Portland State Vanguard Volume 78 Issue 27

Student Media speak s with Cudd

PSU discusses diversity amidst IELP cuts and keeps ties with Boeing P. 4–5

Opinion: Cop cities are popping up with devastating social and ecological impact

P. 6

Arts: Cuba Solidarity Club aims to educate against U.S. narrative about embargo

P. 8–9

Science: PSU replicates UW study looking for illicit drug residue on transit

P. 10

STAFF

NEWS

CO-NEWS

ARTS

Macie Harreld

SCIENCE & TECH

Anish Kumar Arumugam

OPINION

Cameron Rodriguez

MULTIMEDIA

Alberto Alonso Pujazon Bogani

SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR

Josi Struck

ONLINE AND PROMOTIONS EDITOR

Alley Henrici

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

Aishwarya Suresh

COPY CHIEF

Isabel Zerr

CONTRIBUTORS

Amber Finnegan

Diana DeGroot

Milo Loza

Thuyu Gedi

Isaiah Burns

PRODUCTION & DESIGN

CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Briana Cieri

DESIGNERS

Arianna Thomas

Haley Hsu

Abby Raymundo

Parker Patnode

TECHNOLOGY & WEBSITE

TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS

George Olson

Hongzu Pan

Sara Ray

ADVISING & ACCOUNTING

COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA

Reaz Mahmood

SALP ACCOUNTANT

Maria Dominguez

STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR

Rae Fickle

To contact Portland State Vanguard, email editor@psuvanguard.com

MISSION STATEMENT

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.

ABOUT

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 online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com.

PRESS CONFERENCE WITH PRESIDENT CUDD

CUDD SPEAKS ON IELP CUTS, BOEING AND MORE

ALYSSA ANDERSON

On March 1, Portland State Vanguard, The Pacific Sentinel, Sub-Basement Studios and KPSU held a press conference with PSU President Ann Cudd. During the conference, Cudd answered questions written by Vanguard and The Pacific Sentinel, as well as some submitted by PSU students, their families and other community members.

DIVERSITY ON CAMPUS

In a recent strategic planning meeting, it was announced that PSU is becoming a majority BIPOC serving institution.

“I see the demographics changing in the nation and also on our campus, although I believe that our demographic is even more diverse than the city of Portland itself,” Cudd said. “As I talk to industries and other employers around, they are really eager for a diverse talent pipeline. We need to have a diverse student body in order to be a really exciting, innovative, creative group of scholars and students. So I think that’s… among the reasons it’s really important for us to become [a] more diverse campus.”

However, some students have consistently voiced concern about the university’s treatment of diverse students.

“PSU claims that it has a very diverse student body—that it takes care of its students—but it does not,” PSU student Shams Mahmoud said “Whether that’s with arming the cops [or] the campus security here, whether that’s Boeing, whether that’s ignoring the calls for better hous-

ing—[there are] so many different issues that PSU routinely ignores or pushes under the rug… When it comes out, it’s really ugly, because it’s been suppressed for so long, and then it’s not brought up until there’s a boiling point.”

IELP CUTS

An anonymous email received by Vanguard explained how PSU plans to shut down the Intensive English Language Program (IELP)—a program designed to help international and other non-English speaking students learn English—at the end of this year. The emailer— who said they are a PSU alum and a former employee of the IELP—said they were appalled at this shortsighted decision.

“I am very dismayed at this demonstrated lack of investment in and lack of commitment to PSU’s international student population, domestic student population, instructional staff, and its image as a globally-minded institution,” the email stated. “PSU students, faculty, and staff deserve forward-thinking leadership, not whatever austerity-minded ‘rational economics’ garbage is driving this move.”

Despite the growing diversity on campus, Cudd said that PSU’s international student population has been declining since 2015. With these numbers steadily dropping, Cudd said certain cuts were made in the interest of sustainability—including the IELP. According to the emailer, Cudd also sought to shutter a similar program at her previous institution, the

University of Pittsburgh, allegedly without consulting the head of the program.

However, in a previous Vanguard article, Cudd referenced her participation in regaining funding for this program, and that this experience gave her the knowledge on how to avoid closing similar programs.

The closing of the IELP would also result in the termination of 12 faculty positions. This decision was originally reported in an issue of Currently—a newsletter with updates and information about the PSU workplace—to have been made in consultation with the full-time faculty union, PSU’s American Association of University Professors (PSU-AAUP). However, a newsletter published by PSU-AAUP explained that they were not consulted about this decision whatsoever.

“President Cudd’s announcement in Currently is an affront to our Collective Bargaining Agreement and betrays shared governance processes,” the newsletter stated. “It is a display of disrespect of the Faculty Senate, and of our union, which has been a stalwart for shared governance and bargaining rights at PSU since its inception in 1978.”

The newsletter has since been updated. “We will take the steps necessary with Faculty Senate and PSU-AAUP to act on this decision,” the updated report stated. “We are still in the process of negotiations about the exact process that will be applied.”

With only 30 students and 11 faculty mem-

bers currently in the program, Cudd said the program has become unsustainable for the university.

According to a 2021 Faculty Senate Report, plans to change or shut down the program have existed since at least 2021.

“We value our international students greatly,” Cudd said. “They add diversity. They add… different kinds of cultural backgrounds. And it’s just great to have students from all over the world. We’ll continue to support those students. We’ll continue to embrace them and hope that they continue to come. It is unfortunate that the numbers are dropping, but that’s really not our intention.”

Cudd explained how she is working with the administration to negotiate this change and find substitutions for this necessary program, and that more solidified plans will be announced later in the term.

In lieu of the IELP, Cudd said they will be seeking off-campus resources to support international and non-English speaking students. These students will potentially be rerouted to different colleges or programs in Portland which can offer them the same support.

“Learning English is certainly an important thing, and we want to help support our students in that,” Cudd said. “We’re going to have to find resources off campus to help our students… who need that to access the support. But we’re very dedicated [and] committed to finding ways to help our students who need support in the English language to get it here in Portland.”

