Portland State Vanguard. Vol. 72 Issue 22

PORTLAND STATE VANGUARD

VOLUME 72 • ISSUE 22 • FEBRUARY 27, 2018

INTERNATIONAL INDUSTRY-FAMOUS PSU GRAD TALKS ENTREPRENEURSHIP P. 6

NEWS SEVEN ASPSU SENATORS RESIGNED OVER WINTER BREAK P. 4

GROWING UP BEHIND BARS

SPORTS VIKING SNAPSHOT P. 5

COMICS P. 13

OPINION TROUBLE WITH QUEER REPRESENTATION IN ADVERTISING P. 12

ARTS & CULTURE NEW COLUMN: PEOPLE OF PSU P. 10

STUDENT

OPPORTUNITIES ASPSU 2018 student government election application is now open. Due March 23: Email askaspsu@pdx.edu Pacific Sentinel Magazine is seeking Contributors & Illustrators: Visit thepacificsentinel.com/jobs

ASPSU is requesting ideas of how to improve campus safety and accessibility on campus with its allocation of $600,000. To voice your opinion, visit orgsync.com/16447/forms/304619

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Vanguard is hiring an Online Editor: Visit psuvanguard.com/jobs

Gilman Education Abroad Scholarship due. Pell-eligible students can apply for $5,000–8,000 in study abroad funds at gilmanscholarship.org.

SPRING REGISTRATION

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Currently open!

Visit pdx.edu/registration for more info on priority registration dates.

Love to be in front of a camera?

Add your name to Vanguard’s model roster for future photoshoots. Folks traditionally underrepresented in media strongly encouraged: Email photo@psuvanguard.com to sign up.

Share your thoughts! Check your pdx.edu email inbox for a PSU Office of Global Diversity & Inclusion campus climate survey.

CONTENTS COVER DESIGN BY AARON UGHOC

NEWS

DRC MOVES PLANS FORWARD FOR LARGER SPACE

P. 3

ASPSU BEGINS WINTER TERM MINUS SEVEN SENATORS P. 4 MENTAL HEALTH AUTHOR EXPLAINS CHANGING SELF-DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIORS

SPORTS

VIKING SNAPSHOT

P. 5 P. 5

INTERNATIONAL

PSU GRAD DISCUSSES SHIFTING GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP LANDSCAPE

P. 6

PSU HELPS TRANSLATE OREGON DRIVERS MANUAL

P. 6

OPIATE TRADE POSES GLOBAL CHALLENGES

P. 7

COVER

GROWING UP BEHIND BARS

P. 8–9

ARTS

WEEKLY PLAYLIST: YOUR MISSED CONNECTION

P. 10

KJERSTIN JOHNSON: THE WRITER NEXT DOOR

P. 10

FIND IT AT 5TH AVENUE: ‘PRECIOUS’

P. 11

OPINION

THE PROBLEM WITH OKCUPID’S LESBIAN AD

P. 12

THE FUN AND FOLLY OF PODCASTS

P. 13

COMICS

P. 13

EVENTS CALENDAR

P. 14–15

CONTENT WARNING: ‘GROWING UP BEHIND BARS’ DEPICTS JUVENILE GUN VIOLENCE, WHICH MAY BE TRIGGERING FOR SOME READERS.

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

COPY CHIEF Missy Hannen COPY EDITORS Molly MacGilbert Jesika Westbrook CONTRIBUTORS Rebecca Capurso Jordan Ellis Andrew Gaines Victoria Geil Piper Gibson Kayla Gmyr Jake Johnson Colleen Leary Brad Nichols Chris Stair Taylor Such Justin Thurer Anamika Vaughan

PHO T O & MULTIMEDI A PHOTO EDITOR Zell Thomas MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Emma Josephson PHOTOGRAPHERS & VIDEOGRAPHERS Silvia Cardullo Brian McGloin CR E ATI V E DIR EC TION & DE SIGN CREATIVE DIRECTOR Aaron Ughoc LEAD DESIGNERS Robby Day Chloe Kendall

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

A DV ISING & ACCOUN TING COORDINATOR OF STUDENT MEDIA Reaz Mahmood STUDENT MEDIA ACCOUNTANT Sheri Pitcher To contact Portland State Vanguard, email info@psuvanguard.com MIS SION S TAT EMEN T Vanguard’s mission is to serve the Portland State community with timely, accurate, comprehensive and critical content while upholding high journalistic standards. In the process, we aim to enrich our staff with quality, hands-on journalism education and a number of skills highly valued in today’s job market

A BOU T Vanguard, established in 1946, is published weekly as an independent student newspaper governed by the PSU Student Media Board. Views and editorial content expressed herein are those of the staff, contributors and readers and do not necessarily represent the PSU student body, faculty, staff or administration. Find us in print Tuesday and online 24/7 at psuvanguard.com Follow us on Facebook and Twitter @psuvanguard for multimedia content and breaking news.

NEWS

DRC MOVES PLANS FORWARD FOR LARGER SPACE CONSTRUCTION SHOULD BEGIN THIS SUMMER ANNA WILLIAMS Portland State’s Space Allocation Committee approved The Disability Resource Center’s proposal to create a new community space for students with disabilities and allies at the committee meeting Wednesday, Feb 21.

The new construction will reallocate almost 400 square feet of space from the Associated Students of PSU office on the first floor of Smith Memorial Student Union.

“We have already received enthusiastic messages from current students who can’t wait for the expansion of our center, where they feel comfortable and able to be themselves,” stated DRC Director Jen Dugger in an email. “The staff of the DRC are also extremely excited and so thoroughly grateful for the generosity and advocacy of our ASPSU neighbors.”

As the number of PSU students enrolling at the DRC continues to increase annually, the center has had to replace community space with offices to accommodate the number of staff needed to keep up with the workload. The DRC is responsible for ensuring PSU complies

with the American Disabilities Act. However, according to Dugger, the office regrets its inability in recent years to host a physical space for PSU students with disabilities—most of whom face invisible disabilities like mental illness or chronic pain—to socialize with other students going through similar experiences.

Construction on the $73,000 project, which could take six to eight weeks to complete, might begin as soon as this summer.

Dugger added that ASPSU and DRC operations should not be significantly impacted during construction.

After the DRC submits the renovation work order to Facilities and Property Management, Dugger said the center will plan out how exactly to decorate and use the social area, quiet study space and group room in the works. “We plan to create a few layout options which we will present to students, along with our ideas for what kinds of programming and education will happen there,” Dugger wrote. “We will be seeking lots of feedback along the way.”

CRIME BLOTTER

Feb. 20 Theft

Feb. 20–Feb. 26

Feb. 23 Robbery

Justin Thurer

ZELL THOMAS/PSU VANGUARD

Prayer Room in Smith Memorial Student Union At 11:00 a.m., a student reported they had left their laptop in the SMSU prayer room, and it was gone when they returned.

Feb. 21 Agency assist

SW 6th and SW College Around 9:40 p.m., police responded to an alleged stabbing. The subject was unwilling to provide police with any information regarding the incident, and after a hospital evaluation, it was later determined that no stabbing had occurred.

University Place Hotel At 2:29 a.m., an officer was dispatched to UPH after a non-student reported an individual was following them and had stolen their wallet after a struggle that broke one of the victim’s fingernails. The suspect was described as a Black male age 19 or 20 wearing a maroon hoodie with white lettering and Gucci flip-flops. He was seen running down a hallway on the second floor.

Marijuana violation

University Center Building At 5:17 p.m., officers responded to a report of people smoking marijuana in the east stairwell of UCB. Feb. 24 Car prowl

Parking Structure 1: 4th floor At 3:12 p.m., an officer responded to a vehicle break-in. A student witnessed the suspect, described as a white male, possibly clean shaven and six feet tall with a black hoodie stealing name brand bags out of the car.

Car prowl

Parking Structure 1: 3rd floor Between 2:40 p.m. and 3:15 p.m., a student’s vehicle was broken into and their black and blue Marmot Sawtooth sleeping bag was stolen.

Feb. 25 Warrant Arrest

University Pointe Around 9:55 p.m., officers took a call in which a non-student was accused of grabbing two employees without their consent. The offender was arrested on two warrants and issued an exclusion. The affected employees were referred to the Women’s Resource Center.

