cpj_20171018.pdf

Media

Part of The Cooper Point Journal (October 18, 2017)

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the
The Evergreen State College .Student Newspaper

I October

18, 2017

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J O LJ R N A L

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CH/EFBROWNRESIGNS

MISTAKEON THELAKE

HORRORSCOPES

EXCLUSIVE
LOOK
AT
THE
FUTURE OF CAMPUS POLICING

NEW RENOVATION PLANS FOR
LOCAL OLYMPIA LANDMARK

THE SCARIEST FUTURE YOU
NEVER
SAW
COMING

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STAFF
HOW WE WORK
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

Jasmine Kozak Gilroy
News EDITOR

Chloe Marina Manchester

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.

· COMMUNITY EDITOR

Georgie Hicks
ARTS

&

Our content is also available online at www.cooperpointjournalcom.

CULTURE EDITOR

Sally Linn

Our mission is t9 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.

COMICS EDITOR

\.

Morrissey Morrissey

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
4 to 5 p.m every Wednesday.,
·,
.

8UISNESS MANAGER

April Davidson
WEB MANAGER

..

Felix Chrome
DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

Joe Sullam

·"
WRITERS

Tari Gunstone
Mason Soto

CONTACT
OFFICE

The Evergreen State College
CAB 332
2700 Evergreen Pkwy NW
Olympia, WA
EMAIL Us

cooperpointjournal@gmail.com,
CALL Us

(360) 867-6054
V1s1T Us

Our Weekly Meeting
Wednesdays at 4 p.m.

CoveR ART

Bv

Devon Demonte
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WRITE FOR US
at

We accept submissions from any,stud<?flX 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 stipeµd.
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 !cnowledge 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 ofWashington, 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.

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A few of the counter protestors weilding handmade signs. CHLOE :tvlARINA MANCHESTER

Anti.- abortion protester takes of Evergreen cap to reveal "Make America Grc:it Again" hat. JASMINE KOZAK GILROY.

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''THE GENOCIDE AWARENES:S PROJECT''
COMES TO EVERG·REEN
By Chloe Marina Manchester

pus which outside groups have
the right to be on, provided
they have a permit. However,
faculty had information about
this for about a week prior to
students being informed and
Evergreen's
administration
had been working with them
for weeks on permit issues.
There were faculty and staff
volunteers positioned around
Red Square and other parts of
the main campus alerting students to the display, providing
information on protest guidelines, and informing students
of routes around campus that
would allow them to avoid havingto lookatthe graphicimages.
While the display was up,
roughly from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
· each day, there were students
holding signs opposing the
display. On the second day of
the display, students brought
speakers and played pop music through Red Square to
lighten the atmosphere and
give student protestors some-

thing to dance to. Some of
the signs held by students included, "My body, My choice,"
"Thou Shalt Not Mess With
People's Reproductive Rights,"
"Just ignore them and dance,"
arrd.. "Roe v. Wade didn't mark
the beginning of people getting
abortions, it marked the end
of people dying from them."
One pro abortion rights protesto said that they were out
there to show other students
that they are supported and
that there are people standing
up against the bigotry on disP.lay. Explaining, "The shaming that's going on here and
the fact that they're taking
this space away from us, that's.,
why I'm out here. I don't think
anybody should have to come
here and see these awful thirigs,
'cause you don't know what
people have been through."
The counter protestors set up
donations for Planned Parenthood in response to the display, one student said, "Just

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On October 11 and 12, an anti-abortion group known as the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform (CBR) was on Red Square mounting a display they call "The Genocide Awareness Project". There were signs set up around Red Square by the group alerting students to the grnphic
imagery of genocide, as well as a "post abortion crisis line" supported by the group. Members of the group stood behind a fence surrounding
the large display and wore Go Pro cameras filming students on Red Square and those interacting with the GAP volunteers.
The display at Evergreen was
made up of seven 12x15 foot
panels that depict aborted fetuses, Holocaust victims, a confederate flag, and images of other
historic genocides. These images were juxtaposed with other signs saying "All Black Lives
Matter" refering to the belief
that abortions saught by black
women are a form of genocide
against African Americans.
Students received an email
from Jennifer Drake, Provost
and Vice President of Student AJfairs, on October 9.
The email alerted students to
the demonstration, provided
information on Evergreen's
free speech guidelines for students who wished to protest
the anti-abortion display. The
email stated, ''.According to
the Washington State Attorney General's office, CBR has
the right to peacefully present
their views in Red Square. "This
is because Evergreen is a state
school and thus a public cam-

