The Beacon - Nov 14 - Issue 11

The BEacon

Vol. 115, Issue 11 November 14, 2013

Every Thursday

The Student Voice of the University of Portland Since 1935

Special Section: Men’s Basketball Preview p. 7-10

Students carry weapons, unaware of policy Recent incident at Gonzaga highlights the need for awareness of weapons policy Olivia Alsept-Ellis Staff Writer alseptel14@up.edu

The rules apply on campus and in University-owned houses off campus.

THE GONZAGA INCIDENT Two Gonzaga students are on probation for brandishing a pistol to ward off a strange man demanding money in the doorway of their University-owned apartment Oct. 24, according to The Spokesman-Review.

Though one of the students has a concealed weapons permit for the pistol, campus security seized the gun and a roommate’s hunting rifle several hours later.

Gonzaga has a policy forbidding possession of any weapons on university-owned property. This week, Gonzaga President Thayne M. McCulloh said Gonzaga would review the weapons policy as a result of the incident.

Like the Gonzaga students, many UP students are unaware of UP’s weapons policy, which prohibits “any firearm (or) knife” as well as “equipment which looks like, or can be confused with, a firearm or dangerous weapon” even if they have a concealed weapon permit.

Knives (including pocket-knives) are limited to “2 ¾ inches in length” and Mace is prohibited except by authorized personnel.

STUDENTS SPEAK ABOUT SELF-DEFENSE Some students The Beacon spoke with were unaware of the weapons policy and most were unsure of the exact regulations.

Sophomore Shane Scoggins argues that the weapons policy infringes on students’ constitutional rights. Scoggins does not carry a gun, but does carry a knife when working downtown.

“If you have the proper permits, it’s your Second Amendment right to carry that weapon,” Scoggins said. “I don’t know the wording of the weapons policy, but from what I can tell, it doesn’t address the fact that anyone can purchase a knife on Amazon and not everyone can get a gun permit.”

Senior Jackie Ackerson, who carries a purple Kubotan in her purse, would prefer that the policy allow for items of selfdefense. The Kubotan, made of dense plastic, is sculpted with a grip and a pressure point, and is designed to be kept on a keychain. It is barely larger than a thick pen, and can be easily held

Photo Illustration by Sarah Hansell and Emily Strocher | THE BEACON

and is wielded much like a knife, but has no sharpened side.

She said she comes from a family of law enforcement, so self-defense has always been important to her. Ackerson has taken the self-defense classes offered by Public Safety.

“I do not like feeling vulnerable in any situation. The Kubotan lets me feel comfortable, and there’s also no chance that

I will accidentally hurt anyone or hurt myself. I could see something going wrong if I were to carry Mace,” Ackerson said, laughing at the idea of Mace-ing herself.

Ackerson said her Kubotan is designed to multiply the power of a strike.

“All of my force will be coming out of the point. And it only takes 10 pounds of force to

the clavicle in order to break the assailant’s collar bone,” she said.

Ackerson said an incident in her off-campus house last year, which was only a few blocks from campus, made her even more concerned with self-defense.

“Last year there was a man in the backyard peeping through our basement windows. And we See WEAPONS, page 2

Overdue dates don’t deter students from tradition Women enter Villa Man Auction is moving to Chiles, but some students have still not gone on last year’s dates Megan Lester Staff Writer lester15@up.edu It’s sure to be raining men tonight as the Villa Man Auction takes place in the Chiles Center.

The Auction, which raises more money than all other residence halls’ fundraisers combined, has moved to the Chiles Center in order to accommodate all the spectators. Although the 19th Annual Man Auction will soon be underway, some dates from last year’s auction remain pending.

Junior David Rinella and a group of his Villa friends were supposed to take a group of girls to the Oregon Coast. The girls paid for the date ($1,100 total), but as some of the girls were studying abroad the next semester, it never took place.

“We went down to the Oregon Coast … or at least

that was the plan,” Rinella said.

“The girls had study abroad the next semester, so it actually never wound up happening.

It’s still, I’m told, in the works.

We’re still emailing them to my knowledge.”

One of those girls, junior Chelsea Shannon, was optimistic despite the rain check.

“Their dance was to Shania Twain’s ‘Man I Feel Like a Woman,’ in jean shorts,” she said. “It was hilarious! It was $110 a person, not everyone paid equal amounts, but that was fine!

We still haven’t gone on our date. It’s been a year.”

Last November a group of Mehling RAs won a date with the Villa RAs, but the date was then deferred until this semester.

“We’re going next week, so it’s kind of pushed back,” said Dayna Okumura, one of the Mehling RAs. “We had scheduling conflicts last year.

None of us were free at the same time. (Waiting) is totally fine!”

Okumura will be taken out by the Villa RAs, including senior Stan Thompson.

“Everyone has to be somewhat flexible,” Thompson said. “The groups are getting bigger … balancing 16 different schedules, especially in college, is near impossible. The RAs and the RAs of Mehling … one of us was on duty every week!”

“Most of the dates get taken care of fall semester,” Thompson said. “They try to do their best to be prompt with it.”

The Villa Maria Hall Council has tweaked the process this year to help ensure the dates happen.

“That was a problem last year, but we’re really working this year to make sure it doesn’t happen again,” said sophomore Colton Smith, a Villa Hall Council member. “That’s the big thing we’re doing this year –

there’s one person who’s going to be our main contact for a group of girls. So she’s in charge of getting the amount they agreed to pay.

“There’s more emphasis on getting the date happening we’re supposed to have it done by spring break,” Smith said.

Thompson is confident that the dates will be even more reliable this year, despite the event’s expansion.

“We’re trying to do our best to be reliable in that sense. Go check it out. We’re in the Chiles Center now,” Thompson said. “It used to take place in the Villa lobby so obviously there’s been some growth. It gives not only us exposure, but Holy Cross Charities. Even if you’re not bidding, go watch!”

See AUCTION, page 4

first round of playoffs Katie Dunn Sports Editor dunn16@up.edu Saturday night the women’s soccer team will take on Seattle University on Merlo Field at 7 p.m. in the first round of the NCAA playoffs.

They are a No. 3 seed for the tournament and if they win they will play Washington State or Illinois.

The last time Seattle U came to Merlo the Pilots won 3-0.

Senior defender Amanda Frisbie was named WCC Defender of the Year, Allison Wetherington is WCC Freshman of the Year and head coach Garrett Smith was named WCC Coach of the Year.

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NEWS

November 14, 2013

WEAPONS: some students feel safer carrying weapons Continued from page 1 have a gated backyard, so this guy had hopped the fence and was peeping through at two in the morning,” Ackerson said.

“We called (Public Safety) and the police, and made a report, but it happened again a few weeks later. Since then I haven’t been able to sleep without all the doors locked.”

However, Ackerson said she respects the weapons policy and feels safe knowing it exists.

“I believe that everyone has the right to defend themselves but I feel uncomfortable with the idea of someone breaking the policy,” Ackerson said. “As a private school, I believe they have the right to prohibit weapons. But communication of these rules is really important as well.”

While the Kubotan does not specifically break policy, Gregg was hesitant to support its use, saying it could be used as a weapon of coercion through pain. He also mentioned that some Kubatons are built to hide a blade, and in this case, the blade would have to meet weapons policy standard.

One UP senior, who asked to remain anonymous, carries mace, which is a violation of the weapons policy.

“Well it’s not always in my bag so I guess I didn’t give it second thought. It’s just this thing my mom bought for me and made me carry,” she said. “I never thought to check the policy because I figured I’d never use it anyway.”

She said she has never used the Mace on campus.

