(Ann Truong | The Beacon)
By
Humans naturally fall into routine. At the University of Portland, the routine is easy. Get up for class, lecture, lunch, study, more class and then blowing off steam on the weekends with beer pong and a movie. With almost a third of the semester gone, the urge to isolate and withdraw from Portland grows with stacks of papers and midterms. Even amidst work, whether you are a native Portlander, or completely new to the Northwest, breaking out of the campus environment is important to real world success, fun and personal growth.
The lack of a library should send students off campus to find study spots. Rather than going to the same old coffee shop you always go to, why not make your study day an adventure into a new part of Portland? Portland is a city of hidden gems; sometimes you have to mine a little bit to find them.
More than Portland, Oregon and Washington have a lot to offer. Since you're going to spend at least four years of your life here, you may as well know its points of interest. The Outdoor Pursuits Program is one of the best ways to get in touch with the spirit of the Northwest.
The University does an adequate job giving students encouragement and opportunities to interact with the greater Portland community, but it could do more.
The most obvious way the University brings students beyond the barriers of North Portland is the UP shuttle, which runs to the Rosa Parks MAX yellow line stop and the St. Johns business district. The Moreau Center also gives UP students opportunities to volunteer at various Portland non-profits.
Still, UP does not match other Portland colleges in terms of self-motivated travel off campus.
"The Pioneer Express," Lewis and Clark's student transit is a school bus that brings students right into the heart of downtown. Reed College offers monthly adult TriMet passes for $50, a full 50 percent off the regular price, whereas UP offers the same pass for $65 and Public Safety generally sells out of those passes during the academic year. Portland State students pay only $205 for the entire fall semester to ride TriMet, and Portland Community College releases a set number of student TriMet passes for $190 for the entire semester.
While you may be thinking, 'I don't even buy $50 worth of one way passes,' you might consider instead how much more students at the other Portland colleges use TriMet. With either a drop off right in downtown or decreased adult passes, all other Portland schools have more access to the rest of Portland. The higher prices for UP students to get downtown and other places in Portland are a deterrent for leaving the brick façade of the University.
Trips past Willamette Blvd. give you more insight for class. By leaving campus, you gain the context for the multiple movements going on in Portland and Oregon such as the slow and local food movement, gaming and comic renewal and various spiritual revivals rocking aging hipsters. Exposing yourself to Portland culture can not only help you network for jobs later on, but make you realize what work you're interested in in the first place.
Rather than spinning your wheels in a vacuum of UP-centric knowledge, pop that UP bubble. Engaging in Portland and the Northwest is one of the best ways to grow at the University.
Editorial Policy The editorial reflects the majority view of The Beacon Editorial Board. The editorial does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the collective staff or the Administration of the University of Portland. Other submissions in this section are signed commentaries that reflect the opinion of the individual writer. The Student Media Committee, providing recommendation to the publisher, oversees the general operation of the newspaper. Policy set by the committee and publisher dictates that the responsibility for the newspaper's editorial and advertising content lies solely in the hands of its student employees.
