Portland State Vanguard, Volume 74, Issue 31

VOLUME 74 • ISSUE 31 • MAY 12, 2020

FOLLOWING

COVID-19

IN OREGON:

FROM THE FIRST CASE TO NOW

NEWS ‘THIS KIND OF THING IS ONE OF THE MAIN REASONS THAT I TEACH’ • INTERNATIONAL PSU CELEBRATIONS CANCELED ARTS & CULTURE VENUES STRUGGLE TO STAY AFLOAT

CONTENTS COVER BY BRANDON PAHNISH NEWS HILL TO HALL

P. 3

PSU VETERANS RESOURCE CENTER CREATES NEW STUDENT DISCUSSION SERIES

P. 4

PHOTO LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD

P. 5

INTERNATIONAL PSU INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATIONS CANCELED

P. 6

OXFORD UNIVERSITY COVID-19 VACCINE STARTS HUMAN TRIALS

P. 7

COVER COVID-19 SO FAR

P. 8–9

STAFF

EDIT ORI A L EDITOR IN CHIEF Dylan Jefferies MANAGING EDITOR Hannah Welbourn NEWS EDITORS Hanna Anderson Justin Grinnell INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Chloe Dysart SPORTS EDITOR Rich Rigney ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Nick Townsend OPINION EDITOR AJ Earl

ONLINE EDITOR Annie Schutz

INTERNATIONAL THIS WEEK AROUND THE WORLD

P. 10

ARTS & CULTURE ART VENUES LOBBY FOR AID

P. 11

NOT YOUR DAD’S PODCASTS

P. 12

OPINION HAVE YOU HEARD: THE NO MORE MEAT EDITION

P. 13

TOM NOOK IS NOT YOUR FRIEND

P. 14

SPORTS CANNABIS IN COLLEGE ATHLETICS

P. 15

COMICS

P. 16

PRODUC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR John Rojas

A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood

LEAD DESIGNER Dana Townsend

STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher

CONTRIBUTORS Madison Cecil Nick Gatlin Evan Kotsonis Emily Price

DESIGNERS Farah Alkayed Brandon Pahnish Sam Person

STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Corrine Nightingale

PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A PHOTO EDITOR Alex Wittwer

DIS T RIBU TION DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Dylan Jefferies

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Owen Demetre

T ECHNOL OGY & W EB SIT E TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS Juliana Bigelow George Olson John Rojas

COPY CHIEF Sophie Concannon

To contact Portland State Vanguard, email editor@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.

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 Tuesdays and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram @psuvanguard for multimedia content and breaking news.

NEWS

MAY 5–8 NICK GATLIN

MAY 5: SOME STATE PARKS WILL REOPEN THIS

WEEK, GOVERNOR BROWN SAYS

Oregon Governor Kate Brown announced on May 5 some state parks and outdoor facilities, including Tryon Creek, State Capitol State Park and Pilot Butte, will reopen for day use, according to AP News. According to OPB, Tryon Creek staff created a one-way path so visitors can maintain social distance while visiting the park. Park manager Iris Benson said of the reopening, “I’m having conversations with staff about prioritizing their safety and what that means when we’re providing customer service and welcoming people back into the park, so we can also maintain a level of distance and safety while we do that.” The Oregonian reported coastal areas and recreation areas in the Columbia River Gorge will remain closed for the time being.

MAY 6: “KEY TO OREGON” STUDY SEEKS TO TRACK

SPREAD OF COVID-19 ACROSS THE STATE

An Oregon Health & Science University study will seek to recruit 100,000 participants across Oregon to answer daily health surveys, take their temperature and receive coronavirus tests in order to better track the spread of the virus in Oregon and give policymakers a better understanding of when to lift stayat-home restrictions, OPB reported. According to a statement by OHSU, the goal of the study is to “help leaders make decisions at the state and local levels” and “get people back to school and work faster while avoiding a second wave of infections.” Invitations to participate in the study will be sent by mail starting May 11, according to OHSU President Dr. Danny Jacobs as reported by KPTV.

MAY 6: WARM SPRINGS RESERVATION WILL REQUIRE

FACE MASKS, SELF-ISOLATION

AP News reported the Warm Springs Reservation will require citizens and tribal employees to wear masks and self-isolate if recommended by a healthcare professional, making it the first government in Oregon to do so. According to OPB, citizens on the reservation will be required to wear masks in public if they cannot maintain six feet of social distance. Jefferson County, where many who live on the reservation go to work and school, is drafting a plan to ease restrictions

by May 15. Warm Springs reported 3 more COVID-19 cases on May 5, bringing the total to 14, according to KTVZ.

MAY 7: GOVERNOR BROWN UNVEILS OREGON

REOPENING PLAN

Oregon Governor Kate Brown laid out a plan on May 7 for businesses in some Oregon counties to apply to reopen in the near future. The plan included easing statewide restrictions on daycares and some retail shops on May 15, according to AP News. Counties that qualify for the first phase will be allowed to open restaurants and bars, according to Eater PDX. Businesses that choose to do so will be required to follow new restrictions, including six feet of distance between tables, face masks for employees and ending service by 10 p.m. Counties that successfully apply to reopen will also allow gatherings of up to 25 people, according to OPB.

MAY 8: OREGON LOTTERY WILL REDUCE JOBS AND WAGES DUE

TO CORONAVIRUS BUDGET SHORTFALL

The Oregon Lottery will cut 60 jobs and furlough nearly all other Lottery employees in response to the coronavirus pandemic, according to AP News. The layoffs come six weeks after video lottery machines, which account for most of the Lottery’s revenue, were shut down statewide, The Oregonian reported.

According to KGW, the lottery is Oregon’s second-largest revenue source, and Lottery officials expected a $250–500 million shortfall in early April.

PSU Vanguard • MAY 12, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

3

NEWS

PSU VETERANS RESOURCE CENTER CREATES NEW STUDENT DISCUSSION SERIES

JUSTIN GRINNELL Portland State’s Veterans Resource Center (VRC) hosted its first student peer presentation with a “peek into virology.”

The event took place virtually via Zoom on Friday, May 10. Presenter Melissa Steinman, a graduate student studying biology at PSU, shared with attendees some of what she learned after taking a course and applicable lab in virology. Steinman was initially unsure about giving the presentation, but after speaking with her former professor Dr. Ken Stedman, who researches viruses at PSU, she was comfortable talking about virology with her peers.

