VOLUME 78 • ISSUE 23 • FEBRUARY 15, 2024
SU P T A L L A R O F N OLUM C M R O F T A L P N O SU N OPINI
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CONTENTS
COVER DESIGN BY BRIANA CIERI
NEWS PSU releases annual Oregon houselessness report
P. 4-5
OPINION TurboTax? More like TurboTyranny Capitalizing on catastrophe
P. 6 P. 7
SCIENCE & TECH Air Force releases aluminum-coated glass fibers over Oregon
P. 8
ARTS & CULTURE Representation on the path to liberation A&C events column
P. 9 P. 9
AND MORE... Comics Crossword Community & Wellness Resources: Updated Weekly
P. 10 P. 11 P. 12
STAFF EDITORIAL EDITOR IN CHIEF Kat Leon MANAGING EDITOR Tasha Sayre NEWS EDITOR Zoë Buhrmaster CO-NEWS EDITOR Alyssa Anderson ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Macie Harreld SCIENCE & TECH EDITOR Anish Kumar Arumugam OPINION EDITOR Cameron Rodriguez MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Alberto Alonso Pujazon Bogani
SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Josi Struck ONLINE AND PROMOTIONS EDITOR Alley Henrici DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Aishwarya Suresh COPY CHIEF Isabel Zerr CONTRIBUTORS Amber Finnegan Lilli Rudine Milo Loza Connor Clay Thuyu Gedi Sarah Applin PRODUCTION & DESIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Briana Cieri DESIGNERS
Arianna Thomas Haley Hsu Abby Raymundo Anand Kailasam Parker Patnode TECHNOLOGY & WEBSITE TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS George Olson Hongzu Pan Sara Ray ADVISING & ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood SALP ACCOUNTANT Maria Dominguez STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Rae Fickle
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PSU RELEASES ANNUAL OREGON HOUSELESSNESS REPORT REMOVAL OF EMERGENCY SNAP BENEFITS EXACERBATES ISSUE
KAT LEON/PSU VANGUARD The statewide HRAC report reveals an 8.2% increase in houselessness from 2022, highlighting a growing gap between sheltered and unsheltered individuals ZOË BUHRMASTER AND ALYSSA ANDERSON Portland State’s Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative (HRAC) released its annual report on Oregon’s houselessness on Feb. 2, shedding light on the ongoing and increasing crisis affecting the state. While HRAC is still gathering the full and forthcoming report of specifics of PSU student houselessness, advocates have highlighted the removal of emergency Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits as a contributing factor to the challenges faced by students in meeting their basic needs.
THE HRAC ANNUAL REPORT RESULTS
The statewide HRAC report shows that houselessness has increased by 8.2% from 2022. It also reported that the gap between sheltered and unsheltered houseless has risen. The lack of access to housing [is] what’s driving these high rates [and] high numbers that we’re seeing,” said Jacen Greene, the Assistant Director for HRAC. “And then the lack of shelter beds is what’s creating a higher proportion of unsheltered homelessness versus sheltered homelessness.” Oregon Housing and Community Services (OHCS) has commissioned HRAC’s research since 2021, after Senate Bill 5561 directed that the agency fund more studies on houselessness and houselessness prevention. The PSU study, in particular, provides the agency with a ground-level perspective and offers insight into county-bycounty data. OHCS Public Information Officer Delia Hernández stated that the information helps inform decisions about allocating funds for needs-based programs, such as Emergency Housing Assistance, Oregon Eviction Diversion and Prevention Program and State Homeless Assistance Program. They then transform the data from the annual study into an interactive County Profile dashboard for users. One statistic which the study has consistently shown throughout all three years is the state’s higher rate of houselessness for
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NEWS
BIPOC communities compared to their white counterparts. This is despite Oregon’s predominantly white population, which is 74% in 2023 according to the United States Census Bureau. “OHCS will also use the data on racial disparities to continue to better understand which populations need additional support and investment and to track progress towards reducing those disparities over time,” Hernández stated. HRAC collects data from a Point-In-Time count, which is a census of people who experience both unsheltered and sheltered houselessness on a single night in January. To enhance the accuracy, it combines that data with information from the Housing Inventory Count, which relays the total number of shelters and housing beds and the number of children in Oregon schools reported by the district as experiencing houselessness. “There’s literally nowhere for people to go,” Greene said. “There’s no housing. There’s no shelter. So people are forced out on the street or in tents or worse.” OHCS Director Andrea Bell acknowledged that the growth rate shown in the report lies beyond the service’s current grasp. “While our commitment to expanding shelter beds in Oregon remains steadfast, the sobering reality is that the statewide shelter bed gap has outpaced our efforts,” Bell said. “We hold a fierce urgency to bridge this gap.”
