Portland State Vanguard

PORTLAND STATE VANGUARD VOLUME 71 • ISSUE 15 • NOVEMBER 29, 2016

PACIFIC UNIVERSITY

Bryan Lang PT ’13, MHA ’14 Expand your healthcare career by pairing a master of healthcare administration with your degree. Bryan Lang completed a dual degree through Pacific University.

Now he is ...  Owner of Whole Body

Health Physical Therapy in Northwest Portland  Adjunct professor in the

Pacific University School of Physical Therapy  Continuing education

and practice management instructor in the College of Health Professions

800-677-6712 pacificu.edu/heal gradadmissions@pacificu.edu

NEWS INTERNATIONAL OHS EXHIBIT ARTS & CULTURE OPINION EVENTS

4 6 8 10 11 14

COVER DESIGN: TERRA DEHART

STAFF EDITORIAL EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Colleen Leary

DISTRIBUTION & MARKETING MANAGERS Omkar Ghatpande Hrushikesh Apte

ADVERTISING

MANAGING EDITOR Molly Ozier

ADVERTISING MANAGER Madelaine Eivers

NEWS EDITOR Jon Raby

ADVERTISING DESIGNER Sam Hicks

ASSOCIATE NEWS EDITOR Alanna Madden

ADVERTISING SALES Michael Hardy Ilyse Espino

ARTS & CULTURE EDITOR Daniel Finnegan OPINION EDITOR Jennee Martinez COPY CHIEF Thomas Spoelhof COPY EDITORS Jacoba Lawson ONLINE EDITOR Tim Sullivan CONTRIBUTORS Steven Christian Marie Conner Cassie Duncanson Alex-Jon Earl Catherine Johnson John Larson John Pinney Ellena Rosenthal Anamika Vaughan

PHOTO & MULTIMEDIA PHOTO EDITOR Silvia Cardullo MULTIMEDIA MANAGER Andy Ngo

ART DIRECTION & DESIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Arlen Cornejo DESIGNERS Terra DeHart Shannon Kidd Lydia Wojack-West Aaron Osborn MARKETING DESIGNER Skyler Nguyen

ADVISING & ACCOUNTING ADVERTISING ADVISER Ann Roman STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood To contact Vanguard staff members, visit psuvanguard. com/contact.

To get involved and see current job openings, visit psuvanguard.com/jobs Mission Statement The 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 that are highly valued in today’s job market.

About The 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.

PSU'S EDUCATION ABROAD DEPT. ANNOUNCED THE WINNERS FOR ITS ANNUAL INTERNATIONAL PHOTO CONTEST. THIS IS ONE OF THE WINNING PHOTOS, TAKEN IN VALPARAISO, CHILE

BY JUSTIN CHI. TURN TO P. 7 FOR MORE ON THE CONTEST. COURTESY OF PSU EDUCATION ABROAD DEPT.

NEWS

ARAMARK AGREES TO NEW HUMANE ANIMAL TREATMENTS ANAMIKA VAUGHAN

Animal rights activist group The Humane League announced on Nov. 3 the success of its campaign to end the abuses of broiler chickens by food service companies Aramark and Compass Group.

Abuses have been documented as being carried out by both companies, and they have agreed to enforce and require new practices from their suppliers by 2024.

They are the first food service companies in history to adopt such policies with a public timeline.

Aramark is responsible for catering Portland State’s food services across campus, such as University Housing, Smith Memorial Student Union, conferences and events, the Viking Pavilion, University Place Hotel and Conference Center, as well as thousands of other businesses and institutions nationally.

Those advocating for these changes hope to increase the standards for food served on campus. The new policies include phasing out inhumane, fast-growing chicken breeds to improve welfare conditions that meet Global Animal Partnership’s standards and enforcing a 6lbs./sq.ft. stocking density maximum.

GAP is an international nonprofit, self-described on its website for being “recognized as one of the leading animal welfare rating certification programs in North America!”

Additionally, both companies will begin including natural light, hay bales and perches to enrich the chickens’ environment. While approaching the deadline, companies are expected to consult animal welfare organizations to evaluate the quality of all environmental conditions such as air quality, lighting and litter quality. Lastly, they will make sure chickens are humanely

4

AN ARAMARK EMPLOYEE PREPARES FOOD FOR A STUDENT IN GREENS TO GO, ONE OF THE SEVERAL ARAMARK RESTAURANTS LOCATED ON CAMPUS. SILVIA CARDULLO/PSU VANGUARD slaughtered by rendering them unconscious before being shackled upside down for killing.

“We are honored to be the first food service company to pilot a project of this magnitude with GAP, whose integrity and leadership set the highest ethical standards for certification of farm animal welfare,” states Gary Snyder, chief people officer for Compass Group North America, on the company’s website.

The campaign started Sept.

27 and worked in conjunction with university students to protest Aramark’s presence on campus.

“Throughout the campaign, we focused on a couple dozen universities where volunteers launched campus campaigns

to raise awareness and ultimately have Aramark kicked from campus,” said Taylor Ford, corporate campaigns manager at THL. “On the PSU campus, a campus organizer with The Humane League, Lauren Mash, worked to raise the issue on campus by hanging posters, distributing leaflets, and collecting signatures,” Ford said.

Mash also set up an online petition to kick Aramark off PSU’s campus, collecting over 4,500 signatures from PSU students on change.org.

THL had attempted to settle the matter discreetly, but Aramark declined, Ford said.

“Aramark refused to respond to our emails or calls and discuss the policy request privately,” Ford

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 29 2016 • psuvanguard.com

said. “While we would’ve liked to have the opportunity to discuss the issue with Aramark privately, we were happy to see the company listen to the hundreds of students that spoke out in the campaign.”

Before the campaign, Aramark’s animal welfare policy followed the “Five Freedoms” standard set by the Farm Animal Welfare Committee. The five freedoms included freedom from hunger and thirst, freedom from discomfort, freedom from pain, injury and disease, freedom to express normal behavior, and freedom from fear and distress.

“The policy covered the care and treatment of farm animals, including rapid growth, confinement and

painful procedures,” said Karen Cutler, vice president of Corporate Communications at Aramark, who responded on behalf of PSU Dining.

“As part of our ongoing collaboration with our partners, the Humane Society of the U.S., Compassion in World Farming, Global Animal Partnership, industry experts, suppliers and academics, as well as our Sustainable Sourcing Advisory Panel, we have been working since last summer to expand our commitments in this area,” Cutler said.

“The Five Freedoms of animal welfare are a good guideline, but do not distinctly lay out requirements for companies to adhere to once

implemented,” Ford said.

“Unfortunately, these results [hold] very little significant improvement in the company’s welfare standards.

The policy we requested of Aramark had specific action items laid out to address welfare concerns with timelines to do so.”

