VOLUME 74 • ISSUE 29 • APRIL 28, 2020
‘MANY ADJUNCTS COMMUNICATE TO ME THEY ARE ON SOME FORM OF SOCIAL WELFARE’ NEWS ‘I DON’T THINK A HAIRCUT IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN SAFETY’ INTERNATIONAL RAMADAN DURING THE PANDEMIC • OPINION COVID-19 AND THE NEW NORMAL
CONTENTS COVER BY SAM PERSON / PHOTO BY ALEX WITTWER NEWS HILL TO HALL
P. 3
ARTS & CULTURE SONGS TO PUNCH A FUCKING WALL TO
P. 10
COVID-19, CAMPAIGNS AND CREATIVE SOLUTIONS
P. 4
“BAD INDIAN”
P. 11
RALLYING AT THE GOVERNOR’S HOUSE
P. 5
INTERNATIONAL RAMADAN DURING THE PANDEMIC
OPINION COVID-19 AND THE NEW NORMAL
P. 12–13
P. 6
WILDFIRE IN KYIV, UKRAINE CAUSES RADIATION THREAT
P. 7
SPORTS ROBOT REFEREES IN BASKETBALL
P. 14–15
COVER ADJUNCTIFICATION
COMICS
P. 16
P. 8–9
STAFF
EDIT ORI A L EDITOR IN CHIEF Dylan Jefferies MANAGING EDITOR Hannah Welbourn NEWS EDITORS Hanna Anderson Justin Grinnell INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Chloe Dysart SPORTS EDITOR Rich Rigney
ONLINE EDITOR Annie Schutz COPY CHIEF Sophie Concannon CONTRIBUTORS Madison Cecil Ida Ayu Dwijayanti Spencer Garfield Nick Gatlin Aidan Kennelley Lily Lamadrid Emily Price Emma Wallace
ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Nick Townsend
PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A PHOTO EDITOR Alex Wittwer
OPINION EDITOR AJ Earl
MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Owen Demetre
PRODUC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR John Rojas
A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood
LEAD DESIGNER Dana Townsend
STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher
DESIGNERS Brandon Pahnish Sam Person
STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Corrine Nightingale
DIS T RIBU TION DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Dylan Jefferies
To contact Portland State Vanguard, email editor@psuvanguard.com
T ECHNOL OGY & W EB SIT E TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS Juliana Bigelow George Olson John Rojas
MIS SION S TAT EMEN T Vanguard ’s mission is to serve the Portland State community with timely, accurate, comprehensive and critical content while upholding high journalistic standards. In the process, we aim to enrich our staff with quality, hands-on journalism education and a number of skills highly valued in today’s job market.
A BOU T Vanguard, established in 1946, is published weekly as an independent student newspaper governed by the PSU Student Media Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers and do not necessarily represent the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. Find us in print Tuesdays and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @psuvanguard for multimedia content and breaking news.
NEWS
APRIL 20–23 NICK GATLIN
APRIL 20: U.S. SUPREME COURT RULES NON-UNANIMOUS JURY VERDICTS BANNED IN OREGON
Non-unanimous jury verdicts were banned in Oregon—the only state left that allowed them—due to a United States Supreme Court ruling on April 20, according to AP News. According to The Oregonian, defense lawyers in Oregon have hundreds of cases with non-unanimous verdicts pending appeal. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum stated, “It is an embarrassment to our otherwise progressive state that we are the only state in the country with a law in our constitution that allows criminal convictions without juror unanimity,” according to The Register-Guard. Legal scholars agree non-unanimous jury laws, such as the one in Oregon, were motivated by racial and religious bigotry, according to OPB.
APRIL 22: PORTLAND CITY AUDITOR’S OFFICE RULES MAYOR TED WHEELER VIOLATED CAMPAIGN FINANCE RULES
The Portland City Auditor’s Office ruled on April 22 Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler violated city election rules by not disclosing his top campaign donors, according to AP News. According to OPB, the new campaign finance rules, which were adopted in September, require campaigns to disclose its biggest donors and industry alignments on its campaign website. Ronald Buel, a member of the political action committee Honest Elections Oregon, filed a complaint about the lack of disclosures in March, according to The Register-Guard. Wheeler campaign manager Amy Rathfelder previously responded to the complaint, claiming the mayor had complied with election law by placing “Paid for by Friends of Ted Wheeler” on all communication to voters, according to The Oregonian.
APRIL 23: HEALTHCARE PROVIDERS CAN RESUME NON-EMERGENCY PROCEDURES MAY 1, ACCORDING TO GOVERNOR BROWN
AP News reported healthcare providers in Oregon will be allowed to resume non-urgent procedures on May 1, after Governor Kate Brown announced the state will receive “extremely large shipments” of personal protective equipment (PPE). Healthcare providers must meet certain guidelines to resume the procedures; they must have adequate PPE, follow CDC guidelines, decrease their caseload to maintain social distancing and follow other precautions, according to KATU. Brown emphasized the move was cautious, according to OPB. “We are only stepping onto the ice carefully and cautiously,” Brown said. “One step at a time.”
APRIL 23: OREGON SUPREME COURT RULES CAMPAIGN CONTRIBUTION LIMITS ARE LEGAL
The Oregon Supreme Court ruled on April 23 campaign contribution limits did not violate the state constitution, upholding Multnomah County’s $500 limit on campaign donations, according to AP News. The ruling sent the case to a lower court to determine if Multnomah County’s limits were too low while rolling back Oregon’s permissive campaign finance laws, according to The Oregonian. The ruling will now allow campaign contribution limits to go into effect across the state, according to OPB.
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NEWS
COVID-19, CAMPAIGNS AND CREATIVE SOLUTIONS HOW A PANDEMIC IS AFFECTING LOCAL ELECTIONS PSU STUDENT ADVISOR CANDACE AVALOS, WHO HAS BEEN CAMPAIGNING FOR THE CITY COMMISSIONER SEAT IN THE COMING ELECTION, AS SEEN OUTSIDE HER HOUSE ON APRIL 26, 2020. EMMA WALLACE/PSU VANGUARD LILY LAMADRID As COVID-19 locks down Portland this election cycle, city government candidates are finding new ways to campaign. The coronavirus pandemic led to Oregon Governor Kate Brown limiting Oregonians’ movements, and politicians are no exception. Activities vital to the typical campaign—rallies, debates, in-person canvassing—are out-of-bounds. From virtual debates to virtual press conferences, things are moving online and they are moving fast. City commissioner Chloe Eudaly is running for re-election. Her campaign had to adapt in numerous ways. Her position on city council demanded extra time in crisis, time that would normally be used for campaigning. “My time is limited,” Eudaly said. “We face urgent decisions and policy making decisions, but we still need to focus on the future.” Eudaly has been social distancing since March, because her son is immunocompromised. Her campaign team still meets daily and is finding ways to connect despite the distance. “We start each day with a pop culture quiz, just something to get to know each other better,” Eudaly said. Eudaly thinks some good has come out of campaigning amid COVID-19. “There’s less waste,” she said of campaign mailers, posters and especially lawn signs. “I hate lawn signs. They’re just corrugated plastic—they’re horrible for the environment.” Another candidate for city council, Candace Avalos, coordinator of student government and greek life advisor at Portland State, has had to adapt her campaign strategy.
