Daily Vanguard April 28, 2010

WEDNESDAY, APRIL 28, 2010 • PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY • VOLUME 64, ISSUE 98

Event of the day If you’re interested in volunteering for this year’s Roots Festival, make sure to attend today’s planning meeting. The festival theme this year is multicultural sustainability.

When: 2 p.m.

Where: SMSU Multicultural Center

WWW.DAILYVANGUARD.COM • FREE

Mandatory advising for incoming students

INSIDE NEWS SMSU fire safety violations repaired City cited over 200 violations in building PAGE 2

PSU conducts advising survey; process will undergo changes

ARTS

Stacy Austin Vanguard staff

Grant Butler is going for good

Oregonian food writer goes from a month-long experiment to a lifelong change PAGE 4

Bare Knuckle Brawl

Final Fight: Double Impact recreates the arcade experience right PAGE 4

Becki Hunt Ingersoll: University Studies Advisor.

Are you there God? It’s me, Smegma

God’s Ear is open, but no one is listening PAGE 5

OPINION

Everybody’s doing it, so tax it!

Pass octa 2010 PAGE 6 Equal pay for equal degrees Women still get paid less than men PAGE 6

Adam Wickham/Portland State Vanguard

Next year’s incoming students will experience a new advising process at Portland State, which will be influenced by the research of two PSU academics who are conducting a new survey that admitted undergraduates can now take.

Next year’s freshmen and incoming transfer students will be required to partake in a mandatory advising process, according to Casey Campbell, Undergraduate Advising and Support Center’s academic advisor.

In addition, students with declared majors will be reporting to their major departments for advising needs. Undeclared students will be advised by the UASC on the fourth floor of Smith Memorial Student Union.

Incoming freshmen will be required to see their department for advising prior to registering in fall 2011 classes.

“Each department will implement its own advising system,” Campbell said. “For example, maybe one-on-one, peer or group advising.”

Campbell said the ratio of one advisor to every 600 students is a “goal for the near future.”

This goal is based on the model built by the National Academic Advising Association, which defines an ideal ratio as one advisor for every 300 students.

Though PSU’s current ratio does not meet the ideal ratio put forth by the NAAA, a budget requesting more advisors has recently gone through to Provost Roy Koch.

“One advisor to every 300 students would be ideal,” said UASC Director Mary Ann Barham. “To achieve this, the provost must look at the budget and be able to fund more.”

At PSU, Barham estimates that out of each new pool of students, 60 percent are transfer students and 40 percent are first-year freshmen.

“Transfer students’ needs are different than incoming freshmen’s,” she said. “[And] PSU has different needs for advising than some universities.”

Psychology Professor Emeritus Cathleen Smith, Ph.D. and Education professor Janine Allen, Ph.D. are conducting research on student advising through data received through surveys completed.

ADVISING continued on page two

Professor conducts seismic research Dusicka develops building infrastructure, examines Oregon transportation system Amy Staples Vanguard staff

While a construction team works outside Science Building 2 to renovate the building, to prevent it from being seriously damaged in an earthquake, civil engineering professor Peter Dusicka and his team are in its basement conducting seismic experiments.

Dusicka’s team simulates earthquakes with a shake table in the infrastructure Testing and Applied Research [iSTAR] lab to test how an insulator will protect transformers.

The preliminary test results are good, Dusicka said. “Now it’s just a matter of looking at the data to see exactly how positive the results are.”

The project, sponsored by Bonneville Power Administration, is looking at how different electrical

Drew Martig/Portland State Vanguard

Seismic research: Civil Engineering Professor Peter Dusicka, and graduate student Kyle Kraxberger conducting research in the basement of

Science Building 2.

structural components will respond in the event of an earthquake.

“We’re using a concept that is typically used on large structures and adopting it for this particular case,” Dusicka said. “The research on our end is, can we adopt this technology that is used somewhere else in this particular application in order to achieve our goal?”

Dusicka has been a professor at Portland State since 2004 and has been studying earthquake issues for approximately 12 years. His Ph.D. dissertation at the University of Nevada

included work on the new Bay Bridge project in California.

“The new Bay Bridge is a fairly unique bridge,” he said. “Part of my dissertation dealt with a critical component of that bridge that is supposed to absorb energy and protect the rest of the structure by attracting the seismic energy.”

By focusing seismic energy on specific components of a structure, damage to the overall structure can be minimized, according to Dusicka.

“The idea is these components are essentially replaceable and

are engineered and made out of materials that we know will perform to what is required,” he said.

Robert Dryden, who was the dean of the Maseeh College of Engineering when Dusicka was hired in 2004, said, “[Dusicka] is a very innovative, creative person. He built and expanded the [iSTAR] lab into a greater area of interest than it had been.”

Dusicka’s research projects also span the entire state of Oregon and

SEISMIC continued on page two

Vanguard 2 | News April 28, 2010

Sarah J. Christensen Editor-in-Chief Virginia Vickery News Editor Theodora Karatzas Arts & Culture Editor Richard D. Oxley Opinion Editor Robert Britt Sports Editor Bryan Morgan Production Manager Marni Cohen Photo Editor Zach Chastaine Online Editor Kristin Pugmire Copy Chief Kristin Pugmire Calendar Editor Jae Specht Advertising Manager William Prior Marketing Manager Judson Randall Adviser Ann Roman Advertising Adviser Illustrator Kira Meyrick Associate News Editor Corie Charnley Production Assistants Stephanie Case, Justin Flood, Shannon Vincent

NEWS SMSU fire safety violations repaired City cited over 200 violations in building Courtney Graham Vanguard staff

Smith Memorial Student Union, a central location on campus, had over 200 fire code violations last year, according to SMSU’s General Manager Mark Russell. “[The violations included] everything from missing ceiling tiles to overloaded outlets and missing fire extinguishers,” Russell said.

