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About Just out. (Portland, OR) 1983-2013 | View Entire Issue (Dec. 17, 1999)
nTîTîT7Tn7TTT3news F All-ages clubs and other youth hangouts are also on the list of areas to receive foot patrol pro tection. Therefore, youth and young adults are encouraged to apply. Mel Rudd, 23, is the coordinator of Youth- Net, a Portland-area group that links young queers with mentors and other resources. A reg ular participant in the Sexual Minorities Roundtable, Rudd often supplies a youth per spective at meetings. Rudd is supportive of the foot patrol but notes that young people may harbor skepticism around law enforcement issues. “On the other hand,” Rudd says, “we want to have a partnership with the police. But we need to talk about how these laws affect youth. My first priority is to youth and to make sure that they’re heard.” According to Rudd, youths might be reluc tant to report violations of curfew and tagging laws. And some youths say the laws are enforced selectively. Nadia Cannon, 17, says, “A lot of kids are afraid of cops.” In a recent meeting with Portland police officials, she asked Assistant Chief Mark Paresi: “Why do kids who are dressed grungy get picked up for truancy—yet I never have been?” Says Rudd: “Young folks who stick out, don’t dress mainstream or middle class, are targeted by the police.” Rudd calls this “adultist enforcement” and defines adultism as “the systematic and institu tionalized oppression of youth and young adults by those who are older or who are perceived as older because of the way they present them selves, such as in manner of dress and speaking style.” But Monette says: “The police department wants them to report any crimes they see in progress. Is that unreasonable? I’d really like to see youth take responsibility for their communi ty in partnership with the law. If these are laws that affect youth, this is not where you change them.” That notion is not unreasonable to Ter rence King, 18, an organizer for Rainbow, a multicultural peer support and activity group for gay, trans, bisexual, lesbian and questioning youths. “Getting youth is no prob lem,” King says, adding that he could come up with 10 youths right now who would be interested in ' joining the foot , XX patrol. Jfc Xfc, JTED ONE ** ? ' i' ■ Hi i y Chin or Neck: $89.95 Upper Lip: $89.95 Bock: $134.95 Bikini Line: $89.95 Underarms: $89.95 Upper Legs: $149.95 Lower Legs: $139.95 g mW But, while he would feel responsible to report a crime in progress, King says he would be leery of reporting, say, a drug deal. That’s why, Paresi says, each foot patrol will have six to eight people. He says with the same group working together, camaraderie will devel op and the sense of fear will dissolve. At his request, Paresi recently met with Rudd, King, Cannon and Monette, and talked for two and a half hours about what can be done to make youths feel heard via the roundtable. Because the foot patrol is the offspring of the roundtable, Rudd believes issues need to be addressed there before youths will feel safe work ing with the police on the foot patrol. And, says Rudd, several constituencies are missing from the roundtable: youth, people of color, people in the sex industry, the homeless and the working class. These are the people who are most affected by the police, Rudd says, and they are not represented. Rudd encourages the bureau and roundtable to examine who is not present at the meetings and figure out why. Rudd adds that there are four elements that may alienate potential attendees: the time roundtable meetings are held (noon on a week day); the gathering’s structure; bureaucratic jar gon; and a sense of tokenizing. During the recent meeting with Rudd et al., Paresi responded: “We’re dependent upon your help in introducing these people. We need help with the intros. When the police have reached out to the minority groups, they have been unsuccessful.” Paresi then offered to bring the police to youths in a space of the young people’s choosing. King, meanwhile, agreed to arrange a meet ing in January with Rainbow. Cannon asked Paresi if the officers would come in plain clothes and leave their guns and clubs at home. No problem, Paresi responded, “We wear jeans, too.” (Minimum 3 treatments per area.usually required) LASER ~ WORKS! HAIR. REMOVAL ANO SKIN REJUVENATION CLINICS 503-244-8600 OR 888-452-1610 L Cl A Y muCh for a great haircut without all the hype ■ For more information about the CITIZENS FOOT P atrol program, call (503) 295-9785 or contact Pam Monette at (503) 940-5373. ¿ifietüne KS.'." :í:-' ' 5621 CF Hwttnhe fie't wnethiHty wfi'im & tvet tt> j/ii/c i/itt? 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