Lewis & Clark College

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

Volume 102, No. 2

Lewis & Clark College Student Newspaper

Pioneer Log Staff

2024-02-16

text/pdf

Text; Newspaper

For questions about rights statements, or access to the original document please contact Lewis & Clark College Special Collections and Archives http://specialcollections.lclark.edu

Lewis & Clark College: Pioneer Log / Mossy Log

By CAROLINE DREW
QUEERBAITING, representation in
TV shows, KPOP, femboys, clean
girl aesthetics and sex toys are
just a tiny fraction of the pertinent topics
that will be addressed through panel,
presentation and performance at Lewis
& Clark’s upcoming 43rd Annual Gender
Studies Symposium, “Being Online.”
When co-chairs Cameron Kalopsis
’24, August van Nieuwenhuysen ’25 and
Molly Gibbons ’24 began discussing
themes with Director of Gender Studies
Symposium and Associate Professor
with Term of Humanities Kimberly
Brodkin, the internet quickly rose to the
top of the list.“Being Online” promises
a platform for topical discussions and
diverse examinations of the internet’s
role in gender and sexuality.
“For me, honestly, it really came
out of the fact that I live on TikTok,” Kalopsis said. “I love TikTok. It’s
super problematic sometimes, but I
genuinely think a lot of it is a positive
in this world.”
Social trends, algorithmic woes,
misinformation and their entanglements
are tackled by students, professors
and academics from across the Pacific
Northwest in the upcoming panels
and presentations. The co-chairs
are excited to take advantage of the
Internet’s myriad of impacts and the
nuances they introduce.
“The theme of ‘Being Online’ was a
way to capture a lot of the other themes
and topics we were considering,” Gibbons
said. “There’s a lot of opportunities for
discussions about other communities
in different areas, and different time
periods as well, not just currently. The
internet has been around for a bit of
time now and seeing how its changed
throughout time, and looks different or looks the same in different places around
the world, I think is really important.”
The wide reach of the digital
world and the global connections
it creates allow for internationally-
focused events, including a roundtable
discussion of digital queer liberation
in the Global South and a panel
presentation by Pacific University
Assistant Professor of Sociology Sang-
hyoun Pahk on surveillance in the
global digital village.
“There are so many ways we
interact online and exist online,” van
Nieuwenhuysen said. “I think it is
really nice to have a theme that has
that nuance to it. You can talk about
the positives, the negatives and the
neutral. As someone who has found
most community in my life through
online spaces, it felt really relevant
and topical to me. I thought that was
a good sign because I’m a student here who attends the symposium so if I feel
like (if) I have an interest in this topic
hopefully there’s other people at school
care about the topic.”
Narrowing the search for keynote
speakers and panelists was a daunting
task for the three co-chairs.
“Even after we had decided on
the theme of Being Online, we had
to find people who would work well
in a symposium on that theme, and
there’s so many people. I felt, for
a while, paralyzed by choice,” van
Nieuwenhuysen said.
Gibbons also spoke to the challenge
of selecting participants.
“It was kind of a puzzle finding
connections between all of the
different proposals we received and
trying to make sure that we were
representing as many aspects of our
initial ideas about being online as we
could,” Gibbons said. Ultimately, the co-chairs are
thrilled to announce a schedule
packed with presentations from
passionate students, professors,
authors, poets and performers. The
symposium opens with a collage
workshop and includes poetry and
prose readings from this year’s
edition of Synergia: Journal of
Gender Thought & Expression, an
annually-produced journal which
showcases LC student writing about
gender-related issues. The schedule
also includes a one-person musical
performed by LC alum Laser Webber
’10 about the history of trans men
and his own transition.
For the co-chairs, this variety
of presentation formats, topics and
perspectives more broadly reflects their
hopes for the Gender Studies discipline.
“Scholars” continued on Page 3.Vol. 102 No. 2 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024 www.piolog.com
Hello again!
Happy Valentine’s, Galentine’s and
Palentine’s day from your friends at
The Mossy Log!OPINION
Hallmark Holiday cheer
Is Valentine’s Day a couple’s only
holiday or should it be expanded to
incorporate all kinds of love?
PAGE 4FEATURES
Delicious celebrations
Portland celebrated its 10th Annual
Dumpling Week with restaurants
making limited-edition dishes.
PAGE 6ARTS
First Thursday Art Walk
This monthly event hosts a number
of local artists selling a creative
range of merchandise.
PAGE 8SPORTS
Specialty Athletic Training
Alum-founded company connects
individuals with disabilities to
personal fitness training.
PAGE 11
By FIONA EILERS
RUMORS HAVE been circulating
around Lewis & Clark’s
undergraduate campus that the
Arabic language program ends this
semester. However, interviews with
students and staff have proven this to
be false.
Ava Lockwood ’26, a student in
Arabic 102, spoke of an interaction
between herself and another student
showing how widespread this concern
had been.
“The other day, I was just walking
back to my dorm talking to my roommate
about Arabic class, and this guy came up
from behind me. And he was like, ‘Oh,
you also care about the Arabic program?
… Can I get your number so you can
sign this petition so the Arabic program
doesn’t close?’” Lockwood said.
None of the faculty associated with
the program were aware of the origin of
the rumor. In fact, the Arabic program is
looking to expand.
Next year, a new study abroad
program in Jordan that ties into the
Arabic language classes as well as the
Middle Eastern and North African
Studies (MENA) minor will begin its
first study abroad program. Associate
Professor of Anthropology Oren
Kosansky is the director of MENA
Studies and one of the masterminds
behind creating and expanding the
Arabic program at LC.
“We started a relationship with
a language program in Jordan. So
students can now do a semester
abroad in Jordan. Not a faculty-lead
program, but it is another program for
those who want to focus on a higher
level of Modern Standard Arabic,”
Kosansky said.
There is also a new program available
for graduated students: An alumni trip
to Morocco builds on the Middle East-
focused abroad offerings at LC.
“Lewis & Clark, a few years ago,
started running alumni trips. And to a
variety of places around the world you can explore,” Kosansky said. “We have
done two trips to Morocco. They are
two-week educational tour programs.
One of the really great things about it is
we visit the schools where our students
study and alumni take a class from the
teachers that teach our undergraduate
students and those pieces of the alumni
trip or highlights. It’s just astounding,
everyone’s so happy. And so there is
that other piece of building overseas
programming, not through the
undergraduate semester abroad, but
also through this alumni trip.”
Kosansky spoke about the origin of
the MENA Studies minor and Arabic
language classes, LC’s most recent
language offering.
“It was a series of processes. It began
through discussions with several faculty
at Lewis & Clark, who recognized we
had resources on campus and student
interest in developing Arabic and Middle
East Studies more generally. This was
over a decade ago now. Then there
were a bunch of convergent efforts to
build Arabic and Middle East Studies,”
Kosansky said.
He also detailed how Arabic language
classes started at LC in connection with
the study abroad program to Morocco.
“The first anchoring one was the
introduction of the Morocco program in
2011, and there was going to be a language
component for it,” Kosansky said.
For some faculty-led study abroad
programs, if the language of the country
is not already taught at LC, the college
will provide a semester-long preparatory
course for students.
“We decided we wanted all students
to have a semester of Arabic before
going to Morocco, so they can have a
foundation for continuing their language
studies. We didn’t have Arabic on
campus, so we hired an Arabic instructor
to teach that one course, and we did that
for several years,” he said.
Kosansky laid out how the
Morocco study abroad program and
accompanying Arabic language class
played a role in developing MENA Studies and expanding the Arabic classes
at LC.
“We also started moving towards
developing our Middle Eastern and
North African Studies program, and as
we built that program, we decided that
the Arabic language would be a central
part of it. And we ended up deciding
that we would have the three semester
language requirement, or completion
of the third semester, which mapped
also onto the Lewis and Clark language
requirement,” he said.
The Arabic language program at LC
officially began in 2015, offering classes
up to the 201 level. MENA Studies
became a minor in 2017. LC is one of a
few small liberal arts colleges to offer a
MENA Studies program.
Arabic is one of the smaller
programs at LC, yet the participants
are enthusiastic. This semester’s Arabic
102 class has seven students. Lockwood
spoke of her experience.
“I think people get along really well
inside the confines of that classroom. We
had two different sections last semester
that were combined now in Arabic 102.
So we’ve been getting to know people.
But even in our group chat, there’s some
people who’ve already been saying that
there are movies coming up that are in
Arabic, that we should all go see together.
And I think that we’re starting to build a
little bit of community through wanting
to speak Arabic together and wanting to
learn about cultures that speak Arabic,”
Lockwood said.
Adjunct Instructor of Arabic Samar
Hamadmad expanded on the content of
the classes.
“We do a lot of culture talk, we
watched some videos about some
Arabic countries. I even got the students
some Arabic sweets, Arabic coffee and
we have some great chats. Actually,
we also did one session about Arabic
language history. It was very interesting.
It generated so many good questions
and conversations,” Hamamad said.
“I always take any chance at any
opportunity to tell the students about something happening here … The
students are really interested in Arabic
as a language and as a culture itself.”
Students have expressed interest
in Arabic language classes past the 201
level. Hamamad provided some insight
on this.
“There is a big demand from the
students for the college to offer Arabic
202. So many students in 201 asked
me for that. And I asked the head of the
MENA department (Kosansky), and he
told me they are pushing for that, as we
will have a good number of students. And
so many students want to really have
Arabic as a minor. So this is something
that we can take to the World Languages
Department, and we can maybe discuss
it in the future,” Hamamad said.
Hamamad is from Jordan, where
the most recent Arabic-focused study
abroad program is located. She shared
her perspective on the benefits of the
new program.
“Of course, Morocco is beautiful,
but because I know Jordan, I told him
you have to go because you will learn a huge amount of Arabic and culture
because culture is everywhere. And there
is a big, big history. You will feel history
everywhere in Jordan. I wrote a letter
of recommendation for (a student) and
they are so excited. I hope more students
will join because they will really grow
their language skills when they come
back. They will appreciate it when they
come back because oh, now we know
more,” Hamamad said.
Looking ahead, Kosansky offered
information about the upcoming
10th annual Middle East and
North African Studies Symposium.
“This year we’ll have two keynote
speakers. One from the law school,
one from Oregon State University.
We’re going to have an Iranian drum
music workshop, there’s going to be
workshops in Arabic calligraphy, and
an opportunity to get henna. And so
it (has) a bunch of interesting events,
student research panels as well.”
The Symposium is scheduled for
Feb. 27-29, with the theme of Language
and Politics.
Co-chairs elaborate on 43rd Annual Gender Symposium
Keynote speakers, professors, authors, poets, performers, students will explore theme of “Being Online”Director of MENA program, adjunct instructor, student discuss study abroad, new classes, symposium
COURTESY OF OVERSEAS AND OFF-CAMPUS PROGRAMS Arabic studies looks to broaden opportunities
Starting Fall 2024, LC will expand to include non-faculty-led program in Jordan.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
NEWS 2
New 2024 Oregon laws go into effect,
addiction, homelessness addressed
Phi Beta Kappa scholar visits college, presents
lecture on civil rights movement complexitiesProfessor
delves into
LDS milieu
By EMMA AMBROZIAK
DR. BENJAMIN Park, an associate
professor of history at Sam
Houston State University and
writer on intersection of religion and
nationalism, was invited by the Religious
Studies department to present his newly
released book, “American Zion: A New
History of Mormonism,” on Feb. 9. Park
stopped briefly in Portland amidst his
book tour through the Pacific Northwest
where he led a lunch-hour discussion on
Lewis & Clark’s undergraduate campus
about his book.
Students and professors alike were
interested in Park’s historical research
on Mormonism’s role in shaping the
modern American landscape. Of the
eleven attendees, some had been
raised in The Church of Jesus Christ
of Latter-day Saints (The Church),
some were Religious Studies students
who would be studying Mormonism
later on in the semester and some were
professors in the department who were
interested in the speaker’s expertise and
recent work.
Upon introducing himself, Park
admitted that when he was first asked
to write the book, he had said no.
After further discussion with the press
and much thought over how his own
background and expertise might be
able to contribute a new and relevant
perspective to Mormon history, he
agreed to write it.
“I had to justify it to myself. I
had to think, what was something
new that I can say in this book about
Mormonism because … there is a
mountain of scholarship on Mormon
history,” said Park. “I wanted to use
Mormonism to understand some
of the crucial themes in American
history: the intersections between
church and state, the role that
religion has played in democracy;
the intersections between faith and
intellect … and also the interactions
between obedience and dissent.”
Park described how his investigation
of Mormon history from the early 1800s
to the present ultimately altered his
thesis in a way that made his research
relevant to already-existing scholarship
on the subject and to his area of
expertise as a historian.
“I decided I was trying to prove how
modern Mormonism in America came
to be socially conservative, politically
Republican, yet culturally diverse,”
Park said.
Park led a visually engaging
presentation that covered — in only
an hour — a 200 year historical run-
through of Mormonism. He presented
historical stereotypes and social change
through a medley of political cartoons,
historical images, photojournalism
and scans of the Church’s founder
Joseph Smith’s initial blueprints for the
construction of Zion.
Zion holds several meanings within
and beyond The Church’s community.
In the context of these blueprints, Zion is
a territory. It refers to Smith’s proposed
City of God, which he predicted would
house 20,000 people and which would
have been constructed in Independence,
Missouri.
The presentation also spoke to the
evolution of public media, the history
of polygamy, the formation of the
western states and modern presidential
campaigns as relevant processes in the
development of modern Mormonism.
Park opened with the first ever
published image of Joseph Smith: a
drawing depicting the Smith getting
kicked out into the world by Satan — either
as an agent of chaos for the devil or as
someone who is rejected even by Satan.
According to Park, each interpretation
of the image establishes the same
sentiment toward Mormons in the
early nineteenth century.
“The meaning of this is clear,”
stated Park. “Joseph Smith and the
early Mormons posed a problem to
early Americans.”
“AMERICAN” continued on page 3.By CAROLINE DREW
SEVERAL NOVEL Oregon laws
went into effect on Jan 1. In
2023, the ongoing addiction and
homelessness crises provoked several
state of emergency declarations. These
new laws aim to tackle Oregon’s current
challenges. According to Jamie Parfitt
of KGW8 and Dirk VanderHart for
Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB),
other pieces of legislation seek to
expand protections for queer couples,
victims of sexual abuse and property
owners impacted by wildfires.
House Bill (HB) 2095, which expands
cities’ ability to install traffic-monitoring
cameras, was enacted in response to
increasing traffic violation rates. In
the same vein, HB 2316 expands the
definition of “intoxicant” as it applies
to DUI cases. The term will now
include legal opioid or stimulant-like
substances, such as kratom. This bill
reduces fines and penalties for bicyclists
riding under the influence — with the
exception of e-bikers.
In response to Oregon’s ongoing
struggle with drug addiction and Measure
110’s groundbreaking decriminalization
of personal possession of illicit drugs in
2021, HB 2315 increased the potential
for funding to help addiction services
across the state. Similarly, Senate Bill
(SB) 529 seeks to improve treatment
options for incarcerated people struggling
with addiction. According to KGW8, the
bill removes “outdated requirements
for prison programs.” Community-
centered services like peer mentorship
and support groups will replace an
emphasis on discipline and physical
labor as “correctional.”
The bill urges prisons to “address
addiction as a chronic disease
and recognize that participants have
individualized needs,” as KGW8 said.
On the other side of addiction
treatment, SB 1043 gives resources
to patients in recovery. Following a
discharge from opioid addiction-related
treatment, hospitals and care facilities
are now required to provide patients
with naloxone, the generic name of
the opioid overdose reversing drug
commonly known as Narcan.
According to OPB, the days after a
release can be a particularly vulnerable
time for patients as “their bodies no longer
have a tolerance to the same amount they
were using prior to treatment.” SB 1043 takes advantage of the
increased over-the-counter availability
of naloxone sprays like Narcan which
help protect patients from overdose.
Healthcare patients of all kinds in
Oregon’s nonprofit hospitals may be
eligible to receive refunds if they were
billed for care they could not afford.
