Lewis & Clark College

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

Volume 100, No. 4

Lewis & Clark College Student Newspaper

Pioneer Log Staff

2023-03-24

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Text; Newspaper

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Lewis & Clark College: Pioneer Log / Mossy Log

By LEILA DIAZ
RAMADAN, EXPECTED t o s t a r t
March 23, is the holiest month
in the Islamic calendar. The
holiday, which will be observed
by numerous Lewis & Clark
community members, is
marked by fasting, reflection,
charity and prayer.
Ramadan typically lasts 30
days and is expected to end
in mid-April.
Since the Islamic
calendar is determined by
moon phases, Ramadan
falls roughly 10 days
earlier each year in the
Gregorian calendar.
Ramadan officially begins
the day after a moon sighting
committee in Saudi Arabia
spots the new crescent moon,
although some Muslims begin
Ramadan off of local moon sighting
committees.
For many Muslim students, Ramadan
is a time to connect more strongly with
their faith and their community. This
is exactly what LC’s Muslim Student
Association (MSA) and The Office of
Spiritual Life aim to help students do.
The Muslim Student Association
(MSA) has plans to host weekly Friday Iftar dinners,
continue
organizing transportation to and from a
local Mosque for Friday services, Jummah
prayer and is planning on hosting events for Eid. MSA is run by President Asmaa
Zaidan ’24 and Vice President
Isa Pasalic ’24. According
to Pasalic, MSA plans to
host more activities for
Muslim students.
“This year we are
organizing more,
we’re trying to fill
out Ramadan with
more activities
we can do,”
Pasalic said.
“So we’re going
to have weekly
Iftars, we’re also
going to have
special meals
made for us at the
Bon and Suhoor
meals, we’re going
to have one big Iftar,
and Eid dinner too.”
Iftar literally
translates as “to break
fast” and is the meal eaten
at sundown, whereas, suhoor
is the meal eaten before sunrise
to keep one energized throughout the
day. Fasting (Sawm), is one of the five
pillars of Islam. Muslims are required
to fast during the month of Ramadan,
which entails abstaining from food, drink
(including water), sexual relations as well as vulgar speech and behavior from
sunrise until sunset. Some Muslims even
forgo music to focus on worship.
However, there are exemptions
from fasting. The elderly, those who
are physically or mentally incapable of
fasting, those who are menstruating,
pregnant women, breastfeeding mothers,
and travelers are all exempt from fasting.
If one misses one or more fasts during
Ramadan, they are expected to make
them up after Ramadan has concluded. If
you are unable to make up your fast after
Ramadan, then you have the option to do
Fidyah, which is a religious donation made
in Islam when a fast is missed or broken.
The donations can be food or money, and
it is used to feed those in need.
The Office of Spiritual Life, located in
the lower level of Agnes Flanagan Chapel,
will once again be opening its doors for
students to break fast together. Chaplain
and Director of Spiritual Life Hilary Martin
Himan said she hopes that the Meditation
and Prayer Room – located in the lower level
of Agnes Flanagan Chapel – could be used as
a gathering space for Muslim students.
“Last year we set up a station. We
move the microwave and fridge out into
the foyer of The Office of Spiritual Life,
and we can do that again so that if people
would like to have their own mini Iftar,”
Himan said.
“Prayer ” continued on Page 3.
Vol. 100 No. 4 FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2023 www.piolog.com
OPINION
Spring break timing change
Students have been calling for spring
break to fall earlier in the semester.
Should the break be moved up or left
alone? PAGE 4FEATURES
LC student’s non-profit
Rwandan student Rene Pacifique Amani
shares hopes for country’s future, seeks
to make change today with self-started
charity. PAGE 6ARTS
Organ trouble in Platt-Howard
To the consternation of VAPA RAs, an
organ suddenly appeared in the basement
without explanation. Check inside for the
perplexing story. PAGE 8SPORTS
Favorite Winter Sports at LC
One of the popular winter activities
for students at LC is skiing and
snowboarding at Mt. Hood resorts.
PAGE 10THE MOSSY POD
The Afrikan Diaspora club
Mossy Pod hosts DJ smith and Negasi
Brown sit down with John Mbamba to
discuss the club and about the goals
they have.
Crescent moon brings Ramadan to
LC, campus groups support studentsNew LC law
3-3 program
disappoints
US Ambassador to Angola, Tulinabo S.
Mushingi comes to campus, gives address
By NOAH REESE-CLAUSON
ON MONDAY, March 13 U.S.
Ambassador to Angola and Sao
Tome y Principe, Tulinabo S.
Mushingi, Ph.D., arrived on campus as
the third annual Ambassador Edward
J. Perkins Distinguished Speaker.
Mushingi is the first guest in the series
to visit while in active service as a
foreign diplomat.
The official address was Wednesday,
March 15 at 5 p.m., but Mushingi
spent four days on campus beginning
on Tuesday. In addition to his speech,
he lectured two International Affairs
classes — International Political Economy
and Global South — attended a meeting
for the French Club and the inaugural
meeting for the new Afrikan Diaspora
Club, had an open lunch with the law
school students, ran a panel for the
Middle East and North African Studies
Symposium and more.
Having come from Angola, Mushingi
decided to make the most of his trip. In
order to leave his country of service he
needed to request permission from his
superiors in Washington D.C.
Despite the packed schedule in
which he taught the LC community
about his field, Mushingi enjoyed
learning from the student body.
“The group I’ve seen on campus,
just to observe them and to talk to some
of you individually, I’m hoping to get
a sense of what the college students,
at least for this college, what they are talking about what they are interested
in,” Mushingi said.
The Ambassador’s visit was largely
thanks to an old friendship, dating
back nearly five decades: Mushingi
and Former U.S. Ambassador and
LC’s Diplomat in Residence Niels
Marquardt ’75 are old friends. In 1977,
Mushingi was Marquardt’s French
teacher for a class Marquardt was
taking to train for service with the Peace
Corps while in the Democratic Republic
of the Congo. Additionally, Mushingi
married Rebecca Marshbanks, a
classmate of Marquardts’, and so the
now-retired Ambassador attended his
teachers wedding in D.C. in 1981.
They lost touch for eighteen years,
until in 1999 — nine years after Mushingi
joined the foreign service — when he
emailed Marquardt.
“Mr. Marquardt, I am a… foreign
service officer due to transfer in 1999,
I wanted to express my interest in
the CDA (Career Development and
Assignments) entry level position,”
Mushingi said to his former student via
email.
In response, Marquardt asked
whether or not they knew each other.
“Tuli, are you the same person who
taught me French in Bukavu in 1977
and then married my Peace Corps
comrade?” Marquardt said via email.
“I recall attending your wedding.”
They went on to work together at
the State Department for a year before
parting ways, but managed to keep in touch after that meeting. Thus, when
Marquardt was placed on the selection
committee for the Perkins Speaker,
Mushingi came to mind.
Mushingi was thrilled to speak as a
guest lecturer in a series honoring the
late U.S. Ambassador and LC alumnus
Edward Perkins, who was a rolemodel
for him.
“Ambassador Edward Perkins, who
is an African ambassador — one of
the most distinguished ambassadors in our business — who came here a
long time ago, when it wasn’t that
acceptable for people who looked like
him,” Mushingi said. “But he was able
to study here and live here and go out
of here, join the military, come back
and get this very successful career
that we all aspire to have in the
diplomatic corps of the United States
of America.”
“ambassador ” continued on Page 3.By ROSALIE ZUCKERMANN
& EMMA FORD
WITH GRADUATE programs
and law schools around
the country announcing
their admissions decisions in recent
weeks, the Lewis & Clark campus
has been reckoning with its own
students’ continuing education
prospects. The class of 2023 is
moving on, but so are a few members
of the class of 2024. At least, they
were supposed to be.
The Lewis & Clark Law School
and College of Arts and Sciences
partnered on the 3-3 Admissions
Program – a program wherein
pre-law students pursue an
undergraduate degree in three years,
and move on to the LC law school
for another three years of legal
education. Should the students meet
certain GPA and LSAT requirements,
they receive guaranteed admission.
This year was the first time a
cohort of third-years was eligible to
apply for the relatively new program,
but many had to change their plans
after facing rejection when they had
thought acceptance was guaranteed.
Pre Law Advisor and Assistant
Professor of English With Term
Andrea Hibbard advises students on
LC’s opportunities in law.
“Lewis & Clark is pretty special,”
Hibbard said. “We’re one of just
a handful of colleges across the
country that has their own law
school. . . So we wanted to provide
our students with a pathway to that
last one, but I should say that this
guarantee of admission applies to
students who have spent four years
at the college too, and that’s always
been in place. So this was just a way
to, if students want to save time
and money, have an opportunity to
do that.”
However, the clarification that
the guarantee of admission is limited
to students who have spent four
years in undergrad was not made
known to many students who were
counting on it. In fact, the website
guarantees acceptance for students.
Madley Overstreet ’24 is an
Environmental Studies major hoping
to pursue a career in environmental
law, who recently applied to the 3-3
program and was denied admission.
“The people advising me have
been really nice and accommodating,
and they’ve really strived to help
me out,” Overstreet said. “So I do
appreciate that it’s a pretty good
community, but it also sucks because
I feel like I didn’t have a backup plan.
Like I planned my entire academic
career around this, and then all of a
sudden I couldn’t do it anymore.”
Hibbard addresses the importance
of achieving at least the median
LSAT score of the previous year,
regardless of whether students are
on three or four year undergrad
tracks.
“Program ” continued on Page 3.
LEO BERNSTEIN NEWMAN/THE MOSSY LOG
Ambassador Mushingi talks with Robin Holmes-Sullivan and Niels Marquardt.HALCYON ORVENDAL/THE MOSSY LOGBy VENUS EDLIN
THE TINY House Club partnered
with the Co-op and the Platteau
to create a coffee cart that will
be debuted later this semester.
The cart will be located between
JR Howard Hall and Aubrey R Watzek
Library, a common gathering place
for students. The club has already
constructed the base, but it still needs
to be painted, equipped with supplies
and staffed by Co-op trained baristas.
Passersby will be able to drink batch-
brewed Proud Mary coffee and Smith
Tea Maker tea through a pay what you
can model.
Elijah Black ’23, the current leader
of the Tiny House Club, came up with
the idea.
“Personally, I felt like I don’t like
paying for coffee at the Dovecote
every day,” Black said. “Wouldn’t it
be awesome if there’s a little place
that there was free coffee? But
I remembered that we have this
awesome club budget and we can
build whatever we want.”
Mariah Schafhausen ’25 will
be taking over the club after Black
graduates. The coffee cart is the first
project that Schafhausen is leading.
“That’s something that we can do
in a day,” Schafhausen said. “It didn’t
seem crazy for my first project. I’m
seeing through something that I could
design really easily.”
Black and Schafhausen decided
to reach out to the Co-op for the
collaboration rather than having a
self-service coffee cart because they
thought the barista system would
ensure longevity and care for the
project. Nick Biesterfield ’23, one of
the Co-op managers, was excited for
the opportunity.
“I saw the email come in and I was
just – my heart skipped,” Biesterfield
said. “This is so cool. That is just not
something that we have the expertise
to build ourselves nor the funds, and
they have both.”
Collaboration is at the heart of this
project. The cart will be stored where
the Bike Co-Op is, another student
run group. Additionally, one of the
Platteau managers, Kincaid DeBell
’25, is designing the mural that will be
painted on the cart. In the future, Tiny
House Club is even hoping to build
a newsstand into the cart to house
issues of The Mossy Log.“I want it to be something that the
students can take pride in and see every
day and (be reminded) that was their
work,” Schafhausen said.
The student collaboration is part of
why the project appealed to Biesterfield,
in addition to bringing the Co-op to the
academic side of campus.
“I’m always just a fan of keeping
things in the community, generally
speaking, and not giving our money
to Bon Appétit,” Biesterfield said. “…
And the fact that we run on a pay what
you want model, and then whatever
money is paid goes to the students who
are serving the coffee. It very much
is keeping the money in the student
ecosystem.”
Distinguishing itself from other
coffee options on campus, the cart will
not be offering disposable cups. Instead,
the Co-op is working to buy travel mugs
wholesale and will sell them at cost so
they can replenish stock.
“I don’t want to order a bunch of
paper cups,” Biesterfield said. “This
way, students will have a travel mug
that they can bring with them whether
they’re going to the Dovecote or another
cafe in Portland or our coffee cart.”
For the remainder of the year,
Tiny House Club plans to finish
their tiny house, work with Students
Engaged in Eco-Defense to have a
birdhouse making workshop and plan
construction for a stage in the Co-op.
“We’re kind of always looking for
other collaborations,” Black said. “Since
we have the tools and all the structures
in place to build things, we just want to
build things for other clubs.”FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2023
NEWS /gid00484
Renovations include coffee bar, create lively environment in the newly-named Fowler Student CenterUpgrades make Trail Room a fun, social spot
By BURTON SCHEER
THE RECENTLY renovated Trail
Room, commonly truncated
to Troom, now offers different
aesthetics, services and events than its
previous iteration.
The Troom’s structural innovations
include an exposed concrete ceiling, a
raised wooden platform, new booths
and chairs, bigger and brighter lights
and a coffee bar. A crowd favorite is
the coffee bar’s fine selection of drinks
from Portland Coffee Roasters with
at least six different flavors of syrups.
The biggest change, however, has been
how many students occupy the space
throughout the week.
Organizations, such as Campus
Activities Board (CAB), have begun
hosting events in this new social hub.
