Portland State Vanguard

FIGHT FOR FIFTEEN

PORTLAND STATE VANGUARD

VOLUME 69 | ISSUE 31 | APRIL 28, 2015

SUPPORT FOR OREGON $15 MINIMUM WAGE GAINS MOMENTUM

NEWS

OPINION

ARTS & CULTURE

SPORTS

ASPSU offi cers.J-Board pg. 6 votes to restart student elections. New candidate applications accepted through April 28. pg. 4

Studentspg.discuss campus.

9 elections, both on the national scale and right here at PSU. pg. 9

Closure,pg. pients.

I 16 choose you! The final ‘Pokémon’ tournament of the year is upon us! pg. 15

Our coverage Marathon. pg. 23 of the chaotic carnage in League of Legends continues. pg. 22

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CONTENT NEWS OPINION COVER ARTS & CULTURE CALENDAR SPORTS

4 8 12 14 18 20

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

ADVERTISING MANAGER

EDITOR@PSUVANGUARD.COM Turner Lobey

JGEKELER@PDX.EDU Jordan Gekeler

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 Brandon Staley

OPINION EDITOR OPINION@PSUVANGUARD.COM Chelsea Lobey

SPORTS EDITOR SPORTS@PSUVANGUARD.COM Matthew J. Ocasio

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR ASSOCIATENEWS@PSUVANGUARD.COM Lisa Dunn

PRODUCTION MANAGER PRODUCTION@PSUVANGUARD.COM Rachael Bentz

PHOTO EDITOR PHOTO@PSUVANGUARD.COM Jeoffry Ray

COPY CHIEF COPY@PSUVANGUARD.COM Margo Pecha

ONLINE EDITOR

ADVISER

ADVERTISING ADVISER Ann Roman

DESIGNERS

Nimi Einstein Elise Furlan Shannon Kidd Rico Macias-Zepeda

WRITERS

Andy Anady, Nathan Anderson, Brie Barbee, Evan Birkeland, Elizabeth Hendrickson, Ruby King, Alex Moore, Lauren Moore, Moriah Newman, Phuoc Francis Nguyen, Molly Ozier, John Pinney, Jon Raby, Kevin Rackham, Sebastian Richardson, Jason Susim, Kayla Townsley

PHOTOGRAPHERS

Silvia Cardullo Ahn Duc Do Christian Profeta Jon Raby

ADVERTISING SALES

Tori Christensen, Bri Robinson, Dustin Clevenger, Dennis Caceres Rainer Evens

ONLINE@PSUVANGUARD.COM Jaime Dunkle

COPY EDITORS

Sabrina Parys Roberta Kelley

MARKETING MANAGER Vivian Vo

The Vanguard is published weekly as an independent student newspaper funded by the Student Fee Committee and 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 design by Rachael Bentz ©2014 PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY VANGUARD 1825 S.W. BROADWAY SMITH MEMORIAL STUDENT UNION, RM. S-26 PORTLAND, OR 97201

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Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

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NEWS

WomEN’S LEADERShiP DELEgATioN FRom oAXACA ViSiTS PSU LisA dunn

Several weeks ago, seven women from the Universidad Tecnica de los Valles Centrales de Oaxaca (Technical University of the Central Valleys of Oaxaca) in rural Oaxaca, Mexico visited Portland State as a capstone to a leadership development course they took through the University Center for Women’s Leadership at UTVCO.

The students are all business development majors.

Eighteen faculty members at UTVCO also visited PSU in order to study the university’s strategic plan.

Mandy Elder, graduate student in Anthropology and Public Administration and co-director of the UCWL at UTVCO, and Jack Corbett, an associate pro-

fessor of Public Administration, facilitated the visit.

Elder, along with Nydia Mata, the director of outreach and international programs at UTVCO, helped create UTVCO’s UCWL after working with the university for about four years.

“This [trip] is the capstone of their experience,” Elder said. “I planned a whole week

of activities for them, a whole week of talks with different community organizations, different places on campus like the Center for Women’s Leadership [and] the Women’s Resource Center.”

The women traveled to Hood River to visit an organization called Nuestra Comunidad Sana. Elder said they met with PSU’s chapter of

WOMEN visited PSU from Oaxaca, MX for leadership development, coordinated by Mandy Elder (front row second from right.)

LISA DUNN/PSU VANGUARD

Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan (MECHA) and with Andrea Cano, a commissioner on the Commission for Hispanic Affairs. They also volunteered at Potluck in the Park. “[We’ve addressed] the impact these organizations have, not only on broader culture but on the Latino community,” Elder translated for Mariana Alicia Lorenzo Calvo, one of the visiting women.

Two women said Potluck in the Park was the most beneficial activity they participated in.

“I’ve seen really cool changes in, maybe more than anything, their ability to articulate about themselves,” Elder said.

“This is a recent outgrowth of a relationship that goes back almost 20 years,” Corbett said.

Corbett said PSU has “one of the most extensive programs of contact with any Mexican state of any university in the entire country.”

Elder said that, though this is the first time UTVCO has sent students to PSU through the UCWL, she and

Corbett hope to continue this program.

Every December, Corbett takes students to Oaxaca for two weeks as part of a fourcredit course. He said the plan for this coming fall term’s trip is to build upon the work Elder has done with UTVCO. “We’re hoping that in December, we’ll be able to have students go…build a more intensive involvement with [UTVCO],” Corbett said.

Ten students, according to Corbett, who are either PSU students or have been to Oaxaca through PSU, have gone on to win Fulbright scholarships to study in Mexico. “[I want] to encourage other PSU students to pursue international opportunities,” Elder said. “Everybody receives some kind of benefit from whatever program or activity or project you’re working on…This is just one piece of one thing that’s happening, and it’s part of a much larger project having an impact on people’s lives,” she continued.

More information about the program is available in Spanish at Facebook.com/mujerutvco.

leaders and respect their role as elected representatives of PSU students. Our student leaders have done a good job of handling a challenging situation, and I support their decision to reset the ASPSU election.

That gives students an opportunity to have a choice among candidates and more time to inform themselves about the election and the candidates. I strongly encourage all students to get informed and vote.”

The orginal ballot has closed and the 625 votes originally cast have been annulled. Current candidates can opt to

transfer to the new ballot and new students will be able to register.

As of 6 p.m. on April 27, two candidates had applied for president, two for vice president, 10 for Senator, and 10 for SFC. These numbers are approximate and Coordinator of Student Government relations Candace Avalos said she expects these numbers to change significantly by the April 28, 5p.m.applicationdeadline.

The new ballot will open on May 1 at 7 a.m. and close May 6 at 7 p.m.

See the elections calendar on the next page . Visit aspsu.pdx for more information.

judicial review board amends student government elections timeline TurnEr LobEy And CoLLEEn LEAry

The Associated Students of Portland State University Judicial Review Board approved a motion on April 22 to amend the student government elections timeline, essentially restarting the elections process and reopening candidate registration.

Article IX of the ASPSU Constitution gives the JBoard the authority to oversee all ASPSU elections.

It also states that elections must be concluded by the end of the first full week of May. This year, elections must be concluded by May 9.

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According to the approved motion, the timeline was amended in an effort to ensure that the student body has access to a ballot with a diverse pool of candidates.

“The purpose of the motion is to provide for a full democratic process and to ensure that each PSU voter has the opportunity to have their vote count by having access to a complete and accurate ballot,” the motion states.

When the J-Board came to its decision last Monday, open positions either had only one candidate running or there were

more open positions than candidates. Former Multicultural Affairs Director Tony Funchess was the only presidential candidate on the ballot. Dr. Khalid Alballaa, had previously been a candidate but was deemed ineligible by the J-Board.

There are 16 Senate seats to be filled, but the election only had 9 ballot-registered candidates. The Student Fee Committee needs seven positions filled by vote and one appointed, but only had four ballot-registered candidates.

At an April 20 J-Board meeting, J-board member Kate

Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

Lindstrom said, “This motion looks like the clearest path to an election that will actually serve the students.” She added that she hopes the elections timeline change will be an opportunity to increase student involvement in student government.

In an email sent to the student body, PSU President Wim Wiewel said he supported the J-Board’s decision.

“I have been asked about my role as PSU president in the current student government election,” Wiewel said. “I’m a strong supporter of ASPSU

NEWS ASPSU PRESIDENT ERIC NOLL AND VICE PRESIDENT RAYLEEN MCMILLAN at a Winter Term senate meeting.

PHOTOGRAPHER/PSU VANGUARD

Eric Noll and Rayleen mcmillan respond to Funchess’ resignation SILVIA CARDULLO/PSU VANGUARD LisA dunn

AmENDED ELECTioNS TimELiNE April 28

Campaign packets due at 5 p.m.

April 29

Candidate eligibility confirmed

April 30

Updated ballot confirmed, candidate meet-and-greet/orientation

May 1

Polls open

May 7–8

Any infractions addressed

May 9

Results announced For more information and future updates, visit psuvanguard.com.

Eric Noll, president of the Associated Students of Portland State University, and Rayleen McMillan, vice president of ASPSU, released a statement in regard to Tony Funchess and his resignation.

“At 9 am on April 22nd, ASPSU Leadership accepted Tony Funchess’ resignation as Multicultural Affairs Director of ASPSU. We recognize the work that Tony has accomplished for the student body at Portland State and the passion with which he pursued his service.

ASPSU officers are not employees of the University and ASPSU does not seek any knowledge of legal history related to appointees or nominees for any position.

Eligibility for membership and removal from membership in ASPSU is solely based on the requirements enumer-

ated in ASPSU’s Constitution and Bylaws. Beyond that, no authoritative justification exists for examining the legal history of any ASPSU officials or removing a student from student government based on legal history.

Moving forward in healing from this situation, the paramount priority of ASPSU Leadership is to be attentive to the needs of multiple traditionally silenced populations: survivors of sexual assault and sexual abuse, communities of color, folks with criminal and legal histories, and others. These populations are silenced in different ways via utilization of various oppressions, making this situation extremely harmful. We ask that those who engage in public conversation about this situation be mindful of their impact, be responsive to the

needs of others in the space, and recognize that each individual is unique in the way they receive information and process statements. ASPSU Leadership will not tolerate harassment of our officers, our staff, or any student who wishes to engage in dialogue regarding this situation.

We would also like to remind our fellow students that professional mental health assistance is available to Portland State students on a walk-in basis at the Center for Student Health and Counseling (SHAC).

ASPSU Leadership has not been involved and will continue to refrain from involvement in the elections process and campaigns.

Any inquiries of this nature should be directed to the ASPSU Elections Committee and ASPSU Judicial Review Board.”

Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

5

NEWS

CLEANTECh ChALLENgE iNSPiRES ECo iNNoVATioN ELiZAbETh hEndriCKson

The third annual Clean- for Entrepreneurship and tion in 2013 and won with an tech Challenge is now ac- the Cleantech Challenge. idea for an in-home aquaponcepting applications for the “Portland is an incredible ics system.

Previous submissions to commu2015 program. The competi- entrepreneurial tion calls for students to cre- nity, and so PSU is really ide- the Cleantech Challenge ate environmentally friendly ally located to host an event have addressed anything from recycled waxed cardlike this.” solutions to modern issues. home insulation Participants submit pitches board Cleantech Challenge is a result of collaboration to receive $2,500 develop- material to suggestions to between Portland State, ment grants. Recipients will improve the efficiency of sothe Center for Entrepre- be mentored to build a pro- lar panels.

One submission focused neurship, Oregon Best and totype and business model Wells Fargo. With a recent over the summer. Six to seven on the 30,000 race bibs grant from Wells Fargo for teams will be selected to re- thrown away after a mara$300,000, the program’s im- ceive the grant for summer thon and proposed biodegradable bibs. The 2014 2015. pact is growing.

“They get money this sum- winner developed an enWhat started as a campuswide competition, the Clean- mer, they get mentorship, vironmentally friendly altech Challenge has been they work with us, they get ternative to lead-acid car expanding its horizons to resources working with all batteries. define clean kinds of experts in theTcomaccept applications fromestuCalling all campus nvironmental innovators! ake your c“We oncept from idea tech to as any process, service or munity to help get their idea dents, reality faculty, w staff or alumni ith the 2015 PSU Cleantech Challenge presented by Wells Fargo. techfrom any Portland area col- off the ground,” Read said. nology that makes the Earth www.pdx.edu/clean-­‐challenge lege or university. By the Final products are entered a healthier place to live,” Challenge’s fifth annual year, into the Oregon BEST FEST Read said. “It can be a green product, it could be an idea it hopes to be a statewide for a grand prize.

