Portland State Vanguard

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VOLUME 70 | ISSUE 9 | OCTOBER 6, 2015

OFFICERS AM

ONG US

News Opinion Arts & Culture International

UNIVERSITY RESPONDS TO UCC SHOOTING p.4 A REFLECTION ON ROSEBURG p. 6 PSU MARSHALLESE CANOE BUILD P. 10 ANOTHER ROUND OF RUSSIAN SANCTIONS. P. 15


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CONTENT NEWS OPINION COVER ARTS & CULTURE CALENDAR INTERNATIONAL

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EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ADVERTISING MANAGER

EDITOR@PSUVANGUARD.COM Turner Lobey

NEUB@PDX.EDU Stuart Neuberger

MANAGING EDITOR

ADVERTISING DESIGNER

MANAGINGEDITOR@PSUVANGUARD.COM Tim Sullivan

Tessa Millhollin

NEWS EDITOR

Reaz Mahmood

NEWS@PSUVANGUARD.COM Colleen Leary

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR ARTS@PSUVANGUARD.COM Aislinn Renninson

OPINION EDITOR OPINION@PSUVANGUARD.COM Chelsea Lobey

INTERNATIONAL EDITOR

ADVISER

ADVERTISING ADVISER Ann Roman

DESIGNERS

Nimi Einstein Elise Furlan Shannon Kidd Terra Dehart

WRITERS

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR

Nathan Anderson, Emily Korte, Allie Clark, Robert Evans, Natasha Haynes, Jon Raby , Sebastian Richardson, Kayla Townsley

ASSOCIATENEWS@PSUVANGUARD.COM Lisa Dunn

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INTERNATIONAL@PSUVANGUARD.COM Molly Ozier

PRODUCTION@PSUVANGUARD.COM Hunter Sharp

Silvia Cardullo Devin Courtright Vincent Huynh Steven Young

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ADVERTISING SALES

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Kellie Doherty Cora Wigen Alexis Woodcock

MARKETING MANAGER Ryan Brewer

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

Cover: Nimi Einstein, Elise Furlan and Terra Dehart, Photograph by Christopher Sohler/Vanguard Archives ©2015 PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY VANGUARD 1825 S.W. BROADWAY SMITH MEMORIAL STUDENT UNION, RM. S-26 PORTLAND, OR 97201

ILLUSTRATION BY NIMI EINSTEIN

Vanguard | OCTOBER 6, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

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NEWS

NOT A WEED-FOR-ALL FREE-FOR-ALL PSU’S MARIJUANA PROHIBITION STILL STANDS COLLEEN LEARY

Midnight on Oct. 1 marked another milestone for Oregon’s legal weed. Medical marijuana dispensaries are now authorized to sell up to a quarter ounce of recreational marijuana to customers 21 years and older. When the measure to legalize marijuana went into effect on July 1, one of the biggest roadblocks was a lack of legislation from Oregon Liquor Control Commission stipulating how exactly to procure legal recreational weed. In short, you could have it—but you couldn’t buy it or sell it. OLCC’s current solution is to allow medical dispensaries to sell up to 7 grams of recreational pot. As a public institution, Portland

State is not on board with this legal weedfrontier.Weedisfederallyillegal, andPSUreceivesfederalfunding. In July, Dean of Student Life Michele Toppe and Associate Vice President for Human Resources Shana Sechrist released a statement through PSU’s Office of University Communications outlining the university’s continued prohibition of marijuana. “PSU must comply with the federal Drug-Free Schools and Communities Act and the federal Drug-Free Workplace Act,” Toppe and Sechrist said in the letter. “Failure to comply with federal laws and regulations regarding marijuana would jeopardize PSU’s continued receipt of federal funds, including students’ eligibility to receive certain types of federal financial aid.”

JAIME DUNKLE/PSU VANGUARD

your information, this includes your vehicle when it’s on PSU property. If you are conThis is a violation victed of any kind of of PSU’s alcohol and criminal drug statdrug-free policy, ute on or off campus, which states that you’ll be ineligible you can be expelled for federal financial from PSU and possi- aid. bly referred for legal prosecution. The school may also refer you to a rehab program. For

Does the legal weed What happens if a prohibition apply to student gets caught everyone on cam- on campus with pus? weed?

Yes. PSU students, faculty, staff and guests are all subject to the prohibition when on campus.

PORTLAND STATE COMMUNITY RESPONDS TO UMPQUA COMMUNITY COLLEGE SHOOTING

LISA DUNN

Last Thursday, an individual shot and killed nine people and injured nine more at Umpqua CommunityCollegeinRoseburg, Oregon. Shortly after exchanging fire with police officers, the gunman killed himself. This is, according to MSNBC, the 45th school shooting in the United States in 2015 alone. Portland State President Wim Wiewel released the

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following statement shortly after the event: “I am horrified and deeply saddened by the tragic shooting at Umpqua Community College earlier today. My heart goes out to the victims and their families, as well as to the students, faculty and staff at the college. Portland State students who feel the need for additional support at this time, please contact the Student

Health and Counseling Center at 503-725-2800. Faculty and staff may contact the Employment Assistance Program at 503-639-3009. Our number one concern is for the safety of our students, faculty and staff.” Associated Students of PSU President Dana Ghazi also released astatement. “Our deepest condolences are with the students, families,

Vanguard | OCTOBER 6, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

Do these rules apWhat about prodPSU’s full Alcoply to medicinal mar- ucts you don’t hol and Drug-Free ijuana cardholders? smoke? Tinctures, University Policy is oils, topicals, edi- available at pdx.edu. Yes. Medical mari- bles?

juana is also prohibited on campus for the same reasons as recreational. While medicinal marijauna is legal in Oregon, it’s federal status is still in transition.

These are off-limits as well. Any products that contain THC—i.e., produce mind-altering effects—are included in PSU’s continued prohibition.

Responses to marijuana FAQ’s can be found at www.pdx. edu/news/FAQ-onmarijuana-on-campus

“HORRIFIED AND DEEPLY SADDENED...” and staff affected by today’s tragic shooting at Umpqua Community College,” it reads. Ghazi’s statement also echoes Wiewel’s insistence that PSU students take advantage of SHAC Counseling Services if they feel they need additional support. To contact SHAC, please call 503-725-2800 or go to pdx.edu/ SHAC for more information

ROSEBURG’S MERCY MEDICAL CENTER admitted 10 injured patients after the Umpqua Community College shooting. COURTESY OF RYTYHO THROUGH CREATIVE COMMONS


NEWS

OFFICERS AMONG US OFFICERS THIS WEEK’S COVER STORY, “OFFICERS AMONG US,” is a detailed history behind the arming of Campus Public Safety Officers. The road to armed officers has been a long and complicated one full of Board of Trustees meetings, hours of discussions on implementation, student protests and more. Below is a condensed timeline of the events that led to where we are today: a bifurcated CPS with sworn officers and campus safety officers. For the full timeline check out psuvanguard.com

USAC

Your Gateway to the World

#wherewillyougo

TIMELINE OF EVENTS IN PSU CPSO DEPUTIZATION APRIL 25, 2013

President Wim Wiewel creates the Task Force on Campus Public Safety, led by then-Vice President Jackie Balzer. “An issue has developed concerning whether or not PSU’s Campus Public Safety Office should become a fully sworn police department, to better deter and respond to crime.” Wiewel said MAY 8, 2013

ASPSU conducts a student survey on campus safety. The results showed that 34 percent of respondents strongly disagreed or disagreed with the need for a sworn police force. 29 percent of respondents were neutral and 36 percent agreed or strongly agreed with the need for a sworn police force. NOV. 1, 2013

The Task Force on Campus Public Safety completes its final report. The report states that PSU should find a manner of creating a sworn police force while also maintaining non-armed officers on campus.

