Written by: Sierra Porter | Staff Writer

Social media in Salem exploded amid rumors that the city would be shutting down the Salem Public Library to preserve its police budget, including an expanded team to sweep homeless camps. An outcry from Salem residents, including hundreds of emails to Mayor Chris Hoy, and support from surrounding communities has brought unity and hope that the library will be saved. Here’s what to know about the Salem Public Library budget cuts:

The city of Salem is facing a multi-million dollar shortfall and plans for no new revenue in the next year. Due to this, many plans to cut down costs have been introduced, including the possibility of closing the Salem Public Library. This plan was discussed at a budget meeting on March 21 when Chief Financial Officer, Josh Eggleston, was asked how one could keep all police and fire jobs. Eggleston presented hypothetical options that would balance the budget without additional revenue. Amongst these cuts were positions at the library that would completely reduce hours and many other parks and recreation positions. Salem is taking $1.2 million from the SPL alone. The city claims they have no plans on shutting down SPL completely, but by July, there will be tremendous cuts and changes.

Public libraries offer affordable or even free access to a world of knowledge and life-long learning opportunities that are affordable or even free. Registered Behavior Technician and Salem resident, Jessie Shull, works directly with children in the community who often utilize the library. Shull says, “It’s going to impact low-income families in the area that use the library for more than just books. These resources are so valuable to children’s education and lives- without this access and sense of community they lose so much.” Shull believes these budget cuts will dwindle the benefits that the public library has to offer and ultimately eliminate many opportunities for those in the community.

For the moment, Salem claims it will not shut down the library in its entirety, but librarians and residents have still testified at recent budget meetings in hopes of preventing further budget cuts.

The budget committee, which includes the mayor, city council and ten appointed community volunteers, will continue to discuss the cuts in meetings on April 17, April 24, May 1 and May 8, when they will make their recommendation to the city council. In June, the city council will hold a public hearing before adopting the annual budget.

Show up, support and save the Salem Public Library.

Contact the author at howlstaffwriter@wou.edu

The Western Howl

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Recent campus closure announcement

Written by: Gretchen Sims | Editor in Chief, Jaylin Hardin | Sports Editor

Fall of 2021 marked the completion of the initial steam pipeline construction project; however, due to the lack of efficacy of the current pipeline, the vaults are now being replaced.

In an email sent on March 19, students were notified that “Work on the steam pipeline project will impact vehicle and pedestrian travel on Monmouth Avenue, starting March 26 through September 2024.”

Also noted were the crosswalk closures on Church and Jackson Streets, as well as the parking closure on Church Street — all construction pathways will meet the Americans with Disabilities Act., ADA, specifications.

Western, along with many other higher education institutes, uses steam to heat its campus, which runs through a series of pipes, vaults and boilers. What Western lacks for this system is tunnels to run the pipeline through every building, something that is vital to the system’s stability and maintenance.

Due to the absent tunnel system, Western must bury the steam pipes directly in the ground. The steam system initially relied on cast iron pipes, which are durable and resistant to abrasion but not flexible and are prone to rusting. Due to the high acidity in Oregon soil, the pipes experienced rapid corrosion, and the initial project to repair this corrosion was compromised, prompting the new construction project.

Groundbreaking begins on April 14. To prepare for this, 3,000 feet of fencing was put up over Spring Break to ensure student safety — with students getting trapped in the fenced off areas being a point of concern.

Starting the second week of the spring term, signage will be posted around Western, breaking it into different quadrants. This signage is intended to direct people around campus so they don’t find themselves at a dead end and be forced to backtrack.

“I find it interesting, first of all, that this notice went out to campus about it being closed over spring break through September, but it’s open right now, which is confusing to me. Church Street parking is completely open when they said it was going to be closed from spring break,” said Sarah Lockwood, Western’s facilities scheduling manager.

Jason Krawczyk, director of capital planning and construction, oversees all projects that require bringing in a contractor to campus or projects that are over a certain price threshold.

Krawczyk clarified the timings of the closure stating that access to Church Street from Monmouth Avenue is currently inaccessible, but Church Street will be fully fenced off, and the parking closure will be enforced, in the upcoming weeks — Jackson Street access, however, will be accessible until Summer Term.

