more information about US rights. One of the questions asked what ‘freedom of the press’ meant. One of the
and starting places, go to vbc-usa.
multiple choice answers? “The right to press all of the buttons on the elevator.” Never have
com. I been more proud of my rights. MLIA

Tiger (born in 1950, 1962, 1974, 1986): This
is YOUR year. You’ll have the chance to take your skills and
abilities farther than ever before, and look forward to increased
income and benefits. You’ll find new friends, but don’t rush into
anything.
Today, my friend put as his facebook status “going to go comatose for a few hours, hal-
lucinate vividly, then maybe suffer amnesia about the whole experience.” I will never call
it sleeping again. MLIA.
Monkey (born in 1956, 1968, 1980, 1992):
You favor action, but in this year of increased activity, you’ll
have to be more careful than usual. You’re good at juggling Today, I looked both ways before I jumped off the diving board. MLIA
many different aspects of your life, but don’t drop the ball. Let
family come first.

Rabbit (born in 1951, 1963, 1975, 1987):
Things are happening this year, and if you stay tuned to what’s
going on around you, you can turn chance into opportunity. But
keep balance in your life, especially with your family, and don’t
move too fast.
Rooster (born in 1957, 1969, 1981, 1993):
You’ll experience lots of ups and downs this year, but if you
keep your wits about you and stay flexible, you’ll turn every
situation to good. Take the advice of friends and don’t get
carried away by new activities.
This year, all the freshmen at my school were given new MacBooks. Since I know how to
work the Mac’s Speech Recognition application, I programed my little brother’s computer
so that every time he says “This is so hard” in class, it will respond with “That’s what she
said”. Now even his computer will have a dirty mind. MLIA

Dragon (born in 1952, 1964, 1976, 1988):
This year has a vitality that suits your personality well. Lots of
possibilities are opening up, but you may not be the one selected
for a job you wanted. Take care of your health. Your family will
bring you greatest joy.
Snake (born in 1953, 1965, 1977, 1989): The
Tiger year will be a tricky one for you, especially in matters of
work and finance. Curb your independent tendencies and focus
on working well with colleagues. Be careful about giving advice
to friends.
Horse (born in 1954, 1966, 1978, 1990): This
is your year to take advantage of networking opportunities
at work. Cooperation is essential. It’s also a good year for
family and friends. Be especially careful with your money and
investments.
Goat (born in 1955, 1967, 1979, 1991): You
like life to be calm and even, but it won’t happen that way in the
year of the Tiger. So take advantage of the changes and bolster
your creativity to deal with novel situations. Explore new ideas
and be flexible.
Dog (born in 1946, 1958, 1970, 1982): Your Today, I learned that trying to roll under a closing garage door isn’t as easy as they make it
fortunes will improve this year, with your personal and family
look in the movies. MLIA
life especially favored. Don’t be disappointed by setbacks but
take advantage of new opportunities. Control your spending.
Pig (born in 1947, 1959, 1971, 1983): Your A while back, I sent my German penpal a ‘Where’s Waldo’ t-shirt because she loves those
outgoing nature will help you deal with the excitement of this books. It got lost in transit. MLIA
year, but keep confidences to yourself and be discreet. Take time
to travel with your family and friends, who will help you deal
with disappointment.
Today I bought a goldfish and named it Silver. MLIA
Rat (born in 1948, 1960, 1972, 1984):
Relationships look good for the summer, with some romance
to add excitement, but try to avoid misunderstandings. This is a
year of change, with travel opportunities and financial benefits Today, my professor wrote “booger” on the whiteboard. This is what college is like? MLIA
if you plan well.
Ox (born in 1949, 1961,1973, 1985): You
like to have control of your life, but events may overtake you Best of the Month:
this year. Stay alert in your work, and you may have chances
to improve your role there. Be cautious with money, and enjoy Today, my friends and I started a new game of Legend Of Zelda, Twilight Princess. My
your home and social life. friend couldn’t think of a name to give to her horse, so I put “Yo Mama”. Then while she
was playing, different characters in town said things like “Dont ride Yo Mama too hard, you
Madame L might hurt her.” We have never laughed so hard while playing this game. MLIA
Staff Astrologist

They all look different, or at least largest collection of key chains

There are negotiations being made
The Rant have different logos. There range
from having lamps on a key chain
to being that of loony toons. Some
belongs to Brent Dixon of Valdosta,
Georgia, USA, with 41,418 non-
duplicated key chains”.
that are going to answer all of
Jake Kleinschmidt/Managing Editor key chains are very functional, and
some are completely useless. As a
Epic. If you don’t have your own
key chain collection then I don’t
your questions and solve all of your

Y problems. That’s all I can tell you

ou know what I don’t
hate?
I don’t hate key chains.
No, seriously. Key chains are
awesome. Key chains can be little
memories of everywhere you’ve
been. If you went to the zoo, there are
key chains. If you went to an Airport,
there are key chains. If you went
on the stern wheeler, they are key
chains,.If you went to a gas station,
yes, there are key chains.
Also key chains have this cool
natural feature of being collectable.
matter of fact, some key chains are know what to say, something is
not even key chains — like those obviously wrong with you because
fake climbing clips you get from the key chains are the coolest thing in the right now.
army work great for holding onto key world. Some people collect coins, but
chains. key chains are where it’s at.
Another great thing about key
chains is that they are easy to collect
due to the way they are made. You
Write in to Apply to work for
can attach them all together and have vancouged@ The VanCougar
a giant ball of key chains. I have my vancouver.wsu.edu next year
own ball that I have been working on
since I was just a kid. My collection to have your letter
is about the size of a beach ball, but I published and your www.vancougar.ning.com
don’t beat the world record.
According to Guinness, “the
voice heard

4/22 HD Club End of the Year Potluck at 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. in VMCB Conference Room 205
 FEATURE 7

(TFLN):
TXTS FRM LST NGHT

START REAdy foR chAllEngES.

HOME I BESTNIGHTS I WORSTNIGHTS I SUBMIT

(847): Everyone was high five-

ing on their a walks of shame
home. God im gonna miss
college life

(204): some guy just walked up

to the bench i was on, back-
flipped off of it, gave me his
number and walked away....i
START TAking on chAllengeS. love this city

(770): theyre selling pepper

spray in the courtyard. hellooo
atl

(613): The guy in the library

beside me just whipped out an
entire loaf of bread, a knife and
START STAnding ApART
pART
pART.
ART. a container of peanut butter and
is proceeding to make multiple
sandwiches.

(812): Contrary to what I yelled

at them last night, it turns out
campus police CAN arrest
people...

(214): Just saw a guy doing

jumping jacks at the gym. I
don’t even have to create a
punch line for that

(740): Yeah I’m buying him

lunch right now because I shot
START REAdy foR lEAdERShip. him with the fire extinguisher
last night

(512): He gave Paula abdoul a

run for her crazy

(714): we can’t become the

START climbing higheR. bulimic house in the complex
dude. Besides, you need teeth
for your career.

(270): Hey, don’t feel sorry for

me, the two girls in front of me
just ordered 18 dollars worth of
taco bell. Life could be worse.

START REAdy foR ThE fuTuRE. (860): So I purposely left a

bunch of metal in my pockets so
that the smokin hot TSA officer
would give me a pat down.
Airport security just got fun

START TAking chARge. (503): He said I was the smart-

est girl he had ever dated, that
should have been a sign from
the beginning

(519): I didn’t know it was

possible to make picking up dog

START STRong.
SM
shit look sexy.
(519): She did the bend and
snap...

There’s strong. Then there’s Army Strong. (973): we ate a 40 pack of string
Enroll in the Army ROTC Leader’s Training cheese and watched an entire
washing machine cycle.
Course at WSU. When you attend this 4-week
leadership development course, you’ll take on (248): We aren’t going to mix
hockey and sex texts tonight.
new challenges. And be on course for a career (440): I totally agree. all sexting
as an Army Officer. is on hold till after the games
over.
(248): Playoffs. This shit is
To get started, contact CPT Lontai serious.
or email: lontai@up.edu. (919): It’s hard for me to sext
him when the picture i see on
my phone when he texts me is
PAID LEADER TRAINING SUMMER INTERNSHIPS AVAILABLE FOR WSU STUDENTS! his facebook default of him and
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©2008. paid for by the united States Army. All rights reserved.

http://www.vancougar.ning.com
4/23 Park Clean Up Day 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. at Salmon Creek Klineline Pond learn more at development@nexo.com
 8 STUDENT GOVERNMENT

Senators prepare for Fall ‘10 semester Invites you to:

Reflecting on the past
semester and looking
at the future
Erik Cummings/Sports Editor
confusion regarding the Programming
Committee is thought to have lead to
the resignation of a few senators and
has since been renamed the Campus
Affairs Committee.
involvement in student government.
He began to work with President
Nick Ferderer, then ran for Senate.
Since then, he has been spending
time observing the senate at work,
that included the executive staff, as
well as the senate, also addressed the
situation.
Senator Blake Smith hopes
to advance his idea for a Non-
CELEBRATE
at the:
“End-of-the Year
Potluck”
When: Thursday, April 22nd, 2010
Time: 11:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.
Where: MCB Conference Room, 205
Five reasons you don’t want to

