VOL. 80/07 11.14.2025
CONTENTS
COVER DESIGN BY HALEY HSU
NEWS Food Pantry Receives Approximately $38,000 in Donations SNAP Resources Across Portland for Those Losing Coverage
P. 4 P. 6
ARTS & CULTURE Autumn at L&W: 75th Anniversary Retrospective Vanguard on Vinyl: “Star Line” by Chance the Rapper
P. 7 P. 7
OPINION ELSAs Need to Change
P. 5
STAFF EDITORIAL EDITOR IN CHIEF Noah Carandanis MANAGING EDITOR Olivia Young NEWS EDITOR Vacant ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Adyan Hussein OPINION EDITOR Nick Gatlin MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Nash Bennett SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Liam Schmitt COPY CHIEF Jude Callaway
ONLINE EDITOR Quinn Willett DISTRIBUTION MANAGER Caleb Dougherty CONTRIBUTORS Caesar Almeida Grace Peterson PRODUCTION & DESIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Haley Hsu CONTRIBUTORS Karli Schwartz Arielle Chhunkeo Naue Pagtakhan Mary Catala Nikki Marin Max Bykowski Jenelle De Leon
ADVISING & ACCOUNTING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood SALP ACCOUNTANT Maria Dominguez STUDENT MEDIA TECH ADVISOR Rae Fickle STUDENT MEDIA TECH DEVELOPER Kaylee Hynes WEB DESIGNER Owen Cook
To contact Portland State Vanguard, email editor@psuvanguard.com. MISSION STATEMENT PSU 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 online at psuvanguard.com.
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 14, 2025 • psuvanguard.com
ADS
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Food Pantry Receives Approximately $38,000 in Donations Donations eclipse the pantry’s typical annual budget for food purchasing
NASH BENNETT NOAH CARANDANIS AND OLIVIA YOUNG Community members at Portland State University will soon benefit from over 300 donors’ contributions to the PSU Smallwood Food Pantry. According to Tess Conley, the director of the food pantry, the pantry received approximately $38,000 in donations within the span of a week and half of a PSU Foundation email requesting donations. This amount is over the usual $30,000 annual allocation for food purchasing that the pantry is accustomed to. These donations came in the wake of the current government shutdown, resulting in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits not being distributed to 757,000 Oregonians. As of Nov. 11, Gov. Tina Kotek has disbursed all SNAP funds to their recipients, complying with a federal court’s decision to release all funds to recipients nationwide. Because of this growing concern over food insecurity, Conley and the PSU Foundation worked together on drafting an email to donors. “[The PSU Foundation] put out an email, a donation request, [that] saw an insane response,” said Conley. “Within the first hour, $7,000 was raised, which is crazy.” Donations were not strictly monetary, with people dropping off cars filled with over 500 pounds of food multiple times within the week. “We’ve never seen that before, it’s just amazing. I was crying over it because it’s so fabulous,” said Conley. “You hear all of this really heavy news … and then to see a little bit of light within our community is just really wonderful.”