“I was actually quite flattered that [Steinman] felt confident enough to present after having taken my virology course,” Stedman stated in an email. “This kind of thing is one of the main reasons that I teach.”

“I want to be clear that I am not a virologist and I’m not an expert in COVID-19, or

4

PSU GRADUATE STUDENT MELISSA STEINMAN'S PRESENTATION ON VIROLOGY AND COVID-19 VIA ZOOM. ALEX WITTWER/PSU VANGUARD even viruses in general,” Steinman said before she began.

Going through powerpoint slides as she spoke, Steinman covered different virus structures, classifications and how a virus creates more copies of itself.

“A virus has to replicate inside the cell of its host,” Steinman said. “It actually has to use the genetic machinery of the host in order to replicate its own DNA.” A brief history was given about other recent virus outbreaks, including SARS which broke out in the early 2000s. According to the presentation, while it was more lethal than COVID-19, SARS’ ability to spread across human populations was limited due to its high mortality rate.

“If you’re relying on that host to do your work for you, it’s not all that advantageous for it to stop functioning,” Steinman said. “When we look at viruses, death of the host is not a good evolutionary strategy for them.”

PSU Vanguard • MAY 12, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

Steinman also explained how a lipid bilayer protects the virus’ genetic material and how washing with soap and water eliminates any lingering viruses on our hands.

“Soap is a chemical intervention [breaking] apart that lipid bilayer,” Steinman said. “When we’re rubbing our hands together, we’re mechanically using friction to further degrade that lipid bilayer.”

Before opening up the discussion to questions, Steinman listed the sources for her information: the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website and classroom materials. “I’m literally going out of the fundamentals of molecular biology textbook[s],” Steinman said. VRC Director Walter Ghant explained the initial peer presentation was like a “pilot,” and then explained why the VRC hosted a student presentation on viruses.

“Veterans have unique experiences [and] unique backgrounds they can also add to the

textbook learning,” Ghant said. “It’s the lived experience combined with textbook learning that actually amplifies the learning in terms of the presentation.” For Ghant, “the best learning comes from when you teach other people.”

Steinman is a Coast Guard veteran and has experience teaching middle school students as well as working with children in underserved populations, some of whom were victims of human trafficking.

“I think that this is a great example of how we can amplify our teaching and knowledge and follow the PSU motto to “Let Knowledge Serve the City,” Stedman stated regarding his thoughts on students giving presentations to their peers.

When asked how the VRC has been affected

by COVID-19, Ghant replied: “It certainly has impacted us because of the concerns we have as a community around mental health.”

“Obviously, COVID-19 is not good for anyone,” Ghant said. “But [veterans] are what I would consider a vulnerable population.” According to Ghant, Oregon has one of the highest suicide rates among veterans in the United States, and isolation due to the pandemic could exacerbate veterans’ mental health.

“Our veterans like to be around other veterans for support and a sense of community,” Ghant said.

According to a 2018 article by KPTV, “the suicide rate for veterans in Oregon in 2015, the most recent year data is available, was 37.2%, which was more than double the national average among non-veterans.”

Norman Dormuitt, veteran student advocate at the VRC, was in attendance for Steinman’s virology presentation. “It’s an environment where people are safe to communicate with others who are overwhelmed in this pandemic,” Dormuitt stated about the presentations. “And peer presentations are a great way to inform people.”

While not a peer presentation, the VRC’s next event is a self-care and self-compassion discussion with Student Health and Counseling on May 22.

The next installment of the student peer presentation series is still undecided, but Ghant and the VRC are open to new ideas. “I want to encourage [students] to try new things out,” Ghant said. “If it works, we celebrate, if it doesn’t we learn from that and we keep going.”

PHOTO

LOOKING BACK, MOVING FORWARD ALEX WITTWER As a photographer and an artist, I struggled to find a way to tell the story of COVID-19 through pictures. Boarded-up businesses and people wearing face masks feel disconnected from the crisis, while the streets seem populated just as they were in winter—but it’s as if there’s an unseen “other” presence around every corner.

How do you photograph the invisible pains—how do you show that our world changed?

STARBUCKS ON SW 5TH AND JEFFERSON STREET. TAKEN MARCH 1 AND MAY 10, 2020. ALEX WITTWER/PSU VANGUARD Elsewhere, artists are recreating modernist and renaissance paintings such as “The Girl with a Pearl Earring” or other classic art, as a challenge issued

by Getty. The Guardian wrote an article about how “we’re all living in Edward Hopper” paintings now in response to a popular tweet—I’d argue that we’ve been living in one for a while.

I went back to places I’ve photographed right before the crisis—of faces and people that, for the briefest of moments, existed before the shining glass windows became slabs of plywood. Now, my photographs feel as if the people were plucked out of them. Somewhere, they’re staring out a window from their home into the street.

INSIDE OVATION CAFE ON MARCH 10, 2020. THE SAME CAFE ON MAY 9, 2020. ALEX WITTWER/PSU VANGUARD

PATRONS AT THE OUI BAR ON SW BROADWAY AND COLUMBIA AT NIGHT. EMPTY CHAIRS AND TABLES ON MAY 10, 2020.

ALEX WITTWER/PSU VANGUARD

Americans, in general, kept their distance from each other. We observe the unspoken rule of the urinal and take up every other seat on the trains, careful to avoid physical contact with strangers.

Lunch tables at workplaces seat one person, and an invisible barrier of our own imagination keeps us from interacting with one another—or, we simply eat at our desks. I once joked that it was the “10 foot wingspan of the average American.”

Now, it’s a mandatory 6 feet.

OUTSIDE KOIN TOWER ON MARCH 3, 2020. STOWED CHAIRS FOR A CLOSED SANDWICH SHOP ON MAY 10, 2020. ALEX WITTWER/PSU VANGUARD

Art is about knowing how to say your message loudly, clearly and with enough emphasis to shake the earth. If it doesn’t move you, then there wasn’t any real point to it at all.

I know this pandemic will end. Hopefully soon. The feeling of discomfort at seeing crowds will vanish over time, but it’s important to EMPLOYEES AT THE IRS/GSA BUILDING ON LUNCH BREAK, EACH OCCUPYING look back at what we’ve given THEIR OWN TABLE ON MARCH 3, 2020. ALEX WITTWER/PSU VANGUARD up—and how we’ve stayed the same—and realize the importance of what we do now, and in the coming months, to minimize and control the spread of the virus. Let’s avoid becoming Hopper paintings again.

