Cheney

Weekday Warrior: Quick Canoe Trip Close to Campus

10/20/2017 by Nick Thomas Leave a Comment

EWU EPIC equips you with outdoor gear for insanely cheap prices so everyone can be an explorer any day of the week. Have an afternoon free? At EWU you can grab a canoe for $11, lash it onto your car roof, paddle a nearby lake and stream, and be back by dinner.

Bonnie Lake is just one of half a dozen narrow lakes tucked in the ancient flood-carved canyons south of EWU. The only way to enter the lake is by paddling up a mile long stream through lush grasses teeming with wildlife.

Above the stream we spotted an amazing, rare basalt arch. A half-mile later a beaver dam marked the entrance to the lake. Even steeper cliffs rose up on all sides. An island in the middle of the lake is a great lunch spot.Besides a few kayaks and little fishing boat we were utterly alone and engulfed in complete silence. I live near the freeway and a train track, so I appreciate true silence, as rare as that basalt arch.

Red Winged Blackbird guards entrance to Bonnie Lake near EWU (Photo: Nick Thomas)

We ate lunch on the island, and took a nap, only to realize that time had gotten away from us. It was four in the afternoon already. How had four hours passed already? We were astonished. We loaded our gear and headed back. This time it was cooler, the shadows deeper, the beams of light brighter and the cliffs awash in intense slanted evening light glowed like the walls of some ancient fortress. More wildlife was out, too.

Spring cascade adorns the water route to Bonnie Lake (Photo: Nick Thomas) — Spring cascade borders the paddle route to Bonnie Lake (Photo: Nick Thomas)

Red winged blackbirds, unperturbed by our presence, sang from perches six feet from our canoe. A great Blue Heron rose startled from the marsh and flew in a wide circle down the canyon and back up toward the lake. Osprey hunted for fish to feed their fledglings, and ducks and geese browsed the riparian grassland for insects. From deep within side canyons past the thick marsh the sound of waterfalls echoed, taunting us with their mysterious and brief spring time existence.

Admitted Student Day: The Things You Missed About Admissions

05/31/2014 by cbrazell Leave a Comment

You can become an Eagle today!! Apply now!

In April, EWU hosted one of the largest admissions events in over 10 years, Admitted Student Day. We filled the two largest auditoriums on campus, nearly filled a third, and an estimated 1,000 people took part in the day-long event.

For those students looking to make their college decision, the day provided more than just information. Dr. Tony Flynn, a hilarious guest speaker and professor of English who teaches 20th century British and American literature, started the day off with the number one thing you needed to know about be successful in college. (Hint: it’s easier than you think. Send us an email if you’re still curious.)

Most of the day was filled with sessions which covered dozens of topics including financial aid, admissions, jobs after college, and more. Students also had the chance to attend academic fairs, to speak with department counselors, to devour delicious food, and to tour residence halls. To top it off, we had wonderful weather!

So how can apply or confirm if I missed Admitted Student Day?

There are two things you’ll need to do.

First, you should visit campus. I’m an EWU student worker in the Visitor Center, and I know that visiting campus matters whether you’re looking at EWU or anywhere else. In fact, I don’t think you can pick the right campus without visiting it first. If you missed Admitted Student Day, or if you’re planning for fall 2015, you need to take a tour.

Second, it means it’s time to take your next steps toward confirming to college.

At EWU, there are eight steps in the enrollment process after you’ve been admitted. You may already be a couple steps in, or maybe you are starting at step one, but either way, here is a link to our enrollment guide.

Let me break down some of the key steps.

If you haven’t applied yet, scroll down to the last paragraph and go from there!

The most important step of all, confirm to EWU!
Once that’s done, the next step is to confirm your housing plans. Here’s a link to our Housing and Residential Life page to answer any questions you may have. (You’ll need your official university email for this.)
Next, we talk financial aid. You may have already received your financial aid package, but if you haven’t, keep your eyes peeled and check your EagleNET account. Financial aid might seem like scary stuff, but if you have any questions about how the financial aid process works, our Financial Aid Office will be more than happy to help.
Finally, if you’ve confirmed EWU, confirmed housing, and confirmed your financial aid package, the next step is to sign up for firstStep. A summer academic orientation event, firstStep is your opportunity to familiarize yourself with the campus and to register for classes.

Now you may be asking, what if I’ve missed all these deadlines, or have yet to apply to college, but I finally decided I want to go to a four-year university? Don’t worry. Don’t stress. You can still apply now for fall, and we’d be more than happy to walk you through those steps as well. Contact our Admissions Office for more information. It’s never too late to start something big!

The Olive Garden reviewer

03/09/2012 by jlittleton1 Leave a Comment

Marilyn Hagerty catapulted to Internet fame for her review of the Olive Garden, and my middle-of-nowhere, small-town heart loves it.

The story, that is, not the Olive Garden. The Olive Garden is sometimes hard to love … but Marilyn—she’s something special. If you haven’t followed her story, here’s the gist of it.

For several decades, Marilyn has reviewed restaurants in Grand Forks, ND, population 66,991. With only 100 or so active restaurants in the whole town, necessity has forced her to review places like Taco Bell and Dippin’ Dots. Desperate times, desperate measures.

When her review of the Olive Garden went viral, people didn’t know what to make of it. Was it irony? Was she totally honest? Was she crazy?

Now that the full story is out, it’s clear that the snarky, hard-working 85-year-old and her friendly reviews embody the absolute best of small-town life.

Some might call it niceness. Some might call it sincerity. We might even describe it as grace or honesty or perseverance or a warm acceptance of small-town reality. Because let’s face it: small towns don’t have the same night-life that big cities do.

If you live in a small town, you know this. Having grown up in a community of less than 5,000 people, it felt like we had survived a nuclear apocalypse and all we got in exchange was a Pizza Ranch with really bad hours. But we still went, because that’s what we had … and we had fun.

Marilyn doesn’t impersonate critics in New York or Paris or someplace else, and she doesn’t come across as cynical or jaded like the food critics in those cities. That’s how her homey review of the Olive Garden captured the attention of so many people: it made people realize you can still enjoy life without living in one of the world’s top cities or pretending that you’re in some posh glamor ad.

That realization makes Eastern great, too. We get the small-town sincerity of Cheney, but we also get the large-city culture of Spokane. You actually get to choose which world you call home. You can even choose both, if you want. Few schools that can say that.

Cheney is the best of small towns, of course. It has a major university and businesses that cater to students. It’s safe. There’s free transportation for students. It has a handful of unique restaurants coupled with all the dives and fast food joints that college students love. (Speaking from experience, Taco Bell at 2 a.m. sounds way better than it turns out to be.) It’s surrounded by adventure including hiking, cycling, skiing, swimming, rafting and rock climbing.

But it’s still a small town, and it feels that way when you step into a café or stop by the grocery store. It’s kind of nice, really.

If small town friendliness isn’t for you, you can choose Spokane and the half million people in the metro area. You can have your arena shows, dozens of coffee shops, nightlife and genuinely amazing restaurants. (The best Italian in Spokane is clearly Italia Trattoria, FYI.)

But that’s the essence of Eastern: having choices. City mouse, country mouse. Small town quiet, big city hustle. It’s entirely up to you, and we love that freedom.