Vanguard February 25, 2011

Women take on Bobcats

Planned Parenthood under attack

PSU women’s basketball heads into final three games of the season

Trusted resource could lose its federal funding

OPINION: PAGE 4

SPORTS: PAGE 12

INDEX NEWS OPINION ARTS SPORTS

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FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25TH, 2011

MEChA to host educational conference Event geared toward providing outreach to Latino high school students Sierra Pannabecker Vanguard staff

On Monday, Feb. 28, Portland State's MEChA (Movimiento Estudiantil Chicano de Aztlan) chapter will host its seventh annual Educate Conference for Latino high school students from all over the state. The event—composed of workshops, a college fair and keynote speakers—is designed to empower Latino students.

Roughly 350 high schools, from as far as Salem and Hood River, are involved with the event.

MEChA ON PAGE 7

Aramark employees disgruntled with work environment Several Aramark employees say that food service provider treats its workers wrongfully Alison Barnwell Vanguard staff

Several Aramark employees have recently come forward to complain that their working conditions are shoddy and that the company intentionally disqualifies them from being eligible for health insurance.

On Valentine’s Day this year, an employee of the Viking Food Court, who asked to remain anonymous, was told to stay late by her supervisor, Jonathan Proulx. She said that she agreed to stay late but then couldn’t because of plans with ARAMARK ON PAGE 7

Student reaches out to family members of prison inmates

Kitzhaber proposes increased investment in local film productions Opponents argue current tax credit program is inefficient, propose a direct funding model Vinh Tran Vanguard staff

Amid the announcement that television shows such as TNT’s “Leverage” and IFC’s “Portlandia” have committed to another season in Oregon, Director of the Oregon Center for Public Policy (OCCP) Chuck Sheketoff is urging Legislature to end the current funding model for film and television productions in 2011.

Sheketoff and his group are at odds with Governor John Kitzhaber, Portland Mayor Sam Adams and several film industry members, all of whom had expressed interest in increasing funding by 167 percent for movies and television shows shot in Oregon.

Sheketoff suggested a direct funding model in which money would be distributed from the state’s General Fund instead of the current model, in which the state provides a $100 tax credit for every $90–$95 that a taxpayer donates to the Oregon Production Investment Fund.

If Kitzhaber’s proposal is passed, the investment fund (which is set to expire this year) would be extended, and the tax credit program increased.

In a recent paper put out by the OCPP, Sheketoff asked a simple question: Would you pay someone $100 to buy a $90 item for you?

Several people involved in the film and television industry disagree with the OCPP.

Executive Director of the Governor’s Office of Film and Television Vince Porter, whose job is to market Oregon to filmmakers, said the problem with a direct funding model is that it’s not as reliable due to the fluctuating budget.

“When I have a conversation with filmmakers, we need to know what is available to offer them,” Porter said. “The current structure gives us the level

of certainty where, as under a direct funding model, we just don’t know what is available every year.”

According to Sheketoff, Porter shouldn’t have any concerns because if the film industry brings in revenue to the state, it will continue to get funded. Otherwise, its budget would be cut.

FILM ON PAGE 3

Portland Public Schools bond measure sparks student activism at PSU Jesse Hansen Vanguard staff

After enrolling in professor Sonja Young’s family studies class, Portland State student Joseph Boyd was inspired to help those who have experienced having family members in prison.

Boyd knows the effect prison can have on an individual’s life. Although he wasn’t in prison himself, he had a mother who was incarcerated for eight years, starting from the time he was 16. Until recently, he never spoke about it.

INCARCERATION ON PAGE 7

PPS ON PAGE 3

Christina J. Maggio Vanguard staff

PHOTO COURTESY THE GOVERNER'S OFFIC EOF FILM & TELEVISION/

Boosting Portland's film industry: Director and Executive Producer of "Leverage," a show filmed here in Portland, has utilized the tax credit program.

Students join local campaign

With a $548 million bond measure on the line, the Portlanders for Schools campaign has recently reached out to students at Portland State to recruit advocates.

On May 17, Portland voters will decide on a halfbillion dollar bond measure intended to upgrade and refit the Portland Public Schools (PPS) system.

The bond comes at a time when Oregon is demonstrating an inclination to disinvest in education, though that hasn’t stopped activism here at PSU. According to Student Leadership and Outreach Programs Adviser Amanda Newberg, Portlanders for Schools contacted her with an interest in disseminating information about the campaign to student groups.

“Not only is this an amazing opportunity to get hands-on political organizing experience, but interns can simultaneously receive political science credit as well,” Newberg said.

Joseph Boyd develops workshop to raise awareness on the effects of incarceration

VOL. 65 NO. 41

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School makeover: If the bond measure is passed, schools such as Grover Cleveland High School would be rennovated.

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Late Wednesday and throughout the day yesterday, downtown Portland was blanketed in snow. According to KATU, several schools were shut down as a result of the storm.

Though classes at Portland State resumed as usual, all of the Portland Community College campuses were closed until 10 a.m.

As of press time, KATU reported that the Portland metro area will see more icy conditions this morning. The forecasted high today is 34 degrees Fahrenheit.

Cold air is expected to remain throughout the weekend, and more showers are expected late Saturday and early Sunday.

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Sheketoff says tax credit program is only available to the wealthy

Snow is here!

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Snow day: Barry Pullman’s Golden Retriever Shayna plays in the snow outside the library.

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CARE team aims to provide a safety net for students Team reaches out to troubled students, but officials admit that resource isn’t well advertised Vinh Tran Vanguard staff

R

ecently, former Portland State student Heath Avery was sentenced to nearly six years in prison for stabbing fellow student Andrew Richardson last August. The incident has highlighted the need for a more aggressive approach to providing mental health services to students on campus.

At PSU, there’s already a collective charged with the task of dealing with students of concern.

Formed about three years ago as a suicide prevention work group under the direction of the Garret Smith Memorial Act, the Coordination Assessment Response Education (CARE) team has since expanded to include several campus agencies, according to Dean of Student Life Michele Toppe.

Toppe said the team includes representatives from the Office of the Dean of Student Life, the Student Health and Counseling Center, the Campus Public Safety Office, Residence Life and the Women’s Resource Center.

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“Then we come together to determine how to connect this person with the right resource…This may result in a courtesy call to a faculty member who’s working with that student, or to the student directly.”

MARCY HUNT-MORSE

Although Toppe cannot comment on Avery’s case, she said the CARE team seeks to educate the campus community to recognize the signs of distressed students by reaching out to their friends and classmates.

However, the CARE team can only help distressed students when someone with a concern contacts them, Toppe said.

When asked whether there’s anything more aggressive the university can do to target individuals who need help, Marcy Hunt-Morse, director of Counseling and Psychological Services at SHAC and member of the CARE team, said she considers providing education to students an aggressive approach for the university to take.

According to Hunt-Morris, when the CARE team receives a call about a student of concern, it first gathers information to determine whether or not action needs to be taken.

“Then we come together to determine how to connect this person with the right resource,” she said. “This may result in a courtesy call to a faculty member who’s working with that student, or to the student directly.”

According to Toppe, the CARE team case manager is responsible for determining the appropriate action.

However, this position has been vacant since August 2010.

Currently, if a student calls the CARE team they will be directed to a staff member in the Office of the Dean of Student Life. Toppe said that budget cuts have prevented the team from hiring a specialist to handle such cases.

Saria dy/VANGUARD STAFF In Avery’s case, police reports Caring community: The CARE team was initially developed to respond to suicidal students. It now includes several campus agencies. reveal that several people at PSU alerted CPSO at least three times CPSO Chief Michael Soto said he is unable to with concerns about his behavior. According to the reports, Avery was described as being “off-putting” comment on the case directly, thus it is unclear whether Avery was considered a student of concern and “aggravated.”

Before coming to PSU, Avery had no criminal and whether CPSO reached out to Avery to provide history. According to an article published in the him with help.

According to Soto, CPSO normally communicates Vanguard on Feb. 1, those that knew him in high with the CARE team if it determines there is a need school said he was a “typical student.”

However, after enrolling in PSU, Avery began to to take action.

Toppe said that the university currently has no exhibit odd behavior. CPSO records show that he haindicator of whether most students are aware about rassed staff members and students in his dormitory.

“I would just speak to my professors, [and] spent resources such as CPSO, SHAC and the CARE team.

She encouraged students to contact the CARE most of my time at bookstores or in my room, looking at the Internet, looking for somebody to talk to,” team at 503-725-4422 if they are concerned about another student. ■ Avery told the Vanguard.

Supporting education: Grover Cleveland High School would be just one of the 85 schools that would benefit from the bond measure.

PPS FROM PAGE 1

Bond measure campaign has recruited four PSU interns Though the campaign has only recently appealed to PSU students, several have already volunteered and are currently employed as interns. According to Portlanders for Schools representative Ben Unger, the campaign has enlisted the aid of four student interns, as well as a handful of volunteers.

Nate Brauer-Rieke, a PSU senior studying political science, is among the interns working with Portlanders for Schools. Though Brauer-Rieke is enjoying the benefits of receiving credit for his work, the issue is equally personal.

“I came from a small town in eastern Oregon...and our school building was constructed in the early 1900s,” he said.

“Several bonds to rebuild the school were struck down.”

According to Brauer-Rieke, many students reportedly became sick from the pigeon feces that collected in the school’s attic.

“This is something I’ve seen firsthand and lived through,” he said. “These kids need a decent place to go to school.”

This, he admitted, was his inspiration for working with Portlanders for Schools. Currently, his duties are mainly focused on student outreach while he attempts to recruit others to aid in the campaign.

Along with campus outreach, interns are expected to assist with phone banks and data entry.

Alex Cator, another political science major, is also actively working on the campaign, though she has a decidedly different set of duties than Brauer-Rieke.

Much like her fellow intern, Cator is responsible for gathering support, though her focus is on outreach to parents at individual schools rather than assembling potential interns.

“One of the things I’ve been focusing on is making sure parents of incoming kindergarten students are attending roundups,” she said.

“These are people who are going to be affected by this in the long run, these are people who are going to vote on this measure.”

Unlike Brauer-Rieke, Cator said she elected to undertake the internship without the credit option because the experience is rewarding enough in itself.

“Once I graduate, this is essentially what I want to be doing,” Cator said. “There’s no real class that can teach you how to do this; it’s just something you have to be involved in.”

The intent of the proposed bond, officially known as ballot measure 26-121, would be to refit and replace outdated and damaged schools around the Portland area. Overall, 85 schools would receive some form of modernization or repair.

However, the majority of the bond would be applied to a handful of schools that are categorized in a state of serious disrepair. Of specific interest for revamp are boilers in several schools that have been labeled as a serious fire concern.

Also, according to the PPS website, the bond will update nine schools that currently fail to meet modern seismic code.

A $19 million levy option is also on the ballot, which if passed, would preserve over 200 teaching jobs from budget cuts this fiscal year.

PPS is facing a $1.1 billion budget deficit for 2011–13.

The de-funding of Oregon’s public education has been an increasing trend in the past 15 years. ■

Sarah Andrews-Collier, chair of the Department of Theater Arts at Portland State, said that the investment fund is not about providing funding for big-budget Hollywood productions—such as “Leverage” and “Twilight”—but also to local filmmakers.

“Unlike people like James Cameron, who is successful enough to fund his own movie, many documentary and local filmmakers have to ask for donations from people,” she said.

Porter said at least $350,000 per year is designated for local productions from the investment fund, and two recent local productions— “Wake Before I Die” and the “House of Last Thing”—have taken advantage of the rebate.

Andrews-Collier said the program benefits the economy through the residual dollars that production companies spent while shooting in Oregon. She said the program is not merely economical, but also helps shape Oregon’s film industry by beefing up the state’s résumé, which is marketed to filmmakers.

Referring to Louisiana, which provides one of the most competitive incentive programs in the country, Andrews-Collier described how filmmakers come to a state not just for the incentives, but also for the resources it offers.

These resources include the availability of a sound stage, talent and studios.

Porter said this is the case for the first installment of “Twilight,” which was shot

in Portland. However, the producers then moved it to Vancouver, Canada for the second installment and Louisiana for the third to save on production costs.

“If you have everything already set up, they are more likely to come here, and when we bring them here, we build relationships,” Andrews-Collier said. “We have the talent here, but they’re often in the background because filmmakers usually bring the people they have worked with from Los Angeles here.”

Aside from the funding structure, Shekentoff also said the program inherently benefits wealthy citizens because only those with access to resources know about it, though it’s open to anyone that can take advantage of the tax credit.

“If you walk around Portland State and ask, you’ll find that not many people are [aware] of it,” Shektoff said. “That’s because only the wealthy folks, who go to their accountant and their lawyer instead of their local tax preparer, knew about it.”

