Event of the day
WEDNESDAY, MAY 19, 2010 • PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY • VOLUME 64, ISSUE 111
Tonight is the Annual MFA Creative Writing Graduate Readings! Whether you are a writer or just enjoy listening to the work of our local talented writers, don’t miss this awesome (and free) event!
When: 7:30 p.m. Where: Blackfish Gallery, 420 NW 9th Ave.
WWW.DAILYVANGUARD.COM • FREE
INSIDE
TriMet conducts safety review
NEWS
Fundraising shortfall ASPSU fundraising efforts re-focused to food-raising PAGE 2
“Truth and Reconciliation” became “Health and Healing” and then nothing at all Joe Hannan
ARTS
Bikes, beer and pinball Apex Bar is new and rockin’ the patio for the warm weather to come PAGE 4 The Breakfast Club meets again Local theater company adapts classic coming-of-age movie to the stage PAGE 5
OPINION
The electric drive The electric car and beyond PAGE 6 Cutting down coal ASPSU signs resolution to close coal plant PAGE 6
Campaign promise broken Vanguard staff
Last week one of ASPSU’s campaign goals of holding a week of events for students regarding togetherness and community health failed to happen. Leaders cite a lack of planning and a reprioritization of campaigns. When current ASPSU President Jonathan Sanford took office last June, he did so with Rodrigo Melgarejo/Portland State Vanguard three campaign goals: shared Better bus routes: TriMet altered three bus routes near PSU to ensure left-hand turn safety in regards to pedestrian traffic. governance, more student look at what other transit agencies downtown, it made route changes housing and the idea of “truth and Bus routes near PSU have done about left-hand turns, as to lines 12, 17 and 44, according reconciliation for campus healing.” changed in response to well as examine mirror placement, to Bekkie Witt, a TriMet public Sanford’s last campaign goal was training and other aspects of information officer. slated to commence last week. fatal accident operational safety, according to Witt. Immediate changes to the lines However, scheduling and staff “This comprehensive safety 12, 17 and 44 address left-hand turns issues interrupted the event. review is an opportunity to in order to give drivers more time Tamara K. Kennedy Sanford’s conception of challenge all of our old assumptions to get into position before turning Vanguard staff the Truth and Reconciliation and take into consideration any and to continue to the Portland Transit campaign was inspired by a speech all new approaches to improving Mall, according to Witt. In response to an accident that given by Archbishop Desmond safety across our system,” said As part of the route changes, involved a TriMet bus that struck Tutu on May 4, 2009. Tutu’s TriMet General Manager Fred Witt said westbound line 17 will several pedestrians near Portland message was simple—if a society Hansen. no longer stop at Southwest Fourth State, TriMet changed three bus would go through the process of On April 24, just prior to and Hall streets. Though lines routes in the downtown area and reconciliation, it would be able midnight, police officers responded 12 and 44 will continue to service plans a top-to-bottom safety review to identify problems within its to the accident that involved a the stop, buses will now turn left at for all aspects of its operations. communities. Such problems that TriMet bus and five pedestrians Southwest Fourth and Mill to allow The accident, which occurred on Sanford hoped to address at PSU at the intersection of Northwest more time and distance for making April 24, resulted in two fatalities. include women’s, minority and gay the left turn. After TriMet looked into rights, as well as issues that are In addition, TriMet is conducting immediate ways it could improve hushed, such as sexual abuse and BUSES continued on page three a safety review that will include a safety around stops and turns in rape on campus. The Truth and Reconciliation event was designed to promote unity amongst PSU students and the community that would hopefully translate to the city at large. After winter term Sanford began to refer to the event as Health and Healing. “CleanAir allows the wireless place last month highlighted several week-long event would CleanAir technology tested system to accurately identify these areas regarding wireless technology: haveThe been ready to commence sources of interference and adjust -Growing challenges within on campus to enhance last week if other ASPSU priorities the characteristics of the signaling wireless environments and conflicts among staff so that the effects on performance -The benefits of Borderless wireless performance members had not interrupted the are minimized,” Daffron said. Networks architecture and its campaign schedule, according According to information from Amy Staples Cisco, the IPTV broadcast that took WIRELESS continued on page two to Laura Morency, ASPSU’s Vanguard staff communications director. Morency also considered time Clayton Daffron, Portland to be a factor in pulling the event State’s network architect and team off, and said that Sanford’s idea manager, participated in Cisco’s for the event would have needed Internet protocol television webcast at least a year of planning to do last month to talk about how new it right. wireless networking technology has In an e-mail from Sanford, been working out for Portland State. he said that “health and healing Cisco introduced a new product, have been mostly pushed aside called CleanAir, to PSU a few to focus on the transition for months ago, according to Daffron. [president-elect] Katie Markey.” PSU became a beta-tester for the As of now, other ASPSU product that has advanced radio priorities have resulted in the frequency scanning and interference discontinuation of the Health and avoidance. Healing campaign, and no set date A large, urban campus like has been scheduled for the event PSU is a good place to test the in the future. system because of the prevalence Adam Wickham/Portland State Vanguard of microwaves, Bluetooth devices, cordless phones and other wireless Less interference: Freshman Ashley Murray, a computer science major, using PSU’s wireless networks. internet, which is currently part of a Cisco beta program to reduce wireless disruptions.
