Daily Vanguard November 29, 2009

FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 20, 2009 • PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY • VOLUME 64, ISSUE 39

Event of the day Join the Queer Resource Center in recognizing the Transgender Day of Remembrance today. Events include a clothing swap, live performances and a candlelight vigil.

When: 3 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.

Where: SMSU, room 228

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INSIDE NEWS Feeding the need Portland State instructor strives to raise students’ hunger awareness PAGE 3

ARTS

That old time rock ’n’ roll Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside resurrects the soulful sounds of the past PAGE 4

Appetite for satisfaction Administrators, students have differing opinion of Aramark’s service Vinh Tran

Out of the shadows and out to the public David Nadelberg brings your worst childhood memories to the stage PAGE 4

OPINION

Shelters are not solutions Will Sen. Wyden’s plan help Portland’s prostitutes?

PAGE 6

SPORTS

One for the road Women’s volleyball team tries to close out regular season with monumental win at Sacramento State tonight PAGE 8

Vanguard staff

Feeding Oregon’s largest university is no easy task, but someone has to do it.

From 1999 until 2005, the job belonged to Aramark, a Pennsylvaniabased company known for providing hospitality services to many health care facilities and universities. In 2005, when Aramark’s contract with Portland State expired, they were outbid by Sodexo (then called Sodexho) for the rights to provide food services on campus.

The university’s decision to sign a seven-year contract with the new company was met with criticism from both food-service employees and student groups that said they disagreed with Sodexo’s past antiunion practices. Some student and union organizations even planned to boycott the Smith Memorial Student Union cafeteria should Sodexo move in.

In hindsight, it was clear that the Sodexo-Portland State deal was doomed from the start. On March 2, 2007, Portland State terminated the contract after just two years and Aramark was asked to return to the university in July of the same year. At the time, many employees and students saw it as a welcome change.

Karen Preston, manager of purchasing and contracting services, said the decision to rehire Aramark was rushed.

“We had to make a decision quickly, otherwise there would have been no food for students,” Preston said.

Aramark caters to the appetites of more than 28,000 students, staff and visitors at Portland State. The company has a strong presence on campus, where it manages food services for the Viking Food Court, Victor’s Dining Hall at Ondine and the Meetro Cafe.

After two years back on campus,

the company receives high praise from John Eckman, Portland State’s director of Auxiliary Services, for its commitment to the university, sustainability practices and, during this year’s flu season, its initiative to protect the well-being of students by offering food-delivery services to sick students.

“Aramark has donated a lot of time and money to the university

Eckman said. “So we went to Aramark, who can do a price analysis for us.”

The prices that Aramark charges to cater foods to student groups on campus are also a concern for many student leaders. According to representatives from several student groups on campus, Aramark makes it difficult for student groups to hire outside caterers.

“Aramark tries to make money

“We had to make a decision quickly, otherwise there would have been no food for students.”

– Karen Preston, manager of purchasing and contracting services

over the years,” Eckman said.

However, some Portland State students believe Aramark could improve its services, especially when it comes to food prices.

“The salad bar is ridiculous,” said freshman Eileen Mitchell. “I spent close to $5 there when I could just go to McDonald’s and get a chicken salad for $4 with real meat.”

According to Eckman, one of the tools Aramark uses to determine prices is the Consumer Price Index (CPI), which is a statistical measure of prices applied to goods and services.

“Traditionally, we approve a price increase if it is within the CPI range—I’ve never seen it go above the CPI,” Eckman said.

“We go out and look at what competitors are charging, every summer we do an in-depth market analysis and every increase in price is sent to Portland State for approval,” said Stephen Wadsworth, Aramark’s associate district manager of dining services at Portland State.

Eckman said one of the benefits of having Aramark on campus is the level of expertise the company provides to the university.

“We decided not to manage the food services ourselves—we used to do so in the ’80s and, as a result, we ended up losing a lot of money,”

off of us for ridiculous reasons, the food is poor in quality and we can find better food from outside caterers,” said one student group’s representative who wishes to remain anonymous.

Cynthia Vuong, treasurer for the Vietnamese Student Association, said during New Student Week that the group tried to solicit outside restaurants to give out free food samples to students, but Aramark denied the proposal.

“They don’t want us to advertise for other restaurants, and instead use their service,” Vuong said. “We ended up not going through with it.”

According to the 2007 contract between Portland State and Aramark, the company reserves the right to cater all events held in SMSU. Ultimately, most student groups said they want Aramark to be more supportive of multicultural aspects of their groups, enhance diversity and allow more freedom to hire outside caterers.

Aramark locations: Viking Food Court Victor’s Dining Hall at Ondine Meetro Cafe

All photos by Liana Shewey/Portland State Vanguard

Viking Food Court: One of three on-campus locations operated by Aramark.

Vanguard 2 | News November 20, 2009

NEWS

Sarah J. Christensen Editor-in-Chief Danielle Kulczyk News Editor Theodora Karatzas Arts & Culture Editor Richard D. Oxley Opinion Editor Robert Britt Sports Editor Shannon Vincent Production Manager Marni Cohen Photo Editor Zach Chastaine Online Editor Jennifer Wolff Chief Copy Editor Jennifer Wolff Calendar Editor Matthew Kirtley Advertising Manager Judson Randall Adviser Ann Roman Advertising Adviser Illustrator Kira Meyrick Marketing Manager Kelsey Chinen Associate News Editor Virginia Vickery Production Assistants Bryan Morgan, Charles Cooper Williams