TUITION

With tuition prices increasing each year, students are requesting more transparency on where their money is going. Cudd said she is endeavoring to be as transparent as possible about the allocation of funds and explained how tuition at PSU is, for the most part, lower than the other big universities in Oregon.

Cudd explained how the Student Fee Committee “looks under the hood” of everything that is funded by student fees and set recommendations. She also said that the university has budget forums where they give as much information as the community wants about the budget.

“We’re a state university,” Cudd said. “Our books are open. People can find where money is going. Part of the question, though, has to do with allocation, right? So not just transparency [and] knowing where it’s going, but how are the decisions made for allocating for this rather than that. And that’s what our budget forums are meant to help people weigh-in about.”

As a community, Cudd said we need to work to balance our needs regarding the allocation of funds. The strategic planning that is under way is, in part, focused on aligning the budget to make the right allocation decisions.

COURTESY OF SUB-BASEMENT STUDIOS

On March 1, President Cudd came to Vanguard’s office in the SMSU sub-basement for the end-of-term press conference

“Naturally… everybody will advocate for their own needs or their own interest or their own unit,” Cudd said. “And we have to—together as a community—balance that. We’re trying to do that right now with the strategic planning going on. We’re trying to get a really broad-based consensus about that strategic plan, so that we can use that to align the budget to make these kinds of allocation decisions that determine where [and] what kinds of amenities we might have, or support systems or academic programs.”

REARMING OF CPSO OFFICERS

The 2018 murder of Jason Washington—an unarmed Black man—by Campus Public Safety Office (CPSO) officers prompted the disarming of campus police. Last year, however, CPSO was quietly rearmed despite community concerns about the safety of BIPOC students and community members.

A previous Vanguard article reported that the decision to rearm officers was made due to an increase in violence on campus, but students have said they do not believe this is a valid reason for rearming.

“If that is true, I don’t think that that is sufficient reason to arm campus security officers or safety officers,” said PSU student Maureen Murphy in response to increased violence on campus. “I think the most important part is that they have proven that they should not be armed, because they killed someone. I grew up in a community that had a lot of gun violence, and in no way do armed police officers or security officers make me feel safer or make a situation safer.”

The article also cited a quantitative study done in 2020 by the Queer Resource Center at PSU that shows varying levels of comfortability interacting with campus officers, depending on identifying characteristics of gender.

Of the 565 students who responded, 62% of cisgender men agreed that they were comfortable talking to campus safety officers in passing, while only 42% of cisgender women agreed. Meanwhile, 75% of trans women “disagreed or strongly disagreed,” and no other gender minority had more than half of the respondents “agree or strongly agree.”

The same question posed using identifying characteristics of race illustrated a similar lack of comfortability with campus security in minority demographics. Of the 556 students who responded to this pair of questions, only 40% “agreed or strongly agreed,” 63% of whom identified as white. Of those identifying as African American/Black, Native American and Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander, 57% were in disagreement.

Despite these concerns, Cudd—who said she meets with CPSO Chief Willie Halliburton regularly—said she believes it is necessary for CPSO officers to be armed, since safety is an important concern on an urban campus. To increase the safety presence on campus, Cudd explained how they have added 10 student safety ambassadors and are looking to hire more. She also explained that she has been pleased to see how well CPSO has been using de-escalation techniques.

“I think, at this point, I agree with the chief [when he says] that he feels that it’s not safe to be disarmed at this point,” Cudd said. “We have continuing conversations about this and [are] continually monitoring that balance. And also, I think that the CPSO is doing a good job of just trying to be as friendly and welcoming to our students—all of our students—as possible to try to mitigate that feeling of not being safe.”

BOEING

Since 2016, students and community members have been urging the university to sever its ties with the multi-billion dollar weapons manufacturing company Boeing. Since the start of Israel’s genocide in Gaza—where Boeingmade bombs have been used to kill civilians— PSU students have ramped up their efforts to protest PSU’s ties with the company.

Despite the outcry from students, Cudd said she has no plans for the university to cut its ties with Boeing.

“We’ve heard the student complaint,” Cudd said. “We’ve considered it, and we are not changing our policy or our relationship with Boeing.”

According to Cudd, Boeing donated $150,000 to name a classroom in the Karl Miller Center and provided $28,000 a year for scholarships and emergency funds for students. Cudd also said that PSU has no direct investment in Boeing, but mentioned that an executive from Boeing currently sits on the advisory board for the School of Business, and hundreds of alums from both the School of Business and the Maseeh College of Engineering work for Boeing.

Cudd referenced an example of a positive experience a student had with Boeing, explaining how an accounting student was struggling in the program and searching for a pathway to something she was passionate about.

She explained that this student wasn’t familiar with Boeing before the career fair, but after applying for and earning an internship, she credited her incredible experience as a student with her career path and foundation for a wealth of opportunity to learn. Cudd pointed to the work Boeing has done to remove barriers for students who may not traditionally be

able to accept internships outside of Portland, including paying for relocation and housing during their internship.

“Our connection is in the students who apply for internships or who are employed by Boeing,” Cudd said. “So it is all very voluntary on the part of any student who accepts an internship, a scholarship or employment from Boeing. We’ve also heard from some alumni [who now] work at Boeing and… had internships while they were students at PSU. The feedback from them is just resoundingly positive, from those students who’ve benefited from this connection.”

Cudd assured students that this connection with Boeing does not violate any PSU policies, and that the administration views Boeing as a company doing great work with us as an educational institution.

“We’ve decided that—despite the fact that some students would prefer us not to do business with Boeing—we will continue to accept their support of our students,” Cudd said. “And any student is, of course, free to not accept that support, if they want.”

Students have consistently made arguments and spoke about how these ties directly impact them. “At this rally, we had someone talk about the U.S.-Mexico border, whose family actually was forced to migrate and nearly risked their lives coming through,” said Cody Urban, a member of the Resist U.S.-Led War Movement at a recent Cut Ties With Boeing rally. “The border fence and the entire border apparatus of the U.S. [is] funded by Boeing. They give surveillance drones. They actually give the planes that [the United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)] uses to fly migrants away when they’re captured by ICE. So that’s a major point.”

