Portland State Vanguard Volume 77 Issue 33

PSU'S VIRUS HUNTER

NEWS

Korean Student Association holds first event since COVID-19 pandemic P. 4-5

ARTS & CULTURE

Upcoming events facilitates conversations with Iranian-American artists P. 6

MEET KEN STEDMAN

P. 9

SCIENCE & TECH

PSU event seeks to solve climate change communication with AI P. 8

OPEN OPINION PLATFORM COLUMN

• STATE NAME AND AFFILIATION W/PSU

FOR ALL AT PSU

ARE UNPAID, NOT GUARANTEED AND CHOSEN BY THE EDITOR

• SEND THOUGHTS, STORIES AND OPINIONS TO EDITOR@PSUVANGUARD.COM

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CONTENTS

CALL FOR SUBMISSIONS

SEND US YOUR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

KOREAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION RETURNS AFTER PANDEMIC HIATUS

STAFF

EDITORIAL

EDITOR IN CHIEF

Tanner Todd

MANAGING EDITOR

Brad Le

NEWS EDITOR

Zoë Buhrmaster

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR

Kat Leon

SCIENCE & TECH

Kat Leon

SPORTS

Laura Kowall

OPINION EDITOR

Nick Gatlin

PHOTO EDITOR

Alberto Alonso Pujazon Bogani

ONLINE EDITOR

Christopher Ward

COPY CHIEF

Nova Johnson

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER

Nick Gatlin

CONTRIBUTORS

Isaiah Burns

Kai Field

Amber Finnegan

Macie Harreld

Analisa Landeros

Milo Loza

Ian McMeekan

LeeAnn Rooney

Isabel Zerr

PRODUCTION & DESIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR

Whitney McPhie

DESIGNERS

Neo Clark

Casey Litchfield

Kelsey Zuberbuehler

Zahira Zuvuya

TECHNOLOGY & WEBSITE TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS

Rae Fickle

George Olson

Sara Ray

Tanner Todd

ADVISING & ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA

Reaz Mahmood

STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT

Maria Dominguez

STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY

ADVISOR

Rae Fickle

To contact Portland State Vanguard, email editor@psuvanguard.com

MISSION STATEMENT

Vanguard’s mission is to serve the Portland State community with timely, accurate, comprehensive and critical content while upholding high journalistic standards. In the process, we aim to enrich our staff with quality, hands-on journalism education and a number of skills highly valued in today’s job market.

ABOUT Vanguard established in 1946, is published weekly as an independent student newspaper governed by the PSU Student Media Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers and do not necessarily represent the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. Find us in print Wednesdays and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @psuvanguard for multimedia content and breaking news.

COVER DESIGN BY WHITNEY MCPHIE PHOTO COURTESY OF LACEY FRIEDLY

SEND US YOUR LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

VANGUARD IS HIRING!

HAVE A STRONG OPINION ABOUT CURRENT PORTLAND EVENTS? SHARE IT!

We have revived our “Letters to the Editor,” a recurring Opinion feature that publishes and spotlights voices from around PSU, as well as the larger community of Portland, Oregon. This is a section devoted to spotlighting the opinions and feelings of our readsers, rather than the writers and contributors in our newsroom, and we welcome submissions from anyone. We’re particularly interested in perspectives related to current Portland events and community issues, as well as circumstances that impact the Pacific Northwest overall. We’d also love to hear your thoughts on stories we’ve covered—if you have a strong opinion about something we’ve reported, write us! We’ll happily read your submissions.

To share your letters for publishing consideration, email your thoughts to opinion@psuvanguard. com with the heading LETTER TO THE EDITOR, followed by your subject line.

We look forward to hearing from you soon.

Sincerely,

The Vanguard Editorial Staff

KOREAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION RETURNS AFTER PANDEMIC HIATUS

THE STUDENT-ORGANIZED GROUP AIMS TO SHARE KOREAN CULTURE WITH PEOPLE OF ALL BACKGROUNDS

FIELD

The Korean Student Association (KSA) re-established their club with an event on May 2, their first since the start of the pandemic. KSA aims to promote reconciliation and harmony between Koreans, Americans and other international students at Portland State, according to the mission statement on KSA’s webpage located through the Portland State Connect website.

When asked what happened to the prepandemic KSA, KSA President Serene Park and Vice President Yatnary Villanueva explained that the previous officers all graduated when the pandemic began in 2020. Once gone, there was no one around to continue the club with the campus closed.

Park and Villanuave said they encountered several challenges when trying to re-establish the club which put a damper on launching their first event, including coming across another group claiming to be the KSA on campus.

“That was very confusing because when I asked my advisor if there was another KSA, she said no, that it was just me interested in forming it,” Park said.

Park explained that although their advisor was new and did not know about the other KSA, everything eventually worked out when

the two organizations merged to create the current KSA. Villanueva added that none of the officers have experience, so they were all overwhelmed while figuring out how and when to submit various forms.

“That’s why we didn’t have our first event until halfway through this term, because this whole year so far we had to do numerous revisions to forms and resubmit them,” Park said. “We still don’t have a treasurer, so we had to do all of this ourselves and the lack of knowledge made it harder to complete quickly.”

The KSA relaunched with a 101 event on Tuesday, May 2, occuring in room 298 of SMSU from 4:30 p.m. to 6 p.m. It began with introductions of the officers and a brief presentation of what the KSA is, then the rest of the time was spent playing three traditional Korean games. The games consisted of the noonchi game or the “timing game,” dakssaum or “chicken fight,” and Mugunghwa kkochi pieotseumnida or “red light green light.” The games required people to be active, with many participants even starting to sweat.

“The chicken game made it less awkward since everyone looked crazy together,” said Alina Nguyen, a non-Korean student who attended.

Another attendee, a Korean student named Jun Park, said he appreciated that even though many people didn’t know what kind of games these were going to be, they were still openminded and able to have fun as a group. Other attendees, Evan Glipa and Joel GarciaCervantes, also expressed that they enjoyed the games and hope to see similar ones that require movement in future events.

With about 18 attendees at the start, the room quickly filled up to around 30 people within the hour, which exceeded Park and Villanueva’s expectations of 20 attendees. By the end of the event, the small room was jam-packed.

“I think having so many people like this gave it more engagement,” Park said. “It made people more comfortable to participate. Next time, we’ll definitely get a bigger room.”

In regards to who is welcome to join and about non-Koreans participating, 100% of Korean respondents said they had no negative feelings.

