Lewis & Clark College

The Pioneer Log: Lewis & Clark College’s Student-Run Newspaper

Volume 97, No. 2

Lewis & Clark College Student Newspaper

Pioneer Log Staff

2021-01-01

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Lewis & Clark College: Pioneer Log / Mossy Log

By AMELIA DOYLE
DURING THE fall semester, Lewis
& Clark has been struggling to fill
staff positions in places such as
Fields Dining Hall and the mail room.
Understaffing is not just an LC
problem. According to Ryan Jensen,
the manager of Bon Appétit, it is very
difficult to find workers, especially in
the hospitality industry, due to the labor
crisis in the United States.
“We are grateful for our hardworking
team, many of them have been here
for years and they are all incredibly
dedicated to their work,” Jensen said
via email. “I think many of them are
feeling stressed because a smaller team
can impact service.”
Recently, due to the understaffing
at Bon Appétit, Fields Dining Room has
transferred to using paper plates and
cups.
“While our use of paper has
temporarily increased, students can
dine in the cafe and utilize our dish
return area to allow us to continue our
post-consumer composting program,”
Jensen said.
Joy Mahlalela ’24, who has worked
at Fields Dining Hall since last year,
said that it is easier for the staff
working in the back to deal with paper
plates. This has relieved some of the
stress that cleaning the dishes was
putting on workers. While the transition to disposable
paper plates and cups has relieved some
of the stress, Mahlalela said that in
comparison to last year, there is more
demand on the students working in the
Fields Dining Room.
“We are understaffed with students
as well as actual Bon Appétit workers,”
Mahlalela said, “So it has been a lot
of pressure having to manage way
more than you
would.”
According to
Mahlalela, the
staff working in
Fields Dining
Hall must be
prepared to
clean at various
times throughout their shift and have
to think on their feet and adapt to
new roles quickly. For example,
student workers have to be ready to
change from serving food to cleaning
up food relatively fast. Last year,
students were only responsible for
one task.
Another place on campus that
is struggling with understaffing is
the mailroom. Anna Campbell ’22
began working for the mailroom this
semester.
“It does feel understaffed at
times, and I’ll get emails, kind of
throughout the week, being like ‘Can
someone come in today?’ We have a lot going on,” Campbell said.
According to Campbell there is never
any pressure to pick up shifts at the
mailroom. Although the lines can get
long, Campbell said that she enjoys her
work, especially the social aspect and
getting to match everyone’s faces with
their names.
The Mail Services Manager, Stephanie
Takashima, declined to comment.
Both Fields
Dining Hall and
the mailroom
have been trying
to get students
to pick up
extra shifts and
are currently
working to hire
more employees to fill the gaps. Jensen
and Mahlalela expressed the need for
more student workers at the Fields
Dining Room.
“As an incentive for students to
join our team, we will soon be rolling
out a new program called Bon Appétit
Ambassadors that is a resume-
building certificate program tucked
inside a typical student job with Bon
Appétit.” Jensen said.
Mahlalela mentioned that at her
last shift, there were only six people
and encouraged more students to
apply.
“Apply at the Bon (because) we
actually need people,” Mahlalela said.By ASMAA ZAIDAN
ON SEPT. 23, President Wim
Wiewel hosted his final
President’s Reception on the
back patio of Frank Manor House.
The annual tradition serves as a
welcome back event for a diverse set
of students from around the globe.
More than 50 international
students, Third Culture Kids (TCK)
and Academic English Studies (AES)
students attended the reception.
The event opened with a welcome
address from Wiewel. As a former
international student himself, he
offered advice on how to navigate
being in a new environment. He
spoke of his own past, emphasizing
the difficult task of staying afloat in a
place so different from home.
“You really have to accept that
you’re in whitewater at all times, the
whitewater of change,” Wiewel said.
“And you just try to stay afloat, you
go with the flow, but you still try to
steer it.”
Wiewel takes special interest in
the experience of the students and
values the importance of the cultural
exchange that comes out of having
international students and TCKs.
“All of us are living in a very
global, diverse world that will only
increase as time goes on, so it’s
important for everybody who gets a
higher education to be exposed to a
bunch of different cultures,” Wiewel
said. “Having international students
adds a whole layer of depth and
opportunity to that.”
Conversely, international students also benefit from the experience.
They receive a higher education in the
United States and the same cultural
exchange as domestic students. They
also end up receiving intangible
benefits.
“What they get out of it I hope
is this total opportunity to be a fish
out of water,” Wiewel said. “To be confronted with the other culture
— in a way that really makes you
understand yourself.”
Associate Dean of Students and
Director of International Students
and Scholars Brian White spoke
about the history of this event as well
as its significance to students.
“This event has been going on for quite a while,” White said. “I think we
have had three different presidents
agree to sponsor it over the years.”
White explains that the school’s
goal is to promote exchange and
interaction between international
students and the rest of the LC
community. In terms of how well
such engagement is going, he explained that the department is
working on a new research initiative
that seeks to gain insight into where
international student engagement
is taking place. The research, which
is being conducted by graduate
students, will be based on feedback
from international students
regarding their campus activities and
interactions.
The final speaker of the evening,
International Students of Lewis &
Clark (ISLC) President Milica Stanišić
’22, received cheers and applause
from the community of international
scholars as she took the stage to
announce the new board of the ISLC,
as well as to explain the services they
offer and events they plan to host.
“We are here to advocate for you
and to advocate for your rights to
the administration, but we are also
here to organize events that are of
importance and interest to you,”
Stanišić said. “Such as international
dance parties, international trivia
nights and most importantly, the
international fair.”
Stanišić, an international student
from Serbia, spoke about the
importance of ISLC.
“It can be very difficult and taxing
moving halfway across the world to
start studying in a completely new
environment in a completely new
country in a completely different
culture,” Stanišić said. “Not only that,
there are a lot of things that burden
international students, such as
financial issues or issues pertaining
to immigration status or work status.”
“Wiewel” continued on page 3Vol. 97 No. 2 FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021 www.piolog.com
Today’s Weather
Partly cloudy skies with a high of
68 degrees and a low of 46 degrees.
Low chance of precipitation. Sunset
at 6:50 p.m. and a waning crescent
moon.OPINION
Pio Express & parking issues
With students facing parking issues on
campus, the Pioneer Express is the solution.
With more support, the Pio can be students’
primary transportation. PAGE 5FEATURES
New Mycology Club
Lewis & Clark’s Mycology Club represents
the growing collection of mushroom
enthusiasts interested in examining and
foraging for fungi. PAGE 6ARTS
The Coop
The Rusty Nail Co-op is preparing
for a comeback after a year off due to
the coronavirus pandemic.
PAGE 8SPORTS
Pole dancing in PDX
Ecdysiast offers pole-dancing lessons
aimed to promote feminist values
seperate from coercive spaces targeting
survival. PAGE 10
Wiewel hosts annual President’s Reception
LC grapples with shortage of staff, surplus of students
Fields Dining Hall, mailroom struggle with understaffing, explore potential hiring solutionsLC students attending President Wiewel’s final international students reception mingle on the back patio of Frank Manor House.
HANNAH KORN/THE PIONEER LOGSUHAIL AKRAM/THE PIONEER LOG
LC students wait in a long line in Fields Dining Hall during the evening dinner rush.LC President imparts words of advice to international students, TCK’s, AES students at final event
A student disposes of paper tableware in the designated spot in Fields Dining Hall.VENUS EDLIN/THE PIONEER LOG
“It has been a lot of pressure
having to manage way
more than you would.”
- Joy Mahlalela ’22By ASMAA ZAIDAN
IN-N-OUT BURGER, a California-
based fast food chain, purchased
a $3.3 million property in Tualatin,
Oregon in September according
to the Portland Business Journal.
More recently, In-N-Out Burger has
been looking into locations in the
Beaverton and Hillsboro areas. The
three locations would mark the chain’s
introduction into the Portland metro
area.
Currently, the nearest In-N-Out
Burger is in Keizer, Oregon which is
around a 45-minute drive from Lewis & Clark. An LC student hoping to grab
a classic burger and fries would have to
drive to the location, as there are no
Trimet routes to the location.
For LC students from California,
having In-N-Out Burger in the area
would mean a taste of home. Fiona
Salbato ’24, a student from San Diego,
said she would visit an In-N-Out
Burger in the Portland area.
“I mean, I don’t see why not.”
Salbato said. “I could never say no to
some fries.”
Natalie Kirunda ’24 is looking
forward to the convenience of a closer
location.“I would be interested in getting In-
N-Out,” Kirunda said. “Unfortunately,
I don’t have a car and I don’t want to
take the Pio for an hour.”
However, with transportation
Kirunda would “absolutely” go to an
In-N-Out Burger 20 minutes away, but
not 45 minutes away in Keizer.
In Tualatin, Beaverton and
Hillsboro, In-N-Out Burger
representatives hosted community
meetings where residents could
voice their thoughts and concerns.
Community meetings are standard
procedure for all large businesses
before submitting land use applications
to the city.
The franchise had been interested
in the Tualatin area for over a year,
before finally purchasing the property
in early September 2021. The location
is across the road from Bridgeport
Village, off of Interstate 5.
As for the Hillsboro location,
In-N-Out Burger has yet to move
forward with purchasing a property.
The potential location is Northeast
Evergreen Parkway just east of
Northwest 185th Avenue, and a land
use application was filed with the
city in April 2021. In September, the
chain’s assistant vice president of
real estate and development Mike
Abbate responded to questions from
the Oregonian regarding potential
Portland metro locations.
“While we are exploring an
opportunity in Hillsboro and others
throughout the Portland metro area,
it is too early to forecast any specific
outcome within those trade areas, as
well,” Abbate said.
In May, Pamplin Media Group
reached out to In-N-Out Burger for
a statement regarding the Beaverton location and the potential issues it may
cause. Vice President of Real Estate
and Development for In-N-Out Burger
Carl Arena said that the neighborhood
meetings are intended to address such
concerns.
“All attendees at these meetings
were provided an email address to send
their questions/comments specifically
related to our project and advised that
their comments would be compiled
and sent to the county as official public
comments,” Arena said in a statement.
“Being a good neighbor is very
important to us at In-N-Out Burger,
both at our current locations as well as
at prospective restaurant sites.”
Not all residents are enthusiastic
about the potential addition to
their community. In a statement to
Willamette Week, Tualatin mayor
Frank Bubenik spoke about his
constituent’s worries. “The primary
concern I have heard from residents
is that of increased traffic congestion,”
Bubenik said.In Tualatin, complaints regarding
traffic are common, since the location
is near the intersection of Lower
Boones Ferry Road and SW 72nd
Avenue, which is typically congested.
Many point to the long lines and traffic
at the Keizer location as evidence of
the issues that would come with the
new location. Residents expressed
their concerns in the comments of the
Tualatin Life Facebook page.
“Putting one in Tualatin, an already
extremely busy and rush hour traffic
hot spot would be horrible,” one
Tualatin resident commented.
Others, however, welcome the fast
food restaurant, arguing that it will
bring good food and business to the
city.
“Yahoo! Great company, lots of
jobs, and yummy food. A win win for
Tualatin!!!” one Facebook user said.
For now, there is no clear timeline
regarding when any of the locations are
set to open. However, one thing is for
sure: In-N-Out Burger is moving north.By VENUS EDLIN
THE LEWIS & CLARK Community
Counseling Center, which is part
of the practicum portion of the
Lewis & Clark Graduate School of
Education and Counseling, recently
purchased an electronic health record
system called Theranest.
The new system comes after
the center was forced to switch to
telehealth in light of the COVID-19
pandemic. Thus far, graduate students
have used non-integrated digital
systems to schedule appointments,
keep records and communicate
with supervisors. According to the
center’s director, Justin Henderson,
they hope to start using Theranest in
November.
Prior to the start of the pandemic,
counselors in training relied solely on
paper files.
“Previously, everything was
completely on paper,” said Claire Tam
’22, a graduate assistant. “Clients
would pay for their sessions, either
with cash or check — they couldn’t
even pay with a card. That’s how
paper file it was.”
According to Henderson, this
change was overdue.
“It’s a tried and true method, so I
don’t want to dismiss (paper filing)
entirely, but in order to prepare
our students for the field — they’re
not going to encounter paper files
anymore,” Henderson said. “That’s
just not a reality of our work and
hasn’t been a reality for quite some
time.”
Henderson said he recognizes
that the switch to an integrated
system did take a long time, however
the uncertainties of the pandemic
proved challenging. They are now
also dealing with a hefty onboarding
process of digitizing seven years of
client records.
“We were in survival mode,
quite frankly,” Henderson said. “To
a certain extent, we have a kind of
hodgepodge electronic record system
presently, but it’s not an integrated,
singular system ... We did transition
to that, but it was in the space of haste
and disorganization because of the
pandemic.”
Graduate assistant Lauren
Radakovich ’22 started her practicum
during the pandemic, and appreciates
how the clinic has tackled the sudden
switch.
“I think the system we use now,
and that we’re transitioning out of with the new health record system;
it’s not ideal,” Radakovich said. “It
was a temporary option, doing the
best that the clinic could at the time
to make everything streamlined
and get our clients the best care
possible.”
