PORTLAND STATE VANGUARD
VOLUME 72 • ISSUE 21 • FEBRUARY 20, 2018
NEWS
New community space for students with disabilities P. 9
INTERNATIONAL No peace in sight for Syria P. 7
OPINION
A reflection on school shootings P. 12
VIKING VOICES I am Muslim P. 13
SPORTS
Viking Snapshot P. 6
COMICS P. 13
SUPPORT In the wake of the tragic school shooting on Feb. 14 in Parkdale, Fla., Vanguard wants to remind readers to seek help during times of trouble and distress. Talk about it, turn to fellow members of the PSU community for support and remember these campus resources are always available:
PSU counseling services at SHAC
FEB
Walk-In Hours Monday: 9:00–11:15 AM & 1:00–3:15 PM Tuesday: 9:00–11:15 AM & 1:00–3:15 PM Wednesday: 9:00–11:15 AM & 1:00–3:15 PM Thursday: 1:00–3:15 PM Friday: 10:00–11:15 AM & 1:00–3:15 PM
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SPRING REGISTRATION
Last day to withdraw from a course Last day to change grading option (A-F or Pass/No Pass)
GILMAN EDUCATION
a.m.–5 p.m.). After hours and weekends, call the Multnomah County Crisis Line 503-988-4888. For additional information regarding what to do in the event of an active shooter or to sign-up for PSU’s emergency alert system, visit pdx.edu/cpso
ABROAD SCHOLARSHIP
Currently open! Visit pdx.edu/registration for more info on priority registration dates.
Share your thoughts
If you have an emergency and need to speak with someone immediately, visit SHAC at any time during regular hours (Mon.–Fri 9
Pell-eligible students can apply for $5,000-8,000 in study abroad funds at gilmanscholarship.org. Due March 6th.
STUDENT
OPPORTUNITIES ASPSU 2018 student government election application is now open. Informational meeting for interested students: 10 a.m.–12 p.m., Feb. 20, SMSU 294
Love to be in front of a camera?
Add your name to Vanguard’s model roster for future photoshoots. Folks traditionally underrepresented in media strongly encouraged: Email photo@psuvanguard.com to sign up.
Check your pdx.edu email inbox for a PSU Office of Global Diversity & Inclusion campus climate survey. Due March 7.
Portland State Professional Sound is hiring a sound and lighting technician: Visit pdx.edu/professional-sound PSU Pacific Islanders club is looking for dancers and volunteers for its May 12, 16th annual luau: Email pic@pdx.edu to sign up
CONTENTS
Vanguard is hiring an Online Editor: Visit psuvanguard.com/jobs
PHOTO BY ZELL THOMAS, DESIGN BY AARON UGHOC
NEWS
DIVERSITY EVENTS OUTNUMBER DAMORE VISIT
P. 3
SCHOOL OF HEALTH DISCUSSES RACISM
INTERNATIONAL
NO PEACE IN SIGHT FOR SYRIA
P. 7
P. 3
THIS WEEK AROUND THE WORLD
P. 7
NEW MAJOR ANNOUNCED
P. 4
COVER
ASPSU ELECTIONS NOW OPEN
P. 5
SPORTS
VIKING SNAPSHOT
P. 6
STAFF
ONLINE EDITOR NOW HIRING
EDIT ORI A L EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Evan Smiley
COPY CHIEF Missy Hannen
MANAGING EDITOR Danielle Horn NEWS EDITORS Anna Williams INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Fiona Spring ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Alanna Madden OPINION EDITOR Nada Sewidan
COPY EDITORS Molly MacGilbert Jesika Westbrook CONTRIBUTORS Rebecca Capurso Andrew Gaines Kayla Gmyr Jake Johnson Katharine Piwonka Annelise Pixler Ian Rodell Taylor Such PJ Zettle
NEW DRC COMMUNITY SPACE, GROUP
ARTS
P. 8–9
DJ SALINGER WEEKLY PLAYLIST
P. 10
FIND IT AT 5TH AVE. ‘BOYZ N THE HOOD’
P. 10
PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A PHOTO EDITOR Zell Thomas MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Emma Josephson PHOTOGRAPHERS & VIDEOGRAPHERS Silvia Cardullo Brian McGloin
DESIGNERS Sydney Bardole Georgia Hatchett Elena Kim Lisa Kohn Jenny Vu DIS T RIBU TION & M A R K E TING DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING MANAGERS Colleen Leary Aaron Ughoc
CR E ATI V E DIR EC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Aaron Ughoc
T ECHNOL OGY & W EB SIT E STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Corrine Nightingale
LEAD DESIGNERS Robby Day Chloe Kendall
TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS Damaris Dusciuc Long V. Nguyen Annie Ton
OPINION
THE CAPE IN CATASTROPHE
P. 11
DESENSITIZATION BY DESIGN
P. 12
VIKING VOICES I AM MUSLIM
P. 13
COMICS
P. 13
EVENTS CALENDAR
A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher To contact Portland State Vanguard, email info@psuvanguard.com MIS SION S TAT EMEN T 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 quality, hands-on journalism education and a number of skills highly valued in today’s job market
P. 14–15
A BOU T Vanguard, established in 1946, 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 the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. Find us in print Tuesday and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @psuvanguard for multimedia content and breaking news.
NEWS
EX-GOOGLE EMPLOYEE VISITS CAMPUS, COMMUNITY RESPONDS EMMA JOSEPHSON AND ANNA WILLIAMS Former Google engineer James Damore, known for his controversial diversity memo, joined students from Freethinkers of Portland State and Assistant Professor of Philosophy Dr. Peter Boghossian in a Feb. 17 panel discussion defending Damore’s take on diversity in the technology industry. PSU community members attended in support and opposition of Damore and the panelists’ perspectives. Dissenters divided attendance between two alternative events and a small protest hosted at the same time. The panel, composed of speakers Heather Heying, Helen Pluckrose, Boghossian and Damore, drew a crowd of about 200 attendees. The discussion focused on select ideas in Damore’s 2017 diversity memo, for which he was fired from Google because the company claimed his message perpetuated harmful gender stereotypes. A quiet crowd of about 10 protesters stood outside Hoffman Hall, holding signs with photos and descriptions of women in the tech industry throughout history.
“I’m a schoolteacher myself,” one protester said. “It’s important for me to let other women know that women have a long history in technology.” Half an hour into the event, about 20 people quietly walked out. Speakers were briefly disrupted when one person knocked over sound equipment and called Damore a piece of shit. Campus Public Safety officers detained the individual for questioning. Boghossian shouted to the room that the individual’s behavior was unacceptable in civilized society, and if they caused a similar disturbance in the future they should be expelled from PSU. Across campus in the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom, Associated Students of PSU and other student groups hosted a diversity block party. The event featured an open mic for participants to share experiences with diversity on campus and served tamales, pupusas and Thai food.
