Vanguard April 22, 2011

A LAW OF STEREOTYPING

WHO IS JOHN GALT? AND WHY SHOULD I CARE?

Police slow to act on Yashanee Vaughn's case

"Atlas Shrugged: Part 1" an unholy trainwreck.

ARTS: PAGE 8

OPINION: PAGE 5

INDEX NEWS OPINION ARTS SPORTS

2 4 8 12

FREE The Vanguard is published twice weekly on Tuesdays and Fridays.

ESTABLISHED 1946

FRIDAY, APRIL 22ND, 2011

VOL. 65 NO. 52

PSUVANGUARD.COM

Candidates face off at elections debates Vanguard endorsement for ASPSU president and vice president: Jennifer Myrick and Nathaniel Buckner ENDORSEMENT ON PAGE 6

Students launch 35th annual International Night Tonight’s event to include diverse food, performances Erin McIntyre Vanguard Staff

Portland State’s 35th annual International Night takes place this evening from 5 to 10 p.m. in Smith Memorial Student Union. Proceeds will go toward relief efforts in Japan.

“We really appreciate the support around this great event,” International Student Life Coordinator Jill Townley said. “Tickets are sold out.”

The event will include workshops in Arabic folk dancing and a sampling of food from Turkey, India, Africa, Vietnam, Korea, the Middle East, Italy and France. Performances will range from German students rapping in Lederhosen to a Nepali student dance group.

INTERNATIONAL NIGHT ON PAGE 7

Committee meets to review SMSU space

Presidential, SFC and Senate hopefuls discuss campaign promises, goals Jesse Hansen and Corie Charnley Vanguard staff

The Elections Board held a series of public debates this week, allowing each ASPSU candidate an opportunity to discuss their campaign promises and the issues most relevant to Portland State students before today’s polling. The PSU Debate Team moderated all of the debates.

Student body presidential, vice presidential debate: A crowd of students was present to watch the five teams take the hot seat at Wednesday's forum in Parkway North. While a series of questions was directed to the candidates, several key issues surfaced: tuition increases, ASPSU transparency and student unity.

Candidates responded to moderator-generated questions as well as questions posed by the audience. They were also afforded an opportunity at the end of the debate to present questions to one another.

At the beginning of the debate, the moderator asked the candidates to describe their specific campaign promises.

Miranda Schmidt Vanguard staff

A town hall meeting was held on Wednesday to discuss this year’s Smith Memorial Student Union room allocation to student organizations.

Smith Space Committee Chair Pv Jantz and SMSU Operations Manager Mark Russell led the meeting, which was attended by representatives of PSU’s student groups.

This year, tentative allocation decisions will be made by May 2. Groups then have until May 15 to appeal if they believe that they have been treated unfairly or that the committee did not understand their group’s needs.

SMSU ON PAGE 7

Presidential hopeful Rhezhna Rasheed and her running mate, Ammatulluh Hussein, said that they want to improve student advising on campus.

On a similar note, presidential candidate Jenny Myrick and her vice presidential running mate, Nathaniel Buckner, promised to enhance PSU’s career services by improving networking among advisers.

Later in the debate, Buckner also added that he and Myrick want to increase transparency and accountability in ASPSU. For instance, if elected, they plan to create a website that can show students exactly how their money is used within the university.

ELECTIONS ON PAGE 3

PSU students protest for release of detained Chinese artist Performance art honors the work of Ai Weiwei Katrina Petrovich Vanguard staff

Town hall meeting held to discuss parceling of Smith space to student groups

SARIA DY/VANGUARD STAFF

Debate: Presidential candidate Adam Rahmlow stands before his opponents at Wednesday's debate.

Two Portland State students presented a performance art protest piece on Monday to raise awareness of the arrest and detainment of influential Chinese artist Ai Weiwei.

The New York Times reported that Weiwei—a renowned artist, filmmaker and staunch critic of the government—was detained by Chinese officials on April 3 as he attempted to board a plane to Hong Kong. His current whereabouts and future release date remain unknown.

Graduate student Sean Green and sophomore Katie Slayden began their performance art piece at 10 a.m. in the the Smith Memorial Student Union lobby. Using bright red buckets and watering cans, the artists filled an eight-foot China-shaped template with thousands of black sunflower seeds. In the center, red spray-painted sunflower seeds spelled out the words “FREE WEIWEI.”

“It’s perfect; [performance art] is a lot more attention grabbing, and it’s very respectful of Ai Weiwei as an artist,” said Amanda Green, a PSU student who witnessed the performance.

The performance was an ode to some of Weiwei’s own works, including “Sunflower Seeds,” which is currently on display at the Tate Modern in London. This piece is composed of 100 million individually hand-painted porcelain sunflower seeds, created by a large group of artisans in Jingdezhen, China.

As Green and Slayden’s own installation began to take shape, more and more observers stopped to inquire about the performance. The artists remained completely silent while performing, allowing the audience members to spread information about the protest amongst themselves.

According to Green, the main purpose of the performance was to raise awareness about Weiwei’s imprisonment, and the busy corridors and mezzanine vantage points of the SMSU lobby were likely to yield the greatest audience. Green also said that he and Slayden didn’t formally ask for permission to use the Smith lobby, for fear they would be denied.

WEIWEI ON PAGE 3

ADAM WICKHAM/VANGUARD STAFF

Silent art: Students Sean Green and Katie Slayden spelled out "FREE WEIWEI" with sunflower seeds.

NEWS ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011 ■ VANGUARD 3

2 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011 ■ NEWS

EDITOR-IN-CHIEF

NEWS

EDITOR: CORIE CHARNLEY NEWS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-5690

ELECTIONS FROM PAGE 1

Tuition increases were a main talking point at debates

EDITOR@DAILYVANGUARD.COM

Virginia Vickery

NEWS EDITOR NEWS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM

Corie Charnley

OPINION EDITOR OPINION@DAILYVANGUARD.COM

Richard D. Oxley

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR ARTS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM

Nicholas Kula

SPORTS EDITOR

International Studies faculty receives $40,000 grant

SPORTS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM

Kevin Fong

COPY CHIEF Noah Emmet

PRODUCTION MANAGER Bryan Morgan

PHOTO EDITOR Adam Wickham

ONLINE EDITOR Adiana Lizarraga

CALENDAR EDITOR Noah Emmet

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR VGNEWS.ASSOC@GMAIL.COM

Alison Barnwell

ADVERTISING MANAGER Iris Meyers

ADVISER Judson Randall

ADVERTISING ADVISER Ann Roman

ILLUSTRATORS Susannah Beckett, Heather Mcintyre

DESIGNERS Colby Brooks, Ben Patterson, Katie West, Laken Wright

WRITERS Kat Audick, Erick Bengel, Peter Browning, Tori Christensen, Meaghan Daniels, Ryan Deming, Sarah Engels, Jesse Hansen, Rian Evans, Kevin Fong, Jesse Hansen, Rosemary Hanson, Solomon Hanson, Joshua Hunt, Ines Kuna, Alexis Jewel, Ebonee Lee, Stephen Lisle, Christina Maggio, Joe Mantecon, Johnny Mayer, Natalie Mcclintock, Erin McIntyre, Daniel Ostlund, Katrina Petrovich, Sierra Pannabecker, Gretchen Sandau, Miranda Schmidt, Jenieve Schnabel, Wendy Shortman, Kali Simmons, Catrice Stanley, Jake Stevens, Nilesh Tendolkar, Vinh Tran, Kat Vetrano, Allison Whited, Elisabeth Wilson, Roger Wightman, Brenda Yahm

PHOTOGRAPHERS Saria Dy, Karl Kuchs, Drew Martig

COPY EDITORS Kathryn Banks Sasha Fahrenkopf

ADVERTISING SALES Dominique Abrams, Sam Gressett, Rayna Martinez, Jae Specht

ADVERTISING DESIGNER Beth Hansen

DISTRIBUTORS Brittany Castillo, Brandy Castillo

The Vanguard is published two days a week as an independent student newspaper governed by the PSU Publications Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers, and do not necessarily represent those of the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. One copy of the Vanguard is provided free of charge to all community members, additional copies or subscription issues may incur a 25 cent charge.

The Vanguard is printed on 40 percent post-consumer recycled paper. ©2011 Portland State University Vanguard 1825 SW Broadway Smith Memorial Student Union, Rm. S-26 Portland OR, 97201

Grant to fund Professor Shawn Smallman’s writing sabbatical Joshua Hunt Vanguard staff

Shawn Smallman, a professor of international studies at Portland State, was recently awarded a $40,000 grant from the Ruth Landes Memorial Research Fund. The funds will allow Smallman to go on writing sabbatical and complete work on his fourth book, “Dangerous Women & Spirit Beings: The Windigo, Gender & Colonialism in the Algonquin World.”

David Latham, program director for the Reed Foundation, explained why Smallman was an obvious choice for the Ruth Landes Research Grant.

“Early in her career, Dr. Landes did extensive work with the Ojibwa, chronicled in her book ‘The Ojibwa Women,’” Latham said. “Professor Smallman’s proposed book is closely related and will amplify and expand the scholarship surrounding First Nations and other indigenous tribes, subjects of enduring interest to Dr. Landes.”

Smallman, who has previously authored books on the Brazilian military and the AIDS pandemic in Latin America, explained his interest in the Windigo and its relationship to gender roles in indigenous society.

“I grew up in Canada,” Smallman said. “The Algonquan people indigenous to Canada believe that the Windigo, which is a spirit of selfishness, can come into the body of a woman, man or child, and turn them into a monster; a murderer or cannibal, for instance.”

Smallman believes that these oral traditions offer important clues about gender in indigenous culture.

“It’s really a book about women and indigenous culture in Canada,” Smallman said. “I’m using the Windigo to look at women’s role in indigenous society, just like one might use the Salem witch trials to look at women’s roles in that particular time and place.”

Smallman has researched the book for the past three years and will leave for sabbatical in September to be-

Saria dy/VANGUARD STAFF

Sabbatical: During his sabbatical, Smallman will finish his book about gender in Algonquan society.

gin writing. His current plans are to write throughout the fall and winter terms, with the possibility of extending into spring if the government of Quebec approves a grant proposal.

During the research process, Smallman relied heavily on texts documenting the oral narratives of Canada’s indigenous people, archival materials and documents from the Hudson Bay Company, as well as a more macabre source.

“I used a lot of trial records from murder trials that took place in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century,” Smallman said. “These were particularly common in English Canada, where in the middle of winter someone would tell the members of his party that he was turning into a Windigo, and they would end up killing him. Then, of course, the mounted

THE DAILY CUT

A DIGEST OF CURRENT EVENTS

Ore. Senate committee advances plastic bag ban

States moving quickly to switch execution drug

SALEM (AP)—An Oregon Senate committee has advanced a bill that would make Oregon the first state to ban single-use plastic grocery bags.

The committee voted 3-2 along party lines Thursday to send the measure to the Senate floor.

The bill sponsored by Sen. Mark Hass of Beaverton is aimed at encouraging the use of reusable shopping bags. Stores would be required to charge at least 5 cents for disposable paper bags.

Proponents say the roughly 1 billion plastic bags used every year in Oregon gum up recycling machines and pollute roads, beaches and waterways.

A spokeswoman for a plastic bag recycling company says Oregon needs to beef up recycling efforts, not pursue a partisan ban that imposes fees on shoppers and fines on retailers that don’t comply.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP)—Nearly two-thirds of the 16 states with active death chambers are switching to an alternative sedative for execution—even as the drug’s manufacturer argues against its use in capital punishment and some European countries push export bans for such drugs.

