Event of the day
WEDNESDAY, MAY 12, 2010 • PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY • VOLUME 64, ISSUE 106
The Women’s Resource Center is hosting a career night titled “What Can You Do With a Degree in Women’s Studies?” The event will include career information, a panel of guest speakers, tips on pursuing the graduate field and free food!
When: 4:30 p.m. Where: Women’s Resource Center (Montgomery Hall)
WWW.DAILYVANGUARD.COM • FREE
INSIDE NEWS The SALPies are near SALP honors student leaders and exceptional student groups PAGE 2 How to liberate yourself, step-by-step Motivational seminar today to teach students how to achieve goals PAGE 2
ARTS
Beer drinking leads to Helles Lompoc releases three great brews in May PAGE 4 Opa Dorio! Dorio boasts Greek food as good as YiaYia used to make PAGE 4
Epitome of new age? Gayngs’ new album is a whole lot of something indefinable PAGE 5
OPINION
Learning is a click away Clickers promote class engagement, but there are drawbacks Stacy Austin Vanguard staff
The Center for Academic Excellence is sponsoring an initiative that will enhance student learning in larger classes in all departments. CAE’s large-class initiative supports a faculty-led “clicker task force” which is working to standardize the use of clickers. “Clickers” is the well-known term for a class response system used at Portland State. The clickers are handheld devices that students can use in class to transmit answers to questions that instructors ask. The clickers may be used for graded quizzes or to help facilitate class discussions. Instructors have options about whether to display class responses or not, and whether answers are graded or are merely used to document participation. Supporting standardized use of class response systems across all departments at PSU benefits students by having one clicker that may be used in multiple courses. For the classes that utilize these clickers, students purchase the clicker devices from the PSU Bookstore. The average cost of a clicker is $45 and the bookstore often buys back the clickers at the end of term, providing students with approximately half of what they initially paid for the clicker. “A grassroots group of faculty came together to standardize one process in the hope that students could buy a clicker for one class and hold onto it and use it in multiple classes,” said Janelle Voegele, CAE’s assistant director of teaching, learning and assessment.
Clicker technology has improved over the last several years. The clicker from eInstruction was chosen by the clicker task force to be implemented cross-departmentally next school year, which allows several response options, including true and false, multiple choice and full text options. Some faculty are currently using clickers, but the clicker task force is asking all instructors to use it next year for a standardized platform. Choosing one clicker also encourages eInstruction to pass on a discount to students. Many departments at PSU utilize clickers in both large and small classes. Some departments using the clickers include Biology, Chemistry, Communication, Business and Architecture, Voegele said. Communication associate professor Jeffrey Robinson said he uses clickers in his classes at PSU because he saw them as a benefit at Rutgers University, where he previously taught. “[PSU] is behind the curve in terms of large universities,” he said. “With PSU’s focus on larger
class sizes, clickers are the wave of the future.” At Rutgers, tech professionals set up the use of clickers in the classrooms and for professors’ computers. The school also provided Robinson with support which made using clickers “very easy,” he said. Voegele sees multiple benefits to using clickers in the classroom, but she said that they must be used properly to facilitate classroom learning. Clickers can promote critical thinking by facilitating class discussion and encouraging students to talk about their answers, she said. Some faculty members immediately project a graph on a screen showing students’ responses to questions. By doing so, Voegele said that they are provided with the perfect opportunity to ask questions like, “Why did you answer this way?” “[This] encourages debate and discussion amongst students,” she said. In addition, some clickers can store questions and answers within
CLICKERS continued on page three
SHAC treated its long waits; good prognosis SHAC’s new system for check-ins decreases student wait time
Oregonian oil Offshore drilling pollution is everyone’s problem PAGE 6
Drew Martig/Portland State Vanguard
Click it: A clicker currently used by students in larger classes.
the device, so students can refer back to that information to use while studying for upcoming exams. “[Using clickers for small quizzes in class] provides students with a good formative assessment,” Voegele said. “It offers them feedback before a big test.” Voegele and the clicker task force said that using clickers can help students be more successful in class, but it isn’t required to have a successful large class. It is also not a guarantee that using the clicker will automatically facilitate learning. “We’re excited for anything that helps promote quality learning,” Voegele said. “There are plenty of other ways to do it.” Clickers should not be used just to measure attendance or ask basic level questions, she said. “If you use the clicker just to ask students one question, or just for attendance, they might get annoyed,” said associate professor of Biology Mitch Cruzan. Clickers are useful for measuring attendance in class, in conjunction with critical thinking exercises, but there are problems with all attendance-tracking procedures, according to Robinson. “There is no perfect attendance method,” he said. “[Using the clickers is] pedagogically nice, as it allows an autonomous way for all to participate.” Due to various ethnic, cultural or gender backgrounds, some students may be less likely to speak in class or ask questions, Robinson said. He said clickers could help combat this. For example, one option for clicker use is to choose a student at random to answer a question. Clickers are especially helpful in large classes to equalize participation. “When a small number of students talk in class, the other students get in a habit of watching,” Voegele said. Cruzan has been using clickers for the last three years in general biology classes, which may contain 150 to 200 students.
Tamara K. Kennedy Vanguard staff
Before Student Health and Counseling enacted a new way to handle student healthcare services in fall 2009, patient wait time was a nightmare, according to SHAC director Mary Beth Collins. “[Now] most patients are in and out [of SHAC] in 30 minutes,” she said. Previously, students had to see a nurse and then wait to see a doctor, according to Collins. “Students were spending the day in the waiting room,” she said. “It was horrible.” Before 2004, SHAC had a standing-order nurse who directed
students, except for annual exams and other appointment-based services, according to Collins. The system worked well in the basement of Cramer Hall until the student population began to steadily increase. In 2004, SHAC moved to its current location at 1880 Southwest Sixth Avenue, where nurses are continuously added to the staff to deal with the rising number of patients. Since 2004, there has been a 17.6 percent growth in the end-of-term student head count, according to David Burgess of PSU’s Office of Institutional Research and Planning. This is a 3.13 percent yearly increase in the number of students attending Portland State. To help combat the patient wait problem, SHAC brought in Judy Bee, a consultant from Practice Performance Group, located in La Jolla, Calif. Bee was recommended by the American Medical
Association, according to Collins. During her three days at SHAC, Bee found several things wrong with its system. For example, students wanted to see providers instead of nurses and were spending time retelling their stories to several people under the old system, according to Collins. SHAC providers include nurse practitioners, physician assistants and physicians. Nurses are qualified to do certain things such as give and read tests for tuberculosis, strep throat, the common cold and pregnancies, according to Collins. After Bee’s visit, desk personnel were trained to divide students into emergency, urgent and routine patients, depending on the severity of the problem and the availability of providers. In addition, a new triage booth was introduced, which is to be used when front desk personnel are not confident about directing a patient or when the patient is not comfortable with the personnel’s decision, according to Collins.
