Portland State Vanguard Volume 77 Issue 6

VOLUME 77 • ISSUE 6 • AUGUST 3, 2022

DOES PRIVATE SECURITY MAKE PORTLAND SAFER?

OPINION

ARTS & CULTURE

NEWS

Private security is not making Portland more secure P. 4-5

Dinolandia brings back prehistory - with a splash of color P. 6

Portland State Food Pantry plans to put more food on the table P. 7

AT PSU L L A R O F N M U L O ORM C F T A L P N O I N I P O OPEN LIATION W/PSU ITOR • STATE NAME AND AFFI E ED ED AND CHOSEN BY TH TE AN AR GU T NO , ID PA COM • SUBMISSIONS ARE UN ITOR@PSUVANGUARD. ED TO NS IO IN OP D AN S ORIE • SEND THOUGHTS, ST

CONTENTS

COVER ILLUSTRATION BY LEO CLARK

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS SEND US YOUR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

P. 3

OPINION PRIVATE SECURITY IS A MIRAGE

P. 4-5

ARTS & CULTURE MIKE BENNETT’S DINOLANDIA EXHIBIT OPENS IN PORTLAND

P. 6

NEWS: PSU FOOD PANTRY SET TO EXPAND FOOD INTAKE

P. 7

EVENTS CALENDAR AUG. 3-AUG. 9

P. 8

STAFF EDITORIAL EDITOR IN CHIEF Tanner Tod MANAGING EDITOR Karisa Yuasa NEWS EDITOR Nick Gatlin MULTIMEDIA NEWS EDITOR Eric Shelby ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Kat Leon OPINION EDITOR Justin Cory

PHOTO EDITOR Alberto Alonso Pujazon Bogani ONLINE EDITOR Christopher Ward MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Olivia Lee COPY CHIEF Nova Johnson DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Tanner Todd CONTRIBUTORS Jeremiah Hayden Mia Levy Jesse Ropers Isabel Zerr

PRODUCTION & DESIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Whitney McPhie

ADVISING & ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood

DESIGNERS Leo Clark Mia Levy

STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Maria Dominguez

TECHNOLOGY & WEBSITE TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS Rae Fickle George Olson Sara Ray Tanner Todd

STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Rae Fickle To contact Portland State Vanguard, email editor@psuvanguard.com

MISSION STATEMENT Vanguard ’s mission is to serve the Portland State community with timely, accurate, comprehensive and critical content while upholding high journalistic standards. In the process, we aim to enrich our staff with quality, hands-on journalism education and a number of skills highly valued in today’s job market.

ABOUT Vanguard, established in 1946, is published weekly as an independent student newspaper governed by the PSU Student Media Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers and do not necessarily represent the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. Find us in print Wednesdays and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @psuvanguard for multimedia content and breaking news.

VANGUARD IS HIRING INTERNATIONAL EDITOR FOR MORE INFORMATION, EMAIL EDITOR@PSUVANGUARD.COM

SEND US YOUR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR!

HAVE A STRONG OPINION ABOUT CURRENT PORTLAND EVENTS? SHARE IT! TANNER TODD After a month-long hiatus from publishing, the Portland State Vanguard is back—with an update! We will be reviving our “Letters to the Editor,” a recurring Opinion feature that publishes and spotlights voices from around PSU, as well as the larger community of Portland, Oregon.

This is a section devoted to spotlighting the opinions and feelings of our readsers, rather than the writers and contributors in our newsroom, and we welcome submissions from anyone. We’re particularly interested in perspectives related to current Portland events and community issues, as well as circumstances that impact the Pacific Northwest overall. We’d also love to hear your thoughts on stories we’ve covered—if you have a strong opinion about something we’ve reported, write us! We’ll happily read your submissions.

