News
Filming by TNT’s television series Leverage on campus during winter term’s finals week sparked several complaints from students about restricted space, limited parking, added stress and rudeness from the film crew. While there were complaints, the show’s filming also sparked excitement within the Portland State community and brought in additional revenue.
Students attending Portland State in 2012–13 will see extensive changes in the student insurance plan. Five years in the making, the new insurance plan is more comprehensive and more similar to a traditional insurance plan, offering benefits well beyond what current students have. However, the new plan, while a significant upgrade, also comes at a high price.
The idea for a new student union by 2020 has raised concerns from Portland State students about the importance and timeliness of such an undertaking with tuition already on the rise. The two concepts—a renovation projected to cost $90 million, and a complete rebuild projected to cost $116 million—were unveiled the first week of April in two open-house meetings.
While everyday objects such as cell phones and iPods may seem relatively innocuous, there may be some hidden dangers behind them. Freelance environmental journalist and award-winning author Elizabeth Grossman has researched and studied these risks and will be presenting her findings in a lecture at Portland State today.
Student government elections are just around the corner, and candidates for president and vice president of the Associated Students of Portland State University are beginning to organize their campaigns. Voting is scheduled to start on May 7 and will close on May 21, with candidate debates in-between. Election results will be announced on May 22.
On the corner of Southwest 5th Avenue and Montgomery Street sits the undeveloped site of the Oregon Sustainability Center, a project that since its inception has had its followers and detractors divided over one issue: funding.
What happens after the revolution? As government control and authority shifts in Tunisia, Egypt, Yemen, Libya and many other North African and Middle Eastern countries, it’s no longer a question of whether the revolution will succeed or if war will ensue, but how it will reform. How will these shifts and changes play out as government becomes redefined?
Portland State has now successfully developed its own university transportation center—the National Institute for Transportation and Communities—after receiving a $3.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation. The grant will allow the new center to continue to pursue objectives in transportation research. The center is a tier-one University Transportation Center designated by the DOT and will create a partnership between PSU, University of Oregon, Oregon Institute of Technology and University of Utah.
After stepping back from a 40-year political career in Oregon politics, former Oregon Governor Ted Kulongoski decided to continue working in the field, but with a change of scene: from the governor’s office to the classroom. Starting fall term 2012, Kulongoski will be teaching political science in the Mark O. Hatfield School of Government at Portland State.
Earth Day is coming up on Sunday, April 22, and in recognition, Portland State’s Environmental Club is hosting Earth Week, a weeklong celebration. Starting Monday, April 23, each day of Earth Week will have its own theme, ending with a final festival on Friday.
Portland State and the Smithsonian’s Environmental Research Center have signed an agreement to be partners in research for the next five years. This joint venture, signed on March 19, solidifies and renews a preexisting research relationship between the two institutions.