“The only time I used it was on accident,” she said. “It sprayed into my house and the windows were closed so it burned really bad, and me and my friends were running for the other room.

I guess you can say it’s really only caused me more harm than good.”

Gregg points out that, in the case of Mace, students have been allowed to carry the item.

“Some students, in the past, have been exempted from the policy for Mace when they go running because they’ve been chased by dogs,” Gregg said.

“But this case is rare.”

WEAPONRY IN CULTURAL TRADITIONS Senior Nick White, who lives off campus in non-University owned property, purchased a rifle in the last year for hunting. White used it a few times before selling it last month.

“I didn’t buy it for protection and I never took it out,” White said. “(Violence or self-defense) is the last thing that I would want to use it for.”

White lives north of Lombard St. in an area nearby campus that, he said, suffers from a negative “stigma.”

“My house definitely isn’t as protected as campus, but there’s this idea everyone has that it’s really dangerous out

there,” White said. “That stigma is blown out of proportion. The worst thing that’s happened to me and my housemates is that one girl had her iPod stolen out of the car.”

White said that he actually felt relieved after selling the rifle, and promotes a more non-violent approach to self-defense.

“I can imagine that having a weapon on you would promote a violent reaction. But I think there’s plenty of ways to control a situation without a weapon,” White said. “This whole thing made me realize just how it easy it is to buy and sell a gun. Scary easy, actually.”

Gregg was especially concerned about student use of guns, which is the center of the Gonzaga conflict. He cautioned students who own or are considering owning a gun to keep in mind the legal responsibilities they carry.

“Brandishing a weapon can have really, potentially undesirable side effects or response,” Gregg said. “I’m not going to display a weapon to somebody because they might pull one out and shoot at me …

There’s no turning back when you pull the trigger. And you never, ever use a firearm to bluff someone. If you display or point a firearm, you have to be justified in the use of deadly physical force.”

At least one UP student carries a weapon for cultural reasons. Junior David Rinella wears his Scottish blade, called a Sgian Dubh, as part of his traditional Scottish dress. Rinella carries the blade at the top of his Scottish hose with the hilt of the blade visible, as is the tradition.

“I make a point when I’m wearing the kilt not to hide (my blade). For some reason, a knife that you cannot see is a lot more suspicious than one that you can,” Rinella said.

Rinella said that he has never been confronted for the possession of his blade, despite the fact that he always maintains its visibility.

“I am adopted, so when I turned 18, I went and bought one for myself as a memory of the culture,” Rinella said. “I am descended from the Scottish highlands, and when the man turns 18 … you get one of these (blades) and the deal is that you carry it wherever you go.”

The blade is measured close to 2 3/4 inches and does not violate the weapons policy. Rinella said he doesn’t not maintain the sharpness of the blade and has no issues with the current weapons policy. He said if Public Safety ever took issue with his blade, he would like the chance to explain to them its cultural significance.

“I would actually hand it to them to let them see that the edge is hilariously dull,” Rinella said. “But I’m a gun control advocate and I’m not a huge fan of weapons. I don’t think that the policy needs changing. I’d just like to think (my blade) wouldn’t be an issue.”

While Rinella’s blade is

University of Portland’s Weapons Policy Prohibits the Following: -Any firearm -All knives with blades greater than 2 ¾ inches in length -Chemical agents, such as pepper spray or mace -Instruments that can be confused with a dangerous weapon (e.g. paintball guns, etc.)

-Other implements as refined by Oregon Revised Statutes 166.360, paragraph 5, sections a-g.

David DiLoreto | THE BEACON

(Above) Senior Jackie Ackerson demonstrates how to use a Kuboton in self defense. (Below) Junior David Rinella displays his Sgian Dubh, a Scottish blade he carries in his sock as part of his traditional Scottish dress. within regulation, Gregg said that students should be wary of toy weapons, especially if they are not obviously a toy.

“Toy weapons are supposed to have a red or orange end on them.

To be clearly and immediately visible as a toy,” Gregg said. “If you’re pointing what appears to be a gun at me in a threatening manner, if I don’t know it’s a toy, what am I going to do?”

WHAT DOES BREAKING THE POLICY MEAN? If there was ever a dispute over a weapons policy violation, Director of Residence Life Christopher Haug said that Residence Life would be committed to listening to the student.

“Our first piece is to not make any assumptions about what happened. We want to bring the student in to talk with us, to share with us their account of the situation,” Haug said.

Haug said that, in this hearing, Residence Life would ask the student important questions.

“Did you not know you could

not have a weapon on campus?

Did you feel like you needed one?” Haug said. “We are clear in our policy, that we don’t allow weapons on campus, so there would have to be a conversation, back and forth, about their understanding of the policy.”

While Haug said that he wasn’t aware of any weapons policy violations this year, there have been violations in the past.

In light of the Gonzaga incident, he said students should educate themselves on the weapons policy before an incident occurs.

“It’s so important that when you’re at an institution, that you’re aware of what the policies are. It’s no different than if I were to drive down in California, I need to know what the laws are around driving in California. Just because I’m from Oregon doesn’t exempt me from knowing the rules in that particular area. The same is true here,” Haug said.

Senior Maggie Bulger said the conflict was an issue of student fear, not ignorance.

“Honestly it makes me worried that someone feels so

(Unless otherwise involved in sanctioned ROTC training, or worn as issued equipment to Public Safety personnel.

Weapons permits do not exempt individuals from these prohibitions.)

For official language, look online or on page 32 in Life on the Bluff student handbook. unsafe on campus that they need to carry a weapon,” Bulger said.

“I think that’s the bigger problem here. They deserve to feel safe without a knife.”

Gregg emphasized that the weapons policy is a way to ensure campus safety.

“We’d rather escort a student, say, from the library to their dorm than have students arming themselves,” Gregg said.

He pointed out that all Public Safety staff follow weapons policy regulations as well. While he believes that policy is wellwritten and important, Gregg said he is willing to discuss the specific needs of UP’s students.

“Don’t violate policy,” Gregg said. “Let’s have a conversation upfront and see if we can come to an understanding.”

www.upbeacon.com 3

NEWS

Senator combines faith and politics in Washington U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy spoke at UP about how his Catholic faith affects his work on Capitol Hill Kathryn Walters Copy Editor walters14@up.edu Friendships with Batman and Bono are exciting perks in the life of U.S. Sen. Patrick Leahy, who spoke on “How Faith Can Inform and Enhance Public Service” in Buckley Center Auditorium last Friday. What he especially values, though, is the role that faith plays in his government service.

“Faith helps us see the bigger picture, it propels us to serve others,” he said. “Faith invites us to be surrogates for the oppressed, the hungry, and faith values allow us to give voice to those in the political process.”

Leahy, a Democrat from Vermont, has served in the U.S. Senate since 1974, making him the current longest-serving senator. He is most wellknown for his commitment to eliminating the manufacturing and use of landmines as well as his promotion of human rights through the Leahy Law, which mandates cutting U.S. funding to foreign leaders that have been revealed to violate the human rights of their own people.

More recently, the senator has made headlines regarding his criticism of the NSA (National

Security Agency) and his sponsorship of the new USA Freedom Act, which seeks to end the NSA’s ability to wiretap Americans’ phone calls.

“Having the NSA collect on us doesn’t make us safe as a country. We’re always going to face terrorists, every country does,” Leahy said. “But this massive foray into everyone’s lives, this is a chilling thought.”

Leahy also said many initiatives of his in the Senate, like immigration reform, have been supported by Congress members of all religious denominations.

“We had a faith community, which was absolutely essential in getting that through,” he said.

