VOL. 72 • ISSUE 10 • OCT 17, 2017
PORTLAND STATE VANGUARD
PSU VIOLIN PROFESSOR TOMAS COTIK P. 10
OPINION
NUNS PROTEST U.S.REFUSAL TO SIGN LANDMARK NUKE TREAT: P. 6
NEWS
FREE YOURSELF FROM IDENTITY POLITICS P. 13
DISCLAIMER: THIS ISSUE CONTAINS COVERAGE OF AN ANTI-ABORTION DEMONSTRATION ON CAMPUS AND INCLUDES SUBJECT MATTER AND GRAPHIC IMAGERY THAT MAY BE TRAUMATIC AND TRIGGERING. SEE P. 2 FOR CAMPUS RESOURCES.
ARTS & CULTURE
MICAH FLETCHER RETURNS TO PSU AFTER MAY ATTACK P. 3
ANTI-ABORTION GROUP EQUATES REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE TO GENOCIDE, STUDENTS PUSH BACK
INTERNATIONAL
WHEN PRO-LIFE COMES TO CAMPUS
LADY GAGA SEEN OUTSIDE SOUTHEAST PORTLAND RECORDING STUDIO
RESOURCES IF THE CONTENT OF THIS WEEK’S PAPER IS TROUBLING, PSU RESOURCES ARE AVAILABLE TO YOU. SOME OF THESE INCLUDE:
ANDREW D. JANKOWSKI They’re both famous for putting a bird on it, and they’re back together: Lady Gaga is (probably) in Portland. The singer, actress and businesswoman’s recent Instagram posts show her wearing a hat and coat in pastel pink and blue, the same hat and color palette as her most recent album, Joanne, outside a red-orange building. She is also seen wearing a “raincoat dress” (at least it’s not an umbrella!) by Björn Borg, a Swedish athletic apparel line, in rainy nighttime photos outside the same space. Inside a recording studio, Gaga wears Juicy Couture for “studio therapy.” Portland State Vanguard investigated and determined this a recording studio in southeast Portland. We reached out to the recording studio, who did not respond to our request for confirmation, at their business phone number during publicly posted business hours. On investigation, the recording studio in question and the surrounding area bear many resemblances to Lady Gaga’s public Instagram posts. The nature of Lady Gaga’s time in Portland and her recordings are unknown. Out of respect for the privacy of Lady Gaga, aka Stefani Germanotta, and the recording studio’s staff, Vanguard will not publicly disclose the location of the studio.
SHAC WOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTER THE QUEER RESOURCE CENTER
CHLOE KENDALL
CONTENTS COVER PHOTO BY SILVIA CARULLO, DESIGN BY SHANNON KIDD NEWS BASKETBALL CLUB BRINGS PSU TOGETHER
P. 5
INTERNATIONAL SILK ROAD LEADS INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARS TO PSU
ARTS & CULTURE PSU VIOLIN PROFESSOR TOMAS COTIK
P. 10
P. 6
OPINION NORTH KOREA JUST WANTS TO CHILL
P 12
WHEN PRO-LIFE COMES TO CAMPUS
P. 8–9
ON & OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS OCT. 10–16
P. 14-15
STAFF
OPINION EDITOR Thomas Spoelhof
EDIT ORI A L EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Colleen Leary
ONLINE EDITOR Andrew D. Jankowski
MANAGING EDITOR Evan Smiley NEWS EDITOR Alex-jon Earl ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Alanna Madden INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Chris May ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Matthew Andrews
COPY CHIEF Missy Hannen COPY EDITORS Harlie Hendrickson CONTRIBUTORS Harlie Hendrickson Jake Johnson PJ Zettle Chris Stair Anna Williams Myles Boyns
PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A PHOTO EDITOR Silvia Cardullo
Ella Higgins Aaron Ughoc Chole Kendall
PHOTOGRAPHERS Myles Boyns Katie Pearce
DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING MANAGERS Andrew D. Jankowski Evan Smiley Colleen Leary
MULTIMEDIA MANAGER Danielle Horn CR E ATI V E DIR EC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Shannon Kidd DESIGNERS Lydia Wojack-West Robby Day Marika Van De Kamp Grace Giordano
A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood
To contact Vanguard staff members, visit psuvanguard. com/contact. To get involved and see current job openings, visit psuvanguard.com/jobs MIS SION S TAT EMEN T The Vanguard’s mission is to serve the Portland State community with timely, accurate, comprehensive and critical content while upholding high journalistic standards. In the process, we aim to enrich our staff with a quality, hands-on journalism education and a number of skills that are highly valued in today’s job market.
A BOU T The Vanguard, established in 1946, is published weekly as an independent student newspaper governed by the PSU Student Media Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers and do not necessarily represent the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. Find us in print every Tuesday and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @psuvanguard for multimedia content and breaking news.
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
MAX STABBING SURVIVOR MICAH FLETCHER TALKS SAFETY, STUDENT LIFE AND SOLIDARITY ALEX-JON EARL
Micah Fletcher, a Portland State student who survived the fatal May 26 MAX attack, spoke on campus about his recovery, activism and hopes for students as he returns to school. Earlier this week, Fletcher was elected to fill a seat on the Montavilla Neighborhood Association board. Fletcher, along with fellow Trimet passengers Taliesin Myrddin Namkai-Meche and Ricky John Best, defended two young women subject to a racist outburst by Jeremy Christian. Best and Namkai-Meche did not survive the stabbing. Christian, accused of stabbing three people and multiple other felonies, is awaiting prosecution. When asked whether students have made him feel welcome back on campus, Fletcher was clear. “It’s pretty much universally recognized by the students in my [campus] building that people just let me be,” Fletcher said. “They say ‘hi’ to me in the hallway, flash me a smile. It’s not a seven-minute process of hand-shaking and ‘oh my god you’re my hero,’ which I certainly appreciate.”
At the same time, Fletcher expressed he felt worried about being a bit different after the attack. “For the most part, I am the same person that I was before I was stabbed,” Fletcher said, “but I have this worrisome feeling in the back of the mind that something has changed, you know, and I’m just trying to deal with that the best that I can.” As the victim of a violent crime, Fletcher cites safety as a major concern. “I don’t feel safe anywhere, man,” he said. “Not even in my own bed. I sleep with a stick under my pillow. Like a wooden dowel I bought from Home Depot. And that’s what this sort of event changes [in] us.” “In reality, there is no such thing as safety,” Fletcher continued. “There is safer, there is not safe. It doesn’t happen, it doesn’t exist. It’s something that, and especially if you want to talk about cultural concepts such as race or class, it’s something that a lot of people already have known, and it’s not even a matter of the fact that I didn’t know that. It’s a matter of the fact that I didn’t really feel it up until this point.”
For students who don’t currently feel safe, the PSU campus hosts a variety of resources, such as the Center for Student Health and Counseling and the Campus Public Safety Office, among many others. On the topic of protests, especially those by Patriot Prayer, which have been cited by some as precipitating Christian’s attacks, Fletcher was extremely vocal, having infiltrated a past protest. “I actually go into this crowd,” Fletcher recounted. “I guess we are calling it [P]atriot Prayer. The Patriot Prayer crowd. And I wanna know who’s associated with what, when, or why, but I legitimately heard more than three people refer to these counter protesters—whoever they were—as Jewish spies.” “The problem is, out of these two small groups of extremists [on the right and left], only one of them thinks genocide is a legitimate political opinion, and that’s what makes Patriot Prayer such a funny organization.” Fletcher, however, wants to turn this focus on extremists into something more positive.
MICHAH FLETCHER SPEAKS AT OCT. 12 PRESS CONFERENCE. ALEX-JON EARL/PSU VANGUARD “We need to start really looking into what’s going on when it comes down to these extreme politics and whether or not that’s what we want in this city or not,” Fletcher said. “Because to be quite frank about it, this is our town. It’s our home. We’re the ones [who] get to make it what we want to make it.” “It’s about us,” Fletcher said. “And we need to decide, we need to talk to one another, as to what we want our city to look like.”
FROM THE HILL TO THE ‘HALL: OCT. 11-17 ALEX-JON EARL
TRUMP NIXES AFFORDABLE CARE ACT PROVISIONS
United States President Donald Trump announced Friday, Oct. 13, that he would be immediately halting subsidies to insurance companies with Affordable Care Act-related policies. This is the latest shot across the bow of the landmark 2010 healthcare act and an effort to ultimately sink it.
FREEDOM OF THE PRESS? SAD!
Trump lamented negative coverage from outlets critical of him on Wednesday, Oct. 11, suggesting that “[broadcast] licenses must be challenged” and “revoked.” While this hyperbolic commentary may be some kind of 11th-dimensional chess or some dry, dry sarcasm, there is no doubt that backlash against the media has led to an increase in calls for media censorship.
HOISTED HIS OWN BY THE HALYARD
United States Department of the Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke turned heads this week when a Washington Post article brought our eyes to his practice of raising his position’s standard when he is in office and lowering it when he leaves. This practice, reminiscent of the good ol’ days, or the anachronistic manner of HRH Queen Elizabeth II, has been little-seen in the District of Columbia for some time, but Zinke decided the time was right.
SHE’S RUNNING! AND SHE’S NOT RUNNING! WHEW, IT’S COMPLICATED.
United States Senator Dianne Feinstein (D -Calif.) announced she would run for another term. The moderate stalwart and former mayor of San Francisco is currently the oldest sitting senator at 83 and the 45th all-time oldest.
Across the aisle, Feinstein’s colleague Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), announced she would stay in the South Wing of the Capitol and not seek the Governorship of Maine.
WE PUT THE PORT IN PORTLAND
Oregon Governor Kate Brown is in Asia this week to promote trade and hopefully restart the long-idle Terminal 6 at the Port of Portland. If successful, ships would return to Portland and resume container shipping. Further talks with air shippers and firms in Japan are also ongoing.
