Portland State Vanguard by Portland State Vanguard

VOLUME 68 | ISSUE 17

DECEMBER 3, 2013

EDUCATORS’ UNIONS JOIN FORCES AS PSU-AAUP CONTRACT DEADLINE LOOMS NEWS

OPINION

ARTS & CULTURE

SPORTS

PSU Faculty allege respiratory issues stem from poor air quality in East Hall. pg. 4

Does a paralyzed patient have the right to choose death? How long does it take to decide to die? pg. 7

Students from PSU and Centennial High School create relationships with art in the Friendtorship program. pg.14

Portland’s new arena football team has announced their name—unfortunately it’s not the Platypus. pg. 23

THE VANGUARD NEEDS YOU NOW HIRING Writers for all sections Apply @ psuvanguard.com

CONTENT NEWS OPINION COVER ARTS & CULTURE CALENDAR SPORTS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF EDITOR@PSUVANGUARD.COM Whitney Beyer

MANAGING EDITOR MANAGINGEDITOR@PSUVANGUARD.COM Jordan Molnar

NEWS EDITOR

4 7 11 14 18 20 COPY EDITORS Emily Keith Margo Pecha Meg Riley

ADVERTISING MANAGER JGEKELER@PDX.EDU Jordan Gekeler

NEWS@PSUVANGUARD.COM Coby Hutzler

ADVERTISING DESIGNER

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

ADVISER

Michelle Leigh

ARTS@PSUVANGUARD.COM Turner Lobey

Reaz Mahmood

OPINION EDITOR

Ann Roman

OPINION@PSUVANGUARD.COM Breana Harris

SPORTS EDITOR SPORTS@PSUVANGUARD.COM Jesse Tomaino

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR ASSOCIATENEWS@PSUVANGUARD.COM Ashley Rask

PRODUCTION MANAGER PRODUCTION@PSUVANGUARD.COM Sean Bucknam

PHOTO EDITORS PHOTO@PSUVANGUARD.COM Miles Sanguinetti Corinna Scott

ONLINE EDITOR ONLINE@PSUVANGUARD.COM Claudette Raynor

ADVERTISING ADVISER DESIGNERS

Rachael Bentz, Sarah Jones, Alan Hernandez-Aguilar, Christopher Peralta

WRITERS

Brie Barbee, Joshua Benson, Karisa Cleary, Tristan Cooper, Joel Gunderson, Emily Hererra, Jeremy King, Chelsea Lobey, Alex Moore, Jay Pengelly, Eva-Jeanette Rawlins, Brandon Staley, Kayla Tatum, Stephanie Tshappat, Drea Vick, Heather Wilson

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Nimi Einstein, Jose-David Jacobo, Brittney Muir, Kayla Nguyen

ADVERTISING SALES

Robin Crowell, Chelsea Ware

COPY CHIEF COPY@PSUVANGUARD.COM Allie Clark

The Vanguard is published weekly as an independent student newspaper governed by the PSU Publications Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers and do not necessarily represent those of the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. One copy of the Vanguard is provided free of charge to all community members; additional copies or subscription issues may incur a 25 cent charge. The Vanguard is printed on 40 percent post-consumer recycled paper.

Vanguard | DECEMBER 3, 2013 | psuvanguard.com

NEWS

FACULTY EXPRESS CONCERNS OVER AIR QUALITY IN EAST HALL AIR TEST RESULTS, TIGHT BUDGET AMONG UNIVERSITY’S RESONS FOR NOT RENNOVATING KARISA CLEARY

East Hall is easily one of the most historic buildings on the Portland State campus. The 90–year-old structure once stood as a residence hall but now is the home to the International Studies Program— and to multiple accounts of illness among the faculty working there. Naturally, people can be apprehensive about construction problems such as mold, asbestos and the overall healthiness of an older building that has no ventilation system or air conditioning of any sort. In fact, PSU faculty who work in East have frequently reported a range of health issues that they believe have been caused by something in the building. Birol Yesilada, professor of both political science and international studies at PSU, no longer meets in East Hall under any circumstances because of his health. “I cannot be in the building for more than one hour without getting an asthma attack. I do have allergy-induced asthma from things like mold,” Yesilada said. “Although I don’t know exactly what is triggering this, I will not attend meetings in East Hall. I have little problems now that I’m not around there and hardly ever use my inhaler unless I’m in that building.” Yesilada isn’t the only faculty member who has experienced health difficulties there. Kimberley Brown, former vice provost for international affairs, explained that during her time working in East Hall, she observed numerous cases of major health issues among her co-workers. “There are healthy individuals who have had more respiratory episodes than they

MILES SANGUINETTI/PSU VANGUARD

had ever had before since starting work there,” Brown said. “There have been documented asbestos issues and mold issues due to a broken steam pipe that had all been attended to.” The air was tested for anything dangerous about a year and a half ago after 13 faculty members wrote a letter of concern to the university. Scott Gallagher, director of communications at PSU, explained those results. “When we got the letter of concern about the air in the building, we immediately set forth to get the air checked. During that time we kept the faculty and staff in that building informed, being as transparent and active as we possibly could

be,” Gallagher said. “Contractors tested the air for carbon monoxide, humidity, mold and particulates, and they discovered nothing of concern.” Yesilada doesn’t believe the building can be healthy, given his experience there. “The university needs to provide a healthy work environment, and I don’t think it is a healthy area,” Yesilada said. “It says something when you have a number of people with health problems only inside the buildings. Something is triggering these health issues.” Other minor illness like excessive colds and coughing have arisen among the individuals spending time in East Hall. Eve Nilenders, international faculty adviser,

Vanguard | DECEMBER 3, 2013 | psuvanguard.com

currently works on the first floor and started using an inhaler in 2011, three years after starting work in East. “The air quality just feels really stagnant—if you work you feel sleepy, and I have to go outside to get a breath of fresh air,” Nilenders said. “I’ve felt I’ve gotten an increasing amount of colds. A couple of years ago I had a cold and the cough didn’t go away afterward. I went to my doctor and had to use an inhaler. That’s the first time anything like that has ever happened to me.” The university says it recognizes the issues concerning its employees, but the current budget is simply too tight for any renovations.

“Like many buildings in Portland, it doesn’t have air conditioning—it is an older structure,” Gallagher said. “We would like to renovate it, but unfortunately we don’t have $3.5 million to put toward the building. At this time, we still have it on our list for hopefully renovating in the future, but that’s really up to what the state has and what they decide in terms of who gets funding.” “Money is tight and we’re trying very hard to keep expenses down,” he added. Gallagher also said that none of the faculty members have filed any claims for workers’ [compensation] because of the environment there. “There have been no workers’ [compensation] claims at

all in reference to air quality or anything else at East Hall,” Gallagher said. “We have encouraged faculty and staff to file workers’ [compensation] claims, and no one has.” The worry remains as several faculty members continue to experience health issues that they believe are from the building. Athough no substantial cause can be found at the time, the sickness among faculty members continues to concern them. “I was not a person whose health was affected in East Hall,” Brown said, “but for me, if I had staff who can’t go into buildings without major respiratory issues, I would like these people to have a healthy work environment.”

NEWS

TASK FORCE AND PSU CLUBS RAISE MONEY FOR TYPHOON RELIEF EMILY HERRERA

The Portland Emergency Relief Task Force for the Philippines has come together in the past few weeks to raise almost $5,000 for those affected by Typhoons Haiyan and Yolanda in the Philippines. Typhoon Haiyan hit on Nov. 8. Since then, members of the PDX Emergency Relief Task Force have been working to put together fundraisers and raise awareness in Portland. The task force consists of the Portland State Kaibigan and Kaibigan Alumni clubs, along with the Portland Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines. The task force has put together charity concerts, dinners, press conferences and plenty of other fundraising events over the span of a few weeks. PCHRP is an activist group that has been helping raise

awareness and engage Portlanders in support of human rights in the Philippines since 2005. “PCHRP has kind of three steps that we do,” said PCHRP organizational development officer Nikki Deleon. “We try to educate the people in our community, and then we organize, and we try to put that in an action, through mobilization, through political actions and campaigns. It’s a collaborative effort from students, professionals, migrant workers, women and LGBTQ [communities].” The task force attributes their ability to organize quickly to the focus and hard work that its members have been putting in during the last few weeks. “[We’ve been] meeting almost two to three times a week ever since this happened,” said PCHRP mass campaign officer Justin Katigbak. “A lot

of it’s through email, talking to the community. We’re just throwing down ideas of what we can do—simple things like tabling helps a lot.” Katigbak said that in his past experience with PSU Kaibigan, cultural events have been successful and tend to draw a large crowd. “People do their poetry, sing—Filipinos really gravitate toward that,” Katigbak said. “It brings a lot of people in, and we tell what the situation is, what’s going on, and they just donate what they can. There’s no set minimum.” PCHRP also encourages people to examine political factors affecting the current circumstances in the Philippines. “Through the group we do internal and external educational discussions,” educational officer for the PCHRP Angelica Lim said. “Lately we’ve been [trying to understand] the three root

causes of why the Philippines is at its current state. Understanding capitalism, imperialism and feudalism and understanding how that affects the Filipino people.” The group is trying to raise awareness in the Filipino community as well as the broader community. “I think it’s deeply connected to how Typhoon Haiyan is being perceived, because it’s not just a natural disaster, but we’re also framing it as a man-made disaster, because the Philippines is in such dire poverty based on the actions—or inaction—of the Filipino government,” Lim said. “We’re responding not only to the immediacy of the typhoon, but also [to] how the infrastructure in the Philippines has been weakened by the government and not really responded to.” One concern that Katigbak has is that the government in

the Philippines has been slow to respond to the need for aid. “In the beginning, they’d been sending a lot of military and police saying they’re looting and they’re stealing, but some of these people haven’t had food for like six days,” Katigbak said. “In shipments they’re sending troops instead of relief goods, and it’s kind of exposing their corruption already right there.” Even beyond the Philippines, the typhoon has impacted people across the world, including Portland residents. “Tacloban is the city where my mom grew up, so for us, yeah, we’ve been greatly affected,” said Kenneth Crebillo, the director of the PSU Coalition for Asian Pacific American Studies and former Kaibigan president. “And not just Tacloban, but all the other smaller towns that’ve been hit.” Crebillo said his family and clan are living in eight differ-

ent towns in the province of Leyte. He reflects on the loss of his family members. “My mom lost five of her first cousins, and one of my cousins who’s from New Jersey—he’s my second cousin—he had to fly back to Leyte because his wife was caught in the typhoon and his daughter’s missing,” Crebillo said. “He’s still trying to find her. We still have lots of people missing.” Because of the situation in areas damaged by the typhoon, it’s difficult to get the supplies people need to the areas that need them. “They don’t have food, they don’t have water. Relief is not reaching them,” Crebillo said. “Imagine, if they can barely reach the main city, what about these smaller towns? What about the villages around those towns? We’re doing our best to send funds.” For more information visit pdxrelief.wordpress.com.