HOUSELESSNESS AND CHILDREN
According to this year’s report, an estimated 21,478 children enrolled in Oregon school districts experienced houselessness in 2023, equating to 3.9% of all students in the state. This is the fourth-highest recorded rate over the past 16 years. The highest rates of pre-K-12 student houseless populations per 1,000 students are in rural counties, specifically on the coast in Lincoln and Gilliam counties and in eastern Oregon along the Columbia River and Columbia Plateau. Greene noted that factors across the state such as a lack of
housing—specifically affordable housing and fewer shelters— are particularly exacerbated in rural counties. “I think it shows that in areas that just don’t have enough housing, which is increasingly rural parts of the state, where there aren’t enough available housing units or you might see housing units that are being converted into rentals, you’re going to have increasing rates of homelessness,” Greene said. Meanwhile, Multnomah and Washington counties contain the largest de facto number of students K-12 experiencing houselessness, with 3,472 and 3,207 students experiencing houselessness, respectively.
PSU STUDENT IMPACT OF HOUSELESSNESS
Statewide reports like this one, however, do not relay the complete picture of college students experiencing houselessness. The HRAC report shows those in a shelter or on the street. It does not portray the number of students who are doubled-up— meaning sharing other people’s housing by necessity rather than choice—as it does for K-12 students. HRAC is synthesizing data from a fall survey specific to PSU students experiencing houselessness and housing insecurity. However, during the 2022–2023 academic year, Lee Ann Phillips—the Basic Needs Navigator for PSU’s Basic Needs Hub— said she saw an increase in students who need emergency housing, noting that this is likely due to how expensive housing in Portland has become. Greene said the results—termed the PSU Student Housing Study—should be ready in the next couple of months.
DETRIMENTAL EFFECTS OF CHANGES TO SNAP ELIGIBILITY
Many factors are at play regarding the high rate of houselessness in Oregon and in the PSU community. According to Phillips and Bea McGrath—the Smallwood Food Pantry General Manager—food and other basic needs insecurities may play a significant role.
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 15, 2024 • psuvanguard.com
ALBERTO ALONSO PUJAZON BOGANI/PSU VANGUARD
ALBERTO ALONSO PUJAZON BOGANI/PSU VANGUARD
ALBERTO ALONSO PUJAZON BOGANI/PSU VANGUARD
KAT LEON/PSU VANGUARD
Many students have seen a restriction and removal of their emergency SNAP assistance due to changes in the requirements. Advocates point out that increases in food insecurity and other basic needs concerns impact students’ academic performance, overall mental health and sense of belonging Both agree that the recent changes to SNAP have exacerbated food insecurity issues on campus and possibly beyond. In early 2023, the emergency assistance granted to those eligible for SNAP benefits was removed. This emergency assistance allowed people with SNAP to receive more money for food each month, while also expanding eligibility guidelines for applicants. When emergency assistance ended, many people saw their SNAP benefits significantly decrease or even disappear. Now that the expanded eligibility requirements have been removed, graduate students are no longer eligible for SNAP if they don’t meet the 20- to 30-hour-a-week work requirement, which students can partly or entirely fulfill with undergraduate coursework but not graduate coursework. According to the BBC, 42.3 million Americans used SNAP in October 2022. Urban Institute, a progressive think tank, reported that the emergency SNAP allotments helped keep 4.2 million people out of poverty in the fourth quarter of 2021, reducing poverty by 9.6% in states with emergency allotments. Once the emergency assistance was removed, food banks nationwide experienced a significant strain due to increased users. While no research has found a direct correlation yet, Axios Portland reported that houselessness in Portland increased 20% from 2022–2023, which falls in line with the timeline of SNAP emergency assistance removal.
