Posts tagged ‘culture’

May 1

What price freedom?

It’s a normal day on campus. The sun is out (always a welcome thing), the birds are singing, and the normal crowd is milling around between Cramer and Smith Union. ‘All normal.

I took a seat outside Cramer Hall facing Smith. I was tired. I had just gotten out of a history class, Greek 300, and I wanted to catch some fresh air before I crammed down a sandwich in the Smith cafeteria and trudged on to my next class, French 101.

It was then I noticed him. At first glance all seemed normal. A 20 -something male student, jeans, old Chuck Taylor All Stars, black-grey hoodie…but with the hood up. He had a cardboard box with him. He looked kind of pensive. Maybe he was waiting for someone? Read more

Apr 16

Speaking French

I presently speak no French. Or I should say, the French I did attempt to use with on a recent trip to France had the natives there staring at me and then turning to my wife, who does speak French asking her (translated here), “Madam, is this man your husband? What is he trying to say?”

When my wife, Janet, and I were discussing marriage six years ago, there was one caveat she placed before me that I had to agree to if we were going to marry. (At this point all kinds of things were racing through my mind–prenuptial agreements, mother-in-laws wanting to live with us, religious rites involving hoods, pet snakes, etc…) And then she said in all seriousness, “It has been my life long dream to move to France when I retire. If we marry you have to agree to move there with me. Do you?” Instantly a wave of relief washed over me. I put a big grin on and said, “Yes, but I don’t speak French.” She replied, “Yes. I’ve heard you try.”

So years later now and our France move is getting closer. I am busy working to finish my BA degree in Liberal Arts here at PSU. I know I need six terms of a foreign language to complete for this degree. I start French 101 next fall term.

Bon chance moi.

Au Revoir ~

Mar 14

1 Comment

Searching for the right haircut

For the longest time, my father cut my hair growing up. My two younger brothers and I never went to a barber shop to get the job done. And this job is complicated to say the least. Around 16 or 17, my father just didn’t have the same precision as before and my hair was just too difficult to cut. Soon after, my father simply retired, if you will, from cutting my hair and my brother’s as well. I was confident that if my father could cut my hair, anyone else with experience could do it just as well. Read more

Feb 27

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Work has increased but support has not.

I don’t visit the Multicultural Center, Casa Latina or the Diversity and Multicultural Student Services offices as much as I used to. But in the past few weeks, I have been stopping by, and I’ve noticed an increase in the number of Latino and students of color using these resources. The number of programs and events has grown just as well. However, as I visited each place, I felt like an outsider to some degree.

When Casa Latina opened, I believed it would develop community among students. When I was part of that growing community a couple years ago, I could see small but solid steps towards the needs of the students. However, I should point out that I lived on campus at that time. I moved to Oregon City this past summer. Since then, I have been out of what is going on, who is new to the community, how are the needs of the students being addressed and ultimately why must this work continue?

Perhaps, I have distanced myself too much without even knowing. However, I have given much thought as to why I or these places feel different. It seems that these places have become over the years fast paced, overloaded with work, expectations have risen higher, and yet moral obligation and duty is still present among these departments that are undoubtedly understaffed and under supported. My feelings I believe stem from my concerns for the students.

As a student, I feel empowered when I can connect deeply and grow from a program or from an individual. What concerns me is being regarded as just a number rather than a person. It seems that when a department is understaffed, the meaning of their work shifts and becomes more quantitative than qualitative. Students cannot afford to be seen as a number. I hope that this does not unfold within these offices. They are too vital and necessary for the growth and education for students of color and their communities.

Feb 1

3 Comments

Portland State is More Than a School.

The first university I visited during my middle school years was Portland State. I vaguely remember seeing the Smith cafeteria and the Broadway computer lab. At the time, I was curious about attending college, but by my freshman year in high school, I knew I was going to college. I had no school in mind, but I was determined to enroll with or without financial aid.

