Portland State Vanguard February 5, 2013

Portland State Career Fair Guide Make it in the art game

Before the resume

Jobs on campus

ARTS & CULTURE PAGE 7

OPINION PAGE 15

NEWS PAGE 5

NEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ARTS & culture............ 6 OPINION........................ 14 ETC................................ 17 SPORTS........................ .. 18

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Portland State University Portland State University Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013 | vol. 67 no. 35

D2L crash hits students poised for midterms 2-day data center failure interrupts digital access to midterm resources

A new source of information on the Islamic world

Jaime Dunkle Vanguard Staff

A catastrophic software crash nixed studying for midterms for some students at Portland State last week.

Learning software giant Desire2Learn stopped working on Tuesday, Jan. 29. Service at PSU resumed on Friday.

D2L services more than 10 million students globally. President and CEO John Baker issued a public apology on the D2L website. The announcement stated that the outage affected one in four students at its peak.

“For many of our clients, our software is the hub around which they build their programs. They expect that our services are up and running during the day and throughout the evening and night.

“This is the goal to which we strive, and I apologize for falling far short of this. Some of you had no service for a period that reached up to 72 hours, which is completely unacceptable. Our system is now functioning normally and I have personally confirmed that all client data and sites are fully restored,” Baker said.

Jetzabel Franco, a psychology major at PSU, expressed frustration at the technological mishap.

“I couldn’t study for midterms at all,” Franco said.

Muslim collection joins library Erik Mutzke Vanguard staff

© D2L.PDX.EDU

Periodic updates were posted on the D2L website during the crash. The company serves more than 10 million students around the globe.

Franco is a visually impaired student. She said she needed to use class information on D2L to study for her psychology and environmental science midterms.

“It was really upsetting because D2L works better than having your teacher email you 18 PowerPoints,” Franco said.

Though annoyed, Franco was also compassionate about the software fiasco.

“It’s just something that happens once in a while,” she said. “I understand that, but it was still frustrating

for it to happen, conveniently, during midterms.”

Faculty and students both suffered through the calamity.

“It meant we could not get access to our files,” said Sharon Blanton, the chief information officer at PSU’s Office of Information Technology.

Blanton confirmed the outage impacted one-fourth of D2L’s customers worldwide.

“Unfortunately it is something that is completely out of our control, so we were at their mercy,” Blanton said.

D2L doesn’t regularly have

problems. It was down about a year ago, but not for as long as the recent outage, she said.

“As far as we know they have completed their repairs and everything should be OK now,” Blanton said. “It’s really frustrating for us to just sit here and not be able to do anything. There’s absolutely nothing we can do.”

PSU contacted D2L about the problem.

“We’re so sorry,” Blanton said.

“We’ve spoken [to people] all the way up to the CEO of D2L, and he is extremely apologetic.”

The extensive Middle East studies collection at Portland State’s Branford P. Millar Library dates back to the early 1950s with the creation of the Middle East Studies Center for undergraduate studies.

It is one of the largest and most comprehensive resources on the Middle East in Oregon—and it just got a little bigger.

The Millar Library was recently awarded the “Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys,” from the National Endowment for the Humanities and the American Library Association.

PSU is one of 840 universities in the nation that applied for the collection of 25 books, three documentary films, a one-year subscription to Oxford Islamic Studies Online and a DVD of short films.

On Friday, Kambiz GhaneaBassiri, an associate professor of religion and humanities at Reed College and a national scholar who helped to create and organize the collection, came to PSU to speak about the library’s acquisition.

See bookshelf on page 4

Career fair helps students start the search Student ambassador welcomes jobhunters with tips, encouragement Austin Maggs Vanguard staff

If you’ve ever thought about applying for a job with the federal government but stopped in your tracks when you tried to start the lengthy, complicated application process, now may be the time to reconsider.

Senior management and human resources double major Jessica Douglas—who is also a student ambassador for the U.S. Department of the Interior—will hold a workshop during Wednesday’s career fair.

Douglas’ workshop will focus on developing job-hunting skills, including writing a federal resume and learning the difference between a federal and a regular resume.

“You have to include so much more,” Douglas said. “Many people get kicked out of the applicant pool because they didn’t correct stuff on their resumes. So we try to teach people about [them].”

The career fair will feature more than 60 different organizations, including representatives from private industry and government agencies.

Portland State Director of Communications Scott Gallagher feels that students should attend the fair to help broaden their knowledge of available jobs and internships.

“The more knowledge you have, the better off you’ll be,” Gallagher said.

Aside from being a student, Douglas’ position as student ambassador is a volunteer position. Douglas’ task is to create awareness of opportunities for working with the government.

This includes informing people of internships and jobs available with the federal government, and helping staff and students find and apply for

those positions.

“The goal is really to get some new, talented individuals in the government and create change,” Douglas said.

This is Douglas’ first project to market the government and collaborate with PSU. Douglas is the first student ambassador for the Department of the Interior. She also works in Washington, Hawaii, Idaho and Guam.

Douglas has worked for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and is promoting available jobs in that agency.

“When people think [of ] Fish and Wildlife, they immediately think of biology and natural resources. But, ultimately, we still need accountants, engineers and human resources specialists,” Douglas said. “There [are] opportunities for every type of major.”

See Career fair on page 2

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Jessica Douglas, a senior student ambassador for the U.S. Department of the Interior who is double majoring in human resources and management, will hold a workshop on developing job-hunting skills at Wednesday’s career fair.

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How has the media covered the contentious issue of salmon-eating sea lions in the Columbia River in the last six years?

Students and nonstudents gathered at the Native American Student and Community Center on Tuesday to hear Dr. Cynthia-Lou Coleman discuss a two-part report that examined the framing of news coverage and public opinion surrounding the sea lion and salmon conflict on the Columbia River.

Coleman is the chair of PSU’s Department of Communication.

The Columbia River is crucial to local Native Americans because of the salmon that their culture relies upon for spiritual and nutritional sustenance. The construction of the Bonneville Dam in 1938 drastically decreased

the number of salmon in the river, and hatcheries—both tribal and those funded at the state and federal level—have since produced fish to keep the runs alive.

In the last decade, an increasing number of sea lions have been entering the Columbia River, congregating in the area surrounding the dam to dine on federally protected salmon.

“Sea lions have been encroaching on the dam and eating the salmon,” Coleman said. “Something has to be done with the sea lions.”

Various methods to remove the sea lions have been discussed in a conversation that has been spread throughout the globe. Some call for relocation of the sea lions, while others want them killed. Any efforts to remove them have been highly controversial with animal rights advocates.

The study—which was funded by grants from the Spirit Mountain Community Fund of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde and through research and

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Dr. cynthia-loU COLEMAN discussed a report that examined the framing of news coverage and public opinion surrounding the Columbia River sea lion and salmon conflict on Tuesday.

Douglas will represent USFWS with her diversity and civil rights department in the upcoming career fair.

She will inform attendees about internships and positions her company will be offering between this month and March.

“It’s really just sharing with people…what federal service entails,” Douglas said.

Douglas is part of a group that used to be called Student Career Experience Program, which is now transitioning to Pathways, which Douglas promotes. She found her internship through the Portland State career advising center. She’s been there since 2011.

Pathways offers paid internships. Pathways interns work for 640 hours until they receive their degree. They then switch into a permanent position.

“One of my favorite things about it is [that] nine months after I transition [to] permanent, I’ll be investing my retirement with the federal government, because it started when my internship started,” Douglas said.

Once Douglas completes her internship, she is slated to transition to permanent status since there no one currently fills the spot. However, she does plan to continue school to earn a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Comic Rocket puts comics first PSU’s Business Accelerator fueled success Ashley Rask Vanguard staff

In an ever-expanding comic community, Portland seems to be the center of many emerging companies in the industry.

Portland State is fortunate to have connections to Comic Rocket, a start-up company through Portland State Business Accelerator where users can read, find and bookmark webcomics.

© The oregonian

A california sea lion nicknamed “Gaucho” by biologists made his third yearly visit to the Bonneville Dam to feed on salmon in 2004. strategic partnerships at Portland State—examined the similarities and differences between news coverage and public opinion surrounding this conflict, and the issues dominating news stories.

Media and residents were able to slightly agree about who or what is to blame for the decline of the salmon population, she said. Both parties placed the majority of the blame on the sea lions, Coleman said.

While both parties are able to agree on some aspects, other views on the issue don’t always align.

“Media sometimes impacts mental frames and public opinions, but they don’t always resonate with residents,” Coleman said.

Residents’ views were more expansive, also focusing on factors like politicians, the dam, and commercial and native fishermen.

News media tended to favor legislators and other governmental sources for their stories, and relied very little on the input of Native Americans

or organizations like the Humane Society, Coleman said.

Though the river and wildlife are maintained by federal and state organizations, Native Americans were referenced very little despite their significant stake in the Columbia River and its resources, Coleman found. This differs from public opinion, which considers Native American tribes and commercial fishermen as key stakeholders in the issue, she said.

“For something so crucial to their society, they were only quoted 9 percent of the time,” Coleman said.

Attitudes toward environmental issues were also studied in relation to sea lion management. Results tended to either align with balancing nature or controlling it, Coleman found.

The study discovered that those who favored balancing nature were more in favor of sea lion relocation and were opposed to any lethal removal, while, in contrast, the residents who leaned toward controlling nature tended to support lethal removal of sea lions.

Results found that news coverage mirrored public opinion in some ways, while in other instances it did not. Attitudes about the environment tend to be a likely indication of blame about the sea lion and salmon conflict, and much more accurate.

Coleman’s closing remarks concluded the presentation and opened the floor for other speakers, such as Charles Hudson, the intergovernmental affairs director for the Columbia River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission.

Hudson discussed the impact this conflict has on Native Americans and shared information about their efforts, which he feels have been underrepresented in the media.

The logistic difficulty of relocating or removing the sea lions was also a hot topic of discussion. The current debate is whether to leave them, relocate them or kill them, Hudson said. Relocating them is one of the favored options, but “not many can be sent to a place like SeaWorld,” he said.

career fair from page 1

Workshop will feature ‘opportunities for every type of major’

Greek life grows unique culture

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Get paid $8.95 an hour/4–12 hours per week to write.

Apply online at psuvanguard.com, or drop by the Vanguard office in the Smith Memorial Student Union sub-basement, room S-26

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cameron krek, left, Dawson Green and Kieth Wemmer study at the Phi Delta Theta fraternity, to which they belong.

PSU’s Greek culture heads in a new direction Kaela O’Brien Vanguard staff

If you thought you had Greek life all figured out, think again.

Portland State students participating in sororities and fraternities say they aren’t wasting any time partying.

Instead, they say they are dedicating time to philanthropy, education and friendship.

“We have a new advisor, Jason Clark, who is helping to change the direction of PSU’s Greek life,” said Greek Council President Hayden Leach, a member of Phi Delta Theta fraternity.

Rather than trying to force PSU’s Greek life to conform to that of other universities, Clark is taking PSU in a new direction, Leach said.

Because PSU is a commuter campus with older-than-average undergraduate students, it is only fitting that PSU’s Greek life have its own set of goals, he said.

With five recognized Greek houses on campus—two sororities and three fraternities— and only 150 members, the number of students involved in Greek life is less than 1 percent, an unusually low number.

However, beyond a change in direction, there has also been a recent growth in membership, Leach said.

“We used to look for people to fill rooms at the house; now we have a waitlist.”