To share your letters for publishing consideration, email your thoughts to opinion@psuvanguard. com with the heading LETTER TO THE EDITOR, followed by your subject line.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely, The Vanguard Editorial Staff

PRIVATE SECURITY PORTLAND BUSINESSES SHOULD INVEST IN RADICAL COMPASSION

JEREMIAH HAYDEN For the past few years, downtown Portland businesses have increasingly begun to hire security guards in order to protect their property from those most affected by the many crises of our world. This is a mistake.

I work and attend school downtown and, like many people, I am afraid at times. But the decision to contract with armed, unaccountable, minimally-trained private security companies is as dangerous as it is commonplace, and the impact it has on employees and the community in which many of us live and work is real.

It is important to understand the current context of Portland and to consider how the Portland Business Alliance, Portland Police Association and conservative Political Action Committees (PACs)—like People for Portland—have engaged in a full-court press intended to control the levers of power in our

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OPINION

city. These organizations have consistently used their resources on disingenuous ad campaigns meant to skew perceptions of Portland as they continue to over-police people who lack resources.

On the other side of houseless sweeps and the general criminalization of poverty is a vulnerable community—a community that is, as ever, disproportionately made up of the very people who are represented in the flags flown by these same businesses from time to time. With the expansion of the freshlyminted Portland Street Response, there has been some hope for a more compassionate strategy moving forward. Researchers at Portland State found that by sending social workers to meet people who are in crisis where they’re at and help solve underlying structural issues, the program has shown

amazing results without criminalizing mental illness and poverty. To hire private security— despite reports on the counter-productive practices employed by these private security companies—is, at best, to neglect the safety of the communities in which Portlanders work and do business. Worse is to read the available data and believe that this brand of violence is the right thing to perpetuate.

Some might be surprised to learn how low the bar is for those who want to become security guards in Oregon. The Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) sets the minimum standards to begin an Armed Security Professional application. One must be over 21 years of age, have earned a GED or higher and be able to pass a background check. If those standards are met, they can then enter a required 14-hour unarmed training

program before continuing on to a 24-hour armed training program—altogether less than one full-time workweek.

Without proper and consistent training, security guards may themselves be in danger while simultaneously endangering the public. The presence of a weapon alone can be a catalyst for a negative outcome in an escalated situation. This past June, a Southeast Portland security guard was shot with his own gun during a midnight fight over a trespassing violation. In this case, no one else was around.

But what happens in a similar situation in which bystanders are present and stray bullets are flying around our city?

In July, a security guard in Seattle was arrested for stabbing a man over a trespassing violation. Police found the security guard’s knife hidden in a bag of chips in a break room

PSU Vanguard • AUGUST 3, 2022 • psuvanguard.com

IS A MIRAGE

LEO CLARK

after he initially denied the altercation. The uniform alone does not make our society safer—it gives a sense of security to some, ultimately at the expense of security for others.

It is no secret that right-wing political violence in Portland has escalated over the past few years. It is important to understand the context of this violence, as private security firms are typically proud that they hire former law enforcement and military personnel. As right-wing extremists, white supremacists and groups advocating for fascism have come into our city to terrorize vulnerable populations, the people of Portland have repeatedly been called to defend themselves against these violent threats. But on every occasion, the Portland Police Bureau—not to mention former President Trump in his 2020 Homeland Security charade against Black Lives Matter

protestors—has ushered in far-right extremism and turned their batons and tear gas against the very people whose flags once again fly in City Hall and Portland businesses.

While not an isolated occurrence, in 2017 the United States Attorney’s Office was forced to investigate an incident in which right-wing militia members acting as security guards assisted federal police in arresting a counterprotestor at a pro-Trump rally in Portland.

A congressional hearing is taking place right now that exposes many current and former law enforcement and military personnel in their attempt to overthrow U.S. democracy and reinstate Trump as president. To see what happened on Jan. 6, 2021, and not recognize that Portland has been a recurrent practice run for an attempted coup is to turn a blind eye in the interest of business as usual.

PSU Vanguard • AUGUST 3, 2022 • psuvanguard.com

For years, Portland businesses have closed in haste when groups like the Proud Boys, Three Percenters and Oath Keepers descended upon our city from neighboring towns.

