Portland State Vanguard

VOLUME 69 | ISSUE 16 | NOVEMBER 25, 2014

NEWS

OPINION

ARTS & CULTURE

SPORTS

PSU boosts officers. pg. 6 diversity on campus with incoming freshmen class . pg. 4

Convenience campus. pg. 9 meets equality—why making PSU's restrooms gender neutral is long overdue. pg. 8

Good Market pients. pg. 16art shop to offer design students glimpse into entrepreneurial lifestyle. pg. 15

Vikings men’s Marathon. pg. 23 basketball is off to an amazing start, can they keep rolling in Eugene? pg. 21

CONTENT NEWS OPINION COVER ARTS & CULTURE CALENDAR SPORTS EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

4 8 12 14 18 20 COPY EDITORS

eDitor@PsuvanguarD.com Whitney Beyer

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Nathan Anderson, Sam Bakkila, Evan Birkeland, Victoria Castellanos, Andrew Gleason, Elizabeth Hendrickson, Blake Hickman, Missy Lacock, Adam Lamascus, Alex Moore, Phuoc Francis Nguyen, Jordan Paige, Jay Pengelly, Miriam Perala, John Pinney, Jon Raby, Jordan Rasmussen, Anna Snook, Michael Theofelis, David Wooldridge

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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.

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Cover design by rico macias-Zepeda and photo by Devin Courtright. Š2014 PortlanD state UniVersitY VanGUarD 1825 s.w. BroaDwaY smitH memorial stUDent Union, rm. s-26 PortlanD, or 97201

CorreCtion Last week's news story "LLTR working to bridge participation divide" included errors: Dr. Redes should be Dr. Steve Reder, and the Broadcast Technologies Opportunities Program should be Broadband Opportunities Program.

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

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NEWS

new treC website moves transportation studies at pSU forward Jordan paiGe

The Center for Transportation Studies has marked Portland State as a leader in transportation research since its initiation in 1966.

The center has made years of transportation and urban livability research available in a single database with the launch of the Transportation Research and Education Center website.

“The new TREC website is a place where professors and

students who are interested in livability can find opportunities. It’s a place where they can keep their finger on the pulse of what’s happening at PSU,” said Lacey Friedly, a communications coordinator for TREC. In 2006, PSU joined the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium, which consisted of four Oregon universities including PSU, University of Oregon,

Oregon State University and the Oregon Institute of Technology. PSU received a $30 million grant to last through 2014. By the time the grant ran out last June, the program had expanded beyond state boundaries.

“The main difference is that OTREC was this campus grant program; only projects that were funded through that program were a part of OTREC. TREC is the center

THE PORTLAND STREETCAR picks up passengers at the University Plaza stop on the PsU campus.

christoPher sohler/Psu vanguarD

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Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

for all research that’s transportation related at [PSU],” said Justin Carinci, communications director for TREC. The center houses both the National Institute for Transportation and Communities, and the Initiative for Bicycle and Pedestrian Innovation.

Through these two programs the center provides grants, training and education. It also hosts lectures and uses outreach to expand livability

in Portland. The expansion broadens research opportunities so that more members of the PSU campus can participate.

“Now we’re saying, if you do transportation research whether you’re in the traditional disciplines like engineering and planning, or if you’re in geography or psychology—even dance—if you’re doing a transportation related project, we want you

to be a part of this center,” Carinci said.

Ideally, the expansion will also fortify the center’s primary objective—making the city of Portland more livable.

“Livability could mean so many things. How far do you have to walk to a transit stop?

How feasible is it for you to use bicycle facilities? Livability is everyone’s experience interacting with their community,” Friedly said.

NEWS

42 peRcent of incoming fReshmen come fRom UndeRRepResented BackgRoUnds anna SnooK

Portland State is making leaps toward providing students with a diverse and welcoming campus. According to Interim Chief Diversity Officer Charles Lopez, over 42 percent of incoming freshmen for the 2014–15 academic year are from underrepresented backgrounds.

“It’s exciting for PSU,” Lopez said. “Students of color have been historically underrepresented in higher education. And, for us, what those statistics mean is that we’re hopefully offering equal opportunity for everyone to attain a higher education.”

According to Lopez, PSU has made an effort to build support for a diverse student population, and this support begins even before students enroll in classes. Robin Beavers, assistant director for diversity recruitment, played a significant role in giving prospective students a good foundation.

“We host admissions workshops, so the students get an understanding of how to do the enrollment process,” Beavers said. “Everything from filling out the application to signing up for orientation.”

Beavers said they also provide financial aid and scholarship workshops for students and their families, so that they have a better understanding of what their options are and how the process works.

The idea is not only to recruit more students from diverse backgrounds, but to make their time at PSU more comfortable, Beavers said.

“If we’re recruiting them, we have to make sure that we have an environment that is inclusive,” Beavers said.

INTERIM CHIEF DIVERSITY OFFICER CHARLES LOPEZ in his market Center Building office. christoPer sohler/Psu vanguarD

Beavers said many are firstgeneration college students, and there is a significant international student population on campus, so many freshmen are far from home or don’t have parents with college backgrounds. Because of this, more on-campus support is needed.

“PSU has a way of being really accommodating to people from around the world,” said freshman student Tressina Eddinger. A graduate of Jefferson High

School in Northeast Portland, Eddinger received a diversity scholarship to PSU this year.

The Diversity Scholarship Program is designed to encourage diversity through on-campus participation, academic success and community building.

Eddinger attributes much of her positive college experience to the Diversity and Multicultural Student Services center.

“It’s a bit of a shock,” she said, “to go from a small classroom, surrounded predominantly by kids of the same

background, to such a large, diverse campus.”

The DMSS on campus is home to several smaller centers, like La Casa Latina and the Native American Student and Community Center, which provide forums for collaboration, culturally specific social and academic services and leadership programs, according to the DMSS webpage.

“You can always go back to that one spot, where everybody looks like you,” Eddinger said.

“And you can share your back-

grounds. I think that the DMSS is a great place for students with different backgrounds.”

Moving forward, there is still more to do, but Lopez is optimistic about the direction PSU is taking.

“We’re not just getting an education in the classroom, but [from] our classmates, and ultimately what that translates to is being successful—we hope that these freshmen will stay here, feel welcome and graduate,” Lopez said.

Eddinger feels the welcome is sincere. “It’s comforting to know that you’re not alone, that there are people like you, and people completely different from you that you can learn from and relate to. My vision for PSU would be for it to continue what it’s doing now. I think they’re doing a great job.”

For more information about PSU’s campus diversity services, check out pdx.edu/dmss.

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

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NEWS

psU Raises RecoRd scholaRship fUnds eVan BirKeland

SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENT KARLA ANDRADE addresses donors at tuesday's scholarship dinner. courtesy of Phototainment

The Portland State University Foundation announced that it raised $44 million in donations to fund scholarships for a broad variety of academic disciplines.

The sum, collected in the last two years, has exceeded PSU President Wim Wiewel's expectations, whose goal was to raise $50 million in 3.5 years.

“Donations provide access for the students who come here to stay here, and actually get a degree. And we know that that creates a better society on every single front,” Wiewel said at a reception dinner for donors and scholarship recipients on Tuesday.

Among contributors to the scholarship fund were local businesses like Pizzicato, larger corporations like Intel, David and Christine Vernier, and one anonymous donor who contributed $3 million to the campaign.

Pizzicato’s donation, a pilot program started this year to celebrate their 25th anniversary, will fund the education of 10 of their employees who

also go to PSU. Intel will be funding graduated students that wish to return to college for degrees in computer science.

“When we went to a state university, they really were state universities,” said David Vernier, a donator who went to school in Ohio but contributed to the PSU fund.

“If you had a part time job or a scholarship, you would never have to hear the words ‘student loan.’”

Over the last four years, PSU’s efforts to gather scholarship donations have been met with much greater success than in previous decades.

“Before 2011, $10,000 was considered a major contribution to PSU,” said Tanya Gross, communications director for the foundation.

Thanks to reorganized campaign efforts, a mini campaign launched by new PSU Foundation directorship, and an emphasis on donors giving funds based on passion, PSU has achieved scholarship amounts more on par with the University of Oregon

and Oregon State University, both of which rake in $50–75 million every year.

Sixty percent of our students still need financial aid to attend the university, so we still have a long way to go,” said Françoise Aylmer, president and CEO of the PSU Foundation, at the reception.

“When we launched the mini campaign three years ago, we asked donors to give to the school for reasons of passion and not merely to receive a financial return,” Aylmer added in a later interview.

Since that campaign, individual distribution of scholarships to students rose from 576 in 2011 to over a thousand in 2013. She expressed her optimism about future campaigns.

“Once donors see that large contributions are already being made to PSU, they will be more eager to give themselves,” Aylmer said. “But to show PSU, and the world, that we are worthy of large donations, we have to get those donations first.”

give, take, shaRe at the psU ReUse Room eliZaBetH HendriCKSon

Despite its small appearance, Portland State’s ReUse Room is making an impact on campus sustainability. In the last fiscal year, the ReUse Room diverted more than $46,000 worth of materials from landfills.

The ReUse Room is located in Cramer Hall, room 180, and is accessible during all university hours.

There, students and faculty are welcome to donate unneeded items and take needed supplies.

“We invite anyone to take whatever they need and give whatever they don’t and prioritize reuse over buying something new for the environmental, economical

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and social benefits of reuse instead of buying something new,” said Thea Kindschuh, the ReUse Room coordinator at PSU. The ReUse Room provides a constant cycle of materials because of the campus’ participation.

“I feel like reuse is a really simple and accessible way to make the sustainable choice,” Kindschuh said.

“You reusing the item is diverting it from waste and making it into something of value.”

Kindschuh explained the next step for the ReUse Room will be determining the true extent of its sustainability impact.

“We figured the priority is to maximize reuse, the second priority is to get the numbers and metrics around it,” she said. “We’re working on giving it an associated greenhouse gas emissions value, so if everyone had bought all of those things new, this would impact the carbon footprint.