While the number of members has been increasing, growth is still a priority at council meetings, as well as the unification of the existing five houses.

“My goal, and the platform that I ran on for president, is unification: to bring us all closer and work together,” Leach said.

At PSU, there are many misconceptions regarding Greek life, its participants said.

The first is that all fraternity and sorority members are heavy drinkers.

“People tend to associate Greek life with drinking and partying, but so far that is not the case in any way. We are very focused on philanthropy and education,” Leach said of the PSU Greek houses.

Also linked to Greek life is the act of hazing, which has become a national issue, with horror stories circulating of hazing gone wrong.

“We and all the houses on campus are very anti-hazing,” said Scott Uhls, a member of Phi Delta Theta since spring 2011. The first week of the year is dedicated to discussing the consequences of hazing as well as finding other, more beneficial ways of creating a brotherhood bond, Uhls said.

“Every student even has to sign a contract saying they will not haze another student,” Uhls said.

Another misconception surrounding Greek life, and fraternities especially, is that a member of the same house will “back up” another member no matter what the situation, members said.

“We are not an ‘old boy’s club.’ If you do something against the guidelines, we won’t back you up. We’ll be standing right beside the administration.

You have to earn a spot. We hold high morals and ethics [standards],” Uhls said.

Members said there are many benefits to joining.

“I was apprehensive at first and didn’t see the draw,” said PSU junior Donovan Powell, a member of Phi Delta Theta.

However, after discovering that making friends on a commuter campus was more difficult than he thought, Powell said it was a “great group of guys who really got me wanting to join.”

Uhls is Powell’s “big brother,” or house mentor.

“We are the closest friends.

We share a room. It can be the best of times, and it can

be the worst of times, but at least we are having those times!” Powell said.

Uhls explained that he, too, was skeptical of joining a fraternity at first, saying that he did plenty of research, looking at the pros and cons of each fraternity option on campus.

Of all the good memories gained through Greek life, Uhls’ favorite experiences involved becoming a big brother to two new members.

“I get to help them get closer to an organization that I love and am a part of, and I get to share that love and passion,” Uhls said.

“Not only do you have a group of automatic friends, but you have brothers,” Leach said.

In addition to making bonds, giving back to the community is hugely important to all Greek houses, members said.

Nearly all the events thrown by the Greek council simultaneously serve as food drives, Leach said.

“The sororities also focus heavily on raising awareness [of ] domestic violence,” Leach added, listing some of the many different causes the fraternities and sororities aid.

Also beneficial to members of Greek life is the focus on education, participants said.

There is a support group for studying, Leach explained, noting that many of the members help one another with classes and homework.

Beyond the immediate network of friends on campus, there is also a national network of brothers and sisters that one becomes a part of when joining Greek life.

“Within my chapter, I can call any member across the nation and know that I will have a place to stay as well as [a] tour guide,” Leach said.

To any students on the fence about joining, Leach has a message: “Keep an open mind. Explore your options.

Meet the people. Do research, and give it a shot.”

A main goal of Business Accelerator is to help ideas and research to become a product.

“From our list of 11,000plus [webcomics]—it’s growing daily—people can find all the webcomics that they want,” said Andy Grossberg, cofounder and chief creative officer at Comic Rocket. “They can subscribe to them [and] share them with friends.”

Comic Rocket is part of Business Accelerator, home to 30-plus start-up companies ranging from clean tech and bioscience to technology.

“We offer them an array of services,” said Xan Pedisich, operations manager at Business Accelerator. “The huge advantage they have is the community here.”

A main goal of Business Accelerator is to help ideas and research to become a product.

One of the reasons Business Accelerator companies are so successful is that they have a great support network and a true niche, Pedisich

said. The university also provides a fair amount of exposure.

“We have a really special team of people,” Pedisich said.

Many of these companies have several ways in which they connect with Portland State, including capstone projects and job and internship opportunities.

Comic Rocket is one of those companies.

“We love to give internships and jobs to students,” Pedisich said.

Comic Rocket was formed in 2011, joining Portland Seed Fund’s first class, and then relaunched in spring 2012.

Andy Grossberg and Tim Shields, two of the cofounders, started out working with regular print comics that were being digitized.

While giving a presentation at the accelerator they ran into cofounder and current Chief Technology Officer Jamey Sharp, who is also a PSU grad. Sharp saw their demo and introduced them to his company, Serialist, a website for tracking and bookmarking webcomics.

“He said, ‘Yeah, so I’ve got this thing that me and my buddy did, and it might fit in with what you’re doing,’” Grossberg said. “We took a look, and it was like, holy cow, webcomics.”

The two companies decided to join forces, using the graphical front and heavy understanding of the comic and gaming industry of Grossberg and Shields in tandem with Sharp’s programming skills to create what Comic Rocket is today.

“It was a match made in heaven,” Grossberg said.

“We jumped right in, immediately…pivot[ing] the company from print comics into webcomics.”

One of the many userfriendly features of the website is how interactive it is.

It’s crowd-sourced, allowing users to add and subscribe to comics not already included on the site, making the list an ever-growing one.

Grossberg notes that they’ve taken this feature a step further, so that when creators start seeing traffic coming from Comic Rocket, they can claim their comic, locking down their page listing so others can’t change their info.

“They can add their own tags and description and manage it themselves,” Grossberg said. “We hope to eventually build out some author tools and really let them optimize their experience.”

Another positive feature for creators is how the comics are viewed by users.

“The traffic is actually passed through our iFrame, through to the creators, so they get all the traffic, ads and comments,” Grossberg said. “It’s still happening on their page.”

New Comic Rocket user and local webcomic artist Jeremy Burghardt admires this feature. “[I] really appreciate that [Comic Rocket] doesn’t steal ad revenue or site hits from the actual comic creators,” Burghardt said.

Another user-friendly feature is the reading list, where users can keep track of where they’ve left off in the archive of whatever webcomic they’re reading.

To check out the website and create your own webcomic list, visit comic-rocket.com.

© comic/rocket.com

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VANGUARD • Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013 • News

Geology students study local radon levels James Putnam Vanguard staff

Depending on where you live in the Portland Metro area, your home—and all its residents—may be at high risk from exposure to radon.

Radon is a natural gas that is emitted from uranium-rich rocks resting in sediment deposits left over from the great Missoula floods.

You cannot see, smell or taste radon, but that doesn’t mean it is harmless, said Portland State professor of geology Dr. Scott Burns.

“Radon is the number-one cause [of] lung cancer in nonsmokers,” Burns said.

Since 1994, Burns has been looking into the radon levels in Portland. This year, a group of PSU geology graduate students began to study old maps

radon levels in the Portland area by zip code

to find out which sediment deposits in Oregon were causing high levels of radon activity.

The graduate students took on a class project in which they began to catalog and revise the large amount of old and new data.

This year, students were able to collect data on more than 33,000 homes in 80 zip codes, getting a good idea of where the majority of radon is. The first study of radon in 1994 took note of only 1,100 Portland homes.

The data showed that one in eight homes have high radon levels and one in 15 homes have radon exposure in general.

Oregon is the first state to collect in-depth data on what its potential radon levels are, and is also the first to attempt to find out where exactly these uranium-rich rocks emitting radon are located, Burns said.

Getting your home tested can be a very simple process.

There are two types of tests: a short-term, three- to seven-day test and a long-term, threemonth test. The price for the test kits ranges from $12 to $25.

This is something you can do yourself, and kits can be purchased from stores like Home Depot. The test kits

Vanguard staff

adam wickham/VANGUARD STAFf

grade the exposure level of your house on a scale of zero to four; if your home is graded over four the Environmental Protection Agency recommends mitigation.

Mitigation involves a simple pump and fan to help push the gas from under the house and into the outside air. Simple things like opening the covers to attic crawl spaces can help circulate the air and potentially lower the effect that radon has on a home.

Typically, having your home tested and mitigated can

increase your home’s value.

It’s a potential selling point, Burns said.

“It’s the best geological hazard to have,” he said.

Houses with basements or with cracks in their foundations can give radon a better opportunity to seep into the air circulation.

Because the Oregon Health Authority is concerned about what radon is doing to people’s health, it is raising awareness and paving the way for other states to look into their own radon levels.

Bookshelf from page 1

Crime Blotter for Jan. 25–Feb. 1 Josh Kelety Vanguard Staff

Car Theft, Jan. 27 Parking Structure 3

At 6:39 a.m., Officer Brenton Chose took a report from a student who had reportedly been sleeping in his car on the third floor when at approximately 6:30 a.m. someone broke a window and stole his backpack.

Exclusion order/marijuana possession, Jan. 28 King Albert Residence Hall

At 2:05 p.m., Officer Chose, Officer Shawn McKenzie and Sgt. Joseph Schilling responded to a Housing and Residence Life request to do a welfare check on a King Albert student resident.

HRL had received a report of possible domestic abuse. Upon contacting the resident, the officers found a female student and male nonstudent David Provencal inside with a bag of marijuana, hash and needles. The illicit substances were confiscated and an exclusion order was issued to Provencal.

Exclusion order, Jan. 30 5th Avenue Cinema

At 1:42 p.m., Officer Chose found nonstudent Steven Salvo sleeping in the cinema lobby. Salvo was issued an exclusion order.

Possible magazine sales fraud, Jan. 30

At 1:34 p.m., Officer Job Buck took a report from a student who believed she was scammed by an unidentified white male. The suspect told the student that she should buy his magazines because he was competing in a Z100 radio station contest to win a trip to London and perform as a DJ on BBC. After contacting Z100, it was found that no such contest existed.

Detox, Jan. 31 Urban Plaza

At 4:00 p.m., Sgt. Michael Anderson contacted nonstudent Thomas Cogsdell for being intoxicated in public and arguing with Portland Streetcar security. Cogsdell volunteered to go to detox and was transported by Anderson.

Drug possession/ officer safety, Feb. 1 Parking Structure 3

At 8:30 a.m., a male student was taken into custody after fighting with Sgt. Robert McCleary. The student was carrying a grinder that contained marijuana residue. He appeared intoxicated and was taken into custody. He was found to have some sort of martial arts training.

Jobs on campus provide students with flexibility Kaela O’Brien

Dr. Scott burns shows off his radon kit. He has been looking into radon levels since 1994.

Middle East Studies collection highlights the pluralities of Islam “With this bookshelf, we wanted to show less of a history of Islam and show more the ways in which it is active. Our goal was to emphasize the pluralities of Islam, including the histories, the perspectives, the peoples, places and journeys of Islam,” GhaneaBassiri said.

The Bridging Cultures Bookshelf initiative, whose impetus and major funding came from the Carnegie Corporation of New York, is based on the notion that sharing history, philosophy, literature, film and art builds bridges across cultures, both within the U.S. and abroad.

GhaneaBassiri, along with a select group of academics around the country specializing in Islam, was a part of the deliberate and collaborative planning process.

The planning involved representatives from the ALA and the Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies.

The NEH led the project, but worked in conjunction with the ALA, which was responsible for the purchase and distribution of books and the outreach of libraries.

The formal process of conceptualizing the project began in January 2010.

GhaneaBassiri was the only scholar involved and was responsible for organizing the content of one of the five themes of the bookshelf: American stories.

The other themes are points

of view, pathways of religion, literary reflections and connected histories.

“We had to ask ourselves, what is the best basis for intercultural understanding and how do you define the social and cultural boundaries of Islam?” GhaneaBassiri said. “I was personally pushing for direct engagement with the texts of Islam.”