Business owners understand the dangers these groups pose to our communities.

Further, private security companies are not impervious to the rising threat of fascism— they are the breeding grounds for a new variety of violent over-policing in the U.S. Businesses should not overlook the fact that armed, unaccountable, far-right-aligned, private police forces might make a regular practice of lying. Some lie regularly enough that their testimonies have been deemed invalid in Multnomah County courtrooms.

These security companies have been known to exaggerate their commitment to deescalation on their websites while providing

little to no long-term training for their staff.

Simply hiring former police officers and military personnel and hoping for the best is not an adequate vetting process. Nor does it mean that those people have the right skills for dealing with the types of scenarios that take place most often in our neighborhoods.

Regardless of what they say on their websites, the reality is that they provide just the opposite of what we need.

I encourage Portland businesses to rethink their fear-based responses to the crises facing our city, and to choose radical compassion instead. If businesses can buy the illusion of protection offered by private police, they can just as easily employ harm reduction techniques that have proven to be highly effective in protecting our communities. These solutions exist. Private security is a mirage.

OPINION

5

MIKE BENNETT’S DINOLANDIA EXHIBIT OPENS IN PORTLAND

LEFT: ENTRANCE TO THE DINOLANDIA EXHIBIT, JULY 28. KAT LEON/PSU VANGUARD RIGHT: DINOSAUR IN THE DINOLANDIA EXHIBIT, JULY 28. KAT LEON/PSU VANGUARD

BENNET BRINGS THE PREHISTORIC ERA BACK WITH A COLORFUL TWIST KAT LEON Mike Bennett’s Dinolandia exhibit, which is showing in Portland until Sept. 10, appeals to the inner child in its visitors, presenting vibrant, fun cartoon dinosaurs which come to life as you travel back in time to the prehistoric era. One of the best parts of being a child is one’s ability to imagine, question and explore the world unfettered by stress and unbound by reality—to understand the world as it is and as it could be within the invention of one’s own imagination. Bennett’s exhibit aims to revive this feeling in his visitors, as well as to spark joy and teach both the kids and the kids-at-heart about dinosaurs.

In the course of viewing the breathtaking artwork and educating oneself about dinosaurs, one might question where the idea for this exhibit originated.

According to Erin Marshall, a staff member at the Dinolandia museum, Bennett got inspiration from another dinosaur museum he visited while on a road trip with his wife. In reference to the museum Bennett visited, Marshall said, “There were just massive dinosaurs outside, and [Bennett] was like, I wanna do that, but I wanna do it with plywood and bring it to Portland.”

Bennett did exactly that, and while some might not understand the allure, Portlanders have embraced Bennett’s art with unfettered abandon. “Outside looking in, Portland’s pretty weird,” said staff member Izzie LaFleur. “So, if there was a good place for plywood dinosaur art to be popular, it would be Portland.”

One characteristic of Bennett’s art is the focus on using reclaimed plywood and recycled paint in the creation of his cutout art. While an exhibit as large as Dinolandia cannot realistically be made entirely out of recycled materials—as confirmed by Dinolandia staff—there is still a momentous focus on making art as sustainable as possible within this exhibit.

“I think especially living in Portland—we’re so focused on [sustainability], and I think it’s cool that [Bennett]… built something so huge, [and] actually pulled from that,” Marshall said.

It appears that a primary reason for Bennett’s ability to focus on sustainability is due to his coordination with the vast Portland art community.

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ARTS & CULTURE

“With anything being mass produced, there’s tons of waste,” LaFleur said. “But I noticed that [Bennett] really is good about [sustainable practices]. Because of his community involvement, he’s got so many connections to get things like the paint and the plywood. It’s really cool how he’s been able to infiltrate the community and get community support for this.”

As an outsider moving to Portland, it was difficult for LaFleur not to know anyone other than her partner. However, being welcomed into Portland’s extensive art community through her work with Bennett made her feel connected to a new community.

