Portland State Vanguard Volume 75 Issue 26

VOLUME 75 • ISSUE 26 • FEBRUARY 16, 2021

STUDENT HOUSING INSECURITY:

‘THIS ISSUE IS NOT JUST GOING TO GO AWAY’

NEWS Likely tuition increase P. 5

ARTS & CULTURE Portland’s newest event space is a trip P. 13

pg. 8–9

OPINION Welcome to Musk City P. 15

CONTENTS

COVER BY SAM GARCIA

NEWS HILL TO HALL

P. 3

COVID–19 UPDATE

P. 3

COVID-19 DEATH RATES DISPROPORTIONATELY HIGHER IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

P. 4

TUITION LIKELY TO BE RAISED NEXT YEAR

P. 5

INTERNATIONAL FRENCH POLICE FACE LAWSUIT FOR RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

P. 6

MILITARY COUP IN MYANMAR FACES COUNTRYWIDE OPPOSITION

P. 7

COVER PSU AND FUMC PARTNER TO OPEN STUDENT SHELTER

P. 8–9

STAFF

EDIT ORI A L EDITOR IN CHIEF Justin Grinnell MANAGING EDITOR Nick Townsend NEWS EDITORS Hanna Anderson Dylan Jefferies INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Karisa Yuasa SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Béla Kurzenhauser ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Morgan Troper

INTERNATIONAL THIS WEEK AROUND THE WORLD

P. 10-11

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY NEW CANCER RESEARCH PROPOSES A PROMISING FUTURE

P. 12

ARTS & CULTURE RAINBOW CITY IS A REAL TRIP

P. 13

THE BEST ZELDA GAME

P. 14

OPINION THE SMART CITIES ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER

P. 15

BACK COVER VIRTUAL EVENTS CALENDAR

P. 16

OPINION EDITOR Nick Gatlin

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Olivia Lee

STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher

ONLINE EDITOR Lily Hennings

PRODUC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Sam Person

TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Corrine Nightingale

COPY CHIEF Sophie Concannon CONTRIBUTORS Sofie Brandt Conor Carroll Kat Leon Nate Linton Mackenzie Streissguth PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A PHOTO EDITOR Annie Schutz

DESIGNERS Farah Alkayed Sam Garcia Shannon Steed T ECHNOL OGY & W EB SIT E TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS Juliana Bigelow Kahela Fickle George Olson A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood

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.

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.

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,

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

FEBRUARY 9–13 HANNA ANDERSON

FEBRUARY 9: OREGON STATE REPRESENTATIVE TO FACE A VOTE TO EXPEL AFTER SEXUAL HARASSMENT ACCUSATIONS

After a unanimous vote, members of the Oregon House Conduct Committee are recommending that the full House expel Rep. Diego Hernandez, amid sexual harassment allegations. According to The Oregonian, this is the first time a vote to expel a representative has been brought to the House floor. The committee determined 18 specific acts by Hernandez that constituted sexual harassment or contributed to a hostile work environment, including pressuring two women to engage in a relationship, or risk losing their professional positions.

2/3 of the House vote, or 40 members, are required to expel Hernandez.

On Feb. 12, OPB reported that Hernandez is fighting back against the allegations, and filed a lawsuit against the Oregon State Legislature Friday, arguing that he was not given a proper chance to defend himself.

FEBRUARY 12: OREGON US ATTORNEY TO RESIGN THIS MONTH

At the request of the Biden Administration’s acting attorney general, most United States attorneys appointed by former President Donald Trump—including Oregon’s U.S. attorney, Billy Williams—will resign at the end of the month. As the top federal law enforcement officer in the state, U.S. attorneys are typically replaced at the start of a new presidential administration, according to OPB. Williams, however, was first appointed by Obama in May of 2015, and was later appointed again by Trump, making him one of few attorneys to work under multiple administrations. According to Willamette Week, Oregon’s two senators, Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley, will select recommended candidates for his replacement.

FEBRUARY 13: WINTER WEATHER PROMPTS A STATE OF EMERGENCY IN WILLAMETTE VALLEY

Oregon Governor Kate Brown declared a state of emergency in nine counties Saturday night, in response to extreme winter weather across the state, according to The Oregonian. The declaration allows the Oregon Office of Emergency Management to use resources from across government agencies to respond. Over the course of the storm, the hardest hit counties, including Multnomah, have dealt with widespread power outages and public transportation shutdowns. Trimet suspended all bus and MAX lines Saturday, and continued to experience disruptions Monday. According to Willamette Week, due to the winter weather over the weekend, over 225,000 households were without power.

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 16, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

COVID-19 UPDATE HANNA ANDERSON

TOTAL CASES AT PSU AS OF FEB. 14: 42

8 January cases, 1 February case There is one new COVID case, from a non-resident student, related to PSU reported thus far for the month of February. Some potential on-campus exposures have been identified and have undergone testing and quarantine, according to PSU Center for Student Health and Counseling (SHAC).

TOTAL CASES AND DEATHS IN OREGON AS OF FEB. 14: 150,281 REPORTED CASES; 2,137 REPORTED DEATHS

Total vaccinations as of Feb. 14: 677, 194 first and second doses administered; 885,250 The weather from winter storms is continuing to impede COVID-19 vaccinations all over Oregon state, as well as parts of Washington state. According to OPB, the Oregon Convention Center mass vaccination site will continue to be closed Sunday, with plans to open again at 9 a.m. Monday.

Those who had vaccination appointments within that two-hour delay, 7–9 a.m., will be rescheduled later on Monday, February 15, when there is room for them.

TOTAL CASES IN U.S. AS OF FEB. 14: 27,356,889; 474,423 DEATHS

Total vaccinations in U.S. as of Feb. 14: 38.3 million received at least 1 dose; 14.1 million fully vaccinated According to The Lancet Medical Journal, in a recent study an estimated 40% of Americans who died from COVID-19 may have lived if better political and policy judgments had been made before and during the pandemic.

The report, entitled “Public Policy and Health in the Trump Era,” criticizes the Trump administration and its response to the pandemic, stating that it was “inept and insufficient,” and that Trump “brought misfortune to the USA and the planet.”

As Americans wait for vaccines, new variants of the virus spread throughout the U.S. According to a new study co-authored by Yale, there are at least seven new variants, with the same mutation.

It is unclear if this mutation will affect the vaccination’s results, or if these variants are more dangerous or contagious.

