PORTLAND STATE VANGUARD
VOLUME 73 • ISSUE 23 • APRIL 16, 2019
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PRICE INCREASE INTERNATIONAL BRUNEI IMPLEMENTS DEATH BY STONING FOR LGBTQ INDIVIDUALS • COVER VIKING PAVILION DOUBLES PRICE FOR STUDENT GROUPS • ARTS & CULTURE THE ART OF FOREIGN FILM KNOCKOFFS
CRIME BLOTTER
April 7–15
DYLAN JEFFERIES APRIL 7 Harassment
A student reported around 3 p.m. that a male approached her as she was crossing the street at SW 6th and Montgomery. As she continued to cross the street, the man threw a bottle at her which landed at her feet.
APRIL 8 Harassment
At 3:45 p.m., a student reported that she was hugged by an unknown male in the park blocks outside of Lincoln Hall.
Fire alarm
Portland State facilities activated the Branford Price Millar Library fire alarm during a routine test at 11:20 a.m. The Portland Fire Bureau responded.
APRIL 10 Vandalism
APRIL 11 Vandalism
At around 11:02 p.m., CPSO officers took a report of a vandalized, university-owned keyboard in the Broadway Residence Hall computer lab.
APRIL 13 Fire Alarm
CPSO and the Portland Fire Bureau responded to a fire alarm at 7:41 a.m. in Ondine Residence Hall. The alarm was triggered by burning food.
APRIL 15
At around 6:13 a.m., PSU facilities activated the fire alarm in the Millar Library during another routine test. The Portland Fire Bureau responded.
At around 1:18 a.m., CPSO responded to a report of a male breaking into the St. Helens Residence Hall. According to witnesses, the male did not enter the building and quickly fled the scene. Officers found a broken window on the north side of the building.
CONTENTS COVER BY JOHN ROJAS NEWS INTERNATIONAL HILL TO HALL P. 3 INDIAN ANTI-SATELLITE TEST FACES CRITICISM PRESIDENT EXPRESSES CONCERNS OVER SCIENCE BUILDING ONE P. 3 PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU RE-ELECTED
P. 10
ASPSU STUDENT FEE COMMITTEE DISCUSSES ATHLETICS, SMITH RENOVATION P. 4
BRUNEI IMPLEMENTS SHARIAH LAW
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ASPSU PRESIDENTIAL, VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES DEBATE TRANSPARENCY, CAMPUS ARMAMENT
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OPINION WE CANNOT GO TO MARS
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SENATE CANDIDATES DISCUSS STUDENT INVOLVEMENT, CAMPUS SAFETY
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BABY, YOU’RE A STAR
P. 13
INTERNATIONAL THIS WEEK AROUND THE WORLD
P. 6
ARTS & CULTURE AVEY TARE AND JABON BRING THE STRANGE
P. 14
U.S. REVOKES ICC MEMBERS’ VISAS
P. 7
‘LADY TERMINATOR’ AND THE LOST TRADITION OF THE RIP-OFF FILM
P. 15
COVER VIKING PAVILION FAILS TO PRIORITIZE STUDENT GROUPS
EVENTS CALENDAR
P. 16
P. 8–9
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
COPY CHIEF Hannah Welbourn COPY EDITOR A.M. LaVey Ryan O’ Connell CONTRIBUTORS Sabrina Achar-Winkels Chloe Dysart Andrew Gaines Dylan Jefferies Emily Price Marena Riggan Kevin Shank McKinzie Smith
OPINION EDITOR Taylar Rivers
PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A PHOTO EDITOR Bo Koering
ONLINE EDITOR Sangi Lama
MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Huilyn Loo
PRODUC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR John Rojas LEAD DESIGNER Zak Stone DESIGNERS Danielle Emeka Dana Townsend DIS T RIBU TION & M A R K E TING DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING MANAGER Dylan Jefferies 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
APRIL 8–13
PRESIDENT EXPRESSES CONCERNS OVER SCIENCE BUILDING ONE
CHLOE DYSART
APRIL 8: OREGON SENATE REJECTS BILL TO LOWER OREGON’S DRUNK DRIVING LIMIT
A bill that would have lowered Oregon’s drunk driving limit from .08% to .05% died in session. Senate Bill 7 was proposed by Sen. President Peter Courtney, D–Ore., at the beginning of the 2019 legislative session in January of 2019. The only state to have successfully passed a law lowering the blood alcohol content limit is Utah in 2017, though Michigan is currently attempting to pass a similar law. The bill received support from Oregon Gov. Kate Brown but was opposed by the alcohol lobby. Courtney plans to keep pushing for the bill’s success in further sessions.
APRIL 9: OREGON CONSIDERS SWITCHING TO POPULAR VOTE MODEL
The Oregon Senate determined Oregon will join the National Vote Interstate Compact in a 17-12 vote. The compact is a way for Oregon to bypass the electoral college in the future by pledging to give all seven electoral votes to whichever candidate wins the popular vote. If passed, Oregon would be the 16th state to join the movement. The compact would go into effect after 280 votes—the threshold to win the presidential election.
APRIL 10: PORTLAND EDUCATORS LOBBY FOR EDUCATION FUNDING
An estimated 700–1,000 Portland teachers filled Pioneer Courthouse Square on April 10 to lobby for more funding for schools. The event was hosted by Schools Oregon Students Deserve, a collection of Portland teacher’s unions. The rally is in response to a new tax proposal that would add $2 billion for Oregon schools. Schools Oregon Students Deserve aims to increase this funding while also pushing for more funding for special education and higher education—which is not included in the tax proposal.
APRIL 12: PORTLAND MAYOR TED WHEELER RESPONDS TO PRESIDENT TRUMP’S THREATS
President Trump stated in a tweet he has considered transporting undocumented immigrants to sanctuary cities as a retaliation against Democrats’ unwillingness to support stricter immigration measures such as the border wall. Last November, Oregonians voted against a measure that would reverse the sanctuary laws in Portland. Mayor Ted Wheeler has since responded to these threats, stating that he denounces the idea and called it an “unconscionable consideration.”
DANA TOWNSEND ANAMIKA VAUGHAN Gov. Kate Brown’s recommended budget for public universities for the upcoming biennium—financial years 19–20 and 20–21—included a delay of all capital projects until 2020, which could affect how the university plans to renovate some of its older buildings. Projects currently underway, such as the renovation of 724 Harrison Street, formerly known as Neuberger Hall, are not affected by this capital investment freeze. However, projects which were slated for upcoming financial years are said to be in jeopardy. “Governor Brown recommended delaying funding until 2020, but the legislature has not weighed in on their plan,” said Associate Vice President of Government Relations Kevin Neely. “We are assuming there will be some infrastructure investment in 2019 until we hear otherwise. However, de-
cisions on capital are not usually made until May or June.” In a January Board of Trustees meeting, PSU President Rahmat Shoureshi singled out Science Building One as being in need of repairs, saying the building “has all kinds of issues. [If ] you look at how many students go through that building every hour, that’s a concern because safety is a key issue for students, faculty and staff.” Shoureshi later clarified that his concerns were of seismic activity in a February student media press conference. “[What we’re] really concerned about is if, God forbid, the big earthquake that everybody’s talking about happens,” Shoureshi said. “If that happens, there’s a concern, yes. But right now, there’s not.” Dan Zalkow, associate vice president for planning, construction and real estate, said that after an earth-
quake, the school would assess all buildings on campus to make sure they are still safe to use, or to what extent they would need repairs. “Because earthquakes vary greatly, it is impossible to determine the exact type and amount of damage to buildings an earthquake would cause,” Zalkow said. “We therefore don’t have a list of what would happen to each building. Every time we renovate a building, we take actions that make the building more likely to be able to be used after an earthquake.” Zalkow also clarified that buildings considered unlikely to survive an earthquake are generally in danger of being unusable immediately after the event. “Since there are so many valuable classrooms and labs in SB1, we want to renovate it in a way that will help ensure the building can be used immediately after a major earthquake if one were to occur,” Zalkow said.