Implementing weekly activities has
allowed many students to take a break
from their laptops and laugh in the
same space where they eat and study.
Ellery Bloom ’25, a community
engagement member for CAB, has
noticed higher turnout and improved
participation since they began hosting
events in the Troom.
“Before the Troom was renovated,
CAB did more events in Tamarack,
which was pretty out of the way for the
students who didn’t live in that area,”
Bloom said. “People are always already
in the Troom this year, so people who aren’t there for the events we are hosting
will often step in during their meals or
study sessions. The Troom is also so
much livelier this year, which helps us
bring energy to our events.”
CAB plans a weekly rotation of
events, including “Troom Thursdays”
from 7 to 8 p.m. Every Thursday, you can find CAB members leading
students in different activities, such as
bingo, trivia, s’mores assembling, art
projects and karaoke.
“I have led three events once a
month, but throughout my time in
CAB, I have been to all of the different
types of events,” Bloom said. “I’m biased because I lead this, but my
favorite event is bingo.”
While there is a general rotation
of events, CAB frequently includes
themed nights. In the past few
weeks, these have included a Harry
Potter night and Paint Along with
Bob Ross night. “Harry Potter trivia night was
our biggest turnout for a Troom
Thursday,” Bloom said. “A few people
even dressed up.”
For Hailey McHorse ’25, the
Painting with Bob Ross night was a way
for her to relieve stress and spend time
trying something new with friends.
“My friends and I stayed the
whole time and enjoyed having the
opportunity to use art supplies that
we normally don’t have access to,”
McHorse said. “It was really nice to take
a break from studying that week to just
paint along to Bob Ross.”
For competitive events, CAB offers
varying prizes for the winners. Last
week, for bingo, the prizes included
Panasonic headphones, a Stanley
thermos and a panda mug. Additionally,
CAB is offering a Troom Thursday raffle
where students can enter themselves
into the raffle every time they go to an
event. At the end of the semester, CAB
will choose someone to win a set of
AirPods.
Although the network outage has
decreased the number of students in
the Trail Room during meal times
these past few weeks, attendance is
still high. As a result of the renovations
and efforts from CAB, the Troom has
transformed from being just a cafeteria
into a lo-fi coffee shop, a dungeons and
dragons playroom, a karaoke bar and a
late-night art studio.
COURTESY OF TINY HOUSE CLUBTiny House Club builds
coffee cart for Co-op
The coffee cart will move around campus.BURTON SCHEER/THE MOSSY LOG
The Trail Room has become the heart of campus life with fresh coffee and activities hosted by Campus Activites Board
Second ever Peer Collective Summit
discusses leadership, mentorship
By NOAH REESE-CLAUSON
ON MARCH 10 and 11, Lewis
& Clark hosted the second
annual Peer Collective
Summit, with the theme of “growing
together.”
The event was planned by three
co-chairs, Director of Student
Engagement Tamara Ko, Director
of Inclusion and Multicultural
Engagement Joann Zhang
and Director of the Center for
Social Change and Community
Involvement Andrea Salyer, with
additional help from graduate
assistants and Vice President of
Student Life Evette Castillo Clark.
The organizers planned this year’s
version by reflecting on last year’s
pilot and using, as Salyer put it, LC
President Robin Holmes-Sullivan’s
“vision for a peer collective.”
The summit began on March 10
at 6 p.m. with a reception dinner at
the Cooley House hosted by Holmes-
Sullivan. The next day, started at 9
a.m. with breakfast, before Castillo
Clark made opening remarks,
Princess Sarah Jane Culberson,
Lady of Bumpe, Bumpenya gave the
keynote address.
After Culberson’s speech, various
other speakers presented, focusing
on the themes of wellness, diversity,
equity and inclusion (DEI),
intercultural communication, goals,
difficult conversations, leading
peers and developing a resume and
leadership skills.
In comparison to last year, this
event had more speakers, as the
three co-chairs were focused on
engaging a broader community.
“Much of the focus is still the
same: finding ways to support our
peer leaders on campus,” Zhang
said. “What will be different is that
we are calling upon our community
to help lead us into learning. We
will have concurrent sessions with
presenters from both on and off
campus, joining together to talk
about how peers can support and
lead their peers.”
Culberson had a similar focus
with her video available on the LC
website before the event.
“I’m going to be there and take
you on a journey from West Virginia
to West Africa,” Culberson said.
“We’re going to talk about peer mentoring. Do you want to be a peer
mentor? Do you need support being
a better peer mentor? Or would you
like to be mentored yourself?”
Culberson’s keynote speech
was crafted to appeal to students,
which was not difficult since her
own background resonates with the
types of students in attendance.
“Princess Sarah’s background as
a biracial adoptee and as a student
leader, a student athlete, is able to
connect to many of our students’
varying backgrounds,” Ko said.
Additionally, Culberson’s life
has some less relatable elements
that made her an especially
interesting keynote speaker.
“Princess Sarah’s humanitarian
background stems from her
experience as an adoptee, in which
she learned about her biological
roots from a village in Sierra
Leone, West Africa and that she
was of royal descent,” Ko said. “Her story has led her efforts
towards improving the education,
economic opportunities and living
environment of the people of Sierra
Leone.”
Another focus of the summit was
building student connections, to
greater live out the vision of a peer
leader collective.
“We (had) intentional opportunities
for attendees to get to know each other
through networking and learning,”
Zhang said. “ We hope new ideas, new
friendships, new ways to support each
other (are) formed and last beyond just
the 2 day event.”
The summit provided a space
for students to consider themselves
and their community and how
their leadership style impacts
their desired role on campus. The
Peer Collective Summit series has
launched and taken off, promising
to help future generations of LC
leaders grow into that role.
Keynote Speaker Princess Sarah Culberson spoke on the impact of mentorship.COURTESY OF PRINCESS SARAH CULBERSONNEWS 3FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2023
Prayer spaces for Ramadan
available in Chapel, WatzekAmbassador teaches,
lunches with students
Program does not guarantee acceptance to Law school
Law school administration says students need top grades, LSAT scores to be admitted, students upset
Continued from page 1.
“I wouldn’t feel responsible
sending a student over there if they
weren’t able to achieve the median
of the entering class,” Hibbard said.
“Because it’s hard enough to do law
school when you’ve gone through four
years of college, and maybe you even
worked for a few years. I want every
one of our students who goes over
there as part of the 3-3 program to be
successful.”
Hibbard makes an effort to prepare
students for the LSAT so that this is
not an unreasonable expectation.
“We’ve ordered (practice) books,
the study guides at the bookstore,”
Hibbard said. “Students have access
to Khan Academy, which offers
free LSAT prep . . . And of course,
it’s always useful to go ahead and
establish an account with the Law
School Admissions Council, because
they have resources on their website,
too.”
Yet, Overstreet explains that her
academic track as an environmental
studies major did not equip her with
the skill set needed to do well on the
LSAT, especially since she had to
concentrate on taking classes in her
major so that she could complete the
requirements to graduate in three
years.
“They do have a free LSAT
class that I took on the weekends,”
Overstreet said. “But it’s hard to get
in sometimes because there’s a lot
of demand for it… And also because
it was on the weekends; that was my
time to decompress from the week. So
it was hard for me to be motivated to
go… and (while) I could pay for classes,
that’s expensive and not in my budget
and not accessible for everyone.”
Overstreet points to the
problematic nature of hinging admission almost entirely on an LSAT
score, and how this contradicted what
she had been told about the program.
“I think that the process of
standardized testing itself is really
flawed, this program aside,” Overstreet
said. “And that’s a harder thing to fix,
because that’s out of Lewis and Clark’s
control. But I would say the main
thing for me was probably the testing,
because that’s the one thing that I
didn’t meet, and they were actually
surprised that I wasn’t able to do it.
And they were telling me the entire
time that ‘you’re such a good candidate
for this program.’”
Jeni Baez, ’24, was the only student
to be accepted into the 3-3 program
this year.
“Andrea was super helpful!
Freshman year, we created a
spreadsheet of my classes I needed to
take and when in order to be on track,”
Baez said. “The pace for 3-3 is rigorous
as I needed to keep my GPA above 3.5,
but knowing the requirements and
details was helpful in setting goals
for myself and staying on top of my
studies. I’m thankful for both Andrea
Hibbard and Laura Vinson for their
continuing help, even currently as I
plan my steps for my first year of Law
School!”
Although Baez’s case was successful
and shows how students can make
their academic plans work in a 3-3
timeline, Hibbard recognizes the flaws
with how this year’s admission process
panned out for some students.
“I think what I’m learning because
of this is that I need to make sure that
they have a Plan B,” Hibbard said.
“Because not everyone will make it
through. And I don’t want students
to feel like they get to the end of the
third year and have a sense of ‘well,
now what?’ I want them to have a
meaningful fourth year at college.”Continued from page 1.
“Students can bring their food over
and warm it up in the microwave, if
they’d like. There’s less traffic down
here if students want to keep their food
in the little fridge so that it doesn’t
potentially get eaten by someone in
their Residential hall,” Himan said.
Additionally, Himan, with the help
of the MSA, has expanded the prayer
space located in Aubrey R. Watzek
Library. The prayer space is located on
the second floor in the gold zone, in the
A-D area of the stacks.
“For years we’ve had a small prayer
space in Watzek library and we finally
got a desk removed out of that area,”
Himan said. “A folding screen for
privacy is coming in, a multiple person
prayer rug, a new holder for the Quran,
and some prayer beads.”
Himan said the OSL used to receive
a list of students who self-identified
as Muslim, which the office would
then pass onto Bon Appétit. However,
Commonapp recently stopped asking
students for that identification, leaving
Bon Appétit and OSL operating
without that information.
“We don’t have any (student)
numbers. Back when we did have those
numbers, we would give an estimate to
Bon Appétit,” Himan said. “Oftentimes
not all Muslim students — as there’s
diversity in any tradition — not all
Muslim students were observing
Ramadan, so (Field’s Dining Hall)
ended up over preparing and wanted
to get a more accurate count, so that
is why we have the QR code interest
survey outside of the dining hall.”
Last year, Bon Appétit
encouraged students to visit the
dining hall before it closed at 8 p.m.
to pick up their Iftar meal. Maggie’s
also provided access to an Iftar
meal from Monday to Friday until 9
p.m. using a meal swipe. Now that Maggie’s is closed, however, this is
no longer an option.
This year, Bon Appétit said that
Muslim students can receive their
evening meals as normal, since at the
beginning of Ramadan, sundown will
occur before the Bon closes, according
to Executive Chef of Bon Appétit
Michael Palmer.
“As we get closer to the end of
Ramadan, sundown will be just after
we close at 8pm but students will be
able to either take their food with them
or stay in the dining hall to eat at the
end of the night,” Palmer said.
Additionally Bon Appétit will
provide Suhoor meals for any
student who signed
up to receive one.
“The pre-dawn
meal kit will include
things chosen by
students from the
MSA like hard-
boiled eggs, cheese,
dates and other
fruit, and yogurt,”
Palmer said.
“Students will have
the option to decide
how much they
need to make sure
that no matter how
big or small their
appetite is, they are
taken care of.”
Ramadan is an
important month
for Muslims not
only physically but
spiritually as well, as it allows many
Muslims a time for self-reflection, the
ability to control worldly desires and
the chance to grow closer to their loved
ones and Allah. In addition, the month
marks the revelation of the Islamic
holy book, the Quran. In Islamic
tradition, the belief is that the angel
Jibril (Gabriel in English) appeared to Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and
revealed the first verse, “Iqra” (read),
commanding the Prophet to seek
knowledge.
“O you who have believed, decreed
upon you is fasting as it was decreed
upon those before you that you may
become righteous” – Surah Al-Baqarah
2:183
For Pasalic, Ramadan is a time to
listen to — what he describes as “inside
noise” — and foster a sense of self-
fulfillment.
“We have an issue with perfection
and over-association with worldly
life. We often take the noise from
the outside in order to feel
fulfilled,” Pasalic
said. “But I think
there’s also noise
that comes from the
inside. And once you
take away the noise
from the outside,
only then are you
able to hear the noise
from the inside.
Ramadan and all
of these disciplines
that allows you to
distance yourself
from worldly
pleasures, whether
it’s eating, drinking,
whether it’s just
secluding yourself
for a bit, to be with
yourself allows you
to hear that little
voice on the inside of
you, that calls upon you and gives you
a sense of fulfillment.”
For more information,
support and resources during the month
of Ramadan, email spirituallife@lclark.
edu, and follow them on Instagram
@lclarkspirituallife. To get involved
with MSA, email msa@lclark.edu. and
follow them on Instagram @lc.msa.Continued from page 1.
That legacy is not an easy thing to
live up to. Ambassadors are busy with
complicated jobs, as they must represent
the interests of divided countries.
However, this task can become simpler
in more constrained contexts.
“When we are in the country, I am
there as the United States. . . my Russian
counterpart is there for the same thing
for his country,” Mushingi said. “. . .the
way we reconcile that is each one of us
make our case to the Angolan. . . ‘you are
better off siding with me sometimes’”
Allies tend to fall on similar sides of
issues, and therefore Mushingi’s work
day resembles a sample of global politics
permformed on the Angolan stage.
“For us, for example, we have our
allies: the United Kingdom, France,”
Mushingi said. “. USA, The UK, France,
each group want Angola to be on their
side, then the other friends North Korea,
Russia, China also want Angola to be
their friend.”
Despite the complexity of his task
and the predictable disagreements
between alliances, Mushingi has
defined objectives in Angola that help
him ground his work in doing good for
Americans and Angolans. As based on
President Jospeh R. Biden’s foreign
policy, Mushingi’s three objectives
are: prosperity, security and good
governance.
