Vanguard October 15, 2010

THE MESSAGE CAME TOO LATE

TAKING A WALK IN SOME CORN, NO BIG DEAL

Teen suicides and what they say about us

Sauvie Island’s haunted MAiZE

OPINION: PAGE 5

ARTS: PAGE 11

INDEX NEWS OPINION ARTS SPORTS

2 5 8 12

FREE The Vanguard is published twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays.

ESTABLISHED 1946

FR IDAY, OCTOBER 1 5 T H, 20 1 0

VO L. 65 NO. 13

PSUVANGUARD.COM

Portland responds to gay teen suicides Suicide of Rutgers University freshman Tyler Clementi inspires change at PSU ALISON BARNWELL VANGUARD STAFF

T

his Monday was National Coming Out Day, and at 7 p.m., a crowd gathered at Pioneer Courthouse Square to hold a candlelight vigil. Lieutenant Sara Westbrook was driving around the block on her usual policing rounds when she saw the flickering lights. She stopped to look closer, and then she stayed to watch the entire event honoring the death of Tyler Clementi, a gay Rutgers University freshman who jumped off of a bridge on Sept. 22 after his roommate secretly videotaped him with a webcam as he was having sex in their dorm room.

Though Westbrook stayed to provide police presence, she also stayed as a lesbian woman.

“What happened was horrific,” Westbrook said.

While at the vigil, Westbrook

listened to the speeches of Portland State student Amelia Wolf and other members of the community, from high school students to Mayor Sam Adams and Senator Ron Wyden. All 400 of the candles supplied by Pride Northwest were distributed, representing the volume of Portland’s response to the suicide.

Clementi was only 18 when he leapt from the George Washington bridge on the Rutgers campus in New Jersey, and the community there and across the nation is responding to a spate of suicides among teenagers who were harassed by their peers for being or seeming gay.

In September, a total of six young men—including Clementi—committed suicide.

At PSU, the students who hosted the Open House on Coming Out Day at the Queer Resource Center were saddened

by Clementi’s story, as well as the other suicides.

“It cast a darker edge to Coming Out week than I was looking forward to,” said Cody LaRue, a PSU junior and the QRC’s education and outreach coordinator.

At the open house, QRC Coordinator Cathryn McGraw said she is optimistic about the services that the center offers

PSU learning software receives $3.3 million grant Project aims to improve digital literacy effort in at least five states VINH TRAN VANGUARD STAFF

An online learning software developed at Portland State was given the green light by the U.S. Department of Commerce to expand to five other states with the help of a $3.3 million grant.

The grant is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s Broadband Technology Opportunities Program, a governmental effort to bridge the digital divide in the country. The Learner Web software platform was

developed by Stephen Reder, a professor of applied linguistics at the PSU College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Reder said Learner Web has been a work-in-progress for the past five years and was originally used to help adult learners returning to college. The new grant will be used to develop content for Learner Web in the area of digital literacy, in addition to providing services for at least 23,000 people.

“The populations we’re trying to help are often marginalized in many ways,” Reder said.

“They either have low education, [are] non-native speakers of English or [are] low income, which prevents their access to computers.”

Since most of the users won’t have any experience with com-

ADAM WICKHAM/VANGUARD STAFF

Coming together: Portlanders mourn the death of a Rugters University student, Tyler Clementi, at the Pioneer Courthouse Square on Monday.

to students in the lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, questioning, intersex and ally [LGBTQQIA] community.

“When I came [to PSU], students and faculty were so excited to see somebody dedicated full-time to my work,” McGraw said.

The QRC recently became a part of the Student Affairs cluster at PSU; before, it was a student group. Its new status means that McGraw and her team can offer crisis management services to students, hopefully in prevention of

tragedies like Clementi’s.

Addressing the needs of the two or three students that come into McGraw’s office each month with suicidal thoughts or intentions is an effort that involves the Center for Student Health and Counseling.

Though clinical social worker Tim Hagge is part of the SHAC staff, he has office hours at the QRC hosting a consultation service called Let’s Talk.

“It’s for students who don’t feel comfortable coming into SHAC,” Hagge said. Hagge is available at the QRC every

puters, Reder said it is important to make the system as simple as possible. A unique feature of the program is that it will be a blend of computer support and in-person tutoring services at places such as libraries and community centers.

“Learner Web will be implemented in 75 different community centers [for each state] in this project,” Reder said, adding that the program will utilize volunteers for its tutoring services.

The five states receiving the service are New York, California, Texas, Louisiana and Minnesota.

In some areas, residents are marginalized on several levels, such as Starr County, Texas, where 65 percent of the population lacks basic literacy skills and 33.5 percent live in poverty, according to the data provided by Reder.

In other areas poverty rates are also in the double-digits, and the percentage of those without high-school diplomas is often equally high, such as the 19.8 percent rate in Richmond, Calif.

Record amount of students attend OUS schools

DIGITAL LITERACY ON PAGE 3

PSU enrollment up 2.5 percent from last year, admission requirements more stringent ALISON BARNWELL AND CORIE CHARNLEY VANGUARD STAFF

This fall, Portland State and the six other schools within the Oregon University System are experiencing record enrollment numbers—totaling around 92,000—despite major state budget cuts in the past year.

As of last Friday, there were 25,213 students enrolled in courses at PSU, a roughly 2.5 percent increase from last fall’s numbers (which totaled 24,580), according to PSU’s

Wednesday between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.

At SHAC, a team of 16 senior mental health staff is ready to help students of all orientations. SHAC Director Dr. Dana Tasson works with the QRC to sustain and improve programs like Let’s Talk.

“As a gay man, I certainly understand the issues of dealing with sexuality,” Tasson said.

“We’re in contact with the QRC; we have a definite administrative relationship.”

McGraw has been strengthening ties with departments

Office of Institutional Research and Planning. Precise numbers will not be available until the end of next week, as students are still making adjustments to their schedules.

Diane Saunders, director of communications at the OUS, said that the current economic recession plays a factor in the recent enrollment trend.

“Generally, during a recession you do see a lot of increases in enrollment in community colleges and graduate programs, and some increases in enrollment of undergraduates,” she said.

In addition, in the past few years the OUS and several community colleges have worked to implement transfer programs, which make it easier for students to transfer credits to a four-year university. Commu-

across campus since she began her job at the QRC in July. For example, she and Dr. Sally McWilliams, director of women’s studies, are planning on developing joint-programming on campus. However, since the Rutgers tragedy, they’ve been more urgent in their planning efforts. They hope to stage some initiatives around activism and empowerment in February.

The suicide rate among gay teenagers has always been high.

RUTGERS ON PAGE 4

nity colleges have also begun using common course numberings to make the process easier.

“We actually saw the same number of transfer students last fall as we did new freshmen,” Saunders said.

At PSU, people are noticing the growth—especially in the classrooms. This fall, there are 145 students in Adjunct Professor Catherine Palmer’s Biology 101 class, which is a higher number than last year.

“It’s just like any class, but there’s a few more people,” said freshman Jordan Walters. “I only know one other person.”

Though the OUS expects the enrollment influx to continue, none of its universities are implementing admissions caps, unlike other states such as California. However, at PSU admissions standards are not as lax as they were in the past.

For instance, all students must have a minimum 3.0 GPA to be admitted. Before, if students didn’t meet this requirement

ENROLLMENT ON PAGE 3

2 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ NEWS

NEWS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EDITOR@DAILYVANGUARD.COM

Virginia Vickery

NEWS EDITOR NEWS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM

Corie Charnley

OPINION EDITOR OPINION@DAILYVANGUARD.COM

Richard Oxley

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR ARTS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM

Nicholas Kula

Professor tests sustainable housing material Oregon-made brick makes do-it-yourself homes a possibility KATRINA PETROVICH VANGUARD STAFF

SPORTS EDITOR SPORTS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM

Robert Britt

COPY CHIEF Kristin Pugmire

PRODUCTION MANAGER Bryan Morgan

PHOTO EDITOR Heather Noddings

ONLINE EDITOR Adiana Lizarraga

CALENDAR EDITOR Kristin Pugmire

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Alison Barnwell

ADVERTISING MANAGER Iris Meyers

ADVISER Judson Randall

ADVERTISING ADVISER Ann Roman

ILLUSTRATORS Susannah Beckett, Heather Mcintyre

DESIGNERS Colby Brooks, Justin Flood Stephanie Lucky

WRITERS Madison Beard, Ian Bellamy, Erick Bengel, Amanda Bentley, Leah Bodenhamer, Peter Browning, Zach Chastaine, Tori Christensen, Meaghan Daniels, Ryan Deming, Sarah Engels, John Geffert, Jesse Hansen, Rian Evans, Kevin Fong, Rosemary Hanson, Joshua Hunt, Rebekah Hunt, Theodora Karatzas, Ines Kuna, Ebonee Lee, Stephen Lisle, Christina Maggio, Joe Mantecon, Natalie Mcclintock, Erin McIntyre, Daniel Ostlund, Katrina Petrovich, Sierra Pannabecker, Jenieve Schnabel, Wendy Shortman, Catrice Stanley, Nilesh Tendolkar, Vinh Tran, Andrea Vedder, Kat Vetrano, Allison Whited, Elisabeth Wilson, Roger Wightman

Peter Dusicka, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering, is testing the newest idea in green building right here at Portland State. In the basement of Science Building 2, Dusicka is evaluating the durability and seismic safety of the “do-ityourself ” Faswall brick system.

The Faswall technology was first developed for the European rebuilding effort after World War II. Laborers formed blocks made from the remnants of fallen buildings. The modern technology, trademarked as Faswall, applies the same use of recycled materials in brick production today.

In a warehouse in Philomath, a small town located in eastern Oregon, old wood pallets are shredded and then put through a mineralization process that allows the wood to be bonded with cement.

The mineralized wood is then added to cement and formed

August Miller, Adam Wickham

COPY EDITORS Noah Emmet, Andrea Vedder

ADVERTISING SALES Dominique Abrams, Sam Gressett, Rayna Martinez, Jae Specht

ADVERTISING DESIGNER Beth Hansen

DISTRIBUTORS Brittany Castillo, Brandy Castillo

The Vanguard is published two days a week as an independent student newspaper governed 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 subscription issues may incur a 25 cent charge.

The Vanguard is printed on 40 percent post-consumer recycled paper. ©2010 PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY VANGUARD 1825 SW BROADWAY SMITH MEMORIAL STUDENT UNION, RM. S-26 PORTLAND OR, 97201

into bricks. Before leaving the warehouse, each brick is fitted with a three-inch-thick piece of mineral wool insulation. The result is a set of interlocking, user-friendly stackable blocks.

Faswall bricks have been compared to Lincoln Logs and Legos and, as it turns out,

ADAM WICKHAM/VANGUARD STAFF

Sustainable housing: Dr. Peter Dusicka has been working at PSU's iSTAR Laboratory to test the structural soundness of Faswall bricks.

these comparisons aren’t far off, Dusicka said. The simple interlocking grooves on the bricks, which are lightweight and mortar-free, makes assembling structures a do-ityourself process. The blocks, weighing about 30 pounds each, stack neatly upon each other to form a wall. Cement

PSU sustainability center appoints executive director Former Burgerville Director of Sustainability Alison Dennis to start on Jan. 1 JOE MANTECON VANGUARD STAFF

PHOTOGRAPHERS Aaron Leopold, Drew Martig,

EDITOR: CORIE CHARNLEY NEWS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5690

Alison Dennis, a local leader in sustainability, has been named executive director of the Portland State Center for Global Leadership in Sustainability. Dennis will assume responsibility as executive direc-

tor on Jan. 1, 2011.

Dennis’ reputation as an innovator in sustainable business models comes from her most recent employment as director of sustainable programs at Burgerville, a Pacific Northwest-based restaurant chain renowned for its sustainable business practices.

At Burgerville, she was most concerned with the issues of food sourcing, ensuring that ingredients come from the most sustainable sources possible, reducing the amount of water and energy incorporated into production and eliminat-

is then poured into the bricks to create a solid 12-inch-thick concrete partition.

Through a connection formed by Oregon BEST, Dusicka has been testing Faswall bricks in the iStar Laboratory, located at PSU. Oregon BEST is an organization that couples renewable energy businesses with university researchers to create actual products. In the case of the Faswall brick system, Dusicka believes that the technology’s seismic strength, a main topic of his research, is still unknown.

Evaluating and improving the design and strength of the brick to withstand earthquakes is essential for building structures in an area as seismically active as Oregon.

In the hopes of becoming more environmentally sound, ShelterWorks Ltd, which owns Faswall, wants to make bricks using recycled cement. Therefore, Dusicka is also comparing the strength between bricks made with pure cement and those made with cement containing recycled materials.

However, his central research goal is determining whether or not Faswall bricks can be used for large-scale designs.

Environmentally sound doit-yourself housing does exist. ing waste and wasteful procedures, Dennis said.

“I believe that, ultimately, the most profitable companies will be the ones who take the best care of people and the planet we share,” Dennis said.

“I’m thrilled to be joining such a talented group of students and faculty at PSU, along with great leaders in our local and international business community, to bring that future vision to fruition.”

Not only are these policies and procedures more conducive to the sustainability of the enterprise, they also tend to be cost-effective, with greater output.

“There are all kinds of parallels between leaving a smaller footprint and running a tighter business,” Dennis said.

Commenting on her recent appointment to PSU’s sustainability center, Dennis said, “[PSU] has an incredible repu-

Whether or not the concept will take root in America remains to be seen.

“Each building material and construction type has its own capabilities,” Dusicka said.

Though Faswall is a smart alternative for some projects, it is not the material for every green building of the next generation, according to Dusicka.

Commenting on the future of Faswall, Dusicka said, “Is it going to take over the world?

No, … [but] it can be a viable and popular way of building medium-sized structures.”

It's not magical or overly complicated, Dusicka said. If you can build a shed, that's plenty of experience.

Home additions, garden sheds and single-family dwellings have been built with limited professional help using Faswall technology, according to ShelterWorks’ website.

The use of recycled materials isn’t the only green aspect of this product. Because the mineral wool insulation is built into each brick, the necessity for fiberglass insulation is eliminated. This leads to an energy-efficient dwelling that saves the homeowner money in heating and cooling costs.