ANGELICA LIM collects donations for the hurricane relief effort at a table set up by Kaibigan. JOSE-DAVID JACOBO/PSU VANGUARD

Vanguard | DECEMBER 3, 2013 | psuvanguard.com

NEWS

PRINT TODAY, ELECTRONIC TOMORROW Electronic textbook options can be cheaper, but are not being widely adopted

HEATHER WILSON

Many students find electronic textbooks to be a cheaper and easier alternative than print textbooks, but they’ve been slow to catch on. Students are still carrying heavy backpacks full of expensive books, even with the technology available to store hundreds of books on a zip drive that can fit in their back pocket. According to a June 2013 Bowker Market Research survey on digital textbooks, students still prefer print books. About half of the students surveyed said they felt it was easier to take notes and highlight in print books, and a third claimed that the inability to sell back e-textbooks was an issue. Mara Bahri, a sophomore in the pre-med program at Portland State, is one of the students who prefers print. “Personally I do not like ebooks because most are temporary with the program I buy,” Bahri said. Buying an e-book from Chegg.com or Coursesmart. com will typically cost half as much as a printed book, but access to most books only lasts about 180 days and there is no resale value. According to the Bowker survey, another factor that creates friction with the adoption of e-books is the choices that professors make. The study found that professors are integrating digital resources into their courses, but not necessarily in the form of e-books. Dr. William Griesar teaches neuroscience at PSU. Neuroscience is one of many fields of study that is gaining new knowledge and evolving quickly enough that textbooks need to be updated constantly. Because of the changing nature of his field,

Griesar utilizes a great deal of technology in his courses. “All my courses have a significant online component that I constantly update with new material,” Griesar said. But he expresses frustration with integrating e-books. “Publishers make students and faculty download oftenclunky apps that only read their enormously expensive texts and usually require passwords and multiple downloads, instead of just making their electronic versions easily available through Kindle or iBooks,” he said. There are some e-books available on Kindle, but most are just a static digital reformat of the original textbook. Anita Argo, a graduate student in the secondary education program, finds formatting can cause problems. “I have tried to use the Kindle books to save money before, but it’s really difficult to use the small screen with the enlarged text, so it doesn’t do much good to have the text if it’s too hard to use it,” Argo said. That said, Argo also sees the benefit of the kind of interactive learning that ebooks can provide. “I feel like I’d do better with the additional help from the online text assistance stuff, but I just can’t afford to spend $80-$180 on a text and then another $40-$60 just to use the online course material mentioned in the text,” she said. What many students and professors might not realize is that major textbook publishers like McGraw-Hill and Pearson offer many e-textbooks with all the extras for purchase on their websites, often at less than the cost of the print book.

Other sites like Kno.com come with a dynamic learning experience built into the textbook. For instance, students can study using built-in flash cards or a pen app that allows note-taking directly on the electronic pages. There is also a quiz feature that allows a student to keep track of what they’ve learned. “Smartlinks” is another feature that directly links to videos and diagrams that provide a more in–depth examination of key concepts. Boundless.com is a new concept that takes current textbooks and matches the content of each chapter with open source products for $19.99. It’s not an actual book, but rather a dynamic website that will match the subject with available open source media, including research, papers, videos and slideshows that match the important components of each chapter. “Given the wealth of useful, current and often freely available material on the web, original research papers, welledited science blogs and TED talks, it makes sense to shift to a more diverse, more topical and less expensive option for students,” Griesar said. “I also like creating my own content, including video lectures.” The California State University system launched Merlot.org, short for Multimedia Educational Resource for Learning and Online Teaching. The website aims to address ways for instructors like Griesar to easily create their own focused class content. Instructors can use Merlot. org to gather and assemble peer-reviewed, faculty-developed, open resource materials to create a class web page or e-book that is specifically focused on what individual pro-

Vanguard | DECEMBER 3, 2013 | psuvanguard.com

fessors want their students to learn, all for free. Students and faculty can’t take advantage of these products if they are unaware of them. Students can let their professors know about resources for free or lowcost existing textbooks like Boundless.com, or direct them to Merlot.org for a more personalized alternative. For regular textbooks, comparison shop. If a textbook comes bundled with an online access code, you can save a lot of money by going straight to the publisher’s website.

KAYLA NGUYEN/PSU VANGUARD

CRIME BLOTTER

Week of Nov. 26-Dec. 1

STEPHANIE TSHAPPAT

Nov. 27

Criminal Mischief

Smith Memorial Student Union, second floor At 12 p.m. Officer Gary Smeltzer responded to a report of feces spread around the men’s restroom, including on the exit door handle.

Exclusion

Lincoln Hall, south side Officer David Baker contacted non-student Gregory Lewis at 7 p.m. for smoking in the clean air corridor. Lewis was on felony probation for possession of methamphetamine and had a prior PSU exclusion. Lewis consented to a search of his person, which located nothing of interest. A new PSU exclusion was issued.

Arrest

Blumel Residence Hall On Nov. 21 at 3:32 a.m., Officer Jon Buck responded to a report of a male subject with a guitar and spray paint cans applying graffiti in the Blumel upper parking lot. Upon arrival, an area check was done. Officer Buck was unable to locate the suspect, but fresh graffiti was discovered on the east wall. The witness advised he took pictures of the suspect. Upon receiving the pictures, Officer Baker was able to identify the suspect as a PSU student and locate evidence of his graffiti on the student’s Facebook profile.

Nov. 29 Theft

Millar Library, east side At 10:39 p.m. Officer Brian Rominger received a report from a student who stated that he secured his bike to the

bike rack at 4 p.m. on Nov. 27, and when he returned on Nov. 29 at 10:37, he discovered that the front tire of his bike had been stolen.

Dec. 1

Hit and Run

Officer Rominger responded to University Place Hotel at 5:05 a.m. and contacted non-student Patricia Sorensen, who reported a hit and run. It was learned by non-student Dave Krueger that the head coach for the women’s volleyball team from the University of North Dakota, William Ashley “Ash” Hardee, was responsible. Non-student Ellen Krueger told her father, Dave, that Hardee was visibly intoxicated and crashed a rental GMC Yukon into a Volkswagen Jetta before driving her and another to Portland International Airport.

PARALYZED MAN CHOOSES DEATH SHOULD LIFE OR DEATH BE DECIDED IN A DAY?

OPINION

Everywhere and Here by Eva-Jeanette Rawlins

Should we be allowed to choose when we die? This is not a new question. Oregon has faced it for years. The Death With Dignity Act, passed in 1997, allows terminally ill patients to end their lives by self-administering a lethal dose of medication. It remains an incredibly controversial issue, and chances are it won’t soon be resolved. A recent case brought up some of the age-old questions again. Who gets to decide when life should end? Are we ever in a good enough place to make that decision for ourselves? Should it be solely ours to make? Recently an Indiana hunter named Timothy E. Bowers fell 16 feet from a tree, suffered severe spinal injuries and was paralyzed. The next day, he chose to be taken off life support and died that evening. His wife was quoted in the Indianapolis Star saying that “the last thing he wanted was to be in a wheelchair…he would never be able to give hugs, to hold his baby…Even if he decided the other thing, the quality of life would’ve been very poor.” Now, suppose he was an 80-year-old with liver cancer. We might just say, well, it’s kinder to let him go. He would be the acceptable case, right? It would seem reasonable. But he wasn’t. He was an otherwise-healthy 32-year-old, married just three months earlier, and his wife was expecting a baby. Those kinds of people are not supposed to die, nor do they want to die. They have more life ahead of them than behind. His decision is a lot more uncomfortable. The accident happened on Saturday, and by Sunday he was dead. In that small amount of time, he decided he couldn’t live with the future he was being offered. But the future he refused was not only a wheelchair; it was his first child. His wife. Can you really make a decision that will leave a woman a widow and a child fatherless in less than 24 hours? He had said previously that he wouldn’t want to live in a wheelchair and that his decision was far easier for his family. You look at men like Stephen Hawking and the millions of other physically challenged people around the world who live extraordinary and fulfilling lives, and you wonder what they might say to the suggestion that his “quality of life would’ve been very poor.” What does that even mean? Who decides what quality of life is?

Furthermore, according to the Paralysis Resource Center, people who find out they’re going to be paralyzed or physically handicapped for the rest of their lives are two to three times more likely to be depressed than others. The idea that your entire life has changed overnight has to be nearly impossible to process. Is it really possible to make a decision as important as ending your life while in this frame of mind? It’s hard to believe that someone could be considered mentally competent at such a time. The initial desire to die could be replaced with the will to live when the patient recognizes their reality is worth living for. What if Bowers had taken more time? What if he had spent weeks and months processing, rather than just hours? Might he have made a different decision? Of course, the mighty “what if ” gets us nowhere, but I can’t help but think that most of us make really bad decisions under duress or extreme shock, and we’re generally glad when someone was there to keep us from messing up too royally. That Bowers took only hours to decide that he wanted to die seems crazy. I’m not saying he would have made a different decision after a month or two, but shouldn’t he have given himself that chance? His paralysis may not have been as serious as initially thought. He may have been able to hold his child. There may have been any number of changes, and if not, perhaps he would have had a beautiful and fulfilling life regardless. His quality of life may have looked very different. I can’t help but think that there needs to be more safeguards in place to protect us against ourselves. Again, I’m not saying Bowers would have changed his mind, but I cannot believe that he had the presence of mind to make a life and death decision hours after he’d experienced the worst trauma of his life. We may never have the answers to the questions of what quality of life is or who should decide who lives or dies, but we can ensure that people have adequate and reasonable time to think, process and receive advice about such huge questions. A day is not enough. It just isn’t. Everyone’s life is worth more than that.