Urban discussed a speaker who talked about Boeing giving attack helicopters and bombs to the Philippine government, acting out U.S. interests and killing people, as well as the hellfire missiles, bombs, planes and more which Boeing has supplied to Israel in the ongoing genocide in Gaza.

“Right now we’re looking at Palestine, because of this genocidal assault that Boeing planes are being used in,” Urban said. “But from Mexico to Palestine to Somalia, this is affecting students across the world.”

When asked about students who may feel unsafe due to the Boeing connection, Cudd said she does not see how anyone would feel unsafe with Boeing’s presence on campus, especially since they provide scholarships and hardship funds. Instead, she said it is more of a political disagreement between Boeing and these students.

“It does seem a little arbitrary to me to choose Boeing, but there you go,” Cudd said. “I haven’t seen any logical reason to rethink this relationship with Boeing.”

JAN. 26 PROTEST

On Jan. 26, protesters entered the Board of Trustees meeting with megaphones chanting for PSU to cut its ties with Boeing. After board members left the meeting space and reconvened at a different location, protesters followed and continued their demonstration outside the meeting space. Protesters attempting to block board members’ vehicles from exiting the parking lot resulted in violent interactions between CPSO officers and protesters which were caught on video by Vanguard reporters.

Cudd described this as an egregious situation, and said that CPSO officers were using the least force possible to keep people safe and prevent further violence. She explained how protesters are allowed to peacefully protest not disrupt meetings. She said they are also welcome

to speak to the board, but that they have so far not been presented with an argument on why PSU should cut ties with Boeing.

“The protesters tried to push their way onto the elevator, and at that point a police officer did have to restrain that person,” Cudd said. “That person did also have the bullhorn in their hand. They had to restrain that person from molesting the board members.”

Mira, the person in question, was quoted in a previous Vanguard article where she said she did not touch any board members or CPSO officers.

“I was thrown around multiple times just because I wanted to tell [the Board of Trustees] and so they could hear,” Mira said. “In all recordings, I did not touch a single officer initially. I was pushed around and defending myself. It is pathetic. It is shameful. [CPSO] was completely not transparent—they were manipulative. They tried to trick us where the location was and quite frankly engaged to uphold the betrayal of our first amendment rights. So if anything, that is treason. That is treachery, and it is a shame that [CPSO] allege[s] to protect students when [they] target them and harm them.”

Though students have been campaigning for divestment from Boeing since 2016, Cudd said she has heard no valid argument as to why PSU should cut its ties with the company.

“There’s been no argument,” Cudd said. “There’s been no explanation. I’ve received no argument or explanation from, for example, a student body president who has simply repeated basically what you say, which is that the students don’t want Boeing here. We’re totally in favor of free speech. We’re totally in favor of protest. We help students learn how to do protests peacefully and civilly… We’re all about inquiry and dialogue and debate. I’d love to have that. That’s not what we’re getting. We’re getting violent protests.”

ISRAEL AND PALESTINE

When asked why PSU has not publicly called for a ceasefire in Gaza, Cudd explained how academic institutions like PSU must stay neutral on political matters, and that she viewed calling for a ceasefire to be taking a side on a political matter. Though she said it is important that she remained politically neutral in her role as president, Cudd said she is in favor of peace.

“What we want to do is generate debate and dialogue,” Cudd said. “We want to generate inquiry and not chill speech. Any professors are free to teach about these issues [or] make statements about these issues—so are all students, faculty and staff. They have free speech in their normal lives to do that. But anybody speaking for the institution should not be taking sides on foreign policy issues or political matters that are controversial among the students and the faculty and the staff and the community.”

Several students and their family members submitted questions regarding the safety of Jewish students on campus during this conflict. Cudd explained how the Building Community Through Dialogue Task Force will help to ensure the safety and comfort of all students on campus.

“The [task force] is meant to exactly address these issues,” Cudd said. “We have people from all sides… on that. Community members as well. We’re hoping that helps us to see more clearly what policies we might need or what practices we might need in order to help people feel safer and prevent violations of their civil rights.”

To watch the full interview with President Cudd, visit Sub-Basement Studios on Youtube or find the direct link in PSU Vanguard’s Instagram bio.

COURTESY OF SUB-BASEMENT STUDIOS

Alyssa Anderson, the Co-News Editor for PSUVanguard (left), and Shaelee Singer, a contributor with The Pacific Sentinel (right), conducted the press conference interview, talking about topics submitted by students and questions compiled our teams

COP CITIES AND THE MILITARIZATION OF VULNERABLE POPULATIONS

RESISTING WEAPONIZED DEFORESTATION

THUYU GEDI

From Atlanta to Oregon, cop cities are being built which constitute a significant danger to our community. These facilities add to the already disproportionate targeting of Black and Brown neighborhoods, amplifying already existing racial inequalities. Creating cop cities in predominantly Black and Brown areas perpetuates heightened surveillance and policing, thus continuing the cycle of mass incarceration in the most marginalized communities. Cop cities continue a pattern of colonization and occupation of Indigenous land, creating more harm to the land and the people with hyper-militarized force.

The first to be given the name “Cop City” was the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center. This is the city of Atlanta’s latest project to expand over-policing in Westside, a predominantly Black neighborhood classified as a gentrification pressure area.

With more than 70% of residents against the building of the training center, it’s no surprise community input has been minimal, both before and during the making of Atlanta’s Cop City. It’s evident the interests of private companies are being prioritized rather than the community struggling against unjust inequalities. Cop cities are something everyone should be aware of and watch closely, as they set a precedent for this country and its further mobilization toward fascism.

The mock city will be occupied with detonation-testing sites, shooting ranges and training simulations. Taxpayers bear the brunt of funding the project—contributing approximately $30 million—while the remainder comes from private philanthropy and corporate donors, including Chick-fil-A, Coca-Cola and Delta Airlines.

