By Andrew Jankowski

Portland State University is a unique college in that it is a commuter college in the heart of downtown Portland with a vibrant on-campus community. Off-campus students are within walking distance of PSU buildings, or they drive from out of town or even out of state. Whether we are immigrants, refugees, natives or nationals, we together make PSU a diverse community.

Sometimes, though, on campus we develop insular communities that don’t interact with each other. It’s normal. Think about it: engineering students, how often have you attended an art reception at one of PSU’s six art galleries? Art students, how often have you attended a history lecture? History students, how often do you attend literary events? English majors, how often do we attend science lectures? And how often do we engage with cultural resource centers that don’t center on our identities? And truly, for that matter, who is attending sports events or voting for ASPSU?

Portland State Vanguard, PSU’s de-facto journalism program, is a learning lab that connects students of all majors and ideological viewpoints in the common goal of informing PSU students, as well as our non-student community partners like city hall and local professional journalists, about events that impact their lives. We’ve done it for over 70 years, and now that we’re in control of our own distribution, we’re now on racks and tables in almost every PSU building, and a few off-campus spots like McMenamins, Pizzacato and University Pointe. Based on our print circulation, social media interactions and story comments on our site, more of you are picking up papers or clicking on our content to find out what’s affecting campus. Even more encouraging, when I’ve heard that print is dying for almost two decades, we’ve seen a surge in contributors for writing, photography and videography.

The best part is, we’re still seeking new people to come aboard. We’re now hiring for most of our editorial staff (hiring as in money!), and we’re always seeking contributors for #VikingVoices, our op-ed section open to whatever you’re passionate about in 600 words or less. We recently featured one of our ASPSU senator’s letters as a dialogue for how to engage students on campus and have talks about ideologies we may disagree with personally.

Perks of working at PSU Vanguard include:

• An impressive addition to your resume.
• A fast way to develop a comprehensive writing, photography, video, design and/or art portfolio.
• Connection to numerous professional, academic and social circles, including ASPSU, campus clubs & student groups, resource centers, city hall, CPSO, and more.
• Opportunities to interview celebrities, elected officials and public figures.
• Meeting people who can become important professional contacts or really close personal friends.