PROTESTERS DISPLAY PHOTOS OF HISTORIC WOMEN IN TECH. EMMA JOSEPHSON/PSU VANGUARD At the same time, about 50 students attended a networking event co-hosted by PSU Women in Computer Science. Students received resume help, met local industry representatives and listened to a keynote on diversity in computer science. “We’ve received requests to do this [event] again,” said WICS Technical Lead Karis Sponsler. Boghossian said Freethinkers of PSU
invited all tenured and tenure-track women’s studies professors to attend the event “for a conversation, not a debate.” He said they declined the invitation. Boghossian said he wanted to extend the same invitation again for, “Is Intersectionality a Religion?,” an event he scheduled alongside Pluckrose and PSU College Republicans at 6 p.m., Feb. 19 in Cramer Hall.
BEER HALL DISCUSSION TALKS RACISM AND PUBLIC HEALTH ANNELISE PIXLER Students and faculty of the Portland State–Oregon Health and Sciences University Joint School of Public Health hosted an open discussion about racism and public health Thursday, Feb. 15 at the Lucky Labrador Beer Hall. The event—part of the SPH’s Public Health PDX series—was held in a beer hall to bring attention to the association of alcohol with acts of racial violence and the deliberate placement of alcohol within communities of color. However, organizers asked attendees not to drink during the event and instead listen to or share their experiences with racism and structural influences against people of color in public health. “There is not enough racial diversity in health care settings,” said guest speaker and Deputy Refugee Health Coordinator at the Multnomah County Health Department Charlene McGee. “Therefore it’s unlikely to be treated by anyone who looks like you. The inequalities in our healthcare system are a health care crisis.” When McGee was preparing to give birth in 2008, she felt alone in the hospital. No one around her looked like her, nor did they
seem to have gone through any of the same experiences she did. “I self-identity as a Liberian-Oregonian,” McGee said. “My identity is intersectional. I’m an immigrant. I’m Black, a naturalized U.S. citizen, a mother, more recently a wife and a public health professional.” McGee added she has come to embrace Portland despite its reputation as the whitest U.S. city of its size, but she believes even saying that is problematic. “Every time that’s said, it dismisses the fact that in Portland we have 13.7 percent of our residents who are foreign born, and 28.5 percent of our residents are people of color,” McGee said. “We have to recognize the changing diversity of the city and state that we love.” Thomas Aschenbrener, retired founder and president of the advocacy group Northwest Health Foundation, who has been involved in community funding for over 40 years, said he started the foundation to encourage people to start thinking more about systematic causes of common health problems. “We know there are certain laws and regulations that are causing people to be ill”, Aschenbrener said. “We know there
SPEAKERS SHARE EXAMPLES OF RACISM IN PUBLIC HEALTH. ETHAN BEHEE/PSU VANGUARD are social barriers that racism doesn’t allow you to overcome. So we were addressing those concerns at policy level.” Addressing the audience, Aschenbrener said the fact that white and white-passing attendees showed up was important in a majority white liberal city like Portland. “When we come together to have a discussion about race, white people don’t show up,” Aschenbrener said. “I think something like this is very important because this is a town filled with very wellmeaning white people who don’t want to have these conversations.” “I think what we’re doing tonight is creating a space where we can sit in the discomfort,” said
PSU Assistant Professor Dr. Kelly Gonzales. “[We] understand that we have more work to do and know it’s up to us to be brave and courageous enough to seek equity through truth and understand that we are here tonight to start or continue our journey toward healing.” After hearing some of the specific issues Aschenbrener and McGee brought up, Aidan Padilla, a post-bac public health student, said, “After taking one of Dr. Kelly Gonzales’ classes I have a lot more information about [inequity in public health] and I’m still constantly looking for ways to support and to work towards healthier communities for everybody.”
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 20, 2018 • psuvanguard.com
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NEWS
NEW SEXUALITY, GENDER AND QUEER STUDIES MAJOR ANNOUNCED
POPULAR MINOR NOW STANDALONE DEGREE REBECCA CAPURSO Portland State’s Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies department just launched a new sexuality, gender and queer studies major. SGQS was initially only available as a minor, but the program’s popularity prompted the addition of a standalone degree. Through a combination of women’s studies, sociology, biology, psychology, literature and cultural studies, students will learn about sexual and gender identities in relation to modern and historical social issues, as well as queer and transgender communities of color theories, as outlined in the PSU catalog degree description. “There are very few majors like this in the country,” said WGSS Assistant Professor Dr. Miriam Abelson. What makes the program unique, she added, are the perspectives and theoretical approaches included. Rather than focusing solely on feminist theory like the women’s studies major does, the SGQS major will draw on queer methodologies and examine the world through the queer lens. The major will also analyze cisgender and heterosexual identities and their construction. SGQS Department Chair Dr. Sally McWilliams explained the program will discuss power structures involved in the framework of heteronormativity. “[We will give] attention to the ways these other structures that are in play around sexuality have come to be dominant or masquerade as the [only] way to think about sexuality,” McWilliams said. Between 2013 and 2016, the number of students minoring in SGQS nearly tripled. “We knew that there was this excitement,” Abelson said. “So we started reaching out and students said they really wanted a major in this. We gathered a group of faculty and staff together from across the university to put together a proposal.” Participating department faculty utilized surveys and focus groups to gauge student interest and determine what students wanted from the program and what they viewed as necessary topics. The goal, McWilliams said, was to design a curriculum students cared about and felt represented in. The finalized degree proposal was approved in January 2018. “I hope [this major] brings a couple of things,” Abelson said. “A new sort of critical lens, and also a place that draws our current students in. [Something] where students really see themselves in the institution and see the issues they care about in the curriculum. I really hope that’s something that attracts students to PSU and keeps students here.”
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PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 20, 2018 • psuvanguard.com
CHLOE KENDALL
ASPSU 2018
NEWS
ELECTIONS NOW OPEN IMPORTANT DATES FEB. 20 Election Interest Meeting 10 a.m.–12 p.m. SMSU 294.
MARCH 15
ASPSU Election Interest Meeting 3 p.m.–5 p.m. SMSU 326.
MARCH 23
Candidate election packets due
APRIL 6
Meet the candidates 11 a.m.–1 p.m. Multicultural Resource Center, SMSU 228 Final chance to join/leave a slate (aka a team of candidates)
APRIL 16 POLLS OPEN
MAY 2 POLLS CLOSE
MAY 4
Election results announced 12 p.m.–1 p.m, Simon Benson House, SW Montgomery & Park Ave. ASPSU is tasked with representing the diverse campus community on a wide range of issues. This body of students exists to give fellow students a voice and an influential place on campus. Members work directly with students, faculty, administration and various community partners to make progress toward serving campus needs. Student government positions are paid leadership roles with opportunities for hands-on professional development and networking and can lead to real, lasting advances in current and future students’ needs. Visit psuvanguard.com for full news coverage of elections.
For more info, contact election@pdx.edu for more details or questions. Elections Committee: Students can also apply for one of five spaces on the ASPSU Elections committee. For more info, contact ASPSU Judicial Review Board Chair Joshua Friedlein at aspsucj@pdx.edu.