Liana Shewey/Portland State Vanguard
SHAC: Created triage center to cut down
on wait times.
Front office triage appointments take about five minutes to assess a need. While in the booth, patients cannot be heard by others, said Emily Shulz, a three-year office specialist at SHAC.
SHAC continued on page three
Vanguard 2 | News May 12, 2010
Sarah J. Christensen Editor-in-Chief Virginia Vickery News Editor Theodora Karatzas Arts & Culture Editor Richard D. Oxley Opinion Editor
NEWS The SALPies are near
SALP honors student leaders and exceptional student groups Sharon Rhodes Vanguard staff
Robert Britt Sports Editor Bryan Morgan Production Manager Marni Cohen Photo Editor Zach Chastaine Online Editor Kristin Pugmire Copy Chief Kristin Pugmire Calendar Editor Jae Specht Advertising Manager William Prior Marketing Manager Judson Randall Adviser Ann Roman Advertising Adviser Illustrator Kira Meyrick Associate News Editor Corie Charnley Production Assistants Stephanie Case, Justin Flood, Shannon Vincent Post-production Assistant Adiana Lazarraga Contributors Stacy Austin, Will Blackford, Bianca Blankenship, Leah Bodenhamer, Meaghan Daniels, Sarah Engels, Sarah Esterman, Amy Fylan, Courtney Graham, Natalia Grozina, Patrick Guild, Joe Hannan, Rosemary Hanson, Steve Haske, Nadya Ighani, Carrie Johnston, Sara M. Kemple, Tamara K. Kennedy, J. Logue, James MacKenzie, Natalie McClintock, Daniel Ostlund, Sharon Rhodes, Tanya Shiffer, Wendy Shortman, Robert Seitzinger, Catrice Stanley, Amy Staples, Nilesh Tendolkar, Robin Tinker, Vinh Tran, Andrea Vedder, Katherine Vetrano, Allison Whited, Roger Wightman Photographers Drew Martig, Michael Pascual, Liana Shewey, Adam Wickham Copy Editors Noah Emmet, Amanda Gordon Advertising Sales Sam Gressett, Iris Meyers, Ana SanRoman, Wesley Van Der Veen Advertising Designer Beth Hansen Distributor Cody Bakken 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 © 2010 Portland State University Vanguard 1825 SW Broadway, Smith Memorial Student Union, Rm. S-26, Portland, Ore., 97201
Each year, Student Activities and Leadership Programs hosts its SALPies awards ceremony to honor the hard work of student groups and their leaders. Though nominations are still being accepted, the deadline is this Friday. “[The SALPies] have been a tradition of SALP for many years,” said Christian Aniciete, SALP’s events coordinator and a senior in business marketing and advertising. According to Aniciete, the SALPies have been given out since at least the 2001–02 school year. In addition, Aniciete said that the SALPies, which include live talent performances and novelty awards such as “Best Dressed,” are “a fun sort of way for [SALP] to end the year.” “We invite both outgoing and incoming head officers to introduce themselves and co-present awards at the event,” he said. “This year, invitations have been sent out to outgoing and incoming officers of the Vanguard, the Student Fee Committee and ASPSU.” Nominations have been open since February, and as of May 7, SALP had received over 30 nominations, according to Aniciete. “We definitely anticipate more to come,” he said. Rather than grant awards based on the number of nominations a group or individual receives, the SALPies Academy—a group of
students and staff from various departments across campus— chooses recipients based on the “thought behind a nomination,” Aniciete said. SALP has established criteria for each SALPies award, and nominations must include a brief explanation of how the nominee has fulfilled or exceeded the criteria of a given award, according to Aniciete. For instance, nominees for awards like “Student Leader of the Year” must have made a positive contribution to the university community, inspired others to succeed and successfully balanced student organization and academic responsibilities by maintaining a GPA of 3.5 or higher, according to the SALPies nomination form. Each year, SALP grants awards for “Student Leader of the Year,” “Group of the Year,” “New Group of the Year” and “Event of the Year.” Awards for “Outstanding Student Organization Website” and “Outstanding Marketing Campaign” tend to come and go depending upon the climate of the year, Aniciete said. This year, SALP invites nominations for “Future President of the United States,” “Best Dressed,” “Most Inspirational,” “Greenest,” “Most School Spirit” and “Best Groundbreaking Advocacy,” among
other categories, according to the nomination form. Last year, the names of award recipients were engraved on individual plaques, so that recipients “really understand the honor that they’re receiving,” Aniciete said. The ceremony lasts approximately one hour, during which time three or four performances take place. Commenting on this year’s performances, Aniciete said, “There are some pretty special performances.” Last year a group of staff and students, including Aniciete and SALP director Aimee Shattuck, performed a dance to “Jai Ho” from Slumdog Millionaire and Pitbull’s “You Know You Want Me,” Aniciete said. The SALPies ceremony will take place on Wednesday, June 2, at 7:30 p.m. in the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom. SALP’s Midnight Breakfast will follow the awards ceremony, running from 9 p.m. until midnight. “It’s always been a tradition to have both events on the same day because it’s dead week,” Aniciete said. According to Aniciete, the theme of this spring’s Midnight Breakfast, “A Red Carpet Affair,” suits the awards ceremony particularly well as the SALPies are not unlike the Oscars.
Adam Wickham/Portland State Vanguard
Christian Aniciete: An organizer of the SALPies.
“We really encourage those who attend the SALPies to attend Midnight Breakfast,” he said.
For those interested in nominating a group or individual for this year’s SALPies, a nomination form can be filled out online at www.orgsync.com/forms/ show/18480. Groups and individuals can also apply to perform during this year’s SALPies at www.orgsync.com/forms/ show/18484.
