Portland State Vanguard Volume 76 Issue 30

VOLUME 76 • ISSUE 30 • NOVEMBER 30, 2021

EASTERN OREGON

NEWS

OPINION

SCIENCE & TECH

The need for climate action is urgent P. 4

It’s time to take care of yourself P. 10

Everything you should know about Omicron P. 12

CONTENTS

COVER DESIGN BY SHANNON STEED COVER PHOTO BY TANNER TODD

NEWS NOW IS THE TIME FOR CLIMATE ACTION

P. 4

ARTS & CULTURE SHARE THE MUSIC

P. 5

ESCAPE THE RAIN WITH A TRIP TO EASTERN OREGON

P. 6-7

SPORTS VOLLEYBALL VIKS SEE POSTSEASON IN NATIONAL INVITATIONAL

P. 8-9

OPINION EMBRACE THE SPACE

P. 10

BELIEVING IN HUMANKIND

P. 11

SCIENCE & TECH WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT THE OMICRON VARIANT

P. 12

STAFF EDITORIAL EDITOR IN CHIEF Béla Kurzenhauser

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Béla Kurzenhauser

MANAGING EDITOR Karisa Yuasa

OPINION EDITOR Justin Cory

PHOTO EDITOR Sofie Brandt

ONLINE EDITOR Lily Hennings

NEWS EDITORS Victoria Calderon Jazzminn Morecraft

COPY CHIEF Mackenzie Streissguth

SPORTS EDITOR Eric Shelby SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY EDITOR Ryan McConnell

MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Olivia Lee CONTRIBUTORS Nova Johnson Allison Kirkpatrick Kat Leon Tanner Todd

PRODUCTION & DESIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Shannon Steed

ADVISING & ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood

DESIGNERS Leo Clark Whitney Griffith Mia Levy Astrid Luong Anastasia Pargett

STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Maria Dominguez

TECHNOLOGY & WEBSITE TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANTS Kahela Fickle George Olson Kwanmanus Thardomrong

To contact Portland State Vanguard, email editor@psuvanguard.com

STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Vacant

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 Tuesdays and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com.

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

WE’RE HIRING Contributors Contributors Copy Editors Editors EMAIL RESUME AND COVER LETTER TO MANAGINGEDITOR@PSUVANGUARD.COM

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 30, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

COP26 PRESIDENT ALOK SHARMA AT DAY 12 OF THE GLASGOW CONFERENCE. PICTURE BY TIM HAMMOND/NO. 10 DOWNING STREET

NOW IS THE TIME FOR CLIMATE ACTION

TIME TO SAVE THE ONE PLANET WE HAVE

JAZZMINN MORECRAFT

The United Kingdom hosted the 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP26) in Glasgow, Scotland, from Oct. 31–Nov. 12. According to the COP26 report, the UN has brought together “almost every country for global climate summits” for nearly three decades.

The summit was first held in 2015, wherein every country in attendance agreed to work together to limit global warming.

The goal was to keep global warming below 2°C, with an aim for 1.5°C—the equivalent of 3.6°F, with a goal of 2.7°F. According to the 2015 Paris Agreement, every five years countries must continue increasing “ambitious climate action.” By 2020, countries needed to have submitted or updated plans for reducing emissions, known as nationally determined contributions (NDCs).

Two major takeaways from the COP26 summit in Glasgow were all countries agreeing to the Glasgow Climate Pact reiterating the 1.5°C goal, and finalizing the outstanding elements of the Paris Agreement. However, as President of the COP26, Alok Sharma, noted in the report, there is still

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a lot of work to be done. “We can now say with credibility that we have kept 1.5[°C] alive,” Sharma said. “But its pulse is weak, and it will only survive if we keep our promises and translate commitments into rapid action.”

In the past, the Climate Change Conference of the Parties had been criticized for moving too slowly with science— or not listening to it at all. However, at the COP26, it was agreed upon to include scientific consultation in future decision-making.

According to the COP26 report, science is responsible for illustrating “the situation the world is facing, the need to urgently scale up ambition in all areas of climate action to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, while acknowledging that some parties have a greater responsibility than others to tackle the problem.”

During President Joe Biden’s speech during the COP26 Leaders Statement, he said that he took action to return the U.S. to the Paris Agreement on his first day in office.

“Since then, our administration has been hard at work

unlocking clean energy breakthroughs to drive down the cost of technologies that will require us to do,” Biden said.

He additionally remarked that reaching net-zero emissions for a “clean economy of the future” will require working with the private sector on “the next generation of technologies.”

Biden also promised that the U.S. was planning on keeping the 1.5°C goal in reach for 2030, and a longer term “marathon that will...take us to the finish line and transform the largest economy in the world into a thriving, innovative, equitable, and just clean-energy engine of netzero—for a net-zero world.”