A
s the year draws to its
conclusion, the senators
of the Associated
Students of Washington State
University Vancouver are as busy as
ever. Undeterred by a considerable
turnover rate, the assembly pushes
toward the horizon and seeks greater
connection between the student
government and the students at large.
Fall and Spring semesters
found at least five members of the
ASWSUV senate leaving or, in one
case, dismissed from their positions.
Replacement elections rose to
commonality. One could not visit
the OSI from November to January
without hearing of a new initiative
to achieve quorum. The number of
senators constantly fell below the
required eleven members needed to
vote on legislature.
One source of blame appeared
to stem from the programming
committee. Various current members
of the senate admit that the committee
lacked purpose or a clear objective.
“In Pullman, the program oversees
a lot of clubs,” says Senator Aaron
Bruckner. “Here, it doesn’t.” The
Bruckner was the second choice
of a late January election, his fourth
attempt at entering the ASWSUV
senate proving successful. The first
choice among the senate members
was Jeff Sanders. A sudden work
schedule change caused Sanders to
resign a few days after his special
election. Former Pro Temporae
Robert Chu resigned for personal
reasons. Khoa Ho was dismissed
after a second unannounced absence
from a mandatory meeting. Jake
Kleinschmidt left to pursue the
Managing Editor Position in the
VanCougar and Harrison Polo, who
had entered during an early November
election, also left for personal reasons
in February. Spring Atkinson left to
run for Public Relations Director on
the Executive Staff.
Now that the formal elections have
finished, many of the specially elected
senators have been retained for the
coming year, including Bruckner and
Haeylyn Valdez. Other new senators
are Nalina Bauer, Blake Smith, Nick
Dust, and Marshal Richards.
Dust cited his involvement
in the walkout rally as the start
of his aspirations toward greater
planning for next year. He hopes to
concentrate on studying the budget.
“I want to know what the students
want to spend their money on,” Dust
says. “It’s their money.”
Among the new and re-elected
senators alike, a movement has
formed to increase student knowledge
of their government. Bruckner plans
to push for more tabling by the
Senators as part of this movement.
Tabling involves sitting at a table in
the Free Speech zones on campus,
and talking to passing students.
Valdez is also a proponent of this,
seeking to “raise awareness of events
and activities.” One idea includes
having tee-shirts made for senators
to raise student awareness of who is
representing them.
To decrease turnover, Pro
Temporae Kevin Guzman is seeking
to build a greater sense of community
among the senators. Events over
the summer, bowling events, and
other activities have served to build
bonds between members in the past.
Furthermore, such events can provide
information on how each senator
operates, as well as their various
strengths and weaknesses. A meeting
Traditional Student Club now that
he is in a position to learn how the miss this potluck:
government operates. At the Spring 1. Celebrate your
Gala that took place in March, Smith accomplishments
this year as an HD
mentioned his hopes to get his idea
Club member and
off the ground in his coming term.
as a student!
He expounded on the idea in a
recent interview: “Basically, the non- 2. Receive your HD
traditional student is over twenty-five Club certificate (if
or married or with children.” Such applicable)
a club would aim to pool resources
and knowledge of the non-traditional 3. Come and meet the
students in an effort to trade awesome new HD
Club leadership
information. Managing a job and
team!
attending school is difficult enough.
When one also has to manage family, 4. Chat with the
it can become a chore. The Non- amazing HD
tradition Student Club would aim faculty!
to form a support group for people
struggling with these obstacles. 5. Lots of good food!
The fresh ideas and new faces
The HD Club will supply fruit
among the senate have redrawn and vegetable trays and drinks.
the game plan for the coming year. Please e-mail humandevelopment@
With the experienced and returning nexogroups.com and let us know
what you would like to bring to
senators such as Guzman and the potluck. If you are bringing
Melissa Boles, and the passionate, something that needs to be warmed or
newly elected senators such as Dust refrigerated, the HD microwave and
refrigerator will be available for use.
and Bruckner, there is new hope for
purpose and a greater sense of unity
than ever before.
Stay tuned.

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 STUDENT GOVERNMENT 9

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Openings at Hollister, Co. for both full-time and part-time positions; For more information call 360.254.6991
 10 SPORTS AND RECREATION

The Kings fall; the Clippers dull against blazer fury
scoreless for the first time in a game
Aldridge plays this year.
business as usual In the first quarter, the Blazers
took a quick lead as guard Andre
Amy Thielen\Staff Writer Miller scored four of the Blazers’
Blazers’ lead to 70-64. At the close
of the quarter, the score was close
with the Blazers leading by just three
points, 72-69.
Similarly to the previous quarters,
Aldridge had to sit out practice before
the game, it did not hurt his playing
as he posted a double-double with 27
points and 12 rebounds.
Early in the first quarter the score
Blazers scored frequently near the
beginning of the third quarter. At
about four minutes into the quarter,
Aldridge scored and was fouled.
He made the free throw to give the

T
he Blazers, at 47-30,
had at least secured
the eighth playoff
spot before the team’s
game versus the Sacramento Kings
Sat. April 3, but the players knew
that any extra wins in the final two
weeks of the season might improve
their playoff position. As a team, the
Blazers played strong and prevailed
over the Kings (at 24-53), 98-87.
Though several players scored
at least 20 points, including usual
high-scoring guard Brandon Roy
and forward LaMarcus Aldridge, a
notable performance was given by
forward Nicolas Batum. Batum had
a very successful game, scoring 21
points, including a team leading five
3-pointers and a team leading three
blocks. The effort by Batum helped
to make up for his performance in the
Blazers’ previous game against the
Denver Nuggets, when he was held
first six points of the game. The
two teams frequently exchanged
leads throughout the first quarter.
Batum scored the second of his five
3-pointers to give the Blazers a 20-18
lead. At the end of the first quarter,
the Blazers led 32-25.
Despite their poor team record,
the Kings valiantly battled in the
second quarter. The Blazers shot only
46 percent in the second quarter and
were hampered by several turnovers.
Batum continued to play well in the
second quarter though, recording two
blocks and another 3-pointer. The
score at halftime was close with the
Kings leading the Blazers 49-48.
The two teams stayed close at
the beginning of the third quarter,
constantly exchanging leads. Miller
had an impressive quarter, scoring
12 points, which helped to give the
Blazers a 62-59 lead. With about two
minutes left in the quarter, Roy made
two shots helping to increase the
the Kings managed to battle back to
tie the Blazers 80-80 with about six
minutes left in the quarter. Batum
continued his 3-point streak by
making two more 3-pointers and
added a block, which helped to give
the Blazers a 91-85 lead. The Blazers
went on a 15-5 run near the end of the
fourth quarter, culminating in a 98-97
win and the Blazers won their seventh
straight Blazers-Kings matchup.
The Blazers (now at 48-30)
continued their winning streak by
beating the LA Clippers (at 27-51)
in Los Angeles 93-85 on Wed. April
7. Though the Clippers have one
of the league’s worst records, the
team played aggressively against
the Blazers, coming behind from as
many as 21 points to come within as
close as one point of the Blazers.
While Batum played well in the
team’s previous game against the
Kings, Aldridge was the star in the
game versus the Clippers. Though
was close between the two teams.
At about four minutes into the first
quarter, Roy shot a 3-pointer to put
the Blazers up 11-6. Aldridge scored
six points during the first quarter and
impressively, had four rebounds over
the course of only two minutes near
the end of the quarter. At the close
of the first quarter, the Blazers led the
Clippers 27-18.
At the beginning of the second
quarter, Aldridge made a layup
to make the Blazers lead 29-20,
scoring the first of his eight points
for the quarter. Clippers guard, and
former Blazer’s player, Steve Blake
scored a 3-pointer to trim the Blazers
lead to seven at 32-25. The Blazers
played poorly near the end of the
second quarter, missing several shots
and committing several turnovers,
thereby allowing the Clippers to
catch up.
In response to the team’s poor
shooting in the second quarter, the
Blazers a 53-48 lead. The Clippers
poor shooting in the third quarter
allowed the Blazers to go on a 14-0
run, giving the team a comfortable 17
point over the Clippers at 71-54. By
the end of the quarter, both Aldridge
and Roy had 21 points to keep a 17
point lead, 77-60.
The Blazer lead would slowly
shrink over the course of the fourth
quarter. In first the few minutes of the
quarter, Aldridge played extremely
well, scoring four points and having
three rebounds to give the Blazers
their largest lead of the night at 19
points, 83-64. Blake continued to
play well against his old team though
scoring 12 points including a shot to
reduce the Blazer lead to 10 points at
83-73. Poor shooting by the Blazers
helped the Clippers to reach within
eight points, but they would not get
any closer as the Blazers would win
the game 93-85.

