PORTLAND STATE VANGUARD
VOLUME 74 • ISSUE 13 • NOVEMBER 26, 2019
Portland Street Responders
CITY COUNCIL APPROVES HIRING FIRST RESPONDERS FOR HOUSELESS INDIVIDUALS OPINION BOEING 737 MAX 8 SHOULD NEVER TRANSPORT HUMAN LIVES AGAIN INTERNATIONAL NEW GENDER POLICY IMPLEMENTED IN MALAWI ATTEMPTS TO CREATE GENDER EQUALITY
CRIME BLOTTER
Nov. 18–24
TERI WALTERS NOV. 18 Aggravated Assault A Portland State employee reported that a PSU student was threatened with a firearm by a non-student, which occurred between Nov. 16 at 10:30 p.m. and Nov. 17 at 2 a.m. Vehicle Break-In Campus Public Safety officers responded to two reports of vehicle break-ins at both Parking Structure 3 and at the corner of SW Jackson and SW 5th. These occurred between 1 a.m.–7:50 a.m. Stalking A PSU student reported being stalked by a non-student relative that occured on Nov. 16 at approximately 7:30 p.m. NOV. 19 Trespass Warning Two reports of trespass warnings were issued to two non-students. One was sleeping in a
car that was not his in Parking Structure 3, and the other was evicted from University Pointe Apartments. NOV. 20 Vandalism CPSO responded to three reports of vandalism between the hours of 7:50 a.m–5:45 p.m., two of which occurred at Parking Structure 3 and one which occurred at Blumel Residence Hall parking. NOV. 21 Fire Alarm At 5 a.m., CPSO and Portland Fire Bureau responded to a fire alarm with smoke and flames in the trash room.
NOV. 22 Vehicle Break-Ins Two reports of vehicle break-ins between the hours of 4–10 p.m. at Parking Structure 3 and University Place Hotel Parking. NOV. 24 Fire Alarm At 7:15 a.m. and 7:17 a.m., the Portland Fire Bureau and CPSO responded to two fire alarms both with no smoke or flames. One was at the University Service Building, the other at Blumel Residence Hall.
Theft A PSU student reported their bicycle tires having been stolen between the hours of 4 p.m. and 11 p.m. at the Engineering Building exterior.
CONTENTS COVER BY JOHN ROJAS NEWS HILL TO HALL
P. 3
DREAM PSU TO SUBMIT FORMAL PROPOSAL FOR DREAM CENTER IN WINTER 2020
P. 4–5
INTERNATIONAL AFRICAN COUNTRIES INCREASE NUMBER OF FEMALE RANGERS
P. 10
JOHNSON & JOHNSON LAUNCHES EBOLA VACCINE
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OPINION BOEING CARRIER DOOMED TO FAIL AGAIN
P. 11
INTERNATIONAL THIS WEEK AROUND THE WORLD
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IN TRUMP’S CORRUPTION AND RACISM, WHITE SUPREMACY FINDS A HOME
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ACTIVISTS CALL FOR U.S., OREGON TO SEVER TIES WITH ISRAEL AFTER CONTINUED ATTACKS ON GAZA
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ARTS & CULTURE 20TH ANNIVERSARY OF ‘OREGON JEWISH VOICES’
P. 13
GARBAGE DAY: IT’S ‘DIE HARD’ ON A BOAT, ALSO THE KRAKEN IS THERE
P. 14
COMICS
P. 15
EVENTS CALENDAR
P. 16
CENTER DECRIMINALIZING HOUSELESSNESS
STAFF
EDIT ORI A L EDITOR IN CHIEF Nada Sewidan MANAGING EDITOR Marta Yousif NEWS EDITORS Sophie Concannon Dylan Jefferies INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Madison Cecil ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Nick Townsend OPINION EDITOR Anthony Montes SPORTS EDITOR Rich Rigney
ONLINE EDITOR Sangi Lama COPY CHIEF Hannah Welbourn CONTRIBUTORS Hanna Anderson Christina Casanova Melody Field Andrew Gaines Saqif Maqsud Teri Walters PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A PHOTO EDITOR Alex Wittwer MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Owen Demetre
P. 8–9
PRODUC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR John Rojas
A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood
LEAD DESIGNER Dana Townsend
STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Corrine Nightingale
DESIGNERS Brandon Pahnish Sam Person 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 Tien Pham John Rojas
STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher To contact Portland State Vanguard, email info@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
NOV. 20–22 HANNA ANDERSON
NOV. 20: OREGON COUNTY JURY SIDES WITH COUNTIES IN TIMBER REVENUE LAWSUIT
The state of Oregon lost a lawsuit by 14 Oregon counties, which claimed the state cost them decades worth of logging revenue and won $1.1 billion in damages. The four-week trial, which took place in Linn County, argued over the meaning of “greatest permanent value” of designated state forest land, using an 80-year-old law that promised to share revenue with counties, according to AP News. While the state is expected to appeal, the judgement accrues $90 million in interest a year, which according to The Oregonian, encourages the state to resolve the case quickly.
NOV. 21: PORTLAND PREPARES NEW PROGRAM FOR 911 CALLS INVOLVING PEOPLE EXPERIENCING HOUSELESSNESS
Portland City Council approved a new program to respond to low-priority 911 calls involving people experiencing houselessness, which is planned to start in 2020. The project, called the Portland Street Response, will create a new team of first responders, pairing a medic from the fire bureau and a crisis worker aiming to provide a more compassionate response to people in crisis, as well as keep 911 responders free for higher priority calls, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. The project, led by Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty, is planned to start in the Lents neighborhood, where calls have swelled in the past five years.
NOV. 22: OREGON SUPREME COURT BANS RANDOM TRAFFIC STOP QUESTIONS
A new ruling by Oregon’s Supreme Court prohibits police officers from asking questions during traffic stops that are unrelated to the reason the driver was pulled over. It restricts officers to asking questions that are “reasonably related” to the original reason the driver was pulled over, according to OPB. While officers still have leeway to ask questions if they have reason to believe a separate crime has occurred, officers can no longer inquire about crimes without there being an explicit reason to be suspicious of that crime.
NOV. 22: PROTESTERS AGAINST PLANNED PIPELINE STAGE SIT-IN IN GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
Demonstrators opposed to the Jordan Cove Project, which proposes a new pipeline that would be built through Oregon, staged a sit-in at Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s office in the state capitol. The project is sponsored by Canadian company Pembina and would build a 229-mile pipeline to an export facility in Coos Bay, according to Willamette Week. The demonstrators were protesting for Brown, who was not in the capital and had no official stance on the project, to oppose it. According to AP News, 21 protesters were arrested for trespassing but were released Friday morning.
