Vanguard July 26, 2011

2011 PDX Pop Now!

Geared up in Portland

NEWS: PAGE 2

ARTS & CULTURE: PAGE 7

INDEX

NEWS............................ 2 OPINION.......................... 4 ARTS.............................. . 6 SPORTS.......................... 10

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TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 • VOL. 66 NO. 5

Rating your professor

Learning Ground project underway

Evaluations completed by students affect faculty careers

Millar Library set to house first-floor learning space

Vinh Tran Vanguard staff

The verdict is in: Professors read what you wrote on RateMyProfessors.com and they have a few words of advice for students using the online service.

The next time you visit the popular site and write a snarky comment about a professor, Yves Labissiere wants you to consider the responsibility that you bear toward incoming students.

Students should write an objective review, he said.

Labissiere is the associate director of the University Studies program, and has taught courses in University Studies Community Health.

“Don’t just say that you don’t like this or that. Provide meaningful, concrete examples,” Labissiere said.

“Students have the power to

Patrick Kearns Vanguard staff

The Learning Ground is a joint project between the Millar Library and the Office of Information Technology (OIT). It will be located on the

first floor of the library. The project, currently in the contract–bidding phase, has no set construction–date.

The Learning Ground project grew from the idea to make use of the old Assis-

tive Technology Center space that’s next to the general computing lab on the first floor, according to project leaders.

Part of the Learning Ground will be what’s being called a “Sandbox”—an area where students will be able to experiment with new technologies aimed at improving learning.

“This might include testing a portable digital white board, wireless video displays or

touch-screen surfaces that could later be deployed to other areas on campus after getting student feedback,” said Michael Brown, coordinator of Computer Support Services and administrator for Library Systems. “The Learning Ground will also feature upgraded computer tables, digital signage, improved assistive technologies and more seating conveniently located for access to power, wireless

Two generators atop Cramer Hall and Smith Memorial Student Union are off-line due to faults. Staff members with the Facilities and Planning Department worked through the early hours of Sunday morning to establish temporary generators that bolster the alarm system and emergency lighting in Cramer, Smith and Lincoln halls.

“You can play ‘what if?’ all day, but you never know,” said Rick Gadberry, assistant director for operations and maintenance. “If lightning had struck during the thunder storm, we would have been in the dark,” referring to yesterday morning’s thunder storm.

PSU tallies minority stats

Jordan Burgess Vanguard staff

Portland State’s Office of Institutional Research and planning generated annual numbers this July showing that minority retention at Oregon’s largest urban university has remained static, though minority enrollment has steadily increased since 2004.

The OIRP figures also reflect lower graduation rates among most minority groups at PSU. Mary Beth Sanders, an OIRP analyst, explained the need for such data sets.

“My colleague and I calculate retention and graduation rates each year as soon as we SEE MINORITIES ON PAGE 3

SEE LEARNING GROUND ON PAGE 2

Ad-hoc power generators support student safety

SEE EVALUATIONS ON PAGE 3

Retention and graduation numbers tell story of minority experience at PSU

printing and technology support,” he said.

According to Brown, funding for the project comes from the library, OIT and the Student Building Fee. Brown estimates that the project’s total is $725,000.

The Learning Ground will also encompass the existing computer lab on the first floor, which is closed this summer.

“I know the extra generators are unsightly, but they aren’t there to power a burrito cart or something.

Student safety is a priority,” Gadberry said.

Analysis of the generator failure should be complete by August 1. karl kuchs/VANGUARD STAFF

John Wanjala’s memorial this Sunday The first Ombuds member and a 39-year PSU employee passed away Easter morning Vanguard staff

The memorial for John Wanjala will take place this Sunday from 2 to 4 p.m. in the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom, the epicenter of the university where he worked for 39 years.

After retiring from Port-

land State in 2009, Wanjala returned to his homeland, Kenya. He battled cancer and died peacefully Easter morning this year.

“One of the greatest gifts I had was knowing the end was coming and spending time with him,” said his son John Ken, who resigned from his job with Providence Health Systems to be at his father’s side.

“When I was six or seven, I loved airplanes, and dad would take me out to watch them land at the Portland Airport,” John Ken remembers.

“Since he died, I get all kinds of calls from people telling me how much he helped them, how they wouldn’t have graduated without him. I never imagined how many lives he touched outside of the household.”

Wanjala began his career at PSU as a graduate of the Social Work program. He then served as chief of Campus Public Safety.

In 1993, he founded the Ombuds office and became PSU’s first Ombuds staff.

Congregation members at

Wanjala’s Quaker church, Reedwood Friends, remember him as the clerk of the Missions Committee. He was also the link between Reedwood Friends and the church’s Mission Lugulu Hospital, located in the Kenyan village of Wanjala’s birth.

Known as the chief of the Portland Kenyan community, Wanjala was a “mzee”—a respected elder.

Wanjala is survived his wife of 31 years, Grace, and his three children: John Ken, Lisa and Evelyn.

PHoto courtesy lisa wanjala

“I’ll miss his encouragement when I’m challenged,” said Grace Kuto, Wanjala’s sister-in-law and a fellow advocate in community development. The hospital in Lugulu that Wanjala oversaw satellites to her clinic in Chwele.

“He was a very kind person.

He had a quiet spirit—quiet, but it had a presence.” ■

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NEWS • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 • VANGUARD

VANGUARD • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 • NEWS

NEWS

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EDITOR: ALISON BARNWELL NEWS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-3883

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EDITOR@DAILYVANGUARD.COM

Joshua Hunt

NEWS EDITOR NEWS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM

Alison Barnwell

2011 PDX Pop Now!

MINORITIES FROM PAGE 1

PSU data is accompanied by sanctions of Portland public schools that over-discipline minorities

OPINION EDITOR OPINION@DAILYVANGUARD.COM

Janieve Schnabel

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

have the data,” Sanders said.

“There’s an endless potential for things that we can investigate, so we pass the data along to administrators and float it by the people that might be most interested in it. From there, different departments do their own investigating or reporting.”

Among Caucasian students who enrolled at PSU in the fall of 2004, 26.3 percent graduated in five years, while African American students who also enrolled in the fall of that year had a 14.3 percent graduation rate. Hispanic students were at 22.8 percent; Asians, 28.4 percent.

Caucasian students showed a 34.2 percent graduation rate by their sixth year at PSU; African American students, 22.9 percent; Hispanic students, 29.8 percent. 39.7 percent of Asians graduated.

“The standard benchmarks for retention are the end of the first year and the third year,” Sanders said. “Six years is the national standard for graduation, which is why we include those figures.”

These critical first–year retention statistics indicate that minority students continue

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Richard D. Oxley

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Kevin Fong

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on to a second year at PSU in greater percentages than their Caucasian counterparts. Nearly 8 percent more minority students register for a second year of study at PSU, compared with Caucasian students.

Graduation statistics, however, seem to suggest obstacles that limit the success of minority students.

Linneas Boland-Godbey, an African American student at PSU and a member of ASPSU, believes everyone at PSU is treated equally. He says he hasn’t encountered any kind of obstacles that might result in the 14.3 percent graduation rate recorded at PSU. “It’s a very diverse school,” Boland-Godbey said. “We have a variety of different student ethnicities.”

In the fall of 2010, the student body consisted of a 64.8 percent Caucasian population and a 20 percent minority population. The remaining 15.2 percent were international students and students of an “other/unknown” ethnic background.

Boland-Godbey mentioned ASPSU’s recent trip to Salem in the name of advocating for

SB 742, the bill allowing Oregon high school students to attend state colleges regardless of their immigration status.

“Tolerance of race, gender, disability status and native language aren’t enough to create a learning environment that is equal and just,” said Latina student activist Melissa Sarabia, describing the minority experience at PSU. “The university needs to address cultural-specific issues and work to tear down the barriers that these students are facing. That’s why my colleagues and I have put pressure on the administration to do what is their job, and that’s to provide equal access to all students.”

Sarabia believes that PSU is a campus catering to a large mass of international students but not to local minority students—specifically, the growing Latino population in Portland, including undocumented Latinos.

“Every year, 65,000 undocumented students graduate high school, and they face the biggest wall they will ever meet: the inability to receive federal financial aid, work, get their license to drive and remain hidden in our communities are just some reasons why students who are undocumented find it so difficult to attend college,” Sarabia said.

PSU should be more open to undocumented students, added Sarabia. “They are a sector of our student population that are facing some of the biggest institutional challenges.”

Unfortunately, minority students could be facing another institutional challenge: the possible reduction of Pell Grant money. More than 8,600 students at PSU rely on Pell grants to support their college educations, and minority students who are the first in their families to attend college are predicted to be hit the hardest.

The PSU statistics are further supported by data released earlier this spring showing that three local school districts—Portland, Tigard and Beaverton—were sanctioned by the Oregon Department of Education due to disciplinary actions taken by staff members against minority students with disabilities.

The sanctions include a 15 percent shift in federal funding from the district’s special education programs to regular education programs.

According to Ruth Ryder, deputy director of the U.S. Office of Special Education Programs, the shift will aid schools in strengthening regular programs so that staff can identify students who are on a fast track to special education.

This money will be allocat-

infographic by ben patterson/VANGUARD STAFF

ed to first-grade and secondgrade programs.

The Portland school district has received criticism ever since the Individuals with Disabilities Act spawned a new law requiring states to monitor school districts’ classifications of students with disabilities—specifically mi-

norities—and the frequency of discipline against minorities as compared to the discipline of other students.

The Portland School District was sanctioned in 2009 and 2011 for disciplining more than 40 African American students with special needs each year. ■

Katie West, Laken Wright

EVALUATIONS FROM PAGE 1

WRITERS Kat Audick, Erick Bengel, Peter Browning, Meaghan Daniels, Ryan Deming, Sarah Engels, Jesse Hansen, Rian Evans, Kevin Fong, Jesse Hansen, Rosemary Hanson, Solomon Hanson, Joshua Hunt, Ines Kuna, Alexis Jewel, Ebonee Lee, Stephen Lisle, Christina Maggio, Joe Mantecon, Johnny Mayer, Natalie Mcclintock, Erin McIntyre, Daniel Ostlund, Katrina Petrovich, Sierra Pannabecker, Gretchen Sandau, Miranda Schmidt, Jenieve Schnabel, Wendy Shortman, Kali Simmons, Catrice Stanley, Jake Stevens, Nilesh Tendolkar, Vinh Tran, Kat Vetrano, Allison Whited, Elisabeth Wilson, Roger Wightman, Brenda Yahm

PHOTOGRAPHERS Saria Dy, Karl Kuchs, Drew Martig

COPY EDITORS Kathryn Banks Sasha Fahrenkopf

ADVERTISING SALES Dominique Abrams, Sam Gressett, Rayna Martinez, Jae Specht

DISTRIBUTORS Brittany Castillo, Brandy Castillo

The Vanguard is published two days a week as an independent student newspaper governed by the PSU Publications Board.

Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers, and do not necessarily represent those of the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. One copy of the Vanguard is provided free of charge to all community members, additional copies or subscription issues may incur a 25 cent charge.

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©2011 Portland State University Vanguard 1825 SW Broadway Smith Memorial Student Union, Rm. S-26 Portland OR, 97201

PSU Center for Academic Excellence provides workshops to professors of all years all photos by adam wickham/VANGUARD STAFF

2011 PDX Pop Now! featured performances from many local bands. Pictured here (clockwise from top left) are And And And, Chicharones, Witch Mountain and Nurses.

LEARNING GROUND FROM PAGE 1

Existing computer lab on first floor closed this summer, but second-floor lab still open According to library staff, the computer lab should be up and running by fall term with laptops available and convenient access to printers.

Part of these renovations will also include new tables and chairs for the computer lab, and the lab space will then be enlarged to accommodate more students.

“The project opens up 850 additional square feet of computing and group study space on the main floor, which is presently closed off,” said Brown, who is also part of the implementation team. He’s focusing on instructional and library technologies for the Sandbox.

The improvements have already started. A second student practice-presentation room and a group viewing room for multimedia, which feature laptop hookups for improved integration, opened this past spring term.

On the second floor of the library, a new group study table includes inputs for students to display videos from their laptops and other portable devices while collaborating with each other. Recent wireless improvements extend service to most areas of the library and coincide with the library’s student loaner-laptop project, which is going on now.

Improvements on the third floor include a very popular group study area which was recently upgraded with new tables—graced by power outlets on top— and a comfortable café-style seating area.

“With such limited space in the library, these improvements all come together with the Learning Ground and the second-floor Library Research Center to offer services one might find in larger information common spaces at other universities and libraries,” said Brown. “It’s been a

SARIA DY/VANGUARD STAFF

Learning grounds: Plans for the new renovation. very rewarding process and a major collaborative effort between the Library and Office of Information Technologies. I think students will be pleased with these improvements, and I would encourage more students to bring their laptops to school to take advantage of the full range of library research and technology-related services they can now access without waiting

in line to use a lab computer.”

Students working in the library and on the general campus expressed interest in the new project and are looking forward to the computer lab opening up again.

“I’ve been to other colleges and our library is one of the best,” said one student who asked to remain anonymous.

“And with all new improve-

ments, we’re sure to be the envy of the state.”

Staff would like to remind students that the second computer lab is still open during renovations, as are other computer labs across campus.

The Sandbox project is in the contract-bidding phase, but library staff members are optimistic that the project will be underway soon. ■

influence the next group of students with their evaluations.”

For some students, professor evaluation is an opportunity to express disdain or appreciation for a particular professor. Educators said they take evaluations seriously, and reviews can affect a faculty member’s teaching career at the university.

Grant Farr, associate dean for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, said faculty who are not tenured are evaluated every year in four areas: their body of research, quality of teaching, level of involvement in the university and the level of community engagement present in their research.

According to Farr, the university relies mostly on students’ in-class evaluations to rate a professor’s quality of teaching.

Farr said that one challenge of objectively analyzing students’ evaluation is making the distinction between a popular professor and a good professor.

“We understand that there are some popular professors who turn out to be not very good teachers, and there are those who are not popular, but can be very good teachers,” Farr said.

To mitigate the problem, evaluation forms usually contain questions that don’t refer to a professor’s personality, but rather ask students to rate

areas like level of class preparedness and responsiveness to students’ concerns.

Farr admits that the pressure to be popular with students can affect a professor’s teaching style.

“Some professors think that if you give students all A’s, they will like you better,” Farr said. “From my experience, students are smarter than that and they know the difference.”

Veronica Dujon, professor and chair of the sociology department, said that she appreciates being well-liked but that she’s most concerned with making sure her students learn.

“I have certain standards that I want students to follow,” Dujon said. “I have to make sure we get things done, and it’s fine if that doesn’t make me popular with students.”

Dujon is the recipient of three John Eliot Allen teaching awards, which are given out annually in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences.

Faculty who receive the award are nominated by a committee of students.

According to Farr, each department handles its faculty evaluations differently, but generally, evaluations are read by either a department chair or a committee of department faculty.

Ellen Skinner, chair of the psychology department, said that evaluations for psycholo-

karl kuchs/VANGUARD STAFF

Excellence versus popularity: Veronica Dujon, Sociology chair, appreciates being liked but says she makes teaching a priority. gy professors are entered into a spreadsheet using numerical values indicated by students.

The purpose of the spreadsheet is to monitor evaluations over a period of time, Skinner said. If the number drops, then Skinner herself holds a meeting with the faculty member.

Skinner said she finds RateMyProfessor.com to be a useful tool for students if they use it appropriately.

“It’s like customer-service reviews. I think it’s good that students are communicating with each other about their opinion about a class,” Skinner said.

“The more constructive and the more informative their comments are, the more they can be helpful to other students.”

Dujon acknowledges that

the problem with RateMyProfessor.com is that the people who post on there come from a self-selected group.

“There are two kinds of students who post on there: those who have an awful time and those who have an excellent time in class,” Dujon said.

Sophomore Elaine Mcskowky said she generally trusts RateMyProfessor.com because the reviews about some of her professors are true.

“I always use it every time I register for classes,” Mcskowsky said. “It’s very useful and gives me an idea of which professors to avoid.”

Skinner said faculty who lagged in teaching skills are referred to the Center for Academic Excellence (CAE),

which provides workshops throughout the year helping professors perfect their pedagogical skills.

Janelle Voegele, assistant director for the CAE, said one service her department provides is mid-term student evaluations that help professors adjust their lesson plans accordingly: a CAE representative observes the class and asks students how the course can be improved.

The CAE’s summary is then presented to the faculty member.

Admittedly, Farr said, teaching comes more natural to some than others, and there’s only so much one can learn about teaching.

A fact that must be considered is that faculty members

who obtain doctorate degrees are often initially interested in a particular field of research. For some professors, teaching comes as a prerequisite for them to work at a university and receive institutional support and research grants.

Although Dujon balances the task of teaching and doing research, she says that teaching and other administrative duties take up the majority of her time that she feels her research sometimes gets “shoved aside.”

Labissiere said that faculty members must uphold their institution’s standards in the areas of both teaching and research, whatever an individual’s preference might be.

“Even if you’d rather focus on research than teaching, as a professional, you must take on students with the same level of rigor and intensity that you would do with research,” Labissiere said.

Martha Hickey, a professor of Russian and the director of the International Studies program, said that a professor’s education can have an impact on their teaching skills.

“At large research institutions, students are trained in both areas of doing research and teaching throughout their masters and Ph.D. years,” Hickey said.

An important point that students should remember, according to Farr, is that professors are affected by students’ in-class and online evaluations.

“While students aren’t always right, I trust them,” Farr said. ■

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OPINION • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 • VANGUARD

VANGUARD • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 • OPINION

OPINION

EDITOR: JANIEVE SCHNABEL OPINION@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5692

A dollar here or there Recent Netflix price increase won’t break budgets Janieve Schnabel Ten years ago, it was completely unthinkable that one could somehow access an unlimited amount of movies, TV shows and other entertainment for a reasonable price. In the era of Blockbuster and Hollywood Video, movies could be checked out for a fee and returned—and that was fantastic for the consumer. Budgets were expanded to include $20– 40 worth of movies per month, and avid cinephiles lined up to get new releases, content if they got one a month after it’d gone to DVD. So how is it that, 10 years later, unlimited video priced at $10 per month is somehow “too expensive” for the average consumer?

illustration by susannah beckett/VANGUARD STAFF

Netflix, the leader in online streaming and video rentals in today’s world, recently increased its prices from $7.99 per month with $2 more for unlimited, one-ata-time DVD rentals to $7.99 for each service separately or $15.98 for both services together. The immediate backlash from its custom-

ers sent market analysts wondering if Netflix would be suffering an exodus of customers as a result of this rate change, while other online video subscription sites such as Hulu began revamping their advertising. To many, it seemed obvious that the price increase would be Netflix’s undoing.

Online comments The story doesn’t stop when the print hits the page.

Don’t like something you read in the Vanguard?

Want us to cover a story? Do you feel there is more to be said? You have the opportunity to praise us or rip us apart here at the Vanguard. Post a comment online or write us a letter. Tell us what you think.

Here are some online highlights from www.psuvanguard.com.

GDP vs. Federal Budget Your argument is incredibly misleading [“Beans, Bullets, and Bad Guys,” June 19]. Military spending as a fraction of GDP doesn’t represent the wasteful spending at the level of government. GDP accounts for all public and private production/goods/etc. You need to compare military spending as a fraction of the total federal budget. It’s tied for 2nd place with social security, right behind Medicare/Medicaid.

Military expenditures account for 20% of the federal budget and could be shaved IMMENSELY. We have over half a million troops in over 150 countries. Talk about expensive. Bring them home from most, if not all of them. We need to stop violating the sovereignty of other countries, stop violating the US Constitution and War Powers Act, stop damaging our perception amongst partner trade nations, and stop recklessly wasting tax payer money.

The only danger involved with troops in Afghanistan and Iraq is keeping them there.

Silence

Skills and Personalities Most degree programs can be divided into three categories: vocational, enrichment and a kind of middle-ground [“Debating the Worth of College,” July 12]. Vocational degrees include engineering, accounting, teaching, medical and some business areas. Middle-ground areas (vocationally-oriented but not always employable) include architecture, some business areas, computer science, economics, etc. Enrichment areas include just about everything else.

If persons study only enrichment areas, then what they have to sell vocationally is their personality.

They may be able to gain work in government, sales

5

or some political field. But they may not. If their personality is not so salable, what is it they have to sell? The enrichment courses were designed to sell themselves, but the job market can easily reject such an offering. Such persons then much turn to other kind of work such as restaurant, construction, etc.

