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Professors explain Russia-Ukraine crisis

WSU, UI instructors discuss Putin’s motivations, what comes next

As the world watches the Russian attacks against Ukraine that began this week, professors at Washington State University and the University of Idaho gave presentations Wednesday putting the conflict into context and explaining Russian President Vladimir Putin’s motivations.

Tom Preston
Preston

Russia’s actions in Ukraine should not come as a surprise to anyone who has followed Putin’s career, Washington State University Political Science Professor Tom Preston said during a presentation for the WSU Foley Institute.

Preston said Putin is a strong nationalist who believes bringing Ukraine into Russian control would cement his legacy as a great Russian leader. Additionally, Putin believes the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s potential expansion to include Eastern European countries like Ukraine is an existential threat to Russia’s security and influence.

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Moscow-Pullman Daily News
The Seattle Times

Alumnus to share nutrition advances for healthier exotic animals at Halver Lecture

Troy Tollefson.
Tollefson

Building on experiences gained at Washington State University, alumnus Troy Tollefson helps black rhinos, giraffes, maned wolves, and other exotic animals live healthier lives in zoos and sanctuaries as an animal nutritionist.

After earning a trio of degrees at WSU—bachelor’s and master’s degrees in zoology in 2002 and 2004, followed by a doctorate in natural resource sciences in 2007—Tollefson began his career at SeaWorld Parks and Entertainment at Busch Gardens in Tampa, Florida, where he managed nutrition for more than 300 different species and over 1,000 animals as a zoo nutritionist.  Since 2011, he has been senior nutritionist and research and development manager for Mazuri® Exotic Animal Nutrition.

“Veterinarians treat an animal’s immediate health problem,“ Tollefson said, “while a nutritionist tries to proactively prevent the problem.“

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WSU Insider

Marijuana use may cause cognitive impairment even when not still high

Scott Isbell had been smoking weed since he was 17. By the time he turned 19, he was having difficulty setting goals and meeting deadlines at college. His grades had dropped from A’s to B’s and he was losing friends. Still, none of it seemed important enough to give up marijuana — until he started theater class.

A recent analysis of previous research on the impact of cannabis on young’s people’s cognition found that many of the known learning and memory difficulties — such as slowed processing speed, and difficulties in focusing — could linger for weeks. Verbal learning, retention and recall were especially affected for longer periods when the person was no longer high, researchers from the University of Montreal found.

Carrie Cuttler.
Cuttler

“The cannabis of today is very different,” said Carrie Cuttler, an assistant professor in the department of psychology and director of the Health and Cognition lab at Washington State University. “Back then cannabis had maybe 3 percent THC, now we’re seeing as much as 90 percent in some samples.”

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nbc news

 

Opinion: We the People: In an era of great polarization, is the preamble based on an eroding idea?

Excerpts from a “We the People” article by Steven Stehr, professor of public policy and public service at Washington State University

Steven Stehr.
Stehr

“We the People” is one of the best-known phrases in the American political lexicon. They are the first three words of the Preamble to the Constitution of the United States and propose that the “people” should be the driving force behind what government does or doesn’t do.

When the Supreme Court ruled in Citizens United vs. FEC (2010) that corporations have a First Amendment right to make independent expenditures in political campaigns, the definition of personhood for political purposes was expanded again. Not all changes to voting laws have been inclusive. For example, in 2013 the Supreme Court struck down some portions of the Voting Rights Act. As the U.S. Congress considers the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021 and a number of states debate the topic of voting rights, it is clear that the question of the meaning of “We the People” is far from settled.

These are not policy differences, which might be open to bargaining and negotiation. Rather, it represents an existential divide in which each side sincerely believes that the other is trying to destroy America.

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The Spokesman Review

WSU professor to talk about missionary spies in WWII

Matthew Avery Sutton.
Sutton

There are all sorts of interesting nuggets to be found in government documents, something that Washington State University history professor Matthew Sutton knows well.

It was there that he found the material he needed for his third book, titled “Double Crossed: The Missionaries Who Spied for the United States During the Second World War.”

Sutton will give a virtual lecture on the same topic at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16, through the Spokane County Library District. It’s being offered in partnership with Humanities Washington, which organizes a speakers bureau to give lectures on a variety of topics across the state. Those interested in attending the lecture can sign up online at scld.evanced.info/signup/calendar.

“They know cultures, they know languages, they know geography,” Sutton said of the missionaries.

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The Spokesman Review