Portland State Vanguard, Vol. 73, Issue 21

FREE-ISH SPEECH PORTLAND STATE VANGUARD

VOLUME 73 • ISSUE 21 • APRIL 2, 2019

INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS ORGANIZATION GIVES PSU A “RED LIGHT” RATING ON FREE SPEECH

INTERNATIONAL QUEBEC NO LONGER ALLOWS RELIGIOUS EXPRESSION ARTS & CULTURE PORTLAND’S PIANO-PLAYING DRAG QUEEN

CRIME BLOTTER

March 25–30

SOPHIE CONCANNON MARCH 25 Attempted Fraud by Deception

At around 2 p.m., CPSO took a fraud report from a student about an attempted fraud of money by phone. The attempted fraud call occurred two hours earlier off campus.

Theft

At about 5 p.m., a PSU staff member reported a stolen coat in Karl Miller Center in Suite 265.

MARCH 27 Fire Alarm

MARCH 30 Vehicle Break-In

From March 26–30, CPSO responded to seven reports of vehicle breakins. Two of the seven reported property stolen. The break-ins occurred in Parking Structure 1, 3, Blumel Hall parking, Ondine Upper Lot, SW Broadway and College and 10th and Mill.

Harassment

At approximately 9:40 p.m., CPSO responded to the third floor of Smith Center on a report of a drunk person harassing students, dancing too closely to people and touching several women.

At 10:45 a.m., CPSO followed up a report on a fire alarm in Parkway Residence Hall. CPSO determined janitorial staff accidentally pulled the alarm while cleaning.

MARCH 29 Fire Alarm

At around 11 a.m., CPSO responded to the Art Building regarding a fire alarm. Portland Fire Bureau determined that dust set off the alarm.

CONTENTS COVER BY ROBBY DAY

NEWS INTERNATIONAL HILL TO HALL P. 3 POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND HUMANITARIAN CRISES PLAGUE VENEZUELA

NEWEST BOARD MEMBER BRINGS TECH EXPERIENCE, SAUDI CONNECTIONS P. 3 REFUGEES TRY TO ESCAPE TO ITALY

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BILL AIMS TO FREEZE TUITION INCREASES OVER NEXT TWO YEARS

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TRUMP GIVES ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER SYRIAN TERRITORY

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UNIVERSITY PAYS BACK $1 MILLION TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

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INTERNATIONAL THIS WEEK AROUND THE WORLD

ARTS & CULTURE THAT ONE 2000S SLASHER MOVIE WITH PARIS HILTON

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THE BLESSED UNION OF DRAG AND MUSICIANSHIP

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QUEBEC’S SECULARIST BILL TARGETS MUSLIM WOMEN

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COVER PSU VIOLATES FREE SPEECH ACCORDING TO INDIVIDUAL RIGHTS ORGANIZATION

OPINION DEMONIZED DISORDERS

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P. 8–9

FIVE REASONS YOU SHOULD AT LEAST CONSIDER TIPPING

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EVENTS CALENDAR

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STAFF

EDIT ORI A L EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Nada Sewidan MANAGING EDITOR Marta Yousif NEWS EDITORS Sophie Concannon Anamika Vaughan INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Madison Cecil ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Cervanté Pope OPINION EDITOR Taylar Rivers ONLINE EDITOR Sangi Lama

COPY CHIEF Hannah Welbourn COPY EDITOR A.M. LaVey Contributors Lukas Amsden Andrew Gaines Chris May Marena Riggan Emily Price Moxxy Rogers Van Vanderwall Delaney White PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A PHOTO EDITOR Bo Koering MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Huilyn Loo

PRODUC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR John Rojas LEAD DESIGNER Zak Stone DESIGNERS Robby Day Savannah Quarum Lisa Dorn DIS T RIBU TION & M A R K E TING DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING MANAGER Chris May T ECHNOL OGY & W EB SIT E STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Corrine Nightingale

TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS Damaris Dusciuc Long V. Nguyen Annie Ton A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher To contact Portland State Vanguard, email info@psuvanguard.com

MIS SION S TAT EMEN T Vanguard’s mission is to serve the Portland State community with timely, accurate, comprehensive and critical content while upholding high journalistic standards. In the process, we aim to enrich our staff with quality, hands-on journalism education and a number of skills highly valued in today’s job market.

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A BOU T Vanguard, established in 1946, is published weekly as an independent student newspaper governed by the PSU Student Media Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers and do not necessarily represent the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. Find us in print every Tuesday and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com Follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter @psuvanguard for multimedia content and breaking news.

NEWS

NEWEST BOARD MEMBER BRINGS TECH EXPERIENCE, SAUDI CONNECTIONS MARCH 26­–28 SOPHIE CONCANNON

MARCH 26: BETSY DEVOS DEFENDS PROPOSED CUTS TO SPECIAL OLYMPICS PROGRAM

Betsy DeVos defended the White House’s 2020 budget proposal to the House Appropriations Committee. She defended the proposal to cut the budget for the Special Olympics, which would save $17.6 billion, with the assumption the private sector would step in to save the program according to Vox. The Education Department’s budget for 2020 was set at $64 billion—$7 billion less than the previous year’s budget—and proposes a 17.6 percent cut to special education grants to states, the National Technical Institution for the Blind and Gallaudet University, a federally-funded university for the deaf.

MARCH 27: OREGON FAILS OVERSIGHT IN MULTIPLE DEPARTMENTS, NEW REPORTS SHOW

The Oregon Secretary of State’s office published an audit from 2018 revealing over $800,000 of “questionable costs” in foster care oversight, including the state’s failure to vet foster homes and complete criminal background checks. The audit also revealed overpayments and failure to track eligibility data of welfare recipients, according to The Oregonian. Oregon Secretary of State Leslie Cummings published a separate report in March 2019, revealing the Oregon Department of Education has failed to implement any of the 15 recommendations from the 2017 audit.

MARCH 27: NRA OPPOSES RENEWING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN ACT

The National Rifle Association announced their opposal to renewing the Violence Against Women Act after it expired in December 2018, and Congress let it lapse during session in February 2019. The VAWA, first passed in 1994, protects victims of abuse through community and police resources like federal funding, according to the National Domestic Violence Hotline. The NRA opposes renewing the VAWA because of its “red-flag” clause, which prevents persons convicted of stalking or abusing their partners from owning firearms according to Splinter News.

MARCH 28: OREGON LAWMAKERS RE-INTRODUCE BILL TO REMOVE ALCOHOL TAX FROM KOMBUCHA

U.S. Senator Ron Wyden, D–Ore., and U.S. representatives Earl Blumenauer and Greg Walden, D–Ore., re-introduced KOMBUCHA—the Keeping Our Manufacturers from Being Unfairly Taxed While Championing Health Act. The bill would remove alcohol taxes and regulations on kombucha, as well as “increase the permissible amount of alcohol present in the drink from .5 percent to 1.25 percent by-volume,” according to Willamette Week. Wyden previously introduced the KOMBUCHA act in 2017, but it failed to make it to the Senate.

BEN BERRY HAS BEEN CONFIRMED AS A NEW MEMBER OF THE PSU BOARD OF TRUSTEES. COURTESY OF PORTLAND STATE CHRIS MAY Nearly nine months after Portland State Board of Trustees Chair Rick Miller’s sudden departure, PSU President Rahmat Shoureshi announced on March 25 Ben Berry will take Miller’s place as the newest member of the university’s highest decision-making body.

Three additional Board members will be departing this year.