Additionally, the pre-made

AUGUST MILLER/VANGUARD STAFF

Green business: Alison Dennis is one of Portland's leaders in sustainable business practices.

tation for sustainable business leadership, so I’m just looking to build on that reputation and continue to grow the center’s scope and reach, and have it be an even more vital resource for students and business professionals around the world interested in solving the pressing problems of today.”

Debate Team kicks season off with a bang Lindsay Bing, Aaron Baker place second at national tournament PETER BROWNING VANGUARD STAFF

The Portland State Debate Team started its season strong at the Claremont McKenna’s U.S. Universities National Open Debate Tournament, where Lindsay Bing and Aaron Baker placed second out of 46 teams from across the nation. PSU debaters Aaron Powell and Katie Slayden took 22nd place.

The debate itself was structured in the British Parliamentary style, in which there are four teams of two people

and each round is divided into “proposition” and “opposition.” The debaters had only 15 minutes to prepare for each round and were not allowed to use the Internet or any other electronic sources.

Much like in a basketball tournament, the debaters are seeded (ranked) and compete in eight preliminary rounds before the top eight move into the semi-final elimination round.

The debate topics are on anything current or controversial.

“Birth rate, citizenship, death penalty and human-caused environmental catastrophes,” Baker said of the topics.

Though there are often difficulties in debating a side that one doesn’t agree with, Bing has found a way to get past it.

“[Defend] a topic without violating your moral inclinations ... It’s somewhat like theater,” she said. “You get to be like Stephen Colbert.”

For Baker, debate became a pathway to better social understandings.

“This is an interesting and unbelievably thoughtful community,” Baker said. “You’re learning how to have confrontations.”

Baker and Bing, who have been paired together since last year, have become a very successful team; while Baker is good at the informative part of debate, Bing is better at framing arguments.

After eight rounds the BingBaker team found themselves in the final pairing, for which the topic was whether or not to pro-

tect Pakistani sovereignty against NATO military operations.

Though the University of Alaska’s team, led by Colin Haughey and Michaela Hernandez, took first place, both Baker and Bing believe second place is something to be proud of.

“I was relieved—to be in the final round last year and to come out and flop [this year] would have been disappointing,” Bing said.

According to Baker, the final results don’t center around whether the argument was won or lost, but on the team’s argument in relation to interest, responses and substance.

Former student Kelly Welch is now the Debate Team’s adviser. She travels with the team and offers encouragement, as

bricks and lack of sheet insulation greatly reduce the amount of wasted material during construction. The solid walls built with Faswall are guaranteed to be both rot- and termite-resistant for life. Therefore, maintenance and upkeep costs for a Faswall structure are significantly lower than a traditional woodframed home.

Using Faswall bricks does add between 5 and 10 percent to the final cost of building a structure, but ShelterWorks argues that the added costs are easily recouped through the energy efficiency of the building, according to its website.

Though Faswall technology is relatively unknown in the U.S., these structures are the preferred style of building in Europe, according to the website. “[Faswall] is simply too new,” Dusicka said.

After all, ShelterWorks only purchased the Faswall technology from a Swiss architect in 2007. In the world of construction, an industry that is slow to change, three years is but a blip on the radar. In addition, Europe’s low seismic activity may explain why Faswall is more widely used there, Dusicka said. ■ The sustainability center, an offshoot of PSU’s School of Business Administration, is concerned with the innovation of novel solutions to the ecologically rooted challenges facing modern businesses. Its ideology is complementary to Dennis’, in that the nature of environmental and financial systems—business-wise—is inherently similar.

According to Dennis, the key to sustainability is a mix of smart decisions, ecological awareness and basic business sensibilities.

“Companies are made up of people, and sustainability has the power to tap the full intelligence of all kinds of workers today,” she said. “The resources are already there. We’re already investing in talent on work forces everywhere. How do we tap the full capacity of that talent to come up with new solutions to problems we haven’t been able to solve yet?” ■ well as experience.

“I was a competitor last year,” she said. “Now I keep people’s spirits up and keep track of everyone.”

Welch prepares the team with printed material briefs before the tournament, in addition to holding practice debates and impromptu speeches.

“I was very proud of them,” Welch said. “Everyone performed admirably; it was a good educational experience.”

Welch set up the PSU team in a pro-am style, in which seniors are paired with freshmen of complimentary skills, with exceptions for teams like Bing and Baker.

The team’s next tournament will be held on Nov. 7 and 8 at the University of Vermont in Burlington. In addition, the team expects to compete at nationals this year at Adelphi University in Long Island, N.Y. ■

NEWS ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ VANGUARD

3

Science Building 2 nearing completion Upgrades to building include hazardous waste management facility JOE MANTECON VANGUARD STAFF

O

ne of the biggest construction projects on the Portland State campus to be undertaken in recent memory is nearing completion. And if the glowing green lights bathing Southwest Montgomery in an eerie haze were not enough of an indication, Science Building 2 was not constructed with subtlety in mind.

Building upgrades: Science Building 2 has been under construction to make it more energy efficient and up to date on seismic codes.

According to Project Manager Mark Fujii, the project is on schedule and no major setbacks have been encountered. So far the renovation has totaled $46 million, according to PSU Facilities and Planning.

The project, which began in September 2009 and is slated for completion by March 2011, already boasts a number of improvements, including seismic updating and consolidation of machinery.

However, the most significant improvement is the new hazardous waste management facility at its southwest corner. Previously, Science Building 2 lacked the appropriate facilities to manage hazardous waste.

According to Fujii, the green lights, exposed ductwork and lime green interior walls serve the purpose of giving the structure a more “science-y” feel [sic]. This theme is repeated throughout the building.

In addition, one student study area and lounge is a virtual natural history museum, with several animal skeletons on display, including a lion, a grizzly bear and a small whale.

Further upgrades to Science Building 2 regard the “expansion and modernization of labs and teaching space,” according to Facilities and Planning’s website. These include seismic, electrical, plumbing, HVAC and building code upgrades.

Fujii said the remodel project was necessary to upgrade the building’s 40-some-year old mechanical systems with new, more energy-efficient systems.

“There was nothing inherently wrong with the structure for the time it was built,” Fujii said. “However, much has been learned over the past four decades about a building's behavior during a seismic event and [Science Building 2] is being upgraded to withstand modern seismic codes.”■

Overview of Science Building 2 costs According to Facilities and Planning, the overall $46 million came from: $26.3 million in state deferred maintenance funds $19 million in state general funds, bonds, federal funds and economic stimulus funds

ALL PHOTOS BY AUGUST MILLER/VANGUARD STAFF

Remodeling: The renovation of Science Building 2 includes a hazardous waste facility, a lime green paint job and modernized labs and teaching space.

GUS MILLER/VANGUARD STAFF

Campus traffic: With the start of fall term, many students have been hanging out in the Park Blocks.

ENROLLMENT FROM PAGE 1 the university would consider test scores and letters of recommendation, according to Chris Hart, the lead public service representative in the Office of Admissions.

“We’re a public access school, so we admit strictly off academics,” Hart said.

Southern Oregon University has experienced a nearly 20 percent increase in the enrollment of freshmen and transfer students, according to Mark Bottorff, the campus’ director of admissions. At the University of Oregon, enrollment has increased by 2 percent. Whereas last year’s undergraduate student body was 22,380, it is now at ap-

proximately 22,800. Like PSU, U of O is becoming more selective in its admissions process.

“We dialed things back in the last few years, after a big increase in applications in 2008,” said Brian Henley, U of O’s associate director of admissions. “We want to make sure to get to our target growth without unnecessary strain on our faculty.”

U of O’s current target is to enroll 29,000 students.

Despite increasing enrollment demands, the OUS is still coping with the loss of state support. At its September meeting, the Oregon State Higher Board of Higher Education approved a $20.6 million cut to OUS’ annual operating budget for the 2010–11 academic year. This is

in addition to the $31.6 million budget cut that was approved in June.

However, the OUS is still adhering to its mission of making higher education accessible.

“The university system tries to maintain a level of affordability by keeping tuition increases at the lowest possible level and providing additional financial aid,” Saunders said.

According to Saunders, some of the OUS campuses have been able to put more money into special scholarship funds.

For example, Oregon State University has the Bridge to Success Program, a financial aid initiative that allows a small percentage of its lowincome students to attend free

of charge. U of O has a similar program—known as PathwayOregon—that is a combination of federal, state and university funds. “[OUS] is working really hard to try to balance any tuition increase with a subsequent increase in financial aid for those students who are most needy,” Saunders said. “We don’t want to see students dropping out because of affordability reasons.”

Saunders referred to what happened in the early 1990s when the state implemented budget cuts. Within two years, tuition increased by 40 percent, and several students were forced to drop out of college, she said.

This year, PSU experienced an 8.5 percent tuition increase, bringing the annual cost of tuition to $5,321 for resident undergraduate students.

The increased tuition revenue will help schools within the OUS hire additional faculty members and offer more course sections, “ultimately allowing students to graduate on time,” Saunders said.

However, the OUS must first get state permission before tapping into its tuition reserves. As a result, the university system will seek other funding options at the Legislative Emergency Board meeting on Dec. 14. ■

DIGITAL LITERACY FROM PAGE 1

“I think digital literacy is an essential ingredient in a sustainable community,” Reder said. “I think this work is keeping in touch with a lot of the emphasis and focus that PSU has on sustainability.”

Learner Web has already been utilized in Portland and especially at PSU. The platform is being used by several departments on campus, one of which is the Intensive English Language Program [IELP] in Reder’s department. The IELP has about 400 students—all of whom are non-native English speakers—and 60 instructors.

According to Errin Beck, the IELP instructor and Learner Web coordinator, the software is currently being used in three ways: academic support, tutor training and faculty professional development.

Beck said instructors also get the choice to utilize Learner Web in their curricula to help students study English proficiency tests, such as the TOEFL. In addition, the IELP was one of the first departments to test-drive the software back in 2009, and since then they have made several development changes to better suit its needs.

Another advantage of the program is an ease of use that allows users to modify the content. In the case of the IELP, since most students are non-native speakers, Learner Web uses simple language, and sometimes pictures, to convey a lesson.

“I like that we can incorporate different types of medias in our programs,” Beck said.

“Learner Web is unique in its flexibility.”

According to Beck, the program is very compatible with non-native English speakers, which is one of the reasons Learner Web was developed in the first place.

In addition, Learner Web also helps the IELP train its graduate student tutors and provide orientation for newly hired instructors. Beck was involved with setting up the system for faculty development.

“Learner Web is a new technology; it’s important for us to encourage it and be informed about its potential for expansion,” Beck said. “I think this project will be exciting.”

In the next six months, Reder and several other developers will be working on creating new content for Learner Web. In November, he will meet with national partners to plan out the project. ■

4 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ NEWS RUTGERS FROM PAGE 1 Students who identify themselves as gay are four times more likely to kill themselves than their straight peers, according to Carla Riedlinger, a clinical social worker at SHAC. However, many experts are focusing on the trend of Internet harassment, such as in Clementi’s case.

According to Grant Kirby, the IT program director at the Oregon Institute of Technology, young people today who have been socialized online have no concept of concrete consequences.

“We can blame the actors for what they did, and we should, but as a society we have to realize that we’re at a place where our technology has outstripped our ability to contain it,” Kirby said.

In reference to Clementi’s suicide and his peers who taunted him online by posting Twitter updates of the webcam, Kirby said, “If we could do evil things anonymously, what would we do?

We already know what we would do.”

Andrew Olson, a gay junior at PSU, suggested that the Rutgers tragedy might have been less a case of homophobia

than a combination of immaturity and technology.

“Lots of people just like to post [stuff],” he said. “My cousin just got kicked off Xbox Live because he wrote ‘kill all gays,’ but he wasn’t serious.”

At Rutgers, the community response to the tragedy has been deep and broad, according to Greg Trevor, senior director of media relations at Rutgers. A statement released

by Rutgers President Richard McCormick on Oct. 1 urged members of the campus community to participate in Project Civility, a two-year effort spearheaded by the senior dean of students, Mark Schuster.

“We believed it was needed two years ago,” Schuster said.

On Wednesday night, he hosted a panel discussion on cyber-bullying. Other campaigns of the project include a three-day conference with the residence life department at Rutgers that would work with athletes and members of fraternities and sororities, the communities that tend to stereotype, Schuster said.

Clementi’s roommate, Dharun Ravi, and Ravi’s friend, Molly Wei, are both facing criminal charges and Rutgers’

judicial process. Dr. Cheryl Clarke, director of the Center for Social Justice Education and LGBT Communities at Rutgers, points to the fact that all three of the students involved were freshmen, and that the incident happened within three weeks of the start of the school year.

“Nothing about theplace [Rutgers]—its values—had sunkin,”Clarke said.

According to the Rutgers student code of conduct, offenses that can result in expulsion include making or attempting to videotape or record anyone in university bathrooms, showers, bedrooms and other places where privacy is expected.

At PSU, the student code of conduct is reviewed every three years. Dean of Student Life Michele Toppe said that a clause may be added to address the phenomenon of Internet harassment.

The preamble of the current code could be sufficiently brought to bear on cases of harassment resembling the Rutgers incident, Toppe said, as the university supports everyone’s right to live and learn in “a safe and respectful environment.”

ADAM WICKHAM/VANGUARD STAFF

QRC open house: From left to right—Cat McGraw, Cody LaRue, Marc Kochanski and Mel Mundell.

At PSU, there have been three reported hate crimes on campus in the past three years, according to the Campus Public Safety Office.

At Monday night’s vigil in Pioneer Courthouse Square, no harassers heckled the crowd. In fact, Pride NW did not contact

the Portland Police Bureau to request a presence because the speakers felt safe, said Pride NW Outreach Coordinator Mark Santillo.

The PSU Chamber Choir opened the vigil with “Earth Song,” composed by Frank Ticheli, and finished the night

with a traditional South African freedom song.

“The lyrics [of ‘Earth Song’] weren’t specifically about bullying, but they were appropriate,” said choir member Alison Nordyke, a PSU senior.

The chorus of “Earth Song” is “sing, be, live, see, peace.” ■

NOW HIRING DESIGNER

INDESIGN EXPERIENCE, HALF-TIME ENROLLMENT & MONDAY AVAILABILITY REQUIRED

EMAIL RESUME AND SAMPLES OF WORK TO VANGUARDPRODUCTIONPDX@GMAIL.COM

OPINION ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ VANGUARD 5

OPINION

EDITOR: RICHARD D. OXLEY OPINION@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5692

THE MESSAGE CAME TOO LATE Teen suicides and what they say about us

MEAGHAN DANIELS

A

fter a rash of suicides within the LGBTQ communities across America, columnist Dan Savage launched a new project aimed at speaking to the younger members of the gay and lesbian population.