Currently under construction, the whopping $90-million 300-acre project casts its shadow upon the Old Atlanta Prison farm, a since-abandoned prison. The prison resides in the Weelaunee Forest, a 3,500-acre forest and original homeland of the Indigenous Muscogee Creek Nation.

Following the Indian Removal Act of 1830, the Muscogee Creek people were forcibly evicted from their homes. After the removal of Indigenous

peoples, the land was seized and transformed into slave plantations by white settlers.

The proposal of Atlanta’s Cop City brings about a multitude of dangers for the community and the environment. Building and operating such an expansive facility significantly affects our ecosystem, removing green space and polluting the land and water.

While the city of Atlanta claims the facility will only take up 85 acres, they’ve continued to clear more trees for the expansion of Atlanta’s Cop City, which could potentially result in habitat loss and impacted ecosystems.

Additionally, the ramifications of noise pollution arising from Atlanta’s Cop City will significantly impact wildlife, disrupting their innate behaviors and potentially inflicting long-term damage on populations.

Residents near the area often report the sound of gunfire, questioning the necessity of the supposedly-necessary training center. Merely the sound generated by cop cities poses as a trigger for people and animals alike.

In communities already grappling with social inequities, cop cities only validate mistrust towards the police, with heightened surveillance and personnel who are armed with military-grade weapons.

Furthermore, the paramilitary atmosphere could further militarize already violent policing tactics, specifically targeting Black people. It’s crucial to highlight that Atlanta’s Cop City is directly connected to Operation Shield, a law enforcement operation comprising nearly 11,000 surveillance cameras.

Both these projects serve as a harsh reminder that the city of Atlanta—like many cities nationwide—has a solid commitment to increasing police presence in attempts to intimidate and criminalize the Black population, posing a threat to the safety, well-being and humanity of Black people.

For the last three decades , the Atlanta Police Department has conducted training and information exchanges with Israeli Police Forces (IPF) and organizations. The IPF enforces and participates in the illegal

occupation of Palestine, often using extreme force and abusive tactics.

The methods of occupation shared by Israeli and Atlanta’s Cop City law enforcement are drastically similar. The attempts to occupy the South River region closely mirrors the unjust and authoritarian occupation of Palestinian land.

The objective is clear: to impose militarized conditions on Black citizens in the area, criminalize their activities and create a population who can be easily funneled into the prison industrial complex and forced to work slave labor.

Since the announcement of Atlanta’s Cop City, environmentalists and activists have staunchly opposed the project, highlighting concerns about the facility’s detrimental impact on the South River region. Defund the Atlanta Forest (DTF)—a collective of activists—intends to thwart the development of Atlanta’s Cop City in the Weelaunee forest.

They are affiliated with Stop Cop City, a broader movement with the same objective of liberating the most vulnerable land and people. To protest Atlanta’s Cop City, protestors have undertaken a multitude of peaceful initiatives—such as tree-sitting and drafting letters of eviction to the city—as well as engaging in direct action, which often results in violent altercations with the police.

As of Feb. 2024, over 60 people have been indicted with domestic terrorist charges. In Jan. 2024, a deadly clash ended in the murder of 26-year-old Tortuguita. Indigenous queer activists opposing Atlanta’s Cop City were shot by police at least 14 times, and—according to the autopsy— were most likely in a cross-legged sitting position when murdered. The murder of Tortuguita was nothing short of state-sanctioned violence for any form of dissent.

Unfortunately, the expansion of these cop cities does not end in the South River region, as the city plans to establish more cop cities across counties. There are plans to sprout more cop cities nationwide in Colorado Springs, Colo.; San Pablo, Calif.; Honolulu; Pittsburgh and Columbus, amongst many others.

Oregon joins the list of states intending to estab-

lish a militarized training center in Redmond, Ore. The facility costs $49 million, with the Redmond City Council committing $9 million and taxpayers funding the remaining $40 million. On Jan. 29, the Redmond police invited the community to view the newest design and construction plans for the facility.

Redmond Police argue their current police station is too small and its systems are failing. In hopes of creating a new facility, they intend to enhance the ability to assist those with mental health crises, provide secure parking and better evidence storage.

These measures are ineffective, and rather than advocating for community care, they advocate for the most extreme forms of policing. Just imagine the progress we’d make had those funds been invested into uplifting the community.

While there haven’t been explicit proposals of a cop city in Portland, Portlanders should remain cautious of the possibility. In Portland, our Black and Brown communities are already targeted at disproportionately high rates. Should we see a cop city built here, we’d witness drastic budget cuts to essential community resources. Ultimately, constructing a cop city anywhere in Portland is a detrimental threat to the safety of our communities.

Putting a halt to the construction of a cop city in Redmond, or really anywhere in Oregon, is vital if we want to protect our communities and stop ourselves from falling into a militarized police state.

Alongside the dangers to the environment and people, such costly investments neglect vital investments in resources serving the community, including mental health services, affordable housing and access to food. Instead, we should redirect these funds to more community-driven projects if we want to be committed to cultivating a community operated by trust and safety.

Fortunately, there are a multitude of actions we can take to resist the construction of a militarized police city, from direct action—such as tree-sitting demonstrated by DTF—to informational zines created by Stop Cop City comrades. Putting an end to Atlanta’s Cop City will require all our efforts.

FIND IT AT 5TH: SISTERS WITHTRANSISTORS

THE WOMEN WHO INVENTED ELECTRONIC MUSIC

This week at 5th Avenue Cinema— Oregon’s only student-run theater—film curators will be screening Sisters with Transistors. This 2020 documentary, directed by Lisa Rovner, shares the forgotten story of electronic music’s female pioneers.

Women such as Daphne Oram and Suzanne Ciani are featured, highlighting their use of early synthesizers and tape manipulation to push the boundaries of music. The film is rich with archival footage and testimonies and reveals the evolution of music over the past century.

Narrated by Laurie Anderson, the documentary focuses on the creativity of women who were composers, artists and inventors—crafting their own electronic instruments. Their brilliant innovation and developments in electronic sound paved the way for the genre of electronic music as we know it today.