According to the OCPP, only 245 people out of 1.6 million Oregon taxpayers claimed the credit; the average donation amount in 2008 was $17,749.

Porter said that the tax benefit also provides jobs.

Harold Phillips, a local actor with 20 years of experience in the industry and writer of the blog OregonFilmandTVdollars. com, said he is able to find more work when filmmakers

PHOTO COURTESY IFC

Celebrating Portland: Fred Armisen and Carrie Brownstein star in the new television series "Portlandia."

are interested in Oregon.

Currently, Oregon has a lot to offer filmmakers, and the purpose of his blog is to provide information about the investment fund and its benefits.

According to AndrewsCollier, one of those advantages is that Oregon’s diverse geography allows filmmakers to recreate any city and location.

Both Phillips and his wife have been involved in large film productions: “Leverage” and “Twilight,” respectively.

“I like to say that ‘Twilight’ pays for our roof and ‘Leverage’ pays for our floor,” Phillips said. “This is the time when we need to put people to work.”

However, according to Sheketoff, that residual dollar often touted by the film industry is fickle at best.

“The jobs that are created from these productions are not permanent, and the tax revenue with all of the [resid-

ual dollars spent in Oregon] doesn’t pay for the cost of the program,” Sheketoff said.

Sheketoff said his group is hoping that the governor will let the current incentive program expire at the end of 2011.

Recently, the governor has expressed interest in continuing funding for film production with a proposed budget that includes a tax credit extension and an additional $17.1 million for the fund.

At the Governor’s Office for Film and Television, Porter released a tally sheet that shows at least four new projects are committed to shooting in Oregon in 2011.

All this could mean good news for veteran actors like Phillips.

Commenting on whether or not Kitzhaber’s proposal to extend funding to the investment fund will pass, Phillips said, “In 2011, a [local] actor can work in a commercial in one week and a movie the next.” ■

THE DAILY CUT A DIGEST OF CURRENT EVENTS

FBI steps up role in search for missing Oregon boy PORTLAND (AP)—The FBI is increasing its role in the disappearance of Kyron Horman, the 7-year-old boy who was last seen in June at his Portland school.

The Oregonian reports up to six agents will help the task force investigating the case.

FBI spokeswoman Beth Anne Steele says they’ll follow up tasks that were identified by profilers who recently reviewed the investigation.

Meanwhile, Multnomah County Sheriff Dan Staton will update county commissioners Thursday on the status of the search.

Kyron’s mother, Desiree Young of Medford, believes her son’s stepmother, Terri Moulton Horman, knows something about the disappearance — even though police have never named her as a suspect or even a person of interest.

Saudi man charged with plotting terrorist attack LUBBOCK, Texas (AP)—A young college student from Saudi Arabia who studied chemical engineering in Texas purchased explosive chemicals over the Internet as part of a plan to hide bomb materials inside dolls and baby carriages to blow up dams, nuclear plants or the Dallas home of former President George W. Bush, the Justice Department said Thursday.

“After mastering the English language, learning how to build explosives and continuous planning to target the infidel Americans, it is time for jihad,” the student wrote in his private journal, according to court documents. He said he was influenced by speeches from Osama bin Laden and despaired the plight of Muslims.

One of the chemical companies, Carolina Biological Supply of Burlington, N.C., reported suspicious purchases by Khalid Ali-M Aldawsari, 20, of Lubbock, Texas, to the FBI on Feb. 1.

Within weeks, federal agents had traced his other online purchases, discovered extremist posts he made on the Internet and

secretly searched his off-campus apartment, computer and e-mail accounts and read his diary, according to court records.

Snow closes W. Ore. schools, slows commute PORTLAND (AP)—Light snow that arrived with a cold front in Western Oregon was enough to close schools and slow the commute in the Portland metro area as forecasters predicted the late winter dusting would last only about a day.

The National Weather Service said about an inch of snow was expected Thursday as temperatures hovered just above freezing in most areas, but highway officials warned motorists to slow down and beware of icy spots.

Portland television stations reported a relatively light commute with most of the main highways and streets clear, and a lower volume of traffic than usual.

Temperatures were expected to dip into the teens on Friday before warming up to lows above freezing by the weekend with sunny skies expected.

UN to meet on further options against Libya UNITED NATIONS (AP)—The U.N. Security Council has agreed to consider further options against Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi’s regime that could include sanctions.

Diplomats said Britain’s U.N. Ambassador Mark Lyall Grant told the council in closed consultations Thursday that it was imperative that members look at possible next steps because Gadhafi has failed to heed the council’s demand to end the violence against anti-government protestors.

The diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because the talks were private, said there was agreement among the 15 council nations to discuss further options. No date has been set but diplomats said consultations might take place Friday or over the weekend.

Germany’s U.N. Ambassador Peter Wittig told reporters “we certainly want the council ... to take action.”

4 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011 ■ OPINION

OPINION

OPINION ■ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011 ■ VANGUARD 5

EDITOR: RICHARD D. OXLEY OPINION@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5692

Under construction

Get a whiff of this Portland’s new policy on smelling too good

I

f you listen very closely, amongst all of the talk about banning plastic bags, smoking in public parks and plastic water bottles, there is something else in the works of being banned; cologne, perfumes and smelly deodorant at work.

It is definitely a possibility that city employees may be restricted in their range of general smelliness. They could be required to forgo that dash of coMEAGHAN logne, dab of DANIELS aftershave or sprinkle of perfume that has been built into their morning routines. The Portland City Council has been considering the issue of excessive smell at the workplace over the past month and has been constructing a new smelly policy. The new set of standards will take effect in March.

It would be recommended that employees avoid deodorants high in fragrance and any other similar overly fragrant hygiene products.

It is sad that something that is usually chalked up to common courtesy may have to be enforced with yet another ban.

Although currently it is not deemed as an outright ban, people could nevertheless suffer disciplinary actions from it.

There are two sides to every story, pros and cons to every issue, and this is no exception.

People with asthma and allergies were the driving motivation behind this ban. After all, if employees cannot breathe, suffer an allergic reaction or cannot stop sneezing, then that is not very good for productivity.

Even for people without allergies or asthma, the ban bears positive aspects because many people get headaches triggered from powerful odors.

Most of us have encountered that person that generally comes to mind when the phrase “high in fragrance” is used. It is that person with the extra swagger of confidence because they think they smell so good, when really they are leaving a wake of gagging people passed out in their path.

You almost feel bad for them—they think that their cologne or perfume smells good, and that it is somehow giving them an extra burst of mojo. It is truly sad because you do not want to hurt their feelings since they are so happy about their scent. Here is a newsflash for all those people out there—bathing in AXE is not going to attract a horde of girls who will in turn eagerly molest you; in fact, they are going to run in the opposite direction of your stench.

We do not just see, or smell, these people in the workplace, but on the streets as well. They are the people who walk past you, and once you get a whiff you try to hang back a couple of blocks, but you can still smell them. There must be something about assault against your nostrils or sense of smell. Also, it is just common courtesy to think of others and how they might feel about the necessity of a gas mask when talking to you.

Since there is good, there also must be bad.

Is our government really all that focused on the issue of “smelliness?” Are there not bigger issues for them to tackle? Of course there are, but they are still focusing time, energy and money on this.

Who decides what crosses the line of a deodorant being too high in fragrance or whether the amount of cologne/perfume a person wears is too much? Something that may push the limits on being too smelly for one person can just be a pleasant squirt of perfume for another. What smells are deemed unsavory while others are welcomed? Until a definitive point is reached, it is going to be tough to pass a ban when smells can be so subjective.

People should also be able to actually have a human interaction and politely ask them to

wear less perfume or cologne if the smell irritates them. Of course, at the moment it may be awkward, but awkwardness happens everyday.

One would think that coworkers would have enough respect for each other to oblige in creating a healthy and happy work environment.

Another problem is that some people may take this “ban” as a “let’s reject deodorant and everything altogether” deal. It is very important to

ASPSU needs a website… a real one

remember that this ban is not about discouraging hygiene—in fact, it does encourage hygiene, people just cannot go out and buy the smelliest deodorant in the world and bathe themselves in cologne or perfume anymore.

There are many sides to this possible new ban, good and bad, but there need to be more concrete definitions for this ban to have a chance of success. ■

Kat Audick Vanguard staff

Sometimes when they feel a strong connection and the mood is just right, pro-life folk and fellow conservatives like to come together in a passionate unity against the things that really piss them off. Now with the House of Representatives backing them, it appears this powerful ménage à trois is going full-force toward hitting Planned Parenthood where it really hurts: their federal funding.

For many students and Portlanders alike, Planned Parenthood has served as a helpful and reliable source for over 90 years. It’s nearly inevitable that young people will find the urge to get down, and thankfully, Planned Parenthood has always been there to have their backs. Whether it’s STI screenings, HIV testing, free contraceptives or a good old-fashioned sexual health checkup, the offices of Planned Parenthoods across the nation have kept their doors wide open to those seeking care.

But with how furious certain pro-life groups have become recently in particular, you’d think Planned Parenthood was running down the city streets yelling “Abortions for everyone!”

And it seems that it’s not just the fight to abort all abortions they’re after. They’re also

accusing Planned Parenthood of being the culprit to a rise in teen pregnancy, and an increased spread of STIs. In their argument, the organization, which has consistently provided sexual health education about the proper use of contraceptives, is responsible for pregnant teens and flourishing Chlamydia.

The Planned Parenthood site itself states that it is “proud of its vital role in providing young people with honest sexuality and relationship information in classrooms and online to help reduce our nation’s alarmingly high rates of teen pregnancies and sexually transmitted infections.”

Pro-life groups such as Stand True have taken it many steps further than that. Their president,

photo courtesy of plannedparenthood.org

I

t’s not a rumor! Unfortunately. The Associated Students of Portland State University (ASPSU) does indeed have a website—in theory.

They do have a web address, and if one types it into a web browser, one will actually reach the desired destination. Of course, that’s really the only way you’re ever going to get to the site without losing your mind first. It took me 25 minutes, 36 link clicks and 42 eye rolls to find the ASPSU home page starting from the Portland State University home page. And honestly, I’m pretty sure that I found it by pure luck…I couldn’t tell you how I got there for anything, including the deletion of all my student loan debt and a double-scoop mint chocolate chip ice-cream cone. And I knew exactly what I was looking for. Now my head hurts.

For the sake of your mental health, here is the site address: http://aspsu.pdx.edu/node.

The ASPSU website also sports a really pretty page design with shades of green, black and white.

At least we know it is a PSU thing, right? And let me not forget to mention the links which are positioned all over the damn place and in a neat row across the top of the page, imitating the more sophisticated web design feature called “dropdown menus.” Visitors can easily find anything

all screenshots courtesy of aspsu

No image available: The executive (above) and senate (left) pages on the ASPSU website.

Especially on a page entitled “Meet Your 2010– 2011 Executive Staff!” Are you paying attention, ASPSU? Would uploading photos of everyone be asking for too much? Please. We only want to know who our leaders are—and who to blame when the appropriate time comes. Say cheese!

The only member of ASPSU’s executive staff with a photo presented on the executive staff page is that of president Katie Markey. Every other position just has name and position listed along side a blank spot on the page. Of course, it can be difficult to keep such things updated when staff keeps turning over like it has this year.

Now admittedly, there is some brief information regarding ASPSU’s campaigns this year— that of restructuring and the food bank. Does anyone know PSU even has a food bank? Most everything else on the site is under construction including the most, if not only, well known development ASPSU has succeeded in doing this year—gender inclusive spaces.

Really, all that is needed to improve the ASPSU website and make it at all useful—yes it is that bad—is to employ some common sense.

We understand it can be overwhelming; we realize you’re in government. Please try. ■

colby brooks/VANGUARD STAFF

GUEST OPINION

Planned Parenthood under attack Trusted resource could lose its federal funding

Alexis Jewell Vanguard staff

they might be looking for—in theory. That is, if there was anything to find on the website, and if you can even find the website in the first place.

Of course, the page that opens when clicking on one of these nifty little links is basically useless—literally useless. Do you want to know about one of the people in charge of our government at Portland State? Forget about it. There are no bios, there is no personal contact information, and there are very few photos. What, are they hiding from us?

Do you want to get involved in student government? Well, you are welcome to do so, and encouraged to join in a number of ways. Not that I can really tell you what any of them are in any sort of detail after going over the website. All except the Internship Opportunities pages are under construction.

What I can report after spending much time scanning the website is this: You can “join an oncampus committee, be an intern, volunteer, or a campaign coordinator, we have available spots for you.” Is that even a proper sentence?

