Vol. 115, Issue 17 February 20, 2014
The BEacon
Every Thursday
The Student Voice of the University of Portland Since 1935
Class just got a little bit more awkward...
Say farewell to men’s basketball seniors
From The Bluff to the Business Journal
Living, p. 8-9
Sports, pg. 14-15
News, p. 2-3
Students object to professor’s tenure denial
Kristen Garcia | THE BEACON
A student signs the petition a group of upperclassmen biology students wrote asking administrators to reconsider the decision to deny Professor Jeffrey Brown tenure, while senior Katie Bates, one of the students who helped write the letter, oversees the table. Maggie Smet Staff Writer smet14@up.edu Students have rallied around a biology professor recently denied tenure, addressing a letter to administrators – which garnered 280 signatures from fellow students and alumni – extolling Jeffrey Brown’s commitment to
Kathryn Walters Copy Editor walters14@up.edu
students and the UP community. The student group delivered the letter to University President Fr. Bill Beauchamp, Provost Thomas Greene, and College of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael Andrews on Feb. 14. A group of upperclassmen wrote and edited the letter and spread the word through a Facebook event, and sat at a table in Bauccio Commons to collect
signatures. The letter highlights Brown’s commitment to students and the University, and requests a response from the administration either through email or meeting. The letter states, “While we understand there are strict criteria governing how and when tenure
House, approached ASUP with her and her peers’ concerns about the fate of the International House. “There was a lot of frustration in there and students felt their voice had been cut out from the whole process,” said junior senator Josh Cleary, a sponsor of the resolution. “We wanted to make a formal statement toward the administration noting the students’ concerns and their feelings toward being cut out of the process altogether of determining a program that they’re a part of.” Students in the International House were not informed of this decision until late January, which left many of them unsure of where they would live next year. Although Residence Life offered the International House students two University-owned off campus houses, many of the current International House students decided to independently
apply for housing in Haggerty & Tyson because they preferred to remain on campus. Sophomore senator Temo Ledua, a sponsor of Resolution 14-01 and an international student, feels having an oncampus International House is an important resource for international students to unwind and cope with cultural differences. “At the end of the day, we could come to the house and talk about the differences we see with our culture, and the American culture we see through how people interact,” Ledua said. “And just talk to each other about the differences we encounter and how our culture is compared to other students’ cultures.” Freshman Katherine Miller, a Corrado Hall senator who opposed the resolution, said she voted based on what her constituents in Corrado thought about the situation, but she also
See TENURE DENIAL, page 5
No strike for Portland teachers
UPDATE:
Lydia Laythe Staff Writer laythe16@up.edu After 10 months of contract negotiations, Portland Public Schools officials and union negotiators reached a tentative agreement, preventing what would have been the first strike in the district’s history. Approximately 100 education majors at UP, who are completing their field experience in Portland Public Schools, are breathing a sigh of relief. These UP students would’ve lost valuable field experience hours had a strike occurred. Though the School of Education was prepared to alter requirements for UP students affected by the strike, this agreement prevents extra stress and complications for students and staff in the School of Education, in addition to Portland teachers, students and their parents. Portland Public Schools and union negotiators reached a tentative agreement on Tuesday. This agreement must be approved by all teachers within the union and the school board, who will vote next week, before it officially ends the move to strike. Though details of the new contract have not yet been released, the main points of
debate during the negotiating process were salary, class size and teacher workload. Sophomore Mari Stevens said the tension she once felt between administrators and teachers had shifted when she went to her field experience placement at George Middle School. “The first couple weeks that I (knew about the strike), it was awkward between the administration and the teachers,” Stevens said. “This time it was really awkward between the students and the teachers, because the students don’t really know why their teachers are just leaving them.” Stevens described a classroom interaction where a teacher was assigning homework to her students. When the teacher told her students the homework was due on Thursday, they protested. “The kids were like ‘well, you’re not even going to be here. Why would I do it? You’re leaving. You’re striking. You’re not going to be here,’” Stevens said. In acknowledgement of this tension, UP students placed in Portland Public Schools were instructed by the School of Education not to attend their placements this week. Their See STRIKE, page 4
ASUP defends International House
Last Monday, ASUP senate passed its first resolution of the semester – Resolution 14-01 – which asks the administration to keep the International House’s current place on campus in Haggerty & Tyson residence halls. The resolution is a response to the Office of Residence Life’s new approach to theme housing at UP. The current Faith and Leadership and International Houses are being reorganized into new faith and formation ambassador and global ambassador leadership positions within each residence hall starting next year, meaning that the current format of theme housing in Haggerty & Tyson will be discontinued. ASUP took up this issue after junior Kim Turner, a current resident of the International
Photo Courtesy of Kim Turner and Daphne Pai
(Top from left to right) Seniors Laura Kehoe, Naomi Estrada, Amy Peng, juniors Kim Turner, Jordyn Chew, seniors Rachel Fong, Daphne Pai, (bottom from left to right) junior Sunny Lee, seniors Kevin Su, James Farr, Rylan Suehisa and sophomore Jean Francois Seide are all members of the International House. thinks that Residence Life’s new hall ambassador approach is a good way to promote diversity on campus. “I think a bigger goal should be increasing diversity
throughout the entire campus and also getting those leadership positions back into the dorms,” Miller said. See RESOLUTION, page 4
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NEWS
February 20, 2014
On On Campus Campus PILOT EXPRESS To sign up for a ride to the airport or train station, go to Student Activities in St. Mary’s. Sign ups will be available from Feb. 18 to end of day March 8. ASUP EXECUTIVE BOARD APPLICATIONS All positions are open: President, Vice President, Secretary, Treasurer, and CPB Director. For the application, contact Secretary Alysse Thomas at thomasa15@up.edu. Applications are due Friday, Feb. 28 by 5 p.m. PILOTS AFTER DARK Friday, Feb. 21 10-11:30 p.m. Eric E, Eclectic Acoustic Groove 11:30 p.m. – 1 a.m. Karaoke Night and Photo Booth Saturday, Feb. 22 11:30 p.m. – 1 a.m. Dance Party with DJ Fixie
UP alums make Forty under 40 Emily Neelon Staff Writer neelon17@up.edu One of the biggest fears of a college student is life after graduation. Even with a well-deserved diploma in hand, the “real world” often seems like a dark abyss of job hunting, soul-searching and rameneating. Nevertheless, the three alumni who have just been announced as part of Portland Business Journal’s “Forty Under 40,” a list of 40 up-and-coming professionals in the Portland area under the age of 40, are a reminder that success is in reach.
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It was very helpful having small classes in the engineering school, having great access to the professors and good friendships with other students. I felt like I got a really good engineering education.
CPB PRESENTS “MANDELA: LONG WALK TO FREEDOM” Friday and Saturday, Feb. 21 and 22, at 9 p.m. in Buckley Center Auditorium. SWE ENGINEERING AND SCIENCE CAREER FAIR Friday, Feb. 21, 1- 4 p.m. in Shiley Hall. Recruiters from over 30 organizations will be sharing information about summer jobs, internships, and full-time opportunities. SCHEHERAZADE Saturday, Feb. 22, 7:30 p.m. in Buckley Center Auditorium. Presented by the University of Portland Orchestra. CRAIG KARGES Saturday, Feb. 22, 9 p.m. in Chiles Center. Seen on the “Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, Larry King Live, CNBC and more. SHOWDOWN Saturday, Feb. 22, 10 p.m. in Bauccio Commons. Playing country music, southern rock, and blues. Country western photo booth and cash bar will be available. CONGRESS TO CAMPUS Monday, Feb. 24, 7 p.m. in Bauccio Commons. Hear former Congressmen Gil Gutknecht (R-Minnesota) and Martin Lancaster (D-North Carolina) speak on the role that Congress plays in the American political system.
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.
