Portland State Vanguard, vol. 72 issue 13

PORTLAND STATE VANGUARD

VOLUME 72 • ISSUE 13 • NOVEMBER 7, 2017

A Drop in the Ocean Pooland State Chamber Choir's Ethos of Cooperation

News

International

AAs & Culture

Opinion

CPSO details active shooter action plan P. 53

U.S. bails on UNESCO P. 6

Poetry and Peeormance AA in Parkway Nooh P. 7

Police need more non-lethal options P. 13

THE PACIFIC SENTINEL NOVEMBER ISSUE IS ON THE STANDS.

FIND IT ON CAMPUS TODAY OR FOLLOW ALONG AT THEPACIFICSENTINEL.COM

THE PACIFIC SENTINEL IS PSU’S STUDENT-RUN MONTHLY MAGAZINE. THE PUBLICATION ADVOCATES ON BEHALF OF THE MARGINALIZED, EXPLORES THE MERITS OF CULTURAL ARTIFACTS, AND INITIATES INTERDISCIPLINARY COMMUNICATION. THE PUBLICATION HIRES STUDENT WRITERS, DESIGNERS, ILLUSTRATORS AND PHOTOGRAPHERS. WANT TO CONTRIBUTE? EMAIL EDITOR.PACIFICSENTINEL@GMAIL.COM.

CONTENTS COVER DESIGN BY LYDIA WOJACK-WEST NEWS VANGUARD TAKES A BITE OUT OF HALLOWEEN CRIME

P. 3

INTERNATIONAL CONGRESS GRILLS SOCIAL MEDIA EXECS ON RUSSIA INFLUENCE

ARTS & CULTURE ALL HANDS ON DECK! REVIEW & A GUIDE TO MISSING THE POINT OF ART

P. 10

P. 6

COVER PORTLAND STATE CHAMBER CHOIR’S ETHOS OF COOPERATION

OPINION ALTERNATIVES TO FACTORY FARMS EXIST

P. 12

P. 8–9

ON & OFF-CAMPUS EVENTS OCT. 31–NOV. 6

P. 14–15

STAFF

OPINION EDITOR Thomas Spoelhof

EDIT ORI A L EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Colleen Leary

ONLINE EDITOR Andrew D. Jankowski

MANAGING EDITOR Evan Smiley NEWS EDITOR Alex-jon Earl ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Alanna Madden INTERNATIONAL EDITOR Chris May ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Matthew Andrews

COPY CHIEF Missy Hannen CONTRIBUTORS Hanna Anderson Jake Johnson Gray Bouchat Willis Homann Jess McFadden Colton Trujillo Zach Whitworth Anna Williams PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A PHOTO EDITOR Silvia Cardullo

PHOTOGRAPHERS Hanna Anderson Katie Pearce MULTIMEDIA MANAGER Danielle Horn CR E ATI V E DIR EC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Shannon Kidd LEAD DESIGNERS Lydia Wojack-West Robby Day Aaron Ughoc DESIGNERS Marika Van De Kamp Elena Kim Chole Kendall

DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING MANAGERS Andrew D. Jankowski Evan Smiley Colleen Leary

To contact Vanguard staff members, visit psuvanguard. com/contact.

To get involved and see current job openings, visit psuvanguard.com/jobs

A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher

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 a quality, hands-on journalism education and a number of skills highly valued in today’s job market.

STUDENT MEDIA TECHNOLOGY ADVISOR Corrine Nightingale TECHNOLOGY ASSISTANT Annie Ton COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood

A BOU T Portland State 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

‘TWAS A WARM AND BALMY WEEKDAY HALLOWEEN VANGUARD JOINS CPSO ON A CAMPUS RIDE-ALONG HANNA ANDERSON For many, Halloween means an evening spent traveling door-to-door collecting candy in the name of fun and celebration, but Portland State Vanguard spent this Oct. 31 traveling building-by-building with a different aim: navigating campus alongside two of PSU’s Campus Public Safety Officers on their Halloween shift.

Vanguard joined CPS Officers Matthew Masunari and James Dewey to experience this notorious party holiday from the officers’ perspectives.

“It’s going to be more parties, people wearing a lot of costumes, so one thing that we have to keep in mind is that there are going to be people wearing masks,” Masunari said. “That’s something that makes police officers feel a little more, not on edge, but vigilant.”

Officers were on the lookout for drug and alcohol use and mischief often associated with the holiday.

“There are also going to be some people who take advantage of the atmosphere of Halloween,” Masunari continued, “using masks and things like that to try and conceal their identities, on a night where it’s kind of normal to conceal identities.”

PSU campus safety security measures vary significantly from other universities due to its location in a downtown metropolis rather than a small college town.

“You’re going to have a lot of crime associated with urban centers, so a lot of property crimes, thefts—car thefts, bike thefts, property thefts—criminal mischief like breaking into cars, a lot of drug use—heroin, methamphetamines—you’ll see a lot more of that.”

The officers expected this year’s Halloween, which fell on a Tuesday, to be less rowdy than years before, in which Halloween landed on a weekend. Generally, the concerns are more prevalent over weekends.

This rang true over the course of the ride along itself, which remained relatively quiet throughout the night.

The first significant stop was to a call about a trespasser in University Pointe. By the time we arrived there were two people thought to be trespassing. One left after simply being asked by the officer, and the other disappeared before the officer could speak with them.

This stop is new to the officers this year.

Until last summer, CPSO didn’t include University Pointe in its regular patrol rounds, because the student residence building—while built on universityowned land—is not technically PSUowned. Texas-based company American Campus Communities owns and operates the building.

CPSO made the change to include UP in its jurisdiction to provide more efficient security for the building and its student residents. Without CPSO response, emergency calls and security concerns would go to the Portland Police Bureau, whose response could take up to 30 minutes to arrive on the scene.

CPSO can be anywhere on campus within a matter of minutes.

While on patrol, the officers also responded to possible fights happening on and around campus. Beyond these instances, officers primarily spent the night patrolling in the police vehicle, hoping to stop crimes before they happened.

Campus police presence & perceptions of safety In 2013, when PSU administration first began considerations to transition from its former campus security office model to its now deputized police force, safety concerns regarding PPB response time factored significantly into arguments supporting armed campus officers.

PSU CPSO IN ACTION ON HALLOWEEN NIGHT | HANNA ANDERSON/PSU The officers said even the simple presence of the CPSO vehicle often deters students from crimes they would have otherwise committed.

Not all campus groups and individuals feel the presence of a deputized police force is safer or necessary on campus and express this by continuing to advocate against the presence of armed officers at PSU. CPSO officers said they try to work directly with students and campus resource centers. “I like working with students, and it’s a great community to be working with,” an officer said. “The [Women’s Resource Center] and [Queer Resource Center] are our community partners and advocates for the students. What makes working here so great is having those community partners.”

CRIME BLOTTER OCT. 30–NOV. 5 OCT. 30 Warranted arrest Lovejoy Fountain Campus Public Safety Officers assisted Portland Police Bureau in checking a non-student for outstanding warrants. The individual had one and was arrested.

Too ambitious recycler Green Zebra CPSO was dispatched to Green Zebra when four bags containing bottles and cans were stolen from its loading dock by a green-leaning thief.

OCT. 31 Spooky serendipity Parking Structure 1 A Portland State student witnessed someone breaking into their vehicle. The student’s friend recorded a video and forwarded that footage to the CPS office.

NOV. 1 Thief likes clubbin’ Parking Structure 3 CPSO met with another PSU student whose vehicle was broken into. The thief took a set of golf clubs and two baseball bats.

looking for the person; the officers found the suspect eyeing a secured bicycle tire. They told CPSO they didn’t have one for their bike. They were issued a PSU exclusion.

Party crashers suspected University Pointe A PSU student met with CPSO to report that their laptop was missing. The student suspected two uninvited party crashers to be the culprits.

NOV. 2 Spooky serendipity solved SW 12th and SW Clay CPSO made contact with an individual who verbally confessed they had entered the vehicle of the student who recorded them on Halloween and stole sunglasses while inside. The suspect was arrested for Unlawful Entry into a Motor Vehicle and Theft II and taken to Multnomah County Sheriff Jail where it was discovered they had methamphetamine and heroin stashed on their person.

Poorly parked and keyed Parking Structure 3 A non-student told CPSO their parking abilities were called into question by way of a note someone placed on their car; later, someone keyed their car.

NOV. 3 Window smashed SW 13th and Market A student parked their vehicle on SW 13th and returned to find the driver window smashed and a tan bag filled with papers missing.NOV. 4

Sleeper screams Park Blocks A non-student was discovered to be sleeping on a bench in the park. CPSO reports the individual had a hunting knife near them, was intoxicated, and screamed a lot while identifying themself.

The screaming continued as officers filled out their paperwork.

Bike ain’t nothin’ without a tire Neuberger Hall Exterior CPSO saw a suspicious person in the South Park blocks hauling a bike frame around. Two officers went

NOV. 5 Cramer Camper Cramer Hall Around 3 a.m., CPSO responded to reports that a person was setting up camp in Cramer Hall. The individual had a current exclusion and was cited for trespassing.

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • psuvanguard.com

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NEWS

DRAG QUEENS, FORMER MAYOR GATHER TO REMEMBER LGBTQ ICON ANDREW D. JANKOWSKI

Dressed in everything from traditional mourning attire to ballgowns and platform stilettos, about 200 people gathered on Nov. 5, outside Darcelle XV’s Showplace to pay their respects to Roxy LeRoy Neuhardt, professional and romantic partner of Darcelle XV, the world’s oldest drag queen.

Neuhardt passed away on Oct. 21 at the age of 82.

When the venue reached capacity, people waited in line for their chance to enter the landmark nightclub to hug Darcelle, aka Walter Cole, and remember Neuhardt’s life and legacy. An ornate blue and silver-gold urn took center stage, surrounded by photos of Neuhardt and Cole throughout their lives, along with nine floral arrangements and a buffet of food including Voodoo Doughnuts, which also brought two large frosted portraits of Neuhardt and Cole in and out of drag.

When Cole purchased Demas Tavern in 1967, Neuhardt suggested he turn the bar into a female impersonation performance bar, according to a eulogy written by drag queen Sister Paula Nielsen and shared by Cole on Facebook.

