PORTLAND STATE VANGUARD
VOLUME 71 • ISSUE 12 • NOVEMBER 1, 2016
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NEWS INTERNATIONAL FEATURED OPINION ARTS & CULTURE OPINION ADVICE EVENT LISTINGS
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CORRECTION: IN THE OCT. 25 PRINT VERSION OF THE PIECE, "CULTURAL APPROPRIATION: SHAME OR BE SHAMED?", THE VANGUARD LISTED A PHOTO CAPTION THAT CORRESPONDED WITH A DIFFERENT PHOTO. THE CORRECT CAPTION FOR THE PRINTED PHOTO READS: "A PSU STUDENT WEARS ATRADITIONAL ARGENTINIAN GAUCHO COSTUME FOR HALLOWEEN. SOME PEOPLE FIND COSTUMES BASED ON ETHNIC CULTURAL ATTIRE OFFENSIVE." WE REGRET THE ERROR.
COVER ILLUSTRATION BY: TERRA DEHART
BEARS BEAT VIKINGS IN OVERTIME 56-49 ON OCT. 29. FOR FULL COVERAGE OF LAST SATURDAY’S GAME, VISIT PSUVANGUARD.COM. JAMON SIN/PSU VANGUARD
MISSION STATEMENT: The Vanguard’s mission is to serve the Portland State community with timely, accurate, comprehensive and critical content while upholding high journalistic standards. In the process, we aim to enrich our staff with a quality, hands-on journalism education and a number of skills that are highly valued in today’s job market. EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Colleen Leary editor@psuvanguard.com
MANAGING EDITOR Molly Ozier managingeditor@psuvanguard.com
INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Jessica Gaudette-Reed international@psuvanguard.com
MULTIMEDIA MANAGER Andy Ngo multimedia@psuvanguard
NEWS EDITOR Jon Raby news@psuvanguard.com
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Arlen Cornejo production@psuvanguard.com
ADVERTISING MANAGER Madelaine Eivers psustudentmediaadmanager@ gmail.com
ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Alanna Madden associatenews@psuvanguard.com
PHOTO EDITOR Silvia Cardullo photo@psuvanguard.com
ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Daniel Finnegan arts@psuvanguard.com
ONLINE EDITOR Tim Sullivan online@psuvanguard.com
OPINION EDITOR Jennee Martinez opinion@psuvanguard.com
COPY CHIEF Thomas Spoelhof copy@psuvanguard.com COPY EDITORS Jacoba Lawson
ADVERTISING DESIGNER Sam Hicks DESIGNERS Lauren Chapluk Terra Dehart Shannon Kidd Aaron Osborn Lydia Wojack-West CONTRIBUTORS Matthew Andrews Gray Bouchat
Joan Brown Alex-Jon Earl Catherine Johnson John Larson Ryan Morse John Pinney Jason Susim Nick Tool PHOTOGRAPHERS Matthew Andrews Jacob Salazar Molly Simas Jamon Sin Lauryn Smith-Freimark Roosevelt Sowka Jason Susim ADVERTISING SALES Michael Hardy Ilyse Espino
ADVISER Reaz Mahmood reaz@pdx.edu ADVERTISING ADVISER Ann Roman 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
‘RHETORIC OR REALITY’ BLACK STUDIES DEPARTMENT HOSTS BLM DISCUSSION JASON SUSIM
One of the final Portland State of Mind events for 2016 was a panel discussion titled “Black Lives Matter: Rhetoric or Reality?” The Portland State Black Studies Department hosted the event, which featured core faculty on the panel. The speakers included Department Chair Dr. Shirley Jackson, Associate Professor Ethan Johnson, Assistant Professor Derrais Carter, Adjunct Instructor Turiya Autry and Inaugural Director for the School of Gender, Race and Nations Winston Grady-Willis. The five led a discussion and addressed issues of race, education, police brutality and political activism. BLM has gained nationwide attention for its activism efforts since its founding in 2012. The movement calls attention to the ways in which the black community is deprived of basic human rights. The group speaks out against injustices such as the killings of black Americans through police brutality and an American criminal justice system that disproportionately incarcerates people of color. The Washington Post’s statistical database tracks this disparity and police shootings across the country against all races. The faculty panel provided a historical framework, explaining that movements like BLM are rooted in the historical activism of groups like the Black Panthers and the civil rights movement. Educators on the panel stressed the importance of black studies in the curriculum, pointing out that PSU has yet to make ethnic studies a graduation requirement. “This institution does not have an ethnic studies/racial studies requirement and has
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not since forever, as far as I know,” Johnson said. “What that means is that black studies is not valued, there is no institutional value placed on what we do.” Johnson pointed out the scant availability for black studies tenure-track professors at PSU. However, professors Carter and Jackson believe the students are just as accountable for the improvement of the black studies curriculum as the school’s administration.
Jackson spoke about what she would like to see from her students. “I don’t want them to be satisfied with just what is,” Jackson said. “I don’t believe students are without agency; I believe they have lots of agency.” An audience member brought up the issue of equity, noting that many young students do not have access to black or ethnic studies in elementary, middle or high school.
Audience member and PSU alumni Heidi Sipress spoke about the importance of ethnic studies in her field of social justice organizing. She acknowledged the systematic Eurocentric focus of the school system. “These kinds of classes, this kind of education, can help break that down and offer up a fresh perspective and provide you with information that you’re not getting,” Sipress said. “One of the strengths of the Black
Studies Department here at PSU is the way that they talk about analysis of the system and how capitalism and white supremacy and patriarchy and those other spheres of oppression are interacting at any given time.” Panelists also discussed the arming of campus police. Each member of the faculty panel spoke to their own sentiments regarding the presence of armed police on campus. Carter expressed an uncertainty that
BLACK STUDIES DEPARTMENT FACULTY LEFT TO RIGHT: WINSTON GRADY-WILLIS, TURIYA AUTRY, DERRAIS CARTER, ETHAN JOHNSON AND SHIRLEY JACKSON. JASON SUSIM/PSU VANGUARD
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police would be the safest resource for him to call in an emergency. “I am afraid of the police even in a time that I would need them the most,” Carter said. “I do not trust them to show up on the scene and read me as equal—such that they understand that I am a victim.” Carter was not alone in mistrusting an armed police force on campus. Other movements like Don’t Shoot PDX and Disarm PSU have their own community presence and call attention to the disproportionate rate at which police shoot people of color. Activists in these movements emphasize that Don’t Shoot PDX, Disarm PSU and Black Lives Matter are separate entities with their own unique goals and guiding principles. The panelists responded to a question about the hope they have for future black generations given the racial tensions that exist in contemporary society. Autry urged the crowd members to ask themselves important questions about how to bring about change. “In the face of histories of oppression, genocide, violence, how do we share positive interaction in contexts where we are engaging on deeper levels intellectually, spiritually, emotionally?” Autry said. “I think there’s something powerful to a classroom, to a room like this collectively putting energy towards wanting the world to be different than it is.” Autry added that this cannot be done with the intent of seeing immediate results, and that change doesn’t occur overnight.
