Student clubs offer a variety of ways to socialize

By Shawn Hutchinson

When freshman Theodore Sandberg came to Washington State University, he knew a few of the other students. He did not know that there would be a student club that allowed him to find a piece of home. At WSU’s Tabletop Gaming Association, that’s exactly what he found.

“I usually stick with the same group for Dungeons and Dragons,” said Sandberg. “It’s a colorful group of people.”

With over 400 registered student organizations at WSU, there is a variety of options for people looking for a group of like-minded individuals to spend time with. Having a group of friends centered on one interest can also help incoming students adjust to unfamiliar surroundings.

“You get to know people,” Sandberg said. “It does help with a social adjustment.”

There are also clubs centered on more serious activities than gaming. With focuses on academic categories or career development, there are plenty of clubs available for people looking to become more familiar with a particular university department.

One club with an academic focus is Math Club, one that senior Alden Bradford joined originally because of friends. He stayed in the club to help connect with professors in one of his two majors.

“I got to meet a lot of instructors and grad students who have helped me out with classes and letters of recommendation,” said Bradford.

Bradford, who served as Math Club president for two years before he had to step down due to the club’s constitution, has the perspective of being both a member and a leader.

“It’s a lot of work, but I think it was also very rewarding,” said Bradford about his term as president. Bradford said he enjoyed being able to take ideas for the club and enact them to see if the other club members would enjoy them as well.

Another club with a focus toward professional advancement is Sport Management Club, currently led by acting president Cody Miller, a junior. Originally a business major, Miller changed his major to sport management. He used the club as a way to catch up with his peers, many of whom had already gotten to know the faculty around the sport management program.

“I’ve definitely learned a lot about organization and planning,” said Miller.

Miller said his club offers its members an out-of-class experience that takes a look at how the real world of sport management works, if only on a small scale.

“It’s like a stepping stone to how you’d work in a team or organization environment,” said Miller.

With sport management having some real-world applicability, there can also be real world problems, such as the 3-on-3 basketball event the club tried organizing this semester, but later had to cancel due to a lack of sponsorship and participation. Miller said the experience of failure would benefit the executives of the club in the long run, as it provided them with an opportunity to examine what went wrong.

For other students, a serious club based in academics is not the right fit. Some students prefer a club that allows them to connect with people in a more social sense. These students want an outlet to release their stress that builds up over the days and weeks. For junior Jeremiah Mann, singing in the gospel group God’s Harmony does just that.

“I love the energy level, how everyone seems to have a good time,” said Mann.

Mann said he grew up with music, with his mother being a singer. He participated in church choirs throughout his childhood.

“We all come from different backgrounds, and it gives us a place to feel comfortable,” said Mann.

God’s Harmony also does community events that are open to the public. Mann said being able to have a positive impact on someone is a huge benefit of being in God’s Harmony.

“They might feel better walking out than they did coming in,” said Mann.

The need to relax and let go of stress also is a benefit for Floor Hockey Club member and graduate student Thomas Bersano. He said having a sport-based club that is mildly competitive is a big perk for him.

“I come to floor hockey to relieve stress, so I don’t want to play a game that will get me all worked up,” said Bersano.

While people come to Floor Hockey Club for many reasons, Bersano said there’s one thing the players are all there for.

“In the end, it’s still people hanging out to play the game,” said Bersano.

This illustrates one defining element found in almost every club: a sense of social togetherness. No matter who’s in the club, there is a certain unity that is apparent in many of them. That’s why Sandberg’s words about Tabletop Gaming Association tend to ring true for other clubs as well.

“It’s a good pastime, if you’re into stuff like that,” said Sandberg. 

Final Project Pitch

I will be doing a story about student clubs for my final project. The story will focus on a variety of different people in different types of clubs, and will take on a slight feature style. The purpose of the story is to inform the students of WSU, especially those who are feeling alone or alienated, about different social opportunities available to them on campus, and the types of experiences they can expect. This story is timely, since many students like to try new things at the start of a new semester, and knowing about their options now will help them make their choices come January.