Neuhardt also provided the name Darcelle, drawing inspiration for her name from ‘50s actress Denise Darcel.

Before Darcelle’s opened, the Oregon Liquor Control Commision banned tavern performances using more than one musical instrument.

The Oregon Historical Society documents how the OLCC used discriminatory legislation practices, at the suggestion of City Council, to deny licenses from “known taverns with heavy homosexual patronage.”

Darcelle’s hosted drag as a way to skirt such laws, considering drag a form of pantomime that didn’t qualify as true dance. According to Oregon Encyclopedia, the OLCC even-

FRIENDS, FAMILY AND CLUB PATRONS GATHER TO PAY RESPECTS TO ROXY LEROY NEUHARDT, THE ROMANTIC AND PROFESSIONAL PARTNER OF DARCELLE XV AKA WALTER COLE. ANDREW D. JANKOWSKI/PSU VANGUARD tually ticketed Neuhardt for dancing in drag in 1973, and according to Cole, the violated law was repealed three days later.

Many of Darcelle’s current castmates like Poison Waters, Bolivia Carmichaels, Alexis Campbell Starr and Summer Lynne Seasons shared fond memories of Roxy.

KATU’s Helen Raptis and former Portland mayor Tom Potter also spoke about Neuhardt’s kind and sweet nature.

Potter noted Darcelle’s is second only to Voodoo Doughnuts for new Portlanders’ and tourists’ first destinations.

“Has there ever been a Darcelle’s without Roxy?” Raptis asked, fighting tears, “No, I don’t think so.”

Neuhardt and Cole are featured in a mural commissioned

by Wells Fargo on display at Prism Health Center on SE Belmont, which debuted on Oct. 3 with Commissioner Nick Fish in attendance. On Sunday, Nov. 12, Darcelle XV will reappear onstage for her 87th birthday.

[Note: Because “he/ his” was the pronoun most frequently used by Neuhardt’s family and friends, Portland State Vanguard opted to use these pronouns as well.]

FROM THE HILL TO THE ‘HALL: OCT. 31-NOV. 6 ALEX-JON EARL

BRAZILE BREACHES TOUCHY TOPIC

In an excerpt of her forthcoming book released to Politico, Donna Brazile explained her then-surprise at finding a jointfunding agreement between the Democratic National Committee and the campaign to elect Hillary Clinton. Beyond what has been portrayed as “if I win the nomination, then” boilerplate, the agreement went on to give Clinton extra precampaign leeway in hiring decisions and vetoes over certain financing strategies, prompting some to claim this proved the DNC rigged the primary. Clinton’s more diehard supporters were quick to harshly condemn Brazile and Senator Elizabeth Warren, the latter of whom had responded to the excerpt by saying she thought what it meant was that the primary was rigged, with some of these detractors even suggesting it would lead to a racist being elected in the Virginia gubernatorial election.

VIRGINIA GOV CANDIDATE NORTHAM’S POLLING GOES SOUTH AMID POOR LAST LAP SHOWING

Virginia gubernatorial candidate Dr. Ralph Northam came out against accusations by his GOP opponent Ed Gillespie of being soft on crime by saying that he opposes sanctuary cities and would veto any bill that would legalize them. Northam also took it on the chin when Doug Wilder, a prior governor, stated

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elaborated on who the employee was and why they did what they did, but they did state that it was simply an employee on their last day.

SENATOR ASSAULTED AT HOME

Senator Rand Paul (R-Ky.) was assaulted by a neighbor in Bowling Green, Kentucky. The attack is not considered politically motivated at this time.

BUSHES DID NOT PULL LEVER FOR TRUMP

Former Presidents George H.W. Bush and George W. Bush both allegedly cast votes for presidential candidates other than President Trump, according to excerpts from a book by Mark Updegrove.

Northam brushed off the Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor; even more staggering, Wilder has yet to make a public endorsement of Northam.

TRUMP TWITTER TERMINATED TEMPORARILY

U.S. President Donald Trump’s Twitter account was temporarily suspended by a now-departed Twitter employee.

The 11-minute deletion on Nov. 2 surprised many, but President Trump was back in action shortly. Twitter HQ has not

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • psuvanguard.com

THIS WEEK AT PORTLAND CITY COUNCIL

War on Poverty, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 9:30 a.m.

Lightning Super WatchdogX will be declaring war on poverty promptly at 9:30 a.m.

Community Equity and Inclusion Plan, Wednesday, Nov. 8, 9:45 a.m.

A two-hour discussion on the topic of expanding diversity protocols for contract selection for public improvement projects.

NEWS

AFTER TRAGIC SHOOTINGS, CPSO OUTLINES ACTIVE SHOOTER RESPONSE ANNA WILLIAMS

Since 59 concert-goers were killed and more than 500 were injured in a meticulously-prepared mass shooting on Oct. 1 in Las Vegas, Nevada, national attention on gun violence has peaked.

As is common after high-profile shootings, gun control debates have pressed on in social media circles. Gun control legislation has pushed forward. National media outlets have released numbers comparing America’s gun violence to the rest of the world’s.

Portland State has been paying attention, too.

PSU’s Campus Public Safety Office, which became an official police department two years ago, said it believes with its training programs, coordination with federal departments, and collective law enforcement experience,it is ahead of the curve when it comes to being prepared for an active shooter on campus.

According to Interim Campus Police Sergeant Gregory Marks, active shooters are “on everybody’s radar now.” However, he added, “as young of a department as we are, we are leaps and bounds [ahead of ] other places, because this is something that really concerns us.”

Nonetheless, students advocating for communities of color on campus believe having armed police officers on campus are more of a constant threat than the possibility of an active shooter coming to campus.

“In the scenario of a mass shooting on [PSU’s] campus,” said PSU Student Union member and former activist in the Disarm PSU campaign Olivia Pace, “[a] shooting ending through direct intervention by campus security [is] a very unlikely scenario that [is] far outweighed by the danger and the feeling of unsafeness that is felt by many, many students, faculty and staff.”

MASS SHOOTINGS PLAGUE THE UNITED STATES

When former PSU President Wim Wiewel formed a 2013 campus safety task force and latter proposed deputizing CPSO in 2014, he cited the June 2014 Reynolds High School shooting, which left two students dead and one teacher wounded, as one incentive for making the public safety office an official armed police department.

The Guardian reports that mass shootings, defined as four or more people injured or killed by gunshots in a single shooting event, happen almost every day in the U.S. Between Jan. 1, 2013 and Oct. 1, 2017, the day of the Las Vegas massacre, there were 1,516 mass shootings.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation reported that in most cases of active shooter scenarios, which differ from mass shootings in their seemingly blindly-homicidal nature, the shootings often end before law enforcement can intervene.

With that in mind, CPSO, PSU’s emergency management, and the Coordination Assessment Response Education team on campus are working together to make sure PSU as a whole, rather than just the police department, is ready for an active shooter scenario.

IN THE SCENARIO

No specific active shooter scenario training has been implemented campus-wide, but PSU does encourage community members to follow advice from the City of Houston’s Mayor’s Office active shooter “Run. Hide.

Fight.” instructional video. Those potentially affected by an active shooter should try to evacuate the most dangerous areas, hide somewhere dark and quiet and lock the doors, or be prepared to attack an assailant any way they can.

According to Marks, CPSO officers go through “constant” active shooter training.

Officer Peter Ward teaches methods from the ALICE (Alert, Lockdown, Inform, Counter, Evacuate) training institute. Both CPSO and Emergency Management disperse training information to department heads across campus.

The most important part of this training, however, according to Interim Chief Vince Elmore, is developing seamless cross-departmental communication.

“Communication is usually one of the first things that breaks down” in something like an active shooter scenario, said Elmore.

The PSU Alert system notifies campus community members through phone and email about emergency situations, and CPSO is responsible for making sure outside agencies know how the system works.

However, students need to be enrolled in PSU Alerts to receive emergency information as soon as it is sent out. According to Assistant Director of Emergency Management Emma Stocker, only about onethird of PSU students have signed up through their Banweb accounts to get emergency text messages.

“Among our options, I cannot overstate the importance of text messages,” Stocker wrote in an email. “[We] only send the texts when it really is a critical piece of information, [and] it could be information that saves your life.”

Stocker explained how EM is working on

CANDLES HONORING THE VICTIMS FROM THE LAS VEGAS SHOOTING ON OCTOBER 1. COURTESY OF S. DIZAYEE / VOA TURKISH SERVICE THROUGH WIKIMEDIA COMMONS a “wrap-around” plan for an active shooter incident, including designated reunification locations, media gathering points, medical triage locations, cataloging victim and community support resources, and developing volunteer and donation management plans.

Stocker added EM is in process of developing an active shooter simulation exercise with outside emergency response entities and possibly volunteers on campus.

Behind the scenes, Public Safety Lieutenant Craig Whitten said that most major academic buildings on campus can be electronically locked down in the event of an active shooter scenario. A few years ago, Whitten explained, an armed bank robber was fleeing towards campus, and PSU was able to lock down some of its buildings so the perpetrator could not hide in them.

Additionally, said Elmore, in the last two months CPSO has partnered with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to evaluate many buildings on campus to see what their limitations might be in an active shooter scenario. With that knowledge, Elmore explained, officers can devise specific tactical plans for those structures.

DOES HAVING A POLICE DEPARTMENT ON CAMPUS MATTER IN THESE SITUATIONS?

The Portland Police Bureau Downtown Precinct is a little over half a mile from campus. Many of CPSO’s police officers spent decades at PPB, including Elmore, who worked there for 28 years, partly as a Critical Incident Command Officer.

Elmore said having a designated police force that works with public safety officers intimately familiar with PSU’s campus makes it easier for officers to respond to PSU’s specific needs.

However, Pace said PSU as a whole should be addressing the issues that might lead to vi-

olence like an active shooter scenario in the first place.

“Whether or not the [Las Vegas] shooter’s motive was to kill certain kinds of people,” Pace said, “I don’t think issues like patriarchy and masculinity and racism are disconnected from what happened in Vegas.”

“I can only speak for myself,” Pace added, but she believes she and other members of PSUSU agree that gun violence is created in part through capitalism, “fetishizing” masculinity, and “the ways in which our government uses racism and xenophobia to separate people and fragment society.”

That means, Pace explained, PSU “should do everything it can” to meet students’ “basic needs” of affordable housing near or on campus, food security, and affordable tuition so students can pursue their educations “without these massive barriers.”