Berry currently serves as the executive vice president of information technology and chief information officer for the federal government’s Bonneville Power Administration. He is also the CEO and chief digital officer for AirShip Technologies Group, a company that designs drones for industrial, military and civilian defense purposes.

“In general, I’ve had a mixed background—defense, aviation, health care, state and local governments,” Berry told Lake Oswego Review in 2015.

In an email announcing the move, Shoureshi also noted Berry’s past work for the Royal Saudi Air Force and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia International Airports, connections that could prove useful as the president moves to forge partnerships in the Middle East following his twoweek tour of the region last February and more recent trip to Riyadh with Cliff Allen, dean of the School of Business.

Berry will join the Board at a tumultuous time. In addition to upcoming decisions on what could be deep program cuts and steep tuition increases, the Board is also overseeing a so-called performance plan for Shoureshi, who has come under fire for questionable financial decisions and allegations of ethical and professional misconduct.

Berry did not respond to a request for comment on joining the Board and the extent of his awareness of these issues.

According to Shoureshi’s announcement, Berry’s term begins immediately.

PSU Vanguard • APRIL 2, 2019 • psuvanguard.com

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NEWS

BILL AIMS TO FREEZE TUITION INCREASES OVER NEXT TWO YEARS

STUDENTS GATHER OUTSIDE THE OREGON STATE CAPITOL BUILDING, FEB. 18, 2019. ALEXANDER KIRK AMEN/PSU VANGUARD CHRIS MAY Student representatives and Oregon lawmakers have put a bill before the legislature which would provide temporary relief for students facing rising higher education costs by freezing tuition increases at public colleges and universities for the next two years.

HB 3381, introduced on March 14, would freeze tuition increases during the 2019– 20 and 2020–21 academic years, offsetting the costs to universities by allocating funds from the state’s general budget to the Higher Education Coordinating Commission.

“I introduced this bill on behalf of students because tuition at community colleges and universities have been increasing every year,” Rep. Brian Nosse, D–Portland, said. Nosse partnered with the Oregon Student Association and lawmakers in both the House and Senate.

Portland State is facing an $18.6 million budget shortfall in the coming biennium as universities and colleges across the state await the results of a proposed revenue package that would prevent cuts to academic programs and potential double-digit tuition increases.

At a March 18 public budget forum focused on faculty and staff, PSU Vice President for Finance and Administration Kevin Reynolds detailed several budget and tuition scenarios

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for next year, which include tuition hikes as part of measures designed to balance the university’s budget.

Without a commitment from administrators to freeze tuition hikes at PSU, Associated Students of Portland State University’s leaders have refused to join lobbying efforts organized by the university.

“This tuition freeze bill is meant to send a message to both the legislature and our administrations that enough is enough,” said Camilo Abreu A., ASPSU legislative affairs director and co-chair of the OSA Board of Directors. “Tuition increases are not an acceptable solution to budget issues. The state needs to raise enough revenue to fund higher education.”

The bill would also require annual reports to the legislature on the average costs of higher education for students at public universities and community colleges.

“I don’t think we get [higher education costs for students] in a clear, systematic way that is easily understood or official,” Nosse said.

States across the nation, including Oregon, have reduced funding for higher education and increasingly put the burden on students for decades.

PSU Vanguard • APRIL 2, 2019 • psuvanguard.com

Oregon transitioned away from its single board governing all state higher education, to public universities and community colleges in 2013 establishing their own individual boards and becoming more autonomous.

At a March 13 Board of Trustees committee meeting, PSU President Rahmat Shoureshi highlighted “more intrusion in college’s affairs” as a growing trend in higher education.

“It’s not surprising [universities] want to have their own policies and procedures and their own self-governance,” Nosse said. “I’m also not surprised when students don’t like how that goes. They turn to their government and say, ‘hey, state legislature, can you do anything about this?’”

Other supporters of the bill were more pointed in their criticism of university administrators’ complicity in the rising tuition costs for students.

“The elitist autocracies that run universities need to get real about curbing costs so students can get a cost-effective education instead of being indentured to student debt for decades while administrators and the elite enrich themselves,” said Sen. Brian Boquist, R–Dallas, who co-sponsored the bill.

The bill is currently sitting in committee.

In order for it to pass, lawmakers still need to find additional funding that would offset proposed tuition increases.

Associate Vice President of Government Relations Kevin Neely said the price tag for offsetting tuition increases and investment in critical state programs at PSU is $1 billion.

“Absent adequate funding, the bill necessitates unsustainable cuts to the institution and the administration cannot offer its support of the legislation,” Neely stated in an email.

The most recent budget proposal out of the legislature is still roughly $40 million short of what the university says it would need to cover its minimum costs and even hold tuition increases below 5 percent.

Some of the paths to new revenue currently being explored by the legislature include new taxes on businesses and raising taxes on tobacco.

Nosse said it won’t be clear until spring whether lawmakers can find the funding they need but pointed out that this bill is only a short-term relief measure for students. “We have to start investing in community colleges and universities like we should have been doing all along.”

UNIVERSITY PAYS BACK $1 MILLION TO DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

NEWS

CHRIS MAY AND ANAMIKA VAUGHAN Four years after failing to return approximately $1 million of unearned financial aid money to the Department of Education, the federal government forced Portland State to pay it all back.

However, a recent yearly audit of the university’s finances shows the problem still isn’t resolved. This would be the fourth year in a row where PSU has failed to update student’s financial status and accurately manage financial aid funds.

University financial audits discovered PSU wasn’t properly managing financial aid money in 2015. After telling DOE officials the problem would be addressed, repeat offenses were found in future audits. At least one head administrator of the office of student financial aid and scholarships has departed since these issues began.

Last year, the DOE forced PSU to pay back nearly $1 million in FA funds that were erroneously sent to students whose eligibility changed and were required to pay it back.

In many cases, the university never got the money back or returned it late. It is unclear how much money PSU was able to get back from those students and how much it had to pay back to the DOE from other funding sources.

Last summer, university communications prepared a document explaining the three main reasons why this issue occurred: inadequate staffing, inadequate internal checks on the fund returns process and “system setup and functionality issues that complicated determining the dates when some students withdrew.”

Interim Director of Financial Aid Amanda Bierbrauer, who replaced Mike Johnson in 2016, recently requested a single lump sum of money to fix the problem from the finance and administration department. External consultants have also been hired to evaluate how the university manages changes in enrollment and financial aid distribution.

On March 13, an audit of PSU’s financial aid office was presented by members of CliftonLarsonAllen, which conducts yearly audits of the university’s financial statements and compliance with federal regulations.

Jake Houlihan, one of the auditors with CliftonLarsonAllen LLP, said issues with returning financial aid money “is the most common finding we see over the student FA cluster, [but] typically it doesn’t get as bad as this.” He later clarified that these issues are usually resolved in one to two years.

Houlihan and Director of Internal Audit at PSU David Terry also noted the university was doing better than previous years but—due to the timing of the audit—couldn’t be completely cleared of the issue.

“My understanding with working with management is the majority of those issues have been addressed, but we’ll have to wait to see for next year’s single audit if we get a clean audit report for those items,” Terry said.

“We were preparing for the possibility of some pretty restrictive measures put in place by the Department of Education, and none of that happened,” said Cindy Starke, general counsel and secretary to the Board of Trustees.

“I think we’re on a good path now.”

Such restrictive measures could have “heightened cash management,” which would have prevented PSU from doing “advanced draws.” This is when the university requests money from the DOE in advance of financial aid disbursement. With restrictions, the university would need to pay students out-ofpocket and then seek reimbursement.

Board Chair Gale Castillo added that she “hopes [the university] seriously takes [Bierbrauer’s requests for additional resources] into consideration so that she has the resources that she needs to correct this, because this is really not acceptable.”

