Portland State Vanguard, Volume 74, Issue 16 by Portland State Vanguard

PORTLAND STATE VANGUARD

VOLUME 74 • ISSUE 16 • JANUARY 21, 2020

NATION’S FIRST FUTURES LAB • Climate Change • Artificial Intelligence • Loneliness in the digital age

NEWS HISTORICAL TRAUMA TO HISTORICAL WISDOM • OPINION THE NEVERENDING CYCLE OF STUDENT POVERTY ARTS & CULTURE OPERA SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION

CRIME BLOTTER

Jan. 14–18

JUSTIN GRINNELL JAN. 14 Drug & liquor law violations Residence staff reported and referred two students who were under the legal age and in possession of alcohol and marijuana in Blumel Residence Hall at 10:15 p.m. JAN. 15 Harassment At approximately 7:25 p.m. at Parkway Residence Hall, Campus Public Safety officers responded to a report of a Portland State student being assaulted by an unknown male who had left the scene. A second PSU student reported suspicious and aggressive behavior from the same male.

Harassment A PSU employee reported receiving harassing emails from a nonstudent. The emails occured between 3:17–7:30 p.m. Trespass A non-student was arrested for trespassing around 9:59 p.m. at Smith Memorial Student Union. Aggressive animal

Around 10:47 p.m., a non-student reported a dog, belonging to another non-student, bit her dog at Parkway Residence Hall. JAN. 18 Bicycle theft A non-student reported a bicycle theft outside of SMSU. The theft took place between 6–9 p.m.

JAN. 16 Fraud by deception Off campus, a PSU employee reported being the victim of a scam at 1:52 p.m.

CONTENTS COVER BY JOHN ROJAS NEWS HILL TO HALL

P. 3

INTERNATIONAL THIS WEEK AROUND THE WORLD

P. 10

BRAND, STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AT PSU POP-UP

P. 3

TAIWAN 2020: IMPLICATIONS AND RESULTS

P. 11

HISTORICAL TRAUMA TO HISTORICAL WISDOM

P. 4

CONTEXTUALIZING U.S.–IRAN RELATIONS

P. 12

OPINION THE NEVERENDING CYCLE OF STUDENT POVERTY

P. 13

HAVE YOU HEARD?

P. 13

ARTS & CULTURE OPERA SCHOLARSHIP COMPETITION

P. 5

OSCAR NOMINATIONS FAIL TO ADDRESS CRITICISMS

P. 6

‘HUÍNCA’ DEBUTS AT MILAGRO THEATER

P. 6

SPORTS WHAT MAKES AN OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST?

P. 14–15

CENTER NATION’S FIRST FUTURES LAB AT PSU

P. 8–9

EVENTS CALENDAR

P. 16

STAFF

EDIT ORI A L EDITOR IN CHIEF Dylan Jefferies MANAGING EDITOR Anthony Montes NEWS EDITORS Hanna Anderson Justin Grinnell INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Chloe Dysart ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Nick Townsend OPINION EDITOR AJ Earl SPORTS EDITOR Rich Rigney

ONLINE EDITOR Annie Schutz COPY CHIEF Hannah Welbourn CONTRIBUTORS Wesley Blaine Cassidy Brown Jordan Cagle Emily Price Marshall Scheider Quinn Stoddard Emma Wallace PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A PHOTO EDITOR Alex Wittwer MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Owen Demetre

PRODUC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR John Rojas

A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood

LEAD DESIGNER Brandon Pahnish

STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Corrine Nightingale

DESIGNERS Sam Person Dana Townsend DIS T RIBU TION & M A R K E TING DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING MANAGER Dylan Jefferies T ECHNOL OGY & W EB SIT E TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS Juliana Bigelow George Olson John Rojas

STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher To contact Portland State Vanguard, email editor@psuvanguard.com

MIS SION S TAT EMEN T 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.

A BOU T 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 Tuesdays and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @psuvanguard for multimedia content and breaking news.

NEWS

BRAND, STUDENT ENGAGEMENT AT PSU POP-UP

JUSTIN GRINNELL

JAN. 13–17 HANNA ANDERSON

JAN. 13: OREGON DEMOCRATS REVEAL NEW CLIMATE BILL AHEAD OF NEW SESSION

Democratic legislators released a new version of a previous climate change bill, dubbed the “cap and trade” bill, at an Oregon Senate Environment and Natural Resources Committee meeting. A similar bill failed in last year’s session after Republican lawmakers staged a walkout in opposition to the legislation, denying the quorum necessary to vote, according to The Oregonian. Currently named Legislative Concept 19, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting, the bill would create a cap to the amount of greenhouse gas emissions in the state and require emitters to acquire credits for the gas they emit, which will be in limited supply that declines over time. The changes include lessening its impact in rural Oregon, which would not be phased into the program until after Portland and other larger cities.

JAN. 16: COUNTY JUDGE FINDS ENVIRONMENTAL BALLOT MEASURES WRONGLY REJECTED BY SECRETARY OF STATE

Marion County Judge David Leith ruled in favor of two previously rejected clean energy ballot initiatives, ordering Secretary of State Beverly Clarno to process the initiatives to be brought before voters in November. Clarno, a Republican, previously rejected initiative petitions 48 and 49 for not meeting the state’s requirement that initiatives be limited to a single subject, according to AP News. The ruling allows the initiatives to move to the attorney general to receive a ballot title. The initiatives, if passed, would require that 100% of Oregon’s electricity come from renewable or carbon free sources by 2045.

JAN. 17: CLIMATE CHANGE LAWSUIT DISMISSED BY U.S. COURT

A federal appeals court dismissed a 2015 lawsuit against the United States government, insisting the 21 young people who filed the suit did not have the legal standing to do so. The suit was filed by Our Children’s Trust, an Oregon-based advocacy group claiming the government’s current policies threaten their future and infringes on their constitutional rights, according to OPB. In the 2-1 vote for dismissal, the court wrote that it was not the proper venue for addressing the country’s emissions policies or fossil fuel usage and that they should instead be addressed by the legislature.

JAKSEN KRAHNKE, MANAGER FOR THE POP-UP RETAIL PROGRAM, POSES IN FRONT OF RACKS OF CLOTHES FOR THIS WEEK'S OUTDOOR–CENTRIC STORE. EMMA WALLACE/PSU VANGUARD