One of the requirements for library to apply for the Bridging Cultures Bookshelf was that each applicant must have a partner to help promote the event, and the Middle East Studies Center at PSU did so.

Since 1954, the library has developed and grown alongside the oldest Middle East studies center for undergraduates in the nation.

The center is designated as a National Resource Center. It is

Recently, the Oregon Legislature required that all new homes built in the Portland area come equipped with radon pumps and fans.

By making more people aware of the risks that radon poses to their health, the OHA, Burns and graduate students like Hilary Whitney aim to lower the number of people who are affected by radon.

“A lot of people don’t associate lung cancer with radon,” said Whitney, who participated in Burns’ project.

currently facing its third year of a four-year grant that comes from the federal government.

“As a National Resource Center, we have a mandate to serve as a resource for information and knowledge on the Middle East to the community at large,” said Elly Cohen, outreach coordinator at the center.

“We do this through outreach at public events, working with the media, working with K–12 schools and working to be a general source of knowledge to a wider audience.”

Being awarded the bookshelf is not only important for the PSU library, but for the center as well, said Tam Rankin, the center’s program manager.

“This award is recognition of the university’s strength in Middle East studies, both in the past and currently,” Rankin said.

The collection is now available for checkout to all students and is located on the new arrival shelf near the entrance of the library.

riza liu/VANGUARD STAFf

Kambiz ghaneaBassiri, an associate professor of religion and humanities at Reed College, speaks about the “Bridging Cultures Bookshelf: Muslim Journeys” at the Millar Library on Friday.

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Being a college student while trying to get a job can be overwhelming. However, finding a job on campus can be easier than you might think.

“You’re already here for classes, so why not have both your job and classes in one location?” said Kanani Martinez, the coordinator of the student recruitment team in charge of leading on-campus tours for prospective students and their parents.

With so many job opportunities on campus in various departments, there is always an opportunity for students to work in their field of study, said Nicholas Running, a Portland State graduate student and chair of the student employment committee.

“If you are going to medical school, you could look into working at [the Center for Student Health and Counseling],” Running said. These days, simply having a college degree and no work experience won’t cut it, he added.

Other examples of on-campus work include positions at the Office of Information Technology, the Branford P. Millar Library and the cashier services window in Neuberger Hall. More interesting positions might include working at the Academic and Student Rec Center or as a PSU student ambassador.

“You’re already here for classes, so why not have your job and classes in one location?”

Kanani Martinez Campus visit Program coordinator

“On-campus jobs tend to be more flexible,” said Greg Flores, the associate director of career counseling.

Another benefit of working on campus is that students are engaged in their community, Flores said.

“There are huge networking

opportunities through working on campus…[and] there is a greater sense of pride in your campus,” Martinez said.

Running pointed out that by working on campus, especially in a department that relates to students’ career interests, students can hopefully find a mentor.

PSU student Nicholas Keahi Ho, a senior studying community development, began working under Martinez at the Office of Admissions doing student recruitment in December of 2011. Beyond enjoying his time at work, Ho said the job has provided him with opportunities he could not have expected.

“Many of my opportunities to do internships outside of PSU stem from this position,” said Ho, who plans to complete an internship with Nike this summer.

Kate Johnson, a junior at PSU and a student recruitment team member, said she recommends working on campus.

“It’s a good fit,” she said.

For students feeling a bit

kayla nguyen/VANGUARD STAFf

Kanani Martinez, coordinator of the campus visit program, and Nicholas Keahi Ho, a student assistant and senior community development major, discuss work in the Orientation and Campus Visits Office. wary about applying for an on-campus job or concerned about where to start, there are several resources available, Flores explained.

One of the most useful is PSU’s online on-campus job database that lists many available openings.

The

majority of the jobs available on this database are office jobs. However, it is important to remember that not all job openings are listed.

Also valuable is PSU’s Career and Advising Center, which provides help with cover letters, resumes, interviews

and other career-related questions.

If there is a job on campus that you want but don’t see on the database, however, don’t be afraid to go up to the employee working there and ask how he got his job, Flores suggested.

6

Arts Arts && Culture Culture •T • Tuesday, uesday, Jan. Feb.31, 5, 2013 • VANGUARD

VANGUARD ••TThursday, Tuesday, uesday, THURSDAY, TUESDAY, Jan. Feb. JANUARY OCTOBER Nov. FEBRUARY JANUARY 31, 5, 8, 2013 2013 2012 10, 25, 26, ••2, 2012 2011 ARTS •ARTS 2012 ARTS ••&&•OPINION OPINION CULTURE & CULTURE ARTS CULTURE & CULTURE

ARTS & CULTURE

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

A strike at the system Steve McQueen’s Hunger now showing at 5th Avenue Cinema Robin Crowell Vanguard staff

Consuming faith, discharging it and absorbing it: All of these play an integral thematic role in Britiish director Steve McQueen’s 2008 film, Hunger, which is now showing at Portland State’s 5th Avenue Cinema.

Hunger takes the audience inside the walls of a corrupt prison system in 1981 Britain, navigating through various strikes, revealing close and personal images of the power systems at play and the overall squalor the prison holds its captives in.

The story details the experiences of Bobby Sands (Michael Fassbender), the leader of the 1981 hunger strike protesting the removal of specialcategory status for Irish Republican Army prisoners within the system.

While the subject matter is bleak and the film hard to watch because of its content and occasionally shocking imagery, the filmmaking and performances entrance the viewer with their composure, the striking use of color (or lack thereof) and symbolic images that tie thematic elements together in the final, climactic scenes.

As Hunger begins, prison guard Raymond Lohan (Stuart Graham) is seen rinsing his hands— his fingers swollen and the skin of his knuckles split from brutal abuse of inmates—in a pale white sink, the water subtly hued to a pinkish tint.

Raymond eats breakfast and crumbs fall down his apron and onto the floor, symbolic of the atrocities that follow later in the film. McQueen’s use

©imdb.com

hunger games: Michael Fassbender stars as imprisoned IRA leader Bobby Sands in Steve McQueen’s 2008 film Hunger. of symbolism, camera angles, blurry shots and a minimalistic score all allow the viewer a sensory experience that not only fits the circumstances but makes for clever and beautiful filmmaking.

While the dialogue is minimalistic, the actors do a lot with what little they say. Fassbender and Graham both exhibit their conviction, candor and cadence in a few spare conversations.

The brunt of the film’s dialogue occurs in one 17-minute sequence in which Bobby and a priest in his confidence discuss the meaning of the planned hunger strike and whether the strike constitutes suicide or martyrdom. As their conversation continues, religion emerges as a major

issue in the film.

Within the confines of a prison cell—walls painted with feces, urine soaking the floor, insurmountable piles of food and human waste in the corners—pages from the Bible are torn out and rolled into cigarettes, burned or used for small messages hidden within bodily cavities.

While Hunger is beautifully made, it’s worth noting that the subject matter is not for the faint of heart. On several occasions, prisoners are seen defecating on themselves and using their feces to decorate the walls of their cells during a no-wash protest in support of what eventually evolves into the hunger strike.

The prison guards repeatedly and relentlessly beat the inmates with batons before submitting them to invasive cavity searches and blatant defamation of human dignity. Urine pools around the main walkway of the prison, and the pan system requires prisoners to urinate in pans within their cells and expel them into the hallways at the end of the day.

The prison’s leaders frequently take unchecked invasive and perverse measures throughout the film, guiding the viewer through the impetus for the hunger strike that is the film’s climax.

Hunger is particularly striking in that McQueen’s direction really puts the viewer in the position of the inmates. While care is given to let the audience in on the guards’ experiences, the film relies more on informing the viewer of the state of things through the eyes of those held captive.

There are no bright colors throughout much of the film—neutrals and darkness pervade the senses with a schema that can only be described as desolate. Emotional sequences in which a single tear is all it takes to convey a poignant message are presented at length, showcasing the talent of the performers even further within the dire context of this film.

While Hunger is informative, historical and utterly riveting, this movie is not for everybody.

Weak stomachs and sensitive psyches will not make for a pleasant viewing of McQueen’s film.

Disgust and squalor are Hunger’s major themes, and those who are especially sensitive to the human experience in such conditions will have a difficult time wading through this piece.

Though Hunger moves slowly, it’s worth the wait—for those who can stomach it.

5th Avenue Cinema presents Hunger Friday, Feb. 8, and Saturday, Feb. 9, at 7 and 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, Feb. 10, at 3 p.m. $3 general admission, free for PSU students with ID

Park City prospects Sex, violence and next year’s Oscar hopefuls at Sundance 2013 Breana Harris Vanguard staff

When 76-year-old Robert Redford took the stage at the Egyptian Theatre on Jan. 17 to give his opening remarks for the Sundance Film Festival, he had some interesting things to say.

Redford touched on gun control, diversity and the conservative Utah groups that continue to protest the festival’s presence in their state because of Hollywood’s “moral bankruptcy.”

(The same moral bankruptcy that brings the state $100 million in revenue in just 10 days.) He also credited the economic recession with “saving” Sundance.

The festival, which began in 1978, has long been the Mecca of independent film: a place where filmmakers who exist outside the Hollywood system can come to present low-budget work to an audience they might not have found anywhere else, all with the hopes of ultimately selling their films.

By the end of the century, that image of Sundance had become somewhat infested with corporate money and empty fame. Redford talked about being puzzled by Paris Hilton’s attendance one year, which caused him to wonder whether Sundance had become a parody.

Shop owners in Park City even put signs in their windows saying “Locals Only,” and the residents of the snowy Utah town began to dread the influx of black-clad celebrities on cell phones.

But Redford claimed that, this year, Sundance would return to its roots. And at the core of the festival’s mission, according to the man who created it, is the desire to represent a diversity in filmmaking that the studios never really allow.

He seems to have been right. This year’s Sundance festival has resulted in more consummated

deals than any in recent history, and it boasted a more exciting lineup than it has in years.

From Jan. 17 to Jan. 27, Park City was inundated with not only celebrities but some of the most talented and remarkable people working in the film industry today. There are so many compelling projects that it’s hard to know where to begin.

Actually, for me, it’s not difficult to know where to begin. Though many critics claimed there was no stand-out film this year equal to last year’s Beasts of the Southern Wild (now an Academy Award nominee for Best Picture), many people are whispering that the best-reviewed film of Sundance 2013 could have Oscar chances after all.

It’s Richard Linklater’s Before Midnight, the third film in the trilogy that began with 1994’s Before Sunrise and continued with 2004’s Before Sunset.

The ever-evolving story of Ethan Hawke’s American novelist Jesse and Julie Delpy’s French environmentalist Celine picks up nine years later in Greece, and once again the film consists largely of the two actors wandering around a beautiful European setting having complex conversations.

I have to admit my bias here: Before Sunrise and Before Sunset are pretty much my two favorite films of all time. And I know I’m not alone.

These quintessentially independent films have a legion of passionate followers who will be just as excited as I am that the reviews of Before Midnight have been staggering. Not only do critics say it’s the best of the trilogy, multiple reviews have declared it to be a perfect movie. Perfect! This is one that will get noticed.

For whatever reason, films about sex comprised a large part of the festival this year, from Concussion, about a lesbian housewife who becomes a prostitute, to The Look of Love, in which Steve Coogan plays British porn tycoon Paul Raymond, to Kink, a documentary about bondage pornography produced by James Franco.

