Portland State Vanguard

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DAVE FURMAN studied Japanese during his undergrad, but he always knew he was interested in teaching. After living and teaching abroad, he made his way to Pacific University for a one-year master of arts in teaching degree. He’s taught English literature and led student activities — and he just took his first job as an assistant principal.

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NEWS

SEIU NARROWLY AVOIDS STRIKE LISA DUNN

Service Employees International Union, a labor union representing over 1 million employees throughout the U.S. and Canada, negotiated the university employee contract this summer for roughly 5,000 Oregon University System employees—including about 700 employees at Portland State—and only narrowly avoided a strike.

Marc Nisenfeld, the president of the PSU chapter— SEIU Local 503—and the bargaining chair, said the dynamics at the bargaining table had been disrespectful at first, given the role SEIU members play in higher education.

“Our members have sacrificed for years in the economic downturn,” he said.

“We took furloughs, pay cuts, pay freezes, and now it’s time to make up some of that ground—especially with some of the additional money higher [education] has gotten, largely because of our lobbying efforts to get them that extra money. We didn’t do it alone. We had lots of coalition partners—OSA, for one, AFT, AAUP...and the universities themselves. But we got the extra money.”

SEIU represents the employees who run the dayto-day operations of the university: everyone from

IT professionals to childcare professionals at Helen Gordon to electricians.

Nisenfeld said SEIU asked for an increase in the Cost of Living Adjustment and higher wages, as many of the employees represented by SEIU make less than $15 per hour.

Management, however, initially denied SEIU’s asks and, in addition to saying no, wanted to take away several job protections already established in the current SEIU contract, including bumping rights—which protect senior employees from layoffs.

Management also wanted to double the amount members would pay for their

health insurance, according to Nisenfeld.

SEIU Local 503 held several events this summer in order to publicize negotiations, including a listening session with Majority Leader Jennifer Williamson and a rally in the Urban Plaza.

At the rally, Pam Miller, a professor in the School of So-

cial Work and the president of the PSU chapter of American Association of University Professors, addressed the crowd.

“You are the backbone of this university,” Miller said. “We could not be here if it was not for SEIU. I’m from the School of Social Work, and I know how dedicated all of you are. You all deserve a living wage.”

The union and management were able to reach an agreement before SEIU went on strike.

Management removed the takeaways from the table and increased the COLA stipulated in SEIU’s contract. The contract will cover employees at all seven public Oregon universities.

Additional reporting by Jeoffry Ray.

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VIKINGS FOR THE WIN

NEWS

JEOFFRY RAY

The Vikings routed Western Oregon in a stinging 31–0 victory last Saturday, bringing their ranking to 16 in the FCS Stats poll. Their new ranking brings them to their highest since 2006, according to the Vikings website.

Quarterback Alex Kuresa lit the scoreboard with a second quarter rush to touchdown just moments after completing a 46-yard pass to Darnell Adams.

The Vikings continued to

dominate the second, with a 25-yard rush to a second touchdown by Josh Kraght, and a field goal by Jonathan Gonzales two minutes ahead of the halftime clock.

The Wolves never caught up, as Portland State kept up the heat throughout the second half. The Vikings continued the climb each quarter, with a one-yard push to the end zone in the third by Nate Tago. Steven Long finished it off in the

VIKINGS FANS RALLY to celebrate a touchdown in the 2nd half.

VANGUARD

fourth quarter with a rush over left for 22 yards and a final touchdown, bringing the Vikings their 31-point victory.

The Vikings play again Saturday, Oct. 3 against North Dakota at the Hillsboro Stadium for the Big Sky Conference. Both teams currently hold a 1–0 standing in the conference, making the showdown a make-or-break for one team’s undefeated status.

STEVEN LONG (LEFT) rushes for yardage as wide receiver Trent Riley blazes a trail through the Wolves’ defense.

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STEVEN YOUNG/PSU

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SAFETIES COACH JOHN ELY (RIGHT) convenes with running back Nate Tago. Tago netted a total of 69 rushing yards, with a 1-yard push to touchdown in the 3rd quarter.

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5

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THINK SCIENCE ISN’T FOR YOU?

THINK AGAIN Science is a weird thing. There seems to be this general assumption that science is something you’re naturally good at, and if you don’t have that gift, well, then science just isn’t for you.

That, my friends, is bullshit.

Science is for everyone. It’s for the artist who’s using negative space to create an emotional response in the viewer. It’s for the businesswoman who’s weighing the pros and cons of her business strategy. It’s for three-year-olds; it’s for your grandma. Everyone can understand science. Everyone. The key is how it’s communicated.

Scientists know lots of things, but there’s one thing we kinda suck at: explaining what we do to non-scientists. We blame the media for writing inaccurate science news stories without stopping to consider that the information in those stories comes from scientists. We bemoan the fact that eyes glaze over when we start talking, without taking a moment to realize that we’re not actually speaking English. We’re speaking in jargon, and frankly, no one likes listening to jargon they don’t know. It’s like we forget that everything we know about science is stuff we learned over time, and then we look at people like they’re idiots, because they don’t know what we mean. Is it any surprise that people don’t want to listen to that?

It’s not like no one wants to know how things work. There is a huge interest in science outside of the academic setting. We have science pubs, OMSI After Dark and countless YouTube channels devoted to teaching science to everyone.

Sites like Khan Academy and Coursera give people the ability to take classes in everything from high school algebra to graduate-level quantum physics. There’s even the Portland Underground Graduate School, where people who are passionate and knowledgeable about a topic teach others in four-week courses.

If people are going out of their way to learn science outside the classroom, then perhaps the problem is inside the classroom. The fact is, we teach science in a terribly boring way. You come in, you sit down, you take notes, you answer some questions with an exorbitantly priced clicker and off you go. Doing science is collaborative, but for some reason, learning it isn’t.

But it should be.

If you want to get people to learn science, you have to get them excited about it. If you want to get people excited about science, you have to show excitement. To all the science professors and instructors reading this: Why did you go into science?

What is it about it that interests you? Do you remember that spark that you felt when you fell in love with your discipline?

Share that with your students. Show them how excited you are about the topic you’re teaching. The best teachers I’ve ever had are the ones who are passionate about what they teach and are not afraid to show it. They might look a little silly when they contort their body to illustrate how a protein folds and shifts as molecules attach to it, but students sit up and pay attention.

