Some students might not be aware that the University has a satellite campus located near Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland. Home to 200 to 250 students, many of them architecture graduate students, the Portland Center also offers programs in law, journalism and continuing education.
The center is a valuable resource, providing programs that allow students to gain real-world experience in a large city, network with Portland professionals working in their respective fields and enjoy the benefits of city living.
Yet students there have already experienced feelings of isolation. Last year, a group of Portland students formed the Portland Student Action Council to lobby for equal access to free transportation, recreational facilities, athletic tickets and other amenities students in Eugene receive from paying incidental fees.
Arguing they were being cheated, PSAC members attempted to receive support from the ASUO Executive and the University administration. But last year’s executive claimed the matter was out of its hands, deferring to administrators who said the real issue was how much all the University’s out-of-town and part-time students pay. Last we checked, most, if not all, of the Portland students’ grievances have not been addressed.
And now they might have another complaint: The Oregonian reported last week that the University is considering moving its Portland campus to one of two possible locations downtown.
A move would allow the number of students at the center to double and it would consolidate the University’s Portland programs under one roof, according to the administration. But the option the University appears to be leaning toward – a 60,000 square-foot space carved out of the rundown White Stag building next to the Burnside Bridge – is an undesirable location for a campus.
The White Stag building complex, known for its lighted “Made in Oregon” sign depicting a white deer, sits in one of the most notorious and possibly the worst areas of Portland – Old Town.
Proponents’ claims that bringing students and faculty to the Old Town area will help revitalize it are noble, but probably impractical. The list of cons for this location is lengthy. Vagrants currently hang out on the sidewalks along the building.
Contrast that picture with the center’s current location: A clean building along the MAX lines in a well-to-do, relatively safe area of downtown’s Yamhill district.
Clearly, the White Stag building isn’t an ideal option based on aesthetics, safety concerns and access to transportation. However, the administration has said it can only afford to move with help from city and federal grants – money it will get if its property broker goes for the White Stag site (which costs about $30 million).
We recognize the University’s practical need to expand and to finance such expansion in a reasonable way. With state money so tight these days, renting space in the White Stag project may be our only option.
But why are we only learning of these plans now? A Portland company has been looking for land for the project for about two years, said Art Demuro, president and principal broker for Venerable Properties of Portland. In light of the recent Westmoreland debacle, it’s not hard to believe the administration has mostly been mum on this issue; like Westmoreland, students and faculty members should be involved in the decision.
We urge the administration to work with PSAC, University faculty located in Portland and other potential stakeholders to discuss how it will address transportation, safety and other concerns if the Portland Center moves.