FLUX School of Journalism & Communication university of oregon
spring 2010
For the love of the gain Has Oregon football sold out? Past players weigh in.
Most journalism schools produce reporters and editors. We produce multimedia journalists
digital strategists documentarians investigative reporters sustainability professionals social media entreprenuers creative strategists strategic thinkers and doers photojournalists longform narrative journalists communication activists environmental leaders new media inventors strategic designers magazine futurists theorists and thinkers broadcasters onlince producers reporters and editors.
We’re producing the 21st century.
All the color we print comes in green At TechnaPrint, we’re committed to more than just outstanding printing at an outstanding price. We also believe in a strong commitment to our environment and that includes smart management of our forests. That’s why we offer chain-of-custody-certified paper, chlorine-free paper, post-consumer recycled paper and soy-based inks — all while providing you with printing and graphic services of incomparable quality and value.
909 Garfield Street, Eugene, Oregon • 541.344.4062 • www.technaprint.com
flux
spr i ng 2 010
contents Departments Editor’s note ....................................... 06 Online videos ...................................... 08 online stories ..................................... 10 romance .................................................... 12
14
weekend vagabonds
essay ............................................................. 52
Despite obvious risks, these adventure-seekers
end notes ................................................ 54
are hitting the highway vagabond style.
18
I want to be in playboy Auditioning nude meant going against her family’s faith and finding the courage to reveal herself to the world.
22 WAiting
Separated by oceans and immigration laws, one couple must wait to reunite — even after their first child is born. 4 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
28
Flux 2010 Editor-in-Chief
Whitney Mountain
Managing Editors Catherine Foss Emily Gillespie
from pastime to prime time What has Oregon football lost on its rise to the top?
Associate Editors
Jill Kimball Allyson Marrs Christina O’Connor
Staff Writers
Teresa Bdzil Leighton Cosseboom Abigail Diskin Ailin Darling Saul Hubbard Jenny Kane Michael Solomon
Copy Chief/Freelance Editor Jennifer Petty
36
Copy Editors
Amy Erickson Anna Klassen David W. Moody Kalie Wooden
Researchers
Brooke Brown Violet Oliver Jennifer Shier Nina Strochlic
Consumed by food
ART & DESIGN Art Director
Holly Schnackenberg
Designers
Renee Alvarado Megan Gex Mary Hall Emily Papp Sarah Payne
He quit drinking, snorting, and shooting,
Design Interns
Alexandra Notman Gabriella Narvaez
but the substance he
Photographers
can’t escape is one he
Alysha Beck Emilee Booher Robert Dyck
needs to survive.
42
DIGITAL Managing Editor for Web Operations Jill Kimball
Web Director Sho Ito
Destination Surgery
Web Designer Erik Maurer
Managing Editor for Multimedia Simon Boas
Why some are putting their fears
Associate Editor for Multimedia
of foreign hospitals aside to get
Lauren Hoelle
affordable health care.
Multimedia Content Producers Jon Banasky Rochelle Riva Bargo Yifan Hao Rebecca Leisher Jake Swantko
Multimedia Intern Amy Carr
Blogs Editor
Scott Younker
Bloggers
Truman Capps Jacob O’Gara Sam Wotipka
Business Business Manager Ashlyn Gehrett
Publisher
No shave, no shame Forget the razor! These men have the chops to win.
Mason Hughes
Ad Sales
Julie Basque Joe Defever Cam Giblin Andrew Helms Erika Lincango Lana O’Brien
Business Intern Lenna Bortnick
Advisors Steven Asbury Katie Campbell Michael Werner
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 5
// editor’s Stay & Play note
N
Never try to put together a magazine with all first-timers. That’s what veteran editors advise. They always say, make
sure to maintain a solid staff of trustworthy, talented journalists, and slowly add new folks to the team, one by one. At Flux magazine, however, it was impossible to follow this advice. Even though our masthead is filled with the names of the University of Oregon’s top journalism students, we didn’t have the advantage of having produced previous issues together. It is courting disaster to bring 40-some first-timers together to build a magazine from scratch . . . in 10 weeks. Well, it wasn’t exactly from scratch. We are standing on a strong foundation, 17 years of tradition, in fact. Before us, there have been 17 impressive examples of what is possible when determined young journalists work together. We only hope that this issue, the 18th Flux magazine, lives up to the legacy we’ve inherited. As I look through these pages and scan Fluxstories.com, I am so proud of the work this year’s team has produced. You will find smartly written stories about how UO football has gone from a pastime to prime time, page 28, and about one woman’s self-discovery through a Playboy audition, page 18. We have intimate portraits of a new family divided by immigration policy, page 22, and young man’s addiction to food, page 36. And we’ve balanced these serious stories with fun, quirky pieces on a group of competitive facial-hair fanatics, page 46, and recreational hitchhikers, page 14. And it’s all held together seamlessly by our talented design team, under the direction of Holly Schnackenberg.
6 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
But Flux doesn’t end there. Visit Fluxstories.com to check out our must-see multimedia stories on the resurgence of such retro pastimes as wine-making, letterpress printing, and samurai sword-crafting, and our stunning documentaries on unconventional education, a politician training to be an ultimate fighter, and an adrenaline junkie hooked on stealing cars. The people who produced this magazine and Web site thought carefully and acted quickly. They have worked tirelessly and devoted themselves to maintaining Flux’s high standards. I am honored to present this year’s Flux. And on behalf of the team, I thank you for reading. Enjoy!
online fluxstories.com
StayONLINE & Play ////FLUX
@
Contra-Combat Couture Trench coats, tank tops, and bomber jackets — military apparel is now standard in American fashion. One local group is working to combat the way people look at their clothing by revealing the true stories behind common clothing items.
Check out The full story at fluxstories.com
Urban Foraging Ant eggs, acornflour pancakes, and mushrooms sautéed in roadkill juice — Rebecca “Wild Girl” Lerner has tasted some interesting wild cuisine as a budding urban forager.
Check out The video at fluxstories.com
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 7
Hook It and Book It His eyes have peered through the barrel of a loaded shotgun. His skull has been on the wrong end of an airborne frying pan. His ears have heard the same sob story a thousand times. Even so, Jay Gates, a self-professed “adrenaline junkie,” hasn’t thought of quitting the repo business since he started 19 years ago. Gates does most of his work at night by the harsh glow of his own headlights, making his money running a business hired to legally steal cars.
m o c . s ie r o t fluxs
s c o d
Fighting for Office
NCAA All-American wrestler Chael Sonnen is training for the Ultimate Fighting Championship middleweight title fight this summer. He is up against Anderson Silva, an opponent who has destroyed some of the best fighters in the UFC. But when he’s not beating up 200-pound men, he’s campaigning to be the next state representative of Oregon’s District 37. What kind of man does it take to win in both arenas?
Wild Child: Learning Naturally Trackers PDX is not your average day camp. By the time these urban home-schooled students complete the class, they will shoot arrows, make fire using a bow drill, and build a shelter in the woods. For these kids, Trackers provides an education that they can’t get in conventional school systems. Here, they become “Rangers” — learning wilderness skills, connecting with the natural environment, and making friends along the way. 8 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
multimedia fluxstories.com Shake It: Eugene’s Underground Dance Movement Tango on Tuesdays. Swing on Wednesdays. Ballroom, blues
Scavenging for Survival
and salsa on Fridays. These are
Lorie Anne Acio lived in the
just a few of the possibilities
Philippines for seven years without
in Eugene, where the dance scene is booming.
knowing that just 30 minutes away
We look at some of Eugene’s most happening
from her hometown, people survive
dance venues.
by scavenging in landfills. When Acio returned to the Philippines in 2009 after studying in the United States, she brought a camera and followed some
Do It (Again) Yourself
of the scavengers through their daily
Foraging for blackberries to make wine,
grind. Along with
patching together new fashions from discarded
the documentary,
clothes, reviving the letterpress in the age of
Fluxstories.com
digital printing, and casting samurai swords near the
features an interview
Oregon coast from recycled railway cables: people
with Acio in which she recounts
everywhere are crafting things that they used to
filming in the Philippines and shares
buy and that most have stopped making. This Flux
her zeal for “untold stories.”
multimedia series follows today’s creators who are both reclaiming and reinventing their crafts.
Fluxcasts — Flux’s podcast series — presents a series of entertaining anecdotes and explorative interviews with an international twist. From the tales of exchange students from Chile, China, and Uzbekistan to the adventures of young Americans at home, Fluxcasts discuss the trials and triumphs of young adults around the world. f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 9
// online stories
1
2 5
4 1 0 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
6
7
1. Shirking skiers What does your schedule look like this Wednesday? The same as it always does? Dale Berg, owner of Berg’s Ski and Snowboard Shop in Eugene, knows how you feel, which is why his family-owned business has continued to shuttle shirking workers to Mt. Bachelor on the “Hooky Bus” for 40 years of mid-week tradition.
2. GASTROPOD MONARCHY It began as a harmless protest and became a quirky, beloved tradition. For 27 years, Eugene’s Slug Queens have reminded us to stay young at heart, laugh often, and keep Eugene weird.
3. OVER MAXIMUM CAPACITY Just days after Will McMahon’s 19th birthday, two strangers moved into his head. They never left, and for the last seven
3
years, McMahon’s been learning to live with the challenges associated with schizophrenia.
4. NEW BLUES A once-homeless musician revives the blues music scene in Eugene. Local musicians hope to catch the interest of more youths by starting community outreach programs.music.
5. MEN OF PIXIE HOLLOW Hidden away among the other near-campus housing, there’s one home in Eugene making a name for itself. The Eugene gay community calls it Pixie Hollow, a former lesbian, gay, bisexual,
Read more at fluxstories.com
and transgendered meeting spot that connects more than 50 gay young adults.
