Portland State Vanguard Volume 75 Issue 12 by Portland State Vanguard

VOLUME 75 • ISSUE 12 • OCTOBER 6, 2020

BASIC NEEDS INSECURITY

‘WIDESPREAD’ AT PSU P. 8–9

NEWS Voting in Oregon P. 4

ARTS & CULTURE “I love to center artwork in helping students build skills” P. 13

OPINION COVID-19 in the White House P. 15

CONTENTS

COVER BY SAM PERSON

NEWS BLACK STUDIES DEPARTMENT HOSTS VIRTUAL MEET & GREET FOR PSU STUDENTS AND STAFF GET YOUR VOTE IN! 2020 REMEMBERING PATRICK KIMMONS

P. 3

INTERNATIONAL THIS WEEK AROUND THE WORLD

P. 10–11

P. 4

ARTS & CULTURE REAL CHANGE IN A VIRTUAL SPACE

P. 12

P. 5

ARE WE ALIVE?

P. 13

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART

P. 14

INTERNATIONAL INTERIM PRESIDENT SWORN IN FOLLOWING COUP IN MALI

P. 6

GREECE FACES BACKLASH FOR REFUGEE CRISIS

P. 7

OPINION WHAT DID THEY EXPECT?

P. 15

COVER NEW STUDY SHOWS BASIC NEEDS INSECURITY IS WIDESPREAD AMONG PSU STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES

P. 8–9

DESIGNER SHOWCASE SAM GARCIA

P. 16

STAFF

EDIT ORI A L EDITOR IN CHIEF Justin Grinnell MANAGING EDITOR Nick Townsend NEWS EDITORS Hanna Anderson Dylan Jefferies INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Karisa Yuasa ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Morgan Troper OPINION EDITOR AJ Earl ONLINE EDITOR Lily Hennings

COPY CHIEF Sophie Concannon CONTRIBUTORS Andrew Christensen Emma Colburn Natalie Conway Ida Ayu Karina Dwijayanti Aineias Engstrom Mary Joaquin Joseph Reiber PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A PHOTO EDITOR Annie Schutz MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Nick Gatlin PRODUC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sam Person

DESIGNERS Farah Alkayed Sam Garcia Shannon Steed DIS T RIBU TION DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Dylan Jefferies T ECHNOL OGY & W EB SIT E TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS Juliana Bigelow Kahela Fickle George Olson John Rojas A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher

STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Corrine Nightingale 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.

BLACK STUDIES DEPARTMENT HOSTS VIRTUAL MEET & GREET FOR PSU STUDENTS AND STAFF

BLACK STUDIES DEPARTMENT CHAIR DR. ETHAN JOHNSON SPEAKS TO PROTESTERS IN FRONT OF THE MULTNOMAH COUNTY JUSTICE CENTER ON JULY 28. JUSTIN GRINNELL/PSU VANGUARD EMMA COLBURN A virtual Meet & Greet for Black students and faculty was held on Sept. 28 as a part of Portland State’s “Viking Days,” a series of events meant to welcome new students to the PSU community. Dr. Ethan Johnson, the only full-time faculty member of the Black Studies department, organized and facilitated the virtual event, which was held over Zoom. According to Johnson, the event was conceived as a way for African and African American students to connect with one another, faculty and campus resources. “You become Black through how you interact with others,” said Dr. Karlyn Adams-Wiggins, a PSU instructor in Black Studies and Psychology, as she introduced herself and her research. She argued creating spaces that center Black and African identity development, particularly in the form of academic and pre-professional support, is essential to the longevity of PSU. As the only program of its kind in the Pacific Northwest, the PSU Black Studies department was officially founded in 1970 to “facilitate the study of past and present experiences of Black America,” according to the PSU website. “Portland is a unique place for Black people,” Dr. Johnson said. “I came hère 15 years ago and I am still trying to figure it out.” “I’m really here just to help create community and if needed serve as a liaison for students,” said Courtney Taylor, a graduate student and coordinator of the Pan-African Commons (PAC), a resource center for students who identify as Black or African American. One resource recommended by the speakers was Access, an advocacy and retention program for students of the African Diaspora run by Vvdaul Rashaad Holloway, who serves as the Coordinator of Black, African and African American Student Services at PSU. According to the speakers, the Black Studies department is conducting searches for two new faculty positions. Students who want to participate in the search by attending virtual interviews and meeting candidates can go to the Black Student Union and PAC websites for more information. “It’s really important that we show up for each other,” said Lisa Jarrett, a recently tenured professor with the College of the Arts.

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NEWS

GET YOUR VOTE IN! 2020 HANNA ANDERSON Regardless of the politics in the upcoming election, two tragedies will surely come to pass: People who vote by mail won’t get an adorable “I Voted” sticker, and many other people will not vote at all. The former is unfortunately unavoidable, and I am sure everyone else is as upset about it as I am. The latter isn’t. Year after year, the voter turnout hovers around the 55–60% mark—55.7% in the 2016 presidential election. That does punch a hole in the idea that our government represents everyone. America may take extreme pride in its democracy, and the people and their votes’ role in that democracy—but at the same time, America has and continues to create barriers to participating in that democracy. An election day destined to always fall on Tuesday is an inconvenience for anyone who has to work. A limited number of ballot boxes creates longer lines and a greater hassle to find them. Voter ID laws cast an undue burden on voters without an ID or license. The coronavirus pandemic has only made voting more important and more precarious. Politicians up to the level of president flout mail in voting and public safety rules. It is fair not to want to vote surrounded by voters who flout those public safety rules as well. Then there are less fair reasons not to vote this November.