How eloquent the word choice is, too. Nothing screams professionalism like the phrase “available spots.” I want to be part of that!

Alright, so what can be done to improve the condition of the ASPSU website? Well, for starters, our leaders could take a look at the corresponding sites at the University of Oregon or the University of California at Berkeley for example, which actually provide contact information and project details.

Writing some bios and personal political mission statements would be just lovely as well.

Bryan Kemper, applauded those in the House who supported the amendment by agreeing to defund Planned Parenthood. “My parents remember what they were doing the day that John F. Kennedy was shot. I remember what I was doing on the day Ronald Reagan was shot. The pro-life youth of America are going to remember the day the nation’s largest childkilling organization lost its federal funding,” said Kemper on the Stand True website.

No matter what side of the line one falls on, it seems like sure blindness to claim that Planned Parenthood is nothing more than the number-one group for “baby-killers.”

Planned Parenthood doesn’t advise that abortion is a method of birth control. Each Planned Parenthood site has a staff of counselors who are there to help inform patients about the many different options in adopting and parenting as well. They are a resource to help sexually active individuals make informed decisions, not a group promoting that they’ll be a fallback for every teen that gets knocked up.

Since it is not yet obvious how the bill will be received in the Senate, now is the most important time for action. University students represent some of the highest percentages of people who utilize Planned Parenthood as an alternative when they lack money or insurance coverage for sexual health protection. Without federal funding, Planned Parenthood’s

ability to provide comprehensive care will be dramatically altered. If the issue is something important to you, there are many simple ways to show support through signing online petitions.

In the end, all the decisions of how one leads their sexual life is up to the individual.

Planned Parenthood shouldn’t be chastised for offering services to those in need. ■

OPINION POLL

Portland State’s best local bar Where do you go to wind down after a long hard week, day or class period of studying? What bar, pub or hole-in-the-wall do you prefer to frequent around the portland state area? Go to www.psuvanguard.Com and take our online poll. The result will be published in our upcoming night

Ever-changing idea of beauty among societies Eric Sepulveda Daily Barometer staff

Many of us men have been confounded by it; some women are simply disgusted by the thought of it. For some of my readers, this may be a new term to your ears, but “chubby chasers” are a growing trend in the United States, a trend that is, not exactly racing, but slowly moving across the nation.

If you’re a plus-sized person and you are already planning the hateful letter you will be sending to me, please give me some time to explain myself.

For everyone who has seen Victoria’s Secret commercials on TV, ads in magazines or the annual fashion show, you might think the tall, thin, mostly fair-skinned blonde models who strut up and down the catwalk are the world’s ideal of what beauty is.

Surprisingly, depending on where you go, the idea of what is attractive or beautiful changes drastically depending on the nation’s economic status, availability of food, and roles of men and women in society.

Even within these constructs, history has changed and shifted our idea of beauty throughout the ages. Diane Kruger, the German actress and fashion model that played Helen in the film “Troy,” falls far from the

paintings which historically depict the woman for which an entire nation crumbled. If Paris had brought Kruger’s “Helen” back home, they would have been concerned with why she was so emaciated and how a woman in her royal position would be starved in this way.

This may come as a shock to many of you, but Helen of Troy was probably a big girl - full and curvaceous with a lot to love, which is why Paris had to have her.

Whether she was plus-sized, petite or “average” in reality, how she, and countless other female icons, has been represented has changed dramatically. Helen, Eve, Venus, Aphrodite and so on vary in hair color, skin complexion and body size as you walk through most art galleries.

You will see how these same goddesses begin to shapeshift throughout history in a large part, depending on the culture the artist was from.

This phenomenon is not unique to women, though. How we think of David, Hercules, Ares, Jesus and even the U.S. presidents and their body standards has shifted as our ideals of masculinity have changed over the years.

King Henry VIII, while known as a gluttonous slob who divorced and executed several wives in his pursuit for a male heir, got a massive dose of karma when he literally ex-

ploded in the church where his funeral was taking place. While I have heard of him being compared to Jabba the Hut, he was the Brad Pitt of the medieval world. He was indeed a sexy pile of man flesh, in his time.

The same tradition holds true for body parts.

Despite America’s obsession with large breasts, much of the world largely ignores them completely and women in other countries go so far as to try to hide them or reduce their appearance.

Generalities, I know, but in many ways the idea of beauty is broken down based on a person’s occupation and status in society. Studies have shown that wage earners who live mostly paycheck-to-paycheck usually prefer larger breasts, while men in high-class positions, like CEOs, prefer small-busted women.

Again, there are blue-collar workers who love their gals with girlish figures and lawyers who look for well-endowed partners, but they don’t fall into my point, so they will be considered outliers. (Hurray for accepted scientific discrimination!)

Culture has a big play in this, too. Telling someone they have a “big booty” gets different reactions here than it does back where I call home.

Ironically, even though here in America it is implied that the celebrities are our measures of

beauty, they too come in all shapes and sizes.

My point, really, is that there is not a definite description of beauty. We all have different body types and preferences, and that is awesome. It would be pretty boring if we all looked the same, and the dating game really would be a battlefield, if there was a very strict definition of what was attractive.

This week is set aside to let everyone know that they don’t have to look like the models on TV to be beautiful or loved. To all the ladies out there, whether you are supermodel-shaped, the girl next door or “Rubenesque,” there’s someone out there who thinks you are perfect and sexy just the way you are. Guys, if you look like Michael Cera, Taylor Lautner or Jack Black, you are definitely someone’s type, too.

People struggling with body issues and eating disorders should visit Student Health Services and Counseling and Psychological Services.

There are people out there who want to help you start living a healthy lifestyle and learn to love your body for the unique and wonderful thing it is. ■ *This article was originally published in the Daily Barometer. It is printed here in its original form.

NEWS ■ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011 ■ VANGUARD 7

6 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011 ■ OPINION MEChA FROM PAGE 1

VANGUARD EDITORIAL

Minor threat As the crippling cold temperatures give way to a more balmy—yet very much still wet— Portland spring, students emerge from the shadows of busy schedules to take on a minor in a different subject. Just as the season of love and companionship between all of Earth’s creatures begins, so do students’ love affairs with new and exciting degree choices.

O, what twitterpation in the air as science students embark on journeys to add humanities components to their studies and vice versa. Indeed, as the saying goes, it is spring where the university studies showers bring May flowers.

Unfortunately for students, Portland State has chosen once again to make certain academic pathways completely impassable. To keep complete linearity with our spring analogy, PSU is dangling a carrot just out of reach of the student body, and it comes in the form of minor degrees.

As most may know, minors are the little brother of the reason most of us are here—the major. Many of us take on minors to “play the field” upon completing school. Others may chase a minor because of a genuine interest in the subject that deviates from a primary course of study. Whatever the reason, minors are offered in every nook and cranny of PSU’s website and paperwork; but are they as available as PSU’s lore would have us believe?

To answer that question, it is necessary to break down PSU’s degree structure. Of all the majors offered at PSU, 36 are also available as minors. Because classes that support majors are generally well looked-after where availability is concerned, one must look at the flipside of this statistic; PSU offers 25 minors of which there are no major equivalents.

As of fall 2010, enrollment at PSU is up—2.5 percent from the previous year— from 24,580 students to 25,213 [Vanguard, “Record amount of students attend OUS schools,” Oct. 15, 2010]. Assuming that these 633 new students all wish to pursue a minor, this adds about 10 students to each minor itinerary in an environment that is already fiercely competitive.

Anyone who’s tried to register for classes lately will tell you, with no shortness of chagrin, that it’s tough out there in cyberspace.

Certain classes that are essential to obtain minors often fill up before the students who need them are able to register. Oftentimes, students registering for these classes are seniors with

credits to burn, who have no affiliation with the minor pathway.

Anecdotally, as a college publication, we feel the need to inform budding young writers that the Professional Writing minor that PSU offers is something of a pipe dream. Of the four courses offered specifically in that field, a student hoping to pursue that minor needs to complete three of the courses.

Two of them, “Beginning Nonfiction Writing” and “Introduction to News Writing,” are readily available. The other two are never available. “Advanced News Writing” has been cancelled twice in the last year. “News Editing” hasn’t been offered since most of us have been in school. None of the three newsrelated courses are offered this spring.

If these hindrances weren’t enough, many classes necessary for minors are offered in prohibitively tiny class sizes or only one section per term. We dare those below senior standing trying to get a minor in graphic design to successfully register for a typogra-

MEChA members hope to motivate students to attend college

ONLINE COMMENTS The story doesn’t stop when the print hits the page.

Don’t like something you read in the Vanguard? Want us to cover a story? Do you feel there is more to be said?

You have the opportunity to praise us or rip us apart here at the Vanguard. Post a comment online or write us a letter. Tell us what you think.

Here are some online highlights from www. psuvanguard.com.

Wow. Positive feedback for once Thank you for a very good article [“Professor addresses water shortage in South Korea,” Feb. 18]. I attended the lecture and found it very informative with great charts and pictures to back up what was said. I am grateful that your staff covered it for all the students.

Evelyn Hanks

Scooped!

Just saw this in WWeek. Way to get scooped, Willy [“A new American legacy,” Feb. 1].

Dick Richards has a secret admirer

Anonymous

Anonymous

Sarcasm doesn’t travel well over type…so thanks for the compliment

Here’s a hint: Gravity generally wins

I think I love you.

Good article [“Cancer-causing radiation: conspiracy or fact?” Feb. 18]! I was worried it wasn’t going to look at the issue scientifically with healthy skepticism.

That is a great article [“Do you smell what the rock is cookin’?” Feb. 22]. I am always climbing in our gym, and find that is also relaxing. It’s just winds up being a contest between you, and gravity.

Anonymous

Anonymous

QUOTE FOR THOUGHT

MEChA is a student group dedicated to promoting selfdetermination of Chicanos through “political involvement and education,” according to its mission statement.

The goal of the event, according to a press release, is to inform Latino high school students about several topics that will guide their future, as well as motivate students to attend college and be active leaders in the community.

MEChA drew support from various on-campus student groups and private organizations to make the event possible.

“This year, we have a variety of workshop presenters who are willing to make the time for this conference,” Vilma Chan, event coordinator and MEChA member, said.

Chan said that there are 20 presenters contributing to the workshop segment of the event, including speakers from the Latino Network, a commu-

nity advocacy group for Latino populations, Cascade AIDS Project and its sub-program Chat PDX, which focuses on educating and serving racial and ethnic minority youth.

Rolando Avila, community outreach coordinator for the Latino Network, said that the event is important because “the road to higher education can be particularly daunting for Latinos and first-generation students.”

“This event lets young Latino students know that they can be agents of change by continuing on with their studies,” Avila said.

Avila will be presenting a workshop on the prison-industrial complex, and will discuss the issues surrounding Latinos in prison and address the importance of higher education in fighting what he terms an “oppressive system.”

In addition to communitybased nonprofit organizations, MEChA has invited other Or-

egon colleges and universities to set up tables at the event. PSU’s Admissions Office, the School of Business and Diversity and Multicultural Student Services will also be present.

Workshop topics will range from Chicano identity and sexual health to community activism and policy advocacy.

Chan said keynote addresses will present the message of “individual and community empowerment,” which reinforces the conference theme, “Emerging Leaders: Empowering Ourselves and Empowering Communities.”

MEChA members and event volunteers have been meeting every week for the last three months in order to plan and coordinate this event, an indication that the PSU students and the community are deeply engaged in the issues that surround ethnic minority groups today, according to Chan.

“We take pride in the time that we have invested in this conference,” Chan said.

“Therefore, we expect it to be a success.” ■

Whatever the reason, minors are offered in every nook and cranny of PSU’s website and paperwork; but are they as available as PSU’s lore would have us believe? phy class. They’ll never make it in. Similarly, hats off to those who can finagle a spot in the screenwriting course without being up at 8 a.m. on the first day of registration.

Inconveniences aside, it is no wonder many students take over the traditional four-year time frame to get through college. A student attending PSU will have to wait until the university decides to offer the classes needed.

It is also understandable that from the university’s perspective, demand for courses and minors can fluctuate. It can be difficult to firmly offer some minors when there is no guarantee they will be cost effective. But while this is a reasonable notion, the university should not advertise, promote or encourage minors that can’t be backed up.

EDITORIAL BOARD Virginia Vickery Editor-in-Chief Corie Charnley News Editor Nicholas Kula Arts & Culture Editor Richard Oxley Opinion Editor Robert Britt Sports Editor Kristin Pugmire Copy Chief

photo courtesy of alamy.com

“ Neglect of an effective birth control policy is a never-failing source of poverty which, in turn, is the parent of revolution and crime."

