The Pioneer Log, April 8, 2011
Speakers at OMA banquet discuss perspectives on race
BY STEPHANIE GONZALEZ
Staff Writer
On Tuesday, Mar. 29, the Office of Mul-
ticultural Affairs held their annual awards
banquet. Dean of Students and Chief Diver-
sity Officer Celestino Limas spoke about the
progression of diversity that Lewis & Clark
has had over the years. He thanked the peo-
ple in the room for their contributions and
wanted the audience to acknowledge the se-
niors graduating, the students transferring
and the faculty retiring.
The faculty Impact award was awarded
to visiting assitant professor Kim Brodkin
for her encouragement, guidance and com-
passion. Katherine Paul (’11) and Keletso
Maine (’11) shared their personal experienc-
es with the audience about Brodkin. Brodkin
was Paul’s Gender Studies professor, and re-
vealed her caring personality after lecturing
on an important but difficult topic in class
which concerned Paul’s Native American
heritage. She made sure that Paul was okay
with the subject matter, and ever since then,
their relationship has grown. As for Maine,
Brodkin made an impression on her a few
years back, showing genuine gratitude when
Maine had distributed flyers for the Race
Thai restaurant goes against its ethnic culinary rule of thumb
BY HANNAH PALMER
Staff Writer
For the die-hard vegetarian, eating eth-
nic can sometimes be a risk. The menu may
say “vegetable curry,” but who knows what
animal-based ingredients might really be in
that curry base? Vege Thai takes the guess-
work out of ordering vegetarian. This small
Thai eatery on Hawthorne prides itself on
being 100 % vegetarian. In addition to of-
fering only meat-free dishes, the kitchen uses
no fish sauce, oyster sauce or shrimp paste
in the preparation of its soups, noodles, stir-
fries and curries.
On the surface, Vege Thai looks like the
quintessential Portland diner. In addition to
LC history:
Roots in Albany
A weekly column dedicated to digging up the college’s past
BY MICAH LEINBACH
Staff Writer
Lewis & Clark can (and does) claim to
be one of the oldest collegiate institutions in
the Pacific Northwest. But before 1942, the
only Lewis and Clark references to be found
in the Northwest would be to the explorers.
How then, can LC make so bold a claim?
The answer lies in the Albany institute.
Before LC was established, the college it
would develop out of was the Albany Insti-
tute. Founded in 1867—the year displayed
on the seal of the college—the Albany Col-
legiate Institute began, unsurprisingly, in
Albany, OR. Founded by Presbyterians as
the Albany Academy in 1858, the school is
one of four that predated Oregon’s statehood
(Linfield, Willamette, and Pacific also claim
the honor). For Albany, it predated the state
by only a single year.
The Monteith family, who now has a
meeting room named for them, donated the
seven acres for the original Albany. The land
would be used from 1866 to 1925, when the
school would move south of Albany. That
was a short move, however, for 12 years later
Albany would find its way to Portland. By
1939 the entire institution was in the Rose
City.
If you were at Albany, you were a Pirate,
not a Pioneer. And your yearbook was nei-
ther the Orange Peal nor the Voyageur (two
of the names LC’s have had); it was a Cor-
sair. Those yearbooks are still around, and
date back to 1931. In 1931, a class of 21
Monologues at the Ray Warren Multicultur-
al Symposium. Brodkin then encouraged her
to become more engaged with OMA, and
now, as a senior, instead of distributing fly-
ers, Maine co-chaired the Multicultural Af-
fairs Symposium.
On the Pluralism & Unity Project Board,
Molly Hetz (’11) gave a personal reflection
of her LC experience. She spoke about her
growth, gratitude and experience of diversity
at LC. During her first year, Hetz acknowl-
edged the lack of racial and ethnic diversi-
ty, but soon found that the different back-
grounds and perspectives students have here
was diversity in itself. Her involvement with
the OMA has been essential to her wonder-
ful experience; she was first introduced by
her LINCS mentor, Yollie Keeton (’10).
“Yollie and I attended several OMA
events, and from that point forward, I de-
cided it was something I wanted to be a part
of,” said Hetz. The Staff Impact Award went
to Greg Caldwell. It was both a joyous and
sorrowful moment due to Caldwell’s’s retire-
ment. Kemiyondo Coutinho (’12) shared
Caldwell’s 101 inspiring personality. From
day one, Caldwell has been the best support
that Coutinho could want. When thinking
the vegan/vegetarian ethnic fare, the restau-
rant offers an array of beer and wine. Slightly
uncomfortable décor includes paintings by
local artists and a stained glass PBR lamp,
while large windows give diners a chance to
watch the “Portlandia”-inspiring passersby
strolling Hawthorne.
On a Saturday night, the sparse crowd in-
cluded an older lesbian couple taking their
daughter and her girlfriend out for an awk-
ward “meet the parents” dinner, a 40-some-
thing man and woman on what appeared to
be a first blind date and a couple that left af-
ter learning the restaurant didn’t serve meat.