Discover where you’ll study abroad at usac.unr.edu.

OCT. 24, 2014

PSU School of Social Work releases a statement strongly opposing the proposal for armed campus police force. DEC. 1, 2014

PSU Faculty Senate passes a resolution opposing armed campus police force. DEC. 11, 2014

PSU Board of Trustees votes to approve the Task Force’s safety plan, which includes the implementation of armed officers on campus. PSU Student Union stages a “die-in.” JAN. 2015

PSU forms a Campus Public Safety Implementation Advisory Committee. The IAC includes representatives from PSU resource centers, AAUP, SEIU, faculty and ASPSU members. JUNE 11, 2015

BOT approves implementation recommendations from the IAC. Newly elected ASPSU president and vice president Dana Ghazi and Davíd Martinez ask the BOT to delay implementation vote. The BOT votes to approve implementation. SEPT. 21, 2015

#DisarmPSU and PSUSU interrupt Wiewel’s convocation speech during freshman orientation. Activists hold up signs that read “Disarm PSU” and “Police State University.” FALL 2015 AND BEYOND

PSU phases in armed police officers over the next three years.

FOR THE ENTIRE STORY ON IMPLEMENTATION OF ARMED OFFICERS AT PORTLAND STATE, TURN TO THE COVER STORY “OFFICERS AMONG US” ON PAGE 8. Vanguard | OCTOBER 6, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

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OPINION

VIOLENCE COMES HOME The Campus Oracle by Nathan Anderson My typing is a little slow today. My hands, my arms—they’re heavy, like a great weight is pressing down on them, slowing their productivity. I’m having trouble seeing the screen through a constant stream of tears. My hands shake as I try feebly to type. So forgive me in advance if this comes across as lacking a certain finesse. It’s been a trying time for your humble columnist. Violence has permeated our society in a way that I’m sure I’ll never understand. Like so many others, death and destruction was something that only happened to “others,” a group of people that are mysterious unknowns. I spent my working career (before returning to school) as a hospice worker, and death and sickness was something that I was intimately familiar with. But not violence. Not until Thursday. My academic trajectory began at Umpqua Community College many years ago. A crappy student, I bounced from class to class, from program to program. Like a bee trying to find the perfect flower, I tried to find the path that best married my interests with the ability to actually make a living. Part of this process led me to the office of a wonderful instructor, a bright, beautiful professor who encouraged me to apply to the school as a writing tutor. After following her advice and being offered the position, I began to glean a new understanding of the challenges, the difficulties and the rewards that instructors encountered every day. People who teach for a living are amazing, dedicated public servants. They spend their lives working with others to build strong citizens and a strong community. Oftentimes putting their own financial and mental welfare secondary, they strive to help others in ways that I’m not sure those who are not born teachers can understand. I know I certainly didn’t. These dedicated people put, in so many ways, the weight of the world on

their shoulders and offer a future to those that will inherit the reins of our society. Their lives are deeply intertwined in so many other lives, their efforts and toils felt, like the ripples in a pond, throughout an entire community. Sometimes these ripples are large, obvious and striking. Other times they are small and subtle, their effects only notable under close scrutiny. But make no mistake, these ripples are there. These ripples do not just originate with instructors. If the instructors are the heart of higher education, then the students are the soul. As cliche as that may appear, there is much truth in that analysis. Students give a campus life, a personality, a raison d’etre. The events of that Thursday morning don’t just hit close to home. They are home. They happened in a classroom I frequented—where I learned to write a business proposal and where I learned to conjugate Spanish verbs. They happened where I sat and discussed the future with my fellow classmates, dreaming of the day we could reap the rewards of our toils. It happened to people I know, people I worked with and people I care about. The shooting at UCC wasn’t an abstract, distant event. The Friday after the shooting, I sat in the lobby of a hospital talking with friends old and new, people who were connected not only by our friendship but by our friendship to a wonderful, amazing woman who came within moments and millimeters of having her life ended by a madman. We talked about how dedicated she had been to her community and to the people in it, devoting her life to helping others both professionally and personally. Several floors above us, our friend lay in the Intesive Care Unit hanging onto life by only the finest of threads. Unable to actually visit her in person, we did the only thing we could: We talked about what had transpired while trying to find some rationale in an event where rationality has no presence.

CHAVELIN GONZALEZ/PSU VANGUARD

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Vanguard | OCTOBER 6, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

We live in a society that in many ways glorifies and excuses violence. “Kill everyone and let God sort them out” was an oft-heard mantra during the height of the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. “We need to bomb ISIS into a pool of molten glass!” say the war hawks. Bumper stickers with a “terrorist hunting permit” logo are a common sight on vehicles in southern Oregon, and I’m sure in many other places in our country. We have become a people that does not truly value human life. We think Matthew 5:39 applies to other people and are constantly bombarded with propaganda that supports that narrow view: how we need to “protect” our homes and our cars and our jobs from those that may not have the same values or religion—and the only way to do that is to dehumanize “others.” We value our lifestyle and our comfort at all costs—even if it costs the lives of other human beings. Today, as my friend lies in a coma in the ICU after a madman filled her classroom with blood and death, my Facebook feed has lit up with arguments about guns and Second Amendment rights, how Obama shouldn’t politicize the issue and how the problem isn’t guns, but rather the lack of valuing human life. But our society considers violence the answer to our problems. The man who killed nine people at UCC saw violence as an answer to his problems. To think he was an aberration is willfully ignorant and is indeed part of the problem we are facing. Until we collectively agree that all lives have value and that violence is the answer to absolutely nothing, these horrific crimes will continue. Many people who read this will not agree with that. Those same people don’t agree that our society not only condones but encourages violence. But it does, and until that changes, the bloody scene on a quiet college campus will happen again and again—and again and again will our society refuse to judge itsel or hold itself accountable.


