PORTLAND STATE VANGOURD of a i p e e r c u n r o c a Halloween history ghost stories
Portland’s spooky secrets See p. 6
VOLUME 72 • ISSUE 11 • OCTOBER 24, 2017
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CONTENTS COVER PHOTO BY SILVIA CARULLO, DESIGN BY SHANNON KIDD
NEWS EXPERTS MEET AT PSU TO TALK HOMELESSNESS
P. 3
INTERNATIONAL MALTESE JOURNALIST KILLED AFTER EXPOSING GOV’T OFFICIALS OFFSHORE ACCOUNTS
P. 5
OPINION IT’S TIME FOR ANDROGYNY
P. 24
STAFF
OPINION EDITOR Thomas Spoelhof
Morgan Watkins Anna Williams
EDIT ORI A L EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Colleen Leary
ONLINE EDITOR Andrew D. Jankowski
PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A PHOTO EDITOR Silvia Cardullo
MANAGING EDITOR Evan Smiley NEWS EDITOR Alex-jon Earl ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Alanna Madden INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Chris May ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Matthew Andrews
COPY CHIEF Missy Hannen COPY EDITORS Harlie Hendrickson CONTRIBUTORS Sarah Alderson Gray Bouchat Jordan Ellis Willis Homann Jake Johnson Claire Meyer Brad Nichols Fiona Spring Justin Thurer Anamika Vaughn
PHOTOGRAPHERS Brad Nichols Katie Pearce MULTIMEDIA MANAGER Danielle Horn CR E ATI V E DIR EC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Shannon Kidd DESIGNERS Lydia Wojack-West Robby Day Marika Van De Kamp
VIKING VOICES STUDENT RESPONDS TO ASPSU— ‘DIALOGUE IS A TWO-WAY STREET’
P. 6
VANGOURD 2017
P. 6-21
ARTS & CULTURE STARS, VEILS, GAZE: THE WEEKND AT ROSE GARDEN
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Correction: Last week, a caption in print mis-identified subjects of a photo in the article ‘For Three Days, All Silk Roads Lead to Portland’. The caption should have read as follows: “Dr. Youngpil Kwon (left), professor Junghee Lee (far right) and Dr. Insook Lee (middle), participated in the Silk Road Symposium event. Courtesy of Junghee Lee.” Vanguard regrets the error. Grace Giordano Ella Higgins Aaron Ughoc Chloe Kendall Elena Kim DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING MANAGERS Andrew D. Jankowski Evan Smiley Colleen Leary A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Corrine Nightingale TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT Annie Ton
COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood To contact Vanguard staff members, visit psuvanguard. com/contact. To get involved and see current job openings, visit psuvanguard.com/jobs MIS SION S TAT EMEN T The Vanguard’s mission is to serve the Portland State community with timely, accurate, comprehensive and critical content while upholding high journalistic standards. In the process, we aim to enrich our staff with a quality, hands-on journalism education and a number of skills that are highly valued in today’s job market.
A BOU T The Vanguard, established in 1946, is published weekly as an independent student newspaper governed by the PSU Student Media Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers and do not necessarily represent the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. Find us in print every Tuesday and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com. Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @psuvanguard for multimedia content and breaking news.
NEWS
TOWNHALL BRINGS EXPERTS, COMMUNITY TOGETHER TO TALK HOMELESSNESS ANNA WILLIAMS
Portland State University and KATU news hosted a lively community town hall to discuss homelessness in Portland on Tuesday, Oct.17 in Smith Memorial Student Union. The event was part of PSU’s yearly Portland State of Mind week. Expert panelists fielded audience questions and suggestions about affordable housing, rent control, drug and alcohol addiction, mental illness, and the impact of homelessness in residential areas. The final consensus was not surprising: more needs to be done. However, the specifics of that consensus didn’t sit well with everyone. Towards the end of the one-hour discussion, one disgruntled downtown Portland homeowner asked, “What about us?” to a jeering audience. PSU has been hosting televised town halls for the last seven years. Present on the panel were Multnomah County Chair Deborah Kafoury, Dean of PSU and Oregon Health and Science University’s joint School of Public Health Dr. David Bangsberg, Initiative Director of A Home for Everyone Marc Jolin, and Ellie Hayes, a formerly homeless Portlander who now works at a local shelter. Audience members ranged from those currently experiencing homelessness to neighborhood association members worried about their kids’ safety, to homeless advocates and PSU student activists. As soon as the event began, PSU President Dr. Rahmat Shoureshi began discussing numbers. In the 2017 federal Point-in-Time homeless survey, as analyzed by PSU’s College of Urban and Public Affairs, there are at least 4,177 people living on Portland’s streets right now. That’s a 10 percent increase from 2015, “which means the problem is getting worse,” Shoureshi said.
CRIME BLOTTER: OCT. 16-22 JAKE JOHNSON
OCT. 16 Bike stolen Hoffman Hall A Portland State University student contacted the Campus Public Safety Office to report that their bicycle had been stolen while in an evening class. The bicycle had been secured with a cable lock that was severed. Wallet snatched Broadway A student had their wallet snatched during the afternoon from the Broadway Building Computer Lab.
“Unfortunately the market forces are so strong right now that holding down rents for some people while rents are going up for other people [would] create a whole other set of issues,” Kafoury said. While other audience members brought up solutions like sleeping pods and safe rest areas like those in Eugene, Hayes reminded the crowd why permanent housing mattered most to those struggling with homelessness. “You could be living in a shelter and you can be living at rest places…but that’s not going to get you really what you need,” Hayes said. “You need to be housed so that you can have a point of reference, [a] place to come back to, and your own little space to be able to work from.” When an audience member complained that homeless people “don’t pay taxes” to the dismay of the room, Hayes responded again. “I didn’t pay taxes when I was homeless,” Hayes said, but the “wrap-around services” in the community allowed her to keep her baby, graduate college, and now, give back to the community. While services such as the 211 information line, winter warming and summer cooling shelters, and mobile mental health services are always available, Jolin said such resources are often overstretched. That’s why, said Kafoury, “we need to be big and we need to be bold. [I] need you all to demand from your government and demand from your business community and demand from your neighbors that…we need supportive housing and supportive services for the people that are suffering on the streets.” When asked if she believed Portland would solve its housing crisis, Hayes said, “I have absolute faith that this is solvable. If I didn’t think it was fixable, I wouldn’t be here.”
While those numbers have grown over time, “the impact homelessness has had on a person’s life has not changed in the last 20 years,” Jolin said. Jolin also brought up the larger number of people with “significant” disabilities that are now living on the streets in addition to the increasing population of those who are chronically homeless. People who are chronically homeless have been homeless for at least a year or many times over a three-year period. According to Hayes, long-term homelessness causes children stress at school, “longterm trauma,” and “makes it hard for kids to be able to connect with people and connect in their schools and their communities.” Further, added Bangsberg, a “new” homeless population has emerged in the last several years. “We have seen a doubling in the number of people who are homeless that are 55 or older,” Bansgberg said. Bangsberg explained how the “new” homeless population might “work service industry jobs, [do] not have pensions, [have] not been able to save enough for retirement, [or] have an illness or some life event that makes them fall behind on bills.” “Once they’re on the streets,” Bangsberg added, “their mental health deteriorates, [and] they may use substances.” Panelists stressed that a multi-level approach, from community members, government and businesses is what the city needs to solve the housing crisis. The overarching need, however, is more permanent housing. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler has signaled a shift away from increasing shelter beds and toward funding more permanent, affordable housing in the city. But some community members want faster answers.
TJ, an audience member who is part of the Laurelhurst Neighborhood Association, said in the last two weeks she has picked up 31 used syringes from the Laurelhurst Park playground. “We can’t have the collateral damage to our children’s safety,” TJ stated. She explained that she has heard a lot of talk about affordable housing but not enough about addiction and mental health treatment. TJ pointed to mobile mental health centers and safe injection sites in other cities as possible solutions. “I understand the safety concern,” Bangsberg said. However, mental health and addiction treatment services “are best delivered with a stable place to live, linked with intense case management and vocational services,” Bangsberg added. “Addiction, mental illness and poverty are not crimes,” Bangsberg stressed. “When you’re homeless, you’re struggling and in pain.” According to Bangsberg, the United States’ federal funding for affordable housing has fallen since the 1980s. This brought up audience questions about private businesses’ responsibilities in subsidizing affordable housing, zoning requirements and rent control. Kafoury said Portland City Council was slated to vote on a new measure that would add 2,000 units of affordable housing in the next 10 years. This comes in addition to the $258 million affordable housing bond Portlanders voted for last November. The council will begin voting on the specifics of that bond next week. As for rent control, Kafoury said that someone has brought the issue of capping rents to the Oregon Legislature almost every session for the last 15 years.
Intoxicated trespass Millar Library A non-student was intoxicated in the Millar Library. CPSO had warned the individual earlier in the day about an active exclusion from campus and was promptly cited for Trespass II.
OCT. 19 Dorm burgled Broadway Building PSU students living in the Broadway Building reported to CPSO that their dorm had been burgled. Several items were taken.
Suspicious wandering Art Building CPSO responded to reports of a suspicious person meandering through the Art Building’s offices. The person had a current exclusion from PSU and was cited for Trespass II.
Window smashed, registration taken Parking Structure 3 A student parked their vehicle for the weekend and returned to find the window smashed and several things stolen, including the vehicle’s current registration.
Woken up to be arrested Millar Library A non-student was intoxicated and later discovered sleeping in the second floor bathroom. CPSO arrived and arrested the individual.
Stolen debit card Parking Structure 3 PSU student contacted CPSO to report that a debit card had been stolen from their vehicle. The vehicle had no damage.
OCT. 18 Pack pinched Parking Structure 3 A student’s car was broken into overnight. The right rear window was shattered, and a Nike backpack full of school supplies was swiped.
OCT. 20 Unwarranted disturbance Urban Plaza An individual was making a scene. CPSO made contact, discovered the person had a current warrant and arrested them.
OCT. 22 Pinchin’ parts Ondine Hall CPSO excluded an individual suspected of stealing bicycle parts.
Hijacked sack Art Building CPSO received a report of a stolen backpack from room 225 in the Art Building.
Marijuana destroyed University Pointe A non-student was discovered to be a potpossessing minor. CPSO confiscated the grass to destroy it.
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
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NEWS
FOOD TRUCK CATCHES FIRE IN DOWNTOWN PORTLAND
EVAN SMILEY
Two food trucks caught fire at 3:15 p.m. on Wednesday, Oct. 18, in downtown Portland when an employee attempted to fill a running generator with gasoline. Portland State student Heath Renfrow witnessed the explosion on the east side of the river. “I watched the smoke for less than a minute, and then heard the explosion,” Renfrow stated. “It was a loud, deep, but muffled explosion sound.” The explosion, caused by two propane tanks, destroyed both Lai Thai and The Greek Gods Gyro food trucks. Only two individuals received minor injuries.
SMOKE BILLOWS FROM LAI THAI BEFORE THE EXPLOSION. COURTESY OF HEATH RENFROW
FROM THE HILL TO THE ‘HALL: OCT. 17-23
ALEX-JON EARL
GEORGIA STATE REPRESENTATIVE’S ‘RHETORICAL’ REMARKS SPARK FERVOR
working on a Portland home, prompting United States Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley to respond, as well as United States Representatives Suzanne Bonamici and Earl Blumenauer, all of whom condemned the act and demanded an explanation from ICE.
Representative Betty Price (R-48) created a firestorm over remarks made at an investigative committee when she asked whether it was possible to quarantine patients that are HIV positive. Clarifying her remarks, Price stated that her comments were merely rhetorical and were meant to highlight the current plight of patients in her state.
WE DIDN’T FORGET ABOUT GRESHAM
Turning to Gresham, Gresham City Council voted Oct. 17 to fund nonprofits and school programs using funds collected at transfer stations, according to The Outlook. Materials published with the resolution state City Council will direct the allocation of funds with assistance of a committee co-chaired by Oregon Metro Councilor Shirley Craddick.
TRUMP TO UNSEAL JOHN F. KENNEDY ASSASSINATION FILES
Announcing his decision via tweet, United States President Donald Trump stated he intends to unseal currently classified files surrounding the assassination of President John Fitzgerald Kennedy, in line with a 1992 law signed by President George H.W. Bush. The contents of these files is unknown, and questions of what may be withheld are still up in the air.
RUSSIAN TO DELETE FAKE GOP ACCOUNT
The extremely popular Republican twitter account @TEN_GOP was revealed to have been the product of a prolific Russian troll farm. In spite of repeated efforts by the
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actual Republican Party of Tennessee to have the account suspended, it was not until a BuzzFeed report determined the truth that Twitter acted, quickly suspending the account.
ICE RAISES IRE OF OREGON’S SENATORS AND REPS An Immigration and Customs Enforcement warrantless raid brought the arrest and subsequent release of a man
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
THIS WEEK AT PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL
Livable streets discussion 9:45 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 25 Portland City Council will take up discussion about adoption of a comprehensive livable streets plan. Such a plan would allow for the prioritization of people in streetscapes and public rights-of-way. Think: nicer sidewalks, streets that flow with community traffic. 45 minutes of discussion is planned.
