A tale of two halves for the Vikings

Portland State dominated Sacramento State on Saturday at the Stott Center—at least, in the first half. Although the Vikings had a double-digit lead for much of the game and had a 14-point lead with just over four minutes to go, they allowed the Hornets to make the game interesting down the stretch.

Sacramento State was able to close within five points, but in the end, the Vikings were able to hold on to an 86-80 victory and are now tied for fifth place in the Big Sky Conference.

Thursday night, the Vikings were beat on the road at Eastern Washington 65-51. Solid Portland State defense held Eastern Washington to 39 percent shooting in the first half, allowing the Vikings to take a 26-22 advantage into the half. However, the second half was a different story, as Eastern Washington hit 17–30 shots and led by as many as 20 points, despite sophomore guard Charles Odum’s 14 points and five rebounds, and senior forward Paul Guede’s 10 points and seven rebounds.

Consistency has often been the Achilles’ heel of the Vikings this season. This past week, the Vikings were a much better team in the first 20 minutes than the final 20 minutes—they had a 15:6 assist-to-turnover ratio in the first half compared to a 12:18 ratio in the second, and gave up 23 points to opponents in the first half and 49 points in the second half.

After winning three of four games earlier in the month, Portland State has now lost four of its last six games.

“When we have a [big] lead we need to learn how to keep that lead and close games out,” senior guard Melvin Jones said.

“That’s been our problem this year—you can’t go play a great first half and then just lay an egg [in the second],” head coach Tyler Geving echoed. “We’re not good enough to just turn it off and on right now.”

Though the Vikings have been hampered by injuries, they’ve still been able to stay competitive and currently have an 11-10 record overall with a 4-5 record in conference play. Saturday night against Sacramento State, senior forward Phillip “Tree” Thomas poured in a career-high 29 points and was a reliable post presence inside. Thomas shot 9 of 16 from the field and went an impressive 11 of 13 from the line.

“Tree did a good job tonight; he had some great looks inside, and he made [his] free throws,” Geving said. “We’ve been working with him all year, and now he’s showing it.”

“The game plan was to get the ball to Tree,” Jones added. “Lately we’ve been lacking big man play, and we’ve [needed] a true big who can get on the block and score, and he did that for us tonight.”

Hot shooting, aggressive defense and well-executed offense enabled the Vikings to race out to a 42-24 lead at halftime, and junior guard Charles Odum continued his stellar play, finishing the game with 17 points, six rebounds and four assists. Senior forward Phil Nelson had a solid performance as well, nearly posting a double-double with eight points and a career-high nine rebounds.

Even with a 14-point lead in the last four minutes, the Vikings played uninspired second-half defense and gave up 13 second-half points on 12 offensive rebounds to allow Sacramento State some hope near the end. Geving was clearly frustrated after the game.

“I’d give the first half an ‘A,’ and the second half a ‘D,'” Geving steamed. “When you give up 56 points in the second half, it’s a joke.”

Added Geving, “The problem is kids today don’t watch enough basketball and study the game.”

“Coach preaches [to not] live and die by the three, to play inside out, drive and kick and get the open shot,” Jones said. “And if they’re not falling, he tells us to keep shooting because he knows we’re a good shooting team.”

Jones, whose feature on the “Today Show” has been rescheduled to air at later date, was a big part of the Vikings’ hot shooting Saturday night, going 6 of 9 from the field and 5 of 7 from distance, including four three-pointers in the first half. Jones finished the game with 17 points, one rebound, one steal, one assist and only one turnover. Still, when Sacramento State made their run, Jones knew he’d seen this happen to his team before—defensive breakdowns, poor second-half stretches and cold shooting.

“I was thinking, man, we always do this, and we give up leads,” Jones said.

In the closing moments against Sacramento State, Jones got the chance to relieve some of his frustrations, as he slammed in a break-away dunk with 32 seconds left in the game to put an exclamation point on the victory.

“I was trying to shoot the passing lanes,” Jones said with a smile. “And I knew if I got a steal, I’d try to dunk it.” ?

