Forget the bookstore, shop elsewhere

Money to a college student at times can be no more than pocket lint. Having to crunch pennies to save enough to pay for college, housing and textbooks is a challenge. Whitworth University bookstore has options to try and fit a student’s lifestyle whether it’s renting a book or using online eBooks but students have different preferences.

Junior Abigail Pavelko is a Biology major who prefers not to read books on her laptop screen. As a hands-on learner, having a textbook over an eBook allows her to go through the pages unlike a book that is on the computer screen.

“It’s easier to hold your place in one spot. It’s really easy to flip back and forth,” Pavelko said.

Much like Pavelko, the biggest reason sophomore Donovan Brogan prefers to have a printed textbook is because it provides a different style of reading.

“I tried an online book for Chemistry last year and didn’t like it,” Brogan said. “I don’t like staring at a computer screen for too long.”

Pavelko purchases a majority her books from Amazon.com because she finds the prices to be lower. She goes to the bookstore when she needs a book faster than she can order one or when the required text comes in a package that she can only get from the bookstore.

“One time I saved probably around $20 or more online,” Pavelko said. “Including the shipping it was still cheaper than the bookstore.”

After issues with receiving books late from Amazon.com, Brogan found another site to order his books. At Valore.com, customers can buy and sell their books back through the same website.

“When I was searching this is where I found the cheapest books,” Brogan said.

Brogan found the book Freakonomics used for $1 online. Many of his books for his classes are about $160 per book but he has found that for those books he can get them about $90 cheaper.

Even as a freshman, Lauren Nelson is not new to the world of having to purchase school textbooks. Before coming to Whitworth, Nelson attended Marist High School, a private school in Oregon, and had to buy her own books all four years of high school.

“It’s always been my summer job. Finding the best books for my brother and me,” Nelson said.

Nelson buys the majority of her textbooks at the Smith Family Bookstore in Eugene, Oregon. The vast number of books they have and the convenience of searching for those books is why Nelson chooses to buy her books there.

Nelson’s roommate, freshman Marit Borth has only bought CORE books on campus. She uses Chegg.com to rent or buy her textbooks for all of her other classes.

“I just rent from there so I can return them,” Borth said. “It’s cheaper.”

Students who purchase their books online see the different benefits. Even though these students do not like to read books from a computer screen, according to a publishing research firm Simba Information, in 2011 the sales for online textbooks grew 44.3%.

There is no doubt with this number that eBooks are making their way into the classroom but the real test will be to see if it catches on with students. Younger generations may grow up with online books and may be accustomed to it but many students are hanging on to their highlighters and sticky notes as they flip through their chapters.

 

Whitworth Bookstore Sees Revenue Drop

Within the past few years, Whitworth University’s bookstore has seen a big drop in their revenue from textbooks. The book industry has seen a drop in the purchasing of printed textbooks Whitworth bookstore manager Nancy Loomis said.

“We have noticed a drop within the last five years,” Whitworth bookstore manager Nancy Loomis said. “Students have more opportunities to purchase books online and peer-to-peer.”

In 2006 when the bookstore started to see a decline in textbook revenue, the sales income for both new and used textbooks was $978,774. Flash forward four years later and the income from the sales of rentals, new, used and e-books dropped to $873,317.

Whitworth’s bookstore purchases books from online sources and in 2012 the bookstore bought more books from Amazon.com than ever before. The bookstore purchasing books online helps the store keep prices lower to keep up with the online industry.

“We compete,” Loomis said. “We have begun to compete quite aggressively.”

Whitworth has integrated an online source for textbooks by using Jumpbooks. Jumpbooks is a CourseSmart product that provides a student with an access code to reach the textbook Loomis said. The site claims to be “an easy-to-use, low-cost solution that can help you be more competitive and more responsive to the way students want their information today.”

According to the CourseSmart website, textbooks can also be accessed via mobile devices as well as Android devices with apps. CourseSmart also says that by purchasing access to the books they provide can save a customer up to 60% compared to a regular book.

Kindle e-textbooks also claims to save a customer up to 60% for purchasing a book through their services and 80% by renting them according to the Kindle website.

When it comes to using eBooks, Whitworth’s Interactive Journalism professor Lance Kissler said that just because the eBook technology is available, does not mean that it is always going to be the best learning tool.

“There is probably an opportunity with them,” Kissler said.” One should never confuse technology for being the solution.

Kissler recognizes that will always be those learners who prefer to highlight through their book while others will be more tech savvy. In the future, Kissler said he would like to move over to a digital version of the books.

Rental textbooks are another way Whitworth’s bookstore tries to provide students with options. In their third semester being used, rentals have become “a really big piece of the picture,” Loomis said.

“People love it,” Loomis said. “It’s a really great option for people. It’s cheaper than buying the book.”

The bookstore started with 75 different textbooks for the rental program and currently has about 200 titles. Next fall the store will be introducing a new version of the rental program along with adding books to the collection.

“I’m hoping we can make it up to half or more of the titles on the list,” Loomis said.

Students are not only passing up the bookstore, but passing up getting any books for their classes in general Loomis said. Teachers are requiring fewer books and using the Blackboard website to post their readings. Whatever the reason is for the decline in sales, the bookstore continues to come up with new ways to make it easier for students to receive their texts.

Students spend summers gaining practical experience and pursuing their passions

Future intern for the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust, Sagen Eatwell, is approaching a summer of working in the enrichment program of a company that seeks to give money to organizations in need.