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 20, 2018 • psuvanguard.com
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NEWS
VIKINGS SNAPSHOT
PORTLAND STATE SPORT SNAPSHOT FEB. 11–18 TAYLOR SUCH
TRACK AND FIELD
Sunday, Feb. 11 PSU at UW Indoor Open Alex Cisneros broke the school record in men’s 3,000 meters with a finish time of 8:16.45. Saraia Collmer also broke her second straight record in women’s indoor pole vault after clearing 3.54 meters.
MEN’S BASKETBALL
Thursday, Feb. 15 PSU vs Weber State Score: 86-95 (L) Brandon Hollis earned 11 rebounds and a career high of 22 points. Saturday, Feb. 17 PSU vs Idaho State Score: 91-77 (W) Ryan Edwards had a career high 21 points. Deante Strickland also scored a career high 18 points in addition to 8 assists and 7 rebounds. Braxton Tucker scored a season high 14 points.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
PSU at Weber State Score: 62-60 (W) Vikings gave Weber its first home loss of the season. Ashley Bolston led the team with 16 points. Saturday, Feb. 17 PSU at Idaho State Score: 64-72 (L) Tatiana Streun had her first career three-pointer. Courtney West slayed with a game high 14 rebounds.
MEN’S TENNIS
NEXT WEEK: 5:30 P.M. THURSDAY, FEB. 22 PSU at Southern Utah 5:30 P.M. SATURDAY, FEB. 24 PSU at Northern Arizona
SOFTBALL
10:30 a.m. Friday, Feb. 23 PSU vs New Mexico State
MEN’S TENNIS
10 a.m. Friday, Feb. 23 PSU vs Northern Arizona
3:30 p.m. Friday, Feb. 23 PSU at UTEP
4:30 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 PSU vs Northern Colorado 8 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 22 PSU vs Southern Utah
6 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 PSU at UTP
Saturday, Feb. 17 PSU vs Army Score: 1-6 (L) Otto Holtari won his third straight three-set match. In addition, Gabe Souza and Sam Roberts won their opening sets.
1 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 17 PSU vs Northern Arizona
12:30 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 25 PSU at UTEP
WOMEN’S GOLF
TRACK AND FIELD
All day Saturday and Sunday, Feb. 24–25 PSU at Grand Canyon University
Burglary Millar Library At 5:06 p.m. officers responded to a burglary from three lockers in the employee area of the library. The suspect is a white male who wore a dark hoodie and blue jeans. He allegedly stole keys, a MacBook Pro, credit cards and multiple coats. FEB. 15 Criminal Mischief/Exclusion Cramer Hall At 7:30 p.m. officers issued an exclusion to a non-student for vandalizing a garbage can in the basement of CH. FEB. 16 Fire Alarm University Place Hotel Around 2:00 p.m. officers responded to a fire alarm at UPH. The officers did not locate a fire and deemed the alarm activation accidental.
Exclusion Epler Hall Non-student Zachary David Philpott was issued an exclusion from EH
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 20, 2018 • psuvanguard.com
10:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 PSU vs New Mexico State
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL
FEB. 17 Exclusion Cramer Hall A non-student was issued an exclusion after approaching a student of color on the second floor of CH and asking if they needed an immigration lawyer. The incident caused the student to feel unsafe.
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3 p.m. Sunday, February 25 PSU at Washington
PSU vs Southern Utah Score: 4-3 (W) Otto Holtari and Avery West pulled out three-set wins. Gabe Souza won both sets. Nathan Boniel won the first singles match for the Vikings. Avery West and Tommy Edwards won their sixth straight match together.
CRIME BLOTTER JUSTIN THURER
11:30 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 24 PSU vs Idaho State
MEN’S BASKETBALL
FEB. 14 Exclusion Smith Memorial Student Union Around 1:10 p.m. officers excluded non-student Joshawn Douglas for following women around on campus.
Feb. 13–Feb. 19
WOMEN’S TENNIS
All day Thursday, Friday and Saturday, Feb. 22–24 PSU vs Big Sky Indoor Champions
around 11:00 p.m. Philpott was in possession of a long and sharp-bladed instrument but was voluntarily released. Officers later discovered Philpott had been trying to enter rooms. Criminal Mischief/Exclusion Hoffman Hall At 6:30 p.m. a non-student was issued a citation and an exclusion after damaging components of a PA system and causing a disturbance during the Freethinkers PSU event. FEB. 18 Vehicle Break-in/Theft Parking Structure 1 Around 10:00 a.m. an officer took a phone call reporting a non-student vehicle break-in and theft that happened between 5:40 p.m. on Feb. 16, and 2:00 p.m. on Feb. 17. A wallet, HP laptop, and large brown rolling suitcase were stolen. Disturbance Streetcar–Urban Center Stop Around 1:10 p.m. officers responded to a request from a Portland Bureau of Transportation officer regarding a non-student who had spat in their face. The individual was removed from the streetcar, and officers are investigating offenses of aggravated harassment and interfering with public transportation.
INTERNATIONAL
NO PEACE IN SIGHT FOR SYRIA ISIS DEFEATED WITH NO END TO WAR KAYLA GMYR Syria celebrated its victory against the Islamic State in November 2017 after government- and Iranian-backed forces successfully drove the Islamist militia from all major towns and cities. Turkish, Russian and Iranian leaders then met in Sochi, a border town on the Black Sea, to discuss the creation of the Syrian National Dialogue Congress for representatives of the state government and the opposition to negotiate a solution for Syria’s future. However, since the start of 2018, the situation has developed into a confrontation between regional and world powers with frequent reports of new attacks and invasions. Turkey launched an invasion into the Northwestern region of Afrin on Jan. 21, in an attempt to push back the SyrianKurdish militia People’s Protection Units (YPG), which makes up an important part of the United States–sponsored coalition of Syrian Democratic Forces. Turkey has long labeled the ethnic minority Kurdish forces
as terrorist armies. More recently, Israel unleashed airstrikes on 12 air-defense sites, killing both Iranian and Syrian personnel. The Jerusalem Post explained that the Israeli Defense Forces are preparing for war in the North. These attacks are in response to a Syrian drone allegedly infringing on Israeli airspace. These two attacks mark a new stage in the Syrian war and global conflict, in which rivalries openly drive military operations. The U.S. Department of Defense explained this shift in the National Defense Strategy for 2018, writing, “Inter-state strategic competition, not terrorism, is now the primary concern for U.S. national security.” The U.S. military announced the indefinite placement of up to 30,000 militia members in Syria, specifically in the Northern border region. Both NATO members, Turkey and U.S.– backed forces, are now poised for ongoing clashes in this safe zone. No matter what maneuvers take place, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson explained that the main objectives
MEMBERS OF FREE SYRIAN ARMY DRIVE TOWARD SYRIAN BORDER. LEFTERIS PITARAKIS/AP are the departure of Bashar al-Assad, Syria’s president since 2000, and “reducing and expelling malicious Iranian influence from Syria.” As tensions build in Syria, the wars in
Afghanistan, Iraq and Yemen show no end in sight. Eight million refugees, out of 22.5 million globally, come from Afghanistan and Syria alone.
