ASPSU’s recent rally in the park blocks was just the latest demonstration of how far your student government has strayed from making any kind of real impact for the students of Portland State.
Adding up the losses: the struggle for affordable higher education
With the passing of each week it has become increasingly clear that bureaucrats, legislators and educational administrators are little more than hedge fund operators willing to sell their stock in higher education, opting instead to invest in the next big profit generator. But no one seems to know what that is, only that it exists. Somewhere. And, golly, we should put money into it.
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The fight for a good education
For those wondering if their cries for a better higher education system are being heard: Wonder no longer.
In his State of the Union address last month, President Obama called upon institutions of higher education to work together to both help the economy and to encourage enrollment by keeping tuition costs low. Shortly after, the White House issued a statement explaining the actions to be taken.
Has student government gone too far?
The Student Fee Committee, an arm of ASPSU, is responsible for managing PSU’s student fees and setting the budgets for all fee-funded areas. These areas include ASPSU, student publications, and student organizations and resource centers. Recently, however, the SFC appears to be testing the limits of their role at PSU.
Editorial: Education, Inc.
As the calendar turned over to 2012, Portland State administrators wasted no time in flexing the considerable financial muscle that Senate Bill 242 has granted them. This bill relaxed the previous limitations on administrators tasked with creating the school’s budget. With a tremendous amount of freedom in spending tuition dollars, and less legislative oversight than ever before, PSU now has a real financial incentive to behave more like a business than a university. And it’s doing just that.
SFC to change pay structure for student publications
University will save money by placing student leaders outside of federal and state labor laws
On Jan. 15, the Student Fee Committee held deliberations for the 2012-13 student publications’ budget proposals in a meeting attended by Dean of Student Life Michele Toppe. The SFC proposed the reclassification of student positions at Portland State publications, which includes the Vanguard, the Rearguard, Portland Spectator, KPSU, PSU–TV, Pathos and The Portland Review.
Editorial: Happy Holidays
As Portland State’s Fall 2011 term draws to a close, we can’t help but reflect on the serious tone of much of the news we’ve printed since the academic year began. We reported on the strained relationship between the administrators of PSU’s University Studies program and some of the faculty who teach it, as well as the tense contract negotiations taking place between PSU faculty and administrators at the collective bargaining table. We chronicled the rise and fall of Occupy Portland’s downtown encampment, as well as the movement’s impact on the PSU community through the Occupy PSU march and rally. We reported on the campus public safety officer who stopped a sexual assault in progress, and the failure of Portland prosecutors to secure an indictment against two suspects after the alleged victim did not appear in court. We broke the news of ASPSU President Adam Rahmlow’s arrest for violating the terms of his probation during his presidency. Throw in the recent ousting of UO President Richard Lariviere, the likelihood of a 7 percent tuition increase for the coming academic year and a couple of obituaries we’d rather not have had to write, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a worrisome December.
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UO President Richard Lariviere ousted
His last day in office will be Dec. 28, followed by 6 months’ sabbatical
Following a recommendation by Oregon University System Chancellor George Pernsteiner, the State Board of Higher Education moved yesterday in a public session to terminate UO President Dr. Richard Lariviere’s contract with 30 days notice. Lariviere’s contract was set to expire on June 30, 2012; his last day in office will now be Dec. 28, followed by six months’ forced sabbatical.
The State Board of Higher Education—comprised of 12 volunteer, governor-appointed directors—voted unanimously to fire Lariviere. An interim president for the University of Oregon has not yet been selected.
PSU Professor Emeritus Morris Weitman dies at 87, memorial service today
Aug. 18, 1924—Nov. 25, 2011 Dr. Morris Weitman, Professor Emeritus in the Portland State University psychology department, died on Friday, Nov. 25 at Good Samaritan Hospital in Portland. A military…