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The PSU Code of Student Conduct and Responsibility governs the Portland State University student community. It outlines the process for students accused of violations and the potential repercussions but can be opaque and difficult to navigate.
Following the spring 2024 protests, the conduct process was initiated for students alleged to have committed violations. Students received various penalties—referred to as academic sanctions— if found responsible. PSU Vanguard spoke with PSU’s chapter of Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine (FSJP) about the conduct process, sanctions and their advocacy for students. FSJP has assisted with about a dozen conduct cases.
A group within FSJP advocates for students facing conduct violations and sanctions. They accompany students to meetings, advise and prepare them, help with appeals and provide support.
“Having staff and faculty as advocates meant we could remind students about rights they might have forgotten,” said Katie Cagle—a Member of FSJP and Program Assistant in the School of Social Work— who previously worked in the Office of Student Life.
THE LETTERS
The student conduct process begins when the Office of Student Life receives an anonymous complaint or a police record from CPSO or PPB. Then, the accused student receives a letter. Once this process is initiated, a hold is placed on the student’s transcripts.
According to Colleen Carroll, a Member of FSJP and Senior Research Assistant at the School of Urban Studies and Planning, there are two types of letters. The first starts an inquiry process without listing charges. The second states that a conduct hearing will be conducted, listing charges. They inform students that the process will proceed regardless of their participation. Students have three options: decline to participate, write a statement or attend a meeting. They must respond to the Office of Student Conduct with their decision.
Molly Benitez—a Member of FSJP and Assistant Professor of Women, Gender and Sexuality
STUDENTS FACING SANCTIONS AFTER SPRING PROTESTS
DEMYSTIFYING THE STUDENT
CONDUCT SYSTEM
Studies—noted that these letters imply their decision or their willingness to participate affects their outcome.
“If you choose not to participate or provide supporting information, it may limit my office’s ability to understand the full details of what occurred,” stated a letter provided to the Vanguard.
The Dean of Student Life Taylor Burke, disclosed that 33 people went through the conduct process and 21 were found responsible and received sanctions. It’s unclear if the process is ongoing for those who have not received sanctions.
THE MEETINGS
There are three meetings: an investigative meeting, an evidence review and the official conduct review. The first two are optional; the second isn’t clearly communicated to students. Students can bring two people to these meetings.
“FSJP tries to meet with students before the first
meeting and let them know what their rights are because there is a way in which it feels like a legal proceeding,” Benitez said. “It’s not a legal proceeding. They have the right to not talk about anything.”
In the initial meeting, the conduct officer outlines the process and questions the student. According to Benitez, they pressured students to be fully transparent, saying it was in their best interest to provide information. Students were told if they were found to have withheld or lied about details, they would face harsher sanctions. The conduct officer suggested they may be more lenient if students cooperated and disclosed their involvement or information about others.
“Something that I saw happening, from a systems perspective, was the university trying to pin down who was in charge, who was making decisions, who was doing the planning,” Cagle said. “It doesn’t seem like that’s how it was really working. The university was trying to create
a structure of responsibility that didn’t actually exist.”
The next meeting is the evidence review. Students can review all evidence or documentation on their case before the conduct hearing. They must request this meeting, and conduct officers don’t communicate this right.
“We were able to clarify and support students to get access to that evidence in advance because it’s hard to respond to an allegation when you only get the evidence in the moment,” Carroll said. “We helped them know they could even ask for this.”
The final meeting is the conduct review meeting. The conduct officer will review the violations the student is accused of. Then, they will share their understanding of what happened and give the student an opportunity to provide their perspective.
FSJP prepared students for this meeting.
“Just to make sure what you were going to say and let you know what you don’t have to say, because it’s not a legal thing, you don’t have to give them anything,” Benitez said.
FSJP observed the meetings and took notes.
“In a really stressful situation like this, it’s difficult to remember details,” Carroll said. “You go through the motions, then afterward, come out and you’re like, ‘Wait, what just happened?’ Having the faculty member there to document details and help the student debrief and remember what happened helps.”
During the meeting, students can take breaks and seek advice from their advocates before responding.
“Sitting in these meetings and listening to the awful things that happened to students and the trauma that they have is devastating,” Benitez said. “Students are being physically harmed, emotionally harmed, going to the hospital for things that happened to them.”
“I think one of the hardest parts that I have heard from students is waiting for the deliberations,” Carroll said.
“Almost all the students ask, ‘How long do I
ELLA COLCORD
PARKER PATNODE/PSU VANGUARD
have to wait?’” Carroll said. “And they say, ‘It’ll probably take a couple of weeks,’ but it’s almost always longer.”
According to Cagle, the involvement of general counsel with the conduct process was unusual and may have lengthened it.
“In my time in the Dean of Student Life Office, doing conduct stuff, I don’t recall general counsel ever being involved in a student conduct review,” Cagle said. “We heard the reason this last round of outcomes took so long had nothing to do with Claire, and was because general counsel was reviewing these cases.”
Claire Araujo was in charge of conduct cases for all sanctions issued following the protests. She recently quit. Burke is now overseeing conduct cases until the position is filled.
“I strongly believe the delay that general counsel caused in getting these findings and sanctions out there unnecessarily contributed to additional hardship and stress to the students who have been waiting for this to be resolved since May,” Cagle said.
THE EVIDENCE
Aaron Roussell, a Member of the FSJP and Associate Professor of Sociology, claimed that the conduct process operates on a presumption of guilt. Benitez and Cagle corroborated this.
“It’s really hard to prove a negative,” said Cagle.
Roussell noted that the standard of evidence in conduct hearings is the preponderance of the evidence. Unlike burden of proof—which requires proving guilt beyond a reasonable doubt—preponderance of the evidence requires proving guilt is more likely than not.