Clinic counselors and supervisors
are excited for the added features
Theranest will bring. First of all,
everything will be in one place which
streamlines the process and leaves
less room for error. Additionally, the
program has a secure in-chat feature
which is a significant improvement
from email, which forced students
and counselors to use coded language
since it is not a secure medium.
Henderson is particularly excited
about Theranest .
“We serve several hundred clients
per week,” Henderson said. “There’s
no way for administrative staff to
contact that many clients and remind
them that they have an appointment,
but this system will automatically
email, and they do have a text feature
if (clients) choose that as well.”
The clinic will also continue using
telehealth for the foreseeable future.
They are currently working with
Information Technology (IT) to put
desktop computers in every room,
preparing for practicum students
to offer telehealth onsite. However,
when this transition will take place is
uncertain.
Radakovich visited the clinic this
summer and anticipates providing
counseling from the location.
“I didn’t really know what we were
missing because I started in my home
and we were all online, so I would
only see my little supervision group
on the screen,” Radakovich said. “I
didn’t realize that was definitely not
the same experience as if we had been
in person, until I actually went into
the clinic.”
According to Tam, there are a lot
of benefits to providing telehealth
services. They pointed to higher
attendance rates, which likely have
to do with overcoming in-person
obstacles such as infrequent public
transportation to the clinic and the
busy lives of clients. However, one
major drawback Tam identified was
that they could not provide out-of-
state services, even for people who
only live 10-15 minutes away in
Washington.
“Before they could come in person
to our building and have services, but
on telehealth they technically can’t,” Tam said. “That unfortunately cuts
off quite a few people that might
need low- to no-cost counseling that
cannot be seen right now.”
It will be a long process before both
counselors in training and clients can meet in the same room again. There
is not an established timeline for the
transition. In the meantime, however,
Henderson looks forward to the new
capabilities of Theranest.
“I overall think that this is going to help us be able to offer students a better
training experience,” Henderson said.
“I think administratively it’s gonna
allow us to more efficiently be able to
work new clients into our system as
well.”FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021
NEWS 2
Graduate clinic set to switch to digital system
Community Counseling Center has obtained a professional digital program in place of a paper filing system
In-N-Out Burger purchases property in Portland area
LC students, city residents respond to the famous California fast-food chain’s move to the northwest
MAYA WILLIAMSON/THE PIONEER LOG
In-N-Out Burger has recently come to own the property next to Bridgeport Village. ADAM KARP/THE PIONEER LOG
Want to write for the News section of The
Pioneer Log?
If you are interested in covering exciting news on
Palatine Hill. Email piolog@lclark.edu to be added
to The Pioneer Log’s mailing list. Staff meetings
occur every Monday at 5 p.m. in J. R. Howard 135
and are open to all members of the Lewis & Clark
community. By TOR PARSONS
AFTER YEARS of planning,
Lewis & Clark has launched
its Exploring for the Global
Good fundraising program, with a
goal to raise $155 million by 2024
for improving campus programs and
facilities. Exploring for the Global Good
is LC’s first major fundraiser in 20 years.
The program consists of marketing
campaigns, grant proposals and public
events in major cities.
Josh Walter, vice president for
advancement, says that the program has
already exceeded the administration’s
expectations. Since the fundraiser
launched in June 2021, the school has
already raised $100 million of their $155
million goal, well ahead of schedule.
“Every gift toward the college makes
a difference and is counted toward the
campaign goal,” Walter said.
In a video announcing the program,
President Wim Wiewel said the funds will
be directed along three main paths: people,
places and programs. The people-centric
aspect of the fundraiser will be devoted to
preserving LC’s tight-knit, small-college
character, even if class sizes increase.
Natalie Hollabaugh ’21 also appeared
in the video.
“What’s kept me here, I think, is the
fact that everybody knows everyone else,”
she said, describing why people-focused
fundraising is important at LC. “It’s such
a small environment. People really care
about you.”
In another video, Vice President
of Student Life and Dean of Students Robin Holmes-Sullivan said that creating
welcoming places on campus is crucial
to students’ educational and emotional
well-being, citing the renovation
of Templeton as a quality-of-life improvement that will be financed
through this fundraiser. Lastly, the piece
of the budget targeted toward programs
will go to improving internship and lab
opportunities for students.Exploring for the Global Good
is informed by the school’s Campus
Facilities Plan, a study conducted in
2019 to assess where new buildings
needed to be built on campus. The study also estimated the potential price tag
of the improvements. The school’s
first priority, though, will not be
infrastructure-based: According to
Walter, LC plans to use some of the
funds to increase financial aid to low
income students.
Later improvements include the
renovation of Huston Sports Complex,
which will get an astroturf field. Further
down the line, Stewart, Odell and Akin
Halls are planned to be replaced with
new mixed-use buildings, to form what
the Facilities Plan calls a “residential
and community district” outside of
Templeton, reminiscent of an urban
downtown.
In-person fundraising events
will be held in Denver on Sept. 28,
Minneapolis on Sept. 30, and Seattle
on Oct. 12. Wiewel and a handful of
current students will be present at each
event, speaking about their plans for
LC’s future. According to Walter, LC’s
administrative staff are also pursuing
alumni and parents to ask for donations.
As colleges and universities
nationwide climb out of a COVID-
induced financial slump, many are
holding fundraisers. Walter believes
that most colleges and universities in
the United States are either planning
or carrying out fundraising campaigns,
so LC will need to compete with other
schools for donors’ affections.
“Campaigns are most successful
when everyone in the community
works together to raise awareness and
support,” Walter said. “This is a very
exciting time for the college.”NEWS 3
LC launches new major fundraising campaign
Exploring for the Global Good hopes to raise $155 million by 2024 to fund people, places, programs
LC compares: A look at COVID-19
in colleges across the United States
SUHAIL AKRAM/THE PIONEER LOG
Continued from page 1
Stanišić then explained that ISLC is
vital for filling in the gaps where other
student organizations cannot. She said
the needs of international students are
often overlooked
because they
differ from those
of the broader
LC community.
“We are
honestly also
here to make
everyone feel
good (in) this space and help them
have fun in the end,” Stanišić said.
Similarly, Weiwel’s advice to
international students is to simply enjoy their time here and to
experience things with an open mind.
“Go to a football game, go to a
baseball game, go to a basketball
game, go to films, go to a bar,
continue to
see yourself
as a learner,”
Wiewel said.
“Open your
mind, your
heart and your
soul to really
feeling this
different place with all its amazing,
wonderful, crazy, at times horrible,
at times beautiful culture, traditions
and social life.”FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021
By LIZZIE LOHRER
COLLEGES ACROSS the
country are once again facing
the challenge of controlling
the spread of COVID-19 on their
campuses. Administrators have had
to address the issue of education
during the pandemic, which is in
many cases complicated by the
addition of on-campus living. Since
each institution must make their own
policy decisions, a large variety of
responses have emerged across the
country, including requirements for
masks and vaccines.
For many Oregon universities,
the key mitigation factor is requiring
COVID-19 vaccination for all
students, with some exemptions.
LC announced their own vaccine
requirement policy in April, becoming
the first college in Oregon to do
so, after all state residents became
eligible to receive the vaccine. Other
Oregon colleges, including Reed
College, Willamette University and
the University of Oregon, announced
similar requirements, as did Ivy
League schools such as Harvard
University and Princeton University. John Hancock, associate dean for
health and wellness, spoke about the
impact of a vaccine mandate on the
community.
“For me personally, knowing that
I work in an environment where
nearly everyone is vaccinated is quite
comforting,” Hancock said via email. “I
think many students, faculty and staff
feel this way too.”
Colleges with vaccine mandates
have had more success controlling
the spread of the virus, while colleges
without such policies, such as the
University of Texas, have seen positive
test rates well above the national
average. The vaccine mandates also
appear to be effective at increasing
campus vaccination rates. LC
especially has reaped the benefits of
this policy with a 99% vaccination rate.
Even schools such as James Madison
University, who require vaccines but
only have an 85% vaccination rate, are
still 31 percentage points ahead of the
national average.
In light of the recent surge of the
Delta variant, many colleges, including
LC and other Oregon schools, have
required masks in addition to vaccines.
Many colleges hope that this will slow the spread of this newer, more
contagious variant.
The combination of mask mandates
and vaccine requirements has worked
well for many schools at keeping the
rate of positive cases low. However,
institutions like the University of Texas
requires neither vaccines nor masks.
As a result, a much larger percentage
of their student population has tested
positive for COVID-19.
To control the spread of the virus,
LC has enforced both vaccine and
mask mandates for students, and
like most schools, provides contact
tracing for positive cases. However, a
large portion of the school’s COVID-19
response relies on student compliance
and cooperation. Students are
expected to wear masks indoors and
when necessary off-campus, report
any symptoms they exhibit and get
tested if necessary.
“Our success this year will be
driven by the behavior of community
members,” Hancock said. “I feel very
good about our response when you
compare us to other colleges because
our community members are so
committed to following best public
health practices.” Wiewel hosts event
for LC global scholars
SUHAIL AKRAM/THE PIONEER LOG
International students pose together on the lawn behind the Frank Manor house. Wiewel welcomes international students, TCKs and AES students to campus.
THE PIONEER LOG ARCHIVESAMELIA MADARANG/THE PIONEER LOG
“Open your mind, your heart
and your soul to really feeling
this different place.”
- Wim WiewelFRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021
OPINION 4
Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed in the Opinion section are those of the authors and are not held by The Pioneer Log.By AIDAN D’ANNA
WHEN I ARRIVED at Lewis
& Clark, I knew that general
education classes were part
of the deal. I had already read through
the online catalog and annotated my
Guide for Pioneer Success that had
been mailed to me with my acceptance
letter. I knew that I wanted to be a
psychology major, and I also knew that
if left to my own devices I would only
take psychology classes for the next
four years, so I was counting on LC’s
general education structure to expand
the contents of my class schedule.
However, many students arriving
at college have no idea what field
or career they want to pursue, and
general education requirements can
help with that too. In fact, inspiring
undecided students is exactly what
they were designed for. I believe in
the general education system and its
ability to draw students out of their
own department and emphasize
interdisciplinary work.
Julie Weissman and Kenneth J.
Boning, professors at Saint Louis
University, found in a 2003 study
that general education classes are
designed to support the motivation
of students and engage them in the learning process. Theoretically, by
taking classes that are outside your
home discipline you learn to see the
world through a different lens, thus
leading you to ask new questions and
think more critically.
I know this goal is not always
met in practice, but at least in my
experience it was always attempted.
My Perspectives in Biology class
added a unit on the virus that
causes COVID-19, and my Fall 2019
Exploration & Discovery section spent
a whole month on climate change. My
SPAN 201 class taught me about the
culture of Latin American countries,
which then helped to explain some
of the vaccine hesitancy among
Latinx people I learned about in my
Introduction to American Politics
class. The point of these examples being
that, if done right, general education
classes complement one another and
ask more of you intellectually than if
you were to only take classes in your
favored discipline.
The problem is that students
often feel that their general education
classes have not been done right, and
seldom succeed in the connections I
mentioned above. I hear this complaint
most often with regard to the so-called
“science requirement.” For all incoming students, this
requirement is called Natural Sciences
and it comprises only one course in
either biology, physics, chemistry or
geology. However, students like myself
who operate under the pre-2020
catalog know this as the Scientific and
Quantitative Reasoning requirement,
and it is three courses in three different
types of science and math.
Upon first inspection of the
course catalog I felt similarly to my
disgruntled peers, wondering how
any of these classes would ever apply
to me in my field of psychology.
I fulfilled the requirement using
Psychological Methods in my first
semester, Computer Science Principles
in the fall of my sophomore year and
Perspectives in Biology in the spring.
While without the requirement
I would not have taken these classes,
I am glad I did. I was able to look at
these quantitative-based classes from
the perspective of a social scientist.
When learning about cybersecurity
I was wondering to myself about the
psychology of privacy and what would
lead someone to steal another’s personal
information and in biology, I learned
about the genes and neural networks
that carry the information that lead to
the behaviors that I study. These classes, the most commonly
dreaded of all the general requirements,
are experiences I would have missed out
on if not for the structured curriculum
here at LC. Of course there can always be
more choices; I personally wish I got to
experience a history class which it seems
like the post-2020 requirements are
emphasizing. However, I truly believe that the core of the system — writing,
physical education, language other
than English and a creative art — are
classes that every college student needs
to take, to expand their mind and push
themselves out of their comfort zone.
Who knows, you might come in as
an English major and discover a new
passion for environmental studies.
Required classes foster new academic interests
General education requirements help LC students gain new perspectives in different areas of study
CASPER JAMES PIERCE/THE PIONEER LOG
A student reviews the best and
worst chairs from around campus
By OWEN WOLFF
SO OFTEN DO we take for granted
the humble chair, as it is very
easy to forget that most great
ideas have been conceived whilst
reclined. It is also
easy to overlook
the fact that we
have had sitting-
down technology
for thousands of
years and yet we still
have uncomfortable
seats. So without
further ado, it is
time that we turned
a more critical eye to
the chairs of Lewis & Clark.
The place to start with is the matte
black workhorse that I am sure we are
all familiar with. This plastic and
metal construction, usually paired
with an armrest desk, is probably the
most ubiquitous seating solution on
campus. Completely unassuming and
elegant in its simplicity, this is a chair
that will get the job done. The seat is
especially comfortable as it has a very
well molded butt groove.
