OPINION
January 17,1990
Page 2
County needs clear policy on MLK Day
From the
editor...
Garett Lytle’s resignation
P
THE CLACKAMAS PRINT
came as a shock Monday; the
move was totally unexpected.
It’s too bad that a person who
has done so much to improve
the image of ASG will be leav
ing.
When Lytle took over at
the end of last year, ASG had
a bad reputation. Its relation
ship with most of the college
was poor, due mainly to the
questionable performance of
former President Faith Tay
lor. Taylor was involved in
several controversies that cast
some doubt on her ability to
act as president, and severely
damaged the image of ASG.
But Lytle changed all that
He brought respect and com
petence to the ASG presi
dency. I think he sells himself
short when he calls himself
merely a “manager.” Lytle was
and is a leader.
The Print also had prob
lems with Lytle’s predecessor.
There were several occasions
last year when Taylor “lost
her cool” with members of
the Print’s staff. But so far
there have been no problems
in the relationship between
the Print and Lytle’s admini
stration. In fact, Lytle saw to
it that there was a distinct
cooperation between the two
student groups.
I don’t fault Lytle for
resigning. Being involved in a
student organization eats up
a lot of time, and often those
involved find themselves
making sacrifices for the or
ganization (just ask my guitar
instructor how many of his
Tuesday classes I missed last
term in order to get this paper
out).
The one consolation in
this whole affair is that Tim
Jones is a competent replace
ment for Lytle He knows ASG,
this is his second year in stu
dent government. And Jones
is a leader in his own right,
albeit in his own particular
style. He should do well in
filling Lytle’s vacant post.
Jones shouldn’t have
many worries. Lytle laid the
groundwork for much of what
ASG is planning to do the
rest of the year. All Jones has
to do is keep everyone on track
and everything should fall into
place. I might have worried if
Jones was taking over for Faith
Taylor, but not for Garett
Lytle. Lytle’s leadership will
leave its mark on ASG for
some time to come.
It is unfortunate that this
college is losing perhaps the
best ASG president it has ever
had, but life goes on.
I wish Garett Lytle the
best of luck with whatever he
chooses to do, and I believe
that a leader of his caliber will
be a success in any endeavor
he undertakes.
caped the problems of racial ten ning King’s birthday plans, invite
sion. The Cable News Network’s black leaders in the community or
show Crossfire showed how there in the nation to speak about what
is a growing faction of white su- King fought and lost his life for.
premists in the nation, who re Maybe teacher should be encour
cently have resorted to mail aged to teach us about black cul
bombing various officials who ture in their respective subjects,
happen to be black. Jimmy the so students can learn about Mal
Greek, a former CBS football colm X or Vernon Johns. Maybe
commentator, made inflammatory we should just do what King hoped
remarks about blacks on the air. for by educating ourselves about
We have not totally gotten over other and their freedom. Let’s hope
racial tension, and maybe we never for, as King said in his “I Have a
will, but one thing is for sure, Dream” speech:
ignorance breeds fear. It is out of “...when we allow freedom ring-
ignorance that supremists seem when we let it ring from every
to hate the black population. village and every hamlet, from every
Maybe we need to stop emphasiz state and every city-we will be able
ing W.A.S.P (White Anglo Saxon to speed up that day when all of
Protestant) history and inject some God’s children, black men and
black culture into schooling, like white men, Jews and Gentiles,
the rap group Boogie Down Pro Protestants and Catholics, will be
ductions preaches for. Why should able to join hands and sing in the
we still view history and subjects words of the old Negro spiritual,
from a different point of view than "“Free at last! Free at last! Thank
the traditional W.AS.P standards. ; God almighty, we are free at last! ”
We should take full advan
Instead of waffling over fi
nances, amount of holidays, or tage of a day like King’s birthday
even if the school should be closed, to do what he spent his life trying
why not keep it open? Why not to achieve, an understanding of
have one day of learning about black culture by the Caucasian
subjects from a black perspective? culture as to the rights and free-
We should spend some time plan- ■ doms of the black population.
The other approach is what
the ASG valiantly tried to. do in a
last minute, thrown together way.
For those who missed out on the
“incredible” experience, an
Amnesty International tape was
shown, cake was brought in, and
books on King and other related
topics were set up. Don’t get this
wrong, the ASG tried to do a good
thing, but it is not good enough.
What we need to realize is
that the problem is not with either
closing or opening the school, but
with racism itself Maybe the rea
son for the lack of understanding
on the part of the non-black popu
lation. For example, New Hamp
shire does not even recognize
King’s birthday as a holiday. Not
only is this a problem, but the fact
that my generation (20s and un
der) do not seem to know the first
thing about racism, or Malcolm
X, or what the black people went
through. Though their rights were
supposedly guaranteed in the
Constitution, the blacks were told,
as writer Turner Brown Jr. put it,
“Black is when folks sayyou’ve go
to earn the rights the Constitution
guaranteed you already had.”
We, today, have still not es
The celebration of Martin
Luther King Jr.’s birthday yester
day at Clackamas was simplyatro-
cious. Not only that, but the ma
jority of Clackamites seemed di
vided on to celebrate the holiday.
The rest of Oregon was also di
vided on how to approach the
holiday. How divided? Four of the
sixteen community colleges were
closed, while the others remained
open for business. Those who
remained open, like Lane Com
munity College, had elaborate
celebrations to commemorate
King’s birthday.
What we have here is a prob
lem. Should Clackamas follow the
four communities colleges and
close, or “observe” the holiday
while continuing classes. It seems
to have come down to politics.
The consensus (relayed by a cer
tain ASG advisor)is that the asso
ciations have both had the holi
day on the bargaining table, but
each side says the other won’t take
it. The truth is that the Board of
Education could declare a holi
day at the college, but the faculty
would have to be paid for the day
off. Who was it that said that
money makes the world go round?
Campus Views
Do you think the U.S. invasion of Panama was justified?
Len Frhetich: I think we had
to take control of the situ
ation. I think the U.S. has to
stand up and be tough every
now and then. If the U.S.
government says they are
going to crackdown on drugs
then they should go to the
top and that’s what they did.
Jim Edgington: I suppose if
anyone could justify this sort
of action Noriega could. But
I strongly feel that “armed
force in the name of free
dom” is a contradiction in
terms.
Rick Salve: Yes, I do think
the U.S. was justified inter
vening in Panama. The U.S.
knew Noriega was a drug
trafficker and provided a
haven for drug smugglers. The
U.S. has the right to inter
vene to get a criminal no
matter what country he or
she is in.
Missing Links
by Paul Henry
Clackamas $rtnt
The Clackamas Print aims to be a fair
and impartial newspaper covering the
college community. Opinions ex
pressed in The Clackamas Print do
not necessarily reflect those of the col
lege administration, faculty or Associ
ated Student Government Articles and
information printed in this newspaper
can be re-printed only with written
permission from the Clackamas Com
munity College Student Publications
Office. The Clackamas Print is a
weekly publication distributed every
Wednesday except for finals week.
Clackamas Community College,
19600 S. Molalla Avenue, Oregon City,
Oregon 97045. Office: Trailer B. Tele
phone: 657-6958, ext. 309 (office), 577
(production) and 578 (advertising).
inches
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