Unlike the people watching, the cuisine at
Vege Thai is simply standard. The Thai iced
tea ($1.75), a staple of any Thai restaurant,
seniors was graduating with solemnity and
gratitude, while the freshmen were clearly
reveling in a year of mischief. “The horrid
sophomores teased us last fall,” the freshman
message reported. “They paddled us…but
we got even with them. They thought they
were so smart when they hid under the plat-
form in the chapel and found out our plans
[for a party]. It didn’t do them any good.
When they came out to the fairground and
stormed the door of the big barn we were in,
we went outside and licked them hard.” One
sophomore “hid in a spare tire and we found
him and tied him up and spanked him most
unmercifully.” These were different times.
The 1942 yearbook is particularly strik-
ing, as it sends off the senior class who were
the first freshmen to enter the new Portland
campus, and the last ever to graduate from
Albany. The largest class Albany had ever
seen was a class responsible for setting up a
whole new set of traditions at their new lo-
cation.
They graduated during the 75th anniver-
sary of the College, and left behind a mock
will and testament, saying, “We do bequeath
to the Junior Class those most comfort-
able front-row chapel seats… [and] our air
of haughty supremacy to any freshmen that
may need it.”
Albany’s last graduating class would say
the following: “Lastly, we give to our Alma
Mater our cherished memories, our undy-
ing love, our deepest devotion, and a most
fond hope for her great success in the cre-
ative years to come.”
Features 9
Keletso Maine (’11) talks at the OMA banquet. She received the Ray Warren Leadership Award.
about coming to LC, Coutinho would email
Caldwell a bunch of questions, and “right
after [she] pressed send, he had already re-
plied!” This was not the only impressive
characteristic that Caldwell had’ he also at-
tended every one of Coutinho’s plays, and
when she had to write a grant proposal to
take her play further, he helped her edit the
proposal. The Ray Warren Leadership Award
was given to Keletso Maine (’11).
After recovering from speechlessness due
to shock Maine spoke difficulties adjusting
was light on the milk and a little overpow-
ering. The pra ram ($7.50 with tofu), con-
sisted of steamed broccoli, carrots, cabbage
and tofu topped with an overly sweet pea-
nut sauce. Cooking the veggies in the sauce
might have allowed them to absorb more
flavor, adding depth to the dish; as it was,
the dish was fairly uninspiring. Whole basil
leaves and eggplant do add a bit of excite-
ment to the green curry ($7.50 with tofu).
Perhaps the most exciting option at Vege
Thai is the opportunity to add a variety of
imitation meats to your curries and noodles.
Diners can choose from soy chicken, soy
steak or soy shrimp in addition to the usual
choices of tofu and tempeh. Unfortunately
for the eager reader, soy shrimp sounded so
Dorm Cooking:
Hearts of romaine
BY DREW LENIHAN
Staff Writer
Hearts of romaine is the typical dish you
would see at many upscale Northwest and
Americana cuisine restaurants around the
nation, with wild garnishes like buttermilk-
bacon dressing, prosciutto or heirloom to-
mato slices. While this fresh and minimal-
ist dish is beloved by mothers everywhere,
it can also be the perfect, zesty pick-me-up.
It is served cold and requires a minimal
amount of heating or cooking.
Just crack out your knife, dorm chef,
and get slicing. Not only is this antipasto
a real treat for our bellies, but it also tastes
good because it’s healthy and very aestheti-
cally pleasing.
Let’s begin: romaine hearts are sold in
packs at Fred Meyer, so half the work is done
for us. Slice the head in half and place on
a George Foreman grill if you have one. If
a George Foreman grill cannot be procured,
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to LC, where her race and culture stood out
from so many others.
“Race was not the only thing that made
my adjustment challenging, but just differ-
ences in views, and culture. Lewis & Clark
is really liberal, but to others that aren’t as
liberal, it can feel isolating. I figured, ‘I am
going to be here for four years, so I better
make the most of it.’ So getting involved in
events and supporting issues that were close
to me was how I eventually felt comfortable
at LC.”
unappetizing that this reviewer wasn’t brave
enough to chance it. Other faux-meat op-
tions include soy chicken nuggets and several
soy fish dishes.Service was fast and friendly
and prices were reasonable, with most dish-
es priced at $7.50 (though if you choose to
spring for the soy shrimp, you’ll hand over
$2 extra). But this doesn’t make up for unin-
spiring cuisine. So unless you’re on the hunt
for more creative faux meat, or have a han-
kering to watch some awkward dating situ-
ations, stick with Thai Peacock downtown.
3272 SE Hawthorne Blvd.
Monday-Friday 11:30-3:00, 5:00-9:00
Saturday & Sunday 12:00-9:00
use a hot skillet and braise the heart of ro-
maine. Place a bit of olive oil on both sides
and some diced garlic as well. Then flip the
heart, and place olive and garlic on the side
that is about to be braised. After both sides
have been slightly browned, remove the ro-
maine and put it on a plate. Place sliced to-
mato on top; remember how important the
aesthetics of plating is. Dribble more olive
oil (if necessary), white vinegar, sunflower
seeds and parmesan on top; meat eaters may
want to add bacon. Enjoy with friends, and
be the dorm’s new Julia Child.
Ingredients
Hearts of Romaine (available in packs of
3 at Freddy’s)
Clove of garlic
Olive oil
Sunflower seeds
Parmesan
Bacon bits (2 slices of chopped bacon)
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