Writers Kate Alexander, Will Blackford, Bianca Blankenship, Klara CachauHansgardh, Maeve Connor, Meaghan Daniels, Erica DeCouteau, Natalia Grozina, Patrick Guild, Rosemary Hanson, Steve Haske, Ed Johnson, Carrie Johnston, Mark Johnston, Zoe Kellett, Tamara K. Kennedy, Anita Kinney, Gogul Krishnan, J. Logue, James MacKenzie, Holly K. Millar, Stephanie Fine Sasse, Wendy Shortman, Nilesh Tendolkar, Robin Tinker, Vinh Tran, Allison Whited Photographers Aaron Leopold, Rodrigo Melgarejo, Liana Shewey, Adam Wickham Copy Editor Robert Seitzinger Advertising Sales Matthew Kirtley, Ana SanRoman, Jae Specht, Wesley Van Der Veen Advertising Designer Shannon Vincent Contact Editor-in-Chief 503-725-5691 editor@dailyvanguard.com Advertising Manager 503-725-5686 ads@dailyvanguard.com The Vanguard is chartered to publish four days a week as an independent student newspaper by the PSU Publications Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers, and do not necessarily represent those of the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. One copy of the Vanguard is provided free of charge to all community members, additional copies or subcription issues may incur a 25 cent charge. The Vanguard is printed on 40 percent post-consumer recycled paper.

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Professors heat up the press with a flood story Intra-university teamwork results in book, benefits Klara Cachau-Hansgardh Vanguard staff

A little over a month ago, Ooligan Press published a revised second edition of Cataclysms on the Columbia in collaboration with two professors at Portland State.

Scott Burns, Geology Department chair, and Marjorie Burns (no relation), co-author of the first edition, came together for the second edition.

Dennis Stovall, coordinator and head publisher at Ooligan Press, said it is relatively rare for a Portland State professor to approach the school’s teaching press—run by English graduate students—in seeking publication.

Despite minimal precedence, Stovall gathered that Ooligan was the first publisher Burns consulted while considering a second edition of Cataclysms. Previous Ooligan projects involving Portland State faculty include Speaking Out: Women, War and the Global Economy by Jan Haaken, a psychology professor, in 2005.

Ellery Harvey, a member of the Cataclysms publishing team, expressed satisfaction with the pairing. Harvey asserted that both Scott Burns and Marjorie Burns were very willing and flexible collaborators, dedicating time and effort throughout the publication process and often scheduling two to three meetings per week.

Scott Burns reiterated the benefits of working with the established not-for-profit Ooligan Press, clarifying that the income, split evenly, supports scholarships for students in the English and Geology departments at Portland State.

Burns also commended Ooligan’s strides toward increased sustainability noting the biodegradability of every piece of the book.

With Ooligan Press’ distribution range encompassing North America, and its availability through online vendors such as Amazon.com, Cataclysms may prove a success.

“It has been the big seller,” Stovall said.

Burns estimated that within three weeks of publication, Cataclysms sold over 900 copies.

Stovall asserted that a large percentage of buyers were among university students and faculty acquiring textbooks and teaching materials, but another significant audience is in travelers and tourists to the Pacific Northwest—geological sites in particular.

“All of the visitor centers were anxious for the second edition,” Burns said.

Originally distributed by Timber Press in 1986, taken out of print three years ago, the first edition was co-authored by Marjorie Burns and John Eliot Allen, a former Portland State professor.

As Allen recently passed, the geological portion of the book was revised and updated by Scott Burns for its republication.

Burns stressed the necessity for revision was mainly due to the amount of new information integral to a complete book that needed to be incorporated.

Cataclysms is a book in two parts.

The first illustrates the life of geologist J. Harlen Bretz, whose theories on the Missoula floods were controversial at the time of his first propositions in the 1910s and ’20s.

Nevertheless, Bretz outlived many of his adversaries to witness his notions become widely accepted in the scientific community before passing away at the age of 98 in 1981. The second part of the book covers the science behind Bretz’s theories.

Burns explained the history of the Missoula floods. In an event that took place 15,000–18,000 years ago, 90 floods ran down through Spokane, Wash., depositing a tremendous amount of soil before running out into the Pacific Ocean—providing for and creating what is now considered the fertile Northwest. Forty of those floods made their way to what is now the downtown Portland area, reaching 400 feet in elevation.

According to Burns, the Ice Age Floods National Geologic Trail, currently in the stages of final approval to become the newest national park, can be attributed to this phenomenal occurrence.

All photos by Liana Shewey/Portland State Vanguard

Scott Burns (also pictured above): Burns, professor and Geology Department chair, contributed to the updated edition of Cataclysms on the Columbia, first written by current professor Marjorie Burns and former professor John Eliot Allen.

Portland State instructor strives to raise students’ hunger awareness Tamara K. Kennedy Vanguard staff

Rachel Webb, senior statistics instructor, was once a Portland State undergrad with a young son to feed.

Webb often visited a food pantry in order to put food on the table.

“It’s not fun, but you have to survive,” Webb said.

For the past two years, Webb has given back to the community by raising hundreds of pounds of food for local food pantries, with the help of her students.

Webb gives her statistics students incentive to donate by offering two extra credit points per two nonperishable food items, she said.

“I was amazed how many people brought in bags of food,” Webb said.

It all started two years ago when one of her students was collecting food and clothing for a battered women’s shelter as part of a Senior Capstone, Webb said.

The student e-mailed Webb and asked if she would make an announcement in class asking students to bring donations. Webb did and 200 pounds of food were donated, along with some clothing, she said.

Another student suggested that more food would come in if Webb gave extra credit. The next term she tried it by giving one point of extra credit for two nonperishable items, and raised 375 pounds of food, Webb said.

Since then, Webb has upped the number of extra credit to two points and the number of pounds in food donations continues to climb each term. She has raised 600, 709 and 800 pounds of food in student donations for extra credit, Webb said.

Webb has donated food to the

Vanguard News | 3 November 20, 2009

Feeding the need

News Editor: Danielle Kulczyk 503-725-5690 news@dailyvanguard.com

November is Peanut Butter Lovers’ Month

Rodrigo Melgarejo/Portland State Vanguard

Rachel Webb: With the assistance of her statistics students, senior professor Webb gathers hundreds of pounds of food to donate to local food banks each term and offers extra credit as an incentive to help.