Cleantech?

“IWhat think is that if you have to make the manufacturing event.

“I think what’s cool about a business model or a pro- process greener, it could be efine still cleantech innovation as any pidea roduct, process or see service that affects the resource-­‐ renewable energy related, it you’d like to itWe is dwe’ll be housed at totype constrained e nvironment i n a

p ositive w ay -­‐ -­‐ i ncluding e nergy g eneration, c onservation, PSU. PSU is going to be the become a reality, you should could be anything.” reduction f resource use, waste apply reduction, water, soil Chaland air pollution mitigation or “I certainly encourage to theor Cleantech hub of thisocompetition even renewal.

The statewide,” innovations said can be lenge,” green csaid onsumer products, greening of supply people fromchains, all disciplines previous particiwhen it goes industrial, commercial, municipal processes r technologies, microproducts and Read continto apply,” pant Anne oPhillip.

Phillip’s Quinn Read, the program nanotechnology, or anything contributes a healthier planet. ued. “We’ve had submisteam enteredto the competimanager of the PSU Center that

Cleantech Challenge Timeline FEB

Applications Available Online

Form your team and apply at www.pdx.edu/clean-­‐challenge/

MAY 8

Application Deadline

Submit your application by 5pm!

MAY 14

Notification to Advancing Teams

Only 16 teams will be selected to pitch their concepts.

MAY 20

Pitch Coaching

This mandatory pitch coaching session will help you prepare for the semi-­‐final pitching round.

MAY 28

Semi-­‐Final Pitching Round

Pitch your concept to a panel of judges for a chance at a summer prototype development grant.

JUNE 8

Summer Projects Begin

Teams meet to finalize contracts and grant distribution the first week of June.

JUNE-­‐AUG

Tuesday Group Meetings

All teams gather every other Tuesday to check in and hear from experts in the cleantech community.

SEPT 1

Final Pitch Coaching

This pitch coaching session will help you prepare for the final round.

SEPT 9-­‐10

Final Round at Oregon BEST Fest

6

Finally! Show off the results of your hard work for a chance at the grand prize.

COURTESY Of QUINN READ/PSU CLEANTECH CHALLENGE

Vanguard | Facebook: APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com PSUCleantechChallenge Twitter: @PSUClean

sions from…the School of Business, from the School of Engineering. We’ve also had biology and chemistry and architecture, which is really cool. We’ve had students come from graphics design and students from the liberal arts.”

Phillip spoke positively of her experience with the Cleantech Challenge.

“Participating in the Cleantech Challenge was tremendously gratifying,”

Phillip said. “All of us worked very hard, put a lot of time in, and learned a lot from the experience. Because of the program, I had the opportunity to meet so many great people. It was an exciting experience that pushed me to my limits and taught me that I can keep pushing those limits to reach my goals.”

“Great environmental innovations can come from anywhere, from anyplace,” Read said. “People, if they keep their

eyes open, you don’t need a degree in business, a degree in entrepreneurship, you don’t need a degree in engineering to be an innovator when it comes to making a mark on the world.”

Organizers are hosting an informational session on May 1 at the PSU Business Accelerator.

Find out more on the website: pdx.edu/clean-challenge.

The application deadline for the Cleantech Challenge is May 8.

veterans’ voices provides platform for service members stories

NEWS

EVAn birKELAnd

Over 100 people attended this year’s iteration of Portland State’s Veterans’ Voices event where five service members from the Army and Navy shared accounts of life on active duty.

This year’s event, hosted in Smith Memorial Student Union’s ballroom by the Veterans Resource Center, saw a significant increase in atten-

dance compared to its debut last year.

“Last year it was a small project; we didn’t have as much publicity and it was thrown together in a few months,” said Ray Facundo, coordinator of Student Veteran Services and a participant in Veterans’ Voices.

“This year we had a lot more planning time.”

“We’d been talking about it all year, we brought in the combat paper workshop as a supplement to it, and it went from about 30 people to quadruple our number,” he continued.

The demographic split in the audience was also wider than last year’s. Facundo reported that 76 were students, 14 were staff and faculty, and

VETERAN SPENCER WILLIAMS relates stories about his boot camp experience during the Veteran’s Voices event at the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom.

CHRISTIAN PROfETA/PSU VANGUARD

25 were community members unaffiliated with PSU. PSU’s Veterans Service Department hosted the event and reached out to PSU alumni and Army veteran Ryan Stroud, founder of Communitalks, a program designed to foster creative storytelling within communities.

Stroud spoke about the importance of sharing the stories of service members with citizen populations.

He also pointed out the benefits of service members engaging with their service history creatively.

“It’s always an incredible process to watch people choose a story,” Stroud said during the event. “Oftentimes, they’ll come to the process with a specific story they want to tell, and two or three workshops later they’ll say, ‘I can’t tell that story, there’s a different story I need to tell.’”

“There’s a lot of reasons we need to tell the story we need

to tell, but it doesn’t matter what the reason,” Stroud continued. “Every time I see somebody start down that path with that story, there’s a transition that takes place.

We find ourselves in our own story. We find ways to look at the world around us.”

The two-hour event was split between former service members and PSU students Spencer Williams, Facundo, Sarah Garland, Matt Gieger and Stroud.

Presentation topics ranged from informational to the profound. Garland, for instance, chronicled her transition from latrine duty to supply management as her unit constructed a military base in Iraq. Gieger delivered an account of the events leading up to his diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.

The event, according to Facundo, attempted to bridge gaps between veterans and a national popu-

lation that is increasingly disconnected from military culture.

“You don’t hear the behind-the-scenes stuff that you always see in movies about war,” Facundo said.

“There are so many different experiences to war. We want to take that perception of Veteran culture, where it’s nothing but posttraumatic stress disorder and readjusting all the time, and show a more human aspect.”

Feedback from event attendees showed that they succeeded in communicating that goal, according to Facundo.

“I think it’s crazy valuable for people to tell their stories, and also it’s valuable for the listener,” said attendee Lisa Stinges. “One of the speakers shared a quote about what it does for stereotypes [of military personel] to hear multiple stories instead of just one.”

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Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

7

OPINION

Where are the free self-defense classes PSU?

PSU ranked 4th of 18 for the most alleged sexual assaults on campuses in Oregon

New Kid On The Park Blocks

by Molly Ozier Banners, posters and word of mouth should have alerted us all by now that April is Sexual Assault Awareness Month.

This means promoting consensual, safe sex across campus, among other things.

Unfortunately, there are people out there who aren’t allies in the movement toward a safer campus. From what I’ve found, Portland State isn’t doing much to provide students with ways to defend themselves against attackers.

A friend of mine and I were talking about SAAM when a reality check hit us: We wouldn’t know what to do if we were attacked. We’re both physically active ladies who have seen Miss Congeniality and who learned how to S.I.N.G. from Sandra Bullocks’ character demonstration, but we’d only seen it on television. We needed to change this unwavering truth about ourselves, and we knew exactly how: Take self-defense classes. The university being such a large supporter of SAAM, I thought I’d be able to find very different resources than what PSU actually has to offer.

In 2014, the Oregonian published a ranking of alleged sexual assaults among Oregon campuses; PSU ranked 4th out

of 18 schools. I decided to see what PSU had to offer their students in an effort to lower this ranking. Let me start by saying that there’s not much. Why should this change, other than the obvious reason that everyone should be able to protect themselves from sexual assault? Let’s find out, shall we?

A study done by University of Oregon graduate student Jocelyn Hollander found that women who enroll in a holistic, empowerment-based self-defense class are 2.5 times less likely to be assaulted over the following year compared with similar women who did not take such a class. Nearly 3 percent of women without training reported being raped during the following period.

PSU offers a self-defense class you can take for one physical education credit. But that’s only if you sign up in time or even know about it. When I searched PSU’s website, I thought I had found that the Women’s Resource Center offered free self-defense classes for women and female identified students, but when I went in to ask some questions about the class, I quickly found out that it doesn’t actually exist due to budgeting and potential low class enrollment.

The WRC said it’s not their fault for this false advertising but rather the Campus Public Safety Office’s. It used to be when you searched for self-defense classes through the website, an advertisement for free self-defense classes hosted by the WRC would come up under CPSO’s website. Since going into the WRC, this error has been rectified and no longer exists on the website.

For SAAM, the Resource Center for Students with Children hosted a situational self-defense class. The WRC put this event on their calendar, but if I hadn’t walked in and talked to them, I probably wouldn’t have heard of this class at all.

The WRC then told me about Portland Police Bureau’s free self-defense classes and personal safety workshops. I have three problems with this: 1. Victims of sexual assault may have had a bad experience with cops or don’t feel as though they can trust police. 2. It’s not easily accessible to PSU students who may not feel comfortable walking downtown alone. 3. The biggest problem I have is: Why isn’t any of this advertised anywhere on campus?

This made me wonder what other schools offer in terms of self-defense classes. An article in U.S. News found that “more students jump at [the] chance to learn self-defense in a college setting.” A national self-defense curriculum called the Rape Aggression Defense Systems program taught 1,200 universities and colleges (including University of Oregon) around the country how to educate their students about self-defense. In these classes, students learn wrist grabs, knee strikes and campus-focused life lessons. Urban universities such as Pittsburg University and the University of Denver offer free self-defense classes to all genders. So, why is it that PSU, also an urban campus, doesn’t offer any on-campus resources to their students?

With a $44 million new Viking Pavilion on the way, a $7.5 million dollar grant from Oregon Health and Science University that will only go toward funding for the Pavilion, and a tuition increase, I don’t see why it’d be asking too much of PSU to offer their students free self-defense classes.

Sexual assault will never be completely preventable, but there are measures people can take to protect themselves from possible predators. It is PSU’s responsibility to engage and enlighten their students about the safety precautions they can take in order to make their campus a safer place for everyone.

HBO Now and the future of television Page by Page

by Brie Barbee HBO Now is available…now. That’s right; you can stream all the Games of Thrones you want—and everything else HBO has to offer—for $15 per month. Available only online, HBO Now offers all the perks of HBO for those of us without cable or satellite TV. HBO Now has joined the ranks of streaming services like Netflix and Hulu Plus, which adds even more content to the world of online TV. But is it still TV if we are watching it online?

While HBO Now might seem like a great addition to the streaming services currently available, it also brings the future of television into question. Will more networks decide to move online or offer their programs online in addition to airtime?

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My guess is yes. With increased access to watch TV shows and movies on tablets or smartphones, it only makes sense that more companies will make their services accessible without a TV. I doubt all companies will choose to or be able to move quickly to a solely online market, at least not right away, but I do think TV will start to shift in that direction.

It might not make sense financially for some networks to move away from their TV providers; there is a lot of money and loyalty to them. As more and more companies choose to offer their shows online, there is bound to be some added tension.

Providers will see the threat of losing networks to the online market and be very resistant to it, and that will impact the ability for more streaming services like HBO Now to pop up later down the road.

But it won’t stunt all changes to the television industry.

In a few years (or a few decades) TV won’t exist as we know them today. I mean, it will likely still be the types of shows we are used to watching now. There will probably still be episodes and seasons. But the way that we watch it will be different.

There might even be subtle changes to the way TV is presented, but nothing like that is going to happen right away.

I’m super excited about HBO Now; I’m going to get it. As a student with little disposable income, being unable to watch shows on HBO was really frustrating. HBO can now be ac-

Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

cessed without paying a $200 monthly cable bill, and it’s about time.

Television has changed so dramatically in my lifetime, from the biggest and smallest screens seen in history to definition so good that you can sometimes forget you are even watching television.

I’m not nervous or skeptical of any changes that will be made to television in the future. It’s a medium that is constantly changing and where change seems inevitable. I’m also excited for television that is more customizable and accessible than ever before.

New advancements in wireless technology make it possible to access the internet from almost anywhere (including airplanes), and make the prospect of watching TV anywhere you like very real.

Technology is bound to get better and make things previously thought impossible a part of our everyday lives. It is already portable enough to bring along with you everyday. Could we have imagined that 50 years ago? So, what sort of technological advances are awaiting us in the future?

People want to watch TV, and they will find new and interesting ways to do it.

