In short

ASPSU application deadline postponed

The application deadline to run for a 2008-2009 student government position has been delayed from this week until next week, after a total of ten applicants submitted paperwork for positions in ASPSU.

The final application deadline has been extended to 11 p.m. on Thursday, March 20. Candidates must also attend orientation in order to be eligible to run for office and submit an e-mail statement to the Elections Board.

“We have a low number of people who have turned in applications,” Elections Board member Leo Barnett said. “If we’re not able to extend the deadline, we would not have enough people to even have an election.”

Four candidate orientations have been added for next week on Wednesday, March 19 and Thursday, March 20, from noon to 2 p.m. and 5 p.m. to 6 p.m. Locations have yet to be determined.

Applications can be picked up in the SALP office (SMSU 119) and should be turned in to interim SALP Assistant Director Natalee Webb’s box. Students can run for ASPSU positions such as president, vice president, student senator, SFC chair and SFC member.

The ASPSU elections will be held April 20 to April 26. -Steve Haske

PSU moves up in RecycleMania week five

Portland State gained five spots in the Waste Minimization category of RecycleMania, the national recycling competition. PSU is now ranked 14th out of 84 colleges participating in the category, with the average PSU participant generating 4.85 pounds of waste.

PSU was ranked 19th last week, with 4.88 pounds of waste generated per person. Last year, the average PSU participant generated 5.82 pounds of waste during week five of RecycleMania 2007 and finished 13th overall in Waste Minimization.

In the Per Capita Classic, which measures the amount of recycled materials generated by a college, PSU participants averaged 1.09 pounds per person during week five, a slight decrease from last week’s average of 1.18 pounds per person. PSU is currently ranked 104th out of 167 schools in that category.

The current Waste Minimization leader, for the third week in a row, is North Lake College in Irvine, Texas, with a week-four average of 1.26 pounds of waste generated per person. The current Per Capita Classic leader is Kalamazoo College, in Michigan, with a week five average of 15.48 pounds of recycled material per person.

For a full list of results, visit www.recyclemaniacs.org.

-Robert Seitzinger

Publications hiring for leadership positions

The PSU Student Publications Board is currently hiring for numerous editor and managerial positions for the 2008-2009 academic year.

According to a press release from Student Publications adviser Judson Randall, the following positions are now accepting applications:

-Graphic Design Center manager

-KPSU radio station manager

-Portland Review editor

-The Portland Spectator editor

-The Rearguard editor

-Vanguard editor

Interested students can pick up applications from Randall in the Smith Memorial Student Union sub-basement, room S-26A. Applications must be submitted to Randall by noon on April 7. The Student Publications Board will give interviews and hire for the positions soon after.

For more information contact Judson Randall at 503-725-5687.

-Stover E. Harger III

Faculty and student pen suicide article

Daniel Coleman, a Portland State faculty member, partnered with a PSU student to write and publish an article addressing the link between suicide and negative thinking in the international journal Crisis last December.

The article, titled “Therapeutic Mechanisms of Suicidal Ideation: The Influence of Changes in Automatic Thoughts and Immature Defenses,” examines 33 mental health clients who filled out surveys at two separate times, assessing their suicidal thoughts, mental health and depression.

Results of the study found patients who had fewer negative thoughts had a decrease in suicidal ideas, suggesting that the link between the two cognitive processes should be a focus of therapists.

As a therapist, Coleman said he is interested in the topic and frequently had to assess whether or not clients were suicidal.

Coleman and John Casey, the PSU student who co-wrote the article, worked for a year and a half before publication. Casey said he and Coleman hope the article will contribute to literature in the area of the research.

Coleman is a School of Social Work faculty member, and Casey has been studying mental health for 20 years. The two are currently working on another paper that replicates the study.

-Zosia Wiatr