NEWS

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EMILY SCHUBERT, THE EMPLOYEE HEALTH NURSE AT THE ALASKA NATIVE MEDICAL CENTER. MARK THIESSEN/AP PHOTO

COVID-19 DEATH RATES DISPROPORTIONATELY HIGHER IN INDIGENOUS COMMUNITIES

CONOR CARROLL Native Americans and Alaskan Natives are dying at almost twice the rate of white Americans, according to detailed analysis by APM Research Lab—an independent research and data assessment organization.

According to APM’s recently published study, one in every 475 Native Americans has died from COVID-19 since the start of the pandemic, compared with one in every 825 white Americans and one in every 645 Black Americans, nationwide.

The true death toll may be significantly higher as multiple states and cities provide patchy or no data on Native Americans deaths to COVID-19. Of those that do, communities in Mississippi, New Mexico, Arizona, Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas have been the hardest hit.

The findings are part of the Lab’s Color of Coronavirus project which indicates clearly that Native American communities have had demonstrably higher rates of infection and mortality since the pandemic began. According to the report, Native Americans have suffered 211 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with 121 white Americans per 100,000.

The Pacific Northwest has not been immune to this disproportionate rate, according to Victoria Warren-Mears—the Director of the Northwest Tribal Epidemiology Center at the Northwest Portland Area Indian Health Board (NPAIHB).

The NPAIHB is a tribal organization founded in 1972 by the tribes of Idaho, Oregon and Washington State for health advocacy.

When asked about Oregon’s COVID-19 response for the Indigenous peoples residing in the state, and elsewhere in the Pacific Northwest, Dr. Warren-Mears said, “The nine tribes of Oregon and the urban program are actively collaborating with the state of Oregon on topics around COVID-19. This in-

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cludes information around testing and vaccine distribution.”

The data available in state tracking systems for Oregon is among the nation’s best, largely due to the Race, Ethnicity, Language and Disability (REAL-D) requirements to report race, ethnicity, language and disability status with testing and vaccination.

According to the Oregon State government’s official website, in 2020, Oregon legislature passed a law requiring health care providers to “collect REALD information at health care visits related to COVID-19, and [to] share this information with the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).”

“In Oregon, less than 18% of that type of data is missing, which is less missing data than many other states,” WarrenMears said. “I think primary concerns are continued vaccine distribution in an environment where there simply are not enough vaccines available to meet all of the demand for vaccines in the state. This is a national supply issue, and as additional vaccines are approved for emergency use, this lack of supply should resolve.”

Assurances aside, vaccines are still difficult to come by for Native communities and people of color in Oregon— and across the country—according to APM Research Lab’s analysis.

When asked about why COVID-19 has affected Native American populations disproportionately, Warren-Mears spoke to accessibility. “The health care availability to tribes and urban Indians has been underfunded since its inception,” she said. “This has led to long term inequities in health.”

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has an index that describes those at most risk called the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI). Looking at this, the most vulnerable areas often correspond to tribal and urban areas with

high concentrations of Native American and Alaska Native peoples. These social determinants of health are some of the root causes of increased illness and death.

According to the federal Indian Health Service (IHS) department, “American Indians and Alaska Natives continue to die at higher rates than other Americans in many categories, including chronic liver disease and cirrhosis, diabetes mellitus, unintentional injuries, assault/homicide, intentional selfharm/suicide and chronic lower respiratory diseases.”

The national figures show that, even though more infectious variants have yet to take hold in the United States, the situation has already had a devastating toll on Native communities, and may get worse.

“A primary issue that still persists is the loss of revenue for clinics when they switched to providing more emergent care, testing for COVID-19, caring for patients and now vaccination,” Warren-Mears said. “There is a shortage in many tribes of an adequate number of health care providers to provide pandemic services and provide the routine health care programs that are so essential. It is unclear how the inadequate staffing and funding will impact the future.”

“Overall, the tribes and urban programs in Oregon have done an outstanding job of responding to the pandemic. I have no doubt that they will continue to do so. Primarily, we need to get vaccines into as many arms as possible right now and try to stay ahead of the viral mutations,” Warren-Mears concluded.

Last month was the deadliest so far in the U.S., with 958 total recorded Native deaths—a 35% increase since December. For white Americans, deaths rose by 10% over the same period.

A recent Lancet study indicates that under the Trump administration’s response to COVID-19, nearly 40% of deaths could have been avoided, due to policy mistakes and the like.

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 16, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

LIKELY TO BE RAISED NEXT YEAR SHANNON STEED DYLAN JEFFERIES At a recent town hall, PSU administrators discussed why tuition might be raised and where tuition dollars go.

Panelists at the town hall on Feb. 5 included student fee committee chair Kierra Wing, university budget director Andria Johnson, student trustee Emily Chow, student financial services representative Megan Looney and chair of the budget and finance committee Irving Levin.

The panelists began the event by outlining how tuition costs are determined each year before answering audience questions.

HOW ARE TUITION COSTS DECIDED EACH YEAR?

In 2011, then-university president Wiewel started the Tuition Review and Advisory Committee (TRAC), a group of students and faculty who provide recommendations to the Board of Trustees (BOT) each year concerning tuition.

“TRAC’s mission is to provide advice and comment regarding the annual based tuition rates in relation to our annual budget process and approval by the PSU [BOT],” said Johnson, who sits on the committee. “The meetings are designed to solicit feedback from students and faculty again about that tuition setting process, and we do that through presentations on university finance, and then lots of open ended questions.”

TRAC meets from November–March annually.

The committee then provides their recommendations to the finance and administration committee for deliberation before the final decision is voted on in April by the full BOT. “There are some people who may think that

the [BOT] makes all the decisions about what goes on at the school, and in truth we make very few,” said Levin, who sits on the BOT and chairs the administration and finance committee. “We provide oversight, and we stand as fiduciaries, meaning that we have a responsibility not only to all of the students and the other constituents on campus, but to the institution itself, which is both short term, what happens each year with tuition, and long term, how do we maintain the health of the institution going forward.”

According to Levin, the BOT is responsible for approving the final budget and tuition each year.

At this time, TRAC is finalizing their recommendations to the BOT, who will make a final vote on April 20.

TRAC meetings are open to the public. The next meetings will be held on Feb. 19 and 25.

WILL TUITION BE INCREASED NEXT YEAR?

Most likely, according to the panelists. However, at this time, it’s impossible to say how much.

Johnson emphasized tuition will not be raised solely because enrollment is forecasted to decline.

“One of [TRAC’s] values is to not increase tuition to make up for [enrollment] decline. We don’t increase the tuition rates because we have less students coming on campus.”

Rising costs and inflation are the main drivers for tuition increases, according to Johnson and Wing.

“Our costs are definitely increasing,” she said.