Krawczyk stated that the reason they ultimately decided to close Church Street is due to his staff’s commitment to student safety. Trucks will have to run from behind the New PE building up through Church Street, thus moving against the flow of traffic and posing a danger to not only vehicles, but also pedestrians and construction workers. If cars were parked on both sides of the road, vehicle operators would not be able to see pedestrians easily and pedestrians might not expect the vehicle to be there.

Notice of the closure was not announced until the end of finals week, just days before the intended start of the project. Due to this short notice, questions were raised regarding the lack of information and prior notice.

The first closure announcement was made through the @westernoregonuniversity Instagram page, four days before an email was sent out to the general student body.

“We don’t put out any communication that hasn’t been approved and the approval process takes a long time. So it might seem like it is coming out last minute, but it’s because we only put out information that is 100 percent accurate,” said Krawczyk.

Many voiced concerns came from student veterans on campus regarding both students and community members who have served. Veterans already have limited exclusive parking spaces on campus — four spots for the one-hundred-plus veterans that Western serves — and usage of these spots requires both a Zone One parking pass and Veteran or Armed Forces license plates.

One anonymous student veteran was concerned about how late the information was shared with the general student community.

“The only official communication that I heard was through the Instagram post,” said the student veteran. “The rest was word of mouth from staff that were notified before us.”

The Veteran Resource Center, the VRC, puts on events throughout the year for all members of the Veteran community and those with connections to the Armed Forces. Another concern that arose from this is the parking access to the Werner University Center and, thus, the VRC, for disabled veterans from the community and their family members who attend these events.

Mike Hanson, associate director of campus public safety, put the concerns regarding disabled veteran access to the VRC to rest. “The disability spots campus wide are reserved for any person who has a valid disability placard. They are able to park in any lot with any (Western) permit. That includes a guest day pass. If a person is a guest and is not eligible for a guest pass but has a valid disability placard they also have the ability to park at any meter without paying the meter. This is in accordance with state law ORS 811.635,” said Hanson.

However, some students have a better vision for the future of parking. “A few veterans have said that they wish they could park anywhere as long as they had the veteran plate and the parking pass,” said the student veteran.

Employees who live on campus also spoke on various concerns about the closure of Church Street.

“I can’t afford a parking pass because my wages don’t equal out to ‘just buy a parking pass,’” said one anonymous student employee. “You’d have to have another job… that’s the only spot I can park.”

Some Western employees who commute simply do not want to pay for a parking pass, as they may only spend a few days a week on campus — not making the cost of a parking pass worthwhile. Other students, staff and faculty concerns revolve around access to locations needed for commencement. Because Church Street will be fenced off during June, access to the New PE building and the football stadium will be limited.

Krawczyk wants to reassure any event planning committees that “During any construction project, we’re willing to work with groups that have events happening on campus as long as we know about them ahead of time and can plan for them,” said Krawczyk.

Access to Church Street will be made available for commencement.

Additionally, the closure of Church Street has caused a parking crisis among students and staff alike over the loss of free street parking.

“I went for a walk today and I counted (the) parking spaces… there are 54 just normal parking spaces, there are four handicap-accessible parking spaces and there are three to four — depending on how many cars fit — 20-minute parking spots that are right by the front doors (of the WUC),” said Lockwood.

Students share many concerns about the closure of Church Street, some of them include the fact that, because the announcement was so late notice, purchasing a parking pass was not an expense these students planned for.

Church Street is city property and, therefore, Western is not responsible for the replacement of these spaces. However, the parking options now available to students are not comparable to the number or type of parking spaces lost due to the closure.

Lockwood reached out to Parking Services in an attempt to request a suitable alternative for the loss of parking. “Parking services, when reaching out to them about the street being closed, they were very matter-of-fact about there not being any replacement parking. The street was going to be closed and the options were for students to use metered parking… or pay for a parking pass, or find street parking on the perimeter of campus,” said Lockwood.

On Lockwood’s walk around campus, she noted that there were approximately ten metered parking spaces and a few empty street parking spaces around the perimeter of campus, but these numbers will not make up for the 54 lost spaces that were filled.

