Portland State Vanguard 10-23-12

My life as a Whedonite

NEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ARTS & culture............ 6 OPINION........................ 10 ETC................................ 13 SPORTS........................ .. 14

5th Avenue Cinema celebrates Halloween with Cabin in the Woods Arts & Culture page 7

PSUVANGUARD.COM

FREE The Vanguard is published every Tuesday and Thursday

Published since 1946

Portland State University Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 | vol. 67 no. 16 15

Responding to sexual misconduct PSU hosts OUS conference Rusne Kuzmickas Vanguard Staff

About 80 professionals from several Oregon universities came to Portland State on Friday to attend a daylong conference addressing student sexual misconduct on campuses in context of Title XI. PSU hosted the annual Oregon University System Best Practices Conference, titled “Promoting a Student-Centered Response to Sexual Misconduct.”

The conference was designed to help campus leadership assess and develop institutional policies and practices.

Saundra Schuster, partner with the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management, was the keynote speaker for the event. She discussed strategies schools need to use to tackle sexual misconduct issues, emphasizing that gender-based violence is both a barrier to students’ ability to pursue higher education and an epidemic on college campuses.

Schuster believes that schools are too concerned with “protecting their own image” and therefore choose to be deliberately indifferent. Many myths of date rape mean schools have ineffective resolution strategies and are not able to prevent the issue adequately.

See Sexual Assault on page 3

Reaching for zero gravity PSU helps astronauts keep their fluids down Maya Seaman Vanguard staff

While many of us filter through our emails each morning over a cup of coffee, Portland State Mechanical and Materials Engineering professor Mark Weislogel and his team of graduate students get emails from space.

While we daydream that one day our big ideas will be recognized, Weislogel’s students have theirs tested by NASA astronauts in orbit.

“My involvement with the PSU-based NASA research has been simply surreal,” graduate student William Blackmore said, referring to PSU’s ongoing communication with the astronauts aboard the International Space Station.

The astronauts are performing experiments designed by Weislogel, more of which were delivered earlier this month during the first commercial resupply mission in the history of space exploration.

On Oct. 10, Space Exploration Technologies shot an 882-pound cargo of supplies and science experiments into space, toward the space station.

Along with various crew provisions, the rocket Dragon delivered the 50th round of experiments called Interior Corner Flow Vessels (ICF-2) created

by Weislogel and his team.

Working in conjunction with NASA and Germany’s University of Bremen’s ZARM Institute, this shipment of supplies will allow astronauts to continue Weislogel’s work on how liquid responds in zero gravity.

“We are studying how fluids behave when gravity is gone,” Weislogel said. “We are studying the effects of wetting, spreading, surface tension

Karl Kuchs/VANGUARD STAFF

Brentley Wiles sets up the antigravity experiment in the Dryden Drop Tower. The tower is 102 feet tall and simulates zero gravity. and container shape on liquid configurations.” The purpose of these experiments is to find a way to modify containers so that liquid in space behaves the way it does on Earth.

“When gravity’s gone, where is the liquid in your stomach?” Weislogel asked. “It isn’t where you think it is.

Where’s the liquid in the fuel tank?

It’s not where you think it is. It can go anywhere.”

Living in a gravity-based world, this isn’t a concept we often ponder.

But in space, making sure liquid is in the correct place is a weighty concern.

For example, consider accelerating a spacecraft: How can it move if the fuel isn’t in the right place?

“Currently what we do is we turn on the thrusters and we force it— put it in artificial gravity—so that all the liquid comes to the bottom. And these days that’s a big waste. The fuel should just be sitting there ready to use,” Weislogel said.

By using surface tension to replace the role of gravity, Weislogel and his students aim to remodel spacecraft for liquid efficiency. But since they are not in space themselves, they have to simulate zero gravity here on Earth.

More specifically, they have to simulate it on campus.

Running up the center of the stairwell in the bustling Engineering Building, the Dryden Drop Tower

is a 102-foot-tall chute that allows the ICF-2 experiments, encased in a 253-pound box called a drag shield, to free fall for 73 feet. This allows the experiment to experience 2.13 seconds of microgravity. A camera enclosed with the ICF-2 records the results. The drag shield plummets with the force of 14 gravitational forces, landing right above the heads of students studying below.

“They’re used to it,” said Drew Wollman, an associate professor of Mechanical and Materials Engineering and part of Weislogel’s research team.

The ICF-2 experiment itself looks See Space on page 3

Hard hat area South end construction continues Andrew Lawrence Vanguard Staff

Kayla Nguyen/VANGUARD STAFf

Anthony Forni and Branden Baker work on the ground floor of University Pointe. Construction is estimated to continue for the next two to three weeks.

From new MAX stops to the opening of an apartment building with nearly 1,000 beds, Portland State’s south campus area has been rapidly growing over the past year—and it’s not done yet.

With an eight-story, 129-bedroom mixed-use building at Southwest Fifth Avenue and College Street and three new eating—and one drinking—option on the ground floor of University Pointe just next door, the changes to this far end of campus are still coming.

Under construction at University Pointe are Einstein Bros Bagels, TartBerry Self-Serve Frozen Yogurt and Joe’s Burgers.

Of the three, Joe’s Burgers should be the first one students see, as it’s slated to open in the first part of November, said Brian Johnson, project manager for Walsh Construction, which also built University Pointe.

A local chain with three current locations, Joe’s serves made-to-order burgers, fries, hot dogs and shakes, using local ingredients when possible and using compostable service ware, according to their website. This location will include a lounge, beer and wine, free Wi-Fi, docking and charging stations and a late-night walk-up window.

As for Einstein Bros, Johnson said he believes that construction has just begun and could be done by See Construction on page 4

2

Vanguard • Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 • news

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EDITOR@PSUVANGUARD.COM

Erick Bengel

NEWS EDITOR NEWS@PSUVANGUARD.COM

Deeda Schroeder

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR ARTS@PSUVANGUARD.COM

Louie Opatz

OPINION EDITOR OPINION@PSUVANGUARD.COM

Meredith Meier

SPORTS EDITOR SPORTS@PSUVANGUARD.COM

NEWS

Editor: Deeda Schroeder news@psuvanguard.com 503-725-3883

En pointe and in the air Ballet combines beauty and science

Marco España

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Cassandra Moore Vanguard Staff

ASSOCIATENEWS@PSUVANGUARD.COM

Whitney Beyer

PRODUCTION MANAGER production@psuvanguard.com

Elizabeth Thompson

PHOTO EDITOR photo@psuvanguard.com

Kayla Nguyen

Online Editor online@psuvanguard.com

Claudette Raynor

CALENDAR EDITOR calendar@psuvanguard.com

Jordan Molnar

COPY CHIEF copy@psuvanguard.com

Emily Gravlin

ADVERTISING MANAGER vgdispad@gmail.com

Iris Meyers

ADVERTISING DESIGNER Romeo Salazar

ADVISER Judson Randall

ADVERTISING ADVISER Ann Roman

DESIGNERS Tom Cober, Danielle Fleishman, Colton Major, Maria Perala

WRITERS Kat Audick, Zach Bigalke, Mary Breaden, Chris Carpenter, Gino Cerruti, Becca Cotton, Shanna Cranston, Matthew Ellis, Marco España, Crystal Gardener, Melinda Guillén, Rosemary Hanson, Breana Harris Isaac Hotchkiss, Ravleen Kaur, Nicholas Kula, Josh Kelety, Rusne Kuzmickas, Andrew Lawrence, Austin Maggs, Andrew Morse, Alex Moore, Erik Mutzke, Cassandra Moore, Kaela O’Brien, Alle Powers, Katie Quick, Kevin Rackham, Patrick Rogers, Eva-Jeanette Rawlins, Jeoffry Ray, Benjamin Ricker, Austen Ruzicka, Maya Seaman, Gwen Shaw, Scottie White

PHOTOGRAPHERS Daniel Johnston, Karl Kuchs, Jinyi Qi, Miles Sanguinetti, Corinna Scott, Adam Wickham

VIDEOGRAPHER video@psuvanguard.com

Jann Messer

COPY EDITORS

If you’ve attempted the iconic en pointe ballet technique, you know how difficult it is to maintain a center of mass on tiptoes.

To learn how dancers do it— how they lift each other birdlike in the air or perform the fouette en tournant—ballet connoisseurs and science geeks alike gathered with microbrews and pizza at the Bagdad Theater on Wednesday for the Oregon museum of Science and Industry’s Science Pub event, “The Physics of Ballet.”

The event was cohosted

by William Porter, Lester Lampert and Justin Dunlap, three Portland State graduate physics students, who were joined by Anne Mueller, artistic coordinator and former dancer for Oregon Ballet Theater.

The presentation was one of many Science Pubs to be held around Portland in coming months.

Porter, Lampert and Dunlap are members of the Science Outreach Society, a nonprofit student group that seeks to engage general audiences in scientific concepts.

Audience members hardly ceased to laugh throughout the event, despite the fact that some jokes were strictly scientific and sometimes rather obscure.

SOS held the audience’s attention—not just with humor but with trivia and audience participation—while they explained Newton’s three laws of motion in relation to ballet.

How do dancers maintain that tippy-toe en pointe stance that looks so painful?

They maintain their centers of mass (the location where a dancer’s mass body weight is concentrated) directly over

their toes, so they must have precise skeletal alignment along with years of practice.

Mueller, aided by five recent graduates from the School of OBT (which enrolls students 4 to 20 years of age), demonstrated the ballet phenomena the physicists explained.

On the most basic level, Newton’s third law of motion, when applied to ballet, concerns the floor and its impact on the dancers’ joints: for every push, there is a push back.

“The floor is not going to move,” Mueller said. “So dancers use the plie [bending of the knees] to absorb the shock,” or to lessen the floor’s push back.

Porter and Dunlap demonstrated the principle with an egg, tossing it back and forth across the stage.

“I will extend the amount of time over which the collision [of the egg against my hand] occurs,” Dunlap said.

He lowered his hand in relation to the descending egg as it arched in a parabolic curve toward his palm and finally landed there softly.

If Dunlap were instead to have kept his hand still so that when the egg hit, it hit hard and cracked—well, that would demonstrate the impact of the floor on a dancer’s unbent knee.

The ballet dancers—young, pert women and chiseled men—demonstrated in real form what the physicists explained.

Like little basketballs, they each jumped in turn and dipped toward the stage, fluidly bending their knees upon landing, then popped back upright. Using the plie, they prevented undue stress to their joints.

Conservation of angular momentum is a key bit of lingo in the ballet world. Angu-

All Photos COURTESY OF John Robert Grab

Jennifer Christie, an apprentice at Oregon Ballet Theater, demonstrates a grand jete at Wednesday’s “The Physics of Ballet” event.

lar momentum is a dancer’s rate of spin multiplied by the moment of inertia, which is basically the dancer’s spinnability. To spin faster and longer, dancers pull their limbs inward.

The SOS physicists demonstrated this easily using a spin-top stool with exceptional bearings that Porter sat atop and had spun by his comrades. Arms out, Porter turned slowly. Arms tucked near his torso, his rate of spin increased.

One of the most affecting ballet phenomena is the grand jete—that iconic straightforward leap off the stage that gives the illusion a dancer is floating midair.

A trick of the eye, it is effected by a dancer’s unyielding center of mass as they leap with one leg suspended out front and one jutted behind.

Arching in a fixed parabola through the air, a dancer lifts her arms, legs and head at the jete’s utmost height so that her torso moves perfectly horizontal for a moment and viewers endow her with incredible “hang time.”

Though dancers at the Science Pub did not demonstrate the grand jete because of the small stage, a ballerina did perform an excerpt to crackling music that eventually broke altogether,

Emily Pilhaja, an apprentice with Oregon Ballet Theater, prepares to do a pirouette.

so that she was left dancing to silence and good-humored audience laughter.