HIRING NEWS EDITOR
To Apply Contact managingeditor@psuvanguard.com PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 26, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
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NEWS
DREAM PSU TO SUBMIT FORMAL PROPOSAL FOR DREAM CENTER IN WINTER 2020 4
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 26, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
JOHN ROJAS
NEWS
DYLAN JEFFERIES Members of Dream PSU are hoping to submit a formal proposal for a Dream Center to the Portland State Board of Trustees in the winter of 2020. Dream PSU is a student-led organization that advocates for undocumented students on campus. A Dream Center would be a new cultural resource center that would cater to the needs of undocumented Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals recipients, as well as students from mixed status familes. Currently, Dream PSU has a webpage offering resources and information for undocumented students; but there has been a push for a physical location where undocumented students can find all the resources they might need—as well as a sense of community—in one place. “The Board of Trustees is in favor of bringing a Dream Center [to PSU],” said Academic Advisor for Dream PSU Oscar Fernandez in an email. “Key administrators and Dream PSU have been in meetings this summer and fall of 2019,” Fernandez said. “Fall term [2019], Dream PSU organized a student forum to hear what PSU students envision this student center to be. Dream PSU will organize another student forum this winter.” “We hope to submit a formal proposal this winter term 2020 to key administrators after we hear from more students,” Fernandez said.
THE FUTURE OF DACA
The Trump administration attempted to end DACA in 2017, but federal judges ruled that major elements of the program must remain in place as the program is legally evaluated. The Supreme Court heard arguments in November 2019 concerning the future of DACA, and many judges appeared ready to end the program. An official ruling will be made some time in 2020. Currently, there are over 700,000 DACA recipients in the United States. Following the Supreme Court’s apparent willingess to allow the Trump administration to rescind the program, Interim President Stephen Percy released a statement to the PSU community reaffirming PSU’s commitment to dreamers and undocumented students. “We want to do everything we can to help our students at this difficult time regardless of national origin or immigration status,” Percy wrote. “A Dreamer Center is in development and more resources are available on our Dreamers page.” “I want our DACA students to know that you belong at Portland State; your opportunity and success matter to us, and we support you—as students and as vital members of our community.” PSU is currently considered a sanctuary campus, which means Campus Public Safety Officers don’t enforce federal immigration laws, and that PSU faculty, staff and students are not required to consent to immigration enforcement activities on campus or provide confidential student information.
PSU DREAM CENTER
The idea of a Dream Center started in early 2019, after Portland Community College’s Rock Creek Campus implemented their own Dream Center. According to Fatima Preciado Mendoza, student leader and director of Dream PSU, the idea took shape after members of Dream PSU presented a letter to the Board of Trustees in May 2019 requesting more resources on campus, including a potential Dream Center. “There was a little bit of pushback in the Board’s response to the need of such a resource,” Mendoza said. At the time, the Board was debating whether or not to raise PSU’s tuition, and Mendoza said that members of Dream PSU felt as though that issue was taking precedence over the needs of undocumented students. “You can’t have a conversation about a tuition increase without addressing the needs [of undocumented students], because this student demographic is going to be mostly affected by this tuition increase, and it’s gonna put a hold on people’s education,” Mendoza said. “It’s going to determine whether or not [undocumented students] are able to fund and continue to go to college.”
After that meeting, members of Dream PSU started to “buckle down,” according to Mendoza, and they began envisioning and discussing the logistics of a Dream Center, as well as how to get it successfully implemented at PSU. Following those discussions, in June of 2019, Oscar Fernandez and Julie Caron, vice president of Global Diversity and Inclusion, went before the Board on behalf of Dream PSU to outline the new vision for a Dream Center. They discussed resources a Dream Center might provide and why it was important to have a physical space instead of only a webpage. They also read a list of demands put together by members of Dream PSU. Caron said at that meeting a Dream Center would allow undocumented students to find all the resources and support they may need without getting “bumped around to different places.”
“I want our DACA students to know that you belong at Portland State; your opportunity and success matter to us, and we support you—as students and as vital members of our community.” –Interim President Stephen Percy
“We would have a central location where students and prospective students can get their information and be able to create community together,” Caron said. She said a website isn’t sufficient because it doesn’t provide the personal connection of a physical space. Following that meeting, Interim President Stephen Percy sent out an email to the campus community saying that PSU was committed to its dreamer students and that more information about a Dream Center would be available in the fall of 2019. This fall, members of Dream PSU have continued to organize and advocate for a potential Dream Center. Members of Dream PSU held a collaboration forum in October, where community members were invited to attend and voice their ideas for a Dream Center. More than 30 students attended. At that meeting, a presentation was given outlining what other already established Dream Centers in universities across the country look like. Then, attendees discussed what resources and information would be the most helpful at a potential Dream Center for undocumented students. Topics that came up included: financial assistance, access to scholarships, counseling and mental health services. Another aspect brought up at that meeting was the idea of a training program for faculty members that would help them
understand how best to help undocumented students, as well as how the needs of undocumented students differ from the needs of regular students. Ultimately, the idea of having a physical location that would act as a epicenter for undocumented students—both as a place to find information and resources as well as a sense of community and belonging—was the main topic of discussion. “It’s also really empowering to be able to gain community and find support with other people who may be going through the same thing, and I think it’s really important that we have a designated physical location,” Mendoza said. According to Mendoza, some faculty members suggested that the multicultural center already acts as a space for undocumented students as well as students from other backgrounds. “We’re really pushing for a physical space, a space of our own,” Mendoza said. “The experience of undocumented students and an undocumented student trying to navigate higher education is a lot more complicated [than for regular students]. And it requires special programming for it.” “But it’s worked [elsewhere], and it’s effective. It helps with [student] retention, and it also opens room for future access to PSU for high school students who may be in the community and know that PSU has this center. I think that would really promote PSU’s values of inclusivity and diversity.” In terms of funding for the center, Mendoza said that Dream PSU has a few options to consider, such as asking the Board of Trustees directly or making a proposal to the Student Fee Committee, as well as fundraising efforts. Members of Dream PSU are currently drafting a mission statement for the center, collecting more ideas and holding meetings and events before they hope to give their formal proposal to the Board in the winter of 2020. No specific location has been mapped out for the center as of yet, but Mendoza is hoping it will be located near the other cultural resource centers in the Smith Memorial Student Union. She also mentioned that a space within the new Fariborz Maseeh Hall or near the School of Social Work is a possibility. A previous PCC staff member who helped orchestrate the PCC Dream Center, Johana Monroy, is now working with Dream PSU on their center. Monroy is currently a senior in the School of Social Work at PSU and an intern for the Office of Global Diversity and Inclusion. “Addressing the needs of Dreamers means that we need to look at them in a holistic lens,” Monroy said in an email. “Thanks to the legislators, educators and non-profit organizations who have directed Oregon to be a welcoming place for immigrants, we have seen the support. Yet, on a federal level the rhetoric of oppression, xenophobia, scapegoating and the idea of the termination of DACA has been difficult. Nevertheless we are pushing for what students deserve in PSU: access to higher education.” “We owe the sacrifices of Dreamers who...had to choose from their basic needs and dropped out [of college],” Monroy said. “There are many obstacles against Dreamers. My hope is to alleviate obstacles and have key staff and programs that support student success.” Mendoza said establishing a Dream Center at PSU is more important now than ever, especially as the Supreme Court seems willing to rescind DACA. “PSU—an institution [that] prides itself on being diverse and inclusive and being an access school—[a Dream Center] is such an important program,” Mendoza said. “Especially at the university level, knowing that PCC already has something like this, we’re kind of lagging behind.” “It’s really good that we’re doing this now, but we need to continue to support students because everything is so uncertain [for Dreamers], and it can create barriers for students as they try to stay in school,” she said. For those interested in helping Dream PSU, both Mendoza and Monroy recommended attending Dream PSU’s events, helping out with fundraising and staying up to date on issues related to undocumented students and DACA recipients.