FEB. 12 UNITED KINGDOM: OXFAM DEPUTY HEAD RESIGNS OVER SEX SCANDAL
Penny Lawrence—deputy head of U.K.–based charity Oxfam—resigned following allegations of sexual misconduct by aid workers in Haiti. Oxfam officials are accused of covering up for staff members who allegedly paid for sex, turning a rented villa into a brothel while working in the country following the 2010 earthquake. Oxfam—one of the U.K.’s largest aid organizations—could lose millions of pounds in public funding because of the scandal.
FEB. 13 ISRAEL: PALESTINIAN TEEN GOES ON TRIAL OVER VIRAL VIDEO
A teenage girl shown slapping and kicking an Israeli soldier in a viral video posted to Facebook went on trial this week in a military court. Ahed Tamimi, 17, has been charged with with 12 offenses including assaulting security forces and inciting violence. If convicted, she will face a significant jail sentence. Against her parent’s wishes, members of the press were asked to leave the courtroom due to Tamimi’s status as a minor.
FEB. 14 SOUTH AFRICA: JACOB ZUMA RESIGNS AS PRESIDENT
South African President Jacob Zuma resigned after his own ruling African National Congress party called a no-confidence vote, having failed to privately convince him to resign. Zuma, mired in scandal, faces more than 783 allegations of corruption, all of which he has denied. His successor Cyril Ramaphosa swore in on Feb. 15.
FEB. 15 EL SALVADOR: WOMAN FREED AFTER 11 YEARS IN PRISON UNDER TOTAL ABORTION BAN
Teodora del Carmen Vasquez—a Salvadoran woman convicted in 2008 of aggravated homicide after allegedly aborting her pregnancy—was freed after serving more than 10 years of her 30-year sentence. Carmen Vasquez and her lawyers claim she gave birth to a stillborn baby after suffering complications, while prosecutors accused her of strangling her baby after giving live birth. El Salvador is one of only a few countries in the world that do not allow abortion under any circumstances. At least 27 women remain incarcerated under this ban.
FEB. 16 ISRAEL: PROTESTERS CALL FOR NETANYAHU’S RESIGNATION AMID CORRUPTION CHARGES
Demonstrators gathered in a Tel Aviv square demanding the resignation of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu after police recommended that he be charged with bribery in two corruption cases. Netanyahu has denied all wrongdoing.
FEB. 17 PAKISTAN: COURT SENTENCES ZAINAB ANSARI’S KILLER TO DEATH
A Pakistani court issued a death sentence to convicted serial killer Imran Ali for the rape and murder of 7-year-old Zainab Ansari. Ansari, whose murder sparked nationwide protests in Jan., was one of eight girls whose murders have been connected to Ali through DNA evidence.
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 20, 2018 • psuvanguard.com
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NEWS
DISABILITY ALLIANCE GROUP FORMS OUT OF NEED FOR SUPPORT LACK OF COMMUNITY SPACE INSPIRES ADVOCACY
IAN RODELL Portland State students formed a new alliance and advocacy group for students and community members with disabilities. The Disability Alliance organized after the Disability Resource Center in Smith Memorial Student Union lost its community space in recent years to make room for more administrative offices Part of the group’s mission statement is “to unite PSU disabled students and their allies in the struggle against the oppression of disabled people (ableism) at the University, in the United States, and worldwide.” According to DRC Director Jen Dugger, 11 percent of incoming PSU students identify as needing accommodations. This number, she added, continues to rise along with national averages as outlined in the most recent Cooperative Institutional Research Program Freshman Survey. Dugger explained that partly due to the in-
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crease in PSU students with accommodation needs, the DRC offices have expanded to accommodate more staff, making the community space no longer available. Because of this, Dugger said, the DRC has not been able to function in the same manner as other resource centers on campus. For some students like DA Primary Communications Officer endever* corbin [correct spelling], this community space is needed to combat feelings of isolation PSU students with disabilities may feel. “My not-so-secret dream is that someday we can advocate for an actual community space on campus similar to the [Queer Resource Center],” corbin said. “[This means] a space where disabled bodies and brains are the norm, somewhere we can relax and be ourselves and co-create ways of supporting each other and organize ourselves for political action.”
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 20, 2018 • psuvanguard.com
Associated Students of Portland State University has recently supported donating part of their office on the first floor of SMSU to the DRC for use as community space. The $73,000 project was recently approved by the Smith Advisory Board, and the DRC hopes to begin construction this summer, pending approval from the Space Allocation Committee and further reviews of the construction plans. Dugger said she would also like to see a library of resources for disabled students built into this new space. The QRC’s community room is set up in a similar manner. The need for community space is just one of the group’s goals. corbin said the DA hopes to educate the general student and staff population about what ableism looks like and how to eliminate it on campus. corbin was inspired to create the DA after attending a leadership seminar from the Autism Self Advocacy Network. corbin “learned a ton
there about the history of the disability rights movement, political issues currently facing disabled Americans and skills necessary for campus organizing.” Additionally, the DA is working on identifying and advocating for solutions to barriers students with disabilities encounter across campus. For example, according to corbin, The Testing Center is often not able to accommodate all students needing it, and many doors on campus still lack assisted opening mechanisms. As the group continues to grow, corbin said it will add more areas of concern to the list. Specific campaigns to address current issues are in the works. The DA is still actively recruiting. Students interested in attending meetings at 2:30 p.m. every Friday can email disabilityalliance@pdx.edu for meeting locations.