“When we think about all of [PSU’s employees], the cost for their benefits are going up, the costs for folks’ wages are going up, and we have

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 16, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

to think about that. As of today, that increase— what we call our current service level—is forecast at about 3%. When we put forward our tuition proposal, we’ll need to take into account these cost increases. So we’ll need to think about them, but we are definitely not increasing tuition just because we have less students.”

However, Irving and Wing mentioned that enrollment will likely play a role in whether or not tuition is raised.

“Why would student enrollment make tuition higher?” Wing said. “It would be because there are less people to pay tuition, but it’s still the same amount of money being spent on teachers and programs and opportunities [as the year before].

That means the fee has to be higher in order to counteract the enrollment decline.”

“If we fall short [of expected enrollment], we are not going to simply fire all of those people right away,” Irving added. “And therefore, there’s a certain lag in our ability to prioritize our expenses to the falling revenue from enrollment.”

“Again, one of [TRAC’s] values is to not just increase tuition because we have less enrollment,” Johnson added. “If the expenses didn’t change and enrollment dropped, I don’t know that we’d be saying, well we need to increase tuition. To me personally, that doesn’t make sense.”

WHERE DO TUITION DOLLARS GO?

According to Johnson, the majority of tuition dollars goes toward paying salaries and wages.

“The majority of [tuition] is spent on people,” she said. “Salaries, wages, benefits and taxes

make up about 84% of the total general fund budget. So tuition and state support is paying mostly for people. And when I say people who work at the university, it’s not just administrators like myself, it is the faculty members, it’s our graduate assistants, it’s our student workers.”

The additional 18% is spent on services and supplies.

“Services and supplies are things like marketing for the university, the library books that we purchase, and many other items,” she said.

“The biggest ticket in services and supplies is our debt for our buildings. Despite what folks might think, even though we aren’t on campus as much as we were in the past, utilities savings are minimal because many of our buildings are actually still open and we still have to heat them.”

“A majority of your tuition money goes directly to administration, directly to faculty, directly to teachers, and directly to graduate assistants,” Wing said. “This isn’t padding our pockets, this isn’t fancy things: This is directly related to people’s living wages.”

Q&A

At the end of the event, one participant asked: “With the highest rate of crushing student loan debt, a global pandemic, mass unemployment, laughable stimulus checks and landlord’s raising costs, is raising tuition really your only option?”

“Raising tuition isn’t the only option, but it’s the only option that doesn’t have us doing mass cuts, mass layoffs, mass departmental changes,” Wing said. “There really is no other option.”

NEWS

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FRENCH POLICE FACE LAWSUIT FOR RACIAL DISCRIMINATION

FRENCH POLICE OFFICERS. MICHEL SPINGLER/AP PHOTO

NATE LINTON On Jan. 27, six nongovernmental organizations including Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International contended to Prime Minister Jean Castex and France’s interior and justice ministers that the current law enforcement practices needed to be evolved with a lawsuit, according to AP News.

According to Al Jazeera, this is the first class-action discrimination lawsuit based on color or supposed ethnic origins in France. It contains 50 testimonies from victims of racial profiling, including from children as young as 12.

Some reports include stories of law enforcers of color who have reported getting profiled themselves while off duty.

“When I’m not in uniform, I’m a person of color,” a police officer in Paris unrelated to the lawsuit said. Although police need a legal basis for their actions, the officer said “80% of the time they do checks [based on] heads” or based on how people look.

A 2016 study carried out by the Defender of Rights found that of the representative sample of more than 5000, “80% of people corresponding to the profile of ‘young man perceived as black or Arab’ say they have been checked in the last five years.”

Only 16% of the rest of the respondents reported being checked within the last five years.

Non-profit groups believe these ID checks are a leading contributor to racial profiling, while law enforcement argues the

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process is necessary for preventing and fighting crime levels.

However, according to AP News, the amount of executed ID checks has been lowered and crime levels have not been affected.

AP News also stated there is no intention of monetary compensation from the NGOs, moreover it does not blame the individual, it blames the institution for generating the rules, habits and officers that it did. The sole objective of the class-action lawsuit is the reformation of a systemically racist policing procedure.

According to Human Rights Watch, the desired reform includes: amending the Code of Criminal Procedure to explicitly prohibit discrimination in identity checks, adopting specific regulations for stops involving children and creating an effective complaints system.

Footage has been released of President Emmanuel Macron labeling racial profiling as “unbearable,” yet his administration simultaneously pushes to pass a new security bill that people argued would exacerbate police brutality.

According to The New York Times, the proposed bill is meant to prevent French law enforcement from being “physically or mentally harmed” by prohibiting the public from filming, photographing or broadcasting “the face or any other identifying element” of any active duty officer. The penalty for violation is set up to a year in jail and a fine the equivalent of $54,000.

In addition, The New York Times suggested the bill’s contents are primarily vague and general language, well suited for legal objections and inconsistency. The law would authorize government drones to fly around public areas recording citizens at leisure—as well as allowing police body-cams to be live-streamed to authorities 24/7.

The bill would restrict the public from filming on duty officers but simultaneously authorize those same officers to have all interactions with the public constantly on surveillance.

Legal procedure in France dictates four months of discussion must occur before taking the case to court, in an attempt to appease the prosecution and reach settlement without judicial interference, according to Al Jazeera.

The confirmed execution plan for legal reformation will be announced at a conference in Paris following this mandatory discussion period.

“The procedure the groups initiated should spur the government to tackle the specific problem of discriminatory identity checks and its deep causes, in a serious way to end these abuses, in line with France’s obligations under national and international law,” Amnesty International stated. “The government should stop backing down, and following genuine consultation, undertake the necessary structural reforms.”

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 16, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

MILITARY COUP IN MYANMAR

FACES COUNTRYWIDE OPPOSITION ANTI-COUP PROTESTERS TRY TO PREVENT A POLICE VEHICLE FROM MOVING. COURTESY OF AP PHOTO

KARISA YUASA Hundreds of thousands of people have taken to the streets of Myanmar in protest following the military coup d’etat on Feb. 1, according to Al Jazeera.

The military party detained democratically elected President Win Myint and the National League for Democracy (NLD) party leader Aung San Suu Kyi the morning of what was supposed to be the first week of the parliamentary session. Citizens woke up to an announcement that power was now in the hands of Commander in Chief Min Aung Hlaing.

“Waking up to learn your world has been completely turned upside down overnight was not a new feeling, but a feeling that I thought that we had moved on from, and one that I never thought we’d be forced to feel again,” said a Myanmar resident who wished to remain unnamed, according to BBC. The military ruler instituted a state of emergency set to last for one year. The country is also under a strict nightly curfew from 8 p.m.–6 a.m.