Photo Courtesy of Dan Brown
Dan Brown
A 1998 graduate of UP, Dan Brown is a vice president of Portland-based Cascade Energy, a company helps industrial companies become energy efficient. While at UP, Brown was a dedicated student, studying to become a mechanical engineer. “When you are an engineering student, there’s a lot of work to do,” Brown said. “Sometimes I would be kind of bummed sitting in my room (studying) and looking out the window watching people playing Frisbee, wishing I could be out there with them.” Despite the rigor of his course load, Brown managed to get involved in other activities on campus including playing in a band, volunteering and gaining membership in various engineering societies. One of the highlights of his college career was his time spent abroad in Spain. “It was a great international experience,” Brown said. Looking back on his five years at UP, Brown appreciates the tight-knit community. “I like the fact that I knew a lot of people, Brown said. The size of UP’s classes also played a positive role in Brown’s
learning experience. “It was very helpful having small classes in the engineering school, having great access to the professors, and good friendships with other students,” Brown said. “I felt like I got a really good engineering education.” After graduation, Brown began working at Cascade Energy. As one of the five partners of Cascade, Brown runs a software program involved in energy management. He is responsible for customer engagement – which entails finding customers and garnering interest in the company’s product – and leading software development. Brown applied to work for Cascade in 1998 through the UP Career Services website. After receiving an offer, he went with his gut and chose to work at the small company over a larger architecture company. When Brown started his job, he was the company’s first full-time employee. Now with a place on the “Forty Under 40,” his advice to students is to take a chance. “I think it’s important to take a leap (of faith) sometimes,” he said.
www.upbeacon.com 3
NEWS As the owner of Nossa Familia Coffee, 2001 graduate Augusto Carneiro wears many hats. He grew up in Brazil and hoped to play tennis at a university in the U.S. After writing to 120 schools about his aspirations, Carneiro ended up at UP when he was granted academic and tennis scholarships. He played for the men’s tennis team his first two years while working towards a degree in mechanical engineering, but became overwhelmed with the many responsibilities he held. “I realized I didn’t have a life,” Carneiro said. After leaving the team, he began volunteering, became a peer educator and was an RA for both Shipstad and Christie Halls. “One time I confiscated beer from an underage student and I didn’t have the heart to throw it out,” Carneiro said. “One day it just disappeared. I’m glad it got used and wasn’t wasted.” Following graduation, Carneiro worked for an engineering consulting company in both Portland and England. When he returned to the States in 2004, he had lost his love of engineering, and wanted to pursue a career in another field. After a trip to his family’s coffee farm in Brazil, Carneiro decided to begin his own coffee business with fellow UP graduate Jason Lesh, who remained his business partner until 2010.
“We started really slow,” said Carneiro. “We each put in $400 to start a bank account and had a pretty good growth curve the first four years”. Since starting Nossa Familia Coffee, Carneiro has been successful in building a roaster and espresso bar, with a retail location in the Pearl District of Portland. He is responsible for setting the vision and strategy for the company, dealing with the company culture and sales. “My role is to make friends,” he said. Carneiro’s biggest goal within his business is to connect farmers to consumers. The bulk of the company’s coffee comes from Carneiro’s family’s farm. They’ve established accounts across the country, from “mom and pop coffee shops” to corporations. “By growing and selling more coffee that we’re buying and selling (for a fair price), we are making (farmers’) lives better,” Carneiro said. Looking back on his time at UP, Carneiro appreciates the opportunities he was given. “College (was) a huge turning point in (my life)” Carneiro said. “You’re leaving home and are meeting new people. You have the opportunity to learn and to take on leadership roles. All of these things opened (my) mind.”
Augusto Carneiro
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Photo Courtesy of Augusto Carneiro
College (was) a huge turning point in (my life). You’re leaving home and are meeting new people. You have the opportunity to learn and to take on leadership roles. All of these things opened (my) mind.
Thomas Brenneke
Photo Courtesy of Thomas Brenneke
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I walked into (the Pilot House) early in the morning and on the television I saw the planes crashing into the World Trade Center. The entire school basically called classes off for the day, and it was interesting because the people that didn’t really talk to each other or know each other came together and were hugging and comforting each other. It was a really moving experience. It brought together the community even more.
Thomas Brenneke, founder and president of Network Redux, a webhosting company based out of Portland, credits his success to the two years he spent at UP. Although Brenneke never graduated or attained a degree, he believes his time at the University was critical in preparing him for the essentials of running a business. “I got the best of the four years in the first two,” Brenneke said. “It prepared me for all the things I need to do in my business: interfacing with people and communicating with clients about our services. All of the courses, despite being entrylevel, are very powerful in building a person of character and getting them ready for society.” “He was a fine student,” said Fr. Art Wheeler, Brenneke’s American history professor during his time on The Bluff. Brenneke first dipped his toes into the business world as an undergraduate student at UP. In pursuit of a business economics degree and a minor in computer science, he started up his first business, Network Eleven, a software programming company. “It was a growing period of time in web hosting,” Brenneke said. “We grew to 1,000 clients in about two years. I left (UP) because business was going so well.” When Brenneke and his business partner sold Network Eleven in 2004, Brenneke used the money from the sale to fund
his current company, Network Redux, which provides web hosting for companies’ and nonprofits’ websites. “Instead of a company buying a server, they would come to company like ours that already has the equipment,” Brenneke said. A self-proclaimed introvert during his time at UP, Brenneke remembers waking up to his roommate playing music at 5:30 a.m. in their Shipstad Hall dorm room and failing out of his Business 101 course because of his lack of attendance. But the most defining moment in Brenneke’s college career were the events of September 11, 2001. “I walked into (the Pilot House) early in the morning and on the television I saw the planes crashing into the World Trade Center,” Brenneke said. “The entire school basically called classes off for the day, and it was interesting because the people that didn’t really talk to each other or know each other came together and were hugging and comforting each other. It was a really moving experience. It brought together the community even more.” Despite all his success beyond The Bluff, Brenneke is humbled by his place in the “Forty Under 40” list. “There were 370 people in the pool and somehow I got picked,” Brenneke said. “I found out on my birthday and it was a good surprise.”
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NEWS
February 20, 2014
The class of 2014 prepares to commence
Photo Courtesy of UP Marketing
Last year’s Commencement ceremony, in the Chiles Center, was packed. Students were given five tickets each last year, while this year they are only receiving four. Taylor Tobin Staff Writer tobin16@up.edu
A Crowded Affair
Since the beginning of January, the Class of 2014 Facebook page has unsurprisingly been flooded with pleas for extra graduation tickets – many willing to pay – as well as hawkers selling their extra tickets and even seniors just fed up with the feeding frenzy. “I will not even let my family come and give all of my tickets away if you guys stop posting about it,” Katie Husk posted on Jan. 8. Commencement for the class of 2014 is on May 4, and it’s time for soon-to-be graduates to decide which family and friends will see them graduate. This year, seniors will each be allotted four tickets for the ceremony in the Chiles Center – one fewer than last year. “I’m frustrated because (five) tickets was a limited amount, four is very limited,” senior Stephanie Petrie said. “I’m confused about
why the number changed.” Senior Matt Gervais has a small family, but he understands the difficulty for those with large families. “I can see how some people would be screwed over. I know people who have like six siblings,” Gervais said. Some students think changing the location of the ceremony is the solution. “I can completely see the viewpoint of people who have big families. I personally think they should move (the location) just because of that,” senior Mitchell Baines said. “Being a Catholic university, I feel like you have to anticipate families to be at least five people.” Special Events Director Bill Reed said the decision has been made year after year to keep Commencement on campus, even though students are usually upset about the amount of tickets they’re given. “The University has always decided to stay on campus,”
Reed said. “You started here, you should end here.” When Reed first started working at UP, there were no tickets and no limit on the amount of guests a graduate could invite. As class sizes increased, however, overcrowding became a problem. “We had people roaming around the halls, complaining they had nowhere to sit down. They were upset, but they got in the building,” Reed said. “So we said, ‘Let’s go to tickets.’” Gervais does not see a problem with moving the Commencement location in future years, but he is not too worried for this year. “I’m not tied to the nostalgia of being in the Chiles Center. Like it’s cool, but it’s not that cool,” said Gervais. “I would love to have some of my friends go, but I know I only have four tickets, so it’s just family going to be there.” Baines thinks that it is a frustrating issue for his peers, but he knows that making a fuss about the situation will not make
it better. “The way people are going about it is like ‘I need these,’” said Baines. “But, you can’t demand anything. It’s not up to you.”
The Event
NBC Chief Environmental Affairs Correspondent Anne Thompson is this year’s Commencement speaker. She has reported on pollution, alternative energy, global climate change and many other related topics, traveling around the world. She has also served as the chief financial correspondent and a national news reporter for NBC. The University also awards several people with honorary doctorates. The speaker and honorary doctorates for Commencement are decided by a group of UP administrators including Provost Thomas Green, President Fr. Bill Beauchamp and Fr. Mark Poorman. “Every year they try to get a very diverse group and always try to get between seven and eight (honorary doctorate recipients).
They look for those who have an affinity toward Catholic education, towards private Catholic education,” Reed said. “They don’t always have to be Catholic, but it’s nice if they are.” The Archbishop of Portland, Most Reverend Alexander Sample, is one of the honorary doctorates this year. According to Reed, the University honors Portland’s current archbishop at a Commencement ceremony at least once during his tenure.