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 26, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
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INTERNATIONAL
THIS WEEK
around the
WORLD
Nov. 18–24
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Nov. 18
SAMOA
The Samoan government announced it would be implementing a new mandatory measles, mumps and rubella (MMR) vaccination program amid the measles outbreak that has killed at least 16 people. Measles is typically characterized by a rash and fever but can also lead to brain damage, blindness and death. According to The New York Times, over 1,000 cases of measles have been reported throughout Samoa, and health officials are “anticipating the worst to come.” Officials closed down all schools across the country and declared a state of emergency on Nov. 15.
Nov. 18
MIREPOIX-SUR-TARN, FRANCE
A 510-foot long suspension bridge collapsed into the Tarn River, killing a 15-year-old girl and a truck driver. The 15-year-old was in a car with her mother when the bridge collapsed; onlookers were able to rescue the mother from the water. Authorities deployed approximately 60 emergency service members, including divers and helicopters, to the scene of the incident,
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according to The Guardian. Several of the emergency officials were injured during the recovery process and are currently receiving treatment at a local hospital. Authorities believe at least one person remains missing and have not yet determined what caused the suspension bridge to collapse.
Nov. 19
STOCKHOLM, SWEDEN
Swedish authorities announced they would not be pursuing rape and sexual assault charges against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange due to how much time has passed since the allegation originally surfaced in 2010. Officials believe the complainant’s memory of the assault has become distorted in the nine years since the event. “Her statements have been coherent, extensive and detailed, however, my overall assessment is that the evidential situation has been weakened to such an extent that there is no longer any reason to continue the investigation,” Swedish Deputy Director of Public Prosecutions Eva-Marie Persson said in a statement, according to Al Jazeera. Assange faces 18 unrelated charges in the United States
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 26, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
and is currently awaiting his extradition hearing in a British jail.
Nov. 20
THAILAND-LAOS BORDER
A 6.1 earthquake affected more than 100 miles of Thailand and Laos on Nov. 20. The night before, the same area felt several earthquakes ranging in magnitude from 4.6 to 5.7. The 6.1 magnitude earthquake was felt in Bangkok, Thailand, which is approximately 175 miles away from the epicenter of the quake. In Laos, the Honga Thermal Power Plant temporarily suspended operations soon after the earthquake, but no immediate damage has been reported.
Nov. 23
WESTERN KENYA
Mudslides and flooding followed heavy rainfall throughout western Kenya, resulting in the deaths of at least 34 people. Officials believe 29 died from the mudslides. Five of the 34 died when two rivers overflowed and washed their car away. The Kenyan government sent military and police to the affected areas. “While
rescue and recovery efforts remain the priority, a full assessment into the extent of damage caused continues to be a challenge due to harsh weather conditions,” Kenyan Interior Cabinet Secretary Fred Matiang’i said in a statement, according to AP News.
Nov. 24
GOMA, CONGO
A small passenger plane crashed into a residential neighborhood and killed at least 26 people, including some who were not passengers on the plane. TIME reported the plane was carrying 17 people at the time of the crash, according to the plane’s manifest. Two people were rescued from the crash site, including one crew member, and are receiving treatment at a nearby hospital for severe injuries. Authorities have reported the crash was caused by a malfunction with the plane’s engine which had recently been replaced. “I was at a restaurant with my family when I saw the plane spinning three times in the air and emitting a lot of smoke,” eyewitness Djemo Medar told Al Jazeera. “After that, we saw the plane crash into this house.”
INTERNATIONAL
ACTIVISTS CALL FOR U.S., OREGON TO SEVER TIES WITH ISRAEL AFTER CONTINUED ATTACKS ON GAZA OLIVIA KATBI SMITH HANDS A MEGAPHONE TO MOHAMMED NABIL DURING THE EMERGENCY PROTEST FOR GAZA AT PIONEER SQUARE. ALEX WITTWER/PSU VANGUARD SOPHIE CONCANNON Activists gathered in Pioneer Courthouse Square on Nov. 23 to protest the United State’s involvement with Israel after Israel’s continuing attacks on Gaza. Members of the Democratic Socialists of America and the Portland State chapter of Jewish Voices for Peace, among others, spoke on cutting ties with Israeli companies, boycotting businesses and promoting legislature that ends the American military-industrial complex funding of Israel. The rally also called out the crimes perpetuated by Israel against Gaza—a self-governing Palestinian territory—in the last few weeks, including bombings and the deaths of over 32 Palestinians in air raids, according to Al Jazeera. Mohammed Nabil, a Gazan refugee, said that Israel controls every single aspect of life—including food, water, electricity and transportation— for the 2 million people living in Gaza and has been doing so for 15 years. “The year 2020 is coming...,” Nabil said. “In 2012, the UN issued a report saying in 2020, Gaza will be not livable. In 2012, Gaza was not livable because of the atrocities of the Israeli occupation. Right now, Gaza is a disaster zone.” Nabil also said when events happen in Gaza, it’s considered a crisis, but the crisis actually starts when attention stops being focused on Gaza. “You hear about the killing, you hear about the injuries, you hear about the home demolition, but you’re not dealing with the aftermath,” Nabil said. “You’re not dealing with the...consequences that they are facing in their day to day life.” “Every single aspect of life of the Gazan people have been violated over and over and over, and we need to stop it.”
The speakers also addressed and denounced local, state and national involvement in Israel. “If you pay taxes in America, you are complicit in this,” DSA member Olivia Katbi Smith said. “We give nearly $4 [billion] a year to the Israeli military...it is not aid, it is direct funding.” Smith criticized Portland’s ties to Israel, saying Police Chief Danielle Outlaw has participated in ADL police trainings, and the city has a contract with G4S, a private defense company with ties to Israel. “It is our duty to stand up against this,” Smith said. Elana Rae Goldman, co-founder of JVPPSU, encouraged boycotting companies in Portland and holding PSU accountable for their ties with Israel. “There are free trips to Israel that you can take if you’re a student at PSU which goes completely against the 2016 BDS resolution that was passed that people worked tirelessly to support and fight for,” Goldman said, referencing a resolution passed in the Associated Students of Portland State University senate supporting the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement. Activists also called out Oregon’s ties with Israel. “The state of Oregon has a state investment fund that funds most of our public employee’s pensions,” said Paige Kreisman, a candidate for the Oregon State Legislature running against incumbent Rob Nosse. “The state investment fund is deeply, deeply invested in the military-industrial complex. To the tune of millions of dollars, our tax money is going to buy bombs that are dropped on children. There [are] not any state legislators talking about this. It’s silent.”
