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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
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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