Eatwell is a junior sociology major at Whitworth.  He says that in his summer job, he will be working for an organization that wants to help people learn what their passions are so they can make a difference in the world.

Eatwell’s internship will provide him with experience that Sandy Nowack, Career Services Assistant Director, says is valuable for students.  Nowack says students not only gain real world experiences through internships, but they also get to explore something they are passionate about.

“An internship is a marriage of classroom experience and practical experience,” Nowack said.

According to Nowack’s records at Career Services, last summer a total of 63 employees hired students as interns at places such as: Partner’s International, World Relief, the Spokane County Public Defender’s office and the Parks and Recreation Department of Spokane.

Nowack says these internships allow students to place themselves in positions to get practical field experience in their areas of interest.  In addition to gaining field experience, Nowack says that students also get the opportunity to serve others and do what they are passionate about.

Working summer jobs and internships ultimately help students learn what they are passionate about while giving them opportunities to serve others.

Jeff Podmayer, senior sociology major, will be spending his second summer as an excursions counselor at a Christian camp, Eagle Lake, in Colorado Springs, Colo.

As an excursions counselor, Podmayer and his groups of 10-18-year-old students mountain bike, rock climb, backpack and hike for six days during a single camp stay.

Podmayer is no stranger to the work he does at the camp.  He is the Outdoor Recreation Coordinator at Whitworth and will be working as a graduate assistant in the outdoor pursuits program in the campus recreation department at The University of Texas at San Antonio while pursuing a master’s degree in educational leadership this fall.

Podmayer says that although counseling is not something he wants to pursue, he enjoys challenging people.  Some of Podmayer’s most memorable moments happen when students finally complete the high ropes course or finish hiking for the day after struggling though the activities.

“I enjoy working with people and outdoors,” Podmayer said. “It made me realize that I love watching people come together as a team.”

To junior mathematics major, Annika Westre, working as a Summer Conference Assistant taught practical skills even though the job is not something she wants to pursue after college.  Like Podmayer, Westre says she learned people and problem solving skills.

Dayna Jones, Assistant Dean of Students/ Director, HUB & Student Activities, says that students who have a job like Westre’s are place in positions of responsibilities and learn valuable practical skills.

Working as a Summer Conference Assistant means managing conferences for groups, from football camps to pottery painting groups that come to use Whitworth’s campus.  Students are trained to handle conflict and to effectively serve clients.

“I learned a lot about how to react under pressure,” said Westre.  “I see myself being in a position with high contact with people.”

Podmayer and Westre both say that their summer jobs helped them learn about the kind of work they want to be doing.  Their summer jobs used their talents and were aimed at serving others in ways that they are specifically passionate about.

Junior violin performance major is a music student all year round

Angel at SOAP

 

Whitworth junior Tim Angel knows that if he wants to have a shot in music, he needs to be proactive.  That’s why he has made it a priority to attend summer music camps that allow him to study from renowned musicians and play his violin with students who also seek to excel in music.

Angel says the camps he has attended have been intense orchestra camps that push students to decide whether or not they will be serious about pursuing music.  Most importantly, Angel says that the camps give students connections and real music world exposure.

“It was something I learned – always be prepared.  It prepared us for auditions in an orchestra,” Angel said.

The camps offer music lessons and coach students on how to audition.

Angel attended the Brevard Music Center in North Carolina for six weeks after he graduated high school.  After his sophomore year of college, Angel won a full-ride scholarship to the Symphony Orchestra Academy of the Pacific (SOAP).

At SOAP, Angel was able to study with students from around the world and with concertmasters from The Seattle Symphony and The Los Angeles Philharmonic.

“The camp wasn’t organized but the goal was really good, to help train,” said Angel.

Learning from professionals and renowned concert masters is invaluable in terms of making connections and becoming accustomed to how a professional works, Angel said.

Becoming a musician is about more than learning to play well.  Angel says it is about being prepared, getting to know professionals and gaining practical experience.  Trying to “make it” in the music world takes more than just talent says Angel.

“It’s where the Lord leads me.  I think my faith has really helped me be a musician.  It can be such a dead end job; if I didn’t feel called, I’d pick something solid,” said Angel.

Refugees resettle in Spokane

Sisters from Afghanistan on the day of their arrival in Spokane.
photo by Viktoriya Aleksandrov; courtesy of World Relief Spokane.

Many Spokane residents are surprised to hear there are refugee people living in Spokane, but thousands of refugees have resettled here, and more arrive every day.

In 2010, more than 73,000 refugees were accepted by the U.S., according to the U.S. Department of State. Of those, about 0.7 percent came to Spokane.

Nearly 600 refugees are resettled in Spokane every year, said Amy Hendricks, director of volunteers at Global Neighborhood, an organization that provides support to refugees in Spokane.

“Spokane is the No. 2 city in Washington that receives refugees,” said Brent Hendricks, executive director of Global Neighborhood. “If you live within the Spokane city limits, there are probably 200 to 300 refugees living within a mile of your house. And Washington is the No. 5 or No. 6 highest compared to other states.”

Spokane’s popularity is largely due to the low cost of living and good government services such as state welfare, Amy Hendricks said.

A person attains refugee status if they had to leave their country for fear of persecution.

