Portland State Vanguard

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GLOBAL METHANE EMISSION ON THE RISE p 4 ASPSU DISCUSSES GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS p 6 “ON THE GROUND” WITH HOUSELESSNESSp 10 SECOND JOBS AND THE SIDE HUSTLE p 13

VOLUME 71 • ISSUE 8 • OCTOBER 4, 2016

SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2017-18 ACADEMIC YEAR ARE NOW OPEN

LECTURE OPEN TO PUBLIC

The Limits of Evolution How REAL science disputes the FALSE science of evolution Topics: Inter-species mating, evolution of new parts, genetic measurements, molecular evolution, analysis of evolution literature, evolution vs. conventional science Sponsored by Advocate for Upholding the Scientific Method Author of Evolution by Affirming the Consequent, ©Academica Press, LLC

Questions to the author encouraged Catered event open to students, university staff and public Monday October 10, 2016 7:00-9:00pm Portland State University Smith Center Rooms 296/8

FREE SANDWICHES!

Are you interested in living, working and teaching in Japan? The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program provides college graduates a unique opportunity to teach English to students in the Japanese public school system.

Graduates help develop foreign language education by serving as Assistant Language Teachers or Coordinators for International Relations.

This successful and respected program helps promote international exchange at the local level by fostering ties between Japanese youth and JET Program participants from around the world.

The Consular Office of Japan in Portland, Oregon will be at Portland State University for an informational orientation on the JET Program on the following day:

Date: Time: Bldg: Room:

October 11th, 2016 3:30 – 5:00 p.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union 333

APPLICANTS MUST Have U.S. Citizenship Or hold citizenship of one of the other 39 participating countries.

Hold a Bachelor’s Degree by July 1, 2017 No Japanese language ability required for the Assistant Language Teacher position.

Applications due to the Japanese Embassy in Washington D.C. by November 18th, 2016.

Applications are available at: http://jetprogramusa.org For more information, contact Career Services, the Consular Office of Japan at (503) 221-1811x314, or visit us online at the URL above.

NEWS INTERNATIONAL SCHOLARSHIP 101 ARTS & CULTURE OPINION

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COVER BY ARLEN CORNEJO

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John Pinney Miles Sanguinetti Nick Tool

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The Vanguard is published weekly as an independent student newspaper governed by the PSU Student Media Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers and do not necessarily represent those of the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration.

NEWS

PSU STUDY FINDS INCREASE IN GLOBAL METHANE EMISSIONS

MILES SANGUINETTI

A new study published by scientists at Portland State suggests—contrary to the findings of several previous studies—methane emissions into the Earth’s atmosphere are continuing to increase into the 21st century.

Based on the study’s findings, one major source of methane comes from leaks caused by operations in the fossil fuel and natural gas industries, according to Andrew Rice, associate professor of physics at PSU and one of the study’s authors.

Improvements in the efficiency of efforts to capture this gas could provide both a boon to the environment and corporations that could then sell it for energy production, he added.

Much of the study’s data came from analysis of isotopes in an archive of air canisters originally collected at Cape Meares on the Oregon coast and then stored at the university, Rice said, adding that some of these canisters date back as late as the 1980s.

This variety of analysis only became commonplace at the start of the 21st century, he explained; as such, opportunities to perform isotopic analysis on air from before then are hard to come by.

“We went back and analyzed more than 300 samples, looking at carbon isotopes, looking at hydrogen isotopes and then we had this data set which was quite unique at the time,” Rice said.

Different sources of methane and other gases have different ratios of isotopes, meaning that examining these ratios can give researchers an idea of where those gases came from, Rice explained.

“We could have stopped there and just kind of posted the data,” Rice said. “Instead we decided to work with my colleague Chris Butenhoff.

He’s an atmospheric modeler.

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“What atmospheric models allow you to do is try to make the connection between the sources—what is being emitted on the surface and the atmosphere, what you measure in the atmosphere.”

Christopher Butenhoff, assistant professor of physics at PSU, was another of the study’s authors. He and some of his graduate students were responsible for using inverse modeling to correlate specific isotopes of methane in the atmosphere with their sources over time.

Throughout most of the 20th century, the growth rate of methane in the atmosphere was consistently high, according to Butenhoff.

“Starting maybe in the 1990s, the amount of methane in the atmosphere was actually starting to flatten out a bit,” he said.

Butenhoff explained this trend changed in 2007, however, and that one of the study’s main goals was to explain the resurgence of atmospheric methane growth.

“From a policy perspective this is really important, because if we are going to control and mitigate climate and greenhouse gases, we have to know what’s causing these changes in the atmosphere,” Butenhoff said.

Anthropogenic sources of methane—those caused by human industry—including

release from oil fields, fracking, landfills and livestock are all on the rise, according to Butenhoff. Prior to 2007, these were offset by a decrease in non-anthropogenic methane release from places like wetlands. Between 2007 and 2014, however, wetland emissions have increased, resulting in an overall increase in methane in the atmosphere.

The methane released by wetlands has been linked with climate change and, as a consequence, cannot be stopped as directly as if it were caused by industry in and of itself, Butenhoff added.

“If that’s kind of how our climate’s heading, then it kind of limits our options

to how we can mitigate or reduce methane emissions,” Butenhoff said.

An earlier study by Lassry titled “A 21st-century shift from fossil-fuel to biogenic methane emissions indicated by 13CH4,” published in Science Magazine in April 2016, produced findings in conflict with the conclusions of the PSU study.

Heinrich Schaefer, the study’s corresponding author, stated in an email that though the studies’ results were in disagreement, neither could disprove the other.

“The methane (CH4) budget is so complex that the same isotope trend can be explained by different

emission scenarios,” Schaefer stated. “Ultimately, it comes down to which of the associated changes in sources other than fossil fuels you consider more plausible.”