The Center for Retail Leadership at Portland State is engaging local brands with student consumers with its Pop-Up program—a way for brands to receive dynamic feedback on products and to educate students on the changing retail environment. Inside the atrium of PSU’s Karl Miller Center on the first floor is the Pop-Up program’s 500-foot space. The polished glass room can be seen while passing through the KMC’s 6th Ave. entrance. Alongside brand employees, CRL staffs the Pop-Up space with volunteer students often sourced through A&O Connect, PSU’s athletic and outdoor industry student group. Jaksen Krahnke, marketing senior and account manager for the Pop-Up program and president of A&O Connect, said, “[Pop-Up] is meant for local brands, businesses [and] organizations to come in and activate the space: to connect with the diverse student community.” Since the program’s start in Fall of 2017, it has partnered with 15 different brands, each occupying the space for approximately one to two weeks at a time. Past occupants include Stumptown Coffee and, most recently, U.S. Outdoor Store—a local athletic and outdoor retailer that filled in the space from Jan. 6–17. “It’s not about sales,” said Jennifer Nolfi, executive director for CRL and creator of Pop-Up. “It’s about the experience and the data brands can gather and the information students gain...whether they are walking through or staffing it.” Nolfi’s vision for Pop-Up is to “create an opportunity to drive awareness about [CRL] and opportunities in retail.” According to Nolfi, focus groups in students showed that many believe “retail is dead.” However, she believes: “It’s not. It’s changing, it’s dynamic.” “It’s not just brick and mortar,” Nolfi said. “It’s online. It’s everything from concept to market, because if you don’t have somebody developing a product or designing it, you don’t have the retail piece.” A committee of faculty, staff and industry decides which brands and organizations activate the Pop-Up space. “Whether it’s a large or small brand, a student entrepreneur [or] a nonprofit, it all has to align with our mission: giving back [and] making a positive difference,” Nolfi said. CRL is working with Grapevine LLC—a local agency founded by a PSU alumna—to activate the Pop-Up

space with B-corporations. According to Nolfi, “[B-corporations] are mission-driven organizations. Even though they are for-profit businesses, there is a very strong focus on giving back and taking care of employees.” Krahnke has found since working with brands for Pop-Up, that “brands are looking for students who are engaged.” “They want students with retail experience who can talk to the consumer, ask questions [and] understand what problem they are trying to solve for the consumer,” Nolfi said. In between the time it takes for one brand to leave Pop-Up and another to enter, the program utilizes it’s space for PSU organizations and nonprofits. “We’re actually doing a professional clothing closet that allows students to come into the Pop-Up space and pick out clothes for their upcoming interview session,” Krahnke said. The closet is available to any student and accepts donations. “I think it’s beneficial,” said PSU senior and accounting major Jeffery Wiegand in regard to the professional clothing closet. Wiegand has visited the Pop-Up space a couple of times, one of which was during U.S. Outdoor Store’s occupancy. Wiegand looked around, however, he said he “couldn’t afford anything.” As Nolfi previously stated, Pop-Up is not sales driven. “We would like students to come through, check it out [and] give their two cents,” Krahnke said. “We want to hear what they feel about it.” During dead week of this term, Student Health and Counseling is activating the space to promote mental and physical wellness and share tips about how to stay motivated through finals week. “It is an ongoing experiment,” Nolfi said. Krahnke and Nolfi are looking to grow awareness of the program as well as improve and streamline the feedback process for brands by incorporating technology, such as tablets in the space. “We know we have amazing students and an amazing community,” Nolfi said. “When we can get brands in the building, interacting with our students and community, they see it too. And then they open doors and hire our students.”

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 21, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

NEWS

HISTORICAL TRAUMA TO HISTORICAL WISDOM

SHALENE JOSEPH SPEAKS AT MULTNOMAH COUNTY COURTHOUSE PROMOTING THE 20-SOMETHING PROJECT. EMMA WALLACE/PSU VANGUARD QUINN STODDARD On Jan. 15, at Multnomah County Central Library, an open discussion was hosted by the Indigenous 20-Something Project—“a movement [bringing] healing and wellness to an entire generation to stop the toxic impacts of intergenerational trauma.” Hosts and founding members of I20SP, Shalene Joseph and Josh Cocker, discussed different factors affecting indigenous communities and the power that historical wisdom has had in their efforts to foster hope, resilience and lasting community connections. Currently based in Gresham, I20SP, a project created by members of the Native Wellness Institute, began as just a group of young people talking. “There was a youth camp put on by the NWI called the wellness warrior camp,” Cocker said. “There were 17 of us 20-somethings to help out and after the camp was finished we all gathered in their longhouse—a meeting place—then had a fire and a conversation facilitated by my sisters. We were asked ‘what does healing mean to you’ and ‘how do you bring it to your generation?’” “We all had a lot to say and it was all abundance based,” Joseph said when asked about the group’s start. “We didn’t

want to just leave the conversation there, so we started this group and movement with the common theme of healing our generation.” A product of this conversation—and the group’s mission—is to end the negative effects of historical and intergenerational trauma: when traumatic events that affected past generations still affects the current generation and its ability to heal. Cocker mentioned “boarding schools” as an example of this. These were places created during the late 1800s into the early 1900s in the United States with the goal of removing Native American children’s traditional customs in favor of those adopted by the U.S. government. “When those individuals came home there was change,” Cocker said. “When you grow up away from your people, you come home a stranger. There are people in my grandmother’s generation who left the [reservation] altogether and stopped talking to our people. That was one kind of trauma introduced to my people, and the way it has carried on is those families that ended up leaving never came back.” In an effort to begin healing these wounds, members of I20SP bring their specialized skills to the communities they visit, which ranges from academia to survival skills.

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 21, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

“[We’re] going into a community and working with youth and occasionally adults and doing a lot of trauma-informed care,” Joseph said. “For me, it’s changing the narrative. Coming from that lens my process was writing a parallel to historical intergenerational trauma with that wisdom and knowing we’re an abundance-based people.” “My thing is being outside and teaching different skills,” Cocker said. “The idea of trapping and tracking and how those things teach us. There’s this idea of being triggered, but when you build a trap and you see what an actual trigger is, you realize the most dangerous part of a trap is the bait. You can start to break down what baits you into terrible situations and how you avoid those things.” Alongside the discussion, Joseph presented a short film titled Tekona. The film, with an all-indigenous cast and production team, is based on a poem written by a member of the production team during the passing of a family member. The film focuses on Native American men. “When we do see Native people in media, it’s largely deficit based,” Joseph said. “We wanted to be able to take the time to show a sensitive side and a side that’s moving through a difficult journey.”

OPERA SCHOLARSHIP

ARTS & CULTURE

COMPETITION JORDAN CAGLE

When one thinks of a competition, opera may not be the first thing that comes to mind, but Portland State has been holding an annual opera scholarship competitions since the 1990s. Thanks to endowments from PSU Alumni Richard Helzer and PSU Emeritus Faculty member David Jimerson, opera aficionados at PSU can compete for the chance to win big prizes. First place wins the David A. Jimerson Endowed Vocal Scholarship of $5,000, 2nd place wins the Richard Helzer Opera Scholarship of $3,000, and 3rd place wins the Richard Helzer Opera Scholarship of $1,500. Vocal Area Coordinator Christine Meadows started the competition to help alleviate a struggle that many students face: balancing their work and school schedule. “That’s the main reason we started this [scholarship], as a way for students who are really working hard and doing well in our program to get more scholarship money.” Competitors agree, many citing financial security as one of the main reasons for competing. Wyatt Jackson, a bass baritone, said, “[Winning] would secure my funds for all of next year and really just lock in my ability to finish up my masters degree here.” Other competitors such as Ava Price, a mezzo soprano, are doing it for the cachet as well as the money that it will bring. “It would be very financially helpful,” Price said. “I do also like the prestige that comes with it and you get noticed. People appreciate all of the hard work that you are putting in behind the scenes.” For Avesta Mirashrafi, a tenor, the reason for competing is more personal. The youngest competitor said, “It would really help solidify to my parents that I am not a bad singer and the money would really help.” The competition was held in the Lincoln Recital Hall, an intimate space where the roughly 40 members of the audience were up close and personal with the singers. As members of the audience began to file in, Meadows could be seen greeting people and having conversations with various people in the crowd— highlighting how tight knit this community is.

