Daily Vanguard October 29, 2009 by Portland State Vanguard

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 29, 2009 • PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY • VOLUME 64, ISSUE 27

Event of the day The national health care debate comes to Portland State today at the Multicultural Center. There will be a panel featuring several experts on the topic, providing information to the public. When: Noon Where: SMSU, room 228

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INSIDE NEWS A stem of success Five schools to receive $2.6 million for underrepresented students PAGE 2 The Daily Cut Your world in brief PAGE 3

Arts

Transforming Lincoln Hall

The passion of the metal areola snatchers Chariots of Rubber mixes metal, demolition and zombies PAGE 4

Building undergoes drastic changes, addresses safety concerns Kate Alexander

Building global cities Second annual conference examines how we become and act as citizens of the world PAGE 4 A day in death Guardino Gallery plays dead with its latest gallery show PAGE 5

Sports

Fan at the stand An inside perspective of a Blazers game PAGE 6

After two years of renovation, the Lincoln Hall deferred maintenance project will finish July 30, 2010. The currently displaced performing arts classes will return to the historic hall fall term of 2010. With $29.1 million in cash and bonds, the project is addressing serious “structural and safety deficiencies in Lincoln Hall,” according to Judith Minton, director of development for the School of Fine and Performing Arts. In addition, $1.5 million of Oregon stimulus plan funds were used to purchase energy-efficient windows. The new windows will reduce the noise from outside traffic and “bring light back into the building,” according to Barbara Sestak, dean of the School of Fine and Performing Arts. The memorable entry to the large performance hall was kept intact to “retain historical flavor,” Sestak said. The space around the entry to Lincoln Hall has been modified to create a lobby atmosphere for the 350-plus student and community art events held annually in the Portland State venue. On either side of the performance hall, skylights will illuminate stairwells reaching from the first to the third floor. Despite cutting away floor space for the stairwell design, the overall square footage of Lincoln Hall will increase, said Ron Blaj, project manager. Students and faculty will notice other improvements, including increased orchestra pit size, an additional performance space, 16 practice rooms, more windows for street-level classrooms and a new black box.

All photos by Aaron Leopold/Portland State Vanguard

Vanguard staff

Barbara Sestak: Tour guide and dean of the School of Fine and Performing Arts.

Dave Qujvey: Wright Construction project

manager.

Vanguard 2 | News October 29, 2009

Sarah J. Christensen Editor-in-Chief Danielle Kulczyk News Editor Theodora Karatzas Arts & Culture Editor Richard D. Oxley Opinion Editor Robert Britt Sports Editor Shannon Vincent Production Manager Marni Cohen Photo Editor Zach Chastaine Online Editor Jennifer Wolff Chief Copy Editor Jennifer Wolff Calendar Editor Matthew Kirtley Advertising Manager Judson Randall Adviser Ann Roman Advertising Adviser Illustrator Kira Meyrick Marketing Manager Kelsey Chinen Associate News Editor Virginia Vickery Production Assistants Bryan Morgan, Charles Cooper Williams

Writers Kate Alexander, William Blackford, Bianca Blankenship, Alanna Connor, Meaghan Daniels, Erica DeCouteau, Mariah FryeKeele, Joel Gaddis, Natalia Grozina, Patrick Guild, Rosemary Hanson, Steve Haske, Ed Johnson, Carrie Johnston, Mark Johnston, Tamara K. Kennedy, Anita Kinney, Katie Kotsovos, Gogul Krishnan, J. Logue, James MacKenzie, Holly Millar, Sean Rains, Stephanie Fine Sasse, Wendy Shortman, Nilesh Tendolkar, Robin Tinker, Vinh Tran, Virginia Vickery, Allison Whited Photographers Aaron Leopold, Rodrigo Melgarejo, Liana Shewey, Adam Wickham Copy Editor Robert Seitzinger Advertising Sales Matthew Kirtley, Ana SanRoman, Jae Specht, Wesley Van Der Veen Advertising Designer Shannon Vincent Contact Editor-in-Chief 503-725-5691 editor@dailyvanguard.com Advertising Manager 503-725-5686 ads@dailyvanguard.com The Vanguard is chartered to publish four days a week as an independent student newspaper by the PSU Publications Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers, and do not necessarily represent those of the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. One copy of the Vanguard is provided free of charge to all community members, additional copies or subcription issues may incur a 25 cent charge. The Vanguard is printed on 40 percent post-consumer recycled paper. Copyright © 2009 Portland State University Vanguard 1825 SW Broadway, Smith Memorial Student Union, Rm. S-26, Portland, Ore., 97201

NEWS

A stem of success

Five schools to receive $2.6 million for underrepresented students Mariah Frye-Keele Vanguard staff

Portland State will receive funding over the next five years from the National Science Foundation aimed at doubling the number of minority student populations seeking degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, or STEM. The grant, named the Pacific Northwest Louis Stokes Alliance for Minority Participation (PNW LSAMP), calls for $2.6 million to be awarded to Portland State and University of Washington, Oregon State University, Boise State University and Washington State University. “We will receive $7,000 the first year and then $10,000 for the next four years after that,” said Linda Mantel, Portland State’s program coordinator for PNW LSAMP. “After the five years is up, we will be evaluated. The more students we graduate, the more funding we will get.” It took about a year and a half to get organized for the grant, Mantel said. “These students are highly motivated, determined and persistent,” said Lorna Tran, project director of PNW LSAMP at Portland State. “We have an untapped pool of talent, but are not seeing those numbers reflected in STEM,” Tran said. There are over 40 different PNW LSAMP projects across the country,

each bringing their own character and culture to the table. The grant marks Portland State’s first involvement with a project of this nature that has focused mainly on science. “We are the only school with a leadership system like this,” Mantel said. “Usually the schools run the program out of the student group office. We have the best of all worlds— we have an experienced advisor and two students at the front lines.” The grant will reach its goal of doubling minority STEM graduates by recruitment, readiness, retention and research. “We are trying to provide research opportunities that will help with the transition to graduate school,” Mantel said. It will also give minority students the support, opportunities and community necessary to thrive in a rigorous academic atmosphere. “In addition to the funding, every year there will be a research conference hosted by each of the participating schools in the Northwest alliance,” Mantel said. “Ten students will have the opportunity to go and present their research. The travel and expenses are funded by the grant.” Arturo Garcia and Mike Tejada are graduate assistants and mentors currently involved with the program. They are working with Mantel and Tran in the planning and execution of the project. “I volunteered at a high school to identify what [students’] needs might be to keep them in school, and then bringing those ideas back to campus to see what we can do

Mike Tejada: Graduate assistant involved in PNW LSAMP.

to help them continue on,” said Garcia, who is working towards a master’s in science and teaching. Getting to know the needs of students not only improves the campus community, but the country as a while, Tejada said.

