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EDITORIAL
EDITOR IN CHIEF
Tanner Todd
MANAGING EDITOR
Brad Le
NEWS EDITOR
Zoë Buhrmaster
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Philippa Massey
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Kat Leon
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Nick Gatlin
PHOTO EDITOR
Alberto Alonso Pujazon Bogani
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Christopher Ward
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Nova Johnson
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Nick Gatlin
CONTRIBUTORS
Courtney Jeffs
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Isabel Zerr
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Whitney McPhie
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Neo Clark
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Hanna Oberlander
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Zahira Zuvuya
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Reaz Mahmood
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Maria Dominguez
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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 in print Wednesdays and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com.
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We have revived our “Letters to the Editor,” a recurring Opinion feature that publishes and spotlights voices from around PSU, as well as the larger community of Portland, Oregon. This is a section devoted to spotlighting the opinions and feelings of our readsers, rather than the writers and contributors in our newsroom, and we welcome submissions from anyone. We’re particularly interested in perspectives related to current Portland events and community issues, as well as circumstances that impact the Pacific Northwest overall. We’d also love to hear your thoughts on stories we’ve covered—if you have a strong opinion about something we’ve reported, write us! We’ll happily read your submissions.
To share your letters for publishing consideration, email your thoughts to opinion@psuvanguard. com with the heading LETTER TO THE EDITOR, followed by your subject line.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Sincerely, The Vanguard Editorial Staff
When Lynn Green, director of the Helen Gordon Child Development Center, got a text from one of her administrators on Feb. 24 asking if she had read the College of Education newsletter that morning, she went straight to her inbox. The weekly email sent out to involved families and staff members contained a two-sentence blurb stating that the Associated Students of Portland State University (ASPSU) Children’s Center was merging with the Helen Gordon Center.
Two issues immediately presented themselves: the information was misleading and incomplete, and Green and her team—who were in charge of informing the campus that the ASPSU daycare would be moving locations— hadn’t yet sent out emails to parents.
“It had gone out and we’re like pause,” Green said. “Now what do we do? We’ve got to get this email out and we’ve got to get it out today.”
The ASPSU Center will be moving locations over the summer, starting off the 2024 academic year in the Helen Gordon Center’s building. Jose Coll, Ph. D., interim dean of the College of Education, made the decision after discussions with Green on how to best handle the college-wide budget cuts due to low enrollment. Pushback immediately arose from families and staff members, who drafted a petition to stop the “merge” of the two daycares. By April 14 the letter had amassed over 420 signatures of concerned students, teachers, families and alumni.
Green and her administrative team of two collected data supporting the move. Originally scheduled for spring term, Dr. Coll pushed the move date to fall after concerns arose about disrupting kids’ schedules mid-school year.
Once Dr. Coll made the decision, Green and her team mapped out how to tell staff and families. First, they would talk with Kim Allen, the ASPSU Center’s program director, ASPSU staff and the Helen Gordon Center staff during meetings that day. Then they planned out two emails to be sent to families at the respective centers for later the same day.
But that week it snowed, breaking the record for the second deepest snowfall in downtown Portland. With the campus closed, Helen Gordon Center’s staff meeting moved to Zoom as all staff had access to the internet. The ASPSU Center staff, however, did not and their meeting was canceled.
“Our dates are looming up before, we’ve got to get this information out,” Green said. “So what I did was I talked to Kim and I said, ‘Do you mind if I, personally,’ because I wanted her there, I said, ‘Do you mind if I call your staff?’ And she said ‘no, that’s fine.’” Green individually called ASPSU staff and went to call Allen back when Joanna Yoder, administrative coordinator at the Helen Gordon Center, texted Green about the leaked information. Communication between Green and Allen broke down shortly after, the silence continuing through the weekend. Green waited until Tuesday before committing to the email she had drafted for parents.
“I finally said this has got to go out… I have to do something,” Green said. “So I sent out what I had on Tuesday, hoping to include her voice.”
Adriana Garcia, a Portland State Honors College student, has dropped off one of her four kids at the ASPSU Center since early October. On Tue., Feb. 28, when the email came from Green, her kids were home sick. She recalled doing an interview earlier that day for the Jim Sells Child Care Assistance Program for student parents and sharing how the ASPSU Center and staff are a crucial resource for her in her academic journey. Later that day, she got Green’s email.