FOOD INSECURITY ON CAMPUS
According to McGrath, restricting and removing emergency assistance on who can receive them significantly impacted PSU students. “The damage done by needlessly withholding these benefits likely goes much farther than food insecurity,” McGrath said. “It hurts students’ abilities to access all of their basic needs
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 15, 2024 • psuvanguard.com
[and] the systems that provide them, as well as local businesses that benefit from students having the funds to buy the food they need.” So far this term, McGrath said the food pantry has averaged approximately 233 visits per day, a significant increase from the average 185 daily visits during the 2023 fall term and the 110 daily visits they saw in the 2023 spring term. Phillips said the Basic Needs Hub served 1,614 students, averaged 161 students per month and provided emergency meal vouchers to 810 students that year. Phillips said the Basic Needs Hub has also seen an increase in students using their services, but it’s possible this increase could be due to their increased visibility on campus. Phillips said she has become aware that more students are using the food pantry since the removal of emergency SNAP benefits. Students who did keep their benefits are only allotted around $150–200 a month when they used to have around $300. “They’ve got to supplement that somewhere, and we know that [food] prices have gone up as well,” Phillips said. “Food costs are so high right now, though. Even $150 is not going to give you a lot of groceries… We definitely have seen our numbers go up. Absolutely.” Phillips said continued food insecurity and other basic needs concerns impacts students’ academic performance, overall mental health and sense of belonging. “I have students in here who are really suffering and feeling like they need to drop out, because they can’t survive,” Phillips said. “They can’t meet needs. It’s every day I see students in this situation, so we have to re-evaluate how we can best bolster students’ success here.” McGrath explained that food insecurity is stressful, especially for students already under academic pressure. They said not
knowing where you will get your next meal takes a toll on one’s mental and physical health, which can affect the entire community’s well-being and is also usually connected with other forms of basic needs insecurity. “A lack of housing can obviously lead to food insecurity, because you have no place to store your food,” McGrath said. “A lack of food can lead to avoidable disease, which over burdens our healthcare system. [The] criminalization of poverty caused by homelessness, lack of medical care and food insecurity leads to the legal system breaking down. Reductions in SNAP benefits definitely plays a role in increasing homelessness and all of the other crises we are facing with access to basic needs.” Over the last few years, McGrath said the food pantry has received a massive amount of support from the Student Fee Committee, which allowed them to move into a newly remodeled and expanded space and serve more students. However, McGrath said much work must be done to combat basic needs insecurity at PSU. “Unfortunately, the estimated amount of PSU students experiencing food insecurity is many times higher than the amount we are serving, so there is still a lot of work to do if we are serious about eliminating hunger on campus,” McGrath said. Phillips said there are several things in the works that will hopefully help to combat basic needs insecurity for students, including the possibility of more Pell Grants and other financial aid resources coming to PSU, a recent partnership with Chartwells to distribute leftover food from university events to students, plans to allow students to use their EBT cards on campus, the enlarged food pantry on campus and mini food pantries in resource centers and schools or departments and more. “Food is a right for everyone,” Phillips said. “No one should be hungry.”
NEWS
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TURBOTAX? MORE LIKE TURBOTYRANNY FLAWED TAX SYSTEM NEEDS SYSTEMIC REFORM CONNOR CLAY If George Washington were around today, he would take one look at the United States tax filing system and say, “Dying is easy; doing taxes is harder.” Now is the time to examine the current tax filing system and realize just how flawed it is. One very apparent flaw is the need to file our taxes annually when the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) already has all our information. Why don’t they send us a bill that tells us how much we owe them and have us pay that? As is typical with issues in the modern-day U.S., the reason is systemic. After obtaining TurboTax from the company which created it in 1993, Intuit has worked hard to ensure that any other tax filing service remains shrouded in mystery and inaccessible, especially the truly free options. According to Justin Elliott, a reporter with ProPublica, in 2002, TurboTax and H&R Block worked out a deal with the IRS stipulating that both companies would give U.S. citizens access to free-filing software through their websites, so long as the government did not attempt to compete by creating its own. TurboTax subsequently hid its free file page from search engines. Intuit eventually made the page accessible but has since stopped participating in the IRS free file. In 2022, the Federal Trade Commission sued Intuit for having generated misleading TurboTax ads which claimed their product was completely free. Intuit initially contested the accusations and defended its actions but pulled the commercials shortly afterward. However, Intuit still claims online that their service is free for eligible people, but the free file option often includes hidden fees that don’t show up until you have completed and filled out the form. Moreover, the company still actively works to prevent U.S. citizens from finding free options, leaving the free versions inaccessible to many tax-payers. The notion that completing tax returns can be simple and free is foreign to most U.S. citizens but not in other countries. According to an article written by Tom Healey, a former Assistant Secretary of the Treasury, about 36 countries use what is called “Return-Free Filing.” Under Return-Free Filing, a given government handles all of the clerical work so that citizens don’t have to fill out federal tax returns from scratch every year. Individual citizens under this system are merely required to assess the government’s calculations, judge their accuracy and update any personal information, if necessary. Companies like Intuit and H&R Block become all the more insidious when you realize that they are the reason this has yet to be adopted by the U.S. government.