Aaron Leopold/Portland State Vanguard

“We want to emphasize that we are open for anyone, despite nationality. This is about being inclusive,” Mantel said. “All students will benefit because of the enthusiasm of the professors. The purpose is to really lift everyone.”

CAMPUS CONNECTIONS News for students, by students

The Daily Emerald: University drafts sustainable climate plan Steve Mital was hired as the University’s first director of sustainability in 2007—the same year then-University President Dave Frohnmayer signed the American College and University Presidents’ Climate Commitment, a nationwide effort of institutional commitments to neutralize greenhouse gas emissions and help re-stabilize the earth’s climate. Mital says that the University was one of the early signatories, but that number has grown substantially to more than 650. “By signing the commitment, every signatory has to reduce their carbon emissions to zero by 2050,” Mital said. “The University’s emissions include lights, computer energy use, travel; everything in the name of University business.” Now in 2009, Mital and two graduate students Ethan Rainwater and Mark Nystrom from the Office of Sustainability have released the first draft of the Climate Action Plan (CAP). The 53-page document is what Mital sees as the outline for the University’s emission reduction for the next 40 years. Mital says that the CAP will be able to shift and adapt to changing circumstances, and as a starting point, the CAP is available for review and comment from students, faculty

and staff at the Office of Sustainability’s Web site. Up until December, the comments will be collected and taken into consideration; then the CAP will be revised by Rainwater and Nystrom and presented to President Lariviere for a second signing. Included in the CAP are the University’s carbon emissions for the past 20 years, calculating that in the fiscal year of 2008 total emissions equaled 70,778 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which compared with other research institutions Mital finds relatively low. “Our emissions are half as many carbon emissions per person or square footage...compared with our peers,” Mital said. “However, our reduced emissions are due to a geographic accident, not what we have done ourselves.” By breaking down the 70,000 tons, Rainwater and Nystrom calculated that 47 percent of emissions come from “on-site combustion,” which includes burning natural gas to generate steam, which is distributed throughout the main campus to heat the buildings. Another large chunk of emissions, 31 percent, comes from air travel, something Mital and Rainwater did not see coming. “It was surprising to see how much air travel comprised of the total emissions,” Mital said. “But in order to meet the mission of the [University] faculty and students have to travel.” “Automobile commuting also

made up a significant fraction [7 percent],” Rainwater said. “This is a piece that every member of the campus community can address with their personal lifestyle choices.” CAP plans for the University to stabilize and begin to reduce carbon emissions by 2010 and achieve climate neutrality by 2050, but Rainwater believes it is really up to the individual to make the biggest difference. “The level to which the CAP affects students is really up to the students themselves,” Rainwater said. “As far as behavioral changes, students will have the choice whether to be a part of this amazing time of change, or whether they’d rather just keep on with business as usual.” As part of the implementation, the University will be making some major upgrades to the campus infrastructure including building retrofits like double-paned glass, occupancy sensors and heating systems. Rainwater said the University will also see a major renewable energy installation on campus, along with the other six Oregon University System schools. Mital, however; hopes for more than physical changes in the coming years. “Part one of this will involve more opportunities for students to engage and learn about sustainability on campus,” Mital said. CAP does not include any clauses for student fees, but Rainwater

included that it “is largely a financial challenge.” In a CAP Facilities Assessment Report it is estimated that costs would approximately reach $153 million to address two parts of the reductions across the Oregon University System, with the University share totaling $25.8 million. Frances Dyke, vice president of finance and administration, is less worried about the price tag CAP holds, but more about what technology will be available years from now. “Technology is changing so rapidly that a dollar amount investment will be very different in five, 10, 40 years from now,” Dyke said. “It will be a challenge in how we will accomplish our goals in the coming years.” The CAP acknowledges that weighing in on decision making is the potential for major breakthroughs in technology. If, in the coming years, there is a large increase in efficiency for a given technology, the University may decide to wait before implementing a systemwide upgrade. Dyke and Mital are both excited to see CAP implemented at the University, but Mital clarifies that the CAP will take time and a lot of work. “We are not talking about getting rid of energy consumption,” Mital said. “We are looking for sensible ways to reduce as many emissions as possible and then shift to alternative sources.” —Anna Helland