How to liberate yourself, step-by-step Motivational seminar today to teach students how to achieve goals Sara M. Kemple Vanguard staff
A Portland State intern hopes to engage students in a new, step-bystep goal-setting method that will help them achieve their goals with success. Today in Smith Memorial Student Union room 338, from 5:30–7:30 p.m., Aziz Gazipura will host a free event called “Liberate Yourself !” with the aim of inspiring students and to help them uncover their true potential and achieve their goals. “The goal of this presentation will be to show attendees that they can affect change in themselves and in the world where they live,” said J.R. Tarabocchia, coordinator of Commencement and Student Affairs Outreach. He also helped put Gazipura’s YouTube video together, in which Gazipura describes the event and explains the topic on which he plans to focus. “I think the information Aziz will present is extremely useful for our student body,” Tarabocchia said. “He has studied with various
psychologists and motivational speakers here and in California, and he has a lot of useful information to offer our students.” Gazipura, who has been attending four- to six-day intensive seminars and training with motivational speaker Tony Robins, has developed a method which is merely a mindset that can aid in uncovering one’s passions and in locating the fears that delay and put constraints on everyday life. He completed his undergraduate program at University of California Santa Barbara and is in the process of completing his doctorate program through the Stanford PGSP consortium. He is currently an intern in the PSU Student Health and Counseling Center. Gazipura is working towards fulfilling his goal of becoming a psychologist, with a long-term goal to work as a group psychologist. “Fear is the only thing that really holds us back from our dreams, and once we realize we can move past those, we can begin to let go of those constraints and push further towards fulfillment,” Gazipura said. One of the techniques he employs is active visualization, which is to have a vision and to know why you are striving for a particular goal.
“It is important to find the reasoning behind our dreams, and not just the fact we have them,” Gazipura said. For each section of the event, there will be music played to help release certain feelings and unlock buried ideas. Psychologists believe music is helpful in creating feelings off of which people can base new ideas. Although some may think it is important to constantly be pushing forward, there is a process of “actively waiting” that can allow solutions and reactions to arise. Gazipura describes how patience is not just waiting for the phone to ring with a job offer; it is more of a phenomenon in which action is put first, and then one waits for a response. Gazipura has a five-step method in which he mentions how to help put dreams into reality. He also reveals and seven secrets used by expert coaches and therapists to help people believe in themselves and to create the lives that they desire, without being constrained by the world around them. “One of the other really important things is leadership; we want people to learn how they can be leaders of their own lives and in the lives of others,” Gazipura said.
Liana Shewey/Portland State Vanguard
Aziz Gazipura: SHAC intern holding motivational seminar today.
Watch a video about “Liberate Yourself!” at http://www.youtube. com/watch?v=lAdMODFjP0o
CLICKERS |
from page one
Good for more than attendance “When introducing clickers, I tell my students we’re going to make the classroom less like a TV show and more like a video game,” he said. In order to reinforce different concepts and to have students speak in smaller groups, Cruzan has used the clicker to ask questions throughout class. He often gives students two points for answering a question, and possibly an additional two points for answering the question correctly, he said. In addition, clickers avoid a lot of paperwork, including the use of Scantrons. Cruzan said he can also place questions in a PowerPoint slideshow.
SHAC |
“I usually have grades within half an hour uploaded to Blackboard,” Cruzan said, referring to occassions on which students use clickers for tests. When using clickers, Cruzan said his goals are twofold. He wants to get students to come to class, and then when they’re in the classroom, he wants to get them thinking about the material. Cruzan said he notices that clicker use changes the atmosphere of his classes. Students talk to each other about the class material, and at times there are outbursts of excitement from students when answers are posted in his slideshow.
from page one
Students asked to call ahead However, the new system works better when students phone in ahead of time, as those who walkin may have to come back for an appointment, according to Becky Karki, a senior biology major and three-year employee of SHAC. Commenting on the system’s drawbacks, Karki said that students have to be prepared to divulge what is wrong to the front desk staff, a group of people who are trained and work hard to remain discreet. In order to respect patient privacy,
purple slips of paper are used to write down confidential information. After Bee left, the challenge for SHAC became that the number of providers was not high enough to meet patient need. This was because Bee does not usually work with students and did not realize that sometimes students just want to talk, according to Collins. Collins said she would hire more providers if space allowed. However, the biggest challenge arises when there are no available
“Clickers can help students come to class, learn and pay attention,” he said. However, according to Robinson, there are downsides to clickers. This includes resentment from some students, who ask, “Why do I have to buy this?” Some students have complained that the clicker is expensive, and instructors are unable to place it on reserve in the library, Robinson said. Some students have said that they are unable to purchase the clicker at a cheaper price on the Internet, like they may be able to do with textbooks, which makes it difficult because clickers are required to participate in class. “It is an enforced fee on students,” Robinson said.
appointments, according to Collins. Under the new Aetna insurance plan, an urgent care appointment is $20. Emergency room service is 100 percent covered, with a $150 deductible if the student is not admitted as a patient. However, there is a possibility of students receiving a fee waiver by contacting SHAC in a situation such as a broken arm, when immediate treatment is necessary but may not require an extended hospital stay, Collins said. She would like to see the system moving into a seamless activity where students see their own records and are aware of what tests they need and when they need them. If this is achieved, a physician would function more like a coach, Collins said.
Some clicker technology allows participation from personal mobile phones or laptops, but there may be a subscription cost. In addition, there are concerns of whether all students will have mobile reception in certain classrooms, such as those in the basement of Neuberger Hall. Another drawback may include an “error” response, which occurs when a lot of students are using the clickers at once, Cruzan said. For faculty that are interested in using the clickers for the first time, Robinson said there is a learning curve and instruction will need to be altered to allow for the best use of the clickers. “Professors will need to make time for discussion, create clicker questions and determine how to make allowances for when students don’t use them,” he said.
Collins, who retires in June after 29 years of service, looks forward to the future, when students can e-mail or text message SHAC, make their own appointments, access their own records and add additional information to their records, such as blood sugar and blood pressure readings. This would save students from sitting through a 20-minute appointment to give the physician the information. In addition, Collins would like to see a higher physician-to-student ratio.
In order to experience less wait time at SHAC, schedule an appointment at 503-725-2800. For more information, visit www.pdx.edu/shac.