Each term, the staff of 5th Avenue Cinema put together movies that students can watch on the big screen—for free—every week. Sisters with Transistors was selected by the Cinema’s publicity coordinator, Naomi Nguyen.

In celebration of Women’s History Month, 5th Avenue Cinema has presented various films focusing on women. Nguyen said that the decision on a theme, such as women-focused films, comes up naturally when developing a program. “We either talk about films we’ve been enjoying lately or some of our old favorites and, at some point, a theme just starts to emerge,” she said. “Once that theme solidifies, we fill in the rest of the picks to adhere to that theme.”

Sisters with Transistors has been on Nguyen’s radar for years, and she believes it easily fits into the programming this term. “I also like balancing [our films],” she said. “We show a lot of narrative films, and I think documentaries are a nice medium for more factual information and history.”

Nguyen appreciates the documentary because many of the featured artists are ones that she has been listening to for years. “One of them is actually a personal idol of mine,” she said. “So once I learned it’s narrated by Laurie Anderson

and [that] Laurie Spiegel and Clara Rockmore are in the documentary, I was just inherently intrigued and interested.”

Nguyen points to Laurie Spiegel as an artist whom she particularly admires. “She composed this record called The Expanding Universe, which I have on vinyl,” Ngyuen said. “It’s a very meditative record—one of those ones you can just put on and lay down in the middle of the floor and stare at the ceiling. It’s really quite a sonic journey.”

The documentary showcases Spiegel’s process of creating her music software program. “She actually intended it to be available on the internet for people, which at the time was very new and very nascent,” she said. “I really admire her for not only creating her own instruments but making it accessible to the general public.”

The fact that the women in this film not only made revolutionary music but also the instruments themselves sets them apart as creative pioneers. “A lot of the interviews took place in their studios as well,” Nguyen said. “When you see them, they actually look more like a scientific laboratory because of how everything was set up and just how meticulous they were about what they were creating.” Nguyen admired their curiosity and passion, highlighting that many are still creating today.

Nguyen pointed out a scene featuring the avant-garde musician and artist Laurie Anderson, and made sure to point out the rarity of the grainy footage. “She has her back turned to the camera, twiddling the knobs on this giant computer that takes up half of the room,” Nguyen said. “When I saw that, I was struck by the magnitude of these machines that they were using and pioneering. [They were] creating just out of this very genuine sense of curiosity and creativity.”

“There’s truly so much craft involved in it all,” Nguyen said. “Over time, a lot of these artists were forgotten about. I think that’s why I love this documentary so much. It really hones in on the small details of their experience.”

Nguyen called attention to a scene in the film featuring Clara Rockmore, a Lithuanian violin-

Local A&C Events

MILO LOZA

Ask Dr. Carla

Tomorrow Theater

Mar. 15, 7 p.m.

$25

An improvisational drag comedy with Carla Rossi. Children are not advised.

Jaren George

The Back Door Theater

Mar. 16, 7:30 p.m.

$10

A dynamic hour of stand up comedy performed by a local comedian before he moves to San Francisco

Storm Large, Jimmie Herrod and the Oregon Symphony

Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall Mar. 17, 2 p.m.

$25+

A concert featuring Vocalist Storm Large and America’s Got Talent Star Jimmie Herrod

El Oh Hell

Dante’s

ist and “theremin virtuoso.” A theremin is an instrument that is played without being touched. The musician waves their hands near two antennas, creating sound by generating movement to interfere with the electromagnetic field. One hand controls the pitch, and the other controls the volume.

“You could see how skilled she was and how precise her hand movement was,” Nguyen said. “I think in one scene her eyes were closed! It’s proprioception, where you kind of just know where your body is in space. That was really incredible to see.”

Nguyen has been the Publicity Coordinator for 5th Avenue Cinema for the past year. She publicizes 5th Avenue Cinema’s events, advertises upcoming screenings and coordinates with student groups around Portland State.

“We collaborate with student organizations whose motives and values align with ours,” Nguyen said. “It just starts with a discussion on intent and direction, hearing ideas that everyone has and going from there.”

In recent months, 5th Avenue Cinema has been collaborating with groups such as PSU Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights, Las Mujeres and Disarm PSU, among others. They also put together the Palestinian Film Festival this term.

The staff at 5th Avenue Cinema seeks to expand opportunities for broader student collaboration and facilitate student proposals for community projects. “We launched our new collab form on PSU Connect to make the process a little more streamlined,” Nguyen said.

5th Avenue Cinema is excited to present Sisters with Transistors to the students of PSU. Nguyen believes that the majority of the PSU populace will enjoy this film, as it appreciates the creativity of music production. “It really puts into perspective how music has evolved in general over the past century,” she said.

Students can catch a Sisters with Transistors screening on campus this weekend at 5th Avenue Cinema. Showings are Friday and Saturday at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., with a Sunday matinee at 3 p.m.

Mar. 18, 4 p.m.

Free

Open mic comedy inside a hell-themed bar, hosted by Bryan Withawhy

The Host in 35mm

Hollywood Theatre

Mar. 19, 7:30 p.m.

$12

A screening of the comedic eco-horror masterpiece by the director of Parasite

Art in Bloom 2024

Portland Museum of Art Mar. 20, 9 a.m.

$20

An event featuring exquisite floral arrangements inspired by the museum’s art collection

Kinky Boots

Winningstad Theatre

Mar. 21, 7:30 p.m.

$30+

A Tony-winning musical about a shoe factory’s inspiring transformation

MILO LOZA

Sisters with Transistors is a 2020 documentary directed by Lisa Rovner, highlighting the overlooked contributions of female pioneers in electronic music history

COURTESY OF 5TH AVENUE CINEMA

OPPORTUNITIES TO LEARN ABOUT CUBA AT PSU

CHALLENGING NARRATIVES ABOUT CUBA-U.S. RELATIONS

The Portland State Cuba Solidarity Club was formed by PSU students in the fall of 2022. Their goal was to show solidarity with Cuba by spreading awareness of common biases and misconceptions and to actively oppose the economic embargo that the United States imposed on the country in the early 1960s.