Portland State University President Stephen Percy sent out a campus-wide email on Nov. 5 to discuss the need for climate action at PSU, which is expected to be elaborated upon at the upcoming Winter Symposium.

“We can no longer wait to act on climate change,” the email stated. “It is imperative that we as a campus community begin the urgent work to determine how Portland State will show up for change.”

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 30, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

SHARE THE MUSIC

CHAMBER MUSICIANS DISCUSS WORKING IN A POST-PANDEMIC WORLD

TANNER TODD WhenCOVID-19swept across the globe and forced closures of public spaces and lockdowns in most major countries, it disrupted almost every industry and cultural community. The classical chamber music world was no exception.

“I think everyone was trying to figure out what to do,” said Gloria Chien, a pianist and artistic director at Chamber Music Northwest.

“Everyone’s concerts got cancelled.”

Caitlin Lynch, a member of the Aeolus String Quartet and the founder of a nonprofit musical education called Project Chamber Music: Willamette Valley, had a similar experience.

“The [Aeolus] Quartet was supposed to play at Mt. Sinai Hospital, and the date was the height of the initial outbreak in Manhattan, in New York,” Lynch said. “Obviously, we couldn’t go and play.”

For the next several months, as the pandemic continued to shutter concert halls and venues across the world, chamber musicians like Lynch found themselves in similar situations, unable to perform before live audiences. Ironically, the mass shuttering of concert halls and cancellations of performances came at a time when music was more needed and desired than ever.

“We as musicians are often there when things get tough,” Lynch said. “At a funeral, there’s music. When there’s a national tragedy, there’s music. We seek music for solace and comfort and healing, and to not be able to offer that, or experience that ourselves during this period of time, was really difficult.”

Rather than give up and wait for concert halls to reopen, chamber music directors took a proactive approach, recognizing the continued need for music as a consensusbuilding experience, while still keeping a pragmatic appraisal of the difficult realities created by the pandemic.

“We had to think of things to do that were not in person,” said Soovin Kim, co-director of Chamber Music Northwest. “[We were] reimagining what is possible. It did raise interesting possibilities that normally we would not think of before we were in this situation with the pandemic.”

For Kim, along with Chien and Lynch, the task of presenting chamber music digitally was a unique one. Chamber music, which assigns one musician per instrument in a performance, is an inherently intimate artform. For many of its patrons, the main draw of it is the close-knit,

almost familial feel of being in a room with a performer and their instruments. Communicating this experience digitally proved to be the main challenge. At first, Kim was intent on trying to recreate the feeling of a concert hall, as faithfully as possible.

“I did think, at the beginning of the pandemic, that what people needed was to be reminded of what it’s like to be in the concert hall,” said Kim with a laugh. “And then I was talked out of it.”

Instead of attempting to create a mere digital imitation of the concert-hall experience, Kim and Chien—along with executive director Peter Bilotta—worked to create something entirely different. This digital format used extremely high-quality audio and video close-ups to show new angles and perspectives that were normally inaccessible from a concert-hall seat.

“There were actually quite a number of audience members who said ‘I like this even better than before than being in the hall,” Kim said. “It’s not quite as visceral in terms of being in the same space as the performer, but with really good camera work you can get perspectives that you don’t get to have when you’re sitting in the concert hall.”

Chien, who worked with Kim to put the digital concerts together, emphasized that while the pandemic closed venues for normal concerts, it also made them more accessible for their projects.

“We were able to record concerts at some of the most magnificent concert halls in the world,” Chien said. “Usually, the rent is very high, and the schedule is very tight. [The pandemic] afforded us the opportunity to explore.”

While she’s careful to stress that these opportunities arrived in unfortunate circumstances, she and her peers did what they could to make the most of them.

Lynch, who continued her mission to provide acccess to music despite the pandemic, took an outreach-focused approach. After COVID-19

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cancelled her Quartet’s performance at Mt. Sinai Hospital, she and her fellow musicians sent the hospital’s patients a cellphone recording of a Bach Chorale they’d performed—a simple gesture that became the start of something larger.

“We sent it to them, in lieu of being there in person, and it was incredible the response we got from that,” Lynch said.

From that humble offering evolved Bach For All, a weekly series of recordings of Bach Chorales that the Quartet recorded remotely and then sent out every Monday for music lovers to enjoy.

As part of Bach For All, Lynch has been working to get music to communities that have been especially isolated since the pandemic began, such as nursing homes.

She remembers a neighbor and dear friend, who was in her late 90s at the start of the pandemic, and how the outbreak impacted her. A social person by nature, Lynch’s friend found herself isolated in her retirement home, unable to see her friends and family—or music, which she loved.

“She didn’t have a smartphone, or a laptop to FaceTime or Zoom with anybody,” Lynch explained. “I thought: ‘how can we get music to someone like [her]?