Though THL is pleased with the results, the campaign has not officially ended. Members of THL have placed a moratorium on its efforts for now but plans to keep a close eye on Aramark. If they do not adhere to the timeline, THL promises to relaunch and escalate its operation against the animal abuses, which Aramark and Compass group have agreed to end.

NEWS

SFC MEETS WITH WIEWEL, DISCUSSES FEE INCREASE JON RABY

PRESIDENT WIM WIEWEL DURING A STUDENT MEDIA PRESS CONFERENCE IN SPRING 2015. ANH DUC DO/VANGUARD ARCHIVES

The Student Fee Committee—a part of Portland State's student government— is likely to request an $18-perterm increase (8.1 percent) to the Student Incidental Fee, which was $221 for the fall term at 12 credits, due to a $1.2 million shortfall for the year.

On Nov. 22, SFC members met with PSU President Wim Wiewel. The initial purpose of the meeting was a meet and greet, which would normally happen sometime in June.

At this later stage, new and returning SFC members discussed, the more serious topic of the Student Incidental Fee budget. Wiewel offered both his opinion and his perspective on how the university presents its own fee challenges to university students.

Wiewel, whose office ultimately would need to approve the request for an

increase, had concerns that students might face both tuition and Incidental Fee increases. He also said he understands the need for more funding and talked further of financial impacts on the school as a whole, pointing to lower enrollment, an expected cut or flatline of state funding and increases in wages on campus.

In terms of reserve funding, Wiewel suggested not using reserves as a one-time fix for shortfalls this year. Every self-supporting operation on campus attempts to create its own reserve funds, but the use of these reserves are geared at maintenance and possible expansion down the road.

On the other hand, Wiewel said, “In principle you don’t want to be building up big reserves in any one part of the university when we are looking for every dime everywhere else.”

The SFC is looking at possibly lowering the Student Building Fee, which runs $45 per term, in an effort to offset the Incidental Fee increase.

The Building Fee could run as low as a $180,000 surplus per term, which is required to pay down a debt of more than $4.2 million. An 18 percent cut was discussed, which would be $8 per term, but this was a rough number which was only being explored.

Jemila Mohamed, chair of the SFC, explained that the debt was “taken on over a few decades to cover various aspects of the school.” These are not loans that the current SFC approved, but instead a deficit from past committees.

At the current rate, this debt will not be paid off until 2037.

Members are also looking at different fee options including charging a flat rate for students taking over six credits,

rather than per credit up to 12, as it works now. Currently, no matter the cost of a student’s Incidental Fee, they receive full use of all benefits it provides.

A recommendation to raise or lower fees must be submitted to the Board of Trustees

by Dec. 31.

The SFC oversees the spending of both the Building Fee and the Incidental Fee. The Incidental Fee in total generates $14–15 million per year, which the SFC disperses.

Wiewel praised the members of the SFC for thinking the issue through thoroughly and for their consideration of students with the various options they are exploring. “[The SFC is] the most impactful committee, because you’re spending real money, and it really makes a huge difference,” Wiewel said. “It’s such an integral part of what goes on at the campus.”

Crime blotter Nov. 22-27 JOAN BROWN

Nov. 22 Suspicious person–Trespass Blumel Hall A suspicious male hung out in the lobby for about an hour making awkward conversation and watching news. He also walked around the residence hall and knocked on the door of at least one female student. He is described as black, about 5’10”, 220 pounds, mid twenties, bald and one eyebrow shaved through. Campus Public Safety officers went through the entire building, including stairwells and trash rooms, but were unable to locate the male.

Fraud Portland to New York A Portland State student sent $1550 to someone in New York for an apartment here.

Nov. 25 Theft from motor vehicle Parking Structure 2 Several items were stolen from a vehicle between 8:30 p.m. and 8:30 a.m.

Nov. 23

Nov. 27

Disorderly conduct Academic & Student Recreation Center Fight on the basketball court! Two students got into a verbal argument then one student grabbed the other and threw him to the ground.

Hotel eviction University Place After a number of noise complaints throughout the night were made to hotel management, CPS officers evicted two males and two females from a room.

Exclusion–Trespass Blumel Hall A non-PSU student was found on the third floor. Slightly confused, she believed she was at another address. CPS officers suspect she was the subject of a recent call of a female in the Stephen Epler Building. The woman accepted a courtesy transport to her intended address.

Disorderly conduct University Pointe A male student reported that he and a female student had been threatened by a man with a knife. Later the male student stated there may not have been a knife. The non-student male was identified. CPS officers followed him to his tent, where he stated he did not have a knife, and officers let him go for the time being. Afterwards, CPS determined the man had a misdemeanor warrant for trespass.

Criminal damage Ondine exterior car park A rear passenger door window was smashed in the parked car of a student who was out of town. On request for safe keeping, CPS officers removed a set of golf clubs and a camera from the trunk.

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

5

INTERNATIONAL NEWS

OIL & WATER

ON STANDING ROCK PROTESTS & HOW THE PSU COMMUNITY IS GETTING INVOLVED ALEX-JON EARL AND ELLENA ROSENTHAL

THE DAKOTA ACCESS PIPELINE BY THE MISSOURI RIVER. COURTESY OF USER PAULETTE MOORE THROUGH VIMEO In the early dusk of Nov. 20, a large stream of water arched over a heavily fortified barrier and began to soak the people assembled on the other side. The action was undertaken by security forces in service of the companies building the contentious Dakota Access Pipeline, and it was done so on purpose. It was done in spite of the freezing cold and the unarmed nature of the people who call themselves water protectors.

This scene has played out for months, ever since members of the Standing Rock Sioux tribe established the first camp on April 1 of this year. The first water protectors, led by LaDonna Brave Bull Allard, made camp in the path of the project in order to draw attention to the environmental risks and the

6

treaty violations related to the project that undermine the Standing Rock Sioux tribe’s status as a sovereign nation. In the months since then there have been thousands of water protectors in residence at several camps near the place where the Dakota Access Pipeline is set to cross under the Missouri River at Lake Oahe.

The Standing Rock Sioux tribe contends that the pipeline violates the 1851 and 1868 treaties that established the Standing Rock Sioux Reservation, but the builders of the Dakota Access Pipeline insist they have the required permits and are currently continuing work in line with the expectation that they have every right to do so. As recently as Nov. 22 Energy Transfer Partners, the com-

pany behind the pipeline, filed an application for a second pipeline to connect the Epping Transmission Company site with the gathering facility.

CONDEMNATION WIDESPREAD, BUT POLITICS MUDDIES THE WATER

Condemnation of the Dakota Access Pipeline construction has been widespread. Messages in support of the water protectors have come in from across the globe, including attention from the United Nations and expressions of solidarity from places as far away as Mongolia.

