Portland State Vanguard by Portland State Vanguard

The Vanguard

70 Years in Print The Vanguard's first issue printed on Nov. 15 1946. Travel back in time with this week's anniversary throwback issue. BLIND VETERAN DON CARLO LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR THE VANGUARD

tles based off of beloved TV shows, movies and video games, as well as its own original content.

ENERGY SECURITY FROM 1946 TO TODAY

(CONTINUED ON P.13) Losing one’s sight can be a travesty; for founding Vanguard editor Don Carlo, it just meant that he needed to adapt. He used strips of Braille to label his textbooks and records. He knew exactly where everything was and kept a clean apartment. A Braille plaque outside his door ensured he never walked in on a neighbor. Carlo was drawn to journalism at a young age, writing news stories for the student newspaper at Washington High School in Southeast Portland. He also wrote feature stories for the News Telegram in 1934 and the Oregon Journal in 1935.

(CONTINUED ON P.13)

PORTLAND STATE: AN IDEA SPARKED FROM WAR AND FLOOD (CONTINUED ON P.11) college review site, ranked Portland State as one of the most liberal universities across the United States. However, it may surprise those of us unfamiliar with our campus history to learn that plans for Portland State were first conceived after World War II. The terms liberal and war are often used as contradictory statements. Built in 1946, PSU started out as the Vanport Extension Center, located on the opposite side of the Willamette. According to the Oregon Encyclopedia, the VEC was founded by Stephen E. Epler. Discovering that post-war housing in Portland was especially difficult to come by, Epler accepted a job counseling returning veter-

VOLUME 71 • ISSUE 14

A WEEK OF ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTS AND STILL COUNTING ans in the small city of Vanport, located to the NE of Portland along the Columbia River. He noticed that Portland had zero options for veterans looking to use the G.I. Bill, so he proposed the VEC. “As you know, we are starting from nothing,” Epler wrote in a letter to one of the college’s first professors. In under three months’ time, Epler converted a Vanport shopping mall into the VEC, opening the doors to higher education not only for returning service members, but the entire community of Portland.

PSU ALUMNI WHO HAVE REALLY BROKEN THE BAR (CONTINUED ON P.16)

Portland, Oregon has been receiving its fair share of fame in recent years, but a look back at former Portland State University students reveals that Portland has always had a knack for putting out some truly creative and forward thinking individuals. In 1977, Dark Horse Comics creator Mike Richardson graduated from PSU with a degree in art; three years later he opened his own comic book store, Pegasus Books. Dissatisfied with the quality of the comics he was selling, Richardson envisioned Dark Horse Comics as a safe haven for writers and artists, whom he would treat as partners and allow to keep the rights to their creations. In 1986, Dark Horse Comics launched its first issue of "Dark Horse

Comics Presents" and "Boris the Bear." In the following years, Dark Horse continued to add new original titles to its catalogue and in 1988 began releasing licensed material from hit film franchises like Alien, Predator, Star Wars and Godzilla. In 1992, after the success of his company’s film-to-comic projects, Richardson founded Dark Horse Entertainment, Inc., in an effort to transform some of his comic book characters into film stars. It was a great success. In the first few years, Dark Horse saw the production of four films. Two of those films, The Mask and Timecop, were creations of his own. Now, thirty years later, Dark Horse Comics is the third largest comic book company in the United States, publishing dozens of ti-

PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY, PORTLAND, OREGON

Portland State University started life as the Vanport Extension Center in 1946. This new educational facility in the marshy slough lands between the Columbia and Willamette rivers was to eventually become a powerhouse among Oregon’s higher education institutions. But first, PSU had to be powered. In 1946, with the war just ending and wartime industries winding down, Portland and the Pacific Northwest were faced with a swell of people moving into the area. With this increased population came an increased need for energy. On Vanport Extension’s opening day, the area was served by numerous hydroelectric facilities and a few steam facilities. Some of these hydro plants are still in existence on the Clackamas and Willamette rivers, including the Faraday and Oak Grove plants. They were managed by several companies, including Portland Electric Power Company for most of the first half of the twentieth century, but in 1946 a bankruptcy and reorganization plan finally created Portland General Electric. In the greater Northwest, power generation ran largely on hydro as well, including the vital wartime plant at Grand Coulee and the Bonneville Lock and Dam, both on the Columbia River. These facilities, especially Grand Coulee Dam, were integral to the war effort in the Pacific Northwest, and it was these dams that would power the Hanford Plant, which produced the fissionable material for both atomic bombs used on Japan.

NOVEMBER 15, 2016

FROM THE ARCHIVES NOW & THEN

VIKINGS SCRIMMAGING AT STOTT FIELD IN MAY 2014. MILES SANGUINETTI/PSU VANGUARD

VIKING FOOTBALL PLAYERS IN 1974. COURTESY OF PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES DIGITAL GALLERY

THE MILLAR LIBRARY IN 2016. JACOB SALAZAR/PSU VANGUARD

STUDENTS OUTSIDE MILLAR LIBRARY IN 1976. COURTESY OF PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES DIGITAL GALLERY

THE VANGUARD STAFF FROM 2016. RACHEL LARA/PSU VANGUARD

THE VANGUARD STAFF FROM 1950. COURTESY OF PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES DIGITAL GALLERY

THIS WEEK IN THE VANGUARD: NEWS: ANTI-TRUMP PROTESTS IN PORTLAND STARTED ON TUESDAY AND HAVEN’T STOPPED YET. P. 4 INTERNATIONAL: U.N. MEMBER STATES NEGOTIATE NUCLEAR WEAPONS BAN—NATIONS WITH NUCLEAR WEAPONS ABSTAIN FROM VOTE. P. 6 ARTS & CULTURE: WORDSTOCK BOOK FESTIVAL HONORS CURIOSITY, CRAFT AND DIALOGUE. P. 7 OPINION: TO SIGN OR NOT TO SIGN: WHY YOU SHOULD STOP PRETENDING CAMPUS SIGNATURE-GATHERERS ARE INVISIBLE. P. 9 COVER AND MASTHEAD PHOTOS BY: RACHEL LARA

LET E G D E L W KNO SERVE THE CITY U R BA N DES I G N . T R A N S IT. B IK E WAY S . FR I EN D LY N EI G H B O R H O O D S . K E E P ING P O RT L AN D L I VA B L E S INC E 1 9 4 6 .

~Pr e si d e nt Wim Wie w el

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

COPY EDITORS Bridget Carrick Jacoba Lawson

NEWS EDITOR Jon Raby news@psuvanguard.com

CREATIVE DIRECTOR Arlen Cornejo production@psuvanguard.com

MULTIMEDIA MANAGER Andy Ngo multimedia@psuvanguard

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Alanna Madden associatenews@psuvanguard.com

PHOTO EDITOR Silvia Cardullo photo@psuvanguard.com

ADVERTISING MANAGER Madelaine Eivers psustudentmediaadmanager@ gmail.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

DESIGNERS Lauren Chapluk Terra Dehart Shannon Kidd Aaron Osborn Lydia Wojack-West

ADVERTISING DESIGNER Sam Hicks CONTRIBUTORS Marie Conner Alex-Jon Earl Emily HagenBurger Catherine Johnson Demian Lucas John Larson Chris May Miles Sanguinetti Jason Susim Anamika Vaughan Devon Wanderon PHOTOGRAPHERS Rachel Lara Miles Sanguinetti Jacob Salazar

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

CIVIL DISOBEDIENCE

A WEEK OF PROTESTS ERUPT FROM TRUMP ELECTION UPSET DEMIAN LUCAS, JASON SUSIM, AND ALANNA MADDEN

ON NOVEMBER 10, THE THIRD ANTI-DONALD TRUMP PROTEST WAS LABELED A RIOT BY PORTLAND POLICE DUE TO “EXTENSIVE CRIMINAL AND DANGEROUS BEHAVIOR.” ANDY NGO/PSU VANGUARD The evening of Nov. 8 Marked the end of the 2016 presidential elections and the outcome was an upset to many, spurring a weeklong series of protests. Republican nominee Donald Trump began his campaign for presidency in June 2016, leading what Portland State President Wim Wiewel called a “vitriolic campaign.” Mainstream media outlets touted for months that long-standing politician and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton was guaranteed the victory. According to the New York Times, Clinton was projected to win the election with 85 percent accuracy. In the final hours of the election, the American public saw these projections were wrong. A large crowd of Portland State students and local residents immediately gathered near Smith Memorial Student Center to express

their fear, anger, and sorrow. Chants such as, “Fuck Donald Trump,” could be heard blocks away. PSU Campus Public Safety Chief Phillip Zerzan confirmed that anti-Trump protests occurred on both Tuesday and Wednesday night, assuring there were no complaints or formal actions taken by the PSU Public Safety Team. When describing the events of Tuesday night, Zerzan acknowledged that a protest occurred “on the edge of campus, and then went all over.” Meanwhile, an even larger group of frustrated Portland citizens gathered to protest downtown. The PSU community was not unique in its reaction to the news. Protests were held on Tuesday and Wednesday night in other cities such as Chicago, New York, Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Boston,

Washington, D.C., Seattle, and several others. Thursday, Nov. 10 marked the third consecutive night of protesting. The protest, referred to as #NotMyPresident, began at Pioneer Courthouse Square where speakers from several local activist groups spoke out against the Trump presidency. Gregory McKelvey, a spokesperson for Don’t Shoot Portland, has announced the formation of a new organization called Portland’s Resistance. McKelvey addressed the large crowd about the marching that would take place. “Our group does not condone violence, vandalism or destruction in any way," McKelvey said. "However, it is not our job to censor anyone’s activism. If we do that, we might as well call the police ourselves. Our job is to lead by example, and that example will be peace.” Once the march began the crowd departed from Pioneer Square and made its way to