PSU Vanguard • MAY 12, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

5

INTERNATIONAL

PSU INTERNATIONAL CELEBRATIONS CANCELED PARTICIPANTS FROM THE ANNUAL PSU PACIFIC ISLANDERS CLUB'S LUAU AS SEEN ON MAY 10, 2015. COURTESY OF THE PACIFIC ISLANDERS CLUB

EMILY PRICE AND CHLOE DYSART Due to COVID-19, international student group programs at Portland State have been canceled for spring 2020, including the Korean Student Association’s Korea Night and the Pacific Islanders Club’s annual Lu’au.

Every year, international student groups are awarded funding by PSU's Student Fee Committee. Each group is responsible for spending their total funds by the end of the academic year. Any leftover funding would be cut in the following year’s proposal.

Due to unforeseen closures by PSU, student group events were canceled. These events are major opportunities for international student groups to spend their residual budget, recruiting members and celebrating with the student community.

However, student group budgets will not be cut in the next academic year because of cancellations. One of these events was Korea Night for the Korean Student Association (KSA).

“Essentially a majority of the budget would be used for the culture show, and since it didn’t happen, a majority of the money would therefore not be used,” said Lance Lee, an active member of the KSA. Korea Night is the main cultural event that features food, dance and live music. Last year’s Korea Night event attracted around 600 participants and cost approximately $13,000, according to an estimate from the group. Preparation for this spring’s event began in winter term and was predicted to be the biggest thus far.

2019 invited new students and activities for KSA members.

“I know this year there were a lot of new people, which is really good because that’s what we’ve been trying to do: get more diverse people actively participating,” Lee said. “This is the first year that PSU has created the k-pop dance club, so it’s not just people within the KSA that had an interest in

6

PSU Vanguard • MAY 12, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

the event. That would be like an outside group that we would bring in a lot of new members planning it. I think that a lot of people were anticipating how the show would go in comparison to the other ones.”

Lee also mentioned the cancellation left student leaders out of an opportunity to lead an event.

“I’m not sure how everyone’s position will be, because everyone is re-elected every year anyways, so some people might feel a little cheated [they were run] of their position without doing much.”

Alongside Korea Night, the Pacific Islanders Club (PIC) had to cancel its Lu’au, which is one of the largest international events on campus.

The event was scheduled for May 2020 at the Viking Pavilion, which would have marked the 18th annual Lu’au put on by the group.

Last year, the Lu’au attracted approximately 900 people and cost the group $20,000 to orchestrate. The event promotes Pacific Islander culture through dances, food, vendors and various audience interactions.

Macie Nakahashi, vice president of the PSU PIC, said the cancellation of the event impacted group members.

“We were all super excited and pumped to prep for Lu’au,” Nakahashi said. “We started early and had planned and figured out costumes, dances and a theme. Once we found out about the cancellation of our event, we were bummed and heartbroken that all of our hard work and late nights vanished. It was heartbreaking to inform our performers—especially the seniors—hula instructors and volunteers, but [we] understood the reasoning.”

Events like the Lu’au and Korea Night offer a chance for international students and the PSU community to connect.

“With Pacific Islanders being a small percentage, we are not well-known in the community and are not recognized enough, so having our annual event in spring allows students, faculty and community members to learn more about our culture,” Nakahashi said. “The PSU community learns about things they didn’t know prior to the event and becomes interested in attending our weekly meetings.”

A community member told Nakahashi the “PIC’s Lu’au has a special place in our heart and we will definitely be back next year to watch and hopefully participate!”

The PIC will have a mini Lu’au, called PacFest, in November 2020 and next year’s Lu’au is scheduled for May 2021.

International students are continuing their efforts to maintain community by staying connected with active groups and resources from PSU. The International Student Center is a community designed to support international students with mentorship and resources. Recently, it also had its events and programming canceled due to COVID-19 and campus closure. Yet, it continues to provide a resource for international students who may be affected by campus closure and challenges overseas with virtual meetings over coffee.

“We encouraged other (international) students to do so as they might find comfort in sharing their experience as well as hearing how others are adapting to this situation”, stated international student and student mentor Nuno Clauzing.

International Student Center meetings are held every Thursday from 1—2 p.m. More information on how to stay updated and find resources can be found at the Office of International Affairs’ website: https://www.pdx.edu/international-students/.

INTERNATIONAL

OXFORD UNIVERSITY COVID-19 VACCINE STARTS HUMAN TRIALS CHLOE DYSART A potential vaccine for COVID-19 has been developed at Oxford University’s Jenner Institute in the United Kingdom. The vaccine, called ChAdOx1 nCoV-19, will be tested on human subjects on April 23 according to The Telegraph.

The vaccine was first tested on rhesus macaque monkeys, as they are the closest subjects to humans, and the drug showed promising results.

If proven successful in human testing, the vaccine could be given emergency approval to be distributed as early as September 2020, months ahead of the usual 12–18-month timeline experts use to approve and produce a vaccine.

However, immunity in monkeys does not necessarily guarantee immunity in humans. A Chinese company called SinoVac has also said its vaccine provided immunity to the rhesus macaques.

Currently, Oxford has 1,100 volunteers, aged 18–55, to test the potential vaccine. Half of the subjects will be given the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine and the others will be given a widely-given meningitis vaccine, according to University of Oxford.

The testing will also receive a further £20 million in funding from the U.K. Government.

“We are going to back them to the hilt and give them every resource they need to give them the best chance of success,” said U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

According to France 24, Oxford teamed up with British drug producer AstraZeneca, which said it will help the University produce and distribute the vaccine.

If successful, the group said it hopes to distribute 100 million doses of the vaccine by the end of the year, prioritizing its supply in the U.K. However, the vaccine trials may experience a challenge in finding subjects to test on, as social distancing in Britain has slowed infection.

If infection continues to slow, then those with the vaccine may not be able to show a noticeable difference between those with the vaccine and the placebo.

“We’re the only people in the country who want the number of new infections to stay up for another few weeks, so we can test our vaccine,” said Professor Adrian Hill, the Jenner Institute’s director and a researcher involved in the effort, to The New York Times.

Ethics rules forbid researchers from purposefully infecting test subjects with a dangerous disease.

If the virus slows enough in Britain, the institute says it could move to trails to other locations where the spread of coronavirus is still rampant.

“We’ll have to chase the epidemic,” Hill said. “If it is still raging in certain states, it is not inconceivable we end up testing in the United States in November.”