Stateside, politicians like Senator Bernie Sanders have been vocal since the early days of the protest, but others have been more cautious. As a candidate for president, former Secretary

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

of State Hillary Clinton offered support to water protectors, but nonetheless called for “all voices…all views” to be considered, including those of the pipeline builders.

President Obama has been less cautious and has also urged both sides to be considered. In a statement released on Nov. 2, President Obama stated that he would like “to let it play out for several more weeks and determine whether or not this can be resolved in a way that I think is properly attentive to the traditions of [indigenous peoples],” but has yet to use legal force to protect water protectors or enforce treaty rights.

PORTLAND STATE AT STANDING ROCK

Portland State students have been water protectors

since the early days of the protest, and several are still holding space and providing transportation for supplies to the camps. Monty Herron, of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Umpqua, Chinook, and Rogue River/ Takelma, an adjunct professor with the School of Gender, Race and Nations and Indigenous Nations Studies says that, through prayer, it was determined that the best way to help was to “[answer the] Creator’s call to assist the Oceti Sakowin Nations in their call for help.”

Theresa Smith is in the American Indian Teacher Preparation program at PSU and a member of the Confederate Tribes of Siletz.

Smith is a student teacher at Metropolitan Learning Center in Portland. She and other teachers at the school

are using Standing Rock as a way to show students a proactive model of protesting. “We talk about the whole non-violence stance of Standing Rock, and how the chairman of Standing Rock has called for nonviolence and protection of the waters,” Smith said.

Smith said that she puts focus on the different things that are being protected at Standing Rock.

After President-elect Donald Trump won the electoral college and lost the popular vote, people in Portland took to the streets and protested as they are still doing today. Smith said the noises she heard during those first days almost reminded her of a war zone. “Hearing those helicopters, the shots and not knowing what’s going on, Portland got a little

INTERNATIONAL taste of Standing Rock and what it’s been like there for months,” she said.

Smith said that her heart is at Standing Rock, and that it’s very hard to concentrate in school.

“It is my obligation to stay connected to what my friends and family are doing there, like how they are,” Smith said. “They are in jail. There have been shots fired, and we are all scared that someone is going to die there.”

Smith wishes she could go there, but with school and her family, she’s not able to make the trip at this time.

“My mind is there, constantly, my heart is there as well,” she said.

Smith stressed that what the Natives are doing now at Standing Rock is not just for them, that it’s for the seventh generation. “If we allow the pipeline to go under the river and it doesn’t burst in our lifetime or in our children’s lifetime, it will burst eventually,” Smith said.

“We just want to be the people that they know fought for them,” Smith said.

“We have this clean water because of their fight, if we don’t fight and it bursts, it’s their mess to clean up. We think ahead.”

Professors at PSU are using Standing Rock Curriculum to help aid classroom discussions and learning.

One curriculum, titled NYC STANDS WITH STANDING ROCK, lists the timeline of United States settler colonialism and Oceti Sakowin Oyate Territory and Treaty Boundaries 1851–present as things people will find within the content. Key terms listed in the curriculum are things like capitalism, dispossession, Doctrine of Discovery, environmental racism, gender violence and Indian Wars.

Judy BlueHorse Skelton, of the Nez Perce/Cherokee nations, is a senior instructor II in the college of Indigenous Nations Studies at PSU and teaches classes like Intro to Native American Studies, Environmental Sustainability—Indigenous Practices, and Indigenous Women Leaders. Skelton

said her syllabus, especially this term, recognizes that there’s no shortage of contemporary issues in “Indian Country” to examine and learn from.

“We can look at Malheur, which makes strong examples and are central to the basic themes in the courses that I am teaching,” Skelton said. “My syllabus design is very fluid and includes events that are hosted around Portland, along with current events.”

Skelton and other professors at PSU are thinking of ideas to give students credit for taking a trip to Standing Rock in the terms ahead.

Events have been held throughout campus. Last week, Indigenous Nations Studies program hosted a Standing Rock Teach-In for students and faculty members.

The United Indigenous Students in Higher Education student organization at PSU has also been working hard with the water protectors, assisting in supply drives and working to draft

statements in support of the water protectors and against the Dakota Access Pipeline.

UISHE’s most recent delivery of supplies went out on Nov. 16 and arrived on Nov. 18.

Herron calls the experience at Standing Rock a “gamechanger, once-in-a-lifetime experience” that changes the way he views the issues facing First Nations, including “[the] de rigeur violation of treaties, and complete lack of cooperation with local and federal governments.”

BEYOND STANDING ROCK

The current standoff at Standing Rock is not the only contemporary issue of indigenous resistance to environmental degradation and abrogation of treaty rights.

In the Pacific Northwest a steady stream of protests by tribes has been prompted by numerous issues related to extractive industries. In the north end of the Salish Sea, which contains the Puget Sound, the Lummi Tribe has been fighting against a fossil fuel terminal for years. Closer to Portland,

the Puyallup are now raising the alarm on a proposed liquefied natural gas terminal. In places like the Columbia River Gorge there have been frequent protests against coal and oil transport by rail, especially after a recent explosion rocked Mosier, Oregon.

Because water does not obey borders the issue has become international. Most famously this was seen in the Keystone XL pipeline fight, a situation that increased international tensions between the United States and Canada that persisted into the new administration of Justin Trudeau. Additionally, Prime Minister Trudeau has signaled that he will continue to work on new pipeline and extraction permits, in spite of calls by indigenous peoples to resist efforts to build them.

Nevertheless, the water protectors press on, and they bring their message to PSU. “It has been my honor to be invited to speak to various student and community groups to give a first-hand account of what is happen-

ing in Standing Rock, and why it is happening,” Herron said. “Native people are mobilizing everywhere to say it’s not OK anymore. We will self-determine our future; we are taking back our narrative as a people.”

After 250 days, the water protectors are still facing down fire hoses, dogs, nonlethal rounds and temperatures plunging into the low 20s, but they have not signaled any willingness to end their defense of Standing Rock lands and the Missouri River, nor have they ceded an inch in negotiations, even in the face of an Army Corps of Engineers demand that they leave by Dec. 5. With support pouring in from across the globe, it does not look like they will stop.

To the water protectors the phrase, “mni wiconi”— water is life—is one worth fighting for.

In the next installment of this series we will look at the international implications of this fight and other environmental struggles by indigenous peoples worldwide.

EDUCATION ABROAD DEPT ANNOUNCES PHOTO CONTEST WINNER VANGUARD STAFF

The Portland State Education Abroad program recently announced the winners for its 12th annual International Photo Contest. The contest is open to students who have traveled and studied abroad through PSU. The three winners were selected by the number of likes each photo received on the department’s Facebook page. Winners included Jasmin Landa in Osaka, Japan; Justin Chi, in Valparaiso, Chile; and staff pick Drew Beglau in the Sahara Desert, Morocco.