To all the science students reading this: Talk about what you’re learning with people who aren’t studying science. Don’t just talk at them—explain it. Get in the habit of rephrasing jargon into everyday language. Teach people what you’re learning, and tell them why you think it’s cool. There’s a pretty good chance that they’ll think it’s cool, too.

To everyone else: Don’t ever let anyone tell you that science isn’t for you. It’s not an ivory tower. It’s not a holy grail. There’s no secret something that you have to have in order to do science. All you need is curiosity.

OPINION

Science for Everyone

by Allie Clark

ILLUSTRATION BY SHANNON KIDD

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OPINION

INTERNATIONAL EDUCATION: THE WHO, WHERE, WHY AND HOW Against the Current Study abroad. Every college student has heard this term at least one time or another, whether it’s from a plot device in a coming-of-age drama or from firsthand experience.

For some, the idea of studying abroad invokes the image of a 20-year-old college girl sipping wine on the balcony of a villa in Madrid, or your lame cousin Jeff who spent a term in London and now talks with a British accent.

For others, the idea of studying abroad seems an opportunity where you can challenge yourself, see outside the perspectives of your home country and spend time getting to understand a different culture. Thankfully, this was my experience going abroad and, aside from language immersion, was the primary factor in my decision to spend some time studying outside the United States.

I just spent two months studying at St. Petersburg State University in the Russian Federation and have been back in the states for two months. While my time there was short, I can already say that my experience in Russia was probably one of the most important periods of my undergraduate career.

Upon my return to the United States, I was completely bewildered by my experience. I was amazed at how two months seemed to not only change me, but solidified who I am as a student of language and a human being.

Sharing my experiences with people, I began to think a lot about the students who study abroad. Who they are, where they go and why. What are the practical benefits to studying outside the country? If I could do it again, what would I do differently?

According to the Institute of International Education, only 1 percent of U.S. students study abroad during the course of the academic year. In total, only 14 percent of all U.S. undergraduates have had the chance to study in another country.

In comparison, the European Commission estimates that about 10 percent of European students study abroad throughout the academic year.

Such numbers, while they could be higher, are probably the reason for the benefits of studying abroad.

A survey conducted by the Institute for the International Education of Students found that, on average, their alumni earn more in starting salaries compared to other U.S. college graduates.

Aside from this, 97 percent of alumni surveyed said they found a job one year after graduation, and 90 percent got into their first or second choice of graduate school.

Students returning home from international experiences not only get a boost in employment opportunities, but their academics also tend to improve following their return. A study

by Sebastian Richardson conducted by the University System of Georgia found that students who studied abroad saw their GPAs rise twice as quickly when compared to students who did not.

So where are these undergraduates heading to learn such valuable life skills?

While I know countless students who have spent time in Russia and other former Soviet Republics, only 1,562 U.S. undergrads studied in Russia during the 2012–13 academic year, about 0.0054 percent of all people who studied abroad during that period.

The most popular destinations in the 2012–13 academic year, according to IES, were the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, France, China, Germany, Costa Rica, Australia, Ireland and Japan.

Students tend to study for a portion of the academic year. In the past few academic years, roughly 37 percent of students abroad studied during the summer and 35 percent for a semester. Interestingly enough, longer periods of study, such as a full academic or calendar years, are in decline. In 2000, over 7 percent of students went for a full academic year, and in 2013 only 3.2 percent went for that long.

STEM, social science and business majors study abroad more than any other students. This trend was pretty common between 2000 and 2013, but the number of STEM students who study abroad has been steadily climbing, and they were the most represented field during the 2012–13 academic year. I was surprised to see foreign language majors only made up 4.5 percent of people who studied abroad during the 2012–13 academic year.

Thankfully, the choice of academic field is not a determining factor in a student’s opportunity to study abroad, nor does it mean that a student studying math is less able than someone from a humanities background.

In fact, I think people of all backgrounds should have the chance to spend some concrete time outside the country.

Along with opening up opportunities to different academic fields, students from low economic backgrounds have more access to these opportunities thanks to countless scholarships.

One of these scholarships is the Benjamin A. Gilman International Scholarship, which is available to any student who receives the Pell Grant and who has been accepted to an accredited study abroad program.

The scholarship program was founded in 2001 by the Bureau of Education and Cultural Affairs at the U.S. Department

ILLUSTRATION BY NIMI EINSTEIN

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of State and was named after retired congressman Benjamin A. Gilman, a supporter of study-abroad opportunities. So far this program offers scholarships for study in 144 countries and is active in 1,124 institutions in the U.S. The application process includes writing essays, working with your school’s study abroad and financial aid departments, and doing a return service project after the completion of the study abroad program if awarded the scholarship. While there are countless other ways to fund study abroad, such as the Boren Scholarship, financial aid and domestic scholarships, the Gilman is one of the more accessible scholarships for underrepresented groups in higher education.

In 2014–15, 42 percent of the students awarded the scholarship were first-generation college students, and 82 percent were the first people in their family to study abroad. During the same period, Gilman offered more African American, Hispanic and Asian students scholarships to study abroad than any other scholarship program. Besides recipients being more diverse, 71 percent of recipients went to a country outside of Western Europe, and 69 percent studied a critical language.

While I do have a bias toward the Gilman after being a recipient of the scholarship, I encourage anyone who meets the qualifications to look into this scholarship, as well as many others out there.

Many study abroad programs offer program-based scholarships. Crowdfunding is also a possible idea.

With that said, if you are reading this and think you might be interested in studying abroad, I encourage you to meet with our study abroad advisers here at Portland State. Planning ahead is essential to any time spent abroad.

At the end of the day, the only thing that could have improved my experience would have been more effective budgeting and planning ahead.

Studying abroad carries with it such a wealth of knowledge and experience one cannot get here in the United States. The benefits are not only confined to some abstract notion of education and “finding oneself”—there are visible and quantifiable benefits to studying abroad. International education is a most worthy investment.

In an ever globalized economy, cultural competency and international experience are awesome skills to put on a resume.

Besides, if you don’t have at least one story about that one time you got drunk with people in a foreign country, you’re truly missing out.

OPINION

PSU’S DESPERATION AND THE $100 MILLION THAT NEVER SHOWED UP The Campus Oracle

by Nathan Anderson

Portland State President Wim Wiewel has a lot of egg on his face after the recent cause célèbre regarding a Portland citizen’s fake promise of a $100 million donation to PSU. The university isn’t exactly smelling like a rose afterwards, either: Two PSU employees resigned in the fallout, and the local media has been having a field day pointing out the school’s ineptitude in handling the situation. I won’t rehash the details of the whole situation as it’s been covered already ad nauseam by both local and national press (yes, it made national news).

