In short

Graphic anti-abortion display to hit campus

An anti-abortion display known for showing graphic images of aborted fetuses and death will visit campus today and tomorrow.

The Center for Bio-Ethical Reform, a national organization, visits campuses across the country and compares abortions to murder and the holocaust with their “Genocide Awareness Project.”

Organizers of the display, which was on campus last May, applied for permits and were approved through Portland State and the city. The pictures will be located in the South Park Blocks in front of the Branford P. Millar Library.

In an e-mail sent to the PSU community, Interim PSU President Michael Reardon spoke on the importance of free speech on campus and emphasized the right for the display to be at PSU even if it is unpopular and offensive to some. He said the campus is under no obligation to listen to or expose themselves to the material in the display.

“We are committed to the right of all people to expect a campus environment that is safe and free from fear,” he wrote. “I am confident our campus response to the Center for Bio-Ethical Reform will reflect the ideal of that statement”

-Stover E. Harger III

New student affairs vice provost selected

After a two-year search, Portland State has selected Oregon State University administrator Jackie Balzer to become PSU’s vice provost for student affairs.

Balzer, the current dean of student life at Oregon State, will take over the vice provost position from Interim Vice Provost Dan Fortmiller, who has filled the position since July 2005.

“We are very pleased that Jackie Balzer has agreed to accept our offer and look forward to the knowledge, professionalism and enthusiasm she will bring to our strategic initiatives to improve student success,” said PSU Provost Roy Koch in a university press release.

Balzer has worked at OSU for 11 years, holding many student affairs-related positions.

The vice provost for student affairs oversees all parts of the university related to student involvement and success, such as the Women’s Resource Center, new student orientation, all student groups, the tutoring centers and the Center for Student Health and Counseling.

Once Balzer takes over the vice provost position on July 1, Fortmiller will resume his former position as director of the Undergraduate Advising and Support Center.

–Steve Haske

Kulongoski speaks for tougher emission standards

Gov. Ted Kulongoski says Oregon and other states are doing the right thing by suing the Environmental Protection Agency to force the federal government to allow tougher automobile emission standards.

Fresh from a trade mission to Europe and Israel, Kulongoski also says he expects to have a draft plan ready next month for a market-based system to reduce pollution called “cap-and-trade” to help Oregon fight global warming. A final plan would be ready by August.

The Democratic governor says tougher auto emission standards are inevitable because the next president, whether a Democrat or Republican, is unlikely to resist adopting the standards nationwide, as the Bush administration has done.

The attorneys general of 18 states, including Oregon, last week asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit to require the EPA to act on the proposed standards within 60 days.

“I think the reality is the need for change is obvious,” Kulongoski said Monday. “I think there’s going to be a pent-up desire of Congress to move forward.”

-Associated Press