Addressing student concerns regarding the loss of handicapped spaces, Hanson said, “For any person to park in a disability spot anywhere on campus there are two requirements. The first requirement is having a valid WOU permit (this includes guest permits) and a valid disability placard.”

Despite the losses of the parking spaces on Church Street, Krawczyk and the construction crew on this project are doing their best to alleviate the issue.

“With the student success center, I think it’s important to note that we worked closely with parking and actually paid for thirty spaces so that the construction people on that job site would not be taking the free public parking on the road. And the same thing is happening with this. By taking Lot E, for our laydown area and construction worker parking, that means that all of the added people brought to campus by this construction project will not be taking free parking from students. We know that we will have an influx in people and we try and make sure that they don’t… anger the community by parking in front of their houses at 6 a.m. in the morning with loud diesel trucks, and don’t anger our student population by when they show up for an 8 (a.m.) class and all the free parking is gone,” said Krawczyk.

One proposed resolution to the loss of parking spaces due to the closure is the opening of P Lot as a free parking Zone. There are a comparable amount of parking spaces in the lot as were lost from Church Street, and it is usually fairly empty.

“In general with the road closure, like there should be a safe spot to park if there’s nowhere to park on Church Street. They should have everybody park in P Lot, but then have an officer on standby to walk everyone back,” said the anonymous student employee.

Lockwood also recommended a few spots in H Lot be converted into 20-minute parking spaces for easy access to the WUC.

Hanson reasoned against the handing out of free parking spaces saying, “…we were not able to just give out free parking to those that do not have (parking) permits. (This) would cause issues with the spring events that occur on that portion of campus including, but not limited to, Baseball and Track and Field events. The other issue would be the equality for those who have already purchased permits. The free parking would cause the issue of why some people have to pay for permits while others do not have to pay to park on campus.”

“We understand the effect that this closure has on the parking. (Western) Parking has worked with the city of (Monmouth) and Independence to provide an alternative resource to students, staff and faculty. The parking near campus and the nearby neighborhoods have had a longtime pressure on available street parking. The Monmouth Independence area was given funding to research and implement the MI Trolley service. This is a free ride service that travels from (Western)’s campus all the way to Riverfront (Park) in Independence. This service gives those without a permit a free option to ride to campus,” said Hanson.

“Unfortunately, the project is too long, it can’t just happen over the summer months, and we can’t do it, also, during the rainy season. So doing it spring and summer was really our only option,” said Krawczyk.

Contact the authors at howleditorinchief@wou.edu and howlsports@wou.edu

The Western Howl

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River rescue

Written by: Sierra Porter | Staff Writer

The Klamath River runs through the coastal states of California and Oregon — home to four large dams including JC Boyle, Copco No. 1, Copco No. 2 and the Iron Gate. These dams have damaging effects on water quality and have depleted salmon populations, which many local tribes heavily rely on.

Protests from local tribes and efforts from residents of Oregon and California have finally been recognized, and on Nov. 17, 2022, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) approved the surrender of their hydropower license in order to remove the four dams from Klamath River. The Biden administration, leaders of the four Columbia River Basin Tribes and the Governors of California and Oregon signed papers formally launching a $1 billion plan to restore salmon populations. This decision will allow for the largest dam removal project in United States history and ultimately has become a historical moment for the Pacific Northwest.

The project is already in motion as Copco No. 2, the smallest of the four dams, was the first to be removed this fall due to its size, location and lack of reservoir. The removal of Copco No. 2 has allowed for water to flow freely down the canyon which has not been touched by water since the dam’s construction in 1925. This was an extremely significant first step in the removal process and gives a promising glimpse at what’s to come.

Since the construction of these dams, many have felt they’ve done more harm than good. After more than 100 years, the dams along the Klamath have degraded water quality to dangerous levels for salmon and led to excessive growth of toxic cyanobacteria, commonly known as blue-green algae.

The removal of these dams will drastically improve the water quality, allowing Chinook salmon populations to increase up to 80% of what they were before the dam. Salmon is extremely important to many native tribes including the Yurok, Karuk, Shasta, Klamath and Hoopa Valley, who even refer to themselves as the “salmon people.” These tribes rely on salmon for food in addition to rituals and communal culture. For many tribes, salmon represents prosperity, fertility and abundance. The removal of these dams has opened the door for tremendous change and hope within these communities.

