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the cooper point journal
The Evergreen State College Newspaper Since 1971| October 17, 2018
GUNS ON CAMPUS
CAMPUS POLICE GET AR-15
RIFLES — A YEAR AGO
3
GRAND OPENING!
STUDENT EQUITY AND ARTS
LOUNGE OPENS
ARTIST INTERVIEW
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WITH
YUKIM NOMOTO
: @cooperpointjrnl
OCTOBER 17, 2018 / THE COOPER
POINT JOURNAL
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The Cooper Point Journal
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FROM THE ARCHIVES
GERTH
Students protest arming Evergreen police with guns, 1995. by DEBRA
HOW WE WORK
The Cooper Point Journal is produced by students at The Evergreen State College, with funding from student
fees and advertising from local businesses. The Journal is published for free every other Wednesday during the
school year and distributed throughout the Olympia area.
Our content is also available online at www.cooperpointjournal.com.
Our mission is to provide an outlet for student voices, and to inform and entertain the Evergreen community
and the Olympia-area more broadly, as well as to provide a platform for students to learn about operating a
news publication.
Our office is located on the third floor of the Campus Activities Building (CAB) at The Evergreen State
College in room 332 and we have open student meetings from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. every Wednesday. Come early
if you’d like to chat with the editor!
WORK FOR US
We accept submissions from any student at The Evergreen State College, and also from former students,
faculty, and staff. We also hire some students onto our staff, who write articles for each issue and receive a
learning stipend.
Have an exciting news topic? Know about some weird community happening? Enjoy that new hardcore
band? Come talk to us and write about it.
We will also consider submissions from non-Evergreen people, particularly if they have special knowledge on
the topic. We prioritize current student content first, followed by former students, faculty and staff, and then
general community submissions. Within that, we prioritize content related to Evergreen first, followed by
Olympia, the state of Washington, the Pacific Northwest, etc.
To submit an article, reach us at cooperpointjournal@gmail.com.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
We want to hear from you! If you have an opinion on anything we’ve reported in the paper, or goings-on in
Olympia or at Evergreen, drop us a line with a paragraph or two (100 - 300 words) for us to publish in the
paper. Make sure to include your full name, and your relationship to the college—are you a student, staff,
graduate, community member, etc. We reserve the right to edit anything submitted to us before publishing,
but we’ll do our best to consult with you about any major changes.
News
Evergreen Police vehicle 2018. DANIEL VOGEL.
HAVE AR-15 RIFLES
PRESIDENT BRIDGES QUIETLY APPROVED PURCHASE IN 2017
By FOREST HUNT
Emails obtained by the
Cooper Point Journal and
subsequent
investigation
show
Evergreen’s
Police
Services quietly purchased
AR-15 semi-automatic rifles in 2017 without notifying the campus community.
On Aug. 1, 2017 then
Director of Police Services
Stacey Brown requested the
purchase of AR-15 rifles
for police services on campus in an email to College
President George Bridges.
On Aug. 15, despite
Brown’s subsequent resignation, Bridges granted her request. Two days later he approved new rifle procedures.
In one fell swoop, behind
closed doors, Evergreen’s Police
Services had achieved a goal it
has been doggedly pursuing in
the face of mass community
opposition since at least 2008.
Brown’s email called for the
purchase of five semi-automatic AR-15 rifles, projected
to cost $12 thousand in total
with a continuing upkeep of
$1 thousand per year. Four of
the rifles would be stored in
patrol vehicles with the fifth
residing in the station. However, Police Services Standard
Operating Procedures allows
all officers to use “personally
owned” rifles in place of the
ones issued to them, allowing
for the potential of ten additional rifles if each officer used
their own. The procedures also
permit each on-duty patrol officer to carry a rifle in their vehicle, meaning that each police
vehicle could have multiple
rifles depending on the number of on-duty officers present.
The AR-15 rifle was developed in the 1950s for the
United States Military. The
rifles use .22 caliber rounds
shot at high speeds which
are intended to cause serious
bodily harm at large distances.
Brown called for a plethora of changes, including addi-
tional officers, communication
staff, and mandatory active
shooter orientations for new
students, faculty, and staff.
She requested crowd control
equipment including OC-10
pepper spray and pepper balls,
modernized radio infrastructure, door locking systems,
and alarms. Brown also asked
to expand campus surveillance
systems beyond the current 55
cameras, including the addition of cameras to Red Square
and body cameras for officers.
In his brief response, Bridges agreed to seek funding for
all these proposals in a supplemental budget request, his
only conditions being that additional surveillance systems
be “discussed more broadly on
campus” and office requests
be made to the campus “space
committee.” Many of the requests lack budget estimations. Those that do include
estimates add up to a one time
cost of $21 thousand and an
annual cost of $393 thousand.
In an email to the Journal, President Bridges asked
Sandra Kaiser, Vice President
of Public Relations, to speak
on his behalf “regarding this
decision” and the “concerns”
that led to it. Despite Bridges’ request, Kaiser never explicitly spoke to details of
the decision or external concerns that Bridges referenced.
When asked about consultation with the Board
of Trustees regarding the
decision, Kaiser said, “I’ll
have to check into that.”
None of the publically available minutes from
board meetings over the past
two years make any mention of purchasing rifles.
The Board has played an integral role in arbiting over
“There weren’t campus forums or
surveys for this decision”
Kaiser did say, “The decision making was by the President.” There was no indication
of consultation with Wendy
Endress, Vice President of
Student Affairs who oversaw
Police Services at the time.
police services continuing requests for rifles in the past.
Last year’s Police Community Review Board Chair,
Dr. Kelly Brown said the
Board was not consulted or
continued on next page
OCTOBER 17, 2018 / THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL
3
News
cont. from previous page
involved in the decision to
authorize police services to
purchase rifles, which was
confirmed by Vice President of Finance and Operations John Carmichael.
Dr. Brown was unavailable
for further comment before
press, and Carmichael flatly
refused to offer an explanation as to why the Review
Board was not consulted.
Carmichael, who Police
Services presently reports to,
spoke with surprising clarity
to the secrecy of the rifle decision: “There weren’t campus forums or surveys for this
decision,” Carmichael said.
safer from an active shooter
if police had these arms, and,
in the words of Carmichael,
“We have come to a conclusion that if we are gonna have
police on campus they are
going to have police things.”
Kaiser invoked the events
surrounding student protests of spring 2017, referring to “turmoil”, including the threat the college
received from a New Jersey
man which shut down the
campus and lead to graduation being relocated at
a cost of $100 thousand.
While first acknowledging
he knew it would make some
feel unsafe, Carmichael said,
happen on our campus, that
was the day, and nothing
happened,” said Vavrus. “I remember when somebody got
in a tower at the University
of Texas 1966 and just started shooting on the campus...
colleges didn’t go and suddenly get rifles. There have
been instances on colleges
throughout the years where
police being armed wouldn’t
have changed the situation.”
Former Academic Budget Dean Ken Tubbutt did
a back-of-a-napkin calculation in a 2009 email to faculty
responding to an earlier rifle
proposal, concluding that,
“the probability of an event
[involving a shooter] happening on a specific campus
each year is P(x) = 0.0003 or
once in every 3,140 years.”
“I am not implying that
an event only happens every 3,140 years - there may
very well be an active shooter on the same campus two
years in a row, or even in
the same year,” said TubWhen asked if there were “In some scenarios we were bett. “It is just an attempt
any announcements, emails, forced to contemplate last to put the probability of
pubic forums, polls, votes, year, having police appro- these events in perspective.”
or consultations with cam- priately equipped with riSarah Boucher, a student,
pus committees, unions, fles is safer for the campus.” worried that perceptions of
governance groups, includMichael Vavrus, Professor Evergreen students as “scary
ing the Geoduck Student Emeritus and former mem- and crazy” after the 2017
Union, Faculty Agenda ber of the Police Commu- protests may have played
Committee, or Staff gover- nity Review Board, thinks a part in the decision. “Are
nance structures, Kaiser an- the decision boiled down they for us, or are they for
swered, “Not that I know of.” to something simpler. “I intruders?” she wondered.
