New play examines hip hop
Design by Brooks Hassig/AS Publicity Center
By Matt Crowley/The AS Review
On Monday, Nov. 23, the AS ROP Social Issues Resource Center (SIRC) will be presenting “Auction Block to Hip Hop,” a new play that dissects black stereotypes and degradation of women in hip hop and rap music.
“Auction Block to Hip Hop” was written by Jamillah and David Lamb, who previously wrote “Platanos and Collard Greens.” The play has received acclaim for its performances in New York City and colleges around the country and was performed at Western last year.
The performance will be held in the Viking Union Multipurpose Room at 7 p.m. Tickets are $2 for Western students w/ ID and $5 for general admission.
In “Auction Block to Hip Hop,” hip hop mogul Set Fo’ Life is visited by three ghosts who take him back to the time of his ancestors, from his enslaved great-great grandparents to his mother and father as members of the Black Panthers, before seeing himself falling in love at an anti-apartheid protest.
SIRC Assistant Coordinator Alekz Wray said the play does a good job of addressing the issues put forth by hip-hop music.
“We [the SIRC] felt like we haven’t put on events that show the detriment that hip-hop can have on the black community,” he said, adding that “the main character doesn’t care about what impact he has on the black community.”
David Lamb grew up in Astoria, Queens, N.Y. and upon graduating from law school worked for a Wall Street firm as a public finance attorney. Eventually he was inspired to start his own publishing company where he published his first novel, “Do Platanos Go Wit Collard Greens?” The success from the novel sent Lamb across the country speaking at colleges and universities.
His wife, Jamillah Lamb, graduated from Harvard and was vice president for Citigroup. She later left her career as a commercial real estate banker to form Between the Lines Productions, the company behind the couples’ two plays.
“We want people who come to have a heightened sense of the music they listen to,” Wray said.
A turkey-free Thanksgiving
By Shawna Leader/The AS Review
From 6 to 9 p.m. on Nov. 18 in Viking Union 565, the Western Animal Rights Network (WARN) will be hosting Turkeyless Thanksgiving. The entirely vegan meal will feature Tofurkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing and pumpkin pie. The cost is $4 for Western students with ID and $6 for general admission.
The event is an opportunity for students to try foods they may not otherwise get to, WARN President Rebekah Kraft said. The meal also shows that people can still enjoy their holiday meals without killing animals, she said.
“You’re just rearranging how you approach your food,” Kraft said.
People have strong emotional ties to food and may think that they can’t enjoy their holidays without it, Kraft said. But WARN wants to show people that a vegan diet is not as limiting as one may think.
“My family has had vegetarian Thanksgivings for as long as I remember and it does not impede on our ability to celebrate a successful harvest,” Cassandra Jones, a member of WARN, said.
WARN also hosts the event in order to raise awareness, at least for one meal, about what animals go through, Kraft said.
According to a 2002 online poll by Time Magazine, 4 percent of the 10,007 adult Americans who took the poll considered themselves vegetarian. Of the people who called themselves vegetarian, 5 percent considered themselves vegan as well.
Taking the “Rrr” out of registration
By Alex Bacon/The AS Review
As fall quarter winds down and winter quarter registration looms ahead, some students might wonder where or how to register.
“Preparation is 98 percent of the battle,” Assistant Registrar David Brunnemer said.
His preparation suggestions are:
1. Go to Web4U and become comfortable with the site.
2. A day or so before registration starts, check for holds. Some holds don’t appear until the day before registration begins.
3. Have a plan and have backups. He suggests having five or six backup plans, especially for freshmen, and building mock schedules in Classfinder. Also, recording the schedules and Course Registration Numbers (CRN) on paper can be helpful.
4. Be aware of course restrictions and prerequisites for classes. This type of information can be found on Classfinder.
5. Students should look at a GUR guide and, if they have a major in mind, they should find out what kind of prerequisites the major has and consider them when making mock schedules.
According to Kathie Loftin, office support supervisor in the Registrar’s Office, the steps to register are:
1. Log into Web4U
2. Click “Student”
3. Click “Registration”
4. There are two options for actual registration.
a. Click “Add/Drop Classes,” choose the quarter you are registering for, type in the CRNs in the boxes at the bottom of the page and press submit.
b. Click “Look-up Classes to Add,” search for classes to add, check the boxes of desired classes and press submit.