“We are very recognizable,” LaFleur said. “I have people come in all the time, and they’re like, ‘I saw you in your red jumpsuit, walking your dogs,’ and I’ve had people be like, ‘Dinolandia? Is that Mike Bennett?’ It’s definitely cool to be an outsider, getting to kind of like a community role as well.

It really gave me a sense of a little, like, home and community connection. And that’s the hard part of going anywhere new, right? Is finding a community of like-minded folks.”

“This is definitely my kind of place to be,” LaFleur said, summarizing her experience working with Bennett and finding her community. “It’s very safe, very fun and inclusive.”

The safety and inclusivity within the museum were evident.

From requiring and providing masks for all guests, to the bathrooms being gender-neutral, to pronoun pins supplied to all the employees—as a non-binary, queer human, this place felt like one of the most welcoming and safe spaces I have stepped into in a very long time.

“Most of our people who work here are non-binary or gendernonconforming, and [Bennett] has made a huge effort to make sure that they are being addressed the way they should be and that they are in a safe space as well,” LaFleur said. “And that’s super cool. You know, I grew up in the South. Where it’s just not progressive at all and to, to come to a place where that’s the norm and where that’s the standard and that people are being held to that standard is just really refreshing.”

While the vision behind this project was Bennett’s, Dinolandia was and is a combination of a community of artists and creators coming together to create joy and bring life.

“A huge group of people… volunteered and helped put everything together for about three or four months…” LaFleur said. “The artist’s hallway [or the entrance to the cave in the exhibit] are all different local artists. Not necessarily ones that work here with us. That was really important to Mike—also getting community involvement.”

Even the young, budding artists have a place to exhibit their art.

“We also have Mike’s mailbox,” LaFleur said. “Where kiddos can bring their own art to be put into the exhibit. That’s something really important to [Bennett], is to make sure kids are inspired and kids are involved and feel encouraged to also create.”

Although there is something for everyone at the museum, the design for children—especially those who are creative, artistic and imaginative—is particularly impressive.

LaFleur noted her own desire for a space such as this as a kid. “I was a doodler in school,” she said. “And so, I remember getting in trouble for the doodles, and that can really stifle a kid’s imagination. That can make them feel like, oh, if I do this, it’s not a real thing. So it’s good to encourage it in a fun and safe space where they can come and see it after.”

Dinolandia provides that space to create, be inspired and embrace joy and happiness in a moment where we could all use a bit more of that. “I think Mike is labeled as, like, a public joy creator—I think that’s essentially what he’s done here is that everybody who leaves, leaves happier,” Marshall said.

This happiness is not exclusively limited to children—adults especially can receive something from this experience. We can go back in time. We can become young again and embrace the parts of us that desire fun, play and joy. As adults, we need to dust off our childlike imagination more often, slow down and embrace the joy, even if it sometimes feels impossible.

“Honestly, this place is fun for adults,” LaFleur said, “It is. There’s tons of really cool information… It speaks to the inner child while being kid-friendly while also being adult-friendly, which is so hard to find. And I feel like there’s a big movement right now, you know? Healing our inner child and not being ashamed of our inner child. I know that’s something I definitely have been working on personally, and I think that this is a great place for it.”

PSU Vanguard • AUGUST 3, 2022 • psuvanguard.com

PSU FOOD PANTRY SET TO EXPAND FOOD INTAKE GROWTH IS ON THE TABLE

MILK CARTONS AT THE PSU FOOD PANTRY. JEREMIAH HAYDEN/PSU VANGUARD

PSU Vanguard • AUGUST 3, 2022 • psuvanguard.com

STOCKED SHELVES AT THE PSU FOOD PANTRY. JEREMIAH HAYDEN/PSU VANGUARD

JESSE ROPERS This week, Portland State’s Food Pantry is set to double their food intake.

Thanks to a renewed partnership with Urban Gleaners, the pantry’s weekly 1,000 pound intake of food is set to increase to nearly 2,000 pounds.