HB 3320 introduces protections for
patients needing financial assistance
and encourages hospitals to make use
of state-wide programs that will cover
medical bills in these cases. Another
attempt to assist low-income families
comes in the form of the Oregon Kids’
Credit, a part of HB 3235. This clause
grants “credits of $1,000 for every child
under 6 years old,” to families that
make less than $25,000 a year, OPB
states. Other credits are available for
families making up to $30,000 a year.
In an attempt to expand housing
options, HB 2984 reduces the
bureaucratic obstacles for converting
commercial buildings located in
residential zones into housing in cities
with at least 10,000 people. OPB
connects this move to Gov. Tina Kotek’s
goal to boost housing production and
development statewide. Indeed, this law
does come after a study by BAE Urban
Economics, reported on by OPB, which
recommended lowering development
fees as a way to incentivize construction
of affordable housing.
In December of 2023, Tim Gordon
reported for KGW8 on the closure of
three Target stores located in Portland.
Target explained the closures, which
also included stores in other major
cities, in a company statement,
claiming that “organized retail crime(s)
are threatening the safety of our
team and guests, and contributing to
unsustainable business performance.”
Following these claims, a months-long
investigation by CNBC “cast doubt on
Target’s explanation for the store closures
and raised questions about whether the
company’s announcement was designed
to advance its legislative agenda and
obscure poor financial performance.”
Several other big-box store chains
have cited shoplifting as a reason for
shuttering their Portland city locations,
including REI and Nike. Regardless of
how substantiated these companies’
claims surrounding shoplifting may
prove to be, their public statements
have garnered negative media attention.
This attention rests particularly heavily on Portland’s shoulders, as the city
continues to receive national criticism
for its response to homelessness and
addiction issues. SB 340 responds to
boxstores’ claims of debilitating theft,
increasing consequences for those
convicted. Sentences are even higher
for repeat offenders. SB 340 also
changes the language around first-
degree theft, adding convictions of this
level must include substantial risk of
injury to another.
Another change came following
a “spate of attacks on the Pacific
Northwest’s power grid,” according to
OPB, several new laws address domestic
terrorism and paramilitary activity.
HB 2772 outlines a new felony crime
for domestic terrorism which involves
destruction of “critical infrastructure”
or deployment of toxic substances. HB
2572 gives the State Attorney General,
currently Ellen Rosenblum, permission
to investigate organized paramilitary
activity and petition a judge to block
these activities if they aim to intimidate
others or infringe on freedom of speech.
The bill also grants private individuals
the right to sue paramilitary groups in
the case of injury.
In 2022, Oregon received fierce
backlash for releasing a map of
areas under the greatest wildfire
risk, according to OPB. Critics were
concerned that the map could be used
by insurance companies to increase
homeowner, rental or other types of
property insurance in these areas. Some
were concerned that insurance companies may cease to offer these policies in the
defined areas altogether. SB 82 directly
addresses this concern by prohibiting
insurance companies from using wildfire
risk maps to make policy decisions.
Next, HB 3632 is an effort to expand
accountability for sexual crimes. Under
the new law, the statute of limitations
for first-degree sex crimes is 20 years,
or before the survivor’s 30th birthday
if they were a minor when the abuse
was committed — whichever provides
the survivor more time to report the
crime. This expansion applies to all
crimes reported before and after the
law took effect.
Though same-sex marriage is
currently legal nationwide, many
states like Oregon had passed laws
offering partnership options and other
protections for such couples before the
2015 U.S. Supreme Court decision. The
Oregon Family Fairness Act, passed
in 2007, allowed same-sex couples “to
register as legally recognized domestic
partners,” according to KGW8. Now, in
2024, HB 2032 expands this act, allowing
couples of any gender composition to
apply for domestic partnership.
Oregon’s social, environmental
and legislative histories are uniquely
addressed by this set of new laws. Many
of the bills also reflect larger, national
conversations surrounding inflation
and its effects, sexual abuse reporting
and opioid addiction. As the year goes
on, we can expect to see the impact of
these policies and the shaping of future
responses to these issues.
By ELLA DUNN
ON FEB. 15, Kenneth Andrews,
a professor of Sociology at
Washington University in St. Louis,
gave a lecture at Lewis & Clark entitled
“Lessons of the Civil Rights Movement
and Black Freedom Struggle.” Andrews,
who has studied activism and the Civil
Rights Movement extensively, explored
themes of protest and social change in
his presentation.
Andrews attended Millsaps College
for his undergraduate degree and Stony
Brook University for his master’s. He
worked at Harvard for six years and
at the University of North Carolina at
Chapel Hill for 20. He now teaches at
Washington University in St. Louis,
although he is currently on tour
lecturing at several universities across
the country. His most recent stop at
LC yielded a valuable lesson on the
history of the Civil Rights Movement
for attendees.
I had the honor of speaking with
Andrews before he gave his lecture, and
he gave me a great overview of what he
planned to talk about.
“In many ways, the civil rights
movement has become canonized,”
Andrews said, “and there are official
histories that are taught, but they often
grossly oversimplify the depth and
breadth of the struggle.”Andrews’ lecture went over three
important points of the movement in
an attempt to return nuance to the
narrative. His first point of emphasis
was the amount of civil disobedience
the movement employed.
“They used disruption to really
shake things up and put significant
pressure on policy at the local and
national level,” said Andrews.
He also discussed the way the
movement itself was organized and how
its hierarchy was efficient. Andrews
touched on how participants were
inventive with their methods, and
how much of an effect that had on the
movement’s impact on the world.
“Secondly, the way (the movement)
built organizational capacity in terms
of leadership and networks to sustain
itself and become an important force for
change. The third is the way it developed
cultural power by being strategically
innovative and coming up with creative
ideas that pushed the movement’s goals
forward.” said Andrews.
Andrews was particularly interested
in how college students took on a large
role in protest, and the large changes a
“relatively powerless” group of people
are able to make, especially considering
his own experience with activism in
college in the ’90s.
“I was involved in different kinds of
social movements in graduate school. There were efforts to unionize graduate
students and anti-war protests,” he
said. “I just became so fascinated by
the history itself, especially the ways
in which college students played such
a central role in being a force for
innovation and creativity.”
He connected the strengths of the
Civil Rights Movement to how people
can apply those techniques to issues of
our current time.
“Because we tell simplistic stories
about the movement, we miss some of
the ways in which you can actually form
contemporary movements, either in
terms of how we think about leadership
or about what it is that protest has to do
in order to really drive social change,”
he said. “Ways in which people think
about the movement today limit
some of the ways that these methods
are useful tools that can be borrowed
and adapted.”
His lecture was eye-opening to how
little is recalled about the intricacies of
the Civil Rights Movement.
“Movements are not just about
heroic individuals or singular events,”
Andrews said. “My first book was about
the idea that there’s never an end point
to movements; struggles to bring about
justice and equity are constant.”
He also reflected on his role in
the movement which was part of a
communal effort. “It’s a collective enterprise. I don’t
necessarily think about the impact of
my own work but about it as being part
of a conversation and effort with lots of
other scholars to learn about how social
movements work,” said Andrews.
This event was part of the larger
celebration of Black History Month on
campus. Other events included the
off-campus trip to the Black Artists of
Oregon exhibit at the Portland Art Museum
on Feb. 3. Inclusion and Multicultural
Engagement (IME) organized an activity
centered around the exploration of healthy
relationships entitled “Black Joy: Friends,
Lovers & Other Relationships.”
ROSALIE ZUCKERMANN/THE MOSSY LOG
COURTESY OF LEWIS & CLARK
Kenneth Andrews teaches sociology. NEWS 3FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
COURTESY OF ILLINOIS PERIODICALS ONLINEContinued from Page 1.
“As a queer person, specifically as
a trans person, it has always felt like
having discussions around gender,
sexuality, marginalized or minority
identities be at the forefront in
academic conversations is something
that historically hasn’t happened
and something that only recently has
started gaining traction on a wider
scale,” van Nieuwenhuysen said.
“That was something that definitely
drew me to the symposium, I saw the
opportunity to not only participate
in something larger than myself, but
also potentially act as an additional
mouthpiece for some of those
elements that, even amongst gender
studies circles, maybe haven’t always
been highlighted.”
Van Nieuwenhuysen connected
these conversations to perceptions of
LC students.
“I do think still, even among
students at this school, there is a notion
that gender studies as a discipline is
all cishet, white, upper-middle-class
women focused and it doesn’t have to
be that. It ultimately can be whatever
it needs to be. The more people that
get involved with whatever their
background or identity is, the better it
is for everyone,” van Nieuwenhuysen
continued.
The internet, much like the
Gender Studies Symposium and
academia generally, acts as a
reflexive platform: Those involved
impact participants, the content and,
in turn, the creators themselves.
“There’s a mutual relationship,
people impact the internet but the
internet also really impacts our culture
in real life,” Kalopsis said.
Gibbons expanded upon the
symposium’s interest in the reciprocal
nature of the internet.
“Early on we were talking about
the distinction between the internet
and online spaces, perpetuating
different ideas about gender and
sexuality and also creating them,”
Gibbons said. “Gender and sexuality
aren’t just represented online but
created and recreated.”
Each of this year’s keynote speakers
speak to this mutually informative
relationship in different ways through
their work. These questions of
navigating the digital world in the past,
present and future impact us all, as the
online world only becomes further
enmeshed in our everyday physical
reality with each passing year.
Moya Bailey, Associate professor in
The Department of Communications at Northwestern University, is the author
of the book “Misogynoir Transformed:
Black Women’s Digital Resistance” and
the founder of the Digital Apothecary,
which works “to produce processes
and projects that aid those most
marginalized in society,” according to
their website.
Bailey’s keynote presentation asks
the question, “What Are Gender and
Sexuality in the World We Want?” and
promises to consider creating digital
worlds that can guide us into a more
hopeful future.
Conversely, keynote speaker Avery
Dame-Griff examines the way past
internet communities have informed
present realities as the founder of
the Queer Digital History Project and
author of “The Two Revolutions: A
History of the Transgender Internet.”
In his presentation, titled “When
It Was Ours: A Queer and Trans
Counterhistory of the Internet,” Dr.
Dame-Griff discusses the nascent
Internet as a space for connection and
shared services among the queer and
trans community, using the past to
offer a potential alternate model for
the future of our digital world.
Gibbons, Kalopsis and van
Nieuwenhuysen encourage students
across disciplines to attend the
Gender Studies Symposium event
with an open mind.
“Even if you see something and
you think, ‘maybe that’s not for me,’
just give it a chance, especially if
Gender Studies is something you
don’t regularly interact with,” van
Nieuwenhuysen said. “It is such a cool
opportunity just to hear, not only the
keynote speaker speak and the visiting
professors and academics, but to hear
your other peers speak. It’s so cool to
go to a panel and see someone you had
calculus with get up and give a whole
presentation and answer questions and
you get to do it for free in the middle of
the week,” van Nieuwenhuysen said.
Student thesis and research
presentations on a variety of topics are
featured throughout the symposium.
Student artists and performers also
lend their talents to the symposium
production. Van Nieuwenhuysen
acknowledged the cooperative effort
that the symposium requires.
“This symposium and any other
symposium or events like it only
happen because people submit stuff,
show up, come to the meetings, engage,
ask questions,” van Nieuwenhuysen
said. “Thank you to everyone who
has participated in some way, shape
or form, whether you submitted a
proposal, volunteered to table or
just looked at our poster in passing,
thanks because it literally would not
happen without you. It really takes
a village but that is what makes it so
cool to see it come together and it’s
going to be really, really awesome
and gratifying to see the fruits of
everyone’s collective labor. It is a lot
of work but I do think it’s really worth
it because, I personally have never
experienced anything quite like the
Gender Studies Symposium here.”
The 43rd Gender Studies
Symposium runs from Mar. 6 - 8.
The schedule, which features brief
descriptions of each event and
resources for further information,
can be found on the LC website. No
registration is required, all events are
free and open to the public. COURTESY OF AMERICAN ANTIQUARIAN SOCIETY“American Zion” tracks political,
social lineage of Latter-day Saints
Continued from Page 2.
He described another cartoon of
Smith, titled “‘Lieutenant-General’
Joseph Smith Reviewing the Nauvoo
Legion,” which depicts the continued
search for viable territory, the
increasing popularity of his religious
leadership and public reactions to
rumors of polygamy.
“First of all, let’s admire the glow-up
of Joseph Smith from the first image,”
Park joked.
His comment elicited a chorus of
laughs from the audience. Notably,
there was no Satan in this image, nor
was he physically portrayed in the
same derisory manner. However, this
image still clearly held Joseph Smith in
contempt.
“Why do you think there’s an
emphasis placed on Lieutenant-
General Joseph Smith? What do you
think is noteworthy about calling Joe
Smith Lieutenant-General?” Park
asked the audience.
He went on to share one of the many
interesting facts he covers in his book.
“No American had held that position
since George Washington. So on the
one hand, it shows how much Latter-
day Saints thought of Joseph Smith,
but it also highlights why many people
surrounding the Mormons came to see
Joseph and others as a threat.”
Park called attention to the female
lieutenants flanking Smith in the
political cartoon.
“You don’t have to know too much
about Mormon history to know that
it’s probably a reference to polygamy,
because the rumors of Mormonism’s
radical domestic arrangements are
starting to leak out,” said Park. “At
first, Americans don’t really know
what to do with these polygamous
stories because on the one hand, many
people in America were questioning the
traditional domestic order and offering
new solutions.”
Park touched on other sects and
religious groups with similar practices.
“The Shakers are often offering a
form of celibacy, The Oneida community
is introducing practices of complex
marital structures where everyone is
united to others and the Mormons are
offering one radical solution that seems
to be once again an expression of the
chaos that comes from this religious
innovation,” he continued.
Park explained that polygamy, which
was publicly announced by LDS church
leaders in 1852, served as one of the
critical issues in the long process of
creating space for Mormons in the civic
sphere. However, with the passage of the
Edmunds Anti-Polygamy Act in 1882,
polygamy was deemed unlawful by the
U.S. government.
“In 1890, due to the confining
boundaries around them, they
announced that they are giving up
polygamy, though they don’t really for a
couple decades,” said Park.
Park shared a dozen or so political
cartoons throughout the presentation
that characterized Mormons throughout
history as outcasts, subjects of grotesque
racial stereotypes and uncivilized threats.
“The same decades in which America
is passing this anti-polygamy legislation,
they passed the Chinese Exclusion
Act (and) the Dawes Act, that restricts
indigenous land ownership. They repeal
the civil rights legislation that comes out
of reconstruction,” Park said.
He described an eventual turning
point which garnered the first outburst
of national sympathy for The Church of
Jesus Christ.
“In 1953, the Utah and Arizona
governments worked together on a
raid in which they arrested 200 men,
documented 700 to 800 women and
children,” Park said. “They made those families sit together for portraits for
documenting reasons.”
He went on to show photos published
by the state governments after the raid.
“Much to the surprise of the
government, and especially to the
surprise of The Latter-day Saint
Church, when these images were
publicized, they actually drew national
sympathy,” said Park. “This image of
how huge this family is and a small
home and issues of poverty and things
like that. They argue, actually, you
shouldn’t be prosecuting these people
for their sincerely-held beliefs.”
Another key moment that Park
identified as significant in the march
towards broader cultural acceptance
occurred in the post-World War II era.
He clicked forward in the slideshow to
an image that showed one of the most
well-known leaders of The Church
sitting next to Robert Welch, the founder
of the John Birch Society, an American
radical right-wing political advocacy
group that was formed in 1958. The two
leaders in the image sat underneath a
banner displaying the patriotic message,
“One America One Nation Under God”.
“If I could have one image that
captures mid-20th century moralism,
it’s this one because we start seeing
this cross-fertilization with the broader
conservative religious movement. That’s
eventually going to culminate in the
religious rights and the Moral Majority
that come to define our current device of
American politics,” said Park.
Over the course of the second half of
the 20th century, The Church came to
be socially conservative and politically
Republican as they gained greater
cultural acceptance in the United States.
“Mormons reached their cultural
climax in what comes to be known as The
Mormon Moment, around 2012 with
Mitt Romney’s run for the presidency
… with The Book of Mormon being on
Broadway, (with) every single television
show depicting polygamy in some way,”
said Park.
Park emphasized the importance of
Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign in
earning cultural acceptance for members
of The Church despite not initially
earning the Republican nomination in
2008. He described a Dallas pastor by
the name of Robert Jeffress, who initially
opposed Romney’s 2008 campaign, as a
good example of changing beliefs towards
The Church in 2012. He paraphrased
Jeffress’s words on the matter.