NEWS
PORTLAND JILL STEIN EVENT MOVES FORWARD WITHOUT JILL STEIN MATTHEW ANDREWS
Due to illness, Dr. Jill Stein wasn't present at a planned campaign event last Sunday, Oct. 23. Master of Ceremonies and KBOO-FM host Theresa Mitchell gave the news about halfway in: the Green Party candidate for president had to fly home at the last minute due to severe illness. According to Mitchell, Stein's throat was "so constricted, she [couldn't] even Skype it in." Stein's stand-in keynote speaker, campaign manager and 2004 Green Party presidential candidate David Cobb, apologized for "being the understudy" while reminding the audience that "Jill Stein is, let us acknowledge, only human."
The Vanguard spoke to several attendees throughout the event, and many in attendance agreed that the movement outweighs the person. As fellow progressive Bernie Sanders often said, "It's not about me: it's about us." Joe Rowe, candidate for the 44th Congressional District (North Portland) asked us to worry less about voting for him specifically and worry more about opposing “corporate Democrat” Tina Kotek. Speakers and attendees alike shared a passion for politics and "the possibility of another world.” Eric Navickas, Pacific Green Party of Oregon candidate for U.S. Senate, delivered a speech on the destructive character
of capitalism and the potential of a socialist democracy, a sentiment echoed by representatives from Socialist Alternative and Portland State’s International Socialist Organization. Another PSU organization, Students United for Non-violence, was represented by a three-person peace team advocating peaceful conflict resolution. Alan Zundel, former political scientist and current Pacific Green Party candidate for Oregon Secretary of State, spoke about rankedchoice voting and campaign finance reform; David Delk, Oregon Progressive Party candidate for Congress, argued for the importance of
stopping the Trans Pacific Partnership and ending corporate personhood; State Senate candidate and PSU Financial Aid Office veteran James Ofsink advocated for progressive, local climate change policies. Several people, including Cobb, talked about the tangible value of casting a so-called protest vote, referring to the “official minor party” status and increased federal funding that the Green Party will be eligible for if Stein receives five percent or more of the popular vote. The event featured several local musicians, including rapper Mic Crenshaw and spoken-word artist Blacque Butterfly, as well as the NoPo
IMAGE COURTESY OF USER GAGE SKIDMORE THROUGH WIKIMEDIA COMMONS
JILL STEIN SUPPORTERS BRING SIGNS TO THE EVENT. MATTHEW ANDREWS/PSU VANGUARD
Big Band, Scott Kalama and Jana Crenshaw. Halfway through, socialist Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant took the stage. In 2013 Sawant became the first openly socialist candidate to win a popular vote in Seattle since journalist Anna Louise Strong was elected to the Seattle School Board in 1916. Sawant spoke about the current election and the need to look beyond presidential politics. After Sawant decried Trump as a monster and lamented about how Clinton has “all her political life defended the interests of billionaires [and] discredited herself,” Sawant underlined the need for solidarity between ordinary workers and social movements
such as Occupy Wall Street, grassroots efforts promoting marriage equality and LGBTQ rights, the Black Lives Matter movement, immigration and labor reform movements, indigenous rights groups and the struggle at Standing Rock, and the massive following Bernie Sanders gathered this election cycle. David Cobb, closing the evening, spoke of this same need for solidarity, enumerating social advances that have been made through the grassroots efforts of social movements and third parties, from universal voting rights and the abolition of slavery to social security and the 40-hour work week. He closed with a promise to the ruling elite: “We are everywhere, and we are coming for you.”
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • psuvanguard.com
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NEWS
DEMOCRACY AND HUMAN RIGHTS RULE AT PSU STUDENT VOTER REGISTRATION SURPASSES GOAL, RESOLUTION FOR DIVESTMENT PASSES JOAN BROWN On Oct. 24 Associated Students of Portland State University Senate held its second discussion and final vote on the resolution to recommend divestment from companies involved in Israeli military occupation. Prior to the reading and subsequent vote, Devon Backstrom of the Oregon Student Association gave the state of the Get Out The Vote address. During the Sept. 26 ASPSU meeting OSA announced its campaign to register students to vote. The campaign ran through Oct. 18, the last day to register to vote in Oregon. “Congratulations everyone, you registered just under 4,000 students to vote,” Backstrom said. “OSA is kind of like the statewide student government. These 4,000
students you registered for this term help build our political capital. Oregon was probably the most reinvested state over the 2015–2016 cycle, which means we got a huge reinvestment. But, we’ve got to keep it up because there’s a $1.5 billion shortfall next biennium which is going to impact our student reinvestment by 15–20 percent. We need to make sure we de-prioritize that.” The “Resolution to Recommend Divestment from Companies Involved in Israeli Military Occupation” calls on PSU to divest from companies found to profit from human rights violations against Palestinian civilians by the Israeli government. Companies specified in the resolution are Caterpillar Inc., Motorola
Solutions, Hewlett Packard Enterprises, HP Inc, and G4S. The resolution also requests an alternative internal investment screen to prohibit future investments in companies which profit from human rights violations in either Israel or Palestine. The room was packed, and several people signed up to speak for or against the resolution. Prior to anyone speaking, ASPSU members set a two-minute time limit and an alternation between pros and cons. At the flip of a coin a person from the pro side spoke first. A total of 19 speakers were heard: 16 pro, 3 con. On the pro side, talking points included: The 522 checkpoints along the West Bank which hinder the move-
ments of Palestinians but not Israelis; a lack of Israeli civil law privileges for Palestinians; apartheid (racial segregation) in Israel; reasons why divestment is not anti-Semitic; the importance of separating the view of Jewish people and the governing state of Israel itself; and the extensive research that went into drafting the resolution. Other discussions involved two pro speakers who gave eyewitness accounts of bulldozers destroying homes. Other speakers’ personal stories of their Palestinian families being forced from homes, speaking passionately of the tears and pain seen in the eyes of their parents and grandparents. On the con side, reasons for opposition addressed by speakers included: Concerns about anti-Semitism in the resolu-
ASPSU AUDIENCE DRAWS A CROWD OF BOTH SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION FOR DIVESTMENT RESOLUTION. ROOSEVELT SOWKA/PSU VANGUARD tion and its potential negative effect on the Israeli community as a whole; testimony that the resolution is bigoted, one-sided and historically inaccurate; and the biblical and historical documents serving as evidence that Jewish people have had a long history in the region. One speaker openly asked why the creation of a Jewish state was not just. Another person proposed support of joint Israeli-Palestinian projects, then stated that passing the resolution would
send a clear message of hate and intolerance. Following the public discussion, ASPSU legislative affairs director Phoenix Singer stated that the resolution is ethical and just, that struggles are interrelated and that not passing the resolution would mean “none of us are free.” Chair Brent Finkbeiner called for the vote and the resolution to divest passed 22 to 2 with one abstention.