Five contestants were competing for the opportunity to win these scholarships, and they all knew one another. They have been in the program together and performed in many of the productions that PSU has put on together. Two rows were roped off in the middle for the judges of the bout. The competition was judged by Megan Sand, a member of the voice faculty at PSU’s School of Music and Nicholas Larson, the director of vocal studies at Oregon State University. Chuck Dillard, collaborative piano area coordinator at PSU, provided piano accompaniment for the singers. The competition has two rounds. Competitors each picked three songs to sing and during the first round they sing the song of their choice. In the second round, judges decide who they want to hear sing again, then they get to pick what they sing from the remaining two songs. Eric Olson, a baritone, started off the first round of the competition with a rendition of “Hai gia vinta la causa” from Le nozze di Figaro by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Austin Allen, a baritone, concluded the first round with “Quand la flamme de l’amour” from La Jolie fille de Perth by Georges Bizet. The judges deliberated as the crowd took a brief intermission. All contestants were asked to come back out and sing a second song. They went back down the list in the same order. Once concluded, the judges deliberated for a final time. They came out on stage and expressed the closeness of the competition and the difficulty they faced in choosing a winner. First place and a $5,000 scholarship went to Austin Allen. Allen— originally from Portland—has spent the last four years in New York at the Manhattan School of Music, as well as working and auditioning in the theatre scene there. Following the competition Allen had this to say, “I feel great. It’s a little surreal, but it feels good. I’m working and paying everything that isn’t a grant out of pocket. This will be a lot of peace of mind so I can focus on auditions and things outside of school. I’m excited.” Price gained some recognition for all of her hard work, winning 3rd place and the $1,500 scholarship. Second place and $3,000 went to Mirashrafi.

DANA TOWNSEND

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 21, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

ARTS & CULTURE

OSCAR NOMINATIONS FAIL TO ADDRESS CRITICISMS

NOMINATION POOL REMAINS OVERWHELMINGLY WHITE, MALE

NICK TOWNSEND

The Oscar nominations have been released, and the conversation is the same as it has been for the past four years. With change happening incredibly slowly and the nomination pool looking the same every year, it’s worth asking—do the Oscars serve a purpose? John Cho and Issa Rae presented the list of Oscar contenders on Jan. 13 that will officially be voted on by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences membership. The nomination ceremony is itself indicative of the aged pomp and circumstance the Oscars season has come to symbolize for many outside of the film industry. The ceremony may have made sense in the ‘60s, but today, it strikes most as an odd formality. The nominations will be voted on by the Academy’s 7,000 members, of which the public knows very little. A 2016 study by the Los Angeles Times found that the Academy’s voting members are 91% white and 76% male. This was brought up frequently during the past couple years in the #OscarsSoWhite conversation, a hashtag that brought attention to two consecutive years of allwhite acting nominees.

The #OscarsSoWhite conversation hit around the same time as an equally important movement in the past couple years of the award season— #MeToo. The combination of the two hashtags, along with embarrassing blunders such as the Moonlight/Lalaland fiasco, an ill-fated attempt at a “Best Popular Film” award and a controversy over Kevin Hart that led to the 2019 show being (refreshingly) hostless has left the award show’s reputation rattled and left audiences questioning the merits of the award show altogether. This has been reflected in record-low Nielsen ratings over the last three years, although a slight uptick last year raises questions about the ratings trajectory for this year. This year’s batch of nominations represents the struggle the Academy faces in addressing issues of inequity across lines of country, race and gender. A Korean film, Parasite, is up for three awards, while the Spanish film Pain and Glory is up for two. But the nominations also ignored what many saw as some of the most powerful performances of the year—from women of color. Lulu Wang’s stirring and “incredibly charming” bilingual film

The Farewell and Awkwafina’s performance in the leading role both failed to earn a single nomination, despite a win at the Golden Globes. Lupita Nyong’o’s performance as two dramatically different characters in Jordan Peeles’ blockbuster Us also went ignored at the Oscars, regardless of the nominations Nyong’o earned in the Critics’ Choice and Screen Actors Guild awards. There was one acting nomination for a person of color, Cynthia Erivo, for her performance as Harriet Tubman, but it fell into the old trope of the Academy only recognizing Black Americans when they play slaves. Movies about Black people that don’t center slavery and oppression, such as Dolemite is My Name, fail to garner nominations. “I think the real issue is the make-up of the membership of the Academy itself, which needs to be updated and diversified,” said Tim Williams, executive director at the Oregon Governor’s Office of Film and Television. “That process has been happening for a couple of years now but, like anything in this arena, it’s a frustratingly slow process.” The Oscars will remain divisive, over-narrativized, and frankly white for some years to come.

But as a tool for marketing the rare films that explore topics outside of white men, Williams argues that the Oscars still matter. “They do. Especially from a marketing point of view. Would films like Lady Bird or Parasite do as well as they did without this type of promotion at this level? I don’t know.”

DANA TOWNSEND

‘HUÍNCA’ DEBUTS AT MILAGRO THEATER MANUEL (PLAYED BY TRIPATHI) MOURNS AND EULOGIZES HIS BROTHER CAMILLO. COURTESY OF LIANA ROSE PHOTOGRAPHY

NICK TOWNSEND A system built on stolen ground, laws that exploit indigenous peoples and jail their activists, and a people left with few options, little land and no representation. The setting could be anywhere in the Western Hemisphere, but in this play it is Chile. The Milagro Theater on SE Stark staged Huínca—their first production of 2020 and the third production of their 36th annual season— on Jan. 9–18. The play features four actors, each portraying a handful of characters. Huínca takes place in a modern day Chile and follows a group of Mapuche, the largest indigenous group in Chile and 10% of the national population. Huínca is a derogatory Mapuche word for an outsider. The play opens with a female machi, a traditional religious leader and healer, making a prayer to the four gods of the Mapuche people. “We are imprisoned in the violence within this country,” cried the character, played by Emily Hogan, in the opening monologue. Switching

fluidly between lines in Spanish and English, the character begs the gods for an end to the violence. The next scene opens in with a young boy running in and announcing that his uncle has been shot in the back by an unnamed paramilitary force. The rest of the play revolves around the aftermath of the death of Camillo Catrillanca, played by Ajai Terrazas Tripathi. His nephew Ailen (Cati Rangel)—the only witness to the murder—flees into the woods to avoid being killed in a cover-up. The dead farmer’s brother Manuel, also played by Tripathi, delivers a passionate funeral oration declaring his people’s intention to continue the fight. The conflict comes to a head when the logging company in dispute with the Mapuche—heavily implied to be responsible for Catrillanca’s death—sends a high-powered lawyer to settle the dispute. The logging company has been planting non-native trees on historically Mapuche land,