Klamath Justice Coalition Yurok tribe member, Annelia Hillman, says she “imagines a world where we live in harmony with the river,” and the removal of these dams encourages her to believe that this will once again be true. The Klamath Dam Removal Agreement is a long-awaited and well-deserved win for the tribes of the Pacific Northwest.

Removal of the last dams is scheduled for the summer of 2024 — stay updated with American Rivers.

Contact the author at howlstaffwriter@wou.edu

The Western Howl

Home » News

Oregon cat transmits plague to its owner

Written by: Claire Phillips | Entertainment Editor

In February of 2024, an Oregon resident was diagnosed with the bubonic plague. New cases of the plague always cause a small panic, but this case hasn’t been the first in the last decade.

The patient, who was treated with antibiotics in Deschutes County, was speculated to have been infected by their pet cat.

The plague is on the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention’s long list of nationally notifiable diseases because a single case can prompt the need to check for other cases. Other nationally notifiable diseases include cholera, Lyme disease, smallpox and measles.

Due to the plague’s gruesome history of death and destruction, public panic is another reason for concern. While the bubonic plague can spread among a population with drastic effects, in modern times, there is not much reason to panic.

The Oregon resident was diagnosed and treated quickly, meaning they posed little risk to their community. Additionally, the bubonic plague is not transmissible between humans — only between an animal and humans.

The bubonic plague wiped out a third of Eurasia during its initial outbreak. There are an average of seven cases a year in the United States. The association of the word “plague” sounds scary, but there are now methods of fighting back — bloodletting, leeches and religious cures have been left in the medieval ages.

Two methods used to combat the bubonic plague are quarantining and social distancing. Post-COVID, it’s no wonder Americans are worried about the spread of the plague. However, it’s safe to say that the bloody history of the plague can be left in the past.

Seven hundred years ago, humans were living among rats and fleas. They had no access to the treatments modern society has now. Health experts discourage the hunting of rodents by cats so Oregon residents don’t have to worry about their beloved pets.

In Oregon, the most common transmitter of the bubonic plague are squirrels, and officials warn against feeding one’s local squirrels to avoid future outbreaks.

Contact the author at howlentertainment@wou.edu

The Western Howl

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Weapon epidemic

Written by: Hannah Field | News Editor

Content warning: this article contains mentions of gun violence and death

Across 13 school districts in Oregon, 48 students were disciplined for bringing guns on school grounds in 2023 — an uptick of more than double the cases reported during the 2018-2019 school year, the last before the pandemic. That year, only 18 cases of guns on campus were reported.

The school districts of Centennial, Corvallis, Crook, Glide, Greater Albany, Jefferson, Medford, North Clackamas, Oregon City, Pendleton, Portland, Reynolds and Salem-Keizer reported student possession of a handgun, shotgun or rifle. The Oregon Department of Education released these records after a request for information filed by KGW. Four out of all 48 cases were middle schoolers.

Juvenile probation officer, Kyle Kinion, has worked closely with West Albany High School for 17 years, holding a unique position in Oregon as the school’s resource officer. West Albany High School sits in the Greater Albany School District, one of the listed 13 districts having reported guns caught on campus. “The (kids) that I work with haven’t shown up with weapons at school because they want to be the bad guy. It’s because they feel that they’ve been pushed to a certain point — (like) they need to protect themselves,” said Kinion. “So much of being a kid, unfortunately, is fear.”

May 2024 will be the upcoming 26th anniversary of the Thurston High School shooting, an Oregon shooting preceding Columbine by nearly a year. Fifteen-year-old Kipland Kinkel was suspended on disciplinary action due to his admission of keeping a stolen handgun in his locker. Following the suspension, he shot his parents, supposedly because of the shame he felt, and, one day later, open-fired in the school cafeteria — killing two students, Ben Walker and Mikael Nickolauson, and wounding 25 others.