“It’s a low standard,” Roussell said.
The Office of Student Life gathered police reports from CPSO and PPB, security footage, badge access records, social media, anonymous reports and more. Verifying the sources of the anonymous reports is difficult—anyone can submit one.
“In the cases that I’ve been involved in, it’s almost always been a CPSO report, even if the student wasn’t arrested and isn’t facing charges,” Carroll said. “CPSO is providing a lot of the evidence.”
While police reports were crucial for gathering evidence, reports indicate that body camera footage was rarely, if ever, used. Both CPSO and PPB wear them.
Students requested body camera footage to corroborate their claims of inaccuracies in police reports.
“They have a police report, what the police say happened, but no body cam footage,” Benitez said. “How can you hold these conduct reviews for students if you don’t have all of the data or proof? The police report is like, ‘We were really nice to the student, we were helping them get up, and the student pushed us, and was violent.’ And the students are like, ‘Get the body cam footage, because that will prove we weren’t doing anything, that it’s actually the police that were pushing us around.”
According to Cagle, CPSO reports included security camera stills. According to Benitez, an email was sent after the board of trustees’ protest encouraging faculty to identify students from the footage.
Cagle and Benitez also identified Instagram and news cameras as evidentiary sources in the conduct process. In one reported instance, a student’s Instagram activity that was critical of PSU and supportive of the protests was questioned.
THE VIOLATIONS
Charges against students include brandishing a weapon, obstruction, blocking pathways, disruptive behavior, unauthorized entry, endangering the campus community and collusion.
“Section V - Conduct Prohibited by Portland State University details the kinds of violations that may be attributed to a student,” stated Burke, in an email to PSU Vanguard. “When there is sufficient information to suggest that a policy violation has occurred, the conduct office investigates, conducts interviews, and engages the student in an administrative review of the concerns. Section VII of the Code outlines the student conduct procedures. If a student is found responsible for a policy violation, one or more sanctions are assigned. Section X of the Code shares information on sanctions.”
THE SANCTIONS
After the conduct review process, students receive their judgment: responsible or not responsible. If found responsible, that letter issues their sanctions.
Once sanctions are issued, students have 10 days to appeal on limited grounds.
“This is where it mirrors the trial structure— factual inaccuracy is not a thing that you can challenge,” Roussell said. “Much like a trial court, if you appeal, you’re not appealing on factual grounds. They’re deciding on matters of law. Process can be part of that, but the actual finding is done at the lower court level. It’s not clear that an actual finding of fact error would generate a successful appeal or an appeal at all.”
According to Carroll, students are exhausted by this point in the process. Some feel the university has created conditions where an appeal is meaningless.
The FSJP knows of one case in which a student successfully appealed.
“Their sanctions weren’t eliminated entirely but were ameliorated a little bit so it was less impactful,” Cagle said.
Students received sanctions for various reasons and protests, not just the library protest. The FSJP published fairly standard sanctions, which include fines, fees, yearlong suspension, community service and reflection letters. Those who have graduated have their transcripts withheld.
“The conduct officer reviews the responsible finding(s) and determines the sanctions in accordance with the Code, Section X,” Burke said.
“Some letters came very quickly after the infraction supposedly happened, and in other cases, they have taken a really long time to come,” Carroll said.
The latest wave of sanctions was issued on Oct. 16, week three of the fall 2024 term. According to Cagle, seven students received them at this time.
Besides disrupting students’ academic careers, suspension affects financial aid, housing and more.
“Students who got their sanctions before the start of the term were able to figure out their next steps more easily,” Cagle said.
because they are implicated in either the court system or a code of conduct process.”
Carroll’s petition states, “At the arraignments held on May 3, the prosecution requested that everyone be barred from PSU campus. The judge categorically denied this request, specifically because students should not be barred from classes nor campus, disagreeing with prosecutors that removing the right to access education was warranted.”
“The PSU Code of Student Conduct and Responsibility outlines the administrative process by which student conduct concerns are reviewed,” Burke stated. “Section III - General Statement of Authority requires conduct to review all reports of alleged violations of the code. The conduct review process is an administrative process, rather than a legal process. The university has responsibility and authority to review student conduct concerns and outlines this in Section IV - Jurisdiction.”
“The suspension and withholding of degrees is a yearlong sanction, but the impact is much more than a year long,” Benitez said. “It’s impacting students’ ability to apply for grad school. It’s impacting their ability to get higher-paying jobs. All of that will have huge ripple effects in their lives.”
“There’s been punitive use of fees and fines,” Carroll said. “There are various approaches to sanctions that we could take—I think that things like essay writing and requiring volunteer hours are on a paternalistic tip, and we can talk about that, but it’s materially different than fining students $5,000.”
"It’s really about figuring out they were there. It’s not really about anything they actually did; evidently, the only thing they need is proof that they were there physically... They can be found guilty by association.”
“In some of the students’ letters, they’re being charged with 13 counts of some very wild stuff. That is, I think, meant to scare them. There’s stuff about violence and harming people,” Benitez said.
According to Benitez, students have been held responsible for violations at an event without evidence of their involvement. They’re liable for any violation that occurred at protests they attended.
“It’s really about figuring out they were there. It’s not really about anything they actually did; evidently, the only thing they need is proof that they were there physically,” Benitez said. “They can be found guilty by association.”
According to Benitez, there are ongoing court cases from the protests, though most have pleaded out. For students dealing with them, engaging with the conduct process is a liability.
“The court could get information from student conduct hearings,” Benitez said. “Lawyers have told some of our students that ‘You should not be participating in this while you’re dealing with court because it could be used against you,’ but that’s not going to stop the school from moving forward with their conduct case.”