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the waterfront, where the protesters joined a rally advocating for LGBTQ rights. It was there that McKelvey stated the group's demands of the city of Portland. The issues included police accountability, rent control, and an end to no-cause evictions. “We are Portland’s Resistance and we will continue to be a resistance so that Portland can be a beacon of light in what is not a very dark country,” McKelvey said. The protest marched east and overtook the Hawthorne Bridge, where traffic was stopped before heading north on SE Grand. Here, organizers called for a moment of silence in solidarity with Michael Brown, who in August 2014 was fatally shot by police and left dead on the ground for four-and-a-half hours. When the march commenced, dozens of different chants could be heard at any

given time. The crowd voiced their resistance to a Trump presidency proclaiming, “We reject the president elect,” or “My body, my choice." The consensus of the crowd was that Trump does not represent them and that his ideologies are hateful. Angelita Morillo is a Portland State student studying political science and legal studies. She joined #NotMyPresident to express her frustrations with the election process. Morillo believes the Electoral College to be an outdated practice that consistently differs from the popular vote and doesn’t accurately represent the votes of the people. “I think that it definitely illegitimates the need to vote,” Morillo said. “People don’t feel like they need to because it doesn’t actually turn out the way that we want it to.” The protest grew even larger once it made its way to Holladay Park at the Lloyd

Center where it merged with another group, the Anarchist Black Cross. An Anarchist Black Cross member told the crowd, “We are not just about destruction, but about bringing power to the people.” The crowd grew in numbers but was still peaceful as protesters from Portland’s Resistance and the Anarchist Black Cross made their way across the Broadway Bridge. Once in the Pearl District things quickly became destructive. At this point the protest split. McKelvey encouraged protesters to stay peaceful, and they headed back to Pioneer Square. “Debriefing at 10 at Pioneer Courthouse Square. This is a peaceful meeting, all our actions are. Police are moving in on violent protesters,” #PDXResistance posted on their Twitter at 9:46 p.m. The branch of protesters who moved to the Pearl smashed storefront windows; trash cans and newspaper stands were set on fire, and a number of car windows were bashed. Many of those from the original protest spoke out against the vandalism chanting, “Peaceful protest,” or “Smash the patriarchy, not the property.” Destruction continued. The march was met by police forces at the intersection of Park Ave. and West Burnside. Police forces used flashbang grenades to steer the crowd up SW Broadway towards Pioneer Square. Once at Pioneer, the crowd began to dwindle in numbers as many of the peaceful demonstrators had dispersed. By midnight most, if not all, of the peaceful protesters had gone home. The remaining protesters continued to set fires and hurl rocks and other objects toward the police line. A police presence brandishing riot gear continued

NEWS to grow as the Oregon State Police joined PPD. Police continued to use flashbang grenades in addition to tear gas and shooting rubber bullets. Demonstrations resumed on Friday night throughout the city, attracting a variety of organized groups who spoke out against Trump’s presidency. Portland’s Resistance organizers met at City Hall in order to introduce their cause and to discuss their goals instead of protesting. “When I got to the rally, nobody was marching and there wasn’t any cops there,” a PSU grad student recalls. “We were there to organize the group, to meet other people in our community, and understand what our concerns were collectively.” “There was a group of people who insisted on marching, and so we organizers told them to go ahead— but that’s not what the rest of us were going to do. Soon after, an [unknown] group of protesters were marching nearby, and that’s when I

could hear the police in riot gear arrive,” she said. Protesters began chanting to police, “March with us!” and “Take off your riot gear! We don’t see no riots here!” “A group of about 300 or more of us split from the holdup to march across the Burnside Bridge,” she said. “We were chanting, “No Trump. No KKK. No fascist USA.” Eventually police blocked the march as they attempted to cross back over the Morrison Bridge. “We kept getting cornered, so I decided to go home." She said. “I walked over the Hawthorne Bridge. That’s when I saw other protesting groups and a bunch of police activity.” Later on, anti-Trump protesters eventually made it on to the Morrison Bridge. While marching across, an occupant of a blocked car shot and injured a protester before fleeing. Portland Resistance publicly stated, “Sadly, people will defend this person being shot. This is what Trump's America now looks like. It is never

okay to use violence against someone exercising their first amendment rights.” Protests persisted over the weekend, and look as though they may continue with the months leading up to Inauguration Day. At least 143 protesters have been arrested in Portland since election night, with 71 arrested on Saturday, Nov. 12 alone. All charges against protesters have since been dropped. Protest groups are expected to continue their rallies on and off campus. A group called Anyone’s Resistance is staging a rally in the park blocks at noon on Wednesday, following a planned PSU student walkout. The group’s FaceBook states, “On November 16th, we are calling on all students to join the movement to declare their campuses a #SanctuaryCampus and commit to putting our bodies between Trump and undocumented students.”

“A GROUP OF ABOUT 300 OR MORE OF US SPLIT FROM THE HOLDUP TO MARCH ACROSS THE BURNSIDE BRIDGE,” SHE SAID. “WE WERE CHANTING, “NO TRUMP, NO KKK, NO FASCIST USA.”

A PSU EMPLOYEE CLEANS UP ANTI-DONALD TRUMP GRAFFITI AFTER THURSDAY NIGHT'S PROTEST. COLLEEN LEARY/PSU VANGUARD

PROTESTERS TAKE OVER THE STREETS OF DOWNTOWN PORTLAND ON FRIDAY NIGHT. RACHEL LARA/PSU VANGUARD

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

NUCLEAR TREATY CHRIS MAY

ON OCT. 27, A MAJORITY OF UNITED NATIONS MEMBER STATES VOTED TO MOVE FORWARD IN NEGOTIATING A TREATY THAT WOULD BAN NUCLEAR WEAPONS. COURTESY OF MARCELLO CASAL JR/ABR On Oct. 27, a majority of United Nations member states voted to move forward in negotiating a treaty that would ban nuclear weapons. Among the states that opposed such a treaty are the nine nations with known nuclear weapons: the United States, China, France, Britain, Russia, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea. To understand the impact a nuclear disarmament treaty would have on U.S. foreign policy, the Vanguard spoke with Richard Beyler, Ph.D., a professor of history at Portland State whose areas of expertise include the history of science and its cultural, social and political implications. “All the time, individually and as societies, we’re making decisions about what is important and what is not important, about what attracts our attention and what do we neglect, about where we should put our time and resources,” Beyler said. “In a sense, technology is being constantly controlled by the collective decisions of individuals and societies, which ultimately shape not only the types of technologies that emerge or don’t emerge but also how they are used or not used.”

He continued, “I think it’s also a kind of myth, or just not very helpful to just offer the assertion that well, knowledge does what it does, technology does what it does. This idea of an autonomous technology, that is completely outside of human control, so there’s nothing we can do but let it run its course, is historically misleading.” One example of collective decisions shaping the course of nuclear development is the establishment of the International Atomic Energy Agency in 1957. The organization’s stated purpose is to “pursue the goal of making nuclear science and technology available to its member states in a safe, secure and peaceful manner.” A number of treaties, including the “Partial Test Ban Treaty” and its successor the “Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty” were intended to reduce the testing of nuclear weapons in areas where radioactive fallout could endanger the health and environment of local communities. Inconsistent ratification of these treaties by nations with nuclear weapons has undermined their effectiveness.

A treaty that exemplifies the challenges associated with nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament is the eponymous “Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,” known more commonly as the NPT. The treaty defines nations as either nuclear-weapon states or non-nuclear-weapon states and establishes several articles designed to hold up three basic principles: nonproliferation, disarmament and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Organizations such as the IAEA, under the umbrella of the U.N., both assist and monitor non-nuclear states to ensure the third pillar is upheld. While the non-nuclear signatories to this treaty have consistently honored their commitments (Iran and North Korea being notable exceptions), it appears unlikely that nations with current nuclear stockpiles will make any significant moves towards disarmament in the near future. Despite the fact that the United States helped draft the NPT, formerly secret agreements have revealed intent to share nuclear weapons with other North Atlantic Treaty Organization mem-

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ber states; this would appear to be in direct violation of Articles I and II of the treaty, which forbid the transfer and acceptance of nuclear weapons between states with nuclear weapons and those without. Several nations have refused to sign the NPT. Of those, India and Pakistan have made their nuclear programs known, while Israel is assumed to have nuclear warheads despite a concerted effort on behalf of both Israel and the U.S. to remain ambiguous about its capabilities. Hans Kristensen, director of the Nuclear Information Project at the Federation of American Scientists describes this trend in a 2014 report discussing challenges to the NPT: “[The] slowing of reductions and open-ended nuclear modernization appear to contradict the promises made by the five NPT nuclear-weapon states nearly five decades ago to ‘pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament,” Moreover, Kristensen points out that the nuclear weapons belonging to the United States

and Russia constitute over 90 percent of all nuclear weapons, despite considerable reduction in nuclear arms following the fall of the Soviet Union. In the same way that the nuclear policy of the United States and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War was characterized by increasing proliferation of nuclear weapons as deterrence, it appears the inverse of that approach is now being seen, with states refusing to reduce their nuclear stockpiles below what they consider the threshold for a “minimum deterrence posture.” Kristensen's report concluded: “[The] overwhelming and disproportionate size of the Russian and U.S. arsenals indicates that they predominantly are shaped by each other rather than other nuclear-armed states, and that the sizes of their current arsenals are more an indication of how far the Cold War draw-down has progressed (and how far it still has to go) rather than an expression of how many warheads the two countries actually need for their national security.” When we asked Dr. David Kinsella, professor and Chair of Political Science at PSU,

if he thinks nuclear weapons will always be part of the geopolitical landscape, he expressed his belief that while the norm of non-proliferation will continue, it’s doubtful total nuclear disarmament will be a realistic possibility any time in the near future. “We may see the de-nuclearization of North Korea, if something amazing happens, like that regime collapses,” Kinsella said. “I can’t see China giving up their nuclear arsenal. I can’t see Britain or France giving it up. Israel, it’s hard to know. It’s hard to imagine; they live in a pretty insecure neighborhood. There’s a difficult relationship between India and Pakistan; it’s unlikely either nation is going to denuclearize.” Dr. Beyler stressed the importance of understanding these issues from a non-U.S. perspective. For all the disagreements and enmity there might be, the leaders of these nations are not irrational— maybe with the exception of North Korea. The countries that are doing this are doing it for reasons that aren’t the same as the reasons the U.S. and Soviet Union had during the Cold War.” Beyler pointed out that from a science and technology standpoint, the scientific knowledge required for nuclear development is no longer the biggest hurdle of nuclearization. While he was quick to point out that he would much prefer a world without any nuclear weapons, he suggested it might be illuminating to consider the underlying reasons why nations would take the political risks and commit the massive resources and effort required for such a technologically complex undertaking.

