The author is a member of the TEDxPortlandStateUniversity team. As we enter a mostly remote fall term, many of us are apart from the organizations, friends, clubs and classrooms…
What did they expect?
Most of the country woke up on Friday, Oct. 2 to the news of the President of the United States testing positive for COVID-19. The uncomfortable truth of the matter,…
When unemployment pays more
The COVID-19 pandemic has proven minimum wage does not pay enough to cover the costs of daily living. Since early March, the COVID-19 pandemic has caused unemployment to skyrocket…
Blood clots and anxiety: a lesson in self-awareness
In December 2018, I was in a bus accident. Tossed around the interior of the bus after it hit a cow, I ended up getting knocked out for a moment…
A new way to study abroad—without going abroad
As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to disrupt activities and change routines, Portland State’s Education Abroad office did what many other programs were forced to do—it went virtual. Virtual study…
The rules only apply to you: renters in a landlord system
In the lead-up to the COVID-19 crisis, it was a common refrain from housing activists that tenant protections have always been lacking and needed some beefing up. Landlords and large…
Campus safety starts to change
From spring to fall term, in the turbulent year 2020, change has been inevitable, as Portland State constantly adapts to current events. No change has been harder fought for, however,…
Toxic productivity
Here we go, adding yet another hashmark to the number of days we’ve been isolating at home. I’m beginning to realize the accumulating anxiety I’ve felt since that first fateful…
Privacy, antitrust and government, oh my!
The world of technology has been a feverous, gladiatorial effort of epic proportions over the past few decades as billionaire companies are pitted against each other, ferociously fighting over the…
Hanging out when school’s out
The catastrophic “now” that this moment inhabits has created a dynamic within the student body that is terrifying and isolating, a new normal that has taken students away from their…
The politics of apoliticism in video games
A lot has changed in the 13 years since Irrational Games’s BioShock released. BioShock was seen by many to be a huge leap forward in narrative-driven games in the…