“I love it, it’d be super fun to introduce them to Korean culture and as a Korean person, I’d be very happy to welcome them,” said Jihye Kim, adjunct senior instructor of Korean language at PSU. “I am a huge supporter of KSA and I want them to be successful.”

Jun Park noticed that a lot of Americans are showing interest in his culture, explaining that he loves seeing non-Koreans partaking in it. He hopes that KSA will grow to better promote the culture.

Other attendees also felt that anyone is welcome. Daniel Yim, a Korean student, said he has no opinion on non-Koreans partaking in the culture, but that it can’t hurt to have more members.

Conversely, 60% of non-Korean participants assumed the club is strictly for Korean people, while 40% assumed that it is a collaborative space for both. Morgan Dunlap and Heaven Joseph, non-Korean students who attended, both expressed concerns about intruding on a space that isn’t theirs.

“Being white, I just don’t want to take up a space where I’m not needed,” Dunlap said.

“I think KSA is a place to stay in touch with people’s roots and provide a safe space for those wanting to connect with other Koreans,” Nguyen said. “I also assume KSA is about sharing and preserving Korean culture.”

In contrast with what the 60% of non-Koreans initially assumed, KSA, as stated in their mission, intends to promote harmony among all people, regardless of whether or not they are Korean.

KAI

KSA ATTENDEES POSE FOR A PHOTO TOGETHER. COURTESY OF KOREAN STUDENT ASSOCIATION

“We try to keep our events as inclusive as possible, while still maintaining Korean aspects here and there to allow people to learn about the language and culture,” Park said.

Officer positions can be filled by both Koreans and non-Koreans, Park said, with the goal of promoting the inclusivity that the club so strongly advocates for and making KSA more inviting for all. Park and Villanueva explained that it’s less about being a member of KSA and more about building a community of people who are consistently coming together to share their love and curiosity for Korean culture.

“Members are people who want to be updated on things, but there’s no exclusive members-only things, because we want it to be as open as possible,” Park said. “So I guess anyone who comes to the events can call themselves members.”

40% of respondents, especially nonKoreans, voiced that they’re only comfortable going to events if they go with a friend.

“I feel like I wouldn’t just go on my free will,” Ocean Fernandez, a non-Korean student said. “But if I saw somewhere that [KSA] is open to everyone, then I would definitely join in, even just by myself.”

Participants also explained how they think respect would look in a cultural space like KSA.

“Being willing to participate in the atmosphere, while keeping an open mind to the fact that as non-Korean identifying individuals, we can easily turn curiosity into ignorance,” said Karina Soltero, a non-attendee non-Korean student. “So being mindful about what we say and how we react to different cultural values and aspects.”

Due to 40% of participants not knowing what KSA was and 86% not knowing about the event, some shared suggestions for better promotion, such as flyers and frequent Instagram posts. Park and Villaneuva said

that they forgot to put up posters for this event but plan to for following events.

“It’s mostly word of mouth, a lot of people that came are our friends and friends of friends,” Park said. “We also did presentations in Korean language classes and worked with Korean professors to get the word out.”

Park and Villanueva expressed that they and the other officers are open to listening to concerns and suggestions. To learn more about future events and activities, as well as get to know their officers, go to KSA’s Instagram: @ pdxksa and their Discord: https://discord.com/ invite/wp9EpRUf

PSU FOOD PANTRY TO RECEIVE NEW SPACE

EXPANSION AIMS TO ACCOMMODATE RECORD-SETTING DEMAND

The Student Fee Committee has officially approved a building fund that will expand the space available to the Portland State Food Pantry. This new space is anticipated to boost the facility’s performance and capacity to serve students.

Trenna Wilson, the general manager of the pantry, said that this upgrade has been on the minds of staff and volunteers for years.

“Students put finding a new space on our strategic plan years ago… it’s amazing that it isn’t going to be years and years [more],” she said.

This news came at just the right time, as the pantry has faced record-breaking demand in recent months. In prior years, the largest percentage of PSU students that the pantry served was 6.8% over the entire academic year. Last month, the pantry already crossed the 10% threshold for the current year. This means roughly one in 10 students have been served by the pantry this year, with the number of students served steadily climbing each term.

In the fall, the pantry served an average of 89 students per day. During winter term, they served an average of

114. This spring term, they’re currently averaging 120 students per day.

“We find this important… because it normalizes use of the pantry and it reduces stigma,” Wilson said.

The new plans are to have the entire suite remodeled, with the existing food pantry expanded out to the side. The Quiet Prayer and Meditation Lounge, adjacent to the pantry, will be moved down the hall, closer to the Veterans Resource Center. This will change how the pantry operates, making it more accessible, efficient and comprehensive in how it serves patrons, according to Wilson. The Student Fee Committee, responsible for allocating funds to the expansion, hopes for the project to be completed by the end of 2023.

The heightened demand has increased the pantry’s existing need for student volunteers. Those who wish to help out can apply on the pantry’s website at https:// psufp.com/volunteer. The facility is also hiring for the Manager of Outreach position, at https://psufp. com/student-jobs, a role responsible for expanding visibility among the PSU community.

NEO CLARK

ISAIAH BURNS

GROCERIES IN CURRENT PSU FOOD PANTRY. ALBERTO ALONSO PUJAZON BOGANI/PSU VANGUARD

PAM HOSTS CONVERSATIONS WITH IRANIANAMERICAN ARTISTS

EDUCATORS AND CREATIVES DISCUSS THE ‘WOMAN, LIFE, FREEDOM’ MOVEMENT IN IRAN

MACIE HARRELD

Provoked by the police brutality and murder of Mahsa Amini for “improper hijab” in Sept. 2022, the people of Iran have erupted in protest of Iran’s oppressive regime. Despite the risk of imprisonment and death, this solidarity against the Iranian government has grown into the worldwide movement “Woman, Life, Freedom,” which aims to dismantle the gendered oppression and human rights violations being committed by the state of Iran.

On May 21, Portland Art Museum will be hosting a free event which aims to educate and involve the Portland community in a conversation about “Woman, Life, Freedom.” The title of this event is “Baraye Azadi,” which means “For Freedom,” and is in reference to the movement’s anthem, by Iranian artist Shervin Hajipour. This conversation will bring together Iranian-American artists and educators, Taravat Talepasand (Portland State faculty in the School of Art and Design) and Tannaz Farsi (University of Oregon faculty in the School of Art and Design), alongside art historian, writer and curator Dr. Jordan Amirkhani.

