Portland State Vanguard. Vol. 72 Issue 18

PORTLAND STATE VANGUARD

VOLUME 72 • ISSUE 18 • JANUARY 30, 2018

NO JUSTICE WITHOUT RACIAL JUSTICE WALIDAH IMARISHA RETURNS HOME TO PSU

P. 8–9

NEWS:

INTERNATIONAL:

ARTS:

FEATURE:

MEASURE 101 P. 3

#JUSTICEFORZAINAB P. 7

‘LE NOIR DE’ AT 5TH AVENUE CINEMA P. 11

ASPSU SFC 2019 BUDGET DELIBERATIONS P. 5

BOTOXED CAMELS DISQUALIFIED FROM BEAUTY PAGEANT P. 7

REMEMBERING URSULA K. LE GUIN P. 6

TAX SEASON Last day to withdraw from class with a 20 percent refund

Last day to check out Littman Gallery exhibition Illuminated Wilderness: Memory

by Kendra Crick

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Cover letter and resume writing workshop. Free to PSU students.

FEB

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FEB

2

FEB

FEB

Employers are required to send W-2 by the end of January

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2017 1098-T

Last day to pay second payment plan installment to avoid $100 late fee

Ready to view through Banweb

2:30 p.m.–4 p.m. in University Services Building 402.

CONTENTS COVER PHOTO BY PETE SHAW, DESIGN BY AARON UGHOC NEWS MEASURE 101 PASSES

P. 3

BURGERVILLE WORKERS UNION PICKETS HIGHER WAGES

P. 4

ASPSU DOES NOT APPROVE SFC 2019 BUDGET

P. 5

FEATURE URSULA K. LE GUIN 1929–2018

P. 6

INTERNATIONAL PROTESTS GRIP PAKISTAN

P.7

ENTREPRENEURSHIP BOOMS IN JAPAN

P. 10

STAFF EDIT ORI A L EDITORIAL-IN-CHIEF Evan Smiley MANAGING EDITOR Danielle Horn NEWS EDITORS Alanna Madden Anna Williams INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Fiona Spring ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR NOW HIRING OPINION EDITOR Nada Sewidan

PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A ONLINE EDITOR NOW HIRING COPY CHIEF Missy Hannen COPY EDITORS Jesika Westbrook Molly MacGilbert CONTRIBUTORS Alex-Jon Earl Andrew Gaines Willis Homann Andrew D. Jankowski Jake Johnson Katherine Piwonka Chris Stair Justin Thurer Anamika Vaughan

PHOTO EDITOR Zell Thomas MULTIMEDIA MANAGER Emma Josephson PHOTOGRAPHERS & VIDEOGRAPHERS Brian McGloin CR E ATI V E DIR EC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Aaron Ughoc LEAD DESIGNER Robby Day Chloe Kendall

COVER NO JUSTICE WITHOUT RACIAL JUSTICE

P. 8

ARTS & CULTURE SHORT AND BITTER UPHEAVAL OF EUROPEAN CINEMA

P. 11

OPINION LOADED LANGUAGE

COMICS AND PUZZLE

P. 12 P. 13

ON & OFF CAMPUS EVENTS

P. 14–15

DESIGNERS Georgia Hatchett Elena Kim Lisa Kohn Jenny Vu DIS T RIBU TION & M A R K E TING DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING MANAGER Colleen Leary Aaron Ughoc T ECHNOL OGY & W EB SIT E STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Corrine Nightingale TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT Damaris Dusciuc Long V. Nguyen Annie Ton

A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher To contact Portland State Vanguard, email info@psuvanguard.com MIS SION S TAT EMEN T 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.

A BOU T 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 every Tuesday and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @psuvanguard for multimedia content and breaking news.

NEWS

MEASURE 101 PASSES VOTERS BACK FUNDING FOR MEDICAID 62-38 ALEX-JON EARL Measure 101, the Oregon bill that would fund Medicaid through assessments on insurers, passed with 62 percent of the vote in a special election Tuesday, Jan. 23. The bill will fund Oregon’s growing contribution to Medicaid expansion.

“While Washington, D.C. falls apart, Oregonians are coming together,” said Oregon Governor Kate Brown in a statement following the bill’s passage. “This vote sends a clear message that they are sick and tired of partisan efforts to reduce health care access. You should be able to see the doctor when you’re sick and have health care you can afford.”

An initial bill to close the gap made by federal cuts, House Bill 2391, already passed through legislature with bipartisan support June 2017. However, the Stop Healthcare Taxes campaign gathered 59,000 signatures to place portions of the bill on the ballot. This became Measure 101.

During the campaign, opponents of Measure 101 insisted that its passage would represent a new tax on Oregon voters.

Proponents touted widespread support for the measure and its effort to expand healthcare to poorer Oregonians.

Arguments persisted between opponents and supporters after the election results.

Decrying a lack of funding for opposition to Measure 101, Oregon Rep. Julie Parrish tweeted: “Special interests spend 40-to-1; lawmakers write ballot title & move election date to drive low voter turnout, the lowest in vote-by-mail history; and citizens don’t have time to learn the issue...Tonight’s outcome isn’t surprising. But our goal was to let voters vote!”

Parrish’s district of West Linn is located in Clackamas County, which voted 58-42 in support of Measure 101.

House Speaker Tina Kotek tweeted: “Oregonians were loud and clear tonight: Health care is a right that we will protect. By passing Measure 101, Voters affirmed that everyone has a right to access affordable health care. Thank you, Oregon voters, for keeping the state moving forward.”

SYDNEY BARDOLE

CRIME BLOTTER JAN. 23–JAN. 29 JUSTIN THURER

JAN. 23 Vandalism University Place Hotel An officer responded to a report of graffiti on a green trailer in the parking lot at 4:40 p.m.