NOTES FOR SENIORS
1. Graduating seniors should always read emails from the Events office or the Provost’s office regarding commencement. 2. Those with ADA needs should go directly to the Events office. They reserved seats for those with ADA needs. 3. March 21 is the deadline to send in order forms for free cap and gown rental.
STRIKE: many tensions resolved RESOLUTION: ASUP to present to Beauchamp Monday Continued from page 1 absence will give the teachers and students some privacy and time to process the tension and issues around the strike. Beyond the tension Stevens witnessed externally in the classroom, she also recognized an internal tension among several teachers she interacted with. Many teachers were wearing ribbons and pins last week that
read, “I don’t want to, but I will if I have to.” Many of these tensions are resolved with the new contract agreement, which is why it is such a relief to Portland Public Schools officials, teachers, students, parents and UP students completing their field experience.
Continued from page 1 The close timing of this resolution in relation to Haggerty & Tyson’s housing selection yesterday also prevented sophomore senator Mariah Wildgen from supporting the resolution. She said while she sympathizes with the International House students and agrees with other senators that they were not given enough warning in the housing process, she doesn’t want the International
House to displace other students who want to live in Haggerty & Tyson. “It seemed really rushed with the housing process,” Wildgen said. “And that’s also a reason why I was against that, because with everyone signing up for housing now, those (other) students would be displaced for something they didn’t have control over too.” Turner appreciates ASUP’s effort to stand up for the
International House, but is unsure of what the outcome will be. “For now, I’m glad it passed and that it shows that people care about the International House and that it’s important to students,” Turner said. Next Monday, ASUP President Quin Chadwick will present Resolution 14-01 to University President Fr. Bill Beauchamp, who will either approve or deny it.
The UP Public Safety Report 2
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1. Feb 14, 10:28 p.m. - Officers responded to a party complaint at the 6800 block of N. Haven. The party was shut down and the residents were cited for provided a place for minors to drink alcohol. Two citations for MIP were issued. 2. Feb. 14, 11:54 p.m. - Officers responded to a complaint of a fight at a party at the 5000 block of N. Syracuse. Portland Police also responded. Two students were arrested by Portland Police for assault.
For a complete interactive public safety report visit www.upbeacon.com and click UP Crime & Fire Log under the News tab.
NEWS
www.upbeacon.com
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Brian Simmons to leave UP for alma mater
Emily Neelon Staff Writer neelon17@up.edu
Upon walking into the classroom on the first day of the semester, students in Brian Simmons’ communication studies classes are invited to kick back, relax and settle into the living room, but come the end of the semester, this living room will close. Simmons, a well-loved professor, will be leaving UP at the end of the school year to join the communication studies department at his alma mater, Oklahoma Christian University. Simmons has been a part of UP’s community for the past five years, following the closure of Cascade College where he taught for 15 years. Students and colleagues say he will be well missed, but well wished. “I remember getting there the first day of class and I knew I had picked the right major because he was so enthusiastic about what he was doing,” freshman Danny McGarry said. After taking three of Simmons’ classes, McGarry looks at professors at UP in a new
light. “Him wanting to teach us so much had a huge impact on my view of professors in general,” McGarry said. Simmons’ passion for what he teaches shines through his lectures, which cover everything from how to discern what flirting is to the value of understanding other cultures’ ways of interacting. “As a teacher, Brian is very competent, very engaging, very passionate and truly believes that what we are learning has value for our lives,” sophomore Nathan Seppi said. “He’s just a fun guy to learn from.” Communication studies Department Chair Jeff KerssenGriep has enjoyed working with Simmons during his time at UP. “We’ve really benefitted from him being here,” Kerssen-Griep said. “Both as a person and a teacher he’s really admirable (and) someone to look up to.” Simmons is known best for creating a “living room environment” where students are invited to relax, freely share their thoughts, ask questions and address Simmons as a peer
instead of an authoritative figure. Simmons has enjoyed bonding with all of his students. “Three years ago I was telling my class how much I love Taco Bell,” Simmons said. “I walked into class one day with about 50 chalupas and fed all of my students.” The choice to leave UP has been a difficult one for Simmons, who along with teaching intro to communication, interpersonal communication, communication law and public speaking courses, is an adviser to the speech and debate team. Under his coaching, the team is ranked seventh in its division. “I love it here,” Simmons said. “I love the classes I teach. I love the college students I work with. Honestly I feel guilty, like I’m abandoning my students, like I’m letting them down.” Simmons’ decision to take a teaching job in Oklahoma came down to the job security it would provide for him and his family. “They approached me about teaching for them,” Simmons said. “They have actually approached me essentially every year since I’ve been working
Kristen Garcia | THE BEACON
here, and I kept telling them no. But they made an offer that I couldn’t refuse that gives me more job security in the long term than I have at University of Portland.” Simmons will begin instructing at Oklahoma in the fall as a professor, teaching lower and upper division communication classes at the university, as well as working with their honors students. Looking back at his time
spent at UP, Simmons will miss the sense of community and place the most. “My students and the people I work with have accepted me, liked me, and shared their lives with me,” Simmons said. “I have to start all over again from scratch. I know how things work and where things stand. When I came here I didn’t know anyone on this campus. So for five years I’ve created a sense of place. And (when I leave), it’ll evaporate.”
TENURE DENIAL: students and alumni show support for professor Continued from page 1 is granted, we feel compelled to express our deep concern that losing Brown as a member of the faculty comes at a significant cost to the UP community.” Besides addressing the administration, students wanted Brown to know how many students appreciate him. “I just want Dr. Brown to feel supported and know that he’s made a huge impact on campus, regardless of what happens,” senior Rachel Van Nes said. Brown appreciates the efforts of all the students who organized and signed the letter. “I was very disappointed and frustrated to not be awarded tenure. However, it has been very fantastic to have the support of my students and colleagues,” Brown said. The administration cannot comment on personnel matters, and the details of individual tenure proceedings are not public. “We’re trying to wait to form a reasonable response to these students,” Greene said. For 2012 graduate Brieanna Brown, Brown’s situation was especially frustrating in light of her experience as his student, advisee and research assistant. While applying for the Goldwater Scholarship as a junior, Brown helped her with the intensive application. “I can’t even tell you how much time it took, I swear it must’ve been 10-15 hours a week for six-eight weeks with Dr. Brown in his office, email and over the phone,” Brieanna said. “The fact that he was
willing to give me so much time for a scholarship application, that’s mind-blowing.” Seniors Katie Bates and Tai White-Toney, who helped craft the petition and collect signatures, describe Brown as a witty, dedicated professor with a knack for explaining complicated concepts in biology.
“I was very disappointed and frustrated to not be awarded tenure. However, it has been very fantastic to have the support of my students and colleagues.” Jeffrey Brown assistant biology professor “An 8:10 class on cell signaling would normally be terrible, but he’ll just be talking and a picture of a cat comes up and he’ll talk about what he saw on his run that morning, and it will totally relate back, which is what’s crazy about it,” White-Toney said. “They’re not just random stories. It’s a story about a cat that somehow explains an obscure thing.” Van Nes highlighted Brown’s involvement in helping her with her Fulbright application, his patience with students and his support of UP’s cross country team. “He’s so consistently there. Usually you just have your teammates who aren’t racing there. It’s always nice to see
faculty there,” Van Nes said. “And he follows it in the newspaper too. He’s always like ‘Oh how did that race go?’” After giving students support for years, Brown is now receiving extensive support from his students. “It was very uplifting to see that students are very supportive and appreciate the interaction we have,” Brown said. He will continue to teach at UP until his contract is up in another 15 months.
Tenure: No Easy Road
For academics, achieving tenure is the high point of their careers and comes with the assurance of a position until they retire. Once the University grants a professor tenure, it is difficult for them to be terminated. Tenure assures academic freedom, as well as financial security. “One of the most important things to know is it’s a historic process and it’s been going on for a long time,” Greene said. “And as it continues, I would suggest that, you know, what is exactly involved in the process is clearer and clearer and it varies from institution to institution too.” Once professors at UP are hired on a tenure track, the year of their tenure review is set. They meet periodically before the year of their tenure review with their department head to determine their progress in the areas of teaching, scholarship and service. To receive tenure, a professor must achieve the requirements set out by the University and the professor’s specific department in these categories. On the year of tenure review, candidates submit files
of evidence, including their academic vita, similar to a resume, self, student and dean evaluations, course syllabi and other documents to the Committee on Rank and Tenure. The Committee on Rank and Tenure reviews the materials and makes a recommendation to the provost. The provost also reviews the material and presents his recommendation to the president. The president ultimately has final say on tenure, and sends a letter regarding tenure on Jan. 31. “Many eyes look at this decision, and they do it with great deliberation and great concern that the decision is well made,” Greene said. “That it’s something that everyone takes pretty seriously. Very seriously.” The candidate for tenure may appeal the tenure decision if the Committee on Rank and Tenure recommends the candidate for tenure and the president denies it. If four members of a review committee vote in favor of the dissent, the president presents it to the Board of Regents Academic Affairs Committee for a final decision. Brown did not indicate if he was going to appeal.
