PSU Weekend

PSU weekend, an annual event put on by the PSU Alumni Association, happened this…well, weekend. I am still trying to figure out just how active the alumni association is. I have a lifetime membership, so I should get some type of benefit of being a member (besides being called on my mobile phone every so often to hear pleas for donations). I do get periodic announcements of alumni events, but I have been unable to attend past events because there has always been a conflict. For the past few years of PSU Weekend, I have been out of town, until this year. The event usually consists of a series of free seminars (which were really interesting) and a keynote luncheon (which I had to miss). What struck me about the gathering was the overall mono-ethnic population. What struck me as odd was that I actually noticed to begin with. Usually, I don’t care if I am the only Asian-American in the room, but this was a university-wide event. You’d expect actual university students there in addition to the throngs of alumni. There is an active Multi-Cultural Center on campus, as well as more than several student ethnic groups, and not one of them attended. Their loss…they missed some interesting seminars. The PSUAA recognizes that learning isn’t just for students. I attended: Youth Culture 1968 vs. 2008: Where have all the riots gone? The Artist as Time Bandit: How to find the time to be creative in a world that makes no allowances for such frivolous behavior; and Embraced by the Octopus: How railroad barons shaped history in the Pacific Northwest.
Well, I would have attached a link here to the site, so everyone can see what a fun time we had and what you all missed, but whoever manages the website hurriedly yanked all the information off of the site. Either they didn’t think PSU weekend was all that good and don’t want to brag about it, or they were in a rush to thank those who made it possible (with a terse “Thanks to everyone who made PSU Weekend such a great success!” I think they need me to help them with their publicity.