NEWS: PROTESTS AGAINST SFC PROPOSALS P.4-5
ARTS: ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW IN PORTLAND P.8-9
SCIENCE: WHAT ALIEN CIVILIZATIONS MIGHT LOOK LIKE P.14-15
STAFF
Isaiah Burns
Tasha Sayre NEWS
Noah Carandanis
ARTS & CULTURE
Sarah Applin
SCIENCE &
Anish Kumar Arumugam
OPINION
JJ Christensen
MULTIMEDIA
Sergio Cervantes
Liam Schmitt
Lilli Rudine
Tayma Miguel
DISTRIBUTION
Vaishnavi Srinath
CONTRIBUTORS
Milo Loza
Vaishnavi Srinath
Anthony Ho
PRODUCTION & DESIGN
CREATIVE DIRECTOR
Briana Cieri
DESIGNERS
Arianna Thomas
Abigail Green
Abby Raymundo
Parker Patnode
Adrianna Pineyro
Jenelle De Leon
Haley Hsu
Devin Singh
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.
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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
PSU UNDER FEDERAL INVESTIGATION FOR FAILING TO RESPOND TO ANTI-PALESTINIAN AND ISLAMOPHOBIC HATE SPEECH ON CAMPUS
Editor’s NotE: thE pErspEctivEs aNd opinions printed in this Letter to the Editor are the views and statements of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the positions of Portland State Vanguard or its editorial staff. Some claims have not been independently verified by PSU Vanguard.
On Aug. 15, 2024, President Ann Cudd and Portland State University were notified that the U.S. Department of Education, Office for Civil Rights (OCR) was opening an investigation on the failure to respond to the harassment of Palestinian and Muslim students and faculty in a manner consistent with the requirements of Title VI. Specifically, OCR is investigating the failure of PSU to respond appropriately to reports of anti-Palestinian and Islamophobic flyers posted in a campus building.
As noted in The Oregonian (Aug. 8) and PSU Vanguard (Sept. 20), over the summer, faculty, students and staff found and removed anti-Pal-
estinian flyers on the first floor of Cramer Hall.
To be clear, students, faculty and staff found and removed anti-Palestinian flyers at least 3 times a week in the same exact location of Cramer Hall. At least 5 different reports were made to President Cudd and the PSU administration about the flyers. There was no visible response from President Cudd or the PSU administration to acknowledge or remove the flyers.
On Aug. 8, faculty and staff identified and spoke with the person responsible for posting the flyers. The name of the individual was shared with the PSU administration and the OCR investigating attorney.
We are withholding the name of the individual responsible because we want to remain focused on holding President Cudd responsible for allowing ongoing harassment of Palestinian and Muslim students and faculty.
Despite claims otherwise, there was no response from PSU during the months of July and August concerning the flyers (this claim has not been independently verified by PSU
Vanguard). In fact, a PSU administrator minimized the anti-Palestinian sentiment by stating PSU was “aware of flyers posted in Cramer Hall that some may consider hate speech” in The Oregonian’s Aug. 8 article.
On Sept. 3, the PSU administration sent a response about the flyers to only a few people on campus. President Cudd briefly mentioned The Oregonian article and PSU response in her Sept. 13 blog post. In her blog post, the President omits that the flyers were continuously removed by faculty, students and staff rather than by facilities or PSU administration. The President also omits that the reports made by students, faculty and staff to President Cudd and PSU Office of Equity and Compliance were responded to inconsistently at best and intentionally misleading at worst. Nor did President Cudd report that PSU was under an OCR Title VI investigation for failing to respond appropriately.
In that same blog post, President Cudd again centered the safety of Jewish students while she allowed the spread of anti-Pales -
tinian hate in Cramer Hall. This creates a dangerous and inflammatory rhetoric that deepens divides, promotes intolerance and incites widespread discrimination and violence beyond the PSU campus.
We are deeply troubled by the silence around the flyers and the connection of the responsible individual to a large PSU donor (this claim has not been independently verified by PSU Vanguard).
We are troubled by the ways PSU donors, Board of Trustee members and others are influencing President Cudd’s inconsistent and opaque response to anti-Palestinian hate on campus.
We urge the PSU community to be vigilant in holding President Cudd to a standard of transparency and inclusion for all on campus. We ask for transparency around the formation and the rights and responsibilities of the Committee on Socially Responsible Investment and Partnership. We ask the committee to look beyond connections to Boeing in examining the local, national and global impacts of PSU donors and other partnerships.
MAX CHAMBERLAIN/PSU VANGUARD
Billboard in Cramer Hall with hateful flyers posted to it.
STUDENT FEE COMMITTEE’S PROPOSED BUDGET CUTS RECEIVES RESISTANCE
THE SFC HAS PROPOSED CUTS OF UP TO 12% FOR STUDENT ORGANIZATIONS AS PSU WRESTLES WITH BUDGET DEFICIT
Protesters filed into Smith Memorial Student Union’s (SMSU) room 296 carrying signs expressing dissatisfaction with the Student Fee Committee’s (SFC) proposed budget cuts. Signs reading “Save our orgs!” and “Where’s our funding?” were presented in front of the SFC at a budget hearing and review. Fee Funded Areas (FFAs) are areas on campus that are either fully or partially funded by the student incidental fee. This is one of several fees that every student pays each term they attend PSU. These funds go towards covering a variety of services and opportunities on campus that are meant to serve students. FFAs are supposed to be for the direct benefit of students. This includes athletics, student organizations and clubs, childcare, resource centers and more. Currently, the student incidental fee stands at $369
The main point of contention was the SFC’s proposed budget cuts of up to 12% for FFAs funded through the incidental fees students are charged annually. An email sent out by the Organization Budget Council (OBC)—a student run group responsible for allocating funds to organizations under Student Activities and
Leadership Programs (SALP)—called for PSU students to sit-in on the budget hearing and review hosted by the SFC on Oct. 15.
Campus organizations presented the SFC with scenarios on how various budget cuts would impact them—from how organizations would handle no cuts, 8% cuts and 12% cuts. Groups were also requested to propose a ‘strategic ask’ to the committee which would contain the ideal amount of money the SFC could allocate to them.
With the University’s budget producing discord on campus, the budget cuts facing student organizations would expressly impact the student experience on the Park Blocks—an experience that can be isolating at a primarily commuter school.