Enrichment courses do not necessarily have a pay-off come graduation. It is a gamble to rely on enrichment courses exclusively and the job market can only accommodate so many persons opting exclusively for such a course of study.

Kendall Leesemeier

Different Times, Different Requirements I am very happy with this lengthy and detailed article because it was needed to support the necessity of a college degree [“Debating the Worth of College,” July 12]. I know that some people might view having a BA/BS degree as being a non-stimulator for financial success but the reality is one cannot make more than $35,000$40,000 unless they get a MA/MS degree. For alot of students this is just too much work but it has always been the reality that people with a MA/MS or even a PhD have more and greater financial opportunities. Especially in today’s economic recession where the federal government is ONLY looking for people with higher academic credentials (well, they always prefer people with higher academic credentials due to the research skills that are acquired within such education *chuckles*). Alot of students who complain now (and even for the past 10 ten years) about not getting enough opportunities didn’t stop to think, “Should I be pursuing research-oriented degrees?” and they should because that’s where the most money exists (talk to the professors who work for the federal or state government because that’s where the most money exists. *gasps* Really!? YES!).

[This comment has been edited for brevity; to read the full comment, check out the story online at psuvanguard.com] Sunil Narayan

Guess what? Netflix is going to do fine, and the consumer won’t be suffering over this.

What the backlash from the price increase tells us is that consumers in first world countries are spoiled. Yes, you’re spoiled. Get over it.

For roughly 50 cents per day, movie lovers can indulge in all sorts of cinema. It’s instant gratification and even using it once or twice a month, it pays for itself. And yet it is somehow too expensive now?

Perhaps consumers would like to go back to the days of driving to the local video store and praying the whole way they have something to offer them and their families. Maybe slapping late fees on movies again will make it easier to see what a great deal subscription sites like Netflix are. Or perhaps we could move back to the days when you couldn’t be sure if the movie you picked up was the right format to play in the room you want to watch it in.

The truth about the Taliban The days where the only feedback you got on a movie was that of the clerk trying to get you to rent it.

Or perhaps we could get rid of movie rentals altogether and instead send consumers to the store to pick up a $25 DVD every time they want to see something.

And, of course, there is the fact that a streaming or rental video service is a luxury. Complain all you want about a necessity increasing in price; that’s a big deal. But something as unnecessary to everyday life as an entertainment service is extraneous as it is.

People aren’t paying attention to why this increase happened in the first place. It is important to consider how Netflix (or any other video streaming or rental service, for that matter) operates. In order to offer the videos themselves, they must have the rights to share them with their customers. These rights are not

cheap. The Motion Picture Association of America sells these rights to the service, and with each blockbuster the price increases.

And that’s just the price to host it. There are also the employees to consider. Who makes the interface userfriendly? Who organizes the site itself ? What about customer service and development? Who arranges the acquisitions of the actual films?

Employees are not cheap.

Considering all the wages these services need to pay in addition to profiting even a little bit, it’s incredible they can offer their services for so low a price at all.

The Netflix price increase is not a big deal. Any subscription service, from Hulu to YouTube to all others out there is a steal, regardless of how “expensive” it may seem. Gripe about it all you’d like, but it doesn’t change the fact that you’re getting a fantastic deal. ■

Wi-Fi: friend or foe?

Pseudoscience is at work in Portland Public Schools Kali Simmons Back in the day, when someone fell ill, they attached leeches to their face and hoped they got better. When someone went bald, they smeared manure on their head. Nowadays, we know these supposedly “scientific” solutions are nothing but old wives’ tales.

Now, there are a new rash of pseudoscientific threats to the logic and sanity of citizens.

Recently, Mt Tabor Middle School has found itself embroiled in a lawsuit due to the believability of pseudoscientific quackery.

David Morrison, father of a student, is filing a lawsuit against Portland Public Schools due to their use of Wi-Fi in classrooms. He believes that the waves produced are dangerous to students and harm the wellbeing of those who are considered “electro-sensitive.”

What he is worried about are electromagnetic fields that are released by devices like cell phones, Wi-Fi connections and radio waves. There have been “scientific studies” conducted in the field, most of which state that the artificial frequencies affect the natural frequencies that humans are tuned to, yet in no way state how they reached this conclusion.

Some of these groups even go so far as saying that these electromagnetic fields are a form of “pollution.”

The World Health Organi-

zation released a study that showed the waves to be “potentially carcinogenic.” While this may sound worrisome, they have also classified pickled vegetables and coffee as potentially carcinogenic.

Those who are against the use of cell phone and Wi-Fi radiofrequency electromagnetic fields “EMF” or “RF” point to the phrase “potentially carcinogenic.” Yet, they conveniently leave out the section of the WHO study which states, “Considering the very low exposure levels and research results collected to date, there is no convincing scientific evidence that the weak RF signals from base stations and wireless networks cause adverse health effects.”

A group called Citizens for Safe Technology has gathered together resources and news on the subject, working actively to inform and eventually change the current situation when it comes to Wi-Fi in classrooms. According to their website, “Wi-Fi base stations operate in a similar manner to cell tower base stations, and there is a growing concern over the long-term, non-thermal biological effects of this untested technology. It has been rapidly deployed in our schools without any informed consent procedure—a shortsighted and potentially disastrous course.

Schools need to be held to a higher level of safety.”

The problem with pseudoscience is that is can sometimes convince people that it’s true. Because some of the studies look passable when scanned over by readers, the public can sometimes fail to read into the subject deeply

enough. What occurs is a pressure on schools and health organizations to accept these falsehoods as truth.

People constantly want control over their lives. These advocates seem to by trying to exert control by disallowing a valuable and useful technology in our schools on the basis of little more than the unproven words of other advocates.

Groups like Citizens for Safe Technology claim that the government is trying to suppress the health issues surrounding Wi-Fi due to influences by radio and phone companies. They are effectively acting as the sore loser of the scientific society, as they cannot fathom that their claims are genuinely untrue and unproven. If these groups instead provided adequate and proven scientific studies to back up their jargon, they could potentially get their issue noticed.

With the Internet fueling this misinformation machine, it’s become clear that people are definitely only reading into evidence that fuels their opinions.

While the Wi-Fi may not be excellent for your health, there is no proven scientific fact that shows it is harmful.

Wi-Fi shall be innocent until proven guilty in the court of health issues.

Hopefully Portland Public Schools does not have to continue to waste time and money on such a silly issue.

With students trying to learn and teachers trying to do their job, one can only hope this quack goes back to his Wi-Fi–free pond.

To voice your own opinion visit PSUVanguard.com and vote in our online poll. ■

The history of an organization shrouded in infamy Joe Mantecon Vanguard staff

Kandahar. Wahhabism. Mullah Muhammad Omar.

To most Americans, these words are probably meaningless, or, at the very least, unimportant. Kandahar? Some city in the Middle East, likely bearing some kind of relationship with oil. Wahhabism? God knows. Muhammad Omar?

Sounds Arab—so either a terrorist or a dangerous autocrat.

Why bring these up? What relevance do they have? What does any of this have to do with American foreign policy?

Enough to merit around $120 billion, 90,000 American troops, 10 years of effort and 1,600 deaths.

The word that encompasses the aforementioned three is an Arabic word meaning “the students” or “the seekers of knowledge.” Under this guise, the word is virtually unknown in the United States. In Arabic, it is infamous.

Taliban.

The Taliban is a Muslim fundamentalist group, part political party, part Islamic revivalist organization, part (these days, predominantly) insurgency.

Though the Taliban, which took power in 1996, was forcefully ousted in 2001 by coalition forces in the opening stages of Operation Enduring Freedom, the group has maintained a vibrant

presence in Afghanistan. To this day, Taliban operatives and allies continue to hamper the efforts of the coalition to establish a viable democracy in the war-torn Central Asian country.

The Taliban began as offshoot of the mujahideen, a primarily Pashtun band of religious scholars-turnedmilitia purposed for the defeat of Soviet occupiers in the 1980s. Practicing a radical form of Sunni Islam called Wahhabism, the Taliban celebrated their (American-aided) victory over the Soviets with a strict implementation of fundamentalist Islam over the Afghani population.

Taliban rule in Afghanistan has left behind a grim legacy of repression and abuse. Their interpretation of the Muslim faith—bearing only a vague resemblance to that espoused in the Quran—pervaded all aspects of public and private life, going so far as too imprison men whose beard length failed to meet established custom.

Since its fairly painless toppling in 2001, the Taliban has proven to be a resilient foe.

Unlike the insurgencies of Iraq, to which it is oft and erroneously compared, the Taliban’s motivation for opposing the coalition presence is predominantly faith-based, as opposed to political grievance or simple issues of finance.

Their interpretation of the Muslim faith— bearing only a vague resemblance to that espoused in the Quran—pervaded all aspects of public and private life, going so far as too imprison men whose beard length failed to meet established custom.

This complicates the situation enormously. In Iraq, American military leadership saw considerable success in swaying the insurgency by essentially buying off the insurgents. This strategy does not appear feasible in Afghanistan, where fighters rely on a combination of religious zeal and deep-rooted anti-Western sentiment as their rationale for taking up arms.

With regards to leadership, no one is sure who exactly serves as the Taliban’s de facto head. Mullah Muhammad Omar, a cleric who led the group during its initial formative years fighting the Soviets, would seem to be the most likely candidate, having piloted the organization from 1996 to 2001 as “Commander of the Faithful.” His whereabouts are as yet unknown (indeed, it is possible he is dead), and it has been called into question just how much actual administrative power he would cur-

Illustration by joe mantecon/VANGUARD STAFF

The Taliban successfully test a countermeasure to the predator drone rently yield over the organization he helped found.

Other names and personalities have been suggested, including Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar, believed to be the current military commander of Taliban operations in Afghanistan. Many have been killed in recent years. However, owing to the decentralized nature of the Taliban’s organization (a trait it shares with al-Qaida), it is difficult

to assess the effect this has on the group’s actual capability to wage its insurgency.

One way or another, the Taliban continues to exert considerable influence over the Afghani population. There is a near continuous effort to recruit, coerce and lobby Afghans into joining or aiding the insurgency. As demonstrated by the recent hanging of an eight-year-old boy, the methods for doing so can be grim.

Prior to the September 11 attacks, the American strategy toward the Taliban relied on a combination of diplomacy and soft power. Recently, the talk has been of a renewal of negotiations. Analysts are doubtful, as they very well should be. As was the case in Vietnam, another war of state building for which the U.S. retains unwholesome memories, the Taliban, like the Viet Cong, need only bide their time. ■

Isn’t the goal to communicate?

