BIG FREEDIA TRIUMPHANT RETURN TO PORTLAND
UPPERS AND DOWNERS
INDEX
To be legal or illegal, that is the question
NEWS OPINION ARTS SPORTS
Get ready to see "Azz Everywhere"
OPINION: PAGE 5
ARTS: PAGE 8
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ESTABLISHED 1946
FRIDAY, APRIL 1ST, 2011
VOL. 65 NO. 46
PSUVANGUARD.COM
Ad-hoc Athletics committee halted
PSU launches Desire2Learn
Administration says senate committee duplicates existing board
Blackboard’s replacement is now fully operational
Alison Barnwell Vanguard staff
Although the 2011–12 Student Fee Committee budget has been submitted to President Wim Wiewel, ASPSU will continue to examine funding of the Athletics Department in the long term. The Student Senate worked with the SFC before spring break to form a group that would investigate the increasing Athletics budget, but university administration—backed by Institutional Research Analyst David Burgess—recently disapproved of the Senate’s proposal, concluding that the goals of the new committee were the same as the mission of the Intercollegiate Athletics Board (IAB). SFC ON PAGE 7
Student Affairs prepares to absorb Ombuds cases Student Affairs, other departments work to ensure neutrality Alison Barnwell Vanguard staff
As Portland State’s Ombudsman Office approaches its closure at the end of spring term, the Office of Student Affairs and other authorities across campus are gearing up to handle complaints from the PSU community. Financial concerns were one reason for the closure of Ombuds, which served as an informal venue for student concerns and conflicts. “All of the Student Affairs units are regrouping,” Sandy McDermott, head of Ombuds, said. She and the two other Ombuds staff members provided support to students for almost 11 years. OMBUDS ON PAGE 3
CLAS gets interim dean Dick Knight brings a spectrum of knowledge to familiar position Peter Browning Vanguard staff
College of Liberal Arts and Sciences (CLAS) Dean Marvin Kaiser recently stepped down after 17 years of work. In his absence, Dick Knight, who has worked as the interim dean for the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, is taking the same interim status for CLAS. Knight—a man who has been a chameleon of sorts for Portland State—is temporarily replacing Kaiser. Aside from working as the Maseeh College interim dean, Knight has also served as the vice president of University Relations. Kaiser, who has seen the evolution of the department, spoke fondly of his time there. DEAN ON PAGE 7
Erick Bengel Vanguard staff
Spring term at Portland State kicks off this year with the anticipated launching of Desire2Learn (D2L), the university’s latest online learning management system. D2L is now fully installed and operational throughout campus, and Blackboard is well on its way to being finally decommissioned. According to Ellen Weeks, D2L’s project manager, D2L switches this term from the “implementation phase” to the “maintenance phase,” which means that the system now functions like many of PSU’s other online systems, such as Banner. J.D. Gillis, the systems administrator for D2L, said that the reception of D2L has been mixed, which he believes is because the system is simply new and different from Blackboard. “Some folks need to familiarize themselves with [D2L’s] user environment in order to grasp its capabilities,” Gillis said. “However, the majority of the feedback that I have received has been positive.” According to Mark Jenkins, associate vice provost of Online Learning Services, the response to D2L has generally ranged from “good to very good.” “I’d say that D2L is definitely a ‘best-of-breed’ product and that users recognize that,” he said. Weeks explained that PSU students and faculty need to get over the initial learning curve before there can be an accurate evaluation of the strengths and weaknesses of D2L.
KARL KUCHS/VANGUARD STAFF
Online learning: D2L has officially become Blackboard's replacement.
This learning curve has varied among D2L’s users, according to Jenkens. For PSU faculty, the learning curve has been fairly steep; for students, less so. Still, the transition period from Blackboard to D2L has been far smoother than Jenkins and his team had hoped for. The “days of dread” they were expecting during the first week of spring quarter have simply not occurred, he said. Because of the wide base of user support and training materials, the PSU faculty has
managed to successfully acclimate to the new online learning climate. According to Weeks, many improvements in D2L have been made since fall’s “pilot phase,” including a system upgrade that took place over winter break. “We have made numerous adjustments to D2L’s system settings based on student and faculty feedback,” Weeks said. D2L ON PAGE 3
Professor says Portland not ready for a major earthquake Lack of earthquake preparedness could lead to future disaster Ryan Deming Vanguard staff
In light of the recent devastation in Japan, students may be wondering how ready Portland is for a major earthquake. As it turns out, this is a very difficult question to answer, according to Dr. Kenneth Cruikshank, an assistant professor in Portland State's geology department. Depending on a number of factors, a potential earthquake could have a minimal or very severe effect on the city. Cruikshank said that depending on the “resonant frequency” of a building, an earthquake could either have little effect on a building, or completely destroy it. If the waves of energy that an earthquake creates vibrate at the same resonant frequency as the building, the building doesn’t stand much of a chance. Because of differing resonant frequencies, “half a dozen buildings will be affected differently,” Cruikshank said.
KARL KUCHS/VANGUARD STAFF
Earthquake readiness: The "X" beams supporting SMSU were installed to improve the buildings' seismic stability.
Scientists have informed the public that the west coast is overdue for a major earthquake. PSU geology Professor Scott Burns said that along the Cascadia Margin, which exists off the coast where the North American Plane meets the Juan De Fuca Plate, quakes usually occur every 500 years. The last one occurred on January 2, 1700. Because of this, the next major subduction earthquake—caused by the slipping of these two
plates—could happen tomorrow or even hundreds of years from now. Scientists have no way of predicting when it will hit, Burns said. Subduction zone earthquakes are predicted to be the most devastating earthquakes because they are caused by an entire tectonic plate slipping under another. This type of earthquake EARTHQUAKE ON PAGE 3