Vol. 115, Issue 20 March 20, 2014
The BEacon
Who will you vote for this year? See the ASUP election packet
Every Thursday
The Student Voice of the University of Portland Since 1935
News, p. 4-5
UP alum presents video at SXSW
See the Beacon’s pick for ASUP presidential team 2014-2015 Opinions, p. 13
Living, p. 6
Week in Haiti and Arizona incites passion to serve
Photo courtesy of Amanda Ewing
Photo courtesy of Kay Bodmer
Photo courtesy of Marissa Kelly
(Top left) Sophomore Kealey Johnson and junior Lauren Anneberg playing with Haitian children. (Bottom left) Senior Nick MacKinnon gives a talk about the importance of smiling to students at a vacation bible school in Haiti. (Right, from left) Senior Nicole Simard, freshman Estefania Morales, sophomores Noah Forrest, Zarah Gaeta (both in the back), junior Aurora Myers, junior Marissa Kelly, junior Erika Murphy, juniors Erin Savoia, Gonzalo Garay-Romero, sophomores Linda Hong and Sharon Cortez.
Students embarked on a self-created service trip to help build homes and foster relationships in Haiti Nastacia Voisin Staff Writer voisin15@up.edu On the seven-hour truck ride down from the Haitian mountain village of Thiotte, Amanda Ewing and Tara Benavente were already plotting a return journey. The senior social workers had spent their fall break under the unforgiving Caribbean sun replacing tin roofs, building relationships with villagers and testing the limits of strength. Both women returned to UP convinced they needed to share their stories and inspire others to follow them back to Haiti. “I developed such a passion for these people and this country, and I know how God’s presence can completely transform
people’s lives there,” Ewing said. “I wanted people to be part of that experience.” Over spring break Ewing and Benavente led 23 UP students and two hall directors on a service trip to Haiti – the result of over a year of planning, fundraising and teamwork. In Haiti the group divided their time between working to expand a church and helping with a Bible school program. Each day half the team would labor at the church worksite in Mariani while the other half visited schools – some with up to 600 children – telling Bible stories, teaching songs and building friendships. “There was a lot of selfsacrifice and hard work,” Benavente said. “The days were long and hard and
people were definitely tired. But when we did our debriefing, the consensus was that it was a life changing experience for everyone.” Days spent mixing cement, digging the foundations of a church and interacting with people amid the extreme poverty of tent villages was challenging for some students, a few who had never left the States before. The team learned to communicate with a mixture of English, Spanish, Haitian Creole, gestures and smiles. They adapted to the Haitian way of keeping a flexible schedule, and stepped outside their comfort zones to connect with the people See HAITI, page 3
Students learn about the reality of life as an undocumented immigrant on the Border Immersion trip Olivia Alsept-Ellis Staff Writer alseptel14@up.edu The warmth of Tucson, Ariz. welcomed a Moreau Center immersion this spring break, but the students saw for themselves the tense political environment for undocumented immigrants living so close to the wall – the structure that marks the border between the United States and Mexico. Two students, seniors Jeffrey Kuang and Elizabeth Polsin, felt the Border Service and Learning Immersion gave them far more than an academic education about political tensions. The multifaceted approach to the trip allowed them to learn about American immigration from a wide
variety of sources such as nonprofits, federal judges, governmental facilities and locals – like a rancher who lived only 20 miles from the border. They even walked into the desert to pay homage at the memorials for those who died while trying to cross onto American soil. The immersion trip left the group troubled over the American treatment of immigrants, yet inspired and motivated to create awareness. “I will always picture the wall, just there. With myself on one side and a whole other community on the other. And just that image makes me really angry,” Polsin said. “It’s really important to expose people to the injustices.” Pat Ell, assistant director for leadership
development in the Moreau Center, said the trip offers a tangible understanding of these issues. “It becomes more real. You’re actually, physically in a place. You talk to real people,” Ell said. “You get a thorn stuck in your foot, or something, and feel how hot it is. And we were only walking for an hour, instead of three days.” Kuang said he learned how the legal system in Arizona was designed to act against the undocumented immigrant living in the U.S. They listened to a judge, who quoted American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.: “This is not a court of justice, young man, this is a court of law.” See BORDER IMMERSION, page 3
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NEWS
March 20, 2014
On Campus Campus mobilizes to support survivors of Haiyan
CAP AND GOWN ORDERS Graduating seniors must drop off cap and gown order forms no later than Friday, March 21 to the University Events office, located across the street from the Chiles Center at 6605 N. Portsmouth Ave. Extra order forms are available at the Events office for those that need one. For more information, call 503-943-7523.
HUMOR SCHOLARSHIP John and Patricia Beckman are providing five $3,333 Brian Doyle Scholarships in Gentle & Sidelong Humor for students who propose a way to bring some laughs to The Bluff. To apply for this scholarship, undergraduate students must send an email with “Humor Scholarship” in the subject line to scholarshipthankyou@ up.edu with their first and last name, student ID number, and a brief but detailed description of their idea for a humorous project they would conduct if selected for the scholarship. The project can be anything – from videos to a website to a performance to a graphic novel – but it must be something that is presented publicly by the end of the academic year – promulgated, posted, published or performed. Applications are due by April 25, and the recipients of the scholarships will be notified by the middle of June. CORRECTIONS In the Feb. 27 article “Students dialogue on diversity,” The Beacon implied that a billboard in Mikayla Posey’s town reading ‘If you’re black, don’t let the sun set on your back,’ was there while she was growing up. In fact, the billboard was removed in the 1970s. 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.
Cassie Sheridan Staff Writer sheridan15@up.edu Five months ago, the most powerful tropical typhoon on record ravaged the coast of southeast Asia. Typhoon Haiyan claimed 5,000 lives, affected an estimated 11 million people and left the Philippines to rebuild homes and infrastructure. Since then, the world has reached out to the region sending aid, volunteers and hope. Starting Monday, the Pilots for the Philippines week of action events kick off in what has been an encapsulation of the Philippine word “bayanihan,” meaning “community of collective action.” The project by the Presidential Ad Hoc committee to support the Filipino community began humbly with the desire to spark conversation on campus about the difficulties the region was facing in the aftermath of last November’s destruction by Typhoon Haiyan. The event has now expanded to include a week of diverse events involving numerous campus organizations, the larger Portland community, the Molly Hightower Day of Service and engagement of the issues from countless academic perspectives. “One of the elements that I love is that we have utilized programs that already exist on campus,” chief organizer and professor Lauretta Frederking said. “We weren’t coming up with anything new. I see this as an opportunity annually to bring together all these programs and shine a light on a local or global issue.” In the past, UP has responded to devastating events through raising awareness for victims. However, the leaders involved in planning for this particular week of action wanted to expand the effort to include critical conversations about the affected region’s culture and its socio-economic, political and healthcare problems in the aftermath of the typhoon. Sophomore economics major Grace Holmes got involved in the project because of her desire to organize a larger discussion about
Photo courtesy of defenseimagery.mil
A Guiuan woman stands outside of her makeshift shack in the aftermath of Typhoon Haiyan. the destruction to the region, an issue she felt few people were talking about. “Originally, I was just hoping for some students, Dr. Frederking and maybe some pizza,” said Holmes. “It’s awesome how large it has now gotten, my intention was to facilitate a dialogue and it is now going to be a dialogue engaging many academic perspectives and the larger Portland community.” Sociology professor Valerie Francisco, who has been an integral part of the organization team, said the collaboration from so many campus organizations has been supportive of identity, on a far more personal level. “I am Filipino, there are many students at UP that are Filipino. The typhoon was personal for many people on this campus,” said Francisco. “We wanted the conversation to be not only about victim awareness, but also about Filipino experience and identity in the wake of the tragedy.” UP’s Filipino club, Filipino American Student Association (FASA), partnered with Pilots After Dark coordinator Eric Luke to sponsor events for Filipino support in the wake of the tragedy. The club raised around $1,500 in donations during one Pilots After Dark event and enough meal points to support the Saturday evening fundraising dinner, hosted by Bon Appetit,
that will happen on March 29. “It was surreal when we were actually able to raise that much,” senior FASA president Melody Kidd said. “The typhoon was deeply personal for everyone in the club and we were all desperate to do something, the support we received and continue to receive has been incredible.” The week of action has also been able to involve the Molly Hightower Day of Service, a collaboration spearheaded by ASUP vice president junior Elvia Gaona. The Molly Hightower service event is in honor of Molly Hightower, a 2009 UP alum who was killed during the Haiti earthquake in 2010, and occurs once a semester. This semester’s service event will involve members of ASUP and the senior class collecting medical supplies and other resources from area hospitals to send with NAFCO and other support organizations for Filipino relief. “Our goal from the beginning has been to bring representation from different places on campus,” said Frederking. “We understood that this was an issue that we wanted to approach with our head and our hearts.”