Senior Rebecca Larrabee, who attended the lecture, appreciates Leahy’s willingness to work with all members of Congress, regardless of political or religious affiliation.

“I was surprised at how open he was to different ideas and how he was so willing to work with both sides,” she said. “Also his strong emphasis on human rights, the fact that he doesn’t care where you come from or your personal beliefs, that we’re all human and all deserve the same equality.”

In order to keep his conscience clear on Capitol Hill, Leahy has what he calls his “conscience picture” in his office, which

depicts a refugee man staring straight out of the photo at him while he sits at his desk.

“It’s there to say, ‘All right, I’m not rich and powerful, what are you doing for people like me?’ Everytime I sit down at my desk, I see that,” Leahy said.

“I told a friend of mine, Bono, about this picture. He came to the office because he wanted to see the conscience picture and he sat down and looked at it and said ‘Wow, I see what you mean!’

I said, ‘Bono, take the picture!’”

In addition to being the longest-serving senator in Congress, Leahy is also the President Pro Tempore of the Senate, which means he is the highest-ranking senator and third in the presidential line of succession.

Leahy pointed out that the first four officials in succession to be president are all Catholics: Vice President Joe Biden, Speaker of the House John Boehner, Leahy and Secretary of State John Kerry.

“Dan Brown could take that and make a conspiracy novel about it!” he quipped, to laughs from the audience.

But Leahy said that having so many Catholics in high positions of power was unheard of when he was a young man campaigning door-to-door during John

Maggie Smet | THE BEACON

Sen. Leahy (left) and his brother-in-law Fr. Claude Pomerlau, a political science professor, pose for a photo.

F. Kennedy’s presidential campaign.

“I think people who have

See SENATOR, page 4

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NEWS

November 14, 2013

On On Campus Campus SENATOR: emphasized freedom MECHa HOSTS SPEAKING TOUR Thursday, 5-6:30 p.m. in Shiley 301. Members of the National Immigrant Youth Alliance (NIYA) and DreamActivist.org will be speaking.

PILOTS AFTER DARK Friday, Nov. 15, 6:30 p.m.12:00 a.m. in the Terrace Room. Winter concert featuring local band Nurses and UP student bands.

Two tickets to Fitz and the Tantrums will be given away.

Saturday, Nov. 16, 10 p.m.-1:00 a.m. in the Cove.

UP’s Board Game Club, the Spielfriek Society, will be hosting its monthly board game night. Enjoy food, prizes, giveaways, board games and music.

CPB PRESENTS THE CITIZEN Friday and Saturday night, Nov. 15 and 16, at 10 p.m. in the Buckley Center Auditorium.

CORRECTIONS In the Nov. 7 article “ASUP resolution propose to increase hall access,” the quote “I think the idea of Christian community extends to the whole campus. Barring people access to their dorms and to their friends hinders community building,” was attributed to Associate Director for Housing Alex Hermanny. The quote should have been attributed to junior Ian Coe. In the Nov. 7 article ‘Studentdirected play “Alkestis” opens tomorrow,’ Dana CoppernollHouston was reported as a music major. She is a music minor, not a music major.

The Beacon regrets the errors.

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.

Continued from page 3 not lived through the Kennedy election don’t realize the significance of what it was because it made this country come to terms with a long, deeply ingrained and often invisible anti-Catholic bias,” Leahy said.

“They had to come to grips with it, because now we were talking about the highest office in the land.”

Senior John Russell found it interesting that Leahy’s long career in government has enabled him to see great change.

“One thing that I thought was interesting was the breadth of people that he has had the chance to work with and he is the longest

serving senator in the United States, and it’s impressive to see that as well, but also that he has personally been able to see such change in the United States over a long period of time,” Russell said.

The senator stressed the importance of First Amendment rights, including the right to worship freely, as essential to a healthy democracy.

“Now if that is guaranteed, your right to religion, right to make up your own mind and right to free speech, if you guarantee it in the Constitution, you guarantee diversity,” he said.

“If you guarantee diversity, you guarantee democracy.”

AUCTION: tonight

Continued from page 1

Man Auction History Originating in the Villa Maria Hall lobby, the Villa Man Auction is one of UP’s most successful fundraisers, and a longstanding tradition.

Villa’s 19th auction will be held, for the first time, in the Chiles Center. The fundraiser benefits Holy Cross Charities.

This year, proceeds will benefit the work Holy Cross Charities are doing in Peru.

The Villa Man Auction raises

more money in one night than all other dorms combined.

Details Where: Chiles Center When: Doors open at 6:30 p.m.

Cost Attendance: Free Benefitting: Holy Cross Charities, district of Peru

Brotherly love: Fr. Claude and Sen. Leahy Despite the fact that he spends much of his time in Washington, D.C., Sen. Leahy has a more personal connection to Portland, especially to UP. Fr. Claude Pomerleau, political science professor, is the brother of Leahy’s wife, Marcelle.

As Marcelle’s older brother, Pomerleau’s instinct was to be protective of her as they grew up. However, he approved of Leahy right away.

“As the boyfriend of my sister, whom I love very much, I kept thinking, ‘Nice choice, Marcelle,’” he said. “I’m amazed at how they always relate everything to each other.

In the Senate, this is really impressive. It’s so genuine and happy.”

Pomerleau also revealed a little-known fact about Leahy: He has made cameos in several Batman movies, including “The Dark Knight” and “The Dark Knight Rises.” In “The Dark Knight,” Leahy has a tense confrontation with the Joker in the party scene at Bruce Wayne’s lavish apartment.

“And as he (the Joker) pushed him back like that, Patrick, the first couple of times, lost his balance and almost fell over so they put someone behind

him to hold him when they go,” Pomerleau said. “So if you slow the film down and look, you can see when the Joker is moving away, you can see a guy walking out from behind Patrick just going back.”

Pomerleau said his special friendship with his famous brother-in-law has influenced him in many ways.

“Frankly, being the brotherin-law is just fantastic. It’s one of the friendships that has so influenced my teaching on international law and organizations,” Pomerleau said.

“I don’t think I’ve ever taught a course and not included some significant part of the course in relationship to policy that he’s making.”

Pomerleau hopes that those who attended Leahy’s lecture are just as inspired by him as he is.

“The important thing is to have someone who’s respected and influential, and he’s right there talking and joking and he loves to meet with students,” Pomerleau said. “So I don’t know who’s going to be touched by this, but I have no doubt that somebody here, suddenly the spark will just catch the flame and change their life.”

The UP Public Safety Report 1. Nov. 8, 11:05 p.m. - Officers were called to a residence on the 4500 block of N. Amherst to assist Portland Police Bureau with a loud party. The party was concluded and several students were referred to the student conduct process for alcohol violations and one issue of misconduct.

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2. Nov. 9, 12:19 a.m. - Received an anonymous complaint regarding a loud party on the 5400 block of N. Willamette Blvd. Officers contacted the renter and the party was concluded with the cooperation of the renters.

3. Nov. 11, 11:24 a.m. - A student reported a rape that occurred off campus during the previous weekend. A report was taken and investigation remains open.

4. Nov. 12, 7:30 a.m. -A student reported the theft of two bikes from their off-campus house at the 5400 block of N. Willamette. Student was advised to report the theft to Portland Police.

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OPINIONS

November 14, 2013

EDITORIAL Every year during Orientation, the incoming freshman class hears a great deal about the policy on alcohol and drug use.

They are taught the rules so that the responsibility for any violation falls squarely on the violator.

One thing incoming freshmen don’t hear much about: weapons.