“But nothing put the building in imminent danger.”

The city’s fire report, completed by the Bureau of Fire, Rescue and Emergency Services’ Fire Prevention Division, cited a slew of other charges as well, including the fact that nearly all of the building’s fire doors were not up to code.

Russell explained that the doors were old and were not magnetized, meaning that in the event of a fire there was no mechanism that would allow them to automatically close to prevent flames from spreading.

Faced with nearly $25,000 in fines for the violations, Facilities and Planning and the SMSU building management chose to repair the doors, as well as make other minor updates to the building, for an estimated $19,000.

According to Russell, a large majority of the citations were for behaviors as opposed to structural problems. For example, many offices practiced what he refers to as “gang plugging,” where multiple plugs are connected to one outlet. This often happens when a power strip is plugged into another, and is a serious fire hazard, Russell said.

In addition, other rooms in SMSU used extension cords to direct electricity throughout the space, which is generally more hazardous than permanent wiring, according to the fire inspection report.

As a result, Russell said he attempted to encourage behavioral changes in people who frequently use the building, including those who have permanent office spaces.

Other minor violations cited included offices where things were found hanging from or in front of vents or sprinkler heads, as well as where ceiling tiles were missing. In the event of a fire, a missing tile can allow flames to climb higher than the sprinkler system, causing the fire to spread beyond the reach of the sprinklers.

Similarly, obstructions of fire exit corridors and doors were found on all floors throughout the SMSU, and were particularly problematic in the sub-basement area, Russell said.

Hazards fixed: SMSU has worked to reverse all of its fire violations.

To enact behavioral changes, Russell spoke with the offices that were particularly bad about gang plugging and sent out a flyer, with a photo of Smokey the Bear, to the entire building. The flyer outlined five rules, with the disclaimer that “any fire code fines will be paid by the office that generates fines.”

While there are a number of permanent offices in SMSU, it is also a heavily trafficked building, primarily because it houses student groups, the cafeteria and student lounging spaces.

This fact, Russell said, makes the building corrode at a much faster rate and requires much more regular maintenance. Fortunately, FAP and

Marni Cohen/Portland State Vanguard

PSU have a large maintenance staff on retainer that is capable of doing a majority of the repairs throughout the year at a relatively low cost. This made replacing ceiling tiles, for example, a comparably economical repair.

Of the 200 and some violations, all have been fixed or are in the process of being fixed, Russell said, which should put students at ease.

“I am happy to say that, thanks to the hard work of the Auxiliary Maintenance and Smith work crews, we have fixed all the problems and had no outstanding violations as of our re-inspection in March,” Russell said.

Post-production Assistant Adiana Lazarraga Contributors Stacy Austin, Will Blackford, Bianca Blankenship, Leah Bodenhamer, Meaghan Daniels, Sarah Engels, Sarah Esterman, Amy Fylan, Courtney Graham, Natalia Grozina, Patrick Guild, Joe Hannan, Rosemary Hanson, Steve Haske, Nadya Ighani, Carrie Johnston, Sara M. Kemple, Tamara K. Kennedy, Ebonee Lee, J. Logue, James MacKenzie, Natalie McClintock, Daniel Ostlund, Sharon Rhodes, Tanya Shiffer, Wendy Shortman, Robert Seitzinger, Catrice Stanley, Amy Staples, Nilesh Tendolkar, Robin Tinker, Vinh Tran, Andrea Vedder, Katherine Vetrano, Allison Whited, Roger Wightman Photographers Drew Martig, Michael Pascual, Liana Shewey, Adam Wickham Copy Editors Noah Emmet, Amanda Gordon Advertising Sales Sam Gressett, Iris Meyers, Ana SanRoman, Wesley Van Der Veen Advertising Designer Beth Hansen Distributor Cody Bakken 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.

Copyright © 2010 Portland State University Vanguard 1825 SW Broadway, Smith Memorial Student Union, Rm. S-26, Portland, Ore., 97201

ADVISING |

SEISMIC |

from page one

from page one

Advising survey is private, and encouraged

Seismic tests conducted on transportation infrastuctures

“[Smith and Allen’s] research has been involved in advising policy,” Barham said. “[It has] changed the focus from faculty-led advising to professional advisors.”

Smith and Allen met a decade ago while serving as co-chairs under former PSU President Dan Bernstine.

“We got interested in effects of advising on student success,” Smith said.

Their first advising survey was sent to PSU students in 2003. Allen said the response rate was low.

“It is important to note that [the first survey was] sent out before DARS implementation,” Allen said.

In 2005 and 2006, additional advising surveys were administered, as well as a companion survey to faculty in 2006.

“Student satisfaction and experiences did not change,” Allen said.

In 2005 and 2006, in addition to PSU students, the survey was extended to Concordia University and Western Washington University distance-education students. Survey data reported that PSU students were less satisfied with advising than the students at the other two schools in the study.

“It was disheartening comparing PSU to Concordia and Western Washington, and see their students were more satisfied with advising,” Allen said.

Western Washington University distance students had mandatory advising requirements through e-mail or phone contact.

have the possibility of impacting everyone who lives or drives in the state.

Currently, he is tackling a project involving the Oregon Department of Transportation and the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium, which examines the transportation systems for the entire state.

“Typically when you do these types of evaluations they’re quite localized,” Dusicka said. “We’re trying to do it on a statewide basis and we’re trying to see the vulnerability of the transportation network, primarily the bridges on that transportation network, all due to seismic [activity].”

The project is important because many of Oregon’s bridges were built in the 1970s, according to Dusicka.