Monday, March 24: 7:15 - 9 p.m Holy Cross Lounge (Franz 3rd Floor) Filipino film “The Debut” about struggling to be true to your culture, family and own beliefs. Free and open to the public. Refreshments and film raffle. Tuesday, March 25: 6-8 p.m. BC 163 Panel: Disastrous Consequences: Ecology, Economics and Relief after Typhoon Haiyan in the Philippines Friday, March 28 10-11:30 p.m. The Cove Pilots after Dark: Pilots for the Philippines. Saturday, March 29 9 a.m. St. Mary’s Lounge Molly Hightower Senior Service Day. University of Portland seniors organize collected medical supplies. All proceeds go to NAFCON (National Alliance for Filipino Concerns). Saturday, March 29 7 p.m. Chef’s Table at The Commons 8-10 Asian-inspired mini plate courses with wine. Tickets are $75 each. All proceeds go to Catholic Relief Services to support relief from Typhoon Haiyan. Seats are limited. Please contact Dr. Lauretta Frederking at frederki@up.edu or (503) 943-8076 to reserve a seat.
The UP Public Safety Report 1. March 16, 12:19 a.m. - Officers made contact with a student outside of Villa Maria Hall who was in possession of marijuana and prohibited paraphernalia. The items were confiscated and the student referred to the University’s conduct process.
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2. March 17, 1:02 a.m. - Officers performed a search of a dorm room at Villa Maria Hall and the student’s vehicle. Officers confiscated prohibited paraphernalia and the student was referred to the University’s conduct process. 3. March 17, 7:52 p.m. - A staff member reported the theft of their wallet from an unknown location on campus. Officers took a report and also advised the individual to file a report with Portland Police.
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4. March 18, 12:24 a.m. - Officers made contact with two students behind Villa Maria Hall. Both students were cited for MIP, transported to their dorms and left in the care of Residence Life.
For a complete interactive public safety report visit www.upbeacon.com and click UP Crime & Fire Log under the News tab.
www.upbeacon.com 3
NEWS
BORDER IMMERSION: bringing experiences home Continued from page 1 “But if that judge separates law and justice, he insinuates that law is not capable of being just for everyone,” Kuang said. The attitude of this judge embodied, for Kuang, the larger attitude of the American legislation towards immigration. “How can we strive for ‘liberty and justice for all’ when this system is not exactly ‘for all?’ And it’s really dehumanizing,” Kuang said. Senior Elizabeth Polsin, a trip coordinator alongside junior Yuri Hernandez, attended the previous border immersion program to San Diego. She said the two trips covered similar material but the experiences were not easily comparable. “The culture in San Diego is a lot more accepting of Mexican culture, whereas Arizona, the racism is much more prevalent,” Polsin said. Polsin explained the details of a bill, SB 1070, that was recently passed in Arizona. It allows for the law enforcement officers to ask to see proof of legal documentation or immigration status, regardless if this person has actually committed any offense. “(The law enforcement) can just pick someone out because they look Mexican,” Polsin said.
“But it just doesn’t seem right to go up to someone and be like, ‘Do you belong here or not?’ Because everyone belongs anywhere, I think.” Alongside the judge, the group saw other official immigration facilities, such as the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention facility. Kuang described this center as a judicial limbo. “The (ICE tour guide) said ‘Look how happy they are!’ he said with his big, chipper smile,” Kuang said, sarcastically laughing. “He kept saying that as there were hundreds of people in line, hundreds of detained people.” Another speaker the group met with was a 19-year-old student whose mother was currently detained in an ICE facility. He is legally undocumented as well as his mother, although Polsin made sure to use the word “undocumented” with air quotations to emphasize her disdain for the word. His mother was detained and is awaiting a court hearing to determine if she will be deported. “He just started bawling and so I started bawling. Everyone did. Just thinking, anyone’s family could be just torn apart like that,” Polsin said. Emotional instances like these, however, contributed to the group’s cohesion. Polsin said
Photo Courtesy of Marissa Kelly
(From left) Sophomore Linda Hong, freshmen Alondra Audelo-Avendano, Estefania Morales, sophomore Zarah Gaeta, junior Erin Savoia, senior Daphne Baracena, sophomore Noah Forrest and Borderlinks leaders Rosalinda and David visit the Mission San Xavier del Bac, a church on the Tohono O’odham San Xavier Indian Reservation. it took very little time before they trip attendees turned into “family,” from the students to the tour guides to the professors who accompanied, Alejandro Santana and Rene Sanchez. The group, a collection of once-strangers, is a now tightknit team who can reflect on these experiences together and
spread their wealth of knowledge with the campus. “In our UP community, it’s a great community, but we can be shut off from what’s going on in the world,” Polsin said. Kuang said he felt the most important thing he took away from the trip is the importance of empathetic listening.
“It’s like the quote, ‘I don’t always have the answers to the issues’,” Kuang said. “‘But we should always listen to the stories.’”
HAITI: students organize service opportunity Continued from page 1 they worked alongside. At the start of the week, junior education major Clara LeeWays was troubled that the team was building churches and holding Bible study sessions instead of devoting all their time to practical efforts, such as building homes. “Short-term mission trips are really hard to get your head around,” LeeWays said. “You’re spending all of this money but are you really impacting people’s lives?” Yet LeeWays said that a moving conversation with a pastor and witnessing the impact of her service reassured her of the mission’s value. “What I really took away from (the trip) was the importance of the one-on-one relationships we made,” LeeWays said. “A bunch of us are already talking about getting a group together to go over winter break.” With a number of students excited about a return trip to Haiti, Ewing and Benavente hope their initiative will take root at UP even though their trip was planned through Forward Edge International, a Christian program that organizes international relief work. Initially in 2013 they had hoped to launch the trip with the help of the Moreau Center. But UP doesn’t usually connect with programs that aren’t explicitly Catholic, and Ewing was told that
(Left) Junior Maria Etheredge embraces a child while in Haiti. (Right) Three girls in a tent village in Haiti. a partnership might take years to form. But she was undefeated. “I saw such high value in this trip that I was going to plan it anyway,” she said. From casual conversations, emails to friends and the support of Forward Edge International, Ewing and Benavente gathered a team of 27 people by October 2013. Most were UP students, but they were joined by Corrado and Mehling’s hall directors Mike Wode and Gina Loschiavo, as well as two non-UP volunteers.