“It’s a great city for reuse too,” Kindschuh added.

“There’s already a culture of reuse in Portland, and it’s great that we can capitalize that and expand upon it at [PSU].”

More information is available at the PSU ReUse Room Facebook page at facebook. com/psureuseroom.

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

OMAR OBEID, senior political science major, takes a look at the current supply at the reuse room.

christoPher sohler/Psu vanguarD

NEWS

Ballot measure to Create State Financial aid endowment defeated Sam BaKKila

STUDENTS line up for assistance in front of the Financial aid office in neuberger Hall.

Devin courtright/Psu vanguarD

calling all wRiteRs THE VANGUARD IS LOOKING FOR Writers for all sections Apply @ psuvanguard.com

Oregon State Ballot Measure 86, also known as the Oregon Opportunity Initiative, was defeated in the general election on Nov. 4, with 57 percent of Oregon voters opposing the measure. This measure would have established an endowment fund for the ongoing support of scholarships for Oregonians pursuing post-secondary education.

The measure was proposed

by Oregon State Treasurer Ted Wheeler, who wrote in a statement to the Portland Business Journal that he will continue to work on the issue despite the defeat of the measure.

“Measure 86 was a bold idea. In a state that can’t seem to prioritize higher education, we came up with innovative ways to leverage non-tax resources to get the job done,” Wheeler said in the statement.

“Sometimes new ideas take time to catch on. Measure 86 sparked a vibrant conversation about access to college, student debt and vocational job training in Oregon. I am committed to continuing that conversation.”

More controversially, this measure would have amended the state constitution to authorize the initial financing of this endowment fund via debt.

Under the current state constitution, bond financing can only be used for the construction and upgrades of tangible assets such as buildings and other infrastructure.

“The voters spoke on that topic—at least, we feel with regard to issuing bonds to seek that fund—but certainly,

we’re open to a number of solutions moving forward,” said Michael Cox, communications and outreach director for the Oregon State Treasurer.

Cox expanded on the campaign for this ballot measure and what future steps could look like regarding college affordability.

“First, we need to advocate for more money for the Oregon Opportunity Grant program, because during the campaign it became clear that that program is very underfunded,” Cox said.

Cox said that increasing participation in the Oregon 529 College Savings Network (an investment tool that helps Oregonians save for higher education expenses through federal and state taxes) among lower-income communities emerged as another priority.

“We will take a good hard look at finding ways to incentivize participation [in the savings network] so that people can begin to save while their kids are young,” Cox said.

Heather Mattoli, assistant director of Financial Aid at Portland State, said that even had the endowment been approved and funded to the proposed level of $100 million, the impact would have been fairly small. Mattoli added that even small amounts of scholarships can make a tangible difference for students struggling to afford basic necessities like food and textbooks.

Mattoli also said that scholarships help students finish

their degrees and increased access to scholarships tends to improve overall university-wide graduation rates.

“Students who are offered scholarships, regardless of the amount—you’re going to see a student having more faith and more connectivity to their university—and they are going to graduate at a rate higher than students who don’t receive scholarship funding,” she said.

Mario Parker-Milligan, the legislative director for the Oregon Student Association, said that although the OSA is not allowed to take official stances on ballot measures, they did support the legislative referral that turned into Measure 86.

Parker-Milligan also said that expanding aid is increasingly not feasible as the sole solution to the issue of college affordability.

“The simple fact is the model of high tuition, high aid isn’t working when the aid isn’t increasing at the rate that the cost of attending college is—including tuition, fees, housing, food [and] life expenses,” he said. “We need to focus on bringing tuition down so Oregonians aren’t continuously being priced out of a public post-secondary education.”

Mattoli said that students should be aware and proactive in seeking existing scholarship resources, including the Oregon Opportunity Grant, which has a deadline of Feb. 1. The PSU Foundation scholarship application closes on Feb. 15.

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

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OPINION

Red flag warnings

Public Domain image via Eranb through Wikimedia Commons

The Cuddlefish

by Adam Lamascus Recently, I was walking through campus, and I overheard two young women discussing a third friend, and how that friend wanted to take a small vacation with some of her friends. They went on to say that the boyfriend of this friend said he didn’t trust her and refused to let her go unless he could come too. I wanted to whirl around and say, “TELL YOUR FRIEND TO GET OUT NOW!” but it seemed like an odd thing to just jump into somebody’s conversation like that uninvited.

Either way, that relationship is clearly an abusive one.

It is an unfortunate fact that many people, regardless of gender, sexual orientation, age, religion or any other category, are in abusive relationships, whether they know it or not. As such, it is good to know the signs of abuse. I’ve asked many of my friends and read numerous articles on the topic, and there are lots and lots of good suggestions for red flags, and many more incredibly stupid and asinine suggestions (I’m looking at you, askmen.com). Anyway, after this research, I’ve made my humble list of things to be on the lookout for.

1. They talk down to you and people close to you. This is huge. It simply shows an utter lack of respect, and it is an automatic dumping offense.

2. They play the blame game. If nothing is their fault, and especially if everything is your fault, get out immediately.

This also applies to arguments. If they say that every disagreement you have is your fault, the odds are good that they are the actual problem.

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3. They try to isolate you. I’ve seen this one first hand, and it is the classic sign of an abuser. I knew a woman whose boyfriend refused to let her go out and refused to let people visit her without his express permission. After they (unfortunately) got married, he immediately took a job in another state where he knew people, leaving her unemployed and at least a thousand miles away from anybody she knew.

4. They are physically rough or have anger problems. This one seems kind of obvious, but I’ll say it anyway. If your partner grabs, shoves or pushes you, that’s a clear sign that you need to leave them in the dust. Likewise, if they are always angry at somebody or something, that’s a bad sign, and violence may be a real danger.

5. They scream/yell/freak out. The Huffington Post said this one best: “Unless there is a fire or a real reason to scream, yell, send 100 rapid-fire texts and run around like Charlie Sheen at a Hollywood Hills after-party, take freak outs as frustrating proof that the person in front of you can’t control their emotions. Whether this is caused by anxiety, immaturity and/or a tendency to bully, it’s not something you need to deal with.”

6. They lie to you on a regular basis, or about important issues. This one’s pretty simple, as it shows that they are untrustworthy, and who the hell wants to date somebody who lies to you?

7. They are alcoholics or drug abusers. This one can often be rough. I’ve actually dated somebody who was an alcoholic and a drug abuser. Drug and alcohol abuse are indicative of emotional problems and a desire to self-medicate. While it can be easy to imagine yourself riding up on your white stallion to save them, I can tell you from personal experience that you won’t, and that it’s best to leave any rescuing to professionals.

While it is not always the case, drug/alcohol abusers often take out whatever anger or problems they have on their partner, in addition to self-medicating with their poison of choice.

8. They become violent with any sort of regularity. If your partner gets into brawls a lot, has been arrested repeatedly

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

or destroys property, it’s pretty obvious that they still think the world is a place where violence is the best solution to everything. It is worth noting that veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder are a special case who deserve attention that I don’t have room for in this piece.

9. Your friends all dislike them, and/or they don’t make any effort to get along with your family. These indicate a lack of respect for you and the people you hold dear. If your partner doesn’t care enough to try to get along with people close to you, they clearly don’t think you are worth the effort either.

Similarly, if most or all of your friends dislike your significant other, LISTEN TO THEM. Another example where I know this first hand. My first girlfriend, the one who had the drug and alcohol problems that I thought I could save her from? Yeah, all but one of my friends told me that she was bad news and I needed to leave her. And wouldn’t you know, she ended up cheating with the one friend who didn’t tell me she was bad news. Which brings me to my next point.

10. They cheat on you. I know that many people believe in excusing partners for cheating, or want to try to just move on.

I am not one of those people. Cheating shows a total lack of respect from the cheater. Furthermore, it is a complete violation of trust. I really cannot comprehend how people can trust anything cheaters say after the fact. Additionally, lots of abusers cheat, so I’m of the opinion that if they can’t be loyal, they aren’t worth your precious time, trust and love. If you do want to forgive a cheater? Well, you are either a kinder or more naive person than me.

Alas, this is something of a grim topic, so I am lacking in pithy comments to make. Just know that nobody deserves abuse, and that there are ways out. The easiest way to prevent abuse is to get out early, so if you see these signs in your relationship or a friend’s, strongly consider ending it. For a fuller list of red flags and professional help resources, go to theredflagcampaign.org.

OPINION

RestRoom eQUalitY

CamPUs toilets sHoUlD Be For one anD all

Simply Complicated

THE SMITH MEMORIAL STUDENT UNION'S FOURTH FLOOR offers one of the only gender-neutral bathrooms on campus.

David Wooldridge

When you find yourself barreling down the corridors of Portland State with an irritated bladder full of spent coffee, looking for a bathroom that is in service, I think you will agree with me that it is time to desegregate the restrooms.

After discovering the perfectly lovely gender-neutral restroom on the fourth floor of the Smith Memorial Student Union, I have to ask why we ever segregated the restrooms in the first place. For those unfamiliar with the idea of a genderneutral restroom—allow me to explain.

Restrooms in public buildings have, in the past, been segregated between male and female. The reason for this is so that men can maintain the ability to pass water while standing and women can be free from the discomfort of having men in the restroom—a point to which we will return to later.

The problems with this model are obvious. If Brown vs.

The Board of Education taught us anything, it is that separate and equal is not a real thing. It’s true, womens’ restrooms are cleaner and generally don’t smell like the wall outside of a dive bar like mens’ rooms invariably do. When there is only room for three restrooms on every floor, the choice of which kind to have two of must be made.

Segregating the restrooms also means that in order to serve what must have been assumed to be an exclusively bi-gendered student population, there would need to be an equal distribution of male and female restrooms. This means two restrooms taking up space, sometimes on radically different ends of a building.

Furthermore, the assumption that the PSU population would comfortably fit into one of two genders is, at best, faulty.