“Typical bridge design life at that time was about 50 years, and at that time we didn’t really understand what the earthquake risk is in Oregon,” he said.

Forty years later, engineers now know what kind of seismicity to expect in Oregon.

“We know that since we have this inventory of older structures that were designed without this knowledge, we know that they’re vulnerable,” Dusicka said. “The reason we’re doing a statewide basis is when we get a subduction zone earthquake—and it’s not ‘if,’ it’s ‘when’—a lot of the state will be affected. The earthquake will be fairly large in geographical area so we need to consider the entire state.”

In the data that is being collected, Allen predicts PSU students will be less satisfied than in previous years.

“I hope I’m wrong,” she said.

“An email was sent to all admitted undergraduate students,” Allen said.

“Embedded in the e-mail is a link to the survey.”

The current survey is being sent to multiple schools: PSU, University of Portland, Concordia University, University of Oregon, Oregon State University, Western Oregon University and Portland Community College.

As an incentive, those who complete the survey are entered in a contest to win one of four $50 gift certificates from the PSU Bookstore.

Participation is voluntary.

Students’ answers are kept confidential and anonymous.

“Your answers to these questions are crucial to our continued efforts to improve student experiences at PSU,” Koch said.

Allen and Smith are working on a five year study of how advising has an impact for students, including the impact on student satisfaction and effects on retention. “[We] encourage students to take the survey,” Smith said.

“The more students we have responding…the larger the sample size…the more representative it will be. Decision makers will look at the results.”

The survey is active until May 21.

Commenting on Dusicka’s work, Dryden said “I expect that he will be nationally known for his procedures to minimize the time to get things back up and running after a catastrophic failure.”

Catastrophic failures can prevent hospitals from operating and emergency personnel from helping the injured, as well as require costly repairs. With new materials and designs, engineers can prevent the total destruction of a building by dictating where the damage from an earthquake will be concentrated.

“His research in Structural Engineering is timely to the region and the nation as we try to build more sustainable structures that withstand earthquake loading,” said Scott A. Wells, Chair of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering.

Another research project Dusicka heads is applying the concept of focusing seismic energy to a specific, designed component of a structure to buildings. His work has netted research sponsored by the National Science Foundation and the American Institute for Steel Construction.

“There’s an obvious need for modern society to have infrastructure that can ride these events out,” he said.

“We know they’re coming.

We don’t know how big they are, but maybe we can engineer for when they do come.”

Students giving back to students

Vanguard News | 3 April 28, 2010

News Editor: Virginia Vickery 503-725-5690 news@dailyvanguard.com

Correction

Senior Gift Campaign allows seniors to give back to students Stacy Austin Vanguard staff

In order to help the current students at Portland State, the Senior Gift Campaign is asking graduating students to donate a suggested amount of $20.10 to the PSU Foundation.

Senior Zack Smith, who studies criminal justice, started working with the PSU Telefund three years ago. The program employs PSU students to conduct outreach in support of numerous university initiatives.

When Smith was promoted to supervisor last year, he brainstormed with the previous Annual Giving director, Michelle Banks, about changes to implement a successful Senior Gift Campaign.

One of the major changes they made was altering the focus of the campaign to fund the PSU Financial Need Scholarship.

Students were excited about the changes, as the scholarship had not been well-funded in the past.

“We wanted PSU students to understand that their tuition dollars do not completely fund their education,” Smith said.

The state makes up only a small percentage of the university’s budget, while the rest is generated

in large part by donations, according to Smith.

In 2008, the Senior Gift Campaign brought in $6,000 in donations. However, due in part to the changes that Smith and his team implemented, $12,000 was donated for the Senior Gift Campaign in 2009.

Smith said the campaign’s goal this year for the graduating class of 2010 is to raise $15,000. He said students can meet this goal by pitching in small amounts. He has already found three donors to match $5,000, if the Senior Gift Campaign can raise that amount through individual donors.

Last year, the Senior Gift Campaign asked students to donate $20.09, and this year it suggests that students donate $20.10, a penny more.

“I see that amount as less than I would spend on a Friday night out with my friends,” Smith said.

When speaking with peers over the phone, the students working with the PSU Telefund will often hear people say they never received a scholarship and are therefore wary of donating to a scholarship fund benefiting others.

“I try to tell those students that with [their] support, we can have more scholarships available [in the future],” he said.

In addition, a “Senior Send-Off ” event is being planned to celebrate the new graduates and encourage donations to the Senior Gift

In the article titled “ASPSU election results announced,” it was stated that Sid Gandhinathan was elected as a Student Fee Committee member. Though it was a close race, Gandhinathan was not elected, falling short by only six votes. The Vanguard regrets its error.

Bike to end sexual violence

Zack Smith: Helped rethink the Senior Gift Campaign.

Campaign. The event will be held on June 3 at noon in the PSU Park Blocks.

“Aramark is donating free food, and we have a laptop to give away,” Smith said. “It’s really a congratulatory event.”

Last year, the Senior Gift Campaign created a Facebook page, which Smith hopes to make more powerful this year.

“We want to be more viral,” he said. “The more students hear about [the campaign], the more we’re getting the word out.”

The campaign’s Facebook page contains a link to the

Adam Wickham/Portland State Vanguard

PSU Foundation, where one can make a donation.

Students can also donate by visiting the foundation’s website, www.foundation.pdx.edu/ publicgift/seniorgift.jsp.

“Students can give by mailing in check or credit card information,” he said. “When we start calling in May, we can also take credit card information over the phone.”

Buttons are also being made for students to wear in support of the Senior Gift Campaign, and to increase school spirit.

The Portland Women’s Crisis Line and Portland State’s Women’s Resource Center will host Bike Back the Night/ Take Back the Night tomorrow evening, Thursday, April 29, in the university’s Park Blocks. The event, held in celebration of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, is intended to put a stop to sexual violence throughout Portland, according to a press release.