To someone who can’t leave their apartment, but also doesn’t have something like FaceTime?’”

Lynch and the Quartet started partnering with various groups, such as retirement homes, to get music to anyone they thought might need it, such as Lynch’s neighbor.

To accomplish this, they would collaborate with nursing homes to set up televisions in lobbies for residents to listen to the week’s Bach Chorale. For those who

couldn’t leave their rooms, iPads were sent to those who still wanted to hear the music.

“Even if they weren’t able to experience it alongside other people, they knew that they were all sharing the experience of having the Chorale,” Lynch said. “We shared it with schools, for kids who were having anxiety about being back in school, we shared it with hospitals, with teams in [COVID -19] units that were playing it for their doctors and nurses at the start of their...shifts. It was a really heartening way for us to experience the music, and for us to feel like we were striving to bring communities together, during a time when we were all forced to be apart.”

Now, as pandemic restrictions begin to lift and concert spaces become available, Chien, Kim and Lynch are still continuing their work, although Kim notes that the past two years will likely change the ways we consume music for good.

“I think ultimately we will look back on this covid period as the beginning of a new sort of performance outlet,” Kim said.

Together, he and Chien plan to continue the work they’ve started. As for Lynch, she’s found that the experience of the pandemic—for all it’s uncertainty and sadness—has affirmed things she’s always believed to be true.

“I’ve always felt that music is a powerful source of healing,” she explained. “But I think the past 21 months has shown the depth of truth to that.”

WHITNEY GRIFFITH

ARTS & CULTURE

5

ESCAPE THE RAIN WITH A TRIP TO EASTERN OREGON A GUIDE TO THOSE LOOKING FOR SOME NEW SCENERY TANNER TODD Who doesn’t love a good road trip? With the weather getting colder and wetter in the Portland area, getting out of town and into nature seems like an increasingly attractive break from the weekly grind and daily drizzle of the city.

Unfortunately for anyone looking for a change, we live in a wet state. The coastal range frequently catches rain before Portland does—and much of the rest of Oregon sees its fair share of rainfall in the winter months as well. Luckily, for those of us looking for a break in the weather or just a change of scenery, an environment that is as arid as it is beautiful lies just past the Cascades in Eastern Oregon.

At first glance, the distances involved in going east are daunting, but the trip is worth the drive—although anyone planning on making the journey should put a little thought into their itinerary. Getting there can, in fact, be half the fun, provided you’ve opted for the scenic route.

While it might be tempting to take I-26 over Mt. Hood and then drive down to Madras, there’s a better way for those who would rather skip the mountain traffic. Instead of going over the pass, travelers can work their way along the Columbia Gorge, heading east along I-84 to The Dalles.

If you’re lucky, it is not uncommon to see huge clouds of fog lifting off of the Columbia Gorge’s forested walls like white smoke in the early morning, and the Columbia River running along the highway provides a constant source of scenery for drivers heading east along I-84.

As travelers approach Hood River, they can see the weather change before their eyes, as the grey cloud cover dissipates to reveal clear blue skies and wisps of white clouds. The environment around them will begin to change too—at Hood River, the rain-fed pines

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and conifers that cluster the Gorge give way to blueish junipers and yellow grasslands.

If you continue further, even the trees will fall away, leaving behind only grassy prairie and starkly beautiful black basalt cliffs. Not far past Hood River at Biggs Junction, you’ll turn southeast, away from the Columbia and towards the rugged deserts of Eastern Oregon. The land out here is windmill country—instead of crops, white wind turbines reap the air for power as far as the eye can see.

Past the windmills, the terrain becomes rocky, marked by steep canyons and exposed rimrock. Near here, you’ll find Cottonwood Canyon, Oregon’s newest State Park and some of the best hiking for miles. Nestled against the steep sides of an old-west style canyon, the 8,000acre park features hiking trails, salmon fishing, camping and even a historic ranch.

The park is big and beautiful enough to justify a trip in its own right, but travelers hoping to catch more of Eastern Oregon would do well to use it as a fantastic picnic spot or even a campground for overnight excursions.

If you forgot to pack a picnic lunch or just want a hot meal, you can drive from Cottonwood to the historic town of Condon, only half an hour away. City-dwellers will find life moves at a different pace in the desert town, which has a population of under 800 residents.

Despite its small size, the city is not lacking in its creature comforts—good coffee, food and even a remote Powell’s book outpost can all be found at Country Flowers, an all-in-one local gathering ground operated by long-term resident Darla Seale.

“We’re the only flower shop in three counties,” Seale explained. “We’re the only place open to eat on Sunday for 40 miles.”

