In short

PSU adds minor in Secondary Education

The PSU Faculty Senate approved a new minor in Secondary Education last week for students interested in becoming high school teachers.

The new minor is a collaboration between the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences and the Graduate School of Education, according to a press release. It is intended for students who plan to enter a graduate teacher education program. The Faculty Senate approved the minor at their May 5 meeting.

Interested students should contact Karen DeVoll, academic adviser for the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, at 503-725-3822 or [email protected].

-Stover E. Harger III

Edwards jumps on the Go-Bama bandwagon

Democrat John Edwards endorsed former rival Barack Obama on Wednesday, a move designed to help solidify support for the party’s likely presidential nominee, even as Hillary Rodham Clinton refuses to give up her long-shot candidacy.

The surprise endorsement came a day after Clinton defeated Obama by more than 2-to-1 in the West Virginia primary, and it helped the Obama campaign steer much of the evening news coverage away from a painful subject. The West Virginia outcome highlighted Obama’s challenge in winning over “Hillary Democrats” – white, working-class voters who also supported Edwards in significant numbers before he exited the race in late January.

Edwards made the carefully timed announcement at an Obama rally, as the Illinois senator campaigned in a critical general election battleground state.

Edwards, who received a thunderous ovation when Obama introduced him to the crowd of several thousand, said, “brothers and sisters, we must come together as Democrats” to defeat McCain. “We are here tonight because the Democratic voters have made their choice, and so have I.”

He said Obama “stands with me” in a fight to cut poverty in half within 10 years, a claim Obama confirmed moments later.

Edwards also praised Clinton, saying “we are a stronger party” because of her involvement, and “we’re going to have a stronger nominee in the fall because of her work.”

He said Clinton is a “woman who is made of steel. She is a leader in this country not because of her husband, but because of what she has done.”

Speaking after Edwards in the packed Van Andel Arena, Obama gave one of his most animated addresses in days, much of it devoted to his guest’s favorite topic, fighting poverty. In America, he said, “you should never be homeless, you should never be hungry.”

As president, he vowed to “lift up every American out of poverty.”

–Charles Babington, The Associated Press