Portland State Magazine Fall 2009

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII Hanging out among the plants LOOK UP AND SEE GREEN is the name and inspiration behind a huge student volunteer effort to transform a bleak campus terrace into a welcoming and educational green space. The terrace tops the distance learning wing of the Urban Center Building on Southwest Sixth between Mill and Mont– gomery streets. Today, native planes and a bamboo wind– screen fill the terrace planters, many ofwhich are connected to benches. Eco-roof display tables tell a story, and water captured from an existing canopy into rain barrels keeps the whole thing green. The project began more than a year ago, when students in professor Barry Messer's Neighborhoods and Watersheds Capstone invited the campus community to offer ideas for the terrace. Students, faculty, and staff responded and in some cases provided sketches of their dream garden. There was not enough time and money to implement all the ideas, but student Patricia Graf and others would not let the project die. "I was inspired by the ideas and efforts of people I respected, my peers and professors in the department," says Graf Over the course of the past year, more than 60 students volunteered their time. Many people and local companies, 1111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111111 Tracking tobacco marketing DOES YOU R CH ILD stop at a convenience store on the way home from school? Chances are he or she is bombarded by cig– arette ads. They appear on store windows, walls, and sandwich boards, and may be right next to ads for popsicles and candy. Capstone students worked with the Multnomah County Chronic Disease Prevention Program to map tobacco advertis- 10 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE FALL 2009 including Living Walls and Edible Skylines, helped stu– dents with the plan– ning and building. "The success of this project was really in connecting these resources," say Graf, "and empow– ering students to utilize their strengths as well as learn new ones." PICTURED: Cherize Ramirez,foreground, and (Left to right) Derek Abe, Patricia Graf Claire McLeod, Rajeev Indiranagaraju, and Jeremy Spaulding ing around K-8 schools. Ultimately, the county could use the students' findings to shape public policy. "Tobacco and signage regulations are complex, but tobacco companies are clever at getting around them and advertising to a vulnerable audience-children," says Meg Merrick, Urban and Public Affairs instructor for this Capstone. "Studies show chat getting hooked on tobacco before age 18 likely results in a lifelong habit," says Merrick. With the goal of preventing chronic disease, the county program is aimed at discouraging the start of this habit. Students used GPS mapping technology and a listing of businesses to identify possible tobacco retail outlets. They then documented what they found at stores within a half mile radius of elementary, middle, and high schools in parts of Multnomah County. At many stores, the signs were big, everywhere, and right next to ads for products chat kids like. "I now notice these ads everywhere I go," says Merrick. "The county does not have the people power to coUect this evidence. I am glad our students could." ■ PICTURED Students (Left to right) Ben Harper, Kimie Ueoka, and Mike Conley