INTERNATIONAL
GLOBALIZATION BITES:
FROM SAIGON WITH LOVE
BRAD NICHOLS The Asian Noodle food cart, one of the earliest food carts on Portland State’s campus, first opened its windows over 11 years ago. The owners, George and Yen Lam, originally came to Portland in 1980 and helped Yen Lam’s mother open what they say was the first Vietnamese restaurant in Portland, Saigon Kitchen. Around the same time, the Lams opened their first food cart, which has been at the same location and serving the same menu for 26 years. Though the Lams’ second cart has been located at many places on campus, including the Science Building when it was still just a park, it is now located at the new food cart pod between Branford Price Miller Library and Blackstone Residence Hall. The food itself is all traditional Vietnamese fare from the area in and around Saigon where the Lams both grew up. They make meat and vegan versions of traditional pho soups, and all of them are made with homemade vegetable broth. The pickled carrots, peppers and onions are also homemade, with the chili paste using homegrown chilis plucked straight from Yen Lam’s garden. I tried the Grilled Tofu on Vermicelli Noodles, Vegan Salad Rolls, and Tofu Curry. The grilled tofu was unlike any I any have
tasted before. Its texture was firm and its taste both smoky and sweet. I added some of the pickled vegetables and homegrown-chili paste for some heat and fell in love with the dish. The salad rolls and pho were also excellent. The vegetable broth was not too salty and has no MSG. You can almost taste the time and care that went into its preparation. As a self-proclaimed connoisseur of Vietnamese food, this is some of the best I have had. The Lams came to the United States as refugees at the end of the Vietnam War in 1975. “We got out just in the nick of time,” said Yen Lam. In order to escape the communists as the U.S. forces pulled out, the Lams had to take small boats out to international waters to rendezvous with the U.S. Navy. The Lams were not together at the time, because even though they both grew up in Saigon, they had never met each other. Yen Lam said that her boat was almost overtaken before a faster, bigger boat full of refugees passed them, and as the communists were busy with that boat, hers zipped by the side and made it out. Both George and Yen Lam described witnessed the ditching of helicopters into the ocean. The helicopters would hover, the crew would jump out and swim away, and lastly,
OCT. 14
BUSAN, SOUTH KOREA
OCT. 15
AUSTRIA
OCT. 16
VALLETTA, MALTA
OCT. 17
WELLINGTON, NEW ZEALAND
OCT. 18
BEIJING, CHINA
THE ASIAN NOODLE FOOD CART AND OWNERS GEORGE AND YEN LAM. BRAD NICHOLS/PSU VANGUARD the pilot himself would jump out and swim as fast as he could to get away from the falling chopper. “They destroyed at least twenty in front of me,” Yen Lam said. “The pilots looked so scared.”
After arriving in the U.S., Yen Lam went to college in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where George Lam met her parents while he was teaching an English class at a refugee camp. Her parents introduced them and the rest, as they say, is history.
Asia’s largest film festival kicked off in Busan, the first since the revelation that former President Park Geun-hye was operating a blacklist against filmmakers and other artists deemed hostile to her regime. Several filmmakers boycotted the event last year amid claims that funding for the festival was cut because of the screening of a documentary critical of the government, but the festival has bounced back in the wake of Geun-hye’s arrest. Europe’s youngest-ever foreign minister became the world’s youngest leader after 31-year-old Sebastian Kurz declared victory in Austria’s snap election. His conservative People’s Party is expected to form a coalition with the far-right Freedom Party, which received the secondmost votes and is currently lead by former neo-Nazi Heinz-Christian Strache. The similarities between Kurz’s party and the Freedom Party have led to accusations from Strache’s party that Kurz has merely co-opted its platform and “put a nice smile on it.” Prime Minister of Malta Joseph Muscat decried a car bomb attack that killed investigative journalist Daphne Caruana Galizia, whose work included reports tying Muscat and other Maltese officials to offshore tax havens. After analyzing documents contained in the leaked Panama Papers, Caruana Galizia found evidence linking Muscat’s wife, the country’s energy minister, and Muscat’s chief of staff to Panamanian bank accounts set up to receive money from Azerbaijan. Only a couple months after becoming the leader of her party, Jacinda Ardern is now poised to become New Zealand’s next prime minister. Although the right-leaning National Party received the most votes in the country’s September election, it was short of the parliamentary majority required in New Zealand’s political system and found its nine-year grip on power broken after the leftist bloc, including Arden’s Labour Party, joined with minority party New Zealand First to form a coalition and acquire the 61 seats necessary to cross the finish line and form a government.
Oct. 14-20 Chris May
The Communist Party’s 19th National Congress began a week-long event that will bring China’s leaders together to decide the country’s path forward over the next five years. President Xi Jinping spent over three hours reflecting on his first five-year term and looking toward the future in a speech best summed up by its title: “Secure a Decisive Victory in Building a Moderately Prosperous Society in All Respects and Strive for the Great Success of Socialism With Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.”
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
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VIKING VOICES
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: DIALOGUE AS A TWO WAY STREET HOW THE ASSOCIATED STUDENTS FOR PORTLAND STATE ROADBLOCK WHAT THEY DON’T WANT TO HEAR GUEST SUBMISSION: WRITTEN BY SHAYLA NORRIS-YORK, CO-PRESIDENT OF CULTURAL AND HISTORICAL ASSOCIATION FOR ISRAEL Accountability, honesty, respect, integrity— these are the qualities I expect from our student leaders. As a student at Portland State University, I expect our Associated Students of Portland State (ASPSU), PSU’s elected student government, to lead while exhibiting these important qualities. As a constituent, my opinions, thoughts and concerns should be taken seriously. Unfortunately, although the school year has only just started, I have already been virtually attacked and silenced by these very “leaders.” Last week, a poster was hung by a prolife student group in PSU’s Smith Memorial Student Union stating “abortion is genocide.” I noticed the poster was receiving a lot of traction on social media, and that an elected member of ASPSU even posted about it on Facebook. This leader complained about the misuse of the word “genocide” in his post, so I asked him how we could peacefully let the administration know how upset we were about the content of the posters. Another student senator replied to my question with the following: “As a reminder, the correct definition of genocide is clearly exemplified by the State of Israel’s atrocities against Palestinians. I hope that before you object [to] such a cruel statement, you recognize the one you make by the systems you do support.” Let me be clear: I have never met this student before. At PSU, I am the Co-President of a student group called CHAI, the Cultural and Historical Association for Israel, and
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so an elected student official made assumptions about me and my political beliefs. Furthermore, the senator hijacked the discussion and utilized the situation as a platform to shoot down my presumed position on the Arab-Israeli conflict. More hateful comments ensued such as “no Zionists here.” By telling me I was not welcome to engage in the discussion because I am a perceived Zionist, meaning I believe that the Jewish people have a right to self-determination within their historic homeland, the senator was deliberately trying to humiliate me and create a one-sided argument. As much as I wanted to refute these two student leaders, I didn’t want to detract from the original issue at hand: the anti-abortion posters. I told both members of ASPSU that I would be happy to talk with them in a more conducive, appropriate setting. Sadly, neither senator bothered to respond. They chose to spew their hateful rhetoric instead of engaging in a constructive conversation with me, a fellow student, their constituent. According to ASPSU’s public records, there is a PowerPoint presentation dated September 25th, 2017 with a slide explaining accountability for social media usage. The slide states that “it is important for accountability to start with us internally; as individuals and as a governing body…this is what creates a functional and effective student government.” However, when I reached out to the President of ASPSU to express my concerns about the Facebook exchange, he told me, “ASPSU does not make it common practice
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
ASPSU’S RESPONSE TO PRO-LIFE GROUP’S NEARBY GENOCIDE POSTER. COLLEEN LEARY/PSU VANGUARD
to police our team member’s online activities. What folks do on their personal social media accounts is their business.” I was shocked by the president’s hypocrisy. Where is the accountability that they referenced in the PowerPoint presentation? I then directly contacted the senator who initiated the Facebook argument with me earlier. I received this response after expressing my concerns and disappointment in ASPSU and its ability to lead with accountability, honesty, respect, and integrity: “I’ve rendered any chance of dialogue with you to be useless as well, and hope you do not reach out to me in discussion ever again. But, to further eliminate any chances of this occurring, I am letting you know that I am blocking your email address.” Yes, a student government elected official blocked my email address because we disagreed about an international conflict that is happening over 6,900 miles away from Portland, Oregon. Since then, the Facebook comments have been deleted, dialogue is at a standstill, and they have attempted to silence many voices including my own. It is evident to me that ASPSU not only fails to hold themselves accountable, but also sees no issue with targeting and aggressively attacking a fellow student based off his or her beliefs. In blocking my email, ASPSU’s leadership signaled to the entire PSU community that they are only interested in representing students who align with their narrow political agenda. In ignoring the preamble of the ASPSU constitution, which states that its
goal is to “advocate for and represent the interests of students before internal and external bodies,” ASPSU has shown their true colors as “leaders” who fail to embrace accountability, honesty, respect, integrity. This is not my student government if I do not have a voice. ASPSU makes me ashamed to be affiliated with an institution that has taught me so much, both academically and personally. I can only hope that in the future our student government does a better job of listening to and representing the entire student body. I urge the administration to hold its students, especially those with political power on campus, accountable for their actions and ensure that our senators represent all students no matter their race, religion, student organization affiliations or political beliefs. Otherwise, ASPSU will continue down a dark and dangerous path of spewing hateful rhetoric towards those they claim to represent and alienate the many diverse communities that make our campus so unique. Viking Voices is an open platform, rolling submission Op-Ed column open to all students, faculty, and staff of Portland State. Submit your thoughts, stories, and opinions to opinion@psuvanguard.com Please provide your name and major or affiliation with PSU. No submissions over 600 words. Submissions are voluntary, unpaid and not guaranteed to be published. All submissions will be reviewed and selected by the Vanguard Opinion Editor.
Welcome to the VanGourd Issue IN THE FOLLOWING PAGES YOU’LL FIND A CORN-U-CREEPIA OF ALL THINGS OCTOBER-Y, CREEPY, HALLOWEENY AND DEFINITELY NOT PUMPKIN-SPICY.
Van-Gorge Yourself: Origins of Halloween in the U.S. P. 15 Enough with the Pumpkin Spice! (But here’s a list of places you can pick out a real live pumpkin) P. 9 ‘Tis the season to avoid offensive cultural appropriation P. 12 What to watch on Hallow’s Eve P. 16 Who are Pacific Northwest’s most notorious serial killers? P. 10 The ghosts of Mcmenamins past P. 11 It’s not just about free candy—honor your loved one’s lost on Dia De Los Muertos P. 20
The forgotton history of Portland’s mass shooting P.12 A round-up of questionably sexy Halloween costumes. With visuals P. 13 Why the bad rap for black cats? P. 18 Keep your pets safe on Halloween P. 19 By the power vested in the full moon P. 20 Oregon’s history of UFO sightings P. 21 Ghosts among us: Portland’s friendly apparitions P. 16 Celebrations of yore—A throwback to Rose City mystery and superstition P. 17
KATIE PEARCE/PSU VANGUARD
THE VANGOURD
THINGS THAT DAMN-WELL SHOULDN’T BE PUMPKIN SPICE ANNA WILLIAMS
AS COUNTERCULTURE PORTLAND AS YOU think you want to be, it’s pumpkin-freakin-spice season. Washington Post wrote a great expose on why pumpkin spice became America’s go-to fall flavor. The mix of cinnamon, clove, ginger, nutmeg, and sometimes dried pumpkin is not so much the draw as is its limited time offer marketing strategy. Given that the beginning of fall is so nostalgic, as the smell of burning firewood wafts down neighborhood streets and trees turn orange and red, it’s not surprising that food chemists have jumped on the opportunity to market that cozy feeling. But I’ll admit I’ve been scarred. In November 2012, I was an excited newbie in the Starbucks workforce, and I got a job at 242nd and Burnside St. in Gresham. “Cool!” I thought. “I’ll be a coffee snob in no time!” But it was fall, and ultra-customized Pumpkin Spice lattes were at the top of every regular’s list. I spent my first several weeks of training pumping thick orange gloop into paper cups. It’s hard work, and no small feat to rinse those pinhole-sized spouts until the water runs clear. Starbucks’ iconic cozy autumn introduction doesn’t bother me too much, even as little as I like the taste. It’s just reality. Here is, I hope, a less polarizing list of everything pumpkin spice product I think, and you should also think, ought to be burned.
Yankee Candle’s Witches’ Brew is for, and anyway you won’t taste it without the carbs.
PUMPKIN SPICE HAND SOAP/BODY SPRAY/AIR FRESHENER
It’s not limited time only if it lasts all year because the syrupy scent plugs up your smell receptors after three uses. Also, if you really don’t want to ruin pumpkin spice for the nonfanatics, don’t try to mask your post-breakfast dump with artificial Thanksgiving dessert. It’s not pretty.
PUMPKIN SPICE FOOD SPRAY
It’s organic, non-GMO, and kosher! Amazon says, “Awaken your breakfast. Spice up your baking.” The same company sells cinnamon spray-on spice and spray-on gingerbread. Leave it to Penzey’s to sell pumpkin pie spice to real bakers. I could see this waiting on the cooking oil shelf for a long, long time.
CONDOMS
The Durex pumpkin spice condom was a hoax. But, fans, don’t worry: a little pumpkin spice food spray should do the trick.
PUMPKIN COFFEE
Pumpkin-infused coffee beans should never have happened. If hazelnut or vanilla-infused beans aren’t bad enough, think of throwing a bunch of scratch-and-sniff pumpkin stickers into a bag of beans and letting it all congeal until next Thanksgiving. My grandma once cooked some up for me. She does not drink coffee, but she had a Mr. Coffee that hadn’t been touched in months and some years-old pumpkin spice-infused beans she got on sale at Albertson’s. She filled the filter with perhaps a teaspoon of grounds for four cups of water. It wasn’t her fault. She didn’t know. But the stale scented-pinecone aroma, off-putting canned pumpkin taste, and afterthought of caffeine gave me, of course, a migraine.
PUMPKIN HERSHEY’S KISSES
My roommate Jessica tried some in Vegas. She said, “They tasted like fall, like spicy, like a spice with, like, chocolate. A creamy, like, pumpkin spice latte. But, I don’t know, with a little more chocolatey flavor.” She hesitated, then added, “It was really sweet. I definitely couldn’t eat more than, like, two of them.” No candy should be that complicated to describe, and Kisses are meant to be eaten by the handful. Case closed.
PUMPKIN SPICE WERTHER’S ORIGINAL CARAMELS
Like those mocha-flavored ones the old lady at that Baptist Church from your childhood offers you from her purse, except worse.
PUMPKIN SPICE TEA
For when you want your microwaved water to taste like the Thanksgiving pumpkin pie dessert plate you rinsed in the sink. Don’t listen to the tea companies that tell you it’s reminiscent of hot pumpkin bread. That’s what
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VANGUARD • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PSUVANGUARD.COM
LYDIA WOJACK-WEST
THE VANGOURD
PICKING THE PERFECT PUMPKIN ANAMIKA VAUGHAN
IT’S OFFICIALLY FALL! WE ALL know that that means: it’s time for
pumpkin everything. But before you can adorn your porch (or dorm hallway), you have to find that perfect pumpkin. While you’re at it, why not make a day of it and enjoy some of the many activities that a day out at the farm can afford you? Here’s a list of the top Portland pumpkin patches for your Halloween pleasure.