Prosperity is important as the world
is still reeling from the pandemic’s effect
on the global supply chain. Mushingi is
working to get U.S. companies contracts
to outsource manufacturing to Angola,
which creates jobs for Angolans, spreads
technology and builds the US economy
through reciprocity.
In terms of security, Mushingi aims
to contribute to the effort of dismantling
the terrorist network.
“It’s clear to us that it takes a network
to defeat a network,” Mushingi said. “And nowadays, we are Americans, from
here we cannot fight all those terrorists,
because you don’t know where they
are. So, you need these other countries,
including Angola, to bond with you and
address that issue that affects the whole
world.”
The last pillar is good governance,
which is the spread of democratic ideals.
“When you look at the US, we change
president — we’ve been doing that for
246 years — but some other countries,
they don’t have that luxury,” Mushingi
said. “. . . the idea of elections, the idea
of empowering the citizens to be able to
elect and choose their leaders and after
a few years, be able to choose again
another leader and peacefully without
killing each other. So to get that idea
across is another satisfying area.”
Through his various diplomatic
positions, Mushingi has gotten to a point
where he can see the commonalities in
humanity and human struggles.
“It doesn’t matter where you come
from, we are looking for the same thing
so we might as well work together,”
Mushingi said.
To hear an extended interview with
Ambassador Mushingi listen to The
Mossy Pod on Spotify, Apple Music or
other places podcasts are found.
LEO BERNSTEIN NEWMAN/THE MOSSY LOG
LEO BERNSTEIN NEWMAN/THE MOSSY LOG
LEO BERNSTEIN NEWMAN/THE MOSSY LOGStudents got to ask Mushingi questions.
Students interested in law were excited about the rollout of LC’s new 3-3 program, now frustrated with flaws of the endeavor.
Lewis & Clark is one of the only schools in the country that has its own law school attached, making the 3-3 program an exciting prospect.“We have an issue
with perfection and
over-association with
worldly life. We often
take the noise from
the outside in order to
feel fulfilled ... once you
take away the noise
from the outside, only
then are you able to
hear the noise from the
inside. ”
—Isa Pasalic
By LEAH HUFFINGTON
DIGITAL technology is one of the
most revolutionary innovations
of the 21st century. With endless
tools for creativity, self expression and
remote connections with people across
the globe, it is arguably humanity’s
greatest achievement. I appreciate the
efficiency and convenience offered
by a pocket-sized key to the Internet.
Therefore, I find it ironic that I am typing
an article about our usage of screen time
on my computer, rather than scribbling
in cursive with a quill by candlelight.
You have all heard about the dark
side of technological devices. Prolonged
screen time worsens our neurological
development, physical and mental
health and sleep quality. Yet, our eyes
remain glued to screens due to our
dependence on online platforms such as
Moodle, Google Classroom and Gmail.
Let’s be realistic. Spending hours on
a screen, whether it be on a laptop or
tablet, is inevitable in this era of digitized
education. We rely on electronic devices
to engage in Zoom meetings, access
lecture slides or articles, turn in essays
and keep up with deadlines and updates.
With so much screen time, one would
assume that a student would relish a
break from typing a 20-page paper on
a Google document or a data science
student would gladly walk outside
after coding discrete algebra. Yet, I still
witness masses of individuals with soft,
blue light reflecting off their faces while
roaming the cobblestones of Lewis &
Clark College.
Grab a seat in Fields Dining Hall,
and look at the people dining. What do
you notice? I notice people missing the majestic scenery of birds and trees as
they eat at the high tables near those
giant windows. I see friends not looking
or talking to each other as they yank out
their phones and start texting as soon as
the conversation dies. At the Dovecote,
I notice someone letting a closing door
hit a stranger as they leave because they
are too distracted by the buzzes and
chimes from their phone.
How many of us are mindlessly
scrolling as we anticipate that sweet
dopamine from TikTok videos that steal
our attention and time away from the
real world? How many of us get in bed
at 11 p.m., watching Netflix until it is 2
a.m.? How many of us realize that we
are doing it? If we know the problem,
why is it so hard for us to stop?
The Netflix documentary “The
Social Dilemma” expertly illuminates
social media companies’ manipulation
of users by designing algorithms that
encourage addiction on their online
platforms. During an interview with a
crew member, Shoshana Zuboff, author
of “The Age of Capitalism,” states, “It’s
a marketplace trading exclusively
in human futures” as the newsfeed
overrides the importance of quality
time with family, friends, or other
loved ones. It can also distract from
completing internship applications,
pursuing goals and cultivating career
paths.
Your engagement with TikTok,
Instagram, Pinterest or Snapchat is
their product. The algorithms promote
data-driven homogenization of content
rather than personalization, as the
continual flow of content is designed
to seduce you further into the rabbit
hole. The more time you are trapped in that rabbit hole, the more profit the
companies make, which prompts them
to ask, “How much of your life can we
get you to give us?”
The same goes with the design
of streaming service platforms.
According to Jeremy Ryan Matthew in
his study “Netflix and the Design of the
Audience,” the latter not only cultivates
the illusion of personalization, but also
manipulates your “indecision without
any time spent watching the videos”
suggested by the algorithm. Ask
yourself this: How often do you find
yourself wasting time by browsing back
and forth through strips of content on
Netflix, Disney+ and Hulu?
I understand that sometimes you
just need to turn off your brain while
watching Khaby Lame or baby cow
videos. What better way to distract
yourself from debilitating anxiety or
student debt? However, if you are
losing sleep from scrolling mindlessly,
you might want to take a rain check.
There needs to be a balance
between screen time and life. We need
to start by eating or spending time with
our friends without using our devices.
We need to recognize how much digital
use is needed for work, navigation or
informing friends of our safe return
from a party. Do this instead of
replicating that habit of responding,
posting and self-distraction. We
need to make little changes so that
we are more present outside of the
digital realm. It is difficult, but not
impossible.
So, next time you are in the Dovecote,
look up from your phone to say hi to the
person behind you in line. At the Bon,
pause the Youtube video and people watch for a little bit. If you have been trapped in
Aubrey R. Watzek Library for five hours,
step outside and inhale that fresh air. Be
conscious of what is important to you and what nourishes your spirit, and devote
more time and attention to it. You are
only here for four years, so live your life
to the fullest. FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2023
OPINION /gid00486
Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed in the Opinion section are NOT those of The Mossy Log and are held by the authors.ALEX NASH/THE MOSSY LOG
Staying online for too long distracts from life
Digital connection needed for assignments, interaction with friends, necessary for work-life balance
Spring break timing more convenient for Oregonians
Despite students’ desires for earlier break, late-term hiatus aligns better with Oregon school system
By AVA FRISON
WITH SPRING break starting
tomorrow and lasting a
full week, it has come to
my attention that Lewis & Clark’s
spring break is rather late in the term.
However, although it is far out in the
semester, it should remain where it is
on the calendar as it makes the most
sense given the pacing of the term.
One semester at LC is 15 weeks, and
if the administration wanted to give
students a week’s break, then perhaps
the most logical time to do that would be during the middle of the term, i.e.,
around seven or eight weeks in. However,
our break occurs after the 10-week mark,
giving us two disproportionate stretches
of college life.
Some people are upset about
this because 10 weeks of classes and
assignments is a lot. I must admit that
it would have been really nice to have
a break sooner in the semester, as
everything from classes begins to pile
up. However, I, as a lifelong Oregonian,
never thought that the timing of spring
break was anything odd. The fourth
week of March was always when spring break occurred throughout my primary
education.
That timing does make sense
given the broader context of Oregon’s
educational system. Elementary, middle
and high schools in Oregon typically
start in early September and go through
the middle of June. I speculate, though
I do not know for fact, that LC keeps to
this timeline because it makes sense in
the context of Oregon.
In contrast to Oregon K-12 schools,
we get out in May, as do many other
private colleges and K-12 schools in
the rest of the country. This is what LC students point to when arguing that the
timing should be changed. While it is
true that we do not match our private
institution counterparts, our spring
break should stay the same because it
is better to follow Oregon norms than
private college norms.
One of the primary reasons is that
for professors and staff with school-aged
children, it is best for everyone to have the
same week off. It allows parents to spend
time with their families and children
rather than having to arrange childcare.
Also, given that spring break is a
full week off, whereas we only have two days for fall break (that is another
issue entirely), class planning becomes
difficult. With midterms happening
in the middle of the term, it would be
crowded to have midterms at week
seven or eight, and a week off right in
the middle of that.
Having spring break after week 10
gives professors time to get midterms
graded and then have a break. I think I
am not alone in feeling that the middle
of the term feels very full with classes,
jobs and extracurriculars. It is nice to
get the busy part over with so we can
have a relaxing break.
Does it really matter that other
out-of-state colleges have their spring
breaks sooner? How does that affect
LC and its population when they often
have no associations with these colleges
across the country? All Oregon’s state
universities have spring break in this
same late-March time frame, and it
is better if all schools sync calendars
between states, as opposed to similar
types of institutions, because it is the
best way to ensure uniform operation
on the part of colleges, schools, Oregon
government, teachers and parents.
I know I said that it would be nice
to have a break earlier in the semester.
After all, our fall break aligns more
with the center of the term. But, in
the grand scheme of things, and for
the sake of scheduling around classes
and midterms, what is a matter of two
weeks, give or take?
I may have my own selfish reasons
for wanting spring break to stay where it
is. My birthday is during the fourth week
of March (March 25), and it has always
coincided with spring break. I have
never gone to school on my birthday
and so I have the best birthday present:
a week’s vacation. I am a spring break
baby. It is one of the most interesting
things about me. Do not take that away
from me.
Even though it may seem like spring
break is rather late in the term, it is best
to keep it where it is.
MAYA WILLIAMSON/THE MOSSY LOGFRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2023
OPINION /gid00487
Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed in the Opinion section are NOT those of The Mossy Log and are held by the authors.Students should contribute time to Portland’s many service-oriented organizations, such as Hygiene4AllMutual aid benefits communities, volunteers
SUMMMER DAE BINDER/THE MOSSY LOG
Dormitories prove to be crucial
transition to independent livingTroom, market fall short
as Maggie’s replacement
MAYA WILLIAMSON/THE MOSSY LOG
By HERA HYMAN
THE COSTS and benefits of
living away from home are a
contentious topic predominantly
among first-year college students.
Having just entered the world
of adulthood, our newfound
independence frequently leads us to
make some reckless decisions early
in our college careers that may not
serve us well in the long run. There
are a lot of unspoken rules to being
successful while living away from
home, especially in dorms where
many of us share a living space with
someone we do not know very well.
Everyone’s homelife is different, which
means there is a diverse set of skills
coming together to form friendships
and partnerships.
When considering dorm living,
our first thoughts should go to the
Resident Advisors (RAs) and their
role in helping students transition to a
more independent style of living. RA’s
act as a buffer between a moderated
living situation and a fully self-reliant
way of living. RAs give structure to life
in dorm halls by organizing fun events,
maintaining order and ensuring the
safety of other residents. Though they
are an invaluable part of the college
experience, RAs do not take on the
role of an overbearing parental figure, making them the perfect people to help
with the transition into independence.
There are many elements to
becoming self-sufficient individuals
who are accomplished, productive
members of society. Arguably, the
most important skill needed to be truly
independent is emotional intelligence.
Being able to perceive, understand
and manage emotions goes a long way
in college life, and eventually in the
working world.
Dorm living is a microcosm of
society that helps students develop
emotional maturity. Interacting with
difficult roommates, learning how
to compromise and approaching
confrontation with an open mind are
some of the skills that we develop
through the dorm experience.
As someone who has had my fair
share of roommates, I have seen an
immense growth in empathy and
understanding from both roommates
and myself throughout my years of
boarding school. Being in tune with
yourself and others also helps with
networking, which is always a good
skill to have in your toolkit.
Financial management is another
practical skill key to success in the
world. Many students choose to work
part-time jobs to help offset the costs
of textbooks, food and “goodies.” At the
same time, living in dorms mitigates a lot of the financial responsibility
required to live on one’s own. Not
having to pay rent every month takes
a chunk of obligation off our shoulders.
Other financial responsibilities absent
or reduced in college include gas for
commuting as well as groceries since
students can primarily rely on meal
plans provided by the college.
Other important elements of
independence include organization,
time management, personal hygiene
and medication management (for all
the mentally ill baddies). Separately,
these things seem insignificant, but
altogether, they are the essential
factors that dictate how we establish
ourselves as members of society.
Living in dorms helps students learn
to balance all these factors while they
still have direct access to a structured
support system.
There is no right or wrong way to
become an independent member of
society. Even though dorm living has
its drawbacks, such as noisy neighbors
and messy communal kitchens, it is
undeniable that it can be a valuable
transitional step into the world of
adulthood. But no matter where we
choose to live, it is for us to decide how
we want to walk through the world and
how to acquire the skills we believe are
essential to becoming someone we are
proud to be.By FRANKIE SPURBECK
WE NEED TO be real. The dining
choices this year are worse
than last year. Any discussion
of dining on this campus has to begin
with mourning Maggie’s. For those who
entered Lewis & Clark this year, Maggie’s
was a coffee shop/corner store situated
in the space the Campus Living office
currently occupies. It offered a variety
of delicious coffee and tea drinks, and
also had a corner store element, so one
could get the whole variety of sweet and
salty snacks. Perhaps most importantly,
one could use a meal swipe at Maggie’s.