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“So much of our field strategy was person to person,” Avalos said. Her team is now focusing on online mediums, such as Zoom, a video conferencing system widely used at PSU. She is using Zoom to hold town halls. “I have felt the transition has been a lot better for me because I’m familiar with these tools, and I’m familiar with how you create different ways to engage with the community—it’s what I do advising student government all the time.” Coverage of the election is also changing. John Tierney, assistant news director at KGW, talked about how the local news station is covering local elections. “We still want to make sure voters understand who candidates are,” Tierney said. However, that can be hard in a business where coverage of COVID-19 dominates the news cycle. Getting access to candidates has gotten harder, and they have limited resources when there is so much demand to focus on other topics. KGW and Portland’s other three local broadcasters—KOIN, KATU and KPTV— have begun pooling resources. In the event a candidate cannot be reached via electronic means, the stations send only one videographer, and then phone in their questions. This limits exposure for everyone involved. The City Club of Portland has also had to adapt. In normal election cycles, The City Club holds events such as town halls and debates. These are typically ticketed. In light of COVID-19, the City Club has moved all programming online, and made it free.
“We removed the paywall, so now thousands of people are watching,” said Erin Haley, City Club’s director of communications and marketing. According to Haley, there are always “politically-minded people who pay attention,” but now that everyone is stuck home, “people are really tuning in.” The City Club seeks to be accessible to all candidates, and the organization has had to start asking questions about equity as everything becomes virtual. “Do all candidates have computers with cameras?” is just one such question. This is a problem for all campaigns, news outlets and civic organizations; when things enter cyberspace, who gets left behind? “We want to include as many people as possible, but there are barriers,” Haley said. These barriers include internet connectivity, cell phone access and computer access, among others. Every time there is a piece of equipment between a candidate and constituents, some may not have that equipment to access the election process as fully. Since Oregon uses a vote-by-mail system, voting itself will go on as normal. Before the events of COVID-19, Eudaly and Avalos were both preparing for virtual debates. With the move to online, Eudaly spoke of an extra step in her debate setup. “I put a photo of puppies or my son behind the camera— something to make me happy.”
NEWS
RALLYING AT THE GOVERNOR’S HOUSE JUSTIN GRINNELL
Outside Governor Kate Brown’s residence, Mahonia Hall, in Salem, Oregon, a rally hosted by the Facebook group Reopenor—short for reopen Oregon—advocated for lifting the Governor’s stay-at-home order. The gathering occurred on Saturday, April 25 at around 1:00 p.m. While Reopener was listed as the host on Facebook, the event organizer didn’t make their presence known. With no clear sign of leadership, Janice Daniels, a rally attendee, took charge. “There wasn’t anybody leading,” Daniels said. “I did eventually find the girl that was organizing it—her name is Joy, but she doesn’t like to speak in public.” Wielding an electronic megaphone, Daniels often led the group in songs such as “God Bless America” and “This Land Is Your Land.” While she wasn’t an organizer for the event, Daniels was one of the most vocal ralliers. “I’m tired of sitting in quarantine,” Daniels said about her reason for attending. “And it’s time that we take back our freedoms.” Daniels, a homemaker, has been under quarantine with her husband and son for 40 days. “My husband is working at home,” she said after being asked how she was affected by the stay-athome order. “Our investments have definitely taken a hit, but I’m not able to use my house, because my husband uses the family room for his work room and my son uses the office and basically I’m quarantined to my bedroom.”
Daniels considers herself to be a social person and someone who has been greatly affected by Governor Brown’s stay-at-home order. Mike Bluehair, an activist and vlogger, shared his thoughts on COVID-19 in an interview while he recorded the event with his phone. “It’s a real crisis, it’s a real virus,” Bluehair said. “But also people have a right to live, people have a right to make money, people have a right to engage in commerce, people have a right to survive.” With about $2,000 in his bank account and his combined rent and utilities exceeding $1,300, Bluehair said, “I have less than two months before I have to go be homeless. So do I not have a right to live?” As ralliers sang “The Star-Spangled Banner,” Gwen, a stay-at-home mom who attended the rally with her two daughters, shared her thoughts on Bill Gates and Event 201—a series of exercises and discussions confronting the dilemmas of responding to a “scientifically plausible” pandemic in October of 2019—in relation to the coronavirus. “This was already planned out with Event 201,” Gwen said. “Everything was already in step. I feel like this was pretty premeditated. Whether I’m right or wrong is irrelevant. I think there’s clearly deception.” “Not to mention the fact that Event 201—that [Bill Gates] orchestrated—is eerily similar to what’s happening now,” Gwen said. “And it literally took place right before Wuhan, so dots need to be connected I think.” According to an article by The New York Times, Gates has recently been targeted by conspiracy theorists for supposedly starting and profiting from COVID-19. “Bill Gates is easily transformed into a health-related meme and figure because he’s so well known,” said Whitney Phillips, an assistant professor at Syracuse University who teaches digital ethics. A WOMAN OUTSIDE OF THE GOVERNOR'S MANSION IN SALEM, OR RALLIES AGAINST “He’s able to function as kind THE STAY-AT-HOME ORDER THAT TOOK EFFECT ON MARCH 23, 2020. of an abstract boogeyman.” ALEX WITTWER/PSU VANGUARD
A GROUP OF RALLIERS HOLD SIGNS ALONG THE ROAD OUTSIDE THE GOVERNOR’S MANSION. ALEX WITTWER/PSU VANGUARD
A MAN PUSHING A STROLLER WITH HIS CHILD AT THE RALLY WITH A SIGN THAT READS, "LET ME PLAY!" ALEX WITTWER/PSU VANGUARD Between blaring car horns, Daniels’ megaphone was passed around to attendees wanting to address the crowd. In front of the gate to Mahonia Hall, David Medina spoke through the megaphone about his motivation for starting the group “Oregonians for Trump,” ending his speech with a message to the younger generation at the rally. “You’re going to be faced with a lot of decisions, it’s not going to be popular to stand up for what we believe in,” Medina said. “You’re going to be unfollowed, you’re going to be unfriended, you’re going to be smeared, but you have to understand what you do and what you stand up for—as long as it aligns with what God says is right, as long as it aligns with what the Bible says is right—you will never go wrong and God promises he’ll never forsake us.” Mark Zimel shared with the crowd a letter to the editor written to the Douglas County Herald, a weekly newspaper in Douglas County, Missouri, by Dr. Kimberly Brady, M.D. Brady’s speculative letter does not include any statements or facts, but consists of “what if” questions surrounding COVID-19. An excerpt from the letter states: “What if [Dr. Anthony] Fauci has close financial connections to Bill (the computer and vaccine salesman) Gates? What if natural immunity from a
RALLIERS HOLD AMERICAN FLAGS AND TRUMP BANNERS AT THE RALLY OUTSIDE OF MAHONIA HALL IN SALEM, OR. ALEX WITTWER/PSU VANGUARD
virus entering your system through the throat is far superior to a synthetic chemical cocktail called a vaccine shot into your body with a needle? What if the alleged COVID-19 deaths were mostly people who were already dying? What if your best defense against all viruses was a healthy immune system?” Following the oration of Brady’s letter, Zimel said: “We want to be guided by God and be faithful to him and we do not want to submit to fear pressure.” Through her megaphone, Daniels led the group in shouting “open Oregon now” in the direction of the Governor’s residence, and then the rally was over. “I would like [Governor Brown] to open up the state on Monday and everything [to] resume as usual,” Daniels said about what she hoped for next. “I’m willing to stand six feet apart from people, I’m willing to respect other people, but I don’t want my freedoms taken away. I want to be able to go to a restaurant. I want to meet with my girlfriends. I want to get a manicure. I want to get my haircut. I want to live.” Caroline, one of Governor Brown’s neighbors, was standing outside her home as the crowd dissipated. She said this was the second gathering outside of the Governor’s home. The first consisted of licensed childcare providers and took place a week earlier. “Those people last week were all wearing masks and I felt were very appropriately distancing themselves in contrast to [the reopen Oregon rally],” Caroline said. Caroline has two sons, one of whom was sick during Saturday’s rally and couldn’t rest due to the noise. She doesn’t mind peaceful protests and thinks freedom of speech is important, but didn’t like the trucks driving by, honking their horns. “I don’t agree with this message at all,” Caroline said about the reopen Oregon rally. “I don’t think a haircut is more important than safety, but people are entitled to say what they want to say as long as it’s done peacefully.”
