‘Like’ senior Wren Weichman’s semifinalist video Living, page 7
How UP’s grounds have changed over the years Living, pages 8-9
The
Vol. 112, Issue 22
BEACON The University of Portland’s student newspaper
Thursday April 7, 2011 www.upbeacon.net
Binge drinking leads to dance changes
Photo illustration by Alexander Domingo | THE BEACON Pilot House photo by John Suttion
New dance policies require all students to be breathalyzed before the Dance of the Decades next year Sarah Hansell Staff Writer hansell14@up.edu Binge drinking problems at the Dance of the Decades have triggered major changes to UP’s dance policies: Every student will be breathalyzed before being allowed to board the bus to the dance. Every student who wants to go to a UP dance must take the bus and next year’s homecoming dance has been canceled replaced
with a concert featuring a “major” performer to act as next year’s homecoming event. The binge drinking that went on before and during the Dance of the Decades on Jan. 29 caused three students to be hospitalized, one taken to a detoxification facility by the Portland Police, three sent back to campus and five minor in possession citations. Campus Program Board (CPB), Public Safety, ASUP, Student Activities and Residence Life decided to take action to
prevent similar problems in the future. “We all just kind of discussed what the issues were and how to prevent it without destroying CPB’s function of providing entertainment that is safe and fun,” CPB Director Hillary White, a junior, said. They decided to require all students to be breathalyzed on campus before boarding the bus to dances. Students under 21 must have a blood alcohol level of zero percent, and students 21 and
over must have a blood alcohol level no higher than 0.08 percent, though that number is subject to change. “That was actually a number that Harold (Burke-Sivers, the director of Public Safety) threw out,” White said. “I think that number may be up to be changed.” Students who blow above these limits will not be allowed to See Dance, page 5
Hillary White CPB Director
Of Senate and schedules
ASUP vice president-elect juggles conflict between required class and weekly Senate meetings Elizabeth Vogel Staff Writer vogel11@up.edu Registration is stressful for everyone, but scheduling has been especially stressful for Vice President-elect junior Chloe’ Ruffin. Ruffin is an education major, and all seniors in the School of Education are required to take a seminar course in the spring semester. There are four sections of this course, but they are all held on Mondays from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. This class is held at the same time as the weekly Senate meetings are held, which the vice president is in charge of running. Ruffin said she did not know
about this conflict when she decided to run for ASUP vice president. “I wouldn’t have spent a month campaigning without making sure this was resolved first,” she said. She informed the Director of Student Activities Jeromy Koffler the week after spring break. “My first recommendation was to see if she could talk to her academic adviser,” Koffler said. Ruffin worked with the School Jeromy Koffler of Education Director of to take the Student Activites seminar class
as an independent study. “Very graciously, the School of Education is doing all it can to make sure I can receive the best education and serve in this leadership position,” she said. Had she not been able to change her class schedule, Ruffin may have had to resign from her position second semester, according to Koffler. He said ASUP officers have had to resign in the past due to illness or early graduation, but never because of a class conflict. “It put a hardship on the group, some of them ended up doing multiple roles,” Koffler said. See ASUP, page 4
Alissa White | THE BEACON
ASUP Vice President-elect Chloe Ruffin
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NEWS
April 7, 2011
On On Campus Campus FATHERHOOD TALK Tonight, Editor of Portland Magazine Brian Doyle and theology professor Fr. Charlie Gordon, C.S.C., look at the holy vocation of “fatherhood” through a lighthearted lens at 7:30 in the UP bookstore. Refreshments will be served. PILOTPALOOZA Friday, CPB is bringing back Pilotpalooza from 9 p.m. to midnight. There will be a bounce house, rock wall, photo booth, mechanical surfboard and music from Rootdown with UP student band Sawtell. All food and activities are free. ARABIAN NIGHTS Sunday, International Club is hosting its first Middle Eastern event, Arabian Nights, from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. in St. Mary’s Lounge. ‘I AM NUMBER FOUR’ Friday and Saturday, “I Am Number Four” is playing in the Buckley Center Auditorium at 10 p.m. ‘INTO THE WOODS’ Beginning Tuesday, The Performing and Fine Arts Department presents “Into the Woods,” music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and the book by James Lapine. The musical weaves familiar fairy tales together with new stories to teach about wishing and responsibility. The box office is currently open. Performances Tuesday through Saturday are at 7:30 p.m. The Sunday performance is at 2 p.m. Students can reserve free tickets for the Tuesday, Wednesday or Thursday shows. Contact the Mago Hunt box office to reserve seats. CORRECTIONS In the March 31 issue, for the “Blast into The Bacon’s past” article on page 5, the picture of Bob Goggin was courtesy of Fr. Bob Antonelli, C.S.C., not Bob Goggin. The Beacon regrets the error.
Accuracy in The Beacon
The Beacon strives to be fair and accurate. The newspaper corrects any significant errors of fact brought to the attention of the editors. If you think an error has been made, contact us at beacon@up.edu. Corrections will be printed above.
School spirit rings anew ASUP plans to repair the Victory Bell outside the Chiles Center, hoping to renew school pride Sarah Hansell Staff Writer hansell14@up.edu UP’s Victory Bell was a symbol of school pride and spirit ever since it was donated to the school by UP engineering students in 1938. It used to be mounted on a cart, taken to home games and rung for victories. On occasion, other schools stole the bell and painted it in rival colors, leaving in abandoned in parking lots or in the snow at Mount Hood for UP students to find. Now cracked, its clapper missing and currently unusable, the Victory Bell sits in its permanent residence outside the Chiles Center, where it was installed in 1989. Now, many students do not even know what or where it is. “All I know is it’s broken and it hasn’t worked for a long time,” freshman Erin Spies said. This semester ASUP is using part of its capital improvements fund (CIF) to repair the bell. ASUP Vice President and senior Katie Scally said she hasn’t heard the bell ring once during her time on campus. “Really what sold ASUP (on this project) was the fact that we’re all really working hard for something that we feel has been lacking – a sense of school pride,” Scally said. In the past, students in the UP fraternity brought the bell to home games on a cart. They used it to announce victories. “It was very much a central issue during (sports) seasons,” Jim Covert, a retired UP professor and the author of UP’s history, “A Point of Pride,” said. “It was a kind of a great symbol of Pilot pride.”
However, after the fraternity was disbanded in the 1970s, the bell was passed around among student groups. It ultimately sat unused and then disappeared. In 1989, Covert found the bell in a student’s basement, and a new dome was constructed outside the Chiles Center for the bell, freshly cleaned and painted with a big black-and-silver P. Despite the Victory Bell’s new residence and fresh coat of paint, it remains rather unpopular. “It’s not the most talked about issue on campus for sure,” ASUP Senator and freshman Walker Ross said.
“It was very much a central issue during (sports) seasons. It was a kind of a great symbol of Pilot pride.”
Jim Covert Retired UP professor Author of “A Point of Pride”
However, ASUP hopes repairing the bell will revitalize the old tradition the bell provided, giving this piece of campus tradition the chance to live on again and foster school pride. “I think there’s a lot of potential for the Victory Bell to be a great symbol of (school spirit),” Scally said. “It’s obvious in certain sports that we’re lacking in school spirit, and I think this would be a nice touch to try to bring all that back,” ASUP Senator and senior Danielle Castro said. Some students echo this opinion. “If someone was like
Scott Chia | THE BEACON
This semester, ASUP is using part of its capital improvements fund to repair the Victory Bell, which currently sits unused outside the Chiles Center. The Victory Bell was viewed as a symbol of school pride. ringing it super hard as people walked out of the area where the soccer field was, I can see people gathering around the Victory Bell and cheering and just going nuts,” senior Jasonn Hannibal said. Some students think the bell would bring a better atmosphere to athletic events. “It’d add more sass to the games,” freshman Colleen Cooper said.
ASUP plans to work with the Physical Plant to repair the damage to the bell, buy a new clapper and paint the bell gold with a purple P by the end of June, giving UP a chance to renew this tradition. “It’s something that unites people, pulls people together in support of the athletic program,” Covert said.
English department sees change in leadership Herman Asarnow will step down as department chair and will be replaced by Molly Hiro
Jocelyne LaFortune Staff Writer lafortun12@up.edu
Professor Molly Hiro, who was recently granted tenure, will replace Herman Asarnow as chair of the English Department, effective July 1. “I want to stress that this is a normal change,” Asarnow said. “It’s good to have different leadership once in a while.” Asarnow has served as department chair for seven years, but departments often change leadership positions after three to six years, according to Asarnow. He says stepping down from his position will allow him to focus on his teaching and his own writing. To be eligible to serve as department chair, a professor must have tenure and be nominated by fellow professors
in the department. Both Hiro and Professor Genevieve Brassard were eligible to take over the position, but Brassard removed herself from consideration, according to Asarnow. At this time, Hiro does not plan to make changes within the department. “I plan to spend the first year learning the ropes,” Hiro said. “I think that having visions without knowing the ground conditions is not very helpful.”
Bryan Brenize | THE BEACON
NEWS
The Beacon — www.upbeacon.net 3
Mr. and Ms. Ship set sail on revamped competition Freshmen Patrick Torrellas and Corey Hubbard are named Mr. and Ms. Shipstad Will Lyons Staff Writer lyons14@up.edu On March 31, residents of Shipstad Hall gathered for the annual Mr. and Ms. Shipstad competition. The first floor lounge was crowded with about 100 students to watch freshmen Nicholas Herb, Patrick Torrellas, Stephanie Petrie, Corey Hubbard, Britney Benson-Townsend and sophomore John Fugiera compete in games of agility, creativity and overall silliness. The judges for this year’s Mr. and Ms. Shipstad were last year’s victors, senior Lara Foster and junior Kyle Cochran, as well as Br. Tom Giumenta, C.S.C. The competition consisted of an evening wear beauty competition, featuring everything from togas to sweat pants, a talent show, a Shipstad-themed questionand-answer session and a test of
agility and mental processing in “Minute to Win It.” “We’re creative and fun here and like to show it,” freshman and emcee of Mr. and Ms. Shipstad Jessie Proctor said. “My favorite contestant was Corey because of her improv skills.” Torrellas and Hubbard were named Mr. and Ms. Shipstad for 2011. “I had the most fun doing the talent portion,” Hubbard said. “I’ve always been able to do funny voices because as a kid I watched a lot of British television.” Over the course of the competition, Hubbard received the most points and applause from the audience with her talent of accents from around the world and the ability to spin a hilarious story about rats haunting Shipstad in the question-and-answer session. “Corey stole my heart,” Foster said. “This year’s Mr. and Ms. Ship had lots of energy and was
very entertaining.” The competition was generally the same as past contests, except for “Minute to Win It,” which replaced last year’s “How Bad Do You Want It?” “It was different from last year’s competition,” Cochran said. “But they added things that compensated well.”