Brierbrauer is currently both the interim director of student financial aid and scholarships and the director of student financial services and the Financial Wellness Center.

“If I may, the other thing is…[Bierbrauer] is not alone; she is in finance and administration as a director of student financial services, which is a full time job too,” said Kevin Reynolds, vice president of finance and administration. “It is incumbent upon the university to find a new director of financial aid.”

JOHN ROJAS

PSU Vanguard • APRIL 2, 2019 • psuvanguard.com

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INTERNATIONAL

THIS WEEK

around the

WORLD March 24–31

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March 26

YEMEN

Thousands of Yemenis came to the capital city of Sanaa in support of the Houthi rebel movement amid the ongoing conflict, Deutsche Welle reported. It’s been four years since the Saudi Arabia-United Arab Emirates coalition began its intervention backing the Yemeni government against the Iranian-backed Houthis. Demonstrators gathered in al-Sabeen Square, waving the national flag while chanting slogans with some carrying pictures of those who had been killed in Saudi-led airstrikes. On the same day as people gathered in the square, an airstrike hit a rural hospital, killing seven people.

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March 29

EGYPT

A leading Egyptian rights activist who was sentenced to prison five years ago for incitement and unauthorized protests has been released, according to Al Jazeera.

Software engineer and blogger Alaa Abdel Fattah was a prominent pro-democracy voice during the 2011 Egyptian Revolution.

In November 2013, he was arrested for or-

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ganizing an illegal protest and assaulting a police officer despite phone records proving he was not present during such protest. Though he has been released, he will be required to report to a police station every day where he will sleep for the next five years.

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March 29–30

AFGHANISTAN

Over 30 people were killed in separate attacks across Afghanistan as the Taliban struck a number of security checkpoints. In the province of Zabul, four police officers were killed and two wounded when Taliban opened fire at their checkpoint on March 29.

In the eastern province of Ghazni the next day, four students aged 10–16 were killed in an explosion when a mortar hit their school, while 15 other students and two teachers were wounded, as reported by Deutsche Welle. In a separate incident in the same province, nine police officers were killed in a follow-up ambush while six were wounded.

Al Jazeera reported Taliban militants took over the Arghanj Khaw district center in the Badakhshan province after two days of fighting, killing at least 12 of Afghanistan’s

PSU Vanguard • APRIL 2, 2019 • psuvanguard.com

security forces while five were wounded and another five were taken hostage. Afghan media outlet TOLO News reported that while First Vice President General Abdul Rashid Dostum was ambushed in one of the attacks, he escaped unharmed.

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March 30

SLOVAKIA

Slovakia made history on March 30 after electing their first female president in a contentious run-off election. Lawyer, activist and anti-corruption candidate Zuzana Čaputová won Saturday’s election against the high-profile diplomat and member of the European Commission Maroš Šefčovič, despite the fact he was backed by the ruling party Direction–Social Democracy (SMER).

According to BBC, Čaputová won 58 percent of the vote after much speculation of her victory following public opinion polls. The election comes a year after prominent investigative journalist Jan Kuciak along with his fiancé Martina Kusnirova were murdered just as Kuciak was about to publish a report connecting a number of Slovak politicians to corruption and organized crime.

According to Al Jazeera, the murder has

caused voter disillusionment and was even cited by Čaputová as one of the reasons she decided to run for office. She will officially take office in June.

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March 31

UKRAINE

Polls opened in Ukraine as voters came out to choose the next president. The 2019 elections saw a comedian, chocolate manufacturer and former prime minister among 39 total candidates running for office. Deutsche Welle reported the top candidates were actor Volodymyr Zelensky, incumbent President Petro Poroshenko and former Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko—not to be confused with another candidate Yuri Tymoshenko. According to Reuters, the first round of exit polls showed Zelenskiy winning 30.4 percent of the vote, with Poroshenko receiving 17.8 percent and Yulia Tymoshenko receiving 14 percent.

Because the candidates need at least 50 percent of the votes to win, the election is likely to lead to a run-off between Zelenskiy and Poroshenko. Of Ukraine’s 35.9 million registered voters, only 16 percent turned out to cast a vote, according to the country’s Central Election Commission.

INTERNATIONAL

QUEBEC’S SECULARIST BILL TARGETS MUSLIM WOMEN

BILL PROHIBITS WEARING RELIGIOUS SYMBOLS IN THE PUBLIC SECTOR LUKAS AMSDEN AND MADISON CECIL Quebec’s Coalition Avenir, a rightleaning organization, is set to pass a ban on wearing overt religious symbols as a public sector employee. The ban has been criticized for specifically targeting Muslim women wearing hijabs.

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has been a vocal opponent of the bill. “It is unthinkable to me that in a free society we would legitimize discrimination against citizens based on their religion,” he told reporters in a press conference on March 28.

The bill was introduced by Minister of Immigration Simon Jolin-Barrette as “An Act respecting the laicity of the State.” One reason for passing the bill is for the purpose of separating church and state.

According to Al Jazeera, current government employees and civil servants are exempt from the bill, but it will apply to any and all incoming public sector employees wearing religious clothing or symbols.

Teachers, judges and police officers are some of the public workers the bill affects.

Besides hijabs, religious clothing that will be banned include kippahs, crucifixes and Sikh turbans. Despite current teachers being exempt from the new bill, if these teachers were to move schools or be promoted, it would then apply to them. The only schools that will be considered exempt from the new legislation are private schools, because they are not public, government-funded institutions.

Student teacher Amrit Kaur is concerned that she will be forced to look for a job in a private school in order to continue wearing her Sikh turban. “This [bill] just sends the message to people who wear religious symbols that we are secondary citizens,” Kaur told The National Post. “[The turban] is something I wear all the time,” she explained. “It’s not something I just wear inside. It’s an exercise of my human right to practice my faith.”

Sonia Ethier, president of the biggest elementary and high school teachers’ union, compared the bill to “using a cannon to kill a fly.”

The bill would also require any citizens receiving a public service to uncover their faces if they are wearing religious headwear. The bill claims this is for identification and security reasons.

Citizens subjected to this rule would have to uncover their faces if they were boarding a city bus with a transit pass.

Canadian Olympic speed skater and Junior Educational Minister Isabelle Charest sides

ZAK STONE with the proposed bill, arguing the hijab is “not something women should be wearing.”

“It does have, at some point, some significance about oppression of women, and the fact that they have to cover themselves, and for me it’s not in my values,” she explained to press on Feb. 6.

According to The Jerusalem Post, the Jewish community of Quebec has expressed great concern over the bill.

Quebec Regional Director of B’nai Brith International, a Jewish advocacy group, commented, “We call on the [Quebec government] to avoid the slippery slope of diminishing fundamental rights and work instead to secure religious liberties for all Quebecers.”

Ihsaan Gardee, executive director of the National Council of Canadian Muslims, said, “Under the guise of secularism, this legislation is effectively a prohibition on wearing the hijab in the Quebec public service given the overwhelming number of people impacted will be Muslim women.”

This bill is not Quebec’s first attempt to implement new policies regarding religious clothing and symbols in the public sector. In October 2017, Quebec passed a law which “required public services to be given and received with an uncovered face,” according to The National Post. However, that law was suspended by a judge who claimed the law was discriminatory toward women who choose to wear a full face-covering garment.

According to Reuters, in order to protect the new bill from the same fate as its predecessor, the Quebec government has called on a rarely used clause, allowing them to “override the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedom for up to five years.”

Canada’s politicians continue to be divided over the issue of religious freedom.