THIS WEEK AT PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL
Awww, our little city is growing up! 2:00 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 18 I know we talk about earthquakes, things crumbling and falling down due to being built out of unreinforced masonry, BUT: this week’s meeting will include a riveting discussion of the Central City 2035 plan, which would dramatically change the paper definition of the city’s urban form. Though what actually happens? Who knows. There are reams and reams of documents to peruse on the city’s website if you’re so inclined.
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 17, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
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NEWS NEWS
LOCAL PDX ACTIVIST MAKES TED DEBUT
ALANNA MADDEN
On Oct. 8, PDX Resistance activist and recent Lewis and Clark Law graduate Gregory McKelvey announced on social media that he will present at TEDxMtHood. The new TED speaker later posted photoshopped portraits featuring civil rights-era protesters with modern-day protest slogans while incorporating modern photos of riot police and members of the National Football League kneeling. How to TED Portland State students belong to the millions of people around the world destined to watch at least one TED—Technology, Entertainment, and Design—talk in their academic careers. While the TED website states the nonprofit, nonpartisan organization aims toward making innovative ideas accessible, deciphering how to contribute to the TED academic community can be enigmatic. In a Vanguard interview on Oct. 11, McKelvey recognized the seeming unattainability of presenting with TED by crediting his opportunity to “knowing the right person.” “I did an interview for a talk show called Portland Late Night,” McKelvey said. “And somebody was in the audience who happened to be a speaker concierge for TEDx and was like, ‘Hey, that was great. Can you do a TED talk for us?’ And this was in November of last year.” According to McKelvey, the process of preparing for TEDx took an entire year, which consisted of bi-monthly meetings with 12 other nominated TEDx speakers and staying in constant contact with a TED concierge. The concierge provides speakers with a packet of deadlines for assignments such as talk titles, optional PowerPoints, the speaker’s talk length, a “one-minute preview” of the talk, and then a final one-minute dress rehearsal. The primary difference between TED and TEDx is that TED holds annual, week-long conferences on the West Coast with lectures on a large range of educational disciplines. The talks can be as long as 18 minutes. TEDx focuses on serving at a community level to discuss contemporary ideas that TED may later select for the week-long conference.
CRIME BLOTTER: OCT. 2–8 JAKE JOHNSON OCT. 9 Bicycle tire stolen University Services Building Portland State’s Campus Public Safety Officers were notified by a faculty member whose bicycle’s rear tire was stolen on the south side of USB on Oct. 6. Intimidating encounter Park Blocks near Smith Memorial Student Union Student was corralled against a brick wall by a man who tried to get the student’s personal information and made other disconcerting comments toward the student. The student was assisted by two ladies who pretended to know the student. OCT. 10 Trapped by harasser Millar Library Student notified CPSO that when she was leaving the library a 30–40 year old man gave her his phone number. She tried to get away from the man, who told her to leave her boyfriend, but he kept blocking her ability to get away from him and made her fearful. She escaped the situation but reported feeling emotionally impacted.
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“Big TED is what the TEDx people call it,” McKelvey said. “Big TED watches the first 30 seconds of every TEDx video, and if you make it past that 30 seconds you get sent to the big TED executives.” According to McKelvey, TEDxMtHood hosts one dozen speakers every year, and only three people have been selected for big TED. When TED selects speakers, however, the organization might decide to use the TEDx video itself or have the speaker redo their original presentation. TED seeks out speakers through TEDx to find “emerging artists, scientists, and thinkers,” in addition to speakers who have achieved awards in excellence such as the Nobel Peace Prize, the Pulitzer, or the MacArthur “genius” grant. When asked about whether or not participating in TED events cost speakers money, McKelvey explained that none of the speakers in his group had to pay anything at all. “Big TED has rules for what TEDx can and can’t do, and [TEDx] is not allowed to make a profit,” McKelvey explained. “Which is weird because tickets are $80. Apparently, it goes into production costs and stuff, but speakers don’t get paid, and we don’t pay to do it. But I heard that TEDx Portland, you can pay to get in and that’s how Homer Williams was going to be giving a talk at TEDx Portland, but then something happened and he canceled the day of.” One of the big TED’s primary rules mentioned by McKelvey includes not being able to use flash cards, a teleprompter, or notes. If any of the speakers break this rule for the TEDx event, then all participating speakers are disqualified from moving on to big TED. Other “TEDsters” from the Portland area include Amber Starks, Daniel Wilson, Karen Gaffney, and Cameron Smith, an assistant professor of PSU’s Department of Anthropology. Spreading Ideas of Resistance McKelvey, a Portland native, started the PDX Resistance in the fall of his senior year at Lewis and Clark Law School in 2016. Since then, PDX Resistance has held numerous protests around the city and has quickly grown into a large community outreach group beyond street protests.
Shots fired SW 10th and SW Mill CPSO responded to reports of a shooting. Witnesses say that a man was hit by a white vehicle who kept driving. The man retaliated by whipping out a handgun and firing a single shot at the vehicle as it drove away. The suspect then hopped into a red Mercedes with two other males and sped off after the vehicle that hit him. A .45 caliber bullet casing was found at the scene and Portland Police Bureau is now leading the investigation. Stolen cards buy Trimet passes Engineering Building A student reported their backpack was stolen from a room in the Engineering Building. It was discovered that credit cards were used to buy Trimet passes. A purchase was also made at 10th Avenue Liquor Store where CPSO reviewed security footage. CPSO saw the man on the street but the suspect fled the scene when CPSO contacted him. Creepy comments Broadway Building A female student came to the CPSO office to report that a man approached her and made statements that made her feel uncomfortable. OCT. 12 Threatening text PSU Campus A person impersonating a student contacted CPSO to notify them of a threatening text they received.
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 17, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
GREGORY MCKELVEY SPOKE WITH THE VANGUARD ON 0CT. 11 AT THE LEWIS AND CLARK LAW SCHOOL ABOUT HIS EXPERIENCE AT TEDX. ALANNA MADDEN/PSU VANGUARD “My talk was about relating protests now to the protests of the Civil Rights Era, and specifically for [asking] people ‘Who do you wanna be in history?’” McKelvey said. “Because the people that had signs saying, ‘Segregation Now’ end up looking like dicks in the future. You don’t want to be that person.” “It’s common knowledge now that MLK is supposed to be in this standard of American heroes, but one of the statistics I said at my TED talk was that in 1966 only 36 percent of Americans thought [MLK] was helpful for civil rights,” McKelvey added. “So where did the other 64 percent of people go? Obviously, they aren’t favorably looked upon in history, you know?” McKelvey’s original TEDx talk involved creating a template on how to throw a protest, but after a couple days, he decided to do something different. “[During] my whole Ted talk, I never say Donald Trump’s name,” McKelvey said. “I never mention leftist or conservative politics or anything like that. Or any policy. I wanted it to be something that, regardless of how you feel about me or anything that I’ve done, or [if you] know nothing about me, you can say, ‘Yeah, it’s really hard to disagree with this.’ [It’s] something a professor could show in a class and it’s not incredibly controversial.” McKelvey’s TEDx talk is expected to be available by the middle of November 2017. — Gregory McKelvey (@GregoryMcKelvey) October 8, 2017. Additional reporting on discussions during Oct. 11 interview to follow.
The text appears to be retaliation because the recipient wanted the sender to end a relationship with their mother. Stolen bicycle SMSU A student reported to CPSO that their bicycle was stolen. The student secured their dark grey and blue GT Transeo 4.0 21 speed on the north side of SMSU before returning to find it had vanished. FRIDAY THE 13TH The candyman can 5th Avenue Cinema Around the time of a screening of Friday the 13th on Friday the 13th a student reported that a villain with a sweet tooth had raided the concession stand at the cinema. The suspect lifted candy and other items.
Loud Parties and hash oil University Pointe University Pointe security contacted CPSO about a loud party. After shutting down the party, CPSO shut down another party where a fight had broken out. While shutting down the second party, CPSO noticed a non-student stuffing things into a backpack. CPSO seized butane bottles, marijuana and a pipe they believed was being used to create hash oil. No one was over 21, and no one claimed the items as their own.
OCT. 14 Car window smashed Arts Building Parking Lot A non-student parked their car and returned a few hours later to find the rear driver side window smashed with some items missing.
OCT. 15 One cigarette is not enough SW 6th and SW Harrison Max Platform A female non-student wanted to smoke a cigarette and asked an older man for a light. The man asked her for two cigarettes and wasn’t satisfied when she offered him one. He then asked for a sip of her coffee. She attempted to walk away but he grabbed her arm and shoved her against the wall of the PSU Bike Hub. She escaped and called 911 but the man and his rolling suitcase were nowhere to be found.
Unattended bag stolen Engineering Building Student called CPSO to report that during a study session on the 4th floor they abandoned their backpack to use the restroom momentarily. Upon returning, the student discovered their backpack and the laptop it contained had been stolen.
Car prowling Parking Structure 3 CPSO was dispatched to PS3 because of a suspicious male attempting to find unlocked vehicles by trying their handles. CPSO contacted the man who had an active exclusion and cited him for Trespass II.
NEWS
SENATORS VISIT PSU TO DISCUSS TRUMP’S SEXUAL ASSAULT AGENDA ANNA WILLIAMS
Oregon’s top survivor-championing senators joined local activist Brenda Tracy in visiting the Portland State campus on Monday, Oct. 9 to talk about sexual violence prevention and education. Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) and Sen. Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) joined an hour-long panel with PSU President Rahmat Shoureshi and PSU’s Title IX Coordinator Julie Caron, along with other members of PSU staff and administration, to talk about U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos’ recent Title IX rollbacks. The message: More schools need to go on record saying they aren’t going to change anything. “You ought to have the federal government on your side rather than having to try to work around it,” Wyden said, addressing PSU staff on the panel. “And I just know that given the fact that one out
of five women in college will be sexually assaulted during their time there, it’s pretty obvious what the urgency is all about.” Last week, the Vanguard covered PSU’s response to DeVos’ interim revisions to a 2011 “Dear Colleague Letter” and 2014 guidelines on sexual misconduct investigations. At the moment, PSU is not required and does not choose to change anything about its sexual misconduct investigation policies. DeVos’ changes include allowing schools to take longer than 60 days to complete investigations, allowing higher standards of proof to be required other than “the preponderance of evidence standard,” and allowing schools to facilitate mediation for complainants and respondents. 2017 also marks the first year that prevention workshops are mandated for new students, dorm residents and athletes. However, while PSU has bulked up its advocacy and
prevention programs in recent years, other schools are not required to be so progressive. Tracy says that until new guidelines are finalized, victims are going to live in fear of reporting their perpetrators. “If you are in a situation you know you’re going to report, you’ll have to sit down with your perpetrator and mediate. Why would you come forward?” Tracy asked. The public speaker, lobbyist, and gang-rape survivor added, “[What] if your report is not going to be taken care of in a timely manner? [Or] there’s only an appeal on the other side? If you know it’s stacked against you, what is the point of coming forward?” Dean of Student Life Dana Walton-Macaulay, who is responsible for investigating instances of sexual misconduct, said forcing survivors into mediation or cross-examination with a lawyer is counter to the purpose of her work.