By the next month they’d begun fundraising to cover the $595 per-person trip fee and the round trip flights of about $1,000. “There were some people who couldn’t afford it,” Ewing said. “And honestly it depends on where people are at too. I told people not to have financial concerns because I trusted God. But some people didn’t feel called to put their faith out there.” Ewing and Benavente set up fundraising projects such as a concert at Cathedral Coffee called “Hearts for Haiti,” a dinner
fundraiser at Amalfi’s restaurant, Valentine’s Day candy grams and a recycling project of cans and bottles. The trip cost helped pay for the volunteers’ stay, as well as building supplies and food for the people they’d be serving. But like LeeWays, Ewing said she realizes these missions trips may be more meaningful to the volunteers than the communities they’re serving. Yet Ewing said her calling was to bring people to Haiti to help them develop a heart for serving.
Photos courtesy of Amanda Ewing
“My goal wasn’t so much to bring a huge team to serve, but to have people understand what it looks like to go and have your life changed,” Ewing said. “You might not see the work we did this week, but I believe we made a difference.”
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ASUP: Elec
March 20, 2014
ASUP Elections will open on Tuesday March 25 at 7 a.m. an
Preside Vice Pre
Photo courtesy of Elvia Gaona
Quin Chadwick and Elvia Gaona
We are running for the ASUP executive board because we are the best representatives of the student body of the University of Portland. We need a passionate two-term president and vice presidential team to prevent any loss in productivity during a transition to a new executive board. We need to continue to build UP from the foundation we have created and have students be the driving force for change. Throughout our first term as
president and vice president, we have acquired the skills to exact effective changes to our University; we want to serve as a catalyst for further positive change. We are willing to fight and represent the students even when we are told to be patient. Provide us the opportunity to channel our experience, commitment and passion for the students of the University of Portland to the next level. Our major initiatives include: creating a student-
led scholarship initiative, requesting interdisciplinary diversity and cultural competency course requirements or workshops to increase inclusion on campus, collaborating with existing departments and programming to provide fun activities and new traditions on campus, recruiting non-senate members to join ASUP committees and hosting a week dedicated to ASUP awareness on campus.
CPB Director make sure that CPB provides quality programming. By collaborating with PAD and transitioning into a model where CPB would hold four major events per semester plus dances, CPB will be able to host more large scale events without getting rid of traditions like Rock the Bluff and Dance of the Decades. This would make it possible to set up a rollerskating rink on the quad or allow us to bring a “Color Run” to campus. CPB movies Photo courtesy of Sarah Berger are a staple of Friday and As a junior at the University of Saturday nights on campus. Portland I have come to love To enhance the experience everything that life on the and make sure students are Bluff has to offer. University getting the most out of the of Portland has a strong movies, I will work to give emphasis on community and out free popcorn at movies, it is my hope as CPB Director while offering drinks and I will be able to continue candy for sale. Surveys will to enhance the student also be regularly distributed experience. Because Pilots so students are directly After Dark provides a large choosing movie titles. quantity of programming on campus it is my goal to
sure every campus program board event is properly advertised in advance. As a commuter student, I understand getting ‘lost’ and disconnected from campus, and I want to see that this doesn’t happen anymore. In order to do this, I am going to publish a calendar of events before the start of each semester, so that everyone knows when events are. If elected, I will work tirelessly over the summer to plan and publish this calendar Photo courtesy of Bryan Chipman for fall term, so that other I’m running for Campus student groups and halls will Program Board Director be able to plan their events because I want to make a and not have time conflicts. difference on this campus. As an Eagle Scout, you know I believe that I am fully that I pay attention to detail qualified to take over this and make sure events and role and provide the best deadlines happen according experience possible for to schedule. Thank you so you. My major initiative much for the opportunity is to increase current to run and make this school advertising and find new what we want it to be. ways of advertising events to students. I want to make
Sarah Berger
Bryan Chipman
ASUP Tr
Photo courtesy of ASUP
As the current ASUP Treasurer, I have overseen the implementation of Resolution 12-09 (which put 90 percent of unspent funds from the previous year into the current year’s
Jessie Ro
ction Guide
www.upbeacon.com
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nd close Wednesday March 26 at 7 p.m. on the PilotsUP portal
ent and esident
Photo courtesy of Josh Cleary
John Julius Muwulya and Josh Cleary
We want to change how ASUP works at UP. To make this change happen, there has to be new faces, and a new direction with fresh ideas. Here are a few of the things that we plan to do if you, the students of UP, elect us: • Improve the Wi-Fi & cell reception (Major Project Fund) • Get better quality toilet paper (Seriously, we’re not joking) • ASUP Suggestion & Problem Box in Commons, Cove and Library
reasurer
We are willing to devote the next year of our lives to the improvement of student government on this campus, but we need your vote! We ask for your help in making this your campus, where your voice gets heard. We look forward to hearing your ideas and making this campus be what you desire it to be. Let’s make this happen!
ASUP Secretary
MPF), managed the new Major Event Fund from the $15 increase of the student government fee, and increased spending to be 87 percent of the budget. If re-elected, I would like to explore ways to implement programs to bring in more revenue to ASUP without raising the student government fee.
obinson
• Assign senator to help with your club when dealing with ASUP • Transparency in our dealings with administrators • Advocating for students on whatever issue they bring to us • Music festival on River Campus to kick-off school year • Working throughout the year to bring students’ ideas to the forefront and to the administration
Photo courtesy of ASUP
As ASUP Executive Board Secretary, I want to focus on three facets of the position: leadership, involvement and transparency. This position has a lot of leadership potential, and I plan on capitalizing on that potential. I will use all my meetings with administration to address the concerns of the greater student body. I also believe in order to have a healthy
student government we must increase our involvement in said government. This is a two-fold process of targeting voter participation and creating more competitive elections. I will accomplish this by using social media to advertise, as college students are increasingly turning to the internet to stay informed. My third goal is to improve transparency in regard to senate. My first step to work on the issue of transparency is to post the minutes to all senate meetings on social networking sites. This action will make the minutes much easier to obtain for all students. I know that my plan for next year would help bridge the communication gap between the student body and the administration, the main function of the ASUP Executive Board.
Mariah Wildgen
Photo courtesy of ASUP
Hello Portland Pilots, My name is Matthew Sutherland. I am a junior civil engineer and I am one of your candidates for ASUP Secretary this year. I am running for the
position of secretary as I see a great need for better communication; especially the communication between administration and ASUP and between ASUP and students. Through communication, I plan on establishing a dialogue in order that everyone is well understood. To reach out to you, I will be updating social media, attending events and by discussion. Have a great day on the Bluff!
Matthew Sutherland
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LIVING
March 20, 2014
Red curtain, small room, big shot Senior engineer, entrepreneur and musician creates own photo booth business with brother Emily Neelon Staff Writer neelon17@up.edu Many brothers wrestle, play sports together and prank each other. Senior Garrett Athman and his older brother Austin, however, built a photo booth together. The brothers co-founded Red Curtain Photo Booth, a photo booth available for event rental, and premiered it in February at Junior Parents Weekend.
