THE STUDENT VO ICE OF THE UN IVERS I TY OF PORTLAND S INCE 1935The Beacon

March 17, 2016 • Volume 118 • Issue 20 • upbeacon.com

What it’s like:College with a learning disability

His kindergarten teacher kept him inside during recess to complete classwork everyone else had already finished. Basic writing assignments in grade school took the entire class period. Once, Nicolas Vavuris even wrote his entire name backward.

Vavuris knew from a young age that he was different from his classmates.

A 2012 study by the U.S. Department of Education found that about five percent of children nationwide have some type of learning difference, and four percent have Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) as well.

It wasn’t until first grade

that Vavuris was tested. The junior history major would later discover he had dyslexia, dysgraphia and ADHD.

“They’re all very intertwined,” Vavuris said. “Typically, when someone has one of those things, they probably have others.”

For Vavuris, the dysgraphia makes writing by hand a significant challenge.

“It causes me physical pain if I’m doing it for more than 10 minutes,” Vavuris said. “It doesn’t help that it’s already illegible.”

To cope with the problem, Vavuris is allowed to use a laptop in class to type notes and avoid the pain of writing by hand.

For a time, Vavuris took medication to help with ADHD, but didn’t experience enough benefits to continue

with the medication. During elementary school, he sought the help of an occupational therapist to strengthen his fine motor skills as well as learn typing.

For Vavuris, there lies a challenge beyond the physical difficulties associated with reading and writing. It’s also psychological.

“I really enjoy learning about math … it just takes me a lot longer to do,” Vavuris said. “I’ve basically lived in every math class that I’ve ever taken.”

The concoction of learning differences made it difficult for Vavuris to keep up with his classmates and even more difficult to get the proper help.

Vavuris recalls kindergarten through third grade as some of the worst years because teachers simply didn’t

understand challenges he faced. He said teachers often blamed his struggles on a poor attitude or a lack of determination to succeed.

At one point, his primary school wanted to hold Vavuris back for three years straight. It wasn’t until Vavuris’ mother, who is also dyslexic, had him tested that the school had no choice but to acknowledge his learning differences.

Nikolaas Strom, a sophomore theology major, specifically chose UP because of his impression of its programs for students with learning differences.

“(UP) has a good students with disabilities office,” Strom said. “The one here was by far the best that I talked to.”

Strom, who has been diagnosed with dyslexia and ADHD, mostly struggles with finishing exams in the allotted amount of time.

To get help in this area, Strom turned to the Accessible Education Services (AES) on campus.

Melanie Gangle, program manager for AES, said the office serves students with all types of disabilities, including vision and hearing impairment, orthopedic impairment, brain injury and learning disabilities.

“The largest number of students that we service are students with learning disabilities,” Gangle said. “What our office does is to ensure that a student with a disability receives equal

By Jacob FuhrerT H E B E A C O N

Eric Reveno says goodbye to Pilots basketball

Reveno cheers on the men’s basketball team during his final season as head coach. Reveno ended his 10-season run with a 140-178 record.

The objects in coach Eric Reveno’s office remained unchanged.

Photos of his team hung on one wall, opposite a row of plaques recognizing his players’ academic accomplishments and on-court honors. But the man in the middle of the office wasn’t the same, his whole world had been turned upside down. So he sat in a familiar place, surrounded by familiar things and did his best to process the shock.

He said the diplomatic things. He said all the things one would expect. Then, he

leaned back in his chair, put his head in his hands and let the tears flow.

“I wasn’t a tenured professor. I didn’t earn tenure,” Reveno said. “I earned to be treated right. I earned to be treated with respect. I earned some things, but I didn’t earn a lifetime position. They don’t owe me that.”

The morning of March 15, the men’s basketball coach received an email from Athletic Director Scott Lekyam asking to meet. Shortly thereafter, the University of Portland athletic department announced that Reveno would not return as the men’s basketball coach.

He leaves with a 140-178

record overall, 60-95 in West Coast Conference.

In a press release, Leykam thanked Reveno for his “service, dedication and contributions to the University,” while adding that he had represented UP “with great class on and off the court.”

After years of routines, Reveno, 50, was left in a daze. He no longer needed to run the practice he had planned. He no longer needed to analyze how many hours the Pilots had practiced this season compared to their 20-win seasons earlier in his time as coach.

By Malika AndrewsT H E B E A C O N

See ACCOMMODATIONS page 3

Learning Differences

Accessible Education Services

Kristen Garcia • THE BEACON

Clare Duffy • THE BEACON

See REVENO page 11

T H E B E A C O N • M A R . 1 7 , 2 0 1 6 • U P B E A C O N . C O MNEWS 2

CRIME LOG

FOR THE FULL REPORT

ON CAMPUS

upbeacon.com > News > UP Crime & Fire Log

Chicano Mentoring Program inspires Roosevelt High students

The Chicano Mentoring Program connects students from UP with local Latino high school students. Karina Hernandez Gallo started the program with the goal of providing more Latino high school students access to a successful college experience.

Cassandra Kasten-Arias’ mother had to work long days on the farm and would talk about how difficult it was to focus on her studies growing up, while also trying to work to support her family. Because of those barriers, her mother never completed high school.

Though her father graduated from Oregon State University, neither of her parents could help with the logistics when it came time for her to apply to college.

But their support, as well as the help of other figures in her life, helped the junior biology and Spanish major on her path to higher education. They also inspired Kasten-Arias to become a co-coordinator of UP’s Chicano Mentoring Program.

“I think maybe part of (my motivation to mentor) is I feel this pressure to give back,” Kasten- Arias said. “Because I’m receiving this help and so I really want people to get as much help as they need.

“Chicano” has generally been used to identify Mexican-

Americans, particularly by civil rights activists like Cesar Chavez.

“To me, I think it can expand to all Latino ethnicities and I think it’s especially important now with everything that’s going on with undocumented people and how they’re being mistreated,” Kasten-Arias said. “And some politicians … just don’t understand that these people are human and they don’t understand their backgrounds.”

Even though the number of Hispanics on college campuses has seen a 201 percent increase in the last 20 years, only 15 percent of Hispanics aged 25 to 29 have a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to Pew Research Center.