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OPINION
CAMERON RODREGUEZ According to Open Secrets, a research group tracking money in U.S. politics and its effect on elections and public policy, Inuit spent $3.78 million in 2023 alone on total federal lobbying expenditures in a thus-far triumphant attempt to prevent any such alternative from ever becoming more than a pipe dream. Despite all this effort, few people have heard anything about TurboTax and similar companies’ nefarious efforts. In a country as chock-full of flaws as ours is, taxes become a very low rung
on the priority for most citizens, and something we try and do the quickest without thinking about more than we have to. The U.S. has a long way to go in streamlining its tax filing processes. The fact that many equally affluent countries have operated off of Return-Free Filing instead of the subsidized system used in the U.S. puts this into perspective. Moreover, an actual free file still exists in the U.S. IRS-free file is a current option for eligible taxpayers and much less restricted than in the
past, with free in-person options where volunteer tax preparers can help you fill out and file your taxes and help reduce any confusion with the process. Also worth mentioning is the IRS’s brand-new Direct File pilot, initiated just last December, making free filing far more accessible as an online platform. Advertisements broadcasting this information are practically nonexistent, but trust that such platforms are out there, waiting to replace the nefarious, costly, invasive TurboTax.
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 15, 2024 • psuvanguard.com
CAPITALIZING ON CATASTROPHE
ARIANNA THOMAS
DISASTER CAPITALISM EXPLOITS CLIMATE CRISIS FUELED DISASTERS THUYU GEDI For private, profit-driven companies, disaster exists for the sole purpose of making a profit. Disaster capitalism is the opportunistic infiltration of capital into disaster-affected, socially vulnerable communities. In their 2007 book, The Shock Doctrine, author, social activist and filmmaker Naomi Klein coined the term “disaster capitalism.” State- and private-interest companies capitalize off disasters through lucrative contracts based on seizing natural resources, establishing security systems and land-grabs. Not only is disaster capitalism a United States issue, but it’s also a global issue, with cases observed across continents. From Hawaii to India, disaster capitalism spares no nation its predacious claws. With the consequences of global warming actualized, death and destruction create a new venture within a capitalist, market-based society. Capitalists are given a new opportunity to achieve financial gain through hoarding natural resources, often at the detriment of BIPOC and povertystricken communities. With the climate change-driven rise of natural disasters, we should scrutinize those willing or attempting to profit off the devastation of anyone, especially those in vulnerable positions. Take New Orleans, for example. During Hurricane Katrina in 2005—which left over 2,000 people stranded or deceased—the response from the government and leading stakeholders was to militarize and criminalize those affected by the disaster. Being in the city during Hurricane Katrina, Klein recounted soldiers with machine guns herding residents into buses with
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 15, 2024 • psuvanguard.com
unknown destinations, often separating families from one another. Simultaneously, disaster capitalism often exhibits military urbanism, which is the forced placement of soldiers in cities to maintain control of a population during chaos, often by exerting force and their understanding of order without offering adequate aid and resources. Privatized companies capitalize on disasters by securing contracts to profit from infrastructure and security measures. According to Klein, private security companies like Blackwater, “who were showing up fresh from Iraq,” positioned themselves in the city alongside developers who soon replaced residents’ homes with condos and luxury homes. Following the aftermath of Katrina, U.S. Army Officers went as far as describing New Orleans residents as “Iraqistyle insurgents” and believed they needed to take the city from them, according to the book Cities Under Siege: The New Military Urbanism by Stephen Graham, a Professor at Newcastle University. However, New Orleans isn’t the only city to fall victim to disaster capitalism. We see further examples globally. After the deadly 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami, fishing communities living in devastated coastal villages in Tamil Nadu were given properties and housing inland, outside of the tsunami hazard area. The tsunami and aid distribution forced residents to sell their beachfront properties, leading them to lose their traditional fishing sites. Soon after, the state and private interests worked together to dominate the fishing scene. Seeing cheap, disaster-stricken land
on the beach, these companies reaped the benefits of a disasterdriven, state-assisted relocation. Consequently, villagers could not practice their traditional, sustainable fishing system, and the unsustainable rapid extraction of profit-driven corporations took precedence and subsumed traditional lifeways. Those who previously fished to feed their families for a living now work for fishing companies, make the bare minimum and have lost their economic sovereignty. In the same way, capitalists use disasters as battlegrounds to exert and expand their control, we should work to further community-oriented goals for and by community members. If we recover from a disaster, it will be with our community’s labor at our community’s expense. We don’t need capitalists to tell us the way we should recover. When international corporations seek to profit from and exploit the victims of disaster on a global scale, then we—the people of the world—need to defend ourselves from this new and emerging form of capitalist exploitation. As climate change continues, so will the intensifying effects of natural disasters, leading to a rise in disaster capitalism. With our world facing an increase in environmental disasters, it’s more important than ever that we remain wary of capitalists and their attempts to exploit the poor and vulnerable. As people who endure the ever-present risk of the Cascadia Subduction Zone Earthquake, Portlanders should seek to educate themselves about disaster capitalism before its hands begin grasping at our most vulnerable communities.