Varying degrees of increase and decline of fossil fuel use, biomass burning and wetland methane emission form a number of possible explanations, he added. “[Their] preferred scenario also conflicts with observations of decreasing ethane levels (co-emitted with CH4 from fossil fuel sources), which, according to the study itself, is consistent with decreasing or stable but not increasing fossil fuel methane,” Schaefer stated.

ASSISTANT PROFESSOR CHRISTOPHER BUTENHOFF STANDS NEXT TO GAIA, A HIGH-PERFORMANCE COMPUTER THAT HELPED HIM AND HIS FELLOW RESEARCHERS PERFORM ANALYSIS ON THE STUDY’S CLIMATE DATA. MILES SANGUINETTI/PSU VANGUARD

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 4, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

NEWS

VOTE OR VOTE

CAMPUS GROUPS HOST VOTER REGISTRATION DRIVE JOAN BROWN “Our collective future depends on your willingness to uphold your duties as a citizen. To vote. To speak out,” said President Barack Obama at the State of the Union Address, Jan. 12, 2016.

Through Oct. 18, 2016, Portland State is conducting a nonpartisan voter registration drive. The drive is in partnership with the Oregon Student Association and in collaboration with many Oregon community colleges and universities.

In 2012, OSA registered over 50,000 students, breaking a statewide record. In 2014 a new record was set with 55,000 student registrations.

The U.S. general election is Nov. 8, 2016, and along with voting for a presidential candidate, Oregon’s general election ballots will include political races for governor, one senator, five representatives, attorney general and many city mayors including Portland, Lake Oswego and Hillsboro.

A person must be registered in advance with

the state of Oregon so that election offices can get registrations processed and pamphlets and ballots mailed.

Oregon law allows voting by mail, and voter pamphlets and ballots are sent to the address voters have registered with their local election office. The last day to register to vote in the general election is Oct. 18, 2016.

Registration can be done online, at election offices or by mail. Persons with an Oregon driver’s license may even be registered to vote already.

“Oregon Motor Voter, the new law that allows automatic registration for people who use [the] DMV, has come a long way,” explained Tim Scott, director of elections for Multnomah County.

But students are a different group. Often their permanent address is out of state, or they don’t switch their driver’s license right away when they come to school in Oregon.

“If you’re registering through a registration drive on campus or something like

that, make sure you put your housing unit number on it because that’s one thing that is a very common problem,” Scott continued. “It’s really important to have complete registration cards turned in to us so we can take that and turn it into a ballot to voters.”

“The goal is to ensure that students have greater funding for higher education and lower tuition; that the legislation has students’ interests in mind,” said Phoenix Singer, legislative affairs director with Associated Students of PSU and treasurer for the OSA. “The individual vote does count,” said Edwin Arthur Taylor III, adjunct professor of political science at PSU and associate professor of political science at Missouri Western State University.

“When people say they’re not going to vote because their vote doesn’t count, they forget there’s all that down ticket that’s really important.” Down ticket refers to additional levels of office

beyond the presidency, such as senators, representatives and city mayors.

“Most of the governing in this country, especially because Congress is so dysfunctional now, happens at the state and local level,” Taylor continued. “If people aren’t voting for state legislatures, if they’re not voting for city commissioner races, not voting for judges and things like that, they’re missing a real opportunity to have powerful democratic influence.”

Scott said it’s easier to connect one-on-one with local politicians than with their national-level couterparts.

“If you put a minimal amount of effort into it, you can speak with state legislatures,” Scott continued.

Voting is important, period, across the board.

Everyone should participate at all levels of government. If you don’t vote you don’t have a say in everything from local politics all the way to the president of the United States.”

“We at ASPSU say that we actually have a pretty huge impact on our state and local elections,” Singer said.

“After registering 50,000 students to vote, and getting many of those students to vote in a campaign where we called folks, we saw a tuition freeze across the state of Oregon. We were able to tell legislators that ‘you only won by this many votes, and we registered this many people in your district. You have to listen to us.’ We saw a similar thing in 2014, where community colleges and higher education funds massively increased because of student participation in the elections.”

Taylor said a lack of trust in institutions is one of

$100 late fee—they may receive a call or email from Student Financial Services, whose goal is to present help and resources for students to continue their education. A student may also be contacted after they have dropped out to see what can be done to help them complete their degree.

Out of that work, SFS realized there are several financial topics of which increased awareness could benefit students. They wondered what it would take to offer students a place where they could come in and meet with someone certified to provide training and to help

familiarize themselves with personal finance topics.

The FWC arose from these questions.

Amanda Nguyen, director of SFS and the FWC, has worked at various committees and groups looking at how to provide better financial literacy and financial information to students.

“Looking at the students who usually come in to see us at SFS—sometimes it’s when there’s already an issue,” Nguyen said. “We wanted to focus on how we could be more proactive to help students overcome financial obstacles and feel confident in making financial decisions.”

It is undecided if working with the FWC will give leeway against fees or reduce regular payments.

“It’s not [SFS’s] intent to charge people,” Nguyen said.

“We try to partner with other offices and see what we can do, or if there’s other funding available, and try to work out something that’s going to be sustainable, but it really depends on the individual. The sooner a student reaches out to us or we can get in touch with them, the more options we have.”

Contacting the FWC can be done online, by email or by telephone. Its website lists a number of topics to choose

THE FINANCIAL WELLNESS CENTER, LOCATED IN THE MARKET CENTER BUILDING IN SUITE 260. RACHEL LARA/PSU VANGUARD from, including ‘other.’ When vides expertise in higher students visit the FWC, they education access and the meet privately with one of the various financial aspects of it. financial coaches who may be Services provided are free. a peer mentor or manager.