Crime blotter Oct. 24-30 JOAN BROWN
Oct. 24 Burglary II, Theft II Arrest, PV Detainer Cramer Hall, Library and SW Market Campus Public Safety officers responded to a report of a disturbance in the library. They found one involved person. At SW Market they located another person who admitted to moving a computer for safe keeping. The person was charged with Burglary II, excluded from campus, and the person’s Parole Officer issued a detainer. Oct. 25 Car Prowl Art Building Parking Lot The front passenger window of a student’s car was smashed. Oct. 26 Unauthorized Person Academic & Student Recreation Center A student was identified as sleeping overnight in an area where she is not permitted to do so. Officer Denae Murphy let her know that the Broadway lab is open 24/7 for studying.
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PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • psuvanguard.com
Oct. 27 Anti-Smoking Confrontation Near Metro Cafe A student was walking from Parking Structure 3 while smoking a cigarette when a white female with short burgundy hair yelled at her for smoking on campus then poked her and exclaimed that a friend’s “baby died from smoking!” Oct. 28 Warrant Arrest Parking Structure Three CPS officer David Baker contacted a male non-student for trespassing and arrested him for five outstanding warrants. Car Prowl Parking Structure Three The right front passenger window of a student’s vehicle had been broken and a quarter cello stolen. Harassment PSU Campus A student reported that on Oct. 10 and 16, the same suspect grabbed her by the arms and asked for money for “blow.” During the Oct. 10 incident the suspect kissed her on the left arm. The suspect was described as a black male in his 30s, 5’7” with medium build who walks hunched over and pigeon-toed.
Oct. 29 Missing Student PSU Washington County Sheriff’s Office took a missing person report of a PSU student. As of Oct. 31 the student is still reported missing. Intimidation II Ondine Residence Hall A person reported that another person made offensive physical contact while using derogatory terms regarding sexual orientation. The victim was provided with an advocate. The offender was arrested and lodged at Multnomah County Detention Center and evicted from University Housing. Oct. 30 Dead dolphin Student Research & Teaching Center A student reported the odor of rotten eggs to CPS who contacted Portland Fire Bureau. They did not detect any natural gas, but they did find the decomposing body of a dead dolphin.
INTERNATIONAL
TOWARD A LIFELONG ADVENTURE PSU'S EDUCATION ABROAD PROGRAM TAKES STUDENTS AROUND THE WORLD ALEX-JON EARL What is student life like in Lyon? How are classes taught in Stellenbosch? Wouldn’t it be cool to be the first in your family to visit Kazakhstan? Students enrolled in Portland State’s Education Abroad program can answer these and many other questions about the world beyond the Willamette (and I’m not talking Estacada!). According to PSU Education Abroad Senior Adviser Alyse Collins, the program—a part of the PSU Office of International Affairs—helps students in several ways. Students gain academic credit and different perspectives on their disciplines. They also explore the ways their peers learn in other countries. “[Students] are able to explore and experience how different cultures see identity,
race, diversity and the current political situation and what’s happening with the election,” Collins said. “It’s the beginning for a lot of people of a lifelong adventure.” Emma Frantz, a peer adviser who recently returned from France, agrees. “During my study abroad experience, I learned so much about the world and how many different ways of life there are,” she said. “I pushed myself outside of my comfort zone and learned from as many experiences as I could take. This opened my eyes to not only accept others, but to understand other cultures.” Anna Conner, another peer adviser who recently returned from England, added, “The challenges presented to students while studying abroad teach them to be
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Oct. 24–31 Jessica Gaudette-Reed
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flexible and adaptable, and to view the world from a different perspective than they might have done in the past.” Conner also pointed out the practical importance of a study abroad experience. “Future employers and graduate school admissions committees look very highly on international experience because it shows that a student can be successful in varying environments and can rise up to meet obstacles and overcome them in a positive way,” she said. Collins explained that entry into a program depends entirely upon the program itself. “Each program has its own process, however, what students typically do is—the first step for most students— is coming to Ed Abroad 101,” an informational session led
by peer advisers. In these 30–45-minute sessions advisers cover the basics of the program, like cost, budget and the application itself. Peer advisers are in place to help students with the application process, which can be time and labor intensive. Peer advisers and the EA staff assist with tasks including visa and travel documentation to understanding entry requirements, the peer advisers are available to assist students. “It took a lot of research and dedication to find the right program for me,” Frantz said. “The staff at [the EA] office helped me and that made it easier.” Conner also added, “To any students looking to study abroad in the near future, I would say do it.
ILLUSTRATION BY LAUREN CHAPLUK Come in and see us. We are happy to answer all your questions and to help you move forward in planning your future international adventures.”
The EA department will host several campus events during the upcoming International Education Week, Nov. 14–18. For a calendar of events, visit pdx.edu/ed-abroad/.
FRANCE
The process of clearing and demolishing France’s Calais “Jungle” began on Monday after 17 years of intermittent moving and rebuilding of the informal refugee camp. The Jungle was located on France’s northern coast near the commercial truck entrance for the Channel Tunnel. Many of those living in the camp were refugees from Afghanistan, Iran, Syria and Eritrea, who would attempt to board trucks passing through the Chunnel in order to get to Britain. French President Francois Hollande declared in September that the Jungle would be demolished by the end of the year with refugees being moved to reception and orientation centers around France. The Help Refugees Agency has estimated the total population ahead of demolition was 8,143, with approximately 1,500 being isolated minors currently housed in a container camp. The U.K. has agreed to take in about 250 children, but French officials are pushing for more commitment from Britain.
ANTARCTICA
The world’s largest marine reserve will be established in Antarctica’s Ross Sea. The proposal was unanimously supported by 24 countries and the European Union during an international meeting of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources in Hobart, Australia. The Ross Sea sanctuary is twice the size of Texas and represents the second such marine-protected area. The first was established in the Orkney Islands in the South Atlantic in 2009. Signatories to the agreement, which will take effect in December, include the U.S., Russia and China. The agreement has widespread support from both conservationists and fishermen. Some sections of the sanctuary will permit limited harvesting of fish and krill for scientific research with the remaining 72 percent forbidding harvesting all together.
EUROPE
All 28 European Union member countries and Canada have reached a deal on the “Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement.” Under CETA 99 percent of all tariffs will be removed. It is estimated that the deal will save agricultural and industrial exporters €500 million annually. The deal concluded in February after seven years of negotiations, but whether or not it would be enacted was temporarily in question after the Belgian region of Wallonia presented opposition. CETA will be officially ratified in December by the European Parliament and will be enacted provisionally by regional governments until then.
