June Meeting of the Board of Trustees Recap

On Thursday, June 18, dozens of students, faculty, alumni, and members of the community testified for more than an hour before the PSU Board of Trustees and President Stephen Percy at this quarter’s board meeting. The two themes of said testimony: Disarm PSU and do not raise tuition for our students. 

In this time of rising condemnations of police brutality and calls for racial justice, maintaining an armed campus police force is not justified, traumatizes our BIPOC community members, and has enacted real harm to the family of Jason Washington. The Board did not respond to these pleas. President Percy said he wants to continue listening as he thinks about this topic. Please continue to email and call Percy demanding that PSU Disarm and reimagine the role of safety on our campus: president@pdx.edu You can also leave a voicemail at 503-725-4419. 

As for the issue of tuition raises: we are very upset that during an economically turbulent time when students are encountering houselessness, food insecurity, and the crushing weight of student debt, the Board would approve an almost 5% tuition raise. While all students are impacted, this tuition hike disproportionately harms our students of color, who are more likely to face these structural barriers to student success and graduation. We ask that you call the Board to reconsider the tuition hikes pending updates from the Governor’s office about the state’s revised budget and funding for higher education. (Trustees@pdx.edu) And while you are at it, please email Governor Kate Brown and ask that she fully fund higher education during this pandemic, a time that has demonstrated the absolute necessity of an educated citizenry. Citizens with college degrees have fared better during this economic crisis and who knows, they might find some innovative solutions to the pandemic.