ROSSI FARMS
3839 NE 122nd Avenue Rossi Farms is a local family-run farm located within Portland city limits! It’s been operating since 1880, and Joe Rossi is the fourth generation in a family line of farmers. Good news: Rossi’s pumpkin patch is now open for the season! If you get there early enough, you might even catch a free tractor ride.
THE PUMPKIN PATCH
16511 NW Gillihan Rd The Pumpkin Patch is the “classic patch” of Portland. There’s a corn maze, hayrides, a cafe, and of course, a pumpkin patch. Throughout the year, the farm grows more than 50 kinds of fruits and vegetables on their 800-acre farm.
BAGGENSTOS FARM
15801 SW Roy Rogers Baggenstos Farm farm has everything, and it’s open all week during the month of October. They have farm animals, a 5-acre corn maze, pumpkin bowling, a hay maze, as well as a gift shop and food. And of course pumpkins for picking.
PLUMPER PUMPKIN PATCH
11435 NW Old Cornelius Pass Rd In addition to farming pumpkins, Plumper Pumpkin Patch is also a part of a tree farm and has been in operation since 1998. Pumpkins are available to pick from the fields, or you can choose from a selection of pre-picked pumpkins in the PPP barn. This farm also has animals to pet and pumpkin flinging. Yes you read that right: pumpkin flinging. They have a selection of cannons running on hydraulics that can fling up to 400 feet away! They also have corn cannons. Hurray!
LEE FARMS
21975 SW 65th Ave Lee Farms farm boasts over 27 different varieties of pumpkins. You can also see some of the attractions including a corn maze, hayrides, barrel wagon rides, a slide, pony rides, hay mazes, farm animals, and a bounce pillow. They also have a store that sells all sorts of gourd-related decorations, as well as other goods like apple cider and kettle corn.
FAZIO FARMS
9028 NE 13th Ave Fazio Farms has the corn maze, pumpkin patch and gift store. But I know what you’re thinking: none of these farms so far have had enough pickles. Need some pickles? Well, don’t fret! Fazio Farms have their very own famous barrel-fresh dill pickles for sale. So if pumpkins aren’t enough for you, this is the farm for you. All of these farms are also great spots to bring the kids, if you have any. It’s easy in this day and age to purchase your pumpkins from Amazon Prime (student edition of course) or from some kind of internet-based pumpkin express. But remember, picking a pumpkin is more than just exchanging money for that perfect fall aesthetic. Enjoy a day out on the farm, enjoy the harvest, and get a break away from the madness of the city. Happy pumpkin picking!
ELLA HIGGINS
PSU VANGUARD • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PSUVANGUARD.COM
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THE VANGOURD
The list of Pacific Northwest serial killers you’ve been dying for
ANNA WILLIAMS
LOOK TO YOUR LEFT. LOOK to your right. Seven out of every million of you beanietoting Oregonians will be murdered by a serial killer. Terrifying, right? Though Oregon ranks number six in the nation for serial murders, we actually know very little about what drives these killers. By definition, serial murder means three or more killings completed in a style that suggests they were done by the same person. However, the government says they are a minimal threat. Research put out by the Federal Bureau of Investigation says “there is a macabre interest in the topic [of serial killers] that far exceeds its scope and has generated countless articles, books and movies.” While the FBI doesn’t seem to keep or release numbers on the amount of serial murders that happen each year, we do know that no specific age, race, or psychological profile exists. However, the news, documentaries, crime shows and horror movies are obsessed with crazed serial murders. Perhaps because any one of us could fit the profile, mystery drives our obsession. So since it’s Halloween, let’s get right to a few of the most notorious serial killers from the Pacific Northwest.
THE MOLALLA FOREST KILLER: OREGON’S MOST PROLIFIC
Dayton Leroy Rogers, born Sept. 30, 1953, was arrested for stabbing and killing Jennifer Lee Smith, a 25-year-old prostitute. Rogers dumped her body behind a restaurant in Oak Grove. Prosecutors said Rogers’ killings had been for a sexual thrill. Before that, Rogers had been targeting prostitutes that were addicted to heroin and taking them on “dates” to the woods and giving them miniature vodka bottles and orange juice before torturing them. Rogers abused some women several times over, and their testimony was crucial to his convictions. The bodies of six women that didn’t survive were found off the side of logging roads in the Molalla woods. Rogers hogtied, slashed and tortured his victims. He sawed the feet off some, and one had her entire abdomen gutted. In all, Roger’s eight murder victims and many victims of assault have ranged in age from 15 to 35.
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TED BUNDY (1946-1989). COURTESY OF USER GRESHAM COLLEGE THROUGH VIMEO Rogers has remained in prison since 1988. He was sentenced to death in 1989, 1994, and 2006, but the Oregon Supreme Court rescinded these verdicts when laws changed or technicalities arose. He was most recently sentenced to death again in November 2015.
THE GREEN RIVER KILLER
Gary Leon Ridgway, born Feb. 18, 1949, has been proven to be responsible for the deaths of 49 people but is suspected of killing at least 90. Ridgway strangled and dumped the bodies of mostly sex workers and vulnerable women in Washington and Oregon while he worked as a commercial truck painter. His first five victims were discovered in the Green River in Washington state. In the 1980s and 1990s, Ridgway said he had killed so many women he’d lost count. Ridgway’s crimes began with his stabbing of a six-year-old boy when Ridgway was 16. The boy, whose liver was punctured, survived. Ridgway had a handful of troubled marriages in which he reportedly demanded sex from his wives several times a day, sometimes in public places where he later dumped his victims’ bodies. Ridgway often went back to those bodies and had sex with them again. Ridgway was also hyper-religious during these marriages but frequently had sex with prostitutes. Ridgway evaded a life sentence through a plea deal in 2001. As of 2015, law enforcement was still looking for more victims’ bodies.
ALVIN BROWN
Southwest Portland local Alvin Brown killed three women and attempted to murder one
VANGUARD • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PSUVANGUARD.COM
more in the 1980s. He evaded local police for 10 years until forensics linked him to a woman he tried to dump off an Interstate 5 overpass. In 1981, Brown raped and strangled 17-year-old Kimberley Stevens while she was walking a mile to her friend’s house. Her body was left by a church and discovered on Mother’s Day. Near the same time, Brown raped and strangled 17–year-old Melina Crist after she disappeared from the Portland Community College Sylvania campus. Brown worked as a landscaper, often in Portland Police Detective Mike Hefley’s neighborhood. Brown said his inspiration was Hannibal Lecter. He was never convicted of his crimes and died behind bars in 2002.
TED BUNDY (1946-1989)
Bundy murdered at least 30 women across seven states between 1974 and 1978 and possibly earlier. Bundy kidnapped women in broad daylight, often feigning disability to gain empathy, then butchered their bodies. He also beat several women to death in their sleep. Bundy visited the bodies of his victims for sometimes hours at a time, often grooming or having sex with them until advanced decomposition made it impossible. Bundy also kept photographs of his killings, as well as some of his victims’ severed heads, in his apartment as mementos. Bundy was born in Vermont but moved to Tacoma, Wa. as a child. He attended the University of Puget Sound and the University of Washington for about three years to study Chinese and psychology before dropping out. Bundy was known as an empathetic and charismatic person during his childhood and young adulthood and even worked at a suicide crisis center in Seattle. However, after being dumped by his serious college girlfriend, then
rekindling the relationship and ghosting her out of the blue, Bundy killed a slew of women that looked like her. Bundy escaped from prison twice before running south to steal cars, credit cards and electronics and committing more murders in Florida. Bundy was executed by the electric chair in 1989. Several attempts were made at psychiatric diagnoses, including multiple personality disorder and narcissistic personality disorder. Bundy never fully took responsibility for his crimes, and instead blamed them on the victims, his abusive grandfather, pornography or society in general. Bundy has been the subject of six films and multiple biographies, but his answers to questions about his life over the years were inconsistent.
RICHARD LAWRENCE MARQUETTE
The oldest serial killer on our list is 82-yearold Richard Marquette, who’s been incarcerated in the Oregon State Penitentiary since June 1975. Marquette mutilated his victims’ remains beyond recognition and stored some of those remains wrapped in newspaper in his refrigerator. After raping and murdering Portland woman Joan Caudle in 1961, Marquette drained her blood, dismembered her body, and left her head to rot in the woods. Marquette went to prison for 11 years after that but went home on parole in 1973. However, Marquette then dismembered the body of another woman in Marion County and left her remains to float in a shallow slough. Betty Wilson was an impoverished woman who had 11 children with her abusive husband before fleeing North Carolina for Oregon. She was living in an abandoned school bus before she was murdered.
THE VANGOURD
McMenamins’ haunting obsession LOCAL MEGA-CHAIN LOVES HAUNTED BUILDINGS JAKE JOHNSON FOR MOST PEOPLE, FORMER SIGHTS of bloodbaths and turmoil would dissuade them from purchasing a property where they hope to grow their hopes and dreams. However, the McMenamin brothers have shown time and time again that not only are they chill with ghosts, but they also seem to seek out properties known for having a spooky side. The charm of McMenamins’ historic properties is notorious in the Pacific Northwest. From their roots in the rebirth of the Mission Theater and the mystical Edgefield property, all the way to Bothell, Washington and down to Bend, McMenamins has established itself as having a fine taste for historic sites and preserving them and injecting a new glory into properties that had previously fallen into disrepair.
WHITE EAGLE
“Bucket of blood” In its early days, the White Eagle Saloon was your run of the mill (get it? “mill”) working class bar that operated on Albina’s Russell Street so workers could drink off their day of hard labor. The Polish immigrants who started it knew that people wanted a little bit of everything, so in addition to drinks and cigars, a brothel upstairs and an opium den downstairs gave patrons a couple more options in entertainment. The saloon was known as the “Bucket
of Blood” because of the frequent violent brawls that took place in and around the bar. Violence is a surefire path to ghosts. Reports of crying Rose, the ghostly sex worker, are not uncommon. One waitress reported that she was carried and pushed down the stairs by an “unknown force.”
used to be a Masonic location, there is also a painting of a pentagram garden. One guest reported that while wandering around, she began to feel anxious in the basement, and then something began to pull her hair relentlessly upward.
KENNEDY SCHOOL
“Aliens?” A woman who identifies as a medium alleges that while wandering Edgefield, she was able to sniff out the property’s haunted room, 215. She booked the room for a later date, and while leaving, reported feeling like something was watching her. When she went back to stay with her boyfriend, a spirit that she thought more extraterrestrial than human told her to “get out.” McMenamins reportedly did a spirit cleanse to ward bad spirits away from the property before opening. While renovating the poor old farm into the hotel we know today, people found something interesting in room 215: animal bones in the shape of a pentagram. It is unclear what rooms the following guests were staying in, but this report is not alone. Several guests have reported feeling taps on their chests in the middle of the night. Others have said they felt like an elderly woman was standing over them. One guest claimed she felt someone grab her butt in the shower only to find no one there. Another reported smelling a floral
“Creepy children” Do you enjoy creepy stuff? Would you like to get drunk and pass out in an old elementary school? Well, you’ll love staying at McMenamins Kennedy School. Something awful must have occurred at one point because this report is terrifying. Two older women came running down one of the halls of the Kennedy School one afternoon, both of them looking extra pale, and one of them was crying hysterically. After they calmed down, they told a recently hired employee what they had seen. They walked into the women’s restroom to find a young boy you could see through, dripping wet and walking around in circles and circles and circles. NOPE! THIS WAS IN THE AFTERNOON!
GRAND LODGE
“Don’t pull my hair!” Visitors have often discussed an old woman’s apparition, saying she appears in a dress and slippers. There is a painting of her. Since this
EDGEFIELD
breeze followed by spirits dancing around the room.
OLYMPIC CLUB
“The Haunted Club” Centralia has ties to slavery in the most glorious way possible. No, I’m being serious, it is great. The town was founded by the son of a former slave. The founder was an African American named George Washington. Sometimes knowledge is really great to discover. Unfortunately, the Olympic Club is totally haunted; fortunately, it’s haunted by seemingly harmless ghosts. There is a man who hangs out by a cast iron stove, creepy music will overpower other sounds occurring at the time and guests have reported a haunting laugh.
MCMENAMINS KNOWS ABOUT ALL THIS AND THEY’RE COOL WITH IT
McMenamins Ghost Log seems to claim their properties are haunted. “Rumors abound that several of our places are haunted. And who’s to say they are or aren’t?…We may just be keeping spirits alive through music, artwork and history.” Whether or not McMenamins properties are haunted, it doesn’t seem bad for business. Any press is good press, and the White Eagle has definitely catapulted the local chain’s name into international infamy, a place called the “Bucket of Blood” is pretty hard to forget.
KATIE PEARCE/PSU VANGUARD
PSU VANGUARD • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PSUVANGUARD.COM
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THE VANGOURD
AFROS, SOMBREROS, AND RACIAL STEREOTYPES? HELL NO!
JAKE JOHNSON
DURING THE LAST FEW YEARS, cultural appropriation has jumped into the spotlight as a problematic trend white people don’t seem to want to give up. Halloween is rapidly approaching, and I highly recommend avoiding appropriating other cultures with racial stereotype-based costumes. Dressing up as caricatures of other people’s cultures is unnecessary, disrespectful and lazy. From Coachella to Halloween, there have been cries for this to stop, and your failure to do so makes you a fuckin’ r-word. That word is racist. Sorry if that hurts your feelings, but demanding your feelings be considered when you fail to consider others’ makes you look like an asshole. Here’s a costume idea: Just dress up like two spread buttcheeks and then your face can be the ever-consuming asshole. Sippin’ booze and shaking your costume on the dance floor will surely be a hit this year. Bonus points if you get so drunk you puke up whatever party foods you remember to eat. Then your costume evolves into “filthy butthole.”
PIMP AND HOE? NO AND NO.
Pimp and hoe is not a cute couple’s costume. Not only is this culturally offensive but also incredibly demeaning to women. Treating women like property, sex slavery, and physical abuse isn’t funny. Are you trying to empower sex workers and fight for their rights with your prostitute costume? Probably not, so don’t do it. Afros are awesome. Turning them into a joke costume while simultaneously living in a country where the FBI just labeled black identity organizations “terrorists” is disgusting. Black students of all ages have been harassed and suspended from schools for having natural hair. You don’t get to wear a fake
‘fro while others are being oppressed because that’s how their hair grows.