“I chugged a gallon of milk while getting slingshotted with cherry tomatoes last year.”
Kyle Cochran junior
The “How Bad Do You Want It?” competition became infamous in years past as a series of outrageous stunts that drew a crowd, but had potentially dangerous outcomes, according to Cochran and Foster. “I chugged a gallon of milk
while getting slingshotted with cherry tomatoes last year,” Cochran said. According to Cochran and former Ms. Shipstad contestant, and sophomore Katie Polese, other contestant generated stunts from years past included a live branding of an ‘S’ into a senior Wren Weichman’s thigh, Polese getting an ankle anchor tattoo with a rope ‘S’ for Shipstad, graduate Andy Matarrese swallowing a live fish, junior Darren Kwan doing body shots of hot sauce off an RA’s chest and Foster getting slapped hard in the face. This final stunt resulted in the end of “How Bad Do You Want It?” “The change was a long time coming,” Shipstad Assistant Hall Director Amanda Murphy said. “This year proved we don’t have to have ‘How Bad Do You Want It?’ and encapsulated Shipstad spirit.” The change comes on the heels
of a larger campaign to change Shipstad’s overall reputation as a party hall. “We’re trying to change the perspective that people have about our building,” Murphy said. Giumenta, who moved to Shipstad in February, agrees with Murphy and doesn’t see the hall’s reputation as a problem at all. “One of the things I’d like to debunk is that Ship is fond of partying,” Giumenta said. “I have not been awakened one night since I moved here. After 10 p.m. everyone is very respectful.” Despite the end of “How Bad Do You Want It?”, Mr. and Ms. Shipstad will continue to be a source of community in one of UP’s oldest dorms. “The spirit of Mr. and Mrs. Ship was all the same,” Cochran said. “Everyone still made a fool of themselves in front of friends.”
Photos by Bryan Brenize | THE BEACON
Top Left: Freshman Corey Hubbard shows off her evening wear at last Thursday’s Mr. and Ms. Shipstad competition. Top Right: Students fill the first floor lounge to watch the Mr. and Ms. Shipstad competition. Bottom: Mr. and Ms. Shipstad contestants Nicholas Herb, Patrick Torrellas, John Figueira, Stephanie Petrie and Brittaney Benson-Townsend prepare to answer Shipstad-themed questions. About 100 students came out to watch as Hubbard and freshman Patrick Torrellas were crowned the victors.
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NEWS
April 7, 2011
ASUP: Vice president-elect averts scheduling conflict constitution to see how many times I can miss,” she said. Scally was concerned when Ruffin is not the first ASUP she first heard about Ruffin’s executive conflict because she knows board how busy people majoring in member who education are. has faced “You very much need to be scheduling present and when you are in field conflicts. experience from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Current and offices close at 4 p.m., when President are you going to have meetings?” Scally said. Colin Dorwart Colin Before the election, when ASUP President Dorwart changed Ruffin was asked about balancing his major from organizational school and her ASUP position communications to during speech night on Feb. 15, communication studies in order she did not mention any potential to attend all Senate meetings. problems. A class “It’s required for his The School of Education important for organizational people in ASUP and the Senate will both to be up front communications major was have to bend until we with students,” scheduled Scally said. work this out. during the “Being vice Chloe Ruffin president, you Senate meetings. ASUP Senator, Vice President- talk with clubs Dorwart, like elect and junior and students so Ruffin, met with his adviser to trust is a big part work something of this role.” out. They were able to Ruffin is confident in her compromise, but Dorwart still ability to perform well as a faced problems. student and also fulfill her role of “I would have been late, 45 vice president minutes late, and that’s just not “I think I’ve always been acceptable,” Dorwart said. “If extremely busy,” she said. “Doing I started showing up late, then a lot is what I’m great at.” what would that look like to the She is also determined not to Senate?” resign spring semester. Instead, Dorwart changed “The School of Education and his major to communication the Senate will both have to bend studies, which does not require until we work this out,” she said. the conflicting class. Scally agrees it is in everyone’s “We’ve looked for how we best interest to have one vice personally can change rather president who can serve both than have ASUP change for us,” semesters. Vice President Katie Scally said. “There is a lot to learn “ASUP matters more than the personally (about being vice individuals in it. It will outlast president) and if there are two any individuals here on campus.” vice presidents, that will have to Although Ruffin has worked happen twice,” she said. “It would out a compromise, she said she be really disruptive.” may have to miss some Senate Ruffin and Dorwart’s meetings scheduling conflicts are not the in order to first time required classes have meet one- gotten in the way of ASUP on-one with duties. professors “Over time it has become more as part of her and more of a conflict because independent we have more students and more study. classes,” Koffler said. “I’m Ruffin looked into changing Katie Scally reviewing the time of the Senate meetings, ASUP Vice the but it was not feasible. President
Continued from page 1
We’ve looked for how we personally can change rather than have ASUP change for us. ASUP matters more than the individuals in it. It will outlast any individuals here on campus.
Katie Scally ASUP Vice President and senior
“I know Chloe’ was interested in changing the Senate time,
but that’s really difficult to do because so many other people are involved,” Scally said. According to Koffler, the time of the Senate meetings has been the same for at least 18 years. It is consistent so students always know when it will be and to enable guest speakers to attend. Koffler is aware that the meeting time does not fit into every student’s schedule. “There is never going to be a time when it’s going to be convenient for everyone because we haven’t set aside time for
student government,” he said. This is an issue that concerns Ruffin. “One of my main focuses is going to be working with deans and the Provost to set aside a chunk of time with no core or required classes so any student can be involved,” she said.
The UP Public Safety Report 3 2 4
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1. March 25, 7:06 a.m. - Public Safety responded to a medical call at Fields Hall. A student was in pain and vomiting. Public Safety contacted 911, and the student was transported to Emanuel hospital by AMR. 2. March 26, 10:59 p.m. - Public Safety received a complaint about a loud party from a house in the 5800 block on N. Yale. The caller stated there was a lot of noise. The officers contacted the renters and the party was shut down. 3. March 26, 11:23 p.m. - Public Safety received a complaint of a loud party in the 6700 block of N. Monteith. Officers contacted the renter, and the music was turned down. 4. March 26, 11:46 p.m. - Public Safety received a complaint of a loud party in the 5200 block of N. Harvard. Officers contacted the renter, and the party was shut down.
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5. March 28, 7:58 p.m. - Public Safety responded to a medical call at Buckley Center. A student rolled his ankle and was provided an ice pack. The student’s parent picked him up later.
NEWS
The Beacon — www.upbeacon.net 5
DANCE: Mixed feelings about the new policy
a school dance or somewhere else is irrelevant,” freshman Ryan Belisle said. “I think board the bus, and students who breathalyzing everyone is going are under 21 and blow above a to the extreme.” zero will be dealt with by Public Some students think this will Safety. decrease the popularity of the “Since Public Safety will dance. be the one administering the “I don’t think people will go breathalyzer test, it will be under if you breathalyze every single their control,” White said. person,” freshman Corinne Hunt No matter his or her age, said. every student who wants to Because of the policy changes, attend a dance must ride the bus CPB decided to cancel next year’s chartered by UP. After a student homecoming dance. The Dance is breathalyzed and patted down, of the Decades will still occur his or her ticket will be marked spring semester. to grant admission to the dance, “We wanted to give those a system aimed at preventing policies time to be implemented,” students who are turned away White said. “Homecoming from driving to the dance happens so, so soon at the themselves and getting inside. beginning of the year.” “Drinking has become such a The cancellation will give risk that we needed to take these CPB and Public Safety more preventative measures,” Dance planning time. of the Decades Coordinator and “It’s going to be a lot of CPB Director-elect, Sean Ducey, planning,” Assistant Director of a sophomore, Student Clubs Jillian Smith said. said. “From “It takes months, if not years, to a risk plan these kinds of events.” management Instead of planning the perspective, homecoming dance, CPB will we need to put host a concert in the Chiles Center something featuring a major band still to be in place so determined. While dance venues that we can have a limited amount of space, Sean Ducey provide a safe the Chiles Center has enough Dance of environment room for the entire student body. the Decades “Every student that wants to Coordinator and for students to have fun.” attend will be able to,” White CPB DirectorThe bar said. elect will still be Some students are happy that open for students 21 and over at there will be a concert rather the dance. As before, additional than a dance for the homecoming breathalyzing at or after the event next semester. dance will be conducted on a “I think a concert would be case-by-case basis. more like an event,” sophomore The idea of breathalyzing Zach Peters said. “I think more every student came directly from people would go to a concert.” student opinion. CPB emailed a UP is not alone in trying survey to the entire student body to deal with binge drinking after the Dance of the Decades problems before and during asking for student feedback. campus events. According to White, CPB According to the March 17 received almost 1,000 surveys issue of The Heights, Boston back, and about 20 percent of College’s student newspaper, those respondents suggested the college will no longer hold breathalyzing everyone as a way dances on Saturday nights due to remedy the drinking problem. to problems with pre-dance “We took that feedback very drinking . Instead, they will be seriously,” White said. Friday nights. Some students agree that At Gonzaga University in this would be Spokane, Wash., a good way “We all just kind of dissenior events to handle were canceled for cussed what the issues the alcoholthe year due to related issues were and how to prevent it intoxication and that occurred without destroying CPB’s bad behavior at at the dance, the kick-off dance function of providing especially for the seniors last because they entertainment that is safe fall. occurred at a CPB and and fun.” venue other the groups it Hillary White, junior collaborated with than UP. CPB Director hope, through the “As it pertains to the measures they are breathalyzing, enacting, to keep I definitely think Dance of the UP students safe without having Decades was out of hand and was to eliminate dances altogether. pretty disrespectful,” sophomore “I hope overall there is an Jeff Makjavich said. “So just understanding that we are putting whatever can cut down on the this stuff in place to keep students bad image that UP would portray safe and to make sure that (they) from that belligerent behavior.” still have the dances,” Smith However, not all students are said. happy with this change. “People are going to get drunk. Whether they do it at
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NEWS
April 7, 2011
Practice makes perfect in emergency drill
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Photos by Scott Chia | THE BEACON
The Community Campus Emergency Response Team spent four hours on Saturday training students, faculty and staff from the Portland community skills thay need to know to be prepared should a disaster occur, such as an earthquake. CCERT utilized its training to size up a fake emergency situation and extricate victims from the emergency. 1. CCERT participants at the victim extrication station practices moving a large object off of a “victim.” 2. CCERT members at the fire suppression station extinguish a flame. 3. Senior Matt Vanderlaan prepares for a CCERT exercise. 4. CCERT practices stabilizing an “injured” person, nursing major and junior Angelo Ruiz, at the triage station. 5. CCERT prepares for a day of practice. 6. CCERT participants at the search and rescue station locate an “injured” person. 7. A few members of the CCERT prepare for a day of emergency drills.
