On a fair June morning one hundred years ago, the Washington Herald published a small, condescending article amid a hundred others describing the then-raging Battle of Verdun: “Women ‘suffs’ ready…
Energy security from 1946 to today
Portland State University started life as the Vanport Extension Center in 1946. This new educational facility in the marshy slough lands between the Columbia and Willamette rivers was to eventually…
A look back at US and Russian relations
Current rhetoric concerning Russian aggression and conspiracies to influence United States elections may sound familiar to those who lived during the era when Hollywood actors were arrested for being suspected…
Portland State: an idea sparked from war and flood
Niche, a college review site, ranked Portland State as one of the most liberal universities across the United States. However, it may surprise those unfamiliar with our campus history to…
A short history of the Vanguard
The Vanguard celebrates its 70th anniversary this year, enjoying a history as storied as the university itself. The paper emerged shortly after the inception of the Vanport Extension Center—the precursor…
Blind veteran Don Carlo lays groundwork for the Vanguard
Losing one’s sight can be a travesty; for founding Vanguard editor Don Carlo, it just meant that he needed to adapt. He used strips of Braille to label his textbooks…
ENIAC to Mac: 70 years of computer evolution
International hacking conspiracies, Wikileaks, the internet of things: What they all have in common is technology’s transformation from communications convenience to cyber security nightmare. In honor of our throwback issue,…
PSU alumni who have really broken the bar
Portland, Oregon has been receiving its fair share of fame in recent years, but a look back at former Portland State University students reveals that Portland has always had a…
Headlines through the ages
Throughout the years, the Vanguard has sought to report the news and represent a campus with ongoing progression and cultural shifts. The following is a list of some major headlines…
Light up those Lucky Strikes
Throughout this paper’s 70-year history, there have been some weird, wacky and wonderful headlines that have helped propel us through the ever-changing culture of our beloved university. The Portland State…
Music and culture, Vanport to Vanguard
In the summer of 1946, the good people of Portland were putting the big war behind them and settling in for some serious baby booming. And when the first students…