Portland State Vanguard Volume 76 Issue 13

VOLUME 76 • ISSUE 13 • JULY 6, 2021

AFTER OVER A YEAR OF PANDEMIC RESTRICTIONS, OREGON REOPENS JUST IN TIME FOR SUMMER NEWS A mask-free future for Oregonians?

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SPORTS Student athletes can now make money from their likeness P. 6

ARTS & CULTURE Backbone is a game that lacks backbone P. 7

CONTENTS

COVER BY SHANNON STEED

NEWS HILL TO HALL JUNE 28–JULY 2

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OREGON LIFTS COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS INTERNATIONAL PRIDE PARADES RETURN AS THE FIGHT FOR LGBTQ+ RIGHTS CONTINUES

STAFF EDIT ORI A L EDITOR IN CHIEF Nick Gatlin MANAGING EDITOR Morgan Troper NEWS EDITORS Conor Carroll Danny O’Brien INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Karisa Yuasa SPORTS EDITOR Eric Shelby SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Ryan McConnell

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Béla Kurzenhauser OPINION EDITOR Rachel Owen ONLINE EDITOR Lily Hennings COPY CHIEF Mackenzie Streissguth CONTRIBUTORS Allison Kirkpatrick Catherine Kane Analisa Landeros

SPORTS THE NCAA WILL ALLOW STUDENT ATHLETES TO GET PAID

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ARTS & CULTURE BACKBONE IS A DETECTIVE GAME WITHOUT DEDUCTION

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OPINION PORTLAND’S HEATWAVE IS A CONSEQUENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE

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PHO T O A ND MULTIMEDI A MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Olivia Lee

A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood

PRODUC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Shannon Steed

STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher

DESIGNER Kelsey Stewart T ECHNOL OGY & W EB SIT E TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS Juliana Bigelow Kahela Fickle George Olson

STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Corrine Nightingale To contact Portland State Vanguard, email editor@psuvanguard.com

MIS SION S TAT EMEN T Vanguard ’s mission is to serve the Portland State community with timely, accurate, comprehensive and critical content while upholding high journalistic standards. In the process, we aim to enrich our staff with quality, hands-on journalism education and a number of skills highly valued in today’s job market.

A BOU T Vanguard, established in 1946, is published weekly as an independent student newspaper governed by the PSU Student Media Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers and do not necessarily represent the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. Find us in print Tuesdays and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @psuvanguard for multimedia content and breaking news.

JUNE 28–JULY 2 CONOR CARROLL

JUNE 28: R ECENT PSU REPORT ESTIMATES COST OF OREGON EVICTIONS IN BILLIONS

The Portland State University Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative (HRAC) issued a report estimating that over 125,000 Oregon households are at risk of being evicted when the federal moratorium on evictions expires this month, costing taxpayers as much as $4.7 billion. The collaborative utilized data compiled from emergency medical services filings, child welfare and juvenile justice services and institutions like emergency shelters. It is unclear the number of households eligible for rental assistance in time to stave off eviction. “If we want to be truly responsible, we should allow everyone to stay in their homes while we figure out how many still need rent assistance and whether they can access that assistance,” said Marisa Zapata, HRAC Director and PSU Associate Professor of Land-Use Planning.

JUNE 29: D ESPITE PROMISES, OREGON GIVES TAX BREAKS TO TIMBER INDUSTRY, AGAIN

As the 2020–21 legislative session concluded in late June, Oregon state lawmakers removed the remaining $15 million mandatory annual harvest tax, which is levied against the timber industry in exchange for the cutting down of Oregon’s forests. This action jettisoned $9 million in yearly income for the state, which goes towards Oregon’s enforcement of state logging regulations and laws by the Department of Forestry, and provides funds to Oregon State University’s forestry research. “The tax cut came in the final days of the session after the Senate failed to pass a separate measure, approved by the House of Representatives, that aimed to overhaul the Oregon Forest Resources Institute,” OPB reported. OPB and The Oregonian found that, in an Aug. 2020 investigation by ProPublica, the Institute is widely considered to be a lobbying arm of the timber industry. The dispute between the Oregon House and Senate resulted in timber companies, which include Wall Street investors that are currently the largest owners of Oregon’s private forests, seeing a low tax burden lowered further still.

