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Five accomplished men on the female role models that have changed their lives

David Leonard.
Leonard

Dr. David Leonard, professor of Comparative Ethnic Studies and American Studies at Washington State University, talked about the influence of African American Studies professor and scholar Ula Taylor. Leonard and Taylor first met when he was a graduate student at University of California, Berkeley.

“I arrived in Berkeley with trepidation and anxiety. My fears were quickly assuaged after a lunch with Dr. Ula Taylor,” Leonard recalled. “At the time, I saw such support as ‘normal’ and ‘routine,’ yet it was anything but commonplace—it is the kind of daily labor that is often rendered invisible. This is the essential work, often carried out by faculty of color, particularly women, that deserves recognition because of its impact. This labor isn’t just about support and mentoring but intellectual work. Thank you, Dr. Ula Taylor for giving so much to me and so many others. Thank you for contributing to my purpose.”

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Quartz

Crimson Flute Trio advances to MTNA national competition

Sofiya Chayka, Elaine Martir and Marissa Watanabe.
Chayka,  Martir and Watanabe

Washington State University’s Crimson Flute Trio will compete for a $3,000 grand prize in the final round of the Music Teachers National Association’s Young Artist Chamber Music Competition in Spokane March 16–20.

The Crimson Flute Trio consists of Sofiya Chayka, Elaine Martir and Marissa Watanabe and is coached by Sophia Tegart, clinical assistant professor of flute.

The trio qualified for the wind instrument category of the MTNA national student competition by winning the northwest divisional round. The trio will perform works by Tchesnokov, Mozart and Hovhaness.

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WSU Insider

WSU Ph.D. candidate creates food bank for students

Amy Nusbaum.Amy Nusbaum learned from a recent study that a significant amount of college students don’t get enough to eat, so she decided to set up a mini food bank.

“This is a thing I can do right now that’ll help the students right now. And it doesn’t need to be like a huge thing, it’s a mailbox outside of my office, that for most of the last few months I’ve just been buying stuff as it runs out,” said Nusbaum, a doctoral candidate in psychology.

She started to run out of food, but before she made another order to Amazon, she wanted to give others an opportunity to contribute as well.

“You know, I interact with a lot of people on social media who are interested in these things and maybe don’t know how to help — and the cougar community is so incredible,” she said.

She posted on social media with a link to her Amazon wish list, asking people to donate to the food bank. She was overwhelmed by the response.

Just a few days later, Nusbaum came home to about 20 Amazon boxes on her doorstep.

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KREM2

Cornell Clayton: “The Towering Man from Spokane”

By Cornell W. Clayton, professor of political science and director of the Thomas S. Foley Institute for Public Policy and Public Service at Washington State University

Cornell Clayton.
Clayton

Tom Foley would have turned 90 today. What he would have thought about last week’s hearings in the House Oversight Committee? Donald Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, called the president a racist, a con man and a cheat, and acknowledged he had been directed to pay off a porn star during the 2016 election.

No one seemed fazed. No one said “Have you no decency?” Not to Cohen, the president, or misbehaving members of Congress. Foley, who cherished Congress, surely would have agreed with committee Chairman Elijah Cummings, who gaveled the meeting closed saying “we are better than this. We really are. As a country, we are so much better than this.”

Tom Foley devoted his life to public service, starting in the state attorney general’s office, as a staffer to Sen. Henry “Scoop” Jackson, and then for 30 years representing Washington’s 5th Congressional District in the House, followed by service as ambassador to Japan and chair of the Trilateral Commission.

It’s impossible to list all that Foley accomplished while serving the people of Eastern Washington. A master at bipartisan cooperation, he passed legislation for family medical leave, AmeriCorps and food stamp programs, as well as other programs reducing hunger and protecting the elderly. He brought millions of research dollars to the region’s universities, leading to the development of new crops, healthier farming techniques and a burgeoning wine industry in our state. Foley obtained funding to build crucial highways and infrastructure across Eastern Washington, and was a driving force behind many Spokane landmarks such as Riverfront Park and the University District.

Foley was a warm, affable man. But the dignity with which he treated his office was no accident of temperament. It grew from his belief in the nobility of government service itself. He believed Congress could do good, that public service was a privilege, and honoring your office required respecting others, including those with whom you disagreed.

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The Spokesman Review

Badger mountain may be home to a future landslide

Geologists at Washington State University, Tri-Cities have been looking into landslides throughout the area and found there could be a possibility of one at Badger Mountain.

Stephen Reidel.
Reidel

Stephen Reidel and Karl Fecht have been following the landslide activity for almost 40 years.

The two have been following the landslide on Rattlesnake Ridge for over a year now and that slide is still moving at just over a half a foot each week.

“These ridges are giant fault zones rocks have been broken up as the ridge grew,” Reidel said.

But both say there may be a possibility of a landslide in the Tri-cities at Badger Mountain due to it’s history.

They said that over 10,000 years ago landslides did happen on the mountain as the Earth shifted and glacier ice accumulated.

With houses being developed on the mountain and the increase in water supply, a chance of a landslide is more likely.

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