The Telegraph reported there is a concern COVID-19 has mutated into two strains, one more aggressive than the other, which may lead to the vaccine not working on some mutated strains.

Despite the promise and buzz around the Oxford-developed vaccine, it is not the only group trialing a potential drug. According to the World Health Organization, as of April 23, six other vaccines had entered human trials, and 77 others were in development.

Notably, two American companies, Moderna and Inovio, have started developing their own trials using genetically modified material, although neither company has successfully licensed or manufactured a drug. Similarly, a Chinese company called CanSino has also started clinical trials.

Oxford scientists remain hopeful that even if the vaccine is unsuccessful, the trials will help experts learn more about the disease.

“There's always an unknown,” said Professor Sarah Gilbert, who is leading Oxford’s study. “We can never be certain that these vaccines will work. But personally, I think it has a very strong chance of working.”

DANA TOWNSEND

PSU Vanguard • MAY 12, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

7

COVER

COVID-19 SO FAR CONFIRMED CASES, CAMPUS ANNOUNCEMENTS, STATE ORDERS AND MORE SINCE MARCH 3 HANNA ANDERSON All COVID-19 case and death counts are from the Oregon Health Authority (OHA).

MARCH 3

Oregon: First COVID-19 case confirmed in Oregon by the CDC After the OHA identified three presumptive cases of COVID-19 by March 2, Oregon’s first confirmed case was found in Washington County. The patient had no contact with another confirmed case and hadn’t traveled from an area where the virus was circulating, meaning the virus was transmitted through the community.

MARCH 8

14 Confirmed COVID-19 cases in Oregon Oregon: Governor Kate Brown declares a state of emergency through May 7 The state of emergency allowed the governor to direct more state resources towards preventing or ending an emergency situation. According to The Oregonian, the initial executive order allowed the state to create more testing sites for COVID-19, direct more emergency healthcare professionals to where more help is needed and expand remote healthcare services and screenings.

Oregon: OHA releases interim recommendations for university responses The state agency recommended schools and colleges without any confirmed cases of COVID-19 remain open, and to “consider all alternatives” before making the decision to close.

MARCH 9

Portland State reassured the community it was following OHA recommendations, remaining open but monitoring the situation.

MARCH 10

Portland: First COVID-19 case in Multnomah County OHA announced the first presumptive case of COVID-19 in Portland, being treated at Portland Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

MARCH 11

Global: World Health Organization officially calls the coronavirus a pandemic According to WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, “Pandemic is not a word to use lightly or carelessly.

It is a word that, if misused, can cause unreasonable fear, or unjustified acceptance that the fight is over, leading to unnecessary suffering and death.”

PSU: Portland State announces a remote spring term PSU Interim President Stephen Percy first announced spring term classes would be held remotely on March 11.

“The threat of [COVID-19] is presenting daunting challenges for all of us,” Percy stated in his email announcement to students. “We are committed to making decisions that promote the success and well-being of our campus community and growing concerns across Oregon.”

According to the announcement, after weeks of remote classes, the situation would be re-evaluated in mid-April with the latest information and guidelines from health officials.

Coming the week before final exams, faculty members were encouraged to hold exams remotely wherever possible, and encouraged everyone to do the same with community events.

Campus remains open, but all non-essential Universityrelated travel was suspended indefinitely.

University of Oregon and Oregon State University also announce remote spring terms and final exams.

PSU: Remote learning extended to spring term

MARCH 19

Oregon: All colleges and universities ordered to suspend in person education

MARCH 22 MARCH 12

PSU: In-person classes and finals canceled PSU announced classes the next day would either be held remotely or canceled. Finals followed suit, changing the university’s recommendation for remote exams into a rule.

Oregon: Gatherings of more than 250 people banned in Oregon for four weeks Oregon: K-12 schools ordered to close through the end of March

MARCH 14

Oregon: First death from COVID-19 announced OHA announced the state’s first death in Multnomah County, four days after the patient’s initial diagnosis.

MARCH 15

39 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Oregon: 1 death

MARCH 17

Oregon: Bars and restaurants restricted to takeout and delivery through April 14

Oregon: K-12 School closure extended to April 28

PSU Vanguard • MAY 12, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

PSU: On-campus operations limited through June 13 PSU limited the amount of campus offices open, asking the majority of on-campus employees to work from home. Only employees essential to campus operations, whose work can’t be done remotely, could continue working on campus.

MARCH 20: SPRING BREAK BEGINS

Oregon: Gatherings of more than 25 people banned in Oregon

8

MARCH 18

161 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Oregon: 5 deaths

MARCH 23

Oregon: Brown announces stay-at-home order: “Stay Home, Save Lives” Brown signed the anticipated stay-at-home order. Dubbed “Stay Home, Save Lives,” the executive order required Oregonians to stay at home “to the maximum extent possible,” as well as maintain six feet of distance between themselves and others. The order also temporarily closed businesses where social distancing is difficult or can’t be maintained.

“I started by asking Oregonians to stay home and practice social distancing...Instead, thousands crowded the beaches of our coastal communities, our trails, our parks, and our city streets, potentially spreading COVID-19 and endangering the lives of others across the state,” Brown stated in the announcement.

“Now, I’m ordering it. To save lives and protect our community.”

All non-essential social gatherings, where social distancing can’t be maintained, were canceled. Businesses allowed to remain open were required to implement social distancing measures, and offer remote working options wherever possible.

Oregonians who refuse to comply with the order face a class C misdemeanor, punishable by up to 30 days in jail or a fine of up to $1,250.

COVER

MARCH 26

APRIL 17

PSU: In-person commencement canceled, virtual commencement announced PSU canceled in-person commencement ceremonies for all schools, colleges, graduates and undergraduates, and announced virtual commencement ceremonies on June 14 in their stead. However, the initial reaction to the announcement from the community was largely negative. Students took to social media to express their disappointment and questioned why the ceremony couldn’t instead be postponed. A petition to postpone the ceremonies to fall 2020 began circulating shortly after the announcement.

APRIL 19

U.S.: With at least 81,321 confirmed COVID-19 cases, the U.S. leads the world in number of confirmed cases, according to The New York Times.

