OCCUPY VANCOUVER Approximately 700 people gath-ered at Esther Short Park on Oct. 14 to protest more than the price of produce at the Farmers’ Market. Disgruntled Vancouver citizens were there to support the global “Occupy” movement. Last month’s peaceful demonstration was in-tended to raise awareness that local citizens can and will speak up in an eff ort to change the government’s economic decisions. “If you ask 100 people, you’ll get 100 answers why they’re here,” said event organizer Reed Rotondo, a recent graduate of the creative media and digital culture depart-ment at Washington State Univer-sity Vancouver. “[People] want to be heard. We want the govern-ment to listen to us. We want the government to stop throwing our money away where we don’t think it should go. It all boils down to government accountability.” Th e crowd surrounded the bandstand where individual pro-testors took the microphone. Some voiced grievances, one read poetry, and another led demonstrators in a chant: “Th e power of the people united can never be divided.” WSU Vancouver history profes-sor, Sue Peabody took a turn at the microphone. “I am here in solidar-ity with my students,” Peabody said. “We need to make sure we fund education, the ticket to the middle class.” Diana O’Haver, a WSU Vancou-ver social sciences senior, blames the economic downturn for her unemployment since 2008.

“People are mad,” said O’Haver. “Th ey are saying enough is enough. It won’t take just one piece of legislation to fi x things. It will take people joining together.” Gary Nasca, a WSU Vancou-ver student fi ghting alongside “not just a bunch of hippies and unemployed losers [but] everyday people,” wants prosecution of Wall Street rulers, more accessible edu-cation, and more opportunities for the middle and lower classes. “I just want to see people who work so hard every day of their life to have a chance to make some-thing of themselves, to have some-thing for themselves. When you’re working every day just to pay your bills, but have nothing extra, there is no quality of life. People work too hard for too little,” Nasca said. He realizes it will take more than chanting to change the situ-ation. “We need to think a little harder about how and where we spend our money. We need to focus more on local businesses instead of feeding the corporate monster,” said Nasca. A local attorney whose daugh-ter recently graduated from WSU Vancouver called the event “a beginning.” “We need to get the money out of politics, reform campaign fi nancing, and hold Wall Street ex-ecutives accountable for the crimes they have committed,” he said. According to Rotondo, “Th e message [in Vancouver] is the same [as in Portland.] Th e only diff er-ence between us and Portland is

that the demographic is a little dif-ferent here and we are not planning on a long term occupation.” An estimated 80 percent of demonstrators at the Vancouver gathering fell into the 40+ age group. O’Haver, who recently spent time at the Occupy Portland event, noted that demonstrators in Van-couver were older. “Th ere are a lot of baby boom-ers here,” she said. One speaker commented, “Where are our young people today?” At approximately 1:30 pm, pro-testers left the park with strollers and dogs in tow to wind past banks and businesses on a one-and-a-half-mile trek through downtown. Th ey carried homemade signs with messages that ranged from “Jesus was a blue collar worker” to “Capi-talism with Compassion.” Indi-vidual demonstrators carpooled to attend the Occupy Portland event following the march in Vancouver. Rotondo credits his friend and fellow WSU Vancouver graduate Zachary Jepsen with starting the “Occupy Vancouver” movement. “We were at the Occupy Port-land event and we tried to fi nd something about Occupy Vancou-ver on Facebook. Th ere was noth-ing there,” Said Rotondo. Jepsen started the Facebook page for Vancouver. “I hope people go home tonight and log onto Facebook and start making calls. I hope every person here brings three people with them next time,” said Rotondo.

WSU alumni, students and faculty make voices heard at downtown event

WSu Student diane o’havre WorrieS for her Sonphoto by CYNDIE MEYER

Approximately 125 protestors turned out for a follow-up Oc-cupy Vancouver event on Oct. 29. Organizers turned the event into a

food drive to benefi t those served through the Clark County Food Bank. Four hundred twenty-nine pounds of food was collected and donated.

On Nov. 5 protestors marched in front of the downtown Vancouver branch of the Bank of America in solidarity with the movement’s

National Bank Transfer Day. Th eir stated goal was to “ask our citizens and our city to move their money to a local bank.” Six bags of clothing and house-

hold items were collected and donated to the Clark County Share House. Organizers also distributed a dozen or so coats to the home-less in Esther Short Park before the rally. “Occupy Vancouver has made a commitment to not just protest injustice, but to be the change we wish to see in this community,” said Rotondo. Occupy Vancouver plans to continue the weekly marches and rallies until their goals have been met. A general assembly is sched-uled for Tuesday nights at 6 p.m. For more details and the loca-tion of the general assembly meet-ings, visit www.occupyvanwa.org

Occupy updateVancouver’s dwindling Occupy movement has loyal followers

at riGht: reed rotondo, event orGaniZer | photo by CYNDIE MEYER

by CyndIE MEyER

“Occupy Vancouver has made a commitment...to be the change we wish to see in this community.”

by CyndIE MEyER And MARgARItA tOPAl

The

Washington State University Vancouver

november 14, 2011 • issue 2 • Volume 17

WSU Vancouver pays tribute to founding chancellor

Hal Dengerink PAgE 2

On Sept. 13 WSU Vancouver professor Desiree Hellegers, Ph.D., released her second book “No Room of Her Own: Women’s Sto-ries of Homelessness, Life, Death and Resistance.” Her new book presents a collection of life stories about homeless women which she compiled during 10 years of research among Seattle’s home-less community. Hellegers hopes her book gives a voice to homeless women whose voices are rarely heard. Hellegers is the associate profes-sor and associate chair of the WSU Vancouver department of English and co-director of the Center of

Social and Environmental Justice. Her concern for the homeless grew from the time she volunteered as an undergraduate student with the Community Action Coalition, a partnership organization that teams with homeless shelters in impoverished areas of Washington, D.C. In 1985 Hellegers moved to Seattle and worked at the Lutheran Compass Center’s Women’s Pro-gram. There, homeless women told her about their previous lives as prostitutes, construction workers, wives and writers. “I remember women who sang in bars, worked as dancers, and one

woman who worked as a secretary at an Ivy League university—just a broad range of careers,” said Hel-legers. She was impressed by the disparity between the women’s personal accounts and the main-stream view of homelessness. The women’s testimony shattered the stereotypical portrayal of homeless individuals as lazy and burden-some on society. Their stories inspired Hellegers to further her understanding. “When you take the experiences of the people marginalized from society and translate them into clinical discourses without hearing the complexity of the lives them-selves a lot is lost,” said Hellegers. In her book, 15 women share their individual narratives of grief, low self worth, struggles through can-cer, chronic disease, and devalua-tion. While conducting her researchin 1999, Hellegers gained insight into the grief and suffering of homeless people when she attended vigils organized by the Women’s Housing Equality and Enhance-ment League (WHEEL) in Seattle, and Women in Black, a national women’s network that fights vari-ous forms of violence Continued on page 5

Hal Dengerink, founding chancellor of Washington State University Vancouver, passed away on Sept. 14 at the age of 68. He was called a visionary ever since he and a team of other founders trans-formed a dairy farm into WSU Vancouver’s campus. He worked continuously to improve and expand the campus since 1989. Its establishment led to many successful opportunities for faculty, staff, community members and most importantly, students.