JAN. 24 Theft of misplaced property Between Parking Structure 3 and Cramer Hall At 4:35 p.m., a student reported they had misplaced their cell phone. Officers were able to locate the phone using GPS coordinates, but could not call it as the phone had been deactivated.

JAN. 25 Burglary University Place Hotel A non-student reported that their hotel room was broken into and thousands of dollars of electronics were stolen.

THEFT Millar Library Shortly after 3:30 p.m., a student reported that their

CamelBak backpack containing a textbook was stolen from the southwest corner of the fourth floor.

Vandalism Cramer Hall Janitors found the first floor all-gender restroom vandalized with paint shortly after 10 p.m. The janitors locked the door and placed a work order.

JAN. 26 Trespass warning Lincoln Hall At 10:15 a.m., officers responded to a non-student found sleeping in the handicapped stall in the third floor women’s restroom. Officers called local shelter My Father’s House and a pastor offered the individual resources and lunch.

JAN. 27TH Trespassing Academic and Student Recreation Center At 7:58 a.m., a non-student was arrested for trespassing on the second floor of the ASRC.

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 30, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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NEWS

BURGERVILLE WORKERS UNION PICKETS FOR HIGHER WAGES, BETTER CONDITIONS “What’s outrageous? Burgerville wages. What’s disgusting?

Union Busting,” Burgerville Workers Union members and supporters picketed on Jan. 24, outside the Convention Center Burgerville restaurant on NE Martin Luther King Blvd and Multnomah St. “We’re here tonight celebrating a year a half as a union fighting for higher wages and better working conditions,” said Chris, a member of BWU who said he’s worked at the Convention Center Burgerville for over two years and has seen BWU workers fired and mistreated.

“Burgerville has done nothing

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but ignore us and retaliate,” Chris continued.

BWU’s website says, “workers have formed a union to win respect; we want to see Burgerville do right by us, agree to a $5/hour raise and negotiate with our union.”

Members of NW Oregon and Washington Carpenters Union said they were on scene to support fellow unions and raised a red-eyed inflatable rat outside Burgerville’s entrance.

BWU is supported by several local advocacy groups, including Portland State University Student Union.

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 30, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

BURGERVILLE ON NE MARTIN LUTHER KING BLVD. COLLEEN LEARY /PSU VANGUARD

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

ASPSU DOES NOT APPROVE SFC 2019 BUDGET ANAMIKA VAUGHAN The Associated Students of Portland State University did not approve the Student Fee Committee’s 2018–19 budget proposal during a senate meeting Monday, Jan. 22. ASPSU senate asked the SFC to provide more data on how its budget would affect low-income and part-time students.

“Most [fee funded areas] supplied enough information to support why they should be funded,” said SFC Chair Mahamadou Sissoko. “If they didn’t have the metrics, we cut them and asked them to come back with metrics to support the facts.”

INCREASED FEES FOR SOME PART-TIME STUDENTS

The SFC proposed terminating the current student fee structure, which prorates fees for part-time students—those taking fewer than 12 credits. Under the new fee structure, students taking 8–12 credits would pay a flat rate student incidental fee of $223 per term.

The Student Incidental Fee currently pays for Smith Memorial Student Union, student groups, access to the Academic and Student Recreation Center and athletics.

Students taking fewer than eight credits only get partial access to these services while at eight credits or more, students get full access.

Current fees would not change for students taking fewer than eight credits, but the 8,000 students now taking between eight and 12 credits would pay $60 more per semester.

Full-time students would only see a $2 increase. However, these students also receive the most Pell Grant money if they are eligible for federal financial aid. Part-time students can only receive partial Pell Grant funding.

The proposed fee structure would mimic many student incidental fee structures at other universities, including

Oregon State University and University of Oregon, both of which charge a flat fee for students at every credit level.

The senate asked the SFC for a breakdown of how access to fee-funded services on campus would change at each credit level, particularly how much access students taking seven or fewer credits have to these benefits. Sissoko argued the fee increase would allow part-time students to keep their current access to fee-funded services.

ASPSU President Brent Finkbeiner said senate members want to better understand how this fee jump would truly affect those part-time students just shy of a full-time load.

“How many of those students are receiving financial aid?”

Finkbeiner said. “How many of those students are low income? How will they [be affected by] this tuition increase?”

MINIMUM WAGE

“The budget [for] 2017 compared to 2018 is an increase already because of minimum wage,” Sissoko said at the meeting.

“What the SFC [proposes] is to allow them to keep the same level of [student fee] services. It was either increase [the student fee] or cut the fee-funded areas.”

The senate also discussed raising the student fee early in anticipation of another minimum wage increase during the 2019–20 fiscal year. However, the SFC responded by saying it is the committee’s legal responsibility to only make decisions for the 2018–19 fiscal year.

Next year, [minimum wage] will go up $1.25,” Finkbeiner said. “So whatever the SFC had to do this year to help fund minimum wage and the other services is going to be even worse next year.” “[The senate will] decide whether to agree with their revised proposal or reject it and [propose] our own,” said ASPSU Vice

JENNY VU President Donald Thompson. “So that means we would send two separate proposals to the president.”

Finkbeiner said he hopes the SFC will be able to provide the information necessary for the senate and the committee to recommend one unified budget.

SFC budget proposal updates will be available at psuvanguard.com to reflect any changes made at a special ASPSU senate meeting on Monday, Jan. 29.

Viking Voices is an open platform, rolling submission op-ed column open to all students, faculty, staff and alumni of Portland State.

Please provide your name and major or affiliation with PSU. No submissions over 600 words.

Submissions are voluntary, unpaid and not guaranteed to be published. All submissions will be reviewed and selected by the Vanguard Opinion Editor.