Brandon Ellington, a Rep- felt the police suffered from
Another student H.L.
resentative of the Geoduck weapons envy,” he said. He said, “It seems like these
Student Union, confirmed added that the police’s rhet- rifles were purchased in dehe had not been consulted, oric felt like it was out of fense of Evergreen as an
saying, “I should have had at the Wild West, with officers institution instead of in
least one significant conver- imagining themselves “com- defense of the students.”
sation with administrators ing in on their white horses
“The campus is a safer
about this decision. Like and rescuing people”, and place than it was,” insistseveral major college initia- it felt like a “macho show.” ed Kaiser, Vice President of
tives, I feel quite left out.”
He also responded to the Public Relations. “I would
Steve Blakeslee, Chair of suggestion that the events of say that we have really good
the Faculty Agenda Com- spring 2017 necessitated this law enforcement officers on
mittee, confirmed, “The is- response by pointing out the campus. They’re very highly
sue did not come before ei- college has gone through trained, they really care about
ther the agenda committee or much tenser situations in the people on this campus.”
the faculty at large last year.” the past, particularly when
This stands in direct
Senior members of the graduates invited Mumia contradiction to the testiadministration fell back on Abu-Jamal to be their com- mony of many community
several recurring themes to mencement speaker in 1999. members who brought up
justify the decision during Abu-Jamal was convict- instances of concerning beinterviews: rifles are present ed for killing a Philadel- havior and misconduct on
at all public colleges across phia police officer in 1982. the part of Evergreen police.
the state, campus would be
“If anything was going to Kay Kovac, a student and
“I felt the police suffered from
weapons envy.”
4
WWW.COOPERPOINTJOURNAL.COM
former Resident Assistant,
said police would “come
in and stand there with
their hands on their gun
belts and just hover,” and
that she was worried they
might use their weapons.
Vavrus recounted that
the officer in spring 2008
in charge of taser trainings
“chased an inebriated student into the forest and
tasered that student.” He
also underlined a May 13,
2009 incident when Officer Brewster threatened to
taser participants of a street
theatre performance on
campus “if it went too far.”
H.L. said, “As a person of
color, I must say, yes, people of color are in particular
risk of fatal injury when police are involved. Black and
brown people endure the
possibility of brutal force
when police are present, full
stop. These are officers at a
seemingly progressive institution, but this does not absolve them from implicit biases regarding race which are
so pervasive in our society.”
They concluded, “You have
to consider who’s the most
vulnerable at Evergreen.”
For these reasons, H.L. declined to give their name.
Several people pointed
to the recent shooting of
an unarmed black student
at Portland State University and the efforts by students there to completely
disarm their campus police.
H.L. warned it’s possible
for what happened in Portland to happen at Evergreen.
Officers with Police Services deferred comment to
the college’s Public Relations department, which
did not respond on their
assessed the college following campus protests in 2017
and declining enrollment.
While it did recommend
campus wide active shooter
trainings, increasing funding
and “support” for police services, as well as “minimizing use of force,” the report
did not contain any specific mention of rifles. It did,
however, call on administrators to ensure the college
“restores a sense of trust and
transparency among campus constituencies” and increases “opportunities for
campus-wide engagement
with the issues.” It recommended “active in-person
presence of leadership with
the faculty, staff, and students” and “frank communication and bold leadership.”
The report warns that
not implementing these
changes risks “a deterioration of the fabric of the
campus community, characterized by feelings of
mistrust
and
exclusion
from the administration.”
Next week we will publish
a follow up article chronicling
the communities reaction
to this decision, if you have
any comments send them to
Cooperpointjournal@gmail.
H.L. is an
Evergreen student who
elected to use a pseudonym for
this article
AR-15. by. TheAlphaWolf. courtesy of WIKICOMMONS.
CUTLITVATING
INCLUSIVE EXCELLENCE
By ZAE
This past week, The Evergreen State College held
its first annual Fall Equity Symposium, designed
to deepen the dialogue on
equity and inclusiveness
on campus. Held by Evergreen’s Equity and Inclusion Department, the two
day event was, “designed
to empower the Evergreen
community with tools to
create a stronger sense of
belonging on campus. Additionally, the symposium
is designed to have a meaningful impact in communities beyond the collegial
hemisphere. Participants
will receive the opportunity to further develop their
cultural-competency skills
as well as their understanding of how they can contribute to fostering a more
inclusive and equitable environment.”
The Vice President for
the Equity and Inclusion
Department,
Chassity
Holliman-Douglas, envisioned the symposium as
a space for the cultivation
of inclusive excellence, a
term she has coined from
the work she has done in
the department. Inclusive
excellence looks at equity, diversity and inclusion
through an egalitarian lens,
which does not equate the
student to a number, instead, identifies each individual in a holistic sense.
The Vice Provost’s work
centers on identifying what
the mind, body, and soul
need, and caters unique resources as nourishment for
each individual.
LaToya Johnson, former
Assistant to Vice President
of Equity and Inclusion,
worked intimately on the
development and execution
of the Fall Equity Symposium. When asked what
attendees can expect to
gain from the Symposium,
Johnson hopes that people
will leave with an understanding of inclusive excellence and the motivation to
inspire others. The current
Administrative Assistant to
the Director of the Police
Department states, “The
reason why other colleges
cannot get the student
numbers [statistically] accomplished, is because they
forget that they’re working with real people, real
students. Poverty is real;
people of color and things
that they go through are
real; socioeconomic statuses, regardless of what their
race is, are real; disabilities
are real. That is a thing we
forget on this campus a lot,
is that there are visible and
invisible disabilities that we
are not adequately serving.
We’re focused on how we
are [serving them], and less
on how we are not [serving
them].”
Johnson goes on to mention that this is a valuable
opportunity for faculty and
staff to understand their
students needs. She believes it is important for
faculty and staff to know
what resources are available
to help a student in need. In
response, Thursday began
with a Multicultural Networking and Resource Fair,
where on and off campus
departments and vendors
congregated to provide information and services to
Evergreen students, faculty, and staff. TRiO, Police Services, The Veterans Resource Center, and
The Health and Wellness
Center were among many
of the on campus support
groups featured at the fair.
On Friday, students, faculty, and staff had an opportunity to attend workshops
on fields of study related to
equity and inclusion.
Each day came to a close
with a keynote speech set
to define and inspire equity
and inclusion. Dr. Terrell
Strayhorn, Founding CEO
of Do Good Work Educational Consulting LLC.,
gave the keynote speech
Thursday evening. Dr.
Strayhorn was introduced
by President of Evergreen,
George Bridges, who took
a moment to honor the
Squaxin Island Tribe for
the stolen land on which
the College resides. Bridges closed his introductions
by stating, “We, as Evergreen, must change as society changes.”
Strayhorn is an internationally-acclaimed student
success scholar, renowned
public speaker, and an accredited writer, whose research focuses on the prime
policy issues in education,
regarding student access
and achievement; collegial
impact on students; student learning and development; and issues of race,
equity, and diversity.
The Professor of Urban Education at LeMoyne-Owen
College
voices the importance of
belonging, which is created
through a sense of feeling
and believing one matters.
Studies show that students
who feel as though they do
not belong on their campus lack a meaningful connection to fellow students,
faculty and staff, and the
overall campus environment. A lack of connection
directly impacts how a student interacts with their
academia. This potentially harms students if one
considers Strayhorn’s point
that, “Colleges and universities are training grounds
for larger communities…
they are the microcosms of
larger communities.”