Sure, it is ultimately students’ responsibility to know the weapons policy (or any policy, for that matter). It is not Public Safety or Residence Life’s job to expound every single University rule to every single student. And yes, students are sent Life on The Bluff, the student handbook, at the beginning of every year and told that they must read it to learn the policy.

But if we’re going to be honest, most students don’t read Life on The Bluff, and none of us can be expected to memorize every detail in the 60-page handbook.

Normally, if students don’t know

Weapons policy needs to be more visible

a policy, it’s their own loss, but in the case of weapons, not knowing the policy could compromise safety on campus. The weapons policy should be clearly articulated not only in the student handbook but also publicly, so that there is no confusion about it.

“Normally, if students don’t know a policy, it’s their own loss, but in the case of weapons, not knowing the policy could compromise safety on campus.”

After all, confusion about a weapons policy is what might get two students at Gonzaga University expelled. On Oct. 24, one of the students pointed a gun at a trespasser on the students’ off-campus, University-owned apartment, and now both are fac-

ing consequences for possessing firearms.

Both students were unaware that Gonzaga’s weapons policy prohibits having firearms even in off-campus apartments, and frankly, their actions were not out of line. The students live in a neighborhood they feel is dangerous, and the intruder tried to intimidate them by showing a police-mandated ankle bracelet tracker demonstrating that he is a felon. Possessing and pointing a gun do not seem unreasonable like unreasonable actions in this situation.

The same thing very well could happen at UP given the student body’s limited knowledge of the policy.

Furthermore, some points of UP’s policy are surprising to many students. Mace, for example, is not allowed on campus or in any University-owned housing. It is not uncommon for parents to leave their freshmen (especially daughters) with a can

Photo illustration by Philip Ellefson | THE BEACON

of Mace at the beginning of the year, just to be sure they’re safe.

How many students have been in violation of the policy without being aware?

And how many students feel unsafe without carrying Mace at night? The incident at Gonzaga has prompted the school to reexamine its weapons policy, and maybe UP should do the same – it hasn’t been changed since

2003.

Thankfully, it hasn’t needed to change since 2003. The fact that there have been few incidents of students violating the weapons policy is a positive reflection of our safe campus climate. But the lack of conversation about weapons on campus causes students to feel that it just isn’t an issue – and in a matter of safety, it should be an issue.

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.

In a pond full of Jesus fish Emily Strocher Staff Commentary Transitioning from high school to college means accepting being a little fish in a big pond.

For more than half of UP’s population, it means not only that but being the little fish in a pond full of Jesus fish. You can swim just as well as those other fish until the time comes to go upstream in a theology class and you find that your fins just aren’t as equipped for it as the other fish.

If someone had told me three years ago that I would end up going to a Catholic college, I would have laughed in their face. All throughout high school I had refused to even consider going to a school with an overt religious affiliation. I wrote them off as “Jesus schools” and chucked every brochure in the recycling without a second glance. My one experience with Catholicism was attending the First Communion of a friend, and the only thing I remember from that event was being jealous that she got a Build-aBear for it. UP was the wildcard in my college applications, the school I knew almost nothing about other than that it was liberal arts, in Portland and allowing

me to apply for free. My sudden love for the school outweighed its detracting religious affiliation.

Still, I had my concerns. The summer before freshman year I tried to wean myself off of swearing like a pirate. Even though I had seen what the students here look like, part of me was still convinced that they walked around in sweaters and skirts to their knees, a Bible always in hand. I’m not sure if I thought I was going to college or joining a cult.

It did not take long for me to realize that I was not going to be the next Jane Goodall, nor would I be the victim of an exorcism anytime soon. No one had to know that I had about as much of

a background in religion as I did in astrophysics. Yes, I went to a Catholic university, but Catholicism was not the end-all-be-all of existence on campus. Most importantly, I was not alone.

Everything was fine until the time came for me to take Bib Trad. Everyone in my class had attended Catholic schools or identified as a Catholic, and then there was me. I was the ape in a room of Jane Goodalls. There was a lot of frantic page flipping and leaning over to see what page the people sitting next to me were on, as the Bible might as well have been an IKEA manual written only in Russian. One day I didn’t do the reading because I never found whatever Old Testa-

ment guy I was looking for.

While I was the minority in that class, surely someone else has felt that “us vs. them” mentality in a theology course. They are driven by the assumption that everyone has the same knowledge of a book that is thousands of pages long. Realistically, this just isn’t possible. Less than half of the student population identifies as Catholic. Clearly we are all not all on the same page, so why are we expected to be?

Emily Strocher is a junior secondary education and history major. She can be reached at strocher15@up.edu.

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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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Staff Writers

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MEN’S BASKETBALL PREVIEW

Katie Dunn Sports Editor dunn16@up.edu It’s been four years since the Pilots have scored more than 100 points in one game, and they’ve haven’t done it against a D1 opponent since 2003; they did this in their first

game of the 2013-2014 season vs. UC Davis. Last year, the highest score the team reached was 95 points and their average number of points per game was 61. The highest number of points one player scored in a game last year was 27, in their first game this season two different players, Ryan Nicholas

and Kevin Bailey scored 27 points or more. This may not be something fans can expect every game, but it is a different and improved team from last year.

Last season was both an offensive and defensive struggle for the team, which resulted in an 11-21 record and 8th place

in the WCC. The same defensive state of mind from last season is imbedded in this new team’s mind.

Four seniors lead the way for a team that is an older one than in previous years. There are only two freshmen on the roster and one sophomore. An older team can bring together

the ideas that the coaching staff has been trying to execute for several years. Less turnovers and a higher shooting percentage are key for the team to be successful in a very competitive conference.

Keep up with the action

Key Games

Nov. 11 vs. Michigan St. Jan. 4 vs. St. Mary’s Jan. 9 vs. Gonzaga

Key Players

#00 Kevin Bailey #32 Ryan Nicholas #12 Thomas van der Mars

Home Game Away Game

Giveaways Nov. 22 - Purple Pride hat Nov. 27 Alumni game Dec. 7 - Travel with the team to Portland State Jan. 4 - First 1000 get Pilots tote bag Jan. 9 - iPad at Halftime

Jan. 23 - First 500 students get ski hats and 100 Chevron gift card Jan. 25 - Student slam dunk contest Feb. 8 - WCC pink sackpacks Feb. 15 - Hawaii trip giveaway and senior day

8

SPORTS

November 14, 2013

#00: Kevin Bailey Position: Guard Height: 6’ 5” Grade: Junior Hometown: Clovis, Calif.

“We want to be all conference.

Our focus is always on doing what we need to do to win the championship.”

“I feel really good about this team. We are trying to make our own legacy right now. It is our time to shine.”

#11: Bobby Sharp Position: Guard Height: 6’2” Class: Junior Hometown: Santa Rosa, Calif.

“I hope to have high percentage from three. My focus is on doing as much as I can to make sure we are a winning team.”

“The main difference (in D1 ball) is the players. All of the guys can drive and shoot around super well. They are all smart players.”

#14: Riley Barker Position: Center Height: 6’10’’ Grade: Redshirt Junior Hometown: Surrey, B.C., Canada “We want to keep our opponents to under 10 defensive rebounds per game; we want to dominate the boards this season.”

PILOT S MEET TH

Cassie Sheridan and Mitchell Gil

#32: Ryan Nicholas Position: Forward Height: 6’7” Class: Senior Hometown: Spokane, Wash.

“We are going to have to make sure that we play really good defense. We can out-rebound most teams so we have that strength and I think it makes our goals very achievable.”

“As a senior it means more now (to be at UP) than ever. I have gotten to see so much hard work go into this program. I am honored to be able to play for such a serious and committed program.”