ARTS & CULTURE

WORDSTOCK HONORS CURIOSITY, CRAFT AND DIALOGUE CATHERINE JOHNSON

“To be curious about something is to take a step forward,” said Carrie Brownstein, the memoirist, musician, and actor best known for Portlandia and Sleater-Kinney, at the First Congregational United Church of Christ during Portland’s annual book festival, Wordstock. Questions of curiosity, progress, what it means to be human and how literature can provoke important conversations were recurrent themes during Literary Arts’ day-long, multi-venue event that took over the southwest Park Blocks on Saturday, Nov. 5. In the Portland Art Museum’s Whitsell Auditorium, Christopher Rothko, son of the famous painter Mark Rothko and author of Mark Rothko: From the Inside Out, said his father’s work, like all significant art, offers viewers a place to stop thinking and consider: What makes you deeply human? “I think we’re still very much living in a time that needs him,” Rothko told the New York Times and repeated to his Wordstock audience. In the Portland’5 Winningstad Theater, Caroline Paul and Wendy MacNaughton discussed their new book, The Gutsy Girl, which empowers girls and women by encouraging them to seek adventure, take risks, and make bravery part of their vocabulary. “[The book presents] ways to teach girls to look at situations with courage instead of fear,” Paul said. “It doesn’t matter if you’re scared. That’s normal.” Also, prompting readers to embrace difficult words, author Amber Keyser discussed her book The V-Word.

It’s a collection of seventeen accounts of first-time sex that covers a range of sexual identities and experiences and aims to deepen our understanding of sex, what it can really be like, and provoke meaningful conversations about it. “I want to see us talk about sex a lot more—with good language,” Keyser said. “I wish I had a book like this.” But one of the most popular and conversation-provoking events of the day was the reading and discussion between authors Colson Whitehead and Yaa Gyasi, moderated by Rukaiyah Adams, which filled the Arlene Schnitzer auditorium. Both writers have new books featuring female heroes, grappling with the history of slavery over multiple continents and hundreds of years, including its legacy and modern remnants. Based on rigorous research, Whitehead’s novel plays with reality and what we think we know to be true. He was interested in capturing a larger American truth and the brutality of how the black body has been treated. He said he didn’t need to force comparisons between law enforcement of the past and the police today. They are evident, and his work seeks to provide a context for what we’re dealing with now. “Living in Portland, where a lot of people have no context for what’s happening now and understanding some of the historical things that have gone on, books like this are really important,” said Chrystal Bell, a Wordstock patron. “There’s so much relevance to what’s happening now.” Adams commented that she felt implicated as a bystander

AUDREY BOND/VANGUARD ARCHIVES of the violence Whitehead describes while reading. “It did challenge me to think if we were the townspeople watching the lynchings,” Adams said. “I was particularly struck by the contemporary application of both of the texts,” said Béalleka, another member of the audience. “There’s clearly a fascination in this period and also trying to get a sense of what we don’t know and what we don’t talk about. The amnesia of public memory in America is such that we need literature that is going back to that period that we think has ended, and yet so clearly has not. The repercussions are still reverberating through society all the time.” Gyasi’s novel explores the theme of motherlessness, pressing a matrifocal perspec-

tive of slavery and how it impacted women. “One of the great tragedies of slavery is the way it fractured families,” Gyasi said. Béalleka found it significant that both novels are about gender too, and specifically focus on the black woman’s experience. “It’s important that we’re not reading either of these works as just historically informative, but rather emotionally effective because they are about trauma and we’re living with that trauma and we need to talk about it,” Béalleka said. Adams emphasized this emotional experience of reading the books by pointing out passages that were especially powerful. “You broke my heart,” she said to each author more than once.

Both authors emphasized that their work is about the search for freedom, a place to call home where we can be ourselves, and the human need for safety. Whitehead pointed out that one group’s oppression is everyone’s oppression. “The oppression of black people is the oppression of women is the oppression of Jews,” Whitehead said. Festival-goers hope books like these will inspire a muchneeded national dialogue. “It would be good if this would be the beginning, rather than the end of a conversation,” said Jo Ann Hardesty, another attendee. “I do think there’s an opportunity to do some education that really grounds people and ultimately we get to that beloved community.”

For Hardesty, books like these aren’t just entertainment. It’s important to sit with the discomfort of reading about subjects like slavery so that we’re called to talk to one another and take responsibility. “Put yourself in that situation so that we can expand our empathy for people that are different from ourselves,” Hardesty said. The project of stepping outside of one’s self, seeking new experiences and perspectives, and cultivating conversation and debate is at the heart of the Wordstock book celebration. “If you use empathy and intelligence, you can write about anything,” Whitehead said.

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ARTS & CULTURE OPINION FEATURE COVER

ASHES OF ARIANDEL REIGNITES THE FLAME OF DARK SOULS III REVIEW BY MILES SANGUINETTI

FROMSOFTWARE/2016 Dark Souls III saw the release of Ashes of Ariandel, its first piece of downloadable content, on Oct. 25, 2016. Complete with two brandnew bosses, a fearsome arsenal of novel weaponry and an icy, unforgiving landscape, the painted world of Ariandel is a welcome addition to the game.

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

One of the hallmarks of the Dark Souls series is its relentlessly brutal gameplay, and Ashes of Ariandel continues this tradition. From the start, hordes of frozen warriors and packs of ravenous wolves will ambush you and overwhelm careless players. At times, the very ground beneath your feet will give way and leave you tumbling toward a waiting pack of enemies. Unless you’re incredibly skilled or over-leveled, it’s likely that the DLC will find ways to kill you a good number of times before you even reach its bosses. FromSoftware Inc. made excellent use of vertical level

design in some regions of the painted world; players traverse a collapsed bridge and dangling tree roots to scale down into a ravine while avoiding a rain of arrows shot by a regiment of giant archers. A tower in another portion of the DLC forces the player to descend with great leaps through the crumbling vestiges of its enemy-infested ramparts. Overall, Ariandel’s scenery is a bit less memorable than previous games’ DLC packages, but the level design remains very strong. Arguably the nastiest regular enemies you face in the painted world are the Millwood Knights, a faction of hulking Colossi men with similarly massive weapons and plate armor. At one stage, the game pits the player against three of them simultaneously, with one of the knights bombarding the arena with localized earthquakes. Despite other enemies like wolves appearing in far greater numbers, this fight was easily one of the toughest

in the DLC, with the Millwood Knights boasting incredible health and damage.

INSTRUMENTS OF DEATH

As with any Dark Souls DLC, Ashes of Ariandel rewards the player with an entire host of exciting new weapons. The Crow Quills are one of the more interesting armaments among these. They consist of a short rapier and a handful of throwing knives— the weapon's art allows the player to throw a volley of phantasmal knives at their foes. The throwing knives don’t deal a ton of damage, but the integration of a swift ranged attack into an otherwise straightforward melee weapon is an interesting addition to the game. Another weapon of interest is Valorheart, a special shortsword that equips the player with a matching shield, allowing for a much more thoroughly integrated style of sword-and-board gameplay. The weapon art allows for quick combos of

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sword strikes and a mighty shield bash. The Follower Torch, on the other hand, is less than spectacular as far as regular weapon swings go, but allows the player to unleash a wide breath of searing flame with its weapon art. The torch scales with strength, dexterity, intelligence and faith, which might be interesting for hybrid characters or pyromancers.

THE HEAD HONCHOS

The crux of any Dark Souls content is, without a doubt, the bosses. Ashes of Ariandel comes complete with two boss fights, and both of them are fairly mechanically original, which is a breath of fresh air relative to some of the reskinned encounters in Dark Souls II DLC. Blue Smelter Demon, I’m looking at you. Spoiler-averse readers may wish to skip this section. Though optional in terms of the expansion’s main story, the first boss I encountered was the Champion’s Gravetender and Gravetender Greatwolf.

This fight has two stages, which mostly consist of fighting the Gravetender and Greatwolf separately, with some room for overlap in between the two phases if you don’t kill the Gravetender quickly enough. Unfortunately, the Gravetender is roughly the size of the player and isn’t much bulkier. His weakness to staggering made him surprisingly easy to kill and his swings have such short reach that he isn’t terribly difficult to dodge. The Greatwolf, on the other hand, is massive and incredibly swift; on more than a couple occasions, the flurries of snow that its attacks stir up made me lose track of the boss entirely. Regrettably, its small moveset means that most of the fight’s difficulty comes from the wolf’s raw damage and some deceptively large hitboxes on its lunging attacks. After I figured out a way to roll around the lunge, even the Greatwolf made for a fairly easy kill.