UP alumna Karina Hernandez Gallo (‘15), along with students from Portland State University and Portland Community College saw the demand to help Chicano students get to college and be successful.

Their vision was to start a mentoring program through which Latinos in graduate school or working

professionally could mentor college students, who could mentor high school students and so on.

Though they began laying the groundwork for the program in the fall of 2015, it was not until the spring of this year that UP mentors met with high school mentees for the first time.

Since Hernandez Gallo graduated last May, she left the program in the hands of several UP co-coordinators, one of whom is Kasten-Arias.

“Coming from a Latino background, I see this demand as well,” Kasten-Arias said. “We’re helping Latino high school students that don’t have parents that have gone through college or don’t have older

siblings that have gone through it. So it can be really hard.”

Kasten-Arias started her undergraduate career at Linfield College, where she was mentored by an older Latino student, while also serving as a mentor for middle school students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds.

Because of her experience mentoring at Linfield, Kasten-Arias suggested that UP’s Chicano Mentoring Program reach out to the counselors at Roosevelt High School to help find the students who could benefit from the program the most.

Laurel Auda Capel, one of two bilingual counselors at Roosevelt, met with the group of UP students last spring to discuss their goals and helped recruit high school students for the program.

“Working at a low-income school where most of my students are going to be first generation in their family to go to college, it’s so important to them to have evidence of (the idea that), ‘It’s hard but it happens,’” Auda Capel said. “And here’s some people who are going through the

experience currently and make it work and they’re models of that.”

About 20 UP mentors are paired with 25 mentees for personalized meetings twice a month. Mentees took a questionnaire that asked questions about career interests and potential fields of study in college. Mentors took a similar survey to match them with the right mentee.

Though the mentors have only met with their mentees a few times so far this semester, they hope the program will continue to grow.

Auda Capel said UP students quickly started relationship-building at the group’s meet and greet event, where mentees and mentors were able to speak to each other for the first time.

“Right after that meeting, several kids came up to me actually and said, ‘When am I going to meet with that mentor again?’” Auda Capel said. “Which is great … that they were excited about those relationships.”

By Melissa AguilarT H E B E A C O N

Contact Copy Editor Melissa Aguilar at aguilarm16@up.edu.

Photo cou r tesy o f Cassandra Kasten-Ar i as

Coming from a Latino background, I see this demand ... We’re helping Latino high school students that don’t have parents that have gone through college or don’t have any older siblings that have gone through it. So it can be really hard.

“

Cassandra Kasten-AriasChicano Mentoring Program Co-Coordinator

Student reported that her vehicle had been gone through and some money taken. Student lives in the area of Princeton and Haven. Student made a report with Portland Police Bureau and the case remains under investigation.

Officers responded to a call stating that a box of T-shirts had been taken from the Chiles Center. Officers made a report and the case remains under investigation.

March 8, 10:26 a.m.

March 7, 3:36 p.m. Thursday, March 17, at 8 p.m. in Beauchamp Center Studio 30.

Yoga

Wednesday, March 21 at 7:15 p.m. in Franz Hall 120. Wayne will explain some of Albert Einstein’s more significant discoveries, how they changed understanding of the laws of nature, and their relevance to today’s world. Einstein’s enormous influence is still being felt today with the exciting new discovery of gravitational waves.

Hesburgh Lecture Men’s SoccerFriday, March 18 at 7 p.m. at Merlo Field. The soccer team faces the Timbers 2 team.

Women’s Track and FieldSaturday, March 19, at 9 a.m. at Lewis and Clark. Come support the Pilots as they race in the Lewis and Clark spring break open.

Officers responded to a noise complaint on the 5200 block of North Amherst. Officers could not locate any disturbance, and did not receive any further complaints.

March 11, 1:24 a.m.

ASUP State of Campus AddressMonday, March 21 at 6:30 p.m. in the Bauccio Commons Dining Room. This address will be given by ASUP President Anthony Ng. He will be discussing the past, present and future states of our campus by highlighting the mission, goals, and accomplishments of ASUP, along with campus updates.

T H E B E A C O N • M A R . 1 7 , 2 0 1 6 • U P B E A C O N . C O MNEWS 3

CORRECTIONS THE TIP LINEThe Beacon wants story ideas from its readers. If you see something that

should be covered, email News Editor

Clare Duffy atupbeacon@gmail.com

There are no corrections this week.

THE FORECAST:

Monday Tuesday

Today Friday

Wednesday

Saturday Sunday61º

53º 53º

64º

56º

62º 57º

Accommodations: Support for learning disabilities at UP

ADHD: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder, problems sitting still, staying focused, following instructions, staying

organized and completing homework. Not considered a learning disability but may still disrupt learning.

Dyslexia: Problems reading, writing, spelling and speaking.Dysgraphia: Problems with handwriting, spelling and organizing

ideas.Dyscalculia: Problems doing math, understanding time and

using money.Dysphasia: Problems understanding

spoken language, poor reading comprehension.

Learning Disabilities

access to University programs and activities and also equal opportunity to learn and grow.”

When it came time for Vavuris to choose a college, he met with the AES office at each college and found he could get sufficient help from Gangle’s office at UP.

Gangle said students must be proactive to utilize the AES office and services. After initiating a request for accommodations with AES, students must provide documentation of their disability. Once approved, the student will meet with Gangle and receive a letter to take to professors.

Indeed, Vavuris says he takes extra precautions to let professors know about his learning differences.

“At the beginning of every

class, I try to come up and introduce myself and disclose these things,” Vavuris said.

According to data gathered by AES, about five percent of students at UP are on active accommodation plans. That equals about 230 students, 50 of which are on plans for learning disabilities.

Because of the AES, Strom gets the extra time he needs to complete exams and also receives electronic versions of tests so the questions can be read aloud.

Gangle says her office can also coordinate alternative times and settings for exams to be proctored. Additionally, AES can find volunteer notetakers for students as well as provide e-textbooks.

For Vavuris, the biggest struggle is not his personal

learning differences but the lack of knowledge about the issue.

“The message I would want to get out there is that these things exist,” Vavuris said. “I would like to see some kind of community get-together so we can educate students and faculty.”

Vavuris, a resident in Christie Hall, organized a panel last fall of students with learning disabilities to educate other students.