THE RISE OF PSU MEN’S CLUB BASKETBALL TEAM MYLES BOYNS
Portland State is filled with many clubs and extracurricular activities. With many established clubs in existence, there’s still room for more clubs and extracurricular activities around campus. One of the new clubs forming on campus is the PSU Men’s Club Basketball team. This new club gives students opportunities to compete against other club teams within the Big Sky Conference and other schools located in the Pacific Northwest. Club President Jaemen Jones, Vice President Ken Dancy, and Treasurer Matt Nguyen, who will also play on the team, started the Men’s Basketball Club and decided to hire John Kansas, Jr. as the head coach. Why start a men’s club basketball team? “I wanted to start a men’s club basketball team because I missed playing coordinated competitive basketball,” Jones said. “There’s a lot of guys who might not be able to play NCAA Basketball, but they can still play, and I think the club team is a great opportunity to get some of those guys out and run an organized basketball game. We also want championships.” The process of starting a club team didn’t happen overnight. Jones, Dancy, and Nguyen worked on this project to bring club basketball to PSU since last academic school year. The club team isn’t exclusive, but the roster only had 15 spots open, which forced students to tryout to earn their spot on the team. Tryouts were held Oct. 3–5, and approximately 25 students tried out. The tryouts were from 8–10 a.m. both days and held at the Academic and Student Recreation Center. During the tryouts club staff members evaluated players not only based on their skills, but their attitudes as well. “Offense and defense is key, but people that can pick up their teammate when they fall down, people who get fouled and don’t necessarily get the call but still get back on defense,” Kansas said. “People who are actually passionate and play the game the way it’s supposed to be played.”
TRYOUTS FOR THE NEW BASKET BALL CLUB WERE HELD ON OCTOBER 3RD AND 5TH. MYLES BOYNS/PSU VANGUARD “We’re looking for guys that just want to play for one another,” Nguyen said. The 15–man roster is set. “We have a lot of talent,” Dancy said. “Even though we lack size, I feel we have a group that has a lot of energy and we can bring it every night.” Even though one of the sole purposes for starting a men’s club basketball team is to compete with other schools, the biggest picture seems to be bringing people together.
“I just want to bring people together with basketball,” Jones said. The PSU MBBC staff are still working on the club’s schedule for the upcoming season which involves deciding how many games will be scheduled during the season, which games will be home or away, and how the playoff games will function. PSU will host home games for MBBC, which will be played at the PSU ASRC on Court #2. The season is expected to start in November of this year and will possibly go through Spring term ’18.
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 17, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
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INTERNATIONAL NEWS
FOR THREE DAYS, THE SILK ROAD LEADS TO PORTLAND CHRIS STAIR
International scholars ranging from countries such as Germany, Pakistan and South Korea flew in to Portland to attend the Art & Archaeology of the Silk Road Symposium, hosted by Portland State from Oct. 11-13. Similar to how the Silk Road of legend facilitated trade from people of different backgrounds and talents, the symposium was a mishmash of different disciplines, including novel-writers, mythological researchers and Persian scholars. The symposium sought a comprehensive definition of the Silk Road and explored how an ancient trade route relates to today’s changing, digital world. “The Art & Archaeology of the Silk Road Conference was timely because it underlines how international cooperation, trade and cultural exchange were crucial in the creation and maintenance of flourishing civilizations,” said Daniel Kim, visiting assistant professor of history with the Department of World Languages and Literatures and the Institute for Asian Studies. Kim went on to highlight how the wide range of topics covered during the symposium illuminated the pervasiveness of syncretism occurring from the second century BCE to 1400 CE. “Images like that of Roman glass bowls found in ancient Korean tombs from over a millennia and a half ago serve to emphasize the fascinating possibilities built through cultural exchange,” explained Kim, “a lesson that is especially pertinent given the rising nativism we see throughout the world today.”
DR. YOUNGPIL KWON (LEFT) AND DR. INSOOK LEE (FAR RIGHT) AND PROFESSOR JUNGHEE LEE (MIDDLE), PARTIPATED IN THE SILK ROAD SYMPOSIUM EVENT. COURTESY OF JUNGHEE LEE The Silk Road was a series of trade routes spanning from Scandinavia to the islands in the east we now know as Indonesia. Academic consensus dates its beginnings to the early 2nd century BCE, although there are signs of international trade among the routes even before that. Despite its name, silk wasn’t the only thing in demand on these routes. Many goods, such as silver, spices, and silk, were traded frequently along the worldspanning routes. Almost no one completed
OCT. 7
RUSSIA
OCT. 8
NORTH DEAD SEA, WEST BANK
the entire journey themselves; instead, traders completed sections of the road, trading at hub cities to other traders. These hub cities became cultural centers, and some of them still remain to this day. The traded goods made a relay race across the known world, with each trader likely marking up the product for more profit each time the goods switched hands. The countries who enjoyed a link to the Silk Road blended their cultures and tastes, a trend still continuing today.
Kim isn’t the only one noticing the impact a greater understanding of the Silk Road can have on navigating an increasingly globalized world. Sunmi Park, Research Fellow from the Northeast Asian History Foundation and one of the many visiting scholars from South Korea, thinks it’s important for people to learn about the Silk Road to prepare themselves for increasing globalization. “[T]he Silk Road is for understanding [ourselves] better and preparing our lives in ways of co-living,” said Park.
While other world leaders prepared puppies for the 65th birthday of Russian President Vladimir Putin, nearly 300 people were arrested as thousands of Russians protested across 26 cities. Marches were organized by supporters of Putin’s primary political rival, Alexei Navalny, who intends to run for president during next March’s election. Putin has served as the prime minister or president of Russia since 1999. Nearly 8,000 people made their way to the occupied West Bank on the final day of a two-week march demanding a peaceful solution to the Israeli-Palestinian crisis. Women Wage Peace, the group behind the demonstrations, organized the march to ensure that leaders work toward a non-violent resolution and that women are equally represented in any peace negotiations.
OCT. 9 COLORADO,
UNITED STATES
Two Catholic nuns protested nuclear proliferation by presenting a U.S. military base with a copy of the world’s first international treaty that would criminalize nuclear weapons. Last month when the United Nations treaty opened up for signatures, the U.S. joined 69 other nations in refusing to sign on to the treaty, which would prohibit developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, possessing or stockpiling nuclear weapons.
OCT. 10 ISTANBUL, TURKEY
Turkey expanded persecution of journalists beyond its own borders by sentencing a Wall Street Journal reporter to over two years in prison on charges of terrorism. Reporter Ayla Albayrak, in New York at the time of the sentencing, is caught in the middle of a recent dispute over the arrest of a U.S consulate employee in Istanbul. Turkey is currently the global leader in imprisoned journalists, though the Turkish government disputes the numbers by claiming many prisoners are spies and criminal suspects.
Oct. 7-13 Chris May
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OCT. 11
NEW DELHI, INDIA
The women’s rights movement in India took a step forward after a supreme court ruling that criminalizes sexual intercourse with child brides. Marital rape is not a crime in India, and while sex with anyone under 16 is illegal, there had been an exception for married women between age 15 and 18 until the court’s ruling.
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 17, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
ARTS & CULTURE
THE GIST OF 2017 FILMS 2017 CINEMA: FEW DIAMONDS, LOTS OF ROUGH ZACHARY VANDEHEY The final quarter of the year is upon us. Having drudged through the prosaic dross of cinematic releases up to this point, we enter the fall film season with an unfortunate dearth of expectations. We started strong but eventually paled in comparison to the monumental film year 2016. Granted, there are a few acclaimed films I haven’t seen yet (The Big Sick, Okja, War for the Planet of the Apes, The Beguiled) and a few we’ve already talked about (Get Out, Logan, Beauty and the Beast), but the slew of uninspired reboots, regressing sequels, and a startling amount of mundane horrors left our cinematic taste buds longing for flavor.