Oregon Food Bank, the governor’s food drive when it was on campus and Esther’s Pantry, Webb said.

Recently, Webb found out about the ASPSU food pantry. She had already committed the food donation for fall term, Webb said.

“Feeding people right now is very important because of the economy,” Webb said.

She is considering donating to the ASPSU food pantry in winter term.

“We need all the help we can get and would love to work with anyone that helps students,” said ASPSU President Jonathan Sanford.

Webb also allows students to receive the extra credit if they help with organizing the food in boxes or transporting it to the pickup area, Webb said.

“Two points of extra credit could make a difference, especially if you were on the borderline between

grades,” Webb said.

She said she would like to get more professors involved and that she’d like to announce food drives in their classes, if the professors would allow.

Robert L. Fountain, math and statistics professor, allowed Webb to come in and announce the food drive for the last three terms and has given 1 percent extra credit toward a student’s whole grade, Webb said.

Webb has added donating blood or one hour of community service as two points of extra credit as well.

She has even begun keeping a list of local organizations and charities for students who ask, Webb said.

A student of hers, Robert Meyer, a psychology major who has volunteered at Esther’s Pantry, suggested Webb make donations there, she said.

“Rachel is right there on her hands and knees organizing boxes with everyone else,” Meyer said.

Webb would like to see 1,500 pounds of food come in next term, but at least 1,000 pounds, she said.

She is also thinking about a voter credit where a student can bring in a sealed ballot and show it for extra credit, Webb said.

Webb said her son, Niko, now 16, is working toward becoming an Eagle Scout and needs a community service project. She is hoping he will host a food drive.

“I do not want him to forget his roots,” Webb said.

Students wishing to donate food to the ASPSU food pantry may do so by bringing nonperishable items to the ASPSU office in SMSU room 117.

Peanut butter is one of America’s favorite foods.

It can be found in about 75 percent of American homes, and is considered by many to be a staple like bread and milk.

Peanut butter is a very caloric-yet-healthy food.

In general, raw peanut butter is better than refined, because it retains many of the beneficial nutrients found in the skin.

In addition, processed peanut butter might contain added trans-fatty acids, which have been shown to increase the risk of cardiocirculatory diseases.

A further risk is that when badly preserved, it can host the mold Aspergillus flavus, which produces aflatoxin (a very toxic and carcinogenic substance), so your best bet is to always go with natural peanut butter.

Proteins are present in high amounts, together with very important micro-nutrients such as vitamin E, vitamin B3 and large amounts of beneficial minerals such as iron, magnesium, potassium, copper and calcium.

One of the most interesting and peculiar nutrients found in peanuts is resveratrol, a natural antimicrobial agent produced by the peanut plant to ward off potential pathogens.

Resveratrol is actually believed to be the cause of the “French paradox” (French people having a lower risk of cardiovascular disease despite their diet rich in fats).

Although harmless to humans, resveratrol is still active when ingested, and it provides the same anti-microbial and antifungal properties to the person consuming it.

WANTED Advertising Manager In charge of cultivating ad sales and customer relations for the Vanguard Apply by e-mail at editor@dailyvanguard.com

Another peculiar substance contained in peanut butter is p-coumaric acid, a polyphenol that helps combat oxidative stress.

Scientific sources such as the Food Chemistry concluded that roasting peanuts leads to a higher content in p-coumaric acid by as much as 22 percent.

A study published on the journal Obesity involved 8,865 adult men and women in Spain and was carried out during a 28-month period: The subjects who ate nuts at least twice a week were 31 percent less likely to gain weight (less than 5 kilograms) than the others.

—www.peanut-butter.org

Vanguard 4 | Arts4 & |4Opinion Culture | News November February January Month Day, 20, 23, 13, 2009

Arts Editor: Theodora Karatzas 503-725-5694 arts@dailyvanguard.com

Friday’s all right for a fight (or just checking out some awesome live music) The King Khan & BBQ Show, Those Darlins Last month, Scion’s Garagefest was a loud, rowdy reminder that Portland needs more good garage rock in its venues. To help the cause along, The King Khan & BBQ Show (who played the free festival) will be returning to Dante’s to shake, rattle and roll its audience. The Canadian rockers keep it raw and weird with their own brand of vintage-sounding tunes. The tiniest bit melodic and totally strange, King Khan errs on the psychedelic side of the garage genre while still remaining accessible to its listeners.

Dante’s, 9 p.m., $12, 21+ Amadan, Sassparilla, The Beautiful Train Wrecks Amadan has all the energy and feel of a band like the Dropkick Murphys with none of the cartoonish vibe and more of a punk feel to them.

With seven years, 13 members and two records under their belts, this is a band that clearly knows what it’s doing. It’s heavily Irish inspired, but still retains a good rock ’n’ roll feel.

Playing at the Doug Fir’s shadowy loungelike basement, things should get pretty crazy.

Doug Fir, 9 p.m., $10, 21+ Glass Candy, Desire, Boy Joy, Mike Simonetti In recent years, there’s been something of a disco revival going on in the electronic music scene and local new wave group Glass Candy are a wonderful example of everything right with the trend.

Ethereal female vocals reminiscent of Blondie’s Deborah Harry, coupled with frenetic electronics, mesh into a lush soundscape that’s perfect for any dance floor. Rotture, 9 p.m., $8, 21+

ARTS & CULTURE That old time rock ’n’ roll Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside resurrects the soulful sounds of the past Stephanie Fine Sasse Vanguard staff

Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside are not quite like anything else out there. With a quirky style, powerhouse vocals and songs you’d swear you heard on American Bandstand, they’re throwback rock ’n’ roll meets retro lady blues.

“It’s all roots music,” Ford said.