“People do want to learn more about this and be better allies,” Vavuris said. “My event was very successful.”

Vavuris says education on a larger scale is necessary to

make a significant difference. Despite some progress,

Vavuris still runs into occasional trouble with professors or acquaintances.

Vavuris recalls a time when someone believed they had a “cure” for his dysgraphia and blindfolded him to see if his writing would improve

if he was unable to see what he wrote. Of course, Vavuris says, there is no single cure for dysgraphia but rather continuous adaptations and improvements.

“What I always tell students is a learning disability has nothing to do with intelligence,” Gangle said.

Gangle highlighted the fact

that, by definition, everyone at UP must have completed the admissions process equally. She said it’s not uncommon for very bright students to go through school undiagnosed with a learning difference because their intelligence may cover up whatever cognitive disadvantage they have.

Strom is pleased with the learning environment on campus, especially compared to other universities. Strom said, overall, faculty and staff are knowledgable and easy to approach about learning differences.

“To be really honest, I think UP does a fantastic job in general of supporting students,” Gangle said. “I think we can always do a better job.”

Continued from page 1

Contact Staff Writer Jacob Fuhrer at fuhrer17@up.edu.Twitter: @jacobfuhrer

Improvements on Campus

These things exist ... I would like to see some kind of community get-together so we can educate students and faculty.“Nicolas VavurisJunior history major

He lpgu ide . com

Request Accomodations1. Contact the AES Program Manager (set up a meeting in Buckley 163 or by calling 503-943-8985)

2. Complete the request form (available at up.edu/sfrc)

3. Documentation(must provide documentation of disability, such as from a physician or psychologist)

4. Evaluation, Recommendation and Plan(Program Manager creates an accomodation plan based on recommendations from the Health

Center’s Multi-Disciplinary Team to be approved by tbe Dean)

5. Implement Accomodations(AES offers training sessions at the beginning of each semester)

CHECK OUT OUR EXCLUSIVE ONLINE CONTENTUPBEACON.COM

What your water bottle says about you // Living Black Lives Matter Panel // News

Photo cou r tesy o f Co l l ege Fash ion

Dave Turnbloom Profile // News

Kristen Garcia • THE BEACON David DiLoreto • THE BEACON

T H E B E A C O N • M A R . 1 7 , 2 0 1 6 • U P B E A C O N . C O MNEWS 4

ASUP Executive Board

Explained

President“I am the student body advocate to the administration, regents and faculty and staff. For example, I met with Fr. Poorman to go over the recently passed constitutional changes. My job is to create the agenda for Executive Board meetings and facilitate dsicussion.” -Ng

Current Stipend: $6,000/yearTotal Office Hours/Week: 10Office Hours: M: 11-11:45 a.m., T/R: 9:45-11:15 a.m., W: 9:45-11:45 a.m., 2:45-4 p.m., F: 9-10:45 a.m.

On

Engagement

Co-sponsored by the Presidential Advisory Committee on Inclusion, Black Lives Matter @UP, Student Association of

Social Workers, and Student Activities

• What are we doing well?

• How can we improve?

• What’s the next step?

Mehling BallroomTuesday, March 22nd

7-8:30pm

An opportunity for students, faculty, and staff to come together, share personal experiences, and collaborate about

how to make UP a more racially inclusive community.

Questions or ADA accommodations, contact olinger@up.edu or moceri@up.edu

Vice President“There’s no typical day for VP — it’s really variable and depends on who wants to talk to me when. Some weeks I have 20-25 hours of meetings, other weeks I have six or seven hours ... It’s a lot of balance, lots of unexpected stuff comes up that has to be dealt with.” -Homes

Current Stipend: $6,000/yearTotal Office Hours/Week: 5Office Hours: T/R: 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., F: 4-6 p.m.

Communications Director“I think the biggest skills required are to be proactive and adaptive. A lot of this job is thinking about what needs to get done before it happens, like thinking of elections prior to election cycle starting. In a typical day, you never really know what to expect.” -Rojo

Current Stipend: $6,000/yearTotal Office Hours/Week: 5Office Hours: M: 9:30-11:30 a.m., R: 4-7 p.m.

Financial Director“Most of my job is budget, which comes from student government fees. A lot of my time is spent communicating with club treasurers to make sure they’re spending their money correctly. That’s my biggest job: making sure the clubs don’t spend too much.” -Zabinski

Current Stipend: $6,000/yearTotal Office Hours/Week: 10Office Hours: M/W: 11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m., T/R: 11:15 a.m.-3:15 p.m.

CPB Director“It’s a lot of event management which can be stressful but it also allows you to be creative ... If you don’t like email and you’re not good at email, this is not the job for you. With event planning, it’s a lot of coordinating different pieces. You’ll get really good at using the phone.” -Van den Berg

Current Stipend: $6,000/yearTotal Office Hours/Week: 10Office Hours: M: 1:30-4 p.m., T/R: 10-11 a.m., W/F: 10:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.

With ASUP presidential elections being held next week, March 22-23, The Beacon got the breakdown on the responsibilities of the positions that students will be electing.

Visit upbeacon.com for information on who’s running.

Rachel Rippetoe • THE BEACON

Photos cout resy o f ASUP

5M A R . 1 7 , 2 0 1 6 • U P B E A C O N . C O MLiving Karen Garcia Living Editorgarciaka17@up.edu

SHOP AROUND:

FALL CLASSES EDITION

With registration starting this week, most students are busy making their ideal schedules, second-choice schedules and — finally — ultimate backup schedules for the coming fall. After you fit in those must-have core classes, try to expand your horizons next semester. Take a class that you think sounds fun in a subject you’re curious about. Here are just some of the many interesting courses being offered this coming fall.

SOC 453

PHL 334

Psychosocial Aspects of Sport and Physical Activity

Metaphysics: Problem of Being

Then Who is My Neighbor?

Jazz Dance

Food, Politics and Policy Studies in Irish Writers

THE 321

DNC 214

POL 338 ENG 375

Get your head in the game! Although coaches tend to scream this at the sidelines, there is actually some literal truth behind it. The class will be offered this coming fall to understand the phenomenon behind sports and what they have to offer beyond the body. This course will look at sport-based youth development, mental health and physical activity, performance enhancement and sport and social issues.