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INTERNATIONAL
RAMADAN DURING THE PANDEMIC IDA AYU DWIJAYANTI
A SOCIALLY-DISTANCED RAMADAN
THE WANING CRESCENT MOON OVER AUSTRALIA, AS SEEN ON APRIL 22, 2020, INDICATES THE START OF RAMADAN IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE ISLAMIC LUNAR CALENDAR, HIJRI. CAZZJJ/FLICKR CREATIVE COMMONS
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With Ramadan just around the corner, Muslims all around the world will face difficulties in religious practices and going back to their home country during the COVID-19 pandemic. Many Muslims are relying on worship at home and online religious classes, along with planning virtual interfaith iftars, an evening meal in which people end their fast at sunset. While many have been praying that the pandemic would be lifted before this holy month, Texas-based imam Omar Suleiman feels the current situation may present an opportunity for growth. “Now we have a chance to develop empathy with those that have not had access to their religious spaces due to oppressive circumstances,” Suleiman said to PBS. “It’s very sad,” Seattle resident Maggie Mohamed said to PBS. “We were very excited. [But] I don’t take it as a punishment. I take it as a wake-up [call].” Mohamed was looking forward to going back to Egypt for Ramadan—however, with the spread of the pandemic, she is unable to have friends and relatives over for a potluck iftar, the breaking of the fast. Rahaf Alhusainan, an international student from Kuwait at Portland State, said “usually my family breaks their fast on the first day of the fasting month with the rest of the family, like my aunts, uncles and cousins. Also, three times a week we break our fast with my grandparents.” “Corona has impacted everyone of course, but especially during this Ramadan, my family won’t be doing the usual gatherings, and there’s also a curfew in Kuwait.” According to Worldometers, Kuwait has 3,075 cases, with 806 recovered and 20 deaths as of April 26. “Kuwait’s government is doing a great job,” Alhusainan said. “The government asked Kuwaiti citizens to go back home, because if we’re living and studying abroad, their government would not prioritize us first.” Jerusalem’s Al-Aqsa mosque will also be closed throughout the month of Ramadan due to the pandemic. Jerusalem Islamic Waqf, the Jordanian council that monitors religious sites, said the decision was “painful,” according to Al Jazeera. Israel reported 140 deaths and approximately 12,600 cases of coronavirus according to Al Jazeera. The Palestinian Authority recorded two deaths and nearly 400 cases in the West Bank and Gaza. All mosques in Gaza have been closed since March 25, and in the West Bank since March 14. During this time of uncertainty, religious holidays from different religions must be adapted to handle familiar rituals and cel-
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ebrations differently. Mohamed has struggled to work around the pandemic’s restrictions, as she always looks forward to the special Ramadan prayers, known as “taraweeh,” at the mosque and now she would just pray at home. In Iran, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khameini also reminded citizens to “remember to heed your prayers and devotions in your lonesomeness.” Mass gatherings are banned for the duration of the month, as the country is currently suffering one of the world’s worst outbreaks.
FOOD INSECURITY AND ECONOMIC VULNERABILITIES
The pandemic has affected global supply chains, causing desert nations such as the United Arab Emirates to change the way food is imported. This includes easing requirements for Arabic labeling and extending best-before periods, lowering duties and cramming extra cargo onto flights intended to repatriate citizens, according to Al Jazeera. As Gulf countries are more exposed to the whims of markets at a time of massive dislocation, food consumption has become an issue, as people prepare big family meals and desserts to break the fast during Ramadan. In the UAE, which has reported approximately 5,365 cases and 33 deaths, migrant blue-collar workers from Southeast Asia in the country’s construction and service sectors would be the most vulnerable community to price swings or shortages due to losing their jobs. In countries in Southeast Asia such as Malaysia, Brunei and Singapore, Ramadan bazaars where vendors sell food and drinks in open air markets and roadside stalls were banned. PBS reported vendors were bringing their businesses online through apps or other digital platforms during the upcoming fasting month. A trader in Malaysia’s southern Johor state, Mohamad Fadhil, said he was not able to do business at the bazaar, but just had to “be patient and follow orders” from the government. Souad Selim, an Egyptian citizen, reminisced about what all the changes this year mean for a cherished Ramadan ritual. “It’s hard to describe how much goodness and blessings Ramadan brings,” Selim told PBS. As the Ministry of Religious Endowments decided to suspend communal activities, even mass charity iftars around mosques in Egypt, Selim won’t be able to hand out meals on the streets. Daniel Moshashai, a geopolitics and infrastructure analyst for the Middle East at Castlereagh Associates, told Al Jazeera “policymakers are likely to double-down on tech-based solutions following the end of the crisis…technology will help in the much-needed localization, including for food production.”
