INSIDE STUDENT AFFAIRSA weekly insider’s guide for those helping students reach their goals toward optimal health and well-being, engagement with learning, and sense of belonging at PSU
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| “THE HIGHEST PURPOSE OF ART IS TO INSPIRE. WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO? WHAT ELSE CAN YOU DO FOR ANYONE BUT INSPIRE THEM?" - BOB DYLAN
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Volunteer to Help with Graduation Photos
If you are able and willing to assist with graduation photos this week, our friends in Enrollment Management are seeking volunteers. The events take place outdoors at Montgomery Plaza from Wednesday, June 2 - Saturday, June 5. Volunteers will be stationed in the same area but will be socially distanced from others. Graduates have scheduled appointments, meaning no more than 2-3 graduates are expected to arrive at any one time. Duties include registration, wayfinding, answering questions, and celebrating our graduates. If you are available, please see the volunteer sheet and add your name for a shift.
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AVP Finalists for Advising and Career Services
The Portland State community is invited to open forum sessions next week, June 8-11 at 2 p.m. to meet finalists for Associate Vice President (AVP) of Advising and Career Services. Candidates will address the topic “Describe your vision for academic and career advising as a lever for student success, particularly within the context of an urban university with a large transfer student population.” Details, including finalist name, curriculum vitae, cover letter and feedback survey, will be posted 24 hours before each visit on the search page.
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PSU Choirs Present: Fully Vaccinated
The Portland State Chamber Choir, Rose Choir and Thorn Choir are so excited to sing for a live audience! As the title suggests, the singers are all fully vaccinated and ready to sing for you outdoors at the Lots at Zidell Yards. Seats are available in pods of 2, 4 and 6 and each pod is 6-feet distant from adjacent pods. Tickets can also be purchased to watch the concert on a livestream from your home. The concert includes our usual eclectic mix of Classical greats like Sergei Rachmaninoff; modern masters like Arvo Part, Ola Gjeilo and Elaine Hagenberg; folk and spiritual arrangements by Jocelyn Hagen, David Morrow and Moses Hogan, plus world music, gospel and our signature arrangement of Leonard Cohen's Hallelujah. You can find concert dates and tickets here.
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Spring Commencement Ceremonies
Spring Commencement is set for Sunday, June 13 at 11 am. The ceremony will be held virtually to safely celebrate all of the graduates of the Class of 2021. Viewers may select the ceremony of their designated school and enjoy messages of congratulations, keynote speeches, and inspiring video footage. Additionally, PSU features more commencement celebrations for more specific audiences, including Family-Friendly Virtual Commencement, Honor Day, Lavender Graduation, Latinos Unidos Graduation, and Multicultural Graduation. You can learn more about the various Commencement ceremonies here.
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In-Person Campus Tours Start June 21
Sign-ups open June 1 for students who are interested in taking an in-person tour of the PSU campus. A Student Ambassador will lead a 45-minute walking tour while sharing their personal experiences on campus. Each tour will have no more than one student and three additional guests. Per state policy, visitors to PSU are required to wear masks or face coverings and maintain a distance of six feet between individualsYou will remain outdoors for the entire tour. Tours will be offered from June 21 to September 10. Students who wish to sign up can do so here.
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2023 Start Date Changes
Portland State is proactively changing the first day of classes for the 2023-2024 academic year to Tuesday, Sept. 26. By beginning fall term one day later than anticipated, the University honors the Jewish holiday, Yom Kippur, and avoids a situation where students must seek accommodations before classes begin. If you need accommodations for a religious holiday, talk to your supervisor or Human Resources. Students can talk to their instructor or the Dean of Student Life office. See PSU’s Religious Accommodations Policy for details.
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Lather Up: Sunscreen Mythbusting
“We all know you should wear sunscreen to protect against damage and prevent skin cancer, but there is a lot of misinformation out there about some of the specifics of sunscreen. So as the sun starts to peak out of the Portland clouds more and more, we thought we would do a little sunscreen myth busting!”
To learn some facts about sunscreen before summer approaches, visit the PDX CampusWell.
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|  SALPies, the annual awards ceremony for all groups and programs in SALP, historically draws large gatherings to celebrate student leadership and see who receives the coveted honors. In light of our current remote reality, this year’s SALPies premiere online when the in-person awards show would have taken place -- on Wednesday, June 2, at 7 pm!
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Long before the COVID pandemic required it, the world around us was increasingly animated by a blend of real and virtual realities (VR). Advances in VR technology, whereby interactive software immerses users in 3-D environments to simulate real experiences, were already in use in medicine and medical training, military exercises, mental health support, sports and many other spaces. Friends and families were already connecting with each other across space and time through social media platforms such as Facebook, Facetime, Instagram, TikTok and others. Movies like Her and Ready Player One provided artful representations of the blurred line between the physical and virtual realities of interpersonal relationships. Yet, arguably, one of the most precious joys of being alive is direct, physical human contact. What is more important than a group hug with those we love most, a high five after the big play, or the healing touch of a friend when we are at our lowest? And while just 33% say they'd be comfortable with an indoor concert after the pandemic per a recent Performance Research survey, virtual experiences have been wildly popular. Pop star Dua Lipa put on a virtual concert for 5 million viewers in November 2020. And... concert tickets for Dua Lipa's in-person tour spiked 70% after her live-streamed concert. As we prepare for our return to campus this fall, I've been thinking hard about the abundance of current evidence that seems to suggest that the future will be hybrid. How will we pivot, yet again, to create an optimal balance between the real and virtual ways that we matter to each other, and that we use to signal to others how much they matter to us?
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OFFICE OF STUDENT AFFAIRS
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SUGGESTION FOR A FUTURE EDITION?If you want to include something in an upcoming Inside Student Affairs, please email studentaffairs@pdx.edu. Archives of past issues can be found here.
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