At the event’s close, Mueller audaciously bid the audience farewell: “Hopefully all you

science geeks are now inspired to go to the ballet!”

The next OMSI Science Pub, “The Science of Beer,” will be at the Bagdad Theater Monday, Nov. 5.

Kylie Byrd, Rachel Porter

ADVERTISING SALES Sam Gressett, Brittany Laureys, Kari Tate

DISTRIBUTORS Erik Mutzke, Katie Quick

The Vanguard is published twice weekly 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.

The Vanguard is printed on 40 percent post-consumer recycled paper. ©2011 Portland State University Vanguard 1825 SW Broadway Smith Memorial Student Union, Rm. S-26 Portland OR, 97201

Life of a PSU computer Reuse and recycling minimize waste Andrew Morse Vanguard Staff

Computers are very much like people. They run, play music, analyze data, communicate, grow old and die—they have a life, literally and figuratively.

At Portland State every effort is made to give computers the healthiest and longest-lasting lives possible,

according to PSU’s Facilities and Property Management department. From the moment a need is conceived in the minds of departmental administrators until the final send-off at the shipping dock, units are logged, tracked and maintained for maximum efficiency.

See E-waste on page 4

Kayla Nguyen/VANGUARD STAFf

Heather Randol, environmental health and safety manager, examines surplus electronics.

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS •• TUESDAY, TUESDAY, • •Tuesday, TUESDAY, JANUARY JANUARY Oct. MAY24, 23, 17, 1, 2012 • VANGUARD

The hit on marijuana Student Legal Services wants you to know the laws governing weed Erik Mutzke Vanguard Staff

When it comes to using marijuana, everyone has a sense of what’s legal, but not everyone has the facts.

Last week, Portland State’s Student Legal Services hosted a conversation with two local legal experts to clarify the haze and confusion surrounding the complicated legalities of medical marijuana use.

Complimentary brownies were served at the event.

Lissa Kaufman, director of SLS and a lawyer for many students at PSU, said the goal of the event was to teach people about marijuana laws.

“So many people have the false perception that medical cards give them a free ride,” Kaufman said. “It is a common misperception, and there are consequences.”

The experts were Paul Loney and Kenneth Lerner, both defense attorneys with extensive backgrounds representing marijuana-related cases.

Loney is responsible for developing the legal blueprint for the first high-profile American cannabis cafe, and defends numerous medical marijuana businesses throughout Oregon.

Lerner served as an assistant defender and as a federal public defender in Oregon from 1981 to 1990, and is listed in Best Lawyers In America.

Students with medical marijuana cards need to be aware of the consequences of using marijuana outside of the program’s rules, the speakers said. Students risk losing federal loans, getting their driver’s licenses revoked for possession (even

Because no student wants to suffer the inconvenience of sitting in the back of a squad car when they have studying to do, experts gave some helpful tips on search and seizure law relating to marijuana use.

• • • • •

• • •

“So many people have the false perception that medical cards give them a free ride. It is a common misperception, and there are consequences.”

Lissa Kaufman Director of Student Legal Services

If the person does not have an authorized medical card, consequences are far worse and contingent upon a variety of factors.

While a medical card legally ensures one’s ability to smoke marijuana and grow a specific number plants in private, it is

Sexual Assault from page 1

Conference highlights college’s obligation to protect students She outlined suggestions for institutional leaders addressing the issue. “College policies need to reflect the law as well as college culture,” Schuster said.

She also stressed that schools need to avoid revictimizing students. “Our job is not to pick a side but to protect the integrity of the process,” Schuster said. “If we get put on a notice, we investigate.”

She covered the “four absolutes” of dealing with sexual misconduct, which includes investigating what occurred, taking prompt and effective action, remedying the effects and preventing reoccurrence of the action.

“The school has an obligation to protect you and protect other people,” Schuster said of students on college campuses.

Much of what was covered was how schools can do a better job of giving students information they need when sexually assaulted.

Schuster noted that many of the university websites do not have direct links to information students can access online. “You have a threeclick chance for students to get the information,” she said. “Students aren’t going to go looking for a brochure; they’re going to be using their smartphones.”

As an example, she highlighted PSU’s website as a great example of where information for student-centered response to sexual misconduct can be found in three clicks or less. Schuster believes strongly that all schools need to do the same in order

PSU leads the way for liquids in antigravity

illegal, according to state law and federal law, to medicate in public or drive under the influence. If guilty of these offenses, students are subject to up to two years of federal student aid ineligibility. Furthermore, state aid can be denied as well.

“The most important things people must keep in mind is following the code of conduct with the medical card. Public use is the biggest problem.

Most students smoke in public and end up getting nailed for it,” Loney said.

In Oregon, with a medical card, 18 mature marijuana plants can be grown under the stipulation that it is in private.

However, campus housing dwellers be warned: The campus housing agreement contract follows federal law, which does not recognize medical marijuana use as a legitimate right.

for students to know where to go and what to expect when assaulted. Reporting is more complete when students have the information they need, Schuster said.

A heated discussion surrounded the topic of “responsible employees” and who on campus has the responsibility or authority to report sexual misconduct.

Michele Toppe, dean of student life at PSU, expressed concern about the subject.

“It makes me nervous to have such a loose definition of employees on a campus with such permeable boundaries,” she said.

Whether student employees have the responsibility to report cases of sexual misconduct, and how private and confidential the information needs to be in that case, is a question that remains to be answered. According to Schuster, it is up to the institution to define the role of the student employee in such

cases, and it really is difficult to assign these responsibilities.

The conference continued with a moderated panel of members representing four Oregon universities. Each representative spoke about their current role in improving student accessibility to information regarding sexual assault response.

Representing PSU was Chad Lopez, executive director of the Office of Global Diversity and Inclusion, and Domanic Thomas, director of Conduct and Community Standards.

The conference was wellreceived by attendants, many of whom voiced their support for discussions about this issue between universities.

“Sexual assault and harassment is a problem, and many people do not know where to turn when something like this happens to them,” PSU senior accounting major Nicole Hess said. “There needs to be more awareness and workshops to train people to be more

Avoid waiving your rights by consenting Ask if you are free to leave Ask for a lawyer before answering questions Know that an officer can never be talked out of what they want to do Decide, “Am I willing to deal with the inconvenience of court or deal with the much higher consequences of resisting arrest?”

Know that rights for search and seizure only apply from the government Insist on a warrant Understand that smell is considered probable cause for search

if it’s less than an ounce) and being subject to discrimination by employers.

Space from page 1

simple: a glass cylinder that has been tapered at the top end, looking similar to an eyedropper. Secured in a rigid frame, the cylinder is filled with fluid, placed in the drag shield and dropped in the tower. What the camera captures is video of a small liquid droplet shooting out the end of the tube during those 2.13 seconds of microgravity.

Previously, this kind of reaction was considered impossible. In a basic cylinder without a tapered end, the liquid in microgravity will rise to the top, but never gain enough energy to actually break free from the tube.

“The droplet shooting out of the tube in low gravity alone is a publishable thing. It means the fluid has enough energy in it to shoot itself,” Weislogel said. “We went nuts with it.

It’s highly repeatable.”

According to Wollman, PSU is leading the way in this area of research. The department has done more than 1,000 drops this year, proving time and again that liquid in microgravity can be controlled using only surface tension provided by altering container shapes.

The drop tower and the engineering lab at PSU act as both an experimental and support facility for the astronauts aboard the space station, who perform the experiments as instructed by Weislogel and his team.

The lab itself looks like something from MythBusters, and is frequently abuzz with giddy engineers watching videos of droplets the way most people watch Ninja Warriors—with lots of animated commentary and exclamations.

A few doors down is the control room where Weislogel and his team monitor four live

Things to know:

3

Karl Kuchs/VANGUARD STAFf

Drew Wollman points out the Dryden Drop Tower. feeds from the ISS and watch video of the astronauts performing their experiments in real zero-gravity conditions.

“The droplet shooting out of the tube in low gravity alone is a publishable thing. It means the fluid has enough energy in it to shoot itself. We went nuts with it. It’s highly repeatable.”

Mark Weislogel Portland State Mechanical and Materials Engineering professor

“NASA enables [the students] to speak directly to the astronauts during the experiment,” Weislogel said.

Several students have even visited NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Texas to train the astronauts.

“It’s one thing to participate in hands-on science in a lab—to have a visceral connection to the questions you are trying to answer. However, it’s quite another thing to train an astronaut in your experiment, watch them perform it in orbit, and have instant feedback on their observations,” Blackmore said.

“You feel as if anyone, even yourself, may be able to one day go to space and investigate some exciting and unknown science.”

While gravity is keeping their feet firmly planted on the ground, it’s exciting to see PSU students rewarded for having their heads in the stars.

Miles Sanguinetti/VANGUARD STAFf

Sandra Schuster, partner with the National Center for Higher Education Risk Management, addresses attendees of the OUS Best Practices Conference. comfortable in identifying victims and for a victim to report.”

International Student Life advisor Sarah Kenney, who attended the event, agreed. “I think that it’s imperative that events

like these happen,” she said.

“People are scared to say anything,” Hess added. “But it needs to be known that it is safe to report the incident and the perpetrator.”

4

VANGUARD • Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 • News

asPSU registers 7,000 student voters this year Kayla Nguyen/VANGUARD STAFf

Farhad Khoshnahad, surplus supervisor, inspects electronics that come through Surplus. He decides whether the old parts will be kept, sold or recycled.

Shanna Cranston Vanguard Staff

E-waste from page 2

PSU offers numerous options for recycling and discarding electronics Throughout its life, a computer will get handed down within individual departments or given to Surplus Property, a division of PSU’s Mail, Shipping and Receiving Services. Surplus may in turn send it to another department that can use it. This process is called “repurposing.”

Daniel Pearson, a graduate student and assistant in the history department, makes use of a repurposed computer and printer in the department’s office space. He has worked previously for the government in information technology roles.

“Reusing programs give access to more technological resources that they wouldn’t have because of budget concerns,” he said.

Jeff Mora, equipment and systems specialist with PSU Transportation and Parking Services, gives an example.

Every year TAPS looks at its budget and decides if the department needs and can afford a new computer.

If they have a need and the means, new units typically go to someone at the management level. The manager’s previous computer will then go to the support staff.

Any support staff computers displaced by new units will likely end up in one of the parking garage kiosks.

“We try to get as much use out of a computer or electronic as we can,” Mora said.

TAPS keeps an extensive inventory of electronics.

Mora explained that when an item is no longer of use to the department it is deleted from the inventory and handed over to Surplus Property.

When a department is ready to dispose of computers or other electronic devices, coordinating with Surplus is as easy as filling out a work order.

“Surplus picks up free and delivers free,” Farhad Khoshnahad, surplus supervisor, said.

Khoshnahad is in charge of deciding the ultimate fate of computers that come through Surplus. He has

Falls short of getting 4,000 students to register during fall term

three basic options: keep, sell or dispose. In all cases hard drives are wiped clean by the Office of Information Technology to ensure sensitive data doesn’t end up where it shouldn’t.

Keeping a computer means repurposing it. A unit might be obsolete for one department’s needs but not for another. If Khoshnahad knows that a department is looking for something particular, he’ll contact them when he receives the specific item.

Selling a computer means putting it up for auction on eBay or selling at the school’s own surplus property sale site. If a computer is of no use anywhere in the university but is still in working condition it is put up for bid and priced to sell.

“Reusing programs give access to more technological resources that they wouldn’t have because of budget concerns.”