When asked why students are found responsible for things that the court system did not, Burke emphasized the disconnect between the conduct review and legal processes.
“University administrative review is not tied to the outcome of any criminal process,” Burke stated. “The conduct review is an administrative process conducted by PSU and should not be confused with legal processes. Refer to sections III and IV of the Code.”
“What happens to their tuition if they’ve already registered and started classes?” Carroll asked. “Why did it take so long? Why wait until fall term started?”
The transcript hold instituted at the start of the conduct process will last until the sanctions end— which for most students is in August 2025.
“We have students whose academic careers are impacted and students whose professional careers are impacted,” Cagle said.
The essay and volunteer hour sanctions ask students to reflect on their actions and consider alternative methods to engage in protest and help people.
“As a teacher of community organizing, these students weren’t impulsive,” Carrell said. “This isn’t a question of their decision-making ability; in fact, they’re showing a strong ability to make collective decisions. These aren’t students who are unaware of the multiple ways to be involved.”
However, according to Carroll, the real issues lie in suspensions and fines.
“Things that punish students educationally, I manifestly disagree with,” Carroll said. “To me, that is just antithetical to the entire purpose of having a university.”
Carroll authored a petition to PSU—asking the university to reconsider punishment that denies students access to education—pointing out the disconnect between PSU’s stated values and actions, such as its program providing educational opportunities to people with criminal records.
“We’re saying a criminal record shouldn’t bar you from educational opportunities,” Carroll said. “Please partake in our reentry program. But we will bar students from educational opportunities
“The university is proud of the critical legal scholarship that my colleagues and I have done— we clearly state that fees and fines are a special form of punishment,” Carroll said. “Fees and fines are often what prevent people from expunging their record and can exacerbate housing insecurity and poverty. They’re unnecessary, for the school to use them as a way to punish students—I find it pretty upsetting. At the state level, activists and organizers are pushing to remove fees and fines in our civil and criminal courts, and I would make that same push here. Sanctions that can exacerbate housing stability and poverty and sanctions that prevent people from pursuing education are antithetical to what a public university should stand for.”
When asked how sanctions such as suspensions and withholding transcripts reflect PSU’s values, Burke directed this inquiry to the General Policy section in the Code of Conduct.
“The University supports the right of all people to live and learn in a safe and respectful environment that promotes excellence in instruction, research, and public service,” Burke stated. “The Code of Student Conduct and Responsibility is designed to protect the freedoms, fundamental rights, and responsibilities of those in the PSU community. Students are expected to conduct themselves in a manner consistent with these principles. (CodeGeneral Policy).”
At the June 3 faculty senate meeting, PSU President Ann Cudd commented on the protests.
“Words, slogans and epithets, while protected by the First Amendment, will not bring about a ceasefire in Gaza, but they can poison our community,” said Cudd.
Others see protest as important and sanctions for and repression of protest on campus to be at odds with PSU’s values.
“I find it antithetical to PSU’s motto: let knowledge serve the city,” Benitez said. “At one of Ann Cudd’s senate meetings, she said something like, ‘Nothing we do is going to change what happens in the Middle East.’ We literally sit here every day and teach students they can change the world, that they have the power to do things. And then she gets up as the PSU President and says, ‘Nothing you do will change things.’”
PARKER PATNODE/PSU VANGUARD
PSU STUDENTS AND PROFESSORS COME TOGETHER TO TALK POLITICS
DURING A TUMULTUOUS ELECTION
On Oct. 28, a small group of Portland State University (PSU) students and professors gathered around a table to spend an hour discussing politics in the new PSU Civil Discourse Group. The only thing these people had in common was their goal to respect one another despite disagreeing on reproductive rights—one of the most controversial issues this election season.
Each week this election season, the Associated Students of PSU (ASPSU) hosts the Civil Discourse Group at Smith Memorial Student Union to allow members of the community to talk with others about the issues that affect them. This group is open to anybody and offers the campus a rare refuge from the divisive rhetoric that has become a hallmark of American politics.
“We wanted to make sure that if people did have feelings that they had a space where they feel like they could express it without feeling judged, without feeling discriminated against, anything like that,” said Rowan Bean, the ASPSU Senate Speaker. “This conversation allows other commuters, specifically [those] who may not feel politically accepted into the school, to have a space as well.”
According to PSU Political Science Professor and Leader of the
Civil Discourse Group, Jack Miller, political discourse has become more combative than it has ever been. The Civil Discourse Group hopes to challenge the urge to self-isolate and instead encourages respectful dialogues with others.
“What’s left of our essentially civil society is family, and family is so much more polarized than it ever was,” Miller said. “So I just think that we need the experience of just being around other people as much as possible.”
The Civil Discourse Group plans to discuss a different topic each week that is important to voters and candidates this season. This week, that topic was reproductive rights—an issue that disproportionately affects women. Members of the Civil Discourse Group took a wide range of stances, and even when it got emotional, they listened to each other and politely asked questions.
“I think [the civil discourse group] is a great way to get students to learn from each other and to learn that not everything is one dimensional,” said Jess, PSU Student and Civil Discourse Group Member. “But I think for me personally, it didn’t do much because… I feel like a lot of these people have not grieved a child.”
ASPSU and Miller are careful to approach each topic from a neutral perspective and encourage participation from everyone. It may
not represent the political views that people expect on PSU’s campus—it is merely a representation of those who want to engage with other opinions. Miller and ASPSU want to encourage every student to try and make their voice heard and participate in a meaningful way.
“We are not an extension of the Administration. We’re an extension of the students to the Administration,” Bean said. “We are here to be the megaphone for students specifically.”