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 1ST, 2011

PSUVANGUARD.COM

VOL. 65 NO. 34

Listed below is a breakdown of the 2010–11 Dam Cup results.

Liquor prohibition led to the rise of organized crime in America, and drug prohibition has led to the rise of the gang problems we have now. DREW CAREY

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Mark Costigan Daily Emerald staff Throughout my higher education I have heard cyberspace referred to as a place where consumers wield a great deal of power. My professors have cited blogging and social networking as tools that will ensure our Internet freedom. I have lived in this fantasy world, believing in earnest that maybe the power really had shifted from the hands of the producers to the consumers.

Those days are over.

With the FCC approval of the Comcast-NBC Universal merger on January 18, any hope for net neutrality has been washed away with the sewage. Comcast owns more telecommunications lines and controls more Internet connections than any other service provider in the nation.

The company has been caught slowing down traffic and even prioritizing data and information on its servers.

And now it controls the face of that information.

Comcast, as an Internet service provider, owns the framework and pipelines of the Internet in our country. The company is, in essence, a distributor and provider of the means by which we receive and transmit our information. This used to be a minor topic in our field of discourse, but now we have reason to be seriously concerned.

For example, take Tracy Record, who covers local news in the West Seattle neighborhood.

In light of five major corporations owning the vast majority of American media, she and her husband have taken it upon themselves to cover local news in their neighborhood.

Tracy writes the articles, her husband, Patrick, sells the ads and their middle school-aged son edits the photos.

The family not only supports itself this way; they provide relevant news to their community supported by local advertisers.

Like many bloggers, they use WordPress, an extremely cheap Web publishing platform.

Before this pinnacle merger, the family had a fair opportunity to distribute its information through the Internet. Using techniques like search engine optimization, they could inform and empower their community.

Well, now the West Seattle blog will have to compete with a merged media and distribution company that can prioritize information. Interestingly enough, the Federal Communications Commission insists this merger is in the interest of consumers.

When Comcast can silence its critics, it will be difficult for such a ludicrous statement to receive any backlash.

Previous to this conjoining of two major media conglomerates, we had hope for freedom of information. Our free speech rights in the United States were something many countries in the world could hardly fathom.

“I was astounded by the freedom of speech you have here,” said Zedidi Oni, a native of the West African nation of Togo. “You can talk about the government and still go to sleep at night not being afraid if you will not wake up in the morning. In my country, you can’t really say anything or do anything against the government. Unless you want to risk your life or your family’s, you constantly remain living in fear.”

We were a paradigm for freedom of speech. Now that speech can be controlled, manipulated or even silenced.

The internet was the “fifth estate.” It was a forum for watchdogs to keep our “fourth estate” media in check. Techniques of web advertising were the Wild West, with technology entrepreneurs creating new markets for information on an hourly basis.

But now we are entering a new world of cyberspace: a world where NBC Universal will be the vehicle for propelling the economic interests of Comcast.

A world where bloggers can be supressed, independent Web developers are imprisoned and information entrepreneurs are left fresh out of options.

And one government organization is to blame.

The FCC wields a great deal of power of who speaks to it. It regulates satellite, radio and TV transmissions. It controls ownership rules that most of the United States does not even know exist.

These laws regulate how many television or radio stations a single owner can own, or whether newspapers can own television stations, and how many. These are regulations that are supposed to ensure diverse ownership of media, which subsequently encourages a fairness of ideas.

The concentration of media in the hands of fewer and fewer companies is not a new development, but the reforms in the last two decades have been astonishing.

In 1983, more than 80 percent of the media was controlled by just 50 companies. By 1992, that number had been more than halved to 14. By 2010, the overwhelming majority of the mass media was owned by only five corporations.

At this point, the FCC has relaxed ownership rules so much that fairness in media is nearly impossible. We have a set of changes that will move us in exactly in the wrong direction.

Comcast-NBC can now dominate the dialogue of our communities, moving it in whatever direction that satisfies its investors and advertisers.