6. meeting their match In 1982, Reverend Sun Myung Moon held his first mass wedding in the United States at Madison Square Garden. Now, as a second generation of Unificationists come of age, the church is adopting new ways to play matchmaker.
7. EXPLORATION IN MOVEMENT Gilmer Duran, a dancer turned choreographer with the Eugene Ballet Company, uses movement to express his social perspective, one that is influenced by his Venezuelan heritage.
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 1 1
// ROMANCE
FLIRTING
with FATE
Missed opportunities cause lonely hearts to search publicly for romance
Story by Jenny Kane
I
PHOTO ILLUSTRATION by Ashlyn gehrett
n the Bronx, Dan is looking for Liz, the girl who shared half of her grapefruit with him on the Subway. In Springfield, Oregon, 30-year-old Lucy is looking for Linus. In Eugene, I’m looking for a scruffy-faced Wolverine. And in many places, many more are looking for someone too. “You: Scanning groceries…Me: In your line with baby food and coupons. Like kids? You can scan my bar code anytime,” wrote one Thurston, Oregon, grocery store shopper to the store clerk she never had the chance to approach in person.
1 2 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
These people are all looking for one thing: the connection they didn’t make. And though they may never find their missed connections, it’s the searching that seems to put them at ease. In Eugene alone, an average of 350 people a month post ads on Craigslist searching for their “missed connections.” Typically, someone writes a quirky message searching for someone they wanted to talk to but didn’t. And although people rarely receive responses to their ads, most seem satisfied that they tried. My unrequited romance happened one
recent Saturday afternoon. Hungover, I was startled when a scruffy “looker” smirked at me from a checkout line in Safeway. I got in line behind him, but my superego overruled each pick-up line that came to my head. I reached my house with my sole purchase — a pudgy roll of cookie dough — but without the satisfaction of having talked to the debonair wolf-man. So I posted an “I Saw You” ad in the local alternative weekly looking for my Cinderell-o, dangling a virtual glass slipper. “Wolverine Sighting at
Safeway” read as follows: “You looked like Wolverine. I was in a giant furry hat. You were buying english muffins. I was buying cookie dough. You smiled. I smiled. Let’s eat?” It was a few words short of Shakespeare, but it sufficed. Several weeks passed, and no sideburned sire ever came. But I look back feeling proud to have been proactive. I have no regrets. Neither does Andrea Dover of Bend,
College in Eugene, constant uncertainty about her romantic interests attracted her to Craigslist. Berube, openly lesbian and quite feminine-looking, says she isn’t the most conspicuous lesbian in Eugene. It’s difficult for her to tell if other women can sense she is lesbian and are hitting on her. “There have been times where there’s a similar exchange of smiles and it doesn’t turn out to be anything,” she says. Using
“At least I know that I won’t be that 81-yearold lady wondering what would have been.” — andrea dover
* Name has been changed to protect source’s anonymity.
Oregon. She is looking for a man she met 14 years ago, the man she dated for eight months, and the man she stayed friends with until seven years ago, when they lost touch. She’s tried everything now: from a private investigator to Craigslist.org’s Missed Connections postings in Eugene, Portland, and Seattle. “I’m actually hoping that he’ll see this article,” she says. Though some may look at Dover’s search as stalker-esque, Dover sees the experience as a romantic quest that will eventually put her mind at ease. “At least I know that I won’t be that 81-year-old lady wondering what would have been,” she says. Dover sees that lonely 81-year-old lady every day in her grandmother, who still thinks about her teenage crush that she never pursued. Since their birth in newspapers such as New York’s Village Voice, missed connections ads have gone viral. Craigslist started its Missed Connections section in 2000; MissedConnections.com, ISawYou.com, and SubwayCrush.com followed shortly thereafter. And now there are comics, artists, and an upcoming DreamWorks film—all centered on these serendipitous sightings. For some, these connection attempts are a way for people not to become bolder, but wiser in their pursuits. For Caley Berube, a 21-year-old student at Lane Community
an online missed connection site makes Berube’s intent clear without making the subject uncomfortable if they don’t reciprocate those feelings. When Berube went to a patisserie in Salem, Oregon, over spring break, she met a “looker” of a barista who suggested a spiced chai latte—emphasis on the spiced—and brought it to her personally with an extra-charming smile. Though she couldn’t be sure that there was flirtation, Berube looked back through the window on her way out and caught one last divine smile. “It meant enough for me to post something on Craigslist of all places,” she says. Nothing came of it for Berube,
although it changed her perspective on the matter. “If someone had the balls to do this [for me], that’d be some brownie points,” she says. And Sadie Hote* agreed—she was glad she met the hippie masseuse who sought her. Hote, who reads the Craigslist ads regularly for fun, came across an ad this spring that seemed to describe the “flirty eye contact” she’d had with a passerby. “It took me a few days to think about whether or not I would respond,” she says, admitting that she didn’t want to tell people she met someone on Craigslist. But in the end, she went for it. The relationship only lasted a month, but the end to their fling didn’t have anything to do with the way they met, she says. “We just didn’t work out like any other couple wouldn’t work out.” Hote says she would never post an ad herself because she’s not the hopeless romantic that she imagines most adposters are. “I would’ve probably just talked to them in that moment,” she says. However, not every moment is as easy as that, nor are all the players so bold. Maybe you were hungover. Maybe the area was too crowded. Maybe the timing was inappropriate. Whatever the reason—there’s no harm in giving yourself a second chance. At least you won’t be wondering “what if…” when you’re 81 years old. n
YOU LIKE WHAT?!: A GUIDE TO THE ACRONYMS ON MISSED CONNECTIONS W4M - woman for man
AT - all that
W4W - woman for woman
FS - financially secure
M4M - man for man
WTR - willing to relocate
M4W - man for woman
DTE - down to earth
SWF - single white female
LS - legally separated
WLTM - would like to meet
PNP - party and play
ASL - age/sex/locaton
SWS - sex without strings
LTR - long-term relationship
VAS - vasectomy
DWM - divorced white male
Tina - methamphetamine
DDF - drug and disease free
TLC - tender loving care
Bi - bisexual
X - extreme
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 1 3
// features
weekend Vagabonds Once used strictly as a last resort, hitchhiking has become a ticket to adventure for some college students Story by ailin Darling photos by Rebecca Leisher
O
On the tail end of a fall weekend, University of Oregon students Ryan Dingler and Daniel Beltramo found themselves stranded in Redding, California. Eager to make it back home to Eugene, they hastily added the words “class is on Monday” to their dog-eared cardboard sign requesting a ride north. For two hours, they stood on the shoulder of a busy road with their thumbs thrust in the air, praying that one of the blurred vehicles zooming past might pull over. Although some may see this as a desperate situation, Dingler and Beltramo had anticipated it; they had even hoped for it. Finally, a 1980s van rolled to a stop a few hundred feet in front of them. “Hey get in!” yelled its sole occupant. The boys were hesitant; the ride was questionable. They approached the passenger side of the van with caution. If anything went wrong, they could still run away. But
1 4 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
It took Ryan Dingler nine rides to get from Eugene to Florence and back.
s
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 1 5
Dingler and Eddie Ouellette bond with their driver’s wet dog.
the driver was clean-shaven and wore a nice jacket. The hitchers introduced themselves, asked where the driver was headed, and got in the car. “When you first get a ride, you’re ecstatic!” says Dingler of the hitching process. For these adventure-hungry students, hitchhiking is not
Some don’t even choose a specific destination before hitting the road. The purpose is the journey.
situation. They decided to use “I threw it on the ground,” a joke from a Digital Short on Saturday Night Live. Dingler used the term once on a ride back from Portland when he noticed their driver drinking alcohol. He’s also found himself riding with a self-professed bank robber and a drug dealer with a trunk full of marijuana. In situations such as these, the
a last resort but a daring pastime, a way to
safety phrase comes in handy. When the time
break free from routine. Getting somewhere is
Hitchhiking as a pastime has since caught
not its purpose. Some don’t even choose a spe-
on to Dingler’s group of friends. But, although
cific destination before hitting the road. The
there are several online resources for hitch-
the first possible stop.
purpose, Dingler says, is in the journey.
hikers (digihitch.com is the most popular), a
D
Dingler discovered his new hobby during a bout of restlessness. “I was feeling bored and stuck,” he says. “I didn’t have anything to do.” Always eager for a new experience, Dingler and
community has yet to emerge for hitchhiking purely for fun. Soon after that first experience, Dingler and Beltramo planned a longer hitchhiking trip: a
is right, they excuse themselves and hop off at
espite these and other “creepy” experiences, Dingler and Beltramo say the best part of the experience is swap-
a few pals tried biking to Corvallis, Oregon,
quest for an In-N-Out Burger. Before leaving,
ping stories with their drivers. Their favorite
but bad weather on the return trip forced them
they researched Oregon and California highway
encounters involve other wayfaring travelers
to hitchhike instead. “Not ten minutes after we
laws to make sure their new pastime was legal,
such as Johan, the driver of the 1980s van that
stuck out our thumbs, a truck came by and took
and they discovered it was. In California, howev-
drove them out of Redding. During the long
us all the way to Eugene.” Dingler knew right
er, hitchers must avoid interstates and stay near
ride back to Eugene, Dingler and Beltramo
away he had stumbled onto something great:
on-ramps to find long-distance rides.
took turns resting and talking with Johan, a
recreational hitchhiking. “I knew that adventure was only a thumb away,” he jokes. 1 6 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
Anticipating the risk involved, the pair also devised a safety phrase to use in a bad
bartender, traveler, and urban climber of buildings and structures in Seattle.
According to the two hitchers, most of the people who take a chance and pick them up are adventurers themselves and can easily be persuaded to talk about their experiences. “Sometimes people completely open up to you because they know they probably will never see you again,” says Dingler. “They want someone in the world to know the struggles they went through.”