OPINION

WHAT’S IN A NAME? Page by Page by Brie Barbee Michael Derrick Hudson is an American poet from Fort Wayne, Indiana. Hudson’s poems have been published in several journals and literary magazines, including The Georgia Review, Washington Square and Fugue. Five of his poems were named cowinners of the 2014 Manchester Poetry Prize. Some of his poems have also been nominated for the Pushcart Prize. All in all, Hudson is a moderately successful poet, perhaps not quite popular enough to justify quitting his day job, although as a poet that fact often has little to do with success in the industry. Hudson remains employed at the Genealogy Center at the Allen County Public Library in Fort Wayne and writes poetry during his free time. Recently, Hudson has received a great deal of attention from the media, but not for the reasons a working poet might hope for. Instead of being praised for his newest poem, Hudson is accused of being a racist and donning “yellow face” in order to get his work published. Hudson’s poem, “The Bees, the Flowers, Jesus, Ancient Tigers, Poseidon, Adam and Eve” was included in the Best American Poetry anthology, so it might seem strange why Hudson is being criticized for a poem that some believe to be among the best in the country. It’s not the contents of the poem that are garnering the bulk of the criticism—although people have criticized it for its lack of focus, as well as its use of definite articles in the title (i.e., there are only two “the’s” but multiple nouns)—it’s the way Hudson went about getting it published and the pseudonym he used to get published. Although Hudson is the author of the poem, his is not the name attributed to it in the anthology, but rather the Chinese name Yi-Fen Chou. But using a pseudonym in the publishing industry is not uncommon and doesn’t usually have negative implications. Hundreds of authors and poets, from Stephen King to J.K. Rowling, have used pseudonyms during their literary career. Reasons cited for using pseudonyms are as diverse as the people who use them and are anything from escaping biases within the publishing industry (such as men writing romance or women writing science fiction), as well as having the option to publish a piece with anonymity. It becomes apparent from the myriad examples of pseudonyms in the publishing industry that all writers either choose a generic name or one similar to their own. However, it should also be noted that nowhere is it explicitly stated that a writer can’t choose a pseudonym different from their own in gender or ethnicity. Someone probably should have mentioned that to Hudson. The problem isn’t the fact he chose to use a pseudonym. What is problematic is that Hudson used the pseudonym of a person who would be considered a minority in the publishing industry (and made it worse, seeing as women only make up a quarter of the writers in the industry) and was rewarded for the diversity he brought to the industry. That doesn’t seem right, especially when the poem was celebrated for its unique tone. Perhaps that says something about the publishing industry, something about how they only value the works of white writers or poets who sound like they are white. No matter the name attached to “The Bees,” the poem was the same every time it was submitted, as Michael Derrick Hudson and Yi-Fen Chou. Or perhaps it says that the standards for poets of color are less than that of white poets, so “The Bees” seems like a bet-

MICHEAL DERRICK HUDSON & A POOR PSEUDONYM CHOICE

ter-written poem when juxtaposed next to a Chinese name. Neither of those things are good things to say about writers or the publishing industry, but perhaps the worst thing about Hudson’s poem is the fact that its inclusion in the BAP anthology took the opportunity of recognition away from an actual poet of color. If Hudson’s poem had been published under his own name, or even been largely ignored by critics, there wouldn’t be as much of a problem. People probably wouldn’t even be talking about the poet who decided to use a Chinese pseudonym, because nothing came of it. But we are talking about him because there is a bigger issue at hand that needs to be addressed. Voices of minorities in the publishing industry are being repressed, silenced by white authors hiding behind pseudonyms for the sake of diversity or trying to copy a style in search of recognition. The industry isn’t as diverse as we try to claim it is, because if one white poet hides behind a Chinese pseudonym in an attempt to get published, others have already tried or are going to try in the future. We can’t police the issue for fear of de-

stroying anonymity for those who wish to write about difficult subjects or keep their identities secret from the public. What we need to do is cherish the works of poets and writers of color for their content and not for the simple sake of diversity in the field. A white male poet shouldn’t be able to win any awards posing as a Chinese-American woman, because he doesn’t know what it’s like to be either of those things. No one has ever stated that you can’t choose a pseudonym outside of your ethnicity, but after Hudson and the theft of diversity from the industry, we might want to pencil it in. We should be striving for actual diversity, not just pretending it exists. A truly Chinese or Chinese-American author will be able to write a poem that no white author could, and that’s what we should be celebrating. We should strive for diversity in the content of pieces read and celebrated in the publishing industry, pieces that represent the people who wrote them, not just the names attached to them. For all we know, the person behind the name might not be who we think, and we shouldn’t risk actual diversity for the sake of names.

MICHAEL DERRICK HUDSON was published in The Best American Poetry anthology under the pseudonym Yi-Fen Chou SCRIBNER/2015

Vanguard | OCTOBER 6, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

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OFFICERS AMONG US OFFICERS

LEFT TO RIGHT: Campus Public Safety Officer Chris Fischer, CPSO Chief Phil Zerzan and Peter Ward of Campus Police.

COLLEEN LEARY, JAIME DUNKLE, TURNER LOBEY

The road to introducing police officers on campus has been a long and complicated one. In 2008, former Vice President for Finance and Administration Monica Rimai formed a committee to address the needs of campus safety at PSU. Possible solutions included upgrading the status of campus law enforcement to a police force. In April 2013, PSU President Wim Wiewel outlined plans for a Task Force on Campus Public Safety, led by Vice President Jackie Balzer. Wiewel commented on the need to explore campus safety options. “An issue has developed concerning whether or not PSU’s Campus Public Safety Office should become a fully sworn police department, to better deter and respond to crime,” he said. The Task Force included university administrators, faculty, and students, and released its final report in November 2013, recommending “PSU should explore ways to ensure access to sworn officers who are appropriately trained in campus policing and available on-site to the PSU campus community.” When the PSU Board of Trustees first convened in September of last year, it announced plans to investigate the hiring of sworn police of-

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ficers. University representatives met with students and organizations across campus and hosted a public forum on campus safety to collect input from students, staff and faculty. The Board of Trustees voted 11–2 to approve the resolution to turn CPSO into a bifurcated entity with both campus public safety officers and fully-fledged police officers in December 2014. While the administration has publicly called for student involvement throughout the process, some students feel their voices have not been heard. Members of the PSU Student Union—a non-hierarchal union of students that does not receive funding from the university—said they’ve encountered more student opposition to armed officers than is reflected by the administration. Olivia Pace, a sophomore at PSU involved with PSUSU, criticized the efficacy of the administration’s outreach to students and cited a lack of transparency throughout the process. “[I] heard about this from students who were scared way before I ever heard from anywhere in the administration,” Pace said. “In fact, I don’t think I ever would have heard a single thing from the administration if I had not joined PSUSU, and if I had not been to [BOT] meetings and heard about it.”

BROADVIEW & NATIONAL PERSPECTIVE A 2015 report from the Bureau of Justice Statistics shows that PSU’s transition is on par with other universities. The BJS surveyed campus law enforcement agencies across the country during the 2011–2012 academic year, focusing on four-year colleges and universities enrolling 2,500 or more students. The surveys revealed that nearly 75 percent of campuses employed armed officers, while 92 percent of campuses used sworn police officers. 94 percent of sworn campus police officers were authorized to carry a sidearm, while nearly 90 percent had arrest and patrol jurisdictions that extended past the borders of the campus. Of the participating schools, 94 percent also arm their officers with pepper spray, 93 percent with batons, and 40 percent carry conducted energy devices. These numbers are significantly lower at schools that hire private security guards. The report also shows an increase in the percentage of campuses employing sworn police officers. Between the 2004–5 and 2011–2012 academic years, the percentage of campuses increased from 75 to 77. The percentage of armed officers rose from 68 to 75. At a student media press conference in March, Presi-

Vanguard | OCTOBER 6, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

dent Wiewel said, “[T]he Department of Justice came out with a report where they tallied what other universities do in this regard,” Wiewel said. “I found out that there are 256 public universities with more than 10,000 students, and only 4 percent of those do not have a sworn police force. That’s 10 universities.” “And of the 100 largest universities—public and private—that’s universities with 25,000 students, so we’re in the 100 largest—it’s also only 4 [universities] that don’t have sworn police forces. “The four are [PSU], NYU and Columbia in New York,

which both have a huge [NYPD] presence, and DePaul in Chicago, and they use a huge Chicago police presence as well. We are an extreme outlier. “I know a lot of people didn’t like it, and I didn’t like the idea until about a year and a half or so ago, either,” he continued. “But it made me feel even more—we don’t like this, but it’s the right thing to do. The [alternative] is irresponsible.”