Alternative ideas from independent media companies will become nearly impossible, as Comcast can prioritize information at will.

It will control the reservoir of information, the pipelines and the dams that stop it.

I fear for the day when it buys Facebook or Google. ?

*This article originally appeared in the Daily Emerald. It is printed here in its original form.

Avery’s story—the trajectory of a troubled student falling through the cracks at a large university—is somewhat similar to Loughner’s, prompting the question of what could have been done to prevent the assault.

In high school, Avery was a typical student, according to Inez Newbold, a secretary at Lawrenceville High School in Avery’s hometown of Lawrenceville, Ill. She said that he had no disciplinary record.

Through church, Newbold had known Avery and his family since he was a child.

“He was always a nice boy, never front-and-center, but I never saw anything abnormal,” she said. “He was happy. He took part in things.” 

Avery’s father suffered from heart problems and died when Avery was in elementary school. He was then left to care for his mother, who was bound to a wheelchair due to severe rheumatoid arthritis. She died before his senior year of high school.

Newbold said that Avery was “lost and bewildered” at his mother’s death.

Newbold and others in Lawrenceville were shocked to hear of the stabbing.

“I was dumbfounded,” Newbold said.

After high school, Avery attended Vincennes University in Indiana between 2006 and 2008. Reports released by the VU police also indicate that Avery’s record was clean.

However, Avery’s behavior took a turn for the bizarre at PSU. CPSO records show that he harassed staff members in the elevator and was cited as a “student of concern.”

About 10 minutes before the stabbing took place last summer, a CPSO officer who wished Avery a good night noted that his response was odd.

“It can’t be now,” Avery replied before walking off. 

Richardson said that he spoke with Nachel Glen, a resident adviser at Montgomery, about Avery’s “strange character” in July.

Glen refused to comment on Avery’s behavior.

In the September hearing that determined that Avery was capable of aiding and assisting in his defense, an evaluation by psychologist Alexandar Duncan found that Avery was suffering from a psychotic disorder “not otherwise specified.” This is the category given to psychotic illnesses that are not discernable as schizophrenia or bipolar disorder. 

The onset of Avery’s illness was sudden, according to the evaluation.

“This is something new that is coming on in his life,” said defense attorney Bryan Francesconi.

The development of mental illnesses or depression during a transition to a new university is not uncommon, according to Scott Reichlin, director of Forensic Evaluation Services at the Oregon State Hospital.

“All of the sudden, a lot of your support is gone. You’re exposed to a whole new set of expectations,” Reichlin said of college environments. “The social network might be completely different. You may be in a place where you don’t know anybody or have friends.”

PSU’s Dean of Student Life Michele Toppe refused to comment on Avery’s case specifically, but she said that a collective called the C.A.R.E Team (Coordination Assessment Response Education) combines the resources of different officers around campus to provide a safety net for troubled students.

“Our mission is to be a safe place for students in crisis,” Toppe said.

After the Avery stabbing, a meeting was held in Montgomery Court to generate ideas for increasing the safety of the campus.

“The group had a good discussion on the question of how to increase the number of reports that are submitted to CPSO or through the conduct system so behavior that makes people feel threatened is documented,” Toppe said. ?

 

One troubled student fell through the cracks at PSU Alison Barnwell Vanguard staff Ever since Heath Avery was sentenced to nearly six years in prison last month for stabbing fellow student Andrew Richardson, Portland State has been scrutinized for its handling of Avery prior to the assault.

Jeremy Phillips, a junior at PSU and a resident of the dormitory near the place where Richardson was stabbed, said he remembers Avery well.

“He left a big impression on me,” Phillips said. “He slept in the lobby all day long, passed out in the middle of everything. He seemed aggravated a lot.” 

Before the stabbing, students and staff filed three complaints with the Campus Public Safety Office, citing Avery’s odd behavior. On Aug. 14, 2010, Avery stabbed Richardson outside Montgomery Court, where they both lived, and was arrested by Portland police.

