Portland State Vanguard Volume 76 Issue 41

VOLUME 76 • ISSUE 41 • MARCH 30, 2022

OUT WITH THE NEW, IN WITH THE OLD:

SPRING TERM BEGINS WITHOUT MASKS

ARTS & CULTURE

SPORTS

OPINION

Countering coffee culture P. 5

A March Madness miracle P. 6

Protecting the proletariat P. 7

CONTENTS

COVERS BY ANASTASIA PARGETT

INTERNATIONAL THIS WEEK AROUND THE WORLD

P. 4

SPORTS SAINT PETER’S UNIVERSITY: THE 2022 CINDERELLA STORY

P. 6

ARTS & CULTURE SNOB-FREE COFFEE?

P. 5

OPINION IN DEFENSE OF THE ESSENTIAL WORKER

P. 7

STAFF EDITORIAL EDITOR IN CHIEF Béla Kurzenhauser

INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Alberto Alonso Pujazon Bogani

MANAGING EDITOR Karisa Yuasa

OPINION EDITOR Justin Cory

PHOTO EDITOR Sofie Brandt

ONLINE EDITOR Christopher Ward

SPORTS EDITOR Eric Shelby

COPY CHIEF Mackenzie Streissguth

NEWS EDITOR Zoe Edelman

DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Tanner Todd

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Ryan McConnell

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Olivia Lee

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Tanner Todd

CONTRIBUTORS Alex Aldridge Camden Benesh Whitney Griffith Nova Johnson

PRODUCTION & DESIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Shannon Steed

ADVISING & ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood

DESIGNERS Leo Clark Whitney Griffith Fiona Hays Mia Levy Astrid Luong Anastasia Pargett

STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Maria Dominguez

TECHNOLOGY & WEBSITE TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS Kahela Fickle George Olson Kwanmanus Thardomrong

STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Vacant To contact Portland State Vanguard, email editor@psuvanguard.com

MISSION STATEMENT 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.

ABOUT 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 Wednesdays and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com.

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

WE’RE HIRING Copy Editors & News Editor EMAIL RESUME AND COVER LETTER TO EDITOR@PSUVANGUARD.COM

THIS WEEK

around the

WORLD

March 21–27

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March 22

GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

A survey of 6,475 cities on Tuesday displayed that not a single country managed to meet the World Health Organization’s (WHO) air quality standard in 2021, according to Reuters. Smog was shown to have rebounded in some areas following a dip due to COVID-19.

The recommendations from WHO stated that the average annual reading for small and hazardous airborne particles—known as PM2.5— should not be any higher than five micrograms per cubic meter. These updated guidelines were changed last year, stating that even low concentrations can pose and cause significant health risks. 93 cities reported PM2.5 levels at 10 times the recommended level. Only 3.4% of the surveyed cities met the standard in 2021.

“There are a lot of countries that are making big strides in reduction,” said Christi Schroeder, air quality science manager with IQAir. “China started with some very big numbers and they are continuing to decrease over time.

But there are also places in the world where it is getting significantly worse.”

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March 24

WUZHOU, CHINA

An investigation into a cockpit voice recorder from a China Eastern Airlines jet that crashed

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INTERNATIONAL

into a mountain side with 132 people on board was started by Chinese investigators on Thursday as recovery crews searched the fields of the wreckage for a second black box, as reported by Reuters. Flight MU5735 was supposed to start its descent before landing on its route from Kunming to Guangzhou on Monday, when the jet suddenly plunged downwards from its cruising altitude. Nearly the entire jet disintegrated upon impact, with some debris and human remains found—the cause of the crash still unknown. No survivors have been found, with experts saying it is all but impossible that any person could have survived the impact. The first black box was recovered on Wednesday, and the material inside it seemed to have survived the impact in relatively good condition according to Zhu Tao, an official for the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC). “An initial inspection showed that the exterior of the recorder has been severely damaged, but the storage units, while also damaged to some extent, are relatively complete,” he stated. The head of aircraft investigation at CAAC, Mao Yanfeng, said that no danger was posed by weather along the flight path and air controllers had communication with the flight after take-off and prior to its rapid descent, according to Reuters. U.S. efforts to

join the investigation are currently being held back due to COVID-19 restrictions. China had invited the U.S. to investigate because the plane had been designed and manufactured in the United States, however, the U.S. National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) said it had not determined if investigators would travel to China. Chinese officials declined to comment on whether or not the members of the NTSB would be invited. “The search area is really large, plus the two days of rain make the path very slippery,” said one of the members of the search party of 1,600 people.