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NEWS
SFC CANDIDATES: SIRRA ANDERSON, SAMSON R. SWAN, FOUAD MOHIADEEN, JOSE ROJAS-FALLAS, GABRIEL HAGEMANN DURING THEIR DEBATE ON APRIL 9. ANAMIKA VAUGHAN/PSU VANGUARD
SENATE CANDIDATES DISCUSS STUDENT INVOLVEMENT, CAMPUS SAFETY SOPHIE CONCANNON Next year’s batch of Associated Students of Portland State University senators met to discuss campus disarmament and student body involvement with ASPSU, April 10 in Parkway North. All candidates will be elected to the ASPSU senate whether or not they attended the debate, as there are not enough candidates to fill all available senatorial positions. On disarming campus public safety officers, the majority of candidates at the debate were in favor of keeping the officers armed. The only senators for disarmament were Peter Wedlake, Aydia Johnson and Grace Hagemann. Several senators added that their own personal opinions would be secondary to the consensus of the student body. “That’s not my decision, ultimately,” candidate Nathan Mapes said. “If the vast majority of students want it, I am obligated to push the student body’s agenda.” On Jason Washington’s death last year, Mapes said “the tragedy last year could have been avoided with de-escalation training. I don’t think that is something that is likely to occur again.” Current ASPSU member Sophie Balthazaar said de-escalation training would help CPSO avoid similar situations. “[There should be] more stringent probation when issues like [Washington’s death] happen,” said candidate Nicholas LaHusen. “There needs to be an open dialogue between CPSO, the administration and the student body.”
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During the debate, both Mapes and senate candidate Wyatt Isaacs supported the idea of more safety training and student interaction with CPSO. “CPSO are normal human beings—they all make mistakes, but I feel like they’re going to uphold the law,” Isaacs said. “If you have no reason to fight with them, they’re usually nice people. I believe if we just get to know them, maybe [students will] feel more safe.” All of the senators present at the debate said they believe CPSO needs de-escalation techniques and should participate in ongoing training. “The students don’t have anything to be afraid of,” Mapes said. “But, again, ultimately, [disarmament is] not my choice.” The other major issue discussed in the senate debates was student involvement in ASPSU. Wedlake suggested having a forum held by ASPSU senators once a term for students to bring their concerns to their representatives. “ASPSU has an obligation to be transparent,” Wedlake said. “Senators get paid to do this job. Any elected government body is meant to act in a neutral way and listen to the constitution. I want to give the voice and the power back to the people.” Balthazaar said ASPSU should be focused on physically reaching out to students in classes, on campus and in clubs to ask for their opinions on school matters.
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ASPSU STUDENT FEE COMMITTEE DISCUSSES ATHLETICS, SMITH RENOVATION CHLOE DYSART
Five of seven total candidates for the Student Fee Committee gathered on April 9 in Parkway North to discuss issues surrounding the prospective allocation of student fee money for 2019. The five SFC candidates present at the debate included Fouad Mohiadeen, Gabriel Hagemann, Jose Rojas-Fallas, Sirra Anderson and Samson Swan. Devon Wanderon and current ASPSU Operations Director Hakan Kutgun were not present at the debate. All candidates running for the SFC for 2019 will be elected to the committee. Along with a team of advisors, the SFC is responsible for dispersing money from student fees to various groups on campus, including funding for student resource centers and athletics. In 2018, they were responsible for allocating $17 million in student fee money. The largest chunk of the SFC budget—at 22.7%—is put toward athletics. The SFC budget allocated approximately $3.67 million toward PSU athletics in 2018. However, attendance for athletic games during the 2016–17 school year was 3,068 students out of the total student body of 29,000 students. When the candidates were asked if the money allocated to athletics was justifiable, Hagemann said the SFC’s ability to change the athletics budget is limited by the administration, but SFC’s distribution needs to be revisited. “I don’t think PSU is the standard university, and [the administration] is approaching it like it’s a standard university as far as athletics,” Hagemann said.
Anderson said the attendance numbers for this school year should be analyzed before making any changes. “The athletics department has really upped their game [this year], and they’ve been really trying to make it more appealing for students to come out and go to the games, which I think would build a lot of cohesiveness within our university,” Anderson said. “I do think that sports are a great way to unify a school.” The renovation of Smith Memorial Student Union was also discussed at the debate. SMSU houses the PSU resource centers, as well as several student groups including ASPSU and the PSU Student Union. The current proposed renovation of Smith would cost an additional $78 per term for at least the next 20 years. Student incidental fees are already estimated to increase by $23 in upcoming quarters. Current SFC member Rojas-Fallas expressed his approval for at least covering the deferred maintenance costs of SMSU. The candidates were also asked if they planned to adopt a “money-saving” or “money-spending” mindset when it comes to allocating student fee money. Rojas-Fallas answered that while he is a proponent of being able to maintain the current budget with no cuts, he also supports student groups and departments that want to start a new fee-funded area. “It’s what students would want,” RojasFallas said. “If they come to us, it means there’s a need.”
NEWS
ASPSU PRESIDENTIAL, VICE-PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES DEBATE TRANSPARENCY, CAMPUS ARMAMENT
DANA TOWNSEND NADA SEWIDAN Associated Students of Portland State University candidates for president and vice president met on April 8 in Parkway North for a debate focusing on topics of community engagement, administrator-student transparency and campus safety, as well as other issues facing students. Presidential candidate Violet Gibson and vice-presidential candidate Neyali Aranjo-Robles under new possibilities true leadership slate are running against presidential candidate Kyle Leslie-Christy and vice-presidential candidate Motutama Sipelii under the creating cohesive community slate.
STUDENT ENGAGEMENT Both ASPSU presidential candidates expressed how student engagement is a priority. “I believe that everyone, given the right opportunity, can and will be engaged,” Leslie-Christy said. “Building community at PSU is a foundational tool that we can use to tackle the issues that face us, like tuition reduction, housing insecurity, food insecurity, getting a living wage for students who work on campus and having better agency in our education.” The main goal of the new possibilities true leadership slate, according to Gibson, is to give students a voice on campus, which provides a basis for improving the student body and overall campus community. “Throughout the whole entire year we want to make sure we’re being a true liaison to the students,” Gibson said.
CAMPUS SAFETY AND ARMAMENT Leslie-Christy and Gibson also discussed police armament and campus safety concerns, with both presidential candidates acknowledging the complexity of the situa-
tion. Leslie-Christy added that campus officers should be trained in confirmation bias and conflict resolution prior to being armed. “With adequate education and facilitation of community building and community involvement by a security officer, they become less like security officers and more like community members,” Leslie-Christy said. However, Leslie-Christy also said that for the most part, campus security should not be armed and that he doesn’t believe “individuals should ever hold that power within themselves.” Gibson on the other hand is in support of police armament, citing a Margolis Healy report poll that 52% of the student body felt safer with armed campus police. “I went around and I asked a few students to try to do my own poll, and I found out the majority of those students did prefer to have campus security be armed,” Gibson said. “Also, I had some personal conversations with CPSO…and what I’ve gotten from those conversations is that the main reason [CPSO] needs to have weapons is because Portland Police [is] already understaffed.”
Gibson also agrees there has been a challenging relationship between ASPSU and the administration in past years, but not out of malicious intent. “We can increase transparency in the future by ensuring that we have a positive relationship with the administration and have those hard conversations,” Gibson said. “I think it’s a matter of us honestly rekindling that relationship and ensuring that students know what they’re paying for and what the administration’s true intentions are.” When discussing what questions need to be asked of the administration, Aranjo-Robles responded with: “What is our money going toward?” Sipelii also said that he plans to ask the administration their plans on fixing current issues facing the campus and student body, such as high tuition. “ASPSU, with the support of the student body, we can take our stand toward the administration and we can make a difference,” he said.