#1: Bryce Pressley Position: Guard Height: 6’4” Class: Sophomore Hometown: Sacramento, Calif.

“I plan to give 100 percent all of the time. A big thing for me is just to make sure that I improve on my performance last season.

Hopefully in all areas of the game: shooting, rebounding and defending.”

“I try to give my all everyday for my team and the school. I want to be that model student athlete that people can look up to.”

“This team has a lot of depth, every single one of us contributes something essential when we are out there.”

#2: Alec Wintering #21: Korey Thieleke Position: Guard Height: 6’3’’ Grade: Senior Hometown: Bakersfield, Calif.

“In preseason, we have really focused on improving our communication on the court, specifically during defense. Our defensive transition is way better than it was.”

“The biggest thing this year is our team’s chemistry. In past years, our bond has been kind of up and down, but this year we are just all on the same page.”

Position: Guard Height: 5’11’’ Grade: Freshman Hometown: Concord, N.C. “The transition to college was rough at first, like it is for anybody, but I am getting into the flow of things now and feel really strong.”

“Going to Spain as a team was huge, just getting to know the guys so early on was a big part of what I think has made the team chemistry so strong.”

SPORTS

STRONG: HE TEAM

lbert contributed reporting

#35: David Carr Position: Guard Height: 6’3” Class: Junior Hometown: Portland, Ore. “I want to make sure that I am able to take care of the ball. I also want to do what I can to make sure that the offense gets going.”

“It means everything to me. It has always been my dream to play D1 basketball and I love playing here.”

www.upbeacon.com

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#12: Thomas van

der Mars Position: Center Height: 6’11’’ Grade: Junior Hometown: Gouda, Netherlands “This preseason, we have really focused on the ‘team’ and growing together so we are more effective on the court.”

“This team is more poised than in past years, I think there is maturity on the court and that’s going to hugely affect our performance in a positive way, especially if we are down in points.”

#54: Aitor Zubizarreta Position: Guard Height: 6’3’’ Grade: Freshman Hometown: Azpeitia, Basque Country, Spain “We have really emphasized taking care of the ball, nothing will come easy to our opponents.”

“The game here is more physical and the pace is faster than in Europe, but I really like it, it makes you a stronger player.”

#5: John Bailey

#3: Tanner Riley Position: Guard Height: 6’3” Class: Senior Hometown: North Bend, Wash.

“Making sure that I can help the team in anyway that I can. I want to make sure that I can help consistently score off the bench throughout the season.”

“It definitely is very important that I represent this school well. I just make sure that I work hard everyday, play with class during the game and am a good student- athlete.”

Position: Forward Height: 6’8’’ Grade: Senior Hometown: Mesa, Ariz.

“We have spent a lot of preseason focusing on defense, just putting a lot of pressure on the ball, not giving up anything easily.”

“This year’s team is really close. We spend a lot of time together, on and off the court. I think that’s huge for this season.”

#52: Volodymyr Gerun Position: Forward/Center Height: 6’10’’ Grade: Junior Hometown: Dnipropetrovsk, Ukraine “We just want to give everything we have on the court every single game.”

“In preseason, we have left it all in the gym and we are ready to take that to the court.”

All cartoons by Ann Truong | THE BEACON

10

November 14, 2013

SPORTS

Selfless, Tough, Compassionate

Men’s basketball head coach Eric Reveno emphasizes well-rounded student athletes with philosophical approach to the game Peter Gallagher Staff Writer gallaghp16@up.edu There’s a small whiteboard that hangs next to UP head coach Eric Reveno’s desk in the newly renovated Chiles Center basketball facility. In an office filled with large TVs, multiple computer monitors and state-of-the-art replay technology, three words scrawled on the small whiteboard carry the defining message of the Pilots’ 2013-14 season: Selfless. Tough.

Compassionate. “(Those) are three words in our discussion that we came up with, that sort of represent the core values of how we want to be,” the University of Portland basketball coach said. “You can talk about this screen or that screen, or this technique, but really getting back to a certain style of play, a certain core value of how we play.”

Those three words, echoed in practice after practice in the run-up to the Nov. 8 home opener against UC Davis, will set the tone for what Reveno hopes to be a breakout season for the Pilots after two disappointing years in conference play.

Rather than focus on the nuts and bolts of solid basketball, Reveno hopes to instill an enduring philosophy that will translate in to selfless, tough and passionate play.

“The biggest consistent message is trying to establish how we’re going to play,” Reveno said. “Not what we’re going to do as much as how we are going to play.”

Six years ago, Reveno arrived at UP with a resume full of experience at the upper echelons of college basketball. Reveno started at center for Stanford in his 1988-89 senior season, and helped lead the Cardinals to the NCAA tournament for the first time in almost 50 years while averaging 9.1 points and 5.4 rebounds per game along the way.

After a four-year stint playing basketball abroad following his undergraduate years, Reveno returned to Stanford as an assistant coach in 1997 after receiving his master’s degree in business administration from the university. Under Reveno’s tenure, the Cardinals experienced unprecedented success, reaching the NCAA tournament each season he coached, and making it to the Final Four in his first season on the sidelines.

Reveno focused on the development of Stanford big men, including Jason Collins, who became famous this past year as the first openly gay athlete in one of the five major North American sports.

“I was happy for him,” Reveno said of Collins’ decision to come out to the public. “I felt in terms of gay rights, I felt strongly that there couldn’t be a better spokesperson. Articulate, thoughtful, compassionate and with a sense of humor too.”

After nine seasons at Stanford, UP approached Reveno about a head coaching opportunity. In Portland, Reveno found an opportunity he could not turn down.

“The commitment to both academic and athletic excellence, and the idea that you can be great in both,” Reveno said of what drew him to UP. “There’s a lot of places where there’s a large deviation between the makeup of the athletes and the students. I’m proud of the fact that I think our student athletes represent the student body pretty well.”

UP clearly thinks highly of Coach Reveno as well since he is the highest paid employee at the University. According to the most recently accessible Form 990, he made $360,265 in 2011. This figure includes salary, bonuses and other compensation.

Reveno lives in Portland with his wife and two children, a boy and girl, aged 8 and 11, who take up almost his entire focus off the court and keep him busy with their own unique endeavors.

“My daughter’s actually, of all things, excited and way into synchronized swimming,” Reveno said. “She’s been doing it for four years now. She’s in the 11-12 age group and doing really well and she really enjoys it, and what’s neat about is she works at it. I don’t think you could pick a sport I know less about. When I first saw it, when they first did, when she was 8, it looked like an SNL skit. But now, it’s pretty impressive.

I’ve grown to appreciate it for being really hard and physically challenging.”

Coach Reveno’s players reflect the pride he proclaims through their dedication and work ethic. The Pilots received recognition from the NCAA last May for their high academic achievement, in addition to eight WCC all-academic honors since Reveno’s tenure began.

“He’s one of those coaches that genuinely cares how the student athlete is doing in the classroom, how they’re doing on the floor, and as importantly, what they do in the future,” said UP Athletic Director Scott Leykam of Reveno’s commitment to his players. “Eric’s a very good fit for this community.”

The care Reveno exhibits for his players can be felt both

ways.

“That’s my boy,” said junior guard Kevin Bailey. “I love playing for him. He gives me lots of freedom on the court to make my own decisions. I don’t have to play fearing that I am going to make a mistake.”

Despite his repeated calls for a more philosophical approach to the game, there are a few glaring issues Reveno seeks to resolve before the 2013-14 season gets underway.

“It’s such a simple thing, but gosh, it’d be nice to be taking care of the basketball,” Reveno said, laughing. The Pilots turned the ball over 15 times per game last season, while their opponents averaged 12.