NEWS
STUDENT GOVERNMENT TO GIFT DISABILITY RESOURCE CENTER COMMUNITY SPACE ASPSU LEADERS HOPE FOR A MORE PERMANENT SOLUTION ANNA WILLIAMS Smith Advisory Board approved the Portland State Disability Resource Center’s proposal on Jan. 22 to turn a portion of the student government office into a new community space for students with disabilities. The project would align the DRC with every other resource center on campus, each of which has its own social space for students. The $73,000 project proposes taking over 364 square feet of space Associated Students of PSU currently occupies on the first floor of Smith Memorial Student Union. Two new full-height walls, a relocated door and electrical work constitute much of the project, and $4,200 will be set aside to buy smaller desks and chairs to accommodate the smaller work area for ASPSU officers. The project will be funded by DRC salary savings. The square footage would encompass a community room, an enclosed group room and a quiet study area. DRC Director Jen Dugger said she hopes to see a resource library and adaptive technology implemented in the space down the road. “We are the only resource center on campus that doesn’t have social or community space,” Dugger said. “To have a space here where [students with disabilities] can meet each other, share ideas and get to know different ways of thinking about disability so they’re not so isolated...would be huge for the success and retention of that particular group of students.” Additionally, Dugger said 96 percent of students registered with the DRC have invisible disabilities like chronic illness or pain, learning disabilities or mental illness. Dugger said that makes it harder for students to identify people on campus going through similar experiences in the first place. Since Dugger took the DRC job in 2012, she said the number of students the center serves increases 20 percent every year. The DRC’s office staff needed to expand to keep up, so three years ago space that used to house several computer stations and a homebase for students became administrative offices. The DRC proposal states only four full-time Access Counselors and Consultants serve 1,631 students currently registered with the DRC. With much time allocated to ensuring the university complies with the American Disabilities Act, the staff has little opportunity
to support students on a personal basis. “What the center could do a lot more of is foster a sense of pride [in PSU students with disabilities],” Dugger said. “Somebody or some space that students contribute to really needs to foster this.” The proposal needs to pass the University Space Committee next week before construction plans can move forward. Some of the DRC’s success in moving the plans along might be attributed to the proposal’s ideal location. “I think our space here is pretty perfect in terms of first floor accessibility,” Dugger said. “We are pretty close to the lobby and also down such a long stretch of hallway, so it’s still kind of discreet. There’s a delicate balance of being accessible and visible that is hard to strike when you’re trying to find the space.” While the proposal hopes to give students wanting camaraderie and relationships with DRC staff a place on campus to call their own, as space in SMSU shrinks, student leaders debate the true long-term efficacy of the project. ASPSU Vice President Donald Thompson said he wondered whether in six or eight years, as the DRC continues to grow, if the space donation will be helpful. “Even if we give up our portion of our office, it’s not a permanent fix,”
Thompson said. “The efficacy of this move will wane.” According to ASPSU President Brent Finkbeiner, who said he spoke with the ASPSU president from 1996 about space allocation in the building, the student body has been fighting for operating space in SMSU for at least 20 years. Deciding who belongs in the building and how to allocate space is a constant challenge, he added. “There are constantly space requests coming to the board which can cause a bit of gridlock for all parties,” said SMSU Advisory Board Student Chair Emily Korte. “Right now there [is] a plethora of options for these requests. However, it is trying to find the balance between all the parties that want space and the space that SMSU actually has to give, which is negative at the moment.” ASPSU Legislative Affairs Director Hakan Kutgun said he believes PSU administration should be providing resource centers with appropriate space in the first place, and student government should instead be in a facilitating and coordinating position. At the same time, Kutgun added, he believes the DRC’s current space challenges supercede those of ASPSU.
Indeed, the DRC proposal appears to have ASPSU’s full support. On Dec. 4, 2017, members of the ASPSU Senate voted unanimously to collectively state its approval of the proposal. In this case, ASPSU may have more influence on the project than normal. Korte said that aside from one ASPSU representative who usually sits on the advisory board, student leaders do not have any special weight in deciding how space is divvied out. In this case, however, ASPSU has a bit more say because it would be donating its own space. “This speaks to the necessity [of the project],” Thompson said. “[DRC staff has] gotten to the point where they have to bring this to ASPSU, a student group who does not fund them, for space...when really they should be able to go to the administration and say this is a need that we have that we have not been able to get [fulfilled].” Dugger said she understands these challenges, but she is grateful for ASPSU’s support. “We are all colleagues, and we don’t want to negatively affect someone else,” Dugger said. “I’m pretty cognizant of the fact that I’m not the only one who needs this [but] also I think [the DRC’s] needs are really significant.”
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 20, 2018 • psuvanguard.com
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ARTS
DJ SALINGER PLAYLIST OF THE WEEK BASS IN SPACE ALANNA MADDEN Bass in Space escaped planet Earth, a dystopian planet laden with infinite proliferations of human suffering. Bass voyage through the universe remains unknown and irrelevant with the transcendence of linear time, futuristic sounds, dimensional pluralisms and the freedom to roam one’s deepest cosmic consciousness. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16.
Do the Astral Plane – Flying Lotus, Cosmogramma GLOWED UP (feat. Anderson .Paak) – KAYTRANADA, 99.99% The Space Program – A Tribe Called Quest, We got it from Here… Thank You 4 Your service Stylo (feat. Mos Def and Bobby Womack) – Gorillaz, Plastic Beach Dead Man’s Tetris (feat. Captain Murphy & Snoop Dogg) – Flying Lotus, You’re Dead! Darkest (Dim) [feat. Gavin Turek] – TOKiMONSTA, Creature Dreams Window Seat – Erykah Badu, New Amerykah, Pt. 2: Return of the Ankh On & On – Snakehips, On & On ATLiens – OutKast, ATLiens 3030 – Deltron 3030, Deltron 3030 Photosynthesis (feat. Jean Deaux) – Saba, Bucket List Project Touch the Sky (feat. Lupe Fiasco) – Kayne West, Late Registration Outerlimit (Space Ho) – Madlib, The Beat Konducta Vol. 1–2: Movie Scenes Time is a Moment in Space – Wayne Smith, Jammys From the Roots (1977–1985) Codeine Dreams (feat. Lil Wayne) – Kodak Black, Project Baby 2: All Grown Up On & On (feat. Maverick Sabre & Dymeond Lewis) – Joey Bada$$, B4.DA.$$
Listen to DJ Salinger’s weekly playlists online at psuvanguard.com or follow on Spotify.
JENNY VU
‘BOYZ N THE HOOD’
FIND IT AT 5TH AVENUE
A CLASSIC IN NEW BLACK REALISM ANDREW GAINES
Boyz N The Hood is a 1991 film infused within the American cinema lexicon and has become a film nearly everyone knows of, even if they’ve never watched it or understand what it’s about. John Singleton’s depiction of Southern Los Angeles was a first in many ways, as it staged the debut for both Singleton as a writer and director and for Ice Cube as a professional actor. At the time, Ice Cube was largely unknown to the Hollywood community although he had already made a name for himself in the music industry through the L.A. rap group N.W.A. In 2018, however, Boyz best functions as both a time capsule and a representation of how little progress has been made for socioeconomic disparities in the United States. Compared to the early ‘90s, California now occupies a vastly different space within American pop culture. Singleton does a terrific job of capturing L.A.’s South Central and depicting a time when the local crime rate represented an ugly high mark on the state’s crime record. According to the Los Angeles Times, violent crime is dropping in LA, and statistics have been historically tweaked by the police in the past by reporting aggravated assaults as simple assaults, which don’t count toward violent crime statistics. While the specific socio-economic situation of the era may be gone, many of the struggles the characters go through are still all too real for many Americans today. Police brutality, racial profiling, systemic poverty and institutionalization—along with the social impetus to make it no matter the cost—are themes, I fear, that will remain relevant for many years to come. Singleton
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wraps Boyz timeless themes in a coating of early ‘90s goodness, but the sweet beats from Newcleus and Run DMC don’t make the reality of the film any less bitter. Having not seen the film in many years, I was more than a little shocked at how relevant the film still is today. However, I’m not sure if this says more about the quality of the film or the state of our country.
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 20, 2018 • psuvanguard.com
COURTESY OF 5TH AVENUE CINEMA The film may be more widely known and appraised than Chameleon Street or La Noire de, but Boyz N The Hood is no less important as a landmark work of Black filmmaking. The visual iconography of the film—hood fashion, MAC-10s, low riders—have been co-opted and appropriated over the years, but Singleton’s frustration and anger at the poverty and violence endemic to 1990s South Central should not be forgotten.