PSU beta testing Cisco wireless
Vanguard 2 | News May 19, 2010
Sarah J. Christensen Editor-in-Chief Virginia Vickery News Editor Theodora Karatzas Arts & Culture Editor
NEWS Fundraising shortfall
Richard D. Oxley Opinion Editor 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
All photos by Adam Wickham/Portland State Vanguard
Tasha Triplett
ASPSU fundraising efforts re-focused to food-raising Tamara K. Kennedy Vanguard staff
Tasha Triplett’s ASPSU business card title is Outreach and Funding Coordinator, but the job description and outcomes for the new position
created this year remain unclear. Fundraising goals were set at the beginning of the year but the economic climate was not taken into account when those goals were set. “There was a lot of inventing the wheel,” Triplett said. ASPSU was unable to provide specific information regarding
its initial fundraising goals to the Vanguard. President Jonathan Sanford created the position this year in the hopes of raising money to cover ASPSU operating costs. According to Ed Hallman, ASPSU vice president, it became clear in November that there was no way for a student to raise over $600 per month in this economy and thus ASPSU fundraising efforts transitioned to food-donation raising. Triplett reports that ASPSU raised almost $1,000 from the ASL Comedy Night last fall that kicked off an American Sign Language campaign run by Portland State’s American Sign Language Club and ASPSU aimed at relocating ASL from Speech and Hearing Sciences to the Foreign Language Department. According to Student Activities and Leadership Programs Assistant Director Domanic Thomas, who also advises ASPSU, the numbers mentioned by the funding and outreach coordinator may not reflect an accurate picture of net dollars after expenses are taken into account. The totals given by Triplett reflect the dollars deposited into the ASPSU student fee account
but not the dollars that were paid out for expenses such as for the ASL Comedy Night comedian fees, production company fees and other fees, Thomas said. Thomas commended Triplett on her professionalism and communication, Thomas said. Triplett’s initial interest in the position stemmed from her desire to utilize the skill set she developed from years of working in community nonprofits and organizations. She also wanted to become more knowledgeable of the resources and information unique to ASPSU and to pass the information on to other students, she said. Triplett wrote a proposal describing her ideas for effective operation of the funding and outreach coordinator position. She suggested dividing it to create two new ASPSU positions with clear focus on job duties and responsibilities. The new positions suggested by Triplett are an outreach and recruitment coordinator and a funding and budget coordinator. Triplett credits ASPSU with having accomplished at lot for students in the 2009–10 school year and calls its work regarding the potential financial restructure of Oregon universities “groundbreaking for generating the type of place I hope ASPSU will become—inclusive for all students.”
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, Carrie Johnston, Tamara K. Kennedy, J. Logue, James MacKenzie, 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
From dollars to cans: ASPSU refocused its efforts to food collections rather than monetary donations. The food is available to students in need.
WIRLESS |
from page one
High-speed wireless in dorms soon approach to connecting anyone to anything, anywhere and anytime. -How PSU is using Cisco’s Unified Wireless Network to meet the increasing mobility demands of its users Ray Smets, Cisco’s vice-president and general manager of the Wireless Networking Business Unit, and David Stiff, the product-marketing manager, appeared in the webcast with Daffron. “PSU participated in the webcast because we’ve been a beta-tester for this technology over the last couple of months, and we felt that it would be an opportunity for some positive exposure for PSU among our peers and the public,” Daffron said.
According to Daffron, CleanAir is an attractive product because “it increases performances and reliability of wireless networks, which are considered to be a mission critical…at PSU.” Currently, the university is working to provide high-speed PSU wireless access in student housing over the summer, which will be available in fall term, Daffron said. “I believe the customer demand for high-performance wireless will be greater than on campus,” he said. Though students may or may not report poor connectivity in a classroom, they will be more inclined to report a poor connection at home, according to Daffron.
“We would expect to deploy the CleanAir technology within Student Housing to simultaneously improve the user experience and reduce our support costs,” he said. Cisco, a manufacturer of network infrastructure and software, is the company that makes switches, routers, firewalls and wireless networking equipment that PSU uses, Daffron said. Cisco offers what they call a Borderless Mobility Experience. “Borderless Mobility refers to the ability that allows users to connect to the network anytime, anywhere, from any device,” said Lori Hultin, a communications contractor for Cisco. Cisco’s on-campus wireless network is a system of devices that are access points to the network, she said. There are over 400 access points deployed across PSU.
According to Hultin, Cisco’s wireless network is “self-healing.” “This means the network can handle things like interference, dropped connections, moving from one location to another without losing connectivity [and] without users or IT departments having to do anything to fix the network and without users experiencing a hit in wireless network performance,” she said. Wireless controllers manage the rest of the intelligence necessary for the system to work, Daffron said. PSU has four controllers throughout campus. The devices broadcast the “PSU” and “PSU Secure” wireless networks that are accessible by wireless devices. Cisco’s webcast, featuring the new wireless technology at PSU, can be viewed at www.tools.cisco.com/ cmn/jsp/index.jsp?id=10545.
BUSES |
from page one
Accident still under investigation Broadway Boulevard and Northwest Glisan Street, where three pedestrians were trapped beneath the bus, according to a press release by the Portland Police Bureau. Though a medical unit was able to extricate the pedestrians from beneath the bus, only one person out of the three trapped survived. Jenee Hammel, 26, and a 22-year-old female, later identified as Danielle Sale, died at the scene, according to the release. Robert E. Gittings, 22, suffered critical injuries. As officers continued their investigation, Jamie Hammel, 23, and Ryan Hammel, 28, were discovered to have non-life threatening injuries and were transported to area hospitals. No arrests have been made. Sandi L. Day, 48, has been identified as the driver of the bus and is cooperating with investigators, according to the release. Though the investigation is ongoing, initial interviews and an examination of the scene indicate that the bus was turning left from
Vanguard News | 3 May 19, 2010
westbound Glisan Street onto southbound Broadway at the time of the accident, according to the release. As the bus turned southbound, it collided with the group of pedestrians walking west across Broadway.