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According to the food pantry’s website, 54% of PSU students experience food insecurity, which is almost 20% higher than the national average for four year institutions, and nearly four times higher than the national average. To combat this, the Smallwood Food Pantry provides a variety of food items to PSU students for free during the school week. The food pantry has an open distribution system, allowing students to take as much food as they need. This system, along with volunteer efforts, allowed for over 375,000 pounds of food to be distributed in 2023 and 2024, with an average of 20,000 pounds of food being allocated per week. Being situated within a university, the pantry collaborates with the PSU Foundation which gives them access to a larger pool of donors than other pantries, according to Conley. “When students’ basic needs — food, housing and healthcare—are not met, they cannot effectively engage in their education,” reads the PSU Foundation’s website. “Support for basic needs provides critical resources to students when they need them most.” While the operational costs of the food pantry is covered by student incidental fees, the actual money to buy food comes strictly from donations. With the $38,000 raised, the pantry now has the capacity to focus their efforts on tasks outside of fundraising. “I think we had about two years worth of money in our account to buy food … there’s no guarantee what’s going to be in that account. It’s all donations,” said Conley. “So what it means now is really just giving us a little bit more of a buffer to last a
little bit longer, to keep the shelves full.” The pantry focuses on providing food that is nutrient dense and “grab and go” to cater to the often busy schedules of students. With the Oregon Food Bank being the pantry’s primary supplier, the pantry receives many free items of food ranging from produce to kombucha. “So what I want to do with the money is really focus on proteins … We’re serving only college students [who] like grab and go foods, things that are really easy for them to prepare,” said Conley. “All of that [donated] money is going to be used for food purchasing.” During Conley’s work in food banking, a refrain she has heard from people is that they are worried about taking food that could be better used by others. Yet, she reaffirms every students’ right to access the food pantry since a portion of all students’ incidental fees are given to the food pantry. “This is your food. It’s not taking from somebody else. That’s why we always try to say take what you can use,” said Conley. “The most important thing is [that] you pay for this, so you should be utilizing this resource.” As donors and community members have rallied for the food pantry, Conley views this outpouring of support as a bright moment for the Park Blocks. “We’ve just seen so much support and I can’t thank [the community] enough,” said Conley. “There’s enough words in our language to thank people for the kindness and generosity that we’ve seen from them.”
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 14, 2025 • psuvanguard.com
HALEY HSU
ELSAs Need To Change Award? More like divest
NICK GATLIN The Educational Leadership Service Award, or ELSA, is a stipend paid out to students in leadership positions for Student Media and other “paraprofessional positions or responsibilities” in affiliation with Portland State. It’s also deeply controversial. For one thing, they simply don’t pay us enough. As Opinion Editor, I’m paid an ELSA of $2,100 each term, and in return, I’m expected to put in at least 20 hours a week at my job. I say “at least” because that’s the minimum time commitment. I, along with my fellow editors, often spend more time working than that. But my ELSA doesn’t increase as my editorial duties drag on long into the night; that means I actually have a negative incentive to put in extra time and energy into my role. Basically, if I watched the clock and stopped working right when I hit my required hours, I’d make $10.50 an hour. That’s $5.80 less than the minimum wage in the Portland metro area, $16.30 (another reason I hate the ELSA—it made me do math). Don’t get me wrong — I love my job. It’s rewarding work, and I’m sad I’ll be leaving at the end of the term. What I won’t miss, however, is the pitifully low compensation we’re given for our work, nor the labyrinthine hell
of Financial Aid portals and “Award Offers” necessary to actually get the damn thing. An ELSA, of course, is not considered a wage, but rather financial aid (as the compensation sheet so helpfully points out). This means that, if you owe an outstanding balance to PSU, your ELSA will go to that first before the remainder is deposited in your bank account — what would be considered, in any other circumstance, garnished wages. It’s fine, though, because it’s an “award” and not, you know, compensation for services rendered to the university and the student body. Getting paid like a real job would be uncouth for mere students like ourselves. Put simply, ELSAs aren’t very popular among student leaders. Vanguard Arts & Culture Editor Adyan Hussein said of the ELSA system, “It sucks! [The ELSA] literally feels like a way for the university to get away with underpaying and taking advantage of students.” If the money paid to student leaders was “at LEAST more than minimum wage, then that’s one thing,” said Hussein, “but the bit they’re handing out currently is quite shameful.” “For over a year, I’ve been paid under minimum wage to do a job that should be paid over minimum wage,” said social media editor Liam Schmitt. The nature of that role lends itself to
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 14, 2025 • psuvanguard.com