“POCAHOTTIE?” POCA-NOT-HAPPENING
Don’t wear a headdress. At Standing Rock last year, Native Americans protested a pipeline that bulldozed through their land and destroyed sacred sites including burial grounds. The pipeline was initially supposed to go through a nearby mostly white town, but they didn’t want it. Protesters were attacked by dogs and shot with rubber bullets and water in sub-zero temperatures as this country allowed these atrocious human rights violations to pile up. This country continues to oppress the First Nations, whose culture shouldn’t continue suffering just because Steve’s Costume Emporium doesn’t have a moral compass.
White people don’t do enough to protect marginalized cultures. Other cultures are not jokes. If you choose to dress up as a racist cartoon’s version of another culture, don’t be surprised when people tell you that you look like an asshole. As I said, just save yourself the trouble and dress up like an actual butthole.
SORRY AMERICA, YOU’RE TOO RACIST
Trump complained about Puerto Rico throwing the U.S. budget out of whack for getting pummelled by a hurricane shortly after rapidly approving aid funding for Houston and Florida. Black people are being shot by police for no reason and this country disagrees when activists ask for justice. Citizens of entire countries are facing a ban from entering the U.S. because of their religion. Our president got elected after calling Mexican-Americans rapists. Like Mexican culture? Throw away your sombrero. Instead, a great couple’s costume would be wearing normal clothes, telling people you’re Cesar Chavez and Dolores Huerta and together you founded the National Farm Workers Union. To be in character, you can research and tell people about the importance of Chavez and Huerta’s lives.
MARIKA VAN DE KAMP
DEADLIEST MASS SHOOTING IN PORTLAND HISTORY FADING FROM MEMORY ANDREW D. JANKOWSKI
CHLOE KENDALL
IF YOU’VE EVER EATEN AT Pine Street Market, you’re dining near one of the most deadly tragedies in Portland history, and you would probably never know. Portland and the survivors of a shooting outside The Zone, a defunct allages nightclub, are trying to move on from that winter night almost 10 years ago. In 2009, Erik Salvador Ayala perpetuated what was, for a three-year period, the deadliest in Portland or Oregon’s modern history. The shooting would later be eclipsed by the
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Clackamas Town Center Shooting of 2012, the Reynolds High School Shooting of 2014 and the Umpqua Community College Shooting of 2015. Previously, a 1998 Springfield school shooting held this record, after two students died and 25 people were injured. News reports at the time highlighted local shock at the random brutality of a crime now too commonplace across the nation. But The Zone’s survivors’ private lives quietly unfolding over the past decade, along with Pine Street Market now sharing The Zone’s address and a milliondollar lawsuit related to the death of Peruvian national Martha Paz de Noboa Delgado, are the only reminders the public has of the terrible, still-motiveless tragedy. One might ask: should there be a more permanent reminder of that senseless violence? It’s hard to say how to most appropriately remember the tragedy when it is offensively near-obvious that the United States has learned nothing about how to prevent mass shootings, and Portland still struggles with other issues that seem related to the shooting like affordable access to mental healthcare, housing and human services. Old Town-Chinatown was just last month the site of a drive-by shooting that left one man dead. Pine Street Market’s neighborhood still struggles with aggressive people often associated with substance abuse, mental health crises and houselessness, as cited among the reasons for the recent closure of Old Town’s neighboring Thirsty Lion. The city and the neighborhood still struggle with how to help Portland’s most in-need populations concentrated in the area. The Washington Post ran an amazing in-depth
VANGUARD • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PSUVANGUARD.COM
profile on Umpqua survivor Cheyeanne Fitzgerald’s healing process, which also paralleled how America is quick to move on while long-term, nonlinear healing and difficult conversations happen outside the camera glare. Pulse Nightclub in Orlando ceased operations in June 2016 after what was until earlier this month the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history (to say nothing of the genocidal killings perpetrated by American citizens during the 19th and early 20th centuries). That building will be turned into a memorial or museum. Sandy Hook Elementary School, Virginia Tech and Columbine High School underwent extensive renovations and partial demolition following the massacres, all with different memorials to their victims. The cineplex in Aurora, Colo., reopened as a movie theater after renovations. Numerous businesses before Pine Street Market tried to operate in the space The Zone once occupied, but none could stay open. No marker exists on the site, but attendees of the Underground Portland Walking Tour will learn about The Zone shooting while also learning the dark history of the Shanghai Tunnels, Nina the Merchant Hotel ghost and how the Ku Klux Klan once took over the Portland Police headquarters. For survivors of The Zone and their families, their longterm physical and mental health should still be our top priorities, while their privacy and right to move on from the tragedy should also be respected. Their real pain should not be tactlessly co-opted, nor should anyone’s for that matter. If their pain and survival is to be remembered, it should also be remembered that the survivors raised funds for the fallen and for each other at The Zone shortly after the shooting.
THE VANGOURD
WHY ARE THESE COSTUMES SEXY? WHO CARES! WEAR THEM! ALEX-JON EARL IS YOUR COSTUME NOT SEXY enough? Don’t worry! We got you! Here at Portland State Vanguard, our motto is “Whatever, do whatever.” It has served us well all these years, and here we will put it into action by helping you pick out a great costume. This year, let’s take your boring ol’ costume and turn it into something magnificent! But Vanguard, I heard sexy costumes are soooo gauche! Look, friend, there are tons of costumes that shouldn’t be sexy, but that doesn’t mean YOU shouldn’t be sexy. And that’s why you should wear them! Let’s look at a few of them, with some super sexy details on how to steal that sexy style.
SLUTTY MAILBOX What you need: cardboard, blue paint, envelopes. Why this shouldn’t be a sexy costume: stealing valor from the United States Postal Service? FOR SHAME. Why you should wear this: when someone asks you what postage is and you’re into them? The answer is, of course, 69 cents.
SEXY MINION What you need: goggles, yellow raincoat, overalls with booty shorts. Why this shouldn’t be a sexy costume: It’s a kid’s movie, dammit. Why you should wear this: Sneaking up to that person you’ve been flirting with and asking for some consensual humpy-pumpy with a sweet and sultry “banana” in their ear is sure to get their motor running.
SEXY LUMBERJACK What you need: what you really need is some originality. Why this shouldn’t be a sexy costume: I mean, come on. Why you should wear this: because you can do whatever the hell you want regardless of what Vanguard says about a costume’s originality! Plus, what better way to let folks know you want to handle the wood or tend to the hills? SULTRY PDX CARPET What you need: pieces of the PDX airport carpet, PDX airport carpet pattern underwear. Why this shouldn’t be a sexy costume: I think the airport might get upset, maybe? Why you should wear this: nothing says “I live in Portland” like dressing up like a hot little meme for all the world to see! SEXY TED WHEELER What you need: cut-off/sleeveless blazer and dress shirt, tie, cut-off booty slacks (coordinate them!), dress shoes, the hair of a fine, fine silver fox. Why this shouldn’t be a sexy costume: he commands the police force and the all-powerful Bureau of Transportation, so you shouldn’t anger him! Why you should wear this: perhaps you’re Ted Wheeler and should loosen up a little?
HOT PATRICK STARFISH What you need: pink trash bag, eyeholes, Bermuda shorts Why this shouldn’t be a sexy costume: his comedy relies too heavily on cluelessness, I guess? Why you should wear this: if you want to show someone special your bikini bottom, this is for you. SEXY WASHING MACHINE What you need: cardboard box, markers, paint, clear plastic, clothes, empty detergent bottles, commitment. Why this shouldn’t be a sexy costume: it confuses the Maytag Man. Why you should wear this: “wanna ride me when I’m in the spin cycle?”
LYDIA WOJACK-WEST
PSU VANGUARD • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PSUVANGUARD.COM
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KATIE PEARCE/PSU VANGUARD
THE VANGOURD
Origins of Halloween in America BRAD NICHOLS
GIVEN CURRENT POPULAR BELIEF, MODERN SCHOLARLY THEORIES on the origins of
Halloween may be a little surprising. The origins of Halloween as we know it began with Samhain, a traditional Celtic Holiday on Nov. 1. Once thought to be the name of the Lord of the Dead, Samhain more likely means the end of summer. The celebration started on Oct. 31 and lasted until Nov. 2. This Celtic holy day, placed directly between the Summer Equinox and Winter Solstice, was originally a celebration of the harvest. It was also a time when yearly debts had to be repaid, and many animals were slaughtered. It is unclear whether or not these animals were slaughtered as a sacrifice or if it was just common practice at the end of the harvest. However, the Celts did believe the night of Oct. 31 was the one day of the year when the veil between the natural world and the spirit world fell. They believed ghosts, spirits and even fairies could cross over at this time and play tricks on the living. Some of these tricks included releasing animals and the destruction of crops and property. A record exists of bonfires and dancing while wearing masks and costumes to ward off the tricky spirits and keep them from destroying the newly harvested crops. How did Halloween morph from this traditional Irish and Scottish Celtic cel-
ebration into trick-or-treating, pranks, parties and the supposed holiest day of witches and Satanists? Believe it or not, a lot of that is the influence of Christianity. In 601 CE, Pope Gregory I created an edict regarding the conversions of indigenous peoples. His plan was not only to convert the peoples but also to convert their rituals. In short, the missionaries should appropriate their rituals instead of abolishing them. St. Patrick helped facilitate the appropriation of Samhain and its conversion to All Saints Day. Originally, All Saint’s Day took place on May 31. In 837, Pope Gregory IV decreed All Saints Day would now occur on Nov. 1 church-wide. Furthermore, Oct. 31 became All Hallows’ Eve and Nov. 2 became All Souls Day. On Oct. 31 the harvest would be celebrated, on Nov. 1 prayers would be sent to the saints, and on Nov. 2 the poor would pray for the souls of those in purgatory in exchange for food. To understand how Protestant Christians began to associate Halloween with Satanism, two events must be taken into consideration. The first of these events occurred in the Dark Ages: the Black Plague killed almost 60 percent of Europe’s population. At this time, skeletons and Grim Reapers made their way into the celebration. It has been hypothesized that through the integration
of the Celts into Christian society, they were able to maintain some of the original meaning of Samhain. Therefore, these symbols of death were employed to scare off the plague or trick the demons causing the sickness into thinking inhabitants of the house were already dead. The second event was the series of thousands of witch trials throughout the 16th and 17th centuries. They started in Europe and eventually spread to New England. The witch trials resulted in somewhere between fifty and a hundred thousand executions, according to the most conservative estimates. These estimates do not include those tortured and imprisoned. In America, the actual celebration of Halloween was not recorded until the 1840s, a time when many Scottish and Irish people immigrated to the United States. As early as 1875, many people other than just the Irish and Scottish immigrants reportedly celebrated Halloween in the U.S. One of the first traditions mentioned is the Jack O’ Lantern. Originally, they were hollowed out beets and turnips with a candle placed inside to light the streets. In 1919, reports of soaping windows, tipping outhouses and eggings were first reported in Minnesota. In 1943, Anoka, Minn. became the first city to host an actual celebration on Halloween. The festival included bobbing for apples and
hayrides, the main purpose of which was to stop the local children from pranking. “Souling” was an Irish tradition in which the poor would go door to door and pray for those who gave them food. In a Scottish tradition called “guising,” young adults would go door to door and perform tricks or sing songs in exchange for something sweet. Next to appear is the tradition of trickor-treating. Fun fact: the first recorded use of the phrase “trick-or-treat” came out of Oregon. The Oregon Journal published the phrase on Nov. 1, 1934. It was not until the ‘50s that companies started mass-producing costumes of popular heroes and characters. Though it is not known exactly when the costumes switched from the Lone Ranger to ghosts, goblins, vampires and werewolves, it is clear that by the release of John Carpenter’s Halloween, it was portrayed as being widespread. The popularization of Halloween throughout film and story in the last half-century may be why we still connect Halloween with demons, witches and Satan. Though there is still much dispute as to exactly what occurred during those early festivals of Samhain, the way in which we celebrate it now is truly American and would not exist in the form it does today without the influence of the many cultures here in our melting pot.
KATIE PEARCE/PSU VANGUARD
PSU VANGUARD • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PSUVANGUARD.COM
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THE VANGOURD
HALLOWEEN MOVIES FOR A NIGHT IN MORGAN WATKINS
WHO NEEDS PARTIES, BOOZE AND a bunch of college kids
dressed up as bunnies and Harley Quinn when you could be chilling in your jammies on the couch with heaps of candy watching creepy movie marathons? If this sounds like your ideal Halloween, then read on for some spooky movie suggestions!
FOR A CLASSIC SCARE
No spooky movie list would be complete without the Halloween movie of all Halloween movies: Halloween. Starring Jamie Lee Curtis (from Freaky Friday and all those Activia commercials), Halloween is the ultimate fall horror flick. Who’s creepier than Michael Myers? He doesn’t even have to run to catch up to his victims! And that mask is terrifying. Rivalling Myers’ spookiness is the one and only Freddy Krueger in A Nightmare on Elm Street. He’s like a pervy, burnt-up Edward Scissorhands, and if that doesn’t scare you then I’m not sure what will. But be warned: you may find yourself having trouble sleeping after watching this one. Do you have the stomach for blood and gore? No one does it better than Jigsaw in Saw. With the eighth film, Jigsaw, on its way to theaters, now is your chance to get caught up on the entire series. Wanna play a game? Have some friends over and see who can watch the longest without turning away in disgust or fear!
FOR YOU AND YOUR BOO THANG
Staying in with your partner? Try cuddling up to Tim Burton’s Corpse Bride. The animation is beautiful, the storyline is tragically romantic, and Tim Burton is just a genius. Also, this is a great one for all the scaredy-cats out there who aren’t really looking to piss their pants while snuggled up next to their date. Another great Tim Burton film for couples is Sleepy Hollow. This spooky retelling of the tale of the Headless Horseman has it all: suspense, mystery, romance, action and even some morbid humor. It also has a young and dapper Johnny Depp, the oh-so-fabulous Christina Ricci, and a whole slew of veteran horror actors (Christopher Lee, Michael Gough), so there’s eye candy for everyone! And if you’re still awake and watching movies at this point, why not throw on some more Tim Burton, like Beetlejuice or the everlasting Nightmare Before Christmas?
