A Willamette student sailing on the seas. Art by Addie Martin. The Outdoor Program (ODP) has led many trips this semester, but the organization’s spring break trip has been the trip to get campus talking. The trip will take students on a sailboat called the Schooner Zodiac around the San Juan Islands, which lie along the Washington-Canada border.  According to the Schooner Zodiac website , students on the trip will learn many skills about sailing and how to manage the 160-foot sailing vessel. They will learn how to furl and unfurl the sails, steer the ship and navigate from paper charts as well as more modern technology like depth sounders and radar.  The first part of the excursion, though, will be a drive to Larrabee State Park in Washington, where students will spend the first night of the trip camping on March 22. From there, students will board the Zodiac and begin their stay on the boat for three days and two nights, as laid out by Kira Grimes (’26), the ODP coordinator.  Grimes noted that this trip is the most expensive of the semester. Students are paying $325 for the excursion, but Grimes added that “the student cost without ASWU funding would’ve been about $490 to $500.” Financial aid was also available for students going on this trip in the form of Intercultural Exchange and Inclusion (IEI) funding.  The total cost of the trip with Schooner Zodiac is $8,250, which covers the trip itself, food and paying the employees of the Zodiac. The gas for the van rides to and from Larrabee State Park falls a little shy of $1,500.  “Those fees are being split across ASWU funding that’s provided, IEI funding and the money that students are paying to go,” Grimes said.  Due to the trip’s high price tag, ODP saw it as important to maximize the number of people on the trip to ensure the cost for each student was as low as possible. As such, ODP began advertising the trip early in the semester, and, according to Grimes, the trip filled up a month ago, well before spring break was within sight. Last year, for spring break, ODP took students backpacking near San Francisco, and this year ODP wanted to do something a little closer.  “We talked about doing a multiday rafting trip, multiday kayaking trip, something along those lines,” said Grimes. They debated until they landed on the Schooner Zodiac after researching many companies and finding this one that had everyone on the board excited. The idea was settled on for reasons that include wanting a trip that is closer to home base and trying to manage the unexpected weather of spring.  The Zodiac will provide food for all the meals and snacks aboard the ship, and they have options for all dietary restrictions. The Zodiac itself has 24 bunks for guests, and with this trip, all 24 will be full. Among these are 21 students, one IEI representative and two ODP leaders. “I just hope that everybody has a good time, and it’s one of those experiences that everyone can feel like they have lifelong memories,” Grimes said.

The Dobro Slovo Slavic Honors Society pin glimmering from a recipient's lapel. Art by Adrian Axtell. Sarah Bishop, professor of Russian, reestablished the Dobro Slovo Slavic Honors Society for Willamette Students in 2019 after it had remained dormant for many years. Bishop continued to induct members every year except last, when no students qualified. This spring, she will be inducting five new members.  The purpose of the society is to honor the work that students have put into their study of Slavic culture and language. To qualify for entry into this society, students must have two years of study in a Slavic language — Willamette offers only Russian — with a GPA of 3.5 for those classes, as well as a GPA of 3.0 in all other subjects. They also must indicate a desire to continue to study Slavic culture, language, literature, or other related fields. After these qualifications are met, there is a one-time $25 induction fee for those hoping to be inducted. The society was first organized in 1926 at the University of California, Berkeley and grew into a national organization by 1963. This national organization was run from 1971-2020 by Dr. Sanford Couch at Arizona State University. He did this all on his own until finally retiring, giving the reins to the American Council for Teachers of Russian.  Since 1926, 120 universities have opened chapters. Out of these 120, Willamette is the smallest university with a chapter, and the only university that offers it in the Northwest Conference.  One of the five students being inducted this spring is Aidan Sower-Sinor (’27).  “It’s really exciting for me because I am stoked on the Russian language, and I love Slavic and Russian culture,” he said. He came to Willamette with the intent to study Greek or Latin in support of an English major but decided to give Russian a shot when he saw that it was offered. “I immediately fell in love with it,” he said. He’s considering applying for government roles that will allow him to use his Russian language skills after graduation.  When students are inducted into the Dobro Slovo Society, they are given a pin and honor cord. Designed to encapsulate the organization’s purpose, the pin is shaped as a key and has the two Glagolitic letters for Dobro Slovo, which translates to “beautiful word.” Dobro is placed in the upper left corner, with Slovo in the bottom right. Bishop remarked that many people believe Russian was written in Cyrillic, but the original alphabet for the Russian language was Glagolitic, which is what is used on the pin. Aside from the letters, there is a firebird in the upper right corner of the pin that connects with Slavic folklore. Finally, the bottom left corner depicts a page being turned to show, as the official website states, that the organization “represents the ongoing search through books and manuscripts in pursuit of greater understanding Slavic Language, Literature, and Culture.” As Bishop stated, the upcoming inductions are “really about welcoming [the students] into an academic community.” Members who are graduating will be seen wearing their newfound community on their sleeves as they walk the stage at commencement this spring, with cords and a pin decorating their caps and gowns.