“You have a story, each
story is unique,” Dr. Strayhorn states to the awestruck crowd. He believes
the first task in cultivating
inclusive excellence is in
individuals admitting that
they do not know anything
about the people who differ
from them. It is also in understanding the five admittances: race and identity
still matter; our lives matter, all lives matter; opportunity is structured in this
society, it is not distributed
equally; that living together takes work; and mistakes
will be made along the way.
“Where do we show up?
Where do we not show
up? What makes a person worthy of respect and
dignity?” are all questions
that prompted Strayhorn’s
research. “No one wants
to feel lonely,” he voiced,
“everyone wants to feel like
they belong.” The goal is to
create, “places of belonging where all people feel
like they belong here… not
tolerated but [that they]
belong here.” Strayhorn
states that, education is liberation: “Pedagogy is liberating. It should unlock the
potential of a student, that
is exactly the job of the educator.”
News
Strayhorn concluded his
speech with a personal story on his own experiences
in reclaiming his personhood in academic and/or
professional settings. After
many laughs, the audience
was brought back to decorum to participate in an activity. Attendees were asked
to turn to a neighbor in the
crowd whom they do not
know. Once people made
introductions with their
partner, they recited after
Strayhorn the words, “You
matter, you are enough, you
are here on purpose, and
you belong here.” People
also repeated these words
to themselves, as an act of
self-appreciation.
Dr. Strayhorn’s parting
words were, “When you
are good to others, others
are good to you.” During
the give back portion of
the night, Attendees of
Thursday night’s keynote
had the opportunity to give
thanks to Dr. Strayhorn,
for his insightful and passionate words. Strayhorn’s
speech was characterized
as “validating, motivating,
and personable,” by those
in the audience. Many
people boldly shared their
personal experiences in
feeling marginalized, alienated and/or unaccepted in
the Evergreen community. These individuals were
so moved by Strayhorn’s
keynote, many noted that
it empowered a new confidence within them to reclaim the community they
so rightfully belong in.
After the workshops
on Friday, a final keynote
speech was presented. The
Evergreen State College
had the pleasure of engaging with Dr. Joy DeGruy,
researcher, social scientist,
and author of the critically-acclaimed book Post
Traumatic Slave Syndrome:
America’s Legacy of Enduring Injury and Healing.
continued on next page
OCTOBER 17, 2018 / THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL
5
Community
cont. from previous page
“With over twenty years
of practical experience as a
professional in the field of
social work, [DeGruy] gives
a practical insight into various cultural and ethnic
groups that form the basis
of contemporary American
society.” Dr. DeGruy conducts workshops on Post
Traumatic Slave Syndrome;
diversity training; healing work; culture specific
models; community building; and gang and violence
prevention. She is currently
collaborating with Oprah
on her upcoming seven part
series, “Belief.”
Dr. DeGruy’s Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome, in
theory and in text, analyzes
the intersectionality between racism, trauma and
American chattel slavery;
its lingering effects of trauma on African descendents
in the Americas. She works
to educate and advocate the
theory of Post Traumatic Slave Syndrome. Based
on her research, DeGruy
has “developed a culturally
based education model for
working with children and
adults of color.”
When you bring up Post
Traumatic Slave Syndrome
in conversation, the individuals it discomforts have
a visceral response to it, DeGruy begins. She states that
people are far too often dismissive of the theory. “You
can’t say slavery, but you can
say holocaust… I don’t need
permission to talk about my
holocaust,” DeGruy boldly
declares.
“This isn’t rare, unique or
unheard, it simply is history… [and] you were miseducated,” DeGruy states
upon providing the horrific evidence which supports
her theory. She discusses
the differences of American chattel slavery and other periods of slavery: the
manner in which Africans
were enslaved, the duration
of enslavement (339 years),
the treatment of enslaved
Africans, and finally, how
African slaves were per-
6
ceived in regards to their
humanity. This history, DeGruy says, developed into
the backbone of our entire
economy.
“We have lots of dimensions to us,” DeGruy states.
The Symposium offered
multiple accounts and versions of identity erasure,
showing how such erasures
function for the majority who forcefully assume
power. And so, how does
one individually and collectively reclaim these stolen or dismissed identities?
How does one probe such
a change? Dr. DeGruy believes we are on the precipice of change. “America is
a divine experiment,” she
says, “The rest of the world
is looking right now saying shame on you America,
shame on you.”
The words of Dr. DeGruy and Dr. Strayhorn,
along with the workshops
and fair offered, mark the
beginning of Evergreen’s
most recent road towards
realizing campus equity
and inclusion. The hope is
for attendees to walk away
with a newfound spark of
inspiration, motivation, and
confidence. A big stride was
taken last week in providing
students, faculty and staff
the resources to nourish
their needs, and the many
workshops offered insight
for us to understand one
another on a profound level.
WWW.COOPERPOINTJOURNAL.COM
OLYMPIA ARAB FESTIVAL
By STEPH BECK FEY
“Our goal is to bring Arab
culture closer to home.” This is
the mission statement from the
program of the Olympia Arab
Festival, hosted biannually
during Artswalk by the Rachel
Corrie Foundation for Peace &
Justice.
This year marked the fourth
festival since 2012, and “each
year has been better than the
last,” said Cindy Corrie, Rachel
Corrie Foundation Board President and a main organizer of
the event. As she put it, “one of
the gifts of the festival is that
we can make connections that
can lead people to action, to
learn what’s going on and to get
involved, but at the same time
we can celebrate things that
are pretty universally enjoyable
from all of these cultures.”
Walking into the Olympia
Center for the event, the celebration of Middle Eastern culture and identity was strikingly
front and center. The walls were
colorfully decorated with the
flags of Arab countries. The
food truck outside the entrance
sold halal gyros. The vendors’
tables showcased a variety of
traditional arts and clothing.
The bands played Moroccan
reggae and Egyptian folk music, and when a band wasn’t onstage, arabic pop music blared
from speakers. Overall, the
atmosphere in the main ballroom was appropriately festive
and the sounds of conversation, commerce, and music all
combined to make the relatively cozy space feel much larger
than it was.
As Corrie suggested, all this
celebration was not without its
more serious elements of advocacy and education. At the
vendors’ tables, organizations
such as the Palestinian Heritage Group and A Piece of
Peace raised money for Palestinian causes. Off to the side
of the main ballroom, an art
room exhibited Luke Somers’
“A Day In The Life of Yemen,”
documenting both the joys and
suffering of the late photographer’s war-torn adopted country. Down the hall, even farther away from the ballroom,
a quiet space was set aside for
panel discussions on current issues in the Middle East as well
as heady topics of history and
identity.
Questions of identity in particular ran through almost all
of the discussion. As the Arab
world is made up of many individual nations with their own
cultures, there was a distinct
push-pull between identifying
with a nation and identifying
as Arab in a broader sense.
Discussing this divide at the
“Arab Youth Culture” panel,
student activist Samia Saliba described her own experience. “Growing up here in the
[Arab] diaspora, I tend not to
identify as Lebanese-American
as much as just Arab-American,” she said. She expressed
hope that connecting people
from the Middle East with
people from the diaspora could
lead to a pan-Arab movement
that “[recognizes] differences between experiences while
building communities across
borders.”
Building those communities
is never easy, and the presentation immediately following
came as a harsh reminder of
that. In his presentation, “Embracing Yemen”, Dr. Mohammed Ali Alawadhi reviewed
the recent history leading up
to the ongoing Yemeni civil
war as well as possible political
solutions. Discussing Yemen’s
current poverty, he emphasized
the wealth of natural resources
in the country and the industrial advantages it should theoretically have. “We’re not supposed to be poor,” he said. “This
was done to us.” He went on
to condemn international exploitation of Yemen’s resources
and termed the Saudi intervention in the war “a genocide.”