INTERNATIONAL
WILDFIRE IN KYIV, UKRAINE CAUSES POLLUTION, RADIATION THREAT
EMILY PRICE Village fire practices set wildfires that reached Ukraine’s Chernobyl, leaving the air full of pollution and putting thousands at potential risk for radiation exposure. The fire was identified as being started by a 27-year old local resident on April 5 next to an abandoned farm. Traditionally, fires are set by villagers to clear land for farming. “I did that to get rid of grass,” the villager said to NBC News. Man-made fires are common practice in Ukraine, but are creating destruction. In April alone, Ukraine firefighters have extinguished 800 fires started by intentional burning of grass and debris, according to NBC News. Fires have caused damage to acres of trees. Once in the Zhytomyr region, a village council building accidentally caught fire. Aerial footage by Reuters showed black smoke in the sky while firefighters in helicopters rushed to put out flames. The footage reveals a 19-mile radius surrounding the Chernobyl site with blackened earth and charred stumps. Chernobyl is the site of the world’s worst nuclear accident in 1986, where a flawed Soviet reactor leaked radioactive materials into the atmosphere. The explosion killed 31 people and forced approximately 350,000 people to evacuate as a result. The emergency situations service in the region said the radiation levels in the exclusion zone have not changed since 1986. An exclusion zone now surrounds the nuclear plant. It spans approximately 1,000 square miles and was contaminated by radioactive fallout in 1986. Surrounding cities such as Pripyat were evacuated.
FIREFIGHTERS DREDGE OUT A CONTROL LINE OUTSIDE OF THE CHERNYOBL EXCLUSION ZONE TO REDUCE FIRE SPREAD ON APRIL 24, 2020. COURTESY OF UKRAINE STATE DEPARTMENT The Exclusion Zone Management Agency said the fires have burned more than 8,600 acres. 400 firefighters, 100 fire engines and several helicopters were deployed to the exclusion zone. Emergency workers managed to contain the fires that were reaching near the nuclear plant. NASA Worldview satellite images showed two fires which had extended into the exclusion zone, but are now under control. Few fires still remain and are “not large-scale and not threatening,” according to emergency service officials who spoke to NBC News. The radioactive background in the region is now within normal limits. The local responsible for the fire is now facing charges for starting the fire. According to ABC News, police have increased patrol in the exclusion zone surrounding Chernobyl. Greenpeace Russia suspects the fire is inching closer to the nuclear plant site. The Emergency Situation Services said on April 13, “according to satellite images taken on Monday, the area of the largest fire has reached 34,400 hectares,” adding a second fire is getting closer to the nuclear plant according to Reuters. The fire reached two kilometers from Pidlisny, a radioactive waste disposal site. Head of energy projects at Greenpeace Russia, Rashid Alimov, said the fires can spread by the wind and disperse radionuclides, which are atoms that emit radiation. “A fire approaching a nuclear or hazardous radiation facility is always a risk,” Alimov said. Chernobyl tour operator Yaroslav Yemelianenko stated on Facebook the fire was expanding to the abandoned city of Pripyat,
two kilometers where “the most highly active radiation waste of the whole Chernobyl zone is located.” “The situation is critical,” Yemelianenko stated. “The zone is burning.” The fires have destroyed ecosystems, abandoned villages and smoke has spread to nearby cities. Only 80 miles south from the fires, the city of Kyiv is now covered with polluted air and smoke that has been spreading since April 3, according to NBC News. Residents in Kyiv are under lockdown because of the coronavirus pandemic and have been advised to remain indoors. Residents are unable to have any access to fresh air or open windows, as the air is reported to be bitter and dries nostrils. BBC World News captured photos of acrid smoke blanketing Kyiv. Officials tested the air in Kyiv and did not find any manmade contamination. Authorities are searching for a solution for grass fires, but they have become a common practice in Ukraine. While forest fires are relatively common, Greenspace Russia says this was the worst fire in the area since the 1986 accident. “Our society is on the verge of development when we can’t afford to preserve such extreme traditions anymore,” said Sergiy Zibtsev, head of the Regional Eastern Europe Fire Monitoring Center, to NBC News. “It is also time to educate people,” Zibtsev said. “Tell them about the damage they cause by burning the grass. They destroy wildlife, and release pollutants from the dry grass near the towns and the exclusion zone.”
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COVER
ADJUNCTI WHAT IT’S LIKE TO BE A PART-TIME PROFESSOR
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COVER ADJUNCT SENIOR INSTRUCTOR OF SPANISH ELI RONICK SITS OUTSIDE HIS NORTHEAST PORTLAND APARTMENT. ALEX WITTWER/PSU VANGUARD
AIDAN KENNELLEY “PSU students would be stunned to learn many of their professors work part-time odd jobs as servers, bartenders, Lyft drivers or anything else that’ll pay the bills,” said Eli Ronick, an adjunct professor in the Department of World Languages and Literatures at Portland State and Chair of Membership for Portland State University Faculty Association (PSUFA). “Many adjuncts communicate to me they are on some form of social welfare or find themselves one cancelled class away from not being able to pay rent or provide for their families,” Ronick said. According to NPR, adjuncts across the country typically make between $20,000–25,000 annually. Across the spectrum, this has led to financial horror stories from a variety of professors. In 2016, adjunct professors taught 47% of all classes at PSU. Being an adjunct professor in the American university system is no simple task. Adjuncts at PSU face a multitude of
ously; for one year I was teaching at three.” Jessie Herrada Nance, an adjunct professor in the English department at PSU, also works as an adjunct at PCC in order to make ends meet. According to Nance, working as an adjunct has made it particularly difficult to raise her child. “It’s hard having to split my time between schools,” Nance said. “I’d like to have the chance to put down roots somewhere and have more time to contribute to the campus community. Having to balance teaching at multiple campuses with childcare makes it hard for me to contribute at the level I would like to.” “My first years teaching at PSU, I made so little money I qualified for the Oregon Health Plan,” Jacob said. “But once I was making more than $16,000 per year, I didn’t qualify for OHP anymore, and it was really scary to not have any support from PSU in accessing affordable health insurance.” In an effort to improve conditions for adjunct faculty, many part-time professors are involved with PSUFA. With 40.8%
challenges, including unstable income, fear of job security and anxiety over being able to teach subjects they care deeply about. “I guess for me a major challenge is pursuing my profession— the only job I’ve ever had that I really enjoyed and felt like I was really good at—in a context where I don’t actually get to be a professional,” stated Jarrod Dunham, an adjunct professor in the English department at PSU. “It’s hard to really feel professionalized in a position where you’re arbitrarily kept from working full-time. It can be near impossible to pursue the research side of my field, which is the area where most of us originally found our passion and demonstrated our chops.” “One of the most painful aspects of being an adjunct is learning the stories from other adjuncts about the levels of disrespect they have experienced throughout their careers,” said Ariana Jacob, an adjunct professor in the PSU School of Art and Design. “I’ve met many adjuncts who worked hard to create whole programs for their department only to have someone else be hired into the full-time position that they built. Some of those adjuncts then lost their jobs altogether—others were asked to continue working part-time while the new fulltime hire stepped into the role they worked so hard to create.” Adjuncts are only allowed to operate in a part-time capacity, often so universities aren’t required to pay benefits, like health insurance. According to Jacob, the highest yearly salary most adjuncts can make at PSU is $23,468. As a result, some adjuncts split their time between various schools. Outside of PSU, Jacob teaches at Pacific Northwest College of the Arts, paired with support from her work as an artist and other side gigs. However, “I would not be able to survive on my income in Portland at this point were it not for the added support from my partner,” Jacob said. Dunham also teaches as an adjunct at Portland Community College. “In the past, I’ve taught at PCC Rock Creek, University of Portland and Clackamas Community College,” Dunham stated. “I’ve always taught at at least two schools simultane-