Aristotle, Politics ADAM WICKHAM/VANGUARD STAFF

Reaching out: After having dealt with an incarcerated parent, Joseph Bishop hopes he can help others cope.

INCARCERATION FROM PAGE 1

Student is developing a four-part workshop to spread awareness about the effects of incarceration “It happened so fast, I didn’t have time to think about it or process it until six or seven years later. After my mom went to prison, I moved in with relatives and then kept moving…

I didn’t take the time to feel,” Boyd said. “It made me cry. I never heard of incarceration in those terms—people who are denied the ritual of grief when someone is taken.”

In his class last term, Boyd and his classmates read “Rituals as Tools of Resistance,” an essay that focused on the aspects of incarcerated family members and the rituals of saying goodbye.

He has found that opening up about his experience helped to change the way people viewed incarceration; instead of viewing it as a system, they saw it from a family perspective.

Boyd’s growing passion for raising awareness about the effects of incarceration on families drove him to look for support groups and other resources to help others that have been, or are, in his situation. He is currently involved in speaking with the “lifers” group at Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, which is the prison his mother was at for eight years.

The lifers are the group of women who have been sentenced to life at the facility.

Boyd is currently working alongside Coffee Creek and Portland’s First Unitarian Church to help create a four-part workshop to raise awareness in the community.

The workshop will include a showing of the film “Sin

by Silence,” which is a story about the women inside the California Institute for Women and how they broke their silence about domestic violence, according to Boyd.

The second part of the workshop will focus on incarceration and the family, primarily centering on how it affects children of incarcerated parents. Boyd plans to give a talk about his experience during this part of the workshop.

DREW MARTIG/VANGUARD STAFF

Student workers: Aramark employee Antwan Jones prepares food at Grille Works.

ARAMARK FROM PAGE 1

her boyfriend. She said she was written up in consequence.

“My job is nothing but a nightmare,” she said.

Proulx declined to comment on the incident.

Aramark employs about 75 part-time and full-time workers who cater events and staff the food court and the Starbucks in Smith Memorial Student Union, as well as the coffee cart in the library. Its mission statement includes treating its employees well.

“We have a great working environment at PSU,” Food Service Director Lisa Potter said. “This starts day one of employment.”

The employee who complained that she was treated unfairly on Feb. 14 said that her hours were cut immediately before her full-time position qualified her for health insurance. She currently works 29 hours per week, just shy of the 30 hours per week that entitles employees to benefits.

She said that she is regularly asked to work late, though her extra hours aren’t initially written into the schedule. This renders her an employee who is part-time on the schedule but who works full-time hours.

“They know I need the extra money and they’re taking advantage of me,” she said. “It’s unfair.”

She is currently looking for another job.

“Anything would be better,” she said.

Potter, addressing the issue of health insurance and who does and doesn’t qualify, said that benefits are determined based on the hours employees work and that the qualification process is simple.

“We encourage…individuals to apply for full-time positions as they become available,” Potter said.

Potter emphasized the variety of programs that exist for the personal and professional betterment of employees, including the THRIVE (Thoughtful, Heartfelt, Results-driven, Innovative, Valued and trusted, and Engaged) recognition, Employee Engagement conversations and student intern opportunities.

Shannon Lockard, a caterer, pastry cook and vice president of the local Aramark union chapter, said she loves working for the company.

“It depends on your attitude,” Lockard said. “If you come in to work disgruntled,

you’re going to create a negative atmosphere.”

Lockard said that transitioning to full-time positions and gaining benefits is easy to do within Aramark.

Commenting on promotions, she said, “They’re open to movement.”

Another employee, who asked that his name not be printed, said that one of the oldest workers in the food court suffers from medical problems but is still forced to work at the grill, despite a doctor’s note specifying that she shouldn’t.

One day, according to the anonymous employee, the elderly worker wet her pants and wasn’t allowed to go home and change.

“They work her to the bone,” he said.

Linda Lacy, a student who works 20 hours a week in the cafeteria, said she’s happy there.

“This is a job to augment my financial aid,” Lacy said. “I really like the people who work here, and that makes it easy to come to work.”

The anonymous employee who felt that her hours were unfairly cut when she was on the verge of qualifying for benefits said that Aramark workers are united by a common unhappiness.

“A lot of the people I work with are in the same boat,” she said. “We hate our job.” ■

The third part will include a tour of Coffee Creek Correctional Facility, where people will be able to meet some of the inmates and speak with them directly.

The last part of the workshop will deal with the difficulties of post-imprisonment and reentry into society, a challenge that most of the inmates face when they are finally released from prison, Boyd said.

“There is a need to shed light on the resources that are available in the community to help these people,” he said.

“In sharing my story, I hope that the community can become stronger with knowing that if there is an individual or family in this situation, they would want to help. Or

at the very least, that if they don’t want to help, that they can just view these people with more compassion and insight.”

Coffee Creek’s chaplain, Emily Brault, has been working with the women there for seven years.

“I think as a society we tend to compartmentalize the inmate and the crime, and there’s this whole other world of invisible, impacted people out there,” Brault said. “We forget that these women are mothers and sisters, daughters and aunts, wives and partners.”

According to Brault, inmates suffer from not being able to see their family members.

“When things happen to their kids or their siblings or

their parents, their grief is often amplified by the very fact of being separated from them,” she said. “We miss the bigger picture when we label people in those ways.”

Boyd is just one of many who have dealt with the effects of incarceration, and he hopes that others like him can experience the same acceptance he had in sharing his story, he said. He encourages others who want to help, volunteer or share their experiences to e-mail him at storiesfrominside@gmail.com “I am an example, living a fulfilled life, that there is hope,” he said. “But I have had to struggle to get here—it’s important to send the message that no one has to go through this alone.” ■

Many employees are satisfied with their job at Aramark

ARTS & CULTURE ■ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011 ■ VANGUARD 9

8 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011 ■ ARTS & CULTURE

A&C

EDITOR: NICHOLAS KULA ARTS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5694

Dude, where’s my cat?

The Lieutenant of Inishmore takes the stage at the Artist Repertory Theater Richard D. Oxley Vanguard staff

W

atch out for stray bullets and flying flesh: “The Lieutenant of Inishmore” has come to Portland. Hide your cats and your drug dealers— no one is safe.

“The Lieutenant of Inishmore” tells the morbidly humorous tale of Irish terrorist Padraic and his deep affection for his cat, Wee Thomas, whom Padraic has known for most of his life.

Padriac left Wee Thomas in the care of his father, Donny, before leaving his home on Inishmore—an island off the western coast of Ireland—to pursue his dream of becoming an Irish terrorist fighting for a free Ireland.

Padraic spends his days torturing neighborhood drug dealers and starting splinter groups of his own to engage in terrorist glory—which also happens to step on the toes of other terrorist groups, making them perhaps just as disdainful of Padriac as his tortured victims. However, he is drawn back to his childhood home after Donny calls to notify him that his favorite cat has become ill. What follows is a story that goes beyond a terrorist and his love for his cat—as Padriac returns home, he carries with him the dirty laundry that he has been gathering with him over the years.

Donny and Davey wait back on Inishmore and make quite the bumbling pair, fearfully awaiting the return of the craziest man ever produced from the island community. Davey’s sister doesn’t make things easier either, as she bickers with her brother and commonly fires her BB gun in his direction.

The audience is assured from the start that no people—or cats—have been harmed in the production of the play, a measure taken due to the much-promoted gore the production exhibits. And gore it certainly has—not much by horror-movie fanatic standards, but more than the average stage production. In fact, there was enough gore for me to be hit in the

third row by a stray piece of bloody flesh, later found sticking to me after the lights came up.

Gunfire is also common throughout the show, so be prepared for a few random and loud shots. Such portions of the play are pulled off in just the right way, causing a mixture of response of “eww” and laughter.

Thomas Stroppel takes on the role of Padriac, who even by terrorists’ standards seems to have a few screws loose. Stroppel carries the character well throughout the show—the humor as-

sociated with his character mostly stems from the extreme madness he brings with him.

Donny, played by Todd Van Voris, along with the neighborhood teenager Davey, played by Nathan Crosby, provide most of the hilarity as they are cast into a web of dark humor and scramble to get out. Due to lack of cleverness, and a bit of drunkenness, they just can’t seem to escape the dangers that suddenly surround them.

Davey’s sister Mairead, played by actress ileana herrin (yes, that name is supposed to be down-

capped), bridges the span of humor between the goofy Donny and Davey, and the darkly comedic Padriac. Mairead bears the enthusiasm of youth, yet might just be as crazy as Padriac.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore keeps the audience eagerly waiting for the next line or scene.

At every turn, one wonders how things will end up for Donny, Padriac, Davey or Mairead. You’ll find yourself wondering that when all is said and done: Who will survive the madness and who will get blown away? ■

photo courtesy of owen carey/artists repertory theatre

Thing you'll never hear with a gun to your head: "Alright, where's my cat?"

Kyoto’s Kashu-juku bring full cast noh theater to PSU Rare performance of professional noh only the second in Portland’s history Joshua Hunt Vanguard staff

For the first time in nearly two decades, full-cast professional noh theater will be performed on a Portland stage. Kashu-juku Noh will bring the masked lyrical dance and music drama from their home in Japan’s ancient capital of Kyoto to PSU’s Lincoln Performance Hall on March 16 at 7 p.m.

It will be one of five appearances Kashu-juku make on their limited engagement tour of the U.S., and only the second time a full-cast professional noh company has performed in Portland. While patrons in New York City will pay $65 to see Kashu-juku, the PSU Center for Japanese Studies brings the same show to students for only $14.

Kashu-juku will perform “Lady Aoi,” in which a serial-murdering female ghost seeks to dispatch her rival by means of spirit possession.

The intensity of this iconic noh drama will be contrasted with the farcical kyogen play, “Tied to a Pole,” in which two servants struggle to outwit their master after he’s tied them up. Their lofty goal is to get rip-roaring drunk, and in

Photo courtesy of “the company”

Noh pun intended: Noh mask, noh blanket, noh service.

the process serve as the traditional comic relief during the intermission of noh drama.

Professor Laurence Kominz teaches classes on Japanese language, literature and drama at PSU. The World Languages and Literature faculty member knows firsthand the experience of dis-

covering the world of noh as a college student.

“I became interested in noh in my junior year studying abroad in Kyoto,” Professor Kominz said. “To be honest, the exoticism appealed to me most at first. For me, the plays were like a time machine. It was a more intense and real way of experiencing medieval Japan. The intensity of the music and the singing, and the starkness of the movements can fill your soul with the passion and the suffering of the characters in the play,” he said.

Kominz saw nearly 20 noh and kyogen plays during his year studying abroad, and got to know some of the actors personally. After graduating college, he returned to Kyoto, where he completed a one-year apprenticeship in Japanese theater. What has become a lifelong passion for Professor Kominz, the published author of a book on Japanese theater, began with a play not unlike “Lady Aoi.” “The first play I saw was another play about demonic female spirit possession,” he said. “In this play, however, the spirit of Lady Rokujo torments her rival in love, Lady Aoi, who is the wife of Prince Genji. Lady Aoi is pregnant at the time, and is particularly vulnerable. The noh represents this attack by having a beautiful court lady transform into a hideous demon,” he said.

The conflict in “Lady Aoi” is between a Buddhist exorcist and the spirit of a living woman,

whose angry spirit seeks to torment her hated rival while she sleeps. Though it is far from a modern tale, Kominz believes that “Lady Aoi” offers familiar terrors for those who pay attention to modern Japanese horror cinema.

“In my ‘Gods, Ghosts and Monsters’ class, which I taught last summer, I had my students compare the ghost in this play to the ghost in ‘Ringu,’” he said. “Ringu,” Hideo Nakata’s 1998 horror film in which a female demon kills viewers of a cursed videotape, is the most frightening Japanese film, according to Tokyo statistics corporation Oricon.

Kashu-juku’s performance is a rare opportunity for those interested in Japan’s theatrical, historical and cultural traditions, and comes with a ticket price sure to attract curious horror fans as well. It has taken the world of professional fullcast noh and kyogen nearly 20 years to return since its first visit to Portland, and there’s no telling when it will be back. ■

Lady Aoi and Tied to a Pole Presented by the PSU center for Japanese Studies and the Japan Society of New York Lincoln Performance Hall Wednesday, March 16 7 p.m. $20 general admission, $14 for students Tickets available at PSU box office

What do people do on the morning that they know will be their last?

A review of Johanna Adorján’s “An Exclusive Love” Candace Opper Vanguard staff

Johanna Adorján’s equally lovely and haunting memoir “An Exclusive Love” follows this question into an exploration of her grandparents’ enigmatic double suicide. The narrative is structured around the author’s imagined reconstruction of the last day her grandparents were alive.