I have completed two interviews already. One is with former Math Club president Alden Bradford about his experiences as a leader and in an academic club. My other interview was with Theodore Sandberg, a member of the informal Tabletop Games Club, and a freshman who used clubs as a way to get to know people upon arriving to WSU.

My records request is to look at the number of students involved in Registered Student Organizations over the last five years to see if there has been an increase or decrease in general student involvement, or if these numbers are remaining level. I have future interviews planned with people in religious groups, athletic groups, and potentially a person involved in student affairs as well.

Beat story

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/news/article_3ace5e32-8a6d-11e5-85e4-a3c6b007b000.html

This story is an example of localizing, bringing the tragic Paris attacks to the WSU community by doing a short update to let WSU students know how fellow students are doing in Paris after the attacks. Obviously, the attacks are the biggest news item of the week, and this ties into the attacks for our community.

More women getting involved in sports

If Kayla Rhodes had been born forty years earlier, she likely wouldn’t have had a chance to run track. She probably would not have memories of lining up against fellow students from her school district. The only way she would have heard the bang of a starting gun is from the stands.

Since the institution of Title IX, more women in the United States have the opportunity to play sports. These opportunities come at all levels of education, from elementary school through college. Participation in K-12 school sports, like track and field for Rhodes, has increased from less than 300,000 young women playing in 1972 when Title IX became law to more than 2.8 million women participating in 2001 according to the National Coalition for Women and Girls in Education. That growth has continued to the present day.

Along with the growing opportunities for playing sports in school, more women are entering professional sports as leagues in soccer and hockey have developed in the last ten years. In North America, college soccer players can now join the National Women’s Soccer League, a ten-team professional league supported by the national sport federations of the United States, Mexico, and Canada. In hockey, there are two options for female athletes. The five-team Canadian Women’s Hockey League, which does not pay players, or the four-team National Women’s Hockey League, which does pay players and is in its inaugural season.

Yahoo Sports writer Jen Neale covers the CWHL and NWHL on Puck Daddy, a hockey blog. Neale said in the last five years, the focus on the women’s hockey event at the Olympics has led to more exposure and coverage.

“I can’t say it’s as big as I’d like it to be,” said Neale.

Neale said the women’s leagues will need support from the men’s leagues to be successful early on, with financial backing being important.

Neale said there is a challenge to overcome the inherent thought process that women’s sports are not as popular as men’s. Recently, Stephen A. Smith of ESPN made a comment about soccer players not wanting to mess up their hair on a free kick. Neale cited this as part of the ingrained attitude that women are not as good at sports as men.

Scott Jedlicka, Ph.D., a professor teaching sport sociology at Washington State University also noted the prevailing attitude, but acknowledged the growth of opportunities in recent years.

“The greatest expansion has been at the college level in terms of opportunities and equal treatment,” said Jedlicka. “There’s a greater measure of acceptance on college campuses.”

Jedlicka said the employment status of college athletes could have a big impact on the growth of women’s sports in the near future.

“If things remain similar to how they are now, there will likely be expanded opportunities for women’s sports,” said Jedlicka. “However, if big-time college sports get reconstituted as an employment-style system, this will perhaps negatively affect women’s sport.”

Jedlicka said the coverage of women’s sports today will have to change for greater acceptance to occur.

“We need to get beyond recognizing women athletes as women first,” said Jedlicka.

For Rhodes, her athletic career ended before college, as she stopped running track on her own terms.

“I’m thankful that I got the chance to participate,” said Rhodes.

Story of the week

This week, there's a story out about the new building projects the university is going forward with over the next couple of years. The focus of the story rests on the renovations to the old Bookie at Campus and Thatuna. The story details the fees students pay to help support the costs of the projects. There are also mentions to construction on satellite campuses. I found a big hole in the story, in which there is no mention of the upcoming renovation of Troy Hall, the former creamery building located next to Fulmer Hall on College Avenue. This renovation would have more news value to students in Pullman than most anything going on in Spokane or Everett.