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yesterday we received in cash The Executive Director of
or check donations almost the CBR is Gregg Cunning$300 for planned parenthood." ham, a Republican former
On the evening of the sec- member of the Pennsylvaond day the display was up, col- nia House of Representatives.
The group has been tourlege president George Bridges
sent a school wide email say- ing this display on college
ing, "I am particularly proud campuses across the United
of the students who vigilantly States and Canada since 1998.
held signs around the display
Following the final tear
for many hours, in the cold and down of the exhibit ·Thursday,
rain, lawfully and effectively student Michael Penhallegon
expressing their own views on attempted to organize a gatherreproductive rights. This open- ing to reclaim Red Square as a
hearted, grass-roots counter- space for students. Penhallegon
demonstration stood in strong said, "The official thing is that
contrast to the anti-abortion they were just touring. [... ] All
display" Bridges concluded the of a sudden we have student
email with a warning that, "We protests and they were like
can expect more non-college 'hey!' you're just baiting at that
groups to visit our campus this point. And it just happened to
year and in years ahead. Our start on National Coming out
thoughtful response to this ex- day. Holding these signs and
hibit sent a powerful mess.age to yelling at these protesters is the
many who watch Evergreen and shame shit we've been doing
those who hope to study here." for ten years. I think Evergreen
The CBR was founded in did the best that they could
1990 as a privately funded with the President they have."
non profit "educational group."
OCTOBER 18, 2017 /THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL

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News

STACY
QUITS
FIRST LOOK AT HER
RESIGNATION LETTER & THE
PLANS SHE LEFT BEHIND
by Jasmine Kozak Gilroy

,oto taken of the "mistake on the lake"in 2004, perhaps the nicest this building has ever looked.JSYMETRY via,'•• ,. ....u

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FROM
'MISTAKE' TO L0XURY
AS NEW PLANS EMMERGE TO
REDEVELOP LOCAL OLYMPIA
LANDMARK, ACTIVISTS QUESTION CITY EMPHASIS ON DENSITY

by Mason Soto
·,;
On the evening of October 5 a group of citizens gathered at New Traditions Fair Trade
and Cafe to discuss the new development planned to take place in what is known as "Mistake on the Lake," a piece ofland subject to debate for years in Olympia. The next night, they
met at the kissing statue on the bridge to protest and spread information to Art s Walk attendees about the issue. Environmental and anti-gentrification activists worry the upcoming high-rise apartment and commercial development, "View on Fifth"will further alienate working and low-income communities and endanger the surrounding land and water,
while other citizens view it as just another unwelcome change to the Olympia silhouette.
The_ developers say they hope the
site will activate the area and stimulate the economy, which activists say
is coded language for gentrification.

The building that stands there
now, on the isthmus at 410 5th Ave
SW, is the Capitol Center Building,
empty for over ten years since the recession stopped it from becoming the
shopping center it was once intended
to become. The fifty year old building
was originally a bank, then a Departments of Corrections office, before it
fell vacant and earned its status as a
"Mistake". Citizens have called for
a -restoration of the open panoramic
view of north of the Olympic Mountains, but the obstruction remains.
"View" is to be a thirty million
dollar investment for local developer
Ken Brogan, completed as a ninestory, L-shaped, glass covered complex with eight floors of"market-rate"
residential units and a first floor of
retailers and offices, all surrounding
an automated interior parking lot for
one hundred and fifty cars. The.re was
even talk of a high-end restaurant on
the top floor, and overall the design
itself instills worry in advocates for
low income communities who think
the project will do little to address
the root issues of Olympia's housing
crisis. The new development will encompass the present structure entirely, converting the "Mistake" into but
a piece of a new building nearly the
size of a city block. The plans for the
development have moved through
official channels fairly quickly, with

the Land Use application sent on on the shores of the Deschutes estuJune 14, approved as complete by ary before the construction Of Capitol
June 23, and meetings held in July Lake in 1951. It was home to imrniand August to discus_s the design grant and iffipoverished communities
proposal. Now, though, the process and a part of the Hunger March of
has stalled, awaiting scheduling-for a the 1930s until it was burned down
public hearing with the City Council. by leaders of the town. More recently,
The public has made their voices organizers and indigenous tribes
heard nonetheless, through demon- have called for Capitol Lake to be
strations and hundreds of comments restored to an estuary once again.
sent to city officials available on the
In recent meetings and discusOlympia city website. Many citi- sions, activists brought up issues of
zens against the constniction project precedent and the environment. Some
are planning to gather outside City -. say the building will become a lightHall on the evening of October 17 .... ··rung rod for further gentrification of
to pressure the city not to delay the · Olympia, and they worry at the lost
required hearing much longer. In a opportunities for the land. One parFacebook page for the event, protest- ticipant cited the ongoing construcers' demands are outline4 as such: city ti.on of Westman Mill on State street
councilmembers and the mayor must near the bus station, where wetlands
take a clear position on the project, stood just a few months ago, and said
the city must hold and -publiciZe the that «Views" would -perpetuate the
public hearing, and that ally official pattern of what they see as ecological
with ties to developers on the proj- ignorance. 1hey worry that the plans
ect lose decision-making authority.· do little to address rising sea changes,
The event page stresses the power and limit the ability to restore the
citizens have to make decisions, Bay area to -an abundant and farstating, "An entire council has been reaching estuary.' Housing is also at
voted out once before for attempt- the forefront of their conversations,
ing to develop the isthmus. 'This is and the need for more affordable
a critical time to show opposition." homes and to address houselessness
The isthmus and Capitol Lake often ca.me up. The city's ongoing
have histories of activism surround- densification of housing seems a
ing their development that stretch necessary but complicated endeavor,
back far, from when the Occupy and it is unclear how the marginalOlympia protesters briefly made ized communities ·most in need of
camp in an adjacent building back places to live are being prioritized
in 2011 after they were evicted from by city government and developers.
Heritage Park, to the historic 'shanty
town' Little Hollywood that existed