MISSING THE DEADLINE

The deadline to register to vote in Oregon is October 13 Registering online? The deadline is October 13. Registering with a printed paper form? That form needs to be postmarked or dropped off to the county elections office by October 13. However you register to vote, remember that you need to do so before October 13. The deadline to vote is November 3 Mail-in voting complicates the deadline, when ballots have to be received by the county elections office by that November 3 date—to be postmarked by November 3 is not enough. For last minute voters, there is still the option of dropping your ballot off in a drop box dotted across the county. How early to send in your ballot can also depend on how far that ballot needs to go.

In Oregon, students have the option of either voting where their family lives or where they’re going to school. This is an important reason to check and update your voter registration, even if you know you’re already registered. You might want to vote in Oregon, where measures could raise the cigarette tax or legalize hallucinogenic mushrooms in certain therapy programs. You might want to have your Oregon ballot sent elsewhere, or request an absentee ballot from another state. Students can choose between voting for laws where they’re at, or voting for the laws they’ll meet when they return home— but they can only choose one or the other. No matter where you vote in America, we’ll all have one of the most contentious presidential elections on our ballot. America will give you the right to vote—but may not make it easy. So if you can, vote. Vote like your life depends on it. Vote with passion.

SAM GARCIA

WHERE TO REGISTER

College students have an interesting decision in the election that won’t be on the ballot. They might have a choice which ballot they receive.

NEWS

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 6, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

REMEMBERING PATRICK KIMMONS

DEMONSTRATORS HOLD A MEMORIAL MARCH AND CELEBRATION OF LIFE ON THE SECOND ANNIVERSARY OF KIMMONS’ DEATH ANDREW CHRISTENSEN

A POSTER NEAR THE SITE WHERE PATRICK KIMMONS WAS SHOT BY POLICE. ANDREW CHRISTENSEN/PSU VANGUARD

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 6, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

Protests calling for the end of police brutality and advocating for racial justice continued in Portland on the evening of Sept. 30 to commemorate the second anniversary of Patrick Kimmons’ death, who was fatally shot by Portland Police officers in 2018. The protest marked 124 days since largescale protests began in Portland, following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Kimmons, a Black man, a father of three children and 27 years old at the time, was shot nine times by PPB on Sept. 30, 2018. The two Portland officers involved in the fatal shooting were later cleared of wrongdoing when a grand jury ruled the officers were justified in their use of deadly force. Hundreds of demonstrators gathered at Pioneer Courthouse Square on Sept. 30 and marched through downtown Portland to SW Harvey Milk St., where organizers had set up a temporary memorial. The memorial, commemorating the twoyear anniversary of Kimmons’ death, was located in the same spot where police shot and killed him. Upon arriving at the memorial, the crowd was greeted by several mutual aid stations, where community members provided free food and drinks, including lasagna, burritos and sandwiches. Some people began to pass around candles and place them beneath the temporary memorial, while others painted the name “Kimmons” along SW Harvey Milk Street. Following a moment of silence and a land acknowledgement, a series of speeches sustained for more than two hours. The final speaker of the night was Letha Winston, Kimmons’ mother. She spoke to the crowd about her son, nicknamed Pat Pat, while surrounded by family members. She described the devastating night when her son died, finding her son dead at the hospital and the trauma that it caused to her fam-

ily. She also touched on more fond memories. “My son was a good man, he took care of his kids,” she said. Winston has held a weekly protest calling for the reopening of her son’s case and has been a frequent speaker at other protests in Portland since the killing of George Floyd. She encouraged the crowd to continue their work for Black lives and racial justice. “We need to keep 10 toes to the pavement,” she said. The night ended with an impromptu performance by various musicians from the Portland area at the corner of SW Fourth Ave., where a stage lined with the words “Patrick Kimmons” was set up. A crowd of about 100 people looked on and danced and cheered as the artists finished the night. Local artist and rapper, Norf Jordan, performed a piece he wrote about his personal experiences throughout Portland’s 120 plus days of protesting. The demonstrations in downtown Portland ended peacefully, without any police interaction. However, the night of memorial and celebration for Kimmons comes as the city reckons with the impacts of the federal deputization of 56 Portland police officers. The officers were deputized by the U.S. Marshal’s Service prior to the right-wing demonstration on Sept. 26 and are valid through the end of 2020. The designation allows Portland police officers to act as federal marshals and conduct arrests for federal crime instead of a city or state offense, thus carrying a steeper sentence. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has requested for the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon to revoke the deputizations now that the threat of violence from the right-wing demonstrations have passed. The U.S. Marshal’s Office and the U.S. Attorney for Oregon have since put out a statement saying that the deputization will not be canceled.

NEWS

INTERIM PRESIDENT SWORN IN FOLLOWING COUP IN MALI 6

INTERNATIONAL

IDA AYU KARINA DWIJAYANTI Following a coordinated coup by Malian soldiers that led to the resignation of former President Ibrahim Boubacar Keïta, retired colonel Bah N’Daou will fill the power vacuum until the election in 2022, according to The New York Times. Mali’s new president and his vice president, Col. Assimi Goïta, who led the coup against Keïta, were sworn in on Sept. 25 by 17 electors chosen by the coup leaders. Keïta was originally elected president in 2013 following another coup gaining popularity for his anti-corruption stance. However, following the disappearance of an opposition leader and disputed election results earlier this year, many called for his resignation. Before overthrowing Keïta, the country was experiencing unrest due to organized protests known as the June 5 Movement, consisting of a coalition of opposition politicians, religious leaders and civil society groups. “If it pleased certain elements of our military to decide this should end with their intervention, do I really have a choice?” Keïta said on state television the day of his resignation. According to Al Jazeera, Mali is known for its deteriorating economy, slow reforms and the people’s negative perception of its governance due to corruption. When Keïta and his prime minister, Boubou Cissé, were taken by Malian soldiers, The New York Times reported young people were in support. Despite Malian citizens’ resentment towards their own government and those who demanded Keïta’s resignation, Keïta said he “would like at this precise moment, while thanking the Malian people for their support throughout these long years and the warmth of their affection, to tell you of my decision to relinquish my duties.” Nevertheless, one of the movement’s leaders, Choguel Maïga, told local reporters, “We were not part of the body that determined the president and vice president. We learned about this decision through social media and the press.” There were opposing views on who should govern the country before elections. “Some wanted a purely military transition, others wanted a civil transition, and others proposed a mixture,” Colonel Goïta said. N’Daou is a mixture of both, as he is technically a civilian, yet a former defense minister and a retired military officer. Al Jazeera reported as an interim president, N’Daou will serve for a maximum of 18 months until a fair election can be held to return power to civilians.