To be or not to be; maybe that’s the question! You can explore the answer by taking PHL 334 this coming fall. The class will discuss potency and act, essence and existence, causality, the ontological foundations of logic and the question of God.

Ah yes, the golden rule: Love your neighbor as yourself. We have all probably heard this hundreds of times. But what does it actually mean, and who the heck is my neighbor? THE 321 will look at the historical aspect of this Christian ethic and the role it plays in our multicultural world today.

Want to up your jazz hands game? Then check out DNC 214 and learn the basics to jazz dance technique. There is an emphasis in learning proper body alignment and the value of body conditioning.

I mean, look at the first word of this class title … FOOD! This class will look at the role of politics when it comes to shaping nutrition and food security in places such as the U.S and Europe. Who knows, maybe this class comes with samples!

Are you interested in how literature can explore a nation’s identity, history, faith and other social issues? This class will look at multiple genres of Irish fiction from the 1900s to today. Learn how Lady Gregory, Sean O’Casey, Edna O’Brien and many other writers affected Ireland and other countries abroad.

Alana Laanui • THE BEACON

www.albinabank.com • St Johns Office 8040 N Lombard • 503-285-9966

Offering Pilot Checking..... a custom package of products and services just for UP students, faculty and alumni!

Albina Community Bank

Member FDICEqual Opportunity LenderEqual Housing Lender

Celebrating 20 Years of Community Banking!

Go

Pilots!

Cartoons by Natahn DeVaughn• THE BEACON

From left to right: Sophomore Mara Mideire, junior Calloway Erickson and sophomore Anna Pepper celebrate after competing the half-marathon race at the annual Shamrock Run on March 13. Founded in 1979, the run is Oregon’s largest walking and running event.

Photo courtesy of Calloway Erickson

Shamrock Run 2016

6LIVING T H E B E A C O N • M A R . 1 7 , 2 0 1 6 • U P B E A C O N . C O M

One year ago, the Student Led Unity Garden (SLUG) was overrun with grass and weeds. Strawberries and herbs had gotten lost in the depths of overgrown plants, and worms had taken over the fallow land.

But with the help of students, SLUG advisers and Physical Plant, the garden was revived last summer and had a fruitful harvest, yielding eggplant, tomatoes, lavender, herbs and branch-ripened prunes.

In fact, it’s been doing so well that the garden has outgrown its infrastructure, and SLUG’s leaders have planned a complete redesign of the garden to accommodate its growth.

Members of SLUG have begun to deconstruct the original mandala shape of the garden that was set by the founding members in 2007 and replace it with a system of rows. They will also add an improved irrigation system and compost area, a utility sink for washing produce and possibly a new greenhouse.

Freshman environmental ethics and policy major and SLUG president Molly Burke said the redesign will improve the functionality of the garden and create more of a community space.

“The garden before was really cramped and hard to get wheelbarrows through,” Burke said. “We are extending it and doing some row gardening, so hopefully we can (create) more of a community space to enjoy the garden.”

SLUG co-adviser Nathan Widdicombe said the renovation will consolidate the smaller garden areas into one bigger area so gardeners can all be in one place while working.

“There are a lot of times where one person would be working in the far garden and everyone else would be working in the main garden, so it felt really separate,” Widdicombe said.

The gardeners will begin planting in late March and early April. The SLUG updates its Facebook page with dates of work days for students who are interested in helping plant.

SLUG’s roots As SLUG’s members look forward to the

coming change, Widdicombe said they look

back and are grateful for all the hard work prior gardeners put into SLUG to keep it going.

“We are paying tribute to where we’ve come from, because we wouldn’t have a garden if it wasn’t for the people who came before us,” Widdicombe said.

SLUG began in March 2007 when dozens of students, faculty and physical plant workers laid the foundation for the garden in a grass field at the end of North Warren and North Mckenna streets.

A mandala design was constructed by UP adjunct English professor and SLUG founding adviser Heather Burns. Burns is an assistant professor and coordinator of the Leadership for Sustainability Education graduate program at Portland State University, and is also the PSU faculty coordinator of the Learning Gardens Laboratory, a four-acre garden education laboratory.

Burns said she settled on the design for a circular garden with walk-through paths and keyholes for its functionality and beauty.

“The idea is that there is a lot of access to each of the beds through the keyhole, and there is a lot of edge to it,” Burns said of the mandala design. “And also we just wanted to create something that was beautiful, something that wasn’t just straight edges, straight lines, but something that had more of an organic, ecological shape to it.”

Burns said the circular shape does make it more difficult to have an irrigation system.

“It’s hard to set up an irrigation system with the keyholes,” Burns said. “The mandala shape makes it a little trickier.”

But changing a garden’s system that has been established for a while disrupts the soil’s structure, Burns said, and any perennials that grew there will also be disrupted.

Burns said there are different goals that must be considered when designing a garden.

“Straight rows tend to be associated more with intense production because it can be easier to get more workers in the straight rows and tools and wheelbarrows,” Burns said. “At least when we designed the garden, that wasn’t the goal of the garden. Of course we wanted to grow food, and we wanted to share that with the community, but we also wanted to be in harmony with the landscape and to create something beautiful, that wasn’t just a farm, but was a garden.”

Burke said SLUG hopes to take the founders’ ideas and carry them on through the redesign.

“We are hoping to continue their idea, just with a different approach, but with the same idea at heart,” Burke said.

SLUG recalls its roots as it plans for

the garden’s redesign

We are paying tribute to where we’ve come from, because we wouldn’t have a garden if it wasn’t for the people who came before us.

“Nathan WiddicombeSLUG co-adviser

1. SLUG’s original design blueprint from March 2007.2. Drawing of the upcoming SLUG redesign.

3: SLUG members are currently dissolving the shape of the garden in anticipation of its new, extended look.

4: Juniors Gabriel Wihtol and Stephen Gallivan in the SLUG late last year.

By Cheyenne SchoenT H E B E A C O N

Contact Staff Writer Cheyenne Schoen at schoen17@up.edu.