5. Return to “Registration” and click “Student Detail Schedule” to make sure the registration went through correctly.
Some issues Brunnemer and Loftin said are common are:
1. “Link Error” means there’s a lecture and a lab or discussion group that needs to be registered for simultaneously and it is missing.
2. “Class Restriction” happens when a class is junior or senior restricted and the person registering doesn’t have junior or senior status.
3. “Prerequisite Error” or “Test Error” happens when prerequisite classes or test scores haven’t been met.
4. Another common problem is when someone tries to register for an “override only” class without an override. If a class requires an override or is closed, contact the instructor, not the registrar. Only the instructor can grant overrides. Once someone is granted an override, they still need to register, as the override is permission to register, not automatic registration.
Another tool for deciding what classes to take and checking the status of GUR requirements is the Online Degree Evaluation. According to Degree Evaluation Specialist Carolyn Swinburne, the Online Degree Evaluation shows a student’s progress in satisfying GURs and major requirements.
Students can run a “What-if Analysis” if they haven’t declared a major to see what they’ve accomplished towards possible majors. If a student has declared a major, the Online Degree Evaluation can show them what’s still left to be done.
The online Degree Evaluation isn’t supposed to replace advisors but is something that can be an important advising tool, said Swinburne.
The Online Degree Evaluation can be found in Web4U in the “Student” tab under “Student Records.” For students with declared majors, choose “Generate New Evaluation.” Students without declared majors should select “What-if Analysis.”
WTA’s proposed bus service cuts
Students line up to get on a WTA bus outside of Haggard Hall. Photo by Joe Rudko/The AS Review
By Shawna Leader/The AS Review
On Monday, Nov. 10, the AS Alternative Transportation Committee met with Rick Nicholson, director of service development for Whatcom Transportation Authority (WTA) to discuss the service cuts proposed by the WTA, including the proposed Sunday service cuts.
Nicholson described the proposed service cuts and encouraged students and community members to comment on them. The WTA board of directors will meet at 8 a.m. on Nov. 19 at the county courthouse to discuss the budget. If that budget is accepted, a second meeting will likely happen in the spring to specifically discuss the cuts.
Currently, two plans for service cuts have been proposed. The first, a 10 percent service cut, would not impact bus service to Western. It is based almost entirely on routes or times with low ridership, Nicholson said in an interview after the meeting. In this case, most people would have an alternative route or bus stop nearby, he said.
“The fewest number of people will be affected [by this cut],” he said. However, it still leaves the WTA in the red.
The second proposed cut is the 10 percent cut plus elimination of bus service on Sundays. The difference between this cut and the 10 percent cut is that it removes lines that are very productive, Nicholson said. But the cut will save WTA money on service hours as well as administrative and maintenance costs because all other WTA functions will shut down on Sundays as well, Nicholson said.
According to Nicholson, the most costly aspects of the WTA operations are wages and benefits for drivers and other employees. Fuel and maintenance of buses, stops and stations are second in terms of cost. WTA has already cut $1.5 million over approximately the past two years, Nicholson said. Vacant positions have gone unfilled, nonunionized salaries have not been adjusted for the cost of living and projects have been postponed.
The two cuts that are being proposed are not meant to be a complete solution to the problem, Nicholson said; both are intended to be short-term plans.
“It’s really about, how much time do these cuts buy us?” he said.
Another option is to do nothing and wait for the economy to potentially improve. While this option does not involve service cuts, it has the potential to lead to larger cuts in the future, Nicholson said. Currently WTA is drawing money from reserves, so choosing to do nothing for now will depend on how comfortable the WTA board of directors feels about draining down those reserves, Nicholson said.
“Right now in our 2010 budget we are predicting no growth [in sales tax],” he said.
Cuts in future years may be smaller, but they could also be larger. It all depends on the economy, Nicholson said.
An alternative to the cuts may be a sales tax increase, AS Alternative Transportation Coordinator A.J. Garcia said. However, the call for such an action would have to come from the community, he said.
On Friday, Nicholson said that the Executive Committee (a subcommittee of the WTA board of directors) voted 5-0 to recommend to the WTA board to ask the public for a vote on a sales tax increase rather than cut service. At the meeting on Thursday, possible dates for the vote and how much the increase might be will be discussed.
It is not within the WTA’s administrative role to recommend a sales tax vote, Nicholson said. That is up to the public and the WTA board of directors. Similar to the waiting option, it could fix the problem if it passes but will only increase the problem, leading to larger cuts, if it does not.