Elmore stressed that CPSO follows “twenty-first century” policing, which includes coordination with mental health teams, like PSU’s CARE team and outside agencies, to try to prevent something like an active shooter scenario from happening on campus.

Additionally, Elmore said, he and other officers, as well as Stocker, have both researched and experienced how shootings like those at Virginia Tech, Umpqua Community College, and the Clackamas Town Center, have a longlasting emotional impact on their communities. Elmore said CPSO wants to be prepared for “the aftermath” as well.

Campus police officers are protectors of campus before they are warriors against crime, Elmore said. “I just hope it never happens here.”

As Vanguard prepared to go to press, a shooter walked into the First Baptist Church of Sutherland Springs, TX and killed over two dozen congregants.

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • psuvanguard.com

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INTERNATIONAL NEWS

UNESCO PURSUES GLOBAL HUMAN RIGHTS DESPITE U.S. WITHDRAWAL

WILLIS HOMANN

In early October, the United States announced to the United Nations Education Scientific and Cultural Organization it will withdraw from the organization completely by the end of 2018.

“This decision was not taken lightly,” reads a statement on the U.S. State Department’s website, “and reflects concerns with mounting arrears at UNESCO, the need for fundamental reform in the organization and continuing antiIsrael bias at UNESCO.” Until 2011, the U.S. paid 22 percent of UNESCO’s budget. By the time the U.S. fully leaves, it will owe UNESCO $600 million.

Robert Asaadi, adjunct professor of political science at Portland State, explained some of the Trump administration’s legal and political justifications for this delinquency. “Since Palestine was admitted [to UNESCO] in 2011, the U.S. has not been able to contribute,” Asaadi said.

“That stems from a law passed by Congress in the early 1990s that prevents the U.S. from supporting any UN entity that affords membership to Palestinians.”

Out of 173 states, the U.S. was one of only 14 which voted against the inclusion of Palestine into UNESCO. UNESCO is an international organization best known for its work protecting and maintaining more than a thousand world heritage sites around the world, though this is only a fraction of what it does.

“It’s not just about protecting some dusty old archeological site,” Asaadi said. “There’s a big agenda here, and [UNESCO] is really important as the UN’s institutional arm for human rights...They do a lot of important work, especially in states that experience conflict.”

Listed on its website are myriad projects and goals, including promoting environmental sustainability, gender equality, improved global education standards, better relationships between states in the U.N. and peace around the world.

PSU professor of political science David Kinsella described via email how the U.S. withdrawal from UNESCO can been seen as the latest example in a broader trend where the Trump administration is walking away from multilateral arrangements such as the Paris Climate Accord, the Trans Pacific Partnership and the Iran nuclear deal.

“Call it anti-globalism, unilateralism, or the ‘Trump Doctrine:’ it goes over well with a segment of his political base, but also nationalist elements in other countries,” Kinsella said.

Although the U.S. was one of the founding members of UNESCO in November 1945, its relationship with the organization since has been rocky. In 1984, the U.S. made the decision to pull out of the organization under President Ronald Reagan.

“When Reagan withdrew the U.S. in 1984, he cited pro-Soviet bias in the organization as well as wasteful spending,” Kinsella said.

In 2003 under President George W. Bush, the U.S. rejoined UNESCO, but it was shortlived because in 2011, President Barack Obama withdrew monetary contributions to the organization.

“The U.S. lost its voting rights in 2013 after refusing to pay its bills,” Kinsella explained.

“Beating up on UNESCO is easy for the U.S. It doesn’t cost the U.S. the same degree of credibility as other withdrawals do, simply because the U.S. has been at odds with UNESCO for so long and its leverage in the organization is much diminished.”

Despite the loss of support from the U.S., professor of political science Joshua Eastin says he believes the organization remains relevant. “[T]he tours of UNESCO World Heritage Sites...may be a significant boom for the areas where the sites are located; less so in developed countries like the U.S., but good for undeveloped countries.”

In Eastin’s view, despite the crucial work done by many international organizations, support and participation are not always readily available. He says he thinks that lack of funding may be “one of the biggest challenges, in general, that international institutions like UNESCO and the UN [will face].”

“I would just say that UNESCO activities touch a lot of peoples’ lives in a positive way, setting aside the controversies,” Kinsella said.

OCT. 29

MOGADISHU, SOMALIA: OFFICIALS REMOVED AFTER ATTACK IN CAPITAL

OCT. 30

UNITED STATES: TRUMP’S TRANSGENDER MILITARY BAN BLOCKED

OCT. 30

WORLDWIDE: REPORT FLAGS CLIMATE DANGERS

OCT. 31

WASHINGTON, D.C.: SOCIAL MEDIA GIANTS ACKNOWLEDGE RUSSIAN TIES

NOV. 2

ITALY: POPE PLEADS FOR PEACE

CHOLOE KENDALL

Somalia’s police and intelligence chiefs were dismissed following a hotel bombing that claimed over 25 lives. Earlier this month, the chief of staff of intelligence forces and minister of defense both resigned just days before the country suffered the single deadliest attack in its history. Despite international and regional assistance, Somalia is struggling against the armed insurgent group al-Shabab, which is seeking to topple the United Nations-backed government.

In anticipation of a victorious lawsuit by transgender members of the armed services against the U.S. government, U.S. District Judge Colleen KollarKotelly barred President Donald Trump’s plan to exclude transgender people from serving in the U.S. military from going into effect. Transgender people have only been allowed to serve in the military since June 2016. A report commissioned by the government from that same year found that allowing transgender people to openly serve in the military would have little cost and not significantly impact unit readiness.

Humanity as a whole is moving in the wrong direction when it comes to adapting to the planet-wide perils wrought by a rapidly warming climate, according to a report published by British medical journal The Lancet. The report, compiled by two dozen academic institutions and over 60 interdisciplinary researchers, draws on scientific literature and reports from the media to assess 40 indicators of human health. The report’s findings include increased deaths from extreme weather events, swelling ranks of climate change migrants and rising numbers of people exposed to heat waves.

Oct. 29—Nov. 2 Chris May

Facebook, Google and Twitter executives appeared on Capitol Hill for their first of three public hearings to acknowledge their roles in a complex misinformation campaign by the Russian government to influence the 2016 U.S. presidential election. American intelligence agencies earlier this year concluded that Russian President Vladimir Putin attempted to sway the election in favor of Donald Trump, and lawmakers expressed concern during the hearing that the companies seemed unprepared to address potential future attempts at foreign interference through social media platforms.

In the run up to a Vatican-hosted summit urging an international ban on nuclear weapons, Pope Francis gave an emotional anti-war speech among the graves of nearly 8,000 World War II soldiers buried at the Sicily-Rome American Cemetery in Italy. The Pope has called for restraint as tensions escalate between North Korea and the U.S., recommending a third party mediate between the North Korean government and the Trump administration.

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PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • psuvanguard.com

ARTS & CULTURE

POETRY AND PERFORMANCE ART: OPEN MIC NIGHT AT PARKWAY NORTH JESS MCFADDEN

You may not have realized a poetry/prose/performance blow-out was happening on campus on the evening of Oct. 19, running so late I had to leave early to catch the last bus home.

Forget what you knew about campus events: Bring Your Own Poetry/Prose/Performance featured a number of badass, influential artists who happen to be Portland State students.

The show prioritized underrepresented and marginalized voices, had free pizza (including vegan options), and ended with an open mic following the scheduled performances. It took place in Parkway North, that room next to the dining hall where you can find PSU “Live @ Lunch” some weekdays.

Maya Stoner, the Promotion Director for KPSU, curated BYOP/P/P. She’s also the president of Good Cheer Records, a prominent musician (Floating Room), and a BFA student at PSU. “I had a feeling that poetry and performance art would pair together well because they both require a unique type of focus from the audience that differs from audience engagement at a music event,” she said.

Stoner’s strategy of combining disciplines was effective, as the audience was attentive and excited, not knowing what to expect from one piece to the next. Plus, writers and performers benefited from the variety, gaining a widened sense of community and support. “Because of underrepresentation, it can be difficult for marginalized artists to network with one another,” Stoner continued. “They are usually tokenized as the sole representative of their culture on an event. I see it as my job to provide space and opportunities for marginalized artists to thrive.”

One of the night’s strongest performances was by Caroline Usovics, an interdisciplinary artist who works in sculpture,

video, painting, performance, social experiments, and more.

She introduced herself with a cheerful demeanor and hit play on her handheld cassette recorder. Curiosity quickly turned to suspense as Usovics pulled out scissors and started hacking at her long, black hair. Each snip was audible over the recording, in which Usovics openly described traumatic experiences involving self-image and her relationship with her father. The recording on its own would be satisfying, but Usovics kept cutting her hair. And then she brought out petroleum jelly. She started smearing it all over her body, face, arms. She started pressing these clumps of her chopped hair into the petroleum jelly, effectively transforming herself.

At one point she laughed, which was actually scary. And amazing. I cried the whole time. I’m pretty sure everyone did. “The story I shared was a personal story of physical and emotional abuse,” Usovics said. “I’m sick of feeling like everyone around me is being silenced. We need to share. We need to grow. We can do it together.”

Usovics is on the lookout for house shows and art spaces where performance art is welcomed. “I hope to create a movement with like-minded artists,” she said. “I want to see performances that break my heart and put it together again. I want this sort of work to become synonymous with the Portland art scene.”

Another highlight of the evening was Winnie Black, whose expertise includes music, performance, sound, paint, video, DIY space suits for Pacific Spaceflight, and stick-n-poke tattoos. On one side of the stage, a little oldschool TV played her visceral collage of a film. Some parts

STUDENTS AT PARKWAY NORTH’S “BRING YOUR OWN POETRY/PERFORMANCE ART” SHOW ON OCT. 19. COURTESY OF MAYA STONER

JESS MCFADDEN could have been part of a narrative, while others seemed to describe the aesthetic of a cool, dirty lifestyle.

On the other side of the stage, Winnie wore a ski mask, keeping her body low and creating sonic magic with an elaborate electronic setup. Sometimes she played with a radio, distorting and appropriating its sounds. Textural, bassy, sometimes dancy, and consistently captivating, her music transformed the room into a new place entirely. A certain level of aggression permeated the music, or was it just sureness of self ? Refusal of apathy?