They started small, recruiting students at table events and slowly working through the processes and procedures required of new student organizations. Jillian Goldstein—at the time a freshman in her first term at PSU—was recruited at one of those table events. In the middle of an early October day, PSU Cuba Solidarity held their very first meeting. Goldstein attended that first meeting and has stuck with the club since.

That was well over a year ago. Today, the club is fully recognized as an official Student Activities and Leadership Programs organization, and Goldstein now holds the title of Club President.

“I was just looking for ways to get more involved on campus,” Goldstein said. “I came to the meeting and it seemed like this was a really progressive group. These people actually care and want to make a difference.”

The club aims to achieve two principal goals by meeting weekly and hosting and attending events. Its primary mission—rooted in a combination of education and opposition—is better understood within the historical context.

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CUBA-U.S. RELATIONS

According to Britannica Encyclopedia, Indigenous peoples lived autonomously on the tropical island of Cuba for thousands of years before Spain arrived in 1492. This period of Spanish colonization would last until the Spanish-American War at the turn of the nineteenth century.

According to the U.S. Library of Congress, in 1898 the USS Maine—a U.S. naval ship—sank near Havana Harbor, the main port of Cuba. Sensational journalism at the time suggested that Spain was responsible for the explosion which doomed the ship, ultimately leading to the Spanish-American War. After the Spanish-American War, the U.S. briefly occupied the island until Cuba became independent in 1902.

Pedro Ferbel-Azcarate is an interdisciplinary scholar and assistant professor of archaeology at PSU. Among his specialties are the studies of national identities and cultural survival with a primary focus on the Spanish-speaking Caribbean. He teaches several courses on Cuba and is currently creating a study abroad program on the eastern side of the nation.

Ferbel-Azcarate suggested that the Monroe Doctrine—and the actions and decrees that resulted afterward—were pivotal turning points which would determine the trajectory of CubanU.S. foreign policy. The Monroe Doctrine is an 1823 message from Former President James Monroe which called for the

cessation of European activity that interfered with affairs in the western hemisphere.

“We’ve got to look at the Monroe Doctrine,” Ferbel-Azcarate said. “I think that is often the place where historians will suggest the relationships between the United States and Cuba really began to be identified.”

The U.S. has a long history of military presence in Cuba. According to the U.S. Library of Congress, the U.S. has wielded control over Guantanamo Bay since 1903, making it the oldest overseas U.S. naval base. In addition, a complex system of imperial U.S. commerce centered around the Caribbean in the nineteenth century has cemented Cuba as a fundamental location for U.S. foreign activity.

From 1953−1959, the Cuban Revolution waged on. The 26th of July Movement, a revolutionary organization headed by Fidel Castro, would lead the battle against the U.S.-backed Cuban government. According to the BBC, the country had installed a new government system led by Castro by 1959. Cuba would come to ally with the Soviet Union and declare itself a communist country.

According to Ferbel-Azcarate, the governments in Cuba prior to the Cuban Revolution are referred to as handpicked regimes influenced by U.S. interests. This departure from U.S. influence, compounded by the political decisions of the new government, created a new set of challenges for the U.S. Increasing tensions, this then led to the infamous Cuban Missile Crisis, nearly resulting in Cuba’s nuclear annihilation.

ISAIAH BURNS

Professor Kecskes (top back right) led a study abroad program to Cuba this December with a group of PSU students

COURTESY OF JESSICA DURAN

THE EMBARGO

In response to Cuba’s new government system established in 1959, Former President John F. Kennedy enacted a historic economic embargo against Cuba. In short, this set of policies barred U.S. businesses from engaging in trade with Cuba, meaning no U.S. goods could be shipped to Cuba. The embargo is still in effect today.

Dr. Kevin Kecskes—Department Chair and Professor of Public Administration in the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at PSU—spoke about the embargo. “It’s an immoral act,” Kecskes said. “It’s an institutionalized, national, politically-unethical act from our government that our citizens put up with. It is wrong, what we do. It’s wrong.” Like Ferbel-Azcarate, Kecskes teaches courses focused on Cuba here at PSU, one of which involves a study abroad program on the island.

Cubans refer to the U.S. embargo against Cuba as the blockade, or “el bloqueo” in Spanish. “[The U.S.] put [Cubans] on a terrorist list,” Kecskes said. “They’re not terrorists. We are punishing them for running the country the way they see fit… We have tightened the noose around that poor country for 60 plus years.”

According to Kecskes, the U.S. embargo against Cuba continues to have a massive impact on the Cuban people’s quality of life in many ways. Kecskes explains that all sorts of modern necessities are incredibly scarce, ranging from toothpaste to screws. Contraceptive shortages are an immense issue, as are finding parts to maintain machines such as computers or automobiles.

The barriers faced by Cuban people to access basic necessities, medicines, health care services and food products are a direct result of the blockade. These issues have shaped the reality of Cuban life for the past 65 years. “It’s like the clouds in Oregon—so omnipresent that we don’t even see them anymore,” Kecskes said.

Due to these economic policies, travel to Cuba from the U.S. has also been significantly limited. U.S. citizens are barred from traveling straight to the country without obtaining an entry visa, which is not a Cuban-mandated requirement but a U.S. one.

“They have these 12 categories that enable U.S. citizens to travel to Cuba, but they’re very tightly defined,” Kecskes said. “One of those 12 categories is [you must be part of] a legitimate, educational study abroad program.” This is what allows Kecskes and his students to travel to Cuba.

U.S. MISCONCEPTIONS OF CUBA

Kecskes comes from a blue-collar background and he’ll tell you what it’s like to float between that world and the world of academia. On the weekends, he plays hockey with friends. When he first brought up his trips to Cuba with these friends, they were shocked to hear he had visited.

These days—at least from a U.S. perspective—Cuba is often seen as a crime-ridden, dangerous country. Kecskes recounts how images of gang violence, prostitution, communism, rum and cigars are the most common imagery which comes to the mind of many U.S. residents. However, he finds this couldn’t be farther from reality.