To check out the Financial All FWC financial coaches Wellness Center visit their are certified with Inceptia, a website at www.pdx.edu/finonprofit organization and nancial-services/financialdivision of National Student wellness-center, email fwc@ Loan Program, which pro- pdx.edu, or call 503-725-3440.

ILLUSTRATION BY AARON OSBORN the biggest problems in American politics.

“A democracy is supposed to be about citizens governing themselves and creating institutions,” Taylor said.

“If we feel like we can’t trust our institutions, then we are basically saying we can’t trust ourselves because the people in those institutions are products of our choices.”

“Not voting and believing voting doesn’t matter are dangerous ways to think,” Taylor continued. “There are people who really do believe it matters, and they’re not really looking out for your interests. People complain that oligarchs, the elites, are running the country. Take the power away from them by voting.”

NEW FINANCIAL WELLNESS CENTER OFFERS MONEY MANAGEMENT SKILLS JOAN BROWN

Portland State’s Financial Wellness Center, initiated as an effort to help students with tuition payment plans and to curb the number of dropouts due to the costs of attendance, offers a variety of moneysmart tools.

The FWC’s primary target is helping students with financial needs to complete their university degrees.

Other offerings include financial goal setting, the basics of banking, budgeting, credit education, debt repayment and savings goals.

When a student is not making payments against their tuition plan—the plan charges a

PSU Vanguard •OCTOBER 4, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

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NEWS

ASPSU’S EQUAL RIGHTS AFFAIRS COMMITTEE HOLDS FIRST MEETING

EMILY HAGENBURGER

The Equal Rights Affairs Committee, directed by Kaitlin Hoback of the Associated Students of Portland State, called to order its first meeting of the year at 9 a.m.

Tuesday, Sept. 27. Hoback and Senators Carla Rose Allen, Catherine Everett, Josie Claus and Eli Matz were in attendance.

The committee, which uses the abbreviation ERC on its university web page, works to provide a voice and equitable opportunities for marginalized groups on campus. At the first meeting, the conversation mainly consisted of deciding where to focus its efforts for the year.

Hoback said the group as a whole is most passionate about preventing sexual assault. The ERC also aims to stay in contact with the student body so students know what ASPSU is working to accomplish for them. Everett added that

student government and the ERC “can’t get students what they need if [the students] don’t know we’re here to help them.”

With this in mind, the ERC said it aims to have at least one member present at all upcoming events hosted by the resource centers on campus, most notably the Women’s Resource Center, Veterans Resource Center, Disability Resource Center, Queer Resource Center and Resource Center for Students with Children. ERC events will include the OUTober coming-out celebration Oct. 12-16 and the Filipino Student Association’s 12th annual Kaibigan Showkase Oct. 8-12.

ASPSU and its committees work to change policies on campus they believe are outdated or ineffective. The ERC’s biggest policy change this year, if passed, will be the Amnesty and Affirmative Consent policy, which will provide amnesty for report-

ers of violent crimes. The ERC believes the policy will encourage students to reach out and report sexual assault and other crimes without fear of punishment for unrelated crimes, such as underage drinking. They also aim to redefine the university policy on consent to include the presence of a “yes” as opposed to the absence of a “no.”

The ERC also wishes to aid the Student Life Committee in altering the current rule that freshman living on campus are not allowed to come back into their dorms while intoxicated.

Members of the ERC feel the policy as it stands has the potential to raise the number of sexual assault cases, which are already high in the first weeks of classes starting on college campuses; consequently, the first six weeks of the fall semester have been designated “the Red Zone.”

ILLUSTRATION BY NIMI EINSTEIN The ERC would like to bring attention to this phenomenon in hopes of preventing sexual assault.

In addition to its focus on preventing sexual assault, the ERC would like to bring more awareness to the difference between equitable representation and equal representation.

Members of the ERC said equitable representation does not mean equal

opportunity will be provided, but that opportunity will be provided based on each individual need and situation. Equitable representation can help underrepresented and often marginalized communities have a voice.

During the 2016-17 academic year, the ERC plans to assist the Oregon Student Association with goals of lowering tuition, gaining more

funding for sexual assault prevention and getting free ability testing for students who believe they might have learning disabilities. Hoback and the senators at the meeting said they hope to provide transparency and clarification to the student body on the ERC’s stances and efforts on their behalf.

For more, visit community. pdx.edu/student-government

INTERNATIONAL

ASPSU KICKS OFF THE 2016–17 ACADEMIC YEAR JOAN BROWN Senators in the Associated Students of Portland State held a meeting on Monday, Sept. 26 to nominate a new chairperson and discuss ways of promoting equality and human rights.

Vote OR Vote and National Boycott Day were two big issues discussed at the senate meeting.

The first is a nonpartisan voter registration drive be-

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ing organized in partnership with Oregon Student Association. In 2014, Vote OR Vote set a registration record high of 55,000 student voters registered from Oregon schools. The drive is currently underway at PSU. The purpose of National Boycott Day, although triggered by police brutality and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, is to advance human

rights for everyone, everywhere. Senators passed a motion to write a resolution to hold a day of support at PSU. Representatives from Students United for Palestinian Rights, or SUPER, attended and spoke at the senate meeting in support of the resolution. “We’re not dealing with paperwork and bureaucracy, we’re dealing with people suffering every single minute,”

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 4, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

said one SUPER member in attendance at the meeting. “People suffering is not a game, and we need to protest all of this oppression.

We have to live together, and we have to understand there are boundaries that cannot be crossed.”

“It is international human rights that we care about,” said another attendee, also a member of SUPER.

The resolution stands with a similar international affairs resolution that is carried over from last year’s ASPSU senate for PSU to divest from companies that violate human rights.