ADMINISTRATOR-STUDENT TRANSPARENCY
When asked about issues facing PSU students, Aranjo-Robles cited tuition increases, campus safety and food insecurity as pressing concerns. Aranjo-Robles noted the link between rising tuition costs and food insecurity and said she hopes to work more with the food pantry and help the community get more involved through volunteerships. Sipelii agreed and added “[students] not being a part of a community” as another concern. “I feel the best way to go about [addressing these issues] is to build community where we’re able to talk to each other and don’t judge each other,” Sipelii said.
Regarding transparency between administrators and students, Leslie-Christy talked about the importance of advocating for the student body and being as open as possible on issues concerning campus. He said that although administrators sometimes don’t want the student body to know certain issues in order to prevent “us from getting riled up,” he plans to communicate more with administrators. “It’s important that we have someone who’s willing to ask the tough questions of the administration and then with those tough questions, get tough answers and then deliver those tough answers back to the student body and be as transparent as we possibly can be,” Leslie-Christy said.
CONCERNS FACING STUDENTS
Vanguard news team moderated this debate.
PSU Vanguard • APRIL 16, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
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INTERNATIONAL
THIS WEEK
around the
WORLD April 7–14
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April 7–13
LIBYA
Clashes between the two governments in Libya continued for the second week as the UN prepared a counteroffensive dubbed “Volcano of Anger” on April 7 in response to the opposition forces of General Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army. Deutsche Welle reported on April 8 an LNA airstrike against the civilian airport in Tripoli, while some 50 people were killed in clashes between loyalists to the internationally recognized Government of National Accord and pro-LNA forces. Additionally, the World Health Organization announced on April 12 another 121 people had been killed in clashes between the rival governments while another 561 were wounded. 2
April 8
UNITED STATES; IRAN
Following rumors that the U.S. would designate the Revolutionary Guards Corps of Iran—an elite branch of Iran’s Armed Forces—as a Foreign Terrorist Organization, the decision was verified on April 8 when President Donald Trump made the formal announcement, stating: “This unprecedented step, led by the Department of State, recognizes the reality that Iran is not only a State Sponsor of Terrorism, but that the IRGC actively participates in, finances and promotes terrorism
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as a tool of statecraft.” The decision marks the first time the U.S. has designated another country’s military as an FTO. In response to the decision, Iran’s Supreme National Council likewise declared the U.S. Central Command as a terrorist organization and the U.S. a sponsor of terrorism, stating, “This unwise and illegal measure is a major threat to regional and international stability and peace,” as reported by Middle East Eye.
April 8–14 3
SUDAN
Following four months of protests which began in December due to increased bread prices, Sudan’s President Omar al-Bashir was ousted by the military on April 11. Protesters had been calling for his resignation since April 6 in the most recent series of demonstrations. Deutsche Welle reported on April 8 security forces firing tear gas and rubber bullets at demonstrators situated outside the Khartoum army headquarters. They were met by military soldiers protecting demonstrators. Following the coup, Bashir was placed under house arrest, and on April 13, 10 delegates of the Alliance for Freedom and Change presented the military with a list of demands, including that of a civilian government. Al Jazeera reports thousands are still camped outside army headquarters to ensure oversight of the military in the wake of the coup. On April
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14, the military council appointed Lieutenant General Abu Bakr Mustafa as the new director of the National Intelligence Security Service, France 24 reports. 4
April 10
GALAXY MESSIER 87
The very first photo of a black hole was presented at six simultaneous conferences around the world—in D.C., Taiwan, Japan, China and Chile—in a historic moment for astrophysics. As reported by Deutsche Welle, researchers from the international project Event Horizon Telescope used eight radio telescopes positioned in various places around the world including the U.S., Spain, Mexico, Chile and Antarctica to capture the photo. The black hole in question is estimated to be 6.6 billion times the size of the sun and is located in the galaxy M87, some 55 million light years from earth. 5
April 11
INDIA
Elections began in the world’s most populous democracy as current Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeks a second term in office. Al Jazeera reported 900 million people are eligible to vote this year—including 15 million first-time voters—over the next six
weeks. More than 500 seats are contested with around 270 seats needed to form a majority government. While Modi is the representative for the Bharatiya Janata Party, Rahul Gandhi of the Indian National Congress is his main contender. Voting will continue for six more days until May 23 when the results are counted and declared. 6
April 11
UNITED KINGDOM
Julian Assange—founder of the website WikiLeaks, which publishes various leaked information including classified documents—was arrested from inside the Ecuadorian embassy in London. Assange had been living inside the embassy since 2012 under protection by the government of Ecuador after Sweden issued a warrant for his arrest, Axios reports. However, as reported by The Intercept, under the new government of President Lenín Moreno who took office in 2017, Assange’s continued asylum has been uncertain. Officially, Assange was arrested for breach of bail and an extradition warrant issued by the U.S. under Section 73 of the Extradition Act. He appeared before a judge that day pleading not guilty to the charges. His next court appearance is scheduled for May 2.
U.S. REVOKES ICC MEMBERS’ VISAS
INTERNATIONAL
ICC MEMBERS’ VISAS BLOCKED AFTER REQUEST TO INVESTIGATE U.S. IN AFGHANISTAN
SABRINA ACHCAR-WINKELS United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced on March 15 the U.S. is now revoking and denying visas to members of the International Criminal Court seeking to investigate and prosecute alleged war crimes committed in Afghanistan. ICC Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda first requested to investigate potential war crimes committed by U.S. personnel in November 2018. The request was specifically focused on crimes in Afghanistan committed by U.S. military or private security companies. The Palestinian government has also requested the court investigate and potentially prosecute crimes in Israel. Bensouda’s request is to investigate information that U.S. personnel “committed acts of torture, cruel treatment, outrages upon personal dignity, rape and sexual violence against conflict-related detainees in Afghanistan and other locations, principally in the 2003–2004 period.” He submitted the request to the ICC in November 2018. This is not the first time the U.S. has dealt with ICC regarding this issue. In September 2018, National Security Advisor John Bolton claimed the court is a direct threat to U.S. national security interests. Bolton said the U.S. will fight back if the ICC pursues the investigation. He also threatened to prosecute ICC members as well as impose economic sanctions on member countries. “If the court comes after us, Israel or other U.S. allies we will not sit quietly,” Bolton said. At a press conference on March 15, Pompeo said any unlawful act committed by American personnel would be investigated and prosecuted by U.S. military and criminal courts. “I’m announcing a policy of U.S. visa restriction on those individuals directly responsible for any ICC investigation of U.S. personnel,” Pompeo said at the press conference. “This includes persons who take or have taken action to request or further such an investigation. These visa restrictions may also be used to deter ICC efforts to pursue allied personnel, including Israelis, without allies’ consent.” “If you’re responsible for the proposed ICC investigation of U.S. personnel in connection with the situation in Afghanistan, you should not assume that you will still have or will get a visa or that you will be permitted to enter the U.S.,” Pompeo continued. Pompeo went on to claim visas are already being revoked and blocked but cited visa privacy laws when he refused to disclose how many or whose visas were included. Supporters of the ICC criticized Pompeo’s statement, arguing the court should continue to pursue the investigation. “The U.S. decision to put visa bans on ICC staff is an outrageous effort to bully the court and deter scrutiny of U.S. conduct,” Richard Dicker, international justice director at Human Rights Watch said. “ICC member countries should publicly make clear they will remain undaunted in their support for the ICC and will not tolerate U.S. obstruction.” The ICC was created to investigate and prosecute war crimes, crimes against humanity and genocide. It is only active in countries that have agreed to be a part of the court and
U.S. SOLDIERS PATROLLING A VILLAGE IN AFGHANISTAN, 2009. COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS have signed the Rome Statute. The Rome Statute is the document that created the ICC in 2002. The U.S. is not one of the 123 members of the ICC—the Senate never ratified the country’s ICC membership despite having signed the Rome Statute in 2002. The ICC issued a written statement soon after Pompeo’s press conference stating they would continue to pursue the investigation into the U.S., Afghanistan and Israel. “The court is an independent and impartial judicial institution crucial for ensuring accountability for the gravest of crimes under international law,” the statement said. “The ICC,
as a court of law, will continue to do its independent work, undeterred, in accordance with its mandate and the overarching principle of the rule of law.” At his press conference, Pompeo promised the U.S. will continue to oppose the ICC’s investigations. “The U.S. will implement these measures consistent with applicable law, including our obligations under the United National Headquarters Agreement,” Pompeo said. “These visa restrictions will not be the end of our efforts. We are prepared to take additional steps, including economic sanctions if the ICC does not change its course.”