ASPSU and Miller hope to continue this down the road, potentially starting a monthly Civil Discourse Group after the election. Students who didn’t have the chance to attend this group but want to have their voices heard can check with ASPSU for more opportunities. But students can also look for other areas of their lives to engage in civil discourse.
“Robert Putnam argues that because people are spending less time doing things like bowling together in a bowling league, where people of different political views and different backgrounds would come together and bowl and they would have discussion,” Miller said, referencing Bowling Alone—a book by Putnam. “The benefits of discussion are… feeling like you can be heard even if you’re in the minority.”
HENRY
Students and faculty members sitting together at the Civil Discourse session on Monday, Oct. 28.
HENRY DANFORD/PSU VANGUARD
THE SCIENCE BEHIND COLD PLUNGES
BOOSTING METABOLISM, MOOD AND RESILIENCE THROUGH COLD EXPOSURE
Imagine plunging into ice-cold water, feeling an intense chill that spikes your heart rate and leaves your skin tingling.
This is the essence of a “cold plunge,” a practice that’s recently gained popularity in wellness circles for its numerous claimed benefits. But what makes these icy immersions so beneficial and are they genuinely worth the chill?
When exposed to cold, the body strives to maintain its core temperature—which activates a “cold shock response,” triggering shivering and increasing metabolism as the body tries to produce warmth.
According to recent findings, this reaction can stimulate brown adipose tissue (BAT), commonly known as brown fat—which burns calories to generate heat.
“Body temperature can lower during and after cold water immersion,” explained Emma L. Reed, Graduate Researcher in Human Physiology at the University of Oregon. “We begin to shiver, which increases metabolism, with heat as the byproduct. It would take a lot of shivering (even too much) to have a significant effect on fat loss. However, there is the potential for cold plunges to stimulate brown adipose tissue—which has metabolic benefits.”
By activating BAT, cold exposure may aid in regulating body weight and even enhance insulin sensitivity, according to research published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation. For those with fitness goals or metabolic concerns, activating brown fat could be a compelling reason to try cold plunges.
Cold plunges encourage the blood to flow more efficiently throughout the body, especially to major organs. This increased circulation may, over time, contribute to cardiovascular health. During a plunge, blood moves away from the skin and muscles toward the core to preserve heat, temporarily raising the heart rate. This short-term rise could stimulate beneficial adaptations in heart health with regular exposure.
“During and after a cold plunge, blood flow is redirected from your peripheral tissues (skin, muscle) to your core,” Reed said. “It could be that these short, repeated increases in heart rate may lead to beneficial heart adaptations, but more research is needed.” While the effects may take time, students could see
improvement with consistent practice, especially with shorter, more frequent exposures.
Cold plunges are widely embraced in athletic circles for muscle recovery. Post-exercise, inflammation and swelling in the muscles can cause soreness. Immersing in cold water constricts blood vessels, reducing swelling and aiding faster recovery. While it won’t replace rest, cold exposure can be a helpful adjunct for athletes or students with an active lifestyle.
For a balanced approach, Reed recommended a gradual introduction to cold exposure.
“A water temperature between 50-60°F (10-15°C) and between 30 seconds to one minute is a place to start,” she said. “The colder the water, the less time you should spend in it. You can also start with cold showers.”
Her advice is grounded in safety, emphasizing the importance of starting small and gradually increasing exposure time to avoid shock or adverse reactions.
The mental toughness required to enter cold water can be surprisingly beneficial. Many users report a mood boost and sense of accomplishment afterward, and there’s scientific reasoning behind this, according to a research article by Dr. Michael Ruscio. Cold exposure causes the release of norepinephrine—a hormone associated with increased alertness, mood enhancement and decreased inflammation. The hormone boost could be especially helpful for students facing stress.
Interestingly, Reed observed that the psychological benefit may not be unique to cold plunges.
“Some people might feel better after a cold plunge or a run or a yoga class,” she said. “It depends. It ultimately comes down to what works for your routine and what you enjoy.”
While cold plunging can enhance mental resilience, students should choose the method that best fits their preferences and lifestyle for lasting mental health benefits.
The idea of cold plunges strengthening the immune system is intriguing. Stress—in controlled amounts—is thought to stimulate the immune system, and cold exposure provides a controlled stressor that may trigger immune resilience. While the science is still evolving, studies suggest that cold plunging may
lead to fewer illnesses by promoting increased production of white blood cells.
“The immune system responds to stress and cold water is a stressor to our bodies,” Reed explained. “By stressing the system, our bodies adapt to make us more ‘resilient’ to future stressors.”
While this response won’t replace good hygiene or vaccines, it may complement other health strategies to build a more robust immune system.
Interestingly, cold exposure could help improve sleep. The drop in body temperature following a cold plunge signals the body to prepare for rest—which is similar to the natural temperature drop that occurs at night. This effect could be especially beneficial for students struggling with sleep issues, as it helps encourage relaxation before bedtime.
For all its benefits, cold plunging isn’t without risks.
“Cold water can be unsafe if used incorrectly,” Reed said. “The cold shock response includes increases in heart rate, blood pressure and hyperventilation (fast breathing), so I would not recommend it for individuals with any heart or respiratory condition.”
If you’re new to cold plunging or have specific health concerns, always consult a physician before attempting.
Starting a cold plunge habit doesn’t require extreme measures. Reed suggests a simple way to start.
“At the end of your normal shower, turn the water to the coldest setting and try for at least 15 seconds,” she said. “Then increase in increments of 15 seconds.”
This gradual exposure helps condition the body without causing a significant shock, making it more sustainable for beginners.