The Daily Cut

Vanguard News | 3 October 29, 2009

Your world in brief

World: French vessel exchanges fire with Somali pirates

Nation: Tough commute likely after Bay Bridge rod snaps

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP)—Somali pirates fired on a French fishing vessel and guards on board returned fire, prompting a military helicopter and warship to rush to the scene, authorities said Wednesday. Seven Somali pirates were arrested. Pirates in two skiffs fired on the French vessel about 350 miles east of the Somali capital of Mogadishu, said Cmdr. John Harbour of the European Union Naval Force. French military personnel on board the trawler, the “Cape Saint Vincent,” returned fire, French military spokesman Rear Adm. Christophe Prazuck said. It did not appear that any of the shots hit the pirates, he said. A German warship was dispatched to the scene, as was a helicopter, which fired warning shots at the pirates, who then were seen throwing items on the boat overboard. Once the warship arrived, seven pirates were detained, the EU Naval Force said. The attack off the east coast of Africa came Tuesday, the same day authorities said it appeared likely Somali pirates had captured a British couple sailing on a yacht. A Somali pirate told The Associated Press the couple was being taken to a village on Somalia’s southern coast. International naval forces have been hunting for the British couple feared taken by pirates. Paul and Rachel Chandler were heading to Tanzania in their yacht, the Lynn Rival, when a distress signal was sent early Friday, according to the U.K. Maritime and Coast Guard Agency.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge has been closed indefinitely after a rod installed during last month’s emergency repairs snapped, causing a traffic nightmare for the 280,000 motorists who cross the landmark span every day. Engineers on Wednesday will evaluate the damage caused when the rod and metal brace fell into the 73-yearold bridge’s westbound lanes during Tuesday evening’s rush hour. At least two vehicles—a car and a small truck—either were struck by or ran into the fallen rod, said California Highway Patrol Officer Peter Van Eckhardt. No injuries were reported. The California Department of Transportation said Tuesday that it will remain closed indefinitely. A spokesman for the Bay Area Rapid Transit District, meanwhile, said extra trains would run during the morning commute. The rod that fell Tuesday was erected last month during an emergency repair job. It was holding in place a saddle-like cap that had been installed over a cracked link discovered over the Labor Day weekend. When the rod apparently snapped at about 5:30 p.m., it brought down with it a steel patch roughly 3 feet long, authorities said. “If you look at the totality of the circumstances—you’ve got the 5:30 commute, you have a 5,000-pound piece of steel falling out of the sky. We are so fortunate that no one was injured or killed,” CHP Sgt. Trent Cross told KTVU-TV.

California Department of Transportation, or Caltrans, officials had nothing to say Tuesday about what might have caused the failure. The department issued a brief statement saying only that “structural engineers and inspectors are onsite to assess the damage and will make a determination as to how long repairs will take. “At this time, the bridge is closed until further notice,” the statement said. Abolhassan Astaneh-Asl, a civil engineering professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who has spent 20 years studying the Bay Bridge, called the initial crack a “warning sign” of potentially bigger safety issues with the bridge. “The repair they were doing was really a Band-Aid,” said Astaneh-Asl, who criticized Caltrans at the time for rushing to reopen the bridge. Astaneh-Asl said the failure of the repair job demonstrates the need for a longer-term solution. The bridge’s age and design make it susceptible to collapse, especially if commercial tractortrailers are allowed to continue using it, he said. “I think Caltrans is putting public relations ahead of public safety,” he said. —John Marshall, Lisa Leff

Local: 2 die following early release from Portland jail PORTLAND, Ore. (AP)—A pair of inmates released from the Multnomah County jail on Saturday because of overcrowding died two days later, apparently from heroin overdoses. The bodies of Rex A. Rumer, 51, and Jamie D. Coleman, 22, were found in

Rumer’s southeast Portland apartment. The drugs and vice division is investigating. Rumer had been in jail on heroin possession and delivery charges, with no hope of coming up with the money needed for bail. On Saturday, he called his sister, Sundee Buchanan, asking for a ride home from jail. He and 26 other inmates had been released early because of overcrowding. Coleman got out early, too. A month earlier, Multnomah County pretrial release counselors had recommended that Coleman not be released before his trial because he had no local ties and a long history of failing to appear in court, The Oregonian newspaper reported. With nowhere to go after Saturday’s release, he went to Rumer’s place. “If they were still in jail, they’d be alive,” Buchanan said. “Unfortunately, the system has never worked for my brother.” Coleman’s father, Dan Coleman, declined to place blame, saying no one forced his son to shoot up heroin: “I just figured the longer he was there, the longer he was safe and not getting drugs.” Multnomah County Sheriff ’s Office said the weekend surge in its jail population was largely due to the roundup of 19 federally indicted suspects from a drug-trafficking investigation. The sheriff ’s office can’t release people booked on federal indictments, or those who face holds by the U.S. Marshal’s Office. When the jails reach capacity, the sheriff ’s office generally releases those considered to pose less risk to the community, said Lt. Mary Lindstrand, sheriff ’s office spokeswoman.

News Editor: Danielle Kulczyk 503-725-5690 news@dailyvanguard.com

Correction: In Wednesday’s article [‘From Blueprints to Green Buildings’] the research lab is looking at “radiative” not “radioactive” properties. The Vanguard regrets this error.

Events today Health Care Reform Debate Who: All Portland State students and community members When: Today, noon to 1:30 p.m. Where: Multicultural Center, SMSU room 228 Why: To inform the public on health care reform issues and discuss them in an educational and informative matter

Vanguard 4 | Arts & Culture October 29, 2009

ARTS & CULTURE

Arts Editor: Theodora Karatzas 503-725-5694 arts@dailyvanguard.com

Halloween trivia and fun facts Orange and black are Halloween colors because orange is associated with the fall harvest and black is associated with darkness and death. Jack-o’-lanterns originated in Ireland where people placed candles in hollowed-out turnips to keep away spirits and ghosts on the Samhain holiday Pumpkins also come in white, blue and green. Great for unique monster carvings! Halloween was brought to North America by immigrants from Europe who would celebrate the harvest around a bonfire, share ghost stories, sing, dance and tell fortunes. Tootsie Rolls were the first wrapped penny candy in America. The ancient Celtics thought that spirits and ghosts roamed the countryside on Halloween night. They began wearing masks and costumes to avoid being recognized as human. Halloween candy sales average about $2 billion annually in the United States. Chocolate candy bars top the list as the most popular candy for trick-or-treaters with Snickers at No. 1. Bobbing for apples is thought to have originated from the Roman harvest festival that honors Pomona, the goddess of fruit trees. Black cats were once believed to be witch’s familiars who protected their powers. If you see a spider on Halloween, it is the spirit of a loved one watching over you. —www.halloweenwebsite.com/trivia.htm