OPINION
THE CAPE IN CATASTROPHE CAPE TOWN, SOUTH AFRICA COULD RUN OUT OF WATER DUE TO CLIMATE CHANGE KATHARINE PIWONKA Cape Town, South Africa is running out of water. Due to the last three years’ unseasonably dry winters, the coastal city is in the middle of one of the worst droughts in the region’s history. Cape Town’s six major dams, which held 900,000 megaliters of water 10 years ago, now hold just over 200,000 megaliters—about a 78 percent decrease in the city’s main water source. The city’s taps are predicted to run dry by May. City officials are now urging residents and visitors to conserve water in every way possible and requiring everybody to keep their daily water usage to less than 50 liters. Cape Town residents are expected—not suggested—to flush toilets sparingly, take 90-second showers twice a week and collect excess water from washing to use for cleaning and gardening. Unfortunately, these efforts have not been enough to slow down the quickly approaching day zero, and it is impossible to say when the drought will come to an end. “There is no more time for solutions. We need an act of God. We need divine intervention,” said South African resource management expert Anthony Turton. In the recent past, Cape Town won awards for its green water policies and has since been used as a model city for water conservation. Cape Town has proven they know how to save water. So how did a wealthy, modern coastal city of four million people find itself in such a critical predicament? Many have blamed the severity of the current drought, but there is more to the story. It is undeniable that climate change exacerbates extreme weather patterns, and we would be naive to ignore the insane anomalies that have occured in the past couple years. Snow in the Sahara, the droughts, wildfires and mudslides in California, and Cape Town’s water shortage may be the new normal for our world, especially in places vulnerable to extreme weather patterns. The city made the mistake of underestimating the drought, a political miscalculation based in superiority. “Climate change is a factor now, and it’s only begun to dawn on [local Cape Town government officials] how much the demand for water will just keep increasing,” Turkon said. The problem with the current attitude toward climate change is that it is one of ambivalence and doubt. Many have not taken the threat seriously. Climate change alters sea levels because it causes ice to melt in the Arctic, the consequences of which affect both the North and South Poles as well as any landmass with a coastal barrier. Climate change has the potential to be more
ELENA KIM powerful than any amount of money, manmade weapon or corporate agenda. The consequences of the water crisis in the Cape could be dire. Disease prevention will be much more difficult without the access to fresh water, businesses will close, unemployment will soar and access to water will become a political power struggle. As stated by Helen Zille, the Premier for the Western Cape, “I personally doubt whether it is possible for a city the size of Cape Town to distribute sufficient water to its residents.” Cape Town is not the first to feel the effects of climate change; it is only next on
the climate injustice ladder. Those who felt the effects of climate change first were Earth’s wildlife; polar bears, sea turtles, snow leopards, African and Asian elephants and so many more are no strangers to the phenomena. Next, the most vulnerable humans started to feel climate pangs and pains. Those least fortunate were often subject to displacement and were the first climate refugees, not to be the last. Their ranks include indigenous communities in northern Alaska and those losing island homes due to rising sea levels. People who are geographically vulner-
able are getting hit now. Noteable examples are currently California, parts of Asia and our friends in the Cape, places where drought and other extreme weather patterns are more prominent. It is only a matter of time before the rest of us residing in developed and Westernized nations begin to tangibly see the disasters we were warned about on the horizons. The consequences of climate change can no longer be swept under the rug. It is now impossible to ignore. Climate change needs to be at the top of everyone’s priorities. We are not doing enough. Until we are, we may as well be next.
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 20, 2018 • psuvanguard.com
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OPINION
DESENSITIZATION BY DESIGN A REFLECTION ON SCHOOL SHOOTINGS PJ ZETTLE The fact that school shooting is a publicly understood classification of violence speaks to the familiarity the American population has with the events that occurred in Florida Feb. 14, 2018. The term carries itself in conversation and news reports as a signifier of historic occurrences, but in no way does it signal the terror and pain these traumatic events continually produce. With 18 school shootings in less than two months, we move forward as if nothing happened. This is desensitization. Desensitization is a word that has been thrown back and forth between political parties and media of both sides, but for very different reasons. The conservative right who follow the path of previous Republican responses to mass shootings: refuse to entertain notions of enhanced gun safety laws, and instead blame the desensitization on children who play “more and more graphic video games.” The use of desensitization as the choice descriptor and the suggestion of censorship imply the idea that people are vulnerable to irrational persuasion, and that if the general public is not exposed to something, it will not happen. On the left, desensitization is used to describe the repetition of media coverage on television which would make it seem as though reports on these shootings are merely another syndicated daytime drama. One reporter claimed, “There have been at least 239 school shooting since Sandy Hook, and the sheer frequency of this kind of violence tends to desensitize even the most empathetic among us.” The frequency of school shootings and the ceremonious media coverage on death, fear, tragedy and the impossibility of reform has had a numbing effect on the general public, especially those who are geographically and occupationally away from where these events occur. American philosopher Judith Butler claimed that common human vulnerability precedes the formation of the individual subject. In other words, our collective capacity to die, to have others die around us, to lose our loved ones or perhaps kill are
all possibilities that are readily apparent before we fashion our unique identities and views on life. Democratic, Republican, Black, white, gay, straight—we all live and die. This inevitability necessitates the we. Yet, American liberal individualistic self-fashioning—the selfmade man, the nuclear family, the fenced-in house, the privacy of daily life—directly combats this collective formation. Desensitization is merely a symptom of a toxic social environment that has alienated one citizen from another for the sake of individual gain and the security of the present. If it isn’t happening to you, you have the social obligation to maintain the status quo and move forward. A great and nuanced polarity exists across the United States, and our current political system is feeding the fire of this polarity in order to maintain limitations on democratic possibility. As long as this alienation exists, as long as the myth of the non-dependent, self-made private man is encouraged across the populace, actual collective mourning, and furthermore, political paradigm shifts cannot happen. Desensitization toward school shootings is not a result of individual choices or lack of democratic participation, rather it is a symptom of the systemic pressures that have been established to isolate people from one another. It is desensitization by societal design. Effective policy changes and weapon prohibitions cannot actually exist without a shift in the social paradigm of thought that enables public expression, acceptance and affirmation of our mutual dependence and mortality.