Trenna Wilson—the Food Pantry’s general manager—expressed excitement at this development. “We’re hoping that the huge influx in food goes to people who need it and that we continue this trend of growth,” she said.

Growth across the board is a goal for the organization, with an emphasis on enlarging their space. “Right now our biggest challenge is that we are in the Smith basement spread between three rooms,” Wilson said. She detailed the difficulties with the current space, and how only one of their three offices is available to store food. “The largest difficulty is definitely space, since we have this perfect scenario where we have plenty of students who need our services and plenty of resources wanting to help. We could meet so much more of the need if we had a larger space.”

Not only is space an issue, but the physical location as well. “I do think that if we were in a more convenient location then we would get more Food Pantry foot traffic,” Wilson said. She doesn’t know what a new location would look like, citing the prevalent competition over on-campus rooms and locations. “We would like some place where we are a little bit more visible but still have some amount of privacy for our patrons. We really love our grocery store format where you can walk in and select what you want, so having more space to provide that feel of a small store.”

Underutilization is a consistent problem with the pantry, where needs don’t align with actual use. “Hopes for College did a survey, where close to 50% of students surveyed had experienced food insecurity in the month before the survey, which is about 20% higher than the national average for college students’ food insecurity,” Wilson said. “We are aware that the need on campus is very significant and we are serving about 5% of the study body, so obviously there is a massive opportunity to grow further.”

Part of this can be explained by a prevalent attitude in students where they downplay their own needs or shy away from utilizing the pantry, not wanting to use up resources others need. Wilson said she understood this concern. “That is a barrier we hear often,” she said. “It’s wonderful that people are so thoughtful about taking a resource that someone else might need more, but we tell them a couple of things. The first is that the student fees you pay pay for the pantry. The pantry is your space… The second is that the way in which things are set up, the more patrons we get the more support we can get and provide for more who are in need.”

Wilson made sure to stress the ease of using the pantry for students. “There are a lot of sensations that it will be hard,” she said. “The thing we’d really love for students to understand is that there is no paperwork, you don’t have to prove that you are in need. All you need to do is show that you are a student, enrolled either summer or fall, and you get free groceries every single week.”

Resources available at the pantry are subject to change, but the grocery store model system has many of the things expected of a grocery store, including eggs, milk, produce, baking supplies and canned goods. Aside from what’s expected, there are also surprises, such as baby supplies, tea and even ready to eat meals provided by Feed the Masses.

Beyond space and location changes, Wilson expressed a desire for the pantry to collaborate with other on-campus organizations. “We are also looking to work with the various resource centers around campus,” she said. “Many have their own directives to address food insecurity, and we are hoping to get the word out and make a very coordinated effort to provide them with food since we have the infrastructure to support them at no cost.”

Mini-pantries would be geared towards what the different resource centers want, with support given. “Outside of the rules needed to be followed, the mini-pantries would be whatever fits the resource center and serves them best,” Wilson said.

In short, Wilson had a simple message for all students. “If you are a student and eat food, come get food from us,” she said. “Try it at least once to see if it works for them, and if it does... come back the following week.”

NEWS

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Events Calendar Aug. 3-Aug. 9 ERIC SHELBY