Cold plunging is a practice rooted in science that can offer a range of benefits—from boosting metabolism and supporting heart health to enhancing mental resilience and immune function. For us students, it can be a valuable tool to manage stress, improve focus and support physical health in a demanding academic environment. With gradual practice and a mindful approach to safety, the potential benefits of cold plunges may prove well worth the chill.
ABBY RAYMUNDO/PSU VANGUARD
IN SEARCH OF REFORM
A BRIEF HISTORY AND (CRITICAL) ARGUMENT IN FAVOR OF THIRD PARTIES
In 1992, Henry Ross Perot Jr. was drafted into an independent presidential run. The Texan Businessman and billionaire had, at the time, gained some political notoriety for throwing his wealth around. He had, two decades before, hired a private militia to free employees of his company who had been taken hostage in Iran. The operation—titled, HOTFOOT (Help Our Two Friends Out Of Tehran)—had thrust the serial entrepreneur into the political spotlight. This coincided with the end of a two-year ad campaign by Politican Jack Gargan, who—according to the Chicago Tribune took $45,000 of his own money in 1990 to run the same full-page ad in hundreds of newspapers. The ad began with a striking refrain lifted from a monologue spoken by the character Howard Beale in the movie Network: “I’m Mad As Hell and I’m Not Going to Take it Anymore.”
It advocated that as many people as possible vote out any incumbent federal candidates—regardless of party affiliation— in order to advocate for term limits and root out corruption. In the ad—the text of which is hosted on a Gargan-sympathetic website—Gargan stated that he was “Outraged,” “Angry,” “Disgusted” and “Really Hacked Off” at the state of politics of his time.
“Our only hope for a cure is a CLEAN SWEEP, and start over from scratch,” Gargan stated. “The only party I’m for is the huge party this nation is going to throw on Election Day when we throw those arrogant bums out on their collective butts!”
Gargan would lead the effort that would draft Perot into a run for the White House. Perot would—for the longest time—reject any calls for him to run for president. Despite this, he would open various 1-800 numbers and petitions to test the waters and to see how much support there really was for him. One of these numbers received 18,000 simultaneous calls after Perot’s appearance on The Phil Donahue Show When he did finally accept the mantle—running as an
independent—his campaign garnered a groundswell of popular support. He briefly took the lead in one poll by The Washington Post, running a campaign initially focused on bringing down the national debt.
Perot was one of the first “socially liberal, fiscally conservative” candidates to garner national attention. He was—for all intents and purposes—the median white voter of the time and ran a campaign unmatched in its ability to capture that demographic. He railed hard against the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), the first Gulf War and the vague notion of political corruption. He was the proto-populist and would lay the rhetorical groundwork for campaigns like those running the contemporary populist gambit from Bernie to Trump.
His policy recommendations might not look like yours or mine. He was notoriously aloof on issues of Black civil rights in the era of Rodney King. He infamously called a group of black people gathered to hear him speak “you people” at an NAACP event. He was quite paranoid, even dropping out of the race briefly after coming to the belief that his enemies were going to sabotage his daughter’s wedding and convincing himself that a coalition of Black Panthers and North Vietnamese agents had attempted to kill him.
Despite all this, however, he did one major thing above all.
He finished the election with almost 20 million votes, securing 20% of the total. This would be the closest any third party candidate would get to capturing the presidency, and it would lay the foundation both for the wild saga of the Reform Party—that he and Jack would found as well as the modern third party movement. Even more importantly for his own aspirations, breaching 5% of the popular vote cleared him to receive $30 million in federal campaigning money
J.J. CHRISTENSEN
DIETMAR RABICH, EDITED BY HALEY HSU/PSU VANGUARD
This is the legacy of the Reform Party in the long run. Federal matching funds are what drives most third party runs for president—the idea that if you can reach that simple 5% threshold you can take a fringe candidate and turn them into a real challenger nationwide.
The Reform Party did it, running Perot again in 1996 and securing 8% of the vote. Not only that, but the Party was the electoral vehicle for the successful Minnesota gubernatorial campaign of Governor Jesse Ventura in 1998
The Reform bandwagon didn’t last—obviously. The party would collapse after the famous bag of human excrement Pat Buchanan and his far-right supporters (which included David Duke of KKK fame) led a hostile takeover of the Party in the leadup to the 2000 election. It did, however, pave the way for another third party candidate in 2000.
Activist Ralph Nader and the burgeoning Green Party would run right as the Reform Party cratered. He attacked the two-party system from the left in a campaign centered on environmental and social justice issues. He attacked the Democratic Party as being too far to supported legalizing marijuana His campaign won 2% of the vote, pulling from a base of voters unsatisfied with either of the major parties. He spoke to an—at the time—burgeoning, progressive movement.
Many contemporary third party runs for the White House attempt to court this progressive base. Jill Stein—
the current perennial Green Party Candidate for president—runs on a platform of “People, Planet, Peace.” This platform calls for massive overhauls in how the nation procures its energy and an immediate transition away from fossil fuels. She also calls for a dismantling of the “Bipartisan, endless war machine.”
She has specifically called for the end of American support to Israel and, as such, has grown in popularity amongst Muslim Americans, especially those in Michigan and other Rust-Belt states who feel heavily burned by the Democratic Party’s continued support of Israel. A survey by the Council on American-Islamic Relations puts Jill Stein at a 29%-29% tie with Kamala Harris among Muslim Americans.
There is also the candidacy of Progressive Theologian and Philosopher Cornel West, whose platform is heavily social justice oriented. He calls for a $27 minimum wage, an end to attacks on transgender people, a nationalization of the fossil fuel industry and Medicare for all.
