Portland State Magazine Fall 2017

FALL 2017 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 3 Portland State Magazine wants to hear from you. Email your comments to psumag@pdx.edu or send them to Portland State Magazine , Office of University Communications, PO Box 751, Portland OR 97207-0751. We reserve the right to edit for space and clarity. Early Ondine was coed for sure It was a fun flashback to see the 1967 yearbook photo of the residence hall on page 29 [spring 2017 Portland State Magazine , Looking Back]. My memory may be a little off, but it seems to me it was still called The Viking [now the Ondine] when I moved there for the 1969-70 school year. However, my memory is very clear about the coed status at the time. In fact, my roommate got kicked out of the dorm when she was caught on one of the "boy's" floors. The switch to women only had to be fall of 1970 or later. Jennifer Sims ’73 Coed housing led to true love Having been a freshman in 1970 and living in the "Viking" I can attest that it was coed as late as 1971. In fact, it was so coed I met my future wife while we were both living there at the time. She was on the 11th floor and I lived on the 6th. I believe it was sold and changed in 1972. We both have obviously great memories about that place to this day. Todd Jensen ’75 Homeless label disappointing As an MSW graduate, I have continued to value the perspective, values, and article breadth of the Portland State Magazine, which I appreciatively receive free of charge. Nevertheless, I am disappointed that your lead story in this spring 2017 issue is "Shelter for the Homeless." This appears to label people by their condition rather than their full personhood. To name persons who are without homes, as "The Homeless," is similar to calling persons who have a mental illness "The Mentally Ill" or persons who are terminally ill "The Dying" or persons with handicapping conditions "The Handicapped" or persons who are unemployed "The Jobless." I don't have good suggestions for how to avoid the obvious difficulty of saying, "persons with … or persons without …” given the concern for being concise in print. But the MSW program certainly affirms the importance of recognizing the humanity and worth of all people which labels of "The …" do not. Priscilla A. Walters MSW ’01 Living free in Massachusetts I'm an alumnus and read about the project, “Shelter for The Homeless.” I live in the Annie Maxim House in Rochester, Massachusetts. It contains apartments for 12 residents of “slender means.” We pay no rent, electricity, heat or water. There is a community dining room where we eat dinner prepared by a very good cook Mondays through Fridays. We cook in our own kitchens all other meals. There is also a library and a community living room at the house, which is in a rural area in the midst of fields and bordered by a large pond. The residents may live here as long as they are independent or until they go to a nursing home or die. It's a 'permanent' residence. We feel so blessed to be here. We would all be homeless if it weren't for Annie and George Maxim. They set aside money to build this place many years ago before George died. It was built in memory of his wife, Annie, after his death some 35 years ago. For those interested in this project, email me at shawnhiggens888@yahoo.com . Shawn Higgins ’71 PSU gear hard to find In the spring 2017 Portland State Magazine , WimWiewel wrote in his last column, “My only wish is that more of you would show Viking pride and wear our gear or display the PSU logo on windshields and bumpers.” Well, I think we would see some of that if PSU merchandise were available outside of the PSU campus store/online. Why is there a big display in a store like Fred Meyer of OSU and U of O merchandise but nothing from PSU? The PSU campus is right here in Portland! I’m sure that there are other alumni out there who would like easier access to a PSU T-shirt, and would wear it with pride. Lisette Sage ’86 Letters