active members, PSUFA represents about 1,500 part-time faculty members every academic year. Dunham is a steward for PSUFA, operating as a liaison for adjuncts in his department looking for support from the union. Jacob plays a critical role as the chair of bargaining for PSUFA. The union’s primary goals are raising adjunct pay to match the lowest paid full-time faculty, supporting access to affordable healthcare and creating real job security, according to Jacob. “Adjuncts love teaching and depend on this work,” Jacob said. “We need to be able to depend on PSU. We are also advocating for more state funding for higher education to make it more affordable for students. As adjuncts, we know what it is like to live with the burden of student debt and we are committed to ending the student debt crisis. Affordable public higher education is necessary for a democratic society, so we all need to work to change the system so higher ed is adequately supported.” Ronick is the Chair of Membership for PSUFA. His work entails talking with fellow adjuncts about their experiences at PSU and informing them of the benefits of joining the union. Herrada Nance is also a member of PSUFA, whose biggest concern is healthcare. “Right now, members of the union are working as part of a joint task force with members of university administration, who are researching how to support adjuncts’ access to affordable healthcare,” Nance said. “This would be huge for my family. Right now, we depend on the health insurance my spouse gets from his employer. If anything happened to his job, we would struggle to find affordable health insurance.” When asked about the status of adjunctification at large in America, part-time professors tend to agree; it is a crisis. With COVID-19 affecting nearly every aspect of the American workforce, these teachers are fearful of the impacts it will have on their profession. “What I know is a lot of adjuncts across the country have already lost their jobs and many, many more are likely to lose
them soon,” Jacob said. “We already know PSU is projecting adjunct and grad assistant cuts for next year. Even though adjuncts cost schools so much less to employ than full-time faculty, our jobs will be cut first because the adjunct portion of a school’s budget is considered disposable.” “Many universities are already struggling financially,” Herrada Nance said. “I’m worried hiring freezes and other economic issues will push more universities to depend on part-time contracts to cover their teaching needs. Depending on parttime work to cover a large percent of classes is not a sustainable long-term solution, and I am concerned this will worsen the trend of adjunctification in the U.S.” While the current pandemic has incited a great deal of anxiety among adjuncts, many believe it isn’t the root of the problem. Instead, they view it as an event that has exposed systematic economic problems inside and outside the university system. “In the bigger picture, the adjunct crisis is a manifestation or iteration of other things we’re seeing in our society: the emergence of the gig economy, the increasing financial need among most American workers for credentials beyond a high school diploma and the general trend toward privatization in our society,” Dunham stated. “The gig economy is a phenomenon that far predates COVID-19,” Ronick said. “For years, universities nationwide have cut tenure-track and full-time positions in favor of adjuncts while at the same time implementing steep tuition hikes for students. During this same period, upper administration salaries across the country have ballooned to large six-figure sums. Until we are adequately compensated for the work we do, adjuncts will continue to be treated as cheap and expendable labor by universities, trends that will be heightened by pandemics or any other market downturn.” Every spring, PSUFA negotiates with the university regarding policies for the following academic year. The union recently published “The Adjunct Experience Letters,” a collection of personal stories from a variety of part-time professors. PSUFA hopes these letters will shed light on the dire nature of the adjunct crisis at PSU, facilitating positive changes to the university’s adjunct policies. Jacob believes there are five key components to fixing the adjunct crisis. First, taxing wealth and business to cultivate consistent revenue for public higher education. Second, capping all public higher education salaries at a reasonable amount. Third, bundling classes taught by adjuncts into full-time positions with benefits. Fourth, labor law reform that benefits gig workers, and fifth, electing officials who will institute universal health coverage. “Around 50 PSU administrators and other employees make over $150,000 per year in salary, while student workers, staff and adjuncts are told there is no money for raises,” Jacob said about the salary cap. With social distancing inhibiting opportunities for dialogue between PSUFA and the university, Jacob expects virtual negotiations to begin soon. The uncertainty of the pandemic is likely to figure prominently in the discussions. Updates on negotiations can be found on PSUFA’s website.
IFICATION
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ARTS & CULTURE
SONGS TO PUNCH A FUCKING WALL TO RELATABLE ANGST FROM CAR SEAT HEADREST, FIONA APPLE AND MORE NICK TOWNSEND Whether you’re working in an essential service, stuck in home with a spouse and/or children or completely isolated from the outside world, there’s an incredible amount of frustration building in America. It’s natural to feel tension during a global crisis, and while self-care is important, sometimes you just need to punch a fucking wall. Here’s music to keep you company during that.
1937 STATE PARK CAR SEAT HEADREST 2016
KILL YOUR MASTERS
Car Seat Headrest is the stage name of Will Toledo, who gained his fame recording Bandcamp albums in the back of his parent’s car in Virginia. His discography is a testament to teen angst. Toledo’s songs often focus on the loneliness of being a gay teenager unable to come to terms with his identity, as on “Beach Lifein-Death” when Toledo sings, “I pretended I was drunk when I came out to my friends. I never came out to my friends.” On “1937 State Park,” Toledo struggles with an unhealthy relationship that provokes his own self-loathing. Anyone stuck in quarantine with a long-overdue breakup can relate.
Since joining forces under the name Run the Jewels in 2013, El-P and Killer Mike have become some of the most critical voices in rap. Killer Mike in particular is known for his long standing activism against systemic racism and in favor of progressive politics and collective activism. This bent shines through on “Kill Your Masters,” which features Rage Against The Machine vocalist Zack de la Rocha with a guest verse. The lyricism is poignant and precise, attacking police shootings, corporate media and the entire system of exploitation the musicians see in the world. The message of “Kill Your Masters” is self-evident.
RUN THE JEWELS 2016
WHAT ARE THEIR NAMES DAVID CROSBY 1971
Crosby got his start as a member of the 1960s counterculture, founding both the Byrds and Crosby, Stills, and Nash (and Young). He sang onstage at Woodstock and co-wrote “Ohio,” one of the most notable protest songs of the Vietnam War period. He’s no stranger to angst and rage at large structures of power. “What Are Their Names” starts with sparse, improvised guitar picking and builds to an angry peak. The only verse of the song, sung by a defiant and demanding Crosby, opens with “Who are the men who really run this land? And why do they run it with such an awful hand?” If that doesn’t resonate today, nothing does.