YEA
That’s not to say there’s been a complete absence of quality films. Here are some brief opinions of the good ones you may have missed: Wonder Woman: Officially the highest grossing origin-story film in history, Wonder Woman is a charismatic and affecting narrative, well-paced and balanced between gripping superhero action sequences and the charming chemistry between Chris Pine and Gal Gadot. Luckily, the movie is still playing for a few more weeks at select theaters, such as Valley, Laurelhurst, and Joy Cinema & Pub. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2: With the gang back together and introductions behind them, this sequel explores and develops the original’s loveable characters in hilarious ways. The second GotG creates and entertains bonds that drive the film through its conflict-heavy storyline (and keep an idiotic grin on your face throughout). Still playing at the Regal Vancouver Plaza Theater. Spider-Man: Homecoming: Continuing the deluge of superhero gems, Spider-Man: Homecoming is arguably the most relaxing and refreshingly juvenile superhero film to date, showing us just what we have always wanted to see: a goofy teenager getting to understand his powers with the help of his best friend. Not to mention the relatable and understated villainy of Michael Keaton as the Vulture. Still showing at Regal Evergreen Parkway and Regal Sherwood Stadium. Baby Driver: The most musically integrated film I’ve ever seen, Baby Driver’s script was written around the soundtrack. Every click of the cars, crack of the guns, swish of the clothing, scrape, step, and punch is synced with the music. Completely engrossing character relationships, exhilarating action, and infectious tunes drive (pun intended) the film to high acclaim. There are still plenty of opportunities to see it in theaters, at Valley, Laurelhurst, Bridgeport, Fox Tower, and many others. mother!: Fraught with tension and theological allegory, mother! is Darren Aronofsky’s visionary reimagining of the story of Genesis. It’s as tense as it is demoralizing. The underlying themes and how they are portrayed through realistic expression make for a
sobering depiction of humanity’s vain tendencies. Still screening at Living Room, Cinema 21, and Regal Lloyd Center. Wind River: A refreshingly modest crime/ mystery thriller that doesn’t saturate its plot with clichés and glib investigators. Quiet yet stimulating, Wind River subtly curdles the viewer’s blood through its morbidly emotional narrative and sharp, evocative script, with Elizabeth Olsen putting out an Oscarworthy performance. Still playing at most of the Regals. It Comes at Night: Speaking from personal experience, It Comes at Night was one of the most fraught, engrossing, and emotionally staggering film experiences of my recent years. An incredibly artful and ambiguous apocalyptic mystery film that leaves a profound amount of the overall narrative up to the interpretation of the viewer, all while chronicling the inexplicably precarious lives of a family of three as they fight to survive against an entity unbeknownst to them. By the end of the film, I was literally sitting on the edge of my seat in awe. I kid you not. This one’s out of theaters, but you can get the DVD at the library. Logan Lucky: A witty and satirical heist film surrounding two misfit brothers who muster up a remarkably motley crew in an attempt to rob the international speedway. Virtually devoid of conflict, the idiosyncratic characters and the banter they provide are what raise this film to a higher pedestal. Still showing in Tigard and Regal City Center Stadium 12.
NAY
For the purpose of being candid and critical, here are some of the celebrated films that I felt did not meet expectations, or fulfilled their poignantly low expectations: Kong: Skull Island: An overhyped, two-hour montage of monotonous reactions and predictably ill-informed endeavors. Immaculate visual effects do not make up for the redundancy of the story and the insipid nature of each and every character. Sporadic shooting at huge monsters does not pardon the lack of rationale or morality in any of the protagonists. Conversely, the grisly slaughtering of the copious amount of characters does not somehow endow them all with purpose or validity. But if grandiose spurts of action and pristine images of Brie Larson and Tom Hiddleston running through the jungle are what you’re into, hell, don’t let me stop you. Life: Just another extraterrestrial horror film in which every progression of the narrative is prompted by nonsensical decisions made by, in theory, the most competent and rational of us all: astronauts. In essence, the film is a modern hand-me-down Alien spinoff, with far less substance and literally no character development. Just deaths. Stupid, stupid deaths.
AARON UGHOC Alien: Covenant: Ironically, the new extension of the Alien series was also a letdown, for eerily similar reasons: a crew of the most credentialed pioneers forsaking reason to indulge in fleeting vanity. Though the characters have at least some history and foundation, which creates a relatively frail connection to the story, the narrative’s exponentially increasing convolutions leave every connection behind in its ceaseless absurdity. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales: Yikes. I don’t even remember enough about this movie to explain why it’s so awful, which, frankly, is all I need to say. Stick with the original trilogy, or just the first two, for that matter. Atomic Blonde: Surprisingly drab for a film that touts a fetish for brawling. Charlize Theron plays Furiosa as a spy (though neither
as intimidating nor as affecting), in a storyline that runs out of chronological order, like Pulp Fiction but not as sharply juxtaposed. There’s also a forgettable performance from James McAvoy. Confusing enough to not be worth the couple uninspired fight-scenes.
THE REMAINS OF THE YEAR
With the year nearing its end, the stragglers of the industry are preparing for an intriguing finish to 2017 and run-up to Oscar season, introducing some new and highly anticipated franchises while also closing out long-standing trilogy favorites. Keep an eye out for the hits of the fall–winter season: Thor: Ragnarok, Coco, Happy Death Day, Justice League, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, Star Wars: The Last Jedi, and Murder on the Orient Express.
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COVER
WHEN PRO-LIFE COMES TO CAMPUS ANTI-ABORTION GROUP EQUATES REPRODUCTIVE CHOICE TO GENOCIDE, STUDENTS PUSH BACK COLLEEN LEARY
PROTESTERS AT THE ORGINAL RALLY MEANT TO PROTEST THE PRO-LIFE EVENT. SILVIA CARDULLO/PSU VANGUARD Students walking through the Portland State Park Blocks were greeted on Monday morning with a bright orange sign that read, ‘Warning: Genocide photos ahead.’ Representatives from the Center for Bioethical Reform, brought to campus by student group PSU Pro-life, pitched a two-story graphic display of aborted fetuses, piles of bodies from Nazi concentration camps, and racial lynching in front of Smith Memorial Student Union. They sequestered themselves inside a circle of steel barricades as students and passersby protested and engaged in conversation with the anti-abortion demonstrators. Protesters stayed on scene throughout the day, providing resources and information. They collected donations for Planned Parenthood. The group is expected to return tomorrow in the same location, per its event permit.
ABORTION AS GENOCIDE?
The Park Blocks display made an argument equating abortion to genocide. “If you look back at how slavery was ended in the United Kingdom,” a pro-lifer said, “[S]laves were brought from Africa to the British-owned West Indies, and so the average British citizen never saw a slave. All they thought was, ‘Oh, slavery means I have sugar, I have coffee. Basically I can have Starbucks because we have slaves.’” “In order for them to change the laws in
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slavery, they had to start using graphic pictures like the slave ships,” he continued, “[T]hings that got people to see that the group they were dehumanizing was a group that was suffering. Yes...some people are going to get riled up by it, at least it’s forcing people to see that, instead of associating abortion with healthcare, women’s rights, reproductive justice—those are noble things that I agree with—but the problem is they’re using it as a euphemism for an act of [violence] against a tiny human being.” A student protester countered, “Women should have the choice to do with their bodies what they would like, and that has no exceptions.”
TRAINING EVENT & STUDENT RALLY
The two-story graphic display mirrored a bold pink poster seen in SMSU earlier this week by PSU Pro-Life reading, “Abortion is Genocide. Find out why.” The poster listed an Oct. 14 event in SMSU Parkway North with no further detail. The Oct. 14 event was meant as a training event for volunteers planning to participate in the upcoming two-day event scheduled for Oct. 16 and 17 in the PSU Park Blocks. The poster quickly sparked controversy among fellow students and student groups. Various dissenting signs were pasted on the outside of the case throughout the week, and eventually the poster was ripped in half. Because this display and event meets par-
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 17, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
ticular standards, the vandalism of the poster violates PSU Student Code of Conduct rules. Faculty cannot disclose if disciplinary action will be pursued because of privacy laws. Students updated an adjacent Associated Students of PSU display case to ‘Nope’ the pro-life event’s message. A hand-written sign advocated the right to choose and criticized the “’appropriation of the word ‘genocide.’” PSU International Socialist Organization swiftly organized a counter-rally held in the Park Blocks, just outside the pro-life event space. The rally was scheduled to begin an hour before the pro-life event. When demonstrators gathered, they found a sign showing the event had moved to an unlisted location off-campus. Director of Student Activities and Leadership Programs Aimee Shattuck said the students moved the event in anticipation of protests. ISO rally organizations moved forward with the rally as planned, calling it a “victory rally” after prompting the event’s departure from campus. An unidentified student posted in front of the original event space in Parkway North, letting people know the event was moved. When questioned, the student said she was “just a student volunteer who knew nothing,” had no association with PSU Pro-life, and was there to let people know the event
had moved and the rally was still happening. This same student participated as an anti-abortion advocate in the Park Blocks demonstration on Monday alongside other PSU Pro-life members.
FREE SPEECH AND STUDENT RIGHTS
The SMSU display cases are reserved for SALP-recognized student groups. The presence of the display prompted questions from the PSU community about rules and guidelines for content posted in these displays. After the display surfaced, a group of students penned an open letter to the PSU community expressing concern regarding the poster’s content. “Many students, offended and angered by this display, have begun to take action and are finding ways to organize and take it down,” the letter read. “We look forward to engaging in conversation with other members of Portland State, and we thank you in advance for your support and allyship to the student voices of PSU.” SALP does not have any guidelines regarding content because it cannot. Shattuck said the content in these displays is protected by law, so SALP does not have a policy regarding this. “Because we’re a public institution, the people who work for the university are government officials,” Shattuck explained. “And as the government, I can’t censor speech.