Kinkel entered Thurston High School with two knives, two pistols and a rifle, with more than a thousand rounds of ammunition. After firing into a crowd of more than 300 students, it was reported that Kinkel was taken down by his peers — screaming, “Just kill me!” as he fell.

The story has been a grim reminder of the importance of mental health awareness and school disciplinary action — leading to action across Oregon in schools.

“There’s always plans in place. I sit on it — it’s the School Threat Assessment Team, STAT team. Most school districts, communities, or counties have this and this was put in place after the Kip Kinkel Thurston shootings,” said Kinion.

Former Western student Julius Hardman was attending class at Parkrose High School in Portland his junior year when a classmate entered the school with a shotgun under his trenchcoat — loaded with only one bullet intended for himself.

Hardman was in the B-wing of the school when a peer burst through the door shouting that they “gotta go right now.” Upon being asked by the teacher to calm down and explain the situation, she stated that “there was a guy with a gun.”

“She was too serious to be faking,” said Hardman. “Two minutes after she came in, there was an announcement on the intercom saying this is not a drill. (After that) there was a convoy of dudes in army camo.”

The student with the weapon was allegedly heartbroken after his split from his girlfriend, a fellow student. He was disarmed effectively before anyone was hurt — going on to live a relatively normal life after receiving psychological help, while leaving hundreds of former high school students possibly traumatized for life.

“I know that girl who busted into our classroom — she was in the room that (the gunman was in),” said Hardman. “She was f——g terrified.”

Skylar McNett, a current Western freshman, experienced a lockdown in their high school due to a call that there was a shooter on school property. Little did the school know, it was a hoax.

“We’re (all) sitting in lockdown, completely unaware, with the doors barricaded. Some of us have scissors in our hands and books, stuff like that, in case a person tries to break in, because we don’t know what’s going on,” said McNett. “We check online, and all we see is that three people are dead and that there was an active shooter. And it was so terrifying.”

They watched as SWAT officers passed by the windows, securing the perimeter with “giant assault rifles.” Two hours passed before it came out that it was a false call — the perpetrator of which was never discovered.

“I want to be a teacher,” said McNett. “I’m going to have to deal with school safety and be responsible for the lives of like thirty students in (situations) that I can’t control.”

The hoax followed the 2015 Umpqua Community College shooting in McNett’s hometown of Roseburg — an event of which McNett knew the victims.

“Somebody saying something to me in the hallways — because I’m a grown man — isn’t going to be the same as a fifteen-year-old who’s in the throes of puberty, with all these things going on in their head. On top of some mental health issues they are going through,” said Kinion. “ … We need to make sure that the community is safe. We need to make sure that they’re safe also. That’s the double-edged sword — making sure we do what’s best for the youth, but also make sure they’re going to be safe and that people around them aren’t going to be harmed.”

Kip Kinkel had his own query in 2023: “How could I have gotten to this point at 15 that all these things came together — where my humanity collapsed, and I did this horrific thing to people I loved and to people I didn’t know?”

The fear Hardman and McNett felt has been resounded by thousands of students across the nation as shootings have become a well-known travesty.

Yet, in 2023, 26 years after the Thurston High School shooting, 48 kids were disciplined for bringing guns to Oregon schools — a statistic emphasizing hundreds of kids’ fears.

Contact the author at howlnews@mail.wou.edu.

The Western Howl

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Not alone

Written by: Libby Thoma | Staff Writer

According to the Legal Information Institute, abuse is described as “an action that intentionally causes harm or injures another person.” Abuse can happen to anyone — any gender, race and sexuality is susceptible to abuse. Although abuse is mainly perceived to occur in romantic relationships, it can occur in any interpersonal relationship.

Multiple forms of abuse exist such as physical, sexual and verbal abuse along with, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline, digital and financial abuse. Coercion is also a type of abuse, which includes reproductive and sexual coercion. Lastly, stalking is also considered a form of abuse.

Many people are not properly educated on what constitutes abuse. This can lead to victims not knowing that what they are experiencing is, in fact, abuse and may struggle to find a way out. Experiencing any physical violence, threats of physical violence or any language that is aimed at controlling, scaring or isolating a person is abuse. Abuse doesn’t only exist within these lines and is more complicated than what can be quantified. Control is the main factor behind abusive behaviors. If one is feeling controlled in any sense of the word, one may be experiencing abuse and should reach out for help.

