WSU Vancouver DocArts Series To Feature Education Professor Shameem Rakha And Her Work With A Student Radio Project On School Desegregation - 10/16/26

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Washington State University Vancouver’s DocArts series will feature WSU assistant professor Shameem Rakha from noon to 1 p.m. Monday, Oct. 19 in the Dengerink Administration Building, Room 110. Rakha will discuss her work with African American middle and high school students in Champaign, Illinois, who produced radio documentaries exploring racial segregation and the history of their community.

The event is free and open to the public. Participants also may attend via Zoom at bit.ly/4xKkv7L (passcode: DocArts26).

Rakha served as lead educator for the Youth Media Workshop, a collaboration among Illinois Public Media, Innovative Education Consulting and the Champaign Public School District, from 2004 to 2006. During the 2004/05 school year, 15 African American girls from Franklin Middle School and Central High School investigated local redlining practices and school desegregation through archival research and interviews with community members who experienced those events firsthand.

Working alongside journalists and audio production specialists, including University of Illinois professor and Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Leon Dash, students learned interviewing techniques, recording technology and documentary storytelling. Their work culminated in the hourlong radio documentary “More Than a Bus Ride,” which examined the desegregation of Champaign schools.

Beyond developing journalism skills, participants gained confidence, strengthened connections with community elders and became more engaged in their education.

Before entering higher education, Rakha taught elementary and middle school students for 17 years. She earned a doctorate in educational policy from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign in 2013. Her teaching experience continues to inform her research on culturally relevant pedagogy, educational equity and strategies to improve academic outcomes for students of color.

Rakha is an assistant professor in WSU Vancouver’s College of Education, Sport and Human Sciences. She teaches Elementary Social Studies Methods, Multicultural Education, Social Foundations of Education, and Race and Racial Identity in Education across undergraduate, master's and doctoral programs. Her recent research examines how educators can foster caring relationships with students, particularly when teachers and students come from different cultural backgrounds.

The presentation is part of the DocArts series, an initiative rooted in decades of justice-centered multimedia production by WSU faculty. Developed in response to media consolidation, censorship and reductions in public media funding, the series combines multicultural knowledge, multimedia storytelling and the arts to examine social and environmental issues while highlighting community resilience.

DocArts is sponsored by the Collective for Social and Environmental Justice and Native American Programs at WSU Vancouver and KBOO Radio. Events are free and open to the public and are recorded for broadcast on KXRW, KBOO and Open Signal Cable Television.

About WSU Vancouver

WSU Vancouver is one of six campuses of Washington State University and the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington. The campus offers undergraduate and graduate programs that support workforce development, innovation and economic growth through strong partnerships with businesses, industries and community organizations.

WSU Vancouver is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave. in Vancouver and is accessible via I-5, I-205 and C-TRAN bus service.

WSU Vancouver is located on the homelands of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and Peoples of the Lower Columbia Valley. We acknowledge their presence here. WSU Vancouver expresses its respect towards these original and current caretakers of the region. We pledge that these relationships will be built on mutual trust and respect.

WSU Vancouver Hosts Emmy-nominated Cowlitz Comedian And Writer Joey Clift (Photo) - 10/08/26

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Washington State University Vancouver will host Los Angeles-based comedian, writer, director and producer Joey Clift as part of the 2026 DocArts Series to speak about his path into comedy and entertainment, his creative work and Native representation in media.

Clift’s talk, “Fighting Native Erasure Through Jokes” is from 12:05 to 1:20 p.m. Friday, Oct. 23 on the WSU Vancouver campus in Dengerink Administration Building, Room 110 and on Zoom (bit.ly/4xKkv7L passcode: DocArts26). Clifts is a Peabody and two-time Emmy Award-nominated writer whose work centers Native representation in comedy, television and film. The event is free and open to the public.