Avery was sentenced to a maximum of 5.8 years in prison and three years of parole on Jan. 11, around the time that college dropout Jared Loughner shot Representative Gabrielle Giffords of Arizona.

SVA changes leadership mid-year President and treasurer resign, new students take over Miranda Schmidt Vanguard staff Former Student Veterans Association President Jesse O’Brien and Treasurer Kris Williams resigned from their positions last month in a private meeting with adviser Katie Jundt. Student Activities and Leadership Programs deemed both ineligible to serve in office. “Something like this has never happened before,” said the new SVA president, Cody Noren. Noren was the former vice president before O’Brien stepped down. SVA administrative positions are usually held for the full academic year, according to Noren. “One of the duties as a student leader is to maintain our academics,” O’Brien said. “I was unable to meet the requirements set forth by SALP and as such I had to step down.”

Artists sought to contribute to La Casa Latina design Chosen artist will be given a commission to create work for the new Latino support center  Erin McIntyre   Vanguard staff  In preparation for the June 2011 grand opening of the La Casa Latino student success center, the building committee is seeking one or more artists from the Portland State community to create an installation representative of “a student’s journey through education and beyond.”  The chosen artist or group will be given a $5,000 stipend to purchase materials and will have until June 10, 2011 to complete the project. Eligible contenders must be either a faculty member or a student at PSU.

PSU announces master of real estate development Program aims to better prepare and integrate students into the real estate industry Solomon Hanson Vanguard staff  Portland State recently announced a new master’s degree in real estate development to be offered in fall 2011. The Master of Real Estate Development program (MRED) will follow the Graduate Certificate in Real Estate Development program currently offered at PSU. 

Chris Paine, leading figure in electric vehicle revolution, speaks at PSU Peter Browning Vanguard staff Christopher Paine, director of “Who Killed the Electric Car?” and the anticipated sequel “Revenge of the Electric Car,” spoke about the future of the electric vehicle at Portland State last Thursday. Over 350 people filled the Lincoln Performance Hall, where Paine discussed the 26 reasons why “the world is plugging into electric cars.” As he went down the list, Paine outlined factors including air pollution and zeitgeist change. Paine is aware of the social shift toward electric vehicles. Just as he outlined the fall of the electric car in his first and most famous film, Paine tracks