Ten states have now switched to pentobarbital or are considering a switch as part of their three-drug methods, according to a survey of all death penalty states by The Associated Press. Among those joining the states that previously switched are Alabama, Louisiana and Florida.

South Carolina also is considering using the drug as it prepares for an execution next month.

At issue is a shortage of sodium thiopental, a sedative that states used for more than three decades until its only U.S. manufacturer stopped making it in 2009 and then dropped plans to resume production earlier this year.

PG&E exec. resigns in wake of Calif. pipeline blast SAN FRANCISCO (AP)—Pacific Gas & Electric Corp.’s top executive is stepping down with a $35 million retirement package following a “challenging year” that included a gas pipeline explosion in a San Francisco suburb that killed eight and destroyed 38 homes, the company announced Thursday.

Chairman, chief executive and President Peter Darbee will retire on April 30, PG&E said in a statement.

Lee Cox, a former president and CEO of AirTouch Cellular and a member of PG&E’s board since 1996, will serve as interim chairman, CEO and president, the San Francisco-based energy company said. A new permanent chief will be announced in the weeks ahead, as federal and state investigations into the blast continue.

Mexico arrests lawyer for allegedly helping cartel MEXICO CITY (AP)—Mexican authorities say they have arrested a lawyer who allegedly worked for the Zetas drug cartel managing ransom and extortion payments, sometimes handed over in the form of property deeds.

Federal police say suspect Marco Antonio Gomez was detained in the Caribbean coast resort of Cancun.

The police statement issued Thursday says Gomez participated as a go-between in negotiating ransom payments from relatives of kidnapping victims. ■

police show up and arrest them, and they plead selfdefense.”

According Smallman, this was less common in French Canada.

“It’s really about the government asserting its dominance over native cultures,” he said.

Smallman’s book will examine the important role that women play in the constantly evolving story of the Windigo, as well as how the destructive effects of colonization have altered these indigenous oral narratives.

“When you really see a lot of murder trials is during the time of the land treaties and the residential schools,” Smallman said. “With people being forced off of the reservation, their society was under such pressure, which I think was responsible for the increase in murders. In the 1930s, these myths just disappeared for a time, I think because these societies were forced to endure so much change.”

The tales of the Windigo have returned in recent years, but with a different emphasis, according to Smallman.

“Interestingly, many native people now take this Windigo character and use it as a way of talking about European culture,” Smallman said. “They can now use this mythic creature as a way of illustrating what they might say is the real monster that came in, devoured their resources and much of their culture.” ■

Senate roundup Lobby Day At Tuesday’s Student Senate meeting, Oregon Student Association Campus Organizer Casey Dreher announced that 118 students have confirmed attendance for the OSA rally in Salem on April 25. According to Dreher, PSU leads the Oregon University System in confirmed attendees this year. Dreher also expects to recruit about 30 students a day until the rally.

Elections Board Ari Wubbold, chair of the Elections Board, announced that the board has implemented proposed constitutional changes that will lengthen the time for candidates’ campaigns next year, as well as the period for the E-board to deliberate on its constitutional bylaws. The Senate voted unanimously in favor of the E-board’s proposed changes. These amendments will be included in the ballot, which students can vote on today.

In addition, the E-board announced that it will have a target of 2,500 voters in this year’s election, a goal that would represent a nearly 300 percent increase over last year’s voter turnout. ■ Jesse Hansen

Next in the lineup was presidential candidate Ethan Allen Smith and his running mate, Anandi Hall. Smith stressed that ASPSU needs to improve its relationship with the university’s administration.

“The administration will not listen to you if you’re constantly infighting,” he said. “There has to be somebody who can walk into that room with President [Wim] Wiewel, with his staff, with anybody in his administration and be able to hold a mature conversation and be able to say, ‘This is what the students need, this is what the students deserve.’”

In addition, Smith said that he and Hall promise to expand the university’s partnerships with the city so that internships are readily available to students.

Corrine Gilbertson, who is running for vice president with her running mate, Steve Taylor, discussed their desire to improve student government’s relationship with the Athletics Department. Gilbertson, a former athlete, said that many athletes are not aware of ASPSU, although they represent a large portion of the student population.

“We need a student government that represents all students,” she said.

Taylor also stressed that ASPSU needs to improve its communication with student groups so that it can better serve them.

“We believe that it is through this communication—through the dialogue and discourse—that we can bring ASPSU, the student body and Portland State University as a whole together, united for the students,” Taylor said.

Like Gilbertson and Taylor, presidential candidate Adam Rahmlow and his vice presidential running mate Pearce Whitehead said, if elected, they promise to better meet the needs of student groups.

In addition, Rahmlow discussed how he and Whitehead plan on reforming ASPSU so that the individual branches become more efficient in effecting change.

Another topic discussed was the proposed 9.2 percent tuition hike, to which all candidates expressed opposition and the desire to halt further tuition hikes.

Student Fee Committee debate Drawing a small crowd of roughly 15 attendees, Monday's Student Fee Committee debate moderators fielded questions that covered a wide variety of issues facing the group.

While eight candidates are running for a seat in the SFC, only one candidate—current member Mart Stewart-Smith—is running for SFC chair.

The SFC, tasked with the distribution of the student fee to campus groups and departments, is comprised of eight members, six of whom are elected. The other seats are designated to the chair and to a member chosen by the student body president.

This year, three returning members are running for re-election: Aaron Baker, Molly Shove and current SFC Chair Krystine McCants.

Throughout the debate a wide range of issues were addressed, including the SFC’s interaction with the administration, the $2 increase of the student fee in the coming school year and the Athletics Department funding, which will account for roughly 25 percent of student fees during the 2011–12 year.

Despite the low attendance, candidates demonstrated a convivial interest in the debates and were eager to field questions from audience members.

The candidates also joked and exchanged friendly jabs with one another.

“I guarantee no new taxes or student fee increas-

es unless it is justified, because I’m from a town called hope…and change,” SFC candidate Aaron Baker joked. Baker currently serves on the SFC. Though a lighthearted attitude was clearly present in the air, in a moment of seriousness, McCants reminded both the candidates and the audience that the SFC is responsible for the nearly $14 million student fees on the cusp of a year facing substantial tuition hikes.

Student Senate debate Just under half of the 20 senators running for a seat next year were at Tuesday’s Student Senate debate.

After the senators introduced themselves, they were asked various topics ranging from restructuring to the use of the student fee.

The moderator first asked the candidates what they believe are the most critical issues affecting PSU. “I think the first issue that is facing higher education, in general, is the increasing cost,” Senate hopeful W. Leaf Zuk said, adding that student activism is important to combat this issue. “We are seeing costs rise faster than the inflation rate, and the schools are having difficulty getting funding for education.”

Zuk added that ASPSU, alongside other schools in the Oregon University System, must lobby in Salem to keep costs low. Other Senate candidates echoed this sentiment.

In addition, several candidates expressed the importance in reaching out to student groups on campus.

“We are the voice—or can be the voice— of whatever student groups want,” candidate Paul Polsin said, adding that most people on campus have not even heard about ASPSU. Other issues discussed were restructuring, the campus’ environmental policies and how each candidate will improve outreach to their campus constituencies.

According to Elections Board Chair Ari Wubbold, 14 write-in canidates are expected. ■

WEIWEI FROM PAGE 1

Audience members became part of performace during demonstration The artists worked carefully to assemble their sunflower-filled representation of China, but as soon as it was finished, Green and Slayden immediately began to disassemble it, drawing surprised murmurs from the crowd of observers.

The artists dismantled the piece by hand, scooping up all the sunflower seeds and returning them to buckets. The red seeds that were used to spell out “FREE WEIWEI”—and were symbolic of the artist himself—were separated into a glass jar.

Once the floor was completely cleared of seeds, the artists grabbed their buckets and walked out the door, signaling for the audience to follow.

Green and Slayden later explained that the immediate dismantling of the piece transitioned the performance to the next location, which took place in the Autzen Gallery in Neuberger Hall.

Upon entering the gallery, an island of white rice and votive candles surrounded a second, prearranged outline of China in the middle of the floor. The artists placed the jar of red sunflower seeds from the beginning of the performance in the center of the outline. Then the black sunflower seeds were poured all around it, supporting the jar.

Green and Slayden began lighting the candles, then passed matches to members of the audience. The performance ended with the majority of the viewers participating in the lighting of candles in symbolic solidarity with Weiwei.

Green and Slayden spent a total of $115 on materials and just over a week planning the project. The artists chose performance art over other means of protest because, Slayden said, “It’s more in your face; it’s more active.”

Green said that performance art was fitting, given Weiwei’s artistic accomplishments.

“Doing art for an artist seemed appropriate,” he said. ■

4 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011

OPINION

OPINION ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011 ■ VANGUARD 5

■ OPINION

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

A law of stereotyping Police slow to act on Yashanee Vaughn’s case

My kingdom for a desk a professor to give feedback to students in a timely manner, and therefore size would definitely impact the learning experience. In other disciplines such as mathematics, there is more Everyone fears the first day of class. After of an individual learning burden expected of seeing that the class enrollment has maxed a student, and therefore increased class size out, you walk into your highly sought-after might not have the same effect. class and realize you’re all going to be squeezed Other factors may affect the amount of in tighter than a pair of fake learning that is taking place, breasts in an undersized brassuch as the amount of effort KALI siere. With some students left a student puts into the work, SIMMONS sitting in the aisles and on the or the quality of the professor floor, any hopes you may have teaching the class. Many bewith getting some “one-on-one” help with lieve that not being able to work “one-on-one” your professor are soon shattered. with a professor could hinder student achieveCurrently, Portland State has over 25,000 ment. While professors are available to answer students, and enrollment is planned to in- questions through e-mail, such inquiries can crease next year. Class sizes are only going to run the risk of getting lost in the spam folder. get bigger and bigger. So what kind of effect is For California’s universities, a solution to all this growth going to have on the quality of recent budget problems has been to increase our education? the class sizes in college classrooms. One study According to online enrollment, one of conducted by University of California, Irvine the current General Biology 103 classes has revealed that some subjects did suffer from ina student enrollment of 183. The other Bio creased sizes while others remained relatively 103 class has 130 students and a variety of unaffected. As a whole, the study did conclude other introductory level classes have their en- that the general effects of increased class sizes rollment numbers over the 200 mark. While are negative. many remember being packed 50 at a time Studies have been conducted on increased into a classroom in high school, this appears class sizes overseas as well. The University of to be a completely different kind of monster.

Calabria in Italy conducted its own study and One strange phenomenon you can notice found that large class sizes decreased the grades while scanning the registration page is that students earned in class and simultaneously for some majors, the class sizes are signifi- lowered the likelihood of students passing the cantly smaller, even in introductory classes. class. Factors such as increased noise and lack For example, the English Department has no of clarification opportunities were cited as adclasses that allow the enrollment of over 100 ditional reasons that excessively large learning students. In fact, the largest class this term is environments are not successful.

Greek Mythology, with only 66 students cur“I came from ASU, so I haven’t really norently enrolled. ticed a difference (in class size),” said student Class size is definitely a variable depending Shannon Ashford. “But, I feel that freshman on what kind of course you are taking. In a and community college students who are used writing class for example, it is important for to getting that one-on-one time aren’t used

Elizabeth Bommarito Vanguard staff

Do larger classes affect student achievement?