Based solely on the sign on the door to the restroom, PSU is forcing students who might not identify with one or the other of the represented genders to use one of the two or three physical disability restrooms, or the ever-luxurious gender-neutral restroom in SMSU. Besides pure lack of representation and the discomfort a person who doesn’t identify as male or female would feel having to use or choose between inappropriately gendered restrooms, there is also the very real threat of verbal or even physical abuse if those occupying the restroom feel so vulgarly inclined.

In order to better serve the PSU student population, I think it is time that we made all of the bathrooms on campus gender neutral. The sign on the door would be a toilet—very representative of what is inside. There would be no urinals. All the stalls would have those uncomfortable gaps closed for privacy.

Everyone could use all of the restrooms, and multitudes of bladders and bowels could be relieved in a much more leisurely manner. The amount of available restrooms would double or sometimes triple on every floor. You wouldn’t have

Jeoffry ray/vanguarD staff

to remember, painfully, which direction held the appropriately-gendered restroom.

A trip to the restroom wouldn’t mean a mad dash, mid-class field trip to the next floor. Because of this, students would be able to relieve themselves more expediently in order to return to class lectures in a timelier manner. Lines for high-traffic restrooms would ease because of newly available relief outlets.

Gender-neutral restrooms would of course come with their own set of challenges. It would be paramount in a genderneutral bathroom situation to ensure the physical and mental safety of every person who would use the restroom.

Keeping such sensitivity in mind, it would be necessary to make sure, should violence occur, that restroom stalls could be safely locked with floor-to-ceiling walls so that violating photos could not be taken. This, in addition to the increased amount of potential good samaritans by virtue of more frequent foot traffic, should prevent any physical or emotional violence that could occur.

If one wanted to go even further to protect people at their most vulnerable, then the addition of a panic button to

the hand-washing area that would summon campus public safety would be a welcome addition.

None of these measures would aid those who have already suffered from abuse or post-traumatic stress disorder that might be triggered by seeing a person of another gender in the restroom. I feel that we have already done these people a disservice by not having a sufficient number of single-use restrooms where they would be able to go about their business without having to worry about harassment.

While I am sure that I am leaving out some group or another, I cannot forget to mention persons with physical disabilities.

The advantage of a gender-neutral restroom is that a person with a caregiver would no longer have to clear the restroom if the caregiver was of another gender, and when you need to use the facilities, every second counts.

Restrooms are not something that any people or group should be displaced from. While my knowledge about gender equality is admittedly limited, I don’t think it takes much thought to realize the benefits of having more restrooms available for everyone of every gender to use.

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

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OPINION

Navigating the academic maze The Campus Oracle

by Nathan Anderson

It was a typically cold, dark and wet Oregon winter night when I ran into my old college buddy Jim outside a small Mexican restaurant in Roseburg. I was just leaving as he was stepping through the door.

We started school together, had a few similar classes, but then drifted apart as our academic trajectories traveled away from each other. Now, several years on, it was good to see him again. Since we both had open schedules, we decided to grab a table and catch up a bit.

I learned Jim had made a change in his chosen major three terms into his freshman year, when he ran into a formidable barrier: college algebra. He revealed to me a story of one particular homework assignment that so frustrated and angered him that he took the only course of action he knew—he threw the book across the room, grabbed a beer and stormed out of the house to cool down.

Trouble is, Jim never picked up that book to finish that homework assignment, and subsequently dropped out of the class, and his major. Since most majors require college algebra, his list of options shrunk exponentially.

I’ve been thinking about this incident lately as I make the transition from computer science major to history major. I found that for me, computer science is dry, boring and frustrating. I struggled with the existential question of, “Do I want to do this for the rest of my life?”

Jim’s struggle was much more basic. He couldn’t figure out a math problem, and thus eventually gave up. That choice had a cascading effect that would help shape his entire future.

That astounds me. While I can sympathize with Jim’s predicament, I know now that there is help out there for people in a similar crisis. Jim changed his college major based on a single instance—the inability to do one single math problem. I had to let that percolate for a minute. I liken that to deciding that you will never, ever drive a car because you don’t know how to change a tire. Or you will live in a tent and never in a house because you don’t know how to reset a tripped breaker.

If you are driving down the road and your Yugo suffers a flat tire, you can read the owner’s manual on how to change the tire if you are unfamiliar with the procedure. Likewise, every breaker box I’ve ever encountered has a small instructional sheet on the door with the reset instructions clearly printed.

Obviously, there is help at hand for when we encounter struggles in life. I spent countless days in the tutoring lab in the Fourth Avenue Building struggling through my coding, and I was always grateful that help was there when I needed it.

Likewise, I know I can go to my math or philosophy instructors during their office hours (yes, they keep them and yes, they are available) if I need help. In addition, Portland State has a whole

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department devoted to helping students find success. The Learning Center, located on the second floor of Millar Library, room 245, offers tutoring services as well as study strategies, tips for success and other assistance for students struggling or who just need a bit of guidance.

There is a somewhat common idea that college is a simple journey—that we take a series of classes, do the required work and earn a degree that then grants us permission to enter the real world. I won’t necessarily dispute that, but the journey from A to Z is not a linear one. We must understand that there is more than one way through this process, and obstacles can be overcome.

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

Think of it as a maze that we must traverse. If we find our way blocked, we must analyze the situation, find a new route and take it. Giving up and giving in isn’t an option.

All of us are faced with choices in school and in life. We can let our struggles define us and allow them to dictate our actions, or we can divide and conquer. We can use this adversity to help build ourselves into better students, better people and better members of society. Or we can decide to let them knock us down, give us a quick kick in the gut for good measure, and leave us whimpering and unwilling to soldier on.

Don’t let your struggles define you. Reconnoiter as needed, but in the end you must take a stand and push through to success.

Courtesy of Sybren Stüvel through Creative Commons

OPINION

Group projects and the introvert Introverts Unite

by Missy Lacock

“Yay, another group project!” said no introvert ever.

It’s nearing the end of the term, which means students are knee-deep in group projects in every department at Portland State. And yes, introverts are hating their lives.

Professors assign group projects to teach teamwork and prepare us for jobs after graduation, even though they do nothing of the sort. Instead, group projects mainly teach us that aligning five student schedules is a big, fat mystery, and leaders can’t depend on anyone else.

Here’s the thing: Collaboration is a critical part of almost any job we’ll land now or after graduation. “Group projects” in the

Jeoffry Ray/PSU VANGUARD

actual world of work, however, are nothing like school projects.

Employers vet their employees, and members are experts in their fields. Employers don’t assign tasks arbitrarily, and everyone is qualified for their specific jobs and does them or faces separate consequences.

There’s more than a grade at stake, and no, there are no shared paychecks. Collaborating with a group of professionals creates an excellent product, but a mix of students who may or may not care about their grades creates a mess.

Introverts, especially, dread group work in school. It’s not just the weird hours and that one person who NEVER knows what’s going on. Sometimes it’s the anxiety of choosing a partner after working very hard to avoid eye contact all term.

Mostly, however, it’s just being forced to interact with other people against our will that is overwhelming.

Being around others in general is exhausting for introverts, and school group projects are a million times worse than hanging out with friends we actually like. Every introvert would rather do the whole damn project by themselves than work up the energy to coordinate schedules and tasks, not to mention work with and trust other people. Sometimes there are even confrontations and warring personalities, which is never worth 5 percent of our grade.

So what can we to do?

Well, not much. The truth is, group projects aren’t going anywhere. Professors will always think they’re good ideas (they’re not), and students will always think they’re dumb as hell (they are). There will always be that confused student, that domineering student, that apathetic student and, yep, that introverted student. It’s best to accept that now.

We should also embrace one more fact: Group projects are like zombie apocalypses—you’ll stand a better chance of surviving if you stick together. That means now is not the time to retreat into our introverted, anxious selves, my friends. It’s the one scenario in which our combined efforts will be judged as a whole, so we need to speak up to get the job done or go down with the ship.

Acknowledge your strengths, point out bad ideas and set deadlines. Find methods of communication and ways of separating the work that are most efficient, which will limit the amount of needed interactions. Don’t be afraid to take charge if things go awry (introverts can be leaders, too), and pick your battles. Balance with a bit of “me time,” and, most of all, remember the project is temporary. After all, the trick to a successful group PowerPoint is as simple as bearing down and manning up.

Oh, and groups always respond well to treats.

KAYLA TOWNSLEY/PSU VANGUARD

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

11

COVER

can YoU dig it?

Kasi ClarK maKes HistorY on tHe VolleYBall CoUrt

Jay penGelly

Fall quarter is winding down, and with it goes the accompanied sports. There’s always turnover as seniors graduate and move on. This time around Portland State is losing one of its most prolific players in the 35 year history of the volleyball program. Kasimira “Kasi” Clark wrapped up one literally for the record books. On Nov. 1 she became the all-time digs leader in PSU history, though her journey to get there and her life off the volleyball court may be equally remarkable.

To clarify what a dig is, it is when a defensive player keeps a bona fide attack in play with a pass. One can imagine a player going low or diving to keep the possession alive after the other team spikes or hits an otherwise

difficult ball. The stat is measured on an individual basis and has become the trademark of Clark’s game.

“For me the libero position is all about effort because you can get to any ball if you try,” Clark said. “I know people are like ‘I don’t think I can get there.’ It’s fun to see what you can and can’t do. So for me to just go all out and do it is awesome. It gives you a feeling you can’t reenact doing anything else.”

The libero, Clark’s position, is the one player on each team that wears a different colored jersey and is not bound by the normal rules of rotation.

They are often a defensive specialist who is charged with covering a larger area of the court than other players.

The big responsibility for a li-

bero is to dig balls. Unlike offensive stats like aces or kills, the dig is not usually highlight-reel material. Players who rack up digs are defined by heart and hustle, ready to do the dirty work that helps their team win matches.

Head coach Michael Seeman recruited Clark four years ago, and this year especially, her digging ability has been key to his team’s style.