IMPLEMENTATION ADVISORY COMMITTEE After the BOT approval to

JAIME DUNKLE/PSU VANGUARD

implement a sworn police force, an Implementation Advisory Committee formed to research and draft plans and policy for this transformation the PSU’s Campus Safety Office. The IAC included 16 members, representing areas such as PSU resource centers, AAUP, SEIU, various university department faculty, professors, and three students from ASPSU. A major outcome of the IAC’s work is the establishment of the Campus Public Safety Oversight Committee, which is designed to serve as a body that maintains and ensures student and community involvement, while hold-

LEFT TO RIGHT: PSU Student Union members Scout Zabel, Olivia Pace and Will Peterson discuss their objections to the administrative process that led to the implementation of armed, sworn officers. JEOFFRY RAY/PSU VANGUARD


AMONG OFFICERS US OFFICERS AMONG USAMONG OFFICERS US ing CPSO accountable to the people and campus it serves. Ukiah Hawkins, an ASPSU representative on the IAC, served as a member of the IAC’s oversight topic team. In an interview with the Vanguard on May, he described the intended function of the CPS Oversight Committee. “The oversight committee will be a self-perpetuating body that will hopefully last ad infinitum as long as there are students on campus who need have a place to have their voice represented the oversight committee will exist,” Hawkins said. Hawkins emphasized the need for an outlet for student voices on campus safety. “Through the actions of this committee and the future actions of the oversight committee we really want to ensure students have a voice in their safety and security,” he continued. “I feel like we did the best we could with the resources we had available,” Hawkins said. “I feel like the product we have is definitely going to benefit the student body if they want to be involved.” Other chief topics in the recommendations include training tactics, conflict resolution, community involvement policy and more. In June 2015, the IAC presented its report and recommendations to the Board of Trustees special committee on Campus Public Safety. On June 11, The full Board of Trustees voted in favor of implementation in a 9–3 vote. One of the first public actions from 2015-16 ASPSU President and Vice President Dana Ghazi and David Martinez after they were elected in May was to ask the BOT to delay the vote on implementation recommendations. The Board opted to move forward with its approval. Ghazi and David released a statement in response to the vote. “[W]hile we always knew it would be a difficult case to make in such a short timeframe, we feel strongly that it was an effort worth taking in light of the many concerns we heard from students,” they said. The university is accepting applications for members of its first oversight committee until October 15.

THE CHIEF’S PERSPECTIVE Phillip Zerzan, chief of CPSO at PSU, said his priority is to provide law enforcement services to the campus community. “And that means treating people that are in need with compassion and care,” Zerzan said. “Helping students that are in crisis get the assistance that they need, all they way up to having the ability to interrupt a shooter that’s inflicting death or serious physical injury, in an effective and timely manner.” Community trust is imperative when providing these broad services, according to Zerzan. He also said ensuring an effective response in times of possible life-danger is just as crucial. Zerzan encourages those who do not feel safer with armed officers policing the PSU campus to initiate dialogue with him. “That narrative is not consistent with the folks we have on campus and the vision that the entire university community has on what they want campus law enforcement to look like, and [those with concerns] certainly had the opportunity to [add] input,” Zerzan said. Although PSUSU and CPSO disagree on whether police need guns on campus, Zerzan said they still share a common goal. “I think we agree that everybody wants to provide police services to the campus that are responsive to the campus, under the control of the campus, and reflect our values,” Zerzan said. Zerzan continues to meet with PSUSU. He said this is the third generation of PSUSU that he’s actively engaged in conversation. “For some people, it might seem like there’s not this engagement,” Zerzan said. “And, like I told them, I don’t really like the difficult conversations, but I need and want to have them.”

PERSPECTIVE FROM OFFICERS After retiring from the Portland Police Bureau, where he had served for 25 years, Sergeant Joseph Schilling came to PSU. Schilling was in part motivated by the opportunity to help move the organization

to a police agency. “Unless there’s a new city, you don’t have a new police agency,” Schilling said. “And more often than not, new cities usually are incorporated into larger agencies that are there, so it’s a unique opportunity to develop a new agency. And that was the biggest part of the draw that brought me here.” Schilling became a sworn police officer on July 1, along with three other officers. He said his day-to-day job hasn’t changed. “We’re better equipped to handle the same things that we handled before,” Schilling said. “And by equipped I don’t mean a gun. I mean better equipped in the training and experience and the authority.” Officers are not called for different reasons than before the deputization, according to Schilling. “Our scope of authority in what we’re responsible for, as far as the physical authority on campus, hasn’t increased,” Schilling said. “We’re not going out and branching outside the district of the university doing police work. We’re just here for the university.” A notable difference is that CPSO’s police officers are now authorized to carry firearms. Regardless of the general focus on firearms, Schilling said that’s not what police work is about. “It’s about the training and the richness of the experience and interaction with other police officers that increases the community policing aspect; that increases the safety of the college and the campus and the students,” Schilling said. “That’s what it’s really about. The firearm is just another tool, or a Taser, or a nightstick, or pepper spray, or conflict resolution and deescalation techniques. Those all tools that are the big picture of doing police work.” Schilling said he is more at ease knowing officers have a force option when interacting with criminals on campus. He said the safety of officers and the community are both important. Officers can respond easier and faster to a theoretical school shooter or deadly force situation, instead of waiting for the Portland Police Bureau to arrive, Schilling said. Peter Ward, originally from

the U.K., served as a police officer in Tigard and Portland before becoming a campus safety officer at PSU in October 2012. He is now a sworn PSU police officer. He said the majority of his work is community engagement. “This is a real opportunity...for a new styling of policing; a neighborhood policing,” Ward said. Officers at PSU are not seen separate from the community, according to Ward. People are not their occupations, he said. “When I am Peter, it just happens to be a police officer,” Ward said. “The majority of these people build a personal relationship with everybody in the campus university district, which is what I do. I’m here to build personal relationships with people.” Ward recognizes the concerns about arming campus officers, but he said not all officers are going out of their way to use lethal force. “Not all use of lethal force is under discussion, and I am aware that there are recent events where [it] has been,” Ward said. “The only thing I would say is treat me as an individual. Now, if I give you cause to believe that I am overstepping my authorities as a police officer, fine. But if I don’t give you cause, is it not unfair to paint me as somebody who is going to use that kind of unlawful, and in those cases where it has been unlawful, [violent] or lethal force? Just because

somebody else has done it?”