FORMER DEFENSE MINISTER AND RETIRED COL. MAJ. BAH N’DAOU. COURTESY OF AP IMAGES

A spokesperson for influential Malian Muslim leader Mahmoud Dicko, Kaou N’DJim, appeared to be rooting for N’Daou, and was quoted by Al Jazeera saying “Ba is an upright official. He has never been implicated in matters of financial corruption.” The unconstitutional power transition is feared amongst the country’s neighbors, as it would undermine international efforts to restrain its current conflicts with armed groups in the region of Sahel. Project director for the Sahel for the Crisis Group, Jean-Herve Jezequel, was skeptical about that transition, according to Al Jazeera. “Everybody wonders if military people are best positioned in issues of governance. An additional issue is that Mali has a lot of issues related to the Sahel, with ECOWAS closing the borders. Many donors are unable to continue funding many of the projects.” Although the coup was meant to overthrow a corrupt government, other countries including the United States viewed it negatively. The New York Times reported it suspended aid to Mali. France, on the other hand, demanded Mali’s former president to be released from detention. Fearing domino effects of a dangerous precedent, the so-called protests from the June 5 Movement and the coup is a threat to the upcoming elections in Ivory Coast and Guinea. As for Nigeria, the staging coup was considered as “a serious sickness for a country” by its president, Mahamadou Issoufou, in a video summit where he spoke in front of the region’s head of state. Leaders of the Economic Community of West African State, a group representing 15 nations, pressured the military group to return the Mali government back to civilian rule two days after the coup. The group imposed sanctions on Mali that banned commercial trade, except for necessities. The sanctions were not lifted after N’Daou’s appointment, even though N’Daou is a civilian. According to Al Jazeera, the appointment of Foreign Minister Moctar Ouane as the new prime minister will open the door for the country’s neighbors to lift sanctions that were imposed after the coup. “Mali has been shaken, trampled on and humiliated by its own children, by us,” N’Daou said in a response to Mali’s eight years of corruption and bloodshed that resulted in both the movement and coup. He also said he hoped for “a stable, calm and successful transition, in the agreed conditions and timeframe.”

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MARY JOAQUIN Greece came under fire for violations of asylum law as aid groups push for an investigation into the country with refugees continuing to face hardships. On Sept. 22, Oxfam International and WeMove Europe filed a legal complaint to the European Commission, asking for infringement procedures against Greece and its misconduct towards refugees. The complaint elaborated on the EU laws Greece had violated: lack of access to asylum applications, violation of procedural guarantees, arbitrary detention of asylum seekers, inadequate reception and detention center conditions, as well as illegal and violent pushbacks. The organizations stated in the complaint Greece’s failures are done “deliberately, on a drastic scale, in a systematic manner and on an ongoing basis.” “The European Commission is the guardian of EU law, and it should uphold and protect the fundamental rights of all people across Europe,” said Marissa Ryan, Head of Oxfam’s EU office. “The Commission should urgently assess whether the Greek authorities respect EU law and otherwise trigger legal proceedings against Greece for exposing people seeking asylum on its territory to suffering and abuse.” “Every year, two million people come to Europe,” said Ursula von der Leyen, president of the European Commission, to the European Parliament. “We should be able—we have to be able to manage that.” An anonymous senior Greek immigration source told Al Jazeera Greece’s new asylum law, that went into effect this year, allowed for more rigorous proceedings, citing Greece’s asylum service has the authority to either reject or suspend an application. They also claim it still followed the EU Asylum Directive. “The previous law was favorable to applicants,” the source said. “The new law was meant to go in the opposite direction.” However, opposition remains prevalent on Greek land for their treatment of asylum seekers as multiple reports have surfaced about authorities abandoning migrants at sea. In August, The New York Times reported Greek authorities have displaced at least 1,072 people in life rafts since March. A month later, AP News and CNN journalists encountered groups of asylum seekers on life rafts in cooperation with the Turkish coast guard. The former had been on a ride-along and picked up 37 people, while the latter went to observe search-and-rescue efforts finding 11 people. According to The Guardian, the pushbacks either involve setting refugees adrift out into Turkish waters or threatening those who had already landed with bodily harm before putting them out to sea once more. Reports by the various news groups have all cited grave comments from the refugees regarding their treatment. One such comment was made by 22-year-old Nabizada telling AP News “the Greek police [had done to them] what people [wouldn’t do] to animals”. “They took our phones and said a bus will come and take you to the camp,” said Omid Hussain Nabizada, a refugee from Iran, to AP News. “But they took us and put us on a ship. They left us on the water in a very bad way on these boats.”