MEAGHAN DANIELS

Quality time: Jenna Lyons paints her son's toenails

More fun in neon Pink toenails do not cause homosexuality

illustration by colby brooks/vanguard staff

to it. There are so many people, the professor doesn’t know your name or your face. So, if you want to learn the material, you have to show up. It’s much less about the professor’s accountability and more about you.”

Attempts to obtain professor comments on the matter yielded no results by deadline.

In the end, with enrollment expected to

increase, students are going to have to find a way to maneuver through these massive classes. While some may feel that there is no major effect, many are going to be left without the valuable instructor time and feedback that they need in order to get a solid education. At this point, instead of standing out, they will be forced to blend into the fold. ■

GUEST OPINION

Government gains from student debt Tyree Harris Daily Emerald staff

Most of us know that credit cards are the devil’s play toys and that we should avoid them at all costs (no pun intended). However, what we don’t know is that student loans have silently become a larger form of personal debt than consumer debt: Student loan debt is now a staggering $829 billion, compared to $826 billion in credit card debt.

America’s educational system puts people in more debt than its credit card companies—clearly, something is wrong. A data visualizer from collegescholarships.com motivated me to tell you about student loan debt and how it became so large.

In 1965, the Higher Education Act was signed by President Lyndon B. Johnson, enabling college students to get federally guaranteed loans and scholarships. Millions of students who previously could not afford college now had the opportunity to receive a higher education, regardless of their economic situation.

Things took a turn for the worse in 1998, when Congress eliminated the students’ ability to discharge government student loan debt by bankruptcy. This means if you face insurmountable financial struggle and you’re incapable of paying off student loans, there’s nothing you can do to waive it off.

By 2005, this non-discharge protection was granted to private student loan lenders as well, making their loans also permanently tattooed to their pockets. Interestingly, the same non-discharge laws apply to people who have debt from fraud and criminal acts; it’s nice to know that you’re treated exactly like a petty criminal.

This was the setup for a pocket-draining conundrum. Alongside the ability to discharge, other protections removed from

photo courtesy of jcrew.com

student loans were the stature of limitations on collections, the Truth in Lending Act, the right to refinance and the Fair Debt Collections Practices Act. Lenders also don’t have to adhere to state usury laws, allowing them to charge higher interest rates than legal in the state.

In America, we have more protection from credit card lenders than we do from student loan lenders. Nice.

The most alarming ordeal is that the system is structured in such a way as to benefit from our inability to repay loans. Private banks are rooting for us to default because when we do, the government gives the bank the remaining balance on the loan and any remaining interest. At that point the government takes over the loan, which is a good thing because the government is so much more understanding than a bank anyway, right?

Wrong.

When a loan defaults, the government hikes your interest up 25 percent, meaning that by the time you pay it back (if you ever do), good old Uncle Sam will turn a huge profit, and there is nothing you can do to escape (Except die, or acquire brain damage).

25 percent of all government loans default. At community colleges, 30 percent of student loans default and at two-year colleges, 40 percent do. But the big breadwinners for the government are for-profit schools; they account for 43 percent of all student defaults.

Ka-ching. The government laughs its way to the bank.

Last year, President Barack Obama signed an overhaul of the student loan program. Obama called the bill, “one of the most significant investments in higher education since the G.I.” The bill eliminated subsidies, making all loan profits return to the government. This cuts Sallie Mae and other private lenders out of the formula.

Big government and tax payers win, yes, but what about the students?

We didn’t get any changes to our rights as borrowers. The government exploits us in the same fashion as before: granting us inescapable loans in the midsts of an awful economy and hiking our interest rates up 25 percent when we can’t afford to pay our bills. They are immune to just about every act written to protect borrowers from lenders, and they are even exempt from following usury laws.

I’m starting to feel like I took a loan from a mafia boss, not the United States Government.

Student loans are the most important investment most of us have made thus far in our lives. Age-old proverbs tell us that an education is an investment in itself, but the present system indicates that an education is an investment in Washington, D.C. The more we default, the more money they get. Combine our lack of borrower rights with increasing tuition and a weakening economy, and what we have is something that Visa, MasterCard and American Express can only dream about: a debt that is both cyclical and inescapable.

If you’re anything like me, the words “financial” and “aid” come together to mean food in your refrigerator, books in your backpack and knowledge in your brain. But in about four years, “financial aid” will turn into “financial played,” and you’ll find yourself in financial hole you can never climb out of.

Boy, debt-inflicted oppression sure is a great way to promote education. *This article was originally published in the Daily Emerald.

It is reprinted here in its original form.

The latest controversy swarming the internet and jamming the news involves J. Crew, the generally more conservative clothing company, and its most recent advertisement. The ad shows a mother painting her son’s toenails…pink.

Designer Jenna Lyons is shown in the ad painting her five-year-old son Beckett’s toenails a hot pink color. The caption reads, "Lucky for me I ended up with a boy whose favorite color is pink. Toenail painting is way more fun in neon."

A boy with pink toenails? This could be considered outside of normalcy in today’s society, so let the complaints begin. Complaints that the ad is “awful” quickly began circling the internet shortly after it ran.

A recent opinion piece for Fox News written by Dr. Keith Ablow states that Lyons should “put some money aside for psychotherapy for the kid.” Others have called it blatant transgendered children propaganda. To insinuate that this little boy is going to become gay, transgender or even need psychotherapy is plainly insulting and ignorant.

In today’s society, we start putting kids in gender boxes the second the sex of the child is determined. People buy pink things for girls and blue things for boys. If a child differs from that gender stereotype when they are older, it is seen as wrong. However, it is generally more wrong for boys to dress as girls than girls dress as boys. This controversy would lack luster if it was a picture of a girl playing with toy cars.

For some reason we are more fearful of a little boy with pink toenails than a little girl playing with a dump truck. If you see a picture of a little boy wearing a dress, people would freak out, claiming he is going to be gay.

If the opposite is seen and a little girl is wearing stereotypical boys’ clothes (baggy pants, big t-shirt, baseball cap, etc.) then people wouldn’t give it a second thought.

Although society has come a long way since the days when homosexuality was diagnosed as a mental disorder—around 40 years ago—there is still a lot of work to be done.

Our society has an insane paranoia of homosexuality. If a little boy paints his

toenails pink, that does not mean he is going to become gay. People do not just become gay, they are born gay. Changing the color of a boy’s toenails is not going to change his sexuality.

Homosexuality is still viewed with negative connotations, which is why we are still fighting for equal marriage rights for everyone. The phrase “That is so gay” is unfortunately and commonly used as lingo to describe something bad.

Ablow’s article mentioned that encouraging kids to choose their gender identity instead of sticking with the one that they are assigned at birth is going to send our society into psychological turmoil. Most women’s studies and psychology courses will mention that at birth we are assigned a sex—this is what is between our legs—and gender or gender identity is something that we choose: this is what is between our ears.

Abiding by those statements and not by Ablow’s won’t send society into psychological turmoil—if anything people are going to be happier if they identify with who they truly are.

This little boy is lucky to have a mother who will encourage him to step out of the gender binary. Society needs to become more educated, the fact that so much controversy was stirred up because one little boy with pink toenails showed up in a catalog is obscene. An educated society does not freak out over such minor things. ■

It has been a month since 14-year-old Yashanee Vaughn went missing. The local teenager has still not been located, although police have indicated that they believe Vaughn was murdered.

Parrish Bennette, 16, has come to be the police’s key suspect, and on April 8 was indicted on murder charges.

When Vaughn first went missing, police treated the case as though Vaughn was a runaway. Not filing a missing persons report until March 28, the police wasted over a week, while the family of Vaughn had to rally outside Northeast Precinct to get attention for the victim.

At first the argument was put forth that Vaughn was not being treated as a missing person because of her previous misdemeanor run-ins with the law.

The police type-casted her as a troublemaker, and thus gave the public perception that Vaughn was not worth the trouble.

When forced to see that Vaughn was clearly missing and allegedly murdered, the police changed their tune and began a genuine search for her.

When different media publications printed the gap in investigation, the public reaction was highly polarized. On many local news blogs, the commentary by readers demonstrated people's outrage at the police for racially profiling Vaughn, as well as treating her like a criminal instead of a victim.

The police also used the media as a defense tool to distract from their poor judgment. This was especially true in the April 5 Katu.com article “‘No-snitching’ code may be hindering missing teen case.”

Indicating that a “no-snitching” code amongst Vaughn and Bennette's friends was a reason that they were unable to get any solid evidence regarding the case, the article fails to address why many communities are reluctant to talk to the police, even if indeed they do know something.

The commentary on the news site, which says that it will be edited for appropriate content, is overrun with extremely offensive, bigoted statements. One commentator states, “Anyone following the ‘no snitching’ rule is simply showing themselves to be a lowlife, chicken s***, parasite, honor-less, ignorant, weak, classless loser. Or, you could just say ‘gang member.’ In light of all of this crime lately, I'm reconsidering my view on ‘abortion.’ Maybe it should be the other way around, you should have to prove that you are capable of raising a child.

That would eliminate 99 percent of the future gang members.”

It is no secret that in our criminal injustice system, the people who know something about a crime can be charged with being an accomplice based on what they tell. The laws are built

photo courtesy of portlandobserver.com

Yashanee Vaughn

around a “quick to punish” mentality instead of focused on the needs of the victim.

Profit-driven by the largely privatized prison industrial system, and ideologically driven by racism, amongst other isms, the police have not historically been successful at helping victims of domestic violence. What they have been successful in is putting well over a million people of color in prison.

This is not to say that people who victimize others should not be held accountable for their actions. It is to say that the current system has not been effective in stopping it and makes criminals out of people based on stereotyping.

Vaughn herself was treated this way before the police changed their minds. If Vaughn had feared an attack by Bennette beforehand, it is likely that she wouldn't feel safe going to the police about it, since they were focused more on criminalizing her than helping.

This is indicated by the fact that many victims of domestic violence and other crimes against women are not reported. The police have been called into question a number times for their interrogations and harassment of rape and domestic violence victims.

Yashanee Vaughn's story continues to unfold.

I am truly sorry to her family for the loss that they have suffered and for the injustice that they have experienced on top of this terrible tragedy.

May Vaughn's story be a lesson on how our society lacks in helping victims. Until we can address this elephant in the room, we have no chance in making a safer city for us all. ■ To give anonymous tips and any other information regarding Yashanee Vaughn’s case, please call Crime Stoppers.

503-823-HELP www.crimestoppersoforegon.com

6 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011

Letters to the editor Tap is better than the bottle “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world.

Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.”

—Margaret Mead (1901–1978) Take Back the Tap at PSU felt that it was worth responding to the article “Don’t ban the bottle” (April 19) in order to more accurately represent the intentions, goals and strategies we have been taking in our efforts to restore the peoples’ right to clean, affordable, healthy water, something we believe can be accomplished by a movement away from bottled water and a renewed investment in public water systems.

For the past two years, Take Back the Tap at Portland State has been actively dedicated to reducing bottled water consumption at the university. Through ongoing education and outreach events, distributing more than 600 reusable water bottles, and increasing the number of filtered water refill stations on campus, we have demonstrated determination to change behaviors, helping the PSU community make more environmentally, economically and socially sustainable choices. Far from observing an apathetic audience on this issue, many people express excitement at our campaign, and just this Monday we hosted a film showing of “Blue Gold: World Water Wars” in the residence halls on campus.