Chariots of Rubber mixes metal, demolition and zombies Anita Kinney Vanguard staff

Penned by local writer Jeffrey Wonderful, with music co-written by Private Mike Albano of Diamond Tuck, Chariots of Rubber is a great addition to the Portland stage this Halloween weekend. Wonderful co-founded the Rose City Rollers, a Portland-based roller derby team, and for a time was active in a monthly wrestling satire event called Portland Organic Wrestling, which may give you an idea of his influences. Chariots debuted at Theater! Theatre! in late July to sold-out crowds and overflow seating. A second run at the Interstate Firehouse Cultural Center was equally successful and now it returns to Theater! Theatre! for a third run this weekend. Set in Coos County, the musical follows the misadventures of childhood best friends Tommy and Crash (Jerud Moyer and Donny Don’t, respectively), and they live according to “The Code of the Bro,” which is one of the most memorable musical numbers in the show. They dream of someday winning the Coos County Crash Up, an annual demolition derby. The music is great: 1980s metal with a dash of Rocky Horror Picture Show. The choreography done by Lisa Ventrella is spot-on. Narrative interludes provided by mock newscasts are hilarious. The absurdity of the script (at one point, a character announces that she has given a boy “zombie crabs”) provides consistent laughs, as does the overly

macho relationship between Tommy and Crash. The plot device—a hood ornament that allows the person who wields it to reanimate the dead—is also a riot. So are the villains of the production, the Sisters Areola (Misti Icenbice and Lucinda Beth Thompson), twins who cut off their victims’ nipples and have fight scenes in haiku. The difficulty with Chariots of Rubber is that, great music and concept aside, the show is very difficult to follow. Something was off about the acoustics in the theater, and large chunks of songs were nearly incomprehensible. Since the songs often give background information on characters or introduced them outright, it can be difficult to figure out who’s who. This difficulty is compounded by the fact that many of the women have similar costumes and roles. The concept of the “Final Massacre” is difficult to follow, too, since it seems that zombies have

been going strong in Coos County for years, and it’s closely linked to the annual derby event (how can a massacre be the final massacre if it happens annually?). Despite the sequential problems, Chariots of Rubber is still a blast. It looks good, it sounds good and the special effects are killer: Watching blood spurt out of Tommy’s nipples after the Areola Sisters have ceremoniously removed them is definitely one of the best visuals on display at a Portland stage this year and is worth the price of entry.

Chariots of Rubber Theater! Theatre! 3430 SE Belmont St. Oct. 29 and Oct. 30, 10:30 p.m. $15–20

Chariots of Rubber: Bringing the hot cop out

of retirement and onto the stage.

Photo courtesy of Pasha Photography

Building global cities Second annual conference examines how we become and act as citizens of the world Wendy Shortman Vanguard staff

Leerom Medovoi, director of the Portland Center for Public Humanities at Portland State, has been planning the second annual Trajectories of Cosmopolitanism event series at Portland State University. According to Medovoi, the series brings together a “list of distinguished scholars from a number of different disciplines.” “[Trajectories of Cosmopolitanism aims to answer the question] what does it mean to be a citizen of the world? And what are the possibilities, challenges and political importance it bears,” Medovoi said. The series is just one of the ways the Portland Center of Public Humanities fulfills a portion of their mission statement to “promote rigorous humanistic inquiry into the languages, histories, and ideas that shape our ways of life, as well as those that offer a means of positively transforming them.”

What better location to discuss the global city than in a city that may be small, but certainly thinks and relates to other cities on a global scale? “I think Portland’s identity is in a bit of a flux,” Medovoi said. “It’s something we often talk about in Portland, what extent are we plugged into a more global world?” Last year, the program brought in two scholarly speakers, one of them being Bruce Robbins, a professor of comparative literature at Columbia University. Robbins discussed his early work, which consisted of several anthologies about bringing cosmopolitanism back into focus intellectually. This notion involves thinking about how people define global cities, and the way that sometimes those cities are more closely related to other cities around the world, than to cities in the immediate world around them. This year, four speakers will come to town: Kenneth Reinhard will visit on Nov. 19, and Srinivas Aravamudan and David Theo Goldberg will visit in winter and spring. All of the scholars will be discussing the notion of cosmopolitanism and questions regarding how and when we form social relations, loyalties and

meanings relevant on the global scale. Thomas Bender, a professor of humanities and history at New York University and who started his career as an intellectual historian, will discuss topics of cosmopolitanism in America on Thursday. Bender’s work has focused on New York as an international hub in the U.S., as well as trying to put American history into a global context. Bender asks us to think of American and world history as interrelated and to look at how they impact or influence one another. His goal is to get us thinking about the way cities, nations and other global forces interact in a cosmopolitan world. Medovoi and the Portland Center of Public Humanities want to integrate scholarly, intellectual ideas into our own perspective of local issues. “Mostly what our center tends to aim for is to take issues that are urgent in a public way, issues for our citizens to think about,” Mendovi said. “[The series allows] developed scholars that have things to say about those issues, a chance to come and talk about those issues, and find a way to make scholarship socially and politically relevant.”

Trajectories of Cosmopolitanism: Reading by Thomas Bender Smith Memorial Student Union, Room 238 Thu, Oct. 29, 6:30 p.m. Free

Thomas Bender: Focusing on metropolitan

areas like New York City, Bender discusses the far-reaching effects of globalization.