Submit your thoughts, stories and opinions to: opinion@psuvanguard.com

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 30, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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FEATURE

IN MEMORIAM: LITERAL LEGEND URSULA K. LE GUIN

AUTHOR CHANGES SCIENCE FICTION AND PORTLAND LITERARY CULTURE ANDREW D. JANKOWSKI Grand Master of Science Fiction and Portland resident Ursula K. Le Guin passed away Monday, Jan. 22, at the age of 88. The news of Le Guin’s death came the morning after public scholar Walidah Imarisha discussed Le Guin’s anticapitalist contributions to science fiction literature during an MLK Tribute event on Jan. 21. “[Le Guin] is amazing,” Imarisha said during the event.

“She’s super feisty. She’s been feisty her whole life.”

Imarisha quoted Le Guin: “We live in capitalism; its power seems inescapable. So did the divine right of kings. Any human power can be resisted and changed by human beings.”

For more from Imarisha’s speech, see p. 8.

The writing community felt the impact of Le Guin’s death immediately, as social media users, authors and the press scrambled to honor one of contemporary history’s best writers.

Le Guin’s works spanned numerous genres, but especially influenced fantasy and science fiction. Her work helped elevate both genres, which previously held reputations as dimestore pulp stories.

One such work, 1971’s Lathe of Heaven, is about a Portland

man whose dreams change reality, and how efforts to control his powers go awry. Lathe of Heaven’s PBS adaptation features iconic Portland buildings near the Portland State campus, as well as a Tonya Harding–era Lloyd Center. Le Guin’s works are also revered for challenging the confines of reality in art.

Le Guin was an active, effective voice for change, both in Portland and across the globe. As one of a group of writers that included Ken Kesey, Le Guin helped found what is now known as Literary Arts in Portland. She was an active adviser to the organization until recently.

She wrote library-funding ballot measures for election seasons, condemned the comparison of the Trump administration’s “alternative facts” to science fiction in a letter to the editor for The Oregonian, and even condemned a news headline—from the same newspaper—as too sympathetic toward the Malheur Wildlife Refuge Occupation of 2016. LeGuin was a fierce critic of the corporatization of the publishing industry and left the Authors Guild in 2009 after it endorsed Google Books, as the guild previously sued the company for copyright infringement.

Le Guin was an early voice against the whitewashing of science fiction and fantasy. Her influence on pop literature and film can be seen everywhere, from Harry Potter to the newest Star Wars saga. She was one of the few writers whose works were selected for preservation in the Library of America during her lifetime.

LeGuin’s legacy of masterfully challenging the status quo lives on in a time where the fascist oppression long imagined by science fiction writers makes a resurgence in Western culture. Though her physical life has ended, LeGuin’s work has achieved immortality.

CREDIT: THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

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PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 30, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

INTERNATIONAL

PROTESTS GRIP PAKISTAN RISING TENSIONS HIGHLIGHT DEEPER ISSUES WILLIS HOMANN

In an increasingly connected world, when tragedy strikes, the whole world feels tremors. Such is the case with young Zainab Ansari of Kasur, Pakistan.

Ansari was one of 12 girls in the past two years found raped and murdered in the city. Following her murder, the people of Pakistan took to the streets and social media, where #justiceforzainab became one of the top trending hashtags worldwide.

Portland State Associate Professor of Political Science Dr. Lindsay Benstead connected the outbreak of protests in Pakistan to far-reaching corruption within the country.

“There are ongoing issues of the police being accountable to the public and behaving or operating in a way that isn’t consistent with the rule of law,” she said. “The public is very concerned about this incident and they want to ensure it doesn’t happen again.”

PSU Sociology Professor Emeritus Dr. Grant Farr pointed to the recent ousting

of former Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif as a possible cause for turmoil.

As tensions rise, some individuals question whether street demonstrations are the most effective way for protesters to achieve their goal of increased government and police accountability. Benstead says yes.

“As Pakistan is a developing country, it is all the more difficult to implement public sector reforms...due to the fact Pakistan is transitioning to democracy,” Benstead explained.

“While [Pakistan] has elections, the public has limited mechanisms to ask the government to change,” Benstead continued.

“The formal mechanism of accountability is weakened, so that means the public can only respond through protest and other informal means.”

“Large demonstrations have tremendous power,” Farr said. “I think you have to take to the streets, and if people really care, they need to protest.”

CHLOE KENDALL

JAN. 22 LIBERIA: NEW PRESIDENT PROMISES CRACKDOWN ON CORRUPTION Former international soccer star George Weah has been sworn in as president in Liberia’s first peaceful transition of power since 1944. In his speech, he vowed to combat poverty by working to eliminate corruption among government officials. Some have interpreted these promises as a response to criticisms of Weah’s predecessor, Africa’s first elected female president Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, who was accused of promoting corruption and nepotism during her 12 years in office.

JAN. 23 PAKISTAN: POLICE ARREST SUSPECT IN ZAINAB ANSARI CASE Police have arrested a suspect involved in the rape and murder of Zainab Ansari, the young victim who became the subject of protests across her hometown of Kasur earlier this month. The suspect, accused of serial murder, has reportedly confessed after his DNA was found to match samples from the crime scene.

JAN. 24 SAUDI ARABIA: CAMELS DISQUALIFIED FROM BEAUTY PAGEANT OVER BOTOX INJECTIONS A dozen camels have been disqualified from the annual King Abdulaziz Camel Festival in Rumah. Offering almost $32 million to the winning humps, the prizes are nothing to spit at. In addition to Botox injections on their lips, noses and jaws, the camels reportedly underwent surgical procedures to reduce the size of their ears.

JAN. 25 INDIA: FILM RELEASE TRIGGERS PROTESTS Protesters vandalized shops, vehicles and cinema halls following the release of Bollywood epic Padmaavat. Controversy surrounds the film’s portrayal of a relationship between 14th-century Hindu Queen Padmavati and Muslim Emperor Alauddin Khilji. Right-wing Hindu groups have called for the film to be banned.