“First and foremost, digs essentially create swings and transitions,” Seeman said. “So if you’re digging a lot of balls you’re theoretically getting a lot of attempts at kills. I think generally you have a team either strong in one area or the other, being blocking or digging. We are not the strongest blocking team, but diggingwise we are very strong.”

Clark’s path to the PSU record books begins with her family. Her parents, Kenneth and Antonia had four girls in total, Katina, Kambrina and Kasi’s twin sister Kalina.

They were instrumental in Clark’s introduction to the game of volleyball.

“My sister played and my dad coached, so I was always around it and wanted to play.

I would bug my dad, ‘Let me play, I want to practice.’

And then I got on a team for 12-and-under and started from there when I was about 7.”

Clark’s family life has also intimately shaped her world away from volleyball. Both her parents are deaf and the first language for all four Clark sisters was American Sign Language. They all work as in-

terpreters, Kasi for Sorenson Communications where she uses a videophone to help deaf individuals communicate with the non-signing world.

But that is not enough piled on Clark’s plate. In addition to her job as an interpreter and being a full-time studentathlete, she volunteers at the Student Learning Center, tutoring ASL students.

Growing up in her hometown of Riverside, California, Clark played for Martin Luther King High School where she was mostly an outside hitter. Though she was also a well-known libero on the prep scene where she played for two club teams, the Mavericks and Club West. Her decorations began when she was in high school, where Clark was a two

time first team All-Big VIII League selection, league MVP as a junior, and helped her team to a league title in 2008 and second place finish in 2010. In her senior year Clark led her team in kills, aces and digs.

Coming to PSU was not originally part of Clark’s college plans, but a serendipitous coaching change and a welcoming atmosphere changed her mind.

“I was not all about the Portland life,” Clark said. “I heard all it did was rain here and was like, ‘Oh god I don’t want to go here.’ I was committed to go to Bakersfield, [California] then there was a coaching change. [PSU] found out my coach got fired and I didn’t really have anywhere to go. They told me

TOP-10 ALL-TIME PSU RECORD HOLDERS IN CAREER DIGS (1982–PRESENT) Jessica Brodie 2003–06 1,441

Kristin ratzlaff 2001–04 1,142

suzy Hall 1989–92 1,152

12

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

therese mariolle 1984–87 1,299

Joy russell 1990–93 1,480

COVER they were interested and I came up to take a look and really fell in love with [the] place. So I came here.”

She explained that her teammates are what has made PSU feel like a second home. “More than the coaching aspect of it, it’s the girls that you have to bond with.

They’re the ones you’ll be playing with so you have to be able to get along. When I went to Bakersfield I didn’t really like the environment and the girls.”

Clark played her first game as a Viking in August of 2011.

As a true freshman, she played in 31 games. While a senior was ahead of Clark in the rotation and started for most of the season, as it progressed she earned more playing time and eventually started 11 games. In her first season with PSU, Clark totaled 189 digs.

“She paid her dues as a freshman,” Seeman said.

“There was another libero above her. She had to be humble, but by the end of her freshman year I think she was competing for that spot.”

Her sophomore campaign was one for the ages. Now an established starter on a veteran team, Clark wasted no time racking up stats. In the first Big Sky Conference game that season, opponent Sacramento State, she posted a career high in digs, 41. On five occasions that year she had 30-plus digs. She also notched a career-high five aces in a three-set sweep of Northern Arizona. It was the first, though not last time she was awarded Big Sky Libero of the Year and she was the first ever Lady Viking to earn that honor. All this was capped by an incredible 635 dig total for the year, a PSU

single season record. It was the first, though not the last time she broke a record held by ‘90s volleyball star Eavi Shovlin, who had 552 digs in 1994.

As a junior she would win her second straight Conference Libero of the Year behind continued inspired play.

A star-studded PSU team ended up winning the Big Sky Conference regular season title. Clark finished the year with 545 digs.

In 2014, with Clark playing in her final year, Vikings volleyball was in a state of rebuilding. New faces and position changes led to a team trying to find their identity at the same time as trying to win games. Clark and her teammates finished the season with an overall record of 9–19, 7–9 in conference. It was enough for third place in the Big Sky South and a chance in the conference tournament. It wasn’t Clark’s best performance by the numbers, but she would finish third in the Big Sky in digs.

The 2014 volleyball season officially ended when PSU exited the first round of the Big Sky tournament after losing in three straight sets to Northern Colorado. In her final game as a Viking, Clark recorded 12 digs, one assist, and a rare kill, only her fourth this year. It ended up being her third most productive season for digs, finishing with 482.

With her PSU career at its end, we can look back and try to put in perspective the legacy of Clark.

She is the first PSU player to surpass 1,800 digs, finishing with a grand total of 1,851. Shovlin, who Clark had previously passed for single-

THE RECORD SETTING CLARK smiling before one of her last games at the stott Center.

Devin courtright/Psu vanguarD

season digs, held the previous all-time dig record with 1,742 when she graduated in 1997.

Maybe most significant is that all her accomplishments have come while she has been banged up with one injury or another. The summer before coming to PSU Clark tore her meniscus and required surgery. As a junior she had an uncommon hip injury, tearing her labrum. She played through the pain and eventually received offseason surgery.

Her injuries have lingered through her PSU tenure and at times affected her mobility and explosiveness. Even this year the injury bug stung Clark with an injured left leg which she taped during matches.

Clark will graduate with a degree in speech and hearing pathology, a field she plans on continuing after taking a year off. She has been an all-academic student athlete three years straight and plans on doing it again this year.

“She’s very skilled and very adaptable,” Seeman said.

“She’s no fuss, shows up to work every day—that day-in day-out work ethic.”

For Clark, getting the all-time digs record is an achievement she can look back on, almost a time capsule for her college years.

“That has been a record here for 20 years. When I first got here I didn’t pay any attention [to] it, it wasn’t a thing. People say, ‘I worked my whole life for this,’ but I literally did.

Fourteen years of my life I’ve played volleyball. Just to know my name is going to be in a record book at [PSU] and I can show my kids that, I can’t erase that, I can’t take that back.”

sarah sirianni

Cathy Kuntz

2003–06 1,603

1985–88 1,498

leanne Peters 1990–93 1,571

Kasimira Clark eavi shovlin

2011–PRESENT 1,851

1994–97 1,742

rico macias-ZePeDa/Psu vanguarD

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

13

ARTS & CULTURE

Jazz seRies attRacts Big names foR conceRts and classes

JAZZ SAXOPHONIST JIM SNIDERO'S recent visit to PsU included a concert and a guest teaching session.

master mUsiCian Jim sniDero PerForms, teaCHes Jon raBy

Jim Snidero, New Yorkbased jazz saxophonist and composer, visited Portland State on Nov. 19 to perform, as well as teach a class.

Snidero has been called a “master musician” by Downbeat Magazine.

Snidero’s visit is a part of the university’s jazz series, which is organized by assistant professor George Colligan.

Colligan said the series gives many smaller groups a chance to play in a real concert situation.

“There are also master classes and performances by local professionals, as well as national artists,” Colligan said.

The series is an opportunity for PSU students as well as the community at large.

Colligan said that the oppor-

tunity to see live jazz in Portland is beginning to dry up.

“We have lost many venues for jazz. About eight different places, many within the last six months have stopped having jazz music.”

Colligan said as a result the Portland jazz scene has begun to stagnate.

“Not the music, mind you, but the players. I would love to see the old guard working with the young upstarts more,” Colligan said. “Young musicians, like my students, need to respect their elders and try to get what they can from them. That's how I learned how to play jazz.”

Portland’s image as an indie music city would make it a good place for such collaborations. It has a large offering of not only music

venues, but also musicians of many generations. The PSU jazz series is one place where younger musicians and older, seasoned veterans are working together.

“One of the best characteristics of jazz is the feeling of swinging,” Snidero said. “It is something that I wish was more prominent in jazz music today.”

Not to be confused with the era called swing, but rather the sensation the music provides.

In connection with the feeling of the music, Snidero commented on the temperature of the music.

“I prefer jazz that has, for lack of a better term, a warm feeling to it. For me, coldsounding music, no matter how hip, just isn’t appealing.”

Snidero is no small name.

He moved to New York in

1981 and has been a part of the jazz scene there since. He has played with the likes of The Mingus Big Band, Frank Sinatra and Tony Bennett, among many others.

Prior to the concert, Snidero taught a master class on jazz.

The class focused on his personal philosophy and methodology of jazz improvisation, with an emphasis on how to develop as an improviser.

“You keep coming back to that gorgeous alto saxophone sound,” Snidero said. “It is almost an end in itself. You could call it ear candy if it didn’t contain so much fresh, intelligent content.”

The day following Snidero's appearance at PSU, he played at the University of Oregon’s fall concert with their big band.

Snidero said one of his greatest achievements is having one of his recordings included in The Penguin Jazz Guide: The History of the Music in the 1001 Best Albums. Going forward,

his major life goal is simply further honing his craft.

“I record and tour around the world with my group, so for me I just want to get better, and do it more often.”

that we’re witnessing an exciting moment in the history of punk rock.

In a long past post-Weezer world, dozens of punk groups

have realized that bringing sophisticated pop sensibilities to the table won’t cost them their punk cred.

It’s worth clarifying that these are punk bands playing pop songs, in great contrast to the pop-punk bands beloved by your sister’s friend that worked at Hot Topic in high school.

This scene is cresting nationally with bands like Joyce Manor, Pup, and Rozwell Kid all releasing breakthrough records this year. Local bands like Your Rival, Mr. Bones and Hemingway act as the Portland mirror for this phenomenon.

One of the first things that struck me about A Thousand Surfaces was the sequencing.

“The Quark” is one of the better opening tracks of the year, and segues perfectly into “Sign of the Dune.”

Part of what makes the album work is that Hard

Girls has two very capable singer-songwriters in Mike Huguenor and bassist-vocalist Morgan Herrell.