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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NEWS

ASPSU FILLS 10 VACANCIES AFTER WINTER BREAK RESIGNATIONS ADVISER CITES CLIMATE, LACK OF PURPOSE AND ACADEMIC STRUGGLES FOR HIGH TURNOVER COLLEEN LEARY Associated Students of Portland State University began the winter 2018 quarter with 10 empty student leadership positions: seven senators, one associate justice for the Judicial Review Board and two Student Fee Committee members.

Seven of these—ASPSU Sens. Felize Singleton, Kali Sullivan, Mustafa Almuzel, Yasmeen Ayoub and Sabrina Stitt; Student Life Director Maxwell Everett and Judicial Review Board member Lisa Kwon—resigned over winter break.

“Turnover is always expected,” said ASPSU President Brent Finkbeiner. “I’ve seen high turnover in many student governments. So I always kind of expect that and leave room for it.”

Finkbeiner added many leaders vacate their positions to balance their schedules and responsibilities. “Student leaders often take on many roles, especially at the beginning of the year, and find that their schedule needs some balancing after giving ASPSU a try,” he said.

“Public representation is far more difficult and time consuming than it may first appear.”

By the third week of the term, five of the senate positions were filled. As of now, all but one senate position are confirmed with new student representatives. Finkbeiner expects to fill it the first week of spring term.

WHY SO MANY RESIGNATIONS AT ONCE?

Most of the outgoing leaders declined to comment on their reasons for leaving ASPSU. Of the outgoing students, Stitt was the only leader voted in during the May 2017 ASPSU election cycle. Almuzel, Ayoub, Singleton, Sullivan, Everett and Kwon were appointed to their positions throughout the year.

Almuzel, involved in ASPSU for over two years, said he left his senate role because of ongoing schedule conflicts and new commitments outside ASPSU. He did not run for re-election during the 2017 election but ultimately returned by appointment on Sept. 25.

“During fall term, I wasn’t able to make to all the senate meetings because of time conflicts with my classes,” Almuzel said. “I wasn’t very involved, except in the [International Affairs and Multicultural Affairs] committees.”

Other leaders’ departures, Almuzel added, may have been more complicated. He described hearing fellow ASPSU leaders voice concerns about a negative climate within the organization but did not experience this himself.

“I have heard about some complaints that some people didn’t feel comfortable sharing their opinions and some kind of drama in the senate meetings, but I was busy and wasn’t there for those meetings,” Almuzel said.

ASPSU STRUGGLES WITH ENGAGEMENT

Additionally, Almuzel said ASPSU suffers from an overall lack of engagement with its

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constituents. “In other universities’ elections, everyone is active,” he said. “You feel like there’s energy about it. They want to compete and reach to these positions.”

During the 2017 ASPSU election, most students ran for student government positions uncontested. Some positions had more vacancies than candidates campaigning.

“In the past, if you ran for student senate, you would just find yourself elected because there were barely enough numbers for senate,” Almuzel said. “We tried last year with the University Affairs Committee to engage students more, but I think the problem still exists. I don’t know the reasons exactly, but students aren’t interested. They don’t hear about student government even, so we can’t make very important impacts on campus.”

He said leaders from other student groups will typically engage with the SFC budgeting process, but active engagement ends there. “[Students] don’t see behind-the-scenes policy work or anything student government does with resolutions because it’s not clear.

It’s politics.”

A MATTER OF TRANSPARENCY

Coordinator of Student Government Relations Candace Avalos said she is troubled by the turnover rate and discussed concerns with Finkbeiner about a lack of transparency in the resignation process.

“When seven people leave at once, it should concern a constituent,” Avalos said. “Why are students resigning from elected positions?

Even if they were appointed, it’s a representative position of the students, and they just get to leave without any explanation? [ASPSU leaders] should encourage students to be transparent about why they’re leaving.”

ASPSU’s current policy requires members to email statements of resignation to the student body president, but does not require outgoing students to make these statements public.

“These are elected representatives,” Avalos said. “In my opinion, they owe their constituents explanations for why they’re leaving.”

This doesn’t mean invading student privacy, Avalos clarified. “Of course, people have the choice to divulge their personal information if they choose,” Avalos continued, “but I think there should be a minimum standard of what they should be disclosing and how that word gets out.”

Public ASPSU senate meeting records do not explicitly reflect the recent leadership turnover, which Avalos said hinders accurate recordkeeping and increases the transparency concern.

She suggested a requirement that statements of resignation be made at senate meetings or that the president or vice president make a formal announcement recorded in meeting minutes.

Avalos had been hopeful for the potential

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

BRENT FINKBEINER, CANDACE AVALOS, DONALD THOMPSON III/COURTESY OF ASPSU the students who recently vacated their roles had. “They brought a rich diversity to the ideologies in the conversation in ASPSU, which is what it needs.”

“I think there’s something to be said about the fact that we don’t necessarily feel that much loss when a senator leaves,” she continued. “What is the purpose of these senators if they’re so easy to lose or it doesn’t really rock the organization? We’re losing what I think should be the most important position—the elected voice of students. There’s a flaw there.”

BALANCING ACADEMIC DEMANDS

Avalos cited several factors that might contribute to turnover in ASPSU: climate, student representatives lacking a sense of purpose and struggles to maintain academic excellence.

“Academics are definitely factors in some of [the recent resignations],” Avalos said, though she can’t offer specifics because academic information is protected by the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. Student government representatives— like leaders in many student groups— receive compensation in the form of Educational Leadership Service Awards.

ELSA’s range from $400–2,700 depending on the position and require students to meet term-to-term GPA and credit enrollment minimums. If students don’t meet these eligibility requirements, they face the potential to lose their ELSA funding and may be removed from their leadership positions.

“Last year, we talked a lot about academic excellence,” Avalos continued. “We’re going to address it on a new constitution. One of those changes is the ELSA requirement.”

Instead of checking new leaders’ cumulative GPAs when they intend to join ASPSU, the new constitution will include eligibility checks of students’ previous term before beginning leadership roles, a standard general ELSA policy does not require.

“Why would we expect a student who is struggling in a term for whatever reason...is

going to do better by having this huge commitment on top of their workload?” Avalos added.

PROGRESS DESPITE SETBACKS

Despite the resignations, Finkbeiner and Avalos both highlighted progress within student government.

For the last five years, Avalos has worked with ASPSU members to move toward standardized meeting days for various committees. She said she hopes this will help members maintain active involvement in their roles and offer more consistency for students wanting to attend meetings and engage with student representatives. She added, “We’ve made really good strides in making quorum and being able to meet.”

Additionally, Avalos said, “[Finkbeiner] has done a great job in bringing people together. He’s empathetic, understanding, a good leader and a good mentor.”

Avalos and Finkbeiner said they also feel ASPSU has improved engagement with constituents. On Feb. 15, ASPSU Vice President Donald Thompson III spearheaded a “Let’s talk about diversity” event, Multicultural Affairs Director Luis Balderas-Villagrana has directed outreach to Deferred Action for Childhood Arrival students and ASPSU’s respective special committees have taken on new initiatives.

“They seem little,” Avalos said, “but it’s a huge difference from what I’ve seen in the last couple of years. The organization is making great moves in modeling how we should have conversations on campus around things we disagree on.”

Avalos continued, “I have noticed [ASPSU] trying to be more of a leader in the conversation instead of just part of it.

That’s what they need to be, because that’s what student government is.”

Additional reporting by Anamika Vaghan.

ASPSU is currently accepting applications for the 2018 election cycle and will host an interest meeting for students seeking more information: 3 p.m.–5 p.m., March 15 in SMSU 326. Candidate applications are due March 23.

VIKING SNAPSHOT

NEWS

Feb. 19–25

TAYLOR SUCH

MEN’S BASKETBALL

Saturday, Feb. 24 PSU vs Northern Colorado Score: 5-2 (W) Every player won in singles or doubles. Nathan Boniel and Gabe Souza extended their win streak together to three. Holtari extended his winning streak to six matches.

Sunday, Feb. 25 PSU at UTEP Score: 4-8 (L) Darian Lindsey made another home run, the third for the season.

Saturday, Feb. 24 PSU at Northern Arizona Score: 72-66 (W) PSU had its 18th win of the season, giving Head Coach Barret Peery the most wins ever for a first-year coach.

Woods and Deante Strickland each scored 12 points.

WOMEN’S TENNIS

Thursday, Feb. 22 PSU vs Big Sky Indoor Champions Kristen O’Handley placed fourth in the pentathlon and beat her personal best by over 300 points. Donté Robinson leading the heptathlon with 2,924 points, 67 points ahead of second place.