Running on, moving forward Action shots of the issue

Cougar 5K and WSUV hiking trails, across and
along some campus roads, as
Rec transitions well as one or two parking lots.
Erik Cummings\Sports Editor The varied running surfaces
include wooden bridges, mud,
distaste and expand upon certain
events such as the popular
poker tournaments as well as
the paintball games. He felt
he made a good team with

S
ummer approaches.
I know, I know – it’s
still Spring. Summer
is coming, though. It is time
to crack open the Washington
State University Vancouver
summer catalog and plan for
the upcoming May and June
sessions. Which class do you
love enough to cram into eight
weeks of harried and frantic
learning to snag a few credit
hours you couldn’t accomplish
during the Fall or Spring
semesters? It will be like the
last four weeks before finals
stretched into eight with none of
grass, and curbs. Due to possible
muddiness and slippery areas,
the Cougar 5K committee will
also send runners from the
Recreation Center with the
race contestants to keep an eye
out and assist in case of any
accidents.
Students can enter by paying
$5, while non-students pay
$20. Prizes include gift bags
with T-Shirts and finisher
medals. For Danielle Tanner
and Amanda Flath, they signed
up for a variety of reasons
T-Shirts. “I set a personal goal
to run regularly,” says Tanner.
She went on to explain that she
Gregory, his drive mixing well
with Gregory’s experience. “My
only regret is having to leave in
June.”
As for Eyerly, her stint as a
student ambassador from 2007
to 2008 brought her in contact
with Neil Gregory. She attended
several of the recreation center
events, then Gregory, noticing
her enthusiasm and liking for
the activities, offered her a job.
“I liked the trips,” says Eyerly,
“I never would have done things
like rock climbing alone.” One
of the trips stands out in her
mind to this day. “The Wind
River whitewater rafting trip
Jake Kleinschmidt/The VanCougar

the free time or struggling hopes
for sanity. Welcome to a summer
of the University Student, little
children. I hope you brought
armor.
Despite the murmurings of
cynicism and despair, there
is light even with the frenzy
of semester ending and the
impending doom of summer
session. The Cougar Community
5K run is coming, set on April
24th starting at 10:00 a.m.
Shawn Romine is heading up
the committee for the event and
he has dubbed it “The Inaugural
CC 5K” as it is the first time
for a race of this magnitude to
occur. The Recreation Center
has sponsored similar races
for the past two years. One, a
has been fulfilling that goal off
and on for a few months. Now,
with the Cougar 5K, she hopes
to get back on track. Both girls
are relatively new to Recreation
Center event involvement. “I’ve
done outdoor soccer once,” says
Flath.
The end of semester will
also bring about changes
in the Recreation Center. A
substantial number of the staff
graduate this year. Among them
are Recreation Intern Denise
Eyerly and Student Involvement
Specialist Shawn Romine.
“Technically, I graduated in
December,” says Romine. “But
the job goes until June 30th.”
Romine became involved in
the events back in November
was special – I fell in twice,”
she laughs. She remembers
falling out once on her own,
then again when the whole raft
flipped over. Thanks to her life
jacket, a strong grip on a nearby
rock, and Gregory directing her
from the bank, she managed
to swim to shore safely. She
cites the experience as one, Andrew Montehermoso searches for a target in the Dodgeball Tournament on April 15
which left her with a feeling
of accomplishment, of being
able to do things she did not
know she could. “It helped me
appreciate the things I have.”
Being a detail-oriented person,
members of the staff turn to
her for help on paperwork. She
admits she does not mind doing
it; it is merely the sheer amount
of it she dislikes.
Joseph Hollibaugh/The VanCougar

Biathlon, featured running as
well as covering some distance
on bicycles. Last year, they
organized a Fun Run over
a three-mile course. “Those
were pretty low key,” says
Romine. Indeed, neither were
as advertised or promoted as the
upcoming Cougar 5K.
The track winds through the
of 2007 and enjoyed things he
had never done before such as
windsurfing and rock climbing.
“It all challenged me to push
myself physically.” Parts of
the job he disliked included
the many state regulations that
required exhaustive research
and memorization. Still, he
managed to overcome his
Taking a year off from school,
Eyerly plans to build up her
savings and look into furthering
her career in recreation and
possibly state park jobs. Romine
hopes to go to University of
Oregon next year to get a
Master’s Degree in Education or
perhaps work toward a Master Senator Kevin Guzman ups the bet on the flop at the Texas Hold’em Tournament while Samantha
in Business Administration. Goelz and fellow senator Karmen Abbot look on. Those smiles are worrying - do they know some-
thing Guzman doesn’t?

4/24 Cougar 5k Community Run. $5 Students $20 Non-Students • 4/25 Golf MOVED TO MAY DUE TO COUG 5K

Childhood epiphanies and horses
Triana Collins\ACE Editor
B
efore I went on the
horseback trail riding trip
that was organized by the
fine folks in the Recreation Office,
I thought of Christopher Reeve:
Superman turned quadriplegic after
getting thrown from a horse. Then I
thought of a non-fiction book I read
recently in which a woman who
couldn’t speak due to a traumatic
childhood was miraculously cured
by the healing power of horses. I
hurdled back and forth between
desperately wanting to go and being
scared to go on the upcoming trip.
Then I remembered that I was,
and still am, obsessed with horses.
When I was a kid, the obsession took
the form of unicorns. I would draw
them constantly, and got quite good
at my own stylized kiddie version
of the mystical beast. Of course,
horses were just as magical to me,
and I took a couple horseback riding
lessons until my parents decided it
was too expensive. So I resorted to
the stable of my mind: I imaged I had
my very own horse that I kept in an
imaginary stall between two trees in
my backyard. I would go out after
school and take care of it, pet it, and
talk to it. I would climb up onto a tree
branch and imagine I was riding it all
over town.
Needless to say, when I saw there
was a horseback trail riding trip on
April 11, the kid in me wouldn’t shut
up: “But I wanna go! I HAVE to go!”
So I signed up, and my life has been
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED
Saturday
April 24, 10 am
@ Washington
State
University
Vancouver
All registration fees
support student
leadership scholarships.
$5 students
$20 non-students
Run for Education! Get details and sign up at
www.vancouver.wsu.edu/CC5K
4/28 Last Day of Outdoor Soccer. Held on Sports Fields. • 4/29 Last Day of Open Gym at Alki Middle School
forever altered.
First things first: riding horses in
an enclosed area or through some
kind of man-made obstacle course is
NOT horseback riding. This is like
saying you’ve driven a Lamborghini
when you’ve really just had a few go-
rounds in a bumper car. So being that
I’ve never taken a horse outside of a
fenced-in arena, I would definitely
consider the trail riding trip to truly
be my “first time.”
The trip started at Flying M
Ranch, a lovely series of red barns
down some winding mountain roads
in Yamhill, Oregon. About 12 people
participated in the event, and after we
were all saddled up and helmeted on
our experienced horses, we set off
single file into the wilds. Through
sunny meadows and dark forests
we trotted; down steep ravines and
over winding streams we gingerly
clopped.
We were in total control of our
horses, so a pull on the reins in the
wrong direction could lead your
horse to slip and fall down a muddy
embankment. The trip was 14 miles
round trip, and some of the horses
got a little cranky towards the end,
biting and kicking each other to let us
know they were getting tired. Thus,
we had to watch out for constantly
changing trail conditions as well as
flying hooves.
Perhaps I was lucky, or maybe it
was all my “imaginary” experience
with my previous pet, but my horse,
Woody, was a gem. He always
knew the best route take around an
ominous puddle, since he seemed to
COUGAR
Community
5K Race/Walk
be a little scared of water, and tried
not to run too much to appease the
group leaders, as we were instructed
not to do. When I first hopped on
him, I felt totally disconnected and
was scared of being so high off the
ground. By the time we stopped for
lunch, it felt weird to be standing on
my own two feet. And a quater of
the way through, I felt like he was
just another limb, albeit a furry and
extremely muscular one.
I had a lot of random realizations
on the trip as well, such as the true
meaning behind the term “hold your
horses.” We use this saying to imply
that someone is rushing and they need
to chill. But when I heard one of the
group leaders yell “hold your horse!”
to let someone know they were going
too fast, I suddenly realized that I had
never really connected the saying
to horses before, as it probably has
it’s origins in the days when people
actually did use horses for the
majority of their transportation needs.
Another silly saying that I finally
connected to horses is “chomping at
the bit.” How many people actually
still use this phrase I’m not sure, but
we all know it means to be excited
and impatient to do something.
Again, another random realization.
But the most important realization
of all for me on this wildly magical
and invigorating trip was that I need
horses in my life. So, how to get back
on a horse? Well, I could steal one,
as there are plenty around here, or
imagine I’m on one, or just wait for
the Rec Office to organize another
amazing outing.
SPORTS AND RECREATION 11
Pullman Updates
Men’s Golf - STANFORD, Calif. FITNESS
CENTER
- The Washington State men’s golf
team moved up two spots during the
final round of the U.S. Intercolle-
giate Tuesday. The Cougars posted a
team score of 282 (+2) at the par-70,
6,727-yard Stanford Golf Course to Hours
finish in 13th, one position better than
they were seeded entering the event.
Kevin Tucker was out in front for
M-Th : 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
WSU once again, finishing strong Friday: 6:30 a.m. to 6 p.m.
with his lowest round of the tourna- Sat-Sun: Closed
ment. The senior fired a bogey-free
round of 66 (-4), the third-lowest
round of the day. Tucker’s three-
round total of 210 (E) put him in a Equipment
tie for 16th, marking his seventh-con-
secutive top-25 finish.
Nick Ellis also went under-par
Ellipticals &
Tuesday, carding a third-round score Treadmills
of 69 (-1). The junior out of East
Free Weights
Wenatchee, Wash., finished the event
in 43rd with a three-round total of Leg Presses,
218 (+8). Extension, & Curl
Freshman Hank Frame, senior
Austin Hurt and sophomore Trent
machines
Sanders finished in the final three Medicine balls &
spots for the Cougars. Frame’s third-
Yoga mats
round 72 (+1) helped him finish with
a tournament-total 223 (+13). Hurt Strength bands &
and Sanders posted a 231 and 233, jump ropes
respectively.
The team will now prepare for the
Pac-10 Championships in Tempe,
Ariz., April 26-28. WSU Head Coach
Walt Williams knows the team is on
Policy
the verge of qualifying for the NCAA
Regional Championships and a
strong performance at the conference Fitness center is free
tournament could push them over the to all WSUV students,
top.
“Kevin and Nick really stepped it up
faculty, and staff.
today and we needed that to keep our Must sign liability
regional hopes alive,” said Williams. waiver. Bring Fitness
“Kevin was hitting on all cylinders
this week and has proven that he Center card each visit.
can play with the elite players in the
country. We’ll need six guys to bring
that kind of play at the Pac-10’s later
Trainer
this month.”
Women’s Tennis - PULLMAN,
Wash. - Washington State Univer-
sity freshman Liudmila Vasilieva has
been named the Pacific-10 Confer-
A certified personal
ence Women’s Tennis Player of the trainer is available
Week, for April 5-11, Commissioner
Larry Scott announced Tuesday. to Fitness Center
Vasilieva, of Yekaterinbgur, Russia,
won all five of her singles matches
users at no cost.
Develop a fitness
last week, including a pair of victo-
ries over nationally-ranked oppo-
nents: Stanford’s Lindsay Burdette plan, learn how to
(No. 61) and California’s Marina use the equipment,
Cossou (No. 15).
With the wins over Burdette and or develop strength
for a specific sport
Cossou, Vasilieva became the first
women’s tennis player in school his-
tory to defeat Stanford and California or activity. The
opponents in the same dual-match
season. Vasilieva began the week sessions are free.
Get fit! Stay fit!
with a 4-6, 6-2, 6-2 win over Bur-
dette, the highest-ranked opponent
she had defeated at the time. Follow-
ing wins against Northern Arizona,
Montana and Gonzaga, she ended the
week by defeating Cossou 6-3, 5-7,
10-6, in a tiebreaker in place of the
third set.
For the season Vasilieva improved
to 26-10 overall, the most singles
victories by a Cougar freshman since
1983.
This marks the first weekly honor
for Vasilieva and the third all-time
Pac-10 Player of the Week selection
for the Washington State women.
The last Cougar to earn Player of the
Week honors was current assistant
coach Ekaterina Burduli.
 12 ARTS, CULTURE, AND ENTERTAINMENT

