Daily Vanguard January 20, 2010

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 20, 2010 • PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY • VOLUME 64, ISSUE 53

Event of the day If you’re interested in a career in radio, stop by the KPSU office today, located in the Smith Memorial Student Union subbasement, and attend an orientation session. It’s free to attend and may lead to your own radio show!

When: 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. Where: SMSU, room S18

WWW.DAILYVANGUARD.COM • FREE

INSIDE NEWS Women’s studies name change forum Would a women’s studies department by any other name still address sexism? PAGE 3 Campus Connections News for students by students PAGE 3

ARTS

A life-and-death

discussion

about media Media scholars John Nichols and Robert McChesney visit Portland State Catrice Stanley

Vanguard staff

Through the poet’s eyes Sid Miller takes us on an adventure through the Oregon we thought we knew PAGE 4

Helping Haiti from the City of Roses A look at upcoming Portland events to raise relief funds PAGE 5

Newspapers are dying, according to media researchers and authors John Nichols and Robert McChesney. Today, at 1 p.m. in the Native American Student and Community Center, they are explaining exactly why they think the end is near for journalism, and what can be done to save it. More importantly, they will explain why journalism is vitally important to everyone. “Anyone who is concerned about what sort of country we’re going to have [should come],” McChesney said. “People who wonder if we are going to continue to have the freedoms we have, and if we have a constitution or a government that works. Anyone who isn’t only

The new Academic Student Rec Center boasts high-tech classrooms Gogul Krishnan

OPINION

Vanguard staff

concerned about the next 24 hours in their life [should be here].” Nichols and McChesney have worked together for nearly 12 years and have been very productive in that time. Their newest collaboration is a book entitled The Life and Death of American Journalism: The Media Revolution that Will Begin the World Again. “This is our fourth book [together], but by far our biggest and best book. It is our most serious book,” McChesney said. Nichols, a writer for the magazine The Nation, and McChesney, a professor of communication from the University of Illinois, recently began a tour across the United State to promote their newest piece. Portland State is their second stop on the west coast, after Seattle. Both men have extensive histories working in the media, and have gained a lot of knowledge of how

Photos courtesy of Caitlin Fitzpatrick

Media messengers: John Nichols (left) and Robert McChesney (right) will present today at PSU.

journalism works, and also how it does not work. Nichols is currently the lead political writer and Washington correspondent for The Nation, a progressive magazine available both online and in print. He has been a working journalist for over 25 years. Founded in 1865, The Nation was designed to “wage war upon the vices of violence, exaggeration, and misrepresentation by which so much of the political writing of the day is marred,” according to its founding prospectus. McChesney is known for his work editing the Monthly Review, as well as writing numerous books, including titles such as

Rich Media, Poor Democracy and Communication Revolution. He is also well-known for his work on “Media Matters,” a radio show with a podcast available online. Together, with executive director Josh Silver, Nichols and McChesney founded Free Press (www.freepress.net) in 2002. The media reform organization intends to restructure the media with “education, organizing and advocacy”. Jil Freeman, PSU communications professor, refers to Free Press as one of the leading media advocacy groups in the United States. “In this day and age, where national papers and local papers are declaring bankruptcy and

Nichols and McChesney continued on page two

High-tech rec

Beyond exercise equipment, the new Academic and Student RecreationCenter (ASRC) that opened at the beginning of the term has a lot to offer students. Amenities include new high-tech classrooms and sustainable technology.

Classrooms PSU’s unsafe policy Some weapons are OK to carry on campus PAGE 6 Reasonable hope The difference between Obama and Harry Potter PAGE 6

The ASRC has a 250-seat auditorium and several high-tech classrooms featuring projectors, control podiums and screens. The entire building is on the PSU wireless Internet system. Classrooms, lobbies and study areas are provided with power outlets and data ports for student laptops, according to Ernest Tipton, campus planning and design manager. ASRC includes the following kinds of classrooms: - A 250-seat auditorium, which includes a surround-sound stereo system that is open for general purposes based on availability - A 120-seat classroom - Three 40-seat classrooms, all of which are used for general purposes - Two 30-seat classrooms - An 18-seat computer lab - A 60-seat community meeting room, which can be divided into two 30-seat classrooms based on requirements and are maintained by the School of Social Work

High Tech continued on page two

Classy classes: Brand new classrooms are now utilized in the Academic and Student Recreation Center.

Adam Wickham/Portland State Vanguard


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