“I was pretty confused just because, again, I had just like, raved about, you know, the services and like how it’s such a critical part of my success,” Garcia said. “I wasn’t really sure what the email was saying, I guess, because I hadn’t heard from Kim—who’s the director— or the teacher, anybody. It was just kind of like, this is what’s happening, and it’s taking effect first day of spring term.”
Though the ASPSU Center operates under the umbrella of the Helen Gordon Center, Allen runs a program unique to the ASPSU Center, suited for a more flexible daycare schedule that allows student parents to pick up their children throughout the day. Little Vikings, another childcare center on campus geared toward toddlers, operates with an even more flexible schedule, allowing parents to drop off kids for single events and as needed.
The move begs a question—why are there three different childcare centers on campus to begin with?
Since its initiation over 40 years ago, the Helen Gordon Center has operated with a waitlist. Ellie Nolan served as the director for 31 years, now a volunteer at the center after retiring five years ago. Nolan recalled efforts dating back to Margaret Browning, the director prior to Nolan, to expand childcare services by developing what is now called the Resource Center for Students with Children.
“Originally that was also born out of the realization that here we are providing fullday childcare, but that doesn’t mean we can meet every need of every student parent on campus,” Nolan said.
Several times Nolan and Browning dreamt and wrote up plans to expand childcare, each time running up against a lack of funding. Fast forward to the late ‘90s, when one of ASPSU’s presidents who had a child enrolled at the center pointed them toward available student building fees.
“That’s really what we needed to launch the project, was that big chunk of funding to make the space usable as childcare,” Nolan said. “We kind of had plans ready to go. And that year things just really moved forward. Quickly.”
Due to a lack of space at the Helen Gordon Center, a historic brick building already at full capacity, the ASPSU Center took up residence in the Smith Memorial Student Union building where it has been since. At first it operated under the supervision of the Student Development Department, later moving under supervision of the Helen Gordon Center, one result from a proposal by Nolan in the early 2000s intended to consolidate childcare programs on campus.
The 2001 proposal detailed a need to link the Helen Gordon and ASPSU Centers’ services in order to “create one comprehensive mission for child development and family services,” and “consistent, complete information regarding all child development and family services and
programming available to the PSU community through single contact points.”
Though the two centers both operate under student fees, each serves a different purpose in flexibility of schedule. Childcare at the Helen Gordon Center is intended for families needing care for full days, on a schedule of either Mon–Fri, Mon/Wed/Fri or Tues/Thurs. ASPSU is designed with more flexibility, only requiring that children be there for eight hours a week with a schedule flexible to the families’ needs.
In addition to the petition, ASPSU family and staff sent a request to Green for a town hall to discuss the decision. During the week of spring quarter, Green denied the request, permitting that she would be willing to meet with families individually over Zoom.
“I don’t believe a town hall is necessary,” Green said. “If people have opinions that they want to voice to me, and they are a part of the ASPSU family, I’m more than welcome to talk with them about that.”
Green mentioned that because a lack of funding is necessitating change, the dean is deciding to stay on course with the move.
“These are decisions that are made at the university level because of the decline in enrollment,” Dr. Coll said. “We’ve been trying
to figure out, how do we maximize the resources that we have to have the greatest level of impact to our families? And one of those conversations revolved about centering our services instead of decentralizing our services. I think this makes the most amount of sense, given the current financial situation that we’re in giving how we can best serve our families.”
For the children and families of the ASPSU Center, the program and its structure will remain the same in the new location. Parents will still be able to operate with an open-door policy, visiting and picking up kids throughout the day, and teachers and class groups with established relationships will stay together.
The ASPSU classrooms will have to adjust to some elemental changes, however. Due to space restrictions, ASPSU and Helen Gordon Center groups will share classrooms with similar age groups while both continue to operate under different instruction and programming.
Sarah Williams, a Helen Gordon Center teacher of children three to five years old, shared that she looks forward to welcoming the group.
“It’ll be so fantastic to have them here with everyone,” Williams said. “They’ll have the benefits of being in even closer proximity to our resources while still retaining their drop off.”