Anjou Councillor Lynne Shand was recently criticized for her Facebook post, which said Canada was facing “Islamification” after a female doctor in a hijab performed an emergency ophthalmology exam on the woman.

“If it hadn’t been an emergency, I would have refused to be treated by her,” Shand posted to Facebook. “I’m angry because it’s really the Islamification of our country.”

PSU Vanguard • APRIL 2, 2019 • psuvanguard.com

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COVER

PSU VIOLATES FREE SPEE ACCORDING TO INDIVIDUA RIGHTS ORGANIZATION

INTERNATIONAL FREE SPEECH SCHOLAR AND UNIVERSITY OF OREGON PROFESSOR KYU SOPHIE CONCANNON The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education rated Portland State a “red light” institution for First Amendment violations five years in a row.

FIRE has pointed out discrepancies in PSU’s adherence to First Amendment policies and stated the university has “at least one policy that both clearly and substantially restricts freedom of speech.”

Amid complaints about infringement of free speech on PSU’s campus, University of Oregon Professor Kyu Ho Youm opened a campus-wide conversation on the bounds of free speech on college campuses.

On March 28 at the Academic and Student Recreation Center, Youm—an expert on free speech and law scholar on the First Amendment—detailed the context of the battle for free speech on college campuses in the last year.

“The marketplace of ideas…involves the freedom to speak or not to speak,” Youm said. “There is no such thing as freedom of content of speech. Freedom for students and also for faculty members is essential.”

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PSU Vanguard • APRIL 2, 2019 • psuvanguard.com

PSU VIOLATIONS OF FREE SPEECH A recent free speech issue cited by FIRE occured when a protester with a cowbell disrupted an event on March 5 hosted by the PSU College Republicans. Campus Public Safety officers did not remove or otherwise prevent the protester from disrupting the speech.

In a statement issued after the event, PSU said the CPSO officers “used professional judgment and determined not to threaten or restrain the individual so as not to escalate a potentially unsafe situation.” Failing to remove the protester technically violated the speech policies laid out on PSU’s Free Speech Guide, a newly created website by PSU’s Protest and Expression Advisory Team presented after Youm’s speech.

The website states that students and faculty—as well as outside guests—have the right to peacefully protest a speaker or event so long as the event is able to continue

without “significant or material disruption.” Protesters are not allowed to modify the content of what is being expressed for a group or audience.

The website continues to say preventing a speaker from presenting is not an acceptable form of protest.

In a later statement forwarded by Associate Vice President for University Communications Chris Broderick, PSU stated, “PSU facilities management allowed College Republicans to extend their meeting beyond the scheduled end time that night…it continued without incident.”

The statement continues, “If the individual who interrupted the event was a PSU student, PSU’s student code of conduct would have taken effect.” However, the website’s guidelines do not distinguish between “members of the university community” and “outside guests.”

Another free speech issue brought up by FIRE occurred when an International Socialist Organization meeting scheduled for Jan. 24 was canceled after Joey Gibson, a

COVER

ECH UAL

TRUMP’S EXECUTIVE ORDER

PSU’S RESPONSE

Youm’s talk on free speech on college campuses served not only as context for universities’ struggles with the First Amendment but also with the recent executive order issued on March 21 from the Trump White House “to ensure institutions that receive federal research or education grants promote free inquiry, including through compliance with all applicable federal laws.”

Youm criticized the executive order during his speech, saying, “The question is, when President Trump is talking about free speech, free speech for whom? Free speech for liberals? Free speech for conservatives? Or free speech for all?”

On the issue of federal funding for universities complying to free speech policies, Youm said that “free speech code and censoring is not allowed under the First Amendment… it is unconstitutional. It is so inherently vague.” He continued by defining federal funding as a privilege under the First Amendment. Youm brought up concerns about who allocates the grants, suggesting the allocating parties should be “professionally neutral,” and the allocation procedure requires caution and expertise.

Aimee Shattuck, director of student activities and leadership programs, said PSU was prioritizing free speech by putting out a resource guide and “suggesting or clarifying policy and protocol for campus.”

Michele Toppe, associate vice president of student affairs, said she did not think there was a contradiction between the practices of PSU versus the policies outlined on the website. “I think how speech gets addressed is nuanced,” she continued.

On student involvement in the decision-making process about free speech policies on campus, Shattuck said, “Event organizers are primarily students and that is who we will be working with on protocols. The free speech guide was sent to everyone in the PSU community, [and] the majority of the community members are students.”

Toppe also said on the Strickland speech interrupted by a protester that, in many cases, events are planned with the “express purpose of knowing [the event] is going to prompt conflict.”

“If you’re having an event [like the Strickland event hosted by the PSU College Republicans], you’re only there to invite the disruption, to say ‘they’re not letting me speak,’” Toppe continued.

“We’re not going to get sucked into the emotionality [of this conflict] but rather have it move to a plane where we’re having a dialogue that’s consistent with the values of an educational institution,” Toppe said.

FREE SPEECH FOR ALL Universities across the nation have dealt with similar controversies regarding the bounds of protest and free speech.

In 2017, a group of University of Oregon students blocked the president from delivering the State of the University speech.

Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University faced similar circumstances when students demanded the university fire an alleged white supremacist from their position as a teaching assistant. They protested by interrupting and derailing the president’s State of the University speech.

The two events at Virginia Tech and UO prompted the University of Wisconsin to pass a policy aimed at punishing students who disrupt campus speakers by threatening them with expulsion, according to Insider Higher Ed.

SOR KYU HO YOUM GIVES CONTEXT TO CURRENT DEBATES ON FREE SPEECH. BO KOERING/PSU VANGAURD

member of the far-right group Patriot Prayer, expressed his intent to show up. He received a negative response from individuals on social media, who threatened to show up and “fuck [him] up.”

The event was canceled shortly after Chief of Police Donnell Tanksley was made aware of the circumstances.

FIRE cites the cancelation of the ISO event as a free speech violation, as the free speech policies dictate a public university cannot preemptively cancel an event due to the content being discussed.

The Free Speech at PSU website supports the cancelation, saying “while the campus is constitutionally required and philosophically committed to protecting speakers and preventing disruption or violence, if the university determines that the event cannot be held in a safe manner (serious threats to person or property), the event can be canceled or postponed. Such action cannot be based on the views or content of the speaker.”

JOHN ROJAS

PSU Vanguard • APRIL 2, 2019 • psuvanguard.com

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INTERNATIONAL

POLITICAL, ECONOMIC AND HUMANITARIAN CRISES PLAGUE VENEZUELA INTERNATIONAL BRIDGE BETWEEN COLOMBIA AND VENEZUELA BLOCKED BY THE VENEZUELAN GOVERNMENT, FEB. 2019. COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS MADISON CECIL Venezuela has recently been affected by political controversy, severe economic decline and humanitarian crisis, which led thousands of Venezuelans to leave their country.

Roughly 250,000 migrants moved to Colombia between August and March, and 3,000 per day continue to cross the border.

POLITICAL CONTROVERSY Self-declared Venezuelan president Juan Guaidó will be banned from public office for 15 years, Elvis Amoroso, Venezuelan government comptroller, said via Reuters on March 28.

In a statement in front of thousands of Venezuelans on Jan. 22, Guaidó said he was “formally assuming the responsibility of the national executive.”

President Donald Trump released a tweet the following day, recognizing and supporting Guaidó as the official interim president of Venezuela. Guaidó‘s declaration came two weeks after Nicolás Maduro’s swearing into office for a second term.

There are claims by Venezuela’s oppositiondominated National Assembly that Maduro’s election was illegitimate.

