Newsroom

Pioneer Courthouse Square in downtown Portland was awash in a sea of orange on Friday, Sept. 17 during the OSU Rally in the Square. More than 1,500 Oregon State alumni, current and future students and fans gathered in the square to participate in the kick-off of this school year.

Booths featuring OSU organizations, a performance by the OSU Dancers and the OSU Pep Band, and plenty of OSU prizes kept the crowd entertained, but one of the biggest draws was a live interview with Beaver Coach Mike Riley, who talked about what fans can expect from Beaver football this season.

OSU Dean of Student Life Mamta Accapadi encouraged OSU's incoming students to embrace the spirit of being Powered by Orange, and Benny Beaver received a birthday cake from several OSU Dancers to honor his official birthday, which is Sept. 18.

The rally was held in Portland in recognition of the growing number of Portland-area students who are enrolling at OSU, especially high-achieving students, who for the second year in row are choosing OSU more so than any other university, according to surveys conducted by the Oregonian. In 2009-10, nearly 7,200 OSU students enrolled from Multnomah County and the four other Oregon counties comprising the extended Portland metro area.