Life comes with inevitable loss, and exploring that loss becomes part of the human experience for those we leave behind. This week, 5th Avenue Cinema is showing The Metamorphosis of Birds, and students can watch for free, engage in existential questions and connect visually and artistically with loss and memorial on screen.
The 2020 film is a poetic documentary directed by Portuguese filmmaker Catarina Vasconcelos. The story spans across generations of the director’s family, exploring their relationships and secrets through personal stories, old photos and stunning cinematography.
The title refers to the idea that families evolve, just as birds transform from an egg. We get to see complex relationships between parents, children and siblings to gain a deeper understanding of how they both support and constrain. The Metamorphosis of Birds uniquely explores family dynamics through dreamlike images and lyrical subtitles.
The film was chosen for screening by one of 5th Avenue’s projectionists, Clara Johnson. She said that The Metamorphosis of Birds really intrigued her. “I’ve never seen a movie like it before,” she said. “I thought it was pretty impressive. It’s like a love letter to her own mother after she passed away.”
5th Avenue Cinema is known for playing older, experimental films for local cinephiles. A 2020 film like The Metamorphosis of Birds is unusual for the theater, but the experimentality of it fits just the same. “The other movie that I chose for this term, Shithouse, also came out in 2020—but this one doesn’t really feel as new,” Johnson said. “I think I do have a preference for new movies. I don’t actively watch old ones that often.”
Growing up, her parents would show her older films that would bore her. She also noted that newer films tend to gain a larger audience
at the theater. “One of our most popular showings was Mean Girls, for example, which did not come out that long ago,” Johnson said. She thought Shithouse was a silly movie and so was looking for something more serious to contrast it when she came across The Metamorphosis of Birds . “It felt more like an art installation than a movie,” Johnson said. “It was shot on 16mm film, which is really cool—most films are not shot that way anymore.”
She noted that the dialogue in the film, delivered through voiceovers, is a unique experience. “It was her first film [Catarina Vasconcelos], and people described it as a ‘fictionalized art documentary’ or a ‘hybrid documentary with a memoir,’” she said.
“It’s one of the prettiest films I’ve ever seen before,” Johnson said. “Every single shot felt intentional. It almost feels like you are walking through an art gallery.” She compared the experience to being offered an earpiece at a gallery, which will tell you more information about the artist while you walk around their work.
“It also paints motherhood in a very nice, realistic way,” Johnson said. “The love they have for all of the women in the family transcends through generations.” She praised Vasconcelos’ depiction of her family and how these types of films can trigger audiences to think about their own lives.
“I think more people should make art that looks back and appreciates their childhood to realize the impact of their experiences and how it shapes their life,” she said. “More people need to be reflective of the people they love.”
Johnson acknowledged that many people are unable to sit through foreign films. “My roommate refuses to read subtitles,” she said. “And some people might think it’s boring because it’s not action-packed, but it’s like reading poetry—
it’s like an audiobook with pretty pictures.”
Moreover, Johnson believes that those willing to give this foreign film a chance will find it thought-provoking and enriching. “I think people who like blockbuster movies that are super popular would not like this movie,” she said.
People that refuse to read subtitles will miss out on the full scope of the art that Vasconcelos has created. Johnson said she struggled with the quick Portuguese, but the visuals kept her enamored. “You’re trying to read the really fast subtitles while also looking at the beautiful things on screen, and sometimes that’s hard,” she explained. “But when there’s a really good quote in the voiceover, that just makes all of the pretty pictures that you watched hit.”
She even shared a quote that stood out to her: “When you can’t remember, invent.”
“I thought about this in the context of generational mourning of a family member,” Johnson said. “Even if you can’t remember a family member, you can invent them in your mind, how they may have been, or invent something to remember them by.” This idea resonated with Johnson and felt innovative. “The film is about how it is easier to get through grief when there is a community of people who loved that person,” she said.
“I didn’t quite feel very emotional until the very end of the film when she talks about herself and her mom because initially she is talking about her grandparents, and it goes forward,” Johnson said. She explained that the emotions that the film provoked made her decide that she would screen it at the cinema.
