Portland State University says it has crossed a key milestone in its drive to scrub President Andrew Jackson's name from a three-block stretch of Southwest Jackson Street that runs through campus. Native students, elders and campus staff have gathered enough signatures for a formal application to rename the street to Southwest Rose Hill Street, clearing the city's initial threshold and kicking off a more detailed review. If the city signs off, the new name would honor Rose Hill, a longtime Native elder and mentor who worked closely with PSU students.
How the Process Works
According to The Oregonian, the petition had 2,678 signatures as of June 4, with supporters given until June 11 to turn in all completed forms for city verification. Cynthia Gomez, Portland State’s director of local government and community relations, told the paper that organizers are still collecting signatures, since some entries could be duplicates or from people who do not live in the city.
Rules and Thresholds
Portland's street-renaming rules require at least 2,500 signatures from legal city residents, or signatures from 75% of the property owners whose land abuts the affected street, using city-issued petition forms before an application will be processed. Those requirements, along with the rest of the procedure, are laid out in City Code Chapter 17.93.
Who Rose Hill Was
Rose Hill was an enrolled member of the Oneida Nation, a Portland State alumna and a driving force behind the creation of the Native American Student and Community Center. She later worked as a student coordinator and cultural adviser at the Native American Rehabilitation Association of the Northwest. Portland State University notes that she mentored generations of students and helped lead the campus push to pursue the street rename.
What City Hall Has Already Done
City Council voted in 2024 to back the renaming effort and later approved an ordinance that waived portions of Chapter 17.93 for PSU's proposal, including the five-year post-signage requirement and the rule that honorees must have been deceased for at least five years. The ordinance and the city's staff presentation lay out those exemptions and the council votes that advanced the project. Ordinance 192142 contains the full record.
What’s Next
If PSU submits the minimum of 2,500 valid resident signatures, the application will be reviewed by a three-person historian panel, then move to the Planning Commission for a public hearing before heading to City Council for a final decision. As The Oregonian notes, city staff will verify names and strip out duplicate or nonresident signatures during that first round of vetting.
Voices From Campus
Supporters say the change is overdue. Trevino Brings Plenty, PSU’s coordinator of Native American student services, has described the "Jackson" name outside the Native center as a contradiction, and colleagues recall Rose Hill as persistent and deeply committed to her students. Portland State University has been central to organizing the petition drive and gathering signed forms.
With organizers reporting that they have met the city's signature threshold, the effort now shifts to City Hall, where staff will confirm the petitions and schedule the hearings that could ultimately swap out Jackson Street signs for Rose Hill. The rename push is part of a broader wave of civic changes aimed at bringing public place names in line with community histories and values.