“When you’re turning the ball over as much as we did, it’s playing with one hand tied behind your back,” Reveno said. “Your offense, you’re not getting as many shots, and defensively you’re always in transition.”

Beyond the scope of the Chiles Center, Reveno has taken issue with the NCAA rules and regulations that he feels hamper the true mission of the collegiate institution. On May 29, Reveno tweeted, “Just heard about two NCAA violations in WCC. 1) athlete using Univ. water to wash car, 2) coach text recruit “who is this?”. #stopinsanity.” It has been retweeted 402 times since then.

While frustration with the NCAA is nothing new among college coaches, Reveno feels an acute dissatisfaction with the organization.

“Philosophically I think the NCAA has gotten itself in a position where it’s trying to solve too many problems with its rules,” Reveno said. “With basketball a lot of it has to do with the summer league high school events. The rules are not focused in their intent. There’s too many of them, they’re too complicated and they’re really hard for all of us, most of us, who are trying really hard to follow them strictly. And there’s some that don’t care about following them, and they get the advantage.”

Reveno will continue to hammer out the facets of the game that hampered the Pilots in their 2012-2013 season while maintaining his philosophical outlook on life and basketball. Reveno attributes his demeanor to the coaches and players that helped him get to the position he is in now, as mentor and coach to a talented and intriguing group of Pilots players.

“I really try to take the good away from what (my old coaches) do and make myself better as a teacher and a mentor,” Reveno said. “You give yourself a daily check where you ask yourself, ‘are you staying true to those core values of why you got into coaching? At the end of the day after a tough loss or a big win, are you behaving in a way that players can respect or appreciate? Are you behaving the way that you want to be?’

I’ve learned from a lot of real good ones.”

Facts about Reveno Age: 47 Wife: Amanda Children: Katie (11) and Andrew (8) College: Stanford (‘89) Years at UP: 7 Salary in 2011: $360,265

Becca Tabor| THE BEACON

www.upbeacon.com 11

OPINIONS

Experience supergalactic music this Friday George

Brockett Guest Commentary The live music culture at the University of Portland doesn’t exactly favor the bold. CPB Coffeehouses offer tame, inoffensive study tunes, while the annual Rock the Bluff concerts embrace name recognition, commercial success and (above all) mass appeal. However, for many of us, music propagates and resides in a certain beloved subculture that gets lost in the bland choices that have performed here in recent years. Sure, we loved last years’ Rock the Bluff artist, Boys Like Girls, in the era of multicolored iPod minis, but this might not be the music that speaks to UP students in 2013.

KDUP College Radio, the red-headed stepchild of Student Activities, has recruited a different type of beast to perform on campus this Friday in the Terrace Room for a concert entitled “A Supergalactic Evening.” The station hasn’t let its underdog status wilt into apathy, but instead has enlisted critically acclaimed

psych-rock outfit Nurses and one of Willamette Week’s best new bands, Minden, to play alongside UP-student bands Secret Sauce and The Randy Jacksons. As a three-year veteran of the KDUP staff, I can say that this is going to be bigger than anything we’ve done in my time on The Bluff.

But this isn’t the reason why you should join us on the dance floor on Friday.

You may have seen some scraggly rockers (Minden) on campus last week shooting a video for the show, or perhaps some KDUP staffers putting up concert posters all over the city.

You may have heard Nurses on a recent Pitchfork playlist. Genuine excitement is building for KDUP, and for good reason. For once, a campus concert is going to be all about the music. We didn’t have the budget to recruit a big-name band we fawned over in middle school, but we do have a lineup of artists on the rise who are legitimately excited to play. If you’re the type that’d rather see the Terrace Room turn into the Roseland than meander the sparse crowds typical of other campus concerts, help us pack the house on Friday.

George Brockett is a senior chemistry major. He can be reached at brockett14@up.edu.

A traitor by any other name Philippe Boutros Guest Commentary Parker Kimball’s recent commentary in The Beacon is astounding not only in its lack of timeliness – did he only just hear about Edward Snowden?

– but also in its conclusions. He seems to believe that, somehow, an American citizen trusted with confidential information is some kind of hero for revealing state secrets to a foreign newspaper.

Edward Snowden, who claims to be a defender of privacy and the unbridled Internet, initially sought refuge in China, which we all know is a bastion of those ideals. Perhaps that realization didn’t occur to him because he couldn’t Google “Tiananmen Square” – not only because the People’s Republic doesn’t block that query (it does) but also because Google ceased operations in China due to state censorship. After meeting with enough of The Guardian’s staff (who, according to a recent New York Times opinions piece, are strongly disliked in the British media), he relocated to another one of our founding fathers’ favorites: Russia, another liberal paradise. His stance for “freedom” from Russia looks just

as valid in comparison to homegrown civil rights movements as the Voices for Life OpEd looks next to Danielle Knott’s piece in last week’s issue of The Beacon.

Snark aside, I simply don’t understand how anyone is surprised by the fact that we spy on ourselves and on other people. Oh, we spy on foreign heads of state, including our allies? I’m sure nobody has ever done that before. If only government could be more like corporations like Facebook, Google and Tindr, which we willingly, easily, entirely trust with the most intimate details (cough Snapchat cough) of our lives. I feel much more comfortable entrusting my personal information to people trying to make money off of me, instead of people who a) are trying to protect me, and b) aren’t trying to sell me anything.

If you are outraged at the government acting outside of its purview – which you should always be – then do something about it.

Where was your outrage when

we renewed the Patriot Act for the n-th time? Support real advocates of privacy like Earl Blumenauer instead of lending credibility to someone who is undeniably a traitor.

Here’s the final piece of the puzzle: In fleeing the country to China, Snowden left a girlfriend behind in Hawaii. Maybe this whole debacle isn’t really about civil liberties but is actually just an elaborate way for him to avoid breaking up with her in person.

To paraphrase Mr. Kimball, “Edward Snowden has revealed to the world the comprehensive online spying our government currently performs, in the hopes of halting the NSA from becoming the Big Brother for the entire world avoiding an awkward conversation.” Couldn’t he just do it over Facebook?

Philippe Boutros is a senior philosophy and political science major. He can be reached at boutros14@up.edu.

FAITH & FELLOWSHIP

12 November 14, 2013

Tough questions? Turn to moral discernment Campus Ministry hosts workshop to give students tools to aid in moral decision-making

Anthony Paz Guest Commentary Should I let my classmate use my notes? Should I vote Democrat or Republican or not at all?

Do I tell my friend’s boyfriend that she’s cheating on him?

Should I take sides in my parents’ divorce? What’s the right thing to do?

Moral decision-making is something we do every single day, mostly without even thinking about it. When it comes to most questions, like, whether to pay for one’s food at the Commons, the answer is automatic and obvious. But others, like those above, might be a bit more difficult. In many cases, two perfectly good and decent individuals could make very different choices in response to such moral dilemmas. Not every issue is black and white.

There are an incredible number of complications that impact our decisions, from the mundane

to the world-changing. The fact is, there is no rulebook for most of life’s tough decisions.

Some people turn to different ethical or philosophical systems to help them with their choices: religion, psychology, objectivism, virtue ethics, utilitarianism, etc. But no external schema can hope to completely illuminate every single individual’s lifetime of choices.

That’s why we have consciences. Knowing the right thing to do is not, in many dayto-day cases, a matter of reading the rules and choosing accordingly. It is process that requires a great deal of thought, listening and most of all, practice.

How closely are you tunedin to your conscience? Can you identify the numerous (and sometimes competing) voices of morality that you rely upon?