The project provides messages of hope and support, but for a number of teens who hadn’t yet found such support, the messages have come too late.

Justin Aaberg was bullied as he attended Anoka High School in Minnesota. On July 9, his mom found him in his room after he had hanged himself. Two months later in Indiana, Billy Lucas, 15, hanged himself with a horse lead from the rafters of his family’s barn in Indiana.

Lucas was also the victim of bullying at his school.

Two days after Lucas took his own life, Cody Barker, 17, committed suicide on Sept. 13 in Shicoton, Wis. Seth Walsh, 13, also experienced several

incidents of bullying but his cries for help were not heard by school officials at Jacobsen Middle School in Tehachapi, Calif. Walsh died in the hospital after attempting to take his own life by hanging himself from a tree in his backyard—after days on life support, he passed away on Sept. 28.

Asher Brown, 13, was kicked down a flight of stairs in his Texas school shortly before coming out to his parents—Brown took his stepfather’s gun and committed suicide on Sept. 23. Nineteenyear-old Raymond Chase of Johnson and Wales University in Providence, R.I., committed suicide on Sept. 29 by hanging himself in his dorm room.

Most famously in the news, Tyler Clementi, 18, of Rutgers University, jumped off the George Washington Bridge on Sept. 22 after his roommate broadcast footage of Clementi’s encounter with another man over the Internet.

COLD AS STEEL Summer stabbing incident only gets worse IAN BELLAMY

I

t was a surprisingly cool evening last July as Portland State student Andrew Richardson stood outside his dorm in Montgomery Hall. He spoke casually with fellow student Haily Baptist.

All in all, it was a pleasant Portland evening. Little did Richardson know that minutes later he would be stabbed and bleeding on the campus street where he stood.

As Richardson and Baptist conversed, student Heath Avery crossed their path. A wind breathed on the ivy, making the leaves shake and shudder when suddenly Avery doubled back and asked Richardson accusingly, “What did you say to me?”

Avery then gripped Richardson’s shirt collar and a scuffle ensued. Richardson threw Avery onto a bench and they collided again, this time harder. At this moment Avery’s knife was initially out of sight, yet Avery’s strike of cold steel into Richardson’s abdomen became painfully evident. But this initial spilling of blood near the almost unpopulated dorm halls turned out to be the first of many surprises—this was the beginning of an ordeal that PSU sadly mishandled, and left Richardson homeless.

Avery collected his knife and walked off scene as Baptist

ran for help, which she found along the South Park Blocks while Richardson carried himself to a park bench, holding his side. They then used Richardson’s phone to report the attack and request an ambulance while she helped Richardson apply pressure to his wound. Baptist had found three men in PSU workers’ polos to assist in maintaining his blood levels.

The Portland Police were the first on the scene, followed

These seven boys who lost their lives in recent months must be remembered. It is for these seven boys and the hundreds, if not thousands before them that we as a culture must look inside ourselves and ask not what is wrong with them, but what is wrong with us?

It is 2010 and people are still being bullied to the point of taking their own lives because

SUSANNAH BECKETT/VANGUARD STAFF

administration to take action against Avery. Residents of Montgomery were called to a meeting about the incident.

“I don’t feel like the meeting accomplished anything,” Baptist said.

Richardson’s family came down from Walla Walla, Wash., after the stabbing, and were reassured by Student Affairs that his place of residence in Montgomery would be reserved and he would have a grace period before his housing contract ended.

“It was frustrating because [PSU] has a hotel, but when my family came down…they could have at least let them stay at their hotel.”

Two weeks after the stabbing,

“ There is such a disconnect between the different departments that I was just a number, I didn’t matter at all.

Policy became more important than compassion.”

ANDREW RICHARDSON

swiftly by paramedics; yet Campus Security arrived last, evidently unprepared for the incident. As they administered first-aid to Richardson, Avery was caught on Southwest Fifth and Main, still brandishing his bloody knife.

Hospitalized and delirious but with his family at his side, Richardson spent a week and a half having his organs and spleen examined. Avery is in jail to this day and Baptist, struck by trauma that only violence can cause, divided her time between hospital visits and trying to get the

of their sexuality? Those who identify as LGBTQ are still people; they have always been people, and they always will be people. They deserve the same respect that we give all human beings.

Unfortunately, we still live in a world where the phrase “That’s so gay” is used as an insult—a phrase that says more about the person making it than it does about the object or person it is directed at. It says, “I’m ignorant.”

Part of the problem, and certainly not the only problem, is that our peers use it and even some friends, too, and we think that it is okay to call something that is bad or wrong “gay.”

What we need to do is work on interrupting those who say

Richardson was spending time in Walla Walla at home recovering. The phone rang— he was informed that his room needed to be cleaned out or else they would consider it abandoned and throw away his possessions. Housing told him that his room was not, in fact, on hold as he was previously told, and was already reserved for someone else. If he wanted his things he would have to remove them by 8:30 p.m. that day.

He drove down that very day, still in pain from the stabbing and having layers of muscle

cut through during surgery, and he and his girlfriend had 45 minutes to clean out his room.

“I’ve been to George Fox, I’ve been to Walla Walla University—both private.

The communities there would react,” Richardson said.

Instead, two CPSO officers and a ResLife representative stood idly by, making Richardson hurry while he carried boxes down the stairs, despite a constraint of being able to lift only 15 pounds due to his injury. Richardson was unable to remove all his belongings. He was forced to leave clothes, his laptop and his many get-well cards, amongst other things.

“There is such a disconnect between the different departments that I was just a number, I didn’t matter at all. Policy became more important than compassion,” Richardson said.

This lack of communication between the departments left Richardson with one option— moving into freshman housing.

Being 24 years old, he decided against it.

On the other hand, Student Housing offered Baptist, the sole witness to the incident, a change of scene from Montgomery, allowing her to finish out the rest of her contract to avoid seeing the scene of the crime out her window every day. Yet Richardson claims that his family was promised the same deal, at the same time when they told him that his room would be reserved when he returned.

It seems that the school’s different departments were not trying enough to be consistent; what was promised by one department was not

it. When you hear someone say it, say something like “Wait, what did you mean by that?” And they’ll say something along the lines of that is bad, and then you ask them, “Why don’t you just say that that is bad?” It may not always go this way, and it is certainly difficult to do, but if everyone does their part to eliminate that phrase, that’s a step at least. After all, I fail to see what the sexuality of the

nine out 10 gay teenagers experience bullying and harassment, while gay teens are four times more likely to commit suicide. The tag line for the project is a quote from Harvey Milk, “You gotta give ‘em hope.”

Organizations like this are so important for the LBGTQ community and those that support them. You can create your own YouTube video to tell people that it

“ You gotta give ‘em hope.”

HARVEY MILK

object of that phrase has to do with anything.

“If we want our children to be safe, if we don’t want our children to be martyrs, we need to be proactive and reactive,” said Glenn Evart, Portland State sophomore and self-proclaimed activist.

Dan Savage’s project, titled “It Gets Better,” is based on its own YouTube channel. On the “It gets better” Facebook page, it is reported that

really does get better. Resources are important because everyone needs to have someone on their side and somewhere they can go to. If they do not have that at home or with their friends, they can look to organizations like this one, which has a whole slew of people preaching hope.

We need to reach out, treating everyone equally and with respect. After all, we are all human beings. ■

fulfilled by another. This is unacceptable, especially given the circumstances surrounding this situation.

Richardson currently lives in a relative’s basement, sleeping on a futon.

Admittedly, stories such as these are few and far between.

Stabbings on campus don’t happen every day and in Richardson’s words, “It’s hard to believe that this even happened because living on campus—it’s like living in a safe haven within the city.”

But to make this situation even stickier, school officials may have had previous documentation

of Avery. During Richardson’s stay in the hospital, he claims a resident advisor came to him saying that Avery was previously found in Ondine’s basement playing with a knife, likely the same one that Richardson was attacked with.

“That’s news to me. It’s probably hearsay,” said Cory Ray, representative from ResLife. “In this case, I can’t give you specifics for [Avery’s] case, but I can tell you that we followed our procedures.”

When the application of policy overrides common sense, mistakes will be made. Long live bureaucracy. ■

COLBY BROOKS/VANGUARD STAFF

6 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ OPINION

FACEBOOK POLL

Mac vs PC The debate continues

RICHARD D. OXLEY

In this corner wearing white trunks—the kid from Silicon Valley, Mac! And in this corner, the kingpin of the Puget Sound, PC! The debate has raged on for decades. Fans, consumers and users all loyal to their computing preference, or simply their brand, have gone back and forth exchanging nerdy quips, pros and cons.

But at the end of the day, what really matters is what you are comfortable with for your own personal taste. If you like PCs, use them. However, it won’t stop the fact that Macs are, by far, the superior computer.

Now, I’m just a mere computer user, like many of you.

I have had to use both PCs and Macs for work, school and play. I have run through Windows, OS X and Linux only to settle on Mac after my many trials with computers.

I’m a big fan of the real-life commercials conveying tales of buying a PC. “I’m just not cool enough to be a Mac person,” one PC consumer says. In the end they find their PC and are handed all the cash they saved— which is good, because they are going to need that money.

They will need it for all the antivirus services required for a PC. Without such a service, one little bug will take down the computer. But even if it doesn’t get a virus, it will still

need to get fixed eventually for one thing or another—or at least given a “tune-up” of sorts when it ultimately gets so bogged down with miscellaneous clutter that it is about as quick as molasses in winter.

Macs just work well and don’t get viruses (knock on wood).

“I really think it’s how easy they are out of the box,” said Liz Miller, freelance user experience designer. “They’re just lovely. The user experience from the operating system is just intuitive.”

Miller has used a variety of computers in her field, and while at one point she could take or leave either one, she now feels that Apple has upped their game in recent years. For her profession, she wouldn’t use anything else.

“Before they had multithreading, Photoshop would crash and your entire machine would crash, unlike PCs,” Miller said. “But ever since OS X, and they rebuilt the operating system from the ground up, now the multithreading works great and it’s just faster.”

People will rail against Apple for their proprietary greed, their higher price tag and their stores with the annoying up-selling sales clerks who offer a thousand hellos upon entering the store.

Greg Dewar, columnist for the Daily Emerald, commented on this last week in his article “Apple’s omnipresence infuriating.”

Dewar may call Mac fans a “cult”—I call them Mac douches—and he may point

out that they cost more—and he’s not wrong. Macs do cost more, and let’s face it, there are Mac fans out there that will buy anything Apple puts out.

However, such minor grievances are just that—minor.

While initially Macs may be more expensive than a PC, this is only an illusion.

“The elegant simplicity of Mac versus Windows for home users is striking.”TRAVIS LUCKEY, IT SPECIALIST “They last longer,” Miller said. “My first Mac I had for six years and my second one for five—and I’m still using it even though I’m on my third.”

This is one significant point as to why Macs come out ahead. They make things simple for their users. Frankly speaking, not everyone is a genius with computers—not everyone navigates through a computer well. For the everyday Joe Schmoe user, Macs address this.

“The elegant simplicity of Mac versus Windows for home users is striking,” said Travis Luckey, IT specialist. “It compelled me to replace my Windows PCs with Macs at home back in 2007, and it was an easy and worthwhile transition for me and my wife at the time.”

But Luckey further notes that both Windows and OS X have been closing the gap on each other for some time now, with Windows 7 taking

Rant RAGE

The

and

BY DICK RICHARDS

Bathroom etiquette DICK RICHARDS VANGUARD STAFF

What the hell happened to those little walls in between the urinals in the men’s bathroom?

Who’s the bastard "Einstein" that took those away?!

For years I could relieve myself in those tile-lined chambers free from worry, but it seems these days those little walls of security have gone the

way of the buffalo. And I just know it’s probably all because of some penny-pinching asshole in a cubical trying to save on bathroom expenditures.

Remember the days when making water meant that we could stand next to each other, staring ahead, carrying on a conversation? Well, those days are over. Now the bathroom experience is fraught with insecurity, and the dread of the

considerable steps. For example, though Windows is his preferred business platform, Mac has been catching up in business applications. In the meantime, Windows is coming up to speed on graphic design operations—an area that he feels Macs have been relegated to in the past.

THE GUYS WHO LIKE TO STAND WITH BOTH HANDS ON THEIR WAIST WHILE THEY GO—

CUT IT OUT! inevitable splatter factor.

That’s right, the days of personal space are gone—replaced by standing elbow-to-elbow.

Luckey’s observations on how both systems are closing the gaps are fair. But what many don’t consider is that while Apple still plays in the stadium of computers, they have also been playing in other leagues altogether. Apple dropped the “computers” portion of its company title years ago, as it felt the title was limiting. What Apple provides with the Mac is a portion of a bigger system that can encompass one’s life, with the ultimate goal of providing pleasure and ease. From music, movies, books and more, to managing your daily personal and business life and to communication, Apple has charted new territory.

Until someone else comes along to play in that league, Apple will remain champion.

Someone such as Google, perhaps, with many innovations such as its Android operating system—ah, but that is another discussion altogether. ■

So guys, let’s all agree on some ground rules here. Always keep a one-urinal spacing between two bathroom patrons. This will ensure the privacy desired and also protect against mutual friendly fire.

If only one urinal is available, and all are forced to stand next to each other, then let’s all agree on a 12 o’clock-to-6 o’clock head positioning. This means our heads either nod directly down, straight ahead, or directly up if that suits you.

Also, the guys who like to stand with both hands on their waist while they go—cut it out! It’s just over-confident and weird, as well as irresponsible.

Look, when you take your hands off the wheel while driving accidents can happen, just as when you take your hands off of—you know—accidents can also happen. Besides, if you are logistically able to pull that off, then it doesn’t speak too well for you in the end— hint, hint.

Hey, we all know why we are in there, so let’s make the best of it. And while we are doing so, keep the noise down. I have enough things on my mind and

WHICH DO YOU PREFER TO USE? The Vanguard ran a poll on our website asking what you preferred—Mac, PC or other. It looks like while a number of you like your PCs, Mac wins out with a clear lead. Here are the results.

MAC OSX

60% (36 VOTES)

PC

WINDOWS 37% (22 Votes)

OTHER 33 % % (2 (2 vot votes) es)

I don’t need you standing next to me announcing some sort of relieved delight.