II B.S. - EDIT
CHARLES MINGUS 1963
FETCH THE BOLT CUTTERS FIONNA APPLE 2020
LIFE
SABA 2018
DANA TOWNSEND The Chicago-based rapper’s 2018 album “CARE FOR ME” was written in the months following his cousin’s death. Saba’s cousin and collaborator Walter Long Jr. was stabbed by an unknown attacker while exiting the L train in Chicago in 2017. The tragedy marked a shift in Saba’s career, dropping his youthful and carefree persona from previous albums for a darker and more meditative approach to hip hop. On “LIFE,” Saba condemns a system that would “auction off the kids that don’t fit their description of a utopia (black)” and rather see him dead than succeed. The problems of living under quarantine can never match the trauma of Chicago life that Saba documents, but any listener can grab onto the loneliness that Saba feels.
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PSU Vanguard • APRIL 28, 2020 • psuvanguard.com
Mingus remains one of the most inscrutable figures of the postbop jazz heyday. He wrote an autobiography that is mostly fictional. He composed a four-movement jazz ballet with the liner notes written by his psychotherapist. It was never choreographed. His music is at times self-reflective and at other times entirely projective. “II B.S.” pulses with energy, starting with Mingus solo on bass and adding band members one-by-one, building to a cacophony of sound and color. The track is a rerecording of the 1958 “Haitian Fight Song,” about which Mingus wrote “I can’t play it right unless I’m thinking about prejudice and hate and persecution, and how unfair it is.” Though there are no lyrics, Mingus’s anger shines clear through.
It’s been out for less than two weeks, but Fetch the Bolt Cutters is already being heralded as one the best albums of the year. Fionna Apple’s fifth album is her first release in eight years, and was recorded almost entirely in her home studio. There’s really nothing to say about Fetch the Bolt Cutters that hasn’t been said by every music critic in the industry, but the timing of its release, during the coronavirus pandemic, has only amplified the album’s themes of isolation, confinement and yearning for freedom and self-determination. Apple said it best in a Genius annotation, writing “The message in the whole record is just: Fetch the fucking bolt cutters and get yourself out of the situation that you’re in—whatever it is that you don’t like.”
ARTS & CULTURE
“BAD INDIAN” J.C. MEHTA’S POETRY COLLECTION IS ABOUT IDENTITY AND ACCEPTANCE NICK GATLIN “Bad Indian” is many things. In the Trump era, it might read as a powerful expression of Native identity in a nation that seems intent on erasing those experiences. One might trace author J.C. Mehta’s life story through these pages, reading the book as a kind of poetic memoir. However, more than a simple political statement or autobiography, “Bad Indian” expresses in a raw, personal way what it means to be Native and look white, and what it means to never really belong anywhere. It expresses what it means to be disconnected from one’s heritage and to be met with furrowed brows and strange looks, and to be called a “Pretendian” by fellow Natives. It expresses what it means to be surrounded on all sides by a hostile world baffled by one’s mere existence. It explores the ups and downs of love, loss, crisis and reconciliation—the broad strokes of which we all share, but which shine forth most clearly when told from the singular, visceral lens of lived experience. “Bad Indian” is a book about life. An author, poet and novelist, Mehta has written much about her experience as an indigenous woman and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. Her previous works include “Gimme the Familiars,” a retelling of Cherokee myths, and “Savagery,” an collection of poetry on indigenous life in post-colonial America. Mehta has been writing poetry since first grade—“as long as I could write”— and says it’s her “best form of communication.” She writes novels and other books too, but they “weren’t as organic… they felt a lot more like a different kind of work than poetry is.” She is a native Oregonian, and gets much of her inspiration from the landscape of the Pacific Northwest. The coronavirus pandemic hasn’t changed her work schedule much, but she says her “inspiration”—a word she’s hesitant to use—“came of naturally… being in the woods, specifically in the Pacific Northwest outdoors.” You can sense some of the Northwest in the breezy, cozy style of her writing. Some poems instantly transport you to the shores of Cannon Beach in late summer, while others bring you to the cool urban hiking trails of early spring. The image on the cover of “Bad Indian” is a red painted handprint, representing the Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women movement. MMIW calls attention to the vast disparities facing Native women, who are murdered at 10 times the national average rate—mostly by non-Native men—and die from every major cause other than Alzheimer’s disease at a higher rate as well.
One poem, “mURDERED & mISSING iNDIGENOUS wOMEN,” is written in a memorable lipogram style, where the stanzas spell out the phrase “murdered and missing indigenous women.” Mehta uses her voice and her experiences throughout the book to bring focus to the epidemic of death faced by Native women on all sides. Eating and food play a major role in Mehta’s worldview, and it shows in her poetry. She details her struggles with anorexia in poems such as “How I Like My Women:” “I like my women slight and frail, bones / hollowly light, ribcages pressed / like prison bars against the skin…that remind me of how exquisite we are / and of all I’ll never be.” But food can also be a point of triumph, and of love, as in “Eating:” “A man makes love the way he eats, you / always devoured the daal / like a starving animal, thick fingers / yellowed with turmeric…Afterward, you did the same / to me, tearing at my flesh, hungry / and never sated.” The use of food to symbolize love, or lack thereof, for oneself and others runs strong through the book. The most prominent theme in “Bad Indian” is the one that inspired the title. Mehta’s experience as a Native who looks white is the driving force for this collection. She writes of her alienation from her heritage in “Rezervations,” where she recalls she was “reserved, too quiet, too white, and I left / my shoes on indoors.” The book’s eponymous poem describes insults from both whites and Natives, one part reading, “Once an elder / vet spit on my wanting / cheekbones, my braids, that I didn’t know / Lakota.” Mehta is “half-Cherokee, half-white,” and has said she can “pass” for white much of the time. As she writes, her “Indian summers were literal,” because she didn’t grow up on the reservation, only spending summers there. “Bad Indian” is reflective of her experience of never “belonging” anywhere fully, and her feelings of being a “bad Indian” for not being fully integrated with her heritage or the Native community. That feeling of “straddling two different worlds” comes through in her poetry, in the oscillations between themes and the different contexts one idea can exist in at once. Food becomes a punishment in one case, and a vessel for warmth and love in another. Identity can be a cudgel to tear one down or an invitation to be part of a community. Mehta’s poetry straddles the line between these extremes effortlessly, and gives us a glimpse into what it’s like to be half-Cherokee, half-white. AUTHOR J.C. MEHTA. COURTESY OF BRICK MANTEL BOOKS.
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OPINION
THE RETURN TO NORMAL WHILE THE PANDEMIC STRETCHES ON, THE IDEA OF NORMAL CONTINUES TO CHANGE
AJ EARL As locales like Georgia and Las Vegas rush to open the doors to their businesses during this pandemic, Oregon and Washington remain wary. Although normal might mean getting a haircut or going to the gym as recent coordinated protests have suggested, the concept has taken on a more humane form as administrators of states, cities and public and private institutions have begun the process of this return to what is quickly becoming a changed world. “We will only reopen Oregon if the data shows we can do so without jeopardizing public health,” Oregon Governor Kate Brown’s office stated in a recent press release. This fundamental notion of a deliberate effort of minimizing harm has been central to the responses of what is now a coalition of Western states. In Oregon, Washington and California, a cooperative agreement now governs a large part of these states’ response. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler’s office also released a statement, stating “We are doing a lot of research and thinking about what ‘reemergence’ looks like. We need to come out
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of the stay home order safely, responsibly, and sustainably. There are a number of important questions about what systems need to be in place for our community to do that (testing, contact tracing, etc.). This will be a decision that will be made in close partnership with our county, regional, and state partners.” Likewise, Portland State has expressed a desire to center the health and well-being of students in its approach to recovering from this pandemic. With plans to continue online learning through the end of the summer term, PSU is working to ensure students can access courses and engage with campus services with as little interruption as possible. The Office of Information Technology is in the process of purchasing more laptops for rental, largely through the PSU Foundation’s Resilience Fund; at present, there are 330 laptops available for student checkout. OIT is also providing personal wireless hotspots for students that might lack internet connectivity, and it has created a resource list for students who are looking for low-cost internet service.
