Talent in the Tropics

Can you recite the first 200 digits of pi? How about doing that while solving a Rubik’s Cube? 

Tyler Simpson from Alford-Montgomery Hall can. Well, only 140 digits, he admitted after he finished de-scrambling the cube, but the crowd cheered loudly as he triumphantly spun the cube around for them to see.

At Nicholson Pavilion, 11 students living in residence halls signed up to show off their talent to the rest of CWU. RHA executive officers and emcees for the talent show, Kira Cox and Arthur Mosiman opened the stage and introduced the contestants.

The line-ups included a dance to Charlie XCX’s “Trophy,” a duet version of James Arthur’s “Say You Won’t Let Go” and an acoustic version of David Bowie’s “Space Oddity.”

Joshua Cravy brought a guitar, a kazoo with a DIY cardboard holder to help hold the kazoo to his lips and a percussion shaker instrument taped to his foot that added a beat each time Cravy shook it, about which he said, “My ankle was very tired by the end.”

Cravy sang an upbeat song that he wrote himself called “Shower Shoes,” in which the lyrics went: 

“It was my first day of college I was taking a shower, I did it real quick just barely an hour, my feet felt weird the entire time, there was something real slick on this floor of mine. I took a further look and it seemed to me to be residue from other people’s feet.” 

He went on to sing that the solution to this problem was, of course, shower shoes.

The crowd burst out laughing at the wit and silliness of Cravy’s song, even when he momentarily slipped up on the lyrics.

“I just like the idea of making light of horrible things,” Cravy said after the show. “I thought [“Shower Shoes”] was pretty relatable.”

While the judges tallied up the scores, Cox and Mosiman invited members of the audience to show off some of their talents. One student shared his gift of screaming into the mic like a death metal artist. Another came up to the stage and showed her neck snap backwards as though it broke.

Shelby Adkins and Brad Johnson from Kamola Hall who sang Bruno Mar’s “Count on me,” won first place at the talent show and were awarded with crowns, bouquets and bragging rights.

Joel McHale Comedy Show

The big show for Homecoming Weekend was undoubtedly Comedian Joel McHale’s stand-up show, evident by the long line-up of people that stretched around the upstairs hall in the SURC.

J.F. Harris, a comedian who has written jokes for big names like Will Smith and has starred in “Bill Burr Presents” on Comedy Central, opened up the stage.

“I’ve never been to central Washington before,” Harris said. He asked what locals do around here. “Drink? Ride a horse? Cow tipping?”

Harris warmed up the audience for a half hour, throwing jokes about his teenage troubles with alcohol and drugs, how young people shouldn’t marry so early and his imaginary future daughter, who he fears might look like him.

“If you’re in your 20s and you want to get married, don’t do it,” Harris said. “If you’re in your early 20s, don’t get a tattoo, your tastes change, much like the person you’re sitting next to.”

At the end of his act, Harris shouted, “Are you ready to see the man you came here to see?” 

The crowd cheered into a thunderous applause. 

McHale walked out onto the stage, waving “hello” with his long arms and giving air high fives to the front row, which no one could reach up to his hand. 

“Wow, this is like an alcoholics anonymous meeting,” he joked, looking around at the large crowd.

The first thing he commented on was about a chimpanzee enclosures that he’d heard about when he previously visited CWU years ago. 

“What happened to the monkey habitat?” McHale asked later in the show, a reference to the demolishment of CWU’s Chimpanzee and Human Communication Institute building in 2018. 

“It’s a Panda Express!” an audience member answered, to which the crowd roared with laughter.

McHale, who grew up on Mercer Island and attended the University of Washington (UW), had no shortage of regional jokes and quips about the Seahawks, Pullman and Cle Elum.

McHale thanked the audience before closing the curtains: “You guys are the best crowd of all time!” and successfully gave a high five to the person who had missed his hand at the beginning of the show.

Jared Williams, a UW student visiting friends and family in Ellensburg, had one word to describe the show: “Monkeys.” 

Williams said although he didn’t understand some jokes about CWU, he found the jokes about UW funny. McHale had made a joke that he attended UW “when idiots [could] get in.”

Wellington’s Wildfire

At Nicholson Pavilion, nearly 10 p.m., the parking lot was lit up by moonlight and two bonfires and was filled with students bouncing to rap and hip hop tracks.

Wellington’s Wildfire is an annual event where students can enjoy live music, barbecue and smores, as well as games like giant Jenga and beanbag toss and a bonfire. 

Matthew Wiemals, who works at 88.1 the ‘Burg, also known by his stage name DJ Sparrow, played songs by Chance the Rapper, Flo Rida and Drake. 

“This is my normal party set,” Wiemals said. “I like to play this to pump the crowd up. It always works.”

Some students stood around portable stove top stations to melt down their smores. 

Jacob Mark LeRoy, a first year student, held up a skewer with three marshmallows over the flames. 

“It’s electric,” LeRoy said. “It’s amazing, lively and it’s cold.”

LeRoy, who also sat in the comedy show, said, “[When he said] his kids are dicks and that he encourages it, I think that’s so funny.”

Renee Perez and Pierce McCullough, freshmen from Carmody-Munro Hall, said they enjoy the vibrant and upbeat scene.

“I like the selection of music,” McCullough said. “It’s high-beat, uptempo, they’re both seen as more of the party genre.”

Perez agreed that the event is fun and upbeat.

“I think they can use some colored lights next time,” McCullough added. “Make it more lit.”

Alumni After Hours

On the other side of town at 420 Loft Art Gallery on North Pearl Street, another type of party called Alumni After Hours was held.

Hosted by the CWU Alumni Association, there were bar drinks,the live band Chuck Boom playing funky jazz music and former and current CWU students chatting with their fellow Wildcats. 

Jocelyn Matheny, recent CWU graduate who has been involved at The Alumni Association since July 2019, said the event is “a fun social tradition to get the alumni back together during Homecoming.”

Mark Johnson, a long-time member on the Board of Alumni who graduated from CWU in 1987, shared his experiences of being a college student.

“You know, being a straight A student is great,” Johnson said when asked what he would like to tell a freshman. “But I think what’s more important is having a balance between your relationships, your involvement in extracurricular activities […] whatever floats your boat, is really helpful and will benefit you more in life than being an outstanding student.”

Andrew Mark, also on the Board of Alumni and a graduate of 2011, said he enjoyed the whole experience of CWU from day one.

Mark recalls Friday and Saturday nights in downtown Ellensburg at Club 301, which at the time was called Oak Rail Tavern Bar.

“It was really packed,” Mark said. “You’d have a line [at Club] 301, the line would be two blocks long to get in on a Friday or Saturday night. Now there’s stuff going on but it doesn’t seem quite as busy.”

Both Johnson and Mark said they would like to tell students the importance of networking and making lifetime friends.

“Your time at [CWU], make sure you enjoy it,” Mark tells current students. “Now’s the time to explore all the different options available to you because once you graduate, that window starts to close a little bit.”