JUNE 30: EXPELLED OREGON REP. NEARMAN IS GOP’S TOP REPLACEMENT CHOICE

Recently removed from Oregon state legislature, former Representative Mike Nearman is the Republican party’s top choice to replace himself, despite facing multiple criminal charges over his assistance in the felony breach of the Oregon state capitol by far-right extremists and conspiracy theorists. Nearman received the largest tally of votes among local Republican caucus members who assembled June 25 to choose new nominees for the Oregon House seat in District 23. “I am humbled that my fellow Precinct Committee-persons voted overwhelmingly to return me to the House as their representative,” Nearman stated in a post to his far-right wing website called Northwest Observer.

Nearman receiving the most votes does not guarantee his return to Salem—and the decision falls to county commissioners in Benton, Marion, Polk and Yamhill counties.

JULY 1: M ORE THAN 1 IN 10 JOBS IN OREGON WILL NOW PAY HIGHER WAGES

According to an Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCPP) report, more than 200,000 jobs—estimated to be more than one in every ten total jobs in the state—will have to pay employees more starting July 1, 2021, after a minimum wage hike takes effect. Minimum wage employees all across Oregon are affected: workers in urban counties will receive a 75-cent increase per hour, while rural workers will receive a 50-cent bump in wages. Oregon’s minimum wage is variable, depending on regionality, which results from 2016 legislation setting up a 3-tier structure: Portland metro area rises to $14 an hour, $12 in rural areas and $12.75 in the rest of Oregon. The current federal minimum wage is $7.25 and has not increased in over a decade. A full-time, federal minimum wage worker today earns less than her counterpart earned at the time of the last increase, in 2009, after adjusting for cost of living. “Though this increase is welcome news for lowwage workers in Oregon, it falls short of what workers need to make ends meet,” the OCPP report stated.

JULY 2: TRUMP ORG., LONG-TIME CFO WEISSELBERG CHARGED WITH AT LEAST 15 FELONIES

Former U.S. President Donald Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, has been charged by Manhattan District Attorney Cyrus Vance Jr. with (at least) 15 felony counts, including tax fraud, while Trump’s long-time CFO Allen Weisselberg surrendered himself to authorities July 1. Both plead not guilty at the arraignment. Trump himself was not named in the complaint, though experts claim the move to indict Weisselberg is in hopes he will “flip” on the twice-impeached former President. The empaneled grand jury is expected to continue prepondering the evidence until Nov. of this year, at the earliest. “This was a 15-year-long tax fraud scheme. It was orchestrated by the most senior [Trump Org.] executives,” said Carey Dunn, general counsel for the Manhattan District Attorney’s office, during the arraignment. The charges stem directly from The New York Times’ Pulitzer Prize-winning special-investigative report, which found decades of financial criminality and tax schemes.

PSU Vanguard • JULY 6, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

NEWS

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OREGON LIFTS COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS

AFTER MORE THAN A YEAR OF ZOOM MEETINGS AND MASKED FRED MEYER VISITS, OREGONIANS CAN ONCE AGAIN BRAVE THE OPEN AIR DANNY O’BRIEN Governor Kate Brown announced june 25 an end to the statewide mask mandate, which ended June 30. The single-shot vaccination rate among the eligible population reached 69.9% as of July 1, just below the governor’s goal of a 70% vaccination rate. Brown stated pandemic restrictions would be lifted either once the vaccination goal was met or by June 30, whichever came first.

The announcement comes after 16 months of lockdown and over a year of mask mandates.

Oregon’s stay-at-home order was issued March 23, 2020. During the lockdown, many people found the issue of masks to be politically divisive, some clinging to them for safety and others treating them as a threat to their liberties.

Regardless of political affiliation, the repeal of mask mandates represents a significant moment for Oregonians.

“When Oregon reaches 70% of adults vaccinated, or by Wednesday, June [30], whichever comes first, we will lift the safety protocols we have relied on and reopen our economy,” Brown said.