It’s important to note that Country Flowers is much more than a flower shop—in addition to the aforementioned Powell’s books, they also feature a soda fountain, an espresso counter and a full dinerstyle restaurant. Despite being one of the only places to go out to eat in the entire county—or perhaps because of it—Country Flowers features a surprisingly expansive menu. In addition to diner staples, highquality coffee, espresso affogato, bistro sandwiches and a full Mexican menu are all available to hungry travellers. In a town of less than a thousand, the selection is consistently surprising. Ask for hot sauce for your eggs, and the waiter will offer five different varieties to choose from.

Outside of Country Flowers, a walk around the town is worth a relaxed afternoon away from city life. Condon features a charming library, a community theater and a free history museum.

“It’s inviting,” Seale said. “We’re friendly.”

If you’ve seen enough of Condon, head further south down Oregon Highway 19, towards the Condon Paleontology Center. The state-run museum will win over even the most disinterested visitors with its spectacular displays of the prehistoric plants and animals that populated the region over 40 million years ago.

“People get really surprised to know that there used to be rhinos native out here, and camels, sabretooth cats and elephants,” explained Nicholas Famoso, Paleontology Program Manager at the museum.

Visitors to the museum will be surprised to know that beyond the Paleontology Center’s windows, the rolling hills of the John Day Fossil Beds National Monument are filled with the preserved remains of over 200 hundred species of animals and over 800 species of plants.

“We even have some fossil funguses,” Famoso said.

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As they explore the exhibits, visitors will find that the landscape that these creatures would have inhabited 40 million years ago looked dramatically different from the rugged desert and scrublands we see today.

The fossils originate from a time before the Cascade Mountains even existed—when rain clouds from the coast were able to make their way inland unimpeded by the mountain range, creating a dense subtropical rainforest packed with all kinds of plants and animals. Due to a series of highly improbable geological conditions, the mortal remains of the various organisms populating the region were remarkably preserved, creating a permanent record of their lives.

“In this particular unit that I work in, the Sheep Rock Unit, we have fossils from 33 million years ago, all the way up to 7 million years ago, that all come from within 20 miles of each other,” Famoso explained. “That’s a really rare thing, that we have that much time represented in one place.”

Today, many of those fossils can be viewed at the Center, which boasts an impressive array of species that range from cute to terrifying. Some specimens— such as a petite three-toed horse called Epihippus—are clearly adorable even in their fossilized forms. Others are stranger and more intimidating, such as Archaotheriums, the one-ton boar-like carnivores with skulls that resemble a crocodile’s—It doesn’t take long to figure out why the National Park Service’s website dubbed them hell pigs. Other species once present in the region include bear-dogs, prehistoric tigers and the ever-popular sabertooth cat.

Each exhibit represents only a tiny fraction of the 200– 300 different discovered species present in the park, and Famoso said seeing the diversity of wildlife once in the re-

gion can be a perspective-changing experience.

“People get really surprised to know what kind of animals used to live out in this area,” Famoso said. “People are really surprised to know that at one point this area was subtropic jungle. They look outside and see this sagebrush steppe that exists today and they’re like ‘yeah, that’s really different.’”

An hour’s drive from the Condon Paleontology Center lies another remainder of prehistoric events: the Painted Hills. At first glance, the geologic formations look like a Martian landscape—massive plasticsmooth hills rise above the desert, streaked with bands of red and maroon colors like wet paint. Once the site of a prehistoric floodplain, the layers of color are actu-

ally stacks of silt from various time periods, each with its own unique chemical makeup and its own colors.

Taken together, the layers act like an artist’s palette of prehistoric soils, forming patterns on the ancient slopes of the Painted Hills. Today, the bone-dry site couldn’t look more different from the wet floodlands it once was. If it weren’t for the overwhelming smell of sage and juniper brush, it would be easy to imagine yourself looking at the landscape of another world.

In the winter and fall, the sunset angles so that it goes down behind the westernmost hills, outlining the formation in gold and flooding the area with a soft light that highlights the landscape’s otherworldly beauty. Famoso, who lives and works in the area, said this is also the best time to see wildlife. After working on a National Park-related project, he remembered having an unusually close encounter with some of the native fauna.

“We were wrapping up for the day,” Famoso recalled. “I saw this deer go running by us, and a minute or two later there was a coyote chasing it. I was like, ‘that’s not something you get to see very often.’ The best time to see wildlife is in the off season, or later in the day.”

In the scrublands between the hills, the tracks of the region’s animals are left behind in the red and purple muds, hinting at the natural drama unfolding around the park— while the tough desert plants create a stunning view in their own right. Walking through this mass of sagebrush, it is easy to see how early pioneer wagons earned the nickname prairie schooners, as the expanse of blue-green vegetation resembles an ocean between the striped hills.

Unlike Portland, the sky above this landscape—and much of the rest of the Oregon Desert—is frequently clear, allowing an unobstructed view of the rising moon and the milky way.

