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Environmental justice leader to share insights for solving rural waste, sanitation problem

Washington State University’s School of the Environment will host a free, public presentation, “Environmental Justice in Rural America,” by leading environmental justice activist Catherine Coleman Flowers at noon on Wednesday, Feb. 16.

In her online talk, Flowers will focus on the problem of wastewater inequality as a social justice issue and the ways water and sanitation infrastructure serves as an indicator of larger cycles of racism and poverty in our country.

“This presentation will push our students, faculty and community to think more deeply and broadly about the interlocking human and technological dimensions of our environmental challenges,” said SoE Director Kent Keller. “The rural focus is especially pertinent to WSU’s mandate as a land-grant institution and its goal of advancing quality of life, economic development, equity and sustainability.”

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WSU Insider

Kettel Love Story: After more than 70 years, the chemistry is still there

After 70 years of marriage, Ernie and JoAnn Kettel’s chemistry is undeniable.

Ernie and JoAnn Kettel.
Ernie and JoAnn Kettel

In 1949 they met in a chemistry lab at Washington State College (now WSU). Actually, they’d briefly met a few months before when they both hitched a ride from the West Side of the state to Pullman.

Raised on a dairy farm in Sequim, Washington, he was on his way to becoming a veterinarian. JoAnn had grown up in Arlington, Washington, and chose Washington State College over University of Washington because she wanted to go to a smaller school.

The couple plunged into community life. Ernie served on the city council, the planning commission and the school board. JoAnn served on the PTA, was den mother for Cub Scouts and for 62 years has been a member of PEO AW.

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The Spokesman-Review

Here’s what to know about the Russia-Ukraine conflict

The conflict at the Russia-Ukraine border continues as Russia launches new military exercises and stations an estimated 100,000 troops there.

Tom Preston
Preston

Ukraine, which shares borders with both the European Union and Russia, has gone back and forth on its politics since the Soviet Union broke up, said Thomas Preston, political science professor at Washington State University. The eastern part of the country tends to be more pro-Russian while the western side tends to be more pro-Western.

“It’s important to understand the situation from Russia’s perspective,” he said. “Russia has done nothing to provoke the West and yet this military alliance exists that continues to absorb countries.”

Although no one plans to send troops, Preston said the solution won’t be simple.

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The Spokesman Review

Alison Saar named Jo Hockenhull Distinguished Lecturer for 2022

Printmaker and sculptor Alison Saar will deliver the distinguished lecture for the Jo Hockenhull Lecture series at 4:30 p.m., Thursday Feb. 10.

Saar will discuss the connections between art and social justice as she provides an overview of her work in sculpture and printmaking for the event, organized by the Program in Women’s, Gender, and Sexuality Studies (WGSS), the Fine Arts Department, and the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art WSU.

The Hockenhull lecture series was launched in 1996 by the Women’s Studies Department in collaboration with the Department of Fine Arts to honor Jo Hockenhull, a WSU emeritus professor of Fine Arts who served as director of Women’s Studies for more than a decade. At WSU, Hockenhull focused on building programs and initiatives supporting diversity, the liberal arts, free speech, and critical thinking. Past lecturers have been visual artists, poets, and performance artists who have emphasized the important connections between art, social justice, and political practice. They have included artists such as Arshia Fatima Haq, Marie Watt, Alma Lopez, Faith Ringgold, Octavia Butler, and the Guerilla Girls, to name a few.

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WSU Insider

WSU announces Visiting Writers schedule for spring 2022

Washington State University announces this spring’s virtual Visiting Writers Series, a collaboration between WSU’s Pullman and Vancouver campuses.

Each presentation below will take place at 6 p.m. on the date listed via YouTube Live. For more information on series presenters, including the YouTube links to upcoming readings, visit the WSU Visiting Writers Series website.

The WSU Visiting Writers Series brings noted poets and writers of fiction and nonfiction to campus for creative readings, class visits, workshops, and collaborative exchanges across intellectual and artistic disciplines. All talks in the series are free and open to students, faculty, staff, and the broader community.

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WSU Insider