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March 25

BELFAST, IRELAND

Irish Foreign Minister Simon Coveney gave a speech at the Building Common Ground event in Belfast, Northern Ireland on Friday before being taken off stage due to a suspicious van, as reported by Reuters. Officials warned Coveney as he delivered his speech and led him off stage to quickly drive him away from the venue in his government-issued car, according to a Reuters journalist on the scene. The van driver’s identity is currently undisclosed, but the driver claimed they were ordered at gunpoint to drive the van to the event where the foreign minister was speaking. The two

gunmen placed a suspect device within the van which was ultimately discovered to be a hoax—however, it was clearly designed to cause maximum disruption, according to Assistant Chief Constable Mark McEwan who spoke at a news conference. McEwan did not speculate on the motivation of the crime. “Just think about this, the victim believed he was driving a van with a live bomb and that his family were being threatened,” McEwan said. “At this early stage of the investigation our assessment is that these crimes were carried out by loyalist paramilitary groups. We’re keeping an open mind but one of the primary lines of investigation is the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force).” Last year, the UVF were among loyalist militant groups that temporarily withdrew support for a 1988 peace deal in protest of the trade border created between Northern Ireland and the other parts of the United Kingdom, following Britain’s exit from the European Union, according to Reuters. Occasional attacks by small militant groups remain active, in the 30-year conflict between Irish nationalists seeking to be unified with the Irish Republic and pro-British loyalists and the British Army determined to keep Northern Ireland under British rule.

PSU Vanguard • MARCH 30, 2022 • psuvanguard.com

SNOB-FREE COFFEE? DEADSTOCK’S OPERATIONS MANAGER ON INSPIRATION, COFFEE AESTHETICS AND SMALL BUSINESS LEFT: SNEAKERS AND MENU INSIDE DEADSTOCK COFFEE. RIGHT: DEADSTOCK COFFEE BANNER OUTSIDE THE SHOP. CAMDEN BENESH/PSU VANGUARD CAMDEN BENESH Step into Deadstock Coffee, located on 403 NW Couch Street, and your view of coffee shops might be changed. With its snazzy personality and atmosphere of creativity, Deadstock sets itself apart from other, more traditional shops in the coffee mecca that is Portland, Oregon. Deadstock showcases rare footwear and popping art in a venue that feels like a creative workspace. With its in-house roasted coffee, the shop serves brews to match the vibe—so even if you roll up with Crocs and socks on, know you are in for a damn good cup of coffee.

A self-described snob-free coffee zone with a barbershop feel, Deadstock actively reimagines what coffee shops should be like, with sneaker latte art and catchy roast names such as Fresh Prince. Deadstock keeps a strong community focus, building mutually beneficial relationships with other small businesses, recently collaborating with ice cream shop Kate’s Ice Cream and matcha specialist Teabar.

This week, Vanguard sat down with Deadstock’s Operations Manager, Nalani McFadden, to learn about her work with the company, and what it means to be snob-free.

Vanguard: What is the origin story behind Deadstock Coffee?

McFadden: Deadstock began after [founder] Ian [Williams] left Nike and wanted to create a space where he could chill with his homies. After working his way up from a janitor to a footwear developer, he decided to turn his attention towards something more community-oriented. Already involved in the sneaker community, he came to the realization that coffee had a similar unifying force. And so, Deadstock was born!

V: How did you hear about Deadstock, and why did you

PSU Vanguard • MARCH 30, 2022 • psuvanguard.com

want to work there?

M: I heard about Deadstock a couple of years ago just through the internet and social media. I was already working in coffee in Portland and was interested in continuing, but found the coffee scene to be super-white. I had a lot of other community work under my belt as well, and [wanted] to keep that going as well. I figured if I was going to work anywhere it should be community-oriented and also super tight. I had an opportunity to do a school-sponsored internship after graduating so I just emailed Ian asking if he wanted help. It took a bit to hear back from him but eventually he called me on graduation day and the rest is history!

V: What does your day-to-day look like as an Operations Manager?

M: I wear a lot of different hats as Ops Manager, so my [dayto-day] can vary quite a bit but I like it that way! I spend weekends on-bar at Deadstock, but during the week I usually tend to admin stuff from Concourse (our new shop). I’ll answer emails, make calls, do interviews, help with catering orders or drink development, attend meetings and whatever else comes up in between. Never a dull moment over here.

V: What’s the inspiration for events like the run club or the latte art throwdown?

M: I think it all just comes back to community. We love to share in our interests with others and it only strengthens our community. Inspiration for a given event usually just comes from someone on our team or a homie that is into something specific and brings it to the group, so it can really be anything.

Keep your eyes peeled for the Deadstock Skate Club!

V: A lot of coffee shops aren’t centered around a certain theme like sneakers; why do you think this is?