AUSTRALIA
Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull and Immigration and Border Protection Minister Peter Dutton announced new legislation to prevent “irregular maritime arrivals” from making valid applications for Australian visas. Asylum seekers in detention centers on Nauru and Manus Island will also be subject to the new legislation. The law would affect those who tried to reach Australia by boat since July 2013 and would block them from even obtaining business or tourist visas. Refugee advocates fear this new policy will push people, many of whom have been in limbo at the detention centers for over three years, over the edge. Of the 410 people held on Nauru, 15 percent reported to Amnesty International that they had either attempted suicide or contemplated self-harm. There are approximately 900 asylum seekers still detained on Manus Island.
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • psuvanguard.com
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OPINION FEATURE COVER
AN AUTOPSY OF PLANET EARTH WHY WE CAN’T CONVENIENTLY IGNORE CLIMATE CHANGE FOR ANOTHER SECOND
Thinking Upstream Commentary by John Larson Climate change: this century’s most critical issue and obstacle—and the one we like to discuss the least. Mainstream media’s pathetically timid coverageof the greatest challenge of our time finds its roots in the divisiveness of the issue. Those who recognize the threat of now-irreversibleclimate change and those who continue to deny its existence both share a strong common ground: neither can breathe underwater.
AN INEVITABLE TRUTH
Tides will rise while oceans continue to acidify. Hundreds of millions will die. Horrific meteorological events will bring nations to their knees and catalyze the displacement of nearly a billion lives. Rising temperatures will implode global food security, exacerbating the coming water shortage and leading to substantial violence and unrest. If you think this is simply a lot of doom and gloom, hot off the liberal press, you’re wrong. Every year, carbon dioxide levels pendulate but steadily increase in accordance with annual changes in vegetation. Last September, during the period considered by climate scientists as the annual minimum, we exceeded 400 parts per million of CO2 in our atmosphere. This symbolic moment represents humanity’s most catastrophic failure, one which cannot be fixed—ever. In research published by the National Academy of Sciences, leading climatologists are extremely explicit in their wording: “The physical climate changes that are due to anthropogenic carbon dioxide already in the atmosphere today are expected to be largely irreversible. Such climate changes will lead to a range of dam-
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aging impacts in different regions and sectors, some of which occur promptly in association with warming, while others build up under sustained warming.” If you’re on the side that believes this rate of climate change occurs naturally, that human carbon addiction has been negligible in the process, it is past time to reconsider.
FINDING FAULT
Future generations are going to ask who did this to them. The importance of understanding the root causes of the climate crisis ultimately lies in our ethical responsibility to establish an accurate historical account of how we got here. It is not to affix blame to corporations or pig-headed politicians, or to eschew blame ourselves as consumers, but to preserve some degree of truth for the generations who will live in the world we have collectively abandoned. The inability and ineffectiveness of local and international political institutions to limit and regulate the outrageous rate of ecological degradation is the primary sociopolitical catalyst of climate change. The capitalist world order perpetuates a competitive system wherein there is little incentive to slow the rate of growth or ever impede resource markets. I say this on behalf of exactitude, not conspiracy. The failure of the Kyoto Protocol is a sobering example of this reality. Given the opportunity to regulate polluters and attempt to tackle climate change, states insist instead on economic growth as, predictably, the most important factor. It also exposes a harsh reality—the ideological superstructures of even disparate
states are informed by and rooted in their material base: unsustainable fossil-based resource infrastructures. Language barriers and arbitrary differences in social norms have contributed to a culture of us vs. them, a world of uncooperative and ironically Westphalian states. Conflict is seemingly eternal; perpetual war has become the new peace; citizens of large, militaristic Global North nations don’t bat an eye when they learn their democratically elected governments commit atrocities and turn the planet into a backdrop for petty conflict. The insatiable appetite for carbon that has defined industrialized nations has led to neocolonial practices (see Latin America, Iran, Africa) and heightened tensions between nuclear powers. Moreover, to stay competitive, states are now willing to turn a blind eye to the rise of hydraulic fracturing, commonly called fracking, an unsustainable method of quickly exploiting shale gas deposits. In the United States, Republicans and Democrats are both responsible for whoring the planet like apathetic pimps to industries and corporations, leading to ecological calamities across the globe. When a national commission investigated the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, wherein 200 million gallons of crude oil spilled into the Gulf of Mexico, they discovered the accident was a result of BP cutting corners and safety regulations. In the end, the former British Petroleum was fined nearly $54 billion, the largest environmental settlement in U.S. history. Large as it may be, this isn’t even close to good news—the penalty paid was less than 23
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ILLUSTRATION BY TERRA DEHART percent of the revenue BP generated in the year of the accident alone. The same Grand Old Party currently holding the Senate hostage in its crusade to reserve the Supreme Court for climate-denying warmongers also happens to be the only climate-denying conservative party in the world. Donald Trump, the GOP’s ideological center of gravity, has tweeted that “the concept of global warming was created by and for the Chinese in order to make U.S. manufacturing non-competitive.” Despite his claim,
the Chinese are actually well aware of their role as the world’s primary source of CO2 emissions and are active participants in the international discourse on climate change. In fact, in the same September in which Trump uttered the lie, President Obama and President Xi Jinping reached a relatively harmonious agreement committing to the Paris climate accord. Unfortunately for both, the U.S. and China’s failure to ratify previous climate agreements may have made it far too late to act.
Neoliberal trade policies have exacerbated the intrinsically harmful nature of capitalistic practices: to capitalism, the environment is an invisible entity, similar to the rights of its workers. Whereas the conservationist believes intact wilderness possesses some degree of inherent value, the capitalist sees untapped wilderness as an opportunity for greater wealth or an obstruction of the path to success. When John Muir lost an ideological battle against Gifford Pinchot, with the more anthropocentric view emerging on top, the rest was history.
FEATURE OPINION
“We have been rushed into the next mass extinction by a handful of people who wanted more than they ever needed.”