Students can catch a free showing of The Metamorphosis of Birds on campus at 5th Avenue Cinema. Showings are at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with a 3 p.m. screening on Sunday.
Is violence our human nature? Are hurt people destined to hurt people? Is it possible to break the cycle of trauma?
These are the questions that Shakespeare asks us to ponder in his revenge tragedy Titus Andronicus, showing in Portland for the first time in 25 years.
Speculative Drama presents the performance and aims to make Shakespeare more inclusive and reclaim these stories. “I think people have preconceptions about a lot of the roles,” said Myrrh Larson, the director. “They are like, this is what a villain looks like. This is what romantic leads should look like—and getting to see different bodies and different races and different gender presentations and just different iterations of those, I think, takes you out of that place where you’re like, I know what I’m seeing, and into this place where you get to really experience what’s happening in the story in real-time.”
The language of Shakespeare can feel inaccessible in many modern Shakespeare productions, even ones that claim to modernize the verse. This production, however, addresses the accessibility issue differently. Instead of modernizing the verse and scansions, they work to improve the actor’s embodiment of the characters.
“I’m pretty anti-Shakespeare voice,” said Megan Hale, who is movement director and plays Tamora, Queen of the Goths. “I feel like we connect to the characters, and the actors connect to the characters a lot stronger when they say those words like they’re actually words they would say. I feel like there’s no such thing as modernizing or not modernizing the verse itself. You’re either the person who actually says those words, or you’re acting, and you’re not actually living in the character.”
I have found myself straining to understand the words and story in the past Shakespeare I have seen performed, but this was less so in this performance. While I still believe Shakespeare is best enjoyed with active engagement, I felt connected to the characters and the words they happened to be saying profoundly in this Titus Andronicus
The emotional turmoil—I felt it instead of hearing it. The tone was cutting, fear-inducing and violent in all ways you want a show such as this to be. While the characters’ urges were extreme and unrelatable for the average person, the emotion and the pain were deep.
In this corner of reality, their responses seemed like logical responses. The experience and feeling towards the characters were best summarized by Larson when they said, “I don’t like
you, but I still have love and have empathy for you. Oh, you must be so wounded to have gotten to this point.”
The show’s most complicated character to empathize with was Aaron, who seemingly is a perfect example of violence as human nature. Eric Island, the actor, spoke about how challenging it was to play this character. “My natural disposition is I’m a very caring and loving person,” he said. “So I’m very empathetic towards those types of things. I would say if that’s a challenge, it would be to be that coldhearted and not be phased.”
Island did embody the character’s nature well despite it being against the actor’s personality, and like most Shakespeare characters, Aaron is not all darkness—in one scene, he is portrayed as a violent, bloodthirsty character, and in the next he is a father defending his son.
“I think it’s always that tug-of-war of good versus evil,” Island said. “Every individual within our person has to deal with that angst of self-preservation versus this is my family—I’m doing this for them. In perspective, if you’re not in the family, it could seem very heartless. If you’re in the family and you’re trying to survive, it seems like the only thing that you can do to push forward. And so then when you step back, and you look at both sides, there’s no good or bad, or right or wrong—it is people trying to survive and move forward.”
Surviving is difficult in the face of immense loss, and leaning into anger often feels like the only way to do that. Tamora, Queen of the Goths, embodies this and, in her pain, feels justified in the pain she unleashes on others. However, in turning away and endorsing others’ violence, she loses herself to her pain, and in her quest and out of love and loss her revenge is realized—but at what cost?
This is a common theme in Shakespeare and arguably inspires modern work. “I think about this show is that its themes resonate with media that’s being put out today,” said Megan Haynes, who plays Chiron. “I played The Last of Us while I was in rehearsal for this, and they have very similar themes of revenge as a vehicle for love. They really have this question of is it really worth it?”
Titus, played by Michael Streeter, explores this question and demonstrates the impact of unbridled grief. Streeter did a phenomenal job embodying this loss and grief. “80-90% of my character throughout the play is talking about his tears and his crying, and his grief,” Streeter said. “If I were playing that… you wouldn’t hear what’s really happening is the poetry
of talking about the grief and the tears as opposed to actually seeing the tears.” This character’s pain was so immense that expressing that would have filled too much space.