Vanguard News | 3 May 12, 2010
News Editor: Virginia Vickery 503-725-5690 news@dailyvanguard.com
Faculty and staff priorities As part of the process of planning Portland State’s 2010–11 fiscal year budget, which begins July 1, the Faculty Senate conducted a survey to determine the highest priorities among the university’s faculty members and staff. Top eight priorities: 1. Addressing lack of funding for staff and support services 2. Improving infrastructure to handle growth 3. Addressing space and class size 4. Funding faculty research 5. Focusing on PSU’s role and effectiveness in graduate education in the Portland area 6. Becoming a school of choice for high-achieving students 7. Increasing the proportion of tenure-line to non-tenured faculty 8. Developing an administrative review process that includes faculty feedback on administrator effectiveness
—pdx.edu/news
Vanguard 4 | Arts & Culture May 12, 2010
ARTS & CULTURE
Arts Editor: Theodora Karatzas 503-725-5694 arts@dailyvanguard.com
Big, fat list of shows: Wednesday’s live music lineup
Lompoc releases three great brews in May
Sun Dogs, Revolt Revolt, Panda Ash St. Saloon, 9:30 p.m., $5, 21+
Bianca Blankenship
Annuals, Most Serene Republic Doug Fir, 9 p.m., $13 advance, $15 door, 21+
Vanguard staff
Arctic Flowers, Raw Nerves, Dente Na Mente, Necro Hippies Duckett’s, 9 p.m., free, 21+ Brittain Ashford, St. St., James McFarland Ella St. Social Club, 9 p.m., $5, 21+ Autopilot is for Lovers, When the Broken Bow, Mike Midlo, Grey Anne Goodfoot, 9 p.m., $5, 21+ Rocktopus, A Blinding Silence, Park Blocks, A Killing Dove Hawthorne Theater, 7 p.m., $4, all ages Copy, Dirty Mittens, White Fang, Dj New Moon Poncho Holocene, 9 p.m., $5, 21+ Boats!, Mean Jeans, Welcome Home Walker, The Flip Tops Plan B, 8 p.m., $7, 21+ Gil Mantera’s Party Dream, Atole, May Ling Rotture, 9 p.m., $8, 21+ Earth Crisis, First Blood, Thick As Blood, Proven, Accrue, City of God Satyricon, 7 p.m., $12, all ages
Rodrigo Melgarejo/Vanguard Archive
New beers on the block: Lompoc is readying your tastebuds for warmer weather with three
tasty new brews.
Dorio boasts Greek food as good as YiaYia used to make Katherine Vetrano Vanguard staff
Beneath the old Café Reese sign on Northwest 23rd Avenue and Marshall Street, there is a new restaurant where the server (and owner), Takki Chalkiopoulos, is speaking Greek to a few elderly women sitting around a table. In fact, the restaurant is so new they don’t even have a real sign, just a simple clapboard that reads “Dorio: Greek & Mediterranean Restaurant.” Open for a mere month now, Dorio (which is named after the town that Chalkiopoulos’ family is from in southern Greece) is a restaurant heavy with warmth and comfort.
Family recipes fill the starting menu, which Chalkiopoulos assures is “just the beginning.” The one-page menu for their soft opening includes several Greek favorites: peppery kalamari served with lemon and tzatziki, two gyro sandwiches (one veggie, the other with marinated lamb-beef strips), souvlaki (a tender grilled lamb skewer) and warm pita bread and keftethes, which the menu proclaims as “Grandma’s Greek spiced meatballs (recommended with a shot of ouzo!).” The meatballs are a dish that seems to represent Dorio as a whole: delicately crafted with a fragrant dusting of cumin and coriander, but designed on the plate with style next to a fan of sliced garlic. Sure, the meatballs taste like your grandmother might really be in
This month, Lompoc Brewing releases three unique beers that are great for summer drinking: the Bourbon Barrel-Aged Dark Side Porter, Spring Bock and Heaven’s Helles. All three are available at Lompoc breweries and can be found in taprooms and stores around town. Lompoc began aging some of its beers in bourbon and wine barrels two years ago and has continued the trend, releasing a new barrel-aged beer a few times a year. The porter is one of those beers. Using bourbon barrels from Heaven Hill Distilleries in Kentucky, Lompoc aged this beer for eight months and cellared it for two more before bottling. With some bourbon barrelaged brews, there’s barely a hint of bourbon. Those beers might be good nonetheless, but Lompoc’s Dark Side Porter delivers a powerful bourbon flavor that’s hard to match. It’s almost like ordering a whiskey beer-back in the same glass. Like most porters, this beer is also heavy on the caramel, vanilla and chocolate. Beware the dessert-like sweetness, though, as the porter’s 7.7 percent ABV might knock a patron off the barstool. Lompoc’s latest release is Heaven’s Helles Pale Lager, an annual summer seasonal that was developed for the hot days ahead. At a friendly 5.3 percent ABV, Helles is what Lompoc Production Manager and Brewer Bryan Keilty calls a “lawnmower beer.” The German-style pale lager is light in color and awfully easy to drink—so easy that the neighbor mowing the lawn might knock back two
or three before he’s through. With floral notes and a mild dose of hops, Helles is refreshing and crisp. While it’s not usually in Lompoc style to brew such light and clean-finishing beers, this one still stands out as a downright good summer beverage. Spring Bock’s name might sound unfamiliar to beer connoisseurs. After all, it is made in the German maibock style, which is lighter in color than a bock and takes its German name after the month of May. Spring Bock is almost a maibock, but not quite. Rather than use a new batch of yeast to brew this beer, Lompoc employed previously used tanks from its finished brews. Leaving the surplus yeast from previous brews clinging to the bottom and sides of the fermentation tanks, Lompoc brewers then poured in the Spring Bock wort and allowed both new and old yeast to work their magic. Amber in color, the Spring Bock is a bit stronger than most maibocks. It balances malty and hoppy flavors perfectly, neither too spicy nor too sweet. Like the porter, it supplies a pretty serious 8.1 percent ABV, which can be a lot to handle, but it’s worth every sip. With all the beer festivals in and around Portland, Lompoc Brewing gets pretty busy come summer, which translates to even more beers in the lineup. Keep an eye out for Big Bang Red, which should be released the weekend before Independence Day. Additionally, the Sidebar location is a great spot to check out Lompoc’s release parties, which usually fall on Fridays.
back, slowly spending time on each one, but the restaurant also has enough elegance to plate them in an interesting and beautiful way. Yiayia’s burger, which is served with kasseri cheese, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, aioli and red onion is a lot like what Chalkiopoulos ate as a child. “When we were little kids, we would beg my mom for McDonald’s, but she would slap down a piece of awesome grilled meat on a friend’s homemade bread with kasseri and give it to us instead,” Chalkiopoulos said. Chalkiopoulos went straight from the Portland State University Business School to the University of Las Vegas’ prestigious hospitality program before opening his first restaurant. Although he has the education and the culinary kicks, he seems to shy away from too much attention. “My main goal for this place is just to have good food that is nonpretentious,” said Chalkiopoulos. “I just want people to come and have a good time and feel comfortable.” It is likely that Chalkiopoulos will get what he wishes for. The menu doesn’t go over $8, and if the warm burgundy and wood interior
doesn’t make guests comfortable, the drink menu will. There are a handful of tasteful Italian and Californian wines for purchase by glass or bottle, in addition to a full house cocktail list. Among some of the most interesting are the beautiful Aphrodite Sunrise (offered for just $5 during happy hour, 4–6 p.m. daily), which consists of mandarin vodka, ginger ale, pineapple juice and grenadine, or the Volos Café which has vanilla Stoli, Kahlua, and ouzo. The ouzo is really the best choice to imbibe with, though. Served ice-cold with its distinct anise flavoring, it goes down smooth and keeps you warm inside, much like Dorio itself.