But the biggest success story in that category belongs to Lovelace, a biopic about 1970s porn actress Linda Lovelace (star of Deep Throat), who was coerced into the industry by her abusive

7

How to make it in the art game Area artist, gallerist, offer tips for aspiring visual arts students Jeoffry Ray Vanguard staff

A couple of opening words of advice to aspiring visual artists: artists beware.

Pursuing a career in the visual arts can be daunting. In an ever-changing field that often seems governed by subjectivity and social whims, it can be difficult to navigate the shifting path to success. And success is a highly dubious word in a world given to constantly evolving trends and a tendency toward self-critique.

So what’s an aspiring artist to do? Every artist’s path to fame is different, but a few noted voices in Portland’s art scene have some advice and personal experience to share with students looking to break into the visual art world.

“Develop a cohesive body of work,” said Mark Woolley, owner and director of the Mark Woolley Gallery located in Pioneer Place.

“Focus on thoughtful, insightful content, rather than taking a shotgun, scatter-ball approach.”

Having invested 20 years of his life in the Portland art business, Woolley has seen and shown plenty of artists. His commercial gallery is one of three on the third floor of Pioneer Place’s Atrium building.

Woolley has also operated art spaces in the Pearl District and Northeast Portland, and was involved with the initial development of the Wonder Ballroom, a prominent Portland venue.

“What dealers don’t respond to is when people submit six completely different things, rather than a consistent body of work,” he said.

Portland-based painter and radio host Eva Lake echoed Woolley’s advice.

“Find your voice,” she said. “I think there is a lot out there keeping us from it. Be yourself times 10.”

In addition to a history of shows throughout Portland and Oregon, Lake has shown work in San Francisco, New York and abroad. She also hosts the KBOO program Art Focus, for which

all photos corinna scott /VANGUARD STAFf

through the looking glass: Local artist Blake Stellyes admires PSU aluma Kayla Newell’s artwork last month at the Mark Woolley Gallery. Attending fellow artists’ shows is a surefire way to network and make connections. she interviews an array of artists, gallerists, curators and more.

“The key is having that story no one else can tell,” she said. “That can take decades to find and develop. In fact, I’d say you shouldn’t be in a rush to come to conclusions about who you are. Just don’t let anyone else tell you!”

Of course, there is always the networking side of the business. Artists might dread the thought of social engagement with the art world, but as both Lake and Woolley pointed out, art can’t be seen in a social vacuum.

“If you want someone to be interested in you, be interested in them,” Lake said. “Go to openings, engage, ask questions. Art is a conversation. Galleries want to know who you are, not just what you make.”

Woolley made the same point from the gallery owner’s perspective. He underscored the importance of being knowledgeable and involved with the galleries and openings, and having the ability to talk thoughtfully about one’s own work—and to engage with the work of others.

“Go out and see what’s being shown, and educate yourself about the galleries you’re approaching,” he said. “People [who] only focus on their work and don’t educate themselves about what’s going on, and the venues involved in showing, are really selling themselves short.”

Woolley also noted that a history of showing can be important, and acknowledged that it can be difficult to get started. But he pointed to such institutions as Portland’s Regional Arts and Culture Council as great resources for an artist looking to get started with group shows.

Lake, who has made it her business to engage with the art world not only as an artist but as a radio host and writer, suggested that innovation and working with others were also key.

“Show your friends, create your own scene, hang a show in your studio or living room,” she said. “Write the press release, the whole nine yards. Help someone else. Create a situation in which your hand isn’t out, but is the one that is helping. Karma works.”

breaking through: Getting from the outside to the inside of the art world can be tough, but it’s easier with these tips.

Woolley also wants to see innovation in the work itself, and in particular the thinking behind the work. He noted that most gallery directors and curators will look for an artist’s awareness of his or her content.

“Being able to talk about your own work is usually helpful, whether directly or through a good artist’s statement,” he said. “As a dealer, I’m always interested in what people are trying to say through their work. Whether the work was engaging and well-crafted—these are things I would look at.”

But perhaps most importantly, Woolley suggested all aspiring artists be persistent. He noted that he’s often worked with artists after spending a good deal of time watching their development and seeing their growth.

“Be patient!” he said. “Keep refining what you’re doing, and feel free to take your time with it. Don’t try to shove the work along or force it too quickly.”

Avocado eggs An addictive baked delight © Reuters

the natural: Sundance founder and silver fox Robert Redford addresses the press last month at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. husband and later became a Gloria Steinem-inspired anti-porn crusader.

Lovelace is played by Amanda Seyfried, known to the masses as the girl from Mamma Mia! She’s an actress I genuinely think more people should love, and she rarely gets to play a lead role like this.

The reviews for her performance have been strong, and with Harvey Weinstein now backing the film, she could actually be looking at a Best Actress nomination. Not to mention it’s being described as a feminist Boogie Nights, and what’s not to love about that?

Both the Grand Jury Prize and the Audience Award were claimed by Fruitvale, the true story of 22-year-old Oscar Grant, a young black man shot by an Oakland police officer in 2009. The film was written and directed by 26-year-old USC grad Ryan Coogler, and Grant is played by Michael B. Jordan (Wallace from The Wire).

Fruitvale is this year’s classic Sundance story of a first-time director getting noticed for the emotional impact of his work, something that Redford must be proud of.

The list of other buzzed-about films at the festival is overwhelming.

Brit Marling and Zal Batmanglij brought their latest film, The East, the story of an anarchist group that attacks big corporations starring Alexander Skarsgard and Ellen Page.

Marling and Batmanglij’s 2012 film, Sound of My Voice, was one of the best things I saw last year; they’re an inspired team.

Harry Potter himself, Daniel Radcliffe, is getting rave reviews for his portrayal of a young Allen Ginsberg in Kill Your Darlings. Nicole Kidman and Mia Wasikowska’s twisted family drama, Stoker, has proved controversial with its themes of youth and violence.

And then, of course, there’s Two Mothers, in which Naomi Watts and Robin Wright have affairs with each other’s adult sons.

If Sundance has truly gone from indie to sellout and back again, it might be an encouraging sign for the film industry in general. At the very least, it proves that there is still a massive range of stories to be told and a massive range of visionary filmmakers to tell them.

That’s enough to give a Hollywood legend like Robert Redford hope for the future, and judging by 2013’s festival, it should be enough to give film lovers everywhere the same.

Kat Audick Vanguard staff

Eggs and avocados were meant to be together; if they had evolved properly, every pit would be a yolk and it would save us a step of prep-work.

Once you try this delicious treat you won’t be able to get them in your gut fast enough.

Totally unique and easy to prepare, this baked avocado egg is the coolest brunch recipe since the Benedict.

Baked avocado eggs are not only savory and creamy, they’re rich in protein and bursting with vitamins that will help you start your day right. The cilantro and salsa add a crisp, fresh flavor that balances and brightens this dish.

Each avocado half is its own complete serving vessel, so the final presentation looks great for guests.

Large or small Hass avocados work well for this recipe. When selecting your produce, err on the side of too firm: There is nothing worse than slicing open your fruit to find its flesh blackened by the thumbprints of a hundred other customers’ hands.

Slightly firm avocados are also entirely fine for this recipe, since the baking process will

Ingredients 2 medium Hass avocados, sliced lengthwise and pitted 4 eggs 4 tbsp fresh cilantro, coarsely chopped 1 tsp chili powder, divided 1 tsp cumin, divided 3/4 cup sharp cheddar cheese, shredded 3 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced 1 clove garlic, minced 1/3 red onion, diced 1 fresh jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced 1 tsp lime juice Fresh ground black pepper and kosher salt

karl kuchs/VANGUARD STAFf

Ditch the Mayonegg for this far more flavorful egg-based snack, which features fresh additions like jalapenos, cilantro, red onion and lime juice.

Instructions help soften them to perfection.

This recipe pairs your baked avocado egg with salsa for a Mexican-inspired meal, but the treat on its own can complement many meals. Substitute this recipe as an appetizer for your next dinner get-together or pair it with a fresh garden salad for a vegetablepacked lunch.

The flavors are hearty and versatile, and can be altered with a few herbs and spices to fit into any meal.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Farenheit. Prepare side salsa by combining diced tomato, garlic, onion, jalapeno, lime juice, salt and pepper to taste, then set aside in the fridge, covered. Slice avocados lengthwise and pit them, setting each half face-up on a baking pan. If your avocado is having trouble remaining upright, try settling each half in a small pile of uncooked rice.

Line each avocado pit indent with 1 tablespoon fresh cilantro. If your pit was small, either remove some avocado flesh or carefully

pour off some of the egg white to ensure that your egg will fit inside the avocado half.

Place one egg inside each half. Sprinkle the eggs with a pinch of chili powder, cumin, salt and pepper, and bake for approximately 10 minutes at 400 F or until eggs have firmed to your desire.

Sprinkle each baked avocado with shredded cheddar and return to the oven until melted.

Serve with a side of fresh tomato salsa and enjoy immediately.

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VANGUARD ••TThursday, Tuesday, uesday, THURSDAY, TUESDAY, Jan. Feb. JANUARY OCTOBER Nov. FEBRUARY JANUARY 31, 5,8, 2013 2013 2012 10, 25, 26, ••2, 2012 2011 ARTS •ARTS 2012 ARTS ••&&•OPINION OPINION CULTURE & CULTURE ARTS CULTURE & CULTURE

© Neil Wavright

thievery collaboration: The members of Bike Thief, clockwise from left, Greg Allen, Charlie Barker (foreground) and Dylan McGown (background), Febian Perez and Brandon Elhaj perform at a house show on Jan. 26.

Thick as thieves Bike Thief hits the ground running Mike Diallo Vanguard staff

A significant breath signals the opening of Ghost of Providence, the debut EP from local folk outfit Bike Thief. By the second listen, it sounds like a breath of fresh air.

Though the EP was only released on Jan. 1, Bike Thief has already garnered acclaim around the city, including winning The Deli Portland’s Band of the Month for December 2012.

Bike Thief will be celebrating their recent success by playing The Deli’s showcase this Friday at Mt. Tabor Theater with The Lower 48 and Eidolons.

Numerous write-ups and a general buzz— along with an indie-rock/post-folk track list that caters perfectly to the tastes of the eversupportive Portland music scene—have all led to a number of shows and opportunities for Bike Thief, including a summer tour with a couple of their labelmates on River Jones Music.

The band’s founder and leader, Febian Perez, assures me this was no accident, and that Bike Thief was completely professional from the start. Perez knew what he wanted out of the band back when he was the only member and living in Austin, Texas.

“I was looking for people before I moved here; I had a Craigslist ad,” Perez said. “I had

about 100 auditions when I got here and I tried everybody out in late June.”

There was a distinct pause.

“And none of those people worked out.”

Perez moved from Austin to Portland after these failed auditions, though he started preparing three months beforehand so that he would at least have a place to begin Bike Thief, for which he had a very particular vision.

It was tumultuous at the beginning, and Perez admits that he’s a bit obsessive when it comes to his sound—and, by extension, the pieces that make it—though it comes from a place of passion.

“I want to make [our music] as true to the sound I hear in my head [as possible],” Perez said.

“Exactly,” echoed Dylan McGown, Bike Thief’s drummer.

McGown’s sentiments parallel those of the rest of Perez’s recruits, who all underwent an extensive evaluation before joining Bike Thief.