However, I think something has been missing from this narrative: Why exactly did PSU pant and drool and suspend all manner of critical thinking when this money was promised to them? The answer is simple: PSU is broke, and that money would have been a nice life preserver in a very stormy sea.

Oregon universities rank #47 in nationwide per-student funding. Because of the lack of state funding, endowments or investments the school uses to help fund itself are vital to ensure student success—whether it’s by providing scholarships, improving or building new campus structures or paying the wages of faculty and support staff. The PSU endowment in 2014 was approximately $84 million, a paltry sum compared to the University of Oregon’s $700 million endowment. In fact, of all the public universities in the Oregon University System, PSU has the smallest endowment—despite having the highest enrollment.

So what does this mean for students at PSU? It means, frankly, that the status quo will continue: PSU will have limited funds to pay faculty or do improvements on their infrastructure, tuition prices will continue to rise unchecked and more students will struggle. This is not an inherent flaw unique to Portland or, indeed, Oregon: Schools nationwide struggle to make ends meet.

It’s understandable that Wiewel and the rest of the school were excited about a $100 million donation. The fact that the money never materialized is hardly surprising given the shady nature of the would-be donor. Wiewel and others responsible have been properly chastised and hopefully will employ stronger critical thinking skills when faced with similar situations in the future.

I also hope that the PSU Foundation, Wim Wiewel and everyone else involved in this fiasco realize that not only was this debacle a huge embarrassment for PSU, but they let the students down mightily. The students needed that money. They needed that money to continue to be able to take classes in one of the most culturally rich, diverse cities in the country. They needed that money to ensure top-notch faculty and staff continue to be available to instruct, share with and lead those of us who are taking over the world’s reins. They needed that money so that they could be secure in the knowledge that programs, clubs and other academic opportunities will be available for years to come.

So it isn’t Wiewel or the PSU Foundation that’s suffering the most. It’s the students who make this school the largest, most diverse university in Oregon that are suffering the most.

I hope the powers that be at PSU know that and next time will do some homework before getting our hopes up.

ILLUSTRATION BY NIMI EINSTEIN

KAYLA TOWNSLEY/PSU VANGURARD

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WELCOME BACK! It’s time to accept the harsh reality that summer is officially over. The air is cooler, the rain is imminent and classes are back in full effect. As you settle into your textbooks, notebooks and homework assignments, you may want to catch up on what’s been happening at Portland State while you’ve been off gallivanting your nights away. Since you’ve been gone, PSU has moved forward with its implementation of armed campus safety officers, tuition rates have been in transition, student health insurance costs have gone up, the PSU Foundation has undergone major leadership changes and the push for divestment from fossil fuels has forged on. We’ve recapped the highlights of these events so you’re up to speed on campus goings-on as you get back into the swing of things.

VANGUARD ANNOUNCES NEW INTERNATIONAL SECTION TURNER LOBEY

The Vanguard is excited to announce the new International section. International will be dedicated to broadcasting global news relevant to Portland State and the surrounding community, reporting on the vibrant and thriving international and cultural community at PSU, and exploring and opening ourselves and readers to new perspectives and ways of thinking.

A university publication should be representative of its student body and campus culture, and international affairs have historically been underrepresented in the

Vanguard. This new section is the first step in solidifying these topics’ place in the newspaper and underlining our recognition of their importance.

Due to limited space and resources, the most responsible action is for us to shift our coverage and our focus to that which has the largest impact at PSU. To allow for this change to happen, we will be shifting resources and print space away from PSU sports coverage.

Beginning this issue, the Vanguard will no longer have a dedicated sports

section or editor. Though our coverage of sports will not be as in-depth or as frequent, there are other resources for keeping up to date with Viking sports.

Goviks.com is a great place for news and updates on PSU’s sports, and the Rec Center has an incredible host of clubs, which you can learn more about on its website.

We are incredibly excited about this change and welcome you to come and take part in it.

Student Rec Center website: pdx.edu/recreation/studentrec-center

THE ARMING OF CAMPUS OFFICERS COLLEEN LEARY

Armed officers are on to campus this fall.

In December 2014, despite heated debate and intense student protests, Portland State’s Board of Trustees voted to approve the arming and deputization of PSU’s Campus Public Safety Officers. The decision came after PSU President Wim Wiewel established a Task Force on Campus Safety in spring 2013, which researched the efficacy and possible effects of the presence of armed officers on campus.

Throughout the process leading up to the approval of armed officers, students, student groups and faculty members advocated against the decision via public com-

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ment at BOT meetings. Eventually student groups staged protests and a “die-in” before the December meeting that ultimately led to the approval of armed officers.

In the following months, an Implementation Advisory Committee drafted policies for the enactment of armed officers.

Earlier this summer, Associated Students of PSU President Dana Ghazi and Vice President Davíd Martinez asked the BOT to reconsider their decision to implement armed officers, but the trustees ultimately moved forward with implementation.

Over the summer, officers set to bear arms went through training programs

akin to Portland Police Officer training. This included arms training, veterans awareness, LGBTQ awareness, religious awareness, international student and staff awareness, de-escalation tactics and more.

Recently, PSU’s Student Union, Ghazi and other students interrupted President Wiewel as he addressed incoming freshman students.

They called for the demilitarization of police and held up banners that read, “Police State University” and “#DisarmPSU.” Please see the Vanguard’s print issue next week for full coverage of the implementation of armed officers on campus.

TUITION RATES IN TRANSITION COLLEEN LEARY

In March 2015, Portland State’s Board of Trustees voted to increase university tuition rates by an overall 4.2 percent, beginning this fall. The approved increase was based on a projected budget from Oregon’s governing co-chairs. Since then, Oregon legislature approved $700 million in funding for state universities in the 2015–17 biennium—$30 million more than originally expected.

In response, PSU President Wim Wiewel pledged in a July 7 press

release from PSU’s Office of University Communications to use the funds to lessen the approved increase. He also said he plans to advocate in the 2016 legislative session for an additional $55 million in funding, which is in line with the original funding request from Oregon’s state university presidents.

Currently, resident undergraduate tuition for fall term is set at $150 per credit, as opposed to the 2014–15 academic year’s $145 per credit. Non-resident undergraduate tuition is up from $490 per credit to $505.