According to Reuters, Maduro has dismissed the challenge to his role as president, claiming Guaidó’s rise to power was an effort by the United States government to take power in Venezuela. Guaidó and the U.S. both denied these accusations.

The Trump administration continues to support Guaidó and has dismissed Maduro’s claims. “That’s rich and ridiculous,” U.S. State Department Representative Robert Palladino said about Maduro’s claim.

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U.S. Secretary of the Treasury Steven Mnuchin said in a statement, “Maduro and his enablers have distorted the original purpose of the bank, which was founded to help the economic and social well-being of the Venezuelan people, as part of a desperate attempt to hold onto power.”

Russia has decided to back Maduro in the fight for president, a declaration that has not been received well by the U.S. “We strongly caution actors [Russia] external to the Western Hemisphere against deploying military assets to Venezuela, or elsewhere in the hemisphere, with the intent of establishing or expanding military operations,” White House National Security Advisor John Bolton stated. “We will consider such provocative actions as a direct threat to international peace and security in the region.”

Russia has since deployed military planes and personnel in Venezuela. The U.S. State Department claims this action was a “reckless escalation of the situation.”

Assistant Director for the Washington Office on Latin America Geoff Ramsey told NPR, “Unfortunately, most Venezuelans that I’ve talked to that have fled the country are doing so because they can’t see any change in sight. The government has sort of entrenched itself politically.”

ECONOMIC DECLINE Venezuela, home to one of the largest oil reserves in the world, has recently experienced a significant decline in petroleum exports.

The total export value was the lowest it had been in over a decade as of 2017.

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This sudden decline is in part due to former Venezuelan president Hugo Chavez removing thousands of oil production workers from the workforce after a series of strikes.

As a result, Chavez replaced experts in the field with less experienced and less specialized workers who were loyal to him.

Replacing these workers led to a significant decline in the production of oil, which then affected the export total.

Venezuela has also fallen victim to hyperinflation. As of March 29, one U.S. dollar was equivalent to 3,288.70 Venezuelan sovereign bolivars. According to CNN, the Venezuelan economy has collapsed and continues to fuel the ongoing political conflicts.

In an attempt to recover the rapidly falling economy, the Venezuelan government implemented several new economic measures. On Sept. 1, the government raised minimum wage to 34 times what it was previously.

Since these changes, however, the economy has continued to decline, and minimum wage has risen once again. The economy collapse is a contributing factor for many people leaving the country.

“I deserve better,” business owner and mother Angela Carlucci told NBC. “I have worked really hard to have what I have.

My daughter is [three] years old. I had felt like I could provide a good life for her.

Not anymore.”

HUMANITARIAN CRISIS Venezuelans are struggling with recurring prolonged blackouts on top of the economic crisis and political controversies. During

these blackouts, Venezuelans have little to no access to electricity, water or cell phone service. They had two blackouts in March, both lasting several days.

The current nationwide blackout began on March 25. While electricity in some neighborhoods flickers on and off throughout the day, the majority of the country is stuck in complete darkness.

On March 25, Venezuelan Minister of Communications Jorge Rodriguez told staterun media outlet VTV, “President Nicolás Maduro has decided to extend the suspension of work activities and the suspension of classes at all educational levels for another 24 hours.”

The suspension was then expanded to March 29.

According to The Guardian, Maduro and Guaidó have been claiming the blackout is due to an alleged terrorist attack on power plants throughout the country. However, they claim the attack was done by different organizations. Maduro believes the attack was orchestrated by Washington D.C. in an attempt to gain power in Venezuela while Guaidó claims it was executed by a lone sniper.

Experts discredit both presidents and instead argue the blackouts are caused by underinvestment and corruption over several years.

The blackouts have led to frustrated citizens who wish they could leave the country.

One such Venezuelan is Johnny Vargas, a restaurant worker who told NBC, “Venezuela doesn’t stand a chance anymore, there is no life here. People can’t work anymore; we can’t do anything.”

INTERNATIONAL

REFUGEES TRY TO ESCAPE TO ITALY MIGRANTS HIJACK SHIP ORIGINALLY SET FOR LIBYA

TRUMP GIVES ISRAELI PRIME MINISTER SYRIAN TERRITORY

DURING THE ARAB-ISRAELI WAR, AN ISREALI TANK MOVES THROUGH GOLAN HEIGHTS, OCTOBER 1973. COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS MIGRANTS ABOARD THE BELGIAN SHIP BNS LEOPOLD I AFTER RESCUE AS PART OF EUNAVFOR MED OPERATION SOPHIA. COURTESY OF CREATIVE COMMONS EMILY PRICE Migrants and refugees on March 27 hijacked Elhiblu 1, a ship with a crew that rescued 108 people from Libyan waters that same day.

The boat was supposed to return the 108 people to Libya’s capital Tripoli. Six nautical miles from the port, Elhiblu 1 suddenly changed its course and started toward Italy. The boat was halfway to Malta by Wednesday evening.

“We received reports of a pirated ship heading toward Malta or Lampedusa and we’re monitoring the situation,” a Maltese coast guard spokesman told French news outlet Agence France-Presse.

According to Al Jazeera, a Maltese military official told local media the hijacked ship would not be allowed to enter the country’s waters.

Italian Deputy Prime Minister Matteo Salvini has established and maintained a strict immigration policy since he has been in office and has closed Italy’s ports to all migrants and refugees. According to Reuters, Salvini said, “These are not migrants in distress; they are pirates. They will only see Italy through a telescope.”

“I tell the pirates, forget Italy,” Salvini continued in a Facebook video. “This is the clearest demonstration that it is not a rescue operation but a criminal traffic of human beings who even arrive at hijacking a private vessel. It is an act of criminality or organized crime. Italian waters are off-limits to criminals.”

Maltese military forces made contact with the captain of Elhiblu 1 when the ship was 30 nautical miles from the island nation. According to the armed forces, the captain told them “he and his crew were being forced and threatened by a number of migrants to proceed to Malta.”

Maltese forces intercepted and returned control of the vessel to the captain. Elhiblu 1 was then escorted back to Malta where several authorities boarded the boat. Four migrants were led off the ship in handcuffs, according to NBC. The UN believes migrants and refugees in Libya experience human trafficking, kidnapping, torture and rape. The country is one of the main points of exit for people trying to leave North Africa for Europe.

Recently, the EU has announced they will suspend Operation Sophia, a patrol system that helps rescue migrants and refugees and relocate them to safer regions in Europe.

The operation has saved thousands of lives over several years, but Italy no longer is willing to receive the people and have officially closed their ports to any refugees, making relocation extremely difficult for the EU. Associate Director at Human Rights Watch Judith Sunderland tweeted on March 27, “Operation Sophia will now only provide aerial surveillance and support for the Libyan coast guard. This means more interceptions by Libyan forces and return of women, men and children to nightmarish conditions and treatment in Libya.”

MARENA RIGGAN President Donald Trump announced via Twitter his move to recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory. He made the decision official at a signing ceremony on March 26 during Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s visit.

The decision comes amid the Attorney General Avichai Mandelbit’s decision to indict Netanyahu on corruption charges and Israel’s early elections scheduled for April 9.

WHAT IS THE GOLAN HEIGHTS? The Golan Heights is a disputed territory located between Israel and Syria and bordering Lebanon and Jordan. It is one of four territories occupied by Israel during the 1967 Six-Day War. Since the end of the war, both Syria and Israel have claimed the region as part of their country. In 1981, the Golan Heights was officially annexed by Israel. The 1967 war was a decisive victory for Israel, which in addition to the Golan Heights, captured the Gaza Strip, the West Bank and the Egyptian Sinai Peninsula.