Oregon: Executive order suspending in-person instruction for colleges and universities extended through June 13 1,910 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Oregon: 74 deaths

APRIL 23

Oregon: K-12 Schools close for the rest of the school year

APRIL 26

2,311 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Oregon: 91 deaths

MAY 1

Oregon: State of Emergency extended to July 6

MAY 3

2,680 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Oregon: 109 deaths

MAY 10

3,228 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Oregon: 127 deaths

FUTURE DECISIONS

MARCH 27

U.S.: Federal CARES Act signed into law The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security, or CARES Act, a $2 trillion economic relief bill—the largest stimulus bill in the nation’s history—was signed into law by U.S. President Donald Trump. The act included stimulus checks for qualifying adults, with the amount depending on their income. College students named as dependents on anyone else’s tax returns do not receive any federal payments under the legislation.

PSU also received $16,640,405 in financial relief from the act.

MARCH 29TH

548 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Oregon: 13 deaths

Fall term at PSU PSU announced on April 29 while fall term courses would be planned assuming they would be in person, the statement released to the campus community stated it is too early to make a definite decision.

Reopening Oregon On May 7, Brown announced a multi-phase plan to reopen the state slowly, but as early as May 15. According to Oregon Public Broadcasting, counties that apply and qualify for the first phase will be able to reopen certain nonessential businesses, as well as once again gather in groups of up to 25 people—granted social distancing measures continue to be followed.

Among the counties applying are Lane County, where the city of Eugene is, and Deschutes County where Bend is, according to Willamette Week. Multnomah County and Washington County are not applying for the first phase yet, but could do so as early as June.

MARCH 30: SPRING TERM STARTS APRIL 5

1,068 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Oregon: 27 deaths

APRIL 7

Oregon: Restaurants’ take out and delivery-only executive order extended indefinitely

APRIL 12

1,527 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Oregon: 52 deaths PSU: Remote learning to continue into summer term

DANA TOWNSEND

PSU Vanguard • MAY 12, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

9

INTERNATIONAL

THIS WEEK

around the

WORLD

May 3–May 9

5

4 3

2 1 6

1

May 3

LA GUAIRA, VENEZUELA:

Venezuelan security forces stopped a group of “terrorist mercenaries” who were allegedly attempting to enter the country via speedboats from Colombia according to a televised press statement made by Interior Minister Néstor Reverol. “They tried to carry out an invasion by sea, a group of terrorist mercenaries from Colombia, in order to commit terrorist acts in the country, murdering leaders of the revolutionary government,” Reverol said, according to Al Jazeera. Vice President of the United Socialist Party of Venezuela Diosdado Cabello reported eight of the attackers were killed and two more were detained.

Opposition leader Juan Guaidó, who is recognized as the official leader of Venezuela by over 50 countries, claimed the speedboat attack was staged by President Nicolás Maduro to distract from recent violence in the country according to Reuters.

2

May 4

BARDALE, SOMALIA:

A private plane owned and operated by African Express Airways carrying COVID-19 aid and supplies to Somalia was shot down by Ethiopian military forces, killing all six people onboard. The Ethiopian troops responsible for the crash were stationed at a camp in Bardale, and reported they thought the plane was a “potential suicide mission.” They did not admit responsibility until May 9.

“Because of lack of communication and awareness, the aircraft was shot down,” the Ethiopian military stated. “The incident…will require mutual collaborative investigation team from Somalia, Ethiopia and Kenya to further understand the truth.” Kenyan and Ethiopian troops have been present in Somalia for multiple years in a joint effort to combat the al-Shabab militant group.

10

PSU Vanguard • MAY 12, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

3

May 5

GRAND CAPE MOUNT COUNTY, LIBERIA:

An unofficial gold mine collapsed overnight, trapping an unknown number of people and killing at least two. County Administrative Center Mayor Edwin Koha reported dozens of people were missing and 60 people were killed in the mine collapse, but the National Disaster Management Agency initially reported much lower numbers. “14 persons ranging in age from 20–28 visted a mine site overnight to illegally dig gravel believed to contain gold,” Archievego Doe, a NDMA spokesperson, said in a statement according to Al Jazeera. “Four of them were entrapped, leaving two dead and two missing.” The conflicting information has yet to be corrected, and an unknown number of people remain missing as a result of the mine collapse.

Authorities are still looking for survivors.

May 7 4

VISAKHAPATNAM, INDIA:

A liquid styrene tank gas leak at a LG Polymers chemical plant left at least 11 people dead and hospitalized 800 more. Liquid styrene, a chemical used to manufacture plastic, should be closely monitored in order to prevent potentially lethal leaks, but the factory was shut down due to COVID-19 and workers were unable to regulate the chemicals. Witnesses reported waking up to a thin white gas filling their homes and seeing people collapsed and unconscious in the streets outside, according to The New York Times. Goutam Reddy, the state industries minister, said the state would be seeking legal action against the company. “We would like the company to proactively respond to the incident and ensure the same level of responsibility is taken if this incident were to happen in the E.U. or United States,” Reddy said in a statement according to BBC.

5

May 9

MOSCOW, RUSSIA:

The Spasokukotsky Hospital, a COVID-19 treatment center, caught fire on May 9, leaving one patient dead.

The hospital was evacuated, and over 200 patients were transferred to other hospitals to continue their treatment. An unspecified number of these 200 patients are being treated for COVID-19. The fire reportedly began inside a patient’s room on the first floor of the hospital, but authorities have not yet determined an exact cause of the blaze. “The causes of this incident will be thoroughly investigated,” Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin wrote on Twitter.

6

May 9

CHAKAMA, KENYA:

Silvia Romano, an Italian citizen who was kidnapped by unknown individuals while volunteering at an orphanage in November 2018, was released and rescued

by Italian intelligence services with the assistance of officers from Turkey and Somalia. Romano was kidnapped during a shooting that occured in 2018 that left five people with gunshot wounds, including three children. The identity and motivation of the suspects remains unknown. Italian officials reported at some point, Romano wound up in the custody of the alShabab militant group. “I feel so happy,” said Ronald Kazunga Ngala, a student who witnessed the 2018 kidnapping, to ABC News. “We didn’t know whether they had killed her or done something bad. Living with the uncertainty was painful.”

ARTS & CULTURE

ART VENUES LOBBY FOR AID NICK TOWNSEND Arts venues in Portland are in a precarious situation. Facing even longer closures than restaurants and higher overheads, many are left with few options for survival.

“It’s a renegade state—we’re completely independent,” said Jim Brunberg, owner of Mississippi Studios, Revolution Hall and Polaris Hall. “Almost all the venues in Oregon are independent. And we’ve all bonded together, a hundred of us.”