GREECE FACES BACKLASH FOR REFUGEE CRISES

5.000 PEOPLE TAKE TO THE STREETS FOR REFUGEE RIGHTS. COURTESY OF FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS “Safeguarding Greece’s borders and protecting refugees are not mutually exclusive,” said Philippe Leclerc, UNHCR Representative in Greece, about the pushbacks in August. “Both are and should be possible.” Of the refugees setting foot in EU soil this year, only 23% reached Greece, a far smaller percentage than the 60% that had arrived in 2019, as reported by Al Jazeera. Greek migration minister Notis Mitarakis denied the fewer arrivals had been caused by government-sanctioned pushbacks. “We are protecting our borders with determination, observing our international obligations, and European regulations,” Mitarakis said. “Illegal entries are not acceptable, and that is entirely in line with international law.” In the midst of the silent expulsion, refugees also had to flee from Greece’s largest

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camp, as it burned to the ground on Sept. 8, after asylum seekers started fires in protest of poor living conditions made worse by a strict COVID -19 related lockdown. With refugees primarily stuck between Moria and Mytilene, authorities provided a new camp at Kara Tepe that could accommodate 5,000 people, a significant reduction from Moria’s near 13,000-person capacity. However, as people take up residence in the former shooting range, health concerns mount as the camp fails to accommodate basic hygiene. Doctors Without Borders criticized the location, as field coordinator Caroline Willemen notes that the camp is “extremely exposed to [inclement] weather” with dangers of flooding should strong winds blow alongside rain. Both Doctors Without Borders and the

camp’s residents alike have called the place “worse than Moria.” “People living [in the Moria refugee camp] have already endured leaving their lives, homes, and possessions when fleeing to Europe. Now, this fire has likely destroyed anything they had left,” said Adriana Tidona, a migration researcher for Amnesty International. “The Greek authorities, the EU and its member states must act immediately to ensure the safety of everyone affected.” “Europe says, ‘We want to help refugees.’ Greece says, ‘We don’t want you here,’ and I understand that—there aren’t even enough jobs for the locals,” Masomeh Etemadi, a refugee from Iran, said to The New York Times. “But if Europe really wants to help us, why don’t they come here and help us?"

INTERNATIONAL

NEW STUDY SHOWS BASIC NEEDS INSECURITY IS WIDESPREAD AMONG PSU STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES DYLAN JEFFERIES

STUDY SHOWS BIPOC STUDENTS EXPERIENCE A “PARTICULARLY HIGH RATE OF BASIC NEEDS INSECURITY” 8

COVER

The Portland State Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative released its findings on Sept. 23 from a recent study which found that basic needs insecurity is widespread among students and employees at PSU, especially among BIPOC and other marginalized community members. Basic needs insecurities examined in the study include houselessness, housing insecurity and food insecurity. The study defined homelessness as lacking fixed, adequate nighttime housing, which includes staying with friends or family—or couchsurfing—out of necessity; housing insecurity was defined as issues involving housing livability, such as cost, safety, quality and consistency of housing; food insecurity was defined as uncertain and limited access to food because of social and economic conditions. “Homelessness and housing insecurity can take so many different forms,” said HRAC Director Greg Townley at a Sept. 24 press conference. “We tend to have a stereotype for who experiences homelessness, which doesn’t necessarily fit the typical mold of a college student and certainly not that of a college professor. This makes us overlook warning signs in our students and our colleagues, and they also make them discount their own risk for housing insecurity and homelessness.” Compared to other four-year-institutions surveyed in the 2019 Hope Center study, rates

of basic needs insecurity among students are higher than average at PSU. However, HRAC Director Greg Townley said the results from the study were more or less what HRAC researchers expected. The study is the first of its kind to survey university employees, so a comparison does not yet exist. “We knew anecdotally that many members of our campus community struggled with stable housing and enough food to eat,” said PSU President Stephen Percy at the press conference, “but this survey shows that those problems are much more widespread and more challenging than we thought, perhaps exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.” The study was conducted via a survey sent out to the campus community during fall term of 2019. The responses reflect 15% of the student body—3,511 students— and 28.3% of employees—1,017 staff. Additionally, a follow-up survey was conducted in early 2020 to assess basic needs insecurity among students and staff during the COVID-19 pandemic. “If we have any hope of helping Portland and the region more broadly address homelessness, we must address it within our own campus community,” Townley stated in a press release. “The study was designed to provide a foundation for [PSU] to work from in determining how to best address homelessness, housing insecurity and food insecurity among students and employees.”

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KEY FINDINGS BIPOC STUDENTS STUDENTS

44.6% 16.1% 47%

EMPLOYEES

experienced housing insecurity in the 12 months prior to completing the survey

experienced houselessness in the 12 months prior to completing the survey

experienced food insecurity in the 30 days prior to completing the survey

Here is a list of resources included in the study for students and employees experiencing basic needs insecurity. Additional information about most of these resources can be found at pdx.edu/student-affairs.

FINANCIAL SUPPORT According to the study, BIPOC students experienced particularly high rates of basic needs insecurity. Native American students were nearly twice as likely as white students to experience houselessness, and experienced the highest rate of food insecurity at 66.4%.

More than a fifth of Black, Middle Eastern, North African, multiracial and Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander students experienced houselessness in the 12 months prior to completing the survey; more than half experienced housing insecurity.

22.7% 5.6% 16.5% experienced housing insecurity in the 12 months prior to completing the survey

experienced houselessness in the 12 months prior to completing the survey

experienced food insecurity in the 30 days prior to completing the survey

BIPOC EMPLOYEES

ADJUNCT FACULTY

According to the study, BIPOC employees experienced high rates of basic needs insecurity. Black employees were more than twice as likely as white employees to experience housing insecurity, houselessness and or food insecurity.

Adjunct faculty—who comprise 47% of faculty at PSU, according to the PSU Faculty Association—were twice as likely to experience housing insecurity and three times as likely to experience food insecurity as their full-time counterparts.

COVID-19 FOLLOW-UP SURVEY A follow-up survey of 166 students was conducted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic to assess basic needs insecurity during the pandemic. However, due to the substantial difference in sample sizes, the follow-up survey should not be compared with the initial survey.

64.5% 20.5% 55.4% experienced housing insecurity during the pandemic

RESOURCES

experienced houselessness during the pandemic

experienced food insecurity during the pandemic

BIPOC students experienced higher rates of basic needs insecurity during the pandemic than white students.

