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PORTLAND
OBSER/ER
Val. 6, N * . 37
Thursday, July » , 1*7«
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Oregon youth wins international compotition
U N IT E D N A T IO N S : Paced by Camille
Hamilton and Jim Pearson, Oregon high
school students dominated the Interna
tional Speech Competition sponsored by
Odd Fellows United Nations Youth Pil
grimage here last week. Oregon dele
gates took 1st and 2nd places in both
divisions before boarding their chartered
bus for a long ride home across the U n it
ed States by way of Canada.
Camille Hamilton, a 15 year old W est
Linn High School junior of Afro-Asian
extraction, took 1st place in the girls
division. H er runner up was Michele
DesBrisay. a senior from Canby High
School. In the boys division Jim Pearson,
a senior at Lake Oswego High School
took 1st place. His runner up was Lars
Larsen, a senior at Tillamook High
School. Competitors in the "Speak O f f at
the United Nations included entrants
from several Canadian provinces and
states in this country.
Oregon entrsnts were expected to
make a good showing because of the
stringent procedure by which they were
selected, but their clean sweep exceeded
expectations. Delegates from Oregon are
usually selected only after competing in
an essay contest on the United Nations,
considering their grsde point average
and evaluating their performance in a
speech contest on the United Nations.
For Camille success in w riting and
speech is not new. W hile in grade school
her articles ss a rock music critic were
published in a local daily newspaper. As a
first year high school student, she enter
ed a number of local and district speech
events winning tw o 1st places, four 2nd
places, three 3rd places and was a finalist
three times. From the W est Linn Foren
sic Club, she won the "Best Freshman”
award and was runner up for the Gold
finger award (Best A ll Around). In f e t e
competition she took 2nd place In poetry
as an open event.
As a sophomore, her record was even
better. She entered seven local and dis
trle t events in poetry and took 1st place
in six She won 2nd place in state compe
tition. In oratory she entered five events
and took 1st place in tw o of them, 2nd
place in one and made finals in one. In
extemporaneous category she entered
two events and won 1st place in both. In
state competition she took 2nd place in an
open event in poetry. From her high
school forensic club. Camille received the
"Best Sophomore" award and the Gold-
finger award.
Along with the distinction of taking 1st
He missed!
Rose Festival: Does it threaten Title IX compliance
The issue of the Portland Public
Schools' involvement in the Rose Festival
was avoided as School Board Chairman
Frank MacNamara gavelled Monday's
board meeting to a close after board
member W ally Priestley raised the ques
tion. Priestley has brought up the subject
at an earlier meeting, requestion that
Superintendent Robert .Blanchard seek
the advice of the Civil Rights office in
Seattle on w hether school district parti
cipation complies w ith T itle IX guaran
tees against discrimination. His request
CAMILLE HAMILTON
place at the United Nations. Camille will
receive tangible evidence of her perfor
mance. This includes a set of Encyclope
dia Britanica, one-year subscription to
the United Nation Q uarterly and the poe
sibility of participating in competition for
scholarship a t the Odd Fellows General
A big welcome home celebration sup
per at Oregon City's Odd Fellows Lodge
awaits Camille and her traveling com
panions Saturday. July 31st, 1976 after
three weeks away from her family for the
first time. CamUle's fam ily members say
they are planning th eir own special wel
Convention in September.
Camille comes from a family of individ
uals w ith a flare for poetry, journalism
and speech. H er m aternal grandmother is
especially gifted at Hyku and her mother,
Midori M inato Hamilton, was w riting
news articles at nine years of age. H er
brother. Konrad Hamilton, is an accom
plished speaker and debator. H er father,
H. J. Belton Hamilton, is well known to
our readers for his speaking ability.
come for her.
The 16 youthful travelers and their
counselors started their pilgrimage from
Portland's Mallory Hotel July 9th, 1976
and picked up delegations from Nevada.
Utah and Wyoming before proceeding to
New York by way of Gettysburg and
Washington. D.C. A fte r six days in New
York the students seemed ready to start
their return trip home.
McCoy receives honorary degree
State Senator W illiam L. McCoy, J r., a
former Chairman of the Democratic Cen
tral Committee and S U U RepresenUtive
will receive an honorary degree a t the
U niversity of Portland.
Senator McCoy w ill give the com
mencement address at the University
Summer Commencement on Friday.
August 6th at 7:30 p.m. in the Mago Hunt
Center on the university campus. Here is
where Senator McCoy w ill receive his
honorary degree. The university will
grant a to U l of 103 degrees. 70 masters
and 33 baccalaureato.