Dr. Alawadhi wasn’t speaking
as an Arab in any pan-Arabist
sense; he spoke as a Yemeni
concerned for his country. Discussing an intra-Arab conflict,
national identity comes first —
context is everything.
For the final presentation of
the afternoon, “Contemporary
Arab-African Relations,” Dr.
Sarah Eltantawi (professor of
comparative religion here at
Evergreen) looked at that fungibility of identity in a specifically North African context.
She said that, when she asks
Egyptians whether they consider themselves “African,” a
common joke she hears is that
“when African teams do well
in the World Cup, we are African.” After a presentation covering over a millennium of history and a multitude of current
events, she said, for her own
part as an Egyptian, “Of course
I identify as African. And Arab.
And a lot of other things at
other times. But what does that
even mean?” As the preceding
few hours had demonstrated,
that question never has just one
answer.
The festival concluded with
a performance on the main
stage by Jafra Dabke, a troupe
from Seattle that specializes
in a kind of folk dance called
dabke, common throughout
the Levant. The dance was joyous and energetic and everyone
clapped along. As the show
ramped up, the performers began to dance off the stage until
they were all dancing in a large
circle around the room. As they
danced, audience members began to get up and join. It was
an exhilarating end to the event
and a fairly on-the-nose metaphor for its mission of community-building through sharing
culture.
After what seemed like both
forever and no time at all, the
dance ended, and the Olympia Arab Fest concluded with
some brief closing words from
the Master of Ceremonies.
Hopefully the Fest will return
in 2020, better than ever.
“Empowerment through Education” mural outside the new SEAL office. DANIEL VOGEL.
STUDENT EQUITY & ARTS
LOUNGE OPENS
By MARTA TAHJA-SYRETT
After the long awaited move
from the Library Building,
the Student Equity and Arts
Lounge (SEAL) is now located in a naturally-lit room on
the third floor of the College
Activities Building. The SEAL
celebrated its grand opening
on Oct. 4. I met with Samuel
Silvestro, the peer coordinator
for Transgender Support and
Resources at the SEAL. We
discussed events and activities
connected to the space in addition to its role on campus.
What is the purpose that the
SEAL serves?
“Well it’s not only a meeting
and gathering space in general
for students that maybe don’t
have the easiest time navigating
academia, or maybe, academia
doesn’t feel cut out for them.
We prioritize minoritized students and it’s also a really great
place where intersections meet
So because of our merging
with the Trans and Queer center and also the First People’s
Multicultural Advising, we’re
really just like intersectionality,
kind of personified right now
It’s a really great space for people to access multiple parts of
their identities.”
What kind of activities
and events are associated with
the Student Equity and Arts
Lounge?
“So we have weekly events,
like Monday nights we have
someone from the QuaSR
Quantitative and Symbolic
Reasoning Center We have
a tutoring time. There is an
Unlearning White Supremacy Group that happens every
week. There’s specific groups
for both women and men of
color We have identity-based
groups and then we also have
just different things that pop
up. We have T4T4Tea which
is a gender-blending mixer It’s for trans and gender
non-conforming students and
it’s tea-party themed If they’re
students of color, queer and
trans students, both of course,
that have ideas they could
come to us and we can help
make events happen.”
The QuaSR, a tutoring center on campus, is devoted to
helping students in subjects
such as economics, general
chemistry, organic chemistry,
physics, mathematics, biology,
and statistics. Their mission is
“to promote retention and equitable outcomes across gender, race, socioeconomic status
and background in science and
mathematics.”
Can you describe the merging
of the Trans and Queer Center
and the Multicultural Center?
“I know that the Trans and
Queer Center just started a
couple years ago and that the
First People’s presence here
has been almost since the college has started, starting with
the Non-White Coalition, in I
think the late sixties and the
early seventies. And then there
was the Third-World Coalition
and then just with the way that
academic language around race
politics and stuff like that was
changed it became the Multicultural Advising Center, and
then First People’s. So there’s
been all this development in
both parts of campus in terms
of support for students of color, and then trans and queer
students. With this merging,
we’re trying to recognize the
benefit that could happen from
these inclusive spaces, from
these intersectional spaces.
They’re important reasons that
those offices were separate for
a long time. Commitment to
equity, actual equity — I think
this space is just really on the
forefront of that.”
What do you think is valuable
about having this resource available to people at Evergreen?
“Oh, it’s huge. I moved to
Olympia eight years ago and
Community
didn’t become a student until
two years ago but knowing
that there was a center on
campus that even just had the
name ‘trans’ in it is huge. And
talking with new students
during orientation week and
people being like, ‘I’ve never seen so many people that
are out’— I mean even just
the visibility is huge I think
having a space where people
can just be comfortable, do
homework, relax, seek resources. We have like herbal
teas for stress time and all
that stuff If you just need a
snack, if you just need to see
someone that mirrors your
experience because that can
be hard to find sometimes in
collegiate settings. And then
there’s like fun stuff too like
when we’re having a tea party
or food-based events. We’re
going to have a ballot party
just trying to make community engagement fun, too. So
it’s just a good space for what
I said: community organizing,
community building, personal
identity development.”
I saw on the web-page that
the Lounge offers workshops
and I was just was wondering
what kind of topics will be discussed at the workshops?
“So it really is up to depending on who wants to
do the workshops. I know
the students that work here
who were being encouraged to put on workshops.
I was talking about doing a
harm-reduction one, kind of
like a harm-reduction 101,
like what is harm-reduction,
how does that apply not only
in this space but in our communities at large. People were
talking about doing just different kinds of skill-shares,
whether it be art or computer stuff. Tonight there is actually going to be a grad school
workshop on how to intern to
grad school and how to apply and do all that gnarly leg
work So it’s kind of all over
the gamut Some stuff is more
political, some stuff is skillbased The options are really
kind of limitless.”
Why did you choose to accept
this position?
“Well I think as a non-traditional student being able to
plug in on campus felt hard for
me at first, even in a place that
is pretty liberal and diverse
like Evergreen Then I never
even knew that the Trans and
Queer Center really existed
because it was kind of tucked
away and I didn’t come to
campus during their normal
business hours because I’m an
evening and weekend student
When I heard that the merger
was happening and then that
there was student positions
available I just was thrilled
because I have a background
in community organizing and
working with trans and queer
youth and just doing a lot of
kinds of community-orientiented work
It just seemed like such a
cool place to be able to work
and have that opportunity as
a student to work with other
trans students Things like
that and to be able to offer
support and resources Even
though Olympia is a really
resourced place it can be hard
to know where to find those
resources and I have a lot of
experience navigating that on
my own, and it’s just a cool
experience to be able to offer
that to maybe younger students that haven’t lived here
for ten years and haven’t been
trans for ten years and just
need a little extra support I
was really excited to do that
and then to also interface
with other faculty and administration just to keep pushing
for more and more equity on
campus. It’s been great to
see the changes with more
non-gendered bathrooms or
gender-inclusive bathrooms,
whatever terminology you
want to use. … I’ve seen that
change in eight years since
living here and it’s easier for
me to pee on campus because
of it. If I can keep that momentum going for future gender non-conforming students,
that just made it seem like the
dreamiest job ever.”
A full list of events sponsored
by the new Lounge is available
in the SEAL.
OCTOBER 17, 2018 / THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL
7
Arts & Culture
“In the industry that I’m trying
to get into, it’s really about connection. At this point from what
I’m noticing it’s not even about
your skill anymore, because there’s
so many great artists out there.”
artist interview
YUKIM
NOMOTO
artist interview by
Brittanyana Pierro
8
WWW.COOPERPOINTJOURNAL.COM
How would you describe your art style?
“I guess it’s more towards realistic style because
I do a lot of human figure drawing and studying
human anatomy. But I guess there’s a slight style to
it, everyone has a style. Nothing’s perfectly realistic
... I do mainly characters, people drawing.”
