Opinion
Martin Luther King
Day a good choice
for full observance
By Dave Holmes
Editor-in-Chief
In an age when most ‘heros’ consist of fatigue-clad
one-man armies, it’s important to set the wheat apart
from the chaff in the field of those to admire. And
one hero our government has chosen as ‘wheat’ is Dr.
Martin Luther King, Jr. The choice is a good one as
King was a remarkable man who strove to make all
men remarkable, regardless of their skin color.
Superintendent of Schools Vern Duncan proclaim
ed in a Jan. 6 press release that Oregon schools and
community colleges would observe ‘Martin Luther
King Day’ on Jan. 15 as a tribute to the late human
rights advocate. But is this well-meant tribute
enough?
If the State of Oregon was serious about honoring
such a great man it would have made provisions for
its employees and students to have the day off.
Federal employees honor the memory of King by tur
ning an ‘observance’ into a full-fledged, day off holi
day. For once, Washington D.C. has it’s act together.
Oregon could do well to follow their example.
While non-union state employees will get time for a
breather from work, union affiliated employees will
not. And the notion of having the day off from work
or school is important.
Work and school are suspended for Memorial Day.
Little children, when asking why they aren’t going to
school today, can be told of the great sacrifice so
many men made for an intangible called freedom.
Christmas calls attention to another great
humanitarian, Jesus. And if we as a nation can take
off New Year’s Day, the national excuse to watch six
football games through the haze of a hangover, then
King, without question, should receive a holiday that
honors him fully.
Perhaps a few letters of support to a local state
representative or senator would be in order to remind
those who stand for us in Salem that King deserves
more than an observance, that a true hero deserves a
true holiday.
THE PRINT aims to be a fair and impartial journalistic medium covering
the campus community as thoroughly as possible. Opinions expressed in
THE PRINT do not necessarily reflect those of the College administra
tion, faculty, Associated Student Government or other members of THE
PRINT staff. THE PRINT is a weekly publication distributed each
Wednesday except for finals week. Clackamas Community College,
19600 S. Molalla Ave., Oregon City, Oregon 97045.
Office: Trailer B; telephone 657-8400, ext. 309
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: Dave Holmes
ART EDITOR: Thad Kreisher
SPORTS EDITOR: Julie Miller
PHOTO EDITOR: Dan Wheeler
ADVERTISING MANAGERS: Kelley Stuart, James Brown
REPORTERS: Amy Doane, Darlene Durisch, Toni Madsen,
Erik Conrad
PHOTOGRAPHER: Juan Callahan
TYPESETTER: Jan Kyle
AD VISOR: Dana Spielmann
C-_____ —______ >
Page 2
Feedback
Tri-Met needs elected board
To the Editor,
Any metropolitan area
worth its salt needs a good
mass transit system. Business
leaders have pointed to this as
a factor in some business loca
tion decisions.
That’s all the more reason
why we need to get the Tri-Met
mess straightened out.
Governor Do-Nothing
thinks that sacking the old
board of directors and appoin
ting no less than three of his
big private utility buddies will
solve this problem, but he is
wrong.
The Governor himself is the
problem. We addressed this
issue in the last legislative ses
sion by voting on a com
promise bill that would have
given our local area a voice in
the selection of Tri-Met board
members.
That plan received substan
tial support, but was defeated
by Republican House
members who did not want to
take power away from a
Republican governor* So
much for good governq^nt.
My old political science pro
fessor used to say “the cure
for democracy is more
democracy.” That’s what we
need now. We need an elected
Tri-Met board so we can all
have a say.
An Interim Legislative
Committee will be taking
testimony soon. Let them hear
from you. It takes more than
public frustration to make a
change, it takes a positive push
in the right direction.
That direction has to be
direct accountability to the
voters.
Rep. Dave McTeague
(D)-District 25
Fear of AIDS unfounded
To the Editor,
In your Nov. 5 commentary
“The place for kids with AIDS
is in the home” you state that
until there is no doubt that a
child can not get AIDS they
should be isolated from the
rest of society.
You fail to mention what
you think should be done to
accommodate the AIDS vic
tims education. Perhaps you
agree that if isolated, they
should be given alternative in
struction. This raises the ques
tion of who should teach
them. Is it volunteers? If the
danger is as great as you make
it out to be, who would
volunteer for such a “risky,
bend-over-backwards” job?
Do you assign someone to do
it? Why not draw a name out
of a hat to see who the unlucky
teacher is. Better yet, let’s just
wait until there is an AIDS-
infected teacher who can teach
the AIDS-infected children.
The mass communicators
(television, radio, and the
print media) have overem
phasized the topic of AIDS to
the point that we are fearful.
What we fear is not the disease
itself, but what we do not
know about the disease.
America suffers not from a
“disease” epidemic, but from
a “fear of disease” epidemic.
It can be compared to the
polio scare of the late ’40’s
and early ’50’s when parents
did not allow their children to
go swimming or’ eat
watermelon for fear of them
being contaminated with the
virus. It was later found to be
an unwarranted fear.
A report from the Depart
ment of Health and Human
Services released on Nov. 14
states that there is no medical
evidence that AIDS is
transmitted by casual contact.
Of all the risks we take - driv
ing in a car, crossing the street,
etc. - transmitting the AIDS
virus is a miniscule risk. Not
great enough to take the AIDS
child’s right to a free educa
tion away or take away the
right for the AIDS victim to
life, liberty, and the pursuit of
happiness.
David Warner
Editor, MHCC Advocate
2
+2
+2
$21000
That’s Army math. It means that after 2 years of
college (60 semester hours or equivalent) and a 2-year
enlistment, you could have up to $21,000 to continue
your education. Courtesy of the New GI Bill + New
Army College Fund. (Effective July 1,1985).
That other 2 means you can get two years of
ROTC credit by enrolling in ROTC at the third year
level (with the approval of the college’s Professor of
Military Science) when you reenter college. You’ll earn
$100 a month in ROTC.
Qualify, and you’ll start your enlistment with a
promotion. And just because you’re out of school
doesn’t mean you stop learning. We’ll teach you a skill
that can help you go places later.
And you’ll go places now, because we give soldiers
an opportunity to travel. And a chance to make new
friends.
Not to mention a lot of money for college. Plus the
chance to become an Army officer.. Contact your local
Army Recruiter today.
Call 659-1525
ARMY.
BE ALL YOU CAN BE.
Clackamas Community College