That said, this seat is not perfect. The
backrest reclines too far for my taste.
This would not be an issue if it were able
to support weight without sending one
careening backwards towards oblivion.
Also, the desks that come with them
might as well be decorative given how
impractical they are. God forbid you
need to put more than one thing on your
desk at a time because you only get four
square inches to work with.
6/10 - I have sat in better.Up next is a chair that I have
only ever seen in the Symbolic and
Quantitative Reasoning Center in J.R.
Howard. The seat itself is made of
blue plastic, but it has metal legs and
castor wheels. Similar to its matte black
cousin, I can only
describe the butt
groove as refined.
Unfortunately, this
chair falls short
when it comes
to the backrest.
I found it to be at
an incredibly odd
angle and could not
quite settle into it
properly. The chair
forces a very sharp
upright position, so far as to even be
leaned slightly forward.
6/10 - Unimpressed.
We move now to the six-wheeled,
spinny chair desks. These can be found
in J.R. Howard 135 and can be identified
by their aura of pretentiousness. I will
give credit where credit is due: The seat
itself is comfortable; not life-changing
mind you, just comfortable. Beyond
that, I do not have any other nice
things to say about this chair.
This chair is gimmicky, but not
in an endearing way. The desk has a
wide degree of movement, but every
position within that scope is not at
all comfortable to work with. It has
more wheels than some other wheeled
LC chairs, but it still does not roll
quickly. You could use the wheelbase
under the seat as additional storage,
but it seems less practical than simply
using the ground next to you. Call me conservative, but I feel like all
the additional moving parts only add
an air of gaudiness to what should
otherwise be a simple activity, i.e.
sitting down.
7.5/10 - It means well.
If you would now follow me to
Aubrey R. Watzek Library, I have
some more chairs I would like to talk
about. The library is home to many
chairs, and some of them are even
worth sitting in. The basic wooden
chairs on the first floor are not. The
seat is angled way too far forward, so
I was very slowly sliding off the end,
and the back is way too upright. It is
clear that these chairs do not want to
be sat in.
3/10 - At least it has armrests.
A genus of chair that is worth
sitting in at the library are the yellow
spinny fellows situated near the tables
on the first floor. My experience
with these was the most pleasant
of surprises. The pad on the seat is
mushy enough to be comfortable, but
not too mushy as to be overbearing.
Despite their minimalist appearance,
the armrests on this chair are possibly
its strongest feature. They support
your elbow very well while you
are upright, yet they still allow the
unencumbered use of your arms. This
chair gently encourages a focused but
comfortable posture.
9/10 - Solid.
We have reached the end of this
article but there are still so many
chairs yet to be reviewed. I have
sinned and I have not yet paid my
penance in full. Brace yourself for part
two in the next issue.Food allergies create
challenges for students
ZACH REINKER/THE PIONEER LOG
ISABEL KROEPFL/ THE PIONEER LOG
Maggie’s Cafe is an option for dining, alongside Fields Dining Hall and the Dovecote.By PHILIP STEFFEN
ON SEPT. 12 , at half past noon,
my tongue began to tingle.
I hesitated for a couple of
moments to make sure it was not just
anxiety. Within a minute, however,
small hives began to grow on my lips.
I stood up from my chair in the back of
Fields Dining Hall, placed my barely-
touched meal on the dish line, and made
my way back to Ponderosa Hall with the
calm pace doctors recommend to avoid
accelerating anaphylactic shock. Over
the next two hours, with my EpiPen
standing by, I consumed roughly 175
mg of Benadryl, enough to ruin the day
of a person my size. It was also enough
to keep me out of an ambulance, out of
an emergency room and away from IV
steroids and EKG machines.
This may sound extreme, but it is
reasonably normal for someone with
acutely severe food allergies, a condition
that grows more common every year. For
me at least, it was not surprising either.
When you have as many food allergies as
I do it can be difficult to avoid allergens.
Unfortunately for students at Lewis &
Clark, dining services do not provide
the best of conditions, and even fails to
provide such basic and critical resources
as ingredients lists.
Before going any further, it should
be made clear that dietary restrictions
are very far from a simple issue of what a
person cannot eat. In the case of medical
restrictions, the inflammation and
general sickness resulting from exposure
can cause long term disruptions to
physical, and as new research has
suggested, most notably a paper
published in Nature in 2016, serious
disruptions to mental and neurological
health. In cases of religious and ethical
restrictions, dietary contamination
presents a serious undermining of
individual agency, something that should not be taken lightly in any place
that considers itself as inclusive as LC
does. If we turn our attention back to
the Bon’s allergen system, some clear
shortcomings become apparent. First,
the current policy is organized around
a system of symbols indicating different
diets. Unfortunately for myself and other
individuals with multiple restrictions,
such symbols are virtually useless.
Individuals with dietary restrictions
are often forced to directly ask Bon
employees about the contents of various
dishes because no ingredient lists are
maintained. This system has the result
of shifting responsibility for safe eating
on to the individual rather than the
organization preparing the food, and
means that every adverse reaction is the
fault of the individual for failing to rule
out every possible contaminant.
If a system for including all diets is
this ineffective, it probably has a lot more
to do with presenting the appearance
that an environment is inclusive, than
it does with protecting anyone’s dietary
autonomy. This is not to say that the
Bon’s employees do not do the best they
can. On the contrary, every worker I have
spoken to has done an outstanding job
being accommodating and providing
what information they can. The real issue
is the outdated organizational system
constraining and placing undue pressure
on them, something that I, as a service
worker, deeply understand myself.
The reality of the situation is this: If
the Bon wants to be inclusive they should
be providing full ingredient lists. People
with dietary restrictions know what
they can and cannot eat, and are fully
capable of acting on this information,
so long as it is freely available. The only
thing that can make dining inclusive
is providing individuals of all dietary
needs with information. Anything less
than full transparency on this issue is not
inclusion, it is theatrics. It is also easy to overlook
the fact that we have had
sitting-down technology
for thousands of years
and yet we still have
uncomfortable seats.
News Editors
Asmaa Zaidan
Amelia Doyle
Sports Editors
Henry Goodier
Gabriel Mantione-HolmesOpinion Editors
Adelaide Kaiser
Sofia ReevesFeatures Editors
Gabe Korer
Will Toppin
The Backdoor Editor
Rosalind Margulies
Faculty Advisor
Molly RobinsonCopy Chiefs
Ayanna Miller
Venus Edlin
Social Media Manager
Yasmin KemerVisuals Editor
Amelia MadarangEditor-in-Chief
Ihsaan MohamedManaging Editor
Aubrey Roché
Arts Editors
Aidan D’Anna
Casper James Pierce
Max Allen
Elizabeth Grieve
Fabian Guerrero
Emma Krall
Lizzie Lohrer
Eryn Nichols
Tor ParsonsSoleina Robinson
Bella Root
Maddie Sayer
Julia Scott
Frankie Spurbeck
Philip Steffen
Owen WolffBy MADDIE SAYER
WHEN I FIRST stepped foot
on campus this year, I never
imagined having to visit the
hospital within my first week of classes.
After enjoying my tofu scramble at
brunch that Saturday, I was suddenly
overwhelmed with excruciating
abdominal pain that was later medically
diagnosed as appendicitis. Being from
California, having no family to aid me
through the emotional aspect of this
process was pretty difficult. However,
my dad was thankfully able to fly up
moments before my surgery the next
morning and take care of me for during
the following days.
I have been able to reflect on the comfort of all these new experiences,
both good and bad. Despite numerous
challenges, Lewis & Clark has provided
me with community and support during
my first month of college.
Coming to LC, I was assigned to
a quad after signing up for a double,
which was an interesting adaptation
to make. They let me know just weeks
before school started. Living with three
other girls versus one is definitely a
culture shock. That being said, one of my
roommates, who I had met just a week
and a half prior, drove me to the hospital
without hesitation.
While I was at the hospital, my
roommates were still there for me
remotely by sending me reassuring
messages and making sure I knew their support was waiting for me when I
returned. They also had to deal with my
loud alarms going off
at 2 a.m. to take my
fifth dose of Tylenol of
the day. I have already
seen how strong of
a community there
is here and really
benefited from having
some surprise built-
in supporters and
friends.
I was concerned
about the classes I
was missing and how
my lack of participation would affect my
grades. After emails and check-ins during
office hours, I was told how to catch up and to take my time recovering. I would
have never thought an administration
team would be this
helpful and kind. All
of my professors went
out of their way to keep
me up to speed with
the rest of the class,
and when I returned
the transition back
was seamless. The
academic department
at this school showed
their bright, true
colors right away.
Additionally, I was
worried about walking to get meals that
week since walking was such a hassle.
Fields Dining Hall allowed my roommates to collect my meals for me, so I did not
have to venture across campus and risk
popping a stitch. I deal with certain food
allergies such as eggs and nuts and was
worried that the meals I would receive
would be something I could not have.
However, both my roommates and the
Bon staff made sure that my to-go boxes
were packed with food that I could eat,
even with my allergies.
Although unconventional, I feel as
if my first couple of weeks at LC have
been a very accurate representation of
the friendly community built here. I
may never have the tofu scramble again
because of the experience of surviving
that day, but I will always remember how
much help I was given in the following
days.By FABIAN GUERRERO
WHEN I LIVED on campus,
the Pioneer Express was
more than a bus: It was a
lifeline. This bus was my only way to
buy groceries, go out with my friends
and see this new city I called home.
Beyond my practical needs for the bus, there was also a sense that the
Pio was something of a cultural icon
on campus that was deeply valued
and infinitely meme-able. However,
despite the public adoration for the
Pio, Lewis & Clark administration
have taken a lax approach to
maintaining this integral part of
campus life. This is evidenced by the surprising fact that our bus service
receives no money from the general
fund — it is entirely financed by
parking passes and parking tickets.
LC takes this same apathy
towards solving the commuter crisis
that paralyzes parking lots around
campus during regular school hours.
Drivers often invent new parking spots and parking in fire lanes is very
common. And as soon as someone
backs out, their spot is taken within
seconds.
Luckily, we have a competent,
structural solution to this problem
that is cost-effective, sustainable
and synchronistic with the rest of
Portland’s commuter culture. In
fact, we have had the solution for a
long time. If LC wants to start fixing
its transportation issue instead of
pushing it down the line for someone
else to figure out, it should start
treating the Pio as an integral part of
campus life.
LC frames our commuter crisis
as something students and staff are
responsible for fixing themselves. A
recent article released by the Office
of Parking and Transportation
(OPT) titled, “Parking Alternatives
and Tips,” offers unambitious
solutions that focus on individual
choices instead of structural change.
Suggestions from the article include
utilizing alternate parking options at
St. Mark’s Church, taking the TriMet
line and parking earlier in the day.
These “tips” are not solutions and
only serve to shift responsibility
away from the LC.
Another strategy LC employs to
shift responsibility for the commuter
crisis is by becoming the victim. One
of the oddest excuses LC gives for
not providing lasting transportation
solutions is the wealth of the
surrounding neighborhood. The
OPT explains in their recent article,
“Unfortunately, many of the things
we all love about the LC campus are
also what limits our ability to quickly
fix parking issues. The campus is
located on a beautiful hillside, loaded
with dense forest, ravines, and old
neighborhoods.” Besides the fact
that both school and public buses
drive up and down this hill every day,
making the point that LC is “just too blessed,” is never going to be a good
argument for anything, ever.
There are two dimensions to
the commuter crisis. Firstly, if left
unresolved, this issue will only
worsen. As the class of 2025 rises, the
overcrowding challenges that affect
all aspects of campus life are going
to impact LC’s already dire parking
problem. Secondly, the problem is
the amount of cars, not the amount
of people. There is a paradox about
car commuting that the easier you
make driving, the worse parking
and traffic become. That means our
parking problem cannot be solved
by making more parking spaces. On
the other hand, understanding that
reducing the number of drivers is
the goal means that the incoming
disaster is fundamentally avoidable.
To fix the commuter crisis once
and for all, LC needs to directly
promote the Pio as a reasonable
alternative to driving to campus.
The Pio needs to run in the dense
neighborhoods where students and
staff live, specifically Sellwood,
Multnomah Village and the South
Waterfront. Besides servicing the
many people that already live in
these places, having the Pio run to
LC’s adjacent neighborhoods will
encourage students to live close to
campus, thus reducing the emissions
we produce every day. For the cherry
on top, these three neighborhoods
have shops, restaurants, and
entertainment options that students
who live on-campus would surely
appreciate easy access to.
Transportation infrastructure
has a serious upfront cost with many
interlocking factors to consider.
However, communal transport like
this is an investment meant to pay
itself off in the long run. Few things
are as appreciated and valued at LC
as much as the Pio, and we should
begin to treat it as such. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021
OPINION 5
The Pio offers easy solution to parking crisis
NICOLE NAGAMATSU/THE PIONEER LOG
First-year reviews the first month of the fall semester
Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed in the Opinion section are those of the authors and are not held by The Pioneer Log.Business Manager
Kamryn FordWeb Manager
Qwynci Bowman
If LC made the shuttle more of a priority, campus would be more accessible to off-campus students
Throughout a bout of appendicitis, the LC community showed support during unexpected events
Staff Writers Photographers & Illustrators
Suhail Akram
Isabelle Atha
Umi Caldwell
Faith Gallegos
Elizabeth Grieve
Hannah Korn
Emma Krall
Isabelle KroepflNicole Nagamatsu
Alex Nash
Tor Parsons
Zach Reinker
Julia Scott
Sam Starks
Maya Williamson
The Pioneer Express picks up students outside of Templeton Student Center before heading to Fred Meyer and downtown.