DSA member Albert Lee, who is running for U.S. Congress to unseat Earl Blumenauer, said Israel is cumulatively the largest recipient of U.S. aid in the form of military assistance, making the U.S. complicit in the violation of Palestinian human rights. Lee also stressed supporting House Resolution 2407, which would end funding to Israel “assisting in the separation and detention of Palestinian children.” “The money that we give to Israel is tied to them spending on military training, on military equipment...so that a few may profit while others suffer,” Lee said. “We’ve got to end this.” Lee also said representatives in the U.S. on both sides are supported by political action committees like JStreetPAC, a pro-Israel PAC established to promote American leadership in resolving the Israel-Palestine conflict. “Both sides take money from these lobbyists and then they turn their backs away from the atrocities that Palestinian people have been suffering,” Lee said. On Nov. 18, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced the reversal of U.S. policy on Israeli settlements in the West Bank, going against international law to declare them legal. “We cannot rely on the U.S. administration anymore,” Nabil said. “We cannot rely on what’s called the international community. If we want to do some change, we have to take matters into our own hands.” Nabil said if a person can do something, they are inclined to do it, because their tax money is going toward Israel. “Any [effort] matters because the Palestinians’ lives matter and because what’s going on is going to be a disaster and it will not stop unless we stop it,” Nabil said.
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 26, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
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COVER
DECRIMINALIZING CITY COUNCIL APPROVES HIRING FIRST RESPONDERS FOR HOUSELESS INDIVIDUALS
DYLAN JEFFERIES The Portland City Council approved a new initiative to hire a team of first responders trained to work with houseless individuals in an effort to change the way law enforcement treats houselessness in Portland. The Portland Street Response, a program that members of Portland State’s Homelessness Research and Action Collaborative and Portland City Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty’s office worked together to create, will introduce a new team of first responders skilled in interacting with houseless individuals and those experiencing mental health crisis. A pilot program is set to begin in 2020 after Portland City Council voted unanimously to approve it on Nov. 21. The program is intended to limit interaction between police and houseless individuals and ultimately to change the way houselessness is treated by law enforcement in Portland. “This program is desperately needed and has been for decades,” said Portland City Commissioner Chloe Eudaly before voting yes on the initiative. “The federal government is chronically underfunding affordable housing, mental health care and addiction services, and the state of Oregon in particular is failing individuals experiencing mental health and addiction issues.”
THE PORTLAND STREET RESPONSE
The program will hire a new group of first responders for nonviolent 911 calls involving houselessness and mental health. The new responders will be trained as social workers and will focus on getting houseless individuals help and resources instead of tickets and arrests.
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Multiple individuals and organizations began to take action against the criminalization of houselessness by advocating for something like the Portland Street Response after The Oregonian reported that more than half of all arrests made in Portland are of houseless individuals. “The Portland Street Response is a ‘heart’ response to the harm that’s happening on our streets,” Hardesty said. “It’s a response that says we can do better.” The Portland Street Response will dispatch a team of two responders to nonviolent 911 calls related to houselessness and mental health in order to provide help and resources and to limit the amount of houseless individuals arrested daily. The pilot program will be based in a 5-square-mile area of the Southeast neighborhood of Lents, where calls involving houselessness have risen by roughly 20% over the past few years. The pilot is intended to help perfect the program and to identify what elements of it are the most successful and which ones need work. Depending on how the pilot plays out, City Council will then decide whether or not to expand the program city-wide in 2020. In the pilot, the new responders will be on the clock Monday through Friday from 10 a.m.–6 p.m., but those hours could soon be expanded, as well as the amount of new responders if the initial pilot proves successful.
PSU’S ROLE
The program was crafted by commissioner Hardesty’s office, as well as members of PSU’s Homeless Research and Action
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 26, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
Collaborative, a research group focused on houselessness in Portland. Greg Townley, professor of community psychology at PSU and director of the HRAC, applauded City Council for using informed research and data—partly collected by the HRAC—as a part of crafting the Portland Street Response. “Thank you for your commitment to making sure this platform is informed by research and evaluation,” Townley said. “This is fundamentally important to the success of Portland Street Response. We need to understand how it’s operating and what changes and adaptations are necessary to make sure it’s working for unhoused individuals.” Lisa Hawash, associate professor of practice for the PSU School of Social Work, also praised the program. “Responding to mental health or addiction crisis requires a specific skill set that law enforcement should not need to be trained to do,” Hawash said of the Portland Street Response. “Social workers spend years learning these skills and are better suited to respond than law enforcement.” City Council members were vocal about their appreciation for the support the HRAC and PSU have provided in establishing the Portland Street Response. “I’m so grateful we will have PSU with us every step of the way,” Hardesty said. “I am thrilled that we’re going to be measuring every step of the way. This is a community effort, and I hope we have many more opportunities to not talk about individual bureaus but talk about our vision as a city and our vision about what’s possible for the people of Portland.”
COVER
HOUSELESSNESS JOHN ROJAS
The Portland Street Response was approved shortly after Interim President Stephen Percy released a new Campus Public Safety Plan meant to increase safety on the PSU campus while also addressing concerns about police interactions with houseless individuals and people of color. Percy’s plan has been criticized by the HRAC for not adequately addressing race in its proposal. However, Percy emphasized that the plan will be hiring a new team of “student safety ambassadors,” who are intended to report on the interaction Campus Public Safety Officers have with the student body, specifically with underrepresented groups. Percy’s office did not immediately respond to comment about whether or not the holistic safety plan was at all inspired by the Portland Street Response.
WIDESPREAD SUPPORT
Mayor Ted Wheeler, Police Chief Danielle Outlaw, Fire Chief Sara Boone and every City Council member applauded the program at the City Council meeting, which was nearly at capacity with individuals and organizations who came to show their support for the program. “[The Portland Street Response] allows us to decrease the likelihood of the unintended consequence that we’re talking about today in criminalizing those who have not committed a crime,” Outlaw said. “As mayor, I’m a strong advocate for this program, and I have been for some time,” Wheeler said. “It’s a compassionate—and I believe a better way—to respond to incidents involving the city’s
homelessness and those experiencing mental health crises in our community.” While the program hasn’t drawn much criticism, some have taken issue with the fact that it might be saying current first responders aren’t doing a good enough job. However, most of those present at the meeting were quick to point out the program is intended to fundamentally change the way that houselessness is handled by law enforcement and that the way things are set up now isn’t working. “This is not the be all and end all,” Commissioner Amanda Fritz said. “This is a pilot project. It hopefully will be successful, although there will be challenges.” “We have not changed our first responder system since the late 1800s,” Hardesty explained. “And a big change we made then was going from a volunteer force to a paid force. [The Portland Street Response] is revolutionary, and it could not happen without each and every one of the people that participated in this effort.”
