Viking_Yearbook_71

38 Graduate Assistant I have a thing about the university. It's a beautifully poetic place . That's really been the great compensation or consolation in the time that I've spent here as a graduate assistant . My whole interest in coming to Portland State was simply because there was something happening here that was different from what was happen ing where I was before. I wanted to see and feel what was going on here. And I think I did, but only in part. For instance, I know a mere handful of people at Portland State. Most of the th ings we talk about are not academic things at all. We talk about why the Trail Blazers have lost six games straight. We talk about things that are very prosaic and yet extremely interesting . And the reason Portland State is an enjoyable place to me is because there are always people readily available who want to talk about those things, who can talk about them, and who enjoy speaking with me. I suppose for the people here, college, in many ways, seems like the best days of their lives . I remember when I was at Oregon State I was always told "these are the best days of your life" and I thought "Jesus Christ, if these are the best days of my life I'll just kill myself now, because when the bad ones start coming I know I won't be able to take it." Everything changes. And it's a fun thing to look ahead ten years and realize you're not going to be at the same place that you are right now, physically or emotionally. I think one opportunity that the university provides is the opportunity to realize that you are going to change in a variety of unpredictable ways. I feel like I'm just beginning to understand a few things that I always thought I understood completely . And that to me is the value of the university, any university. Transfer from the South I remember when I first came to Portland State, it was a college then. I really had to get adjusted to the surroundings and the white faces . I had transferred from an all ·black university and "boom!" Here I was in an almost all ·white one. Man , what a change. You know, few people experience or ever tell about the completely revolutionary experience that you must go through in such a situation if you are going to survive in your new environment . Well, I liked the tightness of the buildings and the short distances from one class to another. I was used to having to cover about a quarter or half mile in ten minutes at my old school. Of course, the classes are crowded at PSU just as they are everywhere . I'd like to see a change made toward fewer people to a class. First there was the black -white thing. I had never been in any class with white people . My emotions and responses to cl ass participation took a beating . Then I found that most of the students and instructors here were friendly and okay. Most of them, not all of them. Heaven forbid if that's so. Anyway , having never been in class with whites before, I was afraid of them . I didn 't know if they would bite or take me out and lynch me, man , really. In almost all of my classes, I was the only black person in the room. So I would sit next to some fine blond and whisper "What are we going to do in class today?" Most of the time the response would be " Excuse me" or some other half-ass grunt or just plain silence . It happens sometimes now, you know, like I can't speak English or something. Anyway I think that PSU is a good school and the activities and classroom procedures are about as good and regular as any other university. Gradually, I've become accustomed to being around white people. They have different mannerisms . They are different from black mannerisms because I guess we (blacks) have got more emotion and dignity in our walk , talk , and participation in class and out of class. For me this school was a change . I can't say that it was a change for the better . I haven't decided that yet .