Through the lens of their own art and creative processes, Talepasand, Farsi and Amirkhani will be facilitating a discussion about the socio-political situation in Iran. Whether one is completely unfamiliar with this crisis or otherwise informed by media coverage, it can still be difficult to grasp how these systems really affect people’s lives—how can we talk about this, and what can we do?

“There’s not enough of that conversation or awareness here that’s happening in Portland,” Talepasand explained. This is the motivation behind the “Baraye Asadi” event. “It’s gonna be conversations about art, the awareness of what’s happening in Iran and how artists are navigating that in our practice today,” Talepasand said. “We wanted to share our own experiences and knowledge about it to the greater area of Portland and those that want to come and share the space with us.”

While Iranian culture and current events are the focal point of this conversation, it is also a unique opportunity for a behind-the-scenes look into the inspiration and production of contemporary artwork. In viewing the

art of Talepasand or Farsi, from neon sculptures to petal-shedding flowers to nude women in hijab, the eye is mesmerized by form and symbol, and the mind propelled into their narratives.

“Whether you be an artist, or a student who wants to be an artist, or not an artist, an art aficionado, or a person who doesn’t understand art, I think all those different types of people can gain knowledge and maybe be even kind of hopefully inspired or fascinated by how us artists do our research,” Talepasand said.

While engaging with beautiful art and learning about the technique behind their creation is meaningful and enjoyable in itself, this process is also largely inseparable from the wider social and political milieu in which any given piece was made. For artists to share their work with the public as a way of understanding and evaluating the social structures of our world is a uniquely personal form of activism.

“Having these conversations is a part of that way of artists to consider a social practice, to consider what they’re making has meaning, not only for themselves as an artist but to a society,” Talepasand said. This event is an opportunity fit for anyone willing to educate themselves about the experiences and perspectives of Iranian-American women, right here in our Portland community.

Another way that Portland Art Museum has incorporated PSU into this event is through collaboration with local print shop and illustration studio Outlet , which is partly owned by Kate Bingaman-Burt, Associate Director of the School of Art and Design and a graphic design professor at PSU. Attendees of the “Baraye Azadi” event will be offered protest posters representing “Woman, Life, Freedom” produced by Outlet.

“It’s kind of like our Iranian way of giving a gift, and that’s something that’s very important in our culture,” Talepasand said. “It’s our way to give back to the audience that are taking the time to come and join us and lend their ears, and also be able to ask questions at the end and engage with us.”

Whether for the sake of art appreciation, for garnering an international awareness, for gender equality or for standing against the institutionalized violence suffered by the Iranian people, everyone has a stake in the conversation.

“Holding this space is doing something,” Talepasand said. “Even if it’s a moment in silence, or lending

your ear, or even asking a question and being a part of this talk. I think that that in itself is powerful. It’s better than being quiet. It’s better than sitting home alone and not learning or not holding space for it. So this is really a place for us to share our solidarity, of what’s happening in Iran, that also is mirrored in many other places in the world.”

“ALLEGORY OF ISOLATION,” EGG TEMPERA ON LINEN, BY TARAVAT TALEPASAND (2012). COURTESY OF TARAVAT TALEPASAND

“IRAN IRAN IRAN IRAN,” MIXED MEDIA INSTALLATION, BY TARAVAT TALEPASAND (2017). COURTESY OF TARAVAT TALEPASAND

DOUBLE FEATURE: THE STATE OF THINGS & STRANGER THAN PARADISE

DOUBLE FEATURE CHOSEN BY GRADUATING PROJECTIONIST CADIE GODULA

This week at 5th Avenue Cinema, Oregon’s only studentrun theater, Portland State students and staff can catch a free showing of a double feature: The State of Things and Stranger Than Paradise .

The State of Things is a thought-provoking, introspective film directed by the acclaimed filmmaker Wim Wenders in 1982. Shot in an abandoned film set in Portugal, the film follows a group of filmmakers whose production comes to a halt because of financial issues. The group becomes stranded, searching for the person that caused their mess.

The State of Things explores the existential nature of filmmaking along with the fragility of human relationships as the characters strive to find meaning in their existence and the purpose of their work.

Stranger Than Paradise was directed by Jim Jarmusch in 1984. The film is a minimalist comedic masterpiece that has earned its place as a cult classic. We learn about Willie, a Hungarian immigrant living in New York; his cousin Eva; and their friend Eddie as they begin a road trip through the United States.

Jarmusch’s minimalist approach, long takes and sparse dialogue create a hypnotic atmosphere that highlights the alienation the characters feel and their search for belonging.

This week’s double feature was chosen for screening by Cadie Godula, one of two projectionists at the theater. 5th Avenue Cinema’s longest-standing staff member, Godula will be leaving the theater upon her graduation in June.

All staff get to choose their own graduation double feature before leaving the cinema, and this is hers. “Leaving is kinda a bummer, but it’s just the cycle of this place,” Godula said. “It’s a weird transitionary time. I’m graduating and losing a job.”

Godula’s favorite of the two films is Stranger Than Paradise

“The mannerisms of the main two guys are very engaging and I think that goes for a lot of films by Jim Jarmusch,” she said. “He lets his actors have some kind of autonomy and do improvisation with little mannerisms or lines that make it feel fulfilling and enriching.” The director is known for this unconventional approach with his characters that makes them much more captivating and authentic.

“Jim Jarmusch, a lot of his films in general are just a lot of wandering characters in different countries or states that they’re not familiar with,” Godula said. “It’s a very plotless film, which is why I like it. It’s just people wandering and I think that’s fun.”

Godula first saw Stranger Than Paradise years ago and thought it was fine, but upon rewatching it, she realized that she found it great. While she was researching for choosing her graduation double feature, she came across a fun fact that established the basis for a second feature.

“I didn’t know they had that connection to each other at first,” Godula said. “The lore is that when Wim Wenders was shooting The State of Things, he had leftover film.” Funnily enough, The State of Things is about a film crew running out of film while shooting a movie. “Jim Jarmusch at the time was a new budding director,” Godula explained. “He had the idea for Stranger Than Paradise and first had to make a proof of concept short for it, to get it picked up.” Through their mutual connection to Nicholas Ray—director of Rebel Without a Cause Wenders gave Jarmusch about 30 minutes of film. “Without this generous offer of film from Wim Wenders, Stranger Than Paradise might not have been made at all!” Godula continued.