The Union Solidarity and Development Party—which is backed by the military—has claimed the NLD’s landslide November election was fraudulent and called on authorities to hold an “election that is free, fair, unbiased and free from unfair campaigning.”

Despite national and international groups legitimizing the election results and presenting no proof of the contrary, tensions continued to rise as the opposition called for reelection.

Thousands of people took to the streets across the country for anti-coup demonstrations.

“As part of Generation Z, we are first-time voters. This is our first

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time to protest as well,” said one student who declined to give her name, according to AP News. “They negated our votes, and this is totally unfair. We do not want that. We hope they release our leaders and implement a real democracy.”

Although protests have remained mostly peaceful, accusations of excessive force by police have been common.

“As many feared, the Myanmar authorities are responding to growing peaceful protests with unnecessary and excessive use of force,” said Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for Research Emerlynne Gil. “At such an extremely volatile time, authorities must respect and ensure the right to peaceful protests, and not prohibit, restrict, block, disperse or disrupt peaceful protests without compelling justification.”

Amnesty International investigated a claim on Feb. 9 of security forces using lethal weapons against protesters at the capital of Nay Pyi Taw. “The social media materials we have verified show that police recklessly targeted protesters, with no respect for their lives or safety whatsoever,” said Sam Dubberley, head of the crisis evidence lab at Amnesty International. “Their abhorrent use of lethal force against protesters is unlawful, and must be independently, thoroughly and promptly investigated.”

The coup leaders are accused of causing internet blackouts in an attempt to quell protests and stop the spread of information.

Notably, NetBlocks, which tracks Internet disruptions, reported an information blackout that lasted for 8 hours on Feb. 14.

According to the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners,

as of Feb. 15 a total of 426 people have been arrested and detained in relation to the military coup. While only three of the arrests have been sentenced, 391 are still in custody.

“Myanmar’s new military junta should immediately and unconditionally release all detainees, rescind the state of emergency, and recognize the duly elected parliament,” said Human Rights Watch Asia Director Brad Adams. “The global community should finally act in a coordinated and sustained way to defend the Myanmar people’s fundamental freedoms and right to choose their leaders, and impose targeted sanctions and other measures to reverse military abuses.”

This is not the first time the Myanmar government has been under military rule.

From 1962 until 2011, Myanmar was under strict military rule.

The country’s name was even changed by military leaders from Burma to Myanmar in 1989. Some countries refused to use the name Myanmar to deny the legitimacy of the military rule.

“This is a fight for our future, the future of our country,” youth activist Esther Ze Naw said at a protest in the main city of Yangon, according to Reuters.“We don’t want to live under a military dictatorship. We want to establish a real federal union where all citizens, all ethnicities are treated equally.”

Many countries have outwardly shown their support for the prodemocracy protesters.

“We support the people of Myanmar in their quest for democracy, freedom, peace, and prosperity. The world is watching,” stated a joint statement from multiple ambassadors to Myanmar.

INTERNATIONAL

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PSU AND FUM PARTNER TO STUDENT SH PORTLAND STATE CAMPUS. SOFIE BRANDT/PSU VANGUARD

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PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 16, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

MC O OPEN HELTER

IN RESPONSE TO RISING HOUSING INSECURITY IN THE PANDEMIC, PSU LANDING OFFERS SHELTER

KAT LEON According to research compiled by the Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative (HRAC) at Portland State, out of the 166 students surveyed, 64.5% experienced housing insecurity, 20.5% experienced houselessness and 55.4% experienced food insecurity, since March 2020.

Tara is a PSU graduate in mechanical engineering who was interviewed by the HRAC about her experience as a houseless student. “I would talk to you about interning at NASA and winning first place in the engineering research expo,” she said.

“But I would never tell you that I owned a used Subaru and I lived in a tent.”

As a new response to this problem, PSU has partnered with First United Methodist Church (FUMC) to create the PSU Landing at FUMC, a shelter for PSU students facing houselessness or extreme housing insecurity. While PSU refers students to the FUMC shelter, the Landing itself is solely run and operated by FUMC. According to the Dean of Student Life, Mike Walsh, the idea for the Landing came from a Senior Capstone led by the instructor Amie Riley. In advocating for houseless students, this Capstone strives to “work to change narratives, implement creative actions, and advocate for effective housing policies.”

The Senior Capstone’s research on houselessness and housing insecurity brought the issue to the attention of First United Methodist Church, according to Walsh. The HRAC’s statistics at PSU and data from the Hope Center on houselessness on college campuses across the country, alongside the Senior Capstone, led FUMC to recognize the student need.

“Working with professors in PSU’s Office of Academic Innovation, my colleagues and I frequently hear stories about

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 16, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

students’ basic needs not being met, including housing insecurity, and the stress and strain it adds to students’ already complicated lives,” said Landing Director Scott Robison.

“Knowing the student need and being aware of the space available in the church, I submitted a proposal to FUMC around the idea of supporting housing insecure PSU students and it was accepted.”

Since FUMC had experience operating shelters before, they decided to use that knowledge to create the Landing shelter for houseless PSU students, to address the housing insecurity on campus that existed both before and after COVID-19.

According to Walsh, the Landing is not yet open for students because they have had delays, mostly due to COVID-19 and organizing volunteers. However, Walsh says, “We hope to [open] in this month.”

When the Landing does open, they will provide up to eight PSU students “space for sleeping, two meals every day, storage, showers, laundry, internet and computer access.” Lunch and dinner are provided to students in the program through PSU Eats, where they can get two meals a day at the Victors Dining Hall in the Ondine building on campus.

While eight students might seem like a small number of students compared to the need, FUMC has limited space due social distancing and COVID-19 safety.

“We know there is greater demand than eight students…we are actively trying to find a way to serve homeless students,” Walsh said.

However, space is the largest factor when trying to do something on campus. According to Walsh, resident halls are usually full, and setting aside rooms would be a financial burden

on the school. Even when floating the idea of using the gymnasium or an empty classroom, Walsh discussed that the times those spaces are needed for classes or other activities would not conveniently work with the times that those spaces could be used by the Landing.

Despite the troubles of having a temporary shelter on campus, Walsh still hopes PSU will be able to either partner with other organizations or find a way to make it work on campus, to expand the program and better fulfill the needs of the houseless and housing insecure in the PSU community.

“This issue is not just going to go away,” Walsh said.

To access the Landing services, students need to contact Walsh’s office at Student Life and make an appointment.