Biology Professor Jeffrey Brown -Assistant professor of biology at UP since 2008. -Teaches courses in cell biology and genetics, cellular and molecular biology and cancer biology. -Ph.D. from University of Washington, Seattle. -B.A. from Grinnell College. -Published articles on “Cancer Research,” “Science,” and “Nature.” -Involved in UP Honors. -Program as a mentor and biology department liaison, helping students with Fulbright applications. -Member of Presidential Committee on Sustainability. -Participated in the biology club chili cookoff.
Tenure Quick Facts -Once a professor has tenure, it’s difficult to fire them, ensuring academic freedom and financial security. -The Committee for Rank and Tenure, the provost and the president review the candidate. -Evaluated on the tenets of teaching, scholarship and service. -The materials reviewed for tenure include: student evaluations from the past three years, self evaluations, letters from deans and colleagues, an academic vita (a comprehensive resume) and all published academic work.
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LIVING
February 20, 2014
Pilots stop to smell the roses
Senior gifts 50 roses to random students and faculty in honor of Valentine’s Day Rebekah Markillie Staff Writer markilli17@up.edu When communication studies professor Elayne Shapiro finished teaching Thursday of last week, she was not expecting to be confronted by a young man in a suit brandishing roses and a box of chocolates. “I thought it was very cute and sweet to see them on their way (over),” she said. Shapiro knew the boys were interested in marketing, so she thought it might be for a project. “I didn’t know they were practicing ‘random acts of kindness’ at the time, so I probably felt happier about the Valentine’s gesture than if I had known it was random,” Shapiro said. “But it was a lovely way to end a day of teaching.” On the day before Valentine’s Day, senior Rohan Innis, with a camera crew of seniors, An Nguyen and Terran Benedict, handed out 50 roses to random girls in the spirit of the holiday. “Originally I wanted to do 100 roses, but that was a little much,” Innis said. “(Three) weeks ago I contacted a flower shop but because it was Valentine’s Day, ros-
es were three bucks so I just went to Fred’s (Fred Meyer’s) - two of them actually.” In total, Innis spent $130. Librarian Stephanie Michel was sitting at the research desk when she received a flower. “I’d seen the gentleman in the Library giving roses to other women and I was thinking ‘what’s going on?’ ‘what’s he doing?’ ‘why does he have these roses?’ and next thing I knew he came up to me and offered me a rose,” she said. “I wish I could remember exactly what he said, I was just so shocked and caught off guard that I don’t remember.” Last year Innis gave out flowers on a whim. “The reactions I got were so good,” he said. “I had to do it again.” So this year he decided to go bigger and collaborate a video with some friends. In the initial stages of their planning, Innis was going to leave the roses on girl’s backpacks but Nguyen’s girlfriend warned them it might come off as weird. “It was (a creepy idea)!” said Nguyen. “It definitely needed a woman’s perspective.” There was also hesitation about what day they were going
to do the stunt and how they were going to go about filming. “We weren’t sure what day to do it,” Innis said. “Did we want the video up on Valentine’s Day?” They decided that the day before would be doable so the video could be posted on Valentine’s Day. “He (Innis) was going to do it regardless if we filmed it or not,” Benedict said. “I think it worked out the day before.” “And this guy was up all night editing,” Innis laughed, pointing at Nguyen. When choosing girls to give flowers to, Innis tried to pick out girls who looked like they needed a smile. But as he handed out roses, they got some unexpected responses. “There were people who thought he was selling the flowers,” Benedict said. “People would look at me like ‘what’s the catch?’” Innis said. “I think that says something about the state of mind people are in.” Innis confessed he might do something next year, maybe downtown. “Valentine’s Day 2015!” he said.
Spencer Young | THE BEACON
Senior Rohan Innis delivered 50 roses to students and faculty on Feb. 13. His friends, seniors An Nguyen and Terran Benedict, filmed the project (right). The video has over 3,000 views on YouTube. View video: http://upbeacon.com/ roses
‘Pilots Experience’ integrates University Park businesses with UP community Card is free for students and gives discounts to local businesses W.C. Lawson Staff Writer lawson14@up.edu The student essentials of lattes and pizza are a tad cheaper for UP students since the launch of the “Pilot Experience” card. The card is free for all active UP students that will grant them more than a handful of deals around the University Park neighborhood, sponsored by the University of Portland Alumni Association. The card is $10 for UP alumni, faculty and staff. Fifty percent of the proceeds goes to the Alumni
Association. “It is not as well known as it should be,” ASUP President Quin Chadwick said. “Every student should have one.” The card was created by University Park Business District President Darell Grenz and Treasurer Curtis Merrill this past August. During UP’s President’s Dinner, Grenz and Merrill heard some guests were reminiscing college days going out to their favorite local dives. Grenz and Merrill’s idea that alumni should have a way to “re-experience” their time at UP, while simulta-
Photo illustration by David DiLoreto| THE BEACON
Pilots Experience cards give discounts at neighborhood businesses.
neously benefiting neighborhood businesses, inspired the Pilots Experience card. From there Grenz and Merrill started the grassroots campaign for their new idea, going doorto-door to businesses around the neighborhood to recruit them to the program. “It became a transcendent idea,” Merrill said. “Many businesses have gotten a win-win situation out of it so far.” Even though most of the businesses participating in the program are in the University Park Neighborhood, the deals extend all the way from Kenton St. to St. John’s neighborhood. Discount specials tend to be in the range of 10-20 percent off for many of the businesses. Grenz and Merrill have been distributing these cards at different UP community events throughout the year, including a few women’s home soccer matches as well as the student activities fair. “One of the challenges has been distribution,” said Grenz. “In the beginning we had thousands of cards that we didn’t know how to get in the students’ hands.”
CPB Assistant Program Director junior Sarah Berger has been working with Grenz and Merrill to plan an event where they can showcase their mark in the community. On March 29, the Uni-
“One of the challenges has been distribution. In the beginning we had thousands of cards that we didn’t know how to get in the students’ hands.”
Darell Grenz University Park Business District President
versity Park Business District will be sponsoring the “Western Roundup” on campus where students will be able to try a ride on a mechanical bull. Some of the local businesses, such as one of St. John’s coffee shops, Anna Bannanas, will host booths at the event serving food and beverages. There, Grenz and Merrill will distribute the Pilot Experience cards to students. “The cards are free. Some schools sell these kinds of things
for profit,” Berger said. “As students, we want to be good neighbors to the businesses that want to be good neighbors with us.” Senior Joey Hoffman received the card last fall and has enjoyed it throughout the year. “I didn’t think it was real at first because no one I talked to had ever seen one of these,” Hoffman said. “Once I received a discount, I knew it was legitimate and have been using it ever since.” Next year, Grenz and Merrill plan to take the project a step further by creating interactive Pilot Experience 2.0, which will allow them to track revenue trends from the businesses around the area to see where students are frequently going around the neighborhood. If students scan the QR barcode on the back of the current Pilot Experience card, a list of all of the businesses and their specials will be available to view. To receive one of these cards students, alumni, faculty and staff can go to the Alumni Relations house on campus. “The Pilot Experience card could be a great topping to the evolution of the business district in our neighborhood,” Grenz said.
8
LIVING
February 20, 2014
That awkward m
Students share embarrassing sto
Olivia Alsept-Ellis Staff Writer alseptel14@up.edu We’ve all been there once - or twice (or, maybe every day of our
awkward little lives). Suddenly, all the eyes in the classroom are bearing down on your slowly reddening face. Perhaps you left your ringtone on “loud” during a test. Maybe you called the professor “Mom”
Bluff-diver incognito Kelly McFarlane, senior electrical engineering major “So we were in class calculating an example, and I think it was the velocity, of an arbitrary girl falling off a cliff. Which was not a coincidence,” senior Kelly McFarlane said.