OPINION
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COURTESY OF FRIENDS OF THE OWYHEE In southeast Oregon, military drills use chaff at possible detriment to the environment. Moreover, as out-of-control wildfires threaten Oregon, the Department of Forestry discovered a military flare remnant at fire site
AIR FORCE RELEASES ALUMINUM-COATED GLASS FIBERS OVER OREGON SCIENCE PERSPECTIVE ON CHAFF AND ITS ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ANISH ARUMUGAM In Oregon’s Owyhee Canyonlands, where the air is crisp and the land echoes with the whispers of the Oregon wilderness, a new and different kind of thunder rumbles. When F-15 fighter jets tear through the skies and leave behind a trail of pollution, it disturbs not just the harmonious melody of nature but also the environmental balance. Beneath the wings of these machines, a lesserknown menace spreads—military chaff. As the cloud of aluminum-coated glass fibers settles over pristine landscapes, it brings with it a host of ecological challenges. Radiofrequency chaff is an electronic countermeasure designed to reflect radar waves and obscure planes, ships and other assets from radar tracking sources. Chaff consists of aluminum-coated glass fibers ranging in lengths from 0.8 to 0.75 cm, according to a research article written by Captain Darryl P. Arfsten, a research biochemist at Naval Health Research Center Detachment. Chaff are millions of dipoles, which are pairs of opposite electric charges. When released from military vehicles, these dipoles create a
COURTESY OF A REPORT COMPILED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE
Chaff is deployed by U.S. armed forces all across the country dispersed cloud that is invisible to the human eye. This cloud then scatters electromagnetic signals, making it difficult for radar systems to accurately detect and track targets. Chaff is a very light material that can remain suspended in the air anywhere from 10 minutes to 10 hours. It can also travel considerable distances from its release point, depending on prevailing atmospheric conditions, according to Arfsten’s research. “We are very concerned about the negative impacts that all of this expelled garbage will have on public lands, wildlife, and communities, and especially water quality,” stated Mark Salvo,
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Program Director of the Oregon Natural Desert Association (ONDA). The stakes are high, with potential threats looming over the delicate balance of ecosystems in the Owyhee Canyonlands. The United States government estimates an annual release of at least 500 tons of military chaff as the Air Force intensifies its jet fighter training over the Owyhee Canyonlands. This expansion, however, comes with a heavy cost to the environment. The roar of F-15 fighter jets—flying as low as 100 feet above the ground— disturbs the natural rhythm of the landscape, scattering sage grouse and panicking bighorn sheep and unsettling the local communities that rely on this land. Long after the fighter jets are gone, the aluminum-coated glass fibers from chaff settle on the land, potentially threatening water quality and compromising river systems. “Chaff and flares include pollutants that could degrade desert waters, kill fish and other aquatic life, and compromise riverine systems,” Salvo stated. This raises a poignant question: are we sacrificing environmental integrity in pursuing military readiness? In southeast Oregon, military drills cause potential environmental damage beyond just chaff. A string of wildfires, all attributed to human activity, prompted federal and state agencies to investigate possible links to military training exercises. The Oregon Department of Forestry found a remnant of a military flare at one of the fire sites. The Oregon National Guard—responsible for using flares in self-defense training exercises—are facing allegations as investigators connect the dots between military flares and wildfire incidents. The Oregon Public Broadcast details an investigation into the flare-caused wildfires, revealing a concentrated effort by federal and state agencies to understand the cause. While skepticism lingers within military circles, discovering a military flare remnant at the burn site has fueled suspicions. Due to these concerns, the Oregon National Guard, the Navy and the Idaho National Guard are under scrutiny, raising questions about the true extent of military activities and their potential impact on the environment. Amidst these revelations, the public re-
COURTESY OF A REPORT COMPILED BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY OFFICE Amidst concerns for the environment chaff can also impact meteorological readings sponds with justified outrage. ONDA took a stand, filing litigation against the Air Force. This legal action seeks to halt the proposed low-altitude training over the Owyhee Canyonlands, demanding a comprehensive and well-informed public review of the environmental consequences. “The National Environmental Policy Act is clear: federal agencies, including the Department of Defense, must comprehensively and publicly analyze the potential impacts of their decisionmaking on the environment and communities,” Salvo stated. “In this case, the Air Force has failed to do that. We are asking the federal court to require further research and consideration of their decision to expand and intensify jet fighter training in southeastern Oregon.” The use of chaff by the military is widespread and extends across the U.S. According to a report compiled by the U.S. Government Accountability Office, the Air Force has approximately 39 designated training areas—or ranges—where they deploy chaff in the U.S. and off the coast. The Navy and Marine Corps have 14 ranges. These ranges serve as critical training grounds, but the environmental consequences of chaff deployment cannot be ignored, especially in areas where communities reside in close proximity to the ranges. Recent events—such as the mysterious
blob captured on Texas radar on Jan. 30, 2024— highlight the real-time implications of chaff deployment and how pervasive it has become. Meteorologists from the National Weather Service identified the anomaly as military chaff deployed during an exercise involving at least one of Texas’s 15 military installations. The viral nature of the radar imagery sparked discussions, ranging from conspiracy theories to genuine concerns about such deployments’ environmental and public health impact. Over the past few years, FOX Weather has reported similar radar depictions in Utah, Arkansas, Florida and a host of other states. The deployment of chaff by the U.S. military is a multifaceted issue with environmental, public health and community impact. The comprehensive overview presented in the reports and recent incidents, such as the radar anomaly in Texas, underscores the need for increased scrutiny and awareness surrounding chaff deployment. As technology evolves and military training intensifies, it is imperative to balance national security needs and the preservation of our environment. The potential risks and consequences of chaff deployment demand further investigation, public discourse and responsible military practices to ensure a harmonious coexistence between national defense and environmental stewardship.