According to the domestic violence hotline, 24 people per minute are victims of abuse by an intimate partner, and this excludes all other interpersonal relationships in which abuse can occur.

An anonymous source spoke about her story, “I had no clue what I was getting myself into. In the beginning, there was no abuse, it was a normal relationship. But as time went on he began to hit me, assault me and limit what food I ate and how much I ate. It’s so hard to see it when you’re in it too, because they’ll apologize while also isolating you from everyone. It wasn’t until recently that I realized how bad it was, and it’s almost three years later.”

There are many resources available for those experiencing abuse.

The Domestic Abuse Hotline — (800)-799-7233

National Sexual Assault Hotline — 1-800-656-4673, https://www.rainn.org/

Abby’s house — (503) 838-8219

One may also visit the Victim Connect Research Center.

Contact the author at ethoma23@mail.wou.edu

The Western Howl

Home » News

Women’s basketball faces turmoil

Written by: Liberty Miller | Lifestyle Editor

The Western women’s basketball team had their season cut short amidst allegations of abuse and fraudulent activity from the coaching staff. Head coach Jessica Peatross entered her first season at Western in 2023, after coaching at Division 2 school, Salem University, where she held a 14-17 record. Assistant coach Demetrius Marlow also previously coached at Salem University alongside Peatross.

The team will not be competing in the last six games of the conference season and holds a record of three to ten in the regular season with a .231 winning percentage. In a press release statement from University President and Athletic Director Randi Lydum, it was announced that “The decision to cancel the season aligns with the highest standards of integrity and accountability within our program.” No additional information has been provided from the athletic department about the cancellation of the season, and it is uncertain whether players will retain their year of NCAA eligibility.

A total of six sources have agreed to release statements to “The Western Howl.” All but one have chosen to remain anonymous for safety reasons.

Jessica Peatross was the Associate Head Coach at Delta College, where she eventually became Interim Head Coach before transferring to Salem University. Peatross claimed to have received a scholarship to play golf, basketball and participate in track and field. However, there are some discrepancies in the information provided in press releases concerning Peatross’ experience prior to joining the coaching staff.

An anonymous source stated that “The head coach lied on her resume that she played division one basketball when she didn’t.” Further investigation shows that the introductions for Coach Peatross into both Salem University and Western Oregon University included that “Peatross received a Division-1 scholarship to play golf, basketball and track at Chicago State University” — however, there are no digital records of Peatross ever competing or being on the roster of the Chicago State women’s basketball roster between 2010-2014, when she attended the university; there are records of Peatross competing at Chicago State in track and field and golf.

Jack Watford, communications director for the Women’s Basketball Coaches Association, released an official statement to the Howl, stating that “The WBCA is aware of the announcement made on Friday by Western regarding its women’s basketball program. Other than confirming that Western Oregon head coach Jessica Peatross is a member of the association, the WBCA has no comment at this time.”

An anonymous source who played on Salem University’s women’s team, under Peatross, stated, “I don’t think she deserves to be coaching at all — especially because she didn’t even play college basketball.”

More allegations against Peatross include, but are not limited to, verbal abuse, threats, yelling and a lack of regard for mental health. One player claimed to have a complex relationship with Peatross, stating, “Honestly, it was very bipolar. I think her bad outweighs the good sometimes. She wasn’t a bad person at all, and we found times where we could laugh and joke around with her. But then again she was rude and I sometimes feared talking to her. I never knew what to say sometimes.”

Another Salem University source alleges that “Coach P told one of our girls she would ruin her life if she did anything.” Another source claims that Peatross and Marlow “Threatened to cancel our season if we kept mentioning the things they were doing to their bosses.” The exact cause of the cancellation of the Western women’s basketball season, and whether or not the cancellation was a team, coach or administrative decision has not been released.