The second and final boss is Sister Friede, accompanied during the fight’s second stage by Father Ariandel. Friede is small and quick; with her scythe, she makes for an incredibly dangerous opponent. One attack turns her completely invisible for its duration and is incredibly difficult to evade at first. She only becomes more intimidating when the massive Father Ariandel joins the fray. Together, the two bosses form a very difficult and memorable encounter.

LAST WORDS

With novel boss fights and a diverse range of new equipment, Ashes of Ariandel is a welcome addition to Dark Souls III. If anything, the DLC’s greatest weakness is its short length. With only two bosses and a relatively small map, the release might leave players with less to do than some of the entries in Dark Souls II’s trio of DLC packages.

FEATURE OPINION

TO SIGN OR NOT TO SIGN TalkFest Marie Conner

Save the children! Get out and vote! Stop the pipeline! Sometimes it seems like you can’t go anywhere on campus without being stopped by signature gatherers. It’s as if they’re waiting like a red-rover defense line to block you from your destination. If you’re lucky, you might see them stationed down the block before you reach them, their colored T-shirts and reflective vests decorated with the names of their nonprofit organizations across their torsos and backs while their clipboards are in hand. If you notice them early enough, you may be able to engage tactical maneuvers of avoidance—I usually walk across the street out of their line of fire. When there is no other choice but to cross their path, the quick shake of the head in tandem with mumbling “no time” comes into play. Perhaps you’ll be even luckier and they’ll be busy with someone else caught in their net as you pass completely off the radar. Their unnaturally large smiles and too loud, too cheery, saccharine greetings are unnerving. All you can think about is getting to class or work. Even though you know that they are simply doing their jobs, you really want to ignore them completely. It’s not like they're bad people; many of them are students just like us, trying to make an honest living one signature at a time. Hell, collecting signatures is probably more honest than most jobs out there, with all the awareness they’re raising while trying to create change. The job is literally pounding the pavement, bringing issues to the forefront, fighting the good fight! I admire them. So, why do most of us treat them like a blight on society? Usually we truly do have a moment or two to spare, and truth be told we could all pay more attention to issues in our community and in the world. But let’s face it: Those bright-eyed optimists, the collectors of our autographs and personal statistics, are reminders of all that we don’t seem to have time for or feel capable of doing. We may think, “I’m just a student. What can I do? One signature won’t make any real difference!” and maybe that’s true. But what about 100 signatures? How about 1,000? Besides signatures, how about the old adage that knowledge is power? We can’t enact real change without staying informed. Unbeknownst to them, they are holding a mirror in front of us as we hastily walk by, reflecting who we are and who we would like to be. What if the issue at hand affected us or someone we love personally? What if we were as empathetic as the people willing to stand there and fight day in and day out for the issues, even though we are seldom excited to see them? Would that quell our annoyance of their interruptions into our ever-so-important errands? If we thought about signature gatherers in terms of teachers, facilitating a kind of informal learning right there on the street corner, listening with an attentiveness as if we had paid for the knowledge, might we treat them differently? Let’s hope so.

ILLUSTRATION BY AARON OSBORN

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 15, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

The Vanguard

70 Years in Print The Vanguard's first issue printed on Nov. 15 1946. Travel back in time with this week's anniversary throwback issue. BLIND VETERAN DON CARLO LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR THE VANGUARD

tles based off of beloved TV shows, movies and video games, as well as its own original content.

ENERGY SECURITY FROM 1946 TO TODAY

(CONTINUED ON P.13)

VOLUME 71 • ISSUE 14

PSU ALUMNI WHO HAVE REALLY BROKEN THE BAR (CONTINUED ON P.16)

NOVEMBER 15, 2016

70 YEARS IN PRINT

PORTLAND STATE: AN IDEA SPARKED FROM WAR AND FLOOD DEVON WANDERON

Niche, a college review site, ranked Portland State as one of the most liberal universities across the United States. However, it may surprise those unfamiliar with our campus history to learn that plans for Portland State were first conceived after World War II. The terms liberal and war are often used as contradictory statements. Built in 1946, PSU started out as the Vanport Extension Center, located on the opposite side of the Willamette. According to the Oregon Encyclopedia, the VEC was founded by Stephen E. Epler. Discovering that post-war housing in Portland was especially difficult to come by, Epler accepted a job counseling returning veterans in the small city of Vanport, located to the NE of Portland along the Columbia River. He noticed that Portland had zero options for veterans looking to use the G.I. Bill, so he proposed the VEC. “As you know, we are starting from nothing,” Epler wrote in a letter to one of the college’s first professors. In under three months’ time, Epler converted a Vanport shopping mall into the VEC, opening the doors to higher education not only for returning service members, but the entire community of Portland. The Vanport Extension Center, from the very beginning, was

VANPORT FLOODED IN 1948, AND THE OLD VEC LOCATION WAS DESTROYED. COURTESY OF PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES DIGITAL GALLERY

“WE ARE TRULY FORTUNATE IN HAVING PROBABLY THE LARGEST SINGLE COLLEGE PARKING LOT IN THE NATION AND PERHAPS THE WORLD.” never meant to last. State officials viewed the school’s purpose as a sort of education filler, a step on the path toward state colleges located outside of Portland. Queue the Vanport Flood of 1948. The city itself, built below the

Columbia’s waterline, was devastated. The VEC was destroyed and appeared to be closed for good. Epler had other plans. Refusing to allow the VEC to be washed away, the school’s dedicated administrators, student body, and grow-

ing community base petitioned city planners to allow the school to live on. City planners approved the reopening of the the VEC, which moved to Grant High School for summer classes and then relocated to the abandoned Oregon Shipbuilding Corporation center in St. Johns. The eternal optimist, Epler announced, “We are truly fortunate in having probably the largest single college parking lot in the nation and perhaps the world.” As VEC attendance continued to grow, the school’s advocates expanded their push for the school to be recognized as an official institution of Oregon state. One of the advocates was Richard Neuberger, for

whom our own Neuberger Hall was named. According to PSU’s website, “Neuberger remained a champion of a four-year public college in Portland throughout his distinguished political career, which led to a seat in the United States Senate. Even before the 1948 flood, the journalist and state legislator told a Vanport student assembly that it made little sense that the state’s largest institutions of higher education should be in the small towns of Eugene and Corvallis. In fact, Portland was the largest metropolitan area in the United States without a public four-year college.” In 1952, VEC moved yet again, this time to the old Lincoln High School and its permanent home in Portland’s Park Blocks. Vanport Extension Center was renamed the Portland State Extension Center. In 1955, the center became Portland State College—the city’s first four-year college. In 1968, with the approval of the institution’s first doctoral programs, the school’s name changed to the title we recognize today: Portland State University. PSU has come a long way since its original founding in Vanport. From this point forward, the history of our campus is left for us to write.

PSU VANGUARD • NOVEMBER 15, 2016 • PSUVANGUARD.COM

70 YEARS IN PRINT

A SHORT HISTORY OF THE VANGUARD DANIEL FINNEGAN

The Vanguard celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, enjoying a history as storied as the university itself. The paper emerged shortly after the inception of the Vanport Extension Center—the precursor to Portland State—as a means to cover school events and build a community of readers. Veteran students returning from the battlefields of World War II found in its pages a means to re-adapt to academic and civilian life. The first Vanguard issue released on Nov. 15, 1946 as the Vet’s Extended, published out of the apartment of blind veteran Don Carlo. The issue included an introduction by Navy vet Dr. Stephen Epler, founder of the Vanport Extension Center, and announced the inauguration of the Student Government. From then until now, the paper has maintained diligent coverage of school activity and organization. At the suggestion of professor Vaughn Albertson, the paper was renamed the Vanguard for the win-

THE VERY FIRST ISSUE OF "VET'S EXTENDED", NOW THE "VANGUARD" WAS PUBLISHED ON NOV. 15, 1946. COURTESY OF PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES DIGITAL GALLERY. ter term to appeal to a more diverse audience. The staff initially met at Carlo’s apartment several evenings a week to write and edit the textonly weekly. Photographs didn’t appear in the Vanguard until the Jan. 28, 1954 edition. Photo and illustration now plays a major role in publication, with editors and designers often working side by side to present striking news content. Since its inception, the paper and staff have encountered several controversies. In 1949, editor Ray Bouse defended his staff against accusations of communist

party affiliations and communist slanted news coverage. Bouse answered criticism against the paper in a meeting of staff, board members and students. No further action was taken, but the precedent for confrontation was set. The Vanguard supported the student rights movement of the 1960s, and in May 1967 published a nude photograph of Allen Ginsberg alongside an article discussing his upcoming visit to the PSU campus. The issue was confiscated and withheld from circulation by then school President Branford P.

VANGUARD • NOVEMBER 15, 2016 • PSUVANGUARD.COM

Millar, and Vanguard publication was suspended. Students and staff alike were not pleased with the idea of not having a campus voice. While various factions debated issues of editorial control that the Ginsberg photo raised, Donald R. Moor of the Philosophy Department and 80 of his colleagues published two issues of the Independent Vanguard. Overwhelming support for the Vanguard eventually led Millar to reinstate publication a few months later after agreeing on several organizational changes.