The album hits a high mark with its transition from “Screw,” which features an endearing outro of the band members screaming “screw this shit to the wall,” to the mid-tempo jam “Die Slow.”

“Die Slow” is a Pavementesque guitar-drenched paean to classic rock and roll and its dark excesses, with overt references to Van Morrison and The Rolling Stones.

I asked guitarist-vocalist Huguenor about the references and he mentioned that Astral Weeks was a tour van staple for the band.

I also had to ask Huguenor about Bay Area sound engineer Jack Shirley. Everything Shirley’s Atomic Garden studio touches seemingly

turns into gold with albums

by Joyce Manor, last year’s incredible self-titled release

by The Exquisites and now A Thousand Surfaces by Hard Girls all containing some of the most immaculate guitar sounds ever committed to tape.

“He just knows exactly what he’s doing,” Huguenor said. “The band just plays live in a room, I think this record only had one or two overdubs, at most.”

It’s an incredible feat for an album that has such a varied sonic pallette. After a very direct start, A Thousand Surfaces nearly gets downright proggy with “A Flying Dream,” which slows the album to a crawl before bringing us back with quiet-loud dynamics reminiscent of Titus Andronicus.

“The Chord’s” straightforward pop refrain of “I’ll never

smile again” reminds me of the melancholic pop glory of Big Star (as seen through the lense of The Replacements). The track “Eddie Vedder vs. Jack The Ripper” acts as a perfect closer with dueling vocals by each of the bands songwriters.

“We came this far and we can’t turn back now,” is the last line uttered on the album, and it seems like a fitting statement from a band at the peak of their powers.

Hard Girls seems poised to make some of the most vital music in punk history with their next release. Catch the beginning of the wave before it crests and give A Thousand Surfaces a listen.

Blake Hickman is the promotions director at KPSU, Portland State’s campus radio station. Student hosted shows can be found on kpsu.org.

courtesy of Jim sniDero

Hard Girls gives listeners a glimpse of pop-punk perfection BlaKe HiCKman

Beyond being one of my favorite albums of 2014, A Thousand Surfaces from the California punk band Hard Girls is just the latest sign

harD girls' 'a thousanD surfaces'/asian man recorDs/2014

14

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

ARTS & CULTURE FOGD PRESENTS GOOD MARKET

FOGD to host art shop Good Market

1803 S.W. Park Ave. Saturday, Nov. 29 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Admission free

Brandon Staley

Photo illustration courtesy of the Obin photo archive through Creative Commons

One of the biggest challenges students in artistic fields face is taking what they’ve learned in classes and applying those lessons to create a career.

Luckily, one student group has stepped up to bat with Good Market, a venue for students to get professional experience selling their homemade wares, including but not limited to prints, cards, zines and apparel.

The student group Friends of Graphic Design will host Good Market on Saturday, Nov. 29, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m in the Simon Benson House.

“The idea we had was to have a business component in addition to our design focus,” said Maja Dlugolecki, outreach coordinator for Friends of Graphic Design and overall coordinator for Good Market.

Dlugolecki said the group is using the market as a way to emphasize the entrepreneurial aspects of the design industry.

“It’s a way to get your work out to the public and get that experience with how to price your work, how to talk to clients and to get the real world experience,” Dlugolecki said.

Zack Franceschi, director of Friends of Graphic Design, said the design industry is increasingly moving in an entrepreneurial direction, whereas most design classes are still studio focused. Good Market is one way the student group is attempting to bridge the gap between design academics and the professional world.

Franceschi said the market isn’t just limited to graphic design students. Other members of the Portland State art community have been invited to vend.

The gift of the mogwai How the 'Gremlins' stole Christmas miriam perala

Of all the features that left you unreasonably terrified as a small child, Gremlins is undoubtedly the most ridiculous.

It all begins with Gizmo, a cute and creepy creature that comes with “great responsibility.” Those responsibilities being: It can’t get wet, can’t be exposed to sunlight and, above all, cannot be fed after midnight.

These instructions seem ludicrously simple, so naturally you know someone has to mess them up. Enter Billy Peltzer (here played

by Zach Galligan).

Billy’s just your typical ‘80s American teenager—bad perm, unrequited crush and sugar-sweet manners. So, in his infinite wisdom, Billy’s father decides that the perfect Christmas present for his typical American son is a complicated exotic creature called a mogwai.

Sure, they snuggle and watch Clark Gable flicks, but Billy swiftly drops the ball and gets Gizmo wet.

This results in a mitoticlike reproduction of five more mogwai.

Unlike Gizmo, this bunch is far more interested in mischief than movies. So they sneak a midnight feast, morph into mohawked, leather-skinned gremlins and proceed to wreak havoc on the holiday.

This contrast of a classic white Christmas with microwave murders helps to solidify Gremlins’ ­standing as one of the finer black comedies in existence. Plus, the fact that it was produced by the infamous Steven Spielberg helped to catapult the film to success.

And if you add a magnificent mixture of campy ­acting, mischievously wacky fanfare and physically pain-

ful wardrobe, it becomes just an all-around entertaining feature.

If you wanted to be analytical about it, you might consider the gremlin to be a symbol for man’s inner, hedonistic id—needing structure and laws to function in society. You might muse that their destructive behavior, tastes for nonnutritious food and propensity for v­ engeance is the propagandized depiction of anachronistic youth.

But then, it might be harder to truly appreciate the sight of Billy’s mother juicing a mogwai to the whimsical tune of “Do You Hear What I Hear?”

Of course, the special effects are a little painful, and considering that creatures are the foundation of the film it’s a little hard to forget. Fortunately they abandon all thought of pro-

“We reached out to all the departments like printmaking, painting and anybody who might want to get some experience in trying to make a living as an artist-entrepreneur,” Franceschi said.

Dlugolecki said many artists nowadays are making their living by selling products through online vendors, such as Etsy and other boutique shops. Selling at Good Market can act as a dry run for founding an online shop, or facilitating partnerships with local vendors.

“Portland is great about supporting local artists, and having this Good Market is a way of fostering that connection between students and up-and-coming artists in the community,” Dlugolecki said.

Dlugolecki herself will be selling cards, jewelry and prints at the market, many of which she created throughout her academic career.

Good Market was born out of Good Editions, a brand Franceschi founded and Dlugolecki has fostered. Good Editions was the name given to a run of posters produced by students and guest designers and sold at the annual Be Honest graphic design showcase, the proceeds of which paid for visiting speakers.

When Friends of Graphic Design received additional funding at the start of the year, the need for fundraising events was reduced. Dlugolecki came up with the idea for a separate event that would enable students to sell their art and receive direct compensation.

“It forces you, as a student, to consider what you’re making and how you can sell it and price it out, which is nothing you do in class,” said Ryan Ricketts, co-treasurer of Friends of Graphic Design.

“The program doesn’t last forever.”

5TH AVENUE CINEMA PRESENTS GREMLINS 510 S.W. Hall St. Friday, Nov. 28 at 7 & 9:30 p.m.

Saturday, Nov. 29 at 7 & 9:30 p.m.

Sunday, Nov. 30 at 3 p.m.

Free admission

Warner Brothers/1984

ducing menacing monsters though, and settle for laughably nasty.

So while you know it’s just a swarm of puppets reenacting Flashdance in leg warmers and murdering Santas left and right, it’s done with so much exaggeration that you almost believe it.

So if you find your holiday flick list in desperate need of some feel good horror, give Gremlins a thought. It’s only cerebral when forced, only painful for the fashion police and likely to give you one of the most surprisingly valuable pieces of holiday advice imaginable.

When you’re mining for the perfect gift for your loved ones, also consider whether you’ve chosen the perfect loved one for said gift. Because sometimes socks are wonderful, occasionally a crème brûlée kit is amazing and a puppy is always preferable to a city-leveling mogwai.

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

15

ARTS & CULTURE

local, national Bands take stage at new UniveRsitY mUsic venUe Jordan raSmUSSen

Portland State students and music fans citywide poured into the Smith Memorial Student Union on a frigid Saturday night, Nov. 15, to hear The World Is a Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die headline a loud quintet of bands in Parkway North.

Parkway North is the newly renovated on-campus, allages venue located on the first floor of the SMSU. The show, which was free for PSU students and $15 at the door for general admission, was presented by the Seattle-based promoter Take Warning Presents, with both KPSU and Portland State Professional Sound in charge of hosting and operating the show.

The night began with Snow Roller, a moody indie-punk band with deliciously fuzzy garage rock guitar solos and the occasional shoegaze undertones. Collin Kritz, the lead singer, hailed Connecticut as their home while on stage, but later admitted they’re actually a Portlandbased band.

Tyler and Collin became Portland transplants this past May. Tyler Bussey is one of the founding members of The World, and the band invited him on stage to play some of their earlier cuts during their set.

Up next were Posture & The Grizzly, another band with pedigrees from The World. The intensity and speed with which they played their melodic punk sounded fantastic on stage, with the gritty, fierce snarling vocals of lead singer JNasty layered on top of it all.

Following Posture & The Grizzly was the West Virginian dynamic indie-rock band Rozwell Kid. Their dual-guitar attack incorporates melodic power-pop while hearkening back to the sounds of Pinkerton-era Weezer. This was their first visit to Portland.

16

Before The World finally got on stage, the Massachusetts punk band The Hotelier performed in support of their fantastic 2014 album, Home, Like Noplace Is There.

At this point in the show the venue and its patrons were starting to liven up, and the band’s anti-pop sound fit the mood perfectly.

Finally, The World Is A Beautiful Place & I Am No Longer Afraid to Die brought their ensemble of musicians on stage at the end of the night. Their set spanned songs throughout their whole discography, including earlier songs featuring Tyler Bussey, songs from their breakthrough LP, Whenever, If Ever, and a few tracks from their recently released Between Bodies EP, their collaboration with poet Chris Zizzamia.

What’s most surprising about the whole show is how it all came together at the last minute. Originally the show was to be held at the now defunct all-ages venue Slabtown, and the process of getting it moved to a brand new venue like Parkway North wasn’t always a graceful one.