Demetrius Marlow, also known as DJ, was previously an assistant coach with Warner University women’s varsity basketball team as well as the head coach for their junior varsity team. Marlow was also the head coach at the Tenoroc High School varsity women’s basketball team for two years. Marlow began coaching with Peatross during her stint at Salem University, where he was the assistant coach during the 2023 season. Multiple sources from Salem University shared their perspectives on Coach Marlow, particularly concerning his relationship with Peatross.

One of the sources stated, “It was a very different vibe with only Coach Marlow. He is very capable of running a basketball team by himself, very down to earth — he is a different guy around Coach P.”

Sorimar Morales, a Tenoroc High School basketball player who played under Marlow voiced her support, stating that “Coach DJ is someone who’s trustworthy and dependable. He’s also someone who was hard on me and my teammates but for a good cause. He’d always spread positivity, always telling the truth with his speech before and after practice.”

Other sources conversely claim that he was unsupportive and constantly made racial remarks towards the girls within the program. Three sources stated that he regularly referred to them as “black girls” instead of their names, allegedly telling a player that she was “not supposed to be around the black girls — we’re segregating ourselves.” One other source claims that Marlow called her a “…privileged white girl — that I will never know what it’s like to be a black woman or black male, that I have it so easy.” Two of the sources from Salem University claim that Marlow called them a “waste of space,” as well as “a waste of breath” after a game; additionally, one of these sources claimed that Marlow attempted to “force a relationship between us and a boy on the (men’s basketball) team.”

Furthermore, there are numerous allegations of physical abuse that occurred within the Salem University and Western basketball programs under both Peatross and Marlow.

An anonymous source from Western alleges that “(The) coaches have physically and mentally abused (the team) from the start of the season, having practices going over 2.5 hours and over (NCAA) rules -– ” as well as claiming that the “assistant coach even hurt (a player) so badly she had to get surgery before the season started.”

An anonymous source from Salem University recounts their experience of physical abuse last year, alleging that “We actually had one big incident that took place — Coach Marlow was playing with (the players), and actually pushed one of the girls into a door, where she hit her head really hard. He tried to say another girl had pushed her, but he was the only one there.”

Alongside physical abuse, there are also accounts alleging that Peatross and Marlow verbally abused their players — ranging from accusations regarding invasive questions about their sexuality to demeaning language. An anonymous source from Salem University alleges that “Coach Marlow yelled at a girl during a game to the point where she hyperventilated, and after one game, Coach Peatross yelled at a girl and got in her face looking as if she wanted to fight the girl.” Sexually charged comments were allegedly repeatedly made by Peatross, with one source divulging that “Jessica would constantly ask about our sexualities, constantly asking if we liked boys or girls.”

The allegations claim that there was irreversible damage done to the players and their season.

The anonymous source from Western claims that “Not only were we stripped of our season but we all struggled immensely and not a single person in the athletic department helped us (except) for the (athletic) training staff.”

A Salem University source spoke about the damages inflicted on them and disclosed that “They broke down our mental health to the point where we had no repair, no uplift in any situation at all. It was kill or be killed to the point where a lot of the girl’s first years in America were ruined because they didn’t give them the proper treatment or experience. They traumatized us. Broke our bodies. We were disciplined because we were scared of what they may do, not because of how good of coaches they were. No one heard us when we seeked help, it was all turned back on us and it made us even more scared and worried about what they may do to us.”

An official statement from Western President Jesse Peters to the Howl announced that “We remain committed to upholding the highest standards within all of our athletics programs. To that end, we have opened an investigation into these matters, and we remain committed to creating a positive and productive environment for everyone in the WOU community.”

Randi Lydum, Jessica Peatross, and Demetrius Marlow did not answer our request for comment.

Contact the author at howllifestyle@wou.edu

Western Oregon University’s Land Acknowledgement
Western Oregon University in Monmouth, OR is located within the traditional homelands of the Luckiamute Band of Kalapuya. Following the Willamette Valley Treaty of 1855 (Kalapuya etc. Treaty), Kalapuya people were forcibly removed to reservations in Western Oregon. Today, living descendants of these people are a part of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde Community of Oregon and the Confederated Tribes of the Siletz Indians.

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Saving Salem Public Library

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Recent campus closure announcement

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River rescue

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Weapon epidemic

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Not alone

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Women’s basketball faces turmoil

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