Through his efforts as one of the most distinguished of the WSU Vancouver campus founders, Dengerink touched many people including faculty members, many of whom were his close friends. Several of them recently shared their thoughts with The VanCou-gar.

Nancy Youlden, vice chancellor for student affairs said, “Hal provided quiet, effective leader-ship…. He would find a way to make the impossible possible by consistently securing funding and political support for new facilities and programs during the most bleak economic times. Hal helped create the vision and culture for this campus that endures today. He was literally and figuratively the architect of our campus.”

Professor of marketing, Joseph Cote, who worked closely with Dengerink for nine years said, “My respect for Hal Dengerink cannot be adequately put into words. He was, by far and away, the best academic administer I have ever seen or heard about. Hal not only understood the academic world, he had a clear vision of how that world fit into the community. He was a person of impeccable values and integrity…. You can’t think about Hal Dengerink without thinking about terms like integrity, hard work, caring, responsibility, stewardship and respect for others. It is all too rare these days to find leaders who care more about the people they serve than themselves. Hal was excellent at creating a shared vision and enabling others to excel - which is exactly what any leader should do. It was humbling to work with Hal and his shoes will be extremely difficult to fill.”

Lynn Valenter, interim chancellor and vice chancellor of finance and operations said, “Hal was a brilliant man who had his feet firmly grounded. He was a practical visionary with an outstanding ability to visualize the long-term then determine practical and achievable steps to reaching the vision. He was very approach-able and believed strongly in collaboration as a method of achieving community goals. He had the academic intellect and inquiry that are so important in leading an academic institution. He was also a bit of a rebel, which was an important quality in getting this campus founded and started.

There’s a start-up mentality that’s required to persevere with delivering a vision when it’s not at all clear when or how that vision will be implemented. Hal had that clarity of vision coupled with sufficient flexibility to adapt to changing information or circum-stances and still achieve the goal. He had exceptional intellect, an appreciation and understanding of administration and business, a

commitment to investment in student services, and embraced quality in every aspect of building this campus. One of our advisory council members noted that he had learned the value of quiet leader-ship from Hal. Hal’s sense of humor and enjoyment of his work and his life were infectious and made it rewarding to work with him. Working with and for Hal was a joy. His legacy of this campus and the commitment to excellence continue.”

Gay Selby, clinical professor and educational leadership program chair, said, “I first met Hal Dengerink when he came to WSU Vancouver from WSU Pullman to

oversee the programs that were offered at Bauer Hall on the Clark College campus. The process of selecting a site for the WSU Vancouver campus was underway when he joined the site recommen-dation task force that was appoint-ed by WSU President Sam Smith. As members of the task force, we spent many months and endless weekends meeting regularly to complete our charge, visit sites available in southwest Washington, and finalize a recommendation for the new campus. Hal was a visionary and his vision was the beacon that guided the academic, cultural, and physical development of the campus. He believed in the saying, ‘build it and they will come, and, of course, come they have, to WSU Vancouver. He was a very authentic leader who was able to ‘cut to the core and clear away the clutter.’ His word was a contract. He was a man who was at home in the world of academics or the world of building something from a piece of wood.

As chancellor, he was known as “Hal.” He did not seek or require any other title from the campus community. He and WSU Vancouver were one and the same. He left a legacy that will serve as the beacon for WSU Vancouver for many, many years to come.”

Section EditorsAlan Olson - Sports, Recreation and Outdoors

Emily Ostrowski - NewsHaley Sharp - Student Involvement

Margarita Topal - Campus NewsBrenda Yahm - Arts, Culture and Entertainment

WritersAdam Baldwin, Ryan Burke, Sarah CusanelliKen Lowe, Kaitlyn McClain, Louisa MorattiAlexander Smith, Emily Smith, Kelsey Smith

Nicole Tolmie

Contact Information: VanCougar Office Phone

(360)546- 9524

Editor-in-Chiefvancouged@vancouver.wsu.edu

Managing Editorvancougme@vancouver.wsu.edu

Advertising Managervancougad@vancouver.wsu.edu

We would like to thank Laura Evancich for her help with the design and layout of this issue.

Editor-in-ChiefCyndie Meyer

Advertising ManagerBrian McGovern

Managing EditorEmily Uhde

Copy EditorChristine Watson

The VanCougar Staff

Remembering a beloved founder by MARgARItA tOPAl And KAItlIn MCClAIn

2 Campus News

Hal Dengerink | Photo cour-tesy of WSU Vancouver

WSU Vancouver groundbreaking, 1994 | Photo courtesy of WSU Vancouver

Tuesday, Nov. 15

Volunteer Fair Learn about com-munity organization offering long-term volunteer opportunities for students in the Firstenburg Student Commons from 2:30 to 4:30 pm.

Confidence: Know What you Can do! Part two of the Sex. Confidence.Drive series for personal growth in the Dengerink Administration Building room 129 from 4:30 to 6:00 pm.

Wednesday, Nov. 16

A-Z of Financial Aid & Scholarships Learn about paying for your col-lege education in the Dengerink Administration Building from 7:00 to 8:00 pm.

Monday, Nov. 21

Thanksgiving Vacation begins, classes resume Nov. 28.

Monday, Nov. 28

Science Seminar Kin Williams-Guilen from Univer-sity of Washington Bothell will be speaking in VELS 12 from 3:00 to 4:00 pm.

Tuesday, Nov. 29

Southwest blood drive Donate blood in the Firstenburg Student Commons starting at noon. Continues on Wednesday.

Wednesday, Nov. 30

Resume Writing Skills A career workshop for creating the best resume in the Firstenburg Student Commons room 104 from 4:00 to 5:00 pm.

A-Z of Financial Aid & Scholarships Learn about paying for your college education in the Dengerink Administration Building from 6:30 to 7:30 pm.

Events

“His legacy of this campus and the commitment to excellence continue.”

desiree Hellegers shares women’s perspectives on homelessness

by nICOlE tOlMIE

 Dr. Desiree Hellegers | Photo by NICOLE TOLMIE

Campus News 3

Chancellor’s Seminar Series deals with weighty issueResearchers discuss barriers to raising healthy weight childrenby CyndIE MEyER

Why are so many of today’s children fat and getting fatter? That question was on the table at this fall’s Chancellor’s Seminar Series luncheon and presentation. Com-munity leaders, academicians, local medical and nutrition experts, and WSU Vancouver staff, faculty and students filled Firstenburg Student Commons on Sept. 30 to discuss possible answers.

