Vol. 115, Issue 14 January 30, 2014
The BEacon
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The Student Voice of the University of Portland Since 1935
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Two Pilots drafted to Seattle Reign Sports, p. 15
Poorman sets ambitious goals for presidency Philip Ellefson Opinions Editor ellefson15@up.edu
Kristen Garcia | THE BEACON
President-elect Fr. Mark Poorman addresses the UP community at the Presidential Welcome Reception. Poorman will be UP’s 20th president.
President-elect Fr. Mark Poorman already has a long list of plans for his presidency. He wants to raise money for more student scholarships, build more academic facilities and deepen UP’s Catholic identity. And he wants to keep teaching. At a welcome reception for Poorman on Monday, he said he would was committed to improving the University as UP’s 20th president. “I’m honored by the trust and the confidence of the Board of Regents,” Poorman said. “I will work my very hardest to give everything I have to this place, to bring it, as they say, to the next level.” President Fr. Bill Beauchamp said Poorman has what it takes to tackle all his ambitions. “One thing I know about Fr. Poorman is he has the energy of three people,” Beauchamp said. Poorman was elected during a Board of Regents retreat last weekend at an undisclosed location in southern California. The Presidential Search Committee, which was made
Chiles incident sparks outrage, dialogue Lydia Laythe Staff Writer laythe16@up.edu As 10 pairs of sneakers screeched down the court and the sound of dribbling echoed through the Chiles Center at the game against BYU last Thursday, the voices of the Pilots student section roared above it all. The Pilots would go on to defeat BYU in triple overtime and UP fans would swarm the court. But amid the excitement, some in the student section felt anything but elated. For them, an incident in the stands resulted in hurt, anger and determination to bring attention to the need for more cultural inclusion and sensitivity at UP. Through word of mouth and social media, the incident led to a larger ongoing dialogue about why not all students feel welcome.
The Incident The Villa Drum Squad was leading the Pilots fan section as usual, but something was different. The students, along with several friends from other residence halls, wore sombreros and a Mexican flag, and held a piñata and maracas. Several members of the group called out words and phrases in Spanish like: “Si se puede!” which means “It can be done!” While squad members later said they intended to project an image of Pilot pride, the “Latinthemed” hats and props in that context were condescending and offensive to juniors Yuri Hernandez and Jaclyn Sisto. The students in sombreros also called out Spanish words like “Arriba!” and the Spanish swear word for “whore.” “Instantly I just felt disgusted, hurt, and I just really couldn’t believe what I was seeing,”
Hernandez said. Hernandez recognized one of the sombrero-wearing students as a former Service and Justice Coordinator whom she had worked with. When Hernandez asked to speak with the student, he refused. She attempted several times to explain why she was offended, but became discouraged. That’s when Sisto spoke up. “I just wanted to have an honest conversation with the people involved,” Sisto said. “(I explained that they were) boiling our culture down to these few things that are very Americanized and very commodified.” Hernandez and Sisto asked that the students put down their maracas and piñata and remove their sombreros. Yet while the students put down their props, the sombreros remained. “If it hadn’t been in that See CULTURAL AWARENESS, page 2
up of faculty, staff, Holy Cross clergy and regents, recommended that the Board of Regents elect Poorman. In addition to the Presidential Search Committee’s recommendation, the Board of Regents received evaluation sheets for both candidates filled out by administrators, Holy Cross priests, faculty, staff and a selection of students. For the past two years, Poorman has served as executive vice president. Before that, he was vice president of Student Affairs at Notre Dame for 11 years. Provost Tom Greene said Poorman is equipped with necessary skills for the job. “He understands a comprehensive University very well,” Greene said. “He is first of all an academic, but he’s also spent time in other capacities, both here and at Notre Dame.” Residents of Schoenfeldt Hall, where Poorman serves as a pastoral resident, praised his ability to make people in his community feel welcome. “This is a person that invests himself 100 percent. If I needed advice, he’s the one person I could go to,” said Schoenfeldt Hall Director Joe Coulter. “Even if
he’s extremely busy, he can make time for the simplest things.” Sophomore Cameron Trostle, a Schoenfeldt resident, said Poorman occasionally takes time to go on outings with students. “One time, me and a couple of my friends and him went to brunch at Podnah’s,” Trostle said. “He likes to joke around and have fun.” Poorman said living in dorms and interacting with students is one of his favorite parts of being at a university. “I absolutely love student life. I’ve lived in the dorms for 28 years, and I think those experiences are some of the most rewarding ministerial experiences I’ve had,” he said. Poorman hopes to continue teaching ethics after he takes office. During his time at UP, Poorman has helped to create the Dundon-Berchtold Initiative, which includes a class of 40 students called The Character Project and gives faculty-student teams the opportunity to do indepth research on ethics in their fields of study. Poorman has spent much See PRESIDENT-ELECT, page 5
Campus Ministry welcomes new director Lydia Laythe Staff Writer laythe16@up.edu Father Mark DeMott, Shipstad Hall Director, recently accepted the interim director of Campus Ministry position. DeMott, however, is also known for his unofficial roles on campus: Shipstad’s “clutter police” and in-house barber. After receiving a barber chair last spring, DeMott began a fundraiser called “Ship’s Clips.” This fundraiser benefits Holy Cross Lake View Senior Secondary School in Uganda, where DeMott taught before coming to the University of Portland. But DeMott is no rookie to cutting hair – he started in 2007 when he joined the seminary. “They needed somebody to cut hair – so I started learning,” DeMott said. DeMott didn’t always want to be a priest. He was
raised Catholic, but his father, grandfather and greatgrandfather were all doctors. So as he began his undergraduate degree at Notre Dame in 1998 it was no surprise that he pursued a future in medicine. However, at Notre Dame he was introduced to the study of faith and the Holy Cross priesthood, and was pulled in another direction. “My imagination and energy slowly just started to focus on learning about (God),” DeMott said. “So I would study science all day in school, and then read about that at night.” He joined the Holy Cross seminary in 2007. “You know how you get so interested in your girlfriend or your boyfriend and you get so interested in your career that that’s all you want to do, that’s what you think about, what gets you up in the morning, what See NEW CAMPUS MINISTRY DIRECTOR, page 4