Vanguard | DECEMBER 3, 2013 | psuvanguard.com

BRITTNEY MUIR/PSU VANGUARD

OPINION

THE PERSPECTIVE HIERARCHY The Pop Culture Eplebe by Joshua Benson

The criticisms of the HBO series Girls that really bother me aren’t the ones made by crass tweeters about Lena Dunham’s naked body. Internet message boards are full of belligerent stock reactions by people who don’t actually think about what they’re saying, and their influence is minimal. The criticisms that really get my goat attack the show’s personality. The wealthy characters’ intense fear of responsibility, self-referential irony regarding that fear and active dramatization of their lives tend to bother some critics. Now, while I have no idea what it’s like to be rich, I certainly know what it’s like to have a choice between feeding off of your parents and making your own uncomfortable way while complaining. I also know what it’s like to dramatize life in order to give it more “meaning.” People similar to the characters in Girls exist, and those people relate to those characters. In fact, I think Girls’ artistic merit comes predominately from its keen characterizations. The problem, I think, is that critics know it, too. I think critics aren’t mad that characters are written this way, but rather that people like these characters exist and have an artistic out. It’s a case of reverse artistic sociocentrism. Stories like Precious or Brokeback Mountain get positively reviewed almost exclusively for their perspective, but Girls gets panned for Dunham’s perspective because critics prefer the story of the Other. It seems nobler to engage with the outcast. True, it’s important to engage with the angle of hardship. Still, just because the characters in Girls aren’t socially or economically alienated, doesn’t mean they shouldn’t have a voice or that their voice should be modified into an inauthentic version of itself. This kind of perspective assault isn’t so far from another criticism of Girls, which carries more weight but seems misdirected. The whiteness of the Girls cast is certainly unnerving. However, Dunham seems pretty race-unconscious—neither inclusive nor exclusive. Through Hannah’s second-season tryst with black Republican Sandy, we find that race and politics are social obscurants. In response to casters of race-based aspersions, the scene in which Hannah and Sandy break up finds the two tangled in a mess of judgments and false accusations of fetishizing. The scene shows that paying undue attention to racial or politi-

©HBO

cal characteristics just confuses relationships and that using these things to define relationships is stupid anyway. This scene proudly stands behind its perspective and its ignorance. The creator is white and leads a rather white life. It’s sad, but it’s honest. A similar problem arose with the advent of the show to which Girls has often been called a response: Sex and the City. Critics equated the female characters’ faulty promiscuity and desperate relation to men with a faulty aesthetic and confused perspective with a lesson. It is as if critics think these shows perform a certain kind of social injustice, whereas I sort of think these shows aren’t necessarily making any kind of social statement at all. I think the real problem here started when critics stopped seeing the difference between the artist’s job of creating an expression of reality and the critic’s job of finding out what that expression means or has to say about life. The purpose critics once drew from art is now expected of art itself, which recalls literary Stalinism, if you ask me: Only a certain brand of ideology may be artistically produced.

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Frankly, if someone becomes more promiscuous by watching Sex and the City, I don’t wonder at the power of the show’s statement. I wonder at that viewer’s inability to create his or her own lifestyle. If Girls seems too white, it shouldn’t be bullied into a more inclusive version of its reality. The viewer should be encouraged to change his or her reality. Girls tickles my funny bone, understands me and makes me rethink my weaknesses. It’s where I go not only to commiserate, but also to form a plan for fixing the unappealing parts of myself that I see in the characters. Nothing more is required of art than to paint some honest version of a reality that leads to social reconsiderations. It’s not supposed to do society’s bidding. If the perspective really doesn’t work, ratings will do their job. Otherwise, perspective really shouldn’t be confused with quality. I might entreat the critics who pan a show for its personality to be aware of how this kind of criticism perpetuates social division by making the non-outcast the new outcast. If you’re going to attack artists based on the fiber of their character, hop on a message board, where your damage will weigh about as much as it deserves.

OPINION

BICYCLE RESPONSIBILITY, NOT ENTITLEMENT This, not That

by Chelsea Lobey I recently got my first real bike since the Barbie bike I had as a kid. My new one is still bright pink, albeit in a much more adult kind of way. I’ve been using it to get to school and work, and it’s great because now I don’t have to feel guilty about not working out. It saves me money and it’s incredibly fun. I’ve had so much fun with it, in fact, that I’ve spent many an hour that should have been devoted to homework figuring out how to change a tire, how to ride in dense traffic and the best way to carry my laptop around. I’ve spent hours perusing bicycle blogs and forums and learning from the people who are trying to get from one place to the other on a bike, just like I am. While avoiding my ever-growing stack of homework one night, I wound up watching a bicycle documentary by Lucas Brunelle called Line of Sight, and it made me all kinds of angry. The film focuses on bike messenger races in major cities around the world in which a large number of people on brakeless fixed-gear bicycles have to reach a number of checkpoints strewn across the city as quickly as possible. The problem is that to win these races, the riders resort to reckless and exceedingly dangerous maneuvers through traffic to save time. They blow through busy intersections, go the wrong way on one-way streets, smash through crowds of pedestrians in crosswalks and grab on to the wheel hubs of cars in order to be pulled along the street as fast as possible. The worst part about this documentary is that they ride with the perspective that what they’re doing is somehow tranquil and zen. They’re just “riding the wave of traffic,” man. But they’re also forcing everybody to bend to their unpredictable route and endangering the lives and safety of everybody else on the street. Cars are slamming on their brakes in the middle of intersections and pedestrians are diving out of the way to avoid being hit by 200 pounds of metal bicycle and aggressive rider. It’s not zen, and it’s not some sort of transcendent experience. It’s being an asshole. Now, these races don’t take place every day and the majority of cyclists don’t ride this way, which is good news. I have noticed that most cyclists seem like friendly, responsible people. They put lights on their bike so other people can see them, and they do their best to obey traffic rules. They share the road and ride in a predictable, courteous and safe manner. But an undercurrent of bicycle entitlement and superiority most definitely exists, both online and on the streets, and it’s a dangerous and selfish way to behave. Cycling is slowly becoming a more mainstream activity. I myself am proof of that. I am now another person in a vulnerable position on the street, choosing to ride a bike instead

NIMI EINSTEIN/PSU VANGUARD

“...no amount of bicycle entitlement will save you if you ride like an idiot.” of sit on the bus. In order to avoid being killed, I have to ride defensively and pay attention. It’s just something that comes with the activity. I am the one putting myself on a road that is almost entirely filled with cars that weigh a couple of thousand pounds more than I do, and acting like an entitled asshole isn’t going to do anything but put me in danger. We do not live in Copenhagen, where roughly 50 percent of people commute by bike. In Copenhagen, the safety in numbers thing really works. They have less fatal bicycle accidents because they have created a culture in which everyone in cars watches out for bicycles, because the drivers themselves spend a great deal of time in the bicycle saddle. In America, cars rule the streets, and even in Portland, no amount of bicycle entitlement will save you if you ride like an idiot. So until the day arrives when the majority of the population commutes by bike rather than by car, bicyclists need to be careful on the road. Obviously, people in cars need to learn

to drive safely and look out for cyclists, but people on bicycles need to do their part as well by riding safely and following the rules of the road. Nobody in a car wants to accidentally kill another human being, and I know bicyclists don’t want to be killed either. There’s no getting around the fact that a bicycle is immensely more vulnerable on the road than a car. So don’t ride like you’re somehow above the law and never assume that a car is going to get out of your way when you run a red light, because the only one that’s going to be killed or seriously injured is you. A bicyclist may not be able to do as much damage as a car, but that does not make us exempt from the law or from responsibility to others on the road. Cars and bikes need to set aside their hatred for each other and instead understand that we are all human beings just trying to get somewhere. A cyclist who acts selfishly on the road is, in the end, no better than a driver who acts the same way.

Vanguard | DECEMBER 3, 2013 | psuvanguard.com

OPINION

FIFTY SHADES TOO MUCH? THE PORTRAYAL OF SEX IN LITERATURE

Page by Page by Brie Barbee

Fifty Shades of Grey, an erotic romance novel by British author E.L. James, has been proclaimed a guilty pleasure for women across the world. It’s explicit, it’s erotic and quite often it’s raunchy. Despite its nontraditional content, people can’t seem to put it down. It seems really strange, at least to me, that an erotic novel could become so popular in the U.S. There seems to be a uniquely American prudishness regarding any mention of one’s sex life outside of the bedroom. Films aren’t able to show nudity without being bumped up to an R rating (besides the occasional butt in a PG or PG-13 movie). Even if they aren’t in a sexual context, a shot of someone’s breast, vagina or, heaven forbid, penis changes a film from something that you can talk about in polite conversation to something shockingly explicit. For the record, I believe nudity and sex are natural, and having them discussed or portrayed in popular media doesn’t bother me one bit. For that reason, I struggle to find the difference between sex in literature and sex in films. Sex is sex, right? Is it somehow less explicit when you are describing it with words than when you are seeing it in a movie? While this prudishness seems to be ingrained in our culture, for some reason people aren’t nearly as offended as you might expect them to be regarding the content of Fifty Shades of Grey.

Early last year it was announced that the erotic novel would be adapted into a film, which is set for release around Valentine’s Day of 2015. In a culture that has become incredibly uncomfortable with the idea of discussing sex in a public setting, will people actually want to watch this film? It is entirely different to read a book in the safety of your house than it is to go out to a theater with other people to watch a movie. I suppose the popularity of Fifty Shades of Grey might suggest that Americans are becoming more comfortable with the idea of sex, but that seems unlikely. People might be more accepting of erotic novels than erotic films, and people might be really interested in Fifty Shades of Grey, but I can’t imagine people will feel the same way about the Fifty Shades of Grey film when it’s released. Even though sex in novels can be just as explicit as sex portrayed in films, people seem to treat it differently. Describing something with words can leave an action or event up to interpretation. You have to use your imagination to visualize the meaning of the words you’re reading. Film and visual images are significantly less subject to interpretation. Perhaps sexual acts, like those portrayed in Fifty Shades of Grey, could be more damaging if they were to be seen by children. These actions would be seen as “more real” because they would include real people,

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even if the images portrayed are dependent on various film techniques. But at the same time, I can’t help but wonder what would happen if a young person were to get their hands on a copy of the book. While you would have to be able to read to really understand what is going on, there doesn’t seem to be much regulation on who is able to buy erotic books. Because of American film ratings, movies are harder to access. If Fifty Shades of Grey gets an R rating by the time it is ready to be released, only those individuals 17 years of age or older will be able to see it. As far as I am aware, anyone can go into a bookstore and pick up a copy of the book. I’m not even upset at the way people view sex in popular media, but there doesn’t seem to be much consistency. If you are going to view one thing as bad but not another, where is the line being drawn? I understand the desire to protect children from mature content, but when we are also making sex and nudity—natural parts human life—shameful to adults, I think our priorities might be a bit skewed. I’m curious to see what the release of the Fifty Shades of Grey movie will mean, not because I am particularly interested in seeing the film, but because I’m interested to see if the people who read and enjoyed the book will feel the same way about the film.