“Mormons might be a theological
cult, but they’re not a social one. And
as long as they’re not a social cult, we
can actually work with them,” Park
explained from Jefress’s perspective.
This shift in public opinion in 2012
can explain some of the more recent
presidential campaigns.
“Four years later, a figure like Donald
Trump, who does not fit the theological
purity test of evangelicals, but actually
fits the social attachments and cultural
wars prioritization necessary to get the
religious right on board,” Park said.
“That’s how far the religious right and
what they’re prioritizing evolves.”
After the presentation and Q&A, there
was an opportunity to speak directly to
Park. Currently, the commonly preferred
expression is members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints,
though the term Mormons, which was
used in the presentation, is still often
used within and beyond the community.
In response to a question regarding
how he approached terminology in
the contemporary debate surrounding
religion and preferred expressions, he
shared an honest and concise solution.
“The big question is whether to even
use the word Mormon, right? Because
the Latter-day Saints came out and said,
‘We don’t want people using Mormons,
we want to use the full term. Churches,
Latter-day saints.’ That type of thing
places historians in a bind, right? Because
on the one hand, as a neutral academic
historian, yes, I don’t want to just follow
the marching orders of fundraising
presidents on these issues, while still
respecting their right to name themselves,”
said Park. “So my compromise is when
I’m discussing historical periods where
Mormonism was a common term I would
use it, but in referring to the modern day
Latter-day Saint institution, I’d prefer the
name there.”
A second question asked for
clarification on his use and definition
of the word Zion, which he initially
introduced as the blueprint for God’s
City according to Joseph Smith, but then
elaborates upon later in the presentation.
His response frames how the cultural
and political context of the word played
into his book’s title, “American Zion: A
New History of Mormonism.”
“We’re now living in an age where
Zionism is once again a major issue that
Americans are dealing with, this idea
of an ethno-religious nationalism that
we now associate with imperialism,”
Park said. “The scriptural ideas of
Zion that at least Mormons typically
drew from emphasize Zion as a united
community, people who are bound
together, looking out for one another’s
good, sharing doctrine, kind of being
shorn of the militaristic violent aspect
that sometimes Zion has. So when
I’m talking about American Zion, I’m
talking about this ideal that Mormons
have often had, an envisioning of
harmonious society.”
Park noted that he tried to tie the
constant evolution of terminology into
his work, acknowledging that at once,
Zion was a literal location, and that
its meaning has changed over time to
encompass broader contexts. He also
acknowledged the role of the Black Lives
Matter protests in 2020 in framing his
sections on Black Latter-day Saints.
“I think that context is important for
understanding how you write things,”
Park added.
Regarding the name of his book,
he described “American Zion” as a
multipurpose title.
“‘American Zion’ both popped (and)
captured the image — the ideal and the
American historical context,” said Park.
Dr. Park’s most recent book,
“American Zion: A New History of
Mormonism,” covers an expansive
history of how The Church of Jesus
Christ of Latter-day Saints has played
a role in the formation of modern
American culture. Published on Jan. 16,
it can be found on Amazon, wwnorton.
com, Apple Books and a variety of other
publishing sites.Scholars discuss
digital queerness
COURTESY OF GENDER STUDIES SYMPOSIUM
COURTESY OF GENDER STUDIES SYMPOSIUM
Van Nieuwenhuyser serves as a co-chair.By JESSIE SHAW
ANOTHER typical Tuesday
afternoon is spent at the Trail
Room (a.k.a. The Troom) for
your lunch break after your grueling
morning classes. You begin to order
your food from one of the kiosks, with
the main course options consisting of
various cafeteria staples & sides. As
you had the house special vegetarian
pizza yesterday, you decide to get
chicken tenders with a side of fries and
a salad.
As it is a Tuesday, you are relieved to
be able to dine at the Troom for dinner
after being dissatisfied with what the
Bon was going to offer tonight.
When compared, you find that the
Troom food tastes better than Bon food
and has a consistent menu.
Although I find Troom food may
be superior to Bon food in regards to
quality, the Troom struggles with its lack
of choices, given the only available main
course options are chicken tenders, pizza
and pasta. Therefore, I suggest that at
least one additional option should be
added to the Troom’s menu to increase
student satisfaction.
The Troom was closed during the
Fowler remodel, reopening in October
2022 after renovations were finished.
While it initially served only pizza and
chicken tenders as the main course options after it reopened, the menu
expanded in the following semester,
adding pasta and house special
sandwiches.
The sandwiches were my favorite,
as they were made in various types
each day, from a cheesy bread topped
with chicken nuggets to a sloppy joe.
Similarly to the pizzas and chicken
nuggets, the house special sandwiches
had a vegan option, being a pita-falafel
sandwich, which was usually just as
satisfying as the meat sandwiches.
Unfortunately, the Troom removed the house special sandwiches from
their menu this year. I realized this
once I tried to order it from the kiosk
on my first day at the Troom since I
returned home for the summer, when
I was informed by one of the staff
members that they no longer served
the sandwiches.
Furthermore, I have talked to a few
upperclass students about the food
options before my first semester at
Lewis & Clark in fall of 2022, and they
reminisced how LC and the Troom itself
had more options than it does now.
Perhaps the greatest factor to the lack
of variety was the closure of Maggie’s.
While Maggie’s closed down before
my freshman year, its closure was
a big mistake, as it remained open
until midnight for students to get late
night sandwiches and drinks and even
accepted meal swipes.
If LC has no interest in bringing back
Maggie’s or establishing a new dining
location, the Troom’s menu should be
expanded to include more options.
I miss the house special sandwiches
the Troom served last year, as many
others likely do, so why not bring them
back? Or even better, add basic new
foods like burgers, hotdogs or tacos?
While the Bon may serve those foods, its
menu is not consistent like the Troom’s.
While I prefer the Troom’s food to
the Bon’s, it can get monotonous. The
Troom’s menu could definitely get a
makeover by adding more choices,
such as bringing back the meat and
falafel special sandwiches.
Given Maggie’s closure and the
unpredictable nature of Bon food,
a revamp of the Troom could make
dining on campus more satisfactory.Dear Lewis & Clark students,

In your time at LC, you have
undoubtedly noticed one of our student
media organizations — perhaps you
picked up a copy of The Mossy Log,
listened to one of KPH’s radio shows,
attended the (Pause.) Once Upon a Weekend festival or perused a copy of
one of our several journals.
Something you may not have noticed
is that LC’s student media organizations
receive funding not from the Student
Fee which is managed by ASB, but
from the separate and optional $20 per
semester Student Media Fee.The Student Media Board (SMB) is
facing a budgetary crisis that threatens
the ability of our organizations to
function. We have been forced to
make serious cuts to what we offer for
free to the campus community: news,
radio, music festivals, publication and
performance opportunities, journals
and more. This semester, we had to cut
$20,000 from our minimum operating
budgets, with massive slashes to KPH
and The Mossy Log in particular.
The students who pour long hours
and endless passion into our media
organizations receive either no or
minimal honoraria that is drastically
below that of comparable institutions.
The Student Media Fee has not been
raised since it was first implemented in
2011 — not even to address the dramatic
rates of inflation in the past thirteen
years. We ask you for your support
in imploring LC’s administrators and
trustees to adequately fund student
media by raising the Student Media
Fee to $50 per semester. Raising the
Student Media Fee will not impact the
mandatory Student Fee or funding to
any other student organizations.
The optional Student Media Fee
was created, as an alternative to ASB
funding, to both protect freedom
of expression and provide our organizations with stable budgets. Still,
our funding fluctuates unpredictably
based on annual enrollment and the fact
that there is simply not enough money
for all of our organizations anymore.
In 2019, The Mossy Log wrote an
editorial urging campus leaders to
raise the Student Media Fee to address
these ongoing issues to no avail. In
2024, the issues persist. We are again
asking for support from our fellow
students to better this system.
All the co-signed student media
organizations have existed for thirty or
more years, with the majority having
an active presence on campus for well
over fifty years. Our organizations
are institutions of expression for
students at LC, offering a myriad of
opportunities throughout the year.
If you enjoy, participate in, or
support any of our student media
organizations, please scan the QR code
and sign our petition to Dr. Evette
Castillo Clark, the Vice President of
Student Life and Dean of Students,
and Andrea Dooley, the Chief
Financial Officer and Vice President
of Operations, to raise the Student
Media Fee. If you are reading this in
The Mossy Log and want the student
newspaper to continue being a reliable
presence every other Friday, please join us in protecting all student media
at our college.

Sincerely,

LC’s Student Media Board

KPH Radio Station
The Meridian: Journal of International
and Cross-Cultural Perspectives
The Mossy Log
Palatine Hill Review, a literary and arts
journal
(Pause.)
Synergia: Journal of Gender, Thought,
and Expression
By KAI MERMIS-CAVA
VALENTINE’S Day, the holiday
we all know and love. From
candy hearts to chocolate in
pretty pink packaging to roses to gift
to the most important person in your
life, it is no wonder that corporations
love taking advantage of it.
You have surely seen the various
brands reshaping their products into
something vaguely heart-shaped or
dying it pink or red. This year, Fred
Meyer featured horrifically pink
candy corn, a creation which simply
should not be in existence. Anything
and everything becomes romantic
this time of year. Even friendships
can not escape the iron vice of
Valentine’s Day, with the popular
term “Galentine’s Day,” as coined
by the show “Parks and Recreation,”
flooding social media.
The over-commercialization of
Valentine’s Day, and by extension
puppy love and cute couples, has
become somewhat of a tradition. It
is fun walking into a store and being
confronted with everything redone in
the colors of love and romance. There
is a sort of charm to it, one that you
cannot get any other time of year. It is
a similar feeling to when stores start
decorating for autumn in the middle
of June. It feels wrong, and yet it is
very fun to watch.
The Valentine’s Day merchandise is
not for nothing, as
there are plenty
of adorable
trinkets
that one
can buy
and take
home to
annoy
their
roommate
and then
later donate
to Goodwill.
Or maybe you
are one of the rare
few who want to deck
their dorm room out in
pink and red, and in that
case, February is the perfect month
for shopping.
As a whole, the commercialization of
Valentine’s Day is a hotly debated topic.
Many people think that is overdone to
the point of annoyance, where people
go beyond ignoring Valentine’s Day and
simply must denounce it. On campus, there was even an
event entitled an “Anti-Valentine’s Day
Concert,” and it is far from the only one.
You would only need to scroll through
Instagram or any other social media for
a few minutes to find anti-Valentine’s
Day content.
Of course, there is nothing
wrong with celebrating being single.
Valentine’s Day does not only have
to be about romantic love. It is a day
to celebrate love of any kind, whether
that be platonic, romantic, familial,
self or any other kind. It is a day where
you can spoil someone and they can
not complain about you buying them
things, because it is Valentine’s Day!
While many might consider the
holiday to be “cringe” or a worthless
tradition that only exists to make
corporations money, I find myself
enjoying it. There is something very
charming about Valentine’s Day,
regardless of who you choose to spend
the day with. No matter what large
businesses try to do with it, it is still a
day to celebrate love.
Shopping for fun trinkets and
treats is part of the fun. Sure, you
might not buy anything, but you have
to take a peek in the Valentine’s Day
aisle whenever you visit the store.
The plushies are adorable, and
though the candy is horribly overpriced,
it is fun to look at. And maybe you will
buy a little something for that someone
special. This time of year makes it very
easy to confess your feelings, after all.
Valentine’s Day
couples are another
matter, one which
many people find
annoying, but
I find rather
sweet. It is a
perfect day to
ask out that
special
someone.
And who
knows? Maybe
Valentine’s Day
gives you a bit of
extra luck. It would not
hurt to try!
The holiday itself is fun and sweet,
so do not let the naysayers get you
down. If you do not want to celebrate
Valentine’s Day, there is nothing
wrong with that. And if you do want
to celebrate, then you can still enjoy
yourself and have fun! There is
nothing wrong with appreciating a
little love. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
OPINION 4
Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed in the Opinion section are NOT those of The Mossy Log and are held by the authors.
Scan this QR code to sign the petition.Letter from the Editor: SMB needs more funds
Valentine’s Day not
only for romantic loveTrail Room options unsatisfactory,
not adequate meal alternative to Bon
ROSE BIALK/THE MOSSY LOG
VISUAL CREDIT/THE MOSSY LOG
ROSE BIALK/THE MOSSY LOG
The Troom is the only other dining hall where you can get a meal in between classes. MAYA MAZOR-HOOFIEN/THE MOSSY LOGStudent Media Fee must be raised for organizations to continue functioning, sign petition to enact change
By ELLA DUNN
I WILL BE THE first to admit it: I
am chronically online. All jokes
aside, social media is a large part
of my life (considering my main gig is
working as a social media manager)
and not always in a positive way. Social
media is a great way to share what
you are doing with your friends, post
photos of loved ones and keep up with
what everyone is doing — but there is
the main issue.
It is too easy to get caught up in
social media in ways that may not
only be debilitating to one’s daily life
and completion of necessary tasks,
but also damaging to one’s mental
health. Focusing too closely on what
“everybody else” is doing on social
media platforms often gives the user
a sense of “FOMO,” or fear of missing
out. They might suddenly feel like
their decor, their clothes or their life
are not “aesthetic” enough. Or, in
other words, not up to par with those
seen on TikTok or Instagram.
They may feel like, in the spirit
of aesthetics, they should categorize
themself and their style into a box
and only present themself in a specific
way all the time. Social media is
unfortunately a breeding ground for
self-hatred and self-consciousness due
to popular trends like “body checking”
and aesthetic lifestyles.
On the flip side of this, there is also
the undeniable addictiveness of social
media. Despite how it makes us feel
(generally negative), for some reason,
we can never seem to stop scrolling.
Maybe the next post will be the best
thing we have ever seen, right? It is a gambler’s mentality; you might
be one game away from something
truly fulfilling, after all. That said,
sometimes it is not even a conscious
act — my thumb has a mind of its
own on TikTok. I will give myself a
“five more minutes” warning and find
myself sitting in the same position an
hour later, still scrolling.
While this does pertain to a
lack of self-control, there is also
a specifically targeted algorithm
working against your will to keep that
app open. Social media algorithms
keep track of what you like, share or
even stare at for too long and take
that into account when they show
you more content. It is already hard
to stop scrolling but when every post
is tailored to what you enjoy, why
would you ever want to?
Another problem that runs
rampant on social media is the mass
consumerism. Scrolling on my “For
You Page” on TikTok yields video
after video of product advertisements.
If you are not on social media, you
probably would not know about the
frenzy to buy Stanley cups or Dior lip
oil. The words “downtown girl” and
“coquettecore” probably would mean
nothing to you. If you are clueless as
to what I am referring to, lucky you.
Social media trends are constantly
changing; one week you might see
hundreds of conventionally attractive
people marketing a certain clothing
style or product to you, and the next,
the same people may be dressing a new
way or using new products.
Companies frantically keep up
with the changing trends, and so do
consumers, usually by throwing out old clothes to buy new ones (most of which
end up in landfills). Because of social
media, fast fashion sites like Shein and
Temu have a large advertising base for
their low-quality products. Clothing
trends have always been a thing,
predating even advertising and mass
communication, but with social media,
the trends are cycling through — and
being left behind — faster than ever.
I still use social media several
times a day — I cannot say I have fully
escaped from this cycle whatsoever.
However, I have implemented control
in the form of setting app time limits
and scheduling screen time into my
day so that I leave plenty of time to be
productive. Social media is a fun place
to get lost and scroll every once in a
while, but getting too caught up in the
idealization of life on these platforms
can be detrimental to one’s mentality,
productivity and wallet.
By OLIVIA FENDRICH
IN THE VIBRANT tapestry
of academia, free speech is a
cornerstone of intellectual discourse,
fostering an environment where ideas
flourish, perspectives collide and minds
expand. Lewis & Clark is a testament
to this philosophy by valuing creativity,
multiculturalism and, of course, the
liberal arts.
Yet, recent political discourse on
college campuses throughout the country
have raised concerns about the erosion of
this foundational value. The suppression
of anti-Zionist rhetoric and advocacy,
in particular, has precluded nuanced
discussions from occurring in the very
places they should be.