“Part of why a lot of students come to PSU is because of the cultural celebration, the diversity and the ability to do things on campus,” said Minh Lam, Communication Chair for the OBC. “Without all of that, PSU is just a bare bones high school, and no one likes to just stay at high school. They come and they leave.”
Staff that support student organizations could be impacted as well—with SALP proposing cuts
to student advisors according to the OBC Chair Khelen Walsh.
Students who wish to start a club could also face an uphill battle when attempting to institute their organization’s budget—along with already established smaller clubs.
The OBC ranks student organizations into nine tiers—with tier one receiving the least amount of funding and tier nine receiving the most. Tier nine is home to the larger student organizations on campus while younger, smaller organizations fall into tier one.
At the hearing, the OBC’s presentation laid out two scenarios that the campus organizations could face. Either 25 tier 1 groups could have funding eliminated or 13 tier two groups could have their funding cut.
“I think the biggest concern would be if they cut forming groups,” said Cece Austin, the Vice President of the PSU Neuroscience Association. “Even though we’re not a forming group we try to partner with forming groups a lot so that we can give them some of our budget to help uplift them. So the fact that they’re gonna cut student groups that are getting the lowest possible amount of budget is just going to stop any new
interest from forming.”
Eseniya Zinkina is the Current President of the PSU Chess Club and was last year’s OBC Chair. She explained that while other universities can create a stronger sense of community by offering more club opportunities, PSU’s commuter school character impacts students’ desires to stay on campus after their classes.
“The budget cuts will affect the sustenance of PSU,” Zinkina said. “They will diminish PSU’s light. If you are to cut student organizations [funding], you’re risking losing the participation of students on campus. And the less students we have the poorer the [student] retention… students will start searching for that feeling of belonging somewhere else.”
Student organizations not only provide a sense of community but also practical experience and advice for students. Clubs like the American Indigenous Business Leaders (AIBL) PSU chapter help serve students in pursuing future careers by offering a space for minority students to delve into their interests.
“As a native, we are already dealing with such small resources as is with the money we do have access to,” said Nova Van Pelt, the Vice President
NOAH CARANDANIS
NOAH CARANDANIS/PSU VANGUARD
Audience members sit in to show support for OBC and other student organizations in the face of potential budget cuts proposed by the Student Fee Committee.
of AIBL. “With these budget cuts it will just limit more [of] what I as a Native American on PSU’s campus can do and have access to… it’s gonna be a lot harder for me to find community within the PSU campus.”
Though the impact on the student experience is apparent, the SFC’s job of creating a balanced budget provides a difficult task. According to a slide deck detailing factors taken into consideration by the SFC when creating the Fiscal Year 2026 (FY26) budget, there is an approximately $950K gap in the budget that must be filled by either increasing the student fee or cutting budgets. This all comes as student enrollment at PSU has been steadily declining Brady Roland is the President of PSU’s Student Government, the Associated Students of Portland State University (ASPSU). She is also acting as the Current Interim Chair of the SFC. The SFC had recently undergone a change of leadership after Roland had presidentially dismissed the previous SFC Chair on ethical grounds. After an appeal, the decision was ultimately upheld by ASPSU’s judicial review board. According to Roland, the previous SFC Chair proposed and lobbied for the deep cuts student organizations are potentially facing.
“Essentially, the student incidental fee will continue to rise each year because we are in a deficit,” Roland said. “However, [in] my opinion, I don’t agree with the incredibly high cuts that the SFC is proposing. Unfortunately, while we lose more and more students and get less and less students enrolled each year, the rate has to go up and there’s just no other way around it. And with that comes cuts.”
Angela Hamilton—the Associate Director of SALP and Advisor of the OBC—echoed Roland’s sentiments that the proposed cuts were too high.
“It could have been less,” Hamilton said. “The 8% [budget cut] is automatically going to be a decrease, not even a stabilization. If everybody got this 8% it would be more than this million dollar gap.”
When listening to organizations’ budget presentations, the SFC has “funding philosophies” that they keep in mind. The funding philosophies for FY26 are measuring success, basic needs support, sustainability, inclusivity and accessibility according to the FY26 Budget School slide deck
“I think it’s really important that we strictly follow the funding philosophies when we’re doing this because it will be such a hard de-
Demonstrators stand with their signs at SFC hearing.
cision,” Roland said. “So it’s really about how can the FFAs show us that they are following the funding philosophies or that they plan to follow the funding philosophies into the next year.”
This entire budgeting process for FY26 is still in its early stages, with Oct. 22 being the last date the SFC is holding budget hearings.
After that, the committee will deliberate until Nov. 15 and then the final budget allocation proposal will be sent to the ASPSU Senate for approval. It will then be sent to PSU President Ann Cudd and then the PSU Board of Trustees for final approval.
The SFC and OBC are both student-run committees. Those who participated in the Oct. 15 sit-in were students expressing their concern for their organizations’ futures. In the face of budget deficits and difficult decisions, it is partially up to students to chart the path forward for the organizations they participate in and the community they want to cultivate.
“The reason I got involved in student leadership was to just have a place where I could fit in and belong on campus,” Walsh said. “Without student organizations, there would be none of that.”
Local A&C Events
MILO LOZA
Beyond Monet & Van Gogh
Oregon Convention Center
Oct. 29, 10 a.m.
$30
Immersive art experience bringing Van Gogh and Monet’s masterpieces to life through projections.
The Builders and the Butchers 20 Year Anniversary Show
Portland Spirit
Oct. 30, 10:30 p.m.
$30+
20 year anniversary concert cruise with food and drinks on the Portland Spirit
Actin’ A Fool Comedy Show
Norma Jean’s Soul Cuisine
Oct. 31, 7 p.m.
$10
A night filled with laughter, good food and great company, featuring local comedians.
Coco Live-to-Film Concert
Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall
Nov. 1, 7:30 p.m.
$35+
Disney’s Coco with live music by Orquesta Folclórica Nacional de México celebrating Día de los Muertos
Portland Book Festival
South Park Blocks, Portland Nov. 2, 9 a.m.
$18
Literary Arts features 100+ authors, panels, workshops, book fair and food trucks across multiple venues.
The The Roseland Theater
Nov. 3, 8:30 p.m.
$45+
Iconic post-punk band performing live, celebrating their expansive catalog.