First, as Walsh put it, the student has to be “a PSU student in a degree-seeking program.” Second, the student has to be houseless or significantly housing insecure. Walsh defined “significantly housing insecure” as “living in a car, prolonged couch surfing [or facing] imminent eviction.” For students who are applying for the Landing program, it is first-come, first-served.

“FUMC is a reconciling congregation and open to all races, abilities, ages, classes, gender identities and sexual orientations,” Robison said. “There is no religious programming of any kind associated with The Landing.”

Since the Landing has not opened, there is not anyone who has officially been accepted at the Landing, but Walsh says his office has an unofficial waitlist that they will use to contact students in need when the Landing officially opens.

“We are pretty much ready to roll and get students in there as soon as it opens,” Walsh said.

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THIS WEEK

around the

WORLD

Feb. 7–13

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PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 16, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

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February 7

UTTARAKHAND, INDIA

A piece of a Himalayan glacier fell into and destroyed a dam called the Rishiganga Hydroelectric Project, according to BBC. Approximately 140 people were missing after the Dhauliganga river flooded quickly. Some argued that this is an example of the impact of climate change however, some activists also blamed the many dams vand hydropower projects being built along the region’s rivers. “We have been saying for years how these huge infrastructure projects are making the area more fragile and dangerous but no one listened to us,” said local environmental activist Vimal Bhai, according to The Guardian. “And now the same thing has happened again. Why will the government not learn the lessons of the past?” As of Feb. 15, 56 bodies have been recovered while 176 cases of missing persons have been registered.

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February 11

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM

A judge ruled that a British tabloid invaded the privacy of the Duchess of Sussex, Meghan Markle, according to AP News.

Markle sued publisher Associated Newspapers after its Jan. 17 newspaper printed parts of her handwritten letter to her

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father in 2018. “After two long years of pursuing litigation, I am grateful to the courts for holding Associated Newspapers and The Mail on Sunday to account for their illegal and dehumanizing practices,” Markle said in a statement, according to Reuters. “For these outlets, it’s a game. For me and so many others, it’s real life, real relationships, and very real sadness.

The damage they have done and continue to do runs deep.”

February 12 3

TOKYO, JAPAN

Former Prime Minister and President of the Tokyo Olympic organizing committee announced his resignation following backlash from his comments that were considered sexist. With less than six months until the games, Mori made a comment that implied women talk too much. “As of today I will resign from the president’s position,” Mori said while opening an executive board and council meeting, according to AP News. “My inappropriate comments have caused a lot of chaos.” A Change.org petition calling for proper measures to be taken to address the comments and prevent them from occurring in the future was created following Mori’s remarks on Feb. 3. “It is a problem when people cannot speak

up when someone superior says something outdated,” said Momoko Nojo, an author of the petition which has garnered over 150,000 signatures. “We want to take this opportunity to change that through our petition so that people can speak up more and our society will change for the better.”

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February 13

LIMA, PERU

Oscar Ugarte was sworn in as Peru’s new health minister following the resignation of Pilar Mazzetti due to a COVID-19 vaccine scandal, according to Al Jazeera. Ugarte became Peru’s fifth health minister since the pandemic began last year. The scandal broke earlier in the week, announcing government officials were secretly vaccinated months before the vaccine became available to frontline healthcare workers. On Feb. 14, Ugarte called for the resignation of all officials who were secretly vaccinated as early as September and called for a thorough investigation. Former president Martín Vizcarra—who was ousted in November due to other scandals—confirmed he and his wife received vaccinations in October. Foreign minister Elizabeth Astete also announced her resignation after backlash from receiving the vaccine.

INTERNATIONAL

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NEW CANCER RESEARCH PROPOSES PROMISING FUTURE REPRESENTATION OF GUT MICROBIOTA IN COLON. COURTESY OF ISTOCK

CRACKING DOWN ON THE DISEASE’S BIGGEST CONUNDRUMS

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SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY

BÉLA KURZENHAUSER Earlier this month, the National Cancer Institute (NCI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH) published a press release concerning the usage of fecal transplants to augment immunotherapy in advanced skin cancer patients.

According to the NCI, patients with advanced melanoma responded more favorably to immunotherapy drugs after receiving a transplant of fecal microbiota from other drug responders.

“Our study is one of the first to demonstrate in patients that altering the composition of the gut microbiome can improve the response to immunotherapy,” said Giorgio Trinchieri, chief of the Laboratory of Integrative Cancer Immunology at the NCI. “The data provides proof of concept that the gut microbiome can be a therapeutic target in cancer.”

Gut bacteria has previously been shown to be an effective booster for certain forms of immunotherapy, with a 2018 study showing favorable results in treating mice with melanoma using human gut bacteria. According to the NCI, six out of 15 patients who had previously not responded to immunotherapeutic drugs experienced long-term disease stabilization and tumor reduction after the fecal transplants.

Cancer research has recently also emerged from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology (KIST) publishing two new research results last month. KIST’s Biomaterials Research Center reported on a newly-developed test for diagnosing prostate cancer in men using AI to examine urinary samples. The test is capable of diagnosing prostate cancer within 20 minutes of sample examination with nearly 100% accuracy between 76 cancer-positive samples.

The tool uses data-trained AI that detects common cancer signifiers in urine with ultrasensitive sensors capable of cross-examining symptoms and comparing them to results from previous prostate cancer patients.

The accuracy and efficiency of the treatment is much better than the 30% accuracy of the Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) blood test normally used for prostate cancer diagnosis.

KIST’s urinary test is just one of many new cancer diagnosis methods that use AI analysis to improve diagnosis accuracy, with the NCI developing their own AI-driven tool to diagnose cervical cancer with exceeding results last year.

“This research developed a smart biosensor that can rapidly diagnose prostate cancer with almost 100% accuracy only through a urine test, and it can be further utilized in the precise diagnoses of other cancers using a urine test,” said Dr. Kwan Hyi Lee of KIST’s Biomaterials Research Center.

KIST’s other current research includes new phototherapy methods that use light to mitigate the pain and side effects induced by chemotherapy and decrease tumor remission. The treatment injects photosensitizers, which destroy cancer cells under exposure to light, into patients, who then undergo directed laser therapy to gradually reduce and eliminate tumors.

Because the phototherapy only affects the targeted area that contains the tumor, it does not damage nearby tissue in the caustic manner that is exhibited by chemotherapy or radiation therapy. This allows for more repeated, consistent and effective administration of treatment due to the lack of health concerns induced by the phototherapy.