PSU student Samuel Matz spoke up regarding editing specific language in the international affairs resolution in order to “avoid being antiSemitic or anti-Arab [and

to] focus on human rights violations.”

Investment sanctions against identified companies include Hewlett Packard, Caterpillar, G4S and Motorola.

Matz suggested adding two more companies, Cemex and Arison.

“Last year PSU had about $55 million invested in the stock market,” said ASPSU senator Emily Korte. “We

INTERNATIONAL

SENATORS IN THE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS OF PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY HELD A MEETING ON MONDAY, SEPT. 26 TO NOMINATE A NEW CHAIRPERSON AND DISCUSS WAYS OF PROMOTING EQUALITY AND HUMAN RIGHTS. JOAN BROWN/PSU VANGUARD PHOTOGRAPHER don’t manage that. We go through JP Morgan as our investment banker.”

During the 2015–16 academic year, ASPSU passed the Environmental, Social and Government Strategy.

“It acts as a filter for how JP Morgan invests our money in the first place,” stated Korte, regarding the environment.

“We are no longer invested in fossil fuels. Under social and government there’s stuff like private prison divestment.

[Divesting from] private prisons was passed two terms ago, so that should be going into effect.”

Korte said divesting is not easy. “The reason it’s hard to find out where we’re

invested is because we have to go through the financial department at Portland State, who has to then contact JP Morgan, who has to check what we’re invested in at the time based on the stock market then get back to us. And the stock market changes all the time, so that by that time the information

SEPT. 26

SEPT. 30

OCT. 2

OCT. 2

Sept. 26–Oct. 2 Nimi Einstein

might not even be relevant.”

The resolution will be voted on at the next ASPSU senate meeting on Oct. 10.

Appointees at the meeting included Shannon Warner, finance director; Fio Law, senator; Brent Finkbeiner, senator; Donald Thompson, Student Fee Committee; Joshua Friedlein, judicial

board member; and Lisa Kwon, judicial board member. There are still two senate seats that need to be filled due to the resignations of Rachel Ferguson and Salih Mahmood.

Brent Finkbeiner was also nominated as senate chair. Finkbeiner joins PSU from Clackamas Community College where he was at first a student government senator and then president. During his two years at CCC he said he actively lobbied and advocated on behalf of students.

Big issues he worked on include more money from the state for tuition and campus safety improvements.

“I want to make sure the work we do in ASPSU moves forward,” Finkbeiner said.

“I don’t want to have a lot of contention between administration and students. We need to work together on a lot of our big issues to make real improvements, to move our policies forward.”

In hopes of developing and implementing policies to make sure students are heard, Finkbeiner said, “I would love to see a regular town hall or group gathering where students are expressing

their opinions. I want more students to know that ASPSU is out there representing them, we’re out there to listen to all students, especially students who are struggling.”

“The student government has a decent amount of power,” Korte said. “We are trying to accomplish things.

My function is to represent the majority of the way people feel on the Portland State campus.”

ASPSU has a diverse group of senators and they are there to listen. “There is always one person that probably sees [your] side of the story, every meeting,” Korte said.

Finkbeiner, Korte and President Liela Forbes invite all students to come to the meetings and get involved, even if it’s just popping into the senate meetings for half an hour.

Meetings are every other Monday from 5–8 p.m.

More information may be found on the ASPSU webpage: http://community.pdx. edu/student-government/, and their Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ groups/96072382273/

COLUMBIA

Voters rejected historic peace deal put forward by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia and the Colombian government, which would have put an end to the 52-year civil war. If the deal passes, voters will expect tougher sanctions against FARC members, assurance they will integrate into Colombian society, and equal consequences under the law.

ISRAEL

World leaders gathered to pay respects to Israeli ex-President Shimon Peres on Friday morning. The audience included President Barack Obama and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas. Peres was a longtime advocate of a two-state Israeli-Palestinian solution and will be remembered for his enduring quest to find peaceful solutions for the two nations.

FRANCE

Kim Kardashian was robbed of jewelry worth nearly $9 million at gunpoint by two men dressed as police officers. French authorities are investigating the incident

PHILIPPINES

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte apologized on Sunday after a speech on Sept. 30 compared his war on drugs to Hitler’s Holocaust, remarking, “Hitler massacred three million Jews…there’s three million drug addicts. There are.

I’d be happy to slaughter them.”

PSU Vanguard •OCTOBER 4, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

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SCHOLARSHIPS COVER

WE GET BY WITH A LITTLE HELP… SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATIONS FOR THE 2017-18 ACADEMIC YEAR NOW OPEN

IT’S NO SECRET THAT COLLEGE IS EXPENSIVE. THE AVERAGE 4-YEAR COLLEGE STUDENT GRADUATES WITH $29,000 IN STUDENT LOAN DEBT.

THE EVER-RISING STUDENT DEBT BRINGS NEW MEANING TO THE AGE-OLD STEREOTYPE OF A BROKE COLLEGE STUDENT. MORE LIKE BROKE COLLEGE GRAD. HIGHER EDUCATION IS MEANT TO LAUNCH US TOWARD A SUCCESSFUL FUTURE, RIGHT? IT’S NOT SUPPOSED TO CRIPPLE US BEFORE WE EVEN HAVE OUR FOOT OUT INTO THE SO-CALLED REAL WORLD. THE MOST RECENT PROJECT ON STUDENT DEBT REPORT

SHOWS THIS NUMBER INCREASING EXPONENTIALLY OVER THE PAST DECADE. THIS NUMBER WOULD HAVE GONE UP EVEN MORE RAPIDLY IF NOT FOR A NATIONAL INCREASE IN GRANT AND SCHOLARSHIP FUNDING.