Jan. 22–Jan. 28 Fiona Spring

JAN. 26 SOUTH AFRICA: CRISIS THREATENS CAPE TOWN WATER SUPPLY Officials have significantly tightened water use restrictions following the announcement that ‘Day Zero,’ the date when Cape Town’s water supply is expected to run dry, has been moved up 10 days, from April 22 to April 12. The city’s water crisis has developed gradually over the course of three consecutive years of drought, exacerbated by climatic shifts and a rapidly growing population. If Day Zero arrives, Cape Town would become the first metropolis in the world to run out of water.

JAN. 28 AFGHANISTAN: TALIBAN CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR KABUL AMBULANCE BLAST Attackers detonated an ambulance packed with explosives on a busy street in Kabul, killing at least 95 people and wounding 158 in what Afghan officials are calling a massacre. The Taliban has claimed responsibility for the attack, which came in the wake of a violent siege on Kabul’s Intercontinental Hotel that resulted in 18 deaths.

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 30, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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COVER

NO JUSTICE

WITHOUT RACIAL JUSTICE

WALIDAH IMARISHA RETURNS HOME TO PSU ALANNA MADDEN Portland State alumna Walidah Imarisha presented “Living the Legacy: Afrofuturism and Possibilities for Oregon” Monday, Jan. 22, hosted by PSU’s Global Diversity and Inclusion department. Imarisha discussed the history of racial injustice in Oregon and how local communities can envision diversity and justice for the future.

Imarisha taught in PSU’s Black Studies Department as well as at Oregon State and Stanford University. “This feels like coming home,” Imarisha told the sold-out audience.

“This evening is just incredibly beautiful.

Y’all are beautiful.”

munities of color have always existed here,” Imarisha said. “We are on stolen indigenous land. Folks were here before anyone else got here. There was no discovering of anything.”

Imarisha said it was important to understand Oregon’s Black history because “Northwest nice” markets Portland as “this open, liberal place: the idea of Portlandia that gets exported internationally.”

According to Imarisha, this image juxtaposes Portland with other regions in the U.S., such as the South. However, Imarisha emphasized, “Racism is an American problem.

It is not confined to any one region in this country.”

“YOU CANNOT HAVE JUSTICE IF Imarisha continued, “We have to underYOU DON’T HAVE RACIAL JUSTICE.” stand...the ways these triple evils [of pov– WALIDAH erty, racism, and IMARISHA militarism] that MLK The predominate talked about are built scope of Imarisha’s into the foundation keynote speech of Oregon, the [NW], involved the inand into this country.” tersectionality Imarisha explained between fiction such foundations inliterature, the hisclude the Oregon torical relevance Black exclusion law of racial inequaland Oregon’s histority in Oregon ical Lash Law that and the greater permitted the anUnited States nual public lashing and how the legof African-American acy of Martin citizens in order to -Walidah Imarisha Luther King, deter them from livJr.’s “I Have a ing in Oregon. These Dream” provides discriminatory practhe framework tices later evolved for understanding how communities can into municipal fines and imprisonment as move toward a shared vision of justice for all. means to criminalize and oppress non-white “Dreaming and imagining is the most pow- communities. erful thing you can do,” Imarisha said. “Once imagination is unshackled, liberation is PSU Vanguard had the opportunity to speak limitless.” with Walidah Imarisha Jan. 24 to disImarisha presented her YouTube slide- cuss some of the main points from the MLK show “Oregon Black History Timeline,” Tribute presentation. which explains that historical false narra- Vanguard: During your presentation you tives erase identities of indigenous peoples said, “Communities of color don’t need a while manifesting white supremacy and re- savior. They need allies.” How can people inforcements of racial injustice. best be allies?

“When I travel and tell folks I’m from Walidah Imarisha: I think by listening to Portland, Oregon, they say, ‘What—are you those communities of color there. So if we’re one of two Black people?’ The reality is, com- talking about [PSU], taking the leadership of

“Racism is an American problem. It is not confined to any one region in this country.”

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PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 30, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

CREDIT: PETE SHAW communities of color there.

I had the opportunity of meeting and having dinner with different student leaders and organizers before the event, and there are so many organizations and student groups and students doing community-based racial justice there at [PSU].

I don’t think it’s useful to look from an outside person and be an expert when the reality is that there are folks doing this work every single day on the ground. Those are the folks who need allies. Those are the folks whose leadership should be centered.

VG: You brought up the Black Panthers and misconceptions people have of leaders like Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. Do you have a theory on why this is?

WI: The image of [MLK] that we are given is sanitized and safe for existing power structures. He demanded a complete re-envisioning, a complete replacement of existing power structures. And so to be able to appropriate his legacy, they have to basically completely eradicate who MLK actually was and what he did while he was alive.

It serves a purpose to have white folks think the Black Panther Party and Malcolm X hated white folks and they only focused on the black community, and they were violent and scary. And the realities are that they formed…coalitions with radical white folks and their view was very similar to [MLK]’s, which was an international lens that [asked]: How do we build an anti-white supremacist, anti-imperialist, anti-capitalist movement

COVER that can actually transform the foundations of this world? There were many similarities between them in terms of their analysis.

VG: Some anti-colonial authors describe institutional restructuring as an inevitably violent process. Do you see the U.S.’ future as violent as some of these visions?

WI: I very much struggle with the word violence because I think it’s so broad as to be almost meaningless. It’s often used to mean everything from harsh words to mass genocide, and I think that [it’s] often used as a weapon against folks who are trying to create radical change in community.