Godula mentioned a third film that could have been used in this double feature for its relevance—The Territory by Raul Ruiz. “Apparently, Wim Wenders was hanging out on that film set in Portugal and he saw the crew and the dynamics with them on set and thought it would make a good movie,” she said. Wenders was inspired to create The State of Things after seeing the conditions, but Godula preferred the connection between it and Stranger Than Paradise

Godula explained that the connection between the films is based on material rather than content, and she adores the material of film. “Every film stock has a different vibe,” she said. “The very contrast-y black and white film stock that was used for that film and then was also the same exact film stock being used for this film kind of gives it a similar and directly influenced connection. It’s more of an implicit connection than an explicit connection.”

Godula encouraged anyone that is as fascinated about film stock as her to look into things like this. “I’ve read articles wondering if they’re part of the same universe just because of the film stock!” she said.

As her time at 5th Avenue Cinema comes to an end, Godula has been outlining a structure that she hopes the theater continues. Over the last couple terms, Godula has been creating a trailer for the films being shown for the term, which is now presented before each showing. She has also been working on a small manual for future projectionists that work there, including tips for working with physical film. “Part of the job is to learn by yourself while you’re doing it,” she said. “I feel like at this point I’ve developed a pretty decent knowledge base and I think it would be worth it to put it in a manual.”

MILO LOZA

THE STATE OF THINGS. COURTESY OF 5TH AVENUE CINEMA

IDEATHON EVENT SEEKS TO ADDRESS CLIMATE CHANGE USING AI

With the establishment of the conversational artificial intelligence ChatGPT in society, AI has been a growing topic of debate. Here at Portland State, the team at the Compassionate Computing (CoCo) Lab developed the Ideathon, which will use AI, students and stakeholders of different disciplines to problemsolve climate change communication in Oregon. This event will take place in the PSU Engineering Building on Saturday, May 13.

Juan Vasconez, an Engineering and Technology Management MS Student at PSU and one of the event facilitators, stated that the event “aims to raise awareness about the impacts of climate change in Oregon’s cultural landscapes using AI-based tools and natural language processing.”

Vasconez went on to point out the need for this event. “Despite the availability of resources on climate change adaptation in the local area, and in order to create more community engagement, we have created the CoCo Labs Ideathon, which provides participants with access to a set of natural language processing and AI tools that they can use to develop creative ideas for communicating the effects of climate change in Oregon,” he said.

Conversational AI or Natural Language Processors (NLPs) are used in various contexts. “NLP stands for Natural Language Processing,” said Yufei Tao, computer science Ph.D. student at PSU and one of the event facilitators. “It’s a field that, in the general term, when you talk to, for example, ChatGPT, it’s been really popular, or any language model, like chatbot agents.”

“So NLP is a field of basically enabling humans and computers to interact with each other, to communicate with each other using natural language,” said Dr. Ameeta Agrawal, computer science assistant professor at PSU and one of the event facilitators.

Dr. Agrawal and Tao’s research focuses on NLP development and making their use more accessible, equitable and efficient. “[We] focus on the efficient NLP,” Tao said. “Nowadays, a lot of language models cost a lot to train or to create—only big companies like OpenAI and Google can do it. So we want to [and] like my focus is to make it more efficient so you can hopefully let the academic field or smaller companies to be able to access those models or create those models… We’ve [also] been experimenting on conversation modeling, which is still part of the efficient NLP, to see how the language model responds to different ways humans talk to them.”

Like the Ideathon’s interdisciplinary aims, CoCo labs

incorporate multiple disciplines and “has researchers from computer science, technology management and anthropology,” according to Dr. Agrawal. They believe this multidisciplinary approach will provide a broader understanding of the issues they’re tackling.

While Vasconez does not use AI in the same way as Dr. Agrawal and Tao, his approach allows the view of this tool through an additional lens. “I am currently investigating the factor for digital adoption in the tourism industry in the Galapagos Islands,” Vasconez said. “My goal with this research is to capture the voices of different stakeholders in the tourism supply chain in this natural travel destination and find factors and barriers to implementing new products based on emerging technologies.”

“The Ideathon has a strong connection with community engagement and the use of AI in storytelling,” he continued. “From my perspective as a technology management researcher, the use of AI tools can help to build communication bridges between community members and a specific issue.”

While Vasconez’s background is not as immersed in NLPs as Dr. Agrawal and Tao, his perspective adds additional nuance to the event planning, as is the goal of an interdisciplinary event. “I started to explore this technology in the past five months,” Vasconez said. “I see great potential in verbal cognition and textual communication. Also, it could be a great resource for market research and data analysis. From the marketing perspective, it has helped me a lot to produce content for different audiences with different formats and tones.”

Beyond the planning committee, the planners hope that the event will attract those from all disciplines and backgrounds. “We have a lot of these AI tools, and we are just educating and a way to introduce to all the students the ease and the accessibility of using some of these tools to show that, okay, how do you leverage these tools to do something in your own field, for instance,” Dr. Agrawal said. “It goes both ways. The students help with the computer sciences or the data part, and the AI tools help the students. But the very big overall goal of this whole event is to show how partnerships between researchers and communities can work. And my hypothesis is that a diverse team will lead to much better outputs than any one single team. So basically, we would like to see the diversity on campus and also to show that research and communities

together can actually create something really cool.”

The event will last the entire day (9 a.m. to 6 p.m.) with food included, in addition to working within teams and with the NLP. “We will intersperse the event with some mentor talks, so we will have mentors from different fields such as computer science, management, social sciences, science communication, literature and possibly climate change,” Dr. Agrawal said. “So we will have different researchers come along the way. Just yesterday, I found out that somebody from journalism might also come for a mentor talk.”

The hope is that the different perspectives in one room lead to more robust solutions. The focus is on being creative and using humans’ natural ability to communicate and tell stories in different ways. “In journalism, you write an article, a computer scientist, you generate code, and every discipline creates something,” Dr. Agrawal said. “So I thought that was a nice way to tap into that creative part. Storytelling is, again, another very open to interpretation thing. So how are you conveying your stories? The goal is to create something, and we didn’t want to limit people by saying, create prompts or create questions, or create a demo or a tool.”

In opening the event to be more creative, coordinators allow the strength of the NLP as a tool and participants as the creative driving force. “Human-based stories have a unique power to connect with audiences on an emotional level,” Vasconez said. “This emotional resonance is a critical component of effective storytelling, and it is something that AI tools are not yet capable of replicating.”