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL

SOFTBALL

Thursday, Feb. 22 PSU at Southern Utah Score: 96-91 (W) Holland Woods shot a three-pointer with 3.2 seconds left in the game, which then went into overtime.

Thursday, Feb. 22 PSU vs Southern Utah Score: 70-66 (W) PSU led by 20 points during the early second half.

Ashley Bolston scored a game high of 26 points. Kylie Jimenez had a team high of nine assists.

Saturday, Feb. 17 PSU vs Northern Arizona Score: 70-66 (W) Bolston earned a game high of 26 points. The team is now in a four way tie for third place in the Big Sky Conference.

MEN’S TENNIS

Friday, Feb. 23 PSU vs Northern Arizona Score: 1-6 (L) Otto Holtari won his fifth straight match and provided the lone point for PSU.

Saturday, Feb. 24 PSU vs Idaho State Score: 3-4 (L) Alli Valk and Taylor Rees recorded the first doubles win for the Vikings.

Friday, Feb. 23 PSU vs New Mexico State Score: 3-7 (L) Rachel Menlove had her first career home run.

Friday, Feb. 23 PSU at UTEP Score: 1-9 (L) Menlove was the only one to run home and score.

Menlove slugged 2.333 for the day.

Saturday, Feb. 24 PSU vs New Mexico State Score: 6-5 (W) Darian Lindsey and Kaela Morrow both had one-out home runs. Emma Detamore pitched and threw four shutout innings. Ashley Doyle and Kortney Craker also hit home runs.

Saturday, Feb. 24 PSU at UTP Score: 4-17 (L) Darian Lindsey ran a single while Menlove walked with the bases loaded.

TRACK AND FIELD

Friday, Feb. 23 PSU vs Big Sky Indoor Champions Robinson claimed his first Big Sky title win in the heptathlon. Kamal-Craig Golaube broke the school record in the 60-meter hurdles finishing in 8.19 seconds. O’Handley set the third all-time high in the high jump for PSU. Saturday, Feb. 24 PSU vs Big Sky Indoor Champions Golaube broke the school record in the 60-meter hurdles again from the day before finishing in 8.14 seconds.

WOMEN’S GOLF

Saturday, Feb. 24 and Sunday, Feb. 25 PSU at Grand Canyon University Score: 1st out of 15 teams Windy Huang tied the school record shooting five under par 67. Hannah Swanson tied for ninth place out of 85 players.

Next Week:

MEN’S BASKETBALL 8 p.m. Thursday, Mar. 1 PSU vs Northern Colorado 1 p.m. Saturday, Mar. 3 PSU vs North Dakota

WOMEN’S BASKETBALL 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 28 PSU at Northern Colorado 1 p.m. Friday, Mar. 2 PSU at North Dakota

SOFTBALL

9 a.m. Friday, Mar. 2 PSU vs BYU 1:30 p.m. Friday, Mar. 2 PSU vs Northwestern 10 a.m. Saturday, Mar. 3 PSU vs Northwestern 2:45 p.m. Saturday, Mar. 3 PSU vs Alabama 12:15 p.m. Sunday, Mar. 4 PSU at Washington

MEN’S TENNIS

6 p.m. Friday, Mar. 2 PSU at Seattle 3 p.m. Saturday, Mar. 3 PSU at Washington

MENTAL HEALTH ADVOCATE EXPLAINS TURNING AROUND SELF-DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIORS ANTHOLOGY CONTRIBUTORS TURN TRAUMA INTO ART REBECCA CAPURSO Portland State welcomed Sabrina Chap, a Brooklyn-based author, musician and performer, to speak about her anthology Live Through This: On Creativity and Self-Destruction Friday, Feb. 23. Chap presented to a small audience in Smith Memorial Student Union about how the contributors to her book were able to turn self-destructive behaviors, often seen as evidence of weakness, into creative expression.

PSU’s chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness, the Psychology Club and the Neuroscience Club collaborated to host the event. “[Chap] brought a unique perspective of mental health and mental illness,” said PSU student and NAMI on Campus Vice President Audrey Darnell. “I personally like the idea of transforming self-destruction be-

cause I think that’s a really big part of mental illness and also a really big part of why it’s so stigmatized.”

Originally published in 2008, Live Through This is a collection of essays from female authors and artists who struggled with mental illness and self-destructive behaviors but found ways to channel their energy into creative outlets. Many of the authors experienced isolation, rage, shame and fear as a result of sexual trauma, abuse and mental illness. The women initially dealt with their pain through self-harm such as cutting, depression, eating disorders and addiction.

However, Chap explained, these behaviors don’t stem from weakness but from a place of inherent power. This power, ac-

cording to Chap, can be diverted down a path of creation instead of destruction.

Anthology contributors such as Carol Queen, bell hooks, Annie Sprinkle and Nicole Blackman were able to turn their distress into performance, poetry, selfportrait, song and even cartoon. “It is a great power that once you reign in, you can create your own life,” Chap said.

By inviting Chap to campus, the three student groups wanted to create a space for dialogue on mental illness to occur. “Mental health is super relevant on college campuses,” Darnell said. “The statistics around college students who are living with and struggling with mental illness—and the fact that it too often goes unknown to their friends and family—are really staggering.”

According to a 2016 USA Today College report, one out of every 12 college students makes a suicide plan. People living in Oregon, according to The Oregonian, are more at risk for depression compared to most other states.

“Turning [self-destruction] into something that’s positive and creative,” Darnell added, “is going to be an important and inspiring thing to get out to the community.”

Chap hopes to be able to return to PSU to lead one of her workshops, which involve lectures and exercises about learning how to channel pain and negative emotions into art and creativity.

The author of this article recently became a member of the NAMI on Campus student group. The author was not involved in inviting Sabrina Chap to campus.

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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INTERNATIONAL

PSU GRAD DISCUSSES SHIFTING LANDSCAPE OF GLOBAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP CHRIS STAIR

GEORGIA HATCHETT

What does it take to make it? Mayuko Yamaura appears to have figured it out. On Feb. 15, the Portland State graduate returned to present on the intricacies of global entrepreneurship from a Japanese perspective.

“What makes this speech interesting is that Mayuko Yamaura is a PSU grad and one of the more renowned female entrepreneurs,” said Ken Ruoff, director of the Center for Japanese Studies at PSU. “Some people might say she is in fact the most famous young female entrepreneur in Japan.”

Yamaura is one of the first Japanese entrepreneurs to target the global market before settling in Japan.

“Being a company from Japan, it is tough to become number one globally because the domestic market is a totally different market,” Yamaura said. “Because of this, a lot of Japanese startups and companies fail when they try to go to overseas markets because they settle in Japan first and then try and move on.”

Not only is Yamaura a successful female entrepreneur, but she pulled it off in the traditionally maledominated tech industry. Her company Edison.Ai, with offices in Paris, Hong Kong and Tokyo, uses artificial intelligence image recognition to help companies understand consumer behavior.

“Being a female in the tech industry is an advantage because people can remember me, especially abroad,”

Yamaura said. “When I was in Hong Kong expanding our business there, I was the only Japanese female in the community, and the best thing about it is that the bathrooms are empty at the tech conferences.”

Yamaura’s presentation was part of a larger lecture series on the entrepreneurial sector in Japan, organized by the Center for Japanese Studies. “[CJS], over time, tries to cover just about every aspect of Japan, which is an impossible task,” Ruoff said. “We got the idea that Americans don’t necessarily understand how vibrant the entrepreneurial sector is in Japan.”

Ruoff said one of the goals of the lecture series is to encourage PSU students to consider entrepreneurship as a valid career option. “So many people want to get a job,” he said. “But there is another way of thinking about this, and that’s [by making] your own job, and that’s basically what entrepreneurs do.”

For anyone considering an entrepreneurial path, Yamaura offered some advice. “Being your own boss means that everyone is your boss,” she said.

“If you want to create a startup because you want to be your own boss and don’t want to take any commands, you probably shouldn’t make a startup.

Regardless [of whether] what you do is working for a company or owning your own business, you really have to live for yourself.”

PSU HELPS TRANSLATE OREGON DRIVERS MANUAL REBECCA CAPURSO Portland State’s Russian Flagship Program and the Portland Police Bureau collaborated to release Oregon’s first Russian translation of the Department of Motor Vehicles Driver Manual February 2018. Members of Oregon’s Russian and Ukrainian populations previously requested Russian-language driving materials, but until now a reliable translation had not been available.