Love, TV show quizzes locals BPA

Anonymous Main Street Quiz kicks
off at Pop Culture.
Brenda Yahm/Staff Writer
towers
Contestants will be in teams,
and there’s some hope in getting
valuable prizes!
The show will air on Fort
Letter to the Editor:
businesses to compete against each Vancouver Television channel 11.The
Citizens Against the
other, for example having employees show will begin filming on April Towers Committee

O
from Starbucks take on the baristas of 25. This game show is being made
Fran Swenningson/Contributing Writer
n Tuesday, April 6, 2010, Peet’s Coffee. The game will consist possible by Pop Culture, Infinity

You: Long wavy hair, always
wearing the same green jacket,
always goofing around with your
friends during lunch. Is that your
girlfriend or are you just a big flirt?
Me: Plaid backpack that you said
was cool, I blushed so bad you
thought I got stung by a bee. Wanna
be goofy with me? When: April
8, Where: Cafeteria You: man, Me:
woman
You: Cute bike with the glitter
handlebars. You told me it was your
little sister’s and I about died. Me:
Lip ring, black hair, you think I’m
goth, but I’m not. I just like dark
colors. Wanna go for a ride? When:
April 5, Where: Trail You: Woman,
Me: woman
You: Eyes the color of a Vancouver
open auditions were held
for Vancouver’s very
own game show. The
producers were looking
for a host and a co-host,
but ended up finding an
announcer, as well.
The game show, Main
Street Quiz, has been said
to be a mix of Jeopardy
and Family Feud, and
will be focused on pop
culture questions—
from song lyrics to film
trivia—from the 1980s, 1990s and
the 2000s. Anybody can come and
be a part of the live audience or even
be one of the contestants. Eligible
contestants should be enthusiastic
and competitive.
of three rounds, and each team will
have three contestants that will work
together to answer the questions.
The show will be filmed at
Pop Culture, which is well known
for their vintage soda, hot dogs and
live shows. Here’s your opportunity
to be on live television and win will
Point Productions and Simplicity
Design. There is a monthly quiz on
the Main Street Quiz
webpage and results
will be used during the
show. Sample questions
include what is the best
tasting soda pop, and
what is the most popular
tourist attraction in
Vancouver, WA?
Visit the web page
at www.mainstreetquiz.
com for the schedule,
rules, contact and a monthly survey.
Hopefully you can come see
Vancouver’s game show Main Street
Quiz in action. As for the studio,
Pop Culture is located at 1929 Main
Street, Vancouver.
I
’m a volunteer member of the
Citizens Against the Towers
Committee.
We are trying to inform the public
about the proposed BPA 15 story
tower project which runs through
Clark County’s heavily populated
areas. This 500,000 volt line poses
a large threat to the health of county
residents especially children. We
have a web site www.stoptowersnow.
com which has a petition the public
can sign in support of stopping this
travesty. The towers also emit noise
24/7 which is worse in wet weather,
are visible from approximately 3 miles
away and will devastate property
values in entire neighborhoods where
they are located. We have been told
by real estate appraisers that our
properties will lose between 15 and

White man’s money puppet

hailstorm, smile as big as the waxing
moon, a laugh as loud as an erupting
Mt. St. Helens. Me: Shy, with hazel
eyes that stare at the back of your
head during the entire 2 hour lecture.
Let’s study together...When: April
15, Where: Lecture Hall You: man,
Me: woman
identities, tensions, and
You: Always looking sharp at 7am.
Do you get up before dawn or just
roll outta bed like that? Me: Always
disheveled, always forgetting my
Portland Playhouse century. It begins in 1997 with Ivy
League educated Harmond Wilks
explores racial (Lawrence E. Street), his ambitious
wife Mame (Andrea White), and
partnerships. his friend Roosevelt Hicks (Bobby
Berma) who want to redevelop a
"blighted" area of Pittsburgh. Wilks
Triana Collins/ACE Editor
is about to become Pittsburgh's first
grounded Sterling Johnson (Victor
Mack). Wilks soon realizes that the
elaborate game of capitalism may
have turned him and his friends into
the black front for white money.
Radio Golf sported a stellar cast
that burst at the seams with passion,
justice, greed, and ambition. When
40 percent of their value depending
on how close to the power line they
are located.
In today’s economy there aren’t
many families who can afford
this type of loss or the possibility
of contracting Alzheimer’s, early
dimensia or ALS diseases which
proliferate in areas close to high
voltage lines.
We have a Public Meeting
planned for April 25th, 2010 at
Prairie High School at 4 p.m. Our

books. You lent me a pencil for our
exam and when I bit the eraser off
you let me keep it. Can I buy you a
new one? When: April 13, Where:
Class You: Man, Me: Man
You: Walk 10 paces ahead of
me every Monday, Tuesday, and
Thursday. You must park somewhere
near me. I tried waiting for you to
take the same path home but I never
catch you. Me: Walk 10 paces
behind you every Monday, Tuesday,
and Thursday. I don’t think you’ve
ever seen me. I wanna talk to you
but I need some confidence! Can I
borrow some or will you wait up?
When: April 18, Where: Parking Lot
You: Woman, Me: man
SEND YOUR
ANONYMOUS
LOVE NOTES TO
US!
•Write the note
•E-mail it to us at
vancouged@vancouver.wsu.edu
•Wait for a reply from
R
black mayor and already has plans the carpenter Sterling defines the main difficulty is getting the word
adio Golf... where to in the works to bulldoze the old golf playing, sauna going Roosevelt out to the public so that they can
begin. Let's start at houses to make way for a high-rise Hicks as a "Negro" and himself as come and be informed of what could
the end: There's an apartment building and high-end a "nigger", he hit upon the heart of happen in our community.
immediate standing ovation; my stores Starbucks, Whole Foods, and the play. He explains that, "Niggers For more information, please
date is trying not to cry. Outside the Barnes &Noble. got style. Negroes got blindyitis. A contact me at crashclark27@hotmail.
theatre, in the car, on the drive home, The deal depends on federal dog knows it's a dog. A cat knows com or visit the web site.
and for the next 2 days, we discuss, money and there is talk of minority it's a cat. But a Negro don't know
argue, and enlighten
each other on the subtle
points and messages we
each missed. Then I had
a crazy dream I was in
the play, except it wasn't Congrats to the
a play anymore, it was new 2010-2011
my real life. And now Human
I'm still thinking about Development Club
it. Leadership Team!
So ended the latest
and last fabulous President: Auna Zingelmann
play of the season by
my current favorite Vice President: Rebecca Brawl
theatre company in our
culturally fortunate Publicity Chair: Jessica Wienert
neighbor city, Portland
Playhouse. By teaming Secretary: Leslee Gibbs
up with Base Roots
Theatre Company, "a Historian: Peggy Doyle
Photo courtesy of Christina Riccetti
sanctuary for artists of
Harmond Wilks is played by Lawrence E. Street in the play, Radio Golf.
color to cultivate their

HD CLUB
work and a venue for
your love! audiences to experience universal development grants amongst the he's a Negro. He thinks he's a white
stories through a culturally specific suddenly friendly white and wealthy man. It's Negroes like you who hold
••• lens", they have turned a story I could investors. When it turns out that an us back..." The fine line between
have cared less about into a living, old mansion occupied by the gray success and selling out is explored,
Visit our web site to comment breathing creature I can't help poke haired Elder Joseph Barlow (Kevin turned over, poked and prodded at by
and prod at. E. Jones) set to be torn down has this amazing play and brought to life
on this issue! Radio Golf is a play by the Pulitzer a significant past in the history by the amazing cast.
www. vancougar.ning.com Prize winning August Wilson who of African Americans, average Check out Radio Golf now through
is known for creating works that black citizens start rising up and May 16! See portlandplayhouse.org
explore the heritage and experience of demanding recognition, activism for more info.
African Americans over the twentieth that is spearheaded by the morally

4/22 WSUV Community Choir Concert in VADM 110 from noon to 1 p.m. Free and open to the public!

