In Seach of: Authentic Identity

[BroadwayVik]

In addition to Portland State's WWII Legacy, another area that is pertinent to the university's identity is the fact that so many first-generation students attend there. It would be highly useful to find out enrollment statistics pertaining to first-generation students, especially PSU's rankings among

(1) All Oregon universities;
(2) Oregon's Big Three; (3) Oregon's Big Four (UO, OSU, PSU & the combination of smaller institutions)
(4) NW universities; (5) Cascadian universities;
(6) Nationally, if significant.

This characteristic is commonalty across the decades (the post-WWII Era with each successive Modern Era). If the statistics are significant now (and then), then PSU is (and has always been) a natural underdog. The goal is then to find ways to develop first-generation students quickly to sooner equate them with those of a "generational advantage."

 

[Pounder]

I don't think there's a need to study this.

You have Ed Whitelaw at U of O who, a few years ago, was advocating against locking down another generation in Oregon to the plight of the timber industry... and, in the process, kept harping that half the population had only lived in Oregon for 10 years or less. I would argue that, more or less, movers and shakers here HAVE listened to him.

Portlandia is not without basis. The place where young people go to retire? Really not (where do you think food cart culture came from, after all)... and look at the Timbers to know that Portland is where a lot of this takes place. Young people have come in numbers to this place.

Not only do I think there's not a lot of multi-generation PSU families, I think there's something of a scarcity of old-time Portlanders. Things have changed somewhat radically between when I left town in 1989 and when I returned 6 years ago.

 

[BroadwayVik]

First Generation Students are probably a large part of PSU's student body make-up. Statistics will bear this out. If true, then this attribute would clearly be part of who PSU is within the landscape of higher education.