Daniel Pearson Graduate student and assistant in the history department

Khoshnahad explained that Surplus Property takes a marginal percentage of the proceeds for their efforts, but most of the money goes back to the department where the unit originated.

Disposing of a computer means recycling it. Electronics recycling at PSU is handled through the Environmental Health and Safety Department.

Since 2010 it has been illegal in Oregon to throw into landfills what are called “covered electronic devices,” meaning computers, monitors and televisions. This regulation helps dictate, but not limit, how PSU disposes of electronics.

“PSU collects and recycles many additional types of electronic waste, including everything from peripherals like [mouses] and keyboards

to electronic research equipment,” EHS Manager Heather Randol said in an email.

On site, where a few pallets of old, bulky monitors were awaiting pickup for recycling, Randol explained some details about the program she oversees.

PSU disposes of electronics through the nonprofit recycler Garten Services, based out of Salem. The school pays Garten a minimal fee to collect and recycle 60,000 pounds of electronic waste per year.

“They shouldn’t just be throwing a laptop in a garbage can when it’s worn out.”

Heather Randol Environmental Health and Safety Department manager

Randol expects this number to decrease in the years to come, not because fewer items are being recycled, but because items such as newer monitors are slimmer and lighter in design.

Once in Salem, Garten puts computers through a demanufacturing program that gives jobs to adults with disabilities.

Many items less than three years old are refurbished or have their parts reused, according to Garten’s website.

As part of the Oregon ECycles program, all electronics disposed at the recycler are guaranteed to stay out of landfills anywhere in the world.

Currently, there aren’t any major e-recycling collection programs on campus to specifically combat improper disposal of battery waste and students’ personal electronics. Randol hopes this will change and said EHS is looking into possibilities. She did note that EHS will take care of items left behind in dorms when students move out.

“They shouldn’t just be throwing a laptop in a garbage can when it’s worn out,” Randol said.

Oregon’s college students have registered to vote in record numbers this year.

Close to 51,000 college students registered, a new record for Oregon.

“I’m super excited for the record-breaking Vote or Vote drive, since it shows lawmakers and politicians that students are interested in legislature and the laws that are made,” Portland State student body President Tiffany Dollar said.

According to Oregon Student Association Communications Director Dylan Jambrek, OSA had volunteers spread over 21 different campuses around the state. These volunteers spoke at more than 6,000 classes and knocked on more than 2,000 doors, just like what student government leaders did at PSU. For the 2012 school year, the Associated Students of Portland State University partnered with the Student Vote Coalition for the registration drive and aimed to get 6,000 students registered between the spring primaries and the Oct. 16 voter registration deadline.

ASPSU announced that, for this year, a total of 7,018 students had registered to vote, meeting the organization’s goal.

Have you received your ballot in the mail?

Here are some important dates, websites and drop-off locations: • Oct. 19: Oregon ballots mailed • Nov. 6: Election Day • Ballots can be dropped off at any Multnomah County Library until 8 p.m. on Election Day • Oregon online Voter’s Guide: oregonvotes.gov/pages/history/ archive/nov62012/guide/english/votersguide.html • Multnomah County online Voter’s Guide: web.multco.us/ elections/november-2012-general-election-online-voters-guide • Official drop box site locator: web.multco.us/elections/ multnomah-county-official-ballot-drop-sites In just a two-day period in January, 985 students registered but “were not counted originally as part of the 6,000 student goal [since it was before spring primaries],” Dollar said. “However, that number was added at the end of the fall registry, which brought our total to 6,000.”

During spring term, 1,609 students were registered, and summer term numbers added up to 720 students.

With the help of the OSA and the Oregon State Public Interest Research Group, which make up the SVC, 3,704 students registered at PSU between Viking Days and Oct. 16.

ASPSU just fell short of reaching their fall goal of getting 4,000 students registered.

“We met the overall goal, and that makes me happy and excited, as are the rest of the legislature,” Dollar said.

Having 50,000 students registered to vote statewide

Construction from page 1

Students will have more food options on campus December. The chain already has one location on campus, in Smith Memorial Student Union, operated by Aramark food services.

Locally owned TartBerry, whose yogurt is kosher-certified, currently has one location downtown and is planning to open the new store Dec. 1, said Douglas Schmitt, employee and husband of owner Valerie Schmitt.

Doing as much of the work as they can themselves can cause some hiccups, but Schmitt said they’ve been getting great support from the city and staff at University Pointe. “The city’s been blessing us with quick permits and inspections.”

Schmitt said the couple decided to open a location on campus based on the warmth of students who patronize their first location, near the Portland Art Museum, and a good relationship with the PSU Foundation. “It’s a healthful food product and a lot of fun versus a bar,” he said, noting the location will be open until midnight.

Meanwhile, across Southwest Fifth Avenue, another apartment building is just beginning to rise. While geared toward students, the site is not associated with PSU, and the bedrooms in its 54 units will be priced at market rates, said Tom Sheridan, vice president of operations for Pavilion

is a big deal and means that, now more than ever, students want to vote, Dollar said. Students are of huge interest to candidates, as their votes can really make the difference in elections. In the 2008 presidential election, OSA managed to get 25,000 students registered.

The 2010 election saw the registration of 35,000 student voters.

Currently, ASPSU is passing out nonpartisan voter’s guides to help students better understand what they are voting for and to explain candidates’ positions on issues. Students can pick one up at the ASPSU office in Smith Memorial Student Union, room 117, or look for them around campus.

Of course, students actually must turn in their ballots in order for their votes to qualify, so ASPSU is also planning on reminding everyone to turn in the ballots

by Election Day.

Construction. Current plans have the first floor containing two retail spaces, with talk of a GNC vitamin store and a convenience market occupying them, Sheridan said. He added that construction was going well so far and should be finished by August 2013.

Another possible future construction site is the former market by the Broadway Housing Building on Southwest Sixth Avenue and College Street, which has served as headquarters for Walsh Construction during the building of University Pointe and Joe’s Burgers. The building is scheduled to be mothballed after construction finishes across the street.

Johnson said that at one point, before the recession, the owner was considering developing it for retail use, which is still a possibility.

NEWS NEWS NEWS NEWS •• TUESDAY, TUESDAY, • •Tuesday, TUESDAY, JANUARY JANUARY Oct. MAY24, 23, 17, 1, 2012 • VANGUARD

New faculty profile: Billie Sandberg

New faculty profile: Sarah Ensor

Gwen Shaw

Gwen Shaw

Vanguard Staff

Vanguard Staff

Portland State’s Mark O. Hatfield School of Government hired Billie Sandberg this year as the new assistant professor of public administration.

In addition to her new job, Sandberg is also expecting a baby, and will not begin teaching until spring term.

When she does begin teaching, Sandberg will be in the public administration division and will focus on nonprofit management.

After earning a doctorate from Arizona State University in 2001, Sandberg spent the last year teaching at the University of Colorado, Denver, and has 15 years of experience working in both nonprofit and public services.

Sandberg said that while in search of a teaching job, PSU stood out to her because the school focuses more on teaching and less on research.

When she gets back to the classroom this spring, Sandberg is most looking forward to inspiring students.

“The most important thing

Sarah Ensor just began her first term at Portland State as an assistant professor in the Department of English.

Ensor received her doctorate from Cornell University and focuses mainly on American literature from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with an emphasis on gender studies and ecocriticism.

This term, Ensor is teaching a 200-level class called “Survey of American Literature from 1865 to the Present” and a 400/500 split class called “American Women Writers,” mostly full of seniors and graduate students.

Her introduction to this topic came during her undergraduate work in Michigan. While there, she attended what is now called the New England Literature Program—a sixweek summer camp where 40 students and 12 faculty and staff members live together, read New England literature and write.

In grad school, Ensor had the opportunity to go back and be a teacher for the camp. She now incorporates readings from the program into her teaching curriculum.

“Through teaching there, I remembered how enlightening I found those texts and how exciting I found them, both to teach and to think about,” Ensor said. “So I

COURTESY OF PSU Hatfield school

is that students be engaged in the learning process and [be] able to learn from each other,” Sandberg said. “I see the classroom as a community for learning.”

Sandberg is excited to be in Portland. Her interests, which involve many outdoor activities, fit right into those available in the city.

She enjoys running and camping and is also very interested in photography.

Sandberg said living in Portland is much different than other places she’s lived.

She highlighted the focus on community at PSU and in Portland in general.

In the past, Sandberg has done a lot of research work with nonprofit organizations, and she encouraged any students or community members who are interested in doing similar things to contact her.

5 3

Kayla Nguyen/VANGUARD STAFF

shifted my area in grad school to allow me to think about the kinds of questions that had preoccupied me there as a student and a teacher.

Ensor is currently working on a book called The Spinster Ecology. It looks at late 19th century American literature and how the spinster figure evolved to become incorporated into politics and society.

Ensor said even though it’s a cliche piece of advice, she encourages students to find something they’re passionate about and follow it.

“I think I’m always happiest when I’m asking and answering questions that I’m generally interested in, and I can tell that my students are happiest when they are asking and answering questions that interest them,” Ensor said.

“Whatever your passion is, trust your gut and follow that.

Never be afraid to ask for advice, and never be afraid to say you don’t know something.”

Outside of academics, Ensor enjoys the outdoors and loves sports. Having grown up in the Ann Arbor area, she’s a Michigan fan by default. But she also loves the NBA and will watch almost anything.

Ensor loves the opportunity to be in Portland. Coming from Cornell, which is located in a small town in upstate New York, she sees Portland as a great place to meet new people and have the chance to do new things.

“I’m always excited to leave Neuberger, where I teach, and walk out into the street and see new people and new things going on,” Ensor said.

Crime Blotter Criminal mischief: Oct. 13

Native American Student and Community Center

At 12:17 a.m., Officer Jared Schuurmans noticed graffiti on the east, north and west sides of the Portland State Native American Student and Community Center. A report was submitted along with a work order for the repair.

Unlawful transport of metal: Oct. 15 Peter Stott Center

Officer Christopher Fischer-Williams observed a suspicious vehicle parked on the south side of the Stott Center around 2:43 a.m. While inspecting the area, Fischer-Williams, along with two other Campus Public Safety officers, heard a noise coming from a recycling container on the west side of the building. Inside the bin was a man who had no association with PSU. On his person were several pieces of scrap metal and a large knife. He was arrested for trespassing and unlawful transportation of metal.

Exclusion: Oct. 16

Academic and Student Rec Center

Officer David Baker contacted a man by the name of John Keller at 4:43 p.m. for loitering in the lobby of the ASRC. Keller had an expired PSU exclusion order and has a history of theft and distribution of marijuana and cocaine. He was issued a new exclusion order.

iPhone theft: Oct. 17 Broadway Housing Building

A student reported an iPhone stolen to Officer Fischer-Williams around 11:00 a.m. The student said the phone was taken from the fifth floor Broadway lounge.

Professor’s misplaced car found: Oct. 17 Southwest 10th Avenue and Taylor Street

Officer Gary Smeltzer assisted a professor who had parked her car somewhere in the downtown area and had forgotten where it was. He found her vehicle at Southwest 10th Avenue and Taylor Street.

Marijuana possession: Oct. 18 Blackstone Residence Hall

At about 12:38 a.m., Officer Fischer-Williams responded to a resident advisor’s report that the smell of marijuana was coming from a residence in Blackstone. They knocked on the door, which was answered by a resident. The resident turned over a pipe and a small bag of marijuana.