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 15, 2024 • psuvanguard.com
REPRESENTATION ON THE PATH TO LIBERATION CELEBRATE BLACK HISTORY MONTH AT CASCADE AFRICAN FILM FEST SARAH APPLIN The Cascade Festival of African Films is the longestrunning, non-profit African film festival in the United States. Eugenie Jolivett Fontana, codirector of the festival, identified herself as being of African descent and stressed the importance of African representation and storytelling on the world stage as a form of liberation from Westerndominated, Eurocentric media. “When you have knowledge of something, you become more free to explore… and [gain] access to being able to hear stories [that haven’t] been passed through a westernized lens,” Fontana said. “The festival creates an opportunity to discover and connect to non-Westernized filmmakers stories from Africa and its diaspora.” The festival is free and primarily volunteer-based. It will take place from Feb. 2 through March 2 at multiple locations around Portland, primarily at the Portland Community College’s Cascade Campus. The first four weeks of the festival occur during Black History Month, while the fifth week celebrates women filmmakers, since March is Women’s History Month. Events will consist of short and feature film screenings, family activities and Q&A sessions with film directors. The festival aims to show “Africa through the eyes of Africans,” according to their website, and encourages western viewers to learn about the vastness of African cultures. “Initially, the festival was started back in 1991 by four Portland Community College Cascade campus faculty members,” Fontana said. One of the film festival’s primary missions is to be an educational resource accessible to the broader Portland community. For this reason, the festival organizers have prioritized free entry for the public. Additionally, the festival is continuing to explore and find creative ways to include those unable to attend in-person events. “We have partnered up with the Multnomah County Library this year to be able to have a virtual, curated program list of films [as an] aspect of the film festival,” Fontana said. “For example, what if your
family member doesn’t want to go out right now because of the influx of [COVID-19]? Because that’s still here and people’s immune systems can be compromised.” The festival’s virtual list of screenings—different from the in-person films—are available to the public through the Multnomah County Library app, Kanopy. Director Q&As will be recorded and posted on the festival’s official website or available for live streaming. During some festival events, Q&As with the filmmakers occur and community discussion after the film screenings. “We’re exploring ways to provide some sort of format of the festival to folks that have accessibility issues or challenges to experience the festival,” Fontana said. “These are other ways that we can expose folks to become curious, educated and gain more knowledge around the continent of Africa.” On Feb. 3, the Cascade Festival of African Films showed Four Daughters, a story of a Tunisian family of women who have lost their two eldest sisters. It is a biographical film that is a retelling of the lives of these women. While not only being intimate and raw, the film also highlights the perseverance and true strength of African women. “There is resilience seeing the process of the filmmakers—there is [a] commonality in that,” Fontana said. “It also daylights the disparities and the level of access. Again, when you get exposed and become aware, you are moving more on a path of liberating your views and it is freeing.” “Having self-expression and using art as a medium to tell stories or using your voice is a form of liberation,” Fontana said. “I think no matter if that story is told verbally or visually or audibly, African culture is one of those demonstrations of that.” Exposing others to the African experience is central to Fontana’s work as a co-director of the festival. “The part that drew me to the festival is the fact that it is Africa through African lenses, and the stories are being told by African filmmakers,” Fontana said. “I think that was the most unique part of that, because we don’t talk about
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 15, 2024 • psuvanguard.com
Local A&C Events MILO LOZA
DeVotchKa
Revolution Hall Feb. 16, 8 p.m. $25 Celebrate the twentieth anniversary of the album How It Ends with this special performance
COURTESY OF CASCADE FESTIVAL OF AFRICAN FILMS
Four Daughters is a 2023 Arabic-language film that is partly documentary and partly reenacted. The film tells the story of a Tunisian woman’s search for her missing daughters