However, Israel was supposed to return the occupied territories it had acquired in the conflict, as stipulated in the 1967 UN Resolution 242 issued on Nov. 22, about five months after the war. Out of the four territories captured, only the Sinai Peninsula was ever returned. This resolution also stipulated “the inadmissibility of the acquisition of territory by war,” thus making the continued occupations and Trump’s decision illegal under international law.

The Golan is unique from the West Bank and Gaza in that it’s Syrian rather than

Palestinian territory. However, it’s also the only territory Israel actually annexed after the Knesset voted in support of extending “basic law” to the region in 1981. In response, the UN passed Resolution 478, which “affirmed that the enactment of the ‘basic law’

by Israel constitutes a violation of international law and does not affect the continued application of the Geneva Convention…in the Palestinian and other Arab territories occupied since 1967.”

WHY NOW? After 52 years of Israeli occupation and eight years since the situation in Syria devolved into civil war, Trump made the recent change in United States policy due to the Golan being of “critical strategic and security importance” to Israel, as stated on his Twitter.

However, the decision comes at a critical time for Netanyahu, who is embroiled in corruption charges and is vying to continue as prime minister for a fifth term. Aluf Benn of Haaretz commented in his analysis of the decision, stating “today was Netanyahu’s day, with no partners. Trump’s friend Bibi [Netanyahu’s nickname] is standing for reelection, dogged by investigations and submarines.”

Additionally, in an interview with Amy Goodman on Democracy Now!, human rights attorney Noura Erakat denounced the claim Trump’s decision was tied to security due to the presence of some 20,000 Israeli settlers.

Whether Israeli sovereignty over the Golan will provide increased security remains to be seen.

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ARTS & CULTURE

GARBAGE DAY THAT ONE 2000S SLASHER MOVIE WITH PARIS HILTON ACTUALLY KINDA RULES ANDREW GAINES The 2000s were a contentious decade for horror. A lot of people would say that it was pretty bad for the genre, citing films such as the Saw sequels or Hostel (or Cabin Fever or Hostel 2…I’m not an Eli Roth fan) as evidence of its awfulness. If I had to make a snap judgment, I might agree with them. However, there’s a lot of great horror to be found in that timeframe.

There are films I would argue are stone-cold classics, like The Ring, Trick ‘r Treat, American Psycho and The Descent. On top of that, there’s a ton of great, schlocky fun to be had in stuff like Final Destination, Slither and the remake of The Hills Have Eyes. I think most of these films are pretty well regarded in the public consciousness these days—if not necessarily lauded upon release—so I figured I’d do my part to raise awareness of a 2000s horror film I’m a fan of that got savaged when it came out and hasn’t had any impact beyond that. So, let’s talk about the remake of House of Wax. Ask anybody on the street about the film (please do not do this—that’s weird) and their reaction, if they remember it at all, will usually be “isn’t that the one with Paris Hilton in it?”

They’re not wrong—Paris Hilton is definitely in House of Wax. She’s not atrocious, which is probably the best thing I can say about her performance. She does the slasher movie archetype of the “Promiscuous Girl” well—her performance is vapid and entirely weightless, and she gets turbo-murdered with gusto. Spoiler alert, I guess.

Slasher movies did not fare so well in the 2000s, but that easily makes House of Wax one of the most fun of the era. It’s gross, it’s mean when it needs to be and it gets weird with it. I’m a fan of the Vincent Price original, and the remake deftly avoids hewing too closely to the 1953 film by stealing the basic premise and basically nothing else.

As in the original, there’s a house of wax and a creepy guy murdering people and turning them into wax sculptures. Suffice it to say, there’s a group of college students who run up on a run-down town in Florida and start getting murdered in the titular museum. I don’t want to spoil exactly how the film branches out from the original’s basic premise, but it broadens the scope of the film in smart, clever ways that end with a really inventive climax.

The gore is all practical FX, and it’s nasty and visceral in a way I really appreciate. It nails the more grandiose violence, like a head get-

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LISA DORN

ting shotgunned apart and the small, uncomfortable stuff, like a character getting their lips forced shut with superglue, with equal aplomb.

Special kudos go to a scene featuring a baseball bat that’s about as gnarly as the murders in Hotline Miami.

The film is directed by Jaume Collet-Serra, a Spanish director who also did the absolutely fantastic killer kid movie Orphan, the aboveaverage Neeson flick The Commuter and The

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Shallows, which is maybe my favorite “killer shark” movie in recent memory. He gives the film a visual tone that’s weirdly similar to early Tim Burton—if Burton was in the business of brutal slasher films—and makes sure the film moves through its surprisingly lengthy twohour runtime at a pace that never hangs on one scene for too long.

The cinematography by Stephen F. Windon, who has done great work on all of the Fast and

the Furious movies post-Tokyo Drift, gives the film a really smooth flow without any of the shaky-cam nonsense that the decade came to be known for.

If you’re a fan of slasher movies at all and are willing to put up with a truly intense amount of early 2000s butt-rock, I’d highly recommend you give the movie a fair shake.

It’s a blast and deserves to be recognized for more than Hilton’s role in it.

ARTS & CULTURE

THE BLESSED UNION OF DRAG AND MUSICIANSHIP LIFE AND WORKS OF SAINT SYNDROME VAN VANDERWALL While singing a rousing rendition of “Man, I Feel Like a Woman” to a backing track, Saint Syndrome sat behind the Roland FA-08 keyboard—featuring 88 weighted keys, among other electronic gewgaws and doodads—and introduced herself.

“I’m the smallest—damn it— the lowest bass with the smallest waist: Portland’s only piano playing drag queen.” Neither an ordinary saint nor an ordinary woman, Saint Syndrome is the drag name for local musician Marshall Cuffe.

Some background on Marshall Cuffe is necessary to understand Saint Syndrome: While studying classical piano performance and psychology at Lawrence Conservatory in Appleton, Wisconsin, Cuffe craved an opportunity to combine these subjects with his interest in drag and burlesque culture.

Although RuPaul’s Drag Race was a longtime favorite and inspiration, it was a “smart, critical treatment” of a vintage tune at a show in Chicago that inspired him to combine his training in classical music with his inner queen. Although the details of the show have slipped from memory, the inspiration it instilled in Cuffe—breaking out of the conventional classical piano technique, uniting classical and current music in the same performance and doing it all in a dress and heels—remains.

“I want to push the envelope of appropriate Chopin playing,” Cuffe said. As a classical musician in a recital setting, the expectations are very rigid, Cuffe explained, but the format of drag shows allows for much more freedom of playing style, repertoire and presentation.

“I love bringing people into drag and not having it be something that’s scary,” Cuffe said. The Saint Syndrome show is designed to be a “gateway” into the drag world.

“We’re going to pretend that Pink Martini wrote this for me,” Saint said while introducing Pink Martini’s genderbending song “Bitty Boppy Betty” at her recent performance at Santé Bar. The microphone boom arm sagged slightly during the first tunes, prompting a bit of banter to accompany Saint’s extempore repair.

Quips easily find themselves worked into Miss Syndrome’s performances—her sense of humor, an element not confined to her onstage banter, but a necessary mechanism for the songs she revises. She considers her reimagining of Billy Joel’s “Piano Man” as “Piano Queen”—which lyrically describes and playfully chaffs queer culture—to be one of her signature tunes. “She’s really playing, I know,” Saint said in mock self-commentary during an instrumental interlude.

The next three numbers formed what Saint called a “sad sandwich”—the gaiety of “I Feel Pretty” from Bernstein’s West Side Story, the filling between the pathos bread of “Pretty Funny” from Dogfight and Funny Girl’s title track.