It’s important to note that businessas-usual is violence. Every single day… the police murders that happen are violent. The ways healthcare is denied to oppressed peoples is violent. Whether you put a gun to someone’s head or you keep medicine from them, that is violence.

The violence under the system that is operating business-as-usual is so normalized, it’s not even noticed by people who have power and privilege in society. It is only the acts of resistance, the acts of self-defense, that can again be anything from harsh words [and] so on that get labeled as violence.

So I think it’s incredibly important to interrogate that and to really think about how we use language. Because if we call something violent and we call something [else] self-defense, there are very different understandings of it, and we feel very differently about it.

VG: How can media avoid reinforcing and normalizing injustice?

WI: Well, first what stories get told, but [also] the lens through [which] they get told.

That’s part of why I always try to highlight in my work that idea of oppressed peoples as

active change-makers, not passive victims.

I try to center resistance and the community building rather than show them as nothing but objects being acted upon and to recognize that all the racial justice that has occurred has come about because of oppressed peoples.

That frame is one that is often missing from journalism. So even when stories are told about the oppression that’s happening, it centers the oppression rather than the ways communities have and do resist and

right would consider themselves to be antifascist, and therefore antifa.

I think there’s a specific tactic and strategy that folks focus on when they talk about antifa. That tactic of engaging [in] indirect ways with street-level white supremacist violence.

I think it’s also important to note we need every way possible of challenging fascism.

I think that all successful movements for change have incorporated a multiplicity of tactics and if they don’t, then they aren’t successful movements for change.

And so I think it’s important to recognize, again, white supremacist street-level fascism and violence is violence, and it is not free speech. The foundation and framework of their ideology is violence against oppressed peoples, and it’s

“It’s important to note that business-as-usual is violence.”

is something terrible or if it’s just a personal choice people make. I never thought we would actually get to the level where we’re having that conversation in the mainstream in this country.

VG: As somebody who is speaking out against injustices, have you met any resistance?

WI: When I go on tours for my Oregon Black History program, I travel with security because there have been so many threats by neo-Nazis and white supremacist fascists.

They have stood outside the events and threatened to sexually assault and murder participants of the events coming out. This is not something theoretical; this is something that is happening every single day, and its happening here in Oregon.

It’s also not just in rural areas. I’ve had white supremacist fascists come to events in Portland as well. This is not something that just started a year ago with Trump’s campaign and election; this is something that is deeply rooted in this state, this region and in this country.

VG: Do you have a message for PSU students?

WI: I think the message I ended with is that my absolute belief is that social change is possible. When folks come together, they are unstoppable and the future is ours to claim. I hope that folks recognize that work can happen on every level.

Rich history is very true at [PSU], and there are folks continuing that work right now. I hope that the folks who aren’t engaged in that know they can be part of that movement of dreaming new, just words and building them into existence.

“It is only the acts of resistance...that get labeled as violence.”

create change.

I think it can help perpetuate the idea that communities are powerless against these forces, when the reality is, we have the power to create the world we want.

Everyone in society spends so much time telling us we are powerless precisely because they are terrified by how powerful we actually are.

VG: How do you feel about movements like antifa?

WI: Well, I think it’s important to recognize that antifa isn’t a group, its an ideology, right? Antifa stands for anti-fascist. So I would hope that every person who considers themselves someone who believes in what is

-Walidah Imarisha important as a society [to] challenge that on all levels.

We have to say, “this is not acceptable. This is not something can be allowed to stand.” I think there has never been a middle ground when it comes to oppression, but I think that is even more clear now where we’re having debates around whether or not being a Nazi

BRIAN MCGLOIN/PSU VANGUARD

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 30, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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INTERNATIONAL

ENTREPRENEURSHIP BOOMS IN JAPAN PORTLAND STATE ALUMNUS LECTURES ON TOKYO’S STARTUP SCENE CHRISTOPHER STAIR Portland State alumnus Hajime Kuwaya returned to campus Tuesday, Jan. 16, to lecture on a unique aspect of Japanese culture: the booming entrepreneurial scene.

“I’m not so sure that many Americans associate entrepreneurship with Japan,” said Ken Ruoff, director of the Center for Japanese Studies at PSU. “We decided that a lecture series on entrepreneurship in contemporary Japan would be interesting, and happily we got a grant from the Toshiba Foundation to support this.”

“Often Americans think of the salaryman culture,” Ruoff continued. “These are individuals who are employees in these very big corporations, but the fact of the matter is that Japan has this incredibly rich history of entrepreneurship, and lots of it is actively going on now.”

While it’s far from uncommon for students around the world to feel lost, Ruoff remains hopeful. “The main point is to remind people that there is a vibrant entrepreneurial sector in Japan,” he said. “Even though the macro stats may say that Japan is growing at .5 percent a year, certain industries are dying and new industries are being developed. Somebody started most of the big corporations at one point; they were operating out of garages at one point.”

For those who want to work in Japan without teaching English, PSU graduate Zach Bradbury recommended gaining “IT experience, especially programming, because there is a shortage of those types of workers in Japan.”

As a bonus, Bradbury said, “It doesn’t matter so much even if you can’t speak Japanese in those fields.”

ROBBY DAY

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PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 30, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

ARTS

‘LA NOIRE DE’ A SHORT AND BITTER UPHEAVAL OF EUROPEAN CINEMA

FILMI DOMIREV

ANDREW GAINES Sometimes you don’t need your film to be two hours long to make an impact. La Noire de is a 50-minute condemnation of midcentury European attitudes toward Africans.

The film is the directorial debut of Ousmane Sembene, who is widely regarded as the first African director to make waves in the international film market, making it a critical piece of world cinema.

In the film, Diouana (Mbissine Therese Diop), a young Senegalese woman with aspirations of a higher-class life, is hired to work overseas as the housemaid of a wealthy French couple.