that enough in history or when we talk about Africa.” “I am of African descent, as American born along with other cultural descendants in my lineage—[African] being the primary one,” Fontana said. “It’s a connection that I am not familiar with because, in the [United] States, we don’t talk about it in the context other than slavery. We really don’t talk about the stories or how folks are experiencing the African experience in current times.” Fontana emphasized how often African stories are in a grief space, when in reality there is so much richness of other experiences like joy to be shared and expressed in African stories. “[The Cascade Festival of African Films] removes Africa as a myth or [a] sort of past history,” she said. Africa is a continent-spanning a vibrant diversity of cultures, histories, and peoples. The Cascade Festival of African Films seeks to provide a glimpse into some of these many stories and perspectives. “[The festival] fits right into Black History Month, because it attaches to the experience of being the stolen people,” Fontana said. “When we think about being stolen, it changes the lens. I think that, again, the value and the joy of the festival is in that. I really want to highlight the joy, because it is really important… It’s really important, because that is how many cultures—not just in African culture, but many cultures—that is how we move. We tell the stories of the human experience, and we do it through dance and music, and they all connect, and there’s always this feeling of joy somewhere.”
Dinner Detective
Embassy Suites by Hilton Portland Downtown Feb. 17, 6 p.m. $71+ Solve a murder mystery while enjoying a dinner at this interactive show
Paddy’s Open Mic
Paddy’s Bar & Grill Feb. 18, 6:30 p.m. Free Comedy open mic with four-minute sets, hosted by Dan Wianco Nigerian Film Director Izu Ojukwu attends the Cascade Festival of African Films at Hollywood Theatre for the screening of his film, titled '76
El Oh Hell
Dante’s Feb. 19, 4 p.m. Free Comedy open mic with five-minute sets in a hell-themed bar, hosted by Bryan Withawhy
Galen Clark
Goodfoot Pub & Lounge Feb. 20, 9 p.m. $10+ Portland based musician and teacher that writes music and plays keyboard
Queen of Katwe is a biographical drama that takes place in Kampala, Uganda. Actress Madina Nalwanga plays 10-year-old Phiona Mutesi becoming an internationally-titled chess player
PDX Jazz Fest
The Hoxton Feb. 21, 5 p.m. Free A community event featuring Farnell Newton and The Sexual Chocolates with Vanilla Sprinkles
Chill N Fill Comedy
Chill N Fill Feb. 22, 8 p.m. Free A weekly comedy show featuring local talent and hosted Ben Harkins
Fontana welcoming the audience at the Saturday screening of Four Daughters on Feb. 2
The programming organized by Cascade Festival of African Films is free, accessible online and largely organized by volunteers
ARTS & CULTURE
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COMICS
PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 15, 2024 • psuvanguard.com
VANGUARD CROSSWORD Answers in stories
2/15/24 MILO LOZA
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Down Across Down: Across: 3. PSU's Basic Needs Hub saw an increase in 1. According to this year’s report, an estimated 21,478 1. Aemergency ccording to thishousing year’s report, an estimated PSU's Basicin Needs Hub saw an increase in students students needing during the ______3. enrolled Oregon school districts 21,478 ______ enrolled in Oregon school districts needing emergency housing during the 2022–2023 2022–2023 academic year. experienced houselessness in 2023. experienced houselessness in 2023 academic year 5. Pairs of opposite charges creating the of African 2. The fifth week of Theelectric Cascade Festival ofthe African 2. Telectric he fifth week of The Cascade Festival 5. P airs of opposite charges creating Films will celebrate which filmmakers? dispersed cloudwhich in chaff filmmakers? dispersed cloud in chaff. Films will celebrate The companymentioned that acquired by TurboTax in 1993 6. Private security companyTurboTax mentioned by 4. The company that acquired inNaomi 1993Klein, and is 6. Private security4.company Naomi known for capitalizing on disaster related contracts accused of preventing free options. Klein, known for capitalizing onworking disaster related 7. TurboTax is actively _____ U.S. citizens seeking free tax options 8. “As _____ _____ continues, so will the intensifying contracts. 7. The people behind TurboTax actively effects of natural disasters, are leading to a riseworking in 8. Military countermeasure using aluminum-coated disaster capitalism,” two words _______ U.S. citizens seeking free tax options. 8. “As ____ ____ continues, so will the intensifying glass fibers effects of natural disasters, leading to a rise in 9. O rganization filing litigation the Air Force to 8. Military countermeasure usingagainst aluminum-coated address environmental concerns disaster capitalism.” glass fibers. 10. The Cascade Festival of African Films will have virtual 9. Organization filing litigation against the Air Force screenings available through this website/app to address environmental concerns. 11. Lee Ann Phillips emphasizes that many students experience insecurity in this essential area, impacting 10. The Cascade Festival of African Films will have academic performance, overall mental health, and a virtual screenings available through this Answers from Feb. 1st sense of belonging 1) Queer Opera, 2) Reuse Room, 3) trash, 4) SMSU, 5) Park website/app Blocks, 6) heteronormative, 7) cybersecurity, 8) algorithm, 12. The food _____ during winter term, so far, has 9) protest, 10) OCCOE, 11) equity averaged approximately 233 visits per day 11. Lee Ann Phillips emphasizes that many students experience insecurity in this essential area, impacting academic performance, overall mental health, and a sense of belonging. 12. The food ____ during winter term, so far, has PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 15, 2024 • psuvanguard.com CROSSWORD 11 averaged approximately 233 visits per day.