Clift originally attended college to become a local television weather person. Growing up without seeing Native American comedians on television, he believed that comedy was not a career available to him. He later found his way into the field, and his experiences with Native representation in entertainment have helped shape his work as a comedian and writer.

Clift has written for television shows including Netflix’s “Spirit Rangers,” PBS’s “Molly of Denali,” Cartoon Network’s “Lego Ninjago: Decoded,” Dropout’s “Smartypants” and “Toonout” and Nickelodeon’s “PAW Patrol” and “Rubble & Crew.” His work has also been featured in The Washington Post, Pitchfork, NPR, Dead Meat, Dropout and Comedy Central.

Clift created “Gone Native,” a Webby Award-winning Comedy Central Digital series featuring Native American comedians. His short films have screened at venues and festivals including Just For Laughs and the Smithsonian Museum.

The DocArts Initiative is an outgrowth of decades of justice-oriented multimedia production and creation by WSU faculty. DocArts works to integrate multimedia production across the curriculum while creating content for local, national and international platforms

About WSU Vancouver

WSU Vancouver is one of six campuses of Washington State University and the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington. The campus offers undergraduate and graduate programs that support workforce development, innovation and economic growth through strong partnerships with businesses, industries and community organizations.

WSU Vancouver is located at 14204 N.E. Salmon Creek Ave. in Vancouver and is accessible via I-5, I-205 and C-TRAN bus service.

WSU Vancouver is located on the homelands of the Cowlitz Indian Tribe and Peoples of the Lower Columbia Valley. We acknowledge their presence here. WSU Vancouver expresses its respect towards these original and current caretakers of the region. We pledge that these relationships will be built on mutual trust and respect.

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Re-Imagined Radio's "Breakfast @ Epiphanies" Serves Up Four Decades Of Sonic Storytelling - 10/05/26

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Re-Imagined Radio continues its exploration of imaginative audio storytelling with "Breakfast @ Epiphanies," premiering at 1 p.m. Oct. 19.

The latest episode from Portland storytellers Jerrel McQuen and Marc Rose presents a collection of spoken word, poetry, sound design and reflection drawn from creative ideas first conceived more than 40 years ago. Together, the longtime collaborators describe the work as a sonic gallery of "fears, inspirations and meditations" spanning "musings and revelation, dead ends and beginnings." Unlike many Re-Imagined Radio productions that rely on dialogue-driven narratives, "Breakfast @ Epiphanies" foregrounds spoken word performances, using voice, sound effects and music to create meaning and spark the listener's imagination.

Through 13 pieces performed by one or two voices, the episode explores themes of longing, technology's influence, artificial realities, historical memory and existential questions. The result is a deeply personal yet broadly relatable collection of observations and reflections shaped by the mysteries of existence, the passage of time and the accelerating pace of modern life.

"Breakfast @ Epiphanies" continues a tradition for McQuen and Rose, who have partnered with Re-Imagined Radio in recent years to revisit and reimagine stories from their alternate world of Farwan while uncovering previously unheard creative treasures. Previous collaborations include “Frequency 43” (2025), “Night of the Eclipsoid Man” (2024), “Asezhia” (2023) and “Twisted Epiphanies” (2022).

According to McQuen, the material featured in the episode has evolved across decades and artistic forms.

"Way back in the antediluvian 1980s, these ruminations started as a collection of intended lyrics," McQuen said. "Eventually I realized that the best lyrics sum things up in a single line. The later material became poetry. Now, in our beleaguered 2020s, this material has become spoken word."

The result is a collection shaped by the mysteries of existence, the passage of time and the accelerating pace of modern life, inviting listeners to reflect on both personal experience and shared human questions.

"Forty years of musings and revelation, dead ends and beginnings," McQuen said. "It's a big, wide weird world out there, and in a shorter than it should be single lifetime, you can only scratch the surface of the existential strangeness."

