Portland Observar February 19,1181 Paga 9
Candidates invited to King
Sports Talk
By Ron Sykes
Sports Editor
Oregon State, the nation's No. I
or No.2 ranked team, depending on
which poll you believe, journeyed to
the East Coast Saturday afternoon
and a fte r a lackluster showing
against St. Johns were wondering if
the Beavers should esen be ranked
at all. One game does not a season
make but this was the game OSU so
badly needed to impress those
Easterners who still think o f Oregon
as some w ild place where B uffalo
run free and Indians run around
scalping people.
Whether it was due to fatigue, jet
lag, this Beaver team was troubled.
The defense was superb, granted.
But when yo u ’ re ranked N o .l,
people expect you to have a bal
anced attack. The Beavers, on this
Saturday, couldn’ t hit the broadside
o f a barn from twenty paces, and
the only reason they d id n ’ t come
away losers is because St. Johns
decided to play Ray Charles and
Stevie Wonder in their back court,
and decided to let the two o f them
do the shooting fo r 19 straight
minutes. Oregon State awed by the
ineptness o f Ray and Stevie,
seemingly fo rg o t that they were
supposed to put the ball through the
hoop and not fo llo w Wonder and
Charle’s example.
Oregon State eventually pulled
away to a 57-45 v ic to ry that im
pressed no one. Sure, the Beavers
thrashed Oregon in a conference
counter Thursday night in the ’ ’ p it”
then boarded a bus to Portland to
make connections to fly across three
time zones. That could be used as an
excuse to the West Coast people,
but the Easterners will never buy it.
Charlie Sitton, the most honored
prep basketball player in the history
o f the State o f Oregon, is rapidly
becoming the state’ s biggest flop.
Sitton was named the male prep
basketball "Player o f the Year" by
the National High School Athletic
Coaches Association and was en
shrined in the Seamco High School
All-American Wall in the Basketball
Hall o f F ante in Springfield, Mass.
Now, C n ^ lie won award after
award last year, in fact, awards too
numerous to name in this column.
Charlie came to OSU as the most
highly recruited player in the coun
try, so naturally one would assume
that C harlie could play the game.
After watching Mr. Sitton as a prep
this w rite r wasn’ t impressed, but
decided that all those Romans
couldn't be wrong and thus, decided
to hold judgm ent u n til college.
Now, after one year, the m
oratorium has been lifted. Sitton is
averaging 6.2 points per game while
grabbing o ff a remarkable 2.8 boar
ds per game.
W hereas stats, undersandably,
w ill not te ll the whole story, but
these are rid iculo us. I f C harlie is
tru ly the best, or one o f the best
players in the country, then surely
we should expect more. Sitton does
start lor the N o.l Beavers, but only
because Ralph M ille r had to
promise C harlie he would start in
order to lure him to Corvallis.
Rob H o lb ro o k , who C harlie
replaced, is a better player and
should not have been replaced in the
starting line-up. Sitton. does hustle
but so does all the Beaver players.
I ’ ve watched a few games in my
time and Sitton, so far, is far and
away from being the best I ’ ve seen.
And unless C harlie improves tre-
mendously he w ill not live up to
p rio r expectations. Remember
H olbrook stepped in last year and
did a tremendous job as a sophmore
and before the season began he had
his job taken away. He d id n 't lose
it, but had it taken away and given
to M r. Sitton. Lets compare some
stats.
A fte r 17 games, H o lb ro o k had
scored 46, one less than Sitton’s 47,
and remember C harlie has played
397 minutes to H o lb ro o k ’ s 267.
Perhaps the ju ry is s till out on
“ Charlie B o y," but as o f now, he’s
just doing the job. Who is doing the
job, is All-American Steve Johnson.
Johnson is super tough around the
basket, shooting a remarkable .762
from the field, and that’s incredible.
One has to wonder what the 6-10
youngster could do i f he played 40
minutes a game. Critics say, “ well,
he o nly shoots layu ps.” W ell,
wouldn’ t everyone shoot layups i f
they could? But they can’ t, and
Johnson does, which must mean
something.
But this is just one Black man’ s
opinion.
Community persons who are con
cerned about the School Board elec
tions invite their neighbors to meet
the candidates on Sunday, February
22nd, from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m.
Candidates who have agreed to
attend are Sarah Newhall, Charlotte
Beaman, Ross Dey, Helen Mason,
Dean G isw old, H erb C aw thorne.
Any others who file fo r positions
are also invited to attend.
The meeting w ill be held at King
Neighborhood Facility.
“ Nothing great was ever achieved without enthusiasm.“
Ralph Waldo Emerson
"O ften, the surest way to convey misinformation is to tell
the strict tru th ."
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Perhaps G overnor Vic Atiyeh
should look at the state’ s own
prisons as a place to launch his
battle against racism in Oregon, a
legislator suggested recently.