Community & Wellness Resources UPDATED WEEKLY By Milo Loza
Happening Soon
Resources
Wellness
PSU Basic Needs Hub
SHAC Mind Spa
SMSU Suite 435 Mon–Fri, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Free for students
UCB Suite 310 Mon–Fri (by appointment) Free for students
URBN 270 Feb. 16, 12 p.m. Free for students
Helps students access resources such as funds, food, housing, employment, childcare and health support.
Solo space to experience biofeedback, light therapy, meditation, massages, relaxation and more. Must be enrolled in at least five credits for summer or fall.
Learn about state-level pedestrian advocacy at this speaker meeting with Oregon Walks
PSU Food Pantry
Oregon Walks
Fig Pick FMH 334 Feb. 16, 3:45 p.m. Free for students
1704 SW Broadway (temporary location) Tues–Thur, 12–4 p.m. Free for students Access to free groceries in a welcoming, equitable, trauma-informed way. Must be enrolled in at least one credit for summer or fall.
Multnomah Behavioral Health Online Available 24/7 Free Discover resources and communities for behavioral health, including mental health and addiction
The Russian Speaking Club helps you learn Russian slang
Winterreise Lincoln Recital Hall (LH 75) Feb. 17, 7 p.m. Free for students A multimedia performance of Franz Schubert’s late, tragic masterpiece Winterreise
Bottoms 5th Avenue Cinema Feb. 18, 3 p.m. Free for students A 2023 comedy about two girls starting a self-defense club with unexpected consequences
SALP Bowling & Bingo Social SMSU Viking Game Room Feb. 20, 3:30 p.m. Free for students Play games while connecting with student leaders across SALP
Pinkwashing Exposed 5th Ave Cinema Feb. 22, 6 p.m. Free for students Seattle activists nix a pro-Israel tour, expose pinkwashing and face backlash
SMART recovery meetings
Opioid Overdose Reversal Training
University Center Building 340 E Times vary Free
SHAC, Suite 340E Mon 10–12 p.m. & Fri 2–3 p.m. Free for students
In peer recovery, students with shared experiences connect to reduce stigma and build a campus recovery community.
Pick up free opioid overdose reversal medication and get a 10-minute training on how to use it
SHAC weekly online parent support group Online Thursdays 11 a.m. Free Come together as parents in a relaxed setting to support each other, share ideas, collaborate and commiserate
Women’s Resource Center Online Mon–Fri, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free Confidential advocacy services to students who have experienced sexual harassment, assault, violence and stalking
Oregon Energy Fund Varying Locations Mon–Fri, hours vary Free Provides energy bill assistance to low-income Oregonians to support household stability
Mindful Meanderings Listen on Spotify Available 24/7 Free PSU-produced podcast about being mindful while outside, practicing gratitude, finding joy and being in the moment
Telus Health Student Support Download on App Store or Google Play Available 24/7 Free Connecting students with free, confidential mental health and wellbeing support
Outdoor Workshop Wednesdays Watch on Youtube Available 24/7 Free PSU Campus Recreation Center staff videos about topics ranging from Leave No Trace and plant identification to hiking spots and land acknowledgments
BORP online fitness studio Watch on Zoom Mon–Sat, hours vary Free Bay Area Outreach and Recreation Program’s (BORP) virtual exercise classes for people with physical disabilities
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PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 15, 2024 • psuvanguard.com