LIVING
The Beacon — www.upbeacon.net 7
Wren Weichman really wants you to like him
Philippe Boutros Staff Writer boutros14@up.edu
A mechanical engineering major and senior, Wren Weichman is now one of 200 semifinalists in YouTube’s NextUp competition, an “initiative to accelerate the growth of the next big YouTube stars,” according to YouTube’s official blog. The 25 videos with the most ‘likes’ will receive $35,000 in funding, promotion of their videos and a spot in a four-day YouTube camp, where they’ll receive one-on-one training and the chance to make connections with other people from the industry. Last month, Weichman was contacted by fullscreen.net, a company that specializes in identifying people with talent on YouTube. It’s run by former Google executive George Strompolos, co-founder of the YouTube Partners program. “YouTube’s goal is to make money, and fullscreen.net’s job
is to find people that would make or just a procession of endless them money,” Weichman said. ‘Wrens’ within what mind-bogFullscreen.net helped him join glingly appears to be the same the YouTube Partner program, shot. and he become a competitive enAnother more recent video, try in NextUp. co-starring his sis“They found ter, shows Weichme through this man’s arms burststupid fish video ing into flames that I uploaded a mid-duel, à la Huwhile ago. It went man Torch – all a year or so withbefore exploding out getting anydue to a flick of his where, and then sister’s fingertips. it went viral – it The phrase “Womended up with over en. Sometimes you 5 million views. just don’t stand a Fullscreen.net chance” then fills Wren Weichman wanted to moneher void as she tize that video, but leaves the scene then they saw other, better videos (presumably to go explain to their that I had uploaded and said ‘Hey parents). Wren, we can make more money “It started back when I was a off the videos that you edit,’” freshman in high school. I had just Weichman said. started splicing movies together Weichman specializes in vid- that I recorded from TV, and then eo after effects, primarily using I realized that I got a huge rush Adobe After Effects. In the past, from making it so seamless that his videos have included funny people wouldn’t notice,” Weichdialogues between two ‘Wrens’ man said.
As his video editing skills grew, so did his possibilities. “I discovered some websites that had very insightful possibilities. After I saw the first one, my mind exploded with the potential,” Weichman said. Weichman’s effects are Hollywood-grade, but the humor in his videos takes on a more indie vibe. Beyond making videos, Weichman is involved with the Bluffoons, the University of Portland’s improv club. “I had done a little improv in high school, and I’ve always been a big fan of ‘Whose Line is it Anyway?’ I joined 10 clubs at the activities fair my freshman year here at UP, but the Bluffoons was the only one that maintained my interest. I pursued it hardcore,” Weichman said. Working with the Bluffoons allowed Weichman to learn what’s funny and what isn’t. “What sets Wren apart is how outgoing he is,” Ryan Belisle, freshman and member of the Bluffoons, said. “I really like his
funny facial expressions, and how he’s really into superhero themes and stuff. It doesn’t matter what’s coming out of his mouth, because it’s always funny. He’s just one of those people.” Weichman was born in Oklahoma and spent the first 12 years of his life moving around between Louisiana and Texas. His family then moved to Norway, and he returned to Texas for high school before moving to Vietnam for his junior and senior years “I know enough Vietnamese to get around town, and insult you to tears. Cho-Deh!” Weichman said. Weichman declined to translate the statement. Like many seniors, Weichman doesn’t know where he’ll be next year. He would like to get a job with the Department of Defense in Pearl Harbor as an engineer, but he’s exploring other options. “I’m exploring doing the YouTube thing full-time,” Weichman said. “I’d probably have to work twice as many hours, but I’d be doing what I want to do.”
View and Vote for Wren! View Wren’s video at upbeacon.net/multimedia Follow Wren on Twitter at Twitter.com/wrenthereaper Screenshot courtesy of Wren Weichman
UP presents music and fairy tales with “Into the Woods” Luke Riela Staff Writer riela14@up.edu Stephen Sondheim’s “Into the Woods” combines a bunch of fairy tales into one musical. However, that doesn’t mean it’s a normal fairy tale – or a normal musical for that matter. According to senior Brian Burger, who plays the Narrator and the Mysterious Man, even those who don’t like musicals could certainly enjoy this performance. “What I love about Sondheim’s musicals is that they’re so lyrical,” Burger said. “They feel like more of a play than a typical musical.” Sondheim is a famous composer and lyricist whose best works include “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” “Follies” and “A Little Night Music.” “This is probably Sondheim’s most popular piece,” Director Andrew Golla said. Freshman Kellan Griffith, playing Little Red Riding Hood’s Granny and Cinderella’s Mother, said the musical is more than just a happy story.
“It’s a fairy tale, so you don’t expect something deeper,” Griffith said, “but there’s actually meaning to it.” The Performing Arts Department will feature “Into the Woods” in Mago Hunt Theater. There are a number of familiar characters in the performance including Cinderella, Rapunzel, Jack (from “Jack and the Beanstalk”) and Little Red Riding Hood. There are also a number of new characters, namely a baker and his wife who wish to break a witch’s curse so they may have a child. “It’s cool how all the characters work with everyone in the play,” freshman Jordin Bradley, who plays one of Cinderella’s stepsisters, said. All of these characters interact with each other in the woods as they seek out their personal goals, from Jack who wants to save his cow friend Milky White to Cinderella trying to free herself from imprisonment. “It’s over-the-top character acting. You can’t make it funny if you make it real,” Bradley said about her character’s gruesome injuries.
In act two, a darker side of the fairytale emerges as a vengeful giant roams the woods. Not even the narrator is safe. “You see a lot of these people wishing and wanting things and the lengths they will go to get them,” Golla said. “In the second act, you see some of the consequences of what they did.” Golla mentioned how the second act is a more mature story than the fairy tale of the first act. “A lot of high schools do the junior version which is just the first act,” he said. “The second act is where the story becomes for adults and about adults.” According to Golla, “Into the Woods” is a challenging musical to execute because of the frequent note changes and the importance of perfect timing. Since most of the musical is underscored, the performers must say their lines in tempo to maintain the rhythm. Despite the difficulty level, Golla has no doubt that it will be a great performance. “We have a senior class that is gifted both musically and acting wise,” Golla said. “If we were going to do it, we wanted to do it with this group.”
Photo by Christina Steiner
Seniors Danielle Larson and Jamie Kluth and freshman Jordin Bradley rehearse a scene from “Into the Woods.” The musical by Stephen Sondheim combines numerous fairy tales and includes well-known characters like Cinderella and Little Red Riding Hood.
“Into the Woods” • Shows on April 12 - 16 at 7:30 p.m. • Shows on April 17 at 2:00 p.m. • Tickets are $10 for adults, and $5 for students or seniors. • The box office is open for reservations, or call 503-943-7287 to get your tickets.
8 April 7, 2011
Bluffoons, Upright Citizens Brigade are a laughing matter
Corey Fawcett Staff Writer fawcett13@up.edu
Alissa White | THE BEACON
Last Friday night, UP’s improv group, the Bluffoons, opened for the Upright Citizens Brigade (UCB) to a full house in the Mago Hunt auditorium. The Bluffoons performed for 20 minutes before UCB took the stage for a little over an hour. UCB originated in Chicago in 1990 and has since relocated to both New York and Los Angeles. Comedy greats like Amy Poehler, Horatio Sans, Matt Besser, Matt Walsh and Ian Roberts have all been part of the group. Members of the Bluffoons flitted around the packed theater lobby before the show began, making sure everything was in order. When asked how he was feeling about the upcoming performance, Bluffoons veteran and junior Eric Lyness politely requested that we save questions for after the show.
“We don’t have any thoughts or feelings right now,” Lyness said while instructing students where to wait in line. “We’re excited!” The group that performed on Friday was from Los Angeles, and the University of Portland marked the end of the UCB Northwestern tour. “They actually contacted us first,” senior Matt Vanderlaan and Bluffoons de facto leader said. “I thought, ‘We’re going to do what?’” UCB wanted to make a stop at UP on its Northwestern tour last year, but the Bluffoons did not have sufficient funds to host the group at the time. This year, the Bluffoons communicated their financial needs to the Campus Program Board to ensure they would have the resources. Before the performance,
UCB did a three-hour improv workshop with the Bluffoons. “This is their day job, so it got really specific,” Vanderlaan, who watched UCB’s show on Comedy Central as a kid, said. Among the things they worked on were acting natural as opposed to trying to be funny and choosing what to emphasize in a scene. During the opening performace, the Bluffoons played “four corners,” a game in which four players stand in a square formation and rotate on cue, playing out a different scene with each rotation. They also played a game where two seemingly unrelated couples eating at a restaurant discover by the end of the skit that they are linked in some way. For their final game, they acted out a scene that could be
rewinded or fast forwarded. “We pulled people with lots of experience with improv,” Vanderlaan said, adding that he and some other Bluffoons are talking about forming a troop after they graduate and basing it out of a local theater company. UCB took the stage to a well warmed-up audience. For the first half of their set, the performers based a series of skits on a dialogue they had with a member of the audience. For the second half, they based their skits on audience suggestions. “Who has the weirdest text in their inbox?” UCB performer Suzi Barrett asked. One member of the audience had a text from her friend that said “I can’t believe she posted those pictures to Facebook.” The skit based on this text ended the entire show with a
simple line: “Grandma, we need to talk.” “(The show) went fantastically,” Lyness said. “We’re thrilled with the turnout.” UCB member Joe Wengert agreed. “It’s been a fun tour,” he said. “And Portland’s great. I love it here.” Wengert, a writer and actor who has worked with Amy Poehler, has been with UBC for 10 years. “Improv is the most exciting form of comedy. You never know what it’s going to be like when you step on stage,” he said. “I also like the finality of it. No two shows are the same. The only people that will ever experience that show are you and the audience.”