COVER
A SIGN THAT ASPSU POSTED IN RESPONSE TO THE POSTER. COLLEEN LEARY/PSU VANGUARD We only set up time [and] place manner restrictions, not content restrictions. Especially because it’s a student organization, it gives even more rights.” SALP’s policies outline guidelines for where, how long, and how content is displayed. The faculty does not review content before it’s posted. Student groups with access to these displays must meet pre-existing requirements to be recognized, and this qualifies their access to advertise and display in SMSU. “[Students] can’t impede other people’s right to speak in a public place if that group has followed all of the procedures and followed all of the time place manner policies,” Shattuck said. “However, any group of students also has the same rights to have their own speech in their own way. “This group has come to campus many times since I’ve been here. Every time students have done something in different ways.” She said they’ve counter-rallied, raised money for opposing causes, and educated on different belief systems and alternative resources available on campus. “People felt very offended by the word genocide, specifically,” Shattuck said, “and complained that the word genocide was being co-opted by this group to mean something different, and they were upset. Lots of people asked if we could make them stop using that word. When asked what resources are available to students, Shattuck said, “It depends on how they feel affected and what they feel they need at the moment, so I don’t want to guess at exactly what their particular need is.” “I really encourage people to talk to any staff, faculty or student they feel comfortable talking to,” she continued. “If it’s an emotional trigger beyond talking to a friend or a trusted staff member, then there’s SHAC.” SHAC provides counseling for students in crisis or in need of support. SALP Associate Director Brian Janssen confirmed that while the group receives student fee funding, it did not request any funding for this event. “We’re agents under the state government at least and we have federal policies that we need to follow especially regarding free speech,” Janssen said. “That’s why it’s challenging, on a university campus, to shut down events or tell people their content is inappro-
priate is because once you start doing that...it oversteps those boundaries.” “That would be a total disregard for free speech rights of the press and it’s the same with our student group,” Janssen continued. “If they’re doing things that violate policy that’s a very, very different situation. If the group just showed up out there without any prior warning and [didn’t] get the park block permits and all that stuff we’d be talking about something very different but again, they followed regulations.” The Women’s Resource Center was present near the Park Blocks anti-abortion display throughout the event, offering support and information. Additional reporting by Alex-Jon Earl & Alanna Madden. For more coverage visit psuvanguard.com or follow us on twitter @psuvanguard
A POSTER WHICH HAD READ “ABORTION IS GENOCIDE” POSTED OCTOBER 10. COLLEEN LEARY/PSU VANGUARD
STUDENTS PROTEST THE ANTI-ABORTION DEMONSTRATION IN THE PARK BLOCKS. KATIE PEARCE/PSU VANGUARD
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NEWS ARTS NEWS& CULTURE
PSU VIOLIN PROFESSOR TOMAS COTIK
SCHOOL OF MUSIC PROFESSOR RELEASES CD, PERFORMS FREE RECITAL COLTON TRUJILLO Big news from the Portland State School of Music and Theatre, as violin professor Tomas Cotik prepares to release his latest CD, Piazzolla: Legacy, on Oct. 13 through leading classical music record label Naxos. The album consists of music by Argentinian composer Astor Piazzolla and follows Cotik’s previous critically acclaimed album, Tango Nuevo, also featuring Piazzolla’s music. Professor Cotik will celebrate the release with a solo recital, “From Bach to Piazzolla,” at 7:30 p.m. on Sunday, Oct. 22 in PSU’s Lincoln Recital Hall (Room 75). The recital is free to all students, who should reserve tickets online. This CD release marks the 25th anniversary of Piazzolla’s death. Piazzolla was primarily a composer of nuevo tango music, which is different from the traditional tango music of Buenos Aires. It features a variety of musicians and pieces that have been arranged for new instrumental combinations: regular Cotik collaborator Tao Lin on piano, Jeffrey Kipperman on double bass, Alex Wadner and Bradley Loudis on percussion, and Alfredo Lérida on vocals. Piazzolla originally disliked tango, though his father gave him a bandoneon, an instrument integral to tango music. He enjoyed the music of Bach as a child, and would learn Bach’s music on his bandoneon. After studying classical composition in Paris, he returned to tango music and challenged its tradition, combining tango idioms with his classical training to create a new style that he called nuevo tango. Nuevo tango was at first met with disdain and opposition in Argentina, but has slowly come into acceptance and revolutionized the genre. Portland State Vanguard sat down with professor Cotik to talk about his recital and CD release. Vanguard: Can you talk a little about Piazzolla himself? Tomas Cotik: Piazzolla was four years old when his family moved to Manhattan. A lot of immigrants were living in that part of town. Later on, his family moved back to Argentina, but the economical conditions were so bad that they had to move back to New York to Little Italy. There they were surrounded by Italian, Jewish and Polish immigrants whose music would end up influencing Piazzolla’s. VG: How does Piazzolla resonate with your journey? Cotik: My journey’s completely different than Piazzolla’s. I grew up in Buenos Aires, and I left my country 22 years ago. I went to Europe, Canada and finally the States. I came
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TOMAS COTIK ON VIOLIN. COURTESY OF TOMAS COTIK to Portland a little over a year ago. It resonates with my journey because Piazzolla wasn’t interested in tango music growing up, and for me, it was the same. I lived in Argentina during my youth, but I became interested after leaving Argentina; while Astor got more in touch with the music living in Argentina but also realized that that was his core when he was living in France. I think the main point is how one’s own identity is influenced by moving and mixing with cultures. Our identities grow, mix and become richer when we live in many different countries. I wasn’t very interested in this music until living abroad, then I got to experience some nostalgia of the sounds of Buenos Aires, the sounds of my youth. VG: Can you talk a little more about the scholarship fund for string students? Cotik: This is a new idea. I feel very lucky that with a lot of effort and energy through the years I was able to fulfill many of my musical
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 17, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
dreams. One other passion that I’m now able to accomplish is teaching. Part of my dream is being able to help my students fulfill their dreams, and the first step in doing so is a good education and being able to afford it. We are hoping to increase the number of string scholarships at PSU and give more students the possibility to study here. I want to broaden the program and have an orchestra that we and the city can be proud of. VG: What made you decide to put Bach on a Piazzolla recital? Cotik: There’s a few connections between Bach and Piazzolla. There’s a limited repertoire for solo violin, and we can consider these works like bookends of the canon. Piazzolla’s works for solo violin are quite obscure, almost nobody knows them, they are not among his most popular works, and he wrote them towards the end of his life. Piazzolla loved the music of Bach and as a kid took bandoneon
lessons from a neighbor, who had been a student of Sergei Rachmaninov; he played pieces by Bach that had been transcribed for the bandoneon. Another project that I’m just embarking on is a recording of Bach’s pieces, and in this recital, I’m showing different parts of these works from both composers. VG: What other upcoming projects at PSU are you planning? Cotik: There are so many things that I want to do. Right now my current project is to record Bach’s works for solo violin, his three sonatas and three partitas. These are masterworks and a milestone for any violinist. In the coming months, there will be a four-CD set release of Mozart’s 16 sonatas. I also want to collaborate with other departments. There are many things we are doing already such as
STORY CONTIUES ON PG 11
ARTS & CULTURE
ART ‘CAUGHT’ REVIEW CASSIE DUNCANSON
If my feelings about An Octoroon were best summed up in an interpretative dance or abstract painting, my feelings regarding Christopher Chen’s Caught, playing at Artists Repertory Theatre through Oct. 29, are best summed up by laying on the floor and screaming into it. Bridget Carrick, a student in Portland State’s Masters in Publishing program (and my plus one) remarked—after several moments of tandem hyperventilating—that the play was, “energizing and invigorating.” Under the direction of Shawn Lee, the show highlights the artist Lin Bo, a dissident Chinese artist who was arrested and detained for two years by the Chinese government. The exhibit at Artists Repertory Theatre is the latest in artistic and theatrical partnerships with local theaters across the United States. Caught is equal parts theater and art installation. Part workplace comedy. Part sitcom. Part interview. Part lecture. Caught defies the limits of what we expect from a theater from the minute audiences walk in the front door. Visitors entering ART’s Morrison Lobby are treated to the sight of a life-size depiction of Mao, mimicking the arm gesture of the beckoning cat figurines that surround him. Audience members are invited to interact with a number of the works of art: portraits of Mao to cover with cocktail umbrellas and plastic daisies among other mass-produced items; a glowing red bed of rice surrounded by rakes, titled “Rice Zen Garden/ Bloody Tiananmen Square”; small figurines, reminiscent of the holy figure of Mary one might find in a gift shop, covered in grains of rice. Curtains of empty price tags form small spaces to sit. In addition to learning about more physical art by Lin Bo, during the production visitors will get a chance to learn about invisible art as well: an invisible protest staged in response to the anniversary of the Tiananmen Square Massacre. Lin Bo also discusses Beijing’s 789
Art Zone, a work and exhibition space for Beijing’s contemporary artists. “A government sanctioned tourist attraction,” Lin Bo calls it. Over the 90-minute run time, audiences also listen to discussions about the nature of truth and lies, how art navigates that spectrum, and the rules of appropriation. Audience members are encouraged to think about Mike Daisey and James Frey, and the varied responses to their respective public lies. Performers remark, “The different rules bump up against each other…[art and theater] work in tandem to undermine each other.” The possibilities of art expand and reverberate inside the theater space. There’s a delight in hearing a slight pause before the verb “trumps” (as in “such and such…trumps this or that”), an effect used on at least two separate occasions. The word has been imbued with so very many connotations since the current president came into office. I love art. I studied art history as an undergrad and continue to bring art history lessons into my rhetoric and composition, and creative writing courses. After experiencing Caught, a chant took up in my head. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. I love art. With all that love, please understand me when I say the art installations and the play of the art with theater and the way they interact together caught me right in the gut, leaving me a little breathless and with a desire to scream into a pillow. Caught is in production at Artists Repertory Theatre through Oct. 29. Visit www.artistsrep. org/onstage/201718-season/caught/ for tickets and information.
LIN BO, THE ARTIST BEHIND “CAUGHT.” COURTESY OF RUSSELL J YOUNG
“VIOLIN PROFESSOR” CONTIUED FROM PG 10 working with Soochow University: ten days of visiting Chinese students playing chamber music with our PSU students. In March, I will be doing a faculty recital. My students will be recording their first YouTube videos this season, and another project I’m planning is that my students make their first recording in collaboration with a new program at PSU. Vanguard also spoke to pianist Tao Lin and singer Alfredo Lérida. VG: What draws you to Piazzolla’s music? Tao Lin: What attracts me to the music of Piazzolla is the exhilarating rhythm, sensuous melodies and exotic harmonies. His tangos are so much more than just dances, they are often like tone poems. Alfredo Lérida: Astor Piazzolla was a visionary and composed his music ahead of his time.