Cutting a few times from every route would have a negative effect on students because the longer time between routes would lead to even more crowded buses and people getting left behind at stops, Nicholson.
If the Sunday cut does take place, Garcia suggested that the late night shuttle may be extended in order to cover Sundays. The Sunday cut would negatively affect students who need to get to campus, from the train station to their homes in Bellingham and students who have jobs on Sundays, he said. Having the late night shuttle cover the Sunday service would provide a limited route (it would be similar to that of the late night shuttle) and would mean a greater cost to students.
AS VP for Student Life Mike Pond suggested enacting the 10 percent cut and then further evaluating the situation before eliminating the Sunday service.
“The 10 percent cut is just being financially responsible,” he said, adding that doing nothing would be irresponsible.
Pond encouraged students to express their opinion to WTA via the comment hotline or e-mail.
“More input from the community and our students will have an impact on the final decision,” he said.
Nicholson also expressed that he would like to hear from the community.
“We just all need to be upfront with each other because it’s a difficult time,” he said.
A closer look at “Twilight”
Design by Mel Woodard/AS Publicity Center
By Anna Ellermeier/The AS Review
At 7 p.m. on Nov. 19 in AW 204, The AS ROP Women’s Center will be hosting “A Feminist Response to Pop Culture: Twilight.” The event will be a panel discussion about the wildly popular “Twilight” books, focusing specifically on looking at the books from a feminist perspective. One of the speakers on the panel will be Andi Zeisler, the editor of Bitch magazine. The AS Review spoke with Andi from her office in Portland about all things “Twilight.”
The AS Review: Could you explain what the Bitch magazine’s focus is for people who are unfamiliar with it?
Andi Zeisler: The magazine’s subtitle is “A feminist response to pop culture” and basically, it’s a quarterly nonprofit, reader-supported magazine that is dedicated to looking at the intersections of popular culture and feminist activism. … We look at all aspects of popular culture — movies, blogs, advertising, music, books — with an eye toward representations of women and men, representations of different sexualities and look at pop culture as a site of feminist activism.
ASR: On Nov. 19 you’ll be speaking on a panel at Western about the “Twilight” series, specifically the feminist perspective on the series. Could you give us a brief overview of some of the things you’ll be talking about at the panel?
AZ: I think I’ll be talking mainly about the social impact and the phenomenon of “Twilight” fandom and what the movie and the characters represent. I was actually just polling people in the office here about it because … I was working on this theory that every generation has their own version of “Twilight” in the sense that the main fan base for “Twilight” seems to be teenage girls. And all of us, when we’re teenage girls, tend to have some sort of romantic vision that’s sparked and nurtured by pop culture that becomes very heated and … it often spreads and becomes a phenomenon. I was thinking about, for instance, when the movie “Titanic” came out in the late ’90s, that was a huge, huge movie for teen girls and Leonardo DiCaprio as the lead character was the subject of so much teen girl devotion and it was sort of like his character and his handsomeness but it was also the romance of the whole story and the plot line of the girl being saved by him. I feel like “Twilight” is very much along those same lines. I think most generations do have something like that. Having been a teenage girl and having had my own romantic attachments to fictional characters in popular culture, I don’t begrudge the teen girl fans of “Twilight” their attachment to it and to the story. But I do think that from a feminist perspective, it puts forth some kind of troubling ideas about gender relations, about teen romance, about what girls do and don’t have to compromise for love. I think it has some layers and I think the fandom phenomenon is, for that reason, really interesting to me as a feminist to look at.
ASR: Why do think “Twilight” has been so popular?
AZ: A lot of people have theories about the importance of fantasy in relation to the state of the real world. I’ve heard a lot of people opine that stories about vampires and supernatural phenomenon in general are much more appealing when people feel that the world is in peril or just in a state of chaos that they would rather not think about. And stories about supernatural characters and certainly supernatural romances become a really crucial kind of escapism. It’s possible that that’s the reason. Again, from my own experience as a 13 or 14-year-old girl, I’m not really sure that I was aware enough about the state of the world to seek escapism for its own sake. I think that the source material, the “Twilight” books, are… they’re character driven, they’re somewhat simple, they don’t demand a rigorous historical competence that a lot of previous vampire literature has demanded. I’m thinking of, like, the Ann Rice novels, which were really popular when I was a teenager. I think that the fact that the characters, in particular Bella … is so much a blank slate that girls can really superimpose whatever they want to on her. It makes it really easy to absorb and feel that they are becoming that character.
