4
APr#
Forum
"I think it's stupid because
Portland is a happy place.
Roses are happy."
—Mackenzie
Johnson,
freshman
"Well, I never thought
it was that boring but I
guess I would rather be
living back in
Calgary."
— Matt Glenn,
sophomore
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What do you think
about Portland being
nam ed the unhappi-
est city in the U.S. ?
■
'Were in a tough spot right
now— so many people
are out of a job and it's
understandable but there
is always hope. We'll just
have to hold on to that
until these rough times are
over
—Jaimie
Lorenzini,
junior
"I think it has to do
with the weather. The
sun has a lot of vita
mins that are im por
tant
for us ."
a é
— Miles Rifkin,
senior
Entertainment industry ignores economic
dow nturn, prices rising unreasonably
Even with inflated prices,
With the economy in a
people still flock to the
disastrous state, businesses
theaters. Shows sell out and
continue to go under and
concessions are bought by
prices in every industry seem
the truckload. At the end of
to be dropping. One industry,
the day, jnany people forget
however, doesn't seem to be
about the prices. In a time
affected—the entertainment
when people can't seem to
industry, specifically movie
pay their mortgages, the
theatres. As new attractions
amount of money we spend
such as "17 Again" and
"Monsters vs Aliens" premiere, on entertainment seems a bit
unreasonable.
box office prices rise, but that
It would appear that
doesn't stop the crowds of
people from coming.
With ticket prices
at $10.50 per person,
^ Bridgeport
a family or group
of friends could
easily drop $40 at
the box office on a
Friday night. This,
mind you, is just for
a standard non
matinee movie ticket
that may or may
not include stadium
seating. It costs an
extra $4 to see a
movie in the IMAX
theater at Bridgeport
Village and an extra
$2.50 to see a movie
in 3D.
Then there are the
refreshments at the
concessions counter.
Most theaters do
nothing is changing, if you go
not allow any outside food
by the crowds at the theaters
or drinks. This is because
on a Friday evening. Movies
theaters make about 85% of
provide an escape from reality.
their profits off concessions
They provide a chance to sit
sales. A small popcorn costs
back and relax. It seems that
$5.50 at Bridgeport, so it
once the previews start rolling
would be easy to spend
and everyone gets settled, the
another $40 on snacks. It is
cost of getting there doesn't
outrageous that a person
matter.
could buy the exact same
However, it is still possible
candy or drink for a fraction
to have a good time on a
of the price elsewhere.
Friday night without spending
have to just sit back and suffer
the rise in prices.
We need to let theaters
know where we stand. Its
^
time to voice our opinions am "||||
boycott the theaters until they
get the message. They need
to lower the prices and stop
ignoring hard times people
are facing. And, if they don't, I
will refuse to support them or
their business, and I think you
should too.
Portland named unhappiest city in America
M ax H ays
Staff Reporter
Anyone who has been
to the great city of Portland
could tell you that it is
a place with beautiful
scenery and wonderful,
interesting people. When
you walk down the streets
of Portland, people are
friendly and overall
Portland is a very upbeat
city— one of the best in the
country contrary to a recent
study by BusinessWeek,
com.
To the am azem ent of
many Portland natives, The
City of Roses was named
the unhappiest city in
America by the study. The
ranking was based on many
factors including the rates of
suicide, depression,
crime, uni
Oregon is the only state
in America that allows
physician-assisted suicide,
which m ight have affected
the suicide rate in Portland
drastically. Portland was
also the highest listed city
in depression rates, but
this ranking was based on
how many anti-depressants
were sold. Just because
Portland sells a lot of anti
depressants, doesn't mean
that we are all depressed,
this just means that we are
able to realize it when we
have problems and take
action to better ourselves.
Portland’s unemploym ent
rate was relatively high
at 7.8 percent, but our
unemploym ent rates were
lower than cities such as
Yuma, Ariz., where the
unemploym ent rate is 21
percent.
id num ber 24 in crii
Photos by Avery Breyne-
Cartwright
a fortune. Check out a movie
at the library or rent the most
recent release and watch it
in the comfort of your own
home; go and get a movie
from the Red Box at Safeway
for $1 and return it the next
day. While you are at Safeway,
stop at the candy aisle as well
and I guarantee that when you
return to your car, you will
have spent less than the cost
of one movie ticket. We don’t
Just because Portland
was named most unhappy
doesn't mean that it is not a
great city. Portland was also
named the Greenest City in
America by PopularScience.
com and by BestPlaces.
net. It was named the best
city for senior citizens, the
eighth most energetic city,
the 14th most secure large
metropolitan area, the 15th
best city for dating and
the 16th healthiest city.
The only negative reviews
that Portland received
were that it was the sixth
most stressful and the 11th
riskiest for identity theft.
While I don't doubt
that these numbers are
accurate, I think that it is
impossible to rate a city on
how unhappy it is based
on statistics and numbers. I
t to truly say that
nhappy, one mi