Back in the glory days of those little urinal walls, there weren’t any hands-on-their-waist guys—they didn’t have any room to do that! There wasn’t any need to establish strict head positioning. Now, when I come across a bathroom equipped with the walls, I make a note— I’ll be returning there.

I can’t believe I am about to say this; it seems obvious and basic. Wash your damn hands!

You know who you are! Sunlight’s the best disinfectant, so understand me when I say that you need to disinfect after you deal with where the sun don’t shine. One of the most common ways to spread sickness and disease is through your filthy, dirty, nasty hands.

And here you go, zip, and off into the world. I shudder at the thought of the high fives, handshakes and pats on the back.

The Center for Disease Control has put forth a hand-washing standard that we all, especially the dolts running right out of the bathroom, need

to adhere to. First, wet your hands while applying soap, getting the bubbles to flow.

This should be followed by 15– 20 seconds of scrubbing. The CDC suggests singing the song “Happy Birthday” twice over.

But as that song is copyrighted by some jerks in Chicago—seriously, “Happy Birthday” is copyrighted—you may use a song of your choice as long as it covers 15–20 seconds. Personally, I hum and sing Metallica’s “Ride the Lightning” once all the way through. Sure, I use a lot of soap, but it gets the job done. Sometimes people tell me I take forever in the bathroom and I have to explain that I merely have to wash my hands. I think they understand.

Turn the faucet off using a paper towel. Glance in the mirror, make yourself pretty if you have to, and exit.

It’s a dangerous world out there. Perhaps none more dangerous than in the public lavatories we visit on a daily basis.

Be responsible and look out for your bathroom neighbors— as long as you keep to the 12 o’clock/6 o’clock rule, that is. ■

OPINION ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ VANGUARD 7

VANGUARD EDITORIAL

Just pick one already For students’ online learning needs there was once WebCT, which eventually changed to the Blackboard learning system. However, Blackboard isn’t quite making the grade and will soon be shown the door as a new online teaching tool, Desire2Learn (D2L), is phased in. And yet there are still numerous third-party websites that students are required to use and pay for, in addition to the one for which they pay every term.

The frequent transitions and use of a variety of outside websites raises a number of questions and concerns regarding Portland State’s online education policies.

One can only hope that this will be PSU’s final stop on its long road of online teaching interfaces. Students attending PSU over the past few years have suffered through tests, trials and changes to the online systems they are required to use for their classes—having to relearn nearly every year how to simply take part in their class’ online component.

Aside from D2L’s annoying title and hip use of ”2” instead of “to,” its implementation could cost PSU around $200,000, according to a Vanguard article published last February [“Back to the drawing board for Blackboard”]. Such an amount of money coming entirely out of PSU’s budget may seem minor, yet it is still a significant amount when taking into account the rising cost of our education.

Paying such a price would seem less troubling if there were not other cheap options available, such as the open-source and entirely free Moodle. Moodle is an excellent example of a cost-effective interface and is used at institutions of higher learning across the globe. It remains a free op-

tion as an online branch of education that PSU should have considered.

While D2L makes its official debut at PSU in the coming months, students shouldn’t expect to have only one stop for the online portion of their education. In addition to (or completely ignoring) PSU’s established online side, some math classes use entirely different online learning sites to serve their particular needs—and of course, this costs students even more. The communication department requires its speech classes to use Course Compass, a Blackboard-like system that can cost upwards of $100 to use.

There are also in-class electronic tools—such as the infamous “clicker”—used in some PSU courses that, while sometimes convenient, utilize yet another website, again forcing students to pay more for their class experience. These additional expenses are on top of the $60 “online learning fee” that is already assessed to most students every term for Blackboard, which their professors may or may not actually use.

PSU needs to do more than merely take the next step for its online learning component. It needs to get its online learning house in order.

Students should go to one place, and one place only, for their online needs at PSU. They shouldn’t have to face yet another system and pay sudden and unexpected costs when starting new classes each quarter.

Online components, as well as entirely online classes, are the future of instruction. As education evolves and catches up with technology, we must embrace it—but only while making wise decisions as to how it is incorporated.

EDITORIAL BOARD Virginia Vickery Editor-in-Chief Corie Charnley News Editor Nicholas Kula Arts & Culture Editor Richard Oxley Opinion Editor Robert Britt Sports Editor

THE U.S. MILITARY HAS BEEN ORDERED BY A FEDERAL JUDGE TO STOP ENFORCING ITS DONT ASK DONT TELL POLICY.

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR Getting My Foot in the Door at the National Academies: A Student Perspective Every time you volunteer, submit an internship application or apply for a scholarship you are getting your foot inside the door of the workplace. In 2007, my first year at PSU, I took five minutes to respond to a list-serve e-mail announcing a summer internship in government. As a result, I worked in Salem, Ore., for what turned out to be two summers with government agencies, and met public policy students from all over the nation serving as Oregon Policy Fellows (www.pdx.edu/eli/ oregon/fellowships/program).

While at the League of Oregon Cities in 2007, I updated a study on fiscal conditions in Oregon’s cities. The report informed city managers about the constraining effects of recent property tax measures and the changing fiscal conditions across Oregon’s 242 cities. I presented the study findings at the Pacific Northwest Regional Economics Conference that year in Tacoma, Wash., and met officials from all over the northwest.

While working for the State of Oregon’s e-Government program in 2008, I worked on a performance assessment study. The findings from my study were presented to the division director and staff to

provide perspective on possible ways of equitably funding and administering the program. E-Government is the group that makes it possible for Oregonians to, among other things, navigate government documents, pay taxes, get fishing licenses and reserve campgrounds online.

I am currently in Washington D.C. as a Mirzayan Fellow working with the Transportation Research Board (TRB) to form a committee of experts to examine the economic effects of Obama’s infrastructure stimulus spending. The TRB is a division of the National Research Council (NRC). The NRC is the operational arm of the National Academies and serves as the nation’s advisor on science and technology-related policy issues ranging from unintended automobile acceleration to the deepwater horizon explosion, which has a committee meeting with representatives from British Petroleum and Haliburton downstairs today as I write this.

In short, if you receive a Nobel Prize someday, you will likely end up a member of the National Academies (along with Einstein) and when policy makers need to assemble the world’s experts, the NRC is the likely choice www.nationalacademies.org.

In Washington D.C., I have toured institutes, met with agency personnel involved in

science and technology policy, have met a few Oregonians, and have found that many of the nation’s leading experts are Purple Vikings living in Portland, Ore.!

When I saw the announcement for this program, I spent about five minutes filling out the application and emailed my mentors from the previous two summers to have them serve as references. It was good to touch base, hear what they have been up to, and to update the job network so to speak. As a Viking, take five minutes to apply for that opportunity that catches your eye from your favorite PDX list-serve, keep in touch with a few people along the way, and relax and realize that getting your foot in the door is a long process that you likely started long ago.

TIM KOCHANSKI

In vitro response Ms. Janieve Schnabel’s piece disparaging Dr. Robert Edwards’ Nobel Prize is misleading in its argument. Her claim that in vitro fertilization (IVF) has had a negative impact on population and resource usage implies the unspoken warrant that any procreation (IVF or the old-fashioned way) is wrong for the same reasons. Since we understand the mechanics of fertilization and have the technology to prevent it (latex, daily ingestion of

oestrogen plus progestogen) then all procreation is a positive act. That is, one must decide to have children whether they need IVF or not. To imply that persons who undergo IVF are acting in an immoral manner necessarily implies that those who procreate in any other manner are acting immorally as well. I suspect that Ms. Schnabel would concur. The risks associated with IVF are the consenting patient’s to bear, and to list them as reasons to avoid the treatment is patronizing in a manner that the medical community has moved away from. As to the expense associated with IVF, it is my understanding that the adoption process is no less costly. Leaving that aside, successful IVF doesn’t preclude adoption, and I would imagine that families with biological and adopted children understand this. In short, the thinly veiled antiprocreation message in Ms. Schnabel’s piece seeks to place blame instead of offering solutions to the problem she has perceived. If one seeks to limit population, then he should act to empower women with reproductive rights and implement effective family planning. Railing against the isolated actions of private persons comes off as immature and short-sighted.

NATHAN HERSEY

8 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ ARTS & CULTURE

A&C

EDITOR: NICHOLAS KULA ARTS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5694

PHOTO COURTESY OF TIMBER CARNIVAL RECORDS

Cutesy tunes from the Ascetic Junkies Another nice local band makes a nice pop album THEODORA KARATZAS VANGUARD STAFF

Do you like fun pop rock with thoughtful lyrics, an upbeat air and just a hint of bluegrass?

Yes? Well then, you’re going to love the Ascetic Junkies’ newest album, “This Cage Has No Bottom.” If you’re searching for anything beyond that, however, then you’re fresh out of luck.

Let’s make one thing very clear: “This Cage Has No Bottom” is a very nice listen. When you take into consideration the fact that the band recorded, mixed and mastered the album entirely on its own, it’s downright impressive. The sound quality is surprisingly clean for having been recorded in singers Matt Harmon and Kali Giaritta’s home.

For that, they deserve some serious applause.

“This Cage Has No Bottom” runs the gamut of sounds, bouncing playfully between electro-pop and folksy bluegrass, picking up genres like they were free samples at a grocery store. The band’s music is made up of a lot of small parts that wow the listener individually. Giaritta’s voice in particular is rich and compelling enough to carry a song like “The Eyeball” all on its own.

She manages to pull off light country twangs and warbles without making the listener want to gag, a feat many have attempted but few have mastered.

That aforementioned bluegrass influence isn’t present on all of the songs, but “God/Devil/ Gov’t” showcases it subtly. Harmon takes the vocal lead on this one, with Giaritta coming in as much-appreciated support alongside some very well-placed banjo parts. However, the bluegrass goes a little over the top on “Get What You Want, Get What You Need,” which throws out the band’s tried-and-true genre-bending for something that feels a little too country bumpkin. This same criticism could probably be hurled at “Crybaby” as well, which is by far one of the more weirdly arranged songs and makes use of some poorly placed “dramatic” pauses in the instrumentals.

For all its ups though, this is an album with some serious downs to it. When the Ascetic Junkies aren’t masterfully mixing different sounds together, they fall flat with poorly chosen instrumental arrangements and vocals that stray into the melodramatic. Maybe it’s a problem of too many individual voices and instruments trying to shine through at once, but the balance on those songs goes completely haywire and the music is just too much to digest. “(Don’t) Panic” takes on an anxious, frenzied feeling midway through the track with out-of-place psychedelic warbles, and Giaritta’s voice is over the top and out of control. Similarly, “Box Full Of Lions” channels some weirdo reggae vibes and comes off a bit like children’s music gone awry. The whole thing ends up snowballing into a melodramatic sound orgy.

The Ascetic Junkies have done well with what little they were given and, considering this is only their second album, it’s a pretty decent effort.

Nevertheless, in its entirety, “This Cage Has No Bottom” is missing some of the heart that could make this a great album and set it apart from being just another Portland band making nice indie-pop. ■

“This Cage Has No Bottom” Timber Carnival Records Out Nov. 16

PHOTO COURTESY OF APES TAPES

It ain’t easy being weasley Apes Tapes throw benefit show for hit-and-run victim LEAH BODENHAMER VANGUARD STAFF

H

ave you ever watched anyone eat an entire can of cat food? No, you haven’t. But fear not friends! Tonight at Backspace, Meeps, notorious consumer of durian and lutefisk from the blog “Meeps Eats,” will be dressing up as a cat to eat—and if we’re lucky— puke up a can of cat food.

No, this isn’t a freak show or some sick PETA protest, it’s a benefit for one man’s cat whose little body was victim to the ruthless injustice of maniacal automobile drivers—a hit-and-run. This is a story of great togetherness, great friendship, support and most of all, a great karmic celebration of Weasley, the cat who asked local record label Apes Tapes to host a show in his furry honor.

Apes Tapes is an infant of a label, kicking and screaming its way into the world. Dedicated to the promotion and exposure of as many selfdetermined musicians as possible, Apes Tapes thrives off the resurgence of old cassette tapes.

“We chose tapes,” said Cameron Spies, one of the founders of Apes Tapes, “because we feel like not only does our generation have nostalgia for tapes, but they’re also a much more solid medium than a CD. CDs are so disposable, so we like the medium of tapes better. They are a good halfway between vinyl and CD.” In addition to tapes, they sell MP3 downloads, screen-printed shirts and comics, and soon hope to sell cassette players. They like the tapes for the authenticity and remembrance, like a subconscious analog rewind button back to times before bitterness—not to mention how cheap they are to distribute.

Although not the only label in Portland to launch a tape revival, Apes Tapes is definitely promoting some of the most genuine music known to our local community. Playing tonight’s benefit show are four of Apes Tapes’ bands: Spesus Christ, Your Canvas, Keeps the Kids Quiet and Adventures! with Might. Many of the members of these bands beat with the heart of Apes Tapes: Cameron Spies and Lizzie Ellison of Spesus Christ and Mark Swart and Jessica Bourdreaux of Your Canvas, to name a few.

“A lot of the bands on Apes Tapes are merging,” said Apes Tapes musician Leviticous Appleton.

“A lot of the music is really fun, like you can dance to it, but it also has that emotional caliber and the combination of those two things is what I’m most excited about…There’s a lot of bands that sound good and look cool, but they’re not really revealing anything about themselves or making themselves vulnerable with their performance. When I saw [Spesus Christ] it was so awesome because I could connect with how vulnerable the music and the words were.”

The bands on AT all have in common a certain honesty and passion embodied in their music that makes you want to quit your job and play with tragic intimacy all day. They all have a sound like a wild animal caught in the middle of the city, pacing back and forth, howling to its brothers in the lost mountains, exploding into expressive melodies while seeking the great escape.

So in all this beauty of vulnerability, one might wonder, where does the cat come in? Some may remember the Parlour, an all-ages, community-

oriented venue and coffee shop that was recently closed down. One of the co-owners of the place, Mike Harper, developed friendships with many of the bands that played at his venue, which included all those named above. Impressed with the bands’ professionalism and musical integrity, Harper was more than willing to become an integral member of Apes Tapes promotional affairs. Weasley the cat belongs to Harper.

“I love that when Apes Tapes started forming,” says Harper, “all the really awesome people were getting together to make something really awesome happen.”

It is very awesome indeed—all of it—the cat, the story and the tunes.