Titans crashes; saved only by 3D
Poorly written script
not similar enough to
original
Anaya Martella/Staff Writer
S
o, basically if you are
a fan of the old 1981
film Clash of the Titans,
like I am, you will be absolutely
disappointed with the new remake
that has just hit screens. Following
the Alice in Wonderland remake,
which seems to have been green-
lighted because someone thought it
would be awesome in 3D, the new
Clash of the Titans seems to have
had a similar genesis. Once again,
3D animation is the only thing that
saves a disappointing remake. What I
found interesting was that on opening
weekend I was in a cinema that was
less than half way full. Go figure.
The new Clash of the Titans,
starring Sam Worthington as
Perseus, Liam Neeson as Zeus and
Ralph Fiennes as Hades, tells the
story of a demigod (Perseus) who
is unknowingly destined to take
New doctor in town
Matt Smith is the
eleventh Doctor Who
Joey Hollibaugh\Staff Writer
O
n Apr. 2nd Doctor Who,
the longest running
science fiction series in
television history, came back with the
show’s eleventh reboot. For over 47
years viewers have watched the alien,
known only as
“the Doctor,”
as he traveled
through space
and time with
his human
companions
exploring new
worlds and
fighting against injustice. This new
season begins by introducing Matt
Smith, the 11th actor to play the role
of the Doctor. Many fans have been
worried that this new doctor would
not live up to the legacy of the last
actor, David Tennant, who has been
hailed by many to be one of, if not the,
best Doctor in the series. Thankfully
I think that fans will be delightfully
surprised these new changes.
The episode begins directly after
the last episode of the previous
season. The TARDIS, the Doctor’s
time machine, is in need of massive
repairs and crash lands in a present
day small town in Great Britain.
This is where he meets his new
companion, Amy Pond (Karen
Gillan), who has a mysterious
problem with a crack on her bedroom
wall. It turns out that the crack is not
really a structural disturbance, but
rather a crack in space and time. This
crack has allowed an alien to escape
from an interstellar prison. This
escapee, known as Prisoner Zero,
now masquerading as various people
4/22 French Film Festival is showing Un Secret in VADM 110 from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Free and open to the public!
down Hades and send him back to
the underworld (with help from his
father Zeus). However, this task will
not be easy. Persus must overcome
many obstacles in order to defeat
the evil Hades’ Kracken (originally
in the town. Both the Doctor and
Amy Pond must race against time to
find and capture the prisoner before
the interstellar police demolish the
earth in an attempt to stop Prisoner
Zero from escaping.
Smith plays a very entertaining
doctor. It almost seems that
the character has become even
more eccentric during his body’s
resurrection. During this episode
the Doctor is trying to learn how to
work with his new body. This leads
to some quite humorous scenes,
such as when he attempts to find
some food that he doesn’t absolutely
despise. Smith also does a great
job at demonstrating the Doctor’s
emotional side as Prisoner Zero uses
him to hurt Amy Pond. Gillan also
gives a good performance as the
Doctor’s new companion. The role
of Gillan’s character in this episode
is to help the doctor to both get used
to his new body and run around with
him as the Doctor tries to save the
world from destruction.
Along with all of these new
changes come all of the traditional
aspects of the show that have kept
fans happy through all these years.
The story, though very simple when
compared to earlier episodes, is
very well thought out and is very
entertaining. The special effects
are top notch, yet extremely cheesy,
which surprisingly works well and
appropriately sets the mood for this
unique television show.
I have found this new season
of Doctor Who to be better than
everyone expected it to be. While I
can’t say that Smith is quite as good
as Tennant was, he does come pretty
darn close. I think that many of the
long time fans will be very much
surprised and delighted with this new
era in the long running series.
ARTS, CULTURE, AND ENTERTAINMENT 13
Poseidon’s monster) in order to save
a princess.
Sad to say, the cast didn’t even
help the movie. Sure, there were
some great, well-known actors
but this new Clash of the Titans
ANTM at the Lloyd Center
America’s Next Top
Model searches the
city streets.
Brenda Yahm/Staff Writer
O
n Saturday, April 10,
open auditions for
the hit CWTV series
America’s Next Top Model were
held at the Lloyd Center Mall
in Portland, OR. Hundreds of
hopeful young women flocked to
the mall for a chance to compete
for the title on national television.
Here was a five hour-long event
that was never boring.
In order to qualify for the
next cycle of the series, women
needed to be 5ft 7in and between
the ages of 18-27. Participants are
only allowed to audition once per
cycle, so each contestant brought
their best outfit and were prepared
to give it their best shot. Hopefuls
should not have any experience
modeling professionally, as they
are expected to learn all about
modeling on the program, should
they make the cut.
Those lucky young women
who make it are flown to a
is definitely nowhere near their
best work. However, the cast can
hardly be blamed for the mediocre
script, which was knocked together
around opportunities for some 3D
awesomeness.
designated city to live with other
contestants, who will be complete
strangers. As if the daily challenge
of learning to be a model wasn’t
pressure enough, they will all
have to learn to live with each
for the duration of the show and
not allow conflict to affect their
performance.
Former model and talk show
host Tyra Banks is the host for
America’s Next Top Model. She
has produced the series over the
last few years to give women the
opportunity to have a career in the
modeling industry. Banks is also
a judge on the series, along with
Nigel Barker, J. Alexander, Jay
Manuel and Andre Leon Talley.
J. Alexander is also known as
the runway coach. Manuel is the
photo-shoot director, while Barker
is the fashion photographer.
At the beginning of each series,
the number of women competing
ranges from 10 to 14. Each episode
consists of a new challenge. Week
by week, one competitor is voted
off of the show until they reach
the final two models. The final
two compete against one another
in an actual runway show before
one is chosen America’s Next Top
Model.
If you have seen the original Clash
of the Titans, you will see that this
imposter bears no resemblance. It
doesn’t even deserve to have the
same title. The only aspects that
were recognizable were the scorpion
battle (modified from one scorpion
in the original to about five), the
witches, the battle with the angry
step father/thing, Medusa, Pegasus
(also modified because he should be
white), and the Kracken. Since when
were there sand people-like beings in
Greek mythology and in the original
Clash of the Titans? That provoked a
double-take on my part with a “say
what?” But what do a table of hack
writers know? They must have read
a movie review about the original
Clash of the Titans with the summary
(without actually seeing the film
itself) and filled in some blanks and
added twists of their own. Well, at
least the visuals have depth.
In the end, then, I give props to the
animators. They did a great job, and
this “refake” is only worth seeing to
support their great work. I wouldn’t
recommend paying over $10, though.
Half way through each season,
girls are flown to an international
destination to continue the
competition. Past seasons have
taken the models to New Zealand,
Japan, and Australia. When
watching episodes of ANTM you
can expect to see some exotic
locations.
Each photo shoot brings a
new challenge to the contestants,
whether it is going to “go-sees” or
learning a dance to incorporate in
a shoot with Barker. Whichever
girl wins the previous challenge
will gain immunity for the next
round of eliminations, unless it
is down to the final set of girls.
The winner of the series will win
representation from Ford M odels,
a $100,000 contract with Cover
Girl Cosmetics, and a spread in
Elle Magazine.
America’s Next Top Model is
back on the CW for cycle 15. It
will be interesting to see if some
of the contestants that were at the
open audition at the Lloyd Center
Mall will make it to the show.
So, stay tuned for updates on
America’s Next Top Model, and
then watch the excitement hit the
catwalk.
There are negotiations
being made that are going
to answer all of your
questions and solve all of
your problems. That’s all I
can tell you right now.
Apply to work for
The VanCougar
next year
www.vancougar.ning.com
 14 OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS
Technology Column
by Alex Smith
The VanCougar
L
et’s face it, the world isn’t
The VanCougar is a student-run newspaper
the way it used to be.
serving the students, faculty and staff of
WSU Vancouver. Copies of The VanCougar Sure, we’ve come a long
way since the beginning of recorded
are available free of charge every other
Monday during the school year. history. But just look back a couple of
Editor-in-Chief years and you’ll realize that things are
Katie Wells changing rapidly. Indeed, you could
wander off into the wilderness for a
Managing Editor year or more, and come out to face
Jake Kleinschmidt a radically different technological
landscape. This has been going on for
Adviser quite some time, and of late, with all
Dean Baker our new advancements in the realms
of science and technology, new devices
Advertising Manager and designs are being introduced into
Kenneth Allan
society every day. I think it is past due
that we stop and think about where all
Campus News Editor
this is going. We have come quite far
Sally Thrall
in the last few of generations, and it’s
ACE Editor possible that we may have arrived too
Triana Collins quickly.
When we think of “technology” we
Feature Editor
think about computers and circuitry.
Ben Ryan
However, I would like to turn your
attention to one of man’s first inventions:
Student Involvement Editor
agriculture. Once upon a time, people
Chau Nguyen
were happy, carefree nomadic hunter-
Student Government Editor gatherers, until one day someone found
Adam Fox out that if you plant seeds in the ground
you can harvest more later. Since then,
Sports Editor societies grew and became dependent
Erik Cummings
on agriculture to survive once it became
entrenched. If the crops failed one year,
Web Editor
people starved. Not so amongst the
Kelly Hudson and Jessica Stockton
smaller hunter-gatherer groups, who
Copy Editor would just move on to the next place in
Steffen Silvis event of a famine. Sure, the invention
of agriculture allowed populations to
Staff Writers rise and people to have a little choice in
Louise Wynn, Amy Thielen, Rup Brar, Sally their career options beyond the hunting
