After three years of leaderless inactivity, the Chiron Studies program has been given new life at PSU. Ever wanted to earn credit for studying Taiwanese language and culture? How about the history of textiles? Coordinator Patrick Beisell is determined to bring Chiron Studies back to PSU.
Now in its 17th year, PSU’s annual PSU Weekend was held Thursday to Saturday, with a series of free lectures and other events to promote the university, honor PSU alumni and take a look at local and global issues. Organized by the PSU alumni association, this year’s seminar focused on travel, global culture and diversity. In order to help accomplish this, PSU enlisted travel writer Paul Theroux to deliver the weekend event’s keynote address.
By this time next year, our country will have a new president. At around the same time, PSU’s contract with Higher One, the financial institution responsible for handing out millions in student’s financial aid reimbursement, is set to expire after a five-year run. The university is currently in the process of deciding whether to renegotiate the Higher One contract next year, or go with a different company altogether. If you are a student at Portland State, chances are you are familiar with the PSU One card, which functions as both an official PSU ID card and a credit/debit card.
Stepping into Khadija Fai’s office is like taking a step into Africa’s vastly diverse culture. A waist-high statue of an African man from Ghana stands next to the guest chair, and small figurines from Egypt stand on her windowsill. Africa is often portrayed in American cinema and media as a barren desert landscape or dry savanna, void of any modern civilization or technology and inhabited only by wildlife. Black Americans in American media often are portrayed as rappers and gangsters or basketball players.
Damali Ayo comes off as a woman who doesn’t pull punches. A self-proclaimed feminist as well as a conceptual and performance artist, the focus of Ayo’s work is on race relations. Throughout Ayo’s lecture, she discussed how her upbringing has influenced her ideology, saying that she has been a feminist for as long as she can remember.