At the University of Pennsylvania,
approval for a screening of a
documentary critiquing Israel was
denied. At the University of Indiana,
a professor was suspended without
due process by an independent review
committee for assisting a student group,
the Palestine Solidarity Committee,
in sponsoring a lecture advocating for
peace in the Middle East.
At numerous institutions including
Brandeis University, Columbia University,
George Washington University and
Rutgers University, chapters of
Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP)
were suspended. In some cases, these
universities accused the groups of
intimidating other students, supporting
Hamas, and disrupting classes, claims
which the national organization has
strongly denied.
For context, these claims are largely
based on these groups’ use of rhetoric
describing the Israeli military warfare in
Gaza as “genocidal.”
This suppression is only underscored
by the scaling back of Diversity, Equity
and Inclusion (DEI) programs, which are
foundational to many institutions’ claims
to foster inclusive and diverse cultures.
At the New College of Florida
the entire DEI office was dissolved,
representing a troubling trend toward
the deprioritization of diversity and inclusion on college campuses. These
programs promote equity, dismantle
systemic barriers and foster a sense
of belonging among historically
marginalized communities.
To safeguard the integrity of
higher education and uphold the
promise of intellectual exploration,
LC must reaffirm its commitment to
free expression and embrace the rich
diversity of ideas and perspectives that
enrich our learning community.
The issue of free speech on college
campuses is not merely a matter of legal
doctrine (constitutional compliance in the
case of public universities and upholding
institutional promises such as Lewis
and Clark’s Freedom of Expression &
Academic Inquiry Policy in the case of
private universities), but a reflection of
our commitment to fostering a robust
multiplicity of ideas.
It is a recognition that true intellectual
growth can only occur when individuals
are free to express their thoughts,
challenge prevailing orthodoxies and
engage in open dialogue without fear of
reprisal or censorship. In the pursuit of
knowledge, there is no room for absolute
dogma or orthodoxy; instead, we must
embrace the spirit of inquiry with
skepticism and critical thinking at the
heart of the academic enterprise.
But as the recent congressional hearing
at which the presidents of Harvard, the
University of Pennsylvania, and the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
gave meandering testimony as to the
place of anti-Zionist discourse on campus
has made clear, rhetoric must be upheld
by tangible action; you cannot forego your
values once things become controversial.
Moreover, the most controversial
issues in our political culture are often
conflated with the tenets of bigotry as a
means of invalidating their arguments.
If we are not capable of taking the time
to outline and examine the concrete
differences between anti-Zionism and
antisemitism, we risk falling into the
trap of silencing legitimate criticism and
stifling important conversations about
human rights and political ideologies.The tension between protecting
marginalized voices and safeguarding
open discourse is central to the debate
surrounding free speech on college
campuses. While it is essential to create an
inclusive environment where all students
feel valued and respected, this should not
come at the expense of stifling dissenting
opinions or censoring controversial ideas.
Indeed, the very essence of diversity
is the recognition that individuals bring
unique perspectives and experiences to
the table, enriching our understanding of
complex issues and challenging us to see
the world from different angles.
The suppression of anti-Zionist
rhetoric is a case in point, illustrating
the challenges inherent in navigating
the intersection of free speech, political
activism and identity politics.
While discussions surrounding
Zionism and the Israeli occupation of
Palestine are undeniably complex and
contentious, universities must resist
the temptation to privilege certain
viewpoints over others. By shutting
down conversations on controversial
topics, universities risk squandering
valuable opportunities for learning
and growth, perpetuating intellectual
echo chambers and undermining the
principles of academic freedom.
The suppression of anti-Zionist
student voices on college campuses not
only violates the principle of free speech
but also risks perpetuating harm against
Jewish students. By silencing dissenting
perspectives, universities inadvertently
condone the dangerous conflation of
Jewish identity with the actions of the
state of Israel.
This conflation not only oversimplifies
complex political issues but also
perpetuates harmful stereotypes and
prejudices. Jewish students, like all
students, deserve to have our voices
heard and our perspectives respected
without being unfairly burdened with the
responsibility of defending or condemning
the actions of a foreign government.
This is not to say that Zionist
student voices should be shunned or
that they do not belong in these critical conversations; rather, all perspectives
must be valued equally for free speech to
flourish, and that is not the trend that has
unfolded across the nation. Schools must
demonstrate their commitment to Jewish
students by giving credit to the diverse
range of attitudes that compose the rich,
contrastive mosaic of Jewish culture.
Moreover, the suppression of
anti-Zionist discourse can have
broader implications for marginalized
communities as a whole. The value
of free speech lies in its ability to
accommodate diverse perspectives and
challenge prevailing narratives.
Equating anti-Zionism with
antisemitism oversimplifies Jewish
identity, ignoring the diversity
of political beliefs within Jewish
communities. Silencing anti-Zionist
perspectives can isolate Jewish students
critical of Israeli policies, undermining
our sense of belonging on campus. This
was the case on the campus of Columbia
University when a student chapter of
the organization Jewish Voice for Peace
(an organization of Jews in support of
Palestine) was suspended.
When universities prioritize the
protection of certain groups over others,
they risk perpetuating a hierarchy
of oppression that undermines the
principles of equity and inclusion. Just
as the silencing of anti-Zionist voices can
harm Jewish students, it can also silence
students belonging to other marginalized
groups whose perspectives may be
deemed inconvenient or controversial.
The essence of DEI is recognizing
that all individuals, regardless of their
background or identity, deserve to be
valued, respected and empowered.
However, when universities prioritize
the interests of one group over another
in the name of protecting marginalized
voices, they risk perpetuating the
inequalities they seek to address. In
other words, by suppressing anti-Zionist
perspectives in the name of combating
antisemitism, colleges still create harm
within their communities.
By scaling back DEI initiatives,
universities fail to address the structural inequalities that persist within academia
and send a chilling message to students
that their voices and experiences are not
valued or validated.
The attacks on free speech that have
occurred on college campuses in the past
six months represent a crisis in desperate
need of addressing. We cultivate a deeper
understanding of ourselves and the world
around us through the clash of competing
ideas, perspectives and experiences.
As students and scholars, we must
remain steadfast in our commitment to
upholding these values, even in adversity
or opposition.
In the context of LC, where the
principles of free speech and intellectual
exploration are paramount, the ongoing
national debate on the suppression
of anti-Zionist perspectives demands
immediate attention. Despite the college’s
commitment to multiculturalism and
the liberal arts, there has been limited
proactive engagement with the free
speech crisis on campuses.
As a majority-white institution, it
is incumbent upon us to confront the
legacy of privilege and power dynamics
that permeate our campus community.
This requires not only acknowledging
the existence of systemic inequities
but also actively working to dismantle
them through meaningful engagement,
dialogue and action. By fostering a
culture of inclusivity and equity, we can
create an environment where all students
feel empowered to thrive academically,
socially and personally.
While LC has hosted events
presenting the Israel-Palestine conflict as
neutral, there is a pressing need for the
institution to actively encourage more
opinionated perspectives. By promoting
an environment that embraces a variety
of viewpoints on this complex issue,
our school can exemplify its dedication
to the robust exchange of ideas and
the promotion of genuine intellectual
diversity. It is my sincere hope that LC
takes constructive steps to prioritize free
speech, ensuring that all voices, including
those critical of Zionism, are valued and
heard within the campus community.By SUMMER DAE BINDER
BEFORE YOU say I am “toxic,”
“gaslighting” or “manipulative,” I
want you to hear me out. Everyday,
therapy speak limits the potential of our
relationships. What we have been told
by mental health professionals has been
taken out of their intended settings and
has been applied quite literally.
Therapy speak is a term that
encompasses psychological vocabulary
like “setting boundaries,” “self-care”
and “codependency.” The term gained
attention during the COVID-19
pandemic, when people were at home
and had copious time to think about
their interpersonal relationships.
Internet users gravitated to TikTok,
where mental health experts were
producing therapy related content using
associated lingo. These terms are good
to know in the context of relationships
and everyday interactions. However,
when you are told what to say verbatim
by a mental health professional it can
abandon any sincerity and nuance.
A lot of the verbiage is making us
lonelier. The terms may momentarily give
people insight into the bigger questions
they ask about themselves, yet there is
no social solution to be found by using
these words. There is rather a series of
questions that are raised about moral
authority and accountability in everyday
life. In therapy speak, there is no simply
disliking someone. You must explicitly tell
them that they are a narcissist with one
sided and manipulative tendencies.
The other end of the spectrum is just
completely ghosting someone and making
them endlessly question where they went
wrong, which is also absolutely unhealthy. No one will learn anything from just
disappearing and not knowing where you
stand with someone. This leaves feelings
of confusion and shame for those on
the receiving end. What is even worse is
when someone spends their dear sweet
time therapy speaking, then ghosts. As
someone who is part-Italian, this is where
I appreciate directness and sincerity. You
can have a happy medium of making
amends while also being vulnerable; it
just comes down to patience.
I have no problem with people
expressing their needs by setting
boundaries in their life. I have no problem
with speaking up about mental health.
Certainly, I have no problem with someone
seeking help for their mental health. Where
the problem lies is when therapy speak
is used to exclusively express failings of
an individual. One will live a sorry and
stressful life if they accept conflict and
challenges of the world. Instead, I know
we can understand how each of us has
the capacity, while also being vulnerable.
Learning to be specific and using more
words to describe your needs in life rather
than spilling jargon may get you the
outcomes you actually want.
Therapy speak is not inherently
harmful, in theory. The practice of its
usage and context is what matters. These
terms are not to be gatekept, but it is
important that we are mindful of how we
use them for those on the receiving end
who are not necessarily “manipulative”
or “narcissists” (by the way, a Narcissistic
Personality Disorder diagnosis is rare).
We must consider that not everybody
has access to “self-care,” may not yet
understand how to “show up” in the way
you hope or is confused about expressing
how they feel with “love bombing.” FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
OPINION 5
Unless otherwise stated, the views expressed in the Opinion section are NOT those of The Mossy Log and are held by the authors.Students must be able to express views on controversial topics, have diverse perspectives honored equallyLC must defend free speech, strive against onging crisisSocial media addictiveness
necessitates self-disciplineTherapy speak out of
context ruins clarity
J FRANK/THE MOSSY LOG
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
FEATURES 6
Student radio shows build
community around music
OLIVIA LARIOS/THE MOSSY LOGBy NOAH CONTRERAS
LEWIS & CLARK’S very own
student-run KPH Radio
broadcasts around the clock,
with DJs focusing their programs on
topics from International Garage Rock
to expressing the events and feelings
of their week through song. A few DJs
shared their experiences and music
recommendations with us.
Global Garage
Jackson White ’26 DJs a KPH
radio hour called “Global Garage,”
which brings independent DIY garage
rock music from all over the world to
the masses.
“I think whoever listens to your radio
hour, regardless if it is friends or family,
it is somebody that cares about you,”
said White.
In part, White inherited his love for
independent music from his family;
his dad has operated a music venue
in San Francisco that has supported
up-and-coming indie artists since
before he was born. As a result,
“Global Garage” reflects this musical
background while also operating as
a way for White to further explore the
world of garage rock, featuring artists
spanning from China to West Africa and
beyond. However, emotional connection
through music, both with the self and
others is an equally powerful motivation
to step into the booth every week.
“(Music) has always been the artistic
medium that connects most with me,
makes me feel the biggest range of
emotions: happy, sad, everything in
between,” White said. “No matter what
I’m playing, music really connects with
me. And when the stars align, then I can
get through to someone, even if it’s just
one person.”
Tune in to “Global Garage” on
Wednesdays at 5 p.m.!
Tortellini
Musical connection plays an even
more pronounced role in the KPH Radio
show “Tortellini” hosted by Isabella
Mercado ’27 and her friend Deenie
Bulyalert ’27. On air, the duo talks
about their week and showcases tunes
corresponding to their emotions and
experiences. The show was previously a
music-only affair, until this year when
the two decided to include commentary
as well.
“Last semester our families would
only listen and be like, are you going to
talk or anything?” said Mercado.
To Mercado, the KPH hour
represents a comforting space for her to hang out with her friend and slow down
to reflect on her week.
“I feel like music really helps us,”
Mercado said. “(It) kind of distracts us,
but at the same time, it can help enhance
our lives and how we’re feeling.”
Tune in to “Tortellini” every Friday
at 6 p.m.!
Starbelly
Olivia Pickering ’27 hosts a radio
spot named “Starbelly,” so called to
promote their zine of the same name.
Music has always been important to
them, and social connection once again
plays a central role in this show.
“It’s an excuse to play loud music
with your friends and hang out, so I
really like it,” said Pickering.
Having moved from Florida,
Pickering mentions how their program
has supporters far beyond the bounds
of Portland.
“I have people from 20 feet away
to 3,000 miles,” Pickering said. “I have
friends all over, and it’s a way for me to
connect with them.”
The playlist of “Starbelly” also
connects listeners to Portland’s local
music scene.
“A lot of the stuff I play on the radio
are bands I’ve seen in Portland, or bands
that have come to Lewis & Clark and
done shows,” Pickering said.
Tune in to “Starbelly” at 9 p.m.
every Thursday night!
Unwritten
Cole Mizutani ’26 and Andy Olson
’26 host “Unwritten” with their friend
Colleen Maloney ’26. Its title is a
reference to the transient nature of
radio shows. They see the show as a
much-needed weekly respite from the
burdens of academic stress. “It’s about the music, which helps
connect people, and I think that
having that every week is special,”
Mizutani said.
The trio actively seeks to challenge
themselves with their music selection
and break out of their comfort zones.
Olson said the connections of their show
extend far beyond the walls of the booth.
“There’s something kind of
transcendent about knowing that I
can picture my parents sitting in my
childhood home listening to the same
song that we’re playing or my sister
telling me she’s listening from her
college,” Olson said. “There’s a double
level, it connects to you and then it
connects you to other people often
because of the same moments.”
Tune in to “Unwritten” on Thursdays
at 6pm!
DJ Music Recommendations
Jackson White - La femme (Band)
Isabella Mercer - White Winter Hymnal
by Fleet Foxes
Olivia Pickering - Dallas by Gouge Away
Cole Mizutani - There It Goes by Maisie
Peters
Andy Olson - These are Days by 10,000
ManiacsTwo substitute radio DJs host a show from KPH’s graffitied radio broadcast r oom.MAYA MAZOR-HOOFIEN/THE MOSSY LOGPDX Dumpling Week
serves savory to sweet
By OLIVIA LARIOS
Across
1. Device that uses strong magnetic
fields to scan the brain, spinal cords,
and nerves
4. Genetically modified orgasm ... I
mean organism
7. In mathematics it is part of a
circumference of a circle or other
curve
8. Three strikes and you’re…
9. Billy, opposite of Meg Ryan
in “When Harry Met Sally” (best
romcom)
11. Dame un poco de cereal en esto
(no es un plato)
12. A friend that you might bring
along to a social function … a special
friend
16. You might be using this
possessive pronoun more than usual
on Feb. 14
17. Kilmer, heartthrob of the ’80s
and star of “Topgun”
18. The people that go to Jupiter to
get more stupider (all grown up)
19. Sighs of discontent or indifferenceDown
1. Bernie, comedian and actor with
roles in “Ocean’s 11” and “Bad
Santa”
2. Bollywood movie with the Oscar
winning song “Naatu Naatu”
3. How one might describe the
sensation of Bengay
4. Song by Tove Lo with the lyrics
“When I breathe, then I breathe
into you”
5. Term for makeup artist e.g,
Manny
6. Acronym for keeping something
discreet (how you might describe a
sneaky link)
10. HELP!!
12. Drama, Diva, Delicious, Da
Vinci, Dominatrix, Dessert, and
drizzle, for seven
13. A hat, in Norwegian
14. “Or __,” song by Ty Dolla $ign
that is perfect for Valentines Day ;)
15. You might be taking these when
the Bon is serving a fishy dish or
you miss the Pio
Check your answers at piolog.comInvigorating mini crossword entices singles, lovers alike
Post-Valentine clarity hits Palatine Hill from the back, LC students give up yearning for puzzle solvingBy TOR PARSONS
A FEW THINGS seem to be
universal across cultures. Your
average human comes pre-
installed with a desire to tell stories,
sing songs and speak a language; most
societies have some form of marriage;
nearly everyone has superstitions.