COURTESY OF SCRIPPS INSTITUTE OF OCEANOGRAPHY, MAUNA LOA OBSERVATORY
A HANDFUL OF PEOPLE
As we begin our trajectory toward inevitable planetary failure, wherein the Earth cannot support its nowvampiric human host, one particular group of people will be among the last to die— or the first, should the masses learn of their crimes. While their pet politicians have been in the driver’s seat since the dawn of the industrial era, the bourgeois capitalist elite have been holding the wheel—the state need only hit the gas. In the backseat, you and I sit contentedly, our ignorant smiles dissimilar to those worn by our smug driver and his trusty copilot. We could have jumped out along the way but chose instead to enjoy the ride. There is an inaccuracy in the way climate change’s human factor is often described. Simply attributing the rise of carbon dioxide in our atmosphere to human activity is relatively misleading. Two-thirds of all carbon dioxide and methane emissions come from just 90 entities. Rick Heede’s climate accountability research, instead of dividing carbon emissions by country, directly aggregates historical emissions to their carbonproducing entities. Chevron, Exxon and BP are at the top of a list of a mere 90 companies responsible for a majority of the emissions created since the industrial revolution. In an article published by the Guardian, Heede states that those responsible for the climate crisis, which is now
irreversible and will kill hundreds of millions, can, when considered individually, fit “onto a greyhound bus or two.” If there has ever been a more convincing argument against the massive and exponential upward concentration of wealth, I’ve yet to see it. The CEOs, CFOs and big decision makers of less than a hundred companies have collectively put an expiration date on human civilization. The elites will benefit well into the next century, while 40 percent of the poorest countries in the world will experience a staggering 75 percent reduction in income. We have been rushed into the next mass extinction by a handful of people who wanted more than they ever needed. By no means, however, do I imply the masses are innocent. The international culture of wealth and greed, assumed by many to be fixed institutions of the human condition, has resulted in the now ubiquitous notion that excess describes success, that those with more are better than those with less and that those with nothing most likely deserve it. The poor are stigmatized while the rich are often famous for wealth alone, its value somehow possessing virtuous externalities. Even when the ultra-rich don’t pay taxes, they can run for president surprisingly well. In a world where corporate and government policies seek to constrain the free will and decision-making processes
of millions who would have otherwise opted for a renewable source of green energy, it is unsurprising that such oppressive market interferences are present elsewhere. Even more unsurprising is the realization that blame has been shifted, once again, onto the unknowing and all-consuming masses.
THE GRAND ILLUSION
It is hilarious and heartbreaking. When we were children, we were taught by both our parents and state-run school programs that forgetting to turn off the lights is a considerable waste of resources and energy. Large assemblies were held in gymnasiums across the country, in which we were told ineffective stories about how leaving the water running while we brushed our teeth was a waste of resources. Where was this overbearing, overprotective government when polluting industries decided it was time to kill planet Earth? Was it taking big bucks from special interests or enjoying their revolving door into the very industries that pulled its strings? It doesn’t matter now. If all of the executives and politicians responsible for knowingly driving us off the climate cliff were publicly hanged, nothing would change. We were avaricious. We coveted our cult of consumption, fell victim to the distractions of a comfortable life, a comfortable home, a comfortable vehicle. We slept cozily, not only in ignorance but also in
apathy toward the billions yet to be born in an increasingly inhospitable world. The world was a grand illusion, one frantically sustained by our governments, plutocrats and insecurities. When scientists issued desperate pleas for action nearly every year for the past several decades, we ignored them for our priorities: singing competitions and good haircuts, what Kim Kardashian wore to last night’s event, the next offensive tweet made by America’s darling. Big Oil has known about climate change since the late 1970s, yet generously funded its deniers. For four decades, decisions were made, in public and private, agreeing to sell the rest of the world to an expected doom. What can we do? The human race is often typified as those who represent the worst of us. The politicians who’d sell us as chattel and the oilmen who’d slit our throats for a cheap buck are unrepresen-
tative of the thoughtful and compassionate civilization we could be.
IT’S NOW OR NEVER
Humanity is strong, if it is anything. We have bent an entire planet to our will, with Mars now in our scope. We are capable, and more importantly, willing, to do whatever it takes to survive. The following are steps we can take now to mitigate exponential climate degradation: 1. Divest from fossil fuels. The United States alone annually subsidizes the fossil fuel industry by more than $20 billion a year, an amount which has increased by 35 percent in the last seven years alone. Movements across the country have spurred a variety of institutions to divest from industries that profit from the destruction of our planet. 2. Oppose the TransPacific Partnership. Write to your legislators and representatives and demand
they oppose the TPP, an international trade agreement that prioritizes the interests of the fossil fuel industry over the planet, putting climate-preservation movements at risk and allowing substantially increased fracking. 3. Keep carbon in the ground. Two ways we can do this is by opposing the Keystone XL Pipeline and the Galilee Coal Project. The construction of the pipeline would further enable the emission of greenhouse gases into our atmosphere—whereas the Galilee Basin is a carbon bomb awaiting detonation. 4. Take climate change seriously. It is an uncomfortably apocalyptic topic, but that’s exactly why we need to start and sustain a concentrated discourse on the future of our planet. To believe we live in a state of permanent resource security is foolish. We must act now or risk losing the agency to do so. It is now or never.
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • psuvanguard.com
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ARTS & CULTURE
WORKING WRITERS DISCUSS REALITIES OF THE WRITING LIFE GRAY BOUCHAT
Writing is a great escape from the normal grind of life, but that doesn’t mean the task can’t seem overwhelming. For aspiring writers interested in pursuing their dreams, conversations with working writers can make the effort seem manageable. On Oct. 18 at University Pointe at College Station, three writers discussed their writing lives and talked about how writing became an everlasting passion for them in the event “Portland State of Mind: Writers at Work.” Students appeared eager to hear from the speakers, while many took diligent notes on the writers’ advice, including how to manage a writing life parallel to day-today responsibilities. The first speaker, Kait Heacock, is a book publicist for The Feminist Press in Brooklyn, New York. She recently released a book titled Siblings and Other Disappointments. “[Writing] doesn’t always feel like work to me. It feels like the most natural work I do, I guess,” Heacock said. “It’s the work that I’m not grumpy to get to in the morning.” However, even though she enjoys writing and sees it as a passion, she said she needs structure and organization in order to keep it serious. Holding a day job helps Heacock sit down at the end of the day and write. “I feel like when I don’t have structure, I have all this free time, and I’m going to write so much! But then I don’t.” When she gets off her eighthour day, she knows she can look forward to going home and writing. The second speaker, David Biespiel, is a poet, literary critic and writer. He currently teaches in the creative writing program at Oregon State. In 2013, a collection of his poetry released under the title
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LAURYN SMITH FREIMARK/PSU VANGUARD The Book of Men and Women was selected by the Poetry Foundation as one of the best books of the year, earn-
When asked what writing means to him, Biespiel responded, “It begins as a compulsion—the older
“[WRITING] FEELS LIKE THE MOST NATURAL WORK I DO... IT’S THE WORK I’M NOT GRUMPY TO GET TO IN THE MORNING.” KAIT HEACOCK
AUTHOR OF SIBLINGS AND OTHER DISAPPOINTMENTS ing Biespiel the acclaimed Stafford/Hall Award for Poetry.
I get, the more I find myself returning to the feelings I had in my early 20s and just start-
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • psuvanguard.com
ing to write, which I have no idea what I want to say, but I have some questions I want to answer.” He said most people wear a lot of hats, and they want to do everything: socialize, study, play sports—but it’s important to set boundaries, otherwise it’s difficult to accomplish what’s really important to you. “You have to have some discipline in the manner that works for you,” Biespiel said. He suggested picking an achievable goal, and sticking with it. If writing 500 words per day is a struggle, set the goal to 400 or 450. Consistency is key.