The Theragnosis Research Center at KIST developed a new form of photosensitizer based on peptides that last in the body for two to four weeks, negating the need for repeated injections during each round of phototherapy. The phototherapy was tested on mice that experienced complete tumor reduction and recovery with no damage to surrounding tissues by the tumor.

The motherlode of treatment breakthroughs came earlier this month, too, with California-based biopharmaceutical company Amgen submitting a new drug for FDA approval, designed to inhibit specific gene mutations. The drug, Sotorasib, inhibits the mutation known as KRAS G12C, a gene mutation uncommonly found in non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) patients, as well as patients with diseases such as pancreatic and colorectal cancer. Sotorasib caused significant tumor reduction in all NSCLC patients that had the mutation, with three of the 126 patients experiencing complete cancer recovery.

Although NSCLC is one of the less lethal forms of cancer, other KRAS-adjacent cancers can be far more lethal, with pancreatic cancer exhibiting a 3% five-year survival rate for latestage patients. New drugs and treatment methods like Sotorasib have the potential to reshape the way that society and the medical field approach treating and coping with cancer.

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 16, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

MOVIE MADNESS VIDEO STORE. ERIC SHELBY/PSU VANGUARD

RAINBOW CITY IS A REAL TRIP RAINBOW CITY FOUNDER STRAWBERRY PICKLE WITH A TRICERATOPS. NATE LINTON/PSU VANGUARD

NATE LINTON Tucked away between the iconic Hippo Hardware and Old Town Music in Portland’s inner eastside is Rainbow City—an up-and-coming electronic music and events venue new to the city. It sounds cliche, but a place like this is hard to put into words—”ethereal” and “otherworldly” come to mind. Visualize a world filled with colorful, painted walls and disparate art pieces. Neon lights and large figures of a unicorn and triceratops sit in the middle of the space, beckoning prospective riders. And there are belly dancers. That’s Rainbow City.

Opening at the start of the pandemic, Rainbow City’s founder Strawberry Pickle has had to contend with fluctuating health regulations and restrictions for pretty much the entirety of the space’s existence. To adapt to this new normal, Rainbow City had to evolve beyond Pickle’s initial conception of the venue.

The space was originally conceived as something of a personal venue for Pickle when her career focus was as a DJ. As clubs and venues became unsafe, Pickle transformed the dance floor into a funky, ad-hoc dining area. Then, as eat-in establishments began to also become restricted, she further adjusted the space to meet proper health standards.

So, you might be wondering what function it serves today.

The location is a quasi-collective which hosts independent businesses and artists who are contract workers or their own bosses. Pickle believes people shouldn’t rely on corporate America and they should trust in themselves to do what they

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 16, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

PORTLAND’S NEWEST EVENT SPACE IS HOME TO BELLY DANCERS AND A RIDEABLE UNICORN

love for work, rather than what is expected of them.

This passion for self-employment is exactly what inspired Rainbow City. As an army veteran and former preschool owner, Pickle said she became tired of adhering to someone else’s structure. She wanted an occupation that came with a sense of freedom, and she wanted to make up her own rules.

“I had this near death experience, during which I had this epiphany, this big spiritual awakening,” Pickle said. “That’s when I had this vision of what now is Rainbow City. I went to investors and the bank seeking loans, and tried explaining my vision with words like, ‘big fluffy clouds and lots of lights’—and they just couldn’t see it the way I did.” Pickle emphasized financing Rainbow City in those early stages was challenging, but she was adamant to get it done.

Finding an actual physical location for the space proved difficult for Pickle, as well. It was about a year and a half before the location became available—a shuttered auto shop that Pickle thought was perfect for her new workspace. Not only was the interior “perfect,” as Pickle described it, but Hippo Hardware has a rainbow wall adjacent to her space that she says was a part of her original vision.

Pickle wanted the space so much that she sold her house to cover the startup costs. She said she had “just enough to cover first, last and the current month’s rent,” but she was still ecstatic about it.

“I put everything I had into getting this place and I had just enough to do it,” Pickle said. “Total serendipity, every part of it.”

Pickle had to endure a great deal of sacrifice to create Rainbow City.

“Now that it’s a reality, I see it as a gift from the universe,” she said.

Currently, Rainbow City is home to several regular, independent artists that sell a variety of products such as paintings, hand-made jewelry, vintage clothing and holistic health care boxes. Attached to the venue is a small food cart hub, and the aforementioned belly dancing troupe performs almost every Saturday night to live music.

Aside from retail, the business doubles as an exhibit for Pickle and other local artists to display their current work. The majority of the outsourced art is graffiti from local, Portland artists. The majority of the space is essentially a gallery dedicated to Pickle’s own art.

The real attraction is Rainbow City’s decor and atmosphere— a kaleidoscope of bouncing lights and neon graffiti, like a bowl of Fruity Pebbles filled with MD 20/20. In a seating area there’s a sofa with Hawaiian flowers painted over it and vintage arcade cabinets like Pac-Man and Galaga. It’s a real trip.

Everything in the studio is hand-made by Pickle herself. She puts her whole heart and imagination into keeping the area fresh and vibrant with new art pieces and installations.

As far as health regulations go, attending Rainbow City is approximately like shopping at a farmer’s market: masks are required, socially distancing is expected and try not to touch what you’re not planning to buy.

Pickle told me that Rainbow City was ”made for everyone [and] it was made for Portland.” The artist wants people to come experience the world she’s made, and to buy and sell locally made goods that further support the blue-collar independent contractors in our community. Simply put, Rainbow City’s a network of talented artists that seems to be growing with each passing day.

ARTS & CULTURE

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GRUDGE MATCH

SAM GARCIA

THE BEST ZELDA GAME

NICK GATLIN AND MORGAN TROPER

Grudge match is a regular series where two or more Portland State Vanguard contributors debate on a divisive issue in pop culture. This edition features a discussion between Opinion Editor Nick Gatlin and Arts & Culture Editor Morgan Troper on the best Zelda game, inspired by a contentious Twitter poll.

Nick Gatlin: I think Breath of the Wild is one of the best games in the Zelda series because it takes the games back to their roots. It expands on the open-world adventure philosophy of the first Legend of Zelda with a modern open-world engine, and it perfectly embodies the spirit of the series.

Morgan Troper: I really like BotW, though I am sympathetic to the issues some people have with it. I feel like it misinterprets the essence of the series and the focus on combat and exploration comes at the expense of the tight puzzle solving Zelda is known for. I also don’t think the story is too memorable.