The door fee for tonight’s show is donation only and all proceeds go to help out the little survivor Weasley. So if you’re interested in quality company, emotionally riveting music, nauseous performance and good karma, this is definitely the show for you. Hope to see you there! ■

Spesus Christ, Your Canvas, Keeps the Kids Quiet, Adventures!

With Might, Bootz Orchestra Backspace 115 NW Fifth Ave. Tonight, 8 p.m.

Free, All Ages

ARTS & CULTURE ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ VANGUARD 9

When in doubt, go vintage!

For your consideration, four vintage shops close to campus AMANDA BENTLEY VANGUARD STAFF

F

irst things first: Thrift stores and vintage stores are NOT the same thing! Get it wrong, and prepare to suffer the consequences at the hands of those who actually know what they’re talking about. Trust me; this is very sensitive territory for those who are passionate about their inventory. Here are a couple tips to distinguish between the two.

Thrift stores generally get their merchandise from donations. Places like Goodwill and the Salvation Army fall under this category. Their prices tend to be cheaper (not always!) and cater to those looking for a deal. You can find anything here from vintage to modern apparel.

Vintage stores, however, are more selective in the items that they sell and are consequently more expensive. Owners or professional “pickers” go out and scour for items, instead of having them brought in or donated. In order to qualify as vintage, an item usually has to be more than a decade old. The clothes tend to be better quality as well, so they’ll continue to last. You will most likely be corrected if you refer to this kind of store as “thrift.”

When in doubt, “vintage” always sounds classy, so it’s a safe way to refer to any store that sells “previously owned” items without offending anyone. With that said, here are a couple thrift and vintage stores that you might want to check out in the area:

Fat Fancy 1013 SW Morrison St. Mon, Tues, Thurs, 2 p.m.–7 p.m.

Fri, Sat, 11 a.m.–7 p.m.

Sun, noon–6 p.m.

“We don’t skinny dip, we chunky dunk!” is only one of the body image-empowering pieces of art displayed on Fat Fancy’s wall. Offering vintage and modern pieces for men and women in big sizes at tiny prices, Fat Fancy carries belts, shoes, scarves, dresses and even fur coats. They have an “allies rack” for those smaller than a size 12, but the rest of the store runs from a size 12 to “as big as [they] can get them.”

Living Threads Vintage 1008 SW Taylor St. Mon–Friday, 11 a.m.–6 p.m.

Sat, noon–7 p.m.

Don’t let its size fool you. This small vintage store’s inventory is well-edited to bring you the very best. Carrying amazing pieces such as vintage coral and gold Ferragamo flats, this is the place to go to find one-of-a-kind good quality vintage pieces. They sell great skirts and dresses that, paired with some tights, would make the perfect fall outfit. There are also quite a few pairs of boots and vintage hats that would bring a fresh look to any wardrobe. Living Threads has pretty much everything you need to keep warm this season.

From stylish coats, gloves and scarves to boots and hats, I highly recommend shopping here to add some vintage staples to your closet.

Buffalo Exchange 1036 W Burnside Mon–Saturday, 10 a.m.–9 p.m.

Sun, 11 a.m.–9 p.m.

Just west of Powell’s Books, this consignment shop is a saving grace for any college student with budgetary concerns. From name brands such as Fossil, Adidas, Kathy VanZeeland and Bebe to unexpected and unique vintage finds, anything is possible at Buffalo. Everything is reasonably priced and in good condition. Items are usually around $15, except for special pieces like designer denim, which can be a bit more, but still well below retail value. Right now they have quite a few pairs of clogs in, so if you want to try out that trend but aren’t sure whether you can commit to the idea of them, this is the place to go. For guys, they are currently carrying lots of plaid, so I suggest you stock up for fall. On the other hand, if you’re looking to sell some of your own clothes, they also buy for cash or trade for store credit

PHOTO COURTESY OF THIRD RAIL REPERTORY THEATER

Old Yeller: Brian Thompson and Jacklyn Maddux share a nice quiet evening alone.

Third Rail nails it The best of Portland theater comes together for a “Kiss” ANDREA VEDDER VANGUARD STAFF

Magpie 520 SW 9th Ave. Mon–Saturday, noon–7 p.m.

Magpie sells clothes, shoes and accessories, mostly from the ’60s, ’70s and ’80s. They’re a very fun vintage store with a vast collection of jewelry!

A great stash of turquoise rings and brooches can add vintage flair to almost any outfit. If you’re looking to go “Mad Men” this Halloween, I suggest you stop here to get your costume.

AUGUST MILLER/VANGUARD STAFF

P

ortland’s remarkable Third Rail Repertory Theatre is opening its fifth season with the American premiere of “Kiss Me Like You Mean It,” a contemporary British play that Portlanders are lucky Third Rail found.

“We’ve been chewing on this for seven years now,” said Director Slayden Scott Yarbrough, who is also Third Rail’s artistic director, on opening night. That’s a claim that’s easy to believe, as “Kiss Me”—in execution as much as in spirit—is near-to-perfect.

Never have I seen a play so absolutely deserving of production. The script is sharp, funny, tear-jerking and strangely relevant to Oregon politics; a story meant to be told onstage but that bothers to incorporate the details of a smart screenplay, like which song is on the radio or in a character’s head. “Kiss Me” runs over two hours, but the audience is engaged for its entirety, even forgetting they’re in an auditorium, and the intermission— usually a polite and somewhat random break in a dragging plotline—commences after such a well-developed cliffhanger that more than half the audience couldn’t bear to leave their seats.

Though Yarbrough and the playwright, Chris Chibnall, contributed immensely to this play’s success, the cast of only four actors carry the production to its heights. Challenged to speak in the Machester dialect (Mancunian), which is certainly not an easy English accent to master, the American cast members showcase varying degrees of linguistic aptitude and a hell of a lot of dedication; the result of what was surely a series of dialect coaching sessions is pretty darn successful.

Isaac Lamb is fabulous as Tony, an affable and bumbling 20-something who feels compelled to take a big chance and seize what might be a “pivotal moment” in his life’s narrative. From the opening scene, in which a slightly drunken Tony bursts out of an apartment party and onto the patio, dancing and singing along to “Sex Bomb” as it plays inside, Lamb is endearing, compelling and impossible to look away from.

Tony’s love interest, Ruth, is played by firsttime Third Rail performer Lauren Bair with all of the comedic timing and sass you’d expect from her five-inch wedges and penchant for cigarettes.

Bair is extremely well-cast as Ruth, and the sexual tension between her and Lamb is as thick and believable as their Mancunian accents.

Though the first half of “Kiss Me” focuses on Tony and Ruth, revealing moments with the second, much older couple—Don and Edie—do occur; in the second half of the play, the focus switches and Tony and Ruth become more minor (though still beloved) characters.

The story that was founded on good humor and the infinite spirit of youth and possibility thus develops into an immensely revealing, ultimately romantic and hope-filled dramatic comedy that feels effortlessly intimate and special. Brian Thompson is excellent as Don, as is Jacklyn Maddux as Edie—together, they spin what may be the sweetest all-night drinking game to ever grace the stage.

The set is elaborate and the props and costuming are spot-on, but it is beyond a doubt Lighting Designer Don Crossley who most contributes to the production’s realism with outstanding recreations of moonlight and dawn. Perhaps Portland’s most talented lighting designer, Crossley very much belongs on Third Rail’s star team.

Each of these names is so synonymous with talent and charm that any Portland production they are involved in is sure to be worth seeing.

As an ensemble, they are not to be missed.

This script is the most recent play from Chibnall, a talented but relatively under-theradar British playwright who lately has focused on writing and producing television. His latest projects include the Starz network’s “Camelot” and ITV1’s “Law & Order: UK.” This show is easily as fast-paced, entertaining and empowering as a great film; I left Third Rail’s “Kiss Me” feeling that this is what theater—and maybe life—is all about. ■

Kiss Me Like You Mean It World Trade Center Theatre 121 SW Salmon St., Ste. 250 Thurs–Saturday 7:30 p.m.

Sundays 2 p.m.

Runs through Oct. 31 $15 students

10 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ ARTS & CULTURE

How much art can you take?

Doing it all night long at the Portland Art Museum JOSHUA HUNT VANGUARD STAFF

O

nce each year, the Portland Art Museum allows 12 artists from the PSU MFA Art & Social Practice Concentration programs to take over their space for an evening—a very late evening.

From 6 p.m. until midnight, this dirty dozen of burgeoning artists will be given carte blanche of the space to re-purpose the museum and its contents to their own artistic ends.

Tonight will mark the second annual “Shine A Light” event at the Portland Art Museum. The community-supported event will feature support from local vendors and many volunteers, creating a unique atmosphere somewhere between street fair and art gallery.

“We want people to be open-minded about what can happen in a museum and find new ways to experience art,” said Tina Olsen, education director at the Portland Art Museum.

“Art is something that is happening right now, this isn’t in the past. It’s directly related to your life.”

In the outdoor sculpture court, local vendors will sell food and locally brewed beer. Indoors, there will be people waiting to beautify patrons’ faces with hand-painted moles, and officiate vows of matrimony between visitors and works of art. Break dancers will freestyle about the museum to the beat of a live DJ, beginning impromptu dances wherever they please.

If this sounds like a decidedly un-hostile takeover, consider that this is all mere mood lighting for a ribald evening program of after-hours art.

Among the more Dadaist moments in the program is an exhibit called “You Can Touch This,” which strives to fulfill the tactile sense that is often left wanting at the museum. Replica sculptures from the PAM collection will be on hand for the handling in this delightfully simple about face on museum culture. The real tradition breaking, however, is much more rowdy than clever policy play.

Two boys performing live nude wrestling— a truly heroic display of homoeroticism to wrest fiery inspiration from the manacles of tame contextualizing—will realize traditional GrecoRoman posturing in classical sculpture. This visceral, living testament to that form which has been cast so gracefully and so often may be playful, is nonetheless reverential of the creative process—a self-referential casting of artists as inspiration.

In addition to nude wrestling and the entire Portland Art Museum being turned into an improvisational discotheque, many collections

will each be given their own soundtrack.

Musicians from the community will provide aural support for various spaces of the museum, creating an ensemble experience for the senses. The guided tour that accompanies the musical staging is one of three on offer for the evening. Museum staff will be celebrated in music themselves, in the form of jingles that recount their various duties, personalities and experiences.

Further elucidation on the life and times of museum personnel will be found in the “Hear me…See me…” audio tour. The audio-directed tour details the personal stories of museum security staff through their own individual narrative.

The final guided tour of the evening aims to incorporate the public at large into the fold, with a community contributed object tour.

This portion of the program will include PSU MFA in Art & Social Practice graduate Sandy Sampson touring the museum with visitors and engaging them in discussion.

“On one recent visit, my guest became really excited about the possibilities of objects in the Grande Ronde Center for Native American Art as objects for speculation, and we were shushed by another visitor, and told to be quiet,” Sampson recently told Lisa Radon. “Maybe events like ‘Shine A Light’ can get people talking again.”

While any exhibition may serve to cultivate community discourse on art, events like “Shine A Light” and the Walker Arts Center’s “Open Field” in Minneapolis, serve to promote public involvement with the art. Tonight the Portland Art Museum offers the opportunity to not only see art as a living phenomena, but to actively engage with it as well. Whatever the collective experience may be, the individual is sure to be affected by this massive confluence of artistic endeavor. Whether one is left with a profound impression, sudden inspiration, or merely a hangover, there can be no doubt that this will be a night to remember at the Portland Art Museum.

Forgiving them the fact that they borrowed the idea from the Joker, “Shine A Light” is nevertheless a brilliant opportunity to experience art in the present tense—even if the DJ doesn’t play “Bat Dance.” ■

Shine A Light Portland Art Museum, 1219 SW Park Ave. Friday, Oct. 15, 6 p.m. until midnight General Admission $12, free for members

PHOTO COURTESY OF BLOG.COOKINGWITHTRADERJOES.COM

Foodtober Autumn foods to eat all season long KAT VETRANO VANGUARD STAFF

S

ometimes, the secret to eating well is as simple as a little planning. The following recipes for breakfast and snacks are healthful, seasonal and will make sure you don’t go hungry this October.

Orange Oatmeal

By making a big pot of oatmeal at the beginning of the week, your mornings will be just minutes away from a warm, hearty breakfast.

Add pumpkin and some spices, and you have yourself a quick healthful breakfast in about five minutes.

Ingredients 1 cup of steel cut oatmeal (Bob’s Red Mill is delicious, but any brand is fine) 3 cups of water

Ingredients: All seeds from a butternut squash, rinsed and patted so no flesh is attached Chili powder Salt Pepper 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil (or less if your squash has less than 1 cup of seeds) Method:

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees. Line a baking sheet with tin foil. Place seeds on sheet and drizzle with oil, several shakes of chili powder, salt and pepper. Mix around with your hands, or a spoon if you are dignified.

Roast for 10–15 minutes until seeds are a golden brown. Let cool on a plate, and enjoy as a snack or sprinkled in rice or vegetables. ■

Pinch of salt 3 tablespoons or more of canned pumpkin Nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger Method

Bring water to boil in a medium saucepan, add oats and bring down to a low heat to simmer.

Cover and let simmer for 20 minutes.

Portion 1/2 cup of finished oatmeal in a small bowl. Put away the rest in your fridge so you have breakfast for the upcoming week.

Add pumpkin and spices to hot oatmeal, stir and enjoy. Serves 1–2 people

Chili Butternut Squash Seeds Don’t toss out those leftover squash seeds!

Pumpkin seeds aren’t the only ones for roasting.

PHOTO COURTESY OF RED LEAF/FLICKR.COM

Hey you! Yeah, you!

Our resident fitness expert, former wrestler, ISAA-certified trainer and PSU Health Sciences major, Rian Evans, is going to be starting a weekly online column, “The beginner’s guide to working out,” geared towards you, the gym-shy fitness novice. Every week, Rian will write an installment in the series designed to get you into shape, and they will be made available exclusively through www.dailyvanguard.com! You don’t even have to leave your dorm to read it!

ARTS & CULTURE ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ VANGUARD 11

Five ridiculous myths you’ve heard about your period And one equally ridiculous myth you probably haven’t REBEKAH HUNT VANGUARD STAFF

MYTH: You can’t get pregnant during your period. There’s always a chance—particularly at the end of the menstrual cycle. What’s more, unprotected sex increases the risk of exposure to sexually transmitted infections. Unless you’re using the pill, an IUD, or another hormonal type of contraception, there are no safe days. Unless you are in a long-term, monogamous relationship, you should always use condoms during sex, even if you take the pill or use another form of contraception.