Even travellers who don’t mind the rain back in Portland will find something to love under the dry desert skies, as the combined lack of clouds and light pollution create an opportunity to stargaze that is almost impossible to find in the city.

For this reason alone, and the fact that there is so much to see and do, visitors from elsewhere in the state would do well to stay overnight in order to best experience what the area has to offer. With this in mind, the next time you find yourself looking out the window at the winter rain, wanting to go somewhere drier, quieter or just plain different, fill up the gas tank and head east—there’s plenty to see out there.

LEFT: THE MOON RISING OVER THE PAINTED HILLS. ABOVE: COUNTRY FLOWERS CENTER LOCATED IN CONDON, OR. RIGHT: A VIEW OF A FARM FROM THE ROAD. TANNER TODD/PSU VANGUARD

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ARTS & CULTURE

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VOLLEYBALL VIKS SEE POSTSEASON IN NATIONAL INVITATIONAL MORALES AWARDED ALL-TOURNEY AT HAWAI’I CLASSIC ERIC SHELBY MEN’S BASKETBALL 2-3 (0-0) Getting outscored early in the game, the Viks fell to the crosstown rivals, the Portland Pilots, 69-54 on Tuesday night. The Viks went 10-32 in the first half, and 0-9 on three-pointers—only scoring 20 while the Pilots had 37. The Viks improved to 2-14 in the second half on three-pointers, making them 2-23 on threes in total. The Pilots now have a three-game winning streak over the Viks.

James Jean-Marie led the team with a season-high 17 points, going 7-17 and 3-4 on the line. Ezekiel Alley also led the team with 11 points and a three-pointer at the end of the game to close the lead a little. Alley was 5-9 and 1-3 on threes. Khalid Thomas put up 11 points with Marlon Ruffin putting up nine points, both shooting a low 3-12.

Although Jean-Marie was the leading scorer of the game, the Pilots had three players scoring in the double digits.

Chris Austin was the Pilots’ leading scorer, shooting 7-17 and a three-pointer.

After the loss, the Viks immediately headed to Iowa City to play the 5-0 Hawkeyes of the Big 10 Conference. The Viks fell to the undefeated Hawkeyes 85-51. With Iowa averaging 99 points per game, the Viks held them to only 85 points—making this Iowa’s lowest scoring game of the season so far. 51 points is also the lowest the Viks have scored this season. Viks had a 30.8% field goal percentage, compared to Iowa’s 48%.

Ruffin was the leading scorer of that game, shooting 7-14 and 3-4 on the line for 18 points. Thomas went 5-13, but 0-5 on three-pointers—getting 11 points for the Viks. Going 3-10 and 1-2 on the line, Jean-Marie had himself 15 rebounds.

Michael Carter III went 2-5 on three-pointers, shooting 3-7 and 8 points. Keegan Murray, Iowa’s leading scorer, put up 23 points and went 10-16.

The Viks begin conference play on Dec. 2 against the Bengals at Idaho State in Pocatello, Idaho. The Bengals went 13-11 last year and 8-6 in conference. The Viks split

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the series last year 1-1 with Idaho State, losing 57-64—then winning 69-43 the second game. The Bengals are currently 1-5 this season, averaging 59.8 points per game, but allowing 69 points per game. Bengals average 29.2 rebounds per game while allowing 32.2 for opponents. Robert Ford III is the Bengals’ leading scorer, averaging 11.2 points per game and 4.8 rebounds.

Viks currently average 74.6 points per game—allowing 65.8 to opponents—which is third in the Big Sky. Viks also average 44.4 rebounds per game—second in the Big Sky— and average the Big Sky high with 14.6 offensive rebounds per game. Jean-Marie and Ruffin were hot, both averaging 13.4 points per game. Jean-Marie also averaged 11.2 rebounds per game.

Viks also lead the Big Sky with 10.2 steals per game. Adding to that, Paris Dawson is a perfect 14-14 on free throws, top in the Big Sky. WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 3-2 (0-0) Scoring only nine in the first quarter and six in the fourth, the Viks couldn’t stop the Utah Valley Wolverines, losing 62-43. Our leading scorer, Esmeralda Morales, put up 10 points going 3-12, and 4-4 on the line with three rebounds and two assists. Redshirt senior Savannah Dhaliwal put up nine points, going 1-10 and 1-3 on three-pointers and six rebounds. The team struggled on three-pointers, going 1-13 or 7.7%. Reilly Kelty, in her 17 minutes of play, went 3-4 with six points, three rebounds and one block. Freshman Mia Uhila went 2-2 on the line with three assists. The Viks were not able to take the lead the whole game, with three of the Wolverines starters dropping points in the double digits.