NG: That’s fair. I think BotW has a completely different philosophy than most other Zelda games, which probably makes a lot of people who grew up with the series a little uncomfortable. I grew up with Twilight Princess [on the Wii] and Phantom Hourglass [on the Nintendo DS], so I know the linear, puzzle solving aspect of Zelda is what a lot of people know the games for. I don’t think the disagreement is about whether BotW is a good game, but if it’s a good Zelda game. I completely understand how someone who really enjoyed games like Ocarina of Time, Wind Waker and Majora’s Mask would be put off by BotW—I think both types of games have their place in the series.

MT: Yeah, the first Zelda game I remember playing right at launch was Majora’s Mask, and I was super excited for Wind Waker.

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ARTS & CULTURE

To me, Wind Waker sort of feels like everything great about the early 3D Zelda games in one package, before that formula started to get a little stale with Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword. I think Wind Waker might secretly be the most influential game in the series—its art style obviously had a huge influence on BotW, but also non-Zelda games like Okami and Persona 5.

NG: I also love Wind Waker but I feel like in a head-to-head matchup it would lose against most Zelda games. I first got into 3D Zelda with Twilight Princess so I might have nostalgia goggles on, but after playing Wind Waker I never really had the desire to play it again. I’ve played BotW countless times and I’ve even played Ocarina and Twilight Princess more than once, but Wind Waker just got really stale for me after a while. I love it for its art style and its influence on the series but gameplay-wise I think it’s really lacking.

MT: I think nostalgia goggles are a huge problem when it comes to evaluating old games—like I also really love the Shrek game for the first Xbox, which I know is objectively terrible. In what ways do you find Wind Waker lacking?

NG: I think the game was just too linear which made it too easy. None of the puzzles are that difficult and the way you go through a play-through is the same every time, which gets old after a while. I have kind of the same issue with TP and Ocarina, but those games have challenging enough puzzles and enough choice in the main plot (which temple you go to first, which side quests you do, etc) to feel interesting every time, although those games also get stale. I just really like open world games where I can follow the “main plot” if I want to but I can also mess around in the world if I want.

MT: Yeah, I think BotW is obviously the only truly open-world Zelda game, and while I think it’s pretty neat that we got that I hope Nintendo won’t rest on their laurels. I’ve had a really difficult time envisioning the sequel—will it be an expansion that takes place on the same map, or will it just be the same engine but take place in a more confined environment? An open-world Zelda wouldn’t be as novel the second time and I hope it isn’t a permanent new direction for the series.

To your point about Wind Waker being linear, there is a certain amount of sequence breaking in every post [A Link to the Past, for the Super Nintendo] Zelda game I think, even if it’s only like being able to switch the order of a couple of dungeons. I played the Wii U version of Wind Waker last year and it looks great and plays better than the GameCube version thanks to some quality of life changes. I feel like it’s really inspired and more fluid than Twilight Princess, both in its pacing and the gameplay mechanics themselves. I also like how it’s the only game to really honor the series’ chronology—they’re really explicit about how it’s the sequel to Ocarina of Time.

NG: I do appreciate the timeline aspect of Wind Waker. I guess I just enjoy the style of open-world games more with the freedom they provide over the value of a tight, linear plot. It’s not really that one is better than the other, just that they hit different points. I hope BotW 2 does something unique with its map like rebuild Hyrule or show us a different region. Maybe the best sequel would be some kind of synthesis between the open-world and linear games and have an open-world engine with a strong old-school Zelda plot.

Although to be honest, Zelda’s never really had incredibly sophisticated plots.

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 16, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

THE SMART CITIES ON THE EDGE OF FOREVER A LOOK TOWARD THE “INNOVATION ZONES” OF THE FUTURE

NICK GATLIN MUSK CITY, Nevada—the day began like any other day in southern Nevada. Neon lights flickered on at 5:30 a.m., framing one of the many electronic billboards that broadcast Elon Musk’s Twitter feed each day. A new tweet flashed across the screen—“Dogecoin to the moon! Bitcoin is toast. #ColonizeMars.” Throngs of onlookers gasped as they saw the declaration, glancing anxiously at their phones as their Robinhood accounts plummeted in value.

Wake the fuck up, diamond hands. Welcome to Musk City.

The Nevada State Legislature passed a bill introduced by Gov. Sisolak in early 2021 allowing technology companies to form their own local governments, in order to attract technology firms to the state in an effort to “jumpstart the state’s economy.” The bill empowered these corporate governments to levy taxes, create school districts, form courts, and provide government services, the Associated Press reported at the time.

The development of what would be known as Musk City began in late 2021, as tech corporations grew so large in size and productive capacity they saw the need to break free from the bonds of ordinary government. The development itself began as a 250-square-kilometer plot of land in the Mojave Desert, but soon its ambitions grew too large to be contained. First it annexed the town of Searchlight, then Goodsprings and Nelson.

The city of Musk became a megametropolis spanning the length of southern Nevada. Then, the grand prize: Las Vegas.

The battle between the Las Vegans and the Muskites was hard-fought, but ultimately Musk City’s technological advantage won them the war, as their newly-developed Tesla Pulse Cannons™ breached Las Vegas’ defenses like silly putty. On August 24, 2022, Las Vegas was conquered by the Tesla Corporation, becoming the capital of the new Tesla Innovation Empire.

Las Vegas was officially given the name of Musk City, christened after the benevolent tech magnate that gave it new life.

Half the casinos in the city were converted into new Tesla factories; the other half remained casinos, but instead of U.S. dollars they only paid out in Tesla scrip. One of the first orders of business for the new Tesla government was outlawing the use of all United States legal tender, substituting all money for scrip called “Musk Bucks.” This scrip soon became the only money accepted within the Tesla Innovation Empire.

Today, children are educated in the Unified Tesla School District in matters of technology, finance, and the virtues of wealth accumulation. Students are exposed to such classic literature as Capitalism and

Freedom, The Machinery of Freedom, Atlas Shrugged, The Road to Serfdom and, of course, the official biography of their dear leader, Elon Musk: Tesla, SpaceX, and the Quest for a Fantastic Future.

The Tesla Innovation Empire is a self-proclaimed libertarian anarcho-capitalist utopia; as such, it does not collect taxes from any citizens, because it does not consider itself a “state.”

Instead, the TIE collects the surplus from the value its workers produce that those workers are not compensated for. The TIE insists this is somehow different.

Order in Musk City is maintained by the Tesla Police™, a force of robotic police officers built in cooperation with Boston Dynamics. These robocops possess superhuman-like strength, agility and endurance, are able to leap high into the air and are able to headshot a civilian from 200 meters. They also have a line of robotic police dogs named “Spot,” which use their superstrength and large robotic arm to lift houseless people off the street and throw them into the wastes of the Mojave Desert.

