Campus goes on alert after neighborhood reports of an armed man
Doors into campus buildings have been on ID card access only after two incidents in two days of sightings of a man walking in nearby neighborhoods carrying what appeared to be a rifle.
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Doors into campus buildings have been on ID card access only after two incidents in two days of sightings of a man walking in nearby neighborhoods carrying what appeared to be a rifle.
UP’s class of 2022,
By the end of four years of classes, labs and lectures in the Shiley School of Engineering, most engineering students have spent countless hours acquiring skills to one day apply to real problems.
As the school year comes to an end, students are fully engulfed in school work and final projects. While this time might be dreadful for some, for a certain group of students it will be an opportunity to show the UP community their extensive research projects that they have worked on all year long with the Public Research Fellows (PRF).
Dear readers,
Last Saturday night I saw the Colorado Symphony Orchestra perform Gustav Mahler’s 2nd Symphony. The epic piece ended with a booming finale, gongs clashing and sopranos spinning high B flats. The second the conductor lowered his baton, an audience member yelled “Bravo!,” the full concert hall jumped to their feet for a standing ovation, and I began to tear up.
How did you all spend your spring break? Some of you might have gone to Cabo, stayed on campus, or gone home to see family and loved ones. On the other hand, I had the most unique spring break that, If you asked me three years ago, I could never have seen myself doing. Along with nine other students, our professor Jeff Kersen Griep, and his wife Emily, I traveled to Belfast, Northern Ireland: a place that has been the center of intercultural conflict for generations, a place of sectarianism and division, and a place of modernization, healing, and progress. Throughout this trip, I learned more about myself, the world around me, and how I can use the lessons learned in Belfast in my future career path.
With finals approaching and dead week upon us, it has come to that time of the semester where students are cramming hours of studying into their busy schedules. But with grades and deadlines occupying our thoughts, we often forget to take a moment to breathe and take care of ourselves.
So far, this month has been eventful for the spring teams. Track and field competed at both the Stanford Invitational and the Hayward Invitational. Both of the tennis teams are in the midst of their WCC season. Baseball is also competing in the WCC conference. Rowing picked up a few wins and looks to compete at home. Women’s soccer finished their off-season play with a win. Men’s soccer traveled to Corvallis to take on Portland State in their second to last game of the spring season.
As we enter the final weeks of school filled with final exams, projects, and graduation ceremonies, Aries season is well underway marking the beginning of a new astrological year. The fire cardinal sign, known for its ambitious and passionate personalities, coincides with the spring equinox, bringing warmer weather and a fresh start needed amidst the stress of school.
With the United States Men’s Soccer team qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, a buzz of excitement and passion has rippled through the U.S. Soccer fanbase. Finally, we are back in the men’s tournament! But as thrilling as this may be for U.S. soccer fans, there are many fine details throughout the U.S. men’s program that should be closely examined so we don’t just barely squeak through qualifying again. The U.S. has made soccer recruiting too focused on the stereotypical American athlete, creating a gap in the level of play between the U.S. and other countries around the world.
If we haven’t met, my name is Mary. I also go my Mar (“Mair”), and my pronouns are they/them and she/her. I am the Hall Director of Fields Hall and former Assistant Hall Director of Lund Family and Mehling Hall. During my three years at UP, I’ve interned with the DIP Programs and worked with FGEN students for my graduate program, coordinated the LGBTQIA+ Employees Affinity Group, was on the staff Diversity and Inclusion Committee, and designed trainings for RAs on trauma-informed practices and LGBTQIA+ inclusivity.
In March of 2020, University of Portland students were abruptly sent home from their residence halls and started attending classes online. Students and faculty alike assumed that this would only be temporary — for a few weeks or the rest of the semester. No one knew at the time that it would continue during the 2021 and part of the 2022 school year. During this time, students were separated from peers and professors as well as the routines they had come to rely on. As time progressed, social distancing was introduced which allowed people to be in person together if they stayed six feet apart. But many people continued to experience emotional distance from the social networks they were accustomed to.
As University of Portland lets out for its Easter weekend, students may be excited to spend time with family and friends, whether they observe the Easter holiday or not. For students who celebrate Easter, this weekend can be a great way for them to connect with their faith. For Jewish students on the UP campus, Passover, which follows Easter weekend, can be a more difficult time on campus.
