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About The Clackamas print. (Oregon City, Oregon) 1989-2019 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 25, 2000)
Letters Z_______ Opinion WcdwEsdAy, OcTobcR 25, 2000 All signed letters to the editor should be 500 words or less an: considered for publication if submitted by 1 pm the Friday publication. Letters to the Editor are subject to editing. We rei ¡right to not publish any letter. People, issues and consequences offer countless choices on Nov. 7 The mind boggles when it tries to grasp the people, the issues and the financial and social consequences we must consider in countless choices we must make by 8 p.m., Tue, Nov. 7. It would be so much easier to leave it to the people are better mforriied, if 1 coqld* beli|ve^ those say, with their ballot, ‘Tve got mine, special interests rather than the now leave it alone.” And that is their schools that serve the people, tie their right But it is the duty of the churches, hands. We must pass campaign finance re educators, government and citizens to seeo/f the children launched with some form, to stop big bucks from rigging the game. We must demand in Oregon vantages. Education today is so much decent education again, for all. Prop smarter than it was in my day. erty taxes used to pay much more for Today the learning is job-di education, sort of like a sales tax, with rected and may be enhanced which the people who bought more with cooperative work expe paid more of the tax, until Measure 5 rience, community service, tu in 1990. Now the well-off send their toring and hands-on class children to private schools, or schools Sandy Lupo work. This incredible campus like Lake Oswego—that district is ask Opinion Editor is a haven to the community ing for $85 million compared to the $47 transitioning from depen million bond Clackamas Community. tation, and above all, education, the first and the only real leveler of the dence to self-sufficiency. It levels the College has put on the ballot—even playing field. The rich band together playing field for its students, who oth though the college serves many com and decry the middle class and the erwise could not compete for the munities, including Milwaukie, Gladstone, West Linn, Oregon City, poor for their laziness, when it was goods of life. The educators, being the brighter Wilsonville, Canby, Estacada and probably just the breaks that made the difference. The biggest break being and more democratically bent, I be Molalla/Colton. Measures 8,91 and 93 are so dam lieve, have figured out a supreme sys education. aging to education that even busi tem to prepare today ’ s students. And Now a great many of the middle class have climbed into that comfort their dedication holds the college to ness, which would benefit most from gether. However, legislators, who fund their passage, opposes them. Busi- level, and have joined the well-off to their futures are set They don’t have to worry about Medicare and health insurance or social security or access for the handicapped. To the poor, aminimum wage mat- tens, and public transpor- Read-Listen-Think. votbrs would repre sent me and mine when casting their bal lots. But I believe in stead they will vote for their private selfish in terest without regard to the larger community. The rich may vote for the greatest tax cuts, as they would receive in Mea sures 8,91 and 93. After all, they can send their children to private schools, and to private art, music and athletic instructors. They can buy their chil dren the most advanced home com puters and 1 aptops and the n ewest soft ware. Their kids’ futures are set. And Write, ness’ bottom line suffers from age of educated and skilled coming out of our schools. I has joined with labor and all sible citizenry to oppose these \ written measures, that sound go are really pure, Clackamas’ bond measure i Tell everyone you know t< yes. Measures 8,91 and 93 > deeply cut education and critical services, as well as th federal funds to Oregon. Vc on these three measures, an 95, until a clear improveme academic achievement/teacl countability is written. Mea is campaign finance refon battle cry of both John McCa Ralph Nader. Vote yes on 6. sure 9 is insidious, and v widen the divide of misu standing among neighbors no to the writers who beliei people can be led so easi choose littleness and ignore Measures that amend the Constitution may haunt Oregon., agai TAM OLIVER - Feature Co-Editor Among the 26 ballot measures on the November ballot, there are 12 initiative petition measures that, if passed, will make changes in thé Oregon State Constitution. Because these petition measures are Consti tutional amendments, they should be carefully scrutinized before they are given a yes vote. The Constitution is meant to be a framework document, and statutes are meant .to implement its provi sions. The Bill of Rights, a compo nent of the Constitution, is designed to cover the big issues such as free dom of speech and freedom of reli gion. When lesser issues become a part of our Constitution, the effect is to dilute and devalue its impor tance. Additionally, once an amendment is adopted by general election, it cannot be modified except by vote of the people at another election. These modifications appear on your ballot as Constitutional amendments that are “Referred to the people by the legislative assembly.” Conse quently, if an amendment that is poorly thought out and written passes, and has not had the benefit of open debate, it can cause a great many problems. For example, Ballot Measure 5 was adopted Nov. 7, 1990. It amended several aspects of revenue and finance relating to property taxes, schools, bonding for capital expenditures and the like. However, once it was enacted, no one could figure out how to get it to work. By then it didn’t matter whether you were for or against it; what mattered was that no one could figure out how to implement it Every time leg islators came up with a way to fix it, they would have to refer it to the people to vote on as a Constitutional amendment at another election. Then they would find some else that didn’t work. This we for several years. Even now, 10 later, it isn’t clear whether it ha; corrected for all counties with state. Consider how many tax dollar spent over the years to clean th Consider how many people he took from the legislature all the v the voting public. Think abou when you vote on Nov. 7, and avoid passing tomorrow’s nightn Letters to the Editor Clackamas Community College Keeps a Promise Clackamas Community College serves 27,775 students with high qual ity, affordable education each year. The college also serves one of the fastest growing areas in Oregon. Growth ex pectation in the next 10 years is 30 percent! When district voters approved CCC's last bond measure request in 1989, we promised to make that in vestment last 10 years. We kept that promise, despite growing demand for college education and training. We've been able to stretch those dollars and serve 20 percent more students in the last five years. The college has a two-fold financial problem. 