During my senior year in high school, I made a trip to Phoenix, Arizona. All of my mother’s side of the family moved there a decade ago. A cousin of mine was attending Arizona State, and she suggested that I should enroll there. I visited the enormous campus and was excited at the idea of leaving Oregon for something different. Ultimately, I chose to stay and enroll into Portland State for financial and family reasons.

I had come to the conclusion that I simply could not afford to attend Arizona State. My lack of knowledge about financial aid blurred an opportunity for me to go out of state. I had worked hard in my rigorous classes in high school and had harvested pears and cherries during the same time. However, many low-income people of color do not have access to a solid education let alone higher education.

I have been fortunate and privileged to have both. Portland State and all the institutions of higher learning are more than just a mascot, brand or colors. They are the places where we should gain knowledge, develop our skills, and empower ourselves. It has been a journey for me to mold a better life and to give back to my family and community.

Jan 15

2 Comments

Finally, a Place to Call My Home and People to Call My Family.

I have lived on campus for three years, and in three different locations. Living in the city was a drastic change for me. I grew up in a rural area where I had no neighbors, surrounded instead by acres of orchards. While living in the city brought me new experiences, it was expensive and at times lonesome for me.

I have had a total of seven male roommates, have lived alone, and at one point, I lived with five roommates. One can just imagine how things went living in a place with five guys. We were all single, young, and a bit naive Yet, throwing parties, going out, hanging out as a group, and goofing around just wasn’t for me. At the end of the day, I would always feel alone or being left out of something meaningful.

My mornings, evenings, and my life are now spent with my new family. I moved in with my girlfriend this past summer into her sister’s house in Oregon City. It’s a full house; there are two cats, two dogs, her husband, her sister in law, and her 2 year old son who, I like to say, is the king of the house. It’s a great welcoming and friendly environment. I often hear the little boy call out everyone’s name from across the house. I get up every weekday at 7 to get ready for my day and help my girlfriend get prepared as well. I see the cats walking back and forth, and I hear the dogs in the yard barking for attention.

At 22, I love my new home, my girlfriend, my new family, and myself. I have left behind my single, lonesome, and confused life. And I wouldn’t want it any other way.

Jan 11

7 Comments

Guns on Campus

We’ve all seen on TV the horrific scenes from Newton Connecticut, the shopping mall in nearby Clackamas, a Regal movie theatre in Colorado…and sadly so many more incidents of guns taking lives in senseless murders. I am a student just like you. I know when I walk the dark walkways of PSU I now think of this deadly scenario. I worry that this might occur here too. I cringe at the thought and hurry along my way.

I know that I could probably obtain a concealed weapons permit from the county where I reside that is good for all of the state. I know then I might “legally” carry this gun, this piece of hardware that is created with one real purpose, to kill. But then I also ask myself, “Is this what I really want to do or do I feel threatened and worried, that my own life may be in danger and that is what is prompting me to think about actually carrying a gun?” And when I get past this question I also ask myself, “Is this who I am? Do I let fear run my life? Do I really want to kill someone?”

“Is this you?”

For me, I am not that kind of person. I have always believed in “live and let live”. I don’t want to be the kind of person that would kill another human being because I believe my own life is in danger. I believe we are an intelligent and resourceful people. I believe there are other alternatives for me, such as fleeing, calling 911 for help, not placing myself in vulnerable situations if I can, and believing that the school I attend, PSU, has taken all the precautions it can to protect me and my fellow students in our goal of receiving an education and becoming a valuable and contributing members of society.

I realize my choice is not for everyone. But having served in the military, having been in real life and death situations, I know sometime in your life you must find out who you really are? Do we give in to the TV and media hysteria? Do we allow ourselves to be manipulated into doing something we do not believe in? Do we really have to kill to live? Is that what our society, our culture, is really about?

I do not think it is.

“Or…is this you?”
You really are the one to decide.

Note: The following is the current PSU policy on carrying a gun at our school and was adopted by the Oregon Board of Higher Education on March 2, 2012.