PSU Assistant Professor of Russian Dr. Anna Alsufieva along with a team of interns created the initial draft of the Russian translation. “It turned out to be quite the undertaking, [but] we’re all more than thrilled with the end result,” said RFP intern Colton Hennick. “[Dr. Alsufieva] worked very closely with us, proofread and corrected certain aspects of the precise style of Russian required in official documents.”

According to a press release, PPB Lt. David Abrahamson applied for a grant for the project from the City of Portland in 2016 after noticing a rise in the number of traffic incidents and fatalities involving Russian immigrants. Abrahamson partnered with PPB’s Slavic Council Advisory Board, which enlisted the help of PSU’s RFP, an immersive undergraduate language program for students looking to become proficient in Russian.

RFP interns invested over 300 personnel hours helping to create the first draft, while Alsufieva alone spent over 600 hours of her free time after class making technical corrections. Russian Oregon Social Services and former St. Petersburg, Russia Police Officer Vladimir Averyanov also assisted in proofreading.

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The Oregon DMV only provides manuals in English, Spanish and audio format, even though 100,000 Russian-speaking Oregonians reside in the Portland Metro Area. While this new translation is unofficial, it’s an improvement to what Russian and Ukrainian Oregonians could access before.

California and Washington have Russian drivers manuals, but, according to Alsufieva, the public cannot rely too heavily on them. The RFP found many of them to be poorly translated with too much of an English influence or too many colloquialisms.

“We were not always satisfied,” Alsufieva said. The manuals also had to be reworked to adjust for variations in state regulations.

The Oregon DMV does offer the driver’s general knowledge test in Russian. However, Alsufieva added that people find the questions to be poorly written and strangely worded, so they often elect to take the exam in English. Being able to learn the material in Russian, Alsufieva explained, will make the test easier for Oregonians of Slavic descent.

The final steps in the process, according to the press release, involved reformatting the manual and preparing it for printing.

This work was completed by PPB and Slavic Council members.

Alsufieva hopes to have the manual available online soon.

“It was our goal to ensure that vital information such as traffic laws, policies and procedures be readily available to the Slavic communities of Oregon,” Hennick said. “We hope that this information will help keep our drivers more informed and our roads safer.”

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

ROBBY DAY

INTERNATIONAL

OPIATE TRADE POSES GLOBAL CHALLENGES ELENA KIM KAYLA GMYR Oxycontin, fentanyl, morphine, heroin. Opioids have gained attention in the United States since overdose rates began escalating in 2010. In 2016 alone, over 62,000 people died from general drug overdoses, 66 percent due to illicit and prescription opioids. However, the issue is not isolated to the U.S. A recent study from the University of Wisconsin lists Italy, New Zealand, Canada, Germany and Denmark as some of the top countries with growing numbers of per capita opioid prescriptions. As a whole, wealthier regions of North America and Europe rank highest in prescription opioid consumption, hosting nearly all 15.6 million global users of manufactured opioids.

A 2016 report from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime states that an additional 17.3 million people use illicit opiate drugs, primarily heroin and raw opium. Global production of illegal opiates has maintained a constant position in the global market since the turn of the century. These drugs are extracted directly from poppies, rather than manufactured in pharmaceutical labs, and make up an industry worth about $70 billion.

Afghanistan alone produces and distributes between 63 and 90 percent of the world’s opium. With immense influence over the national political economy, the country’s landowners, warlords and traffickers rake in $61 billion of underground money, some of which goes into the pockets of Taliban insurgents. A representative from the International Crisis Group in Kabul told VICE News, “Right now, growing opium makes more money than anything else for Afghan farmers, so it’s going to be very hard to stomp out.”

The number of opiate users in Afghanistan and its surrounding areas is rising alongside increased production.

Traffickers ship opium from Afghanistan first to trading ports in central and south Asia and the coasts of Africa, then to the leading markets of Western Europe, Russia, the U.S. and China. Mexico and Columbia feed into North American trade, and Myanmar and Laos into Asian trade.

This complex web of illegal drug trading has proved difficult for world leaders to untangle. Despite the doubling

of seizure and interception rates from the 1980s and ‘90s to the early 2010s and an increase in the percentage of users seeking treatment, the opium and heroin markets remain stable. The UNODC therefore emphasizes the importance of managing drug issues as part of sustainable development, looking at the mutually reinforcing relationships with organized crime, violence, unstable governance and corruption.

Another factor is the correlation between substance abuse and social position. According to the UNODC, “Higher socioeconomic groups have a greater propensity to initiate drug use than lower socioeconomic groups, but it is the lower socioeconomic groups that pay the higher price as they are more likely to become drug dependent.”

Reducing inequality and providing more comprehensive public health services could curb demand for opiate drugs, but it is doubtful these issues will be prioritized. Caught in the middle of conflict, economic instability and rising global inequality, we seem to have other issues taking priority.

FEB. 22 IRAN: AHMADINEJAD CALLS FOR FREE ELECTIONS IN OPEN LETTER TO SUPREME LEADER

In an open letter posted on his website, Dolat-e Bahar, former Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addressed Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, calling for fundamental reforms to the government. He recommended free and immediate presidential and parliamentary elections, the release of political prisoners and the dismissal of Judiciary Chief Ayatollah Sadeq Amoli Larijani.

FEB. 22 THE NETHERLANDS: PARLIAMENT VOTES TO RECOGNIZE MASS KILLING OF ARMENIANS AS GENOCIDE

The Dutch parliament voted 147-3 in favor of a motion to recognize the 1915 mass killing of Armenians by the Ottoman Turks as a genocide. The Turkish government condemned the decision, saying that while the killings did occur, they did not constitute genocide. The Dutch government stated the motion will not change the Netherlands’ official policy.

FEB. 24 SOMALIA: AL-SHABAB CLAIMS RESPONSIBILITY FOR TWIN CAR BOMBINGS

Islamist militant group al-Shabab claimed responsibility for two car bomb attacks that killed at least 38 people in Mogadishu. A gun battle followed the first attack, which took place outside the presidential palace. The second blast hit a nearby hotel. The al-Qaida– linked group has killed hundreds of civilians in East Africa since it began an insurgency in 2007.

FEB. 25 RUSSIA: THOUSANDS MARCH IN MEMORY OF MURDERED OPPOSITION LEADER

Thousands of protesters marched through Moscow to commemorate the third anniversary of the death of Boris Nemtsov, a vocal critic of Russian President Vladimir Putin who was shot and killed in 2015. Protesters called for Putin to be ousted in the upcoming presidential election, chanting the slogans “Russia without Putin” and “Russia will be free.” Though some of Nemtsov’s supporters blame Putin for the opposition leader’s death, the president never responded to accusations.

Feb. 19–Feb. 25 Fiona Spring

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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GROWING UP BEHIND BARS ‘POSTER CHILD’ FOR JUVENILE REFORM HIGHLIGHTS OREGON’S HARSH SENTENCING SYSTEM

BY BRAD NICHOLS, ANAMIKA VAUGHAN AND ANNA WILLIAMS Researchers argue Oregon’s justice system has one of the harshest juvenile sentencing processes in the country, incarcerating youth at a higher rate than 47 states at more than one and a half times the national average.

One man convicted of murder in his early teens now advocates for prison reform, pushing for a more holistic approach to rehabilitating Oregon’s juvenile offenders. “[Juveniles] make choices based on peer pressure,” said former state prisoner Trevor Walraven of Josephine County, Ore. “They make choices with intoxicants in their system, even further up the road in their brain processing and level of thinking, and you have to address that differently [than adult offenders]. I’m not actually someone who thinks that every kid has to get a second chance or has to be released no matter what they’ve done, but what individuals need are opportunities to show that they’ve grown past those behaviors.”

In 1998, Walraven carjacked Black Bar Lodge owner Bill Hull in the rural town of Wolf Creek before shooting and killing him executionstyle and leaving his body on a remote logging road. Walraven was 14 years old. According

to the court, Walraven committed the crimes with his older half brother Josh Cain—though Walraven still argues Cain wasn’t there—and was sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 30 years.

Walraven, now 32, was released in 2017 after 16 years in custody when a judge determined he was rehabilitated enough to rejoin society.

After spending his childhood homeschooled and his freetime driving, drinking and doing methamphetamines, Walraven had spent more time in prison than free by the time he was 12 years old.