If you are interested, you can learn more about HBO Now here: order.hbonow.com/

OPINION

#NoTREADYFoRhiLLARY HILLARY CLINTON IS WHAT WE HAVE, BUT NOT WHAT WE NEED That's What's the Matter

by Kevin Rackham Recently, Hillary Clinton announced that she is running for president, joining the likes of Ted Cruz, Rand Paul and noted Pitbull enthusiast Marco Rubio in throwing her hat in the ring.

There’s a real lack of credible or interesting Democratic candidates, and it seems likely that Hillary is going to win primaries and become the Democratic candidate for president in the next election. That’s a huge disappointment.

Clinton’s nomination underscores the need for a populist revival in the Democratic Party and, more specifically, an end to the two-party system.

I’m one of the millions of Americans who refuses to register as a Democrat but ends up voting for Democratic candidates every year anyway. Hillary is sort of the embodiment of all the reasons I don’t support the Democratic Party. In her announcement, she said, “The deck is still stacked in favor of

those at the top. Everyday Americans need a champion, and I want to be that champion.” It’s hard to take that kind of populist sentiment very seriously when she and Bill have a combined net worth of about $100 million. Hillary is at the top of the deck and has benefited enormously from Citizen’s United, a ruling that she is now taking a stand against.

It wouldn’t bother me so much if there were other decent Democratic candidates, but there aren’t. Hillary and Obama led the primaries by huge margins in 2008, and there haven’t been Democrats who really captured the national spotlight since then. She’s already gained a historic number of endorsements, she polls well in all the right states, and she certainly has the money.

At this point, the best-case scenario is Warren as Clinton’s running mate, which would at least lend a little bit of credibility to Clinton’s shiny new populist rhetoric.

Still, Hillary’s shift to populist rhetoric and focus on income inequality came way too soon after her meeting with Elizabeth Warren to feel genuine or sound convincing, and even before that meeting with Hillary, Warren had made it clear that she won’t be running. It’s hard to see Bernie Sanders as a viable candidate when he openly identifies as a socialist and got elected as an independent.

Hillary’s announcement was inevitable, and her nomination seems inevitable, too. Her becoming the first woman president is a distinct possibility when there’s such an ugly Republican primary awaiting us. Ultimately, we get to watch as a generic Democrat battles it out with a crowd of evenly matched Re-

publicans while everyone involved raises and spends billions of dollars. The prospect of having a female president is exciting, but it would be so much better if it was a candidate who isn’t so hard to get excited about.

If Clinton wins, America will have its first female president, which is something to celebrate. I’d certainly prefer her to the likes of Cruz, Paul or Rubio. But I really hope that having a second Clinton as president stirs people into looking at how broken our political system is and inspires better candidates to run.

Here’s to an actual progressive candidate in 2020.

HILLARY CLINTON speaks to members of the Georgia Democratic Party at the Georgia World Congress Center during the 2008 Presidential election.

COURTESY Of bRETT WEINSTEIN THROUGH CREATIVE COMMONS VIA fLICKR

KAyLA TownsLEy

KAyLA TownsLEy

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OPINION

ChiLDCARE NEEDED:

A CAmPUS-WiDE PRoBLEm I’ve been thinking lately about the needs of students that have children. Returning to school after one becomes a parent presents a whole new level of frustrations, worries, expenses and anxieties. Student life (even just the classes, homework, projects and time spent on research) is difficult enough. Add caring for children to the mix, and it becomes exponentially more difficult. It’s long past time for PSU to address these needs that many of its students face.

One vast area of concern for parents is the need for childcare when one is at school. In many ways, finding childcare when one is a student is more difficult than when one simply works a full-time job.

School schedules are notoriously unpredictable: group projects, library research, writing groups, student-professor meetings, club functions. They all add up to a schedule that is hard to work around.

This school offers a few choices when it comes to finding childcare. PSU itself runs three childcare centers. Little Vikings Flexible Childcare Center, located in Stephen Epler Hall, is one choice. It provides drop-in childcare, but it limits each child to 4 hours per day of care and 12 hours per week. Also, according to their website, “Only our staff members are permitted in the play area; parent/ guardians

are not permitted to stay with their children in the play area. If parent/guardian would like to stay and watch their infants/children play at Little Vikings, they may stay in the reception area.”

I have a hard time believing they are serious, and if they are, they deserve nothing more than scorn and ridicule. As a parent I would never leave my children someplace that won’t allow me to interact with them.

Little Vikings also requires that parents provide meals for their children. For those who aren’t aware, the USDA provides funds to reimburse daycare providers for meal and snack expenses. In other words, meals are free to the provider, require no extra paperwork than what is already required by the state to run a certified childcare center (which Little Vikings is), and parents do not need the worry or expense of planning meals for their children who are at daycare.

Little Vikings, for whatever reason, doesn’t utilize the USDA food program, and students are all the worse for it. However, all this is overshadowed by the simple fact that students have unpredictable schedules, and despite advertising itself as drop-in child-

COURTESY Of RHEAGAN DUKES

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Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

The Campus Oracle

by Nathan Anderson

care, Little Vikings does not meet that need. They close at 7:30 p.m. Monday–Thursday and at 5:30 p.m. on Friday, which also puts strain on parents taking night classes.

The Helen Gordon Child Development Center is another option. Run by the PSU Graduate School of Education, the HGCDC provides a preschool atmosphere for the children of students and faculty. However, the center has its own drawbacks. One is cost: $980 per month for a full-time spot for an infant or toddler (the price decreases with age; the older the kid, the cheaper the care). This puts a considerable strain on student finances, which are often strained to the limit to begin with. There is financial help for childcare expenses, most notably the Jim Sells Child Care Assistance Program (there are others also), but these sometimes don’t go far enough.

The website for the HGCDC does not list its policies regarding meals, parental visits, or drop-in care, and at the time of this writing an email to their office requesting clarification has gone unanswered. Another downside of the HGCDC is that the center does not accept children over 6 years old—a significant hindrance for parents of school-age children.

The PSU website also mentions the Associated Students of PSU Children’s Center, located in Smith Memorial Student Union, but they have no website, and while it appears they have a state license, one must visit their offices to glean more information.

It seems clear that it is time for PSU to invest in a much-needed childcare program.

A sizable portion of the PSU student body has children (the current estimate is 1 in 5 students have children), and providing a large, drop-in childcare center with reasonable rates (and reasonable policies regarding meals and visitation) should be high on any list of future campus improvements. Little Vikings is a joke, and the HGCDC, while by all accounts is a much better place, is not adequate to serve the needs that parents at PSU have.

I would strongly encourage the powers that be to consider a large-scale expansion of their childcare offerings so that in addition to the three existing centers, parents could have a wide range of options that meet the needs of all students with children.

OPINION Elections, convictions and second chances

Against the Current

by Sebastian Richardson Sexual assault awareness month is coming to a close, but Portland State still has a lot left to talk about in regard to this issue and how we talk about it.

From 2010–12, Portland State had the second highest number of sexual assault reports out of all the public universities in Oregon and was fourth overall in the state behind Reed College, University of Oregon and Willamette University.

While we might have had a lower percentage of cases in comparison to other universities due to our larger student population, even one sexual assault on campus is too many.

As Associated Students of PSU elections are restarted and news channels have been eating up the controversy on our campus, now is a good time to talk about how PSU should represent itself among our fellow universities.

First, I think it is imperative to have a discussion about how ASPSU representatives are elected and vetted prior to taking office. Currently ASPSU does not do background checks on their appointees or nominees for any position within student government. Seeing as though they are not university employees, they do not have to receive the same kind of scrutiny a job applicant would. While I believe requiring background checks and excluding people due to previous run-ins with the law would be a bad precedent to set, I feel there needs to be some consideration given by ASPSU in regard to the history of potential candidates and those who will represent this school.

Let’s face it: If someone wants to be part of ASPSU and they have some minor charges stemming from past mistakes, it would be ridiculous to make this an impediment to serving in student government and running for office. However, there are certain charges I believe would impact a person’s ability to be an effective leader, and while it makes me uncomfortable trying to make certain distinctions in what criminal charges would be okay and which ones wouldn’t, this highlights an important issue.

Most forms of sex-related crimes are seen by the average American as being among the most deplorable acts a human can do. Now, I’m not talking about urinating in a public park, but more troubling charges such as rape, sodomy, child molestation and kidnapping. Charges like these are not slip ups, and they are not crimes of necessity. Rather, they are intentional actions by those who prey on the weak, the voiceless and those who are often denied a privileged position in today’s society.

Most often these victims are women and children.

On a campus where over 53 percent of our student body are women, we must stand strong against crimes that affect them and do our best to make this a campus where people can feel safe from the threat of violent sexual crimes.

With this said, having a student body president who has been convicted of attempted rape and sodomy would be terrible for our campus. Electing someone who has a history of sexual assault toward underage individuals sends a message to our student body, our community and victims that we at PSU are okay with rape and sexual assault.

It would not only normalize rape, but would put a person who has a history of abuse in a place of authority, which is not only inappropriate but despicable. That is one of the main issues which has been overlooked in this discussion.

It can be assumed that when a person runs for office, they care about the institution and want to represent it in the best way possible. With that in mind, if you are someone who has such a controversial past, especially one involving the rape of minors, choosing to represent the student body is not an act of respect but a selfish one.

I will agree that in many cases felons are not given their proper due following their convictions. I am no proponent of civic death. As a Christian, I believe everyone deserves a shot at redemption and second chances.

Nevertheless, in recent weeks I feel this rhetoric of the second chance is being abused and would be insulting to those who truly wish to reenter civil society and be good, law-abiding citizens. By holding everyone hostage to this second chance, you essentially blackmail people to either support you or say they don’t believe in second chances.

This shouldn’t be the case.

A second chance does not guarantee you the right to completely separate yourself from your pasts, and it especially does not require a person to look past it and welcome you with open arms. There are many ways to reenter civic life, and making yourself the center of attention and controversy is not one of them.

That said, I would ask that ASPSU leaders become more aware in the future about people’s criminal pasts and do their best to appoint those who can effectively represent PSU. Maybe this means making a change to the constitution. If that’s the case, then so be it. Many people would prefer to not see a repeat of what happened this election cycle, and while I hope this is a rare event, there will always be arrogant sex-offenders who would love to be in positions of authority.

Also, to those in ASPSU, I’m glad you take your positions seriously, and I’m glad you run hoping to actually be elected, but please, you need to stop pretending student government is an episode of House of Cards. Kicking people out of elections for mild infractions and on small technicalities makes you all seem like elitists, which makes the average student not particularly interested in getting involved or running for office.

In the past few years, I’ve seen you kick two eligible candidates out of an election and then appoint a convicted sex offender.

Your rap sheet is looking pretty bad and needs some improving if you ever want to be an effective student government.

Courtesy of Keith Ivey through Creative Commons via Flickr

Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

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COVER Planners with 15 Now Oregon—an organization advocating for a $15 minimum wage in Oregon—filed with the State Elections Division on April 17 for a 2016 ballot measure that that would increase the statewide minimum wage to $15 per hour by 2019.

CHRISTY PALMER, lead teacher of the Helen Gordon Child Development Center and 15 Now activist, testified before the Oregon legislature in support of a minimum wage increase to $15 per hour.

PORTLANDERS of all stripes march through downtown Portland in support of a minimum wage increase.

JEOffRY RAY/PSU VANGUARD

FIGHT FOR FIFTEEN CoLLEEn LEAry And LisA dunn

CHRISTIAN PROfETA/PSU VANGUARD

15 Now PDX organized a rally last week in order to call attention to their cause. The rally members gathered in O’Bryant Square Park in downtown Portland and made their way to Portland State, making stops at Pittock Place, Portland’s town hall, and PSU’s Smith Memorial Student Union. They utilized guest speakers at each location to urge employers to change their standards for minimum pay-grades.

The march was part of a national effort to raise the minimum wage. Seattle passed legislation to increase its minimum wage for city employees to $15 per hour, effective April 1, and San Francisco passed similar legislation. Similar movements are occurring in Chicago, New York, Philadelphia and Los Angeles.

Employees of PSU’s Helen Gordon Child Development Center and the university’s contracted food provider, Aramark Corporation, joined City of Portland employees to push for increased wages in Oregon. Members of the PSU Student Union participated as well.