The final writer in the group, Michael Heald, is a publisher at Perfect Day Publishing and a contributing writer for Runner’s World magazine. To help support his love of writing, he holds a day job as a bartender at the Lucky Labrador Brew Pub. “There are times I can write and times I can’t,” Heald said. For Heald, writing is constantly working things out in his head and trying to focus to get words on the paper. He admits to letting the internet take over and distract him from his writing. To counter the temptation, he carries around an old laptop
that can’t access the internet anymore so he can really focus on writing. “I’m grateful for my job in terms of giving me the motivation to get enough done so I don’t feel guilty wasting my life,” Heald said. The night ended in applause; eager students personally greeted the writers with their own writing-life questions. Attendees were then invited to join students at many writers’ favorite location: the bar. There, they celebrated Heacock’s recent release of Siblings and Other Disappointments and further discussed the advantages and struggles of making it as a professional writer.
WHEN MONEY ISN’T REAL
ARTS & CULTURE OPINION
STUDENTS STRUGGLE WITH FINANCIAL ABSTRACTION CATHERINE JOHNSON
children about managing finances, including giving them opportunities to make their own decisions. Instead of buying them snacks when they’re out, for example, he gives them an allowance to use as they like. But when it’s gone, that’s it. He doesn’t give them any more. On the other hand, some parents grant their children’s requests for money
“Our job moving forward is to help younger generations make really smart decisions with their finances,” Carroll said. “Our national debt is ballooning out of control and we are precariously placing that on the next generation’s shoulders.” He believes it’s our responsibility to reduce this burden. For many college students, the burden of student loans is
“WHEN WE BECOME SEPARATED FROM MONEY IN ITS CURRENT STATE, THEN IT CHANGES THE WAY WE SPEND MONEY.” ADAM CARROLL, FOUNDER OF NATIONAL FINANCIAL EDUCATORS
ILLUSTRATION BY AARON OSBORNE For many students who take out loans to finance their education, cost numbers are just that—numbers on a page. That is, until they have to actually start paying them back. Then it becomes uncomfortably real. This was the subject of Adam Carroll’s lecture, “When Borrowed Money isn’t Real: The $10,000 Experiment,” a Portland State of Mind event sponsored by the Financial Wellness Center. “His message on financial abstraction is relevant, not
just to [PSU] or Oregon, but to our country as a whole,” said Shawna Chambers, manager of the Financial Wellness Center. Carroll is the founder of National Financial Educators and the author of several books about financial planning. His lecture focused on the idea that when we spend money we don’t have on hand, like taking out loans or swiping our credit card, it’s not real to us. Therefore, we are likely to spend more and
make decisions we wouldn’t if it was actual cash in our wallet. “It’s a concept known as financial abstraction,” Carroll said. “It’s an idea that when we become separated from money in its current state, then it changes the way we spend money.” To illustrate this, he described an experiment he conducted at home with his three children who regularly play Monopoly. They tend to be generous with one another, frequently bail-
ing each other out of jail or loaning one another money, even though the object of the game is to bankrupt opponents. One day he swapped the paper money for real money, and observed how this affected the children’s behavior. His daughter’s strategy didn’t change, but his two sons’ did. When they played with real cash, they tended to be more cautious and conservative. Carroll shared many of the strategies he uses to teach his
without restriction. One parent he worked with admitted to depositing money in his daughters’ bank accounts whenever they asked because he didn’t want them to struggle. According to Carroll, this reinforces the concept of money as an abstraction and deprives children of an important opportunity for personal growth. “The struggle is what shapes us,” Carroll said. “I get that it’s a struggle. But I also think that if you’re open to what that struggle can teach you and what it can make you, that’s a way different scenario.” This example resonated with Chambers. “As a parent myself, I see my child being influenced by the concept of not having cash in hand,” Chambers said. Carroll offered the audience five specific strategies for better financial fitness: talk about money candidly, read books about money, develop a budget and be accountable to it, have a financial mentor and develop a family financial tree. But for Carroll, the problem of financial abstraction isn’t just a personal issue, it’s a national one too.
already very real. Many have borrowed money without understanding the ramifications, like the amount of their monthly payments or how many years it will take to pay off the full bill. “The cost of education is getting higher, people are needing to borrow money, and the jobs are not supporting the repayment plans,” Chambers said. “For most graduates, just being aware of the job market and starting salaries, not average salaries, and the cost of living— those are the conversations that aren’t happening until they’re in their six-month grace period.” This is why Student Financial Services at PSU created the Financial Wellness Center. They want students to understand their debt and give them the resources to make better decisions, now and in the future. “We look at the Financial Wellness Center as a place to come have a conversation and ask questions, share tools and experiences, and learn from each other,” said Amanda Nguyen, director of Student Financial Services. “It’s not just about your account at this school but access to life skills.” The Financial Wellness Center is located in Neuberger Hall room 179.
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • psuvanguard.com
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OPINION
GOOD GRADES AREN’T GOOD ENOUGH: PART III The Complete Tool Nick Tool
The previous articles in this series focused on what students can do for themselves to broaden their opportunities. The key is being deliberate and active. This article focuses on what someone else can do for a student to bring them closer to their goals. Chasing success is not just an introspective exercise. To gain the best possible chance at excelling after college, students and young professionals need a mentor. At best, students begin their professional lives with rudimentary ideas of their ultimate destinations—usually students only know where they want to be. Even with a rough idea of which direction to go and what sort of landmarks to look out for on the way, how will these new professionals know what tools to acquire or take on their journeys? What is the most important item now? What will be the biggest payoff later? Mentors know the answers to these questions because they have first-hand knowledge of the path. A mentor is an experienced professional who is motivated by the success of their pupil rather than monetary gain. This is an important distinction to make because there are professionals offering similar services that do cost money. Think of a mentor like a map maker and a guide all in one. They lay out the route, prepare you for the journey, use experience to help solve problems, and turn new professionals into experts. So, who looks and acts like a mentor but isn’t? The first to note are life coaches. A life coach is essentially a person who is paid to give advice. The issue with a life coach is the fact that their career is being a life coach. Life coaches are probably great at giving career advice to less experienced life coaches, but for everyone else they are just paid randomsuggestion machines. There is another type of guide out there that shouldn’t be confused with life coaches or mentors. These are executive coaches. As the name suggests, executive coaches set their sights on helping executives, but the services of a lesserknown or new executive coach might be available to young professionals at critical career junctures. Executive coaches are motivated by money. Sometimes these coaches pull down thousands of dollars per hour. It is safe to assume that most readers will not need an executive coach at this point in their college or professional careers. Everyone needs a mentor. The question to answer, then, is when should students find a mentor? Finding a mentor without first developing a set of goals or a plan will not yield positive results. Mentoring is the last part of the series for a reason. Before getting help, it is important to figure out what sort of help is needed. A connection with a mentor is an important professional bond that relies on the mentor and
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JACOB SALAZAR/PSU VANGUARD pupil understanding a set of goals and working toward them together. Without goals, there are no opportunities to work together. Portland State provides resources for connecting students with mentors. Searching on the school website will quickly land most students at the right page for their specific department. Local programs like Portland SCORE offer mentoring for those who are looking to start their own businesses. Veterans have access to free programs like American Corporate Partners. A student may find a mentor during an internship, or volunteer opportunity if they are prudent enough to do some networking. In college, there are also peer mentors who help their fellow students meet educational goals.