MYTH: You can’t go swimming during your period. Perhaps this myth started in the days

ALL PHOTOS BY DREW MARTIG/VANGUARD STAFF

Where the puns are as scary as zombies: Sauvie Island's Haunted Corn MAiZE offers up thrills, chills, and the highest concentration of bad puns in the Pacific Northwest.

before internal devices such as tampons were popular.

Or it could have been a fear of cramps while swimming or that menstrual blood could contaminate the swimming pool. Regardless of what started this myth, there is no reason that you cannot safely swim during menstruation. A tampon will completely block any possible flow. Also, there has never ever been a single documented case of a shark attacking a swimmer because she was menstruating.

MYTH: Menstrual blood is gross or different from regular blood. Menstrual blood

Taking a walk in some corn, no big deal Sauvie Island’s haunted MAiZE INES KUNA VANGUARD STAFF

S

auvie Island, just a 15-minute drive from downtown Portland, is popular in the summer time with all demographics, from sandcastlebuilding tots to midlife-crisis nudists. The agricultural isle now proves to be a hit across seasons, as it encapsulates the spirit of autumn fittingly with ghoulish frights and orange delights.

Immediately after crossing the bridge, one unearths aesthetic euphoria with Dr. Seuss-like fields housing whimsical pumpkins more fanciful than any carriage Cinderella ever had. A UPick patch brings the family together, strengthens our connection to the earth and supports a custom promoting local and seasonal producebuying. Indeed, Sauvie is a retreat into something quite magical and isolated as the detached land mass seems to have its own special aura.

while the other takes on a Halloween theme.

To clarify, there are two mazes, one that is haunted and one that is not. Do not be confused as I was, thinking that the regular maze, which took me an hour and a half to get through, was going to be bustling with zombies at night.

No, it’s a little less horrific than that, as the Haunted MAiZE is more of a walk through than a labyrinth, which takes roughly half an hour at most. In the beginning, you’re bunched together with a group of 15 or so in a large room that is a mixture of the Twilight Zone Library and your neighbor’s porch on Halloween.

Then, you are ousted from the room and left to walk the fallow path. Most of the corn is held upright by wire paneling that suggests that no human could be behind it. That is why the first Einstein-esque zombie that pops out at you is by far the most frightening. After that, it becomes unapparent whether the corn is just rustling in the wind or whether something is preparing to spit itself out of the stalks and start crab walking in fast motion.

While they can’t touch you, there is something very hilariously uncomfortable about their close proximity, not to mention the initial indication

THERE ARE TWO MAZES, ONE THAT IS HAUNTED AND ONE THAT IS NOT. After finding your soul-mate pumpkin, embrace further traditions of fall by eating a caramel apple, sold from the Pumpkin Patch Market, or nibbling on an ear of corn. Unlike your local grocery store, it is primarily produce-filled from front to back (though it does also sell decorative gourds and marketable honey sticks).

Now off to the corn mazes, officially and cleverly dubbed corn MAiZEs. This year the main MAiZE, five-acres huge, is in the shape of the Heart in Oregon symbol while the haunted MAiZE, just having opened its doors last weekend, is designed as a scarecrow. Craig Easterly, owner of both mazes, explained that every year he looks for the main MAiZE design to be “something that resonates with Portlanders,”

of their existence that will either produce smiles or screams. Although it seems to be for the younger crowd, I found myself at multiple times literally being clutched by the little girl as well as her mother following behind me. A colony of strangers at first, we came together like the Breakfast Club under these aMAiZEingly scary conditions. ■

Haunted Corn MAiZE Open 7 p.m.–10 p.m.

Every Friday and Saturday in October Ages 6 and up $10

DIRECTIONS: Take I-405 North, go over Sauvie Island Bridge, take immediate left and loop back under bridge. Go two miles; the Pumpkin Patch and Maize are on your left! 16511 NW Gillihan Rd., Portland, OR. 97231 (At The Pumpkin Patch).

is regular blood. This myth probably gained traction because menstrual blood flows from the vagina. And because vaginas are a normal part of the female body, there’s nothing unusual or wrong with menstrual blood. Blood is just another fluid in your body, and if you’re having sex with someone, you’re already swapping quite a few of these. Deal with it, dudes.

MYTH: Tampons contain dangerous levels of asbestos or dioxin. I cannot tell you how often I have heard teenaged voices parroting this myth to each other. Usually coupled with “it’s to make you bleed for longer so the tampon companies make more money.” Give me a break, kids. How unbelievably illegal would that be? While there are risks with using tampons, those risks are not associated with asbestos or dioxin.

MYTH: Tampons shouldn’t be used by virgins. The hymen is an elastic flap of skin near one side of the vagina. It is NOT punctured during sex, but may stretch to break in some places and bleed a bit.

This also may happen during sports or normal daily activity. Some women never have breakage in theirs, some women do and some don’t have a hymen at all.

Having sex is the only way to lose your virginity. Your choice of period protection has no effect at all, so there’s no reason why you should not use tampons before you’re sexually active.

MYTH: You can’t bake bread during your period. WHAT? First off, your period is IN NO WAY associated with yeast. Second, yeast is a single-celled organism that responds to warmth and food by growing and reproducing. It has an optimal temperature range, like all living organisms. If the water is too hot, it kills the yeast cells. If it’s too cold, the cells can’t grow and they just sit there. You can slow yeast down by cooling it off, taking away its food, changing the water’s pH radically or adding salt. How could the state of a baker’s ovaries, uterus or vagina possibly have anything to do with the growth conditions for ALL PHOTOS COURTESY OF KILL ROCK STARS yeast in the bowl on the table? If this myth were true, you’d have nothing but men making all the Como and brioches down at Grand Central, since they can’t afford to hire female bakers who can only work three weeks a month.

PHOTO COURTESY OF WEBMD.COM

12 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ SPORTS

SPORTS

EDITOR: ROBERT BRITT SPORTS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-4538

Volleyball hosts Bears and Lumberjacks Northern Arizona and Northern Colorado visit the Stott this weekend ROSEMARY HANSON VANGUARD STAFF

A

fter shutting out Eastern Washington last weekend, the Portland State women’s volleyball team is set to perform before a Stott Center crowd again this weekend as the Viks wrap up a fourgame home stand.

The Vikings open the weekend hosting the top-ranked Northern Colorado Bears at 7 p.m. on Friday at the Stott, and then they welcome Northern Arizona at 8 p.m. on Saturday.

A look at the Vikings Portland State (10-7, 5-1 Big Sky) currently holds the second position in the Big Sky standings. The team easily won both of its games last week with matching three-set sweeps. The Vikings beat non-conference Seattle 3-0 on Thursday, and then similarly shut out Eastern Washington in the first of the season’s two Dam Cup matches with the Eagles. Portland State combined to hit .414 over last week’s two matches.

The Vikings saw a slow start to this season, winning just three of their first nine matches.

But since then, they have come

into their own and won seven of their last eight, with five of those coming from the sweep.

An early-October meeting with Sacramento State on the road snapped Portland State’s five-game winning streak, but with two straight wins now behind them, the Viks looks to expand on their current hot streak.

After the cool start to the season, which included matching 3-2 losses at home to Pac-10 schools Oregon State and No. 19 Oregon, Portland State has been on a tear as of late, outhitting their last nine opponents.

Player-wise, outside hitter Whitney Phillips is among the top 10 in the nation in both kills and points. She ranks sixth in kills with an average of 4.95 per set, and eighth in points with a 5.51 per-set average. After Saturday’s win over Eastern Washington, senior Phillips said that defense would be the biggest focus for this weekend’s play.

Senior Diana Villalpando had to make a quick transition to the libero position from her regular defensive specialist spot. On Sept. 7 against Oregon, then-starting libero Nicole Bateham came out of the match with an injury, and Villalpando stepped in. Since then, Villalpando has led the Viks in digs eight times over the past 11 matches.

On offense, it is a freshman setter Garyn Schlatter who is heating up. After a switch back to the 5-1 offense from the ear-

Home Games Women's volleyball Portland State vs. Northern Colorado Fri, 7 p.m.

Portland State vs. Northern Arizona Sat, 7 p.m.

ly-season experiment with the 6-2, Schlatter has recorded six double-doubles, and averaged 8.9 assists. Against Seattle last week, the redshirt freshman served a career-high four aces.

For this weekend, senior middle blocker/outside hitter Christie Hamilton said calm serving would be a point of focus.

“In the first match (against Eastern Washington) we missed a few serves early on,” she said. “So if we can keep our serving strong, hopefully everything else will follow.”

A look at the Bears First-place Northern Colorado (15-4, 6-0 Big Sky) has yet to lose a conference match coming into this weekend.

The Bears are coming off of a three-game winning streak, and just beat both Montana and Montana State at home last weekend. Earlier last week they swept Northern Arizona also at home.

The Bears swept Montana State on Thursday, managing to hold the Bobcats to just a .098 hitting percentage, while the Bears recorded .330 hitting. Following that, the Bears took the Montana Grizzlies to four sets for a win. The first two ended in close finishes, with the Bears taking the first by five points and losing the second by two, before easily taking the remaining two sets.

Last week, Northern Colorado’s sophomore outside hitter Kelley Arnold was chosen for Big Sky Player of the Week. Facing the two Montana schools, Arnold led the team to victories in each with a .414 hitting percentage, 20 digs and six assists over the weekend.

The matchup against PSU will be the Bears’ first time on the road since Sept. 18.

A look at the Lumberjacks

Serving it up: Senior middle blocker Lana Zielke leads the Vikings in blocking with 12 solo blocks and 69 total blocks. She is currently averaging 1.05 blocks per set.

Northern Arizona (7-9, 3-3 Big Sky) split last weekend’s matches against the Montanas. They fell to Montana on Thursday in a nail-biting fivegame match on their home court with a 15-12 loss in the final set. Saturday was a different story though, and the Lumberjacks turned around to sweep Montana State.

Saturdays meeting with the Bobcats gave the Lumberjacks their best hitting percentage of the season (.333). It was freshman middle blocker Niki Small who led the Jacks to their victory with a matchhigh 11 kills and just one attack error. Her .526 hitting percentage was the second best of her career.

In that same game, sophomore setter/outside hitter Kelli Dallmann posted her second consecutive doubledouble of the season with 41 assists and 13 digs. Dallmann

ALL PHOTOS BY AARON LEOPOLD/VANGUARD STAFF

Putting on the D: The Portland State defense has racked up a total of 141 blocks and is averaging 2.14 per set to rank third in the Big Sky Conference in blocking. The Vikings finished last season averaging 2.4 per set to place second in the conference.

had posted 50 assists and 16 digs against the Lady Griz on Thursday.

Past matchups Portland State and Northern Colorado have tournament history together. The Bears defeated the regular season champion Vikings, 3-1, in the Big Sky Tournament last season, ending Portland State’s season. Prior to the tournament, the two teams split the regular season series. At the Stott Center, Portland State has a 5-1 record against Northern Colorado, and PSU leads the overall series 13-5.

Northern Arizona leads Portland State 15-13 overall, but the Viks have managed to beat the

Lumberjacks in every meeting in the Park Blocks since 2003.

Portland State has also defeated NAU in the past 11 matchups.

How to follow Both games this weekend will be held at the Stott

Center. Friday’s match is slated to begin at 7 p.m. and Saturday’s is scheduled for 8 p.m. Both games will be streamed online through Big Sky TV and can be followed via live stats. Visit www.goviks.com for links to both. ■

Stats Setter Garyn Schlatter posted a .522 hitting average against Seattle and EW, and a career-high four aces versus Seattle.

Outside hitter/middle blocker Christie Hamilton is third on the team in kills, with 1.74 kills per set, and is ranked ninth in the conference in hitting (.255).

Middle blocker Lana Zielke is ranked second in the Big Sky for hitting (.318) and second on the team in serving with 16 aces.

SPORTS ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ VANGUARD 13

Viks face Big Sky road test Women's soccer plays back-to-back road games in Colorado, Arizona STEPHEN LISLE VANGUARD STAFF

After getting off to a slow start this season, the Portland State women’s soccer team has begun to show confidence and this could not have come at a better time, as conference play is heating up.

Prior to last weekend, the team held a losing record, but it seems that the Viks learned some lessons during that time. PSU has since seen success and ended a five-game winless streak: The Viks began conference action with two wins last weekend and carry a perfect 2-0 Big Sky record into this weekend’s games.

Portland State (6-7-1, 2-0-0 Big Sky) begins a two-game road trip tonight when they face the Northern Colorado Bears in Greeley. The Vikings then head south to take on the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks for another conference match-up on Sunday.

Both games should prove to have their own challenges as the Bears and the Lumberjacks currently have the top two spots for overall records in the Big Sky conference.

“We need to be disciplined on defense and aggressive and unrelenting on the attack,” head coach Laura Schott said. “The unique challenges this weekend will be the extended travel and playing at high altitudes.”

Northern Colorado (8-3-2, 1-0-1 Big Sky) was handed their second tie of the season last week by Weber State. Portland State defeated Northern Colorado 3-2 at home last year and has not lost to the Bears in the last five years.

Nevertheless, this weekend’s match will be on Northern Colorado’s pitch, which will prove to be tough for the Vikings as they try to keep their success against UNC going.

Senior midfielder Frankie Ross and sophomore forward Megan Martin both played large roles in last year’s victory over UNC, each scoring goals to help fend off a Bears comeback in the late minutes of the game.

A large part of Northern Colorado’s success this year has been thanks to players Arielle Cook and Danielle Birdsall. Those two alone account for 13 of UNC’s 25 points scored this year, and they will be the players the Viks must try to shut down in order to succeed this weekend.

Northern Arizona (6-3-3, 1-0-1 Big Sky) has proven to be trouble for the Vikings over the last few years, and during last year’s Big Sky Championship semifinals PSU suffered a shootout loss to the Lumberjacks in Portland.

After the teams finished a second overtime, locked in a 1-1 tie, Northern Arizona won the shootout 4-3 and ended Portland State’s postseason run.

The Jacks have handed Portland State either losses or ties over the last three seasons. In last year’s regular season match-up, the Vikings

lost a heartbreaker to Northern Arizona, 1-0, off a game-winning goal scored by a header from NAU’s Jenna Samora with only five minutes remaining on the clock.