long hours both in and out of the office, with Schmitt estimating that he works about 30– 35 hours a week. With a flat payment of $2,100 per term (the same for all section editors), the university pays Schmitt between $6–7 an hour, even less than the appallingly low $7.25 per hour federal minimum wage. Editor in Chief Noah Carandanis, owing to the increased responsibilities of his role, receives an ELSA of $2,900 per term, with a required commitment of 20+ hours a week — often more. “After having done the math, I find that, in running this organization, an hourly wage of $14.50 an hour is not the proper compensation which my position deserves,” said Carandanis. “If the university wants to see high-quality work produced by student journalists, they have to fairly compensate those running the organizations which ensure that quality.” Another point of contention is the requirement that ELSA recipients take part in the Media Fellows program, a set of classes on topics related to student media. Based on a show of hands at the Vanguard editorial table, nobody really likes Media Fellows. Everyone at the table found the Friday meeting time inconvenient, falling as it does in the middle of the day from 1:30 p.m. to 3:00 p.m. “My main gripe with the ELSA system,” said
Carandanis, “is the requirement to attend [Media Fellows]… I feel as though Student Media Fellows should be made optional, and an increase in one’s ELSA stipend should be given if one chooses to attend those optional sessions… I believe that the eligibility requirements could be more lenient.” As for the content of Media Fellows, some of the material is… lacking in substance. Vanguard Copy Chief Jude Callaway, who recently attended his first Media Fellows session, expressed confusion regarding the purpose of the team-building exercises at the end of the class. “We just made pumpkins,” said Callaway. The ELSA system itself isn’t terrible in theory, but it needs some major reforms. Most importantly, student leaders should be paid at least as much as an hourly employee making minimum wage — the fact that the ELSA Committee values our work so little does not inspire confidence. And the regularity of a per-term salary is nice, but — besides the fact that it’s not technically a “salary” at all — it shouldn’t disincentivize students who put in extra time working for their organization. After all, isn’t that kind of student engagement exactly what the university wants to encourage? And please — please — let’s do something about Media Fellows.
OPINION
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Laughing Planet on 21st Ave. NASH BENNETT
SNAP Resources
Across Portland For Those Losing Coverage With the state of SNAP in limbo, businesses and organizations near PSU provide resources for those facing food insecurity
OLIVIA YOUNG AND GRACE PETERSON This November could be stressful for those who are recipients of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) benefits. With the government shut down since Oct. 1, some federally funded programs have not received aid– SNAP being one of them. Consequently, the Oregon Department of Human Services announced on its website that no SNAP supplements have been issued in Oregon, and it is unclear when they will be issued again. Two federal judges have ruled that the federal administration cannot suspend SNAP benefits and ordered the U.S. Department of Agriculture to keep the program running; the administration released partial funding, but some say it is not enough. SNAP provides roughly $142 million in food assistance per month to Oregonians. To combat food insecurity from the delay, Gov. Tina Kotek distributed $5 million from emergency funds to the Oregon Food Bank, and a variety of businesses and organizations across the state are opening their doors to take care of their community. For PSU students who are losing SNAP benefits, Portland State University offers a variety of resources that could assist during the interim:
PSU SMALLWOOD FOOD PANTRY: 1825 SW BROADWAY, PORTLAND, ORE.
Open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., this is a free food pantry available to all PSU students. With the motto, “you deserve to eat,” they work to assist those experiencing food insecurity. There is no fee or limit; students can fill out the check-in form, present their ID, and grab whatever they need. The food pantry is located in the basement of the Smith Memorial Student Union on campus.
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For those who wish to contribute, the food pantry is currently looking for volunteers, and students can apply on their website.
FREE FOOD MARKET: 1914 SW PARK AVE., PORTLAND, ORE.
The Free Food Market is an event located in the South Park Blocks behind Shattuck Hall. It’s run by the PSU Smallwood Food Pantry, and is open to the general public. Held the second Monday of every month, the event runs from 9:30 a.m. to 11 a.m., or while supplies last. They suggest arriving early, as they tend to run out quickly.
BASIC NEEDS HUB, SMITH MEMORIAL STUDENT UNION SUITE 462, PORTLAND, ORE.
The Basic Needs Hub’s mission is to give students a single source for support regarding essential needs, according to its website. Students can visit their website to receive information about food assistance as well as receiving emergency funds, housing services, health and wellbeing and more. The Basics Need Hub can be accessed in Suite 462 in the Smith Memorial Student Union, Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and online. Appointments are required to utilize some resources. Many Portland restaurants are also offering free meals for their community. Below is a short list of some businesses close to PSU:
LAUGHING PLANET: 909 NW 21ST AVE., PORTLAND, ORE.