Despite numerous
challenges, Lewis &
Clark has provided
me with community
and support during
my first month of
college.
MAYA WILLIAMSON/THE PIONEER LOG
Want to share your opinion with the
Lewis & Clark community?
The Pioneer Log is always looking for more writers for
the Opinion section. Email piolog@lclark.edu to be
added to the Pioneer Log’s mailing list. Staff meetings
occur every Monday at 5 p.m. in J. R. Howard 135 and are
open to all members of the Lewis & Clark community.By GABE KORER
PORTLAND IS HOME to a wide
variety of landmarks and oddities
that Lewis & Clark students can
enjoy.
From the never-ending assortment
of food carts stationed seemingly
everywhere to the scenic hiking trails
dotting the horizon, there is much to
appreciate about the vibrant setting we
find ourselves in. For those who have
not yet ventured far from Palatine Hill,
here are a few essential places to visit
during your free time.
First and foremost, nature lovers
can rejoice at the abundance of parks,
rivers and gardens located throughout
the city. One such place to enjoy is the
Portland Japanese Garden, a beautiful
12-acre sanctuary filled with streams,
walkways and authentic Japanese art.
According to their website, they aim to
provide “secluded leisure, rest, repose,
meditation, and sentimental pleasure,”
all while offering a $3.70 discount to
students. You can grab a bite to eat at
their Umami Cafe, swing by the gift
shop and simply take in the relaxing
surroundings as you explore this
popular Portland destination.
Historical attractions scattered
throughout the city include the
Shanghai Tunnels and Witch’s Castle.
Located underneath the Old Town
Chinatown neighborhood, and thought
to be a former passageway for both
goods and people, the Shanghai
Tunnels have been converted into a
tourist destination following their
disuse in the 1940s. As a popular
tourist spot in its own right, Witch’s Castle was previously abandoned after
being used as a park ranger station
and rest stop from the early 1930s to
1962. Both of these
sites are believed to
be haunted and are
the subject of local
legend, making them
a fascinating pair of
sites to explore.
To appease any
avid shoppers out
there, Portland’s
Saturday Market
has been a staple in the Portland
community since 1974 as a site for a variety of vendors and artists. Every
Saturday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.,
tourists and locals alike come together
to shop for local
products and support
small businesses in
an intimate, vibrant
setting. The market
often has pets
roaming about as well,
and is a dog-friendly
environment.
For those with a
sweet tooth, Voodoo
Doughnut has some of the most uniquely
flavored donuts in the Pacific Northwest. With their quirky doughnut names and
goofy slogan, “The Magic is in the Hole,”
Voodoo Doughnut has enticed many LC
students to buy their
sugary products.
With the month of
October approaching,
Halloween-themed
treats will soon line
the counters, so make
sure to grab some of
your own.
You could also
check out the many
coffee and pizza joints located nearby,
such as Stumptown Roasters or JoLa Cafe. Food aficionados have Portland’s many
delicious food carts to enjoy as well.
One of the biggest hubs is the Fifth
Avenue food
cart pod, which
assembles an array
of multicultural
foods and flavors
every day from
11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Choices ranging
from gyros to
burritos are
available to satisfy
your cravings at this lively offshoot of
Portland’s legendary food cart scene. If
you want even more variety, there are a
number of other pods situated in close
proximity.
For literature buffs, Powell’s
Books is a great place to peruse aisles
of every kind of book imaginable.
Known as the world’s largest used and
new bookstore, Powell’s is celebrating
its 50th anniversary this year in the
heart of Portland, where it takes up an
entire city block on 1005 W Burnside
St. You can check out their expansive
gift shop, which has everything from
apparel to cactus pins, and marvel at
the incredible size of the space during
your visit. It can best be thought of
as a stylish warehouse that houses
a tremendous amount of literature,
all for the satisfaction of book
enthusiasts in the Pacific Northwest.
With so many places to visit in
Portland, students should consider
taking advantage of their proximity to
these popular destinations. The city
truly has a lot to offer for those that
are willing to look for it.
By ASMAA ZAIDAN
ON SEPT. 17, Lewis & Clark’s
Mycology Club got off to an
exciting start by hosting its
highly anticipated debut meeting.
Mycology, the study of fungi, has been
gaining traction in recent years as it
makes its way into popular culture, and
more and more mushroom enthusiasts
have begun foraging or growing their
own at home.
Mycology Club Co-Presidents and
founders Jonah Goldin-Dubois ’24,
Ben Forsberg ’24 and Alex Sutton ’24
were inspired to create the club after
noticing that LC was one of the only
colleges in the area that did not have
one. Given that the Pacific Northwest
has an abundance of fungi, they found
it surprising that there was no space
for fellow enthusiasts to discuss their
interests and bond over their shared
love for mycelium.
“We had no (club) here, and we
live in an amazing environment for
foraging,” Forsberg said. “There are
mushrooms that if you go pick them
you can sell them at the farmers’
market for money, there’s mushrooms
that are delicious to eat, there’s the
most powerful psychedelic mushrooms
on earth in the Pacific Northwest. It’s
all here.”
Common edible mushrooms that
grow in the Pacific Northwest include
lion’s mane, oyster mushrooms,
chanterelles and chicken of the woods.
The abundance of them in the Pacific
Northwest is attributed to the old
growth of the vegetation and the damp
conifer forests, two factors that create
an ideal breeding ground for edible
wild mushrooms.
Goldin-Dubois’ interest in mycology
stems from a fascination with the
versatility of fungi. However, he
also noted that there are negative
connotations attached to mushrooms.
“Just the fact that mycelia and fungi
are responsible for decomposition
and stuff, there’s kind of this gross
connotation with mushrooms,”
Goldin-Dubois said. “As they’ve been
getting more and more popular and
relevant in pop culture, I’ve been learning more and more about them
and I personally am super fascinated
with the role they play in the cycle of
life and the ecosystem.”
Perhaps the best part about
mycology is its accessibility to the
general public. An interest
in fungi requires no
scientific background and
no experience, so anyone
can forage or grow their own
mushrooms. Goldin-Dubois
and Forsberg stress the idea
that mycology is for everyone
in the LC community.
The club has exciting
plans for the year, including
many mushroom foraging
trips, forums that bring
in expert speakers to
talk about the field
and sessions that
teach students about
growing and cooking
mushrooms at home.
They even hope to
eventually cultivate
mushrooms on LC’s
campus.
Forsberg hopes
the club will be an
educational and fun
experience for members.
“We can go foraging,
maybe even someone will learn
how to grow mushrooms and they’ll
make money off of it,” Forsberg said.
With Oregon’s legalization of
psychedelic mushrooms, interest in the
recreational types of mushrooms has
increased. However, Forsberg stressed
that the club’s interest in such varieties
was strictly academic and that they will
not be consuming anything they study.
“We can study, but no eating,”
Forsberg said. “We can look at them,
we can take spore prints ... But we don’t
want to associate ourselves with any
hands-on learning or anything like that.”
On the topic of edible mushrooms,
the co-presidents shared their favorite
mushroom recipes. Goldin-Dubois
described himself as a “big fan” of
mushroom stroganoff, while Forsberg
occasionally eats the mushroom gravy
at Fields Dining Hall.With all the interest surrounding
their activities, the Mycology Club
is definitely a club to look out for
this year. The beauty of mushrooms
is that anyone can be a mushroom
forager. This, of course, does not
mean eating any mushroom you
find in nature. Identifying common
edible mushrooms is not impossible;
consulting field guides and mushroom
foraging Facebook groups beforehand
are two ways new foragers can enjoy
wild mushrooms while staying safe.
Eat foraged mushrooms at your
own risk, and also in mushroom
stroganoff.
Keep up to date on the club’s
events on their Instagram and Twitter,
@lcmycology. If you are interested in
helping the club and also enjoy creating
mushroom illustrations, you can reach
out to the co-presidents to get involved
with creating promotional material.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021
FEATURES 6
Mycology Club breaks down
how to forage mushrooms
Landmark attractions to experience in the City of Roses
Make the most of your time at LC by visiting these quirky local sites that help keep Portland weird
ELIZABETH GRIEVE /THE PIONEER LOGBy ELIZABETH GRIEVE
AS AUTUMN slowly descends
upon Lewis & Clark, the change
in season has significantly
affected fashion choices as people begin
shifting into warmer fall aesthetics.
According to Carmen Silver ’25, the
trends are not hard to pin down.
“So many Dr. Martens,” Silver said.
Denim, ’90s- and 2000s-inspired
styles also seem to be quite common,
along with fashion that is, according
to freshman Zoë Dobbs ’25, “visibly
queer.”
These items and aesthetics appear to
be staples despite the many distinctive
styles at LC. If you are having trouble
finding your personal style, consider
researching looks on Pinterest, or
snagging one of the trendy pieces at
Buffalo Exchange or Goodwill. Silver
said she attains clothes through
“thrifting, Depop, eBay or random stuff
my friends give me.”
Dobbs used to not care for fashion,
but that changed when she started using
it to express her identity.
“When I started actually putting
effort into my appearance and figuring
out what clothes I liked and what I
didn’t like, it really helped me find my
identity,” Dobbs said. “I thought it was
really cool how I could change (my style)
and be whoever I wanted to be, and be
perceived however I wanted to ... based
on the way I made myself look.”
Thrifting is one of the main methods
students use to acquire affordable clothes when shopping, which is a result
of Portland’s thriving recycling culture.
To stay stylish in the fall season
while adjusting to colder weather,
Julia Einaudi ’25 recommends layering.
Einaudi described her own personal
style as “goth hooker.” Layering is
a technique used to withstand cold
weather that involves wearing multiple
garments of clothing over each other.
Einaudi has a number of useful
recommendations for looking your best
while layering.
“Tights are good ... if you can get
insulated tights, you can be warm in
your legs (and) still wear a skirt or
shorts over them,” Einaudi said.
Plain turtlenecks can be a versatile
underlayer, Einaudi said, worn under
a graphic t-shirt, jacket or raincoat. She
also recommends Dr. Martens, scarves
and hats.
While some may lose their stylish
aspirations in the midst of autumn’s
restrictive climate, fashion remains an
integral part of many students’ lives.
“Fashion does mean a lot to me,”
Einaudi said. “Because I feel like (it) is
how you communicate to the world who
you are as a person.”
What you wear is an important part
of self-expression and being yourself.
But fashion is not only about looks, it is
also about well-being.
“It kind of means the world to me
sometimes,” Silver said.
Equipped with these messages on
fall fashion, remember to stay happy,
healthy and stylish this fall.
Zoë Dobbs ’25, Carmen Silver ’25, and Julia Einaudi ’25 show off their fall fashion.Tips and tricks to find
your fashion this fall
FAITH GALLEGOS/THE PIONEER LOGCASPER JAMES PIERCE/THE PIONEER LOG
For those with a
sweet tooth, Voodoo
Doughnut has some
of the most uniquely
flavored donuts in the
Pacific Northwest. Known as the world’s
largest used and new
bookstore, Powell’s is
celebrating its 50th
anniversary this year
in the heart of Portland.FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021
FEATURES 7
By TOR PARSONS
THE FIRST THING I noticed upon
arriving in Whittier, Alaska were
the mountains crisscrossed by
waterfalls and dappled with snow, which
surround the small town on three sides.
The next thing I noticed were a pair of
buildings. One was an abandoned hulk
that looked like it could be the site of an
ambush in a zombie movie. The other,
perhaps even more incongruous, was a
14-story condominium painted in pink,
blue and cream, looking more fit for
Miami Beach than a remote Alaskan
fishing town.
The former, which has been
uninhabited since 1964, is called the
Buckner Building. The latter is known as
Begich Towers (BTI). Whittier’s isolation
makes it nearly impossible for single-
family houses to receive water and
electricity, so BTI is home to nearly all of
Whittier’s approximately 300 residents.
Hearing about Whittier from an
elementary school teacher of mine
subconsciously inspired a short story
I wrote years later about a mysterious
high-rise building being constructed in
a remote Alaskan village. The story won
a local award, which was the first time
I had received any recognition for my
writing. However, it was not until much
later that I remembered there really was
a place like the one I wrote about. When
I went to Alaska this summer to work on
a fishing boat, I decided that I would go
see Whittier for myself.
I had arrived in this unique town
by riding a train through a single-lane
tunnel, walled with bare rock and shared
between road and rail traffic, which is the
only way of reaching Whittier by land.
Blasted through two and a half miles
of solid granite, the tunnel was created
because of the town’s remote location.
Whittier sits on a narrow inlet of Prince
William Sound, ringed by 2,000 foot
mountain faces.
Originally, Whittier’s inaccessibility
was a feature rather than a bug,
according to Lisa Tolman, the cashier
at Log Cabin Gift Shop on the Whittier
waterfront.
“We have really low cloud coverage most of the year, so it’s hard to see us
from planes,” Tolman said. “We have a
deep-water port where ships can dock,
but if Alaska was ever invaded by land,
we could just block the tunnel and we’d
be safe.”