News Editor: Virginia Vickery 503-725-5690 news@dailyvanguard.com
Sustainability forum comes to PSU
New TriMet changes -Lines 12 and 44 will continue to service their stops at SW 4th and Hall, but will not turn left on Harrison. They will continue to SW 4th and Mill before making a left, helping the buses get into position for the left turn -Line 17 westbound has discontinued its stop at SW 4th and Hall to allow the bus more time and distance to make the left turn from Lincoln onto Harrison
Drew Martig/Portland State Vanguard
Fatal collision: A temporary memorial at Broadway and Glisan to those killed by a TriMet bus.
Behind the Acronym: DMSS DMSS: Diversity Multicultural Student Services Tamara K. Kennedy Vanguard staff
Previously known as Academic Career and Equity Services, DMSS hopes to raise visibility, collaboration, accessibility and student awareness of its programs to aid in student retention and graduation rates of first generation, multicultural, low income and disabled students under its new structure. The new alignment of DMSS—which took place during winter term—includes multicultural student services, diversity scholarship programs, African American student services, Native American/Alaska Native student services, Latino student services, student support services and pre-college programs, as well as the multicultural center and Native American student center buildings, according to Paulette Watanabe, executive director of DMSS. Watanabe and her staff are still developing the bigger picture relationship of DMSS by creating affiliation pieces to work together and develop synergistic opportunities to better serve students since DMSS formed in winter term, Wantanabe said. Several new pieces are already coming together, such as three mentor programs which address the graduation goals of the university and which will begin fall term for incoming freshmen. DMSS then plans to address the needs of transfer students, according to Watanabe. One of the initiatives is a Latino mentor program called Gaining Awareness Networking Academic Success, according to Watanabe. Ganas is the Spanish word for “having will, desire or motivation,” according to Perla Pinedo, coordinator of Latino student services, who is developing another piece of the program specific to Latinos.
Heather Noddings/Portland State Vanguard
Inclusive expansion: The PSU Multicultural Center is under the expanded DMSS umbrella.
“Feeling connected is a big part of retention,” said Jon Joiner, Multicultural Center coordinator.
A bilingual track will be available at summer orientation so that the families of Spanish speaking students will have a better understanding of how higher education works, according to Pinedo. The Latino population is the fastest growing population at PSU, though the Asian population is the largest multicultural population, according to Wantanabe. Pinedo’s position is the first addition to multicultural retention services since the 1990s, and a second position for African American student services will begin this summer. It is being added because the success rate of African American students is not where DMSS wants it to be, according to Wantanabe. Watanabe acknowledges a unique alignment that traditionally serves students who are not
particularly successful and whose families have not attended college. All DMSS staff members are first generation students, according to Watanabe. “Feeling connected is a big part of retention,” said Jon Joiner, the Multicultural Center coordinator. The Multicultural Center provides a place where students can build community in a setting where space is limited, according to Watanabe. Watanabe wants to link academic support services to communitybuilding and curricular support, Watanabe said. Joiner is excited about the new opportunities that DMSS presents and looks forward to the wide range of possibilities for student learning, Joiner said. After a successful study group program one day per week, a new program on Tuesdays and
Thursdays is planned for fall 2010 in the MCC, according to Joiner. Joiner and Watanabe are excited about the joint alignment and see some physical changes coming to MCC that might include moving furniture and using portable screens to create a lounge area that could be reformed into a large seating area to accommodate events. Joiner wants students to feel that the MCC can be a home away from home with the surplus of available programs, Joiner said. Dean Azule, coordinator of Native American student services, feels that with the joining of DMSS there is a “far greater impact on retaining students,” Azule said. Director of Native American studies Cornel Pewewardy recently established his office in the Native American Center, which provides academic and social support for students. Azule and Pewewardy act as a leadership team under Watanabe, she said. Pre-college level programs are available through the TRIO programs of Upward Bound, which are targeted at students who are low-income and first generation at specific high schools in the Portland area, such as Benson, Franklin, Marshall, Jefferson, Franklin and Grant, with 90 percent of Upward Bound participants entering college after high school graduation, according to their publications. Sherie Guess, assistant director of DMSS services, is excited that more students can be served with more people in their department, Guess said. “[DMSS will] not only serve more students but also [serve as] a resource for faculty,” Watanabe said.
