VIKINGS TOPPLE BEARS Women’s volleyball is closing in on Big Sky title
SPORTS: PAGE 12
INDEX
AMC NAILS IT WITH “THE WALKING DEAD”
NEWS OPINION ARTS SPORTS
Nerds everywhere lose their minds
ARTS: PAGE 8
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ESTABLISHED 1946
T UESDAY, NOV EM BER 1 6 T H, 20 10
VO L. 65 NO. 22
PS UVA N G UA R D.CO M
Veteran enrollment at PSU is on the rise
Volunteering could lengthen lifespan PSU study finds correlation between volunteering and longer life for people with limitations ERICK BENGEL VANGUARD STAFF
New GI Bill funds allow hundreds of veterans to attend PSU JOHN GEFFERT VANGUARD STAFF
With the help of the new GI Bill, veteran student enrollment is up 30 percent at Portland State. This brings the total number of veterans on campus to 738. The increase in veteran attendance represents just under a third of the overall 2 percent rise in enrollment PSU experienced between fall of 2009 and this year. Jackie Balzer, vice provost for student affairs, indicated that having such a significant population of veterans on campus has the great potential of creating a positive impact on the entire student body. According to Balzer, veterans are known across the campus as being extremely hardworking, motivated and punctual. Of the 171 newly enrolled vets this fall, 140 are receiving money under the Post 9/11 GI Bill, also referred to as the new GI Bill. This is a 50 percent increase in students receiving the new GI Bill over last year. “This is the highest number of people receiving benefits ever because of military service,” said Veterans Certification Officer Allen Roberts. Roberts works out of the Degree Requirements & Veterans Certification office in Neuberger Hall, and is directly responsible for helping all eligible vets complete the paperwork required to receive their benefits under the various veterans’ educational assistance programs. “The new GI Bill applicant requires a substantial amount of paperwork on the part of the school in order to help them get their money,” he said. Under the Post 9/11 GI Bill, the benefits VETERANS ON PAGE 7
JOHN GEFFERT/VANGUARD STAFF
Student veterans: Left to right—Michelle Bates (Army), Sheraya Martin (Army) and Britni Mimms (Air Force).
Jason Newsom, associate professor of community health at Portland State, recently co-authored a scientific study whose results strongly suggest that volunteering in one’s community can increase the longevity of older adults living with functional limitations. According to Newsom, a person with functional limitations—such as those who are unable to buy groceries or drive a car—often feels a loss of control over his or her health. These limitations often impair one’s selfperception, which can lead to decreased longevity. The study finds, however, that the act of volunteering may counteract many of the negative effects of functional limitations. The study is the brainchild of Morris Okun, professor of psychology at Arizona State University, who enlisted Newsom and Karen Rooks, professor of social ecology at the University of California at Irvine, to analyze the data. According to Okun, over 800 people age 65 and older living in the continental U.S. participated in the study. The survey phase of the study was conducted over a two-year period, during which each participant was tested five times at six-month intervals. Okun and his colleagues then tracked the death records of these participants for another four years after the survey data collection had ended. “We did this study because volunteering is an important way that people can contribute to society while helping themselves to age better,” Okun said. “This study was part of a larger effort to identify factors that contribute to successful aging.” Okun and his colleagues were particularly interested in whether volunteering was more beneficial for older adults with functional limitations or without them. “Older adults benefit from volunteering, and those with problems in carrying out the activities of daily living appear to benefit the most,” VOLUNTEERING ON PAGE 7
Theft in ASPSU office raises security concerns Stolen computer did not contain private information at time of theft SIERRA PANNABECKER VANGUARD STAFF
The theft of ASPSU President Katie Markey’s work computer from the ASPSU office in Smith Memorial Student Union has raised questions about the office’s security, as student government computers have been known to carry sensitive information collected about voters in registration drives. An adviser noticed that the computer was missing when he came into the office on Sunday, Nov. 7, and it is believed that the computer was stolen sometime between Friday and then, when the office was locked for the night. According to Markey, ASPSU had updated all its staff technology one day prior to the theft.
The computer had been in the office one day when it was stolen and therefore no data or private information was on it. She had not even had an opportunity to turn it on. ASPSU had been working on a huge voter registration campaign during the months before the theft and computers in the office contain voter registration data. The office was also used to hold a phone bank that utilized an automated dialing program. Domanic Thomas, the faculty adviser for ASPSU, said the matter is being handled seriously. “The measures we are taking to make the office more secure include limiting key access, having more specific opening and closing times, and taking additional steps to secure the office and surrounding area,” he said. In addition, ASPSU has filed an incident report with Campus Public Safety Office and is also working with OIT to determine if and where the computer is being used, Thomas said. There are no
cameras in ASPSU’s office or the hallway outside, but because the office was not broken into it is likely that a student with access to a key is the culprit. Markey stated that 11 people have keys, mostly chair-people and members of the executive board. “Senators do not have keys,” she said. While the office is open to students during regular hours, Thomas and Markey said that the ASPSU office is still a safe place. Though there have been issues of non-ASPSU students using resources that they are not authorized to use, those issues were promptly addressed. “We are putting in access codes for printing and copying to ensure that only ASPSU business is taking place with those resources,” Thomas said. All members of the student government are aware of the protocol for the use of resources in the office, and the security of the office depends on their adherence to it. The ASPSU office is intended to be a space ASPSU ON PAGE 7
SAGE WARNER/VANGUARD STAFF
Theft: Because the lock to ASPSU's office door was not broken, Markey suspects the thief had access to the office.