We collected over 100 signatures on a petition that voices student support for discontinuing the purchase of bottled water with student fee funds. Overall we have collected more than 800 signatures and counting! The millennium gen-

NEWS ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011 ■ VANGUARD 7

■ OPINION

VANGUARD EDITORIAL

eration, it appears, is anything but apathetic on this issue, and also a number of other socially and environmentally relevant world matters.

Anyone who still thinks otherwise should research the Powershift conference that was just held last weekend in Washington, D.C. As the author correctly pointed out, “students here at PSU have suggested a grassroots effort to eliminate the consumption of illogical plastic.”

While we are proud of the fact that our movement is born of the grassroots, we do not see such a clear division as the author does between grassroots activism and pushing for legislation that suits the demands of the people. Rather, we see the two as inseparable.

In closing, we will not accept that bottled water is here to stay just because the industry is raking in the profits from selling us what should be a universal human right: clean, affordable drinking water. It is very important to end with an observation that water from the Bull Run watershed, where Portland gets its public drinking water, is much safer than bottled water because it is regulated under such laws as the Clean Drinking Water Act, whereas bottled water faces no such strict regulation. We believe once people grasp this fact, the media blitz that has been pushed on the people, and is responsible for our seeming obsession with it, will lose its power. Our work at PSU is done in recognition that a return to a well-functioning public supply is the only sure guarantee that our water will stay in the hands of the people.

Andy Eiden

The Vanguard endorses Myrick and Buckner for ASPSU president and vice president The ASPSU race for president and vice president is robust this year, with five pairs of candidates running for office—a major improvement over last year’s nearly uncontested race.

The candidate pool is very diverse and everyone seems to sincerely want the job, but one pair stands out from the rest as being particularly well-suited to lead ASPSU in the coming year: Jennifer Myrick and Nathaniel Buckner.

After conducting identical 20-minute interviews with all of the candidates, it was clear to the Vanguard editorial board that Myrick and Buckner are the best package. Myrick comes across as very bright and knowledgeable on the issues currently facing higher education. She is serious and dedicated, making her a credible representative of the student voice to administrators and legislators. Myrick and Buckner appear friendly and approachable, which is important for students trying to reach out to their government.

While Myrick is a student of political cooperation who currently works for a representative in Salem, Buckner is less politically savvy. However, as the Student Senate’s presiding officer he would draw upon his service in the army and his work as an artist to organize and creatively solve problems.

Though both are aware of student government’s operations and activities, they are currently ASPSU outsiders, which is an asset. Over the last two years, ASPSU has been plagued with infighting and a high turnover within the ranks of the executive staff. We are weary of the candidates who have spent a substantial amount of time in office, as they have been party to ASPSU’s discord and inertia. Fresh faces would benefit the organization.

Myrick is committed to working in Salem to represent students in the debate over the restructuring of higher education. She believes our

tuition dollars should stay at Portland State, rather than be funneled to other state agencies.

She is willing to look outside of the current paradigm to solve the funding woes, and we believe she would be successful because of her experience in both state politics and social activism.

Myrick is unique in her desire to make both academic scholarships and career services more accessible, because those are tangible, practical goals— goals that are lacking in some of the other campaigns.

Absent from Myrick and Buckner’s rhetoric are the typical buzzwords, with the exception of “transparency.” They want to create a website that clearly explains the way in which student fees and tuition photo courtesy of jennifer myrick are spent, allowing students to better understand the process and how their dollars are used. (However, to be fair, another pair of candidates—Ethan Allen Smith and Anandi Hall—also plan to build a similar website if elected.)

By nature of being a political organization, it is unusual in ASPSU for the art department to be proportionately represented. However, Buckner himself is an art student, making him sensitive to the lack of resources and recognition of the department within the university despite the large creative community in Portland. Myrick and Buckner are both focused on looking beyond just representing student groups and prioritize reaching the larger student body and academic departments.

Because of their professionalism, intelligence and fresh perspective, the Vanguard editorial board endorses Myrick and Buckner’s candidacy for ASPSU president and vice president. Above all, however, we hope that more of you will decide to vote this year.

An engaged student body lends legitimacy to whoever is elected and invigorates the idea that individual participation in governmental processes does make a difference at every level. ■

INTERNATIONAL NIGHT FROM PAGE 1

Over 800 guests are expected to attend International Night Prashant Kakad (DJ Prashant) will be spinning Bollywood records. Kakad hosts dance parties at Lola’s Room under the Crystal Ballroom and has taught Bollywood at Portland Community College and Portland State. He currently teaches at Reed College and Euphoria Studios.

“The need in Japan is enormous,” he said. “It will be a little while before they can get out of it. I’m excited to be a part of this, and I’m excited to see my choreography come together.”

Three PSU students and one staff member who participate in his private class will perform seven dances before Kakad offers a lesson to the crowd.

Student Information Systems Coordinator Debbie Dresner is dancing in Kakad’s show.

“Whenever we can give our talents or perform, it’s more meaningful when there’s a cause,” she said. “With PSU having a large Japanese population, I’m sure people here have been affected by what happened.”

Kelsey Darling, one of the students performing tonight, thinks the donation system of the event is a good idea.

“It’s awesome because it allows college students to give what they have,” she said.

The event also features a fashion show.

According to Sarah Kenney, International Student Life Advisor, 800 guests are expected at the event, including volunteers, performers and organizers.

Admission is free and donations will be contributed to the Mercy Corps Japan Relief Fund.

“We are suggesting a $5 to $10 donation when people collect tickets,” Kenney said. “During the event itself, we will be encouraging people to donate to help the people of Japan, and also to help the International Student Emergency Relief Fund.”

The International Student Emergency Relief Fund is a PSU foundation aimed at helping students whose native countries have suffered a political or financial collapse.

The event is being planned by the PSU Organization of International Students, and most event volunteers and performers are PSU students. ■

SARIA DY/VANGUARD STAFF

Getting ready: Maimoona Syeda prepares for tonight's fashion show.

PSUVANGUARD.COM

requests from student groups, according to Jantz.

“The most important voice in this committee is the students,” he said.

Space is allocated to student groups who meet certain criteria. For instance, they must be recognized and funded by the Student Fee Committee and must have a yearly budget of at least $1,000. Groups must also have been recognized and active for at least two years prior to their request for space, and the space must be used for students.

Once the Smith Space Committee receives room applications, it reviews them and holds a town hall meeting, such as Wednesday’s, to explain the process and give students a chance to speak and ask questions.

This year there is some uncertainty as to whether or not the Office of Information Technologies will be moving

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

P DX

A special section dedicated to local businesses

Let students get to know your business in PDX local! Reserve your space today!

503 725 5686

Organic Spray Tan

Wax & Beauty Boutique www.be-smooth.net

ONLINE

Decisions are finalized by June 2, and student groups are allowed to move into new spaces in the two weeks before the beginning of fall term.

Over 40 student groups applied for space this year.

There are 44 offices available and most measure around 100 square feet, according to Jantz.

Most student groups who already have offices will be remaining in those same offices this year, Russell added.

“It’s a lot less dramatic than you might imagine,” Russell said.

Jantz described the room allocation process, which grants student groups office space in SMSU. The allocation process generally occurs every two years, but rooms can be re-allocated if a violation occurs or if new space opens up.

The Smith Space Committee attempts to accommodate all

out of the SMSU basement and, if it does, whether that space will be designated for student groups.

Attendees had many questions about the possible new space and ideas about how it should be used if it is designated for student groups. Ideas included using the space for additional offices and storage, creating a practice room for groups such as the PSU Debate Team and Model UN or creating a multi-use student group space that will allow groups to collaborate and share resources.

“We would love to establish some collective space,” Jantz said.

The Smith Space Committee will not be making any plans for the possible new space until its availability is finalized, according to Jantz and Russell.

Jantz encouraged students to become involved in the Smith Space Committee or as voices within their respective groups.

“We need to get students involved,” he said. “Period.” ■

The PSU Vanguard advertising department proudly presents

1 for $25 or 2 for $40

READ US

Students seek to establish a collective space in SMSU's basement

NOW HIRING NEWS WRITERS & PHOTOGRAPHERS

EDITORIAL BOARD Virginia Vickery Editor-in-Chief Corie Charnley News Editor Nicholas Kula Arts & Culture Editor Richard Oxley Opinion Editor Kevin Fong Sports Editor Noah Emmet Chief Copy Editor

SMSU FROM PAGE 1

8 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011

BEST CHEAP DATE

Vanguard Advertising Presents

BEST MEAL UNDER $7

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

BEST COMFORT FOOD MOST ENVIRONMENTALLY FRIENDLY BUSINESS

Who is John Galt?

And why should I care?

"Atlas Shrugged: Part I" an unholy train wreck Erick Bengel Vanguard staff

PHOTO COURTESY of atlasshruggedpart1.com

Audience shrugged: No, this is not a scene from "Parks & Recreation."

This embarrassing spectacle opens, appropriately, with a train wreck. The year is 2016, America’s economy is collapsing and its society is tearing itself to shreds. All of the nation’s talented individuals seem to be dropping off the face of the earth. The once great Taggard Transcontinental’s railroads are splitting at the seams, and all other major industries are following the same trajectory.

Dagny Taggart (Taylor Schilling) joins forces with steel tycoon Hank Rearden (Grant Bowler) to save her family’s business before it folds under the incompetence of her altruism-minded

brother, James (Matthew Marsden). Meanwhile, a socialist government conspires with labor unions and an anti-corporate press to stop big business and its visionary entrepreneurs dead in their tracks, so to speak.

So it’s up to Dagny, Hank and other barons of industry to save the world from the corruption of D.C. officials and the epidemic of mediocrity sweeping the nation. Also working against them is a mysterious figure whose motives will be explained in Parts II and III. This is John Galt, played by director Paul Johansson. (For anyone

®

...Go Green or Go Home

who hasn’t read the novel, this would be like Mel Gibson playing Jesus in “The Passion of the Christ.”)

Schilling and Marsden are the right actors for their roles, but Bowler’s Rearden is just awkward.

He looks so…medicated. To call his performance wooden would be an insult to my furniture. Other characters appear and disappear without any introduction, context or back-story. Liberal straw men line up like targets at a shooting gallery so that the film’s heroes can rip them apart in scenes of cringe-inducing self-righteousness.

Most of the film’s dialogue is an impenetrable mess of engineering buzzwords, wonky business jargon and wall-to-wall rants on political economy. The more humanoid dialogue is flat and literal-minded, forcing the actors to intone witimpoverished lines like, “Wow, that’s depressing” and “Hmmm, that’s odd.” At one point a character actually goes, “Nooooooo!”

I mentioned the opening train wreck. That’s nothing compared to the last half-hour of this film, which moves at the hasty, staggering pace indicative of a budget shortfall. Scenes are slammed together without visible segues and unfold with all the narrative grace of a head-on collision.

The finished product is dull, humorless, desperately sincere—a self-important gesture of preaching to the faithful, and one of the grandest follies of the cinema in recent years. Not since “Left Behind” has a burgeoning low-budget franchise depended so heavily for its success on the uncritical devotion of its target audience. So sorry, Ayn. ■

Located in the PSU Rec Center (503) 226-YUMM (9866) cafeyumm.com WRAPS • SOUPS • YUMM! BOWLS™ • ORGANIC • BENTOS •

Kynna Groff Vanguard staff

It’s always an unforgettable experience when you get to see a performance by someone who has mastered their craft. The best singers give us chills when we hear them. The best artists make us think. The best architects cause us to see a space in a new way. If you want the chance to hear a group that has become masters in their incredibly small field, then you need to head to the Alberta Rose Theater on Tuesday, April 26 for the one-night performance by the Tuvan throat-singing band Alash Ensemble.