Ed Guillery, M.D., pediatri-cian and pediatric nephrologist at Legacy Emanuel Children’s Hospi-tal and clinical assistant professor of pediatrics at Oregon Health & Science University joined Jane Lanigan, Ph.D., assistant profes-sor and extension specialist in the human development department at WSU Vancouver to present their thoughts and research on the grow-ing international health epidemic of childhood obesity.

According to Lanigan, many

Americans don’t even realize there is a problem.

“Only 47 percent of Americans perceive that overweight and obesity in children is a serious concern. Most people think a chubby baby is a healthy baby,” said Lanigan. “Seventy-eight percent of Americans surveyed believe society is going overboard when they ban chips and sweets in the classroom.”

Yet today not a single state in America has an obesity rate less than 20 percent. Every year an estimated 300,000 deaths in the U.S. are directly attributable to obesity. Guillery pointed out that 80 percent of people with diabetes are overweight or obese. Diabetes, hypertension or both cause 66 percent of kidney failure in the U.S. and the annual cost of treating kidney failure has now reached $266 billion.

Lanigan and Guillery blame the

fattening of American children on today’s “obesogenic environment.” In Lanigan’s research, 31 percent of children said they rely on television for food information not surpris-ing when Lanigan mentions that children under the age of 5 see more than 3,000 television com-mercials per year.

Lanigan and Guillery also decry the decrease in family meal time as another contributing factor. Citing “time famine” in today’s busy en-vironment as the culprit, Lanigan and Guillery point out that family meal time has decreased. Children are more likely to “forage” for their food nowadays. If healthy choices are not present in the kitchen and meals are not served at home, children will turn to less nutritious options.

Today’s lifestyles and miscon-ceptions about food, nutrition and children’s nutritional needs

all contribute to the prevalence of obesity in children. One critical misconception is that adults should control what children eat. Ac-cording to Lanigan and Guillery, dietary restriction only makes kids want the restricted item more.

“By ‘preferencing’ sweets [for example] adults are saying they are ‘better,’” said Lanigan. “Serve dessert with the meal,” they sug-gested, “just make it a reasonably sized portion.” Both Lanigan and Guillery endorsed the approach suggested by child nutrition expert Ellyn Satter, R.D., M.S.W., that adults control the what, when and where of eating and let children de-cide whether to eat and how much to consume.

A healthy meal accompanied the seminar and included a delicious, portion-controlled dessert.

The Chancellor’s Seminar Series

The Office of Student Involve-ment and ASWSU provide a lim-ited number of free and reduced-price seats for university students who want to attend the Chan-cellor’s Seminar Series. Viewed as a “great opportunity to build connections and network with faculty, staff and members of the community,” coordinators give student attendees guidelines on how to make a lasting impression at a networking event. Students were asked to wear professional attire and be prepared to discuss such topics as what they wanted to do after college and their major course of study.

The second seminar in the Chancellor’s Seminar Series for the 2011/2012 academic year will take place at 11:45 a.m. on March 2 in the Firstenburg Student Commons. Dr. Arun Raha, chief econo-mist for the state of Washington and executive director of the Economic & Revenue Forecast Council will review the economic recovery progress of the U.S. and

Do you ever amuse yourself by taking personality assessments? The results can be both comforting and confounding. The field of psy-chology is filled with theories that explain behavior. Although many tests measure personal tendencies, the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator (MBTI) is the best known and most frequently used assessment.

Many employers require em-ployment candidates to take the MBTI and many companies rely on its results to help employees work together better. At WSU Vancouver, the Student Resource Center offers both the MBTI and the Strong Interest Inventory as-sessment. Used together, the results help guide students toward the best possible career paths for their interests and personality.

The MBTI was developed in 1942 by Isabel Myers and her mother, Katharine Briggs. Their work was based on Carl Jung’s theory that random variations in human behavior are quite consis-tent due to differences in percep-tion and judgment.

Here’s how the MBTI works: The assessment presents a series of dual-choice preference questions. For example, the test asks: “Is it easier to influence you with: a) convincing evidence or b) a touch-ing appeal.”

Depending on the answer selected, the MBTI categorizes the assessment-taker into one of 16 psychological “types.” Each type reflects the individual’s preferences for the way he/she gains energy, gathers information, makes deci-sions and deals with the outside world. In this issue, we will be looking at two scenarios that exem-plify preferences for energy and information gathering.

Extrovert/Introvert:Meet Jim and Sally, WSU Van-

couver undergraduates enrolled in English 402 who are assigned as partners on a writing assignment. Jim proposes they collaborate with another group, but Sally disagrees. She proposes she and Jim work separately, re-joining the group to discuss their ideas later. During the discussion, Jim talks constantly

and asks questions without allow-ing Sally to answer. Sally grows frustrated that Jim won’t let her reflect on ideas or allow her input. Jim’s approach to the project leaves her feeling tired and overstimu-lated, while Sally’s approach leaves Jim feeling bored and uninspired. The MBTI explains why Sally is reserved and Jim more outgoing. It can help these students under-stand how to work together more effectively.

In the case of Jim and Sally, the MBTI would categorize Jim as an extrovert and Sally as an intro-vert. Extroverts love the limelight. Attuned to their external environ-ment, they prefer to communicate through talking. Extroverts are social people with broad interests who feel compelled to maintain their relationships. They gain their energy by interacting with other people.

Introverts like to work behind the scene. Attuned to their inner world, they generally communicate best through written communica-tion. They learn best by reflecting on ideas and tend to be deeply knowledgeable about one or two subjects. Private individuals, they take initiative when a situation or issue is important to them. They gain their energy through solitary reflection.

It is important to note that there are no “right” or “wrong” psycho-logical types. Some preferences are polar opposites, but they are by no means a barrier to communication. In fact, they often complement each other. By understand-ing psychological types, people can build on each other’s strengths when tack-ling problems. When introverts and extro-verts or sensing versus intuitive people team up, they benefit from the balance of both styles: a yin to a yang, a half to a whole.

Myers-Briggs gives insight into students’ personalitiesDo you know who you are? by KElSEy SMItH

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On Oct. 27 students at WSU Vancouver took a break from the horrors of schoolwork to attend Monster Ball, an upbeat costume party and dance.

WSU Vancouver students ar-rived on campus dressed as pop culture look-alikes including Lady Gaga, Ke$ha, Tom Cruise, Tiger Woods, and various other celebri-ties. They paraded down a red carpet into the Firstenburg Student Commons with students from Hogwarts, Gandalf and Galadriel from “Lord of the Rings,” the Elev-enth Doctor and his companion Amy Pond from “Doctor Who,” and other fictional characters.

From 8 pm to midnight, Firstenburg Student Commons was transformed into a “graveyard.” Dance music was provided by KOUG Radio. An hour into the event, attendees were surprised with a flash mob dance from the Performing Arts Club.

