Vol. 115, Issue 17 February 20, 2014
The BEacon
Every Thursday
The Student Voice of the University of Portland Since 1935
Class just got a little bit more awkward...
Say farewell to men’s basketball seniors
From The Bluff to the Business Journal
Living, p. 8-9
Sports, pg. 14-15
News, p. 2-3
Students object to professor’s tenure denial
Kristen Garcia | THE BEACON
A student signs the petition a group of upperclassmen biology students wrote asking administrators to reconsider the decision to deny Professor Jeffrey Brown tenure, while senior Katie Bates, one of the students who helped write the letter, oversees the table. Maggie Smet Staff Writer smet14@up.edu Students have rallied around a biology professor recently denied tenure, addressing a letter to administrators – which garnered 280 signatures from fellow students and alumni – extolling Jeffrey Brown’s commitment to
Kathryn Walters Copy Editor walters14@up.edu
students and the UP community. The student group delivered the letter to University President Fr. Bill Beauchamp, Provost Thomas Greene, and College of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael Andrews on Feb. 14. A group of upperclassmen wrote and edited the letter and spread the word through a Facebook event, and sat at a table in Bauccio Commons to collect
signatures. The letter highlights Brown’s commitment to students and the University, and requests a response from the administration either through email or meeting. The letter states, “While we understand there are strict criteria governing how and when tenure
House, approached ASUP with her and her peers’ concerns about the fate of the International House. “There was a lot of frustration in there and students felt their voice had been cut out from the whole process,” said junior senator Josh Cleary, a sponsor of the resolution. “We wanted to make a formal statement toward the administration noting the students’ concerns and their feelings toward being cut out of the process altogether of determining a program that they’re a part of.” Students in the International House were not informed of this decision until late January, which left many of them unsure of where they would live next year. Although Residence Life offered the International House students two University-owned off campus houses, many of the current International House students decided to independently
apply for housing in Haggerty & Tyson because they preferred to remain on campus. Sophomore senator Temo Ledua, a sponsor of Resolution 14-01 and an international student, feels having an oncampus International House is an important resource for international students to unwind and cope with cultural differences. “At the end of the day, we could come to the house and talk about the differences we see with our culture, and the American culture we see through how people interact,” Ledua said. “And just talk to each other about the differences we encounter and how our culture is compared to other students’ cultures.” Freshman Katherine Miller, a Corrado Hall senator who opposed the resolution, said she voted based on what her constituents in Corrado thought about the situation, but she also
See TENURE DENIAL, page 5
No strike for Portland teachers
UPDATE:
Lydia Laythe Staff Writer laythe16@up.edu After 10 months of contract negotiations, Portland Public Schools officials and union negotiators reached a tentative agreement, preventing what would have been the first strike in the district’s history. Approximately 100 education majors at UP, who are completing their field experience in Portland Public Schools, are breathing a sigh of relief. These UP students would’ve lost valuable field experience hours had a strike occurred. Though the School of Education was prepared to alter requirements for UP students affected by the strike, this agreement prevents extra stress and complications for students and staff in the School of Education, in addition to Portland teachers, students and their parents. Portland Public Schools and union negotiators reached a tentative agreement on Tuesday. This agreement must be approved by all teachers within the union and the school board, who will vote next week, before it officially ends the move to strike. Though details of the new contract have not yet been released, the main points of
debate during the negotiating process were salary, class size and teacher workload. Sophomore Mari Stevens said the tension she once felt between administrators and teachers had shifted when she went to her field experience placement at George Middle School. “The first couple weeks that I (knew about the strike), it was awkward between the administration and the teachers,” Stevens said. “This time it was really awkward between the students and the teachers, because the students don’t really know why their teachers are just leaving them.” Stevens described a classroom interaction where a teacher was assigning homework to her students. When the teacher told her students the homework was due on Thursday, they protested. “The kids were like ‘well, you’re not even going to be here. Why would I do it? You’re leaving. You’re striking. You’re not going to be here,’” Stevens said. In acknowledgement of this tension, UP students placed in Portland Public Schools were instructed by the School of Education not to attend their placements this week. Their See STRIKE, page 4
ASUP defends International House
Last Monday, ASUP senate passed its first resolution of the semester – Resolution 14-01 – which asks the administration to keep the International House’s current place on campus in Haggerty & Tyson residence halls. The resolution is a response to the Office of Residence Life’s new approach to theme housing at UP. The current Faith and Leadership and International Houses are being reorganized into new faith and formation ambassador and global ambassador leadership positions within each residence hall starting next year, meaning that the current format of theme housing in Haggerty & Tyson will be discontinued. ASUP took up this issue after junior Kim Turner, a current resident of the International
Photo Courtesy of Kim Turner and Daphne Pai
(Top from left to right) Seniors Laura Kehoe, Naomi Estrada, Amy Peng, juniors Kim Turner, Jordyn Chew, seniors Rachel Fong, Daphne Pai, (bottom from left to right) junior Sunny Lee, seniors Kevin Su, James Farr, Rylan Suehisa and sophomore Jean Francois Seide are all members of the International House. thinks that Residence Life’s new hall ambassador approach is a good way to promote diversity on campus. “I think a bigger goal should be increasing diversity
throughout the entire campus and also getting those leadership positions back into the dorms,” Miller said. See RESOLUTION, page 4