#DISARMPSU In June, PSUSU hosted a “Demilitarization meeting” on campus, which led to the development of #DisarmPSU, a movement which is connected to but distinct from PSUSU. “[W]e know that guns don’t cure violence. Statistically, it doesn’t decrease the chances of being hurt in a school shooting setting,” Pace said. “It actually increases our chances of experiencing undeserved violence from police officers.” “Our goal is to...remove their weapons and create what we feel is a proper and innovative way of running campus and keeping our campus safe,” she continued. “And we feel that students should make decisions about our safety. And we don’t feel safe in the way that we’re being protected.” Members of the #DisarmPSU movement interrupted President Wiewel during the incoming freshmen convocation on September 21. They held up signs that read “Police State University” and “Disarm PSU.” Pace said there has been a divided response to the interruption. Many students responded with gratitude, while others said they felt targeted and disrespected as a result of #DisarmPSU’s actions. Scout Zabel, another member of PSUSU, said students

who felt disrespected may not know the history of implementation or PSUSU’s involvement. “A lot of them don’t realize that we have been working within the system for a very long time to not make this happen,” Zabel said. “We’ve been filling out the surveys. We’ve been speaking at public comment…But all the information they have is the administration telling them they tried to outreach— which in some way they did. But they didn’t use the information they collected, which was overwhelmingly that students didn’t want this.” Pace and Zabel both expressed faith in students ability to overturn the university’s decision, especially in the wake of movements such as Black Lives Matter. “I think we as students have the capacity to create resources for the students who’ve been criminalized in this process,” Pace said. “I think if they were to be disarmed it would realistic for us to just kind of start over ... for the students.”

THE PROCESS CONTINUES The implementation of PSU’s new campus safety structure will take several years. The university currently employs four active sworn police officers, in addition to its unarmed public safety officers. Some officers are currently in training to become sworn and deputized. Over the next three years, PSU will continue its transition. The full manifestation of the new public safety policy will result in 12 armed officers, 10 unarmed security officers and one police detective.

JAIME DUNKLE/PSU VANGUARD

Vanguard | OCTOBER 6, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

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ARTS & CULTURE

OUTRIGGER CANOE PROJECTS GIVES

TO WATCH A TRADITIONAL MARSHALLESE CANOE BUILD AISLINN RENNISON

the Native American Student and Community Center held an opening ceremony for the Outrigger Canoe Project, which will take place On Sept. 24 for the duration of fall term. The project welcomes a traditional Marshall Island canoe builder, Tiem Clement, to Portland State to carve a canoe in the Oak Savanna. The seaworthy 25- to 30foot canoe will be hand-built from local sequoia logs, with sails hand-sewn from coconut fiber. Students, faculty and members of the community are invited to watch the process of creating a traditional canoe (for the first time in Oregon) by one of the last Marshallese master canoe-builders. The opening ceremony featured traditional Marshallese dancing, handcrafts and food. The ceremony invited everyone to learn more about the Marshallese culture and people through a series of speakers and displays throughout the NASCC.

A workshop will be held Oct. 20, from 12 to 2 p.m., at the NASCC. Anyone interested in making traditional handcrafts is welcome to join. There will be another opportunity to learn more about the culture on Nov. 18 from 12 to 2 p.m. The NASCC is hosting an intertribal canoe cultures presentation. Both events are free of charge and will serve Marshallese food. Clement has all of fall quarter to complete the project; however NASCC Program Coordinator Melissa Bennett believes it might be finished earlier. “We are hoping it will be finished before Thanksgiving break,” Bennett said. “But he has all of fall quarter to finish it.” Although the build site will be fenced in, there will be slits through the fence for viewers to see Clement work. “The location of the site is in the heart of campus,” said Sarah Kenney, executive administrative coordinator for planning and construction at PSU. “There is a lot of traffic

THE MARSHALLESE CANOE is being built on the centrally-located Oak Savanna throughout Fall Term.

10

that goes back and forth so a lot of people will get to see it.” It took more than the NASCC to make this project happen. Kianna Angelo, executive director of Living Islands, a nonprofit group dedicated to the education and cultural understanding of the Marshallese people, came to Bennett and asked her if PSU would be interested in a project like this. Of course, such a special opportunity could not be turned away. Angelo found Clement through an interesting coincidence. She was adopted as a young child and recently started to trace her origins back to the islands. When she wanted to start this project, she found Clement, who now lives in Washington. Though she didn’t know it at the time, they were both born on the same Marshall Island. Clement is one of three master canoe-builders left in the world. “I think they were originally looking for someone to

MILES SANGUINETTI/PSU VANGUARD

Vanguard | OCTOBER 6, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

come over [from the Marshall Islands] and then they found this guy,” said Neil Berl, president of the board for Living Islands. “And he is the king of them all, he’s the man.” Although Living Islands and PSU’s NASCC are the main founders of the Outrigger Canoe Project, many other clubs and organizations are also involved. “It’s become this collaboration between the Native Center [NASCC], Living Islands, the Student Sustainability Center, Student Activities and Leadership Programs and Pacific Islander Club,” Bennett said. “Lots of people on campus are involved, it is really fun.” Living Islands and the NASCC are focused on getting as many students involved as possible. The purpose of building the canoe in a public space is to create community awareness about the Marshall Islands, its culture and its people. Students can even help with the build by

contacting Living Islands via their website. “The outrigger canoe that we will build over the coming weeks is much more than just a boat,” Angelo said. “It represents a culture that is in danger of extinction and a people who are struggling to survive in our modern role.” Erick Pedro, Clement’s nephew, explained how some of the Marshallese culture has already faded with modern adjustments. For example, traditionally on the Marshall Islands, building a canoe would involve a much more spiritual process. A chief would have to ask a master builder to carve a canoe and there would be a formal ceremony of cutting down the trees and gathering materials. “You can still feel the spiritual connection with doing something that you know your ancestors did,” Pedro said. “But the formal things you had to go through, that doesn’t happen anymore. So,

building a canoe here, this is what we are doing to commemorate it. But traditionally, you can’t just go and build a canoe.” Although traditional ways may have been altered over the years to fit modern life, members at PSU are happy that the result means they get to be a part of an exclusive build. “It’s pretty exciting that it gets to start here at PSU,” Bennett said. “We are really lucky.” PSU President Wim Wiewel is also grateful that the university was asked to participate in such an event. “I just love the creativity of doing something like this,” Wiewel said. “And bringing not just part of a culture for an evening or day, but to have something as a real project, that produces something, and that will give many people an opportunity to be exposed and to learn and to find out more about a part of the world that many of us only know a tiny little bit about.”


ARTS & CULTURE

PSU A SPECIAL OPPORTUNITY TO INTRODUCE STUDENTS TO MARSHALLESE CULTURE MILES SANGUINETTI

The Outrigger Canoe Project is much more than building a water vessel. The project will allow the community to learn more about the Marshall Islands and its culture.