Brunberg is a founding member and driving force behind the Independent Venue Coalition, a new trade association of over 100 independent venues in Oregon. The group is seeking federal, state and local aid for assembly spaces in Oregon, arguing they have one of the most difficult recovery situations and irreplaceable cultural value.

“The problem is, nobody has offered any help to our industry,” Brunberg said. “There are lots of aid programs out there for small businesses, and that’s good, but there aren’t any programs out there for independent venues, which are a little too big to qualify for ‘mom and pop’ help but too small to qualify for the big federal help.”

Part of the issue is venues have high operational costs and, unlike restaurants, can’t furlough or lay off most employees during the pandemic. “We can’t lay off people—we have to keep around essential people so that the place doesn’t fall apart into the chaos of messed-up contracts and unanswered emails,” Brunberg said. Additionally, venues can’t effectively generate revenue at half or quarter capacity to enforce social distancing.

Concert spaces are budgeted to require a full house.

Samantha Van Der Merwe, founding artistic director at Shaking the Tree Theatre, said her space is facing similar challenges.

“Shaking the Tree has a small staff [of two]. We are doing general administration as well as plenty of grant writing, and planning for when things open back up.”

Van Der Merwe said she divides her time now between administrative tasks and painting, devising a new art installation that could be effectively displayed while maintaining social distancing.

“In the wake of the COVID-19 restrictions, I had an idea of making a giant art installation as a gift for the community to experience after the restrictions are lifted,” Van Der Merwe said.

“The goal is to only use materials on hand, and eventually hire a sound designer and lighting designer, and stage manager— keeping costs very low.”

Other venues in Oregon are finding other ways to use their space. Many concert spaces are allowing artists to use their space to record streamed performances, but the experience and the revenue is nowhere near the same.

“Artists need to make a living, and they’re out there doing the streaming and it’s great that they’re able to do that, but it doesn’t help the venues,” Brunberg said. “The survival is going to come from the public holding out to their tickets, buying future tickets and writing letters for federal aid. It shouldn’t just be the big sports ball organizations that get federal aid, because these venues are the places that keep the local economy humming.”

PLYWOOD SLABS COVER WINDOWS AND DOORS AT STAR THEATER IN OLD TOWN, PORTLAND. EVAN KOTSONIS/PSU VANGUARD

PSU Vanguard • MAY 12, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

11

ARTS & CULTURE

NOT YOUR DAD’S SOPHIE CONCANNON

“Hey, you should check out this great podcast!” If you’re like me, you tune out as soon as those words are spoken, usually said by a well-to-do friend or any man alive. Luckily, the podcasting world extends far beyond the drudgery of Silicon Valley tech updates and the terror of constant breaking news. Podcasting has taken on every genre imaginable. The form is revolutionary for low-budget storytelling, and allows independent creators to put out their work in a space that demands very little compared to a TV network or a publishing company. If you hear “podcast” and your mind immediately goes to your dad listening to Terry Gross in the car, you’re not technically wrong, but there is so, so much more out there. Calling all cynics—these podcasts are for you.

PODCASTS

COMEDY

If the idea of entrenching yourself in a gritty, dark universe populated by evil entities is just a little too much right now, another genre podcasts excel in is comedy. Combine a free license to swear and an endless amount of reaction material courtesy of the internet, and you get...really weird with it.

HORROR

Podcasting is, strangely enough, the perfect vessel for telling a horror story. Without the typical visual elements that accompany horror media, creators have gotten innovative with sound effects and in-story mechanisms built to keep you awake at night.

The lack of visual elements also means creators are free to build their worlds the way they want. If you’re a fan of horror and haven’t delved into the podcast realm, now’s the time—maybe skip any episodes about plagues or pandemics.

The Adventure Zone

JOHN ROJAS

My Brother, My Brother and Me

The Magnus Archives Have you talked to me in person recently? No, you haven’t, because we’re all in quarantine. However, my roommates know I will not shut up about this show. According to Book Riot, it’s “an unsettling jigsaw puzzle that hops, skips, and drowns in the macabre”—it starts as a horror anthology, with each episode a spooky one-off told through the lens of an archivist recording witnesses’ statements. As the seasons progress, the episodes are slowly woven together into an overarching narrative that absolutely blows every B-tier horror movie out of the water. The Magnus Archives has a cult following, an incredibly detailed paranormal system and a canonically biromantic asexual MC. Barring the fact this caters to every one of my wishes like a particularly gruesome monkey’s paw—the creator has already established it won’t end well—I would highly suggest you give it a try before its fifth and final season draws to a close sometime in 2020.

If you liked this podcast, try Archive 81, Welcome to Night Vale, Mabel, Alice Isn’t Dead, Limetown, and The Horror of Delores Roach.

12

PSU Vanguard • MAY 12, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

My Brother, My Brother and Me is a staple of the comedy podcast scene. It’s an advice show for the modern era, in which the three titular brothers—Justin, Travis and Griffin—answer Yahoo questions curated by listeners. It’s the perfect avenue into deciding if podcast humor is for you. If you enjoy the brothers’ goofs, there’s a backlog of over 500 episodes, each about an hour long—plenty to last you through quarantine and then some, fingers crossed.

The MBMBAM cinematic universe also includes individual offshoots such as Sawbones with Justin McElroy, Shmanners with Travis McElroy, Wonderful! with Griffin McElroy and The Adventure Zone with all three brothers and their dad, which has its own category in this list. It also includes Till Death Do Us Blart, which consists of the McElroy brothers re-watching Paul Blart Mall Cop 2 every year on Thanksgiving until “the end of linear time,” according to the summary.

If you liked this podcast, try The Tiny Meat Gang Podcast, Hysteria, Jenna & Julien Podcast, Lovett or Leave It, The G Cup and The Besties.

STORYTELLING

Podcasting was born in 2004 and the numbers both in production and of the audience have only gone up since then, according to Vulture. While a lot of the late-2000s podcast boom is rightfully attributed to shows like The New York Times’ The Daily and NPR’s Up First, which popularized the platform and allowing for investors and companies to fund “this whole podcast thing,” my heart belongs to the creators who poured themselves into a story, powered up their iPhone, and hit record. Fiction podcasts, while not the darling of ratings nor of the average commuter, create worlds to transport you anywhere else but here, and have garnered a special spot in the hearts of reviewers and listeners alike. With the death of radio came the birth of storytelling podcasts, and I am so, so grateful.