A day in death

Guardino Gallery plays dead with its latest gallery show Joel Gaddis Vanguard staff

As Halloween grows near, the search for the perfect costume rises to a fever pitch. Partygoers are endlessly haunted by questions like, “How played out is this whole zombie thing?” or “How ironic should my zombie costume be?” Thankfully, the Guardino Gallery will offer a welcome respite from the pre-Halloween hype with its Dia de los Muertos Group Show and its opening event procession. Though the official Day of the Dead doesn’t start until Nov. 1, this Thursday will allow you to get a head start on the festivities. Unlike some other costume parties of the season, preparation is relatively straightforward. All you’ll need is a skeleton mask, a candle and some jubilant reverence for those that have left this mortal coil. The Day of the Dead celebration is rooted in ancient Mayan and Aztec traditions. As early as 3,000 years ago, these societies observed rituals honoring and memorializing their deceased ancestors. As time marched on, the custom spread throughout Mexico and is now celebrated worldwide. Though its focus is on departed loved ones, the Day of the Dead isn’t meant to be a somber occasion. On the contrary, a spirited, even jocular tone prevails. Oftentimes, this playful mood carries over to the artwork defining the Day of the Dead aesthetic. The grinning skulls of iconic Mexican illustrator José Guadalupe Posada spring to mind, as do the vibrant colors of the traditional altars prepared for the departed. With their Dia de los Muertos Group Show, the Guardino Gallery is offering 32 artists a chance to display their own distinctive interpretations of the festival. One of those artists is Ingrid Hendrix, a sculptor who specializes in ceramics. According to her, the show was a good fit for her stylistic tendencies. “I like to have a lot of dualities involved with each piece,” Hendrix said. “The life-and-death duality totally fits in with the Day of the Dead theme.” Hendrix’s work certainly emanates an appreciation for dichotomies and amalgamations. Frequently, the human figures she creates are blended with animal features, or vice versa. Her Small Things collection, for example, features a series of humanlike busts endowed with rabbit ears, bird beaks and ram horns. This sense of surprise carries over into her newer work, which she likens to toys with a strange side. “Originally toys taught really traditional lessons, like how to cook, be a mom, drive a car,” Hendrix said. “My toys are teaching you the weird lessons in life, and you’re not really sure what you’re going to be taught.” If Hendrix’s work is any indication, the Day of the Dead show will be a memorable way to spend an evening with friends, both living and expired.

Vanguard Arts & Culture | 5 October 29, 2009

Kiddie revolt: Things not to hand out to your trick-ortreaters this Halloween

Denise Graham, mixed media and beads

Scot Cameron-Bell, ceramic sculpture

Ingrid Hendrix, ceramic and mixed media

Armondo Olveda, papier-mâché and paint

Robin Bachtler Cushman, photography

Janet Julian, mixed media and paint

Health food Come on, what child wants a box of raisins or an apple in lieu of sugary-sweet, tooth-rotting candy? Even the so-called “fun-sized candy bars”—which are far from a size denoting fun in my opinion—are still a better bet than carrot sticks. Religious tracts Let’s get one thing straight: Halloween is NOT the devil’s birthday, nor is it a celebration of evil. The birthday one doesn’t make sense, as birthday sort of implies an actual birth and I’m pretty sure that if there is a devil, he/she/it was probably not birthed by anything or anyone. Stop being a jerk and let the kids have their fun. The worst thing to come out of Halloween is probably going to be a stomachache, not eternal damnation. Toothbrushes or other hygiene-themed goodies This one also falls into the fun-hater category. People, let’s lighten up a bit. Sugar-free gum and hand sanitizer are no way to celebrate. You aren’t being witty or subversive. No one appreciates your little gesture, save for some of the uptight parents… and who really cares about them?

Terresa White, clay and mixed media

Kim Murton, ceramic

Tabor Porter, carved wood and mixed media

Kestrel Gates, handmade paper

Bridget Benton, encaustic and mixed media

Beth Robinson, paper and mixed media

Dia de los Muertos Group Show Guardino Gallery 2939 NE Alberta St. Opens Thu, Oct. 29 Runs through Nov. 20 Free Reception and procession Alberta Co-op parking lot 1500 NE Alberta St. Thu, Oct. 29, 7 p.m. Free Kathy McConnell, mixed media

Holly Whitney, mixed media

Greg Carrigan, mixed media

Cheap candy (particularly cheap chocolate) This may sound greedy or picky, but I have a serious aversion to cheap candy and so should you. This is one of those situations where second-rate knockoffs really don’t cut it. It’s candy for goodness’ sake! Most of it’s already on sale anyway, so do us all a favor and fork out the extra couple of dollars for something good. Nothing Don’t be a Scrooge. Even if you don’t want to answer the door all night, just leave a bowl of something out on the porch. If you don’t, the repercussions will not be fun. Just remember, it’s for the kids—the pumpkin-smashing, toilet-paper-wielding kids. Do your part to keep them happy…

Vanguard 6 | Sports October 29, 2009

SPORTS Fan at the stand

Sports Editor: Robert Britt 503-725-4538 sports@dailyvanguard.com

Best outdoor basketball movies, compiled by the Vanguard

An inside perspective of a Blazers game James MacKenzie Heaven is a Playground (1991)

White Men Can’t Jump (1992)

Above the Rim (1994)

Hoop Dreams (1994)

He Got Game (1998)

Vanguard staff

For the third straight year, I was afforded the opportunity to commemorate the end of pro basketball’s summer absence with Portland on Tuesday. As a Blazers employee, it gives me the unique three-fold opportunity to simultaneously celebrate with more than 20,000 fans, interact with hundreds of them and watch the game on the concourse televisions from my little satellite T-shirt stand. From the moment the gates opened at 6 p.m., I felt an instant cathartic rush as the first of thousands of fans pushed through the Rose Garden. Within minutes, the first chants of “Let’s go Blazers!” rang through the lower concourse, as fans began to mill around expectantly. It’s easy to see that, for most of these people— and certainly for me—the night’s festivities rival Christmas in grandeur and expectation. The great thing about opening night is that nobody is particularly geared to buy merchandise, especially from my small stand. Unlike the main store, where there is a constant flow of people coming and going, my stand lets me observe fans as they circled the concourse for nearly an hour. Last year, opening night fell on Halloween, which was a mixed blessing. I wasn’t able to celebrate Halloween, dress in costume or engage in drunken tomfoolery, but I was able to watch thousands of Blazers fans partake in the fun. Though there were clear favorites in regards to costumes—Will Ferrell’s character from Semi-Pro easily trumped the sexy referee— the extravagance of the fans’ costumes spoke volumes about their passion for the team. This year, the season opener lacked the calendar date to permit sanctioned public dress-up, yet several costumed fans came to the arena on Tuesday. A returning favorite, “Darth Blazer,” whose usual black helmet is bedecked in red and the Blazers’ insignia, was flashed early onto the concourse televisions. At times it’s assuring to know that the same fans are OK coming to opening night year after year, adorning the same ridiculous ensemble just to make others around them laugh, scratch their heads or both. That's not to say this year's opening night was lacking in costumed newcomers. About halfway from when the gates opened and when the game started, I spied what I’d like to be Darth Blazer’s mortal enemy: Blazer Spider-Man. Decked in black spandex from head to toe, “Spidey Blazer” came complete with white eyes and a 10-inch Blazers logo emblazoned on his torso. When the game finally started