6

VANGUARD •• Tuesday, THURSDAY, TUESDAY, Oct. JANUARY OCTOBER FEBRUARY JANUARY 23, 2012 10, 25, 26, 2, 2012 2011 • 2012 ARTS •• •OPINION & OPINION ARTS CULTURE & CULTURE

ARTS & CULTURE

EDITOR: Louie Opatz ARTS@PSUVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5694

Memoirs of Algerian independence Hamou Amirouche gives firsthand account at PSU Melinda Guillén Vanguard Staff

From 1954 to 1962 the country of Algeria, then colonized, fought France for its independence. In 1962, Algeria gained their freedom. Now, 50 years later, Hamou Amirouche, a former lieutenant and freedom fighter in the war, will visit Portland State and give his firsthand account on the war and his experiences.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of Algerian independence, the Middle East Studies Center and the Portland Center for Public Humanities will hold the first of three panel discussions, titled “Memoirs of a Mujaheed and Thoughts on Algeria Today.” In his lecture, Amirouche will discuss the war and his book, Akfadou: Un An Avec le Colonel Amirouche, which describes his experience as a freedom fighter for Algeria. The book has become a bestseller in that country.

Afterward, PSU assistant professor of political science Lindsey Benstead and Oregon State University associate professor of French and Francophone Studies Nabil Boudraa will join the panel to discuss contemporary Algerian politics.

Benstead, who has taken eight trips to Algeria and studied the country extensively, described the things she saw in the aftermath of the nation’s civil war.

“In Algeria, five years ago, the infrastructure was quite broken from the very devastating civil war that took the lives of approximately 200,000 people,” Benstead said. “It was a terribly violent time, and people were stopped at police barricades and murdered. It was a time where people were living in fear.”

Boudraa grew up and got his bachelor’s degree in Algeria. He noted that the more recent conflict left Algeria with the choice to rebuild as well.

“What I can say is that Algeria is trying to find its place into this world,” Boudraa said.

“With everything that’s going on—the Arab Spring, democracy and so on—it’s trying to find its voice. Algeria is between socialism and globalization, tradition and modernity—it’s between a very difficult task of decolonization and hope and success.”

Benstead urged people to attend the event because of the opportunity and uniqueness of having history revealed from a personal perspective.

“I think it’s a very rare opportunity to hear someone who was personally involved in the revolutionary war,” Benstead said. “Amirouche has been in the government of Algeria, and he’s someone who is very knowledgeable in the present as well as the past dynamics of the country.”

Boudraa agrees that having another perspective to history is beneficial and serves a purpose.

“The entire history of the Algerian war has many versions. One is the Algerian political party’s version of the war...and then you have the reading of the history, and then you have history written by foreigner historians,” Boudraa said. “But this one, here, comes from a person, a firsthand account of that history. He was at the heart of it. It makes you feel closer to the events of the war and understanding what is happening in Algeria today.”

The collaborative panel, with Amirouche, Boudraa and Benstead, will give the audience the nessecary information to better understand Amirouche’s memoirs and modern Alergia.

“I hope that the audience walks away with a better understanding of the Algerian war of independence and with both an understanding

COURTESY OF Hamou Amirouche

Freedom Fighter: Hamou Amirouche will share his experiences in Algeria’s war of independence that inspired his new best-selling book. of [Amirouche’s] personal experience and how fighting in the war impacted him, but on a larger scale, how the war has impacted contemporary politics,” said Elisheva Cohen, outreach coordinator for the MESC. “Algeria isn’t talked about very often, so I think raising awareness of what is going on in Algeria is something important.”

The Middle East Studies Center and the Portland Center for Public Humanities present “Memoirs of a Mujaheed and thoughts on Algeria today”: a panel discussion Thursday, Oct. 25, 7 p.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union, room 294 Free and open to the public

The teachings of Confucius today PSU invites Dr. Peter Bol to discuss Confucianism for a modern society RaChelle Schmidt Vanguard staff

“It helps us as world citizens to understand that these non-Western philosophies are alive with these ideas that change and shift and debate are not alien,” said Sharon Carstens, director of the Portland State Institute for Asian Studies and professor of anthropology and international studies at PSU. On Oct. 26, the institute—in conjunction with PSU’s Confucius Institute—will present a lecture by Dr. Peter Bol titled “Power, Wealth, and a Confucius for Today.” Bol, the Charles H. Carswell Professor of East Asian Languages and Civilization at Harvard University, aims to make Confucianism relevant to today’s global citizens.

Bol’s lecture will “take a look at China today to get an idea of how the discussion on national values is playing itself out,” he said.

While some Americans have at least a passing familiarity with the term Confucianism, knowledge of these teachings is pretty vague for the majority of Americans. The goal of this lecture is to bring a clearer understanding of various issues surrounding modern-day Confucianism as well as its ancient teachings.

Confucianism has dominated many Asian cultures for more than 2,500 years. It is based on an ancient Chinese school of thought and, though often labeled a religion, it more closely resembles a code of behavior within society and in relation to one’s ancestors. Confucianism is known to have as many political and social implications as it has religious ones.

The philosophy takes its name from Confucius, a teacher who lived in China around 500 B.C. He promoted the belief that there is a system of order to all things in the universe, including human society, and that to maintain this social order it is necessary for every person to know his own proper place within this society and to strictly observe the rules of his position. This type of society is governed by individuals specially trained in Confucius’ traditions, and its customs are strictly observed by all members of the society.

In modern times there has been debate over whether or not Confucianism is as strong today as it once was and, if so, what it means— not only for Asian cultures but for the world in general. These are some of the issues Bol will address in his lecture.

Bol is a renowned scholar of neo-Confucianism and Chinese history whose research is centered on the history of China’s cultural elites from the Tang, Song, Yuan and Ming dynasties. He has led Harvard’s university-wide effort to establish support for geospatial analysis in teaching and research; in 2005 he was named the first director of the Center for Geographic Analysis.

Bol also directs the China Historical Geographic Information Systems project, which is a collaboration between Harvard and Fudan University in Shanghai to create a GIS for 2,000 years of Chinese history.

In collaboration with Harvard, Academia Sinica and Peking University, he directs the China Biographical Database project, an online relational database of, currently, 112,000 historical figures. Bol is also the author of “This Culture of Ours”: Intellectual Transitions in T’ang and Sung China and Neo-Confucianism in History.

Carstens was instrumental in bringing Bol to PSU. She first learned of Bol through his books on neo-Confucianism and Chinese history.

COURTESY OF peter bol

harvard scholar Dr. Peter Bol will deliver a lecture at PSU. Bol is seen here at a 2011 conference at Peking University.

She was impressed by the well-defined and fascinating manner in which he discussed the history and teachings of Confucianism.

His discussions on Confucianism bring to mind “connections between the various political debates that were going on in that time and the political debates that are happening right here in the United States,” Carstens said.

PSU history professor Linda Walton, who assisted in bringing Bol to PSU, points out that as we see more institutes dedicated to Confucianism opening on a global level, there is a greater need for a detailed understanding of his philosophy and teachings.

“It is very useful to have an expert come discuss these traditions, allowing us to see the importance of the Confucian values,” Walton said.

The Institute for Asian Studies and the Confucius Institute present “Power, Wealth, and a Confucius for Today” A lecture by Dr. Peter Bol Friday, Oct. 26, 6:30 p.m.

Lincoln Hall, room 75 Free and open to the public

Arts & Culture • Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 • VANGUARD

My life as a Whedonite

devotion to the brilliance of a show that’s about a girl named Buffy who kills vampires.

This brings me to Cabin in the Woods, the brainchild of Whedon and his longtime collaborator Drew Goddard, a name that will be familiar to fans of the Buffy spinoff show Angel.

Goddard directed Cabin in the Woods, but the film bears Whedon’s distinctive stamp and features many of the actors Whedon has tapped for other projects: Angel’s fantastic Amy Acker and Buffy’s Tom Lenk have cameos in Cabin.

Chris Hemsworth filmed the movie (before he was even cast in Thor and before anyone knew The Avengers would happen). Fran Kranz, who starred in Whedon’s show Dollhouse, also has a scene-stealing role, but I refuse to tell you much about it.

Cabin in the Woods is a horror movie. If you haven’t seen it, that’s all you should really know. It’s difficult to review because, as a longtime Whedonite and a fan of horror in general, I don’t want to ruin a single thing.

The premise is simple. Five college kids, played

by Hemsworth, Kranz, Kristen Connolly, Anna Hutchison and Jesse Williams, go to a cabin in the woods. From then on, it becomes a highly original tale crafted with a twisted sense of satirical comedy. Whedon and Goddard have both called it a critical statement aimed at torture porn (i.e., Saw and Hostel). The film was a hit with critics and has already gained what Whedon is used to by now: devoted cult followers.

When I first saw Cabin in the Woods, it made me realize that I missed Whedon’s work more than I had even realized. It’s been nine years since Buffy ended and eight since the end of Angel, and none of his work has been on television since 2009. Seeing fresh material from Whedon and Goddard felt like a genuine gift, like getting to spend an afternoon with the coolest and funniest kid you knew in high school and realizing how much more fun life was when he was around.

Cabin also made me think about how starved Hollywood is for originality, and how lucky it was that the filmmakers were able to get this produced.

The best thing about The Avengers, if you’re a Whedonite, is that it will now be much easier for him to make movies like Cabin in the Woods in the future.

In July of this year, the San Diego ComicCon International hosted a 10-year reunion panel for Whedon’s short-lived but muchloved science fiction series Firefly. I was there, and word among the crowd was that the line stretched for seven blocks past the convention center.

In September of this year, Whedon premiered a little black-and-white version of Much Ado About Nothing at the Toronto Film Festival. He shot it at his own home—for fun, during his time off—and the film stars many well-known Whedonverse actors. Whedon’s stellar 2012 continues.

Following the success of The Avengers, Whedon signed a three-year deal with Marvel, not only to direct the sequel, but to develop a television show based on that universe. In addition, he continues to write and produce smaller films.

Hollywood is finally beginning to give Whedon the recognition he deserves, and soon, being a Whedonite might mean belonging to a much bigger club than ever before. The Whedonverse is expanding.

5th Avenue Cinema celebrates Halloween with Cabin in the Woods Breana Harris Vanguard Staff

I

n May of this year, Marvel Studios and Walt Disney Pictures released The Avengers, a $220 million project of unforeseen ambition and an all-star ensemble cast that just happened to be written and directed by an impish, redheaded television veteran that nobody

besides his cult following had ever heard of. It went on to become the third-highest-grossing film of all time. Joss Whedon has been having one hell of a year.

But not everyone was aware that another, much smaller Whedon project was released less than a month before—the unconventional horror film Cabin in the Woods, which he produced and cowrote and that is playing this weekend at PSU’s Fifth Avenue Cinema. More on that film in a minute.

For the uninitiated, the slightest bit of online digging will give you a clear picture of who Whedon is. You’ll run into terms like “Whedonisms,” the “Whedonverse,” and, yes, “Whedonites”—the name given to devoted fans of his television shows and comic books, and the way he combines fantasy, horror and science fiction with his trademark strengths: strong female characters, distinctive dialogue and a highly original sense of humor. I’ll admit right away to being a card-carrying Whedonite, primed for my support group. I got hooked very young.

I grew up with Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Whedon’s first major television show and the one for which he is most known. The show sprung from his dissatisfaction with the film version of his 1992 script of the same name.

Whedon’s concept of turning the typical blond victim in a horror movie into the hero gave Buffy a place in television history.

Across the country, universities offer gender-, pop-culture- and media-themed college courses based on the show—there was even a Buffy class offered at PSU last spring. Academics study Whedon’s snappy writing, absurdist humor and existentialist, humanist philosophy. And Whedonites are quick to mention this when you look at us like we’re a little crazy for our

7

5th Avenue Cinema presents Cabin in the Woods (2012) 510 Hall St. Oct. 26 and 27, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

Oct. 28, 3 p.m. $3 general admission; free for students COURTESY OF Lionsgate, 20th century fox television, and marvel studios

6 8

VANGUARD •• Tuesday, THURSDAY, TUESDAY, Oct. JANUARY OCTOBER FEBRUARY JANUARY 23, 2012 10, 25, 26, 2, 2012 2011 • 2012 ARTS •• •OPINION & OPINION ARTS CULTURE & CULTURE

Rap renaissance Can Kendrick Lamar’s new album transform him from indie darling to major label star?