“Sometimes people completely open up to you because they know they probably will never see you again.” — ryan dingler
But before they can hear the stories, they
over a passerby, he and Dingler often dance by the side of the road or do “the wave.” Another tip from Dingler: “Make it personal.” When a vehicle approaches, the hitchers do their best to make eye contact with the driver. “Even if you can’t see them,” he says, “focus on the spot where they should be.” Once the vehicle passes, Dingler says, prolong the effect by staring at it until it disappears from view. When the hitchhikers finally reel in a ride,
have to catch a ride. If hitchhiking is the
they rely on etiquette they’ve compiled to
game, then attracting a car is scoring a point.
character as they drive past on the freeway,”
make sure the ride is good. “You always ap-
Earning that score is literally the work of
says Beltramo. “If you look like a nice person,
proach the passenger side of the car to avoid
a moment. “[Drivers] judge you and your
they’re more likely to pick you up.” To win
scaring the driver,” says Dingler. “Ask where they are going, and decide if it is far enough.” And don’t forget to “shake their hand before you get in.” Dingler also takes note of the license plate number before he gets into the car, texting it to a friend, just in case. According to the travelers, the size of the group is also important. Dingler has always gone in groups of two. “Three is too big,” he says. “I want to try one, but not yet.” He recently accompanied his friend Claire Seger on her first attempt, a ride back to Eugene from Portland. “She wants to go again,” he says with a grin. Although much of this know-how comes from online tips, Dingler says the best sources are found on the road. Tricks of the trade include learning where not to hitchhike, such as less-urban towns like Medford and Albany, Oregon, and what to wear. The ideal outfit makes one look as friendly and harmless as possible without detracting from the idea that the ride is needed. On a recent hitching trip, a homeless man asked Dingler for money. “Obviously I didn’t dress down enough,” he says. As Johan drove his decades-old van closer to Dingler and Beltramo’s destination, the guys realized what a good time they were having. Johan pointed out a sign signaling the exit to Eugene. But Dingler and Beltramo weren’t ready to leave. Johan was headed to Seattle. In the spur of a moment, the two
Dingler hikes up the beach in Florence, Oregon to head home.
decided to let their destination fly by. The adventure wasn’t over yet . n
Check out The video at fluxstories.com f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 1 7
// features
playboy Auditioning for Playboy meant abandoning her religious upbringing and discovering a personal set of principles
Story by Ericka staples Photos by ashlyn Gehrett
A
s I reached for the latest issue of Playboy on the magazine stand of the local Borders bookstore, I felt a mixture of emotions; I
felt curious, excited, and a little naughty. I timidly glanced at the cover and the gorgeous, half-naked young woman wearing a racy pink tank top and a sugary smile. Feeling like a mischievous young girl about to peer under the lid of an imaginary Pandora’s box, I couldn’t help but playfully smirk right back at her. I fantasized about the “evil” and “offensive” things I had always been told were lurking among the forbidden pages of such publications. After years of prohibition, I was curious to find out. “How bad can it really be?” I thought as I made my way toward the
1 8 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
The casting call encouraged Staples to embrace her ‘inner Playmate’ and to just have fun for the camera.
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 1 9
cashier, shrink-wrapped adult media in
casting call was a complex one. After all,
hand. I felt an amusing sense of rebellion as
appearing in a risqué publication raises
sheltered community on Oa’hu’s North
I handed my debit card to the lady behind
many controversial yet intriguing issues
Shore of 5,000 citizens—most practicing
the counter.
about women. Would I be selling myself
Mormons—my younger siblings and I lived
short? Are the nude females among the
a ritualistic life in a home that functioned
laid my hands on a single issue of Playboy.
glossy pages merely sexual objects? What
like a religious business: three-hour services
I was barely 23 years old but already a
the hell would my family think?
on Sundays, daily scripture study, family
completely different person from the timid
I
prayers three times a day, and communal
Before that day last fall, I had never
and confused young girl who graduated high school in 2004. Had I picked up such a publication back then, I would’ve been horrified. “How could these women do such
Our home was no different. In our
was raised in a fundamentally
religious activities at our local chapel
religious household, and I knew
on Wednesday evenings. Everything we
auditioning for Playboy would be an
did was meant to please our number one
outright dismissal of everything the
customer: God. My loving and God-fearing
a thing?” I would’ve thought. “Doesn’t it
Mormon Church taught me about my body.
parents barely talked to us about sex,
make them feel worthless to be selling their
The idea of physical purity is one of the most
puberty, or anything of a carnal nature.
bodies?”
preached about and restrictive practices
Instead, “wait until marriage” and “dress
Leafing through that first issue in a
in Church doctrine. The Church has rigid
modestly” comprised most of my sexual
corner of the packed Borders coffeehouse,
guidelines telling its members how to dress
education.
I was fascinated by the stunning women—
(the rumors about “Mormon underwear”
many of them around my age—who looked
are true), date, groom (a limit of one pair
exposed to during my youth, I saw among
happy to provide their luscious curves for
of pierced ears for women, hair above the
Playboy’s pages the possibility to explore a
the viewing pleasure of millions of readers
shoulders for men, and no body piercings or
compelling and taboo subject. Had I even
around the globe. And to my surprise, I
tattoos), and remain chaste until marriage.
remotely entertained the idea of appearing
found myself wanting to do the same.
It’s not surprising the perceived message from
nude in front of anyone except my “eternal
the Church is to hide the body.
companion” as a Mormon, I would have
My decision to attend a recent Playboy
I saw among Playboy’s pages the possibility to explore a compelling and taboo subject.
Unlike anything I had ever been
been told I needed to feverishly repent for such sinful thoughts. When I decided to leave the Church five years ago, I also left behind the ideology that my body was meant to be unacknowledged. For once in my life, I
Staples is the UO’s Society of Professional Journalists chapter president.
wanted to do something that would go against the years of being told that my choices regarding my body were the concern of anyone else’s but my own. By deciding to take a gamble and pose for Playboy, I saw an opportunity for me to explore this evolving attitude of learning to adore rather than ignore my body. As I sat there sipping a coffee and admiring the satiny female nudes on the pages in front of me, I marveled at the world of difference between the religiously trapped adolescent I once was and the undaunted, edgier woman who was now willing to—literally—reveal herself to the world. I realized this braver, gutsier gal would’ve never been allowed to emerge had she continued to seek the approval of religion or family. Although liberating, my decision to audition for Playboy would summon feelings of guilt and obligation from my past.
2 0 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
Staples peruses a past Playboy issue Ostie velent iriwhile waiting for her usci liquam ad audition. Playboy dit dit, qui blam representatives saw in utem volut about 40 women aliqui blaor during the two days of casting in Eugene.
I walked into a casting call as the most confident and happiest woman i’d ever been. “You better think about what you’re doing to our family name and your mother,” my father angrily said to me over the telephone a week before the casting call. He’d just heard about my Playboy endeavor through the family grapevine and called me to confirm
about my mother, and how I love her more
Playboy, said to me. When I tell him I’d been
than anyone in the entire world. But I’d also
preparing for this audition for months by
grown to love myself. I suddenly realized I had
committing to a challenging fitness routine, he
reached a point in my life where I would never
replied, “I can definitely tell.”
again let guilt or fear of damnation manipulate
There, in front of f lashing camera lights
me. I had done that for 18 years, and I’d had
in a local hotel suite — in the nude and
enough. “Dad, I’m happier and more confident
totally at peace with my female body — I
than I’ve ever been in my entire life. You are
found myself thinking it wouldn’t matter
not going to take this away from me.”
whether or not I was chosen for Playboy.
W
What matters is that at the end of this hile it hurt me to be the
journey, I had experienced the liberation
source of disapproval
and the power that only come from taking
and pain for my faith-
risks. I started on this Playboy project
abiding parents, I
with curiosity and in search of a freeing
whether this shocking rumor was true. When
realized my decision to learn to embrace
adventure. At the end, I discovered a
I shamelessly admitted it was, and that I
myself by auditioning for Playboy was
confident, fearless young woman ready to
didn’t tell them because I knew they would
exactly that — mine.
conquer the world and never look back. n
be offended by my decision, he was livid. His
And so on April 12, I walked into a casting
moralizing tone reminded me of feeling as
call as the most confident and happiest woman
helpless, resentful, and trapped as a religiously
I’d ever been. “You have a rockin’ body,”
controlled teenager once again. I thought
Jared Ryder, a professional photographer with
Check out The video at fluxstories.com f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 2 1
// PHOTO ESSAY
Brown and Mane married on May 9, 2009, in Senegal. Brown keeps pictures of her husband throughout her room and eagerly looks forward to seeing him face-to-face again.
2 2 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
waiting Divided by the boundaries of nations, a young family struggles to overcome the endless whirlwind of immigration law Story AND PHOTOS by EMILEE BOOHER
R
ebecca Brown never imagined that she’d have to face both pregnancy and childbirth without a partner. She also never thought she’d fall in love with a man halfway around the world.
But that’s exactly what happened when the 24-year-old University of Oregon
graduate traveled to Senegal in 2009. There she met Ndiama Mane, a man she had conversed with over e-mail about starting an aloe vera business. He quickly became more than her business partner; he became the man Brown wanted to spend her life with. Within a month, the couple married and conceived a child shortly after. Brown returned to the United States in the summer of 2009 and planned for her husband to join her as soon as he could obtain his visa. That was nine months ago. Brown is still waiting for her husband.
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 2 3
24 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
Left:: Only being able to see her husband through photos and hear his voice through the telephone, Brown lacked Mane’s touch as her pregnancy progressed. Her friend and housemate Katie Safley and other friends provided Brown with the comfort and support she needed during the months before her delivery. Top right: Safley helped prepare for the arrival of the baby along the way, including sitting in on Brown’s appointments with her midwife and learning with her the important steps to parenthood. Bottom right: With her Senegalese wedding ring on, Brown holds the hand of her new son, Yapsa Moon Mane. He was born on March 5, 2010 in Brown’s living room.
