News briefs

Debate about Spectator
There will be a moderated panel discussion about multiculturalism with representatives from the student publication the Spectator and students with opposing viewpoints this Friday at noon in the multicultural center. This discussion was initiated in response to a Spectator cover story entitled “The Fallacy of Multiculturalism,” in the May issue. All students are welcome to attend and pizza will be provided. The debate begins at noon in the new second floor location of the multicultural center in Smith Center.

A day for human rights
Students for Unity at Portland State University is hosting a teach-in to educate students and community members about housing, education, transportation and welfare rights issues facing low-income people in the Portland community this Saturday, June 1 form 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

The teach-in will include local speakers and workshops including guests from Philadelphia’s Working for Equality and Economic Liberation (WEEL) and the Kensington Welfare Rights Union (KWRU).

The event intends to provide an educational forum as well as opportunities for activists and community members to work on coalition and movement building strategies. Morning workshop speakers include Laura Close, field organizer for Students Transforming and Resisting Corporations (STARC) on anti-racist organizing; and Anne Gretzman and Gaylen Tyler from KWRU on economic human rights and ally work.

Afternoon sessions will be broken down into housing and transportation clusters and workshops will look at how human rights can be affected. Housing workshop guests and subjects include Janet Hawkings from the Fair Housing Council of Oregon on federal housing policies and racism; members of the Community Alliance of Tenants, a Portland tenant’s rights organization; independent filmmaker Cornelius Swart, who is working on a documentary on gentrification in Northeast Portland; Nancy St. Germain from the Portland Collective Housing Syndicate; and Trevor Bryant from PSU’s Formation of Independent Student Tenants.

Transportation guests and subjects include: Keri Tyler and April Bertlesman from the PSU school of Urban Planning and Development; and Judith Gonzalez, a land use and transportation planner for South East Uplift. The event is free and open to the public. It takes place in Portland State’s Browsing lounge, Room 238.

Free massage
Finals can be stressful for students. PSU’s Counseling and Psychological Services and the Student Health Service are hosting the Student de-stress Day today from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Smith Multicultural Center, Room 228. Therapists from the East-West College of the Healing Arts will be providing free massages. Other highlights include tips on reducing stress and useful student information.

You’ll see dead people
In celebration of “World No Tobacco Day” PSU students are marking smoke-free zones outside of building entrances in the form of chalk body outlines this Friday. The Environmental Protection Agency recommends smoke-free zones of 20 feet around doorways. Health educators from the Multnomah County Health Department will be present from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. in the Smith Center commons area to promote awareness of secondhand smoke policies. For more information call Julianne Ballary, RN, with Student Health Services, at 503-725-3462.

White House comes to PSU
There will be a White House Town Hall meeting on cyberspace security next Thrusday, June 6, from 7 to 9 p.m. in the Smith Center Ballroom. Richard Clarke, special adviser to the President for Cyberspace Security, will lead the meeting, which is intended to provide information on national strategy as well as gather input. Clarke is joined by panelists Dave Arcsmith, CEO of Intel; George Heuston, founder of CRIME and management analyst, Hillsboro Police Department; Rob Clyde, CTO of Symantec; Charles Jennings, Oregon RAINS; and Jimmy Kuo, Network Associates as moderator. This is the third in a series of national town hall meetings on the administration’s cyber security initiatives. The meetings are said to be a vehicle for interested parties to provide input into the National Strategy to Secure Cyberspace. Space is limited at the Town Hall meeting. Those interested in attending should contact Sherry Sheng of the Oregon Economic and Community Development Department. She can be reached at [email protected] or by phone at 503-986-0109.

–Aaron Miles