One of the best tools available: Your smartphone
Pheobe Lai, Columnist
February 13, 2020
Smartphones have become a pivotal communication tool among young people in recent years. It has indeed become a common phenomenon for most youths to feel incomplete whenever they are out of touch with the devices. Fundamentally, the incorporation of smartphones into everyday life is revolutionary, ...
Become a technical writer
Aeryn Kauffman, Columnist
February 13, 2020
Technical writer. If that profession sounds too boring for you, you could also be called content developer, requirements analyst, documentation specialist or the mysterious, yet impressive, information architect. These are all titles of technical writers, and the profession is booming. After perusing t...
Penalties for pushing paper products
Abigail Duchow, Columnist
February 6, 2020
Recently, CWU has switched to using only paper cups, and seems to be slowly replacing plastic straws with paper straws. The push for paper products is well-intentioned, but may not be the change the planet needs. The reality of paper versus plastic is that while paper is a more biodegradable optio...
Urge to live at the verge
Taylor Clark, Columnist
February 6, 2020
Deciding where to live, especially in Ellensburg, was stressful. Ellensburg offers lots of housing but not only that, Ellensburg offers affordable housing. As I was looking for places to live, The Verge was one of the most common and popular apartment complexes that had availability. While you could l...
Opinion: Time to bite the bullet journal
Bailey Tomlinson, Columnist
February 6, 2020
Typing “bullet journal” into a search engine will yield photo after photo of strikingly detailed, hand drawn full page spreads. Things like ornate headers and doodled borders abound. They’re creative, they’re well executed and frankly, they’re a waste of time. Bullet journaling didn’t begin as the Pint...
Meeting the meat tax
Aeryn Kauffman, Columnist
January 29, 2020
Our planet is dying, and it has been for a very long time. The Arctic Ocean will be ice free in 30 years, according to NASA. It’s time to stop ignoring climate change. The very least we could do is stop contributing to it. Stop paying for our planet to die. Let’s advocate for a tax on meat. The link ...
Opinion: Don’t be influenced by influencers
Della Babcock, Columnist
January 29, 2020
Public opinions are formed and then broadcasted across various social media platforms. The seed of public opinion starts with one person, typically someone who is higher up in the social hierarchy. These people are known as opinion leaders, who are celebrities, influencers and professional athletes. Thes...
Get comfortable with being uncomfortable
Teagan Kimbro, Columnist
January 22, 2020
Over three months ago, Chile broke out in protests demanding social and economic equality. It was on Oct. 25, 2019 when metro prices rose which was the final straw in a long list of injustices. I had the opportunity to travel to Chile in December around the three month anniversary of the protests. It...
The green revolution is inevitable
Nicholas Tucker, Columnist
January 22, 2020
As the fight against climate change continues, it gets easy to view the issue as a direct two-sided conflict. It seems to be the idea of many that fossil fuel companies are trying to keep oil, coal and other nonrenewable resources, which have been the mainstay of the American power network, firmly in place ...
Don’t let this movie go extinct
Nikolai Kostka, Columnist
January 22, 2020
I feel as though writing this piece is a redundancy. Whenever I’m asked what my favorite movie, book or franchise is, I always have the same answer: Jurassic Park. Not Jurassic World, but the one, the only, Jurassic Park. I’ll tell you why, though before I do I must inform you that I am a fan of J...
Observation Deck Jan. 23
Cassandra Hays, Editor-in-Chief
January 22, 2020
Hey Wildcats! Thanks for picking up this week's issue of The Observer! We’re excited to be printing our first 16-page issue of the quarter with a new group of staff reporters, photographers and copy editors. As always, If there’s ever something you’d like to see covered, email us at cwuobserve...
The hype around film cameras
Amy Morris, Columnist
December 6, 2019
The rise of film photography has grown, making it a popular form of artistic expression. With photography technology so advanced it makes you wonder why people are going back to old mediums. Recently I purchased a film camera and I do believe film cameras are a lot better than digital ones in many ways....