As Portland State’s Fall 2011 term draws to a close, we can’t help but reflect on the serious tone of much of the news we’ve printed since the academic year began. We reported on the strained relationship between the administrators of PSU’s University Studies program and some of the faculty who teach it, as well as the tense contract negotiations taking place between PSU faculty and administrators at the collective bargaining table. We chronicled the rise and fall of Occupy Portland’s downtown encampment, as well as the movement’s impact on the PSU community through the Occupy PSU march and rally. We reported on the campus public safety officer who stopped a sexual assault in progress, and the failure of Portland prosecutors to secure an indictment against two suspects after the alleged victim did not appear in court. We broke the news of ASPSU President Adam Rahmlow’s arrest for violating the terms of his probation during his presidency. Throw in the recent ousting of UO President Richard Lariviere, the likelihood of a 7 percent tuition increase for the coming academic year and a couple of obituaries we’d rather not have had to write, and you’ve got the perfect recipe for a worrisome December.
Why such serious news from a student newspaper? Because we take ourselves, and our commitment to keeping the PSU community well informed, very, very seriously. It’s a large campus full of busy students, faculty and administrators, and it’s our job to keep all of you informed and connected.
There’s nothing we love more than publishing stories about some of PSU’s wonderful academic, cultural and sporting events, but above all else it is our duty to provide prompt, accurate, engaging and diverse coverage of the news and events relevant to the PSU community. Lately, this means a lot of serious, serious stuff. It’s been called the burden of living in interesting times, and while we don’t always enjoy the long nights and early mornings that modern journalism demands, the few hours of sleep that we do get each night are far better when we know that we’ll wake up to a newspaper that lives up to these ideals.
The Vanguard will resume publication on Jan. 10, 2012. Until then, try not to worry too much. ■