The Adventure Zone is a Dungeons and Dragons podcast—a popular topic on the podcasting platform—created by the aforementioned McElroy brothers and their dad in 2015. The podcast is a vehicle for comedy, and remains as such throughout the episodes, but the storytelling mechanisms and characters get more detailed as it progresses. The show starts off a little rough, but it’s pretty easy to pick up at the beginning of a story arc—I recommend starting with “Murder on the Rockport Limited,” possibly backtracking to the three-episode arc “Moonlighting” if you’re desperate for background—without too much confusion.

Journey with the brothers and their dad, all Dungeons and Dragons newbies, as they engage in vital conflicts like man versus self, man versus nature and man versus dice.

The Penumbra Podcast It’s hard to pin a genre on The Penumbra Podcast, and that’s the way the creators like it. Penumbra works primarily as a mystery crimethriller, with two separate overarching storylines. Most episodes follow the main character, Detective Juno Steel, on their journeys, but a handful of episodes are stand-alone twists on classic tales.

Listen to “The Coyote of the Painted Plains,” a sapphic twist on a country western, for an idea of what the stand-alones are like, then dive into the main mystery with Steel. Or, listen to the Second Citadel series about “free lance” knights slaying monsters and riding off into the sunset—it’s up to you. According to HuffPost, “Young, fun, fantastical and, most notably, inclusive, The Penumbra Podcast is a must-listen for young queer people, people who love podcasts, and anyone with a pulse and Wi-Fi.” If you liked these podcasts, try Critical Role, Wooden Overcoats, King Falls AM, The Broadswords, Rivals of Waterdeep, The Strange Case of Starship Iris, and Midst.

HAVE YOU HEARD: THE NO MORE

OPINION

AJ EARL

In general, I would consider a pandemic to be the kind of situation where you just kind of let things go and adapt, but there are a lot of things that just can’t be solved from home. Take coffee runs, for example. It’s great to be able to jog into a local coffee shop and grab a cup and a scone, but more importantly, it’s a way to just be around people. Ah, there it is: people. I miss people.

Have you heard about this meat shortage? Apparently, meat processing plants are being increasingly hit by COVID-19, limiting supplies. In some cases, restaurants are having their entire supply chain upended by larger grocery retailers, who can accept products at earlier stages of processing. What this means in a practical way is some restaurants, especially chains with a lot of individual franchise owners, are facing a rapid decline in their access to meat.

Sure, if you sell tofu curry and salad, this might mean shifting your production toward those offerings, but what happens if you sell hamburgers and haven’t quite moved toward selling meat alternatives? Where’s the beef, indeed.

Hey, you know what would be a fun socially distant activity right now?

Stargazing! It’s true that a lot of great spots for it are closed, like the Goldendale Observatory in Goldendale, Washington, but if you can find a spot and an especially dark sky, there are lots of things going on that will dazzle you. Comets could be the hot new thing this spring, with the Comet Atlas—oh wait, it broke up and won’t be visible unless you have a great telescope. Well, Comet Swan is—maybe—perhaps—well, okay, I don’t want to put my faith there, either. A recent outburst put it in naked eye territory, but this could mean it too broke up.

Breaking up is hard to view.

Still, there are plenty of stars in the sky to enjoy.

Yo, guess what? As of May 8, parks are slowly opening up in Oregon. It doesn’t mean you can go crowd up with others, so social distance and all that, but the steady return to the outdoors seems to be happening. If you think it’s time to run out and bask in the glorious heat wave we are about to endure while dodging other people like they have the plague, remember to be absolutely certain you are maintaining a 6-foot distance, wear a mask—it can be cute, I promise— and don’t do anything that will cause a bunch of park staff to have to come and take care of you.

Finally, I wanted to make sure you knew with this first wave of COVID-19 winding down in the next 3–6 weeks, it might be a good time to clean your personal protective equipment and maybe your house while you’re at it. Those germs will stick around if you aren’t super careful!

MEAT EDITION

DANA TOWNSEND

PSU Vanguard • MAY 12, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

13

OPINION

Tom Nook is not your friend DEBT, PEONAGE AND TARANTULAS

AJ EARL It was kind of a lucky break for Nintendo to release Animal Crossing: New Horizons when it did. With COVID-19 raging and the world succumbing to a decided lack of things to be saccharine about, the Nintendo Switch game and latest entry into the Animal Crossing series seems to have struck a chord. Intended as an escape from the world and its woes, ACNH is instead an unsophisticated debt simulator.

The argument can be made that the terms of your indebtedness mean essentially free money, but the need to constantly upgrade and improve your island in order to unlock new features and expand existing ones is a perverse incentive toward peonage. You are constantly under a new mechanic of debt, from house expansion fees to basic infrastructure costs that are borne strictly by you.

Unlike other games where pay to play is optional, in New Horizons you are always under the thumb of the Nook cartel.

To varying extents, people are made to do tasks using their own time in order to finance essentially every facet of life on their island: pull weeds, dig up fossils, catch fish, then sell these to members of the Nook family in order to pay off debts owned by the Nook family. The extensive ways in which you are made

14

to do actual and substantive work in order to promote an economy of debt amount to what can be considered an elaborate life simulator, but with more running from tarantulas.

Or, I dunno, you might be running from tarantulas every day already.

Either way, Nintendo has successfully gamified the millennial and Generation Z trend of “adulting,” a twee way to reframe the capitalist workaday for the TikTok views. Everything is a random number generator fight for newness and notability, even the act of shaking trees. It’s mind-boggling most are incapable of connecting the act of shaking trees every day because that’s how you acquire new furniture or funds to the essential nature of labor and work; no need to read Marx to see how this is alienating to the people toiling away at a digital furniture farm, no need to refer back to Upton Sinclair to see how subjecting them to virtual wasp stings is a twisted way to establish a risk-for-reward mechanic in the basic act of laboring.

And yet, this is a really fun game and a fantastic way to while away the time during this pandemic.

Perhaps it’s because it re-establishes routine and social networking that it is such a

PSU Vanguard • MAY 12, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

popular game. Yes, it’s true the economic system that underpins the game and its mechanics are onerous and in some ways abusive, but ultimately, it’s a low-threshold access point for people seeking out a life of toil that is actually cute and enjoyable. This is the height of escapism inherent to video games; it mirrors the life we are escaping, but it’s more colorful, rewards are more frequent and far more conspicuous and it gives you a chance to apply your personal life to a social structure that rewards risk-taking in establishing working relationships.