“A lot of my work centers on harnessing self exploration and acceptance, which I think is a theme that a lot of femmes can relate to,” Black said. “I hope to inspire empowerment in doing the things you want to do, even if they’re freaky.” Winnie Black regularly plays shows in Portland and promotes via Facebook.

Will the BYOP’s eclectic-headed monster return to challenge our tastes? Maya Stoner says yes! “I received great feedback from the audience and performers, and I’m excited to improve my abilities as an emcee in the future,” she said.

“I have tons of ideas on how to improve the event and I had wide array of performances in mind for the next one!”

She also tipped us off to the next event she’s getting ready for: “There is a punk show on campus featuring Mr. Wrong, Heartless Magnus, Planet Damn, and The Stoney Moaners on Nov. 9. I’m really excited for the show because all of the bands are great. I’ve had the pleasure of seeing some of them before and know that they kill it live. Some of my favorite memories of shows at PSU were punk shows back in the day growing up. Watching bands like Cower play at the old Food for Thought Cafe was inspiring as a teenager, and I hope to bring this inspiring atmosphere to shows at PSU today. I’m also excited because PSU is an all-ages venue, something that is increasingly rare and severely lacking in Portland.”

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • psuvanguard.com

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COVER

A DROP IN THE OCEAN

PORTLAND STATE CHAMBER CHOIR’S ETHOS OF COOPERATION COLTON TRUJILLO Portland State Chamber Choir can add two more achievements to its long list of successes: It’s the first American choir to compete in the Bali International Choral Festival, where it won the Grand Prix this summer, and is the first American choir to record a CD comprised solely of music by Latvian composer Ēriks Ešenvalds.

BIG WIN IN BALI

The PSCC took its trip to the Indonesian island of Bali from July 14–20. The festival is the largest of its kind in Asia and featured over 100 choirs competing. The Chamber Choir won in two categories: Music of Religion, and Gospels and Spirituals.

Members also sang at a fundraising concert to raise money for homeless youth, toured cultural sites and sang opera at a gala celebrating Catharina Leimena, an Indonesian opera star.

International competitions are not a new venture for PSCC. In 2013, it was the first American choir to win the Grand Prix at the Seghizzi International Competition for Choral Singing in Gorizia, Italy.

RECORDING EŠENVALDS

Described by The New York Times as “an inventive Latvian composer with an ear for a good hook and a knack for evocative effects,” Ēriks Ešenvalds is a highly sought-after composer who has had compositions premiered by major orchestras and groups across the world, including the Boston Symphony, Netherlands National Children’s Choir and even singer–songwriter Imogen Heap. He has composed one multimedia symphony—Nordic Light, about the aurora borealis phenomenon—and will premiere a second nature-themed symphony in 2018, this time focused on volcanoes.

PSCC’s new album, The Doors of Heaven, includes four of Ešenvalds’ narrative works—“The First Tears,” “Rivers of Light,” “Drop in the Ocean,” and “Passion and Resurrection”—and is centered around nature, religious faith and legend. These pieces and many others by Ešenvalds draw upon folk and liturgical inspiration. It is the choir’s fifth CD and its fourth under the direction of Dr. Ethan Sperry. It made headlines earlier this year when it toppled Yo-Yo Ma to reach the top spot on Billboard’s traditional classical charts—the first time any university ensemble has done so.

THE DOORS OF HEAVEN

The album’s first track, “The First Tears,” is based upon the Inuit legend of the Raven and the Whale. The second track, “Rivers of Light,” draws from a folk song of the Sami people, an indigenous people who inhabit the far north of Scandinavia. Ešenvalds combines the folk song with journal passages from two Arctic explorers, Charles Francis Hall and Fridtjof Nansen, reflecting on their first sighting of the aurora borealis.

“A Drop in the Ocean” commemorates the life of Mother Teresa with alto voices chanting the Lord’s Prayer in Latin against English texts, including the Prayer of St. Francis and the Mother Teresa quote which gives the piece its title: “My work is nothing but a drop in the ocean, but if I did not put that drop, the ocean would be one drop the less.” The final track, “Passion and Resurrection,” is a complex four-part oratorio drawn from liturgical sources exploring the death and resurrection of Christ.

TWO SINGERS TALK BALI AND RECORDING

Portland State Vanguard spoke to PSCC bass singer Colin Frey and alto Marina Bubnova about the Bali trip and recording.

Vanguard: What was it like traveling to Bali and competing in an international competition?

Colin Frey: It was very different from going to that kind of a conference in the U.S. or Europe. It’s a very different feeling and environment than going to an ACDA (American Choral Directors Association) conference here. All of the choirs were really supportive of each other and of us; it kind of makes you feel like a rockstar. The organizers are really excited about getting choral music going in Indonesia, but the competition is still fairly new. They were excited to have several choirs from outside Indonesia.

In Indonesia there’s more small high school university and church choirs. The choirs that were really mindblowing were the kids in youth choruses. They had several categories for folk lore. Those performances involved choreography and costume changes and telling a whole story through a song.

Marina Bubnova: Traveling to Bali was such a beautiful example of how different cultures can come together and have fun making mu-

“The whole ethos of choir is that people do stuff together better than they do it themselves.

And that’s the way society is supposed to work.”

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PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • psuvanguard.com

PSCC’S UPCOMING ALBUM RELEASE CONCERTS FEATURE NATURE, RELIGIOUS FAITH AND LEGEND. KATIE PEARCE/PSU VANGUARD sic for each other. The excitement of all the participants was palpable, and it was amazing to be able to share this common experience. At the end of ceremonial events, large dance parties would just erupt on stage as all the choirs would run up to participate.

VG: What were those 10 days in Bali like for the choir?

Frey: We put on a concert or we were performing a concert every night we were there. There was a benefit that took place at a cathedral in Denpasar. There was a friendship concert with a few other choirs at the beginning. We performed with Madame Catharina Leimena. She’s kind of the premiere opera diva in Indonesia. We got to see some other choirs compete too, which isn’t always true at other competitions.

Sometimes everything is behind closed doors, and you don’t even get to interact with other choirs. Here we finish singing and come off stage and everybody’s giving high fives. Lots of cheering, lots of selfies.

The organizers tried to make it as fun as possible. There was a dance party after a lot of performances.

VG: What was the recording process like?

Frey: It was good; it’s really grueling work because you’re singing the same couple measures over and over again. It definitely pushes you to the max of your musical abilities. It’s easy to get frustrated, and I’m happy [PSCC] did a good job of staying calm and focused.

Bubnova: Recording the CD for a living composer, especially someone like Ēriks

Ešenvalds, was such a privilege. He writes powerful and moving music, and you want to do it justice and also create something that the composer can be proud of. Being able to have him come in and share with us what his intentions were when he was writing the pieces is an experience that I will always cherish.

VG: How long did the recording session take? What was it like having Ešenvalds there?

Frey: I think we recorded over two really long days. He was there for a bit of it. It’s always nice when the composer’s there and they’re happy with how you’re doing the music. He’s very encouraging and wants singers to sing from their heart.

VG: Do you have a particular piece on the CD that resonates with you?

Bubnova: My favorite piece to record on the album was most definitely “Passion and Resurrection.” Being religious, this story holds a lot of significance for me, and Ešenvalds brings it to life in the most heartwrenching way. I remember getting emotional many times throughout the process of learning and performing it, as it paints such a vivid picture of what Jesus went through to pay the price for our sins. It definitely holds a special place in my heart, and still to this day I find myself singing random lines from the piece.

A CHAT WITH DR. ETHAN SPERRY

Vanguard also sat down with Dr. Ethan Sperry, PSCC director and Barre Stoll Director of

COVER Choral Activities at PSU, to talk more about the Bali trip, Ešenvalds, and the choir itself.

VG: We recently read that half of the alumni from PSCC go on to full-time music jobs. How much do the professional engagements and training such as those with Cappella Romana or the Oregon Symphony play a role in that?

Ethan Sperry: That rate has improved: we’re closer to 57 percent now. The choirs in Portland that pay their singers don’t pay them enough to make a living, and I wish they [would] and that’s something I’d like to see change. I think PSU kids come with a lot more realistic expectations about career goals. There’s a lot of interest in education.

Most of our alumni who are working are doing so as music teachers or voice teachers.

A number of them are singing professionally for a living or are singing in addition to teaching. One of our other illustrious graduates is Christine Meadows, who runs our voice program now. There’s a sense of community [at PSU].

The whole ethos of choir is that people do stuff together better than they do it themselves. And that’s the way society is supposed to work. We’re supposed to all believe that if we lean on each other we can capitalize each other’s strengths and minimize our weaknesses. Choir is a good example of that, but I see other places at PSU modeling that too.

VG: What are some other areas at PSU where you see this being done?

Sperry: Definitely the College of Urban and Public Affairs. That program is making a huge difference in the city. People can think about the way that they build and design as being part of an urban fabric, not just what does my building do for myself. I see that in the School of Engineering, and there’s a sense of civil responsibility in our architecture program.

VG: How did go you from hearing an Ešenvalds piece performed by a Latvian choir to commissioning a piece for the PSU Chamber Choir?

Sperry: I emailed him. Just cold emailed him. I said, “we are going to do your ‘Passion and Resurrection’ with the Oregon Repertory Singers, would you like to come?” And he

said yes and that nobody in the U.S. had invited him here to hear his own music yet. So I asked, “if you’re coming, what would it cost for you to write a piece for PSU Chamber Choir?” And he gave me a price and it was on.

VG: Ešenvalds writes these big narrative choral works that have layers of meaning that, outside of Gustav Mahler, you don’t hear as much in orchestral music. What are some of the challenges of performing these works and making sure all the pieces work and bringing out the layered meaning?

Sperry: Well it’s funny, I think it’s the reverse. The music is so good that it makes it easier to do a good performance because the story’s so compelling and the students want to bring it to life. The story aspect and libretto [text] makes it easier because it gives a very clear motivation to everyone doing it.

VG: Compared to other choirs, our choir is very diverse. How do you promote that?

Is it just that everyone is welcome or do you have to go out of your way to cultivate that diversity?

Sperry: I don’t feel like I’ve done anything on purpose to cultivate that diversity. Last year’s choir was 50 percent non-white, and when I got here, it was around 11 percent.