RECENT RESULTS Thursday Women’s basketball Eastern Washington 70 at Portland State 77 Team leaders: C. VanBrocklin (PSU): 21 pts, 3 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl B. Ryan (EWU): 19 pts, 3 reb, 4 ast E. Jones (PSU): 18 pts, 5 reb, 5 ast, 1 blk, 1 stl Men’s basketball Portland State 51 at Eastern Washington 65 Team leaders: T. Johnson (EWU): 20 pts, 7 reb, 2 blk, 2 stl C. Odum (PSU): 14 pts, 5 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl P. Guede (PSU): 10 pts, 7 reb, 2 stl NBA Boston Celtics 88 at Portland Trail Blazers 78 Team leaders: R. Allen (BOS): 18 pts, 2 reb, 2 ast, 2 stl, 1 blk L. Aldridge (POR): 17 pts, 16 reb, 2 stl, 1 ast, 1 blk Friday WHL hockey Portland Winterhawks 2 at Tri-City Americans 5 Scoring summary: TC: K. Reddick (10), 1st/3:06 (PP) TC: K. Reddick (11), 1st/10:31 TC: A. Hughesman (32), 2nd/11:22 TC: K. Reddick (12), 2nd/19:10 (PP) POR: B. Ross (16), 3rd/5:12 (PP) TC: C. Rankin (11), 3rd/9:14 POR: N. Niederreiter (22), 3rd/13:14 (PP) Saturday Women’s basketball Portland State 97 at Sacramento State 73 Team leaders: K. Kuhns (SAC): 23 pts, 7 reb, 2 stl, 1 ast, 1 blk E. Jones (PSU): 18 pts, 4 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl C. VanBrocklin (PSU): 17 pts, 7 reb, 4 ast, 3 stl, 1 blk Men’s basketball Sacramento State 80 at Portland State 86 Team leaders: P. Thomas (PSU): 29 pts, 4 reb S. Toles-Bey (SAC): 18 pts, 6 reb, 6 ast, 3 stl M. Jones (PSU): 17 pts, 1 reb, 1 ast, 1 stl C. Odum (PSU): 17 pts, 6 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl WHL hockey Portland Winterhawks 5 at Seattle Thunderbirds 2 Scoring summary: SEA: T. Toomey (16), 1st/9:16 (PP) POR: B. Ross (17), 1st/15:18 POR: R. Johansen (24), 2nd/2:49 (PP) POR: T. Rattie (22), 3rd/7:16 POR: C. Cunningham (18), 3rd/10:58 SEA: M. Noebels (18), 3rd/17:58 (PP) POR: W. Wrenn (2), 3rd/19:23 (EN) Club hockey Portland State 5 at Walla Walla 3 Sunday Club hockey Portland State 7 at Walla Walla 2 Upcoming Games NBA San Antonio Spurs at Portland Trail Blazers Tues., 7 p.m. Rose Garden Arena NBA Portland Trail Blazers at Denver Nuggets Wed., 6 p.m. Denver, Colo. Women’s basketball Sacramento State at Portland State Thur., 7 p.m. Stott Center Men’s basketball Portland State at Sacramento State Thur., 7:05 p.m. Sacramento, Calif. WHL hockey Edmonton Oil Kings at Portland Winterhawks Fri., 7 p.m. Portland Memorial Coliseum Women’s basketball Northern Colorado at Portland State Sat., 2 p.m. Stott Center Men’s basketball Portland State at Northern Colorado Thur., 6:05 p.m. Greeley, Colo.

Ore. mental hospital matching remains and families SALEM—Oregon’s state mental hospital is trying to match surviving family members with 3,500 people whose cremated remains were once left ignored in a storage area dubbed the “room of forgotten souls.”

The Oregon State Hospital has published online the names, birthdays and dates of death for the former patients and prison inmates, who died between 1914 and the 1970s. The remains were discovered in 2004 in corroding copper canisters, some of which had fused together.

The decrepit, 128-year-old hospital was the site for the filming of “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” and the discovery of the remains was a catalyst for the approval of a new state mental hospital.

Ambassador Gao Zhansheng met briefly on Monday with Gov. John Kitzhaber. He says Oregon is one of China’s biggest American trading partners and provides a welcoming vacation spot for Chinese tourists. Gao is the Chinese consul general in San Francisco.

The diplomat also says Oregon’s Legislature fostered good will in China with a 2009 resolution encouraging schools to teach Chinese language skills.

Sarah Lindstrom and Desiree Shelton wore matching black suits with pink ties and held hands as they entered the Snow Days Pep Fest at Champlin Park High School in Minneapolis’ northwest suburbs.

Students voted onto the royalty court traditionally enter the assembly in boy-girl pairs. After Lindstrom and Shelton, both 18, were elected, school officials last week announced a change in procedure: court members would walk in individually or accompanied by a parent or favorite teacher.

Nerves frayed and shouting and shoving matches erupted as thousands crammed into Cairo airport’s new Terminal 3 seeking a flight home. The airport’s departures board stopped announcing flight times in an attempt to reduce the tension — but the plan backfired, fueling passengers’ anger.

Making matters worse, check-in counters were poorly staffed because many EgyptAir employees had been unable to get to work due to a 3 p.m.-to-8 a.m. curfew and traffic breakdowns across the Egyptian capital.

“It’s an absolute zoo, what a mess,” said Justine Khanzadian, 23, a graduate student from the American University of Cairo. “I decided to leave because of the protests. The government here is just not stable enough to stay.”

Marcus Sis, legislative affairs director After only his second week in the position, sophomore Marcus Sis has enthusiastically taken up the mantle of the legislative affairs director, a position that acts as a working liaison between the university and Oregon Legislature.