OLE brings Latin American culture to UP Joanna Goodwin Staff Writer goodwin12@up.edu Members of the Organización Latinoamericana Estudiantil (OLE) Club expressed their love for their culture last weekend at the third annual Latin America Night. With tables full of traditional and delicious foods like homemade tamales, rice, beans and salsa, it was like stepping into another world that was one big party. It was a lot of work for juniors and chairpersons of OLE Lupita Ruiz, Gaby Arenas and Ana Franco to plan, but they had a lot of support. “It was kind of hard to organize because so many people were busy, but we had a lot of help from our families,” Ruiz said. “Every club member’s parents helped make food, which was really great for us.” The OLE Club has about 20 active members, and anyone can join.
Photo by Talley Carlston
“We represent the different Latin American cultures during our club meetings. For each meeting, which is every two weeks, we present a different Latin American country to the members and have food from that certain place,” Ruiz said. In this event and at the meetings, OLE opens up the Latin American culture and other features of the countries. “We discuss the current, historical, cultural and other aspects of various Latin American countries that we are interested in,” Arenas said. “During OLE night the past years we have worked to theme the night with special characteristics of Latin American Countries. OLE night provides different foods to represent the countries, dances and performers.” This year, at Latin America Night there were two main performances. The first was a traditional Baile Folklorico group
from Dayton, Ore. This group of nine boys and girls ranging from about 4 to 16 years old dressed in traditional costumes with full skirts and sombreros. They danced to several songs sung in Spanish. Their last number was a Spanish version of “Achy Breaky Heart” by Billy Ray Cyrus and the group invited all of the guests to come and dance with them. “The dancers were so cute. It was really fun getting up and dancing with them,” sophomore Kaileah Baldwin said. The rest of the event showcased band Richie Nav. The band’s bassist, Mike Navarrete, is a junior at UP. The rest of the band consists of his two brothers, sister and cousin. “Mike had told us much about his band and finally this summer we had a chance to see them perform at the ‘Fiesta Mexicana’ held in Woodburn, Ore,” Arenas said. “We were amazed at how
Photo by Talley Carlston
The band Richie Nav performing at last weekend’s Latin America Night.
well the band performed. Furthermore, Mike looked outstanding up on stage and we just knew that it was time he made his big debut on campus.” The family band started off playing in church. “For the past three years, we have been playing together as a real band,” Mike said. Navarrete’s brother Richie Navarrete is the lead singer and guitarist. “I started off doing music on my own so that is where the name came from, it’s just my name,” Richie said. Most of the family lives in Ontario, Ore., but with cousin and guitarist, Ricardo, at Oregon State University and Mike at UP, it is difficult for all of them to get together to perform during the year. “We probably perform about five times a year at different fairs, festivals, venues and radio benefits,” Richie said.
Their music can be identified as a Latino pop/rock/alternative blend and takes inspiration from other Latino artists like Juanes and Mana. “We chose Richie Nav because we thought it would be nice to give a UP student and friend, Michael Navarrete, a chance to showcase the band he is so passionate about,” Ruiz said. “Also, Richie Nav plays not only their own songs, but songs by many different Latin American bands. I think the band did a great job.” With their music now available on iTunes, Richie Nav hopes to become more mainstream and have their popularity continue to grow. “We just want to thank everyone for coming to the show and supporting us. Please check us out at www.richienav.com,” Mike said.
Photo by Talley Carlston
Students enjoying the musical performances of the OLE club’s annual event.
The Beacon — www.upbeacon.net 9
Po’Shines brings soul food experience to NoPo Caitlin Yilek Staff Writer yilek12@up.edu Jocelyne LaFortune Staff Writer lafortun12@up.edu
Restaurant Review Have you been Po’shined? We have, and take our word for it; you want to be Po’Shined, too. After eating two meals at Po’Shines last week, we can’t recommend this restaurant enough. Located on Denver and Kilpatrick in our very own North Portland, you do not want to miss this Southern soul food experience. For lunch, we indulged in blackened catfish with sides of hush puppies and macaroni and cheese. We also enjoyed a fried chicken po’ boy. The blackened catfish exceeded our expectations. It was seasoned just to our liking and didn’t taste too fishy. The hush puppies, made of fried cornmeal and veggies, were a new experience for us. They were sweet, soft and also a little crispy – a delicious treat to complement the mildly spicy fish. The macaroni and cheese was icing on the cake. To be clear, this was not your average Kraft mac and cheese. Creamy, cheesy and flavorful, Po’shines has this dish down to a science. Rolled in corn flakes and fried to a golden brown, the fried chicken was an experience in itself. Topped with caramelized onions
and a barbeque ranch sauce, the fried chicken po’ boy could not have been better. Our only dilemma was how to eat it quickly enough to satisfy our stomachs – the fork and knife really slowed us down. We were so impressed with our lunches we decided to go back for a second meal later in the week. This time, we sampled the breakfast menu.
Caitlin Yilek| THE BEACON
Po’Shine’s fried chickcen po’boy.
We feasted on Chef Lorenzo’s Down home Louisiana scramble. The menu said it was big, but really, it was huge. A plate stacked high with hash browns, peppers, tomatoes, eggs, gravy and our choice of bacon, sausage or ham, this scramble is not meant for the faint of heart – or anyone on a diet. Delicious food is not all that makes Po’Shines worth a visit. In addition to a friendly staff with a sense of humor, the restaurant is partnered with the Teach Me To Fish: Portland program. This non-profit organization works with at-risk youth and young adults, teaching them skills necessary for employment. At Po’Shines, participants of the program learn valuable career skills and receive ACON
HE BE
T Yilek | Caitlin
mentorship from employees. It is hard to put into words how welcomed we felt by the staff of Po’Shines. We’ve already planned another visit for waffles and fried chicken. For some delicious, home-style soul food and excellent service, and an experience you are sure to enjoy, we recommend you get yourself Po’Shined as well.
Caitlin Yilek| THE BEACON
10 April 7, 2011
Campus Grounds 1914
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Color Photography by Kevin Kadooka | THE BEACON Special thanks to Corey Fawcett | THE BEACON Page designed by Andrea Jackle | THE BEACON Historic photos courtesy of Fr. Bob Antonelli, C.S.C
1901 – Columbia University is founded by Alexander Christie, archbishop of Portland, and a year later the Congregation of Holy Cross is asked to take over. The school then consisted of West Hall (renamed Waldschmidt Hall in 1992), Christie Hall, Howard Hall and a number of support facilities now long gone. Ivy was planted around the buildings for an “Ivy League” look, but was later removed as the roots of the invasive vine were found doing extensive damage to the brick façade. 1914 – A local neighborhood group plants Big-Leaf Maples along both sides of Willamette Boulevard.
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1933 – Brother Ferdinand Moser, C.S.C., arrives on campus as a math and mechanical engineering instructor and an avid gardener. He nurtures many cuttings donated by individuals from around the region and along with the many seedlings he digs up himself, plants these throughout the early campus grounds. This is the source of many conifers such as redwoods, firs and pines, and the many and various broadleaf evergreens you see today. Besides hybridizing many of his own rhododendrons, he planted more than 65 varieties of the Japanese Camellia, many donated by the Oregon Camellia Society. By 1935 – The campus totals some 80 acres, including a 35-acre farm with chickens, a dairy, orchards and vegetable crops, all destined for the student dining halls. The school changes its name to the University of Portland. 1939 – The farm is discontinued and dismantled, and grass fields sown in its stead. 1944 – The Oregon Camellia Society donates plant material and designates the campus a repository for its camellias.
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1945 – Fr. John Molter, C.S.C., arrives on campus as a science teacher. He was an avid gardener and maintained several plots of vegetables around campus. 1948 – Br. Godfrey Vasallo, C.S.C., obtains a large rock and has a plaque mounted on it commemorating the Lewis and Clark Expedition. It endures today in a grove of trees near the Captain Clark Monument behind Swindells Hall. Also in 1948 – The Praying Hands Memorial is erected honoring the University students who died in service during World War II. The Memorial has since been expanded to include World War I, The Korean War, the War in Vietnam and the Gulf War. It is now collectively known as the Broken Wall Memorial, commemorating those who served their country with the greatest sacrifice. 1950’s – Bro. Remy Aydt continues to plant out the cuttings and seedlings growing in a nursery area where the Shiley Hall addition now stands. 1962 – Many of the original Doug Firs on campus are lost in the infamous Columbus Day storm. During this period more are lost to disease and construction. Most open areas are reseeded into turf. 1963 – The Commons is completed and an extensive rock garden is built on the south side overlooking a plaza paved with Italian marble. A recent addition includes a small alpine garden in honor of Lewis and Clark.
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1964 – Ted ‘Gottleib’ Deiss becomes head groundskeeper. He was trained in Switzerland, landscaped extensively in the U.S. including a stint at our nation’s capitol. Ted owned and operated a 19-greenhouse complex in Beaverton. He grew vegetables for Portland’s fresh produce market. On his appointment by Fr. Paul Waldschmidt, C.S.C., Ted donates and sets up a then-state-of-the-art greenhouse where the Villa Basketball Court now sits. He retired in 1977.
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The Beacon — www.upbeacon.net 11
s: A Brief History Aerial photo courtesy of up.edu
1965 – The old farm well is re-drilled by the Army Corps of Engineers to a depth of 245 feet. The Corps donates a large variable speed well-pump, which still serves all of the University’s irrigation needs. It’s located in a below-ground vault adjacent the west corner of Buckley Center. The irrigation main-line loop is started, and rudimentary above-ground watering systems are installed. Due to heavy damage inflicted by a severe winter ice storm, the Big-Leaf Maples along Willamette Boulevard undergo extensive remedial pruning. Replacement of these trees begins. 1966 – Shipstad Hall is completed and the unique use of Atlas Cedars as a vertical wall planting is started. 1968 – Buckley Center is completed, and an extensive landscape of azaleas, rhododendrons and pines is planted around the new building by Master Gardener Tatsu “Dutch” Watanabe.