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Stacy Brnwn stepped do'Y" from her position as Chief of
Police at the Evergreen State College on July 19, 2017, after
serving for just 11) months. Her last day was August 4, 2017.
In her letter of resignation, obtained by the Cooper Point
Journal through a public records request, she explains, "There
simply were too many barriers in place for me to be effective in creating the kind of culture and change needed to be
a contemporary police organization. While there are many
great people in the police department, the necessary support for profession.al law enforcement services is not there."
Brown _su.mp1-ed up her exit writing, "When my integrity, ethics, core
values,'\nd my sworn oath to uphold
the constitution and protect those I
serve do not align with those of my
employer and the -community, it is
simply ti.me for - fie to move on."
In a · sta_tement given to The
Olympian,-P.tesident George Bridges
said, ~e -iue"very grateful to Chief
"",,
Browri'' for -the leadership and pro. fessionali~m she provided to the
college' throughout the past si?i;:
months, We wish her all the best{"
Brown graduated from the Evei-green State College in 2006, in the
midst of twenty years of service with
Lewis County Deputy's Office. Records from the Tumwater City Council show that she was sworn into service as an officer there on September
5,2017. Their records show that, "Several Councilm·embers commented on
the outstanding caliber of Officer
Brown and welcomed her to the City."
Brown's tenure was rocky from the
start- she was sworn in on January
11, 2016, to cries of"fuck the police"
and "death to pigs".The Cooper Point
Journal spoke to Brown just two days
after her inauguration and while she
expressed being shaken up by the incident, she seemed optimistic that she
could open up forums for exchange
explaining, "Some people don't think
there should be law enforcement
anywhere in the United States-like
there shouldn't be cops at all. It should
just be-I don't know how else to say
it, lawless. I can't change people's
minds on that. But if people wilnt
to have an intelligent, civil, peaceful
conversation, I'm totally open to that."
Although in' her resignation letter Brown describes her accomplishments saying "I began establishing
best industry practices and standards,
implemented a leadership framework, set performance expectations,
and ensured training standards were
being followed for individual development of officers, and staff," declaring that she, "was able to effect
positive change for our department
and the college," it is likely that her
greatest legacy will come in the col'

lege administration's response to the
ten page assessment of the needs of
campus Police Services, delivered to
George Bridges and Wendy Endress
by email on August 1. The assessment,
apparently promised during the June
work session held by the State Senate Law & Justice Committee, details
the need for an additional $400,000
in annual funding, as well as $33,000.
in one time costs. Items racking up
the bill include two additional full
time police officers, one full time administrative staff member, a new subscription system to keep the officers
up to date- on training, the costs for
rifles, ammunition, and training for
officers, students, staff and faculty
on active shooter situations, and "industry standard crowd control equipment to include vests, OC-10 pepper
spray and Pepper Balls, and other
crowd control tools," because, "Officers lack non-lethal tools for crowd
dispersion and de-escalation." Brown
also explains the need for a modernized dispatch system, body cameras
for all officers, and increasing the
number of video surveillance cameras on campus with special attention
paid to, "parking lots, select administrative area~ and on Red Square."
These updates, the assessment says,
1hill require additional review to estimate costs for implementation.
Riffles, despite being central to
several accounts of her stepping down
from national media outlets, are not
mentioned in her resignation email,
and although her references to lack
of support necessary for her to do her
job could be interpreted that way, it
may be best to take her word for why
she was resigning, citing the triple
threat of, "the anti-law enforcement
culture, open hostility towards law
enforcement, and lack of accountability," as the major points of conflict
for her. In a personal email obtained
by a public records request and sent
by Brown the morning of August 4,
just hours before she left the College for good, she says of Evergreen,
"really no one would understand the
complexity and absurdity of this place
unless they, themselves, have lived it."