Although much of this day is fictionalized, she builds the events and interactions out of minute details from the interior of their Danish home, as well as a vast recollection of her grandparents’ idiosyncrasies.

Woven in and out of this imagined day is Adorján’s own very real search for the truth about her grandparents’ lives and deaths. The pair had survived the Holocaust and, like many others, hid those memories away in an attempt to lead normal lives. The author interviews various family members and friends, revisits photographs and letters, and travels to Hungary, Denmark and France (Adorján is Danish), in an effort to get at the mystery they left behind.

Her prose often reflects this poignant pursuit.

“I walk around Budapest, trying to imagine the city as it once was. Here and there the eastern bloc has left behind ugly brown box-shaped buildings that now accommodate hotel chains, but if you narrow your eyes and let everything blur slightly you can guess at the past,” she says.

Like most memoirs about suicide, Adorján’s is pulled along by a loose set of unanswered questions surrounding her grandparents’ death.

She imagines their conversations that day, the tying up of loose ends and the rationalizing.

The fact that these questions will remain un-

answerable allows them to hover over the story, truly embodying the baffling nature of suicide bereavement.

Underlying Adorján’s personal search are the fascinating cultural implications surrounding the increased suicide rate among elderly Holocaust survivors. While not explicitly addressed, the nature of this paradox complicates the author’s emotions toward her grandparents’ selfdestruction.

In this work Adorján is the guide, asking all the right questions and maintaining a striking sense of objectivity. She places more of an emphasis on “why did this happen?” than “why did this happen to me?” “…At any point in life there are always just three possibilities: you can do something, you can do nothing, or you can kill yourself,” she writes. “Is that an idea to give one strength? Because it makes everything, even bad times, seem to be a free choice? Did the idea of determining her own end make my grandmother feel better? Did it give her the certainty that she would never again be at anyone’s mercy?”

Throughout the narrative, she admits anger, confusion and sadness, but she never once allows her emotions to take over. Adorján maintains a cool distance from her emotions and her subject matter, allowing the reader to willingly tag along for her journey without being led—especially into sentimentality, which is thankfully absent from this work.

adam wickham/VANGUARD STAFF

Unlike many memoirs, this story generally points outward toward her grandparents’ experience as opposed to structuring a more inward focus on herself. She is reflective enough to establish credibility, but she doesn’t overburden the narrative with self-exploration. In this work Adorján is the guide, asking all the right questions and maintaining a striking sense of objectivity. She places more of an emphasis on “why did this happen?” than “why did this happen to me?”

One intimate personal thread she returns to throughout the piece is the uncovered set of

similarities between her and her grandmother.

It is clear that Adorján has an intense emotional connection to and admiration for her father’s mother. As her investigation reveals more and more of their shared ideals and eccentricities, she discovers a fulfilling—if not sad—kinship, of which she had never realized the full extent.

This book is an honest and evocative portrayal of one writer’s search toward the elusive truth about her grandparents’ suicides. Despite the shadow of their deaths, this story is very much a tribute to their rich and complicated lives. ■

Is that a nose in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?

“Mutant Girls Squad” lights up the Portland Art Museum Ines Kuna Vanguard staff

Rin is a bullied young high school student.

Tormented by her peers to the point of suicide contemplation, Rin has had enough. At her breaking point, a stranger tells her to enjoy her last day as a human. She finds out what the mysterious messenger means later that night when her father reveals to her his mutation: gremlin-like pink squealing amoebas sprouting from his “hard nipples” and “pecker.” Before Rin can react to the plastic and disgusting image, an oppressive government militia, armed with nose guns, shoots her mother’s head right off and continues to attack the family. At this point, Rin realizes she has inherited a mutation herself. She switches into “Matrix” mode with her robotic claw hand and gives the gun noses a bigger challenge than they anticipated.

After the episode, Rin discovers others of her kind and a female trio is established whose primary goal is to kick some serious nose-gun government butt.

“Mutant Girls Squad” is unlike any film you’ve probably ever seen. A gruesome (that’s an understatement) montage accompanies introductory credits, letting viewers know exactly what they are getting into. A man’s head is sliced bilaterally, another’s explodes, and brains are thrown in every direction, including toward the

camera’s lens. The film combines melodramatic Kung Fu fighting and Japanese-style horror with a new age twist. The result is a shocking, hilarious and disturbing action-packed message on government repression.

On the one hand, directors Noboru Iguchi Yoshihiro Nishimura and Tak Sakaguchi create a lighthearted film through over-the-top fight scenes and comic book narrative and style. Contrarily, some scenes of the film reference serious topics depicted through sincere cinematography. When Rin contemplates slitting her wrists, the mood is completely serious. Shortly thereafter, it reverts to a comic style as Rin fantastically breaks the shackles of a hospital bed in a fit of short-lived and unexpected super human power. “Mutant Girls Squad” shifts between these two themes, heightening the element of surprise. The two perspectives shed light on the way oppressive tactics of the nose-gun government, a metaphor to any authority, can be viewed. Resent the tactics with grim seriousness or laugh in the face of their horrifying ridiculousness. In this way, the playful storyline parallels the struggles of the underrepresented, and in its own bloody manner, encourages something of a revolution.

The film must be praised for its ability to unite disparate genres into a single cohesive flowing form. Because of this diversity, “Mutant Girls Squad” will keep you watching whether you like it or not, guaranteed. There is a shock around every corner, whether it is a Kung Fu kick or an exploding head. Its outrageous plot

photo courtesy of the nikkatsu corporation

The claw: No wonder Inspector Gadget was so afraid.

twists and over-the-top blood spurting is both disturbing and brilliant. That said, the film is not for everyone. It is certainly not for young kids, despite the comic book setup and appeal.

However, if you’re not queasy or five years old, “Mutant Girls Squad” is undoubtedly a work of art worth seeing, particularly in theaters. The unconventional everything of “Mutant Girls Squad” will create an unforgettable, unique and gripping storyline that stretches creative

boundaries and leaves viewers with a new, fresh perspective. ■

Mutant Girls Squad Tonight, Feb. 25 11:30 p.m.

Free for students nwfilm.org

ARTS & CULTURE ■ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011 ■ VANGUARD 11

10 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011 ■ ARTS & CULTURE

A primer on workout supplements

Spektors in the creek

Exercise’s bells and whistles

Fanno Creek and Regina Spektor DVD screening at Fifth Avenue Cinema

Rian Evans Vanguard staff

Disclaimer: Though all the supplements listed in this article are generally considered safe, it’s always wise to consult a physician before beginning a supplement regimen.

As spring approaches, so does warmer weather, which brings with it a reduction in the amount of clothing we wear. Some of us who are really lucky may even get away to some tropical location for spring break, where we’ll have a chance to really show some skin. Because of this increase in heat and decrease in clothing, spring is prime time for many to either slim down or “fill out” muscularly.

Regardless of one’s goals, they are many supplements promising to accelerate progress.

Supplements tend to be expensive, though, and students tend to live under rather tight budget constraints. So then, the question becomes: What supplements actually work, without breaking the bank? Here are my supplement picks for the broke college student.

Protein powders For those who don’t get adequate protein through the foods they consume, a protein powder can be a good alternative. However, don’t mistakenly think that consuming more protein necessarily means more muscle growth. While I’m of the opinion that mainstream dieticians can underestimate optimal protein intake for trainees, I’m also aware that supplement companies have the incentive to promote ridiculously high protein intakes for trainees. That said, I turn to champion natural bodybuilder Layne Norton, who just

also happens to have recently earned his Ph.D. in nutritional sciences.

In a recent article, Mr. Norton writes, “Many nutritional ‘gurus’ have recommended protein intakes of over two grams per pound of bodyweight, but there is no evidence that these protein intakes are any better than one gram per pound of bodyweight. Furthermore, there is some evidence that having protein intake too high may actually cause rates of protein synthesis to decrease!”

In plain English, consuming one gram of protein per pound of bodyweight is plenty.

Consuming more may actually be counterproductive to building muscle. Given that protein powders tend to be somewhat spendy, this is welcome news for those of us on a budget.

As far as types of protein, whey is the most common and most popular. However, casein, egg, soy, pea and hemp protein are all good alternatives.

Jake Stevens Vanguard staff

Right here on campus, today, KPSU is holding an event that you shouldn’t miss for the life of you. At the Fifth Avenue Cinema, located across the street from hotel Ondine, there is going to be a performance by a local folk group Fanno Creek along with a screening of a Regina Spektor DVD of one her performances in London afterwards.

Fanno Creek, hailing from Forest Grove and held up by the duo guitar players and original founders Quinn Mulligan and Evan Hailstone, has been a work in progress since the two started up together in 2009. Tending to their interests and coping with their daily hardships, the two musicians would just get together to write music that meant something to them personally after they would each get off work. After creating a collection of great tunes, the two managed to produce enough folk-rock material to take another step—adding a percussionist, Dane Brinst.

Just like any other group with more than just an average confidence behind their music, the trio took to playing shows and populating their fanbase—which shouldn’t have been

Creatine monohydrate This is the king of suppleSweet nutrition: Looks like Nestle Quik, tastes like muscles. ments as far as I’m concerned.

We know it works, and we know it’s safe. I recommend it to trainees re- der, which also happens to be the most affordgardless of whether their goal is to gain muscle able form of creatine. When it comes to creatine, or lose fat. The positive influence on gaining paying more doesn’t mean one is getting a “betmuscle and strength is well known, but cre- ter” product. Now, I do like to spring for the atine supplementation can also help dieters micronized powder because it mixes a bit better, retain their muscle mass in the face of caloric but even that doesn’t make a difference in the restrictions. level of effectiveness.

The only real warning I give when it comes to creatine is to avoid the fancy stuff. Creatine Caffeine with all the bells and whistles seldom works any This is another no-brainer. An energy boost better than the boring old monohydrate pow- is going to result in better workouts. Generic

Vivarin tablets cost less than even the cheapest cup of coffee, so caffeine can be fit into any budget. There is no need to spend $75 on an expensive pre-workout supplement that is primarily caffeine anyway.

Trainees should be careful not to exceed their own personal tolerance levels though. 100–200 milligrams is plenty for most people. Ingesting too much caffeine in a single serving can result in caffeine intoxication, which isn’t as fun as it sounds, trust me. ■

a p p ly o n li n e at w w w. P S U VAN G UA R D.c o m

Ambient all day

Interested in ambient music? What about engrossing, enveloping tunes that are just plain awesome?

If the answer to either of these is “yes,” no we absolutely did not forget the How to Dress Well/ Grouper show at Holocene. Never heard of either of these bands? It’s your lucky day. Head over to http://www.psuvanguard.com and educate yourself, preferably before the show.

Technicolor salad with Meyer lemon dressing A filling and colorful lunch Kat Vetrano Vanguard staff

At my parent’s house in northern California, we had a Meyer lemon tree in our backyard. In elementary school, we had a “tree party” where everyone had to bring a dish made with an ingredient from a tree. Dozens of bags of chocolate were piled on the picnic table at the party, but I came carrying a jug of lemonade bigger than me.

My Dad and I spent that entire morning squeezing the lemons from our tree for every last drop of juice. From that day on, the smell of the little golden orbs always makes me think of home. But enough with my sentimentality—if you’ve never had a Meyer lemon, you’re in for something special. Meyer lemons are much sweeter than your standard citrus, and are often used in baking or cocktails. I find that this sweetness works well with a fruity olive oil for the perfect salad dressing, which is how this recipe was born.

The ingredients in this salad are ones that will soak up the vinaigrette well, allowing the meal to be prepared in the morning and carried with you to campus. Feel free to sub different kinds of cabbage or other vegetables—just make sure they’re a little sturdy if you plan to make it ahead of time.

Botanical psychedelia: Stare into the cabbage and open your mind.

Ingredients: Dressing One half a shallot Juice from one Meyer lemon (or a regular lemon plus a teaspoon of sugar) 1/3 cup olive oil Sea salt Black pepper

Salad 1 cup of red cabbage, shredded 1 large bell pepper, any color, cut into thin strips 1 cup of mixed herb salad (or regular greens mixed with 1/4 cup of chopped herbs of your choice) 1/2 cup of kidney beans Finishing salt (like Fleur De Sel) Black pepper

hard at all, taking into account their easygoing and catchy tunes. Whatever it is this group is doing, they are doing it well—the lyrics, the melodies and the transitions all come together to make your ears beg for more and keep your feet tapping.