FUNNY AND FREAKY
Do you have a hard time taking horror movies seriously? Then Scary Movie is totally your go-to. It’s brilliantly funny and there are not one or two but five films in the series, so you can laugh your ass off all night long. Then there’s Ghostbusters. Whether it’s the original starring the iconic Bill Murray or the more recent remake with a hilarious female cast featuring Melissa McCarthy and Leslie Jones, Ghostbusters is the quintessential Halloween
WARNER BROS. PICTURES/2005 movie for the masses. But keep in mind that once you hear the Ghostbusters theme song, it’ll be stuck in your head for approximately two weeks. That’s just the way it is. With all these and hundreds more to choose from, you can have a lit Halloween in the comfort of your own humble abode. Don’t forget the candy corn!
GET TO KNOW YOUR FRIENDLY LOCAL APPARITIONS
ANDREW OLSON
AS ALL HALLOW’S EVE CREEPS upon us, are you ready to check
out the spookiest places in R.I.P. City? Portland is famously rife with rumors and legends of paranormal activity. The Shanghai Tunnels of old Chinatown, used for smuggling and human trafficking during the 1920s, are reputedly haunted by Nina, a little girl dressed in all white who died in the Old Town Merchant Hotel’s elevator shaft. Her name lives on, carved into a brick deep below Old Town Pizza. Hikers in Tryon Creek State Park have reported hearing lumberjacks and smelling freshly felled lumber early in the morning, despite the fact that no logging activity has occurred there in the better part of a century. Late at night on Portland’s downtown north side, performers at the ComedySportz building have time and time again heard a young woman’s cackling as the women’s restroom toilet flushes non-stop and the fluorescent lights flicker. The Bagdad Theatre; the Valley Theatre; Pittock Mansion; Shilo Inn; Falcon Apartments; the list goes on, and on, and on… However, the creepiest, most iconic haunted places in the city are certainly Portland’s numerous cemeteries: Visitors on late night walks at Columbian Cemetery have spotted Lydia, the ghost of a stately lady of the early colonial period. Tigard’s Canterbury Hill Cemetery is supposedly stalked by mysterious balls of green light, accompanied by unsettling howls. Mourners at Damascus Pioneer Cemetery have seen unexplained human figures lurking in the background of film photographs taken of lost loved ones’ headstones. Lone Fir Cemetery, home to hundreds of unmarked graves among its 25,000 headstones, even offers an October 31 tour of its most famous denizens’ final places of rest. As I strolled across the Sellwood Bridge into one of Portland’s largest and most tranquil interments, Greenwood Hill,
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my mind kept returning to one question: What is it about death and the undead that so fascinates the living residents of Portland? Maybe it’s just a common human sense of curiosity and horror at life’s last and greatest unknown, no more prominent here than anywhere else. And yet, recent memory tugged at that comfortable explanation. I recalled the anxiety I felt in my classmates, co-workers, friends, family, and even strangers over The New Yorkers’ now-infamous earthquake article. Midsummer 2015, it was all I seemed to hear about: Was it just me, or did many of us taste a hint of apocalypse in the air? Did I—did we—consume, and even enjoy this sense of impending doom? What kept me up at night was the sense of uncertainty it engendered: It could happen now or in 500 years, and there was no way to know. While my thoughts and feet wandered further amid the oaks and willows, I noticed that Greenwood Hill seems to be positioned rather precariously above the Willamette River. When the Big One hits, I imagine many of the cemetery’s residents will be sleeping with the fishes…at the bottom of one of Portland’s four EPA Superfund sites. I’ll cop to it—as the thought occurred to me, and the mental image dawned of old pioneers’ skeletons careening into the depths below, utterly rejected by the Earth they sought to conquer, I actually laughed. If I wasn’t before, I’m definitely cursed now! In all seriousness, laughter is the best way to face our fears and keep our spirits high in the face of systemic injustice, social violence, and the incredible amount of work we must do to put those on the ground to rest for good. Enjoy your Halloween, however you celebrate it. The incorrigible joy of the rebel is a stake in the hearts of vampires everywhere.
VANGUARD • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PSUVANGUARD.COM
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION BY KATIE PEARCE
THE VANGOURD
Portland Halloween celebrations of yore “DRESS U
FIONA SPRING
P YOUR L UNCH HO
UR WITH
DARCELL E
& COMPA
NY,” NAN
CY ROW, VANGUAR D, 1986
VANGOURD HISTORY: OLD PORTLAND DOES HALLOWEEN
There’s no doubt about it: Portland loves Halloween. Despite the gloomy October weather, when the week of the 31st rolls around, there’s never any shortage of ways to celebrate the spooky season. Between music, parties, performances and even a costume contest for pugs, Portland Halloween has something for every taste. Portland State Vanguard explored the archives of the City of Portland, The Oregonian, Portland State, and the Oregon Historical Society Research Library to showcase the Vanport region’s Halloween history.
MORE TRICKS THAN TREATS
In early Portland, pranks and mayhem were the names of the Halloween game. One 1910 Oregonian article describes “rowdyism” ranging from the relatively innocuous (false alarms called in to the fire department) to the life-threatening (a streetcar track blocked by a metal beam). The mayhem caused by these pranks was so disruptive that it occasionally had to be formally addressed by the mayor of Portland. In this letter (in the photos below), Mayor Harry Lane responds(albeit a few months late)to a citizen complaint of noise, vandalism and other disruptions related to Halloween festivities.
PARTIES AND CELEBRATIONS
Fortunately for the police, firefighters and streetcar operators, Halloween wasn’t all pranks. Between bouts of mischief-making, Portland found time for some good, clean, spooky fun. Publicly-sponsored Halloween parties were one way kids kept busy for the holiday while adults could occupy themselves in other ways. Here’s a flyer for a Halloween carnival sponsored by the Portland Communist Party in conjunction with the Portland section of the Young Communist League.
“COMMUNIST PARTY: FLYER FOR HALLOWEEN MASQUE AND CARNIVAL” COURTESY OF CITY OF PORTLAND ARCHIVES A2001-074D
HALLOWEEN AT PORTLAND STATE
Vanguard archives offer us a glimpse at how student life at PSU has changed, evolved and in some cases remained the same over the years. Halloween festivities are no exception. A 1986 clipping top right announces the third annual Halloween show by drag performer and local celebrity Darcelle XV. Darcelle (b. Walter Cole, 1930) is the proprietor of the Darcelle XV Showplace in Northwest Portland and is known as the world’s oldest drag performer. Of course, student celebrations weren’t just limited to the daylight hours. A clipping from the Halloween 1991 issue of Vanguard (bottom) features an event at Portland nightclub Satyricon, known as the longest-running punk venue in the western United States. Over the course of its 24 years of operation, Satyricon, which opened in 1983 and officially closed in October 2010, featured a long list of well-known alternative bands including Nirvana, Green Day, Oasis, Pearl Jam, and Sleater-Kinney.
“EEEEK!!! SATYRICO
N GETS EVEN SCAR
IER,” ERIK LYONS,
VANGUARD, OCTOBE
R 1991
PSU VANGUARD • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PSUVANGUARD.COM
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THE VANGOURD
Spooky origins: Le Chat Noir WHY BLACK CATS ARE TIED TO SUPERSTITION BY ANAMIKA VAUGHN AND CLAIRE MEYER
ELLA HIGGINS OH, HALLOWEEN. IT’S THAT TIME of year
when our spooky friends and neighbors delight in the wondrous Halloween season: bats, pumpkin heads, skeletons, and most importantly, the black cat. But has anyone ever wondered about the origin story of this midnight feline? Here is a quick run-down of the black cat’s spooky history and origins, along with other cool facts to add to its allure!
EGYPTIAN ROYALTY
In ancient Egypt, black cats were considered royalty due to the 22nd Dynasty deity, Bast, commonly portrayed in hieroglyphics as a woman with a black cat’s head. It was common among the ancient Egyptian people to try and adopt black cats, as they believed the cats contained the spirit of Bast and would bring them good luck. This belief continued to be held in high esteem even into 17th-century England, where King Charles I claimed his pet black cat brought him good luck and had it guarded 24/7. Perhaps it was true, as King Charles I was executed for treason the day after his black cat died in 1649.
SATANIC RITUALS, WITCHCRAFT AND SHAPESHIFTING
In Western history, black cats are most often associated with witches and black magic, with superstitious minds believing that black cats were agents of Satan. Some of our modern minds might think that sounds pretty rock ‘n’ roll, but back in the Dark Ages, this was serious business.
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Black cats were the most dangerous of all the feline companions due to a proclamation by Pope Gregory IX in 1233 that cemented the relationship of black cats with Satan. This was bad news for black cats across continental Europe and lead to the deaths of countless cats over the coming centuries. In 1542, the Witchcraft Act was officially passed in England, and by 1580, around 13 percent of all criminal trials involved witchcraft. Any kind of association with felines or any perceived feline behavior became grounds for accusation. According to scoopwhoop.com, the earliest recorded iteration of the cat shapeshifter myth tells the tale of a man and his son walking along a path when a black cat appeared. They threw rocks at the cat to scare it away, hitting one of its legs. The following day, they ran into an old woman who was infamous for practicing witchcraft, and the pair claimed she had mysteriously developed a limp. Supposedly from this, the lore of black cat shapeshifting was born. As the era of witch trials drew to a close, a romanticization of black cats emerged. In the 18th century, they became alluring and erotic, as well as a symbol of non-conformity and mystery. They became useful emblems for the likes of poets and artists and entered the homes of many as cherished pets.
THANKS A LOT, SANTERIA
Thankfully, animal shelters in the Portland area have reported having an easier time finding new homes for black cats. If your looking to adopt a black cat around Halloween, however, shelters are a lot less likely to adopt out.
VANGUARD • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PSUVANGUARD.COM
One explanation for this involves the idea black cats are needed in rituals of black magic, such as Santeria, in which ritualistic animal sacrifice must occur to summon spirits known as Orishas. According to an article written for The New York Times, a series of gruesome cat mutilations occurred in Orange County, California in 1989 in which cats showed up on their owners doorsteps cut clean in half, disemboweled and with certain appendages missing. An ongoing investigation followed in which local police and veterinarians tried to determine whether the killings were committed by crazed Satanic cult members, as one angry cat owner claimed, or by coyotes just finding their next meal.
GOOD OR BAD LUCK?
Black cats haven’t always been seen only as symbols of evil or bad luck. In places where instances of purported witchcraft weren’t as common, black cats are often associated with good luck. In Great Britain and Ireland alone, the association of good or bad luck with black cats varies regionally. For example, finding a black cat on one’s porch in Scotland is seen as a sign of incoming prosperity while receiving a black cat as a wedding gift is said to give good luck to the bride in the Midlands of England. In Ireland, however, if a black cat crosses you in the moonlight, it’s a sign of an upcoming epidemic. Italians believe that good fortune is coming your way if you hear a black cat sneeze. In Sumatra, a large Indonesian island, people
will throw a black cat into the river and make it swim until exhausted in order to bring rain in times of drought. Yikes!
CURE FOR BLACK DEATH?
During the Black Plague pandemic of 1348, black cats were almost completely exterminated from the streets of Europe, though it was later discovered that they could have been helpful to kill the rodents that are now known to have caused the plague in the first place.
EYE OF THE TIGER
Research has shown that genetic mutations in black cats may make them more resistant to illnesses. Black coats have evolved over time and have turned into 11 different species of black cats. According to New Scientist, an online scientific journal, this indicates that dark fur could have a potential survival benefit. The mutations leading to black fur coats in cats are in the same gene family as those involved in diseases like AIDS in humans, so this may show a possible link between black fur and illness resistance. However, some scientists assert that the most plausible advantage of having a black coat is camouflage while hunting.
STILL CAN’T GET ENOUGH?
In the castle town of Himeji, Japan, there is a “black cats only” cafe called Nekobiyaka, the only black cat cafe in the world. As soon as guests enter, a staff member takes their order and you can interact with the six black cats living in the cafe. Each cat has a different color bandana on their necks so guests can tell them apart.
THE VANGOURD
PET SAFETY ON HALLOWEEN JUSTIN THURER
HALLOWEEN IS COMING UP SOON, and while the majority of
people like to celebrate with quirky costumes, fancy decorations and otherworldly treats, there are some who have more malicious intentions. Here are eight tips to make sure your furry ones are safe during this year’s festivities:
TUCK AWAY YOUR TREATS
While many pet stores sell treats to make your animals feel included during the holiday, the ones that you purchase for trick-or-treaters could be lethal if ingested. All chocolate can pose serious health risks if ingested, especially in dogs and cats. Xylitol, a common artificial sweetener, can also cause health problems if eaten accidentally.
WATCH YOUR WIRES
Make sure that you keep all of the wires associated with your Halloween decorations out of reach of your pets, as they could easily nibble on them and accidentally get electrocuted. It’s also important to make sure your wires are arranged in a way that Fido won’t get tangled up if he runs into them by accident.
COSTUME CARE
Make sure that if you decide to dress up your pets for Halloween that their inevitably adorable costume won’t inhibit their ability to move or breathe properly.
DECORATION DEFENSE
A kitten might be a little too inquisitive about your jack-olantern. If a pet gets curious about the light and knocks the whole thing over, fire becomes a real danger.
PATIO PLAYFULNESS
While it might seem like a fun idea to take your pet out to your patio or yard to include them in the more public side of Halloween, there are some people who like to take advantage of animals. While Halloween tends to be a fun time for pets and their owners alike, nobody wants to search for their furry friend on a night where everyone is out in the street.
ID IMPORTANCE
If you must let your pet out on Halloween, make sure that they have some sort of identification. While not everyone wants to utilize microchips, it is very important to make sure they have something to let people know who they belong to and where to return them.
SOCIAL SAFETY
If your pet has a tendency to be unfriendly toward strangers, make sure you keep them in an area of your house that doesn’t have access to the door. This way, when you’re handing out tricks and treats, the children scampering throughout the neighborhood will be just as safe as your pet.
HAVE A GOOD HOLIDAY!
LYDIA WOJACK-WEST & ALEX-JON EARL
You and your pet want to have just as much fun as everyone trick-or-treating, and being safe should never inhibit that. Have fun, and be safe! If you think that your pet has consumed something that may be toxic, even if it’s just a hunch, make sure you call your local veterinarian immediately or the ASPCA Poison Control Center at (888) 426-4435 for advice on how to keep your loved one safe and healthy.