This reopening means that wearing masks will no longer be required, with the exception of some airport, public transit and health care settings. Physical distancing will no longer be required, and businesses and events will no longer be subject to required capacities.

“We find ourselves entering a new chapter

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NEWS

GOVERNOR KATE BROWN'S EXECUTIVE ORDER LIFTING MOST COVID-19 RESTRICTIONS IN OREGON. OFFICE OF THE GOVERNOR/STATE OF OREGON of the pandemic,” Brown said. “More than 2.3 million Oregonians are now vaccinated, and we are quickly approaching the point where 70% of Oregon’s adults have received a first dose.

Thanks to the widespread availability and adoption of the vaccines, our case rates are declining and our communities are safer.”

OSHA responded by releasing a letter explaining that workplaces no longer require masks, shields or face coverings. The letter specifies that should employees wish to continue wearing masks, shields or face coverings, they are allowed to do so.

Retail stores, K–12 schools, bars, restaurants and other public venues are now open without restrictions or limitations, and some bars and restaurants in the greater Portland area, as well as elsewhere in Oregon, are moving forward with reopening as of June 30.

Some businesses are staying open later, akin to pre-pandemic operating hours, and serving guests indoors, while some still have restrictions in place for the time being in order to make a more seamless transition to post-restriction activities.

Transit and health care jobs will have some restrictions kept in place, due to the essential nature of their work and heightened possibility for transmission of the virus.

To celebrate the reopening of Portland, the

city is making all public transit rides free for the weekend of July 3–5. This is being done with hopes that there will be increased traffic to the city for the Independence Day weekend, and with it an economic boon to restaurants and businesses in need of customers.

There is some uncertainty about how Oregon’s universities will react as far as their COVID-19 policies are concerned. With the vaccine roll-out, universities across Oregon have announced that fall classes will be in person, with some stipulations.

Oregon State University, Lewis and Clark College, Willamette University and University of Portland are all requiring students be vaccinated. The University of Oregon has issued recommendations, but no requirements.

Dr. Mark Bajorek, Director of Health Services at PSU and member of the university’s Incident Management Team, says that as it stands, “Portland State recommends the vaccine but the FDA makes it hard to require it.”

He also mentions how policy-wise, the university generally aligns its COVID-19 policies with the state, but can opt for stricter measures. According to the university’s Coronavirus Response page, PSU will return to in-person classes in the fall, and will require both vaccination for COVID-19 and face masks for everyone on campus.

Some students hope the university doesn’t

jump on board with the state in a full reopening. Piper Brown, senior Biology student at PSU said, “I have a feeling that shit will hit the fan with the Delta variant and people not getting vaccinated.”

“I’d hope they’d require people getting vaccinated unless they physically can’t,” she said when asked how she hopes the university will respond come fall. “I liked the idea of sanitizing everything down and wearing masks.”

The universities could also choose to err on the side of caution and continue to require or recommend masks, out of potential dangers associated with the Delta variant of COVID-19, which, among other variants, has been reported throughout the state and U.S. at large.

Worry over the Delta variant may have caused a riff between the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control. Earlier in June, the CDC posted on their website saying that fully vaccinated people can resume normal activities without a mask; the WHO disagrees.

With the spread of the Delta variant well underway, the WHO reminds countries—and people—that vaccines can prevent infection but not transmission. They argue that people should continue to wear masks, wash hands and distance themselves until the Delta variant is more under control and vaccination rates are much higher around the globe.

PSU Vanguard • JULY 6, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

PRIDE PARADES RETURN AS THE FIGHT FOR LGBTQ+ RIGHTS CONTINUES 1 3 4 2

Each June in the United States, LGBTQ+ pride month is recognized and celebrated to commemorate the Stonewall riots. Pride has since grown internationally as cities across the world come together for festivities and parades in celebration of the event. Although the COVID-19 pandemic forced the cancelation of many in-person events both last year and this year, some cities were still able to come together this year to celebrate, honor and continue the fight for LGBTQ+ rights.