Participants will have a choice between two routes: a walking route, led by the WRC, and a biking route, led by the PWCL. The march/ride begins at 7 p.m., but participants are encouraged to meet at the Park Blocks at 6 p.m. to enjoy local entertainment.

Vanguard 4 | Arts & Culture April 28, 2010

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

Tonight at the NW Film Center Shape of the Moon Leonard Retel Helmrich, Indonesia/Netherlands 2004 “The end of the Suharto regime ushered in an era of rapid sociopolitical change in Indonesia.

Following up on The Eye of the Day, Shape of the Moon observes the effect of those changes on the aging Christian matriarch Rumidjah, whose son Bakti converts to Islam to marry a Muslim woman. Tired of the chaos of Jakarta and deeply stressed, Rumidjah longs to return to her village, but knows that the countryside holds little promisefor her 11-year-old granddaughter.

Juxtaposing family drama against the rise of fundamentalist Islam and societal uncertainty, Helmrich’s visually striking documentary captures the turmoil of a country in constant transition.”

ARTS & CULTURE Grant Butler is going for good Oregonian food writer goes from a month-long experiment to a lifelong change Katherine Vetrano Vanguard staff

When Grant Butler decided to take on veganism for his job as a staff writer at The Oregonian, he was originally just trying to put a more positive spin on the experiment than he’d seen others do. Little did he know that his life and career would change dramatically. His new column, “Going Vegan,” will appear in The Oregonian twice a month sharing information on vegan cooking, dining and living.

Daily Vanguard: At what point did you decide to make veganism more than an experiment and shift it to be your actual lifestyle?

Grant Butler: In just a month, I

dropped about 12 pounds, and noticed how much more energy I had. Food writers often struggle with weight—occupational hazard—and this was perhaps the first time I’ve actually lost weight as the result of a food assignment.

But health benefits were just one factor in my decision. I’ve been

thinking a lot about green issues, and I’ve been reading a lot about how unsustainable meat is. Plus, when you become aware of what happens on factory farms, it’s hard not to think about reducing the amount of meat, eggs and dairy in one’s diet, if not to eliminate them altogether.

DV: You have an impressive Twitter following. Did your interactions on the site affect your decision?

GB: The Twitter community made

this journey a lot easier and a lot more fun. Every day I was getting encouraging words and tips from people here in Portland, but also from people all over the world. I’ve been having this incredible ongoing discussion with a thoughtful college student in Melbourne, Australia, that’s been blowing my mind. About every week, he checks in with me to see how I’m doing, ask if he can answer any questions, and just cheer me on. He’s 8,000 miles away!

DV: How has your new lifestyle changed your work life?

GB: My coworkers have been great, and they’re always curious to see what tasty leftover I’ve brought for my lunch, or where I’ve been

getting take-out. I guess my attitude has a lot to do with how people have reacted.

I’m treating this as a fun adventure, and I’m not the sanctimonious sort and have no intention of telling other people how they should be eating. It’s a personal decision, and everyone has choices they need to make for themselves.

I’m just sharing what I’m learning.

DV: Where have you found the tastiest vegan meals in Portland?

GB: There are so many wonderful

vegan restaurants and bakeries.

There’s really good Mexican fare at Los Gorditos along Southeast Division, some killer barbecued soy curl bowls at this awesome food cart called Native Bowl in the Mississippi Marketplace on North Mississippi.

There’s a great café with a lot of vegan options in the basement of Smith Memorial Union called Food for Thought that I’ve been enjoying at lunchtime.

Northeast Alberta is a vegan mecca, with several vegan restaurants, a vegan shoe store and even a vegan belt maker. My favorite on that street is Back to Eden Bakery Boutique, which is run by an adorable couple of guys who make cupcakes, cheesecakes and whole cakes that are better than what you’d

find at a conventional bakery. I’ve served their stuff to non-vegans, and it’s so much fun to watch their eyes pop open when you tell them that the deliciously moist cake they’re eating doesn’t have any butter or eggs in it.

That said, I think some of the tastiest vegan food in Portland is what’s coming out of my own kitchen. I love cooking, and I haven’t been turned off by one thing I’ve made since changing my diet.

DV: What will your new column bring to the vegan world? Will it focus on cookin’ up vegan meals, or Portland restaurants with vegan fare?

GB: I want my column to do a lot of

things. It will focus on cooking much of the time, but I want to keep a nice mix of places and personalities in it.

There are some smart people making some very creative dishes out there.

I want to tell their stories and share their ideas.

DV: Lastly, do you miss bacon?

GB: I was out for breakfast with

some work friends last month, and it did smell good. But I’ve made this mental leap, and I’m comfortable saying it’s not for me anymore.

7 p.m.

All screenings are in Whitsell Auditorium, 1218 SW Park Ave. Free with PSU student ID. —nwfilm.org

Image courtesy of Capcom

Final Fight: Double Impact recreates the arcade experience right Steve Haske Vanguard staff

Capcom is one Japanese developer that gets nostalgia.

Whether it’s throwing in classic franchise characters together in games like Tatsunoko vs. Capcom or the upcoming Marvel vs. Capcom 3, or purposefully “de-making” new eight-bit games like Mega Man 10, it’s always a company with fan service on the brain.

Traditionally, this has also included its arcade compilation discs. The last console generation

saw a number of arcade and retro compilation releases, throwing together damn near every coin-op classic Capcom’s ever released, from 1942 to the original arcade port of Bionic Commando in slick packages brimming with bonus material.

Think of Final Fight: Double Impact as the downloadable successor to these discs. Although the game only sports the titular Final Fight and the close-to-completelyunknown Magic Sword, the presentation here is top-notch.