PSU VANGUARD • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PSUVANGUARD.COM
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THE VANGOURD
¡VIVA DÍA DE LOS MUERTOS! CHRIS MAY
KATIE PEARCE/PSU VANGUARD
EVERYBODY HAS LOST A LOVED one, be it family, a friend, or even a pet. In Mexico and other parts of Latin America, they have a celebration for their dead: Dia de Los Muertos, or Day of the Dead. The holiday was first celebrated by the indigenous tribes of Mexico and Latin America thousands of years ago. Celebrations varied region to region, but the general idea was to put gifts and offerings out for your loved ones to help them meet Mictlantecuhtli, the dual male/female god of death, in the underworld. When the conquistadors entered the area, they merged the holiday with All Saints and All Souls days, placing the celebration on Nov. 1 and 2, dates of celebration that continue to this day. Intricate altars celebrating deceased loved ones are placed in homes and around the community; pictures or mementos are placed on and around the altar. Delicious feasts are prepared for both the living and the dead, and offerings are placed at cemeteries for
loved ones. Included in these traditional foods are sugar skulls; the skeleton is a very prominent figure in the celebration, and they are always decorated with bright colors and meticulous designs to give the perception of the dead enjoying death. There are a few ways to celebrate this holiday in Portland and at Portland State. On campus, La Casa Latina will be hosting a Dia de Los Muertos celebration at 6 p.m on Nov. 2 at the Native American and Student Community Center. There will be food, an educational component, student presentations and an altar they will construct. Attendees are encouraged to come and bring any small remembrances or photos of loved ones who have passed on as a way to include the entire community in honoring loved ones. Pedro Corres, the Event Coordinator at La Casa Latina at PSU, encourages everyone to stop by this event and see what it’s all about, regardless of race or identity. “I think that
students feel like they have to belong to a certain identity to come into a center,” Corres said. “We’re always trying to dispel that myth because, you know, we’re student funded and we’re here for all students.” Another event happening at PSU is the Spanish Club’s celebration, starting at 2 p.m. on Nov. 1 in SMSU 294. Over email, a Spanish Club representative said the celebration will include food, drink, games and educational activities so people can “really engage with learning about the holiday while practicing their Spanish conversation.” Off campus, there will also be a Dia de Los Muertos celebration happening on Nov. 2 at Holocene, with performances by Orquestra Pacifico Tropical, Y La Bamba, Salvia, Bells Atlas, and Danza Azteca. Doors open at 7:30 p.m., and the performances start at 8 p.m. All ages are allowed until 9 p.m., after which it will be 21 and over. Children get in for free, and adult admission is $10.
BY THE LORE OF THE MOON
GRAY BOUCHAT
The moon mystifies many with its arcane powers. When roads are full of inept drivers or pets start to act weird, the phrase, “It’s a full moon” is often uttered. That’s because the moon does have power over living creatures—not necessarily through transforming werewolves or allowing witches to perform spells, but rather by altering one’s mood and perhaps their actions. Though some scientists are skeptical about the moon’s effect on human behavior, other studies indicate differently. One study indicates human behavior can be linked to changes in the cycle of the moon. The moon is a gravitational force causing water and other liquids to move, as evidenced by ocean waves and tidal changes. At its peak, the full moon can even move bodily fluids within a person and impact their behavior. There is even a study linking crime to the full moon; although, if you are planning on murdering someone, I wouldn’t suggest this excuse. During the solar eclipse last summer, when the moon covered the sun, the sky went dark and cold. Though this can be attributed to the lack of sunlight, dogs began barking, cats retreated under beds and grounded birds began squawking. One could imagine the iconic image of a wolf howling at the moon’s brightest peak. Another suggestion comes from the term “lunatic.” Luna means moon. So can unusual, strange behavior be attributed to the full moon? Scientific studies often contradict each other. Some say the moon affects people and their moods, while others refute these studies, insisting there is no connection. The effects of a full moon could be completely psychological. Perhaps people see a full, silver orb and experience a placebo effect which then makes them act differently. Maybe some people are more prone to the effect of the moon’s gravitational pull. One study showed the full moon did in fact lessen some people’s sleep. Could this be from the moon pulling at our bodily fluids? Could it be from some weird force the moon emits when it is at its most powerful?
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The unexplored reaches of space prove mysterious to even the most knowledgeable scientists. Though we have managed to land on the moon, do we truly know its impact on human life? On our earth? The earth and moon partake in a dance every day and night, and humans struggle to understand its meaning. This Halloween, the moon will be at 84 percent capacity, so perhaps you could pay a bit more attention to your body and see how the full moon affects your mood, behavior, mind, body and soul.
VANGUARD • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PSUVANGUARD.COM
KATIE PEARCE/PSU VANGUARD
THE VANGOURD
Flying saucers seen in Oregon skies!
LILY HART
WE ALL KNOW ABOUT THE Roswell UFO incident, but do you know about the UFOs in your own cloudy Pacific Northwest sky? In Oregon, the most famous and controversial sighting occurred one overcast day in May 1950. Evelyn Trent was feeding her rabbits when she saw a flying object in the sky. She described it as “shiny but not as bright as a hub cap…resembling a dull, aluminum-painted tank…awful pretty.” Trent shouted for her husband Paul, who ran out, saw it, and ran to his car to fetch his camera. Not only was there a mysterious sight in the sky, but as Evelyn Trent related a strong wind came out of nowhere. “The wind that came down [had] no motor or no smoke or no nothin’—just the wind.” What became known as the Trent sighting went on
to give inspiration for the annual UFO Fest in McMinnville, which has been going strong since 1999. However, Oregon’s neighbor to the north, Washington, can claim to be home of the first modern (post-war) UFO sighting. Kenneth Arnold, an American aviator, was flying near Mount Rainier when he “observed a chain of nine peculiar looking aircraft flying from north to south at approximately 9,500-foot elevation and going, seemingly, in a definite direction of about 170 degrees.” The objects were flying a “V” formation above the mountain. Arnold clocked their speed—an astounding 1,700 mph—and believed what he saw would easily be explained by military aircraft testing. There were, however, no test flights at that time.
The military took this fairly seriously but concluded that what Arnold had seen was a mirage. Arnold’s story is notable because his recollection spurred more and more reporting of UFOs. Whether he intended to or not, Arnold’s “nine peculiar aircraft” gave birth to the modern UFO phenomena. The government began Project Sign, which turned into Project Grudge and finally into Project Blue Book, an official UFO inquiry group. Blue Book gathered UFO reports and was able to change 94 percent of them from UFOs to IFOs: identified flying objects. The project was disbanded in 1970. Today, if you want to report a UFO, you would go to the Mutual UFO Network, which has a strong chapter in Oregon. More than a simple UFO organization, it’s
an investigative group that looks at UFOs academically, often dismissing sightings as hoaxes or deciding whether an aircraft, planet, or satellite makes the most sense as an explanation. As a result, things become identified objects, rather than UFOs. Yet, many sightings do remain unidentified. MUFON doesn’t believe all the UFOs are necessarily alien related, but they are indeed unidentified. The Oregon chapter compiles reports of UFOS and their conclusions on them. The most recent UFO sighting in Albany, Oregon was “a bright, star-like UFO that hovered, wiggled, shifted about above the moon, and traveled with the moon as if tethered.” From Mount Rainier to Albany, the Pacific Northwest is not without the unexplained.
AARON UGHOC
PSU VANGUARD • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • PSUVANGUARD.COM
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ARTS & CULTURE
NAV OPENS FOR THE WEEKND AT THE MODA CENTER ON FRIDAY, OCT. 6. ANDREW D. JANKOWSKI/PSU VANGUARD
THE WEEKND PERFORMS AT THE MODA CENTER ON FRIDAY, OCT. 6 FOR THE PORTLAND STOP OF HIS “STARBOY: LEGEND OF THE FALL” TOUR. ANDREW D. JANKOWSKI/PSU VANGUARD
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PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
THE WEEKND PERFORMS ON THE PORTLAND STOP OF HIS “STARBOY: LEGEND OF THE FALL” TOUR AT THE MODA CENTER. ANDREW D. JANKOWSKI/PSU VANGUARD
STAR BOY, TRAP GOD, ROSE GARDEN:
ARTS & CULTURE
THE WEEKND, GUCCI MANE AT MODA CENTER ANDREW D. JANKOWSKI The Weeknd, Gucci Mane, Nav and DJ PNDA’s Oct. 6th show, Starboy: Legend of the Fall, at the MODA Center was a saturated, full-body experience designed to visually read differently between the present reality and the digital near past. The two main themes I noticed were masculinity (duh) and the exploration of the veil between the Star’s fractal digital/print image and the totality of their natural reality. I was outside my art bubble next to the VIP section on the MODA Center’s floor and later moved to a section that gave me a great view without my camera obstructing anyone else’s. It had been a few months since my last amphitheater show and at least 15 years since I’d seen a concert at the venue that forever in my heart is called the Rose Garden (email or tweet me to find out who I saw). It’s a space that hosted Def Leppard and Poison a few months back. I’m done being condescending and dismissive of sports. Most of my friends aren’t avid sports fans, but some are, and they’re cool too, and they have their reasons. The reasons I like Sports the Concept are how they ground players and participants in the present reality—likely why exercise alleviates, if not cures, depression and anxiety symptoms— and how they can heighten bodily awareness. This is also a venue where you can buy pickle peanut butter bacon burgers, so awareness is subjective. After all, your tongue is your body too. It took me an embarrassingly long time to realize how many people in the audience were sports fans. It should have been pretty obvious: arena show, thousands of people, somebody there was bound to be into anyone from the Timbers to the Portland State Vikings. But it’s not until I heard someone say “Blazers” and looked over to men my height or taller with their girlfriends half our height in heels that this aspect of the audience became apparent. (Not sure if this is at all related, but I have now seen denim bondage pants on a human! Anachronistic 2000s nostalgia is in full bloom!) All the performers were flawlessly proficient, which makes finding weak points in the performances pointless. Sure, all the use of gunshot audio leading up to The Weeknd (Abel Tesfaye)’s set is disconcerting during the first week after the todate deadliest mass shooting of the 21st century on American soil. Statistically speaking though, gun violence and accidents didn’t stop on that Sunday; we don’t need more post-tragedy censorship like we saw in the wake of 9/11. I started these thoughts during DJ PNDA’s opening set. I think I’ve seen one person drum and mix music at the same time, but the U.K. drummer/music producer did it in front of thousands of people, which, from my anxiety-based perspective, is stunning. Then again, in an environment where any technical flub will be captured, replayed and analyzed to death, technical proficiency is par for the course. Up next was Nav (Navraj Goraya), The Weeknd’s XO label mate and a Punjabi-Canadian only a handful of months younger than me. The internet tells me Nav’s commercial career just turned two years old: he recently cracked the Billboard Hot 100 chart and saw Kylie Jenner lip-syncing his song on Snapchat (the app which I, the social media editor pushing 30, have downloaded but haven’t set up). Nav performed songs like “A$AP Ferg,” “Call Me,” “Minute,” and “Beibs in the Trap.”
He was not physically high energy, probably since he was an opener; broader scale, I don’t think pop music now is as high energy as decades past. If I had to guess, it’s because the ice caps are all melting and we’re going to die, or maybe because slow-burning stars burn longer. Darkness, angst and melancholy are marinating in pop consciousness. When EDM seems like it’s about pushing the limits of noise and volume, the conscious decision to scale back has meaning. After Nav was Gucci Mane aka GuWop aka Radric Davis aka the Trap God. I didn’t realize Gucci Mane’s commercial music career is entering its second decade, nor did I realize his appearance on Rae Sremmurd’s “Black Beatles” in 2016 was his first association with a #1 single, nor did I realize he’s probably partially responsible for Marilyn Manson still having social capital, nor did I realize he’s now a newlywed (congratulations!). I also wasn’t expecting his live performance voice to be a higher octave than what I’ve heard on recordings, which isn’t a negative, but a surprise. Given that Gucci Mane was the second biggest name on the bill, it would have been great for him to have taken a bolder physical presence on the stage, which had a long runway. His performances included the Greg Street cover, “I Think I Love Her” immediately followed by his own “I Don’t Love Her,” and then “Both,” “Back on Road,” “Freaky Gurl,” his “Black Beatles” section, and “Wasted.” Much of the visual art was for people who didn’t go to art school but still want to experience creative expression. Much of what I saw and heard had little meaning beyond its surface but was significant in scale, design and execution. For example, the glitch visuals during Nav and Gucci Mane’s sets probably had less to do with delayed gratification and more to do with blurring the line between professional polish and a rawness balancing non-refined sincerity. Another example was the fire and water fixtures in front of the MODA Center’s box office, emitting equal columns of each element. When The Weeknd’s set started, a giant triangular structure suspended above the stage slowly, silently descended in one piece, then yawned open, revealing smoke and light almost as bright as the pre-totality eclipse sun. Due to the blinding light, I didn’t notice The Weeknd was already center stage, singing between bright, mobile light beams. In the moment, I thought the beams represented prison bars, and that the literally dazzling optical effect I saw on his arms and chest was a piece of digitally enhanced fashion I will never be able to afford. While moving from the photography to writing seats, I reviewed Portland State Vanguard’s Instagram post and saw the intended effect as emulating a hologram. The structure breathed and bloomed with a soft flutter as The Weeknd sang “Starboy,” “Six Feet Under,” “Sidewalks,” “Wicked Games,” “Party Monster” (sadly not “Lust for Life” or “Prisoner,” The Weeknd’s other Lana del Rey songs), “Acquainted,” “Rockin’,” covers from Drake, Belly and Ty Dolla $ign and ultimately his biggest commercial hits, like “Earned It,” “Can’t Feel My Face,” and the “The Hills” encore. Possessing the ability to command the attention of 10,000+ people is almost too much for my squishy brain to comprehend. That all of us in the stadium had a unique, personal re-
lationship to The Weeknd’s music and artistry is also a little baffling. Kind of like the Corey Harper show, I know I wasn’t the show’s target audience, but between sharing space with Blazers players, the women in the nosebleed sections who I could clearly see dancing for their lives a la Camille Grammar and Kyle Richards at Jay-Z from season one of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, and people between sections posing for their “Who, me?” geo-tagged portraits, it felt like The Weeknd, Gucci Mane, Nav and DJ PNDA could experience us too, if not always see us. It was surreal to see a stadium illuminated by cell phone lights, but maybe that’s because I’m a 20th-century relic. But it’s the classic representation of our collective presence combined with the advances in technology that make the experience interactive and awe-inspiring. These men’s masculinity allowed for drawing Gaze personified and all its expressions differently, empowering the men to become different figures for the audience, as objects, fiction suits or both. Their musicality shares common links with masculinity and legacy. I’m not speaking of Goraya, Davis or Tesfaye personally because I can’t know them personally; I can’t even find DJ PNDA’s real name. DJ PNDA’s performance and mixing introduced the Veil, the one that separates Us (we with under 500 social media followers) from Them (who have access to followings bigger than themselves and who open themselves to the public’s scrutiny). Nav is an everyman, who represents the Starboy as he starts burning, perhaps forged in the cracked “Umbrella”-era Chris Brown mold. Gucci Mane’s artistry and personal history are filled with drama and violence, swinging between opulence and poverty, and represents the Starboy as a successful survivor who overcame The Fall to create work influencing artists across genres and generations (now maybe Starman?). The Weeknd is space between these stages that allows for angst, existentialism and nihilism alongside charisma, nerve and talent, and is the Starboy before a personal or professional downswing, The Fall. But I’m probably way the fuck overthinking all of this. The Weeknd worked the catwalk stage as triangles bloomed and fluttered around him, and people around me were dancing, screaming and documenting the moments significant to them. The energy exerted through dance combined with cheers and roaring screams so loud my ears physically rang are not anything that can yet be documented on film. You had to be there, in the moment and space, to have really experienced it. I left the MODA Center, learning a lot about the thousands of screaming people around me, the thousands whom The Weeknd & Co. couldn’t individually see but collectively could feel and influence, and the technology we use. I learned that amateur concert footage is awful for two reasons: first, the sound waves can affect your phone camera even when you make a conscious effort to remain still. Second, some social media filmmakers see the camera as directly representative of their view, swaying in motion with the camera without caring about footage perspective or clarity. They dance, and they want people to see what they saw as they saw it in their moment, as the songs reflected their performer’s lived realities. It doesn’t always look great when replayed, but in the moment it feels right.