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WARSAW, POLAND

Thousands of people came together on June 19 to march through Warsaw in an “equality parade,” according to The Guardian. “The equality parade is a celebration of LGBT people and all those who have to fight for their rights,” said Sylwester Cimochowski, a participant in the parade. “Homophobia is a huge problem in Poland…there are lots of people who can’t cope with it, they kill themselves. The situation of LGBT people in Poland is tragic and that’s why I’m here—to support them.” The march came days after Hungary—whose government is allied with Poland’s ruling party—introduced a law banning the “display and promotion of homosexuality” or the promotion of gender change to minors.

Supporters of the law say that it is necessary to protect children from pedophilia as it includes the creation of a searchable list of convicted pedophiles. “What this law and discourse does is [mix] up crimes against children with [the] consensual love of adults,” said David Vig, director of Amnesty International Hungary.

Same-sex partnership or marriage remains illegal, and over 100 Polish communities have passed anti-LGBTQ+ resolutions in the past two years in the largely conservative nation.

PSU Vanguard • JULY 6, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

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TEL AVIV AND JERUSALEM

Organizers estimated that 100,000 people attended a Pride parade on June 25, according to AP News. The event was one of the largest events to take place since the COVID-19 pandemic. “Pride events in Tel Aviv-Yafo are a long-standing tradition, centered on a message of equality, acceptance, and human and civil rights,” Tel Aviv Mayor Ron Huldai said.

“Tel Aviv-Yafo represents a warm home for all communities residing here, and is proud to be a groundbreaking city in its approach to the LGBTQ community and a source of international inspiration. This year, more than ever, we will celebrate together, march together, and fight together for equality.” Earlier in June, approximately 8,000 people attended a smaller pride event in Jerusalem. Both events had a heavy police presence due to fears of counter-demonstration escalating to violence, as has happened in the past. “About 50 suspects suspected of involvement in various offenses, including disturbing public order and attempted harm to police officers and participants, were detained and taken for questioning at the police station,” police said in a statement.

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PARIS, FRANCE

Paris Pride occured on June 26 under the slogan, “Less talk, more rights! Too many promises, we’re going backwards!” according to France 24. The march was more politically focused than it had been in the past as Inter-LGBT, the organizers of the event, published a call to action which included specific political demands.

The document cited the inaction of the French government in

order to focus on issues such as medically assisted procreation (MAP) and transphobia in schools. MAP remained illegal for single women and lesbian couples in France as of Paris Pride 2021, despite it being one of French President Emmanuel Macron’s campaign promises in 2017. On June 29, France’s lower house extended the no-cost MAP procedure to be available to single women and lesbian couples, according to AP News. “Discriminations still exist in France and that’s why pride still exists! There are so many important issues to address,” said Alix, a member of MAG Jeunes LGBT, an organization aimed at helping LGBTQ+ youth, that was present at Paris Pride.

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ISTANBUL AND ANKARA, TURKEY

Turkish police were seen using tear gas to disperse a crowd that gathered for a Pride parade on June 26, according to Reuters. Although the parade started as an annual event in 2003, Turkish authorities have banned it for the last seven years by refusing to grant permits. Prior to the ban, thousands of people gathered for pride events each year. “Rainbow is not a crime, discrimination is,” the marchers were heard chanting, according to The Washington Post. Approximately 20 people—including a photo-journalist—are reported to have been arrested for attempting to be a part of the parade, as police in riot gear were seen pushing and dragging people. On June 29, Turkish police detained at least 15 more people who took part in a small Pride march in Ankara. In March, Human Rights Watch issued a statement on the Turkish government that wrote, “Anti-LGBT speeches and social media posts by top government officials have become common.”

INTERNATIONAL

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PORTLAND STATE VIKINGS ICONOGRAPHY LAID ON TOP OF $20 BILLS. ERIC SHELBY/PSU VANGUARD

THE NCAA WILL ALLOW STUDENT ATHLETES TO GET PAID

STUDENT ATHLETES CAN NOW MAKE MONEY OFF THEIR NAME, IMAGE AND LIKENESS ERIC SHELBY A decision by the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) will allow student athletes from all 1,268 NCAA member schools to make money off of their name, image and likeness (NIL), without losing their eligibility or scholarships, effective July 1. Prior to this decision, students had to give up the rights to make money off their NIL because of the terms of their NCAA scholarships. Now, the names and faces of student athletes could be featured on commercials and memorabilia, and athletes can hold their own autograph signings.