Sembene depicts both Diouana’s present as a beleaguered worker paraded around as an accoutrement by her insensitive employers and her past, taking the job in the hope it will lead to her partaking in French culture and society.

Unlike the husband and wife (Robert Fontaine and Anne-Marie Jelinek) who work her to the bone and come to Senegal to sample the local culture from a safe distance, Diouana has no such option in France. She’s more of a slave than a caretaker, never leaving her employers’ home.

La Noire de provides both a cinematic history lesson, showing the origins of African

film, and an encapsulation of the perils of colonialism and the racist attitudes that stem from it. It comes from a place of frustration, but never preaches to the audience.

The scenes inside the French domicile have a flatness to them, with art from Africa decorating the walls but not much else. The flashbacks to Senegal, however, feature a noticeable warmth. The people there live in poverty and lack what might be considered basic living requirements, but it’s a community looking for something better. These scenes are shot with both love and pity.

The boorish, racist French elite Diouana

faces later in the film get no such visual sympathy.

If you have even a passing interest in world cinema, I highly recommend you watch La Noire de this coming weekend. It’s not just an “important” film as a landmark for African directors, it’s a legitimately incisive and dramatic watch. Find time to slot it in; you’ll only need an hour.

Portland State’s 5th Avenue Cinema screens La Noire De Feb. 2–4. All 5th Ave screenings are free to PSU students and faculty w/ ID, $5 general admission and $4 for all other students and seniors.

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 30, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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OPINION

LOADED LANGUAGE PERHAPS THE MOST DEADLY WEAPON OF ALL

GEORGIA HATCHETT

KATHARINE PIWONKA Anyone can be controlled when a gun is held to their head.

However, be wary not of the gun loaded with metal bullets, but of one loaded with rhetoric instead.

In its simplest form, loaded language is invisible persuasion. It acts on your subconscious to imply meaning and values without stating the intended emotional effect openly. When used to further personal agendas at the expense of others, it is a dangerous weapon.

American politicians are experts when it comes to aiming the language gun. Who is the best shot? The Trump administration. There are countless examples of loaded language in today’s politics, spinning circles with their words, dousing hypocrisy in red, white and blue stripes.

“Make America Great Again” implies America is no longer as great as it once was. “Crooked Hillary” encourages the mind to

imagine a morally corrupt woman. And as The New York Times points out, this loaded statement President Donald Trump tweeted, “Look what is happening all over Europe and, indeed, the world - a horrible mess!” implies that chaos is everywhere and inevitable unless the United States does something about it.

None of these implied claims are based on actual fact.

Recently, the Trump administration proposed a list of forbidden words to be omitted from official documents the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. The blacklist includes the words “vulnerable, entitlement, diversity, transgender, fetus, evidence-based [and] science-based.”

Some may see these as simply words, but the truth is they are the front door to definitions that make up identities, reveal reliable truths, and encourage a more just, safe and inclusive society.

Sen. Jeff Merkley pointed out that this type of censorship parallels George Orwell’s novel 1984, and it was certainly not lost on others that this type of action reeks of authoritarian tendencies. Stripping words from written language will inevitably affect

A WORD ON…

BY MISSY HANNEN

media (n.) plural of medium (n.) a means by which something is communicated or expressed.

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PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 30, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

spoken language as well, making it more and more difficult to discuss these social complexities. This not only hinders our freedom of speech, but also threatens human rights, safety and security.

When transgender individuals are unable to accurately define themselves medically, they will face negative health consequences. By eliminating the word fetus, the safety of children and women who had or will have abortions are put at risk.

Ignoring that there are people more susceptible to harm than others nationally and internationally disregards equity and equality in one fell swoop.

Thankfully, the CDC scoffed at the idea of altering language in their official financial and fiscal documents.

Director of the CDC Dr. Brenda Fitzgerald, tweeted in December reassuring people, “There are no banned words at CDC. We will continue to talk about all our important public health programs.”

Though this disaster was averted, we must not forget the possible implications of the proposed language ban. This news was pushed aside to make room for other outrageous stupidity the Trump administration has been pushing, and the severity of the issue appears overlooked. Manipulating language is an effective way of insinuating mass values on a mass audience, and when you have the kind of publicity American politicians do, you have the opportunity to reach millions every day.

Where do we go from here? How do we protect ourselves against such a weapon? This is a national media literacy issue, and a big one. Vulnerable individuals are susceptible to these loaded language deceptions.

Language can, however, be used for good. Every single person has the ability to take ownership of their language and should strive to understand the intended meaning of the language we allow past our ears. We need be aggressively active listeners in order to protect justice, security and safety for all Americans.

We need to take the power of language into our own hands.

“One of the biggest challenges we have to our democracy is the degree to which we don’t share a common baseline of facts,” said former President Barack Obama when asked about threats to democracy.

Many people who view the media as a threat to democracy think of it as a unified institution working to spread horror and misinformation, when in fact the media are—not is—a variety of publications with differing individual missions.

In his conversation with David Letterman on Letterman’s new Netflix special, Obama went on to discuss how, in his 2007–2008 campaign, he employed staffers that used social media to spread ideas and information. “What we missed was the degree to which people in power...can in fact manipulate and propagandize,” he said.

If you’re not aware of what’s being called the filter bubble, check out Eli Pariser’s TED talk. Basically, algorithms now curate not only your news feeds but even your Google searches to make it easy to stay

in your bubble and not be challenged by differing opinions or, in some cases, facts.

This means you, as a media consumer, are now charged with two tasks: First, you must be media literate enough to discern truth from fiction. Fact checking in the age of fake news is a paramount skill.

Second, and perhaps most important, you must have the drive to expand your knowledge base and seek truth, regardless of whether or not it agrees with your worldview.

The Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics lists four main categories of ethical journalism: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently and be accountable and transparent.