An idea becomes a business An involved engineer, musician and entrepreneur, Athman hopes to grow his business beyond graduation. Athman and his brother Austin, a musician and web-designer, first got their idea for their company at a wedding they were doing video productions and music for in their home state of Montana. The wedding reception had a photo booth, something the brothers had never seen at that kind of event before. Interested in the idea of creating a similar business that would provide the same service to clients, the brothers thought, “Why can’t we do that?” Following extensive research on the industry, the Athman brothers decided to go forth with building their own booth that can be taken apart, put back together and rearranged for different events. In designing their multifaceted booth, the Athman brothers kept the customer in mind. “We (didn’t want to) cut corners and did the real deal,” Athman said. “People can be at an event and they aren’t in front of a professional photographer. They are in complete control. There’s no one watching.” The Athman brothers began construction on the booth during the summer of 2013, and finished it just in time for their first official event this February, Junior Parents Weekend. Megan Jung, assistant director of Student Activities, helped coordinate the use of Athman’s photo booth for Junior Parents Weekend. “Everybody loved it,” Jung
All photos courtesy of Garrett Athman
Garrett Athman and brother Austin (third photo from top) try out their photo booth at Junior Parents Weekend. (Right) The Athman’s photo booth and collection of props for its business debut Junior Parents Weekend.
said. “They had a line of people waiting the entire time.” After such a successful turnout, Jung hopes to use Athman’s photo booth for future events on campus. “I’m all about allowing students to showcase their special talents,” Jung said.
combining creative efforts with his sibling. “We started to connect more and started to realize we had the same sort of ideas and interests in terms of music and audio and tech stuff,” Athman said. “Ever since then it’s been great. We’ve gotten really close.”
Entrepreneur, musician, engineer
Building the booth business
Throughout the process of building their business, the Athman brothers have been supported by family, friends and UP along the way. Among Athman’s biggest supporters is Villa Maria Hall Director Kurt Berning, who helped to foster his entrepreneurial passion when he was an RA in Villa. “It was clear to me on day one that Garrett would be active as an entrepreneur his whole life,” Berning said. “I’m excited to see his photo booth company starting to take off.” In addition to running a business, Athman has commitments to a variety of campus groups, including the engineering honors society Tau Beta Pi, University Singers, “Call Our Bluff” and working as the Pilot audio and lighting director. He recognizes the pressure he puts on himself to get things accomplished. “I have a lot of interests and I enjoy them all so much that I haven’t been able to choose one,” Athman said. “I don’t know if that’s a good thing or bad thing, but it takes a lot of self-motivation, almost out of necessity to get things completed.” Managing his time has proven to be a difficult task. “Since we’re basically just starting out with the business, it’s been tough,” Athman said. “I definitely have to focus on school, but at the same time I have an obligation to my brother and our clients that we continue to develop our company and push ourselves further.” Although Athman is now business partners with his brother, the siblings didn’t always get along as kids. But, after spending more time together over the past few years, Athman now enjoys
After the successful debut of their company and with more events booked in the upcoming months, Athman is optimistic about the future of Red Curtain Photo Booth. He was recently accepted into the E-Scholars entrepreneurial program at UP in the hopes of improving his business skills. He also hopes to grow his small business into a franchise. “Maybe even refining our booth design and making something that isn’t out there yet (and) making something diverse and caters to many different needs and is unique enough to patent,” Athman said. “Maybe manufacturing and selling booths because there seems to be an industry there in itself. I don’t really have timeline but it would be cool to see it grow.” If Red Curtain Photo Booth has grown by his graduation next spring, Athman is willing to put his engineering aspirations on hold and devote his time to building the business. In the future, Athman hopes to become a professionally licensed civil engineer, but doesn’t foresee pursuing the profession longterm. With a passion for so many areas, he would love to combine his interests in music, engineering and entrepreneurship, perhaps going back to school and becoming an acoustic engineer in order to design treatments to control sound in public spaces. “I can always be (an entrepreneur) on the side,” Athman said. “If something doesn’t work out, I’ll always have engineering to fall back on. But, if you were to ask me right now if I think I’ll be doing engineering in 10 years, I’d probably say that hopefully one of my entrepreneurial ideas...will have taken off.”
Entertain Me Stay cool soda pop, Veronica Mars is back All right marshmallows, the movie release has arrived and it’s more wonderful than I could have dreamed. If you’ve never heard of the sleuthing sassy Veronica Mars (Kristen Bell), keep reading. I am about to substantially improve your life. Go forth and rent/buy/borrow the DVDs (you can even borrow mine if you’d like) and immerse yourself in the world of Neptune, Calif. It’s full of blonde witty detectives, income disparity, an unparalleled supporting cast of weirdos, dark love triangles and has a theme song you will be singing along with by episode five. You’re welcome in advance. I had long ago waved a white flag and given up hope in regards to a movie. Every TV show that gets cancelled prematurely loves to dangle that carrot. Unfortunately, none of the production studios are rabbits. Then Rob Thomas launched a Kickstarter, giving the power to the fans. Finally, that carrot, the entire garden, even the beets, were harvested. It was the largest Kickstarter campaign ever proving that sometimes fan power can be a bulldozer and that absence makes the heart grow fonder. It also proves that people love sassy blondes in leather jackets that solve crime, but I digress. My thoughts when the cam-
paign started can be summed up as such: “Take all my money Rob Thomas, even the pennies hiding in my couch cushions, just please, for the love of all that is holy, give me closure.” Those that have watched all three seasons understand my desperation for an ending. The last we saw of Veronica she was wrapped up in Piz’s (opinion: awful) arms and heading to the FBI. There was no finishing bow, just a wake of despair from fans desperate for the rest of the story. Weevil?! Mac?! KEITH?! BACKUP?! WHAT HAPPENED TO THEM I NEED ANSWERS. Being cheated of an ending made me feel the deep injustice in the TV world. The movie though, the beautiful, intense, passion-filled movie, was like being with an old friend or putting on an old perfect sweater. It just felt right. Re-watch the show. Throw on your leather jacket. If you have a motorcycle, take that. If you don’t have a motorcycle, borrow one from a friend. If you don’t know anyone with a motorcycle expand your social circle. Go to dinner and eat dinner like the lower middle class you aspire to be, and go see the movie. I’m not giving anything away, just know that everyone from the original cast is back, it’s filled with brooding stares from the man we all love to hate, Logan Echolls, tons of corruption and of course, Dick. Original fans, go spend time with some old friends. New converts, feel lucky you didn’t have to wait years for this. Also, I have something to admit: I. Love. Unicorns. -Cassie Sheridan
LIVING
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LIVING
March 20, 2014
Alum journeys from Shiley Hall to SXSW Mechanical engineering grad became a YouTube sensation with videos featuring self-taught special effects Maggie Smet Staff Writer smet14@up.edu Wren Weichman’s 133,867 subscribers on YouTube could fill up the Chiles Center almost 27 and a half times. But in 2011, Weichman was a senior University of Portland mechanical engineering major, pondering what to do after his impending graduation. Weichman’s video opened up the South by Southwest (SXSW) Video Game Awards in Austin, Texas last weekend. He has amassed about 15 million total views on his YouTube videos featuring visual effects that rival your favorite summer blockbuster.
“The problem was, I didn’t know how to do most of the visual effects I wanted to do. Like all the smoke stuff I had no idea how to do, I just knew I could probably figure out.”