Comedy Open Mic
Cheerful Tortoise
Nov. 4, 9 p.m.
Free
Comedy on campus, with sign ups at 8:30 p.m. and a feature comedian at 10 p.m.
NOAH CARANDANIS/PSU VANGUARD
A representative of Portland State Production Services presents for the Student Fee Committee on how budget cuts would affect their organization.
NOAH CARANDANIS/PSU VANGUARD
FIND IT AT 5TH: WHITERIOT
THE ELECTRIFYING RISE OF THE ROCK AGAINST RACISM MOVEMENT
This week at 5th Avenue Cinema— Oregon’s only student run theater—our film curators are screening White Riot.
In this 2019 documentary, Film Director Rubika Shah captures the electrifying rise of the Rock Against Racism (RAR) movement in late 1970s Britain. The film follows activists and musicians who used the popularity of punk rock to stand against political extremism and rising racial intolerance, culminating in a landmark concert at Victoria Park that united people across all races and cultures. The film’s title comes from the song “White Riot” by iconic punk rock band The Clash—featured in the film among other top bands of the day.
In the song, the band’s frontman Joe Strummer expressed his view that young white people should be as outraged over their oppressive government as Black people—a sentiment that resonates deeply with the film’s themes. With rare archival footage and interviews, White Riot offers a powerful reminder of how art and activism can collide to challenge systemic oppression.
5th Avenue Cinema’s longest standing 5th Avenue Cinema Staff Member and Projectionist Clara Johnson chose White Riot for screening. Johnson discovered this powerful documentary through her love for The Clash, a band she says is one of her favorites.
“I would hear them on the radio when I was younger,” Johnson said. “But I would say I became a really big fan about three to four years ago.”
She shared that, as an avid movie watcher, she would look for films based on her interests—rather than only focusing on popular recommendations.
“I think I was searching for movies about The Clash and this one came up,” she said. “It was so much more than that.”
Johnson appreciated the political activism represented in the film.
“I wanted to play it before the election,” said Johnson. “I thought it was fitting because it’s about grassroots organizing people dedicating time, reaching out to young people through things they already love like music and art and community.”
Johnson emphasized the importance and difficulty of getting through to young people.
“There was a fascist party called the National Front that was trying to win an election,” Johnson said.
The rock bands pushed fans to take action against the National Front, which accumulated to the large concert in Victoria Park at the end of the film—the result of months of organization and collaboration between musicians and
activists. The concert was one of the largest antiracist demonstrations of its time, creating a crucial impact on the movement’s momentum.
Johnson praised the style of the film.
“To be quite honest, I haven’t seen a lot of movies like this,” she said.
The film does a great job of blending its documentation of music with politics. Johnson noted that graphic design plays a large role in the film as well, as it is essential to the RAR movement— originally cofounded by RAR Photographic Artist and Drummer Red Saunders.
Johnson explained that the film incorporates graphic design throughout and becomes an immersive part of the experience.
“It makes it very engaging,” she said.
Johnson described the different shapes that photos were cut into, emphasizing how energetic these still photographs were made to feel.
“They have these graphic elements to it where they make it the most dynamic they can—just like their zines looked like,” she said.
“Some would say that it would take you out of it,” Johnson said. “But it’s not just people talking, it’s not just videos—it’s graphic arts and everything in between.”
“I think the style is the best part of the movie and I think the director had a lot to do with that,” Johnson continued. “The film is based on Shah’s
10-minute short film about the Rock Against Racism movement, which got Shah funding for this feature length film.”
On top of all this, Johnson pointed out that a photographer she really liked was featured in this film as well.
“His name’s Sid Shelton, I’ve seen his photo books and they’re incredible,” she said.
Between the Rock Against Racism movement, The Clash, graphic design and photography, Johnson said, “It’s everything I loved in one thing.”
White Riot reflects on an important time in Britain’s history when the country was deeply divided. The film uses its unique style to engage the audience on the crucial issues that still resonate today—similar to how the punk bands of the documentary united people across Britain through art and activism.
“I do think it’s a point in time that is really important to remember, especially for a lot of young people who feel like there’s no hope to change the things that are around you,” Johnson said. “You can in fact do that, it just takes a lot of work and community.”
Students can catch White Riot this weekend for free at 5th Avenue Cinema. Showings are at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday.
MILO LOZA
A still frame from White Riot.
COURTESY OF 5TH AVENUE CINEMA
HALLOWEEN GUIDE
THE QUEER LEGACY OF ROCKY HORROR AT CLINTON STREET THEATER
CELEBRATING NEARLY 50 YEARS OF QUEER EXPRESSION
BENJAMIN WENCK
Released in 1975, thE rocky Horror Picture Show immediately became a very unique piece of art with campy musical numbers, fabulous set and costume and enough queerness to kill the average 70s moviegoer. The reviews at the time certainly seemed to reflect this as the film was received quite negatively. The campy hijinks and theatrical nature did nothing to compel its original audience. It wasn’t until a few years later that theaters started showing the film as a midnight movie in a small handful of theaters that it began to gain the cult audience that it’s known for today.
This is where the Clinton Street Theater comes in. First opening up in 1915 as ‘The Clinton,’ the theater has undergone many changes throughout its long history in Portland. It changed names a few times before reverting to the ‘The Clinton Street Theater’ in 1976, just a couple of years before their first showing of Rocky Horror . The Clinton Street Theater has developed a long partnership with The Clinton Street Cabaret— which is a separate, non-profit organization that organizes the shadow cast for The Clinton Street’s weekly showings of Rocky Horror
JASON POTTER
JASON POTTER
Shadowcast members at the Cllinton Street Theater perform the RockyHorrorPictureShow
A performer beams during the Rocky Horror Picture Show.
“We are a non-profit organization, while The Clinton Street is a for profit business,” said Jack Alister, Producer of the Rocky Horror at the Clinton Street Cabaret. “We are kind of running our own show, but the environment in our cast, which is one of the longest running shadow casts, is to really try to live up to the idea of ‘Don’t Dream It, Be It,’ that you see in Rocky Horror.”
One of the most iconic aspects of Rocky Horror is the film’s embrace of queerness. This is largely how Rocky Horror gained much of its popularity in the first place. These early weekly showings of Rocky Horror became a very visible community for queer people during a time when this kind of open self expression mostly remained on the fringes of society.