All Laughing Planet locations are offering free SNAP meals for everyone until SNAP benefits are completely reinstated. This is only valid for in-person ordering. They are not currently accepting donations, but en-
courage those who can to donate to local food banks/pantries. They offer vegetarian, low carb, gluten free meals, with bowls, salads, soups and burritos. They are open seven days a week, from 10:30 a.m to 8 p.m. Sunday and Monday, and 10:30 a.m to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. The closest Laughing Planet location is a 30 minute MAX ride from campus.
DB DESSERT COMPANY: 2624 NE ALBERTA ST., PORTLAND, ORE.
is required”, wrote Heretic in their Instagram post on Oct. 25, and no questions will be asked. Heretic Coffee Co. is open Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m., and Saturdays and Sundays from 9:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. Food scarcity also affects pets as well. According to Humane World for Animals, roughly 20 million pets experience poverty in the nation. Two local organizations believe that no pet deserves to go hungry, and are doing what they can to support local families.
“The comfort of something warm, homemade, and made with love is what we all need right now,” reads their website. DB Dessert Company specializes in cupcakes, chocolates and sweet treats while also baking fresh bread. They are currently offering fresh loaves of bread because of the recent SNAP cuts. Community first and no questions asked, anyone can stop at their Northeastern location and request a loaf. Those who are able are also encouraged to donate on their website or in person. DB Dessert Company is open six days a week, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
SELLWOOD PET SUPPLY: 8334 SE 17TH AVE., PORTLAND, ORE.
HERETIC COFFEE CO.: 5120 SE 28TH AVE., PORTLAND, ORE.
The Pongo Fund is a full-time charity organization offering free pet supplies year round. Participants cannot get food without making an appointment — call (503939-7555) or email the organization (info@ thepongofund.org) at least seven days in advance. If circumstances allow, they offer large scale monthly Pet Food Banks on the fourth Sunday of each month. To pick up food, bring a valid form of photo ID, proof of address, a face mask and a clean bag. They ask that people do not bring their pets with them due to a lack of space.
Heretic Coffee Co. garnered national attention after announcing that they would provide free breakfast for those losing their SNAP benefits on Nov. 1. Since the announcement, Heretic has raised over $310,000 from donors nationwide to cover the costs of producing free breakfast (and now lunch, in collaboration with Wild Child Pizza). To get free breakfast, recipients must go in person to Heretic Coffee Co.’s location on SE 28th Ave. and ask for the “SNAP Breakfast”. “No proof
Open seven days a week, Sellwood Pet Supply is currently offering free cat and dog food to customers who ask about SNAP food. While proof is not necessary, it is appreciated. They work to provide a variety of wet and dry food, along with accommodating allergies. It’s made up of a mix of damaged and/or returned products as well as other customers’ donations. Sellwood Pet Supply is a thirty minute bus ride away from Portland State. They recommend reaching out to their Instagram with questions.
THE PONGO FUND: 3632 SE 20TH AVE., PORTLAND, ORE.