Rev. Paul E. Waldschmidt C.S.C..
president of the university has some
comments about McCoy. The Reverend
stated. “During this, our 75th anniver
sary year, Bill McCoy, distinguished
alumnus, personifies the type of citizen
the university's founders envisioned their
philosopny of education should produce.
He has used his heart, his wisdom and his
energies in service to the community."
In May, Senator McCoy was re-elected
to his second term as Senator in District
#8. McCoy is a member of the Senate
Committees on Local Government and
State find* evidence of racial
Carol Bryant, former employee of the
Tri-County Community Council who filed
charges of discrimination, has been noti
fled by the Oregon Civil Rights Division
that investigators have found evidence of
discrimination.
Mrs. Bryant was employed from Octo
ber of 1974 until June 15. 1976 when she
resigned due to "continuing pressures."
The Labor Bureau found that Mrs.
Bryant, who was hired as a planner, was
paid a salary significantly lower than
three white planners hired at the same
time.
,
Ms. Bryant, who has a master of social
work degree from Portland State Uni
versity School of Social W ork, was hired
at a starting pay of $10,000. She later
discovered that tw o other associate plan
ners, hired the same day. were hired at a
higher pay scale. Both were Caucasion,
one a man and one a women.
Mrs. Bryant asked for the same rate of
pay and was denied.
The Civil Rights Bureau found that Ms.
Bryant was hired at a lower pay scale
because of race, color and sex.
Substantial evidence was also found
that performance ratings were manipu
lated to deny Ms. Bryant a salary in
Elections. Transportation, and Ways and
Means.
McCoy, deeply concerned w ith the
problems of the aged and child care facili
ties, has been a member of the National
Council on Aging and the Oregon Child
Care W orkers Association.
The Senator takes p art in the com
munity activities and his wife Gladys
joins him. McCoy has been a member of
the North Portland Citizens Committee
and the Portland Y M C A Board, while his
wife Gladys is a member of the Portland
School Board, and is s U te omsbudsman.
cil Convention in New Orleans.
Loving reported to the Board this week
on the activities around the nation in
phasing out model cities programs. “I t is
Interesting to note that many cities a-
crosa the country transition Model Cities
components into their cities' community
development block grant funds whereby
citizen participation components have
ample funds for citizens to function at
local, regional and national levels. Our
city of Portland ostracised the citizens of
thia community from the community
B
block
lo c k
grant
arrant funds in terms of continuing
on going Model Cities programs and
especially the citizen participation in
volvement component. Citizen participa
tion was the rudim ent of the Model Cities'
philosophy as designated by the federal
Congress of 1968 whereby giving citizens
an o p p o rtu n ity to paticipate to the full
est degree in the decision making
process."
Keynote speaker was Georgia State
RepresenUtive Ben Brown, who spoke on
his own involvement in grass-rooto
politics.
The Northeast Coalition, which repre
senU ten neighborhood associations in
North and Northeast Portland has at
tempted to persuade the City of Portland
request for information:
“T he thirteen high schools that partici
pate are individually different in their
depth of commitment and enthusiasm;
thus the amount of time spent and the
elaborateness of th eir activities differ
from school to school.”
Emphasizing th a t not all schools’ plans
are as elaborate, he stated that each year
two business persons volunteer to assist
each school prepare for the selection pro
cess. Usually there are a couple of
luncheon meetings w ith staff, and a m eet
ing with interested senior girls.
"A fte r the girls apply, th eir eligibility
must be checked by the building admin
providing significant assistance to any
agency, organization, or person which
discriminates on the basis of sex in pro
viding any add, benefit or service to the
students or employees."
Priestley believes the participation of
the schools in the queen selection may be
illegal and that the district should comply
with the intent of the law by investigat
ing the m atter and if it is determined to
be unlawful, to w ithdraw from participa
tion. “I have nothing against the Rose
Festival." he said. “I t is a community
celebration put on by the business com
munity. I just question whether the
school district should be involved in an
event that may discriminate against some
students because of sex. social class, or
some other circumstances. I f the Rose
Festival is discriminatory, the school dis
trict should face this and w ithdraw before
it is forced by court order. The district
should be providing leadership in equal
crease and promotion.
Ms. Bryant also charged that she was
denied promotions in retaliation for filing
a complaint. The Civil Rights Bureau did
not find evidence of discrimination as a
direct result of the complaint, since dis
crimination was continuous from the date
of hire.
The case will now go to concelliation.