“It used to be one of the only places you could go to and be openly queer, or openly different in a lot of ways,” Alister said. “However, nowadays in Portland that seems to be less of the case. It’s not as necessary for audiences over time.”
One of the most prolific Rocky Horror traditions is the audience interaction. The communities that surround the show have built a series of callbacks and audience participation rituals that are a large part of Rocky Horror’s cultural image.
Alister goes on to describe how this new crowd of people interact with the show differently than core audiences in the past.
“The performance has become much more of a novelty than an active community,” he said. “So that’s something we would seek as an organization over time.”
Current Cast Member and PSU Student Reine Bieker mentions the topic of the changing audiences and its differences.
“It’s very common to have a cast in a big city like Portland, but in more conservative areas it’s much more of a rarity,” said Bieker. “There was even a break in the years where we went to Lincoln City. Even now, we received an email warning us of being verbally assaulted because it’s happened to us in the past.”
Despite the traveling shows presenting far more difficulty for the Cabaret, Alister and other cast members cited the lack of queer spaces
in these areas to be exactly what motivates them to do these shows in the first place.
Emile Philips—Former Member of the Shadow Cast at The Clinton Street Cabaret and current PSU Student—described jumping into something with as much queer history as Rocky Horror.
“We were all very aware of the history as Rocky nerds and The Clinton Street is a big part of its history,” Philips said. “It’s been played there for almost 40 years, they even had showings [safely] over quarantine. I feel like The Clinton Street Theater has a really special place in Rocky history and we are all aware of that.”
Despite modern accessibility to queer representation that is becoming more abundant, Rocky Horror remains relevant.
“[Rocky Horror] is raw and it aged really well,” Philips said. “Today, I’m constantly seeing queer media that isn’t as queer as I want it to be, and I feel like Rocky Horror is really in your face, Dr Frank n Furter is a queer icon.”
However, as a byproduct of being released almost 50 years ago, Philips mentioned certain aspects of the film show signs of aging poorly and how they alter their live performances to be more sensitive to a wider audience.
“It changes as time goes by, especially at the Clinton Street Theater,” Philips said. “There are things we do to try and keep it up to date. There were some call backs that we changed because they were no longer very appropriate for today’s times.”
Alister reflected a very similar sentiment about how Rocky Horror has culturally aged.
“The community around rocky horror and audience has often been very inappropriate at times, we as a group are working on changing some of the call backs to be more racially sensitive and more sensitive in general, punching up instead of punching down,” Alister said.
Bieker echoed this as well, but also displayed some level of reverence for the more messy and raw sides of queer representation that Rocky Horror has to offer.
“A lot of the time I personally feel very drawn to the messier side of queer art,” Bieker said. “Not to dismiss the effect mainstream art has had on
acceptance, but I love when things are queer and messy and weird and we should be able to express that, and Rocky Horror as a community allows us to do that.”
In the nearly 50 years since its original release, no one has quite been able to emulate the cultural importance that Rocky Horror has, but its influence and impact can be felt in both Queer
media and Queer culture at large. The work that shadow casts like The Clinton Street Cabaret do to update and preserve this crucial part of queer history plays a significant role. The Clinton Street Theater does showings of Rocky Horror Picture Show every Saturday, with The Clinton Street Cabaret shadow cast joining for most screenings.
JASON POTTER
JASON POTTER
Cast members perform in the “Hot Patootie, (Bless My Soul)” musical number.
Cast members in the “Over at the Frankenstein Place” musical number a famous song from the picture.
SATIRE: NOT GOURD ENOUGH THE TRUE MEANING OF HALLOWEEN
Pumpkins are the staple fruit of the Fall season— synonymous with Halloween and the festivities that follow it. People love exploring pumpkin patches with their loved ones, making pie and carving faces into the rind—but you can only eat pie and seeds for so long. In reality, a pumpkin is nothing but a menial, degradable member on a small, tiny branch of the gourd family tree.
These pathetic gourds bring shame to their gourd brethren. Not only are there plenty of other gourds that are worthwhile for fall activities but pumpkins were never meant to be used in the first place.
Originally, Irish Celts celebrated Samhain on the evening of Oct. 31 by carving faces into turnips and beets. But only recently— around 200 years ago—they started using pumpkins out of necessity. Apparently, it was the only gourd God got in the New World. Desperate times call for desperate gourds.
The pumpkin tradition stuck. But should we follow a miserable, godforsaken tradition just because someone left the turnips at home?
To be fair, it was important to move away from turnips and beets to explore the wider world of gourds. Anyone who is wellversed in carving faces into food knows that turnips and beets are not hollow at all. They are difficult to stick a knife into.
Additionally, you can’t stick a candle in there. Gourds, however, are fairly hollow. Hallow. Halloween—stay with me.
But of all the gourds in the world, why pumpkins? Objectively, pumpkins are the worst to carve. Its guts are thick and stringy like a spider with digestive issues. Pumpkins easily have the grossest of gourd guts.
Imagine each and every Halloween you gather the family and carve a hole into the top of a watermelon and set its guts aside. After each of you carves a face onto your green guy, you have a pleasant little snack—unlike the despicable pumpkin, with its gross strings and wet stale seeds.
Yet, watermelons are not the proper alternative gourd for the job either, and cucumbers won’t cut it—nor will calabash. No, the gourd to rule them all, the true hero of Halloween, has been right in front of us all along: the squash.
The squash is the ultimate gourd. They come in several shapes and sizes so you can choose one that best fits your personality. We’ve got hubbard squash, spaghetti squash, turban squash, crookneck squash, acorn squash. Zucchini.
Whether you’re looking for something round or thin, green or yellow—there’s a squash for that.
It just makes sense—think about it. People love to smash pump-
kins on Halloween. What’s another word for smash? Squash. It isn’t just a gourd—it’s a verb, an action, a lifestyle.
Squashes stand tall as masterpieces of form and function. When was the last time you saw someone excitedly smashing a butternut squash? Exactly. Because squashes command respect.
And don’t even get me started on the cultural misrepresentation of pumpkins. It’s the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown? Really, Linus? In my mind, there are no great pumpkins—that pumpkin was just big. Meanwhile, all squash are great.