Sunday’s meeting with the Lumberjacks will likely prove to be the biggest problem the Viks face this weekend; this should be a great, hardfought game. Northern Arizona has one standout player on their squad that PSU will need to cover up: Kristi Andreassen has accounted for six of the team’s 18 goals this season, and she will be

Women’s soccer at Northern Colorado Today, 7 p.m.

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

MELISSA TRAMMELL

at Northern Arizona Sunday, noon looking to add to that number on Sunday.

The Vikings are currently tied with Sacramento State for first place in the Big Sky standings.

They also face the challenge of defending the Big Sky Conference regular season title, which they won last year with a 4-1-2 record in-conference.

Schott has not taken the upcoming games lightly and knows what kind of challenge remains for the team this weekend.

“Northern Colorado and Northern Arizona have both done very well in non-conference games and they are both very good teams,” Schott said. "Having them on the road is a challenge, but we are up for it."

PSU is still riding on the success of last weekend’s games and should be happy with their performances across the board. Notably, Ross and junior midfielder Melissa Trammell have scored four goals each so far this season, leading the Vikings’ attack statistics.

The ball has been distributed well enough that nine different players have scored so far this season, and others seem to be making efforts to assist. This selflessness with the ball is something that Schott seems to take pride in.

“The great thing about this year is that we’ve had different players step up and play well at different times,” Schott said. “We are not dangerous because of one or two players. We have a lot of good players that make us a good team.”

Schott also said she has been impressed with her team’s backline and the performance of her goal keepers, senior Rachel Jarvis and sophomore Lainey Hulsizer, who have been splitting tending duties.

This could be the toughest weekend in Portland State’s 2010 conference schedule. After this weekend, things should slow down a bit for the Viks as they face Idaho State and Weber State next week—two teams that are winless so far in conference play.

The Vikings face Northern Colorado at 7 p.m. today, and Northern Arizona at noon on Sunday. Live stats will not be available for the Northern Colorado game, but will be available on Sunday at www.goviks.com. ■

NILESH TENDOLKAR VANGUARD STAFF

J

unior midfielder Melissa Trammell scored one goal and had two assists in two conference wins last weekend. Earlier in the season, she was selected as the Big Sky Conference’s Offensive Player of the Week.

Before the Vikings headed off for this weekend’s away games in Colorado and Arizona, Trammell took the time to tell us a little about herself.

Vanguard: How did it feel to start the Big Sky campaign with two wins?

Melissa Trammell: It felt great. Our team

went through a little bit of a rough patch before and I think that our hard work is paying off with the two wins.

V: Why did you choose to come to Portland State?

MT: I came to Portland State because I knew

that the soccer program was really good. I love the city and doing research. I love the school and the girls on the team. It’s like everything just fell into place.

V: What has been your best moment on the field?

MT: It’s the celebration on the field with the

girls every time we win. All our hard work has paid off and it feels really great to win.

V: If you could change one of your sport’s rules, what would it be?

MT: Sometimes I wish the referee didn’t have as much say in the game as he does.

V: What is your greatest strength?

MT: It comes from my teammates, but I would like to say it’s scoring goals. I couldn’t do it without the 10 other girls in the team.

V: What is your favorite place to eat around campus?

MT: I am a vegan, so there aren’t many places where I can eat. But I have recently discovered Food for Thought, which is on campus.

V: What is your favorite thing to do around Portland?

MT: I like exploring. Portland is a new city for

AUGUST MILLER/VANGUARD STAFF

Taking a swing at it: Freshman midfielder Eryn Brown has scored two goals in nine games played and had four starting appearances.

V: What is your most embarrassing on-field moment?

MT: I don’t really get embarrassed. I just laugh at myself when that happens.

V: Do you have any hidden talents?

MT: I learned how to juggle the other day, so I would say that’s my hidden talent.

V: Do you have any nicknames? Why? MT: People here call me Melissa and not Mel

because that’s our assistant coach’s name. My old teammates used to call me Tram because of my last name.

V: What is the last thing you cooked?

MT: The last thing I cooked was “Pimp My

Ramen.” It’s Top Ramen with peanut butter and hot sauce.

V: If you could attend one event anywhere, what would it be?

MT: I love music, so I would go to a Damien

Rice or Angus and Julius Stone concert. I always wanted to go to a World Cup, but that is years from now.

V: What has been your favorite class at Portland State?

MT: I am taking an Intro to Special Education

class because I want to become a special education teacher.

V: What’s on your iPod right now?

MT: The Submarines. I listened to them this morning.

V: If you could have dinner with three people from history alive, dead or fictional—who would they be?

MT: Audrey Hepburn, my grandma and [head coach] Laura Schott!

V: Do you read the Vanguard?

MT: Once in a while, when my teammates bring it into the locker room.

V: What song are you most likely to sing at karaoke?

MT: Probably any Journey song.

me, so I just like to ride my bike around.

V: What is the last thing you read?

MT: The last thing I read was some psychology

V: What is the first item you would buy if you won the lottery?

MT: I would buy a place on 23rd Avenue in the

V: Do you have a favorite superhero?

MT: I guess Superman, because he is the best-

Nob Hill area.

homework.

known superhero, so he has to be pretty good.

14 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ SPORTS

Setting herself apart from the pack Senior standout Frankie Ross wants to make the NCAA Tourney NILESH TENDOLKAR VANGUARD STAFF

P

ortland State senior Frankie Ross was five years old when she took up soccer, and her sporting career has come a long way since then. Her career began in northern California when her father decided to coach her and her friends, and it hit a high point last season when the Portland State women’s soccer team won the Big Sky regular season championship.

Since arriving at the Park Blocks for her freshman season in 2007, Ross has scored 11 goals and 11 assists, giving her the second-highest assists tally and the fourth-highest number of goals scored in the Portland State record books.

Ross was a leading member of Portland State’s Big Sky Conference regular season title-winning team last season, the Big Sky Golden Boot award winner in 2008 and was honored as an All-West Scholar by the National Soccer Coaches Association of America in 2009.

“Frankie is one of our leading goal scorers and assist leaders,” head coach Laura Schott said.

“She is a very composed player.

She can keep the ball and is very dangerous in front of the goal. She adds a lot to our attack.”

Her mother, Jean Ross, added that she had always excelled in sports.

“She even played baseball until she was 12 years old, before deciding to concentrate on soccer,” Jean said. “She has always been very competitive, a very fast runner and competing with boys in youth soccer and baseball made her more confident and assertive.”

While playing in California, Ross won a host of accolades at Bishop O’Dowd High School and with the California North Stars club team.

“Frankie played with the same core of friends and teammates through high school,” Jean said. “They traveled all over the country and played in prestigious tournaments.

Her U-13 (under 13 years old) team won the Northern California State Championship and then lost in the finals of

the Far West Regional tournament.”

As a sophomore, Ross’ high school team won the Northern California Section Championship. She earned such awards as Freshman of the Year, Offensive Player of the Year and Most Outstanding Player as a senior captain in high school.

Ross said that she held a parttime job and maintained a high GPA while competing on her year-round club team, in addition to playing for her high school team.

At Portland State, Ross is the sole member of her freshman class that is still on the team.

As a Viking, Ross has seen as many highlights and awards as in her high school career.

“The highlights of my career at Portland State thus far are definitely winning the Big Sky Conference last year, taking the Golden Boot in 2008, scoring my first collegiate goal against the University of Nevada-Reno in 2007 and being named three-time Academic All-Big Sky,” Ross said.

“Winning the Big Sky Conference last year truly felt surreal,” Ross added. “Taking

ROBERT BRITT/VANGUARD STAFF

Frankie Ross: The senior midfielder and forward won the Big Sky's Golden Boot Award in 2008.

first place was something that we had all worked toward each year, and to finally have reached that accomplishment was an amazing feeling. I’d never been more proud to be a Viking.”

Ross said that winning the Golden Boot Award in her sophomore year was an honor she hadn’t been expecting.

“Honestly, I had no idea the award even existed before I won it,” Ross said. “All the goals that I scored that season were in-conference, and all were game-winners, so winning the award made them that much sweeter.“ Ross feels that her parents, coaches and teammates have all been instrumental in getting her to the stage she is at now.

“My parents drive me to practice every day and they encourage me,” Ross said. “The coaches—Laura, Rochelle, Mel—and my teammates, they make me work harder every day in practice.”

Ross recounts the 1-1 draw against Eastern Washington in Cheney, Wash., in last season’s Big Sky campaign as her most memorable event on the field.

“It was the last minute of play, and our central defender Toni (Carnovale) came aboard and scored the goal to tie the game,” Ross said.

Despite some injury concerns earlier this season, Ross leads the team with four goals and assists and has already set her eyes on the big prize: the NCAA Tournament.

Schott said that Ross has been working hard this season to get to this point.

“She came into camp a little banged up, but since then she’s gotten healthy, she has been performing really well,” she said. “She is always on fire during Big Sky, so I look forward to see what she has in store for the rest of the games.”

Ross’ focus though, isn’t solely on her individual performance.

“I love winning,” she said.

“I love when my teammates do well; I love helping other people score. My goal is to win the Big Sky conference and get into the NCAA, whatever it takes. I think we will be first in the conference and first in the tournament, and [I think we’ll] go to the NCAA.” ■

Cross country races to season’s finish line Men’s and women’s teams to compete in Oregon City, Eugene GRETCHEN SANDAU VANGUARD STAFF

This weekend is going to be a major one for the Portland State men’s and women’s cross country teams as they wrap up the regular season with backto-back races. The teams compete today at the Clackamas Community College-hosted Mike Hodges Invitational in Oregon City, and tomorrow in the Dellinger Invitational at Pre’s Trail in Alton Baker Park in Eugene.

Although the teams face races on consecutive days, the squads will split up for the two competitions. Six men and women will compete at the Dellinger on Saturday, and the rest of the teams will race in the Mike Hodges.

Hopes are high for the runners and the teams as a whole

to do well. According to assistant coach Cassie Stilley, the teams have recently changed their practices. Instead of mostly working on mileage and long distances, the focus has moved to shorter and quicker distances to help prepare them for this weekend. Stilley hopes that changing the concentration from long-distance runs to short and fast intervals will result in fast times over the weekend.

Both teams have been running admirably this season, and are expected to do well today and tomorrow. Since many of the cross country runners also run track and field, which is more based on individual performance, the team has worked this season to help build cohesion.

“Every runner is important, and it’s important for everyone to run well together,” Stilley said.

One runner to look out for this weekend is sophomore Julie Pedersen, who finished at

the top of the Vikings’ charts in the last two races. Pederson is considered to be one of Portland State’s top female runners and finished the 5-kilometer in 17th place overall at the Willamette Invitational earlier this month with a time of 17 minutes, 57.37 seconds.

Other notable women runners are sophomore Amber Rozcicha, junior Katie Blue and senior Karissa Fuller.

“All the women have been working really hard this year,” Stilley said. “There is a lot of talent, and people seem to be putting pieces together at the right time.”

As for the men, seniors John Lawrence and Andrew Salg each ran exceptionally well in their last meet. Both finished the 8K in under 25 minutes, a feat that has not been accomplished by a Portland State runner in six years. Lawrence finished with a time of 24:52.49 for 34th place, and Salg was nipping at his heels with a time of 24:59.26 for 39th place.

These upcoming meets are more than just another race for the runners; they are preparing for the Big Sky Conference Championship on Oct. 30 in Cheney, Wash.

“At these meets, it is not only important to run well, but to also help prepare for the conference championship,” Stilley said.

The biggest and most prestigious race of this weekend is the Dellinger Invitational. For the Viking men, competition will be against nationally ranked teams such as No. 3 Oregon, No. 8 Portland and No. 11 Wisconsin. The women will be competing against No. 2 Oregon, as well as Idaho, Willamette and Wisconsin.

“This weekend is going to be some really tough competition,” Stilley said. “We are excited to be returning [to the Dellinger Invitational] again this year. It will feel good to test ourselves against some really good competition before the championship.” ■

Pro Picks Must viewing? Maybe not for Cowboys-Vikes BARRY WILNER AP PRO FOOTBALL WRITER

Fox must have been giddy when this Week 6 matchup was scheduled.

The Vikings were a misguided Brett Favre pass away from the NFC title last season, and the Cowboys were proclaimed the one franchise that could play in a Super Bowl it was hosting.

Now, the network might want to consider switching something spicier to the late afternoon doubleheader slot: Minnesota and Dallas are 1-3 apiece.

Not just losers, but clumsy losers. Minnesota is a minus-6 in turnover differential and Dallas is minus-4. The Vikes are a 1-point favorite in what some have dubbed the Bumblers Bowl.

“We still know what we’re capable of,” Cowboys defensive end Marcus Spears said. “We have to execute, we got to play better, we got to stop shooting ourselves in the foot, and this thing will turn around fast.”

It better: After Sunday, except for Detroit, every team on Dallas’ remaining schedule has a winning record. Minnesota has a similar predicament, although it has Buffalo and Detroit left.

Based strictly on late-game work last weekend ...

VIKINGS, 23-20 Cleveland (plus 13) at Pittsburgh Ben Roethlisberger’s return to the Steelers, plus all kinds of uncertainty at QB for Cleveland. And the Steelers remember last year’s late loss to the Browns that eventually cost Pittsburgh a playoff berth.

BEST BET, STEELERS 24-6 Oakland (plus 6) at San Francisco Just can’t pick the 49ers to beat anyone, anywhere, at this time. The Raiders have issues on defense, especially against the run. The Niners have problems everywhere.

UPSET SPECIAL, RAIDERS 17-13 N.Y. Jets (minus 3) at Denver Another beaten-up bunch, the Broncos tend to play better in the milehigh environment. Problem is, they hardly have any starters left on defense, and the Jets are balanced with the ball.

JETS, 29-21 Indianapolis (minus 4) at Washington Indy lost twice last season. Indy has lost twice this season already. No. 3 won’t come here.

COLTS, 27-20 Tennessee (minus 3) at Jacksonville (Monday night) Every team in the AFC South is 3-2. Tennessee is a more solid 3-2 with more talent and no fear of road games. But it will be tight.

TITANS, 17-16 San Diego (minus 7 1/2) at St. Louis So far, the Chargers have been abysmal on the road, especially at the end of games. Last we looked, this is a road game, so it will be closer than the talent levels indicate.