Finally, the Party of Socialism and Liberation has their— explicitly communist—Presidential Candidate Claudia de la Cruz. You might have seen her posters pop up around campus. All of these campaigns—specifically those of Jill Stein and Cornel West—have faced intense criticism from the Democratic Party. They claim that third party candidacies are harming the unity of the Democratic voter coalition and could hand the election to Donald Trump. The Democratic Party has recently spent $500,000 in advertising to attack Jill Stein in key battleground states.
If these candidates are spoiling the vote, however, it’s worth asking how that is. These candidates have platforms tailor-made for progressive youth who vote at lower rates than older people. Furthermore, the Democratic Party has
done seemingly everything in their power to disenchant progressives, anti-war people, Latinos and Arab-Americans who have continuously voiced their concern at the current, rightward trend in the party
The independent voter and the third party spirit is necessary in the United States for this exact reason. The two parties cannot be allowed to continue to attempt to scare voters into falling in line come November—while they enact harmful and unpopular policies with impunity. It is also not the job of the voters to keep a party in power—it is the job of parties to court voters. If the Democratic Party does want these votes, they will go out and chase them instead of sidelining them.
The more that the Democratic Party—the modern party most hostile to third party movements—moves further to the right, the more that liberal voters are left homeless and might end up finding their way to the likes of the Green Party or candidates like Cornel West—parties and candidates who will speak up for them without hesitation. You cannot, then, blame those people for voting for third party candidates. And the more people that find their way to these candidates, the closer they get to that ever-tantalizing 5%.
Whether or not third party candidates like Jill Stein, Cornel West, Claudia de la Cruz or even Chase Oliver of the Libertarian Party cost either side enough votes to swing key states is yet to be seen. It is yet to be determined if any third party since Ross Perot has actually spoiled an election instead of simply bringing non-voters to the ballot box. If they do, however, do not place the blame on them. Place the blame on the corporate-funded, “too-big-to-fail,” entrenched two parties who continue to act as if they are owed their positions in government by divine right.
TED EYTAN, EDITED BY HALEY HSU/PSU VANGUARD
PSU AND LAIKA ANNOUNCE NEW PARTNERSHIP
PSU’S GROWING RELATIONSHIP
WITH LAIKA
BENJAMIN WENCK
PSU and local stop motion animation studio LAIKA announce a new partnership to “create a more inclusive creative regional workforce.” PSU and LAIKA officially cross paths for the first time with this new development. However, together they have quite the extensive unofficial relationship with a handful of PSU Alumni Working at the Studio. These Alumni often provide their own story of how they got here from PSU and how to apply the skills they learned in their program to their positions at LAIKA.
One of these Alumni is Zaneta Taylor, rapid prototype production supervisor at the studio.
“The graphic design program…gave you the skills to hone your abilities, but also about how to have a career as a creative person and help approach problem solving. It opened up new avenues of design that led to new ways of applying my skills that eventually led to what I’m doing now.”
The new initiative represents the first official collaboration between LAIKA and PSU, despite their deep-rooted unofficial connections.
“We’ve had these smaller opportunities where students get to work at a firm as incredible as LAIKA, so formally solidifying this is very excit-
ing,” said Lis Charman, Director of the Schnitzer School of Art, Art History and Design.
“These opportunities for students, faculty fellows, and mentorships offer a deeper, more thoughtful approach to how we connect. It’s much more of a partnership,” said Charman.
The collaboration between LAIKA and PSU is a part of an ongoing initiative LAIKA has taken on over the past few years to continue to cultivate their position as one of Portland’s leading creative forces.
LAIKA recently collaborated with local artists for the city wide Coraline cat walk, and with Stumptown Coffee both for the 15 year anniversary of Coraline. LAIKA previously partnered with Portland Community College to help fund a stop motion program.
Sam Turoff, graphic designer in LAIKA’s creative marketing department and a PSU alum, shared insights about recent local engagement.
“We wanted to do a lot of our initiatives in Portland. We wanted to show that LAIKA was a part of Portland, that Portland is a place for these creatives to come. It’s really cool to see that LAIKA is focusing more on interacting with Portland.”
Turoff mentions LAIKA’s next film, Wildwood, which takes place in Portland, is likely another motivator for the studios’ increased interest in local engagement.
“With our next film, there will be a lot of aspects of Portland in it. I just love the thought of LAIKA creating this miniature version of Portland, it’s an exciting place to work,” Turoff said.
Given LAIKA’s growing interest in the city, it seems it was only a matter of time before PSU and LAIKA officially collaborated. Kristen Hole, associate professor and director of the film school, expresses enthusiasm about this connection.
“It’s very exciting for us in film, because of how natural of a connection it is,” Hole said. “Yes, you can move to LA, or Atlanta, but we have a world class stop motion animation studio here, so developing that relationship in terms of job placement and connection to the industry is something we actively work on in the department, so it’s really exciting for us.”
With the new initiative, LAIKA will fund faculty members to create a new curriculum in collaboration with the studio.
“In film… we can have a diverse and nontra -
ditional student body, so giving them those skills and directly mentoring them in areas that are employable, will help diversify these industries,” Kristen said.
The initiative also involves a program to help develop students in PSU art program with help from LAIKA’s creative team, to help diversify and support the region’s creative industries.
Turoff echoed a very similar position from LAIKA’s perspective and expanded upon the importance of diversity at a studio like LAIKA.
“Everyone has a perspective to pull from their own experience and bring to LAIKA,” Turoff said. “I think that’s the part that makes LAIKA shine as a studio. Going to Portland state there are so many people with so many different backgrounds and LAIKA is working with PSU to push interest and really encourage creativity. It helps LAIKA, PSU, and Portland as a whole to help…broaden people’s horizons.”