“In class whenever people talk about falling off cliffs, they always look at me. I’m like, ‘it was one time!’”
Kelly McFarlane senior
The coincidence she spoke of is the legend of “The Bluff Diver,” the story of a freshman who lost balance and tumbled over the steep cliff’s edge. Most know the story and, if not, are hastily told by upperclassmen. At this time, the Bluff Diver had only just fallen on the cliff two weeks prior, and the story spread around campus faster than a Mehling fire alarm detects a puff of smoke.
But for McFarlane, that story is her own. “Not many people in class knew it was me. But some did and they were laughing. The T.A. had no idea,” McFarlane said. McFarlane said she did not want to reveal her secret identity but could not leave class without a viable excuse. Instead, she pushed through the calculations with a forced smile. In the calculations, each student estimated the weight of the girl falling off a cliff. “We had to make an arbitrary weight, so of course I made myself a bit thinner,” McFarlane said. “And then we had to make an angle and trajectory.” McFarlane burst into laughter during this part of the story. She said that she’s regularly endured references to her secret identity as The Bluff Diver, even though it was one blip of imbalance. “In class whenever people talk about falling off cliffs, they always look at me. I’m like, ‘it was one time!’”
Who NOSE how far Jonathan Cruz, senior education and English major “This happened a couple of weeks ago in my political social justice class,” senior Jon Cruz said. “We were watching a documentary … about children living in poverty in America.”
The lights in the classroom were lowered as Cruz snuggled up with a latte, ready to absorb the social justice documentary. Up until a certain moment, Cruz said he had been engaged with the film. “One of the kids in the movie said that she has to decide be-
tween milk or ce drinking a latte! was a really sad m really privileged. really bad.” Cruz’s mome ination was a cri the film. Howev landslide of even
No use crying over spilled milk Samantha van den Berg, sophomore organization communication major “It was my freshman year, I was in an environmental science class. I had, like, one friend in the class,” sophomore Samantha van den Berg begins. “She would always sit like way in the back and I would sit in front of her.” Classes can be useful method of friend-making in the initial days of college. “It was the week after we became friends, and we were sitting in class and she had this soy milk sitting out.
But she didn’t have a straw for some reason. And she had it right at the edge of her desk,” van den Berg said. “And I had no idea! So I kind of turned to stretch really slowly.” Van den Berg recreated the stretch, bending first aimlessly to the left then wildly to the right. “The second I turned around, I hit the milk and it just poured all over her notebook and into her lap,” van den Berg said. “I turned around and was like, ‘Oh snap!’” She said the next few moments were spent in total chaos while trying to minimize the volume so that the
Entertain Me PDX Auto Show
David DiLoreto | THE BEACON
A Racing Toyota GT 86 at the PDX auto show Feb. 6-9 at the Oregon Convention Center.
I’m a car kid. I love cars. I think they’re gorgeous. And there’s nothing better than being able to stare at a perfectly shaped rear-end without anybody scolding you. So what better opportunity could there have been around here than the Portland International Auto Show? I could go
professor could continue to lecture. “I just started ripping papers out of my notebook and throwing them at her. Saying, ‘Let’s mop it up! Are you okay? I’m so sorry,’” van den Berg said. “She just left and didn’t come back for 10 minutes. Meanwhile, I’m sitting there and feeling so, so bad.” The teacher didn’t address the situation, leaving van den Berg stunned with embarrassment and unable to laugh it off. “I kept thinking, ‘It was chocolate soy milk, it was probably very sticky!’”
with my best friend and stare at rear-ends. My roommate came up to me a week before the show and told me we were going. Naturally, I didn’t hesitate to agree. The rest of the week dragged on with thoughts of cars running through my head. I felt like a little kid dreaming of seeing Santa Claus drop down the chimney. Finally the day of the show came, and I didn’t care that thousands of feet of this wild thing called snow was shutting down the majority of Portland. Apparently neither did the rest of Portland, because
nobody was abo this experience. My roommat to scavenge a ba from our wallet to sprint past the the stairs. We wa childhood dream with all the ca imagine. They sic cars to spor car Meyer Wien to ease myself otherwise I wo embarrassed m over the Ferrari had a heart attac
LIVING
www.upbeacon.com
9
moment when...
ories from the classroom
or just asked the most idiotic question imaginable. Embarrassment in the classroom is a right-of-passage in its own excruciating way. Nearly every student has their own, hilariously embarrassing stories.
However, these stories might make you feel like you got off easy. Because we’ve all been there, but maybe it wasn’t ever this bad...
New diet plans upset more than the classroom
All illustrations by Ann Truong | THE BEACON
a latte will go
ereal. And, I was !” Cruz said. “It moment and I felt . It made me feel
ent of self-examitical message of ver, it created a nts.
“So I spit it back into my cup. I just felt so guilty, so I had to spit it out. And I also kind of spit it all over the girl in front of me,” Cruz said. “It came out of nose and so I couldn’t breathe, which made it worse. So it just went all over her. When she came back from the bathroom, to rinse out her hair
or something, she gave me her notes. And there was just milk all over her notes.” Cruz said he was baffled that he had the ability to project a vanilla latte that far. “How did I do that? How did I get milk all over her?” he said.
Mike Allen, junior environmental policy major For Mike Allen, breakfast is the most important meal of the day. He said he has always carefully balanced his morning routine, but a small shift in his routine changed his whole day. “Sophomore year, I went through a phase of really enjoying ‘Breakfast Essentials,’ which is basically a smoothie mix. You mix it with water but, one morning, I had the brilliant idea to mix it with milk,” Allen said. “Normally, (the smoothies) make you pretty bloated. But I didn’t take into account the fact that the milk would also make me bloated. But the milk didn’t just compound the bloating. It was pretty much exponential.” The scene was set for an explosive day. “So, I’m on my way to ethics in BC and I immediately know that I got a problem. I’ve got a re-
ally big problem.” Allen struggled to balance his eagerness to learn with this temporary bodily condition, which threatened the sanctity of the classroom. He began to suspect that other students might notice. “I realize that I have to have some way to defer the blame onto someone else. And I picked this poor, little, short freshman girl who is sitting next to me,” Allen said. “So, I’m sitting in ethics and we’re talking about Kant and I’m just farting up a storm. It’s pretty monumental. I decided that every time I farted … I’m just gonna nonchalantly look over at her. So it’s not too obvious that I’m trying to defer blame, but everybody knows that she did it - not me.” “I did that for the entire class,” Allen said. “Because it didn’t stop for the entire class.” Allen says he will never drink the breakfast smoothie again.
Shattering classroom expectations (and front teeth) Brendan Rice, senior psychology and Spanish major When senior Brendan Rice lost interest in class one day, he started chewing on the end of his pen. “I was chewing on a pen and tapping on the desk,” Rice said. “And, I guess I took a big bite out of my pen somehow. Somehow. There was a pretty loud, like, ‘Crack!’” Rice said. “Not loud enough for anyone else to hear but definitely loud enough for me to, kinda, look around.” Rice looked around the room in search of an explanation for the sound, but found none. Until he noticed something odd. “I looked down into my hand and there
out to miss out on
te and I managed ank-breaking $12 ts and proceeded e elevator and up alked out into my m: a huge room ars I could ever ranged from bart cars to the Osnermobile. I had into everything, ould have easily myself. I drooled is and just about ck when I realized
was a little piece of enamel in my hands!” he said. The enamel was a sizeable chunk of one of his front teeth. Rice had broken this section of his tooth before, so the enamel was weak. “With 15 seconds, I had gotten up pretty aggressively to go to the bathroom and look in the mirror,” Rice said. “There was this massive chip in my tooth.” Rice returned to class, hoping the chip would go unnoticed. “I came back in and - this is my favorite part of the story - we were talking about polygamy (in class). I had a lot to say or at least, I thought I had a lot to say.
I was actually allowed to sit in the Maseratis. I couldn’t decide whether I wanted to continue to stare at the beauty I was looking at or move on to the next one. It didn’t matter where I went; I was happy. I could look at Hondas, Fords, Subarus, Chevys, Jaguars, BMWs, Mercedes-Benz, Maseratis, Ferraris, Lamborghinis and just about anything else. One car led to the next, and before I knew it, there were no more cars. How could I possibly have seen every single car already? I had just gotten here...a few hours ago. It suddenly hit me how tired
I was. Running around, heart racing at every new sight, I didn’t process that we had been going for so long. We slowly worked our way back to the parking garage, while simultaneously throwing a temper tantrum in my head because I wasn’t done and didn’t want to go home. But it was time, I had seen everything and there’s always next year. So if you like cars, or even kind of like cars, I say start saving for that $12 admission next year. I guarantee you will see me there again. -David DiLoreto
So I kept raising my hand and answering questions,” Rice said. “I didn’t know, at the time, that you could see the chip when I talked, but you could.” Rice would realize the visible extent of his damage later. The professor and the other students would realize it immediately. “But the looks the professor was giving was like this perplexed look. I guess I’ll never know if he knew that I chipped my tooth, like, 10 minutes ago (in his class) or not,” Rice said. “But, yeah, he was definitely giving me these looks like, ‘You have a chipped tooth. I can’t listen to any of the words you’re saying!’”