ASR: What implications do you feel these books have for young adult fiction in the future?
AZ: I worry, just as someone who loves books and who knows how fickle and formulaic the entire publishing industry can be, I worry that the success of books like this, “Twilight” in particular, are going to circumscribe what’s possible in young adult literature on a large scale. And you can sort of see it happening to some extent with … other series about vampires. … I think there’s the danger that books and book packagers are going to say things like, “Well, we need another ‘Twilight’” and thus end up overlooking a lot of possibly great young adult literature that isn’t about vampires, that isn’t about supernatural romance. It’s hard to say. … I have heard some people that I know who are much more into young adult literature than I am and much more aware of the trends … say that they’re upset that more sophisticated, more nuanced and more female-friendly young-adult literature is getting ignored. … But, everyone has their own opinion and “Twilight” has clearly resonated with a ton of people, so it must be doing something meaningful.
Cooking on a college budget
Photo by Erik Simkins/The AS Review
By Allison Milton and Shawna Leader/The AS Review
Fall is a good time for a hot meal, but you can only have canned soup for dinner so many times. This recipe uses squash, which is in season now and is available in grocery stores and at the farmer’s market. The remaining ingredients can be found in the bulk section of most grocery stores. Buying in bulk is typically cheaper and offers more choice in terms of how much you would like to buy (all these ingredients can be found packaged as well). Quinoa, a whole grain high in protein, is similar to rice and can be found in most grocery stores. Like most recipes, this one is up for interpretation. Add and subtract ingredients according to what you like.
What you’ll need
• 1 to 2 cups uncooked, rinsed quinoa, depending on how much you want to make
• 1 medium squash, seeded, peeled and cubed (use frozen squash if you’re really low on time)
• ½ cup dried cranberries
• ½ cup chopped dried apricots
• ½ cup chopped pecans (use a food processor to save time)
• ½ tsp dried thyme
• ½ tsp dried sage
How to do it
• Place quinoa and water in a large pot and bring to a boil (for every ½ cup of quinoa, use 1 cup water). Reduce to medium heat and let simmer until all liquid is absorbed.
• While the quinoa is cooking, place the squash cubes on a microwave-safe plate and cook for six minutes or until soft in the microwave.
• When the quinoa is done, stir in the squash, cranberries, apricots, pecans, thyme and sage.
• Enjoy!
Amtrak, Greyhound or bus?
The Amtrak train is one option for students who are trying to get home for the Thanksgiving and winter breaks. Photo by Erik Simkins/The AS Review
By Alex Bacon/The AS Review
Thanksgiving and winter break are getting close and many students are trying to figure out the best way to get home. For many in-state students, getting home is a challenge because, while home is close, it’s still so far away.
“When traveling during the busy holiday season, expect delays and plan ahead,” A.J. Garcia, AS Alternative Transportation coordinator, said. “Always give yourself plenty of time to make any connections. Weather and traffic can be unpredictable during busy winter months.”
There are many options for people traveling on the west side of the state. Those options include Amtrak, public transit and Greyhound.
Zoey Brodsky, Buchanan Towers Transportation Desk coordinator, advised students to start with their budget. The Amtrak train starts around $20 and the Greyhound bus starts around $15 but prices can be lower if students buy their tickets early. Also, for students who only need to go as far as Seattle or Tacoma, public bus routes are a cheap option.
“On weekdays, you can get to Everett for $2, Seattle or Bellevue for $4.50 and to Tacoma for $5 using public transit,” Garcia said. “Once in Everett or Seattle, you can transfer to other public transit routes to reach your final destination.”
“Amtrak and Greyhound are also good options for going down south, especially if you need to go further than Seattle as well as for going north to Vancouver, BC,” Garcia said. For students trying to go south along the I-5 corridor, Brodsky also suggested looking at the Community Transit Web site (www.commtrans.org).
“Getting to the eastern side of the state is a little harder,” Brodsky said. There are fewer options, as fewer transit methods offer routes over the mountains. Greyhound and Amtrak have routes, but students would have to get to Everett or Seattle first.
“For getting back to Spokane, Wenatchee and Ephrata, taking Amtrak can be an easy and relatively inexpensive option,” Garcia said. “[But] going back to the west side on Amtrak can be tricky. The westbound train comes in all the way from Chicago, so it can be substantially late by the time it gets to Washington.”