I would argue that we have the same duties as media consumers, content creators and citizens of a polarized era. Get out of your bubble and challenge yourself. Be open-minded enough to admit when you’re wrong, and, as practiced in journalism, trust but verify.

COMICS

RAINY DAY CROSSWORD

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1 You might lose this during a storm 2 If you have one, you’re sitting in front of it 3 Saturated soil 4 Don’t bother carrying one 5 Hates the rain 6 The small after rain 7 Rain containers 9 Better than a sweater 10 Oregon’s wettest season 11 Non-electronic entertainment

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 30, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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EVENTS Jan. 30 – Feb. 5

ON CAMPUS FEATURED EVENT

THURSDAY, FEB. 1

SAT, FEB. 3

ART SHOW SHATTUCK HALL PSU LIGHT WORKS ANNEX 6 P.M.–10 P.M. FREE, ALL AGES (THROUGH FEB. 3) The Portland State College of Art + Design collaborated to transform the annex into a collection of installations including illuminated inflatable sculptures, speculative projects for buildings that are safe for night-migrating and nocturnal birds, animated and interactive digital collages, and large-scale lanterns and shadow boxes!

MUSIC 12 P.M. MZ. ETTA’S WORLD FT. PARKWAY NORTH ARIETTA WARD FREE, ALL AGES Ward brings funk, soul and R&B to PSU. Ward has performed all over Portland, and this seems like a good way to cruise into the weekend.

FILM 5TH AVENUE CINEMA LA NOIR DE (1966) $5, FREE W/PSU ID, ALL 7:30 P.M. (FEB. 2–4) AGES Directed by Ousmane Sambene, a Senegalese filmmaker, the movie talks about the racism of European colonialism in Africa. While it sounds heavy, it’s important and awesome that we have access to see this film on campus.

TUESDAY, JAN. 30 MUSIC PARKWAY NORTH HEATHER CHRISTIE FREE, ALL AGES 12 P.M. Christie brings her R&B songwriting to PSU’s Live @ Lunch concert series.

LITERARY ARTS 5 P.M. PORTLAND REVIEW HOT LIPS FUNDRAISER FREE, ALL AGES PSU’s English Department has been publishing its own literary journal, Portland Review, for over 61 years. Hot Lips is giving 10 percent of proceeds to support the journal. Eat some ‘za and chat with the journal’s editors about writing.

HISTORY (THROUGH FEB. 25) COLONIAL KOREA’S SMSU 238 SHORT-HAIRED REBELS FREE, ALL AGES 12–5 P.M. TUES.–SUN. Korean Studies faculty Danny Kim talks about how short hair played a role in shifting gender dynamics in Colonial Korea during the 1920s. The talk is focused on Kang HyangNan, a Korean woman who cross-dressed as a man in order to attend school.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 31 CAREERS CAREER QUEER WEEK: OUT @ WORK

1 P.M. SMSU 296 FREE, ALL AGES

Queer and transgender panelists from Kaiser, Portland Public Schools and AXA Advisors talk about what the climate around queerness is like in their workplaces and about what makes their employers great. Pizza and refreshments, opportunities to ask questions and network.

MUSIC 12 P.M. NOON CONCERT: LINCOLN RECITAL HALL GABRIELA GIMENES— FREE, ALL AGES THE FLUTE IN BRAZIL Gabriela Gimenes has spent a significant amount of time in Texas and Sao Paulo, Brazil. Currently she teaches woodwinds in Portland. Brazilian flute is a great time so this is definitely intriguing!

ART SHOW ANTOINETTE HATFIELD AMERICAN ME OPENING HALL RECEPTION FREE, ALL AGES 5 P.M. Cole Reed, Marquis Johnson-Bey and Brenna King are three African-American artists who explore the connection between the viewer and the art utilizing a variety of different mediums: metal, photography and some touchable things. The reception will also have music and dance.

FRIDAY, FEB. 2

SPORTS CAMPUS REC CENTER SUPERBOWL PARTY FREE, ALL AGES 3:30 P.M. Watch the sportsball event of the year! Some people from this side will try to take a thing to the other side, but people on the other side will be like, “Nice try, buddy,” and will try to stop them. It will be riveting. Commercials will try to make you laugh, and the free food will try to make you too full.

MON, FEB. 5 CAREER 2:30 P.M. CAREER WORKSHOP: USB 402 WRITING RESUMES AND FREE, ALL AGES COVER LETTERS Get some insight about what exactly you need to include in those pesky businessy business papers.

BICYCLES BIKE HUB FRIDAY FLAT FIX $5, FREE W/PSU ID, ALL 12 P.M. AGES Getting a flat is one of the least satisfying things that can happen when you’re trying to get somewhere, especially in the rain; but PSU’s Bike Hub will teach you how to fix a flat yourself, which is pretty gosh darn satisfying.

Overcome the adversity of a flat tire with elbow grease at the guidance of professionals!

SEMINAR 3 P.M. INDIGENOUS ISSUES IN URBN 220 PLANNING EDUCATION: FREE, ALL AGES FOCUS ON MURP Conversations directed at being more intentionally inclusive of Native Nations and indigenous peoples in the United States when talking about equitable education planning.

ART + SCIENCE LITTMAN + WHITE ART + SCIENCE PANEL: GALLERIES KINDRA CRICK & NW $10, 18+ (MINORS W/ NOGGIN GUARDIANS ALLOWED) 6 P.M. A wild illuminated art show and conversation that meshes neuroscience and art in an intriguing way.