at 7:10 p.m., after the players walked around the concourse and descended to the arena floor through the pulsing crowd, I was allowed to sit back and more accurately observe the gamut of fan groups. As each purchaser came to buy T-shirts or knickknacks, I quickly spotted the dedication level of the individual shoppers. The easiest to identify are the bandwagon fans who are clearly not at the game so much to watch, but to be there and get drunk. There is nothing wrong with this, as it’s how everyone essentially begins liking a team. However, it is never particularly fun to describe each jersey and each player number— especially when you have to tell someone who the team’s star player is, and what number he wears. That’s not to say that there are fans that shouldn’t be at the arena. This is our team, and everyone deserves to participate and have fun. But it is another conglomeration of fans that are my favorite. The children, season ticket holders and downright fanatics are easily some of the greatest people to talk to and help when they come by the stand. The fanatics are easy enough to assist. They almost always know precisely what they want, which makes my job a thousand times easier. When they don’t, it’s amusing to watch men and women already dressed from head-to-toe in Blazers gear attempt to search for the perfect accoutrement to complete their ensemble. The best feeling is when a child or foreign fan buys their first piece of Trail Blazers merchandise. With children, it’s amazing to see their eyes light up in wonder as they get their first jersey, foam finger or miniature basketball. The foreign fans, especially from France and Spain, almost always buy Rudy Fernandez and Nicolas Batum jerseys and have incredible stories to tell as to why they are in Portland, watching the Blazers. On Tuesday, it was especially great to see fans of a lost team join the festivities. One man, donning Seattle SuperSonics’ yellow, slowly made his way around the arena holding a small, simple sign reading “Save Our Sonics.” When he walked past me at the end of the night, still holding his sign, he flashed with his other hand a giveaway-prize Blazers hat as silent confirmation that he too was here to enjoy the Blazers. I love my job. I essentially have the worst season ticket in the world, and I couldn’t be happier. It’s a rare opportunity to work alongside so many fantastic people while watching and participate in an experience with some of the most passionate fans in the NBA. By the time the Blazers pulled out their 96-87 win over the Rockets, and as chants of “Let’s go Blazers!” rang through the concourse long after the players could hear, it was again affirmed that I have one of the greatest jobs I could possibly imagine.

TIME TO BALL

Ballin': There's a variety of places in town to get your hoop on.

Portland features plenty of spaces to hoop it up Skyler Archibald Vanguard staff

During the year, many a sports fan find themselves bereft of entertainment and suffering from a case of boredom. Lo and behold, Portland offers a solid group of parks for friends and family to enjoy a game of hoops. The Vanguard takes a look at some of the best places to get your outdoor basketball game on.

Couch Park Northwest 19th Avenue and Glisan Street Nestled in a comfy northwest Portland neighborhood, this collection of short courts would look more fitting if it was in a movie scene. The surrounding park is nice and one of the only truly pet-friendly areas in northwest Portland. The brickwork on surrounding buildings, lack of nets on the basketball hoops and nearly empty basketball courts make the park seem like the kind of place a youngster would play a little shadow ball.

Peninsula Park 700 N Rosa Parks Way One of the oldest public parks in the city, Peninsula Park boasts one of the truly great features of modern-day outdoor basketball: an artificial surface. Gone are the days of worrying about skinned knees and elbows from falling down on rough asphalt. Artificial surfaces—many of them donated by Nike—are sprouting up on outdoor courts throughout the city. The park, built in 1908, is also reportedly one of the more friendly basketball venues, often featuring family games and little kids honing their skills.

Rodrigo Melgarejo/Portland State Vanguard

Irving Park Northeast Seventh Avenue and Fremont Street Although Irving Park’s courts aren’t technically outdoors—the basketball courts feature a nice roof overhead—it makes our list as one of the great spots for outdoor basketball in the city.

Lents Park Southeast 92nd Avenue and Holgate Boulevard The more-than-38 acres of Lents Park may be a lot of things, but it is unclear if basketball mecca is one of them. The Vanguard visited the park multiple times but not once did we find a soul using its basketball facilities, despite the many amenities on site.

Powell Park Southeast 26th Avenue and Powell Boulevard Conveniently located just minutes from campus, Powell Park features six total hoops and the opportunity to host two semi-full-court games simultaneously. These courts also feature artificial surfaces, and the main court has traditional lines painted on it, enabling a seriousness to the game that often goes missing in street ball.

Honorable mentions: Alberta Park Northeast 22nd Avenue and Killingsworth Street Laurelhurst Park Southeast 39th Avenue and Stark Street

etc.

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 500 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Friday, October 23, 2009

HELP WANTED Edited by Will Shortz

HALF-CENTURY PUZZLEMAKERSʼ WEEK

Note: All the daily crosswords this week, Monday through Saturday, are by puzzlemakers who have been contributing to The Times for more than 50 years. Charles Gersch, of New York City, had his first crossword published on February 21, 1944, when he was 13, in the New York Herald Tribune. He made his Times debut in 1951.