Those around Titus are equally impacted by his grief, as his son Lucius—played by Murren Kennedy—feels the weight of his father’s unheard cries for help and vindication. “My character is, I can interpret it as, the ultimate soldier,” Kennedy said. “Maybe even designed for war as a tool built to serve, lives to serve. I realized when all these horrible things happen for no real reason even, I have a line, 'Thy grief, their sports, a resolution mocked.’” This grief and feeling anger at the world moving on in the face of their family’s pain sets the perfect stage for seeking revenge as a resolution to inaction.
Titus’ daughter Lavinia is arguably the most innocent character and the most tragic, because she is a constant reminder of his loss and pain. Despite her own tragedies, which could be considered more numerous than Titus’, he grew to resent her for what she represented. This hatred and viewing as inferior after Lavinia is victimized “also speaks to how we as a society tend to view disabled people,” Haynes said. “Like they’re a burden, an inconvenience to abled people.”
Titus’ final act might make one ponder as Isabella Buckner, who plays Bussianus and other supporting characters, did “about what grief can do to you if you don’t, if you don’t handle it, and if you don’t like, accept it and let it wash over you… If you close yourself off from it.”
In the end, seemingly, that is what he did. Titus closed himself off to his grief and insanity took its place. He got his revenge but was lost long before he sought it. Pain can be insanity-making and rage-inducing, and despite the impulses highlighted by this performance being the worst human responses to these experiences, the emotions are still raw and relatable today. “We all experience love and loss and pain and grief and anger, and I think that these characters that he’s written are just timelessly applicable,” Haynes said.
In addition to live performances, Titus Andronicus is also being shown virtually on Wed. 19. The virtual show includes elements not visible in the live show. “This [virtual show] we’re doing this Clyde Barker-like horror theme,” Larson said. “We’re doing all these like slow, extra dramatic scenes.” Potential viewers should be advised that the show deals with potentially triggering content such as physical violence and sexual assault. Audiences can catch in-person shows in Portland until April 22.
UNIVERSITY DRUG RULES ARE UNSCIENTIFIC AND UNFAIR
Portland State’s drug policy is woefully out of date.
The rules concerning drug use on campus are founded more on political convenience than science, and their reasoning is inconsistent at best. Though they may not change any time soon—especially considering federal inaction on marijuana legalization—students should be made aware of their rights under the law, and we should fight to amend these policies.
PSU states in their “Guide for Alcohol and other Drug Problems ” that they are “committed to maintaining a drug-free institution”—but they maintain a policy allowing the distribution and consumption of alcohol at university events. Whoops! It looks like they accidentally wrote a policy that promotes drug use on campus.
But this may not be an issue, some might say. One possible argument in favor of allowing the use of alcohol on campus is that, unlike many other drugs, it’s legal to consume.
However, PSU prohibits smoking and the use of tobacco—a legal drug—at all times, in every part of the campus. The stated rationale for this policy is to promote “the well-being of all PSU community members and the maintenance of a sustainable and healthy campus environment.” This doesn’t rest solely on an anti-smoking policy— all forms of tobacco are banned, including smokeless.
Why the inconsistency? The negative health effects of both tobacco and alcohol are well known, and alcohol in particular has a bevy of potentially catastrophic health risks. So why ban one substance entirely, and allow the public use of another? Is the university not “committed to maintaining a drug-free institution”?
That is, unless PSU doesn’t actually care about eliminating drug use on campus, but only about eliminating the use of drugs that the university perceives unfavorably. This kind of arbitrary policy-making doesn’t make sense.
There’s another drug that’s legal in the state of Oregon that PSU notably bans: marijuana.
According to the University Housing and Residence Life (UHRL) Housing Handbook, “[t]he possession, use, sale, or distribution of any drug, drug paraphernalia, or controlled substance prohibited by state or federal law” is banned in residence halls, which “includes
the possession, use, sale, or distribution of marijuana in any form.”
The prohibition also includes “being under the influence” of such substances, or even “being in the presence of unlawful drug use or possession of drug paraphernalia…”
That’s right: even being in the presence of “unlawful drug use” or “possession” of paraphernalia constitutes a violation of PSU drug policy, which may result in “expulsion and/ or termination of employment, and potentially, referral for prosecution.” It is worth restating that this policy applies to the use of marijuana, a drug that is objectively less dangerous to one’s health than alcohol, and is legal in Oregon.