This combination of seclusion and
easy maritime access was what led to
Whittier becoming a strategic military
harbor during World War II. Alaska’s
existing port cities, Anchorage and
Seward, were deemed too vulnerable to
a Japanese invasion, so the U.S. military
set up their primary Alaskan base in a
previously uninhabited fjord. Whittier
was a natural fortress, the construction
of the two-mile tunnel making it easy to control travel in and out of the town.
The Buckner Building was built as
a “city under one roof” to house the
soldiers, with amenities ranging from
doctors’ offices to a bowling alley. The
BTI, meanwhile, housed military family
members.
The military began to depart in
the early 1960s. Following Alaska’s
devastating 1964 earthquake and
tsunami, which destroyed much of
Whittier and left the Buckner Building
unsafe, the city’s time as a military base
came to an end. Over the ensuing years
Whittier residents have found a new
industry: Whittier became the port of
call for the Alaskan rail barges. Since the state’s rail system has
no direct connections to the outside
world, entire freight trains are loaded
onto barges in Seattle and shipped to
Whittier, where they then travel on
their own rails to the rest of Alaska. A
significant portion of the goods shipped
to Alaska — anything from lumber to
Amazon orders — arrives on these rail
barges. Today, much of the town is taken
up by a large railyard and the thunder of
train cars being shuttled around is nearly
as constant as the smell of the town’s
many fish canneries.
Not many people live in Whittier;
Tolman estimates that while there are
about 200 year-round residents in the BTI, they are outnumbered in the
summer by seasonal workers. Even
the young man behind the counter at
Swiftwater Seafood Café, where a meal
of fish and chips costs $22.99, admitted
that despite his “prisoner of Whittier”
sweatshirt, he was only there for the
summer.
So, what leads someone to stay in
Whittier? According to Postmaster
Karen Dempster, people are drawn to
the town because of how picturesque the
surroundings are.
“It’s drop-dead beautiful, absolutely
gorgeous,” Dempster said. “There are
so many things to do. The trails, the
waterfalls, the coves. It’s the most
beautiful place.”
Dempster has been a year-round
Whittier resident since 2012, when she
moved there from Fairbanks, Alaska. In
addition to the area’s scenery, she was
intrigued by the idea of an entire town
living under one roof.
“I think it’s just great,” Dempster said
of life in the BTI. “I can go down and see
my neighbors in my socks.”
After talking to Dempster at the
Whittier post office inside the BTI, I
walked back to the waterfront, past a
wooden sign denoting an odd assortment
of records: Since 1979, Whittier has had
thirteen mayors (one recalled), sixteen
harbormasters, twenty-three evictions
and eleven inches of rain in one day. For
the record, the most rain Portland has
ever seen in a day was 2.7 inches in 2017,
according to KGW-TV.
A freight train loaded down with
shipping containers creaked out of
the railyard and threaded its way into
the tunnel. About ten minutes after
the last container disappeared, cars
began exiting the tunnel in the opposite
direction. In the parking lot of a salmon-
curing smokehouse, four men were
skinning a deer.
“You’re not in Kansas anymore.” one
of them said to me, noticing my surprise.
“Welcome to Alaska.”
Having spent most of the summer
in Alaska, I can confirm that even in
the Last Frontier this is not a common
sight. In Whittier, though, it seems like
anything can happen.Remote Alaskan city offers small-town appeal
Attractive historic homes near LC bring the past to life
Since its earliest days, Portland has harbored a multitude of elaborate homes that the public can enjoyThe tight-knit community of Whittier is filled with a variety of interesting people, natural beauty
Featuring a variety of attractive boats, the Whittier Marina draws many fishermen who come to offload fish to the canneries.
By WILL TOPPIN
THE CITY OF Portland was
established in 1851 and many
beautiful old homes from its
earliest years still stand. Here is a list
of a few of the architectural sites to
see in the surrounding area.
The Johan Poulsen House
If you have ever driven over the
Willamette River on the Ross Island
Bridge, you may have noticed a large
house on the right that resembles a
castle. Known as the Poulsen House,
this intricate building was constructed
in 1891 and features blue paneling,
white trimming and a medieval-style
50-foot turret.
The 5,211 square foot, eight
bedroom house sold in June of this
year for $1,690,000; the house is now
owned by a Portland media firm called
Prospect. According to the website of
the seller’s realtor, this unique house
is an example of “Queen Anne-style
Victorian” architecture, though its architect currently remains unknown.
The house is privately owned, so it is
not visitable by the public. However,
video tours are available online due to
its recent sale.
The Simon Benson House
Another example of Queen Anne-
style architecture, the Simon Benson
House was built in 1900. According
to the house’s website, the entire
building was relocated in 2000 and
now stands on the campus of Portland
State University. The Simon Benson
House currently serves as the school’s
visitor center and the headquarters
for its alumni association.
Simon Benson, the original
owner of the house, was a Norwegian
immigrant who started a successful
logging business at the age of 16.
He was an influential historical
figure, responsible for the purchase
and deeding of Wahkeena Falls
and Multnomah Falls to the City of
Portland, and for the installation
of “Benson Bubbler” fountains throughout the city. Benson
Polytechnic, a Portland public high
school, was also named for him after
Benson donated $100,000 to help
establish the school, according to the
house’s website. Benson moved out
of state in the early 1920s, but is now
buried just a mile from Lewis & Clark
in the Riverview Cemetery.
Pittock Mansion
A landmark of the Portland
community since 1965, Pittock
Mansion is a historic house museum
that has offered tours and exhibitions
for decades. It is also among the most
popular destinations for birdwatchers
in the area. The first owner of the
house was Henry Pittock, a financial
mogul that dominated various
Portland industries in the late 19th
century. According to the mansion’s
website, “Henry Pittock also built
a financial empire by investing
in real estate, banking, railroads,
steamboats, sheep ranching, silver
mining, and the paper industry.”
The mansion was constructed
between 1912-1914; Pittock and his
wife only lived there for four years
before their deaths. In 1964, the
City of Portland purchased the home
for $225,000 with the intent to
convert it into a museum. Incredibly,
$67,500 of that cost was raised
by individual Portlanders to help
with the acquisition. The nonprofit
organization Pittock Mansion Society
took over management of the home
from Portland Parks & Recreation
in 2007 and continues to run the
museum today. Adult tickets for tours
cost $12 and the current exhibit is
about Vanport, a public housing city
that existed during World War II.
These are just three historical
landmarks that reside in Portland. This city has a rich and complicated
history, and houses such as these
present an interesting way to interact
with that history and bring it to life. Just a little research into historic
homes in Portland is quite rewarding,
as there are dozens more waiting to be
discovered.
The Johan Poulsen House is privately owned by a Portland media establishment.TOR PARSONS/THE PIONEER LOG
WILL TOPPIN/THE PIONEER LOG
ADVERTISEMENTFRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021
ARTS 8
By EMMA KRALL
NESTLED SNUGLY in the
basement of Tamarack
Hall, the Rusty Nail Co-Op
(otherwise known as the Coop) serves
as a student-led campus hub for self
expression and togetherness.
It is clear that the Coop’s rich
history has always been rooted in the
cultivation of community. Formed
over a decade ago, the Coop functions
as one of the only Lewis & Clark
organizations run solely by students.
Filled with mismatched dishware,
local artwork and an array of cushy
furniture, the Coop’s community
center works to give students a sense
of home on campus, something its
members say LC is in need of.
“We do what we can to set up
a space that we really believe is
important and necessary for this
school’s climate,” Coop Coordinator
Marc-Anthony Valle ’22 said. “Having
a really strong student space can do
so much for the culture at LC.”
The Coop experienced a period of
closure due to coordinator conflicts
with campus administration in 2013,
following allegations surrounding
substance use within the space. But
when current coordinators Mamie
Hogan ’22 and Noam Jacobs ’22
joined the team during the 2019-20
academic year, the Coop underwent a
significant revamp.
“Noam was super interested
in getting the space going our
sophomore year,” Hogan said. “We
thought having a place on campus
where students could hang out
together in a student-run space would
be amazing.”
The 2020-21 school year was a
quiet one for the organization, as the
COVID-19 pandemic caused most
school groups to move operations
online; this forced the Coop, an in-
person operation, to close for the
year. But this year, the Coop is back
and ready to provide a welcoming
environment for all students to enjoy
art shows, concerts, viewing parties,
workshops, coffee and the sense of
home the LC community so closely
associates with the space.
On Sept. 5, the Coop hosted its
first show of the year, a vibrant concert from Portland-based
singer/songwriter Johnny Franco.
The sounds of Franco’s animated
performance resonated across
campus, giving students a taste of
what the organization has to offer.
This year, the Coop hopes to
continue to host an array of campus
events similar to the Johnny Franco
concert.
“We have another show coming
up on Oct. 2,” Jacobs said. “This
year we are reestablishing our
historic relationship with KLC and
collaborating on a lot of events.”
In addition to the upcoming
concert collaborations between the
Coop and KLC, coordinators will be
working with the radio station to bring
a series of workshops to the LC student
body. These workshops will aim to give
students valuable skills in areas not
often addressed in a college setting.
Among these is the upcoming sound
workshop, which will teach students
how to run sound for concerts and
shows.
Another cornerstone of the Coop’s
mission is its volunteer-operated
coffee shop. To further foster an inviting student space, the coffee
shop in the Coop serves hot and cold
drinks at prices accessible to everyone.
Frustrated with the quality and
accessibility of coffee on campus, Nick
Biesterfeld ’23 joined the Coop team
this year to bring quality coffee to LC.
“All of our prices are actually just
suggested donations … so the goal
is just to provide a better option for
students to have coffee on campus,”
Biesterfeld said.
With the new school year fully in
swing, the Rusty Nail Co-Op in lower
Tamarack once again breathes with
life. Its windows are plastered with
information about upcoming events
and its doors are soon to open again to
the students who call it home.
“We’re super pumped to be back,”
Jacobs said. “And you should be too.”
In an effort to reestablish regular
hours for their coffee shop, the Coop
is always looking for new volunteers
to help keep their mission alive.
Volunteers can sign up for training
sessions and coffee shop shifts by
emailing coop@lclark.edu, and
can find more information on their
Instagram, @thecoop_lc.
By JULIA SCOTT
ON SEPT. 18, College Outdoors
(CO) hosted an on-campus
trip where participants helped
remove invasive ivy from Lewis &
Clark’s graduate campus and weave
them into baskets. The trip, led by
Alex Cortes ’23 and Christopher Olson
’23, focused on environmentalism,
education and creating something both
beautiful and useful.
In addition to being a practical thing
to make, the materials for the baskets
were found right on LC’s campus.
English ivy is an invasive species of vine
that was introduced to the United States
in the 1700s because of the beautiful
way it climbs buildings. However, as
it spreads, it forms entire networks of
roots underground and attaches itself
to other plants, thus competing for
resources and even strangling trees.
In doing so, it kills native plants and
disrupts the ecosystem.
The first part of the CO trip was
simply to uproot and shear the English
ivy that can be found in large swaths
around campus. This way, participants
could help combat a highly invasive
species while finding all the materials
necessary for their baskets from natural
sources.
The trip idea was first imagined
last year by Katie Clevenger ’22 as a
way to continue CO trips during the
pandemic. While there was not a ton of
initial interest, CO decided to offer the
activity again this year. Basket weaving has proved to be so popular this time
around that not only was there a
waitlist, but two more similar trips were
also promptly added to the calendar.
According to Olson, the trip was a
“low-stakes (way) for people new to
the school to meet each other,” which
evidently appealed to many of its
participants.
While all art serves a purpose,
weaving a basket is a great way to make
something practical. Generally, when
people think of visual art, they imagine drawing, painting or sculpture, but
basket weaving is a natural, charming
art form that anyone that requires
little experience. Whether it serves as
a decoration for your dorm or a way to
smuggle food out of the dining hall, a
basket is always a handy thing to have
around.
Based on its popularity, CO’s basket
weaving trip was a huge success. Creating
something beautiful and practical while
helping the environment made for an
altogether positive experience.
Coop provides space for students
to socialize, study, drink coffee
CO leads invasive ivy removal trip,
teaches students to weave baskets
EMMA KRALL/THE PIONEER LOG
Student volunteers man the coffee bar that serves as the back wall of the Coop.Musical falls flat
in movie remake
By MADDIE SAYER
THE FILM adaptation of
Broadway sensation “Dear
Evan Hansen” premiered
on Sept. 24, and it has already
garnered some criticism.
“Dear Evan Hansen” is a
story about a teenager who deals
with debilitating anxiety and
depression, falling into a rabbit
hole of lies and a sense of false
reality after a student at his school,
Connor, dies by suicide. The
letter Hansen writes himself for
therapy, along with his cast signed
by Connor, is what formulates the
beginning of the endless lies that
drive the plot. Connor’s family
welcomes Hansen into their warm
family, which Hansen clings onto
as he continuously makes up false
stories about his “friendship” with
their son. This feeling of belonging
carries over to his school after the
lies spread to the internet.
Before the movie was even
released to the public, negative
reviews were already being spread
all over the internet. Some critics
have seen the musical while
others have not, and this has had
a huge impact on their reaction to
the execution of the plot.