Across 1 Whips 10 Truly 14 “South Pacific” song that asks “If you donʼt have a dream, / How you gonna have a dream come true?” 15 Slice of a media ad budget 16 Something that may cover a house 18 West African currency 19 British “pounds” 20 Poetic conjunction 21 Count concluder? 22 Opera that includes the “Prisonersʼ Chorus” 24 Satirist Freberg 26 Adolescent 30 Make tracks

33 E-mail address ender 34 Its maiden flight carried its countryʼs president home 35 Pitcherʼs ploy 38 “___ turn” 39 See 43-Across 40 “Casablanca” role 41 Not so good 43 With 39-Across, pretend 44 Stay longer than 46 Column producer, for short 49 Gift tag word 52 Chambers in a bar 53 Some Polynesian plants

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55 Literary character played in film by Charles Laughton, Anthony Perkins and Geoffrey Rush 58 Bad thing to run 59 Reaches, as a sanctuary 60 “Friday Night Fights” presenter 61 One seriously into Civil War history, maybe Down 1 1962 World Cup host 2 Hosiery brand 3 Lhasa ___ 4 Like cotton candy 5 Ancient city whose name means “rock” 6 “Isnʼt ___ Shame?” (1934 hit song) 7 Registered 8 Conqueror of Valencia in 1094 9 Natural history museum exhibit 10 ___-dʼOise (French department) 11 Mark up, perhaps 12 Sumptuous 13 Unstable type 15 “Cracklinʼ ___” (Neil Diamond hit) 17 Try to clear the bar 22 “Way to go, man!” 23 Ticket request

No. 0918

17 19

Driver/Assistant Needed Hiteax incoporation is seeking a responsible individuals for full time/part time driving/assistant positions. Must be at least 25 years old with experience and Class A CDL required. Home every night. Competitive wages and full benefit package. Interested candidates should resume to hiteaxincor@live.com.

Experienced Tutor needed: I am seeking a tutor for my child. Lessons will be 2 days a week, hours are flexible, and lessons should be about an Hour. Subjects: Mathematics, Science, and English reading and writing. Interested please reply by email (andrewscastro@aol.com).

22 24

Puzzle by Charles E. Gersch

24 Disc holder 25 See 50-Down 27 Bygone spray 28 Ayn Rand hero 29 Actress Sommer 30 “How de do” 31 Give ___ to (O.K.) 32 Alphabet quartet 33 Tricked 36 Restaurant freebie

37 Letters on some luggage to N.Y.C. 42 Not so delicate 43 Pass through 45 Have ___ for (be perceptive to) 46 Colgate rival 47 ___-Novo (capital of Benin) 48 Place name in Manhattan

CALENDAR Today Disability Resource Center open house 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. SMSU, room 116 Thomas Bender: Cities, Nations and the Cosmopolitan Experience 6 p.m. SMSU, room 238

Vanguard Etc. | 7 October 29, 2009

49 “The Spirit of ʼ76” instrument 50 Change for a 25Down, maybe 51 Accept or decline 53 Spanish morsel 54 French preposition 56 Script 57 One of the Bradys on “The Brady Bunch”

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554. Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword for more information. Online subscriptions: Todayʼs puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year). Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay. Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.

Robert Jensen: Climate Change, Sustainability and Social Justice 7 p.m. SMSU, room 327

Friday Toshimitsu Shigemura: Japan and the Korean Peninsula Noon SMSU, room 294 David Strayer: The Multi-tasking Driver Noon Urban Center Building, room 204 Colored Pencils Art and Culture Night 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. SMSU, room 101 $3 donations at the door Proceeds benefit survivors of several recent Pacific natural disasters. Halloween Thriller Party 8:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Peter Stott Center $12 no costume, $10 costume, $5 Michael Jackson costume

Saturday

Each row and each column ● must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.

numberswithintheheavily ● outlinedTheboxes, called cages, must combine using the given

operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

Fillinsingle-box ● cages Freebies: with the number in the top-left corner.

attn: student groups

YOU NEED A NEW LOGO The Graphic Design Center at Portland State University is a student-operated business available to student organizations as well as the general public for various aspects of design work.

Contact: Phone: 503-725-4468 Web site: http://www.gdc.pdx.edu Blog: http://graphicdesigncenter.blogspot.com

Film: Bram Stoker’s Dracula 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. 5th Avenue Cinema Free with PSU ID

Pricing: University fee-funded student groups: 5 free hours (per term), then $25 an hour Other PSU departments and organizations: $25 an hour Organizations outside of PSU: $75 an hour

VANGUARD

To place an event: Contact vgcalendar@ gmail.com or pick up a calendar request form at the Vanguard advertising office, Smith Memorial Student Union, room 115.

POP CULTURE ARTS & CULTURE

’ Bump

Grindhouse shares a bit of history dabbled with a fair amount of sleaze Mark Johnston Vanguard staff

Grindhouse is a term thrown around quite a bit nowadays. Tracing its roots back to the turn of the last century, grindhouse sprung from the reutilization of burlesque theaters that were closed down and then turned into showcase venues for exploitation films. Theaters and drive-ins became popular destinations to see lowbudget, low-moral films dealing with illicit drug use, promiscuous sex and teens dancing to hot jazz music at all hours of the night. Grindhouse exploitation cinema comes to the Hollywood Theatre in this continuing tradition with its weekly installments of asskicking, low-budget, films. Coming soon: Invincible Shaolin and 7 Grandmasters. Invincible Shaolin is a film directed by “the godfather of Hong Kong cinema” Chang Cheh and stars the Venom Mob. It is a historical fiction film about the Shaolin’s rivalry with the Qing dynasty. The movie pits the North Shaolin against the South Shaolin in an all out kung fu showdown. When a group of North Shaolin experts are challenged to face Southern Shaolin novice warriors, feet fling and fists fly. Unfortunately, the Northern Shaolin end up killing the South-