Schools, including Portland State, will not pay their athletes.

Rather, athletes will have an opportunity to get paid from a third party without consequences. As of July 2, 23 states, including California, Texas, Florida, Georgia and Oregon, are in the process or have already signed the federal NIL bill into law. Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed Senate Bill 5 on July 1 and it was put into effect immediately.

The NCAA made $1 billion in the 2016–17 school year, with roughly 75% of that revenue coming from television and marketing related to March Madness. Money is given to the participating Conferences after the tournament. The Pac-12 Conference earned $38.72 million because of the success of schools like University of California, Los Angeles that made it from the first four to the final four. Even though they lost in the

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SPORTS

first round, Eastern Washington University earned around $2 million for the Big Sky Conference, which PSU is in.

Nike and Adidas pay schools to add their logos to the jerseys and shoes of student athletes. Typically, this money is given to the school and the NCAA, while the athletes receive nothing. On average, student athletes commit 43 hours a week to maintaining their athletic scholarships, yet even the most popular athletes have not seen money in their hands for their efforts. When student athletes do make profit off of their NIL, the NCAA is quick to shut it down.

Back in 2017, University of Central Florida punter and YouTuber Donald De La Haye got into a conflict with the NCAA when it found out he was making money off of his YouTube channel, on which he showcased his football skills. The NCAA told him to demonetize or delete his channel in order to stay on the football team. De La Haye decided to sacrifice his football scholarship and NCAA eligibility to continue his YouTube channel. He sued and was able to finish his degree and graduate from the university, and he continues to make content on YouTube for his 3.43 million subscribers.

The main reason the NCAA had a rule that made student athletes like De La Haye choose between making money or keeping their scholarship was to avoid legal action under antitrust laws.

If student athletes were categorized as “amateurs” then there

wasn’t a need for them to be paid, since the scholarships given to the students were presumed to be enough.

With new opportunities on the horizon, student athletes can now be featured on products and in advertisements. They can also use their own name to promote their own companies. With plans to recreate NCAA Football 14, a videogame discontinued in 2014, developer EA Sports intends on allowing student athletes to be compensated for having their names in the game.

Some student athletes, like basketball players Hanna and Haley Cavinder, immediately went to work monetizing their social media presence. The twin athletes from Fresno State have already agreed on an endorsement deal with Boost Mobile. University of Wisconsin quarterback Graham Mertz already has his own personal logo, revealing it on Twitter. One restriction on the new NIL rule is that student athletes can’t represent their university logo when they endorse a product. So, for example, you won’t see a PSU tennis player wearing the dark green logo in their advertisements. Colleges and universities also can’t use money as a way to persuade student athletes to choose one school or another.

Student athletes are aware that the opportunity to monetize their NIL at their own discretion is a big deal, and many are ready to find sponsors. Satisfied with this decision, they get ready for the 2021–22 season, hopefully with more money in their pockets.

PSU Vanguard • JULY 6, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

BACKBONE IS A DETECTIVE GAME WITHOUT DEDUCTION THIS NOIR-INSPIRED GAME LACKS BOTH BARK AND BITE HOWARD LOTOR, RACCOON P.I., WALKS THE STREETS OF VANCOUVER. BACKBONE/RAW FURY

BÉLA KURZENHAUSER Good detective games are few and far between. The deductive process of interrogating witnesses, gathering evidence and piecing together clues to arrive at a climactic whodunit conclusion is hard to pack within the confines of a video game, so very few developers have taken their shot at making a detective game in the decades the medium has been around. The genre flourished during the 1990s, when point-and-click MS-DOS adventure games like The Secret of Monkey Island or Where in the World is Carmen Sandiego were churned out by studios like LucasArts and Sierra Entertainment. Since then, however, the interest in detective media has dwindled.