Students who wanted a break from dancing engaged in tarot card readings in the conference room, played pool and board games in

the game room, and had pictures taken at a photo booth. Vegetarian and non-vegetarian wraps, assorted donuts, vegetables and candy were provided for hungry monsters and their friends.

At the end of the evening, at-tendees entered a costume contest. Prizes were awarded to winners in each of five categories: most scandalous, scariest, most creative, most humorous and best collab-orative. Winners were selected by audience approval. Prizes included gift cards for iTunes, Starbucks, Subway, and Amazon, and a Pop Culture ice cream party.

The midnight showing of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” was cancelled at the last minute. Annie Levitt, president of Cougar Pride Club, said the event staff was worn out from decorating for the event and the evening’s festivities. Levitt told students the cult classic film will be aired at midnight on an-other night. The date and place of this event has yet to be established.

This was the second year the Cougar Pride Club hosted the

Monster Ball costume celebration at WSU Vancouver, with Associ-ated Students of WSU Vancouver’s sponsorship. River City Anthro-pological Society joined Cougar Pride Club this year as co-host. In addition to fun and dancing, the Monster Ball served as a food drive, collecting non-perishable food donations for Martha’s Pantry, Southwest Washington’s only non-governmental food bank serving HIV- and AIDS-affected families. This year, attendees donated 228 pounds of food valued at more than $350.

“Messages like this give me hope for our community and make me proud to be a part of Cougar Pride Club,” said Levitt, when she received news of how much food had been collected. “Thank you to everyone who donated!”

Hosting organizations also used the Monster Ball as an opportunity to provide information about their organizations, the local LGBTQA community, Cascade AIDS Project Clark County, YWCA and Planned Parenthood.

4 Arts, Culture and Entertainment

Pumpkins, candy and Hallow-een music, oh my! The Washing-ton State University Vancouver community got in the mood for Halloween at “Gut Your Gourd,” a family-friendly pumpkin-carving party hosted by the Associated Students of WSU Vancouver and the Student Activities Board.

On Oct. 25 in the Firstenburg Student Commons, WSU Van-couver students and local families carved unsuspecting pumpkins into fright-night masterpieces us-ing carving tools supplied for the event.

Cookies, vegetables and candy were provided to fuel participants’ creative energy. The FSC rever-berated with music ranging from Halloween favorites such as Bobby Pickett’s 1962 classic “Monster Mash” to soundtrack recordings from “The Rocky Horror Picture Show.”

Carving skills varied from person to person. Some stuck with designs provided in their pumpkin-carving kits, while others created their own patterns. As the event progressed, squashes came to life with motifs that included a winking pumpkin, Jack Skelling-ton’s grin, Hello Kitty, Wolverine, the TARDIS from “Doctor Who,” and WSU’s own cougar logo.

Although many participants left the event with only partially completed jack o’lanterns, the reviews were generally positive.

“This is such a fun event!” said Audrey Miller, ASWSUV presi-dent, as she carved her pumpkin.

“Gut Your Gourd” allowed at-tendees to spend quality time with family and friends while creating their very own vegetable master-pieces.

To find out more about ASW-SUV and its upcoming events, stop by the offices in the Firstenburg Student Commons building or visit aswsuv.com.

Who cares how you spoon your soup or which water glass you use at the table? According to Lori Hennessy, founder of Hennessy and Associates, the answer could be your future employer or client.

Hennessy provided answers to these and other questions at the fifth annual business etiquette dinner sponsored by Career Services, a part of the Student Resource Center (SRC) at Washington State University Vancouver. The dinner on Oct. 26 provided an opportunity for students and community members to learn and practice social and table manners applicable to business and other dining experiences.

Hennessy draws on expertise from her certification by the Protocol School of Washington to teach etiquette to a clientele

that includes hotel chains, law firms and private clients. In their presentation, “Outclass the Competition Business Etiquette,” Hennessy and her husband help job seekers succeed at interviews and other business-related social functions.

The evening started with a question and answer session on everything from the proper way to shake hands to the proper way to spoon soup away from oneself.

Hennessy explained that American and continental dining differ in the position of silverware. Participants were encouraged to try the style they do not usually use.

“Just remember ‘B-M-W’,” Hennessy said about dining in general, “Bread on the left, meal in the middle, water on the right.”

One of the big draws for the evening, the $5 four-course meal,

was designed by Bill Bontems, WSU Vancouver café and catering manager and Justin Kimble, dining services manager. The appetizing menu consisted of minestrone soup, a salad with fresh vegetables served with Italian vinaigrette or ranch dressing, lasagna (meat or vegetarian) and for dessert, pumpkin cake with spiced caramel.

OSI marketing intern Lia Thompson said her experiences with WSU Vancouver’s etiquette dinners have been entertaining. “The first year I went, they served pasta the one thing you shouldn’t order! I found it funny and a good learning opportunity,” she said. “My favorite part is being able to practice casual conversation and mingling. Being allowed to eat at a presentation is half the fun.”

Edward Blake Smith, a WSU Vancouver student majoring in personnel psychology and human resources, said the dinner “confirmed and/or corrected things [he] had previously learned.” Smith, a veteran of

etiquette dinners sponsored by his youth group, said he wanted to “brush up on the new trends or styles of etiquette.” He discovered that not much has changed. When asked if he would attend the dinner again, Smith responded: “The dinner was tasteful…I would like the opportunity to attend again and meet new people while enjoying a great meal.”

Christine Lundeen, an SRC career counselor, noted that all but two of the 40 registered participants attended. “I was very pleased with the outcome and felt that many students learned valuable skills they can use at professional networking events! Several students have mentioned how fun the event was and how helpful it was as a learning experience,” Lundeen said. “I look forward to providing this event for students again next year.”

Everything you should know for your next dinner

Students and family get carving

StudEnt In COStuME At WSu’S MOnStER bAll 2011 | Photo by CHRISTINE WATSON

Monster ball rolls out the red carpet at WSu

10 Rules for a Business Dinner

1. Arrive on time.

2. Chew with your mouth closed.

3. Do NOT fix your hair or make-up at the table.

4. Do NOT order spaghetti.

5. Place your napkin in your lap. Leave it on the chair when you get up and at the end of the meal.

6. Shake hands firmly and briefly. Avoid the “death grip” at all costs.

7. Never attend a dining invitation on an empty stomach. Eat a snack first.

8. Never order the most expensive item on a menu unless everyone else is ordering it.

9. Stand up, if possible, when someone leaves or joins the table.

10. It is better to over-dress than to under-dress.

StudentS carved Some tradi-tional pumpkinS and of other characterS | Photo by CHRIS-TINE WATSON

aSWSuv preSident audrey miller carveS her oWn pumpkin | Photo by CHRISTINE WATSON

Finished pumpkin on display during Gut Your gourd | Photo by CHRIS-TINE WATSON

Cougs lap up dinner etiquette

by MARgARItA tOPAl

WSU Vancouver students celebrate Halloween at Monster Ball—a night filled with dancing and costumes contests

by CHRIStInE WAtSOn

Gut Your Gourd event spreads seeds of creativity

By CHRiStinE WatSon

“This is such a fun event!”