STUDENTS AND EMPLOYEES AT PSU According to Christopher Broderick, associate vice president of University Communications, as of April 2015, “PSU had 3,094 active hourly employees holding 3,696 job assignments. 2,130 of the 3,094 (68.8 percent) are hourly student employees.”

Broderick said via email that approximately 68.5 percent of the 4,200 hourly employees that have held positions at PSU in some point during this fiscal year have or had an hourly rate less than $15 per hour.

Some HGCDC employees have been involved in a movement called Worthy Work, Worthy Wages. The movement calls for higher wages for the early childhood workforce. They recently connected with 15 Now PDX in an effort to increase awareness and impact.

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Lead teacher at HGCDC, Christy Palmer, said 15 Now is a larger movement that echoes the goals of Worthy Work, Worthy Wages.

“We were looking for a movement that connected with ours since Worthy Work, Worthy Wages was relatively small,” she said.

“Most childhood educators make very little money,” Palmer said. “We have many teachers who are master’s degree graduates who make about $15 per hour.”

“We’ve been for a long time really struggling,” Palmer said.

“Half of us rely on some form of state assistance. Some people rely on family, community homes, their parents, or some people rely on their partners to supplement their income.”

She added that low wages affect the function of the childcare center.

“Low wages contribute to turnover, stress and a lot of things that have trickled down and affected our profession as early childhood educators,” Palmer said.

Palmer has been employed at HGCDC for three years—two years as a student teacher and one year as a lead teacher. “I [made] $13.82 per hour—I just now was bumped up to 14 [dollars per hour]—with a bachelor’s degree and a Montessori certificate, and other qualifications on top of that.” She added that she has 18 years total experience in early childhood education.

Palmer said low wages in early childhood education are a nationwide problem that can be overlooked by the public. Because HGCDC is a specialized lab school, the center requires its teachers to have earned at least a bachelor’s degree, but they prefer master’s degrees, according to Palmer. She said rare hiring exceptions may exist when a candidate who has earned an associate degree has many years of experience.

Because the early childhood educators at HGCDC have earned professional degrees, they need to earn wages that can work toward paying off student debt, which Palmer said is challenging.

Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

“There’s no possibility for paying off student loans,” Palmer said. “There’s people who will probably never pay off their debt because even the interest alone is mind boggling.”

She added that HGCDC educators are state employees and, as a result, can apply for loan forgiveness.

“That’s means we would have to work for 10 years and make 120 payments before loans debts were forgiven,” Palmer said.

“A lot of people don’t connect that low wage with people who are professionals—educators with professionals degrees,” she said. “I want people to understand it’s not teenagers living with their parents on these wages. Most of us are around early to mid-30s working on having families or already have families to support.”

Student employees and participants at last week’s rally spoke about similar struggles.

“Most of us are student workers,” said PSU Aramark employee Nicole Straub. “Most of us have two to three jobs, and even with those two or three jobs we can’t pay rent, we can’t pay for daycare, we can’t pay for parking; we have all sorts of things that we can’t meet.”

PSUSU member Sonya Friedman spoke about the limited options for international students.

“I don’t know if you know this, but international students can’t work off campus so I’m forced to work a minimum wage job,” Friedman said. “If I want to further my professional career, I have to go through a million bureaucratic hoops.”

ECONOMIC IMPACT Mary King, a professor of economics at PSU, said the majority of minimum wage earners are adults, and they “are increasingly likely to be living and raising children in poverty or near-poverty.”

COVER Along with the 15 Now ballot measure, both the Oregon House and Senate are considering several bills on raising the minimum wage, according to King.

King testified on April 13 in front of the Senate Workforce and House Business and Labor Committees to advocate for a higher minimum wage and for Senate Bill 610, which would increase Oregon minimum wage in graduated steps to $15 per hour by 2018. In her testimony, she outlined five reasons to support a higher minimum wage.

According to King, even when measured against inflation, increased Gross Domestic Product, or rising productivity, the value of the minimum wage has fallen significantly in the past 50 years. The majority of minimum wage workers are adults who are likely to be living in poverty or near-poverty conditions.

King also said in her testimony that economics research has changed greatly over the past 30 years. She cited testimony from Arindrajit Dube, an economist teaching at University of Massachusetts Amherst, who studies the effects of minimum wage on the American Economy. Dube spoke at a U.S. Senate Committee hearing on Health, Education, Labor and Pensions.

Dube’s research has shown that increasing the minimum wage has had negligible or no impact on employment or business activity. In fact, Dube found that the economic benefits will likely outweigh the costs.

Raising the minimum wage, according to King’s testimony, will increase the purchasing power of minimum wage earners, resulting in increased sales and business tax revenues. Though “increased costs will be passed on to consumers, the lower consumer spending resulting from higher prices will be significantly outweighed by increased consumer spending from higher wages,” King said.

“I think people were kind of interested to hear that an economist would say that there’s plenty of evidence that an increased minimum wage would be good for the economy,” King said. “That’s not what they expect to hear.”

POTENTIAL PROBLEMS The push to increase minimum wage to $15 per hour may have the potential to increase costs in various ways.

Broderick said that, based on actual wages already paid for this fiscal year and projected wages for May and June, “had all hourly employees earning less than $15 per hour been paid at $15 per hour, PSU would have paid an additional $3,508,000 in wages plus an additional $265,000 in related employer paid ‘other payroll expenses.’ OPE includes FICA, SAIF, Transit tax, Unemployment tax and employer retirement expenses.”

Broderick continued, “The $3.7 million in additional payroll and benefits would require either a tuition increase or significant budget cuts, or a combination of both to balance PSU’s budget.”

Some business owners cite potential risk of passing the added labor cost onto the consumer. The 15 Now PDX website says they expect groups like the Portland Business Alliance and the Restaurant Association to oppose this type of increase.

Palmer, like King, testified in front of Oregon legislators on behalf of increased minimum wage. Of the few people she said she heard testify against the issue, both of them expressed concerns over how businesses would be affected.

“I think I only saw two people testify against [increased minimum wage]; they both represented a business perspective,” Palmer said. “I think they belonged to a business association.”

“They were concerned about having to pass the costs on to customers,” she added. “But they were far outnumbered by literally hundreds of people who said this bill would raise their ability to shop at small businesses and contribute to the economy in a meaningful way.”

A report released by economist Michael Reich, cited by King in her testimony, states that the average annual earnings of affected workers will increase by 30 percent with the proposed wage increase. Overall business operating costs will increase by 0.9 percent, but the increased purchasing power of lowwage earners will increase tax revenue by a projected $4.7 million.

“I think that there’s going to be a lot of roadblocks to increased wages,” Palmer said. She emphasized that people’s opinions on the matter differ. “There are a lot of deep and troubling structural problems in our state. I foresee a major roadblock being large corporations that have built their economic plan around low wages. They have quite a large say in this wage structure.”

King said the people she heard testify at the hearing against raising minimum wage were mostly agricultural employers and restaurant owners.

“The [agricultural] employers talk about the fact that they can’t raise prices because they’re in global competition, [but] the answer is that labor is not their only cost,” King said. “Other prices change, and along with those changes, they’ll adjust.”

King said restaurant owners in Oregon testified that they already cannot afford employee wages. Reich’s study states that the food service industry will experience the greatest impact of increasing the minimum wage with a projected increase of 7.8 percent in operating costs.

In most states, restaurants are only required to pay tip minimum, which is $2.13 per hour, but King said Oregonian restaurants are flourishing despite paying above tip minimum.

“Oregon restaurants are already paying $7 per hour more than they have to, and we have a foodie culture,” King said.

“All those restaurants operate in Oregon, despite the fact that they pay [$9.25 per hour]. People imagine that nothing else will change…[but] other people will eat out [if wages increase]. There’s another side to things.”

Some have argued against raising the minimum wage citing the Benefits Cliff—a term that refers to a signifigant loss of public benefits when workers’ wages increase. Wage gains would be undermined when individuals’ income increased enough to phase them out of eligibility for certain public programs. Take-home income would ultimately be less due to loss of public assistance.

According to a recent report from the Oregon Center for Public Policy, however, the Benefits Cliff argument is overblown.

OCPP’s report states, “Most public benefits are designed to promote work and self-sufficiency. The benefits phase out gradually as income rises, so that wage gains…leave families better off.”

According to the report, raising the minimum wage to $15 by 2018 would benefit more than half a million Oregon workers and hundreds of thousands of children. Those who earn the Oregon minimum, $9.25 per hour, and work 35 hours per week, for instance, would gain $10,465 in yearly income, or $872 per month.

There would be educational and economic benefits for the children of minimum wage earners as well. OCPP’s report

“Most of us are student workers…[with] two to three jobs, and even with those… we can’t pay rent, we can’t pay for daycare, we can’t pay for parking.” -Nicole Straub

states “that every $1,000 in additional yearly family income increases the academic performance of a young, low-income child…[this] is associated with a 17 percent increase in annual earnings when the child becomes an adult.”

Palmer said employees who earn less than $15 per hour at HGCDC cannot afford to enroll their own children in the center if they don’t not have supplemental income from another source.

“Most employees at [HGCDC] who have children—not all, but most people who have children—end up leaving,” Palmer said. “It costs up to 70 percent of someone’s income to have their children go to [HGCDC] if they’re making minimum wage.”

“Ironically, they spend their whole lives dedicated to providing quality education, but they can’t afford high quality childcare for their own families,” she added.

The OCPP report also addresses to the gradual decline in benefits as income increases. Public benefits “are designed to encourage workers to gain more income through work and to achieve self-sufficiency.”

A higher minimum wage would increase the net income of low-income workers through tax credits, for instance. The report states that the tax benefits from Earned Income Tax Credit and Child Tax Credit increase as earnings rise above the lowest income levels.

Where public benefits do not phase out as gradually, the problem “is independent of any minimum wage increase.” For instance, as family income increases, ERDC co-payment increases, and in some cases, the increase in co-payment exceeds the increase in income. This, according to the OCPP, is a failure of the legislature’s past budget cuts to the program and must be fixed by the legislature.

Currently, according to a study by the University of Oregon, the cost of public assistance to employees of Oregon industries is about $1.8 billion. Oregon has one of the lowest corporate tax rates in the nation.

“Why should taxpayers be subsidizing employers? That’s not a good model,” King said. “And then there’s the dignity. People want to earn their way.”

NEXT STEPS Now that 15 Now Oregon has filed to the Elections Division to begin the ballot measure process, they will need to take further action for a ballot measure to reach voters.

Next, they will need to collect 1,000 valid signatures in support of the $15 minimum wage ballot measure. If they do this, Oregon’s Secretary of State Jeanne Atkins will draft a ballot title. Supporters will then need to collect at least 88,000 valid signatures by July 2016 in order to meet the qualifications to be on the November 2016 ballot, according to an April 17 press release from 15 Now Oregon.

In the meantime, Palmer said she would like to see employees continue to develop a relationship with PSU President Wim Wiewel.

“I think we are building a relationship with [Wiewel] and we really want PSU as a community to understand what [HGCDC] is: it’s a place of research, it’s a place where educators go to learn, it’s a lab school as well as a center,” Palmer said. “It’s not just a daycare…It’s a place where parents can go and they know that their child is safe. It’s a vital component of the academic piece of PSU’s value as well as a place for children to be and learn. I hope PSU understands that we have a vital role on campus and knows the story of educators making as little [money] as we do.”

Palmer added that those advocating for $15 minimum wage understand that the process of earning higher wages will take time, planning and procedure.

“I think we have very realistic expectations and it’s very important for us that people understand that we are reflective individuals and we understand there are constraints and budgets and things don’t happen immediately—especially really large changes,” Palmer said.

“We want living wages as soon as possible, and we respect and understand that process,” she continued. “We want to make sure it is done properly.”

Additional reporting by Evan Birkeland.

Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

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ARTS & CULTURE

FiND ThAT Wig YoU’RE hUNTiNg FoR AT NEWCoN PDX SWAP mEET Newcon PDX countdown event Swap meet

TRADE fANDOM PARAPHENALIA AT CONVENTION-ORGANIZED EVENT

Peninsula Park Portland, Oregon 97217 May 16, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. free

LAurEn MoorE

Who wants to freecycle his or her extra prized figurine out to the curbside for someone who just does not appreciate it as much as you?

Instead, bring your posable Samus Aran to the Newcon PDX countdown event and swap meet on May 16, and trade it away to someone who will love it.

