Daily Vanguard

A sustainable legacy

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Recently, Portland State's profile for sustainability projects on campus has been the subject of much discussion across campus. This week, the Vanguard is taking a closer look at what sustainability has meant to PSU in the past, present and future.

Even among expert faculty, sustainability at Portland State is often a nebulous topic.

PSU feeling bike parking crunch

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Some bicycle commuters returning to school last week found a challenge waiting for them before they even got to their first class of the day: no place to park. With an increase in bicycle ridership and a limited numbers of bike racks available on campus, cyclists have been resorting to finding any piece of metal they can secure their bikes to.

"People are locking their bikes to fences," said ASPSU student senator Peter Welte.

Obama's brother-in-law to host debate viewing party

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Oregon State head basketball coach Craig Robinson's first trip to the South Park Blocks won't be to coach against the Vikings.

Instead, Robinson will be stumping for his brother-in-law, Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama, at a debate viewing party tonight in Montgomery Hall. He said he has done about 50 appearances for the campaign so far.

Student arrested on arson charge

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

An arson attempt at St. Helens Court was foiled early Monday morning, according to The Oregonian and local television outlets.

The Hip-Hop Live Tour: a review

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Last Friday's Hip-Hop Live Tour revealed two facts. One was entirely expected and the other entirely surprising.

The expected: Despite a strong lineup featuring Talib Kweli, David Banner and Little Brother, backed by a shit-hot live band, the Rhythm Roots All Stars, the turn out was mediocre. The crowd filled up less than half the Roseland Theater.

Is Nick and Norah the next Juno?

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

As the faux hand-drawn opening credits dance across the screen, it's immediately apparent that the producers of Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist had hoped that this film would be the next Juno.

Featuring a cast of quirky high schoolers, music from a variety of not-so-indie indie bands and, of course, Michael Cera, the basic ingredients were all there to capitalize on the success of last year's pregnant-teen comedy.

Klosterman scores a touchdown

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Chuck Klosterman's debut novel, Downtown Owl, starts off with a newspaper clipping about a sudden blizzard on Feb. 4, 1983. On that date, 11 people were found dead and dozens were still missing as a result of the storm.

Rewind back to Aug. 15, 1983.

The death of Eskimo and Sons

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Local pop orchestra Eskimo and Sons have, like many other arctic-dwelling creatures, ceased to exist in recent months. The news is bittersweet though, because while the odds of witnessing a polar bear in its natural habitat decrease by the day, witnessing a former Eskimo and Son is hardly difficult, thanks to the multitude of former band members, many of whom have other projects and releases. Songwriter Dhani Rosa recently spoke with the Vanguard about his former band and plans for future awesomeness.

Just plain different

Fri, 03 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Late in the fourth quarter and with Portland State holding a double-digit lead over Eastern Washington, senior linebacker Andy Schantz looked at his teammates sitting next to him on the bench and screamed.

"We're different," Schantz said while shaking his head.

Opportunistic hustlers

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

It brings a smile to senior linebacker KJ McCrae's face to talk about hitting hard, especially when he touches on the fact that in Portland State's defense there is "no technique to it, you just hit."

During the dog days of summer leading up to the season, the Vikings defense did not spend time practicing tackling and their scrimmage sessions were usually void of full contact.

This season, there have been moments when that lack of tackling may have hurt the team as opposing ball carriers have squeaked from the grasp of a Portland State defender for more yardage.

Campaign Blazers

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Amid preparations for their upcoming season, three Portland Trail Blazers visited the Portland State campus on Oct. 5 in an effort to encourage students to register to vote in the upcoming election.

Center Greg Oden, forward Channing Frye and rookie guard Jerryd Bayless all spoke to a sparse crowd of approximately 100 people in the Smith Memorial Student Union in an event hosted by Barack Obama's Oregon Campaign for Change and the Portland State University College Democrats.

Failure to execute

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

After opening a difficult road trip with a gritty defeat of Northern Arizona, the Vikings carried all the momentum headed into their matchup with Northern Colorado.

But for the first time since joining the Big Sky Conference in 2006, the Bears (10-3, 4-1 BSC) defeated Portland State 3-1 in Greeley, Colo. The defeat was the Vikings (12-4, 5-1 BSC) first of the conference season.

Searching for goals

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

After the final whistle blew on the Vikings (1-9-2) 1-0 loss to Fresno State (4-7-1) on Sunday, the feeling on the home sidelines was one of lost opportunity.

Braving the soggy weather at the Tualatin Hills Park and Recreation Center, the Vikings struggled to get their offense rolling and sustain any kind of momentum during the 90-minute match.

In brief

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Awarded both Big Sky Conference and National Player of the Week honors was Portland State sophomore quarterback Drew Hubel. No stranger to big games, Hubel recorded another statistically jaw-dropping performance in leading the Vikings to a victory over Eastern Washington on Saturday.

82nd Avenue blues

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

There's a war being waged over a strip of Portland's 82nd Avenue, an area just over six miles long. People living in the neighborhoods on and around this street feel that their rights and safety are being threatened by the prostitution trade that has flourished in their community, and many of these concerned, angry citizens blame Mayor Tom Potter and the City Council for revoking the ordinance designating the area as a "prostitution-free zone," (or PFZ) a little over a year ago.

Wherever prostitution is illegal (as it is in Portland, and almost every other place in the U.S.) it is already, by definition, a "prostitution-free zone."

Conquering the little guy

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

"Same Friendly Attitude, Way More Muscle."

J.P.Morgan Chase's slogan is boldly plastered across the homepage of Washington Mutual's Web site. But what does it really mean?

Basically, Chase's marketers recognize that banking customers are scared. Larger banks often gobble small banks up, but when the government seizes financial giants like WaMu, people begin to panic about their money. They begin to picture the last few rounds of the Monopoly board game where the last few players must fork over their fortunes to one triumphant winner.

Double jeopardy

Tue, 07 Oct 2008 04:00:00 GMT

Is justice achieved if a person is to be punished for the rest of their life for a crime that they've already been punished for? Of course it's not.