Now I know what you’re thinking: “Hey pumpkin hater, you ignorant fool and bombastic idiot, you pompous jackass, you silly goose—pumpkins are winter squash.”
To that, I say: Don’t bring your technicalities into this. The squashes I’m speaking of embody everything that pumpkins have failed to be. The squashes I’m talking about are elevated and royal, not some lowly, obscene orange orb that people tolerate three months a year—if that!
Pumpkins, you’ve had your time. But it’s time to squash your streak and make room for a gourd that people will respect. This Halloween, ditch the pumpkin patch and find a squash patch, try a squash pie, stop putting fire inside of pumpkins and start putting pumpkins in a fire.
MILO LOZA
JENELLE DE LEON/PSU VANGUARD
VANGUARD’S SPOOKY MOVIE SUGGESTIONS
AN AMERICAN WEREWOLF IN LONDON
Suggested by JJ Christensen, Opinion Editor
My favorite movie for Halloween is An American Werewolf in London, a 1981 comedy/horror by John Landis.
The movie focuses on an American college student named David who gets attacked by a werewolf while with his friend. The friend dies, and David survives—the werewolf is shot. Unfortunately, however, the curse of the werewolf passes on to David. As long as the werewolf curse is still active, all of its victims can’t pass on… including David’s friend who torments him.
It contains some of my favorite practical effects of all time, including an amazing transformation scene set to the song “Blue Moon” by Frank Sinatra. There’s also some well done, gorey death scenes if that’s what you look for in a horror movie. Beyond that, though, the acting and characterization done alongside the supernatural elements really builds up David’s mental torment (the best part of any character.)
I watched it way too young and it did bad, awful, (beautiful, wonderful) things to my brain chemistry. I highly recommend it.
Suggested by Noah Carandanis, News Editor Floating limbs? A creepy cat? A piano with an appetite for more
than sheet music? Nobuhiko Obayashi’s cult classic film House is a must watch for any Halloween enthusiast. Gorgeous—our movie’s protagonist—visits her aunt’s house in the countryside along with her six friends—Kung Fu, Fantasy, Prof, Mac, Melody and Sweet. Absurd as their names may be, each actress plays their role with the perfect amount of sincerity and self-aware whimsy. Psychedelic colors and effects mix with a score that simultaneously evokes the nostalgia of summer and the eeriness of October. Brimming with charm, campy gore and an addictive sense of humor, House is sure to please both the horror and comedy crowds. So get yourself a sweet treat, grab some friends and snuggle up with your cat as you partake in the absolute trip that is House
TWIN PEAKS: FIRE WALK WITH ME
Suggested by Benjamin Wenck, Contributor
While the Twin Peaks TV show certainly has its fair share of existential horror, the show's prequel film Fire Walk With Me leans into the show's darkest themes and plot points. The film begins with a light tone following a new device investigating the disappearance of a woman. We follow him until he disappears, leaving no trace. The film then jumps to the last few days of Laura Palmer's life where we follow through the tragic events that eventually lead to her death. The horror of Fire Walk With Me comes from the humanization of Laura Palmer. The core of the TV show centers around Laura Palmer's death, but we get very little time with her character throughout it. In the movie however, we follow her directly, so we are forced to experience what we may have already been told, but through her eyes, it gives the audience both a sense of horror and guilt.
THE THING
Suggested by Isaiah Burns, Editor in Chief
My favorite horror movie is probably The Thing. There’s a lot to praise about this movie—it’s a classic for a reason. I think the most amazing thing is how good it is at building a sense of paranoia. For those who aren’t familiar, the movie follows a group of scientists isolated in a research facility in Antarctica. The plot begins once the researchers realize that their facility has been infiltrated by a
mysterious alien that can take on the form and traits of any living being it comes into contact with. Not only this, but the creature can quickly replicate at an exponential level, meaning there are no limits to how many people (or animals) it can replace. Throughout the film, you watch the stir-crazy characters gradually lose their minds as their trust in one another rapidly weakens and their instincts to survive take over. Older horror movies don’t tend to do it for me too often, but this one had me counting my blessings that I’ll likely never experience a situation like this.
PEARL
Suggested by Sarah Applin, Arts and Culture Editor
One of my favorite movies to watch during Halloween is the magnificent, Pearl. When I saw Pearl in theaters, it was a chilly autumn day in St. Paul, Minnesota and it snowed when we came out of the cinema—which to me, was the cherry on top of the sundae that is the film. While not only providing stomach-turning maggot-filled scenes, the star, Pearl, is a character that many know like the back of their hand. Pearl aspires to be loved, to be seen, to be a star. I am not sure what is scarier about this film, either the obvious gore or Pearl’s relatable desire for recognition and struggle with societal expectations.
HOUSE
ABIGAIL GREEN/PSU VANGUARD
I REALLY LIKE WEREWOLVES
WHY I LOVE AN OFTEN OVERLOOKED AND UNDERAPPRECIATED HORROR STAPLE
JJ CHRISTENSEN
There is an eternal battle fought every Halloween, and it has raged since the holiday’s inception. This battle is between werewolves and vampires—two of the most popular and easily recognizable monsters.
It’s both a horror and fantasy staple, one that probably started all the way back in the 1948 film Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein . In that movie, The Wolf Man and Dracula face off in a final battle which ends in their mutual destruction.
It’s a rivalry that drives one of the main conflicts in the ever infamous (and over-hated) Twilight Saga. The gruesome fandom civil war between “Team Edward” and “Team Jacob” spilled enough blood to tint the Pacific Ocean crimson (citation needed).
Vampires are, tragically, the clear winner in the public consciousness. As far as I can tell, there is no polling data on this topic, however, Google Trends data shows people searching for vampires at almost twice the rate of werewolves. This makes me sad. As a lifelong werewolf fan, I see a dearth of high quality, contemporary werewolf media. Generally, they serve as the gritty, low class second fiddles or antagonists to the much more popular vampires who are adorned in wealth and sex appeal.
To me, the werewolf creature has a long history and a diverse selection of themes and tropes. Their history, mythology and symbolism are diverse and rich. I hope—with this article—I can make my case for them.
The modern werewolf comes mostly from Ancient Greece. They told myths of men who were punished to roam the world as wolves in one form or another.