WED AUG. 3

THURS AUG. 4

FRI AUG. 5

SAT AUG. 6

SUN AUG. 7

MON AUG. 8

TUES AUG. 9

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ART

MUSIC

FILM/THEATER

COMMUNITY

TRACES PORTLAND ART MUSEUM ALL DAY FREE FOUND OBJECT SCULPTURE, PRINTMAKING, PAINTING AND DRAWING

GRUPO MASATO MAIN STREET 5 P.M. FREE MULTI-ETHNIC PORTLAND-BASED BAND

TREK NIGHTS: GALAXY QUEST HOLLYWOOD THEATRE 7:30 P.M. $10 1999 PARODY OF STAR TREK

PORTLAND TIMBERS VS. NASHVILLE SC PROVIDENCE PARK 7:30 P.M. $27 TIMBERS FACE NASHVILLE

DAD BOD DOUG FIR RESTAURANT 9 P.M. $14 SALT LAKE CITY BAND COMES TO PORTLAND

FRIENDS WITHOUT BENEFITS ALBERTA ABBEY CAFE 6 P.M. $5 DONATION FOOD WITH MUSIC BY LOCAL ARTISTS

ORPHEUS PDX: L’ORFEO LINCOLN HALL 7:30 P.M. $50+ A GREEK STORY ABOUT A LEGENDARY MUSICIAN

THE BIRD DAYS OF SUMMER: BIRDS & BEVVIES TOPAZ FARM SAUVIE ISLAND 6 P.M. FREE BIRD WATCHING ON SAUVIE ISLAND

STELLA ZHONG ADAMS AND OLLMAN ALL DAY FREE NYC ARTIST DRAWING INTEREST IN PROPORTIONS

VNSSA 45 EAST 10 P.M. $10+ FRIDAY NIGHT EDM

I LOVE MY DAD HOLLYWOOD THEATRE 7 P.M.-9:15 P.M. $10 A 2022 COMEDY

COMEDY IN THE PARK LAURELHURST PARK 6 P.M. FREE LOCAL BLACK AND BROWN COMEDIANS AT THE PARK

CHINESE FESTIVAL PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE 12 P.M.–6 P.M. FREE ARTS AND CRAFTS, VENDORS AND MUSIC

FREMONT FEST 4020 NE FREMONT STREET 10 A.M.–4 P.M. FREE LIVE MUSIC AND VENDORS

LORD OF THE RINGS: FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING EMPIRICAL THEATER OMSI 6:30 P.M. $6+ THE FIRST INSTALLMENT OF THE LOTR FRANCHISE

GHOSTS OF SUMMER OREGON CONVENTION CENTER 9 A.M.–5 P.M. $12+ HALLOWEEN MARKET

NATIVE AMERICAN ART MARKET AND SALE BLACKFISH GALLERY 11 A.M.–5 P.M. FREE NATIVE AMERICAN ART MARKET AND SALE

LITTLE FEAT ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL 8 P.M. $49+ AMERICAN ROCK

PUNCH DRUNK LOVE IN 35MM HOLLYWOOD THEATRE 7 P.M. $10+ DARK ROMANTIC COMEDY BY PAUL THOMAS ANDERSON

COELHO WINERY: NATIONAL SISTERS DAY COELHO WINERY 11 A.M.–5 P.M. FREE TWO FOR ONE TASTING FOR SISTERS ONLY

MONDAYS ON THE MALL PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE 12 P.M. FREE LOCAL MARKETS AND FREE EVENTS

KARAOKE WITH ATLAS ALBERTA ST. PUB 9 P.M. FREE KARAOKE WITH FRIENDS

INTRO TO NEW ZEALAND CINEMA HOLLYWOOD THEATRE 6:30 P.M. $65 WORKSHOP AT MOVIE MADNESS UNIVERSITY

GAY SKATE OAKS AMUSEMENT PARK 7 P.M. $10 SKATING FOR ALL AGES

REUSING MATERIALS: WEAVING WORKSHOP PINE MEADOW RANCH 9 A.M.–2 P.M. $65 LEARN THE ART OF WEAVING

NOON SUMMER CONCERT SERIES PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE 12 P.M.–1 P.M. FREE FREE CONCERT IN DOWNTOWN JUST IN TIME FOR LUNCH

INVINCIBLE SHAOLIN IN 35MM HOLLYWOOD THEATRE 7:30 P.M. $10 1978 CLASSIC IN 35MM

OPEN JAM THE BIG LEGROWLSKI 7 P.M.–12 A.M. FREE PLAY, JAM AND CHILL AT THE BIG LEGROWLSKI

EVENTS

PSU Vanguard • AUGUST 3, 2022 • psuvanguard.com