Whether done through cave drawings or texting on a new Android, the quality of our communication skills is what counts, not the medium you use.

It could be argued that using computers earlier on in education and gaining that computer literacy that is so essential today could enhance our abilities to communicate and learn language.

For example, it is already common knowledge in the education world that computerassisted second language acquisition improves the ability for ESL students to learn faster.

In a series of studies done from 1990 through the early 2000s, ESL students have shown higher success rates when using computer-assisted learning.

One such study done in 1996, in conjunction with Texas A&M University and the University of Puerto Rico, indicated that when using computer-assisted learning versus traditional oral classes, the

amount of questions that the teacher could ask increased by more than 25 percent. More students were able to take at least 50 percent more turns, and in terms of confidence, the students using computers showed less apprehension when using their new language skills to communicate.

If you were to apply the same logic as teaching ESL students with computers to teaching second languages with computers to American students, maybe our country wouldn’t have such negative stereotypes associated with our cultural insensitivity and our education standards regarding language acquisition.

In all areas of education, the use of computers to replace old, outdated methods, such as cursive, means that the speed and efficiency of learning will potentially increase. Educators can’t allow techno-phobia or pandering to tradition to stop an evolution whose time has long since come. ■

Typing trumps cursive Parents just don’t understand Elizabeth Bommarito Any time there is a good scandal, the Internet is the first place the news goes ablaze, and the general public gets to weigh in with their thoughts and feelings about this crazy world in which we live.

Who could have guessed that in the times of the Murdoch scandal and a series of police controversies, Indiana schools are generating so much buzz by making cursive handwriting optional. I mean, who cares, right?

But care people do, and the arguments are plenty as to why the death of cursive is, to some, reason to engage in angry rants on news sites and blogs for weeks on end, ever since the decision was announced on June 28.

Some point out that the decision to eliminate cursive might have unanticipated long-term consequences, such as students not knowing how to sign their names. Parents are also looking ahead to the SAT’s handwritten portion, and wondering how their children will manage it.

However, parents can always teach their kids how to sign their names themselves and embrace that maybe it won’t matter someday. And as for the SAT, students are allowed to print on that, and no one is suggesting that we get rid of printing. In fact, printing will have a bigger emphasis in the new system since it mimics symbol reading on a keyboard.

Indiana schools came to the idea of making cursive handwriting optional in favor of more print-writing classes and typing in response to their adoption of the Common Core State Standards Initiative, which seeks to close the education gap that

Whether done through cave drawings or texting on a new Android, the quality of our communication skills is what counts, not the medium you use. students have nationally when entering into work and higher education.

The Common Core State Standards Initiative has been adopted by most states, but is still resisted in Texas, Alaska, Montana, Virginia, Nebraska and Minnesota. These standards overhaul the curriculum to make way for more thorough testing in the areas of English and math and soon will begin working on other subjects as well.

An emphasis on computer learning and typing is incor-

porated into the new standards to reflect the trends of the time. When was the last time you used cursive, other than to sign your name?

Frankly, cursive, like calligraphy and block printing, has become a dead art.

No one is saying that these kids can’t learn cursive or that it couldn’t be a valuable hobby; after all, the learning capacity for younger people is much greater than for older people.

But ultimately, whether or not you think education budget cuts are wrong, the fact is they are here. Budget cuts mean that educators have to prioritize, and cursive, along with more important subjects like physical education and music, are just not the priorities they once were.

While the diminishing of the arts and physical education classes in education is a sad, bitter aspect of this shift in priorities, really, what is so bad about ousting cursive?

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ARTS & CULTURE • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 • VANGUARD

VANGUARD • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 • ARTS & CULTURE

ARTS & CULTURE

EDITOR: RICHARD D. OXLEY ARTS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5694

Food and celebration in Paris The continuing adventures of the Vanguard’s Nicholas Kula in Paris Nicholas Kula Vanguard staff

Last week I was but a young, nubile resident of the city of lights—fresh off the plane, if you will—and now the city is a bit more lived-in.

Within this time Paris has offered a number of impressions—most notably food and Bastille Day.

La cuisine One huge difference that you will notice between French and American cuisine in Paris is that American food (whatever that is) is readily available for very little. Hamburgers, fried chicken and the like are dirt-ass cheap and everywhere.

In Paris, French cuisine is scarcely found for less than €15—the exception being crêpes.

When walking the streets of Paris, you’ll find all kinds of cheap street food—sandwiches, gyros, döner and merguez.

However, for a truly Parisian culinary experience, you’ll need to sit down and pay through the nose. You’re likely to spend around €15 for a meal—don’t forget that exchange rate either.

Beverages are far more exorbitantly priced than they are anywhere in the states.

Expect to pay €5 or more for coffee, orange juice or soda.

Also, you have to ask for water (un carafe d’eau) in any restaurant. The practice of automatically serving water is not standard here.

Aside from the street food,

you will find that Italian restaurants are rampant in Paris; which isn’t that surprising given France’s proximity to Italy.

Still, there are more than I’d expected. And since authentic Italian ingredients don’t have to cross an ocean to get to Paris, the food that isn’t highly perishable is still a-ok.

Cuisine such as mozzarella, ricotta and burrata that are highly prized for freshness within 24–48 hours will be a little tired by the time they reach Paris. Since mozzarella is signed into EU law stating that it can only be produced in Italy, and it’s made in the south (Campagna), these cheeses might be avoided if authenticity is what you’re after.

Nice dinners that include wine will run you upwards of €70 or more (a recent dinner for two set me back €90, and this was without wine). You might find that self-catering holds the key to delicious food on what most resembles a “budget.”

There are markets all over Paris and, since France has literally the strictest food laws in the world, everything you buy will likely taste better than its American equivalent.

Monoprix is as close to Safeway as it gets in Paris, but for truly special meals, hit up La Grande Epicerie in the seventh arrondissement. For foodies, this is the ultimate grocery store. From the lowly Coca-Cola to Jambon Ibérico and salmon that’s nearly €200 a kilo, they have anything you could want, and the prices aren’t too bad compared to Monoprix.

Also, don’t freak out, but milk and eggs offered in much of Europe aren’t refrigerated.

Anywhere.

Bastille day

Just a scant ten days after America’s Independence Day is Bastille Day on July 14— France’s version of the same thing. Instead of celebrating independence, the French celebrate the storming of the Bastille, an old prison that held political prisoners and was a symbol of the control the monarchy had over the French.

Parisians celebrate the same way we do—with a huge parade (except the president shows up) and a giant fireworks show that will beat up your hometown’s fireworks show.

If you’re on or near the Champ du Mars (where the Eiffel Tower is located), you’ll get to see a huge light show as well—one that culminates in the tower lighting up and sparkling. It’s quite an impressive show and it will rival anything similar you’ve seen in the states.

After the show, the scene is chaos. The city closes half of the metro stations at complete random and the ones that are still open are madness incarnate. You’ll end up waiting an hour just to get to a train. For whatever reason, the city decides to run even fewer trains than usual during this time,

Geared up in Portland Northwest enthusiasts gather for the area’s first steampunk convention Richard D. Oxley Vanguard staff

nicholas kula/VANGUARD STAFF

Watch your wallet: Nicholas tries his first, and very expensive, meal in Paris. which makes the rabble even more restless when trains actually do show up. You’ll likely miss the first couple and then be crammed in the nearest available train cart right in some French guy’s armpit.

Happy Bastille Day! ■

Be safe Avoiding pickpockets and charlatans Nicholas Kula Vanguard staff

Paris is home to an alarming number of pickpockets and thieves, some of whom will stop at nothing to get your valuables.

If you’re staying in a hotel, keep all valuables (passports, cash, jewelry) in the hotelroom safe.

nicholas kula/VANGUARD STAFF

Just recently at an ATM I had two men reach in front of me; one pushed a bunch of buttons on the screen and tried to empty my bank account while the other tried to wave a flyer in

my face. Keep your wits about you at all times and if you have someone waving stuff in your face and yelling, they’re probably trying to clean you out, especially if you’re at a touristy place.

This year’s pickpocket tactic is the clipboard. Shady-looking characters will try to get you to sign something while they rob you. Luckily for us Portlanders, we’re so adept at dodging Greenpeace that this isn’t an issue for us. Just remember not to speak English to these people or they will follow you to the ends of the Earth. Just say “no, no, no” and wave them away.

No refrigeration? Milk on the shelf at room temperature at the Monoprix market.

Gears collided with corsets last weekend as Portland saw its very first steampunk convention.

Gear Con was the first of its kind to bring together fans of steampunk, or neo-Victorian culture, in Portland. Enthusiasts converged to purchase one-of-a-kind merchandise, speak with celebrities of the genre, and be amused by a variety of old world entertainment.

“I did it without knowing about it,” said con participant Caylean Fox. “But a couple years ago my friend was like ‘steampunk,’ this is what it is, and I was like ‘I do that anyway.’”

The term “steampunk” arose after the literary genre of cyberpunk picked up speed with readers. As a sort of humorous gesture, authors of sci-fi tales based in the Victorian era began jokingly throwing around the term, referencing steam-powered technology. From there it took off, finding its way into film, television and more.

Walking through the convention was like exploring the worlds of H.G. Wells, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Firefly.

The idea is to reach back in time to a preindustrial Victorian era, where great advances in technology are brought

Rian Evans

Kat Audick Vanguard staff

Has the ordinary meat selection at the store got you down?

Do you find yourself unsatisfied by chomping relentlessly on the same bland burgers time and time again? Does the thought of unoriginal meaty meals send you into an unstoppable fit of blind fury?

If you answered yes to one, or any of these questions, it's time that you discovered there's a place that can help.

Over the Top is the one spot for alleviating all your hunger woes. Tucked into the food cart pod on SE 50th Avenue and Ivon Street, owner Ryan Biglione and his buddy Andrew Dolfuss are a team of

meat masters who will take your sad and underappreciated taste buds on a one-way trip to carnivore heaven.

Hot off their griddle are some absolutely sensational burgers that open your eyes to a whole new world of flavor.

Depending on the time of year, Over the Top rotates through a slew of wild-game meats that pack their burgers with a unique punch. Their awesome options at the time of my visit included buffalo burgers, wild boar, elk, bison and rabbit.

“Throughout the year we get emu, which is seasonal; also venison, antelope and even kangaroo,” Biglione said.