7LIVING T H E B E A C O N • M A R . 1 7 , 2 0 1 6 • U P B E A C O N . C O M

Drawing courtesy of Molly Burke

Thomas Dempsey • THE BEACON

Hannah Baade • THE BEACON

Drawing courtesy of Nathan Widdicombe

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2

3

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8LIVING T H E B E A C O N • M A R . 1 7 , 2 0 1 6 • U P B E A C O N . C O M

I can’t speak for everyone, but when I came to college, I made a promise to myself to start anew and to get a handle

on all my bad habits. Within four weeks of being here though, I was neck deep in the same old vices I had in high school and had acquired some new ones as well; so much for that fresh start I had been hoping for. The disappointment of failing myself was bad enough, without even thinking about how these actions had affected my relationship with God.

So naturally, Confession wasn’t very high on my list of things to do. Every so often, the motivation to go to Confession would spring up after Mass or a deep conversation with a friend, but I would then proceed to freak out over what I was going to say and how I was going to say it. In addition, I was nervous if the priest would treat me differently if he knew what I had actually been doing when I wasn’t at Mass on Sundays. The thought that truly made me resistant to go to Confession though, was the underlying idea that I was an unforgivable human being that didn’t deserve forgiveness anyway, so asking for it was pointless.

That discouraging thought bounced around in my head until it was pointed out to me that no one ever deserves grace, in fact, that is the definitive aspect to grace itself: It is undeserved. Confession

can almost be described as a beautiful injustice, because it is an interaction where undeserving and guilty people receive forgiveness and freedom instead of punishment.

I remember going to my first confession at UP quite vividly, mostly because I was so nervous that my teeth were chattering together and my feet wouldn’t stop twitching. There was a small queue of people sitting in chairs in front of me, and every time someone went in and it grew closer to my turn, I would start twitching even more (it also didn’t help that the gal right before me walked out in tears).

When my turn finally arrived, I walked in and entirely blanked on the protocol, I felt like a complete moron to be honest, but the priest was super understanding and walked me through it one step at a time. When the sacrament concluded, I was walking on air. It was like my whole being had been breathing through a straw and I hadn’t realized it until now. The greatest part of the experience though, was regaining the feeling of a fresh start I had wanted, and unlike leaving for college, the promise of forgiveness and transformation through Confession is available as often as the need for it exists. So if you are feeling like it’s been too long, or what you’ve done is unforgivable, please consider giving God the chance to prove you wrong. Just do it.

Samuel Cowdery is a freshman environmental science major. He can be reached at cowdery19@up.edu.

faith

fellowship&

Confession: Just do it.

Samuel CowderyFreshman

The 72,000 square foot Beauchamp Recreation and Wellness Center was funded entirely from donor support! With the help of a generous lead gift from UP Regent Mary Boyle and her husband Tim, the Beauchamp Recreation and Wellness Center has been bustling with activity since it opened last summer. What you might not know is that over 1,400 gifts to the Rec Center were in the amount of $100 or less. Our new state-of-the-art facility is truly a building created by community!

The Office of Development is hosting a letter-writing contest this Thankful for Donors Day. You probably know about the free doughnuts, but how about a $500 Visa gift card? To be entered, write a 450-word letter thanking a donor for the places, spaces, support and experiences you value the most at UP! Email your letter to tfdcontest@up.edu by March 23rd! The winner will be announced by April 4th! For rules and submission guidelines, visit: www.up.edu/giving

And remember to join us on March 23rd to write a thank you note and get your Voodoo Doughnut too!

THANKFUL FOR DONORS DAY LETTER WRITING CONTEST ENDS MARCH 23RD!

DID YOU KNOW?

DO YOU LOVE THE BEAUCHAMP CENTER? THANK A DONOR AND

TELL US WHY!

Opinion 9M A R . 1 7 , 2 0 1 6 • U P B E A C O N . C O M

Lydia Laythe Opinion Editorlaythe16@up.edu

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Nancy Copic Fr. Mark Poormanupbeacon.com • upbeacon@gmail.com • 5000 N. Willamette Blvd. Portland OR

Everyone has a story. The Beacon editorial board has written about this idea in

the past. But this idea recently began to hold even more weight for one editor on staff: me.

My name is Lydia Laythe. I’m the Opinion Editor of The Beacon. I’m a senior social work major. Before I was an editor for The Beacon, I was a reporter, writing articles about police brutality, wheelchair accessibility, LGBTQ athletes and the infamous critique of the Villa Man Auction.

Before I came to UP, I was senior class president at Mercyhurst Preparatory School and voted “Most Likely to Make You Laugh.” Before that, I was a second string player for my 6th grade basketball team at Villa Maria Elementary and I played Glinda in the school’s performance of “The Wizard of Oz.” Before that, I won “Cutest Costume” for my kindergarten Halloween costume (I was in a full-body unicorn suit with a sparkly horn on top). But before that, before all that, I was a “miracle baby.”

That’s what my dad calls me: his miracle baby.

And this might all seem really pointless to you, but being my father’s miracle baby is important to me because in a few months that might be all I’ll have left of my dad.

My dad was diagnosed with soft-tissue sarcoma the spring of my freshman year here at UP. What started as a pea-sized lump on his leg quickly turned into a football-sized tumor wrapped around his femur. And that quickly spread to dozens of tumors in his lungs.

I’ve seen my dad endure the most exhausting chemo and radiation treatments. I’ve watched my parents make the painful decision to put my dad on hospice care. And I’ve heard my dad sob louder than I’ve ever heard when he says goodbye to friends and family that come to visit.

He sobs — not because he’s afraid of dying — but because he might not see these people ever again. When I left Pennsylvania last Tuesday at 5 a.m., after an emotional weekend of visiting my parents, I didn’t know if I could come back to UP and keep my composure. I didn’t know if I could walk into my English class and still talk about feminism and Jane Austen. I didn’t know if I could go to my internship and help facilitate group therapy sessions. I didn’t know if I could go to The Beacon meetings and pitch story ideas. I didn’t know if I’d even want to get out of bed.

Saying goodbye to my dad last Tuesday at 5 a.m. was the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do.

That might be the last time I ever say goodbye to him.