KAT LEON

YUFEI TAO, COMPUTER SCIENCE PHD STUDENT

TOP TO BOTTOM: DAHM HONGCHAI, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT PHD STUDENT; KAUSHAMBI GUJRAL, COMPUTER SCIENCE MS STUDENT; DR. ANTONIE JETTER, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT PROFESSOR. PHOTOS COURTESY OF COMPASSIONATE COMPUTING (COCO) LAB

STUDENTS AND STAKEHOLDERS OF ALL DISCIPLINES ARE ENCOURAGED TO ENGAGE

DR. AMEETA AGRAWAL, COMPUTER SCIENCE ASSISTANT PROFESSOR JUAN VASCONEZ, ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY MANAGEMENT MS STUDENT

KEN STEDMAN, PSU’S “VIRUS HUNTER”

DR. STEDMAN’S VIRAL RESEARCH WON HIM THE PRESIDENTIAL CAREER RESEARCH AWARD FOR 2023

LEEANN ROONEY

Portland State has its very own virus hunter—Dr. Ken Stedman, professor of biology. Stedman has been recognized twice in the last few months for his research and ability to communicate complex scientific topics to the public. The awards are the Advanced Research Impact in Society Award, 2022, and the PSU Presidential Career Research Award, 2023.

Stedman will discuss his research during his talk titled “From Extreme Viruses to Better Vaccines: The eXtreme Virus Lab” on Wednesday, May 10 at PSU.

The primary focus of Stedman’s research is on so-called extreme viruses—thus, it is fitting that one of his many titles is Virus Hunter. “That’s what we do—we go to some of the craziest places on earth and look for viruses, particularly volcanic hot springs,” Stedman said. “And so that’s been the focus of our research for 20-plus years now, [hunting] viruses in extreme environments.”

Traditional virus hunters are worried about pathogens, but these hunters have bigger concerns. “We’re worried about falling into the environments that these viruses [are found] like volcanic hot springs [composed of boiling acid] 170 degrees Fahrenheit and pH 2,” Stedman said.

How can something survive in these conditions? This question inspired Stedman to study extremophiles—organisms living in extreme conditions—known as archaea and the viruses that infect them. Stedman explained that archaea look like bacteria but are genetically more related to the branch of life that humans belong to, and even share a common ancestor with us.

“We are cousins,” Stedman said. PSU is the home of the world-renowned Center for Life in Extreme Environments, better known as CLEE. This was one of many reasons Dr. Stedman decided to come to PSU in 2001 to further his research of extreme environmental organisms.

About once a year, Stedman and his students travel to Lassen Volcanic National Park in Northern California to collect samples of the archaea that live there, along with the viruses that infect them. In addition, they visit Boiling Springs Lake right off the Pacific Crest Trail each summer and have been going there for about 15 years. Stedman said that the Park is gorgeous and “a great way to get some… interactivity outside of the research lab, outside of academia” for the students.

It was Stedman’s early career experiences in Naples, Italy, going to hot springs with his supervisor, that inspired him. He called the experience “a real epiphany, because all of the work I’d done before was lab work, very sort of abstract, is probably the best way of thinking about it… so, this was real. I really felt that I had a connection to the environment.”

At PSU, Stedman tries to pass that experience

along to as many of his students as possible by bringing 10 to 20 students on his virus hunting trips to the hot springs each summer.

Stedman described an ongoing project that about half of his lab is currently working on in his eXtreme laboratory. It is a virus discovered while conducting genetic analysis—known as metagenome sequencing—of the environment from Boiling Springs Lake.

This virus is unique because its genetic material, or genome, looks like it is derived from RNA and DNA. “It’s a circular DNA, but one half of the genome that’s DNA is really clearly related to RNA and RNA viruses,” Stedman described this atypical virus genome. “Somehow these two things got together, and we still don’t know how that happened [even though] we discovered it, 10-plus years ago. But really fascinating. And this is something that nobody really believed could happen, but we found it. It’s there.”

Stedman explained what they do in his lab, eXtreme laboratory. “We do a lot of really standard kinds of work,” he said. “We’re just looking at non-standard kinds of things like these extreme viruses. And so there are some things that we do which are a little bit different.” One example of this is working under conditions of boiling acid. Stedman said that more than 100 students have worked in the eXtreme lab, and he finds these students to be a source of inspiration.

When asked how he began doing vaccine stabilization work, Stedman explained that he and his student Jim Laidler researched to look for fossilized viruses and how to detect them. One of Laidler’s first experiments was to create an artificially fossilized virus. “They became fossilized, mineralized, but that process was reversible,” Stedman said. “And so we could coat the viruses in silica, inactivate them and then un-coat them and activate them—we call this the zombie virus project.”

Because of Laidler’s background in medicine, the lab decided to look at the stabilization of vaccines using similar methods, and it was this line of research that eventually led to Stedman’s startup company.

Beyond research, teaching and outreach, Stedman has started a company called StoneStable, LLC. This company is based on his research into the thermal stabilization of vaccines using the silica coatings technique that he worked on with Laidler. Because most vaccines require refrigeration, which is often unavailable in developing countries, this could be very advantageous to the transportation and delivery of vaccines into these countries.

Stedman is currently looking into the structure and genetics of the SSV virus—one of his favorite archaeal viruses. As he held up an enlarged model that looked something like a bumpy lemon, Stedman explained that the virus is “getting put together because it

gets back to that question about—what is it about the extreme environments and what is [it] about these viruses that allows them to survive within these conditions.”

Stedman will teach a PSU course, Advanced Molecular and Cell Biology Research Techniques, BI-431—commonly known as “mutant viruses from hell”—which will be offered in the spring.

“So what happens with that class is we make a bunch of mutants,” Stedman explained. “We don’t know what those mutants are, and then we give them to all of the students in the lab, and then over 10 weeks they tell us what those mutants are, and let us know if they work—[if] they’re still making viruses and if it’s doing something weird to the virus otherwise. And so that’s been really fun. I have a blast.” Stedman said that his teaching and students often inspire his research.

He will continue his research of the RNA/ DNA virus identified from the metagenome studies. “We’re really interested in how that

happened,” Stedman said. “We’re also very interested in what these viruses actually infect… also just the evolution and what’s going on in this process because this sort of, you know, DNA and RNA coming together is not supposed to be something that happens. And so we’re interested in also looking at the evolutionary aspects of that, as how frequently does it happen?”

He will also continue his virus fossil work. “I’ve been talking to some of the people at NASA maybe to think about this new technology, partly because they’re sending microscopes to Mars,” he said. “And so if they’re looking on Mars and they see something that looks like a virus fossil, that would be, you know, [a] really good indication that there’s a host and there’s some kind of life on Mars.”