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 21, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

drying the soil and threatening their way of life. The resulting action lands Manuel in jail on accusations of arson and manslaughter. A young lawyer, child of Chilean exiles to Canada, takes up his defense. The playwright herself is a child of Chilean exiles to Canada and “based the character heavily upon her own experience,” according to Tripathi. The Milagro, which describes itself as “the premier Latino arts and culture center of the Pacific Northwest,” commissions and creates multiple original bilingual works every year. Huínca was commissioned by the Milagro using a global grant and was written by Marilo Nuñez, a CanadianChilean playwright. In preparation for writing the script, she traveled to Chile and met extensively with Mapuche leaders and families. Following its run at Milagro, Huínca will go on tour, starting with local high schools and then working south through community colleges and Humboldt State University in Northern

California. Touring director Tripathi also said that an international leg of the tour is possible, due to playwright Nuñez being Canadian. Huínca asks a lot of questions about the fate of the Mapuche people and provides few concrete answers. The action is unresolved at the play’s close and Manuel’s fate is bleak; the violence has not ended. But what’s weaved throughout the work is not just a simple message of hope, but a reaffirmation of the right to exist and experience the pain and beauty of life. The action may center on a damning sequence of events, but the Mapuche spirit endures through the close of the play. The Milagro theater will stage their next production En El Tiempo De Las Mariposas, a fully Spanish play with English supertitles, on Feb. 6–29. It is about a group of four sisters that become symbols of hope and resistance against the Dominican dictator Rafael Trujillo.

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COVER

NATION’S FIRST FUTURES LAB A

JOHN ROJAS

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 21, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

COVER

T AT PSU NEW SCHOOL OF SOCIAL WORK FUTURES LAB SEEKS TO ADDRESS ISSUES SUCH AS CLIMATE CHANGE, ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE, LONELINESS IN DIGITAL AGE KARISA YUASA Portland State announced on Jan. 7 that the School of Social Work will be home to the nation’s first Social Work Health Education futures lab—a way for social work educators to reflect on how best to address problems of the future. According to the press release by PSU: “The lab will explore how trends in technology, climate change, geopolitical shifts and the future of work are set to impact health, social determinants of health and related social justice, equity and social work practice.” “The idea is that many professions—medicine, doctors, nurses, journalists, lawyers—are all going through disciplinespecific active reflecting time to say ‘How do we stay relevant in the future?’” said Dr. Laura Nissen, former dean of the School of Social Work and principal investigator. “Social work needs to do that too. We have done a little bit of it as a discipline, but not a lot.”

THE FUTURIST

The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a futurist as “one who studies and predicts the future especially on the basis of current trends.” The social work futures lab will be used to train social work educators nationwide to become futurists. However, Nissen believes it isn’t “predicting” the future in any way. “Futures thinking and foresight practice is a new emerging discipline that is like strategic thinking and strategic planning but a modern way of looking at that using new tools, new frameworks and new skills,” Nissen said. This new project builds on what Nissen has been actively working on since 2018: futurist thinking in the field of social work. “Social workers are constantly working on building a better world,” Nissen said. “Things are changing so fast in the world right now that in order to be the best we can be, it is probably time for an upgrade across our discipline to sharpen our skills in this area.” Nissen started a blog on Nov. 13, 2018 in which she states: “Social workers, among other things, are planners—and it would seem logical that social work might be a great fit for futures thinking.” “The future is presenting new ways for inequity and loss of power in communities to occur,” Nissan said. “The people who social work focuses on and partners with to solve community problems, they are the most likely to be harmed by a lot of these futures trends, and yet we’re not talking about it enough.”

THE FUTURES LAB

According to the PSU website, the lab hopes to answer questions such as how climate change impacts mental health, how social media impacts loneliness and belonging and how to ensure artificial intelligence isn’t inadvertently racist in the deployment of health resources. “This lab is going to be a place where social work scholars from around the country can really talk about [those issues] and explore that together and make some recommendations to the profession about what things we might do to be even more ready for the future,” Nissen said. The lab will begin by training 25–30 selected fellows as social work educator futurists. According to the press release, they will receive “training and coaching in futures and foresight frameworks in partnership with the Institute for the Future.” The futures lab will be funded by a two-year, $400,000 grant from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. According to their website, the RWJF is “the nation’s largest philanthropy dedicated solely to health” and was established in 1972 from shares of Johnson & Johnson. Nissen was the National Program Director for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation Reclaiming Futures initiative for 11 years where she was able to bring futurists into the initiative for help. “We look forward to collaborating with the new lab as it builds the necessary tools and perspectives to overcome the limitations of ‘short-termism,’ fostering a deep bench of foresight leaders within the social work field,” stated Lyn Jeffery, director of the Institute for the Future’s foresight training programs in the press release. According to the press release, the social work futures lab will also look at “the ways the ‘future of work’ might impact social workers themselves who work with social determinants of health issues, including the ways that roles, tools and methods may expand and become even more interdisciplinary and more technological in the coming years.” “If we can create a knowledge base among social work educators that is relevant and owned by social work educators and then promote that,” Nissen said. “That [knowledge] is really one of the best access points for getting our profession future-ready.” Interim President Steven Percy stated in the press release: “Portland State University has a long tradition of asking

innovative questions and providing the leadership to partner with communities to answer them. We are excited to continue this tradition with this project.”

PSU FUTURES COLLABORATORY

The National Social Work Health Education futures lab is actually the second futurist based initiative at PSU. The PSU Futures Collaboratory started at the beginning of the fall 2019 quarter. The Collaboratory, also run by Nissen, is a PSU presidential initiative bringing together approximately 30 faculty, staff and students across different disciplines to learn more about futures practice. Through monthly meetings, members of the Collaboratory interact with futurists from around the country and work on projects focusing on how to “get PSU more ready for the future.” At the end of the academic year, they hope to present President Percy with recommendations on how PSU can be more forward facing. “PSU’s effort is a school-wide, interdisciplinary effort,” Nissen said. “[While] the social work futures lab is a national discipline-specific effort.” According to Nissen: “They are both about the future, and they are both about learning future skills and applying them in interesting ways. One is discipline specific. One is cross-disciplinary.” For Nissen, the lab is expected to exponentially expand the “great work that PSU does” allowing scholars to intersect with PSU in new ways. “Portland State is proud to provide a convening space for these vitally important dialogues for our profession nationally,” stated Dr. Jose Coll, dean of School of Social Work. “This effort will give us rare protected space and the opportunity to engage in exploration of the answers to [questions].” “[Reclaiming Futures] is actually still going on in the regional research institute,” Nissen said. “So just that in itself is really prestigious and important. They have a lot of faith in us.” As this lab will be the first of its type in the nation, Nissen said, “It is a little bit experimental. What it is going to do, I believe, is amplify the really important themes that social work works on. Things like equity, racism and sexism. They are so important that we need to avail ourselves of every kind of tool that we can to address them in our practice.”

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 21, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

INTERNATIONAL

THIS WEEK

around the

WORLD

Jan. 14–19

5 1

2 6 4

Jan. 14

TARRAGONA, SPAIN

Following an explosion at a petrochemical factory, shock waves were felt for several miles. As of Jan. 15, the death toll of the explosion and the fire that followed had risen to three, including one man whose house collapsed after a sheet of metal weighing at least one ton hit his house. The New York Times reported that officials blocked roads and ordered residents to stay inside for three hours after the explosion but have since issued a statement claiming no harmful chemicals were released in the incident. Officials are investigating the cause of the explosion but suspect it was likely a chemical accident, according to BBC.