If you have never heard or heard about Tuvan throat singers, don’t be surprised. It’s a unique style of music that is mastered by the male shepherds (though taboos centering around women’s ability to throat sing are lifting) of the small country of Tuva in southern Siberia. It began as an ancient pastime for the nomadic herdsmen, as a way to symbolize their close relationship with nature. These men would sometimes venture far into the surrounding mountains looking for the perfect area to hone their musical talent, because at its heart, Tuvan throat singing is

about mimicking the sounds that can be heard regularly in the natural world. Only since the late ’80s, when an American ethnomusicologist traveled to Tuva and experienced the amazing sound of the throat singers, did it begin to gain world renown. The Alash Ensemble is one of only four groups that regularly tour in Europe and the U.S. Throat singing is most often said to be akin to sounding like a human bagpipe. Throat singers have cultivated the unique ability to simultaneously sing notes in two, three and sometimes as many as four different pitches. The result is a rich layering of tones, which when combined with modern instruments like guitars and accordions as well as multi-textural traditional instruments, create traditional Tuvan music with a little modern influence. Because these men are masters of their art, their songs, despite the fact they are not sung in English, effectively communicate the messages and emotions behind them and stay true to the original Tuvan goal of mimicking and harmonizing with nature.

Named for the Alash River that runs through their home region in Tuva, Alash Ensemble is comprised of four musicians who began their training in throat singing as children. First taught by family members and later by other Tuvan singers who were considered masters,

Did you know...

• over 50% of our ingredients are certified organic?

• we subscribe to more than 100,000 kilowatt hours of green power annually?

• our tables are made from 100% post-consumer recycled paper or crushed sunflower seed shells?

• SALADS • ALL-NATURAL CHICKEN SKEWERS • DELICIOUS

Atlas Shrugged: Part I Runs through April 28 Now Playing Various locations

Singing from the throat Unique style of traditional song heading to Portland

Soul satisfying... Deeply nourishing®

Make plans to stay in Portland this summer for PSU’s Summer Session—the largest of its kind on the West Coast. It’s the perfect place to get a head start on next year’s classes, accelerate your degree, make up a class, or simply explore a new field.

PHOTO COURTESY of alashensemble.com

Study in PDX this Summer!

Intimidated yet?: You should be. These guys shred.

they met and formed their group in 1999 at Kyzyl Arts College. Together, they have mastered the five most prominent styles of throat singing: Sygyt, a higher-pitched style which evokes gentle summer breezes and the singing of birds; Xöömei, which has an airy whistle over-top of a middle-range pitch, creating a sound like wind swirling amongst rocks; Kargyraa, a sound like howling winds; Borbangnadyr, which embellishes the previously mentioned styles with trilling and rapidly changing harmonics to mimic a babbling brook; and Ezenggileer, a style that adds a pulsing rhythm to the three main techniques to sound like horseback riding.

These song styles are accompanied by the wide variety of instruments that are also played by the quartet. Their instruments include traditional

flutes and drums, along with string instruments that vary greatly in sound. Some are simple, with only a few strings and a sound like a cello or banjo, and others are made of 16 strings and provide a complex mix of harmonies to the men’s voices.

As mentioned, the show at Alberta Rose is a one-night stop for Alash Ensemble, as they continue on their current U.S. tour. If you want the chance to get chills from experiencing these amazing masters of music, head on down. ■

Alash Ensemble April 26 Alberta Rose Theater $15 advance, $18 door 6:30 p.m.

BBQ TOFU SKEWERS • BEAUTIFUL • PANINIS •

You know that shrill conservative guy in every lower-division political science class? The guy who wants to be taken seriously as a small-government policy expert but only succeeds at being an insufferable blowhard? The guy who stockpiles unexamined opinions like medieval weaponry and behaves as if he’s grooming himself for Fox News primetime?

Well, the experience of attending “Atlas Shrugged: Part I” is like being trapped in a dark room with that guy, only this time you’re surrounded by a hoard of his admirers who cheer on his attention-seeking tactics, and you just sit there wondering, Why are people falling for this drivel?

Mainstream critics have joined hands in rather celebratory derision of this film, and now, I regret to report, I must join their ranks.

Let me confess that I'm an unapologetic lover of Ayn Rand's 1957 novel. I have trouble embracing its free-market values in toto, but I have no trouble calling it a masterpiece. Rand’s genius was in crafting stories that are dramatically compelling and philosophically challenging while staying true to both the drama and the philosophy. She cuts no corners and makes no compromises.

But in this cheaply produced film version of Rand’s most complete ultra-libertarian statement, her epic fiction and her precious objectivism have at once been watered down to tasteless gruel so thin it’s transparent. It’s likely to disappoint anyone who takes Rand’s ideas seriously, and it will almost certainly bore the uninitiated.

®

VEGAN OPTIONS • TEMPEH • NOURISHING •

A&C

■ ARTS & CULTURE

www.summer.pdx.edu

Registration for the summer term opens May 2.

Check out the summer class schedule at www.summer.pdx.edu Hard-copy catalogs will be in the bookstore next week.

10 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011

ARTS & CULTURE ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011 ■ VANGUARD 11

■ ARTS & CULTURE

Kale pesto A vibrant sauce from a less-vibrant vegetable Kat Vetrano Vanguard staff

It’s impressive what a little blending can do for a vegetable. Kale—the almost-always-in-season green with healthful qualities but not always an exciting flavor profile—happens to fall under this category. In this recipe, the green is cooked quickly, then drained and blended with walnuts and hard cheese for something vibrant and flavorful. Not bad for a vegetable with a color that usually says, “meh.” Try this sauce tossed with whole-wheat pasta, drizzled over vegetables or as a spread for crostini. Feel free to substitute the walnuts for whatever you have on hand (almonds, pine nuts, etc.).

Ingredients 1 large bundle of kale stems torn and discarded, any variety 1 oz. walnuts 1 tsp. of crushed red pepper flakes, more to taste 1 tsp. salt 1 clove of garlic 1 oz. parmesan (not grated) 1/4 cup olive oil

Tobacco is awesome

Preparation Bring a large saucepan of water to a boil. Salt the water and add the kale. Boil the kale for 2–3 minutes or until slightly wilted. Drain and let cool.

While the kale cools, bring a small skillet to medium-low heat. Add the walnuts and red pepper flakes. Let the walnuts toast for around 5–7 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from heat.

Drop the garlic clove into the food processor or blender. When it’s chopped, turn off the machine and add walnuts/red pepper flake mixture, salt and parmesan. Pulse until the mixture is chopped evenly.

When the kale is cooled, squeeze it with your hands to release as much liquid as possible. Add the kale to the food processor.

Then, with the machine running, drizzle in the oil until the mixture is a thick sauce, about one more minute. Taste the mixture for seasoning, adjusting salt as needed.

Scrape the pesto into a small bowl, and use on pasta, vegetables or crostini. Drizzle leftover pesto with olive oil and cover; it will stay good for 1–2 weeks. Serves 2–4 people, depending on usage. ■

NOW HIRING BLURB ARTS WRITERS

Now it gets a chance to prove it at Holocene

karl kuchs/VANGUARD STAFF

What is going on here: The only time kale can substitute for basil, ladies and gentlemen.

and a local Portland drummer, this tour has featured an extra synth player and the drummer of Shapers pulling double duty. Previous shows on the current tour have been accented with a Johnny Mayer Vanguard staff live visual show featuring projections from both “Fucked Up Friends” DVD releases, bizarre Tobacco, Beans and Shapers are slated to “alien” porn scenes and other weirdo imagery perform live at Holocene on Saturday, April 23. that is sure to shock and awe you.

An onslaught of beats, bangs and bleeps will Tobacco’s solo career kicked off with its 2008 be delivered to your sonic senses as you dance debut “Fucked Up Friends.” A much edgier yourself loose. Tobacco will almost certainly sound than the previously recorded Black Moth deliver a performance that will cause your lungs albums, “Fucked Up Friends” earns its audible to explode with sheer delight. praise through the use of more analog synths Better known as Thomas Fec to his and tons of tape delays. Highlights include mom and pops, Tobacco got its start in the the closing track “Grease Wizard” and “Dirt,” little known group Allegheny White Fish, featuring Aesop Rock who lends his complex, which would later perform under the name harsh-voiced, art-rap style to the zippy and Satanstompingcatepillars and ultimately become whirling track.

Black Moth Super Rainbow. The group went The release of “Maniac Meat” in 2010 was on to dominate the indie electronica scene of a much-awaited follow up. Gritty drums Pennsylvania in the early 2000s. “Falling and dirty, vocoded voice lines give the record Through a Field,” released in 2003, was the first an overall classic analog feel—pitch bends, full length under the BMSR moniker. filters and distortion guide the album to instant While Tobacco generally tours with BMSR success. A guest rap appearance by Beck on the bandmate “The Seven Fields of Aphelion” track “Fresh Hex” gives the listener a lot to decipher with witty wordplay and an at-times sandy synth line that elicits shaky arm motions. Pitchfork Media called it the “feelweird hit of the summer” in a most-auspicious review.

Beans, a native New Yorker from White Plains, is lauded not only as an “accomplished abstract poet” but also as an “early architect of electronicinfused landscapes.”

As one of the founding members of PHOTO courtesy of dowatts.wordpress.com Anti-Pop Consortium, Wacky tobaccy: "Dude if you're gonna spew, spew into this!"

PHOTO courtesy of anticon records

Primary focus: Yeah, that's him all right. But who's the weird dude in the back?

Beans is no stranger to innovation. Beans was forbidden to travel into the city by his mother, but cousins from the Bronx would deliver him mix tapes, cassettes and vinyl that would fuel his exploration into the rap world. He would eventually get into rhyming, as it required little-to-no equipment outside of pens and paper. Initially attending college for fine art, he would shine his rap skills during the Rap Meets Poetry Series in SoHo, New York City. Check out his debut release, “Tomorrow Right Now” for an introduction to his experimental rap stylings.

Shapers are a quartet from Chicago who easily lace ambient sounds with beats, indie rock vocals and mellow good times. Their debut album “Little, Big” just went on sale via the internet and will no doubt be available while they tour. Midway through this tour they stopped by The Horseshack of Rock Island,

Ill., to record a few tracks for the Daytrotter Sessions (a completely open format where touring musicians can record a session to share with the world, commonly done while on tour).

Daytrotter.com described the track “Virginia Reel” as a “month’s worth of 911 emergency call sirens, all of the city’s ambulances and police cruisers blaring away.” Signed to Two Thumbs Down Records in Chicago, they’ll definitely be a group to watch heavily in 2011.

Tickets are available through Brown Paper Tickets for $13 in advance or $15 at the door on day of show. ■

Tobacco, Shapers, Beans Saturday, April 23 Holocene $13 advance, $15 day of 21+

Brain music from Liz Harris Grouper releases double album Jake Stevens Vanguard staff

vDrone queen Liz Harris has put together two new albums that tap directly into her already developed spacey and rather expansive style.

Remaining powerful yet quite simple, this is the attitude that Harris has claimed in response to the many listeners who appreciate a good ol’ dose of tranquil music once in a while.

This semi-new draw toward musical placidity, along with all of its acclaimed introspective and calming effects, have all come together in what music critics are dubbing this duel record release as “the perfect marriage of all she’s ever done before,” and Liz Harris’ “magnum opus.”