What is your favorite art form in general and also to
use? What influences your art?
“My favorite art form or art medium I guess would
be digital. It’s not my most comfortable yet. It’s
still a little hard to get used to. My most flexible,
and one I find more comfort in would be you know
drawing or um, just like pen drawing.”
How has your art evolved?
“That’s the interesting this is like, everybody
assumes that I always drew people ... when I was
a kid, but how I really started was I drew stick
figures, like religiously… Hands down I drew more
stick figures than anyone. I made like a little scene
of war with like stick figures swarming toward each
other, like little actions going here and there, each
of them interacting with each other, punching each
other, shooting each other. I drew cartoons, and
then eventually I started looking at other artists,
being inspired by doing what they’re doing, and
then I started kind trying to copy them a little bit,
picking up on how they do things. Then I think
maybe around 12 outta nowhere I remember I just
started studying human anatomy, and I started
taking it super seriously …That kinda led to now,
being able to draw people.”
What inspires your art?
“I guess the only thing that kinda keeps me going
and doing my art is kind of my dream of working
in the entertainment industry. I went to an art high
school my [sophomore] year, and I started seeing
all the pre-production, the production of films and
how they work.”
Nomoto attended the Vancouver School of Arts and
Academics (VSAA) from his sophomore year of high
school until graduation.
“Considering how competitive it is today, you
kinda have to be some of the best, or you need a
connection to make it.”
Nomoto is now a first year at Evergreen, taking a
studio art program.
“My personal emphasis focus is in design, specifically entertainment design. My first year here I’m
taking Studio Projects: Land and Sky.”
Who are some artists that inspire your work?
“The people who kinda made it into the entertainment industry as artists or designers who have
been very successful, I look up to them alot.”
in the video game industry. He’s designed characters for like mortal combat and stuff. He’s really
good, I look up to him a lot both as an artist and a
designer. A more traditional artist would be Kim
Jung Gi. He’s kind of like… he’s kind of seen as a
master. He almost has a million followers on Instagram … Andy park, he’s another designer, I think
he’s like a lead designer for marvel. He does a lot of
the covers but he also does a lot of the characters
for all the superheroes. I look up to him a lot too.
And they’re all people of color, too. I study their art
a lot, pick up their techniques a little bit, and I get
better on my own and form my own style.”
Arts & Culture
“In the industry that I’m trying to get into, it’s
really about connection. At this point from what
I’m noticing it’s not even about your skill anymore,
because there’s so many great artists out there.”
Nomoto has recently become interested in film design.
“These days, even, like, superhero films, they’re
blowing up, they’re super popular, but behind
all that they all started from, you know, a lot of
designers and creative people. They have to think
about, you know, like how, all that came from comic books right, and there was a specific audience for
that, but if you want to bring those comic books
into a wider audience to blow up the way it does
now, how everybody knows all the superheroes,
they have to translate those comic book characters.
Not what they might look like on the screen, while
still being attractive to everybody. Some of the
characters in the comic book, they look ridiculous.
You can’t have them dress up like that in the film.
Nobody’s gonna take it seriously so that’s why you
got people like Marco Neller or Andy Park designing those characters.”
When you are drawing when do you most feel connected to your dream and the people who influenced
that?
“Once I’m done drawing it and I step back and
look at it.”
Nomoto uses Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator for his
graphic design work and other digital art.
“I get more commissions to do more graphic design work than drawing. I’ve done graphic design
from cool prints, or like businesses’ logos. And for
those I use Adobe Illustrator.”
To commission Nomoto’s work, message his art Instagram @yukim.art, his OG Instagram @yukim.nomoto,
or on his Snapchat @yukim_nomoto.
“Marco Neller, he’s one of the few black designers
OCTOBER 17, 2018 / THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL
9
Letters & Opinion
TESC parking lot in 1990. From slide archive. COURTESY OF EVERGREEN ARCHIVES.
OPINION: PARKING SERVICES MISUNDERSTOOD
By JACK STROUD
In the winter of 2016 the
Geoduck Student Union
(GSU) put forth a vote to
defund Evergreen’s Parking
Services.
Nothing came of this vote,
and Parking Supervisor Susie
Seip is glad. “Everyone would
have paid a parking fee out of
tuition whether you drove
or not,” said Seip. “If people
choose alternatives and don’t
drive they shouldn’t have to
pay parking fees.”
It is easy to overlook many
of the ministrations performed by Parking Services
and conclude that parking
fees are extraneous, even
if you do drive. It is easy to
think of Parking Services as
the agency one annually pays
$150 for permission to let
their car rust.
The Washington Administrative Code (WAC) grants
Evergreen’s Board of Trustees — all appointed by the
Governor of Washington
— permission to implement
traffic and parking regulations. Permission is the word
to note here, as parking regulations are not mandated;
our current Board of Trustees
(and all prior) have used their
authority to make parking
permits a requirement.
In an assessment of the
price of a new parking lot
or garage, Washington State
University concluded that
10
the cost per space could range
from $17,200 to $76,300.
Parking services has no say in
this, they are merely the proverbial messenger who often
experience the brunt of parking violation frustration.
The WAC also declares
that Parking Services must
be a self sustaining organization. In an interview, Seip
said “We’re not allowed to
get money from the college
and we’re not allowed to give
it to them either.”
Parking employee’s benefits must be covered by
parking revenue. The cost of
benefits was one of the factors that led to an increase
in the cost of parking fines
and permits. These changes
took place in 2015, when the
cost of parking was raised,
and then in 2016 when the
cost of fines went up. Seip
says that Parking Services
“took a pretty hard hit before we raised our rates. Our
expenses were more than
our revenue. Now that we’ve
raised the rates our budget
is becoming more healthy.”
Individually, more expensive
parking is undoubtedly unappealing. Collectively, as a
college, parking fees that render an economically sustainable Parking Services is more
beneficial to Evergreen’s operations as a whole than a
first glance allows.
WWW.COOPERPOINTJOURNAL.COM
Since Parking Services
is a self-sustaining agency,
they are required to pay other campus agencies for work
done on their behalf. “If Facilities does work for Parking
then they’re gonna charge us
x amount for that work, but if
they did that same work for
say, Academics, they wouldn’t
charge them because of the
way Parking has to be seperate,” said Seip.
Parking Services oversees
Evergreen’s Commute Trip
Reduction (CTR) program,
an organization whose purpose is encapsulated within
its name. This organization
is fully supported by parking
revenue and, rarely, grants.
Seip said “there is lots that
can be done to improve the
CTR program but very little
funding to do so.”
Improving the CTR program is of mutual benefit to
those at Evergreen and beyond. The estimates of carbon emission from privately
owned vehicles vary widely,
though it is clear they aren’t
auspicious to a greener world.
A recent study conducted by
RethinkX concludes that
privately owned vehicles sit
idle for 96% of their usable
life; as frequent parking pass
payer Josh McManus analogously put it, “I don’t want
to pay for the movie theater
while I’m not there.”
To correct for this disparity, Parking Services promotes
carpooling, bike-riding and
taking the bus as alternative
commute options; unfortunately, these are chiefly acts
of individual volition and
convenience. Additionally,
Parking Services has spearheaded such initiatives as the
commuter lockers (which
can be found in most buildings on campus), the bike
share program (temporarily defunct for lack of skilled
personnel), parking passports
(which consist of 44 free
parking days a year for faculty who find alternative ways
to commute 3 days a week),
bike pumps scattered around
campus, free bus passes for
staff and faculty, student bus
passes (included in tuition
for students), and the nightline bus schedule.