He broke the classical forms of the tango genre and received criticism in those days. He revolutionized the traditional tango with his new tango, which was too advanced for his time, inciting controversy among traditional tangueros. His mix of jazz, classical music and tango created his unique style that nowadays attracts people from all generations including myself. I admire his daring, his audacity and his creativity. He was a musical genius. VG: How did you and Tomas start working together? What has it been like collaborating with him for so long? Lin: I first met Tomas when he was a member of a string quartet that I perform with regularly. We share a deep admiration and love for the music of Franz Schubert. Tomas suggested that we record the complete works for violin
and piano by Schubert, which we did and was released on Centaur Records. Another recent, and rather mammoth project we accomplished, was recording the complete sonatas for piano and violin by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, which will be released by Centaur Records next month. Tomas and I often share a similar approach and taste to the music we perform and record, therefore working together has been pleasant and invigorating. VG: How long does it usually take to produce a CD, from inception to release date? Lérida: It depends on the project and the production. Some might take a couple weeks, and some others might even take a couple years. The biggest challenges are budget and to be able to get the support and endorsement from a record label company. Most companies are focused on “cash
cow” projects, investing in massive singers or bands rather than investing in culturally rich ensembles. VG: Do you have a particular favorite piece on Legacy? Lin: I love all the selections on the Legacy CD. If I had to pick one, it’s probably “Winter” from the Four Seasons of Buenos Aires. Lérida: All Piazzolla themes are amazing and I cannot have preference for one or another. I am the producer and singer of Tango Lovers, a tango show company which by the way will tour in the USA in April 2018 and has Piazzolla pieces as well. Hope we are able to come to your city as well. Find out more about the recital and reserve your free student tickets at the PSU Box Office. For more about Dr. Cotik and his other albums, visit his website at www.tomascotik.com.
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 17, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
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OPINION
LOOKING BACK AT AN ACTIVIST OFF-SEASON The Dispute by PJ Zettle
The NBA off-season of 2017 has been unlike any other of the past. For one, we saw superstar players get traded in lopsided fashion at a faster rate than anyone ever thought possible. The NBA is scrambling to find the right mixture to compete with one team and one team only. It’s probably for naught. And yet, the gathering of superstars makes for much better stories and exciting publicity than it would have otherwise. The potential firepower in combining the otherwise solitary iso-talents of Russell Westbrook, Paul George and Carmelo Anthony is a recipe for fantastic post-game interviews and boldly entertaining on-court antics. It will no doubt get sports broadcasters like Stephen A. Smith falling out of their chairs in anticipation. Charles Barkley will be absolutely thrilled to proclaim the Cavaliers’ new veteran-filled lineup as the best team to ever face the Warriors in the finals, and he might even jump to the conclusion that Lebron and co. could win. I’ll tell you what these reporters will not be as excitedly talking about: the boldest move that happened in the history of the NBA, and perhaps, the boldest move to happen in professional sports since Jackie Robinson crossed the color line with the Brooklyn Dodgers to forever change professional sports as we know them. The move I am talking about is this: the athlete’s political turn. In 2017, the athlete has become a force within political protest and the democratization of the sports industry like we’ve never witnessed before. Not only is this an important move for political change and activism, it is also a collective
good riddance to those who have participated in these sports in the last century. Sure, it is easy to write off sports stars as merely glorified members of the bourgeoisie, as spectacles that don’t deserve the public acclaim and affection that they so easily and often take for granted. It’s so easy to look at basketball stars like Lebron James and Steph Curry as overpaid children playing a game. On the other hand, however, stars like these have effectively become brands in themselves, and thus they are players in a market that can influence social conditions and public morale. In a world where corporations are considered people and can thus can have unwarranted influence on public policy in Washington on top of Wall Street, isn’t it only reasonable that superstar athletes can do the same with their brand? I am not arguing that the politicization of the NBA is or should be considered the same as someone who actively protests in the streets or gathers signatures to oppose unfair law. Change in our pseudo-democracy happens most effectively and swiftly through opposition within market participation, and thus if an athlete chooses to shift their brand to something that is reformist-minded, it acts as a direct resistance to an economic space that wouldn’t normally allow for such open thought. If we are to put these humans on a pedestal and allow them the space in our society to stand as something more than the everyday individual, we might as well allow them to speak for us in our American brand of capitalist democracy. It might be time for sports fans and politically active citizens alike to realize the true nature of our social predicament of 2017 America:
that there cannot be actual legislative, political change without market disruption, and there cannot be an American sporting culture without everything capitalistic that comes with it. All parts of American culture are subject to their market value, and thus those who drive the culture represent market actors, and important ones at that. Overwhelmingly, it is the owners and investors who drive this culture to its market effect, but this summer we saw the emergence of what we might call player power within the market. Take Kevin Durant’s contract, for example. Durant chose to take a significant amount less than his actual market value in order to put himself and those around him on the Warriors in a better situation to have a repeat championship run. As citizens in today’s United States, or maybe even of the Western world, we cannot expect actual change to happen at the legislative level or even in the arena of public opinion without wealthy people who play as market actors influencing this change. It might be a sad reality, and it might be an unfair reality, to both the player and the fans or perhaps all citizens alike, but most importantly, it is one that has the potential to benefit social justice on all fronts. We live in a climate where every public space is subject to radical politicization, and the sports arena and the ESPN newsroom is no exception to this rule. Player power and politically minded branding might not be a revolutionary stance in combating this, but it is a pragmatic method of influence on public opinion.
NORTH KOREA WANTS TO CHILL AND LET CHILL KIM JONG-UN REALLY JUST WANTS TO BE LEFT ALONE The Jake Johnson Experience by Jake Johnson At a moment when tensions are at an all-time high between the United States and North Korea, it might behoove our country and the media at large to take a look at context, history and statements put out by North Korea. History is wonderful because it provides opportunities to learn, but you can’t learn from history if you aren’t willing to properly consider it. North Korea has repeatedly asked the U.S. and South Korea to stop conducting military exercises depicting a fictional war, acting out the toppling of its regime only a few miles from its border. The U.S. government has conducted the exercises annually since 1968 and refuses to consider desisting as an option. Despite the fact that much of the world seems to think North Korea is hell-bent on the destruction of the world, its actual demands have been absurdly simple. North Korea’s former Minister of Foreign Affairs Ri Su Yong was very clear in April 2016 about what it would take for the DPRK to put its nuclear tests to rest: “Stop the nuclear war exercises in the Korean peninsula,” Ri said. “Then we should also cease our nuclear tests.” Clinton, Bush, Obama and now Trump have all said they were vaguely open to dialogue with North and South Korea about how to de-escalate tensions. However, North Korea has been committed to its stance and, in January 2015, offered to suspend nuclear tests if South Korea and the U.S. would also suspend their military exercises. Nonetheless, the U.S. effectively mocked this offer and laughed it off the table. Jen Psaki was a spokesperson for the U.S. State Department at the time and said this offering “inappropriately” tied the U.S. and South Korean military exercises to North Korea’s nuclear testing. The only problem with that statement is that the U.S. refuses to listen. If you want to negotiate but refuse to listen to the other people at the table, you won’t get anywhere. If you
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want to get somewhere with North Korea, you need to listen to North Korea. “There can be neither trust-based dialogue nor détente [the easing of hostility or strained relations] and stability on the peninsula in such a gruesome atmosphere in which war drills are staged against the dialogue partner,” an official North Korean statement asserted.
DISLIKE OF A COUNTRY DOESN’T JUSTIFY ITS DESTRUCTION
North Korea is indeed a repressive country that, as a result of self-inflicted isolation, is not largely taking part in 21st-century modernization. Its buses and trains are old, people aren’t allowed to watch foreign media, and most of its citizens are living impoverished lives. The capital, Pyongyang, is a fictional utopia where the country’s less desirable citizens, including those in wheelchairs, are not allowed. There are many things to dislike about North Korea, but none of those things are justification for its complete destruction. Donald Trump’s foreign policy toward North Korea has been excessively hostile, threatening to rain down “fire and fury like the world has never seen.” In typical 45 style, Trump has namecalled Kim Jong-Un “Rocket Man,” an aggressor who may leave the U.S. “no choice but to totally destroy North Korea.” The U.S. is an international bully and the rest of the world knows it. North Koreans remember what happened when Libya gave up its weapons in 2003 at the request of then-President Bush, only to have its country dismantled by the U.S. eight years later. The rest of the world watches as the U.S. destroys the Middle East, dropping preposterous amounts of missiles, including the “Mother of all Bombs” for debatable intentions with equally debatable results. Besides internal repression, North Korea has a track record of being relatively harmless. It has definitely picked fights
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 17, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
with South Korea on occasion, but compared to the U.S., North Korea’s foreign policy could be called saintly. On Sept. 11, 2001, nearly 3,000 people were killed in terrorist attacks in the U.S., who then retaliated with the war in Afghanistan, creating a death toll of over 100,000 Afghans and over 2,000 U.S. troops. The rest of the world has seen this, and they don’t really want to be anywhere near the vindictive U.S. military. North Korea doesn’t want to fight a war with us, but they want us to know that they can go down swinging. The U.S. has an overall pleasant geographic position. The Canadians don’t want to meddle in foreign conflicts, and Mexico also keeps to themselves. We are not in a war-torn, conflict-riddled part of the world. If Canada or Mexico were hosting military exercises targeting the U.S. just outside our border, would we not want our president to show a strong stance against these forceful taunts? If you lived in North Korea and the U.S. was acting out a militarized play centered on your destruction with your neighbors, would you not also want your leader to disagree? If your leader kept asking for it to stop and no one listened, would you support your leader’s decision to develop weapons that make the rest of the world take you more seriously? Nuclear weapons largely appear to be bargaining chips, developed solely to prove North Korea’s legitimacy as a country that deserves to have conversations about its own self-interests. Listen to what North Korea wants, consider taking those requests seriously, and who knows, maybe we’ll actually get somewhere. You’re right Trump, conducting war games annually for decades hasn’t done anything productive for our relationship with North Korea and “Rocket Man.” So perhaps we should give suspending those exercises a try, and we might as well listen to Elton John’s “Rocket Man,” because that’s pretty cool too.