Part of it is that I choose music that isn’t just by dead white people. There might be a feeling that if you’re not white and you come in and do the music that were doing, which is music from all over the world, that you may feel like your music is being represented.

When we performed at the northwest ACDA conference about four years ago, there were more non-white people in PSCC than in all the other choirs that performed at the entire conference put together.

VG: You do these international trips almost every year. Did you start that up or was that already in the works at PSU? Sperry: Sort of both. Bruce Brown, the former director, took the choir to a few international competitions, but they hadn’t been to one since 2005, so it’d been a long time.

This is my eighth year here and we didn’t do anything my first two years, then in a row we did Italy, Canada, Spain, took one year off, then Bali, and then this year we’re going to Argentina.

PSCC IS THE FIRST AMERICAN CHOIR TO COMPETE IN THE BALI INTERNATIONAL CHORAL FESTIVAL. KATIE PEARCE/PSU VANGUARD VG: Considering what you and the choir here have already done, what’s next for a choral program that seems like they can do anything?

Sperry: It’s maybe an important question, but it’s not the most important question.

If it becomes the most important question, then we are going to get in trouble.

The most important thing about the choral program is that the students change every year and they need an absolutely top–flight education.

They need to be just as pushed musically and they need these pre-professional experiences because I think it does contribute to some of their success. While they’re here, our students are doing these professional

level recording sessions, going to these international competitions and getting exposure to a world-wide breadth of choral music. But I have to be much more interested in educating students in the choir than worrying about what the next feather in the cap is. The most important thing is the education for the people that are in the group.

PSCC is performing two release concerts this weekend, at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 10, 2017 and 4 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 12, 2017. Both concerts will take place at First United Methodist Church in Goose Hollow. General admission tickets are $12, and students get in for $7. Visit psuchamberchoir.com for more information.

PSCC DURING A WEEKLY REHEARSAL IN PREPARATION FOR ITS NOV. 10 AND 12 CONCERTS. KATIE PEARCE/PSU VANGUARD

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • psuvanguard.com

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ARTS & CULTURE

‘ALL HANDS ON DECK’

WORLD WAR II MUSICAL A HIGH ENERGY AFFAIR GRAY BOUCHAT

All Hands on Deck! a At this point I was connew 1940s show, created vinced I was about to delve by writer-choreographer into the dreary world of Jody Madaras, features over WWII. But even in the con40 show tunes tied into a text of our current situation smooth storyline riddled and the havoc of WWII, the with humor. I wasn’t sure play was uplifting, patriotic what to expect when I enand full of eager singers who tered the small doors of showcased their talent to the Mister Theater, but I was packed house. pleasantly surprised. The The 42 show tunes are split show, produced by Portland between four singing actors.

Musical Theater Company Ted Crosley, played by Rich and running through Nov. Cohn-Lee, reminded me of a 12th, opens PMTC’s second car salesman. He led the en“season of premieres.” semble, with their songs and The stage lights came charms, across the U.S. to up, revealing World War gain national support for the II propaganda posters and troops in WWII. In the second American flags. A voiceover act, when the group can’t make described the setting, the “ALL HANDS ON DECK!” IS RUNNING THROUGH NOVEMBER 12. COURTESY OF TERESA MARSH it to San Francisco, they have Fourth of July, 1942, illuto stay in Portland for their raminating the struggle of a world at war, an American the- dio broadcast. Although Crosley wasn’t too pleased to stay in ater company selling war bonds in the aftermath of Pearl Portland, declaring Seattle much better, he still sang and supHarbor and the early days of United States involvement ported his fellow singers. The other singers lifted him up, and in the war. golden ’40s style microphones were brought onto the stage.

Mad props to Deanna Maio, a lead singer and the show’s director. She played Betty Blake, sporting black curls and a pep in her step. Blake was feisty, and Maio’s musical talent matched her personality. Maio, while also rocking a killer voice and on point acting skills, is the founder and executive director of the Portland Musical Theater Company.

John Hanley, played by Aidan Nolan, belted his notes with charisma, using his tall stature to enchant the audience. Hanley and Crosley interacted with the ladies and with each other, exchanging witty banter and catchy melodies.

Daisy Maxwell, played by Ashley Moore, has an angelic voice. She was able to hit notes I didn’t even know existed.

She constantly had a smile on her face and sported a blond “omelet fold updo” and sassy red lipstick.

The actors interacted with the audience as if we were in a studio, encouraging us to clap, cheer, and connect with the singers and their banter. Even though the singers performed their own songs, they still sang together with choreographed dances, and their pitches and harmony fell in place.

This show was captivating and highly entertaining. I find it hard to believe how all of them were able to memorize the lyrics, melody, lines, and choreography. The final show is Nov. 12 at 2 p.m., so you’d better go see it while you have the chance, because they need all hands on deck!

UNDERSTANDING CONTEMPORARY ART: “DID I MISS THE POINT?” ZACH WHITWORTH

How do you feel when an artwork in such a formal space doesn’t make sense to you? A piece might have a hollow taste to it, or maybe its radical complexity or simplicity leaves you scratching your head and moving on after only a few seconds of observation. You could leave a museum wondering to yourself, “Did I miss the point? Am I not sophisticated enough to understand this art?”

Art is pretty popular right now. That may sound like a no-brainer, but I mean it in the sense of art museums and galleries seeing a surge of visitors in recent years, artworks being sold for record prices at auction, and public appreciation of art reaching a high point.

We appear to have come to a societal agreement that art is important and has significant cultural value.

Contemporary art museums in particular have been placed on high pedestals, so it’s not strange to be overwhelmed (or underwhelmed) when visiting a museum. We pay often steep admission fees to have a particular experience or perhaps feel what the cultural critic Walter Benjamin described as “aura,” describing a very specific sentiment we encounter when seeing an original artwork in person.

The modern museum is charged with intimacy and potential for life-changing encounters with art.

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But if you’re not getting it, you’re not alone.

I often find myself confused, even though I’ve dedicated my life to studying the arts. It’s not always so simple as not understanding or being uneducated, and there isn’t anything wrong with you for not getting art. The art world primarily revolves around wealthy patronage, so it’s no wonder the general public can feel left out or disenchanted.

One major problem art viewers face is figuring out why an artwork in a museum or gallery is on display. Why was something deemed strong and relevant enough to be housed in such an esteemed institution? When we engage with an off-putting piece of art, we’re left assuming that it must be good based solely on its placement in a formal space. When you’ve paid money to see it, there has to be some reason for its inclusion, right?

Of course some people don’t comprehend popular art, good or bad, but there is a great deal of art that makes no sense while still being held in high regard by the art world. Such art was sometimes made for the market, not for the public. It doesn’t always matter what the content of an artwork is because when wealthy individuals and organizations decide they are worth thousands or millions of dollars, those artworks are bought in auctions and tend to wind up in major museums and galleries.

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • psuvanguard.com

AARON UGHOC Because of this patronage, art that is conceptually complex or even nonsensical may find a home in the art spaces frequented by those with substantially less money. We are left to interpret whatever was dealt to us, regardless of whether or not the art has any underlying relevance to common people.

There is also plenty of bad art out there, and much of it on gallery walls. Some might be well-made in a technical sense, but concepts may be poorly conveyed. Famed artists like Robert Rauschenberg have broken down the core formal elements of paintings in the last century as a way to challenge the medium, resulting in the production of highly-priced modern artwork that sometimes consists of nothing more than purely

white paintings. This plain white canvas on a wall trope has consistently stumped and frustrated museum visitors. The art world will say you’re simply not getting the point, that you’re missing the big picture of what the piece is really about.

Though more people are visiting art spaces and upping the value of art, we don’t always know how to interpret a lot of it. This is why I want you to be critical of what you see in art spaces. If you don’t grasp an artwork, question why that is. Is the piece actually good in your eyes? Was it made to be understood by the public? This kind of skepticism is critical for everyday gallery-goers and even once-ayear museum visitors to hold art institutions to higher standards.

ARTS & CULTURE

DON’T BLAME ME, I VOTED FOR THE CAT

ALEX-JON EARL

Something funny happened on my way home from a journalism conference this September: I met a cat. Not just any cat, but a cat that was apparently a lobbyist, his owner claimed. The lethargic butterball in a hoodie glared at me as any fat-cat DC insider would, but I was unfazed; I would find out more about him.

Humanity’s fascination with political cats is historic, and the idea of a cat in charge makes total sense: cats are dominating, but in a loving way, they will go extra lengths to help you become self-sufficient while still providing for you, and they are absolutely adorable (sorry, Taft).

A BRIEF HISTORY OF CATS IN POLITICS

Life with cats in charge ostensibly began with their presence at our side, although for the more mythically inclined, it should be acknowledged that Cait Sith ruled over cats long before domestication. The Fairy King of Felines aside, we see evidence of reverence for cats beginning around 7500 B.C.E. In Egypt, Bast was the elegant goddess of cats, and her sleek reign over the dominion of rat hunters meant she held a special place in the hearts of those who, often ravaged by vermin, depended on grain. Cats were so sacred they were often mummified like any pharaoh, and death would be swift for those who dared harm one.

The Virgin Mary lent her name in imprint to a sweet tabby who pacified the baby Jesus, and the Prophet Muhammad let his dear cat Muezza sleep in.

China’s ancient reverence for cats is also well-known, with leonine cats being treated to early versions of cat beds. We don’t know if they, then as now, preferred the box these beds came in.

Since the 1700s, Russia’s Winter Palace has been protected by cats, and 10 Downing Street has been the domain of mousers since the 1980s. Utility of the ancient sort, sure, but also one that endears the four-legged latent leaders to us.

In the United States, 16th President Abraham Lincoln loved Tabby and Dixie, but Andrew Johnson, the 17th, had mice. That was a step back. Later on, cats with names like Siam, Miss Pussy, Tom Quartz, Slipper, Tiger, and famous cats like Tom Kitten and Socks graced the White House.

At present, no cats live in the White House, but Vice President Mike Pence has a tuxedo cat named Oreo.

It’s possible that Stubbs’ position was illegitimate due to specific rules in Alaska’s law that govern how a city—or, in the case of Talkeetna, an unincorporated place—is governed, but who can say no to the people?

In Siberia, too, a cat stood up to be counted among the many, and although not recognized by the running dog administration, Barsik was nevertheless lauded in Barnaul, and now moves on to bigger aspirations: Russia’s 2018 presidential poll.