SYDNEY BARDOLE
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PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 20, 2018 • psuvanguard.com
VIKING VOICES
I AM MUSLIM Submitted by Sofia Nasaret Velasquez, Portland State student
I am Muslim. this is very apparent because I wear a piece of cloth around my head that says so. Riding TriMet has become perhaps the most frustrating thing for me to do, as I watch each and every passenger sit in every seat except the one next to mine. It breaks my heart to see how the misrepresentation of Islam in media has corrupted my community’s mind. I am Muslim. I am not an extremist, terrorist or supporter of ISIS. A professor once told me I make people really uncomfortable. Not because of what I say, who I am or what I do, but because of what I represent. I never really understood what he meant until recently. In the U.S., I represent
perhaps what many people don’t want to admit. I represent the new America. An America composed of multiple identities, languages and cultures. I have come to discover the most harmful and dehumanizing thing to do within our society is to make generalizations. The harm that comes from putting people into certain boxes and labeling them is far more complex than we often realize. My identity, for example, is composed of many things. On my father’s side, I am Salvadorian and Brazilian. My father converted to Islam during the Salvadoran Civil War. My mother was born and raised in Michoacán, Mexico and has always practiced Catholicism. As a practicing Muslim, I wear a hijab, speak Spanish, am an outspoken and strong ally of the LGBTQ+ community and consider myself an intersectional feminist. I know, right— who would have thought? How could Muslims be anything but what’s represented in media?
We may be Muslim, but Islam does not construct the entirety of our identities. I have learned over the years at Portland State to challenge people to step away from stereotyping, and through multiple women’s studies courses, I can say I feel quite comfortable doing so. I am thankful for campus prayer spaces, cultural nights and the overall desire of wanting to know and respect my religion. The best way to break harmful stereotypes however, is by getting to know the people these stereotypes harm the most. Viking Voices is an open platform, rolling submission opinion column open to all PSU students, faculty and staff. Submissions are voluntary, unpaid and not guaranteed to be published. Submissions reviewed, selected and minimally edited. Send 600 words or less to opinion@psuvanguard.com with name, pdx email, major and/or PSU affiliation.
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 20, 2018 • psuvanguard.com
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MUSIC
ART
FILM & THEATER
COMMUNITY
Feb. 20–Feb. 26 TUESDAY, FEB. 20
WEDNESDAY, FEB. 21
THURSDAY, FEB. 22
FRIDAY, FEB. 23
WRITERS ON CLIMATE CHANGE CONTEST RECEPTION LITERARY ARTS (925 SW WASHINGTON ST.) 6 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Student writers, guest judges and nonprofit leaders discuss the role of writers in times of climate chaos. The winners from Portland State University’s Institute for Sustainable Solutions writing contest will be announced and celebrated. There will be snacks, but you’ll have to buy your own bevs.
TEST TAKING STRATEGIES FOR GRE & GMAT UNIVERSITY SERVICES BUILDING 402 2 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES This sounds boring, but test prep isn’t about having fun. It’s about giving you the tools to smash those tests that stand between you and your dreams. Get the info you need to crush it.
SOE SEMINAR SPEAKER SERIES: DR. ELISE GRANEK ENGINEERING BUILDING 102 5:30 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Granek will discuss what community, resilience and social-ecological systems have to do with their research into emerging contaminants in our oceans.
CHICKTECH KICKOFF MCECS ATRIUM 5:30 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Enjoy some free refreshments as ChickTech CEO and founder Janice Levenhagen-Seely discusses how the company works to contribute to the movement of inspiring women and girls to pursue careers in STEM.
COCO WITH COCOA PARKWAY NORTH (SMSU 101) 7 P.M. • FREE FOR PSU STUDENTS, ALL AGES Come watch Coco and drink some free cocoa! Will the cocoa be hot, or not?! This is a family-friendly event and a perfect opportunity to see this Pixar gem.
DEPARTMENT OF CHEMISTRY SEMINAR SERIES: BRIAN MUNSKY SCIENCE BUILDING 1-107 3:15 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES A guy who may or may not still have a ponytail is going to talk about some crazy science stuff. Munsky is a biological engineering assistant professor and is going to talk about using stochastic models to understand and predict single-molecule gene regulation dynamics. Translation: A science dude talks about some science stuff using big science words.
CURRENTS: NEW VIDEO ART OPEN SIGNAL 7 P.M. • FREE (PRE-REGISTRATION REQUIRED), ALL AGES Audiovisual compositions of local landscapes and experimental narratives. Open Signal is a community resource that seeks to elevate local voices with community programming and education, allowing local artists to flourish and create interesting new art using video as their primary medium.
LIVE @ LUNCH: KORGY & BASS PARK BLOCKS (OR PARKWAY NORTH IF RAINING) 12 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES If you missed these beatmakers at Bunk Bar a few weeks ago, now you can see them for free in the comfort of your own campus. Korgy & Bass is a duo that uses samplers, synthesizers and such to improvise and present composed beats live. They look up to Dilla and Flying Lotus: good idols to have.
PORTLAND VIEWS N’ BREWS: MONTSERRAT LUCKY LABRADOR BEER HALL NW 6:30 P.M. • $5 SUGGESTED DONATION, ALL AGES Sonja Melander and the Mount St. Helens Institute take you on a virtual journey of the tiny island Montserrat, nicknamed the Emerald Isle of the Caribbean. It has Irish heritage, turtles, lush rainforests, calypso music and a nasty volcano. IMAGE EXPO LEFT BANK ANNEX 10 A.M. • $17–100, ALL AGES Image Comics and Shadowline Comics have teamed up to bring the Image Expo to Image Comics’ new hometown of Portland. An all-day affair of comic writers and artists for fans, retailers, librarians and anyone else interested in the comic scene. And yes, there’s an afterparty.
THE KANDINSKY EFFECT JACK LONDON REVUE 9 P.M. • $10–12, 21+ This trio of experimental musicians follows a long legacy of pushing the limits of jazz. With influences from Jaga Jazzist to Flying Lotus and Bon Iver to Meshuggah, these Paris-based humans bring their expertise and compositions into a space where improvisation may take songs in unexpected directions.
NOON CONCERT: PSU JAZZ / PORTLAND JAZZ FESTIVAL - JAZZ CONVERSATION LINCOLN RECITAL HALL 75 12 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Sometimes you just wanna hang out and listen to some form of jazz. Coinciding with the Portland Jazz Festival, you can watch PSU Jazz cats get together to get hyped about the one time a year Jazz gets a spotlight.
LIVE @ LUNCH: ZION I PARK BLOCKS (OR PARKWAY NORTH IF RAINING) 12 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES With 10 studio albums in two decades, Zion I has been around the block. Socially conscious and politically engaged hip-hop in a time where those things have the country divided sounds intriguing. QUINCY DAVIS THE FIXIN’ TO 8:30 P.M. • $8, 21+ Portland hip-hop featuring conscious MCs. Davis is releasing a new mixtape and Mic Crenshaw will be among the many supporting MCs. REAL ESTATE REVOLUTION HALL 9 P.M. • $25, ALL AGES I don’t know anything about real estate, but $25 for it sounds like a steal. It’s probably just some concert, but why miss out on this potentially exciting opportunity. Bedouine will also be performing.
FRIDAYS @ 4: DOMESTIC ARCHITECTURE IN THE TIMES OF CHANGE: KATERYNA MALAIA SHATTUCK HALL 4 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Malaia is an an adjunct faculty member at the PSU School of Architecture. Mailaia is going to talk about how the home plays a larger role in social and political change than is often given credit. “A revolution starts (and ends) at the kitchen,” and politics are produced and lived at home no less than in public.