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NORMAL MAY PROVE ELUSIVE
The Oregon Legislature typically adjourns early in spring on a day called sine die. This year, however, House and Senate leaders have continued to work, convening their joint emergency board for pandemic response. With leaders from various departments of state government participating, this board might prove critical to Brown’s decision to hold a special session this year. Brown has hesitated to call a special session this year, though she has hinted at one. As Congress continues its game of chicken on stimulus funding for states, Brown suggested she will possibly convene a special session if funding necessitates one. “Once we have sufficient clarity about the federal stimulus, I will call a special session and ask lawmakers to take further action,” Brown stated via a press release to the media in early April. However, this special session might not materialize. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has suggested he’s had enough of stimulus spending now that his caucus’ priorities have more or less been met. “There’s
not going to be any desire on the Republican side to bail out state pensions by borrowing money from future generations,” Sessions stated, calling broad support to states’ “blue state bailouts.” After an initial round of direct payments to Americans, funding for states, critical to resuming normal operations, seems to be evaporating. Still, normalcy is a tantalizing promise for voters who are proving wary of moving too quickly on dropping various levels of isolation and movement restrictions.
“I NEED A HAIRCUT!”
While polling has largely moved toward caution around reopening states, a variety of protests, generally organized by conservative and far-right political operatives, have called for an immediate halt to limitations on commerce and socialization. Their rallying cries? “I need a haircut!” Despite strong opposition to a hasty retreat from public health measures, these protests have called restrictions on public life tyranny and violations of freedom. With most protests
OPINION
featuring people clustered closely together, few wearing masks, the image is stark, but only two images have caught the public imagination: calls for haircuts and health professionals attempting to disrupt these protests. The image of nurses and medical professionals standing in roads, blocking so-called blockades of state houses, has given the protests a specific message—these protests are about health versus personal liberties. The message is not novel, however, as various commentators, including Texas Lieutenant Governor Dan Patrick, have suggested loss of life is acceptable, pointing out the average age of those dying from COVID-19 and stating that people over a certain age are not as important as resuming commerce. Saying “there are more important things than living,” Patrick went on to tell Tucker Carlson, “We gotta take some risks and get back in the game.” For his part, Patrick included himself among those of a certain age who are apparently expendable.
COMING BACK FROM CRISIS
There isn’t a date or timeline for reopening Oregon or Washington, and the governors of these states have not made any suggestion or prediction to that end. Instead, in both states, restrictions will rely heavily upon the recommendations of medical professionals. “Health outcomes will be the ultimate metric guiding decisions to reopen communities—we will only reopen Oregon if the data shows we can do so without jeopardizing public health,” Brown’s office stated in its press release. There are some indications that Oregon’s efforts have been successful at what health officials have defined as “flattening the curve,” with deaths remaining below 100 and a low infection rate compared to other states. That
low rate has relied heavily upon the various measures implemented early in the pandemic, shuttering all non-essential businesses and moving to limit public circulation. This brings the conversation back to the concept of normal. Since March 23, Oregonians have been unable to hold social gatherings, visit gyms, salons, spas, travel to state parks or even eat at sit-down restaurants. Normal has become a mix of indoor activities with those within your household, online classes, working from home and limited trips to the grocery store. For those that work in essential businesses, normal also includes working with the public while balancing strict measures meant to keep people within a defined “social distance” of six feet from others. University students have also been challenged to recreate their lives. PSU is among the many universities that have online instruction for an undefined length of time, with many requiring off-campus instruction until at least the end of summer terms. Normal, then, is now a function of how well a person can adapt to distant communication and interactions.
FACULTY FIGHT FOR STABILITY
For students, the new normal requires adaptation to a new manner of learning, one that is more personal than so-called MOOCs, or Massively Open Online Courses, but often less personally engaged than in-person classes. Online learning and engagement systems like PSU’s D2L and the video conference program Zoom have made courses strongly reliant on bringing students into a world of bandwidth and e-books, and the current pandemic has intensified the pace of this shift. Since the days of correspondence courses, the idea of an entirely distant but personal-
ized education has remained a goal of education administrators and institutions. This move, in fits and starts, has shifted the pedagogic approach of many faculty members, with computer learning first entering the equation through testing and slowly encroaching on other aspects of the learning experience. Professors, once students themselves, are increasingly entering the teaching field having had hands-on exposure to online learning, but few, aside from faculty at online universities like Phoenix University, have had an entirely digital teaching life. Courses that require heavy face-to-face teaching throughout multiple sessions a term are now reliant on green screens, slide shows and chat rooms. For the arts and humanities, legal studies and other textbook courses, this does not present the barriers that classes attempting to teach clinical or physical sciences with heavy hands-on instruction face. Even so, advocates for professors have been clear on the limitations of this shift during the COVID-19 crisis. “Institutions should acknowledge that transitioning a course to an online environment in a one-time crisis does not necessarily mean the course can be successfully taught in an online environment under normal conditions, and does not obligate the faculty member to teach the course online in the future,” the American Association of University Professors stated, arguing institution-wide online teaching is an exception and not the norm. This hesitation to adopt online learning comes amid a years-long effort to slash faculty budgets and move more and more teaching positions to adjuncts. As a result, faculty advocates have been extremely hesitant to cheer on shifts to online teaching, especially organizations that primarily champion tenure-track professors.
This type of firewall against further diminishment of the importance of faculty in decisions on pedagogic and instructional direction has become a bulwark against unnecessary cuts under the guise of crisis, but hasn’t protected all universities. At University of Oregon, strongly reliant on sports for funding and with a large on-campus population, worker furloughs have put over 200 employees on the inactive list.
ADAPTING AND MOVING FORWARD
For a world now trapped in the uncertainty brought on by COVID-19, the landscape seems dramatic and uneven, but resolve has been a common thread throughout. Until a vaccine is found, tested and administered to the public, at least 18 months out by some estimates, many nations including the United States will now have to conduct their lives with an eye toward potential rolling closures and long-term shuttering of some institutions. Business failures and economic recession will be the norm for some time and the resulting layoffs will mean a struggle to advocate for support for increasing numbers of vulnerable people in our communities. For the most vulnerable, this will likely mean competing against larger and larger numbers of people for dwindling services. The new normal, then, is likely to be one defined by questions of how we help our neighbors. If the current system, the one now struggling to correct itself in this crisis, is incapable of answering the moral and ethical questions that have arisen, then it is insufficient in its totality. Normal, our business-as-usual approach, will have to be completely remade. As institutions like PSU and the Oregon state government have established, that process is already happening.
