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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 8, 2017)
Vendors Page 6 graduate early. She decided she d be better off at the public library, and she skipped her last year of school to bury herself in the stacks to pursue the subjects that inspired her. Ecology, anthropology and history were among her interests. BY HELEN HILL “I made sure I got a good education,” she C O N T R IB U T IN G W R IT E R said. hannan Debus is brimming with Her mother was furious when she found intelligence and honesty. She is a out Shannan had stopped attending school. strong-willed young woman who She kicked her out of the house, and follows her dreams and intuitions, no matter Shannan spent the next four months in where they lead her. She was born in state custody, held in a juvenile detention Buffalo, N.Y., and spent most of her life in center without charges. New York state. She came from a poor, “I had no rights,” Shannan said. “Kids hardworking family. brought in on felony charges had access to “We got by,” she said, “and I learned from lawyers and court dates and resources. them that you don’t get things handed to . They had more options than kids like me, you.” who were just signed over with no criminal Shannan was disillusioned at an early age record, no arrest, nothing wrong except by the New York public school system. The being 17 and not in school.” other students at her Ithaca high school After she left state custody, Shannan were mostly wealthy, the children of parents lived on the streets and struggled with a who worked at Cornell University. heroin addiction. She managed to kick her “Those kids could act any kind of way; habit and save up for a bus they didn’t have the reverence for education you would expect. They had no discipline,” she said. “Poor people « ' \ respect education A " J ; because they want 1 their children to do better.” She knew she wanted out of high school as soon as possible and, under her own initiative, VENDOR PROFILE In the Nov. 24 edition of Street Roots, the article on the “We The Dreamers” exhibit incorrectly credited the rally organizers. Juan Rogel of Milenio and Father Roberto Maldonado organized the rally, and Cameron Coval supported with the event. Street Roots strives for accuracy, but mistakes are human nature. If you have a correction, please send the information to joanne@streetroots.org. Answers to Page 15 Puzzles Shannan Debus S she researched the qualifications for an Advanced Regents Diploma. She attended summer sessions, completed college-level courses, and passed her exams but still wasn’t permitted to Sheeptoast 6 p Z Ì- £ £ 9 6 S 2 £ 8 8 9 I- L t7 9 8 I 9 7 9 9 I- L Z 8 p 9 £ p 6 £ 2 6 9 £ L 7 p 8 6 9 L 6 8 L £ Z p 9 6 p 9 £ 9 L 7L Z 9 L 6 8 9 9 p I L £ 8 9 £ p 8 I 6 L 7 9 Street Roots • Dec 8-14, 2017 ticket to fulfill her dream of going to South Dakota to visit the native grasslands. “I love grassland ecology,” she said. “The native grasses have deep roots that hold the soil together.” She met her boyfriend, Woods, in Bismark, and they worked fast-food jobs together during the cold winters. “I liked being out in the middle of nowhere at first, but we were going to be working fast-food forever if we didn’t get going,” she said, so they took off for Seattle and eventually made it to Portland. “We got off the bus that first day and found Blanchet House,” she said. “Some guys said to go to Street Roots for a resource guide, so we did and ended up going through orientation.” Shannan and Woods now sell newspapers at Southwest Salmon Street and Ninth Avenue. “We’ve done better than I expected,” she said. “I like Street Roots. I think the articles are good. In general, I like news sources that haven’t been bought like CNN and FOX.” They plan to stay with Street Roots for the foreseeable future. But Shannan’s long-term plans are inspired by her abiding passion. ( “I want to go to the Siberian steppes, one of the word’s greatest grasslands. And if I could find the money to travel to Patagonia, I might get to work on a grasslands restoration project, turning them into national parks. “I’m crazy enough that I might actually get there,” she said with a smile. by Elizabeth Considine