Mike Diallo Vanguard Staff

If you want to see a fun show, go to a rap concert. But if you want to see pure and unadulterated fandom from every single person in a sold-out show, then you should have been at the Kendrick Lamar concert last Saturday at the Roseland Theater.

Devotees of independent rap can be some of the best fans, in part because they feel that they have had a hand in the up-and-comer’s success.

With the release of Lamar’s major label debut, good kid, m.A.A.d City, the energy was high at the Roseland. That night, Lamar promised to lose nothing in the transition—and maybe establish new ways for others in the genre.

Born and raised in Compton, Calif., Lamar grew up idolizing California rap greats like Tupac Shakur and Dr. Dre, and their success in the ’90s inspired his early dedication to music. At 16, his mixtape released under the name K-Dot., Youngest Head Nigga in Charge, led to a record deal with Top Dawg Entertainment, an independent record label based in Los Angeles.

Working with fellow TDE signees Jay Rock, Ab-Soul and Schoolboy Q (known collectively as the Black Hippy crew), Lamar put out some promising mixtapes.

Free mixtapes have always been a huge part of the rap industry, and in the Internet age they give artists a way to develop a fan base and establish credibility on a much larger scale. The online mixtape trend is based more around skill than marketability—though it can often lead to mainstream success, exemplified by artists like

COURTESY OF top dawg entertainment

kendrick lamar releases his major label debut, good kid. m.A.A.d city, this week. Lamar played a sold-out show earlier this month at the Roseland Theatre.

A$AP Rocky, Tyler, the Creator and his Odd Future crew and Danny Brown.

Lamar used his fan base and connections from previous mixtapes to release his most complete work yet, Section.80, in July of last year, to critical acclaim. Section.80 impressed artists throughout the industry—including now-collaborator Dr. Dre, who signed Lamar to Aftermath Records.

Now 25 years old and arriving at his prime, Lamar has developed into an extraordinarily skilled rapper. And while it’s apparent from his early successes that Lamar works hard to achieve the musical heights of his idols, his own music reflects an admiration for the genre as a whole rather than focuses on an obvious, singular influence.

Easily varying his rap technique from song to song, Lamar possesses the ability to completely control his tracks with lyricism that not only ac-

centuates the beats but also conveys thematic nuance throughout the songs.

Basically, listen to the music more than once. I’d suggest doing this with any enjoyable song, but Lamar’s earnest writing especially lends itself to subtlety—and with multiple engagements, a listener becomes more familiar with the message behind Lamar’s music. His skill in this regard is what separates him from other rappers.

Using techniques and abilities to create something more, Lamar shares his ideas with an innate skill, rather than a bland showcase of ability. Any impressive feats of lyricism or musical understanding from Lamar (there are many) serve a purpose specific to the message of the song; and if good kid, m.A.A.d city is anything like Section.80, the entire album will be a piece in itself.

Lamar used Section.80 to give us a look into the world that was around him. It’s mostly in

Murderous puppets Local puppet troupe presents The Tell-Tale Heart at PSU Whitney Garcia Jacobson Vanguard staff

If you think puppets are only for children, think again: Filled with mystery, murder and oozing blood, Tears of Joy Theatre’s adaptation of “The Tell-Tale Heart” is coming to PSU’s Lincoln Studio Theatre just in time for Halloween.

While this show is based on a short story of the same name by Edgar Allan Poe, the original was written mostly as a first-person inner monologue. David Treptow has adapted the story for a full 75-minute production, complete with dialogue and characters not found in the original text.

Much like the short story, this production does not shy away from depicting violence, which may surprise for many first-time puppet theater viewers. When most people think of puppets they think of “Sesame Street or the Muppets,” said Tears of Joy Theatre Managing Director Neal Spinler. This production is nothing like those childhood shows.

If you’re expecting a light-hearted show with a clear message, you might want to look elsewhere.

The message of the production is: “Don’t kill people; don’t get caught,” Spinler said, halfjokingly. Tears of Joy Theatre Artistic Director

COURTESY OF Tears of joy Theatre

a terrifying puppet whispers sweet nothings into and unidentified man’s ear.

Nancy Aldrich, who directs The Tell-Tale Heart, brought this show with her from a previous company and has sought to put on more adultoriented puppet performances.

For many audience members, this may be the first time seeing a professional puppet performance aimed at adults. So what can an attendee expect?

“Puppetry is an old, old form of this presentational art, and it’s a grand tradition basically in everywhere but America,” Jon Plueard, a 2010 PSU Theater Arts alum and Tears of Joy actor, said. “We look at puppets as [if] they belong to children, but puppets are allowed to make political commentary. Puppets are allowed to kind of do things that human actors…aren’t really allowed to.”

Plueard finds that there are advantages to this type of puppetry.

“What happens with theater theater…is you have live actors in front of fake scenery, and so the true synthesis of [the] moment can’t happen because the audience will always know those people aren’t real, the situation is made up,” Plueard said. “What happens with puppetry is both things are constructed so the synthesis that occurs is that, yes, the set is unreal, but the people are unreal as well…it allows the message to travel.”

Audience members can also expect a mix of various performance styles. Part of both Portland State Theater Arts and Tears of Joy Theatre’s mission is to bring various cultural influences to the works presented.

“We focus heavily on stories from various cultures, and each culture, most cultures actually, have their own style of puppetry in one way or another,” Spinler said. “We try to incorporate those styles into that show as much as possible.”

This show in particular mixes human and puppet performance while incorporating the

a third-person perspective, revealing within the songs the lives and stories of those in his neighborhood: Tales of prostitution, violence and corruption honestly depict the reality of the circumstances in which Lamar grew up. The themes in these songs came together to create a masterful album.

Good kid, m.A.A.d city looks to be a more introspective selection. The album builds on the messages from Section.80 but ultimately focuses more on Lamar’s own experience—moving from the visible despair of his hometown into the personal ideas that have shaped him.

The songs Lamar has released so far— “Swimming Pools (Drank),” “The Recipe” (featuring Dr. Dre) and “Backstreet Freestyle”—all express ideas in provocative or harsh tones, indicating a closer relationship with the subject matter. “Swimming Pools” is especially introspective, with one verse devoted to Lamar’s conscience rapping in his own head.

There is an emerging theme between the tracks that indicates Lamar may avoid succumbing to the usual pitfalls facing independent artists who switch to major labels.

Most musicians still have messages behind their albums, but the increase of online music sales has downplayed emphasis on the album as a whole in favor of chart-topping singles. Unfortunately, this usually limits the depth an artist can access with the rest of the album.

Some rappers are still able to arrange albums with prevalent themes that connect the tracks and elevate the overall work. Lamar will keep his creative license with the joint venture deal between Interscope Records, Aftermath and Top Dawg Entertainment.

Assuming that good kid, m.A.A.d city is able to achieve success—while still keeping the focused message that his work has had so far— Lamar will have successfully made the transition from the independent scene in a way that few others have.

Lamar’s progression in the industry has been based completely on his abilities and work ethic, rather than changing his image or climbing up the ladder behind the scenes. He and the other members of Black Hippy have released such outstanding free work to the public that the industry couldn’t overlook them. Lamar is an example of how to go from up-and-coming to top-and-staying.

Japanese style of puppetry called Bunraku.

Bunraku puppets are operated by three puppeteers who move all of the parts of the puppet’s body and perform the voice of the puppet.

Don’t start thinking that these puppets are small, though.

“They are life-size puppets,” Spinler said. “In fact, one of them is probably three times the size [of a normal puppet]. It’s a very large puppet.”

Such oversized puppets in a small, intimate theater such as Lincoln’s studio ensures that every seat will be close to the action and heighten the drama of the setting.

Plueard, one of the operators of the “Old Man” puppet, appreciates the wide range of communication available to the puppeteer.

“We, the puppeteers, have developed a form of communication that is nonverbal,” Plueard said.

The caretaker in the play is played by a live actor who is intent on maintaining his own sanity but nevertheless descends into madness and, eventually, murder. This murder, however, is not just any kind of blasé onstage death. Expect a lot of lost body parts and gore.

Don’t want to pay a fortune to attend? You’re in luck: There is a special PSU student night Thursday, Oct. 25, with $5 tickets available with student ID. Please note that there is a parental advisory requirement for those bringing children.

Tears of Joy Theatre presents The Tell-Tale Heart Oct. 19, 20, 25, 26, 27 at 8 p.m.

Lincoln Studio Theatre 1620 SW Park Ave. Tickets: $17 adults; $14 students ($5 on Oct. 25 with student ID)

Arts & Culture • Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 • VANGUARD

9

16 10

VANGUARD •• Tuesday, THURSDAY, Oct. NOVEMBER 23, 2012 10, • OPINiON 2011 • SPORTS

OPINION

EDITOR: Meredith Meier OPINION@PSUVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5692

Landmark torture case heads to trial Will the colonial powers finally ‘get theirs’?

Everywhere and Here Eva-Jeanette Rawlins

I

Miles Sanguinetti/VANGUARD STAFF

The not-so-final frontier PSU goes into orbit One Step Off Emily Lakehomer

O

uter space is just a pipe dream for a lot of us. The opportunity to be involved with researching the cosmos is one that, sciences majors or not, we’d love to have. Launch rockets, find constellations and then do stuff that astrophysicists and astronauts actually do.

The dream has become a reality for some Portland State students.

Earlier this month, PSU announced that research experiments crafted by students would be launched into space.

Astronauts aboard the International Space Station will conduct the actual experiments, but PSU will get a clear view of what’s going on via satellite feed.

Testing will consist mainly of exploring the behavior of liquids in zero gravity. The results could impact the way we design fuel systems as well as future forms of transportation and spacecraft.

When you think about NASA involving itself with a

university, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology probably comes to mind first.

Think again. PSU is one of the few schools in the country to have direct contact with NASA. That PSU involved itself with such an exciting experiment offers hope for the continuation of space research.

NASA has been facing budget cut after budget cut for years.

Many argue that the U.S. needs to concentrate on the home front. There is some truth to that; however, many of NASA’s research results have provided leaps and bounds in advancement for the medical, airline and engineering industries.

Earlier this year, NASA was forced to cancel two of its more ambitious missions—the Mars launches planned for 2016 and 2018—because of budget cuts.

Both missions were important to the continuation of our exploration of the cosmos, but in this economic climate some things just aren’t meant to be.

Now that PSU has conquered the final frontier, is another space odyssey in the future? Maybe so, depending on this mission’s results.

Little information is known beyond that. If the experiments are indeed successful, who knows? This could be the beginning of a space program based within PSU. How cool would that be?

Now that we’ve launched a science experiment into space, what’s next? Those of us with lined pocketbooks could be sending art, literature, film and other mementos of our culture and ourselves into space.

That’s a pretty awesome time capsule.

Of course, the space station doesn’t exist for our entertainment. But if things keep going well and space flights become financially accessible to the public, who knows what will happen. You might end up proposing to your future spouse in zero gravity.

If the results are positive, hopefully this won’t be the last time PSU and NASA work together. Maybe next time they launch a shuttle into space they’ll include one of my essays.

t took almost exactly 60 years to the day for three Kenyans to hear the words they’d spent most of their adult lives waiting for— the words saying that the tortures they experienced at the hands of the British colonial government were “arguable cases in law.”