“[A refugee is] a person who is outside his or her country of nationality or habitual residence; has a well-founded fear of persecution because of his or her race, religion, nationality, membership of a particular social group or political opinion; and is unable or unwilling to avail himself or herself of the protection of that country, or to return there, for fear of persecution,” according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

A refugee often flees persecution in his own country and escapes to a refugee camp in a neighboring country. He then goes through an intensive interview process so the camp can verify his refugee status. He is subsequently assigned a lottery number and waits for his number to be accepted by a host country, such as the United States.

Once a refugee is accepted into a host country, he is paired with a resettlement agency. In Spokane, that agency is World Relief.

“Our goal in help resettle refugees and to help them become self-sufficient,” said Catherine Hogan-Davies, volunteer coordinator at World Relief Spokane.

World Relief pairs each refugee family with two case managers,and with an American volunteer who helps the family learn about Spokane — using the bus system, food stamps, learning English, etc. — and becomes their friend.

“We emphasize friendship first,” Hogan-Davies said. “For our volunteers, that means going to a gray area and learning about another culture, and getting out of their comfort zone.”

World Relief offers assistance to refugees for their first 90 to 180 days. During that resettling stage, World Relief works to help refugees acclimate to Spokane and find employment.

Rachel Bair, junior international studies major at Whitworth, interns with World Relief’s employment services. There, she helps refugees search for job, build resumes, practice for interviews and more with the hope that they will become self-sufficient, she said.

“We help refugees find jobs, but also help them develop skills,” Bair said. “We want to lay the foundation of helping people own their own development.”

For example, Bair helped one man memorize the menu of the restaurant where he works, and helped him learn to read handwriting so he can read orders from the waiters.

“Messy handwriting is hard even for us to read,” she said. “Imagine trying to read messy handwriting in a language you’re still learning.”

World Relief volunteers are matched with refugee families based on their interests and the family’s needs. Hogan-Davies then facilitates a meeting time between the family and their volunteer to foster a relationship. Volunteers are expected to work between two and three hours per week for a minimum of three months with their family.

“We use language as a springboard into friendship,” Hogan-Davies said. “It builds friendship past the language barrier.”

Following their time with World Relief, refugees begin to work with Global Neighborhood, which seeks “to provide holistic services and long-term support to refugees as they continue their transition into life in America,” according to the Global Neighborhood website.

Again, volunteers are matched with a refugee family, and they provide long-term, ongoing support through building relationships.

“We encourage mutuality between American volunteers and refugees,” Brent Hendricks said. “The two main challenges refugees face is employment and friendship. Relationships give them access to resources and removes isolation.”

To combat low employment and isolation, Global Neighborhood builds relationships and provides support to refugees, but it has also opened Global Neighborhood Thrift, which provides jobs and job training for refugees, as well as access to low-cost clothing.

Senior Stephen Eyman has volunteered with both World Relief and Global Neighborhood during his time at Whitworth, and has developed deep, meaningful relationships with refugees, he said.

Eyman is most immersed in the Iraqi refugee community, which tends to be highly educated, he said.

“Their diplomas don’t mean anything here just because they don’t know English,” Eyman said. “It’s a lot of pressure, but it’s beautiful to be friends with people who were well-off before the Iraq War. They were men of influence — they deserve so much more than what I can give them.”

Amy Hendricks said she has learned invaluable lessons from the refugees she has come to know.

“Refugees are people with dignity who deserve respect,” Amy Hendricks said. “It’s so important to spend time with people. They’ve taught me to value the centrality of family — they are dedicated to their families above everything else.”

Sidebar: Bhutanese refugee works at Global Neighborhood Thrift

Hari was a hard-working farmer in Bhutan before government persecution drove him and his family away. They escaped to Nepal, where they lived in a refugee camp for 18 years.

Hari estimated there were 150,000 people living in the camp while he was there. With little to do in the camp, Hari used his grandfather’s book of medicine and herbs to make medicine for the people.

“In the camp, I was a homeopath,” Hari said. “I made medicine and gave it to all in the camp — the poor and the rich.”

He even gave medicine to the camp’s police, who he described as “like a snake, not good.”

But on June 10, 2009, Hari arrived in Spokane, and he plans to stay.

“Spokane is a nice place,” he said. “There are helpful people here.”

Now at age 62, Hari has worked at Global Neighborhood Thrift for 10 months. He wants to someday purchase an acre of land and grow a garden like he had in Bhutan, he said.

“My dream is crazy,” he said. “But I hope my sons will become educated people, who learn about this culture here.”

Local GLBT teens find acceptance at high school

High school can be hell. It is a time of self discovery and trying to fit in, often characterized by difficulties. For students at Rogers and Shadle Park high schools, being gay adds an entirely new dimension of challenges.

When James Pearson was in middle school he was a target for bullies because of his sexual orientation. Walking to his mother’s work after school, he was forced to walk with a group of friends for protection.

“I actually got beat up by a kid and five of his friends and had to go to ICU for two days,” Pearson said.

Pearson is gay. He currently is a sophomore at Rogers High School and one of many openly gay, lesbian, bisexual, or transgender (GLBT) students. His classmate Heather Hall is bisexual and agrees middle school was difficult.

“Everybody hated me,” Hall said. She pulled up the sleeve of her sweatshirt to reveal scars on her wrist, evidence of self-inflicted harm as a result of feeling disliked.

Now in high school, Pearson and Hall are both members of the Gay Straight Alliance (GSA), a club which is designed to create safe spaces for GLBT students. Rogers is home to a visible GSA, and members agree they find little opposition in high school as a result.

“I used to not feel safe,” bisexual student Jessica Mullen said. “Now I walk around the hallways being myself.”

