Viking_Yearbook_69

. ..... ·-· .... . . ' ~ .~'r· ... . .. ... ,.. .. This year the unive r si ty of– fered a high seminar in bringing up baby. Classroom was in the s t ree t s, o r m o r e p ec · s ly, i n those blocks where the wrecking ball flew and timber crumbled . The lectures were pervasive- the throb of jackhammers, the pow– ersaw 's squeal, and on apartment hous es and local shops, signs that read "Closed. " In 1955 Legislature passed a bill which made Portland State a degree-granting institution. Ac– cording to the bill the new insti– tution was to be "a downtown city college, and shall not be a college of the campus type ." The initial plans dictated vertical ex– pansion within four Broadway blocks. Today PSU claims 52 acres. And whether baby grows into a member of the urban community or into a self-possessed campus creature depends on . .. • the broad institutional goals of the university • academic programs (realized) • logistics and limited area • Legislature • State Board of Higher Education • City Council • City Planning Commission • Urban Renewal • Housing and Building Authorities • Skidmore-Owens-Merrill (and other hired architects and planners) • Portland Beautification Committee • Institutional Facilities Planning Committee • traffic flow • local interest groups • A.I.A. (American Institute of Architects) • A.I.P. (American Institute of Planners) • time • the city community • student action 91