More than just a canoe Kanani Porotesano, the PSU campus visit program coordinator, said this project is ultimately about more than just canoe-building. Clement, the award-winning Marshallese outrigger canoe builder who will carve out the craft, wants to teach students about the Marshallese people and their culture, Porotesano explained. “One of his ideas behind it is that he didn’t just want to come to campus or come to a

location and just have people watch him carve out a canoe. He wanted it to really be a learning process for people,” Porotesano said. The project represented an important opportunity to give visibility to both Marshallese students as well as the greater Marshallese community in Portland. Porotesano explained that events like PSU’s annual luau and services like Pacific Islander-run food carts give Portlanders only a glimpse into Pacific Islander culture. “There’s so much more to the Pacific Islands than just kind of the food and dancing,” Porotesano said. “That’s definitely a huge piece, but this is going to be

able to teach people about a different aspect of it.”

Giving visibility to the Marshallese people Kianna Juda Angelo is the founder and executive director of Living Islands, the nonprofit partnering with collaborators on campus to organize the Outrigger Canoe Project. While growing up in Vancouver as a Marshallese-American adoptee, information on her people was hard to come by, she explained. Living Islands was inspired by her desire to learn more about her heritage and to provide the people of the Marshall Islands with the

same opportunities that she had growing up in America. “That’s where Living Islands kind of developed into ‘Well, how do you create opportunity?’” Angelo said. “That’s through education. Start there.” She chose to bring the outrigger project to Portland because she felt that it was something that Portlanders would appreciate, considering their enthusiasm for water and the outdoors. “We knew that since we’re a new organization— we’re about 2 1/2 years old—we had to do something to introduce our people. It will be doing two things; it will introduce the people, but it will also introduce Living Islands as well,” Angelo said.

The outrigger canoe embodies several traditional trades in Marshallese culture, something that will give students a variety of ways to contribute to its construction. “Not just digging and carving with Tiem, but there’s also going to be weaving classes,” Angelo said. “It’s important to make the rope, so we’re weaving the rope and we would love to show people how to do it.” The outrigger is a strong representation of Marshallese culture because each of its components represents something significant to the Marshallese people that built it, explained Jesper Angelo, the technical director of Living Islands and Kianna’s husband.

“If you want to introduce Marshallese culture to a place like Oregon, like Kianna was saying, a boat is a really obvious choice,” Jasper Angelo said. The art of boat-crafting ties together many different cultures, including both Oregon’s contemporary maritime culture and the traditions of Native American tribes at places like PSU’s NASCC. The location of the Outrigger Canoe Project should give it a lot of visibility to students— something Angelo hopes will increase participation. “What better place to build an outrigger than Portland?” Angelo said. “It doesn’t seem unnatural—you go anywhere in the world and say, ‘I want to build a Marshallese outrigger,’ it’s a special project.”

ILLUSTRATIONS BY TERRA DEHART

Vanguard | OCTOBER 6, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

11


ETC

JOHN PINNEY

EVENT CALENDAR

Tues., Oct 6 SMUDGE CEREMONY

Wed., Oct. 7

come Week. Lunch is provided.

AFRICAN-AMERICAN GATHERING

4–5:30 P.M. LA CASA LATINA STUDENT CENTER, SMSU 229

9 AM– 10 AM NATIVE AMERICAN CENTER (TO THE RIGHT OF THE BROADWAY DORMS) FREE

4–5:30 P.M. FREE NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENT AND COMMUNITY CENTER

For those of you who’ve never experienced a smudging ceremony, the event is all about starting a new week and a new year cleansed of the past. A great time of reflection, renewal and hope, don’t miss this part of Multicultural Welcome Week.

This casual meet and greet for African-American or black students, faculty and staff is a great way to connect or network with a group you might identify with and enjoy being a part of.

IDENTITY LUNCH (MULTIRACIAL/ MULTIETHNIC)

12–1 P.M. SMSU 228 FREE

Part of the Multicultural Welcome Week, this lunch will have a screening of the short documentary “What Are You?” by Portland State alumna Sarah Donaldson. Provided lunch and discussion with multiracial individuals of Portland will be the follow-up.

MULTICULTURAL STUDENT ORG MEET-UP

3–5 P.M. SMSU 228 FREE

FRENCH’S DOME CLIMBING

5–6 P.M. OUTDOOR REC FEE: $35 (MEMBER), $70 (NON-MEMBER) I’m remembering to put the registration day in for this one. The climbing itself doesn’t happen until Saturday, but if you want to climb the Dome near Mount Hood, every skill level will find something to do. To make sure you don’t have a bad time, you have to have paid and made this registration meeting.

Thurs., Oct. 8 MENA FAIR

12–1:30 P.M. FREE SMSU 228

If it’s convenience you need or ques- MENA stands for Middle East/ tions you have, this is a great place North Africa, and this student and time for you to learn about all the -involvement fair is for those options of cultural student groups at who identify with these cultural PSU. Get inspired to join an existing groups and wish to know about one or see if there’s a new student resources, involvement, engagegroup missing on campus that repre- ment and community. This is sents you and your personal journey. part of the Multicultural Wel-

LATINO/A/@ MEET FREE AND GREET

If you feel at home expressing your cultural identity as one of the above, then this casual meet and greet with refreshments is a great way for you to experience the vibrancy of culture here at PSU. Get connected, get engaged, enhance your network and change the world.

TALES FROM THE FORGOTTEN KINGDOM FREE 8:30 P.M. LH RECITAL HALL (75)

History marches on around us unheeded, and sometimes the only connection to the past is through music and story. Here, the Judaic Studies program welcomes the Guy Mendilow Ensemble as they enrapture the audience to times and places gone by.

ROPE

7:30 P.M. THE VENETIAN THEATRE FEE: $20–30, $16 FOR PREVIEW NIGHT The Venetian Theatre in Hillsboro is performing the play that inspired the classic Hitchcock thriller that, if censors had not interfered, would have most certainly been one of the most classic (and nearly erotic) queer thrillers out there. This story of two male friends who become

killers may not be the most wellknown of the Hitchcock works, but it’s definitely not something to miss.

Fri., Oct. 9 APPLES EVERYWHERE!

10 A.M.–5 P.M. PORTLAND NURSERY ON STARK

Do you like apples or pears? Do you like cider? Do you need a family event with live music to attend? Are you a fall person? Well, if you answered yes to any or all of these questions, this is probably the event for you.

FORKTOWN TOURS: DIVISION STREET 2–5 P.M. STARTS AT SEN YAI NOODLE HOUSE FEE: $79

Another of the guided food tours of Portland, this one concentrates on Division Street in Southeast, where you will find such delicacies as the food cart that sells authentic Oaxacan food to the urban winery.

ROY ROGERS; THE DELTA RHYTHM KINGS

8 P.M. ALADDIN THEATER FEE: $25

CORN MAIZE SAUVIE ISLAND FEE: $7

It’s really not much of a surprise to anyone that I enjoy fall. The events at Sauvie Island may be some of the most kid-friendly, but they’re also some of my more traditional favorites. A few tips from your favorite eventscalendar guy: 1. Expect traffic. Once you get across the bridge, you’re going to find a line. Be one with the line. Bring music and friends to laugh with, perhaps some tortilla chips and Gatorade. 2. There are two corn mazes right near each other. One of them, though, is more of a petting zoo and pumpkin-patch scenario with a corn background, maybe a spooky hay thing happening instead of being a true maze.