The most well known one is that of King Lycaon. The King of Arcadia (a region of Ancient Greece) sacrificed a human baby as a test to see if Zeus would recognize it as human flesh. Zeus punished him by turning him into a wolf-man. Interestingly, according to the historian and geographer Pausanias, he was not the only one.
“It is said, for instance, that ever since the time of Lycaon a man has changed into a
wolf at the sacrifice to Lycaean Zeus,” from Descriptions of Greece
Here lies the origin of the term Lycanthropy, and the trope that it is a curse inflicted upon someone for a horrible deed.
Earlier, the historian Herodotus relayed what was told to him, as fact, by Greek people who were settling in Scythia (modern day southern Ukraine and Crimea). The settlers told him that a tribe they had come in contact with, the Neuri, turned into wolves for a few days every year.
The Neuri, and Scythia broadly, were seen as “barbaric” cultures by the Greeks. They were nomadic and pastoral—a relatively “wild” people to the Greeks who took pride in their grand cities and infrastructure. The Greeks enslaved them—using them as an ur-police force back in the mainland known as the “Scythian Archers.”
I read this story and I see the all too familiar signs of a colonizing society “othering” their victims. This is another common theme of werewolves in fiction—they are barbaric, animalistic and “other.”
These myths would stick around, morphing and evolving in the underground. As Christianity took hold in Europe, “werewolves” were persecuted in trials alongside alleged witches. In Livonia (modern day Estonia and Latvia) from the 1500s to the 1700s, numerous people were put on trial for being werewolves. They allegedly transformed using wolf skins and stalked through the Baltic woods to attack people.
After colonization, Native American folkloric creatures were often associated with or welded onto the concept of werewolves. For example, the Indigenous Mexican concept of Nagualismo (or Nagualism) refers to a person with the ability to shapeshift into an animal. Interestingly, this is not the result of a curse or divine punishment. It is a desired state to be worked towards. One who cultivates and practices Nagualismo can access higher spiritual knowledge through connecting with the animal they are shape shifting into.
Here is the shapeshifter, or werewolf, where part of their ability to transform is from having
a deeper connection to nature or themselves. Over the years, werewolf mythos consolidated into what we know today. They played a staple in Victorian horror and romance novels, later finding their way to film. The oldest surviving werewolf movie is called Wolf Blood—in it, a man receives a transfusion of wolf blood after being grievously injured. While never actually turning into a wolf, he slowly goes crazy convincing himself he is becoming one.
It is, frankly, a really boring movie. It’s so old you can watch the entire thing for free on Wikipedia, and you can bet your ass I did. It does, however, use the werewolf as a metaphor for insanity.
In fact, that’s part of what I really like about werewolves. Many of the tropes are deeply personal, dealing with that of the self. An American Werewolf In London is very openly a story about survivor’s guilt. The protagonist, David, suffers from a literal werewolf curse in that movie, but he is also burdened with the baggage that every victim of the werewolf through all history is trapped in spirit form on earth. They taunt Dave, encouraging him to kill himself in order to allow their passing on.
Furthermore, there is the concept of a deep, primal evil within. A monster within that you must keep the lid on lest it lash out and hurt those around you. That rhetoric is often the domain of edgy teenagers, but it helps to remember that evil is relative.
To a Conservative Christian, the specter of a closeted queer person counts as a deep evil lurking inside someone seemingly innocent. To the queer person perhaps surrounded by an unloving environment, that sentiment might even be internalized.
Personally, I struggle with intrusive thoughts. At any given moment, randomly throughout the day, flashes of truly awful and horrible scenes will be forced on me by a brain I’ve never really felt in full control over. This might very well be why this interpretation of werewolves resonates with me so strongly. It is more fun for me to envision this unwanted process as a hidden mon-
ster within than as some chemical imbalance.
A werewolf can also symbolize the inherent distrust an in-group has for an out-group. The Greeks labeled the foreign Neuri as werewolves even as they came onto their land.
An online poem written by Internet User and Artist hoppípolla, this poem is about being nonbinary, is a dialogue between two people. One complains about a werewolf moving into town, the other repeatedly tries to understand what the problem is. The werewolf has not done anything wrong, or violent—they are simply different. That alone is enough of a problem to warrant someone to complain and attempt to remove them.
Being a member of a group that is constantly vilified by a large section of your own society will frustrate and anger you, and if you internalize it, you will truly start to believe you are some kind of monster.
Finally, werewolves are a working class group of monsters. In Twilight , for example, the Cullens live in a fancy house—in a nice suburb of Washington. Furthermore, the Vampires in that world are beholden to the Volturi, draped in a Vatican-esque opulent aesthetic. Jacob and his family, however, live on an impoverished Native American reservation.
The WereCleaner, a stealth-comedy game— which I highly recommend—sees its werewolf protagonist having to hide his transformation and put himself at risk in order to go to work and avoid being fired. His living paycheck to paycheck is what drives the plot forward. When taken all together, these themes and this history make up the reasons why I love werewolves. They are simultaneously a metaphor for the hidden parts of us all, the dehumanization of poverty or the similarly evil dehumanization of the oppressed. Werewolves understand struggle—unlike those ivory tower vampires. Finally, they appeal to the base human desire to become a dog.
To quote this poem is about being nonbinary, “There is a werewolf in the town. / Yes, there is. Isn’t that beautiful?”
ARE ADVANCED ALIENS HIDING AMONG US?
THE KARDASHEV SCALE AND ITS SPOOKY IMPLICATIONS
As the crisp autumn leaves crunch underfoot and Jack O’Lanterns flicker to life, our thoughts turn to the eerie and mysterious. But this Halloween, let’s venture beyond the realm of ghosts and goblins to explore a concept that’s both fascinating and slightly unsettling—the Kardashev Scale
Imagine, if you will, a cosmic classification system that ranks civilizations not by their ability to scare trick-or-treaters but by their capacity to harness energy on a planetary, stellar or even galactic scale. Welcome to the world of advanced alien civilizations—where the line between science and science fiction blurs like a spectral apparition
The Kardashev Scale, proposed by Soviet Astronomer Nikolai Kardashev in 1964, is a method of measuring a civilization’s level of technological advancement based on the amount of energy it can harness and use.
It’s like a cosmic report card for alien civilizations, grading them on their energy consumption rather than their math skills or number of tentacles. But before we delve deeper into this interstellar energy contest, let’s consider a chilling thought—what if some of the unexplained phenomena we encounter are actually the ghostly traces of advanced alien technologies?