Swap meets are informal gatherings for people to buy, sell and trade various items, somewhat similar to a flea market. In this case, it is anime, manga, figurines, cosplay and anything else fandom-related you may own but do not have room for anymore.

The rules of the swap meet are simple. Bring a blanket, a lunch and stuff to trade. At this swap meet, money is not allowed, only trades.

Swap meets are common and popular at various comiccons and large anime conventions, like Fanime.

Nikkie Mulholland, a staffer at Newcon PDX and hostess of the swap meet, attended her first swap meet at Fanime.

“Lots of people grow tired of the merchandise they have, and it is a great way to find a new home for it and get some stuff you use and like in exchange,” Mulholland said.

Newcon PDX is a local convention that caters to fandoms of all forms, including manga, anime, games, comics and more.

Isabella Guetter, a Newcon PDX attendee, has never attended a swap meet before but feels it is a wonderful idea.

“Cosplay is often very expensive and takes up a lot of room.” Guetter said. “With a swap meet, we are able to get rid of old costumes and props in exchange for things we may need or want in the future. It’s a great way to save money, meet new people and get new costumes.”

Jade Baker, a Newcon PDX attendee and costume designer, has never been to a swap meet and is not quite sure what to expect. She hopes to meet more people in the area at this event.

People often attend swap meets looking to get rid of certain items.

“I will be bringing a barely worn Ciel Phantomhive [from Black Butler] outfit, a barely worn lolita dress,

a handmade Aranea Serket [from Homestuck] costume, a few wigs that have had little use and will be disinfected, and possibly a few little props and accessories that I have,” Guetter said.

Swap meet attendees look for certain items as well.

“I am always looking for more figurines and maybe some wigs and costume pieces for future plans,” Mulholland said.

This swap meet is hosted by Newcon PDX and is a countdown event to drum up interest for the convention, which will be held January 15–17 next year.

“I am hoping people can meet others in the area that share the same interest as them, clean out their closets and help spread the word of Newcon,” Mulholland said.

FIGURES from the Toy and Action figure Museum in Pauls Valley, OK.

COURTESY Of JIM MERITHEW/WIRED.COM THROUGH CREATIVE COMMONS

gET A JEg UP oN ThiS WARm WEAThER TAKE THE DEVIL'S GAMBLE AND TRY ON SOME JEGGINGS THIS SPRING

MArGo pEChA

Maybe you wear jeggings.

Maybe you don’t.

Maybe you should.

I’d like to take a moment to talk about the wonders of the faux pants that are jeggings— you know, those stretch-infused leggings that are either a blend of denim fabric and spandex or simply all stretch all the time.

I’ll admit it. I was wary of jeggings for quite a long time until I was given a pair on Christmas Eve. That sounds more magical than the moment actually was, but it was love at first try-on. Let’s delve deeper into the art of wearing jeggings, shall we?

The nice thing about jeggings is that you don’t really

COURTESY Of MAEGAN TINTARI THROUGH CREATIVE COMMONS

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have to pay attention to your body type to find the right pair for yourself. Skinny-fit stretch fabric is essentially all the same, minus the pattern.

But we’ll get to that later.

The only things to ask yourself are, “Do I think skinny pants look good on me?” and, “Am I comfortable wearing these in public?” If the answers to those questions are yes and yes, then you’re well on your way to a beautiful jeggings journey.

or something more like jeans (functioning zippers and pockets).

There are pros and cons to each. One usually looks more like actual pants than the other, but as such doesn’t lend itself as easily to being worn under skirts, dresses or oversized shirts. The other comes with the danger of slippage—no belt loops means they might start to slide down. Choose wisely, or buy one of each to be safe.

Traditional or nontraditional

It’s a jegging jungle out there

Next, you’ll have to decide if you’re looking for something more like traditional leggings (elastic waistband)

If you can, try to avoid the plastic-sheen shiny jeggings that are printed to look like denim (unless you like the

Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

idea of earning the nickname Barbie Butt), because it won’t fool anyone, and you won’t stand out in a good way.

Pick a pair of jeggings that will complement your outfit and not distract from it. It’s definitely possible to find a pair of elastic-waist jeggings printed to look like denim that aren’t obnoxious, so take your time. Patience is key.

Don’t forget that jeggings also come in other colors.

Black jeggings in a denimspandex blend are my personal favorite and are a great staple for anyone—they look like black jeans, but you won’t have the problem of black denim fading to gray after only a few washes.

Additionally, a pair of black jeggings that fit right (as in not too tight) can totally be worn for more of a professional outfit when paired with some flats and a nice blouse. The trick is to find ones that look more like nicefitting slacks and less like the ill-fitting stretchy pants we all wore as children.

There are many other ways to style jeggings, so keep an open mind and open eyes— pay attention to how other people are wearing them, and try to incorporate some of those ideas into your own outfits.

Jeggings aren’t scary; make some room in your closet and embrace a pair this spring.

ARTS & CULTURE

CAmPUS ‘PokÉmoN’ ToURNEY miSSiNg No moRE ANIME CLUB TO HOST fINAL TOURNAMENT Of SCHOOL YEAR LAurEn MoorE

The sixth generation of the Pokémon video game series began on October 12, 2013, with the release of Pokémon X and Y . The Pokémon legacy began in 1998 with the release of the first games in Japan, Pocket Monsters Aka and Midori , or Pokémon Red and Green .

The Portland State Anime Club will carry on the Pokémon tradition by hosting their final tournament of this academic year.

The competition games are Pokémon X and Y , as well as Omega Ruby and Alpha Sapphire . The tournament is single battles with six versus six teams.

No cheat Pokémon are allowed, and only one copy of each Pokémon is allowed per team. The full rules can be found on the Facebook event page or on flyers posted around campus.

Zack Kennedy, a post-bac in organismal biology and a member of the PSU Anime Club, started playing Pokémon with Blue.

Gameplay in Pokémon consists of teams of monsters battling against each other for items, experience and glory. Kennedy’s favorite Pokémon in the first game was Raichu, a large mouse creature with devastating electrical attacks.

“He was the stronger, cooler version of Pikachu that everyone overlooked,” Kennedy said.

Pokémon games have long featured a trading element.

While trading is done wirelessly over the internet these days, Pokémon games on the Nintendo Gameboy required traders to be in the same room and connect their handhelds physically using proprietary cables.

“As far as a best memory, it is rough because it was so long ago, but it would probably be when someone was nice enough to trade me a Mew, which I then used the cloning techniques of the time to make an entire team of Mews

PSU ALUM BRINGS ‘BELLY DANCE Off’ BACK TO PORTLAND

to slaughter the Elite Four,” Kennedy said.

When Sean Paterson, a PSU student and anime club member, was seven, all he wanted for Christmas was Pokémon Silver.

“So I got a big box for Christmas. I opened 20 boxes, and then all that was left was the game cartridge,” Paterson said.

Jack Hays, a sophomore at Wilson High School who is involved with the club, started playing in 2005 with Pokémon Emerald.

“My favorite memory is definitely the first time I beat Cynthia in Pokémon Diamond”, Hays said. “It took me eight tries.”

SHANNON KIDD/PSUVANGUARD

Hays is the current reigning champ after the last PSU tournament.

His current competition team is Talonflame, Milotic, Terrakion, Metagross, Aegislash and Venusaur.

Kennedy has finished top three in the last two tournaments. He said he does not decide which Pokémon he is bringing into tournaments until the week before.

“I usually test out a bunch of different teams on Poké-

SOPHIA SALEEM performs in the Rising Star segment of Belly Dance Off 2013 Round 2 in Seattle, with live music by MB Orchestra.

ruby KinG

A main stage illuminated by lights. Three judges and an audience ready to participate. Sound familiar? This is not the layout for an audience award show like America’s Got Talent, but the foundation for Suzanna and Friends’ upcoming round two of “Belly Dance Off ” at Vie de Boheme in Portland on May 3.

Showing for the second time in Portland, Belly Dance Off primarily shows in Seattle, but creator Suzanna Davis wanted to bring it back to the city where she pursued degrees in theater and political science at Portland State.

mon Showdown and then build the one that works the best,” Kennedy said.

Pokémon Showdown is a virtual battle simulator website that lets players determine the likelihood of wins and losses based on team composition.

The entry fee into the competition is one can of food that will be donated to the ASPSU Food Pantry. The student tournament will be held on May 8 at 6 p.m.

COURTESY Of CHRIS YETTER/CJYPHOTO.COM

“Seattle is slightly larger, but Portland is quaint, and Vie de Boheme really wants to nurture local talent, which makes it a wonderful venue for us,” Davis said.

Davis started Belly Dance Off in 2010 as a way to cultivate an audience and inform them about the true roots of belly dancing, an artform that is often perceived as exotic and unfamiliar.

In three rounds, dancers with varying levels of experience draw songs at random from a hat and perform an unchoreographed dance in professional costumes with a live band for the audi-

ence, who will rate them on a scale of one to five.

Belly Dance Off is designed for audiences who don’t have a great deal of exposure to belly dancing. The professional judges, composed of dancers and teachers, give feedback that inform the audience about what they are seeing on stage.

Davis takes this exposure very seriously. A professional dancer herself, who trained in such places as Egypt, she has seen firsthand how belly dancing is put below other conventional dance forms, like ballet.

Audiences are used to seeing a dance performance that

has lights, music and a stage, yet belly dancers more often perform in low-level venues without those basic elements, according to Davis.

“People have misconceptions about belly dancing because it is not an artform that has been traditionally institutionalized, like ballet,” Davis said. “It’s performed at these low-level places, and audiences take that to mean it’s not packaged professionally.”

Davis was exposed to belly dancing while at PSU, where she realized she knew so little about the world and its culture. She traveled to Africa and Morocco and kept belly

dancing as a side hobby as she went through life changes.

During her second year pursuing a master’s degree, Davis realized that all she wanted to do was belly dance.

“I sort of accidentally became a professional,” Davis said. “I didn’t plan on it!”

Belly dancing is about unlimited expression through the feminine form.

“It’s an opportunity to discover yourself through a deep feminine spirit,” Davis said.

“Your relationship with yourself completely changes and opens up all of this fluidity in your torso.”

Unlike other forms of dance, belly dancing is not necessarily restricted by rules of movement. Dancers have liberty, which makes it both incredible and understood, as the audience takes this as a sign that they too can belly dance with ease.

But like a dance such as ballet, belly dancers craft their artform in a way that makes it look effortless, which is far from the truth.

“In the competition, we really try to highlight that these are improvised dances,” Davis said. “Improvisation is fascinating in all artforms, something that makes it interactive.”

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15

ARTS & CULTURE

‘RunLoveKill’ comic is a totalitarian thriller Andy Anady

Without a doubt, RunLoveKill would be perfect as a movie.

Jon Tsuei and Eric Canete really managed to make a comic that evokes what’s best about both mediums.

The pacing and action matches a big blockbuster film. The first scene involves a cello that I’m just on the brink of hearing, music and feeling that I can almost touch there on the page of a comic book.

But the actual imagery is so much more abrasive and buckled, like under some great weight in a way that movies couldn’t possibly manage. Limbs stretch and bodies bend in unreal ways to show the kind of daily desperation the characters live in.

Rain Oshiro lives in Prygat—a city-state held down and together by their government, the Origami— where they’re nearing the end of the erection of a Pacific Rim-like wall to defend against “the aggressive nature” of their neighboring states.

The whole premise of RunLoveKill almost immediately seems to be a narrative about an oppressive government.

The first thing Rain says is that she likes being alone because the government owns everything about her.

Out in the city, every wall in the background is slathered in graffiti as a voice of the oppressed. Even her only friend says he doesn’t believe the threat they face is from outside the wall.

Since there’s only been one issue released so far, Rain’s position with the government isn’t very clear and her intent is even further out of grasp.

She owes money, though it’s not clear why. She was shot with darts by people in uniforms a while ago, but who knows why. Where did she get that scar? What do the marks on her arm mean?

What is she trying to do?

The whole big-scary-evil government built on lies and corruption is a little heavyhanded, and it looks like it might not get the kind of attention to detail that it deserves. Evil people being evil on purpose is way too easy an explanation.

If every villain thinks that they’re the hero, then that

goes for governments too.

