park blocks A BETTER NAITO IS HERE TO STAY WHAT STARTED AS a Portland State University capstone project has turned into a new way of moving traffic along the Portland waterfront. The Better Naito project is the brainchild of Gwen Shaw ’15, who graduated with a degree in civil engineering. At the time, she was looking for a way to create a shared space in the city for pedestrians, bikes, and cars alike. Shaw—who now works as a traffic engineer—says she was first inspired by a pedestrian space outside a local donut shop facilitated by advocacy group Better Block PDX in 2014. After consulting with the group, Shaw decided to select the Naito Parkway as her capstone project. She proposed repurposing one northbound lane of the parkway into dedicated space for bikes and pedestrians. She felt urged to take her design from concept to reality after seeing images of the Cinco de Mayo festival on the Waterfront. “The festival fence was all the way to the curb line, a mom was pushing a stroller in the bike lane, and bikes were shoved between cars in the travel lane,” she recalls. “It was crowded and unsafe.” She and her capstone team proposed a demonstration. To her surprise, the Portland Bureau of Transportation quickly and enthusiastically responded. Sixteen days later, Shaw and her capstone team began installing the design at 4 a.m. In the years since, the demonstration project has grown and transformed into a permanent installation. In May, the city held a formal ribbon cutting to celebrate Better Naito as it exists today. —KATY SWORDFISK WELCOMING INDIGENOUS STUDENTS TO PSU BREAKING DOWN BARRIERS to higher education is what Portland State has been known for since Day One. In recent months that effort has included creating new opportunities for Native American students, both locally and nationwide. In May, Oregon’s Higher Education Coordinating Committee established the Oregon Tribal Grant program, which will cover college-related expenses during the 2022-23 academic year for eligible students who are enrolled members of Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes.The grant, proposed by Gov. Kate Brown and approved by the Oregon Legislature can be applied to undergraduate or graduate study at Oregon public colleges and universities. That was great news for Portland State, which is actively developing services and support for Tribal students. And in July, PSU followed up with an announcement of its own: Beginning with the fall 2022 academic term, enrolled, degree-seeking undergraduate students who are registered members of a federally recognized tribe will qualify to pay the equivalent of in-state tuition rates.That means Native American students from anywhere in the country can attend PSU at the lower in-state rates. “These opportunities are some of the steps needed in developing good relationships with the tribes whose ancestral territory the state of Oregon currently occupies,” said Trevino Brings Plenty, coordinator of Native American student services at Portland State. “I look forward to the incoming Indigenous scholars this program will help fund toward degree completion.” Oregon’s nine federally recognized tribes include: the Burns Paiute Tribe; Confederated Tribes of Coos, Lower Umpqua and Siuslaw Indians; Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde; Confederated Tribes of Siletz; Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation; Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs; Coquille Indian Tribe; Cow Creek Band of Umpqua Indians; and the Klamath Tribes. —CHRISTINA WILLIAMS Leonard Getinthecar ’s 2013 work “Space Invaders,” located in Fariborz Maseeh Hall, translates colonization into a video game motif. Gwen Shaw (far right) at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the permanent installation of the Better Naito project in May. PATRIC SIMON PBOT 10 // PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE ••••••••••• lie llCllCIIC 111(111( lie 111(111( Ill( ••••••••••• • ••••••••••
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