Visit psuvanguard.com to see all three of this year’s winning photos. Past winning photos can be found in the Education Abroad’s Flickr photostream.

DREW BEGLAU WAS THE PSU EDUCATION ABROAD STAFF PICK WINNER FOR THIS PHOTO TAKEN IN THE SAHARA DESERT, MOROCCO. COURTESY OF PSU EDUCATION ABROAD DEPARTMENT

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

7

OPINION FEATURE

REELING IN THE PRESENT, REVISITING THE PAST

‘DEMOCRACY’S BLUEPRINTS’ EXHIBIT EXAMINES CURRENT POLITICS THROUGH FOUNDING DOCUMENTS CATHERINE JOHNSON

BROADSIDE OF THE MAGNA CARTA, PRINTED IN 1733 ON VELLUM. COURTESY OF MARK FAMILY COLLECTION

BROADSIDE OF THE MONROE DOCTRINE, 1823. COURTESY OF MARK FAMILY COLLECTION

EARLY PRINTING OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION; PAMPHLET PRINTING DONE IN PHILADELPHIA BY HALL & SELLERS, 1787. COURTESY OF MARK FAMILY COLLECTION

As the country continues to reel from the results of the presidential election, some have been inspired to reacquaint themselves with America’s founding documents. The Oregon Historical Society’s current exhibit “Democracy’s Blueprints” aims to do exactly that.

“We figured in this election year, it would be good to put up the documents of democracy in hopes that people would read them and realize what the Constitution says,” said Kerry Tymchuk, executive director of the OHS. “This is the only

“What we mean by original can change quite a bit,” Gifford said. “[The Magna Carta] was reissued a bunch of times over the course of the 1200s.”

tory, despite Hillary Clinton winning the popular vote, Gifford said one of the questions she gets most is regarding the Electoral College.

Chris Shortell, chair of the Political Science department at Portland State, has also observed a resurgence of interest in how government works.

“It happens in close elections where people start looking at things like the Electoral College and start paying attention to the structural aspects of American politics in a way they had not previously,” Shortell said.

8

place outside the National Archives in Washington where you can see these documents together.”

The documents on display are the Magna Carta, Declaration of Independence, U.S. Constitution, Bill of Rights, and Monroe Doctrine.

They aren’t the originals, but Tymchuk noted that they’re about as close to the originals as you can get. And Dr. Laura Gifford, an American historian and museum docent who wrote the gallery’s background material, explained that the notion of an “original” is actually complicated.

THE MAGNA CARTA

Initially, the Magna Carta was a kind of peace treaty between England’s King John (of Robin Hood lore) and the rebel barons who were offended by his inability to govern. But King John rescinded it several months later, and it wasn’t reissued until after his death when his son took the throne and did so as

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 29 2016 • psuvanguard.com

a gesture of commitment to the English people. Over the years that followed, it was altered and reissued by other kings too.

“The way the Magna Carta has developed today as one of these pinnacles of representative government is true, and yet there is so much more complexity to that story,” Gifford said. “What does original mean? That’s not always as clear cut as we might think.”

ELECTORAL COLLEGE

In light of Donald Trump’s recent presidential vic-

“There are some quirks and oddities that are not immediately obvious to understand and those circumstances usually involve a reference back to those original documents.”

The Electoral College is described in Article II, Section 1, Clause 3 of the Constitution, and was later altered by the Twelfth Amendment. In response to questions about this process, Gifford first clarifies something that may surprise most of us: members of the founding generation were actually uncomfortable with the notion of democracy.

FEATURE OPINION FEATURE FOR THE PEOPLE, FOR THE GOVERNMENT

“They weren’t trying to establish a democracy." Gifford said. They were trying to establish a republic. In the eighteenth century mindset, democracy indicated mob rule, that anyone would have an equal voice and chaos would ensue. They wanted enlightened government by the people who were best situated to do that.”

At the time, the people considered best situated were white, property-owning males, and there were checks placed upon the influence of broader society on the government. The Electoral College was one such check.

And yet, the level of discomfort with how much power the people had also varied among the politicians of the day, specifically between the Federalists, who believed in a strong central federal government, and the Anti-Federalists, who wanted power devolved down to citizens.

“If you don’t know all of your constituents, can you really represent them?"

Shortell said, "That was part of the Anti-Federalists concern.”

“Democracy’s Blueprints” also illustrates how power has ebbed and flowed among various branches of the government over time. For example, executive power increased under George Washington, Abraham Lincoln, and Franklin D. Roosevelt.

But looking at these documents doesn’t just reveal a story about power struggles; there’s a story of compromise too, and the Electoral College is an example. It was actually created as a compromise between allowing Congress to solely determine the president of the United States and allowing the people to decide.

“The Electoral College was a way of operating at a remove, and it also allowed more smaller states and larger states to have different levels of influence, but for everybody to have some level of influence,” Gifford said.

The Bill of Rights was another attempt at balancing the power of the government with that of the people, and was meant to appease the Anti-Federalists’ concerns about the government having too much control.

While the existence of the Electoral College continues to spark debate,

both Shortell and Gifford agreed it’s very unlikely that it will disappear.

“A constitutional amendment would require three quarters of the states to agree that it’s time for the EC to go,” Gifford said.

“Something significant in the composition of the national electorate would have to change in order for that to happen.”

The opportunity to see these documents at the OHS is due in large part to Melvin “Pete” Mark, a local commercial real estate tycoon, philanthropist, and recipient of Portland State's 2011 Simon Benson Award.

Mark has been acquiring presidential documents and national treasures for 50 years, and this is the first time he has shared these artifacts from his private collection with the general public.

“His documents and artifacts allow us to tell the grander story of U.S. history, and then we try to work in Oregon history as well,” Tymchuk said.

This is the fourth exhibit that the OHS has constructed with pieces from

EARLY RESPONSE

So far, the response has been overwhelmingly positive. Accompanying a replica of the U.S. Constitution is a stand full of copies of the document that visitors are encouraged to take home with them. Tymchuk said they’ve

BROADSIDE OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, REPRODUCED BY WILLIAM J. STONE IN 1823, COURTESY OF MARK FAMILY COLLECTION Mark’s private collection, and they plan to do one each year for the next ten years. Next spring, OHS will celebrate the centennial of John F. Kennedy’s birth with another exhibit, opening on St. Patrick’s Day, featuring more items from Mark’s private collection.

had to refill it constantly.

“It’s a great thing. People are taking [the Constitution] and reading it and knowing what it is," Tymchuk said.

“I’ve seen a lot of families come through and parents telling their kids about it.”

In addition to these five primary “blueprints,” the

exhibit boasts other documents, such as letters from George Washington, a message from James Madison, and Thomas Jefferson’s 1801 Inaugural Address, which is significant because his election marked the first transfer of power from one party to another after a divisive campaign. If that sounds familiar, it’s meant to.