COVER

COBY HUTZLER

AS PORTLAND STATE PREPARES TO WRAP UP FALL TERM AND MANY STUDENTS GET READY TO GO HOME FOR THE HOLIDAYS, PROLONGED CONTRACT NEGOTIATIONS BETWEEN THE ADMINISTRATION AND THE LARGEST FACULTY UNION ON CAMPUS ARE SEEING ALMOST 1,200 INSTRUCTIONAL FACULTY AND ACADEMIC PROFESSIONALS AT PSU END THE QUARTER WITHOUT A NEW CONTRACT FOR 2013–2015. THE NEXT STEP IS A TWO-DAY MEDIATION IN MID-DECEMBER. THE CURRENT CONTRACT, NOW ON ITS SECOND EXTENSION, IS SET TO EXPIRE AT THE END OF THE MONTH. IF MEDIATION FAILS, THE UNIVERSITY CAN IMPOSE ITS OWN CONTRACT. AT THAT POINT, THE TWO PARTIES CAN EITHER CONTINUE NEGOTIATING, OR THE UNION CAN AUTHORIZE A STRIKE. See AAUP on page 12

FRANCISCA ROMERO, president of the secretaries’ organization of El Salvador’s oldest teachers’ union, speaks in front of the Market Center Building with the help of a translator. MILES SANGUINETTI/PSU VANGUARD

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COVER

JOSÉ PADÍN, an associate professor of sociology at PSU, leads the crowd in protest chants.

AAUP Continued from page 11 The union, PSU’s chapter of the American Association of University Professors, has been in contract negotiations with the university since April, when both sides presented their positions. The AAUP on campus has been focusing its efforts on, among other things, improving wages for all faculty and providing more stable work conditions for fixed-term faculty—full-time instructors teaching on renewable short-term contracts. The university has stood fast to its original proposals, reportedly arguing that dire financial straits and the need for flexibility are limiting its options. The union has adjusted course as a result. “We’ve come down considerably from a lot of our wishes and requests,” said Ronald Narode, AAUP’s vice president of collective bargaining, in an

interview. “We go into mediation with a compromised package from AAUP.” Mary King, president of PSU’s chapter of the AAUP, said that while she’s optimistic that the union and administration will eventually arrive at a deal, there’s more work to do. “The thing about mediation is that it’s not as facilitative as it sounds,” she said. “You just sit in two separate rooms and the mediator goes back and forth and asks if you’ve changed your mind.” Among other salary adjustments related to tenure, the union is looking for a 2.5 percent cost of living increase to keep faculty salaries in line with inflation. According to the union’s Nov. 19 bargaining report, the administration’s proposal is for an across the board increase of 1 percent per year.

“[The administration’s] offer is not even to keep up with inflation,” King said. Conditions for fixed-term faculty have also been under union scrutiny. According to King, two-thirds of these faculty are on one-year contracts, and should they face termination, they get a maximum of six months’ notice. Fixed-term faculty teach half of the student credit hours taken at PSU, and King and others in the union say that without longer contracts, the curricular stability and relationships that students need with their professors and instructors will be increasingly difficult to come by. AAUP is looking to extend both the lengths of these contracts and their termination notice period. King said the administration is proposing no multiyear contracts and no notice greater than six months. “They want to go backwards from the status quo, which is already bad,” King said. “Right now, it doesn’t seem like what’s on offer is some-

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thing we’d be able to recommend to our members for ratification.” Scott Gallagher, director of communications at PSU, said that while he’s unable to comment on the particulars of this round of contract bargaining, PSU does have a pressing financial situation. “We have no indications that we’re going to be getting [increased] money from the state,” toward PSU’s general fund next year, he said. In a Nov. 5 letter to the campus community, PSU President Wim Wiewel said the university was looking for ways to contend with an anticipated $15 million budget shortfall for 2014–2015. “Eighty-one percent of our operating budget is essentially personnel costs,” Gallagher said, adding that the primary source of revenue for PSU is tuition dollars. According to data prepared by the Oregon University System, faculty salaries at PSU rank last among 10 “peer universities” from around the country for the 2011–2012

academic year. Universities on this list include San Diego State University and the University of Illinois at Chicago. In an expanded analysis that compares PSU, Oregon State University and the University of Oregon against a larger group of comparator schools, PSU is last of these 19 institutions. This list includes such schools as the University of Washington in Seattle and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Gallagher said that in making these comparisons, it’s important to compare apples to apples. “People forget that PSU is a very young school,” he said. “We haven’t been a research university for as long as OSU and U of O,” which affects the kinds of funding that the university can attract. “We do have over 100,000 alumni, but it’s harder to raise money from alumni when you don’t have a strong sports program or a really long history,” he said. Earlier this year, AAUP commissioned a study that used

publicly available financial information about PSU in the university’s library to examine how the money at PSU is spent. The October 2013 study, called “How PSU prioritizes its money,” was written by researchers at Florida International University and found that between 2002 and 2012, “the cost of tuition and fees increased 86 percent for resident undergraduates and 79 percent for resident graduate students.” Accounting for inflation, the study found that tuition for resident undergraduates at PSU rose 158 percent since 1987. It also found that staff levels at PSU steadily rose between 2002 and 2012, with tenured faculty numbers increasing by nearly 38 percent and instructors by nearly 50 percent. During this time, the number of administrators rose by 54 percent. Tenure-track faculty fell by 5.9 percent. The study also found that salary growth between faculty and administrators was uneven, saying that average salaries for fixed-term and

COVER

ALL PHOTOS: MILES SANGUINETTI/PSU VANGUARD

tenure-track faculty rose around 1 percent over the decade. For tenured faculty, these increases were closer to 0.6 percent. “When we compare the salary growth figures of PSU faculty to those of PSU administrators at the assistant dean and above level over the decade,” it said, “it is clear that the administrators’ salaries have stayed well above inflation, while faculty salaries have not.” The study’s authors found that during this time, the salaries for vice presidents and assistant vice presidents rose 29 and 23 percent, respectively. Provosts and vice provosts saw increases of 56 and 54 percent, respectively. President Wiewel, in a Nov. 26 follow-up email to his Nov. 5 letter, announced that administrative salaries were going to be reined in, saying that “unrepresented unclassified administrators and staff earning an annual salary of $100,000 or more will not receive general pay increases in 2013–14 and 2014–15.” This move, he

continued, would save PSU approximately $860,000 over those two years. Gallagher said that this would affect approximately 80 administrative-level staff. “In general, I think it’s clear that the administration is taking the budget very seriously, and we are indeed looking at the whole university,” Gallagher said. “That’s a concern that others have had, and we’re still working on it.”

‘Shared around the world’ AAUP’s bargaining negotiations are not happening in isolation. On Nov. 19, AAUP and other teaching unions and workers’ rights advocates made appearances at a pre-bargaining rally. Beginning on the sky bridge between Smith Memorial Student Union and Cramer Hall, about 250 people marched to the steps of the Market Center building, where PSU administration is housed. Kelly Cowan, president of the PSU Faculty Association,

which represents part-time and adjunct faculty, criticised the university’s spending priorities. “The university is saying there’s a huge crisis going on right now,” he said via megaphone to the crowd on the sky bridge. “They’re saying that if they don’t make a bunch of cuts, everything’s going to fall apart. “But you know what? We’ve heard that before. We hear that constantly,” Cowan continued. “And who do they need the cuts from? It’s always the workers, it’s always the people who make this university run.” Rachel Hibbard, an adjunct professor at PSU’s School of Art and Design, has been teaching at PSU for 15 years. In an interview, she said that she thinks the university is moving in the wrong direction and that she’s observed a disconnect between the faculty and the decisions that are being made at the administrative level. “I’ve seen a really dramatic change in the level of admin-

istrative pay and then this lack of serious input from the large faculty about running the school,” she said. “It’s become separated.” A recent survey run by PSU-AAUP sought to gauge faculty perspectives, both of their salaries and workload as well as their opinions of the university’s administration. The survey had 395 respondents. Asked whether they believe that PSU administrators have a good understanding of the faculty’s academic mission and are taking the university in a positive direction, the majority replied that they “completely disagree.” Francisca Romero, president of the National Teacher’s Union of El Salvador, spoke to the crowd once it had arrived at Market Center. “It’s very important that students, like employees and faculty, are involved together,” she said through a translator. “These problems are not individual, they are shared around the world...Around the world, in schools, every-

where—we’re all sharing the same problems.” Gwen Sullivan is president of the Portland Association of Teachers. The PAT and Portland Public Schools are also in a contract standoff—PPS declared an impasse in those negotiations on Nov. 20, making a strike possible. “As I stand up here, I look around and I see people, I feel

like I’m looking in the mirror. We are dealing with the same thing,” Sullivan said. “As we get closer, as you guys get closer, I want to remind you of something. Your students are counting on you, they are watching you. You have to make sure to stand up for yourself…Your students are counting on you to lead the way.” President Wiewel,

My colleagues and I are concerned about large proposed cuts in the academic budget and difficult labor negotiations at PSU. We want to see AAUP’s and PSUFA’s contracts settled quickly and fairly to minimize potential labor unrest in the new year, as well as negative consequences to PSU’s academic mission. The people of Oregon expect no less. – Ore. Sen. Michael Dembrow, reading a statement at the faculty union rally on Nov. 19

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ARTS & CULTURE

‘COLLABORATION AND RELATIONSHIPS’: SPREADING THE ARTS WITH FRIENDTORS BRANDON STALEY

Students from Portland State’s graphic design program and Centennial Park School high school will come together on Dec. 5 for Friendtorship Presents: In the Works, a gallery show at Tillamook Station. The show aims to celebrate art as a force for positive social change, with a focus on PSU’s Friendtorship program. Friendtorship is a program that encourages PSU art and design students to mentor high school students in art-focused, one-on-one mentoring workshops. The curriculum for each workshop is designed and taught by PSU students. “We believe in the importance of creativity in education, or the ubiquity of art and design in our lives,” said Lis Charman, professor of graphic design at PSU and one of the creators of the Friendtorship program. “But really, our main focus is on collaboration and relationships.” The program sprang out of the desire to broaden access to art and design learning programs for under-served students. Charman said she wanted to help support the arts in alternative schools such as Centennial Park School. It began with Charman and a small group of dedicated graphic design students hosting two-hour weekly lunchtime workshops. The original idea was to bring CPS students to PSU to experience a college campus, but when the group learned

that most CPS students rarely travel downtown because of the distance, the Friendtorship program opted to come to them. Charman said she hopes the program helps students understand that college is an attainable goal. “Our goal is to share that PSU’s campus is an open and welcoming place; that the idea of college is not foreign, distant or inaccessible,” Charman said. “[It is] very important we seek to create a supportive collaborative community.” Cassandra Swan, a student of graphic design at PSU, has volunteered with the Friendtorship program for three terms and couldn’t be happier with the experience. “I love being around people that want to be there for someone or that want to give back in a really constructive, hands-on, no-bullshit kind of way,” Swan said. Swan said she first heard about the program through her own portfolio review mentor, who was then a volunteer. Soon enough, Swan was hooked. “It was making things hands-on with high school students for a few hours a week and getting to share the world of art and design with them, and letting them share their world with me,” Swan said. “It gave me some perspective and it made me feel like I was doing something that mattered.”