“Blues and rock ’n’ roll and soul are all related anyway. If you play one you’re pretty much playing all of them.”

The band is made up of two parts: Sallie Ford, the quirky frontwoman with her signature vocal tone and style, and the Sound Outside, her backing band. The fast and fiery Sound Outside is a product of drummer Ford Tennis, upright bassist Tyler Tornfelt and guitarist Jeffrey Munger, all of whom Ford met after relocating to Portland from North Carolina. After being raised

in a family of puppeteers, music instructors and musical thespians, Portland provided Ford with space to stretch her legs and define herself as an artist.

“I have an idea of what I want [the music] to be, and I just keep getting closer to that,” Ford said. “At first it was just really rough and not anything that I think I would be proud of right now.

I don’t think I would want to hear old recordings of me.”

Ford started writing songs in 2006 after feeling that covers were no longer enough. The band members who joined were instantly taken with her talent, and channeled their own to build a worthy foundation for her to impress from.

“It’s her voice. It’s the focal point of the musical experience that we’re trying to share,” Munger said.

“For me it’s a transformation,” Ford said. “You might feel like a nerdy, awkward person in real life, but then on stage you don’t have to be—except between the songs.”

The highly original, upbeat melodies, spunky attitude and complete likeability did not go unnoticed for long. Less than a year after becoming a quartet, the Avett Brothers brought

Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside on as an opening act. The success has far from gone to their heads as they continue playing every basement, living room or backyard that comes up.

“We play a lot of shows,” Ford said. “Some people think we play too many shows. I think that we should play as much as possible. We’re open to do anything, really.”

Word around town is that they put on a show as vibrant and emotive as their recordings, which as anyone who has heard their EP would agree, is no small feat. When it comes time to write something new, Ford opts for a versatile, submissive approach, allowing the music to decide for itself what it wants to be.

“I definitely have some songs that I’ve accepted no one will ever understand what I’m saying,” Ford said. “Like, literally because they can’t understand the words. Then I sometimes write songs that could seem like a love song but it’s really not about that at all. And sometimes I write songs that are very blunt and in your face and you know exactly what it means.”

Currently tossing around the idea

of recording a full-length album, Sallie Ford and the Sound Outside are full-steam ahead. Bold, adorable and timeless, the band offers something different for those who think they’ve heard it all.

Photo courtesy of Liz Devine

Sally Ford and the Sound Outside Kelly’s Olympian 426 SW Washington St. Saturday, 10 p.m. $5, 21+

Out of the shadows and out to the public David Nadelberg brings your worst childhood memories to the stage Mark Johnston Vanguard staff

Sometimes, sharing is fun. Sharing fond memories, songs from our youth and recipes are all things that most people are more than happy to share.

Mortified takes a bit of a different route: Participants share journal entries, songs, old letters, home videos and stories that traumatized them when they were in their youth.

Creator David Nadelberg is celebrating Mortified’s seventh year with events in nine cities, a second book and a Web series.

“Mortified allows people to share their most embarrassing childhood traumas and memories with total strangers,” Nadelberg said. “It is in its seventh year and we have spread out to nine cities including Washington, D.C., Seattle, Austin, Los Angeles and Sweden [sic]. [The Portland chapter was] started by Ean Danehy and his wife Susan. They met at a Mortified show in Los Angeles. He assumed it was a date, she didn’t think that.

They began talking about their own pasts and lives and it grew into a relationship. They moved to Portland where they study human behavior for a living, interestingly enough.”

The show itself isn’t run like an open mic or set up with formal auditions.

“Typically it is run like an art event, with a curator. It’s not an open mic night,” Nadelberg said.

“Not everything we wrote as kids is entertaining to hear past one minute. We have a unique process called a shoebox session. People read us artifacts from their childhood. We listen to them, and then we help them find excerpts that tell comedic stories about their lives.”

Not everyone gets his or her story told and, unfortunately, not every story that is chosen makes its way to the stage.

“There’s a video piece [in Los Angeles] we’ve been trying to get into the show for two years. Unfortunately [the woman who submitted it] backs down before every performance. But that’s okay. These pieces are personal so we don’t mind waiting it out,” Nadelberg said.

Aside from the immensely popular stage show, Mortified has released two books, Mortified: Real People, Real Words, Real Pathetic and Mortified: Love is a Battlefield. The books take articles and stories from the stage show and share them with a far wider audience.

“Like our stage show, the books are anthologies of excerpts of people’s actual teenage writings, journals, crappy novels they tried to write when they were 15…threaded with the context of why they wrote what they wrote and a bit about who they are,” Nadelberg said. “I’m extra

excited about Battlefield. If there was ever a theme or topic that stalks Mortified, it’s romance—lots of stories of teenagers with creepy obsessions plague our participants.”

Nadelberg attributes the show’s wild success to the subject matter.

“Dealing with people’s neurosis from childhood and exorcizing them as a form of comic therapy,” Nadelberg said. “You learn a lot about who people are when you are hearing the secret lives of strangers. On a micro level and on a macro level. When you hear or read a piece you see yourself.

People like seeing themselves in these moments of comic tragedy.”

People really do, because nearly every single show in every city that has exhibited the Mortified show has been sold out. This is quite a feat, considering Nadelberg has not spent any money on conventional marketing.

“Not one dime has been put into traditional marketing,” Nadelberg said. “This speaks to the idea that our show connects with everybody, so everybody speaks about it with each other. People make it their own, and bring it into their own life, so stories get around and we have been promoted on a grassroots level that way. It’s different from sketch and improv comedy. It’s not about laughing ‘at you.’ It’s not trying to make you laugh with the performer.

It’s like ‘laugh at me and cheer for me.’ It has a heart that most comedy doesn’t address.”

Whatever motivation people have for coming to Mortified—laughing at others, laughing at themselves or just experiencing the awkward communal misery of adolescence—Nadelberg and company truly have a unique and unifying concept and have thus far executed it quite well.