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SUN, FEB. 4

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 30, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

ROBBY DAY

EVENTS Jake Johnson

OFF CAMPUS FEATURED EVENT

FRIDAY, FEB. 2

CULTURE (THROUGH FEB. 3) WINTER LIGHT 6 P.M. FESTIVAL ALL OVER TOWN THURSDAY, FEB. 1 $7–10, ALL AGES The zoo lights were cool, but Portland likes lights at night so much the WLF escalated things with installations, events, illuminated bike rides, lantern walks, Tesla coil demonstrations, PSU inflated lit up sculptures and many more events all over town. Check out the calendar at pdxwlf.com. It’s art, it’s science, it’s pretty and it’s magic.

ART SHOW 28) JOSH GATES: PORTLAND HOPWORKS BIKEBAR CITYSCAPES FREE, ALL AGES 7 P.M. (THROUGH FEB. Josh Gates is a BFA student at PSU and has a particular fascination with the relationship that light has with Portland’s ever-changing weather that is constantly transforming the city’s urban landscapes.

TUESDAY, JAN. 30 PUNK 8 P.M. VIET RAHM, PLANET THE KNOW WHAT, GHOST FROG, $8, 21+ AND BODY MASK A hazy evening of punk, grunge, and spacepunk. This will probably be loud.

DANCING DIG A PONY NOCHE LIBRE FREE, 21+ 9 P.M. DJs Lucha, Black Daria, and Mami Miami spin sounds of Latin America. A night by and for Latinx femmes with cumbia, reggaeton, chicha, boleros and rancheras.

WEDNESDAY, JAN. 31 FILM PNCA 511 BUILDING,

BY HOOK OR BY CROOK ROOM 413 (2001) FREE, ALL AGES 6 P.M. A buddy film about a gender-bending butch named Shy from a small town who joins paths with Valentine. PNCA’s MA in Critical Studies presents this queer film screening followed by a discussion.

THURSDAY, FEB. 1 SCIENCE SHOWTIMES THROUGH TESLA COIL SHOW: FEB. 3) ARCS, SPARKS & OREGON RAIL CORONA GLOW HERITAGE CENTER 6 P.M. (SEVERAL FREE, ALL AGES Yeah, Tesla coils. “People with implanted medical electronic should not attend.” WTF. Yes. WTF. This event is part of the Portland Winter Light Festival.

COMEDY EARTHQUAKE HURRICANE 8 P.M.

FORD FOOD AND DRINK FREE (DONATIONS ENCOURAGED) ALL AGES PSU alumnus Mohanad Elshieky co-hosts a weekly comedy showcase with other funny people. Have laughs with some food and drinks on the side.

CYCLING OMSI ILLUMINATED BIKE RIDE FREE, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. People put lights on their bikes and cruise around! One of the many Portland Winter Light Festival events.

FILM MISSION THEATER GROUNDHOG DAY $11, 21+ (OTHER (1993) SCREENINGS 9 P.M. AVAILABLE) Watch the Bill Murray classic Groundhog Day on Groundhog Day. Ticket includes free vaguely movie related cocktail. Hopefully it doesn’t involve groundhogs; that’d be sad and would also alienate people who are against that sort of thing. It probably wouldn’t taste good either. I don’t know if there are any significant amount of bicycles in this movie to keep this a bike-themed Friday or not.

SAT, FEB. 3 COMEDY SIREN THEATER THE MAGIC NEGRO AND $13, ALL AGES OTHER BLACKNESS 8 P.M. A critically acclaimed one-man show from Atlanta that utilizes comedic sketches to examine the portrayal of Black men in the media. Opening acts include White Women: a group of seven black men doing comedy from Los Angeles; and local Portland comedy group, The Local Ensemble. This show is a part of the Stumptown Improv Festival.

FILM LIVING ROOM THEATER THE INSULT (2018) $8 STUDENTS $11 6:30 P.M. ADULTS, ALL AGES This film is about when hurling insults can spiral out of control—relevant. This is the first Lebanese film to be nominated for an academy award.

SUN, FEB. 4 FILM 6 P.M. THOU SHALT NOT HOLLYWOOD THEATRE TAILGATE (2018) $5, ALL AGES He was a postman, is a minister and also makes crazy decorated art cars. This 26-minute observation of long-time Portland resident Reverend Charles “Chuck” Linville’s lifestyle was produced by two Portland filmmakers, Ira Flowers and Greg Hamilton.

After the screening, Linville, Flowers and Hamilton will participate in Q&A. FILM AFROFUTURISM 7:30 P.M.

HOLLYWOOD THEATRE $7 STUDENTS AND CHILDREN $9 GENERAL, ALL AGES A compilation of several short films including aliens and other horrors sounds like a great time. This event is a part of The Portland Black Film Festival.

MON, JAN. 29 ACTIVISM 6 P.M. RESISTANCE & CENTURY BAR RESILIENCE FREE, 21+ A conversation between a person named Adam and another person named Gregory McKelvey about keeping activism going.

FUNK 8 P.M. WHAT THE FUNK RINGLERS PUB MONDAYS: THE FREE, 21+ COASTLINE Mondays are always a little funky, but this way, you can turn that funk into a good thing.

MUSIC WONDER BALLROOM LIGHTS $26, ALL AGES 9 P.M. This Canadian’s fourth album Skin&Earth has, get this, a comic book series companion she wrote and illustrated. How cool is that? $1 from every ticket goes to help underserved communities get access to renewable energy.

COMEDY 10 P.M. DOMPROV—LOVE FUNHOUSE LOUNGE HURTS $10 ADV. $14 DOOR, 21+ The Valentine’s edition of an improv show where performers compete for the approval of a dominatrix who forces them to do stuff—the audience can make suggestions!

ROBBY DAY

PSU Vanguard • JANUARY 30, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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DAYS

UNTIL SPRING

Winter is here. Keep your chin up. If you can’t stand all the misty darkness, try taking some vitamin D. Although, you might as well get used to it.

Winter will be back in nine months to haunt us all.

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