Tour of PSU library after $1.23M in repairs due to protest, occupation

PORTLAND Ore. (KPTV) - Four months after protesters broke into Portland State University's Millar Library, the doors are finally open again.

On Thursday morning, library staff led news crews through the rooms of the five-story building, most of which sustained damage when pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the space on April 29.

During the days-long occupation, staff said most of the computer and TV monitors on-site were damaged, windows were smashed, and walls and furniture on every floor were covered in graffiti.

"The ones that stuck out to me were the ones that were about Professor Cudd," recalled Michael Bowman, the library's Associate Dean. "They were very personal, aimed at an individual person, and pretty misogynistic and there was a lot of it around all over the building."

He and other staff members recall the shock of seeing the space for the first time and wondering what would come next.

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"It was really difficult, it was really overwhelming," said Access Services Manager Rose Bosely. "Particularly that first day after the occupation was over, we came in that Friday, and the scale of the damage...it was hard to even start to think of what we could do to get back to normal."

The University estimated the total cost of repairs at $1,233,000, broken down into the following categories:

Painting- $137,000

Graffiti Removal- $46,000

Glass Repair and Cleaning- $36,000

General Labor (Debris removal, drywall, and ceiling tile repair, etc.) - $113,000

Finishes (Doors, hardware, signage, curtains/blinds, etc.)- $140,000

Carpet and Flooring Repair and Building Cleaning- $151,000

Infrastructure (Electrical, fire system, plumbing, access control, elevators, etc.)- $93,000

Technology (AV, computers, telecom)- $116,000

Temp Fencing and Security- $53,000

Furniture- $150,000

PSU soft costs (permitting, non-construction costs)- $63,000

GC Direct Costs and Labor- $135,000

They hope that number will be mostly covered by insurance.

The University hired 23 different contractors, and PSU crewmembers spent 985 hours on the project.

Library Dean Xan Arch, who started her role on August 1, pointed out small traces of graffiti on the second-floor bookshelves, only discernable upon close inspection.

"They ended up taking off some, but they couldn't quite get all of it off," she said.

"We had an enormous amount of work to do in a fairly short period of time, and we had to prioritize the things that were absolutely necessary for getting the doors open safely," Bosely said.

"This is a big building as you can see, it's five floors and it's kind of maze-like, and so we're resigned to continue finding all these little things that we'll need to fix up and address over time," said Cris Paschild, an Associate Dean and Head of Special Collections.

Paschild added that during the occupation, she was able to go inside the library and secure their special book collections by barricading the door to that room, with the help of some of the protesters. She said that even though some display cases were damaged, none of their historic books or documents were harmed.

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Now, the library is still waiting on replacements for the damaged specialty computers for students with disabilities, as well as a few TV monitors that were on backorder.

But the broken windows have been replaced, chairs are back around tables, and the students are now back in the hallways after having to use a temporary space in the Smith Student Union over the summer.

"I'm actually hearing from a lot of students who haven't been in at all before, and they're really excited to see the library for the first time, which is really encouraging," Bosely said.

"It makes me feel like crying, and with a great sense of relief," Paschild said. "We're all here because we love to provide library services, and to not be able to do that in this building was pretty heart-wrenching, and then to see them back was just a balm for all that."

Library staff said they will not be changing any of their security protocols or general operations moving forward.