One of the biggest challenges facing the program right now, Swan said, is the lack of funding. She said materials for workshops are paid for out of pocket. “We have to be creative with what we’ve got and make it work,” Swan said. Swan said that the oneon-one dynamic of the program can be strange at first. She said there are instances when uncomfortable subjects have been broached by mentees, but that those moments can serve as valuable learning opportunities. “Everyone in this program is amazing,” Swan

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said, “because they recognize that those moments are when you have the opportunity to be real with your mentee and talk about things that matter.” Conrad Crespin, a student of graphic design at PSU, is a first-time Friendtorship volunteer. Through the program, he hopes to learn more about working collaboratively and nurturing someone going through the difficult years of adolescence. Crespin said he first heard about the program through the graphic design program at PSU and was interested. The idea of encouraging ar-

tistic activity and its cathartic qualities in young people appealed to him. The program allows for a great deal of freedom while designing workshop curriculum, but the emphasis is on educating and creating good work, Crespin said. “Collectively we present and critique each other’s workshops so they can be the best they can be but also to allow the possibility of connecting workshops through process, principles or ideas,” Crespin said. The Friendtorship program is also open to local professional artists. In the past the pro-

gram has seen local designers, illustrators, screen printers, artists and theater and improv troupes take the lead for a day. “Depending on schedule and level of interest, most professionals will come in and lead one or more twohour sessions, while others will come in for an hour to give a talk,” Charman said. “People are welcome to stop by and check out one of our sessions before committing to volunteer.” Additional information about the Friendtorship program and the Friendtorship Presents: In the Works event can be found at friendtorship.org.

PSU AND CENTENNIAL HIGH STUDENTS collaborate on a large illustration using india ink. ©CASSANDRA SWAN

ARTS & CULTURE

JAPANESE CURRENTS THE NORTHWEST FILM CENTER BRINGS JAPANESE CINEMA TO PORTLAND JEREMY KING

Film buffs take notice! A comprehensive selection of critically acclaimed Japanese films will make their Portland debut in the upcoming Japanese Currents screening, courtesy of the Northwest Film Center. “Japanese Currents is an annual film series that the Northwest Film Center does, showcasing the most recent award-winning, high-profile films to come out of Japan,” said Kristy Conrad, membership and sponsorship manager at the NWFC. “This year’s series takes place Dec. 6 through Dec. 15. It features a pretty wide range of films from anime, to drama, to documentaries and shorts. I think there’s something in there for everyone,” she added. The series is a broad demonstration of the creative scope of Japanese film, encompassing a variety of themes and genres. The wide berth of subject matter found within this year’s lineup speaks to the holistic, inclusive vision of modern Japanese filmmakers. “It’s a pretty diverse selection of what’s going on right now in contemporary Japanese cinema,” said

Nick Bruno, public relations and marketing associate at the film center. “You’ve got Like Father, Like Son, the latest domestic drama from Hirokazu Kore-Eda, who over the past decade or so has gone from being viewed as one of the up-and-coming directors in Japan to being seen as a spiritual successor to the great Japanese director Yasujiro Ozo,” Bruno said. “Alongside that, there are two adaptations of popular manga: the action-packed samurai epic Rurouni Kenshin and the much less easy to categorize comedy Thermae Romae. Add in a documentary like Japan in a Day, which examines the post-tsunami and earthquake-stricken Japan, and the family-friendly anime, Wolf Children, and you really start to get a picture of how much variety is coming out of the modern Japanese film scene.” While the movies selected for Japanese Currents do a fantastic job at displaying the sheer variety and originality of Japanese cinema, there’s an inherent reverence and deeply rooted respect for the long-standing tropes and cultural heritage of Japan’s film scene, paid

‘JAPAN IN A DAY,’ a film that explores posttsumnami Japan, screens at Northwest Film Center Dec. 8.

©PHILIP MARTIN & GAKU NARITA

JAPANESE CURRENTS WHITSELL AUDITORIUM 1219 S.W. Park Ave. Portland, Ore.

TUES. DEC. 10 7:00 p.m.

THERMAE ROMAE (2012)

WED. DEC. 11 7:00 p.m.

THERMAE ROMAE (2012)

THUR. DEC. 12 7:00 p.m.

THE KIRISHIMA THING (2012)

FRI. DEC. 6 7:00 p.m.

LIKE FATHER, LIKE SON (2013)

FRI. DEC. 13 7:00 p.m.

RUROUNI KENSHIN (2012)

SAT. DEC. 7 7:00 p.m.

A STORY OF YONOSUKE (2013)

SAT. DEC. 14 4:00 p.m.

WOLF CHILDREN (2012)

SUN. DEC. 8 4:15 p.m.

SAPPORO SHORTS PROGRAM

7:00 p.m.

(2012-2013)

7:OO p.m.

JAPAN IN A DAY (2012)

SUN. DEC. 15 4:30 p.m.

MON. DEC. 9 7:00 p.m.

JAPAN IN A DAY (2012)

7:00 p.m.

tribute to with more conventional selections such as Keishi Otomo’s Rurouni Kenshin and Studio Ghibli’s Wolf Children. “I think there [are] a lot of traditions within Japanese film that have always been very strong. There’s the samurai genre, which is something we associate with Japanese cin-

ema from [Akira] Kurosawa onward,” Conrad said. “Another popular tradition within Japanese film being anime, obviously with [Hayao] Miyazaki and the tradition he’s established through Studio Ghibli… they’re definitely continuing the traditions of Japanese cinema in adding fresh ideas, artistry and vitality.”

RUROUNI KENSHIN (2012) THE KIROSHIMA THING (2012) WOLF CHILDREN (2012)

While these films are all celebrations of distinctly Japanese cinema, the thematic impact and value of these theatrical outings resonate across cultural and linguistic boundaries. “…I think that the best of Japanese cinema, like the best films of any culture, present a palpable glimpse

into the lives of people living in a particular time and place,” said Bruno. “For me that’s all that matters in film; conveying how people live, what they strive for, and often what causes them to keep reaching for those goals, even in the most dire of circumstances.”

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ARTS & CULTURE

DANGIT that’s

HOLIDAY APPETIZER FUN JORDAN MOLNAR ©JOHN DAVIS

Have you ever just wanted to throw a fancy party? I know exactly how you feel. But feeding a lot of picky party guests can be super tricky and land you in some sticky situations. Instead of attempting to come up with the perfect three-course meal to satisfy your guests, try starting small with a variety of tasty appetizers.

Bacon-wrapped water chestnuts The first suggestion I have is a very simple holiday treat. You know those chestnuts you’re supposed to be roasting over an open fire? Don’t do that. Instead, buy some canned water chestnuts and marinate them in a mixture of your favorite sauces. Chestnuts, specifically pre-peeled and canned ones, soak up flavors. Soy sauce, teriyaki sauce and a bit of Worcestershire sauce create a salty, sweet and sort of tangy taste. Soak your chestnuts as long as you can get away with, then cook up a little bit of bacon—not fully, just enough to be generally cooked—to wrap them in. Attach bacon via toothpicks—everyone’s favorite attaching device—and stick your chestnuts on a baking sheet with shallow sides or in some kind of baking dish. You do want to make sure whatever you cook them with can catch juices, because they will drip. That is a mess you do not want to deal with, like finals. But juicier. Anyway, then you just put them in your oven with the broiler on until the bacon is nice and crispy. Got that under control? Cool.

Stuffed mushrooms Preheat your oven to 325 degrees. Now it is time for you to stuff some mushrooms. That’s right, you are going to need mushrooms. Whatever kind of the smaller, stuffable mushrooms you prefer is fine. I went with baby bella mushrooms myself, but white button mushrooms work just as well. Grab as many as you can handle and rinse them off before you begin to prepare them. Once they are relatively clean you can easily remove the stems by twisting and pulling them to create a hollow cap (you do not actually have to bop them as well…Get it? Anyone?). Set your caps aside and begin making your filling. Once again, this can really be whatever you want it to be. If you want some delicious suggestions, I would go with bread crumbs (seasoned or plain, either works just fine), Parmesan cheese, Gorgonzola cheese (or blue cheese, one of those good moldy ones), feta (…goat cheese, man. It’s really good!) and chopped green onions. You can throw in some of your Worcestershire sauce and a little pepper as well, but there is really no need to add extra salt to this mixture. Just put it down. Don’t get trigger happy

with salt just because you like to cook. Seriously, stop, your heart might explode. Stir your mixture together and press it into the mushrooms. It’s totally cool to really overfill them. Once they are ready, put them in a dish or on a baking sheet. These will be juicy, too, so put down some tin foil and try to use something that will catch any liquid. I say this for you. I am not trying to tell you how to live your life; it will just make clean up a lot easier. Bake your mushrooms for about 30 minutes. Then, if you desire a crispier top, broil them for a few moments. When you are done with that, make sure to let them sit until they are cool enough not to melt your tongue out of your face.

Stuffed tomatoes Okay, still need something? Don’t worry, we can stuff something else! Tomatoes are also fairly easily to hollow out and turn into an empty shell (like us, you know, during finals). You will need as many tomatoes as you want. I don’t know how generous you are feeling or whether you are just making these for yourself. I like to use organic, vine-ripened tomatoes when I am feeling fancy, so you could do that same, but any good-sized tomato (or cherry tomato, if you are feeling up to a gutting challenge)

INGREDIENTS Bacon-wrapped water chestnuts 1–2 cans water chestnuts bacon soy sauce teriyaki sauce Worcestershire sauce

Stuffed mushrooms mushrooms bread crumbs Gorgonzola cheese feta cheese Parmesan cheese Worcestershire sauce chopped green onions pepper

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will do. Rinse them off, cut off a portion of the top and use the knife to cut around the hard parts of the meat of the tomatoes. After the guts of your tomatoes are free, post-knifing, you can use a spoon to scoop out the insides. You don’t need the insides; don’t save them. That is weird. Set your hollowed-out tomatoes aside and begin to work on your filling. Frankly, you can pretty much use the same filling that you did for the mushrooms. Want to be different? Try adding some canned tuna or maybe some freshly chopped spinach. Hate tuna? Fine, use chicken. Or don’t use meat at all. I don’t know you. You could be a vegetarian. If you do use spinach, adding a little bit of lemon juice will bring out a fresh flavor and keep your spinach a bright color. That looks pretty. Your tomatoes can be cooked exactly like your mushrooms were. Remember, a dish or a pan with at least some sort of sides and some tin foil will make clean up easier. Or just use cooking spray. Then you can rinse the dish off, and the messy parts just slide away. 30 minutes in the oven and a few under the broiler creates some really good tomatoes. If you are a human with the usual human mouth-flesh, let them cool before you eat or serve them. Let’s try to avoid getting hurt. Finals are already going to suck out your soul and leave you a withered husk.