Mortified

Photo courtesy of Ed Pingol

Shannon Dejong: A participant in the show, Dejong and many others have taken the stage and

shared their mortifying stories from childhood with sold-out crowds.

Someday Lounge 125 NW Fifth Ave. Tonight, 8:30 p.m. $10 advance, $12 door 21+

Burlesque acts and acrobats

Vanguard Arts & Culture | 5 November 20, 2009

Cabaret screening begins with some lively old-time entertainment

Billboard Top 10 pop

Bianca Blankenship Vanguard staff

Burlesque dancer Nico Bella calls her idea “the $20 bill night.” In a quest to create a reasonably priced night out on the town, Bella started Fleur de Lethal Cinematheque Presents, a monthly show at the Bagdad Theater that provides exceptional entertainment followed by an equally exceptional flick. This month it’s that good ol’ classic, Cabaret.

“You pay $20, have a couple drinks, eat some food,” said Bella.

“It’s complete, it’s a full night out.”

With a film showing, circus performers, a dance chorus and Bella herself facilitating the event, all for only $5, this night at the Bagdad promises to be the economical night out on the town Bella envisioned.

The circus performers come in from local group Wanderlust Circus, touting vintage sophistication with a 21st-century flare. The group includes performers Rhy Thomas, who wheels across tightropes juggling bowling pins, Kyoko Uchida, who drapes herself in chains hanging from the ceiling to perform acrobatics and Mr. Creature, who totters around the room on stilts.

Wanderlust has an old-time circus feel, complete with bow ties, top hats and raunchy burlesque outfits.

William Batty, the ringmaster, will be hosting the event and a number of

Wanderlust performers will find ways to juggle and contort themselves for the audience’s entertainment.

Bella dances and sings in the Wanderlust Circus, where she goes by her stage name, Sadie LaGuerre.

Fleur de Lethal hosts other events around town, like burlesque shows and classic films. Bella tries to keep events fun and accessible to all.

The film Fleur de Lethal presents this Saturday will be Cabaret, which ties in nicely with Bella’s love of burlesque. Shot in 1972 and set in 1930s Berlin, the musical film follows an American singer (played by Liza Minelli) who tries to bring entertainment cheer to Germans as the Nazi regime rises in the background.

With sinister undertones, Cabaret manages to confront Nazi Germany, bisexuality and pregnancy in a whimsical manner and throws lots of showy music in the mix. It’s easy to see where this film gets its cult appeal.

Like many of Fleur de Lethal’s events, this might be a little rowdy.

The show is a sing-along and encourages the audience to join in. A month ago, when Fleur de Lethal put on a sing-along showing of Moulin Rouge, almost 300 people showed up to drink beer and let their croaky voices shine. Theater nerds and musical geeks be warned: This is your heaven.

“I stick to the big musicals that are kind of silly and kind of goofy but still mean something to people,” Bella said.

In addition to a rapid-fire succession of circus acts before the show, a dance chorus called the Good Time Girls will also be

The Klosterman factor Pop culture + too much thinking + funny2 = Eating the Dinosaur Ed Johnson Vanguard staff

It’s not hard to describe the formula behind the essay topics of Chuck Klosterman’s new book Eating the Dinosaur.

First, take a contrarian position on some obscure—or not so obscure— piece of pop culture ephemera.

(Examples: Weezer’s music is not informed by irony; the read option play in pro football is culturally significant; voyeurism is boring; etc.)

Second, relate that point to some other piece of cultural leftovers, or better yet, to multiple elements of media. This helps when trying to prove the universality of a philosophical point, even if his starting place was a scene from Terminator 2.

Lastly, add a dose of smart-ass self-referentialism to jokes that are funny without being mean and an inescapable dose of post-postgeneration self-deprecation.

Klosterman isn’t kidding when he writes, in the opening of a chapter on the stupidity of canned laughter, “I’ve spent an inordinate amount of my time searching for the underrated value in ostensibly stupid things...I am open to the possibility that everything has metaphorical merit.”

And why wouldn’t he be? That sentiment has been the defining ethos of his criticism. It’s what’s made his career.

From his first book, Fargo Rock City, to Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs and his extensive work as a columnist for Esquire, his ability to successfully deconstruct stupid things has been what’s set him

apart. Tell me that Citizen Kane is an important movie, and I’ll agree.

Tell me that Kurt Cobain and the leader of a cult in Waco, Texas, are comparable personalities, and I’ll be damned sure to read.

Klosterman understands that his readers don’t want someone telling them just how dumb everything we watch, listen to and consume is.

They want someone to elevate the meaning of that bullshit and make it seem more than just a way to fill hours before we die.

Sometimes he hits and sometimes he misses, but this most recent collection doesn’t have the same impact or novelty of Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs. Klosterman’s easy and unique writing voice—like the regular king bullshitter at the bar down the street—still makes for an enjoyable read though. In fact, it reads so quickly that sometimes his fairly sophisticated ideas blow over like so much noise.

And the thing is, unless you’re fairly immersed in pop culture or are willing to dive down some rabbit holes of ideas, this book isn’t for you.

You really have to believe that this stuff matters, at least on some level.

Chuck Klosterman has written a book that’s a lot like his old books.

It’s funny, compelling and earnest in its search for hidden meaning in all manner of ideas.

The topics of his discussion may be “stupid,” but the analysis Eating the Dinosaur gives most certainly is not. Unless, of course, we’re just all that stupid.

Eating the Dinosaur $25 hardcover Out now

performing. The show is meant to give a low-cost taste of what the Good Time Girls and the Wanderlust Circus do on a regular basis.

The film will also show as an allages matinee on Sunday without the pre-show performances.

Cabaret Bagdad Theater 3702 SE Hawthorne Blvd.