David DiLoreto | THE BEACON
A Triumph Bonneville at the PDX auto show Feb. 6-9 at the Oregon Convention Center.
10
FAITH & FELLOWSHIP
February 20, 2014
Catholic Church encourages acceptance of LGBTQ community Anthony Paz Guest Commentary Let’s talk about something hard. Let’s talk about the LGBTQ community and the Catholic Church. This big question comes up all the time in the news – what is the rightful place for homosexual relationships in society? Bishops have been outspoken on the legal, social side of this issue and will continue to be. I don’t want to talk about this teaching right now. We know what they are saying, and, let me be clear, that is the teaching of the Catholic Church: sex between persons of the same sex, just like any sexual activity outside of sacramental marriage, is considered harmful to those who engage in it. It is important to talk about why the bishops teach this. We must also acknowledge that this deep-
ly-held belief offends and hurts some people. That is not the intention, but it is the reality. However, a more important teaching so often gets lost in this very public, very divisive discourse: what the Church teaches about the way gay, lesbian, bisexual, trans and queer people should be treated. That teaching is pretty simple: LGBTQ individuals are to be treated like everyone else. In fact, because of the historical ubiquity of inhuman treatment toward gays and lesbians, Catholic social teaching demands that we go above and beyond in our compassion, mercy and hospitality toward this part of the population. In a very real sense, gays deserve preferential compassion and mercy from Christians because of Christ’s special concern for those who’ve been marginalized and hurt before. It is unfortunate that so many members of our community who happen to be gay have suffered most in the name of cold, hard, “Christian” doctrine. Mostly, the
hurtful things and rejection that they have felt comes not from a true understanding of sexual ethics, but from a sort of veiled homophobia. Confronting this type of homophobia common in his mostly Catholic homeland, Dublin Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said last week the following: “Anybody who doesn’t show love towards gay and lesbian people is insulting God. They are not just homophobic if they do that, they are actually God-ophobic because God loves every one of those people.” I was thrilled to see such a strong statement from a bishop condemning homophobia. Christians have valid reasons for questioning the sexual ethics that dominate the media and society, which span topics from pornography to extra-marital sex to body image and beyond. None of those valid reasons are “because they’re different,” “I don’t get it,” or “I feel threatened by it.” However, it seems to me that inhospitable, homophobic, insulting, vi-
olent language and action against our gay brothers and sisters stem from these kinds of reasons and not from the actual teachings of the Church. The true teaching of the Church is that all people have inherent dignity and value. Sexual orientation does nothing to change that. For me, this dignity is foundational. First I love my neighbor. Perhaps I’ll talk about sexual ethics or just war theory or environmental sustainability once a loving relationship is established and can be trusted. Just as Christ extends love to me first, I hope that members of the Church, including me, will do better at
leading with merciful, welcoming love. Students, faculty, staff and others who are gay: you are completely welcome in the Chapel of Christ the Teacher. You are always invited to visit campus ministers in our offices. You are truly, totally loved by the God who made you who you are, just like everyone else here at UP. Don’t let anyone make you feel differently. Anthony Paz is the assistant director of faith formation. He can be reached at paz@up.edu
BABYSITTER NEEDED Seeking experienced babysitter to watch 6 month old for approximately 10 hours a week in the afternoon. Residence is a mile from the University of Portland. If interested please contact Nicole at 5038605950.
OPINIONS EDITORIAL An unshaven young man in sweatpants sits on his couch, surrounded by gadgets, eating Cheetos and instant oatmeal. He alternates between tweeting and Snapchatting while “Breaking Bad” streams on his laptop. This is an accurate portrait of the millennial generation, right? Wrong. Our generation has been accused of not a few personality flaws, including narcissism, entitlement and, most of all, laziness. Older generations have told us we’re good for nothing, and perhaps we ourselves have bought into the idea. But the couch potato is an inaccurate picture of college students and graduates today. The accusation of laziness in young adults is, of course, nothing new. Those who grew up in the Great Depression complained about the do-nothing attitude of 1940s hipsters, who grew up to complain about the lazy, dirty hippies, who grew up to complain about punks and other good-for-nothing subcul-
www.upbeacon.com 11
Forget the stereotype of the lazy millennial
tures. But all those generations and subcultures have turned out alright (or at least they’ve gotten to where they are today). And just like our predecessors, we millennials do know how to work hard. In fact, the average UP student is far too busy with school and all its accoutrements to be truly lazy. Between those busy double-majors taking twenty credits per semester, the nursing students in clinicals, education students teaching in classrooms and students working hard on undergraduate research, we’re a busy bunch of students. We also spend time serving our communities, from ASUP senators to students planning service immersions. Furthermore, many of us have jobs on campus, and a few of us have managed to land an internship. The prevalence of internships, maybe more than anything else, affirms that millennials are neither lazy nor entitled. Real-world employers across the board have agreed that to be fit
for a real-world job, young people must spend at least a summer (if not a couple of years) working unpaid or slightly paid internships. College students and college grads can hardly be called lazy for taking out student loan debt when they can’t get a paid job until they work an unpaid job. Of course, now that everyone realizes internships are crucial, it’s no longer easy to get even an unpaid job. So on top of our studies, campus jobs and extracurriculars, we’re busy filling out application after application, just to get a moneyless glimpse of what it’s like to have a job after graduation. If that’s not working hard, then we millennials cannot imagine what is. Do we sometimes fritter our time away on social media? Sure. Do we occasionally take extended study breaks to watch cat videos? Yes. Did most of us spend last weekend binge-watching the second season of “House of Cards?” Absolutely. But the hours of work we put
Ann Truong | THE BEACON
in studying, working, serving our communities and planning for the future outnumber the frivolous hours we spend lying around with our gadgets. So next time a college student is tapping away at her iPhone screen while she eats lunch, don’t assume she’s Instagramming her sandwich or tweeting something narcissistic. It is perhaps more likely she’s answering emails,
staying updated on the news or adding items to her already insurmountable to-do list. Millennials are just the latest in a long succession of generations to be accused of laziness, so no one should make the old mistake of lumping all of us young people into one sluggish, technology-addicted stereotype.
EDITORIAL POLICY
The editorial reflects the majority view of The Beacon Editorial Board. The editorial does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the collective staff or the Administration of the University of Portland. Other submissions in this section are signed commentaries that reflect the opinion of the individual writer. The Student Media Committee, providing recommendation to the publisher, oversees the general operation of the newspaper. Policy set by the committee and publisher dictates that the responsibility for the newspaper’s editorial and advertising content lies solely in the hands of its student employees.
Only connect Brett Boeh
Guest Commentary “We are not concerned with the very poor. They are unthinkable and only to be approached by the statistician or poet.” Does that mean anything to you? The first time I read E.M. Forster’s “Howards End” and came across this passage I thought, “That’s not me. I volunteer. I vote. I’m engaged in my community.” And
I think at UP, we are lucky to be in an environment where many of us feel the same way – we care and we are encouraged to care. However, as I considered it more I began to think, am I concerned enough? I think for many of us, the answer is no. I graduated last semester and the one thing that will remain with me after my time at UP is that by engaging in my community both within the borders of The Bluff and across the Portland community as a whole, I have grown to love more profoundly than I ever thought possible. And that’s what it is all about, right? We want to love more, we
want to be loved more. If anyone feels they could learn to love more (and what jerk would admit to not wanting to love more?) I have the solution for how to do it. “Only connect.”
“Don’t get me wrong, I have worked hard for my degrees and I value my education ... But the classes I will remember are the ones where the professor knew my name.”