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 2 5
2 6 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
Since Yapsa’s arrival, Brown has been busy caring for him day and night. She keeps Mane updated on their son through pictures, e-mail, and letters written in Wolof, a Senegalese language. She continues to wait until the day her husband can finally meet his son.
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 2 7
// cover story
Pastim to
prime t
Past Oregon football players compare the game they knew to the big business it is today Story by saul hubbard photos by robert dyck
2 8 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
ime
e time
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 2 9
O
n a cold December night last year, nearly 60,000 screaming fans packed Autzen Stadium to watch
the University of Oregon football team battle
“It’s so different now. It’s a business; it’s not just a bunch of good old boys playing a game anymore.” — John roche, Oregon football player, 1966-68
its longtime rival, Oregon State. It was the largest crowd to ever witness a sporting event in the state of Oregon, and the 71st
even though they had lost, according to Ken
a million times,” says Stone. “And every time
straight sellout of Autzen Stadium. In a tense,
Woody, a former Oregon kicker.
they’re a little different.”
back and forth game, Oregon beat Oregon
Woody still gets together weekly with a
Villard Street Pub is located in the growing
State by four points, earning its first Pac-10
number of football players from that era, Mike
shadow of Matthew Knight Arena, the new
championship since 2001 and a trip to the
Johnson, Don Stone and Scott Ferguson. The
$200 million home of Duck basketball, which
Rose Bowl to play Ohio State.
men, all in their 60s, call themselves the “Not-
is scheduled to open in December. Large, sleek
Dead-Yet Poet’s Society,” and meet on Monday
and austere, the arena is a symbol of what sports
nights in Eugene’s Villard Street Pub.
at the University of Oregon have become. Only
For the former players from the 60s and 70s who were in the stands that night, this prime-time spectacle was a reminder of how
Though football brought them together,
a few blocks away sits the soon-to-be-abandoned
much the football program and the athletic
nowadays they are more likely to be caught
McArthur Court, the venue built in 1926 that
culture at Oregon have changed. In those
talking about current events than reminiscing
the athletic department has outgrown.
days, the Ducks weren’t the national power
about the glory days — the late 1960s and
they are now — they were the kind of team
early 1970s when they played football at the
the new arena. Stone, who sports a gray beard,
that would be praised for playing valiantly
university. “We’ve all heard each other’s stories
a baseball cap, and a large football ring on his
“It’s going to be awesome,” says Stone about
Below: When Autzen Stadium was built in 1967, it fit 40,000 but was rarely full. It now regularly sells out its 54,000-person capacity. Opposite: “We were all part of making the program into what it is today,” says Don Stone, who stands outside of Autzen. Historical photos courtesy UO Libraries
3 0 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
right hand, played tight end for the Ducks from 1969 to 1971. Ferguson agrees. A burly man with a thick mustache, Ferguson grew up in Eugene and attended every Duck home game as a child. Although he earned a full scholarship to play fullback for Oregon in 1966, a recurring knee injury robbed Ferguson of his chance to play much football. “I wish things had turned out different and I could have played more,” he says. “My knee is completely fine now.” Not many people remember the teams that Woody, Ferguson, Johnson, and Stone played on in the 1960s. Oregon was a step behind the USC and UCLA teams of that era. The Ducks didn’t win a ton of games, and for the most part, languished in the bottom half of the Pac8 (Arizona and Arizona State would not join until 1978). They suffered a bowl game drought that lasted from the 1963 Sun Bowl until the Independence Bowl in 1989. For the players of the 1960s, the transformation of Oregon football is quite remarkable. But the changes go beyond the program simply achieving more success on the field; college football itself has grown into an entirely different beast in the past 40 years. The influx of money to the sport — skyrocketing TV revenue, more post-season bowl games, and contributions by wealthy benefactors — has blurred the line between a successful college football team and a professional sports team. “It’s so different now,” says John Roche, a former outside halfback (comparable to wide receiver in today’s game) for Oregon. “It’s a business; it’s not a bunch of good old boys
decision to become a serious financial backer of
the most talented players coming out of high
playing a game anymore.”
the program in 1994, 1995.”
school. Players who come to Oregon fully
T
expect the Ducks to be one of the best teams in
According to Rob Moseley, who covers Duck football for Eugene’s daily paper, The Register-Guard, the transformation of the Oregon football program can be traced back to two key moments. “The scholarship limit, where each team gets 85 scholarships, had a pretty profound effect on leveling the playing
oday, University of Oregon
the nation year-in and year-out, and according
football is bigger than it has
to Moseley, “They all have professional
ever been. The program
aspirations. Football is the primary element
recruits players nationally,
of their college experience.” Moseley says the
from places like Texas, Kansas, Illinois, and
school makes accommodations by bending
North Carolina. All of its games are televised
academic standards for student-athletes.
field,” he says. After the limit went into effect
locally, and some are televised nationally.
“[They] are allowed [in] under the special
in 1994, the big, successful football programs
This TV revenue represents a major source of
admissions program because of their unique
like UCLA and USC could no longer stockpile
income for both the university and the athletic
talents on the football field,” Moseley says.
talented athletes. “That meant guys who
department. “It’s so important for teams now to
wanted a full ride had to go other places, and
be on TV because that can mean hundreds of
recruits with the quality of its athletic facilities.
that meant schools like Oregon could suddenly
thousands of dollars every week,” says Moseley.
From a state-of-the-art weight room and a
compete,” says Moseley. And secondly, he says, “So much at Oregon goes back to Phil Knight’s
The financial pressure to win and be successful leads the university to try to attract
The university also tries to attract first-class
plush two-story locker room with 60-inch flatscreen televisions, to a stadium that received $90 f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 3 1
million worth of renovations in 2002 and the new John E. Jaqua Academic Center for Student Athletes, Oregon’s facilities for football players rival those of any other college football program in the nation. “It’s almost become like an arms race between all these schools,” says Woody. When the Jaqua Center — whose top two floors are inaccessible to the majority of Oregon students — opened its doors last January, students and faculty questioned whether purposefully separating student-athletes from the rest of the student body was the right message to send. But in Moseley’s mind, the Jaqua Center is simply a manifestation of a separation that is already well underway. “[Football players] are over at the Casanova Center across the river from the university proper almost all the time, except [for] three hours a day when they’re in class,” he says.
Top: The locker rooms at Autzen were a dramatic upgrade from those at McArthur Court. Now, locker rooms have flat-screen televisions and Internet ports. Right: Keith Sherman, a linebacker in the 1960s, never had access to anything like the newly built Jaqua Center, where student athletes can meet with personal tutors.
“There’s this level of physical separation that
Autzen Stadium, the same group of 20,000-
and native of Puyallup, Washington, chose
breeds a level of psychological separation
odd faithful fans seemed even smaller against
to play for Oregon instead of Washington
between football activities and the university
the backdrop of thousands of empty seats.
or Washington State because Oregon had
itself.” Players are also the beneficiaries of
“It was a really neat stadium, it only cost like
“a kind of family, caring atmosphere” that
numerous perks, including free clothing,
$2.5 million to make,” says Woody, the former
he felt during his first visit. “It was a totally
warm-up gear, meals, and academic tutors.
Oregon kicker and part-time defensive back.
different environment from a Washington or
“I do think that leads to a level of entitlement
“Lots of available seats, however,”
for these guys,” Moseley says. “And I don’t
interjects Johnson, a former two-way lineman
necessarily think that’s their fault.”
for the Ducks.
B
“Yeah, we used to go introduce ourselves to ack in 1967, Autzen Stadium, with its 41,097 capacity, was Oregon’s newest athletic venue. Before that, the Ducks had
the fans personally,” jokes Woody. “Smaller town, smaller time,” says Keith Sherman, another player of that era. The former players agree that there was
played home games at Hayward Field, a
a drastically different feel about the program
21,500-seat stadium that rarely sold out. Inside
40 years ago. Sherman, a fearsome linebacker
Before 1967, football players practiced at Hayward Field. Here the 1960 Oregon freshman team practices on campus.
3 2 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
a Washington State. Everyone was on a firstname basis with all the coaches.” The players themselves were also very different in that era. Nationwide recruiting hadn’t really started and the majority of Oregon football players were still from the Northwest. “Our freshman class had 26 scholarships and 22 [of the recruits] were from Oregon and Washington,” Roche says. Players were also smaller and more
versatile, as platoon football (where players
hanging their equipment, as “the Bastille.”
anything like the media coverage teams
only play either offense or defense) was still in
“Everyone had rusty nails, except the starters.
experience today. Reporters didn’t swarm their
its embryonic stages. Recruits often had to play
They had shiny new nails, that was the only
practices, the players’ names and faces weren’t
more than one position. “That’s why we were
difference,” says Woody. Sherman remembers
nationally known, and they didn’t have to deal
so little,” Johnson says. “Nowadays they make a
the team’s weight room vividly. “It was about
with the constant glare of the media spotlight
left tackle a certain way, an outside linebacker a
20-by-20 back in the corner of McArthur Court
and the 24-hour news cycle.
certain way. And they are all much bigger and
underneath in the basement,” he says. “You were
better than we were.” Undersized players like
down in the plumbing and the toilets and stuff.
recognizable. “[They were] pretty much just part
the 5-foot 8-inch, 170-pound Roche, who was
We had a better weight room in high school.”
of the normal student body,” says Sherman. “It’s
a local kid and the son of an Oregon football
Football players of the time had to work for
Duck student athletes were far less
a lot more glorified now than back then. You kind
assistant coach, were beginning to be phased
their scholarships: Roche was an assistant for
of just grew up playing sports with your buddies.
out. As Roche freely admits, he was mostly
Oregon’s track coach, Sherman taped ankles
Being good at sports wasn’t such a big deal.”
