Daily Vanguard May 14, 2010

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FRIDAY, MAY 14, 2010 • PORTLAND STATE UNIVERSITY • VOLUME 64, ISSUE 109

Event of the day Interested in other cultures and countries? Attend the 34th Annual International Night and eat foods from different regions and enjoy music from around the world. When: 5 p.m. Where: Smith Memorial Student Union

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INSIDE OPINION

President’s garden still flourishing

Overcoming Oregon obesity Childhood obesity is down in Oregon… or is it? PAGE 3

ARTS

Just plain wrong Just Wright is unrealistic and predictable from start to finish pAgE 5

Presidential permaculture: Students planted a sustainable garden at Wiewel’s home in 2009.

Pustules, boils and sores galore! Third annual PDX Zombie Prom hits Portland this weekend pAgE 6 Music for everyone Another all-ages music venue bites the dust PAGE 7

NEWS “Break the Wall; Embrace the World” 34th annual International Night to cross cultural barriers pAgE 8

SPORTS

Students return to Wiewel’s permaculture garden, discuss sustainability Catrice Stanley Vanguard staff

Last year, students from Portland State designed a permaculture garden to be planted in President Wim Wiewel’s yard. This year, on May 1, a small group of students and faculty returned to his home to celebrate the garden’s success, one year later. The group helped replace annual vegetable crops and herbs, as well as plant seeds, according to Jordan Mercier, a psychology student who

Clubs with character A look at two rec clubs with unique focuses PAGE 10

ASPSU Vice President Ed Hallman. “We basically sat around and had a nice long conversation,” he said. “[We talked about] the direction of Portland State and what we see as the strengths of the college in terms of sustainability.” The group also discussed the future of sustainability at PSU, as well as what improvements need to be made in order to provide the university with a promising future, according to Hallman. Mercier also appreciated having time to touch base with Wiewel. “[Wiewel] talked a lot about sustainability at PSU and how that’s looking from the institutional level,” Mercer said. “The people I know are working from the ground level so it’s really nice to have someone who is

Vanguard staff

Speakers Board needs students

Student fees fund Portland State’s Educational Activities Speakers Board, a committee of six representatives from across campus that helps student groups and academic departments bring speakers to campus. However, the board is currently suffering from understaffing and a lack of visibility. The Speakers Board consists of three students, chosen by the ASPSU president, and three faculty members, chosen by the Faculty Senate, according to Shannon Timm, the future adviser to the Speakers Board and a current

advisor for Student Activities and Leadership Programs. This year, however, only two students have remained on the board, according to Timm. “The last couple of years, [the board has] struggled,” she said. When a new ASPSU president takes office, they often make appointing students to the Speakers Board a low priority because they already have so much to learn, Timm said. In addition, appointees are not always fully prepared for the commitment.

SALP plans to recruit student members, increase visibility Sharon Rhodes

The ultimate sport comes to PSU An inside look at Ultimate Frisbee PAGE 10

was involved with the activities. Mercier also volunteers at PSU’s Reuse Room, and is part of a Capstone project that is constructing the composting station in the Smith Food Court. Amanda Leece, volunteer coordinator at the Sustainability Leadership Center, was also present that day. “It was really fun to get our hands dirty and getting to plant things,” she said. For many of those present to replant the garden, however, the real treat came after the manual labor was done. Once the planting was completed, there was an hour or more in which the garden helpers sat down with Wiewel to discuss sustainability, said

Photo courtesy of PSU Communications

In order to curb this problem, SALP hopes to recruit student members for the Speaker’s Board, according to Timm. “Interested people should contact student government,” she said. According to Timm, next year big changes are in the works for the Speakers Board. “I anticipate that a year from now [the board] is going to look really different,” she said. “It’s just been a little neglected.” To date, the Speakers Board has worked almost entirely behind the

part of the actual bureaucratic aspect of it.” A permaculture garden is a system intended to be sustainable with little to no input from gardeners, once in place, according to Hallman. “It’s not just something that is limited to growing things,” he said. “It’s actually a way of thinking about all the inputs and outputs of a system and pointing them inward so they take care of themselves.” Hallman said he gained a great deal of his permaculture insight from Permaculture Design, a two-term course offered by Toby Hemenway. Students in the course designed the permaculture garden that is now on display in Wiewel’s front yard. “It’s a really great course. It is one of the best things I’ve done in college. And after you finish both terms, you actually get your permaculture design certificate,” Hallman said. “Also, the instructor is one of the coolest and wisest individuals I have met in my life.” Fallon Roderick, Student Leadership liaison for Ecological Sustainability, encourages students to get involved in sustainability projects such as this one. “I think the Sustainability Leadership Center is going be the place for students to come when they want to get involved in sustainability projects,” Roderick said. There are several other gardening projects available on campus for students that want to venture into sustainable practices, according to Leece. In addition, Leece said it was an exciting time to get involved in sustainability. “There are lots of opportunities available,” she said. “If they want to help they can just contact us [at the Sustainability Leadership Center].” According to Hallman, permaculture ideas are just beginning to take off. “I think it’s a huge opportunity for a lot of people,” he said. “Permaculture is really going to explode– especially as we get more into urban agriculture.”

scenes. However, beginning next year, Timm said she hopes to work on “leadership development with the students” on the board. Timm said she also plans to update its website–which is currently a link to a PDF file–and create “some branding” to increase the visibility of the board and the speakers it brings to campus. With a yearly budget of approximately $35,000, the Speakers Board typically helps student groups and departments bring 10 to 15 speakers to campus each year, according to its website. Though the board provides anywhere from $100 to $2,000 for a given event, individual student groups and departments have a cap of $3,000 per year, Timm said.

SPEAKERS continued on page eight


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