Jan. 15 2

RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA

Princess Haifa al-Mogrin has been confirmed as the permanent representative of Saudi Arabia for the United Nations’ Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. It is unusual for the country to appoint female representatives to high-ranking positions, but the government

says the move is a part of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030, which seeks to modernize the country and empower women, according to The Saudi Gazette. Al-Mogrin is the official replacement for Dr. Ibrahim al-Balawi, who was removed from the position by Saudi Arabia in 2017. 3

Jan. 15

ANKARA, TURKEY

The Official Gazette, the official publication of the Turkish Constitutional Court, released a detailed ruling on the Wikipedia-ban case, and a judge formally lifted the ban on the website on Jan. 15. The ban on Wikipedia was installed in April 2017 when the Turkish government accused the organization of hosting a “smear campaign” against the country, according to Al Jazeera. The Constitutional Court heard the case in December 2019, but the 10-6 majority decision to lift the block was not made official until its publication in The Official Gazette. Some people in Ankara and Istanbul reported having access to the website restored on Jan. 15, and the government is expected to allow other areas access soon, according to Voice of America.

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 21, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

Jan. 17

JAMUNDÍ, COLOMBIA

An armed group suspected to have a connection to drug trafficking threw explosives into three cars driving on the highway on Jan. 17, killing all five farmers in the vehicles. According to TeleSUR, the area of Jamundi is a popular spot for growing illegal crops such as coca, the plant used in the creation of cocaine. Some estimates say at least 1,000 hectares, or 2,471 acres, are used to grow illegal crops. The group of attackers have not claimed responsibility and have not yet been detained by authorities. 5

Jan. 19

VEJPRTY, CZECH REPUBLIC

A home for the disabled and mentally ill caught fire and killed eight residents, injuring an additional 30 more. Several of the injured are in critical condition, and authorities believe the majority of those killed died from smoke inhalation. When Czech officials could not use helicopters due to bad weather, German emergency rescue teams crossed the border to help

with the rescue operation. Officials have not yet determined what caused the fire but have reported that it is the second deadliest fire in the country in the last 30 years. Czech Prime Minister Andrej Babis tweeted his condolences to the families of the victims soon after the fire, calling the incident “a terrible tragedy.” 6

Jan. 19

MARIB, YEMEN

A missile and drone attack on a military training base camp in Yemen resulted in the deaths of at least 73, with the death toll expected to rise, as several of those who were injured are in critical condition. A mosque near the center of the camp where many were performing prayers was the main target of the attack, according to BBC. Authorities have blamed Houthi rebels for the attack, and President Abd-Rabbu Mansour Hadi believes the attack “confirms without a doubt that the Houthis have no desire for peace,” according to Al Jazeera. Despite the accusations, the Houthi rebels have not claimed responsibility for the incident.

INTERNATIONAL

TAIWAN 2020:

IMPLICATIONS AND RESULTS

THE RECENTLY ELECTED TAIWANESE PRESIDENT TSAI ING-WEN SITS ACROSS FROM WILLIAM BRENT CHRISTENSEN, DIRECTOR OF THE AMERICAN INSTITUTE IN TAIWAN. COURTESY OF THE TAIWAN PRESIDENTIAL OFFICE

EMILY PRICE The Portland State Institute For Asian Studies hosted Kharis Templeman of Stanford University on Jan. 16 to speak to PSU students and community members on the current state of Taiwan and what the recent election could mean for its sovereignty against China. Tsai Ing-wen was re-elected as president on Jan. 11, winning 57% of the vote. In addition to Ing-wen’s second term, the election marked the first year the Democartic Progressive Party had won both the executive and legislative offices, a monumental accomplishment for the DPP. Templeman is a social science research scholar at Stanford University, as well as the program manager of the Taiwan Democracy and Security Project. Templeman earned his BA at the University of Rochester and Ph.D. in political science from the University of Michigan. Templeman broke down recent events up to the election, as well as the present political climate in east Asia in relation to China and the United States.

“There is a lot to admire about Taiwan’s Democracy,” Templeman said. “They have reformed quite well over the years.” Until 1999, Taiwan has been under the Republic of China since the Chinese capital was moved to Taiwan in 1949. Ever since, Taiwan has been fighting to maintain sovereignty against China as well as within its political parties. The Chinese Nationalist Party, known as KMT, are the DPP’s biggest opponent, taking office years prior to Ingwen and stand in favor of union with China. Templeman argued that Tsa Ing-wen was successful in her campaign for multiple reasons. KMT primary Han Kou-yu was a “very flawed candidate” and was “clearly Beijing preferred candidate,” and “could be trusted on sovereignty or negotiation issues with Beijing,” Templeman said. Taiwan has been battling within its party system to progressively combat China’s claim to Taiwan. Ing-wen promptly announced her answer in a response to Xi Jinping, secretary of the Communist Party of China. The speech warned Taiwan that unification with China would be inevitable, stating that “[they] make no promise to

abandon the use of force, and retain the option of taking all necessary measures,” as reported by The New York Times. “Hong Kong is on the verge of chaos due to the failure of one country, two systems...but if we were to accept one country, two systems, there would no longer be room for the Republic of China’s existence. As president, standing up to protect national sovereignty is not a provocation—it is my fundamental responsibility,” Ingwen said in response to Jinping. The increasingly tense situation in Hong Kong presents an example for Taiwan of what “one country, two systems” could look like under the Chinese regime. “There is an increasing challenge.” Templeman said to the amount of heavy influence from the The People’s Republic of China. Templeman also explained that “there are at least a couple different news organizations in Taiwan that are under mid-direct or direct control of pro-China tycoons,” influencing the public’s view on Chinese control. What does this election mean for Taiwan? In Templeman’s conclusions, the KMT party

will need to re-approach their standings with China to overcome the realization that Taiwan is ever so slightly leaning toward democratic sovereignty against China. Templeman said that the KMT “probably needs some new leadership, a kind of renewed youth outreach” and that their “China-friendly position was really a problem in this election.” The U.S. has traditionally seen Taiwan as unstable, yet Ing-wen has been the most stable of them all. The U.S. currently holds a treaty with Taiwan in which they promise sufficient support if Taiwan were in need of defense. If China were to induce pressures against Taiwan, “the U.S. may have to respond to any changes,” Templeman said. As for U.S. relations with China, Templeman theorizes that “Taiwan is emerging as some kind of test case for the U.S.’s Indo-Pacific strategy.” The lecture spoke to the diversity of PSU students, specifically those from Asia. Suwako Watanabe, director of the Institute of Asian Studies, said, “Somebody has to start a forum where people can start understanding one another. We take pride in having a venue for that.”

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 21, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

INTERNATIONAL

CONTEXTUALIZING U.S.–IRAN RELATIONS

MARSHALL SCHEIDER The assassination of Iranian General Qasem Soleimani precipitated a swell of media reports concerning tensions between the United States and Iran. A more detailed timeline of U.S.–Iran relations showing key events are highlighted which contextualize the antagonisms unfolding today.

HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Mohammad Mosaddegh was appointed Prime Minister of Iran in April 1951. Challenging monarchical power and limiting British corporate control of Iranian oil reserves, Mosaddegh pursued democratization, collectivization of agricultural production, public education and land reforms. In May 1951, he nationalized Iranian oil production, expelling foreign corporate representatives from the country. Sensing Mosaddegh’s commitment to resisting foreign influence, the U.S. and Britain organized a coup d’état in August 1953, successfully overthrowing Iran’s parliamentary government and reasserting the monarchial power of Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi. The Shah, who was sympathetic to British and American economic interests, held power until the late ‘70s. The overthrow of Mosaddegh has continued to impact Iranian and U.S. relations today, creating a mindset of distrust of the western world and with it an opposition to U.S. intervention, according to Iran’s George Washington: Remembering and Preserving the Legacy of 1953. From December 1978–January 1979, a revolution against the U.S.–backed government shook Iran, culminating in the deposition of the Shah. Following the revolution, Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khomeini severed ties with the U.S. Later that year, a group of student rebels invaded the U.S. embassy in Tehran, taking hostages and beginning a high-profile occupation which set the tenor and agenda of U.S.–Iran relations through the mid1980s, according to BBC. In the ‘80s, U.S.–Iran relations were tightly linked to events unfolding on the other side of the world in Nicaragua. In 1980, President Jimmy Carter approved CIA support for right-wing militia groups fighting to overthrow the leftist Nicaraguan government. In the following years, CIA maneuvers in Nicaragua grew increasingly high profile and violent as a United Press International article published in 1984 reported that “the CIA is actively directing the laying of mines that Nicaragua says have hit at least seven ships in its harbors,” provoking backlash from Democrats in Congress in spring 1984. This backlash culminated in the passage of two congressional amendments, the Boland Amendments, which placed strict limits on U.S. intervention. At the same time, the U.S. was brokering a covert arms deal with Iran. U.S. arms were to be sold to Israel and passed onto

Iran in exchange for the release of American hostages held in Lebanon. The transfer of U.S. weapons to Iran was in strict opposition to official U.S. policy. But by the mid-‘80s, the U.S. was engaged in direct, unauthorized arms sales to Iran without congressional knowledge or approval. The multi-million dollar markup on the arms was diverted to illegally fund anti-government operations in Nicaragua, a scandal which later became known as the Iran-Contra Affair. Following the scandal, tensions persisted. On July 3, 1988, the U.S. Navy shot down Iran Air Flight 655, killing all 290 civilian passengers on board, including 66 children, according to CNN. The U.S. government never admitted legal liability or formally apologized to the Iranian government or people for the incident, although a financial settlement was reached in 1996.

MORE EVENTS

Throughout the mid-2000s, Iran was rebuked for pursuing plutonium and uranium enrichment. In 2006, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad insisted that the Iranian nuclear program was intended for civilian energy production, and the following year, a U.S. report found that Iran had stopped developing nuclear weapons in 2003, according to a timeline of Iran’s modern history published by PBS. In 2015, concern over Iran’s nuclear operations culminated in the ratification of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, commonly referred to as the Iran nuclear deal. This agreement was brokered by Iran, the European Union, and the United Nations Security Council, to which the U.S. is party. In May 2018, President Donald Trump announced the U.S. would withdraw from the agreement, drawing criticism from the international community and stoking tensions between the two countries by instating stiff economic sanctions, as reported by BBC. In early summer 2019, six oil tankers were attacked by unidentified operatives in the Gulf of Oman. Iran denied responsibility for the attacks and all official investigations have proven inconclusive. Nevertheless, the U.S. and its allies attributed the attacks to the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps, a division of the Iranian military. In January 2020, the Trump administration coordinated the assassination of Soleimani, provoking domestic and international criticism as well as rebuke from the United Nations and a modest military response from Iran. Since the assassination of Soleimani, tensions between the U.S. and Iran remain high. Following the attack on the U.S. military base, the White House announced it will impose new sanctions against Iran, involving the transportation and purchase of main facets of the economy, including construction, mining, manufacturing and textiles.

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 21, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

1951

MOSADDEGH APPOINTED PRIME MINISTER

1953

U.S. AND BRITAIN OVERTHROW IRANIAN PARLIAMENT

1978-79

REVOLUTION DEPOSES U.S.BACKED SHAH

1980

PRES. CARTER APPROVES CIA INTERVENTION IN NICARAGUA

1984

BOLAND AMENDMENTS PASSED, LIMITING AMERICAN INTERVENTION

1988

U.S. SHOOTS DOWN IRANIAN PASSENGER PLANE, KILLING 290

1996

FINANCIAL SETTLEMENT REACHED OVER FLIGHT 655

2006

AHMADINEJAD INSISTS IRANIAN NUCLEAR PROGRAM ONLY INTENDED FOR ENERGY PRODUCTION

2015

IRAN NUCLEAR DEAL RATIFIED

2018

PRES. TRUMP WITHDRAWS U.S. FROM NUCLEAR DEAL

2019

SIX OIL TANKERS ATTACKED IN GULF OF OMAN

2020

TRUMP ADMIN. ASSASSINATES SOLEIMANI

OPINION

THE NEVERENDING CYCLE OF STUDENT POVERTY CASSIDY BROWN Student poverty is the most significant impediment facing college students today. Many students cannot afford basic human needs such as food and housing. College tuition has gotten so expensive that many students cannot go to their classes without having to worry about how they are going to feed themselves and where they are going to stay the night. Students go to college to improve their quality of life. Students go to college to get a degree and a well-paying job. However, to do this, they need to be able to pay for college. And that is where the problem lies. It costs students on average $10,360 to attend college in Oregon for one year, not accounting for room and board. It could

JOHN ROJAS

be three times more for out of state tuition. Many full-time students also need full-time jobs to be able to afford to live and go to college; hours upon hours of work while they still struggle to pay for basic needs such as food and housing. Many students go without food some days while still attending their classes. People who cannot feed themselves have a lower chance of comprehending what is being taught in school, according to an article in The Atlantic. It’s not just tuition, but textbooks as well. Over the last 10 years, the price of textbooks has increased four times in cost, according to CBS. Some students in poverty try and get through their classes without having to buy books because they can’t afford them. As a consequence, these students have a

harder time passing their classes. This means they may have to retake courses, thus requiring more payment. It is an endless cycle. Paying for housing as a college student is one of the hardest things to do. Some students live on campus, but many can’t afford the cost. The price of room and board on average has increased over 50% over the last 20 years for college students. Some awards may help pay for this, but not everyone is able to get scholarships. Two-thirds of college students take on debt, and an average student’s debt is $30,000. Student poverty will continue to be a neverending loop unless something is done to stop it. As students, we have a voice, and we need to raise awareness of the fact that some students are in a poverty crisis.