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/news/article_27256586-8420-11e5-9025-57587c50ef2c.html

Trend Story Pitch

Two Sentence explanation: Women's sports are becoming more common in the United States and around the world. Many young women use college to explore their sporting opportunities, through official or club teams.

Evidence: Since Title IX was passed in the 1970s, the push for equity in sports between males and females has led to more opportunities available to women to participate as athletes. The percentage of female athletes in the Olympics since 1972 has increased from 14% to 42%, with the total number of female athletes increasing four times in that same span. Recent events like the 2015 Women's World Cup, as well as the launches of the CWHL and NWHL for hockey and the NWSL in soccer have provided female athletes with professional playing opportunities, while the WNBA remains as the first stable female sports league.

Why Now: The NWHL is in their first season, and talking to collegiate female hockey players on WSU's club team would help to highlight some of the reasons why playing sports can be as valuable an experience for women as it is for men.

Interviews: Player and/or coach for WSU Women's Ice Hockey club team, writer who covers women's sports with regularity, people involved in women's sports, Dr. Scott Jedlicka, professor with a background in the sociology of sport.

Format and length: 500 words written.

Campus Life Beat Story

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/news/article_da8b1d88-7d2b-11e5-bd9b-4b5f6ae5d073.html

Here's a story that's technically on my beat, recapping Pullman City Council's recent meeting. The part of the story I'm looking at is mentioned in the headline, although somewhat oddly buried in the story. The City Council has proposed changing the name of Nevada Street to Waller Street. This was proposed because Waller Hall is no longer active after 80 years as a residence hall for the university. I think this particular story could have been done as two separate stories, since the headline says one thing and the first six paragraphs have nothing to do with the headline.

Sentence Edits

1. The tobacco-free policy does, however, reaches farther than just the use of cigarettes,: it bans all tobacco.

2. “I mean, first, it’s just the overwhelming grief, right?” said Paula Adams, associate director of health promotions at Health and Wellness at WSU said . “I’m going to cry right now talking about it. I mean, how sad is that?”

3. Washington and 16 other states allow personal, religious and medical reasons to be valid excuses to not receive mandatory vaccinations., the state can only highly recommend them.

4. “The goal is for school districts to try and to cover the closest tribe’s history and culture,” said legislative assistant Kevin Fenton. Senator Steve Litzow’s Legislative Assistant.

5. WSU nursing student, Makayla Martin, passed the required standardized test last year that allowed her to graduate from high school in Washington state just last year.

Campus Life story

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/news/article_9400fae0-794d-11e5-9653-7747ab91b348.html

Here's a story that talks about the new councilmembers elected for the Interfraternity Council, which had its elections conclude last week. The story goes on to detail the processes leading up to the election.

Freshman live-in rule still supported as WSU residence halls become crowded

By Shawn Hutchinson

Outside Salman Ibrahim’s room, there is a paper listing his office hours. This is not unusual to see for professors and teaching assistants, but Ibrahim is a resident adviser on the first floor of Goldsworthy Hall.

In previous years, Ibrahim would have had another RA on the floor to cover some of the responsibilities of the job. This year, with WSU admitting a record 4,220 new freshmen, there are barely enough rooms to accommodate both RAs and all the freshmen required to live in the residence halls.

The freshman live-in rule is codified in the Washington Administrative Code, requiring all first-year students less than 20 years old to live in the residence halls on campus. Exceptions can be made for students who meet one of the following four criteria: they have attended an institution of higher learning before, they can live with an immediate family member, they have an excuse from a psychologist or they can demonstrate financial hardship. These criteria do not bar students from choosing to live in the residence halls.

Pullman resident Laura Guido chose to spend her freshman year in Honors Hall, despite having her family in town. Guido said she wanted to get the separation that comes with living in the residence halls, which allowed her to get the college experience.

“When you actually live in Pullman, you rarely go on campus, so it’s like a new experience,” said Guido.