Saturday, 7 p.m. $5, 21+

Week of Nov. 15–23 “Watcha Say” Jason DeRulo “Paparazzi” Lady Gaga “Party in the U.S.A.” Miley Cyrus “Down” Jay Sean featuring Lil’ Wayne “Sweet Dreams” Beyonce “3” Britney Spears “Fireflies” Owl City “Already Gone” Kelly Clarkson “Replay” Iyaz “Meet Me Halfway” The Black Eyed Peas —Billboard

Vanguard 6 | Opinion November 20, 2009

Opinion Editor: Richard D. Oxley 503-725-5692 opinion@dailyvanguard.com

Modern-day slavery?

Despite common conception, slavery is alive and well in the United States today. It exists in the form of human trafficking, which involves prostitution and the sex trade.

This year, the U.S. Department of State released their ninth annual Trafficking in Persons Report while the U.S. Bureau of Justice Statistics also put out a press release reporting on the issue.

The facts are alarming: Trafficking for sexual exploitation typically includes abuse within the commercial sex industry.

The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimates that there are at least 12.3 million adults and children in forced labor, bonded labor and commercial sexual servitude at any given time. Of these victims, the ILO estimates that at least 1.39 million are victims of commercial sexual servitude, both transnational and within countries.

Women, eager for a better future, are susceptible to promises of jobs abroad as babysitters, housekeepers, waitresses or models—jobs that traffickers turn into the nightmare of forced prostitution without exit.

According to the ILO, 56 percent of all forced labor victims are women and girls.

Most (83 percent) of the reported human trafficking incidents involved allegations of sex trafficking.

About one-third (32 percent) of the 1,229 alleged human trafficking incidents involved sex trafficking of children.

Over 90 percent of victims in both alleged and confirmed human trafficking incidents were female and 99 percent of victims in alleged and confirmed sex trafficking incidents were female.

Hispanic victims comprised 37 percent of alleged sex trafficking victims, the largest share.

Asians made up 10 percent of alleged sex trafficking victims.

Of victims in alleged human trafficking incidents, 27 percent were age 17 or younger, while 38 percent were ages 18 to 24.

—www.state.gov —ojp.usdoj.gov

OPINION Shelters are not solutions Will Sen. Wyden’s plan help Portland’s prostitutes?

Natalia Grozina Vanguard staff

KATU News reported on Nov. 12 that Sen. Ron Wyden announced a plan to set up shelters for prostitutes.

These shelters are expected to provide housing, clothing and other services to women who are caught up in a life of prostitution without escape.

“His plan is to set up special shelters for women so they can escape their pimps in parts of the country where sex trafficking is the worst, including in Oregon,” according to an article on KATU’s Web site. “His plan calls for spending $50 million over three years through the use of existing funds. He calls it a ‘modest sum’ of money.”

Shelters or no shelters, this does not solve the problem. In fact, it reinforces the idea that prostitution is OK or that hiding prostitutes and potential sex trafficking victims is going to solve the ultimate problem.

But could there be benefits of legalized prostitution?

Maybe Portland should become Las Vegas, and we can pay taxes on it too. It’s not just Sin City that allows legalized prostitution. In Singapore, sex for money is common.

In Denmark, women can be legal prostitutes as long as it is not their only means of income. Our neighbors Canada and Mexico allow it. Prostitutes must stay in brothels in the Netherlands, and Israel, the historical setting for the Bible, allows it too. Meanwhile, we in the majority of the United States are apparently

missing out on legal prostitution.

This leads me to explore the idea that prostitution is a free choice.

Many prostitutes may think sex work is not the best choice of work, but the best alternative available.

And many people label that as free choice. But is it? If women are choosing prostitution for economic reasons, you can’t argue that a choice between prostitution and death is free choice. That is not a choice at all.

More so, many believe that criminalizing the sex industry will only worsen conditions for human trafficking victims because the only way it can be stopped is if the existence of prostitution is recognized and the legal and social rights of prostitutes are guaranteed.

On June 12, CBS News reported Rhode Island had a prostitution loophole that went mostly unnoticed for 30 years until “Providence police raided several spas in 2003 and then lost their cases in court because of the loophole.”

Apparently, police were able to arrest prostitutes on street corners.

However, until Nov. 3, prostitution could not be prosecuted as long as it occurred indoors.

“Since then, lawmakers repeatedly have tried and failed to change the law, facing opposition from civil libertarians, advocates for sex workers and even the state chapter of the National Organization for Women,” according to CBS News.

“They say permitting the arrest of prostitutes could end up punishing human trafficking victims.”

Another way to look at this issue is through the mindset of Margareta Winberg, former Deputy Prime Minister of Sweden.

“I believe that we will never succeed in combating trafficking in women if we do not simultaneously work to abolish prostitution and the sexual exploitation of women and children,” Winberg said during a November 2002 speech. “Particularly in light of the fact that many women in prostitution in countries that have

Kira Meyrick/Portland State Vanguard

legalized prostitution are originally victims of trafficking in women.”

Unlike in the United States, selling sex in Sweden is not a crime, but buying sex is. Swedish policies against prostitution and trafficking in human beings focuses on the root cause: They recognize that without men’s demand for and use of women and girls for sexual exploitation, the

global prostitution industry would not be able to expand.

Do shelters for these women provide that? Do they get rid of the root cause—the “pimp daddies”— or do they just hide the prostitutes from being killed? Perhaps Wyden’s proposal of $50 million should not go towards hiding these women, but doing something about the men who sell them. Jeri Williams, a Portland City Hall program manager who was interviewed by KATU, said it right: “People who are driving around at night looking for sex with strangers are not sane people.”

And why should prostitutes in Oregon who are their slaves get in trouble, when the men or women who pick them up, do not?

The Council for Prostitution Alternatives ran a study in 1991 in our own city of Portland. They found that out of 55 prostituted women, 78 percent reported being raped. Out of these incidents, they were raped, on average per year, 16 times by their pimps and 33 times by johns.

