Author: Admin

I am running for PSU student senator for several reasons. When I transferred to PSU from PCC (where I had been heavily involved with student government) last summer, I decided to learn more about PSU and its culture before deciding that I was qualified to be a leader here. Over that time, I’ve watched the student body (and its leadership) struggle with the same ineffectiveness, lack of institutional commitment to students and absence of long-term forward thinking that I’ve witnessed at other institutions.

Two groups of PSU undergraduates were recently chosen by NASA to work on experiments in simulated zero gravity as part of the Reduced Gravity Student Flight Opportunities Program. Jennifer Jones, Jessica Pierry, Jesse McCormack and Pete Levno traveled to NASA Johnson Space Center’s Ellington Field in Houston yesterday and will run their experiment from April 21 to April 25.

Jackie Balzer, Portland State’s new vice provost for student affairs wants students to know that she is “an open door policy” person. “For me, I get my joy from this work, helping students realize their potential and possibilities,” Balzer said. Balzer, currently the dean of student life at Oregon State University, will take over PSU’s vice provost position July 1, replacing interim Vice Provost Dan Fortmiller, who has occupied the position for two years.

Portland State has some … interesting people. For proof, search “Portland State” on www.youtube.com. What you find may bore you or it may make you laugh (not likely), but what seems more probable is that it will make you uncomfortable.

If you were to boil Oregon down to its essence, it would no-doubt smell like a waterlogged cedar on its way to the sawmill. And that’s because what really defines Oregon is the land itself–the vast forests, the coast and the perpetual, never-ceasing rain.

The Publications Board hired new editors and managers for five of the six student-run media organizations at Portland State on Friday.

Her car was broken into for the first time last March. Then, weeks later, after replacing $1,000 worth of stolen items, it happened again to PSU student Cherie Nguyen. “It happened right in the middle of the day,” she said about the second break-in where the replaced items once again were stolen. “New textbook, lost again, new backpack, lost again.” Both break-ins occurred in Parking Structure 1 on campus. For Portland State students and others who park on campus, testimonies like Nguyen’s may sound familiar.

Dr. Jon Whitmore, one of three candidates vying to be PSU president, withdrew his name from the race Wednesday, two weeks before the State Board of Higher Education planned to make its final selection for the next president. There are now only two candidates for president: Dr. Wim Wiewel, provost and senior vice president for Academic Affairs at the University of Baltimore and Dr. Kathie Olsen, deputy director and chief operating officer for the National Science Foundation.

Farewell My Subaru is a book about going green. Really green. In the book, author Doug Fine moves to the desert with the intention of ending his dependence on fossil fuels and Wal-Mart. If this sort of thing interests you and you don’t really mind a self-righteous narrator, you might give it a try.