a bit-part player for the Ducks. “If you had a
before and after games in the athletic treatment
bunch of guys like me on a team, you wouldn’t
room, and Stone worked as a groundskeeper
to be a Duck, an anthology of testimonials
win a ton,” he says with a chuckle. However,
clearing rocks off the baseball field. Aside from
from Oregon football players of different
he kept his spot on the roster for four years,
being allowed to register early for their classes
eras, agrees with Sherman. “For guys who
through “a tremendous willingness to work
and having access to tutors, they had very few
played in the ‘50s and ‘60s, football was
hard and battle,” a 1967 program notes.
special privileges. “We could trade our five
just one element of their college experience.
game tickets for meat at Tommy Hodges’ meat
Most all of them didn’t have dreams of
Field, both the locker room and the weight
market, and we got $5 of food money after the
playing professionally. Those guys were just
room were situated in McArthur Court. The
game, which, most of the time, was spent on
looking at it as part of their growth — they
players referred to the locker room, with its
beer. That was about it,” says Woody.
appreciated their coaches for helping mold
When the Ducks still played at Hayward
wooden stalls, four showerheads, and nails for
The teams of the 1960s did not receive
Moseley, also the author of What It Means
them from boys into men and sending them f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 3 3
3 4 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
off in the world to pursue whatever career they were going to.” For the players of that era, the Ducks’ rise from mediocrity is nothing short of astonishing. “There was a time, when Arizona and Arizona State were coming into the league, I didn’t see
“there’s this level of physical separation that breeds a level of psychological separation between football activities and the university itself.” — rob mosley, author of what it means to be a duck
how Oregon was going to get in the top half of the league,” says Roche. “I just thought, ‘Wow, who are we going to beat?’ But they’ve done it.” None of the former players begrudge the
you are appealing to and are attracted by big
Ohio State, high hopes surrounded the program
plasma televisions and the rest of it.”
entering the off-season, and fans whispered that
“Whenever you start winning games,
this team might be the one to finally carry the
wins with the same relish as the other fans. Most
people start jumping on the bandwagon,”
Ducks to their first national title game. But as
still have season tickets and all follow the Ducks
adds Johnson. “I think Oregon football fans
a number of the former players agree, on-the-
religiously. “I take pride in what goes on out
themselves have become entitled. I don’t
field accomplishments shouldn’t be the ultimate
there because I feel we were all part of making
remember anyone ever booing the team or
barometer of a college football program’s success
the program into what it is today,” says Stone.
a player back in our day. I can’t stand any of
and success shouldn’t come at too high a price.
Ducks their recent success. They savor Oregon
But while their support for the Ducks is unwavering, they still question some of
the booers. Some of the people they’re booing happen to be 19 years old.”
“The other day I heard President [Richard] Lariviere say we’re in the entertainment
the negative effects success has had on the
Oregon football may well be entering
business,” Sherman says. “Well, we should be in
program off the field. “These facilities are
uncharted waters in terms of success on the
the business of educating kids and teaching them
nice, but when guys used to come here to play
football field. On January 1, 2010, after a 10-2
how to live productive lives in society. If they’re
football it wasn’t because of the facilities,”
season, the Ducks played in their first Rose
not doing that, they’re in the entertainment
says Woody. “There’s a certain mentality
Bowl since 1995. Despite a loss at the hands of
business. And I’m not for that.” n
Left: “It’s not a bunch of good old boys playing a game anymore,” says John Roche, a former outside halfback. Below: The cheer squad celebrates a touchdown during the first game at Autzen Stadium in 1967. The Ducks lost 17-13 to Colorado.
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 3 5
// features
Neal Foster has overcome 11 years of drug addiction but has yet to end his abuse of the one substance necessary to survive: food Story by michael solomon // photos by alysha beck
food consumed by
3 6 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
The convenience of foods high in fat makes it difficult for Foster to stick to a healthier diet.
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 3 7
N
Neal Foster is consumed by his addiction.
He doesn’t do drugs or alcohol. He hasn’t attempted suicide in eight years. And he now maintains a full-time job and steady girlfriend.
It was also the year Foster tried meth for the first time. Foster remembers one night with his sister Audrey. She was 17 and regularly using
But this 22-year-old can tell you every
drugs. That night she introduced Foster to
item on the Taco Bell menu and he knows
meth. Why? Misery loves company, Foster
the phone numbers to all the nearby pizza
says. After 20 cents (milliliters) of meth, four
delivery joints by heart.
wine coolers, and pot, smoking a filtered
Foster weighs 430 pounds. He is addicted
to food.
“Food addiction is a chronic, progressive, fatal disease,” says Kay Sheppard, a best-
Camel cigarette finally knocked him out. After that night, drugs became a way for Foster to escape his own insecurities. During school hours, Foster had a
selling author and addiction treatment
knack for fitting in under the radar. To his
clinician who is considered a pioneer in
teachers, he was a gifted straight-A student
food addiction treatment. While speaking
and received praise and admiration. He had
at the Food Addiction Summit in Seattle
scored in the 160s on an IQ test, putting
last year, Sheppard said, “Food addiction
him at the genius level. To Foster, school
is chronic because it never goes away.
was easy, dismissible and unfulfilling. To his
Food addiction is progressive because the
classmates, he was the typical quick-witted
symptoms get worse over time. And the
fat kid. No one knew him beyond his self-
complications of untreated food addiction
deprecating humor, and Foster didn’t want
(e.g., obesity, diabetes and heart disease)
to know himself beyond that mask.
result in early death.” Food addicts can often stay trapped in
By middle school, Foster weighed 170 pounds. When Foster was 13 years old, his mom
the disease, Sheppard said, because the
moved him and Audrey to San Diego. It
symptoms, not the disease, are often what
was there that Foster’s addictions reached
is treated, and the underlying causes go
new heights.
unaddressed. Out of all addictions Foster
He would order food and alcohol from
faced, food was the hardest for him to
Safeway’s Web site, and although the store
accept. In hindsight, Foster can now see his
rules require someone over the age of 21 to
food addiction was always present. It went
be present to accept a delivery containing
hand-in-hand with his drug and alcohol
alcohol, it was never a problem for Foster.
with her boyfriend and left Foster alone at
addictions and was born out of his troubled
He would take his mom’s credit card
home for two months. Foster stayed inside
family life.
when she was working long hours as an
all day. He stopped going to school. He and
At five years old, Foster weighed 75 pounds.
administrator at a San Diego hospital. The
Audrey transformed the home into a drug
The average American 5-year-old weighs
small charges went undetected. Foster had
den, selling all the furniture and accessories,
discovered an easy way to binge.
choosing nights on the floor over days
49 pounds, according to a 2006 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
According to the New York University
without drugs.
Looking back, Foster considers his 5-year-
Child Study Center, binging is eating
old self within normal range. But it’s also
a signif icantly larger amount than
had spun out of control. His grandmother
where he traces back his eating addiction.
most people would eat under similar
invited him to Thanksgiving dinner with his
This is when he was first diagnosed with
circumstances. A binge eater might take
cousins. Foster dressed in his nicest clothes
Attention Deficit Disorder and prescribed
in 10,000 to 20,000 calories in one binge,
and waited for his grandmother to pick him
Ritalin, which his sister’s friend would later
while a person with a normal diet might
up. An hour passed. Five hours passed. His
teach him how to crush and snort. The drug
eat 1,500 to 3,000 calories throughout an
grandmother called saying his cousins didn’t
would give him so much energy throughout
entire day.
want him there. They would not allow him to
the day that he didn’t need to eat, only to make up for it by gorging at night. It was not unusual for Foster and his mom to share two entire Safeway chickens for dinner. At seven years old, Foster weighed 105 pounds. 3 8 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
“What’s the one thing a food addict doesn’t know how to feel?” Foster asks. “Hungry.”
At this low-point, Foster realized his life
come. That night Foster tried to kill himself. The suicide attempt landed him in a
At 14, Foster weighed 350 pounds.
psychiatric ward. Eventually, once the
His mother, unable to handle Foster and
scars started to form, Foster was sent to live
Audrey’s addictive behaviors, moved in
with his father in Oregon. There, he saw a
“It’s so easy to play the victim as the fat guy. People seem to think of them as simpletons or dumb,” Foster says.
“Food addiction is chronic because it never goes away. Food addiction is progressive because the symptoms get worse over time.” — kay sheppard, author and addiction treatment clinician
him in at around 11 p.m., when the trucks
rationalize — I’m overweight, but very smart, he
weren’t going through, and he’d sneak onto
would tell himself. I can’t fit onto a rollercoaster,
the scale.
but I can do sports and socialize. I have high blood
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, a third of U.S. adults — more than 72 million people —
“Food never got me fired,” Foster says. “It never got me to steal money from my
The World Health Organization estimates
grandma. I have all these other problems; how
that, by 2015, approximately 2.3 billion
can I worry about my weight?”
adults will be overweight and more than 700 million will be obese. An obese person has a Body Mass Index (BMI) of 30 or greater. Foster’s BMI is around 63.5. “It means I’m deathly obese,”
to dying from his obesity.
he says.
So to weigh himself, Foster had to go to
people who lead long healthy lives.
and 16 percent of U.S. children are obese.
counselor, who told Foster he was on a path Normal scales max out at 350 pounds.
pressure and sleep apnea, but there are plenty of fat
Foster’s problems worsened—he moved in with a drug dealer, who mostly dealt in meth. Soon after, Foster found himself in a police raid and then a juvenile detention center. From there, he was transferred to a rehabilitation center to get sober.
At 16, Foster weighed 370 pounds.