The Partnership will officially begin in Spring 2025—with the announcement of the faculty who will be involved in the new curriculum— and will be followed by the announcement of student scholarships in the fall.
PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
Students sit on a couch in the art building
Local A&C Events
MILO LOZA
Toto
Powell’s City of Books
Nov. 12, 7:00 p.m.
Free
A.J. Hackwith presents a reimagining of The Wizard of Oz from Toto’s perspective.
Stimson Lumber Tree Arrival
Pioneer Courthouse Square
Nov. 13, 12:30 p.m.
Free
Celebrate the arrival of Portland’s 75-foot holiday Douglas-fir and say hi to Santa.
Sonic Visuals
Tomorrow Theater
Nov. 14, 7:00 p.m.
$15
Live music by Mnemonic Pulse and Reese Bowes with immersive, synchronized visual art.
Portland Fall Cider Fest
Pine Street Market
Nov. 15, 12:00 p.m.
$25
Try over 40 ciders and enjoy food vendors.
QDoc Film Festival
Hollywood Theatre
Nov. 16, 7:00 p.m.
$12+
Annual LGBTQ+ documentary showcase featuring thematic films and filmmaker Q&As.
Portland Holiday Market
Portland Expo Center
Nov. 17, 10:00 a.m.
$12
Festive holiday shopping with 100+ vendors, carolers, food and a 25-foot lit spruce tree.
Comedy Open Mic
Cheerful Tortoise
Nov. 18, 9:00 p.m.
Free
Comedy on campus, with sign ups at 8:30 p.m. and a feature comedian at 10:00 p.m.
PSU film student working in animation studio.
PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY
Graphic design student working in the Art Building.
PSU student working with a stop motion animation set.
FIND IT AT 5TH: APPLES
A GREEK FILM EXPLORING MEMORY, IDENTITY AND THE SEARCH FOR SELF AMIDST A PANDEMIC
This week at 5th Avenue Cinema—Oregon’s only studentrun theater—our film curators are screening Apples, a Greek film by Film Director Christos Nikou.
A worldwide pandemic causes amnesia, plaguing a large portion of the population and stripping them of their identities. Our unnamed main character wakes up on a public bus in Athens without any identification. When no family or friends come to claim him from the hospital, he is enrolled in a government program that is designed to help people like him build a new identity. In this seemingly modern world without the internet, our main character plays a cassette tape each day that tells him to perform casual tasks or try hobbies and take photos in hopes that each experience may assist in jogging his memory. In the meantime, we watch him eat the only thing he’s sure of—apples.
Released in November of 2020, Apples reflects the grief, loneliness and confusion that was felt by the world during our real life global lockdown.
Continuing their November food theme, 5th Avenue’s Projectionist Clara Johnson chose Apples for screening. She discovered the movie while seeking food-related films on Letterboxd.
“The thing that drew me in was the poster,” she said, referring to the photo of a man’s head peeled like an apple—which can be seen from the window outside 5th Avenue Cinema. “Sometimes the posters are so much better than the movie—I don’t think it was in this case.”
The film’s premise captivated Johnson.
“If your family can’t find you and you don’t know who you are, what are you supposed to do? This guy ends up in that situation,” she explained. The scenario fascinated and horrified her. “He believes that apples improve memory, so he buys giant bags of them, [...] desperate to make his memory return.”
Johnson drew similarities between the film and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind—another movie where people choose to remove memories of their exes or dead loved ones from themselves. Apples also reminded Johnson of the film Her— where a man falls in love with an artificial intelligence being.
“There’s that loneliness in it where he’s desperately searching for something that’s not real and he can’t seem to move past—or he’s moving past something in the wrong way,” Johnson said.
Director Nikou learned filmmaking skills from Greek Filmmaker Yorgos Lanthimos—who created award-winning films like Poor Things, The Favourite and The Lobster.
“It’s his protégé, basically,” Johnson said. “This guy studied under him. This was his first movie.”
Nikou began his filmmaking career as an assistant director to Lanthimos on the acclaimed Dogtooth.
Johnson felt surprised by how much she enjoyed Apples after discovering Nikou’s connection to Lanthimos.
“I didn’t like Poor Things—like at all,” Johnson said. “I don’t like the way that he depicted women.”
Johnson added that the Lanthimos films she has seen are unusual and the reason for their creation is not evident or simply doesn’t resonate with her. However, she admired this new wave of strange films emerging from Greek filmmakers inspired by Lanthimos.
“The dialogue and the pacing—it’s similar in how mundane it is,” Johnson said. “They don’t have a consistent inflection in how they speak. It’s very robotic, and that’s how almost all of his mentors’ movies are like—but I found this one to be more captivating because there still was some emotional tether there that I just can’t really seem to find in some of the other ones.”
As a photographer, Johnson appreciated the polaroids that
the main character takes throughout the film to help with his memory.
“I also really liked how it’s in this weird version of reality where phones and computers don’t exist,” she said. “It looks like now— it is now—but no one’s on their phone.”
Johnson said how the main character of Apples puts his photos into a scrapbook as if it is Instagram.
A scene that stands out to Johnson features the main character dressed as an astronaut, with the viewer unable to see his face.
“He’s walking around and kind of looks at people as if they can’t see him,” Johnson said. “As if he doesn’t exist anymore. I really like that scene.”
As the film progresses, you learn very few things about our main character—Johnson questioned whether that’s for the best.
“We see him interact with other people that might have also had traumatic lives or experiences—but they just can’t remember them,” Johnson said. “Is it good that they can become a new person or is it a tragedy?”