“Twelve rape complaints were made in the criminal justice system and neither pimps nor johns were ever convicted,” according to the study. “These prostitutes also reported being horribly beaten by their pimps an average of 58 times a year. The frequency of beatings...by johns ranged from one to 400 times a year.”

Of these cases, only 13 were brought up on charges for the beatings and only two resulted in convictions for aggravated assault.

This is the problem, and shelters are not going to solve it. Sweden may have the right policy on this one.

The swine of Wall Street Vaccines go to top buyers, not to those in need Meaghan Daniels Vanguard staff

Money may not be able to buy happiness, but it can buy your health. Goldman Sachs and Citigroup have received the shortin-supply and high-in-demand vaccine for H1N1, or swine flu.

The Associated Press reported that Goldman Sachs received 200 doses of the vaccine for their atrisk employees and Citigroup received 1,200 doses. Throughout the city of New York there have been 800,000 doses delivered so far to 1,400 health care providers. This also includes pediatricians, public schools and hospitals.

Supposedly, the vaccines at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup are going to only go to those people who are in high-risk groups.

Wait a second—a number of news stories regarding the swine flu have reported that those who are in high-risk groups of children, pregnant women, the chronically ill and people in their early 20s.

However, on Friday, Nov. 13, The Oregonian reported that state officials said they would no longer target healthy children and young adults as priority groups for the vaccine.

They would instead focus on those at the highest risk, which still include pregnant women and people with underlying chronic conditions such as asthma, diabetes, heart disease and obesity.

How many people at Goldman Sachs and Citigroup qualify for that?

This is not to say that there are not high-risk people within these companies who deserve the vaccine, but giving the much-needed vaccine to Wall Street businesses just proves that those in poverty are at a greater risk for illnesses.

On Saturday, Nov. 14, MSNBC reported that people in New York City, N.Y., were waiting in line in the rain for the swine flu vaccine. In one week, 23 children died from the illness. At least they weren’t Wall Street businesspeople, right?

Lines for the vaccine grow longer and longer throughout the country while Wall Street traders sit in their overpriced offices, getting paid a ridiculous amount of money while knowing they’re safe from the dreaded swine flu.

Businesses such as this should follow the example of Morgan Stanley. The Associated Press reported that spokesperson Jeanmarie McFadden said the company turned over their supply to local hospitals when they learned that they got the vaccine ahead of some hospitals.

The Oregon Department of Human Services reports that 823 Oregonians have been hospitalized due to flulike symptoms and 23 people have died since Tuesday, Sept. 1.

Among the latest is Lewis & Clark College graduate student Kris Kerstiens who, on Saturday, Oct. 31, died due to H1N1 complications, and 44-year-old David Hill from McMinnville, who passed away Wednesday, Oct. 28.

The Oregonian stated that Hill was reported the first person to die from H1N1 complications in Yamhill County. He was a diabetic recovering from a heart attack. Kerstiens, however, had no underlying chronic conditions. He played football at Beaverton High School, graduated from Oregon State University and was studying to become a history teacher at Lewis & Clark.

It seems that people who need the swine flu vaccine the most may not work on Wall Street. Why should someone who is not in the high-risk group receive less of the short supply just because their socioeconomic status? Corporate businesses should not receive the vaccine before hospitals.

So who is at fault? The Centers for Disease Control who gave these businesses the vaccine doses over hospitals and other people in the highrisk groups, or is it the corporations who accepted the vaccines? They are

both in the wrong. The only group not at fault is Morgan Stanley, who gave their entire supply away.

Bottom line: Money and status should not decide who gets access first to the limited vaccine—it should go to the people who need it the most.

What do you think?

Swine flu vaccine distribution Does the buying of H1N1 vaccines

by Goldman Sachs and Citigroup illustrate a division in our country between the haves and the havenots? Should companies be able to buy out vaccines that are in short supply during a pandemic— especially when there are large numbers of people in serious danger from the illness?

What do you think? Tell the Vanguard. Write a letter to the editor and drop it off at the Vanguard office or e-mail it to opinion@dailyvanguard.com. The Vanguard wants to hear from you.

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Vietnamese Student Association: Fall Reception 6 p.m.

SMSU, room 236 $5 admission, semi-formal dress Men’s basketball: Casino Night 6 p.m.

Peter Stott Center $100 buy-in

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Puzzle by Patrick Blindauer & Rebecca Young

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Vanguard Etc. | 7 November 20, 2009

40 Could fall either way 41 Features of some sandals 42 Slanders really badly 43 Bobbyʼs wife on “Dallas” 44 Ransacked 46 “Right you ___!”

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Film: In the Mood for Love 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

5th Avenue Cinema Free with PSU ID

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PSU Wind Symphony and Concert Band: Third Annual PSU Honor Band 7:30 p.m.

SMSU Ballroom

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PSU Theater Arts: The Tempest 7:30 p.m.

Artists Repertory Theatre, 1515 SW Morrison

Sunday

Wanted! Copy editor Send résumés to: editor@dailyvanguard.com

through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.

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Thenumberswithintheheavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given

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SPORTS

This weekend in Portland State sports

One for the road

Friday Volleyball at Sacramento State Where: Sacramento, Calif.

When: 7 p.m.

Women’s volleyball team tries to close out regular season with monumental win at Sacramento State tonight J. Logue

Heading into tonight’s game, the Portland State women’s volleyball team will be playing for more than just the final win of the season. The Vikings also appear to have their best chance to chalk up a win at Sacramento State, their first since joining the Big Sky Conference in 1996.

“We still have an opportunity to do something we haven’t done this year,” said head coach Michael Seemann. “Sac State is a good team. They’re very Jekyll and Hyde, but they’re also battling to get into the tournament.”

With the regular season championship locked up and only one team left to play, the Vikings

Saturday Clara Rodriguez/The Portland Spectator

Last game: The Vikings take on the Hornets before starting postseason play.