Now the former convict wants Oregon to undo its one-size-fits-all approach to youth sentencing and consider releasing offenders when they’re ready to contribute to and invest in their communities. Walraven said he thinks issuing life sentences to youth—as well as allowing sentences to stack, adding up to decades in prison—doesn’t do the public or individual any good in many cases.

“People need to have individual sentences that reflect what’s going to affect them,” Walraven said. “You don’t punish all your kids the same because they’re not all going to re-

spond the same.”

Walraven now lives in Salem, works fulltime in data management at Criminal Defense Support Services in Eugene and has been engaged to Lane Community College psychology student Loraine McLeod for over a year. He hopes to begin his college education next year at LCC studying subjects related to criminal justice and psychology.

When last released, one judge called Walraven the poster child for criminal rehabilitation.

Walraven recently began speaking at Oregon universities’ criminology classes, including Portland State, about what he said he hopes can be a new approach to juvenile corrections in the state, and current research supports his ideas.

MEASURE 11

A January 2018 report, “Youth and Measure 11 in Oregon: Impacts of Mandatory Minimums,” published by The Oregon Justice Resource Center, together with the Oregon Council on Civil Rights and the help of PSU Assistant Professor of Criminology

and Criminal Justice Dr. Mark G. Harmon, claims Oregon’s current mandatory sentencing laws do not agree with current psychological data on adolescent brains.

Though the study discusses Oregon’s historical approach to juvenile offenses in general, it focuses on Measure 11, a 1994 ballot measure that imposes mandatory minimum sentences for some crimes committed by juveniles without the possibility for a reduction in sentence.

The study asserts sentencing adolescents as adults is detrimental given the human brain does not reach full maturity until individuals reach their mid-20s; therefore, Oregon’s mandatory minimum sentencing laws should be abolished.

“The evidence now is strong that the brain does not cease to mature until the early 20s in those relevant parts that govern impulsivity, judgment, planning for the future, foresight of consequences and other characteristics that make people morally culpable,” stated Dr. Ruben C. Gur in the report.

Furthermore, the study explains most states define 18 as the age an individual is recognized

“I’M NOT ACTUALLY S THINKS THAT EVERY K A SECOND CHANCE O RELEASED NO MATTER DONE, BUT WHAT INDIVI OPPORTUNITIES TO SHO GROWN PAST THOSE --TREVOR WAL TREVOR WALRAVEN DISCUSSES PRISON REFORM WITH NEWS EDITOR ANNA WILLIAMS. EMMA JOSEPHSON/PSU VANGUARD

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PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

ARTS AND CULTURE COVER

WALRAVEN WITH FIANCEE AND LANE COMMUNITY COLLEGE STUDENT LORAINE MCLEOD. EMMA JOSEPHSON/PSU VANGUARD as an adult in the criminal justice system, though sometimes younger for more serious crimes.

The report claims these states have seen better public safety outcomes. In Oregon, under Measure 11, youth as young as 15 can be charged in adult courts.

However, youth as young as 13, which was the case for Juan Negrete-Vasquez of Washington County, are still waived to adult court in Oregon, and not all juveniles, such as Walraven, easily qualify for a second chance.

A NOT-SO-SECOND CHANCE

This is Walraven’s second time being released from custody.

SOMEONE WHO KID HAS TO GET OR HAS TO BE R WHAT THEY’VE IDUALS NEED ARE OW THAT THEY’VE BEHAVIORS.” LRAVEN

In 2016, he was given the opportunity for a Second Look hearing, which Oregon’s Department of Justice grants to some juvenile offenders after they have served half their sentence. That year, Walraven was released to the community for the first time.

Prosecutors, however, claimed because the Second Look opportunity was not written into Walraven’s original sentencing, he was therefore not eligible. A warrant was issued for Walraven’s arrest just 16 days shy of one year of freedom, and he went back to county jail for 12 weeks.

Technical problems with jury instructions from the district attorney in Walraven’s original 2000 trial allowed a judge to rewrite his sentence. He has now been free for almost six months and hopes to remain that way until the state decides once and for all whether his most recent judge had the authority to grant him another Second Look.

Walraven’s age disqualified him for Measure 11, but his sentencing allowed him to be reconsidered for parole after 25 years in custody. Because of this, Walraven’s legal team determined his 30year minimum should not disqualify him from a Second Look.

Walraven said he understands one side of the argument for putting him back in custody. “What’s tough is if you look at this from the victim’s viewpoint,” Walraven said. “[The Hull family’s] expectation upon my sentencing was that I would serve 30 years...part of how I think the justice system is failing us is by not better informing victims’ families.”

He added prosecutors never argued whether he was reformed and ready for release. Walraven said perhaps the district attorney believes he spent the “first 16 years being reformed and now I [need] to be punished for 14 more years.”

POWER DYNAMICS IN COURT

Walraven said he believes prosecutors, in a

sense, represent the victims and the larger community. While Walraven stressed that interpreting what justice means is not an easy job, he believes Oregon prosecutors have more influence on sentencing, compared to a judge, than they should.

“Currently prosecutors have the power to determine what someone is charged with,” Walraven said, “and the judge in a lot of ways is limited in their ability to decide what is just.”

As a result, Walraven claimed sometimes prosecutors can coerce a youth into pleading guilty to a lesser offense because in Oregon youth sentences can be stacked on top of each other to surpass an offender’s lifetime.

“When you have these rules that bind a judge from looking at the situation objectively and saying ‘here’s the situation, this person has a great likelihood for reformation and may be able to be a great asset and advocate to the community and all these things, but my hands are tied and therefore this is how we’re going to treat them,’” Walraven added, “it just detracts from a judge’s ability to judge and do their job.”

According the study, Measure 11 intended to “[level] the playing field for all defendants.” It continues, “In addition to increasing accountability of offenders, the measure offered the promise [that] it was intended, in part, to [control] for certain individual judges that may have been overly punitive on one end, or overly ‘soft’ on the other.”

The study claims that as a result, youth offenders have experienced significant racial disparities in their sentencing. In 2012, Black juveniles were 17 times more likely to be convicted of Measure 11 offenses than their white counterparts.

Walraven and the researchers agree that on top of abolishing blanket approaches like Measure 11, greater oversight of prosecutors and judges might help solve some of these disparities.

“We’re a very evidence-based, conscientious community,” Walraven said, “but we’re

also often slow to respond to and track those in our justice system we put in power and expect to do things the right way. It’s a combination of tracking data associated with how judges judge, how prosecutors prosecute [and] how individuals navigate the criminal justice system and then holding the right people accountable.”

MOVING FORWARD

Finally, the report calls for Oregon to invest in safety net programs to address the root causes of juvenile criminal behavior.

This includes programs that teach non-violent problem solving and job training for at-risk youth. The report also calls for players in the criminal justice system to receive training in trauma-informed care, cultural responsivity and brain development.

“Most Measure 11 youth have some history of trauma, abuse or drug use,” the report continued. “All Measure 11 youth are in just the first half of a process of cognitive, emotional and physical development that makes teen life a tumultuous and somewhat vulnerable experience.”

Walraven wonders how his life might have turned out if he wasn’t so sheltered and given so much free time as a child. He said he venerated the criminal lifestyle in part because he wanted to be accepted by his older, tougher peers. Walraven added that he hopes the justice system can be more creative about supporting youths in living a fully-free life that is safe for everyone.

At this point, Walraven said he doesn’t feel the pain he has caused the Hull family will ever be redeemed. Now he’s focused on giving back to the community by helping juveniles succeed and helping others transition smoothly into society. He wants everyone else to have the same opportunity.

“I feel the responsibility to do everything I can to live my life but also to be a resource, to be an asset, to be someone who I never otherwise would have been,” Walraven said.

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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ARTS AND CULTURE

1.

HEAD ON – PIXIES, PLANET OF SOUND

10.

2.

WHY CAN’T I TOUCH IT? – BUZZCOCKS,

FLAMING LIPS, EMBRYONIC

SILVER TREMBLING HANDS – THE

SINGLES GOING STEADY

11.

3.

THE SEED (2.0) FEAT. CODY

BROTHER

CHESTNUTT –THE ROOTS, PHRENOLOGY

12.

I DON’T LOVE ANYONE – BELLE AND

4.

LOSER – BECK, MELLOW GOLD

SEBASTIAN, TIGERMILK

5.

MONGREL HEART – BROKEN BELLS,

13.