erners and the Southern elders send champions to face the Northern dispatchers. Cheh's 16-year career was heavily influenced by Sergio Leonee’s Spaghetti Western films and Japanese samurai films of the period. His films often portray sword-yielding warriors cutting through rooms of enemies, resulting in waves of blood and piles of bodies. As the years progressed, Cheh started pumping out four to five films a year, eventually establishing a cadre of ninja warriors he labeled “The Venoms.” Cheh's films were the first to display the notion of “heroic bloodshed,” where honor, loyalty and brotherhood are emphasized, influencing future directors such as John Woo, Robert Rodriguez and Quentin Tarantino. Next comes 7 Grandmasters from Joseph Kuo. This 1978 film follows a kung fu teacher that sets out to find and beat the seven grandmasters to prove himself as the greatest kung fu warrior in the world. He takes on each one with a different animal style, concurrently teaching a young student to follow his path of kung fu mastery. Kuo has 52 years of experience with directing, writing, producing and scoring credits under his belt. Kuo has made films across many genres including romance, period martial arts, kung fu action and cop films. He is most well known for his Wuxia-style kung fu films and is one of the leading directors in Taiwan in the ’70s. His film, King of Swords, broke the box office record as the

’ grind

highest-grossing Taiwanese film in Hong Kong. It earned him the nickname of “Million Dollar Director.” The Hollywood Theatre provides myriad odd and awesome films to tantalize and entertain the masses. With this event, the theater captures the grindhouse spirit by offering vintage exploitation films and awesome kung fu action every week to keep their patrons fighting in the aisles— in a good way. The two films showing this month are classic Chinese masterpieces that even the Wu Tang Clan quote in their songs. Invincible Shaolin and 7 Grandmasters are part of a long tradition of Hong Kong kung fu films that, although are part of a long-standing exploitation institution, stress values that weren't prevalent in contemporary films of the time. Brotherhood, honor

and tradition are core values of Chinese cinema and help these films stand the test of time.

Grindhouse Film Festival Hollywood Theatre 4122 NE Sandy Blvd.

Invincible Shaolin: Nov. 3, 7:45 p.m. 7 Grandmasters: Nov. 10, 7:45 p.m. $6.50 adults, $4.50 seniors and kids ages 4–12

Darryl Roberts sheds light on the dark side of allure with America the Beautiful Joel Gaddis Vanguard staff

Over the past few weeks, the Internet has been ablaze with reactions to a recent controversial Ralph Lauren advertisement. The ad depicts model Filippa Hamilton sporting some of the clothing brand's latest fashions. The disturbing aspect of the image lies in its improbable anatomical details.

Revolutionary 103: Halloween edition Halloween-themed ways to sabotage your community while never making any real political statement 1. Anybody can toilet paper a house, but what about papier-mâché? When the streets have cleared of trick-ortreaters and drunken partygoers, set to work slapping on newspaper strips with a mixture of liquid starch or diluted glue. After it's dried, decorate your masterpiece with paint, feathers or whatever suits your fancy. Your victims will be both angered and impressed. 2. Trick-or-treat. It sounds simple, but this is actually a fairly difficult thing to pull off. It's amazing how irate people will get when they see an adult standing on their steps in a costume asking for candy. When met with angry looks and rude comments about how you're "too old,” simply say that you're protesting ageism. 3. Bring back the Great Pumpkin. Tell as many children as you possibly can about him and start a campaign to make him bigger than Santa Claus. 4. Wait in the bushes outside people's houses. When trick-or-treaters come up to the house, step out and out-do the person giving out candy with better chocolate, enticing the kids to follow you away. Build a child army.

Grindhouse: More like roundhouse kick to the face! Shazang!

The price of pretty Hamilton's head actually appears to be broader than her hips, which are grotesquely thin. As it turns out, the model’s already-narrow frame had been digitally reduced using Photoshop before the ad was set to print. This distorted, Barbie-doll-like depiction of femininity is a problem endemic of the fashion industry, but its effects can be seen throughout American popular culture. Music, movies, television and Western medicine all tend to advance a dangerous and untenable ideal of beauty. This troubling trend is explored in Darryl Roberts’ documentary America the Beautiful, which will be showing Friday and Sunday at 5th Avenue Cinema. The screenings will be followed by a panel discussion with the directors of RainRock Treatment Center, an Oregon-based facility for women with eating disorders. America the Beautiful investigates America's obsession with physical perfection. In it, Roberts trains his camera on a cavalcade of media personalities—from actors and reality TV stars such as Paris Hilton—and

Vanguard Arts & Culture | 8 October 29, 2009

asks them hard-hitting questions regarding the power of popular image. He also tells the story of a young, upand-coming model's roller coaster ride through the cutthroat fashion industry. Her narrative serves as a microcosm for society as a whole, revealing the dangers of a culture increasingly fixated with an unrealistic ideal of beauty. Eating disorders, such as anorexia nervosa, are among the most debilitating repercussions of this ideal. Roberts addresses this topic in the film, interviewing a number of professionals on the subject. Among them is Carolyn Costin, an expert on eating disorder treatment and founder of the RainRock Treatment Center in Eugene. Costin originally opened a treatment center in Monte Nido, Calif., before expanding operations to include several affiliates on the West Coast. She will be participating in the panel discussions following both showings. Kimberly Klose, who works for the RainRock Treatment Center, will also partake in Sunday's discussion.

She states that Roberts’ film is philosophically in line with the center's goals, and that it raises a number of important issues. “The media and the cosmetic industry place pressure on women to look a certain way, and encourage the idolization of the thin ideal,” Klose said. “Women are always needing to modify their appearances in some way that usually involves diet or buying beauty products.” Ultimately, films like America the Beautiful offer hope that our culture will shift away from this self-destructive paradigm of false loveliness.

America the Beautiful 5th Avenue Cinema 510 SW Hall St. Fri, Oct. 30, 6 p.m. and Sun, Nov. 1, 2 p.m. Free with PSU ID

5. Wander the streets and try to barter with the children for their candy. Really lowball them, though. Berate their candy selections and haggle with them until they cry and give up.