There are tools available to help each of us sort through the complexities of tough decisions.

Taking time to look at your values, your social situation or your personal abilities is not something you have to do alone, although no one can do it for you.

As you look at the sources of your own values and the circum-

stances that come to bear on your decisions, you engage in the process of moral discernment. When done honestly and courageously, this process yields actions that offer us internal peace that even the toughest outcomes can’t destroy.

Catholics believe that each person has a duty to follow his or her conscience. We also believe that there is an objective correct answer to all questions of morality. The problem is that, as mere human beings, we cannot possibly know or control all

of the circumstances influencing our choices. Discernment has us look at these circumstances, name them as much as possible, consider the many moral voices in our lives and then, in a leap of faith, make a choice.

If you are interested in learning more about the process of moral discernment, Campus Ministry would like you to attend Moral Discernment: A Workshop. This is an interactive half-day workshop designed to provide students with some tools to know how to make good deci-

sions, regardless of the question.

The workshop will be on Sunday, Nov. 17 from 12 to 4 p.m. in St. André Bessette Chapel in Tyson Hall. If you would like come, please contact anyone in Campus Ministry. My e-mail address is paz@up.edu. Space is limited, so sign up in advance.

LIVING

www.upbeacon.com

13

Social work seniors get case in compassion Social work majors spend their senior year gaining experience in practicum placements Erika Murphy Staff Writer murphye15@up.edu Here’s a few numbers to throw out: 15 hours per week, 32 weeks in a year, 26 students.

Multiply it all together, and the product, 12,480, represents the hours UP senior social work majors have committed to their year-long practicums. After interviewing at community agencies junior year, senior social work majors are now working in the placements of their choice to complete the practicum graduation requirement.

First semester is spent getting familiar with the system of each placement. By second semester, students work more independently, many managing their own caseloads.

“(There are) definitely some eye-opening experiences. It’s interesting what some people will do to their children - or not do. So it’s tough.”

Jordan Mattson senior Practicum Director Kevin Jones helps students get connected to one of over 100 community agencies in relationship with UP. Students begin in February of junior year so they are prepared

to work as soon as senior year begins.

Senior Amanda Ewing is placed in the emergency department at Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel.

The social workers serve in collaboration with a medical team.

Every night brings different cases concerning children ages zero to 17. Ewing has witnessed psychological evaluations for kids with suicidal ideations, as well as provided resources like car seats for new parents.

“It’s really intense stuff, but every single day there’s a different, totally different case,” she said.

Ewing thrives on the energy.

Never knowing who could walk through the door keeps her on her toes, she says.

Humor gets her through what may otherwise be difficult days.

She jokes with co-workers that sometimes it seems as if a theme connects all the cases.

“For example, a few weeks ago, on Monday, most of the kids that came in were brought in by their grandparents,” she said. “So I was just like, ‘It’s bring your grandma to the hospital night!’”

Jordan Mattson, the only male of 26 social work seniors, has encountered everything from a baby born with an addiction to meth to a 16-year-old girl

Erika Murphy | THE BEACON

(Left) Senior Amanda Ewing works in the emergency department at Randall Children’s Hospital at Legacy Emanuel. (Right) Senior Jordan Mattson works at Child Protective Services through the Department of Human Services. Both commit their senior year to their practicum placements. who attempted suicide in his placement at Child Protective Services, through the Department of Human Services in Gresham, Ore. Mattson is interested in dispelling stereotypes about CPS. “The whole stereotype of CPS workers (is that) all they do is take babies away,” he said. “(But they really try to) keep the kid in the family, whether it’s with the relative or with the same parents. And the last resort is to take the kid away and put them in foster care.”

Though Mattson considered

working with the homeless population or in jails, CPS has been a good fit. “(There are) definitely some eye-opening experiences,” Mattson said. “It’s interesting what some people will do to their children – or not do. So it’s tough.”

Students often find practicum placements from a list provided by Jones, but Ewing ended up at Legacy on a whim.

“I broke my ankle last year,” Ewing said. “And just being at Legacy for my surgery and everything, I was telling the nurses that I was studying social work

and they were just talking about how great the social workers at the hospital were.”

Ewing is the first UP student to complete a practicum at Legacy. Doing so has paved the way for future students to follow. “(My practicum has) opened the door for other students down the road,” Ewing said. “(My supervisor) has already asked me to keep my eye out for next year. She’s like, ‘If you could just clone yourself, that would be great!’”

See SOCIAL WORK, page 14

MEN’S SOCCER

PORTLAND vs ST. MARY’S 11/15 FRI 7PM · MERLO FIELD

PORTLAND vs SAN FRANCISCO 11/17 SUN 1PM · MERLO FIELD

WOMEN’S SOCCER PLAYOFFS

PORTLAND vs SEATTLE UNIVERSITY 11/16 SAT 7PM · MERLO FIELD

LIVING

14 November 14, 2013

VETERANS: stories honor SOCIAL WORK: hands-on experience memory Continued from page 13

Kristen Garcia | THE BEACON

ROTC cadets at Monday’s Veterans Day ceremony. UP’s Army ROTC program hosted the ceremony this year.

Continued from page 16

Building connections through stories Beach reminded his audience that the number of U.S. veterans in service is lower than it has been in the past. While the amount of veterans serving in the Revolutionary War, the Civil War and WWII was about 10 percent of the U.S. population, the current number of veterans has decreased to 0.7 percent of the population.

With the number of older veterans disappearing, Master Sgt. Eric Chastain emphasizes the importance of storytelling to honor their service and memory.

“Go find that crusty old guy who fought in the war and talk to him,” Chastain said. “Say ‘Hey, what’s your deal old man? Why are you so grumpy?’ And he’ll tell you.”

While some people might feel wary of asking about stories from the battlefield, Crotteau urges students to take the chance.

“You may think that ‘Oh, they don’t want to talk to me, they won’t want to share,’ but people will always, they always like to talk about (their experiences),” she said.

“Whether or not you agree with our government, at the end of the day we are here to protect the citizens.”

Jaclyn Bieber junior, Air Force cadet A symbol to the testimony of veterans’ stories hangs in Chastains office: the St. Crispin’s Day Speech from Shakespeare’s “King Henry V” play.

Chastain revisits this speech every year as a reminder that the purpose of Veterans Day is both remembrance and celebration.

“It talks about every year, on this day, we’ll meet and give embellished stories about our feats in battle, and they probably never happened. And (the embellished storytelling) still happens today,” Chastain said. “It’s a pretty cool speech and it’s something I read to my boys every year. Veterans Day is not a day to be sad, it’s a day to celebrate.”

The speech also pays tribute to the unique sense of brother-

hood military members share with their fellow comrades: “We few, we happy few, we band of brothers; / For he to-day that sheds his blood with me / Shall be my brother.”

A time Lt. Col. Matthew R. Little experienced this sense of brotherhood was when he ran the Army Ten-Miler in Washington D.C. in 1999, and saw people he knew from the Army about every two miles.

“At eight miles, I looked up ahead of me and I recognized somebody from the back of their head because I went to the military academy at West Point and I’d stood behind him for a whole semester.” Little said. “You’re just in ranks and there’s nothing else to do, so you’re just standing there and you’re looking at the guy’s head in front of you.

So I was there from August to December, looking at Alex.”

Chastain says the inherent qualities of military members are easily identifiable.

“You bump into somebody in an airport and you can tell by the haircut, you can tell by the way people walk,” Chastain said.

“I walk with clenched fists and I don’t even think about it, that’s just the way we do it. And you can see who people are and you just automatically gravitate towards them. On those days it’s a chance to reach out to those you haven’t talked to enough.“ While Chastain views Veterans Day as a time of celebration, he points out Memorial Day, as well as the anniversary of the deaths of his friends, is a time of solemn remembrance.