“You can be the person you really are,” Hall said. “We’re like family; we look out for each other.”

For students like Pearson, whose family does not know he is gay, having a safe space at school is important. Members of the GSA participate in numerous activities such as writing thank-you letters to GLBT supporters and putting GSA posters around school. On April 20 they will hold a day of silence to remember GLBT teens who committed suicide as a result of being bullied.

Barb Silvey has been the GSA advisor at Rogers for 15 years and is passionate about helping GLBT students.

“I knew there had to be a safe space here,” Silvey said, adding she wants GLBT students to feel valued and empowered. “They love that I give them a voice. They love that I make them feel important.”

“It irritates me when kids aren’t safe and valued, and this population in particular too often isn’t [safe and valued] because of ignorance,” Silvey said.

Silvey says the response from students and staff toward GLBT students at Rogers is very positive, and the existence of the GSA helps.

“It’s considerably better than anywhere else because it’s visible,” Silvey said.

Three years ago the Rogers principal would not allow the GSA to be featured in the yearbook. Today the current principal, Lori Wyborney, sometimes wears a shirt supporting the GSA to school, something Silvey appreciates.

“Our staff is very supportive,” Silvey said. “If we error in any arena it is that we’re ignorant, that some of the teachers are ignorant.”

She added that though Washington has a law against harassing kids based on their sexuality, 22 percent of teens still hear teachers say homophobic things.

Despite this, Rogers GSA president Jacolby Rivers wants both gay and straight people to know they have a place in the club.

“Everybody is welcome, no matter who you are, what you are,” Rivers said. “You could be an alien from three planets away and you’re still loved no matter what.”

Rivers is a testament to the safe space created by the GSA. With his electric blue hair and affinity for trying on prom dresses at school, Rivers could be target for harassment. However, he has never been bullied, he said.

“I’m loved everywhere,” Rivers said. “I’m always sparkly, I’m always happy.”

“Well some of you divas just shine brighter than the rest,” Silvey added.

*          *          *          *

At Shadle Park High School, GSA advisor Henry Seipp agrees that the club’s existence helps GLBT teens feel welcome at school.

“All of them can fly their freak flag freely, and some of them don’t even have a freak flag,” Seipp said.

Seipp established the GSA club at Shadle seven years ago. At first it was met with animosity; posters advertising the club would get regularly torn down, he said.

Today, harassment of GLBT students is virtually non-existent. Seipp credits the safe space created by the GSA and the growing awareness of the GLBT student population.

“It’s not a gay issue; it’s a human rights issue,” Seipp said.

Shadle GSA member Ryan Christiansen finds more animosity on the streets of downtown Spokane than he does at school. Walking hand in hand with his boyfriend, his life has been threatened several times by passersby, he said.

Christiansen appreciates the acceptance he finds at school. Ultimately he wants to eliminate negative stereotypes of the GLBT community. Being a visible member of the GSA allows him to do so, he said.

“I’m human too,” Christiansen said.

Sidebar – Shadle Park’s evolving issue

The experience of GLBT high school students looks different than it did ten years ago, Shadle Park High School counselor Megan Decker said.

Decker has worked as a counselor at Shadle for 15 years. The issue has become a less taboo topic among faculty and students, she said.

“Awareness and sensitivity is what I see improving among teachers,” Decker said.

Ten years ago teachers did not know how to talk with GLBT students. Teachers were treating GLBT students like three-headed monsters, not understanding the issue, she said.

Today schools are educating staff and putting supports in place such as GSAs. Representatives from local GLBT organizations, such as Odyssey Youth Center, attend staff meetings to help teachers navigate the issue, she said.

“It comes with education and talking and keeping [it] an active topic to be having at staff meetings and as a group,” Decker said.

As a result, teens feel more comfortable coming out an early age. The difference between now and ten years ago is that kids feel less shame, she said.

Women at Whitworth: A Feature

Photo taken from Dale Soden’s book “An Enduring Venture of Mind & Heart.”

Looking back at Whitworth 20 or even 40 years ago the university was a different place, for women especially. Social traditions such as May queens and campus royalty influenced stereotypical gender statuses.

During the mid 1960s student editorials in The Whitworthian urged a change in those social traditions, according to Dale Soden’s book “An Enduring Venture of Mind & Heart.”

Soden, who is a professor of history at Whitworth, said another result of the Second-wave Feminism movement was an improvement in women’s athletics. This time period of feminism extended the debate beyond gender equality to issues of sexuality, family and the workplace. In Whitworth’s 1968 yearbook, women’s athletics received more coverage.

“Women were being encouraged to pursue their hopes and dreams,” Soden said. “The direction was forward in empowering women, reflecting a more egalitarian culture.”

Soden’s book explains how political movements of the ‘60s impacted the courses offered at Whitworth as well.

“Faculty members were under pressure to make their courses more relevant to issues ranging from foreign policy and civil rights to poverty and sexual discrimination,” according to Soden’s book.

Likewise, courses today at Whitworth have changed with the times; however feminism and the introduction of Women’s and Gender Studies are still not fully integrated into the curricular foundation, Soden said.

“The evangelical culture of resistance to feminism has grown gradually and is much stronger today,” Soden said.

Whitworth’s Women and Gender Studies program is fairly new; it has been offered as a minor since 1997. The purpose of the course is to equip students with an interdisciplinary structure to approach subjects including gender, race, class and religion, according to the course’s website page.

“For Women and Gender Studies in particular there continues to be a concern for a higher percentage of female faculty members,” said Gary Whisenand, director of institutional research.