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RECONVOCATION RECAP
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by Mason Soto
On Wednesday, September 27 many students and staffgathered in Red Square to spend the afternoon engaging with our community through
collective art, emotional speeches, joyful music and more, all centered around healing froi;n th~:inarrifestations of racism and other forms of
oppression on campus from last spring and"l:ieyond. The details for the event, titled Re-Convocation, were spread mostly by word of mouth,
but in the days before, posters could be found on boards around campus for a rally aimed at starting the process of"I-j:ealing as a community".
It was a warm day, and the sun was
bright as the event began, as alumnus
and artist Gary \Vessels Galbreath
opened with a speech that emphasized the land of our campus and its
long history. He gave reverence to
"the original caretakers of this land",
like the Squaxin Island, the Makah
and the Skokomish tribes, and he
spoke of a coexistence and collaboration across this space. He told of how
his 1985 class helped the Longhouse
became a reality, alongside the efforts of Mary Ellen Hillaire, the first
woman and first Native American
hired by The Evergreen State College (TESC) and the founder of the
Native American Studies program.
He also reflected on the twenty-five
years of effort it took for the longhouse to be built. Still, he closed on
an optimistic note, and the atmosphere of the event from there was
full of hopefulness, alongside frusttation and reconciliation with the past.
Gary and other speakers stood afront the Peace Memorial, looking out
onto the listeners and booths set up
by groups from around the area that
filled Red Square. There were information booths galore, and Student
Wellness Services had free First Aid
Kits and other essentials, while more
booths had zines, snacks, and water for the talcing. Local non-profit
radio station 106.5 KOWA also set
up a booth alongside one b}' a local
chapter of the national organization, Showing Up for Racial Justice
(SURJ), and they all spread info
about upcoming community organizing and events aimed towards social
justice, including a monthly potluck

hosted by the Women of Color in violent white reactions, and painted
Leadership Movement and volun- clearly this country's reliance on
teer opportunities for homelessness racism: "Sure we set the standard of
activism group SideWalk. Other capital industry, but don't leave out
groups that came were Familia, the the standard of hpw you view me."
new campus group whose members In an interview for this article, Vansupport undocumented, low-income, lyn elaborated on her poem and her
and other underserved student, na-- ,· experience at the rally. She felt the
tional Chicano union •MEChA, rally was important because of the
Gateways For Incarcerated Youth so-far limited acknowledgement
and the Thurston County Food Bank. the administration has made in adThe speakers continued, and Aca- dressing issues that came up in the
demic Program Support Lead Secre- spring. She thought that more people
tary, Sheila Sawyer read a fable writ- might have been there had people
ten by Evergreen Literature professor felt safer to spread word about the
Joye Hardiman about truth and false- event, and that the campus had not
hood. The narrative ended with ten- done- eilough in creating community
ants for creating a more truthful and safety for students. "The lack of takwelcoming world, like "embrace mul- ing a hard stance against racism and
tiplicity", "shift the master narrative", fascism leads us to having to work.
and "contextualize, don't personalize". in back alleys in _order to communiStudent organizer Finn next broke cate,,, she said. With her poem, she
down the events of spring for those invoked ancestors alongside herself
out of the know and for new studeI_!ts, and her peers who struggle in fightand faculty memberJulie Russo spoke ing oppression, and she spoke about
about the need to interrogate the the necessity for people "to spend
meaning of"violence" when speaking joy together as well as struggle."
about protest and the inspiration that She was glad to see art all over the
the spring activists gave her through event space, from canvases that intheir example of "deep commitment vited participants to wri_te and draw
to organizing and to this c0llege." about their ·experience, to a table set
There were chants lead by many who up for tile-making creating a collec¥ke, and when folks sang the words tive work from the Re-Convocation.
"Love is a law, all comes froin love, all
At some point about halfway
goes back to love" that got just about through the rally, ex-faculty memeveryone to sway and clap along. ber Bret Weinstein showed up on
Student Vanlyn Turner-Ramsay Red Square. The camera crews that
read her own -poem about inter- were filming the event went for a
generational rage, freedom, and the closer look, as he listened from afar
black experience. It traced struggles to a few speakers before leaving
from the Atlantic Slave Trade to early. When· asked for a comment
modem police brutality, elaborat- as to why he was at a campus coming black movements for justice and munity event since his recent legal

settlement with TESC ended his
position at the school, he ga,ve no
response. Julie Russo acknowledged
his presence when she took the mic,
and then spent time to acknowledge
the "people who are not here on our
campus this year, because they were
dox.xed or harassed online, or had
their mental and physical health
damaged, or no longer feel safe on
this campus as a result oflast spring."
Geography and Native Studies
faculty Zolt:in Grossman followed
with a powerful speech contextualizing the student protests around
wider social changes. He criticized
the school's lack of noteworthy participation in ongoing social movements aimed at justice, like Black
Lives Matter, despite TESC's ttadition of supporting anti-war and
other protests. "Evergreen didn't
shape students into protesters- the
students are just beginning to shape
Evergreen." He has been archiving
the national media attention that Evergreen has gotten since spring, and
he spoke of the alt-right's widespread
harassment of liberal arts colleges, especially. those with alternative learning styles. He warned of the growing
conservative backlash against higher
education, and the necessity to con"'
demn hate speech. He said there was
a need for unity built around respect
for differences, and a need to end the
silence around issues of inegt'i:ality.
The last few speakers engrossed
the audience, as a snident Priscilla
gave a speech about· her experience
with Deferred Action for Childhood
Arrivals (DACA) and led the audience in chanting "El Pueblo Unido