OTHER MARGINALIZED GROUPS ON CAMPUS According to the initial study: “In addition to BIPOC students and employees, LGBTQ+ students and employees also reported high rates of housing insecurity, homelessness and food insecurity, as did students and employees with disabilities and medical conditions. Transfer students, first genera-

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 6, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

tion students and current or former foster youth also reported high rates of basic needs insecurity.” The findings from the study were released shortly after the PSU Board of Trustees voted to increase tuition by 5% on June 18. The initial survey—which was conducted prior to the increase in tuition—found that 65% of students reported being worried about paying for school. The follow-up survey found that over a third of surveyed students were laid-off or fired from their jobs due to the pandemic, and of those who lost their jobs, 90% experienced housing insecurity, houselessness and/or food insecurity. At the Sept. 24 press conference, HRAC researchers urged PSU administrators to work with student and employee groups to find solutions to widespread basic needs insecurity, especially among communities experiencing discrimination and racism. Because of the ongoing pandemic and wildfires, the researchers argued, the need to find solutions is all the more urgent. “What we really envision is a process where-by campus community groups are engaged in dialogue around what the needs and wishes for types of programs and policies would be,” Townley said. As stated in the report: “We hope the findings of this report will serve as a starting point for campus dialogue, planning, and actions as we work together to support students and employees in meeting their basic needs for food and housing.”

Financial hardship grants and loans are available to all PSU students through the Student Accounts Office, the Financial Wellness Center and Student Affairs, depending on available funding and number of applications.

FOOD INSECURITY The PSU Committee for Improving Student Food Security offers a free food market on the second Monday of every month in partnership with the Oregon Food Bank and distributes meal vouchers to students. SNAP enrollment assistance is provided by trained staff and volunteers at a number of different programs and offices across campus. The student-run PSU Food Pantry offers free food to PSU students. A weekly PSU Farmers Market—open every Saturday between 8:30 a.m.–2:00 p.m.—accepts SNAP cards.

HOUSING AND HOUSELESSNESS Student Legal Services provides assistance to resolve landlord/tenant issues affecting students. A 24-hour shelter for students experiencing houselessness, hosted by a local faith organization, is in the preliminary planning stages. The PSU Student Housing Assistance Program Pilot, in partnership with College Housing NW, provides a 50% rent subsidy to students experiencing or at immediate risk of houselessness. Shower facilities are available in the Student Recreation Center on a key card access basis.

COMPREHENSIVE SUPPORT The Office of the Dean of Student Life provides a set of essential services for students, with a new Basic Needs Hub recently launched to provide coordinated service access and delivery. The CARE Team provides case management and support to students experiencing a crisis. A SNAP Employment and Training program provides case management and pays qualified expenses to support SNAP-eligible students in job training, placement and retention. Resource Centers on campus provide wraparound supports and services tailored to the needs of different groups of PSU students, including advising, resources and service connections to assist with basic needs.

COVER

5 4 1 3

THIS WEEK

around the

WORLD Sept. 27–Oct. 3

INTERNATIONAL

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 6, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

September 27

STEPANAKERT, AZERBAIJAN/ARTSAKH

Fighting broke out in a territorial dispute between Azerbaijan and Armenia over control of the Nagorno-Karabakh region in the South Caucasus mountains. According to BBC, the clashes killed at least 23 and wounded more than 100 people, including civilians. It is unclear what sparked the fighting, but the two sides exchanged heavy artillery fire that struck several towns, including the region’s capital city Stepanakert. Armenia and Azerbaijan both declared martial law and traded verbal threats despite calls for de-escalation from many world leaders, including U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin. Nagorno-Karabakh is internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, but has been controlled by ethnically Armenian separatists since the end of the Nagorno-Karabakh War in 1994.

September 28

MEXICO CITY, MEXICO

In commemoration of International Safe Abortion Day, a march for abortion rights led by women sparked clashes between demonstrators and police in the Mexican capital. Hundreds of women donning green bandanas, a symbol of the pro-choice movement in Latin America, gathered to demand the legalization of abortion throughout the country. Apart from special circumstances, the procedure is currently banned in most Mexican jurisdictions with the exception of Mexico City and the state of Oaxaca. According to AP News, protesters initially used hammers to commit property damage along their march route and later threw flares and bottles of gasoline at police. Law enforcement used tear gas against the activists and prevented the demonstration

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from marching to a conservative anti-abortion protest encampment in the city.

September 29

KUWAIT CITY, KUWAIT

Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah, the monarch who ruled the emirate of Kuwait, died at the age of 91. Sheikh Sabah had been a fixture in the Kuwaiti government since independence in 1961, having served for 40 years as the country’s foreign minister before becoming Emir in 2006. He is credited with establishing Kuwait’s independent foreign policy and forging close ties with the U.S. He was also an influential mediator in the Middle East, most recently in the diplomatic crisis between Saudi Arabia and Qatar, earning a reputation as the “Wise Man of the Region.” Domestically, Sheikh Sabah avoided a crackdown on protests during the 2011 Arab Spring and oversaw reforms that moderately expanded women’s rights. Nonetheless, Kuwait remained an authoritarian country with severe restrictions on civil liberties during his reign. Sheikh Sabah died in Rochester, Minnesota where he had been receiving medical treatment since July 2020. His successor is expected to be his half-brother, 83-year-old Crown Prince Nawaf al-Ahmad al-Sabah.

September 30

PARIS, FRANCE

The highest court of appeals in France ruled that Félicien Kabuga, an alleged financier of the 1994 Rwandan genocide, will be extradited to the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, where he is expected to face trial for charges including genocide and crimes against humanity. Kabuga was arrested

near Paris in May after evading an international warrant for more than 20 years. France’s Court of Cassation determined that there was no “legal or medical obstacle” to transferring him to the tribunal, which was established by the UN Security Council in Arusha, Tanzania shortly after the 1994 genocide. The court dismissed concerns raised by Kabuga’s lawyers that the 87-year-old was too frail to be transferred amid the COVID-19 pandemic and that French authorities had failed to thoroughly examine the international arrest warrant.

