TUESDAY, MARCH 2, 2010 • PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY • VOLUME 64, ISSUE 76
Event of the day Portland gynecologist Dr. Lydia Collins is hosting a free discussion called “I Know I’m Clean—I’ve Been Tested” regarding sexually transmitted diseases. When: 6 p.m. Where: Ondine Hall, room 220
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INSIDE OPINION
Vet benefits
TriMet has budget shortfall Why Portland’s public transit still trumps PAGE 3
NEWS Cashews for Africa Portland State students involved with sustainability project in West Africa PAGE 4 Engineering: the next generation PSU Engineering Discovery Showcase hosted high school students PAGE 5
ARTS
Paying a large price for very little Investigative journalist experiences life as an immigrant worker in the U.S. PAGE 6
Local Film Highlights Awesome films playing at local theaters this week PAGE 7
SPORTS
Tennis roundup Men’s tennis splits wins, but women lose twice over the weekend PAGE 10
Adam Wickham/Portland State Vanguard
Veteran resources: President of the Student Veterans Association, Kevin Hershey.
Student veteran benefits disbursing, slowly but surely Joe Hannan Vanguard staff
Three thousand troops from the Oregon National Guard’s 41st Infantry Brigade Combat Team will arrive from Afghanistan this spring. This surge of homebound troops will likely put an increase in the number of veterans attending Oregon University System schools. Veterans can expect eight to 10 weeks of wait time before receiving benefits. If the influx of veterans returning from the Middle East puts a strain on the alreadybacked-up system, Portland State student-veterans will struggle to obtain their benefits. However, the Student Veterans Association sees the wait time as a glitch in the system that will eventually work itself out. On Feb. 4, the Federal Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki told the House Veterans Affairs Committee “that a more automated system to process new G.I. Bill claims will be implemented by December.” As of Feb. 5, of the nearly 167,000 veterans who requested to receive
benefits from the Post-9/11 GI Bill, 90 percent got payouts, according to the Associated Press. Emergency checks for up to $3,000 were issued in the fall term of 2009 for those in dire need. However, in winter and spring terms no checks are available, which means that PSU veterans will simply have to wait out the system’s glitches. When asked about the status of veteran benefit disbursment, Robert Hindahl of the Office of Veteran Certifications said “it is definitely getting better.” “Veterans were in a bad position,” said SVA member Josh Fisher, referring to the original Montgomery GI Bill. The bill gave student veterans $1,321 a month to split between the costs of housing, tuition and books. “The Montgomery GI Bill gave student-veterans enough to live in 1944,” said Dan Mckinlay, former president of the SVA, in October of last year. “But it did not keep up with the costs.” Compared to the new Post-9/11 GI Bill, which will payout $438 per credit, the updated Montgomery GI Bill gives student-veterans a monthly stipend of $1,200, as well as paying for tuition, $1,333 for housing and $1,000 for books.
VET continued on page four
PSU-TV on the TV Student television group filmed its first public access show Sharon E. Rhodes Vanguard staff
The campus television station, PSU-TV, will soon be broadcast off campus. Last Monday, Feb. 22, PSU-TV filmed its first public access show, to be broadcast on channels 11, 22 and 23 through MetroEast Community Media in Gresham. John Miller, the president of PSU-TV and a senior majoring in communication, said he plans to complete his training there during spring break, after which PSUTV will commence broadcasting on a biweekly basis. According to its Web site, MetroEast Community Media “helps everyday people make television programs” through workshops, training and studio and editing space and it broadcasts shows on eight different channels. Suzanne Watson, a junior majoring in communication and PSU-TV’s assignment editor, said, “We were looking for a way to get our stories broadcast beyond YouTube,” when they found MetroEast Community Media. “[PSU-TV is] television so we wanted to find a venue that is actually television,” Watson said. According to its Web site, PSUTV is a student group “dedicated to sustainable community media and keeping independent thought alive in media outlets.” PSU-TV strives to maintain integrity in the gathering and reporting of information.
“[I]t is essentially grassroots media since we are a student group,” Watson said. According to Miller, some PSUTV segments “let the campus know new ways to be sustainable,” like “Sustainable Students” which focuses on how students can stretch their money. Miller said PSU-TV also did a story on the first building with no carbon footprint built in Portland. Those interested can view these and other PSU-TV segments at psutv.groups.pdx.edu or on YouTube at youtube.com/user/psutelevision. Although PSU-TV has existed under various names since 2003, Student Publications—a group that includes the Vanguard, the Rearguard and the Portland Spectator—does not currently recognize PSU-TV as a publication. According to Watson, before allowing PSU-TV to join Student Publications, “[they] wanted us to increase visibility” so that students outside of Neuberger Hall can access the group’s broadcasts. Miller said Student Activities and Leadership Programs has worked really hard to help PSU-TV because it “should be under [Student Publications].” In addition to the issue of visibility, Miller said the Student Publications Board “proposed making [PSU-TV’s] Web site a little more interactive,” such as by allowing viewers to comment on the available video segments. According to Miller, the group’s faculty advisor, Dr. Susan Poulsen, will meet with Judson Randall, student publications adviser, to discuss the decision in more detail soon. Watson said that PSU-TV has a training program to teach interested
Adam Wickham/Portland State Vanguard
TV about town: PSU-TV Programming Manager John Miller takes the group to cable access.
students how to run the cameras and edit film, which benefits students by allowing them to apply “the theories one gathers in film class and communications.” According to Miller, “We definitely take a hands on approach in teaching people to operate this equipment…from day one we definitely get people involved.” Dr. J. David Kennamer, an instructor in the department of communication also gave a talk on media ethics last fall, which PSU-TV recorded and now shows to all new reporters, Miller said.
According to Watson, Student Publications also wants to know how PSU-TV can generate revenue as the other student publications do. Miller said that PSU-TV plans to generate revenue by filming documentaries and promotional videos for a fee, while still doing twoto three-minute stories for free. Miller said, “Once they see that we’re a viable group…building ourselves up as the Vanguard [and other publications have]” PSUTV will hopefully join Student Publications.