Despite his own contributions, Stedman was careful to emphasize the collaborative nature of research. “It’s been a great group effort,” he said. “You know, everyone is interviewing me, but it’s really about the whole group. I just wanted to emphasize that that’s the case.”

DR. KEN STEDMAN HOLDING 3D PRINTED MODEL OF ADENO-ASSOCIATED VIRUS WITH A SIMULATED SILICA-COAT. COURTESY OF LACEY FRIEDLY

PSU WOMEN’S BASKETBALL TEAM PREPARES FOR 2023–2024 SEASON

TEAM SIGNS ON THREE NEW ATHLETES, TRAINS FOR A SEASON TROPHY

It is safe to say that when you are an athlete, you have a relentless desire to be the winner, especially when you’ve had enough success to be within arm’s reach of a trophy. Unfortunately, it’s also true that when there’s a winner, there always has to be one that loses. The 2022–2023 Portland State Vikings women’s basketball team came close to earning their trophy last season, but came up short after taking a loss from Sacramento in the Big Sky Conference semifinals. As the Vikings prepare for the coming 2023–2024 season, Coach Chelsey Gregg is prepared to build off of the experience of last season’s playoff run as the team makes another bid for the season trophy.

This year Coach Gregg is heading into her ninth season as coach of the women’s basketball program here at PSU, with the upcoming season markingherthirdyearasheadcoach,afterinitially earning the position in early 2021. In addition to seeing her on the sidelines, you’ll find the assistant coaches, Ashley Bolston and Megan Kritscher, and Associate Head Coach Keithan Gregg. Following a losing season in 2021–2022, the coaches used a combination of dedication and carefully chosen reading assignments to produce the biggest year-to-year turnaround in the history of the Vikings women’s basketball club. The team also showed up to the task by working to finish strong at the end of games, whichiswhatseemedtoplaguethemintheseason prior. The season’s turnaround in 2022–2023 was a testament to the fact that in the world of sports, sometimes it’s better to play with a chip on your shoulder.

On the wall of Coach Gregg’s office—located in the Peter Scott Center at the southwest end of the PSU campus—are four Viking-green canvases on the back wall that read the team’s mantra in stark white lettering: “relational, reliable, resilient, ready.” This is a saying she not only urges the women’s basketball team to strive for on the court, but off the court as well. Out of the four words that comprise the team’s mantra, the best one to describe the 2022–2023 season for the women’s basketball team would be “resilient.”

One of the ways this group of athletes showed they understood what it means to be resilient was growing stronger through all the chaos that was thrown at them during COVID-19 lockdowns during the 2021–2022 season.

“I’m really proud of the resiliency that we had shown throughout the year to finish the way we did, strong… it was encouraging to see our [team] culture growing,” Coach Gregg said, despite having a losing record. Attributing it to hard times, the coach said she saw her team bond and help each other through. After learning how

to navigate what it is like to have resilience on your side, it feels as though Coach Gregg believes her team is “capital R Ready” to take on the new season with a mix of familiar faces that are still around from the 2021–2022 season, but also six roster spots that need to be filled to complete the roster due to players graduating.

The thing about having to endure through failure is that it typically shows the areas where you need the most improvement, in addition to what was working well during the games. After the season’s wrap-up, Coach Gregg said that her, the coaching staff and the athletes make a point to have an all-hands-on-deck team meeting to discuss the future.

“[We talk about what] we feel like went well, where do we want to continue to improve, expectations of the coaching staff and players to hear how they felt it went and where they want to grow,” Gregg said.

Out of the six spots in the roster that need to be filled this offseason, three young, talented athleteshavealreadypennedadealwiththeLady Viks and will be joining the team as freshmen.

The newest recruit is Alma Rashelbach, a sixfoot guard/forward who will be joining us from Tela Viv, Israel. Next is Ella Kaleta—making the commute down I-5 from Bothell, Washington— who will play as a shooting guard at five feet ten inches. Then there is Laynee Torres-Kahapea, a five-foot-six,sharp-shootingguardfromKaneohe, Hawai’i. Coach Gregg said in the recruitment phase of the offseasons that they are looking for ways to “continue to get better by supporting the team we have,” by using a more homegrown approach to growing and expanding the team.

“We have to rely on each other to get better,” Coach Gregg said about getting spring practice going.

In addition to starting spring workouts for the 2023–2024 season, the Vikings are looking forward to a trip to Costa Rica for some friendly competition and practice, which is being put together for them by a company called Beyond Sports. Once they arrive on Sept. 5, they will play in two games in San Juan, Puerto Rico, then spend the rest of their eight-day trip bouncing between providing service opportunities, white water rafting and ziplining. Not only does this give the team a leg up by having more time to practice with the new player pieces of the puzzle, it provides them the chance to bond and get to know each other outside of the fierce, fast-paced game of basketball. The team will be hosting several fundraisers to help cover the cost of the event which PSU community members are free to attend.

Stay tuned for news about the Vikings’ spring 2023 season as it develops, and go Viks!

LAURA KOWALL

ALAYA FITZGERALD RUNNING THROUGH A POST-WIN CELEBRATION TUNNEL. COURTESY OF MARK BOLING

DON’T CRIMINALIZE HOUSELESSNESS

Are houseless people criminals simply for existing?

The answer is no, they are not—yet, Portland’s city government is implementing a plan to make the answer to that question “yes” on an official level. This is an outrage because the houseless did not ask for this life. We should be helping houseless people get a job and improve their living conditions, not criminalizing them.

According to OPB, “The Portland City Council on Thursday moved forward with a $27 million package to pay for a plan that would ban street camping and force people into city-run encampments.” Although it is good that this plan would give the houseless shelter from the elements, it still dehumanizes the houseless by telling them they must go to these shelters.

Many houseless people do not want to go to city shelters for various reasons. Dave Cooper, a houseless man who lives on the streets of Portland, told KGW, “‘I don’t want to go to a shelter.’” As the report stated, “Cooper said shelters aren’t a viable option because of concerns over privacy, personal safety, and a strict curfew.”

We need to give the houseless ways out of houselessness other than forcing them to live in shelters. One possible program could be for the city to give them jobs that need to be filled. There are already programs that can help with this issue—one example of a program like this is the Peer-

Led Outreach Initiative. “This pilot program compensates unhoused Portlanders for engaging their peers to ensure the safety and success of City projects,” according to the Portland city website . “After receiving training, outreach workers with lived experience are sent to share information, have a conversation, and find a solution. Workers receive $20 per hour to conduct outreach or $25 per hour to coordinate outreach teams, which is paid by project budgets.”