1998
1973 – Mago Hunt Center for the Performing Arts is completed and several varieties of dogwood, crabapple and flowering plum, along with azaleas and rhododendrons, are used in the landscape. 1980 – Lowell Cordas, a skilled horticulturist, assumes the role as Head Groundskeeper. His talents in landscape design enhance the work of earlier gardeners. He sets new standards, bringing widespread recognition to the campus garden the community enjoys today. 1982 – The William Ingram Estate of Salem donates many mature camellias to the University, including several “C. sasanqua,” which can be seen blooming from early winter through early spring along the east side of Howard Hall and the west side of the Louisiana Pacific Tennis Center. 1984 – The Chiles Center is completed, and an extensive species rhododendron garden is planted between the buttresses under Japanese Styrax (snowbell) trees. Native to Nepal, Tibet, and western China, these plants were dug and transplanted from several regional nurseries by members of the Grounds Crew. 1985 – Professor Manual ‘Manny’ Macias donates a 14-foot traditional Spanish O’ Cruceiro sculpture in honor of his parents. It stands among the lofty redwoods between The Library and Buckley Center.
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1987 – The Captain William Clark Monument, designed and sculpted by Michael Florin Dente, is erected and dedicated. It is landscaped with plants similar to what would have been present at the time of the party’s visit. 1997 – Several large trees, including Sequoias, Incense Cedars and a Douglas Fir are cut down to make the necessary room for the Interactive Science Lab Building later dedicated as Swindells Hall. A portable mill operation is hired to salvage and recycle lumber. 2000 – University Village’s Tyson and Haggerty residence halls are dedicated and open for business. An extensive landscape of Incense-Cedar, Flowering Cherry, several varieties of Magnolia, rhododendrons and ornamental grasses fill the spaces around the buildings. 2001 – A large brush fire roars along the Willamette Bluff, killing many trees and stripping the slopes in several places. The Grounds Crew, with help from the City’s Bureau of Environmental Services, begins a long-term restoration project aimed at reducing wildfire fuel loads and restoring the woodlands along the river to the native Oak-Savanna habitat. This entails the removal of the non-native and invasive plants and replanting of desirable species such as native grasses, currants, native berries, manzanita, ferns, wild roses, salal and our state flower, the Oregon grape. Trees such as madrones, native conifers and the Oregon white oak, Quercus garryana are planted. – submitted by Jim Haines
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FAITH & FELLOWSHIP
12 April 7, 2011
Spring Encounter: We feel alive again Zach Imfeld Guest Commentary A week ago, a group of Pilots joined together on a journey they will not soon forget. In the busyness of life as a Pilot, we are not always taking time to breathe, smell the roses or meet new people. The theme song of the retreat, Matt Maher’s “Alive Again,” became the anthem for the group of people on the Spring Encounter with Christ. It was amazing to just to take a breath and get some energy for the remainder of the semester. On a deeper level, it was an opportunity for all on retreat to be renewed in their faith or in humanity. Often times we let the drama of life interfere with great friendships, so this was an opportunity to just love people and for us to realize that everyone in our lives is a gift, and we need to embrace and cherish those gifts. On the Encounter with Christ retreat, I was able to observe the beauty of life. It is amazing when you can just look around and see the beauty of nature, especially
a small patch of blue sky in the midst of the dark clouds filled with rain. The green-ness of Oregon is a far cry from my hometown, the concrete jungle of Los Angeles. Let me tell you: This part of the country is privileged. Our campus is honored with the cherry blossoms in full bloom, but we are not only lucky with nature, we are also really lucky to have an amazing group of students. My favorite part of Encounter is meeting a new group of people that I would not have had the opportunity to meet on campus. For some reason, walking up to a group you do not know at The Commons is weird or giving a head nod or smile to someone you do not know between Franz and Buckley is awkward, so my opportunity to meet some new people was relished, completely. Now the Encounter is organized by Campus Ministry, so there is the GOD factor on retreat. The cool thing about Encounter is it is an opportunity for people from all walks of life with different faiths to come together as a community and grow. I saw God on the retreat not only through nature, but also in the way that all of the retreatants joined together and bonded. This group started off hesitant and
Photo submitted by Zach Imfeld
Students on the Spring Encounter with Christ retreat. The retreat was organized by Campus Ministry and aimed to bring different communities of students together. moved to a dance party on Sunday, and we went back to our childhood roots because some Backstreet Boys music made an appearance. It did not matter what age, major, or dorm the people were from, they trusted each other and bonded. When individuals are on retreat, there is just this sense of trust that is amazing to be a part of.
There will be Encounter with Christ retreats in the next school year, and if you even have a little bit of your gut telling you to apply, I would send in the application. Take an opportunity during your college career to go deeper and ask for something more. You are on a campus with an amazing retreat program, and I would urge you to take the opportunity and
try it out. Do not graduate with not attending a retreat on campus as your only regret as so many seniors have told me. Zach Imfeld is a junior theology major. He can be contacted at imfeld12@up.edu
OPINIONS
The Beacon — www.upbeacon.net 13
Dance debacles lead to excessive changes After the debacles at Dance of the Decades this year, CPB is rolling out some new reforms for future dances. Students under the age of 21 who wish to go to Dance of the Decades next year must be brethalyzed and blow a .00. Students 21 or older cannot blow above a .08. Also all students will have to take the chartered bus to be admitted into the dance. CPB is also canceling the homecoming dance next year. It is completely understandable for CPB to revise its student standards due to the events that took place at the Dance of
the Decades, which included students being sent to the hospital, detox and back to campus. Students were issued MIPs. Not exactly model behavior. Requiring underage students to submit to a Breathalyzer is justifiable as they are not legally of age. We believe requiring students to ride the bus to dances is a good idea. It will no doubt substantially reduce or even eliminate dance attendants’ drunk driving. However requiring 21-yearolds, who are legally allowed to drink, to blow a .08 before they
step on the bus to get shepherded to the dance is unreasonable. CPB’s intention to keep students safe is commendable. But the idea that students who can legally drink and could go to any club in the city despite being above a .08, would have to blow below that before getting on a bus to be driven to a dance is overkill. Though these measures will certainly reduce the drinking problems Public Safety and CPB have to deal with, it will also considerably reduce ticket sales and substantially increase the amount of time students will
spend waiting in line to get on the bus. Students who are legally able to drink will just go out with their friends to a bar or club before they’ll subject themselves to this charade. CPB backs up this measure by pointing out that 20 percent of UP students who filled out the survey about Dance of the Decades would approve of Breathalyzers. Because fewer than 1,000 students took the survey, this response came from only 200 students. It isn’t a large number for CPB to enact such a drastic change.
CPB is replacing the homecoming dance next year with a concert and has requested $17,000 for this event. A concert is a new and exciting idea, and it can include more than the 1,100 students homecoming accommodates. Plus, the concert will be free for all students and will no doubt be a successful and inclusive event for the campus so long as CPB gets a good band. We know CPB is trying to keep students safe, but the measures they implement should not discourage students from attending events.
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UP student visits alumni teachers in Louisiana Janie Oliphant Guest Commentary The University of Portland has a reputation for sending many of its students with diplomas fresh in hand into a year or two of postgraduate service. Though I have often thought fondly of embarking on a year of service after school, I did not have a very good idea about what that might actually look like. So, this spring break I took the opportunity to go and visit two UP alumni and friends of mine, Emily Sorenson and Zach Clute-Reinig, in Clinton, La., where they are participating in a two-year program called Teach For America. Teach for America was founded by a Princeton University senior who was looking to create a program that would tackle the education gap in the United States and appeal to high-achieving college graduates. TFA teachers are placed in the lowest achieving schools in the country, predominantly in cities or rural communities where they attempt
to drastically raise the students’ standardized test scores. Zach and Emily were placed at St. Helena Middle School, in Greensburg, La., which is located in one of the poorest parishes in the state. 94.9 percent of the students in the district are on the free and reduced lunch plan and 95.2 percent are minority children. Zach and Emily drive half an hour to school each morning at 6 a.m. to a town of 600 people where Emily, who studied biology, teaches sixth grade science and Zach uses his education and English degrees to teach reading classes. I had the opportunity to go to school with them one day and experience their workplace. The first kid I met was one of Emily’s 12-year-old students, Kevin. He shyly walked into the classroom before school to help Emily tidy up the room. When he left, Emily explained that Kevin only began attending school two years ago. Before that, he was not even in the system. It makes sense that only 25 percent of the sixth graders passed the state tests last year when considering kids like Kevin. Though there are cracks in her windows and the room takes on water when it rains, Miss Sorenson’s classroom was brightly
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clad with bulletin boards and posters. Tuesday through Friday, Emily spends 7:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. her time in front of her students enthusiastically asking them pay attention and retain information. Her students range in knowledge and age. One of her best students has a 12th-grade reading level while one of her lower pupils is 15-year-old who has repeated several grades. The day is long and the task is extremely difficult, but not without rewards. After the final bell rings, several students lag behind in the classroom waiting for their bus. While in class students are loud and wild, there are the students who whisper a sweet goodbye and offer their first-year teacher a hug. The teacher stories are seemingly endless when all of the TFA teachers get together. Emily and Zach both live in houses with other TFA teachers who work at their school or in another neighboring town. Most of the other TFA teachers are also fresh out of school, but I met a married couple that had experienced a few years in the real world before deciding to apply for TFA. The young educators are passionate about their mission and readily told me about the problems at their schools. Zach’s house-
mate, Jessica, is a bright, young of background, it is not at all English major from Nevada who uncommon and complicates the now teaches kindergarten at one dynamic of the learning environof the nicer elementary schools ment. in the area. She is one of the first black teachers to ever work at her See Visits, page 14 school and was only hired after the federal government mandated that the school employ non-white teachers. Though the federal court mandated the desegregation of Zach and Emily’s school district in 1964, desegregation of schools did not actually occur until 1988, and many of the white children switched to private schools, or their families just moved away from the area. Meanwhile, there are large families of black students who live in decrepit trailers on plots of land that were passed down from sharecropping photo courtesy of Janie Oliphant days. While it is cerEmily Sorenson and Zach Clute-Reinig, tainly not the majority UP alumni and Teach for America corps of their students that members in Louisiana. come from this type
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OPINIONS
14 April 7, 2011
From the grounds up
VISITS: TFA Continued from page 13 The life of a TFA teacher is one of the most challenging that I have come across thus far in the world of postgraduate service opportunities. Being a first-year teacher is a difficult task by itself, but underachieving students and a completely new environment add another level of strain to the lives of the UP alums. However, the change that the teachers make in the lives of their students seems to be well worth the difficulties of the everyday. TFA boasts that the majority of its teachers are just as effective or more effective in teaching than the veteran teachers employed at the same schools. Some criticize that TFA is not a sustainable program for various reasons; however, TFA does well prepare its teachers for difficult trials in life after teaching. While I was distraught by hearing of the hardships that encompass the rural South when I visited Emily and Zach, I also gained a deep appreciation for my friends’ courage and willingness to step up to the challenges put before them. I can only hope that I too will one day have the chance to make a difference in the world as they are, and that I will have the nerve to take it. Janie Oliphant is a sophomore psychology and social work double major. She can be contacted at oliphant13@up.edu.