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • psuvanguard.com
Seek out advice on finding a mentor from a favorite teacher or adviser if you still have any uncertainty. There are few wrong ways to look. The only mistake is not searching for a mentor at all. Finding the right mentor isn’t always easy, but it is necessary. Receiving guidance during difficult transitions in life alleviates the stress from dealing with unknowns. Eliminating at least some stress improves decision making, and usually nets better outcomes. The guidance a mentor provides can unlock the real potential of a pupil, help launch new products, yield rare business opportunities, inspire new fields of study and prevent early career missteps that could have lifelong consequences. With so many obvious benefits, why would anyone try to go it alone? Make a plan. Find a mentor. Get the life you want on the first try.
OPINION
AN INTERVENTION FOR ELECTION 2016 BE EXCELLENT AND PARTY ON 404: Column Not Found by Ryan Morse Ahh, election years: what ulcers and high blood pressure are made of. This is a time when harshly worded political opinions divide households and ruin Facebook friendships. It’s not at all surprising that people become fanatical during an election year. In fact, at this point, it’s practically a tradition! However, the popular consensus seems to be that this election year is something of a—well, let’s just call it a debacle. I’ve heard the media call this election cycle the most divisive election ever, while my friends proclaim it’s “just the worst.” I definitely agree that everyone’s tempers—my own included—are pretty high this year. People are screaming at each other during events, sometimes resulting in physical violence. Both candidates are attacking each other and resorting to name calling. There’s a point where it stops being whatever type of entertainment it was meant to be and starts becoming something of a warning bell. Is this how our civilized democracy works? This election has gotten so ridiculous it’s become a wake-up call for us to get it together and stop demonizing each other. Many people have been upset over our political climate over the past few years, and they have every right to be. Much like in this past season of Game of Thrones, the direction has changed too much for some people and not enough for others. The danger is that it can be very easy for a one-sided mentality to take hold. Everyone is the hero of their own story, and while I won’t argue that some people can’t be more right than others on certain isues, it’s still important to be aware of every side of the story. For the past few years there’s been very little middle ground between parties and affiliations. It was much easier to just write someone off with a label instead. The problem is that writing a person off as a “social justice warrior,” “stuck-up conservative” or “butthead” tends to antagonize them, making party divisions wider. It ultimately comes down to a simple lesson we have all been taught: People don’t like to be belittled or insulted. You may not like your neighbors, but you shouldn’t insult them and make enemies of them; you’re both still part of the community and the neighborhood watch. Because of this spite towards different affiliations, be it the unhealthy hatred between Republicans and Democrats or their shared contempt for the Green Party and Libertarian
ILLUSTRATION BY SHANNON KIDD
Party, we’re struggling with discourse and problem solving. Somehow we’re forgetting that solving our nation’s problems is kind of a big deal. If you think these political feuds aren’t a problem, I want to remind you that the government shut down for 16 days in 2013. So why am I focusing on this partisan mudslinging? Because it’s getting ridiculous and the divide between parties is somehow growing even wider. The frankly absurd spectacle that is the 2016 election is our intervention: We’re all still people. Let’s stop hitting each other and being so vile. We’re only encouraging our politicians, and they clearly don’t need the help. Going back to the earlier analogy, we’re not enemies, we’re neighbors. Even if you and your neighbor disagree over
neighborhood parking and how they manage their lawn, you shouldn’t be glad Russia is hacking their Wi-Fi. We may not want to accept it, but our divisive political climate won’t be going anywhere. Whoever wins the presidency will be one of the more controversial candidates to become president, and America’s debates over a multitude of issues will continue. We’re going to need to come together and put aside our differences to find common ground and get things done. Once we start vilifying each other, I don’t believe we can fully help our causes. Let’s try to remember that we’re all still people. As Abraham Lincoln was misquoted in Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure, “Be excellent to each other … and party on dudes!”
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • psuvanguard.com
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ETCETERA
WIDOWS AND SURGEONS SUBPAR ADVICE FROM THE SUB-BASEMENT
JOHN PINNEY
Surgical Oops writes: So I have this relative who just had cosmetic surgery to fix her ugly exterior but could probably use it more for her interior. I’ve seen pictures on social media and it looks awful. I will have to see her over the holidays and it will be the main topic of conversation for her. She’s a tyrannical narcissist who makes cruel comments about others and it’s not just random sniping. It’s very fixated. What can I do? I know I won’t be able to change the subject. Heya, Surgical Oops. Wow, you really hate this person. Does she have any good traits you can mention before you totally pile drive her into the ground with a trademark John Cena wrestling move? You’re acting like a not-camera-ready Judge Judy. I don’t know if it’s because this is a relative you only see at holidays and you’ve always been looking for a reason to cut her down to size or what, but there’s some super deep problem here that needs to be addressed. ILLUSTRATION BY SHANNON KIDD
Wasted Widow writes: I'm 23 and my boyfriend is 27. We've been dating for a while and I'm hoping for a future with this guy, but there's one thing I'm bothered by. Every Sunday he gets absolutely, incoherently falling down drunk wasted at sporting events. He becomes belligerent and inconsolable. We got into a fight once when I told him he needed to stop acting like a frat boy. It wouldn't be such a big deal to me if he drank in moderation, but I don't want him to be like this at 47, let alone 27! Does he have a drinking problem if it's only on Sundays? Is it worth breaking up over? Heya, Wasted Widow. Only one thing I’m bothered by. Boy, if I had a nickel for every time I heard that phrase. Is it really just one issue? In every other way, is your boyfriend’s completely perfect life not irking you? Take it from someone who lives with their significant other, there is no significantly perfect person. I feel you, though. I get you don’t want him to be a 47-year-old alcoholic, but there’s at least one thing I want to note that goes along with your question: He’s only doing it at sports games. Sure, it’s not classy, but it hasn’t spread like a virus to other areas of his life. If it does, then you have a problem. If not, I would worry that he doesn’t actually enjoy sports at all and is using drinking as a coping mechanism for boredom.