“Pretty Funny” resonates with Saint because in general, performing “sometimes feels empty because you’re wearing a full-body mask, and it’s hard to separate that from who you are.” Her face is included in this full body mask when it comes to her tackles of “Funny Girl,” which Saint remarks as part of her affinity for Barbra Streisand. “Barbra and I share a nose—deep connection there.”

As if the variety of Saint’s first set wasn’t proof enough, her second set further demonstrated the eclecticism in her crafted repertoire. After opening with “Poisoning

SAINT SYNDROME DURING HER SHOW AT SANTÉ BAR, MARCH 23. VAN VANDERWALL/PSU VANGUARD Pigeons in the Park,” Tom Lehrer’s satirical paean to springtime avian population control, Chopin’s “Nocturne in Eb Major (Op. 9 No. 2)” and a medley of sardonically triumphant self-referential showbiz songs from the musical Applause followed.

She’s got a bit of everything on her performative docket, pulling motley tracks out of her magic discographical bag like Mary Poppins—a raucous take on the Garth Brooks barroom singalong classic “Friends in Low Places” took on a different meaning in drag, rather than a honky-tonk setting.

For her closing track, she took a different, less waggish turn.

Striking a somber note, Saint said, “This is my benediction, this is my goodbye,” before performing the Rodgers and Hart classic “Where or When.”

“I love you all, thank you” were the last utterances she left the audience with.

That final doleful tune and parting expression of gratitude closed a show evoking everything from the silly to the dark to the self-deprecating to the transcendent. Saint Syndrome appeals to those who are unfamiliar with drag culture and performance. Longtime drag devotees interested in seeing live music and anyone interested in a broad and catholic musical taste. Support our local musicians and artists, especially those blazing their own trails.

Saint Syndrome’s next performance is 8:30 p.m. on April 27 at Santé. There is no cover charge. Visit saintsyndrome.com for more information.

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OPINION

DEMONIZED DISORDERS LACK OF AWARENESS SURROUNDING MENTAL ILLNESS LEAVES SOME FEELING ISOLATED

ZAK STONE DELANEY WHITE Although embracing and understanding generalized depression and anxiety has become commonplace, mood and personality disorders such as bipolar, borderline personality and schizophrenia are still misunderstood and demonized.

Mental illness encompasses a variety of disorders that range in levels of severity. There are no two people who will likely experience the exact same behavior despite having the same disorder. Inaccurate media representation and overall lack of awareness regarding certain disorders creates a divide that leaves many people feeling isolated.

Mood and personality disorders have key differences which set them apart from one another. Mood disorders have symptoms that result from mood or emotional states that aren’t aligned with a person’s current circumstances. These include bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder and seasonal affective disorder.

Typically, outside of the periods of extreme sadness or happiness, people with mood disorders can have normal interactions with the people in their lives.

Personality disorders, on the other hand, are characterized by permanent cycles of unhealthy thoughts and actions.

People with these disorders sometimes have issues relating to

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other people and situations, which can severely impact both their personal and professional lives. Borderline personality disorder, schizophrenia and narcissistic personality disorder are all examples of personality disorders.

According to the National Institute of Mental Health, 2.8 percent of Americans over 18 years old have bipolar disorder; 1.6 percent of the American population has borderline personality disorder. Schizophrenia ranges between 0.25 and 0.64 percent.

These percentages seem minuscule, but they equate to approximately one million to nine million of the current population, which is roughly 328 million people.

Mental illnesses have universal behaviors or symptoms commonly associated with them, but the illness itself differs from person to person. Shows such as Criminal Minds typically use these disorders—especially schizophrenia and narcissistic personality—in their profiles of serial killers, which perpetuates harmful stereotypes of those suffering from mental illness. If this is the only representation the majority of the public has of these illnesses, their only idea of them will be negative. Overexposure to the version of mental illness that these shows portray gives avid watchers a false idea of what mental illness truly is.

In addition to fictional media representation, the news coverage of fatal shootings often enforces stereotypes of disorders. This includes many individuals who committed atrocious attacks on students, including the Parkland shooter, the Virginia Tech shooter and the Sandy Hook shooter—all of whom had long histories of untreated mental health problems. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration notes that roughly 18 percent of American adults–one in five–experience a mental illness over the course of a year. Less than 10 percent of all shootings involve individuals with mental illnesses. People motivated by hate and individuals who are mentally ill are not synonymous, so why are they being portrayed as such?

Though it is possible for criminals to suffer from mental illness, they are often untreated or undiagnosed.

Lumping in people who commit heinous acts with others who actively treat and live with their disorder is a false equivalence.

Negatively stereotyping illnesses has left a significant portion of the population isolated. Understanding mental illness in all its forms is an important first step to removing the stigma which surrounds it.

OPINION

FIVE REASONS YOU SHOULD AT LEAST CONSIDER TIPPING MOXXY ROGERS If you’ve ever had the luxury of eating out at a restaurant or having your bags carried for you from the lobby of a hotel up to your room, you’re probably already familiar with the mistress of the service world—tipping.

It’s a conversation consumers and service providers have been having for years. To tip or not to tip? The answer might be more obvious than we think. The act of directly paying

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the hands that have served you is meant to be a gesture of comradery. When you tip, you’re not just giving someone a little extra cash. You’re showing your appreciation and gratitude.

The next time you find yourself about to exit a restaurant without leaving a few dollars on the table, consider these five reasons on why you should mull over leaving that extra 15 percent after all.

FOOD SERVICE WORKERS ARE OFTEN PAID LESS THAN MINIMUM WAGE.

According to the United States Department of Labor, minimum wages for tipped employees fluctuate across the map.

In some states such as Wyoming and New Jersey, employers are only required to pay their servers the state minimum cash wage. Under the Fair Labor Standards Act, this is as little as $2.13 an hour. If you’re lucky enough to live in a state that mandates for all employers to pay their workers above the state minimum cash wage, you could be making a whopping $9.35 like Hawaii or a humble $2.23 in Delaware. Jurisdictions such as California, Washington and Oregon are fortunate enough to be paid the state minimum wage of $12.00 per hour.

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SOME FAMILIES LIVE EXCLUSIVELY OFF OF THEIR TIPS.

In some cases, even receiving the minimum wage on a paycheck is out of the question. If your wages get garnished from the government for an inexplicable amount of reasons (i.e. child support, student loans or unpaid taxes) then chances are you will not have enough to pay the bills, let alone put food on the table. In these instances, many people find themselves seeking service jobs in order to make up the difference with tips.

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MORE WORK GOES INTO SERVICE JOBS THAN YOU’D EXPECT.

It’s not just picking up a plate of food from one location and setting it in another. For food service jobs, being a server means bussing and cleaning tables. It looks like running back and forth for refills. It’s sweeping, mopping and taking out the trash 40 hours a week and often with little recognition.

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NO ONE HAS EVER COMPLAINED ABOUT SOMEONE BEING TOO GENEROUS.

Apart from it just being a kind thing to do, tipping is essentially lending a helping hand to your fellow working class members. The feeling of being generous should be a good thing. Of course, you are not required to tip (unless eating at restaurants that includes gratuity), but the gratitude your server will feel toward your contribution will live on past your meal. It will be reflected in the bills they pay to keep a roof over their heads. It will taste like the dinner they set at the table that night.

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DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU WOULD HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU.

Sometimes, it all comes down to putting yourself in someone else’s shoes. Imagine you’ve been working 40 hours a week in a diner that’s busier than traffic in L.A. You bus tables, sit patrons down at that table only to have to bus it again.