Before this show, Parkway North had only hosted one other event the weekend prior, featuring Phone Call and Portland legends And And And, so hosting a nationally touring bill was quite the leap for the space.

Unfortunately, not everything went according to plan.

Ian Cheshire of Take Warning Presents said he encountered communication problems prior to the event.

“I had to change door times earlier than what I was told, so that part’s been difficult, but we’re making it work,” Cheshire said.

Nonetheless, the show went on without a hitch. “[The venue] sounds good and it looks clean as hell,” said Greg Horbal, guitarist for The World.

Both Blake Hickman, KPSU’s promotions director, and Cheshire expressed optimism for the space. With local all-ages venues like Slabtown and Backspace closing down recently, the demand for a financially secure all-ages venue in Portland is currently at a high watermark.

Hickman said Parkway North is the exact kind of allages venue space that Portland needs. Not only does the venue house roughly 250 seats, it also has the benefit of being financially protected by the university.

Cheshire said he would be hesitant to host future shows at Parkway North due to the various setbacks he encountered with the new venue.

“Other tours and bands wouldn’t be so easy going, so I’m going to stay away until it gets figured out,” Cheshire said.

PSU has a wonderful opportunity on its hands, the chance to build a successful all-ages venue on campus similar to the Vera Project in Seattle, a venue that both Hickman and Cheshire mentioned.

If KPSU can figure out how to use the space properly, not only will the university benefit from an increased presence in the Portland music scene, Parkway North could be a selling point for future students.

“Having a venue like this for just local performers, and bringing national performers in, would just do so much to increase the footprint of PSU across the community,” Hickman said. “It’s easy to envision a 15-year-old going to PSU for one of these allages shows, and that 15-yearold seeing the campus. And maybe when he graduates he ends up going to PSU instead of [University of Oregon] because he knows he can see awesome shows there every weekend.”

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

PORTLAND-BASED BAND SNOW ROLLER performs at a recent show in smith memorial student Union's Parkway north.

Jeoffry ray/Psu vanguarD

ARTS & CULTURE

diY BeaUtY Recipes to match YoUR BUdget ViCtoria CaStellanoS

TRY BORAX, OLIVE OIL AND GRAPEFRUIT JUICE for a homemade facial cleanser.

Harsh winter weather can really do a number on skin. Between constant hand-washing to avoid getting the plague and dry, blustery winds, my skin becomes a sad, chapped shell. Defend your epidermis this season with some simple DIY products that are mild, affordable alternatives to their chemical-ridden equivalents. Plus, these can all be made on a student’s budget, likely from ingredients you already have around the house.

Lip scrub I think I speak for the majority when I say that cracked, peeling lips get tiresome quickly. Your mouth does a lot of work for you, so show your lips some lovin’ with a smoothing, enriching scrub.

Lip scrub is the universally beneficial solution, especially in these crisp winter months. No need to spend a fortune at a beauty boutique; it’s deceptively easy to make at home and you can personalize it however you would like. It’s also an awesome, economical gift idea that can be made in bulk.

Combine a heaping tablespoon of softened but not melted coconut oil with a teaspoon of honey. Mix well to get rid of lumps and until you have a thick, pale beige paste.

Coconut oil is amazing to cook with, but it also has tons of fatty acids and antioxidants to moisturize and

christian Profeta/Psu vanguarD

nourish skin (and hair). The honey acts as a binder and has natural cleansing and healing properties as well.

Finally, slowly mix in two packed teaspoons of brown sugar. White sugar will work fine in a pinch, but it lacks a bit of the exfoliating quality that brown sugar has. Once the sugar is coated in the base, you can store it in any small, airtight container for up to a month.

Baby food jars and recycled lip balm pots make great storage options. Optional addi-

tions include vanilla extract, orange zest or cinnamon.

Just dab a bit on, scrub gently and rinse or wipe the excess.

Voila, mistletoe-ready lips!

Hangnail cure Few things ruin a day like repeatedly getting a hangnail stuck on every knit thing you own. Avoid the usual struggle with a little “finger food.” Only two ingredients and your fingertips will be looking a lot less gruesome.

All you need are five grapes (red have more antioxidants than green) and a tablespoon of sugar. The sugar crystals buff dead skin and hangnails while the fruit acids gently soften any remaining raggedness.

Slice the grapes in half, dip the juicy side into the sugar and gently massage around the cuticle for about 30 seconds. Remove the excess sugar with a damp towel and moisturize. Do this once a week or any time your digits are feeling particularly

shredded for a sweet reprieve from hangnail hell.

Citrus facial cleanser You can benefit year-round with this citrus facial cleanser, especially those with oily or uneven skin tones. The citrus acts as an astringent and helps restore natural acid balance.

You will need the peel from one grapefruit or orange, two tablespoons of its juice, a half cup of olive oil and a half teaspoon of borax. Borax can be found in the laundry deter-

gent aisle and is inexpensive and multi-purpose.

Mix everything in a heatproof bowl and either heat at intervals in the microwave or set over a pan of simmering water on the stove until it is hot, but not boiling.

Let mixture cool and strain into a clean container. Use in place of sodium lauryl sulfate-laden face washes which strip skin and your face will thank you.

Who says you can’t spoil yourself and save a few bucks at the same time?

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

17

ETC

event calendaR tuesday, nov. 25

aladdin theater Presents: noah wednesday, nov. 26 Powell’s reading in Cedar Hills: Gundersen registration extravaganza where: aladdin theater, 3017 s.e. where: University services Building, Karelia stetz-waters milwaukie ave. where: Powell's Books at Cedar Hills Crossing, 415 s.w. Cedar Hills Blvd. when: Begins at 7 p.m.

Powells is excited to host the author of Forgive Me If I’ve Told You This Before, Karelia Stetz-Waters, for a talk about her book. The book was published by none other than Portland State’s very own Ooligan Press, and is about a young goth girl living in rural Oregon. She will also be joined by Misdirected author Ali Berman.

Both books feature stories of struggling with the formation of identity based on their own choices, and are great examples of compelling and thought provoking modern literature. This event is free and open to the public. FREE

when: Doors open at 7 p.m. show starts at 8 p.m.

The Aladdin Theater will be hosting Seattle musician Noah Gundersen this Tuesday. Gundersen has been writing music since he was 13 years old, and is now a professional 24-yearold veteran with a selfproduced album. He has recorded with Pearl Jam, and had songs featured on TV shows like Sons of Anarchy, Vampire Diaries, and One Tree Hill. His producer in a press release said that “the album explores doubt and faith, sin and redemption, mortality and transcendence in 11 songs that get underneath the skin and cut to the heart.” Tickets are $17 at the door, and under 21 is OK with parent or legal guardian.

room 402 when: 8–11 a.m.

No matter how long you have been going to PSU, registering for classes is a royal pain! That’s why Advising and Career Services is offering to help students get registered for winter term.

This is also a great time to check in with advisors about finding a local job (either on or off campus), volunteer postitions and also even look into some internship opportunities. If that isn’t enough to get you, there will also be free bagels and coffee! This event is free and open to all FREE students.

friday, nov. 28

artists repertory theatre Presents: ‘Blithe spirit’

where: artists repertory theater, 1515 s.w. morrison st. when: 7:30 p.m.

From their official press release: “With ghosts who

featURed event nov. 28–30

the Portland Ballet Youth: ‘tales From mother Goose & the enchanted toyshop’ where: lincoln Performance Hall when: nov. 28–30, at 1 p.m. and 5p.m.

are decidedly not Dickensian, this comedic masterpiece will haunt our holiday season. Vana O’Brien takes on a role she was born to play as Madame Arcati, the eccentric clairvoyant who inadvertently summons the titular spirit from the beyond. This mischievous supernatural farce invokes hilarity perfect for escaping the yuletide madness.

Suitable for ages 8 and up.”

Tickets are $30 for students and those under the age of 25, and $46 for all others. If this particular event is sold out, this show will be running until January.

2014 Portland macy’s Holiday Parade where:the parade starts at northwest Park avenue and Davis street. when:9–10 a.m.

Come downtown to see Macy’s annual holiday parade this Friday. The parade will feature 25 inflatable floats, local middle and high school bands, and over 650 costumed characters! Rumor has it that Santa will also be making an appear-

Come see the awesome PSU symphony orchestra accompany two wonderful ballets at the Lincoln Performance Hall this coming weekend. John Clifford, choreographer and The Portland Ballet artistic advisor, has created several original ballets for TPB, including the featured Tales From Mother Goose & the Enchanted Toyshop. PSU is excited to host this event, and tickets can be bought at the PSU box office. Tickets are $15 for youth; $35 for adult; $90 for family package (two adult, two youth). This event is open to the public.

ance? The parade starts at Northwest Park Avenue and Davis Street, turns right onto Northwest Broadway, turns left onto Northwest Alder Street, turns left onto Northwest Fourth Avenue, and finally turns left onto Northwest Flanders Street.

This event is free and open to the public. FREE

2014 Portland annual tree lighting Ceremony

where: Pioneer Courthouse square, 791 s.w. sixth ave. when: 5:30 p.m.

This year marks the 30th annual tree lighting ceremony in downtown Portland. Come join thousands of other Portlanders to see the lighting of the 75-foot tree. This event will feature a sing-a-long with Thomas Lauderdale and members of Pink Martini, “Oregon’s Own” 234th Army Band, the NW Community Gospel Choir and others. We recommend getting there early, as it starts to get crowded as early as 4 p.m.

This event is free and open to the public. FREE

FREE

PsU Free

saturday, nov. 29 Post5 theatre Presents: ‘as You like it’

where: Post5 theatre, 1666 s.e. lambert st. when: 7:30 p.m.

Come see one of Shakespeare's most whimsical plays! Post5 Theatre is proud of be hosting one of his funniest plays. Featuring gender-bending, identity confusion and other antics, even those who are not fans of Shakespeare will enjoy this production.