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COVER
VIKING PAVILION FAILS TO PRIORITIZE STUDENT GRO SOPHIE CONCANNON Despite the Student Fee Committee authorizing $1.5 million in student fees toward the creation of the Viking Pavilion in 2017–18, the price to use the space for events for student groups has doubled in 2019. According to invoices provided by United Indigenous Students for Higher Education Coordinator Matthew Morsman, the price to hold the 47th Annual Naimuma Pow Wow in May 2018 in the Viking Pavilion was $3,500. To hold the same event in 2019, the administration is charging a flat rate of $3,500 for renting the space in the
Viking Pavilion, plus an extra $3,734 for various fees. The total cost to host the 48th Naimuma Pow Wow in 2019 is $7,234. “This extra cost is one-third of our budget for the year and makes it difficult to access the space and cuts into the budget for community engagement,” Morsman said. UISHE requested the administration waive the $3,500 rental fee in February 2019 in a letter addressed to PSU President Rahmat Shoureshi. The letter stated: “The Pow Wow is an example of PSU’s
historical commitment to student success. It is specifically the existence of these special gathering spaces that helps increase student recruitment and retention.” The letter also stated UISHE understands the labor and other expenses associated with hosting events at the Pavilion, and they are willing to pay those costs. ‘’Charging our group the rental fees…creates an undue burden for us to bear,” stated the letter. “The campus will be a better place if we are allowed to spend our money in more social justice-oriented and ethnically supportive measures.”
POW WOW IN THE VIKING PAVILION, MAY 2018. COURTESY OF UISHE
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COVER
TO ROUPS PARTICIPANTS FORM A LINE DURING THE MAY 2018 POW WOW IN THE VIKING PAVILION. COURTESY OF UISHE
STUDENT GROUP CONCERNS UISHE is one of two student groups struggling with increased costs for renting out the Pavilion. The Pacific Islanders Club— the only other club able to host an event in the Viking Pavilion—has seen a price increase of over $1,500 from 2018–19. Mia Nako, president of the PIC, wrote a similar letter to the administration and Shoureshi about the PIC’s growing concern for rising costs. Nako said the PIC has yet to hear a response. In the letter, the PIC addressed the rising costs as infringing on the quality of their event. “We do not feel supported by the PSU administration when we must sacrifice the quality of our event to pay for arena space that was built for students,” the PIC wrote. The PIC also asks in the letter for the $3,500 fee to be waived for their annual Lu’au. “Through our events, [the PIC] focuses on building connections between students, PSU and the greater Portland community, and while educating them about the history, culture and identity of Pacific Islanders club,” the letter continues. The PIC said—as a group representing indigenous peoples— they are united in solidarity with UISHE, and they hope their actions give the administration the “opportunity to consider student organizations when thinking about how student fee dollars are used for campus amenities in the future.”
UNIVERSITY RESPONSE Morsman confirmed the university has denied the request to lower the cost for the 2019 Annual Naimuma Pow Wow. “We’re still trying to put the needle on this...what our rates will be in the long term, our budget balance, how [to] support all the multicultural activities we want to support on campus and provide the right-sized space for them, and I think we’re on the right path,” Accetta said. For the Naimuma Pow Wow, the extra fees—a $3,734 charge on top of the $3,500 flat rental fee—include a housekeeping fee, a fee for the Coast to Coast security group, an on-site event
manager, event staff, a fire permit, gaffer tape and extra “gaff staff” members. The gaffer tape, priced at $18 a roll for 33 rolls, is to secure the carpet squares used to protect the gym flooring in the Viking Pavilion. The gaff staff is the official name on the invoice for a team of student employees responsible for taping the carpet. During last year’s Pow Wow, tribal elders described the squares as a safety concern, as traditional dancing might cause slippage. “[UISHE] was asked what it would take to [make it] the way they wanted it to be done,” Accetta said. “That’s what it takes. They’re asking us to pay students to tape the entire floor, and that’s what it costs...carpet squares are the best way to take care of [the floor] in the long-term to meet the needs of the majority of clients.” The conference and events team has also said they have had “pretty clear communication” with both student groups hosting events in the Viking Pavilion in 2019. The Viking Pavilion team met with UISHE three times before the Pow Wow in 2018. In 2019, both UISHE and the conference and events team are attempting to meet eight times. “I think the Pow Wow is an important part of our tradition at PSU,” Accetta said. “I think these are reasonable costs and reasonable expectations that we try to attribute consistently.” On forgiving the costs UISHE and PIC requested, Accetta said, “It’s in the overall context of the university struggling with trying to keep costs down. If the president forgives this here, he has to forgive something else someplace else. That’s his choice.” Shoureshi has not responded to UISHE or PIC as of April 2019.
VIKING PAVILION HISTORY The Viking Pavilion opened on April 4, 2018, and was built by Fortis Construction Inc. The building was funded primarily from state bonds, a $7.5 million sponsorship from OHSU and $1.5 million in student fees allocated by the SFC.
Former PSU President Wim Weiwel said, “The Pavilion will add collaborative study space, create a new destination center on campus and provide OHSU and PSU with muchneeded event space.” Shoureshi said at the grand opening of the Viking Pavilion the building would be a “great center for athletics and a cultural center.” Director of Student Organization Advising Brian Janssen said the Pacific Islanders Club and UISHE are currently the only student groups utilizing the space. “This is in part because they hold the largest student group events but also because of the cost-restrictive nature of renting the space,” Janssen said. On the Pavilion’s purpose, Assistant Vice President for Campus Recreation and Student Union Services Alex Accetta said “the first thing it’s intended for is Viking Athletics. When the building [was created], the idea was that it would also be an event center to help pay for the costs necessary to run it.” The first event held after the grand opening of the Pavilion occurred April 5, 2018 and was TechFestNW, hosted by an outside company. The company previously hosted their festival at the Portland Art Museum. In 2019, the university paid an estimated $10,000 to bring WiFi to TechFestNW. The budget released earlier in 2019 indicated the university is $18 million in debt. Accetta said the school has a three-year agreement with TechFestNW to host their event in the Viking Pavilion. “TechFest agreed to come here before the building was completed. We did work with them to help get WiFi in the building so we could work with the School of Business and meet the needs of the client,” he said. “It was actually a longterm cost savings.” When asked what TechFestNW does for the school, Accetta said, “They’re a client. They built a really strong relationship with the School of Business [in 2018]. It brings tons of technology companies to our campus, to see our campus and see what Portland State is about, and those businesses are the ones that are going to hire our students.”
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INTERNATIONAL
INDIAN ANTISATELLITE TEST FACES CRITICISM
PRIME MINISTER NETANYAHU RE-ELECTED
NASA CLAIMS TEST COULD ENDANGER ASTRONAUTS, INTERNATIONAL SPACE STATION
DIFFERENT ROCKETS DESIGNED AND BUILT BY THE INDIAN SPACE RESEARCH PROGRAM. COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS KEVIN SHANK The Indian Space Research Organization destroyed one of its own satellites 300 kilometers above Earth’s surface after launching a ground-based missile on March 27. The test, known as Mission Shakti, added at least 60 pieces of orbital debris to Earth’s upper atmosphere in the process. This number only includes trackable debris and does not take into account any smaller pieces that still pose a threat to other orbiting objects, either manned or unmanned. “The test was done in the lower atmosphere to ensure that there is no space debris,” stated the Indian Ministry of External Affairs after the successful attempt. “Whatever debris that is generated will decay and fall back onto the earth within weeks.” According to research by Analytical Graphics Inc, some debris fragments have been located nearly eight times higher than India’s original estimates. At least one fragment was discovered at 2,222 kilometers. “That is a terrible, terrible thing to create an event that sends debris into an apogee that goes above the International Space Station,” said NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine, criticizing the ISRO at the NASA town hall meeting on April 1. “That kind of activity is not compatible with the future of human spaceflight that we need to see happen.”