October 1

BRUSSELS, BELGIUM

The European Union announced the beginning of a legal case against the United Kingdom for violating the Withdrawal Agreement designed to govern the British exit from the regional organization. The formal complaint submitted by the European Commission is over the Internal Market Bill that passed the U.K. House of Commons, one of two chambers of Parliament, on September 30. The EU said sections of the bill posed an infringement of international law because they break the obligation of good faith and the protocol to avoid a hard border in Ireland outlined in the agreement. “We had invited our British friends to remove the problematic parts of their draft Internal Market Bill by the end of September,” said European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in a statement. “The deadline lapsed yesterday, the problematic provisions have not been removed.” According to Deutsche Welle, the move by the EU is a first step toward formal legal action that could include bringing a case in front of the European Court of Justice.

INTERNATIONAL

REAL CHANGE IN A VIRTUAL SPACE TEDXPORTLANDSTATEUNIVERSITY BRINGS CONVERSATION TO CAMPUS THIS FALL

A CAMERA ON TRIPOD AND TWO CHAIRS ON THE SET FOR TEDXPORTLANDSTATEUNIVERSITY. NATALIE CONWAY/PSU VANGUARD NATALIE CONWAY

The author is a member of the TEDxPortlandStateUniversity team.

As we enter a mostly remote fall term, many of us are apart from the organizations, friends, clubs and classrooms that normally define our experience as Portland State students. A neverbefore-seen school year calls for new ways to build community, and TEDxPortlandStateUniversity wants to bring conversation to a campus experiencing separation and disconnect. On October 22 and 2 9, TEDxPortlandStateUniversity will stream its TEDx event, “Our Time is Now,” to viewers watching from home. On each day’s session, speakers will give short talks, sharing ideas that matter to them with over 500 students, alumni and members of the Portland community. TEDxPortlandStateUniversity is a volunteer-run organization led by PSU students and alumni. The TEDx program allows for passionate volunteers to put on self-organized events within their own communities. The organization has dedicated itself to following TED’s ultimate goal—to spread ideas. I spoke with Cheyenne delaCruz, the Lead Organizer of TEDxPortlandStateUniversity, about her hopes for this year’s event. She believes 2020’s talks will not only spread great ideas, but provide “a platform for local voices to be heard and uplifted.”

ARTS & CULTURE

Last year’s event, “Moving Forward,” hosted at PSU’s Native American Student and Community Center, was TEDxPortlandStateUniversity’s successful debut on campus. Co-Lead Organizer of TEDxPortlandStateUniversity, Sasheen Turner, described her experience helping to launch the 2019 event: “It was a lot,” Turner said. “We had a small team and great responsibility.” With 100 sold-out seats, “Moving Forward” was a success, and set the stage for 2020’s event to come to fruition. Bringing an event that centers around inperson connection to an online platform poses challenges. “When 2020 rolled around, we were prepared to keep moving forward, but the pandemic had other plans,” Turner said. The prospect of putting on a show virtually soon became reality, and TEDxPortlandStateUniversity had to grapple with the challenges of organizing from home. DelaCruz noted “not being able to meet with your team in person” was the biggest challenge in organizing the event, but she loved “seeing just how talented, creative and hardworking” her team has been throughout the process. The decision to make the event free and online allows for a wider range of students to en-

joy the talks, especially keeping in mind the financial difficulties that have arisen due to the pandemic. DelaCruz shared her hope that “our platform will serve as an accessible and inclusive opportunity for students, faculty, staff and alumni alike.” The event will also feature live Q&A sessions hosted on Zoom, so audience members can ask questions and interact with speakers after their talks. The theme for 2020’s show is meaningful and straight to the point: “Our Time is Now.” TEDxPortlandStateUniversity wants to emphasise the timeliness of this event, and the importance of taking action towards positive change, even when the world seems to be falling apart. “I look forward to our viewers’ responses to fresh perspectives, heartfelt stories and our timeliness,” Turner said of this year’s theme. Looking back at a year filled with social justice movements on the rise, “Our Time is Now” seems especially relevant. In response to this year’s theme, each speaker will discuss a topic that needs to be addressed right now. “I believe what makes this year’s theme is our speakers,” Turner said. “They have really taken the four-word prompt and put it on stilts.”

The first session is set to occur on October 2. Each speaker’s category embodies their vision for changing their community for the better, whether that means breaking barriers or building connections. TEDxPortlandStateUniversity’s goal to “uplift voices” extends beyond the talks themselves. This year, the organization will partner with “neighbors’’—local BIPOC-owned businesses and organizations. “Pushing for equity is something that TEDxPortlandStateUniversity will always do,” delaCruz said. “We recognize the continual inequities that occur and are ignored throughout many communities around the world.” Neighbors will have their businesses and stories featured throughout the event, free of charge, in an effort to promote equity in Portland. “Our Time is Now” offers an opportunity for students to engage with ideas that inspire them, connect with influential members of their community and learn something new—all on a virtual platform. At its heart, delaCruz said TEDxPortlandStateUniversity is “an avenue for personal and professional growth, for connection and learning, for societal and systemic reflection, inspiration and change.”

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 6, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

ARE WE ALIVE?