Seip has many plans for
the future of the CTR program. “Its funny to think
about, okay, we work for
Parking but we’re trying to
reduce parking through the
CTR program,” she said,
chuckling. She hopes that,
rather than putting herself
out of business, the work will
change as parking becomes
more and more a thing of the
past. Some of her plans for a
financially unhindered CTR
program include “people being paid for not driving, say
you take bus to school and
home you get a dollar each
way, even I would do it for
that and I have a long commute,” and an Evergreen,
“fleet system — van or something — for picking people
up.”
So the next time you feel
like cursing Parking Services
up, down, and backwards for
a relatively inconsequential
albeit inconvenient fine or
fee, remember that they are
filling a gap that is a consequence of our current transportation system, or lack
thereof. And ask yourself (as
a presumably environmentally incentivized member
of society), am I driving my
discourse? Am I taking advantage of the CTR services
available to me? If parking
is reduced at Evergreen, the
cost of sustaining the department would go down and in
turn allow more resources
to be allocated to the CTR
program, whose benefits and
beneficiaries need not be restated.
As a final note to Evergreen parkers: if you receive
any parking fine(s) that you
feel unfair, Seip wants you to
know that the best thing to
do is get in touch with her
or her department as soon as
possible. “It’s so much easier to help someone early on
than if they let it go on for a
long time.”
She says that if you let
your parking tickets go unattended for too long, you “are
probably going to end up
paying it.”
Array of burgers at The Greenery. DANIEL VOGEL.
Letters & Opinion
RULES & REGULATIONS (AGAIN)
By DJ PFEIFLE
HOW’S THE FOOD?
A GENERAL REVIEW OF THE FOOD IN THE GREENERY
By DJ PFEIFLE
We all know the Greenery
doesn’t have the best food,
but what is the best of the
worst exactly?
For you, dear reader, I embarked on a tireless journey
to The Greenery to help you
all understand what is good
and what is bad. To make
things simple, I’ve divided
the food into four distinct
categories: excellent, good,
safe, and risky.
Before we begin, if you
have an allergy please for
the love of yourself and your
doctor, remember to read the
nutrition labels. The Greenery does not always mark
allergens on their food, even
though they probably should.
Excellent food in The
Greenery is food that is generally better than the typical
available in the Greenery.
This food is available on a rotating basis — usually weekly
— so you should get your fill
while you can. In this category we have tater tots, corn
dogs, chicken nuggets, and
curly fries. Basically anything
fried that is not usually available.
The tater tots are satisfyingly crunchy and are, interestingly, more often available
at breakfast instead of lunch
as a replacement for hash
browns. Curly fries, on the
other hand, are better than
standard fries because they
are well seasoned, and have a
better texture than the regular ones. The chicken nuggets
are possibly the best thing
available in the Greenery:
they are crunchy and have a
good flavor (tastes like chicken, which it should in this
case). The corn dogs are just
nice because it’s a change-up
from the standard burger.
Good greenery food is
your standard fare, what is
available daily that is not
too good, but not too bad.
Here we have pizza, burgers,
fries, and the salad bar. Pretty much all drinks, breakfast
foods, and desserts also fall
into this category.
The pizza is actually really good until you get to the
crust. The crust is really dry
and flavorless. Protip: leave
a little of the actual pizza on
the end or dunk it in ranch
to make the crust taste better.
Burgers are very okay. There
are usually chicken and hamburgers. They’re not great,
but fine.
You can also order a vegan
burger, garden burger, grilled
cheese, or no cheese burger at
the counter where the burgers are served by asking whoever is back there to hook you
up. The fries, while tasteless,
are well cooked. With a little
ketchup or salt they’re a nice
compliment to just about
anything.
The salad bar is possibly
the best thing available daily, so if you want something
good, it’s a nice failsafe (it’s
off to the left by the dessert
and soups if you still haven’t
found it).
Desserts are very hit or
miss, but none of them are
terrible. The cookies are dry
but they taste good, and any
of the cakes are usually fine.
The safe category refers to
any foods that are rotated daily, and are generally tolerable.
In this category we have the
sandwiches and wraps, along
with soups. The sandwiches
and wraps are usually flavorful and well seasoned; on occasion they are a bit dry. The
soups, while not amazing, are
generally on the decent side
of things. There’s two options
daily, so you’ll probably like
one of them okay.
Finally, there is the risky
category. These are foods that
are rotated, on a daily basis, and are usually bad, but
there are some gems hiding
in there. This mostly applies
to the foods the Greenery
labels “international.” These
are usually bland, and are
very americanized versions
of what they are trying to
make. Additionally, anything
that is not “white American”
food is marked “international,” which is bad. The pasta is
often pretty good, though.
So, it turns out those rules
and regulations I discussed in
our first issue of this year were
more or less correct, but I was
informed by a staff member at
Residential and Dining Services (RAD) that I had gotten
bits and pieces wrong.
Cut me some slack. Those
documents are really long
and boring, and it’s not like
you read them either. These
are the things we got wrong,
along with some clarification
on things mentioned in that
article.
Regarding smoking pits: not
all of them are closed during
quiet hours. This rule only applies to the one by the mods.
The smoking area by the Housing Community Center (HCC)
is open 24/7, however, quiet
hours rules still apply. As for
other smoking areas on campus, RAD has no jurisdiction
there.
Another point had to do
with RAD coming into your
room for a scheduled inspections and/or cleanings. In
those cases, they will give you
24 hours notice. However, for
something like an emergency
or extreme weather, they may
come in without any warning.
If it’s a repair, there may be less
notice. However, in that case,
you asked them to come in.
With regards to the Greenery, while Aramark isn’t using
prison labor for the Greenery
specifically, that doesn’t mean
they aren’t using it at all. Much
of the furniture in housing is
made from prison labor. Besides, meal plans are too expensive and greenery food
sucks, so avoiding Aramark is
nice if you can.
I also got some rules about
your room wrong. You may
leave your room unlocked
and your door open when you
are both awake and inside it,
however, you may not leave
the door to your apartment
or dorm floor open. The rule
about mattress covers isn’t really relevant anymore, as most
beds don’t have a cover. Anyhow, finally, you may not use
your window as a door (e.g.
hopping in and out of them all
the time). Windows don’t lock
from the outside, so it’s sort
of a hazard to just keep them
open like that.
It turns out you do not have
to report a cold to RAD. Instead you must report much
more serious and contagious
diseases. Something like a cold
or flu is fine to just deal with
and not tell anyone, but something like measles or chickenpox needs to be reported.
Drug paraphernalia is defined by RAD as anything with
drug residue on it, so a hookah
is not technically drug paraphernalia so long as there is
no residue of anything illegal
on it. Needles for diabetic use
are also fine, but, like, I would
hope so.
We finally got an easy explanation of what UL approved
lighting is (hooray!). Anything
that is UL approved will either
have a sticker on the item itself
indicating such, or on the box
it comes in (or it did when you
bought it). If you’re not sure, a
general rule of thumb is that if
it was made relatively recently,
it’s probably approved. Also if
an appliance you have is not on
the approved or banned list of
appliances, you will need to get
it approved, email Dani Clark
(clarkd@evergreen.edu) to inquire.
Finally, service animals and
assistance animals have different rules about where they
are allowed to be. Service animals are allowed anywhere the
owner is allowed. Assistance
animals however are only allowed in the owner’s room and
outdoors. This means you may
bring your service animal who
is trained to perform specific
tasks to help you out in your
daily life to class, but you have
to leave your emotional support dog at home.
(Note: this is a correction to a
previous CPJ article, the article
can be found at:
http://www.cooperpointjournal.
com/2018/09/19/all-those-regulations-you-didnt-read/)
OCTOBER 17, 2018 / THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL
11
Letters & Opinion
LaToya Johnson by LATOYA JOHNSON.
