Spring20_Mag_Combined_WEB_single_pages

SPRING 2020 // 3 FOND MEMORIES OF PROFESSOR NUSSBAUM Just want to say how delighted I was to see an article [“Voices of the Holocaust”] about my former German teacher at PSU, Laureen Nussbaum. It brought back a memory from that class many years ago. The article mentions Dr. Nussbaum’s language expertise. It was the first day of class in second year German and we were all asked to take a short quiz to see where we were with our German knowledge, so that Dr. Nussbaum could see just what review we needed. We handed our papers in and sat quietly while she looked them over. Suddenly she beckoned me to her desk at the front of the class. She whispered to me, “Are you Dutch?” “Yes,” I replied, “How could you tell?” “Well,” she said, “the mistakes you made are what a Dutch person would make, not an American!” Needless to say, I was expected to get an A on all exams that year! —Lisette Sage ’86 BUILD EXITO PRIDE It was a privilege to read about [the BUILD EXITO] program [in “Smart. Motivated. Diverse.”], especially while so many in our country seem to be dedicated to small-minded bigotry. As a person who got my bachelor’s degree at 48, I understand, somewhat, being outside the mainstream, which makes what you’re doing even more of a blessing to your students. I’m so proud to be a PSU alum. —Bill Michtom ’95 CONNECTING STUDENT ACTIVISTS ACROSS THE YEARS Thank you for publishing my “Looking Back” column [“When unrest reigned”] on the history of the 1969-1970 student anti-war protests at PSU and in Portland. It was an important and dramatic time in American history, when our campus became a major part in the activism of that era. I plan to be at the PSU campus for the May 11 ceremonies in memory of the violent confrontation between student anti- war protesters and large numbers of Portland Police officers in the Park Blocks. I am eager to address PSU students of today and be able to relate the experiences I had there 50 years ago, and hard lessons learned by everyone there, of which I’ve always felt proud. —Doug Weiskopf ’70 PICKATHON TRAGEDY I find it odd and somewhat disturbing that in your glowing description of the site design of last summer’s Pickathon festival [“Unique stage presence”], no mention was made of the two men who were killed while dismantling part of the venue. Brad Swet and Brandon Blackmore died when their boom lift tipped over as they were taking down the fabric panels over the site. I do not mean to imply that PSU’s School of Architecture was in any way responsible, but I imagine that the families and friends of the two men might find the cheery, self-congratulatory blurb in questionable taste. —Jefferson Ranck, MA ’92 Editor’s note: Pickathon has established a memorial fund for Brad Swet and Brandon Blackmore at tinyurl.com/pickathon-memorial WHO SHOULD THE CENSUS COUNT? How disappointing to open the magazine and see Lyneil Vandermolen’s letter [in reference to “Census may undercount Oregonians”] displaying her own dishonesty and political bias (something she accused PSU and the magazine of having). Shamefully, she accuses “illegal aliens” of “stealing” political represen- tation, simply by virtue of existing. It is not possible to steal something that is granted freely—congressional representation is applied by total population and not by citizenship status, something that an anti-immigration activist would already know. Ms. Vandermolen also attempts to buttress her weaker-than-weak argument by claiming that no citizen would have reason to evade contact from a census worker, a suggestion that flaunts its own failed understanding of what motivates people (including fears of many types). —Alan Silver ’96 inbox WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU! Send your letters and comments by email to psumag@pdx.edu or by mail to Portland State Magazine, University Communications, P.O. Box 751, Portland OR 97207-0751. We reserve the right to determine the suitability of letters for publication and to edit them for clarity, accuracy and length. Turning 50: Black Studies overcomes // 18 FALL 2019 Portland State Magazine “As a person who got my bachelor’s degree at 48, I understand, somewhat, being outside the mainstream, which makes what you’re doing even more of a blessing to your students.”