PSU DIVESTMENT JEOFFRY RAY

The Portland State University Foundation Board of Trustees voted unanimously to approve an Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Policy Statement during a September meeting.

The Foundation’s Investment Committee drafted the Statement after a year of evaluation into socially responsible investment strategies, up to and including divestment from fossil fuels.

The ESG statement stops short of full divestment, a commitment made by various institutions across the country, including the City of Portland and Multnomah County, giving the Foundation flexibility in weighing environmental and other investment issues.

Divest Portland State organizer Alfredo Gonzalez hailed the ESG Statement as a victory for the university. Though Divest PSU fought for full divestment from fossil fuels, Gonzalez acknowledged that the Foundation had to weigh investment returns along with the impact of fossil fuels on the environment. He also

pointed to the University of California system, which also voted last year in favor of an ESG strategy over divestment.

“Divestment is only [one] way to quantify that goal,” he said. “It doesn’t necessarily mean that divestment is the only answer. It was a learning moment for me as well, that ESG strategies could do the same thing.“ The current statement offers no specific requirements for investment decisions. But Gonzalez noted that both the Foundation’s BOT and PSU President Wim Wiewel have an interest in university community involvement. Gonzalez pointed to the Association for the Advancement of Sustainability in Higher Education (AASHE) rating system, a star-based system by which AASHE evaluates member universities’ sustainability commitments, as a tool for ensuring engagement with the student body.

PSU currently holds a gold star AASHE rating, but scored zero in the invest-

ment category as of April 2015. Student involvement is one of several factors that could bring up the university’s score.

“I presume that at some point during school, they will ask for [Divest PSU] to come in and talk about what to do with the ESG instructions,” Gonzalez said.

“That way they can get those points for the AASHE rating system, as well as get the community involved.”

The Foundation’s Chief Financial Officer Paul Carey, who worked with both the Investment Committee and Divest PSU toward the end of the process, praised both parties for their work.

After a Foundation Executive Committee meeting held before the final vote, he noted that the governing body also expressed support for the change.

“It’s encouraging, the support that the Executive Committee gave to the ESG,” Carey said. “There’s a lot of recognition for the work that’s been put into this effort.”

ILLUSTRATIONS BY SHANNON KIDD & ELISE FURLAN

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HEALTH INSURANCE COST INCREASE MOLLY OZIER

Many Portland State students’ tuition includes an expensive mandatory health insurance plan, and the plan will increase this term from $694 per term to $776.

The only way around enrolling in the PSU plan is if you are taking less than 5 credits or you can prove you have comparable coverage. International students taking one credit or more must enroll in the plan.

For the part five years, Aetna was PSU’s health insurance provider, but the university switched

to PacificSource this term.

The Affordable Care Act, a healthcare reform act requiring mandatory health insurance and passed in January 2014, dictates what the university’s health care plan must cover. Until this year all plans were required to meet Platinum level CoverOregon coverage.

Since 2012, student enrollment in PSU health insurance has decreased from 15,082 to 7,900 students in Fall 2014.

If you are under the age of 24 and dependent on

student loans, you have the option of choosing an Oregon Health Plan or another plan associated with CoverOregon.

The average undergraduate student at PSU, however, is 25 years of age, so this option does not apply to the majority of students.

T h i s ye a r, t h e r e q u i r e m e n t s h a ve b e e n l ow e r e d t o m e e t G o l d l e ve l , b u t t h e s w i t c h t o Pa c i f i c S o u r c e s t i l l came with a nearly $ 1 0 0 i n c r e a s e.

According to an inter-

view conducted by the Portland Spectrum with Nick Walden Poublon, a student health advisor at SHAC, this increase is due to major changed to the ACA. First, taxes previously paid by insurance companies are now paid by the insured. Health insurance companies can no longer turn away citizens with preexisting conditions. Additionally, coverage no longer caps out at $500,000, so those covered are absorbing the extra cost.

For more information, please visit pdx.edu/shac

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

PSU ADMINISTRATORS SHAC is here for you!

STEP DOWN -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

LISA DUNN

In the wake of the $100 million donation that never was, two employees of the PSU Foundation—Francoise Aylmer and Kristin Coppola—have stepped down.

Aylmer was the president and CEO of the PSU Foundation, the nonprofit fundraising outfit for the university. Coppola was the Foundation’s chief development officer.

Their joint decision to step down came after the Oregonian reported that the Foundation was duped into believing that John Michael Fitzpatrick, a self-proclaimed billionaire who specialized in bitcoin trading, was prepared to donate $100 million, the first installment in a total planned $1.1 billion donation to the university.

Fitzpatrick, it turns out, is

not a billionaire but in fact a recently bankrupt businessman whose strange past includes several attempts to run for office and an anti-child pornography documentary that aired on public access called ORGY TV. Fitzpatrick’s current business, Exascale, a selfproclaimed bitcoin miner, was registered to a P.O. box at the UPS store on campus.

The university released a statement clarifying that neither Coppola nor Aylmer were fired; both handed in their resignations voluntarily.

The Foundation, according to Portland Business Journal, has tapped Constance French, a former employee of the Oregon Health Sciences University Foundation, as the interim president.

A student taking at least 5 in-load credits has access to the Center for Student Health & Counseling (SHAC)--regardless of insurance plan.

• MEDICAL SERVICES

See a nurse or medical provider for free (primary or urgent care). Visit the website for additional costs.

• COUNSELING SERVICES

ALL PSU STUDENTS CAN USE SHAC’S:

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Free Individual or Group therapy.

Teeth cleanings, fillings, and more at a greatly reduced cost.

• FLU & OTHER VACCINATIONS Most insurance plans cover at 100%.

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Make your appointment today!

Accommodated testing, makeup exams, and more available.

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503-725-2800 www.pdx.edu/shac 1880 SW 6th Ave. University Center Building

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Welcome back!

Fall is a busy, invigorating and splendid time to be at Portland State University. New courses to discover, new classmates to meet, new colors on the Park Blocks. I invite you to take a moment to savor it—roam our beautiful tree-lined campus and make yourself at home. Find your study niches, your favorite coffee spot.

This year brings some exciting changes. We were honored by U.S. News & World Report as one of the nation’s “most innovative” universities—a list that includes Harvard, Cornell, Stanford and MIT. We are now an entirely smoke-free and tobacco-free campus. We join hundreds of other campuses across the country in making this healthy and common sense choice. And how about those Vikings? Our football team is off to a great start, including a firstever upset of a PAC-12 team.