(SOURCE: THE INSTITUTE FOR COLLEGE ACCESS & SUCCESS)

THAT’S WHERE SCHOLARSHIPS--AKA FREE MONEY--BECOME ABSOLUTELY PARAMOUNT TO STUDENT AND POST-GRADUATION SUCCESS. LAST ACADEMIC YEAR, THE PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY FOUNDATION GAVE AWAY 3.2 MILLION DOLLARS IN SCHOLARSHIP AID, ACCORDING TO ITS ANNUAL REPORT. THE SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION FOR NEXT ACADEMIC YEAR IS NOW OPEN. FOR INCOMING FRESHMEN, THE APPLICATION CLOSES DEC. 1, 2016.

FOR CURRENT AND INCOMING TRANSFER STUDENTS, THE APPLICATION CLOSES FEB. 1, 2016.

READ ON FOR INFORMATION ON SCHOLARSHIP RESOURCES, IMPORTANT DEADLINES AND TIPS TO MAKE YOUR APPLICATION STAND OUT FROM THE CROWD.

WHAT TO DO: 1) GET AHEAD • Visit pdx.edu/scholarships right away. Familiarize yourself with the application, look over the FAQ’s and explore the Scholarship database.

2) CONTACT REFERENCES EARLY • The application requires that you provide 2-3 letters of reference written by people who can speak with authority about your personal and academic abilities. Choose people who know you well and can provide compelling arguments for why you deserve scholarship awards.

• Choose instructors, employers, volunteer directors--diversify your pool of references so scholarship screeners have a well-rounded view of who you are and what you’ve accomplished.

• Provide your references with the information they need to provide a quality reference. Remind them of all the wonderful things about you, including your major, minor, past and current employment, career goals, extracurriculars and any other pertinent information you think will help you stand out above the rest of the applicants. See the sample letter for approaching potential references.

• Thank them when you’re done! Make sure to follow up with your references and let them know you appreciate their time and energy. If you get awarded a scholarship, tell them! If they’re writing a reference, obviously they care enough about you to want to celebrate in your successes.

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PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 4, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

3) WRITE A KILLER PERSONAL STATEMENT • One of the main aspects of the application if your personal statement. Take the time to do this well. Sell yourself. Think about your value. Why are you going to school?

What do you contribute to the community? How can scholarship funding help you contribute more to the community.

• The things that matter here include your academic and career goals, GPA, community work, extracurriculars, academic achievements, awards, hobbies, hardships, family and life circumstances.

• Proofread. Have someone you trust proofread your statement.

• Attend a scholarship application workshop to help you craft your winning personal statement. (See calendar on next page) 4) APPLY FOR ADDITIONAL SCHOLARSHIPS • Look over the additional scholarships included in the pdx.edu online application.

Some of these require extra essays or references. They usually focus on areas such as diversity, culture, background, and individual areas of study.

• Look over the list of outside scholarship resources. As a student of a public state university, you have access to millions and millions of dollars in financial aid funding outside of FAFSA. Take the the time to apply for these. Think of it as an immediate investment of your time that could lead to a less stressful launch into your career path after graduation.

SCHOLARSHIPS

SAMPLE LETTER TO REFERENCES: “DEAR [NAME]: THANK YOU FOR BEING WILLING TO WRITE ME A LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION IN SUPPORT OF MY SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION. THIS LETTER WILL GIVE YOU A BETTER IDEA OF THE CLASSES AND ACTIVITIES THAT I HAVE BEEN INVOLVED WITH AND I HAVE ATTACHED MY UPDATED RÉSUMÉ.

I AM HOPING THAT YOU COULD FOCUS ON DIFFERENT ASPECTS OF MY BACKGROUND, CHARACTER, ACADEMICS, AND ACTIVITIES SO THE SCHOLARSHIP COMMITTEE WILL GET A BROAD SENSE OF MY LIFE AND SKILLS. I APPRECIATE YOU TAKING THE TIME TO WRITE THIS LETTER OF RECOMMENDATION. PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU NEED ANY OTHER INFORMATION FROM ME. YOUR SUPPORT MEANS A LOT! THE LETTER IS DUE ON [DATE]. [TELL THEM HOW TO SUBMIT THE REFERENCE.]

THANK YOU AGAIN. [YOUR NAME]”

SOURCE: PDX.EDU/SCHOLARSHIPS PRESENTATION.

UPCOMING SCHOLARSHIP WORKSHOPS ALL WORKSHOPS ARE IN SMITH MEMORIAL STUDENT UNION, ROOM 238.

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 20, 2016

@ 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM.

FRIDAY, OCTOBER 28, 2016

@ 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM.

MONDAY, NOVEMBER 07, 2016

@ 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM.

TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 15, 2016

@ 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM.

WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 30, 2016

@ 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM.

IMPORTANT DEADLINES JANUARY 15 – PEER MENTOR APPLICATION DEADLINE FEBRUARY 1 – UNDERGRADUATE & GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIPS DEADLINE MID- MARCH – UNDERGRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS NOTIFIED MARCH-MAY – GRADUATE SCHOLARSHIP RECIPIENTS NOTIFIED

IMPORTANT WEBSITES SCHOLARSHIP APPLICATION & DATABASE: PDX.EDU/SCHOLARSHIPS

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PSU Vanguard •OCTOBER 4, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

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ARTS & CULTURE

‘ON THE GROUND’ DEPICTS PORTLAND HOUSELESSNESS CATHERINE JOHNSON

As the city of Portland continues to grapple with the current housing crisis, the issue of houselessness is at the forefront of many people’s minds.

On Sept. 8, the Oregon Historical Society, in partnership with Sisters of the Road, hosted a screening of “On the Ground.” An energetic, standing-room-only crowd filled the space to watch this short documentary that looks at the realities of houselessness in Portland through the direct experiences of those who live or have lived on the streets.