&
UP
COMING
THU. OCT 18
Cozy Karaoke Night
8 p.m. - 10 p.m., pajamas & snacks
HCC
POC Centered Art Night
6:30 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Student Arts & Equity Lounge
FRI. OCT 19
Spotlight:
Poetry from Beyond the
Binary, Open Mic
8 p.m., $3-7 NOTAFLOF
New Moon Cafe
Poetry from Beyond the
Binary, Open Mic
8 p.m., $3-7 NOTAFLOF
New Moon Cafe
THU. OCT 25
Overdose Awareness &
Narcan Training
6 p.m.
Providence Community Center
SAT. OCT 20
All Freakin Night
10 p.m. - 5 a.m., $20 admission
Capitol Theater
WED. OCT 24
Jenn Champion: Single Rider
8 p.m., $13 cover
Capitol Theater
SAT. OCT 26
Hocus Pocus Halloween Party
6 p.m. - 9 p.m.
Student Activities, CAB 313
SUN. OCT 27
38th Annual Harvest Festival
11 a.m. - 5 p.m.
Evergreen’s Organic Farm
Stonewall Youth’s
Bowl-O-Rama!
6 p.m. - 8 p.m., all ages
Westside Lanes
Bioluminescence & Spooky
Creatures of the Deep
10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
WET Science Center
12
By BRITTANYANA PIERRO
For our last issue I sat down with
Latoya Johnson, Administrative
Assistant to the Director of Police
Services and former Assistant to
Vice President of Equity and Inclusion, to talk about her time here at
Evergreen and her understanding of
equity on campus. This is the continuation of that interview.
Latoya Johnson grew up and
lived in New Orleans most of her
life. She attended University of
New Orleans for her BA in History, and later Southern Louisiana
University for her MA in History.
Currently, Johnson is enrolled in
Southern New Hampshire University working on her second MA in
the Science of Operations and Project Management.
After obtaining her first Master’s
degree in 2011, Johnson struggled
to find jobs, only landing supportive
and administrative assistant roles
in her hometown of New Orleans.
“Opportunity for people of color
is not in abundance,” Johnson said.
Moving out to Washington was a
big change for her family, but it presented the opportunity for Johnson
and her husband to have better jobs
and a better education for her three
kids.
“My first job here was, again,
being someone’s assistant,” Johnson said. She went on to a variety
of support jobs, until landing at one
that was more on track with her fo-
WWW.COOPERPOINTJOURNAL.COM
cus of interest. Unfortunately, due
to budget cuts and overall miscommunication, Johnson was not able
to advance in her career path in this
job. At this particular time time she
had just recently moved to Olympia, and was unexpectedly jobless,
trying to support her family of five.
During this period, Johnson landed the job of Assistant to the Equity
Panel at Evergreen. Currently Johnson is is another temporary support
role as Administrative Assistant to
Police Services on campus. Originally, johnson would’ve been let go
from her job at Evergreen in total,
if it wasn’t for John Carmichael, VP
of Finance and Operations. Johnson
said Carmichael was “Instrumental
in me having continued employment at Evergreen.”
When asked if the move was
worth it, Johnson said, “It’s not a
waste, because my husband’s thriving in culinary school, he goes to
culinary school at SPSCC [South
Puget Sound Community College],
my kids are in school, they’re getting
a better education than they did in
the South. I just feel like I’m stuck.
I felt like I punished myself when I
just became complacent, and I was
nodding my head like, ‘Oh sure I’ll
take this.’”
“A lot of time people of color, especially black women, we become
comfortable. And we get scared of
change, and you may watch people
not like you. You may watch white
people making all these moves and
you’re sitting there and you’re like,
‘Well what am I not doing? We’re
talking about having this equity
mindset and were talking about uplifting people, and uplifting people
of color,” Johnson said. “I’m grateful
I have a job, but I’m still thinking
to myself, as a woman of color, surrounded by other people of color in
positions that can make decisions: ‘I
don’t feel so uplifted right now’.”
Johnson went on to speak of her
mother, a nurse, who didn’t get a promotion at her job for almost 30 years.
The bulk of her mom’s struggle was
because she “never sacrificed her authentic self,” as Johnson said. The occurrence of this ‘sacrifice’, commonly
referred to as code-switching, is a behavior used by marginalized groups
in both professional and personal
environments. Code-switching is
known in communities of black and
brown people as switching between
one or more languages, or vernaculars, often to fit in with whomever is
surrounding you.
“Women of color are always expected to be a certain way, to have a
level of strength and all these certain
things. It’s even harder on me ‘cause
I know that expectation is there. And
it’s even harder when our own people are holding even a higher candle,”
said Johnson. “We’re telling white
people to uplift us, and be allies, but
our own people are not stepping in.”
She further discussed the intricacies of working in diverse spaces and
dealing with a privilege disconnect
based on wealth and status. “I think
back to something a professor told
me a long time ago,” said Johnson.
‘We can all be one color, but we’re
not all one people...Privilege doesn’t
always mean color. I think sometimes
people of color forget that you can be
privileged within your own race.”
( Johnson wants to clarify a phrase in
the first part of this interview, in that
she would not say the the police department has been specifically more welcoming than the equity council.)
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ANNOUNCEMENT!
Bodhi Stanberry, daughter of Daniel
Stanberry and Shana Parker, and Patrick Stewart, son of Roger and Daphne
Stewart, were united in marriage on
August 18th, 2018, in the orchard of
Stewart Manor on Bainbridge Island,
WA.
The bride and groom both managed
to amass, procure, wrangle up, or otherwise get their hands on sufficient credits
to obtain Certificates of Completion
from your very own Evergreen State
College. They met while both employed
by that bastion of free thought and unparagoned wisdom— The Cooper Point
Journal. Bodhi lent her skills to the CPJ
in 2013 and 2014 as news editor and
distribution manager, while Patrick
“worked” from 2012 to 2014 variously
as letters and opinions editor, managing
editor, and resident drunk.
They now reside in San Francisco,
CA and as such, would appreciate any
donations of canned goods or other
non-perishable food-stuffs.
p.s.- This notice does not comply
with the CPJ’s usual rigorous adherence
to the AP style guide for the very good
reason that the newlyweds have both
forgotten what that is.
OCTOBER 17, 2018 / THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL
13
Columns
there’s more to it, you know? I feel
bummed, but I also feel maybe disappointed because I planned to stay the
night there. Maybe I feel overlooked
because I really want them to WANT
to hang out with me, more than they
want to write their essay even. I want
attention, I want affection, I want affirmation! I want to make out! This
is unfair.
.
Hello Body Party!
I have a problem. I met this really cute,
sweet, tall boy who really, really makes
me happy. When we spend time together I feel so sweet and nice and by
the time we have to part ways, I get
so bummed out. The thing is, I feel like
things are going too fast ... Not because
of him, but because of me! Every time I
meet someone new and we start being
sweet on each other, I get way too attached. I don’t want to freak him out,
and more so I don’t want to set myself
up for failure if something goes wrong!
What do I do?
-A Big Mood for a Big Dude
Hello Big Mood!
Isn’t it the worst? To love and be
loved in return? To yearn for human
intimacy, to crave to be seen, only to
remain alone and individual at the
end of the day? As much as we want
to know others, we never truly will.
We are born alone and, as such, we
will die.
Haha, what a bummer! I totally hear
you, though. Feeling such big feelings
– no matter what they are – can be
really freaky, and scary, and turn into
something bigger than what they really are, really, really fast. Not know-
14
.
ing what to do with these feelings of
fondness can lead to feeling frustrated and insecure. When we’re feeling
these huge emotions and don’t know
what to do the size of them, the intensity can quickly start to feel wild
or unruly. To add to it all, feelings
like crushes, sweetness, and longing
can all be very vulnerable and leave
us feeling soft and exposed. What
starts as such a lovely and cutie mood
can quickly snowball into a big mess
of freaky doubt and angst. What’s up
with that?