It’s clear from “Democracy’s Blueprints” that problems

plaguing the founding generation continue to challenge us today, such as debate over the meaning of the Second Amendment or immigration and what it means to be a citizen.

At several points in the exhibit, the recent incident at the Malheur National Wildlife Refuge is mentioned as an example of how we continue to argue about the federal government’s claim to land as outlined in the U.S. Constitution’s Property Clause.

And just as the Federalists and Anti-Federalists argued over the role and size of the federal government, the same question is hotly contested among all parties now.

Gifford hopes that patrons will think about things like representation in government, a concept born in the Magna Carta and carried over to our own documents, or the peaceful transfer of power.

UNDERSTANDING OUR FOUNDATION

“[The exhibit] is an opportunity to think about things we take for granted,” Gifford said. “And that’s even more intriguing and complicated in light of the contemporary political context. There’s a lot we just assume as part of our structure and don’t really question or examine that which was at one point contingent.”

A document like the Bill of Rights might never have come to be if some states hadn’t insisted that it was legitimate and necessary, and that the Constitution needed additional safeguards even though others argued it was fine and implicitly protected people’s rights.

“We take it for granted now that they would need to be spelled out, or that it makes us more comfortable that they’re spelled out,” Gifford said. “I think it’s valuable in restoring some perspective and helping us appreciate in a lot of ways what we do have, even as we continue to have concerns or frustrations or hopes, that the process continues.”

Helping the general public better understand this process and where we’ve come from is what “Democracy’s Blueprints” is all about.

“I hope people will take away an appreciation of democracy and what it means,” Tymchuk said. “And also the constant challenges we’ve had over the years as we’ve built democracy. Everything is still as relevant today as it was two hundred years ago.

And history does tend to repeat itself.”

If that isn’t comforting, perhaps museum-goers will find solace in another, older adage that this exhibit invites us to remember: “This too shall pass.”

The OHS Museum is free for educational groups and Multnomah County residents.

“Democracy’s Blueprints” is open until February 1, 2017.

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

9

ARTS & CULTURE OPINION FEATURE

STUDENTS WRITE AND RECORD PODCASTS WITH KBOO RADIO CASSIE DUNCANSON

In Catherine McNeur’s HST 411/511 course Public History Lab: Podcasts and History, students are recording their own podcasts. The title of their project? “This Week, Back Then.”

The idea for the class arose after Professor McNeur taught HST 411/511: Public History Lab: Heritage Trees.

The class looked into the history of Portland’s trees in an effort to help expand information on Portland’s Heritage Tree program. To that end, students created projects to disseminate their findings to the public. Some students found that the best way to get their research out there was in the form of a podcast.

Local radio station 90.7 KBOO partnered with Professor McNeur and her class. Students received training in audio production at the studio, and they had the opportunity to video call with staff involved in history related podcasts.

They discussed just how much work goes into crafting a podcast—from creating topics to the logistics of get-

10

ting the episode on the radio.

Undergraduates spent time crafting and producing two podcasts while graduate students worked on three.

With an emphasis, but by no means exclusive focus on local history, students tackled many different challenges in piecing together a final project. They scoured archival documents, looked for secondary sources and investigated photo rights.

Topics ranged from the 1960 bombing of vans carrying copies of the Oregonian and the Oregon Journal to the Hyers sisters–African American pioneers of musical theater—to the 1962 birth of Packy the elephant at the Portland Zoo. Students recorded their

ILLUSTRATION BY SHANNON KIDD podcasts at KBOO with the help of Erin Yanke, program director and youth advocate for the station. While crafting their episodes, students also worked on creating corresponding blogs for crossmedia promotion.

The blogs enabled students to reach an even greater audience and provided multimodal ways of experiencing history. The multi-platform structure of the course allowed students to be involved

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 29 2016 • psuvanguard.com

in a variety of ways in the podcast production. Students were divided up like a typical staff-led environment—working as contributors, managers and even fact checkers.

For some students, the challenge was directing their research and finding a broad audience.

In particular, Taylor Bailey, a second-year graduate student in the history department noted, “You can’t simply…write a paper for your professor and record

what you’ve written. You must write with a radio audience in mind, and that means avoiding academic jargon, constructing clearer sentences, and being more aware of how things will sound rather than how things look on paper.”

Bailey, for his master’s program, pays particular attention to animal and environmental history. His episodes focused on related topics including the 1967 Supreme Court case Udall v. Federal Power Commission. The court case was responsible for placing a temporary halt on the High Mountain Sheep Dam from being built on the Snake River, the body of water that separates Oregon from Idaho.

Undergraduate Evan Smiley recalled the benefits of the class: “It’ll make you go outside of your comfort zone and challenge you in ways you don’t always expect. And at the end you’ll have a unique project to put on your resume.” While Smiley focused on topics that took place decades ago, they are still prevalent today: the decriminalization of homosexuality in Oregon and the Black United Front’s protests against the Portland School Board in 1982.

On choosing to focus on these topics, Smiley remarked, “I chose both historical events because they were local to Oregon and involved topics such as systematic oppression and institutional racism, which are still highly discussed today.”

If interested in learning that Packy was available for viewing six hours after his birth, what the Hyers sisters were doing in San Francisco, or perhaps about the mid 20th century Portland crime boss Jim Elkins, tune in to KBOO. The podcasts will begin broadcasting in January next year.

OPINION

FINDING HOPE AND SAFETY ON OUR SANCTUARY CAMPUS TalkFest

by Marie Conner

Everything feels different now. I’m not sure how to clearly define it, but everything is most certainly different.

Our fundamental values have been shaken enough to cause many of us examine our own beliefs. Our country is divided and busying itself with questioning integrity when the real inquiry should focus on ethics. Families are drawing lines in the sand over ideals and scruples and what each person considers right or wrong.

The recent presidential election weighs heavy on the heads and hearts of Americans—especially now that it’s over. Since I reached voting age, no election has been as contentious, with both candidates trailing a backlog of unsavory decisions.

Social media has exploded with stories and memes degrading one side or the other. We have seen the streets all over the United States heaving with thousands of demonstrators protesting the outcome of the election and the possibility of a future we are petrified to envision.

Worst of all, we have been witness to countless intolerant citizens spewing hate and threats of violence at one another.

Yes, even here in hyper-liberal Portland.

Our city has a reputation for being open-minded and accepting. Sights such as Darth Vader riding a unicycle while playing flaming bagpipes don’t phase us one bit. We embrace eccentricity and live by our motto to “Keep Portland Weird.”

People love living in Portland partially because we can be whoever we want, without judgment. That’s why I was so surprised to experience a public display of hate-vomit from a welldressed middle-aged man downtown recently. He was yelling “Go home! You don’t belong here anymore! God bless America!

Make America great again!” at a group of mixed-ethnicity youth who were crossing the street.