SOUNDBITES FROM LAST WEEK’S LEARN FOR LUNCH

CLOSE-UP OF JEFFREY GIBSON’S ALIVE! COURTESY OF ARTPROFILER EMMA COLBURN On the first Wednesday of the term—after a nasty debate and a long hot summer—what some of us needed was to just slow down and look. That’s what a group of 12 students did last week during a virtual Lunch and Learn, hosted by the University Studies Department for Viking Days. The artwork discussed is titled Alive! and is a beadwork piece by Brooklynbased Choctaw artist Jeffrey Gibson. Alive! is a recent acquisition into the PSU collection and was commissioned for the university’s newest building on 4th and Montgomery. Instead of rushing in with plaque-style trivia about the artwork and artist, Sarah Wolf Newlands, an assistant professor in the University Studies Department, tasked Zoom participants with describing the work before them in simple language as slides exposed it from various angles. Observations started appearing in the chat: “Triangles, squares, chevrons, rectangles,” one participant wrote. The chat read like a collective stream of consciousness, as participants chimed in with one-word phrases, such as “repetition,” tactile,” “horns” and “bells.” Participants were intentionally left in the dark so they could create their own meanings, on their own screens and in their own rooms. This state of wonder—or

uncertainty—is crucial to the learning process for Newlands. “I love to center artwork in helping students build skills,” she said while introducing herself and her approach to teaching. “In doing this we discover how much we can learn by simply looking.” Newlands prompted students to spend time looking at the artwork and add words that describe it into the chat. Yet even when details around the artwork’s origins started to pop up in the Zoom conversation, Newlands and her co-presenters resisted spilling the “beads,” waiting to offer any contextualizing details until the very end of the hour. “[Often] when people go to museums they want to come to a conclusion about what something means,” Newlands said, “but the longer we hold something in observation, what we notice deepens.” By holding space for complexity, she prompted each person to come up with their own narrative. This simple task takes on a layer of complexity, given that an aspect of what they were doing was incorporating an element of Indigenous cultural production into an academic context. The event, hosted by a panel of three white-passing people, has mostly drawn white or white-passing participants. Being asked to interpret meaning in this context feels like a slippery slope. How do a

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 6, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

group of mostly white people go about making meaning of an Indigenous artist’s work? How do the BIPOC people in the group experience this process? Professor Newlands’ intention is that participants will observe the formal qualities of this work as if they are keys that can contextualize Alive!—a work in which formal elements contain many threads. Fluidity is a useful concept in constructing artistic meaning. Gibson is a queer, Indigenous man of Choctaw descent who grew up in Colorado, Germany and Korea and now lives in Brooklyn. Similarly, Gibson’s work resists singular, objective meaning and embraces hybridity. As for the collective meaning arrived at via group observation, all this hybridity seems to reveal itself in the formal qualities of the work itself: “It’s like Pac-Man,” someone said in the chat. “[The] beadwork looks like grid work, very geometric,” another participant stated. Beadwork, a common material in traditional Choctaw dance regalia, is woven with a pattern immediately recognizable to the virtual age. “Beadwork for powwow regalia is almost like the original pixel art,” said Native American Student and Community Center Manager Robert Franklin. The beads themselves are like the ordinal

systems of the computers through which these images appear—symbols that allow codes of meaning to emerge. These brightly colored beads are woven into two columns of words, making different phrases depending on the direction you choose to read. Follow the phrase left to right, and a series of statements emerge: “I am alive, you are alive, they are alive, we are living!” If you read these statements column-bycolumn, the repetition begins to feel like a song or chant. Fittingly, the bell-shaped beads which adorn the piece’s edges hark back to jingle dresses—an iconic piece of powwow regalia. It’s slightly surreal seeing Alive! just hang there, projected as a photo on a computer screen, soon to be in a frame on a white wall in an $104 million building. Given the deeply troubling imprint Oregon has left on families and tribes indigenous to the land where this artwork has been commissioned to sit, is it possible to find any true meaning in this work beyond the deeply sinister one implicit in the chant it offers us? Each person will have to decide for themselves. Commissioned by PSU in 2016, Alive! will come to live under glass in the SW 4th and Montgomery building next month.

ARTS & CULTURE

THE MOST IMPORTANT PART

PORTLAND’S MUSICIANS UNION PRIORITIZES ARTISTS

JOSEPH REIBER The live music industry is changing forever, and Portland may have a front row seat. The COVID-19 pandemic has had an unforeseen and unprecedented impact on show business—and chief among those struggling are musicians who rely on live, local performances for their income. Back during that fateful month of March, musicians all over the world had countless shows and entire tours canceled virtually overnight. Lisa Mann, a blues and metal musician and songwriter who has been producing her own records in Portland since 2006, has faced those hardships firsthand. “I lost, like, 90 gigs this year and it was rough,” Mann said. “I think a lot of us are finding new ways forward now, but the first few months were brutal.” In the months since the city initially shut down, we’ve seen people from every corner of the music industry adapt on the fly while attempting to predict and prepare for long-term changes. From teaching music lessons to live-streaming to selling music online, artists are discovering new ways to keep their brands relevant and keep the money coming in. Despite its unpredictability and inconsistency for musicians right now, Mann seems to think live music is turning a corner with streaming. “It’s kind of like busking, really,” Mann said. “[In the future] I can see how having a small live audience and having a large stream audience could be really workable.” Among the groups fighting to keep local musicians afloat is the American Federation of Musicians’ Portland branch, Local 99. The union has been instrumental in helping symphony and theater musicians—as well as independent contractors—get unemployment benefits. “We got unemployment and that was very helpful for reducing our stress levels,” Mann said. “I was able to get very

ARTS & CULTURE

PORTLAND-BASED MUSICIAN LISA MANN. COURTESY OF MIRI STIBEVKA/MIRIFOTO specific information about how to properly fill out the forms, because they just aren’t set up for musicians. Even the [Pandemic Unemployment Assistance], which is supposedly for independent contractors, is just not set up for people who have a different boss every weekend. “ “I got timely information because I’m a member of the musician’s union—and I called Bruce Fife himself for advice.” Fife, the president of AFM99 since 2001, has closely witnessed the recent changes in the local scene. “Our industry just stopped overnight, [and] it’s traumatic,” Fife said. “We still work every day on trying to make sure that our members are getting their unemployment. We have an emergency relief fund for them that can help, but we’re trying to figure out how to safely return to work.” Being protected financially can prove especially difficult for musicians on the club circuit, who, for the last few decades, have largely been classified by the union as independent contractors and not employees. “I’m an old guy, but I came through that era,” Fife said. “I made a middle-class living as a working-class club musician.” “At that time, in 1980, you wouldn’t walk out the door for a gig for less than $100, and bands now [are making far less] than that.” Unions representing musicians exist all over the country and continue to combat the deficits Fife has seen over the years. “One of the things we started is a campaign called Fair Trade Music, [which was] designed to organize club musicians,” he said. According to Fife, the Fair Trade Music campaign would establish certain minimum wage requirements that venues would have to abide by if they wanted the union’s endorsement. Campaigns like this haven’t been without their hurdles, however. “It has not been successful [in Portland],” Fife said.