In a landmark case, the High Court in London ruled that the three—Paulo Muoka Nzili, Wambuga Wa Nyingi and Jane Muthoni Mara—had the right to take their case to trial despite the length of time that had passed.

The trio—the two men in their mid-80s and Mara in her 70s—were members of the Mau Mau freedom fighter movement in the 1950s, as Kenya fought for independence from the British colonial government.

They claim they were “brutally tortured by the British colony” while in detention, according to the British Broadcasting Corporation.

They’re finally going to get their day in court. Sixty years is a long time to wait.

Instead of seeing this as a chance to redress some of the inarguably oppressive and repressive actions and policies of its previous empirical

regime, the British government’s position has been to hide “behind technical legal defenses…to avoid any legal responsibility,” the trio’s lawyer said.

The government is attempting to squeeze its way through a loophole: the claim that when Kenya was declared independent in 1963, the U.K. essentially transferred any legal liabilities it had to the new Kenyan government.

Nice. Washing their hands, they said, “We’re outta here.

Enjoy the mess we’ve left you!”

It wasn’t a small mess, either. The plaintiffs’ allegations range from castration to severe and continual beatings, as well as “appalling sexual abuse,” the BBC reported. These are only three cases, mind you, and are isolated examples of the widespread atrocities common to the colonial era.

To provide some perspective: In Kenya alone, 90,000 people were executed during this time.

You’d think that, as history presents a devastating view of colonization’s effects as a whole, the British foreign office would attempt to at least save face, if not actually make right some of the wrongs inherent to its legacy.

Suraj Nair/VANGUARD STAFF

As leading proponents of the crusade to “divide and conquer,” the British Empire reaped untold riches from its subjugation and exploitation of sovereign nations and people, stealing their cultural, social, political, religious and economic freedoms and forcing upon them its own regime.

That the government now has the audacity to say, “It’s not our problem,” is not only offensive, it’s immoral.

It would be one thing if officials were denying anything happened, but they’re not.

They can’t.

In fact, the official statement is, “We do not dispute that each of the claimants in this case suffered torture and other ill-treatment at the hands of the colonial administration.”

Hmm. It seems that when you know a crime has been committed, the response should be at least a pretense of taking responsibility.

Don’t they have a public relations person?

Sadly, they probably have a great one. Which is why they’re staying as far away from this as they can.

Though it would make all the sense in the world for the government to protect its image and duly right this wrong that hangs over its head, the number of worms that could crawl out of this can present numerous, incalculable reasons why they won’t.

If this case goes to court and the judge rules in favor of the three plaintiffs, there will be hell to pay. Thanks to the wide-reaching empirical ambitions of the 1800s, claims of colonial abuses will in no way be isolated to Kenya alone.

As one BBC commentator observed, “there will undoubtedly be victims of colonial torture from Malaya to the Yemen, from Cyprus to Palestine, who will be reading this judgement with great care.” If the British government is found liable and a precedent is set, there is no telling how many lawsuits will be filed in the future.

I, for one, fervently hope that colonial giants like Britain and their partnersin-crime, whose administrations raped, pillaged and tortured innocent people to line their own pockets, will be forced to dig deep—really deep—back into those same pockets and repay what is only a fraction of what they stole.

OPINiON • Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 • VANGUARD

President Obama’s economic plan

Romney’s slash ’n’ smash economics

Can we spend our way into stability?

The budget that would kill the budget

Art of the Possible Joseph Kendzierski

P

resident Obama’s economic plan is based on the idea that some are more responsible than others.

Calling for expiration of the Bush-era tax cuts for households earning over $250,000 and lowering taxes for manufacturing companies, Obama’s short-term plan includes stimulus spending and some tax cuts, but in the long-term spending would be cut and taxes raised for the wealthy.

December marks the expiration of tax cuts for households earning more than $250,000.

According to the Congressional Budget Office, if these cuts are allowed to expire they will add approximately $42 billion to the federal budget next year alone.

Over the next 10 years, they could add roughly $1 trillion in increased revenue and saved interest payments.

In his speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention, Obama said, “After a decade of decline, this country created half a million manufacturing jobs. And now you have a choice: We can give more tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, or we can start rewarding companies that open new plants and train new workers and create new jobs here.”

By incentivizing the domestic manufacturing sector, Obama hopes to create new jobs, which could help bolster regional economic stability.

Obama laid out his plan to do just this in his 2011 speech on the American Jobs Act. Obama proposed a tax

break of $4,000 for every manufacturing company that hires someone who has been unemployed for at least six months.

Short-term stimulus spending and temporary tax cuts play a significant role in Obama’s proposed economic plan.

Including $50 billion on transportation infrastructure projects such as roads, highways and railroads, the stimulus-spending plan would create more jobs, increase education investment, increase Pell Grant funding and expand job-training programs across the U.S. How would we survive in the long term? Obama recognizes that deficit spending isn’t sustainable. We, as a country, must be willing to cut spending and raise taxes.

Obama proposed reducing discretionary spending to even lower levels than it has already reached. The CBO reported that Obama has achieved the lowest level of discretionary spending since former President Dwight Eisenhower.

All in all, Obama’s economic plan reflects a balanced approach. By reducing unnecessary spending and strengthening spending on programs that have proven to add to the economy, Obama reflects a philosophy that government plays a role in ensuring that America takes care of its citizens and global obligations.

However, neither Obama’s nor Romney’s economic plan touches on the largest category of spending: defense. If neither candidate is willing to truly examine the entire budget to see where we can

cut spending, I have to remain pessimistic.

With defense spending accounting for roughly 20 percent of the federal budget, it seems illogical for this one category to bear no scrutiny.

This is a percentage equal to that of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid combined. U.S. defense spending equals that of 25 other countries combined.

Though it may be too late for the upcoming election, it’s vital for the American public to demand a reprioritization of spending.

It may be politically popular to offer tax cuts to the populace or to increase funding for schools, teachers and police, but these things are too often the first things to go when the next round of austerity forces hard decisions to be made.

Despite lack of media attention, there are alternatives to Obama and Romney Art of the Possible Joseph Kendzierski

T

ired of being presented with the choice of voting either Democrat or Republican? Have no

fear, there are alternatives— independent third parties.

Only two small parties with nominated candidates

are on the ballot in enough states to win the national election: the Green Party and the Libertarian Party.

Jill Stein is the Green Party’s presidential candidate.

Her economic policy has three main points: One: Enact the Full Employment Program, which

order to cut federal spending, cuts need to be made to entitlement programs such as Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid; also that the war in Afghanistan must be defunded and spending on stimulus packages reduced.

His plan for cutting taxes calls for abolishing the Internal Revenue Service and replacing it with the Fair Tax, which would eliminate taxes on basic necessities and eliminate business taxes—a move he believes will increase overall employment.

Johnson also wants to reduce government involvement in all areas of the economy, except where explicitly

provided for by law. He plans to do this by eliminating “special interests” such as auto industry and state bailouts, eliminating cap and trade credits, and providing corporate welfare—tax breaks for corporations.

He also wants to completely eliminate federal involvement in education by expanding voucher programs and promoting charter schools.

If you’re disaffected by the illusion of choice provided by the two-party system, remember: There are other parties out there who may more accurately reflect your own beliefs and values.

Ryan DeLaureal

U

Obama • Elimination of Bush-era tax cuts • Stimulus spending and short-term tax cuts • Tax raises for wealthy • Cut discretionary spending Romney • Extension of Bush-era tax cuts • Lower corporate tax rates • Cut spending for Medicaid and Medicare • Cut discretionary spending • Repeal Affordable Care Act Stein • Enact Full Employment Program • Provide funding for green businesses and startups • Renegotiate NAFTA Johnson • Cut Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid • Abolish IRS and establish Fair Tax • Eliminate involvement in education

Minor party economics

revenue for corporations. This supply-side idea is based on the theory that such a move would increase corporate investment, thereby (hopefully) creating jobs.

Romney also wants to indefinitely extend the Bush-era tax cuts for those making over $250,000 per year. Obama temporarily extended these cuts in 2010 as part of a two-year compromise deal on a larger economic bill. They are set to expire Dec. 31.

The Congressional Budget Office estimates that indefinitely extending the Bush tax cuts would result in 3.3 trillion added to the national debt between 2011–20 because of the loss of government revenue.

In order to pay for these tax cuts, the government would immediately be forced to cut its spending.

This is the second part of Romney’s economic plan, and the part that has drawn the most fire from critics far and wide, who have christened it with names like “the fantasy budget.”

Romney has made it clear that he wants to exempt Social Security and defense from any spending cuts. Two large categories remain—amounting to 60 percent of the annual budget—that would bear the totality of the slashing.

One category is entitlement programs, like Medicare and Medicaid, and the other is “discretionary spending.”

Discretionary spending is money earmarked annually

by Congress to go toward a specific purpose. This money can fund anything and everything—from a bridge to nowhere, to clean energy initiatives, to state programs

for education, to food stamps and unemployment. It encompasses anything that the government is not legally obligated to pay for. In essence, anything “extra.”

Central to Romney’s budget slashing plan is his proposal to cap federal spending at a maximum of 20 percent of gross domestic product. This comes before tax cuts are figured into the equation, and just to achieve this percentage the budget will have to immediately shrink drastically.

(The current annual budget amounts to 24 percent of the annual GDP.) In order to reach Romney’s proposed budget levels, Medicare, Medicaid and all discretionary programs will suffer drastic cuts.

It is estimated that, just to achieve Romney’s 20 percent mark, nonexempted programs would have to be cut by 22 percent in 2016 and 34 percent in 2022.

This doesn’t factor in the Bush cuts and other cuts that Romney has proposed, which will burn just as many holes in the budget to account for loss of revenue.

Since discretionary spending can refer to anything, the programs most likely to be cut in a Romney administration are those he has expressed disdain for in his campaign as being “extras.”

These include programs for the unemployed and incentives for investment in clean energy, among other social programs.

And, last but not least, Romney wants to repeal Obama’s healthcare act.

The CBO estimates that, if passed, a bill repealing this act would reduce government revenues by $1 trillion between 2013–22, thereby adding “$109 billion to federal budget deficits over that period.”

If that is the case, Romney will have even more slashing to do.

What’s the Big Idea?

nfortunately for the government, taxes are extremely unpopular. Especially among those whom said taxes least benefit: the extremely wealthy and corporations.

This ever-relevant fact is the heart of Mitt Romney’s campaign platform, and his raison d’etre on the Republican ticket. His tax-slashing budget outline offers up an economic plan that tries to be as little of one as possible.

At its core is the call to get rid of those little adored things called taxes.

To begin, Romney wants to lower the corporate tax rate, a move that would increase

will provide employment in green agriculture, sustainable energy and mass transit.

Two: Provide grants and loans to green businesses and start-ups.

Three: Renegotiate the North American Free Trade Agreement and other trade deals with the goal of making it harder for businesses to export jobs and profits overseas.

Libertarian presidential candidate Gary Johnson’s economic platform has three basic tenets: cut federal spending, cut taxes and reduce federal involvement in the economy.

Johnson believes that, in

11

12

VANGUARD • Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 • Opinion

Daniel Johnston/VANGUARD STAFF

Monitor vs. whiteboard

COURTESY OF Youtube politics

The way a debate should be

Online school lacks benefits of traditional education

Policy and argument, not rhetoric and respectful disagreement

Sans the Salt Alyck Horton

I

find myself walking to a lecture at 10 a.m. It’s raining, my sweatpants are soaked and I don’t give a shit about cellular reproduction right now.

I then spend the entire lecture daydreaming about being one of those unemployed moms or girls with drawn-on eyebrows whose “college education” entails sitting in their warm beds taking online quizzes.