Reaching listeners with their well-written lyrics, Fanno Creek has enough moxie to really touch people, as true folk music should. Upon first listening to them, a theme appears of a modern world having placed its usual burdens on them, which faintly echoes to something that

Fanno Creek and Regina Spektor DVD screening Tonight, Feb. 25 Fifth Avenue Cinema Free for students

photo courtesY of las-initially/flickr

A sprinkling of metal in your game Therion receives an honor not bestowed on a metal band since 1978 Kynna Groff Vanguard staff

NOW HIRING ARTS WRITERS

PHOTO COURTESY OF FANNOCREEK/FACEBOOK.COM

Fanno Creek: Yeah, that tambourine is cool and all, but what is that in the background?

Isaac Brock, lead singer and guitarist of Modest Mouse, might bring to the table as in one of his classic tunes “Custom Concern.” In one of Fanno Creek’s songs called “Thanksgiving Day,” the trio displays their ever-present songwriting talent. Opening the song with a progression that unintentionally pays homage to the classic ’80s tune “This is the Day” by Them, it continues to burst into fully melodic singing that is undoubtedly part of the talent that has gotten them this far.

What is highly respectable about these guys is that they have the ability to take a simple folk guitar riff and expand on it quite nicely with layers of clever lyrics and melodic vocal harmonies.

Then, they add a talented percussionist who goes from playing a tambourine to using his sticks on the drum rims to add the perfect amount of bang. These guys are sure to get you out of your seat with the energy they bring.

The later half of this fun-packed KPSU event is the screening of Regina Spektor’s performance in London. It is said that she performs at her best when she is live, so this DVD is said to be one hell of a spectacle. The DVD and CD were recorded along the Russian-born artist’s world tour, which was sparked by her 2009 album “Far.” Directed by Adria Petty, the hour-plus of footage captures more than 10 of her fan favorites from “Far,” her 2006 album “Begin To Hope” and her debut album from 2004, “Soviet Kitsch.” ■

photo courtesY of dru!/flickr

If you’ve read my previous articles, you know I like games of all types. This week, I’m excited to talk about a board game that incorporates a couple of my favorite things: mythology and metal music. How do these two concepts come together to form a single entity of awesomeness?

Just read on, my friend.

The Therion of today was founded by Christofer Johnsson in Sweden in 1987. It began as a death metal band called Blitzkrieg. It has had a few name changes and many lineup changes since its inception, but has remained successful in its genre. Called the “most adventurous metal band at present” by MusicMight. com, Therion blends the metal sound with orchestral music and vocals sung by traditional choirs. It’s a little different from your standard Iron Maiden or Metallica, but its sound is totally its own. Therion’s songs are influenced by various mythologies, as well as elements of magic and occultism. Its latest album, titled

Method First, make the dressing (you can do this a few hours ahead of time so the shallot flavor mellows a bit). Add the shallot to a small container with a lid (I use leftover takeout holders), and squeeze the lemon juice in. Then, slowly drizzle the olive oil in, whisking as you go. Season the mixture with salt and pepper. Place the lid on the container and shake thoroughly for about 30 seconds so the mixture is smooth.

To make the salad, place the cabbage, bell pepper, greens and beans into a large bowl. Mix in the dressing with salad tongs, and season thoroughly with finishing salt and pepper. Serve as is, or take it with you to enjoy later. Serves 1–2 people. ■

photo courtesy of scribabs.it

“Sitra Ahra” was released in February 2010 and can be sampled online, then bought through their website www. megatherion.com, or through any other purveyors of good music.

Created in cooperation with the band by Paolo Vallerga from the well-known game developer Scribabs, its release date is yet unknown.

However, a video featuring the band members as their game personas is slated for release in June 2011. Frontman Christofer Johnsson explained its conception, saying, “Paolo Vallerga approached the band at the show in Milano [Italy] last year with this great idea of making a fantasy board game based upon stage characters mixed with mythology. We instantly thought it was the coolest thing we’ve heard in ages and loved the idea.”

In the ballroom of good and evil: Therion is all dressed up with nowhere to go.

Unlike the “KISS on Tour” game of 1978, the game based around every- and later rebirth, of the world after it gets subone’s favorite Swedish symphonic metal band merged entirely in water. The Ragnarök will has a plot line that exists beyond the members begin when Fenrir, the wolf, awakens from his of Therion. Named “011,” the game is set in a slumber. Turin and the entire world is about town called Turin, which exists in an alternate, to perish in a series of natural disasters, when steampunk version of our world in 1811. Tu- suddenly, eight heroes appear from the North. rin, as it happens, is a special place which has One of these heroes is said to be the “choa lot of mystical energies surrounding it, due sen one,” who has the power to stop Fenrir to its placement in both the black magic tri- and the Ragnarök. That’s where the players angle, formed with London and San Francis- come in. co, and the white magic triangle, formed with Each person plays as a character based on Prague and Lyon. one of the band-members of Therion, but only The story starts at the end of a three-year one will have the power of the chosen one. They winter called Fimbulvetr, which, according have to discover which player is it, compose to Norse mythology, signifies the beginning the mystical song which will put Fenrir back of the Ragnarök, which is basically the end, to sleep, and find the Organ of Snorri, which is

photo courtesy of metalship.org

hidden in Turin, and is the only instrument able to withstand the magical song.

Sound too easy for you? What if we told you that halfway through, one of the players switches roles and starts to play on the side of Fenrir, attempting to identify and stop the chosen one before he has the chance to save Turin and the world? In doing so, the player will be granted eternal life after the Ragnarök.

“011” is unique because of the dynamic of play. All players start out hoping for the same goal—to save the world—with the understanding that there can be only one chosen one. Then, gameplay switches, offering another player a way to become a different kind of chosen one and a different way to win the game. ■

12 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011 ■ SPORTS

SPORTS

SPORTS ■ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011 ■ VANGUARD 13

EDITOR: ROBERT BRITT SPORTS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-4538

Running the final lap

Women take on Bobcats PSU women’s basketball heads into final three games of the season Rosemary Hanson Vanguard staff

P

ortland State women’s basketball got the raw end of the deal when their schedule came out. With back-toback weekends against the topranked Montana teams, PSU is in for a tough end of the season.

The Vikings play at Montana State on Saturday at 6:05 p.m. They already played the Montana Grizzlies on Thursday, the results of which were not ready as of press time. PSU still has a chance at claiming a Big Sky regular season title, but it will take a sweep or near sweep of the remaining three games to achieve that feat.

The Vikings (15-10, 8-4 Big Sky) swept last weekend’s home slate, putting the team on a two-game winning streak overall and a fivegame winning stretch at the Stott. PSU is sitting in third place in the rankings, but Montana and Montana State sit one game ahead, tied for second place with identical 9-3 conference records.

PSU has already secured a spot in the Big Sky Tournament, but needs to move up in the standings one place to earn an automatic bid to the semifinal round, and needs to claim nearly all wins to claim the regular season title.

Last Thursday, PSU beat the Weber State Wildcats, 68-60, to even the series after the Wildcats beat the Viks earlier in the season.

In this matchup, junior guard Eryn Jones led the team in the first half with her signature three-point shooting. Jones made three treys in the opening half, and from there junior forward Shauneice Samms took the reigns in the second half, making 17 of the Viks’ 35 second-half points.

On Saturday, PSU took on Northern Arizona again in Park Blocks. The Vikings beat the Lumberjacks 76-55. After forwards such as Samms and senior Kelli Valentine led the offense much of the last few weeks, it was back to the guards against the ‘Jacks. Jones and sophomore

PSU track and field teams conclude indoor season at the Big Sky Championship Gretchen Sandau Vanguard staff

This Friday and Saturday, the Portland State track and field teams head to Pocatello, Idaho to wrap up the indoor season at the Big Sky Indoor Championship.

A total of 18 student-athletes—10 men and eight women—will represent Portland State at the championship, and of those, several will

Courtney VanBrocklin led the team in points with 16 and 18, respectively.

The Viks will need to bring this game they’ve been playing at home on the road against Montana State. PSU has struggled away from the Stott Center, with all of its conference losses occurring away from home.

compete in multiple events. Led by sophomore Geronne Black, last year’s champion in the 55-meter sprint, the Vikings return three medalists from the 2010 conference championship.

“I think we are definitely moving forward in a really good direction as a program,” said assistant coach Cassie Stilley. “We have more people qualified in higher positions than we have in the past, so that’s really good.”

For the women sprinters, the last race they ran in—the Don Kirby Invitational in New Mexico—was a good one to go out on, according to Stilley.

“That was just a really good way to finish up before the conference meet, to have so many people do so much better than what they have been [doing],” Stilley said. “Then, to have Tony [Crisofulli] and Andrew [Salg] set new school records for the distance guys, it really gives you a good feeling heading into the conference meet like that.”

Besides the fact that there are 18 Vikings going to the championship meet, Stilley is happy about the fact that the athletes going are not only from one specific area.

“We’re starting to get more people across a wide range of events,” she said. “To have all

those different events…is a really, really good thing for us.”

Competition in this meet will be tough for the Vikings, especially against Sacramento State for the women and Northern Arizona University for the men. There will also be the challenge of rising to the event, said assistant coach Kevin Jeffers.

But for him, the team has grown since last year.

“Its much more fluent in our day-to-day operation,” Jeffers said. “There’s a lot more structure in comparison. There‘s an environment for success, compared to previous years, [and] there’s more of a structural environment.” ■

The Vikings’ championship field Women Name Event(s) Geronne Black 60m Shae Carson Shot put Adrienne Davis Shot put P’Lar Dorsett 60m, 60m hurdles Karene King 60m, 200m Anaiah Rhodes 60m, 200m Amber Rozcicha 800m Joenisha Vinson 60m hurdles, long jump, pentathlon

Personal record(s) 7.47 40-4.75 44-5 7.83, 8.72 7.55, 24.02* 7.73, 25.26 2:15.01 8.66*, 18-4, 3,647 points*

Men Name Event(s) Zach Carpenter 3,000m DMR^ Tony Crisofulli 800m, DMR^ Nate Endicott DMR^ John Lawrence Mile, DMR^ Luke Leddige DMR^, 4x400 (alternate) Nate Lightner 400m, 4x400 Jaret Rockenbach Shot put J.J. Rosenberg 400m, heptathlon, 4x400 Andrew Salg 5,000m DeShawn Shead 60m hurdles, 4x400 * - School record ^ - Distance medley relay team has not competed this season Courtesy of Matt Scheerer, PSU Athletics

PHOTO COURtesy of psu athletics

It's a chess match: Senior guard Lexi Bishop makes her move against a Weber State defender last week.

Head coach Sherri Murrell said that with the three games remaining, it is crucial to just focus on each game separately.

“I think our Big Sky Conference got something mixed up there [in the schedule],” Murrell said. “This is unreal that we’re playing them back-to-back, but we just have to focus one game at a time… and take some of the things we have done well this year and just apply it to [the Montanas].”

The Bobcats dominated the beginning of Big Sky play. The team went on a six-game winning streak halted by instate rivals Montana.

The Bobcats continue to be a top team in Big Sky competition, although the second-ranked team did suffer an upset by the fifth-place Idaho State Bengals last Saturday, 74-65. The Bobcats played a Thursday game against Eastern Washington, but the results were not available as of press time.

Against the Bengals it was cold second-half shooting combined with tight defense from ISU that ended the game for the higher-ranked home team.

Despite the loss, Montana State sophomore forward Rachel Semansky posted a game-high 23 points with seven rebounds.

Additionally, the Bobcats’ usual high-scorer, junior guard Katie Bussey, chalked up 12 points, and senior guard Lyndi Seidensticker pitched in 11.

Because of the unusual scheduling, the Viks and Bobcats have yet to face each other this season. The two teams have a huge memory of each other from last season, however—for the Bobcats the memory is bitter; for the Viks, a superior one.

The Vikings knocked the Bobcats out of the Championship Basketball Jones: Junior guard Eryn Jones takes it to the paint at the Stott. title last season, as the under-

Going the distance: Portland State has 18 student-athletes at this weekend's Big Sky Indoor Championship.

Athletic director to interview at Cal Poly Torre Chisholm meets with Cal Poly administrators next week Robert Britt Vanguard staff

ALL PHOTOS BY KARL KUCHS/VANGUARD STAFF

Up, and in: Junior forward Stephanie Egwuatu attempts to get the ball over the Wildcat defense in PSU's 68-60 win on Feb. 17.

“This is unreal that we’re playing them back-to-back, but we just have to focus one game at a time… and take some of the things we have done well this year and just apply it to [the Montanas].”

Sherri Murrell

dogs headed to the NCAA Tournament for the first time in PSU history.