Recent events at UP have made me think about the Cross. What does the story of Jesus’s execution teach me about how Catholics (especially straight Catholics who hold positions of authority in Catholic institutions) should relate to the Queer community? A recent Beacon article covering a protest of Fr. Dan Parrish was accompanied by a beautiful sign that read, “Jesus Loved Everyone. Why can’t Catholics?” Of course, many Catholics who read that sign will be moved to quickly and emphatically respond, “We do love you!” Many of those same Catholics might also feel hurt and even anger at the accusation that we do not love the members of the Queer community. As we are protested, either directly or indirectly, it is easy to feel misunderstood by the Queer community, frustrated that they seemingly ignore remarks about loving them as God’s children and instead attack or ostracize us precisely for our Catholic beliefs. Years ago, I felt many of those same feelings, and I want to offer this Good Friday reflection specifically for those people who may be feeling that pain and anger.When Catholics feel attacked for what we believe are our faithful convictions, a common, yet harmful narrative can easily begin to creep in. We may be told that we are experiencing the painful fruits of our prophetic witness. We may be told that this derision and public ridicule is our own form of crucifixion, our Cross to bear. We may be told that we should identify with scripture passages like Matthew 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when people revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.” We may be told to adopt the prayer of Jesus, uttered from the Cross: “Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing.” Above all, we will be encouraged to continue to love those who revile us.I want to suggest that all these messages are dangerous and tend to perpetuate a form of systemic violence. Everyone of the sentiments listed above presumes that powerful Catholics (especially ordained ministers) should begin by identifying themselves with Jesus, especially the suffering Jesus who quietly bears his pain out of love. The problem, however, is that these sentiments assume that we already know how to love; we simply need to courageously persist.Good Friday offers us an opportunity to listen to the story of Jesus’s Cross in a way that challenges these triumphalist assumptions. One of the central messages of Good Friday is that, long before we can begin to see ourselves as Jesus, we must first learn to see ourselves as the crucifiers. To that end, I would suggest that we focus our attention on the role of the centurions in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, and Luke. In all these Gospels, the centurion is a figure who, having just murdered Jesus, comes to the horrifying realization that they have not only killed an innocent person, but they have killed the Son of God.My favorite version of this story is found in the Gospel of Matthew. In this gospel, the moment of Jesus’s death is accompanied by terrifying darkness and earthquakes. Filled with fear, the centurions say, “Truly, this man was God’s son!” God literally shakes the centurions out of their ignorance, giving them the gift of knowing their own sin. When crucifying Jesus, the centurions undoubtedly believed they were doing what was right. They were convinced of their righteousness. Often it takes the experience of darkness and terror to make us see that our own violence and its victims are staring us straight in the face. I would encourage all Catholics who feel misunderstood, ostracized, and attacked by the Queer community to consider the possibility that the derision and anger we are experiencing may be the darkness and the earthquakes we have earned. We should consider the possibility that God is calling us to conversion.Truly considering this possibility involves a willingness to see that anger as grace. So, when administrators encourage the UP community all to remain positive, to be respectful, and to avoid sowing division, that request could be interpreted as tantamount to chastising God for the darkness and the earthquakes, or critiquing Jesus for cleansing the Temple. The anger of the Queer community is a grace-filled, divine instrument. The question for Catholics is: do we have the competence to see our sin? Without this competence, any courageous acts of ministry run the risk of simply continuing the crucifixion.On Good Friday, of all days, we should stop trying to unite our suffering to Jesus’s suffering and instead be willing to recognize that our violence is united to the violence of the centurion. Perhaps then, like the centurion, we can begin to recognize the presence of Christ in the Queer community where we have been so consistently denying it. Perhaps then, we will have the competence to see the beauty and dignity of the queer love that we have been crucifying. We can instead unite our voice with the centurion’s voice and say, “Truly, these are the children of God.”While the preceding message is intended primarily for Catholics, I want to close with a note of acknowledgment and apology specifically to the Catholic and non-Catholic, Queer community at UP. As is the case with my participation in all systemic violence, I am trying to better understand the depth and severity of the trauma and harm that Catholic institutions have inflicted and continue to inflict on your community. When you repeatedly say you do not feel safe, I deeply believe you, as do many of my colleagues here at UP. I will be working to follow the lead of your community in the fight for the justice and inclusion you deserve.
My girlfriend and I often think back to our first date four and a half years ago. Not only was it an exciting and new adventure for both of us, but we both only agreed to start dating if our relationship wouldn't interfere with our personal goals. Now, we are 1,000 miles apart at different colleges pursuing our own interests. Now more than ever, it has been important for us to grow as individuals.
My great grandfather — my namesake — and I supposedly share a sense of humor. I grew up on stories of it.
Being a Diversity Collaborator has come with the privilege of curating collaborative spaces and the opportunity to advocate for minoritized communities; however, it has also come with great burden. We are a team of four women of color supervised by Yuri Osorio Hernández, another woman of color. Our supervisor, Yuri, has dedicated five years of advocacy for minoritized students and staff. However, our institution has a recurring pattern of overworking and mistreating QTBIPOC students and staff like our supervisor. This continuous harm has pushed Yuri, and many others, into leaving the University and exemplifies how the University mistreats minority students and staff.
University of Portland affiliated Instagram accounts are an anonymous mystery. Pictures are often posted to the accounts, such as @uportland, @portlandpilots and @up_admissions, but unlike typical social media accounts, these pages don’t give an inside view to the people running them.
Remnants of snow still remained from the passing storm, but that didn’t stop more than 150 students from gathering on the front steps of Franz to protest Fr. Dan Parrish’s residency in Lund Family Hall due to what many students are calling homophobic and transphobic remarks.