Further standoffs occurred in the mid-1980s against school President Natale Sicuro. The Vanguard published a story in the fall of 1986 exposing Student Government President Michael Erickson’s plan to arrange the annual homecoming dance for “whites only.” Sicuro ardently supported Erickson; his public approval soon plummeted in the face of that and other suspicious activities. Controversy isn’t the paper’s only distinguishing mark. The Vanguard has earned many awards over the years at the annual Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association contest. Recent awards include being named the top Oregon college newspaper in 2014, including first place in General Excellence, earning thirty awards in 2015, and eleven in 2016. The Vanguard continues to honor its legacy of serious journalism by exposing controversies, celebrating achievements, and working directly with students to produce the best paper possible.

70 YEARS IN PRINT

BLIND VETERAN DON CARLO LAYS GROUNDWORK FOR THE VANGUARD

DANIEL FINNEGAN

Losing one’s sight can be a travesty; for founding Vanguard editor Don Carlo, it just meant that he needed to adapt. He used strips of Braille to label his textbooks and records. He knew exactly where everything was and kept a clean apartment. A Braille plaque outside his door ensured he never walked in on a neighbor. Carlo was drawn to journalism at a young age, writing news stories for the student newspaper at Washington High School in Southeast Portland. He also wrote feature stories for the News Telegram in 1934 and the Oregon Journal in 1935. Intent on pursuing a news career, Carlo enrolled as a journalism major at the University of Oregon in the fall of 1940. He attended for one year and then left for California to work for the San Francisco Chronicle. As World War II escalated, Carlo was drafted to serve in the army. Because of his news writing experience, he took on an editing job, publishing one post newspaper after another. His proudest moments included the times his stories were reprinted in the famous army paper Stars and Stripes. While serving, Carlo lost his sight in an accident. He was transferred to the army school for the blind in Avon, Connecticut, where he took courses and earned high grades while adapting to life without sight. He started a newspaper for the hospital accompanied by a Braille edition. Carlo spent three months learning the Braille system and learning to use a Braille typewriter. He carried the typewriter to all of his classes and took detailed notes. In 1946, Carlo enrolled in the Vanport Extension Center in Oregon, the precursor to Portland State. He lived and studied independently in Vanport, golfing in his free time and spending several evenings

DON CARLO, EDITOR OF VET'S EXTENDED NEWSPAPER. COURTESY OF PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES DIGITAL GALLERY per week meeting with staff to publish the Vet’s Extended, the first issue released on Nov. 15, 1946. The paper was renamed the Vanguard shortly after. Carlo kept up with current affairs through a special record player designed to play Library of Congress records issued by the American Foundation for the Blind. He also listened to novels and followed popular news through Reader’s Digest recordings. The Vanguard continues the tradition Don Carlo set down 70 years ago. The paper is fully student run, with assistance from media advisor Reaz Mahmood. Mahmood is also legally blind and has served the Vanguard and student media for over three years. He earned an MFA of Journalism from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

A 1946 PROFILE OF DON CARLO, PUBLISHED IN "PACIFIC PARADE MAGAZINE." COURTESY OF PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES DIGITAL GALLERY

PSU VANGUARD • NOVEMBER 15, 2016 • PSUVANGUARD.COM

70 YEARS IN PRINT

LIGHT UP THOSE LUCKY STRIKES PSU VANGUARD HEADLINES OVER THE LAST 70 YEARS EMILY HAGENBURGER

Throughout this paper’s 70year history, there have been some weird, wacky and wonderful headlines that have helped propel us through the ever-changing culture of our beloved university. The Portland State Vanguard has a long and storied history since its debut as Vet’s Extended, way back when Vanport Extension Center opened in 1946. That’s right: PSU first opened as a way to help meet the educational needs of returning World War II veterans. In 1955 the center was reincarnated as Portland State College and, subsequently, the Portland State Vanguard emerged as the primary newsprint. The earliest issues of Vet’s Extended give us a hilarious glimpse into American culture of the 1940s–50s. From Vet’s Extended Vol. 1, Number 1, on Nov. 15, 1946 comes the very illuminating title, “Non-Vets Attractive But Outnumbered.” This article informs the public of the newlyestablished Vanport College and how veterans outnumber nonveteran students 12:1—but hey, the author says, non-vets can be attractive too! Don’t ask me why it was a presupposition that non-vets weren’t attractive. But to prove his point, the author gives a few examples, such as Nan Olson, a “beautiful, little blonde,” Nancy Roeckle, who is “tall and smooth” and Don Collier, an attractive but apparently evasive individual who didn’t want to give the Vet’s Extended a “personality profile of a non-vet” exclusive. What gives, Don?! Up next is this gem from July 18, 1947: “Burning Beans Saved.”

COURTESY OF USER ALFVANBEEM THROUGH WIKIMEDIA COMMONS There was an entire article dedicated to memorializing the story of a student who came into his English class and realized he had left the stove on! Upon realizing his folly, he ran home, turned off the stove, and ran back to class. Upon arriving, he relievedly announced to his classmates that “with the exception of a few beans on the bottom of the pan, no great loss was incurred.” Ah, the ’40s. A simpler time. In my search, it was a special treat to flip past all the “Be

Happy— Go Lucky!” Lucky brand cigarette ads in the issues from the ’40s and ’50s. The headline “$5 Tuition on Horizon,” however, is heart breakingly self-explanatory. “Spring term of 1967,” the article said, “will see many students attending Portland State paying only five dollars for tuition.” HA! Add $8,332 to that and you get today’s base price. The article explains the proposed five-dollar tuition measure further saying, “Students will pay the regular fees for the first

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two terms and then only $5 for the third term which amounts to a $105 tuition reduction.” Yeah… excuse me while I go cry over my ever-mounting student-loans and long for a return to the prices of the ’60s. “LSD Damage Limited,” read the front page of the Oct. 6, 1967 issue. Indicative of its time, the article discussed the research of local scientist Dr. Jose Egozcue involving the speculation of chromosomal mutations caused by lysergic acid diethylamide, aka LSD or acid. Dr. Egozcue reassuringly stated, “LSD, if taken in small doses, rarely causes broken chromosomes.” However, he then went on to vaguely say, “I don’t think LSD will cause anyone to get leukemia.” Well, okay then! If you don’t think LSD will cause leukemia, it’s definitely safe. Thanks, Dr. E! The ’70s were apparently the decade of the pun-based newspaper headlines, with examples such as “Campus Exposure Incidents Prove Revealing,” which covered a spate of flashers; “Support Hunger Strikes and Lettuce Boycott,” which discussed the protests of non-union lettuce served in PSU cafeterias; and “Equestrian team overcomes hurdle,” profiling the PSU equestrian team that began on campus despite the lack of funding. The best pun headline from the ’70s articles, however, comes from the Oct. 13, 1978 issue: “Pebble Laden Chili Induces Anger.” Well, I would hope so! Especially since the then-Food Service Director Dan Beecher was reported as saying that “rocks in the chili is

a legitimate beef.” I see what you did there. In the ’80s, we saw the headline “Hobos Parade Elect King and Queen,” from Aug. 4, 1982. Back in ’82, apparently there was a second annual Hobo Parade in Portland, officially announced as the “Parade of the Unemployed and Underemployed.” The second annual parade was done in protest against President Ronald Reagan’s administrative economic policies, aka “Reaganomics”. About 200 hobos and ex-hobos were reported to have participated, holding signs with statements such as “Hooverville ’32, Reaganville ’82,”, “Sell Nancy’s China,” and “Poor but Proud.” Though lacking a headline, my favorite vintage piece was found in the ’90s archives. The article displayed a photograph of a local billboard featuring David Yandell, a 32-year-old PSU student awaiting graduation. The small blurb for the picture disclosed that Yandell “paid $100 for the right to put up his abbreviated resume and plea for employment on the Music Box billboard downtown.” The billboard read: “Frustrated PSU student needs job, on verge of three degrees, creative, passionate, innovative all-around good guy—David Yandell” with his phone number. Although my search through old Vanguard issues and articles began as a way to laugh at the past and entertain the colloquialisms and discrepancies; in the end, what I realized the most were the similarities.

70 YEARS IN PRINT

HEADLINES THROUGH

THE AGES

JASON SUSIM

Throughout the years, the Vanguard has sought to report the news and represent a campus with ongoing progression and cultural shifts. The following is a list of some major headlines about the cultural climate at the time they were contributed. We take you on this retrospective endeavor to showcase our pride in the progressive culture fostered here at Portland State.

1968

Sex Lessons Sterile

Local school board votes 5–4 to block the showing of sex education films. NOW: Not only does Portland Public Schools recognize the importance of sex education, but the city has become one of the more sex-positive communities in the country. Last year Lincoln High School’s the Cardinal Times reported that Lincoln was visited by Teen Council. Teen Council is a group of teenagers who visit schools and teach students about sex education. Lincoln’s health teachers continue to update and revise the health curriculum to meet Oregon health standards.

Black Student Union Aids High School Students

Members of Portland State’s Black Student Union help Washington High School in forming their own BSU. NOW: A BSU presence is stronger than ever, not only at the university level but in almost every local high school as well. “Lincoln, Jefferson and Grant high schools in the Portland Public Schools have black student unions,” according to a 2015 Willamette Week article.

1969

Vanguard Awarded Top Rating

The Portland State Vanguard won its fourth All-American rating from the Associated Collegiate Press. NOW: *Pats self on back.* In 2014 the Vanguard was deemed the top student newspaper in Oregon and continues to win awards in general excellence every year. We will continue to work towards excellence in reporting the news and promoting a campus-wide culture of pride.

1982

Level of College Alcoholism Rises.

Study finds “One-third of all college students in the country are problem drinkers.” NOW: Not much has changed—one-third still sounds about right. Binge drinking along with sleep deprivation and financial insecurity has become a standard component of the college experience.