Released April 11, “A I A,” a two-part vinyl consisting of “Dream Loss” and “Alien Observer,” will be the fourth full-length studio album put forth by Harris’ solo project, Grouper. This ambient-noise virtuoso has appeared to perform beyond most of her contemporaries.

By merely dabbling into the sound arsenal she has provided her audience, Harris manages to create a sense of sensual security that encapsulates your body, ultimately unleashing those familiar feel-good vibes that subtly lash out at all that’s known to you as warm, calm and cozy.

The Portland native officially started her musical career in 2005 with the self-released eponymous debut on CD-R, which was

followed shortly afterward by her next two LPs as released on Type Records: “Way Their Crept” and “Wide.” Harris then became somewhat of a prolific figure among the same folks who united in a genre rebellion, claiming to be tired of the explicit aggression that grunge music had undoubtedly mustered up in the early ’90s.

This so-called movement was accredited with giving birth to the counter sub-genre

PHOTO courtesy of type records

Grouper: Do you think you know where this is taken?

of “slo-core,” mainly characterized by being comprised of droned-out layers hidden between slow beats while simultaneously spewing a lo-fi flavor. This flavor is so distinct that one would only expect to hear it coming from a bedroom, perhaps making up a lullaby

for a sleeping infant.

Just as slo-core presents itself as an alternative to the alternative, Grouper packs a unique eeriness that comes laced with enough reverb to give any headphone junkie spatial sickness. Liz Harris’ unmistakable style provides an immense feeling of relief for many of her fans. Sadly, many fans have come to the unfortunate realization that they really don’t have anywhere else to turn to get the same recognizable traits of what Grouper produces.

Harris, in an interview with Pitchfork, remarked how much she wanted to stress on certain details involving these recent two albums, “[A I A] are meant to stand solidly on their own, and also as satellites in the same system.” She then further describes the albums to the interviewer at Pitchfork: “’Dream Loss’ is a collection of older songs, mostly written before a hard time. ‘Alien Observer,’ for the most part, is made of songs recorded after that time. Each has a song that belongs thematically on the other, a seam stitching them together. Both albums…explore otherness. Being an other to one’s own self, to other humans; ghosts and aliens, both literal and metaphorical; and other worlds to escape to (beneath the water, in the sky).”

This release will undeniably become an example in the ancient musical debate in which many musicians and those involved in the music industry will be rambling at each other for years to come: As more and more clever minds keep on rapidly pushing music to

PHOTO courtesy of type records

A I A Brain Loss, Alien Observer

evolve, how can contemporary music keep pace and withstand the issue of the “fad?” As we merge into the decade, my personal fear is that we will become known as the era that founded emo-drone music.

Alas, as Liz Harris tacks on the addition of her fourth LP, “A I A,” to her quietly captivating, growing portfolio, she must be sitting with satisfaction as she makes her mark with her impressionable creations. ■

A I A: Dream Loss and Alien Observer Grouper Yellowelectric records Out now

12 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011

SPORTS

SPORTS ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011■ VANGUARD 13

■ SPORTS

EDITOR: KEVIN FONG SPORTS@DAILYVANGUARD.COM 503-725-4538

Viks take gloves and bats to Seattle

Portland State captures conference championship Vikings roll to another Big Sky Championship as Britney Yada wins individual title Mike Lund Assistant Athletic Director for Media Relations

The Portland State Vikings held off a thirdround charge by Northern Arizona to win the Big Sky Conference Golf Championship in record fashion Wednesday at Ocotillo Golf Resort. After having a comfortable 36-hole lead, it got interesting during the final 18, but the Vikings held on to win their second straight Big Sky Conference Championship, third in four years and sixth in the past nine years.

Portland State shot 303-287-290=880 to beat NAU by 11 strokes. The 880 total broke the Big Sky Championship record by six shots. PSU will now advance to an NCAA Regional Tournament, likely in Auburn, WA on May 5-7.

Northern Arizona came in at 304-296291=891. Northern Colorado was third with 908 overall.

Head Coach Kathleen Takaishi won her third Big Sky Championship title in four years at Portland State.

Viking sophomore Britney Yada also captured the individual title with a record six-under par 72-68-70=210. The tournament record was even-par 216, set three times previously. It was Yada’s second career tournament win.

If there was any doubt about who would be Big Sky Conference Champion, the Vikings tried to erase it on the first few holes Wednesday.

Witness: ■■ Hole number one: Britney Yada holes out from 105 yards for eagle.

■■ Hole number two: Alexia Brown holes out from 145 yards for eagle.

■■ First six holes: Tiffany Schoning makes three birdies.

■■ First seven holes: Lauren Taylor has two birdies.

But, winning the title was no slam dunk for the Vikings. The overnight lead grew to 14 shots early in the round. Then, Bethany Leclair of

answered the challenge though with birdies from Yada, Brown and Schoning. Leclair, who got all the way to six under after 11 holes, made a pair of bogeys on the back nine and NAU’s threat was over.

Despite her early triple bogey, Yada’s final-round two-under par 70 got her to 210 for the tournament. She won by five shots over Leclair, who shot a tournamentrecord 67 on the final day.

“I was just trying to improve on yesterday,” Yada said. “(After my triple bogey) I had my dad’s voice in my head saying ‘don’t let bad holes roll into the next hole.’ So after that I was fine and I just forgot about it.

“I hit it close a lot (today). My pitching wedge especially. I didn’t make a couple of the putts, but I made enough.”

“They just played solid golf,” said Takaishi of her team. “Alexia kept hitting it close.”

Of Yada, the coach said: “I knew she would respond pretty well (to the triple bogey), because three weeks ago she had a couple double bogeys in a four hole stretch. That didn’t faze her. photo courtesy of goviks.com I knew she would come back and Standing tall: Sophomore Britney Yada wins Big Sky individual title. make some birdies.”

Brown, a senior from Phoenix, Northern Arizona single-handedly kept the had her best round ever as a Viking, shooting Lumberjacks in it, making five birdies in a span a one-under par 71. That lifted her into the top of seven holes. Even Yada had a hiccup, making six on the leaderboard. Her 54-hole score of 223 a triple bogey at the fifth hole. also was a career-best at PSU. Playing in the final group, Yada rallied again “Having an eagle helps, it boosts the confiand birdied number nine, but the Vikings had dence for sure,” Brown said. “I felt like I really only a six-shot lead at the turn. Yada and Tiffany trusted my swing today, swung freely and enSchoning finished the front nine at even, while joyed myself out there.”

Brown was one-under par.

Schoning shot a one-over par 73 to move up At one point, early on the back nine, the to a tie for ninth. She recorded 79-74-73=226 Viking lead had dropped to four strokes. PSU for the tournament.

Taylor shot 76 in the final round, and finished at 79-73-76=228. The Viking freshman tied for 14th.

Kalyn Dodge, the other Viking senior, shot eight-over par 80 on Wednesday. She tied for 12th overall at 75-72-80=227.

The Big Sky Championship was played at Ocotillo Golf Resort, a 6,162-yard, par 72 layout. The Vikings won the 2010 tournament by two shots over Sacramento State with a score of 900 over 54 holes. ■ *This article was originally published by GoViks. com. It is reprinted here in its original form.

Big Sky Conference Championship at Ocotillo Golf Club, Chandler, AZ April 18-20, 2011 Par 72, 6,162 yards 9 teams/45 golfers

Team Scores: 1. Portland State, 303-287-290=880 2. Northern Arizona, 304-296-291=891 3. Northern Colorado, 308-305-295=908 4. Montana, 304-307-303=914 5. Sacramento State, 312-312-308=932 6. Montana State, 319-304-311=934 7. Weber State, 321-319-306=946 8. Eastern Washington, 322-314-316=952 9. Idaho State, 335-343-320=998

Top individual scores (45 competitors): 1. Britney Yada, PSU, 72-68-70=210 2. Bethany Leclair, NAU, 73-75-67=215 3. Carleigh Silvers, UNC, 76-72-71=219 4. Ashli Helstrom, UM, 73-71-77=221 5. Alexa Kim, NAU, 78-70-74=222 t6. Lauren Howell, UM, 73-77-73=223 t6. Alexia Brown, PSU, 77-75-71=223 8. Ali Nelson, UNC, 75-77-73=225 t9. Kaitlen Parsons, NAU, 75-75-76=226 t9. Samantha Saffold, SAC, 76-76-74=226 t9. Tiffany Schoning, PSU, 79-74-73=226 t12. Leslie McGetrick, MSU, 77-79-71=227 t12. Kalyn Dodge, PSU, 75-72-80=227 t14. Lauren Taylor, PSU, 79-73-76=228 t14. Paige Crawford, MSU, 76-75-77=228

Final match win puts women’s tennis in the records Vikings triumph over Bengals in final season match Rosemary Hanson Vanguard staff

The women’s tennis team made it to the record books when they beat the Idaho State Bengals on Wednesday morning. The win was the third conference win for the Vikings, the most in the history of the team. The 5-2 victory ends Portland State’s season in a three-way tie for fifth place with a 7-11 overall, 3-5 conference record.

Regardless of the results of the final few matches from other Big Sky schools, the Vikings are guaranteed a sixth place finish.

Against Idaho State, the Vikings came out and played like it was their final match of the season.

Senior Anya Dalkin and freshman Yuki Sugiyama opened the day with a decisive 8-1 doubles win over the Bengals. In the No. 3 position, junior Marti Pellicano and senior Caitlin Stocking continued the Viks’ momentum, attaining an 8-2 victory over their opponents.

The momentum continued into the start of singles competition. Sugiyama pulled her 13th overall season victory when she took junior Katharina Marsela in 6-1, 6-3 set scores. The win puts Sugiyama in the record books for the most wins in the No. 1 position. She beat the record set in 1998, which was 12 wins in the No. 1 position.

The freshman also ended the season just one notable improvement from her three wins last match short of the overall singles victories, with season. The senior also grabbed a 5-7 overall rethe record standing of 14 set in 2003. cord in doubles with partner Pellicano.

Following Sugiyama’s The last position win, the No. 2 and 3 for the match was the positions of Dalkin only match that ended and sophomore Nayain a three-set total. natara Vadali faltered Todd lost her opening to the Bengals, dropframe in a close 4-6 ping both of their score, but she came matches, thus leaving back in the second set, it up the final three winning it 6-3. The fipositions to secure a nal set was a battle to victory for the Viks. the end, as the freshPellicano, who has man edged out her lost heart-breaking opponent 11-9 in a matches over the tiebreaker. past two weekends, In a statement rewent out in the best leased by the school, way she could, with a head coach Jay Sterperfect sweep of her ling summed up the /VANGUARD STAFF opponent, redshirt end to a successful Final swing: Senior Caitlin Stocking plays final PSU game. junior Risa Fujiwara. season.

The win puts Pellicano’s personal record at “I’m very proud of the girls,” Sterling said.

6-11 overall and ties her with freshman Ma- “It was awesome to win the match and have rina Todd for the second best Viking record the kind of a season we had this year after last this season. season.”

