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News

Thursday | April 7, 2011

Reed College's Old Dorm Block. Photo by Cacophony.

Reed College still failing to protect students from sexual harassment, investigations find
For several years, articles have been published, investigations from D.C.-based organization the Center for Public Integrity and Seattle-based nonprofit InvestigateWest have been conducted, and recently, one student member of Reed College's Judicial Board publicly resigned as part of a statement against how the prestigious private college in Southeast Portland deals with students that report being sexually assaulted. According to InvestigateWest, it is part of a nationwide situation where "students found 'responsible' for alleged sexual assault on campuses across the nation often faced little or no consequence for their acts, while their victims' lives were frequently left in turmoil. Victims reported a lack of institutional support and disciplinary action. Often, victims left school while the alleged attackers graduated."

Go to article: Portland college students demand changes in sexual assault process

Wednesday | April 6, 2011

Come Hang With Portland's Wiki Geeks
Local MediaWiki & Wikipedia Discussion Groups!
Portland is the "birthplace of wiki"...
...and boasts quite a few wiki enthusiasts, many of whom are regular Wikipedia contributors and/or admins.
Because of such heritage, Portland now boasts a local Wikipedia / MediaWiki meetup page (although we're too lazy to put anything on it this week):
Wikipedia:Meetup/Portland
Hooray!
Hope to see you this evening!

What: Portland WikiWednesday
Where: Green Dragon Bistro and Brewpub
Address: 928 SE 9th Avenue, Portland, OR 97214
Day: Wednesday, April 6th, 2011
Time: 6:30-9:00 p.m.

Go to yelp: Green Dragon Bistro and Brewpub

Tuesday | April 5, 2011

Bill to exempt domestic violence centers from public records law passed in Oregon Senate, moves to House
SB 347, a bill that would exempt domestic violence centers from public records laws, was passed 29-0 in the Oregon Senate yesterday, and moves on to the Oregon House. Under current law, citizens, including abusers, can obtain records from publicly-administered offices like domestic violence shelters (sometimes called women's shelters). This has led at least one shelter in Portland to simply not keep day-to-day records of clients, for fear of risk to them. Exempting domestic violence shelters from public records laws is intended to allow shelters to safely keep these valuable records, which could be used to detect patterns of abuse and better keep track of their clients.

Go to article: Senate Approves Bill to Protect Privacy of Domestic Violence Survivors

Go to article: Bill shields records of domestic shelters

Monday | April 4, 2011

Come Hang With Local Civic Wiki Geeks
Tonight's Discussion: User Interface!

How can PortlandWiki present a more inviting user interface?

And: Wiki ~~bongs~~ (just kidding). PortlandWiki front page news blurbs! Your contributions wanted.

What: PortlandWiki Monday Meets
Where: Powell's Technical Books
Address: 40 NW 10th Avenue, Portland, OR 97209

Corner of NW 10th Avenue & NW Couch Street. (This is Powell's Tech's new location.)

(OpenStreetMap, Google Map)

Day: This evening! Monday, April 4th, 2011
Time: 6:30 - 9:00 p.m.

Go to meetup page: Monday Meets

Go to event calendar: PortlandWiki Monday Meets -- Come Hang With Local CivicWiki Geeks

Sunday | April 3, 2011

TriMet Rider Sees Blinking Lights
A rider on a TriMet bus traveling westbound over the Ross Island Bridge reported seeing three bright white lights "that seemed to flicker or flash rapidly" and nearby observed a "cluster of bright colored lights "that blinked and seemed to tumble around each other." Moments later, while attempting to board the UFO the blinking lights were attached to, the rider was informed that TriMet transfers were not accepted on intergalactic transport vehicles.

Go to story: Light 'clusters' reported moving over Portland

Saturday | April 2, 2011

Transit Officials Play Classical Music To Chase Off "Vagrants, Vandals, Ne'er-Do-Wells & Loiterers"
A bill making its way through the Oregon Legislature would expand the program to all light rail stops in Clackamas, Washington and Multnomah counties deemed high-crime areas by police or residents. "Classical music" in this case means opera, chamber music, choral pieces and music requiring a full orchestra. A number of communities in the United States, Great Britain and elsewhere have employed classical music in various "vagrants-be-gone" schemes for more than a decade.

Go to story: US cops hope classical music deters loiterers

Go to story: Classical Music as Transit Crime Deterrent