There are reasons why PSU keeps getting national attention. We put a premium on research and outstanding faculty. Classrooms are just the start.

Students team up with hundreds of community organizations, businesses and nonprofits that have forged partnerships with PSU. Remember that the South Park Blocks are just the beginning. Eat at a food cart. Go to a concert.

Take a walk over the new Tilikum Bridge for an incredible view of Portland. Get out to the mountains and the coast. That’s what being part of the PSU community is all about. Then get back to work. Your future awaits.

Wim Wiewel President, Portland State University

Vanguard | SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

13

ARTS & CULTURE

ARTISTIC MAP OF PORTLAND AISLINN RENNISON

The Portland Institute for Contemporary Art (PICA) brings artists from around the country to Portland for its Time-Based Art Festival (TBA) every year.

TBA consists of rich and cultural performances, dance, music, art and exhibits. Last Saturday, PICA paired with Know Your City to offer a TBA tour of historical areas within Portland that were partially developed by PICA from 1995 to present day.

A bus full of attendees traveled around Portland, mostly the Pearl district, making numerous stops. Each stop carried significance to PICA as it was either a major piece of local art history or PICA had a direct hand in developing the area artistically, developmentally and even economically.

“Anytime they touch a building, it will become the next hot spot in Portland,” said local artist Nan Curtis.

PICA and the TBA festival focus on connecting people to the city, specifically to the art and culture of Portland. PICA and the Portland, 1995-Present Tour are just some of many tools used to strengthen the bond between artists and their home.

One of the first stops was the New Seasons on Northwest Raleigh. Before it was a trendy marketplace, it was used as a TBA building in 2013 and 2014.

“It [the New Seasons building] represents a return to PICA’s warehouse art, pop-up method, before using Washington High School,” said Amanda Tillstrom, interim director of Know Your City.

“The method is that each year a new warehouse or a new building will be transformed by a collaborative team that PICA assembled for the TBA festival.”

The tour focused on the fact that the art and culture community of Portland is ever changing.

“Culture in Portland is making its own new map of the city,” Tillstrom said.

The tour was PICA’s idea of where that map might go in the last 20 years.

Two decades ago, the Pearl was nothing but flat ground, filled with railway, owned by Burlington Northern Railroads. The Pearl district was simply 40 acres of undeveloped land until just before 2000.

“A single developer purchased all 40 acres and built the Pearl district from the ground up,” Curtis said.

The Pearl was designed to look like a city within a city, keeping retail on the ground and residential above. The idea was to maintain the character of the area. One way to do that was to use brick instead of wood in the new structures, giving the area a light industrial feel to represent the district’s warehouse origins.

As the tour continued on foot around the Pearl, a story about artist Brad Adkins gave everyone something to look for in the district from now on.

Adkins created a reinterpretation of an art project done by an artist in the early ’90s in Portland. The artist left a thin line of seafoam green paint throughout Northwest Portland. Adkins reinterpreted this with his own yellow line in the early 2000s.

The idea was that anyone could follow where the artist was walking by following the paint line.

“I’m not sure what the context was for him re-

PORTLAND-BASED DANCER AND CHOREOGRAPHER LINDA AUSTIN describes a street performance by environmental awareness dance project, Bird Brain. Founded by Jennifer Monson, Bird Brain was a five-year project that incorporated birds’ migratory patterns into their performances.

DEVIN COURTRIGHT/PSU VANGUARD

14

Vanguard | SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

doing it,” Curtis said. “I did just run into the line recently, over around Liz [Elizabeth] Leach [Gallery].

They haven’t ripped up the sidewalks there, those warehouses all just exist as they were.”

Just around the corner on Northwest 9th and Flanders, the tour met with dancer and choreographer Linda Austin.

She told the tour group about a special memory.

On that very corner years ago, she watched Jennifer Monson and other dancers perform an unforgettable piece. Monson was performing a free outdoor dance as part of her multi-year, international, artistic environ-

mental awareness project, Bird Brain Dance.

In the performance, dancers moved like birds and whales around the pedestrians and cars in the street.

None of the cars or people disrupted the dancers, just watched the powerful, thought-evoking piece.

After many more interesting history lessons and brief bus stops, the tour ended at a large landmark piece in history for PICA, Washington High School.

Although the structure has retained its original name, it has not been an actual high school since the early ’80s. It has been used for many purposes, including a facility for

the TBA festival from 2009 to 2012.

Today it is mostly office space for various companies.

However, Revolution Hall, on the second floor, is still used as a performing arts venue.

The tour ended on the finished rooftop of WHS, with a beautiful view of Portland.

PICA and TBA work every year to bring awareness to the ever changing arts and culture community of Portland.

Through the transformation of buildings, art exhibits and different types of performances every year, PICA strives to educate the public of Portland and preserve the rich nature of art and history in the city.

WORKSHOPS RENTALS REPAIRS GEAR

M-F 8:30a-5:30p Sat 10a-4p | 503-725-9006 | 1818 SW 6th Ave | www.pdx.edu/bikehub

ARTS & CULTURE

RARE FARE

ODD YET DELICIOUS LUNCH AND SNACK RECIPES CAN SAVE YOU SOME CASH AT SCHOOL AISLINN RENNISON

Eating out every day for lunch sounds glamorous, and yes, it’s true that you don’t have to make the food yourself or wash your own dishes.

But let’s be real: We are broke and starving college students.

Buying lunch between classes every day can cost anywhere from $35 to $50 a week. That’s up to 200 buckaroos a month…just on lunch!

So maybe you should try the alternative—bring a lunch. Yes, I know what you automatically thought: cool kids eat hot lunch and the weirdo kids bring cold lunch.

But this isn’t elementary school, and it’s cool to save your own hard-earned cash.

Plus, I have some odd (yet cheap and delicious) recipes for you to try.

Chili Pasta Ingredients:

–2 chicken breasts –2 cans of chili –2 boxes of mac and cheese –Salt and pepper –Sriracha (optional)

Instructions:

Bacon-Banana Wrap Ingredients:

–1 tortilla –½ of a banana –2 slices of bacon –3 tablespoons of peanut butter –1 tablespoon of honey

Instructions: 1. Spread peanut butter and honey on tortilla.

2. Cook bacon and cut into little pieces. Place on tortilla.

3. Slice banana and add to tortilla.

4. Roll tortilla up.

Super fast and surprisingly very delicious!

