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CAS in the Media Arts and Sciences Media Headlines

‘Superhero’ WSUV student ready to soar

Single mother, business owner to be among 1,000 graduating Saturday.

Anne Murray.
Murray

When balancing college, raising two boys, and running a business overwhelms 43-year-old Anne Murray, she remembers something her mother used to tell her: “You can do anything for a short period of time.”

Murray and more than 1,000 students will graduate from Washington State University Vancouver this weekend. In some ways, Murray exemplifies what the suburban campus is all about.

On Saturday she will receive her bachelor’s degree in digital technology and culture. She plans to pursue a career in graphic design. And while it may have been a short period of time, like her mom would say, it’s certainly been a busy one.

Dene Grigar.
Grigar

Dene Grigar, director of WSUV’s Creative Media and Digital Culture Program, said Murray’s reputation preceded her. Faculty in the program put together something called a “superheroes” list, including students who are driven, talented and prime candidates for internships or special projects. Murray was on that list early on.

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The Columbian

‘No worries’ attitude, hard work helped senior graduate on time

Creative writing major recounts 18-credit semesters, party stories.

Morgan Hostettler.
Hostettler

After graduating from a high school that no longer exists, creative writing major Morgan Hostettler looks forward to having a diploma that will last.

“Transience” seems to be a theme in Hostettler’s life. He’s changed places and majors enough times to make a grocery list of each. Born in the Caribbean, he then moved to Germany; then northern Virginia, and then Atlanta, Georgia, before moving to Tucson, Arizona. Afterward, he moved to a small ski town in Colorado and finally Denver.

“I definitely think Denver has shaped me as a person, and Colorado,” he said. “Just the very laidback mentality that it has … ‘no worries’ is kind of an official state motto.”

When he started at WSU, he wanted to major in history. Then, after taking a year off to work as a general contractor, he switched to journalism — but that wasn’t going to work for him either. He said getting points knocked off for things like misplacing commas made him decide to take the creative writing route.

“Then I came back and worked a whole bunch [and] did, like, 18 credits for three semesters and did summer classes,” he said, “and made it so I can graduate on time.”

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Daily Evergreen

 

Outstanding criminal justice student chosen to carry CAS gonfalon

Outstanding senior in criminal justice and criminology Jordan Sykes will carry the gonfalon for the College of Arts and Sciences during Washington State University graduation ceremonies on Saturday, May 4, in Beasley Coliseum.

“When I arrived at WSU, I made it my mission to make a meaningful impact,” Sykes said. “While I have attempted to accomplish this mission, I feel that, in turn, the University and the Pullman community have had such a profound impact on me that I will be forever indebted to this amazing community.”

The honor of being selected gonfalon bearer recognizes Sykes’s outstanding achievement during his undergraduate career. Gonfalons are the shield-shaped banners that represent WSU’s 11 colleges at commencement events.

Described by one of his professors as “a powerful student role model,” Sykes has demonstrated his commitment to excellence in an array of scholarly and service activities.

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WSU Insider

Martial arts reviewer decries criminalization of doping in sports

In an “Under the Radar” segment, MMA Beat host Luke Thomas reads a letter from Dale Willits, assistant professor of criminal justice and criminology at WSU:

Dale Willits.
Willits

“…doping, based on our data, appears to be driven by many of the same forces that drive criminal and antisocial behavior more broadly. However our literature — which is ranging from criminology, criminal justice, and sociology — have all acknowledged that zero-tolerance approaches are not effective in combatting crime and especially not so in combatting drug use. Instead, we argue the point that the criminological literature provides guidance on more promising strategies that could be used instead of the criminalization of (performance-enhancing drugs).”

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MMAFighting SB Nation

Special to The Times: And the children shall lead us out of climate catastrophe

By , associate professor of history

 
Jeffrey Sanders.
Sanders

When it comes to climate change, children are the canaries in the coal mine. If we’re lucky, they will lead us out of the collapsing mineshaft.

Oregon native Kelsey Cascadia Rose Juliana is the lead plaintiff in the landmark climate-change case, Juliana v. U.S., currently before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals.

Kelsey was only 19 years old in 2015 when she and 20 other youths sued the federal government for failing to protect them from the future horrors of a warming planet.

From climate change to school shootings to asylum-seekers at the border, the plight of young people now animates our political culture. This is not the first time Americans have looked at children to understand periods of troubling social and environmental change.

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Seattle Times