|
The Grass Is Always Greener
When Portland State University students return to campus next fall, they may find their grass has turned to plastic. The university administration is asking permission from the city to convert the open green space at Southwest 10th Avenue and Harrison Street, just west of the campus library, into a 100-yard-long football and soccer practice field sporting artificial turf. Currently the space, the only large green area on campus, is used by students for Frisbee, cloud bathing, dog walking and other pastimes. To PSU student Kinga Bernath, the university is putting the comfort of a few athletes ahead of those of the entire student body. "The field is supposed to be constructed for our benefit," Bernath says. "So why didn't they ask us? Students feel left out." PSU's football team currently practices at Civic Stadium, where home games are played. Plans for a new practice field have been in the works for some time. The move is prompted in part by concerns that Civic Stadium would replace its artificial turf with natural grass that won't hold up during wet winter months. In fact, 18 months ago, the university proposed a 65-yard practice field on the site where the full field is now planned. When lumber magnate Peter Stott and other donors kicked in enough money to go the full 100 yards, the university expanded its plastic vision. PSU spokesman Brian White says the space will be open to intramural and public use when not claimed by athletics teams, although the terms of Stott's gift dictate that jocks have priority. White says the university put out flyers and held an information session for students two weeks ago. University officials hope to gain city approval next month and start construction on the new field in early August. Bernath, however, isn't giving up the fight for free access to natural sod. She and others are circulating a petition and have organized a picnic to be held this Thursday on the green to publicize what they consider a loss of one of the urban campus's few inviting spots. PSU officials say they'll hold a public hearing on the proposal June 18.
--Nigel Jaquiss Oregonian Silences “Screamer”: Hundreds Baffled
PORTLAND--In a surprise move, The Oregonian hit the streets Monday with a redesigned afternoon edition, terminating the brightly colored ink job and opting to go with a quieter design. For the past few years the paper has tried to attract afternoon readers with a crimson front-page banner and huge headlines. The "street final" edition, known informally as "the Screamer," offered front-page stories on crime ("Middle-schoolers caught in bomb threat, hit list"), celebrities ("Jury has no beef with Oprah; cattlemen lose case"), health breakthroughs ("Drug may prevent breast cancer, study says") and disasters ("Fireball fills sky after gasoline truck crashes"). The new design, titled Late Street Final, nixes the red ink and sensational headlines. Efforts to reach Oregonian Executive Editor Peter Bhatia, President Patrick Stickel and Public Editor Michele McLellan were unsuccessful, leaving us in the dark about what prompted the sweeping change. Willamette Week was able to get an exclusive interview with veteran press-room superintendent Dennis Russell, who says he, too, was caught off guard by the change. "It was a surprise to me," he says. "Monday it came off the press, and I saw it. I hadn't heard anything about it." FOLLOW UP
Devil's Work
Jennifer Fultz claimed another victory last week in her battle against two Portland psychologists. Fultz contends that between 1991 and 1994 Sophia Carr and Chyril Walker convinced her that she was the victim of satanic ritual abuse ("How She Beat the Devil," WW, Sept. 25, 1996). Fultz claimed that Carr and Walker convinced her that she had repressed memories of torture by family members, destroying her marriage in the process. Two years ago Fultz reached a court settlement with the two therapists. Although Walker paid Fultz $1.15 million and Carr paid an undisclosed sum, neither
psychologist admitted any fault. On June 2, however, the state Board of Psychologist Examiners concluded that Carr and Walker violated professional ethical principles and began procedures to revoke their licenses. |