Stuffed tomatoes decently sized (or cherry) tomatoes 1 can tuna or chicken lemon juice chopped fresh spinach bread crumbs Gorgonzola cheese feta cheese Parmesan cheese Worcestershire sauce chopped green onions pepper

ARTS & CULTURE

BRAIN FOOD

Dark Horse comics releases comic prequel to the hit video game The Last of Us

TRISTAN COOPER

Video games and comic books were invented decades apart, but they seem like they were made for each other. There are plenty of decent video game adaptations of comics, including last year’s stellar version of The Walking Dead. Comic adaptations of video games, however, have proven a harder nut to crack. Dark Horse Comics has decided to give it another solid whack with The Last of Us: American Dreams, a graphic novel written by the game’s creative director Neil Druckman and drawn by indie darling Faith Erin Hicks. The Last of Us came out earlier in 2013 to almost universal critical acclaim. Set in what’s essentially a zombie apocalypse, most agreed that the mix of stealth and action gameplay was fun enough. But what set The Last of Us apart was its storytelling, following a handful of survivors who are forced to make tough, sometimes unthinkable decisions in order to keep on living. For most of the game you play as Joel, a gruff middle-aged man looking after young teenager Ellie. The comic, however, takes place before the two meet, focusing on Ellie sans Joel. Ellie lives in one of the few quarantine zones left in the U.S. Though most buildings are in disrepair, the large compound resembles a police

state. Armed guards in riot gear patrol the streets, and there’s talk of a resistance group: the Fireflies. Though most of the world’s population is decimated and fungus-infected zombies roam the earth, Ellie still faces some of the same problems of any girl her age. Transferred to a military training center at the age of 13, Ellie has to fend off bullies and figure out a way to make friends. Danger finds Ellie in the form of gunfire and the gnashing of infected teeth, but the crux of the story relies on her relationship with her new friend. Only three years Ellie’s senior, the cynical and wizened Riley represents the grim future Ellie has to look forward to. Likewise, it’s easy to see that Riley takes a shine to Ellie in part because she’s a reminder of how things used to be. The duo’s budding friendship is believable and recognizable, even given their surroundings. Ellie looks up to Riley, but she’s not a naive puppy dog. Riley is a hardened pessimist, but there are real emotions behind her motivations. There are a million different kinds of the undead out there, but any zombie fan can tell you that the human element is the most important, and that’s the aspect that American Dreams has nailed down.

Hicks, known for her young adult graphic novel Friends with Boys, is an unorthodox but inspired choice to illustrate this prequel. Given her proven knack for relatable adolescent characters, it’s no surprise to see her credited as co-writer along with Druckman. The video game’s graphical style is gritty and realistic, suiting the bleak setting, but the world of the comic is a bit more cartoony. Hicks’ characters have round faces and big, expressive eyes. Fight scenes have an air of manga to them, with action

lines behind the character briefly taking the place of backgrounds. Though out of step with the original material, the art style works thematically. Ellie is younger, still holding on to her innocence. The story has as much to do with Ellie figuring out who she is as it does with her misadventures with rebels and zombies. Since the book is a prequel, we know that Ellie survives to live the events of the game. The stakes aren’t too high, so American Dreams works as more of a character

piece. People who have played through The Last of Us will wait for an event in Ellie’s past mentioned in the final minutes of the game, but it never comes. That pivotal moment looks like it will be explored in an upcoming downloadable video game content that acts as a prequel to the game and a sequel to this comic. What we’re left with is a great graphic novel with a

narrow audience. Anyone who’s played The Last of Us or is interested in doing so should definitely read American Dreams. For anyone else, the story is just too slight to stand on its own. Anyone looking to sink their teeth into a meaty comic without strings should read The Walking Dead, or better yet, something else by Faith Erin Hicks.

DARK HORSE COMICS presents THE LAST OF US: AMERICAN DREAMS $16.99

ELLIE AND RILEY in ‘The Last of Us: American Dreams.’

©DARK HORSE COMICS

Vanguard | DECEMBER 3, 2013 | psuvanguard.com

ETC FEATURED EVENT “Speakeasy” Celebration of Repeal of 18th Amendment Thursday, Dec. 5, 6–9 p.m. Bagdad Back Stage Bar 3702 S.E. Hawthorne Blvd. Portland, OR 97214 Celebrate the anniversary of repeal of the 18th Amendment and the end of prohibition in style at the Back Stage Bar at McMenamins Bagdad Theater. Live music will be playing throughout the evening and food and drink specials will be speakeasy-inspired. You do, however, have to be 21 or older to join this party. 21+

©PAUL LOWRY

EVENT CALENDAR Tuesday, Dec. 3

Korea 1900: A Time Capsule in 20 Objects

Nature’s Trust

6 p.m. Smith Memorial Student Union, room 296-8 1825 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201

Noon World Affairs Council of Oregon, Madison room 1200 S.W. Park Ave., Portland, OR 97205 Environmental law expert Mary Christina Wood explores new approaches to global climate change policy and poses a question: In the face of global ecological crisis that climate change is accelerating, what can ordinary citizens do? Admission is $10 per person.

Portland Brewing’s Ugly Holiday Sweater Party 5 p.m. Portland Brewing 2730 N.W. 31st St., Portland, OR 97210 Join the folks at Portland Brewing for their annual Ugly Sweater Party! Event highlights include an ugly sweater competition, raffles, live music, Christmas carolers, a photo booth, food and beer specials and an appearance by drunk Santa. Donate a used coat for the Portland Rescue Mission and get a free six-pack. This event is only for those who are 21 years of age and older. FREE

Dr. Laurel Kendall, adjunct professor of anthropology at Columbia University and a curator of Asian ethnographic collections at the American Museum of Natural History, presents a sampling of 20 items from a larger collection that was gathered near the turn of the century in Korea and is meant to reflect the daily lives of the residents of Seoul at the time. Join her for a discussion about the significance of these items and what they can tell us in a retrospective examination of Korean culture. FREE

Wednesday, Dec. 4 Winter Student Flea and Craft Market 11 a.m.–3 p.m. Smith Memorial Student Union, Parkway North 1825 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201 Come to the student union on Dec. 4 to get some early Christmas shopping done, or just pick up something special for yourself. Students

from Portland State and other local colleges will be selling everything from crafts to vintage clothing and other unique items. FREE

your viewing and snacking experience. FREE

Thursday, Dec. 5

Chinese Conversation Circle: “Chinese Zodiac Animals”

World Aids Day Recognition

1–3 p.m. Lansu Chinese Garden 239 N.W. Everett St., Portland, OR 97209

11 a.m.– 1 p.m. Smith Memorial Student Union, Parkway North 1825 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201 Stop by Smith on Dec. 5 to visit with SHAC and pick up some safer-sex information and information regarding healthy relationships and for the chance to win prizes and safer sex supplies. PSU students can also get information on how to get a rapid HIV test done at SHAC and when they can go in to do so. FREE

PSU Eats Israel

Friday, Dec. 6

On the first Friday of every month, the Confucius Institute at PSU hosts a Chinese conversation circle from 1–3 p.m. at the Lansu Chinese Garden. Different topics and activities are presented each month, and December’s topic is Chinese zodiac animals. Please feel free to join the conversation, but know that usual garden admission fees apply. For more information, visit www.lansugarden.org.

6:30–9 p.m. Smith Memorial Student Union, room 298 1825 S.W. Broadway, Portland, OR 97201

Saturday, Dec. 7

Join fellow students for an evening featuring Israeli films and Israeli snacks in the Smith Memorial Student Union. This is no limit on participants for this event, so be sure to bring some friends along with you to enhance

10 a.m. Learning Gardens Laboratory, Greenhouse 5 6801 S.E. 60th Ave., Portland, OR 97206

Vanguard | DECEMBER 3, 2013 | psuvanguard.com

Wreath-making Workshop

Learn how to transform grapevine forms and evergreen cuttings into beautiful and festive wreaths for your door. No experience is nec-

essary to join in on the fun, but be sure to bring your creativity, gloves and pruners. You can take away your very own unique wreath this year and gain expertise to recreate a wreath next year. The minimum donation to cover materials to is $15, but feel free to donate more. Please bring cash or check and dress warmly. All of the proceeds from this workshop will go directly to the Learning Gardens Laboratory’s educational programs. For more information and to register, visit www.pdx.edu/elp/ learning-gardens-laboratory.

Music Forward 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. Lincoln Hall 1620 S.E. Park Ave., Portland, OR 97201 Music Forward is a holiday musical event that features performances by PSU’s talented faculty, as well as a number of student ensembles. Student groups include PSU Chamber Choir (Ethan Sperry, director), PSU Wind Symphony (Edward Higgins, director), Taiko Ensemble (Wynn Kiyama, director), PSU Jazz Ensemble (Charley Gray, director), PSU Orchestra (Ken Selden, director), chamber groups and student scholarship winners. Admis-

sion is $25, the proceeds of which go toward scholarships for PSU music students. Tickets can be purchased at the PSU box office or at the door at the time of each performance.

Shanghaiers, Saloons and Skullduggery: A Walking Tour of Portland’s Sinful Past 4 p.m. Thirsty Lion Pub 71 S.W. 2nd Ave., Portland, OR 97204 Join Historian Doug Kenck-Crispin as we visit locations of famous saloons, bars and bordellos, card rooms and gambling dens, some of which are still in operation today. This tour is the perfect opportunity to become acquainted with the city more intimately than you ever have before by digging deep into Portland’s seedy past and enjoying a pint or two while you do so. Attendees must be 21 years of age or older. Tickets for the tour cost $18 per person. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.thirstylionpub.com. 21+

FREE

21+

PSU FREE OPEN TO PUBLIC 21 & OVER

ETC

to stop looking backward and start looking forward.