HAVE YOU HEARD? AJ EARL

DANA TOWNSEND

After spending several hours reading hundreds of pages of archival material for my thesis I have exactly one question: what? I certainly found a lot of helpful material but as this was the period between 1930 and 1950 it was more than a little horrible from a modern day viewpoint. Yes, yes, presentism and all that, however you’ve got to admit that the police arresting juveniles for being incorrigible is both confirmation of stereotypes of the era and a grim reminder of how long we’ve been dealing with police overreach. That said, this week has been a little less hectic than last week, globally. Iran shot down a plane but that was allegedly an accident as you’ll learn in this week’s issue. China signed on to a weak first step to trade relations with the United States. President Donald Trump’s friend-but-total-stranger-but-friend Lev Parnas turned over hundreds upon hundreds of text messages and other documents related to the impeachment inquiry. It sounds like a lot, but when you’re walking back from the brink of world war, it’s comforting. The world can have a little détente as a treat. Looking forward, Portland is probably going to escape winter with little to no snow, you will probably do well on that upcoming test or paper you have, and the father of Grimes’ expected baby might launch indentured servants into space to work on his Mars colony so you might have a job when you graduate.

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 21, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

SPORTS

WHAT MAKES AN OLYMPIC

GOLD MEDALIST? HOW TO PREDICT WHO WILL WIN A GOLD MEDAL AT THE 2020 SUMMER OLYMPICS IN TOKYO

DANA TOWNSEND

WESLEY BLAINE What does it take to win a gold medal? Athletic ability? Motivation? Luck? All three? Or is it something else? According to multiple sources, it requires a whole lot more, including at least one traumatic childhood event and an obsessive, perfectionist attitude. Lew Hardy, an exercise science professor at Bangor University in Wales, published a study in a journal called Progress in Brain Research in 2016 that found that Olympic gold medalists had a unique psychosocial profile. Today, Hardy’s finding may help sports fans predict who will win a gold medal at the Summer Olympics in Tokyo. Hardy’s research began because British athletes historically underperformed at the Summer Olympics. In 1996, they sent 303 athletes to the Olympics in Atlanta and returned home with one gold medal. This embarrassment forced UK Sport, the governing body of athletics in Great Britain, to invest hundreds of millions of dollars to find and hone Olympic talent. It worked: British athletes won 39 gold medals at the next three Summer Olympic games. But then in September

2009—with the London Summer Olympics only three years away—UK Sport invited the top coaches and exercise scientists to a closed-door meeting to figure out what British athletes needed to do to win more gold medals in London. Hardy was at that meeting in 2009 and knew, based on the research, that gold medalists did not practice more or have more talent than non-medalists. They did not have a better birthdate or a more favorable birthplace either. Hardy launched a study to find out what was different about gold medalists. His study consisted of 32 ex-Olympic athletes, with 16 having won at least one gold medal. The other 16 athletes had never medaled. Hardy questioned these athletes, their parents and coaches to find anything that was different about the groups. The data revealed that the gold medalists had eight psychosocial characteristics that the non-medalists did not have. Many of these characteristics were ugly and unhealthy. One characteristic came up during an interview between one of Hardy’s researchers and an Olympic coach.

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 21, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

The coach was telling the researcher about a friend with an athletic son. “He’s got this son who just won the Great South Run,” the coach said. “He’s just a brilliant athlete. He loves biking. He loves running. He’s going to be brilliant.” The friend wanted to know what he could do to turn his son into a world class athlete. The coach told his friend, “If you want him to win…kick him out on the streets [because]…he’ll just throw himself into the sport. Happy kids don’t make great sports people in my opinion.” Hardy’s data supported the coach’s advice: gold medalists had at least one major traumatic event in their childhood. Nonmedalists had none. These included: the death of a parent, divorced parents, absent parents, growing up in a violent community, a dysfunctional home environment, physical abuse, sexual abuse, substance abuse in the home, moving frequently, a parent with mental illness, a major childhood illness, getting bullied, stuttering, a learning disability and poverty. Another finding from Hardy’s study was that gold medalists were selfish and ruthless. One Olympic coach interviewed for

SPORTS

Hardy’s study put it this way: “This is a big generalization, but most very successful people are incredibly selfish. You have to be selfish because you’re so far off the chart in terms of normal human behavior.” Hardy’s team followed up on this point by asking one gold medalist, “Do you think it’s possible to get to the highest echelons of sport without being ruthless?” “No, I don’t think you can. You have to be self-absorbed and know no one else is really important. Definitely, I was the most important person in my world.” Hardy also found that the gold medalists were obsessive or perfectionistic towards their sporting goals. One gold medalist explained, “I am very, very obsessive; yes. Someone said to me last night, ‘You should come and play [recreationally with us] and you’ll love it.’ I said, yes, I might [love it] which is why I’m not doing it, because I don’t do things a bit, you know.” The gold medalists also faced a crossroads moment in their careers that increased their dedication to their sport. They thrived under pressure. They were laser-focused on their sport. They had a burning desire to win. And they wanted to win and master their craft. Non-medalists did not have these traits. The acronym O.L.Y.M.P.I.C.S is a way to remember Hardy’s profile. Here’s what each letter stands for:

O = OBSESSIVE OR PERFECTIONISTIC L = LASER-FOCUSED ON THEIR SPORT Y = YUCKY CHILDHOOD M = MASTERY AND WINNING P = PRESSURE (THRIVED UNDER) I = INSTINCT OF A KILLER (RUTHLESS) C = CROSSROADS MOMENT S = SUCCEED (BURNING DESIRE TO)

Some felt that recruiters should find athletes that fit this profile and get them into the hands of the best coaches in Britain so they could be turned into gold-medalists. This opinion was not shared by everyone, including two experts who believe Hardy’s findings are interesting at best and fruitless at worst. “I’m not saying there was any intentional falsifying of the data,” said sports psychiatrist and Olympic committee cochair, Claudia Reardon. “It’s just a difficult study to make any definitive conclusions [from].” Reardon’s concerns about Hardy’s study are its small sample size, monoculture focus, and recall bias since the participants answered Hardy’s questions years after they had competed. Cindy Miller Aron, a licensed social worker in Portland with 20 years of experience working with elite athletes, expressed similar concerns. “It’s a very limited number of people that were interviewed. It’s also very culture bound,” Miller Aron said. “There aren’t simple answers to any of these things. There is no, ‘if this, then that’.” Shane Murphy disagrees. Murphy, who spent eight years as a sports psychologist at the Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs and wrote the bestselling book, The Achievement Zone, ran a study in the ‘80s similar to Lew Hardy’s. He found that “a certain percentage of these excellent athletes had these really negative experiences…and they took that and turned that into major fuel for motivation.” According to Murphy, elite athletes were “pretty much ruthless in their selfishness. It’s not that they are horrible to family members and friends. But they just can’t spare the time to do a lot of normal stuff because they have to be totally focused on developing this skill and working so hard to get absolutely the maximum out of their talent level.” But could Hardy’s profile predict who would win a gold medal in Tokyo? Noah Lyles, a top candidate in the 100, 200 and 4x100 meter races for Team USA, can help answer this question.

