Matsuri for the rest of us
NEWS. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 ARTS & culture............ 6 OPINION........................ 10 ETC................................ 13 SPORTS........................ .. 14
Japanese Student Society shapes Japan Night 2012 into cultural festival Arts & Culture Page 8
PSUVANGUARD.COM PSUVANGUARD.COM
FREE The Vanguard is published every Tuesday and Thursday
Published since 1946
Portland State University Portland State University Tuesday, Nov. 13, 2012 | vol. 67 no. 22
Wiewel wins award for green effort PSU leads the nation in eco-friendly design Erik Mutzke Vanguard Staff
The Center for Green Schools at the U.S. Green Building Council has awarded Portland State President Wim Wiewel its Presidential Award. The prestigious award recognizes exemplary and bold leadership in sustainability on campuses and in the community nationwide. “This is the gold medal of sustainability achievements,” Wiewel said. “It’s gratifying because we have been trying to position PSU as a national leader in sustainability for years. Sustainability is a key institutional priority.” The USGBC is an organization that is best known for its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design green building certification program. Portland has eight LEED-certified buildings on campus. The USGBC is committed to advocating for public policy that supports and encourages green buildings and communities. “The Presidential Award aims to highlight change-makers who are truly setting the bar for excellence when it comes to systemwide sustainability in the higher education community,” said Rachel Gutter, director of the Center for Green Schools at USGBC, in a press release. During his five years as president, Wiewel has focused on sustainability within the institution. See GREEN EFFORT on page 4
Students explore Persia PSU offers Oregon’s first minor in Persian Ravleen Kaur Vanguard staff
A replica of the world’s first charter of human rights sits at the United Nations headquarters, an emblem of the organization’s cause. The writer of the ancient clay cylinder was Persian king Cyrus the Great, who hailed from present-day Iran—a region that remains greatly misunderstood despite the blinding political limelight that surrounds it. This fall, Portland State launched Oregon’s first minor in Persian, offering students a chance to acquaint themselves with the culture, literature and language of the region. “Persian culture is one of the glories of antiquity, and the Persian language is one of its defining aspects,” said Jennifer Perlmutter, chair of the Department of World Languages and Literatures at PSU. The minor encompasses courses in language, literature and culture and comes at a time when the university is expanding its internationalization efforts. Before this fall, PSU’s language-only Persian program fulfilled undergraduate foreign language requirements but did not lead to a degree or certificate. Persian, along with Arabic and Turkish, will be PSU’s third minor in a Middle Eastern language. “Iran is one of the least understood countries in the world,” said Anousha Sedighi, an associate professor of Persian who leads the program. “And that’s really a pity because knowing about, say, the history of Iran really helps people to open their eyes about the current situation.”
Courtesy Of Wikimedia.org
THIS PAINTING is one of many that adorn the walls of the 17th century Hasnt-Behesht, or “Palace of the Eight Heavens.” The palace is located in Isfanan, Iran. Along with Sedighi, spearheading the program in its inaugural year is renowned Persian scholar Dick Davis, who will be a visiting scholar this winter and spring. Credited with translating the Shahnameh (“Book of Kings”)—a seminal work of Persian literature—into English, Davis is a best-selling author and a poet in his own right. He will teach three
new courses, including classes titled “Persian Folklore and Mythology” and “Iranian Women Writers.” “[Davis] is a very important pillar in Persian literature,” Sedighi said. “He’s really going to be important for the visibility of the program.” Students at PSU have been collaborating to promote Persian cultural and artistic heritage for years. With
the addition of the minor, they will be able to formally align their Persian studies with their career goals. Victor Mena, a criminal justice major, hopes his chances of joining a governmental organization will be boosted by his language skills. “Persian is one of the government’s wanted See Persia on page 4
The mysteries of moss sex Moss uses smell to get the job done Maya Seaman Vanguard staff
Rocky Cookus/VANGUARD STAFf
A SPRINGTAIL, in close up, wades through moss leaves, aiding in the fertilization process.
Walk down any street in Portland, and you’ll see it. It covers roofs, tree trunks, sidewalks and fences. It’s part of what makes Portland look so magical, like a fairy tale forest full of history. Moss. What we don’t realize is that moss is one of the oldest plants on earth, and that for the past 400 million years it has been growing and reproducing with assistance from one of the world’s oldest land-dwelling animal species. Like modern pollination relationships between flowering plants and
bees, moss has long been manipulating tiny invertebrates called microarthropods to transfer sperm from male to female moss in order to sexually reproduce. “This work excites me because it reminds me that mosses and insects have likely been dancing partners for a very, very long time,” said Todd Rosenstiel, a professor of biology at Portland State. Mosses can be sexually separate, meaning that there is a physical distinction between male and female, and like other species it is the male that carries sperm. Originally it was thought that mosses had to live in a wet environment in order to successfully reproduce—places with consistent rain, like here in Portland—because the water would allow
the sperm to swim from the male moss to the female moss. What research is finding, however, is that microarthropods like springtails and mites are carrying the sperm from the male to female mosses. “Mosses and microarthropods have been coexisting for about 450 million years—that is more than 300 million years longer than the flowering plants and their pollinators emerged,” said Erin Shortlidge, a PSU graduate biology student whose dissertation work focuses on the factors that influence sexual reproduction in mosses. The fact that researchers can see that there might have been an See moss SEX on page 2