They were shocked and laughed nervously as they kept walking. He followed and continued his litany of insults. To engage or not to engage: that was the question. I did, catching the verbal assaulter off guard long enough for the kids to be on their way.

This is the world we live in now.

While we grapple with the decision of whether it is better to be a bystander or a participant in this political upheaval, it’s important to support each other however we can.

Portland State and Reed College have both announced that they are sanctuary campuses. PSU President Wim Wiewel issued a statement to faculty, staff and students de-

ILLUSTRATION BY AARON OSBORN claring the university “a sanctuary campus dedicated to the principles of equity, diversity and safety.” If you’re wondering what exactly that means for students, Wiewel decreed a “commitment to the protection and support of all PSU students, in response to concerns about possible immigration law changes.”

The major point made in his statement has received a lot of backlash: “The Portland State University Campus Public Safety Office does not and will not enforce federal immigration laws as is required by state law.”

This is a controversial stance that supports PSU’s sustainable and inclusive mission while disregarding federal law.

State schools are largely funded by the federal government.

However, that doesn’t mean we should just roll over and do what we are told. If we don’t stand up to support each other, who will?

If our community members, no matter their race, sexual orientation or cultural background, cannot turn to each other for safe harbor, how far are we from a real breach in our society?

We as a people are not made up of laws but of individuality, each with our own stories and backgrounds.

That is what makes America great.

All this is to say: We need to act like humans, not like policies. We need to remember that neighbors on all sides are fundamentally similar: We get out of bed each morning, make breakfast and kiss our loved ones goodbye before we head out the door.

Things are a changin’, that is for sure. Whether for better or worse, remains to be seen.

Right now our country’s divided mentality might feel like the beginning of the apocalypse, but never forget that we have sanctuary in each other.

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

11

OPINION FEATURE

DIVIDE AND AUTOMATE A WORLD OVERRUN BY ROBOTS Thinking Upstream

by Jon Larson

ILLUSTRATION BY LYDIA WOJACK-WEST As a species, we are poised at the brink of a transformation unlike any before.

The ancestor of this coming metamorphosis was not political or philosophical in nature; it did not emerge from the ashes of the American Revolution or the Bolshevik’s, nor did it germinate from the teachings of Jesus, Buddha or Muhammad.

The predecessor to the singularity we so boldly march toward was something far more primordial, far more tangible.

It was industrial.

The last three industrial revolutions transformed the fabric of human civilization: The first, borne of steam and coal, powered newly invented machinery and catalyzed both demand and consumption on every continent; the second, characterized by steel and electricity, forged a future of mass-production and assembly lines, the internal combustion engine and the radio; the third, marked by the proliferation of computer technology and the dramatic introduction of the internet, digitized the world and enabled unprecedented technological collaborations.

On the brink of this “Fourth Industrial Revolution,” challenges arise which have only been imagined in science fiction, along with questions posed to a collective humanity whose answers will determine the rise or fall of human societies. While

12

technological and financial globalization has further connected a world of distinct and disparate peoples, our inequalities, once thought solvent by our earlier industrialization, continue to deepen.

In the past, automation was believed to create more jobs than it replaced, but as artificial intelligence expert Nils Nilsson of Stanford University puts it, “This time is different.”

While previous innovations sought to disrupt markets, the coming culmination of breakthroughs in artificial intelligence, biotechnology, robotics and energy sciences will not merely interrupt global trade—they will revise the very composition and constitution of human civilization. This time around, we will not be able to escape the long-asked and now urgent inquiries into the structure of civil society, the nature of our governments, and the necessity of a social floor.

The rupturing of entire sectors will lead to a phenomenon known as technological unemployment. Historically, supplyside economists have used this concept to advocate for lower or abolished minimum wages, whereas labor unions and proletarians on the other side of the table have become increasingly anxious about their share of the pie. A report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development has shown that since the 1980s, while the conventional split of

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 29 2016 • psuvanguard.com

profit is around a 2:1 reinvestment allocated between labor and capital, labor’s share of the pie has begun to shrink. Through automation, labor costs can be offset, if not entirely substituted, by capital.

Exacerbating the coming challenge, the institutions designed to protect labor and consumer rights (FCC, DOJ, FTC, SEC, etc.) have done an absolutely miserable job. Corporate mergers and acquisitions have consolidated entire markets into a handful of unbelievably powerful mega-corporations— what happens when these corporations, with the capital necessary to invest in automation, create an entry barrier so high that no small business could ever compete? Ten companies control virtually everything we eat and a mere six own more than 90 percent of American media: Are we naive enough to believe that profit-driven companies have any incentive to selflimit their productivity or growth for the sake of the worker?

The scale at which we discuss this issue is global: Economically, the Fourth Industrial Revolution is expected to be labor-replacing. What will we do when 50 percent of workers—an optimistic estimate—become unemployed by the end of the century? Coupled with the virtual promise of catastrophic climate change, it becomes increasingly clear that our political systems are outdated, perpetuating an unsustain-

OPINION able and even obsolete manner of governance and living. Our true political challenge will be balancing automation and environmental protection while ensuring rights to all, so that all may flourish under this new era of hyper-productivity. If capitalism’s path is trimmed toward sustainability and humanism in the coming economy, it could be considered the victory of capitalism, with all being afforded basic income and a chance to better the world. Should we fail? The poor will be left to rot, millions will be born into unthinkable environmental decimation, and class struggle will boil into constant violence.

LABOR’S EXTINCTION EVENT?

MIT professors Erik Brynjolfsson and Andrew McAfee argue that the coming revolution poses an exponential threat to millions, if not billions, of human beings. Optimistically, a supply-side technological dream come true could potentially create a utopian “end of work” scenario, with humans free to pursue non-routine activities, laborious only if desired.

Unfortunately, the short and sanguinary history of the human species suggests it probably won’t go this way. Neverbefore-seen advancements in a wide spectrum of collaborative technological fields will fundamentally change our way of life—but for whom, specifically? As robots replace workers faster than our economy can bear, a universal basic income, coupled with a strong and totally reformed education system, could do a tremendous deal for promoting equity. If such steps aren’t taken, we will quite literally leave half of the human race behind, punishing them for not studying computer science at a prestigious university.

The first wave of automation is already upon us, with Oxford Martin School’s Programme on the Impacts of Future Technology reporting that 45 percent of America’s occupations will be automated in the next 20 years. If you think it’s only low-skilled labor that will be replaced, you’re in for a nasty surprise. Automation has already been deployed in the legal profession and the medical field, with some studies suggesting that 80 percent of what doctors do could be automated by advanced diagnostic analytics and supercomputers.