It’s worth noting that PSU isn’t entirely at fault for this policy—as a public institution, they are forced to abide by federal law, which classifies marijuana as a Schedule I controlled substance. This policy is the direct result of the War on Drugs, a draconian, unscientific and discriminatory campaign designed to police marginalized communities.
Still, PSU does enforce the policy, and it’s imperative for students to know their rights when it comes to suspected drug use.
The issue of students’ rights regarding university drug policy mainly revolves around university housing—dormitories are where most drug-related searches take place on campus, and they’re where the university has the most interest in students’ personal lives. Of course, drug searches may take place in other places on campus—but if you decide to vape in a lecture hall… well, that’s on you.
Though dormitories might not feel like a “real” home, students who live in them have the same privacy rights as anyone else. A 2012 article in the Brigham Young University Education and Law Journal titled “ Public Education and Student Privacy: Application of the Fourth Amendment to Dormitories at Public Colleges and Universities” by Bryan R. Lemons notes that “students living in dormitories at public institutions can expect that their privacy rights are still protected under the Fourth Amendment.”
The Fourth Amendment, which guarantees “[t]he right of the people to be secure in their persons, houses, papers, and effects, against unreasonable searches and seizures,” provides
broad protections to anyone in the United States against governmental intrusion of privacy— including actions by public institutions, such as state universities like PSU.
Lemon writes that “students have a reasonable expectation of privacy in a dormitory room… Because of the institution’s responsibility to provide a safe educational environment, reasonable health and safety inspections of dormitory rooms are generally permitted under the terms and agreements of a student housing agreement. Such agreements will not, however, support general searches by campus officials to locate evidence of criminal activity, even where the institution’s interest are significant.”
The question of whether resident assistants act as agents of the state during a search of a student’s room isn’t entirely clear, and can depend on specific circumstances. But, Lemon argues, it’s generally accurate to consider RAs public actors: “Resident assistants are, for all practical purposes, public employees of the institution…Further, resident assistants are empowered by the delegation of authority from the public institution. Without that institutional authorization, resident assistants have none of the rights they exercise in terms of conducting dormitory searches. In light of these considerations, it seems more reasonable to conclude that resident assistants are public actors for Fourth Amendment purposes, rather than to conclude they are not.”
That is to say, in many circumstances, when an RA conducts a room search, they still must abide by the Fourth Amendment.
Per the 2022–2023 UHRL Room and Dining Contract, PSU dormitory residents agree that “UHRL may enter a Unit or Space, with or without notice, for reasons including but not limited to[...] maintenance, repair, or custodial services,” “health and safety reasons,” and “elimination of nuisances,” as well as when there is “reasonable cause” to indicate a “violation of established conduct or health and safety standards” or that “a University policy is being violated.”
During these kinds of searches, RAs or other university employees can’t just search through all of your belongings at will—they still require cause—but there are some exceptions it helps to be aware of.
According to Lemon, the Supreme Court recognizes an expectation of privacy regarding closed containers, like backpacks, wallets, bags, etc. “However, ‘for there to be a reasonable expectation of privacy, the contents of [the] container should not be apparent without opening,’” Lemon wrote. “Thus, when a container is ‘not closed,’ or ‘transparent,’ or when its ‘distinctive configuration … proclaims its contents,’ the container supports no reasonable expectation of privacy and the contents can be said to be in plain view.”
For example, in a hypothetical scenario where a student tenant stored marijuana in a closed container, an RA would not typically be allowed to search that container unless there was some reasonable cause to search, such as a potential health and safety violation; the container was open, or transparent; or if it were immediately obvious that said container housed marijuana, such as if it had a sticker on the front that said “I have marijuana in this container,” e.g.
In other words, the Fourth Amendment does not account for stupidity. If unlawful behavior— or policy-breaking behavior, in the case of university dorms—is “immediately apparent,” that can constitute an exception to normal privacy laws. “An item’s incriminating character is ‘immediately apparent’ if a law enforcement officer has probable cause to believe the item is subject to seizure,” Lemon wrote.