And it sucks.But my dad told me

something the night before I left. It was 11:50 p.m. on Monday night and I was lying in his bed next to him. I was

sobbing and leaving tears and smudged makeup on his T-shirt. He told me that to be a good person — to be a good nurse, to be a good professor, to be a good social worker — to be a good human being, you had to acknowledge and appreciate the presence of the people you come in contact with every day. To be a good human being, you have to realize that everyone has a story, and if you can acknowledge that, people will appreciate you.

He said he saw that in me when I check out at the grocery store and I ask the cashier how they’re doing.

Because, like I’ve written in editorials in the past, everyone has a story. The Commons worker that’s fumbling with your sandwich has a story. The professor who’s a tough grader has a story. The annoying kid in your class has a story. And the girl that writes controversial articles for The Beacon has a story.

So before you call someone “annoying” or “an empty-headed bimbo,” please remember that everyone has a story that you will never know the half of. Everyone has a story that they want to share. And everyone has a story that you’re forgetting to acknowledge. So listen for people’s stories and share your own. Our community will be the better for expressing and acknowledging all of our stories.

Editors’ note: This piece was written last week, and Lydia’s father has since passed away. Our thoughts are with the Laythe family.

‘Everyone has a story that they want to share’

So listen for people’s stories and share your own. Our community will be the better for expressing and acknowledging all of our stories.

“

Editor’s note: In lieu of an editorial for this week, the

Editorial Board has decided to publish this personal piece

by Opinion Editor Lydia Laythe. Lydia wrote this piece

after a recent visit with her father at her family’s home in

Pennsylvania.

Letter from the Presidential

Advisory Committee on Inclusion

As co-chairs of the Presidential Advisory Committee on Inclusion (PACOI), we read the March 3 Beacon headline story,

“Disconnected: Black students on The Bluff feel they don’t belong,” and were once again inspired by the courage of our students to speak up when they believe our community has not reached its goal of being as inclusive as it could be. UP should be a place where everyone can feel accepted, welcomed and included. It is clear to us that there is still work to be done.

In 2011, the University of Portland adopted a statement on inclusion to publicly affirm our belief that every person, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, social or economic class, age or disability should be treated with respect and dignity. But this statement was only one step in a long process.

Being an inclusive campus community requires an ongoing commitment from all of us to acknowledge and honor the diversity of life experiences and perspectives of our fellow community members, especially those that may differ from our own. We must listen to one another and learn from one another. It is only when we take the time to listen that we can better understand and address the subtle ways others within our community may feel excluded.

Every voice is critical in reaching our goal of creating and sustaining an inclusive environment where all people are welcomed as children of God and feel valued as full

members of our community. Our work in this area will never be complete: There will always be more we can do to support and lift up our fellow Pilots.

Students in the Beacon article said they wanted to see more direct action. This is a very timely request. For the past two months, a group of students, faculty and staff have been planning an opportunity to come together as a community to discuss how we best address these concerns and take concrete steps to improve our community. We invite students, faculty and staff to join us for the upcoming discussion “Community Engagement on Racial Inclusion” at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, March 22 in the Mehling Hall Ballroom.

Facilitated by UP students Khalid Osman and Emma Martinez and sponsored by the Presidential Advisory Committee on Inclusion, the Student Association of Social Workers, Black Student Union, Black Lives Matter, and the Office of Student Activities, this event will provide attendees the opportunity to share their personal reflections about embracing diversity, learn from one another’s experiences, and explore how we can more actively promote racial inclusion in our community. We are hopeful that many in our community will be able to attend.

Respectfully,Joane Moceri, dean of the

School of Nursing and co-chair of the PACOI

Fr. Gerry Olinger, C.S.C., vice president for University Relations and co-chair of the PACOI

For more information on the event, please feel free to email diversity@up.edu.

The Presidential Advisory Commitee on Inclusion “Community Engagement on Racial Inclusion”When: 7 p.m. Where: Mehling Hall Ballroom

Joane MoceriDean of the School of Nursing

University of Portland receives funding from outside institutions. This is not news. University of Portland needs the funding.

One of the larger funders to UP is the Murdock Charitable Trust. It is based in Vancouver, Washington. The Murdock Charitable Trust funds many worthy groups, such as: the Boys & Girls Clubs, the arts and institutions of higher education (like the University of Portland).

Since 2012, UP has received $1.8 million from the Murdock Charitable Trust. It has gone toward internship programs, research projects and grants, the renovation of the Clark Library and the Beauchamp

Recreation & Wellness Center. The university has benefited from the funding received from the Murdock Charitable Trust.

Unfortunately, the Murdock Charitable Trust has also given funding to hateful groups. Here are some groups that receive funding from the Murdock Charitable Trust:

The Alliance Defending Freedom: an extremist organization co-founded by James Dobson, who has suggested that AIDS is one way God punishes the LGBT community for immorality and has supported gay conversion therapy. The ADF has helped draft SB 1062 in Arizona, which would have allowed businesses to discriminate against the LGBT community on the basis of religion. They were granted $250,000 by Murdock in 2012.

The Freedom Foundation: an extremist organization that has launched an all-out assault on working families in Oregon and

Washington state. The Freedom Foundation is funded by out of state billionaires who want to keep wages low, eliminate paid sick leave and slash crucial funding for quality education. They were granted $240,000 by Murdock in 2015.

The Discovery Institute: Leading staff members have questioned the existence of climate change and its founder, George Gilder, has called gay marriage “an absurd concept … a lie.” They were awarded $375,000 by Murdock in 2015.

The Murdock Charitable Trust states that its grants

are intended to “enrich the quality of life in the Pacific Northwest.” If this is the case, then why do they fund hate groups?

So what does this have to with UP?

The University’s mission statement includes: “We value the development of the whole person. The University honors faith and reason as ways of knowing, promotes ethical reflection, and prepares people who respond to the needs of the world and its human family.”

The University’s strategic plan for 2011-2016 intends to create “a community that demonstrates service and leadership for the common good.”

Blessed Basil Moreau “called upon his followers to teach their students not only how they might live, but also how they might make a living.”

Neither of those statements aligns with the messages of

the hate groups that receive funding from the Murdock Charitable Trust. Murdock’s funding toward these hate groups does not align with the University’s values.

We are not asking UP to turn down the money. That is not practical, nor is it our goal. We just hope that Murdock does not intend to buy our silence by providing us these grants.