Kicking a drug or alcohol habit can be
Foster says that he committed all the same
emotionally unbearable and physically
a grain mill where a truck scale was on
mental contortions about food that a drug
painful. To distract patients from the pain,
24 hours a day. Foster’s dad would drive
or alcohol addict might commit. He would
rehabilitation centers often provide f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 3 9
Exercising has become part of Foster’s new lifestyle. He meets with a personal trainer several times a week to set a regimen.
4 0 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
buffet-style food, which contributed to Foster’s problem with overeating.
He was sent on a retreat and during one
Now Foster’s daily routine looks like this:
// Stay & Play
of the events, Foster soiled himself. But,
He showers, brushes his teeth, and gets
instead of shunning or ostracizing Foster,
dressed. Then he goes out into the world
Foster says. “Alcohol could never take the
the group members helped him clean
of food. The next room he faces is the
pain away like food could.” Fighting his
himself up; they showed him love when he
kitchen, where Foster tries to eat foods
drug and alcohol addictions led Foster
didn’t have any for himself.
that won’t incite overeating. For breakfast
Food “helps you forget the drugs,”
that means a high-f iber cereal, skim milk,
“I wake up every morning and give myself over to God’s will, because my will won’t take care of me.” — neal foster
and some fruit. At the front door to his workplace, Foster reminds himself to give his struggles over to God. His manager likes to bring in treats. Sometimes it’s doughnuts. Sometimes it’s cookies. Coworkers go out to lunch and bring back 1,000-calorie grande
deeper into his food addiction. He still
Now, Foster lives in Portland, Oregon.
frappuccinos or energy drinks.
did not equate food to an uncontrollable
He’s 22 years old and sober. He works
dependency like drugs and alcohol. After
as a bank teller and maintains healthy
brings his own lunch that he cooked at
rehab, Foster stayed clear of drugs and
relationships with his girlfriend, Amelia
home (where he can control the fiber and
alcohol, but he continued to eat excessively.
Miller, and friends. But he asked himself,
calories) or he goes to the pizza shop next
Food addicts, according to Sheppard,
To avoid these temptations, Foster either
“Why am I still not happy?” It wasn’t
door where they’ve created a special dish
often experience cravings comparable to
until recently that Foster discovered his
specifically for him—a salad with grilled
an alcoholic’s craving for alcohol. Just as
underlying food addiction.
chicken and lemon juice for dressing.
alcohol can trigger an alcoholic’s disease,
At 22, Foster weighs 430 pounds.
After work, he does low-impact aerobic
there are substances that trigger a food
“I wake up every morning and give
exercise and then goes home. Before bed,
addict’s out-of-control eating, such as:
myself over to God’s will because my will
Foster practices mindfulness meditation,
refined carbohydrates, sweeteners, fats,
won’t take care of me,” Foster says. Foster’s
trying to recognize and accept his feelings
and processed foods. Effective treatment,
not a religious man, but to him, God is
rather than push them away.
Sheppard says, is often based on abstinence
something bigger than himself, something
from addictive food substances.
he’s accepted can help him.
“I’m doing this at 22,” Foster says, “so I can make it to 60.” n
Food addiction has not yet been classif ied by the American Psychiatric Association as an addiction. It has traditionally been treated as an eating disorder—not as substance abuse. But the latest scientif ic research shows highly
Foster avoids foods high in fat and sugar and tries to eat a balanced diet.
ref ined foods have the potential to become as addictive as alcohol and tobacco. A new study published this spring in the journal of Nature Neuroscience found that high-fat and high-sugar foods can lead to changes in the brain that are similar to a brain of someone hooked on cocaine or heroin. In other words, a brain on cheesecake looks the same as a brain on crack. At 17, Foster’s substance abuse relapsed, sending him into a six-month spiral. He remembers his last night of drugs—January 10, 2006. He consumed a mixture of Yukon Jack, Southern Comfort, Malibu Rum, and 151, along with some white pill. After he woke up, he returned to rehab. f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 41
// features // Stay & Play
42 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
+Destination
Surgery STORY BY ANNA KLASSEN // ILLUSTRATION BY ALEXANDRA NOTMAN & MEGAN GEX
With the rising cost of health care comes the controversial new trend of medical tourism
C
ristina Ramos sits on a plastic-cased chair, the back of her legs glued to the covering as she attempts to peel them off the sticky surface. She readjusts herself, looking to her left to see a tin table adorned with a blue sheet of paper and half a dozen metal tools resting on top. She takes a deep breath and turns to see her father, seated adjacent to the over-sized chair in
which she sits. He smiles and reassures her that the process will be quick and painless. Ramos’s visit to the dentist is similar to any other routine procedure, except for one detail: She is in Mexico, hundreds of miles from her home in Santa Cruz, California. Ramos, 22, is one of a growing number of people who have chosen to undergo medical procedures outside of his or her home country. In his article “A revolution in health care: medicine meets the marketplace,” Fred Hansen, physician and journalist, says that the market for medical tourism is predicted to jump from the $20 billion industry it is today to one worth roughly $100 billion by 2012.
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 4 3
T
he phenomenon of “medical
// Stay & Play tourism” encompasses people from a variety of backgrounds. According to a 2008 report
on medical tourism by the Institute of Development Studies, a global charity for international development, medical tourists used to be aff luent people able to afford to travel, typically in the United States or Europe, to receive the best medical
“THE PLACE WE WENT TO IN MEXICO HAD A DIRTY EXTERIOR, BUT THEIR QUALITY OF WORK AND CUSTOMER SERVICE WAS BETTER THAN I HAD GOTTEN IN THE UNITED STATES.” —cristina ramos
care possible. As international travel has become more attainable, however, more and more people from a range of backgrounds are choosing this option. The primary motivator for medical tourists: costs. In some foreign countries, such as India, Thailand, and Mexico, the price of medical procedures can cost a fraction of what it does in the United States. Medical tourists seek out a wide array of treatments and procedures, everything from routine medical and dental work to complex surgeries and procedures, such as joint replacements and cardiac surgery. Many of the procedures sought out by medical tourists are elective, such as plastic surgery and cataract surgery, simply because many health insurance companies do not cover surgeries that are not emergencies. Fueling the trend is the fact that the quality of medical care around the globe has improved. India, for example, is a forerunner for medical advancements like hip resurfacing procedures. Although Ramos’s trip to Mexico was for a
Amy Costales, an adjunct instructor of Spanish at the University of Oregon, lived in Thailand and witnessed medical tourism on a regular basis. “People from Australia, New Zealand, and Europe would come to Bangkok because they had a hospital set up just for medical tourism,” says Costales. “They had an online Web site where you could find your doctor, plan your trip, and they even helped with accommodations. People would fly to Thailand because it was cheaper,” says Costales, noting that later on, she became one of these tourists, flying from India to Thailand to have knee surgery. Jim Krois, 62, from Williams, Oregon, traveled to Mexico in 2009 to have his hip replaced while he was uninsured. “I was diagnosed for a hip-replacement two weeks before I was laid off. To have the surgery in the United States it would [have] cost me anywhere from $52,000 to $80,000. India was the cheapest I could find for about $8,000 to $10,000, but I decided on Puerta Vallarta
Because her family was already getting
[Mexico] because of the shorter flying time,”
prescriptions across the border, heading south
says Krois. The surgery cost $12,000 with an
seemed like a logical step to save money in
added $2,500 for airfare and accommodations.
an age of rising health care costs. “I’ve been
In spite of the significant cost savings, Krois
in American hospitals for everything from
had reservations and worried about the safety
concussions to torn ligaments,” says Ramos,
of the procedure.
procedures in the United States.
4 4 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
concerned with hygiene,” says Krois. “We’ve all heard horror stories [about] Mexico, but I stayed in a brand-new hospital.” Ramos could relate to these concerns. “My dentist at home is very upscale and fancy, and the place we went to in Mexico had old ads on the wall and a dirty exterior, but their quality of work and customer service was better than all the years I had gotten from my dentist in the United States,” Ramos says, explaining that, in Mexico, most of the time one or two
medical procedure, her father is from Mexico.
noting her experience with costly medical
afraid of going to another country, but I was
“I’ve been around the world a couple of times; I was never
nurses were at her side to comfort or assist her throughout the process. Because of worldwide improvements in medical and sanitation standards, tourists have become more confident that the treatment they seek will be just as effective, if not more so, than if they stayed in their home country. Medical amenities across the globe are now comparable to medical institutions in the United States, which were once said to be the standard of quality treatment and cleanliness. These facilities offer the same standards of treatment at a much lower rate, presenting an opportunity for first-world countries such as the United States, Canada, and Europe to save thousands on health care bills. For Krois, the thought of saving thousands of dollars outweighed his mild hesitation of the health risks he might encounter in foreign territory. Another worry for those seeking lowcost medical attention is the risk of scams. According to Ian Youngman of the International Travel Journal, medical tourism offices catering strictly to medical tourism are allowed to go
unregulated by the government, and it is
billion in business for India and has led to
easy to become a victim of a trick. “Some
the creation of high-tech private medical
national sounding names have been found
facilities in India. However, questions
at the Confederation for India Industry
to be nothing more than a guy using a
remain about whether local residents benefit
predict that the practice of medical tourism
laptop and an Internet café,” he says. Many
from the revenue these facilities produce.
will not slow anytime soon.
medical tourists rely on what they read on the
“Experience from India suggests that
Internet—being that they are so far away—a
private hospitals attract health professionals
Krois says, “I would do it again in a
source that may not be reliable.
away from the public health sector and
second.” n
According to medicaltourism.com, a Web site catering to those who are considering medical tourism, the credibility of the
Despite these adverse effects, officials
Looking back on his surgery in Mexico,
rural areas in India,” says a report from the university’s department of tourism. “This is a valid point,” says Costales.
facility and the doctor varies from practice to
“Ideally, if a country has set up medical
practice. The key to finding a safe and suitable
tourism, it would be nice if it benefited
doctor in a foreign country is careful research.
the country and wasn’t just a pocket of
W
with very good care.”
businessmen and doctors getting really rich hile medical tourism
and depleting these resources from the rest
might benefit those
of the country.”
seeking treatment,
The idea of traveling to a foreign
it can carry some
country for something as intimate as
downsides for the host country. According
medical care may seem daunting to
to the Department of Tourism at
some. “There are all these fears
Pondicherry University in India, medical
of the unknown,” says Costales.
tourism can create a shortage of trained
“I think there are times when
health care workers for native people.
we think other countries have
According to the department’s research,
inferior medical care, and some
medical tourism generates an estimated $60
do, but there are also countries
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 4 5
// features
no shave,
No Shame Story by ABIGAIL DISKIN // Photos by ROBERT DYCK
The National Beard and Moustache Championships highlights the deeper trend of facial hair camaraderie
Peter Aune is the founder and president of the Central Oregon Moustache and Beard Society, which is currently grooming its collective whiskers in anticipation of the National Beard and Moustache 4 6 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m Championships.