Born and raised in Juneau, Alaska, Sis is a self-described “political nut,” and has worked extensively on political campaigns in his home state.

“I wanted to do something more issue-based,” Sis said. “I want to do something that benefits students.” 

Despite being the youngest of the four newest executive staff members hired, Sis is well versed in his position. Already, Sis has appealed to the Student Senate for support on the Day of Action, an event organized to generate discourse regarding the upcoming restructure of OUS.

Sis is currently studying economics at PSU.

Laken Harrel, university affairs director Like Sis, Laken Harrel is no stranger to the inner workings of student government. Harrel, the former intern for ASPSU President Katie Markey, recently stepped into the position of university affairs director. The job is very similar to that of the legislative affairs director, but with a focus on local outreach rather than at a state level.

The primary duty of the university affairs director is making sure that there is student representation in all-university committees, the advising committee and the campus security committee.

“Essentially, anything that requires funding or decides the fate of students is required to have students sitting on the committee,” she said.

Harrel said that her first priority in her new position is coordinating students to sit on each of these committees. All senators are obligated to sit on a committee, though many are not fulfilling this responsibility, according to Harrel.

Beyond her duty of organizing student involvement in committees, Harrel has been working on the PSU food pantry. This initiative would allow needy students 100 percent free access to donated food.

Brandon Harris, communications director Filling the role of communications director, Brandon Harris is the front man of student outreach for ASPSU. As a recent graduate of Western Oregon University, Harris is only in his second term of post-baccalaureate work here at PSU, but is excited to engage the student body.

“The message I want to send is that our power comes through the students,” Harris said.

According to Harris, ASPSU is always looking for methods to promote student contribution in decision-making. This, he said, is the true genesis of his position.

“A lot of students don’t think they can get involved,” he said. “But we would love it if a student walked in here and said, ‘what can I do to help?'” 

Rachel Richardson, outreach coordinator Though the position is only days old, Rachel Richardson has recently taken up the responsibilities of outreach coordinator. Richardson is responsible for maintaining ASPSU’s website.

“Were not fixing the website; we’re totally reinventing it,” she said.

The position, which closely mirrors that of the communications director, has a more specific focus on communication through mass media. Once the ASPSU website is up-to-date, it will fall on Richardson to update the page.

Richardson will also be responsible for reaching out to students through social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter. ?

The Oregon NW Juniors 18 Max club team won a national title last summer under Seemann Ryan Borde Portland State Athletics Portland State women’s volleyball head coach Michael Seemann’s Oregon NW Junior 18 Air Max volleyball club team was named one of four recipients of the George Pasero Team of the Year award on Sunday evening at the 59th annual Oregon Sports Awards.

Seemann coached the squad to a national title in the 18-Under American Division at the 2010 USA Volleyball Junior National Championships in Reno this past summer. The team went 9-2 and won the title on July 2, defeating third-seeded IPVA 18 Black out of Iowa. The NW Junior team entered the tourney as the fourth seed.

IPVA took the opening set, 25-20, but Seemann’s team came back to win the final two sets by scores of 28-26 and 15-11. The team swept six of its nine matches over the four-day event.

Two members of the team will be playing for the Vikings next year. Cheyne Corrado out of Central Catholic High School and Anna Demots from Sunset High both signed their National Letters of Intent to play for Portland State on Nov. 10, 2010.

Corrado is a 5-foot-11 outside hitter who helped Central Catholic to state titles in 2009 and 2010. She earned second team all-state honors this fall and was named the MVP of the championship match when the Rams defeated Jesuit for this year’s state title.

A, 6-foot-1 middle blocker, DeMots led Sunset to a third place finish at the state tournament this year, earning second team all-tournament honors in the process.

The other three teams that shared the award on Sunday night were the University of Oregon football team, the Southern Oregon University men’s cross country squad and the EastSide United FC-Liverpool 18-U club soccer team.

The 2010 Oregon Sports Awards was held at the Stanford Theatre at Nike World Headquarters. ?