Tom Nook might be the capitalist overlord maintaining his power through consolidation of earning and self-support into his fuzzy little fists, but he’s a cute overlord and that’s what matters most. Nook is an expert at manipulating the conditions to ensure he’s both benefactor and distributor of the common wealth, a master of benefice that leads you into a sophisticated labor compact. This is why he is perhaps akin to a dungeon master or game master in tabletop gaming. He is a psychopomp and initiator of your world’s cycles. He’s like a chubby Gary Gygax in a floral print shirt.

The other characters that populate your island all seem to have some financial tie to

either Nook or the labor regime that he established. You are often tasked with the same labor that sustains you daily in order to participate in whatever scheme these characters have hatched up, from bug collecting to fishing. The limited economy is not expanded by these outsiders, nor are you provided with a novel form of your existing labor. Tom Nook’s established society is thus contingent upon the manner in which he sets you upon certain tasks, so there are no cooking exercises, just more fishing and tree-shaking. You aren’t crafting your own home, just paying your bells toward expansion. New Horizons is simplicity in design and complicity in capitalism.

Animal Crossing: New Horizons is thus an amazing game and a horrifying trap at the same time. The escapism suggested by the game’s nature is undermined by the routines required to play, the whimsy plastered with price tags. Isn’t that what we want, though? Normal? If the labor-spendlabor dynamic of our life is disrupted, then it stands to reason that something that approximates normal will be popular; add a cotton-candy veneer to this stand-in world and you have a winner.

See you in paradise.

SPORTS

CANNABIS IN COLLEGE ATHLETICS AS MARIJUANA POLICIES SHIFT WITHIN PRO SPORTS LEAGUES, COULD THE NCAA BE NEXT? FARAH ALKAYED RICH RIGNEY The National Football League has adjusted its drug policy to no longer include suspensions following a positive test for marijuana. The change comes as part of the new collective bargaining agreement reached by the NFL Players Association and owners on March 14.

With this change, the NFL joined a number of professional sports leagues that have begun to implement less restrictive policies on the usage of marijuana. As the stigma surrounding marijuana is lessened and perceptions continue to shift, the question becomes, could marijuana usage by college athletes be permitted by the National Collegiate Athletic Association in the future?

On December 12, 2019, Major League Baseball removed marijuana from its list of “drugs of abuse” and began treating it as it does alcohol. Players can no longer be randomly tested for marijuana unless they are in a treatment program.

The National Hockey League currently tests for marijuana, but no punishment is given in the case of a positive result. If a player is found to have a “dangerously high level” of 9-delta tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), they will be evaluated by the player assistance program.

NBA players are submitted to four random drug tests during the regular season as part of their collective bargaining agreement. A first positive test results in the player entering a mandatory drug program. A second positive test leads to a $25,000 fine; a third will result in a five-game suspension. With the NFL’s adjustments to policy, the NBA now holds one of the most strict marijuana policies among professional leagues.

Consequences for a positive marijuana test have not been eradicated from professional sports, but the general shift across major sports leagues has been to increase the threshold resulting in a positive test while minimizing the consequences for a player who does submit a positive test.

As society has become gradually more tolerant of marijuana—27 states have decriminalized cannabis and 11 have legalized recreational use—and misconceptions surrounding the drug have diminished, the practical uses of marijuana have been considered with more sincerity and optimism than ever before.

Professional athletes have been advocating for looser drug policies for years now, with many pointing to the widespread misuse and abuse of opioids within professional sports as a reason for allowing marijuana usage as a safer alternative to prescription drugs.

Nearly 70% of the approximately 67,000 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2018 involved an opioid, according to the Center for Disease Control.

A 2013 survey on the nonmedical use of prescription opioids among adolescents who participate in competitive sports found those participating in high-injury sports had 50% higher odds of non-medical use of prescription opioids than those who did not participate in this type of sport.

While marijuana’s practical applications as a pain management drug continue to be considered, and while the U.S. attempts to address its opioid crisis, a conversation has begun surrounding whether cannabis usage should be allowed in college athletics.

As it currently stands, marijuana is a banned substance under NCAA rules and players can be subjected to random drug tests at any point during or outside of their sport’s season.

Alcohol is listed as a banned substance only for athletes participating in rifle sports.

That said, the NCAA has made adjustments to its marijuana policy in recent years. The THC testing threshold used for NCAA drug tests was increased in 2019, though the committee responsible for the decision stated this was done in an effort to prevent those who have inhaled cannabis via secondhand smoke from testing positive.

Some have argued it doesn’t matter how frequently or in what manner the NCAA goes about testing its athletes, players who wish to use marijuana are going to do so no matter what.

“I don’t think the NCAA is handling it the correct way,” said Anthony Adams, a redshirt junior on the Portland State football team. “Because no matter how many drug tests or policies [there are] or whatever they’re going to do, guys are going to find ways to break the rules.”

When asked about marijuana usage by athletes at PSU, Adams said, “I don’t really know numbers for that stuff. But I know that it’s out there—prevalent.”

Many have pointed to the distinction of marijuana not being a performance-enhancing drug as a reason for it to be removed from the NCAA’s banned substance list.

“The NCAA—when they come and drug test us—they do it for performance-enhancing drugs and not street drugs,” Adams said. “I think that’s completely fair because performance-enhancing drugs should not be tolerated at all, so I think what the NCAA does for that is completely correct.”

“But as far as street drugs, if they don’t enhance your performance on the field, then I don’t see the need to punish somebody because of that,” Adams said. “Ultimately, it’s taking away from their abilities on the field for some people. I don’t think there’s a need to be punished for that.”

Adams advocated for the power to be given to coaches when handling the response to a positive marijuana test, rather than allowing the NCAA to maintain complete authority.

“It should be up to the coaches and not the NCAA,” Adams said. “At the end of the day, the coaches are the ones who see the player every single day.”

“If Player A tested positive and he’s still doing all the right things, getting good grades, going to class, going to practice, performing well and he tests positive, the coach [should have] the ability to be like, ‘Okay, this is no problem for this kid.’

But if Player B goes and tests positive and he’s not going to class and he’s not doing well and he’s not performing well, then the coach [should be able to] create consequences for him. But, I don’t see that happening in college sports.

Ultimately, I think that’s what would be the best option.”

There are a number of questions that still need to be answered before a policy allowing marijuana usage could be implemented by the NCAA, but the conversation isn’t going away anytime soon. New information will continue to update and inform our perception of the drug and its practical applications within athletics.

PSU Vanguard • MAY 12, 2020 • psuvanguard.com

15

DANA TOWNSEND