For those who like to snack during classes, try these recipes out:

Haystacks Ingredients:

–½ a cup of dried fruit bits –¼ cup of candy pieces (M&M’s, Reese’s Pieces, etc.)

–2 cups of peanut butter –3 tablespoons of corn syrup

Instructions: 1. Mix cereal, marshmallows, fruit and candy together in one bowl.

2. Mix peanut butter and corn syrup together.

3. Pour PB and CS into bowl with other ingredients.

4. Roll into individual bitesize balls.

5. Let dry on counter or in fridge.

6. Put in Ziploc bags.

䘀爀攀攀 洀攀洀戀攀爀猀栀椀瀀 簀 䤀渀猀甀爀愀渀挀攀 椀渀挀氀甀搀攀搀

䨀漀椀渀 䜀攀琀愀爀漀甀渀搀 昀漀爀 昀爀攀攀 愀渀搀 最攀琀 ␀㔀 挀爀攀搀椀琀⸀ 最攀琀⸀挀漀⼀倀匀唀匀吀唀䐀䔀一吀

A weird but very tasty snack to keep in your backpack!

With these bizarre bargainbudget bites, you’ll cut your lunch bill in half, freeing up some extra cash for catsweater shopping, LARPing, your hidden collection of miniature Bratz dolls or whatever else you’re into.

–2 cups of crunchy chow mein noodles –1 cup of Nutella

1. Grill the chicken. Cut into bite-size pieces. Place in large bowl.

2. Make the mac and cheese.

Place in large bowl with chicken.

3. Pour chili into the large bowl with the other ingredients.

4. Mix together.

5. Add salt, pepper and/or Sriracha to taste.

6.

Place in three to four Tupperware containers and stick in fridge.

Instructions:

Now you have lunch for almost the entire week, and all you have to do is heat it up at school!

–2 cups of dry cereal (your choice) –1 cup of mini marshmallows

1. Mix Nutella and noodle together in bowl.

You can either eat your haystack right away or put it in the freezer to save for later.

Easy peasy!

GORP Balls (who knows why they’re called that) Ingredients:

ILLUSTRATIONS BY SHANNON KIDD

Vanguard | SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

15

*Max discount $30 Cannot be combined

GET INVOLVED! Student Resources ● Advocacy ● Career Development Visit us in Smith 117 or online at ASPSU.PDX.EDU 16

Vanguard | SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

ARTS & CULTURE

BRINGING THE HAMMER DOWN ON THE COFFIN NAIL PORTLAND STATE BECOMES A SMOKE‑FREE CAMPUS AISLINN RENNISON

on September 15, Portland State joined over 700 colleges in America in becoming a completely smoke‑ and tobacco-free campus.

This new policy was implemented by the Center for Student Health and Counseling (SHAC). Although the campus became 100 percent smoke‑free only two weeks ago, multiple steps have been taken over the last couple of years to finish the Fresh Air Campus Challenge, signed by PSU President Wim Wiewel.

The challenge was a regional initiative, accepted by many colleges across America, stating that participants would become smoke-free campuses by 2016. PSU not only beat the due date by a few months but also included all forms of tobacco in the policy, not just cigarettes.

However, unlike some of those newly smoke-free college campuses, PSU will not have designated smoking areas. Any PSU-owned property, including the Park Blocks, is completely smoke-free.

Students may smoke off campus, which is any property or sidewalk owned by the City of Portland. Keep in mind, however, that Oregon state law does not allow smoking within 10 feet of any window, door or air intake.

“We realize this is a culture change,” said Julie Weissbuch Allina, director of health promotion and education at PSU. “People are definitely seeing it and voicing concerns, and that’s what we expect.”

Allina, along with many others involved at SHAC, has used resources to educate the PSU community on the new policy.

By listening to exact apprehensions in open-comment sessions last spring, SHAC was able to provide detailed information relevant to those

questions and concerns.

Since then, SHAC has used a variety of resources to create marketing campaigns, such as lawn signs, tables at events like Party in the Park, social media, newsletters, web banners and information listed on PSU’s website.

“Culture change takes time,” Allina said. “And we will do the best we can with what we got.”

PSU’s website contains information and frequently asked questions regarding the policy under “Smoke & Tobacco Free Campus,” including a map of PSU and non-PSU property. This map may be helpful for smokers who are worried about being late to class and want to find the closest place to have a quick smoke break.

“If you want to smoke between class, you have to travel a long distance and then probably be late to class,” said Girma Kebede, a student at PSU. “It is hard on smokers.

It makes the day longer.”

Education on the specifics of the policy will take some time, especially considering the large population of PSU. This is why SHAC and PSU’s Campus Public Safety Office (CPSO) have not created negative enforcement for the policy.

Tickets will not be issued to those in violation. They will simply be asked to put out their cigarette or stop using their e-cig or other tobacco product. CPSO will also have Let’s Be Clear cards, which contain information about resources to quit smoking for interested students.

“Folks we find violating this policy we will just try to educate,” said Director of Campus Public Safety Phillip Zerzan. “The focus is on educating people about this policy.”

Enforcement is not CPSO’s duty, however. It is written

as a community-enforced policy.

“By and large, as long as people know what the policy is, they abide by it,” Allina said. “I’m sure there will be some challenging situations, and those situations can be either referred to Student Conduct or Human Resources if they are faculty and staff, or that person might be escorted off campus if they’re a visitor.”

PSU has worked for a couple of years to become completely smoke-free, and many steps, such as the clean-air corridors and the 25-foot policy, have been taken toward that goal. SHAC continued with these steps because they saw that the majority of the community wanted progress.

“We did surveying of the faculty, students and staff, and by and large, the PSU community supports a smoke-free campus,” Allina said. “It’s a lot of working with our partners, saying, ‘Hey, this is a campus-wide policy. This isn’t just a SHAC policy. So let’s get on board and do this together.’”

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17

INTERNATIONAL

THE MIGRATIONS OF OPPORTUNITY COMMENTARY BY NATASHA HAYNES

AS COLLEGE STUDENTS, WE MUST BE AWARE OF NOT ONLY OUR FUTURE BUT THE IMMIGRANTS' THROUGHOUT EUROPE Fall is here, which means the yearly migration towards classroom doors for eager college students is underway.

As this seasonal migration occurs, universities around the world are preparing to greet the bright, enthusiastic minds of the future.

This year there are other, more unexpected migrations being brought to the public’s attention. With the rise of oppression, poverty and war in several Middle Eastern countries, thousands of people are fleeing the countries they once called home to find safer ground.