Dorio 1037 NW 23rd Ave Open 7 days a week 11 a.m.–9 p.m.
Vanguard Arts & Culture | 5 April 12, May 21, 2010 2010
This week at the 5th Ave. Cinema The King of Kong dir. Seth Gordon, 79 min.
Photo courtesy of Jagajaguwar Records
Gayngs of Minneapolis: I guess this is what would happen if Hunter S. Thompson and MIA formed a band.
Epitome of new age? Gayngs’ new album is a whole lot of something indefinable Leah Bodenhamer Vanguard staff
An extremely unique listen, Minneapolis’ Gayngs releases a long-awaited album, Relayted. After a year of recording and the efforts of over 25 contributing musicians, Relayted is either the most absurd album created since Zappa, or a work of complete genius.
It’s wholesome and broken, harmonious and cataclysmic, rough and pleasant, held together with consistency by the contrasting vocals of Zack Coutler and Nate Vernon, as well as the smooth electric keys and funky R&B bass. Everything else varies from sounding vocally like The Fleet Foxes or TV on the Radio to R. Kelly or Usher. Musically, the band varies from sounding like your mother’s favorite cheesy Christmas album to The Mars Volta, and all the static and noise one could imagine between the two. Honestly, it seems
to be the perfect representation of an overly stimulated generation: slightly directionless, stuffed with too many almost-great ideas due to the lack of one truly great one. Overall, the album might be considered an R&B album because of the electric keys, female backups and Vernon’s vocals, but much more comes to life with each listen. The first track, “The Gaudy Side of Town,” was first a rough track involving the mighty force of the trio of Coutler, Ryan Olson and Adam Hurlburt. It seems to set the scene for the rest of the album…sort of. It begins with some crackly looped beatboxing followed by an electronic drum beat, a jazzy saxophone filling and the Gayngs’ signature smooth vocals reverbed to the end of the earth, straight to outer space. It sounds like something you would hear on late-night public radio, “electric lounge baby” kind of music. They are unique in their seemingly limitless storage of tricks up their sleeves, but it is hard to define the nature of their tricks. “The Gaudy Side of Town,” for example, takes a wholly unexpected turn at the end of the song—a quietness that leads to a swirling and whizzing sound collage of beautifully uplifting strings and noises, leading straight into the next tune. “The Walker” ends similarly in regards to its unexpectedness, only it is quite a bit more terrifying. A majority of the song is echoey in the most indie sense of the word and littered with beats like gunshots, southern-rock slide guitar and haunting ooh’s and aah’s. Fairly unchanging throughout the song, the ending is like flipping pages through weird samples of deep demonic vocals and coffee shop conversation and static, eventually giving way to jazzy electric keys, so misplaced that the effect is tackiness. “Cry” is perhaps one of the band’s most popular songs. Its music video fits perfectly with the whole multiverse (as opposed to universe) feel of the album. Face after face trick the eye as they morph into another, all singing the same tune, with the same distressed look on each of their faces, adorned with nothing but black surroundings. Even though the lyrics seem too sentimental to be taken seriously, the vocal harmonies at the end are exquisite.
One of the most unexpected tunes, a real mind-blower, is “False Bottom,” which follows the suspense of tasteful feedback and honey-like saxophone of the previous song, “No Sweat.” It is an incredible explosion of horns, like a flock of seagulls or a herd of angry elephants, followed by a no-less impressive vocal jam that crumbles away, like the rest, into a gentle slumber. The outro is like city lights flashing in the stillness of dawn, where the wind blows smoke with the cautious curiosity of a kitten. Unfortunately the last song on the album is a bit of a letdown. Whether or not the artists are being sarcastic or mocking, this track comes off as extremely superficial. Titled “The Last Prom on Earth,” this song would fit perfectly to that Disney-movie prom scene, complete with melodramatic closeness and conflict. It is hard to say why they chose to end such a unique album with a song whose climax is not sung but spoken over synthesized bells and strings: “This will be our last prom, full of nothing but silly little love songs, I promise. And no matter what we did in the past, or what you think of me, your opinions, I promise, from now on, I’ll be true. But if you don’t trust me girl, that’s okay, I understand…” These words aren’t any less than what one would expect to hear in an old R&B tune, spoken with a deep sensuality. Everyone can listen to Relayted and, well, relate. There’s something for everyone to grasp onto and something for everyone to push away. It’s just how you listen to it.
Relayted Gayngs JAGJAGUWAR Records Out now
“You could get calluses just watching The King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters, Seth Gordon’s documentary about two men vying for the high score in Donkey Kong. But even if you didn’t lose years of your life to that deviously entertaining Reaganera arcade game, Mr. Gordon’s movie still succeeds as a portrait of a subculture: Kong-heads who videotape each game to send to Twin Galaxies, a governing body in Hollywood, Fla., empowered to validate high scores. A taped triumph is less sweet than an arcade win in the presence of witnesses, though–and that’s what the soft-spoken challenger Steve Weibe, a science teacher, hopes to achieve against the champion Billy Mitchell, a hot-sauce mogul and a force behind Twin Galaxies whose gaming chops landed him on the cover of Life back when feathered hair was cool.” —The New York Times May 14 & 15 at 7 & 9:30 p.m., May 16 at 3 p.m. Fifth Avenue Cinema, 510 SW Hall Free for PSU students. $2 all other students and seniors. $3 general admission. Admission includes free popcorn for all. —5thavenuecinema.org
Vanguard 6 | Opinion May 12, 2010
Opinion Editor: Richard D. Oxley 503-725-5692 opinion@dailyvanguard.com
On this day in history 1875 First shut-out recorded for pro baseball. Chicago 1, St. Louis 0. 1908 “Getting married” by George Bernard Shaw makes its premier in London. 1926 The airship Norge makes history and becomes the first craft to fly over the North Pole. 1928 In Italy, Mussolini ends women’s rights. 1934 Duke Ellington gets a number one hit with “Cocktails for Two.” 1942 A Nazi U-boat makes it all the way to the mouth of the Mississippi River and sinks an American cargo ship. 1949 The Berlin Airlift begins allowing America to deliver supplies past the Soviet blockade. 1963 Bob Dylan walks off the Ed Sullivan show after CBS officials told him his song “Talkin’ John Birch Paranoid Blues” was not appropriate for television. 1972 Paul McCartney’s Wings releases the single “Mary Had a Little Lamb.” 1985 In New York, the first conservative rabbi, Amy Ellberg, is ordained. 1990 Nora Dunn and Sinead O’Connor boycott Saturday Night Live in response to Andrew “Dice” Clay hosting the show.