After Pellicano did away with her opponent, After a difficult finish to last year that landed her doubles partner, Stocking, followed suit. the Vikings in last place in the standings, a posThe senior ended her career at PSU with a near sible fifth place finish is a prize worth celebratsweep, recording a 6-1, 6-0 win. Stocking leaves ing. While the team has to say goodbye to senior PSU with a 5-9 overall record her senior year, a players Dalkin and Stocking, new faces are fill-

ing in the ranks. The major question in need of answering is who will fill in at the No. 1 position to replace Sugiyama, who is heading back to Japan next year. Still, the Vikings have plenty of younger talent ready to step and help the team keep heading in the right direction. ■

No better way to go out A farewell to the two seniors of women’s tennis Anya Dalkin The captain stepped up in her role and finished her senior season with a 2-6 conference record and a 5-13 mark overall. Alongside her freshman counterpart, Sugiyama, the pair took 11 wins in the No. 1 double’s position, and a positive record of 5-3 in conference.

Caitlin Stocking The fellow senior made her presence known this season when she nearly doubled her win total from last season.

Stocking completed her senior season with a 5-9 overall record, compared to a 3-13 record her junior year. She also grabbed five doubles wins with partner Marti Pellicano, totaling three wins in the No. 2 position and two in the No. 3 position. * Also, No. 1 position player Yuki Sugiyma will not be on the team next season, as the freshman was here only as apart of a one-year study abroad program and will be heading back to Japan soon.

The must-win scenario should not be too intimidating for the Vikings, as the girls in green hold the clear advantage over the Redhawks.

Portland State leads the overall series 12-2 and has won each of the last five meetings, including Robert Britt a win earlier this season during pre-conference Vanguard staff play. The Vikings ruled the Redhawks 10-2 in After spending last weekend earning four wins five innings on March 12 at the University of in southeastern Idaho, Portland State softball Washington-hosted Husky Softball Classic. continues conference play with a relatively short Portland State swept last season’s four-game trip north to the campus of Seattle University for series, winning by a combined score of 18-7. a pair of doubleheaders Further adding contoday and tomorrow. fidence to the Viking With identical recharge is PSU’s recent cords in Pacific Coast sweep of the weekly Softball Conference division honors. play, the Vikings (17On Tuesday, sopho15 overall) and Redmore infielder Carly hawks (9-25) sit in McEachran and senior a three-way tie for Nichole Latham were second place in the selected as the MounPCSC’s Mountain Ditain Division’s Player vision standings. This and Pitcher of the weekend’s results are Week, respectively. likely to determine McEachran hit whether either team .667 in last week’s can make next month’s four-game sweep of league championship.

Idaho State, crossing Along with Utah Valthe plate five times ley, PSU and Seattle and also knocking in each hold 5-3 league six RBIs. In league records, putting each games, she is hitting squad two games be.429 and currently hind division-leading sits in the third spot Northern Colorado. on the league tables With anything less than for her .905 slugging karl kuchs/vanguard staff a series win, the Vikings Follow through: The Viks need a big finish to the season. percentage. will be hard-pressed to Latham earned the make the PCSC Championship Series for the sec- win in both of her appearances over the weekond consecutive year. end to improve her season record to 10-7. In

Portland State softball continues conference play in the Emerald City

10 innings, she threw 12 Ks and seven walks and gave up 11 hits on her way to a 2.80 ERA weekend. On the season, Latham holds the second-best ERA in the conference with a 1.96 mark overall.

Statistically, Portland State trumps Seattle on both sides of the ball. The Vikings hold the second-highest batting average in the conference for PCSC games at .324 and have a .491 slugging percentage. The Redhawks, meanwhile, are hitting .284 in league games, with a .377 slugging mark.

Senior shortstop Arielle Wiser leads the Vikings at the plate during conference games, where she is hitting .444 with five runs and six RBIs. In overall play, junior catcher Lacey Holm leads with a .378 batting average—the fifth highest in the PCSC. Holm enters this weekend on a six-game hitting streak, the Vikings’ longest active stretch of the season.

Seattle junior infielder Hannah Klein leads the Redhawks with a .360 overall batting average, .429 during league play.

From the pitching circle, Portland State has a 2.74 overall ERA and a 3.02 average during league games. Comparatively, Seattle is giving up an average of 6.63 earned runs overall, and 3.87 in conference games. Opponents are hitting just .239 off the Viking hurlers and .376 off the Redhawk pitchers.

Today and tomorrow’s doubleheaders are both scheduled to begin at noon on Seattle University’s Logan Field. This weekend also serves as Seattle’s final home stand of the season. After hosting Portland State, the Redhawks spend their final eight games on the road.

Live audio and stats from all four of this weekend’s games will be available on the Live Events portion of GoViks.com. ■

Players of the Week The Pacific Coast Softball Conference announced earlier this week that Portland State sophomore Carly McEachran and senior Nichole Latham were named the PCSC’s Mountain Division Player and Pitcher of the Week, respectively.

This selection marks the first weekly honor of McEachran’s career; for Latham, it marks the fourth honor this season and ninth of her career.

This is the second time this season that Viking players have swept the division honors. On Feb. 15, junior catcher Lacey Holm and sophomore pitcher Anna Bertrand each earned the division nod for their performance in the season’s opening weekend.

Carly McEachran Sophomore, infielder — Hit .667 last weekend (6-of-9) with five runs and six RBIs — Hitting .267 on the season and leads team with four HRs

Nichole Latham Senior, pitcher — Went 2-0 last weekend with 12 strikeouts and 11 hits over 10 innings — Holds 10-7 overall record with 1.96 overall ERA

14 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011

ETC.

SPORTS ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011■ VANGUARD 15

■ ETC.

Vikings head to Ducks’ pond

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

Portland State travels to Hayward Field for season’s second-to-last meet

CALENDAR

Today ASPSU Elections: TIME TO VOTE! 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at voting stations or online at Banweb all day; through April 29 What does the student government do? It advocates for students at the university, city, and state levels. It is responsible for distributing more than $13 million in funds collected by the Student Fee. Student government members serve on on-campus committees in order to voice the student opinion on a variety of issues.

Voting is open through April 29.

Voting stations: Victors Dining Hall Between Smith Memorial Student Union and Nueberger Hall Inside of Smith Memorial Student Union First floor of the library On the second floor of the Rec Center Earth Day Festival 11 a.m.

Park Blocks Participate in Portland State’s 4th Annual Earth Day Festival. Activities include: live music from Fruition, Water Tower Bucket Boys, Empty Space Orchestra, Namesa, Green Note and more; community non-profits; local art and food vendors; student demonstrations and research.

Rain or shine!

Women of Color Zine Workshops 5:30 p.m.

WRC Lounge This workshop will focus on ways to sell your zine! You can sell them through a zine distro, create your own website, or better yet…sell them at the Portland Zine Symposium! The Women of Color Workshop will decide if we want to represent at the PZS this summer! If interested please call the Women’s Resource Center at 503-7255672 and set up an appointment with Tonya Jones, the Empowerment Project Coordinator, or email at rwp@pdx.edu.

Saturday Portland State University Department of Music Annual Opera Production: “Street Scene” 7:30 p.m.

Lincoln Performance Hall Join PSU Opera and Orchestra for Kurt Weill’s “Street Scene” this Spring! With its huge cast, this highly theatrical opera has something for everyone, soaring melodic lines, colorful American jazz idioms and Broadway style dance numbers. It is a story of love, passion, greed and death that all takes place in front of a tenement building in 1946 Manhattan.

The plot follows the romance between Rose Maurrant and her neighbor Sam Kaplan, and the extramarital affair of Roses mother, Anna, which is eventually discovered by her husband.

It portrays everyday life, the ordinary squabbles and gossip of the neighbors as tensions mount building into a tragedy of epic proportions!

Runs through May 1.

“College: Yes You Can” for Latino middle school students and families 8:30 a.m.

Peter Stott Center “College: Yes You Can” is the result of a project

by Oregon’s public universities and community colleges called the Middle School Outreach

Consortium. Its goal is to make college more accessible to underrepresented students by reaching out to middle-school students and families to promote a college-going culture.

The program will be broken into student sessions and parent sessions, covering topics such as high-school and college preparation, financial aid and scholarships and careers. Parking and lunch will be provided.

PSU Theater Arts Presents David Mamet’s “Oleanna” 7:30 p.m.

Lincoln Hall Studio Theater A seething investigation of “political correctness” in a time when the nations morality has been tested by increased incidents of sexual harassment.

Direction by Michael OConnell.

Tickets available through the PSU Box Office (503-725-3307).

Sunday Young Adult Mass Noon St. Michael’s Catholic Church Attend your weekly Mass with fellow young adults of the PSU Catholic Student Association and St. Michael’s Catholic Church! Our group of talented musicians often provide the music for worship at this Mass. Look for the group of students in the front pews and stick around afterwards for lunch and socializing!

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, April 22, 2011

Edited by Will Shortz Across 1 Carpaccio base, maybe 8 Rite aide 15 “I havenʼt a care in the world” 16 He succeeded to the Chrysanthemum Throne in 1989 17 Certain committee member 18 Surveys, usually with negative responses 19 Music genre 21 Barbados, e.g.

22 Worms cries 25 Ulysses S. Grant was its eighth pres.

26 Refuted 28 State sch. in Kingston 29 Severely rebukes 31 What mown lawns do

33 Wheelchair attachments 36 Home of Hampshire College 38 Part of an ancient procession 39 Pressured 41 Get rid of 42 Dolphin, e.g.

44 Organizational figure 45 Strapping 47 Jules Verne harpooner ___ Land 48 Singer Vannelli of 1970s-ʼ80s pop 49 “___ mouse!”

50 Flightless bird 52 Standard with the lyric “Ainʼt these tears in my eyes tellinʼ you?”

55 Smooth

ANSWER TO PREVIOUS PUZZLE O N E R O V a B E S I N E S T L I S P S

A T T E N

U S U A L

W H O K O R S P O

S U E N T S O A I E E M G A D L A L L D I O G M H A S T R O p A N R K

T O N S

A R G U S

D O G G R O C R E I N S T I R S E

H T A I S b S A N L U M E D O I N E E K W N E C O E N G C R E E I S N T

R A M P O N I A W A R D S D A B E T E A F O G T O M E F E S T L A T H E

I S T N T I C A R Ω M E P P S

Monday Artist Lecture: Leslie Hewitt 7:30 p.m.

Shattuck Hall Annex, room 198 Hewitt studied at the Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art, the Yale University School of Art and at New York University, where she was a Clark Fellow in the Africana and Visual Culture Studies programs.

She was included in the 2008 Whitney Biennial and the recipient of the 2008 Art Matters research grant to the Netherlands. A selection of recent and forthcoming exhibitions include the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Studio Museum in Harlem, Artists Space in New York, Project Row Houses in Houston, and LA><ART in Los Angeles. Hewitt has held residencies at the Studio Museum in Harlem and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

World Malaria Day 2011 3 p.m.

SMSU Cascade Room (room 236) and Browsing Lounge (room 238) April 25 is a day to commemorate global efforts to control malaria around the world. Malaria infects more than 500 million people per year and kills nearly 1 million. The buden of malaria is heaviest in sub-Saharan Africa but the disease also afflicts Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East and even parts of Europe.

Please join us for a seminar on mararia sponsored by Portland State University, Klarquist Sparkman LLP, and DesignMedix, Inc. The seminar includes a talk by Elizabeth Ponder of BioVentures for Global Health entitled “From Bench to Bedside and Back: Translating Global Health Product Needs into Opportunities for Innovation.”