OTHER ORGANIZATIONS INVOLVED
The Portland non-profit newspaper Street Roots played a big role in getting the Portland Street Response started. The idea itself was generated by an editorial published in Street Roots in March of 2019, where Executive Editor Kaia Sand called for a change to the way houselessness is handled by Portland Police, especially following reporting from The Oregonian. “We do know that too many people die on our streets, and the more we can provide people hope and we can reduce the amount of trauma they experience, the more we can contribute to a healthier
place for unhoused people,” Sand said at the City Council meeting. Much of the Portland Street Response was inspired by a similar program in Eugene called CAHOOTS, which sends out two teams of two, typically a social worker and a paramedic, at all hours of the day to help get houseless individuals help and resources. They are unaffiliated with other public safety agencies, except for dispatches from 911 and the non-emergency line. CAHOOTS has been in operation for over 30 years and responds to roughly 20% of 911 and non-emergency calls. Only 10% of calls CAHOOTS responds to require additional law enforcement assistance, according to The Oregonian. “Our community really embraces CAHOOTS, because we’re able to take care of situations that aren’t appropriate for police or EMS,” said Kate Gillespie, a clinical coordinator for CAHOOTS. “A CAHOOTS type program could truly benefit Portland and be really successful because there’s so many established programs and partner agencies to even further serve the community.” In a video shown at the City Council meeting, the issue of criminalizing houselessness was examined. “People are just getting arrested again and again and again out in public spaces,” Sand said. “Sometimes they are doing things where, if they were in a house, it wouldn’t be a problem,” Sand said. “So they end up getting entangled [and] are beaten down for it. It’s almost like as a society, we’re pushing people further and further into poverty and homelessness.” “Being homeless is not a crime,” Eudaly said. “Having a mental illness is not a crime. Having an addiction is not a crime. I’m happy that we are going to be decriminalizing those non-crimes and giving people a better chance to recover and succeed.”
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 26, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
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INTERNATIONAL
AFRICAN COUNTRIES INCREASE NUMBER OF FEMALE RANGERS
THE AKASHINGA, OR “THE BRAVE ONES,” MARCH ALONG A PATH IN PHUNDUNDU WILDLIFE AREA, A 115-MILE STRETCH OF LAND IN ZIMBABWE. COURTESY OF IAPF
MADISON CECIL African countries affected by animal poachers, including Malawi and Zimbabwe, are attempting to increase the number of female rangers to protect endangered species. In Malawi, approximately 11% of all the country’s rangers are female. In Kasungu National Park, only eight of the park’s 82 rangers are female. “Unfortunately, there isn’t any female who holds a managerial position here at the park; it’s all men,” Kasungu National Park ranger Catherine Sibale told Al Jazeera. “So, it’s usually tough for them to relate to our grievances.” A new gender policy implemented in Malawi attempts to create gender equality throughout different areas of employment. “In compliance to the gender policy, at some point we want [ranger] recruitment to be 50:50,” Malawi’s Director of the National Parks and Wildlife Brighton Kumchedwa said, according to Al Jazeera. Rangers go through extensive training before they are given the job. Ranger training involves learning animal behavior, running long distances each morning as well as learning how to handle and use firearms in the case of gunfire exchange between rangers and poachers. “We are working in the bush, we don’t discriminate, we don’t see these women as women because most of these women outperform men,” Assistant Officer at Kasungu National Park Joseph Chauluka told Al Jazeera. “The park is pleased to have them. With their efforts we have managed to apprehend many poachers. They are also key in [raising awareness among] the community on wildlife conservation.”
In Zimbabwe, former Australian armed forces sniper Damien Mander organized an all-female ranger unit to patrol the Phundundu National Park. This is the first national park in the world to be protected by an all-female ranger unit. The unit, called “Akashinga,” or “Brave Ones,” is comprised of 17 women from small villages throughout Zimbabwe that would be unemployed if it was not for Akashinga. “When I manage to stop poachers, I feel accomplished,” Kelly Lyee Chigumbura, a single mother and Akashinga ranger, told BBC. “I want to spend my whole life here on this job, arresting poachers and protecting animals.” According to France 24, the all-female unit arrested at least 70 poachers in their first year of operation—more than the national average for all-male ranger units. “This job is not meant just for men, but for everyone who is fit and strong,” Vimbai Kumire, a single mother of two young children and ranger for the Akashinga unit, told The Guardian. Critics of the rising number of female rangers in Zimbabwe, Malawi and other African countries affected by poaching have questioned whether or not it is safe to be arming women with firearms and combat training, according to BBC. Others have claimed the Akashinga unit is simply a play by the Zimbabwean government for media attention. “At the very least, with this model we have twice as many people to choose from for employing as rangers,” Mander told BBC in response to the critics who questioned the capabilities of the women. “At the very best, I think women will change conservation forever.”
JOHNSON & JOHNSON LAUNCHES EBOLA VACCINE CHRISTINA CASANOVA Johnson & Johnson launched a new vaccine for Ebola with unknown long-term effects in Congo and plan on injecting approximately 500,000 people in the next 10 months. The vaccine requires two shots to be injected eight weeks apart, according to Deutsche Welle. The primary objective of Johnson & Johnson is to test the new vaccine in a real world setting. The vaccine passed Phase I and Phase II of the clinical trial phase, regardless of its application in real-world settings. “In the midst of this devastating outbreak we welcome the announcement by the Government of [Congo] to introduce a second experimental Ebola vaccine as part of a clinical trial protocol,” CEO of the Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations Richard Hatchett said in a press release, according to the University of Minnesota’s Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy. “In terms of future global health security, having more than one licensed Ebola vaccine is crucial. It will help improve future supply and enable different vaccines to be used in different outbreak settings and populations as needed.”