Sagittarius Nov. 22â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Dec. 21

We need to have a chat, Sagittarius. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve been droning on and on about how life has handed you a pile of shit. News flash: Life doesnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t owe you anything. Maybe the best course of action is to roll up your sleeves and get digging.

good to be a dreamer, but donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t let that fantasy distract you from reality.

Aquarius Jan. 20â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Feb. 18

Aries Mar. 21â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Apr. 19

Your symbol is the Water Bearer: a man pouring water from a jug. Your waters may be murky and polluted, but sometimes getting a fresh start is as easy as emptying your jug and refilling it from a different well. Pour out your worries, woes and troubles and start anew.

Capricorn Dec. 22â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Jan. 19 Stop mumbling, grumbling and fumbling over what could have been. Unless youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve found a way to travel through time, you need to adopt the mindset of â&#x20AC;&#x153;whatever happened, happened.â&#x20AC;? Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s time

Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve stretched yourself pretty thin. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re like butter scraped over too much bread. No one likes that shit, so cut it out. Take yourself out to a movie, buy yourself a burritoâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;just do something.

Taurus Apr. 20â&#x20AC;&#x201C;May 20

Stop worrying about leaving your mark on the world. Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re all just tiny specks of dust on a little rock hurling through space. Time is an illusion. Love fades, people fall away and every bone decays. Everything becomes withered and frayed and

Pisces Feb. 19â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Mar. 20

Having your head in the clouds is a hell of a lot better than having your head up your ass, but you need to watch where youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re going or youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll find that the little fluffs of white have turned into black storm clouds. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s

Sudoku

1 2 7

9 6 3 4 5 ÂŠ Puzzles provided by sudokusolver.com

7 6 1 2 7 3

Gemini May 21â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Jun. 20

Quit being a little bitch and take control of your destiny. And donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t sass me, Gemini, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m in no mood. You and only you can truly change your current situation. If I were you, Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;d be jumping all over that shit.

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Virgo Aug. 23â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Sept. 22

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Leo Jul. 23â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Aug. 22

Scorpio Oct. 23â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Nov. 21

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Vanguard | DECEMBER 3, 2013 | psuvanguard.com

SPORTS SCORES

UPCOMING

NBA

PORTLAND LA LAKERS

Top Performers: LaMarcus Aldridge, 27 points

114 OKLAHOMA CITY vs. PORTLAND 108 WED. 12/4 7:00 p.m. | KGW WHL

PORTLAND @ EVERETT

WHL

SASKATOON PORTLAND

Top Performers: Nicholas Petan, 4 goals, 1 assist

5 6

Top Performers: DaShaun Wiggins, 19 points

60 76

Top Performers: Tori Oliver, 18 points

PSU vs. PORTLAND PSU vs. IDAHO SAT. 12/14 7:05 p.m. | STOTT CENTER PSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

PSU @ GONZAGA FRI. 12/6 6:00 p.m.

PSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

COLUMBIA PSU

PSU MEN’S BASKETBALL SAT. 12/7 7:05 p.m. | STOTT CENTER

PSU MEN’S BASKETBALL

PSU BOISE STATE

TUES. 12/3 7:05 p.m. | KPAM 860 AM

67 PSU @ OREGON 75 SAT. 12/14 2:00 p.m.

Top Performers: Garyn Schlatter, 39 assits

TIPS FOR CELEBRATING THE HOLIDAYS SAFELY HEALTH& WELLNESS

DREA VICK

PSU VOLLEYBALL

IDAHO STATE PSU

CHEERS TO A NEW YEAR!

3 0

One of the last fun hoorahs between fall and winter term is celebrating the new year. It’s a time to remember the good times and say good riddance to the bad parts of the year while getting a last bit of party time in before it’s time to hunker down for another 10 weeks of classes. While it’s fun to go out and party to usher in the new year, it’s important to remember that New Year’s Eve is one of the major holidays when careless deaths and hospitalizations associated with heavy alcohol use are the most common. It’s pretty simple to protect yourself and your friends from being another statistic: just be careful. If you have to drive to where you are going, always, always, always have a 100 percent sober designated driver. It is never safe to drive

while under the influence; it puts you, your friends and others at serious risk. Keep in mind that Portland is host to great cab companies, and TriMet is free on New Year’s Eve, with extended MAX service after 8 p.m. With that said, you can eliminate some of the hassle by going out in your neighborhood or partying at a friend’s house. At the beginning of the night, have a plan of action and institute a buddy system with your friends. Agree to look out for one another the entire night and commit to not let drinking get out of hand. If everybody is in the same mindset, the night will be tons of fun without unnecessary worry. It’s worth noting that the more alcohol you drink, the slower your reaction time will be, which can ultimately put you at risk for sexual assault by an opportunist. While drinking, be aware of your own tolerance level and

how your body metabolizes alcohol. Don’t try to keep up with others as they pound one drink after another. Your liver can only process one unit of alcohol per hour; any more than that and the excess alcohol becomes poison in your bloodstream and can make you very sick. Try drinking one glass of water for every alcoholic drink to avoid overdrinking. If you are throwing up, stop drinking right away. Contrary to what you may think, throwing up does not “make room for more alcohol.” It is one of the first signs of alcohol poisoning. Your body can’t metabolize alcohol fast enough, and if enough alcohol goes unmetabolized for too long you could die. If your friend has had too much to drink, it’s up to you to take that drink out of their hand and look after them. Alcohol poisoning is no laugh-

ing matter and shouldn’t be treated lightly. If a friend is passing out, it is already taking effect. Put them on their side and monitor them. If they are having trouble breathing, are excessively sweaty or have a weak pulse, do not hesitate to take them to the ER. Time is of the essence in this situation. However, it doesn’t have to get to that point if you all work together to make sure everybody is happy and healthy.

NOW GO HAVE SOME FUN AND RING IN 2014 IN STYLE! Radio Cab 503-227‑1212 Broadway Cab 503-333‑3333 TriMet 503-238‑7433

TOTAL WINS FOR PSU VOLLEYBALL THIS YEAR, GIVING THE VIKINGS THEIR SECOND CONSECUTIVE BIG SKY REGULAR SEASON TITTLE. MILES SANGUINETTI/PSU VANGUARD

Vanguard | DECEMBER 3, 2013 | psuvanguard.com

SPORTS

BLAZING THE RIGHT TRAIL New Blazers GM brings fresh hope to Portland fans JOEL GUNDERSON

Professional sports franchises can oftentimes resemble daytime soap operas. The egos, the money-hungry power players and the backstabbing can destroy the team from the inside, leaving the men and women charged with running it powerless. Perhaps that’s why Neil Olshey has fit in so well in Portland. He knows soaps. Olshey had different dreams before arriving in Portland. The man who has so effortlessly endeared himself to Blazers fans wasn’t taking the basketball route originally; he had his sights set on the screen, not the court. He wanted to act. With a face befitting of the big screen, he landed roles in television commercials, print ads and, most famously to Blazers fans, soap operas. Luckily for Portland, his life went a different direction. Now in his second year as general manager of the Portland Trail Blazers, the fruits of his labor are beginning to pay off. After an offseason of mid-level acquisitions, the Blazers now find themselves 14-3 at the start of the season. Veteran leaders and unheralded big men have helped the franchise fully turn the page from the Felton-Wallace-Camby debacle of two seasons ago. Olshey’s moves have been underwhelming, precise and sometimes head-scratching. So far, however, they’ve been home runs.

Flying under the line Olshey found success in Los Angeles for the Clippers. Those Clippers. He quickly turned them into the town’s most exciting attraction.

When an opening arose in Portland, he took the call. He needed a new challenge. He needed to break out. He also needed to get outside of his comfort zone. Olshey is a man immersed in the L.A.-New York scene, a man so used to looking his best at every moment. He’s been slow to embrace the Portland way, but it’s coming. “I [recently] went a week and a half without shaving,” he told The Oregonian earlier this year. “I was embarrassed. It’s all white. I looked in the mirror and I could feel it, but I couldn’t see it.” Olshey has not been alone in embracing change. His boss has as well. For years it seemed Paul Allen, the billionaire owner of the Blazers, would never let a GM succeed under his watchful eye. Manager after manager came to town, only to be swept aside before their impact could be felt. The beloved and worshipped Kevin Pritchard was cast aside in one of the darkest behind-the-scenes moments the franchise has seen. Rich Cho, the up-and-comer, barely had a cup of coffee in town before he was shown the door. Allen’s rulings felled them all. He seems to have too much power for his own good, and his passion for winning often has overshadowed his ability to let the GM do what they are meant to: manage. Olshey appears to be the perfect yin to Allen’s ever-present yang. Olshey has the charisma to make everyone feel important. He has the suave good-naturedness that makes everyone feel comfortable. He also has the ability to make everyone better. And he does it all, not surprisingly, in his own way. Robin Lopez wasn’t considered a prize get. Mo Williams,

Dorrell Wright and Earl Watson didn’t make season ticket sales double. And Thomas Robinson may have been the most perplexing player in the league. After 18 games, all five have cast an imprint on the season. A team that last year toiled with one of the worst benches in NBA history has been, in the words of Brian Wheeler, rebuilt, re-energized and re-ignited.

Limited experience, big results Olshey’s hiring was met with raised eyebrows. He was a relatively unknown commodity after such a short stint in L.A. His reputation among NBA players, however, was the driving force behind the hire. Olshey’s charisma comes at you in waves; he’s a walking quote and his infectiously positive attitude resonates with players. Getting players to come to a city like Portland, an out-of-the-way stop on the NBA free agents tour, requires a man in charge that

can sell the city, the fans and the vision like none other. It requires, in a way, an actor. That’s not to say Portland doesn’t have the things he’s selling. Its fan base is often mentioned as the most loyal and passionate in all of sports. The city has much to offer, but it takes some time living here to experience it, especially for young, rich NBA players. Olshey has one day to sell that experience. It wasn’t hard to get players to Los Angeles, even if it was to see the perpetually poor Clippers. Beaches, nice weather, the spotlight—they were all available, right outside your front door. He also has built-in relationships. Olshey had built trust with NBA players through SFX Sports Group, Inc., where he was director of player development. While there, he created, organized and conducted NBA pre-draft training camps. With the talent coming in and Olshey’s personality shining out, it’s no surprise that he

forged trust with players that still exists today. That trust has paid off so far: Look no further than Mo Williams. Williams said the friendship he had with Olshey from SFX was his main reason for signing. Since coming aboard, Williams has been a catalyst off the bench, sparking runs in numerous games in this young season. His veteran leadership and steady play has Portland in the running for a playoff seed—exactly what Olshey envisioned when he signed Williams, though the move barely made a blip on the radar. It was another one of the unheralded signings that has worked for the league’s most surprising team.