Jfunas Sera Vencido", which means
"the people united will never be divided. "Then, student organizer Isaiah
spoke about the complicated nature of
student demands for change and the
need for self-care, plus he cited the
goals that were accomplished since
spring, like establishing the Equity
Center and student participation in
changing the Code of Conduct. Student Jaruil B. followed with a meditation on the personal traumas that
student organizers and all oppressed
people face in the world. They emphasized older generations' knowledge of
the struggle against the forces that be,
and ended with a call to timely action
for those black trans folk, like Jaruil,
who ore already dying too early. "One
of the worst things you can say to me
is that we have time. Time is well
gone.,,Evergreen staff member Karama Blackhorn ended the speeches by
asking what brought us all there, and
how we would maintain the passion
that brought us for the year to come.
Before closing the event, Gary
Galbreath led all the participants in
a simple ceremony of coming-together called a friendship dance. Everyone stood in a line, and wrapped
ourselves around so that each person got to see and meet each other
person in spontaneous and smilefilled spurts. Strangers shook hands,
hugged, and chatted about all things
under the sun as Gary sang and
played a drum, and it seemed a perfect representation of a chant that
had been repeated all day: "Stay connected, stay whole, that is the goal."

OCTOBER 18, 2017 /THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL

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Artist Interview hy Sally Linn
Ordering a licorice and salted. caramel ice cream cup for an 11am treat, Devon Damonte maintained his personal unpredictability and whimsy when
I met to interview him for this issue. Teacher, community member, and artist, Devon ·has no singular medium for his work. His focus is in cameraless
film making but spans the ·gamut of printmaking, rubbings, fiber arts, paper
craft, sculpture, photography, writing, poetry, painting and all things textural.

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Arts & Culture
Himself an Evergreen grad, once he finished school, he began volunteering with the
Olympia F1lrn Society in downtown Olympia,
though only for his "devious means" of trying
to get his films shown on the big screen. He inevitably succeeded and was started on his path
to becoming a core member of the Olympian
arts community and beyond. After working for
a number of nonprofits. and other scenes like
museums and film festivals, he eventually landed in Boston. Due to fortuitous circumstances
and knowing that soon he would have to vacate
his apartment, he began teaching there, hosting
free workshops in direct animation film.
Direct animation, Devon's primary medium,
involves creating images on film without the
use of a camera, computer, or other imagegenerating technology. Instead, the film is manipulated by any number of inventive ways that
span having other materials applied to it like
barbecue s¾uce or patterns on paper, etc., or by
using a darkroom to create photographic transfers of objects onto the film. Because the film
is then played back through a projector at 24
frames per second, the results of direct animation are often chaotic, spontaneous, and generally a non-representational whirlwind of color,
shape, and sound.
Reflecting on his path as an artist, Devon
states his personal manifesto: "I've chosen
freedom over success. It's what allows me this
perspective [of broadening my ambitions.] I've
chosen a lifestyle that's pretty ch~p and low

risk in a certain bigger societal way and that's
how I cobble together my livelihood. I'm not
terribly ambitious in the normal ways. My
ambitions are more under the radar. I'm more
interested in getting things done than getting
ahead and that allows me a lot of freedom both
practically and in a philosophical sense around
art." For a life of freedom and making art, it
"isn't just making art; showing art, promoting your work, networking-all those awful
words-are important pieces of living this life
of freedom.n
Because he's chosen this kind of lifestyle
that has minimal practical requirements and
allows him to foais on creating rather than
consuming, art for ID!D "is like food, like air,"
something both necessary and a common requirement for human existence. He shared a
sadness with me over the increasing trend that
the word "art" and the money around procuring
art has acquired a bad rap, especially in commu- ,
nities like Olympia. He's recognized that to be
able to have money associated with art requires
a certain degree. of privilege and exclusivity of
the art world. But without buying, selling, and
trading art, it severely limits the artist's ability
to produce art. For Devon, collecting art of all
kinds is his "responsibility and joy as a human
being to be able to earn money and spend it on
art." The idea of paying for art is often is connected to a pursuit ofthe usefulness ofan; Devon says. Art shouldn't be only non-utilitarian. It
should be across all spectrums and applications.

..