AFRICA IN THE U.S. IMAGINATION GREEN ROOTS CAFE (SMSU 026) 4 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Dr. David Peterson del Mar’s recent book, African, American: From Tarzan to Dreams from My Father—Africa in the U.S. Imagination, addresses the change in U.S. society from creating Tarzanical myth to making space for Africans and African Americans to tell their own stories. An important concept to talk about. PAN-AFRICAN GALA NO VACANCY LOUNGE 8 P.M. • $20, 21+ The event features an opening speech by Ndaba Mandela honoring the legacy of his grandfather, Nelson Mandela. A Haitian band and a DJ from Ghana will add to the richness of a night dedicated to celebrating Black history and culture.
THE MADS! ALBERTA ROSE THEATER 7 P.M. • $25 ADV. $35 DOOR Frank Conniff and Trace Beaulieu became famous for ripping apart bad movies on Mystery Science Theater 3000, and they are here to do it for you live. They may make the movie characters say silly things or fart, only time will tell. STRONG FEMALE PROTAGONIST PNCA 8 P.M. • $5–25, ALL AGES A queer solo performance prioritizing the power of femininity and sass. Elements of autobiography, nostalgia and drag fantasy celebrating powerful feminine role models.
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PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 20, 2018 • psuvanguard.com
EVENTS Jake Johnson SATURDAY, FEB. 24
SUNDAY, FEB. 25
MONDAY, FEB. 26
FEATURED EVENTS
MT. HOOD MEADOWS SKI SHUTTLE CAMPUS REC CENTER 6:30 A.M. • $90–110, ALL AGES It’s getting a little colder again; maybe that means more good snow on Hood, and you can find out! Prices include transportation and either a beginner package with equipment but restricted access or an all access lift pass with no equipment. If you have your own pass, it’ll only cost you $20 for the shuttle as a member of the ASRC. Don’t ride the Polar Express, ride the Ski Shuttle.
FILAMENT READING SERIES: W/ GUEST READER SOPHIA SHALMIYEV INDEPENDENT PUBLISHING RESOURCE CENTER 6:30 P.M. • FREE W/ PSU ID, $4–5 GEN., ALL AGES Shalmiyev is the author of the forthcoming book Mother Winter and PSU alumna. The evening will also feature readings from current PSU MFA students.
DEPARTMENT OF PHYSICS SEMINAR SERIES: MARILYN MACKIEWICZ SCIENCE BUILDING 1-107 3:15 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES “Synthesize the hybrid lipid-coated gold nanorods.” “Rate of integration into the host retina in vivo.” “Optical coherence tomography.” Mackiewicz is going to talk about how science and stem cell research has gone super-science to where we can use “tiny pieces of gold to visualize stem cells that repair vision loss.” I want to see these golden images.
COMMUNITY
THE BLACK POWER MIXTAPE 1967–1975 HOLLYWOOD THEATRE 6:30 P.M. • $7–9, ALL AGES A compilation of moments from the Black Power movement with leaders including Angela Davis, Stokely Carmichael, Bobby Seale and Eldridge Cleaver. The footage was compiled to a soundtrack featuring Questlove with commentary from Erykah Badu, Talib Kweli and Melvin Van Peebles. A powerhouse of snippets from an empowering time period of intense struggle.
FILM & THEATER
STAND UP TO FEED THE PEOPLE CURIOUS COMEDY THEATER MONDAY, FEB. 26 6:30 P.M. • $5–10, ALL AGES Revolution Comedy is a monthly comedy fundraiser hosted by the hilarious Andie Main. This month, the show will be raising funds for Home PDX, which shares meals, supplies and hope with houseless neighbors. Come have a laugh for a good cause. Main is dedicated to bringing quality comics to perform to benefit local organizations doing important work to meet the needs of Portlanders from all walks of life.
PSU VSA CULTURE SHOW: DEAREST SISTER (Gửi Chị Hai) SMSU BALLROOM 355 5 P.M. • FREE W/ PSU ID $5 GEN., ALL AGES Vietnamese food, games, cultural performances, Vietnamese Ao Dai Fashion Show, a fewatured performance by Lauren Remo and the Headliner Kathleen Nguyen—a full and beautiful evening. 2018 PORTLAND POLAR PLUNGE & 5K FUN RUN/WALK BROUGHTON BEACH 8:30 A.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Participants are asked to raise at least $50 to support Special Olympics Oregon. Get a crew together and jump into some real cold water. It’ll be terrible, but then you’ll get out of the water and laugh about it. Get a crew and take the plunge.
MUSIC
2000S NIGHT! LOLA’S ROOM 9 P.M. • $8, 21+ It wasn’t that long ago, but this music will take you back to the start of the century when Beyonce, Brittany, Nelly and Justin Timberlake were the pop kings and queens—Beyonce still is, but Justin is tryin’ real hard to hold on.
DESTRUCTION DANCE: ROBERT FRANK BLUE SKY GALLERY 7:30 P.M. • $15, ALL AGES Robert Frank Books & Films 1947– 2018 retrospective exhibition was never built to be permanent, and unlike Frank’s legacy, the prints are going to be destroyed. Dancers will be ripping up the printed works around the gallery in a performative tribute to Frank and his publisher’s middle finger to the so-called rotten art market.
MULTICULTURAL STUDENT CENTER: CELEBRATING 25 YEARS MULTICULTURAL STUDENT CENTER SMSU 228 TUESDAY, FEB. 20 12 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES The Multicultural Student Center is turning 25! They want to celebrate their legacy with you and look back at the memories made. There may be free food and a time capsule will be involved!
ART
MONSTER JAM MODA CENTER 1 P.M. (MULTIPLE CRUSHINGS THROUGH FEB. 25) • $25–95, ALL AGES Big trucks make a lot of noise and jump and smoosh tiny ant-like cars leaving destruction in their wake. Sometimes the big trucks flip over and the drivers get hurt; most times they soar through the air like an American Bald Eagle Patriot pumping exhaust into the lungs of thousands of screaming fans eating nachos and drinking Bud Light.
PRECIOUS (2009) 5TH AVENUE CINEMA 3 P.M. (MULTIPLE SCREENINGS FEB. 23–25) FREE W/ PSU ID $4–5 GEN., ALL AGES A film about a 16-year-old girl who carries the weight of living in an extremely abusive household on her shoulders. Clareece “Precious” Jones’ journey to pursue her dreams and achieve the life she deserves.
JENNY VU
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 20, 2018 • psuvanguard.com
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FEBRUARY EXHIBITIONS LITTMAN + WHITE
WHITE GALLERY
LITTMAN GALLERY
ME, MYSELF & IT
ANTHONY HUDSON / CARLA ROSSI
PRYS
RAINBOW UTOPIA
FEBRUARY EXHIBITIONS LITTMAN + WHITE
OPEN THROUGH MARCH 2, 2018
OPEN THROUGH MARCH 2, 2018
@littmanandwhite littmanandwhite.com
@littmanandwhite littmanandwhite.com
? T N E V E N A E
S I T R E V D A O T T N WA
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