Vanguard | OCTOBER 6, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

BEAUTY IS EMBARRASSING

4:30 P.M. WHITSELL AUDITORIUM FEE: $9

True ’90s kids will remember Pee Wee’s Playhouse as the iconic force it was. We didn’t know why it was so subversive or camp. We just knew that we were drawn to it like a deep secret within our hearts. One of the master artists of the Playhouse and beyond, Wayne White is profiled not just for his ’80s and ’90s iconography (Peter Gabriel videos among his credits) but also for his current projects and artistic struggles.

PORTLAND CELTIC FAIRE

10 A.M.–5 P.M. MAGNESS TREE FARM (SHERWOOD) FEE: $10 If you’re big on Renaissance faires, this ye olde centralizedto-the-Celts faire will probably be the highlight of your weekend. Though Sherwood’s a bit of a jog, the whole thing could feel like a bit of a fantasy. Imagine all the food and the kilts, corsets, braided hair and unintentional references to the vampire Angel.

I don’t know anything about slide guitarists, but I know that people who like guitars and some fellow KPSU DJs might be excited about this one.

FEATURED EVENT

12

FREE

Sat., Oct. 10

NW CIDERFEST

11 A.M.–8 P.M. PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE FEE: $25 (GENERAL), $50 (VIP) 21+ Over 30 ciders from local vendors and hard-to-find ciders will be on hand. If cider is your thing, this is the place to be! Hosted by the Muscular Dystrophy Association.

Sun., Oct. 11 RACES FOR THE RESCUES PORTLAND INTERNATIONAL RACEWAY FEE: $25–$40 This is a dog-friendly charity race. You heard that correctly. There will be so many wagging tails and doggie grins and animals to pat that you might just become exhausted by all the cuteness. Except for the Kid’s Dash, dogs are encouraged to run with their humans in either the 5K or 10K. A one-mile dog walk or half-mile Kid’s Dash is also available.

GUIDE: FREE

21+

PSU FREE OPEN TO PUBLIC 21 & OVER

Honestly, even I have a hard time remembering which is which. If you get stuck at the “wrong” one, the amount of cider they have can make up for the slight detour. And you probably will get detoured. 3. There will be mud. Rainy season is upon us, so always remember to bring a change of shoes/boots with you. There will be mud. It bears repeating. Your tires will be muddy. Your loved ones will be muddy. The pumpkins they weigh in the pumpkin patch will be muddy. It’s nature. There is mud. There is no hope for your jeans. 4. In the maze, be aware that the little bridges you cross over and look up over the maze at are actually helping you solve it. Also, the ground that’s more well-trodden and has more mud is probably the correct way. 5. While in the maze, solve the pun-tastic brain teasers. They always give me a laugh, but that’s probably because I love classic dad humor. 6. Parking is free. Everything else will cost ya.


ETC

HOROSCOPES

For the week of 10/4

JOHN PINNEY

that is not candy is probably a magically cursed item Riddles and brainteasers and should be avoided. are a great way to give your imagination and logic a stretch this week. Leo (July 23—August 22) Attics are the type of places where treasures are buried Taurus (April 20—May 20) A lot of people share your or where spooky spirits fear of clowns and it’s not haunt the living. Never go hard to see why. There’s into an attic and risk findsomething very menacing ing out which you have is about giant feet and bright what I’m saying here. red noses.

Aries (March 21—April 19)

Gemini (May 21—June 20)

If you are the child of an archaelogist, chances are that when you go on vacation, even away from your parents, you tend to dig up more adventure than others.

A lot of people are intrigued by the supernatural, but most people don’t have the power to understand what they’d see or meet in the supernatural realm. You’re one of those people and it’s okay.

Cancer (June 21—July 22)

Libra (Sept. 23— Oct. 22)

Remember that Halloween is coming up and if you’re taking anyone trick or treating that anything

SUDOKU 1 4

3 6 2 1 9

3 9 7 4 5 2

5 4 2 3

1 4 7 3

3 7 6 2

4 3 9

Š Puzzles provided by sudokusolver.com

7

The quest for eternal youth has lead many a person through odd trials and exercise regi-

CROSSWORD

Virgo (Aug. 23—Sept. 22)

Create and solve your Sudoku puzzles for FRE E.

Play Sudoku and win prize

s at:

prizesudoku.com

The Sudoku Source of

“Portland State Vanguard�.

A Wayward maid’s about to show respect (6) B They train British thatchers (8) C Pass, say, obtained in Latin and English here? (7) D Owner of several sides to make top of Division One cared madly about Hearts (12) E More than one writer has first attempts put out (9) F Digitally controlled part of recorder (10) G Vine producer has no right to create imaginary commodity (8) H Warm greeting by monarch enjoying more of Erica’s presence (8) I Doctor takes on 10 cases, sadly without a prayer (12) J Project requires electronic fibre (4) K State, one without a river? Yes and no (6) L Conceals criminality of capital city ruled by shysters, chiefly (8) M He acquires fine

ments and I really don’t get it. Death is pretty cool. He goes by Bill Door and is frequently amused by cats.

Scorpio (Oct. 23—Nov. 21)

Do not come to the conclusion that when your friends get sick that vampires are at work. It was probably that new fish taco cart that someone insisted on trying.

the spell of your character. Hoarding gold because you think you’re a leprechaun may mean you need psychiatriac care instead of a stage.

Aquarius (Jan. 20—Feb. 18)

Basements are nearly as bad as attics, but only if there are items there that you can’t explain the existence of or if a family has mysteriously foisted upon you. Tread with caution.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22—Dec. 21) You may have made a new friend this week, but this friend is not all they appear to be. This friend may be a Renfield type under the hyponosis of an evil wizard or vampire.

Pisces (Feb. 20—March 19)

Truth is a tricky thing, Pisces. Every story has at least two sides, and sometimes neither of them is a great option.

Capricorn (Dec. 22—Jan. 19)

If method acting is one of your things, don’t let yourself fall too under

COURTESY OF ALBERICHCROSSWORDS.COM

porcelain (British) that can be put in the dishwasher (10); We hear Scotsman’s needing a bit of Irish skirt (4) N Gent’s ready to broadcast record in New York – this deals with his nerves? (14) O Being given holy orders, could be nominated Rector (10) P Knight reveals boy’s hurting? (7) Q Tom’s heard of African shrubs (4) R Midshipman’s jacket (6); Just left home immediately? (5,4) S Thorny problem: is one to go on without children? (7) T And here he is giving lecture about Dickens! (4,2,3,5) U By general consent a European flier has time off (3,4) V Check pins knight in opening (4) W Dai pines after Welsh valley (4) X Wood-cutting axes old doctor packed in car

(10) Y Philosophic principle from region of Chinese river? (4) Z Figure of speech involving God detailed by German scholar (6)