Original prose, poetry and art-work are rolling in from students, staff and faculty as the Salmon Creek Journal (SCJ) prepares for its 14th year of publication. Th e deadline for submitting original entries is Dec. 1.

Since it was founded in 1997 the literary arts journal of Wash-ington State University Vancouver has evolved from a private literary collection published by the WSU Vancouver English Club into an of-fi cial student organization funded through the Offi ce of Student Involvement.

Th is year SCJ will print more than 2,000 copies of the journal, an impressive increase over the original run of 200 copies printed in 1997.

Th e SCJ traditionally showcases

the creative talents of the WSU Vancouver community through visual, poetry and prose works. Th is year, the journal is adding a new feature.

“We are excited about adding performing arts to the Journal this year. If selected, part of original musical scores will be printed and a recording of the performance and complete score will be available online,” said Kimberly Lawrence, the SCJ editor-in-chief.

In addition to musical scores, the SCJ is accepting longer liter-ary pieces this year. Authors may submit one story of 5,000 words and up to fi ve additional pieces of 2,500 words or less. Poetry submis-sions must be no longer than three single spaced pages. In prior years, submissions were limited to 1,200

words. Lawrence expects these changes will increase the length of the Journal by about 25 percent.

“Some years the submissions take on a theme of their own. We are excited to see what this year will bring,” said Lawrence. “We are trying to maintain a very polished, professional look to the journal this year. We’ve decided to put the focus on the art that is submitted rather than creating our own.”

SCJ employs six WSU Vancou-ver students to handle advertising, select pieces for publication, design the layout and organize the launch.

“We are planning a retreat to Canon Beach where we will read and review each and every piece that has been submitted,” said Lawrence.

Th e entire staff provides input, but it is up to each individual edi-tor (prose, poetry or art) to choose the fi nal works for their section, said Lawrence.

Th e editors also select three special pieces that are honored with an Editor’s Choice Award at the journal launch event in April.

Previous year’s editions of the Salmon Creek Journal are available in the WSU Vancouver Library and Writing Center, Offi ce of Student Involvement, the English depart-ment offi ces in the Multimedia Classroom building, Th e Bookie and the Salmon Creek Journal of-

fi ce in Classroom Building (VCLS) 212.

To learn more about the Salmon Creek Journal and submission details, visit wsuv.orgsync.com/org/salmoncreekjournal or contact the SCJ at scj@vancouver.wsu.edu.

Th ere’s nothing fi shy about the Salmon Creek JournalSJC submission deadline is coming soon

by CyndIE MEyER And CHRIStInE WAtSOn

Th e third annual Southwest Washington MESA Engineering Day took place at WSU Vancouver on Oct. 28. More than 50 teens from Evergreen, Hudson’s Bay and Mountain View high schools participated in computer science,

electrical engineering, nanotech-nology, and fl uids engineering workshops facilitated by students from WSU Vancouver.

Th is year’s nanotechnology lab was led by Jason Juhala, a senior in electrical engineering at WSU

Vancouver. “I really enjoy teaching,

especially if someone is really into nanotechnology,” he said.

Juhala is currently researching dielectrophoresis-aligned carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and self-assem-bled random-network CNTs under Dr. Wei Xue, assistant professor of mechanical engineering.

Workshop participants built LED light circuits that model the way traffi c lights work and used a

scanning electron microscope to observe objects invisible to the human eye. In the computer science lab, students made movies using a program called Alice.

Dr. David Chiu, assistant professor of computer science at WSU Vancouver, said, “Computer science oft en receives a bad rap due to its association with mounting math requirements and a general ‘nerdy’ perception. Our mission with this lab was to demystify the area of computer science in which many of the MESA participant students had no prior access or experience at their schools.”

MESA which stands for Mathematics Engineering Science Achievement, started as a tutoring and mentoring program to introduce middle school students to science and engineering fi elds. Th ree years ago, MESA expanded to include high school students. Today MESA works with eight schools in the Vancouver area and off ers a variety of summer and aft er-school programs and workshops.

Armetta Burney, director of Southwest Washington MESA, said that MESA provides role models for high school students by having

college students in engineering and computer science lead each workshop. MESA volunteers interact with and coach high school students on how to be successful in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fi elds.

MESA programs are open to all students and encourage students from under-represented groups such as Latinos, African Ameri-cans, Native Americans and women to pursue STEM careers.

WSu hosts MESA eventWSU students are teachers for a day

by EMIly uHdE

Volunteers neededMESA is always looking for volunteers. Why not help out at MESA Day on March 24 at Clark College? At this competitive event, 30 to 50 teams of students from Clark County will partici-pate in a wind-energy com-petition and other activities. To get involved, contact Armetta Burney at aburney@vancouver.wsu.edu or call 360-546-9355.

EnGinEERinG Day | Photo courtesy of MESA

Student Involvement 5

Writing in circlesWorkshop teaches benefi ts of collaborative writingBY CYNDIE MEYER AND CHRISTINE WATSON

Ever wondered how to improve your writing skills? Th e Writ-ing Center at Washington State University Vancouver suggests “writing in circles.” On Oct. 11, the Salmon Creek Journal (SCJ) sponsored a Writing in Circles workshop facilitated by Writing Center tutor and SCJ prose editor Kameron Franklin.

A writing circle is a group of people who gather for the purpose of writing and sharing feedback with the goal of improving their individual skills.

At the workshop, Franklin challenged participants with two “quick-write” prompts. Writers worked diligently on their pieces,

then took a break to socialize and enjoy pizza. Before the evening ended, attendees read their favorite quick-writes aloud. Participants appeared to enjoy the variations in writing style and creativity inspired by diff ering majors, personal inter-ests, and levels of writing ability.

Attendees said that the writing exercises gave them a sense for col-laborative writing and they enjoyed the benefi t of positive, low-risk feedback.

Th e Writing Center, located on the second fl oor of the WSU Vancouver Library building, is a student resource where writers can work with consultants face-to-face or online. Writing Center tutors

provide feedback on sentence structure, citation style, format-ting and grammar. Th ey also share techniques that students can use during the revision process.

“Th e Writing Center is not only for academic writing,” said Frank-lin. “We help with creative writing as well.”

Th e center is furnished with ca-sual tables and couches that create a quiet, comfortable environment where students can read or work. Reference texts such as dictionar-ies, style guides and writing manu-als are available to assist writers with specifi c needs.

