Following the June 29 fatal officer-involved shooting of Jason Washington, an independent security consulting firm was selected by Portland State President Rahmat Shoureshi to review campus safety policies and procedures.
Shoureshi announced on Sept. 13 that, at the recommendation of the 15-member University Public Safety Oversight Committee, university officials had selected Margolis Healy—which specializes in campus safety and regulatory compliance—to conduct a review of public safety procedures, training, staffing and possible alternatives to a sworn, armed campus police force. Once complete, the report and recommendations will be submitted to the PSU Board of Trustees. Independent police oversight consultant OIRGroup will conduct a separate review of the shooting incident.
Margolis Healy has announced it will hold nine listening forums to allow members of the PSU community to provide feedback for the firm’s review.
At Margolis Healy’s request, no TV cameras, photography or radio recording will be permitted in the listening sessions due to concerns that recording equipment may discourage people from attending and speaking at the forums.
The 90-minute forums will be held between noon–1:30 p.m., 4–5:30 p.m. and 6–7:30 p.m. on Oct. 30; 8:30–10 a.m., 11:30 a.m.–1 p.m. and 2–3:30 p.m. on Oct. 31; and 8–9:30 a.m., 10–11:30 a.m. and noon–1:30 p.m. on Nov. 1 in the PSU Academic and Student Recreation Center. University spokespeople stated all students, faculty, staff and community members are encouraged to attend.
I am a fourth-year student in the University Honors College studying political science and Arabic. I started with Vanguard in August 2017 as a reporter for the international section before becoming international editor at the beginning of this year. I have been working with the news team since spring 2018. As news editor, I am responsible for curating, editing and reporting on content relating to the goings-on of PSU and its surrounding area while working with a team of reporters to accurately and responsibly inform the campus community.