OPINION
oil
Oregonian
Offshore drilling pollution is everyone’s problem Robin Tinker Vanguard staff
The extreme ugly side of offshore drilling has recently reared its head with the April 20 explosion of BP’s Deepwater Horizon and the subsequent gushing of oil into the Gulf of Mexico at a rate of 210,000 gallons each day, which may or may not be stopped any time soon. The irony is that at the time of the explosion, senior BP execs were on board to celebrate the safety of the operation. The disaster has raised many questions regarding offshore oil drilling—should we scale back, given the now obvious risks? What would happen if such a tragedy occurred in our own backyard? Oregon has been looked to from time to time for possible offshore drilling, but little promise for oil has risen—for now. BP has the reputation as a company that puts profits over safety, as the giant oil company’s safety record was among the worst in the dangerous oil industry. The company is required by law to pay up to $75 million for the current cleanup, but it’s very possible that the cost will exceed that amount, according to The New York Times. With this kind of profit-hungry attitude, it’s doubtful we will see BP become generous and offer to pay more money if the costs of the
Guest Opinion Quad Manners Daily Barometer staff
Letters to the editor are gladly accepted and should be no longer than 300 words in length. Submissions may be edited for brevity and vulgarity. E-mail letters to opinion@ dailyvanguard.com.
cleanup prove to be over the allotted amount. The cost of the cleanup is only one part of the catastrophe. There is also the economic impact on the fishing and tourist industries in the Gulf States, along with absolutely horrific environmental consequences and impacts on wildlife. If this incident doesn’t remind everyone that we need to focus on alternative energy, I hate to think what would. You might recall during the last presidential campaign certain candidates chanting “drill baby drill” as an expression of their excitement to dangerously exploit natural resources beneath the ocean floor. Hopefully the enthusiasm has waned in light of what has happened in the gulf with the Deepwater Horizon. Offshore drilling has been a controversial issue since about the 1950s, when American citizens began questioning environmental impacts as well as jurisdiction, safety and economics of the process. U.S. Energy Information Administration’s overview of offshore activity states that there are about 4,000 platforms in federal waters today. States have jurisdiction over the natural resources within the first three nautical miles of their shores, but after that the federal government holds those rights. Are Oregonians
Anybody ever turned onto one of the corners of the quad, taken a quick glance at what was in the middle, turned around and walked the other way? There’s a reason for that, and we all know what it is. Don’t even lie. Someone’s got to say it. It’s because of the people that walk around the middle, trying to get you to buy, attend or sign something, right? You know what we’re saying. They hold clipboards or are dragging large amounts of merchandise with them. They have posters and layouts. They put up tents in the
rain. They don’t put up tents and just stand in the rain. They are one word: Relentless. Let’s just call them that from now on. Sure, we’ve got to give a little respect to the “relentless.” Hey, it’s America, right? Free country—you can try to sell what you want to whom you want. If you believe in something, we’ll give you big props for putting yourself out there to try and sell people point-blank, face-to-face, whatever. But these people are really “out there” sometimes, and forget that “no” really does mean “no.” There are so many vendors that you sometimes feel like you’re on a beach in Cancun. A girl tried to sell one of us on her new underwear line two years ago. That was a weird one.
Illustration by Kira Meyrick/Portland State Vanguard
and our precious land and water in danger of this kind of catastrophe? At this point the answer is, thankfully, no. In March, President Obama released his oil plan. He did plan to expand offshore drilling, presumably in an effort to limit oil imports, but since the gulf incident those plans have been put on hold. The plans had allowed for more drilling along the Atlantic coastline, the eastern Gulf of Mexico and the north coast of Alaska. The plan excluded drilling along the entire Pacific coast through 2017. Vicki McConnell is the director of Oregon’s Department of Geology and Mineral Industries. She spoke about the possibility of oil drilling in Oregon to OBP in September 2008, saying, “It’s unlikely that we’ll see oil and gas drilling rigs off the Oregon coast anytime soon.” McConnell said there are no active oil wells in Oregon and usually what is on land is presumed to be underwater, so it is not expected that there is much oil out there. Eight exploratory wells have shown only minor amounts of gas and no oil. What a blessing. Oregon lawmakers are doing their part to keep our waters safe and clean, too. In February, the Oregon Senate passed House Bill 3613, renewing a ban that began in the 1990s that prohibited leasing for purposes of exploration, development or
production of oil, gas or sulfur in territorial seas, meaning three nautical miles. The governor signed the bill into law on March 4. Leasing waters and lands to use for drilling might seem pretty tempting in the present economy, but there are major problems with it anywhere and especially for a state like Oregon with hundreds of miles of pristine coastline. The money the state might make is nothing in comparison to the potential economic impact if something goes wrong with the drilling, causing a big spill or spewing leak. A spill isn’t the only pollution caused by offshore drilling, either. According to nonprofit agency Environment Oregon’s website, a single drilling rig can drill between 50 and 100 wells, each dumping as much as 25,000 pounds of toxic metals, such as lead, chromium and mercury, and potent carcinogens such as toluene, benzene and xylene, into the ocean. A single rig can create as much air pollution as 7,000 cars driving 50 miles each day. According to the laws that are in effect nationally and statewide, as well as what resources are believed to be out there, Oregon is safe from offshore drilling for now. Too bad all states cannot have that sense of security. Ultimately, however, we are all stewards of this planet together, and the Gulf of Mexico’s oil spill is everyone’s oil spill.