TIVE RAZAO – SEU JORGE, CRU

BROKEN BELLS

14.

PRETTY (UGLY BEFORE) – ELLIOTT

6.

GIMME ALL YOUR LOVE – ALABAMA

SMITH,FROM A BASEMENT ON THE HILL

THE ONLY ONE – THE BLACK KEYS,

SHAKES,SOUND & COLOR

15.

7.

TURN INTO – JAY SOM, TURN INTO

I DON’T KNOW – BEASTIE BOYS, HELLO NASTY

8.

TOO DRUNK TO FUCK – NOUVELLE

16.

OCEAN – THE VELVET UNDERGROUND,

VAGUE,NOUVELLE VAGUE

PLAYLIST PLUS

9.

17.

CIRCLES – SOUL COUGHING, EL OSO

18.

THE LEMON OF PINK I – THE BOOKS,

THE LEMON OF PINK (REMASTERED)

DANG! FEAT. ANDERSON .PAAK – MAC

MILLER, THE DIVINE FEMININE

ALANNA MADDEN

YOUR MISSED CONNECTION

THIS IS A PLAYLIST ABOUT unrequited love: honest, direct and inexhaustible. It’s a playlist for single Portland State students who are currently dating their textbooks, caffeine, side jobs, PornHub, Netflix and comfort food, and who would rather go to sleep alone then go on another crappy date again.

This is dedicated to the people who’ve fallen in love with their best friend, roommate or teacher.

For those who can’t settle for somebody with a bad taste in music, someone who exhibits road rage, tips poorly or eats food with their mouth open.

It’s a call to remember to laugh at ourselves and the melodrama. To just say fuck it like you mean it and move on. For all these people and more, I salute you. We are great in numbers, and we’re almost done.

THE WRITER NEXT DOOR KJERSTIN JOHNSON: EDITOR, WRITER & PSU ENGLISH ADJUNCT PROFESSOR VICTORIA GEIL An exceptional writer walks the halls of Portland State. While humbly eschewing recognition, she works tirelessly to help students succeed in both learning and teaching realms.

Kjerstin Johnson is a hidden gem of PSU’s academic ecosystem, highly spoken of throughout the publishing and journalism communities.

Portland State Vanguard sat down with Johnson to gain insight for young writers, hear more on her experience as a professional writer and editor and as part of the PSU community.

Vanguard: What brought you to PSU? How did you end up as a professor?

Kjerstin Johnson: I attended the PSU book publishing program for graduate school in 2010. While I worked at Ooligan Press, I was also working at Bitch magazine as the web content manager. The skills I picked up from grad school really helped me get promoted to Editor-in-Chief of Bitch. I was asked to teach [magazine writing] in 2015, given that my fulltime job was with writers on magazine pieces,

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and I was embedded in the magazine industry. good work in seeking out the story when you’re VG: Do you have any time management tips, invested in it. especially for writers?

For example, I wrote a review about an KJ: Deadlines are really good for me, I’m anthology of comics by women from the 1970s, motivated by deadlines—by fear. Whether which is a little passion interest of mine, and I that’s the fear of not being prepared for feel like I produced good work because it class or the fear of making my editor was something I cared about. If you’re mad, that’s pretty motivating. Also, passionate about it, then somebody taking care of yourself and making else is probably passionate about sure that you’ve had enough sleep, it, and it will show in your work. food and water so you’re in a good Your curiosity, your passion for place to get your work done. Take that will come through, so start care of yourself so you can create with something that catches the best work possible. your attention; there is VG: How do you go about finding something there for you to inspiration, especially with pursue. freelance writing?

VG: Do you do other KJ: Pursuing what forms of writing? you’re passionate about KJ: I have done some is always a good starting screenwriting recently, point. I encourage people and one of the short to get assignments from films I’ve worked on Vanguard. You’ll produce will be showing at the ZELL THOMAS/PSU VANGUARD

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

Portland International Film Festival. It’s called We Have Our Ways, and it’s in the Oregon Shorts Program-Wilderness. I like independent films—seeing a story that hasn’t been told before.

VG: Do you have any advice on learning new forms?

KJ: All different kinds of writing can inform each other. I watched a lot of short films— especially from Sundance—and would dissect them. Whether you’re a short fiction writer, screenwriter or novel writer, I think you have to start to build that muscle of asking yourself, “What did the author do, and what are the mechanics of the plot?” and study those.

We Have Our Ways will screen 11:45 a.m. on Sunday, March 4, at Whitsell Auditorium in Portland International Film Festival’s Oregon Short Cuts: Wilderness category.

“People of PSU” is an ongoing column. Know of a noteworthy person, group or project in the PSU community Vanguard should feature?

Email people@psuvanguard.com.

ARTS AND CULTURE

FIND IT AT 5TH AVENUE

‘PRECIOUS’

LONG LIVE THE BILDUNGSROMAN OF CINEMA

LIONSGATE, LEE DANIELS ENTERTAINMENT AND SMOKEWOOD ENTERTAINEMNT GROUP ANDREW GAINES Lee Daniels’ 2009 drama Precious remains a source of controversy in the film community. Positive and negative criticisms of the film tend to form a hyperbolic spectrum.

While Precious is borderline maudlin at times, the film provides the unique and necessary contrast to last week’s showing of Boyz N The Hood at 5th Avenue Cinema.

Similar to the bildungsroman genre of literature, Precious and Boyz N The Hood perform a cinematic coming of age set in povertystricken communities such as 1987 Harlem for Precious and 1990s South Central Los Angeles in Boyz. However, while John Singleton’s film espouses the virtues of familial relations, Precious conveys the reality of when those support structures do not exist.

Precious (Gabourey Sidibe) delivers a terrific performance as a young woman struggling to build an identity while contending with an abusive mother and becoming pregnant by her own father. The majority of the film’s performances are well done, including Mariah Carey as Ms. Weiss, the compassionate social worker, and Mo’Nique as Mary, the worst mother imaginable.

The film’s performances are a relief because Daniels and screenwriter Geoffrey S. Fletcher have had something of a tone problem when it comes to delivering melodrama. At its best, Precious is a grim, unflinching look at one of the absolute worst situations in which a young woman could

find herself. At its worst, the film can’t choose which bad things to have happen to the protagonist, so it opts for all of them, causing some strain on the credulity of the film.

The biblical figure of Job had an easier life than Precious, and somewhere within the HIV scares, babies born with mental disabilities and pervasive forms of child abuse, the hardship becomes a bit too fetishized to watch. Daniels builds tragedy upon tragedy until the production takes on the air of misery porn. Aside from its occasional forays into the realm of soap opera–style melodrama, including brief fantasy sequences depicting Precious’ modest dreams, the film stays grounded and raw in a way that few films dare.

The majority of Precious’ positive feedback hails from Gabourey Sidibe’s acting performance and the moving nature of the story.

On the less positive side, critics who dissed Precious stood behind criticism involving its dichotomy between horrible tragedy and squeaky clean family morals.

Another high point of Precious is its well earned third act and hopeful ending. The film’s final moments don’t feel like a concession to audiences’ desire for a happy ending—unlike The Blind Side, which felt the need to tie everything up with a bow by the end. In spite of all this, I highly recommend you check the film out over the weekend and formulate your own thoughts for a difficult movie to feel neutral about.

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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OPINION

THE PROBLEM WITH OKCUPID’S LESBIAN AD INCLUSION OR CAPITALISTIC EXPLOITATION?

PIPER GIBSON OkCupid’s recent DTF ad campaign, running on Portland billboards and TriMet buses, has been turning heads and not in a positive way.

There are multiple problems with the image itself—the sexually explicit DTF is the most obvious.

This specific ad portrays one woman holding another in the hero-anddamsel pose. The stereotypical appearance of the couple is even more problematic, especially the overused butch vs femme dynamic.

All of these individual problems add up to a tactless advertisement that perpetuates stereotypes.

It’s not only about how the ad portrays queer women; it’s represented as something meant to sell a service. It’s capitalizing at best and exploitation at worst.

Representing queer people in advertising is always tricky. On the one hand, non-representation in media and advertisements has a tremendous effect on the mental health and social well-being of unrepresented groups. On the other hand, misrepresentation produces the same effects.

There’s a term for lack of representation of marginalized groups: symbolic annihilation. Media Ecologists Robin R. Means Coleman and Emily Chivers Yochim stated, “Symbolic annihilation points to the ways in which poor media treatment can contribute to social disempowerment and in which symbolic absence in the media can erase groups and individuals from public consciousness.”