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A HEALTH WORKER INJECTS A CHILD WITH AN EBOLA VACCINE IN BENI, CONGO. JEROME DELAY/AP IMAGES Launched in 2018, the Merck vaccine was the first Ebola vaccine to be issued in Congo. The Merck vaccine is used for “ring vaccination” of Ebola, which aims to control the virus by identifying and offering the vaccine to people who are likely to be infected. Some have questioned if Johnson & Johnson’s new vaccine will replace Merck’s, but those involved in the project have assured the public the two vaccines will work alongside each other. The plan with the addition of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine is to extend protection by providing it to “targeted at-risk populations,” according to the World Health Organization. “The introduction of a second vaccine is not meant to replace [Merck’s] vaccine but to complement it and hopefully provide us with an additional tool in the fight against future Ebola outbreaks,” John Johnson, who is leading the implementation of the new Ebola vaccine for Doctors Without Borders told TRTWorld. For over a year, Congo has struggled to contain the second largest Ebola outbreak in history. Deutsche Welle reported
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 26, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
over 3,200 people have been infected with the virus, and 2,000 people have died. Several areas throughout Congo have search checkpoints which test people and corpses before they are able to enter some towns. A group attempting to transport the corpse of a 35-year-old man to Kabasha for his burial refused to participate in Ebola screening at the Mavivi checkpoint on Nov. 17. Officials alerted workers at other checkpoints around Beni who stopped the convoy and took samples from the man’s body. The tests were positive for Ebola. After negotiations between responders and the family, the man was buried in Kabasha, with officials who attempted to ensure the disease did not spread from the corpse. Since the beginning of November, the active Ebola cases are concentrated in Mabalako, Beni and Mandima, according to CIDRAP. The remaining active cases are on the decline, but WHO stressed it will be challenging to stop the spread of the disease in certain areas, especially rural or hard to reach regions.
OPINION
BOEING CARRIER DOOMED TO FAIL AGAIN SAQIF MAQSUD AND ANTHONY MONTES An aircraft with a mind of its own, the Boeing 737 Max 8 is essentially a rogue aircraft that should never transport human lives again. Boeing’s 737 Max 8 is now a popular aircraft for all the wrong reasons and is an example of what happens when a reputed aircraft manufacturer such as Boeing starts to focus on profits and less on product quality and standards. Despite the horrible incidents that put the plane on the spotlight, Boeing is still trying to fix the aircraft. This should not be the case, as recent variations of the 737 have all had significant issues, and it is about time the Federal Aviation Administration and Boeing permanently ground and retire the jet forever. The aircraft dominated headlines on Oct. 29, 2018, with the tragic crash of the Lion Air Flight 610 in Indonesia, where the doomed aircraft, along with 189 people, plunged into the Java Sea about 12 minutes after takeoff, killing everyone on board. Another 737 Max 8 belonging to Ethiopia’s national carrier killed 157 people on March 10, 2019. Similar to Lion Air Flight 610, Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 also plunged straight to the ground just six minutes after takeoff. In the aftermath of the Lion Air crash, the public discovered a faulty sensor activated Boeing’s flight-control software, Maneuvering Control Augmentation System, forcing the tail of the aircraft to go up and the nose downward. As the pilots battled to keep the 737 steady, the MCAS kept pushing the aircraft down, a battle they would eventually lose. What’s more horrifying is that Boeing failed to disclose the existence of the MCAS system. An American Airlines pilot who attended Boeing’s emergency meeting after the Lion Air crash told the Los Angeles Times that “there was nothing on the MCAS [during the hour training the [airline] received about the jet] because even American didn’t know about that.” This is a horrifying fact; Boeing thought it would be acceptable not to inform the airliner or the pilots about this new software, placing them and hundreds of passengers in danger. To make matters worse, Boeing knew the MCAS system was having issues as early as 2016 when a Boeing tech-pilot wrote that the system was “running rampant,” recently leaked transcripts show. All of this in mind, they still refused to ground the jet after the Lion Air crash, leading to the easily avoidable deaths during the crash of the Ethiopian airliner, whose pilots were trained on the MCAS system but could not override it. This event led to President Donald Trump—of all people—to demand the grounding of the jet, until now.
Boeing now claims that upgrades to the plane have been made, and it also plans to start selling their new 737 Max 10 in December, but what assurances can Boeing provide to the public? And why should the public trust their new upgrades will keep them safe and in the air? Boeing has lost all of the good will it garnered, and rightly so, as we have seen Boeing claim it fixed its software, only to find out the same system hurled innocent people to their deaths. Even Jim Marko, a senior engineer in Canada’s air-safety regulatory body, expressed skepticism of Boeing’s plan to resume flights of the carrier, claiming that the “MCAS has to go,” and also wrote a letter to the federal aviation regulators of Brazil, the European Union and the U.S., imploring them to remove the system. Considering Boeing’s history of making poor decisions, it is becoming more apparent that all it wants is to sell aircrafts: to maximize profits at the cost of ethics, morality and the people’s lives. Even the existence of the MCAS system was created to compensate for the clunky design of the jet, which is essentially an old model with a bigger engine. Again, if Boeing had grounded all 737s after the Lion Air incident and removed the MCAS system, instead of simply issuing an updated manual, another 157 people would not have died. The entire fleet should have been stopped and retired, not redesigned and remarketed like they are attempting to do now. In addition, the FAA should have intervened long before anyone died, and their willingness to allow Boeing to take another crack at it, reveals their gullibility and laxity. The FAA is also Boeing’s partner in crime. In 2015, as Boeing rushed to certify the 737 Max 8 to try and catch up with the auspicious French aircraft manufacturer Airbus, the FAA allowed Boeing to inspect and certify its own planes. The FAA failed us, and they should be in no rush to end the grounding of the planes; rather, it should work to retire all of them, regardless of the economic consequences. However, Boeing’s cozy relationship with Washington D.C. may be an issue as it has spent nearly $12 million on lobbying and campaign contributions to congress. Softy corruption is strong in the U.S., and the practice of government officials receiving board seats on the board of directors of titans of industry is pervasive. Nikki Haley, Trump’s former United Nations ambassador currently sits on Boeing’s board, and
former Deputy Secretary of Defense Patrick Shanahan was a longtime Boeing executive. In light of the conflict of interest, international bodies, with no ties to Boeing should be involved in certifying the new 737s. As long as the MCAS system stays and
the FAA continues its half-assed certifications of the aircraft, it remains purely a game of money and nothing else for Boeing. Regardless, grounding them has made them safer for everyone—and it ought to stay that way.