Wren Weichman UP alum
“It was pretty cool to actually see, or experience, a ton of people watching the video with you and laughing, and being like ‘OH SNAP!’ at all the right moments” Weichman said in a video posted on YouTube. Weichman’s channel, wrenthereaper, started out as a hobby during his time on The Bluff. He learned how to produce visual effects like clones, fire and smoke from online tutorials. He applied for the YouTube NextUp program that fosters YouTuber talent, with a top prize of $35,000. Although he didn’t win, it was a turning point. Through the work and
preparation of applying for NextUp, Weichman realized that film and effects was his passion. A few months after graduation, he headed to Los Angeles to make a go at film. “I literally packed up everything into my car, and just drove down to LA, no idea what to expect, no idea what to do,” Weichman said. “I ended up having to live in my car for a couple days and put all my stuff in a public storage locker. I realized when I got down there, I have no idea what I’m doing.” Once settled in LA, Weichman honed his skills by working for and learning from the team behind popular YouTube channel CorridorDigital. He was a production assistant on their Sync video series, and started filming and editing behind the scenes videos on set. Armed with new knowledge and experience, Weichman won the NextUp prize in January of 2013, one of 30 winners out of 20,000 applicants. This meant money, equipment and access to YouTube Space LA, a studio and editing space for YouTubers. Out of this experience, Weichman’s largest project was born. “The OMEn Chronicles” is an action packed saga set in the wizarding world of Harry Potter 15 years after the Battle of Hogwarts. The 12 minute and 44 second video took Weichman and his collaborators almost a year from their initial concept, to clicking the upload button on YouTube. Weichman estimates he spent at least 1,600 hours total working on “OMEn,” most of it in postproduction. “The problem was, I didn’t know how to do most of the visual effects I wanted to do,” Weichman said with a laugh. “Like all the smoke stuff I had no idea how to do, I just knew I could probably figure out.”
Photo courtesy of Wren Facebook page
(Above) Wren Weichman’s video “The Hero” opened the South by Southwest Video Game Awards last weekend.Weichman majored in mechanical engineering but taught himself how to do special effects during college as a hobby. (Below) Screenshots from Weichman’s videos on his channel, wrenthereaper. Weichman’s newest project, “The Hero,” was a video that opened up the SXSW Video Game Awards. He was recommended by his friends at CorridorDigital, and boosted by the fact that the show manager and his kids regularly watched and quoted Weichman’s videos. The video takes on gaming culture in a fresh light, with a female lead character. “That video we specifically wanted to have a female lead, because the guy who wrote it and myself felt that women are really underrepresented in gaming culture, but they’re still a huge
presence in it,” Weichman said. “So we wanted to show the strong female character lead, but in a humorous fashion.” Weichman and Technician Supervisor Allen Hansen met at UP while Weichman worked in the mechanical engineering lab. Hansen remembers seeing some of Weichman’s first videos. “Some of his first videos, the stuff that he does, I was just blown away and his new stuff is just through the roof. It’s absolutely astonishing what he can accomplish,” Hansen said. Weichman’s ultimate goal is to direct a feature-length movie,
but knows it isn’t easy. Going forward, he is at a crossroad between being just another name in the credits, and following his own path. “I honestly don’t know what I want. I’ve been in such a weird confused state, where I don’t know what I want to do with my life,” Weichman said. “I always wanted to helm my own ideas, which is every filmmaker’s dream. That isn’t necessarily something that can happen for everyone. A lot of luck plays into it. I’m just trying really hard to make sure that luck can possibly pay off.”
LIVING
www.upbeacon.com
Where’s your Beacon been? Never to be parted from their beloved school newspaper, students pack their Beacons with them on spring break
1. John Reardon in Yosemite. 2. Lena Dahl at In-N-Out 3. Sarah Woodward in Alberta, Canada 4. The UP Border Immersion group in Arizona 5. The Beacon team in Times Square, New York 6. John Reardon, Sam Golloway, Beau Borek, Tara Egan, Rachel Van Nes, Patrick Throckmorton, and (front) David Sumada in Yosemite 7. Kay Bodmer in Haiti 8. Jenny Rodrigues at In-N-Out.
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FAITH & FELLOWSHIP
March 20, 2014
Clare Duffy Staff Writer duffy17@up.edu Sophomore Ana Fonseca has photo evidence of her selfproclaimed admiration for Pope Francis on her Instagram, namely a photo of herself holding a collection of magazines featuring him on their front pages. “Oh my gosh, I’m kind of obsessed with Pope Francis,” Fonseca said. “He’s just doing so many great things, I don’t know how anyone could not be excited about him.” Fonseca attended World Youth Day, an international event organized by the Catholic Church, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil last July. The event was held not long after Pope Francis, formerly Archbishop Jorge Mario Bergo-
A year in review: Pope Francis glio of Buenos Aires, Argentina, had been elected as the pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church on March 13, 2013. One year later, the 266th pope has become highly popular amongst Catholics (and nonCatholics) around the world, as well as within the UP community. “From the very beginning of his papacy, he ushered in his message of humility and that really came through seeing him in person and seeing him speak, and made it real,” Fonseca said. In a report published March 6, 2014, Pew Research found that more than 80 percent of U.S. Catholics have a positive view of Pope Francis. It also stated that since his election, 26 percent of U.S. Catholics have reported being more excited about their faith.
Campus Ministry’s Assistant Director for Faith Formation Anthony Paz agreed that the pope’s message has reinvigorated Campus Ministry’s mission. “(Pope Francis’s) approach, with mercy and inclusion, has given us more confidence to do our work as a Campus Ministry in a way that is more outwardfocused and inclusive and welcoming to all people, regardless of their faith or background or worldview,” Paz said. Junior Megan Biggi, a member of the Servant Leadership Team, has also experienced Pope Francis’s influence on Campus Ministry, as well as on the greater student population at UP. Additionally, he’s impacted how she views her own faith. “He’s definitely a role model,” Biggi said. “I think that humility
"I don't like this mythology of Pope Francis. It seems offensive to me to depict the pope as some sort of superman or a kind of star. The pope is a man who laughs, cries, sleeps soundly at night and has friends just like anyone else. A normal person." -Interview with Corriere della Sera in Italy and La Nacion
is something that he really emulates, and it reminds me that even the littlest things, like listening to a friend or smiling at someone, our actions on an individual, personal level really do have an effect on the world around us.” Pope Francis is also unique in that he is somewhat of a pope of “firsts.” He is the first non-European pope in nearly 1,300 years, the first Western “New World” pope, the first Jesuit pope and the first pope to take the name Francis. Math professor Fr. Charlie McCoy feels that these firsts allow Pope Francis to bring a new perspective to the papacy, as well as signaling somewhat of a change in direction in pursuing the church’s mission. “A lot of what I think he’s brought is his background, his story, really who he is, is dif-
Timeline of Pope Francis’s First Year MARCH 2013 Pope Francis was elected to the papacy on March 13, 2013. MARCH 2013 Pope Francis gave his first Easter Message on March 31, 2013.