Utah Valley’s leading scorer, Megan Jensen, dropped 19 points, going 9-14. Madison Grange shot 5-7, four threepointers and a perfect 4-4 on the line—to give the Wolverines 18 points. Right behind the leading scorers, Josie Williams shot 7-9 and 3-4 on the free throw line, for 17 points. She

TOP: VOLLEYBALL TEAM CELEBRATING WIN OVER MONTANA. BOTTOM: SENIOR JAMES JEAN-MARIE ON THE FREE THROW LINE. ERIC SHELBY/PSU VANGUARD

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 30, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

also led with 19 rebounds. The Viks had a 5.7% higher free throw percentage than the Wolverines, who had 80%.

The Park Block Vikings look to end their two-game losing streak when they begin conference play against the Bengals at home on Dec. 2. The reigning Big Sky champions only have one win—and five losses. The Bengals average 54.7 points per game, and allow 71.3 per game. The Viks average 68.2 points, and allow a close 64.5 per game. Viks average 10 blocks per game, while the Bengals average 7.7. With a slightly higher field goal percentage of .374, the Bengals have an edge over the .338 Portland State.

VOLLEYBALL 19-8 (12-4) NIVC BOUND Though their conference championship run was cut short, our Portland State Vikings are headed to the postseason for the first time since 2010. They will be one of 31 teams to compete in the NIVC (National Invitational Volleyball Championship) tournament hosted in Ogden, Utah. The first round of this single-elimination tournament is Friday, Dec. 3 against Pacific University at 2 p.m. PST. Weber State will also be in the tournament, facing California State University, Bakersfield.

TOP LEFT: MARLON RUFFIN AGAINST THE PILOTS. TOP RIGHT: VOLLEYBALL TEAM CHEERS AFTER WIN. BOTTOM LEFT: JAMES JEAN-MARIE AT THE NET. BOTTOM RIGHT: FRESHMAN ESMERALDA MORALES WITH THE BALL. ERIC SHELBY/PSU VANGUARD

PLAYER PROFILES JAMES “JUGGERNAUT” JEAN-MARIE

ESMERALDA “MONEY” MORALES

Wearing #1 on the court, James Jean-Marie—a senior transfer from San Diego and Hawai’i —averaged 13.4 points per game, tying with Marlon Ruffin as the leading scorers for the team. A great addition to the team, JamesMarie had four double-doubles in a row in his first four games as a Viking. The Canadian from Montreal, Quebec averages 11.2 rebounds per game, currently leading the Big Sky. He also has a .483 field goal percentage, eighth in the Big Sky. He had 10 rebounds and 14 points in his first game as a Viking, playing Oregon State.

From Spanaway, Washington, Esmeralda Morales is one of the many new additions to the Park Blocks that has made some noise recently. Last week, the freshman guard made the All-Tournament team at the Bank of Hawai’i Classic, playing Prairie View A&M and University of Hawai’i. As of right now, she averages 18.4 points per game, second in the Big Sky. She had 4.5 assists, 2.5 steals and two threepointers per game in the tournament. Morales put up 32 points in her first-ever regular season game as a Viking—shooting 11-14 and eight three-pointers. She rocks #12 and you can see her at the Viking Pavilion on Dec. 2 against Idaho State.

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SECTION SPORTS

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EMBRACE THE SPACE HOW WE CAN CARE FOR OURSELVES WHILE ENDURING COLLECTIVE AND PERSONAL TRAUMA

JUSTIN CORY The past two years have been collectively traumatizing—we continue to endure the unrelenting waves of a deadly global pandemic with all of its attendant isolation, upending of social ritual and connection. The reactionary forces of

in. For many of us, the holidays are also a time of increased stress and depression remembering all whom we have lost, coming face-to-face with our dysfunctional families— or lack of family—and reflecting on the year that just passed.

An important first step in activating self-love and healing is to stop fi d g et i n g

white supremacy and patriarchy have arisen violently in response to the strides our society has made in challenging all forms of oppression. The climate crisis has intensified even quicker than scientists had thought possible, and the opioid epidemic is right on the heels of COVID-19 in the taking of innocent lives.

In the midst of all of this, we have seen the concept of self-care cynically commercialized and branded to sell merchandise. Our society also still seems to have an aversion to the open discussion of mental health. A case in point—Michael Che’s new Netflix special Shame the Devil may not be his finest work, but his parting thoughts about how our society is only just now acknowledging the mental health of Black people were profound.

All of these threads could be nurtured into deeply fascinating discussions of their own accord, but, as fall term closes, we can and should heal and nurture ourselves with the frigid short days of winter setting

with in-progress projects and all of the streams of thought that arise. Stop listening to that inner critic and just sit with the present moment as it unfolds.

This can take the form of mindfulness meditation, it can take the form of leaving your phone or computer in another room and just staring at the wall, it can be sitting in the bathtub and just counting your breaths. When we pause and actually take stock of subtle things that are happening around us, we are better able to see clearly what is happening within us.