This is not unprecedented. In 2016, Rhode Island’s Stump and Kentucky’s Limberbutt McCubbins, perhaps lured in by Bernie Sanders’ avian endorsement, joined the race for the executive mansion. If only we’d been wise enough to vote for them.

AMBASSADORS OF GOOD WILL

Given their broad support, it’s no surprise that cats can lead interesting political lives.

“He’s friendly, you can come say hi,” Michelle Flamm explained.

Flamm, the owner of the large hoodie-wearing tabby, beckoned me toward the lethargic cat. He had been sedated for a cross-country trip from Santa Ana, Calif. to Baltimore, Md. Naturally, I could not resist, and we talked briefly about the tiger cat in the R2D2 sweatshirt.

I asked Flamm about a reference she made to Alexander being a registered lobbyist.

“So my mom does a bunch of stuff in Georgia for various civic associations and at one point on record there were a bunch of state senators who were talking about Alex and a lobbyist got angry because he was getting undue attention, so we had to register him,“ Flamm recounted.

“So he is now, I guess, a lobbyist, for the East Cobb Civic Association; there’s a bunch of state senators and representatives that absolutely love this cat.”

The story seemed a little too good to be true, and unfortunately I had to fact check a cat.

That’s what I said to myself, and I even wrote it out : “I have to fact check a cat.”

I searched for Flamm’s mother, and having had only a passing acquaintance with Alex, I had only a couple of pieces of information.

Ultimately, I found my mark and was able to get in contact with Jill Flamm, Michelle’s mother.

I was fact-checking a cat; was this right?

This Flamm started out like the other by lauding Alexander, then went on to describe in more detail how Alex got to his place in politics.

“In response to some of the questions about Mr. Alexander, I’m active in local politics in Cobb County, which is in Marietta,

Georgia, and Alex kind of, being the personable cat that he is, and the fact that he greets everyone at our house door, got to meet some of our local politicians,” Flamm said.

“They would drop things off, or [they’d be] former politicians who immediately loved him.”

In response to the lobbyist question, Flamm didn’t exactly deny, but she described how Alex’s charms won others over.

“He doesn’t really lobby for anything, but he had a lot of people volunteering to petsit for him if we ever went out of town,” Flamm explained. “Also, he was pet of the month for one of our local magazines because Michelle entered him into [the] contest, and of course he won.”

But was he a political cat? Did he schmooze with politicians, lobby, and make his paw-print on the political landscape of Georgia?

“He did, but it was through my politics.

He is a cat that unlike other cats when people would come to the door, or the doorbell would ring he would run to the doorbell to greet them,” Flamm replied.

“And people would say ‘when you go out of town, do you need a cat-sitter?’ Sure, why not! So they would come over and play with him. That is the story of Alex.”

CATS IN OFFICE

Famous felines in office aren’t just the patient bystanders of their doting owners. Sometimes they themselves are the ones with a paw on the pulse of their constituents.

Take the dearly departed Stubbs, for example.

In 1997, the large cream tabby became the mayor, perhaps, of Talkeetna, Alaska. From his humble perch at Nagley’s General Store, he managed the affairs of the small town of less than 900 people (and however many cats) for 20 years. Approval ratings were surely through the roof.

ALEXANDER PAWSES FOR A PHOTO AT THE JOHN WAYNE AIRPORT. ALEX JON-EARL/PSU VANGUARD

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • psuvanguard.com

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OPINION

ALT-MEAT: SEEKING SOLUTIONS

TO UNETHICAL FACTORY FARMING Gray Scale Gray Bouchat Even hard-core meat lovers can admit the meat industry partakes in cruel practices and the unnecessary torture of animals.

Founder and Executive Director of Factory Farming Awareness Coalition Katie Cantrell said that over nine billion animals are killed for food every year in the United States.

The conditions these animals live in are less than spectacular, and the meat produced isn’t much better. Animals are pumped with chemicals to make them grow bigger faster and to produce more profit. That’s the meat industry’s motto: find cheaper ways to make more profit at any cost.

Does being vegetarian and vegan help lessen the torture ensued by the meat industry? Of course. Is there a counter argument to this?

Of course. Vegetarians take pride in not eating meat while simultaneously not condoning the torture of animals for humans’ sake; however, importing food hinders the environment.

Food has to come from somewhere, and unfortunately, that can cause even more harm to the environment. Tofu and Tofurkey may not be the answers we are looking for, as they require transportation across the country in semi-trucks and harvesting ingredients from a plantation or other large factory farm. Is there, however, a definite solution to the inhumane meat industry problem?

Jess Tyler, graduate teaching assistant in the Portland State Department of Environmental Science and Management, grew up on a small farm in Montana, which changed his perception of the meat industry. Most commercial cow factories feed their cows corn and soy, forms of protein. So why are we feeding cows food humans can eat, when cows should be eating hay and grass, which humans can’t eat?

“We took care of our cows in such a traditional way, I think it’s almost a privileged perspective now,” Tyler said. “Hardly anyone knows about this lifestyle.”

Although Tyler was raised on a mid-sized Montana ranch, he still cared deeply about his cows, even though they would eventually be shipped off to slaughter. His ranch was nowhere near the size of an industrial factory, which houses cows in feedlots where they undergo castration and are branded. “I never really bought that eating meat was really bad. I was there [on the farm]. Eating meat was really normal, really ingrained in my experience.” Despite this though, Tyler also became a vegetarian and later a vegan.

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The vegetarian and vegan life is up to an individual. The effort to become vegetarian can come from dietary restrictions or simply because people educate themselves about the cruelty of the meat industry.

Another perspective on this issue comes from Cantrell. FFAC is a nonprofit organization dedicated to education about farming, animals, environmental sustainability, all concerned with where our food comes from.

Cantrell did a Google talk on April 27, 2017, titled, “Hidden in Plain Bite: The Power of Our Food Choices,” in which she discusses industrial animal agriculture.

“Factory farms are technically known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations,” Cantrell said. “It’s the practice of keeping thousands...of animals in confinement for their entire lives.” Factory farms do this because keeping animals as close together means they can have more animals, and more animals means more profit.

To bring this issue closer to home, Mark Harris, sustainability coordinator for PSU Eats, and Matt Steele, executive chef, both take pride in their restaurants and the sources of the ingredients they use. “[We promote] working with student groups, local farmers, local providers, having them talk about their product, having the community see that connection through the food and the farmer,” Harris said. When people know where their food comes from, that helps promote the “buy local” movement.

The food court in Smith Memorial Student Union offers a variety of more conscionable foods now, since contracting with PSU Eats. From 503 Burger, which offers a vegan burger, to Simply Purr which provides primarily grain- and vegetablebased ingredients, it helps that PSU has become more sustainable while offering more vegan options.

“We source responsibly whenever and as often as possible,” Steele said. “I’m really proud of things like the fact that we [PSU Eats] only use cage-free eggs.” Cage-free eggs are when the hens are allowed to roam free and aren’t confined to a cage, only living to produce eggs.

The goal of PSU Eats is to shrink meat portions; within the U.S., kids are taught the food pyramid which recommends meat at 2–3 servings per day, when in reality, this isn’t neces-

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • psuvanguard.com

MARIKA VAN DE KAMP sary. Plant-based products and grains can substitute what meat provides. “What we are trying to do...is increase the plant-based aspect of every plate here,” Steele said. “Not only for health, but for sustainability. It’s a win-win.”

As sustainability coordinator, Harris looks for local sources of food. When trying to find local farmers, this helps lessen the ecological footprint most large food companies possess. “It’s not just figuring out what to do with waste, it’s how we order, how we cook, how we portion...how we utilize what we can,” Harris said. “Being supportive of the [PSU Food] Pantry is also very important.”

During Hunger and Homelessness Awareness Week, PSU Eats will screen the documentary Wasted featuring Anthony Bourdain on Nov. 14. This documentary looks atthe overall issues of food waste, studies about the waste, and solutions to help end world hunger through the recognition of food waste.

There are no grounded solutions to the environmental and ethical problems of the meat industry, but through education and awareness, people can better understand where their food comes from. With people like Tyler and Cantrell teaching about the sustainability process and with Steele and Harris introducing new vegan concepts to college students, we’re taking steps in the right direction.

COPS NEED TO STOP KILLING PEOPLE

OPINION

LETHAL AND EXCESSIVE FORCE WEAKENS COMMUNITY TRUST The Jake Johnson Experience Jake Johnson Police keep killing people they shouldn’t, from 12-year-old Tamir Rice to 43-year-old father of six Eric Garner. Cops keep being scared and accidentally taking the lives of innocents. There doesn’t seem to be any repercussion for blue people killing people, and perhaps there should be.

The officer who shot Tamir Rice was fired, not for killing a 12-year-old, but for lying on his application. Officer Yanez received $48,000 in his mutual separation from the force after killing Philando Castile. No officers were found guilty in the death of Freddie Gray. None of the four cops who shot 59 bullets at Alex Nieto are being held responsible. We need to take a long, hard look at accountability and prevention for the men and women wearing blue.

“JUST A FEW BAD APPLES”

The problem with this argument is that the good apples aren’t sticking their necks out to end protections for cops that kill unnecessarily. Perhaps most officers fear the day they too might be labeled a “bad apple” for killing an innocent person and want the blue wall of silence to remain standing for them. If the system is clearly working for other cops, why destroy it before you may need it? Cases like Philando Castile and Eric Garner should be cut and dry. Video evidence isn’t enough?

Sunil Dutta, a 17-year veteran of the police

force, believes the problem is not with police but with people cops stop. Sunil believes people force the brutality and violence upon themselves while also advocating for not participating in illegal stops and searches.

Philando Castile was profiled and stopped 52 times: He knew the drill, he stayed calm and did exactly what the officer asked, but was still killed. Freddie Gray’s stop and arrest were both unconstitutional.

Too many people are dying for police to keep blaming their victims. In the United States from 2000 to 2014, 12,137 people were killed by police. Until police hold each other accountable and call for the prosecution of officers who behave inappropriately on or off duty, they cannot in good faith expect the public to trust them. If they can’t expect the public to trust them, they in turn won’t trust the public, and you are more likely to kill someone you don’t trust.