It should go without saying that I am not a lawyer, and this should not be taken as legal advice—these are merely general principles that one can use as a yardstick for knowledge of their legal rights. If you find yourself in a situation where you feel that your rights have been violated, or simply would like clarification on your rights, it would be prudent to reach out to Student Legal Services for a consultation.
The ridiculousness of PSU drug policy will hopefully serve as a reminder of the injustices still present in our drug laws, even in so-called “blue states” like Oregon. One can only hope that the federal government will wake up to the science and move to legalize marijuana, avoiding situations like this on campuses across the country.
DON’T MISS YOUR LAST CHANCE TO SEE THE SPRING TREES
Every year when spring brings the flowers into bloom, one of the most visually noticeable attractions—besides the sunnier weather—is the cherry blossoms on the waterfront and in other parts of Portland, Oregon. It’s nearly impossible to visit the waterfront on a weekend evening and not find hundreds of others with the same plans, all strolling under the trees while admiring their beauty and filling up their camera rolls with social media-worthy photos.
These cherry blossoms hold importance in our community by bringing us together for a special occasion once every year, but they also hold a rich and important history. The cherry blossoms were gifted to the city of Portland by Japan in 1990 to be dedicated to the Japanese American Historical Plaza. The intention behind the plaza was to raise public awareness of the diversity of cultural experiences in the United States. The plaza is located in Chinatown, which was also referred to as “Japantown” prior to World War II. The plaza memorializes the stories of Japanese workers sent to internment camps during WWII, 4,000 of those Japanese workers being from Oregon. The cherry blossoms in the plaza are accompanied by artistic works consisting of poems, sculptures and more. The plaza was created by JapaneseAmerican artist Robert Murase and it sits among a list of his notable works, in addition to being a popular place to catch the spring cherry blossoms in Portland.
ART
PPS HEART OF PORTLAND PORTLAND ART MUSEUM
10 A.M.
$20
STUDENTS SHOWCASE ART AND PERFORM WITH THEMES OF IDENTITY AND STORYTELLING
STICKER FEST THE CLEANERS
9 A.M. FREE ART POP UP WITH AN EMPHASIS ON STICKERS!
QUILT, CRAFT, AND SEWING FESTIVAL PORTLAND EXPO CENTER
10 A.M.
$10
A WIDE VARIETY OF SEWING, QUILTING, NEEDLE-ART AND CRAFT SUPPLY EXHIBITS FROM MANY QUALITY COMPANIES
RAINBOW MOUNTAIN RANGES BOTTLE & BOTTEGA
2:30 P.M.
$44
LEARN TO PAINT A BEAUTIFUL, COLORFUL MOUNTAIN RANGE WITH INSTRUCTION FROM AN ARTIST
STARLIGHT STARBRIGHT BOTTLE & BOTTEGA
6 P.M.
$44
LEARN TO PAINT THE MOON AND STARS WITH INSTRUCTION FROM AN ARTIST
CELLOTRONIK
DANTE’S
4 P.M.
FREE
SKIP VONKUSKE CREATES LOOPING CELLO MUSIC WITH VARIOUS INSTRUMENTS
COLIN HAY
REVOLUTION HALL
7 P.M.
$50+
A GRAMMY-WINNING SINGER AND SONGWRITER WITH 25 YEARS OF SOLO WORK
FIED
ARLENE SCHNITZER HALL
8 P.M.
$132+
COLUMBIAN STAR, SONGWRITER THAT COLLABORATES WITH FAMOUS REGGAETON ARTISTS
THE CALIFORNIA HONEYDROPS WONDER BALLROOM
8 P.M.
$30+
BAY AREA BAND BLENDING R&B, FUNK, SOUL, BLUES AND MORE IN FUN AND ENERGETIC LIVE SHOWS
DANZMAYR
ARLENE SCHNITZER HALL
2 P.M.
$25+
DANZMAYR CONDUCTS MAHLER’S FOURTH AND GOLIJOV’S THREE SONGS. SOPRANO TILLING SINGS OF HEAVEN AND SORROW
THE INHERITANCE TRIANGLE PRODUCTIONS
7:30 P.M.