My first bite into an elk burger left me pretty much speechless. Paired flawlessly with a pile of sweet caramelized onions and melted provolone cheese, the elk meat was extremely rich and hearty.

It is by far one of the juiciest burgers I've ever bitten into, and the meat has a smooth gamey flavor that is tangy and earthy without being overbearing. For people just opening their doors to more unusual burger options, elk is a perfect gateway choice that won't disappoint.

The rabbit burger is another unique and delicious choice.

Their rabbit meat is lusciously tender and naturally a little sweet. It is truly a dish that I wish was available more frequently. It only took one bite to know I'm hooked. Apologies to Bugs Bunny in advance, but I may have just found my newest craving.

Available on the side of their ass-kicking burgers is a crispy, crunchy, succulent, savory apple slaw. It's a great way to cool your pallet between meaty bites, but could honest-

ly hold its ground as a dish all on its own.

“We also do a lot of glutenfree stuff. So veggie people often grab a vegetarian burger from our neighbors and then head over here for our glutenfree tempura,” Biglione said.

Those seeking to find even more incredible meat-on-meat action can snag a side of dangerously radical tempura bacon! But rest assured whatever you choose off their menu will leave you super satisfied.

Over the Top is hands down the ultimate cart of bold hardiness. Besides serving up meat that is beyond the norm, they seriously lay claim to the best damn burger I've had the pleasure of eating in Portland.

You don't have to be tough to eat Over the Top's awesome burgers, but you definitely can't call yourself tough until you do. ■

The best damn burger in Portland: Owner Ryan Biglione dishes up unique rare meats at Over The Top.

karl kuchs/VANGUARD STAFF

about through low technology means. Anything is possible, as if the future as we know it is unwritten causing the vintage and the sci-fi to combine.

“It’s an alternative history from the before the industrial revolution, where things went a different way,” Fox said.

“Rather than digital it is all mechanical. The great thing about steampunk is you can kind of make it whatever you want to make it.”

A very accurate statement, as attendees ranged from strict Victorian to old westerners equipped with gear-based technology— think Brisco County Jr. Molded in the realm of lit-

erature, steampunk writers and authors occupied a majority of the features available to attendees. Authors such as Andrew Mayer, Devon Monk, and M.K. Hobson read, while writers could take part in workshops to improve their skills.

“Verne and Wells were the progenitor of science fiction literature…and they were writing in this Victorian period looking forward,” said Gear Con organizer Stephen Couchman. “Well, now we’re in their future…and developed that into a new form.

That is why steampunk is retro futuristic.”

Through the corridors of

the Crown Plaza Hotel in northeast Portland, vendors sold everything from goggles to ray guns, clothing to canes, even flash drives and cryptozoological wonders preserved in jars, all adorned with gears, piping, leather or other mid-1800s accoutrements.

Period appropriate dancing was taught at the height of the event—a ballroom gala complete with performers and DJs. Crowds were entertained throughout the con by magicians and circus talent, all vintage-themed of course.

Portland’s own Vagabond Opera added their bohemian flair, as did Vernian Process and the Wanderlust Circus. And when night fell, the audience was tantalized by an adult story time.

“I’ve [said] that what we

have going on in our evenings is going to make this entire event. And when it happened it proved it,” said co-organizer Greg Duthie. “The performers that we had were amazing. I’ve never seen a collection of talent like that in one place…the circus performers and the live act performers that we had [were] better than any concert that I’ve been to.”

Vintage styles dominated a fashion show. Along a runway lined with a Victorian audience, models not only strutted and posed, but pranced and enticed. There was a seductive quality to the show. Models got into character displaying fashionable garments, dresses, fancy hats and, of course, corsets galore.

A decent portion of the convention was dedicated to fashion and “how-to” features of-

Canes and satchels and goggles, oh my! Matt Winkelmann, a vendor at Gear Con, organizes his steampunk merchandise.

fering guidance on sewing and making one’s favorite period attire at home. From tiny hats to couture techniques, and Victorian fashion on a budget, some walked away educated on how to improve their vintage sci-fi look while others were awed by how extensive the world of corsets is.

And if fashion, entertainment and literature weren't enough, special features ranging from film-prop creation to open forums on steampunk social issues and politics offered veritable “geeking out” opportunities for those deeply entrenched in the genre. Liveaction role-playing of the popular game The Rise of Aester was guided by fans with its creators, Marshal Hunter and Jeff Allen, on hand to answer questions. There was even a tintype photographer available producing vintage prints.

Margaret Killjoy hosted a lecture on self-publishing, giving his own advice on everything from publishing ’zines to books. Killjoy has published an array of literature, much of it steampunk in nature including steampunk fantasies and erotica. He was also the initial editor of Steampunk Magazine.

“I was interested in steampunk essentially in a vacuum; I wasn’t aware of a broader steampunk culture. To be fair, there wasn’t much of one at the time, and what little there was, was only online,” Killjoy said. “So I started Steampunk Magazine, and started collecting submissions.”

Though having just finished the event’s inaugural attempt, organizers are set on planning and expanding next year’s Gear Con. “Bigger, better and more next year,” Duthie said. ■

saria dy/VANGUARD STAFF

Getting trashed at Rocky Butte PSU outdoor program addresses Rocky Butte litter

Where the wild things eat Get in touch with your inner carnivore

7

Vanguard staff

Portland State's Outdoor Program will be hosting a rockclimbing venture to Rocky Butte that is about more than just chalking up and scaling a wall of rock.

Combining the university's goals of community engagement and environmental sustainability with Campus Recreation's goal of promoting healthy lifestyles, the “Rocky Butte Clean Up and Climb On” on July 30 offers an opportunity to not only enjoy the great outdoors, but also improve Rocky Butte by removing a disturbing amount of litter.

“During our last trip [in the spring term], we probably collected around 600 pounds of trash,” said Climbing Center Coordinator Lorena Jasis-Wallace. “Some people just chuck entire bags of garbage over the ledge.”

Lorena said the majority of the litter is probably from high-school students using the location as party spot, but not every litterbug has youthful ignorance as a defense.

“I'll see adults leave juice cans and water bottles on the ground,” Jasis-Wallace said.

“It's like, can't you just take it back to your car?”

The increasing popularity of climbing may also contribute to the litter problem at Rocky Butte. Traditionally, climbers have been a very environmentally conscious group, making sure to leave no trace when they visit a site. As climbing became more of a mainstream activity and less of a tightly knit subculture, some of these values were either lost on new climbers or never introduced to them. The Outdoor Program at PSU is trying to reverse this trend by promoting environmental stewardship on their trips.

The Outdoor Program isn't alone in their efforts. The program has an unofficial relationship with the Rocky Butte

Climbing Coalition, a group sponsored by the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Access Fund. Between the Outdoor Program and the Climbing Coalition, Rocky Butte will have been visited by four clean-up teams before summer's end. For those who can't make the Outdoor Program's trip, the Climbing Coalition has additional trips scheduled for Aug. 11.

Jasis-Wallace hopes that the sight of the group hard at work cleaning up litter will make other Rocky Butte visitors pay more attention to their own waste disposal habits. After all, though the clean-up trips make a remarkable difference, the only long-term solution is changing attitudes through raising awareness.

No previous climbing experience or training is required, but there will be a mandatory pre-trip meeting. The Rocky Butte trip is designed to be completely beginner-friendly, and volunteer trip-leader Afrita Davis offered some additional words of encourage-

ment for anyone that might still be on the fence about participating in the Outdoor Program. “ODP can offer a true Portland experience. I know I came here for a chance to get away, do things that I don't normally do, see things that I have never seen, and meet new and interesting people that I wouldn't have otherwise met,” Davis said.

"Now, I can try to do all these things around the city, or I can find a place that offers all of these things. The ODP provides all of these things on every trip they offer...I feel the ODP has given me experiences and friendships that would have taken me years to find if I hadn't participated.” ■

Rocky Butte Clean Up and Climb On July 30 Deadline to register is July 28 at noon Free to ASRC members www.pdx.edu/recreation/outdoor programs-trip-schedule

karl kuchs/VANGUARD STAFF

Rocky Butte: Students will be climbing and cleaning the slopes of the Butte on July 30.

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NEWS • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 • VANGUARD

VANGUARD • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 • ARTS & CULTURE

City Hall hosts watershed lecture

Head in the clouds Portugal.

The Man’s latest album is sure to satisfy Kali Simmons Vanguard staff

Portugal. The Man, Portland’s favorite adopted psychedelic rockers, are at it again with their latest album In the Mountain In the Cloud. The release of the band’s seventh studio album has been in the works since 2010 and brings forth 11 new tracks, all brimming with alt-rock goodness.

The band is currently on a tour that included a free show at Music Millennium on Saturday, which brought fans out in full force. The band continues onto another set of tour dates that extend into December. Additionally, Portugal will take the stage at Lollapalooza next month.

Things must be going well for the band, which recently signed with Atlantic Records, as there is no lack of up-tempo, feel-good beats on their latest release. The tracks are guitar heavy and laden with synthesizer beeps and boops of all varieties. Singer John Gourley guides the listener through a musical journey by sweetly crooning indietastic lyrics.

“We wanted a more mature sound. We wanted something that was new and fresh for us,

something that we had never totally done before,” said bass player and back-up vocalist Zach Carothers. “We spent a lot more time focusing on tones and structures than we ever have before on a record.”

One of the gems of the album is the single, “Got It All (This Can’t Be Living Now).”

Gourley and back up vocalists Ryan Neighbors and Carothers bring a wonderful fullness to the track bearing layers of vocals. At times, one can’t tell where one voice begins and another ends—perfectly achieving the psychedelic effect the band seems to be going for.

One black sheep of the record is “Once Was One,” which takes a different tone than the majority of the album. The song uses the combination of quiet, loud, quiet, loud perfected by bands such as The Pixies.

While listening carefully, one can detect hints of blues and soul in the album, mostly brought forth by jazzy guitar riffs and the high notes of Gourley.

“We’ve learned how to make better songs, as far as we’re concerned. Every time we go into the studio, it’s a learning experience,” Carothers said.

“We learn more about each other and how we work together and how to make a better product –at least that we’re happier with.”

For those behind on the times, presales for the album have been available since midMay, all sales coming with a free download of “Got It All.”

PSU professor explores impact of urbanization on fish populations Vanguard Staff

adam wickham/VANGUARD STAFF

John Gourley: Portugal. The Man's vocalist and guitarist signs CDs at Music Millennium in Portland. film shows front man Gourley in the midst of an epic Alaskan adventure that goes horribly awry. The work is an extended music video, set to two tracks off the latest album.