1982

Israeli Invasion moves Students to March

in protest against Israeli invasion of Lebanon, students march and chant “Israel out of Lebanon now.” NOW: The student-founded SUPER, Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights, has gained strong membership from PSU students. This comes as the Associated Students of PSU recently voted to divest from corporations profiting from Israeli occupation. Boycott divestment and sanction strategies continue to gain traction in combating practices of occupation and apartheid.

1994

chemistry profs bring lab to high school

The National Science Foundation presents a $541,000 grant to the PSU Chemistry Department. A project called “The role of the laboratory in teaching and learning chemistry” is aimed at changing the way chemistry is taught in high schools. NOW: The College of Liberal Arts and Sciences here at PSU proudly boasts a chemistry department that immerses students in a world class collaborative educational experience. By sparking students’ interest at the high school level, the chemistry department has managed to make science sexy.

1995

Classes focus on Environment

The National Science Foundation awards PSU a $121,511 grant to establish a Pacific Northwest environmental studies program. NOW: PSU has become one of the most

DRS. BARNUM AND HOWARD IN SCIENCE ROOM - SCOPE REPAIR, ONE JULY 6TH, 1967. COURTESY OF PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES DIGITAL GALLERY prominent institutions for those seeking an environmentally-conscious education. PSU now proudly offers two undergraduate tracks: Environmental Science and Environmental Studies.

2001

PSU Hosts Nuclear Weapons Forum

stockpile. The Obama administration has secured enough votes to pass the Iran deal, although fear of a nuclear Iran is still a legitimate concern.

Students Fight Toxic Waste.

In the wake of 9/11, this forum includes topics of foreign policy, nuclear weapons and involvement in Afghanistan. NOW: This is a story that is still frighteningly relevant. The United States still seeks to maintain its status as having the world’s strongest military. In the recent Iran nuclear deal, economic sanctions on Iran have been lifted in exchange for the reduction of their uranium

OSPIRG, the Oregon Student Public Interest Research Group, organizes a campaign to clean up the Willamette, which was named the second most polluted river in the west. NOW: A $750 million plan is proposed to clean up Portland Harbor. The plan would monitor toxic sites along the 10-mile stretch from the Broadway Bridge to the Columbia Slough. The underwhelming plan is estimated by the Environmental

Protection Agency to dredge out less than 10 percent of the polluted area. On some of the hotter days, Portlanders deal with the decision of whether or not they should swim in the Willamette. Often, against our better judgment, we still find ourselves splashing around in the sludge.

TODAY

In this 70-year review of the Vanguard, Portlanders have not changed that much. Though the cultural, local and world issues that drove the PSU campus have evolved, the students are not so different. While the issues of today sometimes seem far more serious than in the past, the Vanguard archives show past classes had the same desire to change the status quo as our class does today.

PSU VANGUARD • NOVEMBER 15, 2016 • PSUVANGUARD.COM

70 YEARS IN PRINT

BROKE THE BAR: PROFILE OF PSU ALUM AND CELEBRITIES ANAMIKA VAUGHAN Portland, Oregon has been receiving its fair share of fame in recent years, but a look back at former Portland State students reveals that Portland has always had a knack for putting out some truly creative and forward thinking individuals.

MIKE RICHARDSON In 1977, Dark Horse Comics creator Mike Richardson graduated from PSU with a degree in art; three years later he opened his own comic book store, Pegasus Books. Dissatisfied with the quality of the comics he was selling, Richardson envisioned Dark Horse Comics as a safe haven for writers and artists, whom he would treat as partners and allow to keep the rights to their creations. In 1986, Dark Horse Comics launched its first issue of "Dark Horse Comics Presents" and "Boris the Bear." In the following years, Dark Horse continued to add new original titles to its catalogue and in 1988 began releasing licensed material from hit film franchises like Alien, Predator, Star Wars and Godzilla. In 1992, after the success of his company’s film-to-comic projects, Richardson founded Dark Horse Entertainment, Inc., in an effort to transform some of his comic book characters into film stars. It was a great success. In the first few years, Dark Horse saw the production of four films. Two of those films, The Mask and Timecop, were creations of his own. Now, thirty years later, Dark Horse Comics is the third largest comic book company in the United States, publishing dozens of titles based off of beloved TV shows, movies and video games, as well as its own original content.

BETTY ROBERTS Betty Roberts graduated in 1958 with a Bachelor of Science in education, then earned a master’s in political science from the University of Oregon in 1962. Roberts then earned her Juris Doctorate degree from Lewis and Clark Law School in 1966—a dedicated Oregonian. In 1964, she was elected as a Democrat to the Oregon House of Representatives, where she would

be re-elected in 1966. Two years later she would be elected to the Oregon Senate and then again in 1972. She was the only woman serving in the senate during that time. Roberts helped to shape Oregon’s first comprehensive land-use legislation, influenced the passage of environmental and consumer protection legislation, and assisted in providing government transparency to citizens. She also lead the way to decriminalizing abortions and fought to ratify the Equal Rights Amendment. In 1977, she was appointed to the Oregon Court of Appeals as the first woman ever to serve on that court. In the following year, she successfully won the election to retain her seat for the full six-year term. Then, in 1982, she served as the first woman on the Oregon Supreme Court. In 2004, she presided over the very first legal marriage of a samesex couple during a brief period when Multnomah county allowed it. In 2008, her memoir With Grit and by Grace was published. Roberts passed away on June 25, 2011 at age 88.

TRAVIS KNIGHT, 1998 GRADUATE OF PSU, IS AN AWARD-WINNING STOP-MOTION ANIMATOR, AND, AS OF 2009, THE PRESIDENT AND CEO OF LAIKA PRODUCTIONS. COURTESY OF USER GAGE SKIDMORE THROUGH WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

TRAVIS KNIGHT Travis Knight, 1998 graduate of PSU, is an award-winning stop-motion animator, and, as of 2009, the president and CEO of Laika productions. He is the son of Phil Knight, co-founder and chairman of Nike Inc., another Oregon-born success

ESPERANZA SPALDING ENROLLED IN THE MUSIC PROGRAM AT PSU, AND WHERE SHE WAS THE YOUNGEST BASE PLAYER IN THE PROGRAM. COURTESY OF USER ANDREA MANCINI THROUGH FLICKR story. In 2012, Knight received the Simon Benson Award for Alumni Achievement from our very own Portland State University. Knight recently produced and directed the feature film Kubo and the Two Strings (2016). Heard about this film? It is all stop-motion animation, and it is fucking beautiful. He previously worked as producer and lead animator for The Boxtrolls (2014) and ParaNorman (2012), and he was also lead animator for Laika’s first film, Coraline (2009). All three movies were nominated for Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Producers Guild of America awards. Knight himself received the Annie Award for his work on ParaNorman and an Academy Award nomination for The Boxtrolls.

HOLLY MADISON Holly Madison, who attended PSU for two years before relocating to California, is known for her long career as a model, actress, author and TV personality. She is perhaps most famous for her time as a Playboy bunny at Hugh Hefner’s infamous Playboy Mansion. From 2002 to 2009, Madison starred in The Girl’s Next Door, a show that detailed her and costar

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She also wrote a second book, "The Vegas Diaries: Romance, Rolling the Dice and the Road to Reinvention," which was featured on the New York Times bestseller list as well.

ESPERANZA SPALDING

HOLLY MADISON WENT TO PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY FOR TWO YEARS, WHERE SHE DOUBLE MAJORED IN THEATER AND PSYCHOLOGY. COURTESY OF USER LUKE FORD THROUGH WIKIMEDIA COMMONS Kendra Wilkinson’s lives as bunnies in the Playboy Mansion, launching her into the spotlight as a bubbly, sexy TV personality. Since her split with the Playboy Mansion in 2009, Madison has starred in many other projects, including Peepshow (2009–2012) and Holly’s World (2009–2011). In 2015, her memoir "Down the Rabbit Hole: Curious Adventures and Cautionary Tales of a Former Playboy Bunny," hit number one on the New York Times bestseller list.

Esperanza Spalding is an awardwinning jazz musician, born and raised in Oregon. After earning a scholarship, Spalding attended PSU until moving on to Berklee School of Music in Boston. She earned her degree in three years and was quickly hired at age 20 by Berklee as a music instructor—making her the youngest ever. In 2006, she released her first album, Junjo. Her second album entitled Esperanza was released at age 23 and featured a mix of Latin and Cuban-style jazz. It rose to number three on the Billboard jazz chart and remained there for 62 weeks. Her third album, Chamber Music Society, was the best-selling contemporary jazz album of 2011. At the 2011 Grammy Awards, Spalding won Best New Artist, beating Mumford and Sons, Drake and Justin Bieber. These are just a few standout PSU Vikings, but there have been many more. And there is still plenty of talent at PSU to be unleashed upon the world. Get to it!

70 YEARS IN PRINT

MUSIC AND CULTURE: VANPORT TO VANGUARD TOP FIVE BILLBOARD SONGS THROUGH THE DECADES

THOMAS SPOELHOF In the summer of 1946, folks were putting the big war behind them and settling in for some serious baby booming. And when the first students of Vanport Extension Center wanted to swing, they got their kicks with music. It was a cooler age, and the music was cooler too. Lovers got their music fix with Louie and Ella’s duets or Dizzy Gillespie’s bebop jazz. Crooners Frank Sinatra and Perry Como swooned audiences with lovesick lyrics and the big band sounds of Count Basie. Things moved at a different pace. When the students of post-World War II wanted to hear their favorite songs, their options were more limited than today. A personal playlist was a stack of 12” records, and the jukebox was top-of-the-line technology. Music was a luxury, and the nearest AM/FM radio was your best bet to hear some swingin’ sounds. Vinyl kicked wax to the curb, and phonograph players started to become affordable. The average household in the 1940s had its own radio and possibly even a record player, but they probably ran on toaster-sized batteries, as many homes weren’t wired for electricity yet. The Golden Age of Radio began to subside as stereo sound debuted in movie theaters. You could play the jukebox at a juke joint, but nobody dug a drugstore cowboy pitching lines to all the gals with nice gams. If those squares tried to give you the what fer, you’d tell ‘em not to flip their wig. Applesauce!