An evil government that’s obviously evil and wants nothing more than to control its own people is a little too simple, and I think that a comic book, of all things, could make a complicated government that honestly thinks it’s doing horrible things with the best of intentions or because the governmental officials are too far removed from their own people.

Rain’s character, at least, seems to be in a remarkable position. There obviously hasn’t been a lot of her character yet, since there’s only been one issue, but she’s softhearted, stoic and obviously conflicted between what she needs from life and what she needs to do to make it happen.

She loves her neighbors and her friends, and she seems to really care about the other citizens of Prygat who are trapped or “protected” from their neighboring states, just like she is.

And it is obvious that they love her too, as they give her thousands of dollars at no notice so she can smuggle herself out of Prygat.

Image Comics/2015

Rain Oshiro really has a life in Prygat and she clearly has a past we aren’t privy to yet, but she might not be either.

The wall surrounding Prygat is on the cusp of being finished, and that

makes me wonder. If Rain wants to get out so much, then what was she doing all this time up until now?

The first scene puts her on the wall and in some kind of hospital, but with no hint of why.

The Great Catsby Furball goes gala for feral cats Moriah Newman

The Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon is committed to promoting spaying and neutering all stray cats in the Pacific Northwest. This year, the FCCO will throw their 20th anniversary Furball fundraiser on May 2, at the Portland Art Museum, from 6–10 p.m. This year’s clever theme: The Great Catsby.

Tickets are $125.

Furball is an annual fundraiser supporting the work the FCCO does in the community to promote spaying and neutering feral cats, as well as finding homes for stray felines. The event will be catered by Elephants Delicatessen, feature wines from Sokol Blosser Winery and beer from Natian Brewery. In true jazz-cat style, live swing music will be performed.

16

Guests are encouraged to summon their inner Catsby with 1920s flapper dresses or dapper suits.

Karen Kraus, executive director for FCCO, is excited about this year’s Furball.

“Our organization is celebrating its 20th year in operation, which is why we’re throwing a ’20s theme,” Kraus said. “We’re trying some different things this year. We have some fabulous auction items.”

Some of those auction items include a weeklong stay in a penthouse suite in Mexico, a New York City getaway package, and a wheelbarrow filled with wine and other elaborate extremities.

All this just for supporting homeless cats. Dozens of other small items will be displayed throughout the

Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

Courtesy of Cobi Smith through Creative Commons via Flickr

evening during the silent auction, including art made by local artists and tickets for Oregon Ballet Theater.

So why are these Furball events so important?

“We love animals here in the Northwest,” Kraus said. “We care about our community and our environment, and our program is helping both animals and improving our environment and community.”

Furball events bring in one of the largest forms of financial support for FCCO, aside from personal donations. Raising enough awareness and support for these events means more funds to adequately solve the feral cat epidemic.

Susan Sokol Blosser, one of the founding members of the winery, has been involved with Furball for 15 years. Sokol re-

calls never really knowing about FCCO until they suddenly had a lot of feral cats at the winery and had no idea what to do.

“We suddenly had all these kittens!” said Sokol.

“Wilma, the cat-trapper, caught 22 cats [at the winery]. She took them, spayed and neutered them, and brought us back seven cats.

We have been big fans since then. We have shown our appreciation by donating wine for the events.”

It’s safe to say that the Great Catsby Furball will provide an evening of entertainment and excitement, while raising money for Portland’s beloved cat population. “[Furballs] are great fun,” said Sokol. “They just have a great, good, happy feeling about it. It’s for such a great cause.”

ARTS & CULTURE

kim JoNg-iL’S ‘oN ThE ART oF ThE CiNEmA’ iS FEARLESSLY STUPiD SHANNON KIDD/PSU VANGUARD

according to their website, also publishes German Air Force Airlift Operations, The Love Letters of Victor Hugo 1820–1822, Boys in Fatherless Families and The Women Who Make Our Novels, among other choice titles.

Their “About Me” page is weird fake Latin along the lines of lorem ipsum dolor nonsense you might find on template websites. I’m not entirely sure they’re a real company, to be honest.

It makes me wonder if I just

inadvertently funded North Korea’s efforts to be even more insane.

The idea that I just possibly gave money to one of the most bat-shit insane governments ever to exist is disturbing beyond words.

I think…I think I’ll go lie down and think about what I’ve done. Don’t read this book. It’s not very well written, it’s repetitive and might just be morally reprehensible.

LisA dunn

Every once in a while you happen upon a book that changes your life. A work of art so beautiful, so well-written and heartbreaking and magical that when you finish reading it you have trouble coming back down to Earth.

You walk around in a haze.

Everything seems like it’s underwater, far away. You’re unable to realize that you’re in public and you forgot to put on pants.

This is not that book.

This, instead, is On the Art of the Cinema by Kim Jong-il.

Yeah, that Kim Jong-il. The dead North Korean dictator.

I know, right? Not only was he the greatest golfer in the entire world, a lover of Hennessy, ignorer of mass starvation and literally a god—he was also a writer of, like, literature.

While the people of North Korea were starving in the dark, and daddy Kim Il-sung oversaw the near-total destruction of an entire country, Kim Jong-il was busy writing an enlightening tome on how to use cinema to fuel the revolution.

The revolution of what? I can’t say for certain. Because, though Kim is repetitive and repeats stuff a lot in this book

because he writes the same stuff over and over, it’s hard to parse what he’s really trying to say.

So far, I understand this: Cinema is one of the highest artforms. Blah, blah, blah.

We can use it in order to push the revolution of, I don’t know, art or something like that. Maybe the political revolution? Blah, blah, blah.

Cinema is visually stimulating, so we should use it to our benefit. Something about the seed of the plot has to be realistic to develop the underlying themes.

Camera angles have to mimic real life, and actors have to be good at their jobs.

Something, something, be loyal to the Party, long live Dear Leader.

The end.

There are a lot of moments in this book where you just want to climb to the top of Paektu Mountain, pray until Dear Leader materializes and then smack him. It’s like, bruh, we get it. Good art has to be realistic, go tell that to J.R.R. Tolkien and shit.

But in all seriousness, this book is predictably weird. It

reads like the insane ramblings of an angry teenager who just read The Communist Manifesto for the first time and really wants to marry his hope for the great revolution to his love for Clerks.

He just wants his parents to stop being such fuckin’ squares! He doesn’t want to get a summer job! Summer jobs are for capitalist pigs!

There’s also an entire section titled, “Originality is the Essence of Creation” which fits well into my communist-teenagerdoesn’t-understand-irony metaphor.

On the Art of the Cinema was, if the title page is to be believed, initially published in 1973, which makes the 329 pages of repetition somewhat less ridiculous.

I mean, writing about the necessity of film as an artform only, what, 70 years after film became the opiate of the masses, isn’t that behind the times.

Not to mention Kim Jong-il was only a crazed dictator in training at the time. Give him a break.

The version I have was printed by University Press of the Pacific which,

UNIVERSITY PRESS Of THE PACIfIC/2001

Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

17

ETC

EVENT CALENDAR john pinney

April 28

Strategic Plan Ice Cream Social When: 3–6 p.m.

Where: Urban Plaza

Career Fair Tips When: 2–3 p.m.

Where: USB 402

One of my favorite services provided by the school and advising centers are these career fairs. Applicants can get their resumes out to a wide range of career posibilities and make a lot of networking contacts. It’s also a swell reason to wear a tie in the middle of school week. Advising will be hosting a seminar on do’s and don’ts at career fairs.

FREE

Ben & Jerry’s will be served at this event. Faculty, students and staff will be on hand to continue a dialogue about the future of PSU: concentrating on where we’ve been, who we are now, and where we might be collectively headed. Suggestions and ideas surrounding the new strategic plan are welcome.

FREE

April 30

New Nepal with Ms. Manjushree Thapa

April 29

Denim Day

When: 12 p.m.

Where: Ondine Lobby

This event may be triggering for anyone with sexual assault or consent issues.

This is a day inspired by an overturned court conviction due to someone wearing “tight jeans” and what the ruling spawned is Denim Day, a day to talk about and resolve the idea of victim blaming once and for all.

When: 6:30 p.m.

Where: SMSU 296–298

Ms. Thapa will represent the works of writers speaking on Nepali identity while also discussing her own use of fiction and nonfiction to expore identity and political engagement, which has a grand tradition in Nepal’s literature.

Her insights on this tradition will be invaluable.

FREE

thinkers and regular exporters. Drugstore Cowboy is one of his features set in Portland in the 1970s and features the very best of Matt Dillon and Heather Graham, who overdoses in this film. This is a great movie to spark a conversation about drug use and addiction without feeling the need to demonize or martyr.

FREE

May 1

Lan Su Garden Chinese Convo Circle When: 1–3 p.m.

If you’ve never had the chance to practice your native Chinese speaking skills or would like to get better (my assumption is that this is Mandarin and not Cantonese), this is an excellent opportunity to see the beautiful garden, have some tea, and practice Taichi as well. All skill levels welcome.

FREE

The New South Asia

When: 3:30 p.m.

Where: TBA

FREE

Drugstore Cowboy

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Whitsell Auditorium Gus Van Sant is one of Portland’s most popular creative

A trifecta of speakers will discuss emerging trends in several South Asian countries, concentrating on India, Nepal and Sri Lanka. Ms. Thapa will emcee the dis-

cussion. Sri Nair will talk about middle class home and identity in India, Michele Gamburd will talk about age and migration in Sri Lanka, and Barbara Brower will talk about the ethnic views of the Sherpa as told by the Sherpas themselves.

FREE

Yo Miss!

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Lincoln Hall Fee: Free for students, 7 for alumni and faculty Judith Sloan is the architect of Yo Miss! This collection of truth and reminiscence transforms Miss Sloan into a variety of characters, from 18 to 40-year-olds and all with impactful stories of immigration and incarceration. Josh Henderson will also be accompanying on viola.

NW Quilter’s 41st

When: 10–5 p.m.

Where: Expo Center, Hall D1 Fee: $8 I know there are some on PSU campus who quilt and knit, stitch and perl. Like, it’s a whole thing in the way of making budgets stretch and allow unique pieces to take shape. This is the 41st annual quilting show, and I’m sure it

will help expand all those tips and tricks for those interested in the quilting lifestyle.

people wearing sombreros in one congregation.

FREE

May 2

The Iron Giant

When: 7 and 9:30 p.m.

Where: 5th Avenue Cinema From the studio that brought you Space Jam and the Pagemaster, The Iron Giant is a sweet and sad tale of a mechanical man crashing on Earth and the small boy in the junk yard who befriends him. You may have also seen screenshots from this movie used as a meme or two. Bring tissues, you’ll cry. Also playing on Friday at 7 and 9:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 3 p.m.

May 4

Youth Orchestra presents: Crescendo!

When: 7 p.m.

Where: Whitsell Auditorium Fee: $8–10

This documentary highlights the musical movement known as El Sistema that helps children unlock their potential through the power of classical music.

Two youth orchestra programs are followed—one in Philadelphia and the other in Harlem— showing the roadblocks that some students have faced while embracing the program.

FREE

May 3

Cinco De Mayo Fiesta When: 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

Where: Waterfront Park Fee: $8

Sunday is the midpoint of the fiesta down at the waterfront park. There will be plenty of food, dancing, music and color featuring the grand traditions of Cinco De Mayo in all its glory.

Highlights this year include the crowning of a new Miss Cinco de Mayo and a world record breaking attempt at the most

FREE

21+

PSU FREE OPEN TO PUBLIC 21 & OVER

FEATURED EVENT Spring Midterm Stress Relief When: April 29, 4–6 p.m.

Where: SMSU 101

I am a firm believer in being able to destress during your exams. I’m sure there’s a study somewhere that states that going into exams less stressed raises testing scores. Regardless of any evidence to back up my philosophy, I love to endorse these midterm and final exam events by the Programming Board. They work very hard to provide high levels of relief stimulation for free and both the dog and massage therapy are quite famous for being great stress antidotes.

Midterm stress relief poster

18

Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

ETC

hoRoSCoPES john pinnEy

Taurus April 20â&#x20AC;&#x201C;May 20

There is nothing in the rulebook of life that says you canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t go after your dreams. Unless your dream is to be lit on fire.

Maybe donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t follow that one.

Gemini May 21â&#x20AC;&#x201C;June 20

The last sandwich you ate (that one with the tuna) was not good for you. Mystery solved.

Cancer June 21â&#x20AC;&#x201C;July 22

Can we talk about that fortune cookie from last week, Cancer?