“We’ve always been into film and we’ve always been into music videos. We didn’t really set out to make a short film—I consider it a long music video than a short film. We knew we wanted to film something

in the winter in Alaska out in John [Gourley]’s back yard,” Carothers said. “Not a lot of people really have got a decent grasp on what [Alaska] is like.

We kind of wanted to show a little piece of it.”

The album overall is easy to listen to. Those looking for complicated, confounding songs might turn their nose up, but Cloud supplies an ample amount of solid listening.

Short films, the Alaskan music scene, Lollapalooza and much more—The Vanguard’s Kali Simmons interviews Portugal. The Man’s Zach Carothers in a Vanguard Online Exclusive. Log on to www.psuvanguard.com and read all about it!

The artwork for the album was designed by The Fantastic The, which is a combination of efforts by Gourley and graphic artist Austin Sellers.

As a whole, In the Mountain In the Cloud has enough catchy tunes to get any listener to “shake, shake, shake the night away.” ■

Portugal. The Man In the Mountain In the Cloud Atlantic records Out now

The Avengers’ first chapter Captain America offers something for everyone Richard D. Oxley Vanguard staff

Steve Rogers just wanted to join the effort and support his country during World War II. Unfortunately, he was short on desirable soldier traits and was turned away at every recruitment center. However, he did manage to catch the attention of one scientist looking for the right man to run risky experiments on.

Thanks to science, Captain America is born and Rogers gets to participate in one of America’s favorite past times—fighting Nazis.

Captain America is filled with all the classic moralizing values of good character commonly found in Marvel Comics’ tales. It is many stories

rolled into one: the story on an underdog, a WWII period piece and an adventure.

The film is careful to keep multiple viewers pleased.

Packed within its two-hour adventure is a movie many audiences can get behind, from families to adults to those out for date night. Being family friendly doesn’t ruin the experience for adults. And while some may have to sit through predictable dialogue or cheesy lines, the film doesn’t stray too far from offering an overall entertaining package.

A common ailment of superhero films is that the story gets rushed, perhaps trying to tell too much all at once, as if a montage or jumping quickly into the next act will make up for character development. This film doesn’t do that. It does have quite a lot of ground to cover, information and premises to establish, but manages to pace itself so that the audience can believably keep up.

Marvel has cranked out a number of other films featuring its Avenger characters

Mother Nature's Son: Alan Yeakley, professor of Environmental Science at PSU, articulates the effect of watershed on salmon at last week’s presentation.

Sierra Pannabecker

Copies of the album are still available via the band’s website, as well as in a variety of lovely Portland music shops.

When purchasing a copy from the band’s website, one can also receive a variety of Portugal goodies, including t-shirts, patches and field journals.

On the heels of the album, the band has also released a short film titled Sleep Forever that can be seen on IFC. The

successful film and are most likely banking on its success in order to set up the inevitable Avengers franchise.

Captain America, being the team’s leader, is an essential character to the Avengers.

This film, at the very least, is a prequel to an Avengers movie—more so than any other marvel character to hit the big screen. After one viewing it is clear that this film isn’t so much of a Captain America movie, as it is the first chapter in the Avengers story.

Avengers is in its early stages of production and is currently planned for a spring 2012 release. Joss Whedon is writing and directing the venture while every actor already portraying an Avengers character is reported to be on board. ■ photo courtesy of marvel studiosw

Captain America: Marvels’ take on our nation's favorite pastime­—fighting Nazis. over the past few years. Aside from Iron Man, the films have fallen short of being considered…tolerable. Thor, while garnering decent approval from critics, could not help

but impart a feeling that it was written for children, leaving its adult viewers behind. Hulk wasn’t much of anything to write home about either. Captain America, even

9

with its moments of cheesy dialogue and overly family friendly tones, can be counted among the better of the films.

Paramount and Marvel need Captain America to be a

Captain America Rated PG-13 Now playing

Portland State Environmental Science Professor Alan Yeakley and Carl Schrek, a member of the Corvallis Research Group, presented research last Tuesday, July 19, in the Portland Building. They discussed the effects of Portland’s urban sprawl on local rivers and streams.

Both scientists are members of the Independent Multidisciplinary Science Team, a state advisory committee that reports on the health of Oregon’s salmon population.

The researchers sought to find out more about how the salmonids, salmon and related species of fish are influenced by pollution, urban land use and direct contact with watershed.

Yeakley was spurred to conduct his studies because of the increasing population of Portland and the surrounding areas.

saria dy/VANGUARD STAFF

“Sprawl effect has increased in areas south of Portland and north of Vancouver,” Yeakley said, drawing a comparison between the amount of deforestation that has occurred in the Portland metro area and the blast zone on

Mt. St. Helens.

According to Yeakley, Willamette and Columbia watersheds suffer from Urban Stream Syndrome, caused by degradation of the water—in turn set off by tree clearing and poor engineering.

Impervious surfaces, like the cement that lines riverbeds in urban areas, increase the amount of toxins entering the rivers and streams. Yeakley cited Johnson Creek as an example of an urban stream that’s exposed to chronic toxicities from sewage and street runoff.

“These streams are difficult to rehabilitate because ownership is disjointed,” Yeakley said. He added that the difficulties are compounded by both the expense developers incur rethinking how cities are built, and resistance from citizens and politicians.

Carl Schrek, who worked with the Parks Service to learn more about the deposition of air pollution into water sources, explained the negative impacts of water pollution on fish populations.

“We use tissue damage as a marker for contaminants,” Schrek said. “Many fish we are finding in the rivers exceed the safety level of contaminants for humans.”

The contaminants found in the fish are known as Endocrine Disrupting Compounds.

Endocrine disruption in fish, as in humans, can cause fish to display sexual mutations.

“Just as estrogen causes female traits to appear in both men and women, excess female hormones in fish can cause male fish to produce egg yolks,” Schrek explained.

Fish are susceptible to endocrine disruption at various points in their lives but are especially vulnerable during spawning, which typically occurs in shallow waters like rivers that are near sources of human pollution.

Schrek reported that EDCs are found in most everyday products used in American homes, including shampoos, detergents, cosmetics, plastics and most pharmaceuticals, including birth control medication.

Schrek took part in a study of nine western state parks, including Rainier and Denali, which utilized water samples from the highest-altitude lakes and rivers in these parks. Researchers traced pollution sources in these remote lakes to coal plants in Europe and Asia.

ASPSU launches new website

Haugen execution pending mental review

New site hit the Internet at 12:05 p.m. last Thursday, aiming for innovation and efficiency

Local attorney outlines case and PSU professor weighs in on death penalty

Ryan Deming Vanguard Staff

The new ASPSU website officially launched last Thursday at the domain name aspsu.pdx.edu.

The site is a significant improvement in every way, according to Donovan Powell, ASPSU publications director and the creator of the site.

One of the most important improvements, he said, is the efficiency of the site’s coding.

Free of excess code and retooled to be efficient, the new site loads quickly, with transitions to other pages occurring seamlessly.

Powell also said that out of any university in Oregon, “we have the most interactive website.”

He added that ASPSU can also claim to host the simplest website when it comes to tabs, links and text.

In creating the new site— which underwent a series of major design revisions—Powell focused on keeping the amount of “stuff” on the page to a minimum because sites with more tabs, links and text

tend to just confuse people, Powell said.

Currently, the Student Fee Committee’s year-long calendar is featured on the site. Powell said that soon a monthly ASPSU calendar will be up, showing all upcoming student-government events in one place.

In addition to being one of the most interactive and simple student-government websites in Oregon, the new ASPSU site is currently the most up-to-date: The website of the Associated Students of Oregon State University was last updated in May. Possibly the most innovative part of the site is its mobiledevice integration. Thanks to Powell’s ingenuity during the creation and coding of the site, the page is accessible on most internet-compatible mobile devices.

Instead of automatically appearing as a regular website would on your mobile device, the page can be displayed in a format more compatible with smaller mobile devices such as smart-phones and tablets.

As far as Powell knows, ASPSU is the only studentgovernment website that’s optimized for mobile access.

When asked if the site is complete and what content he intends to add in the future, Powell simply said, “It’s never finished.” ■

Peter Browning Vanguard staff

If Gary Haugen has his way, he’ll be the first person executed in Oregon since 1997 and only the third since the death penalty law was passed in 1986.

Haugen’s journey has been a long one. First imprisoned in 1981 for the murder of Mary Archer, his former girlfriend’s mother, Haugen received life with the possibility of parole.

In 2003 he and a fellow inmate killed another prisoner, David Polin. The murder sent the two men convicted of the crime to death row at the Oregon State Penitentiary.

In Oregon, a conviction of aggravated murder or murder in the first degree carries three possible outcomes: life without the possibility of parole, life with the possibility of parole or the death penalty.

When a prisoner receives the death penalty in the state of Oregon, the review of the conviction includes what is called Super Due Process. Multiple reviews at different court levels evaluate appeals regarding the original trial, issues of good defense and mental competency.

It was not a streamlined process that positioned Haugen where he is today. No prisoner who didn’t drop appeals has been executed under the current law.

The two men executed since 1986 dropped their appeals, and so has Haugen.

In May, Haugen told the Marion County judge presiding over his case, “I think it’s cruel and unusual punishment that counsel continues to give delays and postponements.

This is my life we’re talking about. I’ve got a lot of things to prepare for, and I’m cool with it. I don’t think they should keep getting chances until they get that trump card.”

In a separate hearing, Judge Joseph Guimond signed the death warrant for Haugen and also allowed him to fire his attorneys, who are fighting for Haugen to avoid the death penalty.

Haugen’s former attorneys stated that Haugen had wavered on his decision to drop his appeals, and also called into question his cognitive awareness of the implications of the death penalty.

Jeff Ellis is an Oregon attorney who runs the Oregon Capital Resource Center, providing assistance and consultation to attorneys representing individuals in Oregon who are facing the death sentence.

He said that in the Haugen

case, “the doctor that evaluated him thought that he might also suffer from fetal alcohol spectrum disorder. She was not an expert on that subject.

However, a nationally-known expert wrote a declaration saying she was willing to work on the case.”

In the initial May hearing, Judge Guimond denied a request from Haugen’s lawyers to let psychologists and other experts examine Haugen, resulting in an execution date of August 16. The Oregon Supreme Court—required by law to review every death sentence— told the Marion County judge to vacate the death warrant and hold a hearing as to whether Haugen is currently competent.