Not only does the absence of queer people from the media affect their own mental and social health, it affects thoughts and biases of consumers as well. In this way, it’s good that OkCupid decided to use lesbians and nontraditional couples for its ad, especially since it’s an ad for a dating service and queer people

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OKCUPID do date, but misrepresentation can be as damaging as not being represented at all.

University of California, Los Angeles Assistant Professor of Information Ethics Michelle Caswell stated in a study about mainstream media that “exclusion and misrepresentation have severely negative personal and social consequences,” including feelings of alienation, loss of identity and isolation.

Another problem is using representation for capitalistic gain. The queer women in this ad are sexualized and put on display to be interpreted and stared at by the public, all

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

to sell a service. This runs into exploitative territory. The main question at work here is: Can a for-profit company ever include marginalized groups in their advertising for purely diversity and inclusivity reasons?

One of the reasons this inclusion in advertising rubs the LGBTQ+ community the wrong way is it’s an empty gesture.

Brands include queer people in advertising and show up to pride parades, but do they treat their queer employees well? Do they help campaign to pass laws that would prohibit employer based on sexual and gender identity in the many states that have

no such protections? Do they stand up for LGBTQ+ rights day to day?

Some companies are better than others, but at the end of the day, they’re selling something. And when it comes to this ad, I—along with many others in the LGBTQ+ community—am not buying.

Companies and media outlets should be more aware of misrepresentations, especially of marginalized groups. It’s not enough to be inclusive for the sake of checking a box in the name of capitalism.

It’s important to be accurate in depictions and representations. We deserve better.

OPINION

PODCAST POPULARITY THE FUN AND FOLLY OF PODCASTS JORDAN ELLIS Since their debut in 2003, the ever-increasing popularity of podcasts shows no signs of slowing down. Talking about favorite podcasts has become as normal as talking about favorite TV shows.

Podcasts tend to have less stigma attached than other forms of entertainment like television and social media, with many shows closely tied to learning and spreading information.

According to a Podtrac study in 2017, National Public Radio topped the rank of podcast publishers, with over 16 million monthly listeners in the United States alone. NPR’s mission is “to create a more informed public—one challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas and cultures” and to promote personal growth.

HowStuffWorks—another widely successful podcast publisher—was originally an educational article platform.

A vast array of genres—history, politics and current events, literature, science, mental health, spirituality and more— make up the current podcast market, and many strive to educate and inform. Even narrative and storytelling series aim to inspire, build community and foster creativity.

Podcasts are also better able to stimulate listeners’ imaginations—more so than visual content. Psychologist Emma Rodero from Pompeu Fabra University stated, “Audio is one of the most intimate forms of media because you are con-

stantly building your own images...in your mind.” It can therefore be an active experience; listeners are not mindlessly consuming content but are converting it into visual forms and emotionally connecting with what they hear.

One of the draws of podcasts is their ability to be consumed in conjunction with another activity. We listen while driving, walking around, on the bus or while knitting. It’s nice to be able to listen while on the go, but is this multitasking and tuning out the world around us affecting our development?

Research suggests prolonged multitasking has detrimental effects on our brains. Massachusetts Institute of Technology neuroscientist Earl Miller stated that multitasking has cognitive costs: lower performance, dropped IQ rates and loss of efficiency. Additionally, research shows multitasking produces more cortisol, a hormone commonly linked to stress.

Widespread access to knowledge and creativity is indeed a positive impact of podcasts. They may not be for everyone, but their contribution to our collective society shouldn’t be negated, and their effects should be acknowledged. If listening makes your daily commute less miserable and you resonate with stories that leave the visuals to your imagination, go right ahead. I wish you the best of listening experiences, as long as you’re mindful of your podcast consumption and its impact.

GEORGIA HATCHETT

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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MUSIC

ART

FILM & THEATER

COMMUNITY

ARTS27–Mar. AND CULTURE Feb. 5 TUESDAY, FEB. 27

WEDNESDAY, FEB. 28

THURSDAY, MAR. 1

FRIDAY, MAR. 2

VANPORT ORAL HISTORIES SCREENING, PRESENTATION AND EXHIBIT OREGON EPISCOPAL SCHOOL 6 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Vanport is the forgotten city of Portland, like a ghost we hear its name mentioned but often don’t understand the full context—PSU spawned from Vanport College. The three part event does a well-rounded job of providing history and context through a variety of media.

Hear narratives of firsthand accounts of Vanport and its destruction by flood, see photographs and learn about the vibrant city that was Vanport.

MEET EVAN TURNER FRED MEYER (3030 NE WEIDLER) 4 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES This is probably awesome if you like basketball and are a Portland Trail Blazers fan. His jersey says he’s number one. Bonus points if you have kids who are Blazers fans; they will lose their minds and be grateful for at least a few hours.

PSU THEATER PRESENTS: TWELFTH NIGHT LINCOLN PERFORMANCE HALL 175 7:30 P.M. THROUGH MARCH 10 • $6–15, ALL AGES Shakespeare has been relocated to Cuba for this gender-bending performance of classic theater. In typical Shakespearean comedy prose, everyone is in love with everyone else.

Based on the last Portland winter, I’d much rather be transported to Cuba than the U.K.

TROLLS: REALITY, MYTH OR CULTURAL ICONS CRAMER HALL 171 7:30 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Barbara Frankhauser talks about trolls which apparently people think are evil.

The Seattle troll just likes VW Bugs and those crazy-haired trolls of childhood seemed pretty easy going, but some people think not. Learn about Scandinavian myths and culture through stories about trolls. You don’t have to pay the toll to get in.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA (2006) MISSION THEATER 6 P.M. • $11, 21+ (OTHER ALL AGES SCREENINGS AVAILABLE) This dramedy, or comedrama, features Meryl Streep as a fashion magazine editor and Anne Hathaway as a young college graduate trying to make it in the New York big publication big leagues. Admission includes a cocktail, which is hopefully not a High-Heel Hefeweizen.

LIVE @ LUNCH: STEFAN PAUL GEORGE PARK BLOCKS (PARKWAY NORTH IF RAINING) 12 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Mr. George plays a lot of shows up in Seattle with his band SPG and the Vices. In this stripped down acoustic environment, you definitely get a popcentric and upbeat twist on the classic singer-songwriter style. Fans of Jack Johnson and John Mayer may be into this performer whose self-proclaimed influences are Dave Matthews, Miles Davis and Josh Tillman.

PORTLAND SCIENCE ON TAP - SHAPING THE WORLD’S FOOD SCENE OREGON HISTORICAL SOCIETY 5:30 P.M. • $5–10, ALL AGES (12 AND UNDER ADMITTED FREE) Enjoy appetizers while learning about how food items are transformed from initial idea to shelved product. Oregon State’s Food Innovation Center brings taste tests with sensory scientist Ann Colonna and shows how research chef Jason Ball and product development manager Sarah Masoni predict food trends.

OMSI AFTER DARK: GAME ON! OMSI 6 P.M. • $15, 21+ “Calculate risk, execute attacks and tabulate probabilities.” OMSI visitors can gather after hours to drink some hard-A, launch water rockets and play with chemicals! Local artisans and a beer scientist will also be present.

PSU OPERA PRESENTS: ANGEL OF THE AMAZON LINCOLN RECITAL HALL 75 10 a.m. • Free, all ages Composed by Evan Mack, the opera depicts the nun Sr. Dorothy Stang who was killed advocating against loggers and landowners on behalf of the Brazilian people.

FLICKATHON: THUNDERCAT AT THE STARLIGHT STAGE (2015) KELLY’S OLYMPIAN 6 P.M. • FREE, 21+ Couldn’t see Thundercat at Pickathon in 2015? Wanna remember the good times? Come check out the filmed set at Kelly’s Olympian for free. Thundercat does a great job of showing off his expertise while infusing humor. Has collaborated with Kendrick.

NOON CONCERT: HAMILTON CHEIFETZ AND JULIA HWAKYU LINCOLN RECITAL HALL 75 12 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Take a break in a middle of your day with some piano and cello from some of PSU’s instructors. A chance to see what some PSU faculty are made of.