CHARGERS, 24-20 Kansas City (plus 3 1/2) at Houston Romeo Crennel has done a terrific job with the Chiefs’ D, and Houston laid a Texas-sized egg against the Giants. If the Texans truly are a playoff-bound team, they must win this. KC will test them.

TEXANS, 20-18 Baltimore (plus 3) at New England Randy Moss, who never won a Super Bowl, is out, Deion Branch, who never lost one, is in. Tom Brady faces a staunch, big-play defense; does he have the weapons to handle it against the team that knocked New England from the playoffs in January?

RAVENS, 17-16 Detroit (plus 10 1/2) at N.Y. Giants Both teams showed off splashy offenses a week ago. The Giants also have a D. GIANTS, 30-17 New Orleans (minus 6 1/2) at Tampa Bay Everything about the Bucs this year has been pointing upward. Just about everything with the banged-up Saints has pointed the other way.

Time for Drew Brees to change that.

SAINTS, 28-17 Atlanta (OFF) at Philadelphia Uncertainty about Kolb/Vick takes this one off the board. The Falcons probably have been the NFC’s best thus far. A win here furthers that notion.

FALCONS, 23-14 Seattle (OFF) at Chicago The schizophrenic Seahawks would be something of a lock at home against battered Chicago. Until Seattle shows it can be trusted on the road ...

BEARS, 14-13 Miami (OFF) at Green Bay The Dolphins are slumping and if Aaron Rodgers can go, the Packers have enough to win. But Rodgers is coming off a concussion, both of Miami’s wins were on the road, and the Pack has injury woes all over the place.

DOLPHINS, 17-13 RECORD: Versus spread, 8-6 (overall 42-33); Straight up, 9-5 (overall 48-28) Best Bet: 2-3 against spread, 3-2 straight up.

Upset Special: 5-0 against spread, 5-0 straight up.

ETC. ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ VANGUARD 15

ETC.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: VIRGINIA VICKERY EDITOR@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5691

CALENDAR TODAY The Biogeochemistry of Everyday Life 11 a.m.

PSU Urban Center, room 270

Dr. Lawrence Baker will describe the relationship between household decision-making and environmental impacts within U.S. cities.

Transportation Seminar: “Vision Zero: Towards Zero Deaths” Noon PSU Urban Center, room 204

Vision Zero is a safety paradigm built around the idea that even if not all traffic crashes can be avoided, severe injuries can be. Building a new “safe system” requires a shift in thinking that ranges from designing roads that have space for evasive maneuvers to managing the kinetic energy transferred in crashes to human bodies. This lecture will be presented by Peter Jacobsen.

Shine A Light 6 p.m.

Portland Art Museum

Don’t miss this opportunity to witness and take part in games, tours, workshops, performances and installations by artists from PSU’s Art and Social Practice concentration MFA. The projects are centered on artist and audience participation.

SATURDAY

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 500 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Tuesday, October 12, 2010

Brew to Bikes: Portland’s Artisan Economy Book Launch Party and Artisan Exhibition 7 p.m.

Art Department, 1315 SE 9th Ave.

Edited by Will Shortz Across 1 Think about 7 Rockʼs Steely ___ 10 Pentagon V.I.P.ʼs: Abbr.

14 Kind of reasoning, after “a” 15 Ginger ___ 16 Help in wrongdoing 17 Entertainment you might have a hand in?

19 “Encore!”

20 Meat slice on the highest shelf?

22 Class with crayons 25 Scotlandʼs Firth of ___ 26 Trail user 27 Advertising sheet blowing in the wind?

32 Like presses ready for printing

33 It has feet in a line 34 Droop 37 Sir Anthony formerly of 10 Downing Street 38 Made thinner 40 Carry on 41 Ouiʼs opposite 42 ___ Cooper (car) 43 English county 44 Curly lock tints?

47 Grove components 50 Big ___ 51 Buttonless shirt 52 Dribble from an icicle?

57 Series finale, in brief 58 Norʼeasters, often 62 Ocean motion 63 Be under par 64 Keyless 65 Broke ground?

66 QB pickups: Abbr.

67 ___ public

Down 1 Very, very soft, in music 2 Okla. school 3 Quick drink 4 L-___ (Parkinsonʼs treatment) 5 Put up 6 Mass, e.g.

7 Author Roald 8 Lily of Africa 9 Colorful amphibian 10 Chess ploy 11 Something to read on a Kindle 12 Chutzpah 13 Manage the helm 18 Eye sore 21 Sound before “Your fly is open” 22 “The X-Files” subject ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE 23 Sonata movement P O E M H U S H S P I E L A L A I A R I A P I N K O 24 Coin at an arcade P E R K M I L L A N G E L 28 When doubled, a S P E C I A L F O R C E S breath freshener M O T H A S H A R E Y O U S A T E N B C 29 When to celebrate Earth F E V E R P I T C H C O R A Day R E A R S R E M J O N E S 30 Axis, once O D D S L I V E R E M O T E 31 Was ahead S S E B A S E A T E S T S 34 Nicholas or S R I G I L A Patrick S A T U R D A Y N I G H T H U N A N E B R O A I R S 35 Share an opinion A R T I E A L O U I D E A 36 Fliers in Vʼs H E I D I R E S T N E E D 38 Wrestlerʼs goal

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

14

8

No. 0907 9

15

17

23

24

27

MONDAY Bike Hub Workshop: Women and Trans Repair Night 5 p.m.

PSU Bike Hub

26

28

29

30

31

33

37

38

34

39

35

36

43

44

45

49

46

50 54

51

52

53

57

58

62

63

64

65

66

67

55

TO PLACE AN EVENT: Contact vgcalendar@gmail.com or

56 59

60

61

Puzzle by MaryEllen Uthlaut

39 Director Lee 40 Question of identity 42 Hitʼs opposite 43 Feature of a fugue 44 Staggered 45 Big game hunter?

46 Resident of Oklahomaʼs second-largest city 47 Canines, e.g.

48 Two to one or three to one 49 Skirt 53 Heavy cart 54 A.T.F. agentsʼ activity

55 Removes a squeak from 56 Driverʼs nonverbal “hello” 59 Cellular stuff 60 “Striving to better, oft we ___ whatʼs well”: Shak.

61 Like a fox

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.

DAILY UPDATES VISIT THE VANGUARD ONLINE AT PSUVANGUARD.COM

BE OUR FRIEND KenKen® is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. ©2010 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by UFS, Inc. www.kenken.com

● Each row and each column 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

10-15-10

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

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

All women’s classes are taught by Bike Hub female staff. Workshops are free for Bike Hub members. To fill out an application, visit www.pdx.edu/bikehub.

40

42

48

13

21

32

47

12

19

25

41

11

16

18 20

22

10

Brew to Bikes profiles hundreds of local businesses from bike manufacturers to microbreweries, focusing on Portland’s unique penchant for sustainability and urban development. Refreshments will be provided, and there will be book-making crafts for kids.

FRIEND THE VANGUARD ON FACEBOOK AT FACEBOOK.COM/DAILYVANGUARD

pick up a calendar request form at the Vanguard advertising office, SMSU, room 114.

16 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, OCTOBER 15, 2010 ■ SPORTS YOUR WEEKEND IN SPORTS

Up next: Montana Grizzlies

Friday Cross country

Mike Hodges Invitational Clackamas Community College Oregon City 3:30 p.m.

Football returns home to face stiff opposition after road loss

Women’s soccer

ALLISON WHITED VANGUARD STAFF

A

fter losing to No. 10 Montana State on the road last weekend, Portland State football returns to town Saturday evening to host No. 11 Montana at Hillsboro Stadium.

The Vikings have lost the last five meetings with the Grizzlies and PSU looks to snap that streak, as well as the three-game winning streak that Montana brings with them.

Portland State (6-7-1, 2-0-0 BSC) at Northern Colorado (8-3-2, 1-0-1 BSC) Greeley, Colo.

7 p.m.

Women’s volleyball

Northern Colorado (15-4, 6-0 BSC) at Portland State (11-7, 5-1 BSC) Stott Center 7 p.m.

Records entering the game Portland State is 1-1 in conference play and 2-3 overall, while Montana is 3-1 in conference matchups and 4-2 overall. The Grizzlies come into the game ranked 11th in the nation in the FCS Now Poll.

Hockey

Last year’s meeting It was a long day in Missoula for the Viks when these two teams met last year. The final score was 49-17, Montana. Though the Viks rushed and passed their way to an early 14-0 lead in the first quarter, the Grizzlies caught up quickly and their defense grew rigid.

The Viks scored a field goal in the second quarter and then failed to score any more points throughout the remainder of the game. The Montana rushing attack was too much for the Viking defense, and the Grizzlies trampled the Viks for 229 yards. By comparison, the Viks earned just 47 rushing yards.

The Grizzlies went on to win the Big Sky Conference and play in the 2009 NCAA Division I Football Championship, where they lost to Villanova 23-21. It was the second straight year in which Montana ended its season as the nation's runner-up.

Saturday Cross Country

Bill Dellinger Invitational Alton Baker Park Eugene 11:45 a.m.

Football*

Montana (4-2, 3-1 BSC) at Portland State (2-3, 1-1 BSC) Hillsboro Stadium 5:05 p.m.

Listen on KXL AM-750, Live stats at www.goviks.com

Scouting the Grizzlies Somehow, after winning or sharing the conference title for the last 12 years, the Grizzlies seem more vulnerable this year. It may be that they actually have a conference loss this year, something they did not have last year, or it could also be that they have a new head coach this season. Robin Pflugrad, a former Portland State wide receiver who played for legendary PSU coach Mouse Davis, is brand-spanking-new and in the first tenure ever as head coach.

However, none of this will make this an easy game for the Viks to win. Montana's passing game is going well, even after losing starting quarterback Andrew Selle to a career-ending shoulder injury in September. Senior quarterback Justin Roper has stepped up in his place. Roper received the Big Sky's Offensive Player of the Week honor after his career game against Idaho State last week, where he threw for 319 yards with two touchdowns. Roper has been throwing for an average of 276 yards per game.

Montana’s passing game is being mildly supplemented by the running game. The Grizzlies have only 723 yards on the ground this season, while Portland State has 941 despite having fewer total carries. In Montana's one conference loss to Eastern Washington, rushing yardage was the one stat that seems to explain the loss. While other stats left the two teams dead even, the Eagles gained almost 100 more yards on the ground than the Grizzlies, which could easily be the reason for the nine-point loss.

That said, the Grizzlies are good at putting up points.

They may be on their second-string quarterback with a weak running game, but they are averaging 39.6 points per game.

Portland Winterhawks (6-2) at Kamloops Blazers (4-4) Kamloops, B.C. 7 p.m.

* “Green Out” – First 1,500 fans to recieve green shirts

NBA preseason

Golden State Warriors at Portland Trail Blazers Rose Garden Arena 7 p.m.

ALL PHOTOS BY DREW MARTIG/VANGUARD STAFF

All lined up: Portland State's offensive line has held strong this year, allowing the Vikings to effectively run and pass the ball.

The defense, as always, is stout. They have allowed only 278.3 yards per game, the least in the conference.

Scouting the Vikings

Portland State is coming off a rough 44-31 loss to Montana State last week. The game saw the Viks do a lot of growing up, though, and they should be able to put that experience to good use this week.

As evidenced by Montana’s loss to Eastern Washington, the run defense is going to be key. The Vikings have allowed an average of 5.9 yards per carry, so they will have to get tough to have a chance to win it. Keeping in mind that the Viks gave up 326 rushing yards to Montana State last week, that aspect of the game doesn’t look good for the guys in green.

Portland State’s ball-hawking secondary should have a field day against Roper, who has thrown nine interceptions so far this season. Junior safety Manoa Latu and junior cornerback DeShawn Shead should both have the opportunity to increase their pick totals. Latu already has two interceptions this season, one of which he took back for a 43-yard touchdown.

The offense has really begun to click for the Viks and that trend should continue this week. Junior quarterback Connor Kavanaugh continues to grow into his role in the shotgun and has the Viks throwing for 175.4 yards per game. Last week, he played an interception-free game and even had a 75-yard touchdown run.

Kavanaugh’s passing game will continue to be supplemented by junior running back Cory McCaffrey's running game. McCaffrey has been consistent and successful in Portland State's Special teams: Freshman punt returner AJ Powell returns a punt against Idaho new and improved rushing attack.

State on Oct. 2.

Head coach Nigel Burton has said all season that, in addition to stopping the run, PSU needs to be able to run the football to win, and this week the Viks will be counting on McCaffrey for that.

So far this season the Viks have been grinding out 188 yards rushing per game. After this game it is completely feasible that they will have racked up more than 1,000 yards on the ground.

The running game will have some opposition, though. The Montana run defense is beyond stingy, and has allowed only 118.8 yards per game.

How to follow Kickoff is set for 5:05 p.m. on Saturday at Hillsboro Stadium, the Vikings’ home-away-from-home this season. Portland State Athletics is providing five buses to shuttle students from campus to the game and back. The buses will be staged on College Street at the south end of the Park Blocks, in between the Stott Center and Shattuck Hall, and will depart for the stadium at 3 p.m. and return to campus after the game.

The game will be broadcast live on Comcast Sports Net, channel 37 (737 for HD) in Portland. It will also be streamed live on www.b2tv.com and broadcast on the radio at KXL, AM 750. Visit www.goviks.com for live stats. ■

Get on the bus!

Want to go to the Portland State football game on Saturday, but don’t feel like driving all the way out to Hillsboro to watch it?

Well, you are in luck, because Portland State Athletics is offering students a free ride to and from Hillsboro Stadium.

Five buses are scheduled to depart from the Stott Center turnaround (on Southwest College Street, in between the Stott Center and Shattuck Hall) at 3 p.m., and will make the return trip to campus shortly after the game ends. Seats are available to all students on a first-come, first-served basis.

Hockey

Portland Winterhawks (6-2) at Kelowna Rockets (2-5) Kelowna, B.C. 7:05 p.m.

Volleyball

Northern Arizona (7-9, 3-3 BSC) at Portland State (11-7, 5-1 BSC) Stott Center 8 p.m.

Sunday Soccer

Portland State (6-7-1, 2-0-0 BSC) at Northern Arizona (6-3-3, 1-0-1 BSC)

Flagstaff, Ariz.

Noon

Golf

Triangle Tournament Auburn National Golf Club Auburn, Wash.

Start time TBD

**All records accurate as of 5 p.m., Oct. 14