We call on the UP administration to urge the Murdock Charitable Trust to end their funding for these organizations that undermine the values of UP and larger Pacific Northwest communities.

For more information on supporting the campaign to stop the funding of hate groups, visit http://nwaccountabilityproject.com/petition/.

10OPINION T H E B E A C O N • M A R . 1 7 , 2 0 1 6 • U P B E A C O N . C O M

Call to Murdock Trust: stop funding hateful groups

Jill PhamSenior

We call on the UP administration to urge Murdock Charitable Trust to end their funding for these orgnizations that undermine the values of UP and larger Pacific Northwest communities.

“

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Instead, he had to reassess, asking himself, “What can I do for the players?” He says he then began the awkward process of calling committed recruits to notify them that he wouldn’t be their coach.

“Everything just went, ‘boom, boom, boom’ from there,” Reveno said.

The full magnitude of what had happened didn’t hit home until he told Leykam that the team wouldn’t be able to meet until 4 p.m. to discuss the news. In response, Leykam informed him that the team was in the locker room meeting at that moment.

“So it’s like, you’re no longer in charge of your team,” Reveno said.

The Pilots finished the 2015-16 season with a disappointing record of 12-20, five fewer wins than the 2014-15 campaign. An upset victory over BYU was the season’s highlight, but Portland also suffered two losses to last-place San Diego and multiple blowout losses to Gonzaga, including a season-ending first-round defeat in the WCC Tournament on March 6.

During Reveno’s tenure, the Pilots did make it on the map, if only fleetingly. Reveno, the 2009 WCC Coach of the Year, had a stretch from 2008 to 2011 where the team won a combined 60 games and joined Gonzaga and St. Mary’s in the

conference’s top tier. But the team couldn’t make it last.

“I’m disappointed that we did not get over the hump,” Reveno said. “And I’m disappointed that, personally, I did not make that happen. I felt like I was close, closer than anyone ever has been here. And I’m proud of everyone that helped do that.”

Reveno referred to the Pilots’ win-loss record this year as a “practical disappointment” and took ownership for it. He described the conversation with Leykam as a “polite,” “generic” break-up, adding that he requested additional feedback on his performance.

“I said that I look forward to sometime getting some more feedback,” Reveno recalled. “I really get glowing reviews, and I’m proud of that. But at the level we are trying to compete at, it comes down to wins and losses, so there wasn’t much that needed to be said.”

Reveno is the fourth WCC head basketball coach to lose his job in recent months. San Francisco, Santa Clara and Pacific have all let their head coaches go.

Rumors about his future at Portland had hung over Reveno all season, making the nine days after the Pilots were eliminated by Gonzaga feel like an eternity.

“It was a little torturous to wait this long after the last game,” Reveno admitted. “That was hard.”

But saying goodbye to his players was the hardest part.

Reveno’s pride in his team is everywhere in his office. The television screen next to his desk usually plays film so that Reveno can review plays and tell his players what they did wrong, what they did well and how they can improve. On Wednesday, the screen was blank, one more sign that the Pilots were no longer his team.

When he addressed them, he told them that everything would be ok.

Co-Captain Alec Wintering said that he values loyalty and is grateful for the chance that Reveno gave him.

“It was an honor to play for coach Reveno and his staff,” Alec Wintering said. “They recruited and gave me an opportunity to play Division I basketball. With that said, I understand it’s a business and I committed to the University of Portland, not just to the head coach.”

Wintering said that the next steps for the program will be finding a coach that can help the team improve on a daily basis that will lead them to a “winning tradition (that gets) fans involved and excited.”

But finding that coach won’t be easy. Reveno fit the campus culture. He balanced athletics while upholding the University’s high academic standards. Each successful school in the conference has

found its recruiting niche. UP’s strategy under Reveno’s guidance was international recruiting and dedication to local kids. Recruiting will remain the biggest challenge facing UP’s next coach.

Reveno thinks that the school needs a “Pied Piper”: an ex-NBA player who is high-profile enough to come in and attract the talent needed. Multiple outlets have floated former Blazers guard Terry Porter as a possible candidate.

“No other WCC school has been able to hire a Pied Piper...they come at with a high price tag,” Reveno said. “But then can they fit in here? Are they going to be ok that they get kicked out of the Chiles Center for a luau?”

Reveno is confident the school will do things “the right way” and hire someone who “won’t get in trouble.” Reveno, a Stanford graduate, said he fit in so well on The Bluff because he is hard-wired to win both in basketball and academics.

Recruiting will not be easy for Reveno’s successor. Reveno remembers kids telling him time and again that they were going to choose to go to a school where the academic load was lighter.

UP was special to Reveno. He was the face of the Athletic Department and the first person many think of when at the sounds of “University of Portland Athletics.” He built his legacy here, a legacy that is now hanging on the wall waiting to be put in boxes.

“I’m not vindictive,” Reveno said. “I really wish the university, the kids in particular, I wish them well. I wish the school well. I wish the next coach well. It’s how I poured so much into this, every day, to coach kids like this, to coach players like this, work with people like this, at a school like this. It was a dream opportunity. It was a dream.”

It’s too soon to speculate where Reveno, who was an assistant at Stanford before coming to Portland in 2006 might end up next. Former Pilot Kevin Bailey expects Reveno to land on his feet.

“He’s a fighter,” Bailey said. “You don’t stay at a school for 10 years for no reason. He brings something to the table and I am sure another program will see that.”

The objects in Reveno’s office will be removed before long, all those familiar plaques and photos shoved into boxes. And soon, the familiar face behind the desk will be gone for good, too.

Reveno: Saying goodbye to players ‘the hardest part’Continued from page 1

But then can they fit in here? Are they going to be ok that they get kicked out of the Chiles Center for a luau?

“Eric RevenoFormer head basketball coach

He’s a fighter. You don’t stay at a school for 10 years for no reason. He brings something to the table and I am sure another program will see that.

“Kevin BaileyFormer UP basketball player

Contact Sports Editor Malika Andrews at andrewsm17@up.edu. Twitter: @malika_andrews

Eric Reveno reacts on the bench during the Pilots’ home game against ACU in November. Reveno said after being told he would not be invited back to the University of Portland, his first concern was, “What can I do for the players?”