Brett Boeh alumna ‘13
I borrowed the solution from Forster; the same guy that got me thinking about this issue. Over the last few years I have been lucky to have worked with a number of people intimately. I’ve taught migrant workers to navigate the health system, I’ve lost my voice at Pilots basketball games alongside my best friends, I’ve had lunch with friends and laughter at the Commons, and as a hospice volunteer I’ve held the hands of dying patients. These moments will define my time at UP. Don’t get me wrong, I have worked hard for my degrees and I value my education and my professors. But the classes I will
remember are the ones where the professor knew my name. The relationships where I feel I am giving and receiving the most love are the ones where I am making an effort to connect. And connection can be hard! It isn’t just about late night movies, margaritas and friends. It means sitting across from an individual experiencing homelessness and realizing you’re more similar than you would have thought. It means you should be at an LGBTQ meeting as an ally or at least a supporter of human See CONNECT, page 12
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12
OPINIONS
February 20, 2014
The truth about 20-somethings lists
CONNECT: Choose to connect and act
One recent list on The Huffington Post tells all people in their 20s to be active, take a vacation, have a crazy night out, cook more, get rid of fake friends, binge-watch a TV show, buy something valuable, call friends and family and, finally, relax in 2014. Hopefully you don’t need a list to know you should call your loved ones this year and take some time out of your busy schedule to relax. And you’ll probably still have a good year if you don’t have the time or money to take a vacation, get super fit and binge-watch a show on Netflix.
Taylor Tobin Staff Commentary They have appeared on your Facebook news feed. You’ve seen them pinned and retweeted. They are the “7 Life Lessons From History Every 20-Something Should Know,” “18 Simple Things 20-Somethings Should Remember,” “10 Things Every 20-Something Should Keep In Mind,” “20 Things To Let Go Of In Your 20s” and “23 Little Facts Of Life Every 20-Something Should Remember,” or at least something along those same lines. These articles, or listicles, were all posted on the online magazine Thought Catalog just last month. As if juggling any combination of schoolwork, relationships, internships, jobs, exercise, tests, sleep and other college day-today activities wasn’t already stressful, seeing articles like these makes me cringe and think, “Should we be worrying about that, too?” Now, I’m not here to rag on Thought Catalog and their writers. It takes guts to put your thoughts out there for the world. However, I do hope that when you see posts like the ones above, you don’t take them too seriously. After all, Thought Catalog takes submissions from anyone under the ambiguous slogan, “All thinking is relevant.” And no one’s 20-something experience will be exactly the same as yours, so these writers’ thoughts and opinions may not be relevant to your life at all.
Continued from page 11
Every day, we are given the op-
dignity. Connection is about knowing that the kids across the globe being murdered by our drones are no different than the kids that play in the parks around Portland – and then doing something. Connection means you need to feel uncomfortable. I think more than anything, what Forster is trying to say is if we are “not concerned with the very poor,” we do so by choice.
“Connection is about knowing that the kids across the globe being murdered by our drones are no different than the kids that play in the parks around Portland.”
tion to make connections and we have to choose the connections we will make. As for me, I am going to start choosing connection whenever I get the chance. Brett Boeh is a ‘13 UP alumna. She can be reached at brett.boeh@gmail.com.
Brett Boeh alumna ‘13
“Hopefully you don’t need a list to know you should call your loved ones this year and take some time out of your busy schedule to relax.” Taylor Tobin sophomore I admit it can be interesting to hear about people’s triumphs and disasters at this stage in life, and there are a lot of them, so go ahead and read an article if the subject intrigues you. It’s fun to be able to relate to experiences that others have had in their 20s, and know that you are fairly normal after all. But let these articles simply amuse you, not serve as definitive rules for life in your 20s. However entertaining the writer’s thoughts might be, know that they are really just listing suggestions, not absolute rules. Taylor Tobin is a sophomore business major. She can be reached at tobint16@up.edu.
SUDOKU SEE OPPOSITE PAGE FOR SOLUTION
7373 N Burlington Ave Portland, Ore. 97203 6:30 am to 8 pm Daily
Wi-fi, Stumptown Coffee & Food served all day.
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OPINIONS
Switching off the real world Nastacia Voisin Staff Commentary Log off. Power down. Walk away. Who are we without our electronic mediums? What do we sound like when the whirr of technology fades? Do we recognize our real voice – or even the sound of our silence? Whatever side you take on the raging debate on how the proliferation of technology is changing us, no one can deny how hard it is to make eye contact with someone whose head is bent over a smartphone.
“Somewhere between passive absorption of information and reflexive posting, people forget how to create conversation in favor of making noise.”
Nastacia Voisin junior
Walking the halls, crossing
campus, waiting outside a classroom, I witness the intense isolation of people who can’t escape the siren song of technology. I have hyper-connected friends who claim they can’t unplug, who wouldn’t know what to do without their apps and push notifications. They’re proud of the deftness with which they dart from webpage to webpage like hummingbirds sipping nectar. The lure of the online universe is so much flashier and simpler to control that people switch off the real world and power on their devices with an unnerving frequency. 121 billion minutes – that’s how much average collective time Americans spent per month on social media sites in 2012 according to Nielsen’s annual report. And over half that social media sinkhole time happened while we hunched over a mobile device. And somewhere between passive absorption of information and reflexive posting, people forget how to create conversation in favor of making noise. By stop-gapping every free moment of time with technology, we lose the ability to be alone with our thoughts and insecurities. It has become simpler to pull out a phone then strike up a dialogue with others - or even ourselves. We’ve forgotten that the con-
FACES
on The Bluff
by David DiLoreto
What’s the most embarrassing moment you’ve had in class? Danny Martinez sophomore undeclared
Photo illustration by David DiLoreto | THE BEACON
versations we have when we are alone with ourselves are the most powerful. When the distracting chatter of texts and posts die down, silence works like a mirror, forcing us to turn and gaze inward. We are uneasy about meeting those inner eyes and risking self-judgment. We don’t want to ask ourselves, “Who are you?” Online we’re surrounded by curated content, with hundreds of friends and the assurance of “like” buttons. Alone, we have only ourselves to challenge, af-
firm, criticize and impress. With no filters, without rationalization and easily Googled answers, without reassuring texts, the weight of a cell phone in our pocket, who are we? Who are you? Do you know? Turn it off and figure out.
“I walked into my 8:10 45 minutes late.” Emily O’Loughlin freshman chemistry
Nastacia Voisin is a junior communication studies and sociology major. She can be reached at voisin15@up.edu.
“I started laughing really loud and the whole class started looking at me.”
Dominic Lazzaro sophomore political science
“I accidentally made fun of the teacher in class.”
John May junior civil engineering
SUDOKU SOLUTION
“I sat in an upper-division physics class for like 30 minutes my freshman year.”
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SPORTS
February 20, 2014
Senior day a success for Pilots
Mitchell Gilbert Staff Writer gilbert16@up.edu
Last Saturday was the men’s basketball senior night. They pulled out a big conference win over Pepperdine 74-62 after beating LMU Thursday night 71-64. The Pilots are currently 15-11 on the season and have four games left, all on the road, including three tough back-toback games against San Diego, BYU and Saint Mary’s. See BASKETBALL, page 15
Korey Thieleke #21 Position: Guard Hometown: Bakersfield, Calif. High School: West High School
Spencer Young | THE BEACON
The four seniors pose with coach Reveno and their families on Saturday during the pre-game ceremony.
Ryan Nicholas #32
Senior Season Stats: Average points per game: 2.5 Average rebounds per game: 2.1 Assists: 19 Blocks: 14 Steals: 19
Position: Forward Hometown: Spokane, Wash. High School: Gonzaga Preparatory Senior Season Stats: Average points per game: 13 Average rebounds per game: 9.1 Assists: 32 Blocks: 13 Steals: 10
Career Stats: Average points per game: 2.6 Average rebounds per game: 1.8 Total Assists: 44 Total Blocks: 42 Total Steals: 50
Spencer Young | THE BEACON
Career Stats: Average points per game: 10.2 Average rebounds per game: 7 Total Assists: 105 Total Blocks: 25 Total Steals: 58 Spencer Young | THE BEACON
SPORTS
Pilot in the Spotlight
www.upbeacon.com
What is your first memory playing tennis? My first memory is playing with my dad. I was probably 7 or 8 years old. I didn’t even like it at first. Then, I kept playing and made some friends that played and I just kept improving until it pretty much became my life. What is your pre-match routine? I always change my grip to a new one on my racket. My right wristband always has to be white and the other one must be black otherwise I get stressed out. Can you describe the emotions after you win a particularly intense match? You spend so much time preparing for those matches and tennis is a largely independent sport so when you pull off a W in a particularly challenging match it’s hugely rewarding. It’s one of the best feelings you can have.