As scary as these can feel, I have a secret for you, Big Mood. A life hack, if
you will. It’s maybe shocking and it’s
maybe hard to hear, so brace yourself.
Here we go: they’re just feelings! That
sounds obvious, I know, but hear me
out. As big as they feel, as freaky as
they feel, feelings are different from
reality. Obviously, right? But the
sooner you practice making this differentiation in your mind, the sooner
you’ll be feeling better. Maybe? Let
me explain.
The feelings we feel are different than
an event or a thing in the world. For
example, when I’m hangin’ with my
sweetie and they say they want to
spend the night alone so they can finally do some homework, this makes
me feel so majorly bummed. But
WWW.COOPERPOINTJOURNAL.COM
But is it? This is where the distinction comes in for me. These wild-ass
feelings make me think “Jeez, Body
Parts, you’re being a freak! You’re too
attached, you clingy animal! You always do this. A make out fiend on
the loose!” but that’s neither useful to
think to myself, nor is it kind. So I
stop!
It has got to be
okay for a sweetie
to draw a boundary
in your relationship
without it turning
into an event.
Instead, I try to think of what’s really going on in the most objective
way possible. My sweetie isn’t saying
they hate me, they’re not saying they
hate hanging out or that I’m freaking them out by being too much.
What they ARE doing is giving me
a gift by letting me know what their
boundary is. They’re even letting me
know where they’re at by telling me
that they just need space to write an
essay, not because they think I smell
or something. If they did think that, I
know they’d tell me that. Until then,
it’s super unfair to turn the situation
into something it’s not.
It has got to be okay for a sweetie to
draw a boundary in your relationship
without it turning into an event, even
if the event is an inward one. You
know? It’s good for you both to try
really hard to not take a “no” personally. A “no” is a gift!
Next, I try really hard to figure out
why I’m really feeling these things, if
not because of this situation. I love
hanging out with my sweety, but I
really am feeling disappointed and
overlooked. Not because they’re asking for some space, but because I re-
ally hate changes in plans and I really
run on compliments. Maybe a personal issue, but whatever? What can
I do to help those feelings? I can ask
them what they think is cute about
me :///) and I can ask for a little more
notice when we change plans. Now,
instead of spiraling into some weird
depression hole when I go home,
filled with dread and clingy shame, I
can let my cutie know how I’m feeling and what I’m needing. They can
use these loving tools to help build
our relationship and I don’t have to
be a fucking freak about everything
all the time. Everyone wins!
In short, Big Mood, it might be a
good practice to see why you’re feeling like too attached. What are you
scared of ? What are you wanting?
Are those expectations reasonable?
And if not, how can you confront
these feelings and negotiate them
to be something that is good for you
and good for your relationship? Hm!
It’s easy once you get the hang of it.
Trust me! And if you ever need to
talk, you can always come by the CPJ
office and I can make you coffee! Because I love ya~
Text me soon!,
Body Party
Each week, our anonymous resident
Body Partier will take YOUR questions and answer them, judgement
free! To have your questions
answered in print, send us a Q at
ask.fm/CPJBodyParty
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Journal?
Submit to our
LIT & CRIT SECTION!
Send us your critical essays
and short stories!
Word counts ranging for
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Please send
submissions to
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with subject: LIT & CRIT
Horoscopes
RUBY THOMPSON.
By MARIAH GUILFOIL-DOVEL
LIBRA 9/23 - 10/22
ARIES
SCORPIO 10/23 - 11/21
TAURUS 4/20 - 5/20
Trouble in paradise? It happens in all relationships. Libras love balance so when relationship issues come up it can be especially hard for them to deal with them. This
week, it’s time to take your medicine. What’s the prescription? One massive chill
pill. Stressing over your relationship will get you nowhere. Instead think on the good
things that you have happening in your life and put your energy there. It also never
hurts to apologize for any harsh or unloving words said in the heat of the moment.
LIVE YOUR LIFE OUT LOUD. Stop dreaming and start dancing! That’s right,
this is the time for Sagittarius to dance in the rain (and in the sun, while it’s still out).
Situations will always be changing and shifting, but your ability to stay true to yourself is admirable. Staying true will prove your best ally in this time of new beginnings.
Your truest self will be found when doing the things that you love the most. Create
moments in your everyday life that incorporate your passions.
SAGITTARIUS 11/22- 12/21
Sagittariuses have the unique ability to see what is wrong in the world and the skillset
to do something about it. Big or small, now is the time to go after the things that are
on your heart! Step out of your comfort zone and try new things. When issues and
problems rear their ugly head remind yourself you did not come this far to fail now.
You are talented, and you will be surprised by the results.
CAPRICORN
12/22- 1/19
Let go of things of the past. They are not serving you anymore. Forgiveness is healing
to the soul and soothing to the body. This week holds an exciting opportunity but
you’ll find it where you least expect it. Instead of looking for opportunities, start creating them for other people. You rise by lifting others up. Using your skills to bring
others to the table will not only help them succeed but encourage you to keep going
when times get cloudy. It’s always darkest before the dawn. When the light shines
through you will be standing victorious alongside the people you have helped along
the way.
AQUARIUS 1/20 - 2/18
This is a time for new growth and new style. That haircut you’ve been too indecisive
to get? Today is the day. That person you’ve been meaning to talk to? Time to take
the leap. The job you’ve been dreaming of ? Send out that resume! There is no better
time to try new things. This season has you perfectly placed to go big or go home.
Be careful of fear creeping in and trying to say you can’t succeed. Don’t listen to that
voice. You’ve got this.
PISCES 2/19 - 3/20
3/21 - 4/19
Your passions for people and the environment will be in full effect. Keep your eyes
open for opportunities that will help your academic and work life grow in abundance.
Never forget: you don’t have to settle when it comes to what makes your soul come
alive! Your peers are looking for you to step up and lead them. Don’t shy away
from group projects in school or work. You have a lot of knowledge to offer these
communities.
Take time to develop the harmonizing and solitude loving side of yourself. Go for
a walk or read your favorite book. This will help you live your best life. Life is fast,
demanding, and will stretch you to your limits. Self love is an art and learning how to
take care of yourself is the best investment you can make at this time of your life. Your
future self will thank you for investing in quality self-care this week.
GEMINI 5/21 - 6/20
LOVE is in the air! Love of life, love of friends, love of family, and love for helping
the world. Your calling is to be a walking love dispenser! Do not hold back. Give away
compliments like candy. The best way to fill your love tank is to give it away when you
see people in need.
CANCER 6/21 - 7/22
Watch out world: Cancer has arrived kicking butt and taking names. This week forces
will try to come against you, but giving up was never your style. Don’t shrink away in
times of trouble. Life is tough, but you are tougher. Speak love and stand strong. The
goals you’ve been striving towards are just within reach!
LEO 7/23 - 8/22
Your flair for the dramatic can sometimes get you in trouble. However, with some
focused energy, your dramatic flair can become your greatest asset. This season will
put you in a place where you are tested to use your dramatic ways for good. Never
underestimate your ability to sparkle. The spotlight can be fun. It’s always better when
used to lift others up out of darkness and shine with you.
VIRGO 8/23 - 9/22
You were made to do epic stuff. Put your phone down. Abandon any other distractions that have been keeping you from reaching your full potential. Some friends are
real and some are fake. When you start living up to your potential they will start to
show their true colors. Pay attention to the people who are there for you on your good
days. Pay better attention to those who are with you on your worst days — those are
your ride or dies.
Bring on the Abundance! Get ready. The stars are in your favor. This is a time to be
open and honest with your friends. Opening up and being vulnerable will only bring
you closer. Your friends will start to trust you more and you’re circle of influence will
grow. Those connections and networks you pour your heart into will be with you for
life. They will also be the help you need to take on new endeavors that are on the
horizon.
OCTOBER 17, 2018 / THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL
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