Each game is presented in a recreation of its original arcade cabinet, complete with a re-mastered soundtrack, trophy/achievement support, new challenges to unlock and, best of all, new visual modes.

Like the recently released Dreamcast/PS2 port of Marvel vs.

Capcom 2, Double Impact’s visuals have been re-tweaked for modern high-def screens. If you want, you can play each game full screen in all their originally-pixilated glory, or smooth or sharpen the graphics.

However, the pièce de resistance comes from playing the game in its original arcade monitor mode, complete with fluorescent lighting, scan lines from the re-created picture tube and the arcade cabinet

art flanking the sides. Nostalgia nuts will love this, and rightly so—Capcom’s basically set a new precedent for what should be available in any retro-cade release from here on out.

In terms of gameplay, Final Fight and Magic Sword’s styles are both tried and true. I won’t mince words: These are straight-up late 80s to early 90s arcade titles, and they play like them. However, despite their relative simplicity, both hold up pretty damn well.

As a beat-em-up, Final Fight is still pretty fun after all these years, getting the formula and balancing down better than almost any other notable entry in the genre (barring a few of Konami’s big genre competitors, at least). For those that have been around since the arcade’s infancy, this will likely be a nice little trip down memory lane.

Magic Sword, on the other hand, will be new to most players. It may look like Golden Axe (which in and of itself is just a brawler reconstituted in fantasy skins) but without screen depth, it’s actually much more of a traditional 2-D hack-andslasher, albeit with one with better aesthetics and a hell of a lot more crap going on onscreen at once.

What may be the best feature of Double Impact, though (aside from the arcade monitors) is the inclusion of online co-op. If you’re signed on to PSN or XBLA, someone else can jump into your game at any time, which really brings home the arcade feel.

For players that want to relive the glory days of their youth, or simply catch up on some vital artifacts in arcade history before Street Fighter II, Double Impact’s ten-dollar price tag isn’t a lot to ask, particularly with all the unlockable art, comics and other goodies that are included.

Just be warned: If you’re more comfortable with the era of constant checkpoints, or worse, have never even set foot in an arcade, this one’s nostalgic charms from an age long past may be lost on you.

Final Fight: Double Impact Capcom PSN, XBLA $9.99

Are you there God? It’s me, Smegma God’s Ear is open, but no one is listening Andrea Vedder Vanguard staff

Photo courtesy of Elizabeth Eve/Theater Vertigo

God’s Ear: An interesting premise and semi-serious plot can’t save this play from bad writing,

sub-par production and a cast that no one really cares about.

Unless you know a member of the cast or crew, there is no reason to see Theatre Vertigo’s production of God’s Ear. Though the premise is intriguing—a married couple mourning the death of their 10-year-old son in a surreal, semi-fantastical setting—the dialogue is annoying, the main characters are unlikable and the set is ugly. This play is underwhelming at best.

To be fair, there is complimentary Ninkasi IPA at the concession stand and admission to Thursday night shows is “pay what you can,” but even free beer and a cheap ticket can’t make up for 90 minutes of cliché writing and frustrating characters.

This one-act play opens with Mel (Heather Rose Walters) and Ted (Mario Calcagno) receiving news that their young son is in critical condition. The scene then moves a month or two into the future, after their son has died, where we rediscover Mel, Ted and their daughter Lanie (Amy Newman) as the whittled family grapples with its new reality.

Ted travels, though whether he’s always traveled for work or is traveling more often now that he’s lost his son is unclear, and most of his contact with Mel occurs over the phone. Mel is left to keep house and care for their daughter.

While Ted’s counsel comes from a sassy transvestite flight attendant (Gary Norman), a drinking buddy (JR Wickman) and a mistress named Lenora (Brooke Fletcher), Mel receives in-house therapy sessions from the overweight Tooth Fairy (Jenn Hunter) and a come-to-life G.I. Joe (Gary Norman). The performances by Norman and Wickman are comedic and exceptionally well done. The play’s highlight may be Wickman’s quick solo about things you cannot sell on eBay or his assertion that his wife’s name is short for “smegma,” but neither actor receives enough time on stage.

Director Philip Cuomo applauds God’s Ear in the playbill as “the very best of contemporary theatre,” commending award-winning playwright Jenny Schwartz for her

This Day in Vanguard History April 28th, 1967

“sophisticated and clever” use of language and her innovative approach to narrative time and space. What both Schwartz and Cuomo forget is that characters—not unconventional, overly intellectualized, annoyingly symbolized techniques—are what drive a good story.

Main characters Mel and Ted are neither likable nor relatable, and the chemistry between this married couple is so lacking that the entire plotline becomes difficult to swallow. Were they ever in love?

If they were, why? Walters’ Mel is mousy, self-absorbed and critical; Calcagno’s Ted is negligent and aloof.

No redeeming characterization is offered save a soft moment between Ted and Lanie towards the play’s end, but without cultured feelings of affection for Ted or Lanie this scene is effectively meaningless.

Every character in this play is cornered into a boring, intolerable stereotype of a human being—no one feels real. Despite Schwartz’s decision to focus on technique over characters, her technical choices lack the punch necessary to justify their prioritization.

In an effort to highlight our society’s supposed inability to communicate emotion and experience, the dialogue of God’s Ear is a repetitive jumble of one-liners and aphorisms that ultimately add up to nothing but irritating. Because nothing said means much of anything, the most revealing line of the play is when Ted pulls on the flight attendant’s sleeve and says, “I’m uncomfortable sitting in an exit row.”

Even though God’s Ear manages some humor, there’s not enough of it to make up for the disappointing story. Whether it’s Schwartz’s script, Cuomo’s direction or both, something’s flat.