You’re on your feet for eight hours at a time. You’ve been whistled over, snapped at and degraded three times in the first hour of your double shift. You collect your tips at the end of the day, only to find that you’ve made barely enough to buy yourself a coffee for tomorrow’s shift. You put hope in your paycheck coming through on Friday to cover this month’s rent, but then you remember that you live in Wyoming and one 40 hour week barely gets you $70 after taxes.

You’d wish someone had tipped you too.

So the next time you’re about to skimp out on giving that extra 15–20 percent of your bill, take some time to remember not everyone has the luxury of sitting down at a restaurant for a meal. If you ever find yourself lost in this ancient debate again, here’s a helpful piece of advice to keep in your back pocket: If you can’t afford to tip, you can’t afford to eat out.

JOHN ROJAS

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Cervanté Pope

APRIL 2–8 MUSIC

FILM & THEATRE

“EVERY MEASURE OF ZERO” UPFOR GALLERY TUE–SAT: 11 A.M.–6 P.M. AND BY APPOINTMENT, THROUGH APRIL 27 FREE Ronny Quevado’s first solo exhibition found its inspiration from the experiences of marginalized communities.

WE CAME AS ROMANS, CROWN THE EMPIRE, ERRA, SHVPES HAWTHORNE THEATRE 6:30 P.M. $25–30 It’ll be like a Hot Topic company party in there, so make sure your scene hair is on point.

‘THEY LIVE’ THE ACADEMY THEATER 4:35 P.M., 9:25 P.M. $4 Seriously, one of the greatest movies of all time. John Carpenter captured the ills of capitalism and mind control perfectly in this ‘80s classic.

NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC LIVE–BEAUTY AND THE BIZARRE NEWMARK THEATRE 7:30 P.M. $27.25–52.25 The next in the Nat Geo lecture series shows everything gross, gruesome and visually fascinating in the insect and animal world.

WED APR 3

MADE HOME FORD GALLERY FRI–MON: 9 A.M.–6 P.M., THROUGH APRIL 24 FREE For lovers of street art, muralists and tight graffitti, featuring work from Mad One, Dump la rock, Voxx Romana and more.

BROODS WONDER BALLROOM 8:30 P.M. $23–25 Tender New Zealand indie pop with a slight groove to it.

‘TWO LANE BLACKTOP’ HOLLYWOOD THEATRE 7:30 P.M. $9 ($7 WITH STUDENT ID) Musicians James Taylor and Beach Boys drummer Dennis Wilson shine in this B-movie type film about Americana life.

RAPE MYTHS THROUGH TIME: AN INTER-GENERATIONAL DIALOGUE PSU WOMEN’S RESOURCE CENTER NOON FREE

THU APR 4

“US” OPENING RECEPTION LITTMAN GALLERY 6–8 P.M. FREE This isn’t that Jordan Peele cut, but it’s still centered around creative works by people of color–our Artists of Color Collective to be exact.

OUT FROM THE SHADOWS V TONIC LOUNGE 7 P.M., THROUGH APRIL 6 $15–45 Three days of post-punk and coldwave to chill all your dark hearts.

‘PEARL DIVE PROJECT’ BODYVOX DANCE CENTER 7:30 P.M., THROUGH APRIL 20 $30 ($24 WITH STUDENT ID) BodyVox Artistic Directors Jamey Hampton and Ashley Roland opened up their stage to artists who have never choreographed a performance before.

CHALLENGING THE BOTH SIDES NARRATIVE CIDER RIOT 7 P.M. FREE

FRI APR 5

“CATLANDIA AND FLOWERTOPIA” ALBERTA STREET GALLERY TUE–SAT: NOON–7 P.M., SUN: NOON–6 P.M. FREE Based on the name, it’s safe to say this joint exhibit by Ancia Woo and Mandy Allen probably has to do with cats and flowers.

DOOMED & STONED PRESENTS: WIZZERD, GRIM EARTH, LÁGOON, STONER KENTON CLUB 9 P.M. $7, 21+ We’re all doomed, and most of us are stoned, but at least we’ve got some doom metal to soothe us.

CRAIG ROBINSON HELIUM COMEDY CLUB 7:30 P.M., 10 P.M., THROUGH APRIL 7 $33 Whether you remember him from The Office, Hot Tub Time Machine or wherever, you don’t want to miss his comedic genius.

COMMUNITY SQUARE DANCE PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE 11:30 A.M. FREE This will undoubtedly be one of the funniest things you’ll experience this month.

“PHOTOGRAPHS AND FILMS” AMPERSAND GALLERY & FINE BOOKS WED–SAT: NOON–6 P.M., SUN: 11 A.M.–4 P.M. FREE A mixture of print photographs and film clips by John Kayser that include a lot of butts.

WEEZER, PIXIES, BASEMENT MODA CENTER 7 P.M. $32–350 Let’s hope it’s mainly older stuff and not a grip of tracks from Weezer’s cover album.

‘TO FLY AGAIN’ IMAGO THEATRE 7:30 P.M. $15–30 Clowns, clay and a bit of Mad Max apocalyptic imagery.

ANIMAL AID POP-UP PUB LAGUNITAS COMMUNITY ROOM 5 P.M. $30–40, 21+

“WHEN IS A BOWL OF FRUIT JUST A BOWL OF FRUIT?” WHITE GALLERY MON–WED: NOON–5 P.M., THU & FRI: NOON– 6 P.M., THROUGH APRIL 12 FREE

WICCA PHASE SPRINGS ETERNAL, HORSE HEAD, MIRSY PARIS THEATER 6:30 P.M. $16 Talk about some goth aesthetic.

SUPERSTAR DIVAS MEGASHOW CC SLAUGHTERS 8 P.M. FREE One of the longest running drag variety shows in town keeps getting livelier and more fun.

EXILED TO NOWHERE: A SYMPOSIUM ON THE ROHINGYA CRISIS OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY NOON FREE

“AGOG” ORANJ STUDIO TUE–FRI: 10 A.M.–6 P.M., SAT: 9 A.M.–3 P.M. THROUGH JUNE 30 FREE Renée Zangara uses Oregon’s wetlands as inspiration for these large and colorful works.

FLYING FISH COVE, BED BITS, TOUGH BOY

‘KNIFE + HEART’ LIVING ROOM THEATERS VARIOUS TIMES $11 ($8 WITH STUDENT ID) Part of the Queer Film Festival, this ode to ‘70s murder mysteries involves a sick score by M83 and beautifully and stylishly shot scenes.

CHANGING COURSE: SHORT STORIES FROM DESIGNERS + CREATIVES HOLOCENE 6 P.M. $8, 21+ Entertaining and educating short stories from nine designers on their journeys, processes and experiences throughout their careers.

ART TUE APR 2 SAT APR 6 SUN APR 7

Hiromi Lee and Prithvi Chauhan’s duo exhibition juxtaposes styles and elements to challenge what is expected of artists of color.

MON APR 8

FIRKIN TAVERN 8 P.M. 21+ Jangly, lo-fi bedroom pop to warm your hearts.

COMMUNITY

An eye-opening and important dialogue on the role rape myths have played throughout the generations. Sensitive subject matter will be discussed.

Just in case you don’t know by now, this open lecture and discussion by Dr. Stanislav Vysotsky will go over the intricacies and differences between Trump-era fascist and anti-fascist movements.

Downing pizza, garlic knots and beer and winning prizes for the sake of animals? Yes, please! Proceeds go to the nonprofit Animal Aid.

From survivors to internationally known experts on the topic, this symposium is meant to give a better understanding of the Rohingya crisis in Burma.