M: I think a lot of third-wave coffee shops end up falling into a similar sort of aesthetic vocabulary. It’s all very monochrome, clean, quiet, minimal. At Deadstock, we don’t find that we have to sacrifice great aesthetics for a quality product. And why not take the opportunity to show a bit of personality? I think people can sometimes prejudge us and assume that just because our shop looks a certain way that our coffee must not actually be good, that we must be overcompensating for something.

Which is goofy, but we just encourage those people to come in and see for themselves.

V: How has the pandemic changed operations within Deadstock?

M: I didn’t work at Deadstock pre-pandemic so it’s hard to say, but we actually experienced quite the boom in May-June of 2020 during the BLM [Black Lives Matter] protests. People being more interested in supporting Black businesses was a huge boost for us and it’s only ever been up since [Deadstock] started.

V: With coffee-tea fusion drinks like the Lebronald Palmer and the Zero Chill, where do you see the menu for coffee going?

M: I think that coffee is a really cool plant with a lot of unused potential! There are so many neat things you can do with it—at all stages of the coffee process—that we are always looking to explore and incorporate into our own menu.

V: What should we be on the lookout for from Deadstock in the future?

M: Stay on the lookout for more exciting brand collabs and community events! We hope to see you there.

ARTS & CULTURE

5

SAINT PETER'S UNIVERSITY: THE 2022 CINDERELLA STORY SAINT PETER'S BECOMES THE FIRST #15 SEED SCHOOL TO MAKE THE ELITE EIGHT

ERIC SHELBY Essential to the madness of March, there is always a Cinderella school—a low-seed school that upsets multiple high-seed schools—in the tournament, such as #16 seed University of Maryland, Baltimore County dominating #1 seed Virginia 74-54 in 2018.

But no school has done what Saint Peter's University has done. The Peacocks—yes, the Peacocks—became the first #15 seed school to make it to the Elite Eight. It all started when the Peacocks made it to the tournament in an automatic bid, won the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference and played the #2 seed Kentucky Wildcats in the first round of the tourney.

Saint Peter's University is a small Jesuit Catholic University in Jersey City, New Jersey, with 2,600 undergraduates and 800 graduates—for reference, Portland State University has 23,177 total students.

The Peacocks competed in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference (MAAC), finishing second with a 22-11 record, 14-6 in conference. They play at the Run Baby Run Arena which has a capacity of 3,200.

They were seeded #2 in the MAAC tournament, beating #7 seed Fairfield 77-63, #11 seed Quinnipiac 64-52 and #4 seed Monmouth 60-54.

The Peacocks stunned the nation, upsetting the #2 seed Wildcats’ 85-79 lead as Daryl Banks III made 27 points and went 5-8 on three-pointers. Doug Edert put up 20 points, with a perfect 2-2 on three-pointers and a perfect 8-8 on the free throw line. Jaylen Murray put up eight points with 3-7 shots, but 2-2 when behind the three-point line. The team had a high 52.9% three-point field goal percentage and outshot Kentucky, which went 26.7%, or 4-15, on three-pointers.

March Madness fans fell in love instantly. Murray State—a #7 seed—was a team with 31 wins and only two losses team, after a win over the #10 seed San Francisco Dons. Saint Peter's did not sweat and beat out the Murray State Racers by 10 points and won 70-60. 10 rebounds and 17 points came from KC Ndefo and 13 points from Edert. The

team looked like they belonged there, keeping it close the whole game and dominating the court.

The Peacocks advanced to the Sweet 16, becoming the second #15 seed to ever make it past the second round. Only 1.53% of March Madness brackets picked them to advance this far. Oral Roberts University in Tulsa, Oklahoma was the first #15 seed team to make it to the Sweet 16, just last year.

The next real challenge was the #3 seed Purdue Boilermakers, a school with multiple top-25 wins under their belt—including #16 Iowa, #19 Illinois, #6 Villanova and #14 Wisconsin. This game was closer as Banks dropped 14 points to lead the team and Clarence Rupert put up 11 points and three rebounds. Edert put up 10 points and three rebounds, in 21 minutes.

The Peacocks had 19 fouls while Purdue had 18 fouls. Both teams were hot on the free throw line—shooting 19-21 for Saint Peter's which is a high 90.5%. Purdue went 13-15 which is 86.7% on the line. Edert went 7-for-8 on the free throw line. Saint Peter's had more steals with nine while Purdue had two. The Peacocks went on to spoil the Boilermakers’ dreams of competing in the Final Four when they won 67-64.

The last time the Saint Peter's Peacocks danced in the March Madness tournament was in 2011, with a loss to Purdue 43-65, so it only made sense to play them again and seek revenge on the Boilermakers in their comeback appearance.