LIVE @ LUNCH: ALKI PARK BLOCKS (PARKWAY NORTH IF RAINING) 12 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES ALKI is like the millennial version of U2 with their clear references to Coldplay and Cold War Kids—liking cold things is good for a band from the Pacific Northwest. Their self-described influences, including Daft Punk and M83, are apparent with the band’s electronic ambience backing upbeat and uplifting pop.

BLIND PILOT WITH THE OREGON SYMPHONY ARLENE SCHNITZER 7:30 P.M. • $25–55, ALL AGES Local Portland legend Blind Pilot comes back home to play with the Oregon Symphony. Indie folk pop for fans of the The Decemberists, The Shins and such. Backed by the symphony is a pretty sweet way to see any band.

MICKEY AVALON & DIRT NASTY DANTE’S 9 P.M. • $30–75, 21+ Do you remember the Mickey Avalon song where the Hollywood grunge-rap party boy and his friends talk about their penises a lot while chatting shit about other people’s penises? Apparently, it was a thing—and now that thing is back with the tour is called My Dick-11 Year Anniversary Tour.

SCREENING OF BLAZING TRAIL: A JOURNEY OF THE INDIAN REVOLUTION (2005) CIDER RIOT 7 P.M. • FREE, 21+ Anti-Imperialist Portland and RASH NW present the saga of communist uprisings in India as presented by the Communist Party of India. Everyone’s afraid of communists, so why not check out a documentary about them and hear what they have to say? Feel free to donate and tip your bartender well for the cider sips.

THE CRUISE (1998) 5TH AVENUE CINEMA 7:30 P.M. • FREE–$5, ALL AGES A documentary snapshot glimpse at the lifestyle of Timothy “Speed” Levitch, a tour-bus guide in New York City. He loves his city and tells people about it, he lives out of a suitcase, Levitch lives the lifestyle of the cruise.

The Village Voice said Levitch is “the guy Woody Allen can only dream of being.”

ALICE (IN WONDERLAND) KELLER AUDITORIUM 7:30 P.M. (THROUGH MARCH 4) $35–121, NO CHILDREN UNDER 3 Alice in Wonderland as a ballet sounds pretty interesting. How surreal will they make the performances? Contemporary dance has gotten pretty weird and Alice in Wonderland is weird; hopefully they go off the deep end and make this as mind-boggling as possible.

IN THE COOKY JAR R&B/SOUL 45 PARTY EAST PORTLAND EAGLE LODGE 3256 9 P.M. • $5–7, 21+ KMHD DJ Cooky Parker’s monthly dance party featuring lots of sweet old R&B and Soul. Come out, twist, shimmy and shake or whatever you do; do your thing.

PEACHES & CREAM (QUEER DANCE PARTY) LOCAL LOUNGE (OFFICIAL) 9 P.M. • FREE, 21+ Peaches & Cream is back with dirty beats with a dance party that’s “sticky and sweet and good enough to eat!”

They promise to keep your peaches moving thanks to sounds by DJ MannyPetty.

SYDNEY BARDOLE

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PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

ARTS ANDJohnson CULTURE Jake SUNDAY, MAR. 4

MONDAY, MAR. 5

FEATURED EVENTS

FIRST SATURDAY PDX ASIAN LECTURE SERIES “HONORING ANCIENT MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS OF CHINA” PSU ACADEMIC & STUDENT RECREATION CENTER 230 9:30 A.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Jerry Lin gives an illustrated lecture about the rich cultural tradition of Chinese music. This jaunt 8,000 years into the past examines many different ancient instruments, how they were made, what they sounded like and how they were used.

TIMBERS SEASON OPENER & CIDER RIOT TAKEOVER THE CIVIC TAPROOM AND BOTTLE SHOP 7 P.M. • FREE, 21+ Come support the best in the West!

Bring your scarves and loud voices for the sing-a-longs and chants, and if you don’t know them, look them up ‘cause they’re way fun.

BASKETBALL SKILLS NIGHT PSU ACADEMIC & STUDENT RECREATION CENTER 7 P.M.• FREE, ALL AGES Come watch your fellow students try to reign supreme with a variety of contests including free throws, an agility course and three-pointers. Show up to compete, cheer and give unwanted free pointers.

THE ARCHITECTURE OF INTERNMENT EXHIBIT UNIVERSITY OF PORTLAND ST. MARY’S STUDENT CENTER 8 A.M. (THROUGH MARCH 9) • FREE, ALL AGES The exhibit examines how Oregonians participated in the decision to incarcerate Japanese-Americans during World War II. An important reminder of the not-so-pretty U.S. history people just like us had a hand in perpetuating— relevant.

THE MOTH STORYSLAM SECRET SOCIETY 8 P.M. • $10, 21+ The Moth is a famous storytelling podcast event featuring personal stories that are shared on stage by their authors. Who knows where that night will go?

8X10: VOICES FROM SOLITARY LEGAL RESEARCH CENTER AT LEWIS & CLARK LAW SCHOOL TUESDAY FEB. 27: 7 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES The National Lawyers Guild presents a selection of performances from The Bucket, a play written by, about and performed by people who’ve spent time in solitary confinement. Part of NLG’s Week Against Mass Incarceration, the event will be followed by Q&A. There will also be free food.

VISITING ARTIST TALK: PORTIA MUNSON PCC ROCK CREEK A&E ART BUILDING 3 ROOM 105 2 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Munson is most widely known for her large installations of like-colored objects. Munson’s work centers around environmental and cultural themes from a feminist perspective.

MARCHFOURTH W/ HIGH STEP SOCIETY CRYSTAL BALLROOM 8:30 P.M. (FAMILY MATINEE AT 3 P.M.) $15–23, ALL AGES In the winter, marching around outside doesn’t seem possible, but this concert will snap you out of the chilly cold and into the dazzling sunlight of spring. You’ll be marching and dancing in sunshine with Portland’s notorious marching band.

THE MAGIC PLAY THE ARMORY 7:30 P.M. • $25–52, ALL AGES A play about a magician who is trying to perform hours after being left by his partner. Quite an interesting setup.

Psychological turmoil and internal anguish while trying to do your job that requires you to be convincing.

MUSIC

CARLOS SANTANA PORTLAND VETERANS MEMORIAL COLISEUM 8 P.M. • $48–123, ALL AGES A living guitar legend of the shred shred groove-blues generation. An icon not to be missed. Vanguard’s creative director’s grandma stated, “I’ve seen him in concert, and I would see him again.”

THE EAGLE HUNTRESS (2016) GARDEN HOME COMMUNITY LIBRARY 2 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES A 13-year-old nomadic Mongolian girl is determined to be the first female eagle hunter defying the 12-generation tradition of her family. Come enjoy some refreshments and watch a sweet documentary.

FRIENDS OF CHAMBER MUSIC: QUATUOR EBÈNE LINCOLN PERFORMANCE HALL 175 7:30 P.M. • $30–55, ALL AGES A classical quartet who plays everything from the Pulp Fiction’s rejuvenated “Misirlou” to Beethoven. Their fusion goes unexpected directions while their commitment to craft and tone shines.

PUBLIC CONVERSATION AND Q&A WITH JOE SACCO SMSU 327/328 WEDNESDAY FEB. 28 5 P.M. • FREE, ALL AGES Cartoonist-journalist Joe Sacco is widely known for his graphic novel Palestine that illustrated, literally and figuratively, the plight of the Palestinian people.

A great opportunity to learn and ask questions of a famous author in an intimate environment. Last spring he was on stage at the Aladdin Theater, so this is a treat.

ART

THE ACADEMIC MISSION THEATER 8 P.M. • $12–15, ALL AGES They are Irish and have an EP called Loose Friends. Other than that, seeing this band sounds like something that should help us power through the rest of the term. Listening to The Academic is just like listening to my teachers, right?

DRAG QUEEN SUNDAY BRUNCH NIGHT LIGHT LOUNGE 10 A.M. • $20, ALL AGES Sasha Scarlett hosts this weekly Sunday brunch with a revolving cast full of celebrity tributes, comedy and glamour.

FILM & THEATER

URBAN BUSH WOMEN NEWMARK THEATRE 8 P.M. (MARCH 1–3) • $25–34, ALL AGES Urban Bush Women present their latest work Hair and Other Stories which talks about race, gender, identity and economic inequality through the lens of African-American women’s hair. The group uses dance and humor as a different approach to what can sometimes be difficult conversations.

COMMUNITY

SATURDAY, MAR. 3

GEORGIA HATCHETT

PSU Vanguard • FEBRUARY 27, 2018 • psuvanguard.com

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