We’ve seen the ads on television telling us we should be doing something with our lives, that a college degree will get us a career, money and an ample supply of females to reproduce with.

These ads share key words not normally associated in any way with a traditional university: fun, easy, fast.

Education is an investment, and if you’re going to invest four-plus years and tens of thousands of dollars, shouldn’t you look for quality instead of convenience?

It’s sort of like eating alone and paying double the price for fast food because cooking legitimate meals is too laborious.

Curiosity led me to complete a Business 101 online course through Portland Community College my freshman year.

Though I easily earned an A in the class, completed all of the assignments and read the textbook, I still didn’t grasp the concepts as well as people I knew who took the physical class.

In a live class, you’re a part of a discussion with an educated expert. You’re better able to make connections and have questions answered in a dialogue that will give you a deeper understanding of the subject. This isn’t feasible in online platforms such as Desire2Learn.

Now you can simply copyand-paste your way to a degree.

A well-executed Google search will give you enough information to write a paper on just about anything with minimal

effort, and if you’re talented with words, that half-assed attempt will still get you a solid grade.

That’s the overall attitude of online school. While some consider it resourceful, I feel it just promotes slothfulness.

Online classes and schools are insufficient compared to the brick-and-mortars, chiefly because students don’t take them seriously.

My first term in college I took two one-credit online classes to bump me up to a fulltime credit load. I ended up forgetting I had online classes, and now they’re just W grades on my transcript. And money I’ll never see again.

If a student can sit on her bed and toggle between “learning” math and browsing Tumblr, the focus isn’t going to be where it needs to be. Any lesson is then reduced to just busy work rather than an inclusive activity.

According to Dr. Jonathon Wolf, my former economics professor (who also owns his own business and is an economic advisor to the state of Oregon as well as several Fortune 500 companies), employers are well aware of how easy it is to “earn” an online degree. A lot of the time it’s not even worth putting it on your resume.

Prospective students also don’t consider the actual cost of a degree from an online-only school. Wolf explained to me that something close to 99 percent of online college classes are paid for by financial aid in the form of grants and student loans.

Therefore, the cost of these schools remains out of sight and out of mind until after students either drop out or graduate with a useless degree that cost them twice as much as it would have at a legitimate school.

Above all else, I feel a sort

That’s What’s the Matter Kevin Rackham

T

he presidential and vice-presidential debates this year have received a shocking amount of attention, with recordbreaking views and hours dedicated to analyzing them.

I’d like to point out that the way we do presidential debates is terrible.

Somewhere along the line (starting with Kennedy and Nixon in the first televised presidential debate) we stopped caring about what our candidates said and started paying more attention to how they said it—and who won.

We hear about gaffes and tone and facial expressions, and the media won’t shut up about Big Bird.

It’s a press spectacle rather than a way of finding out more about how good the candidates are on the issues and what they’d do.

President Obama’s performance in the first presidential debate was almost universally deemed unsatisfactory.

None of his usually impressive speaking skills were on display, he got bogged down in justifications and he strayed from the questions.

of bitterness toward an institution that allows people to take the easy way out. Without even having to finish high school, these people are simply signing a few forms and becoming university graduates easier and quicker than brickand-mortar students.

While online schools are a complete waste, having an online fluffer class can be advantageous with a busy work schedule. Still, if you care about your education: Get your lazy ass in a desk and learn something.

While Obama failed to execute more than a lackluster performance, Romney didn’t “win,” either.

He looked and sounded more confident, sure, but he almost totally backtracked on his tax plan and several other platform points.

The vice-presidential debate was much better. The candidates were actually debating.

Biden apparently came off as rude to a lot of people but, personally, I got exactly what I wanted from that debate. His statements were generally welldefended, and he and Ryan were able to have much more of a discussion than Obama and Romney did.

Ryan’s answers often lacked facts or the facts weren’t true (which Biden enjoyed pointing out) but he was more specific and policy-oriented than his running mate was, and both VP candidates stayed on the issues very well and showed that they knew what they were doing.

I didn’t object to Biden getting in Ryan’s face, and I wouldn’t have had a problem if the reverse had happened.

Politicians should always call out their opponents’ malarkey and expect the same in return, especially during a debate.

The second presidential debate was a definite improvement. The town hall format helped with that, because the first debate’s questions were awful.

Obama and Romney did a better job—getting into specifics and coming to the debate with real facts. It felt more honest, and I got a better sense of what they believed in and what they would do.

One of the best debates I saw this year was the one that was supposed to be a press spectacle.

Jon Stewart and Bill

O’Reilly’s “Rumble in the Air-Conditioned Auditorium” had every outward sign of ridiculousness.

Stewart prepared for the event by chasing a chicken, and had a hydraulic platform behind his podium.

O’Reilly had ridiculous flash cards that he used at every opportunity. But, despite the hilarity, I gained more from their debate than I did from any of

our presidential debates.

In the midst of talking about things like “Bullshit Mountain” and culture wars, Stewart and O’Reilly managed to have real discussions about the nature and execution of entitlements, tax policy and the war in Afghanistan.

Each constantly factchecked the other, and they often interrupted each other, but it worked.

I came into the debate disliking O’Reilly immensely, and came out of it with a grudging respect for him. Neither of them “won,” but both of them did a great job of defending themselves and explaining their beliefs and positions.

I know more about what Stewart and O’Reilly believe than I do about what Obama and Romney believe, and I’d feel more confident voting for one of these hyperbolic TV personalities than I would for either of those two experienced politicians.

A debate shouldn’t be a battle over who has the most charming smile or who recites the party platform better. It should be an actual discourse, where the candidates talk to each other and not to the cameras.

Why do we care about facial expressions and slip-ups?

After November, those things won’t matter anymore.

What will matter is who knows what they’re doing and how they’re doing it. So far, I haven’t found out those things from our candidates.

ETC. • Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 • VANGUARD EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Erick Bengel EDITOR@PSUVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5691

13

ETC.

UPCOMING EVENTS Tuesday, Oct. 23

Whitney Otto and Emily Kendal Frey Reading 7 p.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union, room 296 1825 SW Broadway

Portland State’s MFA in Creative Writing program welcomes two accomplished local authors to read from their award-winning works.

FREE

Wednesday, Oct. 24

Healing Feathers Fun Walk and Lunch 10:30 a.m.–noon Native American Student and Community Center 710 SW Jackson St.

Join Healing Feathers for a walk around campus to promote good health. After the walk concludes, lunch will be served at the Native Center for $5 a plate, proceeds of which will be donated to putting together food baskets for native families during the holiday season.

Fright Town 7–11 p.m. (or 10 p.m. on weeknights) Veterans Memorial Coliseum 1401 N Wheeler Ave.

A $20 entrance fee grants you access to three of Portland’s largest and scariest haunted houses, all housed inside of the Veterans Memorial Coliseum. For coupons and more information, visit frighttown.com.

Thursday, Oct. 25

Portland Halloween Party 9 p.m.

Blitz Pearl 110 NW 10th Ave.

Blitz Pearl presents a series of Halloween parties beginning on Oct. 25 and running through the weekend.

Music, dancing, a costume contest and fun prizes abound! This event is 21+. FREE

Memoirs of a Mujaheed and Thoughts on Algeria Today 7 p.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union, room 294 1825 SW Broadway

Hamou Amirouche discusses his recently published memoirs, titled Akfadou: Un An Avec le Colonel Amirouche, and his career as a freedom fighter for Algerian independence from France. FREE

Tears of Joy Theatre presents Edgar Allan Poe’s “The TellTale Heart” 8 p.m.

Tears of Joy Theatre 323 NE Wygant St.

An intriguing blend of live acting and puppetry comes together at Tears of Joy Theatre to present an adaptation of Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Tell-Tale Heart.” Tickets are available at the door; for pricing and more information visit tojt.org.

Friday, Oct. 26

Power, Wealth, and a Confucius for Today 6:30 p.m.

Lincoln Hall, room 75 1620 SW Park Ave.

The Institute for Asian Studies and the Confucius Institute at PSU invite you to a lecture about Confucianism by renowned China historian and neo-Confucianism scholar Dr. Peter Bol of Harvard University.

Project Grow’s Third Annual Haunted Studio 7–9 p.m.

The Project Grow studio and the Gallery at Port City 2156 N Williams Ave.

All ages are welcome to visit Project Grow’s haunted studio, featuring themes that include a demented goat slaughterhouse and goth zombie dance parties among others. Admission is a suggested donation of $3.

For more information visit growinginalldirections.org.

COURTESY OF littlewolfblog.com

Walking Dead: Every year residents of Portland take to the streets in their

best zombie attire. Don’t miss your chance to be one of them at the 2012 Portland Zombie Walk. This event is free of charge and open to all ages.

Harvest Festival: A Traditional Irish Samhain 11 a.m.

Paddy’s Bar and Grill 65 SW Yamhill St.

There is no cover charge to attend Paddy’s celebration on the Friday before Halloween. There will be live music, a photo booth, pumpkin carving, games and raffles all night long!

This event is 21+. FREE

Haunted Maize 7–10 p.m.

The Haunted Maize at The Pumpkin Patch 16511 NW Gillihan Loop Rd.

Come to The Pumpkin Patch to enjoy four acres of terror and see what creatures are lurking within the Haunted Maize. Admission is $10 and all ages are welcome. For more information visit portlandmaze.com.

Saturday, Oct. 27

2012 Portland Zombie Walk 10 a.m.

Oregon Museum of Science and Industry Overflow Lot (Water and Madison) 1945 SE Water Ave.

Every year residents of Portland take to the streets in their best zombie attire. Do not miss your chance to be one of them at 2012’s Zombie Walk.

This event is for all ages.

Faeries and Dragons Fantasy Fest Noon SE 85th Avenue and Division Street

Costumes, dancing, fire pits and live music are all offered at the Faeries and Dragons Fantasy Fest. All ages are welcome. FREE Sunday, Oct.

28

America’s Largest Antique and Collectibles Show 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Portland Expo Center 2060 N Marine Dr.

The Portland Expo Center hosts an antique and collectibles show that boasts over 1,000 booths with items dating from the 1880s to the 1970s.

Admission is $7 for all ages.

Monday, Oct. 29

Close Is Fine Launch Party 5–8 p.m.

Doug Fir Lounge, Fireplace Room 830 E Burnside St.

Ooligan Press celebrates the release of Close Is Fine, a collection of short stories by Eliot Treichel, with a launch party at the beautiful Doug Fir Lounge. The party will feature a reading by the author, a question-and-answer session, book signing and door prizes. Guests are welcometo bring friends. This event is 21+. FREE

The Political Economy of American Empire: A Historical Materialist Analysis 3 p.m.

Cramer Hall, room 53 1721 SW Broadway St.

Join the PSU Department of Economics for the Economics Seminar Series with Sam Gindin and Leo Panitch from York University, Canada, who will discuss their new book, The Making of Global Capitalism: The Political Economy of American Empire. FREE

Tuesday, Oct. 30

Night of the Pumpkin King 9 p.m.

The Lovecraft Bar 421 SE Grand Ave.

The Lovecraft hosts a night of music, dancing and carving, where you are invited to bring your own pumpkin and compete against other carvers for a grand prize. This event is 21+.

FREE

FREE = free of charge = open to the public

14

VANGUARD •• Tuesday, TUESDAY,Oct. JANUARY 23, 2012 10, 2012 • SPORTS • ETC.

SPORTS Vikings sweep again Volleyball team beats Eagles and Hornets Rosemary Hanson Vanguard staff

The Portland State women’s volleyball team scored two decisive victories this weekend, beating Eastern Washington University on Thursday and California State University, Sacramento on Saturday. They are now 15-8 overall and 11-1 in conference play, sitting atop the Big Sky rankings.