In exchange for a meal swipe, you got a
sandwich, a drink and fruit or chips.
This meal equivalency program ran
until 9 p.m. on weeknights, meaning
that it was a viable dinner alternative for
students who eat after Fields Dining Hall
closes, were unsatisfied with Bon options
that day or were in a rush. The Maggie’s
meal swipe option also decreased the
number of students eating at the Bon,
which benefits habitual Bon-ers.
I used the meal equivalency for the
first time my freshman year when, in a
panic, I realized I had missed dinner at
the Bon while auditioning for Once Upon
a Weekend, which is a terrible reason to
miss dinner. I did not keep much food in
my room, and was panicking and hangry
until I remembered that I could get a
Maggie’s sandwich.
When Maggie’s closed down, the
understanding was that the newly
remodeled Trail Room, in conjunction
with the new “Templeton Market,” would
fill the niche Maggie’s had previously
occupied. But for all its virtues, the Troom
does not do meal equivalencies after
10 p.m. This was a key part of Maggie’s
appeal, and I feel the loss. Furthermore,
the new Troom, although better than the
old Troom, is no Maggie’s. The ambiance
is less pleasant and the space is overall
much louder.
Onto the Templeton Market. Not to
be cruel, but the new market just does
not cut it. I mean, the chip options are pathetic! Seriously! What is “Farmstand
Ranch”? The space dedicated to the
Templeton Market is very small, which I
am sympathetic to — you just could not fit
any more freezers in there.
Still, I wonder if there would be a way
to improve the selection of goods at the
market. Given that the root of the issue
is how small it is, moving the market to
a bigger space could help. I have heard
whispers of a proposal to knock down the
wall between the former Queer Student
Union room and the existing market
space, which would about double the
space in the Market, thereby allowing a
larger selection of products. For those of
us who are not coffee drinkers, the market
was one of the few practical places to use
flex points and I am feeling the loss.
The market also has limited hours. My
friends and I spent many an 11:30 p.m.
study break meandering over to Maggie’s
(conveniently located on residential
campus) and walking laps around the chip
table, trying to decide if we were hungry
for barbecue-flavored chips or gluten-free
pretzels. With the market, which closes
at 8 p.m., this is impossible. Further, the
market is so tiny — walking laps around
that table would be irritating, and would
not provide the study break we want.
Lastly, and so honestly, I miss the
Chickpea of the Sea, which was an
exquisite vegan sandwich consisting of
mashed chickpeas and lettuce on a large
piece of bread. It was dependable and
delicious, and nothing would make me
happier than purchasing it to eat. The
charming Maggie’s baristas would even
offer to heat the sandwich up in the panini
press – the results were delicious. But,
since the demise of Maggie’s (Chickpea of
the Sea’s historic home) I have not seen it
around campus.
So, what can be done? Why is this,
and how can we change it? My best
suggestion is to tell those with authority,
like Bon Appétit, how much we value
what Maggie’s provided. We want meal
swipes from 8 p.m. to 12 a.m., and we
want a market that sells more than one
kind of chip.
LEO BERNSTEIN NEWMAN/THE MOSSY LOG
By SUMMER DAE BINDER
SINCE THE beginning of the
COVID-19 pandemic, mutual aid
has grown as a practice of direct
action and an alternative to charity.
Mutual aid embraces solidarity among
all communities by giving what one
can for those in need, while creating
a network of new social relations.
Instead, mutual aid efforts address
the issues that city governments and
bureaucrats dismiss.
Due to its lack of hierarchy, mutual
aid provides fewer barriers than the
charity business model. However,
there are many challenges with mutual
aid projects, such as lack of full-time
staff and technical assistance, as well
as undeclared status disqualifying for
government grants and tax benefits. It
is also true that many Portland locals
only offer words and ideas to help
those in need, but do not act upon
them. Nonetheless, many mutual
aid organizations in Portland have
received varying degrees of support
from activists and leaders who have a
sound vision of their service.
Portland is a haven for mutual
aid organizations. It is home to many initiatives focused on assisting the
unhoused community, such as Street
Roots, Symbiosis Hub & Resource
Exchange and Milk Crate Kitchen.
Other organizations that are not
exclusive to houselessness include
Don’t Shoot PDX, a community
action plan advocating for community
members facing racism and
discrimination and Growing Gardens,
a non-profit organization facilitating
garden-based learning opportunities.
My time doing mutual aid has
been empowering. The independent
collective Food Not Bombs is where
I first started my mutual aid journey.
Food Not Bombs is an all-volunteer
global organization that distributes
free vegan meals as an act of protest
against war and poverty. The Portland
chapter of Food Not Bombs meets at
Buckman Elementary every Saturday
from 5-7 p.m.
Another organization that has
been a great service to the unhoused
is Hygiene4All in Southeast Portland.
Hygiene4All started in 2018 when the
Central Eastside Industrial Council
petitioned the City of Portland to
form an “Enhanced Service District”
after complaints of bio-waste trash and people sleeping on the streets.
The council proposed collecting $3
million in real estate and parking fees
and using the funds to hire private
policing to patrol public space.
Leaders at Hygiene4All argued
these problems can be better solved
by creating a space with access to
safe, clean and accessible bathrooms
and showers. Hygiene4All has been
very successful and has received
praise from Multnomah County
Commissioner Sharon Meieran.
Volunteering at these organizations
has given me the opportunity to help
build community, meet new people
and feel uplifted.
Mutual aid is a great opportunity
for the college students with extra
time on their hands to get out in
the Portland community and meet
different people and learn new skills.
For those who are not able to facilitate
with goods or money, donating time
and skills are just as important. Many
students at Lewis & Clark may even
find time volunteering at a mutual aid
organization as a good escape from
the college’s bubble. Some may learn
something about themselves that they
would not have otherwise. When cities face skyrocketing
housing prices and resources become
less affordable leaving people on the
streets, an opportunity for community
and collaboration is created. Our
future depends on each other because that is all we have. Now it is your turn
to give your praxis, or practice, power.
We can find light through all the
darkness in the world by engaging in
a solidarity movement, but we cannot
do it alone.
The Troom coffee bar offers a small selection of snacks for purchase with Flex points.FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2023
FEATURES 6
Rom éo Dallaire scholar hopes to fund non-profit
Student dedicates himself to mental health crisis after Rwandan Genocide, provides healing space for kids
By NADAV BEN DAVID
INTERNATIONAL STUDENT R e n e
Pacifique Amani, who goes by his last
name, is a Rwandan citizen studying
at Lewis & Clark this year. He is here
on the Roméo Dallaire scholarship,
a program that allows recipients to
enroll in the Academic English Studies
program at Lewis & Clark College for
one academic year.
The scholarship honors the work
and vision of Roméo Dallaire, former
commander of the United Nations
Peacekeeping Mission to Rwanda.
Amani has come with the aim to
improve his English and raise funding
for his very own non-profit, which
aims to help his country mentally
recover from the aftermath of the
Rwandan genocide.
Once a biomedical engineer by
profession, Amani left his high-paying
job to start his own nonprofit organization
in Rwanda called One Help One
Direction Ihumure (OHODI). The effort
was inspired by witnessing the plight of
children on the streets of Rwanda while
walking back and forth to his university.
The Rwandan Genocide was a
mass killing of around 800,000
people in 1994, one of the deadliest in
modern history. It was a coordinated
campaign carried out by members
of the Hutu ethnic majority against
the Tutsi minority and moderate
Hutu politicians. The international
community failed to intervene and left
Rwanda in a state of chaos.
According to Amani, Rwanda is
facing a mental health crisis caused by
the trauma of the genocide. While the
country has made significant strides
in economic and political recovery, the
effects of trauma remain a silent illness
that affects everyone in the community. Poverty is often assumed to be the root
cause of the childhood homelessness
Amani witnessed, but he argues that the
lasting trauma is the real culprit.
“(The people of Rwanda) make
money, they have food, they have the
basic needs, but their kids are on the
street,” Amani said. “It’s not because of
money. It’s because of this trauma.”
Amani explains that there is a
perpetuated cycle of mental health
neglect. Most adults in Rwanda
witnessed the atrocities of the
genocide in their youth, creating deep
psychological trauma that has been left
largely unaddressed. They grew up and
raised children and directly transmitted
their trauma. Amani states that most
children are on the street because of
hostile house environments and a lack
of a loving home. While most were
fortunate enough to be born after the
tragedy, they are still heavily impacted
by the fallout. Amani fears that without
intervention and help, this cycle of
trauma will just continue.
Amani’s organization addresses this
by providing a safe space for children
to be, express their feelings and play.
Amani uses Trust-Based Relational
Intervention (TBRI), a trauma-informed
approach for his work with the children.
TBRI is an attachment-based approach
to caring for children who have
experienced trauma, abuse, neglect or
other forms of distress.
The holistic approach focuses
on meeting children’s physical,
emotional, and relational needs to
help them heal and thrive. TBRI
gives children who have experienced
trauma a safe and secure environment
to feel understood and supported.
That healing can occur through the
development of positive and nurturing
relationships with caregivers.Amani explains that before he
became educated in TBRI, his instinct
when dealing with troublesome
children would be to send them
home. Afterward, however, the
children were still rude, aggressive
or difficult. Amani now understands
this negative behavior differently.
“The behavior of the kids is not
the kid. That’s different,” Amani said.
“I see the need behind the behavior.”
The programming provided by
OHODI is only part of the solution.
According to Amani, since the larger
issue of children living on the streets
is a consequence of intergenerational
trauma, breaking the cycle of trauma
requires creating a nurturing
environment for both children and
parents. Amani realizes that the
lack of oversight and concern from
parents is the root factor that leads
children to the streets, and believes
that educating and working with
children is not enough. Parents need
to be included in the programming.
He begins by asking parents when
was the last time they told their
children that they loved them or gave
them a hug. These questions are often
met with surprise, as Amani said this
type of affection is not commonplace
in Rwanda.
Amani has big dreams for his
organization. He wants to expand
his facilities and resources for the
community and also hopes to make
his organization large enough to find
government backing. He believes
that, much like how the government
has paid for infrastructure to aid
the financial crisis caused by the
genocide, it should provide funding to
help Rwandans mentally heal as well.
Currently, OHODI does not
receive public funding and relies on the community to survive. With
the limited amount of funds the
organization is currently receiving,
the majority of the money goes to just
paying rent for the facility. Due to these
challenges, the organization is raising
the funds to build its own trauma-
informed center in order to sustain its
projects and impact as many Rwandans
as possible. According to Amani, by working
together, we can change the lives
of those who need it most. You can
visit OHODI’s website to learn more
about their work and make a donation
through their Gofundme, found on
their website at https://ohodihumure.
org.
“Your heart could become a home
for hopeless souls,” Amani said.Amani, founder of OHODI, attends LC for a year to prepare for non-profit startup.COURTSEY OF NADAV BEN DAVID
Freshman tattoo artist brings whimsical art to campus
Inspired by medieval symbology, Instagram feed, Deirdre Jones offers dorm studio ink for student clientel
Client shows off sick wizard man tattoo.COURTESY OF DEIRDRE JONESBy THE MOSSY LOG STAFF
TATTOOS ARE a popular means
of expressing identity and
individuality at Lewis & Clark,
or simply displaying a toad wearing a
funky top hat. Though many opt to head
to one of Portland’s many tattoo parlors,
LC is a hub for student artists. Deirdre
“Dee” Jones ’26 (@no_tomorrows on
Instagram) is one of the various tattoo
artists operating on campus.
Jone’s tattoos are as whimsical as
they are captivating. A glance at their
Instagram profile feels like opening up
a childhood fairytale book filled with
images of graceful unicorns and gentle-
looking lambs and hares, interspersed
with swords and abstract stars.
“I also find a lot of inspo from
medieval art, very specifically this
tapestry of a unicorn I saw in person
when I was like ten. I’ve been obsessed
ever since,” Jones said.
Jones does both hand-poked and
machine art. Though she has mostly
done line art, she has begun to move
into shading. Though she is self-taught
and fairly new to tattooing, her stunning
artwork does not betray her novice.
“I think I’ve been tattooing for
almost two years now,” Jones said. “I
got interested in it because I was like,
17, and I couldn’t get tattoos, so I said
I’m gonna do my own tattoos.”
Getting into tattooing might seem
like a difficult or inaccessible task,
but the process was fairly simple for
Jones. They purchased a tattoo gun
from Amazon and began practicing
on synthetic skin, then on themself.
Tattooing themself gave them the
chance to master depth and technique
while also enabling them to get tattoos
as a minor. Currently, their tattoo count
is around 30.
“(My first tattoo) was this little line
butterfly that I did on my ankle,” Jones
said. “I had to do it on my ankle to hide
it from my mom.”
In addition, the tattoo community
has a large online presence, which
is also where Jones gets much of her inspiration. One large source of
inspiration is @trashypartytroll on
Instagram, a fellow tattoo artist.
“You don’t really need to go to a
shop to be a tattoo artist, you could just
do it through Instagram,” Jones said.
Many current clients have found
her through Instagram, which she
says is “kinda freaky sometimes.” Like
many other student artists, her dorm
serves as a makeshift studio. She uses a
rotary tattoo machine and coil machine
needles when doing stick-and-poke
tattoos. One of her favorite tattoos has
been a stick-and-poke piece on herself.
“I have this unicorn on my knee
that I love so much, it was
my first huge piece
that I did stick and
poke and it took me
like, three days, over
time because it was
so painful. But it was
really satisfying,”
Jones said.
The standard
option for clients
is to choose one of
their flash designs,
which are up for
grabs once they are
posted to Instagram.