Watch for: Fall 2010 Tuesdays and Thursdays Multicultural study communities in the Multicultural Center in Smith Memorial Student Union A place for students to study and connect
“Understanding Sustainability: Perspectives From the Humanities,” a forum for a humanities perspective on sustainability will return to Portland State on Thursday, May 20. The three-day event, which runs until Saturday, May 22, will bring together over 60 scholars from multiple disciplines to lead panel discussions and conversations about the controversies over the meaning and practices of sustainability. The forum, which was organized by the Portland Center for Public Humanities at PSU, will include three plenary sessions with Natalie Jeremijenko, Stephen Gardiner and Cary Wolfe. Each session will provide differing perspectives on sustainability: May 20 Natalie Jeremijenko, “After Copenhagen: Emerging Strategies of Political Participation,” 7–9 p.m May 21 Stephen Gardiner, “Climate Justice,” 9–10:30 a.m. May 22 Cary Wolfe, “Biopolitics and Species Difference,” 9–10:30 a.m. In addition, panels will run from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. They will feature sample topics including, “Urban and Civic Ecology,” Sustainability in Art and New Media,” “Political Strategy Roundtable” and “Green Business Practices and the Question of Corporate Responsibility.” All events are free and will be held in PSU’s Native American Student and Community Center. A conference schedule is available at www.understanding sustainability.org. The conference is supported by PSU’s Center for Sustainable Processes and Practices with funding from the James F. and Marion L. Miller Foundation’s $25 million grant for sustainability to PSU. —pdx.edu/news
Vanguard 4 | Arts & Culture May 19, 2010
ARTS & CULTURE
Arts Editor:
Bikes, beer and pinball
Theodora Karatzas 503-725-5694 arts@dailyvanguard.com
Weekend box office: Top 10 highestgrossing films for the weekend of May 14–16 1. Iron Man 2 Weekend Gross: $52,041,005 Gross to Date: $211,200,876 2. Robin Hood Weekend Gross: $36,063,385 Gross to Date: $36,063,385 3. Letters to Juliet Weekend Gross: $13,540,486 Gross to Date: $13,540,486 4. Just Wright Weekend Gross: $8,284,989 Gross to Date: $8,284,989 5. How to Train Your Dragon Weekend Gross: $5,033,536 Gross to Date: $207,647,696 6. A Nightmare on Elm Street (2010) Weekend Gross: $4,657,190 Gross to Date: $56,066,595 7. Date Night Weekend Gross: $3,823,515 Gross to Date: $86,522,622 8. The Back-Up Plan Weekend Gross: $2,387,480 Gross to Date: $34,124,782
Apex Bar is new and rockin’ the patio for the warm weather to come Bianca Blankenship Vanguard staff
As the weather heats up, nothing sounds more tempting than drinking a cold beer in the hot sun. Unfortunately, the few bar patios in Portland are either covered, too small and crowded or both. Fortunately, Apex Bar has hit the scene with a great patio and a long list of good beers. Stand at the corner of Southeast 12th and Division Street and it’s easy to see Apex’s best asset: its patio. With rows of long, community-style benches and shady umbrellas, the large patio is the perfect place to drink a beer in the sun. Since its grand opening on May 7, that’s just what the neighborhood has been doing. The bar has already seen good business. It’s a mellow afternoon destination and it sees a big crowd on weekend nights. Why so much love? It might be the big patio or the four pinball machines that Apex tunes up twice a week. The owner, Jesse McCann, is a big fan of pinball, and he keeps the machines at their best. McCann has two other passions—besides beers, of course— that give Apex its personality: bicycles and motorcycles. Pictures of both are hung on Apex’s walls, including a large photograph of naked bicyclists above the bar. Also nailed against the walls are shelves designed for helmets. The huge bicycle rack on the patio reveals McCann’s passion, too. It would take an enormous crowd to fill up the rack, which is sure to make many bicyclists sigh with affection for the place. For all the space on the patio, don’t expect smokers. Apex doesn’t
allow smoking, so patrons can breathe free. As for drinks, Apex offers a rotating tap list of about 50 beers, some crafted locally and others from afar. They’re sure to keep a wide selection as well. On any given day, there are over 20 taps to choose from, including stouts, Belgians, IPAs, goses and just about any other style possible. This week the bar is adding 20 more taps so that more beers can be available on draft regularly. The new taps will be turned on gradually over the next month or so. A number of bottled beers are also available. Though it is unique enough to stand its ground in a section of the city with a large bar scene, Apex will likely fare better where it is. While a few other bars can be found near Apex, they are mostly those disappointingly standard dive bars which depend on lottery and cheap PBR to bring in patrons. People in the neighborhood are glad to have Apex nearby. It’s a ton better than a dive bar, the beer is good and the prices are reasonable. Not to mention, the friendly service is excellent. Apex doesn’t serve food, but once again, its location is helpful. Next door to the bar is Los Gorditos, which serves Mexican food for both the meat eater and the vegan. A few blocks east is New Seasons, where a big deli awaits. For summertime beer drinking, Apex Bar is the place to go. With a big patio, lots of bicycle parking, great beer and some pinball for the restless, it might be the best place to sit in the sun.
Apex Bar 1216 SE Division St. Open daily, 11:30 a.m.–2:30 a.m.
9. Furry Vengeance Weekend Gross: $2,242,106 Gross to Date: $15,089,070 10. Clash of the Titans (2010) Weekend Gross: $1,231,369 Gross to Date: $160,127,747 —boxofficemojo.com
Photo courtesy of portlandbrewtunes.blogspot.com
Photo courtesy of Ilyas Ahmed
Analog haze and smooth static Ilyas Ahmed operates in favor of a more traditional, organic sound Leah Bodenhamer Vanguard staff
“A kind of buzzing drone,” said musician Ilyas Ahmed. “Like modal music in general, or like old renaissance music. If I have a sound in my head, it’s probably that sound. Everyone says they have a sound or a song in their head. I don’t really hear songs exactly. It’s more abstracted for me.” Recently collaborating with Grouper’s Liz Harris—the local queen of drone—Ahmed enters the forefront of Portland’s ambient scene, adding a much-needed cultural flare and authenticity to the crowd of heavy-eyed and swaying reverb enthusiasts. This illusive artist was either born in the wrong era or at such a right time in history that it might take years for us to fully appreciate him. Ahmed is an old-time aficionado—computers disinterest him, he owns no iPod, he listens to all his music on vinyl and the musical style that slides so smoothly out of his fingers is so ancient-sounding that it haunts your deepest ancestral root. Ahmed’s parents had little to do with his stylistic preferences, other than ensuring that his first musical influence was jazz. Born in Pakistan and quickly transported to New Jersey, Ahmed found music at the young age of 11 or 12 and particularly liked it because it was something to call his own. “As a kid I would hear Coltrane and other jazz in the context of drone,” Ahmed said. “I used to play more improv noise kind of music while working on quiet folkier stuff on the side. I didn’t feel comfortable doing it publicly, I had a kind of hang up about it—it might have been a psychosomatic thing, but I felt so ambivalent about songs.”