In spite of this, Devon professed, "most of the
art I do is useless."
The results of direct animation on film are
highly abstract and are something which Devon
is attracted to and something that allows for a
small and close community ofpeople who really
appreciate it. "My film work is normally radically abstract, beyond abstract, like non-representational, like nothing. What I want out of
that is a unique experience and something that's
dazzling and can transport me and other viewers to another dimension ofbody and mind and
experience. For those of us that are into that, I
want to do that. I'm into that," Devon says.
For Devon, "art is a dance between the intensely personal and ineffable and the awkwardly public meeting of minds and diverse experiences and you can't really have one without
the other. We're [alive] in order to interact and
engage and learn about ourselves. It's a personal
and human need that I feel, but I don't like to
limit the dazzle. n
Devon's activities are as diverse as his range
of mediums. These, he says, keep his life balanced. "There are day jobs," he says, "and then
there are day jobs. At some point, you've got
to pay the bills." In the process of art, Devon
explains that it's more than just making things
and working all the time. There's planning,
showing, cleaning up, and getting organized.
He's currently engaged with the latter after
completing his latest project, "Bird Seed Bags,"
which is a film made using materials from the

titular contents and was shown on 35mm film
at the Capitol Theater during Visual Music's
second of two shows this summer.
Each summer at Evergreen, Devon Teaches
a program called Visual Music in 16mm and
35mm Direct animation. Students have the
opportunity to have their work shown in two
shows during the course of five weeks, one of
them being in the historic Capitol Theater. This
was where I was introduced to him as the class'
program aide. The capacities of this transcendent class are not something I will not soon
forget.
Devon's advice for the kids, was to "keep
making work. Some of the most important
studio days are when you make terrible work.
That's what makes you go on and make something brilliant the next day." For new ideas,
Devon has his rule of the three day test where
he will conduct material tests for three days and
if by the end of the period if the idea is still
physically possible and just as ingenious and
beautiful, only then will he seriously pursue
it. "It's important to let your production rest
too," he says, "and use that time to clean up and
lighten your load." It's a kind of work that isn't
production oriented. Rather, it's an aspect of an
artist's lifestyle.

OCTOBER 18, 2017 /THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL

07

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Letters & Oeinion
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what do you do when you see
In honor of Halloween, we did
Hillary
Clinton
on
Harri- something scary, forgoing our usual
son by herself getting into / a Skull Vodka for Wasted Advice and
Prius? You ...wave hi and smile instead getting drunk on Dollar-Riand try and a get on tv and holy tas at Applebed so you don't have to.
fuck like girl why you on harrisson but also get it. You are blessed
Until the end of October Apby the stah;iJs and also the demon plebee's is doing a promotion for
idk whay id if inwas in your place. $1 margaritas. Some of your local
friendly CPJ staff have taken it upon
where do you .find ,tops on themselves to test this experience
campus Bitch
good , luck!! out for you and basically all we have
•
to say is: "yup it's a margarita". PerHow do you deal with· wanna fack sonally I'd only consider these semi
cis white dudes after publicly bash- alcol:Jblic, they taste pretty watered
ing them for so long after gaining a down and are served in small mug
following bashing them? Do i deny like glasses but if you understand
myselffar the cause or get dat dick?? that after paying a dollar you really
So we just be brown and like die are only getting a dollars worth its
a little bit unside and also get laid fine. There's a limit of 3. My biggest
and br haopy and just... cry inside suggestion would be to go after 9
because they have half off appetizers
how do u deal w seasonal depres- and you can get a long island iced
sion ? Its like tou have to kust push tea for $4 (which is honestly a better
through and think about ur life and deal), but hey a dollars a dollar- grab
like cook warm things and find love. your other broke friends head to the
Applebee's and rejoice in the sounds
Is it appropriate to betray ur friend of small children crying and awkand ·tell their crush that they are ward family dinners while enjoying
crushing on them just cos u wanna you watery, slightly green alcoholknow if they like them back even like drink and remember that after
though urfriend is a dark skinfemme 3 drinks and 3 dollars you too can
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Letters & Oeinions

CRASH COURSE IN

LETTER TO
SOCIAL JUSTICE SLANG THE EDITOR
THIS WEEK, POC TALK TALKS TALK

Hey y'all, we are going to be doing a series on terms you should know!
Things like, what or who is a TERF? What does white fragility re~
ally mean? Or, why am I getting such bad side eye because I'm using
the dictionary definition of racism? This week we'll be talking about
TERFs, Intersectionality, white feminism, dead names and doxxing.
These terms cover complex issues the explanations given here do not
and cannot cover the entirety of the concepts they describe. These are
not COffiplete definitions but are ment to serve as an entry into the
conversations that surround them. There are many more terms and
ideas we should be interrogating, hopefully this is a good start.
lntersectionality
The dictionary definition of intersectionality is: "the interconnected nature of social
categorizations such as race, class, and gender
as they apply to a given individual or group,
regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage."
For people who inhabit more than one
marginalized identity, these pieces are layered
and not separated from each other. This means
that discourse need to also be intersectional
in order to be an accurate portrayal of the
variance of marginalized identity. For example
fighting for women's rights needs to include,
women of color, disabled women, gay women,
trans women, incarcerated women, immigrant
women, all women and not just the stereotypical woman who tends to be portrayed as white,
cis, thin, hetorosexual, middle/ .upper middle
class, mentally and physically able etc. A lack of
intersectionality can be seen in ways such as a
white feminist supporting "women's rights"but
not supporting the fight against anti-Blackness,
and in effect not supporting Black women. For
people with intersecting marginal identities
we do not get to pick and choose what cause is
important for us because we experience them
all at the same time.
The only truly productive type of feminism/
class analysis/race analysis is intersectional.