Perez likened the audition process to the courtship before a relationship. The vetting was an arduous but necessary process.

“I tried out three times,” McGown said. “I knew the music was there and that’s why I wanted to be in the band, and I didn’t really realize it was such a process, but after he told me the reasons why, I understood.”

“I needed to make sure that [everyone’s] personality matched mine,” Perez said. “I needed to make sure they understood the dynamics.”

It’s admirable to see the work put into crafting each piece, especially when one considers

that there are eight performers working together in this ensemble.

Three vocalists (Tiffany Pays, Stacy Moore, Maya Dagmi) back up Perez, and they are joined by Brandon Elhaj on bass, Charlie Barker on guitar, Greg Allen on violin and viola and McGown on drums.

Bike Thief demonstrates a dedication to collaboration that produces delicate artistry like the songs on Ghost of Providence, a mostly haunting and reflective piece.

“All the music is kind of—not to say depressing—kind of somber-feeling,” Elhaj said. “But that’s [something] nice about the EP for me, that all the sound is centered around the dark and cryptic.”

Despite the somewhat morose tone, the album remains easily accessible through its lyricism and genre-crossing instrumentals.

“Battles” mixes the twang of folk with classical strings to create an eclectic sound underneath the atmospheric, brooding mood created by the vocals, which come back around and pair nicely with the strings.

It’s a full-bodied, enjoyable song to kick off the album, and it definitely shows strong promise for the band as they expand their base.

The titular tracks “Ghost of Providence” parts one and two do fine telling their story, the first setting the atmosphere for a joyous yet ultimately disconcerting message, the second veering into an almost authoritarian, dystopian realm.

Tonally, Bike Thief conveys the message that

awareness of our past—and present—is the only way we stop anything, but the lyrics occasionally lack the specificity to match the music.

The two most lyric-heavy tracks (“Look Up” and “Perfect Demise”) are on totally opposite sides of the spectrum—not qualitatively, though I do find more to connect with in “Look Up”s more youthful, less jaded take on the subject of love.

Even with its sweeping classical strings—one of my favorite arrangements on the record— “Perfect Demise” still brought me to a place of pity rather than empathy. This could have been a stylistic choice, but then the lyrics should have pushed even further in that direction.

“Look Up” may be more of a good-time cautionary tale, but the folk atmosphere works with the song’s subject matter of love just being trouble.

Overall, Ghost of Providence is a magnificent debut, and it has me hooked on yet another upand-comer in the Portland music scene. Catch them at Mt. Tabor Theater on Feb. 8; you’ll want to see Bike Thief live.

To Listen to Bike Thief ’s Ghost of Providence go to psuvanguard.com/arts.

Bike Thief Ghost of Providence River Jones Music Available at bikethief.bandcamp.com The Deli Portland presents The Lower 48, Eidolons and Bike Thief Mt. Tabor Theater Friday, Feb. 8, 9:30 p.m.

Tickets $5 21+

ALL MAJORS CAREER FAIR THURSDAY, FEB. 7, 11 A.M.—3 P.M. SMITH MEMORIAL STUDENT UNION BALLROOM

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oregon department of human services aetna, inc. pacific capital resource group, inc.

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Progressive insurance clackamus county psu grad studies (ogs) Cambia health solutions cbs interactive Tillamock cheese college pro painters vensai technologies inc. psu business accelerator nw mutual

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Career TBD mASEEH COLLEGE oF ENGINEER & COMP SCI rockwell collins flight dynamics discogs campus point glumac DOW AGROSCIENCES daimler Trucks north america pacificorp kaiser permanente TBD US Army ohsu biomedical informatics saturno Coastal Margin Observation Pheonex technologies ltd. odot harris group, inc. webtrends portland general electric web md health services biotronik rohde & schwarz, inc. business education compact bmwc constructors, inc. thetus corporation LATTICE SEMICONDUCTOR CORPoration TE CONNECTIVITY - medical kpff consulting engineers us marine corps officer programs garmin at puppet labs harder mechanical contractors, inc. resource data, inc.

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The portland group tbd mentor graphics fm global city of portland

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OPINiON • Tuesday, Feb. 5, 2013 • VANGUARD

VANGUARD •• Tuesday, THURSDAY, Feb. NOVEMBER 5, 2013 •10, OPINiON 2011 • SPORTS

OPINION

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

A foot in the lab door First student research symposium holds hidden benefits for PSU undergraduates

What is alt lit?

Before the resume

That’s a really good question

Important precursors to applying for jobs

One Step Off Emily Lakehomer

W

hen you’re in high school and all your friends are talking about what they’re going to do with their lives, college majors are usually a key topic. What you study at the college level generally has a pretty significant role in dictating your career options, right? Right.

If you search an ‘alt lit’ tag on any blogging platform you’ll come up with myriad results.

© Horia Varlan/Flickr.com

Concepts and Commentary Janieve Schnabel

N

owadays, research isn’t something done only by doctors or career scientists. Students who want to get ahead in life, even undergraduates, should be getting out there and establishing themselves as competent researchers.

That’s easier said than done, though. Getting your research recognized when there aren’t any neat degrees listed after your name can be difficult.

That’s why students—particularly in the sciences—should be excited about the upcoming student research symposium here at Portland State.

Students currently involved in research projects have until March 8 to apply for a spot to present their work. The students selected will have the opportunity to present either in a poster format or in a 15-minute presentation of a paper they authored or coauthored.

This is not only an excellent networking opportunity for students eager to move forward in their careers, but also a great way to learn how research is presented and to practice doing so for the future. And these days, any practical experience is worth its weight in gold.

Dean Atkinson, an associate professor in the chemistry department, believes undergraduate research is particularly important for students con-

15

sidering graduate school. “In my area of expertise, virtually all graduate students are involved in research,” Atkinson said.

According to the article “The Importance of Undergraduate Research” published in Science, “publications are great,” but it’s the practical experience gained and the connections formed that matter. “Without those things, today’s top tier-graduate programs may not even look at you,” the article says.

Atkinson thinks students who present at the symposium will benefit from it in more ways than one. “It will be good for practicing scientific communication, which is especially important for conveying one’s thoughts clearly to other professionals,” he said.

The symposium also benefits the school. Studies have shown that departments with undergraduate research tend to have a higher student retention rate than those without undergraduate research.

Additionally, the symposium will likely garner the attention of research-oriented organizations or programs.

Not only does this increase the likelihood of receiving more funding, it puts PSU on the radar as a research institution like our partner school, Oregon Health and Science University.

Never underestimate the power of a good reputation.

With any luck, the symposium will encourage students to think about becoming involved in research. According to Atkinson, the benefits students reap from research prior to graduate study are significant.

“There are two key reasons undergraduates should get involved in research,” he said.

“First, the real-life experience is valuable, particularly for those considering graduate school or a laboratory career.”

The second is developing a working relationship with a faculty member. “The closer collaboration is good for mentorship and letters of recommendation,” he said.

This is all well and good for students who have already started their research, but what about those who haven’t yet begun establishing themselves in the field? Although it may be too late to start a project for this year’s symposium, it’s not too early to start a project for next year, as the symposium is meant to be an annual event.

Trying to find good research experience is difficult.

Anybody can tell you that.

It’s more like looking for a job or applying for prestigious scholarships than what students usually associate with academic pursuits. It involves three main components: networking, thorough investigation and persistence.

Atkinson, an adviser himself, says that faculty advisers, particularly in the sciences, can point students in the right

direction. PSU has numerous options available, including the McNair Scholars program, the National Science Foundation Research Experiences for Undergraduates program in physics, and funding for faculty research that allows professors to take on undergraduate students to assist in their research.

Upon finding a potential research experience, a student then needs to check it out carefully. The research should be performed under an advisor with a doctoral degree and at an institution with a good reputation. Ideally, the research should be relevant to the student’s eventual career goals, but this may not be possible in all cases.

Finally, students should be ready for rejection. Paid research positions, in particular, are difficult to obtain as an undergraduate without prior experience, so persistence is key.

Atkinson recommends performing research without pay—possibly as an intern— before doing it for credit or income. This not only helps get one’s foot in the door, but also helps students become more confident in their abilities as researchers.

For those who already have research projects underway, the symposium is a fantastic opportunity to connect with other students and professionals. And for those who have not yet begun a research project, perhaps next year’s symposium could be the inspiration needed to take the plunge and join the world of research.

My two best friends from high school are both psychology majors, as are a majority of the people I graduated with back in 2010. I am one of a handful of English majors to come out of the loving arms of Redmond High School. And now that I’m a junior, I’m at the point where I’m asking myself, “What the hell was I thinking? What do I do with this degree?”

In all honesty, I want to be a professor of some sort. That life seems pretty interesting, plus once I’ve achieved tenure I can do things like get my throat tattooed, and I’m really looking forward to that future.

But what other options or lives are there for English majors, or those prone to writing?

A few months ago, I was thrown into the bowels of this little Internet movement called “alt lit.” If it sounds familiar, you probably saw the article that Vice magazine recently published about it (and basically called everyone who writes under the guise of alt lit a narcissist) or you’re an avid Tumblr user.

Alt lit mainly consists of young—and by young I mean mid-20s/post-undergraduate young—people who write in earnest about their sex lives, failed relationships and drug use, the usual fodder that takes up people’s Tumblr, Twitter and Blogspot accounts. Everything in alt lit exists on the Internet, putting the aforementioned blogospheres to good use.

Alt lit is, for the most part, very minimal in its execution. Big names include Tao Lin, Crispin Best, Steven

Roggenbuck (who makes really great, poetic videos; look him up on YouTube) and pretty much any writer who’s been published on Thought Catalog or Shabby Doll House.

If you search an “alt lit” tag on any blogging platform you’ll come up with myriad results ranging from poems and prose to videos and images.

A trending thing within the community is taking a screenshot of a poem or piece of writing while it’s still in a word processing program, then Photoshopping the screenshot onto a photo of flowers or the ocean or whatever the writer wants.

Vice made a big mistake when it called out alt lit writers and labeled them narcissists. These writers and young people are using the technology of their age in a new and innovative form.

Using Gchat, Twitter posts and Facebook status updates is fun and interesting. Plus, these people are fun to talk to on the Internet because, apart from the fact that many of them have garnered success through self-publishing their work online and throwing themselves under buses through their own writing, they’re people. Real, living, breathing people. Not to say that writers like J.K. Rowling and Jeffrey Eugenides (most underrated mainstream author ever) aren’t “real people,” but I imagine they’re much harder to approach in real life than someone whose career you’ve followed via the Internet.

Alt lit is, for the most part, very minimal in its execution.

Alt lit is changing how its audience thinks about words and writing, which is exactly what being an English major should make you do, right?

So if you fear that post-grad stress of, “Cool, I have a degree that says I can write well,” then fear not—the alt lit community may be, at the very least, a place to garner some inspiration.

You don’t have to write the next Eeeee Eee Eeee, but you can certainly take alt lit for what it is: creative, raw and very, very weird.

Ms. Fudge’s Sweet Nothings Stephanie Fudge-Bernard

S Karl Kuchs/VANGUARD STAFf

$1 million worth of progress PSU’s graduation rates a step in the right direction Everywhere and Here Eva-Jeanette Rawlins

A

bout a year ago, the Coalition of Communities of Color released a report referencing Portland State under the heading “The Latino Community in Multnomah County: An Unsettling Profile.” The following month there was a follow-up report on the Asian and Pacific Islander communities in the same county. Both reports were, as their titles suggested, “unsettling.”