Jim Haines Guest Commentary Over the years some in the UP community have raised concerns over what may seem as the covert removal of trees – big and small – around our campus, and rightly so. You come back from a break and it appears a tree, or several, has disappeared! It also appears we were remiss in giving notice as to which tree(s) were (to be) removed, and why. Yes, we were remiss. Negligent? Perhaps. Careless? Never. I can assure you we care. We care a lot. In the 30 years I have been with the University’s Grounds Crew, no tree has been cut down without good reason, and never just to make our job easier. A great deal goes into the rationale, planning and follow-up. We will move a tree – no small task – if the tree is worth it and the odds of success are good. And we have moved many. Though the timing we choose for removal may be seen by some as a lame attempt to hide a dastardly act, does anyone really think we’re hoping our handiwork won’t be noticed? A great big hole where a tree once stood? I think
not. The issue is, and has always been, safety first. A good time for “timber!”, or a big tree-spade, is when folks are scarce. Causing anyone to become a permanent part of the landscape is not in our best interest. There are a few of the main reasons we remove trees, or for that matter, any part of our campus garden. On occasion a tree outgrows its physical boundaries, pushing sidewalks up or walls akimbo, or a tree is found dying of old age or disease or construction blight. These trees become hazardous and a very real liability and must be removed. Sometimes a tree is found blocking too much sunlight needed by other plants, or interior spaces, e.g. a classroom, and the canopy just can’t take more thinning. Then there is the responsibility of favoring and preserving the native flora: the Oregon white oak, the Madrone, vine maples and native shrubs – versus the nonnatives: the overused Norway maple, the Giant Sequoia (a.k.a. redwood), the Black Locust and English Holly to name a few. When allowed to escape into our native woodlands, these non-native and
often invasive species quickly become overly successful and easily overshadow and crowd out slower growing indigenous species. We understand this may be less obvious to “nature-ally challenged” individuals. Think “sustainability.” Our campus is dynamic and growing, and rightly so. As the university expands its academic, athletic and livability horizons, so too must the physical side – the bricks and mortar – expand. While preserving what we can when we can, some mature trees must come down to make room for a new building or play field. Rest assured, the siting of such is never willy-nilly, and we often feel the pain of losing an old friend. This is – and must be – an acceptable consequence of our endeavors to make this
University one of the “best in the west” or anywhere for that matter. Think “progress.” And almost all the time we replant, often with a better selection of tree, maybe not always in the same spot, but somewhere on our campus where a tree will do well – hopefully for the long run – and will continue to enhance the University’s livability. Indeed, we have planted many, many more trees than we have ever removed ... did you know we now have some 400 trees on campus today? Think “opportunity”... and we’ll work on keeping you posted on any further “covert” activities. Jim Haines is a foreman at Physical Plant. He can be contacted at haines@up.edu.
photo courtesy of http://www.flickr.com/photos/thomasngo/1394476445/
OPINIONS
The Beacon — www.upbeacon.net 15
The Beacon Abroad Faces on Beacon reporters write about their experiences overseas The Bluff
this city. The streets are always busy and bustling with cars and buses that take no heed of people on foot, so you’re likely to feel buffeted by the hot breeze in their wake. It’s said that here in London they don’t tear graphic courtesy of http://www.officialpsds.com/Polaroid-PhotoFrame-With-Tape-PSD10063.html things down and rebuild; photos courtesy of Enid Spitz instead, everything new is just constructed around and over and in-between the old. The feel of the streets reflects that, as they wind around, Enid changing between concrete and cobblestone and gravel park Spitz walkways beneath your feet. Staff During the evening rush hour on a weekday, you might feel Commentary the slightly sticky plastic wall London has a certain feel – of an underground train pressed under your fingers, under your against the side of your head, the toes, swinging alongside your involuntary dance of its forward arms, in your nose, your hair, motion sway your hips and of your eyes. course the oddly dusty and warm Since coming to Britain’s underground air tickle your nose. capital I’ve explored all over the Honestly, after a day of city, been lost many times and all that, I normally feel pretty become intimately acquainted grimy. There’s a way the city with the particular feel of life in
air sticks in your hair that I find best remedied (other than with a nice hot shower, of course) by pyjamas and hot tea and fuzzy wool socks. Among bumpy brick streets, comfy coffeeshop seats, slick tile in the tube and city life in the air, London can envelop you with a huge mix of sensory adventures, new ones every day. But this past week’s midterm break allowed me a quick break to enjoy something completely different: the warm sun and relaxation of a bed and breakfast in the remote Canary Islands. I took the opportunity of a week off to find a yoga retreat tucked away in the volcanic hills of Fuerteventura, just minutes from white sandy beaches and a World Heritage Site. There I spent my days reading in the sun, attending yoga and pilates classes, watching great soccer with locals at the town store and meeting wonderful people. The more I travel, the more I find myself captivated not just by the places I see but by the people that populate them. One couple I met on the island was taking a quick break from their yearlong adventure circumnavigating the
globe in a fire engine! They’ve spent nine months camping out through New Zealand, the States, Russia and everything in between to raise money for charity and commemorate a beloved firefighter who died of cancer. It’s stories like these, the laughing local children on their way to school or the weathered smile of a whistling neighbor, that really give a place it’s spirit. London and the island couldn’t be more different: one grey, one brightly sunny; one bustling, one incredibly slow; one seemingly endless, one a dot in the sea. I feel incredibly lucky to be able, in a matter of days even, to enjoy such varying experiences. Travel, with all its challenges and excitement, has been the greatest gift from this semester abroad so far. And with trips to Dublin, Paris, Brighton, Canterbury, Greece and Scotland planned in the next two months, I’m sure there are even more adventures to come.
By BRYAN BRENIZE Photographer
We asked:
What is your favorite dance move?
“All that is Ciara...youtube her!” Marianna Hunnicutt, senior, civil engineering
Enid Spitz is a sophomore English major. She can be contacted at spitz13@up.edu.
CPB changes student policies for dances Hillary White Guest Commentary
As April approaches, the signs of spring are here. The rain gave up a little bit, and now it’s back in full force. Weekend on the Bluff is here, and with it a million tours and prospective students every day. And last, but certainly not least, ASUP’s budgeting season has arrived. The Finance Committee announced its Budget Proposal on Monday night, and with it there were a few surprises. Among them is CPB’s request for Homecoming – specifically not requesting funds for a Homecoming Dance. After Dance of the Decades this year, CPB had several long talks with Public Safety, Residence Life, ASUP and Student Activities. We also distributed a survey to students to gather their thoughts and opinions about Dance of the Decades. With the alcohol issues at the dance, we couldn’t just sit by and let another dance happen without addressing the dangerous behavior we encountered. At the end of those meetings, we reached a decision that meets our number one priority of keeping students safe without ruining CPB’s function completely by taking dances away forever. Dances at UP are going to have a different look from now on. First, all students will have to take a Breathalyzer. This meansany student over the age
of 21 must read under the legal limit (.08), and any student under the age of 21 will have to register zero. This is not going into effect as an effort to control your lives, and it’s not because CPB wants to take a power trip. We are concerned about student safety, and it should be important to the student body. We wanted to come up with a solution that students could get behind and when 20 percent of students in our survey directly mentioned Breathalyzers were the way to go, we listened. Also, students are going to be required to take the buses provided by CPB. Since students will be required to take a breathalyzer test, those will only be provided on campus. Additionally, we suspect way too many students were driving under the influence this year, and simply providing buses
isn’t enough prevention anymore. In an effort to keep students safe (from both drinking and driving, and over-drinking), from now on all dance-goers will have to hop the big yellow bus to get to the dance. So, in order to properly implement these new changes, CPB has decided to forgo a homecoming dance next fall. This will provide extra time before Dance of the Decades to make sure the process can run as smoothly as possible. We want to make sure CPB does all it can to make the new checkin system as quick for students as it can be, and the extra months of planning will really help. But have no fear; CPB isn’t taking away the fun! Instead of a homecoming dance, we’ve come up with a new event that we think students will like even more.
Since traditionally the homecoming dance only held 1,100 people, CPB is bringing an event to campus that everyone can enjoy. An inclusive event that truly embodies the spirit of homecoming by allowing all students to come together to celebrate the school we love. A concert. CPB has requested funds for a major concert, complete with student and local bands opening. We want the entire student body to be able to come together in an event we think everyone can enjoy. But we need your suggestions. What music do you want to hear live at UP? Hillary White is the CPB Director. She can be contacted at whiteh12@up.edu.