Throughout all his albums, Ahmed toys with the idea of a “song song” with more traditional verse and chorus structures and perfected chords, only to continually reach the same conclusion that he likes music better without that kind of structure. It’s not that his songs lack structure, though. They are just more open-ended and magical, born in a dark and wispy womb of spacey limitlessness. As far as his involvement with Harris goes, they find each other easy musical companions. After touring together with Xiu Xiu, they started to seriously consider creating a whole new musical phenomenon together full of haziness and Wirlitzers, running feet and endless stories. “We’re both really comfortable with each other,” said Ahmed. “We started playing together casually— just one voice, simplistic. We lock in. We don’t want to overpower each other; we want to keep it at this hazy level.” Regardless of their solo endeavors, which include groundbreaking work in both the musical as well as visual realms, the Ahmed-Harris duo hopes to begin recording this summer and release something next year. The whole process is easy come, easy go—light on expectations as well as instrumentation. Thursday’s show will be featuring Ahmed and Harris as the headlining duo along with a really awesome ambient group called Valet, whose music is everything from new age electronic to rhythmically tribal all hand-tossed in a beautifully droned dressing.
Ilyas Ahmed The Woods 6637 Milwaukie Avenue Thu, 8 p.m. $7 21+
Vanguard Arts & Culture | 5 April 19, May 21, 2010 2010
This week at the 5th Ave. Cinema The Apartment dir. Billy Wilder, 125 min.
Local theater company adapts classic coming-of-age movie to the stage Andrea Vedder Vanguard staff
John Hughes fans, get ready: Local production company Blue Monkey Theater has adapted Hughes’ best-known Brat Pack flick, The Breakfast Club, to the bounds of a small room on Southeast Foster Road. This is a nearly word-for-word translation from screen to stage, and it is surprisingly well done. Screen-to-stage adaptation is so infrequently attempted that this show deserves an audience for its ambition alone. The Breakfast Club works well for these purposes, as most of the story takes place in one room (a high school library). Set and lighting designer Laura Wiley does an excellent job of creating the illusion of multiple rooms in such a small space. Most notable is the clever use of the theater’s hallway and exit door, which become the high school’s hallway and the entrance to the set library. Director John Monteverde, who directs most of Blue Monkey’s
Photo courtesy of Jerry Rousselle/Blue Monkey Theater Co.
shows, chose to incorporate the movie’s soundtrack into his stage adaptation—a wise choice, as The Breakfast Club’s soundtrack was a major contributor to its success representing high school angst. Unfortunately, the music often pre-empted its cue and twice songs broke off abruptly. In the opening scene, an ambitious projection of quotations and who-knows-whatelse went very awry, an obvious case of technical difficulty. Although the production is obviously (and charmingly) low
is on-point throughout the show, entirely convincing as Brian, and both Zilka and Avni are consistently and humorously in character, even when they are not the center of the audience’s attention. The “criminal,” John Bender (Ken Potts), is a little overacted, but the character and his lines almost demand such an exaggerated representation. This is a tough character to portray and, compared to his movie counterpart Judd Nelson, Potts doesn’t pull it off. He isn’t hard enough.
“If you’re a fan of John Hughes movies or know a 15-year-old who could use a night out, this is a low-key and entertaining evening.” budget, it is important to recognize when an idea cannot be successfully executed. It might help the play if the opening projection was cut out entirely. As for the high school students who have been sentenced to all-day Saturday detention, the “brain,” Brian Johnson (Tony Zilka) and the “basket case,” Allison Reynolds (Tali Avni) are the stand-outs. Zilka
Potts’ Bender is more vulnerable and less threatening than the Bender of the silver screen, and kind of a goof. He’s more of a down-and-out class clown than an actual rebel. It is possible to believe Potts’ portrayal, but it requires an open mind. The “princess,” Claire Standish (Emily Kelly), does a fine job, and her resemblance to Molly Ringwald is striking.
James O’Hanlon as the “jock,” Andy Clark, is the only one that’s really not working. O’Hanlon seems uncomfortable onstage and cannot quite break into his character. As a high school jock sentenced to detention for attacking another student and “taping his buns together,” he’s impossible to buy. Overall, this production of The Breakfast Club is fun, enthusiastic and true to the original. If you’re a fan of John Hughes movies or know a 15-year-old who could use a night out, this is a low-key and entertaining evening. The show runs about two hours, with one intermission. The theater is on the second floor of an apparently poorly ventilated building, and the room can become too warm. If you want to stay comfortable then don’t wear a sweater.
The Breakfast Club The Day Theater 5444 SE Foster Road Thu–Sat, 8 p.m. Runs through June 19 $16 advance, $20 door
“Billy Wilder helped define the golden age of Hollywood, with a five-decade career that includes classics such as Sunset Boulevard, Some Like it Hot and Double Indemnity. Added to that list of classics is The Apartment, the film that won Wilder three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Director and Best Screenplay. In attempt to climb the corporate ladder, insurance clerk Bud Baxter lends his apartment to executives at his company to use for rendezvous with their mistresses. While he may be getting closer to a promotion, his scheme may lose him more than access to his apartment.”