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 14, 2025 • psuvanguard.com
Autumn at L&W: 75th Anniversary Retrospective Adelaide Blair brings together eight different artists work to endorse conceptual art ADYAN HUSSEIN does art have to be traditional? The works of eight different artists have been placed together in an exhibit to further the reach of conceptual art, questioning what makes a work truly significant. The Pacific Northwest Conceptual Art Center’s 75th Anniversary Retrospective is a conceptual art project by Adelaide Blair. This exhibit exists solely as a platform for Blair to publish books and hold retrospective exhibitions. Blair is a conceptual artist and writer whose research-centered practice allows her to learn about the world in different ways. She has experience in publishing, printmaking, web design, performance, etc., as well as a BFA from Southern Oregon University, an MBA from the University of Washington Foster School of Business and an MFA from the Pacific Northwest College of Art. Diego Garibay, a graphic design and Chicano Latino studies double major, as well as Littman and White’s Publicity Coordinator, shared information on the goals of the exhibit and its core ideas. “The Pacific Northwest Conceptual Art Center is kind of its own art piece in [a
sense] that it's not really a real thing. It’s Blair formed this exhibit in response the 75th anniversary [...], but in reality this to a perceived lack of resources for conwas made up two years ago by the curator ceptual artists outside of academia. Her of the show,” said Garibay. “It’s a collec- goal is to provide a space of opportution of eight different artists through- nity for writers and artists, as well as out the country that have worked in the to educate about conceptual art and Pacific Northwest prior to where they're its history. at right now.” “What's really funny to me is the chorks, The Pacific Northwest Conceptual Art which are chopstick forks,” said Garibay. Center’s 75th Anniversary Retrospective “It’s a funny combination of two different features work by Joe Bun Keo, Von Coffin, things, it’s by Joe Bun Keo and it’s a pretty
COURTESY OF DIEGO GARIBAY
CAESAR ALMEIDA
COURTESY OF DIEGO GARIBAY Joellen Wang, Matthew Deane Parker, Natasha Loewy, Stefan Leandro Gonzales, Erin Boberg Doughton and Leslie Samson-Tabakin. “The main goal of the show is to highlight conceptual art as something worthy of greater attention than it gets within the art world. It's kind of meant to serve as giving authority to work that otherwise the art world views as weird or different,” said Garibay. “A lot of the art world is focused on visual art, [and] this is more of the idea of what is art? It’s supposed to make you read books of people's stories and thoughts and ideas, and can also be visual in one way or another.”
PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 14, 2025 • psuvanguard.com
sick work about the artist's racial and ethnic identity [...] also it’s really funny that you come into a gallery space and you just see chorks on the floor.” Chorks are a combination of a western fork and eastern chopsticks. Bun Keo uses this as a metaphor to refer to his cultural identity as a Khmer American. He states in the 75th Anniversary Retrospective Booklet that these chorks were intentionally placed on the ground and in a corner to represent cultural disruption and disobedience, as foot level is the lowest esteem; the floor is dirty and not a suitable place for food. Devin Truong, the Exhibit Curator and a Junior in the Graphic Design program, explains why he feels this exhibit is so important. “[The exhibit] is a project done to keep conceptual art alive, and to showcase artists that she finds that continue this art form that we think might not be as popular or dying out,” said Truong. “This is just a preservation of that and showcases cool artists.”
People love underdogs, but do you know what they love just as much? Comebacks. Chance the Rapper’s second studio album, “STAR LINE,” is his comeback after the failure of his first studio album, “The Big Day.” Now, with all fairness, “The Big Day” was actually rated at 71/100 by Metacritic, about the same as “STAR LINE” at 75/100. However, critics’ ratings fall short; often, they don’t accurately represent the people’s opinions. “STAR LINE” is addictive. It’s got a little bit of everything: charisma, high energy flows, gospel beats. The Chicago rapper shows off, dipping his toe into trap beats, soul funk melodies and lyrics filled with pop culture references. This album is more than fun and hype; it has some politically conscious songs, such as “Drapetomania” and “The Negro Problem.” Drapetomania, a pseudoscientific term coined by Dr. Samuel A. Cartwright in the 19th century, proposed that an enslaved person wanting to escape was the result of mental illness. “The Negro Problem” addresses black America’s struggle for equality, which hasn’t disappeared, only changed form. Chance puts his heart on his sleeve, expressing his lowered self-esteem over a mellow vocal sample on the track “Pretty.” He raps about his regret over separating from his ex-wife, Kirsten Corley, on “Back to the Go.” This album serves not only as a return for Chance but also as the culmination of his growth in his personal journey. This album has songs for whatever mood you’re feeling this fall. Need to hype yourself up? “Drapetomania.” In your feelings? “Back To The Go.” Want to dance and vibe? “Burn Ya Block.” Some of my personal favorites include “The Highs & The Lows” and “Speed of Love.” Hip-hop fans are spoiled right now with all the recent projects that have come out, and “STAR LINE” is not one fans should sleep on.
ARTS & CULTURE
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What happens in the newsroom
Stays in the newsroom...