OPINION
FORGET YOUR IDENTITY; TRANSCEND YOUR IDENTITY IDENTITY POLITICS ARE DRIVING A DEVISIVE WEDGE IN SOCIETY As You Wish Harlie Hendrickson
ILLUSTRATION BY AARON UGHOC Last year, I took the University Studies sophomore inquiry course, American Identities. On the first day of class, the professor requested that students introduce themselves and, with the course title in mind, include an identity with which each individual connects. She made sure to deliberately mention that what is shared as part of one’s identity doesn’t have to be a racial descriptor. Nearly every student, however, described themselves by their race. Some responded passively: “I’m just a whole bunch of white. Clearly nothing special.” Non-whites made up about half of the classroom and also identified themselves by race. The professor interjected part way through to remind students that, while racial identity is important, one may also provide another facet of their identity. One declared herself a mother, another a student, another a brother, another a vegan. I identified as a musician. Last year, a presentation titled, “New Campus Thought Police” took place at Portland State featuring PSU professor Peter Boghossian, author and philosopher Christina Hoff-Sommers and comedian Dave Rubin. During the discussion, Hoff-Sommers exclaimed, “Forget your identity; transcend your identity!” Her powerful statement is quite a slap in the face to the identity politics so prevalent in society today. People cling to their notions of identity, perhaps in an effort to show the world where they fit and what they’re about. In PSU classrooms, students are being taught what it means to have certain identities (racial, sexual, religious, etc.), and these lectures tell us what to think in terms of where various identities fit into a hierarchy of oppression. However, if you are willing to think independently, you can transcend this rigid form of thinking. You can decide whether
or not to allow these ideologies to infiltrate your life in a way that undermines your power and potential as an individual. While the “hierarchy of oppression” school of thought is wellmeaning and sympathetic toward those who have it rough, I hardly find it progressive—especially in telling people where they fit on a scale of oppressed against oppressor and linking it to personal identity. When these parameters are expected to define a person’s sense of self, people can overanalyze every interaction, police language, and berate others’ opinions because they’ve been taught that being a good person means buying into oppressed/ oppressor dialogue and acting accordingly. Identity politics is a formula for neuroticism and high emotional tension. One is led to feel either unjustified guilt or victimized in a merciless world, and this is not productive thinking. Assuming these general ideas in terms of black and white is dangerous and produces real division in our society. Ponder these ideas for yourself, but envision this: You are an uber-liberal, fully immersed in a leftist campus. You hear professors, student leaders, and your fellow peers carrying on about white privilege. They contend that every white person has had it easier than others in life, what they have was given to them, and that white people are inherently racist and taught to be so. You mention these issues to one of your white friends, and they begin to feel uncomfortable. They grew up in a small town, up to their neck in poverty and suffering. They moved to Portland, got three jobs, and found the ability to make their way in life. They see many examples of successful minorities, often lauded and upheld, while they are personally cornered for not acknowledging their privilege. You tell your friend their feelings are not valid because of their oppressive whiteness, and the two of you never speak again.
Have you ever unfriended someone over political disputes? Why? Is it not OK to associate yourself with people who think differently than you? Doing so may give you insight as to why you believe what you do, and may even help you strengthen your arguments in the process. And heaven forbid you have a change of heart. It’s healthy to change your perspective when encountering reasonable and substantiated arguments, to put yourself and your notions of identity aside. Although I’d be hesitant to call myself a Wiccan, I really dig one of its main tenets: Do and believe whatever you wish, but do no harm. If people feel harmed by intangible ideas, they evidently don’t have enough confidence in their own beliefs to avoid reacting with strong emotion. This is not a concern of yours; rather, it is metacognition that needs to occur on behalf of the offended. My point here is not to pick a side or defend anyone, as we should all have both the wherewithal to defend ourselves and the willingness to change our minds for the better. Extremists of every persuasion have personal motivations and emotions that drive them. What are they? Why does the person on the other side have such hate in their heart? What experiences led them to think this way? They may need a caring person, perhaps yourself, to explain a more empathetic point of view. Shutting down dialogue will only anger and entrench an already chosen stance. The point? It’s not about you. Your identity doesn’t matter. What matters is how you behave and the ripples you create in the world. Your experiences matter, but by subscribing to a particular identity you can severely limit your opportunities, experiences and worldview. Transcend your identity by giving serious thought and empathy to other points of view. Free yourself. Forget your identity.
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Oct. 17-23
EVENT LISTINGS
OFF CAMPUS FEATURED EVENT
CONVENTION OREGON CONVENTION PORTLAND RETRO CENTER GAMING EXPO $12–140, ALL AGES OCT. 20–22 Learn about and play scores of retro and indie video games! Numerous PSU students, faculty and alumni get involved with the annual Retro Gaming Expo.
TUESDAY, OCT. 17
THURSDAY, OCT. 19
FILM OCT. 22–23) THE RUNNING MAN MISSION THEATER (1987) $3–4, ALL AGES 5:45 P.M. (SCREENING Set in the far-off year of 2019, the toxic mix of Donald Trump and internet’s keyboard callout culture has made this Arnold Schwarzenegger dystopian sci-fi movie into what will probably actually be 2019’s must-see TV.
FILM THROUGH OCT. 19 CHAVELA (2017) CINEMA 21 MULTIPLE SCREENINGS $7–10, ALL AGES Documentary about Mexican singer Chavela Vargas’s life and career.
FILM HOLLYWOOD THEATRE KWAIDAN (1965) $7–9, ALL AGES 7 P.M. Anthology of four Japanese supernatural horror stories.
FILM CINEMA 21 SKYGLOW (2017) $7–9, ALL AGES 7 P.M. Documentary about the effects of light pollution on the United States’s few remaining areas of extreme isolation that produce dazzling time-lapse footage.
INDIE ROCK MISSISSIPPI PIZZA RADIO PHOENIX FREE, 21+ 8 P.M. The PSU-based indie band plays in North Portland.
THEATER ARTISTS REPERTORY COMIN’ AND GOIN’ THEATRE 7:30 P.M. $15, ALL AGES Organic Nation Listening Club received a RACC grant for this show about Native American musician Jim Pepper’s life and legacy.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18 FILM 6:45 P.M. OLÉ OLÉ OLÉ!: A HOLLYWOOD THEATRE TRIP ACROSS LATIN $8–10, ALL AGES AMERICA (2016) A rockumentary about the Rolling Stone’s Central & South American tour, which ends with a historical show in Havana, Cuba. ROCK 7 P.M. MUTEMATH, COLONY CRYSTAL BALLROOM HOUSE, ROME $25–30, ALL AGES The New Orleans-based alt-rock band tours in support of their new album, Play Dead. FILM CLINTON STREET MESSIAH OF EVIL THEATER (1973) $5–10, ALL AGES 8 P.M. Arletty (Marianna Hill), the daughter of an unsuccessful artist, discovers an ancient religious order of vampires seeking to take over the world.
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FILM MISSION THEATER CARRIE (1976) $11, 21+ 8:30 P.M. Carrie (Sissy Spacek) makes a compelling case against extra-curricular activities or dirtying your pillows. COMEDY GROUND KONTROL NO PUN INTENDO $3, 21+ 9 P.M. Standup comedians Anthony Lopez, Phil Schallberger, Adam Pasi, Caitlin Weierhauser, Chris Ettrick and Thomas Lundy tell nerdy jokes. DANCE PARTY NYX/BLACK BOOK COMPACT $5, 21+ 10 P.M. New queer dance party with music by DJs Buckmaster and Chanti Darling, and dance performances by the House of Ada and House of Flora. Donation of new, unopened makeup for SMYRC gets you in for free.
FRIDAY, OCT. 20 CIRCUS ALBERTA ROSE FRIGHT NIGHT THEATRE 7 P.M. (ALSO STAGED $35–42, ALL AGES OCT. 21) Night Flight Aerial’s Halloween show. THEATER THROUGH NOV. 4) THE CAUCASIAN CHALK SHAKING THE TREE CIRCLE $10–30, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. (STAGED Set in the Caucus Mountain of Georgia (the country), Bertolt Brecht’s play retells the Biblical tale of King Solomon’s oft-retold judgment about cutting a baby in half.
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 17, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
ELECTRONIC MUSIC 9 P.M. PATRICK RUSSELL + LIQUOR STORE BRYAN KASENIC $15, 21+ The New York DJs are supported locally by Andrew Boie (BLNKSTRS PDX). ELECTRONIC MUSIC MOLOKO DJ SAPPHO FREE, 21+ 9 P.M. The queer DJ plays a blend of house and disco.
SATURDAY, OCT. 21 FILM 2 P.M. PHANTOM OF THE HOLLYWOOD THEATRE OPERA (1925) $10–12, ALL AGES This silent movie is the second time Phantom of the Opera was produced for the silver screen but has outlived its lost film predecessor. Martin Ellis provides the soundtrack Hollywood Theatre’s Beverly Ruth Nelson organ. BENEFIT SHOW TONIC LOUNGE PUNKS FOR PUPPIES $7–10, 21+ 8 P.M. Cliterati, LaCroixVod, Fatal Jest and Alkaline C3PO perform to benefit One Tail at a Time, a no-kill dog shelter lowering Portland’s euthanasia rate. DANCE PARTY SANCTUARY CLUB CROTCH ROCKET $10–20, 21+ 9 P.M. The underground queer dance party that’s a little grittier, sweatier and clothingoptional than most but likely still super fun. Music by Chanti Darling, Pocket Rocket, Perfect Health and Fag Newton. DANCE PARTY KILLINGSWORTH GHOUL A GO-GO! DYNASTY 10 P.M. FREE, 21+ DJ Drew Groove plays ’60s soul, mod, garage, and R’n’B.
SUNDAY, OCT. 22
FILM OCT. 23–24 THEY LIVE (1988) MISSION THEATER 7 P.M. SCREENING $3–4, ALL AGES Did you know that those self-righteous memes about seeing the way the world actually works is basically just rehashing the plot of this Roddy Piper movie ad nauseam? THEATER THE BACK DOOR INSIGNIFICANCE THEATER 7:30 P.M. (STAGED PAY WHAT YOU CAN, THROUGH NOV. 18) ALL AGES The Scientist and the Actress meet in a hotel room and discuss regret, the universe, guilt and the meaning of life, with appearances by the Two Joes. Characters resemble historical figures: respectively, Albert Einstein, Marilyn Monroe, Joe McCarthy and Joe DiMaggio. INDIE ROCK 8 P.M. ALICE GLASS, CAT STAR THEATER HOCH $18–20, 21+ The former Crystal Castles frontwoman tours in support of her debut eponymous solo E.P.