The focus of the research were the major inequities experienced by minorities in Portland, including in the area of education. It showed that 43.7 percent of Latinos haven’t graduated high school, compared to 6 percent of whites.

Among Asians and Pacific Islanders, one in five don’t graduate high school.

The reports were downright bleak, and pointed to little progress being made in the “whitest city” in the U.S. They highlighted historic disparities in the levels of land ownership, employment and income levels between minorities and whites, suggesting that, as progressive as Portland counts itself, this is one area where it isn’t.

Now, a year later, we wonder what (if any) were the effects of this research. Has anything changed? Has there been any movement in the right direction? To answer: A glimmer of hope came at the beginning of this year when PSU was awarded the largest merit award—$1 million—of all the Oregon universities for graduating the most rural

and minority Oregonians in 2011–12.

The university graduated 818 students in this underrepresented demographic and that’s worth celebrating. It’s still not an even playing field, but it’s a step down the road, and one less bumpy. It means something’s happening, something’s moving in the stiff and unyielding fabric of the social structure. Though it may not signal gargantuan transformations, it’s key to celebrate even the smallest of victories.

Looking at the historical experiences of many minorities in Oregon, there haven’t been a whole lot of opportunities for celebration. The reports pointed out the consistent pattern of minorities being “treated as outsiders—and not a legitimate part of the fabric of the USA, even when residents have been there for generations and lifetimes.”

For instance, in 1911 Asians were still ineligible for citizenship, and around this time Oregon passed a law prohibiting noncitizens from owning land—convenient. It wasn’t until 1949 that the Oregon legislature lifted the ban on “aliens…working on farms, living on farms and even stepping onto farm fields.” Aliens basically meant anyone who wasn’t white.

Lest we think this treatment of minorities is archaic, as late as 1968 “red-lining”—denying loans based on ethnicity—was still a common practice. This was outlawed in theory, but research conducted by Oregon State University revealed that

Oregon continued “to tolerate such practices until the 1990s by the real estate industry.”

We don’t have a good track record when it comes to fair treatment for all. Where nonwhites have, as the report details, been “denied access to traditional wealth-generating engines such as free land allotments, home ownership, business development and income protection during times of unemployment,” why would education not reflect that trend?

Minorities have experienced decades of discrimination here in Oregon, and there is no quick fix, no easy answer. It’s going to be the small but vital victories like the one mentioned above that promise change.

It will mean pushing for more than 818 graduations next time—how about 1,000?

It’s going to involve engaging students in both middle school and high school, long before they’re told college is an unattainable dream. It will mean continuing to provide access and opportunity to students whose parents may have known none. It can happen.

Slowly but surely. It has to.

Change also needs to happen higher up to achieve a wider impact. One of the most illuminating facts in the first report’s findings was that there was only one Latino state representative in Oregon, and none in the state Senate. Equal representation of all communities is critical to everyone’s voices being heard, not just those who shout loudest.

PSU President Wim Wiewel said, “We have made special efforts to reach out to underrepresented groups and made sure they could succeed.”

Great! We see the results, Mr. President, let’s not stop there.

earching for a job as a college student can sometimes feel more gruesome than taking a bath with sandpaper instead of soap. Interviewers seem to always have their own idiosyncrasies, from how a resume should be formatted to what shoes you should wear to an interview.

Before even getting to that frustrating point in the system, there are a few things a job-seeker can look into to be better prepared for finding that perfect company to work for.

First, it’s incredibly important to figure out what you’re actually interested in before you get to an interview. This doesn’t mean kayaking; it means getting a starting point for what industries and companies you would be most likely to succeed in and narrowing your focus to what types of companies you’ll want to start looking at.

There are many online interest assessments and search engines that can help you narrow your options. The U.S. Department of Labor has a cool website called mynextmove.org that will recommend career options that fit the interests you plug in.

After you figure out which industries you might be interested in, a great next step would be looking into what kind of work activities you’ll be expected to do and how much you’ll make doing them.

The ONet Resource Center at

onetcenter.org is a great resource developed, once again, by the DOL that allows job seekers to search for more specific information about occupations. You can find specific tasks and work values and see what the median wages are in your state.

It’s incredibly important to figure out what you’re actually interested in before you get to an interview.

After establishing these basics about who you are and where you want to go, start networking. Create a snazzy LinkedIn profile and start connecting with people. While it’s by no means a guarantee, recruiters do sometimes use LinkedIn and might stumble across your page.

Once you’ve gotten an idea of some industries you’d enjoy working in and know what kind of salary you’d be making, it’s time to start researching specific companies. It’s good to read the basics on a company’s

“About Us” page, but that isn’t going to be extensive enough to figure out whether you should be applying.

Is the company stable, and will it exist in a few years? Form 10-K annual reports, metrics like Strength, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats analyses and competitor figures can help to identify whether a company is actually going to stick around long enough for you to get experience.

Another thing to explore is a company’s culture. Things like mission and vision statements might help you see the basics of what an organization is about, but try to dig a little deeper. It’s difficult to find this one without working for a company, but reputations, online customer reviews and even how a firm’s website looks can give clues into what it will be like to work there.

To go further, visit websites like glassdoor.com to see real employee comments on what it’s like working for an organization in your city. While it’s good to remember that not all the information on these sites is necessarily accurate, they can help to indicate what you might be getting yourself into.

Above all, learn whatever you can about the companies you apply to. Even students who just want to find any job they can get their hands on will benefit from using information to personalize a resume, cover letter and interview. Knowledge is always going to be power, and showing an interviewer how informed you are might just be the edge that lands you a job.

Karl Kuchs/VANGUARD STAFf

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ETC. ETC.• •Thursday, Tuesday,Nov. Feb. 8, 5, 2012 2013 • VANGUARD

VANGUARD •• Tuesday, THURSDAY, Feb. NOVEMBER 5, 2013 •10, OPINiON 2011 • SPORTS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Erick Bengel EDITOR@PSUVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5691

Club for winter term. This meeting will consist of an informal discussion based on a philosophical question FREE chosen by the group.

Where’s the Frenchiesocialist-totalitarian dream?

Friday, Feb. 8

Great Decision Series: China in Africa Noon–1 p.m.

Shattuck Hall Annex 1914 SW Park Ave.

In his second term, Obama needs to get down to the business of destroying America Deeply Thought Thoughts Ryan S. Cunningham KARL KUCHS/VANGUARD STAFf

11 minutes of sound and fury What we talk about when we talk about football This, Too, is Meaningless Benjamin Ricker

M

ore people tune in for the NFL’s season-opening games than for the World Series. And it doesn’t take a bachelor’s degree to explain why. Compared to most things on TV, baseball is colorless and static.

In drab uniforms, players spend most of their time milling around, kicking dirt, their minds on something else, hoping the pitcher will take care of things.

Fans will tell you that meticulous strategy and intricate interpersonal nuance run deep under baseball’s surface tedium. It’s like a chess game, they say.

Apparently everything, scrutinized closely enough, begins to look like a chess game and is therefore worth a second look. Nonetheless, the complex inner workings that only experts truly dig don’t make baseball any more telegenic. Like jazz music or Garrison Keillor (each a chess game in their own right), baseball belongs to the past and is better suited to radio.

More than 100 million people will watch Super Bowl XLVII this Sunday, but fewer than 13 million watched the last World Series. And if 20 years of downward-sloping Nielsen ratings is any indication, even fewer will bother with this year’s.

The starched and pressed World Series simply can’t hold a candle to the flashy, kinetic thrill of football’s

nonstop violence: two hours of armored, machinelike creatures colliding head-on at speeds that only a wrecked car could relate to.

And in a country that wants a fifth Die Hard movie, football was bound to smother baseball. It’s elementary.

Football has more of what Americans want: commotion. Right? Maybe not.

A couple years ago, David Biderman of The Wall Street Journal reported that your average football game contains only about 11 minutes of actual play-time. If you add up only the time the ball is in play, snap to whistle, the Super Bowl offers less action than its halftime show.

If the game takes only 11 minutes to play but three hours to watch, then what else do we get for our time?

There’s plenty of milling around in football, instant replays and footage of coaches on the sideline glaring in petulant fury. But mostly it’s advertisements. According to Biderman, commercials— added up—account for about one-third of a televised football game.

Our ferocious appetite for bruising competition did less to elevate football than our passion for windowshopping. Football seduces America’s inner Imelda Marcos more than it stokes our inner John McClane. This is, after all, a country in which it’s not unusual to abandon last year’s iPhone because

Apple released a new model.

Americans go deeper in debt to attain “studio quality” sound from headphones just because Dr. Dre says they should.

Because there is so little football in a football game, our love of the pastime can only be attributed in small part to the game itself. Our minds swell automatically with big screen thoughts of icy Budweisers, crispy Doritos, soda pop and lounging in sweats all day when we hear the warm, dumb-hearted tenor of John Madden’s voice over the muted roar of 70,000 fans.

But football tickles more than just the hemispheres of the brain that govern our hyper-consumerist instincts. I, myself, am not made of stone.

The mesmerizing din of football on a nearby TV takes me back to being little, drowsing in and out of sleep on the scratchy, cigarette-burnt, houndstooth-patterned carpet in my grandma’s smoky living room—in a good way.

Though football doesn’t mean much to me, I still like it. I watch it sometimes, though I can’t name more than a few players. When it’s on I (being from a city without a home team) root for the underdog—unless, of course, the underdog is from Texas or Florida.

If I had to choose a team, I’d pick the Cincinnati Bengals.

The beating they received from Joe Montana’s 49ers in Super Bowl XXIII, the first I remember watching, stained them permanently. And there’s a special alcove in my heart for losers. Plus, their uniforms are neat.

S

ince the moment Barack Obama assumed the office of president of the United States in 2009, our nation’s leading proponents of objective political analysis have heralded the imminent arrival of a dystopian nightmare: a future of socialized medicine, a job-killing eco-fascist bureaucracy and—worse!—sprawling, strangling webs of high-speed interurban railways.

This alarmist tenor didn’t abate with the president’s reelection last fall, an occasion that caused Ann Coulter to lament Americans’ accession of subjective autonomy to the Obamawellian superstate by saying, “People are suffering.

The country is in disarray…We have more takers than makers and it’s over. There is no hope.”

And the warnings continue!

In January, Glenn Beck, a leading advocate of innovative discourse that displaces fact as the center of discursive cogency with an imperative to just-spewyour-deepest-paranoid-fearsinto-a-webcam, revealed that the president has been actively brewing a state of civil war in the U.S. “What does the president want? What [was] it that they’ve been trying to get since the day this guy has been in office? You to react. You to be violent,” Beck said of Obama’s forthcoming elimination of all public dissent through a clampdown on rebellious Second Amendment defenders.

But after four years of Obama, how far has the president moved the nation toward this lofty promise? The one about the nation’s complete and

utter subjection to the stiflingly snug blanket of the modern American liberal negation of the self?

A close analysis reveals that President Obama has singularly failed to deliver on this account. Therefore, I implore the president to get down to the serious business of destroying America.

His first order of business should be to reverse the troubling trend of economic growth that’s afflicted the nation over the past three years. Obama had a prime opportunity to bring America to its knees during his first year in office, when the U.S. recorded an annual rate of negative gross domestic product growth of 3.5 percent, the greatest contraction since the Great Depression. Instead, the president shortsightedly demurred from this unprecedented opportunity to centralize the means of production and institute martial law.