Organized labor and strike actions are strictly forbidden in Musk City. If any workers are found to engage in seditious and/ or unproductive activities, the Tesla Police™ are immediately dispatched to resolve the situation. When residents move to Musk City, they sign a contract that states they agree to the use of “any degree of physical or emotional force” by police to prevent such labor actions—as such, the TIE does not violate the Non-Aggression Principle (NAP).

If any employees are caught engaging in unproductive activity, they are promptly brought before the Tesla Courts™ while a Tesla Attorney™ prosecutes their case. They are not appointed a public defender, because there is no such thing as the “public” in the TIE. If convicted, employees are sentenced to spend time in Tesla Jail™ and are restricted from accessing the Tesla Luxury Store™.

Today, in October 2022, the Tesla Innovation Empire is in a state of war with Blockchain Kingdom, LLC, a rival government to the east.

The two corporate states have amassed their forces to fight for control of

the greater southeast Nevada area, in a battle for supremacy in the tech world. Musk’s tweet decrying Bitcoin was a shot across the bow in a tense struggle that will shape the future of technology for decades to come.

The Tesla Innovation Empire has reached a tentative strategic alliance with Facebook, U.S.A. (formerly Carson City), though diplomatic talks have begun to break down as their mutual trade partner, the Robinhood Republic in Boulder City, has faced a liquidity crisis that threatens to cut off all trade along the Colorado River. Facebook has been inching toward the Blockchain Kingdom, with its promises of free and profitable exchange with well-known cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, ever since Musk City and the TIE migrated to Dogecoin and Musk Bucks.

Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak, who is running for reelection this year, has promised to voters that the government of Nevada will retain power if he is reelected. Voters have expressed concern about the growth of corporate cities, fearing they may soon overthrow the existing state government in favor of a corporate technocracy. Politicians have publicly dismissed such fears as “ridiculous.” Fueling fears, Sisolak was seen privately meeting with Elon Musk at the governor’s mansion on October 12, with armed bodyguards wearing Tesla™ armbands standing watch outside. No details have been disclosed to the public about this meeting.

The governor’s office did not respond to questions about the rumored corporate takeover when asked on Monday. Reporting for Tesla News™, this is Ben Teslamancer, signing off.

SAM GARCIA

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 16, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

OPINION

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VIRTUAL

EVENTS CALENDAR TUE FEB

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CHINESE NEW YEAR LANTERN VIEWING Lan Su Chinese Garden In-person event 6 p.m., 7 p.m., 8 p.m. $20–25 Ongoing through February 28

Northwest Portland’s iconic Lan Su Chinese Garden will be hosting a socially distanced New Year celebration.

This year’s lantern exhibit will feature the debut of a new, 18-foot phoenix sculpture from China.

THU

MINARI

FEB

Minari is the latest A24 surefire hit from director Lee Isaac Chung. To quote the plot summary on Living Room Theaters’ site: “MINARI follows a Korean-American family that moves to a tiny Arkansas farm in search of their own American Dream. The family home changes completely with the arrival of their sly, foul-mouthed, but incredibly loving grandmother. Amidst the instability and challenges of this new life in the rugged Ozarks, MINARI shows the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.

18 SAT FEB

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EVENTS

Living Room Theaters In-person event 2:30 p.m., 5 p.m., 7 p.m. $13.75

JORYU HANGA ” KYOKAI, 1956–65 Portland Art Museum 10 a.m.–5 p.m. $20 Ongoing through April 11

ZOOM IN ON BOLLYWOOD

Streaming via Northwest Film Center 6 p.m. $195 Ongoing through February 23

FREE FLU SHOTS AND THE 31ST ANNUAL COVID TESTING CASCADE FESTIVAL PCC Cascade Campus OF AFRICAN FILMS 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

Free Ongoing through March 31

Producer and musician Kavita Baliga— who wrote the music for Slumdog Millionaire—offers a comprehensive three-course Zoom seminar on 20th century Indian cinema.

Uninsured and BIPOC folks are prioritized for free flu shots and COVID-19 testing. Call in advance to schedule. Walking, driving and biking are all permitted.

JUDAS AND THE BLACK MESSIAH

LAND

Living Room Theaters In-person event 2 p.m., 4:20 p.m., 6:45 p.m. $13.75 “FBI informant William O’Neal (LaKeith Stanfield) infiltrates the Illinois Black Panther Party and is tasked with keeping tabs on their charismatic leader, Chairman Fred Hampton (Daniel Kaluuya). A career thief, O’Neal revels in the danger of manipulating both his comrades and his handler, Special Agent Roy Mitchell (Jesse Plemons). Hampton’s political prowess grows just as he’s falling in love with fellow revolutionary Deborah Johnson (Dominique Fishback).

Meanwhile, a battle wages for O’Neal’s soul. Will he align with the forces of good? Or subdue Hampton and The Panthers by any means, as FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover (Martin Sheen) commands?

Living Room Theaters In-person event 2:20 p.m., 4:40 p.m., 7:25 p.m. $13.75 “From acclaimed actress Robin Wright comes her directorial debut LAND, the poignant story of one woman’s search for meaning in the vast and harsh American wilderness.”

TAG! QUEER SHORTS FESTIVAL 2021 Streaming via Hollywood Theatre 6 p.m. $35; $20 for students and seniors Ongoing through February 28

Online event, via PCC Different showings; free Ongoing through March 10

The Annual Cascade Festival of African Films—which, naturally, will be migrating entirely to the internet this year—features African films by African filmmakers. Among the films showcased this year are Sam Soko’s Softie and You Will Die at Twenty, Sudan’s first Oscar nomination.

MERCURY MUSIC SERIES PRESENTS: YAWA Streaming via Portland Mercury 8 p.m. $10–100 21+ YAWA—formerly the artist known as Amenta Abioto—is the latest artist to headline the Portland Mercury’s ongoing livestream series. Mercury contributor and former music editor Jenni Moore wrote that YAWA’s work “is a fluid combination of jazz, hip-hop, soul, and African music.”

“The 2021 edition of the Tag! Queer Shorts Festival arrives February 18-28 as a new Hollywood Theatresponsored program. This year’s festival features over 40 short films that acknowledge the range of emotions and experiences that mark the past year, feelings from isolation to joy that find special resonance within queer and trans communities.”

The Portland Art Museum presents an exhibit on Japan’s famous printmaking society, Joryū Hanga Kyōkai—or the Women’s Print Association—with a series of etchings and lithographs from 1956 to 1965.

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 16, 2021 • psuvanguard.com