No one who spends a night with these characters will remember their names in the morning.

God’s Ear Theater! Theatre!

3430 SE Belmont Thur–Sat, 8 p.m. $15 Runs through May 1

Vanguard Arts & Culture | 5 April 28, 21, 2010

This day in history: April 28 1932: A vaccine against yellow fever was announced this day.

1937: The first animated-cartoon electric sign was displayed on a building on Broadway in New York City. The sign was the creation of Douglas Leigh. It consisted of several thousand light bulbs and presented a four-minute show that featured a cavorting horse and ball-tossing cats.

1940: “Pennsylvania 6-5000,” the classic Glenn Miller signature song, was recorded on Bluebird Records.

Looking at the original label on the old 78-RPM disk, we find record number 10754, in fact.

1947: Explorer Thor Heyerdahl set sail from the Peruvian coast in the 45-foot “Kon Tiki.”

The 4,300-mile voyage concluded 101 days later. Heyerdahl wrote a popular book about the ordeal called—you guessed it—”Kon Tiki.”

1959: Arthur Godfrey was seen for the last time in the final telecast of Arthur Godfrey and His Friends on CBS-TV. The show had been a part of the CBS lineup for 10 years.

1961: Warren Spahn pitched his second no-hit game for the Milwaukee Braves. He beat the San Francisco Giants 1-0. Not bad for a guy who was 41 years old at the time.

1962: The fourth American runner to break the four-minute mile was Jim Grelle.

He broke the mark at 3 minutes, 59.9 seconds in Walnut Creek, Calif. Talk about cutting it close…

1967: Muhammad Ali, the former Cassius Clay, refused induction into the U.S. Army.

Critics and supporters spent years discussing the boxing champís refusal to serve in the armed forces.

In fact, Ali’s world heavyweight crown was later taken away from him as a result of his actions, which he said were based on religious grounds.

1988: Aloha Airlines Flight 243 (a Boeing 737) from Hilo to Honolulu landed safely after fatigue cracking caused the top portion of the fuselage to peel away. All on board survived except for a flight attendant who was sucked out of the plane and lost at sea.

Scores of passengers and crew were injured.

Yet the pilot managed to land the crippled jet on the island of Maui.

—440int.com

Article by Bill Weissert

Vanguard 6 | Opinion April 28, 2010

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

History of hemp and America It seems hemp has been illegal for fewer years than the United States has been a nation. Even before America’s colonies united, hemp was used as a vital material.

Our founding fathers grew hemp for various reasons. Ben Franklin founded the first hemp-paper mill as a means to provide paper without depending upon England. Later, both the declaration of independence and the U.S. constitution would be drafted on hemp paper.

George Washington and Thomas Jefferson both believed the cultivation of hemp was important to the young nation as a raw material for rope, fabric, paper and more. In fact, Betsy Ross used hemp fabric to sew the first American flag.

During World War II, the U.S. government encouraged farmers to grow as much of the crop as possible to support the war effort. By this time, cheaper hemp was being imported from Southeast Asia, but this supply was continually threatened

by Japanese forces.

The U.S. government responded to the matter by producing an 11-minute film educating the American people on the history, benefits and uses of hemp, and the need for the material in the US. —hemphasis.net

What Do You

?

Think

Here we go again. It’s the age-old marijuana debate. To legalize or not to legalize, that is the question.

Supporters of legalizing marijuana note that it has been a popular recreational drug for some time, regardless of the law.

Others may be concerned about the effects of marijuana on society.

Should the state of Oregon legalize the personal use of marijuana? Is there any concern or threat by doing so?

Tell us what you think.

Write the Vanguard at opinion@dailiyvanguard. com. Or, use the letter to the editor option on our website.

“I think we should legalize marijuana, so pot heads have nothing to talk about ever again.” —Daniel Tosh

OPINION Pass OCTA 2010 Natalia Grozina Vanguard staff

Hemp is by far one of the most useful plants in the world. It makes paper, fabric, bio-diesel and plastics, among other materials. One acre of hemp can produce three times more paper than an acre of the most paper-producing trees— while according to a Harvard study

by Jeffery Miron, Oregon spends $61.5 million enforcing out-of-date cannabis and hemp laws.

The proposed law in the Oregon Cannabis Tax Act 2010 can change all of it for the better. The certified ballot title says that OCTA “permits personal marijuana, hemp cultivation/use without license; commission to regulate commercial marijuana cultivation/sale.”

On April 20, the “4/20 festival” near Saturday market ranked Portland as the city with the sixth-highest number of pot smokers in the U.S. Which means OCTA could give many benefits to the region.

Some of these benefits that are listed in the context of the bill itself include putting a percentage

of the pot revenue sold at liquor stores towards funding drug abuse education and treatment programs.

Perhaps this may sound like a contradiction, as some consider pot to be a drug—it doesn’t matter when it comes to funding programs that otherwise get nothing from the state budget these days.

Because the majority of people smoke pot anyway, why not actually have it work towards something of use? If people are going to smoke pot and get medical marijuana cards, some for no real reason regardless of the law, it is more practical to just legalize it—and tax it. No one is saying Oregon farmers are going to get the benefits overnight, but they are more likely to in the future once everything gets settled in.

Portland holds its rank at sixth in the nation, yet we don’t even legalize it. That should say something about how much revenue there is that we are not taking advantage of.

If OCTA passes, $300 million resulting from combined tax revenues of hemp production and legalizing marijuana will be added to Oregon’s budget.

Everybody’s doing it,

SO TAX IT! In the unregulated marijuana market that Oregon has today, anyone can purchase cannabis.

For example, prices could be set by some 16-year-old who is in charge of selling it. If there was regulation, the overall costs would go down while at the same time making it harder for the same 16-year-old to obtain marijuana, since it would be sold in liquor stores.