BUILD TRUST WITH YOUR COMMUNITY

Former Dallas Police Chief David Brown knows that trust is easier to lose than gain.

Reform is difficult, but necessary. Brown increased training on the use of deadly force from every two years to every two months and met pushback from leaders in his department. Brown also made a habit during his career of having conversations with random citizens of his community at their homes.

When people talk about community policing, they mean getting to know your community and hiring people from that community. But police departments often interpret this as increased patrol of communities. Police cruising slowly down your street and eyeing you suspiciously does not build trust.

People aren’t going to immediately like you talking to them, but that’s because most times when police talk to you they’re writing a ticket, trying to determine if you’re up to no good, not genuinely trying to see if you’re day is going alright, human to human. Brown made attempts toward getting to know his community, and that’s commendable. Dallas’ use of force and crime statistics show his reforms helped significantly in ways that have made police and citizens safer.

Officers should be required to wear and turn on body cameras at all times. There is no reason why police should want to hide their actions from the public. If you’re telling the truth, video will strengthen your testimony. Two officers were on the scene

ing helped him evaluate that Williams was depressed and not a threat. While reasoning with Williams to drop the weapon, two other officers arrived on the seen and immediately shot Williams in the head. Williams’ gun was not loaded. Mader was fired for not killing Williams. Mader’s behavior is exemplary of what police departments need to strive toward, not punish.

STOP USING AND ALLOWING EXCESSIVE FORCE IN GENERAL

AARON UGHOC when officer Mohamed Noor shot and killed Justine Ruszczyk, and neither had their cameras turned on. If you’ve got nothing to hide, don’t. Cameras are a form of transparency. Communities appreciate transparency; it builds trust.

DE-ESCALATION TRAINING

Police need to get better at de-escalating situations and practicing what that actually means. In one incident, a Portland Police Officer yelled for someone to “[expletive] stop or they’re gonna get shot.”

Unfortunately, this seems a lot more like escalation than the “de-escalation approach” the officer and their supervisor claimed the threat to be.

De-escalation is not easy; Charles Kinsey knows this. He is a caregiver at the home where Rios Soto lives. Soto wandered away with a toy truck and was having an episode in the middle of the street. Kinsey was deescalating when police officers accidentally shot Kinsey while trying to shoot Soto. If they had hit Soto, a man who didn’t have to die, it would have been another “justifiable use of deadly force,” but they didn’t. What they did caused psychological trauma to both Kinsey and Soto that didn’t need to exist. The community would have been safer if police hadn’t been there at all. Police could learn from Kinsey. Police need to learn how to calm people down and stop instinctively pulling the trigger when things get weird.

You’re right, not all cops are bad. Stephen Mader is an ex-Marine who was a police officer in West Virginia. One night he received a call about a man threatening to hurt himself. When he arrived he discovered the man, Ronald Williams, was holding a gun and begging to be shot. Mader said his train-

Eric Casebolt was allowed to peacefully resign after he and a group of other officers terrified a group of kids at a pool party, tactical rolls and all. Casebolt slammed a teenage girl onto the sidewalk and was not charged. Good cops should have called for his arrest. Two good cops leaked a video of officer William Martin berating a woman who called police because a neighbor choked her son. The woman didn’t appreciate it and the officer proceeded to bodyslam her. Those good cops who leaked the video were demoted. Good cops should have stood up for them.

We citizens understand that you cops get scared. But we need you to understand that you scare us. If you want our trust and respect, you have to trust and respect us. If cops keep killing and abusing citizens, it’s only logical citizens will be fidgety or try to run from cops, we don’t want to be body slammed, choked out, shot to death, or have our spinal cords severed while being driven around—that shit is terrifying. Sandra Bland, Philando Castile, Jordan Edwards, and Tamir Rice weren’t doing anything wrong, but they wound up dead.

Stop saying, “If you’re not a criminal, you’ll be fine.”

By protecting the bad guys and not standing up for the good guys, you are controlling your narrative. You are telling the public what your priorities are. Your priorities are cops vs. everyone, and anyone who says otherwise is a traitor. Those bad apples are spoiling the whole damn bunch.

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • psuvanguard.com

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Nov. 7 – Nov. 13

ON CAMPUS FEATURED EVENT

THURSDAY, NOV. 9

FESTIVAL 9 A.M. 33RD ANNUAL PORTLAND ART WORDSTOCK LITERARY MUSEUM ARTS FESTIVAL $15–18, ALL AGES Portland’s biggest book and literary festival, featuring big names like Ta-Nehisi Coates, Lidia Yuknavitch, Jenny Han, Adam Gopnik, Claire Messud, Chuck Klosterman and more.

Check back for our coverage of Wordstock.

INDIE ROCK PSU PARK BLOCKS CATHEDRAL PEARLS FREE, ALL AGES NOON The Spokane-based trio will perform in Parkway North if weather does not permit the Lunch @ Noon series to play outdoors.

TUESDA Y, NOV. 7 EMPLOYER ON CAMPUS 2 P.M. CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE NEUBERGER HALL 491 AGENCY FREE, ALL AGES While I don’t think working for the CIA is exactly like Seth MacFarlane and Patrick Stewart make it out to be, I don’t not know that. Go find out.

THEATER ARLENE SCHNIZTER THE BODYGUARD: THE CONCERT HALL MUSICAL $25–100, ALL AGES (STAGED NOV. 8–12) 7 P.M. Grammy winner Deborah Cox portrays Rachel Marron, the diva role originated by Whitney Houston in the iconic ’90s movie that gave us songs like “Queen of the Night,” “I Have Nothing,” “I’m Every Woman,” and her legendary cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You.”

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 8 CHAMBER MUSIC THE OLD CHURCH DAVID ROTHMAN FREE, ALL AGES NOON The pianist plays two Schubert sonatas for the free Lunchtime Concert Series.

FILM 7 P.M. THE CENTRAL PARK WHITSELL AUDITORIUM FIVE (2012) DONATION, ALL AGES To see Sarah Burns’ documentary about the five boys whose lives were ruined by racial profiling (and who were viciously and repeatedly slandered by Donald Trump), make a donation to the Oregon Innocence Project.

AMERICANA WINNINGSTAD KATE & THE THEATRE CROCODILES $15–25, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. Gavin Bondy (Pink Martini) hosts his friend Kate Morrison and her band for an evening of jazz-infused singer-songwriter music.

FILM 7:30 P.M. TIM ELLIS ARCHIVE THE OLD CHURCH EXHIBITION $25, ALL AGES Director Tiffany Ellis shares rare archival footage that may or may not appear in her new movie, This is Tim: A Musical Life, about her father Tim Ellis, a Portland rock music personality who was prominent in the 1980s and passed away last year.

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ART RECEPTION 6 P.M. BLACK PORTLANDERS, LITTMAN GALLERY BLACK PORTLANDS FREE, ALL AGES INTISAR ABIOTO Photographer Intisar Abioto holds a reception for her exhibition of photographs documenting the members of the African Diaspora who live in Portland.

ART RECEPTION WHITE GALLERY F/W 18 | ERIC LONG FREE, ALL AGES 6 P.M. Pacific Northwest College of Art student Eric Long exhibits a new series of photography and installation works.

SINGER-SONGWRITER 6:30 P.M. JULIANNE R. JOHNSON, THE OLD CHURCH STORM LARGE $30–40, ALL AGES The Portland local has been nominated for a Grammy and holds other honors. She is starting a new series at The Old Church, and is joined by friend and local legend Storm Large.

CONTEMPORARY POP ARLENE SCHNITZER THE MUSIC OF MICHAEL CONCERT HALL JACKSON $35–95, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. The Oregon Symphony, with rock band additions and vocalist James Delisco, takes the audience through a medley of The King of Pop’s most memorable songs.

FRIDAY, NOV. 10 VARIETY SHOW WINNINGSTAD LOFI THEATRE 7 P.M. $16–22, ALL AGES Laura Gibson, Tommy Pico, Melissa Febos and Lemony Snicket (yes, that one) join Andrew Dickson, B. Frayn Masters, Arthur Bradford, Emily Overstreet and Mindy Nettifee for an evening of “comedy, music, stories, poetry, video, raucous readings and weird stuff” ahead of Wordstock.

FILM 7 P.M. THE DECAMERON WHITSELL AUDITORIUM (1971) $5–9, ALL AGES Remember The Little Hours from earlier this year? This movie is based on the entire eponymous work by Boccaccio which inspired it.

Screenwriter/novelist Jon Raymond attends for Wordstock.

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • psuvanguard.com

SINGER-SONGWRITER 7 P.M. JOLIE HOLLAND & THE OLD CHURCH SAMANTHA PARTON, $12–15, ALL AGES NICK JAINA Two members of The Be Good Tanyas embark on a new project as a duo for The Minor Key Concert Series.

BRASS MUSIC 4 P.M. STEVEN MEAD & JAMIE THE OLD CHURCH HOOD $5–10, ALL AGES The Salvation Army is co-sponsoring this duo of brass instrument players.

FILM 5TH AVENUE CINEMAS EVA HESSE (2016) $4–5 (FREE W/PSU ID), 7 P.M. & 9:30 P.M. ALL AGES (SCREENING 11/11–12) New documentary about postwar artist Eva Hesse, who helped start the minimalist movement in the United States.

SYMPHONY ARLENE SCHNITZER MUSIC FROM THE CONCERT HALL AMERICAS $11–40, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. Metropolitan Youth Symphony, Concert Orchestra and Interlude Orchestra perform Gershwin, Gabriela Lena Frank and selections from Mariachi Una Voz and Mariachi Tradición.

SATURDAY, NOV. 11

MONDAY, T. 13

FILM 7 P.M. TROOP BEVERLY HILLS WHITSELL AUDITORIUM (1989) $5–9, ALL AGES Phyllis Nefler (Shelley Long) leads a gang of affluent misfits in a Girl Scout-style youth club. Edan Lepucki attends as part of Wordstock.

FILM 7 P.M. DOUBLE BLIND (NO SEX WHITSELL AUDITORIUM LAST NIGHT) (1996) $5–9, ALL AGES Sophie Calle documents the destruction of her romantic relationship with photographer Gregory Shepard as they take a road trip across America, with twin camera, and document their frustrations unbeknownst to each other.