President Thorsett, Provost among speakers at Thursday’s panel and Q&A event Montag Center on April 8, 2025. Photo by Iris McClure. The Associated Students of Willamette University (ASWU) will host a panel discussion on Thursday with President Steve Thorsett, Provost Jennifer Jacobs Henderson, and Director of Student Affairs Lisa Landreman to discuss updates to the intended merger with Pacific University. Coming months after the initial December announcement , the Q&A will focus on the progress and decisions made following the February meeting of the board of trustees. The board acts as Willamette’s governing body who, alongside Pacific University’s board of trustees, is currently figuring out the legal specifics of the merger .  ASWU President Stevie Bergstrom (’26), who is also the Willamette College student liaison for the board of trustees, helped organize this meeting with panelists to provide additional clarity for students on the current status of the merger, especially after its sudden announcement in December.  “As a student that also only has a limited barrier to actually understanding a lot of these conversations that are happening at the board, I just felt like I wouldn’t be able to do the due diligence for how important this is for students,” Bergstrom said.  Bergstrom previously presented  a brief overview of topics discussed at the board of trustees meeting including the timeline of events at the Feb. 26 ASWU meeting. First, a definitive agreement would be signed by May, followed by a corporate merger that would be finalized by the end of 2026, followed by the final institutional merger, which would be another 12 to 18 months after.    The panel discussion will take place during the regularly scheduled timeslot for the weekly senate meeting, which is from 7-8 p.m. in Montag Den. Bergstrom plans to send out a Q&A form to the student body ahead of the meeting to gather questions. The meeting will also be hosted on Google Meet, particularly after Bergstrom had conversations with Pacific Northwest College of Art (PNCA) students, who also wanted to learn more about the progress of the merger.

All undergrad classes — watch for an email this Friday to place your vote! Voting begins Friday, March 13 at 8 a.m. Voting ends Monday, March 16 at 5 p.m. Bios provided by ASWU.

Mike Lenahan talks to his team during a match against Puget Sound on Jan. 10, 2026. Photo by Quinn Carbery. Willamette fell to the host Whitworth Pirates in the finals of the Northwest Conference (NWC) tournament on Feb. 28, the Bearcats’ first appearance in the championship game since 2003. They lost 87-97 to the Buccs. Despite a solid performance on the Bearcats’ side from Davis Hester (’28), who scored a career high 27 points and shot over 70% from the field, the Pirates were able to overwhelm Willamette with dominant rebounding and shot efficiency to secure the NWC title. Whitworth had been dominant in the NWC all season, and as of March 5, they ranked No. 41 in the nation in the NCAA Power Index (NPI). Their win in the NWC earned them an automatic bid to the DIII March Madness Tournament, where they lost 63-71 in the first round to Trinity University. The Bearcats only have one graduating senior in Nick Hardin (’26), and as of the time of writing, it’s expected that Willamette will be retaining the majority of their players, boding well for their tournament hopes next season. This marks the 18th time that Whitworth has claimed the NWC title in 23 championship appearances since 2000. Had the Bearcats won, they would have claimed their third title in the NCAA era. Coach Lenahan talks MBB future Despite the tough loss, head coach Mike Lenahan and the Bearcats are optimistic about the program’s future.  “We’re in a pretty unique situation where we had one senior on the team who didn’t get a ton of playing time, so every single person that played in the semifinal and championship game can come back,” he said. The Bearcats are hoping to see all their starters back next year, including NWC player of the year Tanner Overby (’28), who broke the school record for most points-per-game in a season with 24.6, and won NWC Player of the Year. The Pirates are a team of veterans, a stark contrast to the young Bearcats. All five of the players on the Buccs who average the most minutes per game are seniors, compared to the majority second-year starting roster for Willamette.  For Lenahan, although the loss hurts, there’s a lot of good to be taken from it and the season as a whole.  “[The team] accomplished what probably no one outside of the team, or at least outside of Willamette, expected: winning the first conference tournament game for the school since 2003,” he said. Some priorities for the ’Cats going into the offseason are improving their 3-point percentage and hitting the weight room to avoid having to double-team for rebounding opportunities. Willamette, compared to most other schools in the NWC, is fairly undersized, with the majority of their rotation standing at around the 6-2 mark, about 2 inches under the NWC average. “The great thing and the difficult thing about having such a good year is that you are almost guaranteed to end on a loss, unless you win a national title,” Lenahan said. “It’s so sudden and it hurts but you just try to appreciate the journey that we got to go on together and how much they accomplished and be proud of how well they represented Willamette.”  For Lenahan, the way the ’Cats stepped up when no one expected them to and the successes they saw in the playoffs are more motivation to get back and outperform again.  “The guys just came together and proved to themselves that they can perform under pressure and in those situations,” he said.