The price of computing is falling—rapidly. Companies that pay a zero percent or lower effective tax rate continue to invest in automation, all while public infrastructure crumbles and millions are without access to health care. It begs the ultimate philosophical question of our economy: Is it for the consumers or the shareholders? Beyond that, we have spent far too long moralizing capitalism; with the planet and the worth of human life facing existential threats, the coming Fourth Industrial Revolution must arrive simultaneously with a moral and civil revolution against international greed.

them ideological framework, wherein the value and prosperity of human life is contingent upon their nationality.

The election of Donald Trump is evidence enough of the liveliness of American nationalist populism, which stakes itself on an identity claiming victimization by the movement of labor out of the United States. Much to the dismay of partisans and demagogues on both sides, labor movement out of the country will seem like small potatoes next to the coming wave of robotization.

The national identity that serves as a bedrock for political action and movement has long been perpetuated by an oligarchic cultural and political elite, who, like all in the electorate, claim that their policies have helped grow American jobs. This election alone has shown the return of economic nationalism as a publicly solvent position—but what happens when the very underpinnings of nationalism unravel?

Our own nationalities and the economic anxieties that constitute them will soon be outflanked by an identity shaped by the common experience of robotic replacement. Bickering about jobs outsourced to other nations is pointless: Whether you’re an American, Chinese or Mexican manufacturer, the person who will ultimately replace you won’t be a person at all.

Trade deficits make working-class citizens furious. Seeing millions of manufacturing, tech and electronic jobs leave the

country in all 50 states has set off a nationalistic powderkeg. It’s another classic example of workers being set upon one another, blaming foreign powers for the decisions of private sector heuristics and our own congress. If you’ve decided to hate another race or nationality of people because you think they stole your job, you might want to stop burning that bridge. In the future, nationalistic division of labor will seem ridiculous. Robots aren’t naturalized into nationality, and the companies that own them often operate internationally.

Better yet is that machines, as far as we can ascertain, don’t strike or protest. Unless the coming revolution is managed carefully, workers of the world might not even have their chains to lose. President-elect Donald Trump’s promise to bring manufacturing jobs back from China and Mexico are unfulfillable: By the time his protectionist agenda begins affecting the economy, companies will have already started dumping capital into automation and replacing the need for low-skilled human labor with versatile automation.

Creating two distinct nations in the United States is a tangible possibility: One would be rich beyond belief, trained, educated and employed; the other, a vague shadow of past generations, poor, unemployable, suffering from a newfound human obsolescence.

RAGE WITH THE MACHINE

As wealth is decoupled from work, like productivity from employment, we are faced by unique political questions and challenges. So what, then, do we do? Brynjolfsson suggests we race with the machine rather than against. Instead of taking the path of the Luddites—19th century English textile workers who destroyed the machinery that threatened to replace them—we need to do the opposite.

Pitting proletarians against technological progress will do nothing but inflame global conflict and entrench oligarchs, providing justification for the continued replacement of labor and for wage suppression. Instead, we ought to capitalize on the rapid growth of wealth and income by revolutionizing not only our institutions of labor but all of our social institutions. With the nature of work accelerating towards machine intelligence, we should invest in educating a new generation of leaders for the new global economy. In line again with Brynjolfsson’s thinking, human beings need to complement themselves with computerization—we quite literally have no other option.

THE LIFESPAN OF HUMAN LABOR

Economic nationalism, a relatively nationalistic belief in theory, was a point even taken up by the ever-popular Bernie Sanders. In layman’s terms, it describes a policy of economic protectionism, restricting the movement of labor and implementing tariffs and taxes with the intent of promoting domestic prosperity. Unfortunately, the nationalistic element that this concept preys upon finds its foundation in a divisive us vs.

ILLUSTRATION BY LYDIA WOJACK-WEST

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

13

OP-ED EVENTS OPINION FEATURE

No Cost & Private STD / STI Testing for chlamydia, gonorrhea, & trichomonas Participants Receive $50 Molecular Testing Labs is developing and validating a self-collection kit for screening sexually transmitted infections (STIs) and is looking for female only study participants.

All participants will receive an STI panel at no cost with $50 compensation which includes testing for:   

Gonorrhea Chlamydia Trichomonas

The entire visit should take no more than 15 mins to complete (please allow for 30 mins to be safe).

Compensation is provided as cash immediately at the time of the study. Results provided confidentially through SHAC within a few days.

In order to receive compensation, all participants will be expected to provide urine and vaginal swabs.

You must be SHAC eligible to participate.

Call the SHAC to make an appointment for the STI study. The option for additional testing and treatment will be available through the on-site nurses.

Testing will be performed at the SHAC every Tuesday & Friday from 10am – 2:30pm.

Walk-ins during those days are welcome, but appointments are recommended to avoid longer wait times.

Email Dr. Sailey at csailey@pdx.edu if you have questions about the study.

John Pinney

EVENT LISTINGS FOR NOV. 30—DEC. 4 FEATURED EVENT HOLIDAY ALE FESTIVAL PIONEER COURTHOUSE SQUARE 11 A.M.–11 P.M., NOV. 30–DEC. 4 FEE: $35 (ADVANCED OR AT DOOR), VIP PACKAGES AVAILABLE 21+

For 21 years, this outdoor celebration of winter beers and ales has been dazzling ofage adults with its crafted bliss. With over 50 beers specially brewed just for the event, the Holiday Ale Festival is a must-see for all the craft connoisseurs out there.

Tented off and heated up with lamps, you’d never know this festive event was being held outdoors and the nearly 14,000 attendants that come during the week-long fest often have amazing things to say about the tasters they imbibe. When you purchase your tickets at the door, you will get tickets for beer tastings, and more are available for purchase after those are spent. For the designated driver, a root beer garden will also be available.

DRAG QUEEN BINGO WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30 6 P.M. FEE: $15 21+

Poison Waters will be hosting this social event for those who embrace the gay within

14

themselves and the men who love to dress as women and camp it up. Drag Queen Bingo is not just a social experience, it’s really a way of life.

GLASS ETCHING WORKSHOP WEDNESDAY, NOV. 30 BEECH STREET PARLOR 6:30–9 P.M. FEE: $40

Just in time for the holidays, learn about the techniques and tips in order to create up to four personalized pint or cocktail glasses. It’s art you can use!

END OF YEAR CELEBRATION THURSDAY, DEC. 1 PORTLAND ART MUSEUM 5:30–9 P.M.

ViveNW/Hispanicpros, Literary Arts, and the NW Film Center are gathering for an end of the year celebration of the works produced in the community this year while also debuting works for the upcoming year.

PARFUMERIE THURSDAY, DEC. 1 VENETIAN THEATRE (HILLSBORO) 7:30 PM–MIDNIGHT FEE: $22–32

All of those rom coms you love (You’ve Got

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 29 2016 • psuvanguard.com

Mail, etc.) are based on this old Czechoslavakian play about feuding co-workers and small businesses being swallowed up by corporations. If it helps any though, love always conquers at the end of the day.