For English professor Pam Parker there not only needs to be more female faculty members but also a need for better treatment. When Parker first came to Whitworth in 1997 she was pregnant with her second son. At the time the university did not have a maternity leave in place.

Parker approached the administration for help, but in the end when nothing was officially decided, she made a deal with her own department, which accommodated her needs by allowing her to take six weeks off. Whitworth did not incorporate a formal leave of absence policy that catered to women’s pregnancy needs for another several years, Parker said.

Today Whitworth has an official policy called “Family and Medical Leave.”  An eligible staff member is entitled to 12 weeks per year of family and medical leave, as defined in Whitworth’s employee handbook.

Since 1997 the institution became more aware of those kinds of issues, Parker said. However there is still a rising need for more female tenure faculty members.

(Courtesy of Gary Whisenand)

“The university has a desire to become more balanced in racial and gender diversity in both student and faculty as well,” Whisenand said. “It is something that needs to be worked on, getting pools that reflect the population at large.”

Whitworth tries to offer programs that cater to both genders, Whisenand said. Like many liberal arts institutions Whitworth works hard to get a 50/50 balance of male and female students, he said.

“Looking back to records 20 years ago, for instance, there was not a list kept of students by major because it just wasn’t a priority,” Whisenand said.  “It wasn’t until 10 years ago that these kinds of questions of gender diversity became an official concern.”

Although female students have the freedom to take any courses they want, some programs offered today are still predominantly male, such as computer science, while education attracts more female students, Whisenand said.

Records in 1993 show similar patterns; computer science was leading in male student enrollment, likewise in mathematics. Education and psychology had more female students.

Sophomore psychology major Heather Moir said she has noticed that her area of study caters better to women.

“It’s definitely seen as a more feminine role,” Moir said. “I think women are generally better at listening and more intuitive to what’s going on in a person. Women are also usually easier to approach.”

Despite trending majors amongst students, Whitworth has tried to go beyond diversifying in gender by widening the focus to race and religion, as well. In 1993 there were fewer than nine different clubs including Asian American Club, En Cristo, Amnesty International, Black Student Union and Hawaiian. Today there are more than 40 different clubs including The Humanist Club, Open Conversation: Gay-Straight Association and WISE (Women in Society Everywhere.)

However the university is still not up to par, Parker said.

“In terms of feminism and race issues people back then were more aware,” Parker said. “In the 70’s it was better for women. At Whitworth there is an emphasis on vocation and finding your calling but that is not partnered with a focus on gender.”

This is a problem Parker said and is one that the university is still far behind in resolving.

“Those of us who are moderately feminist need to figure out a way to make ourselves relevant,” Parker said.

Sidebar story:

Women’s Gender Studies Program Helps Break the Christian Academics Silence on Gender Issues and Sexuality

Whitworth’s Women’s and Gender Studies program was first introduced in 1997 under the direction of the Academic Vice President Dr. Tammy Reid. The course offers students the chance to critique and explore feminists’ views.

The purpose of the course is to equip students with an interdisciplinary structure to approach subjects including gender, race, class and religion, according to the course’s website page.

“Christians have a responsibility to be engaged in the world and the WGS program provides a wonderful opportunity to consider different perspectives on matters that impact all people,” political science professor Julia Stronks said in a press report.

In 2010 three seniors graduated with a WGS minor. Despite the growing interest in this particular area of study, the program has been without a leader since 2005. On Nov. 17, 2010, the WGS Committee members submitted a proposal to incoming dean Lawrence Burnley addressing some of these issues. They not only wrote about the lack of leadership but also the need for a greater awareness of the minor on campus and in the community.

“WGS is important because it is interdisciplinary,” Ross Brooke Watts, lecturer of English and continuing studies said.

The proposal also listed recent accomplishments of the program including an ASWU sponsored club called WISE (Women in Society Everywhere). The club focuses on gender and social justice issues. WISE sponsors campus-wide events such as staged readings of “The Vagina Monologues.”

Pam Parker, professor of English and former director of WGS has been developing and teaching this course since 1998. When talking about the students who come into her classroom, Parker said that some students arrive with established pre-conceptions about feminism.

“I don’t want to change their minds I just want them to explore it,” Parker said. “And be able to listen to other people’s voices, not just women, but also on issues of race and sexuality, not with an agenda to change their minds but to teach them how to listen with apathy.”

On April 3 three experts in Women and Gender Studies came to Whitworth to discuss implications and the future for this area of study in a panel discussion called “The Future of Women’s and Gender Studies at Christian Universities.”

“I was blown away by how many students were lining up,” Watts said. “There was standing room only.”

One of the panelists, Kristina LaCelle Peterson, department chair of theology and associate professor of religion at from Houghton College, said that it is important for the CCUs (Council for Christian Colleges & Universities) to have a WGS minor.

“WGS is necessary for critiquing our understanding of vocation in culture,” Peterson said. “Feminism is necessary for critiquing Church practices.”

Peterson also said the Church has remained silent on issues of gender and sexuality. Likewise, another panelist Linda Beail (Point Loma Nazarene University,) said why WGS is important.

“WGS is necessary as a part of taking into account all kinds of inequality,” Beail said.

In Whitworth’s WGS classes Pam Parker said she incorporates Men’s studies into her curriculum, as well as intersectional identities. Parker was pleased with the overall direction of the panel discussion but she was not fully content with the outcome.