Credit where credit is due It hasn’t been a complete bed of roses for Olshey in Portland. As this past offseason came into focus, fans had grandiose visions of what was to come. Armed with $12 million in cap space, it seemed Portland was finally in

the running for a big-time acquisition. For many, the results fell far short of expectations. As good as the free agents have been, their production pre-Portland didn’t give a ton of hope. Selling Robin Lopez to a fan base that is just two years removed from Greg Oden wasn’t an easy task. People wondered if the picture Olshey was selling was just that—a picture. Not reality. The time has come to give the man his due. His moves have been unspectacular yet effective. His hiring of Chris Stackpole as the team’s new director of player health and performance was viewed as a cunning and futuristic move by those in the know. He is gutting the practice facility in favor of a New Age venue that will attract free agents. He has made smart moves that have improved the team without damaging the future, and he has done it all with a smile on his face. It’s too early to anoint him the savior. If things continue to progress, however, that’s the title he will earn.

Vanguard | DECEMBER 3, 2013 | psuvanguard.com

SPORTS

VIKINGS VOLLEYBALL FINISHES STRONG SEASON WITH A LOSS KAYLA TATUM

On Saturday night, the Vikings’ remarkable season—and Big Sky Conference Championship victory hopes—came to an end when they lost to Idaho State in straight sets. The No. 2 seed Vikings were upset by No. 3 seed Bengals in the finals with scores of 25–18, 29–27 and 25–20. Junior Kasimira “Kasi” Clark made some active plays in the match, ultimately posting 17 digs. The Vikings had 42 kills overall, and senior outside hitters Kaeli Patton and Aubrey Mitchell led the team with 11 kills each. Fellow senior Garyn Schlatter had some highlight-reel plays, posting 39 assists. While the Vikings fought hard, the Bengals took control of the match, out-digging 60–44 and outhitting 0.306 to 0.213. When asked what she felt went wrong in the match, Senior Jaklyn Wheeler said, “I think we kind of just ended up trying too hard. We were just trying so hard to execute our game plan, and that was all we were trying to do. We weren’t adjusting that well.” The Vikings couldn’t fully get into their rhythm, and Idaho State took advantage of that at the start of the match, scoring 25–18. However, during the second set of the match the Vikings were leading for most of the set, but the Bengals caught up to them at 14–14. The teams went back and forth, but the Bengals

wouldn’t allow PSU to pull ahead, ultimately tying the score again at 24–24. The Vikings eventually lost the second set with a score of 29–27. The Vikings played another close set, but failed to bring it home, with the third set ending 25–20. When asked what he thought went wrong in the match for his team, head coach Michael Seemann said, “I think we were never really getting a good serving rhythm, and I felt like we weren’t getting a lot of stops on their part in terms of being able to either control them at the net or create swings and transitions. We didn’t do either one of those things.” He added, “Idaho State had what one might call a killer instinct. They did take big swings. It doesn’t necessarily mean that we have to play like them; we just have to get some stops somewhere and some touches, and we just didn’t do that. When you let a team like

that go off on two or three runs every time they serve, then they’re going to beat you.” With six seniors leaving the team, how will the next year pan out? Seemann said, “We have people that are in important positions and it usually requires experience to get good at, and I think in that regard, the future is bright. I also think the kids we have coming in, they have a competitive killer attitude. I’m excited about the kids coming in and I think that blend, with the experience we have in those positions, we’ll be good.” He added, “Even how involved they’ve been in the recruiting process for the girls who are coming back, they have taken this program and kind of given it their identity and so they have taken interest, which they should, in the incoming kids and they actually helped recruit those kids coming in, so I think their [bond] will not only continue but will strengthen.”

JAKLYN WHEELER spikes the ball over the net in an intense game against Idaho State.

Vanguard | DECEMBER 3, 2013 | psuvanguard.com

JOSE-DAVID JACOBO/PSU VANGUARD

The Vikings earned the Big Sky regular season title for the second consecutive season and finished 21–11 overall. Seemann has performed impressively for the seven years he has been coaching at PSU, and this marks his sixth season with 20 or more wins. Saturday’s match was also the farewell to Schlatter, Mitchell, Wheeler and Patton, as well as fellow seniors Cara Olden and Mariko Kawashima. Wheeler spoke about her finest memories and highlights of the year. “They are

the best teammates any of us could ask for, and then just all of the trips we have gone on together. We went to Europe over the summer and went to Hawaii for a tournament. We had so many great memories and I wouldn’t trade it for anything, especially to experience all of that with these girls.” Although the team wasn’t able to prevail in the finals against Idaho State on Saturday, they still had an impressive season with an exceptional squad of players. After the loss, Wheeler

commented about the prospects for next season, saying “Our team [will be] losing six of us, but at the same time they’re going to have six seniors next year and they’re going to do awesome. I know they are. [We] have so many leaders out there in Kasi, Leigh [Haataja], Katie [O’Brien], Anna [DeMots], Cheyne [Corrado], Brigid [Campbell], all of them. They are going to do well. They’re going to teach the new girls coming in our system what we need to do. They’ll be fine; they’ll do really well.”

SPORTS

PORTLAND LAUNCHES ARENA FOOTBALL TEAM (AGAIN) JAY PENGELLY

Fans of local football have reason to rejoice: We once again have a professional team in the Rose City. That’s right; Arena Football is back. The previous incarnation, known as the Portland Forest Dragons, played three seasons from 1997 to 1999 before relocating to Oklahoma. This March the new team, dubbed the Thunder, will begin play at the Moda Center (known to most as the Rose Garden). The team is owned by Terry Emmert, who runs a transportation company in Clackamas. He also owns the Portland Chinooks, who play in the International Basketball Association. Emmert said to the Portland Tribune, “I believe we’ll be the only prosports franchise in Portland ever owned by an Oregonian.” The Portland Thunder will be coached by Matthew Sauk, who was a quarterback at Orange Coast College and Utah State University. Sauk also played in the Arena Football League until 2008, when he became quarterback coach for the Spokane Shock. He later was the offensive coordinator for the Utah Blaze. This will be his first year as a head coach. Emmert describes his coach as a “Chip Kelly of arena football.” The team name doesn’t seem very locally flavored—I, for one, don’t associate Portland with thunder—but it was selected from hundreds of local suggestions. Entries came from season ticket holders and schools in a “Name the Team” contest. The contest winner, Seth Johnson, won a free pair

of season tickets. Season ticket prices start at $99. The first game for the Thunder will be on March 17 against the San Jose Sabercats. The AFL currently has 14 teams split into two conferences: National and American. The league’s goal is to offer a quicker and more high-powered showcase of football, like quarterbacks who regularly throw for five or six touchdowns. Last year’s first team quarterback, Spokane Shock’s Erik Meyer, threw 112 touchdowns in 18 games. The current AFL is actually the second manifestation under the same name. The original had its inaugural season in 1987. The league games were sparsely attended and rarely covered by media until the league’s championship game, the Arenabowl, was televised nationally on ABC in 1998. In the mid- to late-2000s, the league was struggling and teams were relocating or folding outright. Following

the 2008 season, the league announced it would not play in 2009. Shortly after, it declared bankruptcy. All the AFL’s property was auctioned off, including team names and logos. The purchasers rebooted the league in 2011 under the same name and with several familiar teams. The current AFL has plans to launch a Chinabased league called China AFL. The program is headed up by Philadelphia Soul president and part owner Ron Jaworski. They hope to establish a six-team, 10-week season in October 2014. Regional talent will have an opportunity to play for the Portland Thunder. Open tryouts will be held on Dec. 19. The format will be a combinestyle workout, and the head coach and staff will be present to evaluate the prospects’ capabilities. All participants receive a T-shirt and opening day tickets. This open tryout costs $75 if paid in advance, $100 at the door.

TO WHOM IT MAY CONCERN Dear college athletes, Have some respect. Jack Taylor has scored triple digits in two college basketball games. Yes, a single person scored over 100 points by himself in a basketball game. He has gained nationwide fame from his scoring success, but is he really what college basketball and college sports are about? College athletes certainly are not supposed to be smart. That is not why they are out there performing for everyone. But they should, at the very least, try to be respectful. Is that too much to ask? Yeah, I’m talking to you, Florida State players who recently played hangman on the sideline during their game. Sports are an opportunity to display physical talent first and foremost, but they are also an opportunity to display respect and sportsmanship. But with Jack Taylor and some college football athletes, they seem to be all about the physical showcase and not about the respect. There is no reason for anyone to have to score over 100 points in a Division III basketball game. Especially when Taylor’s school, Grinnell College, won the games by a combined 125 points. The only reason this guy is scoring that many points is so he can become famous for being “the guy who scored over 100 points.” Taylor received hundreds of emails requesting interviews, as well as tweets from tons of different NBA stars congratulating on him on accomplishing this feat. I guess if that’s what he was shooting for, he got it. But that is not basketball. That’s not even sports. That’s doing something purely with the hope of gaining noteriety. Along the way, he must have forgotten about the other team Grinnell was playing and the fans that were watching . I think everyone was excited to hear about someone scoring so many points. People who love sports love records, and they love seeing records get broken. I was even excited to see someone score that many points. But watching the highlights and seeing Taylor shoot 3 after 3 while his team was already winning by so much did not make me happy to see a record broken. It did not feel like I was even watching competitive basketball. Highlights and records are great, but college athletes, you are not teaching young people the right way to approach sports. Sports should be seen as a way of learning how to respect and treat others, not about doing whatever it takes to break a record in Division III college basketball. To be fair, Taylor is not the only one who has shown disrespect while playing collegiate sports, but his story is so out there and ridiculous that it serves as a good example of disrespect. College athletes are not paid and they can’t receive endorsement deals, but that does not change the fact that they are in the public eye. Some even argue that college football is more popular than the NFL. These athletes are on ESPN, magazine covers and anything else anyone who wants to make a buck off of them puts them on. In Taylor’s case, he used his athlete status to gain fame that a Division III player normally wouldn’t have access to. But is that really how you want to be remembered, college athletes? What kind of message are you sending? And Jack, when ESPN sent Rick Reilly out to Grinnell to see you play after you scored 109 points, you really should have put up more than three points on 0–5 shooting. Sincerely, Alex Moore Vanguard Sports Desk

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Vanguard | DECEMBER 3, 2013 | psuvanguard.com