BRANDON PAHNISH
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 26, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
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OPINION
IN TRUMP’S CORRUPTION AND RACISM, WHITE SUPREMACY FINDS A HOME MELODY FIELD The United States’ inaction on gun regulation and white supremacy creates conditions for domestic terrorism to persist in this country. The rise of President Donald Trump has caused a re-emergence of white supremacist violence in the past three years, including mass shootings and attacks on minority communities, and a 15% uptick in assaults against minorities in 2018. Trump has not only neglected to enact tougher gun regulations—even after several promises—he has ceaselessly been racist toward Mexicans. At one point, he said Mexicans were not “people, they’re animals.” Furthermore, the lack of regulation allows a gun culture with close ties to white supremacy and nationalism to go unchecked as they commit ideologically driven mass shootings. More recently, it seems the extremists committing these crimes have been recognized as domestic terrorists, but this is only through media coverage—not at the legal level. These men have continued to get away with acts of domestic terrorism and legally suffered smaller charges for the crimes they’ve committed. After the El Paso, Texas shooting in which a cis, white male killed 22 people and injured 24 others in August of 2019, FBI Director Christopher Wray responded to criticisms claiming that agents “don’t investigate ideology, no matter how repugnant.” However, the attacker explicitly said they were targeting Latinx people, and it also doesn’t square with the FBI’s own definition of domestic terrorism, which states, “Violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial or environmental nature.” It’s also questionable to trust the FBI to identify domestic terrorism when they recently were caught surveilling and targeting Black activists they labeled “Black Identity Extremists.” They later claimed this particular program ended, only to find out they changed the name to “IRON FIST” and were still spying on Black activists using undercover agents. The Trump administration seems to be purposely minimizing the threat of white supremacy. Those committing acts of domestic terrorism should be investigated on their ideologies, considering it may be a reason they felt strongly enough to commit these crimes. In order to properly indict these mass shooters, the FBI must investigate the root cause of them. Although media coverage called the El Paso shooting an act of domestic terrorism—which by the definition of the FBI, it was—the attacker was charged with capital murder, implying an isolated crime whereas an act of domestic terrorism suggests a larger scope. Even though the U.S. has recognized there is a white supremacy problem in the country, there still aren’t laws with enough clarity to prosecute white supremacy as domestic terrorism.
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This additionally gives the people prosecuted with these crimes—mainly white men—the upper hand, as they’re charged with crimes that are less severe, and the lack of definition for these crimes strategically hides the link between white supremacy and terrorism. All the while, more people are radicalized online, and the threat of a white supremacist terrorist attack continues being very real. It doesn’t help that gun culture is closely tied with white supremacy and nationalism. Historically, it has always been white men who had access to guns and used them to maintain power. It’s noteworthy to say that gun ownership was a defining feature for white men during colonial times, serving as a tool to maintain slavery; it was unlikely for slaves to start rebellions. Today, it’s clear that this power has created a lasting legacy that continues attacking minorities, and on the other hand, keeps white men in powerful positions via the National Rifle Association. The NRA has donated millions to white politicians, spending approximately $31 million to support Trump and spent another $38.8 million supporting Republican Senate races in the 2016 elections. Combined, that’s nearly $70 million to support mostly Republican, cis, white males who share similar values as the NRA. Their donations have been a success for them, as it is unlikely for anything legislatively to happen in relation to gun control. It would be a betrayal to the NRA if he chose to push for stricter gun legislation. Because of Trump’s relationship with the NRA, he will continue to make empty promises about gun control—or won’t say anything at all about it—and may never seriously consider harsher sentences for mass shooters, expanding background checks to include juvenile records or the banning of all assault weapons. These promises can be made and delivered with the right legislators working together to take a moral stand against gun violence and white supremacy. Until then, we must do our best to protect members of marginalized communities.
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 26, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
DANA TOWNSEND
ARTS & CULTURE
20TH ANNIVERSARY OF ‘OREGON JEWISH VOICES’ JEWISH AUTHORS INTERROGATE THEIR OWN IDENTITIES
AUTHOR SABENA STARK LISTENS WHILE ANNE PRAHL (NOT PICTURED), CURATOR OF THE OREGON JEWISH MUSEUM, SPEAKS TO A CROWD. ALEX WITTWER/PSU VANGUARD
NICK TOWNSEND For the past two decades, audiences have gathered to hear the voices of Jewish writers in Oregon at the annual Oregon Jewish Voices event. The 20th anniversary of the event celebrated the joy and community as well as the turmoil of the modern Jewish experience and grappled with the question of what it means to be Jewish in the current day. Held at the Oregon Jewish Museum and Center for Holocaust Education on Nov. 20, the event drew the largest crowd in its 20-year history. Formatted as a series of live readings from five Oregon authors, the evening was curated by local poet Willa Schneberg, who presented her own work as one of the five readers. Schneburg noted the event’s interpretation of the term “Jewish author” is very loose. “Anyone who in some way selfidentifies as Jewish is considered,” she said. Beyond that, Schneburg looks for authors who have published at least one book and reside in Oregon. This year’s lineup featured people across the spectrum of what it means to be Jewish. The first author, Eric Flamm, resided in Israel for several years, eventually gaining citizenship and being drafted into the Israeli Defense Forces. He read sections from his new short story collection, Portland Zionists Unite! The six-story collection mirrors the range of the storytelling evening itself, featuring different narrators with different conceptions of Jewish identity and Israel. Flamm asked the audience “Jewish identity: what is it based on? Yes there’s food, traditions, holidays, but there is also Israel. This book asks the question, what do we mean when we say Israel?” Other authors held a different conception of Jewish identity, not at all based on Israel. A. Molotkov moved to Oregon from Russia in the ‘90s. He read from his upcoming memoir, A Broken Russia Inside Me. He relayed the story, gathered from relatives and archives, of the biological father he never met. Molotkov’s father, who is fully Jewish, was denied access to education and employment due to the anti-Semitism of Stalinist Russia and eventually was driven to take his own life. “I only learned that he committed suicide several years ago,” Molotkov said. “But he is the reason I am here today.” The antiSemitism faced by his father led Molotkov’s mother to change her children’s surnames, eventually allowing Molotkov the opportunity to immigrate to America. Grappling with the generational trauma of the Jewish experience was a major theme of the evening. The final reading of the evening, from author Sabena Stark, brought many in the audience to tears. Stark’s story, “The Fire Drill,” framed an exploration of her relationship with her so-called “reborn-afterthe-Holocaust” mother around a particular story from Stark’s childhood. The childhood story began with Stark describing her kindergarten school and her cruel teacher who would beat and shake her when Sabena was too loud or friendly. Stark then shifted to a narrative of her mother’s experience in the Holocaust: running into Russia to avoid the advancing Nazi front, having a child with a young Russian soldier, her and the child being caught by the Nazis and taken to Auschwitz, where the child was immediately killed. “I came to think of this daughter as my invisible perfect sibling...I remained a stranger that wanted something from her,” Stark said. “The Fire Drill” ended its narrative with 6-year-old Sabena acting out during a fire drill and being shaken by her teacher, her mother witnessing the event from across the street and sprinting out her apartment and grabbing the teacher by the throat and saying, “Never touch my daughter again.” Stark closed her reading with the line, “Although I was never the favorite child, on that day [my mother] held her nightmare by the neck and saved her little girl.” Stark’s final comment of the evening was, “I think that it’s an important event for the whole community—not just the Jewish community.” The event will be back next fall, featuring Schneberg and a fresh lineup of Jewish-identifying authors with words to share.
