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Portland State University Portland State University Tuesday, Feb. 12, 2013 | vol. 67 no. 37
Chuc mung nam moi! ‘Happy New Year!’ Vietnamese Student Association hosts annual Tet celebration Andrew Morse Vanguard Staff
These words were heard throughout the night at the Portland State Vietnamese Student Association’s 13th Annual Tet Show, a celebration of the lunar new year held in the Smith Memorial Student Union ballroom on Saturday. More than 100 people attended this showcase of Vietnamese culture and local talent, which included performances of traditional music and dancing, hip-hop-infused pop songs and electric guitar instrumentals. Tet is one of the traditional holidays of Vietnam, arguably the most popular, and is celebrated with much preparation and care. The full name of the holiday is Tet Nguyen Dan, which means “feast of the first morning.” It is based on the lunar calendar and is typically celebrated on the same day as the Chinese New Year. The VSA has been hosting its Tet show every year since the group’s inception in 2000. A.C. Nguyen, public relations officer for the VSA, explained that several months of preparation went into organizing the event. Reserving the venue and getting approval for an outside food vendor, Hanoi Kitchen, took advance planning, but the biggest challenge was rehearsing for the performances. All the work paid off.
“Every year it tends to get a little bit bigger,” Nguyen said. “We do have some recognition within the community as one of the events of the year.” The show is promoted mostly through word of mouth, by students and members of the local Vietnamese community. This year marks the Year of the Snake in the Vietnamese zodiac. In Vietnamese symbolism, there are many types of snakes. Nguyen explained that this year’s snake is a water snake. “Water means life, the rebirth of life and celebration,” he said. The theme of spring and rebirth was everywhere apparent in the decorations and costumes performers wore. Bold hues and subtle pastels mimicked the budding flowers of spring. On each table was a vase of flowers in one of the two traditional Tet varieties: the hoa mai and the hoa dao, known for their yellow and pink petals, respectively. The show was hosted by Jennifer Truc-Ly Le and Daniel Harris, who made an entertaining pair. They both wore traditional dress, Le in a flowerpatterned ao dai and Harris in a blue ao gam. Le and Harris mostly traded words in Vietnamese, occasionally punctuated with English. Harris, an American who learned Vietnamese while on a two-year mission in Houston, Texas, impressed the crowd with his nearperfect pronunciation. A wave of “ooh!” spread through the audience when he first spoke.
End nears for SFC deliberations Student groups in final fight for funding Andrew Lawrence Vanguard Staff
Following this was a solo performance by one of the previous group’s members, Ngan Daisy Nguyen. With a hoa mai in her hand she owned the stage with a shimmering vocal on a minor-keyed ballad called “Lang Nghe Mua Xuan Ve,” meaning “Listen to the Return of Spring.” Local traditional dance troup Au Co took the stage next. They performed in matching yellow and
Last week saw a final push as many student groups fought to secure funding for next year and the appeals process of the Associated Students of Portland State University’s student fee committee wrapped up. Some student group leaders expressed uneasiness that, between declining enrollment and a static student fee, there just isn’t enough money to go around. The reality is settling in: More groups are splitting the same $14 million pot of money this year. “I think everybody is getting less money this year,” said Vanessa Robertson-Rojas, administrative coordinator for the Littman and White Galleries at PSU. Robertson-Rojas said her group made a lot of cuts before submitting its initial budgets, in areas like postage and printing, but it wasn’t enough for the SFC. The SFC moved to cut funding for supplies and honorariums for visiting artists. However, Robertson-Rojas said the galleries’ request for a paid intern was approved, so the news wasn’t all bad. “It’s a trade-off,” she said. Starting last fall, student groups submit proposed budgets, and after holding hearings on those requests, the SFC responds with a funding level it feels is appropriate. Student
See NEw year on page 4
See SFC on page 4
Daniel johnston/VANGUARD STAFf
The lion dance was performed at PSU’s 13th annual Tet Show on Saturday.
The show started with a traditional lion dance performed by members of local troupe GDPT Minh Quang. While a thunderous drum and cymbals echoed through the ballroom, a figure in a Buddha-like mask tamed two giant lions into submission. During the second performance, a song by a vocal quartet, members of the group passed out a traditional red envelope, called li xi, to various tables. Typically, the envelope is given to children to mark the beginning of Tet. Red symbolizes good luck and happiness.
New Sellwood Bridge drives students’ learning Mary Breaden Vanguard staff
The big one will hit Portland, earthquake experts say, in only a matter of time. So, for the next two and a half years, Portland’s engineers, a group that includes experts and students within the Portland State community, will work to ensure that the Sellwood Bridge can withstand this natural disaster. Oregon is located in the middle of a subduction zone, where the friction caused by the movement between two overlapping tectonic plates can cause hard-hitting earthquakes. Portland State civil and environmental engineers say a subduction zone earthquake is bound to wreak havoc on Portland’s infrastructure and crossings. “There is no doubt that Oregon
will be hit hard,” said Peter Dusicka, an assistant professor of civil and environmental engineering who conducts tests of infrastructure durability at the iSTAR Laboratory in the Science Research and Teaching Center at PSU. The foundations under the current Sellwood Bridge would be destabilized by such a quake and could collapse under its jolts. At the time of the Sellwood Bridge’s original construction, in 1925, the threat of a 9.0 magnitude earthquake was not a factor in its design, Dusicka said. “Any bridge form can be designed to withstand an earthquake,” he said. “We’ve learned enough from past earthquakes to know our infrastructure was deficient.” © sellwood bridge project
Portland’s Sellwood bridge will be replaced over the next two-and-a-half years to create a bridge that is better able to respond to seismic events. See bridge on page 3