3 PAST TENSE Protests at PSU: Big, Small, Imaginary As I was walking in November through the maze of tents at the urban village called Occupy Portland in Chapman Square, I noticed many PSU students. This is nothing new. PSU students have protested wars, on-campus military recruiting, campus credit card banking, police killings, tuition hikes, gay pride, anti-gay pride, and various guest speakers – to mention only a few. The protests have been both large and small. I remember walking through the Park Blocks outside SMSU one day when the local itinerant preacher pointed his finger right at me and screamed, “You are all thieves, liars and fornicators.” There was the usual small protest. On March 4, 2010, The National Day of Action, 200 Portland State students protested tuition hikes. Darrell Millner, Black Studies, said, “The good news is change can occur; the bad news is it is never easy.” The largest and most famous protest at PSU (illuminated in the film The Seventh Day) occurred May 6, 1970 (see photo on page 2.) This protest was against the killing of Kent State University students and, of course, the Vietnam War. Thousands of students, faculty and staff demonstrated. So many crammed into the Park Blocks that traffic was halted. Some say this led to the City of Portland agreeing in 1972 to remove all vehicular traffic for six blocks through campus, as it is today. Another result of that protest, told to me by an oldtimer, is that the trees in the Park Blocks have been permanently “limbed-up” so protesters can’t climb up and occupy them. A most interesting protest is the one that didn’t happen. People love to tell how PSU students chained themselves to the copper beech tree in front of the library in 1991 in order to save its life. It’s a good story but it’s an urban legend. The library administration had always planned to build around the famous tree. However Occupy Portland proceeds, we know that protests at PSU will always continue in one form or another, large, small or imaginary. --Susan Jackson PAST TENSE features glimpses into Portland State’s history. To submit a story (or an idea for one), email the RAPS History Preservation Committee at raps@pdx.edu. RAPS club reports Book Club members speak the plain truth The RAPS Book Club meets Tuesday, Dec. 20 at 1:30 pm at the home of Betsey Brown, Holladay Park Plaza, 1300 NE 16th Ave. in Portland. Contact her at 503-280-2334 or aebport@hevanet.com to RSVP and for directions. We will discuss The Plain Truth by Jodie Picoult. The book is described on the back cover as follows: The discovery of a dead infant in an Amish barn shakes Lancaster County to its core. But the police investigation leads to a more shocking disclosure: circumstantial evidence suggests that eighteen-yearold Katie Fisher, an unmarried Amish woman believed to be the newborn’s mother, took the child’s life. When Ellie Hathaway, a disillusioned bigcity attorney, comes to Paradise, Pennsylvania, to defend Katie, two cultures collide—and for the first time in her high-profile career, Ellie faces a system of justice very different from her own. Delving deep inside the world of those who live “plain,” Ellie must find a way to reach Katie on her terms. And as she unravels a tangled murder case, Ellie also looks deep within—to confront her own fears and desires when a man from her past re-enters her life. We have had good reads this year and are looking forward to 2012. In January we will discuss Infidel by Ayaan Hirsi Ali. --Mary Brannan Bridge Group convenes Dec. 13 The RAPS Bridge Group meets at 1:00 pm Tuesday, Dec. 13 at Friendly House (corner of NW 26th and Thurman). For information about the group, please call Colin Dunkeld, 503-292-0838. If you would like to play, please call before noon Friday, Dec. 9. This gives us time to invite guests to join us if we need to make up a table. --Colin Dunkeld RAPS Hikers plan for the New Year The RAPS Hikers meet at noon Saturday, Dec. 10 at the home of Larry and Diane Sawyer for a potluck lunch and planning session for hikes in 2012. Past and potential hikers are invited. RSVP to Larry Sawyer at 503-7711616 or larry_sawyer@comcast.net. --Larry Sawyer HAPPY HOLIDAYS from the RAPS Board!
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