PSU SWITCHES TO GOOGLE
THE TIMES THE ARE A CHANGING
Google Apps for education offers collaboration services and savings of more than $100,000
Page One is more than a year at the New York Times
NEWS: PAGE 3
ARTS: PAGE 6
INDEX
NEWS.......................... 2 OPINION........................ 4 ARTS............................ . 6 SPORTS........................ 10
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Portland State University
PSUVANGUARD.COM
TUESDAY, JUNE 5TH, 2011
VOL. 66 NO. 2
PSU students hit American Idol Scholars tried out as singers Saturday at the first Idol auditions in Portland and didn't make callbacks, but gained experience Sierra Pannabecker Vanguard staff
Auditions for Season 11 of the TV sensation American Idol arrived last Saturday at the Rose Garden Arena. Students from Portland State joined the masses waiting in line before daylight that morning. The seats inside the arena were packed with Idol hopefuls and their friends and family members. Kaitlyn McAllister, who graduated in June from Henley High School in Klamath Falls and plans to attend PSU in September, traveled to Portland with her mother. Despite her memories of previous years’ rejections by the judges in Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, she felt relaxed. “I was a little disappointed when they passed me up again,” McAllister said. She plans to continue trying out. “My mother is really supportive. She’d travel the world for me.”
ASPSU launches new website New interface is a response to frustrations with current site students say Ryan Deming Vanguard Staff
ASPSU will be launching a new website this week—maybe by Friday, according to student government representatives. The current website is a dinosaur in many areas, users say. Donovan Powell, publications director at ASPSU and the force behind the new interface, said that the search function on the current ASPSU website accomplishes just about as much as the Portland State website’s search function does: zip. In addition to the useless searching, there’s a “member login” that can be only used by the webmaster. Why this was put on the site, Powell has no idea. “In comparison to the old site, the new site will be a sleek and efficient machine,” Powell said. He remembers carefully considering his own frustrations with the site when he brainstormed improvements for all users. The search function will be replaced with a methodically laid-out homepage that quickly directs ASPSU staff members and other visitors to information. As part of the new design, far more student government documentation such as meeting minutes and proposals will be posted online regularly for students to view. SEE ASPSU ON PAGE 3
Sena Garbon, a Theatre Arts major at PSU who begins classes this fall, auditioned in front of two show producers. “It was fun to see how it all worked,” she said. “I’m not devastated, but if I’d gotten through I would have looked forward to the judges’ feedback.” A 2011 graduate of the Vancouver School of Arts and Academics, Garbon claimed that the auditions were more chaotic and disorganized than other tryouts she’s attended. She plans on performing in PSU musical theatre productions. Current PSU students also showed up for the auditions. Among them was Alan Smith, a graduate student earning a master’s in music performance. ADAM WICKHAM/VANGUARD STAFF
SEE IDOL ON PAGE 9
Facing the music: A contestant speaks to reporters outside the Rose Garden Arena at Saturday's auditions.
State gives foster kids a chance HB 3471 grants youth from state foster homes tuition waivers at Oregon universities Peter Browning Vanguard staff
Oregon will soon join a growing number of states—including Florida, Kentucky and Texas—that offer full tuition waivers to foster kids entering higher education. The idea began as a grass roots campaign by the very children that the bill is sponsoring. Only 6 percent of Oregon youth raised in foster care go on to earn a college degree. These wards, unless applying for additional state custody, become self-reliant at the age of 18. Many don’t have the resources or funding to attend a secondary school. Nicole Stapp was in foster care for 11 years and lived in six different homes. She graduated from Chemeketa Community College with her Associate of Arts, Oregon Transfer this June. She’d planned to attend PSU this fall, and though she’ll have to delay her enrollment by a year in order to qualify for the tuition waiver, she is grateful for the opportunity to be debt-free. “This bill actually gives me a chance to focus on school alone,” Stapp said. “Instead of working multiple jobs, I’ll only have to work one. My hope for this bill and what it will do for other foster youth is to spread hope. And of course, along with degrees and success comes the fact that this bill gives foster youth the support and
opportunity that they need to break the cycle of poverty, abuse and just the simple feeling of hopelessness.” Advocating for youths like Stapp is a group called Children First for Oregon that includes Oregon Foster Youth Connection under its umbrella. Pamela Butler, outreach coordinator for Children First, founded OFYC in 2008. A former child living in foster care herself, she saw the need for the people experiencing the system to advocate for themselves. OFYC membership grew from four people in 2008 to 75 members just three years later. At an OFYC retreat last year, youth discussed ways that other kids in their positions could be better assisted. Access to higher education was a recurring theme. The young people created proposals, vetted them and then met with legislators. Next, Rep. Michael Dembrow (D-NE Portland) drafted HB 3471. To qualify for the waiver, youth must have spent 12 months or more in foster care between the ages of 16 and 18 and be pursuing a postsecondary education within three years of high school graduation. The bill is designed to grant tuition assistance to the last dollar. Eligible students apply through FAFSA, and the state tuition waiver covers whatever costs aren’t addressed by vvfederal aid like the Pell grant and the Oregon Opportunity grant. SEE FOSTER KIDS ON PAGE 9
Parking rate increase proposed percolates City officials and PSU administrators discuss possible parking rate increase Ryan Deming Vanguard staff
The reality of parking downtown may become rougher due to a plan spearheaded by PSU that would increase funding for EcoDistricts throughout the city. Advocates of the EcoDistrict model aim to implement sustainability practices on a neighborhood scale, said Amy Ruiz, the communications director for Mayor Sam Adams. “The idea is to address how we can turn waste into energy on a community-wide basis,” Ruiz said. Currently, there are five test EcoDistricts in Portland: Gateway, Lents, Lloyd District, the South Waterfront and the University District. PSU officials are discussing the idea of raising downtown parking rates with the Portland Bureau of Transportation to help fund the University EcoDistrict. “PSU asked the city to consider an idea to help advance their Eco-District work. That’s it at this point,” said Tom Miller, director of the bureau. According to Miller, a brief in the Oregon Business Journal last week was wrong to identify him as the generator of the idea. Ruiz said that she’s not sure the mayor has even heard about the proposal yet. “It was one of many ideas to fund the EcoDistricts,” confirmed Scott Gallagher, PSU director of communications. ■