Author: Eva-Jeanette Rawlins

Portland State found its way into a commentary on The Blaze, a conservative news and opinion website, a couple of weeks ago. Apparently, we are the reason the “U.S. education system is under fire.”

Some have heard the explosions of bombs, others worked on billion dollar machinery; some were stationed in Kandahar, others in Delaware. They are administrators, mechanics and engineers, and one in seven have seen live combat. They are the diverse group of veterans who have served our country, and in growing numbers, they are our fellow students.

As Americans, we dutifully wrote out our checks to the Internal Revenue Service this month, and many a sigh was heard as we signed, sealed and delivered our hard-earned money away for the upkeep of our schools, roads, hospitals—and oh, wait—the extravagant parties of government workers in Las Vegas.

Did you know that our state spends more money on the imprisonment of Oregonians than on the higher education of Oregonians? According to a report by Public Administration Resources, ours is one of only a handful of states that spends more on prison than on higher education—approximately 30 percent more.

You’d better hope you’re not pulled over for a faulty taillight any time soon. If you are, hold onto your britches—literally.

Student loans. Two words that are sure to send a shiver up the spine of anyone enrolled in a university.

In a recent City Hall forum, the three leading Portland mayoral candidates—Eileen Brady, Charlie Hales and Jefferson Smith—all promised a more open government. Each, in their own way, committed to improving transparency within their prospective administrations.

If you’ve been living under a rock for the last few weeks and haven’t heard these two names, here’s a quick recap.

On March 5, a U.S. based advocacy organization, Invisible Children, released a video called “Kony 2012” that sparked an avalanche of controversy. The goal of the video was to raise awareness about a Ugandan war criminal, Joseph Kony, and the atrocities he has carried out against children as the leader of the Lord’s Resistance Army.