“A lot of people attended but it felt like they were preaching to the choir,” Parker said. “The people who came wanted to be there but the people who really needed to hear what was being said were not.”

Parker said she would have liked to see more faculty members from the theology department.

“In order for the WGS program to be robust it needs to have a strong buy-in from the theology department and chapel, or even student life, conversations need to happen at every level of the institution,” Parker said.

Spokane’s homelessness efforts may be decreasing annual homeless count

Melina had no home, other than living on the streets and in the shelters of Spokane, Wash. It took a near-death experience on the streets to bring about a change in her life.

“When Melina was clean and sober, she was the nicest girl you’d ever meet,” said Rich Schaus, the director at the Union Gospel Mission Crisis Shelter. “When she would relapse, she was like a demon, for lack of a better term.”

During one of her relapses, she prostituted herself for a drug called methadone, used to subdue withdrawal symptoms for those addicted to opiate drugs.

An overdose left her passed out in the street on East Sprague. When she woke three days later in a hospital bed, she came back to the shelter a completely changed person.

“There’s a lot of things that could have happened, but she was changed by this experience,” Schaus said.

Her life was spared that day, but for others who suffer the challenges of homelessness and are lacking significant support, that situation could have been fatal.

According to a Spokesman Review story earlier this month, the 2012 Annual Point-in-Time Regional Homeless Count from city officials, stated that the number of homeless individuals from 2011 to 2012 decreased from 1,272 to 1,185.

Perhaps that is an indication that organizations in Spokane are working to take in and care for the homeless and get them back up on their feet, through enriching programs and personal counseling.

Schaus said that women and youth, anyone who is 21 or younger, are currently the fastest growing groups to become homeless.

“The average age of a homeless person is five years,” Schaus said.

Spokane organizations, such as the Union Gospel Mission, Cup of Cool Water, and Spokane Public Schools have recognized the increasing need for care and aid of high-risk groups.

The UGM Crisis Shelter accepts numerous women and youth from the streets of Spokane. It is not only a place of refuge, but also a place to learn and succeed.

Through classes and programs, those women are able to recognize the negativity in their lives and work past it.

“We really encourage the ladies to find work,” said Schaus. “We have volunteers who will work on their resumes, teach them interviewing skills, and give them interviewing clothes.”

The shelter is often filled to the brim. Wednesday night, the shelter housed 89 women, Schaus said.

“The streets used to be safer,” Schaus said. “Now there are meth addictions.”

Most women who come to the shelter have extraneous factors contributing to their situation. Approximately 42 percent of the women come from domestic abuse of some kind, Schaus said.

“Of those, we have about 63 percent that are mentally ill,” Schaus said.

Cup of Cool Water, a Christian, privately funded ministry that cares for homeless teens in the Spokane area, recognizes those external factors as well.

“Crack turned to meth and meth turned to violence,” said Stephanie Clinton, associate director of Cup of Cool Water.

Often the children who were taken out of their meth lab homes at a young age are now the kids who are living on the streets, Clinton said.

“I would say that even one kid making that choice is sincerely grave,” Clinton said.

Similar to UGM, they offer classes and programs to teens, providing them with structure and a safe place off the streets that allows them to thrive, not just survive in life, Clinton said.

“Jesus is the whole of it and trying to get the kids to see who they are in Christ,” Clinton said.

It is probably safe to say that homelessness is something that most people will never have to endure, making it that much easier to neglect on a daily basis.

However, when homelessness is analyzed on a local level, the disparity becomes more apparent.

As of April 12, there are 910 students, in the Spokane public school system, who are homeless or an unaccompanied youth

To combat this issue, a program called the Homeless Education and Resource Team or HEART has been implemented in Spokane school districts.

“To date for this school year we have served a total of 1,083 students in Spokane Public Schools alone,” said Sarah Miller, liaison of the HEART program.

According to the HEART program brochure, the program was created to meet the needs of students with specific situations by offering them equal educational opportunities and the engagement of home and school life.

The issue of homelessness is being combated on several fronts in the Spokane area, through those organizations, and each organization offers programs and assistance that fits the unique situations of each individual and their personal needs, remembering that they are just normal people.

“They will always be human beings first,” Clinton said. “Being homeless is just a circumstance.”

Whitworth’s contribution

Whitworth University’s campus sits miles from downtown Spokane, where most homeless people reside in the shelters and streets. The distance alone may contribute to unawareness among students of the issue.

“I wouldn’t consider it [homelessness] to be a rampant issue in Spokane; it’s definitely a thing that kind of goes unnoticed, especially at Whitworth,” said Phil Inouye, En Cristo street team coordinator.

Inouye thinks that the biggest problem is simply attributed to a lack of education and awareness of the problem.

“The important thing is to remind people that the homeless are just like normal people,” Schaus said. “You’re probably having classes with these folks.”

At one point, a young man living at men’s’ shelter downtown was attending classes at Whitworth while getting back up on his feet, and it is likely that none of his classmates knew he was homeless, Schaus said.

“We have a stigma of homeless people; they are people too, and they feel hope and despair,” Inouye said.

The En Cristo program at Whitworth gives students the opportunity to provide the homeless in Spokane with food or even just conversation, Inouye said.

“Regardless of why they’re there, we should give them a smile or give them a burger to show them that people still care about them,” Inouye said.

Another goal of En Cristo is to spread the word of God to those who are willing to listen, Inouye said.

“We’re there to spread the word, but we want to build a relationship first,” Inouye said. “We usually let them bring up how spiritual they want to be.”