“The Marion County judge was presented with information from Mr. Haugen’s lawyers that Mr. Haugen was incompetent. The judge was then required to conduct a hearing on that issue and not decide any other issues unless he concluded at the end of that [hearing] that Mr. Haugen was competent,” Ellis said.

“Instead, the judge allowed Mr. Haugen to waive his right to counsel and struck the evidence of his incompetence. In short, the judge did not follow the law and the Oregon Supreme Court told him to do it again—this time according to the law,” he said.

Currently Haugen is await-

“Banned substances are still found in the environment and still found in fish,” Schrek said. Compounds like DDT are banned in the U.S., but not in other countries, and as toxins travel through the atmosphere, traces land in the Northwest.

At the end of Tuesday’s lecture, audience members raised several questions.

One city employee asked what citizens can do on a personal level to curtail water pollution, and the researchers responded by encouraging people to keep in mind that content flowing down their drains goes to the oceans and rivers.

Another audience member, who asked to remain anonymous, suggested that citizens are consumers with purchasing power. “We should write letters or emails to the corporations that use EDCs in their products.” she said. She believes brain-stormers should use alternative ingredients.

“The Oregon Environmental Council has published a list of products that contain EDCs so that we can be informed about what we’re buying,” she said. ■

ing a review of his mental competency. If the court finds he is competent, a new execution date can be set.

Haugen’s lawyers asked the judge for permission to continue representing Haugen, which is something that Ellis says is not unusual.

“A lawyer has a duty to raise any doubts that a person about to executed is incompetent. It is not unheard of for individuals to ask to give up their appeals. However, the people who do so are often mentally ill or feel hopeless due to having to endure years of incredibly harsh prison conditions.

An attorney has a duty to raise a claim of competency, even if the defendant does not want it raised,” Ellis said.

Haugen, in his testimony before the mental competency process began, noted that other murderers—like Ward Weaver—did not receive the death penalty.

Rachel Hardesty is an assistant professor in the Conflict Resolution Program. She notes that the intricacies of the death penalty are different in every case.

“There are genuine and legitimate questions as to how justice should be done in a particular case," Hardesty said. “Take, for example, Gary Ridgeway, the Green River serial killer, who killed somewhere around 40 women. You won’t find anyone in Washington who killed even 10 women, and yet Ridgeway is not on death row. [In his case] he bargained to give information toward finding the bodies of many of the women, something the families thought was more important.” ■

10

SPORTS

ETC.

EDITOR: KEVIN FONG SPORTS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-4538

Timbers return to losing ways Nilesh Tendolkar

Match Stats:

Today Feminist Parenting Group

Scoring Summary: CLB—Eddie Gaven 3 (unassisted) 79

Vanguard staff

Misconduct Summary: POR—James Marcelin (caution; Reckless Foul) 78 Lineups: Portland Timbers—Troy Perkins, Lovel Palmer, Eric Brunner, Mamadou Danso, Rodney Wallace, Darlington Nagbe (Peter Lowry 78), James Marcelin, Jack Jewsbury, Diego Chara (Sal Zizzo 74), Kalif Alhassan, Jorge Perlaza (Kenny Cooper 46).

Substitutes Not Used: Mike Chabala, David Horst, Eddie Johnson, Adin Brown.

kirk irwin/portlandtimbers.com

Defensive determination: Timbers defender Eric Brunner (right) set his sights on stopping Columbus this past weekend. goal. Portland slightly edged Columbus in corner kick opportunities (3-2) but Columbus enjoyed better overall possession (56 percent to 44 percent). Spencer felt the Timbers deserved a better result for their effort.

“Well, you’re never happy with their performance when you lose,” he said, “but I think we played well enough to get something from the game.”

The Timbers confidence seemed to be on the rise, as the team was coming off their first ever MLS road win against Chicago (1-0) and a valiant display against English premier

league side West Bromich Albion (3-2). Portland started the game with a 4-5-1 formation that included defender Lovel Palmer, who had just arrived in a trade from the Houston Dynamo earlier in the week.

Also, Columbus started without their regular goalkeeper, William Hesmar, who was sidelined due to injury.

Although Portland couldn’t score a goal in the first half, their defense held steady and didn’t concede many opportunities. Timbers goalkeeper Troy Perkins was happy with his defense in the first half.

“I think we did an okay job

Timber trap: Timbers defender Rodney Wallace (left) and midfielder Diego Chara (right) surround a Columbus player in attempt to shutdown the Crew offensive attack on Saturday evening. However, Portland gave up a goal in the 79th to loose 1–0.

josh couper/portlandtimbers.com

most of the game of denying service and keeping everything outside 30 yards for them. In all honesty, I think 90 percent of the game was played in the middle of the field,” Perkins said. “It’s not a fun game to watch for anyone on TV or in the stands, but you know it was going to be down to who made the mistake, and obviously we did.”

On the offensive end, the team squandered some good chances. Captain and midfielder, Jack Jewsbury shot over the bar from 22 yards and midfielder Darlington Nagbe also dragged his shot wide in the 37th minute.

“We did well controlling the first half, and I thought we had a good amount of possession,” defender Eric Brunner said to the press. “We had some good opportunities. We just need to finish some chances.”

Columbus got into their rhythm in the second half and almost took the lead in the 60th minute, but Nagbe made a crucial goal line clearance to keep the score tied at 0-0.

However, a lapse concentration cost the Timbers the game in the 79th minute, as the backline failed to clear the ball

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: JOSHUA HUNT EDITOR@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5691 The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 500 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Tuesday, July 26, 2011

Calendar

Columbus 1–0 Portland Attempts on goal: 18–18 Shots on Target: 2–3 Corner kicks: 3–5 Possession: 56–44%

Portland has lost six of last nine away matches

Defensive lapses and the inability to convert chances cost the Portland Timbers dearly in Saturday’s MLS game against the Columbus Crew in Ohio. The Crew ascended to the top spot in the MLS Eastern Conference with the Philadelphia Union after defeating the Timbers 1-0 through a 79th minute goal by midfielder Eddie Gaven after a blunder by the Portland defense.

With the loss, Portland drops to 6-10-3 with 22 total points in the table, while the Crew now have a 8-6-7 record with 31 points. This was Portland’s sixth loss in nine away games, leaving the Timbers in the eighth place in the Western Conference and only six points clear of the bottomdwelling Vancouver Whitecaps.

“I thought it was a very even game; it comes down to us making a mistake,” Timbers head coach John Spencer said in a media statement. “When you control a ball in the sixyard box and you take a bad touch, generally you are going to get punished and that’s what happened to us.”

In an evenly contested match, both the Timbers and Columbus had 18 attempts on

11

ETC • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 • VANGUARD

VANGUARD • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 • SPORTS

Columbus Crew—Andy Gruenebaum, Sebastian Miranda (Cole Grossman 78), Chad Marshall, Julius James, Josh Gardner, Eddie Gaven, Emmanuel Ekpo, Dejan Rusmir (Kevin Burns 66), Robbie Rogers, Tommy Heinemann, Jeff Cunningham (Emilio Renteria 66).

Substitutes Not Used: Bernardo Anor, Eric Gehrig, Justin Meram, Alex Riggs.

Referee: Andrew Chapin Referee's Assistants: Chris Strickland; Adam Garner 4th Official: Allen Chapman Attendance: 11,246 Time of Game: 1:51 Weather: Partly Cloudy and 87 degrees

2 to 3 p.m.

Women’s Resource Center This will be a casual gathering for women veteran students at PSU! It is an opportunity to learn about the purpose of the Action Team, services provided by the WRC, and community organization that are available to women veterans of Oregon. For more information call the Women's Resource Center at 503-725-5672 and set up an appointment with Tonya Jones, the Empowerment Project coordinator, or email rwp@pdx.edu.

Wednesday

The Changing Middle East: Revolution in Egypt, Libya and Beyond

ery day children aged six to 12 are admitted for $2, and children younger than six are free.

1:30 p.m.

Middle East Studies Center An informal conversation with Abeer Etefa, senior regional information officer for the Middle East, U.N. World Food Programme. Seats are limited; RSVP required. For more information, contact e.cohen@pdx.edu.

Thursday

Hood River County Fair Noon 3020 Wy'east Road Gates open at noon each day, carnival rides begin at 1 p.m.

General admission is $4 per adult on Wednesday, $6 per adult Thursday and Friday, $10 per adult on Saturday. Ev

ADVERTISE FOR FREE! Place an event on the calendar:

Oregon Brewers Festival Tom McCall Waterfront Park in downtown Portland, between the Morrison and Burnside bridges.

Pouring more than 80 different craft beers from around the country, the Oregon Brewers Festival is the quintessential celebration of craft beer!

Whether you prefer ambers or Belgians, pales or pilsners, ryes or stours—come to the Oregon Brewers Festival and see for yourself why we're one of the world's best loved craft beer festivals.

Runs through July 31.

Edited by Will Shortz Across 1 Limo-riding sorts 5 Noncom naval personnel 9 Puppeteer Lewis 14 Adept 15 Russiaʼs ___ Mountains 16 Bird that flies with its neck retracted 17 “Dallas,” e.g.

19 Keep an ___ 20 Directs rushhour traffic?

22 Green-lights 23 “Aladdin” prince 24 Prefix with metric 25 Posts abusive comments about a team supporter?

31 New Jersey hockey squad 34 “Angelaʼs Ashes” follow-up 35 Hubbub

36 Like days when you forget to take an umbrella, all too often?

37 Woodrow Wilson is the only U.S. president to have one 38 Betty ___ (“Grease” role) 40 Dukeʼs athletic grp.

41 Source of lots of living-room armwaving 42 Astronaut Collins 43 Blend an illegal street drug?

47 Stephen of “V for Vendetta” 48 G.I.ʼs entertainment provider 49 Gardner of “The Night of the Iguana” 52 Ask “Is this really diet soda?,” for instance?

57 Hearing-related

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE H A T C H

A C H O O

C H E F

H U L A

S T A B

M A G I

S T I N G I N S I D E J O B

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M O T O R H O M E

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58 Beachwear 59 Summation signifier, in math 60 “Stormy Weather” singer Horne 61 Like a total solar eclipse 62 Theyʼre often taken in rehab 63 Part of Y.M.C.A.: Abbr.

