Where Did I Put my Straight Jacket?

Brought to your by your director of business and finance Jenesa Honda

ASWOU, the Associated Students of Western Oregon University advocates for students, not only on a campus level, but at a state level as well. We devote our time, knowledge, and sometimes even our sanity, to all students from all walks of life. Why do I mention sanity? Because, to volunteer to be a student leader is to admit to being slightly insane! Think about it, what kind of person would look at a job description that mandates you to be at 6-10 meetings per week (that range from 2-10 hours in length), and then add in office hours and classes and says, "Hey, sign me up!", all for a salary that, when broken up into an hourly wage would be at a rate less than minimum wage (that is if they get paid at all)? NO SANE PERSON!!! The members of the ASWOU administration (which includes the Judicial, Legislative, and Executive branches) advocate for students on a daily basis because they care! They don't do it for the popularity (on any given day, someone on this campus is unhappy with someone in ASWOU because of something that was or wasn't done, or a decision that was made), and they certainly don't do it for the money. These student leaders are leaders because they care. They want to affect change. They want to help students so much that they are willing to work and go to classes all day, do homework all night, get 30 minutes of sleep, and be up in time to go lobby for students rights at the capitol the next morning. So if you want something to change, tell us! We are here for YOU. We are willing to give up our sanity for YOU, but we can't initiate change without you identifying the changes which need to be made. So call for change; tell us what you're thinking so that we can take it to university administration or even the capitol if that is where your concern needs to go. But we need you to tell us what you need. We could already be considered slightly insane because we took these positions willingly in the first place, you may as well take it the rest of the way and let us go completely crazy fighting for YOU!

ASWOU, going insane for students since 1939!

History

Brought to you by your Director of Multicultural student advocacy Martae' Neal

A little bit about myself; I have always been interested in Black culture and every since I was young my family made sure I knew about it as well. I’ve seen movies that talked about my black heritage from Africa to America. One of my favorite movies is ROOTS. Just this weekend I watch the whole series of  ROOTS. Roots is a movie that depicts on how African Americans ORIGINALLY lived in Africa as kings and queens and were free until they were kidnapped and abuse/raped/and chained into slavery. It was a very thought provoking movie with an intense storyline. To watch a movie about a country I live in...and knowing since birth freedom is innate privilege of me having,  surprises me on how that wasn't always true to people who look like me. Watching roots this time made me think differently about a lot of things that are going on in my life.. I question a lot of things this weekend.

I always knew that I came from a strong culture. But knowing the struggles and challenges of my people was horrifying to watch and made me so angry. Not only because it was wrong but because it was true at one point and time. And even though I live in a society that people don't see me as a slave, or a n*gg*r .. there still are individuals, clubs/groups and even  states that are a threat to me otherwise