Taking into consideration the revenue that pot can create for state programs and the safety it increases for those under 21, it is difficult to understand the logic behind not legalizing marijuana. Even if you are not a pot smoker, the benefits go to you also because the revenue will be putting money into education and health programs.

More so, the initiative would legalize the ability to grow and tax hemp.

George Washington grew cannabis for more than 30 years and, while he was president, said, “The artificial preparation of hemp is really a curiosity.” He would also tell his Secretary of the Treasury, Alexander Hamilton, that he was “suggesting the policy of encouraging the growth of hemp.”

Thomas Jefferson also invented a device to process cannabis, while cannabis fiber was used for most clothing and paper production until the invention of the cotton gin.

Why are we rejecting $300 million in tax revenues?

Vote “YES” on OCTA 2010.

Illustration by Kira Meyrick/Portland State Vanguard

EQUAL PAY FOR EQUAL DEGREES Women still get paid less than men Meaghan Daniels Vanguard staff

It is 2010—years ago people predicted that we would have hover cars and personal jet packs and even cloning. But we are so far away from that ideal while we are still struggling with the concept of equality. Women still make less money than men do, despite being equal in advanced degrees.

Women’s liberation has come a long way in recent years. Now with the latest census data out, the results show that women are equal to men in advanced degrees.

However, they are still lagging behind in pay.

Women are roughly equal to men holding a master’s degree or higher. According to the 2009 census data recently released, of adults age 25 and older, 29 percent of women in the U.S. have at least a bachelor’s degree, as opposed to 30 percent of men.

Although for the past 30 years women have been surpassing

men in college enrollment, the educational increase is now expanding toward older age groups.

At current rates, women could exceed men in advanced degrees for this year.

It does make one wonder, however: If women are becoming equal to men, why are there still pay discrepancies? In the year 2010, did you not think that things would be equal by now?

How long has it been since women started fighting for the right to work? How long has it been since women started fighting for equal pay for equal work? It has been a struggle. Women have been doing the same jobs as men, but still, in the year 2010, are getting paid less even though they hold an equal amount of advanced degrees.

Women with full-time jobs currently have weekly earnings equal to 80.2 percent of what men make— up slightly from 2008. It is inequality and discrimination such as this that have motivated women to pursue that higher education.

Even though these wage discrepancies need to come to an end, it is a great thing that women are fighting back with skills. They are taking over the workplace and becoming a majority because their voices need to be heard. Their skills need to be recognized and their wages need to be equal.

During the current economic recession, more men have been cut

loose from jobs than women due to major cuts in the male-dominated construction and manufacturing industries. Unemployment for men is currently at 10.7 percent as opposed to 8.6 percent for women.

The recession is causing both men and women to return to school to further their skills and education. Women are arming themselves with the tools deemed necessary to maintain a job in a recession and to be chosen for a job over a man. They are realizing how critical it is to gain a good skill set and a higher education.

With the way that the economy is shifting, a bachelor’s degree is the new high school diploma, while a master’s degree is the new bachelor’s degree. Though it may be that currently the numbers of advanced degrees that women hold are equal to men, women could surpass men this year.

Gradually, the wage gap seems to be getting smaller. The numbers were slightly up from 2008, but down from 2005 when women made 81 percent of what men earned.

The wage gap fluctuates, but hopefully the amount of women earning advanced degrees will continue to increase. The more women we have in the work force, the better the chances are for women to finally earn the equal pay that men do.

etc.

CALENDAR

The New York Times Syndication Sales Corporation 500 Seventh Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10018 For Information Call: 1-800-972-3550 For Release Wednesday, April 28, 2010

Edited by Will Shortz Across 1 Go over the wall, maybe 7 Asiaʼs Trans ___ Range 11 “Great” creature 14 Peter Pan lost his 15 Serenades the moon 16 Either of two Aʼs rivals 17 Word after yes or no 18 Ancient concert halls 19 Don Ho adornment 20 Wagnerʼs earth goddess 21 Conveyances at 40-Across 24 Revue bits 26 Nintendoʼs Super ___ 27 Collagist Max 28 Some tides 30 1936 foe of Franklin D. 31 Beaufort ___, area above Alaska

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KenKen® is a registered trademark of Nextoy, LLC. ©2010 KenKen Puzzle LLC. All rights reserved. Dist. by UFS, Inc. www.kenken.com

61

● Each row and each column

must contain the numbers 1 through 4 (easy) or 1 through 6 (challenging) without repeating.

65

● The numbers within the heavily outlined boxes, called cages, must combine using the given

operation (in any order) to produce the target numbers in the top-left corners.

● Freebies: Fill in single-box cages with the number in the top-left corner.

4-28-10

Puzzle by Peter A. Collins

32 Info from the cockpit, for short 34 “Rehab” singer Winehouse 35 Adriatic Riviera city 37 Brand associated with 40-Across 38 ___ cosine 39 Shoot down

Vanguard Etc. | 7 April 28, 2010

41 Two-time N.L. batting champ Lefty 42 Emmy winner Ward 47 Next in the order 49 Cafe aroma, say 50 Vocal nasality 51 TV host Mandel 52 Way to stand 53 Worth having

54 Ralph of “The Waltons” 56 Defensive strategy in basketball 57 Like Russian winters 59 Ollieʼs partner 60 X-ray dosage units 65 With 70-Across, cause of a limp

For answers, call 1-900-285-5656, $1.49 a minute; or, with a credit card, 1-800-814-5554.

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Your Ad Here

Effective Interviewing Workshop 1 p.m.

PSU Career Center This workshop will help participants to develop effective interviewing skills and strategies, in addition to providing information on what employers expect from candidates during an interview Climbing Center Weekly Movie Screening/Game Night 4 p.m.