A flash tattoo is an artist’s design that
is ready to be tattooed immediately,
as opposed to a custom request. Some
are repeatable, and a few of the most
popular designs have been her star and
alien designs, though they have a wide
variety of original work.
“I just really like when people
choose bigger pieces of my flash,
because it’s really flattering, but also
I just really love doing them …” Jones
said. “Especially scenes, I did two deer
recently, and I really liked the jumping
style.”
In regards to strange requests, Jones
described one follower who reached out
with a tattoo request after seeing her
sketch of a dog-headed female dancer
with stars over her breast. They ended
up being another tattoo artist, and the
two did a tattoo exchange.“I love the idea of trading art with
people,” Jones said.
According to Jones, people interested
in getting their first tattoo should know
that the first time is the scariest, but after
that the pain is negligible. Also, they
should ignore the commonly-espoused
idea that a tattoo is something to regret.
“The misconception I see is that
you’ll regret things that you’ll get,” Jones
said. “I just have a really strong opinion
on regretting tattoos – if you really like
the art at a time, I really don’t think
you should ever regret it. Because it’s
something that you really loved and you
wanted on yourself.”
Artists interested in
tattooing, on the other
hand, should begin
by finding their art
style and building a
portfolio. Figuring
out what they can
replicate and how to
add unique twists to
each piece to avoid
repetition is key, since
oftentimes people will
ask for replicates of a
popular style.
As for future
plans, Jones hopes
to pursue a career within her field of
study, mathematics. However, they
say that it would be nice to continue
tattooing with other artists at a shop on
the side. For the time being, their focus is
gaining experience and exploring ways to
improve the longevity of their work given
the permanence of their medium.
“I definitely want to grow in my own art
style. I’ve always been kind of interested
in American traditional tattoos because I
really like the way that they heal and the
way that they last really well,” Jones said.
“I want to be able to incorporate some of
that into my own art.”
People interested in a tattoo should
fill out the Google form linked in their
Instagram bio @no_tomorrows. Their
rate depends on size, with small tattoos
at $30 minimum and large ones at $70
minimum. For customs, inquire by DM.
Jumping deer tattoo, seen fully healed.COURTESY OF DEIRDRE JONES
Jone’s sticks with medieval tattoo theme.COURTESY OF DEIRDRE JONES
“If you really like the
art at a time, I really
don’t think you should
ever regret it. Because
it’s something that you
really loved and you
wanted on yourself”
—Deirdre Jones ’26The Unicorn Rests in a tapestry garden.COURTESY OF THE METFRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2023
FEATURES 7
By DANIEL NESHYBA-ROWE
AUBREY R. Watzek Library first
welcomed students over the
bridge that once constituted
the building’s entrance in 1967. In
the years since, it has amassed an
expansive collection of art, books,
CDs, DVDs, records, nooks and
crannies. Unfortunately, much of
the student body (myself included)
have experienced only the tip of the
Watzek iceberg.
Hannah Crummé, the head of
special collections, shared one of her
favorite spots in the library.
“From the northeast corner (of the
third floor), you can see Mount Saint
Helens,” Crummé said.
Talie Bocci, the weekend supervisor
and stacks manager, enjoyed how you
can sometimes see the sun shining
through the stained glass window on
the third floor from the circulation
desk on the second floor.
“Very rarely does the sun shine
through it, because it’s gotta be at
a certain angle and there’s so many
trees out there now,” Bocci said. “The
last time I saw it, I made some random
student that was walking past come
over and stand there and look at it.”
I was surprised to hear that, like
the sun, the selection of books on the
shelves was similarly dynamic.
“We have to shift our collection
kind of all the time,” Bocci said. “We’re
always doing big and small shifts,
microshifts, because there are certain
categories or subjects that a professor
will really focus on and then suddenly
we will have thirty more books of just
that subject and then you have to re-
shift everything.”
One of the shifts involved moving
a large collection of CDs from their
current location behind the circulation
desk to the stacks accessible by the
general public.
“Hopefully in the next year to two
years, we’ll be able to get all of our
CDs out there too,” Bocci said. “That’s,
like, my next big goal.”
Bocci had a wealth of stories
about Watzek, including a few
cautionary tales.
“People need to remember that
(the library) is open to the public,”
she said.She recounted a spat of thievery a
few years ago. It turned out in the end
that the thief was not even taking the
spoils — just stealing for the thrill.
“Like a year or two ago — I don’t
know who or why — but somebody was
poking around in the ceiling of one of
the study rooms (and) found 10 or 15
jackets that had been stashed up there,”
she said. “They still had their student
IDs in them.”
For the most part, Bocci wanted
students to spend more time in the
shelves, browsing and experiencing the
quiet energy.
“This place is awesome to play hide-
and-go-seek if you’re very quiet,” Bocci
said, taking care to encourage respectful
playing only.
“Don’t climb things,” Bocci said, a
hint of frustration in her voice. “The
shelves are not ladders.”
There are a lot of less-well-known
stories about Watzek, but there are also
a lot of less-well-known texts within the
library, especially in special collections.
“I think what people don’t always
realize about special collections and
about Watzek more broadly is the extent
that it’s a resource for the students,”
Crummé said. “We’ve got these
documents that are 500 years old or 600
years old. We’ve got cuneiform tablets.
They’re yours for the time that you’re
here and they’re actually still yours once
you’re an alumni.”
Like the stacks, special collections
is also constantly changing, with new
grants constantly coming in to find and
purchase useful materials. The latest
additions have been pirates’ logs from
the 1700s, ordered in preparation for
an upcoming class on maritime trade in
that era.
“I only ever buy things that speak to
pedagogy and the current curriculum of
the college,” Crummé said. “But, it’s also
kind of exciting. It’s a fun way to engage
with history; it brings that otherwise sort
of dry, 17th-century trade to life. How
often can you look at a pirate’s log?”
Both Crummé and Bocci stressed
that the library, and more specifically
the librarians, are a valuable resource
for students.
“The more you can use the library
as a resource to invest in your own
learning, the more you’ll get out of your
own time here,” said Crummé.Rimsky’s coffee shop serves up
late-night drinks, whimsical fun Librarians discuss
wonders of Watzek
By LEILA DIAZ
DID YOU GROW up reading Brian
Froud’s fairy (and faerie) books?
Do you have an obsession with the
two old ladies’ house from Coraline? Did
you have a dark carnival playlist in middle
school? Or a classical music phase? Does
your therapist describe your child self as
“precocious” and “whimsical”? Are you a
near midnight dessert enthusiast? Then
Rimsky-Korsakoffee House beckons you
to visit.
Located in southeast Portland and
named after Russian composer Nikolai
Rimsky-Korsakov, Rimsky-Korsakoffee
House (commonly called Rimsky’s) is
an unconventional, yet cool coffeehouse
open Wednesday through Sunday from 7
p.m.-12 a.m. Yes, you read that right. 7 at
night to 12 in the morning.
The cafe was opened in 1980 by
owner Goody Cable. She told Portland
Business Journal that this decision came
after years of hosting classical music
events in her home
Cable stated she opened Rimsky’s
“to stop cleaning (her) house for music
parties.”
She added that her vision was “an
unconventional and homelike restaurant,
attractive to conversationalists who
enjoy beer, desserts and music.”
My friends and I journeyed to
Rimsky’s on a Saturday night around 10
p.m. Parking was scarce, limited to street
parking in a busy club-and-bar-filled
neighborhood. Upon walking into the
Craftsman-style house, we were greeted
by a waiting room overflowing with
people all wanting to get in. All in all, it
took us about 30 minutes to get to our
table.
We were seated on an eclectic
assortment of chairs and couches, all
surrounding a table which spun slowly,
which multiple times left me wondering
if I was hallucinating or if things were,
in fact, moving. Other tables at Rimsky’s reportedly rise, shake or disappear
altogether. I was mesmerized by my
surroundings, but some of my friends
were a little disappointed.
One of my companions stated that
the couch they sat on “smelled like urine
and that it was too crowded, didn’t give
them the feeling of being ‘clean.’”
Rimsky’s menu is split into four
categories: coffee drinks, non-coffee
drinks, cakes and sundaes. Drink prices
range from $3 to $6, and desserts begin
at $7.25.
I ordered the Mocha Fudge Cake and
an iced Cafe Mexicana, which promised
a helping of chocolatey spiced goodness,
but unfortunately failed to deliver me the
cinnamon punch I so desperately craved.
The Mocha Fudge Cake, on the other
hand, was divine. It had the thick richness
of a flourless chocolate cake, at times so
much so that I had to take a break lest I
make myself sick. It was perfect for any
chocolate lover with a ravenous craving
for the velvety and decadent.
Isabel Poelstra ’25, one of my curious
companions on this trip, viewed their
dessert and drink as lackluster and
somewhat bewildering.
“(The) cobbler was the most expensive
thing on the dessert menu for a scant
amount of fruit, a solid pie crust that
was fine, if not the crumble I envisioned, and for some ungodly reason sprinkles
(the scoop of ice cream was ungenerous
as well),” Poelstra said. “The cider was
distinctly lacking in apple flavor and the
spices floating on top were equally loud in
texture as well as flavor (again, not really
that much imparted, but still). 6/10, no
plans to return unless begged by a loved
one.”
Emma Ford ’25, the organizer of our
trip to Rimsky’s had this to say about
her dessert — “A ship goes to pieces
against a rock, mint ice cream with hot
fudge” — and correspondingly the cafe
itself.
“Not the most innovative or complex
dessert in the world, and once the effect of
the cute glass and the name wore off, I was
a little disappointed,” Ford said. “Plus, the
fudge was not very warm, and the ice cream
was melted, making me think it sat for a
while (understandable on a busy Friday
night). Indicative of the whole place — a
good idea with charming presentation that
has sat a little too long with less beneath the
surface to hold it up than it needs.”
Still, Rimsky’s is a fun place to take an
out-of-towner, or to make a pilgrimage to
on a boring evening or after a lame house
party. The plentiful assortment of drinks
and desserts, weird collage wall, under-
the-sea themed bathroom and live music
all make it a fun experience to try once.
WINSLOW MORGAN/THE MOSSY LOG
Rimsky’s eccentric bathroom features deep-sea mural, mannequin riding a kayakLEILA DIAZ/THE MOSSY LOG
ADVERTISEMENTFRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2023
ARTS /gid00490
Mossy
Music
student
recommendations
"De Todas las Flores"
By Natalia Lafourcade
I like this song because it reminds me
of how it feels to walk around a forest
in spring. I can see the wildflowers
and lush green leaves of trees and
this song is perfect for a spring walk.
The melody is infections and Spanish
is also such a beautiful language that
I enjoy listening to, especially in
song form.
— Veronica Quintero '25
"Naomi"
By Neutral Milk Hotel
This song is what I listen to prior to
going out or walking through the
streets. It makes me feel like the most
powerful person in the world. It is
also on a super underrated Neutral
Milk Hotel album.
— Summer Dae Binder '24
"His Hands"
By Blegh
His Hands exemplifies a mix of
melancholy longing and emotionally-
detached sensuality and references to
drugs and religion. The track combines
electronic-sounding bass and synth early
on with licks of saxophone and choral
backup in the latter half, slowly building
to a huge, full sound as conflictingly
beautiful as the story the lyrics tell.
— Maya Mazor-Hoofien '26
"Spud Infinity"
By Big Thief
Spud Infinity is a wonderful song
written by Adrian Lenker and her
band. The song, as well as the album,
is a huge tribute to the folk genre and
takes inspiration from deep roots.
Blending a shocking use of the mouth
harp along with wacky lyrics, this
song is sure to make you smile.
— Ava Frison, '25
By J FRANK
ON FEB. 8, A Lowrey Jubilee LC-30
organ mysteriously appeared in
a Visual and Performing Arts
LLC lounge.
A few weeks later, the door to the
lounge was locked due to the unknown
identity of the organ’s owner, leaving
many students confused and frustrated
that they could no longer use the lounge
and play the organ, as well as bemused
by the sequence of events. Around
a week ago, the room was suddenly
reopened. Here, for the first time, is the
full story of the orphaned organ, from
the perspective of VAPA Area Director
Julia Pacheco-Cole.
Room 018, the lounge in question, is
a converted dorm room in the basement
level of Platt West to which Pacheco-
Cole has been adding furniture since
the start of the year, hoping to create an
alternative community space, especially
given the conversion of two out of three
hall lounges into four-person dorms
this year.
Resident Advisor (RA) Mack Wille
first noticed the organ in 018 while
doing their nightly rounds and reported
it to Pachec-Cole via Slack message.
“hey Julia! non pressing - just letting
you know. there is ...uh.. an entire organ
in 018?? like the instrument?? like
students moved an entire organ into
018???” the message read.
Normally, Pacheco-Cole said, when
a personal belonging is left in a common
area, it is moved to the lost and found to
keep it safe until its owner can reclaim
it, but for obvious reasons this was not
actionable for the organ. Pacheco-Cole
told her RAs to keep an eye on the organ
and ask anyone playing it if they knew
who had brought it in. This yielded no results and after
a few weeks Pacheco-Cole felt that
she needed to take further measures,
both because she felt responsible
for the organ’s safety if it was an
unknown student’s personal property
and because she thought that if there
was going to be a community organ
in the lounge, someone needed to
be accountable for it — she wanted
to find the owner so that they could
establish guidelines around the organ’s
use which remained in line with
community agreements such as quiet
hours.
On Feb. 17, Pacheco-Cole sent an
email to VAPA residents, asking for
any leads on the person responsible for
the organ, but received no responses.