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
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OPINION
PRO-LIFE VIEW MISREPRESENTED IN PARK BLOCKS DEBACLE Jordan Ellis
Mystery Flavor When I set eyes on the Center for BioEthical Reform’s looming anti-abortion display in the Park Blocks last week, I, like many of my fellow students, inwardly groaned, though perhaps not for the same reasons as my peers. I was also upset when I saw the protests that took place later in the afternoon. I stayed quiet when classmates voiced their opinions on the disturbing nature of the display, being afraid to say anything. Last week I was a closet pro-lifer. I may not support abortion, but neither do I support the disturbing tactics of the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform. The use of images of aborted fetuses, linking them to photos from the Holocaust and genocides, makes the shock-and-awe tactics of this pro-life group apparent. The display was meant to be offensive, sickening and emotionally charged. Despite the group’s defense that this “forceful tactic [was meant] to expose abortion as an ‘act of violence,’” the sensationalist tone of the
display couldn’t have been unexpected to such a veteran of university campuses. If the group wanted to create a buzz across campus, they succeeded, but that’s where their accomplishments stop. The events that took place were incredibly polarizing, creating an us-vs-them mentality that turned prolifers into caricatures. This made potential thoughtful discourse and open-mindedness an impossibility. Fellow pro-life student Naila Bairamova was also dismayed by the display. “There can be no good conversations when people are aggravated by seeing those horrific pictures. I think it hurt more than it helped,” she said. This particular pro-life group is far from representative of the pro-life movement in its entirety. “With any movement, people can get very radical, and pro-life is not an exception,” Bairamova stated. “We should not judge the entire movement based on one event or one organization.” There are kind, intelligent individuals on both sides of the abortion debate, and it is a difficult topic for many. It is, therefore, an issue that needs to be handled with thoughtfulness and empathy, rather than through shoving disturbing images in the public’s face. Approximately one in four women in the
United States will have had an abortion by age 45, according to a study released this month in the American Journal of Public Health. This would indicate that many of the students and faculty who saw the display have had abortions of their own. And in light of the insensitive and accusatory tone of the pro-life group last week, my heart aches. “People need to be heard, not hurt,” Bairamova reflected on the group’s insensitivity. “Displays like that bring a lot of hurt. Most women who have gone through abortion did not make that decision lightheartedly... While I do not support abortion, I believe all those hurts and emotions are valid, and seeing the pictures of aborted children can add more trauma into their lives.” Bairamova expressed that her religious values are a major reason behind her reaction to the display. Despite believing “God values life, [...] I could not imagine Jesus doing anything like that [...] because he loves and forgives,” she said. While working as a translator in a hospital, Bairamova witnessed numerous abortion procedures. The graphic images of the display brought up difficult memories for her and likely many other individuals on campus. In equating abortion with genocide and
murder, the pro-life group condemned students who may have experienced abortion, regardless of the trauma or sense of helplessness that may have surrounded the decision. Antagonizing women in this vulnerable place is not what being pro-life means; it’s insensitive and ignorant. The pro-life position has many associations in our world. The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform display may have reinforced such ties, but can’t provide an accurate representation of the movement as a whole. I am pro-life, and though to some it is paradoxical, I am also a feminist. My view on abortion isn’t based on religious beliefs; I would consider myself agnostic. Something I love about Portland State is our diversity—be it age, race, sexual orientation or belief system. As members of the PSU community, we have such a wide range of experiences that make us unique. Broad categorizations that contribute to an us-vs-them mentality undermine this. Equating the pro-life view with such a horrible display misrepresents intelligent and thoughtful individuals who are also pro-life. Though they might not be loudly proclaiming their views in the Park Blocks, they have voices that deserve to be heard.
GENDER-NEUTRAL CLOTHING: IT’S TIME FOR ANDROGYNY Sarah Alderson
The Basket
“For the apparel oft proclaims the man,” writes William Shakespeare in the play Hamlet as part of a long stream of advice given by Polonius to his son Laertes. Polonius refers to wearing clothes to signify wealth, but the meaning also fits the way clothes are worn today. How we dress shows who we are; our clothes still represent wealth or lack thereof, personal taste, style or color preferences. But clothing has also long been used to denote another important aspect of who we are: gender and sexual identity. We see a baby and automatically think blue for boys, pink for girls; any other color throws us. Little children with short hair and darker colors must be boys because little girls have “girly” hairstyles and bright colors like pink and purple or sky blue. But what if a little boy wants to wear a pink shirt? Or a girl wants to shave her head? Just one look around campus and, in a larger scope, Portland, we see a variety of clothing choices that break the modern gender barrier. Changes have been slow but steady in their arrival. In 2015, Target made an announcement: The retail giant would take
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down gender signs in its stores in several departments, and the change was to apply to their toy and entertainment departments. Target’s announcement read, “Guests have raised important questions about a handful of signs in our stores that offer product suggestions based on gender.” The retail chain then pointed out that it would maintain gender differentiation in its clothing sections because of “fit and sizing differences,” which, to quote the company’s statement, “makes sense.” In some regard, that is true: There are different cuts in clothing according to body shape and type, but this is a big step forward in corporate America and the march toward a more accepting community. However, there has been a backlash by some parents and conservatives. In a 2015 article on the website The Blaze, writer Matt Walsh argued that there are important differences between boys and girls in a blog post titled, “Yes, Target, I Do Want My Daughter to Conform to Her Gender.” The outrage over toys is indicative of the same kinds of issues we could face in the event clothing stores remove gender-designating signs. Where does this leave the non-binary gender community? Is clothing something that should be strictly based
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
CHLOE KENDALL on gender, or is there some sort of common ground? Is this something that should or should not be changed? More to the point: What is the big deal? The big deal is this: The world is changing, and society needs to change with it. As a culture, we have placed rigid gender roles on each other and ourselves, especially when
it comes to clothing. According to Craig Leets at the Portland State Queer Resource Center, the rigidity of these roles is completely self-inflicted. These strict rules create more issues for everyone, whether they fit the roles or not, and we subconsciously
STORY CONTINUES ON PG 25
OPINION
HOW LGBTQ-FRIENDLY IS PSU? Jordan Ellis
Mystery Flavor Preceding the start of the term, nonprofit Campus Pride released its annual ranking of the top 25 LGBTQfriendly colleges and universities. Portland State is a veteran to this list and was once again ranked as one of the best schools. Students responded with frustration and contrary testimonies, however, when the announcement was shared on the PSU Facebook page. When looking at these radically different views side by side, it’s clear there is a disconnect between how PSU is perceived on a large scale and what daily life is like for its LGBTQ students. The disconnect arises in part through the criteria by which Campus Pride judges schools. The organization claims to “support campuses in assessing LGBTQ-friendly policies, programs, and practices” by encouraging a campus representative to complete the site’s self-assessment. Craig Leets, director of PSU’s Queer Resource Center, asserts that this ranking doesn’t provide the full picture. The Campus Pride Index provides a star ranking based solely on policies and available resources. Unfortunately, because students aren’t involved in the process, it doesn’t indicate if these resources and policies are actually meeting the needs of students. This undermines the ranking’s good intentions as an ally to LGBTQ college students. The very students the organization is trying to support are brushed to the side and disregarded. Mason Pierce was one such student who responded on social media [displayed here as written]: “I have yet to be asked what my experience has been as a queer, trans-man attending PSU [...] you make these posts about providing a safe campus for your LGBT students, and yet you never take the time to actually ask the students themselves.” Pierce in a subsequent interview describes his experience within the classroom at PSU as largely positive and the Queer and Women’s Resource Centers as safe spaces. On a larger scale, however, Pierce believes PSU should be doing more to ensure that queer students feel safe on campus, reflecting on being faced with transphobic slurs written in campus restrooms and having “been chased through the Park Blocks by homophobic individuals.” Student Tori Mize also responded that PSU needs to do more. She admits to being “not convinced at all that PSU cares about me or other queer students.” Mize is currently taking several terms off from PSU due to a lack of support. Faculty member and adjunct professor Michael HulshofSchmidt, however, expresses a more favorable view. Hulshof-Schmidt works with the Office of Global Diversity and Inclusion, which has been “quite lovely and supportive of the Queer community” in his experience. He continues with the belief that “PSU works very hard to be allies of the
ELENA KIM LGBTQ community,” but agrees that “of course, there is always more work that needs to be done.” Despite varied responses, it’s safe to say that PSU is probably one of the better schools out there. But perhaps the bar isn’t set very high to begin with. Rather than becoming self-congratulatory, Leets sees the ranking as something to spur us on, giving PSU energy to continue doing more. Looking ahead, both Leets and Hulshof-Schmidt hope to further support those at intersecting communities. The QRC hopes to not only span campus resource centers, but to do more for queer students of color, of diverse religions, queer students with disabilities and others. There is potential value in the varied responses to the Campus Pride Index rating from students and faculty; discussion brings the need for more integrated support to light. But in my experience, that isn’t what students are crying out for. They primarily just want their voices to be heard. Pierce concluded, “My issue comes from the lack of conversation between administration and students [...] It is not
enough to check off a box that says PSU has a QRC; PSU needs to actually speak with students in order to call itself an LGBTfriendly campus.” PSU needs more communication between administration and students to really know if the needs of LGBTQ students are being met. One example of the strength of increased communication comes in the form of a Viking Voices article published last spring, in which a bisexual student shared the difficulties they face regarding Gay Pride. This is the type of platform we need more of. The voices of students and faculty from all demographics need to be seen as valid— because they are. PSU can be ranked as an LGBTQ-friendly campus by an organization on the East Coast, but doesn’t friendliness imply talking? If we claim to be a friend to queer students and faculty, we can’t act like strangers. PSU must give attention to the age-old secret to healthy relationships: communication.
However, it’s not about saying that people can’t dress to suit their gender tastes either. The idea is to remove the stigma regarding how a biological woman or man should dress. Clothing can still be cut to fit specific body types, we just don’t need a label designating those purple pants just for women or the warm flannel for only men. The idea of blending gender departments in retail clothing stores may seem like a strange one, but is it a bad one? The idea that we have a selection of clothes that we are allowed to wear that may not be what we really want to wear
seems strange, and the fact that we put ourselves into that prison is even stranger. These rigid, gender-based clothing rules just don’t work for us as a society anymore. That’s not to say it’s unacceptable for a woman to want to wear traditionally feminine clothes or a man to prefer to look traditionally masculine. The idea is about teaching and practicing tolerance, and that starts at home with each of us. As Leets pointed out, “We adults need to catch up with kids. Kids are accepting. We question people; kids just accept.”
STORY CONTINUED FROM PG 24 enforce these roles with each other. Leets pointed out that we can police each other’s clothing choices with a simple glance, showing approval and disapproval without saying a word. Today, society is pushing away from these heavily enforced rules and the ideas that everyone must be male or female and dress the part. In stores like Target, the removal of gender signs and markers in the toy aisle is a nice start, but there are other improvements that could and should be coming in the near future. An ideal situation, according to Leets, would be to have one clothing section with “pants,” “shirts,” etc.
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
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October 24–30
EVENT LISTINGS
ON CAMPUS FEATURED EVENT FILM ARLENE SCHNITZER DRACULA (1931) CONCERT HALL WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25, $50–90, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. Philip Glass joins the Kronos Quartet to perform Glass’ 1999 soundtrack live to a screening of the legendary Bela Lugosi vampire movie.
TUESDAY, OCT. 24 FILM WHITSELL THIN ICE: A POLAR AUDITORIUM BEAR’S PLIGHT (2017) FREE, ALL AGES 7 P.M. Thirty minute documentary from The Oregonian related to their five-part series on Nora, the former Oregon Zoo polar bear cub rejected by her mother. RSVP required. JAZZ 7 P.M. BALLAKÉ SISSOKO & THE OLD CHURCH VINCENT SÉGAL $25–30, ALL AGES Sissoko is a traditional kora harp virtuoso, and Ségal is a French cellist with a background in trip-hop. Together, they borrow from numerous influences for a truly unique sound. FILM 7 P.M. WONDER WOMAN CAMPUS REC CENTER (2017) FREE, ALL AGES The Dive-In Movie Series lets you float in PSU’s pool and watch one of the most financially successful superhero movies of 2017.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25 CHAMBER MUSIC THE OLD CHURCH MICHAEL BARNES FREE, ALL AGES NOON The organist will play a spooky Halloween concert. LECTURE DEPRESSION PUBLIC TRADITIONAL ART IMAGERY, RADICAL 3 P.M. DREAMS, AND SMSU 328/9 OREGON’S GREAT FREE, ALL AGES David A. Horowitz exhibits 53 photographs of New Deal-era public art by artists who were critical of the government yet received a federal commission. FILM BEST OF THE 43RD NORTHWEST FILM FESTIVAL $6–9, all ages
6 P.M. WHITSELL AUDITORIUM
An array of 2016 films based in Oregon, Washington, Montana, and Canada screen this night.