Thrall, Chau Nguyen, Joey Hollibaugh,
or gathering job descriptions. That’s
Triana Collins, Kenneth Allan, Daniel
Barrette, Tyler Hicks, Anaya Martella, and all well and good, but when the crops
Spring Atkinson didn’t grow, things went downhill fast.
What seemed like a good idea at the
Photographers time became something of a snare to
Joe Creager, Mark Balyshev, and Joseph the people of old.
Tiegs
“Wait,” you ask, “What does this
have to do with me?” To answer that, I’ll
Location: ask you a simple question. If the world
VCLS 212 finally ran out of oil and no one could
14024 NE Salmon Creek Ave. drive their cars anymore, where would
Vancouver, WA 98686 you be? No car, no bus, no airplanes...
Phone: (360) 546-9524 What if the internet went down for
good? For those that have e-mail, do
E-mail the Editor-in-Chief and you even have a roll of stamps in your
Managing Editor: home? Do you even remember what a
vancouged@vancouver.wsu.edu stamp is? What I’m getting at is that
with each new advancement we become
E-mail the Section Editors:
accustomed to, we give up on an older
vancoug@vancouver.wsu.edu
means of accomplishing the same task.
Advertising: An MP3 player may be considerably
vancougad@vancouver.wsu.edu more fun to use than a piano (especially
to those of us who were forced to learn
We are hiring! Chopsticks as children), but if that MP3
We are always hiring. No experience is necessary; player runs out of battery power that
we will provide all the training you need in piano will still be there. The problem
journalistic style, photography, and digital print is that we are giving up more and more
making. E-mail us at vancouged@vancouver. of our lives to technology in so many
wsu.edu or visit our office in VCLS 212 for more ways that we would be hard pressed
information. to keep track of them all. I’m not even
sure how I would even be typing this
Letters to the Editor
We encourage letters to the editor. Please include at all if all the computers that I have
your full name as part of the letter, and a phone access to suddenly crashed. It’s not that
number or e-mail address for confirmation follow- there was nothing before the computer,
up. Letters must be by a student, faculty, or staff it’s just that its many advantages have
member. E-mail to vancouged@vancouver.wsu. caused it to irreparably supplant the
edu typewriter and other non-electronic
forms of typing. The use of computers
Advertising queries
Advertising information and rates can be found even seems to be changing writing
on our web site at www.vancouver.wsu.edu/ss/ patterns. Penmanship is now as quaint
vancougar. E-mail vancougad@vancouver.wsu. as blacksmithing. Yet, it’s not just
edu for quotes. computers.
Now look, I have nothing at all
Corrections policy against technology itself. This might
It is our policy to correct errors. Please contact sound hypocritical after that last
the editors by e-mail at vancouged@vancouver.
paragraph, but hear me out. I like
wsu.edu
my computer. I really do. I like my
electricity, car, internet, television (who
4/21 Freedom of Speech Now! Political Prisoners, Political Repression and the Prison Industrial Complex in VFSC 11 a.m. - 2 p.m.
Kassi Dallavis: Putting physics into practice
Kassi Dallavis didn’t think she
would go straight from her B.A.
in physics to graduate school. “I
planned to take some time off,” Kassi
says, “but I found an announcement
about this research here with Steve
Henderson and I applied. I didn’t
realize at first that it included
graduate school. I had issues
with going into physics, because
my bachelor’s degree was very
theoretical, and I thought, where’s the
practical application? In this program
at WSUV, I have the opportunity to
do applied physics, all kinds of things
related to physics, and a chance to do
fieldwork, an opportunity I wouldn’t
have had if I’d gotten a PhD in
physics.”
Kassi will finish her M.S. in
environmental science this summer.
Her research included “going out
in the field and counting things,
and measuring things. Which was
horrible, and I hated it, but it turned
out to be crucial to the results of my
thesis.”
Those results? She has found
a model that predicts the effects
of vegetation on wave flows in an
estuarine environment. She worked
in Skagit Bay, in Puget Sound, in an
area where the sedge Schoenoplectus
americanus predominates. This
plant’s triangular cross-section, with
the diameter changing with the height
of the stem, absorbs and dissipates
wave energy.
calls it that anymore?), indoor plumbing,
and so on. What worries me is the extent
that we are putting more and more faith in
progressively less stable creations. Going
back to agriculture, at least if you throw
some seeds in a field there’s a still a decent
chance nature might take care of the rest.
You throw your computer in a pile of dirt
and I doubt anyone will be able to make
anything useful out of it anytime soon. A
car may be faster than a bicycle, but when
one of the car’s myriad moving parts stops
moving, you might just be wishing you
still had that bike. Not to mention bicycle
parts are considerably cheaper, in the
event that they should break down. And
what about those flying cars that mankind
has been dreaming about since the time of
the Wright Brothers (if not Leonardo Da
Vinci)? I actually hope those never come
about. While I admit that they would
probably get us around faster, the odds are
much greater that I might wake up to find a
car crash in my living room.
So after all that, I must have some sort
of plan to fix this mess, right? Actually,
I’m not so sure. Maybe a decade or two
ago we could have done something about
our dependence on technology. But now
that everything is stored in computers or
Kassi’s adviser, Dr. Steve
Henderson, is a geophysicist. The
other WSUV members of her thesis
committee are Dr. John Harrison,
a biogeochemist, and Dr. Steve
Solovitz, an engineer.
In addition to doing research,
Kassi has been working in WSUV’s
GK-12 program. She works with
advanced science ninth-graders at
Camas High School. “The point of
the program is to introduce students
to inquiry-based learning, Kassi
explains, “and to let them see that
science isn’t some intangible thing,
that scientists are normal, regular
people, like them. The first semester
I taught biology—I shouldn’t say
I taught. I learned biology. But I
loved it. The students came into
the program thinking they knew
everything, but then they learned that
they had a lot to learn. I had a chance
to talk about my own research, and
what was great was that they got
it! They asked questions, and they
remembered what I’d said earlier. I
could ask them, ‘What do you guys
think will happen?’ And they would
have ideas about it. They were
excited about the results. They’re a
young, eager audience.
“I would encourage anyone who’s
thinking of applying for the GK-12
program to do it. It’s very rewarding,
and you’ll have an effect on the
future for a lot of kids.”
networked over the internet, I don’t think
telling everyone to just stop will work any
better than trying to give up farming as a
food source. The best we can do now is to
use a little more caution. I see the lure in
integrating ourselves with better and better
stuff, but when that stuff breaks we’re
worse off than we were before. Everyone
knows what happens when the power
goes out. The refrigerator stops working,
the T.V. won’t turn on, the microwave is
dead. Your life is turned upside down
because gravity saw fit to bring down a
tree somewhere. Even though it usually
only lasts for a few hours (unless you live
far enough out) this should be a wake-up
call of just how much we really need, or
feel we need, all these fragile things. Yet,
we can’t just drop it all. We need to be
watchful of what we’re giving our lives
over too, even if we don’t avoid it entirely.
If we could at least realize our technology
is fallible, I’ll be happy.
Honestly, I don’t have any sure-fire plan
for how to “fix” us. All I know is that it
would be nice if we got out of this mindset
of technology being what’s going to save
us. You may not think about it much, but
the other thing that people use technology
for is a means to try and fix all of our
QUICK PROFILE
Academic background: B.A.,
Physics, Reed College, Portland
Why she came to WSUV to
study environmental science:
“I liked the practical application
of my very theoretical physics
background, and I love the
Pacific Northwest.”
Hobbies: Yoga, biking,
photography, hiking
Favorite place to hike:
Columbia River Gorge
Favorite musicians: Kings
of Leon, Corinne Bailey, Rae,
Norah Jones, Led Zeppelin, ZZ
Top, and Stevie Ray Vaughan (to
name only a few!)
Favorite dessert: Cheesecake
with fresh fruit
Favorite color: Purple
Favorite movie: Napoleon
Dynamite
Currently reading: Life of Pi
(“I’m forcing myself to read
it. It’s important to have these
outlets, but it’s something I don’t
do unless I push myself to do it.”)
Advice for students who are
thinking of going to graduate
school: “Talk to current graduate
students who are working on
things you’re interested in, and
get their advice for places to
go/people to work with. I have
found that the department you
choose is extremely important—
make sure the other graduate
students and professors, other
than your advisor, are people you
could see yourself having good
relationships with. Have fun.
Don’t rush into anything or feel
like you have to commit right
away because your high school
counselor/parents/TV told you to
go to college.”
If you want to be happy for the
rest of your life: “Don’t worry
about things you can’t change.
Enjoy what you have in life. Do
your best, and don’t get down
on yourself. You can be your
own worst enemy if you allow it
(don’t!). Smile.”
perceived ills. We’re always coming up
with new tactics and gadgets to try to put
an end to what makes us feel bad. It’s not
just the computers in our homes, it’s our
solution to just about everything. Before
we all hook up our brains to our computers
(just watch, it’ll happen), we need to really
think about whether or not that’s what we
need, or just what we think will fix some
issue that we should handle ourselves. I’d
rather deal with my own problems and
beat them than let technology lull me into
a false sense of security.
So, I guess one could think of this as
a big disclaimer about those things we
keep taking for granted…and we do, don’t
we? Everything from our cell phones to
electricity itself, we keep assuming that it’s
all good. No wonder most disaster movies
end with most of the population dying: we
put everything on gadgets and devices that
have definite shelf lives. And when it’s
gone, we panic; we can’t function. Your
computer won’t be the death of you if you
don’t let it. It’s not the end of things, nor is
it the beginning. Going forward, remember
that forsaking your way back in favor of a
new shortcut to where you’re going could
bite you in the end.