“We know that the way people speak about their own lived experiences is crucial for historians, is crucial for our ongoing understanding of the past and how it’s shaped the Oregon that we have today,” said Eliza Canty-Jones, director of Community Engagement at OHS and a volunteer with Sisters of the Road.

For OHS, presenting this film to the community was one of many ways members strive to fulfill its mission, which is to preserve Oregon’s history in a way that is meaningful to and accessible for all Oregonians.

Members believe that in order to understand Oregon’s past, we must understand the stories of the people who lived it. That’s what “On the Ground”

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does; it discusses houselessness through the stories of those who have directly experienced it.

“I’m always excited for people to think about the vast reality of lived human experience that’s around us all the time, and that that vast reality existed in the past as well,” Canty-Jones said. “I urge people to not accept simplistic stories about the present or the past.”

The film details many of the contributing factors to houselessness, such as gentrification, mental health, and the shelter-street-jail cycle many people find themselves stuck in.

After the screening, four people profiled in the film elaborated on their experiences and answered questions from the audience.

“I thought their willingness to be in the film and then stand up in the front of the room and make themselves available for questions from a public audience was really courageous,” Canty-Jones said. “To be able to have their wisdom and knowledge spoken to us was a really special opportunity.”

One of these people, Carolyn Anderson, said most people don’t identify her as being homeless because of the clothes she wears.

She explained how she was even working doubletime without days off and

still could not afford her home. “Homelessness can happen to anyone in this room,” Anderson said.

The audience asked about the successful community-led responses to houselessness described in the film, such as Right 2 Dream Too and Hazelnut Grove, organized homeless camps in which the homeless police themselves.

Melissa Sayson described these spaces as a good start, where people in that houseless community can work together to gather resources, problem-solve, and trust one another.

“It’s a place of healing,” Sayson said.

While these are important spaces that give the homeless agency and some protection from the weather, they are not permanent solutions.

“Living in tents is not a humane place to live. It’s not clean enough,” said Jason Moore, one of the speakers.

He believes that people need to force authorities to build affordable housing.

Ibrahim Mubarak, the founder of Right 2 Dream Too, agreed. “I think the capitalist system needs to stop preying on the small people and make things affordable,” Mubarak said.

“We don’t need a revolution, we need an evolution.”

Other people in the audience asked what they can

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 4, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

ILLUSTRATION BY TERRA DEHART

do to help. Crystal Davis, development co-manager and coordinator for Sisters of the Road, said there’s always something someone can do to contribute.

That could mean dropping off cans, donating to an organization that helps the houseless community, going to a protest, lobbying, or getting involved in creating legislation.

It also means treating the houseless as human beings.

“My biggest hope for this is that folks from any background or circumstance realize there is something they can do to join folks in their struggle and work alongside these amazing and vibrant communities that are creating spaces for themselves right now,” Davis said.

The film and conversation that followed emphasized action to help the houseless. “We all need to come together to fix this problem,” Mubarak said.

“On the Ground” will be shown on 5:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 11 at the Multnomah County Board Room; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 13 at the Hollywood Theater. All events are free and open to the public.

OPINION

PERSEVERENCE WINS OUT FOR ALUMNUS RAYMOND CHEUNG FROM CULTURE SHOCK TO LANGUAGE BARRIERS, IMMIGRANTS HAVE MUCH TO OVERCOME GRAY BOUCHAT

Alumnus Raymon Cheung captivated Portland State students and the general public in an insightful speech about hard work and the American dream on Sept. 30.

An international accountant and semi-professional runner, Cheung spoke for an hour about his journey to America, and how he decided on his occupation in accounting. His business ranges internationally, and this was his first time speaking at PSU in ten years.

The room was at capacity with many international students asking questions about how Cheung, an Asian immigrant to Portland, made it to America despite difficult immigration and a rough language barrier.

This was just one of many Asian-inspired events put on by the PSU Institute for Asian Studies, for the theme “Engaging Asia.”

Cheung started by describing his passion for cross country running early in his life and how he became the top junior cross country runner in Hong Kong. “I asked my coach to let me practice with the team,” Cheung said, “but my coach said, ‘no, you are too slow!’”

In his beginning days he thrived, coming in at 28th place out of 200 students in his middle school cross country team. However, he did not want to quit there, and was driven to continue his running, by training every day of

INTERNATIONAL ACCOUNTANT AND SEMI-PROFESSIONAL RUNNER RAYMOND CHEUNG, SPEAKING ABOUT HIS JOURNEY TO AMERICA. JAMON SIN/PSU VANGUARD the summer with cross country alumni.

To get even more practice in, Cheung said he would often race against the bus in the morning—and win. “They [the passengers of the bus] would love to see me. ‘Here he comes, the crazy guy again!’”

One idea that Cheung mentioned early on, and continually spoke about throughout his speech was something his coach told him early on: “Nothing is impossible if you think you can.” Cheung said this affected him a lot in life, and that it drove him to accomplish all he has today.

“It helped to prepare my life in the next 25 years,” Cheung said.

The next part of Cheung’s journey was his education and culture shock in the U.S. He said he never did well in school because he was so focused on running, but when he received a letter from his friend in Newberg, Oregon, his coach encouraged him to travel to American to attend George Fox University.

“I never had good grades,” Cheung said. “But my coach said to me, ‘If you apply the same passion to school work

that you do to running, you will be okay.’”

He also said the culture shock was intense. “To compare Hong Kong, to Newberg, Oregon is like comparing New York City to Oregon City,” Cheung said. Besides that, the language barrier was also a challenge.

Cheung’s first semester, he said he couldn’t understand anything his cross country coach said.