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THURSDAY, OCT. 26 JAZZ PSU INSTRUMENTAL JAZZ NOON PSU jazz musicians and faculty.
LINCOLN PERFORMANCE HALL #75 FREE, ALL AGES perform for students
FILM WHITSELL SCORE: A FILM MUSIC AUDITORIUM DOCUMENTARY (2016) $6–9, ALL AGES 7 P.M. Hans Zimmer, James Cameron, Danny Elfman, John Williams, Quincy Jones, Trent Reznor, Howard Shore, Rachel Portman, Thomas Newman, Randy Newman, Leonard Maltin, and the late James Horner and Garry Marshall discuss their craft in this documentary. INDIE ROCK THE OLD CHURCH MICHAEL NAU $13–15, ALL AGES 7 P.M. Singer-songwriter Nau tours in support of his new album, Some Twist.
FRIDAY, OCT. 27 FILM HOBO WITH A SHOTGUN (2011) 7 / 9:30 P.M.
(SCREENING OCT. 28–29) 5TH AVENUE CINEMA $4–5 (FREE W/PSU ID), ALL AGES The feature-length version of a trailer-withina-movie, specifically Grindhouse (2007). JAZZ THE OLD CHURCH NAOMI LAVIOLETTE $15–20, ALL AGES 7 P.M. The singer-songwriter throws a party to celebrate her new album, Written For You. Naomi LaViolette will be accompanied by members of the Oregon Symphony, the Vancouver Symphony, and the Oregon Repertory Singers. FILM WHITSELL NEAR DARK (1987) AUDITORIUM 9:30 P.M. $6–9, ALL AGES Kathryn Bigelow’s second film, part of the late ’80s vampire movie trend, sees a man (Adrian Pasdar) get involved with a vampire coven (Bill Paxton, Jenny Wright, Lance Henrickson). Near Dark turns 30 this year and screens as part of NWFC’s Genrified! film series.
SATURDAY, OCT. 28 SPORTS 2 P.M. QUIDDITCH STOTT FIELD TOURNAMENT FREE, ALL AGES Seven teams will compete for Harry Potterthemed glory. Participants have until Oct. 25 to register their teams.
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
FAMILY CAMPUS REC CENTER SPOOKY SATURDAY FREE, ALL AGES 10 A.M. Kid-friendly games, stories and fun, and a costume-encouraged session with the climbing wall. FILM WHITSELL WHEN THE MOUNTAINS AUDITORIUM TREMBLE (1983) $6–9, ALL AGES 2 P.M. Pamela Yates’ documentary about how indigenous Mayans were affected by U.S. interference in Guatemala, which led to a bloody war that killed almost a quarter million people. .
FILM WHITSELL GRANITO: HOW TO NAIL AUDITORIUM A DICTATOR (2011) $6–9, ALL AGES 4 P.M. A sequel to (and documentary partially about) When the Mountains Tremble, covering the time between the films and the aftermath of the events depicted. FOLK MUSIC 5:30 P.M. INVITATION TO THE WINNINGSTAD FANTASY WORLD OF THEATRE SENJU $40–47, ALL AGES Senju Matsunami performs the traditional Japanese music she began studying at age 6. AMERICANA 7 P.M. BROCK ZEMAN & BLAIR THE OLD CHURCH HOGAN $10–12, ALL AGES The Minor Key Concert Series hosts the Canadian singer-songwriters, who constantly collaborate with one another.
SUNDAY, OCT. 29 FILM WHITSELL THE GOLD RUSH (1925) AUDITORIUM 2 P.M. $6–9, ALL AGES Charlie Chaplain boils and eats a shoe in Gold Rush Alaska so he doesn’t die! If you enjoyed (or missed) Tati’s Play Time last week, here’s your chance to make it up to the Film Gods. CHAMBER MUSIC PERFORMANCE HALL KOTO KAI #75 2:30 P.M. $15–20, ALL AGES LINCOLN An annual showcase of classical and contemporary Japanese orchestral arrangements. FILM WHITSELL CAT PEOPLE (1942) AUDITORIUM 9:30 P.M. $6–9, ALL AGES Serbian-American immigrant Irena Dubrovna (Simone Simon) suspects she descends from a line of creatures that turn into feline humanoids when angry or sexually aroused. Also part of NWFC’s Genrified! series.
FILM WHITSELL CORPSE BRIDE (2005) AUDITORIUM 4 P.M. $6–9, ALL AGES A man (Johnny Depp)’s cold feet before his wedding leads to solving a cold case murder. CHAMBER MUSIC THE OLD CHURCH HSU & YU $10–45, ALL AGES 4 P.M. The duo, who made their debut in Portland last summer, return to play Brahms’ sonatas for violin and piano. FILM WHITSELL 500 YEARS (2017) AUDITORIUM 7 P.M. $6–9, ALL AGES (SCREENING OCT. 28) The third film in Pamela Yates’ documentary trilogy about contemporary genocide against indigenous Mayan people in Guatemala. FOLK MUSIC WINNINGSTAD LAS MIGAS THEATRE 7:30 P.M. $30, ALL AGES The Flamenco and Mediterranean fusion group perform in support of their Latin Grammy-nominated album, Vente Conmigo.
MONDAY, OCT. 30 CHAMBER MUSIC NOON 100 YEARS OF PROTEST THE OLD CHURCH MUSIC $10, ALL AGES Fear No Music explores a century’s worth of American protest music from Ravel, Shostakovich, and Rebecca Clarke to more contemporary examples. FILM WHITSELL RAT FILM (2016) AUDITORIUM 7 P.M. (ALSO $6–9, ALL AGES SCREENING OCT. 27) This documentary explores the relationship between rats and racism in Baltimore. SYMPHONY OCT. 28–29) MOZART’S JUPITER ARLENE SCHNITZER SYMPHONY CONCERT HALL 7:30 P.M. (PERFORMING $24–115, ALL AGES Carlos Kalmar conducts pianist Garrick Ohlsson and the Oregon Symphony through Mozart’s Jupiter Symphony along with Schubert, Barber’s Piano Concerto, and a Mark-Anthony Turnage world premiere.
Matthew Andrews & Andrew D. Jankowski
OFF CAMPUS FEATURED EVENT CONVENTION (OCT. 27-29) 15TH ANNUAL OREGON CONVENTION KUMORICON CENTER 10 A.M.-2P.M. $65, ALL AGES Portland’s largest anime and nerd culture convention. Expect cosplay, karaoke, fashion shows, art, vendors and more.
TUESDAY, OCT. 24 FILM 7:30 P.M. THE LEOPARD MAN HOLLYWOOD THEATRE (1943) $7–9, ALL AGES An escaped leopard is used to illustrate the concept of serial killers before the term was officially used in the United States.
WEDNESDAY, OCT. 25 SCIENCE OMSI OMSI AFTER DARK $15–30, 21+ 6 P.M. This month’s OMSI After Dark theme is Spirits (both ghosts and alcohol) and is basically the OMSI Halloween costume party. ROCK 7 P.M. JESUS AND THE MARY CRYSTAL BALLROOM CHAIN, COLD CAVE $35–65, ALL AGES Tonight’s show makes up for Jesus and the Mary Chain’s canceled May 22 show, rescheduled due to a power outage affecting the venue and part of Portland. HAUNTED HOUSE THROUGH NOV. 1) DICK HEFNER’S SPYCE GENTLEMEN’S HAUNTED STRIP CLUB CLUB MANSION $15–25, 21+ 9 P.M. (RUNNING DJ Dick Hennesey’s third annual haunted house picked its theme at least a month before Hugh Hefner actually passed away.
THURSDAY, OCT. 26 THEATER THROUGH OCT. 28) MURDER MYSTERY FUNHOUSE LOUNGE MACHINE $10–60, ALL AGES 7 P.M. (STAGED Improv-based fusion theater where Scooby-Doo! characters investigate crimes in the universes of other horror films, like the Saw franchise. CABARET 8 P.M. ROCKY HORROR PASTIE STAR THEATER SHOW $20–25, 21+ Miss Kennedy’s Theater of Burlesque’s seventh annual tribute to Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) featuring less dialogue and clothing but all the song and dance. Heckling and themed attire are encouraged.
THEATER THROUGH NOV. 5) DIVA PRACTIVE HEADWATERS THEATRE 8 P.M. (STAGED $20, ALL AGES Pepper Pepper’s solo show uses “multimedia projection, drag, and dance to help reveal the concepts that make up the ‘diva’ archetype.”
COMEDY FUNHOUSE LOUNGE COMIC STRIP $10, 21+ 10 P.M. Chris Ettrick hosts a panel of stand-up comedians who must take off their clothes at the whim of a guest “strip master.”
DRAG QUEENS 9 P.M. QUEENS OF THE NYX DAMNED $10, 21+ Nine performance artists and drag queens serve looks inspired by the nine circles of hell from Dante’s Inferno. Seven Deadly Sinsthemed costumes encouraged.
ROCK DANTE’S HELL’S BELLES $15, 21+ 9 P.M. The Angus Young-ordained AC/DC cover band has been going hard for almost 20 years and performs for Halloween weekend.
FRIDAY, OCT. 27
SATURDAY, OCT. 28
FILM MULTIPLE SCREENINGS THE KILLING OF A CINEMA 21 SACRED DEER (2017) $7–10, ALL AGES Dr. Steven Murphy (Colin Farrell) forms a bond with a mysterious teen named Martin (Barry Keoghan), which threatens the Murphy family.
FILM HOLLYWOOD THEATRE NOSFERATU (1922) $8–10, ALL AGES 8 P.M. Mood 52 provides a live soundtrack to the first ever cinematic portrayal of the Count Dracula story, which is one of the scariest films in cinema’s history.
ARTIST TALK REED COLLEGE FRAMING THE TRAP FREE, ALL AGES 6 P.M. We don’t normally promote other universities’ events, but any chance to hear Bart Fitzgerald talk is worth taking. “Framing the Trap” will also be live-streamed.
ROCK STAR THEATER GENITORTURERS $15, 21+ 8 P.M. The provocative Floridian nu-metal band’s cover of “I Touch Myself” is often mistakenly attributed to Jack Off Jill, a different provocative Floridian nu-metal band.
DRAG QUEENS LOVECRAFT BAR CLUB KAI-KAI $10, 21+ 9 P.M. Shitney Houston and Buckmaster host as, respectively, Chucky and Tiffany/Jennifer Tilly from the Bride of Chucky, in what is basically the Club Kai-Kai Halloween party.
DANCE PARTY 8 P.M. 18TH ANNUAL CRYSTAL BALLROOM PORTLAND EROTIC $49–110, 21+ BALL Sasha Scarlett’s erotic ball regales revelers with music, circus and fetish entertainment alongside one of Portland’s best-paying costume contests.
DANCE PARTY 9 P.M. SNAP! ’90S DANCE HOLOCENE PARTY $7, 21+ If your costume comes from the 20th century’s last decade, this is the place to strut your stuff and win lasting fame and glory. FESTIVAL 9:30 P.M. QUEER HORROR HOLLYWOOD THEATRE HALLOWEEN $10, ALL AGES Carla Rossi’s bi-monthly horror film series celebrates Halloween with a curated festival of Satanic feminist films by local and national filmmakers and live burlesque by local performers Baby LeStrange, Hai Fleisch, Hyacinth Lee, Rocket, and Vera Mysteria.
DANCE PARTY ANALOG CAFE & LITTLE BOLLYWOOD HORROR THEATER XV $10, 21+ 9 P.M. DJ Anjali and the Incredible Kid’s fifteenth annual Halloween party, featuring Panjabi dhol drummer Adam McCollom and Seattle’s Splinter Dance Company. ELECTRONIC MUSIC PAUL OAKENFOLD 10 P.M. The EDM legend land for Halloween supporting acts.
45 EAST $35, 21+ performs in Portweekend with local
SUNDAY, OCT. 29 ART EXHIBITION DISJECTA A SITUATION OF MEAT FREE, ALL AGES NOON Last day to see a curated set of new works by Mel Carter, Maggie-Rose Condit, Braxton Congrove, Dakota Gearhart, and Elizabeth Mputu.
FILM (SCREENING OCT. 28) THE WATCHER IN THE HOLLYWOOD THEATRE WOODS (1980) $7–9, ALL AGES 2 P.M. Jan (Lynn-Holly Johnson) and Ellie Curtis (Kyle Richards) investigate the mysterious disappearance of the daughter of Mrs. Aylwood (Bette Davis), the woman who owns the manor their parents rent in the English countryside. THEATER THROUGH NOV. 5) MURDER IN GREEN TWILIGHT THEATER MEADOWS COMPANY 3 P.M. (STAGED $15–17, ALL AGES A man orders his wife to kill her lover as their life in a small, idyllic American town begins to unravel, as do the lives of their neighbors. FILM CINEMA 21 KEDI (2016) $7–10, ALL AGES 4:30 P.M. The critically-acclaimed feline documentary screens for National Cat Day. CONVENTION STAVER LOCOMOTIVE DOPE CUP FREE–$35, 21+ 6 P.M. The third annual Oregon DOPE Cup is a competitive marijuana industry festival/party. RSVP is required ahead of attendance. METAL 7 P.M. IN THIS MOMENT, OF ROSELAND THEATER MICE & MEN, AVATAR $30–45, ALL AGES Headlining theatrical metal band tours in support of its new album, Ritual. COMEDY THE SLIDE INN SINCERITY IS GROSS FREE, 21+ 7:30 P.M. James Barela, Adam Pasi, Caitlin Weierhauser, Neeraj Srinivasan, and Hunter Donaldson celebrate a solid year of this stand-up comedy revue. HIP-HOP 9 P.M. HUNGRY HUNGRY MISSISSIPPI PIZZA HIP-HOP $5, 21+ A monthly showcase of local rappers and hiphop artists.
MONDAY, OCT. 30 ROCK 7 P.M. HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD, ROSELAND THEATER BUTCHER BABIES $28, ALL AGES The rap-rock band celebrates over a decade together, and the release of new album V (or Five), for Halloween weekend.
PSU Vanguard • OCTOBER 24, 2017 • psuvanguard.com
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