Backbone, the debut game from EggNut, a game studio based in Vancouver, British Columbia, tries to live up to the legacy of these older games by spinning a tale of noir intrigue. The game is set in a futuristic version of Vancouver, where sci-fi experimentation and dystopia clash with a rich backdrop of noir-inspired architecture. Art Deco theaters and cafes shimmering with neon lights are interspersed throughout neighborhoods and slums containing abandoned apartment buildings and decaying shacks, while the background reveals a host of gigantic skyscrapers and dystopian monuments to the Apes, Vancouver’s upper class, adding a dash of Bradbury to this otherwise Columbo-esque tale.

Backbone is but one of the latest pieces of mystery media to utilize anthropomorphic animals as its cast, with the game drawing inspiration from the comic series Blacksad and seedy detective serials of the previous century. You play as Howard Lotor, a raccoon and private investigator, who takes on the case of finding a man suspected of cheating. It doesn’t take long to get wrapped up in a world of seedy conspiracy involving cannibalism, political

PSU Vanguard • JULY 6, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

espionage, vice, classism and a generous side of intrigue to keep the plot going. In standard noir fashion, Howard acquires a sidekick—the mysterious fox Renee, who’s penning a novel on political corruption and needs his help to expose the city’s hotbed of corporate cahoots.

There’s no undercutting how fantastic this game’s world and tone are. The architectural clash between glitzy, towering highrises and archaic brownstones is reminiscent of Bioshock, revealing a city that aimed for greatness but gave up halfway. In classic dystopian fashion, Vancouver is surrounded by a border wall that hides from view a mysterious outside world. Although Backbone doesn’t entirely commit to its noir aesthetic, its characters certainly do: Lotor is a solipsistic antihero without a future, and Renee is a mysterious young investigator without a past. The game is shrouded with mystery and slowly peels away the layers of its world like an onion as you progress through the story.

The aesthetics are where the game shines the most—outside of seedy, pulpy noir roots, the game features stunning art direction and a slick, engaging soundtrack. Pixel art has never looked this beautiful, with sharp, refined buildings and backgrounds dominating the screen, constructing a huge sense of scope and space.

When the game zooms closer in, the characters appear delightfully crunchy and pixelated, appropriately shrinking down the game’s scale when inside buildings or rooms.

Unfortunately, despite a menagerie of gorgeous artistic locales, it doesn’t take long for Backbone to wear itself thin. Areas often consist of a dozen or more buildings, but rarely can you enter even one or two of them. The pixelated sheen of Vancouverinspired architecture starts to wear away, revealing a series of concrete facades. The choice-based dialogue system deprecates

into a very linear sequence of stock dialogue choices and, despite the game’s array of diverse and eclectic non-player characters, each of them talk and act the same, causing conversations to become tepid and artificial.

Backbone started out as a Kickstarter game, and it grew in appeal due to its gorgeous art and its promise of being a true detective game that allowed players to make choices that would significantly change the narrative of the story; a game that would pit them against puzzles that would require players to think deductively. In reality, Backbone is as painfully linear as a game can get. There are no choices that change or impact the game, and there aren’t even puzzles or gameplay elements that allow you to feel like a detective. Looking back at the game’s original promises, it’s palpable that a lot of content was cut—original gameplay footage featured combat, chases and complex stealth mechanics, none of which made it into the final release.

Despite what its name would lead you to believe, Backbone is a game that lacks backbone—it lacks structure, it lacks focus and it lacks a hook. A good mystery needs time to stew, as all the intrigue, drama and excitement sits and thickens in the pot. Backbone lasts only about four hours, which is nowhere near long enough for its ideas to settle into something discrete.

The first three-fourths of this private eye romp are worth wading through shoddy mechanics and gameplay for, but, once you hit the three hour mark, the game desperately tries to rush towards an ending by cramming in a sci-fi conclusion that feels more District 9 than it does The Long Goodbye.

If you’re hankering for a detective game, you might as well give it a shot, but Backbone ends up feeling more like an undercooked appetizer than a delicious and filling entree.

