News Briefs

Avoid sexual harassment

There will be two sexual harassment workshops presented by the Affirmative Action Office next week. The workshop for workplace supervisors will take place on Tuesday, Feb. 5, from 9 a.m. to noon. Faculty and staff will be the target audience of another workshop scheduled for Thursday, Feb. 7 from 9 to 11 a.m. The general focus of both workshops is to learn how to recognize sexual harassment and then how to deal with it should it occur. The Tuesday and Thursday workshops will take place in Smith Center, rooms 290 and 292. Both workshops are free. Direct questions to the Affirmative Action Office at 503-725-4417. Reserve seats by calling the Human Resource department at 503-725-4926.

Black History Month starts

Black History Month begins today at Portland State with a free symposium on “Freedom in Black History.” The symposium will take place from 8 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and include the presentation of academic papers, music, a video and an African clothing sale. Dr. Kofi Agorsah, PSU black studies chair, will kick things off with the presentation of his paper entitled “The Other side of Freedom Trail in the African Diaspora.” Other papers will be presented by black studies department faculty, Applied Linguistics Chair Stephen Reder and Education Without Borders Director Bette Lee. At noon the symposium will break for lunch, music and a video. The symposium will continue through the afternoon with educational materials and entertainment. African clothes and Kente graduation stoles will also be on sale for reduced prices. The symposium will take place in Smith Center, rooms 328 and 329. The event is free to the public. For more information contact the black studies department at 503-725-5080 or 503-725-3472.

Disability Act questions answered.

There will be a free workshop to answer questions about the recently passed Americans With Disabilities Act on Tuesday, Feb. 12 from 9 to 11 a.m. in Smith Center, Room 323. The workshop, entitled ADA 101, will focus on answering some commonly asked questions about the act. They will address what implications it has for supervisors and faculty members and what constitute “reasonable accommodations” in classrooms and offices.