“…forbids students, employees, individuals with a business interest with the campus (such as vendors and contractors), event attendees, those who rent or lease University property, and campus visitors from carrying a firearm on University owned or controlled property…The prohibition is effective whether or not an individual holds a concealed handgun license.”

Nov 29

4 Comments

Warning: Feelings Ahead

Emotionally drained, in a good way.

This is not a frequent experience for me in college. Sometimes classes can be appreciated, in a distant, intellectual kind of way. Sometimes I am moved to laughter. But very rarely do I experience the higher and more vulnerable emotions in a classroom: awe, or even tears. I just got out of dramatic reading day in Susan Reese’s Writing from the Earth Class, where we all read our essays out loud.

Think This American Life, except it’s from your peers who are going through the same struggles as you. I was so blown away by the depth and talent of some of my peers, and I do not often give out compliments. A few students had to pause while they were reading to let their shaky voices settle down. I would pay money and consider it a good Saturday night to hear storytelling like that.

Topics ranged from frustrated love and female circumcision in Africa to growing up and finding yourself. Anyway, if you are in the mood for some touchy-feely stuff, as I secretly am sometimes, then take a personal essay class. I’ve experienced a lot of college, and yesterday’s class was one of the most memorable ones I’ve ever had.

Nov 15

Gutenberg vs Microsoft

No matter where you may look on campus you will see people reading. No surprise there, correct? But it is what they are reading, or more to the point, how they are reading that surprises some of us. You are just as apt to see people gazing into the screen of an electronic device, perhaps a lap top computer,

Does a computer screen inspire you to dream… or just think?

as rustling through the pages of a paper newspaper.

Is this “old fashioned”…

Older students, like myself, who have only known paper books in the past, may find this new way of reading… difficult or perhaps challenging. But for anyone who grew up with computers, laptops, and now electronic tablets as nearly all of today’s students have the choice is becoming obvious–they’d rather go digital.

But what will the digital books of the future look like? Will they be as they are now, stripped down to only words in most cases, and thrust upon a screen or will they be more interactive? Will they become an entirely new way to gain information?

When this happens will we lose all of those wonderful things called books, with paper pages, torn, dog-eared, and with covers worn from many readings? Will they only be found in museums to turn to dust? This writer hopes they are not lost to future generations… not to lose that feel of a wonder in your hands, to touch, to feel, to learn, but most of all I think, to dream.

Oct 22

4 Comments

Your classroom…does it work for you?

Students assembling for another lecture in a busy classroom.

We all know what it’s like to enter a classroom for the first time and realize…it’s old, outdated, and it’s going to be jammed. But you also realize you need this class and so you scurry to find the best seat possible.

In truth all classrooms do not look like this at PSU but if you find yourself in one of the older halls, like this one in Cramer Hall, Rm. 171–this is what you will find. When classrooms like this one were constructed this was the norm. This was modern education at that time. But, have classrooms changed since then? In my view, rows of small wooden slide-in seats with non-adjustable mini-desk tops and seats are something from another era. Don’t students now deserve modern and comfortable seating suitable for all types of students, big, short, or disabled? I think that large flat and adjustable height surfaces are best for study in classrooms. I also think it prudent to have an area to hang up a coat or to store a backpack or book carrier. Many students now utilize laptop computers, Kindles, or electronic tablets that require close-by electrical connections. I do not see many classrooms fitted with these. I think this is a fast growing deficit for many students. In addition, many classes now utilize online texts for use in the course for your homework. This will require that you, the student, have access to the use of a suitable computer while not at school. But do you find these same required online texts available via classroom computers to use and follow lectures during class? No, you do not. I think this is wrong. Do these types of considerations affect your choice of where you acquire your education?

For the cost of an education these days I do think it only fair that the institution keep up with modern facilities and do not try to offer a 2012 education with 1960 equipment.

Do old ideas come from old seats?

When will PSU modernize the entire campus and get up-to-date with the life of today?