To shed some light on this spine-tingling possibility, we turned to Jeff Hazboun, Assistant Professor in the Department of Physics at Oregon State University. We asked if an alien civilization that reached Type II or Type III on the Kardashev Scale could produce technology that might appear as ghostly signals to us.
“Of course, I think even in the history of Earth, any technology that’s far enough ahead of the people around you can seem like magic to others,” Dr. Hazboun said. “I think a classic example is gunpowder appearing in the West from China
after a while and seeming like magic.”
“When gunpowder weapons were first encountered by Europeans, their explosive power and ability to project force at a distance seemed almost supernatural or magical compared to existing weapons technology,” he continued.
This idea that sufficiently advanced technology could appear magical—or ghostly—to us is both thrilling and unsettling. It raises the question—could we have already encountered alien technologies without even realizing it?
The Kardashev Scale itself is divided into three main types:
Type I civilizations can harness all the energy available on their home planet. Imagine being able to control the weather, tap into the planet’s core for geothermal energy or even manipulate tectonic plates.
While this might sound like science fiction, Dr. Michio Kaku, a Theoretical Physicist who
has written extensively about future technologies and civilizations believes that humanity could reach Type I status on the Kardashev scale within 100-200 years if we increase energy consumption by 3% per year.
Type II civilizations can harness all the energy of their star. This is where things start to get really interesting—and a bit spooky. One proposed method for achieving this level is the construction of a Dyson Sphere—a hypothetical megastructure that completely encompasses a star to capture most or all of its energy output. If you’ve ever looked up at the night sky and felt a shiver run down your spine, imagine spotting a star that’s been completely encased by an alien civilization.
Type III civilizations can harness the energy of their entire galaxy.
At this level, we’re talking about civilizations with godlike powers, capable of manipulating
ANISH ARUMUGAM & VAISHNAVI SRINATH
ABBY RAYMUNDO/PSU VANGUARD
ANISH ARUMUGAM/PSU VANGUARD
space and time itself. If such civilizations exist, they might be indistinguishable from the forces of nature to our limited perception.
But here’s where things get even spookier. Some researchers speculate that advanced civilizations might intentionally hide their existence. This idea ties into what’s known as the Fermi Paradox—the apparent contradiction between the high probability of extraterrestrial civilizations existing and the lack of evidence or contact with such civilizations.
When asked about the possibility of Earth having already encountered invisible or cloaked alien technologies disguised as natural phenomena, Professor Hazboun offered an intriguing perspective.
“The Fermi Paradox is that we don’t see aliens, so there must be a number of simple explanations or complicated explanations, and one of them, of course, is that aliens are hiding themselves from us,” Hazboun said. “I’m not going to speculate about whether we have or haven’t, but I would say that if a civilization has sufficiently advanced technology that they have made it to Earth, then it is completely feasible that they also have sufficiently advanced technology to hide themselves from us.”
This notion of advanced civilizations hiding from us adds a layer of mystery to our search for extraterrestrial intelligence. It’s like playing an interstellar game of hide-and-seek, where we’re not even sure if the other players are in the game, let alone where they might be hiding.
But what if we’re not just looking for active civilizations? What if, in our cosmic explorations, we stumble upon the remnants of longdead alien societies?
“Absolutely, I think it’s completely possible,” Hazboun said. “That’s one of the solutions to the Fermi Paradox, is that we’re behind, somehow behind all the other civilizations, and that interstellar travel is actually impossible or so challenging that most people have never figured it out and that the civilizations rose and then collapsed. I think it’s completely reasonable that at some point if we do make it off this rock far enough, we could come across civilizations that are long gone.”
Imagine discovering the technological equivalent of alien ghost towns scattered across the galaxy. It’s a concept that’s both awe-inspiring and slightly chilling—reminiscent of the ancient ruins we find here on Earth but on a cosmic scale.
As we continue our search for extraterrestrial intelligence, we must also consider the
possibility that we might have already missed evidence of alien life. The vastness of space and the limitations of our current technology mean that potential signals could be lost in the cosmic noise. Professor Hazboun, whose expertise lies in understanding noise in scientific data, commented on this possibility.
“Well, interestingly enough, my expertise is in noise, and understanding what you can from the noise is really challenging and there’s lots of science and astrophysics in there,” Hazboun said. “It’s totally feasible and reasonable that we’ve missed something. Whether it’s been missed because it’s been hidden from us or not, I’m not sure.”
This idea that we might be surrounded by alien signals we can’t yet decipher adds an extra layer of mystery to our cosmic neighborhood. It’s like trying to hear a whisper in a hurricane— the signal might be there, but picking it out from the background noise is an enormous challenge.
As we ponder these cosmic mysteries, it’s worth considering how humanity might react to a sudden encounter with a highly advanced alien civilization. Would it feel like a visitation from cosmic ghosts?
“I don’t think that biologically anyone else would be able to hide themselves from us or seem like a ghost, but technologically… The technology to make it along cosmological scales is really, really hard. So if you have that technology, I think it would be feasible that people could then hide themselves here on Earth… have some sort of camouflage.”
This idea of advanced aliens using camouflage technology to hide among us is a staple of science fiction, but hearing it discussed in a scientific context adds a new layer of intrigue— and perhaps a touch of paranoia—to our everyday lives.
As we continue to advance our own technology, it’s natural to wonder what developments might push us closer to ascending the Kardashev Scale. Professor Hazboun identified two key areas of research that could be pivotal.
“One is getting nuclear fusion and fission figured out, once we can figure that out, I think we will have much more ability to harness a lot more energy at one time,” Hazboun said. The other one is… there’s a potential in carbon sequestration,” he continued. “This is a sort of field, but the fact is that we’re trying to understand if we can pull carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to prevent climate change… I think being able to do that will give us insights
Searching for extraterrestrial life under starry skies.
into dealing with energy that can help us move on to a Type 2 civilization.”
These areas of research—nuclear fusion and carbon sequestration—highlight how our journey up the Kardashev Scale is intrinsically linked to our ability to manage and manipulate energy on increasingly larger scales. It’s a reminder that our cosmic aspirations are deeply connected to our earthly challenges and innovations.