Gretchen Sandau Vanguard Staff

59 Beady-eyed and sneaky 60 Criminal types 61 Was irritated and made some noise about it?

62 Semiannual event Down 1 Some linemen: Abbr.

2 What may be coming after you 3 Not ruddy 4 23-Down caramel desserts 5 “Mustʼve been something ___” 6 When thereʼs nothing doing 7 City known as Salisbury until 1982 8 Farm delivery 9 Accomplish by economy, with “out” 10 You: Ger. 11 Games that go into overtime, say 12 United States divider 13 “… ___ told by an idiot”: Macbeth 14 “Got it” 20 Rancor 22 Like something youʼve heard?

23 See 4-Down 24 Wasted 26 Home to more than 51/2 million Arabs 27 Kind of pass 29 Ethnic cuisine

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

15

10

11

12

13

14

34

35

18 19 23

20

24

26

29

31

21

25

28

27

30

32

33

36

37

39

38 40

42 45

9

16

17

22

No. 0318

41 43

46

44

47

49

48

50

52

53

54

51 55

59

60

61

62

56

57

Puzzle by Patrick Merrell

30 ___ Crighton Trophy (Canadaʼs Heisman-like award) 32 Like wind and solar energy 34 Wheel alignment 35 Pope with a Nov. 10 feast day 37 Gob 40 Pretty ballerina in an Abba song

43 Respite from dependents and everyone else 45 Some circus performers 46 Bring back to full strength, as a staff 48 Guardian spirits 50 Papyrus, e.g.

51 Some soft white blocks

53 La ___ (Hollywood nickname)

54 Marilyn Monroe played one in “Some Like It Hot”

56 Suffix with bass 57 Operation Mail Call grp.

58 B.O. buys

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.

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

●

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 outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given

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

● Freebies: Fill in single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

4-22-11

TO PLACE AN EVENT: Contact vgcalendar@gmail.com or pick up a calendar request form at the Vanguard

READ US

ONLINE

PSUVANGUARD.COM

ADVERTISE FOR FREE!

58

Place an event on the calendar: Contact vgcalendar@gmail.com or pick up a calendar request form at the Vanguard advertising office, SMSU, room 114.

This weekend the track and field team will be traveling down to Eugene for the second time this season to compete in the Oregon Relays. The last two remaining meets of the season before the Big Sky Outdoor Championship, May 11–14, will be held at the University of Oregon.

For those who want to follow the meet from the Portland area, live stats will be posted on the Duck’s athletic website, goducks.com.

Due to her success last weekend at the Mt. Sac Relays in Sacramento, Calif., the Big Sky Conference awarded PSU junior Joenisha Vinson the Athlete of the Week award for women’s field.

Vinson’s final score was 5,277 points, which is a new best score for her career by 223 points and is the second best in the PSU record books. With this score, she accomplished her goal of getting qualified for the Big Sky Outdoor Championship. The NCAA has Vinson ranked at 19 and 39 in the West region for this year’s season in the heptathlon and 100-meter hurdles, respectively. She also sits as the top ranked competitor in the conference.

Her combined score was only 130 points away from beating former Viking Robin Unger’s top score of 5,356 points.

Vinson started off the first day strong, taking the competition by surprise in the 100-meter hurdles with a time of 13.84 seconds, earning her 1,003 points. This not only broke her own school record, but also was the first time any PSU athlete has scored over 1,000 points in a given event.

Vinson continued scoring highly with 712 and 608 points in the high jump and the shot put, respectively. Her shot put throw of 36.7 feet was her second personal record made. She then concluded day one with the 200-meters where she recorded her second best career time of 25.04, giving her 883 points.

By the end of the day she had set a new personal record for the most points scored in one day, her first day total being 3,206 points, a smashing 154-point improvement.

On day two, she threw a new PR by 15 feet, with a mark of 119-9 in javelin. She also had a new season best in the long jump, recording a leap of 18-5 1/4.

As a whole, the team has five athletes ranked in the NCAA West region top 48, four of

which are the women’s 4x100 relay team, ranked 32. The relay team of senior Karene King, junior Anaiah Rhodes, sophomore Geronne Black and Vinson are also ranked, with exception to Rhodes, in other events. King and Black sit at 38 and 35, respectively, in the 100-meter run. The other Viking ranked is junior Sean Mackelvie at 14 for the men’s javelin.

Last year at this meet, junior Tony Crisofulli ran a new PR in the 800-meters and the women’s 4x100 relay won their event as well. Hopes are high that this upcoming meet will bring the same luck, if not more, as the Vikings have qualified more athletes for the Big Sky Outdoor Championship this year. ■

Big Sky Championship Qualifiers Men: Jeff Borgerson—High jump Tony Crisofulli—800m* John Lawrence—3,000m steeplechase Nate Lightner—400m hurdles Sean Mackelvie—Javelin** Andrew Salg—10,000m DeShawn Shead—110m hurdles* Women: Geronne Black—100m**; 200m Allison Burkett—Javelin Adrienne Davis—Shot put Karene King—100m*; 200m** Mikeya Nicholson—Triple jump* Anaiah Rhodes—100m Amber Rozcicha—800m; 5,000m Joenisha Vinson—100m hurdles*; 200m*; Heptathlon** 4x100 relay team** * TOP FIVE IN THE CONFERENCE ** TOP MARK IN THE CONFERENCE

16 VANGUARD ■ FRIDAY, APRIL 22, 2011

■ SPORTS YOUR WEEKEND IN SPORTS Friday Softball double-header

Portland State (17-15) at Seattle University (9-25) Seattle, Wash.

Noon *Second game starts approx. 30 minute after finish of game one.

WHL Playoffs WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS – GAME ONE:

Spokane Chiefs (48-18, 102 pts) at Portland Winterhawks (50-19, 103 pts) Rose Garden Portland, Ore. 7 p.m.

Saturday Big Sky Tennis MEN’S CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS:

No. 1 Sacramento State vs.

No. 4 Montana State

all photos by drew marti/VANGUARD STAFF

Charging forward: The Viking's football team continues spring practice, placing added focus on the defensive side of the ball.

No. 2 Montana vs.

No. 3 Northern Arizona Bobcat-Anderson Center Bozeman, Mont.

10 a.m.

Softball double-header

Vikings defense making headway in spring practice PSU football witnesses increased energy, consistency among defensive players Stephen Lisle Vanguard staff

M

ost would agree that Portland State football saw major improvements last season, but still lacked the firepower to be a driving force in the Big Sky conference. Currently, the Vikings are working hard in spring practice, focusing on building off their experience and returning with a greater sense of confidence this fall.

The main focus in training has been around head coach Nigel Burton’s longtime specialty: defense.

Last season, the Viks were known for being a dangerous team on the offensive side of the ball. Running back Cory McCaffrey led the Big Sky in rushing with nearly 1,300 yards and 10 touchdowns. Quarterback Connor Kavanaugh provided a ground threat and a solid passing game as well. However, what Portland State really lacked last season was an overall effectiveness from the defense.

Portland State’s struggles on the defensive side of the ball were emphasized by their inability to shut down their opposition’s running game. The Viks gave up nearly 233 yards per game on the ground, leading to 30 running touchdowns from opposing teams last season. The weaknesses were exposed in crucial match-ups, in which the team was unable to close out tight games, ultimately leading to a disappointing 2-9 overall record.

While the defense struggled due to a lack cohesion and game experience, there is an entirely different atmosphere on the field in spring practice this year.

Nine returners make their way back to the field for the defense, and the sense of doubt and question has disappeared from the seemingly electric atmosphere thus far.

“The biggest improvement on defense has been across the board,” Burton said with confidence. “Just understanding what players have to do, there are not as many questions, it’s just guys buying into the way we do it and understanding their assignments.”

Veteran players are returning to help build up their defense, with some big names coming back for a senior season. Converted strong safety Deshawn Shead

has been a huge part of Portland State’s defense, finishing last season with 51 tackles, seven pass breakups and two fumble recoveries. The other notable returning starter for the defense is middle linebacker Ryan Rau, who led the team the previous two seasons in tackles, coming up with 83 tackles in their 2010 campaign.

The major players returning for the Viks defense will be huge for this upcoming season, but improved confidence and energy is not all that will be required out of players like Rau and Shead this upcoming year.

With all the unknowns still appearing in both the linebackers as well as the defensive backs, the veterans will need to come up with big plays.

“We are doing really great right now; we need to keep up our energy and be gap-sound and stay disciplined,” said Rau about his linebacker group. “I think we feel pretty strong. I’m really excited about our D-line, so right now we feel there is a good overall vibe going in our group.”

While Rau and company look to create a solid linebacking core, a core that Burton said was still in need of improvements, they aren’t the main defensive focus in practice. The defensive backs are where coach Burton feels there is still a great amount of work to be done, despite having Shead and others returning.

“The cornerback group needs the most work,” Burton said. “I think we have some nice playmakers, but its kind of the life of a DB; you can cover a guy 99 times and you get beat once, all everybody cares about is that one time, so I think that’s where we need to continue to improve.”

The improvement is expected after Deshawn Shead was moved to strong safety from the starting cornerback position. The move was made because of the return of cornerback Mike Williams, who played in 10 games last season, starting in two. Oregon State transfer David Ross, who played for the Viks last year, returns to the lineup as well. With Shead’s move to strong safety, coach Burton feels there is more potential to spread the field and accomplish their goal of creating more turnovers.

On Monday, during the first scrimmage of the spring season, the Viks did just that and more in practice. The defense came out strong and didn’t allow the offense to find their rhythm. The offense ran the ball 17 times, seeing almost no result and ending the day with a staggering negative three yards rushing. The defense showed incredible flashes of potential, but at this

Portland State (17-15) at Seattle University (9-25) Seattle, Wash.

Noon *Second game starts approx. 30 minute after finish of game one.

Big Sky Tennis WOMEN’S CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS:

No. 1 Sacramento State vs.

No. 4 Montana State

No. 2 Northern Arizona vs.

No. 3 Montana Bobcat-Anderson Center Bozeman, Mont.

2 p.m.

NBA Playoffs ROUND ONE – GAME FOUR:

Dallas Mavericks (57-25) at Portland Trailblazers (48-34) Rose Garden Portland, Ore. 2 p.m.

MLS

Portland Timbers (2-2-1. 7 pts) at Los Angeles Galaxy (3-1-3, 12 pts) Home Depot Center Los Angeles, Calif.

8 p.m.

Chasing success: PSU's defense is showing signs of improvement.

point consistency is what they will need the most. The first real test for the defense will be on May 7 in the spring game, when the defense will have its chance to show what kind of potential may lie ahead.

“We were pretty good last season, but number one thing is that our energy and consistency are being improved on,” Shead said. “Last year we would be good in one game and then take it down the next game and then play great again and then take it down again, so for us the best thing we can do is be consistent, and that is what we have been doing so far.” ■

2010 defensive standouts: DeShawn Shead,Strong safety: 51 tackles, 7 pass break-ups, 2 fumble recoveries Ryan Rau, Linebacker: 83 tackles, 3 tackles for a loss, 2 pass break-ups Carl Sommer, Defensive End: 46 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, 4 sacks

Sunday Big Sky Tennis FINAL ROUND—CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS:

Men’s championship @ 10 a.m.

(Opponents TBD) Women’s championship @ 2 p.m.

(Opponents TBD) Bobcat-Anderson Center Bozeman, Mont.

WHL Playoffs WESTERN CONFERENCE FINALS—GAME TWO:

Spokane Chiefs (48-18, 102 pts) at Portland Winterhawks (50-19, 103 pts) Rose Garden Portland, Ore. 5 p.m.

Weekend Track & Field The Oregon Relays Friday, April 22–Saturday, April 2 Hayward Field Eugene, Ore.