Vanguard staff

won’t be relaxing and will continue to play with the same tenacity they’ve played with all season.

The Hornets should also be ready, as the fourth seed in the Big Sky Tournament is still up for grabs.

Looking back at the last match against Sacramento State, the Vikings will want a win in the first set to gain the momentum— something they failed to do last time. Expect Portland State to work overtime looking for weaknesses.

The Vikings are hitting an incredible .289 as a team and have three of the conference’s top-10 players in hitting. One thing is for sure: Portland State should have more success hitting the ball

compared to last time they played each other.

Aiming for their fifth straight 20win season tonight, Portland State was successful in the last meeting at stopping the Hornets’ best player, senior outside hitter Desiree Hoyum, who had just .175 hitting and was forced into 10 hitting errors.

Look for junior outside hitter Whitney Phillips and senior setter Nique Fradella to perform and pace the team in kills and assists, respectively. The best matchup of the night should occur along the net, where senior middle Erica Jepsen and junior middle Lana Zielke will be battling all night against the Hornets’ middles.

“Their middle, Maddison [Thivierge], is a zero-tempo hitter.

That means she’s up early, and she makes your middles commit early— which puts a lot of pressure on them [defensively],” Seemann said. “They make you play ball.”

With neither a win nor a loss affecting Portland State’s seeding in the tournament, this a respect game as well as a chance to play against a potential playoff team. On another note, Phillips claimed her second Big Sky Player of the Week honor, making it three in a row for Portland State players.

First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m., and the match can be viewed online at www.bigskytv.org.

Home sweet home

Table tennis tourney

Men’s basketball team seeks first win in season’s home debut

Ping Pong: Competitiors from around the Northwest compete at the Stott this weekend.

Adam Wickham/Portland State Vanguard

Rodrigo Melgarejo/Portland State Vanguard

J. Logue Vanguard staff

The Portland State men’s basketball team opens up home play in the Park Blocks tomorrow night after last weekend’s tough road trip in Seattle.

The Vikings (0-3) look to regroup against Cal Poly (0-2), a team undergoing new coaching and philosophy changes of their own.

The Vikings seek their first win of the season against the Mustangs and hope to wipe away the bad memories of last weekend. Though the two teams have played seven times in the last 11 years, Cal Poly resembles little of what Portland State has seen in the past.

“They have a new coach, a new system,” said head coach Tyler Geving. “We’ve played them the last three years, but you have to throw that stuff out the window.”

The Vikings are adding players back to their lineup after a string of early-season injuries, and they should now have the pieces in place to gel as a team. Both junior forward Paul Guede and senior point guard Dominic Waters were injured early and missed crucial practice time in the beginning.

Chris Harriel: Takes on Cal Poly tomorrow.

Protecting the ball and sharing the rock are two areas Geving will be looking for Portland State to improve on. Committing 53 turnovers over the course of last weekend’s three games, the Vikings need to cut down on mistakes in order to see success the rest of the season.

Look for senior forward Phil Nelson and senior forward Jamie Jones to pace the Vikings in points and rebounds, while also helping their teammates become more comfortable in their system. Junior guard Melvin Jones can’t be counted out either—he averages a team-best 12.7 points per game so far.

In what should be a confidencebuilding game, Portland State is likely to concentrate on winning the battle on the glass and taking better shots in order to pull out the nowcrucial first win of the season.

“I think we’ve have had a great home-court advantage over the last couple of years,” Geving said.

“We play hard at home. We share the ball at home and we need to get back to that.”

First tip-off is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. at the Stott Center.

Vanguard Sports | 8 November 20, 2009

Portland State hosts collegiate regional championship Nilesh Tendolkar Vanguard staff

Table tennis is coming to Portland State this weekend.

Starting tomorrow, teams from the Northwest Division of the National Collegiate Table Tennis Association (NCTTA) will compete to be national champions.

“The NCTTA is one of the most prestigious tournaments we play,” said Shubham Chopra, a Portland State team member and vice president of the Table Tennis Club. “This tournament is played by all the major universities in the Northwest, so I feel proud of being part of this tournament.”

The 2009 College Table Tennis National Championships will begin tomorrow and run through Sunday at the Stott Center. Over 100 top college table tennis players from schools in Washington and Oregon will compete for the top honors in events spanning various skill levels and categories such as open singles, women’s singles, open doubles and mixed doubles.

The eight-member Portland State squad is hoping that playing at the Stott Center will give them an added advantage.

“It is our own home ground, and I hope to see a few people around to cheer the team. Definitely the advantage is with us,” Chopra said.

The team looks to continue their fine showing this year, following impressive performance in the Pacific Rim Open played on Nov. 3–4 in Beaverton. Brian Yoder won the doubles title and Chopra finished runner-up in the U-1250 class.

“I would have loved to be the winner, but I think I will save it for this upcoming tournament,” Chopra said.

The Viks tied for first place in last year’s NCTTA, and came in third after a tiebreaker. Past Portland State teams with players like Yoder, Renjith Retnamma, Roger Castles and Sehwan Kim have taken the team to the national championships.

“To be able to represent PSU in the Western Regional NCTTA is indeed an honor,” team member Leonidis Thape said. “This tournament gives us the hope towards our sense of accomplishment, and from those hours we had spent practicing. I would love to see the team win the tournament and go for the nationals championships.”

Table Tennis Club College Table Tennis National Championships Where: Stott Center When: 9 a.m.

20-20-20 Mini Triathlon Where: Stott Center When: 10 a.m.

Men’s Soccer Club vs. Western Oregon Where: Stott Comm.

Field When: 2 p.m.

Lacrosse Club vs. Western Oregon Where: Stott Comm.

Field When: 6 p.m.

Men’s Basketball vs. Cal Poly Where: Stott Center When: 7:05 p.m.