MONDAY, OCT. 23 FILM 20–25) HUMAN FLOW (2017) HOLLYWOOD THEATRE 6:30/9:15 P.M. $7–9, ALL AGES (SCREENING OCT. Ai Weiwei’s documentary about the global refugee crisis, which currently sees more people displaced from their homes around the world since World War II. FILM HOLLYWOOD THEATRE A SILENT VOICE (2016) $15, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. Not sure if this is the sub or dub of the animé about a boy, Shōya Ishida (Miyu Irino/May Matsuoka/Robbie Daymond/ Ryan Shanahan) who regrets bullying a deaf girl, Shōko Nishimiya (Saori Hayami/ Lexi Cowden), in elementary school.
FILM HOLLYWOOD THEATRE CORALINE (2009) $7–9, ALL AGES 2 P.M. Coraline (Dakota Fanning) discovers a parallel universe that has everything she wants but comes at a terrible cost. Based on the Neil Gaiman book. All classical Portland’s Edmund Stone and Christa Wessel will join Georgina Hayns, LAIKA’s head of puppet fabrication, for a post screening discussion. CIRCUS ALBERTA ROSE MARCHFOURTH THEATRE MARCHING BAND $8–30, ALL AGES 5/7 P.M. The extravagant circus-themed marching band performs ahead of Halloween.
LYDIA WOJACK-WEST
Andrew D. Jankowski
ON CAMPUS FEATURED EVENT
FILM OCT. 22, 3 P.M. THE DEVIL PROBABLY 5TH AVENUE CINEMA (1977) $4–5 (FREE W/PSU ID), OCT. 20–21, 7 P.M. AND ALL AGES 9:30 P.M. Of this French masterpiece from Robert Bresson (A Man Escaped), Rainer Werner Fassbinder (World on a Wire) said: “In the future—and this world will probably last for another few thousand years—this film will be more important than all the rubbish which is now considered important but which never really goes deep enough. The questions Bresson asks will never be unimportant.” No less than Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless) said: “Robert Bresson is French cinema, as Dostoyevsky is the Russian novel and Mozart is German music.” Get your film nerd on for free as The Devil Probably turns 50.
TUESDAY, OCT. 17 INDIE ROCK PSU PARK BLOCKS JIMMY RUSSELL TRIO FREE, ALL AGES NOON Jimmy Russell, Shook Black and Galen Clark play outside if weather permits. CHAMBER MUSIC THE OLD CHURCH JAROSLAV SVĚCENÝ $15–35, ALL AGES 6:30 P.M. The internationally renowned Czech contemporary violinist performs Beethoven, Dvofák, Piazzolla, Massenett, Stak, and Smaetana. BOOK TALK OREGON HISTORICAL RICHARD W. ETULAIN SOCIETY 7 P.M. FREE, ALL AGES The author discusses his book, Ernest Haycox and the Western. CHAMBER MUSIC WINNINGSTAD SIMPLY THREE THEATRE 7:30 P.M. $33, ALL AGES Glen McDaniel, Nick Villalobos, and Zack Clark have played together since 2010. LECTURE 7:30 P.M. TRANSMIT CULTURE: UNIVERSITY POINTE FUTURE OF CHILDREN’S #102 READING FREE, ALL AGES Industry leaders discuss what the future of kid’s lit will look like when children can read screens and technology before they know how to read books and literature.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 18 CHAMBER MUSIC THE OLD CHURCH BARBARA ARMELL FREE, ALL AGES NOON The pianist plays Ellington and Gershwin for the Lunchtime Concert Series.
FAMILY LEARNING GARDENS ANNUAL HARVEST LAB FESTIVAL FREE, ALL AGES 3:30 P.M. Arts & crafts and games for kids, produce for the family as you learn about some of PSU’s on-campus gardens. LECTURE PERFORMANCE HALL HOW TO SCORE A FILM #225 4:30 P.M. FREE, ALL AGES LINCOLN David Spear (Ghostbusters, Heavy Metal, and Animal House) screens two silent films, Ballet Robotique (1982) and Rainbow War (1986) and explains how music informs the audience’s experience with the movies. ART RECEPTION 5 P.M. ARLENE SCHNITZER AUTZEN GALLERY VISUAL PRIZE WINNERS FREE, ALL AGES Artists Shawn Creeden, Xi Jie Ng “Salty” and Jake Manning won prestigious Portland art awards for their contributions to contemporary art. R&B ARLENE SCHNITZER TAKE ME TO THE RIVER CONCERT HALL 7:30 P.M. $25–55, ALL AGES William Bell, Charlie Musselwhite, Bobby Rush, Frayser Boy, Al Kapone, the Hi Rhythm Section, and the Stax Alumni Band play soul and R&B.
THURSDAY, OCT. 19 JAZZ NOON JOE MANIS QUARTET LINCOLN HALL 75 The last time we heard PSU sax professor Joe Manis play a noon concert in Lincoln Hall, it rocked our damn socks off. ART TOUR BROADWAY GALLERY PSU GALLERY TOUR FREE, ALL AGES 4 P.M. Starting in Lincoln Hall’s Broadway Gallery, learn about the art galleries and permanent pieces on campus, including new art in the Karl Miller Center and the student-run Littman + White Galleries’ rotating exhibitions.
FRIDAY, OCT. 20 FILM 5:30 P.M. THE EXTERMINATING WHITSELL AUDITORIUM ANGEL (1962) $6–9, ALL AGES A Spanish film about guests of a bourgeois dinner party trapped in the dining room, who devolve into petty squabbles and violence.
ART RECEPTION 6 P.M. IN SEARCH OF THE LITTMAN GALLERY MIRACULOUS FREE, ALL AGES PSU professor Tia Factor’s class went to Berlin and made art inspired by the German city. ART RECEPTION WHITE GALLERY THE GENDER SUMMIT FREE, ALL AGES 6 P.M. Art therapist Beth-Ann Short organized dozens of her patients, whose ages range from teens to senior citizens, to present art based on their gender identities. FILM 21–22) NOCTURAMA (2016) WHITSELL AUDITORIUM 8 P.M. (SCREENING OCT. $6–9, ALL AGES A film told in two parts: the first focuses on a group of diverse young Parisians before they execute a terrorist plot, while the second focuses on the balance between news media and the authoritarian state in the plot’s immediate wake.
SATURDAY, OCT. 21 CHAMBER MUSIC 1 P.M. OPEN HOUSE KELLER AUDITORIUM CELEBRATION FREE, ALL AGES Members of the Oregon Symphony, Bravo Youth Orchestra, OBT2, the Roosevelt High School Jazz Band, Portland Opera, and Mariachi Una Voz perform to celebrate Keller Auditorium’s 100th birthday. FILM 2 P.M. THE SECRET OF ROAN WHITSELL AUDITORIUM INISH (1994) $6–9, ALL AGES Fiona (Jeni Courtney) learns about the Irish-Orcadian myths about selkies, seals that can become human, who may be raising her long-lost brother Jamie (Cillian Byrne).Written, directed and edited by John Sayles (Eight Men Out, The Brother from Another Planet). FILM 22) ABACUS: SMALL WHITSELL AUDITORIUM ENOUGH TO JAIL (2016) $6–9, ALL AGES 7 P.M. (SCREENING OCT. Abacus Federal Savings, an immigrantowned financial institution in New York’s Chinatown, is the only institution that faced criminal charges related to the Great Recession and the 2008 Financial Crisis. HOLIDAY FESTIVITIES 7 P.M. UNIVERSITY HOUSING MONTGOMERY COURT & RESIDENCE LIFE $2–5, ALL AGES HAUNTED HOUSE Free entry for residents of PSU’s on-campus housing, walk through the Montgomery Court’s halls as they are transformed into a terrifying haunted house.
WORLD MUSIC THE OLD CHURCH PEIA $25, ALL AGES 8 P.M. The song preserver focuses on ancient European, North and South American music on her farewell tour.
SUNDAY, OCT. 22 FESTIVAL 1 P.M. LIGHT OF UNITY SMSU BALLROOM FESTIVAL FREE, ALL AGES Live music, cultural dances, prayers, and inspiring presentations to celebrate the 200th birthday of Bahá’u’lláh, the Founder of the Bahá’í Faith. FILM WHITSELL AUDITORIUM CHICKEN RUN (2000) $6–9, ALL AGES 2 P.M. British hen Ginger (Julia Sawalha) and American rooster Rocky (Mel Gibson) help a group of chickens escape a commercial egg farm before it’s converted to a pot pie factory. SYMPHONY OCT. 21) PHANTOMS OF THE ARLENE SCHNITZER ORCHESTRA CONCERT HALL 2 P.M. (PERFORMING $23–110, ALL AGES The Oregon Symphony gets dressed up in costumes and performs spooky pops. CHAMBER MUSIC 7:30 P.M. TOMAS COTIK: FROM $15 (FREE TO PSU BACH TO PIAZZOLLA STUDENTS) LINCOLN HALL 75 PSU School of Music violin professor Cotik performs the solo violin music of J.S. Bach and Astor Piazzolla. Read our interview with Cotik and his collaborators on page 10 .
MONDAY, OCT. 23 EMPLOYER ON CAMPUS SMSU FOOD COURT UPS FREE, ALL AGES 10 A.M. Learn how to find a job with UPS. EMPLOYER ON CAMPUS BETWEEN NEUBERGER ADIDAS AND SMSU 10 A.M. FREE, ALL AGES Learn how to find a creative/intellectual job with Adidas. JAZZ NEWMARK THEATRE HUDSON $45–65, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. Jack DeJohnette, Larry Grenadier, John Medeski and John Scofield perform music inspired by their homes in the Hudson River Valley.
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