And, of course, every culture has
its own kind of dumplings. As soon as
people discover cooking, it is rarely very
long before they decide to wrap their food
in dough.
Nowhere is the universality of
dumplings more on display than during
Portland’s Dumpling Week, a February
tradition now in its 10th year. From Feb.
4-10, dozens of restaurants across the
Portland metro area added dumpling
specials to their menus. The tradition’s
website lists 49 participating locations,
from Bamboo House with its chili oil
wontons all the way down the alphabet to
Zoiglhaus Brewery with its cheese-stuffed
“potato kegs.” The site promises “more to
come” next year.
There are dumplings from every
corner of the Earth on offer here in
Portland. Kachka, a Russian fusion
place in the Central Eastside, is
serving buffalo chicken pelmeni.
Beaverton’s Old Asia Teahouse has
tea leaf dumplings. ¿Por Que No?
Taqueria cooks a crema-drenched masa
empanada. Grassa, a local Italian chain,
has cheesy, pepperoni-filled offerings.
Café Rowan near the Reed campus
features bougie dumplings (they do not
actually call them that) incorporating
Maine lobster. There are cheeseburger
dumplings, Cajun dumplings, smoked
salmon dumplings and multiple
dessert dumplings. At Bring! Treats
for Dogs downtown, there is ev en
a dumpling for man’s best friend,
consisting of “treat dough” filled with
apple and carrot purée.
But are these dumplings any good?
The Mossy Log sent an intrepid reporter
to do a dumpling crawl and find out from
four doughy delicacies across the city.
Hiep Hung Asian Marketplace
When someone says the word
“dumplings” without any further
context, you probably think of
something like Hiep Hung’s potstickers.
The restaurant is located at the south end
of 82nd Avenue, the north-south axis
of east Portland that has long been the
backbone of the area’s Southeast Asian
community. Hiep Hung’s cafeteria-style
counter serves up crispy, cheap pork-
filled potstickers drizzled with sriracha mayo. They are exactly what you would
expect, which is to say they are mighty
good. While you are there, take some
time to browse Hiep Hung’s selection
of packaged Asian foods, some quite
difficult to find elsewhere. The Mossy
Log officially triple-dog-dares you to try
a fresh durian.
Boke Bowl
This funky pan-Asian spot near the
Oregon Museum of Science and Industry
has dumplings year-round, but nothing
beats their Dumpling Week special:
Sichuan-style spicy pork and shrimp
wontons drowned in oil and crunchy
chilis. It is not quite as spicy as what you
would get in Sichuan itself — I believe
many people in China would call it
“bairencai,” or “white people food” — but
a couple of squirts of Boke’s signature
hot sauce ought to take care of that.
Paddy’s
Moving into slightly more
experimental territory, Portland’s
oldest Irish pub, downtown near the
Morrison Bridge, has attempted to
dumpling-ify the venerable Reuben
sandwich. While phenomenal in
concept — Reubens and dumplings are
two of humanity’s greatest inventions —
the execution leaves a bit to be desired.
Their so-called “Reuben Pillows” feel
like, well, pillows. They are puff pastry
pockets full of cheese and sauce, with an
occasional tiny morsel of corned beef. A
Reuben ought to be stuffed to bursting
with corned beef and this was not that.
Despite that, I still really enjoyed it.
North 45
Up in the trendy Northwest District,
my dumpling crawl came to a sweet
end. This pub is one of a handful of
participants whose entry was a dessert
dumpling, in this case an “inside-out
peanut butter cup.” Picture a potsticker
filled with chocolate sauce and sprinkled
with peanut brittle. Also, unfortunately,
picture only three very small ones. I
could easily have eaten a dozen.
From Mexican empanadas to
Tibetan momos, Brazilian acarajé
to Georgian khinkali, few things
cross cultures quite like the humble
dumpling. This article spotlights just
four of the many, many dumplings on
offer across Portland during Dumpling
Week and beyond, all so different from
each other that naming my favorite
dumpling would be like choosing a
favorite family member. You, reader,
must find your own favorite dumpling.
Go forth and dumple.
CDs line a shelf inside the radio station.MAYA MAZOR-HOOFIEN/THE MOSSY LOG
By CORRINA CHAN
THERE ARE the classic ways to
fulfill Lewis & Clark’s elective
and credit requirements:
four four-credit classes with the
occasional two-parter five credit
classes. The odd structuring in many
majors can make our course loads a
little lopsided between semesters.
This leaves us one or two credits
short of a language or creative arts
requirement, or even of graduation.
Maybe you just want to enhance
your expertise in a specific language,
culture or technical skills. Thankfully,
LC has many options for students to
fulfill those requirements and desires.
On the LC website, there is a tab
on the College Advising Center’s page
called “Hidden Gems.” I reference
this website every year to add in some
sorely needed credits and to fill in my
time with some useful or interesting
courses. They often have a much
smaller class size and require much
less homework and studying than the
typical course.
It was here that I found the
course Art of Tea in Japanese
Culture (AS-156) that I took last
semester with Visiting Instructor of
Asian Studies Jan Waldmann. It was
a quaint ten-ish person class where
we got individualized assistance as
we learned the history and the art
of making matcha the traditional way. It was a once-per-week class
that took place at night (PSA: Do not
drink the matcha after 7 p.m.) and
we learned how to fold our fukusas
(traditional Japanese purifying
napkins) and prepare our equipment
for making tea for ourselves and
others. By the end of the semester,
we could make tea, which is over 20
steps, from memory.
It was an easy way for me to connect
with my culture and snag two extra
credits on the side,
while also learning
something new
and having fun
with my friends.
I brought
my fukusa
around with
me to practice
the unique way
of folding it in
between classes
and with my
other classmates. It
took a while to master,
and is not as easy as you
might think!
In addition, I have had
multiple friends take the Excel Skills
Lab (ELI-211) which is held one day
a week for only two months of the
semester. Their reasoning for taking
it was that it was a useful skill to have
not only for daily life but for their
resumes as well. There are one to two credit classes
that you can take, updated near the
registration period of the semester
previous to when the courses are
offered. At this time, the page still
shows the courses offered for Spring
2024, but will be updated for Fall soon.
In the course catalog that contains
descriptions and requirements
for all majors, classes and most
extracurriculars, there is an additional
section that is called “Cocurricular
Opportunities,” where students can
learn about the different
extracurricular
positions that could potentially earn
them credits without having to take a
specific class. For example, the Theatre
department and some of the student
media
organizations,
according to the course catalog,
updated for the 2023-24 school year,
are able to grant students who meet the necessary prerequisites with
academic credit for working with
them on their projects.
You can even earn PE credits
by participating in a specific Fall
or Spring break trip with College
Outdoors. These are multi-day trips
with faculty that feature a multitude
of different wilderness exploration
opportunities. These are on a
first-come, first-serve basis and
the petition for academic credit is
separate from the general sign-up.
Keep in mind, however, that
only those that go over
the Fall and Spring
breaks are eligible for
academic credit and
they cost more than
an average trip.
If you are
willing to look
for it, there are
many ways to
get ahead with
your studies and learn
more about culture and
technical skills. These
methods are not always
well-advertised, which
is why it is important
to consult your academic
advisors if you have any
questions regarding your academic
career. These are just a few ways that
you are able to get the most out of your
time at LC and have fun along the way. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
FEATURES 7
Savvy student speaks on lesser-known electives
Hidden Gems webpage offers convenient, creative classes for students in need of unconventional credits
Professors recommend restaurants, rave reviews
From Peruvian fare, Cuban food, Hawaiian cuisine, LC fave faculty spout spots for students’ satiation
COURTSEY OF ATE-OH-ATE GRILL
The Aina Burger is topped with crispy pork belly, kimchi relish, lettuce and onions.By KEVIN MATISCHECK
CONSISTENTLY ranked as
one of the top food cities in
the United States, Portland
has a lot to offer in terms of dining.
Naturally, you may be asking, “What
is there to eat?” Well, luckily for our
readers, our very own Lewis & Clark
faculty know the best places to eat in
the Portland area, which are perfect
for finding the right date spot for
Valentine’s Day.
First up, Associate Professor
of Economics Clifford Bekar
recommended Andina, a high-end
Peruvian restaurant in the Pearl
District located up on the north end
of Downtown.
“It is nice. It’s family owned and
run, the woman who oversees the
menu and the specials and whatnot
will often come out and visit you by
your table,” Bekar said.
Bekar then spoke of his favorite
dishes, the Lomo Saltado, as well as his 21+ recommendations for their
superb drink options.
“It’s this braised beef dish, a
Peruvian dish over beans and rice. It’s
always my go to, and then my wife and
I usually split an order of scallops to
start,” he said. “Great cocktail menu,
but I usually stick with their wine. I
like to get a red.”
However, Bekar noted that the
restaurant is upscale, perhaps making
it unsuitable for the undergraduate
student’s budget.
For readers willing to splurge, the
restaurant is easy to access through
public transit. All you have to do is
take the Pioneer Express to its SW 1st
and Harrison stop, then hop onto the
North-South Streetcar line, and get
off on NW 10th & Glisan.
With all the galleries and shops
the Pearl has to offer, an evening of
activities awaits diners who make
the trip out. As a date night location,
Bekar expressed that this restaurant
is supreme. “It’s super cozy, charming, the
space inside is just fantastic, and
once you pop out there are all sorts of
things to do,” Bekar said.
On the other hand, Visiting
Assistant Professor Devin
Fitzpatrick’s favorite place is the
Ate-Oh-Ate Grill, a casual Hawaiian
fusion eatery with two locations on
the East side.
“It’s a Hawaiian restaurant so it
has Japanese culinary influences, but
it also has some Korean influences
that mix it up,” Fitzpatrick said.
Fitzpatrick enjoys ordering the
Aina burger in particular, especially
since all their burger patties are made
fresh in-house.
“I was told by the owner that they
are part of the Earl Hurst Food Co-
Op, where all the local restaurants
subscribe to a food delivery
service that secures their premium
ingredients,” Fitzpatrick said.
Though Fitzpatrick did not attest
to the romantic potential of the restaurant, the ample opportunities
surrounding the location combined
with the relatively affordable prices
make it an ideal date night for college
students who are adventurous when it
comes to bus lines.
Finally, Professor of Hispanic
Studies Juan Carlos Toledano
Redondo shared his restaurant pick:
Palomar, a Cuban restaurant not
far from the SE Milwaukie & Powell
weekend Pio Express stop.
“There are very few restaurants
with Cuban food, and this is one of the
three or four I know. This is actually
a restaurant for cocktails, but they
have probably the best croquetas,
and the flan is also amazing. They
don’t have a very extensive menu for
food, but what they have is delicious,”
Toledano Redondo said.
As for its price, Professor Toledano
Redondo says it may not be realistic
for the average college student.
“The place is very accessible by
transportation, but what it may not be is accessible to the pocket of the
student,” Toledano Redondo said.
Nonetheless, he is confident with
his menu suggestion: “Definitely the
croquetas, no doubt whatsoever.”
As for the most important
question of all — the restaurant’s
date potential — Professor Toledano
Redondo has no doubts.
“It is a small place, it has a second
floor within the bar that is also very
cute. It doesn’t have amazing views
for February, but in the summer they
open up the patio on the roof of the
building and the area is pretty neat,”
he remarked. “When it is dark it’s a
very interesting place with all the
displays of liquor that they have. It is
a pretty place.”
There you have it folks! While
this is only the tip of the iceberg
when it comes to Portland eateries,
it is an excellent insider preview.
However you chose to spend it, we
hope you had a great Valentine’s
Day. Bon appétit!
COURTSEY OF ANDINA
Andina is a cozy, romantic space, serving upscale tapas, entrees and regional cocktails — perfect for an intimate date night.
ROSALIE ZUCKERMANN/THE MOSSY LOGFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
ARTS 8
By ELI KESSLER
STARTING IN 1986, Portland’s
First Thursday Art Walk event
has grown to see about ten
thousand visitors each month. As the
name suggests, this event occurs on
the first Thursday of each month from
5 p.m. to 9 p.m. throughout the Pearl
District, a neighborhood in the north
of Downtown. If you are passionate
about supporting your local artists and
makers (or are an artist yourself), this
event might just be right for you.
Parking is said to be difficult, and
that had some truth to it. When I
attended First Thursday, my friends
and I drove around in circles for 10
minutes looking for a place to park. We
eventually parked on a street cornering
an art gallery. I took out my camera to
calibrate its settings and snapped a few
over-exposed photos of the gallery.
On that same corner where we
parked was all the action. We stepped
inside a shop with a long entrance and
a floor layout that went back around
50 feet from the street. Immediately
greeting us at the entrance were two
vendor tables with a boatload of merch
on display.
The first table I saw was the
art and design work of Damon
Sheeley (“SheelyCo”). Sheeley's display
consisted of denim patches, wall art
and posters, beanies and baseball
caps, mugs, water bottles, keychains
and pins. Many of the items, including
“PDX Coasters” and magnets, had
designs revolving around iconic scenes
and things known to the Portland area.
The next vendor I visited was a
painter. He had hung up five or six
of his original pieces on the wall
behind his table, selling anywhere
between $300 to $800. He had a
very unique and abstract painting
style depicting strange faces, wavy
bicycles with cats riding them
and random kitchen utensils. He
was also selling a collection of small,
envelope-sized prints.One vendor sold soft kitchen towels
with gardening-themed patterns, as
well as wool dryer balls with assorted
designs, such as a bee, a rainbow,
a sloth, a cat and a sheep. Another
vendor was selling candles in a closet-
sized room next to this booth, but I
did not think I could squeeze myself
into that tiny and cramped space.
Another local vendor, known as
A Stone's Throw, had a variety of
jewelry, including necklaces, bracelets
and earrings on display. What caught
my attention was the arrangement of
pearls and stones they had. I almost
bought myself a pearl bracelet, but
it ended up costing more than I ever
intended on spending that night (once
I am a rich millionaire, I will shower
myself in endless pearl bracelets
and jewelry — but that is way too far
in the future).
A Stone's Throw also donates
five to ten percent of every sale to
local nonprofits supporting women,
children, refugees and racial equity.
They report that they have raised over
$50,000 for these causes over the past
four years.At the back of the store a vendor
carved designs into rubber stamping
blocks and showed us how he makes
his prints. It was fascinating to see him
demonstrate his artistic techniques
in front of everyone. I love watching
people make art; it is so mesmerizing.
Next to his table was another
vendor with photorealistic prints of
acrylic paintings of a rainy car window
and a set of silverware. They also sold
a bunch of stickers, and I bought one
featuring two cats in scarves snuggling
each other.
The last vendor I noticed before
leaving was tucked away in a small
room, which was not particularly
inviting. The booth displayed creepy
doll head lamps and night lights.
I wanted to look at their work,
but unfortunately the vendor was
nowhere to be found, so I was unable
to get more context about the eerie
art. The room’s desertion was the only
negative experience I had that evening,
but though I was not able to purchase
anything from the stand, the room’s
barrenness was an experience in
and of itself.Overall, the First Thursday Art
Walk was an immersive experience in
a massive variety of art styles, as well
as a way to support local artists and
small businesses. I would recommend
taking some of your friends with you.
It is a great way to get to know your city and feel like you are a part of
the community. Despite my better
financial judgment, I will definitely
be returning soon.
Check out the next Art Walk in
downtown Portland on March 7,
5 p.m. to 9 p.m. in the Pearl.Monthly Art Walk offers alluring vendor finds
ELI KESSLER/THE MOSSY LOG
By ELLA DUNN
T HIS YEAR, the Fir Acres
Theatre welcomed a new staff
member to the department:
Assistant Professor of Theatre
Suhaila Meera. Meera is taking on
the task of directing this semester’s
mainstage performance of “Wolf
Play” by Hansol Jung.
Meera got her Ph.D. from
Stanford University in Theatre and
Performance Studies with minors
in Comparative Studies in Race &
Ethnicity and Feminist, Gender
and Sexuality Studies. Meera has
previously directed several plays,
including “Constellations” by Nick
Payne as well as an adaptation of a
play by Bhisham Sahni which she
helped co-write.