I am very personally and deeply drawn to Zen Buddhist practice in my own life, and, though I used to identify as an avowed atheist, I think there are ideas and practices that can benefit all of us from all kinds of traditions. One such idea is borrowed from the Plum Village traditions of Thich Nhat Hanh: “Whenever a bell sounds, everyone pauses in what they are doing. It is

a chance to stop and to take a few breaths in full awareness.”

One doesn’t have to live near the sounding of church or temple bells or even use an app to integrate something like this. Relish noticing very subtle changes in daily life: the sun breaking through an overcast day for a few brief moments, leaves rustling and dancing on the wind as they fall from the trees in

the autumn, observing a kind interaction between two strangers, a luscious smell when walking into a cafe or restaurant.

It doesn’t really matter what you focus on—that will be personal— but the important part is that this invites presence of mind.

When we are able to stop with our preoccupations and anxieties about the future or the past, a beautiful space opens up. It is like the space between breaths. All of us need this space, as it is a pause that allows us to collect ourselves. In that space, it can also become apparent that the boundaries between seemingly separate elements tend to soften and dissolve. We remember that we are interconnected and interdependent, and that these relationships with one

another—and with existence as a whole—are so vivid and important. Much more important than the things we often stress about.

In such liminal spaces, we are free. That lightness and unburdening of ourselves is crucial to better mental health. So, this winter, you are encouraged to pause.

Relax into the moment and stop trying to do something all of the time. As Claire Miller in the design program here at Portland State expressed with a recent post, “It’s ok to be mediocre.”

Failure is beautiful and we learn through it. We can stop being so afraid of failure, judgement, isolation and ridicule, if we remember that we are held by one another, by space and by beautiful moments that keep happening. The question is, are we noticing them?

This is not to downplay all of the tragedies, all of the hurt, all of the stress. These are still there. But so is this space, and so are our relationships with everyone. It can seem terrifying, but it is also illuminating.

So take yourself out on a date. Wander around the city, a park or even just your home with no objective except to notice things. Try spending even just 10 minutes every day being intentionally focused on the present moment. The buzzword self-care will fall out of fashion, but our struggles with mental health are as old as our species.

Please be kind to yourselves this winter.

ANASTASIA PARGETT

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SECTION OPINION

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BELIEVING IN HUMANKIND WHY I IDENTIFY AS A HUMANIST INSTEAD OF AN ATHEIST

WHITNEY GRIFFITH

KAT LEON According to the American Humanist Association, “identifying as an atheist indicates that one does not have a belief system that includes a god.” As one who was continuously hurt by organized religion—and after witnessing the endless ways some Christians in my life had used the Bible to justify hurting others—atheism was a welcome reprieve from my previously held beliefs.

Atheism has consistently been a quiet voice throughout history. While many organized religions would stand on their soapboxes manipulating history books, atheists often stayed behind the scenes.

In the 18th century, atheist philosophers finally shared their belief in the non-existence of a god and openly challenged the powerful church structures of the era. In the 19th century, biologist Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution drew parallels to the atheism of that time. As later fellow biologist Richard Dawkins once said, “Atheism might have been possible before Darwin, but Darwin made it possible to be an intellectually fulfilled atheist.”

In the 20th century, atheism was becoming a more widely-recognized, legitimate belief system. During this time, atheists fought in movements that had positive historical impacts such as the separation of church and state. Atheists were partially responsible for gaining acceptance for belief systems that made a belief in a god optional, such as Unitarian Universalism and Humanistic Judaism.

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 30, 2021 • psuvanguard.com

Furthermore, from the path that atheism had made in history, humanism was able to take root in the hearts and minds of others.

Despite this, disdain for atheism remains prominent in America.

According to Casey Cep writing for The New Yorker, “Americans, in large numbers, still do not want atheists teaching their children, or marrying them. They would, according to surveys, prefer a female, gay, Mormon, or Muslim President to having an atheist in the White House.”

The apparent discrimination against atheism and those who identify as such led me to realize that identifying as an atheist is often a sure-fire way to preclude having a productive conversation about religion and beliefs. Reflecting on my own religious upbringing, I had genuinely believed that those who believe in no higher power had no moral code or compass.

For a long time, I still did not know how to identify exactly what I believed. I explored many different religions, finding none that I genuinely identified with—that is, until I listened to a podcast about intersectional humanism. Hearing a former atheist identify as a humanist was refreshing.

According to the American Humanist Association, humanism “affirms our ability and responsibility to lead ethical lives of personal fulfillment that aspire to the greater good of humanity.” In more simple terms, atheists are often accused of not believing in

anything, but humanists very clearly state that while they might not believe in a greater power, they believe in humanity and play their role in the betterment of the human race—here and now on Earth.

Identifying as a humanist did two powerful things for me. First, it allowed more productive conversations with others about religion.