THE TOP FIVE BILLBOARD SONGS OF 1946: •“Prisoner of Love” by Perry Como •“To Each His Own” by Eddy Howard • “The Gypsy” by The Ink Spots • “Five Minutes More” by Frank Sinatra • “Rumors are Flying” by Frankie Carle

Jump ahead 35 years. Half way between 1946 and 2016 is 1981. Gnarly! MTV launched into orbit this year, changing the face of commercial music forever. The first video ever aired claimed, “Video killed the radio star,” but guitars still riffed, and Van Halen made no videos for Fair Warning.

Never mind that the cassette tape had all but replaced vinyl records in the ‘80s, the CD was yet to come. To help start your music collection, the Columbia House Record & Tape Club was there to rope you into a swindle of a contract, luring you with free music and obligating you to purchase a given number of albums at exorbitant prices. Members had to return a postcard every month with a box checked, confirming they didn’t want their shitty, overpriced album of the month. If you didn’t send the card back on time, Columbia House sent you the album and billed you. The boombox became a thing, allowing one person with an enormous two-speakered appliance on their shoulder to share music with everyone within a city block, whether they wanted to hear it or not. Bogus! All you needed was a sheet of cardboard and you were breakin’! You could do the electric boogaloo, worm, and moonwalk with the baddest of them all. Seeds of the ancient griots began to germinate in East Coast cities where youths playing DoubleDutch were making “rhyme talk.” Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five and Sugarhill Gang made rap music part of the vocabulary.

We have the internet. Although arguably still in its infancy, the internet has revolutionized how musicians cultivate their own brands and followings. Today, musical artists and performers often use digital media to self-publish and make a name for themselves

before a recording label signs them to a contract. We also have a variety of social media through which our favorite musicians and artists wax philosophical on matters great and small. Kanye and Taylor can reach out to fans at a moment’s notice

to share a nugget of their wisdom; fans and performers alike seek tweets and retweets, likes and shares, able to interact on a more instant and widespread level than ever before. Stay woke! Things in the game done changed.

THE TOP FIVE BILLBOARD SONGS OF 1981: • “Bette Davis Eyes” by Kim Carnes • “Endless Love” by Diana Ross and Lionel Ritchie • “Lady” by Kenny Rogers • “(Just Like) Starting Over” by John Lennon • “Jessie’s Girl” by Rick Springfield

Back to the future: 2016 has brought its own narrative to the music timeline. Now we have iTunes, Spotify, Pandora and more. We can listen to whatever songs we load into personal playlists anytime we choose—on public transportation, walking down the street or sitting down to dinner with family. We have earbuds and personal electronic devices waiting at the ready to entertain us anywhere we go, at any time, in any company. We can plug in, tune out and remain disaffected by the temporal world. We are digitized.

THE TOP FIVE BILLBOARD SONGS OF 2016: •“Closer” by The Chainsmokers featuring Halsey • “Starboy” by The Weeknd featuring Daft Punk •“Heathens” by twenty one pilots • “Let Me Love You” by DJ Snake featuring Justin Bieber • “Broccoli” by D.R.A.M. featuring Lil Yachty

PSU VANGUARD • NOVEMBER 15, 2016 • PSUVANGUARD.COM

70 YEARS IN PRINT

IN MAY 1970, PSU STUDENTS DEMONSTRATED IN A HISTORIC STRIKE AGAINST THE KILLING OF FOUR KENT STATE UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. 170 POLICE OFFICERS HOSPITALIZED 27 PSU STUDENTS DURING AN ATTACK ON THE CROWD. COURTESY OF PSU VANGUARD ARCHIVES

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70 YEARS IN PRINT

PSU VANGUARD • NOVEMBER 15, 2016 • PSUVANGUARD.COM

70 YEARS IN PRINT

ENERGY SECURITY FROM 1946 TO TODAY ALEX-JON EARL

THERE ARE SEVERAL SOLAR PANELS ON LINCOLN HALL, PSU’S FIRST AND MOST PROMINENT BUILDING ON THE SOUTH PARK BLOCKS, WHICH IS HOME TO THE LARGEST SOLAR PANEL ARRAY ON CAMPUS. COURTESY OF USER LENULENAC THROUGH PIXABAY Portland State University started life as the Vanport Extension Center in 1946. This new educational facility in the marshy slough lands between the Columbia and Willamette rivers was to eventually become a powerhouse among Oregon’s higher education institutions. But first, PSU had to be powered. In 1946, with the war just ending and wartime industries winding down, Portland and the Pacific Northwest were faced with a swell of people moving into the area. With this increased population came an increased need for energy. On Vanport Extension’s opening day, the area was served by numerous hydroelectric facilities and a few steam facilities. Some of these hydro plants are still in existence on the Clackamas and Willamette rivers, including the Faraday and Oak Grove plants. They were managed by several companies, including

Portland Electric Power Company for most of the first half of the twentieth century, but in 1946 a bankruptcy and reorganization plan finally created Portland General Electric. In the greater Northwest, power generation ran largely on hydro as well, including the vital wartime plant at Grand Coulee and the Bonneville Lock and Dam, both on the Columbia River. These facilities, especially Grand Coulee Dam, were integral to the war effort in the Pacific Northwest, and it was these dams that would power the Hanford Plant, which produced the fissionable material for both atomic bombs used on Japan. The hydropower of the Pacific Northwest was an important aspect of the national war effort, and the power provided changed the history of this country. Hydropower also had a more practical use for Portland and Vanport Extension,

one that was nonetheless vital to the existence of both: flood control. In 1948 the Columbia River flooded, wiping out Vanport and the extension. This event drove home the need for further hydroelectric construction on the Columbia River. The goal was not just to generate power; it was to help manage the river behind these dams in the hopes of averting further catastrophe. The next dam built, The Dalles Dam, was constructed in the mid1950s and provided not just power but a more controllable Columbia. While the dam helped calm the raging river, it also silenced the Celilo Falls and inundated indigenous villages. This side-effect did not slow the construction of more hydro facilities, however, and scenes like the submersion of Celilo Falls would repeat again and again. In the 1960s, as these dams continued to be built, the United States

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and Canada decided it would be in their mutual interests to enact a treaty governing how the river and its hydro, irrigation and flood control facilities were managed. Signed in 1964, this treaty centralized management of hydropower and worked to cement a secure and beneficial energy relationship between the two nations. The 1960s was a period of shifts in energy security nationwide. With the formation of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries in 1960 and the rapid rise of the Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries in 1968, the balance of energy security shifted sharply away from the United States and toward oil-rich nations in North Africa and the Middle East. As a result, the 1970s began and ended with energy crises that saw oil prices skyrocket and domestic woes rise in kind. These energy crises were the basis

for the search for renewable energy at the height of the conservation and environmental movements. Solar started slow but got a boost in the 1970s and even saw solar panels briefly appear on the White House. Other green resources, including wind power and increased capacity at hydroelectric plants gave a further boost to locally sourced energy. By the 1980s, with the energy crisis of the ’70s a fresh memory, North American partners sought to liberalize trade and energy policy. The first bilateral agreement to arise from this renewed commitment to continental trade and energy security was 1987’s “Free Trade Agreement” between the United States and Canada. By liberalizing cross-border trade policy, including those relating to energy transmission, the agreement was intended to increase interdependence between the United States and Canada. The “North American Free Trade Agreement” of 1994 later cemented those ties, created additional methods for liberalization of trade and energy policy and incorporated Mexico into the agreement. NAFTA also contained the “North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation,” which put more emphasis on environmental oversight of energy and trade activities. These trade agreements have been important to integrating energy industries on the continent and have increased the number of cross-border energy projects, including the recently canceled Keystone XL project. Back at PSU, we can see the results of the shifting energy generation and policy with the presence of solar panels on numerous buildings on campus and the visibility of turbines throughout downtown Portland. PSU contributes to energy security by managing resources on campus, including investments in energy conservation and efficiency, alternate methods of lighting, heating and cooling, and a more visible effort to notify the public of current and ongoing power use. This is evident in Lincoln Hall, PSU’s first and most prominent building on the South Park Blocks, which is home to the largest solar panel array on campus. The old corridors of Lincoln Hall now host a new way forward toward energy security.

