Tobacco age limit raised to 21
Will Ortner, Staff Reporter
December 6, 2019
On April 5 Gov. Jay Inslee signed a law that raised the age restriction of buying tobacco products to 21 years old. This law, Engrossed House Bill 1074, would go into effect on Jan. 1 2020. Inslee believes that this is a way to keep young adults from smoking tobacco products. “We know that 95% of smokers start that da...
CWU janitors sweeping the streets
AJ St. John, Staff Reporter
December 6, 2019
Custodial workers are part of the CWU crew. These workers dedicate their time to ensure that the campus remains clutter free as students carry on throughout their busy days. Although custodians mainly work indoors, the service workers at CWU also maintain the landscape at CWU, keeping the school clea...
Charities serving Kittitas County
Amy Morris, Staff Reporter
December 6, 2019
As the holidays approach, there are many organizations in Ellensburg that take donations. Donations are an important part of nonprofits because they provide the resources to carry out their mission. Hopesource, Habitat for Humanity and the Friends and Services for Humanity (FISH) are all some of the orga...
Students protest ICE contract
Nicholas Tucker, News Editor
December 4, 2019
Local immigration advocates have been protesting on and off the Ellensburg CWU campus for over a year against a contract between the Kittitas County Sheriff's Office and the federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency. The contract allows the sheriff’s office to house ICE detainees at the Kittitas County Correc...
Organizations to give back to during the holidays
Amy Morris, Staff Reporter
December 4, 2019
As the holidays approach, there are many organizations in Ellensburg that take donations. Donations are an important part of nonprofits because it provides the resources to carry out their mission. Hopesource, Habitat for Humanity and the Friends and Services for Humanity (FISH) are all some of the org...
Board of Trustees student representative proposed defunding student media
Kyle Wilkinson, Photo Editor
December 4, 2019
Editor's Note: The Observer stands by the accuracy of its previous reporting on the content regulation issues first outlined for its readers in the Nov. 7 issue. ________________________________________________________________________________________________________ The CWU Board of Trus...
Librarians leading for free textbooks
Nicholas Tucker, News Editor
November 19, 2019
A project is underway at the lead of two CWU librarians who are trying to get rid of textbook requirements for gen ed classes. According to Instructional Design Librarian Geri Hopkins and Scholarly Communications Librarian Maura Valentino, the two became aware of a grant from the Washington Student...
KEENing up the environment
AJ St. John, Staff Reporter
November 19, 2019
Nonprofit organization Kittitas Environmental Education Network (KEEN) strives for environmental excellence. KEEN provides opportunities for learners to engage in the surrounding environment. According to KEEN, the organization was founded in 1999 when they had wanted to build a Natural History Ce...
Club Council creates Funds Council
Will Ortner, Staff Reporter
November 19, 2019
On Nov. 13 CWU Club Council wrapped up one of their last meetings of the fall quarter. ASCWU VP of Clubs Ashley Klippert led a meeting that touched on the brand new Funds Council, as well as future events that the clubs were excited to preview. Earlier in the quarter, Klippert and Michael Middleton, student ...
ASCWU talks events, diversity
Matt Escamilla, Staff Reporter
November 19, 2019
ASCWU and other council members are nearing the end of their first quarter as a cabinet. Fall quarter has allowed them to get on-the-job training while also gaining clarity on what they want to accomplish during the 2019 academic year. Vice Chair of the Services and Activities Fee Council Edgar Carr...
Aviation program was moved to Yakima after summer incident
Nicholas Tucker and Mariah Valles
November 18, 2019
Editor’s Note: This story was updated from its original form. ____________________________________________________________________________________________________________ On June 24, a CWU Aviation Department plane received damage that CWU officials and police originally thought was caused by a ...
Following the protest
The Observer Staff
November 13, 2019
Editor's Note: On Nov. 14, this story was updated. In the previous version, a quote was cut off. It was corrected to, "If one party chooses to not be present for the meeting a resolution will be created without that parties presences." _______________________________________________________________________ On Nov. 7 the university releas...