“At Stanford, I was doing a little
bit of directing and creative work,
of course, but also working on a
dissertation. My research broadly
looks at child actors and how they
play refugees,” Meera said. “(It
was a mix of) performance studies,
childhood studies, critical refugee
studies and thinking about how
theatre performance and film can
help us understand the current
refugee situation.”
Meera has a particular interest
in “Wolf Play. ” Hansol Jung is a
woman of color who wrote the play
for a diverse cast, both in gender and
ethnicity. The cast consists of five
actors, the majority being people of
color, with a nonbinary character
played by a nonbinary actor.
“Part of the reason I had proposed
‘Wolf Play’ was because my own
research very recently has moved to
incorporate puppet representations of children. While I primarily write
about live children playing their
roles, I am also interested in how, at
times, puppets are used to stand in
for refugee children,” Meera said.
“Wolf Play” is about a young
Korean boy, Wolf, who is adopted
by an American family who can
not take care of him and eventually hand him off to another couple — a
lesbian couple. Drama ensues when
the father from the initial adoptive
family, Peter, takes issue with Wolf
“not having a dad.” The play explores
the meaning of family, themes of
racial bias and the effects of early
traumatic experiences on a child’s
psychological development.“I think Hansol Jung, in my
interpretation, is interested in
exploring transnational adoption and
how adoption works or doesn’t work
in the US. For me, the play takes
up questions of race, gender and
representation,” Meera said.
In terms of how the play uses
puppetry, young Wolf is portrayed by an “Asian boy doll” puppet, as
opposed to a child actor. Adult
Wolf carries around his puppetized
younger self as he narrates and
looks back on his childhood. Meera’s
production of “Wolf Play” will be
using a puppet that was made for a
production of “The Caucasian Chalk
Circle” by Bertolt Brecht and is being
redesigned to fit the aesthetics of
this show.
“The puppet, at times, stands in
for the child, and at other times is the
Hobbes to Wolf’s Calvin, a kind of toy
or imaginary friend,” Meera said.
Many plays use puppets in the
place of living child actors, especially
when the experience of portraying
that character may be traumatizing
for a real child.
“Wolf Play ” is still a work
in progress, but Meera is very
enthusiastic about where the
rehearsals, as well as the design
process, are headed.
“Rehearsals have been amazing.
I feel like they’re making amazing
character choices, and finding great
relationships with the characters,”
Meera said. “When I direct, that’s
always something I’m really invested
in: How do we bring out the
relationships between these people?”
The cast has “Wolf Play ” been
tasked with portraying character
relationships that are very complex,
yet still have to make them relatable
enough to be understood by the
audience. The play has a ton of depth
that the actors are doing a fantastic
job learning to communicate.
“Wolf Play” will run at Fir Acres
Theatre March 8-10 and 14-16. If you
are dying to know how Wolf’s story
plays out, tickets are available now.
COURTESY OF LEWIS & CLARK
This semester ’s Assistant Professor of Theatre brings expertise of directing and playwriting from practice at Stanford University.First Thursday shows large variety of enticing booths for those who want to support the local merchants
New staff member directs spring mainstage “Wolf Play ”
Suhaila Meera uses puppets instead of child actor in performance about refugees, family, racial bias
ELI KESSLER/THE MOSSY LOGSheelyCo ’s booth greets visitors with displays of coasters, stickers, pins, accessories.
“A Stone ’s Throw ” exhibits their collection of high quality and hand-crafted jewelry.
ELI KESSLER/THE MOSSY LOG
An exhibitor slowly carves away at their linoleum block while patrons bustle by. FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
ARTS 9
“Wall of Eyes” triumphs with chaotic composition
GALLERY OFFERINGS
Industry One Gallery:
Let it Be Known
Open Mon. - Fri. from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
415 SW 10th Ave
Portland Art Museum:
Africa Fashion
Nov. 18 - Feb. 18
Open Wed. - Sun. from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
1219 SW Park AveTHIS WEEKEND
16 - Music: Fridays @ 5
5 p.m. @ Evans Auditorium
16 - Music: No-No Boy
8 p.m. @ Mississippi Studios
17 - Culture: Lunar New Year
Celebration
11 a.m. @ Washington Square
17 - Music: KPOP Night
9 p.m. @ Lola’s Room17 - Film: Deep Cover
3 & 7 p.m. @ Clinton Street
Theater
Celebrating Black Film History
18 - Film: Nope
3 & 7 p.m. @ Clinton Street
Theater
Celebrating Black Film History
18 - Art: Community Art Build with
Don’t Shoot PDX
11 a.m. @ Pacific Northwest
College of Art AND BEYOND
19 - Comedy: It’s Gonna Be Okay
7:30 p.m. @ The Eastburn
20 - Literature: Visiting Writers
Series: Claire Vaye Watkins
6 p.m. @ Frank Manor House
22 - Art: Art Therapy Open Studio
3 p.m. @ Graduate Campus
24 - Music: Orchestra Performance
7:30 p.m. @ Agnes Flanagan
Chapel26 - Music: Classical Improv
Workshop with Mike Block
10:30 a.m. @ Evans
27 - Literature: Near White/Near Black:
Growing Up on the Color Line
3 p.m. @ Miller 105
Join the Ethnic Studies
program in welcoming
Professor Matt Guterl (Brown
University) to talk about
his memoir, “Skinfolk,” a
haunting, poignant story of
growing up in a
mutiracial family. Upcoming Events - FebruaryBy ELLA DUNN
POET AMA CODJOE paid a visit
to Lewis & Clark on Monday,
Feb. 5 as part of the English
department’s Visiting Writer Series,
and gave a reading of poems from her
book, “The Bluest Nude.” Codjoe’s
first published collection brings up
themes of seeing oneself versus being
seen, racial and gender stereotypes and
identity of the self, all in the form of
intricate poetry.
I went into this reading blind, unlike
those in Poetry and English classes
who had been reading her book in
anticipation of her visit. Never having
read her work before, I was glad I was
able to hear it straight from her first.
Codjoe talked about her creative
inspirations, her biggest being Toni
Morrison. The collection’s title is a
nod to Morrison’s critically acclaimed
“The Bluest Eye,” which shares themes
of race, femininity and sexuality with
Codjoe’s collection. She was also inspired by “Posing Modernity: The
Black Model From Manet and Matisse
to Today,” an art exhibit curated by
Denise Murrell.
The exhibit focuses on the use of
Blackness in art as a way to contrast
and elevate whiteness, and on how to
counteract that stigma and comparison.
It explores the legacy of Manet’s
controversial painting “Olympia’’ as a
model for the depiction of Black women
in art. This exhibit sparked Codjoe’s
interest in the negative stigmatization
of the Black female body, especially in
nakedness. She continued to explore
that idea with her writing, and a lot
of her poems deal with being seen, or
seeing oneself, naked.
Codjoe is not only a fantastic poet
but also a very interesting individual
to talk to. She had a lot to say about
the discovery of the self, and how
that process is made difficult by the
outside perspectives we internalize.
She discussed the “mythologies,” or
stereotypes, of race and gender and how they are used to “justify treating
people inequitably.”
Professor of English Mary Szybist
introduced Codjoe’s reading with a
quote from John Berger: “To be nude
is to be seen naked by others and yet
not recognized for oneself. It is to be on
display ... turned into a disguise.”
I asked Codjoe to specify her
definitions of “naked” and “nude,” and
what each meant. To her, nudity is
being subject to the gaze of others, the
“baggage” that is put onto the naked
body, the social constructs and biases
that are employed when being looked
upon by a judgemental eye. These eyes
are especially harsh on Black women,
and stereotypes can “haunt.”
On the other hand, to be naked is to
see oneself through an unbiased lens; it
is what one makes of the self, and what
the self makes of the physical body. To
Codjoe, the biases that come from the
outside eye are “impossible to untangle,”
which is why seeing oneself in nakedness
is so important. That takes care of the “Nude”
part of her book title, but what about
the blue? One student attending
her reading asked the question,
“Why blue?”
“Blue is a mood, a tone, and an
atmosphere,” Codjoe said in response.
“It’s also music, the Blues.”
Several of her poems include
mentions of the color, including “my
blue was a habit” and “blue seeped
out of me” in the first poem of her
collection, “Blueprint.” Blue is more
than a color to her; it is part of herself.
Codjoe’s poems are beautiful and
raw, and I cannot wait to read more
of her books.
Hearing an author read their own
work aloud makes it truly come to life.
If you are interested in experiencing
a poetry or novel reading yourself,
the English department is welcoming
its final Visiting Writer of the school
year, Claire Vaye Watkins, on Feb. 20
at 6 p.m. in Frank Manor House and
I would highly recommend attending.
By J FRANK
YOU ARE driving alone along
a winding road up an Italian
mountainside. The darkness
is peaceful and the scenery passes
by slowly, but something is not quite
right. The air is thick and wet, and you
are not quite sure you’re breathing…
This is The Smile’s “Bending
Hectic,” which was released as a single
back in June and now finds its home
in their new album “Wall of Eyes.”
When I first learned that the
vocalist and guitarist of Radiohead had
formed a new band, their first album,
“A Light for Attracting Attention,”
failed to excite my interest. I thought
it lacked the tightly-strung energy that
Radiohead had as a five-piece band.
I shrugged, declared that modern
music was useless, and returned
to my 90s-obsession cave
(a.k.a. childhood bedroom).
But then I heard “Bending Hectic,”
and I was instantly obsessed. I was
consigned to my hometown, in the
middle of a heat wave, house-sitting
for a couple whose air-conditioner,
unbeknownst to them, was broken.
Lying in bed in a strangers’ 100-degree
house, I would listen to the song night
after night as I drifted into uneasy,
sweat-soaked sleep.
For the first five minutes of
“Bending Hectic,” singer Thom
Yorke whisper-sings as cascading
guitars wind a solitary path up a
mountainside, evoking a drug-induced
syrupy delirium and the peaceful
apathy of surrender. His voice is
sluggish and a single repeated note is
twisted gradually in and out of tune, as
if the peg keeps slipping out of place.
“And time is kind of frozen / And
you’re gazing at the view / And I
swear I’m seeing double / No
one’s gonna bring me down
… I’m letting go of the
wheel,” Yorke sings.
But then the song veers
off course — a wall of dissonant
strings begins to build, layering
dense microtonal clusters, which
have become iconic of guitarist and
composer Jonny Greenwood’s
music, rising slowly and then all at
once into a ear-splitting screech
before finally crashing down
into an epic, shattering sea of
wet noise. It gives Greenwood’s
famous guitar attack on
“Creep” a run for its money
all these years later.
“Despite these slings,
despite these arrows / I
force myself to turn,” Yorke
sings, leaving the song’s
conclusion ambiguous —
has he turned away from
the cliff, the fall nothing
more than a daydream
that he was jolted out of?
Or has he given in to the
call of the edge in a glorious
pandemonium of release? Either way, I loved the loudness,
the eerie peacefulness of the detuned
guitar giving way to unrestrained
chaos and catharsis. “Bending Hectic”
is everything great about Radiohead,
taken in an entirely new direction,
showcasing the newfound creative
freedom of Yorke and Greenwood,
together with the fresh blood of
drummer Tom Skinner.
Despite the lack of publicized
plans for a second album at the time,
I tentatively crossed my fingers that we
would get more of the fresh, squirming
can of worms that “Bending Hectic”
opened. Half a year later, the moment
of reckoning arrived … for a small
subset of music nerds, at least.
“Bending Hectic” remains the
eight-minute star of this album.
Still, the rest of “Wall of Eyes” is a
coherent and original project, which
thematically and musically expands
on “Bending Hectic” while providing a
look into 55-year-old Yorke’s psyche in
typically cryptic fashion. If this album
is not revolutionary in the way “OK
Computer” or “Kid A” were, it is still
a delightfully fresh statement which is
more than capable of standing on its
own legs.
A rich, almost gluttonous sound
marks much of “Wall of Eyes,” which
is distinctly alive and energized in a
way that we haven’t seen from the
duo in a while. Yorke and Greenwood
have seemingly shed the mantle of
Radiohead, but “Wall of Eyes” is also a
return to electric guitar and vocals that
are reminiscent of earlier Radiohead,
albeit with a newly mature, nuanced
approach in place of the frantic,
tortured energy of their youth.
Stripped-down openings gradually
build in intensity with added layers,
distortion, reverb and electronics.
The Smile superbly blends music
into storytelling, using changes to
create a narrative arc within each
song that is complemented by, but
not contingent upon, the lyrics. Re-
listening is a delight, as the songs gain context within the whole, each one
creating a new dimension in which to
precariously rest the album’s concept.
The music video for the titular “Wall
of Eyes,” which the band released a few
days in advance of the album, opens
with a black-and-white Yorke in a
staring contest with a giant, unblinking
eye. In a fragmented, time-lapse
sequence Yorke rushes through crowds
and then sits motionless in a frenetic
bar, surrounded by strangers who blur
around him. A wall of disembodied
hands applaud as Yorke barricades
himself inside a phone booth, while
his voice chants a repetitive count to
five. You get the sense that he’s talking
himself down from a panic attack,
hypnotizing himself and the listener by
creating order from chaos.
Yorke’s voice soars as he croons
“strap yourself in,” smiling as wind
whips around him. In the last scene
of the video, he sits down at a table
of his doppelgangers, and wordlessly
contemplates them all performing their
respective affects, seeming to realize
both their falsity and the impossibility
of distancing himself from them.
Strings that drift in and out of
tune, a drum which sounds like a clap
of thunder and generous reverb lend
the song gravitas despite its acoustic
heartbeat keeping it grounded, and
its 5/4 time signature contributes to
the unsteady, revolving hypnotism.
Though “Wall of Eyes” is ultimately one
of the least exciting tracks, it works as
an opener to expose the album’s pulse
and present themes of perception,
solitude and identity.
“Teleharmonic,” the second song
on the album, starts slow before
building up to a lush sonic landscape
that feels like exploring a rainforest.
A synth drone yawns and Yorke sings,
“Will I make the morning? I don’t
know” in a subdued falsetto, before a
fluttering flute straight out of ’70s prog
rock joins in. While the production
leans toward a smooth pop sensibility,
Skinner’s drums add a jazzy element with bursts of cymbal that sound like
rustling leaves.
Even “Under our Pillows,” whose
opening is one of the album’s weak
moments, is undeniably original. For
the first minute, the track is dominated
by an overbearing electronica riff —
but then the guitar slows down and
reverb distorts the dream into darker,
dream territory. The baseline is still
peppy, but there is something sinister
going on below the surface, as it slowly
devolves into desolate noise and
electronic blips, like the underbelly of
some cosmic machine.
“Friend of a Friend,” the album’s
other single, is another highlight
of blissful melancholy and a must-
listen, blending all of the album’s best
elements with varied instrumentation,
ample use of reverb, ambient
noise and anti-drops, ascending
chord progressions and intelligent
syncopated drums.
“All of that money, where did it go?”
Yorke asks. “In somebody’s pocket, a
friend of a friend.”
“Wall Of Eyes” carries forward
the sense of unease that has always
underpinned Yorke’s writing style.
It is evidently a retrospective on the
effects of fame and the consequences
of being observed and scrutinized by
the public eye. The album is haunted
by alienation, distrust and disdain for
an industry and, more universally,
a world that claims to own us and to
know who we are, which tries to mold
us in its image, feeding off of insecurity
and ambition.
At the same time, Yorke seems
to have found peace in reflecting
on the absurdity of our personas,
interpersonal manipulation and
daily humiliations that are a fact
of existence. I hear a man who is
tired but no longer angry, who takes
comfort in the knowledge that the
journey is temporary and, freed of the
pressure and attention of Radiohead,
is determined to spend the time he has
left connecting with our humanity.
Writer reads emphatically to the crowd.MAYA MAZOR-HOOFIEN/THE MOSSY LOG
The Smile’s latest record hints at Radiohead roots with nostalgic breakdowns, cascading melodiesCodjoe shares collection “The Bluest Nude”
Visiting Writers Series brings award-winning poet to campus to educate, inspire with raw work CAROLINE DREW/THE MOSSY LOGFRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
SPORTS 10
By ELLA DUNN
WHILE there are offers many
clubs and organizations for
students to get involved
withat Lewis & Clark, at times the
world of athletics can seem closed off
to people with little experience. If you
were not an athlete in high school,
you may feel intimidated or put off
by the seriousness of playing sports
in college. If any of these statements
apply to you, I have a solution for you:
club sports.