The Vikings shared the wealth this weekend, benefitting from solid efforts by several players.

Junior outside hitter Aubrey Mitchell collected a matchhigh 11 kills on Thursday and led the Vikings to a clean sweep over the visiting Eastern Washington Eagles. Mitchell’s performance, along with key serving and blocking by her

EDITOR: MARCO ESPAñA SPORTS@PSUVANGUARD.COM 503-725-4538

teammates, allowed PSU to hold their opponents to a negative hitting percentage.

Turning in set scores of 2516, 25-16 and 25-18, the Vikings soared past their winless Dam Cup rival. Eastern Washington, 0-22 overall and 0-11 in Big Sky play, have struggled all season with injuries.

“We wanted to keep our foot on the gas,” head coach Michael Seemann said. “We knew that they were struggling a little bit, but we just wanted to make sure that if they were going to score, they had to earn their points.”

On Saturday, the Vikings were treated to a breakout performance by sophomore middle blocker Leigh-Ann Haataja.

PSU had their usual stars on the front lines with Mitchell, senior outside hitter Megan Ellis and junior setter Garyn Schlatter, but when Sacramento State started to zero in on the outside hitters, Haataja took control. She slammed a careerhigh 13 kills along with seven blocks. Ellis also contributed 18 kills to the effort, while junior outside hitter Jaklyn Wheeler had 17 and Mitchell claimed 10.

It was only the second time this season that the Vikings had four players in double-digits.

“We got a lot of production from Leigh-Ann, which is huge help for us,” Seemann said.

“I thought Garyn put them in

good situations. It was a moving target—we started off hot with Aubrey, then by doing that it kind of opened up our middles.”

Sacramento State’s style of play favors longer rallies, but the Vikings also relied on solid back row defense by sophomore libero Kasimira Clark to secure crucial saves on the floor.

“It was huge tonight,” Haataja said. “Our back row did a really good job scrapping and playing hard. Sac would take some big swings. We got in there and kept fighting hard.”

Sacramento State led the opening set, but after going up 5-1, the Vikings caught up and eventually pulled ahead to take a 20-11 lead. The Hornets rallied to close the difference, but the Vikings held strong and won the opening set 25-18.

After claiming the second set by a score of 25-17, it appeared as though they would take the sweep. They were up 21-18 in the third when the Hornets went on a seven-point run to win it 25-21. The Vikings answered with a decisive 25-13 fourth-set win.

PSU will be at home again this week when they take on the Montana State University Bobcats on Thursday at 7 p.m., followed by a match on Saturday against the University of Montana Lady Griz at 7 p.m.

Clean Sweep: The Vikings’ volleyball team won two games last week.

They next play Montana State on Thursday.

jinyi qi/VANGUARD STAFF

On to the Big Sky tournament

Back-toback: PSU’s women’s soccer team scored its second consecutive championship on Friday at Hillsboro Stadium.

The Vikings wrap up their season at the Beaver Classic Alex Moore Vanguard Staff

On Friday, the Vikings cross country team competed in their last meet of the regular season. The women’s team finished third overall at the Beaver Classic, with senior Amber Rozcicha finishing in second place. Not far behind was senior Sarah Dean in 10th place.

“Our women ran really well,” head coach Jonathan Marcus said. “The ladies

The women’s team finished third overall at the Beaver Classic. stepped up big. Amber led most of the race and lost by one second to a professional runner from Nike. It was good to see our student athletes up there with the professionals and leading them for most of the race. It bodes well for the future.”

The men finished in 10th place. Freshman Neil Seibert

led his team, finishing 35th with a time of 25:56, with freshman Jonathan Talik just over a minute behind.

The Vikings now shift their focus to the Big Sky championship, which will take place in Flagstaff, Ariz., on Oct. 27.

“The team’s really well prepared,” Marcus said. “The work has been put in. Now we just got to be smart and take care of ourselves. This is a team that has progressed a lot in the last two months. They are really strong, and my hope is that they go in confident about achieving what they’re capable of doing.”

After the Big Sky championship, the cross country team will look ahead to the regional championships, held two weeks later in Seattle. If they can continue to build on their recent success, Portland State could see some runners in the national meet.

Marcus is optimistic about their chances. “Everyone’s fit, everyone’s strong, and we are really looking forward to the last two championship races.”

Big Sky success Women’s soccer team conference champs once again Alex Moore Vanguard Staff

For the second year in a row, Portland State’s women’s soccer team guaranteed themselves a share of the regularseason Big Sky title. The Vikings came away with a 3-1 victory over California State University, Sacramento at Hillsboro Stadium on Friday.

Seniors Megan Martin and Amanda Howie each scored for the Vikings in their final home game, with freshman

Cori Bianchini also adding a goal. Head coach Laura Schott is proud of the way her team performed.

“It feels great,” Schott said.

“It’s one of our most important goals of the season and we’re proud to reach it. We put ourselves in a position to clinch a share of the championship in the final game of the regular season, and then we performed well in that game. Performing well when the pressure is elevated is key to success.”

karl kuchs/VANGUARD STAFF

Senior Amanda Howie has now scored in three straight games, including a game-winning goal against Weber State.

The senior is finishing strong in her last season as a Viking.

“Amanda Howie has had a great year, and she has worked hard for her recent success,” Schott said. “I am very happy for her, and I look forward to seeing what she’ll do next. She’s been solid on defense and, she’s scoring some outstanding goals.”

PSU has one game left, against California State University, Bakersfield. Then it’s on to the Big Sky tournament, where the winner will get an automatic bid in the NCAA championship.

But Schott isn’t looking that far ahead. “We want to win the first game,” she said. “Then we will think about the second game. Ultimately, we want to be in the NCAA tournament.”

Winning a share of the Big Sky regular-season title for the second year in a row says a lot about how hard the Vikings have worked over the last two seasons.

“Every season for every team has ups and downs,” Schott said, adding that the teams “that keep their focus during the lows and don’t celebrate the highs too much” are the ones who are most successful. “That is certainly true about this group.

Focus will be very important moving forward, as well.”

16

VANGUARD • Tuesday, Oct. 23, 2012 • SPORTS

Recent RESULTS Thursday, Oct. 18

VOLLEYBALL vs.

Vikings 3 Eastern Washington 0 Top performers Aubrey Mitchell: 11 kills, 6 blocks

Friday, Oct. 19

WOMEN’S SOCCER vs.

Vikings 3 Sacramento State 1 Top performers Megan Martin: 1 goal Amanda Howie: 1 goal Cori Bianchini: 1 goal

CROSS COUNTRY Beaver Classic Women’s team finished 3rd overall Top performers Amber Rozcicha: 2nd, 21:37 Sarah Dean: 10th, 22:24 Adam wickham/VANGUARD STAFF

Basketball season: The men’s basketball team began practicing at the Stott Center earlier this month. They were picked fifth in the Big Sky preseason polls by both coaches and media. Their first game is Nov. 2.

Back to the hardwood Men’s basketball hopes for another winning season in 2012–13 Zach Bigalke Vanguard staff

Practices started for the men’s basketball team earlier this month as they prepare for the upcoming season. After finishing third last season in Big Sky play and reaching the semifinals of the conference tournament, hopes are high for another winning season.

“I’ve been pleased with how hard we’ve been going,” head coach Tyler Geving said about the first practices. “The guys have been competing and have good energy. I think we’re pretty close to turning the corner and getting over that hump, so I’m excited about it.”

Though the Big Sky media

and coaches both picked the Vikings to finish fifth in the league this season, the potential is there for a second straight winning season in Geving’s fourth year leading the program. Here’s a look at the team’s strengths and weaknesses at each position as they prepare for a Nov. 2 exhibition against Concordia.

Guards Strengths: Geving added Marcus Hall, the Northern California junior college player of the year for the 2011–12 season, to a deep stable of guards.

Hall brings a strong defensive presence to the perimeter for the Vikings. Lateef McMullan

and Michael Harthun, who between them made 63 of 64 starts last year, make this the position with the most experience for Portland State. Sophomores Gary Winston and Joel King also saw playing time last season off the bench and will provide further depth.

Weaknesses: The team has to figure out how to replace the production lost when senior Charles Odum graduated. A two-time All-Big Sky Conference team selection, Odum averaged 21 points per game in conference play. Geving and his assistants will have to shuffle their rotation to try to mitigate that loss of production.

Forwards Strengths: The team added Aaron Moore from San

Highlighting the schedule The Vikings host Oregon State University on Dec. 12, the first time a Pac-12 opponent has visited the Stott Center since the University of Oregon in January 2003. PSU also plays road games in Eugene against the Ducks and across town against the Portland Pilots.

“I think any time you can play all three Division I teams in the state and you get a chance to compete against them, it’s good for the fans and good for the program and makes it a little more exciting,” head coach Tyler Geving said of the opportunity.

Big Sky play also gets more interesting this season with the addition of two new members, North Dakota and Southern Utah. “There aren’t a lot of direct flights to the places we play, so you can get worn out traveling from city to city and day to day,” Geving said.

“Adding two more teams that aren’t easy travel is going to be a challenge on the road for everybody in our league.”

The Stott Center hosts 13 games this season, with PSU taking to the road for 14 more regular season games.

Bernardino Valley Junior College to another deep position. Renado Parker was the primary backup last season, scoring 9.8 points per game and averaging 5.1 rebounds in relief. Geving has also been pleased by the emergence of Michael Harvey and Martin Whitmore this preseason.

“They’ve both come back and worked extremely hard early on, which is encouraging. All of a sudden, maybe guys that didn’t give you a lot last year could at some point this year contribute quite a bit to us,” Geving said.

Weaknesses: Chehales Tapscott, a first team All-Big Sky selection last year, leaves a major hole in the starting lineup. The team will miss the 14.1 points and 9.3

Top performers Neil Seibert: 35th, 25:56

rebounds he averaged last season. Parker will likely get the first opportunity to step into a starting role, but Harvey and Whitmore will challenge for playing time.

Centers Strengths: Geving added another big man to the roster, transfer student Lamont Prosser from Sheridan Junior College in Wyoming.

Returning 6-foot-10-inch letterman Brandon Cataldo has improved in the offseason, looking strong inside during preseason practices.

Weaknesses: Since senior Nate Lozeau graduated, the team only has two centers on the roster—and both are currently recovering from injuries. Prosser has been slowed by an August knee surgery.

Cataldo will been sidelined by a stress reaction in his leg until at least the first week of December.

Team

1. Montana 2. Weber State 3. Northern Colorado 4. North Dakota 5. Portland State 6. Eastern Washington 7. Sacramento State 8. Montana State 9. Idaho State 10. Southern Utah 11. Northern Arizona

98 92 74 67 61 53 51 48 25 23 14

Team

vs.

Trail Blazers Warriors

97 101

Top performers LaMarcus Aldridge: 18 points, 2 blocks

Saturday, Oct. 20

FOOTBALL @ Vikings Cal Poly

25 37

Top performers Justin Monahan: 4 receptions, 129 yards, 2 touchdowns

VOLLEYBALL vs.

Top performers Aubrey Mitchell: 11 kills, 6 blocks

Media poll Total points

NBA PRESEASON

Vikings 3 Eastern Washington 0

Big Sky preseason polls Coaches poll

Men’s team finished 10th overall

Total points

1. Montana 2. Weber State 3. Eastern Washington 4. Northern Colorado 5. Portland State 6. North Dakota 7. Montana State 8. Sacramento State 9. Idaho State 10. Southern Utah 11. Northern Arizona

344 318 231 221 218 173 171 166 106 98 67

Sunday, Oct. 21

MLS @ Timbers 1 Vancouver 0 Top performers Jack Jewsbury: 1 goal