Assuming that the person responsible
for the organ would not come forward,
as over a week had passed since the
email, Pacheco-Cole decided to take
stronger action: on Feb. 27, the door
to 018 was locked, with a paper sign
taped to it, declaring the organ as
the reason and again pleading for the
resident who had left the organ to
come forward.
According to Pacheco-Cole, an
unknown number of students reacted
strongly to her decision to lock the
door. When pressed, she said that this
criticism came mainly in the form of
“passive aggressive” messages written
on her sign. She would not repeat the
exact content of any of the messages,
instead shifting uncomfortably in her
chair, but they had clearly affected
her. Despite this, she acknowledged
residents’ frustration.
“People got upset, which is totally
fair,” Pacheco-Cole said. “We have
limited lounges in Platt, and people
used that space. I think that people thought that it was a punishment, or
just expressed frustration. I don’t like
limiting free speech, so for the most
part I just let the signs be.”
Thanks to the abused sign,
Pacheco-Cole received two emails,
on Feb. 27 and March 6, from
students who said they knew who was
responsible for the organ, but would
not reveal the student’s identity.
Pacheco-Cole guessed that the
responders were likely worried that
the responsible student would face
consequences for the organ, despite
Pacheco-Cole’s assurance in the email
that this was not a violation, and that
she just wanted to talk.
Finally on March 10, Kyle
Gunderson ’26 contacted Pacheco-Cole, revealing himself as the responsible
party. Pacheco-Cole arranged a meeting
with Gunderson, where he explained
that he had found the organ for free
on craigslist and thought it would be a
good addition to the VAPA lounge, so
he enlisted the help of some friends to
bring the organ into 018.
When asked why Gunderson had
been so reticent about admitting his
identity, Pacheco-Cole said that he was
afraid he would be asked to remove it,
though this was not her intention. The
organ is now considered a donation to
VAPA. Pacheco-Cole has posted a sign
about quiet hours above the organ and
said that she will continue to work
with upstairs residents regarding
volume management. Organ appears in Platt-West, baffles
students, provokes search for owner
"Where We Belong" features Indigenous story
of community, resilience in one-woman show
By NATALIE CONNELLY
PORTLAND CENTER Stage (PCS)
presented playwright Madeline
Sayet’s “Where We Belong”
on March 5. The performance had a
profound impact on me, leaving me
with questions about home, community,
identity and expression in the past and
present under colonialism still stuck in
my head.
The one-woman show was directed
by Mei Ann and starred Jessica Ranville,
both members of the highly regarded
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company. The
80-minute run time went quickly in the
intimate theater setting, which drew focus
to the main character Achokayis, given a
Mohegan name meaning "blackbird or
the dark one who flies apart.” Ironically,
she feared flying.
“Today’s story is how I became a
bird,” Acokayis told the audience.
She also explained that the tribe
name Mohegan means "people of the
wolf."
“What does it mean to be a wolf
named bird in a place far from home?”
she asked.
I anxiously awaited her
transformation, hoping every time she
looked up at the sky that it would happen,
but Achokayis made the audience work
for it alongside her.
Achokayis spent a good portion of the
story in England pursuing her Ph.D. on
“the relationship between the Indigenous
peoples of America and Shakespeare’s
plays.” She struggled with leaving the
Mohegan land and community behind
and recited Shakespeare’s words,
resorting to Romeo’s monologues,
to narrate her internal struggles of
upholding her family's legacy and
pondering how she can center Indigenous
stories through theater, a field that
previously never made the space to
respect and honor them.
This focus brought many questions to
the surface. Where do Indigenous peoples
belong in a world that never imagined
them in it? Where does she belong? The minimalist set design worked
to create an environment rich with
symbolism. The whole stage was
reflective, so whenever the spotlight
shined on Achokayis it filled the room
with light. Warm, orange, incandescent
bulbs and harsh, blue, fluorescent strip
lights hung in constellations from the
ceiling and occasionally dropped down
like stars, just out of reach of the wingless
heroine. At points, they represented the
outline of a room or a country’s border.
The stage floor had swirled lines
of soil laid out across it that Achokayis
carefully navigated when the story
switched locations, or when she had a
change of heart. The soil lit up beneath
her feet during her final transformation,
leaving me wondering if she had ever
really needed wings at all to connect to
the sacredness around her.
Achokayis told the story of her
Mohegan ancestors who had a dream
of helping their tribe and cultivating
community and resilience. The ancestor
she saw herself the most in was Mahomet
Weyonomon, a young man who traveled
to England in 1735 demanding to speak
to the Crown against the treatment of the
tribe. He never got to speak to anyone and
was buried in an unmarked grave along
the Thames after getting smallpox. His
grave could be seen in the soil onstage,
with Achokayis finding comfort as she
knelt down at his resting place.
“I am grateful for my friend,” Acokayis
said. “I return with tobacco and sit with the
only other Mohegan in London, this rock.”
A recorded voice repeatedly affirmed,
“We must all stand in love for the
tribe” throughout the show, grounding
and reminding both the audience and
Achokayis of who she is and how she got
there, whether she wanted to hear it or not.
As Achokayis developed her thesis
over the course of the show, she quoted
Shakespeare less and less, reflecting on
just how anti-colonial his work really
was – or was not. She realized that she
did not need his words to express herself,
instead addressing the audience and
her ancestors with her native language. Speaking to us and them, she said
“Wigwomun,” meaning welcome.
In the end, she returns to Connecticut,
to Mohegan land and as promised,
transforms into a bird. Leaving was not
what changed her, it was returning.
“As I fly, a current of spirits asks me
questions, tells me stories,” Achokayis
said. “Riding wind I take them with me
each time I fly, the ancestors of the earth
I’m made of, the water that carried them,
and the spirit wind that carries me.”
As she ended the story with a Mohegan
Welcoming Song, her voice carried
throughout the small theater louder than
her soliloquies had before.
“Wigwomun, wigwomun wami
skeetôpák, oh hai, oh hai, heyuh heyuh,
weyuh hey,” she sang.
I got to my feet for a standing ovation
as Achokayis’ singing still rang in my
ears. As a non-native audience member,
I could not and still cannot relate to experiencing microaggressions
or being harmed by the legacy of
colonialism. I cannot relate to not
having proper representation in
theater or losing my culture, heritage
and language. I can only hope that I
can express how much I was moved
by it regardless and that I am writing
about the author’s and actor’s work as
accurately as I can.
Because of my disconnect, I think
it is best to let Sayet describe the
play’s essence.
“This play is like the river. The
sky. The earth,” Sayet said. “It holds
the stories that came before but also
those of this moment which is ever-
changing.”
I encourage everyone to read
Sayet’s work and see “Where We
Belong.” I cannot answer all of the
play's questions, but I believe that
Achokayis belongs in the sky.
Leo Bernstein Newman playing double keyboard on the mysterious organ in Room 018.J FRANK / THE MOSSY LOG
Jessica Ranville performed the show on an intimate stage featuring unique light design.COURTESY OF JINGZI ZHAOFRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2023
ARTS /gid00491
Portland-born opener Steele wins over the audience with her warm R&B vocals.VENUS EDLIN/THE MOSSY LOGBy VENUS EDLIN
AT TANK and the Bangas’ March
19 performance at Revolution
Hall, the jazz funk sound with a
hip-hop flair was expectedly excellent.
However, the crowd and atmosphere
are what made the show stand out,
proving that live music is back and
better than ever.
As concertgoers started filling the
sold-out show, the energy was palpable.
Portland-born Lo Steele opened with
R&B vocals over boogie tracks. The
artist joked that she was just there to
see Tank and the Bangas for free. A
few songs in, the crowd endearingly
had to ask for her name, to which she
graciously obliged.
Afterwards, to my left an audience
member shouted, “And your mom’s
here too!” Lo Steele is the daughter of
LaRhonda Steele, an Oregon Music Hall
of Fame inductee commonly referred to
as the “First Lady of Portland Blues.”
Someone at the barricade offered their
spot to her after finding out she was
the opener’s mother, a kind gesture
emblematic of one of the most courteous
concert audiences I have ever seen.
Witty lines such as “FAFSA got
me bent” and “read a book instead of
scrolling on my phone I can be a happy
girl” followed by flawlessly executed
runs left the audience swooning for Lo
Steele. Most of the songs from the set
will be included on her forthcoming
album this summer.
My favorite moment from the
supporting act, however, was during
a cover of a song by the late Bobby
Caldwell. Lo Steele welcomed her
mother on stage and LaRhonda Steele
wowed listeners with her full, mature
voice. The mother and daughter duo’s
warmth spread across the stage and the
crowd reacted to each of the mother’s
notes with increasingly loud cheers.
Following Lo Steele, techs changed
the hookups and set up dangling white
clouds and several glowing red balls
while the audience patiently waited 45
minutes for the main act. The crowd
was chill, enjoying the energy and being
courteous of each other’s space.
Band members took the stage and
functioned as a strong, united ensemble;
this prepared the perfect background
for lead vocalist Tarriona “Tank” Ball to
run in from off stage. Tank came in hot,
moving so fast my camera could barely
keep up and piquing interest with her
signature round voice with nasally
accents.
The Grammy-nominated band
began cycling through tracks from
“Red Balloon,” the 2022 album they are
touring. Having been a fan of the band
since their breakthrough win of NPR’s
2017 Tiny Music Desk Concert contest,
the experience was surreal. They
have grown a lot since their big break,
something Tank humorously pointed to
on stage: “ Tank and the Bangas have so many balloons.” Their 2019 album is
named “Green Balloon.”
Tank and the Bangas offer
something very fresh, by making jazz
music accessible and impactful. You
do not need to be a music theory geek
to love their sound, though I have
heard their tracks are a favorite for
those who want to wade deep into the
musical weeds. The show embraced
this energy, mixing the improvisation
and scatting of jazz with the high
energy and audience chanting of hip-
hop.
Highlights from the show include
audience members hitting every ad
lib in “Where Do We All Go,” a mega
collaboration between the band, Laleh
Hathaway and Jacob Collier, the
audience echoing Tank’s charisma and
playful vocal refrains throughout the
night and Tank’s own lyrical humor.
This wit shines through in lines such
as “F*ck it, I’m moving at 18” and
“We’re the freaks we’re the freaks” which inspired hearty chuckles from
the venue.
The most tender moment was
a heartfelt performance of their
song “Stolen Fruit,” which Tank
mentioned was one of her favorites
from that album. It condensed the
energy of the room into a quiet, but
focused intention. This song expertly
transitioned into “Communion in My
Cup” which showcased a deep rumble
of the bass guitar, which can only be
experienced in person, contrasted with
a light tapping of the keys at the end of
the solo.
From a quirky vibrato scream,
utterly relatable lines such as “I’m
coming up, I’m fucking up. That’s the
human in me” and an audience kind
enough to tap on your shoulder to let
you know they are trapped in the corner,
this was a restorative experience. The
only way this show could have been
better, would be if Big Frieda herself
showed up for her feature on “Big.” By ADELAIDE KAISER
INDIE-POP artist Chappell Roan
played to a packed audience at the
Doug Fir Lounge on March 12 as
part of her “Naked in North America”
tour. Portland was one of twenty sold-
out stops across the US and Canada.
According to Roan’s Instagram,
the tour is “about creating the safest
space we can for people to dress
up and be supported by their local
queer community.” At each stop,
she handpicked three local drag
entertainers to open for her, and chose
an outfit theme for the audience.
Portland’s theme was “homecoming
queen” and according to Roan’s
Instagram, the assignment was to wear
an old prom dress, bridesmaid dress,
or anything else that was too fancy to
wear anywhere else. The audience did
not disappoint, with a large majority
wearing fancy outfits, complete with
sashes and tiaras, one of which Roan
put on during her set.
The opening set ran as a typical
drag show would, with one of the
performers, AJ Nox, hosting and
introducing the two other queens.
The first entertainer to perform was
Henny, who performed Rihanna’s
Superbowl mashup to the crowd’s
delight. Madam Florence Jane Parker
made her Portland debut, performing
Lana Del Rey’s “The Other Woman”
and Lady Gaga’s “Bloody Mary,”
while Nox closed out with an epic
Lady Gaga mashup with iconic quotes
such as “bus, club, another club…”
interspersed.
After their performances, all three
performers took the stage to thank
the crowd and say a few words. Henny
emphasized how important drag is,
especially in today’s political climate,
noting that this kind of show would
not be safe to attend everywhere.
In the wake of anti-trans and anti-
drag bills being proposed and passed in multiple states, the energy in the
room was palpable. Throughout the
night, the performers emphasized
that the joyous, queer space that we
were occupying was special and vitally
important.
After the drag performers, Roan
took the stage, opening with her
hit “Naked in Manhattan,” a song
about her first queer experience.
Both she and her band were rocking
homecoming attire, complete with
sequined sets and sneakers. Roan
interspersed new music with older
hits and played two unreleased
songs:, “After Midnight” and “Red
Wine Supernova.” When introducing
the latter song, Roan, who is from
Missouri, said it was a country song,
but not to worry, it was also gay.
Roan also performed the track
“Bitter” from her 2017 EP “School
Nights,” which she said was about
being depressed in high school and
though it is hard to sing now, she finds
it important to honor her younger self.
Roan has a beautiful, unique voice —
especially well-suited to her cover
of Alanis Morrissette’s “You Oughta
Know” — and her live vocals did not
disappoint.
As Roan worked her way through
the setlist, the sold-out crowd danced
and screamed along, especially during
songs like “Femininomenon,” which
had a dance that the crowd caught
on to and her most recent release,
“Casual,” whose music video features
Roan falling in love with a mermaid.