After a one-year hiatus, the Willamette Event Board’s Black Tie Affair returned last Saturday. Encouraged to dress to the theme of a royal ball, many students spun about throughout the night in fancy dresses, only stopping for the occasional bite from the appetizers on offer, which ranged from ahi on cucumber to buffalo cauliflower wings, among other charcuterie options. The dance floor’s inhabitants ebbed and flowed depending on the song, with Taylor Swift’s “You Belong With Me” receiving — as was perhaps to be expected — a special enthusiasm from the crowd. With the event officially kicking off at 8 p.m., more students filed in around 9:30, flooding the Convention Center with new energy as the night flourished on. All photos taken by Sofie Szigeti on March 7, 2026 at the Salem Convention Center. Students pose for a photo. Photo by Sofie Szigeti. Students dress to impress. Photo by Sofie Szigeti. Beautiful colors and dresses. Photo by Sofie Szigeti. Deviled eggs, one of the appetizers offered. Photo by Sofie Szigeti. Students pose for the photo booth. Photo by Sofie Szigeti. The dance floor was full of smiles. Photo by Sofie Szigeti. Students hop in a dance circle to show off their moves. Photo by Sofie Szigeti.

A duck in a Willamette jersey about to score a goal on the soccer field while the crowd cheers behind them. Art by Wes Mowry-Silverman. Hello, Bearcat Fan! Spring break is quickly approaching, thank god, and with it comes the inevitable arrival of conference play for our beloved spring sports. But for now we trudge through preseason and the odd limbo of the last two weeks of classes before a much-needed vacation. Let’s see how we fared! Track and field competed in the Eldon & Chuck Throwdown on Saturday, a home dual meet versus Lewis & Clark, and took a resounding W against the River Otters — resounding to the extent that for the sake of brevity, I cannot feasibly discuss all of the first place finishes. Austin Snodgrass  (’28) broke a 65-year-old school record in discus with a throw of 51.15 meters, jumping into the steeplechase pool to commemorate his achievement.  On the women’s  side of things, the ’Cats swept the top four spots in the 100-meter hurdles, with Mashani Coleman Toliver  (’26) taking the top spot. In overall points, the men’s team outscored L&C 107 to 38, and the women’s outscored them 86 to 50. Congrats, track! Softball went 3-1 in a weekend series at home against Puget Sound, losing the first game 2-1 and then sweeping the three remaining games of the series, including an extra innings battle on Sunday in which the ’Cats came away with a 7-6 win after going down 1-6 in the second inning. Baseball  went 1-2 in a series against Linfield at Roto-Rooter Park, winning the first 5-4 and then dropping the other two, one of which also went to extra innings, allowing the Wildcats the opportunity to score six straight unanswered runs in the 10th.  Women’s tennis faced the Whits away over the weekend, losing both matches 1-6, the two points coming from No. 6 and No. 3 singles wins from Katie Briggs  (’26) and Sofia Spencer  (’28), respectively. Men’s tennis also faced the Whits, but at home, losing to No. 1 Whitman 0-7 and Whitworth 1-6. The singular point came from a solid No. 4 singles performance by Hudson Snyder  (’28). Lacrosse  split the weekend series also against the Whits, beating Whitman 11-7 and then losing to the Pirates 10-11 in a frustratingly close battle. Shelby Wilkinson  (’29) scored three times and recorded five draw controls in the latter. In the wider world of sport , the Breanna Stewart-led Mist won the Unrivaled championships 80-74 against the Phantom on Wednesday, capping off the league’s second season. Texas shocked South Carolina with a 78-61 win in the women’s basketball SEC championship game, shaking up the seeding for March Madness, which begins on March 20. NFL free agency began last Monday, which has already brought some chaos to the league, and star edge rusher Maxx Crosby was traded to the Ravens for a whopping two first-round picks on March 7. In the coming weeks: Lacrosse faces the reigning George Fox Bruins on Saturday at home, and hopes to secure their first-ever win over the team. Baseball heads south to face Cal Lutheran on Friday, and softball stays in-state to face the Wildcats. Tennis matches up against Pacific, with the women’s side staying home and the men’s heading north. Track and field competes at the Rich Allen Classic in Newberg on Saturday, and golf essentially starts off their regular season at the Willamette Valley Cup. Yay Bearcats!