The Tri-County Community Council
provides planning, research and consul
tation in the fields of health and welfare
to member agencies and a forum to pro
mote social concerns and volunteerism.
to include
social services
in
iU
Community Development grant applica
tion. Although city officials originally
claimed that federal requirements barred
inclusion
of
social
programs
and
reserved the funds for physical develop
ment, citizens w ere able to determine
that federal regulations do allow for
social programs. The Northeast Coalition
bad hoped that some of the programs that
were funded through Model Cities but
have not been able to locate sources of
funds to continue operation could be
funded through the new program. The
city’s 1976 - 77 application has been ap
proved by H U D w ithout social programs
being included.
rights."
Donald M cElroy, deputy superinten
dent, said in a w ritten reply to Priestley's
had been denied.
Section 86.31 of T itle I X states: " . . . no
person shall, on the basis of sex, be
excluded from participation in, be denied
the benefits of. or be subjected to dis
crimination under any academic, ex tra
curricular. research, occupational train
ing, or other education program or activ
ity- operated by a recipient which receives
or benefits from Federal financial assis
tance." and " . . . a recipient shall not, on
the basis of sex: (7) Aid or perpetuate
discrimination against any person by
Loving hit» citizen participation omission
. _____ . Loving, Chairman A
he N
o rth
James
of Í t the
North
east Coalition - form erly the Model Cities
Citizens Planning Committee - attended
the National Citizens Participation Coun
__ « t Irving Park Little
Gresham, advancing in the
•I
istrator responsible.
“T here is coaching of the candidates by
the drama* or speech teachers when they
request i t "
The Rose Festival Association judges
the candidates (outside of school hours)
and then the six or eight finalists are
presented to the student body. The
school representative is elected by the
student body a t an assembly.
M cElroy estimated th a t each school
spends about 25 or 30 hours a year on the
pro ject AU costs of printing, supplies and
secretarial help are born by the Rose
Festival Association.
Junior Princesses are selected by the
Rose Festival Association and parade
cars are driven by male students from
Benson High School.
School D istrict policy states, “th a t
Portland Public Schools shall cooperate in
conducting w ith the Rose Festival selec
tion for princess and junior princess in
accordance w ith adm inistrative rules and
procedures which are established for
such programs by the office of the Super
intendent.”
Regulations published in February of
1975 give the foUowing qualifications for
candidates: (1) Be a full-tim e female stu
dent and a member of the graduating
class; (2) H ave a G P A of 2.5 or better, (3)
Have a good citizenship record; (4) Have
a good attendence record; (5) Be in excel
lent health. The rules stipulate that there
wUl be no run-off election.
The students selected as princesses
receive several outfits of clothing and a
$500 scholarship to any Oregon college or
university.
The Rose Festival Association assigns
a volunteer director to assist each school
and the director chooses his judges for
the screening processes. The Association
suggests that selection of judges presents
“a wonderful opportunity to get more
people involved w ith the spirit of the
Rose Festival and to inform them of the
FestivaTs activities. Prospective associ
ate members of the Associaton, people
new to Portland and people who express
a negative attitud e towards the Festival
because of misinformation or lack of in
formation - all of these are people who
may profit by being asked to serve as a
judge.”
In the screening process, girls are
judged on: 35 per cent for appearance, 35
per cent for poise and 30 per cent for
speaking ability. Judging is done by bal
lot, but “the school representative may
indicate that some individual girls are not
acceptable on personal grounds." During
the first judging session, girls are asked
to give a “description of th eir family".
The Rose Festival Association's man-
uel for judges repeatedly points out that
princess selection is a function of the
school and the Association representa
tives are there only to assist.
Selection of princesses by the schools
has been the practice since 1930. Seven
years ago the process was simplified and
the school district's role reduced. There
has been sporadic opposition to the
school's role because of suspected racial
and class discrimination as w ell as alledg-
ed sexism in the queen-princess role.
Port approve* *hip yard expansion effort
The P o rt of Portland Commission vot
ed Monday night to ask the voters to
approve $84 million in general obligation
bonds to finance ship yard expansion. The
facilities are owned by the Port and leas
ed to private industry.
According to Commission projections.
taxpayers would be asked to meet the
bond obligation for only three years. A f
ter which profits from the project would
go toward its financing. Assessment
against property would be 41 cesnts on
$1,000 assessed evaluation the first year.
28 cents the second year and 10 cents the
third year, or $15.80 total investment on
_ $20,000 home.
The larger dry docks, designed to hold
the Alaska oil tankers, and additional
facilities are expected to provide more
than 1,000 jobs and $20 million annually
to the economy.