This is a step in the right direction, because it gives the houseless a way to eventually live a more stable life—and it is a much better solution than simply telling houseless people to live in city-run camps and labeling them as criminals if they disagree. It is because of this that these resources need to be used and advertised more.

This is because these programs help the houseless a lot. Consider the Community Volunteer Corps, which “works with people who are in recovery or struggling with homelessness through volunteer work and manual labor,” as reported by KGW “The program is currently helping nearly 100 people. In the past 13 years, they’ve volunteered more than 170,000 hours and nearly 2,000 people have graduated.”

In addition to jobs programs, the least we can do for the houseless is find housing for them other than crowded shelters. One way this is being done is through supportive housing

services provided by the Metro government, which provide houseless people housing placement, rental assistance, and advocacy services. The program exists due to the fact that “[i]n May 2020, voters in greater Portland approved Measure 26-210 to fund services for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness. Thanks to voters, Metro now works with Clackamas, Multnomah and Washington counties to reduce homelessness through programs and services that help people find and keep safe and stable homes,” according to the Metro site . This is much better than stuffing the houseless into shelters and pushing them out of sight, dehumanizing them. They are human beings who deserve our compassion and a warm, comfortable place to sleep at night.

Programs like this are a start to a better alternative to legally forcing the houseless to move and marking them as criminals if they do not comply. Yet, more can and should be done. This is why there needs to be further programs that help with this, such as supporting programs that transition them into housing, helping them with loans for houses, providing classes to teach them how to handle the loans, etc. But for now, these currently-existing programs are better alternatives to criminalizing the houseless, and in the future hopefully our government officials will think of the houseless as people who need to be lifted up instead of swept under the rug.

WE SHOULD BE LIFTING HOUSELESS PEOPLE UP, NOT CRIMINALIZING THEM

HOUSELESS CAMP LOCATED IN SW PORTLAND. ALBERTO ALONSO PUJAZON BOGANI/PSU VANGUARD

IAN MCMEEKAN

GUNS WON’T MAKE US SAFER

REARMING CAMPUS POLICE IS NOT THE ONLY OPTION

NICK GATLIN

Portland State’s Campus Public Safety Office (CPSO) has decided to resume armed campus patrols, a policy change which PSU President Stephen Percy presented in his bizarre public announcement as an inevitable fact of nature. That sentiment is a product of an entrenched carceral ideology, and it’s a dangerous one. Having armed campus police is not the only way to keep the PSU community safe—and ultimately, it will cause more harm than good.

Percy’s announcement claimed that, because CPSO officers “are encountering an increasing number of weapons on and near campus,” they are “having to go on most patrols carrying arms.”

According to Portland State Vanguard reporting, those weapons included “knives, a hammer, an automatic handgun, rifles and shotguns,” per CPSO Chief Willie Halliburton.

It’s difficult to take CPSO’s reasoning at face value. CPSO officers have shown remarkably poor judgment in their response to weapons in the past, most notably when officers shot and killed Jason Washington in 2018 after Washington had taken a friend’s gun in order to de-escalate a potential fight. What does it say when campus police officers are more trigger-happy than the community they are supposed to protect? Why should we trust their judgment when it comes to using deadly force?

There’s plenty of cause for concern. According to the updated CPSO Policy Manual , published April 2023, officers are permitted to use deadly force “to stop a fleeing subject” when the officer believes the subject “has committed, or intends to

commit, a felony involving the infliction or threatened infliction of serious bodily injury or death”—the manual notes that “imminent danger may exist even if the suspect is not at that very moment pointing a weapon at someone.”

Let’s call this what it is: CPSO policy allows officers to shoot and kill a fleeing suspect—in other words, shoot them in the back—if they think that person may possibly use a weapon, or even if they think the person “is capable of causing serious bodily injury or death without a weapon.” And we’re supposed to—what, just believe that officers have an accurate perception of those threats? Shooting someone in the back is monstrous under any circumstances, and it’s hard to take CPSO’s reasoning here on faith.

Additionally, the way CPSO describes these threats reveals some troubling assumptions about how they view subjects.

Under the heading for “Medical Attention for Injuries

Sustained Using Force,” the manual describes “Persons who exhibit extreme agitation, violent irrational behavior accompanied by profuse sweating, extraordinary strength beyond their physical characteristics and imperviousness to pain,” followed by a parenthetical that notes this is “sometimes called ‘excited delirium.’”

Just to be clear, “excited delirium” is a pseudoscientific diagnosis that is not recognized by any reputable medical organization. The American Psychiatric Association’s Council on Psychiatry and Law released a position statement in 2020

against the use of the term, noting that it has often been “invoked in a number of cases to explain or justify injury or death to individuals in police custody, and the term excited delirium is disproportionately applied to Black men in police custody.” Its inclusion in CPSO’s official policy manual is deeply concerning, and casts doubt on their assessment of threats on campus.

None of these issues would be a concern if campus police didn’t have guns—which is precisely why the community fought to disarm CPSO in the first place.

Having an armed police force is not an inevitability—it’s a choice. CPSO itself has only been armed since 2014, and many countries, such as Norway, Ireland and Botswana, have police that do not regularly carry guns. The United Kingdom serves as one major example of a mostly gun-free police force—90% of London police don’t carry guns in one of the most populated cities in the world. British policing is governed by the philosophy of “policing by consent,” which recognizes that “the power of the police to fulfill their functions and duties is dependent on public approval of their existence, actions and behavior and on their ability to secure and maintain public respect.”

This is not to say that CPSO should follow the exact same protocols as London police—it is simply to point out that there are alternatives to the use of deadly force, even in highlypopulated metropolitan areas. CPSO should take a cue from the UK and learn to govern by the consent of the community or risk losing the trust of the public altogether.

CAMPUS PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICE. ALBERTO ALONSO PUJAZON BOGANI/PSU VANGUARD

11

EVENTS CALENDAR

MAY 10-16

MILO LOZA

ART MUSIC FILM/THEATER COMMUNITY

PORTLAND AT DAWN BOTTLE & BOTTEGA

6 P.M.

$44

PAINT A COLORFUL SUNSET OVER PORTLAND WHILE ENJOYING WINE AND COMPANY

PAINT NITE

CHAN’S STEAKERY

7 P.M.

$37

CREATE YOUR OWN MASTERPIECE WHILE ENJOYING DRINKS AND FOOD

MAY 12

CREATIVITY AND HEALING LEWIS & CLARK GRADUATE SCHOOL

9 P.M.

FREE EXPLORE HEALING THROUGH CREATIVITY AND ALTERED STATES IN THIS WORKSHOP ON ART AND PSYCHEDELICS

A PASCHAL SUNRISE BOTTLE & BOTTEGA

11 A.M.

$42

MAY 13

LEARN TO PAINT A SUNRISE WITH INSTRUCTION FROM AN ARTIST AND DRINKS

CHIMAERA.SITE/AFK

LLOYD CENTER 10 A.M.