The performance runs until Dec. 7, and tickets are $15 (Sundays are pay what you can). This event is open to the public.

If you have an event to submit for consideration for the calendar please contact the managing editor at:

manaGinGeDitor@ PsUVanGaUrD.Com *Inclusion is left up to the discretion of the managing editor.

21+

oPen to PUBliC 21 & oVer

THE VANGarDe

brenDan mullligan

OPEN AT 4AM

courtesy of the PortlanD courtesy ballet acaDemy of m.o. stevens/creative anD youth comPany commons

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Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

The Shopping Dead: Consume or be consumed!

ETC

hoRoscopes JoHn pinney

Scorpio oct. 23–nov. 21 Your popularity is like a Spice Girls song, Scorpio.

A lot of fluff but not long lasting. Cultivate some interesting things in your portfolio and you can change all that.

Aries march 21-april 19 You really shouldn't punch people that use the phrase "I'd like to wrap the world in a great big hug." Stop being impolite.

It's a nice sentiment.

Taurus april 20-may 20 I know all about your lucky socks, Taurus. Don't forget to wear them the day of your big presentation!

Gemini may 21-June 20 Check your fridge. You still have leftovers from last week and you might want to throw them out

before they grow legs and walk away.

Libra september 23october 22

Cancer June 21-July 22

The call is coming from inside the house. Run!

inner "joie de vivre" and host a little house party to watch it. You'd be surprised who'll show up for that.

Scorpio october 23november 21

Aquarius January 20-February 18

Scorpions have this cousin without poison tails but they hunch up their backsides to look like they do.

If you're not feeling particularly poisonous this week, you're going to have to fake it so that no one takes advantage of you.

This is not the musical Hair and this is not the dawning of the age of Aquarius. You're not a special snowflake.

Buckle down and study like the rest of us.

Your idea is kind of like that old TV series Dinosaurs. Revolutionary for its time, but it won't last forever. Get in the market now or regret it forever.

Leo July 23-august 22) You really should have bought that lottery ticket, but it's too late now.

Virgo august 23september 22 Emily Dickinson is a famous poet, known for being a recluse. She was brilliant but very alone. You can be as brilliant as her but not alone. Make a new friend this week, Virgo, and you'll go far.

Sagittarius november 22December 21 Don't forget about that meeting at 6 p.m. It has life-altering ramifications.

Capricorn December 22-January 19 I know that you know Muppet Treasure Island is on Netflix. Embrace your

Pisces February 20-march 19 Pisces kind of sounds like "pie," right? Well, there's a reason for that. Now's the time to let go of that diet and indulge. Apple and pumpkin pies are just ripe for the picking.

Don't miss out!

elise furlan/Psu vanguarD

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aCroSS 1 Ms Goldberg, taking journalist to "The Ram", had a roaring time (7,2,2) 7,28 "Shall I compare thee to a summer's day?", for example, is clear to a child (6) 9 Gathered one of 7 is into unorthodox creed (9) 10 A long time to muse (5) 11 One Frenchman who's a woman (5) 12 US pole cat is unusual, having little tufts of hair (9) 13 Disguise most sinister to maintain (6) 15 Even on drink, maintains balance (6,2) 18 Put a title to back issues (8) 20 Irritate a shrew with a rope (6) 23 Wife of the last Roman of Saar, reportedly (9) 24 Famous cubist? (5) 26 Give greenback to one fountain? (5) 27 Exaggerate about condition (9) 28 See 7ac

CoUrtesY oF alBeriCHCrossworDs.Com

29 These days, the cabinet runs things (11) doWn 1 Lollard, more than half paralytic, involved with wife getting battered (9) 2 In plants, undeveloped seed convolves evenly around centre of integuments (5) 3 Put by river Wear? (7) 4 The most dreadful little girl is supported by the others (6) 5 Young swimmers who will soon croak (8) 6 Prevent clubs being withheld in opening of play (7) 7 Ship's documents are on board - each out of date (3-6) 8 This girl wept. She was petrified! (5) 14 Declaration suggests holy man was a cannibal tribesman, originally (9) 16 Soldier recited a poet to get the birds (9) 17 Space below one's brain? Yes and no (8) 19 A rabbi, not bishop,

standing bill for coffee (7) 21 Captures a bishop then sets pieces cunningly (7) 22 From this, how whalebone is produced (6) 23 Continue to play in London (5) 25 Mark can be a bore (5)

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

19

SPORTS

fantasY footBall: the plaYoff pUsh Cincinnati Bengals quarterback ANDY DALTON during a 2013 warm-up.

CHRIS JOHNSON during a 2011 game. courtesy of emeybee through creative commons

Denver Broncos wide receiver ERIC DECKER. courtesy of emeybee through creative commons

courtesy of Jeffrey beall through creative commons

miCHael tHeoFeliS

Here it is, fantasy football folks, we’re just about one week away from the playoffs. I’m here to provide helpful hints in extending your season and providing a guide for navigating the treachery of the postseason. Whether you’re trying to squeak into that last playoff spot, knock out a friend so they can join your wallowing or pad your team with studs to help bring home the championship, you’ll find at least one tidbit of information to strengthen your group of guys.

You may have used your ultimate wisdom by selecting Andrew Luck, Aaron Rodgers or DeMarco Murray with an early pick and have now been dominating the entire season. Or a hint of luck gifted you in swooping up Le’Veon Bell, Big Ben or the utterly spectacular Antonio Brown, leading you toward a surprising record. If either of these are the case, you’re probably feeling pretty great right about now.

On the other hand, if you had an early pick and grabbed Adrian Peterson or LeSean McCoy, it might be time to take a couple risks in hopes of salvaging your season. Ev-

20

ery team has its holes to be filled in search of offseason bragging rights, so look below for steals that are worth a second glance. We’re working with guys that are generally still available, so don’t be surprised if big names don’t jump off the page, but solid players litter the group and are worth making a move in many leagues.

Best bets For teams starting: Tavon Austin, Riley Cooper James Jones (WR)—The Raiders are bad, plain and simple. This team hasn’t been good since they faced off against their former coach in the 2002 Super Bowl without the wherewithal to change their playbook. Now, in 2014, they’re still awful, but show signs they could be a solid team in the years to come. Jones is a good player on a bad team. He’s currently top-25 in the league when it comes to targets, but they haven’t amounted to big stats. Look for the wideout to keep seeing big targets and for quarterback Derek Carr to find Jones for, at least, a couple more touchdowns this

season. Out of the top-25 receivers in targets, Jones is the only one not owned in at least 80 percent of leagues and, actually, still available in 68 percent of them.

For teams starting: Dwayne Bowe, Wes Welker Eric Decker (WR)—Ever since Michael Vick took over as the NY Jets quarterback, Decker’s value has drastically risen. He still won’t post WR1 stats, but he’s the most reliable player in a thin wideout core.

Vick’s ability to throw deep isn’t any mystery, and Decker should see a lot more targets that give him an opportunity to run after the catch and actually score touchdowns. The wide receiver is still owned in a majority of leagues, but could be an easy add with a very high upside after a disappointing open to the season.

Added plus is the Jets playing two bottom of the barrel defenses in the coming weeks (Vikings and Titans).

safe play For teams starting: Eli Manning, Alex Smith Andy Dalton—At the start of the season, Dalton was

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

being compared to a young Peyton Manning, and the Bengals were candidates for AFC champions. How quickly a season can change.

His overall stats aren’t great, but they are marred by two historically bad games. Who knew a quarterback rating could be a single digit? The truth is that Dalton has a lot of talent and Marvin Lewis is the second-longest tenured head coach in the NFL for a reason. Look for Cincinnati to turn things around the final weeks as Lewis’ seat gets hotter and the push for the playoffs intensifies. Also, there’s one little X-factor impacting the play of Dalton: WR A.J. Green is an absolute animal and should hide some of Dalton’s faults. This sometimes top tier quarterback is still a free agent in 40 percent of leagues.

For teams starting: Cincinnati defense, Jacksonville defense St. Louis (DEF)—After being touted as a top defense before fantasy drafts, the Rams’ D was a major letdown in the first half of the season.

The most feared defensive line from last season wasn’t

even able to notch a sack until week seven. They then ripped off 16 in just four games and are starting to outperform their projected stats. In the final weeks of the season, they face off against some of the lower-scoring offenses in the league and multiple backup quarterbacks. Expect their defense to continue the turn-around and act as an immediate impact for fantasy players with underachieving defenses. They could also help as a quick add when your regular defense is facing off against a dominant offense.

Because of the rocky start, they are only owned in 34 percent of leagues.

all in For teams starting: Tons of injuries at this point, so take your pick, or those still holding out for Adrian Peterson’s return and in need of a RB2 or flex play.

Chris Johnson (RB)— Like Decker, expect running back Chris Johnson to be one of the benefactors of Michael Vick taking over the Jets’ quarterback position. He has had some abso-

lutely brutal games this year, like three carries for seven yards—ouch, but look for the holes to be wider with added passing ability on the team.

Johnson will also see added touches and, hopefully, yardage against a pretty lax schedule. Worth the short add as he is still available in 51 percent of leagues.

For teams starting: Jay Cutler, Cam Newton Kyle Orton (QB)—When Orton took over in week six, many Bills fans cried foul, but the long-term journeyman has made a strong and positive impact to the team.

It’s about time that impact is transferred over to some fantasy teams as well. He’s currently averaging 275 yards through the air per game, even against solid defenses.

Though he won’t toss five touchdowns per week, Orton is efficient (65 percent completion rate), doesn’t turn the ball over (10–3 TD vs. INT ratio), and is headed toward a schedule that begs shootouts.

Like Dalton, Orton’s value is also bolstered by dynamic rookie wideout Sammy Watkins, owned in 15 percent of leagues.

SPORTS

distance RUnneRs aRe the Best in YeaRs aleX moore

The Portland State Vikings women’s cross country squad competed in the NCAA West Regionals last Friday, finishing 17th out of 34 teams, which is their best finish at the regionals in over 11 years.

