Opinion

Portland notoriously has a huge issue with homeless pets and stray animals. When winter hits each year, hundreds of animals are left to fend for themselves during the rainy season.

While there are many organizations and animal shelters doing their best to keep homeless pets safe and healthy, the sheer number of animals needing care is overwhelming. Animal lovers all over the city take strays into the various shelters, saving them from the cold. But what happens to those animals afterward is dependent on the kindness of Portland citizens. Fortunately, there are numerous ways that even students can help.

Perhaps my view is skewed, hailing from central Oregon (with all that implies politically). But I find it pleasantly surprising that Portland State is the only public university in the state that closes its doors on Veterans Day.

Known as Armistice Day until 1954, Nov. 11 originally celebrated the end of World War I, a war whose sheer brutality was overshadowed only by its senselessness. Largely forgotten now, WWI saw massive casualties, new alliances and changes in the ways wars were fought. It ended on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month—Nov. 11. The date expanding into an honoring of all American veterans was passed by the Eisenhower administration in response to a suggestion by a World War II veteran.

Even after longstanding debate over whether an HPV vaccine should be mandatory, states still can’t make up their minds.

What began with Texas’ mandate to have an HPV vaccine required for sixth-grade girls attending public school (with some exceptions) has become an argument about the morality of requiring vaccinations for children for an STD and infringing on the rights of personal choice.

The verdict will be based on whether the benefits to the public’s health outweigh the costs. Other considerations include the practical implications of where the resources to afford vaccination come from, the safety of the vaccines and whether it is an infringement on one’s rights to have the decision whether to vaccinate or not taken away from them.

This year, total student loan debt in the United States finally exceeded $1 trillion. This surpasses even credit card debt, which is seen as one of the most negative forms…

This year, total student loan debt in the United States finally exceeded $1 trillion. This surpasses even credit card debt, which is seen as one of the most negative forms of debt in America. It is estimated that the average student in America has $25,250 in student loan debt by the time he has finished his undergraduate education. By comparison, the average student loan debt in 2000 was $15,100. In 1990, it was as low as $8,200.

Repayment is not a lost cause, though. This October, the White House announced changes to student loan repayment laws. The Pay As You Earn proposal, as it’s called, strives to put a cap on loan repayments based on your income. Maximum student loan repayments cannot exceed 10 percent of one’s discretionary income under this proposal, and any leftover student loan debt is forgiven after 20 years.

There are restrictions to this, certainly. Private loans are not accounted for in this, nor are loans for current students graduating before 2014. PLUS loans, which parents and guardians take out on behalf of their college-aged children, are also not subject to the Pay As You Earn proposal. It is also something which one needs to apply for and present proof of income (in the form of tax documentation, etc.) every year to maintain.

How interesting does an event about alcohol safety sound? Well, what if you were told it would involve making seasonal desserts? On Oct. 25, a large group of campus housing residents gathered in the Ondine Lobby awaiting caramel apples.

After dipping their apples into a vat of caramel and enjoying the delicious treat, the students were then able to enjoy a piece of candy—if they managed to walk along a line of post-it-notes on the ground while wearing goggles that distorted their vision and made them lose their balance. The goggles simulated the effects of drunkenness. The activity was meant to show the students the disorienting feeling of what it is like to be drunk.

The main reason that the students attended, however, was the promise of caramel apples. They had all seen the posters advertising caramel apples, with “learn about alcohol safety” as a side note, and took part in the alcohol safety activity as a consequence of being there for the apples. The presentation of alcohol safety through an unrelated larger event proved to be much more effective than merely hosting an event related to alcohol safety.

More than 500 people attended last year’s Portland Humanist Film Festival, numbers which are expected to double (possibly even triple) at this year’s event at Cinema 21 from Nov. 11–13.

That sounds like a reasonable amount of people to cram into a movie theater for three days. But for an event promoting free thought as opposed to religion in a city whose goal is to stay weird, this actually seems like a low attendance.

A 2008 Gallup poll ranked Portland as one of the ten least religious cities in the nation, with 47 percent of respondents claiming religion was not an important part of their daily lives. Another poll put Oregon at number one for the percentage of non-religious residents—24.6 percent.