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 47
N
o one knows the exact recipe for a winning beard. It can be furry and fluffy, or bristly and stringy. Proud beard growers
might coat them in waxes, curl them, or even mold them into unusual shapes, such as spikes or windmills. The first National Beard and Moustache Championships has men across the country plotting their strategy to wow the audience in Bend, Oregon, this summer. There, they will compete for $5,000 in prizes and most importantly, bragging rights as the national champion. Most of the competitors, including Ed Endsley, are members of beard and mustache societies, a growing subculture that is fixated on facial hair. Coarse white hair peeks out of his nostrils, separates into two zestful puffs of fur on his upper lip, and cascades down his jowls to form a waterfall of whiskers. Endsley has been wearing a beard for two-thirds of his life—nearly 45 years. He is part of a thriving international community of facial hair enthusiasts who are giving up the razor and getting ready to compete for the best tresses. While many people today might think that individuals like Endsley are eccentric, American culture once applauded the growth of facial hair. Prominent figures such as Abraham Lincoln and Walt Whitman sported bushy chins and sideburns in the mid-1800s. But today, it is rare to find men in positions of high-esteem who have five o’clock shadows, let alone soul patches. Facial hair enthusiasts
more lighthearted: to have fun and bond with
speculate that the multi-billion dollar shaving
people who have similar interests.
industry has something to do with that. Ac-
Endsley, who lost his first job at age 17
Endsley sets himself apart from the average man who trims and sculpts his beard. “I suspect that these people spend more time
cording to marketing research firm Expe-
because he refused to cut his hair, cites the
fiddling with their facial hair than they take
rian Simmons, the male grooming products
Grateful Dead as an early influence on his fa-
shaving or tying a tie . . . or any of these other
industry was valued at $19.7 billion worldwide
cial hair. “This was a statement of becoming,”
things that they do for cultural conventions,”
in 2009 and is expected to reach nearly $28
he says, drawing out the last word for effect.
he says seriously. When people inquire about
billion by 2014.
He speaks fondly of the first time he noticed
the thicket of hair hanging from Endsley’s
something growing on his upper lip at age 13.
chin, he simply tells them, “This is what hap-
male consumers succumb to the shaving sales
He decided to shave his stubble like all of the
pens if a man doesn’t shave.”
pitch. In fact, the national championships re-
other boys, until one year, something miracu-
Endsley is a member of the Central Ore-
veal a deep and growing trend. A rampant ar-
lous happened. “The sideburns really started
gon Moustache and Beard Society (COMBS),
dor for facial hair is taking hold in America as
to grow down and they finally kind of grew
which is the Bend regional chapter of Beard
men form their own societies in which they can
together in the middle and things became
Team USA (BTUSA). Aside from organizing
celebrate their whiskers instead of shave them.
a beard,” Endsley explains as his blue eyes
the National Championships, BTUSA rep-
Part of these groups’ obsessions has to do with
sparkle with enthusiasm. Today, a wiry mass
resents the United States at the World Beard
self-acceptance and the refusal to subscribe to
of white hair streams down his cheeks and off
and Moustache Championships, held every
societal beauty standards. But other motives are
his chin, reaching halfway down his torso.
two years in various locations. BTUSA as-
Despite the allure of advertisements, not all
4 8 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
Photo by Paul McCartney
Society members meet twice a month to drink beer, share laughs and show off their facial hair.
serts it “promotes the worldwide appreciation
championships drawing near, competition is
the audience at the Les Schwab Amphitheater
of facial hair . . . and opposes discrimination
also a component of the society. “We don’t talk
in Bend. “I wish I had the gift of growing ri-
against the bearded, mustached, sideburned,
about the competition too much because we
diculous facial hair,” Backe says with a laugh.
or goateed.”
will be competing against each other. We all
However, he’s selling himself short because
F
have a plan that we are not sharing,” he ex-
he not only sports a Dali-style mustache with
riendship and community are
plains. Wearing a thick gray beard and circular
upward-curving pointed ends, but he also
some of the motives that Peter
wire-rimmed glasses, Aune slightly resembles
once donned a “wild and bushy” beard that he
Aune, founder and president of
Santa Claus. Getting serious, he shares a story
claims could scare people away. “I’ve noticed
COMBS, cites for organizing
about the last time he shaved his beard and the
people leave you alone more often,” Backe says
the group in January. Twice a month, the
trauma it caused his daughter, who burst into
about the difference having a beard makes, re-
society’s 12 committed members, ranging in
tears at the sight of his barren chin.
membering a time when Mormon missionaries
age from 21 to 65, meet at local pubs to drink
Someone might wonder, aside from the
beer, share stories, and of course, admire each
families and friends of the competitors, who
person standing next to him at a bus stop.
other’s facial hair. At the heart of COMBS
in the world wants to watch a bunch of furry
Backe isn’t the first bearded fellow to
are camaraderie and a sense of brotherhood
men strut across a stage? For Will Backe, an
frighten strangers. Historically, facial hair has
rooted in the shared experiences they have
Oregon State University PhD student, the
been used by the British Army to appear more
as bearded and mustached people. However,
mere oddity of the competition is enough to
intimidating. Piers Brendan, author of How the
Aune points out that with the national
inspire him to drive roughly two hours to sit in
Mustache Won an Empire, writes that the fashion
clearly avoided him and instead, talked to the
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 4 9
“began during the Napoleonic Wars of 1799 to 1815 when some British officers began to emulate fighting Frenchmen, whose mustaches were said to be ‘appurtenances of terror.’” Back then, mustaches not only represented domi-
“The best part about my beard is the positive energy it attracts. Cars honk, people yell and wave, and I take pictures with people every single day. And I love it.”
nance and masculinity, but also virility. “Mus-
— jack passion
taches were clipped and trimmed until they curved like sabers and bristled like bayonets. Their ends were waxed and given a soldierly
dermatologist and founder of Cosmesis Skin-
first book called The Facial Hair Handbook:
erection,” Brendan writes.
care, says, “Today, 90 percent of all American
Every Man’s Guide to Growing & Grooming
Today, men grow facial hair for a variety of
males over the age of 15 shave their face . . .
Great Facial Hair. Mention Passion’s name to
reasons — from feeling lazy, to resisting male
That means the average man will shave his
BTUSA beard and mustache society members
beauty standards, to attracting women.
face about 20,000 times between the ages of
and they will talk about him as if he were a
15 and 75.”
god. So it’s no surprise that Passion has been
Paul D. Roof, assistant professor of sociology at the Charleston Southern University in
Roof, who has been growing a beard for six
elected to host the national competition. “The
South Carolina, says his beard, which hangs
consecutive years, tells his students that facial
best part about my beard is the positive energy
haphazardly six inches below his shoulders, is
hair is an example of “retro irony,” because
it attracts. Cars honk, people yell and wave,
a statement of defiance. Roof, who founded the
people “glorify the past while the future dries
and I take pictures with people every single
Holy City Beard and Moustache Society, plans
up.” He uses the comeback of 1980s fashion
day. And I love it,” he says.
to compete in the National Championships in
and music to deepen his point. “Why doesn’t
However, Passion’s experience may be
June. In his article “Beard Becomes You,” he
this generation have their own trends?” he
unique. Roof claims it is common for men with
writes, “The beard stands out in the crowded
wonders. Roof sees the current facial hair
excessive facial hair to experience prejudice
sea of Abercrombie & Fitch conformity that
movement as a revival of the “old-timey”
because they are breaking societal norms. This
is America today. These are the individuals
styles of the 1880s when beards and mustaches
could be one reason why they find solace in
who have reclaimed their masculinity in a
were widely embraced. But it isn’t necessar-
joining beard and mustache societies. Within
direct backlash against metrosexuality and the
ily a bad thing; it’s simply the natural cycle
these tight-knit circles, bearded and mustached
feminization of the modern man.” Although
of trends as they travel back and forth from
men can be themselves.
he asserts facial hair is a method by which men
mainstream to underground.
can express their masculinity, he says he sees
I
“gender as a spectrum and something that should not be rigid.” Due to social pressures to trim and remove facial hair, the majority of men don’t experi-
Male bonding aside, National competitors will bring the heat come June. Documentary
ndeed, for some, it is a short-lived
filmmaker Laura J. Lukitsch filmed the 2004
trend, but for others it really is a
BTUSA World Beard and Moustache Cham-
lifestyle. Two-time World Beard
pionships for her current project on gender and
Champion Jack Passion has made
facial hair, called Beard Club: The Documen-
ence growing their facial hair anywhere near
a career out of his 24-inch-long, carrot-red
tary. She says she was surprised at how much
its maximum length. Dr. Gary Goldfaden, a
beard. At age 26, he recently published his
the competition resembled a beauty pageant. “They spend hours grooming themselves,” she says, describing a bathroom scene packed with men waxing and blow-drying their hair, and helping each other make final adjustments to their costumes. There are four different categories they can compete in: Best Mustache, Best Partial Beard, Best Full Beard, and Freestyle (anything goes). BTUSA is expecting roughly 5,000 people from all over the US and beyond to attend. It will be Endsley’s first competition and he’s not exactly sure what to expect. “I don’t do swimsuits,” he says, smiling. But fully clothed, Endsley says he’ll embrace being in the spot-
Women are not excluded from participating in COMBS 5 0 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m gatherings.
light for a day. “I’m kind of looking forward to the parade across the stage. Am I an exhibitionist? Well, I may be that day.” n
Ed Endsley, a prominent member of COMBS, is often sought after to model his 40-yearold beard.
f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 5 1
// essay
toxic
journalism Story by Simon Boas Illustration by megan gex
Learning to become a professional journalist included neither culture-shock protection nor a gas mask ust before protesters starting throwing rocks at the police, I realized that I didn’t look like a journalist.