THE MOST WONDERFUL SEASON FRIDAY, DEC. 2 NEWMARK THEATRE 8 P.M. FEE: $17–50

The Portland Gay Men’s Chorus celebrates the diversity of the holiday seasons that all seem to be jam packed into December together. One-hundred-thirty gay male voices will fill the Newmark with love, light, and hope enough to get you through probably even cold, gray January.

A CIVIL WAR CHRISTMAS SATURDAY, DEC. 3 ARTISTS REPERTORY THEATRE, ALDER STAGE 7:30 P.M. FEE: $25+

Arguably the only holiday season in more contention than ours, this musical celebration witnesses the conflict of humanity between righteousness and hope, a battle for the present and the future. The frigid banks of the Potomac River are the setting of bittersweet holiday musical tale. The show runs now through Dec. 23.

A CHRISTMAS CAROL POST 5 THEATRE 7:30–9:30 P.M.

Not your traditional Dickens tale, this is billed as a one-man ghost story brought to you by Phillip J. Berns, a local character actor. Called a shapeshifter and a guide, this unique spin on the tale of personal journey and redemption in ye olde England runs through Dec. 17.

ADVENT LESSONS & CAROLS SUNDAY, DEC. 4 TRINITY EPISCOPAL CATHEDRAL 5–6:30 P.M. FEE: GOOD WILL OFFERING

Solemn but not somber, this traditional way to kick off a holiday season is a reminder that the holiday can be about more than gifts and dead trees haunting the living room for a month, but can be a celebration of peace and hope lighting the way to a better us.

PORTLAND WINTERHAWKS SUNDAY, DEC. 4 MEMORIAL COLISEUM 5 P.M. FEE: $17–52

Portland's own three-time champion junior ice hockey team takes on the Medicine Hat Tigers from Alberta, Canada in a thrilling match up of pucks, skates, helmets, and ice antics for the whole family.

ADVICE

TRIPPING ON DRUMPF SUBPAR ADVICE FROM THE SUB-BASEMENT JOHN PINNEY Trip Advice writes: I’m going on a trip pretty soon with a friend but it’s slowly beginning to dawn on me that we don’t share much in common trip-wise. They don’t know how to pack, they don’t really know how to plan what they want to see or how easy they want to take it or even what restaurants they want to go to.

Is the trip ruined before it even begins?

Heya Trip Advice.

Wanting to Resist writes: For those of us opposed to a Trump presidency, and for those of us who fear important Supreme Court cases will be overturned and that the worst elements of our American nature will be stirred up to the point of action, what do you recommend we do? How do we handle our neighbors and loved ones believing in Trump? How do we even sit at the same table with them ever again? How do we resist? How do we take back the power and progress he’s sure to halt? And please don’t tell me to give him a chance.

Heya Resist.

Don’t worry, I’m not going to tell you that you have to automatically give Drumpf a chance because he “won.” He may have “won” electoral votes but he’ll always have lost the popular vote by over a million. Granted, those million votes are all from western states, but I digress as well as hope that it eats him up from the inside out like a can of Coke eating rust off a bumper.

You know, I want to acknowledge that the work is never easy. And I want to acknowledge that this time it does seem harder than in times past. A loss of civility, real discourse, and the obvious disenfranchisement of both Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders by main stream and even some supporters has made this election feel harder and meaner and more dangerous than any before.

The long and short of it is that nothing is ruined unless you want it to be. You sound kind of like me. A planner. God, I love to plan trips. It’s almost like taking the trip before you’ve even left for the airport, and when people don’t plan, I cringe. Can you imagine just stumbling about a foreign country or state or even Disneyworld without a plan?

Well, you should. It’s a healthy mental exercise.

What I’m really hearing is that you intend to spend all your time with your friend. Is that a vacation or a bonding experience? Or a honeymoon? I mean, come on, why on earth would you want to plan to spend all your time together?

At the end of the day, this vacation is a break from your normal life. If you schedule an itinerary to the last minute, you miss something. If you schedule nothing at all, you won’t see anything.

What about this? Go out to coffee, just the two of you. Plan a day together and then the next day apart. Alternate that way and if the other party isn’t interested, plan for yourself and let them take care of themselves like the adult they are. You might just end up saving the vacation and the friendship.

Hearts and Stars, Your Advice Guru

So what do you do when the man who had the worst vitriol will have the power to nuke any of his Twitter-based enemies? What do you do when you feel helpless? How do you fight back?

The soft answer is I don’t know. I have lead feet and it’s much easier to be a Facebook activist. I have lucid, waking dreams about internment camps and House Un-American Activities Committee blacklists, and I can’t shake the feeling that Trump and Pence are both going to go after “liberal elitist” higher education. I have both rational and irrational fears that are often punctuated by people telling me I should give Trump a chance. After all, politicians lie to get votes. How is he any different?

He’s not that different. And he should be held to the same standard as others because he asked for this. And honestly, holding him and his group of slippery-eeled bigots accountable will be an uphill battle of Sisyphean proportions. Beyond that is anyone’s guess.

I wish I could say donate your time and talents at a local food bank or any spare change to things like Planned Parenthood and your local LGBTQ youth shelter. Work on your local community.

Advocate and protect those who are just as marginalized and more marginalized than you, but then again I was told I shouldn’t wear a safety pin because I know nothing about being a safe space for another, so perhaps I’m the wrong person to ask.

I think your questions are very valid and there isn’t an answer other than don’t back down.

Don’t make Drumpf’s never-ending nightmare the new normal. Approach life with dignity and class to the best of your ability. There’s a long road ahead and a lot of repairs we all have to do if we’re going to keep this world afloat over the next four years. And it won’t be easy. There may be more than a few that won’t survive policies and conversion therapies and internment camps and HUAC, but somehow when we went through this before, we did survive. And hopefully we can again.

Though I will say if surviving is our bare minimum, we’ve definitely done something wrong.

Hearts and Stars, Advice Guru

ILLUSTRATIONS BY TERRA DEHART

PSU Vanguard • NOVEMBER 29, 2016 • psuvanguard.com

15

ENTER THE VANGUARD'S

HOLIDAY COLORING CONTEST! WIN PRIZES! COLOR IN THE WINTER SCENE BELOW FOR YOUR CHANCE TO WIN A PRIZE PACKAGE FROM OUR SPONSORS AT COLUMBIA SPORTSWEAR, OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY AND OFF THE WAFFLE. Bring your completed coloring page to the Vanguard office in the sub-basement of Smith Memorial Student Union, room S26. That's two floors below the the cafeteria! Follow signs for Student Media.

OR Scan it in and send a digital copy to editor@psuvanguard.com The winning page will be featured in the Vanguard's Dec. 6 Holiday Guide issue.

HAPPY COLORING!

ILLUSTRATION BY LYDIA WOJACK-WEST