However, he persevered and even hired a tutor to teach him English, and it prevailed.

“This was the first time since elementary school I actually

focused on school,” Cheung said. Through his hard work and dedication, he managed to become Business Student of the Year at graduation.

The next stage of Cheung’s story starts with the worry every college student has after graduation, “How do I get a job?”

Plan A for Cheung was to sell cars, and that didn’t inspire him; Plan B was to attend Lewis and Clark for law school, but they didn’t give him enough financial aid; so Plan C was to attend PSU and become an accountant.

“I was very lucky,” Cheung

said. “I found what I love to do in life…I was very fortunate that I found exactly what I want to do. I wake up every day, and I’m happy to go to work.”

Cheung made sure to end the night reiterating what his coach had told him, “Nothing is impossible if you think you can.” This advice allowed Cheung to try out for the cross country team, travel to America, and then find his passion in accounting.

“If you do what you love to do, you will find a way not to burn out.”

PSU Vanguard •OCTOBER 4, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

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OPINION

THE RIGHT TO BARE BREASTS She said

by Delaney Bigelow

Breastfeeding has been the most natural way of feeding infants since the beginning of human existence. Still, the act makes many people wildly uncomfortable. In fact it makes people so uncomfortable, society continues to shame and stigmatize breastfeeding mothers, forcing them to either do it elsewhere or to cover their breasts completely.

Sadly, seeing a child fed in public with a bottle rather than a boob doesn’t seem to make people uncomfortable, despite the fact that breastfeeding is completely natural. A large amount of this abashment of breastfeeding stems from ignorance.

More importantly, this response is driven by the sexualization of women’s breasts.

Societal norms deem women’s breasts and nipples purely as sexual objects. This leads to the belief that they should either be forbidden in public or perceived exclusively in a sexual nature. Still, breasts do what breasts were meant to do by producing milk and feeding the mother’s child. Despite these necessary biological functions, breastfeeding is often seen as gross or indecent.

Although there are laws in 49 states that protect a woman’s right to breastfeed in public, women have been shamed all over the country for breastfeeding in schools and churches, on buses, in Walmart and even in homeless shelters.

In 2014, a paying customer at a Victoria’s Secret—obvious supporters and large money makers who benefit from the sexualization of breasts—was asked to go to the nearest alleyway to feed her child. This occurred in a mall store where large images of cleavage are prominent at the front of the store.

Asking a mother to feed her baby in an alley or even a public bathroom can be downright unsanitary. It is selfish to be so uncomfortable and offended by breasts and breastfeeding that a mother is asked to leave the premises simply to feed her child.

Social media sites like Facebook and Instagram deem photos of breastfeeding inappropriate and are flagged for being “sexually explicit,” even if no nipples are exposed—another, equally frustrating issue. By doing this, Facebook is furthering the stigma, shame and embarrassment that breastfeeding mothers feel.

A recent case involves a woman who “squirted” her breast milk at another woman in a public park. During this incident, a woman had complained to the mother, telling her to move because her “very easily distracted husband” and child were staring. She didn’t believe they should be exposed to such things.

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It is frustrating to see that as a society, we can’t understand that the fault doesn’t lie with the breastfeeding mother, though in this case the mother supposedly assaulted the complaining woman. Squirting breast milk at a heckler may be a bit much, but instead of asking the mother to leave, the bystander could have instead educated her husband and child about breastfeeding.

Or, if she were so uncomfortable with the reaction her family had to the act of breastfeeding, she could easily have relocated herself and her family.

By hiding away a breastfeeding mother and child, we continue to add to the stigma. Additionally, instead of hiding

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 4, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

ILLUSTRATION BY SHANNON KIDD

breastfeeding, we should teach children and help them to understand it early on. This type of response could eventually stop the cycle of breast oversexualization.

Education and understanding can help stop ignorance.

Breastfeeding should be about the infant in every situation, not the bystander who may be uncomfortable with one of the most natural and beautiful processes of mammals.

OPINION

SIDE HUSTLE: ONE JOB JUST ISN’T ENOUGH The Complete Tool

by Nick Tool

According to data released on Sept. 16 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics, growth in wages continues to fall short of the constant upward trend in the Consumer Price Index. The release provides tangible data to back up something everyone can already feel: Wages aren’t keeping up with the cost of living.

The BLS publication “Occupational employment projections to 2022” shows that only 27 percent of jobs require a college degree. However, according to a survey from the U.S. Census Bureau over 47 percent of U.S. citizens have an associate degree or higher. The supply of college-educated workers seems to be surpassing demand, and knowing these workers are not in high demand makes it easy to understand why wages are low.

So, what’s a freshly minted graduate to do when they land that first job after graduation? Oh, you want to pay your loans back and eat? To make that possible, many people in their 20s and 30s have been turning to an alternative solution in order to make ends meet.

Welcome to the side hustle.

Side hustles are a broad spectrum of extravocational activities. They can be simple daily tasks that provide just enough money for beer, or they can involve serious ventures with entire teams of employees and investors. A side hustle might be a passion project that uses burgeoning technology to break into new markets. Many people use side hustles that complement their main profession in order to develop secondary skills that improve their marketability in the working world—writing, for example. Low wages, fewer opportunities and steeper competition have led to the rebirth of this entrepreneurial spirit.

Sites like Forbes, Money Peach, The College Investor and the specialty site Side Hustle Nation have posted various guides and tips for the 35-and-under crowd who may be interested in secondary incomes. Most of the guides emphasize side hustles that involve selling or completing menial tasks, but these aren’t the only options out there. Know anyone driving Uber nights or weekends? Ever picked something up off of Fiverr? The only limiting factors to the side hustle realm are imagination and market.