May 21 and 22 at 7 and 9:30 p.m., May 23 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 19, 2010
OPINION
Opinion Editor: Richard D. Oxley 503-725-5692 opinion@dailyvanguard.com
Powering Oregon Oregon receives its energy supply from three main providers: Portland General Electric PGE provides 40 percent of Oregon’s energy needs and supplies more than 733,000 customers with electricity. According to the company’s website, around half of its energy supply comes from a renewable source with no greenhouse gas emissions. In 2008 PGE’s power mix was: nuclear, 22 percent; hydroelectric, 16 percent; renewable (wind, geothermal, biomass), 14 percent; natural gas, 39 percent; coal, 8 percent; and other fossil fuels, 1 percent. Pacific Power Thirty-one percent of Oregon’s electricity comes from Pacific Power. More than 486,000 consumers of power subscribe to its service. Pacific Power is the second largest utility owner of wind power resources in the country according to its website. Bonneville Power Administration Oregon has 36 consumer-owned utility companies. The BPA provides these companies with their power in addition to directly supplying electricity to industrial customers. Other Oregon also receives a mix of power from out of state from places such as Washington, Idaho, Montana, Utah and Wyoming. Oregon is also attempting to move toward sustainable energy sources. In 2008, the state began requiring that all new construction for public improvement projects must spend 1.5 percent of the contract cost on solar energy technology. —oregon.gov, pge.com, pacificpower.net
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.
The electric car and beyond Robin Tinker Vanguard staff
Portland, Salem, Eugene and Corvallis are all part of a new test market for electric vehicles along with Seattle, Phoenix, Tucson, San Diego, Nashville, Knoxville and Chattanooga. Hopefully the tests will go well in these cities and the vehicles will catch on nationwide. According to a 2009 poll of about 800 Willamette Valley residents by Davis, Hibbits & Midghall, 83 percent of respondents said they want Oregon to help pioneer electric vehicles. This is probably why Oregon has a whopping four cities within the test market. This is not a surprise. There are already over 30 charging stations in Oregon, with many more on the way. Completely electric vehicles such as the Nissan Leaf and the Tesla Roadster are already on the road and emit zero emissions. They can go about 100 miles per charge. A charge can take anywhere from 15 minutes—if you use the “level three” highpowered charging stations—to eight hours if you use the 220-volt charge stations. According to an April 27 Vanguard article, Toyota had already chosen PSU earlier this year to test out 10 hybrid vehicles because of the university’s reputation for sustainability. These vehicles go about 15 miles without spewing any emissions and then switch to a gasoline-powered engine. The average commute in Portland is 14 miles. This seems to be a match. Opponents of hybrid and electric cars like to say that electricity still comes from coal and that the cars are not any better than
gasoline-powered vehicles for the environment for that reason. This is only partially true. Unfortunately, much of our electricity still does come from power plants, many of which burn coal, and another big chunk comes from natural gas and hydroelectric power which have their own negative environmental consequences. This is not ideal, but it doesn’t mean we should just give up and continue driving our polluting gas guzzlers. Ideally, all electricity would come from solar and wind power and then electric cars would be even more environmentally friendly. However, according to University of California researchers, a fully electric car, even when charged by coal power, might emit about one-fifth of the greenhouse gasses of a gasolinepowered car, including emissions from the manufacturing process. It’s a step in the right direction, but more needs to be done. According to Portland General Electric’s 2009 report “The Electricity Sector’s Role in Oregon’s Carbon Emissions,” PGE has adopted one of the nation’s most stringent Renewable Energy Standard, which requires that 25 percent of Oregon’s electricity comes from renewable sources by 2025. According to The Oregonian, PGE is “playing a lead role in attracting [electric vehicle] companies to Oregon.” They are even helping to build charging stations. This all sounds really good and PGE, Electric Vehicle Manufacturers and Willamette Valley residents, along with citizens in the other test market cities, all have the right idea in embracing the newest greenest technologies. However, if Oregonians, Americans and all residents of the planet really want to make a difference and actually save the environment, we need
Cutting down coal ASPSU signs resolution to close coal plant Meaghan Daniels Vanguard staff
This year has been full of ups and downs for the ASPSU Student Senate. They have been under a lot of scrutiny lately and it looks like they have finally done something right. Recently, the ASPSU Student Senate passed a resolution for Portland General Electric to close its last coal-fired plant by 2014. During the meeting on April 27, David Nokovic, student leadership liaison for economics at the PSU sustainability leadership center, approached the senate with the resolution. He wanted the senate to join with what many other Oregon Universities have already signed onto. When the senate met on May 4, the resolution was signed. PSU was the sixth school to sign the resolution, joining other Oregon universities, colleges and high schools including Reed College, Pacific University and Lane Community College.