The common complaint against the residence halls is the cost, which averages about $5,700 per semester. Forcing the overwhelming majority of college students or their families to pay these costs to comply with the law could be seen as excessive. The residence halls do have one thing that many former residents point to as a major perk: community.

Former student Nicole Tuhy said it’s easier to meet people and be informed about campus events when she lived in the residence halls.  

Another former student, Kirstin King, said the sense of community in the residence halls helps to combat loneliness that many students would experience if they started in the apartments.

“You’re out there in the middle of nowhere, and it’s easier to make friends in the dorms,” said King.

Guido said she lived with her best friend in freshman year.

“We knew that we liked each other, but we also wanted to meet new people,” said Guido.

Ibrahim said community is the biggest thing.

“That’s why they’re called residence halls instead of dorms,” said Ibrahim. “Dorms have a connotation of being places where you sleep and eat. Residence halls are really about the community.”

Ibrahim said a lot of students’ most memorable part of college is the year they spend in the residence halls.

“It seems tedious at first, but everyone comes to miss the experiences,” said Ibrahim

Many students have stories that reflect upon the community aspect of their year in the dorms. A lot of these stories couldn’t happen in a different setting, making the residence halls unique.

“In the very beginning of the school year, a friend and I went to another building to watch a baseball game, because there was no lounge in our building,” said King. “By the end of the game, the room we were in was packed with people we didn’t even know. That would never happen in apartment land.”

“One night, we took office chairs and raced them down the ramps,” said Tuhy. Tuhy said the RAs made it memorable when they caught Tuhy and her friends in the elevator preparing for another race.

Despite the memories and experiences, opinions on the freshman live-in rule as a requirement are mixed.

Tuhy said the residence hall experience is not necessarily for everyone, and they are more expensive than other living options.

“Students shouldn’t be required to live in the residence halls,” said Tuhy. “It should be a personal choice.”

Ibrahim said people tend to miss seeing their friends on a day-to-day basis when they move out of the residence halls.

“A residence hall feels more homey than an apartment,” said Ibrahim.

“When I was going to school as a freshman, I didn’t want to live in a dorm, but it was the best thing that could have happened to me,” said King.

Campus Life Story of the Week

This week, there was a demonstration by the Muslim Student Association in response to an email from the Women's Resource Center. The email appeared to rely on a stereotype of a Muslim woman, and the topic of the email was a newsletter about the Week Without Violence. While the two groups are not directly at odds, the disagreement was a powerful opportunity for one set of students to dispel stereotypes and request fair treatment as humans.

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/news/article_ba1e0648-72d9-11e5-9ed8-53c4c4f51905.html

Campus Life Story

http://www.dailyevergreen.com/news/article_f774169c-7089-11e5-ae70-7b1d4c9d268d.html

A somewhat more literal approach to "campus life," this story details the ongoing talks between WSU and Federal Way, Washington, to create a satellite campus for WSU. WSU already has campuses in Tri-Cities, Spokane, Vancouver, and Everett, and since my beat covers students interacting with their campus, stories like this are important to consider. Each campus brings a shared identity of the Cougars with a unique flavor based on their individual location.

Political/Criminal Story Pitch

Two-sentence explanation: All first-year students at WSU have to live in the dorm system under Washington state law. With housing spaces at a premium this year, this law could make it difficult for the university to accommodate everyone.

Evidence: WSU's dormitories are overfilled in some places and under-utilized in others. Orton's second floor is not housing university students. Waller Hall was just closed for this year. The new Global Scholars Hall is not at full functionality yet. There are students living with RAs.

Why now: More students are expected next year than there are this year, which is already an all-time high class enrollment. Wilmer-Davis, one of three all-female dorms, is set to be renovated, furthering the housing crisis in the future.

Interviews: People who don't fit the intention of the law, which is to get 18 year old freshmen living with other people. One of each of the following: a transfer student (past or current), a freshman older than 18, an RA, students with roommates, students living as a single.

Format and Length: 500 written words, hourglass form.