In an unfortunate turn for the president’s established totalitarian ambitions, the American economic machine has maintained its steady march toward the eventual recovery of a prosperous complacency.

Whence comes the bold and decisive leadership required of a man who would aspire to the company of Joseph Stalin, Mao Zedong or Adolf Hitler?

Where is our industrially ruinous five-year plan, our productivity-sapping collectivization of agriculture, our globally antagonizing policy of massive military rearmament?

Worse yet, the U.S. has regained much of its international political preeminence.

Inheriting from George W. Bush the sucking atrophy of America’s reputation abroad, Obama would have done well to continue playing the role of bungling hegemonic global pariah, inexorably entrenched in the twin military quagmires of Iraq and—graveyard of empires!—Afghanistan.

But the president quickly dialed down our neo-imperial ambitions and engaged world audiences with a mollifying articulateness and amiability. For shame! How can this foreignpolicy sanity possibly stimulate the development of the cagey, paranoid national consciousness that is the precondition of the president’s mobilization of the masses in ruthless pursuit of Lebensraum?

The evidence obviously indicates that the U.S. has entered a new reign of Hope and Possibility under the leadership of President Obama.

We feel none of the Weimarera schadenfreude. The nation is increasingly prosperous and well-grounded: Major steps have been taken to make health care available and affordable to all; Apple iPads proliferate in our nation’s schools and business places; marijuana is increasingly tolerated; Seth Rogen continues to make films.

The respective successes of Twilight: Breaking Dawn Part II and MTV’s Jersey Shore seem to show that America is indeed entering something of a cultural renaissance.

Clearly, drastic measures must be taken. I fear, should this national recovery continue, that the death-of-the-individual dystopia (the logical and desirable end of modern American liberalism) would remain as only the quixotic mirage of a lonely few cable-televisiondwelling dreamers.

In this lecture Bruce Gilley, PSU professor of political science, will pose important questions as well as offer answers concerning China’s involvement in Africa and how this affects the U.S. in this lecture, located FREE in Shattuck Hall.

Lecture: Four Performing Techniques in Chinese Opera sdnews.com.cn

Ring in the Year of the Snake with authentic food and performances at PSU’s Chinese New Year Night 2013 on Friday, Feb. 8, from 5:30-9:45 p.m. in the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom.

Tuesday, Feb. 5

Five-Week Advanced Class Series: Bearings Noon–1 p.m.

PSU Bike Hub 1818 SW Sixth Ave.

The PSU Bike Hub offers the third class in a five-week series on understanding your bike and how to repair it. This class is about bearings.

Classes are free for Bike Hub members and $25 for nonmembers. For more information visit the PSU Bike Hub webpage at pdx.edu/ bikehub/home.

What Happened to Portland’s Japantown?

5 p.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union, room 238 1825 SW Broadway

The Portland State Center for Japanese Studies invites you to a free lecture by local scholar and public historian Dr. Jacqueline Peterson Loomis on immigration, racism and other topics as they relate historically to Portland’s Japanese-American community. The lecture will be followed by a panel discussion with FREE Nisei narrators.

Wednesday, Feb. 6

Engineering and Technology Job Fair 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union, third floor ballroom 1825 SW Broadway

Come meet with representatives from more than 50 different companies to discuss job possibilities and internship opportunities at the Engineering and Technology Job Fair. For more information visit pdx. edu/careers.

FREE

Back to the Future

© WDCPIX.COM/LAUREN VICTORIA BURKE

affect your future. Information will be provided about how to deal with situations involving a troubled past when applying for jobs that require background checks. Refreshments FREE will be provided.

Thursday, Feb. 7

25th Annual All Majors Career Fair 11 a.m.–3 p.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union, third floor ballroom 1825 SW Broadway

Representatives from more than 60 different organizations will be in attendance at the 25th Annual All Majors Career Fair. Come explore opportunities for future careers, internships or volunteer work that will help get your foot in the door.

For more information visit pdx.edu/ FREE careers.

Women Writers of Iran: Past and Present Noon–1 p.m.

East Hall, room 109 632 SW Hall St.

Bring your lunch and come to learn at this free lecture with Dick Davis, professor of Persian and chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at Ohio State University. Davis will lead a discussion about the current and past FREE women writers of Iran.

Archaeology First Thursdays: Tom Connolly 4 p.m.

Cramer Hall, room 41 1721 SW Broadway

Professor Tom Connolly from the University of Oregon will be hosted in Cramer Hall for a talk about the 1864 treaty which formed the Klamath Indian Reservation and the history of Beatty Gap as well as archaeology FREE related to the area.

3 p.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union, room 329 1825 SW Broadway

Philosophy Club Winter 2013 Kickoff Meeting

“Back to the Future” is a workshop directed toward creating an awareness of exactly how misdemeanors, felonies and other such indiscretions from your past can carry on to

5–7 p.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union, room 327 1825 SW Broadway

Join fellow philosophy enthusiasts for the kickoff meeting of the Philosophy

4–5:30 p.m.

School of Business Administration 631 SW Harrison St.

This workshop (held at the School of Business Administration building) will focus on the four performing techniques of Chinese opera: singing, reciting, symbolic movement and combat. Performers will demonstrate each technique with a special emphasis on combat and also talk about specific makeup and facepainting representatives of the genre.

FREE

dinner and a look at how the Chinese celebrate their new year. Free FREE with PSU ID.

13 17

ETC.

book, The General’s Son: Journey of an Israeli in Palestine, a story about the Israeli/Palestinian struggle from both a national and personal FREE perspective.

Saturday, Feb. 9

Chinese New Year Cultural Fair 10 a.m.–5 p.m.

Oregon Convention Center 777 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.

The Chinese New Year Cultural Fair helps to bring Chinese culture to Portland with a variety of food, informational booths and performances by professional dancers, musicians and acrobats. Admission is $8 and tickets can be purchased by visiting ticketswest.com, entering the keywords “Chinese New Year Cultural Fair,” then using the discount code “2013CNYF.”

Urban Tellers 7 p.m. doors, 8 p.m. show Hipbone Studio, #104 1847 E Burnside St.

Urban Tellers is a collection of real people telling the tales of their real life experiences. Tickets for this event are $10–15. For more information visit portlandstorytheater.com. 21+

Monday, Feb. 11

Chinese New Year Night 2013

Beyond Zionism: A New Paradigm for Peace in Palestine

5:30–9:45 p.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union, third floor ballroom 1825 SW Broadway

7 p.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union, room 327/8 1825 SW Broadway

Celebrate the beginning of the year of the snake at Portland State’s Chinese New Year Night 2013. Enjoy

Miko Peled, an Israeli writer and activist living in San Diego, will be at Portland State to talk about his new

Tuesday, Feb. 12

Education Abroad Fair 11 a.m.–2 p.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union, room 296/8 1825 SW Broadway

If you are interested in completing a portion of your education in another country, the Education Abroad Fair can help provide the information you need on over 120 short-term, long-term and internship programs in more than 45 different countries.

Free food and fun prizes will be FREE featured at this event.

Five-Week Advanced Class Series: Wheel Theory Noon–1 p.m.

PSU Bike Hub 1818 SW Sixth Ave.

The PSU Bike Hub offers the fourth class in a five-week series on understanding your bike and how to make repairs on it. This class is about wheel theory. Classes are free for Bike Hub members and $25 for nonmembers. For more information visit the PSU Bike Hub webpage at pdx.edu/bikehub/home.

= on PSU campus FREE = free of charge = open to the public 21+ = 21 and over

14 18

SPORTS ETC. •• TUESDAY, Tuesday, Nov. Feb. 6, 5, 2013 2012 • VANGUARD

VANGUARD •• Tuesday, TUESDAY,Feb. JANUARY 5, 2013 10,•2012 SPORTS • ETC.

SPORTS

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

Winterhawks come back against Kamloops

The NFL closes shop Super Bowl wraps up 2012–13 Drew Lazzara Vanguard staff

For years and years, the Super Bowl marked the end of a season and the beginning of a long, depressing slog through months of no football. The NFL juggernaut would consume us for 22 breathless weeks, gloriously crown a champion and then retire quietly to a summer of peaceful slumber, leaving in its wake the bloated portion of the NBA’s regular season and the terrible promise of baseball.

Except for the exhilaration of March Madness (and, for the sleepy village of Indianapolis, the Indy 500), sports fans of old were thrust from football bliss into the sports deep freeze.

But that is no longer the case, and kudos go to the genius (and national obsession) that is the National Football

League for so thoroughly and entertainingly manipulating the entire sports landscape.

Nowadays, the warm touch of football is always gently caressing us. Football is the American sport, and has been for decades. The NFL could have comfortably rested on its laurels, cashed the checks and allowed us to languish through our summers without them. Of course they wanted more of our attention, and knew that we would happily lap up whatever they crapped out. Instead, they rolled up their sleeves and gave us a compelling, year-round epic.

The brilliance of the NFL season lies in the way in which it complements the best of other great sporting events, carefully doles out meaningful events and transactions, and pushes Major League Baseball even further from our consciousness (where I hope it starves to death, cold and alone). The Super Bowl falls on the first weekend in February, and afterward the league smartly pulls away

Portland surges past conference at the coliseum Bryan Zinschlag Vanguard staff

© the baltimore sun

ray lewis celebrates his second Super Bowl victory on Sunday. The Baltimore Ravens defeated the San Francisco 49ers 34-31 at the Superdome in New Orleans. from the spotlight, giving us a few weekends to repair our broken relationships and stretch our atrophied legs.

The league cannily allows us to forget about football, but we are junkies, and within three weeks we start to get the craving. It is then, on Feb. 20, that the NFL drops the draft combine, and the excitement begins to build again.

At that point, the NFL cedes the limelight to March Madness—three weeks to distract us from our football separation anxiety. Then comes the

NFL draft, a glorious two weeks in April during which literally every franchise can be justifiably excited by untapped potential. (Except for Jaguars fans. The draft is just another reminder that they are Jaguars fans.) Then there’s a quick few months for the NBA’s thrilling home stretch and legitimately awesome playoffs, and the NFL pops in again with the start of free agency and the froth of associated speculation. After that, fans have a few weeks to admire their teams on paper, and then it’s

off to training camp. Cut to August and it’s time for the Hall of Fame game; the summer has barely started here in the Northwest and we already have real football (well, “real” football; it’s still preseason).

I’m writing this before the Super Bowl, and I’m already getting excited for all this stuff.

It’s totally amazing, and completely calculated. When a business like Wal-Mart implements a master plan to control us all and muscle out its competition, we are disgusted and repulsed. But we actually

like the NFL, and their bid for our eyeballs and dollars has made them innovative, strategic and entertaining rather than gimmicky and transparently greedy. They allow their offseason to breathe and build excitement almost organically.

They trust us to go outside during the summer and let our attention wander away from them—they even encourage it—and are always there with a hug and a draft pick when we come running back. Have a great offseason, everyone.

Without a doubt, the 2012–13 Portland Winterhawks are something special. The 4,322 fans that attended Wednesday night’s comeback win at the Veterans Memorial Coliseum would attest to this statement.

Playing host to the Kamloops Blazers, a conference rival with championship aspirations of their own, the Hawks found nothing easy in the first period.