LC has myriad
club sports, most
of which are
very easy to
join, even
if you
have little to no experience. I had the
pleasure of speaking with the rock
climbing team’s Cece Dobbertin
’27 and Kevin Matisheck ’27, who
currently serves as a staff writer for
The Mossy Log.
“I had no prior experience climbing.
I did a little bit in Colorado but nothing
too major,” Matisheck said. “The
climbing team has been really helpful
and accessible in its ability to get me
out there on the wall. We do warmups
and workouts. If you want to get
climbing it’s a great way to do it.”
Dobbertin, on the other hand, had
plenty of climbing experience and knew
it was their preferred form of exercise.
“I joined (the team my) first
semester. I was on a climbing team at
my gym at home for six years, starting
in seventh grade,” Dobbertin said. “I’m
trying to keep it up because it’s what
I love to do. It’s great that it’s super
accessible here.”
Another of LC’s club athletes is
Natasha Engelhardt ’27, who plays on
the rugby team.
Engelhardt jokingly recalled
being “peer-pressured” into
joining the rugby team at
the fall semester club fair.
She had never played rugby
before, and had not played
sports in high school. As a
first year coming in with no knowledge of the sport, she stressed
her relief with how laid-back and team
focused the club was.
“They are very much into how to stay
active, and it’s more of a team effort.
They break down everything so you
understand how it all works,” Engelhardt
said. “You get to learn a lot about other
people and build a community.”
Yet it would be a mistake to
think that club athletes miss out
on competing; rugby and the
climbing team both have games
and competitions coming up this
semester. Engelhardt explained the
difference between the rugby seasons.
Being a year-round sport, it is split
into two categories: 15s and sevens.
Both numbers refer to the players on
the field on a given team.
“(The games) are with the people
around Oregon; it’s usually at Reed
or Willamette. With 15s, the games
are usually on Saturday. It’s generally
one or two games in a day,” Engelhardt
said. “With sevens, it’s more of a
tournament every game, so you’ll play,
like, five games in one day.”
Dobbertin described the competitive
side of climbing for the team.
“I’ve done a lot of competitive
climbing in the past, not with this
division, so I think it’ll look like us all
going there as a team and basically we’ll
have three hours to climb as many as we can and get the points for our five
hardest (routes),” Dobbertin said.
Matisheck expressed his
appreciation for the unique
competitive environment
offered by the climbing
team, different than
in other sports.
“One of the best
things about the
climbing team is
that it provides
an outlet for
climbing but you
don’t have to go
to competitions,”
Matisheck said. “You
have the option but
not the obligation to
attend these events. That’s
one of the things that’s very special
about the climbing team.”
All of the athletes I talked to had
very positive things to say about
the communities that club sports
introduced them to, and even the
communities of other teams.
“It’s very easygoing. (The
community) is very kind and
supportive. It’s definitely a great
bonding experience because it’s very
contact-heavy,” Engelhardt said about
the rugby team.
Joining a new sport with no prior
experience can seem intimidating, but Matischeck encourages people to give
it a shot.
“The best way to start
climbing is by joining
the climbing team!”
Matisheck said.
“People on the
team are super
open to new
members and
very accepting
and willing to
push them, but also
t o allow them
space to go and
climb.”
We
discussed the
rising popularity
of the climbing team
with the influx of interested
new students this year.
“We have maybe two or three times
more participants on the team than they
did last year,” Dobbertin said. “New
people are joining, and, from what I
gather, having a very fun and chill time.”
The offerings do not stop at rugby
and climbing, with clubs like Pugilism
and Ultimate Frisbee catering to a wide
breadth of student interests. If you are
looking to join a sport for fun, good
exercise and a fantastic community of
supportive teammates, club sports may
be the way to go. Members of rugby, climbing teams appreciate noncompetitive yet rewarding environment of intramurals
Strength training program unlocks team capabilities
By ELLA DUNN
L EWIS & CLARK’S athletic teams
require a multitude of conditioning
and strength training programs
individually tailored to each team.
For this, these teams turn to Angela
Dendas-Pleasant, the assistant athletic
director and the head strength and
conditioning coach. Dendas-Pleasant
has her bachelor’s in kinesiology and
her master’s in exercise science from Humboldt State, and has worked at LC
for 11 years.
This role puts her as part of the
administrative team, but she also
oversees the strength and conditioning
program for intercollegiate sports.
Additionally, she teaches one weight
training class per semester, twice a week.
“My primary responsibility is
running our strength and conditioning
program for our athletes, which
entails overseeing 21 teams with
420+ athletes,” she said. “This entails everything from our weight room
sessions to our sessions on the field
or up in the gym for conditioning.”
Whenever the teams are not
practicing with their sport-specific
coaches, they are lifting or running
with Dendas-Pleasant. She also
oversees the scheduling side of
operations, which extends to practices
and competitions.
Dendas-Pleasant started her
educational career believing she
would go into sports medicine, but
her path soon changed.
“I grew up around sports, so it was
a natural fit to learn the science of it,”
she said. “I went into sports medicine
because that’s what I thought I
wanted to do, and then I realized I
didn’t, so when I went to grad school I
went the exercise science route.”
In Fall 2013, Dendas-Pleasant
was hired by LC to start the strength
conditioning program. Since then,
there has been significant growth in
the department itself, as well as an
improvement in the performance of the
teams. As a Division-3 school, the rules
are different than for the Division-1 and
2 schools, which established strength programs far before LC was able to. As
soon as the regulations were changed,
LC called in Dendas-Pleasant to start
the new training program.
This year has been a great one so
far for the teams on campus; football,
for example, finished higher ranked
in the conference than they have
since 2011. Winter championships
are still in progress, but results will
be available soon.
“The challenging thing here is
always going to be academic loads,”
she said. “I’m big on working through
our academic schedules, and I work
really hard to make sure that the time
an athlete is coming in works with
their academic and practice schedule.”
As the head strength and
conditioning coach, Dendas-Pleasant
works in tandem with sports medicine
through her prior experience in
the field. She knows the “lingo” the
therapists use, seeing herself as an
“in-between” at times. She stressed
the importance of the two programs
being coordinated.
“We have licensed professionals
that oversee our student athletes
in terms of their health needs. An
athletic program that provides
strength and conditioning as well as
sports medicine should be cohesive,”
she said. “Injuries are inevitable, so
it’s great having professionals that
can work together to provide those
services: to help an athlete get from
when an injury happens to if surgery is needed, to get them back playing
(in the appropriate time).”
Training routines are tailored to
fit the specific needs of the team and
sport; weight training will be tailored
to how the coach wants the team to
play as well as the athletes themselves
want to play — and what they need to
improve on.
“When you look at team sports,
there’s not a huge difference between
basketball (and) volleyball, for
example. They’re similar, in terms
of physiological demands, with
variations, maybe, in the style of
play a coach wants,” she said. “For
the most part, sports that require an
athlete to move quickly and jump
high, you’re going to train those
demands similarly.”
Dendas-Pleasant has been in
this profession for 16 years, and the
reason she enjoys it so much is for the
deep bond both the athletes and her
personal love for athletics.
“I got into it to have th at connection
to athletics. Being a former student
athlete myself, it’s a big part of your
identity,” Dendas-Pleasant said. “It
was a way to learn how I can help
athletes. Because you spend so much
time with athletes, you can have a
really huge impact on them.”
Her impact on the student athletes
at this school is truly something
special. She has helped grow the
program from nothing to its current
thriving state.
LILLIAN SMALL/THE MOSSY LOGLILLIAN SMALL/THE MOSSY LOG
Assistant athletic director, head conditioning coach Angela Dendas-Pleasant supports student growth
ROSALIE ZUCKERMANN/THE MOSSY LOGDendas-Pleasant bridges the gap between sports medicine and student performance.
Editor-in-Chief
Amelia DoyleManaging Editor
Rosalie Zuckermann
News Editors
Emma Ambroziak
Ava FrisonOpinion Editors
Corrina Chan
Tanvi ShuklaFeatures Editors
Leila Diaz
Olivia Fendrich Arts Editors
Caroline Drew
Corryn Pettingill
Sports Editors
Lillian Small
Will TrunzoThe Backdoor Editor
Emma FordVisuals Editor
J FrankCopy Chief
Maya Mazor-Hoofien
Head of Broadcasting
Isaac BabusBusiness Manager
Lauren EvansOutreach Coordinator
Summer Dae BinderWeb Manager
Claire BakkeFaculty Advisor
Molly Robinson
Staff Writers Photographers & Illustrators
Ella Dunn*
Fiona Eilers*
Olivia Larios*
Robert Manger*
Tor ParsonsKevin Matishek*
Kai Mermis-Cava
Jessie Shaw*
Alexandra Flory
Eli Kessler
Noah ContrerasRose Bialk
Eli Kessler
Alexandra Flory
Olivia Larios*COURTESY OF LEWIS & CLARK COLLEGEIntimidation begone, club sports welcome allBy ALEXANDRA FLORY
WHITEWATER kayaking is an
outdoor adventurer’s dream.
It involves time spent with
friends, searching for special river
locations and, of course, enjoying the
beauty nature has to offer. However,
despite all the joy that whitewater
kayaking brings, the sport also has
many barriers.
For instance, one must have all the
necessary gear, which can cost upwards
of $1,000, basic knowledge about which
river spots are the best and know how
to safely operate a kayak in the middle
of a rushing river. Luckily, Lewis &
Clark’s Paddle Club aims to remove all
these barriers and open up the sport to
anyone interested, regardless of prior
experience or knowledge.
Paddle Club was founded by former
LC student Sam Drevo ’99, who now
runs eNRG Kayaking, a Portland-
based water sports company. Drevo
has connections in the kayaking
community all over the world, and
even emerged as the Extreme Kayaking
Champion at the Gorge Games, an
extreme sports competition that
occurred in the Columbia River Gorge
during the late 1990s and early 2000s.
After Drevo’s involvement in the
club stopped, attendance stalled. Then,
in 2021, alumni Soren Gotschall ’22
and Rachel Buys ’25 worked together
to get the club up and running again.
Buys’ dedication to the sport comes
from a long history in kayaking, which
includes having attended World Class
Kayak Academy (WCKA), a high school that
pairs the typical high school education with
the not so typical education in kayaking. The school travels to a new country
every three months and teaches its
members how to become professional
whitewater kayakers. After dedicating
her life to the sport in WCKA, Buys
learned the ins and outs of whitewater
kayaking, including how to train others.
Buys reflected that she did not know
about Paddle Club when coming to LC
but was drawn to the school partially
because of its closeness to world class
kayaking opportunities.
“I honestly partially came to Lewis &
Clark because of how close in proximity
we are to some of the best whitewater
in the world. A ton of rivers essentially
empty out into the Columbia River
Gorge,” Buys said. It was this excitement for Portland’s
perfect location that inspired Buys to
get involved in Paddle Club.
“I came here and I said, ‘People have
to know that there’s such incredible
whitewater here,’ but no, there were
very few folks,” Buys said.
After teaching all the basic skills
to Gotschall, a former raft guide
for College Outdoors, Buys’ love for
whitewater kayaking spread to the
wider LC community. In fact, Buys
estimates that Paddle Club is among
the top three attended clubs at LC,
with an email list of over 170 people
and an attendance poll in 2022 that
recorded over 100 different attendants
throughout the year. Part of the reason for such high
rates of attendance comes from the
club’s commitment to accessibility.
“One of my biggest goals for the
club is that whitewater kayaking
is kind of super gate-kept by the
need for a mentor. You have to have
somebody to show you where to go
and how to do it,” Buys said. “My
goal is really to help just make it as
accessible as possible.”
Part of opening up this accesability
is teaching the basic skills and safety
procedures to club members.
Paddle Club offers “skills days,”
where participants learn how to right
themselves up after flipping upside
down, which is a skill necessary to safely operate a kayak. They also teach
you how to safely rescue someone who
is upside down.
Another obstacle is the access to
gear. Paddle Club has a plethora of
kayaks that the club has accumulated
throughout the years, some of which
are adjustable for different body types.
The club is not just dedicated
to safety and practicality though,
it also hosts fun events and games
such as kayak polo, last person
standing and the annual Paddle Club
Olympics. The Paddle Club Olympics
is an event that takes place every
Spring and includes multiple teams
practicing safety and pool games for
the chance to win special prizes. But
what is special about the Olympics
is that every team goes home with a
prize just for participating!
Paddle Club wasn’t in operation
for the first part of the semester due
to problems in pool time scheduling,
but started up again on Valentine’s
Day. For the first meeting, the club
hosted speed dating on kayaks where
club members got the chance to get
to know the other participants, find
friendship and maybe even love.
The club will continue to meet
every Wednesday from 9-11 p.m.
in Zehntbauer swimming pavilion.
All the necessary gear is always
provided and all one needs to bring
is something they are comfortable
wearing in the pool and a readiness
to learn the exciting sport.
“Anyone with any experience
can come! We are willing to even
teach people how to swim first,”
Buys said. “Check it out. It’s fun, no
experience necessary!” FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
SPORTS 11
Paddle Club’s kayaks give easy, free access to students desiring an aquatic sporting experience in safe, relaxing environment.ALEXANDRA FLORY/THE MOSSY LOG
Paddle club provides easy access to kayaking skills, gearBy WILL TRUNZO
EVERY WEEK, Lewis & Clark
Athletics names two athletes the
Pios of the Week. This award is
granted for athletic achievement. I
had the opportunity to speak with the
previous week’s spotlighted student
athletes — swimmers Kate Milne ’24
and Ian Holmberg ’25.
Milne has been a swimmer for most of
their life, and spoke on the strangeness of
this being their last season.
“It feels a bit crazy that my swim
career is almost over,” Milne said, “I’ve
been swimming since I was in second or
third grade.”
Reflecting further on what has made
their experience at LC so special, Milne
emphasized the team dynamics as a key
part of their enjoyment of swimming.
“The team environment is super
welcoming,” Milne said. “And I’ve made
a lot of great friends over the years.”
They also emphasized how
swimming at LC has revitalized their
love of the sport.
“In high school, like clubs, swimming
was super, super intense.” Milne said.
“The coaches [at LC] have been so
understanding … and that has like really
brought back my love for the sport.”
Holmberg also reflected on his
experience on the swim team. He
emphasized the connection he feels
within the current junior class.
“All the connections I’ve made at
this school have been through sports,
more specifically swimming, and my
best friends are on the team,” Holmberg
said. “I really think it’s a nice sense of
community. I think we’re all there to
support each other.”
Holberg additionally spoke about
the then-upcoming conference meet,
explaining his role on the team
swimming backstroke and freestyle.
He also emphasized the timing of his
events at the championship.
“It’s the last race of the weekend
for me, so I’m going to give every
single thing I have,” Holmberg said.Swimmers
reflect on
Pio award
Alums revitalized organization, help students enter world of whitewater sports, connect with othersSpecialty Athletic Training supports
activity among those with disabilities
By EMMA FORD
AS SPRING training kicks into full
gear, Lewis & Clark’s athletes
find themselves sharing their
weight room with a unique program.
Specialty Athletic Training, founded
in 2012 by LC alum Ryan Lockard
’07, offers personal training services
to individuals with disabilities to
encourage healthy habits and personal
growth through movement.
When Lockard was still at LC, he
completed his capstone project on
the effects of exercise on special-
needs individuals. Later, while a
part of the football coaching staff, he
worked with the LC athletic director
at the time to start the Specialty
Athletic Training program.
Specialty Athletic Training has
expanded to work in four locations
around the greater Portland area,
offering personal and group coaching
to clients with a range of disabilities.
Yet their home base is still the LC
campus, where the social aspect sets
their services apart.
Emily Hatch, certified strength
and conditioning specialist, is the
Portland Metro District Manager,
and credits the shared facilities with
transformative benefits for Specialty
Athletic Training’s clients.
“Our main goal is to get people
moving and to have a good time,”
said Hatch. “And this is a wonderful
place for us to do it, because there’s
so much interaction with the student
athletes and the students on campus.”
Hatch went on to explain more
about how these programs can
impact the lives of the individuals
they serve, who see limited
opportunities for outside exercise.