It was a nail-biting 62-58 win over the Bobcats that surprised Big Sky fans and left Montana State in awe of the conclusion. Montana State is the only school in the Big Sky that has a winning record against Viking head coach Sherri Murrell, with MSU taking four of the six regular season meetings. In contrast, the Viks have taken the past two post-season matchups against the Bobcats. The results in wins and losses peg these two teams as relatively equal in play. The record for the past five years stands at 5-5 between the two.

The pressure is on for the Vikings this weekend and in the second weekend against the Montanas. In accordance with the standings, the Viks are one game behind Montana State and

Montana, who are tied for second place, and only 1.5 games behind the conference leader Northern Colorado.

This position of needing to win out games is not unfamiliar for the Vikings. The team proved itself last season as a group that can defy all odds when the players beat MSU in the championship game, and they will need to give the remaining teams a taste of Portland State persistency as the team heads against high-powered MSU. VanBrocklin said that the pressure of a solid team is something that the Vikings use to their advantage.

“We play up to better teams, so we’re going to play hard and get after it,” said the sophomore about the upcoming Montana State game.

Saturday’s tipoff is set for 6:05 p.m. in Bozeman, Mont. Live video and stats will be available through GoViks.com. ■

Side-by-side stats

Overall record Conference record Points per game Field goal shooting Opponents’ shooting Three-point shooting Rebounds/game Steals/game

PSU MSU 15-10 15-11 8-4 9-3 69.2 70.3 .402 .416 .400 .387 .341 .341 39.3 40.3 8.5 9

Portland State’s athletic director is a finalist for the equivalent position at California Polytechnic State University and will interview for the position early next week, according to multiple media statements.

Torre Chisholm, in his fourth year as PSU’s athletic director, will travel to the Cal Poly campus in San Luis Obispo, Calif., on Monday and Tuesday to interview and meet with university administrators and athletics’ staff members.

Chisholm said that his application at Cal Poly was largely due to familiarity with the area.

“I lived in the central-coast area of California for about 13 years, which is longer than I’ve lived anywhere in my life,” Chisholm said in a telephone interview. “I know the area and love it, and I have a lot of friends and some family in that area—this particular opportunity was intriguing from that perspective.”

Chisholm was named one of three finalists for the position, according to a Cal Poly media statement. For the position, he is competing with Don Oberhelman, the associate director of athletics at San Diego State University, and Ron Prettyman, the athletic director at Indiana State University.

While at Cal Poly, Chisholm is scheduled to meet with University President Jeffrey Armstrong, who officially took office just this month.

Chisholm will also meet with various members of the school’s faculty and staff, as well as with student-athletes, coaches and athletics’ department staff.

Before coming to PSU, Chisholm worked as an associate director for development and marketing at UC-Irvine and prior to that he worked

at UC Santa Barbara—his alma mater, located about 100 miles south of Cal Poly—for nine years from 1991–2000.

Since being named PSU’s athletic director in 2007 under then-President Dan Bernstine, Chisholm has seen the Vikings win 11 conference, divisional or tournament titles. In that time, the athletics department has also renovated several team locker rooms, administrative offices and training facilities.

Chisholm also helped develop a student services program within the athletics department that has added two academic advisors and created an associate athletic director for studentathlete welfare.

Chisholm said that he is unsure of how the position at Cal Poly would differ from his position here at PSU. “Obviously, the core roles of an athletic director are the same, [but] every school has its own intricacies, and that’s what you go and interview to find out,” Chisholm said.

Founded in 1901, Cal Poly has an enrollment of nearly 20,000 and is the second-largest university in the state in terms of land holdings, according to its website. It is a NCAA Division-I member-school, and fields 20 intercollegiate teams with the Mustangs as their mascot.

“I’ve really enjoyed being at Portland State, and actually we have so many great things going on that I’m looking forward to seeing to fruition,” Chisholm. “But when you get to a certain point in your career, there are only so many jobs that you can look at. So, there’s only a handful of them out there that you think, ‘Well, if that happens you kind of have to look at it because you never know if it’s going to happen again.’”

Chisholm said that, regardless of the outcome, he feels he has a great job right now.

“I guess, for me, the worst-case scenario is that I continue to have a great job at Portland State,” he added. ■

Personal record(s) 8:29.28 1:50.32* 4:13.41 50.96 49-3.25 49.01, 4,401 points 14:50.81 8.45

SPORTS ■ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011 ■ VANGUARD 15

14 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011 ■ ETC.

ETC.

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: VIRGINIA VICKERY EDITOR@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5691

Timbers draw with Dynamo in exhibition

CALENDAR Today Looking For a Federal Job?

Preseason picks up as Timbers continue to prepare for MLS debut on March 19

9 a.m.

Smith Memorial Student Union, room 228

Free federal hiring seminars for students and veterans, and open to the public. The seminar is a two-part series regarding how to gain employment with the U.S. government.

Sponsored by the PSU Student Veterans Association.

Kevin Fong Vanguard staff

“Portland’s Cycle Track and Buffered Bike Lanes: Are They Working?”

With about three weeks left in the preseason, the Portland Timbers are turning up the intensity level as the team readies itself for a string of exhibition games before the MLS regular season debut on March 19.

Although the Timbers are still putting the finishing touches on their 2011 roster, head coach John Spencer is satisfied with the progress of his newly put together expansion team thus far.

“I can’t complain,” Spencer said. “These guys have been great from day one to now, giving everything they have.

I am really happy for them.”

Noon Urban Center Building, room 204

This lecture will be presented by Portland State’s own Chris Monsere and Nathan McNeil, as part of the Winter 2011 Transportation Seminar Series.

Social Sustainability Colloquium

KenKen® is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. ©2011 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by UFS, Inc. www.kenken.com

1 p.m.

Student Academic and Recreation Center, room 660

This week’s presentation, titled “Laying the Groundwork for a Sustainable Neighborhood: A Celebration of Groundwork Portland,” will be hosted by John Ossowski and Cassie Cohen. In addition to the presentation, there will also be a celebration and reception with free food and door prizes.

●

Each row and each column must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.

● The numbers within the heavily

operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

● Freebies: Fill in single-box

outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given

cages with the number in the top-left corner.

2-25-11

Permaculture 101 Workshop

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 500 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Friday, February 25, 2011

3 p.m.

Green Space, SMSU room 28

Matt Bibeau of Tryon Life Community Farm will facilitate an introductory permaculture workshop, going over some of the basics and discussing ways in which permaculture can be incorporated into small-space urban living. All levels of knowledge and interest welcome!

“Japan’s Challenge to the International System of Racism”

6 p.m.

Lincoln Hall, room 75 Presented by Dr. Ken Ruoff, in honor of the 10th anniversary of the Center for Japanese Studies.

Saturday Film: “The Woods” 5:30 p.m.

Cinema 21, 616 NW 21st Ave.

“This satirical attack on young, modern, globally conscious citizens tells the story of eight grown-up American children creating utopian society as best they can. With gorgeous super-16 footage and an eclectic soundtrack featuring Dirty Projectors, Sun Araw, and Lucky Dragons, filmmaker Matthew Lessner playfully subverts counter-culture films of the ’70s while questioning the shortcomings of his own complacent generation. In a world where new technologies merely distract us from reality, the greatest revolution can only begin by leaving everything behind.” —Sundance Film Festival.

Monday Writing Resumes and Cover Letters 2 p.m.

University Services Building, room 402

This workshop, specifically targeted to PSU students and alumni, gives the most up-to-date information on how to write effective resumes and cover letters.

Edited by Will Shortz Across 1 Aflac ad figure, facetiously 11 Omegas represent them 15 She played Appassionata von Climax in Broadwayʼs “Liʼl Abner” 16 Janus-faced 17 Chinchillas and boas, e.g.

18 Words before expert or fool 19 “The Gene Krupa Story” title role player 20 Pamplona pronoun 21 Bygone N.Y.C. punk club 22 Handles 24 Literary inits.

26 Chocolate ___ 27 Ace pitcherʼs reward?

30 Epoch when bats first appeared 32 Starbucks offering

36 Homebuyerʼs “bargain” 38 Quiche ingrédients 40 “___ Ferienreisen” (Strauss polka) 41 Cool 42 Result of a permanent failure?

45 Basis of growth 46 Jockey wear 47 Ones concerned with custody 49 Put down a can?

50 Telecom techies 52 Profanable 57 “___ on the Line” (Thomas the Tank Engine story) 59 Residencia 62 Bit of a grind 63 Byron poem 64 Outrageous 66 Clarifying words 67 Bad blood

68 Totally not happening 69 Make a spectacle of oneself, say

Down 1 Watch things 2 User of a 58Down 3 When a quick snap may happen 4 Bush and Jackson 5 Writer known as Old Possum, and his family 6 Lib. arts major 7 Suck in 8 Theyʼre hung across roads 9 ___ Optics (telescope maker) 10 Laura Bush biographer Ronald 11 Like some poetry 12 Crow ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE A G O R A D M V V O D K A 13 Ironʼs preceder on the periodic B O S O N I I I O P A R T table C E S T A A S S G E T A T 14 Acted like a S O C I A L S E C U R I T Y baby, in a way C O B S H U I H E A V E S 23 Palooka O V U M A P N E A S E R 25 Introductory D E C A F G A F F E course?

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Eddie's money: Forward Eddie Johnson fights for position up the pitch.

65

Puzzle by Pete Mitchell

33 Sit on the bench

44 “Thatʼs what Iʼm talkinʼ about!”

34 Assembly places 48 Bag in a trunk 35 “___ Should Ever Leave You” 51 Make last, (Tom Jones maybe song) 53 Crayfish claw 37 High-tech transmission

39 Trustworthy

43 Motion approval

game was stopped a scoreless draw in the 80th minute.

“The conditions were not ideal—far from it—but we worked hard, we closed down and we did all the things we asked the guys do, to show a good attitude and compete,” Spencer said. “I have nothing but positives to say for the group; we took another step forward in a positive direction.”

Despite the poor conditions, the Timbers were able to create numerous scoring chances, especially during the first half when the wind was at the team’s back. In the 14th minute, midfielder Jeremy Hall sent a cross into the box that found the head of forward Kenny Cooper, forcing a diving save

by Dynamo goalkeeper Tally Hall. During the 52nd minute, rookie Darlington Nagbe, the No. 2 overall selection in the MLS SuperDraft, snuck a pass

54 Wankel engine part 55 Jagged

56 Secretariesʼ charges: Abbr.

58 Item used by a 2-Down 60 One of Swoosieʼs costars on “Sisters” 61 Shoulder-toshoulder 65 They often hang around sports bars

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554.

Annual subscriptions are available for the best of Sunday crosswords from the last 50 years: 1-888-7-ACROSS. AT&T users: Text NYTX to 386 to download puzzles, or visit nytimes.com/mobilexword for more information.

Online subscriptions: Todayʼs puzzle and more than 2,000 past puzzles, nytimes.com/crosswords ($39.95 a year).

Share tips: nytimes.com/wordplay.

Crosswords for young solvers: nytimes.com/learning/xwords.

The Timbers spent this past week training in Casa Grande, Ariz., as construction on the team’s home stadium and the recently announced Beaverton training facility are still in progress. On Feb. 19, the Timbers played the Houston Dynamo in a preseason match—however, because of desert wind gusts reported as high as 50 mph and the ensuing sandstorms on the field, the

behind the Houston backline to midfielder Ryan Pore, but Pore’s shot went wide as the keeper came out to challenge.

Although training away from home has been difficult at times, it has allowed the players a chance to bond and develop camaraderie, something that’s especially important for a roster full of new teammates. Timbers’ keeper Adin Brown recognizes that strong team chemistry is a

key ingredient for success.

“We’ve got a really good group here, and it’s been important for us to be together,” Brown said. “We’ve had some fun with each other…and that’s a big part of a team. If guys are that close, you’re willing to fight for each other on the field, and that just makes the team a whole lot better.”

Currently, Portland has 30 players in camp, and the Timbers’ front office will likely continue to bring players into camp as they make the decisions on the their final roster spots. In December, the Timbers signed Kerrea Gilbert, a defender from England, but his move to States has been delayed by bureaucratic speed bumps.

“With the heightened security issues around the world, the process is more difficult and time consuming,” Timbers’ technical director Gavin Wilkinson recently told The Oregonian. “I’m still 99 percent optimistic that he’ll be with us.”

Portland continues its preseason against Sporting Kansas City on Saturday, Feb. 26 at 10 a.m. Against Houston, the Timbers split the team into two units, with one side meant to play an exhibition against the U-18 National Team; however, that exhibition was cancelled due to the weather conditions.

“We’re going to give guys that were meant to play against the U-18 National Team the other day a chance to get a look [against Kansas City],” said Spencer.