After a contentious first 10 minutes, which included a wrist shot by the Hawks’ rookie phenom Oliver Bjorkstrand that rocketed off the crossbar, the score remained 0-0. Portland missed opportunities early, including two power plays, and fell behind 14 minutes into the first on a goal

by Kamloops’ Dylan Willick.

Just two minutes later, Kamloops standout Colin Smith

added a goal of his own, putting the Hawks behind 2-0 going into the first intermission.

For most young hockey teams and their fans, this would spell big trouble.

But the Winterhawks’ defense, led by captain Troy Rutkowski and rookie Seth Jones, was suffocating in the second period. While Kamloops managed only four shots in the second, Portland scored twice within a minute midway through the period to even the score on goals by Ty Rattie and Joe Mahon. As if they needed more momentum, the Hawks and their home crowd were energized when Mahon dropped the gloves with Kamloops’ Kale Kessy shortly after scoring his game-tying goal.

Portland broke the tie early in the third with a goal from prolific center Nicolas Petan.

After falling behind, Kamloops reacted like a playoff

karl kuchs/VANGUARD STAFf

nicolas petan broke a 2-2 deadlock with a goal in the third period against Kamloops on Wednesday. The Winterhawks held on to their lead in the WHL Western Conference with six weeks to go in the season.

team and put together several scoring opportunities, all of which were thwarted by goalie Mac Carruth. With five minutes remaining, Taylor Peters scored to put the Hawks up 4-2, and Brendan Leipsic added an empty net goal in the final minute to push the final

With more than 100 schools participating in the Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York last weekend, Geronne Black made a statement. The Portland State senior not only beat out some of the nation’s best runners, but broke a school and conference record along the way. Again.

Black finished third in the 60-meter dash finals with a time of 7 minutes, 30 seconds.

It was the second time this season that she has broken her own Big Sky record.

Three other Portland State

athletes competed in the event, all coming in under 7.85. Other big finishes for the Vikings included graduate student Dominique Maloney, who finished in the top 20 in the 200-meter.

Sophomore Jake Ovgard came in 22nd in the men’s 60, with a time of 7.16.

The invitational was not only a big event for the athletes on the Portland State track and field squad but also for potential recruits from the East Coast. This is the Vikings’ only meet of the season in the region, and it’s their best chance to get the Portland State name out in New York.

a dominant goalie in Carruth and a guaranteed playoff spot with six weeks remaining in the regular season. In other words, no lead is safe for their opponents.

If Portland maintains their current level of play for the next month-and-a-half,

they will easily earn a number-one seed in the playoffs.

First things first, though— the Winterhawks host the formidable Calgary Hitmen at the coliseum on Wednesday night.

Vikings drop two at Stott Center Zach Bigalke Vanguard staff

Senior sprinter breaks school record at Armory Collegiate Invitational Vanguard staff

score to 5-2. In typical fashion, eight Winterhawks contributed points in the comeback.

It is a testament to the pedigree of this year’s squad that there was zero panic in the air at the coliseum despite the 2-0 deficit. The Hawks boast three of the WHL’s top 10 scorers,

No comfort at home for men’s basketball

Geronne Black wows in New York

Alex Moore

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© larry lawson/goviks.com

geronne black continued her stellar season at the Armory Collegiate Invitational in New York. The senior sprinter bested her own school record in the 60-meter event, finishing in third place.

“We are very selective,” assistant coach Jonathan Marcus said before the meet.

“We want talented people, but we also want good people. That creates the culture we want.”

Black, who came to Portland State from New York, has demonstrated just how important the East Coast trip can be for the recruiting process.

“We have our signing period coming up in February,”

Marcus said. “Hopefully we’ll sign some big names—people we think will help Portland State for years to come.”

The Vikings now move on to their final two meets of the regular season before the

conference championships in Bozeman, Mont. Portland State will divide its roster in order to send athletes to events in both Seattle and Boise on Feb. 9, in their last opportunity to prepare before the Big Sky meet.

miles sanguinetti/VANGUARD STAFf

renado parker scored 18 points against Montana State to lead the Vikings squad. Portland State kept the game close but lost 70-64.

The men’s basketball team returned to the Stott Center this week to face both Montana schools in the Big Sky conference, hoping that the familiarity of home might spark a Viking revival. Considering the Vikings are 0-10 on the road this season and haven’t won away from Portland in 12 months, this was the best chance for head coach Tyler Geving’s squad to turn their 2012–13 season around. After losing to the University of Montana Grizzlies 81-68 on Thursday, Portland State let a close game against the Montana State University Bobcats slip away on Saturday to extend their losing streak to six games.

Despite double-digit efforts from Renado Parker (18 points), Aaron Moore and Lateef McMullan (11 points each), the Vikings could not prevent a 22-point night from Flavien Davis as the Bobcats came away with a 70-64 victory. Montana State enjoyed a 37-27 rebounding edge and forced their way to the line for 20 free-throw opportunities,

getting the victory despite being outscored 60-57 from the field.

The first five minutes were a defensive battle, with both teams warming up slowly on offense. By the first media timeout five minutes into the contest, Montana State held a slim 8-6 advantage. Six minutes later, when the Vikings called a 30-second timeout with 8:32 remaining in the first half, the Bobcats had gone on a 12-5 run to extend their lead to 20-11. With five minutes remaining before the intermission, Portland State was shooting just 5-of-21 from the field and found themselves down by 14.

Then the Vikings heated up, going on a 16-5 run in the final 4:50 of the first half to come within three points at the break, a comeback capped by a pair of three-pointers in the final minute from Michael Harthun and Gary Winston.

Consecutive baskets by Winston and Parker after halftime gave Portland State a 34-33 lead. The two Big Sky rivals traded proverbial punches like pugilists, with the lead changing hands four times in

the first seven minutes of the second half. As the officials whistled for a media timeout with 7:43 remaining, the game was still up for grabs, with Montana State holding a slim 55-53 advantage.

Coming out of the timeout, the Bobcats slowed down the pace in order to grind down the clock. Patiently working the ball around, Montana State scored six straight to extend their lead to 61-53 with 3:22 left in the contest. The Vikings, forced to foul to stop the clock, would get no closer than six in the final minutes after expending so much energy chasing the lead for most of the second half.

The loss drops Portland State to 5-14 on the season and 3-9 in conference play, dealing a serious blow to their chances of claiming a top-seven spot in the conference standings for entry into the Big Sky tournament. The Vikings return to the road next week, with games at Northern Arizona University and California State University, Sacramento, two teams also fighting on the bubble of conference tournament eligibility.

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VANGUARD VANGUARD ••Tuesday, Tuesday,Jan. Feb.31,5,2013 2013 •• SPORTS SPORTS

Vikings bounce back with win Vanguard staff

The Portland State women’s basketball team fell to the top-ranked University of Montana Lady Griz last Thursday, but learned from their mistakes and came back to beat the Montana State University Bobcats two days later. The Vikings led at halftime against the Lady Griz, but went cold in the second, and Montana pulled ahead for the victory. On Saturday, the Vikings hit some clutch free throws down the stretch to win 75-72. Excellent shooting and teamwork were keys to the Viking victory.

“We talked about [Thursday’s loss] and they understood what happened,” head coach Sherri Murrell said after the game. “With Montana State, [the Bobcats] went up and the girls responded and kept cool. I’m so happy.”

The Bobcats claimed a one-point lead almost midway through the second half and were ahead by as many as six, but with the Vikings down by three with less than five minutes left, senior guard Karley Lampman sunk a three-pointer to tie the game at 65-all. Two minutes later freshman guard Emily Easom put the Vikings ahead 71-70 on a key assist from Courtney VanBrocklin. From there, VanBrocklin made a pair of free throws for a 7370 Viking advantage. After a jumper by Bobcat forward Jackie Elliott cut the lead to

one, VanBrocklin got the ball on the inbounds pass and was fouled again. She sunk both free throws to give the Vikings a much-needed win. “[VanBrocklin] and I talked about what didn’t happen at Montana and what it takes to be able to close out a game, and she did everything she knew how to do as a leader,” Murrell said. “She got the ball in her hands and did a great job sinking those free throws.”

Easom scored 11 points on Saturday, her second double-digit performance in three games. Junior forward Angela Misa finished with 15 points and three blocks, and sophomore guard Allison Greene had 12 points.

“Emily Easom has been a big spark,” Murrell said.

“She comes out and shoots the ball, and others have seen that and have responded with shots as well.”

While the team was hot from the field, Murrell emphasized their collective effort as crucial against Montana State. The Vikings had 17 assists, including four from VanBrocklin.

“Everybody that was on the court contributed to the win,” Murrell said.

The Vikings are back in action at the Stott Center this weekend. They will take on Northern Arizona University on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. and California State University, Sacramento on Saturday at 2 p.m.

@ Montana Vikings

a ram choi leads PSU golf into the season’s second half.

72 61

Top performers Angela Misa: 12points, 10 rebounds

Men’s Basketball

vs.

Montana Vikings

81 68

Top performers Martin Whitmore: 10 points, 9 rebounds

Friday, Feb. 1

Track and Field Armory Collegiate Invitational New York, N.Y. Top performers Geronne Black: Third place in 60-meter dash, 7.30 seconds

Women’s Basketball

@ Vikings Montana State

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Top performers Angela Misa: 15 points, 3 blocks Courtney VanBrocklin: 16 points, 3 steals

Men’s Basketball daniel johnston/VANGUARD STAFF

vs.

courtney vanbrocklin and the Vikings faced a tough test over the weekend against two of the top three teams in the Big Sky conference. After taking a tough loss to Montana, the team gutted out a victory over Montana State.

Montana State Vikings

PSU golf ready for new year © steve brenner/goviks.com

Thursday, Jan. 31

WOMen’s basketball

Portland State splits games with Montana schools Rosemary Hanson

Recent results

Women’s team headed to California Katie Hoyt Vanguard staff

Portland State golf is back and ready to get 2013 underway. The team is set to compete in the Gold Rush event at Yorba Linda Country Club in California, a formidable course that they are excited to take on.

Head coach Kathleen Takaishi believes the Gold Rush will be a good test

to kick off the team’s 2013 campaign.

“We played in this event two years ago, during the 2010–11 season,” Takaishi said. “We finished third in a decent field. Yorba Linda Country Club is a challenging course. It has quite a few tight holes, which makes you think about your game plan.”

The coach is excited about the prospects for her team this year. “Britney Yada, my lone senior, has been working hard on her game, and it shows. She is striking the ball well and putting well,” Takaishi said.

“Kristin Henno, a freshman from California, is also playing well. It is great to see a

freshman step up and compete for the top spot on the team. Transfer A Ram Choi is solid—her game continues to get better. I am excited to see how good she is going to get. Kelly Miller, a sophomore from Federal Way, Wash., has worked extremely hard on her game over the past year…I anticipate that Kelly will do great things this year.”

Despite the long layoff, Takaishi isn’t concerned that her players will have to shake off the rust in Yorba Linda.

“This team came back ready to play after the winter break,” Takaishi said. “They look sharp, and I anticipate they will have a very good year.”

70 64

Top performers Renado Parker: 18 points, 8 rebounds

NBA

vs.

Blazers Utah

105 99

Top performers LaMarcus Aldridge: 18 points, 11 rebounds Damien Lillard: 23 points, 8 assists

WHL

vs.

Winterhawks Spokane Top performers Brendan Leipsic: 2 goals Taylor Leier: 1 goal, 1 assist

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