“A lot of our clients aren’t able
to be a part of their school team,”
said Hatch. “So there’s a lot of
loneliness they may feel or a lack of
self confidence. Having them come to
their workout every week, they get to
meet new friends. That’s almost the
best part of it — not only the effects
of exercise within your body, but also
making friends. I think this allows
our clients to feel more confident.”Most of the students that work
out alongside Specialty Athletic
Training’s clientele are simply
sharing the space, offering the
encouragement and camaraderie
characteristic of a communal exercise
experience. Some LC students also
work with the company as part of
their education, creating lasting
relationships as they come back week
after week to work with their clients.
“We’re in the weight room a lot
so there’s a lot of student athlete
interaction,” Hatch said. “We also have
interns who are looking to do their
capstone project … What’s great is (for
example) one of our clients, because
he’s in the weight room so much, (he)
has befriended a lot of the athletes and
they know him and he gets really excited
to see the friends he’s made here.”As many clients might be nervous
about starting their gym journey,
Specialty Athletic Training works to
build steady relationships and trust
in such a vulnerable environment.
That repeated interaction is huge for
building strong social confidence,
a major goal for Specialty Athletic
Training. While getting active is
definitely important, clients also
need to be supported through the
interpersonal aspects of athletics.
“I’m such a huge proponent for
mental health support,” said Hatch,
“and a lot of the individuals we work
with, due to their diagnoses or their
lifestyle, they’re not able to build
those healthy habits. They don’t
really have the social skills that can
put them in a situation where they
can thrive. So we want to be that catalyst or a support for them where
they can not only build healthy habits
for themselves, but also build social
skills so they can go out in the world
and be more independent.”
Students who are interested
in working with Specialty Athletic
Training should keep the interpersonal
skills required in mind. The company’s
philosophy is, at its core, about bettering
lives through exercise, but it is a more
holistic goal than simply getting active.
There is also no one path towards
a career with Specialty Athletic
Training either — staff backgrounds
include mental health and counseling,
physical training and sports medicine.
“Ultimately, we want good
humans who are able to work in
this environment, to motivate other
individuals,” said Hatch.Trainer Emily Hatch works with a client to build both strength and relationships with others with holistic development in mind.COURTESY OF SPECIALTY ATHLETIC TRAINING
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 16, 2024
12If you squint, the O’s in “Backdoor“
look like titties!!
Say farewell to fish pics: Sluts, start
swiping on new Pio-only dating app
By JESSIE SHAW
AS VALENTINE’S Day approaches,
Lewis & Clark students are either
raving about the romantic holiday
or dreading every moment that LC’s most
annoying couples have to offer. From
getting frisky in chem lab to bragging
about each other’s new tattoos, we will
get a glance into the daily lives of the top
four most annoying couples at LC and
determine who will be crowned Most
Annoying on Campus.
#1: The Common Room Boners
The first couple we will examine are
freshmen Thurman Merman ’27 and Carey
Oakey ’27, the oh-so heterosexual high
school sweethearts. While it is nice that
they managed to go to the same college
and somehow stay together, they may have
taken their relationship too seriously.
Dinah Sore ’27, one of Oakey’s three
roommates, shared that while they
generally get along with both Oakey
and her boyfriend, Sore fears that the
relationship may become toxic (or at least
super cringe) as Oakey and Merman are
almost always together.
“Look, I think Thurman is a nice
guy, and I’m happy for Carey and all,”
Sore said. “But Carey constantly brags
about how she loves him so much, how
handsome or nice he is. It has gotten to
be too much. They regularly stay up until
3 a.m. watching movies while holding
hands and smooching, despite the strictly
worded ‘no-being-gross’ clause in our
roommate agreement.”
Allegations against the couple include
eating face over Bon food and having sex
on common room couches. However,
a spokesperson for the couple (who
appeared to be Oakey and Merman in one
single hoodie) denied the latter, claiming
the most the couple has done are tasteful
French kisses.
#2: The Evangelical Vegans
The second couple for your
consideration are Casey Macy ’26 and
Kitty Katz ’26, the co-leaders of the Leftist
Student Union and members of LC’s
Vegan Society. Despite their membership
in the Vegan Society, Macy and Katz’s
beliefs are unorthodox compared to
most vegans; their vegan peers describe them as “evangelical.” Macy and Katz are
regularly seen protesting at the Bon or the
Troom, demanding them to stop serving
hungry students meat and dairy products
and make all meals 100% vegan.
“We fell in love because we both
believe in the complete abolition of animal
products, including furries,” Macy explains.
“As part of our journey as a couple,
we swore to each other that we will
either convert our friends to veganism or
defriend them if they refuse,” Katz added.
Bud Light ’24 explained Katz and
Macy’s evangelical methods may explain
why they are, at the time of this writing,
the most hated lesbian couple at LC
(though the competition is stiff and
rankings are constantly changing).
“Casey and Kitty give vegans a bad
rap,” Light reminisces. “One day, they
harassed me at lunch just because I was
eating bratwurst, telling me that I am evil
for eating meat. When I told them that I
will never follow their bullshit, they called
me a neo-Nazi.”
#3: The Stoner Couple
The third couple featured on this list
are seniors Rocky Rhodes ’24 and Sharon
Weed ’24, who started getting serious
only two weeks ago. Ranked #1 Student
for Reefer Madness by The Mossy Log,
Rhodes believes that the day when they
smoked their first joint was the best day
of their life.
Weed (a.k.a. “The Stoner Queen”) is
the perfect girlfriend for Rhodes as she
is the leader of the underground student
union known as the LC Stoner Society
(branded as LCSS to remain secret). She
met Rhodes when their friend Forrest
Greene ’25 recruited them to the LCSS
two months ago. Weed took an instant
liking to Rhodes and the two eventually
fell deeply in love.
“The moment I met Rocky was when I
realized that we were star-crossed lovers,”
Weed stated enthusiastically.
“I finally found someone who smokes
as much weed as I do,” Rhodes added. “I
never realized until I met her that there
were people more stoned than I am.”
In their free time, Rhodes and Weed
regularly go to the water tower to get
stoned, unoriginally. Unsurprisingly, they
are always high, even during classes. #4: The Poor Little Rich Kids
Last, but not least, we have Jack
Daniels ’25 and Ella Gant ’25, some of
the richest students at LC. Compared
to the other couples above, Daniels and
Gant generally act level-headed and
well-mannered in public areas to avoid
embarrassing their families. However,
numerous students envy their wealth
and accuse them of being show-offs for
constantly posting clout-chasing photos
in loud designer clothes.
“It’s not our fault that we were born
into a life of comfort,” Daniels remarked.
“These students, who are still more
privileged than the average person, envy
us. They wish they could be us! They got
mad when they saw pictures of me and
Ella staying at a Four Seasons beach resort
in Cabo San Lucas during the last spring
break. Honestly, they need to get a life.”
Gant staunchly defends their conduct,
insisting that we should all try to accept
and embrace people from different
backgrounds that our own.
“There is no inherent moral value to
money,” Gant recited from the homepage
of the Association of Waldorf Schools’
website. “I’m just like everyone else. I lace
up my vintage Hermés boots and walk to
class every morning, and I only take the
helicopter to Nantucket on odd weekends.”
Daniels hails from Rancho Santa Fe,
with his mother being a neurosurgeon
and his father a banker. His girlfriend is
the daughter of a wealthy businessman
from Atherton. During her high school
years, Gant participated in numerous
débutante balls.
Conclusion
While these four couples are
annoying for different reasons, each of
them have moments that make their
little quirks uniquely awful. Whether it is
fucking in the common room, attempting
to convert sudents to veganism, being
stoned 24/7 or being filthy rich, each
one seems just that much worse than
the last. You can cast your vote for Most
Annoying Couple at piolog.com/polls,
or by scanning the printed QR codes
with which we have absolutely littered
campus. With your help, one couple will
finally take their rightful place upon the
Throne of Annoyance.LC’s most annoying: Which duos
deserve your ire this Valentine’s? Section update: Op-Eds
get sapphic substitutionBy ROSALIE ZUCKERMANN
THIS VALENTINE’S Day, our
beloved college administration
rolled out a new program even
better than the CSC Pay Mobile App:
Pios4Pios Dating. In response to
mounting complaints of STD-ridden
study dates and Frisbee party hookups
ending in tears, Lewis & Clark took
the initiative to compile all the worst
features from Hinge, Bumble and, yes,
the nastiest little gremlin of all, Tinder,
into one app that does it all (including
you). Pios4Pios offers an immersive
matching experience guaranteed to be
almost as satisfying as sex with that
mulleted guy who thought the clitoris
was a new Apple product.
But before you embark on your
own experimentation — the internet
is a dangerous place — I am here
with my always exceptional and
never regrettable taste to share
some hands-on, clothes-off reviews. Since the app’s soft launch three
weeks ago, I have braved three quite
Pionerous dates and I must admit: I
am a changed woman.
I also have a new understanding of
the phrase “soft launch.”
Firstly, how do you find a date?
Many steps must be undertaken
beforehand, and I am not just talking
about leg-shaving: profile creation,
swiping, matching and God forbid
the actual human interaction (barely)
of messaging. Luckily, Pios4Pios
eliminates the need to add your own
photos! It pulls data from the cloud
to upload all the stalker photos your
friends took of you walking to class for
a much more realistic, “in the wild”
approach to profiles. Sorry, fish-toting
boys. Lug that smallmouth bass to
Spanish class if you want to seduce
chicks with your piscine prowess.
As for a bio, they have that
taken care of too, because who in
our generation can be expected to
make a decision without a little treat
afterward? The most frequently
generated adjectives in your Spotify
Daylists are pulled by an algorithm to
create a catchy slogan like, “hopeless
air guitar scream-cry coming-of-age
softcore.” Alluring, right? So much
better than a quote from The Office, or
even the classic, “The last time I was
someone’s type, they were taking my
blood.” We know, Doug. You need not
remind us.
When it comes to messaging,
however, you are more on your own
than when your mom booted you
off the family Netflix subscription. Luckily, due to recent pushes from
anarchists, Pios4Pios has opted for a
freedom that other apps restrict: photo
exchange. Now you can receive enough
unsolicited dick pics to compile a black
market Playgirl issue.
So, with these hoops jumped
through, it was time for me to get out
there and gather some sociological data
— a.k.a. listening to a man who can
almost pull off a leather jacket spend
an hour telling me how he rebuilt the
engine of his Ford Escape “with his
bare hands.” And, yes, for a hundred
points you have guessed it! My first
Pios4Pios date was with the one, the
only, the mechanical hero: Revv Enjin.
Oh, I would have sworn that goatee
was slicked with motor oil…
Enjin took me for a ride in his
big-boy collage, or as he insisted,
his ~renovated automobile~ shortly
before a jaunt to the fine dining of
BurgerVille where he graciously
offered to split the ten dollar tab.
All in all, not too bad a way to lose
my Pioginity, though I must say:
Parking lot makeouts are much
better when not peppered with the
cringe-inducing phrases “for real
for real” and “100%.”
My next date was with someone
named Oregano. What else is there
to say? Actually, far too much. After
a weeklong evaluation of our star
sign compatibility, they/he invited me
to have a drink at their commune.
Yet when I arrived in my best pair of
overalls, I had the rude awakening
that “a drink,” apparently, no longer
means alcohol — or even milk! — but a mason jar full of probiotic goo. Mmm,
the fermentation makes me shiver.
We did grounding practices
together by snuggling in a field,
but soon we were interrupted by
a “friend” of theirs who was under
the impression we were about to
have a threesome right there on the
composted soil. Not quite the kind of
dirty I was looking for.
My final excursion was just
yesterday, and I am still recovering.
The culprit? A 35 year old who looked
much younger in his photos and had
a quirky little hobby of lying! He took
me to a county fair to see how I would
interact with all the children to suss
out my mothering skills ahead of time.
Sorry pal, uterus? I hardly know us.
Yet again, I escaped a date with A
STRANGER I MET ONLINE without
getting murdered! You would be
so proud of me, Dad. Well, maybe.
Nevertheless, after my dabbling in
the hottest new dating scene, I can
confidently attest that Pios4Pios is
the app of the year. Do not get your
hopes up for common interests,
compatible values or even — do I
dare jinx it? — an actual orgasm,
but you will surely find some excellent
material for a debut in stand up
comedy or at the very least, a rousing
game of two truths and a lie.
Get out there, Pios, and live this
V-Day to the fullest extent of the
term. And as for you happily coupled
assholes who hold hands on the way
to class, go to the Cheesecake Factory
and have some mediocre missionary
afterwards. As is your right.
By WILL TRUNZO
IT IS A TRUTH universally
acknowledged that all printed
journalistic publications are in
desperate need of two things — readership
and budget. Recent years have seen the end
of many storied news organizations who
have been unable to adjust to changing
landscapes and consumer demands. Print
media may be a dying form, but we here
at the Mossy Log are determined not to
fall prey to such dreadful circumstances.
Thus, we have come to the conclusion that
changes must be made for the preservation
of student journalism at Lewis & Clark.
Many options were considered for this
shift, including the hiring of new writers,
budgetary reallocations and encouraging
the Reed Quest to start printing their
paper to make us look better in
comparison. However, we
quickly came to the realization
that many before us have
come to: Sex sells. In light of
this new understanding, we
have decided to make
several minor tweaks.
As of this
semester, our Opinions
section will unfortunately
be shuttered. Due to concerns of
heightened controversies on campus
and growing sapphic strife, we found
the section to no longer be compatible
with our vision for the new era of the
Mossy Log. Accordingly, pages four and
five of all further issues will contain our
newest section — amateur lesbian erotica.
Any writing referencing the sapphic
symbolism of supple strawberries,
exploring the erotic potential of prolonged
eye contact or in any way detailing a
little girl-on-girl action is encouraged to
be submitted to The Mossy Log on our
website. Interested applicants must share
their favorite queer flower and 200 words
on the lesbian overtones of a Dickinson
poem to be considered.
Alternate application supplements
include the title to a Subaru Outback
(in your father’s name), an unsent
love poem (including the burned
corner from your half-assed attempt
to destroy it) or photographs showing that you have two ex-girlfriends that
look nearly identical.
In accordance with the shift in
content, several new positions are coming
out on the staff. We are hiring two Erotica
section editors, as well as a dedicated staff
writer for the section. While discussions
were held over whether or not the current
Opinion editors should be kept on, we
decided to move them to help out News
because everyone thinks News is our
opinions anyways.
The application process is set to
open Feb. 19. To apply, please email the
Mossy Log with a resume, cover letter,
Wattpad or Archive of Our Own account
(we know you have one), and any other
writing samples you would like to be
considered. Tumblr free verse poems
will be given special consideration,
because if you are still lurking in
that cesspool, well, you earned
it. Due to the urgency
of this hiring process,
applications will close on
Feb. 22 and decisions will
be announced by Feb. 24.
Duties of the section
editors will include pitching
articles (with great care not
to violate Title IX), sourcing writers
(anonymity will not be offered —
own that shit!) and removing any
references to swords, lances, rigid
members or any other terms that are
likely to cause vomiting. Please, this is
not Twilight fanfiction. Be classy.
The staff writer will be responsible for
maintaining sufficiently diverse fantasies
to properly serve the LC community
through their writing, and will be
responsible for six articles throughout
the semester, two soft-core, two Bondage
Domination Sadism and Masochism
(BDSM) and two period pieces.
We here at The Mossy Log are excited
to explore this new direction, and will
be evaluating the performance of this
section closely. Contingent on the its
success, we will consider shifting our
Features section as well, printed on pages
7 and 8 in full color, to a more visual
display. Further details on this will be
provided at such time as the change is
deemed appropriate.
Sometimes, ya gotta drain the
snake. We here at the Backdoor
would never judge you. Although,
talking to your penis is a little weird.
Anyways, Happy Valentine’s Day!On the flipside, another 90s classic,
this time a little less about boredom
and a little more about whoredom.The classic song about jerking off
out of sheer boredom and loserdom,
perfect for any guy who pretends he
listens to unsigned punk bands but
really just likes Blink-182.
“Me So Horny”
By 2 Live CrewMossy
Music
Songs for
pleasuring
your mossy log
“Longview”
By Green Day
“Drain You”
By Nirvana
ROSE BIALK/THE MOSSY LOG