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BALLOTS FOR THE ISRAEL LEGISLATIVE ELECTION, 2019. COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS The ISRO’s anti-satellite test was performed beneath the ISS, allowing debris to potentially enter into the same orbit as the ISS, which sits in Low Earth Orbit about 220 miles above Earth’s surface. Debris in orbit travels around the earth at approximately 10 times the speed of the average bullet leaving a gun. The United States Air Force is responsible for tracking nearly 16,000 objects in orbit, including “spent rocket bodies, dead satellites, debris and other junk that could become a threat,” according to Forbes. The ability to destroy satellites is considered an advanced capability. During wartime, satellites provide important intelligence and communication to individual countries. India is not the first country to attempt and successfully complete an anti-satellite test. According to Reuters, the U.S. was the first in the world to demonstrate their technological capacity to destroy an orbiting satellite in 1959. After the second test in 1985, no country in the world attempted any anti-satellite tests for more than 20 years. In 2007, China successfully destroyed a weather satellite and created the largest orbital debris cloud in history, which was considered the most destructive. It was performed at a higher altitude than India’s most recent test and the U.S. attempts in 1959 and 1985.
PSU Vanguard • APRIL 16, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
EMILY PRICE AND MARENA RIGGAN Despite a close race in Israel’s April 9 snap elections, Benjamin Netanyahu won his fifth consecutive term, making him the longest serving prime minister in Israeli history. Various exit polls, reported through Haaretz’ live coverage, originally showed Netanyahu either tied or slightly behind Benny Gantz of the Kahol Lavan party. As the ballots were counted through the night, the two parties remained tied at 35 seats, even after 94% of the votes were calculated. According to The Times of Israel, out of 96% of the votes calculated, 26.47% were for the Likud, and 26.11% for the Kahol Lavan. Though they both declared themselves winners of the election on the previous day, Gantz conceded to Netanyahu following the final count. The snap elections were in part due to allegations of corruption against Netanyahu and his family, for which Attorney General Avichai Mandelblit chose to indict him in March 2019. Additionally, with the political falling out between Netanyahu and Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman, the prime minister was left with a slight majority in the Knesset. Netanyahu subsequently dissolved the Knesset altogether while calling for early elections.
Just before the election, President Donald Trump made the decision to recognize the Golan Heights as Israeli territory on March 26 during Netanyahu’s visit to D.C. Additionally, Netanyahu released a statement on April 7, saying he would move to annex the West Bank if reelected, according to The New York Times. Voter turnout dropped 4% this year to 67.9%. However, for Arab populations, turnout was historically low, with a 50% turnout as opposed to 63% in 2015, Al-Monitor reports. This was partly due to a call to boycott the elections as a result of the past year’s events, including the Nation-State Bill. Out of 120 available seats, Netanyahu’s Likud party now holds 36 of them in the Knesset, up from 30 in the previous election, while Kahol Lavan finished with 35. Haaretz reported the ultra-Orthodox Shas and United Torah Judaism parties each finished with eight seats, while Israeli Arab party Hadash Ta’al and Israel’s original Labor party each received five. The Likud party formed alliances with four other parties—the UTJ, centrist Kulanu and the right-wing Ihud Mifleget Hayamin and Yisrael Beiteinu parties. This gives the right-wing bloc a 65-55 majority which places Netanyahu head of the next coalition government.
INTERNATIONAL
BRUNEI IMPLEMENTS SHARIAH LAW NEW PENAL CODE TO PUNISH SAME-SEX SEXUAL ACTS WITH STONING MADISON CECIL The Southeast Asian kingdom of Brunei began imposing stoning as a punishment for gay sex and adultery on April 3. According to The New York Times, the new Shariah penal code makes extramarital sex, anal sex and abortion illegal and punishable by death by stoning. The code dictates lesbian sex will be punished with 40 lashes, while other crimes could be punished with the amputation of hands or feet. Previous to the new penal code, homosexuality was to be punished with a maximum of 10 years in prison and fines. The new penal code will also apply to children who have reached puberty. If adolescents engage in any of the crimes stated above, they will be punished as adults and receive the same treatment. Brunei’s Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah has been in power since 1967. In addition to being Sultan, Bolkiah is also Brunei’s prime minister and holds several other titles. Bolkiah first announced Brunei would be implementing a severe version of Shariah Law in 2013. Shariah Law is a legal system heavily relying on the physical punishment of crimes. This legal system is only applicable to Muslims, who make up approximately two-thirds of Brunei’s population, according to the United States Department of State. The 2013 announcement was met with several protests at the Beverly Hills Hotel and The Bel-Air in Los Angeles. These hotels are two of the nine owned by the Sultan of Brunei and his family. The protests led to a significant delay in the implementation of the laws, but Brunei officially began practicing Shariah Law on April 3. A press statement from the Prime Minister’s Office defends the new penal code, stating, “Brunei Darussalam is a sovereign Islamic and fully independent country and, like all other independent countries, enforces its own rule of law.” It also states the new Shariah penal code will run in unison with the Common Law ruling over the non-Muslim population. Shariah and Common Law will “continue to run in parallel to maintain peace and order and preserve religion, life, family and individuals regardless of gender, nationality, race and faith.” The new penal code has led many human rights organizations to speak out against Brunei. “As well as imposing cruel, inhuman and degrading punishments, it blatantly restricts the right to freedom of expression, religion and belief,” Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Brunei researcher at Amnesty International, told The Guardian. “To legalize such cruel and inhuman penalties is appalling of itself.” Several celebrities also spoke out against Brunei’s new law. These celebrities, including Ellen DeGeneres and Elton John, have announced they will boycott the nine hotels owned by the Sultan and his family across the world. “Every single time we stay at or take meetings at or dine at any of these nine hotels, we are putting money directly into the pockets of men who choose to stone and whip to death their own citizens for being gay or accused of adultery,” American
BRUNEI DARUSSALAM SULTAN HAJI HASSANAL BOLKIAH MU’IZZADDIN WADDAULAH AND PRESIDENT RODRIGO ROA DUTERTE WALKING AT THE ISTANA NURUL IMAN, 2016. COURTESY OF WIKIMEDIA COMMONS actor George Clooney wrote in a guest column in Deadline Hollywood. “But are we really going to help pay for these human rights violations? Are we really going to help fund the murder of innocent civilians?” “Living in Brunei, we already knew that our sexual identity is taboo and should not be expressed,” a 23-year-old member of Brunei’s LGBTQ community—referred to as only Kun as he feared backlash from authorities—told The Washington Post. “We already feel belittled before the law came to place.” “Now with it, we feel even smaller, and the ones who could potentially oppress us have the opportunity to harass us to say and do what they want,” Kun continued.
The Washington Post also spoke to several tourists who said they would not have stayed at their hotel had they known what was going on in Brunei. Philippe Menager, a regular customer at the Le Meurice hotel in Paris said he would no longer frequent the spa there. He had been going to the hotel spa for 15 years. Menager told The Washington Post, “I can’t continue to be a frequent visitor of the hotels of this savage to preserve the jobs of the people who work at Le Muerice—who are very nice, and I like them.” The Brunei kingdom has yet to make any changes to their policies despite international outcry and hotel boycotts.