Y
ou might not have noticed,
but Greece is going
through some difficult
times. A member of the Eurozone (a
union of European nation-states that
have the euro as their only currency),
Greece dramatically increased its
deficit over the last decade.
This is a common story among the
Eurozone nations labeled the “Piigs”,
which stands for Portugal, Ireland,
Italy, Greece, and Spain. Greece in
particular went on what BBC News
calls a “spending spree” during the
last decade. Financed by borrowed
money, public spending rose
dramatically and public sector wages
nearly doubled. Meanwhile, tax
revenue went down due to rampant
tax evasion.
But then the recession hit.
Letter to the Editor
D ear VanCougar Editor,
If there is any confusion
among your readers regarding
the characteristics of the Digital
Technology and Culture program
in comparison to the Computer
Science program, please accept this
explanation.
Digital Technology and Culture is
an interdisciplinary degree program
incorporating the Arts, Humanities,
and Social Sciences. Before
graduating, students demonstrate
competency in ten core objectives,
which are outlined on the DTC
program webpage. The DTC
program stresses critical thinking,
creativity, and computing skills.
DTC graduates receive a Bachelor of
Arts after successful completion of
the program.
The Computer Science degree
is offered through the school of
Engineering and Computer Science.
According to Associate Professor
Dick Lang, Coordinator of Computer
Science, the program’s focus is,
“To create knowledgeable and
professional software developers.”
Lang also stresses that the principles
of computer science are emphasized
and no particular program receives
any special focus. CS graduates
receive a Bachelor of Science after
completing their studies.
One requirement of the DTC
program is the Senior Seminar in
which students participate in directed
studies or internships. The DTC
homepage states, “Directed studies
and internships encourage students
to gain real world experience and
engage in projects aimed at serving
the community, both of which help
students with professional career
networking and developing a
commitment to public service.”
This community outreach has not
only been beneficial to DTC students,
but also the University as a whole.
Scott Milam, a local business owner
and community leader who currently
serves on the boards of Identity Clark
County, the Vancouver Symphony,
the Alexa Dyer Life Challenge
Award Foundation, and the Clark
College Foundation, has witnessed
many aof these DTC projects first
hand. When asked how the DTC
program’s involvement has benefited
4/21 Business Speakers Series - “Redefining the Socially Responsible Investor” in VADM 110 from 7 p.m. to 8 p.m.; Free!
Currently, Greece’s debt is 116
percent of its GDP. The country’s
budget deficit amounts to 12.9 percent
of the country’s GDP: over four times
what is allowable in the Eurozone.
Such high debt makes lenders wary
of Greece, meaning that Greece has
to pay considerably higher premiums
than other Eurozone countries.
To cut a long story short, the
Eurozone (led mainly by France and
Germany) recently came up with
a bailout for Greece to the tune of
30 billion dollars to help Greece
refinance a portion of their loans.
For the Eurozone members, the fear
is two-fold. If Greece is not helped,
it could topple and cause a domino
effect that would destroy other
teetering Piigs.
The second fear is connected to the
first. Should Greece topple, the credit
ratings of other Eurozone members
would likely plummet.
As of the writing of this column,
the community Mr. Milam said:
“I would say there are two major
benefits:
1. Organizations have had
significant improvements with
their communication outreach to
their community (clients, donors,
community awareness, etc.). Most, if
not all, of the organizations that have
worked with the DTC students would
not have been able to advance their
digital technologies [otherwise].
2. The business and nonprofit
communities I am involved with are
“a buzz” about WSUV. I believe
that anything that brings attention to
the school helps our locals keep our
local university on the radar screen
when making decisions for higher
education for themselves, or their
young adults.”
We think the CS and DTC
programs are both worthwhile
pursuits and are complimentary
disciplines. In a discussion with
Associate Professor Lang, he
acknowledged that CS and DTC are
not competitive with each other. To
illustrate his point he compared the
mathematical and technical base of
computer science to the creative core
of DTC. And although it may seem
that a major in DTC might lead to a
far less tedious occupation, Professor
Lang would like to stress that as a
CS major you won’t just be sitting
behind a desk all day, writing code.
“You also have to collaborate with
clients and colleagues.”
Comparing majors is best done
between a student and advisor with
the interests of the individual student
in mind. Attempting to rank majors
in terms of importance is a task
devoid of meaning. What makes
the degrees offered unique is what
is to be celebrated. While students
should be well informed on what
the different majors offered before
committing to a program, they
should also recognize that it is more
important to celebrate the diversity of
programs offered at WSU Vancouver
than to quibble about the value of the
programs themselves.
Thank you,
Samantha Goelze and
Nick Hill
Greece has not yet accepted the
bailout, instead cutting spending on
public sector pensions and raising
taxes.
Now, you might be wondering
why you, a WSU Vancouver student,
should be concerned about events
across the Atlantic.
Simply this. We should take note
of the reaction the Greek government
received when they proposed cutting
services and public sector wages
and pensions. The country has been
paralyzed by months of strikes and
protests.
A recent column by historian and
political commentator Victor Davis
Hanson says it well. “One hour we
hear shouts [from opponents of the
cuts] that the Germans owe more
reparations for WWII, the next hour
that cutting two bonus monthly pay
periods would be akin to national
suicide, the next that an overtaxed,
overregulated private sector must be
Letter to the Editor
D ear Editor-In-Chief,
I’m sure you’ve received a few
messages concerning Alex Smith’s
article
“Computer Science vs DTC”
expressing a concern over the
article’s lack of research and incorrect
conception of the DTC program.
I’m a current DTC student
and I have also been a freelance
web designer since I was 15. I’m
20 now. Therefore, I have actual
working experience on multiple
levels of website and graphic design
development and I must express my
concern of Mr. Smith’s conception
that DTC students “tinker” in
programs like Photoshop, but cannot
code websites (implying DTC
students do not learn many practical
things concerning web design).
The DTC program I define is
certainly artistic but not an arts
program like fine arts. We DTC
students are taught 2D and 3D
animation (DTC 335), graphic and
website design, social network
marketing, content writing for the
web (DTC 478 / DTC 356) (and
SEO in concordance), video and
audio production (DTC 338), CSS,
XHTML (DTC 355), and now PHP
(DTC 477) as well if we so chose.
The concentrations on the DTC
website of “Concentration I: Media
Authoring”, “Concentration II:
Informatics”, and “Concentration III:
Letter to the Editor
I n the interest of presenting a
balanced perspective, I was
asked by the VanCougar staff to write
and address the “CS vs. DTC” op-
ed piece that appeared in April 5th
issue of The VanCougar. Perhaps it
was because I am a former editor of
the paper and a DTC major WSU-V
graduate. But frankly, I can offer
no further “balanced” perspective
because the piece was pretty much
balanced and honest to begin with.
In a nutshell, and for the most part,
the writer (Alex Smith) was right. The
arguments he presented about the two
programs’ differences were mostly
true. The author stated the essential
difference was that CS leans towards
OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS 15
taxed more heavily and regulated
more strictly in order to provide
the necessary funds for an ever-
expanding public work force.”
Many Greeks are not
prepared to give up their gains even
as their country stands on the brink of
financial collapse.
All to say this is a foreshadowing.
If Greece is coming apart at the
seams because its debt is 116 percent
of its GDP, imagine the turmoil
America will suffer when it at last
faces its debt! The US federal debt
currently stands at about 98 percent
of the GDP. What this means is that
the government owes as much as the
entire United States produces in a
year! And US debt is expected to rise
dramatically over the next few years.
As students who will soon be
looking for jobs, we should insist that
our leaders stop spending beyond our
means. Rest assured, our generation
will be paying the tab.
Culture & Technology” were posted
over two years ago. Students can
choose to focus on web, graphics,
animation, video, social networking,
etc within DTC.
DTC is meant to provide hands-
on courses where students learn
not just how to make a website, but
how to make a website that reads
well, is easy to view, SEO-friendly,
understandable, cross-browser
compatible, and more. We are taught
the theory of color composition
(DTC 336), content organization,
and effective design through these, in
any multimedia object we design. In
short, there is a logic to the “art”.
Students of this program are
expected, and if they do not learn
in classes, the concepts of dynamic
programming languages such as PHP,
AJAX, JavaScript, Ruby, and so on,
and how they work with XHTML.
As a freelancer for five years now,
I’m very concerned that an opinion
article would take such an obvious,
unbalanced and slanted bias against
a program that the writer knows
relatively nothing about. If Mr.
Smith feels he understands DTC, I
must politely refute him. One cannot
understand a program unless one has
experienced a few of the classes.
Thank you for your time,
Christina
a purely scientific/programming
approach while DTC more towards
an artistic and/or end-user approach.
In my experience that seems true.
He also insinuated that CSers were
the superior, master coders; which is
generally, but not emphatically true.
The author clearly stated that there
was room and need in the world for
both disciplines or kinds of people
(left brain/right brain). However, in
stating that you should hire one grad
over the other the author made a
grievous error.
However, keep in mind that this
was an opinion piece and everyone
has a right to their opinion. Granted,
it appeared on the front page. As an
A
ll good things must come
to an end. And so do bad
things like this column.
Though for most of you I am sure
that you are not feeling like you are
missing much. It has been a good run.
We had some laughs but probably
more cries. Who knows what will
lay next in store for us. Who will
be the next editors? Who will be the
next columnists to write these? Will
one return? Will they write the same
column or start a new one? If they do,
lets hope they start a new one, as this
one is awful. Instead of torturing you
with more nonsense and ramble here
is something possibly entertaining.
I turn polar bears white
and I will make you cry.
I make guys have to pee
and girls comb their hair.
I make celebrities look stupid
and normal people look like
celebrities.
I turn pancakes brown
and make your champagne bubble.
If you squeeze me, I’ll pop.
If you look at me, you’ll pop.
Can you guess the riddle?
I
’m glad to have received the
multiple Letters to the Editor
this issue! For those of you
that took the time to write in, thank
you.
Regarding Samantha and Nick’s
letter, I appreciate the fact that rather
than get angry about Alex Smith’s
letter, you took the time to simply
describe your major as you see it,
and to talk about the importance
of it. At the end of your letter you
mention ‘ranking majors’ and the
pointlessness of it. I agree, and I
believe Alex does as well. In his
opinion column, he states that, as
a CS major, he is ‘tempted to say
that [his] field of study if the more
important one, but [he sees] the merit
of having those more trained in the
application field of computers’, i.e.
DTC majors.
I don’t believe Alex was trying to
compare the majors in an attempt to
rank them, he was simply stating the
differences.
See GET REAL on page 16
editor I also made the error of putting
op-ed piece on page one. But, we
learn from our mistakes. Don’t we
Katie?
I bring one other insight to this
discussion. I am a huge Disney
fan. As such I follow closely the
work of Walt Disney Imagineering.
Imagineers could not do what they
do (design theme parks, shows and
attractions) without the aid of all
kinds of scientists, engineers, creative
thinkers and artists.
So, I guess my point would be
to say, if you want to hire someone
hire a WSU-V grad who has the
knowledge and skill that fits the job
you need to fill.
Gregory E, Zschomler
2009 WSU-V DTC Graduate
 16 CALENDAR