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 26, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
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ARTS & CULTURE
GARBAGE DAY IT’S ‘DIE HARD’ ON A BOAT, ALSO THE KRAKEN IS THERE
ANDREW GAINES Something I’ve been glad to see is the public consciousness’ general reappraisal of Stephen Sommers’ 1999 version of The Mummy. Partially spurred by just how insanely bad that Tom Cruise reboot was, I’ve seen more people online talking about the Brendan Fraiser version’s goofy charm and whirlwind pace. Sommers’ filmography overall isn’t that great (I’m not exactly a fan of the Mummy sequels or GI Joe), but one year before The Mummy, he put out one of my favorite genre films of the late ‘90s in Deep Rising. It has the exact same tone of The Mummy and is similarly filled with character actors and fun performances but with the added bonus of an R rating and some nutso gore. The film’s elevator pitch is genius in its “mash two ideas together” approach. John Finnegan, a Han Solo-esque boat captain with loose morals and a love of money, is chauffeuring a hostile group of well-funded mercenaries into the middle of the ocean. Their target: a gargantuan, state-of-the-art luxury ocean liner with hundreds of wealthy individuals and untold
amounts of riches onboard. When the mercs arrive to sack the place, however, the ship is dead in the water and completely deserted. Finnegan, having been taken hostage by his clients, has to figure out how to avoid getting killed by them while repairing the only escape route, his boat. To make things worse, there’s a massive deep-sea tentacle monster somewhere in the ship that’s eaten everybody, and the new arrivals are next. Once all the pieces are in place, all hell breaks loose, as faces are dissolved, entire sections of the boat are destroyed and plenty of scenery gets chewed. The leader of the would-be pirates is played by the great Wes Studi, who does a fantastic job of desperately trying to maintain control of a chaotic situation. The cannon-fodder mercs are filled
with great character actors too, as Cliff Curtis, Jason Flemyng and Djimon Hounsou all get fun moments and ridiculous deaths. Deep Rising cost roughly $40 million (about half of what The Mummy had to work with) and the late-’90s CGI isn’t exactly anything worth writing home about, but it’s never so bad it takes you out of the fun. It helps that the sea monster and its tooth-filled, ravenous combination mouth/tentacles are pretty great designs, and the movie is eager to show them off with regularity. The movie sadly isn’t streaming anywhere for free, but you can rent it on Amazon or grab a barebones but nicely restored Blu-ray distributed by Kino Lorber. If you need a dumb, fun movie full of monster carnage, I highly recommend it.
DANA TOWNSEND
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PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 26, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
COMICS
DANA TOWNSEND
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 26, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
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Nick Townsend
NOV 26–DEC 2
TUE NOV 26 WED NOV 27 THU NOV 28 FRI NOV 29 SAT NOV 30 SUN DEC 1 MON DEC 2
ART
MUSIC
FILM & THEATRE
COMMUNITY
“INTO DUST” ONE GRAND GALLERY NOON–6 P.M. FREE Recent works by artist Corey Smith.
CAUTIOUS CLAY WONDER BALLROOM 8:30 P.M. $18–20 R&B singer and producer comes to the Wonder Ballroom.
PETE DAVIDSON REVOLUTION HALL 7:30 P.M. $35 Ariana Grande’s ex-boyfriend does stand-up.
GENDER, STEM AND OPERA: TRANSGRESSING STEREOTYPES LINCOLN HALL 326 3:30 P.M. FREE A discussion on the similarities and differences between the male-dominated fields of STEM and opera.
“VESSELS OF THE LATE PETROLEUM AGE” CAMERAWORK GALLERY 9 A.M.–6 P.M. FREE The artist imagines future archaeologists digging through the rubble of our current age.
ANSON WRIGHT DUO JUSTA PASTA 7 P.M. FREE Jazz guitarist and friends play a weekly set.
OPEN COURT CURIOUS COMEDY THEATER 9:30 P.M. $5 An open improv space featuring performers from multiple Portland troupes and stages.
CITY COUNCIL MEETING CITY HALL 9:30 A.M. FREE Tell Ted Wheeler your thoughts.
MAKE A HAND TURKEY YOUR HOUSE ALL DAY FREE The best art is the one you make yourself.
GRITZ AND GRAVY BARBARELLA 10 P.M. FREE Finish your gravy day with funky, laid-back grooves.
‘A BEAUTIFUL DAY IN THE NEIGHBORHOOD’ REGAL FOX TOWER 9:30 P.M. $12 Digest your meal to the soothing sounds of Tom Hanks.
THANKSGIVING MULTIPLE VENUES ALL DAY FREE Perhaps you’ve heard of it.
“VIBES IN THE LINES” FROELICK GALLERY 11 A.M.–5:30 P.M. FREE New oil works by Takahiko Hayashi.
AMENTA ABIOTO, NOAH SIMPSON GROUP TURN! TURN! TURN! 8 P.M. $7 A night of energetic garage-rock.
‘LA RUTA’ PORTLAND OPERA 7:30 P.M. $30–60 An operatic rendering of the story of a Mexican factory town where women keep disappearing.
35TH ANNUAL CHRISTMAS TREE LIGHTING PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE 5:30 P.M. FREE Portland pretends to be Times Square. The tree looks good, though.
“FOR THE SEVENTH GENERATION: A COMMUNITY OF COASTAL WATCHERS” ELISABETH JONES ARTS CENTER NOON–5 P.M. FREE Sections of a 1-mile long mural of the California, Oregon and Washington coast.
PETRUSHKA AND FIREBIRD LINCOLN PERFORMANCE HALL 1 P.M., 5 P.M. $10–38 A collaboration between the Portland Ballet and the Portland State Orchestra.
‘DIE HARD: THE MUSICAL PARODY’ FUNHOUSE LOUNGE 7:30 P.M. $20–25 Look, either you’re sold already or you’re not.
LATE NIGHT SPECIAL CURIOUS COMEDY THEATER 9:30 P.M. $10 A recurring late-night variety show with sketches and stand up.
“SEASONS IN THE MIST” GALLERY 903 NOON–5 P.M. FREE Oil paintings of the Montana landscape by artist Rachel Warner.
HOLIDAY SWING PARTY ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL 2 P.M. $24+ Byron Stripling and the Oregon Symphony play favorite seasonal tunes.
GRAVITY DEFIANT THE CIRCUS PROJECT 7 P.M. $5–25 A social justice circus show.
AMERICA’S LARGEST CHRISTMAS BAZAAR PORTLAND EXPO CENTER 10 A.M. $3–8 Get a head start on holiday decorations and gift shopping.
“5000 MILES AWAY” AMPERSAND GALLERY 10 A.M.–5 P.M. FREE New oil, sculpture and print works from three international artists.
METAL MONDAYS STAR BAR 10 P.M. FREE Rock your way into the Christmas season.
‘WAVES’ CINEMA 21 3:40 P.M. $9 The story of a suburban AfricanAmerican family navigating loss.
ZOOLIGHTS THE OREGON ZOO 5 P.M. $15–20 A Portland tradition featuring over a million Christmas lights.