I know it seemed indecipherable, but isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t it exciting to think that buying a red car will solve all your problems?

Leo July 23â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Aug. 22

Look down. Now look back up.

Your card was the seven of diamonds.

Virgo Aug. 23â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Sep. 22

The last time I checked, no one had to give you permission to get up at three in the morning to raid the fridge.

Why are you sneaking around when you do it?

Libra Sep. 23â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Oct. 22

Remember to floss regularly, Libra. Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve had that piece of spinach stuck in your teeth for the better part of the week. One of your friends has named it Felipe.

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

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

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

Pisces feb. 20â&#x20AC;&#x201C;March 19

Donâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t drown your sorrows this week, Scorpio. I know itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s been a rough couple of weeks, but no one wants to watch you get drunk and then ugly cry.

Pro-tip: If you find religion when you get older, try not to turn into Kirk Cameron. I mean, the dudeâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s gone a little crazy. Iâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;m happy he found religion, but he just needs to stop.

Capricorn Dec. 22â&#x20AC;&#x201C;Jan. 19

Think back to the last time someone told you they loved you. Remember that time because this is going to be a rough week, and youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll need that support.

If youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re run out of ideas for pithy essays in class, I recommend the tried but true: â&#x20AC;&#x153;Grilled Cheese: Love It or Leave It?â&#x20AC;? for an essay topic.

Does it ever bother you that no one in Duckburg wore pants but most of the women wore skirts?

And what was up with Gizmoduck? Does a robot superhero in Duckburg still need to be duckthemed if one of the main villains is a trio of weasel brothers?

Aries March 21â&#x20AC;&#x201C;April 19

What is it about spring that makes it harder to study? Youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ll have to buckle down, Aries, or else your grades might start to slip.

From Mystic J, permanent resident of Room 1313, Hollywood Tower Hotel

ELISE fURLAN/PSU VANGUARD ELISE fURLAN/PSU VANGUARD

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ACross 1 Upper class deservinâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; to get the chop â&#x20AC;&#x201C; thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s not changed (9) 6 Originally Arthurian errant knight, resident of 6 dn (5) 9 Some writing that stands out (7) 10 Hermione, leaving island with bag, stupidly makes a bloomer (7) 11 Hearty desire to take on the unknown (5) 12 Streep performs with bad actor in â&#x20AC;&#x153;The Greatcoatâ&#x20AC;? (9) 13 State airline gets capital backing (8) 15 Chief of 6 acâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s is silent? (4) 19 Heartless trick by Venetian magistrate (4) 20 One fool to fool around endlessly â&#x20AC;&#x201C; describes old Secondary system (8) 23 Unseats from steed with horn blast (9) 24 Not any sun on the 7th of March? (5) 26 Day boy takes on head of school for a thrill (7) 27 Some chapter ministersâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; final destinations (7) 28 Invest with bear right away (5)

COURTESY Of ALBERICHCROSSWORDS.COM

29 Drinking den where the conversation flowed? (9) down 1 A French mistress isnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t at all liked (9) 2 Kings and Queens having no love for old coins (5) 3 One of 15â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s attendants who went for a noted ride (8) 4 15â&#x20AC;&#x2122;s transport provided

by Northern Irish, after mistake involving English (8) 5 Obligation involving a bit of effort gives rise to contention (6) 6 One draws up by home of 15 and 6 acâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (6) 7 Sources of heat in Heaven and Hell under which you wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t bum (9) 8 Region in which King Alfred the First hid in a tree (5) 14 See 22 16 An essential tax, it is accepted in rising foreign currency (9) 17 Sleeper is angry with Oriental we hear (8) 18 Newspaper informant obtains nothing from downfall of 6 acâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s (8)

21 Water rescue leaders endlessly try lifting up swimmer (6) 22,14 Is sane in half of brain? (2,4,5,4) 23 Bored with Old English writer? (5) 25 People of Kerala accepted currency (5)

Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

19

SPORTS

Bike to PSU Challenge Jason Susim

Bike City, USA, is one of the many monikers used in reference to Portlandâ&#x20AC;&#x201D;once known as the most bicyclefriendly city in the country

by Bicycling Magazine. As of 2014, Portland has fallen to fourth while New York, Chicago and Minneapolis take first, second and third respectively.

Portland still boasts an ever-expanding and diverse bike culture, however, alongside a sustainable approach to transportation. Look no further than the new Tilikum Crossing, the no-cars-allowed Bridge of the People, set to open in August. It is within that vein of Bike City pride that the Portland State Bike Hub presents its fifth annual Bike to PSU Challenge.

The PSU Bike Hub, the schoolâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s on-site bicycle and repair shop, has organized the challenge to encourage students and staff to cruise to class during the month of May. Nationwide, May has been chosen as the month to bike to work, so the Bike Hub has taken that and modified it to cater to PSU students and faculty. For PSU, May was also chosen because it is the last full month of classes in the school year and when enrollment is at high capacity. At a school like PSU, with such a big commuter population, a challenge like this seems fitting.

Participants can either ride solo or start a team of 4â&#x20AC;&#x201C;10 riders while logging their rides to class. Each team will have a team captain who is in charge of signing up team members, registering their team, and providing encouragement and boosting team morale. Teams are also encouraged to meet up before and after class to discuss their progress and share their rides on social media.

Weekly prizes can be won throughout the month for riders logging at least one ride per week. At the end of

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the month, total number of miles, number of trips and percentage of commutes are tallied up and winners are announced on June 2.

For those interested in the challenge but who live on campus or too close to bike to class, there are still options for you. Bike Hub supervisor Clint Culpepper says the challenge takes residence proximity into consideration and can accommodate on campus as well as local residents. â&#x20AC;&#x153;For students that live in the community or in the [PSU] area, we encourage them to log trips.â&#x20AC;? Culpepper said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;Like, say, if they have a job thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s off-campus, or trips to the grocery store, or any of those kind of regular trips that theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;re making, they are totally encouraged to log those as well.â&#x20AC;?

The idea behind the challenge is to promote biking as an alternative form of transport, as well as reward those who have already elected to commute by bike. â&#x20AC;&#x153;We have goals as the university to decrease the number of single-occupancy vehicles in those trips that are coming to campus, so one of the ways that the university has always tried to improve that is by promoting any type of bicycle commuting,â&#x20AC;? Culpepper said Rather than subsidizing public transit as it did in the past, the university sees bicycling as the most costeffective way to begin reducing its carbon footprint.

Not that any PSU commuter needs to be reminded, but there is the issue of parking to consider. Many students and faculty are all too familiar with the struggle to find a single damn parking spot in downtown Portland. Accommodating drivers with another parking structure would cost the university millions. Culpepper feels that

providing more parking spots is not the appropriate solution. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The cost per space is going to be 30â&#x20AC;&#x201C;50 thousand dollars, so if we can spend a small amount of money on bicycling and have an impact that spreads quite a bit larger, then itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a positive financial thing as well,â&#x20AC;?Culpepper said.

Sustainability and financial issues aside, there is also something to be said about the social and communal aspect of bike riding that the city of Portland has come to embrace. Instead of staring at their phones and avoiding eye contact on the MAX, cyclists who ride together are already engaging in a shared interest from which to build a rapport with one another. â&#x20AC;&#x153;The act of bicycling is a lot more social than a lot of other methods of transportation,â&#x20AC;?

Culpepper said. â&#x20AC;&#x153;So [the PSU Bike Hub does] have employees and students who will ride in together because its convenient for them. Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s definitely something where I think it gives folks the opportunity to find like-minded people who are trying to accomplish the same types of things.â&#x20AC;?

According to biketopsu.com, this yearâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s challenge currently has 13Â teams and 66Â riders actively logging trips. There is still time to sign up before the challenge begins.

The PSU Bike Hub has partnered with a number of local sponsors to provide participants with prizes and other incentives.

The Bike Hub will also host a Biker Breakfast every Wednesday through the month of May, as well as workshops like Bicyle Commuting 101, Flat Fix Clinics and Basic Maintenance. The PSU Bike Hub will host a kickoff party in the Urban Plaza on May 1 at noon.

For more information on the challenge and a schedule of Bike Hub events, visit biketopsu.com.

Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

Silvia Cardullo/PSU Vanguard

BIKE TO PSU CHALLANGE CHALLENGE

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SPORTS

2015 PSU WomEN’S TENNiS SEASoN WRAP-UP phuoC FrAnCis nGuyEn

Led by head coach Jay Sterling in 2014, the Portland State Vikings Women’s Tennis Team qualified for the Big Sky Conference Championship for the first time in school history.

They made their presence known by entering the tournament as the fourth seed with a winning record both overall and in conference (10–7, 6–3 BSC). In the quarterfinals they beat fifth-seeded Montana State University, taking out the Bobcats 4–2 and advancing to the semi-finals. They would face the first-seeded University of Montana, who went undefeated at 9–0 in Big Sky Conference play to clinch the regular season title. The Grizzlies would end up defeating the Vikings 4–1 to set up a final against thirdseeded Sacramento State for the tournament title, where Montana lost 3–4 to the Hornets to set up an intriguing 2015 season.

This season the PSU Women’s Tennis Team believed that they would return to the postseason for the second consecutive year. With defending regular season titleholders Montana and Big Sky Tournament Champions Sacramento State already in the mix, Idaho was also added to the Big Sky Conference this year.

The Vikings added new faces in freshman Siena Peri

and Alana Chaplin as well as a University of Missouri transfer, sophomore Tracy Dong, to bolster their roster.

Kelsey Frey also returned to the lineup after redshirting the 2013–14 season due to injury. Rounding out the roster were Dane Vorster, Sabina-Elena Preda, Ayaka Terakawa and seniors Megan Govi and Alexa McDonald.

In the Vikings’ Big Sky Conference opener at home against Montana State, they overcame a doubles point loss to come back in five of the next singles matches to win 5–2. They would add tough road wins at Idaho State, Northern Colorado and Southern Utah 4–3. A clean win over Eastern Washington 7–0 at home gave PSU five Big Sky Conference wins.

The PSU Women’s Tennis Team would go on to advance to the postseason for a second straight season.

The Vikings (9–10, 5–6 BSC) record gave them the sixth seed heading into the Big Sky Conference Championship.

Sophomore Sabina-Elena Preda shared her thoughts on the team’s second consecutive tournament appearance.

“Making it to the Big Sky Conference Championship was one of our goals for this season,” Preda said. “I am very happy and proud of the team that we achieved this goal. We worked really hard to get to

where we are right now, and everything was worth it.”

The defending tournament champions Sacramento State clinched the regular season title and the first seed with an unblemished conference record at 11–0. Newcomers the Idaho Vandals finished as the second seed with a 10–1 conference record. Defending regular season champions, the Montana Grizzlies finished at 9–2 for the third seed. Northern Arizona, the 2014 second seed, finished at 8–3 this season to finish as the fourth seed. Weber State went 7–4 in conference play to earn the fifth seed. The Vikings finished with close losses to Weber State 3–4, Montana 2–5 and Sacramento State 2–5.

In the quarter-finals, the PSU Vikings would have to get through the team that knocked them out of the semifinals last year, the thirdseeded Montana Grizzlies.

The defending Big Sky regularseason titleholders and PSU played at Club Green Meadows earlier in the year on Feb. 15 in a tightly contested dual.

After dropping the doubles point, PSU attempted a comeback in singles. Preda finished her match at line four in straight sets, 6–2 6–1 to tie the dual at 1–1.

The Vikings would mount a charge after Precious Gbadomosi and Cam Kincaid gave the road team the 3–1

lead. Peri would win the second set at line two to force a third set. Dong would win her line three match in two tightly contested sets 7–5 7–5 to keep the come back alive with Megan Govi still to come at line six. Montana would take the Big Sky encounter 5–2, but this matchup would be repeated again in the postseason.

In California, at the Gold River Racquet Club on April 24, the two schools squared off with a spot in the semifinals up for grabs. Montana kept their lineup identical to the first encounter with Precious Gbadomosi, Sasha Carter, Laurence Pelchat, Hannah Sulz, Cam Kincaid and Cat Orfanos at line 1–6 singles, respectively. The Vikings would keep their lines 1–4 the same with Vorster, Peri, Dong and Preda, respectively. They moved up Govi from line six to five to face off against Kincaid. McDonald would be at line six to complete the PSU lineup. To start off the postseason duel would be the crucial first point awarded in doubles.