Vanguard | OCTOBER 6, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

13


INTERNATIONAL

NATIVE RESISTANCE TO CANADIAN PIPELINE COMMENTARY BY ROBERT EVANS

Like the U.S., Canada has a long, sordid history of settler-colonialism. Exploitation of indigenous nations continues today as nearly a dozen different energy corporations attempt to build pipelines through unceded Wet’suwet’en territory in central British Columbia. In the U.S., when energy corporations want, for example, to build a coal mine on sacred Indian lands, the legal arm of a corporation points to treaties made in an era when state-sponsored genocide of indigenous communities was an accepted part of America’s Manifest Destiny. The prob-

lem with First Nations’ territories in British Columbia is that no treaties were ever signed to cede indigenous lands to the British or Canadian governments. Essentially, Great Britain claimed the territory without even recognizing that there were indigenous nations already living there. This is problematic in modern societies as land disputes are now settled in court instead of by genocide. Since the indigenous nations have a claim to the land dating back around 10 millennia, the First Nations’ right to the land should be easily upheld by the courts; however, the Cana-

dian Supreme Court has not made a significant, landmark decision concerning unceded aboriginal land. Instead, the Canadian Supreme Court declined to make a definitive decision concerning aboriginal title to ancestral homelands in the Delgamuukw v. British Columbia decision of 1997 [at paragraph 74 of the Court’s decision]. This ruling did not define the legal status of unceded native lands but did recognize the authority of hereditary chiefs over their nations. Caught in legal limbo, the Unist’ot’en clan has been fending off trespasses by energy corporations for years

now. There are around a dozen companies intending to build pipelines to the Pacific Ocean for the purpose of exporting highly toxic oil from the Alberta oil sands and natural gas from fracking fields near the Arctic Circle. Three corporations in particular, Chevron, TransCanada (think Keystone XL) and Enbridge, have all been aggressively pursuing measures to prepare for pipeline construction, such as sending work crews to the territory, clearing trees and repeatedly trespassing by helicopter. In response, the Unist’ot’en

clan has repeatedly threatened to confiscate the work materials of interloping work crews, but the corporations are unrelenting. While it is unsurprising that wealthy energy corporations would try to exploit a disenfranchised nation of indigenous peoples, perhaps the most uplifting aspect of this situation is that the Unist’ot’en seem to be winning, if only temporarily. Unfortunately, this may be because of the recent wane in global oil prices and the fact that oil can also be transported across the continent by train, al-

though some of the older oil cars tend to explode from time to time. Although hard to admit, the U.S., Great Britain and Canada have all committed historic crimes against the indigenous nations of North America and still actively facilitate the exploitation and destruction of native communities. As educated students, imbued with knowledge about the true nature of Manifest Destiny, we must make our voices heard and say that indigenous nations have the right to govern their ancestral homelands as their traditions see fit.

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Vanguard | OCTOBER 6, 2015 | psuvanguard.com


INTERNATIONAL

RUSSIAN SANCTIONS COMMENTARY BY SEBASTIAN RICHARDSON

In order to ensure that Russia will abide by the agreements made during February’s Minsk Ceasefire Agreement, the European Union decided to extend economic sanctions against Russia until the end of January 2016, EU spokeswoman Maja Kocijancic tweeted, according to BBC. The agreement was made in order to try and re-establish control within eastern Ukraine and stop the conflicts within the Donbass region, which have been going on since March 2014. A previous cease-fire was violated five days after its signing on September 5, 2014, by proRussian rebels fighting against the Ukrainian government. While skirmishes have continued since February, on Sept. 1 both the Donbass rebels and the Ukrainian government agreed to try and end the shelling in order to coincide with the new academic year, according to Deutsche Welle. This month has seen some of the lowest levels of conflict since the outbreak of the war last year. The conditions of the cease-fire agreement include an immediate cease-fire on both sides, withdrawing of heavy weapons, establishing a dialogue on holding local

elections, amnesty and pardon for those involved in the conflict, release of hostages and illegally detained people, full restoration of Ukrainian control within its borders, a withdrawal of all foreign troops and weaponry, and adoption of a new constitution in the Ukraine, according to BBC. While there is hope that the Minsk agreement will last, the possibility of continued economic sanctions may still be a reality even after January. The sanctions themselves are a complicated mix of asset freezes and travel bans against influential business firms, banks and wealthy senior officials linked to the conflict. Oil firms Roseneft, Transneft, Gazprom Neft, and Russian state banks are some of the primary companies the sanction will target, according to BBC. Individuals who have been targeted by the sanctions include Gennady Timchenko, an owner of an investment firm, and Igor Sechin, a former intelligence officer and chairman of the oil firm Rosnest. Targets of these international sanctions are considered “materially or financially supporting actions undermining or threatening

Ukraine’s sovereignty, territorial integrity and independence,” according to BBC. Despite what is often painted as an economic war against Russia, President Vladimir Putin is not affected by the sanctions. This has not stopped him from retaliating with his own set of sanctions against agriculture exports from the EU. The sanctions, while adjusting the rhetoric against Putin, have done nothing but cause more economic strife within Europe and have hurt those who reside peacefully within their nation’s borders. Other European countries have been fairly critical of the sanctions against Russia and outright reluctant to increase them due to an economic dependency on Russia.

EU trade with Russia totals nearly $302 billion, which dwarfs that of U.S.-Russian trade. Germany’s exports to Russia totaled $51 billion during 2013 and their profits were the highest within the EU. Germany has also received more than 30 percent of its oil and gas from Russia. The Prime Minster of Bulgaria, Boyko Borissov, was very outspoken about the negative affects the sanctions had on his country due to the fact exports to Russia were down 22 percent, according to Daily Mail. Czech President Milos Zeman also voiced opposition to the sanctions against Russia, according to Prague Post. Greece and Hungary have also expressed concerns re-

UKRAINIAN HEAVY WEAPONRY withdraws in Eastern Ukraine in March 2015.

garding the sanctions, especially since the EU voted to extend them to January. By the end of March, the number of Russians living beneath the poverty line grew to nearly 23 million, which is 3 million more than last year, according to CNN. Sanctions, oil prices and the domestic recession have inflated the value of the ruble, causing prices to grow at an annual rate of 16 percent in the first quarter of 2015, according to CNN. This is also partnered with an annual fall in wages: 14 percent in May and 7 percent in June. One is left to wonder whether or not such attacks on a nation’s ability to feed and clothe itself are worth the trouble they cause?

A study conducted by Gary Hufbauer, Jeffrey Schott and Kimberly Ann Elliot reviewed 115 cases between 1914 and 1990 and concluded that only 34 percent of sanctions accomplished their goal, as reported Business Insider. Another study by Robert A. Pape argued that sanctions were only effective 5 percent of the time, rather than 34 percent, as reported by Business Insider. I myself just spent two months in Russia and saw how everyday people were personally affected by the sanctions. It seems that these sanctions are no longer working as a political leverage, but are a direct attack on the human rights of the citizens within the country.

COURTESY OF THE ORGANIZATION FOR SECURITY AND COOPERATION IN EUROPE THROUGH CREATIVE COMMONS

Vanguard | OCTOBER 6, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

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“You have to be a person that the community will come to, that they trust, and will come to because they need help. And we also have to be able to provide an effective response when people’s lives are in danger. We have to be able to do all of it.” —CPSO Chief Phillip Zerzan


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