Kristen Garcia • THE BEACON

12M A R . 1 7 , 2 0 1 6 • U P B E A C O N . C O MSports Malika Andrews Sports Editorandrewsm17@up.edu

Online only: Staff Writer Ben Arthur weighs in on March Madness and makes his bracket picks.

The baseball field has always been home to sophomore Kevin Baker. For years, he had stepped in between the white lines and took part in the action on the mound and at the plate. But his freshman year at the University of Portland was different. He was in a new position: spectator.

As he sat and watched in the stands of Joe Etzel Field, he had only one thought: “I think I’ve got a shot to make the team.”

Baseball has been a part of Baker’s life since he was three years old. The Pittsburgh Pirates drafted his grandfather Joe Baker in the 1940s. Baker decided to follow in the footsteps of his grandfather and made it his goal to play Division I baseball.

At the end of Baker’s high school career, his dream to play Division I baseball seemed out of reach. After four years of playing third base and pitcher, he had no scholarship offers from any school.

“Part of it might have been my fault. I just didn’t know the process at all,” Baker said, “I just kinda thought schools would go after me.”

Baker was discouraged, but baseball was in his blood. So, despite the lack of scholarship offers, he decided to play summer baseball. But still, at the end of the summer, no baseball scholarships were on the table. That’s when he decided to come to the University of Portland.

The nursing program at UP was attractive to Baker. He became interested in the field in a high school kinesiology

class. Baker still didn’t give up

on his baseball dream. After a conversation with his high school coach, his mind was made up and he was going to try out for the team.

The first order of business in the tryout process was a conversation with then-head coach Chris Sperry. It didn’t go well.

“Once I met the head coach he just kinda shut me down,” Baker said.

That conversation led Baker to the decision to focus on school for his freshman year. But transitioning to life without baseball was difficult.

“It was hard not to miss it,” Baker said. “It was the first year since I was three that I hadn’t played baseball.”

As the 2015 baseball season went on, rumors swirled of a coaching change for the Pilots and Baker was listening closely — his decision to play or not to play hanging in the balance.

“If there was a new coaching staff that came around that was gonna be my sign that I should try out,” Baker said.

Once new head coach Geoff Loomis was hired, Kevin was all in. His interaction with the previous head coach left him discouraged, wondering why he wasn’t wanted on the team. But with the new staff on the way Baker had confidence that he would be given a shot and he wanted to make the most of it.

Once again Baker dedicated his summer to baseball.This particular summer was enormously successful for him because he saw his skills dramatically improve. He was able to boost his throwing speed.

The increase in speed set Baker apart from the competition.

The coaches noticed. Loomis’ ears perked up when he heard about a kid with a 90 mph fastball.

“All I had to do at that point was show them that I could do it,” Baker said.

After the first day of tryouts, Coach Loomis was sold on Baker just as Baker had been sold on him.

“We had about five or six guys try out that day,” Loomis said. “And Kevin was a guy who really stuck out to us. He’s a sophomore academically, but just a freshman athletically,” Loomis said. “So for a freshman guy who comes into a tryout and was throwing upper 80s, we were pretty impressed.”

The coaching staff was just as confused as they were impressed.

“We tried to figure out how it was that he was here for a year without playing,” Loomis said.

It was a perfect marriage between Baker and the new coaching staff and Baker joined as one of only two walk-ons who made the cut on the spring roster. He was officially a Division I baseball player.

“It was a dream come true,” Baker said. He described the feeling of achieving his lifelong goal with one word: “unreal.”

Baker recorded his first start

in the Pilots’ second game at UC Davis on Feb. 20, 2016.

“I tried to tell myself the whole week that it was just another baseball game,” Baker said. “But the second I stepped out on that mound the nerves got the best of me.”

He had walked by the field during his freshman year as a student, but now he was in the action, starting a game in front of his home crowd for the first time. With his family in the stands, his nerves calmed and excitement took over.

His first home start didn’t go the way that he had planned, but Baker is still confident in his abilities. Baker already knows what he will be telling himself the next time he takes the mound.

“Make them hit it,” he said. “My stuff is good enough to make hitters get themselves out.”

Baker received similar advice from veteran teammate and pitcher, senior Jordan Wilcox.

“Basically my biggest thing to him was just don’t walk guys,” Wilcox said.

Wilcox, an experienced pitcher at the college level, has seen Baker grow and adjust to his new role.

“He’s doing a better job of trusting his stuff and being more aggressive and having that philosophy that ‘I can beat these guys,’” Wilcox said.

Reaching his goal of becoming a Division I baseball player has taken him on a long and difficult journey. In two years of college, Baker has made the journey from student to student athlete and now finds himself as a starter on an up-and-coming collegiate

baseball program.“I’ve gained confidence in

myself,” Baker said. “I walk around campus with my head held so much higher than I did last year.”

For Baker, part of being successful is never being satisfied and always setting new goals. Baker has done just that. He now has his sights set on bigger and better things.

“My ultimate goal now is to play professional baseball,” he said, “Now that I know how good I can be once I hit my peak potential. It’s to play professional baseball.”

Coach Loomis sees pro baseball as a possibility for Baker as well.

“Velocity wise he could potentially be drafted in Major League Baseball,” Loomis said. “How he progresses in the next couple of years will really go to show that.”

Baker does have a plan B if baseball doesn’t work out. It’s what he originally came to the University of Portland for: nursing.

The University of Portland baseball team along with Baker is setting its sights higher this year than ever before.

“The ultimate goal is to win a College World Series,” Baker said. “As a college baseball team you shouldn’t be working towards anything less than winning that national championship.”

The advice he would give to someone chasing the same dream: “You just have to give it a shot.”

A BASEBALL DREAM COME

TRUE:Kevin Baker’s journey

from student to starter

By Hunter JacobsonT H E B E A C O N

Contact Sports Writer Hunter Jacobson at jacobsoh19@up.edu.

Make them hit it. My stuff is good enough to make hitters get themselves out.

“Kevin BakerSophomore

Kristen Garcia • THE BEACON

Kevin Baker pitches at a home game. Baker walked onto the team

at the beginning of his sophomore year.