“A lot of what I think he’s brought is his background, his story, really who he is, is different than what we’ve seen in centuries and even in history. It sends a definite mes“From sage of wanting to bring somethe very beginthing new to the Church … a ning of his papacy, he breath of fresh air.” -Fr. ushered in his message of McCoy humility and that really came through seeing him in person and seeing him speak, and made it real.” -Ana Fonseca
“(Pope Francis’s) approach, with mercy and inclusion, has given us more confidence to do our work as a Campus Ministry in a way that is more outward-focused and inclusive and welcoming to all people, regardless of their faith or background or worldview.” -Anthony Paz
“He’s definitely a role model. I think that humility is something that he really emulates, and it reminds me that even the littlest things, like listening to a friend or smiling at someone, our actions on an individual, personal level really do have an effect on the world around us.” -Megan Biggi
JULY 2013 The 14th International World Youth Day was held in in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil from July 23-28. AUGUST 2013 In an interview with The New York Times, Pope Francis revealed many of his thoughts on Church-related issues. SEPTEMBER 2013 Pope Francis took action on his plan to reform the Vatican bureaucracy. DECEMBER 2013 Pope Francis takes a step toward overcoming the Catholic Church’s child sexual assault scandals. JANUARY 2013 Pope Francis was awarded Esquire’s “Best Dressed Man of 2013” for his simple, pared-down style. MARCH 2014 Pope Francis mistakenly cursed in Italian … and social media went wild.
ferent than what we’ve seen in centuries and even in history,” McCoy said. “It sends a definite message of wanting to bring something new to the Church … a breath of fresh air.” Additionally, McCoy believes students can better relate to Pope Francis because he is a Jesuit. “College is such a time of discernment, and as a Jesuit, he speaks so easily and clearly about discernment,” McCoy said. “I think it’s a gift he brings to young people.” Pope Francis has made international headlines this past year and has been a popular topic of conversation on social media. The following is a recap of a few of the news-worthy moments from Francis’s first year as pope.
Less than three weeks after becoming pope, Francis delivered his first “Urbi et Orbi” - or “to the city and the world” - to a crowd of about 250,000 people on Easter Sunday. His message was a call for peace around the world, and especially for the end of the civil war in Syria. He also called for the rejection of greed and for people to be mindful of caring for the environment. In an interview with the editor of a popular Roman Jesuit journal, Rev. Antonio Spadaro, Pope Francis gave insight into who he is and what his priorities are as pope. In stark contrast to his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, Francis explained that he felt the church was too focused on issues like gay marriage, abortion and contraception and that “it is not necessary to talk about these issues all the time.” He stated his goal for a more inclusive church, one that put love and service to oppressed peoples first. Pope Francis called a meeting on Sept. 24, 2013 with the eight cardinals he has appointed to assist in his reformation of the Roman Curia, the bureaucracy of the Vatican. In an interview the same day with Italian journalist Eugenio Scalfari, the pope stated that he felt that the church has often been led by “narcissists” who were too hungry for power, and that he hoped the Curia would become more of “a community.” In a weekly address to the Vatican on Sunday, March 2, native Spanish speaker Pope Francis accidentally mispronounced the Italian word for case, “caso,” saying instead “cazzo,” which has several vulgar connotations, one of which can be translated into the f-word in English. While the pope quickly corrected himself and moved on, the news and social media had a harder time doing so.
OPINIONS EDITORIAL Over the past year, ASUP President Quin Chadwick and Vice President Elvia Gaona have proven their leadership experience and their ability to form focused, realistic goals for ASUP. We recommend re-electing them to next year’s ASUP executive board. Rarely has UP had the opportunity to have an ASUP president and vice president for two consecutive terms. The experience Chadwick and Gaona have already gained puts them in a unique position to make changes on campus. Because they won’t have to spend the first few months of next year forming relationships with administrators and learning how to lead ASUP Senate, they will be able to work on their projects right away. Chadwick and Gaona have also shown themselves to be committed to building a more diverse and inclusive community at the University of Portland. Di-
www.upbeacon.com 11
ASUP elections: Re-elect Chadwick and Gaona
versity has proven to be one of the most important topics to UP students. Last year’s Redefine Purple Pride Movement and the Los Pilots incident at the basketball game against BYU earlier this semester demonstrate the need for greater cultural awareness on campus. Both Chadwick and Gaona were instrumental in writing and passing Resolution 13-06 last spring, which asked the administration to change the Nondiscrimination Policy to include sexual orientation. They are also committed to continuing their work in improving the on-campus environment for minority students. Chadwick and Gaona plan to improve the inclusivity of the campus environment by creating a workshop during Freshman Orientation on diversity and cultural competency. Chadwick and Gaona have also talked to administrators
about developing a long-term strategy for fostering diversity through classes. They hope to work with the administration to create classes that focus on inclusion and cultural competency. Their focused, realistic efforts to improve the campus environment for marginalized students illustrate their commitment to these students’ success and wellbeing. Although John Julius Muwulya and Josh Cleary, who are also running for ASUP president and vice president, have a concrete, ambitious platform, their ideas may not be as practical as they seem. Some of their plans for the presidency are to improve Wi-Fi on campus, oversee the creation of an Office of Inclusion and potentially hold a small music festival at the beginning of next year. While these are all ideas we would love to see implemented, they simply are not feasible. An Office of Inclusion requires hir-
ing and paying an entire staff. Better Wi-Fi is not a simple fix — it requires a great deal of expensive equipment. Chadwick and Gaona, on the other hand, have a year of experience under their belt, which gives them a better idea of which projects are feasible and which are outside the ASUP’s budget and means. Although an Office of Inclusion would undoubtedly benefit students, Chadwick and
Photos courtesy of ASUP executive board
Gaona’s plan to focus on diversity through education is much more achievable. Voting for next year’s ASUP executive board starts next Tuesday and runs through Wednesday evening. Be sure to sign into your PilotsUP account and vote Quin Chadwick and Elvia Gaona for ASUP president and vice president.
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.
Where do I put ‘Older Sibling’ on my resume? Cassie Sheridan Staff Commentary Usually when I write, I don’t want to hear any noise. I am a big fan of hearing myself think and don’t want sounds of lesser intelligence to distract me. So on this particular day, I was sitting down preparing to make the difficult decision between commenting on “Keeping up with the Kardashians” or something a little more academic, like the return of the monocle, when my younger sister interrupted my intellectual flow. This is the inherent struggle of getting anything done over spring break: You are either having grown up spring break fun
in (insert tropical/exotic/cosmopolitan city here), or you are somewhere with your family. I am disregarding those selfless individuals who spend their breaks on immersion service trips. They disqualify themselves by being enviable and worth emulating and thus not understanding the perpetual conundrum I suffer. I’m referring to the problem of being an older sibling. Specifically, being an older sibling and a “role model,” while simultaneously being someone very few people should take advice from. I remember quite well the excitement I felt being 12 years old and finding out I was going to have a younger sister. All I had were brothers, an injustice I routinely made my parents aware of. As luck would have it, I was blessed with a younger sister, and now, nine years after the fact, I wish it had been a puppy.
I love her infinitely. She is a beautiful small human with a huge heart and an intellect greater than my own — and that’s the problem. I have lived through the trials and terrors of being a teenage girl, and I definitely didn’t get through unscathed. If any of the thousands of articles being written are correct, then it is only getting harder, and that is frightening. I wouldn’t take advice from me, so how am I supposed to guide her through what are arguably the most difficult years? How will I keep her from piercing her belly button in the seventh grade bathroom or sneaking out of eighth grade classrooms to meet up with boys? How will I tell her that wearing head-totoe Abercrombie is in fact not cute without getting yelled at in the middle of a mall? (Full disclosure: these are all things I did
— I’m sure you now understand why I am far from a good choice to guide a young soul.) I have very little figured out, and yet my role and obligation is to be a sort of sensei into the tribulations of adolescence. In this case, the blind should not lead the blind. Yet I owe it to her to help her along and make her inevitable mistakes less awful than my own. It’s terrifying to know that your decisions and misguided choices and the words you speak, sometimes great and sometimes awful, will be emulated and copied and repeated. These actions will be used as signposts and hints like some sort of horrible crumb trail, which if I had known there would be a little person following behind me picking up said crumbs I would have dropped very different ones. It’s a new kind of awareness, the sort that makes you conscious
of everything you say and do and the people you bring around and the sinking in your stomach when that innocent person asks about things you’d rather she didn’t know. You want to put earmuffs and blinders on her and let her keep playing in the woods pretending to be anything but growing up. Every time another person labels me a role model or guide or sensei, I shudder and feel fraudulent, undeserving of such a title. Yet despite doing nothing to earn such an enormous responsibility, quite possibly the most important job I will ever have, it is mine. God, I wish it had been a puppy. Cassie Sheridan is a junior English and political science major. She can be reached at sheridan15@up.edu.