“The Bernie.” Andy Berigan, senior, math
“The Hopak.” Matt Heitstuman, senior, mechanical engineering
“The Michael Jackson.” Marco Catanese, senior, mechanical engineering
Samantha Heathcote | THE BEACON
OPINIONS
16 April 7, 2011
Eradicate extreme poverty in our generation Global Poverty Project fights against worldwide poverty
Lynn Le Guest Commentary Five quarters a day. Could you do it? 1.4 billion people survive on this amount every day, sometimes less. As young people, we have our own ideas of human suffering – a hard test, tough job market, getting dumped by a boyfriend or girlfriend. And while every reality faces different forms of suffering, one fact is for certain: there are 1.4 billion people who can hardly meet basic survival needs. The UN estimates, for the first time ever, that extreme poverty – defined as living $1.25 or below a day – can be eradicated within our generation. That’s right, eradicated. Commitment is what you have to pledge to make that happen. Donations and financial means
aren’t the names of the game, here; the kind of commitment the Global Poverty Project speaks of is a fundamental change in the way we, as a generation, spend, consume, think and act. On Friday, April 8 at the University of Portland in St. Mary’s Lounge, the Global Poverty Project is coming to inspire the young, driven and able to join this movement. From 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., representatives from the Project will be presenting 1.4 Billion Reasons, a presentation aimed at invoking others to take effective action on stamping out extreme poverty. Its goal is to help mobilize young people like us with the adequate knowledge and tools to make a change. In 60 minutes, the presentation exhibits the leading research on legitimate strategies that combat poverty. It will show viewers how small changes we make in our daily lives can be a part of the solution. Launched in Australia and then the UK with major success, the Global Poverty Project has earned the backing of
Voice for Life supports the Pence Amendment Ann Cowan Guest Commentary
“Pence Amendment: UP Responds,” an article featured in The Beacon on March 3, 2011 was an insightful look at the different viewpoints on campus about this nationwide controversy. However, in speaking with some students on campus, it has come to my attention that there was some confusion over why Voice for Life, the pro-life group on campus, supported the Pence Amendment. The answer is based on the foundational reason that our group is in existence: the scientific proof that human life begins at conception. Because we know that life begins at conception we are against abortion for ethical reasons. We supported the Pence Ammendment because the basis for the amendment’s creation was to protect the consciences of all taxpaying Americans who are against abortion. Congressman Mike Pence of Indiana, the author of the Pence Amendment, intended it to protect Americans
from being forced to fund abortions with their tax dollars despite any ethical beliefs they may hold about the practice. As stated in The Beacon article, there are currently laws that prohibit federal funding from being used by Planned Parenthood directly for abortions. However, as pointed out by Pence, the money it receives from the government allows Planned Parenthood to free up its existing funds to further its abortion business. Pence’s statement is consistent with research done by Steve Ertelt, the editor of Life News. His resarch connects the increases in government funding given to Planned Parenthood to the increases in abortions performed by this organization. According to a CNN poll, 61 percent of Americans oppose taxpayer-funded abortions. Voice for Life, as a group, stands with the many others who believe that it is our right as Americans to be able to honor our consciences and refuse to pay for abortions, whether directly or indirectly, through our tax dollars. Ann Cowan is a junior nursing major. She can be contacted at cowan12@up.edu.
Laugh with the Beacon
Q: What do you call a beaver brothel? A: A hot dam. “I once tried to tell a guy that I was a cunning linguist, but the cat got my tongue.” -Adrian Gorman
the United Nations Millennium Campaign. The Project was started by Hugh Evans, a young Australian Gen-Y entrepreneur who founded Australia’s largest youth-run organization, The Oaktree Foundation. The organization mobilized 350 volunteers under the age of 26 to raise millions of dollars in aid to end poverty. The co-founder of the Project is Bobby Bailey. He is the original founder of Invisible Children, the organization that became famous for its media exposure and awareness campaign of the
kidnapping of child soldiers in Uganda and helping the Ugandan people regain and rebuild their country. Firm examples of what young people can do to change the course of history, Evans and Bailey collaborated to develop the Global Poverty Project to inspire us to join them. This is an opportunity that not only allows our generation to make an impact on societies around the world, but also brings us together as humans, entitled to live. Remember, 1.4 billion people in this world can hardly meet
their basic survival needs. That’s 1.4 billion reasons to care, and each one of them is like us. RSVP for the event at http:// www.globalpovertyproject.com/ events. Lynn Le is a senior global business major. She can be contacted at le11@up.edu.
Check out our multimedia page at upbeacon.net to view videos about Global Poverty Project.
SPORTS
The Beacon — www.upbeacon.net 17
SPORTS
18 April 7, 2011
Field athletes grow, track athletes race
Courtesy Kim Spir
Fifth-year senior Natalie Hemphill runs for the Pilots during a meet. Hemphill set a personal record this year at the Stanford meet. Kim Spir Special to The Beacon The “field” part of the Pilots’ track and field program has taken on greater emphasis this year with the addition of the volunteer throws coach Todd Wojchik. “Todd recently moved to the area and volunteered his services,” Head Men’s Coach, Rob Conner said. “We couldn’t turn him down. He is a national-caliber field events coach and he will allow us to attract a wider range of athletes. Currently, our throwers are working out at the Concordia throws center three days
per week.” Wojichik has coached collegiately in Minnesota, Wisconsin and Colorado. Wojichik’s involvement is paying off. Freshman Emma Fredere bettered her own school record in the hammer at last Saturday’s Linfield Jenn Boyman Memorial Invitational. “We had an opportunity to hire some additional coaches,” Women’s Head Coach, Ian Solof said. “They are mostly volunteers but have been working hard and are able to give more kids more attention in a variety of events. We are seeing the benefits with
someone like Emma.” UP’s throwers competing at Linfield included Alyssa Kano, who finished ninth in the discus throw, Jonathan Sandau in the discus and hammer, Jordan LaBrec and Kody Bonham in the men’s hammer, and Anthony Glatt in the javelin. The men’s and women’s sprint corps have also gained greater visibility with performances in recent meets at Linfield and the University of Oregon, thanks to additional coaching staff. “We have also added Jonathan Marcus as our women’s sprints coach and Chad Colwell as our men’s sprint coach. Each has made a significant impact in a short time,” Conner said. The men’s sprint and hurdle group includes Pono Hanson and Patrick Torrellas. Women sprinters include Kiyah Williams, Devon Brown, Kelsey Bestall, Meghan Kirk, Kamauri Yeh, Brittany Bartolomei and senior hurdler Anastasia Borok. Portland also boasts a high jumper, freshman Matt Winterer, who won the Linfield contest at 6-5 1/2, improving 5 1/2 inches from his first meet of the season. Winterer, also a high school soccer player, holds the school record (6-7) at El Dorado High School in Placerville, Calif. Matt Chastain, a redshirt freshman from Parma High in Idaho, placed third in the triple jump at Linfield. He has a PR of 44 feet. Despite the resurgence in the sprints and field events, the Pilots are primarily known for a strong middle-distance and distance program. Portland is a member of the West Coast Conference, which does not contest spring
track and field. “We will always be distancefocused while the WCC does not sponsor track and field and while we don’t have a (track and field) facility,” Conner said. Key runners have turned in notable performances already this year. Trevor Dunbar, 11th in the 5 km at last year’s world Junior Championships in Moncton, NB Canada, and 25th at the 2010 NCAA Cross Country Championships, ran 1:53.51 in the 800 meter at the Oregon Preview, and 3:46.52 for 1500 meter at the Stanford Invitational. That equates to a 4:03 mile. ‘Trevor will focus on the 5,000 this year,” Conner said. “He missed the last two weeks in January with IT band syndrome. He also missed a week in the middle of February with the flu. He has been playing catch-up since. My plan is for him to run a few middle-distance races while he gets his base fitness back.” Junior Alfred Kipchumba ran a solid 13:57.76 at Stanford. “Alfred is slowly getting in shape. He will run the 10,000 at Mt SAC and plan to run that event at nationals,” Connor said. Also at the Stanford Invitational, redshirt junior Jared Bassett finished fifth in the first section of the men’s steeplechase, running 9:00.36, good for 9th place on the current U.S. collegiate list. On the women’s side, junior Marit Tegelaar and fifth-year senior Natalie Hemphill both ran under 17 minutes in the 5,000 at Stanford. “I was very happy with Marit and Natalie’s races at Stanford,” Solof said. “Both ran PRs and
competed well. I think Marit is capable of going 8-12 seconds faster in the 5 km; Natalie will focus on the steeple and 1,500 now.” Dana Morgan, also a fifthyear senior, placed fifth in the 3,000 at the Oregon Preview behind NCAA cross country and 5k champion Sally Kipyego, who now runs for the Oregon Track Club. “(Dana’s) training has been going well,” Solof said. “The main goal for Dana is for her to improve on her 5k PR of 16:30 and make the NCAA meet.” Moore ran 4:31.62 in the 1500 meter at the Stanford Invitational. Senior Theresa Hailey, in only her second race of the season, ran 4:37.81 for the 1500m at the Willamette Invitational April 1. The time, just .13 seconds off her 1500 personal record set two years ago, is roughly equivalent to a sub-five minute mile. Other distance runners to watch this year include junior Lyndy Davis and redshirt freshman Julia Fonk who will try to qualify for the USATF Junior Nationals. “All of our coaches are working around the fact that we don’t have an outdoor track,” Solof said. “We use the indoor track (in the Chiles Center), the turf field when it is available, and we drive people to different tracks around Portland. It is not ideal, but we are doing our best.” UP athletes will compete Friday in the third annual Pacific Northwest Relays at the Oregon City High School Stadium. The meet starts at 4 p.m.
Volleyball begins spring tournament season strong John McCarty Staff Writer mccarty12@up.edu After spending much of the winter months in the weight room, the volleyball team shook the dust off at their first tournament of the spring season winning three of its four games. The second annual Collegiate Volleyball Spring Tournament took place in the Tri-Cities, Wash. and featured Eastern Washington University, the University of Idaho and Central Washington University. As part of the semiformal spring volleyball season, this tournament was the first in a series of four tournaments taking place throughout April. The final tournament will be in the Chiles Center on April 30. “Spring is a different cat for volleyball, there is no rotation or substitution required so it’s a little more relaxed,” Head Coach Joe Houck said. “It’s more for training than competition but at the same time they’re still keeping score.” According to Houck, the spring season is more low-key, allowing players to return to the joy of playing volleyball while at the same time receiving more in-
dividual training. “We’ve improved a lot as a team since the fall,” freshman outside hitter Autumn Wedan said. “We’re a young team but we’re growing together and developing as a whole. Playing in the spring helps us work as a unit.” During the spring the volleyball team has a smaller roster of nine players and, according to Wedan, this means each player has the opportunity to play different positions. “Being able to be flexible and move wherever you’re needed is going to help in the fall season because it makes you more versatile as a player,” sophomore outsider hitter Ariel Usher said. According to Houck, spring competition allows for each player to grow, which makes a difference in the fall season. “As a group we are capable of doing things at a high level but ultimately we are measured by our wins and losses,” Houck said. “You have lots of fluctuation with younger players but we are focused on raising the baseline of play. We want to achieve that constancy of performance.” Prior to the spring season, the team was spending more time training in the weight room with
Photo courtesy of Will Crew
The volleyball team huddles during a match in the regular season. The Pilots began a series of four spring volleyball tournaments with the Collegiate Volleyball Spring Tournament and won three of four games. Coach Bradford Scott. According to Usher, the weight-training regimen can be grueling with no competition to look forward to. “The first six to eight weeks of lifting are brutal but I don’t mind working so hard because it’s worth it come fall,” Usher said. “People don’t really understand how hard we work but you can see it on the court — we’re hitting harder and getting places faster.”