64 Rightmost column in an addition Down 1 Explorer ___ da Gama 2 Old Apple 3 Schedules 4 Mo. of Mexican Independence Day 5 Cathedral toppers 6 Event before the main event 7 Scull propellers 8 Airplane wing component 9 “Youʼve got to be kidding!”

10 Jimi Hendrixʼs first single 11 Base times height, for a rectangle 12 No ___ at the 13-Down 13 See 12-Down 18 By mouth 21 Web site visits 25 Feature of many a 1950s car 26 Work ___ 27 Grauman of Graumanʼs Chinese Theater 28 Discombobulate 29 Woodworking tool

1

2

3

4

5

14

6

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47 52

53

39

48 54

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49 56

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Puzzle by Kelsey Boes

30 Lunchtime, often 31 Inconclusive outcome 32 Every one 33 Part of Caesarʼs boast 37 Crusty dish 38 Some cameras 39 Kind 41 “Come again?”

42 George who founded Kodak 44 Roadieʼs tote 45 Magnetic induction units 46 Confrontations 49 Beelike 50 “À ___ santé!”

51 Cathedral areas 52 Throw in the towel

53 Desire 54 Cuba, por ejemplo 55 Is in the red 56 Coin with a map on its back 57 Animal present at Jesusʼ birth, in tradition

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554.

Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword for more information.

Online subscriptions: Todayʼs puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay.

Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.

Contact vgcalendar@gmail.com or pick up a calendar request form at the Vanguard advertising office, SMSU, room 114.

Upcoming Schedule: Today—vs. Independiente at Jeld-Wen Field, kick-off 8 p.m.

Wednesday—MLS All-Star Game, MLS vs. Manchester United, Red Bull Arena, NY, kick-off 5:30 p.m.

Saturday, July 30—vs. Toronto FC at Jeld-Wen Field, kick-off 8 p.m.

in their own six-yard box and Columbus midfielder Eddie Gaven capitalized on the opportunity. His shot deflected off Timbers’ defender Mamadou Danso’s chest and into the Timbers goal. Brunner admitted that conceding goals due to defensive lapses was becoming a problem for Portland.

“It’s kind of been the story for us,” Brunner said.

“We are getting punished by mistakes. We are working really hard, and it’s just one little thing and we are

getting punished for it.”

Today, the Timbers are back in Portland and will play an exhibition match against Independiente, a top-notch Argentinian club, at 8 p.m. at Jeld-Wen Field. This Saturday, July 30, the Timbers are then scheduled to play Toronto FC at 5 p.m. at Jeld-Wen Field.

Jewsbury will also take part in the MLS All-Star game against mighty Manchester United on July 27. ■

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READ US ONLINE

KenKen® is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. ©2011 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by Universal Uclick for UFS, Inc. www.kenken.com

● Each row and each column

must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.

● The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given operation (in any order) to

7-26-11

produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

● Freebies: Fill in single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

NOW HIRING SPORTS WRITERS APPLY ONLINE AT PSUVANGUARD.COM

12

VANGUARD • TUESDAY, JULY 26, 2011 • SPORTS

PSU football prepares for Jeld-Wen debut

RECENT RESULTS Friday, July 22

MLB

Vikings seek redemption as practice for 2011 season begins Stephen Lisle Vanguard staff

Portland State football has had Sunday, Aug. 7, marked on their calendar for months as the first day on their road to redemption. By the end of next week, pre-season practice will be in full swing for the 2010–11 season, and the Viks will train six days a week to prepare for an always competitive Big-Sky conference schedule.

The team is hoping the fruits of their labor, hard work and cohesive play in the spring will translate into a successful fall. The buzz around the team has been evident as 21 starters from last year’s squad will be returning, including nine on offense and nine on defense.

Last season proved to be more than enough motivation for all of the upperclassmen returning to the team, as the Viks went 2-9 after losing three of their games by five

points or less—and having the lead in all of those losses.

Problems arose from a young and inexperienced roster that grew overconfident and gave up fourth quarter leads. The Viks gave up a combined 45 points in the fourth quarters of those three losses, and head coach Nigel Burton made a point of addressing the importance of closing out games as well as other critical points in spring practices.

“I think we have added a lot of depth, athleticism and size at critical positions with offensive line, wide receiver, linebacker, D-line—really across the board,” Burton said. “I think the learning curve of the guys was very steep from the fall to the spring and we had an outstanding spring, so I'm looking for that to carry us into the pre-season.”

Last season, the football team faced adversity with a new head coach, seven scheduled road games and home games played thirty minutes away from campus. Despite the issues, coaches and players have asked for no sympathy and are instead making their desire to win apparent where it matters most—in practice.

The hunger will need to per-

Seattle Mariners At Boston Red Sox

4 7

Top performer: M. Carp (SEA) – 1-4 AB, 1 R, 3 RBI, 1 HR

Saturday, July 23

MLS

Portland Timbers (6-10-3, 22 pts) At Columbus Crew (8-6-7, 31 pts)

0 1

Scoring Summary: CLB -- Eddie Gaven 3 (unassisted) 79

MLB

Seattle Mariners At Boston Red Sox

1 3

Top performer: J. Ellsbury (BOS) – 2-4 AB, 1 R, 2 RBI

Sunday, July 24

MLB

Seattle Mariners At Boston Red Sox

8 12

Top performer: B. Ryan (SEA) – 2-4 AB, 2 R, 5 RBI, 1 HR adam wickham/VANGUARD archives

Returning runner: Senior Viking running back Cory McCaffrey ran for 1,287 yards and 10 touchdowns last season.

adam wickham/VANGUARD archives

Second year: Coach Nigel Burton returns to the sidelines to lead the Viks again.

sist, as the road schedule for the Viks this season has them facing Texas Christian University as well as conference rivals and 2011 FCS national champion Eastern Washington. The Viks also face Montana, the former 2001 national champion and four-time runner-up since 2000, in the extremely hostile environment of Missoula. While this may seem like a steep hill to climb for a still-young Viks roster, Burton laughed at the thought of his players being scared by the road games.

“I don’t think the guys batted an eyelash on the road last year; our first win was on the road,” Burton said.

“We played well at Montana State but didn’t close it out, we played well against Weber State just didn’t close it out and we played well against Sac State. I don’t think the road phases them, but not having seven road games and not having to bus out to our own stadium will be nice.”

Overall, the points of emphasis and improvements from spring training were apparent across the board. A change in attitude and trust among players has helped a team that was recently picked to finish seventh in the Big Sky. The poor ranking will likely add fuel to the fire for a team that has been under

Two Vikings named to pre-season All Big-Sky conference team Despite the prediction to finish seventh in the conference in 2011, two names have been added to the All Conference team going into the preseason. Running back Cory McCaffrey and cornerback DeShawn Shead have made the push onto the team after each recorded impressive stats in the 2010–11 season.

Shead managed 51 tackles, seven pass breakups and two fumble recoveries.

McCaffrey, who made the All Big-Sky team for 2010 after running 1,287 yards and 10 touchdowns last season, has been a large part of the Viks’ offense and will look to do more of the same in his final season.

Shead has recently undergone a change in position, moving to safety where he is expected to create havoc in the backfield. His stats don't tell the whole story of his defensive impact either. After grabbing nine interceptions and breaking up 21 total passes over his career, most quarterbacks simply avoid throwing to his side of the field. In 2010,

“I think it’s an honor for those two; I totally agree with them making the team as they are the best at their positions in the conference,” Burton said. “What will really matter, though, is where they sit when the season is done.”

Having two players named to the All Big-Sky squad came as no surprise to coach Burton, and he's proud of the selections.

Both players will be looking to go out with a bang as they enter their senior seasons this fall and surely will be looking to have their names called out once again after the season comes to a close.

heavy scrutiny and is looking to leave the naysayers biting their tongues.

New and returning players will look to make their mark on the 2011 Viks’ season, with familiar names such as running back Cory McCaffrey and cornerback DeShawn Shead looking to build off their incredible 2010 performances.

Other names the coaching staff emphasized would have an impact on the field included offensive linemen Dustin Waldron and Kyle Ritt, wide receiver Justin Monahan, linebacker Ian Sluss as well as a handful of other new prospects.

“I think it’s going to be night and day from last year,” Burton said in reference to his offensive players production.

“Being picked to finish seventh doesn’t mean anything because when the season starts everyone is zero and zero and what’s going to matter to us is where we end.”

With pre-season practices just around the corner, the Viks’ football program will look to leave off from where the spring practices closed and carry the momentum into their Sept. 3 debut at Jeld-Wen Field against Southern Oregon University. Conference play will kickoff two weeks later on Sept. 17 when the Viks’ take on Northern Arizona University. ■

Today in Sports 1497 - "Edward IV's son" Perkin Warbeck’s army lands in Cork 1928 - Gene Tunney TKOs Tom Heeney in 11 for Heavyweight boxing title 1933 - Joe DiMaggio ends 61 game hitting streak in Pacific Coast League 1942 - RAF bombs Hamburg 1950 - Dodgers' Jim Russell is 1st to switchhits HRs twice in a game 1952 - Mickey Mantle hits his 1st grandslammer 1955 - 37th PGA Championship: Doug Ford at Meadowbrook CC Detroit 1955 - Last day as Test Cricket umpire for Frank Chester 1957 - Mickey Mantle hits career HR # 200 1959 - Betsy Rawls wins LPGA Western Golf Open 1964 - Clifford Ann Creed wins LPGA Cosmopolitan Women's Golf Open 1970 - Reds Johnny Bench hits 3 consecutive HRs of Phillies Steve Carlton 1978 - Johnny Bench hits his 300th career home run 1981 - 36th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Pat Bradley 1984 - Expos Pete Rose ties Ty Cobb with his 3,052nd single 1987 - Catfish Hunter Billy Williams & Ray Dandridge inducted in Baseball HOF 1987 - Stephen Roche wins Tour de France 1988 - Mike Schmidt sets NL record appearing in 2,155 games at 3rd base, as Phillies & NY Mets end that game at 2:13 AM 1990 - US beats Soviet Union 17-0 in baseball at Goodwill Games 1991 - CFL assumes ownership of Ottawa Rough Riders 1991 - Expo's Mark Gardner no hits Dodgers for 9 innings, but loses in 10th 1992 - 47th US Women's Open Golf Championship won by Patty Sheehan 1992 - Nolan Ryan strikes out his 100th batter for 23rd consecutive seasons 1998 - 19th US Senior Golf Open ends at Riviera CC, Pacific Palisades, Calif