THE BEACON Submission Policy
Letters and commentaries from readers are encouraged. All contributions must include the writer’s address and phone number for verification purposes. The Beacon does not accept submissions written by a group, although pieces written by an individual on behalf of a group are acceptable. Letters to the editor must not exceed 250 words. Those with longer opinions are encouraged to submit guest columns. The Beacon reserves the right to edit any contributions for length and style, and/or reject them without notification. University students must include their major and year in school. Nonstudents must include their affiliation to the University, if any.
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Editorial Board Editor-in-Chief.. . . . . . . . . . . . Kelsey Thomas News Editor. . . . . . . . . . . �������� Sarah Hansell Living Editor ������������������������������ Kate Stringer Opinions Editor. . . . . . . ��������Philip Ellefson Sports Editor . . . . . . . . . �������������Katie Dunn Design Editor . . . . . . . . . �������� Shellie Adams Asst. Design Editor. . . . . ������� Emily Strocher Copy Editor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Kathryn Walters
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OPINIONS
March 20, 2014
FACES
Immigration policies should uphold justice
on The Bluff
by Parker Shoaff
What would your ideal spring break have been? Nate Mattix sophomore mechanical engineering
“Going to Jamaica. It just sounds like a good idea, chilling on the beach.”
Mace Provost freshman business
“Hanging out with more of my friends.”
Erin Nishijima sophomore elementary education
“Travel through Europe.”
John Ilao sophomore business
“I would say going down to Hawaii, drinking some beer and being on the beach.”
Jeffrey Kuang Guest Commentary “This is a court of law, young man, not a court of justice,” the judge said. At the Evo A. Concini U.S. Courthouse in Tucson, Ariz., the Honorable Judge Velasco quoted American jurist Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr. in response to a Q&-A with different groups of college students. I was here with UP’s Border Immersion this past spring break learning with the educational nonprofit Borderlinks. This was our third day in Arizona. Velasco had just finished sentencing 70 undocumented immigrants to ranges of 30 to 180 days in jail in just over half an hour. Operation Streamline is designed to prosecute undocumented immigrants under the federal criminal justice system rather than the customs of immigration. He rapidly read the charges and moved them to detention by bored U.S. marshals. Crossing the border without a visa should be a civil defense, but detainees spend as much time in detention as criminals before imprisonment and deportation. It is a “streamline” in the sense that it quickens the process of detaining immigrants. It reminded me of an assembly line.
Martin Luther King, Jr. once said that “Law and order exist for the purpose of establishing justice and when they fail in this purpose they become the dangerously structured dams that block the flow of social progress.” This is why I identify people crossing the border as undocumented immigrants instead of illegal aliens. I do not wish to dehumanize them under that label. Much attention is focused on the concept that they are drug traffickers, and the judge even accused us college stu-
dents in attendance of using and abusing drugs. I know some UP students took offense to his statement. Please take into consideration that many of those detained immigrate because they fear for their safety in their own country. Drug cartels also manipulate many immigrants, threatening harm to their families. Even in a down economy, people still cross. Even with beefed up Border Patrol, people still cross. The people who cross are usually from Mexico and Central America. Beyond the United
States, America is a continent. Mexico is our neighbor. Why can’t we love our neighbor? Why can’t mi casa be su casa? I do not have all the answers to this multi-faceted issue, but there is much work that needs to be done if we, as Americans, truly want liberty and justice for all. Jeffrey Kuang is a senior psychology major. He can be reached at kuang14@up.edu.
“I identify people crossing the border as undocumented immigrants instead of illegal aliens. I do not wish to dehumanize them under that label.”
Jeffrey Kuang senior
This statement he quoted puzzled me as I listened. He seemed to suggest that law and justice are completely separate, but I have always had the idea that the two are closely interconnected. If laws are not designed to implement justice, then what are they for? In our discussion, the judge gave his case for the purposes of law. He insisted that we human beings are animals, which is true, but that laws are constructed to control our wild characteristics. If that is the case, then what separates human beings from animals? Why wouldn’t we just naturally succumb to our wildest carnal desires and go full-on anarchy? I know that he was arguing for what he believes is right for society, but to me he spoke in terms of insecurity rather than security on the issue. I believe humans are different from animals because we have the capability of rational thought. Abstract thinking has led to the creation of laws in order to implement fairness and righteousness.
Walk in the American Cancer Society Relay For Life.
March 28 - 29 Relay For Life of the University of Portland
Chiles Center 5000 N. Willamette Blvd. Portland, OR
RelayForLife.org/upor © 2013 American Cancer Society, Inc.
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SPORTS
March 20, 2014
BASEBALL: Consistency needed for success
All photos by Parker Shoaff | THE BEACON
(Top left) Redshirt junior Turner Gill stands on the first base path waiting for his teammate to hit him in. (Top right) Redshirt senior Chet Thompson throws in a hit from the outfiled. (Bottom right) Junior Michael Lucarelli swings at a pitch in a game against UC Irvine earlier this season.
Continued from page 16 have already forced players into roles they were not originally planning for which has caused the team to make several adjustments. “Our top two projected pitchers are out with injuries and we are having to adjust to that reality,” Sperry said. “Against Bakersfield, a couple weeks ago, we had strong consistent games. So that type of performance is what we are working for right now.” The Pilots still have eight conference series to play in the coming weeks. An integral part
of their success will be not allowing a lot of early runs, something they have struggled with in past games. On Tuesday against University of Washington, all seven of the Huskies’ runs were scored in the first two innings and against Loyola Marymount on Sunday, the team gave up four runs in the first inning forcing them to play down for the remainder of the game. “I think the way we are playing you can tell we are kind of tense,” outfielder Chet Thompson said. “The biggest thing for us right now is to just relax. We can play with anyone and we still
have a lot of games to play.” Currently, two standouts are Caleb Whalen, Portland’s top hitter with a .283 average, two HR’s, four doubles, a triple, and seven RBI’s. Freshman pitcher Austin Kelly was recently awarded 2013 Oregon prep baseball player of the year. “We definitely see where we need to be,” Sperry said. “We just haven’t been able to quite get there yet.” The Pilots’ next home game is against WCC rival St Mary’s tomorrow at 3 p.m.
SPORTS
Pilot in the Spotlight
www.upbeacon.com
How do you like your first semester at UP? I really like it. Campus at Arizona State was really big and this one is really small so it’s been a lot easier meeting people. How was else would you distinguish Arizona from UP? Everyone is just a lot more friendly especially on the team side of things. Everyone is just a lot more encouraging and we all push each other really hard in practice just to get better. I feel like we’re all closer as a team.
Katie Dunn | THE BEACON
Madison Leek Track & Field Sophomore West Linn, Ore.