According to Portland General Electric’s website, the coal plant operates at a variable cost of one-third to one-half of the market rate cost for electricity. It produces 15 percent of Oregon’s energy. All of those facts may sound good, but the facts show something different. The plant emits carbon
better technology for vehicles and for electricity. We should all be racing for scientific discoveries in sustainability similar to the 1960s enthusiasm for space exploration. According to The Oregonian, electric vehicle charging stations will begin appearing near big box stores, perhaps offering to charge the cars for free as an incentive to shop. This is what is wrong with our half-assed approach to sustainability. Big box stores are not environmentally friendly. They ship goods with pollutioncausing vehicles to America from
Illustration by Kira Meyrick/Portland State Vanguard
The plant also contributes to about 6 percent of Oregon’s total greenhouse gas emissions per year, or 4.3 million metric tons, producing the most greenhouse gas emissions of any major industrial source in the state. Although coal is a cheaper alternative, it is clear that it is not safe to cut corners in light of the environment and the safety of Oregonians. Obviously PGE has felt the same way with the DEQ’s new quality air standards—they pushed up the closing date of the plant from 2040 to 2020.
This is a great thing that the ASPSU Senate has signed onto because it is something outside of PSU that still promotes the university’s message of sustainability dioxide, nitrogen oxides, sulfur dioxide, carbon monoxide, particulate matter and mercury, as well as other pollutants caused by the plant. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality found that oxides of nitrogen and sulfur dioxide emissions from the PGE coal plant are contributors to haze and reduced visibility in at least 14 wilderness areas around the Northwest.
faraway countries where they do not use environmentally friendly manufacturing processes. Offering to charge electric cars for free does not make this OK. We all need to remember to be smart about sustainability, and we need to use our smarts to create better sustainability. This would be good for both kinds of green. Whoever invents the best new technology will pass on environmental goodness and receive economic benefits. Electric cars are great for the moment, but we need to look farther than that.
According to PGE, with the new plan (titled the “Revised Integrated Resources Plan”), emissions controls would be implemented that would cut mercury by 90 percent and nitrogen oxide emissions by 50 percent. Although the plant is not based in Portland, the major consumers live in the Portland area. This issue is something that needs to be known throughout the Portland community, not just because
they are the biggest consumers of the coal plant, but because this is affecting the air they breathe. Everyone in the great Northwest and beyond should be aware of this issue because it affects everyone. This is a great thing that the ASPSU Senate has signed onto because it is something outside of PSU that still promotes the university’s message of sustainability. After all, that is what a representation of the student body, such as ASPSU, is supposed to do. They are supposed to represent PSU and what PSU itself represents. Portland State is all for sustainability so it is wonderful that ASPSU is doing what the university and its attendees want. Portland State pushes its students to reach out beyond the hallowed halls of the university and to help a community. And with the ASPSU Student Senate signed onto this resolution of shutting down the coal plant earlier than planned, they are reaching out to not just PSU students, but also to the community that consumes the energy. Kudos to the ASPSU Student Senate for representing and bringing about this issue—one that the PSU community is in direct involvement with.
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 19, 2010
Read the Vanguard
Edited by Will Shortz Across
29 “___ the last rose of summer” (start of a Thomas Moore 6 Mex. miss poem) 10 Big Apple 30 ___ the day neighborhood west of the East 31 Head out on the ranch? Village 33 Korean money 14 English novelist 34 What Justin Canetti who Timberlakeʼs wrote “Crowds “bringinʼ back,” and Power” in a song 15 Thing to look 35 Home of the Ivy under League 16 Privy to 39 Director Preminger 17 Dear 42 Palindromic 20 Actress exclamation Thompson 43 Many sand castle molds 21 When la Tour Eiffel lights up 47 Not con 22 Rock band with 48 Take to court a lightning bolt in 49 Carmaker whose name means its logo “arise out of 23 What children Asia” should be, so the saying goes 51 ___ Mustard 52 Itʼs a relief in 27 Electees Athens 28 Mount in the 56 Princess with a Bible blaster 1 Painterʼs primer
ANSWER S I P S
A C O P
M E W L
S A D E
N A B S
A N A T
N A M E D
A L E V E
T A A L B Y U T V Y E R G A A N N T
57 “Thatʼs big news, dude!” 58 Sentence segment: Abbr. 59 Likely to change everything 62 Baseballʼs Moises 63 Like lemonade sans sugar 64 Oscar-winning “Tootsie” actress 65 Cold war news source 66 Canine command 67 Comedian Wanda
Down 1 Book that spans 2,369 years 2 Gold or silver, but not bronze 3 Like the cats in “Lady and the Tramp” 4 Clear kitchen wrap 5 Sunrise direction in Berlin 6 Hoot and holler 7 1998 De Niro film TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE 8 In direct O N S A Y M A D D competition X E P G A O L A Y 9 Google moneymakers E R R O O M J I M I N D O R G A B O N 10 Lisa Simpson, to Patty or Selma S K Y D I V I N G 11 How one might L I E O R N E go bungee O G W H Y S S S N jumping O N E M O R E T I M E 12 Receptacle for Voldemortʼs soul S O L D U N I T E S in Harry Potter E R I U N G L U E S 13 Que. neighbor S E A L S 18 Burden T A E R A T I O N 19 Derisive laughs K I N D O F B L U E 24 Prefix with I N K T R A I T S meter A N Y S O R E S T 25 Fey of “30 Rock”
1
2
3
4
5
6
14 18
20
21
23
24
27
28
31
8
9
10
40
26
29
30
33
34
37
38
42
43 49
53
44
50
45
46
PSU Wind Symphony and Concert Band 7:30 p.m. SMSU, room 355 This free concert features our very own wind symphony and concert band, as well as special guests from Clackamas Community College
51
54
56
13
22
48
52
12
25
36
41
47
11
16 19
32 35
39
7
55
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
Puzzle by Jonah Kagan
26 Susan of “L.A. Law”
39 Right to left, e.g.: Abbr. 40 Light refrain 41 Stars in a ring 33 “… thatʼs ___!” 44 Place to see a 34 Where to catch a flying camel bullet?: Abbr. 45 Drop down oneʼs 36 Player/preyer throat? 37 “And after that?” 46 Big busting tools 48 Persian monarch 38 Exchange jabs or gibes 49 Full of difficulties 32 Musician Brian
50 “___ first you …” 53 “___ Andronicus” 54 John who wrote “Appointment in Samarra” 55 Start of an appeal 59 Drop down oneʼs throat 60 Urban grid: Abbr. 61 Chi-town trains
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 Celebrating 10 Years of Civil Engagement Awards 3 p.m. Smith Memorial Student Union, room 296 Join PSU in celebrating 10 years of honoring outstanding civic engagement, followed by a wine reception
No. 0414
15
17
Vanguard Etc. | 7 May 19, 2010
Vanguard
Fill in single-box ● Freebies: cages with the number in the top-left corner.