As we conclude our cosmic journey through the Kardashev Scale, it’s worth reflecting on what this means for us here on Earth. We’re currently not even at Type I on the scale, and still working towards harnessing the full energy potential of our planet.
But our scientific endeavors—from fusion research to the search for extraterrestrial intelligence—are slowly pushing us forward.
The Kardashev Scale—with its vision of civilizations wielding the power of stars and galaxies—serves as both a roadmap and a mirror. It shows us what might be possible while also reflecting our own technological progress and limitations. It challenges us to think beyond our current capabilities and imagine what might be possible in the distant future.
This Halloween—as you carve pumpkins or don costumes, take a moment to look up at the stars. Those twinkling lights might just be the distant glow of a Type II civilization’s Dyson Sphere or the faint signal of a long-lost Type III empire. Who knows? Maybe somewhere out there—on a planet circling a distant star— alien children are dressing up as humans for their version of Halloween, telling spooky stories about the primitive Type 0 civilization that hasn’t quite figured out how to harness the full power of their little blue planet.
The line between science and science fiction—between the knowable and the unknowable—blurs. The Kardashev Scale reminds us that there may be wonders—and perhaps terrors—lurking in the depths of space that are far beyond our current comprehension.
So, as you enjoy the seasonal scares and frights, remember that the universe itself might be the ultimate haunted house—vast, mysterious and potentially filled with technologies and civilizations that could make our boldest science fiction seem quaint by comparison. The Kardashev Scale isn’t just a classification system—it’s an invitation to imagine, to explore and to push the boundaries of what we believe is possible.
Local Halloween Events
MILO LOZA
Bauman’s Harvest Festival
Bauman’s Farm, Gervais, OR Oct. 29, 9 a.m.
$20
Family friendly festival featuring harvest activities, a cider garden and pumpkin patches.
Ghostbusters
Hollywood Theatre
Oct. 30, 7:30 p.m.
$10
Screening of the classic 1984 supernatural comedy, with special posters celebrating its legacy.
OMSI After Dark: Spirits
OMSI
Oct. 30, 6 p.m.
$25 general, $50 tasting package 21+ event featuring science demos, live music and spirit tastings from local distilleries.
Spirit of Halloweentown
St. Helens, OR Oct. 31, 10am
Free entry, $40+ for attractions
Beloved St. Helens tradition with haunted attractions and family-friendly activities based on Halloweentown
Trick or Drink: Portland
Halloween Bar Crawl
Hallway PDX
Oct. 31, 6 p.m.
$20
Halloween bar crawl featuring exclusive drink specials at multiple bars in Portland
Halloween Drive-In
Clark County Fairgrounds
Oct. 31, 7 p.m.
$69 per car
Drive-in horror experience, featuring Halloween (1978) for Halloween night.
Portland Ghost Tours
NW Portland Oct. 31, 7 p.m.
$30
Explore haunted sites with paranormal history on a guided ghost tour through Portland’s eerie locations.
House (Hausu)
Tomorrow Theater Oct. 31, 7 p.m.
$10–$15
Cult-classic Japanese horror film Hausu (1977) screening for a spooky Halloween celebration.
HALEY HSU/PSU VANGUARD
PARKER PATNODE/PSU VANGUARD
DEVIN SINGH/PSU VANGUARD
VANGUARD CROSSWORD
Answers in stories
Down:
1. Originally used for carving during Samhain before pumpkins.
2. Historic Portland theater with a longrunning Rocky Horror tradition.
3. Student-run committee proposing budget cuts for campus organizations —acronym.
4. Program supporting student activities and leadership, facing cuts—acronym.
5. Creature that passes a curse in the 1981 horror-comedy by John Landis.
10. Shape-shifting alien that infiltrates an Antarctic research facility in the 1982 film.
11. Argued as better than pumpkins.
Across:
2. Iconic punk band featured in the film, which is named after their track, "White Riot".
6. Movement that fused punk rock with activism against racism in the 1970s—acronym.
7. Group performing shadow casts at Rocky Horror shows.
8. Financial shortfall PSU faces, influencing the need for budget cuts.
Across
9. Music genre that became a rallying cry for social justice in 1970s Britain.
2. Iconic punk band featured in the film, which is named after their track, "White Riot".
12. Family of plants that includes pumpkins and squash.
6. Movement that fused punk rock with activism against racism in the 1970s, acronym.
7. Non-profit group performing shadow casts at Rocky Horror shows.
Answers for 10/21 1) Faun 2) Hunger, 3) Rage, 4) AI, 5) Hoffman, 6), Vogue, 7) Ofelia, 8) Ads, 9) Cox, 10) Boeing
1. Originally used for carving during Samhain before pumpkins.
2. Historic Portland theater with a long-running Rocky Horror tradition.
3. Student-run committee proposing budget cuts campus organizations, acronym.
Program supporting student activities and
that passes a curse in the 1981 horror
MILO LOZA
Community & Wellness Resources
UPDATED WEEKLY
By Milo Loza
Happening Soon
Spooky Night
SMSU 296
Oct. 29, 5 p.m.
Free for Students
Enjoy snacks, drinks and spooky time with the Vietnamese Student Association.
Halloween in Cambodia
SMSU 296
Oct. 30, 5 p.m.
Free for Students
Learn about Cambodian Halloween traditions and decorate pumpkins with the Cambodian Student Association.
Neuro Halloween
SMSU Parkway North
Oct. 30, 6 p.m.
Free for Students
Live music, snacks, costume contest and scavenger hunt with The Neuroscience Club.
Garden with the Ghouls
SMSU M103
Oct. 31, 10 a.m.
Free for Students
Volunteer in the Student Sustainability Center gardens, and wear a costume if weather permits.
Halloween Open House
SRTC 238B
Oct. 31, 9 a.m.
Free for Students
Enjoy snacks and enter a raffle to win biology themed prizes with the BIO Club.
OIS Halloween Bash
SMSU Ballroom
Nov. 1, 5 p.m.
Free for Students
Photo booth, canvas painting and a costume contest with the Organization of International Students.
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
SMSU Basement
Tues 10:30–4:30 p.m., Wed 9–1:30 p.m., Thur 12–5:30 p.m. and Fri 10:30–5:30 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.
Wellness & Health Action Team
Follow on Instagram
Available 24/7
Free
WHAT is a group of peers who educate on health topics specific to PSU students.
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.
