Hogwarts in Portland: Multnomah is my Home

by Laura Joy Griffith

Photo courtesy of
@multnomahu on Instagram

It is Thursday afternoon in Roger's Cafe.  I am sitting at one of the tables, humming along to John Mayer under my breath.  A pretty brunette is sitting on one of the couches, knitting an olive green hat.  A group of students is studying for an upcoming exam.  Another student, like me, is sitting by herself with her laptop.  The barista is on her phone, selecting music appropriate for the mood.  I peek out the doors into the JCA lounge.  It is quiet there, too, although several clusters of undergrad and graduate students are gathered around tables and on couches.  This afternoon, Multnomah is a peaceful place to be.

Soon it will be dinnertime, and students will start pouring through the lounge on their way to the cafeteria.  The cafe will probably empty out entirely, as even these students go to chow down on hamburgers, salad, and rice, possibly followed by an ice cream cone.  I will probably go home and share a dinner of hot pasta with my flatmate.  At this time of year, when the rain comes down like a fire hose, Multnomah is a cozy place to be.

At this point in the semester, we are stressing about midterms, getting excited about basketball, and beginning to feel comfortable in our friend groups.  At this point in the semester, we are starting to put the pieces together in our Gurney class, discovering the wonders a text can hold in our Pothen class, and struggling to remember all those chapter titles for Koivisto.  We may have nervous breakdowns and we may sit in our rooms, staring at our computer screens at two o'clock in the morning, but our professors, friends and RA's are there for us when we need them.  At this point in the semester, Multnomah is a good place to be.

This is my third year at Multnomah, and as I sit here watching my fellow students, I am glad to be here.  No matter what my life looks like, no matter what I'm going through, no matter what my latest obsession is, Multnomah is a good place to be.  I will be leaving in May and pursuing a Master's Degree somewhere else.  But I know I'll be back, because Multnomah is my home, and even when I make my home elsewhere, my heart will always have a special place for this cafe on this particular afternoon.