“Its great to see how our (weight) training and what we worked on during the week translates onto the court,” junior outside hitter Kati Hronek added. Usher, Wedan and Hronek agree that the loss of senior libero Danielle Dupar has hurt the team defensively. They are focused on improving their serve and receive gameplay and blocking. According to Houck, recruits Bea Loper and Sam Moore are both very
athletic and their presence in the net will make practice harder for hitters when they join the team for the fall 2011 season. The Pilots are excited to host the final tournament of the spring session April 30, and they hope that students will turn out. “We love playing in front of friends and family and come on, it’s girls in spandex,” Usher said. “What more could you want?”
SPORTS
The Beacon — www.upbeacon.net 19
Pilots strike out versus OSU, look to build
Kevin Kadooka | THE BEACON
Junior Kramer Scott swings for the ball as the Pilots confront OSU. The Pilots were felled by the OSU Beavers 11-1 on Tuesday at Etzel Field. PJ Marcello Staff Writer marcello13@up.edu After a rocky 7-0 first two innings the University of Portland baseball fell to No. 19 Oregon State 11-1 on Tuesday. The Beavers scored in flurries, putting up four runs in the first, three in the second and adding another three runs in the sixth inning. The Pilots struggled on the mound where they used seven different pitchers who combined for 10 walks in the game, which the Beavers took advantage of nearly every time. Portland scored their only run in the seventh by senior Kramer Scott, who scored after hitting a double and advancing to third on a groundout. Junior Sam Westendorf knocked the run home with a single, delivering his second of two hits on the day. The Pilots started the season with a perfect 5-0 record but have since struggled to get the consistency they need out on the diamond. Rained-out games, injuries and constant traveling have added to the Pilots’ woes, but with conference play coming up they look to regain their footing. “Things haven’t gone our way lately. Our bats have been cold, and our pitching has been there some games and hasn’t for others,” senior third baseman Kevin Armijo said. “Sometimes you struggle as a team to find out who you are and we’d rather do that early in the season than later. Conference play is a good opportunity to turn things around.” While the Pilots have had difficulty getting the bats going as of late, much of this can be credited
to facing great pitching, something the team believes could be a blessing in disguise. “We have faced good pitching as of late, and the WCC is a good pitching conference so getting to see better pitching early can build confidence for batters,” Armijo said. Confidence is something the Pilots are working on, especially when introducing freshmen to both the lineup and the pitching rotation. Freshman Bo Cornish has stepped up to replace injured junior catcher Beau Fraser. Outfielder Turner Gill has stepped into a starting role and freshman Zach Nice has worked his way onto the mound early in the season. The young players are still adjusting to the pace of college ball but appreciate their opportunity to contribute to the team. “Games are faster pace but it’s a matter of stepping back, taking a deep breath and slowing it down for yourself,” Gill said. “You just have to take it in stride and not be too overwhelmed.” The struggles of the past few games do not seem to slow the enthusiasm of the young players either. “That is how baseball is, it’s a sport where the best players fail seven out of ten times, so you can never get too high or too low,” Gill said. “We haven’t been playing our best but this is a new series and we can make good things happen.” The Pilots begin conference play hosting Pepperdine tomorrow at 3 p.m. on Joe Etzel Field.
20 April 7, 2011
SPORTS THE BEACON
INSIDE:
P. 19: Baseball Struggles P. 18: UP Track Roundup www.upbeacon.net
The greatest UP Athletes Commentary by Bruce Garlinghouse | THE BEACON
2. Kasey Keller On the south side of Merlo Field are pictures of Portland’s soccer immortals. And right next to my number one, Christine Sinclair, resides my close second, Kasey Keller. Keller, who is arguably the best goalie the U.S. has ever produced, came to the University of Portland in 1988 and like Sinclair, immediately made an impact, helping the Pilots to a Final Four appearance in his first year. “He was focused on getting the job done,” current Head Coach Bill Irwin said. “He listened and was very coachable.” While Keller was at Portland, Irwin served as an assistant coach under Clive Charles and worked mainly with the goalies. His senior season, Keller was selected as a first team All-American and was awarded the Adidas Goalie of the Year after being selected for the U.S. World Cup team in 1990. “He came back from playing on the international team and he wasn’t happy about what had happened so we spent the entire day working on his skills,” Irwin
said. “After everything that had happened he wasn’t beaten and wanted to continue to work.” What is most impressive about Keller is his professional career and international careers. Keller was the first UP alumnus to penetrate the European soccer scene. He has been a member of two English Premiere League teams, Millwall and Fulham, as well as teams in top-level leagues in Spain and Germany including the Segunda Division and Bundesliga. While on Borussia Mönchengladbach, he became the second American to captain a top-level German league team. He was a part of the 1990 and 1998 World Cup teams and was selected as the U.S. Soccer Athlete of the Year three times in 1997, 1998 and 2005. After 18 years playing professionally Keller has still got it. He currently ends the goal for the Seattle Sounders and told the New York Times he has turned down several offers from European clubs so his family can remain in Seattle.
Before Sinclair graced the pitch at UP, Milbrett paved the way to soccer success on The Bluff. She was a three-time AllAmerican who is near the top of every scoring category in Pilot history, ranking second in points and goals, and first in points and goals per game. In her first year at Portland she earned Soccer America’s Freshman of the Year Award and in 1994 helped the Pilots get to the Final Four. She was a three-time finalist for the Hermann Trophy and was selected
as a member of Soccer America’s College Team of the Decade for the 1990s. In 2001, she became a founding member of the New York Power in the Women’s Soccer Association and was the league’s MVP and Offensive Player of the Year. But Milbrett’s most influential impact on U.S. soccer came on the sports world’s two biggest stages. After playing on a thirdplace 1996 World Cup team, Milbrett played a vital role on the
1996 Olympic Team, earning the U.S. a gold medal after netting the game-winning goal against China in the final game. She returned to the World Cup team in 1999 and led the team in goals as they went on to win it that year. A year later, she helped the U.S. earn silver at the Sydney Olympics. Milbrett currently ranks in the top five in the U.S. national team’s history in three scoring categories.
Steven “Steve” Cherundolo rounds out my top five for the success he has achieved in Europe. Cherundolo attended UP for only two years, earning Freshman of the Year honors, before being picked up by Hannover 96 of Germany’s top-level league, Bundesliga. “Steve was an exceptional player and still is. He is so popular in Germany they call him the Mayor of Hannover,” Director of
Soccer Bill Irwin said. Cherundolo currently captains Hannover and has remained with the team since 1999. In his first year, he received substantial playing time before suffering a serious knee injury, one of may that would plague what could have been an historic career. His success on Hannover granted him a spot on the U.S. National Team, but injury sidelined him again and prevented him from competing in the 2002
World Cup. He played limited minutes in several other international tournaments and friendlies because of injuries, but was still selected to the 2010 World Cup in South Africa. As captain at Hannover he has helped the team move from the second level to the top level in the Bundesliga, which is considered one of the top soccer leagues in the world.
1. Christine Sinclair If women’s soccer is to the University of Portland what football is to Ohio State, then our Archie Griffin is Christine Sinclair. Women’s Soccer Head Coach Garret Smith said he couldn’t describe Sinclair because no words would do her justice. But if Charlie Sheen had the chance, he would most certainly describe her as a “Winner!” I agree with Mr. Sheen, which is why “Sinc” has grabbed the number one spot. As a freshman, the Canadian native led all freshmen with 23 goals and eight assists, scoring the game-winning goal in the first of two National Titles. Sinclair left Portland in similar fashion, scoring two more in the 2005 National Championship game as the Pilots went on to beat UCLA 4-0.
“She came in a winner and left a winner,” Smith said. She was a prolific goal scorer who had an uncanny ability to find the back of the net. Over the course of her career on The Bluff, Sinclair scored 110 goals, was a four-time All-American, won two Hermann Trophies (most prestigious Player of the Year award in college soccer) back-to-back, was named WCC Player of the Year three times and was the epitome of a student-athlete, graduating with a 3.75 GPA in life sciences and named Academic All-American of the Year by ESPN The Magazine. In Canada, she is a sports icon. At the age of 17 she already led the Canadian National Team in goals with 116 goals and won Player of the Year five times in a row from 2005 to 2010. In 2002 while a sophomore at UP, she was
3. Erik Spoelstra Many were affected when Lebron James decided to take his talents to South Beach, including the University of Portland. Behind the “Big Three” is a UP alum and now Miami Heat Head Coach. Spoelstra started at guard all four years for the Pilots, averaging 9.2 points, 4.4 assists and 2.2 rebounds a game over his career. He was selected WCC Freshman of the Year and is also a member of the Pilots’ 1,000 points club. After graduating, Spoelstra went to Germany as a player and coach on the TuS Herten, a German professional basketball team, before being hired as an as-
sistant coach for the Heat in 1995. He would go on to be a part of the 2005-2006 World Championship team. He quickly worked his way up through the Heat organization and was selected to be Pat Riley’s successor in 2008. Despite getting off to a slow start, leaving many questioning Spoelstra’s coaching abilities, the Heat are now 54-23 and are pushing for the number one spot in the east, all under the direction of Spoelstra. He has proven to be an effective coach who has been able to demand respect and faith from a star-studded group that many felt would walk all over him.
selected by the Globe Mail as one of the top 25 most influential Canadian Athletes, a list that included hockey greats Wayne Gretzky and Mario Lemieux. “We used to threaten to steal her stuff and sell it on eBay if she was mean or didn’t clean,” former teammate and current UP Women’s Soccer Assistant Coach Lisa Sari said. Sinclair redshirted her junior season in order to make her first World Cup appearance. She scored three goals on soccer’s biggest stage and helped Canada finish a respectable fourth place. She returned to the World Cup and netted three more in that tournament in only three games. “I am so proud watching her play,” Sari said. “She represents Portland so well, defines it really.”
4.
Tiffeny Milbrett
5.
Steven Cherundolo