Daily Vanguard February 24, 2010

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Event of the day

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24, 2010 • PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY • VOLUME 64, ISSUE 73

Lindsay Desrochers, vice president of Finance and Administration, is hosting an educational session called “Financial Futures Framework” regarding changes to Portland State’s funding. When: 2 p.m. Where: SMSU, room 296 and 298

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INSIDE NEWS Presidential Advisory Committee to form in spring Past ASPSU and current civic leaders to advise next ASPSU president PAGE 2 New wet labs to aid industrial growth Portland State’s Business Accelerator wet labs will assist companies PAGE 3

ARTS

A flowery affair Beautiful gardens and D-I-Y workshops this weekend PAGE 4

Us and them Two exhibits examine the humananimal relationship PAGE 5

OPINION

Ban the bottle Take bottled water out of PSU stores PAGE 6 The National Warming up to green jobs PAGE 6

Science Building 2: one year from completion Updates to the building include new hazardous waste facility Catrice Stanley Vanguard staff

Science Building 2, constructed in 1969, is getting a makeover and safety upgrades, nearly 41 years later. Although there was nothing inherently wrong with the structure, located at 1719 SW 10th Ave., at the time it was built, required safety measures have increased over the years. The remodel will upgrade the structure to meet 21st-century building requirements, and provide a couple of aesthetic updates. Construction for SB2 began September 2009, and is scheduled to continue into March 2011, according to Project Manager Mark Fujii of Facilities and Planning. “Much has been learned over the past four decades about a building’s behavior during a seismic event and Science Building 2 is being upgraded to withstand modern seismic codes,” said Fujii, who has been working on this project for about three years.

Hassouneh in march to the Israeli border over winter break Stacy Austin Vanguard staff

Sarah Hassouneh, a philosophy student in her third year at Portland State, went to the Middle East to attend the Gaza Freedom March over winter break. With the help of the women’s peace organization CODEPINK and the student group Students United for Palestinian Equal Rights, Hassouneh raised money to join people in Gaza for a mass march to the Israeli border. The Gaza Freedom March Web site (www.gazafreedommarch. org) states that on December 31, 2009, over 1,300 people from more than 43 countries joined the Palestinians in Gaza for the peaceful march. “[I] met internationals from all over, like France and Spain,” Hassouneh said. The march occurred on the anniversary of the Gaza War. “Since Israel’s offensive last year, homes and buildings are still flattened. People are still living in tents one year later. Because no building materials are allowed into Gaza, most of the destruction has yet to be fixed,” Hassouneh said. SUPER began aggressively fundraising during fall term 2009, with various efforts including a benefit dinner and T-shirts sales. They earned $3,100, and Hassouneh left Portland on Christmas Day. Hassouneh said she has “always been interested in Palestine issues.”

In addition to stabilizing the infrastructure, this remodel will replace old mechanical systems that have been in the building since 1969. Electrical, plumbing and heating, ventilation and air conditioning upgrades will also be included. All of these will be updated with more energy-efficient systems in mind, according to Fujii. The remodel will include other improvements, such as expanding and updating the labs and teaching spaces, and a hazardous waste facility will be built to service the entire campus. “Currently, PSU does not have a centralized location to handle hazardous waste that is generated in laboratories, as required by modern codes,” Fujii said. “The new structure on the southwest corner of Science Building 2 will house the new hazardous waste facility for the PSU campus and also house the building’s chemical stores.” The new facility is being funded by Oregon stimulus money. The Portland State Web site estimates that $26.3 million was allowed by state deferredmaintenance funds to pay for the updates. An additional $19 million

SB2 continued on page two

All photos by Michael Pascual/Portland State Vanguard

In the name of science: Some classes continue during construction.

PSU student goes to Gaza When she arrived, she quickly realized that “Gaza is completely under siege.” “Nothing is allowed in, nothing is allowed out,” Hassouneh said. The Gaza Freedom March planned to enter Gaza through the city of Rafah, Egypt, border and march to the Israeli Erez crossing. “The Egyptian government refused at first to let any of the marchers in,” Hassouneh said. COPEPINK negotiated a deal with Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak to allow 100 marchers into Gaza. CODEPINK had very little time to select these people, and only a night to accept or reject the proposal. “Many of the marchers thought it was a poor decision,” Hassouneh said. “Many felt that a march significantly reduced in size would have less of an impact and wouldn’t be as safe for anyone involved, and would also break solidarity within our own group and so some on the list decided against going to Gaza.” Hassouneh found out that “the Egyptian government, without CODEPINK’s knowledge, issued a

Sarah Hassouneh

Stacy Austin/Portland State Vanguard

Photo courtesy of Sarah Hassouneh

Gaza destruction: Hassouneh saw bombed-out schools and houses in the two days there.

statement declaring that the 100 on the list were deemed not to be a security threat to Egypt, and were therefore allowed in. What this meant implicitly for the rest of our group was that apparently

they were a security threat. Unfortunately, in this way, the Egyptian government did a pretty good job of dividing us.”

GAZA continued on page two


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