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OPINION
WE CANNOT GO TO MARS
SAVING EARTH SHOULD HAVE PRIORITY OVER FLEEING TO SPACE
TAYLAR RIVERS A trip to Mars is no longer a pipe dream but an impending reality. Technology is advancing, and our curiosity is growing. Though the journey is within reach considering the history of man and land that is not theirs, we should really sit this one out. Elon Musk, head of SpaceX—the program that is focused on Mars exploration—has been known to reiterate the importance of setting up a colony on Mars in case something bad were to happen to Earth, like a doomsday asteroid or a far more likely human-induced apocalypse. Mars is a cold, barren planet on which no living thing is known to have evolved and harbors no breathable air or oxygen, no liquid water and no sources of food, nor conditions favorable for producing any. According to data collected by NASA, the planet’s average surface temperature is minus 81 degrees Fahrenheit. For these and other reasons it would be accurate to call Mars a hell for living things. This motivation of colonizing Mars for preparation of some catastrophic event is dumbfounded. If we make no worthy attempt at stopping our royal screw-up on Earth and Mars becomes the only place in the Solar System to live, humanity should probably just go extinct. There’s also no reason to think that the same people who destroyed Earth wouldn’t do the same to Mars, whether it be through environmental destruction or warfare or some other short-sighted venture. Additionally, relocating to Earth would not be a widespread movement. According to SpaceX’s performance chart, each of their missions to Mars would cost hundreds of billions of dollars. When travel becomes accessible to the public, it will come with a fee. The wealth gap and class division in our world is
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detrimental enough. Introducing this “savior” of a planet brings no positives except maybe subduing the curiosity of a few. Not only are there moral obligations to interplanetary space travel, there are also health risks that pose a great threat to the individual. Astronauts who will train for the long journey to Mars will face conditions and stress that we as humans have yet to face. That amount of money and continuous effort that are put into SpaceX could easily be allocated to organizations or institutions that aim to alleviate our issues here on Earth. Musk is often seeking new ventures to get involved within the midst of Tesla and SpaceX, and after an unsuccessful helping hand toward Thailand and the trapped boys, he began eyeing Flint, Michigan. Flint has had contaminated water that is undrinkable since 2014. The city needs new infrastructure within its water system. Musk visited the city and tweeted a promise to fund new water filters and pipes for the city, but as of today he has had no contact with the mayor of the city, according to Candice Mushatt, Flint’s public information officer in an email to Bloomberg. Musk is blatantly uninterested in actually doing anything to improve the living conditions of those on Earth who are not billionaires. His mission is not to merely further our progress in space exploration for the sake of science but to plan a luxurious escape from life here on Earth. Leaving this planet and the concept of other life existing is interesting, sure, but some things are better left unknown. What may or may not happen 100 years from now cannot be the sole motivation for our actions today. Colonizing Mars will not solve our problems—it will only be a new location for them.
DANA TOWNSEND
OPINION
BABY, YOU’RE A STAR ASTROLOGY AIDS IN PERSONAL GROWTH
ZAK STONE
MCKINZIE SMITH Though it may not be the most scientifically legitimate field of study out there, astrology can still help people on their personal journeys. We’ve all done it. Whether you believe in it or not, it can be hard to resist looking at your horoscope. And why should it be? It proposes a glimpse at your future—an inside look at who you really are. For some, though, astrology is more than a casual curiosity. Chances are, you’ve noticed astrology become more integrated into daily interactions, especially on social media. Twitter accounts such as @poetastrologers and @milkstrology have hundreds of thousands of followers, racking up high numbers of retweets per post. The astrology hashtag on Instagram contains 3.3 million posts. Perhaps most visible is the recent popularity of Co-Star, a NASA data-powered birth chart app that proposes a “hyper-personalized” experience. But what exactly does mercury in retrograde mean, and why does it matter so much to people? Astrology isn’t completely scientific, but it does use astronomy as a basis to its claims. The signs themselves date back to
ancient Greece and remain unchanged, providing a strong core to the system. As the planets move, astrologers propose their placement influences happenings on earth. Therefore, your birth chart is a blueprint of how the stars were influencing the planet (and you) at the moment of your birth. The birth chart is the primary object of study among those interested in astrology, as it provides more nuance and deeper inquiry into the self than just knowing your sun sign does. Those who follow astrology use the birth chart to explore more about themselves down to creative expression and romantic preferences. The lack of a concrete scientific basis to the field contributes to distrust or even hostility toward astrology. A popular VICE article titled “Why Straight Men Hate Astrology So Much” points toward this rationality, citing annoyance at potential romantic partners and a clear marketing strategy toward women and the LGBTQ community as reasons for disliking the idea. But astrology can be for everyone—even those who don’t actually believe in it.
Astrology is not completely accurate. However, this doesn’t mean it can’t have value. Astrology allows you to explore different facets of your identity and acknowledge the depths of yourself. This is where self-discovery comes in. The more of your birth chart you read, the more opportunity there is to think about what does and doesn’t apply to you and why these traits may be important. Using astrology for self-reflection doesn’t always equate to being a believer, but being a believer isn’t a bad thing either. If it feels real to you, it shouldn’t have to be scientifically proven to inhabit a valid space within your life. Regardless of what people think, astrology can be used for good. It can be entertaining or life changing depending on your level of engagement. Dismissing it on the grounds that it isn’t proven belittles its potential for empowerment and expression. It isn’t hurting anyone. In fact, it does quite the opposite. Instead of dismissing astrology, try engaging with it next time you read your horoscope. You might discover something new about yourself.
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ARTS & CULTURE
A SIGHT TO BEHOLD AVEY TARE AND JABON BRING THE STRANGE CERVANTÉ POPE For those familiar with Animal Collective, the introverted, mental mechanics of their songs are usually experienced within the private confines of headphones. Rarely does the occurrence of Animal Collective and, in turn, their individual members’, hyper-visual resonance get to be taken in face-to-face. This fairly uncommon sight was one to behold at Holocene’s early, sold-out Avey Tare and Jabon show. Getting into the venue was a queue of cigarette smoke and apathetic silence—the line itself extending from the venue to the other side of the block. One thing that bonded the all-ages crowd was adoration of an artist who was so definitive of a specific area in their lives. Avey Tare is who drew everyone there, but the audience got an eyeful of an experience before him. The opener, Seattle’s Jabon, was of a specific and particular taste. Concealed by a ceremonial cloak similar to those of the ritualistic Ordo Templi Orientis and a painted mask combining the pattern styles of Insane Clown Posse and Guy Fawkes, Jabon’s whole schtick was like some weird, lucid, late-night Adult Swim commercial. Musically, he mixed the heavily tech-based sounds of Black Moth Super Rainbow with the slight mainstream pop accessibility of Animal Collective in what he describes to be “dark ambient avant-garde disco comedy.” Comedic indeed—he pranced about the stage with the same energy as an overly gesturing drunk uncle at a family reunion, adding a bit of jocular flair that peeked through the buildup from the fog machine. At one point, he read a couple of pages from a children’s book he claims to have written himself before spouting an attempt at a spoken word ditty about different types of pasta.
He made eye contact with someone in the audience, presumably a friend, wearing a sparkling gold tracksuit and a full-face frowning alien mask. The alien projected shock and confusion through its body language, but not any more than the rest of the audience, who weren’t expecting anything weirder than what Avey Tare is known for. Which, is really just his music. Since Avey Tare cofounded Animal Collective—a band known for their tendencies toward vocal and record experimentation—back in the early 2000s, he’s lived up to mastery of strange, mentally galvanizing sounds within and outside the group. On his own, Avey Tare, whose real name is David Portner, has a way of conveying highly intellectual thoughts and sentimentality through warped vocality and droney noise. With his latest release Cows on Hourglass Pond, Portner has reached a peak in this type of sound, with it being the pinnacle of what he’s done as a solo musician so far. Holocene packed full to see it live—the few spaces left within it during Jabon’s set filled during the 10 brief minutes of the changeover. Accompanied by a pair of touring musicians, Portner bounced around the album’s 10 tracks, imbued by a rotating marble of purple, blue and white lights. Faces stared in awe as he very tenderly sang about his relationship with aging, such as on “What’s the Goodside?” and with society’s (and his) bittersweet obsession with what we can’t have, like on “Taken Boy.” Portner is a multi-instrumentalist, and his switching back and forth between acoustic guitar, electric guitar and bass was another high point in the crowd’s attentiveness to fairly slow-tempo songs.