While thousands of college students worldwide may be struggling with the overwhelming decision to pick a major, there are thousands of refugees worldwide struggling with the overwhelming

decision to settle on a new place to call home.

Unlike universities, with an entire summer to prepare for the influx of new freshmen on their campuses, stable and secure countries are being hit with an overwhelming number of migrants they were not ready to adopt into their population. The resources may be present, but are scattered. Europe—and the rest of the world—is struggling to properly accommodate the enormous numbers of people in a timely manner.

While wealthier and more established countries are being turned to for help, smooth and safe immigration processes cannot be drawn up overnight.

Every university needs time to review their applicants and their abilities. However, when

SYRIAN REFUGEES in front of the Budapest Keleti railway station in Budapest, Hungary.

18

it comes to refugees, time is not at anyone’s disposal.

It is evident that there are thousands of people in need of asylum, but today, every country rightfully fears the risk of welcoming terrorism and further damaging their economy. Successfully integrating refugees into more peaceful societies does not only require safe housing, but it also means creating realistic economic opportunities for them to prosper.

Egyptian billionaire Naguib Sawiris may or may not have offered a realistic opportunity to current refugees when he personally requested via Twitter that Greece and Italy sell him an island. His tweet read, “Greece or Italy sell me an island,ill call its independence and host the migrants

and provide jobs for them building their new country” [sic]. While his solution is uncertain, he does present refugees with an opportunity.

As college students, we are giving our communities, our world and ourselves a better chance to succeed. We may not be able to solve the refugee problem firsthand, but our hard work inside classrooms can create a better tomorrow for everyone this planet shelters. John F. Kennedy said, “Ask not what your country can do for you, but what you can do for your country.” He encouraged the American people to dedicate their hard work to their community. So I leave you, as a member of the Portland State University community, representing a diverse inter-

COURTESY OF MSTYSLAV CHERNOV THROUGH CREATIVE COMMONS VIA WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Vanguard | SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

national student body, with this: When the homework starts to pile up and the computer screen begins to blur over, take comfort in knowing that your professors and advisers are readily available to answer your questions.

To the student with a full load of classes and a couple of part-time jobs, how about dedicating your hard work this term to the refugees that would appreciate having the opportunity to attend a university. As the leaders of the next generation, we must hope that the knowledge gained today will bring us all one step closer to a more positive and peaceful world where equal opportunities are available for everyone.

Humanitarian organizations for refugees: care.org, ifrc.org

INTERNATIONAL

RUSSIA’S WAR IN SYRIA COMMENTARY BY ROBERT EVANS

The BBC reported that, since 2011, the Syrian civil war has claimed the lives of more than 200,000 people and has driven approximately 11 million Syrians from their homes, resulting in a historic refugee crisis. It would be reckless to attempt to pinpoint exactly what led to the rise of ISIS; however, the momentum of the Arab Spring, coupled with sectarian violence in a recently destabilized Iraq, created an environment favorable for the rise of the Wahhabi extremist military force now committing unimaginable horrors under the guise of Islam.

Reuters reported that Russia has proposed military talks with the U.S. concerning intervention in Syria, primarily to discuss military communication to make sure the U.S. and Russia do not come into conflict when

conducting airstrikes on ISIS targets. Russia has expanded its military presence in the region by constructing a military base, which is reported by multiple sources to house between 200 and 500 naval infantry, six tanks and artillery to bolster the Assad regime. While Moscow seems determined to become involved in a ground war in Syria, NPR reported that Russia has already sent aircraft to begin a bombing campaign against ISIS. Although Russia is trying to sell this intervention as a fight against terrorism, it seems to be primarily concerned with keeping the Assad regime in power, possibly due to a Soviet-era alliance.

NPR reported that a major motivator for Russia’s involvement is its naval base in the regime-controlled

port of Latakia, the only one in the Mediterranean. This scenario is eerily reminiscent of the annexation of Crimea when Russia was concerned about losing its strategic naval base on the peninsula.

Russia’s willingness to commit ground troops to the conflict bodes well for the U.S. since, as Vice News reported, rebel fighters are hearkening back to the failed Soviet occupation of Afghanistan to boost morale, bringing focus off of current American aggression in the region.

Despite thousands of airstrikes against ISIS targets, conducted primarily by the U.S. Air Force, the rebel group known as ISIS still controls large swaths of Iraq and Syria.

A U.S.-led coalition now finds itself mired in a yet another quagmire in the Middle East with no end to the hostilities

in sight; in fact, things seem to be getting more complicated by the hour. As Russia begins its own intervention narrative, it is important to think about the alliances forming around the different regional forces. The Assad regime is part of the Shia minority and is supported by Russia, Hezbollah (Lebanon) and Iran. The U.S.-led coalition supports the Free Syrian Army, the Iraqi Government and the Kurdish Peshmerga forces. The Kurdish Peshmerga, despite being a major U.S. ally in the fight against ISIS, has been the primary focus of a Turkish bombing campaign since the Turkish government—as well as the U.S. government—classifies the Peshmerga as a terrorist group alongside ISIS. It is impossible to know how the war will eventually

end, but it is certain that Russia’s renewed support of the Assad regime will extend the hostilities. After four years, with hundreds of thousands dead and millions of refugees living in perpetual exile, the Syrian civil war appears to be the defining humanitarian crisis of our time. As students of PSU, we must decide what role the U.S. should play in this conflict, whether that

means complete isolation from the war, “boots on the ground,” expanding humanitarian aid to Syrian refugees or taking in more refugees than the limited numbers proposed. Without educated citizens thinking about solutions to the world’s problems, conflicts like the Syrian civil war will only cause death and pain for countless innocent people for many years to come.

A UNITED STATES F/A-18 SUPERHORNET launches from an aircraft carrier in support of Operation Inherent Resolve.

PUBLIC DOMAIN

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19

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INTERNATIONAL

NORTH AND SOUTH KOREA, TENSIONS STILL HIGH JON RABY

In August, Kim Jongun, North Korea’s head of state, and democratic party and army leader, threatened to bring war to South Korea, giving a 48-hour deadline for his demands to be met. As the end of that deadline ticked away at 5 p.m. on Friday, August 21, it was both frightening and anticlimactic. This event was not an isolated incident, but one of a continuous series of threats against South Korea.

According to a recent Associated Press report, disputes included weapon fire across the border, a torpedo strike which killed 46 sailors in 2010, North Korean military opening fire on South Korean protesters, and sending propaganda to the North in balloons.

