february 4 . 2000 • fu a t o u t g
L'i'j ¡illividì mews
V oices C arry
Resolution of campus controversy over a teacher's comment
proves one voice can make a difference
crisp wind blows. Its late after­
noon, near 5 o’clock.
Students trickle to and from
the myriad parking lots strewn
throughout the area. Just beyond
the perimeter of the campus, rush-hour traffic
zings about. But back on the grounds, it’s pretty
quiet, save for the pockets of folks who begin
clustering near the McLoughlin Building.
“1 was appalled by Dr. Epstein’s comments,”
says Pat Lichen, a part-time writing student at
Clackamas Community College, which is situ­
ated in Oregon City.
Accompanying Lichen is her 5-year-old
daughter, Hallie, who clutches the colorful pint-
size sign she crafted the night before. Her mes­
sage? Stop the hate.
“I brought my daughter because I want her to
know that when someone of authority does
something wrong, it’s OK to stand against it,”
says Pat, as the little girl nuzzles into her mom’s
side. “It’s my hope my daughter would have the
same integrity as Joshua Alexander.”
Joshua Alexander is the Clackamas Commu­
nity College student who recently filed a formal
complaint against Dr. Donald Epstein, an
instructor at the school for three decades, for
allegedly making an anti-gay remark in class.
According to Alexander, Epstein was giving
an overview of his Judaic studies course when he
made the remark: “You are better off being dead
than homosexual.”
Alexander reportedly filed the complaint
after talking with Epstein, who stood by his sen­
timents about homosexuality, the student says.
A debate ensued both on campus and in the
broader community. (A rash of letters to the edi­
tor, overwhelmingly denouncing Epstein,
appeared in The Oregonian.) The instructor ulti­
mately apologized and promised to retire in
March, when the current term ends. College
officials went public with the news Jan. 25.
W hich swings us back to the Lichens and the
roughly 60 others who collected for a Jan. 26
campus vigil.
“W hen I heard about the comments
[Epsteinl made, it just made me so angry,”
by Inga So ren sen
explains Tam Oliver, a C C C student and resi­
dent of Washougal, Wash. “But I like how
things have worked out.”
So does Kate Gray, an English instructor and
faculty adviser to the Rainbow Coalition, a sup­
port group for gay, lesbian and bisexual students
at the college.
“Some of the students’ hearts have been
boosted so much by how this has been resolved,”
she tells Just Out. “It let’s them know that they
are being heard.”
Gray, who has worked at the college for nine
years, adds: "I think for faculty and staff it’s very
welcome— I’ve been out since I got here. But for
students it can be really bad, especially when the
O C A is doing things.”
Once, when the coalition was advertising a
Parents, Family and Friends of Lesbians and
Gays event, she says, someone drew a swastika
and scribbled the German national anthem on
the posting.
According to Gray, who organized the vigil,
some queer students fear “bodily harm.”
“This is a very homogeneous population,"
she says, referring to the campus
At the vigil, homogeneity manifests itself in
a more friendly way. One by one, people—
including the college’s president, John Keyser, a
sprinkling of faculty members and a local minis­
ter— step to the microphone to share a hope,
poem or prayer, then light a candle.
“This place feels a lot better than it did dur­
ing Measure 9,” assesses one person.
Another lights one candle for Alexander
and a second “for those students who may have
left the school, transferred from a class, and
never had their voices heard.”
She adds: “Maybe they can come back now.”
One young man, a former C C C student, is
the sole defender of Epstein, saying the teacher
“was one of the best I ever had.... I’m lighting a
candle for Dr. Epstein.”
C C C ’s mission, according to a statement on
the college’s official Internet site, “is to serve the
people of the college district with high quality
education and training opportunities that are
accessible to all students, adaptable to changing
needs, and accountable to the community we
serve. Our code of ethics calls all of us
to...respect diversity and show concern for the
needs and feelings of others.”
T he statement continues: “The Banyan Tree
is our symbol of organizational strength. Like
the Banyan Tree, whose branches grow into the
ground to become new trunks, the college is
continuously growing into a stronger, healthier
organization through the personal commitment
and initiative of each student and staff member.”
Keyser tells Just Out he regrets what has hap­
pened at his school and concedes the brouhaha
may leave a blemish on the institution.
“We have a very strong diversity statement,
but 1 think, yes, this could hurt our reputation,”
he says. “But I believe this is a good learning
experience, knowing that people will come
together and take a stand for tolerance.”
And he believes C C C , like the banyan, is
stronger and healthier for it.
■ Think the situation at C lackam as Community
College was handled fairly? O r do you believe
instructors should be able to say what they wish in
their classes without fear o f repercussions? Send a
letter to the editor at P.O. Box 14400, Portland,
OR 97293-0400, or justout@ justout.com . Fax
your letter to (503) 236-1257 or submit it online at
www.justout. com .
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W e ' r e I ie r e
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S o c a I I vs to SAy
elp wanted: Seeking an individ­
ual with herculean strengths,
multitudinous abilities and an
iron stomach to take the helm of
a boat that heaves and lists with
each swell and wave caused by the dubious leg­
islation and ballot measures concocted sporadi­
cally by Oregon’s infamous right wing.
In other words, Basic Rights Oregon, the
state’s largest gay and lesbian rights organiza­
tion, continues its search for a replacement for
recently departed director Jean Harris.
BRO— which grew out of the battle against
statewide anti-gay ballot measures 9 and 13 (in
1992 and 1994, respectively)— has matured into
a multifaceted organization with many responsi­
bilities.
Board member Laura Dellinger, who is also
on the hiring committee, says three program
areas that BR O has developed over the past two
years will continue: the educational mission, the
Fair Workplace Project, and campaign prepared­
ness.
Additionally, because BR O has taken on the
political campaigning and legislative lobbying
W hat ’ s U p with BRO?
Just Out checks on the group's search (or a new leader
that was once the domain of the now-defunct
gay rights organization Right to Pride, one of the
requirements for the leadership position is polit­
ical campaign experience.
The executive director will oversee work in
four major program areas: the organizing of cam­
paigns to defeat anti-gay ballot measures; efforts
toward electing pro-gay and openly gay and les­
bian candidates to public office; the securing of
full equality for the sexual minorities communi­
ty via legal, ballot and legislative channels; and
expansion of the Fair Workplace Project.
Candidates for the executive director post
must possess proven fund-raising abilities and be
capable, according to the job announcement, of
raising $300,000 to $2 million.
T he hiring announcement also identifies a
need for guidance from an individual who is able
to build strong coalitions with other nonprofits,
Y o v ' r e lookis F or
F vn
by T .K . M an tese
business and labor, and to “act as a responsible
and effective public spokesperson in a variety of
venues."
A search committee is evaluating the appli­
cations and will make a recommendation to the
board, which is responsible for the ultimate
decision.
At press time, about 10 applicants had sub­
mitted resumes. T he hiring committee is mak­
ing a nationwide search and says it has no pref­
erence for an Oregonian or otherwise.
Though the official job announcement
declares that the deadline for applications was
Jan. 10, the committee “will close the search
when we have the right person,” Dellinger says.
■ T.K. M ANTESF. is a Portland-based free-lance
writer and proofreader.
A s d hEAdiNq our
W Ay
S03-36S-9721 )