In the Peacocks’ three previous times in the March Madness tournament—in 2011, 1995 and 1991—they never saw past the first round. The Peacocks were not new to the postseason though, as they won the College Insider Tournament (CIT) in 2017 against Texas A&M Corpus Christi, 62-61.

Saint Peter's made history with this win over Purdue, advancing to the Elite Eight and being the first and only #15 seed team to do so. Only 0.87% of March Madness brackets picked Saint Peter's to advance to the Elite Eight. The Peacocks now play the #8 seed North Carolina for a chance to make more history, with hopes to become the first #15 seed to ever compete in the Final Four.

DOUG EDERT CELEBRATING OVER PURDUE IN MARCH MADNESS. HANNAH ALLY/JERSEY SPORTING NEWS

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SPORTS

PSU Vanguard • MARCH 30, 2022 • psuvanguard.com

IN DEFENSE OF THE ESSENTIAL WORKER THE WORKING CLASS ARE EXPLOITED BY COMPANIES AND CUSTOMERS ALIKE

LEO CLARK

ALEX ALDRIDGE Since we entered the pandemic two years ago, much has been revealed about certain structures and institutions in our society—exposing the enormously toxic behavior and virtuesignaling aimed at retail and service workers.

From attacks and verbal abuse for enforcing mask mandates to companies making record profits while paying laughable wages, the lauded essential workers have been on the defense from both the companies they work for and the customers that come in with a sense of entitlement for how they believe they should be treated.

Essential workers were only deemed essential by the upper class that exploits their labor and steals their wages—and by the customers who unfairly use the workers as punching bags for whatever problems with which they may be dealing.

It needs to be said that the customer is not always right. The toxic work environment this adage created needs to to be tossed into the trash, where the rest of the capitalist bullshit belongs.

The position in the hierarchy that the customer holds over the worker is one that needs to be smashed.

Having worked in grocery for nearly nine years, I can speak to the emotional labor one puts into their profession when working with customers. While customers verbally abuse and belittle employees, the expectation from companies is that employees should continue to provide service with a smile, rather than defend ourselves—lest we give the company a bad reputation or a loss in profits. There are those who do come into a store believing the dollar amount they hand over also purchases the right to treat employees like garbage.

PSU Vanguard • MARCH 30, 2022 • psuvanguard.com

Having to suppress emotions when being verbally assaulted is unhealthy and unnatural. Keeping feelings locked up and hidden away from the customer is toxic to the worker as it eats away at any semblance of emotional health.

Employees build the reputation that many companies have in the public eye. The workers who represent the company provide customers with the experience they desire—and these workers are sick of the treatment they get from both their employers and customers who think of themselves as superior human beings.

Currently, the debate about working from home versus working remotely exposes great privilege—as there are many who don’t have the luxury, space or ability to have a quiet workspace from home. While the lack of commute saves time, money and the environment, it leaves many of those in the service industry in the dark—yet again.

Service workers throughout the pandemic never had the choice to work remotely. We had to be there, in-person, just to be screamed at by customers who threw temper tantrums— and believed we were somehow responsible for the pandemic.

We had to enforce mandates that required customers to wear a mask for only a fraction of the time that we had to wear ours.

Businesses have been tightening the margins, extracting more of our labor while finding ways to cut benefits and pay employees less—all while prices for everything have continued to rise.

Minimum wage is a joke, and the fight for $15 is now a slap in the face, as it should be $26 an hour if matched to economic productivity.

Anyone who believes minimum wage is enough is out of touch with the reality of this country’s working class. With all the focus

on gas prices, the ability to keep a roof over one’s head is being ignored—as it becomes easier and easier for landlords and property management companies to charge insane amounts for rent, forcing many people to work multiple jobs.

Hustle culture is not a desire of younger generations. But it is a needless survival strategy in response to the greed and wealth accumulation of those who exploit the working class. While older generations benefited from—and took advantage of—so much more offered to them, the current working class and younger generations are left with nothing and expected to figure it out.

The ladder leading to a positive future was pulled up from under us before we even began to climb.

There is a stranglehold of capitalism around the working class, stealing our labor while paying us insufficient and insulting wages. The last thing workers want to do is deal with customers coming into the restaurants, grocery stores and other essential businesses we work in, and take out their frustrations and insecurities on someone just trying to figure out how to pay rent.

With a future that seems bleak to so many, the least people can do is drop their entitlement when they visit the grocery store.

Their sense of superiority—over those who are already stretched thin from having to fight pay cuts and loss of benefits from companies that are making money hand-over-fist—has to end.

That sign in your front yard voicing support for essential workers may make you feel good inside, but it doesn’t improve our wages. And much like other signs in yards around Portland, is it really doing anything for those represented, other than making you, personally, feel better?

OPINION

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