Th e Writing Center is open Monday through Th ursday, 9 am to 5 pm, Friday from 10 a.m. to 2 pm, and Sunday from noon to 5 pm To learn more about this useful student resource, visit the Writing Center or e-mail writingcenter@vancouver.wsu.edu.

and supports peaceful justice. Th e fi rst vigil she attended was for Doug Dawson, a homeless amputee who was burned to death in Spokane while sleeping in his wheelchair. Soon aft er the vigil for Dawson, a woman whom Hellegers had previously interviewed was murdered. One woman whom Hel-

legers interviewed called homeless-ness itself a “state of grieving.” Many of the homeless people who Hellegers met had stories of desperation and struggle. Th is in-cluded two homeless women, one

with cancer and one who was nurs-ing her through chemotherapy. Another woman suff ered a stroke while walking to an appointment at the Seattle Housing Authority and was so intent on making her appointment she had to be coerced into an ambulance so she could be taken to the hospital. “We don’t think of homeless-ness as a life-threatening condi-tion,” said Hellegers, “[but] the day-to-day experience of death and violence became a strong thread in the book.” At about the time of Hellegers’ research, a report titled “Hate, Violence and Death on Main Street USA” was released by the National Coalition for the Homeless. It raised nation-wide awareness about the daily violence faced by homeless people. Dec. 21 has since been named National Homeless Person’s Memorial Day, selected because it is the longest night of the year and the beginning of winter.

Hellegers: Contined from page 2

“i remember women who sang in bars...and one woman who worked as a secretary at an ivy League university”

Every winter the Oregon Zoo transforms into a sparkling winter wonderland with more than a million lights. Th e dazzling event includes displays of lighted animal silhouettes, moving light sculptures, a lighted train, costumed animals and elves in the gift shop, live music and real animals.

Th e event runs from Nov. 25 through Jan. 1. ZooLights is open Sunday through Th ursday from 5–8 pm, and Friday and Saturday from 5–8:30 pm. Discount student tickets are available at the Offi ce of Student Involvement. Each $5 ticket includes admission to the event and a train ride around the zoo. General admissions

tickets are $10.75 for adults, $9.25 for seniors and $7.75 for children.

Winter nights at the Oregon Zoo are notoriously cold and windy so dress warmly. To avoid the hassle of parking it is recommended that you take the MAX train. Take the Blue Line or Red Line to the Washington Park stop at the entrance of the Oregon Zoo. Two-hour MAX tickets range from $1 to $2.40 and can be purchased at self-service ticket machines at MAX stations.

For more information about the Oregon Zoo and ZooLights, visit the zoo’s website at www.oregonzoo.com.

Zoolights Welcomes the HolidaysOregon Zoo’s festive display begins Nov. 25

ZooliGhtS train | Photo courtesy of the Oregon Zoo

Th e aft ernoon of Oct. 29 could have been among the last times Vancouver would see the sun this year and 20 college students made the most of it on Washing-ton State University Vancouver’s sports fi elds. Th e occasion was the Vancouver Bowl, an intramural fl ag football game between the Clark College Penguins and the WSU Vancouver Cougars. With a smattering of spectators to cheer them on, the Cougars

faced the Penguins, an intimidat-ing team with matching jerseys and several tall players. Consider-ing that the Coug team had never played together before, they put up a good fi ght and fi nished the game with a surprisingly close score. Clark got off to a fast start with an early touchdown. Th ey played tough, receiving a couple of penalties for tackling and un-necessary roughness. Clark’s tall

defenders doubled up on WSU Vancouver receivers, so the Cougs changed their strategy and stayed away from deep passes. Th is worked well and the rivals traded touchdowns in an epic game. Th e clock came up short for the Cougs. Aft er two 20-minute halves, the game was over. Clark won 27-21 in the fi nal seconds. Jonathan Pitchlynn said, “Our passes were strong. Our team fought hard to the end. Th ough

we lost by six, the game came down to one pass that we nearly caught.” Th e Clark team received a trophy for their victory. A pizza party followed. “Considering that we just came together two days ago, we played really good…but not good enough,” said Zach Nelson, a Coug teammate. Flag football intramurals have taken place at WSU Vancouver

since September, but turnout has been disappointing. Th e Vancou-ver Bowl, which culminates the intramural fl ag football season, was nearly cancelled due to

lack of participation. At the last minute Sami Magallanes, WSU Vancouver recreation intern and Vancouver Bowl organizer, re-cruited enough players for a WSU

team. Magallanes has not decided if fl ag football will resume next semester. If it continues, she hopes to join city league play.

6 Sports, Recreation and Outdoors

Vancouver bowl: WSu Vancouver vs. Clark College Penguins slide past Cougs in intramural fl ag football

by SARAH CuSAnEllI

“Our passes were strong. our team fought hard to the end.”

tHE WSu VAnCOuVER FlAg FOOtbAll tEAM | From left : Zach Nelson, Sasha Demyanik, Mark Sun-dem, Casey Martschinske, Austin Black, Jonathan Pitchlynn, Kieran Weatherspoon, Justin Johnson, Sarah Cusanelli, Kevin Guzman. Photo by SAMI MAGALLANES

by EMIly uHdE

Th e Vancougar

Th e VanCougar is a student-run newspaper serving the students, faculty and staff of WSU Vancouver. Copies of the VanCougar are available free of charge every other Monday during the school year.

location:VCLS 21214024 NW Salmon Creek Ave.Vancouver, WA 98686Phone: (360)546-9524

Corrections Policy:It is our policy to correct errors. Please contact the editors by e-mail at vancouged@vancouver.wsu.edu

This is why I occupy Seven weeks is long enough!

I am not a politician. I do not have a degree in political science, nor am I an expert on these matters. I am a working college student who is young and inexperienced in the eyes of most. But with my young eyes, I see a movement I can truly understand. It is called Oc-cupy Wall Street.

The Occupy Wall Street movement started on Sept. 17 in New York City. Since then, more than 900 cities worldwide have been occupied, and the number continues to grow.

On Oct. 8, I attended Occupy Portland. On Oct. 15, I marched with Occupy Vancouver. The people who attended these local events are like me: they’re fed up. They are occupying public places and marching in the streets to spread their messages.

The occupation of Wall Street is the tip of an iceberg and many of our current govern-ment policies are the Titanic. We must work together and educate each other to prevent our country from “sinking” in terms of the reduction in buying power and net worth of the bottom 99 percent of our population.

The Occupy movement is not about democrats or republicans, the left or the right. It is about right and wrong. It is wrong for one percent of the population to hold 40 percent of our nation’s wealth, while 50 million suffer in poverty. Regardless of political differences, this movement represents 99 percent of our population who work for a pay check versus the one percent who enjoy capital gains - taxed at only 15 percent.

As consumers, we shop at big box stores and bank with large institutions. I am guilty of it myself. We allow corporations to send jobs overseas and close factories in the U.S. We neglect locally owned and operated businesses because it’s easier to buy everything we need at a one-stop shop. Convenience has become too convenient, and the wealthiest one percent in this country has capitalized on this. Can you blame them?