violence and actually physically harm trans
people. Personally I believe terfs are a hate
group and their discourse has no place in
feminist discourse. Some TERFs consider the
acronym a slur which is so ridiculous it's hard
to comprehend. The thing is you do not get to
tell people who they are based on genitals that
are none of your business and walk around calling yourself a feminist when what you support
is just blata'rft transphobia.

Dead name
A dead name is a name a person doesn't
use anymore. This name is dead to this person.
Do not dead name someone. Do not call them
this. Do not introduce them as this. Do not
go through their old things to try and find it
if you don't know it. Do not pressure someone
to tell you their dead name. Do not tell other
people their dead name unless you've been
explicitly told you can. Not everyone cares
about people kntiwing their dead name but
some people do and so it's generally just a good
rule not to. Do not say well i've know you as ...
forever so i'm just going to keep calling you
that. That's a really really awful thing to do to
somebody and shows that you do not respect
them and their ow-n autonomy as a person. Use
the name people want you to use for them.1hls
is not a "preferred" name this IS tlfeir name.

'DENSITY' &
GENTRIFICATION
IN OLYMPIA

By Robert Gorrill
Density is heralded as the key to Olympia's future. With density, so the argu"
ment goes, Olympia's housing crisis
can be resolved and the projected influx
of some 20,000 people over the coming decades can be accommodated.
Density, in theory, entails ecological and
social benefits to cities. However, the rhet9ric of 'density,' as it's deployed in Olympia serves to justify gentrification, while
failing to contend with real concerns surrounding housing and the environmenp,·
On the basis of density, city politiciahs
and Olympia residents have supp()rted
major market-rate developme'!,tS in downtown, such as th,;Views-on-F)fth project.
Projects like the~~;won't solve .Olympia's
housing crisis or address Olympia's expected growth. They will, however, further gentrify Olympia, contributing to the h,ousing
.

.

..·

crisis by fueling displacement arid increasing rents. The evidence of this pattern can
be found in major cities across the U.S. Research shows that large proportions ofluxury housing sit empty, challenging notions
that these projects will increase density.
Units are hoarded by the wealthy as vacation homes or as forms of investment to
then be immediately resold as the price in,creases, while no 6ne actually lives in them.
'Olympia's housing crisis and expected
growth are significant problems, but the
capitalist market can't solve them. Gentrification under the guise of"density" is a charade benefiting developers, landlords and
banks, but with devastating consequences
for marginalized and working-class people.
Strong housing justice and environmental
movements are the only hope for dealing
with Olympia's housing/growth issues."

~

······················~······························
•

•'t'

Have soi;nething to say? Drop us a line at
cooperpointjournal@gmail.com, wj.th subject
line "Letter to the Editor".

Dox:cing
White feminism
White feminism is feminism that focuses
on white woman above other people. These are
the people who talk about feminist issues but
ignore race's importance, class analysis etc. in
feminist discourse. An example of this could be
someone who sUpports a feminist business but
ignores the gentrification it's helping propel or
causing, gentrification being something that
overwhelmingly impacts people and women of
color. Another example would be people who
celebrate the growing number of women in
politics without acknowledging how overwhelming white the represent3.tives are...

TERF
TERF is a a acrOnym for, trans exclusionary radical feminist, TERFs use feminism as
a cover to propagate anti-trans bigotry and
exclude trans people especially women from
discourse . Terfs do not respect trans peoples
some going as far as to doxx: harass, threaten

Doxxing is a mutation of the word "docs",
and refers to the gathering of personal and
identifying information about people and then
releasing it to the public. Doxxing is often done
with the intent -to eithe~ cause harm or violence
to whoever is being targeted. but it is also
sometimes used to expose someone who could
be dangerous or is doing something ethically
wrong that has been previously obfuscated.
Doxxing is something that was experienced
by some students/staff last year at Evergreen
after the protest, this resulted in people receiving threats of death and sexual assault. Doxxing
is also what got· all those neo-Nazis fired after
the Charlottesville rally when the internet took
it upon itself to identify and make sure these
people were punished for their vile actions.