However, no song could have
compared to the closing song, Roan’s
biggest hit to date, “Pink Pony Club.”
As Roan sang the ending words, “I’m
gonna keep on dancing,” the crowd
danced and sang along the loudest
they had all night. I am sure we all
would have kept dancing if we could
have, but by the end of the night my
voice was shot and my feet hurt — the
sign of a great show.By J FRANK
POET LAUREL Nakanishi ’06
read to an audience at the Frank
Manor House on March 6 as part
of Lewis & Clark’s spring reading series,
in which the school invites published
authors to read and discuss their work,
field questions and in Nakanishi’s case,
sign books.
Attendance was required for
members of Mary Szybist’s Poetry
201 class, who have been reading
Nakanishi’s book “Ashore,” which was
recently awarded the Berkshire prize
from Tupelo press. Szybist introduced
Nakishami in a long, somewhat
perplexing speech. Szybist spoke quietly
and very slowly, in a manner which left
students remarking among themselves
on the strangeness after the reading.
Once Nakanishi took the stage,
what was being said became easier to
follow. Nakanishi herself completed her
undergraduate degree at LC and began
with an anecdote from her first ever poetry reading, in Frank Manor House,
as a senior in Szybist’s class.
“I was so nervous that I pictured
myself passing out into the fireplace,”
she laughed. “I could feel the heat on
my back the whole time, I was shaking.”
Nakanishi, who was born and raised
on the island of O’ahu, Hawai’i, has lived
in the continental U.S. and Nicaragua as
well, but her work remains rooted in the
landscape and culture of Hawai’i.
American poet Campbell McGrath
praised “Ashore,” stating that he hopes
it beomes required reading for poets.
“Compassion for human suffering,
profound engagement with the natural
world, humility in the face of the sacred:
these are the hallmarks of ‘Ashore’, a
document of lyrical witness steeped in
the language, history and mythology of
her native Hawaii,” McGrath said.
Standing in front of the fireplace at
Frank Manor house, Nakanishi spoke
with the soft, open A’s of a Hawaiian
accent, taking me back to the trips of
my youth, visiting my birthplace — the warm strength of the islands’ cultural
ideals of generosity, respect and
connection to nature.
Her poetry, too, had a quiet
strength. With a few lines, she evoked
sweeping landscapes and portraits of
generations while looking with striking
honesty and straightforwardness into the daily existence of their inhabitants.
Her verses demystified Hawai’i,
turning it into a living, breathing place
of schoolchildren and hot asphalt,
anxieties and desires.
After sampling from “Ashore”,
Nakanishi read some unpublished
poems from her current manuscript. Since giving birth to her first child,
she said, she has found herself writing
nothing but “sappy love poems.” She
was warned throughout graduate
school to steer clear of sentimentalism,
but with the birth of her son she decided
to embrace the sappiness.
Nakanishi contrasted personal
sentiments with descriptions of
modern climate change horrors and
environmental disaster. These anxieties
about the world’s future, she explained,
had come to the forefront of her mind as
a mother and became intertwined with
her love for her son.
Finally, Nakanishi answered a few
questions from the audience, many
of which were related to format. She
makes use of blank space in different
ways, she said, to evoke imagery and
associations related to her subject.
Letting the lines of Nakanishi’s
poetry wash over me like waves on the
shore, and hearing her thought process
about each piece, was an enriching way
to spend a Monday evening.Poet Laurel Nakanishi reads from “Ashore”
Alumnus returns to LC for book talk, describes drawing inspiration from Hawai’i, environment, heritage
Chapell Roan brings
queer joy to PortlandTank and Bangas with Lo Steele
energize crowd at Revolution Hall
Roan, clad in a prom dress, belts her heart out alongside guitarist Eliza Petrosyan.ADELAIDE KAISER/THE MOSSY LOG
Nakanishi answers student questions about “Ashore,” which many studied in class.J FRANK/THE MOSSY LOG
Tank and Bangas’ lead vocalist Ball brings the energy with a fresh jazz/hip-hop style.VENUS EDLIN/THE MOSSY LOGBy CLAIRE BACO
ON A CLEAR day, Mt. Hood
is visible between the trees
from campus. The 11,245-foot
peak is the highest in Oregon and a
popular destination for year-round
recreation, but the numerous ski
resorts are particularly popular,
providing opportunities for skiing,
snowboarding, snowshoeing, tubing
and other snow sports.
Lewis & Clark students find
opportunities to leave campus and
make the hour-and-a-half trek out to
Mt. Hood’s resorts. One student-run
organization, Ski and Snowboard
Club, “helps people find rides up
to the mountain, and to events
in Portland related to skiing and
snowboarding,” according to the LC
website.
Club president Maria Makman
’25 has been downhill skiing for over
15 years and backcountry skiing for
2 years.
“I’ve found a great community
full of some cool people,” Makman
said via email. “I think there are a
lot of people who love winter sports
so I think it is fairly popular. You
can always find someone to go on a
winter adventure with.”
Ski club member Katie McColgin
’25 concurs that the community is
strong. She has been skiing since she
was 10 years old, but this is the first
season she has purchased a season
pass and has her own gear.
“The ski community here is
great! So many people do it and ski
and snowboard club is a great place
to meet people,” McColgin said via
email. “Everybody is outdoorsy here
and will actually send with me.”
Mt. Hood is home to a number
of ski resorts. Both Makman and
McColgin have season passes to Mt.
Hood Meadows, but have also been to
Ski Bowl.
“Meadows has more parks and
better groomed runs but ski bowl has
more backcountry stuff depending on
your interest,” McColgin said.
James Fishman-Morren ’26 has
been both downhill and cross country
skiing since he was seven years old.
“The winter sports community is
definitely very alive on campus, and
there’s lots of people who love recreating
outdoors in the winter and do so
together, whether at Mt. Hood Meadows
for downhill or Teacup Lake Nordic for
cross country,” Fishman- Morren said via email. “However, I imagine that
downhill skiing in particular is very
unattainable to those who are not
already into it, and don’t have the
gear, or friends to take them on the
hour-and-a-half long drive.”
Fishman-Morren commented
on the number of College Outdoors
trips featuring snow sports, but
is disappointed by the lack of
opportunities for people to learn
how to downhill ski through their
programs.
“Downhill skiing is ridiculously
expensive, and if you’re a beginner it
really makes no sense to pay nearly
$200 (day pass and rentals and gas)
for a day of skiing and three hours
of driving,” Fishman-Morren said. “College Outdoors also does not offer
downhill skiing trips, as it does with
cross country and snowshoeing.”
Despite the resorts being difficult
to access, the skiers find time to make
it up the mountain and enjoy the
powder.
“Lewis & Clark is great for skiing,
because Mt. Hood is not too far away.
It’s a really cool experience to drive
up into the winter world from rainy
Portland,” Fishman-Morren said.
For students interested in
skiing, snowboarding, sledding,
snowshoeing, and other outdoor
snow sports, the various resorts on
and around Mt. Hood offers season
passes, day passes, and classes to get
people out on the snow.FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2023
SPORTS /gid00483/gid00482
Snow sports enthusiasts take
advantage of spring powder
Kagle ’22 treads through snow during a mountain hike with zigzag paths in front of him.COURTESY OF DIEGO KAGLE
Thursday, April 13th, 2023
3-6pm
Smith Hall & Albany
QR CodeSummer Job
&
Volunteer FairADVERTISEMENTTennis teams tie-up
overall season records
By LEO BERNSTEIN NEWMAN
ON WEDNESDAY e v e n i n g , t h e
Men’s and Women’s Tennis teams
gathered in the tennis dome for
a regular practice set to nineties hip-hop
duo Outkast’s greatest hits. Hot off a 9-0
victory in an exhibition match against
Bellevue College this past Sunday, both
teams appeared optimistic about fairing
well in the upcoming play-off season.
After four conference matches, both
teams are 2-2. Following a grueling
pre-season spent partly in the Southern
California circuit, the teams are picking
up wins more consistently and by a
larger margin.
A loss against Pacific Lutheran kept
the Women’s team from securing a spot
in the top four in last year’s Northwest
Conference championship bracket.
However, following the withdrawal of
Pacific’s Women’s team from this year’s
conference, LC will likely vie for the top
four against Linfield, Whitman and the
formidable George Fox.
According to Co-Captain Arielle
Bloom ’24, the team is currently projected
to be third or fourth in the conference.
“Unfortunately we had to play George
Fox as the first match of the season and
we had our number one player out for
that match,” Bloom said. “Had we played
them later in the season it could have
been a different outcome.”
George Fox’s tennis program has a
reputation for consistent performance and
the athleticism of their players on both the
Men’s and Women’s teams. “George Fox is
the best in the league,” Kai Wills ’26 said.
According to Wills, their teams prioritize
tennis to a Division I standard. Fox tends
to scout higher brow recruits and expects
players to practice twice a day.
However, Landon Cronin ’26 of the
Men’s team believes that this has been
George Fox’s weakest year of late.
“They just lost a lot of good seniors,”
Cronin said, adding that two of whom
were All American. “That was a big hit
for them.” Other players on the Men’s team feel
that George Fox’s losses will bode well
for LC’s chances in the playoffs.
“This is probably one of our best
chances with Fox,” Bennett Gazor ’25
said.
Bloom concurs on behalf of the
Women’s team, citing that new strategies
are earning the team match wins, such as
having consistent doubles partners.
Both teams currently feature a
healthy set of highly motivated, first
years, as well as a strong old guard of
juniors and seniors. Still, players of the
Men’s team have varied predictions
about how playoffs will pan out.
“We are not exceeding expectations,”
Wills said. “We are kinda right where we
need to be — we’re looking like we are
heading into playoffs but there are still
teams like George Fox that are really
hard to beat.”
Cronin chimed in saying “we are in
the spot we need to be (and) most likely
are going to make playoffs … but I don’t
really think we met expectations.”
The two teams establish a set of
expectations with their coaches at
the beginning of each season. This
collaborative process allows the teams to
determine what to improve and set goals
for tournament season collectively.
According to Head Coach Jimmy
Chau, the team’s goals will always
fluctuate according to the background
and motivation of its players. This year,
he attests that both teams want to make
the top four in the conference.
“We’re asking for a lot this season so
he’s giving us a lot,” Cronin said. “I don’t
think we mind the challenge.”
Miles Stone ’24 feels that if LC can
get through Fox, which he confesses
may be a difficult task then they can
prepare for other teams vying for the
conference championship.
“(George Fox) is really our match-up,”
Stone said. “The road goes through Fox.”
In their next conference match, LC
will host the University of Puget Sound
on April 9.
Members of the Women’s Tennis team practice their plays inside the tennis dome.LEO BERNSTEIN NEWMAN/THE MOSSY LOG
Follow
@mossylog.newsBy CORRINA CHAN
SINCE THE cyberattack has limited
student’s ability to search for classes
and prepare for registration for
the upcoming semester, many are likely
confused about what Physical Education
(PE) classes will be offered.
PE is a two-course requirement (not
taken concurrently) and, therefore, we all
need to take two elective PE classes before
we are able to graduate. Unlike other
schools such as Cornell, however, there is
no base requirement for physical fitness
such as swimming proficiency.
According to the 2022-23 course
catalog, “students will learn to recognize and
experience the positive benefits of building
physical fitness and self-care habits, explore
aspects of the body’s structure and function, and engage in experiences within a group
or community setting … [these] courses
promote personal health and well-being,
often serving collective purposes of
expression and teamwork. Students learn to challenge themselves by setting goals and
measuring progress toward those goals.”
The Pamplin Sports Center and
Zehntbauer Swimming Pavilion boast
a wide array of sports equipment and facilities including “an eight-lane
swimming pool, a gymnasium with
three basketball/volleyball courts,
an extensive fitness center, and an
activity room for self-defense, martial
arts, dance, and aerobics classes.”
Some of these facilities are open to all
students, even non-athletes, who wish
to exercise during the day, so keeping
up with a physical fitness regimen does
not have to be limited to PE classes.
Check the facilities’ hours on their
website before going in.
For students competing on NCAA
teams PE credit is given for their
participation, but not everyone has
the talents or desire to play a certain
sport competitively. LC offers some
more unique classes based on student
interest or level of experience. Personal
Fitness, Self Defense for Women,
Fundamentals of Movement and Yoga
are all popular courses and often fill
early on in the registration cycle.
Watch out for some additional costs,
however, as some courses offered utilize
special equipment or other necessities
that require extra fees, often around
$125. Both the Alexander Technique
and Zumba, a posture focused
movement class and a dance fitness class
respectively, have these requirements.
There are two PE courses that do not
fulfill the two-credit Physical Education
requirement: PE/A 340 Prevention and
Care of Injuries and PE/A 405 Advanced
Athletic Training, mainly meant to
be pre-physical therapy courses for
students going into the more academic
side of physical education.
Additionally, College Outdoors
offers fall, Thanksgiving and spring
break trips that can fulfill one of these
requirements. So, instead of spending
a whole semester, twice a week, taking
a PE class, students can spend up to a
week traveling with friends on trips to
Mount Hood, or to the beach for a hike
coupled with whale watching.