He did throw some curveballs into the album, though. “Saturdays (Again)” was one of the more lively tunes that made people more than a slight, eyes-closed head nod. Its hook recalls classic Animal Collective a la Strawberry Jam without necessarily being a carbon copy replication. “HORS_” and “Eyes On Eyes” were other particular crowd favorites reminiscent of definitive Avey, adjusted to embrace his maturation throughout the years. What was most entrancing, however, was Portner’s way of trying to connect with the crowd. At random bits in his set, he’d pause to check in with the wide eyes that watched him, his voice at a pitch you wouldn’t expect from someone near 40. People responded with shouts of adoration and cheers that echoed even more when there wasn’t music to back them. Despite it being unnecessarily warm inside, no one budged, aware of the sea of people they’d have to swim through just to find a comfortable space again. “I have to pee so bad,” someone in the crowd shouted at their friend during “Heads Hammock,” one of the only songs Portner played not from the new album, “but I don’t want to miss this.”
A MYSTERIOUS FIGURE APPEARS IN THE CROWD DURING THE ANIMAL COLLECTIVE PERFORMANCE. CERVANTÉ POPE/PSU VANGUARD
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GARBAGE DAY
ARTS & CULTURE
‘LADY TERMINATOR’ AND THE LOST TRADITION OF THE RIPOFF FILM
ANDREW GAINES
These days, most movies that shamelessly steal iconography and visuals from Hollywood movies come from the United States, with the late-2000s trend of “mockbusters” designed to trick grandmas at the video store. But such fine cinematic output as Transmorphers and The Day the Earth Stopped can’t hold a candle to what foreign film markets did to American hits in the 20th century. This article is a love letter to those weird, malformed, legally dubious clones of much better-known movies.
LADY TERMINATOR (1989, DIRECTED BY H. TJUT DJALIL)
Rip-off status: a mix of an exact remake of scenes from The Terminator and some completely wild shit that isn’t related to Terminator at all. We all know how the plot of The Terminator goes—the mom of humanity’s savior gets chased by an evil buff robot from the future, and the robot says cool stuff and murders people. Lady Terminator, a very weird Indonesian take on James Cameron’s first big hit, decides that story is stupid, and the way to improve it is to turn it into a fantasy movie with a big-haired killer lady at its center. The way Lady Terminator goes about stealing from the source material is very strange—the middle of the movie contains the most direct homages, but its beginning and end are wildly original. The setup concerns a female archeology student searching for the undersea ruins of the South Sea Queen, an incredibly evil, powerful woman who has sex with tons of dudes and kills them with an eel living in her genitals when they can’t satisfy her. In an opening flashback, we see the Queen get bested by a man who steals her vagina-eel and turns it into a sick knife, for which she vows revenge on his great-granddaughter. In the present day, the archeology student gets possessed by the vengeful spirit of the Queen, another eel finds its way into a place it shouldn’t be, and she walks out of the ocean nude, ready to murder a whole bunch of people. The aforementioned great-granddaughter is the Sarah Connor figure of the film, with the Kyle Reese being a heroic American working for a special security force in Indonesia. After the insane fantasy stuff in the beginning, the movie gets to work ripping off scenes from The Terminator, with our villain stealing the clothes off some punks she murders with her eel, shooting up a nightclub in pursuit of her target and culminating with a police station massacre. The absolutely insane police station deserves special attention, as it is easily the most wildly expensive and high-class example of its kind since the combination cop shop/art museum in Resident Evil 2. After every single military person in Indonesia gets murdered with an Uzi, the film jerks back into being its own weird thing, with a group of American caricatures getting in on the action and the Lady Terminator turning into a wildly gesticulating corpse that shoots lasers out of her eyes. In case you can’t tell, this movie rules, and I probably enjoy it as much as the original Terminator. It isn’t available for streaming through any services, but you can buy it on DVD from Amazon for relatively cheap.
GREAT WHITE/THE LAST SHARK (1981, DIRECTED BY ENZO G. CASTELLARI)
Rip-off status: bad enough that Universal got involved. Everybody wanted in on the money Jaws made. Spielberg’s first cinematic outing was a gargantuan success, with many film historians and directors acknowledging it as the first true blockbuster film. There were plenty of pretenders to the throne from other American studios—my two favorites being 1977’s Orca and ‘78’s Piranha. Both of these films have pretty
distinctive traits, like Orca’s gorgeous Ennio Morricone score and Piranha’s vicious Joe Dante humor. Yet across the pond in Italy, director Enzo G. Castellari was adhering far closer to the template set up by the original shark thriller. Great White, released in Europe as The Last Shark, follows the setup of Jaws pretty much to a T. An average joe—a sheriff in the original, a horror novelist in this one—teams up with a world-weary shark hunter to kill a shark before it eats too many tourists. The details of Great White, however, are far weirder. The ingenious plans to kill the titular fish include hoisting it out of the water with a helicopter and suffocating it, enticing it with steak and then blasting it in the face with a shotgun, and tricking the shark into eating dynamite. Eventually, feeding it a bomb works, and the ensuing explosion just kinda decapitates the shark. I guess they couldn’t afford a bigger blast without that Hollywood budget. Similarly, the less-is-more techniques employed by Spielberg are not in effect here, and we can see just how bad the fake shark looks in all its glory throughout the film. The movie played in the U.S. for about a month, earning a respectable $18 million before Universal’s lawyers had it thrown out of theaters. Nowadays, you can catch it legally through Amazon Prime Video. Also, look up the movie’s main theme on YouTube—it’s an absolute bop.
MAHAKAAL (1993, DIRECTED BY SHYAM AND TULSI RAMSAY)
investigate the issue, and they’re besieged by goofy-looking monsters. The pacing and structure of several scenes are lifted straight out of Aliens, including the squad’s initial encounter with the enemy threat and the introduction of a young girl who’s been hiding out. Even the motion scanners are brought in, although I was surprised Mattei didn’t directly steal the iconic noise they made in the Cameron film. When the movie finally gets around to stealing Terminator stuff, it’s pretty laughable, as the robot goes down far easier than Schwarzenegger. I don’t think the T-100 was ever laid low by a fire extinguisher spraying in its face. It’s cheap as hell, completely unoriginal and poorly directed, but it’s also a pretty decent time. Instead of searching for a bootleg VHS like enthusiasts had to do for years, you can now grab the Blu-ray from Severin Films, which is far and away the most lavish treatment this film has ever received. All of these films have my seal of approval, and they’d make a fantastic marathon. It’s fascinating how a director can steal wholesale from a film to the point of inciting legal action in some cases and still manage to fill their work with a ton of weird, personal touches. The era of these films seems to have passed, as most rip-offs these days have a lot less soul in them. I’m amazed these films are as easy to find in the 21st century as they are. I guess that speaks well of their ability to captivate audiences with their own stupid charm.
Rip-off status: Pretty much just A Nightmare on Elm Street but with 200% more dancing. Though it never had lawsuits thrown at it, the Bollywood film Mahakaal might as well be a straight-up remake of Wes Craven’s big hit. The plot beats remain exactly the same, as the ghost of an evil child murderer with a knife-glove haunts our protagonist in her dreams. The big changes the movie makes to the preexisting plot are the shift from middle-class suburbia to the upper classes of Indian society, the ever-present musical numbers and the constant threat of sexual assault from random thugs. I’m not sure if that last one really needed to be in there, honestly. Bollywood cinema is a huge blind spot for me in general. I can’t quite compare Mahakaal to anything else, but the musical numbers are appreciably cheesy and catchy, and the comic relief spends most of the movie dressed up like Bad-era Michael Jackson, so that’s pretty funny. I certainly liked it more than I would a Bollywood remake of The Last House on the Left.