For other destinations in eastern Washington, Garcia said Greyhound is usually an inexpensive option. Another option is to fly from either Bellingham International Airport or SeaTac International Airport. To get to SeaTac from Bellingham, students can take the airporter shuttle from the GuestHouse Inn on Lakeway Drive.
Brodsky suggested looking at the rideshare forum on Western’s Viking Village forum first for students traveling east.
“Rideshare forums are really handy for students willing to carpool,” Garcia said.
Garcia had a few tips for students trying to plan their travels around the state. First, make reservations early. Often, the earlier you can make reservations, the lower the price. Also, you don’t run the risk of trying to book a seat on a sold-out bus or train.
“You don’t want to try to book a train or bus during finals week and find out that it’s full,” he said.
Another thing to remember is that using the public transit option only works on weekdays.
Finally, he said to ask the bus driver if you’re concerned about making a connection or aren’t sure what bus to take.
If the information a student is looking for isn’t online or they can’t find the information they need, they can always e-mail AS.Transportation@wwu.edu or call (360)-650-7960 and for help planning a trip.
Students can also contact BT.Travel@wwu.edu or visit the Buchanan Towers Transportation Info Desk in the 3rd floor lounge for help with trip planning and travel options.
LGBTA promotes inclusive language
By Allison Milton/The AS Review
The AS Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender Alliance’s (LGBTA) Assistant Coordinator Josh Foley has worked to create a list of phrases for students to reference when they are confronted with someone who says “that’s gay” or uses any other offensive term. He said these terms and phrases are a tool to help allies stand up and confront students who use offensive language.
“Knowing what to say is the first step to standing up for what you believe,” he said.
Foley said he hopes creating awareness of these phrases and use of this tool will create more allies on campus.
“These simple phrases allow students to take back the power that is stripped away from them the moment someone uses inappropriate language,” he said.
Here are a few phrases Foley has come up with to use when someone uses noninclusive language:
We live in a community where all have the right to feel safe.
You don’t know all the people around you, so try to keep your language inclusive.
Instead of “gay” why not try: blasé, stupid, boring, obnoxious, immature, frustrating, or infuriating? (*Be sure to enforce that “gay” does not mean these terms and this is why they should change their choice of words.)
Please don’t use that around me, it makes me feel uncomfortable.
That is considered hate speech and is unacceptable.
Western promotes an inclusive atmosphere and doesn’t tolerate language like that.
That language makes you sound immature and ignorant.
Next time, when you hear someone say “that’s gay” or any other non-inclusive term that makes you uncomfortable or might make someone else uncomfortable, know that you have the power, and the right, to stand up for yourself.
Cigarettes for sale in the VU?
By Allison Milton/The AS Review
There was a time when a Western student could buy a candy bar and a pack of Marlboro Lights and head off to class without ever leaving campus.
On May 17, 2000, the Viking Union Administration decided to discontinue the sale of tobacco products from the 6th floor VU information desk where the tobacco products were sold. The decision was made after the Associated Students Facilities and Services Council was asked for input on matters involving facility management.
There were many factors in this decision, including issues regarding legality, medical impacts, government policy and institutional reasons.
While it wasn’t illegal for the information desk to sell tobacco, the stigma against cigarettes and the health impacts of smoking, as well as the potential for litter problems on campus, there were many people, including board members and members of the administration, that were questioning the sales of tobacco products.
Before the Washington Clean Indoor Air Act, which banned smoking indoors in 1985, it was legal for professors and students to smoke inside (except in class), such as in a professor’s office, Viking Union Director Jim Schuster said.
According to the official documents of the decision, there was a divide on the issue, but the majority opinion favored eliminating tobacco sales. It also said, “since smoking is not allowed in public buildings and is not allowed at university-offered programs, there is little reason to offer tobacco as a convenience item. Those wanting to smoke in outdoor, public spaces can do so provided they purchase tobacco products prior to coming to campus.”
The money generated from tobacco sales, which according to Schuster grossed about $100,000 a year, was deposited in the VU’s Housing and Dining System account and helped to pay for the salaries of the information desk employees.
Now, without tobacco bringing in a large chunk of the profits, the information desk is grossing about $25,000 a year, Schuster said.
The reason tobacco sales generated so much money was due to many factors. It might have been the convenience for many students to purchase tobacco right here on campus or the fact that cigarettes were the most expensive items sold at the desk, Schuster said.