The Vikings’ 17th-place finish is also the second-best result in PSU history. After a season where the Vikings weren’t picked to finish in the top half of their conference, this means even more to a coaching staff and athletes who beat out all exterior expectations of what this program could accomplish.

With 456 points in the meet, the Vikings also had their second lowest point total (scoring low is good in these meets) in the NCAA West Regionals in the program’s history. Their previous lowest point totals came in 1999 and 2002, respectively.

Leading the PSU women was junior Amanda Boman, who finished the 6,000 meter in 49th place. Boman came up big in a big race by having one of her best performances of the season. Her time puts her in the PSU record books, with the fifth-best time in the 6,000 meter in school history.

Boman was not alone, with another runner placing in the top 65, sophomore Cheryn Trapp. Trapp’s time was under 22 minutes, and also earned her a place in the PSU record books. Her time is the sixthbest cross country 6k in Vikings history.

Having two runners place so well in such a big meet is another statement being made by a PSU squad who, once again, were not picked to do very well in the Big Sky Conference at the beginning of the season.

Internally, the Vikings coaching staff and athletes showed that those expectations do not mean much, especially when PSU is able to put up quality performances in meets with big schools and big-time runners competing.

SCORES

UPCOMING

PSU Football

PSU Men's Basketball

eastern wasHinGton 56 PsU @ Cal state nortHriDGe PsU 34 thur. nov. 26, 8:00 p.m.

Top Performers: Kieran McDonagh 21-39 for 274 yards with 4 TD and PsU @ oreGon 1 INT. sUn. noV. 30, 5 P.m.

PaC 12 networK

PSU Men's Basketball

willamette PsU

Top Performers: Bryce White with 19 points and 6 rebounds.

63 84

PsU @ UniV. oF PortlanD weD. DeC. 3, 7 P.m.

PSU Women's Basketball

PsU @ oreGon tues. nov. 25, 6:00 p.m.

PSU Women's Basketball

CorBan PsU

Top Performers: Lariel Powell with 21 points and 7 assists.

74 PsU Vs. lonG BeaCH state nov. 29, 1:00 p.m.

64 sat. stott Center PsU Vs. naVY

PSU Volleyball (Big Sky Quarterfinals)

nortHern ColoraDo PsU

Top Performers: Cheyne Corrado with 8 kills and 15 digs.

Fri. nov. 5, 7:00 p.m. stott Center

3 0

JUNIOR AMANDA BOMAN runs against the University of Portland in an early fall cross-country race. courtesy of larry laWson/Psu athletics

Boman and Trapp were followed by PSU’s third and fourth place runners Sarah Medved and Camelia Mayfield. Both runners finished within five seconds of each other.

On the men’s side, the Vikings placed 27th, with 741 points. The men were led by a group of three runners, who were all within six seconds of each other. This group of three included ju-

nior John Talik, freshman Alejandro Cisneros and junior T-Roy Brown.

All times for PSU’s three leading men were better than their performances last season, or for Cisneros, earlier this season. The Vikings now have a young crew to build around in hopes of performing even better at the regional next season.

The regional meet ends the season for the Vikings,

as no PSU athletes will qualify for the national event.

Next up for track and field is the 2014–15 indoor season, which has seen a lot of success for the Vikings over the last three years. The women have challenged to win the Big Sky Conference multiple times, coming up just short on a number of occasions. A majority of the meets for the indoor season will take place in early 2015.

AVERAGE YARDS PER PUNT BY KYLE LOOMIS. THE VIKINGS PUNTER LED THE NATION FOR THE SECOND YEAR IN A ROW.

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

21

SPORTS

coach kRaUel keeps his plaYeRs hitting the line pHUoC FranCiS nGUyen

Coming off a successful fall tournament slate, Portland State men’s tennis head coach Toby Krauel hopes his team can continue their strong play leading into the winter and spring seasons.

“We are trying to get 2 percent better each week and after about 30 weeks we are going to get a lot better,” he said. In his second season as head coach he hopes to be able to qualify

for the conference championships with a winning record in the Big Sky Conference. A great start in the fall season has put in place a belief throughout the team that they can advance to the postseason for the first time.

The fall contained plenty of high points to build on.

In the Intercollegiate Tennis Association Northwest Regional hosted by Stanford University, Brent Wheeler

won matches in consolation singles and in doubles with Ian Risenhoover. Stuart Tierney and Matt Pronesti advanced to the main draw doubles quarterfinals before falling to the third-seeded pair from University of California, Berkeley.

In the Gonzaga Bulldog Fall Classic in Spokane, Washington, Ethan Lopez advanced to the main draw singles semifinals with three

consecutive three-set wins, including a win over secondseeded Nick Kamisar of Gonzaga. In doubles, PSU had two teams advance to the main draw quarterfinals, Pronesti and Tierney who fell to the eventual winners as well as Wheeler and Risenhoover who fell to a duo from University of Portland.

In the final tournament of the fall season the team headed to the Pacific North-

west Intercollegiate where three nationally ranked schools participated. Wil Cochrane and Pronesti came away with hardware after a comeback win over Gonzaga’s Sergio Chip and Vicente Varas.

Cochrane was not done however; he also won the backdraw fourth singles flight to cap a memorable weekend of tennis.

“It was gratifying to see. It really started down in Stanford, where they were playing against Pac-12 schools.

We had good success in singles and doubles. Then we went to Spokane and had a really good tournament there. We had a lot of wins in Gonzaga and came away feeling better,” Krauel said.

Starting in January, the PSU men’s tennis team will go into their dual season where they will have to face heavy hitters like the University of Washington. One common theme players and coaches mentioned is the camaraderie the fall season has brought to the team.

There is a solid mutual respect among the team that creates a willingness to fight for one another.

“I expect that the dual season, when it comes, we will be ready from the beginning.

We are going to have a really strong season,” Krauel said.

One match to mark on the calendars is Feb. 14, when the team will play UP for the first time in a few years.

Krauel has a strong UP connection—both he and his daughter played there.

“It’s going to be a good match, the battle of Portland,” he said.

In the Big Sky Conference, he emphasizes trying to win against the “directional” schools such as Northern Arizona, Northern Colorado, Eastern Washington, North Dakota and Southern Utah.

“If we can beat every school with a direction in it we should get to the conference tournament.”

The goal of reaching the conference tournament is in the mindset of the team as well as the coach. In response to being asked about the meaning it would have for him, he said, “I coach these guys to support them in their academics and athletics. I would be happy for them.”

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TOBY KRAUEL in the tennis facility on the roof of the stott Center. christoPher sohler/Psu vanguarD

22

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

dUck hUnt

SPORTS

ViKinGs looK to taKe Down seConD PaC -12 team oF tHe season andreW GleaSon

TIEGBE BAMBA fights through the linfield defense.

Devin courtright/Psu vanguarD

The Vikings men’s basketball team traveled to Los Angeles to open their season against the heavily favored University of Southern California Trojans. As the Vikings entered the locker room after they’d annihilated the Linfield Wildcats in the last warm-up game, head coach Tyler Geving and his staff immediately addressed the looming game against the Pac-12 powerhouse.

“They [USC] are very beatable,” Geving repeated over and over.

The Portland State Vikings took these words to heart as they entered the Galen Center and took the court against the Trojans. They had five players score in double figures as they upset USC 76–68 to kick off the 2014–15 season.

Despite a cold shooting night, the Vikings kept themselves in the game with their defense, as they forced the Trojans into 23 turnovers in the game while only committing four themselves. The Vikings turned the Trojans’ turnovers into 31 points on the other end, helping to overcome a .532 to .391 shooting disadvantage.

Geving inserted three new starters into his lineup for the opener at USC, and the results couldn’t have been much better. Senior forward Tiegbe Bamba, sophomore guard Bryce White and sophomore forward Braxton Tucker were playing their first game as

Vikings, and they combined for 49 points (16–32 field goals, 4–7 3-pointers, 13–17 free throws), 14 rebounds, four assists and six steals with only two turnovers as they each played 34 minutes.

Bamba had 19 points, six rebounds and four steals and was named Big Sky Player of the Week. Tucker scored 16 points with five rebounds, while White added 14 points and three boards.

The win over the Trojans marks the Vikings’ first win over a Pac-12 school since the 2006–07 season. Before the victory over USC, the Vikings had posted a record of 4–48 against Pac-12 schools.

PSU led most of the game, but took full control with a 10–0 run that gave them a 70–58 lead with 2:09 to go.

Coach Geving was pleased with the way his team performed, saying afterwards, “Obviously, guys played extremely well. I think the big difference in the game was the fact that we took care of the ball and only had four turnovers. Our defense did a good job of pressuring them and forcing them into 23 turnovers, which we converted 31 points on.

I think, even though we got beat on the boards pretty good and they shot a high percentage, our defense did create a lot of points for our offense.”

With the victory over USC, the talk of the Vikings head-

ing to Eugene to face University of Oregon is buzzing.

The Ducks are 3–0 to start the season, and present an even stiffer challenge than the Vikings saw in Southern California.

Coach Geving isn’t shying away from the challenge, “I like this team; I told our guys we could win every game or we could lose every game. I think we have enough talent to go in and compete with people, Pac-12 schools, etc. It’s a good feeling going into a game knowing you’re a competitive team, but that doesn’t mean you’re going to win. But going into it I felt that we had a chance.

“Oregon is obviously a good challenge for us. A team that has gone to the NCAA tournament the last few years, it will be a good test for us to see how we stack up against Pac-12 schools, and I think we will find out a lot about ourselves in that game and what our strengths and weaknesses are. I’m looking forward to the challenge and to see what we can do,” Geving said.

Taking down two Pac-12 schools in two weeks might be a lot to ask, but it’s certainly not out of reach. The Vikings head south again to play Cal State Northridge on Wednesday before their trip to Eugene. The game against the Ducks will be broadcast on the Pac-12 Network, Nov. 30 at 5 p.m.

Vanguard | NOVEMBER 25, 2014 | psuvanguard.com

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