Ultimately, Occupy Wall Street is about this disparity in wealth and the influence of corporations on our democratic process. I imagine that former President Abraham Lincoln turns in his grave looking at what this country has become. In the Gettysburg Ad-dress, President Lincoln shared a vision that, “government of the people, by the people, for the people shall not perish from the earth.” I would say our current government is “of the corporations, by the corporations and for the corporations.”

We are the only ones to blame. We permit large corporations to influence the political process by donating unlimited funds to political campaigns. In the 2010 case of Citizens United v. the United States, the Supreme Court decided that corporations, as legal persons, are allowed to contribute unlimited funds to political campaigns in the exercise of “free speech.”

I don’t believe this is free speech. I call it bribery. Political campaigns should not be financed by corporations and legislature should not be influenced or written by large cor-porate lobbyists. There is something seriously wrong with this and I believe our founding fathers would agree. To eliminate corruption, we must pass and enforce laws that regulate lobbying and campaign contributions.

We need to pass HR-1489 which would reinstate the 1929 Glass-Steagall Act so that banking is once again separated from financial investment.

We need to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy. We need to pass the Buffett Rule on fair taxation which states that people with an an-

nual income of $1 million or more should pay more federal taxes than those who make less.

We must close corporate tax loop holes and make it illegal to hide money in offshore accounts. We must fully investigate and prosecute the Wall Street criminals who broke the law and caused the 2008 financial crisis.

We need to provide financial assistance to owners of foreclosed mortgages who were victims of predatory lenders.

We must overturn Citizens United v. the United States and eliminate corporate person-hood, a concept that exempts individuals who work for corporations from liability for the bad decisions they make.

We must educate ourselves on the issues to be decided in upcoming elections. We should invest in consumer-friendly credit unions and local community banks. We should buy locally and from small businesses. When I look around, I see injustice and corruption that can only be eliminated if we

all stand up and say, “Enough is enough!” Exercise your right to peacefully assemble in public spaces and your right to free speech. If we want our country to have a better future, we must end corruption and build a country that is once again, “of the people, by the people, for the people.”

Mass protests have sprung up around the world recently: protests against austerity measures in Greece, autocracy in Libya, tuition increases in England, even the restriction of collective bargaining in Wisconsin. It has been seven weeks since the beginning of the Occupy Wall Street movement and in all that time, I’m still not sure exactly what they’re protesting. When the protests began I, like so many others, thought to myself: “Wow, someone’s actually standing up to these guys.” I watched and watched, hoping that some of the more legitimate complaints would drown out the ambient white noise of aimless protest. Unfortunately, it seems to have only gotten worse. While “Network” (1976) is one of my favorite movies, at some point simply screaming “I’m mad as hell and I’m not gonna take it anymore” needs to be refined a little bit. Ok, you’re mad…now what?

There seem to be three major groups represented in the crowd: people with legitimate and well-considered grievances, “hippies” wanting to fight “the man,” and people looking to party. The sum of these parts seems to be saying: “They’re rich and we’re poor and that’s not fair.” It reminds me of a petulant child in a supermarket, not entirely sure why he’s angry and so frustrated with his inability to articulate his outrage that the only recourse is to plop himself down in an inconvenient location.

In successful protests some sort of leadership needs to emerge. You would think that inside of these seven weeks a few of the more learned and articulate protesters could find a soapbox and a bullhorn and start trying to coalesce the voices into a salient point or points. Michael Moore, Rev. Al Sharpton and Dr. Cornell West have all made it out to the protests. These famous figures have the resources and voice to bring some shape to the movement. Yet nothing has changed with their involvement - other than slightly more media coverage.

I recently read an editorial in the New York Times defending the protests. It read, “It’s not the job of protesters to draft legislation.” Why not? If corporations and investment bankers can draft legislation and hand it over to Congress, why can’t a group of angry citizens? In my estimation, these protesters have missed their mark by about 230 miles (the distance from New York to Washington D.C.). If you believe that crime is running rampant in your city, you don’t appeal directly to the criminals, you appeal to the public officials who are supposedly accountable to you and who are allowing it to happen.

The U.S. government has been more than permissive; it has been complicit in the mis-management of funds. From 2002 to 2008, U.S. state government under-funded pensions and other future liabilities by nearly 1.5 trillion dollars. These shortages have led to riskier investments that now threaten the future welfare of millions. This is the same sort of shady banking/investing that has become increasingly apparent on Wall Street and all over the globe. The problem is systemic and needs to be dealt with as such. The protest needs to be brought to the halls of Congress, not to the streets of New York.

As days tick by and the polls show waning public support for the protests, perhaps it is time to take a break. My advice to the Occupiers: Take some time off, gather your thoughts, and think about what needs to be said and to whom. If after some time you want to take to the streets again, do yourself a favor and consider the endgame. And for god’s sake, leave your drums at home. I don’t care if your next cause is bringing aware-ness to the drum circle; it morphs you into a clichéd caricature that is impossible to take seriously.

The VanCougar welcomes brief letters (250 words or fewer) from members of the WSU Vancouver community on current issues. Letters must include the author’s full name, contact information and WSU affiliation; year and major/department for students, department for faculty and staff, or degree and year graduated for alumni.

The VanCougar does not publish anonymous letters.Priority is given to letters that relate directly to stories printed in The VanCougar.

The VanCougar also welcomes guest commentaries of 550 words or fewer ad-dressing issues of general interest to the WSU Vancouver community.

Letters and commentaries should focus on issues, not personalities. Per-sonal attacks and anonymous letters will not be considered for publication. The VanCougar reserves the right to edit for space, libel, obscene material and clarity. The views expressed are solely those of the individual authors.

Why occupy?

The Occupy movement is gaining popularity across the county. We even have local branches of this movement in Portland and Vancouver, USA. Within the past few months, most young people have heard of the movement, but how many of us actually know what it’s all about?

Ask this question to the common Occupy protester and you will get answers like: “It’s about socioeconomic injustice” or “It’s about equality for the 99 percent!” or “We want a return to ‘real’ democracy.” These so-called “goals” are more vague than a five-year-old’s college plans.

Imagine yourself as part of the upper one percent. You see the protests. You realize that you want to do something to help. What are you supposed to do? No one is asking for anything specific.

Even if the protests convince some people that there is socioeconomic inequality, what do the protesters propose we do about it? Should the rich one percent give their posses-sions to the poor like the Communists’ suggest? Or maybe we should tax the rich to the point where all our good business people move overseas. The movement simply doesn’t have a clear realizable goal.