1. Nearly 60 percent of CCC's operat ing funds now come primarily from the state. No funds were allocated for community college enrollment in creases during the last legislative ses sion and no construction has been funded by the state since 1992. 2. To keep pace with enrollment growth and protect the community's invest ment in the college, we need to up grade aging facilities, add classrooms and improve space for technology. We've worked hard to address these problems. By reorganizing and work ing more efficiently, we've cut the num ber of staff and decreased the cost per student by $300. We've approached the private sec tor more aggressively than ever before. CCC now raises more than $1 million annually in grants and private fundraising. This fall we are finishing repairs to the Observatory at the John Inskeep Environmental Learning Cen ter and an addition for childcare to the Elizabeth McClung Brod Family Re source Center... all with outside fund ing. We've used imagination to create space. Hallways, stairways, lobbies and even closets have been converted into classrooms and offices to keep up with growth. The college now faces a critical need for new public investment if we are to continue to meet the challenges of the growing demand for instruction and shrinking resources. Bond Measure 3- 97 on your November ballot would help the college address rapid growth, protect the community's investment in its facilities and bring technology up to today's standards. Voters narrowly defeated the $47 million bond measure on the May bal lot. In a post-election survey voters said the reason was they didn't have enough information about the measure. Consequently, the board of directors has resubmitted the bond measure to upgrade facilities, add classrooms and improve technology to meet the de mand for instruction and worker train ing in Clackamas County and is work ing hard to inform voters about the measure. Please look for Measure 3-97, the CCC bond measure, on your very crowded November ballot and con sider carefully how much its estimated 20 cents per $1,000 assessed value cost will pay for in upgraded facilities, added classrooms and improved technology. If you have questions or need fur ther information, please contact me at 503-657-6958, ext. 2405 or the college Community Relations Office at 503- 657-6958, ext. 2538. John Keyser CCC President Measure 9 affects library sources, academic freedom As director of CCC Library, Instruc tional Media Services and Distance Learning Departments, I feel a respon sibility to inform the college about the impact Ballot Measure 9 (BM9) would have on library and media re sources, academic freedom and free inquiry. It should be noted that the Oregon Citizen’s Alliance (OCA) has identi fied on a link from its home page "Twenty Tactics Used in Public Schools to Promote Homosexuality.” One tactic listed is “ Letters to the editor in local and student papers.” Under BM9, my letter could not be published by the Print, as it could be interpreted as “encouraging, promot ing, or sanctioning ” homosexuality. Se rious penalties, not yet defined, could Editor-in-Chief: be applied to the college were the Print to do so. People should be aware of this BM9 limitation on their ability to be informed. The primary mission of the Library and Instructional Media Services is to provide information resources, educa tional technologies and services to sup port instructional programs. To sup port academic freedom and free inquiry, materials should be provided represent ing all points of view. Materials should not be excluded because of their origin, or the background or views of those contributing to their creation. Materi als should not be proscribed or removed because of partisan or doctrinal disap proval. This will happen under BM9. T(ie OCA homepage link also con tains a^“ Checklist to Assess Your School’s Risk for Encouraging Homo sexuality.” The placing of materials in libraries that did not present homosexu ality in a negative light is seen as pro moting homosexuality. The inability of CCC library and media services to respond to instructor/student re quests to purchase and disseminate electronic, print/media materials presenting a diversity of views un der BM9 directly impacts instruc tor ability to research and teach, and student ability to research and learn, compromising aca demic freedom at every level. Included in CCC library’s re sources is EBSCO, an electronic Web Master: Diana Scrivncr (x2447) Feature Co-Editor: Jim Spickelmier Staff: Maggie Jirasck Amanda Gosser Chris Lundgren Corinne Rupp Dana Palmer Elena Boryska Jenny Chavez Licsl Muggli Matt Shempert Michael Choe Shannon Recabaren Wes Fawcett Feature Co-Editor: Tam Oliver A & E Editor: Mandy Good Copy/Opinion Editor: K Sandy Lupo Sports Editor: Jason Lingcl News Editor Steve Nielson Photo Editor: 196 0 0 S. M o I a II a Ave. O riqon City, O<( gom 97045 (50J) 657-6958 txt 2509 ççç e*L*LLfi c I» cl»>ut.cc.oriH Secretary: Mike Pollock Business Manager: Jo Anne Gale Advisor: Scott Creson (x2578) Linda Vogt (x2310) database of3000 periodicals and nals, 1260 of them full-text. I BM9, we would not be able to i this resource, because among the available are magazines/joumals tl not present homosexuality in a i five light, titles that are used b structors/studénts in a variety ol grams. The licensing agreement make this resource affordable d allow libraries to de-select titlei some individuals might find obje< able. The library can afford indiv subscriptions to only a fraction i available periodicals. Thus, instr and student access to a wealth < formation would be severely curt Other electronic, print and med sources in film, literature, non-fi or scholarly areas that support gram, instructor and student n would also have to be removed our holdings because they may tain content that is perceived by s to be pro-homosexual. constitutes “ instruction encouraj promoting, or sanctioning homose bisexual behaviors ” is very vague, examples on the OCA web site very concrete. Research carefull’ fore you vote. BM9 impacts ev one. Thank you. Cynthia R. Andrews Director of Library, Instruct Media Services and Distance Le ing________________________ The Clackamas Print aims to report the nc in an honest, unbiased, professional mann The opinions expressed in The Clackam Print do not necessarily reflect those of t student body, college administration, its fa ulty, or The Clackamas Print advertise Products and services advertised in T Clackamas Print are not neccesarily endors by anyone associated with The Clackam Print The advertising rate is $4.75 per cc umn inch. The Clackamas Print is a week publication and is distributed every Wedne day except during Finals week. The Clackam Print Copyright 2000.