SYMPHONY ARLENE SCHNITZER PORTLAND YOUTH CONCERT HALL PHILHARMONIC $5–50, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. The Portland Youth Philharmonic opens its 94th season with Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 among other classic and contemporary favorites. Read our breakdown of how to listen to symphonies at psuvanguard.com.

CHAMBER MUSIC LINCOLN PACIFICA QUARTET PERFORMANCE HALL (PERFORMING 11/14) $30–55, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. Guest cellist Eric Kim joins Pacifica Quartet in playing the works of Mendelssohn, Beethoven, Schubert, Atar Arad, and Julia Wolfe.

JAZZ WINNINGSTAD JASON MORAN & THE THEATRE BANDWAGON $35–45, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. The Kennedy Center honorees perform in support of their newest albums, Thanksgiving at the Vanguard and BANGS.

SUNDAY, NOV. 12 BOOK SIGNING POWELL’S CITY OF CHUCK PALAHNIUK BOOKS NOON FREE, ALL AGES Purchase a copy of Palahniuk’s new color-able novel, Legacy, and meet the author!

FILM 2 P.M. JAMES AND THE GIANT WHITSELL AUDITORIUM PEACH (1996) $5–9, ALL AGES Based on the Roald Dahl classic, James (Paul Terry) travels across the Atlantic Ocean in the titular peach with a crew of giant, sentient insects (Simon Callow, Richard Dreyfuss, Jane Leeves, Susan Sarandon, David Thewlis, Miriam Margolyes) to find his parents and escape his horrible aunts (Margolyes, Joanna Lumley). Free with admission to Portland Art Museum.

ROBBY DAY

Matthew Andrews & Andrew D. Jankowski

OFF CAMPUS FEATURED EVENT

THURSDAY, NOV. 9

FILM FESTIVAL NOV. 10–18 1ST ANNUAL PORTLAND CINEMA 21 ASIAN FILM FESTIVAL $7–60, ALL AGES Thirty films of varying genre and national origin screen for Portland’s first-ever film festival devoted to the works of Asian filmmakers. See horror movies, period pieces, rom-coms and erotic thrillers, along with classics like Ringu and Ringu 2.

FILM CLINTON STREET ROMEO IS BLEEDING THEATER (2015) $7–10, ALL AGES 7 P.M. Documentary about the creation of a Shakespeare club in response to gang violence in Richmond, California. Subjects of the documentary will be in attendance reading original works.

TUESDAY, NOV. 7

THEATER THROUGH NOV. 19 THE HAPPIEST SONG PROFILE THEATER PLAYS LAST $20–36, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. The third movie in Quiara Alegria Hudes’ Elliot trilogy, Elliot’s war past haunts him on location for a film shoot in Jordan during the Arab Spring, and Yaz tries to keep her communities together.

FILM THROUGH NOV. 9 JANE (2017) CINEMA 21 MULTIPLE SCREENINGS $7–10, ALL AGES Intimate documentary about primate researcher Jane Goodall with a score by Philip Glass.

FILM HOLLYWOOD THEATRE BREATHING FIRE (1991) $7–9, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. Privileged teens Charlie (Jonathan Ke Quan) and Tony Moore (Eddie Saavedra) are pitted against their father (Jerry Trimble) when they protect a girl (Laura Hamilton) who could take down their father’s criminal gang.

WEDNESDAY, NOV. 8 FILM HOLLYWOOD THEATRE LOST DIVISION (2016) $7–9, ALL AGES 7 P.M. Portland-made independent film following an AWOL soldier, a chaplain, and a combat cameraman as they struggle with PTSD at the end of WWII in Germany.

THEATER THROUGH NOV. 19 WATER BY THE PROFILE THEATER SPOONFUL $20–36, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. The second play in Quiara Alegria Hudes’ Elliot trilogy, Elliot and his cousin Yaz navigate the physical and online realms as they face death in their family.

THEATER THROUGH NOV. 23 PLEASE CURIOUS COMEDY UNDERESTIMATE ME THEATER 7:30 P.M. $15–20, ALL AGES Stephanie Cordell, Scott Engdahl, Shareen Jacobs, Rose Bonomo, Savira Kambhu and ASL interpreter Blake Wales bring to life the personal essays of Jay Flewelling, who argues that being an underestimated underdog is an advantage.

NIGHTLIFE 8 P.M. CYBERIA: LAYER ZERO FIFTH AVENUE LOUNGE ONE $17–255, 21+ For one night, Portland gets its very first cyberpunk lounge. Cybergoths rejoice. The ultimate place to hack into the mainframe.

ALT-POP DOUG FIR LOUNGE SONREAL $13–85, 21+ 8 P.M. The critically-acclaimed Canadian rapper tours in support of his new album, One Long Dream.

COMEDY 9 P.M. MYQ KAPLAN, ERIN BUNK BAR JUDGE, BARBARA HOLM $15–17, 21+ The headlining Last Comic Standing finalist tours in support of his new standup album, No Kidding and is supported by local comedians.

NIGHTLIFE NYX / BLACK BOOK BUTTERBALL $10 ($5 W/CANNED 10 P.M. FOOD DONATION), 21+ #PDXBall’s theme this month is Thanksgiving, so vogue ball contestants will be serving moves and looks inspired by gravy, stuffing and the Macy’s parade.

FRIDAY, NOV. 10 FILM THROUGH NOV. 16 THE SQUARE (2017) CINEMA 21 MULTIPLE SCREENINGS $7–10, ALL AGES Dark Swedish comedy satirizing contemporary art, starring Claes Bang and Elizabeth Moss.

THEATER THROUGH NOV. 25 THE MYSTERY OF IRMA FUNHOUSE LOUNGE VEP $15–85, 21+ 7 P.M. Actors Michael J. Treufel and Greg Shilling perform their critically acclaimed two-man A Penny Dreadful stage parody.

DANCE PARTY 9 P.M. DANCE YOURSELF HOLOCENE CLEAN $5–8, 21+ Dance party inspired by 2000s and 2010s indie pop giants.

FILM ALSO SCREENING 11/9 FOUND FOOTAGE HOLLYWOOD THEATRE FESTIVAL $11–13, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. Joe Pickett (The Onion) and Nick Prueher (Late Show with David Letterman) exhibit their curated collection of found VHS, home movie and B-movie treasures, including 80s Satanic Panic movies, 20 years of North Dakota news bloopers, behindthe-scenes looks at Pickett & Prueher’s viral strongman stunt, and films from David Letterman’s private collection.

SATURDAY, NOV. 11 FILM 2 P.M. LITTLE HEROES HOLLYWOOD THEATRE (PEQUEÑOS HÉROES) $6, ALL AGES (2017) Three children learn secrets that help Símon Bolívar defeat his enemies and go on to found several South American nations. The first South American film to use MoGap animation.

FILM HOLLYWOOD THEATRE MOTHRA (1961) $7–9, ALL AGES 6 P.M. Mothra, the giant Godzilla moth monster, causes local panic when she tries to reclaim her stolen egg and her inches-high protectors.

CIRCUS 7 / 10 P.M. A-WOL’S 15TH 513 NE SCHUYLER ST. BIRTHDAY PARTY $20–25, 21+ A-WOL Aerial Dance Company celebrates a decade and a half of high-flying adventures with a gala party and late-night sexy exhibition.

EXPERIMENTAL MUSIC 8 P.M. DOLPHIN MIDWIVES, MOTHERSHIP MUSIC PULSE EMITTER, $5, ALL AGES AMENTA ABIOTO Dolphin Midwives aka Sage Fisher uses technology to layer her voice and make harp loops to create gorgeous soundscapes.

DANCE PARTY KILLINGSWORTH CAKE DYNASTY 9 P.M. $5, 21+ The P.O.C. LGBTQ+ dance party has spawned three sister parties in L.A. and Long Beach, Calif. Music by DJs Automaton and Ronin Roc, hosted by Coco Madrid and Bart Fitzgerald.

SUNDAY, NOV. 12 ROCK ALADDIN THEATER GIN BLOSSOMS $40, ALL AGES 7 P.M. The band most famous for its first single “Hey Jealousy” tours to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the album that spawned its biggest hit, New Miserable Experience. Did you know: the co-writer of “Hey Jealousy” killed himself shortly after being fired from the band, which inspired the title of their followup album, Congratulations I’m Sorry?

FILM 7:30 P.M. HUMAN HIGHWAY HOLLYWOOD THEATRE (1982) $15, ALL AGES Gerald Casale of Devo attends this screening of the Neil Young-directed nuclear rock comedy starring Devo, Russ Tamblyn, Dean Stockwell, Charlotte Stewart, Sally Kirkland and Dennis Hopper. Features some probably problematic portrayals of Native Americans.

COMEDY HELIUM COMEDY CLUB DAVE ATTELL $32–40, 21+ (PERFORMING 7:30 P.M. NOV. 9–11) Dave Attell is considered one of America’s funniest living comedians, and has appeared on TV and in movies showcasing his brand of humor.

MONDAY, NOV. 13 R&B WONDER BALLROOM LIZZO, DEJA CAT $20, ALL AGES 7:30 P.M. Lizzo’s Sunday show is sold out, so she added a second night in support of her new album, Truth Hurts.

FILM 7:30 P.M. ARCTIC SUPERSTAR HOLLYWOOD THEATRE (2016) $7–9, ALL AGES Documentary about Samí rapper SlinCraze aka Nils Rune Utzi, a Norwegian rapper who performs in a dying language understood by fewer than 20,000 people in the world.

To submit an event for Vanguard’s online calendar, visit psuvanguard.com/submitevent.

To be considered for print event listing, email online@psuvanguard.com.

DANCE PARTY 10 P.M. JUMP JACK SOUND MISSISSIPPI STUDIOS MACHINE VS. CLUB $8, 21+ KAI-KAI Two of Portland’s most popular alt-LGBTQ dance parties merge for what promises to be a legendary night of sweat, glitter, filth and glamour.

AARON UGHOC

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 7, 2017 • psuvanguard.com

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Run for yourA Podcast life

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Run For Your Life reflects back on the Columbia River Gorge fire by combining news reporting, field studies and firsthand tales: how it felt to flee, how it feels to return and the fire’s silver lining.

psuvanguard.com/multimedia

Run for your Life was created and produced by Joe Michael Riedl, in partnership with PSU Vanguard, with help from VG Editor-in-Chief Colleen Leary and the editorial staff.