So there you are, taking that step down one of those pathways of the quad and you immediately regret your decision. There are two things that can happen: A: You think quick, make a passive move backwards and re-route your path, avoiding the “relentless.” B: You step too far, and you’re so deep that it would just look terrible for you to flip around—not only would you look totally weird in front of all the other people around you, but you know by that time, a “relentless” has spotted you. Game on. So you keep going. On the inside you’re hating yourself for screwing this one up. You frantically pull out your iPod and headphones, or even better, your phone, and totally fake dial your mom. I’ve seen this. It’s real. Or maybe you go with the starestraight-ahead-and-don’t-dare-tomake-any-move-that-will-grabtheir-attention tactic. But of course, those don’t work either. The “relentless” are good. They position themselves right in front of you, and when you take a step to move around them, they also make a move. They grab your arm or give
a little whistle. They even play the guilt card, like, “Hey, I’m so-and-so, and I know you’re really busy, but I was wondering if I could talk to you for 30 seconds. I would really appreciate it.” So you do it, and soon enough, 30 seconds turns into 10 minutes and 10 minutes turns into you signing a petition to destroy all buildings on campus to replace them with igloos. The insanity! It’s getting so bad that the “relentless” have moved venues. They’re catching on. They’ve gone to the quad’s corners to snag victims. They’ve hit up the MU for a little prey. They are everywhere! Case in point: These people are doing what they believe in, and that’s their right, and we’re okay with that. But when you come up to us, ask us to talk and we tell you our house is burning down and we have to hurry, please for the love of Billy Mays let us go. If we’re interested, we’ll stop. Until then, we’re avoiding all sidewalks and sticking to the roads—relentlessly. *This article was originally published in the Daily Barometer. It is reprinted here in its original form.
etc.
CALENDAR
The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 500 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Wednesday, May 12, 2010
Read the Vanguard
Edited by Will Shortz Across 1 Prefix with lateral 5 Frame side 9 Was in the arms of Morpheus 14 Ward who played Robin 15 Baseball family name 16 Conductorsʼ platforms 17 Wait 18 Symbol of uncommunicativeness 19 Hockey no-no 20 One who plunders boatloads of jack-oʼ-lanterns? 23 Published 24 Zilch 25 Pet store offering 29 Pick-me-up 31 ___-devil 34 One way to read
35 Shook out of dreamland 36 In among 37 First-rate chastisement? 40 Tree of Life locale 41 Destination for a ferry from Livorno 42 Get stuffed 43 Words from the Rev. 44 One may be in waiting 45 Ship of fuels 46 “The tongue of the mind”: Cervantes 47 Stage design 48 Nickname for an unpredictable Communist? 55 Family 56 Skyrocket 57 Love of Spain 59 Preceding on the page
60 “Iʼm off!” 61 Egyptʼs thirdlargest city 62 Arab League member 63 Yoked pair 64 What “........” means to a typesetter
Down 1 A drop in the ocean? 2 Will Rogers specialty 3 Official language of Pakistan 4 News clipping 5 Follower who does the dirty work 6 Bushed 7 Sound stressed, maybe 8 Traffic slower 9 Ghost 10 Neighborhood pub ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE 11 Ready for D I S C O S A T E A G O G release E N T A I L S U R W I P E 12 Tar source N E A T L Y S P A C E B A R S P I N C O A T I E L M 13 Itʼs game 21 Fall preceder T R A F F I C C O N E P L A N E N D I N 22 Draw a conclusion O U T A U D I T S O R N E K N U C K L E S A N D W I C H 25 Krypton and others A T T U T R I X I E P H I 26 Not get caught Y O U L L I F A T by P A R A D E F L O A T A S S H E W E D M O W S 27 Rodeo specialist I C E C R E A M E N T R E E 28 Use as fuel D A M P S R O R O O T E R 29 Hotel area A R I A E D S A R M A D A 30 Furniture chain
1
2
3
4
5
14
6
7
8
27
30
35
37
38
40
41
31
32
33
53
54
36 39 42
44
45
46 49
13
24 29
34
48
12
22
28
43
11
19
21 23
26
10
16
18 20
25
9
47 50
51
52
55
56
57
59
60
61
62
63
64
58
Writing Résumés and Cover Letters 11 a.m. PSU Career Center This workshop focuses on how to write effective résumés and cover letters, and is specifically targeted to Portland State students and alumni
Puzzle by Richard Silvestri
31 Show of smugness 32 Pivotal point 33 Trimming tool 35 Ironworkerʼs union? 36 Loads 38 Had in view 39 Banded gemstone
44 Heavy 45 Home of the Azadi Tower 46 Establish as fact 47 Union member 48 Hamburgʼs river 49 Leeway 50 Part of an analogy 51 Sweet-talk
52 Car wash gear 53 Shoot out 54 Snooze 55 Dark horse 58 Chinese calendar animal … or the key to this puzzleʼs theme
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.
Thursday
It’s pretty.
KenKen® is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. ©2010 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by UFS, Inc. www.kenken.com
row and each column ● Each must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.
● The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given
operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.
Today “Ten More Good Years” 5 p.m. Smith Memorial Student Union, room 236 The Queer Resource Center is hosting the showing of this documentary about the unique challenges facing gay and lesbian senior citizens. The documentary will be followed by a discussion on LGBT elder issues. For more info, visit www.tinyurl. com/GeroPDX
No. 0407
15
17
Vanguard Etc. | 7 May 12, 2010
Vanguard
Fill in single-box ● Freebies: cages with the number in
Democracy, Peace and War: Challenges and Paradoxes in the Wars Against Terrorism 1 p.m. SMSU, room 228 This free lecture is presented by PSU professor Harry Anastasiou, a long-standing academic in the field of inter-ethnic and international peace and conflict studies, as well as an experienced practitioner of conflict resolution Lessons from Fifty Years in Woods and Workshops: Science and Policy Applied to Forest Ecosystems 6 p.m. SMSU, room 327 This lecture is free and features professor Jerry Franklin, “The Father of New Forestry,” of the University of Washington
the top-left corner.
Friday
5-12-10
Your Ad Here Call the Vanguard 503.725.5686
The Vanguard Rolling back prices to nothing!
34th Annual International Night 5 p.m. SMSU Ballroom This year’s theme is “Break the Wall; Embrace the World.” Events will include dinner (which features several international dishes), cultural booths, musicians and dancers
To place an event: Contact vgcalendar@ gmail.com or pick up a calendar request form at the Vanguard advertising office, SMSU, room 115.