SRAC Climbing Center The climbing center is now hosting weekly movie showings/ game nights. A film will be projected onto the climbing wall, followed by games, music and open ropes for climbers

Thursday

Call the Vanguard 503.725.5686

The Vanguard Rolling back prices to nothing!

Read the Vanguard

Spotlight on PSU Faculty Author: Dr. Lisa Weasel 4 p.m.

Millar Library, room 170 Dr. Weasel will talk about her book Food Fray: Inside the Controversy over Genetically Modified Foods, which explores the intersections of politics, ethics and science regarding genetically modified foods Take Back the Night/ Bike Back the Night 6 p.m.

PSU Park Blocks This event is co-sponsored by the Portland State Women’s Resource Center and the Portland Women’s Crisis Line. The march/ride through the city will be followed by a survivor speak-out and vigil to honor sexual assault survivors “On the Desire for the Political” 7 p.m.

SMSU, room 238 Author and professor Lauren Berlant will lecture on “ambient citizenship” and the ways in which the political is woven into the continuities of everyday life

Friday 5th Avenue Cinema French Film Festival 2010 7:30 p.m.

5th Ave. Cinema, 510 SW Hall Friday is the first night of the festival, featuring Eric Rohmer’s film Les Amours d’Astree et de Celadon

It’s pretty

To place an event: Contact vgcalendar@ gmail.com or pick up a calendar request form at the Vanguard advertising office, SMSU, room 115.

Vanguard 8 | Arts & Culture April 28, 2010

ART WEDNESDAY

Arts Editor:

BRINGING IT TO THE KIDS

Theodora Karatzas 503-725-5694 arts@dailyvanguard.com

This week at the 5th Ave. Cinema Pulp Fiction dir. Quentin Tarantino, 154 min.

“Outrageously violent, time-twisting, and in love with language, Pulp Fiction was widely considered the most influential American movie of the 1990s. Director and co-screenwriter Quentin Tarantino synthesized such seemingly disparate traditions as the syncopated language of David Mamet; the serious violence of American gangster movies, crime movies, and films noirs mixed up with the wacky violence of cartoons, video games and Japanese animation; and the fragmented story-telling structures of such experimental classics as Citizen Kane, Rashomon, and La jetée.

The Oscar-winning script by Tarantino and Roger Avary intertwines three stories, featuring Samuel L. Jackson and John Travolta, in the role that single-handedly reignited his career, as hit men who have philosophical interchanges on such topics as the French names for American fast food products; Bruce Willis as a boxer out of a 1940s B-movie; and such other stalwarts as Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Christopher Walken, Eric Stoltz, Ving Rhames and Uma Thurman, whose dance sequence with Travolta proved an instant classic.”

—New York Times

April 30 and May 1 at 7 and 10 p.m., May 2 at 3 p.m.

Fifth Avenue Cinema, 510 SW Hall

The Shivas’ passion for house shows is evident in high-energy performances Scott Ostlund Vanguard staff

The Vancouver School of Arts and Academics offers intensive programs in areas such as music, theater, visual arts, literary arts and many others, with the music program offering high school students the opportunity to become well-rounded instrumentally and in music theory.

What many may not have expected was for a successful rock band to develop from this kind of educational environment.

Vancouver group The Shivas has a story, which is untraditional, yet an important reason that it stands out in a community with a high number of local bands.

Led by vocalist and guitarist Jared Wait-Molyneux, The Shivas has broken into the local scene by playing at local venues and house

shows. The band started playing during the members’ sophomore year at VSAA and hasn’t stopped since.

With its musical and general artistic training in hand, The Shivas brings what some may see as pop melodies to a new depth and complexity.

“We all went to an arts school together…for high school in Vancouver and we all just met there,” Wait-Molyneux said. “We had known each other for like six years or something and we just one summer started playing music together.”

Wait-Molyneux is joined by Eric Shanafelt on bass and vocals, Rob Mannering on guitar and Kristin Leonard on drums and vocals. The band has released two albums, titled Where Have You Gone To? and Freezing To Death. The band’s writing style has changed, as the members have put in more of a full-band effort on each track.

“On the first one it was more like I’d just write the songs,” WaitMolyneux said. “But on the second one and how it works now is

more…we’ll sort of work it out as a whole.”

One aspect of performing that The Shivas has enjoyed has been house shows. These shows, according to Wait-Molyneux, create some of the “most fun” live environments.

“The house-shows scene…[is] great because I mean that’s by far the most fun for musicians to play,” Wait-Molyneux said. “Kids can’t go see a lot of shows at the actual venues because they’re too young and…while it is not necessarily the best thing, kids can go there and they can drink and they can basically do whatever they want.

Which is good in the sense that it’s how music is meant to be enjoyed.”

Other than house shows, The Shivas has enjoyed shows at many local venues including Backspace in northwest Portland. Tonight the band plays at Ella Street Social Club, which has graced the Portland community with many solid lineups of late. The show is 21-and-over, but for those Portland State students under 21 who hope to catch The

Shivas in action, you can find the band on Thursday as well as at The Artistery in southeast Portland off of Division Street.

The Shivas sound is sometimes light, but the band can’t be classified due to its constant changes within tracks both rhythmically and dynamically. Whether it is at Ella Street Social Club or the Artistery, don’t miss the chance to see a band whose music is melodically pleasing yet still musically stimulating—a combination not always grasped by local and national performers alike.

The Shivas Ella Street Social Club 714 Southwest 20th Place 9 p.m. $5 21+

Free for PSU students. $2 all other students and seniors. $3 general admission.

Admission includes free popcorn for all.

—5thavenuecinema.org

All photos courtesy of Anni Becker