“Cuba is one of the safest places I’ve ever been in,” Kecskes said. “I’ve been there six times. It’s safe.” These days, he most often visits with students in his program.

Among those students is PSU graduate student Alyssa Tuss. In Dec. 2023, she attended the Cuba study abroad program led by Kecskes. After the trip, she wrote a research paper titled “Cuban Perspectives of US-Cuba Relations.”

When Tuss spoke about her experiences on the island, she made sure to relay how different things are there compared to the U.S. perspective.

“There were 11 of us graduate students from quite a variety of programs,” Tuss said. “We met with locals. We did interviews. We had lectures. We did quite a variety of activities. We did roundtables and met with everyone from researchers and scientists to entrepreneurs, all to get a better sense of what’s going on in Cuba.”

One of the biggest points which Tuss wished to drive home is that the Cuban perception of the U.S. is very different than the reverse.

According to Tuss, it is much more common to find Cubans who may criticize the U.S. government but do not consider themselves to be anti-American. Tuss explained that the use of language in discussions of Cuba is critical, addressing the importance of distinguishing criticisms of the Cuban government from anti-Cuban sentiments.

“I was talking to a colleague whose family is Cuban,” Tuss said, “His grandparents came to the U.S. [from Cuba]... The language they used was not anti-Cuban, but anti-Castro or anti-regime.”

Both Tuss and Kecskes agreed that, when visiting Cuba, the locals were warm and welcoming.

PSU CUBA SOLIDARITY

Misconceptions about the Cuban people and ignorance about the U.S. embargo against Cuba are issues that PSU Cuba Solidarity hopes to bring to light at the campus level.

“There’s two sides to every story,” Goldstein said. “A lot of the misconceptions about Cuba are a result of the blockade but are not attributed to that. Shortages of medical supplies, for example, have been due to the blockade, but a lot of media sources here will not give out that information.”

Current Cuban Ambassador Lianys Torres Rivera, the first woman appointed to the position in history, was scheduled to visit PSU at the request of PSU Cuba Solidarity. However, the

event was canceled due to an emergency, the nature of which remains a mystery. Goldstein said getting the ambassador to come to the PSU campus is a major goal of the club, with the hopes they’ll be able to make an April meeting work.

Another long-term goal of the club is to ensure a steady flow of new members and maintain high membership numbers.

“We have like six or seven people that come to the meetings every week,” Goldstein said. “Honestly, everyone in the club is super active… Everyone is taking on multiple responsibilities. Obviously, if we had more people, then it’d be distributed more evenly.”

Despite their difficulty recruiting members, PSU faculty like Ferbel-Azcarate are happy with the club’s progress.

“I think that’s the real story,” said Ferbel-Azcarate while reflecting on PSU Cuba Solidarity. “I’m just the professor who teaches the classes, but the students really took that extra step to create an event… When students really step up like that, I think that’s what education is all about.”

COURTESY OF JESSICA DURAN

The barriers faced by Cuban people to access basic necessities, medicines, health care services, automobile parts, and food products are a direct result of the blockade. These issues have shaped the reality of Cuban life for the past 65 years

DRUG RESIDUE ON PUBLIC TRANSIT

PSU REPLICATES UW STUDY

ANISH ARUMUGAM

In the hustle and bustle of everyday life, public transportation is a lifeline for many in Portland, providing a convenient and cost-effective means of commuting. However, questions of safety have emerged since researchers at the University of Washington (UW) found drug residues on public transit surfaces

Fentanyl and methamphetamine— notorious for their impact on public health—have found an unexpected home in the seemingly mundane spaces of TriMet’s street cars.

Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid . It’s 50 times more potent than heroin, a lot cheaper to buy and to manufacture and 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Oregon has recorded the highest percentage increase in fentanyl overdose deaths since 2019, according to the CDC The report shows that Oregon’s fentanyl overdose rate has grown 1,500% since before the pandemic, the highest rate of increase in the United States, with 1,268 deaths between Sept. 2019 and Sept. 2023.

Officials from Portland and Multnomah County declared a 90-day fentanyl emergency on Jan. 30, 2024 in central Portland which was designed to target drug dealers and users. “A fentanyl use crisis exists across the nation and in Oregon,” stated Oregon Governor Tina Kotek’s executive order. “In Portland City Center, fentanyl use has precipitated a state of public emergency. This emergency exists due to injuries and deaths from fentanyl use.”

Given this seemingly widespread problem in Portland, Dr. James F. Pankow—a professor and researcher specializing in chemistry at Portland State—and his students were motivated by the ongoing crisis and the UW study results to do a similar study. So they embarked on a journey to replicate and expand upon the UW findings.

Pankow explained the two-step process employed by his students. “The initial sampling phase, utilizing cotton swabs to collect surface residue, [is] followed by laboratory analysis through an analytical instrument,” Pankow said.

“It came about when we realized that these chemicals—which are used by people who take public transportation—stay on the surfaces of the vehicles,” Pankow said.

“Even though it’s hard to figure out exactly what these chemicals mean for public health, because the amounts are so low but can still be found, a lot of people are being exposed to them.”

Pankow’s students also looked at how much cocaine was on paper money to determine other ways people could be exposed to illegal drugs in minute quantities.

Pankow emphasized the difficulty in genuinely gauging the risk of these substances and hesitated at the urgency of addressing drug residue on public transit without concrete data.

While acknowledging the presence of detectable levels, he highlighted the challenge of determining the exact implications for passenger and staff health.

The professor emphasized that we live in a chemical environment and exposure is inevitable, whether legal or illicit.

Duncan Turley—an undergraduate environmental engineering student—worked on this research study with Pankow. “The team wanted to find answers to questions that were bothering us, like, ‘Are commuters at risk?’” Turley said. “‘Should safety steps be taken, like wearing a mask?’”

“We are focusing on the use of a mass spectrometer to accurately find and identify fentanyl and methamphetamine levels compared to prepared lab standards,” Turley said. “The ultimate goal is to bring awareness to the issue, empowering people to make informed decisions about their safety.”