“ This is a movie that
repeatedly calls out a dead kid
just to make its points,” Critic
Stephanie Zacharek said in
Time magazine. “If that’s your
idea of entertainment, or even
just adequate message-based
filmmaking, run, don’t walk, to
see ‘Dear Evan Hansen’”
What Zacharek does not
understand is that the chilling
plot is carried over from the
musical, where it was crafted and
enjoyed by many in that medium.
If one has not seen or looked
into the musical, the movie’s plot
can be a little jarring. However,
many viewers who were already
familiar with the show were able
to appreciate the producers’
efforts in attempts to keep it
similar. They draw points back to
Connor’s suicide often, since it is
the pivotal part of the movie that
affects all the proceeding actions
of others.
The consensus of the negative
critiques mostly revolve around
Ben Platt, a now 28-year-old
man playing a high school boy.
Platt was 21 when he debuted
as Evan Hansen on Broadway,
and although he was still older
than a high school student, his
appearance did not stick out as
much. Since this story takes place
in high school and highlights
the struggles that come with
adolescence, a lot of viewers found
the age difference unrealistic
when watching the movie.
Further expanding on the
unrealistic aspects, many believed
the transition between the two
mediums was off. “Director Stephen Chbosky
needed to bring this stage musical
into greater balance with the film
medium. He needed to make ‘Dear
Evan Hansen’ less grandiose,”
Mick LaSalle said in Datebook
magazine.
Many agreed with LaSalle’s
assertion that the movie and
stage versions were too similar
and should have been tweaked
for the difference in production.
Movies are often watched with a
more literal lens than a musical.
It seemed as if they did not
fully commit to whether they
were going to stick with the
over-the-top Broadway-esque
performances or subtly slip the
songs in.
The only song in the movie that
mimicked the feel-good Broadway
sensation was “Sincerely Me”
starring Platt, Colton Ryan and
Nik Dodani dancing and singing
with exuberating energy. All of the
other songs, although beautifully
produced, felt awkward and too
relaxed.
Claims have also been made
about the possible nepotism
occurring due to Platt’s father,
Marc Platt, being one of the
producers of the movie.
“Were I not to do the movie, it
probably wouldn’t get made,” Ben
Platt said on the Zach Sang show.
Oftentimes Platt is considered
the face of Evan Hansen because
he was part of the original cast,
yet there were younger candidates
who took on his role in the musical
as time progressed who could have
been considered for his part in the
movie.
Although the film was almost
identical to the show in terms of
dialogue and structure, the film
benefited from certain aspects you
can only accomplish on a screen.
The buzzing high school setting
made it feel more relatable to
the intended teenage audience
compared to a couple of extras
on a stage. The usage of editing
in flashbacks and certain panic
attacks Hansen experiences added
a deeper connection with the
character’s development. With
an added song, “The Anonymous
Ones,” the movie is also able to
highlight how straight-A student
Alana deals with her mental health
privately. This way, the movie
adaptation successfully portrayed
the student body’s ability to cope
with the suicide.
Needless to say, some creative
decisions helped emphasize the
importance of the show and
its meaning. Personally, after
watching both productions of
the show I can agree with the
uncomfortable casting and
possible nepotism. However, if
you loved the musical as much
as I did, there is some comfort in
seeing it come to life on the big
screen.
AMELIA MADARANG/THE PIONEER LOGJULIA SCOTT/THE PIONEER LOG
A student on the trip trims ivy away from their basket to form it into the right shape.
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021
ARTS 9
Netflix announces film adaptation of
English professor’s nonfiction work
Portland artist addresses cyclical nature
of life, death in series of hands-on projectsBy VENUS EDLIN
ASSOCIATE Professor of English
Pauls Toutonghi’s 2016 book
“Dog Gone: A Lost Pet’s
Extraordinary Journey and the Family
who Brought Him Home” is being
adapted into a film by Netflix.
The book tells the true story of
Toutonghi’s in-laws searching for their
dog Gonker, who disappears into the
woods off the Appalachian Trail. The
dog has Addison’s disease, which means
he has to receive a monthly injection to
live, giving the family a 23-day deadline
to find him. Throughout the search,
media attention rises and the family
grows closer.
Nick Santora — whose writing credits
include “The Sopranos,” “Prison Break”
and “Scorpion” — emailed Toutonghi,
asking if he could pitch a film adaptation
of the novel to multiple studios.“I said sure, I’m not gonna say
no,” Toutonghi said. “He did that
independently of me and when he
pitched to Netflix, they really loved
the idea.”
Almost two years ago, Netflix
decided to option the book, which
gave the studio access to the rights
for a set time to make an adaptation.
However, the pandemic did delay
production. Netflix announced the
film’s production this July. The film
will likely be released in 2022.
“Dog Gone” will feature Rob
Lowe (“The Outsiders,” “Parks and
Recreation,” “The West Wing”) as
the father, Kimberly Williams-Paisley
(“Nashville,” “Father of the Bride”)
as the mother and Johnny Berchtold
(“The Look-See,” “Life as Mermaid”)
as the son. Toutonghi has been
impressed by the care and craft of the
star-studded team.However, every part of the process
has been a learning experience for
Toutonghi, one that still feels surreal.
“If you’d told me when I was 22
and dreaming of being a writer that my
book would be made into a film in 23
years — I wouldn’t have believed you,”
Toutonghi said. “But that’s the way my
career has been consistently. I just feel
so incredibly lucky to tell stories and
have any degree of success in the world
of books.”
Nadav Ben David ’25 is taking
Toutonghi’s Creative Nonfiction class
and has heard many details about the
adaptation process. Overall, Ben David
said he was impressed by Toutonghi’s
expertise and success in the industry.
“He’s a very genuine author,” David
said. “I don’t think he wrote things
with the intention of being successful
in that specific way. What’s really cool
about it is, it was just a personal story.
He’s just a creative; he’s just a guy with
a good brain who wants to use his art
form to articulate the experiences he’s
had, the emotions and dynamics and
human relationships he’s observed
around him.”
Toutonghi detailed his on-set
experiences in class. One anecdote
described the greens department sawing
off a tree branch to maintain consistent
lighting between shots for continuity.
When the cloud blocking the sun moved
away, the greens department then
had to hold the branch in place for the
remainder of shooting that day.
For Toutonghi, being involved in such
a large production was a novel experience.
“I went to the set, and it’s funny — I
feel like the writer is both the most
important and also the least important
and needed person on that set,”
Toutonghi said. “You’ve put the story
together, but then now there are 100
people who are interpreting it and doing
it and if you get involved at that point,
you’re just going to create trouble.”Throughout the process, Toutonghi
also mentioned that the narrative of
the film is slightly different because
of the nature of the mediums and
directing choices. For example, the film
adaptation focuses more on the father-
son relationship, while the mother-son
relationship is more emphasized in the
source material.
Toutonghi said he was intrigued by
what parts they chose to keep in the
movie and was amazed at the budget.
“I had a line in the book that they
kept about a doughnut,” Toutonghi said.
“Because they put this trick that Gonker
did with a doughnut in the movie, it
cost them like $35,000 in training the
(stunt) dog to be able to do this (...) If it
had been up to me, I would never have
put that detail in the screenplay.”
Despite the adaptation marking a
milestone in his career, Toutonghi said
the most important part of the process is
being able to share his experiences with
his students.
“I think that it’s hugely important
to be able to see this aspect of writing
where you can conceivably make a
living, because I think there are not a lot
of avenues (…) as a writer,” Toutonghi
said. “Working in film, in any capacity,
especially in sort of an introductory
capacity, is one of the ways that you can
potentially make a living.”
Coral Barrett ’22 is in the same
class as Ben David, and has been very
interested in the adaptation process.
Barrett’s previous experiences working
on a film that did not end up being
produced has made her eager to learn
more about a successful film. Hearing
Toutonghi’s experiences has given
Barrett perspective.
“I think it’s been really valuable to
see a potential path for myself even to
just be like, ‘Oh wow, this is something I
could do,’” Barrett said. “It almost gave
me hope just hearing how nontraditional
his journey was.”By SOLEINA ROBINSON
KINOKUNIYA Portland, located
in between Portland State
University’s Shattuck Hall and
Powell’s City of Books on 829 SW 9th
Ave., has been calling the historic
Guild Theatre building home since
August 2019. The store carries books,
unique merchandise and stationery,
with a focus on Japanese art and
comics.
The bookstore first set up shop
inside Uwajimaya Beaverton in 1998.
The second location opened in 2019
in order to capitalize on the more
accessible and central location. There
are about 50 Kinokuniya locations
in Japan, where Kinokuniya was
founded, about 20 stores in the
United States, and around 80 around
the world.
At the entrance of the downtown
location, customers use the high-hat
stand that sits across from a large, plush
Totoro to dispense hand sanitizer.
The main floor of the store is home
to books and comics in both English
and Japanese as well as various art and
writing tools. There are multiple sizes
of sketch pads and paper, fountain
pens, brush pens and pens with
decorations from popular comics and
movies. There is also a small collection
of figurines, pins and stickers.
A majority of the shelves hold
comic books in Japanese and English,
with signs to differentiate between
the languages. In the back corner by
the stairs are a few rows of different
plushies of animal characters from
comics and movies.
The upstairs area is dedicated
to Studio Ghibli, most famous for
“Princess Mononoke” and “My
Neighbor Totoro,” and has products
which include posters, movies, books
and miscellaneous trinkets from
washcloths to chip clips. Within this
section, the collection of comics and
figurines continues.
Over the years, Kinokuniya has
managed to evolve. There used to
be a cafe inside the store, but now it
can only be found at its SW 10th Ave.
location by the name of Behind the
Museum Cafe.
Customer service is provided by
employees who are excited to help
find products and often have lengthy
knowledge they are willing to share.
Shopping in-person also sustains
the local economy that Kinokuniya is
proud to be a part of.
The store and its employees make
sure to cater to the needs of their
patrons by finding things that are not
often found in other stores, making
it the perfect shop for those who are
looking for Japanese comics and
imports of almost all kinds.
By BELLA ROOT
ON SEPT. 14, Megan Hanley gave
a talk as a guest speaker for the
art department discussing her
past and future projects. Hanley is a
local Portland artist who crosses art with
biology and geology by using natural
materials in her art.
Hanley’s journey began after the
passing of her grandfather, which sparked
her interest in death and humanity’s
connection to the environment through
death. This inspired her to take a trip
in 2017 to an ancient Roman grave site
where she worked with archaeologists
for three weeks. She spent her time there
excavating graves. From this experience
came Hanley’s first project, “Eternal
Becoming.” For this project, she used
charcoal and dirt collected from the archaeological site to create life-size
drawings of the graves she visited.
Hanley interpreted tombs as places of
transition.
“‘Eternal Becoming’ intends to frame
death as a “repayment of our life rather
than an ending,” Hanley said.
According to Hanley, her exhibit is a
“reminder of our connection and lack of
superiority to nature.”
Hanley’s next project, “In/Habitable,”
stemmed from research in which
she participated at Lassen Volcanic
National Park in California studying
extremophiles. These are organisms that
can survive in extreme conditions, such as
the Sulfolobus Spindle-shaped Virus and
Nanoarchaeota that live in the hot springs
of Lassen. The artist then made charcoal
drawings and sculptures inspired by those
extremophiles and their ecosystem. Additionally, Hanley spent time
studying the history of the park,
specifically how the indigenous tribes
in the area interact with the hot springs.
She made sculptures based on their
traditional earthenware which was used
to cook food in the hot springs.
In this project, Hanley wanted to
highlight the similarities between small
organisms and humans which both belong
to complex ecosystems while maintaining
individuality. She also focused on the
permeability of extremophiles and how
their interaction with their environment is
crucial to their survival. Hanley’s interest
in this area came from her observations of
the current climate crisis and humanity’s
need to reconsider what our definition of
a “habitable” environment is.
Hanley’s most recent project,
“Bubbling Waters,” came out of a papermaking residency she did with a
business called Pulp & Deckle. In her
residency she created three abstract reliefs
of hot spring chimneys out of paper pulp
and beeswax. These hot springs were
modeled after ones she visited on a trip to
Yellowstone National Park in 2019.
In an email interview Hanley said
this project was “an experimentation
with new materials while continuing
themes from ‘In/Habitable.’”
While working with these materials,
she learned that the fibers of plants and
fabrics bonded as they dried.
“This process of multiple fibers
joining together for strength reminded
me of the enrichment communities
found in hot springs where organisms
exchange nutrients and genetic material,”
Hanley said.
Hanley plans on shifting her focus
towards plants and fossils for a future
project inspired by the detailed graphite
drawings of Vija Clemins.
“Clemins’ work often directed your
eye up or down rather than out at a typical
landscape,” Hanley said.
She plans to use graphite to draw
fossils from the Oregon area, drawing
a connection between the mineral
composition of both her material and
subject. She hopes to urge viewers to
continue to explore the relationship of
humanity and the natural world.
“The landscapes I depict are a
reminder to be more aware of the
ecosystems that are right underneath our
feet.” Hanley said. “Whether that be a
human grave, your backyard or bubbling
sulfuric mud, life has figured out a way
to survive and even thrive in the most
extreme conditions.”
“If we can see ourselves connected to
the larger web of life, even microbes, we
can disrupt the hierarchical tendencies
causing ecological collapse,” Hanley said
during her lecture.
Hanley’s work can be found on her
website http://meganhanley.com/ or
on Instagram @meganhanley.studio.