And that's all for this week folx.
(POC Talk will continue next issue, in
which I "regurgitate" more "si:iowflake" rhetoric.
Love ya'll)

OCTOBER 18, 2017 /THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL09

Letters & OQinion

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The CPJ is always taking comic submissions. Just send your comics to
CPJcomix@gmail.com at at.least 300 dpi or drop off a hard copy to the CPJ office,
CAB 332 across from student activities. For more information, as well as submission
guidelines and sizing requirments, visit us at http://www.cooperpointjoumal.com/submit/

10 WWW.COOPERPOINTJOURNAL.COM

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Letters & OQinion

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by Apfil Davidson

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ARIES

1

3121 -4119

Your enemy sends you a text message saying to meet them at midnight in a downtown
warehouse. You assume this means to fight so you gear up and prepare for battle. When
you show up there's no one there, even your enemy has abandoned you. The wind howls
against the sheet metal walls. You realize the real enemy is yoursel£

TAURUS 4120-5120
You're on your way to a new job and you stop at a creepy gas station in the woods. There's
a grizzled old man who warns you not to drive any further down the road, it's been closed
for years because of mysterious accidents. You need th'.e'cash and you'll be late if you take
another route so you keep going. You wake up from a coma in the hospital ten years later
and the nurse hands you a bill for one million dollars.
·

GEMINI 5121 -6120
You think you hear your phone so you grab it but the ringing is coming from somewhere
else. After searching for a suspenseful amount of time you find an old Nokia 3310 be.tween your couch cushions. Your heart is pounding as you think, "is there even a carrier in
my area that supports this model?" but you answer anyways. It's Dominoes, they say you
just won free pizza for life but you have to choose only one topping get forever and you
immediately burst into flames.
•·

to

CANCER 6121 - 7122
You decide to never leave your home or speak to anyone ever again. No one suspects a
thing because you made a robot and programed it with your backlog of your texts to generate hundreds of thoughtful replies. You assume one of your loved ones will eventually
notice that they're speaking to a fake version ofyou but you're just too talented. Fifty years
later some kids break into what they think is an abandoned mansion and find you under
a layer of dust two inches thick.

LEO 7/23-8122
Your friends are all going to the rural com maze so you pick out your finest fall themed
outfit for the event. By the time ya'll get to the maze absolutely no· one has complimented
your style choices yet. You drop some hints about how certain shades of burgundy go so
well with your hair color and still nothing. Getting frustrated you try to grab your friends
arm and your hand moves through their body. Tums out you're a ghost and literally no
one knows you exist.

LIBRA 9/23-10122
On Halloween you and your rooiilmates decide to break into the ruins of the old mill
looking for ghosts. Somebody says; "let's split up, gang!" and one by one, you can hear the
terrified shrie~ as they are J?urdered by an unseen monster. You run home and hide in
your bed until ili<>ptlng, when you emerge from your room they're all back and tell you it
was all a bad dream! You settle in to enjoy your avocado toast, but hear a gentle cooling fan
noise and look up to see a small blue light blinking underneath their skin.

II

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SCORPIO 10123°n121
One person's nightrn;,.., fuefis pr<>bably Scorpio's fetish. Ifthere is a demon loose on the
streets it's probably you. If there's a villain in the film you're probably rooting for them. If
there are monsters to fight you probably decided they :were cute and took one horne and
now it's your child. You probably sucked the blood o(your monster child and now you're
an omnipotent dark lord. Happy Halloween.
·

SAGITTARIUS 11122-12121
You're skipping along happily when you see some girl scouts slanging their cookies by a
cemetery. It seems like a weird place to see girl scouts but you're like, damn I love cookies
so you rush over to their table. When you get closer you can see these girl scouts have red
eyes but you're like, whatever I love cookies.As you tear into a fresh box of thin mints the
girl scouts lure you further into the cemetery. You wake up and you've been buried alive.

CAPRICORN 12122-1119
You're determined to have the creepiest, most realistic costume at the Halloween party.
You special order some silicon scars and wounds and make your own fake blood from
scratch. Convinced you look like the real thing, you stride confidently into the party
awaiting the anticipated screams. Everyone turns to look and then immediately looks
away, your costume deemed ineffective. The embarrassment of this moment stays with
you for the rest of your life.

AQUARIUS 1120-2118
On a trip to some crop circles you get abducted by actual extra-terrestrials! You and the
aliens all hit it off instantly, turns out they're huge fans of your work and they have an
assignment for you. They drive you in their spaceship to an unknown location and you go
through an intense vetting process. They bring you to a desk, turns out you're just at Area
51 to do administrative tasks for eternity.

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VIRGO 8123-9122
Your diligent work in creating functioning systems has been once again thwarted by the
messy people that surround you. I was going to make that into a longer story but then
I realized that happens to Virgo all the time. Every day is a horror when you're a Virgo.

PISCES 2119-3120
Messing around with a Ouija board, you summon an ancient demon. The demon says
they can give you magical powers if you let .them inhabit your body for one hour, you
agree. When you wake up you can fly, see tfuu walls, read minds, become invisible, talk
to animals and make grilled cheese perfectly every time. When people find out about the
grilled cheese they insist it's your responsibility to become a small business owner, you
hear the demon cackling.

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OCTOBER 18, 2017 /THE COOPER POINT JOURNAL 11

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