The Occupy movement not only has vague goals it targets the wrong problem. The cause of socioeconomic inequality is not a problem with our government or tax system, but a problem with humans themselves. People are not inherently good. Therefore, even if everyone were to suddenly become equal, it would not last. A new group of people will al-ways rise to oppress others. History’s brightest example of this is the former Soviet Union, which was founded on ideas of regulated equality that never worked out. Protesting about replacing the upper-class or corporations will not fix the root of our problem.

by ROMAn SAVCHEnKO

VanCougar letters Policy

“The protest needs to be brought to the halls of Congress, not to the streets

of new york.”

proteSt in proGreSS | WSU Vancuver student, Gary Nasca, looks on as protesters take the stage at Occupy Vancouver event. Photo by CYNDIE MEYER

Opinion 7

by gARy nASCA by KEnnEtH lOWE

Th is has been an eventful autumn for Apple Inc., manufacturer of popular technology devices such as the iPhone, iPad, Mac and many more. October saw the death of former Apple CEO and technology celebrity Steve Jobs, and the release of the iPhone 4S.

Th e new entry in Apple’s popular iPhone series bears a striking resemblance to its predecessor in both appearance and name. Th is came as a disappointment to those expecting an iPhone 5 but it did not deter the rest of Apple’s fans from lining up across the country on Oct. 14 to buy it.

Th e iPhone 4S has three models with three diff erent sizes of internal memory: the 16 gigabyte (GB), 32 GB and 64 GB, each retailing for $199, $299 and $399 respectively.

Th e most noticeable new feature of the iPhone 4S is the voice-recognition program known as Siri. While many phones have voice-recognition soft ware, Siri is being billed as an intelligent personal assistant. It is enough of a selling point that Apple features the program prominently in iPhone 4S marketing.

Siri will respond to a variety of verbal commands. It allows users to place calls, search the Internet, or set a reminder by simply talking to their phones. Siri’s biggest draw is that it is far more fl exible than most voice-recognition soft ware because it “understands” the phrases spoken to it. Siri will interpret simple statements such as “What is the weather like today?” and respond by presenting data from the corresponding application. In the previous example, Siri would respond with data from the weather app for the user’s current location.

Siri can write emails, texts and notes for

the user all by recognizing and translating their speech. It is also connected to Wolfram Alpha, a comprehensive database of information containing everything from word defi nitions to the average airspeed of an unladen swallow. Wolfram Alpha also does computations, allowing a given user to do his/her math homework just by asking the phone—a nice benefi t for students, though perhaps not appreciated by professors.

Siri is impressive, but not perfect. For example, telling Siri to “Remind me that I have a meeting tomorrow at four” will prompt it to create a reminder for tomorrow at 4 o’clock titled “I have a meeting” as opposed to just “meeting.” Siri also experi-ences some of the same issues that plague other voice-recognition soft ware, such as having diffi culty with the accents of non-native English speakers and young children.

Before a user becomes too comfortable communicating with Siri, there are some other things to note. First of all, Siri cannot do certain things, such as delete reminders or directly open apps. Asking it to open “Angry Birds” results in a refusal and an apology from the service. Next, Siri usually only works with apps created by Apple. Although some app developers are doing their best to make it work with their products, Apple has yet to offi cially allow Siri integration with third-party apps.

Currently, Siri is only available on the

iPhone 4S. Users with previous iterations of the iPhone can upgrade to the latest version of the iPhone operating system, iOS 5, to access all the new features, minus Siri. Th is may be in part due to the presence of the other major feature of the iPhone 4S, which is its new dual-core processor. Th e speed increase is not noticeable for most apps, but heavy users, particularly gamers, will likely make the most of it. Th e iPhone 4S also features an improved eight-megapixel camera and the ability to capture high-defi -nition video for those who prefer to use their phones for photography.

Th e one drawback of the iPhone 4S is that it has a shorter estimated battery life: 200 hours on standby, as opposed to 300 on the iPhone 4. Shaun Martin, an iPhone 4 user, says that while he doesn’t believe that will be a problem for anyone who already charges their phone nightly, he still isn’t going to upgrade to the iPhone 4S.

Martin says of his iPhone 4: “I have no complaints.” He cites a lack of substantial improvement as his main reason for keeping his current phone. His wife, Gypsy Martin, on the other hand, recently purchased an iPhone 4S as her fi rst smartphone. She admits that she hasn’t fully explored all that the phone has to off er, but appreciates it nonetheless. She says that it’s “very handy for those not at home near their computers.”

Users who already own the iPhone 4 may not feel the need to upgrade to an iPhone 4S unless they use processor-heavy applications or feel that Siri is worth another few hundred dollars.

8 Features

iPhone 4SWhat’s all the buzz about?

BY ALEXANDER SMITH

Dream Catchers

Lear%  about  Native  American  Heritage  month  while  making  Dream  Catchers!  Guest  speaker  >om  Histor?  Club  to  be  presenting.  No  charge,  supplies  &  re>eshments  provided,  family  >iendly!

Nov.  17th4:30-­‐6pm

Firstenburg  StPdent  Commons

Aft er a big dinner of turkey, mashed potatoesand green bean casserole, most people look forward to a thick slice of pumpkin pie. Impress your family this Th anksgivingwith a twist on the classic pie with mini pumpkin cheesecakes. Th ese adorable goodies are much easier to make than a traditional cheesecake and have all the fl avor of a pumpkin pie. At only 115 calories each, you can fi nish off your dinner with a light and tasty treat.

Mini Pumpkin CheesecakeStart to fi nish: 2 hours (15 minutes active)Servings: 12

1/2 cup graham cracker crumbs1 tablespoon brown sugar2 teaspoons fl our1/2 teaspoon cinnamon1 tablespoon butter, melted8-ounce package cream cheese, soft ened1/2 cup sugar2 large eggs7.5 ounces canned pumpkin2 tablespoons milk1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Prepare 12 muffi n tins with foil liners. In a small bowl, mix the graham cracker crumbs, brown sugar, fl our and cinnamon. Stir in the melted butter and press onto the bottom of each foil cup.

In a medium bowl, mix the cream cheese and sugar on medium speed until smooth and fl uff y. Add the eggs and mix at low speed until combined.

Transfer ½ cup of the mixture to another bowl and mix in the pumpkin, milk and pumpkin pie spice.

Evenly distribute the pumpkin mixture among the crusts and repeat with the cheese-cake mixture. Use a knife to swirl the two mixtures for extra fl air.

Bake in the preheated oven for 23-26 minutes, or until the outsides are set and the centers only move slightly when the pan is jiggled. Allow to cool in the pan for 5 minutes. Transfer to a cooling rack for 15 minutes. Chill for 1 hour before serving.

try this festive Th anksgiving alternativeMiniature pumpkin cheesecakes make an impression

BY HALEY SHARP

Can you stalk a

story?

The VanCougar is on the prowl for enthusiastic reporters and section

editors.

Develop your writing skills while earning

extra money and having fun. See your name in

print, add to your writing portfolio, and

support your university.

Apply now!

Applications are outside the VanCougar offi ce,

VCLS 212, or from the Offi ce of Student

Involvement.