April & May

Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday

18 19 20 21 22 23 24
Student KOUG Radio
Leadership Involvement
Recognition Party at 3 p.m.
Program in VADM 129
4 p.m. in VFSC

25 26 27 28 29 30 1
Salmon Creek
Journal Launch
DEAD WEEK Party
4 p.m. to 6 p.m.
in VFSC

2 3 4 5 6 7 8
End of Spring
Semester ‘10
FINALS WEEK

9 10 11 12 13 14 15
Final grade Commencement
submissions at 1 p.m. @ Clark
County
Amphitheatre

Congratulations to Mary Krzysiak for being awarded the

Chancellor’s Award for Student Achievement

Continued from page 4 Anoai-Gonzalez, again with the Continued from page 15 I don’t know, Greg. I feel like a To readers: thanks for picking up

T R
he Drag Show began
with an introduction from
Cougar Pride’s current
president, Brittania Anoai-Gonzalez.
With the help of Jes Dimas, KOUG
Radio DJ and member of Cougar
Pride, and Cara Cottingham, KOUG
Radio Station Manager, Brittania led
the audience through the competition
phase of the event, to the disco break
dance party, to the exhibition, and
finally to the coronation.
During the disco break, attendees
voted for their favorite Drag Queen
or King using their competition
dances to base their opinions. The
Drag Queens and King walked
around the crown holding hats,
collected flamingo pink tickets from
voters. At the coronation, the King
and Queen with the most pink tickets
were crowned King and Queen of the
‘Prom’.
As the only Drag King in the
event, Vegas St. James was crowned
King. From the cheers of the crowd
and the laughter during St. James’
performance, she wasn’t awarded
simply by default. St. James’
performance to “Good Girls Go Bad”
by Cobra Starship left the audience
breathless from laughter.
When it came time to crown the
Prom Queen, the four Drag Queens
looked anxiously at Jes Dimas, who
was announcing the winner.
After providing the crowd with
lap dances, biting a dollar bill out
of WSUV student Spring Atkinson’s
mouth, and booty-shaking better than
Beyoncé, Aroura B. Star won the
votes of the majority.
help of Dimas and Cottingham,
awarded the King and Queen with
‘swag bags’. These prizes consisted
of Mac cosmetics, hair clips, and
a $50 Nordstrom card. Each of the
other performers also received a
‘swag bag’ (minus the Nordstrom
card), as well as members of the
audience whose ticket numbers were
called in the raffle.
Students and attendees were
allowed to jump up on stage and
dance with the performers during the
exhibition section of the event. This
mini-dance on stage got guests in the
mood for the final event of the night.
Once the King and Queen were
crowned, and the ‘Thank Yous’ were
said, the Drag Show transformed into
a dance club. With Jes Dims, aka
DJ Toropop, laying down his ‘Disco
Dolly Dance Delights’, the mood was
set.
Also at the event were Planned
Parenthood, the Haiti Relief
Coalition, the Cascade Aids
Project, YWCA, and Northwest Pix
Photography.
To the members of Cougar Pride,
the event was a success. However,
they had met with a few challenges
prior to Apr. 9. According to Bola
Majekobaje, Assistant Director of
Student Diversity, the Drag Show
advertisements had been taken down
multiple times from the Free Speech
Boards around campus. The issue
was resolved prior to the event.
Check out more pictures and
video on www.vancougar.ning.com!
egarding Christina’s
letter, you state that
you are concerned
over Alex’s conception that DTC
students ‘cannot code web sites.’
However, in his column, he writes,
‘what [DTC students] do learn is
along the lines of HTML, otherwise
known as relatively simple web page
programming languages’. Not being
a DTC or CS major, and not having
the slightest clue as to how to code
a web site, I did research to see what
exactly HTML codes were.
After looking through both the CS
and DTC web site, as well as multiple
internet sites related to coding, I
realized that the main argument in
Alex’s column is that CS majors
code programs while DTC majors
use those programs to read their own
coding — many times to read their
web site coding. With your letter,
you have helped inform readers of
the many programming languages
DTC majors do learn; such as PHP,
JavaScript, and Ruby; all of which
work within HTML, as Alex agreed.
Alex also states that DTC majors
take ‘a variety of classes concerning
design of web sites’. For that reason,
I don’t believe he was implying that
DTC students do not learn practical
things concerning web design, as
your letter reads.
Regarding Greg’s letter, I agree
that Alex’s statement, ‘if you need
to hire someone who can code,
don’t hire a DTC major’, was not
something that would be allowed in
a news article. But like you pointed
out, that is his opinion.
front page opinion column pulls in a
lot of readers. ; ) But you are right. It
is probably not the best place for it.
Again, I don’t believe it was
Alex’s intention to discredit the
DTC students or department, but
I’m glad that his column has given
DTC students the chance to explain
what they think their program is all
about. I think students hearing about
departments from other students is a
great way to inspire and educate each
other. As long as we realize that some
things are opinions, and we approach
them that way, then the sharing of
ideas can always be positive. There
is nothing more enlightening than
discussing things with someone you
disagree with. In my opinion, of
course.
Thank you again to everyone
who wrote in! We really appreciate
your responses and take to heart
everything that is said. Though this is
the final issue of the semester, if you
want to write in, The VanCougar will
continue to post updates on our web
site through the summer.
To see the updates, check out
www.vancougar.ning.com!
On a side note, this is my last
issue as Editor-in-Chief. Thank you
everyone who has contributed to the
paper — even if that simply means
picking it up to look at the front page
and then throwing it away.
To The VanCougar staff: you guys
have been amazing! Seriously, the
kick ball game might have been the
greatest time ever. Who cares that we
lost, right? But seriously, great job
this year! I hope you all continue to
work for The VanCougar.
the paper each time the new issue
comes out!
To haters: thanks for hating! We
are constantly trying to improve
the quality of the paper, so your
constructive criticism is very helpful.
To anyone who has ever let me in
the building on the weekend: I owe
you my life. You, campus security,
are some of the nicest people on this
campus.
To my friends on the Custodial
Staff: I appreciate the late night talks..
you guys have kept me sane.
To VIT: thank you for constantly
fixing our computers and network,
and being concerned about my lack
of sleep. :)
Finally, Dean Baker: you are
bomb. For real, you’ve helped the
staff a lot this year and have really
tried to reach out to them. The one-
on-one tutoring should definitely be
continued next semester, but it’s up
to whoever is in charge. Thanks for
always sticking up for the newspaper
industry and telling people exactly
what the 1st Amendment is. Thanks
for encouraging us to be a bit
scandalous with the ‘The SEXpert’
and making sure that the students
were always the ones controlling the
student newspaper. You are awesome
and I really appreciate everything
you’ve done for The VanCougar.
So, people, it’s been real. Have a
good rest of your time here at WSUV!
Oh, p.s. Thank you Kendal for
bringing me my phone charger, food,
Full Throttles, and Jalapeño Cheetos.
You’ve kept me alive this year.