Bookstore’s
global fame
wows PDX
ISABELLE ATHA/THE PIONEER LOG
The Kinokuniya entrance is on 9th Ave.HANNAH KORN/THE PIONEER LOG
Pauls Toutonghi shows off a copy of his book “Dog Gone,” annotated by his son.
PHOTO COURTESY OF MEGAN HANLEY
This painting, “Bubbling Mud Pot,” is made with gouache, charcoal and natural pigment collected from Boiling Springs Lake.FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021
SPORTS 10
By AMELIA DOYLE
LEWIS & CLARK alum Annikah San
Nicolas ’19 is the athletic academic
coordinator and the assistant
volleyball coach at LC. After playing
with the volleyball team for four years,
San Nicolas is now back working in the
athletic department.
“I feel like I just learned and I grew
so much throughout my experience here,
and I feel like LC is definitely a place
where everyone in this community is
always striving to improve and striving to
just develop as an individual and helping
those around them develop,” She said.
“That was just always super inspiring to
me.”
The former student athlete views
her return to LC as a chance to repay
the community that supported her as a
student.
“I just wanted to come back and give
back to this community and I just feel
like the student athlete community in
particular is special,” She said.
San Nicolas is helping to improve
LC’s athletic department in a variety of ways, from aiding student athletes that
are struggling to juggle their schedule
to talking to them about graduate
school. She also works with students on
developing their time management and
study skills, as well as connecting them
with resources on campus.
San Nicolas explained that the
athletic department at LC centers
around four C’s: classroom, character,
community and competition. She wants
to focus her efforts on the classroom
part of these values.
“I really just want to provide holistic
support to our student athletes, helping
them succeed both in the classroom and in
self-growth and development,” She said.
According to San Nicolas, many
life skills can come out of the student
athlete experience, and she wants to help
the student athletes at LC acquire and
hone these skills. For example, Kelsie
Nakashima ’24, said that she is learning
how to manage her time through her
meeting with San Nicolas.
“It’s pretty casual. But it helps me stay
on top of my assignments, we go through
each class and what I have to do for each class, or assignments that are coming up
or testing.” Nakashima said.
While some of San Nicolas’
responsibilities come from working with
students, she is also working within the
athletic department.
“I am working on taking over
one of the (Student-Athlete Advisory
Committee) advisor positions,” She
said. “That definitely focuses on the
community and the character, so athlete
development.”
San Nicolas trusts that the athletic
community has benefited from being
completely in-person this semester.
“It’s just really nice for everyone to
be back in person after COVID, and I
feel like it’s a great opportunity for the
whole LC community to come together
even more than what it was before,” She
said. “I feel like the athletic community is
really striving to bridge the gap between
athletes and non-athletes.”
San Nicolas emphasized the
importance of the opportunity that
COVID-19 has given the LC community
for all of us to come together, improve
and grow. By VENUS EDLIN
ECDYSIAST IS a pole and specialty
dance studio in downtown
Portland that aims to be an
inclusive space, pushing against strip
club established pole norms. I attended
their taster class and tried pole dancing
for the first time.
Shannon Gee co-founded the studio
in 2008. As an Asian woman and single
mom with a 10th grade education, the
growth of Ecdysiast has opened many
doors for Gee. When founding the
studio, she saw the importance of pole
dancing, but wanted to hold space for
the skill outside of sex work.
“Just being a person in the sex trade
and being really familiar with the strip
club culture, and kind of everything
adjacent to that, (I) definitely could see
that this was a channel for a lot of folks,
in fact all folks, to really access,” Gee
said. “But it wasn’t accessible outside
of the sex trade or strip club, so I think
that’s what inspired me to be a founder.”
Most people familiar with pole
dancing are acquainted through the
sex industry. For Gee, the coercion
and push for survival in these spaces
means that there is no true consent.
By divorcing pole dancing from that
environment, and instead uplifting
feminist values, people can engage in
the art form consensually.
“There’s real consent, I think
when people take classes, that is truly
of their own volition,” Gee said. “It’s
truly of their own volunteerism. We
are what you call a ‘seek’ industry.”
For Anna Graff ’22, her first
experience with pole dancing was
deliberately sought out. “I just have always been interested
in pole dancing,” Graff said. “I took a
dance fitness class at Lewis & Clark and
I really enjoyed it. So I was like, I like
dancing and pole is such a beautiful art
that I’ve always really loved.”With the rise of pole dancing
in popular culture, with artists
like FKA Twigs and Lil Nas X
incorporating it into their music
videos and performances, Graff
was inspired to fulfill her longtime interest. She searched online for
pole dancing classes and stumbled
across the Ecdysiast website. Graff
fell in love with their messaging
that emphasizes “If you have a body,
you’re a poler.”Graff took one session of the
beginner contemporary pole dance
class and had a positive experience,
and plans to return in the future.
“It wasn’t competitive, it wasn’t
critical, it was work at your own
ability level and do what feels good
for your body,” she said. “That made
it a little less intimidating, but it still
was challenging which was good.”
Similar to Graff, I have attended
one class and plan to attend other
lessons in the future. The class I
took was taught by Chris Ettrick,
and focused on presenting a wide
sampling of the different types of
pole classes Ecdysiast offers. Ettrick
taught a short routine, instructed
the small group through a series of
tricks and encouraged me and my
peers to get familiar with the pole.
The studio space is small, but
welcoming. It is a 20 minute walk
from the Shattuck Hall Pioneer
Express Shuttle stop, situated next
to Buffalo Exchange. Single classes
start at $40, and the price per lesson
decreases when buying their series
or courses.
For all these reasons, I am eager
to return, but the powerful and
purposeful message of Ecdysiast is
what draws me to come back most.
“We do a ton of political
education, ... so that we can
facilitate not only appropriately,
but in a nurturing, non-capitalistic,
feminist, queer, indigenous,
Marxist, socialist, communist way,”
Gee said. “Our school is rooted
in revolution. It’s rooted in a
revolutionary framework, and that
trickles out.”
By NOAH REESE-CLAUSON
A RITUAL IS AN exercise in
spirituality; perhaps frivolous to
an observer but indispensable
to a practitioner. Whether it is out of
superstition, religion or just getting
in the game mindset, many athletes
perform some sort of ritual, or tradition,
for the sake of their sport.
The Lewis & Clark Cross Country team
has a number of special things they do in
preparation for meets and practices. Head
Men’s and Women’s Cross Country Coach
Matthew Barreau has the athletes stride
out to him before every race starts. As they
stride out, he gives a motivational speech
before they do a quick Pio chant.
The team also has a range of activities
they do somewhat ritualistically on
their own. During pre-meet workouts
they run four miles and walk the last
half, on Fridays they wear hats as an
unintentional “Mean Girls” parody, they
have team pasta dinners to load up on
carbohydrates for races and some of them
walk to their practices barefoot.
Athletes have personal practices they
do as well. Jack Hyde ’22 takes a series
of supplements everyday including iron,
ibuprofen, super B complex and fish
oil. He also makes a shake with gold
standard whey and a tea with beetroot
powder that he swears by. At the end of
every season he has all of his teammates sign his race spikes as a reminder of what
they went through together.
Caleb Silverman ’24 wears the same
chain, one his mother received at her
wedding, for every practice and meet, as
well as the same pair of Brooks PR brand
socks. Silverman’s game-day ritual is
buying a pack of Peanut M&M’s before
every race, and eating them if he does well
and throwing them away if he runs poorly.
Other athletes practice rituals as well.
Alex Hensley ’22 plays guitar the night
before every football game, Whitney
Maxfield ’25 likes to “listen to pump up
music and boogie” before swim meets and
Desmon Holton ’25 listens to the same
game-day playlist and tells himself to
“look good, feel good, play good,” before
each football game.
There are many other athletes who
do not have rituals they perform. The
majority of the cross country team
had no spiritual practices to note. The
effect of these rituals can be debated
and the lack of uniform practice among
athletes speaks to their personal, non-
universal benefits.
The benefit of these rituals is to get
in the right headspace. That can be
done by distracting yourself from the
task ahead, assigning yourself a good
luck charm, motivating yourself or just
putting yourself in a positive mindset.
As long as your ritual helps you do your
best, that is all that matters.Dance studio offers feminist pole dancing in PDX
AMELIA MADARANG /THE PIONEER LOG
DAVID ALLEN/THE PIONEER LOGAnnikah San Nicolas ’19 returns
as athletic academic coordinatorEcdysiast combats negative stigma surrounding pole dancing created by patriarchal strip club culture
Co-founder of Ecdysiast, Shannon Gee, demonstrates a variety of pole tricks that the studio offers in their beginner classes.
ZACH REINKER/THE PIONEER LOGLC athletes’ pre-game
rituals inspire play
Athletic academic coordinator Annikah San Nicolas ’19 works to create a supportive academic environment for student-athletes. FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021
SPORTS 11
By REBECCA HANSON
LEWIS & CLARK students have
countless clubs and activities to
choose from. However, two hubs
of campus athletic life, the Pamplin
weight room and the Zehntbauer
Swim Pavilion, can be intimidating
realms to students less acquainted
with the athletic side of LC. Luckily,
it is a quick and easy process to get
started using the facilities.
The weight room features multi-
use weight machines that safely work
out many parts of the body. They are
a great tool for beginners that are
looking to try a form of strength and
resistance training. A large section of
the floor is dedicated to a free weight
area complete with all the dumbbells,
kettlebells, barbells, medicine balls
and resistance bands that one could
possibly need. If cardio activities are
preferred, stationary bikes, treadmills
and ellipticals are free to use at any
time when Pamplin is open and are
located on the main level in front of
the gymnasium.
As an LC student, to gain access
to the weight room, one has to
register for a time slot at lcpioneers-
weightroom.youcanbook.me. The
weight room is open at varying hours
every day of the week, but time slots
fill up fast, so it is best to plan your
workouts in advance. Make sure to
sanitize everything before and after
you use it, and wear a mask at all times regardless of vaccination status.
There will be a supervisor ensuring
the COVID-19 protocols are being
followed properly and weights are
being used safely.
The Zehntbauer pool is another
athletic resource available for all
students (provided it has not been
booked for athletic team usage). As
of Sept. 29, its hours are 11:45 a.m.
to 1:15 p.m. on every day of the week
except for Saturday, and 8:00 a.m to
9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, Thursday and
Friday. The pavilion is located directly
next to Pamplin Sports Center. It
boasts an eight-lane swimming pool,
starting blocks for each lane, two diving
boards (one-meter and three-meter)
and several exercise bikes. The pool
also hosts competitions and events,
and has stadium seating for up to 300
spectators.
The gym and pool are maintained by
the athletic facility staff and custodians,
who ensure that it is kept clean and
functional for all to use. Keep in mind
that the schedule of these facilities may
be subject to change, and it is updated
(along with the schedule of the rest
of LC’s athletic facilities) regularly at
lcpioneers.com. Make sure to follow
COVID-19 guidelines at all times,
especially concerning mask regulations.
Have a spotter for you when you lift
weights, and do not swim without a
lifeguard. Remember, these facilities
are here to help you, so exercise safely
and have fun.First-years exhibit massive
interest in ultimate frisbee
LC softball team ventures to Oregon coast for weekend retreat
Pioneers aim to strengthen their bond before the spring season through activities, new experiencesFacilities accessible
for every LC student
By ISMAEL JARAMILLO
ON SEPT. 7 , Ultimate Frisbee
held an informal event meant
to teach the rules of the game
and allow students to get to know each
other. 85 people arrived, filling up
Griswold Stadium.
“When I saw how many people
showed up, I felt a little overwhelmed
thinking about group management
and just the sheer size of the crowd,”
Topher Olson ’23, co-captain of
Bacchus Men’s Ultimate Frisbee, said
via email. “I also felt really excited and
happy that all these people came and
that we had helped make them feel
wanted and welcome.”
Given the record breaking
freshmen class of around 700, it is
easy to see how Ultimate Frisbee can
be popular. Tad Kumasaka ’22, co-
captain for Bacchus, commented on
the high turn out in an email.
“I had a suspicion that (the class
of 2025) would be emerging from the
isolation of early pandemic with a desperate craving to feel membership
in a new social group and to be
physically active at the same time,”
Kumasaka said. “I had a hunch that
the first few days of frisbee would be
busy.”
LC’s Ultimate Frisbee consists
of two teams: Artemis and Bacchus.
Bacchus is an open division meant for
people of all genders, while Artemis is
more female oriented.
The turnout was unexpectedly
large, but captains of both Artemis
and Bacchus were up to the challenge.
In order to deal with the influx
of players both old and new, both
the USA Ultimate organization and
the LC teams have had to make some
changes.
Usually, the USA Ultimate only
hosts a spring season for competition.
However, this year they introduced a
fall season to make up for time lost
during the pandemic. The LC teams
have had to find a balance between
creating an environment for both
casual and competitive players.Leading Bacchus has been a team
effort for Olson and Kumasaka. Olson
handles logistics and paperwork for
the team while Kumasaka’s leadership
shines on the field during practice.
Last year’s players have also proven
to be great disc throwers and teachers
this semester.
“When we run practices we have a
huge amount of help from returning
players who have done a remarkable
job welcoming the new players into
the sport and into the community,”
Kumasaka said. “It is fun and gratifying
to watch the returners usher in a new
generation of teammates.”
As academics begin ramping up, the
Ultimate teams have seen a slight drop
in attendance since the first practice.