It might spark conversation, as opposed to identifying as an atheist which could shut down the dialogue. When an individual already has preconceived notions about what one believes, having a rational conversation can be almost impossible.

Secondly, identifying as a humanist better defines my actual beliefs. Atheism, like other beliefs, can lead to a black-and-white, dualistic mentality. It is problematic and harmful to others to dismiss them for beliefs other than your own. This hurt people within Christianity, and atheism has the potential to be just another side of that same binary coin.

While humanists can potentially harm others, the stated focus of the religion allows more room for acceptance of all. The belief in humans and the desire to make the world a better place are not exclusive. Moreover, while not believing in God is an integral part of humanism, the belief in humankind and the goal of making the world a better place takes the forefront. The focus becomes what unites us rather than the things that tear us apart.

OPINION SECTION

11

WHAT WE KNOW ABOUT

THE OMICRON VARIANT RYAN MCCONNELL A troubling new COVID-19 variant—dubbed Omicron— was first identified and then reported to the World Health Organization (WHO) by South Africa on Nov. 24, 2021. This variant has been named a variant of concern, after reports from the WHO suggest an increased risk of reinfection and more adaptability at evading public health measures.

Dr. Anthony Fauci has warned that those in the United States must do “anything and everything” to fight the new variant, stating that it will “inevitably be here.” Still, it’s too early to say what kinds of health measures will need to be put in place in order to combat the new variant when it emerges in the U.S. Some experts have pointed to reports that this variant may

only cause mild illness, however many are suggesting that it is still too early to tell—and there is not enough data to make these conclusions. While the variant has been spotted in a dozen countries, including the UK and the Netherlands, there have been no sightings of the variant within the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The trouble with distinguishing how dangerous this variant is primarily due to how recently it emerged. Dr. Richard Lessels, infectious disease physician at the University of KwaZulu-Natal, stated that there has been “barely enough time for infections to have had time to progress to severe disease and hospitalization.”

Cases of this new variant have only been rising over the last

two weeks, making it difficult to draw concrete conclusions on how it will affect our health. While many health experts urge extreme caution regarding the Omicron variant, according to the evidence presented, the evolutionary path of COVID-19 may be working in our favor for long-term survival.

Due to the relationship between virulence and transmissibility—a relationship studied extensively by virologists—viruses must evolve and adapt to keep themselves alive and spreading between hosts. If a virus is too virulent— meaning it is too potent, too quickly—the virus cannot spread between hosts rapidly enough, and will pass in a shorter amount of time along with its host. To remedy this, a virus must be transmissible in order to survive.

In order for a virus to be transmissible, it must keep its host alive in the process. This creates an evolutionary balancing act between how potent a virus can be versus how quickly it can spread. Viruses can evolve to make the transmissibility easier, such as through aerial transmission, sexual transmission or survivability outside a host body. This transmissibility often requires an evolutionary trade-off over time, and requires a virus to trade its virulence for its transmissibility. However, if it becomes too impotent, the virus can be taken down more easily by immune systems.

All global pandemics, COVID-19 included, had examples of this. The 1918 Pandemic—involving the so-called Spanish Flu, now known to be an avian H1N1 virus—was another fraught example of a deadly virus that spread quickly, just over 100 years ago. Flu variants continue to spread to this day, but with much lower mortality rates than that of 1918.

Describing a scenario where COVID-19 may evolve in much the same way over a long period of time is far from optimistic, but it is better than the alternative—where its virulence would increase and mortality rates remain high for the unvaccinated and elderly.

One critical problem is that most of the reports surrounding the Omicron variant patients come from Gauteng Province in South Africa, a region populated mostly by younger people at universities and higher education institutions.

This means that there is still little-to-no data surrounding how it affects the most vulnerable groups that the virus targets. 31% of unvaccinated people in the United States are still susceptible to COVID-19 at its worst. With the WHO citing an increased risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant, this could spell disaster not just for unvaccinated populations, but for the vaccinated as well.

Rumors of Omicron’s mild symptoms may be a sign that the virulence of COVID-19 is beginning to plummet, which would be good news. Most patients only described a slight cough with no loss of taste or smell. While the ideal scenario is a complete obliteration of the virus, the U.S. has vaccination rates plateauing at around 69%, which suggests an endemic future.

What countries and scientists will learn about the Omicron variant over the next few weeks will be essential to help prepare for its emergence in the U.S. A new variant like this could require yet another wave of restrictions and limitations for businesses and locations to adhere to. Whether or not the U.S. can reduce its infection count to zero is one problem, but, if not, the least we can hope for is for the virus to evolve away from its virulence and become something far less deadly.

SOUTH AFRICAN PRESIDENT CYRIL RAMAPHOSA ADDRESSING THE NATION ON NOV. 28. COURTESY OF GCIS

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SCIENCE & TECH

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