John F. Barber, producer of Re-Imagined Radio and faculty member in the digital technology and culture program at Washington State University Vancouver, describes the episode as another example of McQuen and Rose's distinctive approach to audio storytelling, where language and sound merge to create experiences that unfold inside the listener's imagination.

"Every episode shared by Jerrel McQuen and Marc Rose is a language-guided sonic bomb exploding on the widescreen of your imagination," Barber said. "For decades, McQuen and Rose have been collecting questions, observations and sparks of inspiration. In 'Breakfast @ Epiphanies,' they're finally uncorking some of that creative energy. Consumed straight. No chaser."

The episode invites listeners on a journey through memory, imagination and discovery. As the Grateful Dead famously sang, "What a long strange trip it's been." For McQuen and Rose, that trip continues.

"So dive in and sample the wares," McQuen said. "They span a broad range of stimuli and reaction. I hope you enjoy the journey."

About Re-Imagined Radio

Created in 2013 by Barber, Re-Imagined Radio explores sound-based storytelling across genres including drama, comedy, documentary and sound art. Through performances, broadcasts, streaming, podcasts and social media, the program reimagines radio storytelling for contemporary audiences.

New episodes premiere on the third Monday of each month. Re-Imagined Radio episodes air on KXRW-FM (99.9) in Vancouver, KXRY-FM (91.1 and 107.1) in Portland, and KNOM-AM (780) in Nome, Alaska. Listening links and an archive of past episodes are available at reimaginedradio.fm, which also features Re-Imagined Radio EXTRA, offering additional sound-based storytelling between monthly episodes.

About WSU Vancouver

WSU Vancouver is one of six campuses of Washington State University and the only four-year research university in Southwest Washington. The campus offers undergraduate and graduate programs that support workforce development, innovation and economic growth through strong partnerships with businesses, industries and community organizations.

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WSU Vancouver Expands Food Access Through New Partnership With Clark County Food Bank - 09/24/26

Vancouver, WA — Washington State University Vancouver has officially been approved as a partner agency within the Clark County Food Bank network, marking a significant expansion of support for students experiencing food insecurity.

The Clark County Food Bank serves as a central hub for food distribution throughout the region, connecting partner agencies to resources that strengthen local food systems. By joining this network, WSU Vancouver aligns its student support efforts with a broader community strategy to reduce food insecurity.

“This partnership represents a transformational step forward in how we support students’ basic needs,” said Eric Scott, senior director of engagement and well-being at WSU Vancouver. “Food insecurity continues to be a persistent barrier to student success, and expanding our capacity through the Clark County Food Bank network allows us to meet that need more effectively and consistently.”

The Cougar Food Pantry opened a larger space in spring 2025 to address the increasing demand for food assistance on the WSU Vancouver campus, where the upward trend continues. Data from the Cougar Food Pantry’s most recent end-of-year report showed that:

• More than 40% of the student body accessed pantry services during the academic year.
• Shopping visits increased by 89% from the 2024/25 to the 2025/26 academic year, going from 1,539 visits to 2,923 visits.

“These numbers reflect what we see every day—students are working hard to balance school, work and life, and many are struggling to meet basic needs,” said Esmeralda De Jesus Castaneda, the student Cougar Food Pantry lead. “Being part of the Clark County Food Bank network will help us provide more consistent support, so students don’t have to choose between food and their education.”

These trends reflect broader challenges facing college students nationwide, where rising living costs and limited financial resources contribute to food insecurity that directly impacts academic performance, retention and well-being.

Access to the Clark County Food Bank network will allow the Cougar Food Pantry to increase the volume and consistency of available food while reducing operating costs. The reduction in food costs will create greater flexibility to expand available pantry offerings while allowing the program to scale services to meet rising student demand.

“This partnership is about more than food—it’s about ensuring students have the resources they need to focus on learning and achieving their goals,” Basic Needs Navigator Carmen Herrera said. “By joining the Clark County Food Bank network, we are expanding our capacity to serve students while continuing to build a campus where they feel supported and can thrive.”

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