CHAPLAINS: Playing their part on the team Continued from page 16 gardless of how we play.” Both chaplains found that through their work they have developed a more personal relationship with the student athletes and have a clear understanding of the difficulties that these students go through. Although he used to come to games before, Olinger noticed that wins and losses have a much more obvious effect on him now that he is an active part of the team. “Because I know the guys better, I’m much more personally invested in the games and so the losses are that much harder. You know how hard they work, you know what good men they are, you know how hard it is to balance all the different demands on their time so when they lose it’s just that much tougher,” Olinger said. “But I’m really proud of them and all the work that they’ve done.” Bruno and Olinger both admitted to never playing basketball or not playing the game well, but even before becoming chaplains they were each passionate sports fans. Olinger has always been interested in college sports and Bruno enjoys following her home team, the Chicago Bulls, and was a huge fan of their most famous player, Michael Jordan. Before they became chaplains, one could see Bruno and Olinger
at many of the home games here at UP since both are such avid basketball fans. Now that Olinger and Bruno are part of each program, they are able to understand what it means to be part of a team. “Everybody has a part to play, whether it’s the trainer or me or head coach they all have a part to play and as a team you try and play it well. I love being a part of a team,” Bruno said. “Growing up they didn’t have organized sports the way they do now so it’s just fun for me to be a part of it.”
You played soccer at Arizona, how is that transitioning into a different sport? Soccer is a lot different because it’s more of like a team altogether playing everything and track is just you’re focusing more on your event. In practice, though we definitely work together as a team in the workouts so that is a little bit different. It’s mostly just an individual mindset for racing and stuff whereas for soccer it was more team involvement in the game. Why did you transfer to Portland?
I’m originally from here and I found out, when I got recruited to play soccer at Arizona State, I just decided that soccer just wasn’t working out like injury wise. I had a couple injuries and I just wasn’t able to really play at that level anymore. So when I moved back here I looked into track as being an option for me and everything worked out with that. How is track working out with your injuries now? Is it not affected by it? Where it would go bad was soccer specific movements like kicking and cutting and stuff. That was bothering it. Track is just going really well so far and I’ve been able to manage everything really well. What was going through your mind during and after the race where you set the record during the 400m dash? For the 400m I ran it the week before, the week of my first indoor meet, and so for my second meet I was just really nervous. I just wanted to get out fast and beat the break in and I just kept that pace throughout the race and I just managed to get the record. I honestly didn’t really know af-
terwards that I got it. It kind of just happened afterwards and someone was like ‘oh by the way...’ so it was kind of one of those things. You also set the record in the 600 meter race, how was that as well? For the 600 that I ran a couple weeks ago, that was my first time running it so honestly my coach was just like go out there and have fun with it and I just kind of went out and ran it. Afterwards I found out I had broken the record and for both of them it was just like a cool, surreal moment. But I feel like with the records I don’t like to put too much emphasis on those because I’m more of just like I look forward to the next race and not looking back at it. How was the change from high school to college? Track in college is a lot more technical and there are a lot of things that I didn’t really know coming in form-wise and running-wise. But so far, already, I feel like I’ve been able to improve upon just a couple weeks ago when I first started up. -Maggie Hannon
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SPORTS
March 20, 2014
THE BEACON
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Bringing prayer to the court
Courtesy of UP Athletics | THE BEACON
Fr. Gerry Olinger (right) supports the men’s basketball team during a time out. Olinger attended home games and travelled to some away games including the WCC Tournament. Maggie Hannon Staff Writer hannon15@up.edu Players, coaches and trainers are all common faces for fans to see on the bench during basketball games. A face that may not be as common, however, is the face of a priest or sister on the same bench, cheering on their players. Halfway through this basketball season two members of the Holy Cross community joined both the men’s and the women’s teams as another outlet for support and guidance for players. In January, Vice President of Student Affairs and Shipstad Hall Chaplain Fr. Gerry Olinger and Fields Hall Director Sister Sue Bruno joined each team as a chaplain for the program, Olinger for the men’s and Bruno for the women’s.
Last semester, Olinger, President elect Fr. Mark Poorman and Athletic Director Scott Leykam, worked together to create the team chaplain program as a way to reach out to student athletes in a more purposeful way. Once they decided that they would start with basketball, Olinger offered to help with the men’s team. Bruno had served as a chaplain for Notre Dame’s women’s basketball team for 12 years, so she was invited to serve as chaplain for the women’s team. “By nature of their lives and busy-ness, the travel and practices sometimes they don’t have opportunities to engage in some of the activities like retreats or other aspects that we have,” Olinger said. “So the idea was how to do we do this in a much more intentional way.”
The chaplain’s job includes many different responsibilities aside from just sitting on the bench with team. The chaplains also lead the teams in prayer before the game, sometimes attend team dinners and go to a few away games if possible. Olinger travelled with the team during their WCC tournament in Las Vegas and has also followed the team to southern California for other away games. Through travelling with the team, Olinger was able to get a closer look into the dynamic of the group. The chaplains also are to provide personal and spiritual support to student athletes, coaches and staff. They are instructed to meet with players (especially captains) and establish a more spiritual guidance for the team. Olinger and Bruno found that
their positions allows for a confidential resource to help team members if they are going through any challenges in their lives, either in sports or with more individual issues. “I think what Fr. Gerry and I try to do is to offer them not only prayerful support but any kind of personal support that there can be, whether they’re dealing with class issues or they’re dealing with team issues or they’re dealing with just life issues,” Bruno said. “Part of our role is to support them in any way that they can.” Athletes on the men’s and women’s teams both thought chaplains are a good source for support. Since the chaplains have been present, players have been able to develop relationships with Olinger and Bruno.
“(Olinger) is there cheering for us, talking to us, and talking about our games,” freshman guard Alec Wintering said. “He’s there for support and he’s a good resource.” But although this is their first years as chaplains, many of the players on the team knew the chaplains before, since they work in other areas of campus. Since Bruno works as hall director of Fields, she gets to see some of the girls outside of practice, though most of the time they are too busy to chat in the residence hall. “I knew (Bruno) before, so her being on the bench was just an added bonus,” junior guard Jasmine Wooton said. “It’s nice to have a party on our side reSee CHAPLAINS, page 15
Pilots hope for a spark in hitting heading into WCC play Cassie Sheridan Staff Writer sheridan15@up.edu The turning of the cherry blossoms and the raucous cheers coming from Joe Etzel Field can mean only one thing; baseball season is well underway. The pilots kicked off WCC conference play over spring break against Loyola Marymount coming up short in all three games despite close scores. The team has an overall record of 5-15, kicking off the season with a big win against defending national champion UCLA then struggling in subsequent games. After the loss to LMU over break, the Pilots suffered another heartbreaker to University of Washington on Tuesday falling 7-6 after making a 6-run comeback.
“We have had a lot of issues so far that need to be corrected both from a hitting standpoint and from the mound,” head coach Chris Sperry said. Sperry coached his 800th game for the Pilots on March 2. “The approach of our hitting has seriously improved over the past week but we are still struggling for consistency in our opening pitches,” Sperry said. Last season, the Pilots finished with an overall record of 18-36 and a WCC record of 8-16. The team suffered many injuries throughout the season making key players, including pitcher Travis Radke, who was a 2014 all WCC preseason selection, unable to perform. This season, injuries See BASEBALL, page 14
Parker Shoaff | THE BEACON
Sophomore Ryan Barr awaits a pitch during the first game of a double header Feb. 28 against UC Irvine.