In their Wilderness Leadership
course description, College Outdoors
specifies that the “outdoor classroom
and field sessions develop and test
technical and interpersonal skills which
are valuable for leadership positions
with College Outdoors at LC, other
positions in the outdoor industry, and
for personal adventures.” FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2023
SPORTS /gid00483/gid00483
By NOAH REESE-CLAUSON
COLLEGE OUTDOORS (CO) i s a
Lewis & Clark organization that
takes students on peer-led trips into
the wilderness of the Pacific Northwest
and Northern California for adventures
in hiking, backpacking, rafting, kayaking
and more. Experience and equipment
are unnecessary, as CO trip leaders are
trained to help participants with any
potential hurdles and the organization can
loan out gear.
CO Program Director Joe Yuska is
committed to spreading knowledge to
students about the logistics of outdoor
trips and the ecology of the areas they visit.
“Our mission is basically to offer the
LC community and mostly undergrads the
opportunities to get off campus,” Yuska
said. “To learn different outdoor skills,
to learn emergency medicine skills, to go
backpacking in rafting and kayaking and
learn about ancient forest ecology and
basically get a great introduction to all the
wonder(s) of the Pacific Northwest.”
In addition to the education and
opportunity trips provide, they also keep
the community active and allow students
to build connections.
“It’s non-competitive, personal
exercise, but also there’s quite a bit of
group bonding that goes on like a sports
team when people are all camping out
together or backpacking together or going
out (on a) rafting trip together,” Yuska said.
“There’s just a lot more chances to meet
new friends and make new connections
when you’re sitting around the campfire looking at the stars at night, or making
your camp. It’s just a great way for people
who otherwise would have maybe not met
each other on the Lewis & Clark campus to
make friendships.”
One trip subset that is responsible
for a lot of CO’s renown is the New
Student Trips (NST), which are offered to
incoming first years and transfer students.
Both Katie McColgin ’25 and Bryn Romig
’25, who now work as trip leaders, first got
involved with CO through NSTs.
Romig had NSTs recommended to her
on a prospective students tour. On that
trip, she was told she would make a good
trip leader and happily obliged. This past
year she had the opportunity to lead the
same NST she went on, a backpacking trip
around Mt. St. Helens.
“It was really interesting to do that
same sort of schedule, but go from
this participant position to a leader
position,” Romig said. “I understood how
different the positions really are and the
responsibility and the role that a leader
plays in connecting these very scared
freshmen strangers.”
Aside from the NST, Romig has
assistant-lead several trips and is leading
a trip to the Redwoods over spring break.
Coincidentally, McColgin’s favorite CO
trip she has ever been on was last year’s
iteration of the Redwoods trip.
“I remember kayaking in the ocean
and seeing seals swim around me and
seeing all kinds of animals, all kinds of
sea anemones,” McColgin said. “There
was this cave that we crawled through
on the beach and it was just caked in sea anemones and all sorts of stuff. Also, just
hiking is beautiful in the Redwoods.”
However, McColgin’s specialty is
rafting trips. She spent last summer
working as a raft guide on the Arkansas
River in Colorado and has only led CO
trips that involve rafting.
McColgin’s preferred role in trip
leading is the planning and logistics,
which are important for the success of
the trip and the safety of its participants,
but she likes having an entertainer,
someone good with riddles and starting
conversation, as her partner. She
has grown in the role of entertainer
throughout her time leading rafting trips, though, and believes it is an
essential part of the experience.
“You can take people down the river and
make sure that they’re safe,” McColgin said.
“But, if you’re not talking to them, if you’re
not telling stories or telling jokes — That’s
just a really big part of rafting in general.”
In regards to safety, both McColgin
and Romig have their Wilderness First
Responder certification as is required of trip
leaders. Romig took the course in Florida
over winter break of last year.
“It was pretty rigorous, it was pretty
exhausting, especially having (my) first
semester of finals ever and then having
a two week break and suddenly finding myself in another academic type setting,”
Romig said. “But, it made me a lot more
confident about being prepared for risk.”
CO takes many precautions to ensure
the safety of its participants. McColgin
took rafters on more difficult runs at her
summer job than through CO, however,
she finds LC rafters are “a lot more
competent at paddling.”
For nature enthusiasts who want to
go on trips not offered by CO or plan
their own itinerary, the organization also
rents its gear out to students. If interested,
students should email outdoors@lclark.
edu with equipment requests by the
Wednesday before they need it.College Outdoors hosts outdoor adventures
With Webadvisor down, students are unaware which PE classes will be offered.LEO BERNSTEIN-NEWMAN/THE MOSSY LOGSCORES
Baseball
LC v Whitman: L 4-8, W 12-7, W
10-9
LC v UPS: L 2-7, W 16-3
LC v Bushnell Univ.: W 4-2, L 3-6,
W 8-6
Golf
Men’s
LC at Willamette: 10th
Rowing
Men’s
LC at Logger Invitational:
Varsity 4+: 2nd
Second Varsity 4+: 2nd
Varsity 8+: 1st
Women’s
LC at Logger Invitational:
Varsity 8+: 1st
Second Varsity 8+: 1st
Varsity 8+: 1st
Second Varsity 8+: 1st
Tennis
Men’s
LC v Whitman: L 3-6
LC v Whitworth: W 6-3
LC v E Texas Baptist Univ.: W 7-2
LC v Bellevue College: W 9-0
Women’s
LC v Whitman: L 0-9
LC v Whitworth: W 9-0
LC v E Texas Baptist Univ.: W 8-1
LC v Lewis-Clark State College: L
1-8
LC v Bellevue College: W 9-0
Track and Field
Men’s
LC at L&C Spring Break Open: 2nd
Women’s
LC at L&C Spring Break Open: 2nd
Athletes of the Week
Mar. 15 - Mar. 21
Emily Patton ’26
Susanna Anand ’26
Mar. 22 - Mar. 28
Millen Mistry ’26
Jordan Lahusky ’26News Editors
Summer Dae Binder
Ava FrisonArts Editors
J Frank
Paige A. Anderson
Sports Editors
Cole Whitaker
Claire BacoOpinion Editors
Corrina Chan
Rosalie ZuckermannFeatures Editors
Leila Diaz
Maya Mazor-Hoofien
The Backdoor Editor
Emma Ford
Faculty Advisor
Molly RobinsonCopy Chief
Asmaa ZaidanWeb Manager
Claire BakkeVisuals Editor
Leo Bernstein NewmanEditor-in-Chief
Venus EdlinManaging Editor
Noah Reese-Clauson
Business Manager
Henry Goodier
Social Media Manager
Adelaide Kaiser
Photographers & Illustrators Staff Writers
Hera Hyman
Frankie Spurbeck
Leah Huffington
Burton ScheerNadav Ben David
Daniel Neshyba-Rowe
Natalie ConnellyMaya Williamson
Alex Nash
Halcyon OrvendalNadav Ben David
Winslow MorganAthletics department releases PE course
selection for Fall ’23 despite cyberattack
Sania Starnes ’25 and Bryn Romig ’25, College Outdoors student employees, prepare kayak group gear for a Spring Break trip.NOAH REESE-CLAUSON/THE MOSSY LOGStudents gain leadership experience, find opportunities to grow in nature trips around PNW, NorCal/gid00483/gid00484FRIDAY, MARCH 24, 2023
The Backdoor has attained sentience.
By FRANKIE SPURBECK
I CANNOT overstate how much
I have enjoyed my new green
takeout container. Beyond the
clear environmental benefits of
reducing usage of disposable plates
and bowls, it allowed me to easily
bring my meals to my room when I
was recovering from COVID-19. The
response from the student body has
been overwhelmingly positive, and it
looked like that would be the end of
things for now.
Yet, no sooner had the green
containers been deployed did I
notice a change in the attire of the
student body. The already sartorially-
adventurous student body had a
new accessory. Golden carabiners,
the token which can be exchanged
for a fresh container when one does
not want to carry something that
big around, were appearing all over
my classmates’ persons — hooked to
belt loops, through gauged ears, even
attached to crocs.
I, your ever-curious boy reporter,
quickly determined that the
carabiners had been refashioned into a
fascinatingly specific flagging scheme.
Flagging is a practice originating in
the cruising subculture of the queer
community, in which one indicates a
sexual preference through some attire
choice — such as a hanky, ring or
carabiner.
So if you have been wondering
exactly what it means when you see
a peer with a carabiner attached to
their croc, or if you, like me, have been wondering how to subtly indicate that
you want to get railed within an inch
of your life, wonder no longer! Direct
from our community, I have the guide
for you.
Left front belt loop: top/dominant
Right front belt loop: bottom/
submissive
Back middle belt loop: verse/switch — Note: these terms are not
used interchangeably by all. If you see
someone with multiple, seemingly-
contradictory carabiners, fear not! Or,
depending on what you are into, maybe
do a little.
Attached to collar: into puppy
play — Note: Wow, good for you. The
recent repeal of the campus leash policy must have hit you hard.
Through left ear: degrader
Through right ear: degradee or
trying to get picked up by a goth — Note:
sources disagreed on true meaning,
however, as more sources claimed it
represented being degraded, I chose
to list degradee first. May in fact
be more interchangeable than top/bottom and dom/sub.
Attached prominently to car keys:
lives off campus, “Does not really
eat in the Bon,” “Yeah, I just spend
a lot of time going to little cafés,”
“What do you mean you do not get off
campus much? Hahaha!” Obnoxious,
superior upperclassmen.
On LC “Copeland Hall” lanyard:
freshman, Copeland Hall resident,
likely heterosexual … for now.
Deep, deep, in pocket: closeted
and/or has not yet visited www.
bdsmtest.org
Two carabiners, one belt loop:
polyamorous and in existing
relationship, but open to new
relationships
Two carabiners, clipped
together, making a chain: in existing
relationship, seeking third
Held in hot, grubby hand: no sexual/
romantic signal, using carabiner for
intended purpose — Note: when I
approached these people and asked
about their sexual proclivities, they
reacted with affront and displeasure.
I do not recommend talking to them.
Clipped onto left side of actual
waistband of sweatbands/leggings:
prep seeking jock
Clipped onto right side of actual
waistband of sweatbands/leggings:
jock seeking prep
Hooked through holes on right croc:
ageplayer, seeking daddy/mommy
Hooked through holes on the left
croc: into watersports — Note: not
sure why this is so different from the
RIGHT croc, but my sources were
insistent here. Be careful!Bon eco-containers give rise to flagging scheme
ALEX NASH/THE MOSSY LOGStudents sabotage innocent campus initiative with subliminal queer, kinky messaging: an experts guide
By THE MOSSY LOG STAFF
Music is an integral part of the
college experience. It can
get you excited, take you to
another world or just help you relax.
Being able to experience so much from
the safety of a pair of headphones is
a gift, but sometimes you do not have
the right song for the right time. There
are many situations where a certain
song would be perfect just for the
right moment. I’ve taken the liberty
of compiling a list of relatively niche
songs for you to listen to for various
situation“I’ve No More F*cks To Give”
by Thomas Benjamin
A peppy song played on a banjo
about one’s acceptance of a situation
and merely slipping into an optimistic,
apathetic fuge. A song that is perfect
for the moment you come out of an
exam that you studied so hard for, but
you know you failed.
“No Cock like Horse Cock
[Explicit]"
by Pepper Coyote
A short, but lively country song
with vintage twist about a difficult
situation and a man’s insatiable love
for “pushing the extremes.” This song
is perfect for background noise in cafes,
parties or even in classrooms. The
passion this song exudes gets listeners
motivated to get what they need to do
done, pushing their own limits. “The
pinnacle of western civilization,” a
YouTube comment stated.“Furret Walk - 10 hours”
by YouTube user Dalio123
A cute, lyricless song from the
Pokémon games for an endless study
session. Headphones not required –
your fellow students in Watzek will
thank you.
“Dumb Ways to Die Theme”
by Tangerine Kitty
Another upbeat song about the
dangers of various stupid actions
created to raise awareness about playing
on train tracks. This song is perfect
for playing while screwing around
on the Corbett House roof, in the
flooded Ponderosa basement or eating
suspicious Field’s Dining Hall chicken.
Unexpectedly though, our readers
report that this song does not work well
for exploring Tryon — something about
fates worse than death.“Super Massive Black Hole”
by Muse
For you Backdoor lovers out there,
here is a tune sexy enough to slip into
sweet daydreams of America’s favorite
pastime. Start with a long day of baseball
with sexy, shimmering, Mormon-coded
vampires, followed by an even longer
night of rawdogging your companions
super massive black holes.
“Wait For It”
by Hamilton
While perfect for any occasion, this
song shines especially brightly on a
soundtrack for lovers. Whether you’re
saying no to this (sex) until marriage
or awaiting coital completion, Lin
Manuel Miranda’s dulcet tones
will surely serenade you and your
lover(s) as you strive for completion.
Much like Hamilton inserted hip-
hop into musical theater, you too can
thrust towards a Tony (or a Tina) in
syncopated 4/4 time.“Two Trucks”
by Lemon Demon
A song with a superb tempo about a
man’s love of cars (perhaps too much).
The steady beat and the theme of
masculinity could possibly make this
for a good workout song. Especially,
ahem, partner workouts.
“Accidental Racist (feat. LL Cool J)”
by Brad Paisley
If you ever feel overwhelmed by the
the complexities of race in America,
remember that Brad Paisley and LL
Cool J tried to solve racism in a six
minute song featuring the lines: “If
you don’t judge my durag, I won’t
judge your red flag” and “I’m a white
man livin’ in the southland tryin’ to
understand what it’s like not to be.”
People much dumber than you have
tried (and failed) to solve racism and
made millions of dollars, so maybe the
world just is not fair and we should just
keep doing our best.Self-obsessed editors parody own music column
HALCYON ORVENDAL/THE MOSSY LOG
WINSLOW MORGAN/THE MOSSY LOG