Austin Winkelman, a Whitworth student who is also involved with En Cristo, emphasized the importance of sharing God’s love with the homeless.

“There are many on the streets that have strong faith in the Lord, but most need the reminder that the sufferings of this life […] are just temporary things of this world,” Winkelman said.

Inouye and Winkelman urge students to take off their blinders and break out of their fear of the unfamiliar.

“At the core, we’re all just people,” Inouye said.

 

Financial Aid Initiatives: Missing The Mark?

The fact that nationally institutions revert to the same financial aid model that Whitworth has adopted is “the sad evidence that it works,” said Greg Orwig, vice president for admissions and financial aid.

The institution has long evaluated alternatives including the equivalent increase of aid with tuition cost.

“In the early part of the nineties we tried other alternatives and had huge budget challenges as a result,” Orwig said.

However, students appreciate that the leaders of the institution have looked into those other options.

“I think it’s hard to criticize once you know the people in financial aid,” senior international relations major Eric Fullerton said. “Because once you know them, you know they have your best interest at heart, and it’s not as easy to be angry when that letter comes out every year announcing the tuition increase.”

Among the student body, despite the complaints every time the letter does come out, many appreciate what the office does offer.

“The students realize that to get budget cuts means to sacrifice the quality of building on campus, the academic rigor of the institution and the great aspects of dorm life,” junior accounting major and Stewart Hall senator, Kellie Hodges said. “They don’t want that. They love Whitworth a lot and they don’t want to make the necessary sacrifices, even if it saves them 6 percent off tuition.”

From the perspective of the university staff, the problem is rather simple.

“Students are always going to want more money,” said Wendy Olson, director of financial aid.

But with Whitworth’s strong dependence on tuition, no real change can be made at the university without affecting that source of income, Orwig said.

Whitworth’s operating budget for the 2011-2012 school year was $91,420,500. The amount of that budget allocated to financial aid initiatives was nearly $29,677,000 – nearly one third of the operating budget.

The national average for net grant aid to students is 0.5 percent according to a recent report conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics as published by the Huffington Post. The 32.5 percent of Whitworth’s budget allocated to financial aid, while not comparable directly to the national net grant aid, reflects the priority the institution has given to student aid intitatives.

“Schools of Whitworth’s size just aren’t able to sustain the hit they would take from the percentage increase or flat rate tuition structures,” Orwig said. “We just don’t have the endowment to support it and we need those upper-division tuition dollars to survive.”

This calls to question for some, the ethic of such a strategy. Whitworth economics professor Eric Sartell conducted research on the topic and claims Whitworth’s approach to financial aid initiatives  to be unethical.
“They go into it banking on the fact that by the time the students are juniors and seniors, they’ll be so immersed in the culture here that even the increase in tuition won’t be enough to make them want to leave,” Sartell said.

The Financial Aid office could clarify this issue surrounding aid structure through more explicit language and open conversation, Sartell said.

“We always tell students if they ask,” Orwig said, “that tuition will likely go up, but their aid will not.”

More effort may be demanded of the financial aid office: possibly a shift in the language used on the website, or a public justification of why aid does not and cannot increase consistent with tuition, Fullerton said.

The Financial Aid page on the Whitworth website currently states: “These scholarships are available for four consecutive years to cover Whitworth tuition costs. Whitworth will renew the academic scholarship each year a student is enrolled full time and maintains satisfactory academic progress.”

Ambiguity lies within the wording on the website, and to avoid accusations such as the ones the office has faced in the past, and to elucidate the justifications for such actions, the Financial Aid office would be well served to find more explicit language, junior theology major Evan Underbrink said.

However, they have plenty of reasons to be nervous about this. A student who decides not to attend Whitworth is often asked to complete a survey.

“Historically, the option ‘not enough financial aid’ has been the top reason we lose students,” Orwig said.

To clarify any further the allocation of university aid may jeopardize recruitment even further.

But, amid students complaining and some declining to attend, many take advantage of the diverse scholarship offering Whitworth boasts.

“We had nearly 600 students apply for scholarships provided by the institution through the endowment and the foundation,” Scholarship Coordinator Nancy Morlock said. “But we are always amazed by how many don’t.”

That lack of participation could be resolved once again through open and clear communication.

“Whitworth holds its own when compared to other institutions of its size,” Underbrink said. “There will always been the good-natured complaining of students, but often in more serious conversations the issue comes down to the fact that they just don’t know what’s out there. And from my perspective that’s an easy fix. People don’t want to be upset about it; they just want to understand.”

Crunching the Numbers

While many college students struggle to pay full tuition amid the economic struggles of this decade, Whitworth students are given the opportunity to apply for over 100 departmental and endowment-funded scholarships.

According to statistics published by the university, for the 2011-2012 academic calendar year, 98 percent of freshman received financial aid from the institution.

The average financial aid awarded to freshman for the same year was $28,292. Full tuition was pegged at $32,144.

The total amount of aid provided by the university to students was $39 million.

“In addition to aid granted by the institution, federal grants and private loans are also always available options for students struggling financially,” Orwig said.

Although the data measuring such aid dates back to the 2009-2010 academic year, it still provides the department with the information needed to maintain a desired position among competitors, Olson said.

During the 2009-2010 school year, full-time beginning undergraduate student federal loan borrowing averaged $5,934. Among competitors, this statistic ranked Whitworth just above Azusa Pacific at $5,774 and below Pacific Lutheran University, Seattle Pacific University and the University of Puget Sound at $6,030, $6,229, and $6,303 respectively.