70 YEARS IN PRINT

A LOOK BACK AT UNITED STATES AND RUSSIAN RELATIONS CHRIS MAY

Current rhetoric concerning Russian aggression and conspiracies to influence United States elections may sound familiar to those who lived during the era when Hollywood actors were arrested for being suspected communists and the specter of nuclear annihilation spread to every corner of the globe. For those who weren’t born before the Berlin Wall fell in 1989, here is a brief summary of U.S.-Russian relations and how we got to where we are today. While the Vanguard was preparing to publish its first issue in 1946 as Vet’s Extended, World War II had already been over for a year, and the landscape of Europe was in flux. The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics had been a temporary ally of the U.S. during WWII, but the tensions between the two nations prior to the war resurfaced afterward. In the face of both real and perceived attempts by the U.S.S.R. to expand its sphere of influence, the United States adopted a foreign policy strategy of containment, outlined in a speech by President Truman to Congress in 1947. Communism was characterized as a disease that must be prevented from spreading, lest it result a domino effect that would spread to neighboring countries. This was to serve as the framework for all U.S. foreign policy decisions for the next half century. Under the “National Security Act of 1947,” the Central Intelligence Agency, the Department of Defense and the National Security Council were restructured to achieve these goals. With the horrors of WWII still fresh in people’s minds, the battle for influence began on an ideological front, pitting communism against capitalism. Efforts by the U.S. initially consisted of financial support for the nations whose economies and infrastructure had been decimated during the war, in order to bring them within its sphere of influence. Having started with aid to Greece and Turkey, this economic assistance expanded under the Marshall Plan in 1948 to all European countries willing to participate. In 1949, the United States, Canada, and 10 European nations,

TRUMAN TO TRUMP: U.S AND RUSSIAN RELATIONS, IN THE ERA OF GLOBALIZATION. COURTESY OF THE U.S. NATIONAL ARCHIVES AND RECORDS ADMINISTRATION THROUGH WIKIMEDIA COMMONS including the United Kingdom, established the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. This was the result of a treaty that included Article V, which stated any attack against a member state would be considered an attack against all member states, and that in the event of such an attack, all allies would respond with assistance. After the U.S.S.R.’s request to join NATO was rejected in 1954, a military alliance between the Soviet Union and other central and eastern European states was established in 1955 under the Warsaw Pact.

Truman’s speech in ’47 is referenced by some historians as the beginning of the period Walter Lippman christened the Cold War. As decolonization movements spread in the ’50s and ’60s, the “third world,” those countries unaligned with either superpower, became de facto battlegrounds for proxy wars. Occasionally this behind-the-scenes support escalated, as was the case in Korea in 1950. The 1950s also saw several CIAbacked coups in countries such as Iran and Guatemala, as well as the beginning of U.S. involvement in

Vietnam. Failed coup attempts in newly liberated Cuba set the stage for the Cuban missile crisis, which was perhaps the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war and served as the beginning of the end for Khrushchev following his withdrawal of Soviet missiles. Over the next several decades, both the U.S. and U.S.S.R. found themselves adapting to a shifting geopolitical landscape. The U.S. ended up fighting a long, costly war in Vietnam. The Soviet Union became similarly entangled in Afghanistan in the late ’70s.

Prior to this point, the U.S. and U.S.S.R. had enjoyed a relatively peaceful period of cooperation. Unfortunately, due to the U.S.S.R.’s direct involvement in Afghanistan, along with the incoming Reagan administration’s increased military spending and expansion of containment policies to start including active subversion of current communist regimes, tensions between the two superpowers escalated once again during the ’80s. New Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev’s social and economic reforms of perestroika and glasnost, and the thawing of tensions between the U.S. and U.S.S.R. belied the state of the Soviet Union, which was experiencing terminal instability in nearly all levels of the government. In 1989, with the Berlin Wall toppled and the Iron Curtain drawn, Gorbachev and President George H.W. Bush declared the Cold War officially over at the Malta Summit. After the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991, the U.S. remained the world’s only superpower. Tensions arose during the Clinton administration, as NATO was mobilized for the first time during the Bosnian War, and again later in Kosovo. Additionally, George W. Bush oversaw the U.S. withdrawal from the “Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty” originally signed by the Soviet Union and the United States in 1972, which caused relations between the two countries to deteriorate further. Although the Warsaw Pact was abandoned shortly before the Soviet Union dissolved, NATO continues to be a point of contention between between the U.S. and Russia, particularly since NATO has expanded to include several of the previous member states of the Warsaw Pact. Moscow’s harboring of whistleblower Edward Snowden, the annexation of the Crimean peninsula by Russia, and its role in the ongoing civil war in Syria have all contributed to a climate of increased hostility and forceful rhetoric. It remains to be seen how the foreign policy of President Trump will impact a U.S.-Russian relationship that is perhaps the worst is has been since the Cold War.

PSU VANGUARD • NOVEMBER 15, 2016 • PSUVANGUARD.COM

70 YEARS IN PRINT

VIKING WOMEN , HEFT YOUR SHIELD AND SHARPEN YOUR SPEARS . We struggle onward, but struggle together.

JOHN LARSON On a fair June morning one hundred years ago, the Washington Herald published a small, condescending article amid a hundred others describing the then-raging Battle of Verdun: “Women ‘suffs’ ready for party gathering—two thousand voters crowd Chicago on eve of big convention.” It was on that day, now a century past, that Alice Paul and Lucy Burns founded the National Woman’s Party. Exhausted by the ineptitude of state politics, they took the fight for the right to vote to the national level. In contemporary American politics, the concept of women vot-

ing, owning property, practicing law, holding office or speaking in public is now so ubiquitous it is rarely a point of conflict, unless you’re a Southern conservative or the 45th president of the United States. Suffragettes organized enormous marches through the main streets of major cities across the U.S., established silent vigils which lasted for years and endured horrific punishment by violent policemen and cruel prison guards. Despite the leaps and bounds made in the name of legal equity between the sexes in the past century, one must not forget the long and arduous march towards liberty made by these fearless women.

In the same year that the National Woman’s Party was founded, Margaret Sanger founded the first birth control clinic in the U.S. Less than 10 days after, she was arrested and jailed for 30 days, convicted of breaking the Comstock Laws, which made the distribution of reproductive health information illegal. But Sanger didn’t stop or slow down, and now, 100 years later, the fight for reproductive rights continues for women. Two-thousand miles away from the hubbub of East Coast politics, the great state of Oregon had already established a strong economy, thanks in large part to the contribution of hard-working,

FASHION THROUGH THE DECADES BYLINE: DANIEL FINNEGAN

Pants, skirt, sweatpants, skirt, T-shirt, blouse, pants again...Dammit. I can’t keep up with it all. Don’t let the overcast blues get you down. Take a fashion ride through the decades and mix-and-match to your heart’s content. Sweatpants and and a blouse. Fucking do it.

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frontier women. By the 1950s, Oregonian women had served as congresswomen, mayors and shipbuilders, and were contributing to the massive packing and fishery industries on the coast. The first policewoman in the U.S. was sworn in right here in Portland. We’re led by the esteemed Kate Brown, a progressive whose career began as a warrior for women’s rights in the workplace and at home, the nation’s first openly bisexual governor, who was sworn into the governorship after John Kitzhaber stepped down amid controversy. Thankfully, Governor Brown is true to her word, a gem in the rough who takes issues re-

lated to marginalized communities and women’s reproductive care personally. It’s important to remember, despite recent gains in equity, that while women have advanced greatly in the past century through legal, political and cultural victories, the rights of black women were long curtailed and eschewed from public discourse or consideration. The establishment of the 19th Amendment did not end black women’s struggle for legal or political equality, with many being unable to freely vote until the Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s. Black feminism sought to establish, in many regards, an intersectional perspective of oppression,

70 YEARS IN PRINT

which incorporated numerous conceptual categories. The historical and often racist schisms between branches of feminist thought have long divided what would have been a broad female electoral coalition. Many to this day believe the struggle for racial and sexual equity to be far from over, and rightly so: even the legendary leaders of the suffrage movement, of early reproductive care and especially early feminists, were extremely racist and exclusionary. Black women were occasionally allowed to march with the crowd, but only in the back. It’s time we elevate the voices of marginalized women, enable them to speak truth to power, and establish a discourse inclusive of all races, classes, and creeds. Beneath the veil of intersectional analysis lies the remnant of Marx’s greatest concept: class struggle. To outsiders, many of the issues and histories related to feminism appear dense to the point of redundancy. Those who oppose feminism from the newly born “alt-right” merely stigmatize the entire field by fixating on poorly-versed and extremely provocative voices on social media, failing to realize the plight of women across the world who suffer greatly from otherization as the “Second Sex.” Luckily, Portland State offers a wide variety of classes

ASSOCIATED WOMEN STUDENTS CANNED GOODS DRIVE, NOV. 16 1964. COURTESY OF PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES DIGITAL GALLERY which help illuminate the minutia of feminist theory and gender studies. The Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies program at Portland State turned 40 this year, their legacy engendered by an uphill bat-

tle for funding against disinterested administrations. Today, the department offers a diverse interdisciplinary program which covers a wide variety of theoretical and historical scholarship.

Moving into 2017, the largest economy in the free world has elected a man whose record of mistreating women needs no introduction. As the nation grapples with a now-stacked Republican congress,

one which seeks to defund Planned Parenthood and upend the progress made by women, progressives and the LGBT community, it is very clear that the fight ahead will be long and hard. We cannot afford to lose any ground, lest progress be set back by decades. Our nation stands truly divided, thus, as PSU Vikings, we must emulate the culture of our namesake: we must hunker down, raise our shields, bare our teeth and hurl our spears. The rights our newly elected government seeks to abolish will not be taken easily, nor will the women and LGBT citizens of our state quietly proffer obeisance to single-minded religious conservatives. In the coming years, we will struggle. There will be losses, but we will remain unbent and unbroken. For while the locus of power in Washington may have swung far-right towards a single, extraordinarily influential leader, it is different here. It is time for the fractured groups of the feminist movement to stand together, as leaders of distinctly different but united groups. Oregon’s marginalized communities have too much to lose for ideology to interrupt their struggle for equity. As the Vikings said to Frankish diplomats when asked to present their leader, “We are all leaders.”

ILLUSTRATION BY SHANNON KIDD

PSU VANGUARD • NOVEMBER 15, 2016 • PSUVANGUARD.COM