THE LYFT APPLICATION, ONE OF THE VARIOUS SIDE-HUSTLE JOBS. LAURYN SMITH-FREIMARK/PSU VANGUARD. PHOTOGRAPHER/PSU VANGUARD While researching this idea of a side hustle, I reached out to people I knew in an effort to see who might be burning the midnight oil. I encountered woodworkers, franchise owners, resellers, photographers, trainers, coaches, writers, bookkeepers, home brewers and artists who work full-time jobs but return home after their day to start job number two. Their motivation ranges from passion to financial goals, but the benefits are the same for everyone: extra money and marketable skills. The extra money isn’t always Lamborghini money, but that ten dollar charge from data overage has to come from somewhere.

Personal training was the most common side hustle among the people who responded to my social media polling. In interviewing these personal trainers, these were the responses I received regarding why it makes a great side hustle: “Personal training offers something so diametrically opposed to the traditional idea of work.”

“It’s physical, it is usually different from day to day, there are visible markers for progress, you have a lot of control over scheduling and activities and the personto-person connection is amazing.”

These are just some of the benefits that come from one type of side hustle that fills in missing pieces not fulfilled during day jobs.

The benefits of a side hustle make them a no-brainer for anyone who wants to supplement their income. With a shrinking number of opportunities and an increasingly homogeneous pool of workers and stagnant wages, who wouldn’t want to take the reins?

Having a second job that is your very own might be the path one should follow to escape a hollow life. It can be the sole source of substance within a week usually only dedicated to work. This is a generation shaped by recession, and a majority of people have learned to value experiences over everything else.

What better experience is there than building your dreams with money you earned from a job that you created?

Work the day job, get the insurance and have a legitimate name to write under the employer section on a mortgage application. If you want more than the bare minimum, get a side hustle.

PSU Vanguard •OCTOBER 4, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

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ETCETERA

PARALYMPICS FOR THE GOLD Andy’s Thoughts

by Andy Clark

ILLUSTRATION BY LAUREN CHAPLUK There’s no doubt that the Olympics are popular. According to the International Olympic Committee, almost 3.6 billion people watched at least one minute of the summer games held in Rio. That means half the world’s population watched the Olympics in some form or fashion.

On the surface, that number seems reasonable. The Olympics are comprised of athletes from almost every country, which means almost every country on Earth holds some sort of stake in the games (sorry Antarctica). This event literally attracts audiences worldwide who watch athletes perform recordbreaking feats of strength and skill. What could be more entertaining than that?

How about the Paralympics?

The first Paralympics took place in Rome in 1960 and featured 400 athletes from 23 different countries. The movement can be traced back to England where, in the 1940s, Dr. Guttmann used sports as a way to help people who had been injured during World War II. In the 1948 London Olympics, Guttmann organized the first athletic event for people in wheelchairs by hosting an archery competition for injured service men and women. This milestone paved the way for future Paralympic games and boosted the appeal of shooting arrows while sitting down.

Paralympics derives its name from the Greek preposition para, which means alongside, and the word Olympic. (Hey, stop yelling duh.) It was originally intended to show the parallel nature of the games and to highlight how the two movements exist side by side.

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Unfortunately, the name no longer works, since the Paralympics surpass their counterpart in almost every way despite the lack of recognition they receive.

While the numbers are improving—2.1 billion people watched the Sochi 2014 Paralympic Winter Games—total views still lag well behind their Olympic counterpart. This is a travesty. Not because people need to feel compelled to watch the Paralympics and Olympics equally because of some moral construct. No, this is wrong because the Paralympics are genuinely more entertaining.

For the vast majority of people watching the Olympics, their reasons can be boiled down to three things: national pride, exciting athletic events and inspirational stories. The Paralympics encompasses all three of those things in extreme ways that have not been touched by the Olympics.

Let’s start with inspirational stories. The Olympics and Paralympics are both filled to the brim with athletes who have sacrificed their entire lives for their sport. Both showcase people from every culture who have overcome immense hurdles and obstacles to persevere to the pinnacle of their profession.

However, the Paralympics is specifically for people who have overcome physical disabilities.

In terms of inspiration, it has to trump the Olympics.

The second argument for the Olympics centers around the fact that it highlights the best athletes in the world who compete at the very highest level—watching the Olympics is watching greatness. Still, we can all agree that no matter how great the athlete is, it’s still pretty boring to watch swimming. The trained

PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 4, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

eye knows there is an immense difference between a good synchronized swimming routine and a great synchronized swimming routine. Unfortunately, there are only 10 trained eyes for the art of synchronized swimming and they all compete in the Olympics.

The Paralympics have the same boring sports as the Olympics along with the exciting, dangerous ones like wheelchair rugby—more affectionately known as murderball. If we’re honest, half the appeal of high octane sports is the possibility of a crash—that possibility becomes even higher when every athlete is on wheels.

National pride is still the driving force behind both games. At no other time can you specifically cheer against another country without being scolded for not being politically correct. The sense of satisfaction viewers receive from watching athletic citizens should be doubled for the Paralympics. Winning at those games shows full domination of the athletic spectrum.

There are even reasons to watch at the local level. Portland State sent three Vikings to the Paralympics this year. Eliana Mason, Jen Armbruster and Asya Miller all competed for the U.S. Women’s Goalball team and won bronze. That’s right; PSU athletes won medals in the Paralympics.

So why watch the Olympics if the Paralympics are more patriotic, entertaining and inspirational? Why waste your time watching people battle it out for bronze in steeplechase when you can watch people smash each other in wheelchairs as they play rugby? What on earth is so captivating about the Olympics?

Okay…who yelled Ryan Lochte?

Swimming in homework?

No worries, we got you, boo.

The Vanguard will also be here all freaking year.

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