Wednesday walkout planned
A loose collective of Portland State students and faculty have organized an Occupy PSU event scheduled to take place tomorrow, Nov. 16, at noon. The event organizers are asking students and faculty to leave their classes at noon and assemble in the South Park Blocks in front of Smith Memorial Student Union. Those assembled will then march through downtown Portland before gathering in PSU’s Urban Plaza at 2 p.m.
26-year-old history major and PSU senior Kira Lesley is among those representing the movement.
“I’m not really personally involved in the Occupy movement, but they’ve used that name to build on the momentum of that movement and there are some common issues there,” Lesley said. “Were just a group of students and faculty interested in defending and preserving education.”
Lesley is also a student representative involved in the collective bargaining process between the American Association of University Professors and PSU administrators. The PSU chapter of the AAUP is currently working to secure a new contract between PSU faculty and administrators.
“I’ve learned a lot more about the problems at the university in that process and I wanted to get more involved,” Lesley said.
PSU English department faculty member Marcia Klotz, who serves on the executive council of the PSU-AAUP, helped to organize the event.
“When I first came to PSU ten years ago, I had two classes each quarter with 25–35 students each,” Klotz said via email. “I now teach three classes each term with caps at 60, and those classes are often online. Classroom quality suffers, even as students are paying twice the tuition as when I arrived.”
While Occupy PSU may stand to gain from the momentum of the larger Occupy movement, it may also inherit some of its difficulties. PSU Campus Public Safety closed Millar Library five hours early on Sunday, citing concerns that the Occupy Portland protest could move to the campus Park Blocks. If this happens, Portland Police will have jurisdiction, according to PSU Communications Director Scott Gallagher.
“The park blocks are city property, which makes them a city park,” Gallagher said. “I can tell you that as of now there aren’t any plans or concerns, but things could happen. In terms of Occupy Portland, Portland Police will be monitoring and addressing their movement.”
Lesley added that there are other ways that students can be involved in the movement.
“Students can show their support by wearing green armbands, which are available in the ASPSU office in Smith Center,” Lesley said. “There will also be a general assembly at 2 p.m. The walkout isn’t the end; the walkout is the beginning.”
University responds to Occupy PSU
I’m glad people don’t like PSU anymore. I haven’t liked it since I stepped on campus as a freshman four years ago. However, like the Occupy movement, I still don’t see anyone saying “here’s what we’re going to do.”
I’m also not too keen on what students want (bailouts). That’s only trying to put a band-aid on a cannonball wound. One of PSU’s main problem is that they don’t give students power and power to choose.
One example is the recent switch to Google services. One excellent option would have been to hire students to be INNOVATIVE (ever heard of that word?) and design an email and calendar system that would be beneficial. Instead, PSU ran to Google for help, whose privacy policy isn’t much better than Big Brother.
What should we do? Instead of protesting, we should try to dialog with staff. Write letters, try to get other professors to side with you. Let’s not lie around and bellyache at the university…let’s try to change it!