An exhibition match was also played this past Wednesday against the Montreal Impact, the results of which were not available by press time. The Timbers also have upcoming preseason games against Cascadia rivals the Seattle Sounders on Friday, March 4 and the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday, March 5, at the Starfire Sports Complex in Tukwila, Wash. ■

4:30 p.m.

Women’s Resource Center lounge

Book Talk: “The Foremost Good Fortune” by Susan Conley

SHAUNEICE SAMMS

CLASSIFIEDS

Rosemary Hanson Vanguard staff

S

hauneice Samms— or Neice as she’s known by most— is recently back on the court full-time after injuries had her on the bench earlier in the season. The junior transferred to Portland State this year, and has made a huge impact on the team’s performance. Last Thursday, the forward made a career-high 19 points with five rebounds and led the team with two blocks.

Samms is a communication studies major and hopes to go into broadcast radio in the future. For now, though, she is focused on finishing out the season and her first year with the Vikings.

Vanguard: Why did you come to Portland State?

SS: When I came on my visit

I felt like I got along with the girls here better than with the other schools I visited. I felt really comfortable and I knew I wouldn’t have any dispute—they’re such a loving team, and they’re not just concerned about me coming here and starting to play, but my future [as well].

V: What has been your best moment on the court?

SS: I would probably say in high school, when I beat the state records in Washington.

I tied most rebounds in a game, I got most blocks in a game, most bocks in a tournament and the most career blocks in the state of Washington.

V: If you could change one thing about basketball, what would it be?

SS: (Laughing) Not as much running!

V: What is your greatest strength?

SS: I would say my greatest

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V: Which is your favorite place to eat around campus?

SS: Big Town Hero—I’ll get

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V: What is your favorite thing to do around Portland?

SS: Definitely shop. I

double meat, chicken breast with bacon!

7:30 p.m.

Powell’s City of Books, 1005 W Burnside

Conley tells the story of moving with her family to Beijing before discovering that she has cancer. Her book is described as “part travelogue, part cultural history…a candid look at mortality and belonging as well as a celebration of family.”

TO PLACE AN EVENT: Contact vgcalendar@gmail.com or pick up a calendar request form at the Vanguard advertising office, SMSU, room 114.

READ US

ONLINE

PSUVANGUARD.COM

photos courtesy of portlandtimbers.com

Our Darlington: First-round draft pick Darlington Nagbe displays his ball skills as he moves away from a pair of Houston defenders.

karl kuchs/VANGUARD STAFF

Defensive player opens up about her love for R&B and radio

strength is my loyalty. I mean if I just meet someone and they ask ‘can you hold this bag,’ I’m going to hold it. I’m very loyal and I stand by my word.

Black Women’s Film Festival: “Family”

“Family is a coming of age dramedy centering on the lives of four African-American lesbian friends.

All are experiencing strife in their personal and professional lives due to being closeted.”

ATHLETE OF THE WEEK

like having no taxes on everything! I like to shop for everything, whether its groceries, clothes, furniture— it doesn’t matter to me.

V: What is the first item

that you would buy if you won the lottery?

SS: Something valuable that

would last a long time. I would buy my mom something valuable, like a necklace, to show how much I care.

V: What is your most embarrassing on-court moment?

SS: I have plenty of those

(laughing). I think one of the most embarrassing things is when I go up for rebound and I totally miss the ball and it hits me in the face!

V: Do you have any nicknames? Why? SS: Neice, I have always been called that ever since I was little. I go by Neice because it’s easier to remember and it works for me.

V: What is the last thing you cooked?

SS: The last thing I cooked was

steak and shrimp on Valentine’s Day. I really like to cook.

V: If you could attend one concert or sporting event anywhere, what would it be?

SS: I would see Beyonce in concert, she’s amazing.

V: What has been your favorite class at Portland State?

SS: I really like my women’s studies classes. I feel like I learn new things every time I’m in them.

V: What’s on your iPod right now?

SS: Mainly R&B. I like old

school ‘90s, but before a game I need something more upbeat. There’s a song ‘Live in the Sky’ by TI that I used to listen to before every game.

V: Do you read the Vanguard? If so, how often?

SS: I actually read it every time I see a new one on the stands.

V: If you could have dinner with three people from history—alive, dead or fictional—who would they be?

SS: I would definitely say President Obama, and then Michael Jordan because he’s done a lot of amazing things and I don’t know who the third would be.

V: What song are you most likely to sing at karaoke?

SS: Monica, “Don’t Take it Personal”—I just feel like when I’m going through a bad day, it always pulls me through.

V: What is the last thing you read?

SS: This book called “Willow

Weep For Me.” It was for one of my classes, but it turned out to be a really good book.

V: Do you have a favorite superhero? Why/why not?

SS: Superwoman, of course (laughing).

V: What is the most important thing you’ve learned this season on the court?

SS: Basically, that every

game counts. I feel like that’s something that’s different for me, giving that much importance to every single game, and conference games especially count, because they all matter in the end. ■

SHAUNIECE SAMMS Junior, forward Transferred from College of Southern Idaho Hometown: Tacoma, Wash.

Average points: 7.7 Average rebounds: 4.8 Total blocks: 24 Field goal percentage: .633 (team leading) This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

16 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 25, 2011 ■ SPORTS

Men host Bobcats in final home game Portland State faces Montana State at the Stott Center tomorrow night Kevin Fong Vanguard staff

wins; we want to finish 16-14.

I don’t want to go out my senior season with a losing record.” n the last home game of the “Our only goal is to play season, the Portland State with pride, to play hard, men’s basketball team will compete and play with energy,” host the Montana State added junior guard Charles Bobcats on Saturday night.

Odum, the Vikings’ leading With three games left in the scorer with an average of season, the Vikings sit in sev- 14.4 points per game. enth place in the Big Sky with a Coming off an 84-75 win 4-9 record in conference and at home against Loyola 12-14 overall. Although this Marymount in a non-conseason has been a struggle at ference ESPN BracketBuster times, especially with all the game, the Vikings seem injury challenges, the team to be building confidence remains resilient and hopes to down the final stretch. Declose out the year on a positive spite losing eight of their last note.

11 games, the players are fo“Our ultimate goal is to cused on finishing this season win the rest of the games this to the best of their abilities, season,” senior guard Melvin especially now that they’re Jones said. “We only have three finally healthy. games left, but coach tells us all “With everybody healthy the time that we still have a lot and our whole team back, we to play for. We want to finish definitely want to show that out the season strong, play we can play with [anybody],” hard, don’t quit and try to get Jones remarked. “And with those wins.” everybody back The Vikings we’re a much played first-place better rebounding Montana on team, and that Thursday night, helps out a lot.” the results of Junior Chehales Melvin Jones which were not Tapscott returned available at press to the lineup time. Still, in head after missing six coach Tyler Geving’s second games with a knee injury. The year at the helm, the Vikings energetic power-forward had are two games ahead of last 13 points and pulled down year’s pace of 10-16 through 26 10 rebounds in his return to games. Last season, the Vikings the starting lineup against finished with a 13-19 overall Loyola Marymount. The record.

Vikings are 11-8 when “It’s definitely important Tapscott starts and 1-6 when to [finish better than last he doesn’t start. year], especially being my “Let’s see if we can’t get two senior season,” Jones said. more wins at home and get “It’s always good to know back to .500,” Geving said. that the following season you “There’s still stuff to play for. have a better year. And this The underclassmen still have year, we want to finish with stuff they can learn, so we

I

don’t go through the [growing pains] we did this year.”

Portland State will finish the season on the road, as the team faces Northern Arizona and Seattle University in the following weeks. Although the 2010–11 season has been a long journey in many ways, for Jones, it feels like all four years of his college career have flown by.

“It’s hard to believe it’s over,” Jones said. “During my first

couple years of college, coaches and other people told me it was going to go by fast, but I didn’t think much [about it] and now it’s already hitting me.

It’s almost over, but there’s not much I can do.”

Jones wants his last game at the Stott Center to be an enjoyable one, but most of all, the senior guard hopes his teammates can leave a winning last-impression with the Portland State fans this season.

“I’m feeling kinda sad.

This is it for me. College basketball, for me, is coming to an end,” Jones said. “But I just want to go out there and lay it all out on the floor and have fun, to try to go out with a bang and hopefully we play well and the team can win these last two home games.”

Tipoff is set for 7 p.m.

Saturday at the Stott Center. ■

Your weekend in sports Friday Track and field Big Sky Indoor Track and Field Championship Pocatello, Idaho Continues through Saturday Women’s tennis

Northern Colorado (3-5, 0-1 Big Sky) at Portland State (3-7, 0-3 Big Sky) Club Green Meadows, Vancouver, Wash.

1 p.m.

Softball *

Portland State (6-5) at Sacramento State (1-5) Sacramento, Calif.

12:30 p.m.

Live stats/audio: GoViks.com Softball *

Portland State (6-5) vs. Saint Mary’s (0-2) Sacramento, Calif.

2:30 p.m.

Live stats: GoViks.com NBA

Denver Nuggets (33-25) at Portland Trail Blazers (32-25) Rose Garden Arena 7:30 p.m.

TV: ESPN Club hockey

Boise State at Portland State Winterhawks Skating Center, Beaverton 8 p.m.

“ It’s hard to believe it’s over.”

WHL hockey

Portland Winterhawks (41-16-0-3, 85 pts) at Everett Silertips (26-25-5-4, 61 pts) Everett, Wash.

7:35 p.m.

Radio: KXFD, AM-970 TV: FSN Northwest

Saturday Softball *

Portland State (6-5) vs. Cal State Bakersfield (0-9) Sacramento, Calif.

8:30 a.m.

Live stats: GoViks.com Women’s basketball

Portland State (15-10, 8-4 Big Sky) at Montana State (15-11, 9-3 Big Sky) Bozeman, Mont.

6:05 p.m.

Live stats/video: GoViks.com Men’s tennis

SENIORS’ LAST CALL For the five seniors on the Vikings’ roster, Saturday’s game against Montana State will be their last at the Stott Center. It’s a been an up-and-down year, but one that still had its share of exciting moments.

PHILLIP “TREE” THOMAS Forward

PAUL GUEDE Forward

All photos by drew martig/VANGUARD STAFF

Key to victory: Sophomore Chris Harriel (with ball) and senior Phillip "Tree" Thomas (No. 13) battle for control inside.

Northern Colorado (2-5, 0-2 Big Sky) at Portland State (3-7, 0-2 Big Sky) Club Green Meadows, Vancouver, Wash.

7 p.m.

Men’s basketball

ALONZO BRANDON Guard

PHIL NELSON Forward

MELVIN JONES Guard

Montana State (11-6, 5-8 Big Sky) at Portland State (12-14, 4-9 Big Sky) Stott Center 7:05 p.m.

Radio: KXFD, AM-970 Live stats/video: GoViks.com Club hockey

Boise State at Portland State Winterhawks Skating Center, Beaverton 8 p.m.

WHL hockey

Season averages: 20.7 minutes 9.8 points 3.3 rebounds

Season averages: 17.2 minutes 3.8 points 3.4 rebounds

Season averages: 4.8 minutes 1.7 points 0.8 rebounds

Season averages: 24.8 minutes 6.2 points 3.7 rebounds

.503 overall shooting .800 free-throw shooting

The forward from London provided steady veteran leadership throughout the season, including sinking a game-winning three-pointer in the season opener against Pepperdine that gave the Vikings the thrilling 83-81 win.

Brandon has helped to provided extra depth in the Vikings’ backcourt this season, including a perfect 2 of 2 from 3-point range to end with 6 points, one rebound and one assist in a recent game against Northern Colorado.

Although a foot injury caused him to miss 14 games this year, the senior sharpshooter and owner of the prettiest jump shot in the Big Sky has been on fire recently, hitting 15 three-pointers in his last six games.

Thomas stepped up big when his number was called this year, including posting a career-high 29 points on Jan. 30, helping to lead the Vikings past Sacramento State 86-80 at the Stott Center.

Season averages: 32.8 minutes 11.5 points 2.2 rebounds 2.4 assists Jones made the transition from his more natural shooting guard role to the point guard position this year, and did a solid job.

The senior put up a 1.4 assist to turnover ratio and has provided moments of clutch shooting for the team this season.

Portland Winterhawks (41-16-0-3, 85 pts) at Seattle Thunderbirds (22-29-4-5, 53 pts) Seattle, Wash.

8:05 p.m.

Radio: KXTG, FM-95.5

Sunday Softball *

Portland State (6-5) vs. Cal State Bakersfield (0-9) Sacramento, Calif.

2:30 p.m.

Live stats: GoViks.com

* Pacific Coast Softball Conference Crossover Tournament **Records accurate as of 5 p.m., Thursday