Both teams hope that previous signees
will return in the future, and that more
LC students will also consider joining.
“We take all skill levels, all
genders, all amounts of experience
and are very flexible when it comes
to how committed you want to be,”
Kumasaka said.AMELIA MADARANG /THE PIONEER LOG
By H ENRY GOODIER
AFTER THE most successful
season in decades last year,
the Lewis & Clark softball team
has begun their preparation for the
upcoming spring season. Head Coach
Shawna Cyrus set out to continue the
momentum from the 2021 season with
a team retreat to Rockaway Beach,
Oregon. With a loaded itinerary
beginning Sept. 24 and ending Sept.
26, the team utilized every moment of
the trip to build chemistry and learn
more about one another.
Traveling as a team is a major aspect
of any sport. Like many of the teams at
LC, the softball team has been deprived
of traveling to overnight away games
for the past two years due to COVID-19
protocols. With six freshmen this year,
a larger number than usual, obtaining
team chemistry immediately is a
difficult task. The leading goal of this
trip was to get a better understanding
of one another off the field in the hopes
of getting closer. This would ideally
correlate to progressive on-field play.
“From staying in cabins, bonfires,
eating and doing activities together
really made the players actually sit and
talk to each other, ultimately making
them closer, which is the goal,” Cyrus
said.
The weekend trip consisted of a
plethora of activities. After arriving Friday night, the team roasted
marshmallows on the beach and
ate dinner together. On Saturday
morning, they got breakfast together
and proceeded to a quick practice at the local field. Afterwards, they
ventured out to go zip-lining, boating,
paddleboarding and kayaking at a
local lake. They ended the night with
games and smaller team bonding activities. And before packing their
bags and heading back to LC Sunday
morning, the team got to spend a
little more time with one another at
one final team breakfast. Katie Ingersoll ’25 not only got to
share an incomparable weekend away
with her new teammates, but also
crossed something off of her bucket
list.
“My favorite thing we did was zip-
lining,” Ingersoll said. “It was fun to
be able to fly through the air with my
teammates and check off that bucket
list item.”
To many of the players, the trip
was both a new experience and a big
stepping stone. Second baseman Lily
Moffitt ’22 expressed how important
this trip was for the newly acquainted
group.
“Overall, it was a great way to
escape with the team and get to know
more about each class, especially the
freshmen,” Moffitt said. “I had never
experienced anything like that before
while being here.”
Cyrus had congruent thoughts
with Moffitt. She believed the trip
was a major success and would help
ensure another great season.
“Our team consists of some
amazing young women with many
different personalities, backgrounds
and interests,” Cyrus said. “I’m really
proud of our team, and seeing some of
them come out of their comfort zones
and shells was fun to watch. We are
excited for our upcoming season and
are working hard to ensure we bring
our best game always. Roll Pios!”Artemis Team Captain Lizzy Kolb ’23 attentively watches a practice drill on the 20-yard line of the football field at Griswold Stadium.
Dumbbells in the Pamplin weight room sit still awaiting use from LC students.
LC’s softball team poses for a photograph after a brief practice at a local field during their Rockaway Beach getaway.PHOTO COURTESY OF SHAWNA CYRUS HANNAH KORN/THE PIONEER LOGBy FRANKIE SPURBECK
LEWIS & CLARK'S annual Welcum
Back Orgy (WBO) is a cherished
school tradition that boasts a
long and venerable past. However,
COVID-19 spares no event, and this
sensual soirée is not an exception.
According to a statement released
by Associated Students of Lewis &
Clark (ASLC) on Sept. 19, this year’s
orgy will be fully compliant with both
Multnomah County and LC’s COVID
precautions, but will still allow for
plenty of debauchery, school spirit and
toe sucking. All participants will have
to pre-register for this unprecedented
WBO.
The form, which is allegedly for
purposes of contact tracing, includes
spots for the respondent’s name, email
and phone number, but also includes
mandatory questions asking if the
respondent is a bottom, top or switch.
The form also provides a spot for the
respondent to list any kinks or fetishes
they may have. So far, responses
include bloodplay, testicular torture
and femmedommes. Be sure to pre-
register if you’re interested in this
evening of excess!
Robbie Garcia ’23 described herself as
apprehensive about the pre-registration
process. “I just think one of the best things
about the Welcum Back Orgy was how
spontaneous it was. All this planning
really turns me off,” Garcia said.
Additionally, Danger shared
concerns about ASLC members
looking at her survey and making
fun of the fact that she is into
piss. While Danger considers
herself sex-positive, she
thinks that her interest in
watersports in no one’s
business but her own.
Another change to
this year’s orgy is the
venue. Traditionally,
the WBO has been
hosted in a vacant
Forest quad. This
year, it will be held
in Fields Dining
Hall, which
brings new
meaning to the
dining hall’s
nickname, the
Bon. When I
asked ASLC
COVID-19
advisory
board
member
Emma Louis-
Klark ’24 about why anyone would think it is a good
idea to hold the sex party in the
same place food is prepared,
she gave the following
response. “LC is bracing for an
unprecedentedly horny
student body and the
Bon is one of the few
spaces big enough
to accommodate
a crowd of the
size we expect,”
Louis-Klark said.
“Plus, remember
those plexiglass
meal dividers?
We’re
bringing
them
back,
for those
who
want to
participate
in parallel
play, but
aren’t ready
for actual physical
contact yet.”
When I asked
Louis-Klark to
elaborate on how
exactly the barriers
would be used to
prevent COVID-19,
considering that it is
an airborne disease,
she told me that ASLC had not quite figured that out yet, but
that the plexiglass just made people feel
safer.
Dan McDaniels ’25 is extremely
excited at the prospect of the orgy,
and is hoping that his hot neighbor
from down the hall also shows up.
(Shawn from Copeland, if you see
this, you know what you have to do).
Even the mask requirement has not
dampened McDaniels’ excitement.
“Honestly, I’m not mad about the
mask policy,” McDaniels said. “Most
of the time, when I see someone’s
whole face for the first time, they’re a
lot less hot than when I can only see
their eyes.”
I asked McDaniels how he was
planning on kissing any potential
partners.
“Kissing?” he asked. “What is this,
1800? I go straight for the nipples.”
Even with these changes, the orgy
is sure to be a (very) gay old time and
a great chance for LC students of all
ages, majors, and persuasions to get
to know each other carnally.
This reporter wishes you
happy trails, and leaves you with
a single last tip: do not confuse the
complimentary hand sanitizer with
the lube. Take it from me- that is not
a mistake you will want to make more
than once.
By ERYN NICHOLS
THERE COMES a time in every
Lewis & Clark student's life
where they become overworked
and sleep deprived; where their eyes
struggle to stay open in class and
the library chairs become a daily
accessory. Life seems bleak. We forget
breakfast, fall down two flights of
stairs and realize we forgot our ID
card halfway through our trip to class.
In these dark times there are few
things that shine brighter than the
little triangles of cheese and tortillas
that grace our plates biweekly at
Fields Dining Hall.
As we make it through
the week on “soy curls”
paired with over-
salted sauces
and bok choy-
heavy stir fry
that will not
fail to sour
the spirits
of even
the most
optomistic
LC student,
the one
day we get to
indulge in the
cheesy goodness
of the cheddar and
monterey jack cheese
combined with the flour
tortilla makes it seem
like it will all be okay. The knowledge
that at dinnertime, I am promised a
greasy pocket of cheesy goodness has
me skipping to class, blowing kisses
to both the hot and non-hot people
I see around campus (I am, after all,
a generous soul) and sitting in class
with a smile on my face, creeping out
all my professors.
This quesadilla is good enough
that you will not even mind the
retribution your lactose-intolerant
body will enact upon you for daring
to consume cheese. This quesadilla
will make you call your mom and
tell her how much you love her and
have you staring at your ceiling with
your mouth watering, waiting for the
moment that cheesy tortilla can slosh
around your mouth washed down
with Coke that definitely does not
have enough syrup. When I can nestle the warm skin
of the quesadilla against my cheek
on cold, lonely days in the Bon, it
reminds me of home. I know we all
remember stealing away to the kitchen
at night as kids, to make quesadillas
by ourselves in the dark, not only
to eat, but to also keep us company.
Quesadillas are an important part of
what makes us happy as humans. The
dopamine you get from that first bite
of quesadilla could put drug dealers
in all of the Pacific Northwest out
of business. Who needs meth when
you can get something better with a
simple meal swipe?
It is imperative for the well-
being of all students, from
first years to super
seniors, that the Bon
properly integrates
our cheesy
friends into our
daily diet. I
need to be
sure that I
can walk up
five flights
of stairs
and stand in
line for 20
minutes for a
slice of gold. The
stability of a crispy
quesadilla at the
end of each long, rainy
day would completely
change my dining
experience. No one would actually
ever eat alone with the familiar face of
a quesadilla smiling at you from your
plate.
Regardless of your opinion on the
cuisine they serve at our dining hall,
we can all agree they should focus
on where they excel and make their
quesadillas for every meal- breakfast,
lunch, and dinner. Why complicate a
perfect thing? Who needs inch-thick
"pizza" and chicken ruined a million
and a half different ways when a
quesadilla is an option? Who cares
if there is a mass clogging of toilets
around campus. Give the people
what they want, give them the one
food a microwave just really can not
make right. Give us what what keeps
us up at night and gets us up in the
morning. Give us quesadillas, or
give us death. 12FRIDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2021
The Backdoor is a work of humor and fiction
Welcome back orgy to be socially distanced
Due to COVID-19 concerns, ASLC announces the annual night of hedonism will be masked, contact traced
LC launches Hunger Games
to cull oversized freshman classBon quesadilla all LC
student has left in life
By MAX ALLEN
THROUGHOUT the year, we
have been hearing about the
obscenely large freshman class.
Phrases such as “Classzilla,” “Class
Kong,” and “Freshmangeddon” have
flown freely throughout the Lewis &
Clark, as tidal waves of 18-year-olds
crescendo. Many have expressed
concerns that the campus was not
meant to accommodate over 700 first
year students.
Preliminary data has shown that
a shortage of dorm rooms has caused
Copeland, by some dark magic, to
become even more overpopulated than
usual. Evans Auditorium has opened
its sticky floors to excess students who
do not have access to dorm space.
Worst of all, it has become impossible
to take a step in Fields Dining Hall
without spilling food on someone's lap
or having an awkward "who-should-
get-out-of-the-way" showdown.
“These concerns are not going
unnoticed,” Dean of Students Pigeon
Holmes said while sipping tea outside
of Albany Quadrangle. “My department
has collaborated with President Weevil
to compose a comprehensive plan
for reducing the strain Class Kong
has placed on our other students
and faculty. After considering many
options, we believe we’ve arrived at
the best alternative to — dare I say it?
— outright unenrollment. It is with
great pleasure that we present Lewis &
Clark’s first ever Hunger Games.”
The Games are set to take place on
the undergraduate campus on the first
day of Fall Break. Holmes urges all
upperclassmen and the freshmen who
are not selected as tributes to vacate
the campus by the initiation of The
Games at noon.
“God forbid any of our precious
upperclassmen get caught in the
crossfire,” Holmes said.
With the goal of reducing the
freshman class by 40%, one tribute
is to be selected from each freshman-
containing dorm room. Roommates
must decide amongst themselves
who to send to The Games; suggested
methods include drawing straws, duels
to the death, cook-offs and selecting
the most odorous roommate. All first
years in singles will automatically
be chosen. Resident Advisors will distribute contracts to each room to be
filled out by the lucky contestant.
All tributes are required to arrive
at Templeton Student Center at 11:30
a.m. The Games will officially begin
at noon, at which point the doors to
the Bon will be opened. An array of
weapons will be on display for students
to grab, including kitchen knives,
rock-solid breadsticks, bloodthirsty
newfoundlands, paper cups of distilled
COVID-19, soy curls and flame-
throwing skateboards. After choosing
a weapon, contestants are free to move
anywhere within the undergraduate
campus.
Various other dangers will be
introduced throughout the campus as
The Games progress. While most of
these are confidential, Holmes offered
a sneak peek at a couple of hazards.
“Each residence hall will have
its own little quirks,” Holmes said.
“Forest, for example, will have acid
running from the showers. Not hot
acid, mind you. Cold acid. Copeland,
meanwhile, will have fire alarms that
go off at irregular intervals, at a volume guaranteed to rupture the eardrums
of anyone within the building. We
actually didn’t have to make any
changes for that one.”
In order to incentivize entry into
The Games, Holmes pledged that the
victor will receive "the highest honor
our budget allows," which happens to
be a battered $10 iTunes gift card, a
voucher for ten minutes of free therapy
and not one but two buildings renamed
in the winner’s honor, on the condition
that their last name is Howard.
When asked to comment on the
Hunger Games’ introduction, Mark N.
Jay ’23 winked.
“As long as I can get a parking
space, I don’t care how many freshmen
have to die,” Jay said.
The few students harboring
reservations about LC hosting a
battle to the death have no chance of
stopping it. First year students across
campus will soon need to broach the
awkward topic with their roommates
about who to send to their inexorable
demise. To all of our freshman readers
. . . may the odds be ever in your favor.
UMI CALDWELL/THE PIONEER LOG ALEX NASH/THE PIONEER LOG
SAM STARKS/THE PIONEER LOG