Vanguard 8 | Arts & Culture May 12, 2010
ART WEDNESDAY
Arts Editor: Theodora Karatzas 503-725-5694 arts@dailyvanguard.com
Tomorrow at the NW Film Center
Charlaine Harris does it again Author of popular novels and hit show visits Portland Wendy Shortman
The Seagull Yuli Karasik, USSR 1970 “One of the watchwords of nineteenth-century literature was ‘realism,’ referring to a style which focused on the triumphs and tragedies of unremarkable, rather everyday people. Chekhov was very dedicated to promoting an idea of realism in his theatrical work, and to better serve his plays, the Moscow Art Theater under Konstantin Stanislavsky, with whom Chekhov’s work was closely associated, developed a new approach to acting that later became known in the United States as ‘method acting.’ Karasik’s lavish production of The Seagull features the work of some of the Soviet Union’s finest stage actors of the time. Presented with great attention to the historical moment, Chekhov’s study of an actress, Arkadina (Alla Demidova), is the story of a woman distressed by a life that seems to offer her few easy answers. Her lover, Trigorin (Yuriy Yakovlev), a pompous yet nevertheless successful writer, feeds her insecurities while toying with the emotions of a young woman smitten with him—or at least with his reputation.”
Vanguard staff
Charlaine Harris, No. 1 New York Times and USA Today bestselling author, will be visiting the Bagdad Theater tonight to talk about the latest installment of the Sookie Stackhouse book series Dead in the Family. The book is the 10th book in the series, and the basis for the hit HBO television show True Blood. Dead in the Family, which was released last Tuesday, continues the story of Sookie Stackhouse, a waitress in a small Louisiana town called Bon Temps. In the latest book, Sookie is learning to deal with the effects of a war that changed her family and the world she lives in. It wasn’t just any war though, and the town of Bon Temps isn’t any old regular southern town. In fact, Sookie isn’t just a regular girl, either. Bon Temps is a place where the immortal live among the mortal. Vampires interact and live among humans—in part because of an invention of synthetic blood that replaces the vampires’ need for human blood.
Sookie is mortal, but not without her own powers. She’s telepathic, and is misunderstood by her fellow mortals in the community. Because of her powers, she finds it easier to be around vampires, since for some reason she can’t read their minds. Her past boyfriends, as well as Eric Northman—her boyfriend in Dead in the Family—are vampires. Vampire and human relations are generally looked down upon in this fictional world, and in the latest installment, we see the problems this causes for not only Eric, but for Sookie, too. We hear about Sookie’s complicated family history that was explained in the previous books, and the repercussions of the Fae War that she has to deal with now. Don’t be mistaken—the Sookie Stackhouse series isn’t your runof-the-mill vampire novel—there’s more to the story than you might expect. Throughout the series we see new and interesting dynamics of an untapped supernatural world with elements of sex, crime and humor. Harris, who grew up and lives in the south herself—in Arkansas—has been publishing novels for the last 25 years. Harris wrote most of those novels all while raising her three children. Harris primarily wrote mystery books until she shifted into the booming market of supernatural literature—vampires in particular. Her books are known to cross genre lines though, infusing romance, adventure, supernatural, mystery and science fiction.
All photos courtesy of Charlaine Harris
Charlaine Harris: The bestselling author behind the Sookie Stackhouse series and True Blood.
Season three of True Blood is expected to continue this summer, and Harris has said there will be at least three more books in the series that will eventually be released. Whether you’re a True Blood fan, a Charlaine Harris fan or a vampire fan, many have found the novels and the TV show positively entertaining. Her visit to the Bagdad will surely be a fun event for all ages.
Reading with Charlaine Harris Bagdad Theater 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd. Tonight, 7 p.m. $26, includes admission and copy of Dead in the Family
When little people rule the world Livia Corona documents the wild world of the Mexican dwarf bullfighters Roger Wightman Vanguard staff
7 p.m. All screenings are in Whitsell Auditorium, 1218 SW Park Ave. Free with PSU student ID. —nwfilm.org
All photos courtesy of Livia Corona
Enanitos Toreros: Livia Corona takes her audience into the often overlooked world of Mexican
dwarf bullfighters and the interesting lives that they lead.
Livia Corona is a master of her craft. A native of Ensenada, Mexico, she grew up around the hustle and bustle of a life just beneath the border. Educated at the Art Center College of Design in New York, Corona perfected her skills as a photographer and has gone on to exhibit her work in galleries around the world, and was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship for her latest project. This month, Blue Sky Gallery will be hosting an older exhibit by Corona that was 10 years in the making. Enanitos Toreros is an eye-opening account of life as the only openly discriminated group of people in Mexico—dwarfs. No matter how cruel, the gimmick is wildly popular throughout Mexico. Picture it—an entire bullfight that is run by little people; the entire time they take ridicule, humiliation and pain all for the purpose of finding peace within a community of individuals that look like them. Corona received unprecedented access into the lives of the rodeo people. Inherently untrusting of people with cameras, the trust was built slowly and Corona was able to show that she wanted to tell their stories and reveal to the world that the lives of little people are exactly like ours—except their vantage point is much smaller. The photos are all taken at the eye level of the subjects. This technique plays a huge role in the overall way we, the viewers,
interpret the images and feel about the characters. Why? Because in the photos, we are one of them. Corona is trying to show that we only understand the idea of weird or odd within the limitations of our society or community. Being a little person is only weird or odd if you’re a big person, but if you’re little then…that’s just life. The exhibit exposes the prejudices that we have towards people different from us and how this predisposed image is reflected and ingrained in the people within those groups. Mexican society doesn’t allow the opportunity for improvement in the lives of little people. Often given labor jobs that require them to leave town or live a life of solitude, the bullfight is the only way to escape the monotony of life as a second-class citizen. In Corona’s own words, “By presenting these images… made in their homes and at their workplaces, on their tours and in some cases at their specific request, I hope to share a perspective on the relativity of scale and physical appearance.” Equal parts beautiful and heartbreaking, Enanitos Toreros is a fascinating and eye-opening experience, both visually and emotionally. Both color and black and white prints are on display which reveal a world we would have literally looked right over.
Enanitos Toreros Blue Sky Gallery 122 NW Eighth Ave. Tue–Sun, noon–5 p.m. Runs through May 30