Kristen Garcia | THE BEACON
Alex Ferrero
Senior Almeria, Spain
Do you enjoy playing singles or doubles more? I love my partners. It’s so fun to play with someone else, when you get really close with a partner you can make jokes and have more fun with it. Of course it’s very serious but we still have a lot of fun. Do you have any particular goals for your senior year? My main goal is to stay
really healthy this season and try to just perform as best as I can in every single match I have this year. I want to have a great ending for my college career.
This week in sports Men’s Basketball
Do you plan on staying in the U.S.A. post-grad or returning to Spain? I would like to attain a master’s for next year, I’m thinking still about the U.S. or in Europe. I really enjoy it here in the U.S., however I definitely miss home. I think I want to stay in the U.S. for one more, two more years but I know that eventually I will end up back in Europe to work.
The Pilots swept their last home stand with a win over LMU 71-64 and Pepperdine 74-62. They are 15-11 this season and 5th in the WCC. Tonight the team travels to San Diego at 6 p.m. and then goes to play BYU Saturday at 6 p.m.
What do you enjoy doing outside of school and tennis? I watch a lot of movies and TV shows. I also try to read when I don’t have too much reading for classes. I play video games a lot with my housemates or go bowling. I really enjoy doing a lot of things that are very American, like bowling.
The team dropped their previous two games, BYU 67-43 and San Diego 59-52. They sit at 6th in the conference with a 14-12 record. The Pilots travel to rival Gonzaga Saturday at 2 p.m.
Do you enjoy playing any other sports? I play soccer, but really only for fun. In Spain, soccer is a religion and I take it much less serious than that. I really enjoy playing any sport from ping-pong to basketball. I’d like to try out American football. - Cassie Sheridan
BASKETBALL: Strong season, happy farewell
Women’s Basketball
Baseball The Pilots started off their season against NCAA defending champions UCLA. They won the first game 1-0, lost the second 12-1 and lost the third 4-3. The team plays in the SMC Tournament this weekend and then plays Oregon in Eugene Tuesday.
Track & Field The men and women competed in the Husky Classic this weekend and posted heat wins. The event was headlined by redshirt junior Ryan Poland breaking the UP record for fastest mile time at 4:01.38. Saturday they’ll be competing in the Warner Pacific 50/50 and then the Pilot Indoor at home Sunday. (courtesy portlandpilots.com, WCCsports.com)
Spencer Young | THE BEACON
John Bailey #5
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Spencer Young | THE BEACON
Tanner Riley #3
Position: Forward Hometown: Mesa, Ariz. High School: Dobson High School
Position: Guard Hometown: North Bend, Wash. High School: Mount Si High School
Senior Season Stats: Average points per game: .4 Average rebounds per game: .7 Assists: 1
Senior Season Stats: Average points per game: 2.3 Average rebounds per game: .2 Assists: 6
Career Stats: Average points per game: .8 Average rebounds per game: .9 Total Assists: 14 Total Blocks: 8 Total Steals: 6
Career Stats: Average points per game: 4.3 Average rebounds per game: .1 Total Assists: 60 Total Blocks: 8 Total Steals: 24
16
SPORTS
February 20, 2014
THE BEACON
David DiLoreto | THE BEACON
Sophomore Emily Gould, who has split her two matches this season, awaits a serve.
www.upbeacon.com
Kristen Garcia | THE BEACON
Michel Hu Kwo, one of four seniors, waits to return a ball during practice.
Tennis teams tackle tough seasons ahead Women’s
Many tennis teams take a structured and predictable approach to preparing for their upcoming season. They spend weeks practicing their serves, returns, backhands, forehands and volleys. Though the women’s tennis team has not forgotten the fundamentals, they have been taking a slightly different approach than other teams in the WCC. They’re putting a significant amount of time and focus into conditioning and mental preparation. In order for the women on the team to be confident and ready to play, they spend practice time meditating and keeping journals. “We need to improve on our confidence. We are motivated to win and we know that we are good enough,” sophomore Tori Troesch said. “We have to know the damage that we can do to the other teams in the conference.” The team opened their 2014 spring season going 1-1 with a win over University of South Carolina-Upstate on Jan. 25 and a loss to the University of Oregon on Feb. 1. They’re battling back from a tough 2013 season last year, going 8-14 overall, and 1-7 in conference play. The Pilots have a tough schedule this season, mostly in their own conference, having to play WCC powerhouses San Francisco, San Diego, Pepperdine and Santa Clara. With six returners from last year and six new players added to the roster, the Pilots have significantly increased the size of their team. The team is dominated by young players, made up of two seniors, two juniors, five sophomores and two freshmen. After a losing record last year, the Pilots hope they will have the confidence to perform at their highest level against some of the most difficult teams in the WCC. “We just need to continue paving the way like we did last year,” sophomore
Mitchell Gilbert Staff Writer gilbert16@up.edu
Maja Mladenovic said. “We need to keep fighting and keep pushing harder and harder. We are not going to panic when we play a team like San Diego. We are going to stay confident and play our game.” Mladenovic, one of the six returners, is currently ranked as the number one singles player on the team and was named the January U.S. Bank Student-Athlete of the Month. In January, Mladenovic completed a perfect 4-0 singles record, and a 3-1 record in doubles. Mladenovic was named one of only two underclassmen to the pre-season 2014 All-WCC Team. “We are young and talented. There is a lot we can improve on, but we do so every day,” Mladenovic said. Mladenovic is not only a leader on the court, but off the court as well. “Maja has been great ever since she came here,” junior Sophie van den Aarssen said. “She pumps the team up with her energy and gives the rest of the team a standard for how we want to play.” This team wants to go beyond expectations with the upcoming season. “We will give the other conference teams a run for their money,” Troesch said. “We will never give up on our conditioning and we will shock some teams in the conference.” This season marks the 20th year that head coach Susie Campbell-Gross will lead the Pilots’ women’s team. She is a two-time WCC Coach of the Year and holds the record for wins for a women’s tennis coach at UP. She puts a major point of emphasis on her players excelling on the court and in the classroom. She’s coached a total of 11 WCC All-Academic honorees, including three last season. Their first home game of the season will be against Northern Arizona on Feb. 24.
Men’s
When playing at the Division I level, a player can never expect that during their senior year they will be playing with the same players they’ve been playing with since they were freshmen. The norm in college is players come and go, some graduate, some transfer and some quit. However, this is not the reality for the players on this year’s men’s tennis team. Currently, the University of Portland roster consists of only eight players. Pepperdine, the leading school in the conference, has 12 on their roster while University of San Diego and BYU have 11. While the squad is small, it is half seniors: Alex Ferrero, Ratan Gill, Justin Guay and Michel Hu Kwo. What the team lacks in size, they have managed to make up for in experience. They are hoping to use this overabundance of experience to improve upon the 10-12 record they posted in the 2012-13 season. “We have four seniors who have been playing here for all four years, so we are all very close,” Ferrero said. “For our four seniors it is like a family to us, at least it is for me. I am from overseas, so these three guys especially have helped me out a lot throughout these four years.” Ferrero believes that this level of team unity can really be beneficial and used as strength for the team. The ability to communicate and understand the way that their teammates think can be used to produce strong results on the court. “We know each other so well at this point that we know when somebody is mad, or we know when we have to help somebody,” Ferrero said. “But, besides competing, we are also able to have a lot of fun.” Half of the team has spent their last four years together and in that time they have managed to become good friends both on and off the court.
“We are a really close team. Everyone is friends with each other, and we all trust each other,” Guay said. “Some friction can hinder morale and our morale is high. We feel motivated that we will be able to do well.” Last season was plagued with injuries for multiple players. Gill, the number-one singles player on the team, was out for a majority of the season due to a shoulder injury. Ferrero, currently a member of the team’s number-one doubles team (along with Gill), has been suffering with injuries to his shoulder and back. With such a small number of players on the roster, an injury to a key member of the team could be devastating to the season. “I just hope to stay healthy and play every single match this year,” Ferrero said. “It is hard because you will go into practice and your back will be sore. When it comes to match time you aren’t as in it because your back hurts and it is all that is in your mind.” After a difficult season last year, going only 2-7 in conference play, the team has its mind set on earning the respect of the teams within this daunting conference. Over the years, Pepperdine has dominated the WCC, winning a conference championship 42 times in the school’s history. The next closest school, USD, has won the championship a total of three times. The Pilots have never managed to win the WCC championship. Their best finish was third place in 1999. “We need to stay confident and believe that we can beat those teams,” Guay said. “Especially this year with four seniors, we have the skill. We just need to do what we do in practice.” The Pilots’ next home match will be on March 9 against the University of Oregon at 2 p.m.