Adam Allina—a civil and environmental engineering undergraduate student—also worked on the research study. “I use the TriMet regularly, where I have observed certain areas—particularly on MAX trains— appearing unsanitary,” he said. “Wondering about the levels of drug residue in different modes of transportation, I decided to explore the issue further.”

Allina elaborated on the Gas Chromatography Mass Spectrometry (GC-MS) method used by the team, involving a GC-MS for accurate and specific compound detection.He outlined his hypothesis regarding the higher likelihood of drug residues on MAX Light Rail trains than on buses or streetcars. His concerns extended beyond personal exposure during transit, contemplating the contaminants he might unknowingly bring home.

PSU student Adam Allina collects samples from a TriMet MAX car for drug residue detection

VANGUARD CROSSWORD

Answers in stories

MILO LOZA

Across:

4. A U.S. policy initiated by John F. Kennedy in response to Cuba’s new government system

8. The nickname for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, a term criticizing police enhancement in Black neighborhoods

9. This PSU police force was rearmed, despite community concerns about the safety of BIPOC students, acronym

10. An instrument played without touch, mastered by Clara Rockmore and featured in Sisters with Transistors

11. This synthetic opioid—which is more potent than heroin—was the key focus of a study on public transit drug residues

12. This forest—the original homeland of the Indigenous Muscogee Creek Nation—faces deforestation

Down:

1. This Oregon city is planning to establish a militarized training center, with a budget of $49 million

2. Portland's public transportation system where drug residues were detected in a recent study

3. The 1823 doctrine by this U.S. president was significant in shaping Cuban-U.S. foreign policy

5. Despite student protests, PSU President Cudd stated the university will maintain its relationship with this multi-billion-dollar weapons manufacturing company

Across

6. The genre of the film Sisters with Transistors

4. A U.S. policy initiated by John F. Kennedy in response to Cuba’s new government system

7. The method used to detect specific compounds in a study on public transit drug residues, acronym

8. The nickname for the Atlanta Public Safety Training Center, a term criticizing police enhancement in black neighborhoods

9. This PSU police force was re-armed, despite

Answers from 3/7

1) Privilege 2) saviorism, 3) each other,

4) Ratatouille 5) gone, 6) Epoch , 7) Shen Yun, 8) sewer, 9) education, 10) human, 11) moral authority

Down

1. This Oregon city is planning to establish a militarized training center, with a budget of $49 million

2. Portland's public transportation system where drug residues were detected in a recent study

3. The 1823 doctrine by this U.S. president was significant in shaping Cuban-U.S. foreign policy

Despite student protests, PSU President Cudd

compounds in a study on public transit drug

ARIANNA THOMAS

Community & Wellness Resources

UPDATED WEEKLY

By Milo Loza

Happening Soon

Board Game Night

SMSU Cafeteria

Mar. 15, 3 p.m.

Free for students

Join the weekly board game event for some strategic and interactive fun

Purim Costume Party

Viking Game Room, SMSU Basement

Mar. 15, 5 p.m.

Free for students

Celebrate Purim with costumes, games, raffles and free pizza

Allison Miller with the PSU Jazz Band

Lincoln Performance Hall

Mar. 15, 7 p.m.

Free for students

Jazz night featuring Allison Miller, with original music and arrangements

PSU Laptop Ensemble Winter Concert

Lincoln Studio Theater

Mar. 20, 7 p.m.

Free for students

Original compositions and live interactive performances by students of PSU Sonic Arts Music Production Laptop Ensemble (SAMPLE)

PVMSA Bowling De-Stress Event

Viking Game Room, SMSU Basement

Mar. 21, 3 p.m.

Free for students

Unwind with the pre-vet club, including complimentary snacks and drinks

Nowruz Celebration

Smith Ballroom, PSU

Mar. 23, 5 p.m.

Free for students

Celebrate the Persian New Year with music, fun activities and food

Resources

PSU Basic Needs Hub

SMSU Suite 435

Mon–Fri, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.

Free for students

Helps students access resources such as funds, food, housing, employment, childcare and health support.

PSU Food Pantry

1704 SW Broadway (temporary location)

Tues–Thur, 12–4 p.m.

Free for students

Access to free groceries in a welcoming, equitable, trauma-informed way. Must be enrolled in at least one credit for summer or fall.

SMART recovery meetings

University Center Building 340 E Times vary

Free

In peer recovery, students with shared experiences connect to reduce stigma and build a campus recovery community.

SHAC weekly online parent support group

Online

Thursdays 11 a.m.

Free

Come together as parents in a relaxed setting to support each other, share ideas, collaborate and commiserate

Women’s Resource Center

Online

Mon–Fri, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Free

Confidential advocacy services to students who have experienced sexual harassment, assault, violence and stalking

Oregon Energy Fund

Varying Locations

Mon–Fri, hours vary

Free

Provides energy bill assistance to low-income Oregonians to support household stability

Wellness

SHAC Mind Spa

UCB Suite 310

Mon–Fri (by appointment)

Free for students

Solo space to experience biofeedback, light therapy, meditation, massages, relaxation and more. Must be enrolled in at least five credits for summer or fall.

Opioid Overdose Reversal Training

SHAC, Suite 340E

Mon 10–12 p.m. & Fri 2–3 p.m.

Free for students

Pick up free opioid overdose reversal medication and get a 10-minute training on how to use it

Mindful Meanderings

Listen on Spotify

Available 24/7

Free

PSU-produced podcast about being mindful while outside, practicing gratitude, finding joy and being in the moment

Telus Health Student Support

Download on App Store or Google Play

Available 24/7

Free

Connecting students with free, confidential mental health and wellbeing support

Outdoor Workshop Wednesdays

Watch on Youtube

Available 24/7

Free

PSU Campus Recreation Center staff videos about topics ranging from Leave No Trace and plant identification to hiking spots and land acknowledgments

BORP online fitness studio

Watch on Zoom

Mon–Sat, hours vary

Free

Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program’s (BORP) virtual exercise classes for people with physical disabilities