Gbadomosi with Pelchat would face off against the PSU duo of Vorster and Peri. The Montana line-one doubles pair won the regular season doubles match against Vorster and Govi 6–2. Carter with Orfanos squared off in a rematch against Dong and Preda.

SOPHOMORE SABINA ELENA-PREDA JOINED PSU WOMEN’S TENNIS FOR THE UNIVERSITY’S FIRST BIG SKY CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP ON APRIL 24. COURTESY OF LARRY LAWSON/ PSU ATHLETICS

The result was in favor of Montana 6–4 in the regular season. Kincaid with Sulz in line three did not get a chance to finish their doubles match against Frey and Peri because the doubles point was secured by their line two. PSU would go with their star duo of Govi and Frey with 14 wins together.

In three of the closest doubles matches you will ever see, each line would have to settle it in a tiebreak.

Gbadomosi and Pelchat went the extra distance in the tiebreak to take the match 8–7 (8–6), capturing one of the two needed wins to secure the pivotal first point. Govi and Frey became the winningest tandem in PSU history with their 15th victory together 8–7 (7–3) to even the doubles at 1 apiece.

Carter and Orfanos won their tiebreaker 7–4 to give the third seed the doubles point and a 1–0 lead. Orfanos finished her day undefeated with a line six win over McDonald. Sulz evened her record at 1–1 with a 6–2 6–3 win over Preda after dropping their first encounter earlier in the year. Kincaid closed out the dual at line five over Govi to advance Montana into the semi-finals against Idaho. The Vikings were mounting their comeback with Vorster in a third set against Gbadomosi at line one, Peri up a set with a 5–5 score in the second, and Dong up a set and 4–1 in the second.

“We were really close to winning,” Preda said. “We knew that we have a great shot against Montana because we were really close to winning in regular season

too. The doubles point was very close, but we unfortunately lost it. If we would have won the doubles point, we would have won the duel.

We came out strong in singles and we were winning at lines one, two and three, but the duel stopped when the winner has been decided and those matches stopped as well.”

Head Coach Jay Sterling has led the Vikings to two consecutive Big Sky Tournament appearances. He will go for three next year without two seniors—the winningest player in PSU tennis history in Megan Govi, with 40 singles and 31 doubles wins, and Alexa McDonald, who is fourth all-time in singles wins with 25.

Preda sh ared her thoughts on the loss of Govi and McDonald as well as team goals for next year.

“Our seniors, Alexa and Megan, were a big part of the team and the lineup, and they will be for sure missed,” Preda said. “But I think this team has the power to overcome any adversity and I know that we will work twice as hard next year to replace our seniors and to make it to conference championship again. We will be focusing on that. We will practice and participate in the fall tournaments with that thought in our mind. I know that we will work hard to achieve this goal, just like we did this year, and I am excited to compete again.”

The team returns seven of their nine players for next season. Preda and the PSU Women’s Tennis Team will return for their 2015–16 season in the fall with the tournament season.

Sports Schedule 4/28 — 5/4 Men’s/Women’s Track and Field

Softball

OSU High Performance Meet

PSU vs. Sacramento State

Whyte Track & field Center, Corvallis, OR fri., May 1, All Day

fri., May 1, 1 p.m. and 3 p.m.

Sat., May 2, 12 p.m.

Mt. Hood Track festival

PSU Women's Soccer

Mt. Hood Community College, Gresham, OR PSU @ Oregon State Sun., May 3, 2 p.m.

Sat., May 2, All Day COURTESY Of LARRY LAWSON/PSU VANGUARD

Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

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SPORTS

PSU LoL Spring Tournament Round 2: The Machine Gun Technique commentary by Jon Raby

For the Vanguard’s secondround coverage of the spring tournament, we will continue on with our same two winning teams from last week and see who brought the wallop this week.

Fifty Shades of Thigh Highs vs.

Don’t Ban Syndra: Game 1 In this best-of-three match, the two teams clashed

hard and fast in games filled to the brim with non-stop action and constant poke, poke, poke, team fights.

The first game started off with bans of Jinx, Vladamir, Morgana, Warwick, Lucian and Brand. The picks were across the board and presumes these teams did their research and banned based on the other team’s best champs.

Don’t Ban Syndra went Janna/Siver bottom, Riven top, Lissandra mid, and a Vi Jungle. Reasonably tanky with good damage per second (DPS), mobility, slows and initiates.

Fifty Shades of Thigh Highs opposed them with Vayne/ Nautilus bottom, Irelia top, Ahri mid and the big fat kegcracking Gragas in the jungle for a fairly equal team, though

Jon Raby/PSU Vanguard

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Vanguard | APRIL 28, 2015 | psuvanguard.com

possibly more burnable other than their dedicated tank Nautilus.

Fifty Shades started off pushing their lanes in a little harder—pulling in a few extra minion kills (CS or creep score), but also leaving them more open to ganks.

Vi used this to her advantage and, with her giant metal fisticuffs style, took a firstblood gank on Ahri while she piled on Lissandra, but Ahri’s ignite just barely ticked down Lissandra, leaving it a one for one.

In the early games the teams were playing fairly similar. Lanes were trading kills, and team fights were rarely outnumbered. Wards were being placed well by both sides, and there weren’t many surprises.

Fifty Shades did set up a tricky play at around thirteen minutes. Nautalus drew three of Don’t Ban Syndra’s team out of lane thinking they could take him, but when they engaged, Irelia teleported to a ward behind them and Vayne followed up out from the lane. The three converged on Syndra’s three, taking them off guard for two kills followed by a quick dragon slaying.

The rest of the game was continuously tight game play, but Fifty Shades came out ahead in the end: 21 kills to 7 and a surrender at 23 minutes.

Irelia really dominated in this game with 10 kills, she was formidable 1v1, and dangerous in team fights. Ahri’s DPS was also to be feared, and as always Gragas’s explosive kegs knocked enemies into places they did not want to be.

Don’t Ban Syndra worked well together and made no obvious mistakes during this game. Their picks and strategy were cautious but still willing to go in when needed.

The cards were dealt, and ev-

ery Fifty Shades member getting out of a fight with a sliver of health was a card taken from their deck.

Game 2 This game Fifty Shades banned Ahri, who they had done so well with the game before, making me think she was a champ that Don’t Ban Syndra’s mid lane summoner XXXIZ specialized in. The other two champs that excelled in the first game, Irelia and Vayne, were both banned as well, along with Jinx, Warwick and Lucian again.

The lineup for Fifty Shades was LeBlanc mid, Olaf top, Hecarim Jung and Draven/ Vel’Koz bottom—a very odd support pick. Vel’Koz certainly has all the knock-ups and slows needed, but could he be effective without the CS he would normally get as a mid laner?

Their strategy was clear from their picks, Fifty Shades was going for massive DPS. The question is if such an aggressive strategy was too risky.

Don’t Ban Syndra, on the other hand, also had a high DPS team but a little more tricky to play. They went with an Orianna mid who can shield and deal out the damage, Riven top, the demonic laughing scarecrow Fiddlesticks jungle, whose ultimate can decimate an entire team so long as he can live through it, and Graves/Leona bottom.

As was seen in last week’s match with TSYM, Sulamadora, who played Fiddle, again went into Fifty Shades’ jungle to steal their first blue and gromp mobs. This time he gets away with it, severely disabling Hecarim’s start.

Fifty Shades drew first blood this game with two kills top lane. Olaf’s near-dead DPS was still high enough to burn down Riven, and Hecarim charged in to finish off the

attempted Fiddle gank and save Olaf.

Hecarim’s charge played heavy into this game, allowing him to surprise the enemy team from such a long distance. He seemed always to be there when they wanted him least, and his high dps disabled escapes that might have happened otherwise.

The unstoppable train that was (Br)Olaf, with his Bud Light, frat-boy drinking helmet, was unmatchable throughout the game.

Olaf epitomized their team—the brute force model— all in with max DPS up until someone dies. This play style overtook the trickier game play of Don’t Ban Syndra picks of Fiddle and Orianna. At 10 minutes Fifty Shades was up 8–1, mostly from jungle and top killings.

Mid and bottom for Fifty Shades were winning their lanes as well. Blame it on a boost of confidence from the first game, but they were on a roll.

The game ended with LeBlanc 14/4/20, Hecarim 11/4/5, Draven 14/9/12, Olaf 18/5/8 and Vel’Koz 2/3/22.

With an 18,000 gold lead (an absurdly huge amount), Fifty Shades took an ace and recalled to base, clearly enjoying giving Don’t Ban Syndra the beating that they were, and dragging out the end, maybe trying to force a second surrender.

The impending doom of this match went on for far too long, but with a final Barron and the expected meat grinder of minions, and a full five-up team, they finished off the base at 36 minutes.

It would have been satisfying to see the scarecrow tear it up with his murder of crows surrounding him, a chaos twister of fear and damage galore, but Olaf’s constant “Brooooo” as he hammered multiple enemies at a time sufficed.

SPORTS

what’s next for the blazers?

CoMMEnTAry by ALEX MoorE

Is LaMarcus Aldridge good enough to lead a team to a championship?

This is the question all Portland Trail Blazers fans need to be asking themselves.

In regards to this team’s future, specifically Aldridge’s pending free agency, this is the single most important offseason aspect that needs to be addressed.

Let’s say the answer is yes.

Aldridge is good enough. This means the Blazers need to get better around him, defensively and offensively, to get to a place where Aldridge can lead the team to it’s first championship since 1977.

Logical, right?

The biggest issue in that process is, of course, resigning the All-Star power forward this offseason. Aldridge

has come out and said that he wants to be the best Blazer of all time. For that to happen, he would have to sign a big, wallet-stuffing deal from Portland, who can offer him the most lucrative deal.

Knowledgeable speculation leads one to believe that Aldridge will sign a deal with the Blazers that should keep him here until right before his career ends, but anything can happen in free agency. Of course, the opposite speculation leads us with the other option—Aldridge leaving Portland. This kind of talk includes he-saids-shesaids and some of the most unreliable, untimely and dramatic noise.

In this case, speculation leads us nowhere except straight into drama-filled

sports circus with the likes of the Kardashian and Hilton families as ringmasters.

Let’s ignore that kind of speculation, for obvious reasons.

Let’s say Aldridge does sign the deal this summer, as he has said himself.

What’s next?

If the Blazers’ management and fan base agree that Aldridge can win a championship, then Portland’s window starts now. Right now.

Because Aldridge is not getting any younger. And even with a style of play that should age relatively well, the power forward only has about the length of this upcoming contract to play consistently at the level he is at now.

This becomes the duty of general manager Neil Olshey,

and it is arguably the most important aspect of the Blazers championship window. But while it could solve all Blazers problems, it also opens up more questions.

The rain bros. The backcourt. Damian Lillard and Wesley Matthews.

Lillard was exposed post Wesley Matthews’ Achilles injury. He had a very poor beginning to the playoffs and was not in any way, shape or form the Lillard whom Blazers fans are used to seeing. This cannot be the case in the future.

Lillard has to at least show up on the defensive side of the ball— with Matthews or without.

Matthews is also an upcoming free agent. The heart and soul of this Blazers team, his effect on Portland as a basketball team is visible. Re-

taining him will be different with the injury, but it is hard not to argue that the guard nicknamed Ironman is one of those surrounding pieces that is necessary in the Blazers and Aldridge’s pursuit of the Larry O’ Brien trophy.

All other assets of this team need to be addressed as well—the frontcourt pieces of Nicolas Batum and Robin Lopez (another free agent), and the bench.

Championship windows do not stay open long and sometimes don’t even open at all. If Aldridge can win a championship, he needs to be surrounded with the correct pieces. Not just pieces that are already in place, being adjusted and assumed as worthy of being called championship assets.

What does that mean?

Quick development from players like Lillard, Batum and Lopez over the next few years. Quick development from the bench. If that isn’t going to lead to championship basketball, Olshey needs to make moves.

Fifty win seasons are great. But no one wants to be stuck in a perpetual 50-win first-round-and-out playoff team. So why is that the brand of Blazers basketball that has existed in the latest stretch of Portland playoff appearances?

Answer the question—is Aldridge good enough to lead a team to championship?

If the answer is yes, like it supposedly has been, then go win a championship. The window is closing.

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