“North and South Korea have been in a state of tension since the inconclusive ending of the Korean War in July 1953,” said Charles Armstrong, a professor at Columbia University in New York and author of multiple books on the subject. “The war ended with a cease-fire or armistice, not a peace treaty or truce, meaning that in a strict legal

sense the war never ended. The biggest concern we should have is that an incident will escalate out of control and lead to an allout conflict, which could be devastating and even involve nuclear weapons,” Armstrong said.

The most recent standoff began when two South Korean soldiers were injured by a landmine in the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), a four-kilometerwide strip of land that separates the two countries. When North Korea would not claim responsibility for the injuries, South Korea began an anti-North propaganda campaign over loudspeakers across the DMZ. According to Reuters, after round table talks and artillery fire from both sides, an agreement was met in which North Korea expressed regret for the landmines and South Korea ended the loudspeaker campaign.

“These provocations from the North, sometimes related to U.S./South Korean military cooperation such as joint military exercises, have been going on for a very long time. It’s really a fairly predictable cycle in which the North Koreans see U.S./South Korean coopera-

tion as threatening, and then make counter threats, and sometimes carry those threats out in the form of military operations,” said Mel Gurtov, professor emeritus of political science at Portland State and editor-in-chief of Asian Perspective, published both in South Korea and the U.S. and sponsored in part by PSU. But can the threats and violence which sometimes follows be felt within the PSU community?

According to a July report from the Office of International Student and Scholar Services at PSU, there were 72 Korean international students at PSU this past year. That number includes six exchange students and 66 on F-1 study abroad visas. It does not reflect Korean-American students or those with friends and family in the Koreas. This number is expected to grow to close to 90 Korean international students by this fall term.

“Since most of my family lives in South Korea, I always worry they might be casualties if a nuclear war happened,” said Grace Kim, a PSU student who was visiting South Korea during the most

recent tensions in August.

According to a September 15 report by BBC News, North Korea possesses enough weapons-grade plutonium for six bombs, but still lacks the ability to deliver it as a missile.

“I was a little frightened by another possible war rising between the two countries. But many tourists may have felt even more scared,” Kim said.

But for many South Koreans, the threat of war with North Korea isn’t something to lose sleep over. Instead it’s just business as usual when their only land-connected neighbor gets angry.

“South Koreans in general are pretty much inured to these kinds of things, I mean they’ve lived with this for decades,” Gurtov said. “Although it’s not to be taken lightly, these situations are also susceptible to a positive ending, as with the decision by the two Koreas to resume family exchanges and visitations.”

With the resolution of the this most recent dispute, the two sides will hold a reunion in the DMZ for North and

South Korean friends and family separated by the war more than sixty years ago.

“Behind that militant rhetoric is a certain realism, even on the part of people like, I’m sure, Kim Jong-un. The realism being that they fully understand where the balance of power lies. I mean, South Korea’s military, quite apart from the alliance from the United States, is far superior to that of North Korea… They’re not in a position to carry out attacks that would lead to a devastating counter attack and the end of the regime,” Gurtov said.

“There is always a chance for war, but that chance is very, very low,” said Yang Moo-jin, professor at the University of North Korean Studies in Seoul, quoted by Reuters.

Seoul, just 35 miles away from the North Korean border, would likely be the first target if North Korea decided to launch an attack. But for now, the good news is that both sides are cooperating with each other. The upcoming reunion of estranged North and South Koreans this October is a step in the right direction.

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SOUTH KOREAN AND US ADMIRALS survey the recovered Cheonan after a North Korean torpedo attack in Sept. 2010.

PUBLIC DOMAIN

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21

INTERNATIONAL

TRUMP’S IMMIGRATION PLAN AND ITS EFFECT ON OREGON COMMENTARY BY EMILY KORTE

With the 2016 presidential election on the horizon, political parties are setting up their candidates and platforms to try to snag the executive office.

One candidate who has caught America’s attention is Republican and billionaire businessman Donald Trump.

Trump is in the lead of the popular vote with 25 percent, which has remained steady over the past few weeks.

One of Trump’s election platforms lines out his plan for immigration and what it means for the United States. According to Donald Trump’s official website, his immigration reform has three basic parts.

First on Trump’s immigration agenda is to build a wall across the American-Mexican border and subsequently force Mexico to pay for it, specifically because around 52 percent of all undocumented immigrants are Mexican. Second, Trump asserts that immigration laws need to be strictly enforced.

Third, he proposes that any immigration policies passed must improve jobs, wages and security for all Americans.

Immigration reform has long been a source of discussion during the presidential elections, and 2016 is no exception. Trump’s plan has taken an even further rightwing stance on the Republican immigration platform, which is emphasized under Trump’s second point of reform. The second point reveals intentions to deport all undocumented immigrants in accordance with the United States constitution. The number of undocumented immigrants is highly disputed.

However, the general number given by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security estimates around 11.4 million in 2012. Trump told MSNBC’s Morning Joe on July 24 that he believes the number to be

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closer to 30 million, or even 34 million, yet the U.S. Department of Homeland security hasn’t found this to be true.

Regardless of the inaccurate count of undocumented immigrants, the deportation of over 11 million people would significantly affect the United States, especially with regard to the job market and economy. Undocumented immigrants make up approximately 5.1 percent of the U.S. labor force, which equates to about 8.1 million jobs.

In Oregon specifically, the undocumented population in 2005 was 140,000 to 150,000, and 95,000 of those people were in the workforce in key industries such as farming, construction and food preparation.

Agriculture is Oregon’s second biggest export, amounting to over 700 million dollars in the year 2012 according to the Bureau of Economic Analysis. This makes agriculture a key part of Oregon’s economy. However, 24 percent of farm employment is held by undocumented workers.

If Trump’s reform should pass, then over 16,000 people and their families would be eligible for government deportation, putting a huge strain on the economy to make up for the loss of labor.

The direct effect of a labor loss such as the one Trump is suggesting would drastically affect not only Oregon but the entire country.

In Oregon, we would see a tremendous rise in the price of food, especially those with seeds, wheat, fruits and vegetables. The increase in the price of food would have the potential to throw America into another economic struggle.

While many Americans agree that immigration policies need to be enforced, the loss of 8.1 million jobs in such a short amount of time would have a negative effect on the U.S., rather than effectively preserving American rights.

DONALD TRUMP DELIVERS A SPEECH at the 2015 Conservative Political Action Conference.

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