SHOCKING DARK/TERMINATOR 2 (1989, DIRECTED BY BRUNO MATTEI)
Rip-off status: Shamelessly steals from a James Cameron movie, but not the one you’d expect. Shocking Dark is very weird. Never released in the U.S. for understandable legal reasons—until 2018 when it came out on Blu-ray under the title Shocking Dark—the 1990 film by Italian schlock-master Bruno Mattei does contain a powerful cyborg killing machine, but it’s mostly stealing from Aliens instead. Mattei was no stranger to shamelessly poaching from Hollywood: His Jaws riff, Cruel Jaws, straight-up reuses footage from Jaws 3D in several scenes. The plot of Shocking Dark is way more complicated than it probably needs to be— in a future Venice that’s been covered in poison smog, an unseen force is picking off the inhabitants of tunnels beneath the city. An emissary from “The Tubular Corporation” joins up with a team of hardened soldiers to
DANA TOWNSEND
PSU Vanguard • APRIL 16, 2019 • psuvanguard.com
15
Cervanté Pope & Hannah Welbourn
APRIL 16–22 MUSIC
FILM & THEATRE
COMMUNITY
“CARAMELS” STEPHANIE CHEFAS PROJECTS TUE–FRI: NOON–6 P.M. FREE Kristin Texeira’s first solo exhibition is a series of abstract works following ten years of her ideas and emotions.
EARL SWEATSHIRT, LIV.E, MIKE, BLACK NOISE CRYSTAL BALLROOM 9 P.M. $27.50–40 Earl has been making so much of a bigger name for himself outside of Odd Future, and we love him for it.
THE MOTH: PORTLAND STORYSLAM HOLOCENE 7 P.M. $10 The stage is open for storytellers to put their names in a drawing to tell a five-minute story based on a predetermined theme. This show’s theme is “blunders.”
REDEFINING MASCULINITY: A PANEL DISCUSSION PETER STOTT CENTER 6:30 P.M. FREE Inspired by the documentary The Mask You Live In, this panel discussion will look at what “masculine” really means.
“SOURCE” WATERSTONE GALLERY WED–SAT: NOON–6 P.M., SUN: NOON–4 P.M. FREE Nancy Wilkins’ metal sculpture exhibition consists of works using repurposed metal the artist found in a junkyard.
A 30TH ANNIVERSARY FOR THE PIXIES’ ‘DOOLITTLE’ MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS 9 P.M. $5 • 21+ The Pixies’ seminal album came out three whole decades ago, and now Melt and the Prixies will help us celebrate it.
‘UNTIL THE FLOOD’ ELLYN BYE STUDIO AT THE ARMORY WED–FRI: 7:30 P.M., SAT: 2 P.M. THROUGH APRIL 20 $25 Dael Orlandersmith’s one-woman show pulls from her interviews in and around Ferguson following the shooting of Michael Brown.
HEARTLESS HEATHERS VS. HIGH ROLLERS ROLLER DERBY GAME ROSE CITY ROLLERS HANGAR AT OAKS PARK 7 P.M. $15–22 • 21+ Roller skates are cool and all, but they’re better when people are getting shoved while wearing them.
BOTANICAL CRAFT NIGHT: INK & WATERCOLOR DRAWING BLENDILY 6:30 P.M. FREE, DONATIONS WELCOME Hit up Blendily for a night of drawing botanicals with other artists. Supplies are limited, so bring your own if you have them.
POST PUNK DISCOTECQUE WITH OVER AND VISIONS KILLINGSWORTH DYNASTY 8:30 P.M. FREE • 21+ It’s a disco but the disco ball is probably made of spikes and goth tears.
LONG STORY SHORT REVOLUTION HALL 7:30 P.M. $10 • 21+ Whether you want to tell your own story or just listen to others, those who sign up have seven minutes on stage to tell a story about “courage.”
“MEANING(S) OF BLACKNESS” NATIVE AMERICAN STUDENT AND COMMUNITY CENTER NOON–2 P.M. FREE Part of this year’s “Rethinking Democracy” series of talks, this one looks at how the African Diaspora interacts with blackness as a term. Lunch will be provided!
“RUMORS” WOLFF GALLERY WED–SUN: 11 A.M.–6 P.M. FREE Small Talk Collective is a group of seven women photographers that formed in 2015. Catch their exhibition “Rumors” through April 28.
TAKING BACK SUNDAY, THE MAINE CRYSTAL BALLROOM DOORS AT 6:30 P.M. THROUGH APRIL 20 $35–40 It’s freaking Taking Back Sunday and you better “MakeDamnSure” you try to catch one of their two sets.
“WHAT SPILLS OVER” PORTLAND PATAPHYSICAL SOCIETY NOON–5 P.M., THROUGH MAY 18 FREE San Francisco-based artist Ken Lo explores the phenomenon of death in this solo exhibition.
BUMMER POP FEST KELLY’S OLYMPIAN 4–11:30 P.M. $8 Get really high and come be a #sadkid for the first ever Bummer Pop Fest and compilation release, featuring bands like Second Sleep, Starover Blue and The Hague.
SPLIFF FILM FESTIVAL REVOLUTION HALL 6 P.M. $20 • 21+ A film festival made by stoners, for stoners. Happy 420!
4/20 TIE DYE PARTY MODERN TIMES BELMONT FERMENTORIUM NOON $25 It’ll be totally tubular, dude.
CRAFT & DRINK TONIC LOUNGE 7 P.M. $5–15 SUGGESTED DONATION • 21+ Make some cool shit while having a brew with fellow artists. What could be better?
BOCHA + DONTE THOMAS RONTOMS 8 P.M. FREE • 21+ It’s local hip hop at its finest, with a secret special guest to open up the night with a surprise.
‘A DARK SKY FULL OF STARS’ SHOE BOX THEATER THU–SAT: 7:30 PM, SUN: 2 P.M. $20, $10 W/ STUDENT ID A young man’s life is cut short when he’s shot in the back, and a cast of six diverse women show what happens in the aftermath.
BUNNYCON SANCTUARY 5–8 P.M. 21+ It’s a pretty hush-hush, unconventional way to celebrate Easter. Dress as a bunny, give to charity. Make it sexy.
SOUL BOX PROJECT PUBLIC DISPLAY MULTNOMAH ARTS CENTER 9 A.M.–5 P.M., THROUGH APRIL 30 FREE This exhibit by the community is a powerful visual statement showing the effects of gunfire. Each box represents an injury or death by guns.
KING DUDE, KATE CLOVER, DANCING PLAGUE TONIC LOUNGE 8:30 P.M. $13 • 21+ King Dude’s voice will make you feel like you’re in a Sons of Anarchy episode.
‘AMÉLIE’ MCMENAMINS MISSION THEATER 5:30 P.M. $4 That one French rom-com everyone has to see.
OREGON BOOK AWARDS CEREMONY GERDING THEATER AT THE ARMORY 7:30 P.M. $12–65 Bibliophiles, this one’s for you.
ART TUE APR 16 WED APR 17 THU APR 18 FRI APR 19
‘CHURCH & STATE’ TRIANGLE THEATRE THU–SAT: 7:30 P.M., SUN: 2 P.M., THROUGH APRIL 27 $20 This play about a U.S. senator’s controversial comments being leaked on Twitter has been called “simultaneously funny, heartbreaking and uplifting.”
“GOVERNANCE, DEMOCRACY & HUMAN RIGHTS” CRAMER HALL 265 NOON–1 P.M. FREE Another lunch-provided “Rethinking Democracy” event, which looks at how all human rights are affected by the bigger mechanisms at work.
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