“It’s not dead by any stretch, we continue to work on it.” Elsewhere, the union makes a point to hold other organizations accountable during such an unpredictable time. “There’s an organization called the Independent Venue Coalition, [which is] trying to raise support for venues so they won’t go out of business during this particular crisis,” Fife said. “They approached us for an endorsement and we did that under the guise of, ‘yeah, but when we reopen, we have to talk about the wage structure for the musicians because it’s not working for them.’” In an industry where the venues call most of the shots and usually have their own bottom lines to worry about, the pandemic has put artists in a more flexible and powerful position. Through fundraiser-type events and artist “shout outs,” venues have been looking to artists for support. Despite artists not utilizing venues recently, they’ve showed up to support these local spots. Fife and the union are making sure that when the economy gets back on track, the venues are returning the favor and properly compensating their artists. As for new innovations and the future of live music, everyone in the industry should be wondering what’s coming next. “Obviously, [streaming has been the biggest] innovation [since the pandemic started], but I’m not convinced it’s sustainable because people want live shows,” Fife said. “We’ve seen some venues do outside stuff, but I don’t know how they’re going to do it. Time will tell whether that’s going to work, [and] I think it’s anybody’s guess as to what the industry is going to look like.” For now, Fife and Mann will both be keeping their eyes open and ears to the ground. “All these things depend on the great unknown—which are peoples’ actions,” Fife said. “There’s just so many questions, and the longer the pandemic continues, the more challenges we face.”

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 6, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

What Did They Expect?

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 6, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

U.S. PRESIDENT DONALD TRUMP AT A “KEEP AMERICA GREAT” RALLY IN FLORIDA IN NOVEMBER, 2019. COURTESY OF AP IMAGES

Trump and his supporters face the music on COVID AJ EARL Most of the country woke up on Friday, Oct. 2 to the news of the President of the United States testing positive for COVID-19. The uncomfortable truth of the matter, however, is that this sudden revelation should not be a surprise or shock. Donald Trump knew, he didn’t care. He knew very well. As the president, Trump has access to untold intelligence and other resources that regular people don’t have. His vast—perhaps—wealth is enough to buy him the kind of queue-jumping access to medication that most of the general public does not have. He has even been given an experimental drug to speed his recovery. Still, his attempts at obscuring the truth of the pandemic hint at a general disregard for anyone who is not himself. Conservative journalists, noting this, attempted to spin Trump’s new diagnosis as a sign of strength or virility, in one case likening his risky exposure to the public to a general in the trenches. What general would not only risk his own troops, but also the people he’s supposed to be protecting? The fact that even a well-protected, heavily guarded politician can get it should be a wake-up call, but this lesson seems to be lost on many of his supporters who have maintained fire on former Vice President Joe Biden. Worse still are the continuing efforts by the Republican Party to overturn protective measures implemented in states around the country. The question is what did they expect out of this risky behavior? Had the U.S. led on the matter the death toll here would be lower, certainly, but also throughout the world in places where American visitors spread the virus or where the country’s leader is trying to emulate the 45th president here in the U.S. The death toll from the U.S.’ own poor handling is immense, both here and abroad. Negligence like this does not stop at any border. So, what did they expect? In some ways, Trump’s response to COVID-19 mirrors his response to his presidency in general, throwing himself eagerly into situations where people he surrounds himself with are suddenly unknown to him when they’re found to be a political liability, like his position on masks. Masks manage to be both good and bad, depending on that day’s press, but as a personal rule he seems to be against wearing masks when with allies, even when it’s clear that one of them has legitimately caught COVID-19. This kind of meandering logic that guides Trump is no doubt a defense mechanism by the president to avoid being on the wrong side of an issue while still seeing himself as a towering, unassailable figure. This kind of God-Emperor Trump worship by some in far-right circles is clearly just a reflection of his own ego and belief in his invincibility. Yet, it’s this kind of thing that gets hundreds of thousands of people killed. Will the same kind of follow-the-leader flocking to his side apply to sensible measures that have been proven to reduce the spread and severity of the virus throughout the world? Perhaps Trump’s mocking of Biden for wearing a mask was just a harsh barb and he’ll take the lead on wearing masks, taking basic precautions that will cause more people to do the same. The number of people close to him that are now sick is a shock—the fact his Supreme Court nominee, Amy Coney Barrett, previously had COVID-19 is a shock. There just isn’t anywhere in the executive branch that has escaped what is now looking like a major super-spreading event. The best thing Trump’s team can do right now is to not just model good behavior, he’s got to come out and declare what the best practices are, how to curtail this pandemic. He has the tools, he has the knowledge at hand, he simply needs to act. If his treatments prove to be effective he needs to ensure everyone has access to these. Until he can stand in front of the American people and tell them what’s actually happening and how to stop it, he’s simply trying to buy himself time while the rest of the country faces this virus without the strong leadership it needs.

OPINION

VANGUARD

DESIGNER SHOWCASE

SAM GARCIA

PORTLAND HERITAGE TREES

My name is Sam and I am a senior in the Graphic Design program. I developed a series of cards that act as a guide for heritage trees throughout the Portland area. My work usually focuses around developing sustainable practices as well as connecting people to nature in new fun ways. This series is meant to act as a guide but also a call to action for people to get more connected with the natural world around them.

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 6, 2020 • psuvanguard.com