Author: Kyle Chown

While most 17-year-olds are wrapping up their junior year of high school, taking standardized tests and trying to tread the confusing waters of filling out college applications, Manar Alattar is graduating from Portland State University with two bachelor’s degrees. Along with the 4,738 total students receiving diplomas at the commencement on June 14, Alattar will receive a degree in both psychology and biology with summa cum laude honors and hopes of continuing her studies at PSU, pursuing a master’s in psychology.

Yesterday, students stood in the South Park Blocks to give out “free hugs,” and speak about how students are negatively affected by patriarchy. The students were part of professor Roslyn Farrington’s University Studies course that has been analyzing the work of acclaimed author bell hooks.

After 13 years as dean of the Maseeh College of Engineering and Computer Science, Robert Dryden is stepping down. As a tribute to his years of work for Portland State, a 90-foot-tall tower, which will help the engineering school examine how objects fall in low gravity, will be built in his honor. Engineering students, along with help from professor Mark Weislogel, will be in charge of the overall design and construction of the “Dryden Drop Tower,” which will be used for NASA-funded research. Weislogel hopes that construction on the state-of-the-art tower will start sometime winter term, with a projected completion date of spring 2009.

After two years of construction and planning for a citywide, 134-square-mile “wireless cloud,” Portland’s free Internet is now offline. Last week, MetroFi, a California-based Internet access company, cut ties with Portland, leaving more than 15,000 users without free service, according to city-official estimates. MetroFi said Portland was supposed to be its flagship operation, and that it was the one city that could actually make the concept a reality. Nine cities across the United States, besides Portland, are now facing the possibility of losing their access to municipal Wi-Fi service provided by MetroFi.

The Portland State Diversity Action Council held their fourth annual President’s Diversity Awards Ceremony yesterday afternoon in the Smith Memorial Student Union Ballroom to celebrate those who help honor the mission of diversity on campus.

She thought all the requirements had been met and her degree was completed. So, PSU student Molly Stack moved to Ireland, ready to launch a career in multimedia. After moving thousands of miles away from Portland, Stack was informed that she had not fulfilled all of her requirements. Because the classes she needed would not be offered online, a return to the states would be necessary if Stack wanted to graduate.

Presidential hopeful Ralph Nader spoke in front of nearly 200 people last night at Benson Polytechnic High School about his plans for the future of the United States, what freedom truly means and that said citizens must demand change from the current administration. Nader said he is running to be the next president of the United States because he feels and knows there are no other politicians currently running who will openly speak the whole truth. “The final words of our pledge of allegiance says there is liberty and justice for all,” Nader said. “Every candidate running has forgotten those words. Not for some or many, but liberty and justice for all.”

Greg Macpherson grew up around politics. His father was a state senator, and his grandfather served as a state legislator. Because of this upbringing, the attorney general candidate thinks he has the insight to serve the needs of all Oregonians.

Before he came to college, Kyle Cady never thought he would become involved with student government or the world of politics. Now his life is consumed by student politics, and he would have it no other way.

This Friday, inside the Peter W. Stott Center, hundreds of middle and high school students will display their math and engineering skills while learning about various science career paths–all while having fun.