FREE

MAY 14

A TWO-WEEK ART EXHIBITION AND LOCAL MARKET WITH FREE WORKSHOPS AND LIVE PERFORMANCES

PAINT NITE

BETHANY PUBLIC HOUSE

7 P.M.

$37

MAY 15

LEARN TO PAINT LAGOON FALLS WITH INSTRUCTION FROM AN ARTIST

EARLY MOONRISE BOTTLE & BOTTEGA

6 P.M.

$44

MAY 16

BRING A PARTNER TO PAINT A MOONRISE WITH INSTRUCTION FROM AN ARTIST

DERMOT KENNEDY KELLER AUDITORIUM

7:30 P.M.

$40+

AN IRISH MUSICIAN, BLENDING RUSTIC FOLK, SOULFUL GRIT AND POP AMBITION TO PRODUCE GLOBAL HITS

MORGAN JAMES

MCMENAMINS MISSION THEATER

8 P.M.

$60+

SINGER-SONGWRITER KNOWN FOR HER SOULFUL VOCALS AND BLENDING OF GENRES LIKE R&B, JAZZ AND POP

HAYLEY KIYOKO

MCMENAMINS CRYSTAL BALLROOM

7 P.M.

$35+

SINGER, SONGWRITER, ACTRESS AND DIRECTOR KNOWN FOR HER LGBTQ+ ADVOCACY AND EMPOWERING POP MUSIC

MOLCHAT DOMA

MCMENAMINS CRYSTAL BALLROOM

9 P.M.

$30+

A BELARUSIAN TRIO MIXING POST-PUNK, DARK SYNTH POP AND ‘80S RUSSIAN ROCK WITH REVERB-DRENCHED LYRICS

HALF ALIVE

ROSELAND THEATER

7 P.M.

$30+

INDIE POP BAND FROM LONG BEACH, CALIFORNIA WITH ECLECTIC AND ENERGETIC PERFORMANCES

ANTIBALAS

THE GET DOWN MUSIC VENUE

8 P.M.

$25+

AFROBEAT BAND BASED IN BROOKLYN, NEW YORK THAT BLENDS FUNK AND JAZZ

AMI DANG

MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS & BAR BAR

9 P.M.

$15

A COMPOSER, SITARIST AND VOCALIST WITH EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC UTILIZING INDIAN CLASSICAL AND ELECTRONIC SOUNDS

DRAGULA TITANS

REVOLUTION HALL

8 P.M.

$40+

WATCH THE BOULET BROTHERS AND THEIR SUPERMONSTER PERFORM A THRILLING AND HORRIFYING LIVE SHOW

BAD FRIENDS PODCAST

ARLENE SCHNITZER CONCERT HALL

7:30 P.M.

$40+

A COMEDIC PODCAST HOSTED BY BOBBY LEE AND ANDREW SANTINO SHARING HILARIOUS STORIES

JO KOY MODA CENTER

8 P.M.

$50+

A FILIPINO-AMERICAN COMEDIAN KNOWN FOR OBSERVATIONAL HUMOR AND IMPRESSIONS

NU NAH-HUP: SACAJAWEA’S STORY

THE HAMPTON OPERA CENTER

7:30 P.M.

$60

AN OPERA BASED ON SACAJAWEA’S HISTORY AND INDIGENOUS PERSPECTIVE, SUNG IN AGAI-DIKA, FRENCH AND ENGLISH

DOUBLE FEATURE

5TH AVENUE CINEMA

3 P.M.

STUDENTS: FREE GENERAL: $7

THE STATE OF THINGS AND STRANGER THAN PARADISE ON CAMPUS AT PSU

COMEDY OPEN MIC CHEERFUL TORTOISE

9 P.M.

FREE

COMEDY IN FIVE-MINUTE SETS ON CAMPUS AT PSU, SIGN UPS AT 8:30 P.M.

THE LULLABY PROJECT CONCERT

ALBERTA ROSE THEATER

6 P.M.

FREE

NINE LULLABIES WRITTEN AND PERFORMED BY PARENTS LIVING AT PATH HOME FAMILY VILLAGE

WELLNESS IN WORDS

CASCADIA GARLINGTON HEALTH CENTER

4 P.M.

FREE

DISCOVER THE INTERSECTION OF WHOLE HEALTH, WOMEN AND ART WITH THIS MENTAL HEALTH WORKSHOP

OUTDOOR UPROAR

IRVING ST. STUDIO AT ECOTRUST

5:30 P.M.

$15

NORTHWEST OUTWARD BOUND SCHOOL’S FOURTH ANNUAL EVENT CELEBRATING DIVERSITY IN THE OUTDOORS AND SUPPORTING SCHOLARSHIPS

THE BELLE SUPPER CLUB

THE VICTORIAN BELLE MANSION 7 P.M.

$20+

A VINTAGE PORTLAND NIGHTLIFE EXPERIENCE FEATURING BURLESQUE, DINNER, COCKTAILS AND ENTERTAINMENT

UNIQUE MARKETS

VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM 10 A.M.

$10

PORTLAND’S VIBRANT, COMMUNITYFOCUSED SHOPPING EVENT OFFERS 150 INDEPENDENT DESIGNERS, FAMILY ACTIVITIES, FOOD AND MORE

MOTHER’S DAY BRUNCH

SALMON SPRING DOCK

9:30 A.M.

$10+

CRUISE ALONG THE WILLAMETTE RIVER AND ENJOY A NORTHWEST BRUNCH BUFFET, MIMOSAS AND LIVE PIANO MUSIC

COMMUNITY CHOIR MAYBELLE CENTER FOR COMMUNITY 11 A.M.

FREE PRACTICE SINGING AND HAVE FUN MEETING NEW FRIENDS. NO EXPERIENCE NECESSARY.

PROMPTED: A GET-WRITING CLASS LITERARY ARTS

6 P.M.

$290

EXPLORE PROMPTS, TOOLS AND TECHNIQUES TO PRACTICE WRITING. FOR WRITERS OF ALL LEVELS.