And that problem is you. Look, if you don’t have to see this person all the time, why are you Facebook friends? Just disconnect except for holidays. I know more than a handful of people that have had to do that just because of the blasted election. It’s okay not to know about every moment of every person’s life. And honestly, if the surgery is that bad, you could be the death blow on a crappy month for this relative of yours. Can you handle that responsibility? We do have a problem in our society with our social media consumption. We’ve lost the ability to do it in moderation. The idea behind people who lament the end of cursive and letter writing is how these old devices of connection force you to slow down and think things through. What would happen if you wrote a letter of concern to your relative first? Would you mail it? Would it make you feel guilty? Would you realize that you’re just looking for something to snipe? Here’s a solution for the holidays: Your relative approaches you with lips the size of the Hindenberg and continues to bring the conversation back around to herself. What you do is to make sure you have an external speaker or bluetooth capability nearby so you can play Adele’s “Hello.” If you’re having trouble imagining the successful implementation of this scenario, I recommend YouTubing the Saturday Night Live skit. Hearts and Stars, Your Advice Guru
What would happen if you were positively proactive instead of worried? Did you know, for instance, Sur La Table does couples cooking classes year round? Why not schedule one of those as a date time that conflicts with the game and see how he reacts? That will tell you a lot. That will tell him a lot, too. Now I don’t want to pry (who am I kidding, prying is my life), but does he feel the same way long term that you do? You’re already twenty years in the future but where is he? Does he intend on going to these parties for the rest of his life? Have you had that conversation yet? And finally, a warning. Bringing this up might make the whole house of cards fall. You’re fairly accusatory at this point already (you assume this is a problem without even talking to him about your needs) and I wonder, even if he does “have a problem,” if he’s ready to tackle it because if not then it might just push and pull you two apart. Addiction is worse than that goo demon from Fern Gully. Tread carefully Wasted Widow, and I wish you the best. Hearts and Stars, Your Advice Guru
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PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 1, 2016 • psuvanguard.com
ILLUSTRATION BY SHANNON KIDD
ILLUSTRATION BY ARLEN CORNEJO
EVENT LISTINGS FOR NOV. 2–6
John Pinney
FEATURED EVENT 2016 LEVY EVENT FRIDAY, NOV. 4–SUNDAY, NOV. 6 LINCOLN AND NEUBERGER HALLS (VARIOUS ROOMS)
This free weekend event titled “Edges of Identity: Jews, Punk and Poetry” is an artistic celebration hosted by a variety of campus departments. Free tickets are available for all performances, beginning at noon on Nov. 4 with a discussion of the Golem in Sci-Fi as a brown bag lunch and ending with a Sunday brunch where Sarah Dougher will contextualize feminist punk. Please feel free to rsvp and grab those free tickets while they are available. Punk band Golem will play Saturday at noon.
TUESDAY, NOV. 1 BEAUTIFUL: THE CAROLE KING MUSICAL SHOWTIMES VARY FEE: $40+
This musical adaptation of the life of Carole King depicts her as she breaks into the music industry and turns the world on its head with her famous album Tapestry. The adaptation devotes itself to the honest and truthful life of Carole Klein, the girl who would become the woman Carole King. Show runs Nov. 1-6.
WEDNESDAY, NOV. 2 NEW CULTURAL RESOURCE CENTER SMITH MEMORIAL STUDENT UNION BALLROOM 5–10 P.M.
Come join the celebration as Portland State formally dedicates and presents two new
cultural centers—one for African American/African/Black students and the other for Asian American/Asian/Pacific Islanders. Dinner and entertainment are included in the festivities.
IGNITE PORTLAND OREGON MUSEUM OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY 7:30 P.M.
What would you say if you had five minutes and a captive audience to teach? Ignite Portland answers that question by giving each speaker exactly five minutes on the floor to cover any topic they like. This extemporaneous lecture series has quite a cult following in Portland so get there early!
THURSDAY, NOV. 3 EL MUERTO VAGABUNDO MILAGRO THEATRE FEE: $20–27
This theatrical production looks at the sacred holiday of Dia De Los Muertos, the Mexican festival that honors ancestors gone before. For those ancestors who were homeless before they passed away, this production looks at their afterlives and the effect that homelessness has on them with no family or home to return to.
ALL WOMEN GROUP ART SHOW ANTOINETTE HATFIELD HALL 6–8 P.M. FEE: $23+
This celebration of female-empowered art is brought to you by Siren Nation and features 40 women artists from the Northwest.
FRIDAY, NOV. 4 THE BARBER OF SEVILLE VILLAGE BAPTIST CHURCH, GRAND AUDITORIUM 7:30 P.M. FEE: $10 The Beaverton Symphony Orchestra opens its 2016 season with a concert production of Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. You might know it as that one cartoon featuring Bugs Bunny and Elmer Fudd in a staged barber shop, but it’s so much more than that.
SATURDAY, NOV. 5 ALL THE MARYS MULTNOMAH ARTS CENTER 7 P.M. FEE: $35–45
Luciana Proano presents a vignette of dances celebrating women of every age and from every age. Secular womanhood is admired and lifted up. Your ticket also grants you entrance to the Peruvian dinner after the event. Also available on Sunday at 6 p.m. Some options are available for those who can’t afford a ticket.
WORDSTOCK 2016 PORTLAND ART MUSEUM 9 A.M.–6 P.M. FEE: $18 (AT DOOR)
It’s a book festival, a book fair, a writing workshop, and a pop up event all rolled into one. If words are your thing, if the sumptuous use of verbs gets you going, if the smell of a library is your favorite candle scent, then run, don’t walk to Wordstock 2016. One hundred
authors will be there to discuss the act of writing and their own intersectionality toward it.
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE MANCHUS PSU STUDENT REC CENTER, ROOM 230 FEE: FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC
First Saturday PDX and the PSU Institute for Asian Studies team up to present an educational program about the Manchus, who established the Great Qing dynasty in 1644. Led by Dr. Stephen Wadley, PSU Associate Professor of Chinese and International Studies. The event is part of an ongoing monthly educational series.
SUNDAY, NOV. 6 DRAG QUEEN BRUNCH DOUG FIR RESTAURANT 12 P.M. / 21+ FEE: $15
Hosted by Sasha Scarlett, the drag queen with the biggest brunch plate, this bi-monthly event with a homegrown drag star will leave you feeling just like a lady who lunches.
FIVE BUDDHAS PORTLAND ART MUSEUM FEE: $20
Presented by the Korean Cultural Heritage Administration, this painting is a journey both personal and universal. Rescued from obscurity, this salvaged tapestry is one of the few depictions of the Five Buddhas and is a great representation of some of the myths of Korean culture not often seen in the United States.
PSU’s Student-Run News Team
WE WANT YOU! We want you so bad, it’s driving us mad. You have a platform at your disposal. Use it. Leaders, come forth! Hiring for: Online Editor, Creative Director and International Editor for Winter term Who we always need: Writers, designers, photographers, videographers Join PSU’s student-run news team!