Constitutional Heritage Club's table in Jackson Plaza on Jan. 13. Photo by Lucy Devlaeminck. At the Feb. 26 ASWU meeting, senators voted to refuse affiliation to the Constitutional Heritage Club (CHC). The club was started by Lexi Thorsett (’26), the same student who sought to establish a Willamette chapter of the national organization Turning Point USA (TPUSA) in the fall. The vote was not unanimous, but overwhelmingly the group was rejected, with 12 senators opposed and two abstaining. The club approval committee had originally voted to recommend affiliation of the club on Feb. 16. Club approval member Peyton Edmunds (’29) told The Collegian on Feb. 19 that she would support the club  if it absolved its relationship with TPUSA. However, at last Thursday's meeting, according to the senate meeting minutes , ASWU members brought up concerns around a seemingly retained connection between CHC and TPUSA. The morning of the senate meeting, The Collegian had released an article  documenting apparent connections between the two entities. In a written statement sent to The Collegian on March 5, Thorsett said, “I gave into [ASWU’s] demands and they refused to meet me halfway. They want me to completely cut ties with Turning Point USA. The people of my club don't want that to happen and I promised I would keep fighting for the right to organize an official club. … I will not stop fighting for our right of freedom of speech. I will keep trying to bring Turning Point USA to campus and I have it in good faith that this fight will continue once I graduate.”