ARTS & CULTURE

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PORTLAND’S HEATWAVE IS A CONSEQUENCE OF CLIMATE CHANGE IT’S TIME FOR US TO DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT RACHEL OWEN Over the past week, Portland, Oregon has seen summer like never before. Both the unprecedented heat and a sudden urge to spend time inside are strange for a city that’s known for its proximity to the outdoors. This heat wave has challenged Portland’s nature and its spirit.

The truth is, summer here isn’t supposed to be like this. It’s supposed to be mild temperatures, not 112°F of sweltering heat. It’s days at the river, not attempts to boil an egg on the pavement.

The Pacific Northwest just spent time under a heat dome—an area of high pressure that acts like a pot lid on whichever region it sits over. This heat dome—and summers like this—are not supposed to happen.

The basis for this phenomenon is climate change, and anyone who says otherwise is simply not paying enough attention. Climate change has been affecting the world for a while, and as we continue to study it closely, we are realizing that it is affecting us more now than we ever thought it would.

With unprecedented heat rising throughout the Northwest, climate change continues to become a more unsettling ideology and an even more detrimental characteristic of “normal.” According to U.S. climate data, the average Portland temperature for June is 74°F. Last week, we reached a high of 112°F. This isn’t supposed to happen.

The heat dome that sat over the Pacific Northwest even made its way into British Columbia, Canada, where temperatures reached 121.3°F, breaking even more records and causing even more havoc. Furthermore, temperatures reached 123°F in Palm Springs, California, and 114°F in Las Vegas, Nevada.

This isn’t supposed to happen.

According to the Oregon state medical

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OPINION

examiner, 79 people died from the heat in Oregon alone. These high temperatures can cause health problems such as dehydration, heat stroke and even mental processing issues. The heat is not good for us.

We’re not used to it being like this. These heat waves are dangerous, and they’re only going to keep coming.

According to National Geographic, the U.S. contributes 25% of all global warming emissions, but our death rate for climate-related illnesses is starkly low compared to other countries that do not contribute nearly as much to climate change. Guatemala, for example, only contributes 0.0002% of emissions, but more than 75% of their heat-related deaths can be linked to climate change, according to National Geographic.

This exemplifies the climate injustice that the world faces as temperatures rise.

Countries that do not share the responsibility for climate change are being disproportionately affected by it. Climate injustice further exposes the lack of accountability that first world countries such as the U.S. take. While many of us sit here with our air conditioning and fans, others struggle to stay hydrated and survive this heat.

Tarik Benmarhnia, an environmental health expert at the University of California, San Diego, told National Geographic that “worldwide, the effects are unequal. Within the U.S., the effects are unequal. At the county, at the city, in the neighborhood—the effects are unequal.”

Even on a statewide level, we face climate injustice. A heatwave doesn’t feel so bad when you’re sitting in front of an air conditioner, but what about the houseless people that do not have those same luxuries? Sitting on that hot concrete begging

for water or ice or a cold place to cool down when even the shade feels like it is burning.

This isn’t supposed to happen.

We’ve been fighting climate change for ages, and now we are seeing its effects in front of us—and still people continue to look the other way. As political comedian Stephen Colbert once mocked, “Global warming isn’t real, because I’m cold right now.”

The Pacific Northwest is anything but cold right now. As higher temperatures spread throughout the U.S., it is time that we come to reckon with it.

According to the U.S. Global Change Research Program, average U.S. temperatures have increased since the late 19th century and will only continue to go up. This report also concludes that heat waves have become more common since the 1960s. This isn’t supposed to happen.

Climate change is an ongoing issue, and to keep ignoring it is detrimental not only to the planet but to ourselves. When will we finally learn that those two go hand-inhand? Although we recognize that, in theory, the climate crisis is something that might happen, many still ignore the reality of it beginning around us. As global environmental health expert at the University of Washington, Dr. Kristie Ebi, said, “Heat kills, but it doesn’t have to.” This isn’t supposed to happen.

KELSEY STEWART

PSU Vanguard • JULY 6, 2021 • psuvanguard.com