When the tobacco sales ban came into effect on Western’s campus, there were some students who weren’t fond of the idea.
“They understood, but they felt they were being discriminated against,” Schuster said.
Currently, Western follows state law, which says smoking is banned within 25 feet of any window, door or vent. Initiative 901, which was passed in Washington in 2005, banned smoking in most public locations, including bars, bowling alleys and reception areas.
It isn’t just Western that has cracked down on tobacco sales on campus; Schuster said a lot of other schools have gone smoke-free as well.
The administration looked at data collected from other schools, and of 18 schools that were looked at, seven of them sell tobacco on campus and 11 do not.
Rochester Community and Technical College in Rochester, Minn. went a step further this year and banned tobacco use altogether, stating in their policy, “RCTC is committed to creating a clean, safe, and healthy learning and working environment; and recognizes its responsibility to promote the health, welfare and safety for students, staff and others on college property. RCTC also recognizes that the use of tobacco in any form poses serious and long-term health risks to individuals, therefore adopts the following Tobacco Use and Sale Policy.”
Even though smoking is still present on Western’s campus, Schuster said you won’t be able to buy cigarettes on campus any time soon.
Go underground!
By Matt Crowley/The AS Review
This week the AS Productions Underground Coffeehouse concert series will be hosting a full lineup of bands in the Coffeehouse.
At 8 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 18, Seattleites Hey Marseilles will play the Coffeehouse along with opener Let’s Get Lost.
Let’s Get Lost was previously known as Bedouin Jacks and have played several big venues, including Neumo’s in Seattle and sets at Seattle’s Bumbershoot Music Festival. Lead vocalist and pianist Nick Shadel, along with guitarist Peter Kowalczyk, bassist Will Gebenini and drummer Lorcan Shannon, play mostly piano-driven indie rock highlighted by Shadel’s whispery voice and interspersed vocal harmonies.
Hey Marseilles brings a sound similar to Spokanites Mon Cheri, one of delicately balanced “orchestral folk,” as they like to call it. They bring slow, swaying string-heavy music. There are often multiple voices in their songs, adding to the fullness of their sound, complemented by the medley of pianos, violins and accordions.
They have received praise from local music publications such as Sound NW and Three Imaginary Girls, and in the past have played Bumbershoot, SXSW and the Capitol Hill Block Party main stage. Their first album, “To Travels & Trunks,” was released in 2008.
Two days later, at 8 p.m. on Nov. 20, folk-punk rockers Insomniac Folklore will be joined by singer-songwriter Andrew Anderson. Anderson’s self-described “post-cowboy” brand of music is fast; too fast, one might think, for country music, a genre most of us associate with slide guitars and 4/4 time signatures. The opening of the song “Hawk,” for example, sounds less like something out of a Ford truck commercial and more like it came out of Guitar Hero. Of course, Anderson can slow it down too, breaking out the acoustic and banjo for songs like “Once Met a Girl” and “Necessary Casualties.”
Insomniac Folklore frontman Tyler Hentschel started the band after performing as a solo act and is joined by a “rotating cast of friends and family members.” You get a little bit of everything with Insomniac Folklore, who describe their music as “tantrum folk.” At times, Hentschel can be reserved and delicate, as he is with “North to the Future,” while other songs such as “It’s Only Folk Music” are bouncy, loud and almost mocking.
In the past Insomniac Folklore has opened for bands such as Fall of Troy and Schoolyard Heroes. Their most recent full-length album, “Oh Well,” was released in 2007.
Soon, visitors to the Underground Coffeehouse will be able to listen to bands like Insomniac Folklore while enjoying a cup of coffee or working on homework. The Underground Coffeehouse will be installing a listening station, similar to those you might see in record stores, to promote upcoming shows and new music. The listening station will hold multiple CDs that can be listened to through attached headphones.
ASP Pop Music has had the stations for a while and has used them at different locations across campus. Recently, they agreed to let the Coffeehouse use one while they use the other for their own promotional purposes.
“They should be up and running hopefully before Thanksgiving,” said Underground Coffeehouse Concert Series Assistant Coordinator Lora Mednick.
The station will be routinely refreshed with new artists. This way, “people will always be able to listen to something new,” Mednick said.
Coordinator Nick Duncan hopes the station will give students a better idea of who or what is coming to the Coffeehouse.
“It’s one thing to see a poster. … Now I can go the Underground and listen,” he said.
As always, the shows are free and open to the public.