5-19-10
The New School Initiative: Opportunities and Challenges Noon SMSU Multicultural Center This panel, as part of the Black Bag Speaker Series, addresses the New School initiative which would locate Women’s, Native American, Chicano/ Latino and Black Studies within one school. Don’t miss the chance to learn about and discuss the possibilities and challenges of this initiative Women’s Resource Center Spring Faculty Favorites Lecture Series Noon Women’s Resource Center Lounge (Montgomery Basement) This lecture features Dr. Mark L. Berrettini, associate professor of Film Studies from the Department of Theater Arts. He will be leading a discussion titled “Mobility and Courtney Hunt’s award-winning film Frozen River” To place an event: Contact vgcalendar@ gmail.com or pick up a calendar request form at the Vanguard advertising office, SMSU, room 115.
Stop by ad office SMSU 115 for FREE OMSI ‘SPACE’ tickets
Vanguard 8 | Arts & Culture May 19, 2010
ART WEDNESDAY
Arts Editor: Theodora Karatzas 503-725-5694 arts@dailyvanguard.com
Tonight at the NW Film Center The Lady with the Dog Iosif Khifitz, USSR 1960 “Based on one of Chekhov’s loveliest, most wistful stories, this tale of a holiday affair begins as Moscow banker Dimitri Gurov (Alexei Batalov) spies a beautiful young woman, Anna (Iya Sawina), walking her dog in early 1900s Yalta. Each is caught in a problematic marriage, yet each is reluctant to embark on an adventure that could turn their carefully controlled worlds upside down. After their summer holidays in Yalta, both return home, but then a chance appears for Dimitri to make a trip to Anna’s hometown. Was what they experienced a passing fancy–or a chance for fulfilled lives? Kheifitz creates a rich period portrait as well as a brilliant study of passion deferred, as the star-crossed Anna and Dimitri become vital, complex characters as well as representatives of their era.” 7 p.m.
All screenings are in Whitsell Auditorium, 1218 SW Park Ave. Free with PSU student ID. —nwfilm.org
All photos courtesy of Mark Steinmetz/Charles A. Hartman Gallery
Photographer Mark Steinmetz attempts to pinpoint American culture Roger Wightman Vanguard staff
Robert Frank created an American masterpiece in 1959 with the U.S. release of his crosscountry photo-documentary trip The Americans. Popularized over time, Frank’s work is now seen as the pinnacle of work documenting that era in American society. His images are raw, exposing both the hardships and the quaintness of a time defined by tumultuous change in technology
Illustration by Justin Flood
and social structures. Frank’s images are relevant even today, as few artists have dared to explore the abyss that is American culture. One artist who has followed in the footsteps of Frank is Georgia resident Mark Steinmetz. Steinmetz’s biography is not exclusive to capturing us Americans and our culture. Early on, his subjects were children, then a collection of images taken in France and Italy, followed by a period of nature photographs of Tuscan trees as well as vines and sunflowers. Deviations aside, Steinmetz’s work does involve the underlying theme of discovering American culture. Once documenting a
summer camp and then a littleleague baseball team, one can’t help but think of these subjects in an Americanized limelight. His first meaningful attempt at documenting American lifestyles was in a collection titled Akron/ Boston/Chicago. The collection spanned a 10-year period from 1990 to 2000 that unveiled American moments of beauty and distress. The unique nature of the South prompted Steinmetz to focus his lens on places and people that he was a part of, who he knew and understood. South Central and South East were the results of this project, which was also shot between 1990 and 2000. The images he captured paint a timeless portrayal of a place often romanticized and shrouded under the charm of southern hospitality and easy living. Both collections reveal the Steinmetz theme of utilizing both people and landscapes to tell the general story. Greater Atlanta is Steinmetz’s latest work, which began at the same time as South Central yet was finally completed in 2008. For this project, Steinmetz uses Atlanta as his base city to shed light on not only the people, cultures and lifestyles of Atlanta but to use this
city as the model for what we all look like, act like and collect. Steinmetz focuses on all of our quirks, from fast food to car dependence. His lens gives commentary without being preachy and his bottom line is always a crisp and refreshing look at the people, places and things that make up our American lives. Juxtaposing the 1950s work of Frank with the 18-year collection from Steinmetz gives an even more fascinating look into culture when we realize that once it’s all broken down, things haven’t changed that much. Take away the color and we’ll always have those moments that define our culture: hot summer days, depressed convenience store employees, traffic and the memory of our first kiss happening in the back seat of a car.
Greater Atlanta Charles A. Hartman Fine Art Gallery 134 NW Eighth Ave. Tue–Sat, 11 a.m.–6 p.m. Runs through June 12