BRANDON PAHNISH
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SPORTS
Robot referees in basketball
Could artificial intelligence be the future of error-free officiating? SPENCER GARFIELD The world of technology in sports at the professional and collegiate level has undergone a series of changes over the past eight decades. 1936 was the first year people across the globe were able to watch sports events on the television, and since then technology has become a necessary aspect of sports. However, one staple has shined on throughout history—human officials and referees. Since 1896, when judges for the Olympic Games brought their own stopwatches to keep time, several professional sports have relied on technology or artificial intelligence (AI) to make critical calls. Wimbledon implemented computer technology in tennis in 1980 to determine whether a ball is out or on the line, and football turned to instant replay in 1986 to overturn missed calls. Without instant replay, spectators in the crowd may have been confused as to how the Oregon Ducks scored a touchdown in the 2014 PAC-12 Championship after Kaelin Clay of the Utah Utes dropped the football at the 1-yard line in an early celebration. Without AI in tennis, line judges would rely on human error to determine if a ball is out, even if it means getting it wrong within 3.6 millimeters. Who could forget the moment Michael Phelps won the 2008 Olympic gold medal in the butterfly? Phelps beat his opponent by 1/100th of a second. Had by-the-millisecond touchpads not been invented yet, who’s to say who would have won? Basketball referees are not exempt from error either. NBA officials have caused controversy over the years in several ways, most famously Tim Donaghy, who spent 15 months in prison for gambling and fixing professional basketball matches.
With sports gambling continually on the rise, questions have been raised as to whether or not switching to AI officiating in NBA basketball could have an impact on the betting scene. Would gamblers be more comfortable placing a bet on a game knowing there would be zero mistakes made by the officials? NBA players have voiced their own opinions on whether or not AI should be implemented as referees. Former Golden State Warriors teammates Kevin Durant and Stephen Curry fall on opposite ends of opinion. Durant, in an interview at annual technology convention TechCrunch Disrupt, said he prefers “human judgement” during games and joked he could get away with more lax or petty fouls that a robot would catch. Curry, on the other hand, supports the idea, though claims he would still argue bad calls despite a robot’s near-perfect accuracy. Basketball referees can get into especially hot water when they miss critical calls in the final minutes of games. Mark Bartruff—a Division 6A high school referee with experience officiating college basketball games and NBA scrimmages—supported the idea that a referee could get fined if they blow a call that determines the outcome of a game. However, Bartruff also noted that everybody makes mistakes, and the end of a game means the end of the game—period. “Somebody won and the other one lost...after review, I [saw] we missed that call. But, oh well,” Bartruff said. When asked about the concept of involving robot referees in NBA officiating, Bartruff responded, “Robots are involved already. All the time.”
JOHN ROJAS
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PSU Vanguard • APRIL 28, 2020 • psuvanguard.com
SPORTS
AI is used in basketball not only in slow motion replay, but for ball and player movement on the court. Since 2013, there have been SportVU cameras set up in every NBA arena to track players and ball movement in order to record stats and gameplay for teams across the league. As the sports world experiences the fallout of COVID-19, conversations are taking place regarding changes to longstanding practices that wouldn’t have otherwise occurred. Specifically as it relates to COVID-19, the implementation of AI officiating could play a role in limiting human contact and keeping players and coaching staff safer during games. NBA commissioner Adam Silver said the NBA season could continue without fans present at games, saying “It was a larger decision than just the NBA.” Hypothetical conversations—like the possibility of robot referees—can be considered more seriously as league officials contemplate the future of their sport in light of the disruption caused by COVID-19. More frequently when this possibility has been considered, the discussion has focused around eliminating referee error. Basketball is regarded as a fast-paced game, which can make it easy for a referee to make mistakes. This was all too apparent in the February 7 NBA matchup between the Portland Trail Blazers and the Utah Jazz. In the last seconds of the fourth quarter, Blazers point guard Damian Lillard drove to the basket and shot a layup, resulting in an illegal goaltend from Jazz center Rudy Gobert. Except in this case, there was no call on the play, which made it impossible for Trailblazers coach Terry Stotts to use his Coach’s Challenge. A Coach’s Challenge allows a coach from either team to stop gameplay at a specific moment during a game when they believe a call has been missed, forcing the referees to review the video cameras. This challenge may only be used once, and can only be implemented if a call is made. It does not account for a no-call like the play missed in the Portland versus Utah game. At the time of the play, referee Josh Tiven claimed he had not seen the goaltend and maintained that stance despite the Trailblazers’ pleads for a replay of the video. The Blazers would go on to lose the game 117-114. Following the game, the NBA acknowledged the officials had missed the call. Currently, there are no NBA rules in place to protect a team from being the victim of a no-call, which leaves a gray area for referees to make severe mishaps. Scenarios
like this one bring to light the possibilities that could be opened by using AI referees in NBA games to eliminate costly missed calls. Fair play is a critical element in sports. No team wants to feel they’ve been shorted or overrun by a referee who is not 100% accurate. The primary factor brought up in opposition of AI officiating is the impact on the pace of the game. Would robotic referees make NBA basketball too slow? Any small infraction that can be picked up by a robot designed to catch fouls would cause more stoppages during games, and that’s not stimulating for the fans. Karen Levy, a professor of law and information science at Cornell University, claimed fans wouldn’t want every minor foul or offense to be called, stating that these would create “a more mechanical and pedantic game.” Some believe AI referees in basketball would change the fan experience, slowing down the game significantly and unnecessarily. There is also the possibility that AI referees would increase the number of NBA players fouling out each season, since perfect accuracy would increase the number of foul calls that would otherwise go unnoticed. Another important aspect when considering the implementation of AI referees in NBA basketball—let alone other sports—is the job losses so many will face. There are 70 staffed NBA officials, and a staggering 950 in D1 college basketball alone. That’s more than 1,000 people without jobs if they were to be replaced by robots. According to a study by the Center for Business and Economic Research at Ball State University, over 85% of job loss from the years 2000–2010 was due to automation development replacing human production. Few could argue sports would be the same without the technological advancements that track athlete’s abilities and statistics to help further their development. The question is, are things moving too quickly? Sports were created for people to enjoy themselves in a competitive setting. If all of the control is placed into the hands of robots, will that dull the experience for fans? Basketball, like every sport, evolves with time. Undoubtedly there are future technological advancements to come, but the human aspect of referees will always be at the heart of basketball. As Bartruff said, nobody’s perfect. NBA players work on their game just as referees review tape, looking for ways they can improve themselves for next time.
PSU Vanguard • APRIL 28, 2020 • psuvanguard.com
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COMICS
DANA TOWNSEND
DEHYDRATION STATION
PLAYING SPOONS
DANA TOWNSEND