Portland State University
Hallmarks and Quirks
Things I'm Good At:
- Getting you a degree fast. Whether you're transferring in from a community college or hanging out with me from freshman year on, I'll be sure to get you all the classes and units you need in a timely manner.
- Social Work, Public Health, and Education. What can I say? I care so much.
- Environmental conservation. My students and I are really passionate about environmental issues. Free Cascadia, y'all.
- Dietary restrictions. I am a great place for vegan and gluten-free people to eat and commiserate about how messed up our food system is.
My Top 5 Must-Haves:
- A bike. You will have no friends if you don't have one.
- A life-threatening allergy to gluten…or at least a tolerance of those who do.
- A Mac computer that you got refurbished, because Apple products are inhumane.
- At lease five different pins that represent the causes that you are most passionate about.
- A good rain jacket. Portland is wet for half of the year, and umbrellas are so not in.
Why You Might Have Heard of Me:
- My Social Work department is one of the best in country.
- I've had some pretty notable faculty protests in recent years. My students aren't the only ones standing up for what they believe in, which is totally righteous if you ask me.
- I'm a huge school that has more than 30,000 students and I'm the only public university in the Portland metro area. Take that, OSU.
On a regular Saturday night, you can find me...
- At Waterfront Park. There's nothing better than chilling by the river after a long day of being a hipster.
- Anywhere on SE Hawthorne. It's super quirky and inclusive. And vegan-friendly.
- Any bar or strip club near campus. Remember what I was saying about that whole lumbersexual thing? Part of me will always stick to my rugged Pacific Northwest roots, no matter how problematic they may be.
Favorite Hangouts:
- The library. Who can afford going to a café when you don't have a real job?
- The on-campus gym. For when biking isn't enough exercise for you.
- The beautiful quad on campus (it's technically known as the South Park Blocks).
- In any green space. Portland is full of them.
Quirks:
- There used to be a vegan cafe called "Food for Thought" on campus, where you were not allowed to bring anything that is not vegan or that had gluten inside the cafe. In late 2014, my administration decided to convert the café from a student-owned co-op to a hierarchical management system. As a result, all of Food For Thought's employees quit and the café closed. Way to stick it to the man, guys. You can follow the drama on FFT's still-active Facebook page.
- Freshmen have the option of living in a Sustainability Living Learning Community. Gotta teach 'em early.
- I'm so eco-friendly that the equipment in my gym actually generates energy as you work out.
Famous Alumni:
- Courtney Love. Sometimes troubled musician, former first lady of grunge, and my idol to this day
- Holly Madison. Star of E!'s The Girls Next Door and one of Hugh Hefner's former girlfriends
- Randall Woodfield. Also known as the I-5 Serial Killer
- Esperanza Spalding. Four-time Grammy Award winning jazz artist
- Katie Harman. Miss America 2002
- Carolyn Davidson. Designer of the iconic "Nike swoosh"