“There’s some mystery to it,” Johnson said. “Because in some parts you’re like, ‘I feel like he might have remembered that’ but you can’t really tell necessarily.” She noted that some viewers don’t appreciate the film’s ambiguity, but she enjoys it. “Is his memory coming back—or is he pretending to—it having been away in the first place?”
Johnson is excited for people to come see the movie she chose. If people don’t enjoy the dry humor, they will certainly relate to the theme of self-discovery and the search for one’s identity.
“It’s a short and sweet, vague movie,” Johnson said. “It’s almost like a dream, I think it’s worth watching.”
Students can catch Apples this weekend for free at 5th Avenue Cinema. Showings start at 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m. on Friday and Saturday, with a 3 p.m. matinee on Sunday.
MILO LOZA
The film poster for Apples.
COURTESY OF 5TH AVENUE CINEMAS
DEVIN SINGH/PSU VANGUARD
ARIANNA THOMAS/PSU VANGUARD
VANGUARD CROSSWORD
Answers in stories
11/11/24
Down:
1. Independent candidate who disrupted the 1992 election.
2. PSU professor who leads the Civil Discourse Group.
4. Film by Yorgos Lanthimos, disliked by Projectionist Clara Johnson.
7. Political party aiming to challenge the two-party system.
10. Portland-based animation studio partnering with PSU.
Across:
3. The Greek film by Director Christos Nikou, playing this week at 5th Avenue Cinema.
5. Upcoming stop-motion film that takes place in Portland.
6. Body’s response to cold that raises metabolism.
8. Progressive party focused on environmental and social justice.
9. Activity Robert Putnam uses to illustrate declining social bonds.
11. Brown fat that burns calories in the cold, acronym.
Answers for 11/04 1) Nukes, 2) Touch, 3) Layoffs, 4) Doomsday, 5) Persona, 6) Atoms, 7) Parasocial, 7 down) Pension, 8) Bunsis, 9) Roan
Across
3. The Greek film from Christos Nikou, playing this week at 5th Avenue Cinema.
5. Upcoming stop-motion film set in Portland.
6. Body’s response to cold that raises metabolism.
1. Independent candidate who disrupted the election.
2. PSU professor who leads the Civil Discourse Group.
Lanthimos, disliked by
MILO LOZA
Community & Wellness Resources UPDATED WEEKLY
By Milo Loza
Happening Soon
Live at Lunch
SMSU Parkway North
Nov. 12, 12:00 p.m.
Free for Students
Live music performances during lunch on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
VSA Game Night
SMSU, Room 327
Nov. 12, 5:00 p.m.
Free for Students
Snacks, boba and festival games with the Vietnamese Student Association.
Table Tennis
ASRC Mac Court
Nov. 13, 4:30 p.m.
Free for Students
Learn table tennis basics and enjoy a friendly game with the Hong Kong Student Association.
Brains on Minecraft
SMSU, Room 296
Nov. 13, 6:30 p.m.
Free for Students
Explore Minecraft’s educational uses, hosted by the Neuroscience Club and the Computer Science Professionals Association.
Bratz & Beats Bash
SMSU Parkway North
Nov. 14, 5:00 p.m.
Free for Students
A woodsy-themed rave with music, food, prizes and more.
Apples
5th Avenue Cinema
Nov. 15, 6:00 p.m.
Free for Students
A Greek film about memory loss and identity amid a pandemic.
Resources
PSU Basic Needs Hub
SMSU Suite 435
Mon–Fri, 9 a.m.–5 p.m.
Free for students
Helps students access resources such as funds, food, housing, employment, childcare and health support.
PSU Food Pantry
SMSU Basement
Tues 10:30–4:30 p.m., Wed 9–1:30 p.m., Thur 12–5:30 p.m. and Fri 10:30–5:30 p.m. Free for students
Access to free groceries in a welcoming, equitable, trauma-informed way. Must be enrolled in at least one credit for summer or fall.
SMART Recovery Meetings
University Center Building 340 E Times vary Free
In peer recovery, students with shared experiences connect to reduce stigma and build a campus recovery community.
SHAC Weekly Online Parent Support Group Online
Thursdays 11 a.m. Free
Come together as parents in a relaxed setting to support each other, share ideas, collaborate and commiserate.
Women’s Resource Center
Online
Mon–Fri, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free
Confidential advocacy services to students who have experienced sexual harassment, assault, violence and stalking.
Oregon Energy Fund
Varying Locations
Mon–Fri, hours vary Free
Provides energy bill assistance to low-income Oregonians to support household stability.
Wellness
SHAC Mind Spa
UCB Suite 310
Mon–Fri (by appointment)
Free for students
Solo space to experience biofeedback, light therapy, meditation, massages, relaxation and more. Must be enrolled in at least five credits for summer or fall.
Opioid Overdose Reversal Training
SHAC, Suite 340E
Mon 10–12 p.m. & Fri 2–3 p.m.
Free for students
Pick up free opioid overdose reversal medication and get a 10-minute training on how to use it.
Mindful Meanderings
Listen on Spotify
Available 24/7
Free
PSU-produced podcast about being mindful while outside, practicing gratitude, finding joy and being in the moment.
Wellness & Health Action Team
Follow on Instagram
Available 24/7
Free
WHAT is a group of peers who educate on health topics specific to PSU students.
Outdoor Workshop Wednesdays
Watch on Youtube
Available 24/7
Free
PSU Campus Recreation Center staff videos about topics ranging from Leave No Trace and plant identification to hiking spots and land acknowledgments.
BORP Online Fitness Studio
Watch on Zoom
Mon–Sat, hours vary
Free
Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program’s (BORP) virtual exercise classes for people with physical disabilities.