I was wearing the T-shirt and jeans I wear every day and the same bright red backpack I’ve had for the past three years. The only
I could pick out of the crowd the other reporters who
thing remotely professional about my appearance was the camera in
wore day-glow sleeves with “PRENSA” printed down the
my hands and the laminated press pass peeking out of my pocket. I
side and their press passes dangling from cords around
looked at best like a tourist, at worst like any other protestor in the
their necks. They had bigger cameras, professional micro-
seething crowd. They were students. I was a student. The fact that I
phones, and their publications’ emblems all but tattooed on
was carrying a camera wouldn’t make a good case for my innocence.
their foreheads.
A siren erupted, the police trucks fired their water cannons, and The air became toxic and heavy.
A crescendo of clicks differentiated itself from those of the photographers’ shutters, but I couldn’t immediately place the sound. One of the easily identifiable photojournalists pushed passed me, unbuckling the gas mask hanging from his belt. Why don’t I have one of those? I remember thinking to myself. Then I realized that the clicking I heard was the sound of stones bouncing off the riot shields protecting the police line. A siren erupted, the police trucks fired their water cannons, and the air became toxic and heavy – imagine pepper spray blasted from a firefighting hose. Time to run. The intersection cleared of rioters, but the gas cloud lingered, making the faces of those like myself, lacking the foresight to invest in a gas mask, wet with tears and snot. This was the march for the Central Workers Union’s (CUT) National Strike 52 52 || S Sp p rr ii n ng g 2 2 01 01 0 0 •• ff ll u ux x ss to to rr ii e e ss .. c co om m
that brought roughly 12,000 people to Santiago’s streets on April 16; and I was there reporting it with an incomplete journalism degree and a elementary grasp on the Spanish language. Much of what I know, I was discovering, was grounded only in theory. Up to this point, my transition from attending journalism school at the University of Oregon had been plodding. I started off working for The Santiago Times, an online English-language
Going from the life of a university student to working as a professional is like moving from one part of the world to another. I did both at the same time, and in both sectors, much got lost in translation.
newspaper in the capital city of Chile, translating interviews from Spanish-
For the past three years, I’d been learning skills that apply to reporting in the United States but don’t necessarily hold true for the rest of the world. Unique to every place, there are small details, like sucking lemons to help curb the effects of the pepper spray, staying upwind from rioters to avoid being gassed, and not expecting police protection, that go untaught in North American journalism schools. Going from the life of a university student to working as a professional is like moving from one part of the world to another. I did both
speaking Chilean sources for Chile’s English-speaking community.
at the same time, and in both sectors, much got lost in translation. I
Anxious as I was to get into the f ield, I realized the work was
had arrived with a theoretical knowledge of Spanish, Chile, and the
helping me with my Spanish skills. The relevance of this became
world outside my bubble of the Pacific Northwest and the University
all too apparent when, after I had made some progress with the
as well as a theoretical knowledge of being a professional journalist.
language, I started interviewing Chileans for the articles I was
Until that point, I hadn’t realized that I’d been working with mere
writing on a daily basis.
theories. I wasn’t expecting to get tear-gassed, for one. But some
As a journalist in Chile, I had more than my share of difficult conversations in Spanish. Sometimes public relations represen-
things you just can’t prepare for. My experience at the CUT strike was by no means isolated. Jour-
tatives would try to use my linguistic ineptitude to dismiss my
nalists in Chile – and in other parts of the world – do this every day.
questions. “Do you have the faculty for the Spanish language to un-
They grow up with it. But how do you translate that for the “green”
derstand that I can’t get you an interview until next week?” they’d
North American journalism intern?
ask. And sometimes the Spanish I spoke was not even recognized as
After the workers’ strike I told several friends about my first taste
Spanish at all: “What is your position with Carmen Pharmacies?” I
of tear gas. The North American response: “Holy shit!” The
asked my subject in Spanish. “I don’t speak English,” he responded
Chilean response: “Welcome to Chile.” n
in English. Naturally, I struggled with living on the other side of the world and myriad cultural disparities, but language was the filter through which I experienced all other difficulties. And all these obstacles coalesced into a sharp blast of uncertainty on the day of the CUT strike. When the protestors started throwing rocks, my mind shot to the only previous interaction I’d had with the Carabineros. I had asked one for directions during my first weeks in Santiago, a particularly miserable exchange, as I remember it. After telling me repeatedly that he had never heard of it, he suddenly understood and corrected my pronunciation by repeating the street’s name back to me exactly as I thought I had said it in the first place. As I watched the police line advance, I had a premonition of how much more difficult it would be to make my Spanish intelligible while being arrested in the middle of a riot. Adding to my apprehension were the numerous warnings on the U.S. Embassy Web site stating that “persons violating Chilean laws, even unknowingly, may be expelled, arrested, or imprisoned,” as well as the rumors I’d heard from other Americans that an arrest with a tourist visa spells instant deportation. I certainly didn’t feel safer when a seasoned photojournalist told me that in Chile, police sometimes specifically target reporters during riots to keep media cameras away. f l u x s to r i e s . c o m • S p r i n g 2 01 0 | 5 3
// end notes
Wheels of warning story by nina strochlic illustration by mary hall
Ghost bikes have become ubiquitous memorials in cities around the world
B
lurred crowds whip around the stationary skeleton. Its stark white bones are bare, contrasting sharply with the colorful figures around it. Chained to a street pole, a lone sign dangles from its angular neck,
reading, “A cyclist was killed here.” The ethereal frame may not be a human body but it represents one to many, and those who pass it are unlikely to forget its message. On many sites of cycling accidents, a painted white bicycle is erected. Flowers, cards, and pictures surround some, while others remain devoid of decoration sans a humble sign. This one’s red lettering stands out
happen to anyone else.” Flanked by his two young chil-
To read more go to
fluxstories.com
from the sign like blood against a sidewalk. Called ghost bikes, these sur-
dren, she sits feet away from a small
real frames can be found on sidewalks across the world.
collection of paintings and photographs of
When 47-year-old Marcellus Tryk was killed while trying to swerve out
her son. A small boy with piercing blue eyes
of the way of an open car door last July, his friends and family decided to
stares out of one frame, while a bald middle-aged man flashes a happy
set up a ghost bike in his honor. A few days after his death, the bike was
smile from another.
placed outside Eugene, restaurant Cornucopia near the site of the ac-
The concept of ghost bikes was born seven years ago in St. Louis,
cident. His family visited and maintained the bike constantly, decorating
Missouri. Adopted as an unconventional roadside memorial, akin to
it with artwork and notes.
the white crosses that caution drivers of the dangers of the road, they
Long before her brother’s sudden death, 40-year-old Donna Tryk had
rapidly spread throughout the country. The bike’s message is universal,
realized the strength ghost bikes have in promoting road safety. She viv-
though open to interpretation by every passerby. To the victim’s family,
idly recalls the first time she saw one off a busy highway in California’s
a ghost bike might be the spot they feel closest to their deceased loved
Bay Area. “It was so sad and frightening to see that huge, huge road and
one: the last place that person was alive and a place more personal than
that little white bike, and to me it was a very powerful message,” she says,
one headstone in a row of 50. To bikers and drivers, the memorials are a
perched on a chair in her mom’s living room. When tragedy struck her
constant reminder to be aware that no one is safe on shared roads.
family, they embraced the idea, and hundreds of friends gathered at the bike’s christening in lieu of a funeral for Marcellus. “It’s a place to go to remember Mars and to leave tokens, but the big-
“I think they’re an outstanding statement that continues to foster awareness,” says Brian Echerer, an avid cyclist and co-organizer of Portland’s annual Ride of Silence, an event that takes place in cities across
ger issue is certainly bike safety,” his mother, Ann Tryk, says. “One of the
the world to commemorate fallen cyclists and pedestrians. “There was a
few things we could take out of the tragedy was to make sure it doesn’t
tragedy here. Let’s do something about it.” n
5 4 | S p r i n g 2 01 0 • f l u x s to r i e s . c o m
workshops glass fusing/flamework jewelry/metalsmithing silkscreen printing woodworking glassblowing photography paper arts sculpture fiber arts painting drawing ceramics
the craft center
a program of the erb memorial union
541-346-4361 craftcenter.uoregon.edu
Be a sport. Do a sport.
Club SportS open HouSe: Thursday September 30, 2010 6:00-7:30 p.m., EMU Fir Room Over 45 sports to choose from For more information visit our website at www.clubsports.uoregon.edu or call (541) 346-3733.
OUr prOmise tO yOU The Quack Back promise ensures you receive a discount of 10% OFF NEW and 32% OFF USED course materials. We Buy Back, you Quack Back The more books you sell back to The Duck Store, the more used books we can sell to you. Each term, you help The Duck Store provide UO students with more used course books by choosing to sell your books back to The Duck Store. it’s all part of Quack Back - Our promise to you.
895 E 13th • 541.346.4331 • UODuckStore.com