The Bistro in the Putnam University Center in November of 2023. Photo by Jason Lehman. On Feb. 26 , the Associated Students of Willamette University (ASWU) senate voted unanimously to clear the Bistro’s debt of $19,604, with the condition that they work to create an accountability agreement for the Bistro going forward.   The ASWU senate had originally considered the possibility of clearing the Bistro’s current debt on Feb. 19 , but after some discussion they motioned to table the vote until the Feb. 26 meeting.  This is not the first time that ASWU has supported the Bistro financially. In 2024, ASWU cleared the Bistro’s debt of just under $10,000 . Since 2020, ASWU has given the Bistro a total of roughly $70,000 in different measures to help relieve its debt. With this latest addition, the relief has been brought up to about $89,000. When the motion to clear the debt was first brought before the senate on Feb. 19, general manager of the Bistro Emma Stephens (’26) said that the Bistro and its financial consultant, Mike Martinez (MBA ’11) are working to make the coffee shop financially independent. Stephens took over the management of the Bistro in fall of 2025, inheriting the debt from the 2024-25 academic year, she said. She has been making some changes to the shop’s operations.  Other than raising the price of goods and its catering service, the Bistro has worked to increase its profits through social media campaigns and collaborations that increase foot traffic, Stephens explained. Additionally, she shared that at the beginning of the academic year, the Bistro cut its inventory of syrups but that the Bistro brings them back as specials to make them “more exclusive” and thus encourage further sales. The Bistro also recently raised the price of its cookies. Stephens said that she wanted the Willamette community to know that the price increases “are so we can remain open as a business” but that the Bistro is “always looking to lower the price of chocolate chip cookies.” The Bistro’s debt has been brought on by a number of factors. Like many businesses, it is still recovering from the pandemic and is struggling with rising ingredients costs as well as increases to the minimum wage. Additionally, the removal of Compass Cash  has negatively impacted the Bistro, as it used to be a major source of income, Stephens said.  She also shared that the Bistro had been previously advised by Willamette faculty members that there would be a “return to normal” after the pandemic and that the Bistro could eventually continue operating as it had pre-COVID “without having to make any drastic changes.” She said that at the end of the last academic year, it became clear that this would not be the case.  Some of the pushback against the relief measure from the senators at both the Feb. 19 and Feb. 26 meetings included concerns about transparency of the Bistro finances and the worry that it would continue to rely on ASWU as a source of funding.  Stephens shared that she is “more than happy to provide [the ASWU senate] with the accountability measures that they’ve asked for.” Following the vote, ASWU Senator and finance board member Ernest Jones (’28) said that while the Bistro is “an important space on campus … it is not sustainable to continually bail out the Bistro.” Thus, he voted in favor of the motion “under the assumption that an accountability plan would be written up.”The specifics of said plan were not discussed at the meeting. In ASWU Treasurer Mitch Septoff’s (’26) words at the Feb. 19 meeting, “This money is coming straight out of the ASWU Reserve … but I can’t see a better use than the Bistro.”

Goalkeeper Siera Edwards ('26) dives for the ball at Sparks Field on Sept. 14, 2025. Photo courtesy of the Willamette Athletics Department. For most goalies, their journey in the position starts about the same: no one else on their team wants to be a goalie, so they are forced into it.  “It kind of just became whoever isn’t scared of the ball flying at their face just stays in goal,” said Willamette’s women’s soccer keeper Siera Edwards (’26), recalling how she started between the sticks in youth soccer.  It’s not surprising that, even so young, being a goalie isn’t exactly a coveted job. As the last line of defense, there is a weight that rests on the shoulders of the single goalie.  Mikkel Jensen (’27), keeper for the men’s soccer team, summed up the pressure by saying, “If you make a mistake, it’s over. If you mess up, it changes the whole game.” Willamette University’s lacrosse goalie, Olivia Austin (’27) said, “I don’t think people realize how mental being a goalie is. It is one of the most mentally tough positions ever.”  All Bearcats goalies agreed, the pressure of being a goalie is one of the hardest parts of the job. “Sometimes the pressure can weigh down on you. If you fail, everyone can see it,” said Austin. The goalie making a split-second mistake that leads to a goal is a lot more obvious than a defender in the outfield making a mistake, and comes with immediate consequences.  Goalie positions come with other responsibilities aside from saving the ball. There is an underlying leadership that comes from the goal. Goalies can see the whole field and are expected to tell their players where to be to help other members of the team. Keepers are also responsible for distributing the ball from the backfield, either after a save or from an opposition turnover, which can be just as crucial in regulating the team’s play as a good clear from a center back or a fast break from a midfielder. For Austin, the demands of the position require incredible mental resilience and an ability to shake off any mistakes. “You have to be able to … show up and do the work every time.” Sometimes, the mentality derived from goalkeeping to experiences outside of sports. “If you’re able to shake [mistakes] off on the field, why wouldn't you be able to shake it off in real life?” Jensen asked. Edwards explained that her goalie position has thrown her into a leadership role that a field player might not have, and that has helped her self-confidence when applying for jobs and interviews.  Every goalie has one trait in common, according to Edwards: “For any goalie, you have to be a little crazy. … You are having objects thrown at you at very high speeds.” There are also plenty of positive feelings with the goalie’s job, moments that remind goalies why they do it. Perhaps the most obvious is the feeling after making a great save and celebrating with the team, Austin said. Another is the community of other goalies that is built within a team that Edwards carries with pride. “When people realize how important you actually are and how hard it is, that’s very rewarding,” Jensen said.