Chastain says he’s had 15 close friends die overseas.

“On those days I call my buddies up, we post about it on Facebook and talk about it,” Chastain said. “It’s kind of cool, it’s somber, it’s a moment of introspection I think.”

To the 80 students remembered on the crumbling red brick walls and the countless veterans elsewhere, Beach offered his concluding remarks.

“Remember them. Always remember.”

The practicum has informed her post-graduation career decisions. She is considering earning a master’s degree in teaching or social work, or both, she says.

Since UP’s social work major is an accredited program and includes the practicum and theory classes that make up the first year of a social work master’s program, UP social work majors who are accepted into a master’s program for social work will have advanced standing.

The UP program also intentionally places seniors in a single agency for the entire year.

“Our students have an opportunity to really get well-oriented to the systems that they’re working in,” Jones said.

By the end of the year, many seniors are able to manage their own cases.

Ewing values the relationships she’s built and her handson experience has made Ewing more passionate about the field.

“It’s crazy; a lot of people don’t know what social work is,” Ewing said. “They think it’s just, like, child welfare, but it’s so much more than that.”

The placements among seniors this year include labor rights and mentoring children with cancer and environmental justice.

“Social work provides a wide range of opportunities,”

Erika Murphy | THE BEACON

Practicum Director Kevin Jones helps place senior social work majors in placements for their final year. Students commit 15 hours per week to their practicums.

Jones said. “That’s something that’s apparent when you look at all the placements.”

Jones has watched the major grow from 17 to 26 seniors in his three years at UP. He is not worried about job prospects for social work graduates.

“The job market is really good, which is great for our students, of course, but unfortunately that means that there is suffering and marginalization

and oppression,” he said.

Mattson says he has found his calling.

“My mom is always like, ‘I don’t know why you do it. I don’t understand it,’” Mattson said. “I’m always like, ‘Someone has to do it,’ and if I’m okay with it, might as well be me.”

LIVING

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November 14, 2013

LIVING THE BEACON

‘Remember them’

Kate Stringer | THE BEACON

www.upbeacon.com

Monday’s Veterans Day ceremony honored the lives and stories of past, present and future veterans

Kate Stringer Living Editor stringer14@up.edu It was a clear, warm Sunday afternoon in Italy the day Charles Edward McChrystal sat down to write a letter to his parents, a letter he probably hoped they would never have to read.

Perched atop a hillside on that November afternoon in 1944, McChrystal, who had graduated from UP the previous year, penned a letter that he’d been postponing since he began basic training for his career as a United States soldier in World War II. It was a letter of gratitude for the little things. The mornings his dad would take him to school.

The nights his mom waited up to make sure he was safely home before falling asleep.

It was a letter that expressed his conviction that the war he fought was for a cause bigger than himself.

“Please don’t have any regrets … Everyone must do his part. For many of us, that part may seem insignificant, but the fact that we’re all doing all we can makes it a lofty effort,” McChrystal said.

It was a letter he would send to his parish priest in Salt Lake City, with the request that he forward it to his parents in the case that he didn’t make it through the war alive.

The priest delivered McChrystal’s letter to his parents one month after he wrote it.

McChrystal was killed in France on Christmas Day, 1944, during a special mission for the intelligence department.

McChrystal is one of 80 student names etched into the bricks of the Praying Hands Memorial. These students’ stories, along with those of veterans past, present and future, were honored Monday at the Veterans Day Ceremony in front of the Memorial.

“Twenty three million veterans are alive in the United States today,” Brig. Gen. Steven R. Beach, guest speaker at the ceremony, said. “You need to look for them and find them and actually get them to share their stories.”

1919: Three students killed in World War I

A shattered memorial, a shattering war A 24-hour vigil preceded the ceremony, in which UP Air Force and Army cadets took turns standing flanked on opposite sides of the memorial.

The Praying Hands Memorial was a gift from the class of 1948 to commemorate their classmates who served and died in WWII. It was designed by 1948 graduate Frank Gilman, also a U.S. Navy veteran.

The Broken Wall Memorial was added to the 1948 memorial in the early 1990s to pay tribute to the students who fought and died in World War I, the Korean Conflict, the Vietnam War and the Persian Gulf War. Designed by Michael Florin Dente, a fine arts professor at the time, these additional four crumbling brick walls symbolize “the harshness of war, the shattering effects of those who fought and the country as a whole,” according to a 1990 article in The Oregonian.

“Go find that crusty old guy who fought in the war and talk to him.

Say ‘Hey, what’s your deal old man? Why are you so grumpy?’

And he’ll tell you.”

Eric Chastain Master Sergeant The ceremony included the playing of taps and a three-volley salute, where seven cadets each fired a series of three blanks into the morning air.

For junior Jane Crotteau, the Army cadet tasked with planning the event, the vigil and ceremony is another way to reconnect with the reality of war and veterans who have participated in it.

“This is just another way we can kind of tie ourselves to what’s going on in the real world and what happened,” Crotteau said. “Remembrance tying you back into what has happened.”

Student soldiers It’s easy to forget that college life was interrupted for many students during wartime.

After the Christmas holidays of 1942, many students and faculty went to military camps

1948: Class of ‘48 gifts Praying Hands Memorial

1945: 69 students killed in World War II

and defense plants instead of returning to The Bluff, according to the Summer 1989 issue of Portland Magazine. Most men over the age of 18 were called to war. A total of 1,415 Columbia Prep (the original name of University of Portland) and UP men and women served in WWII, according to a Sept. 5, 1994 issue of The Beacon.

During the Vietnam War, professor Thom Faller, who has taught at UP since 1964, noticed that University of Portland students weren’t as active as many of their college peers in protesting the war.

While there was a small group of pacifists on campus, most students were supportive of the Vietnam War, according to Faller. He recalls a time when reporters, who discovered that most UP students didn’t participate in a Vietnam protest that took place in downtown Portland, approached Bishop Waldschmidt, the president at the time, to ask why.

“Bishop Waldschmidt said ‘Our students are very practical.

It’s final exam week - if they went down and protested they know that they would miss their final and they might not be able to make it up and getting their grades in was more important to them than being downtown protesting,’” Faller said.

Veterans Day ceremonies like Monday’s help remind people of the history of war and veterans’ service, according to junior Jaclyn Bieber, an Air Force cadet.

“From the standpoint of cadets, the people who are going to serve, it’s important for us to know the history and why we’re doing what we’re doing,” Bieber said. “It’s important to understand that there have been others who have gone before us who have sacrificed their lives to defend the freedoms of our country.

Whether or not you agree with our government, at the end of the day we are here to protect the citizens.”

See VETERANS, page 14

1975: Five students killed in Vietnam War

1953: Three students killed in Korean Conflict

All photos by Kristen Garcia | THE BEACON

UP’s Army ROTC led UP’s annual Veterans Day ceremony on Monday in front of the Praying Hands Memorial. The ceremony featured guest speaker Brig. Gen. Steven R. Beach (second to bottom) and a three-volley salute (bottom) to honor veterans who served and died.

1990: Broken Wall Memorial added to Praying Hands Memorial to commemorate World War I, Vietnam and Korean War veterans 1991: Persian Gulf wall added to Broken Wall Memorial. Not recieved well by everyone. In 1991 op-ed for The Beacon, student Tim Martell said addition was “inappropriate” because the memorial was supposed to “convey a sense of the tragic loss of life” and “there was no great loss of life (on the U.S. side) and the country has not suffered in the least.”