Noah Lyles was born on July 18, 1997 to Keisha Caine and Kevin Lyles. Keisha and Kevin met at Seton Hall University where they were students and world class sprinters. Kevin won a gold medal in the 4x100 meter relay at the 1995 World Championships. Keisha competed at the 1996 Olympic trials but never made the team. When he was a kid, Noah had to be hooked up to a nebulizer every six weeks because of his asthma. “I remember going to the doctor or to the hospital in the middle of the night, because I couldn’t breathe.” Noah missed so much school he had to repeat the first grade. Noah was also diagnosed with dyslexia and ADD, and while this was going on Keisha and Kevin got divorced. Noah’s learning disabilities may be why he declined a scholarship to the University of Florida after high school. (Hardy would call this a crossroads moment). Noah signed with Adidas after high school and moved to the National Training Center in Florida where he trained with coach Lance Brauman. Brauman worked tirelessly with Noah on form and speed. Their hard work paid off. Noah’s personal best in the 100-meters is 9.86 seconds, which is faster than Usain Bolt’s time when Bolt was the same age. Noah also ran an amazing 19.7 seconds in the 200-meter dash four times. But will it be enough to win a gold medal in Tokyo? Some may argue ‘no’ because Noah displays only five out of the eight characteristics from Hardy’s study. He is laser focused. He endured a yucky childhood. He was focused on mastery and winning underneath Coach Brauman. He thrives under pressure. And he had a crossroads moment in his career. But, at the same time, Noah does not appear to be obsessive, ruthless or have a burning desire to win. Realists, such as Miller Aron, would argue that winning a gold medal is more complicated than an athlete’s psychosocial profile. She would remind us that there is no “if this, then that.”

DANA TOWNSEND

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 21, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

Jordan Cagle

JAN 21–27 ART

MUSIC

FILM & THEATRE

COMMUNITY

STEVEN DAYVID MCKELLAR THE OLD CHURCH 8 P.M. $12 The South African artist and musician plays the intimate Old Church venue on tour with his new solo EP The Belleville Demos.

REPRESSED CINEMA - LOADED GUNS THE HOLLYWOOD THEATRE 7:30 P.M. $9, $7 W/ STUDENT ID Repressed Cinema is a monthly exhibition series at the Hollywood Theater showing vintage and contemporary films that are obscure, neglected and from the fringe.

THE VELODROME: INDIE IMPROV COMEDY FEAT. PAPA? KICKSTAND COMEDY 7:30 P.M. $5 A weekly improv showcase for Portland’s indie improv teams.

SKELTON PDX CONTEMPORARY ART 11 A.M.–6 P.M. FREE A collection of work by the artist Adam Sorensen.

FRANTARTICA, VOOVOL, MARE THE LIQUOR STORE 8 P.M. $7 A high energy punk show for a fair price from a band that has been around the Portland music scene for a long time.

BECKETT WOMEN REED COLLEGE 7:30 P.M. $20–30 A collection of four different Samuel Beckett shorts combined into one performance. Brought to you by the Portland Experimental Theatre Ensemble.

THINK & DRINK: DEMOCRACY & THE COURTS ALBERTA ROSE THEATRE 7 P.M. $15–30 Adrienne Nelson and Shanon Wright will discuss key issues and questions surrounding the nature of democracy in America.

INSOFAR AS I KNEW FOURTEEN30 CONTEMPORARY 10 A.M.–5 P.M. FREE A collection of new works from artists Jae Yrun Choi and Maysha Mohamedi.

FERN HILL MUDDY RUDDER 8 P.M. FREE • 21+ An old school bluegrass group jamming in a pub.

SWEAT IMAGO THEATRE 7:30 P.M. $20–40 2017 Pulitzer prize-winning play by Linn Nottage about a group of factory workers in Pennsylvania forced to compete with one another when the economy begins to decline.

BROWN BAG LUNCH & LEARN: HOW TO GET WHAT YOU MEAN, NOT WHAT YOU SAY MULTNOMAH COUNTY CENTRAL LIBRARY NOON–1 P.M. FREE An opportunity to help improve your professional and personal skills.

COLOR LINE: BLACK EXCELLENCE ON THE WORLD STAGE PORTLAND ART MUSEUM 10 A.M.–5 P.M. $20, $17 W/ STUDENT ID A series of reproductions of W.E.B. Du Bois looking into the lives and works of African Americans at the turn of the 20th century.

SOUL STEW - DJ AQUAMAN GOODFOOT 9 P.M. $5 • 21+ A night of classic soul jams.

THE ANYTHING GOES VARIETY SHOW OPEN MIC THE MAGIC 8 CLUB 8 P.M. FREE Calling all performers to an open mic. If you want to showcase your music, comedy, dancing, or anything else, this a great place to do it.

PORTLAND GHOST HUNT: PARANORMAL PORTLAND PORTLAND SATURDAY MARKET 8 P.M.–MIDNIGHT $11 Learn and answer questions about the darker points in Portland’s history on this self-guided tour of some of its spookiest locations.

SHEESH & ECHO FROELICK GALLERY 10:30 A.M.–5:30 P.M. FREE A collection of different works from the Brooklyn-based artist Nat Meade and Joe Fedderson.

TWIRL: A NOPO QUEER DISCO THE WORLD FAMOUS KENTON CLUB 9 P.M. $10 • 21+ DJ Le’Mix and Yolo Biafra bring you your monthly dose of disco at the World Famous Kenton Club.

THE GRAND THEATER OF WES ANDERSON CRUSH 8 P.M. $15 • 21+ An evening of burlesque inspired by the works of Wes Anderson.

SATURDAY NIGHT KARAOKE LOCAL 66 BAR AND GRILL 9 P.M. FREE A fun night of karaoke could be just what the doctor ordered.

SUN JAN 26

PORTLAND FINE PRINT FAIR PORTLAND ART MUSEUM 11 A.M.–5 P.M. FREE This fair’s seventh year will feature a collection of prints from 18 different dealers spread across North America and Europe, with older works as well as more contemporary ones.

MICHAEL KIWNAUKA ROSELAND THEATER 8 P.M. $23 British indie-folk artist whose album has spent time on the number one spot in the UK comes to the Roseland.

BLIND CHAPEL THEATRE 2 P.M. $20–25 Set in the ‘60s, this play focuses on the issue of racism and the fears it can inspire.

THE VIDEO GAME QUIZ SHOW GROUND KONTROL 7 P.M. FREE A fun opportunity to show off some of your video game trivia knowledge and enjoy a beer.

MON JAN 27

GOLDEN NIGHT MARKET LITTMAN GALLERY NOON–5 P.M. FREE A collection of works from LUNA, Karen Cheok, Kitty Kai-Xin Gin, Daniel Sandoval, Llorana Luna and Christian Orellana-Bauer.

EYE CANDY KELLY’S OLYMPIAN 9 P.M. FREE • 21+ The mobile music video museum will be setting up shop in Kelly’s.

THE MAKING OF “THE GENERAL” MCMENAMINS KENNEDY SCHOOL THEATER 7 P.M. FREE Filmed on location in Cottage Grove, Oregon, this evening will be a deep dive into the creation of the film.

THE MOVIE QUIZ HOLLYWOOD THEATRE 9:30 P.M. FREE Whether you want to go by yourself or with a team, you will compete against other teams in two rounds of movie trivia. The top three teams will receive prizes.

TUE JAN 21

DONNA GOTTCHALK: BRAVE, BEAUTIFUL OUTLAWS BLUE SKY GALLERY, 122 NW 8TH AVE. NOON–5 P.M. FREE The first exhibition of a collection of Donna Gottschalk’s prints. Gottschalk is known for her photographs of family, friends, lovers and activists in the queer community.

WED JAN 22 THU JAN 23 FRI JAN 24 SAT JAN 25