$15+
GAY MEN IN NYC FACE PAST AND PRESENT IN AWARD-WINNING TWO-PART PLAY
HOWLER COMEDY HOUR GOL SOCCER BAR
9 P.M. FREE
A HOT MONTHLY COMEDY SHOW HOSTED BY JONO GRINDHART
CHOIR BOY THE ARMORY
8 A.M.
$25+
GAY CHOIR LEADER FACES RACISM AND HOMOPHOBIA AT PREP SCHOOL. MUSIC AND DANCE BY MOONLIGHT WRITER
JEFFERSON DANCERS NEWMARK THEATRE
7:30 P.M.
$12+
ELITE HIGH SCHOOL DANCE COMPANY PRESENTS ANNUAL SPRING SHOW DOWNTOWN
THE METAMORPHOSIS OF BIRDS
5TH AVENUE CINEMA
6 & 8:30 P.M. STUDENTS: FREE GENERAL: $7
A POETIC FILM EXPLORING A FAMILY’S MEMORIES, MYTHS AND TRANSFORMATIONS THROUGH IMAGES AND SOUNDS
NORTHWEST FOOD SHOW
PORTLAND EXPO CENTER
10 A.M.
$15
LEARN TRENDS, TASTE ALCOHOL AND DISCOVER NEW PRODUCTS
DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT & RESOURCE
FAIR
4950 NE MARTIN LUTHER KING JR BLVD
1 P.M.
FREE DISCOVER NEW OPPORTUNITIES, ASSISTANCE, FOOD AND ENTER A RAFFLE
USS BLUEBACK SUBMARINE TOUR OMSI
9:30 A.M.
$7
EXPLORE A REAL NAVY SUBMARINE AND LEARN ABOUT ITS HISTORY AND TECHNOLOGY
DROP IN COFFEE CHATS ROSE CITY COFFEE CO
1 P.M.
FREE
CHAT IF YOU’RE CONSIDERING JOINING THE JUNIOR LEAGUE OF PORTLAND
MAGICAL TEA & MYSTERY THE VICTORIAN BELLE MANSION 2 P.M.
$30+
AWARD-WINNING MAGICIAN AND HISTORIAN PROFESSOR DR SCHREIBER RECREATES EARLY MAGIC SHOWS WITH ILLUSIONS, EDUCATION AND ENTERTAINMENT
ARTSHITZ
THE HIGH WATER MARK
6 P.M.
FREE
AN ART FLEA MARKET FEATURING LOCAL VENDORS OF ART, CRAFTS, JEWELRY, CLOTHING, CONSUMABLES AND MORE
JEWELRY AND METALSMITHING CUSTOM DELUXE STUDIO
6:30 P.M.
$435
DESIGN AND CREATE METAL JEWELRY. LEARN AND EXPERIMENT WITH SAWING, SOLDERING, POLISHING AND MORE
JOHN BUTLER
REVOLUTION HALL
7 P.M.
$39+
AUSTRALIA’S TOP ALTERNATIVE
SONGWRITER AND STORYTELLER. ICONIC HITS, PLATINUM RECORDS, HIGH-ENERGY LIVE SHOW
WAGE WAR ROSELAND THEATRE
7 P.M.
$25+
METALCORE BAND FROM FLORIDA INCORPORATING HEAVY RIFFS, MELODIC HOOKS AND EMOTIONAL LYRICS
EL OH HELL
DANTE’S
4 P.M.
FREE
OPEN MIC COMEDY AT A HELL-THEMED BAR, HOSTED BY BRYAN WITHAWHY
COMMUNITY GARDEN VOLUNTEER DAY NAYA FAMILY CENTER 10 A.M.
FREE
VOLUNTEER TO IMPROVE OUR NATIVE GARDEN BY PLANTING VEGETATION
OPEN MIC COMEDY CHEERFUL TORTOISE
9 P.M.
FREE COMEDY ON CAMPUS AT PSU, FEATURING LOCAL TALENT AND FIVE-MINUTE SETS
RECOVERY YOGA ALANO CLUB OF PORTLAND
2 P.M.
FREE TRAUMA-INFORMED YOGA CLASSES WITH RAYLEEN MCMILLAN. HEAL, PREVENT AND REALIZE YOUR POTENTIAL