Private loan borrowing, measured against the same competing institutions ranked Whitworth even more favorably. Private loan borrowing at Whitworth for the 2009-2010 school year was $8,895, second only to Seattle Pacific University, which totaled $5,092. Pacific Lutheran, the University of Puget Sound and Azusa Pacific students incurred an average of: $10,728, $11,829, and $14,121 respectively.

“The class of 2011 has just been mapped and the average debt of that class is $23,983,” Orwig said.

According to The New York Times, the average national debt for 2010 graduates was the highest to date at $25,250.

Also of note according to the report from 2009-2010, Whitworth had the lowest number of students borrowing private education loans and a “very low” Federal Default Rate.

Where the construction money comes from

In the summer of 2008, Whitworth University had started the construction plan to build East Hall. The design and construction of the dorms costs roughly $13 million which left Whitworth without financing for the other project in mind: Robinson Science Hall.

The science building was a project which costs Whitworth about $25 million and that is funded by bonds. Whitworth uses a form of debt known as Bonds are a form of debt like a loan to finance projects and are paid off over a specific period of time Brian Benzel of Whitworth’s business affairs office said.

“Bond financing is a good way to spread the cost to future construction,” Benzel said.

Bond financing is how many of Whitworth’s construction projects are funded, including the renovations on the Hixson Union Building (HUB) and the future recreation center.

“We knew we needed to add another residence hall and HUB expansion,” Benzel said. “We’re kind of at the outer limits of the HUB’s capacity”

According to Whitworth’s 990 tax forms in 2011, between paying for an architect and construction company, Whitworth used about $16 million to pay for those expenses.

“For the last year or so we have brought in construction for growth,” Benzel said.

Those expenses along with past expenses will continue to be paid off by students in the future. Each year, students pay a facilities fee that is $300 per person along with paying to live in the dorms. The money goes towards the bonds that are tied to the HUB and recreation center Benzel said.

Money also comes to Whitworth from donations. For Robinson Science Hall, the university is using $8.5 million from donations to help pay for the building process.

The new science building is a phase of a plan to do up the science facilities. The planned line of projects will cost $53 million according to a press release (http://bit.ly/IEeVbb).

In order to make sure the money is being planned out, Steve Thompson, director of capital projects helps to make sure building stay on track with the budget set before construction even starts.

“We conceptualize the cost in rough ways so we know if we’re talking about $12 million or a $20 million project,” Thompson said.

For all projects, Whitworth sets a 5 percent contingency limit that provides a little wiggle room if a project goes above budget. Anything over the 5 percent limit means that the project has to pull money from another fund. No projects recently have gone outside of the set budget Thompson said.

The main goal for projects is to get the basic construction finished before adding any other perks to the project. The new science building couldn’t get some equipment for classes that were wanted because the money had to go to the construction first.

Building Weyerhaueser was an example of a project that was built from donations. Whitworth had bigger plans for the building but because of costs, fell short.

“Our hopes and dreams were bigger than our budget,” Thompson said.

Whitworth’s projects resurrect from student fees or donors. Knowing this, those who work behind planning the projects always keep in mind where the money is coming from.

“We keep in mind that somebody is paying for it whether it’s student fees or donors,” Thompson said. “We just want to be responsible with the funds we receive.”

SAT takers drop in Spokane, result of economic hardships

     In 2010, College Boards indicated that only 36 percent of high school seniors in Spokane took the SAT, the lowest amount to take the SAT since 1999. The previous year, 46 percent of seniors took the SAT, indicating a 10 percent drop in only one year.
    Kari Farnsworth, a counselor and career specialist at Shadle Park high school, attributes the low numbers to the current economic situation and families’ financial burdens.
    “With the rise in tuition, more students are opting to start at a two-year school then transfer to a four-year,” she said. “Students don’t have to take the SAT to attend a two-year.”
    Farnsworth also sees less students taking the SAT because of the cost of the test itself. The SAT costs $49, and that is money that many families just don’t have. In the past, most students have taken the test multiple times, usually as juniors and again as seniors. Now, most students are taking the test as juniors and not taking it a second time as seniors, Farnsworth said.
    “Money is becoming a greater issue every year,” Farnsworth said.
    Only taking the SAT once often lowers scores, as most students improve their scores on the second try.
    Whitworth graduate Ashley Carey works in the Kent school district and has seen similar trends on the west side of the state.
    “I’ve had numerous students come to me with frustrations,” Carey said. “They want to retake the test to improve their scores, but it simply is not an option for them.”
    Farnsworth sympathizes with families as money becomes tighter and the prospect of sending one’s child off to college becomes more difficult.
    “Out of the 67 percent of Shadle Park seniors who go to college, 60 percent of those attend a two-year school rather than a four-year,” Farnsworth said. “That number has increased greatly over the years.”
    Lewis & Clark high school junior Mackinzie Hoiland finds herself in a similar situation.
    “My dream school is WSU, but my parents and I agree that I’ll have to take at least one year off to work after high school,” Hoiland said. “I haven’t even taken the SAT because my parents don’t want to waste the money if I’m not going straight to college.”
    Until the economy turns around, Farnsworth believes we will continue to see a drop in SAT takers and students attending four-year schools right out of high school.
    Ashley Carey concurs.
    “It’s a problem, but not one we can do much about right now,” Carey said. “Money is getting tight and families will have to find ways to adjust.”