Representative Joyce Cohen, D-
l.ake Oswego, made the comment
during a House Judiciary Com m it
tee hearing in response to a remark
by Parole Board Chairm an Betty
Browne that Oregon has the second
highest per cipita rate o f incar
ceration o f Blacks in the United
States.
" I f the Governor really wanted to
do something for minorities, maybe
we have a case right there,” Cohen
said.
In a speech last Monday at the
opening session o f the Legislature,
Atiyeh proposed a law to make
racial harassment a felony -- a
potential first for the nation.
He said the legislation is needed
to prevent a repeat o f incidents
during the past year invo lvin g
harassment o f racial minorities.
Browne told the committee that
approxim ately 20 percent o f
Oregon’ s inmates are Black - a ratio
she said is far out o f line with
Blacks’s approximately 5 percent o f
the state’ s p opulation. Only
Washington, she said has a higher
per capita rate o f Black prisoners.
Robert Watson, state Corrections
Division A d m in istra to r, disputed
Browne’ s figures.
He said Blacks make up about 11
percent o f the inmate population
and said the figures had never ex
ceeded 14 percent. He said Blacks,
Indians, Latios and O rientals
together make up about 20 percent
o f the inmate population.
Browne told lawmakers Oregon’ s
per capita incarceration o f Indians
and Latinos also rank among the
nation’s highest.
She said racial minorities tend to
fare worse than whites in attempting
to plea bargain crim in a l charges.
She said they also seem to be hit
harder by the state’ s 25-year man
datory m inim um sentence fo r
murder, and to draw consective sen
tences fo r m u ltip le crimes more
frequently.
“ I don’ t have any suggestions,"
she told the committee. "B u t I see it
as a problem in the prisons.”
Browne cited three recent exam
ples in which she believes racial
minorities may have received stiffer
sentences than whites com m itting
the same crimes:
An 18-year old Indian youth sen
tenced to 25 years after k illin g a
white man in self-defense.
A Latino who spoke no English,
sentenced to 25 years after pleading
guilty, on his lawyer’ s advice with
the understanding that he would
serve a 3-year sentence.
A Black man receiving con
secutive sentences to ta lin g 120
years, with a 60-year minimum after
being convicted o f three rape and
sodomy counts, when a white man
in a neighboring county was senten
ced to 20 years after plea bargaining
a 15-count rape indictment.
I he above statements were taken
from the January 16, 1981 edition
o f the Statesman-Journal. Salem,
Oregon. I have included it in this
column because o f the disturbing
implications it illustrates. For over a
year I have been trying to tell the
com m unity how racist and one
sided the Oregon c rim in a l justice
system happens to be.
Now two white women have come
out and spoken the very words that
have been expressed in previous Ob
server articles. One represents state
government and the other represents
the Oregon Parole Board. Both ex
press
concern
over
racial
discrim ination w ithin the crim inal
justice system. What Ms. Betty
Browne failed to mention is that the
Parole Board isn’ t giving m inority
inmates consideration fo r the
big otry o f the c rim in a l justice
system. More often than not the
Parole Board is responsible fo r
m inority inmates doing more time
for the same crimes white inmates
com m it. W hile her honesty is ap
preciated -- action speaks louder
than words -- "s o do something,
Ms. Browne.”
I would also sight this area o f
concern, why d id n ’ t one o f the
Black elected officials come to the
forefront with this issue? It would
seem as though Representative
Joyce Cohen, D-Lake Oswego, has
more empathy fo r incarcerated
Blacks than Senator McCoy.
"M a y b e we should circulate a
W AN TED poster on Senator M c
Coy - A L IV E O N LY !
We would also like to appeal to
the Oregon Black Commission on
M inority A ffairs to investigate the
suspicions o f Ms. Browne and
Representative Joyce Cohen. We
also request that the Commission
send a representative to Oregon
State Penitentiary to interview
Black prisoners for possible Parole
Board discrim ination in date sets.
For sometime now Black prisoners
have voiced concern over the im-
plimentation o f ihe M atrix system
employed by the Parole Board.
We personally challenge Senator
McCoy to get involved in the
process that effect Black prisoners
during iheir incarceration period. It
is regretful that a representative
from Lake Oswego had to voice
those concerns when we have a State
Senator who is Black.
The racist treatm ent o f Black
prisoners within the criminal justice
system must be confronted and
dealt with. The middle o f the road
attitude of Black people in position
o f a u th o rity and representation
must also be co nfron te d. Black
people inside the Oregon penal
system are being system atically
destroyed. T heir rights io equal
treatment under the law are being
violated
d aily.
"R a c ia l
d iscrim in a tio n is a very real oc-
curance behind these walls.”
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No more ‘free lunches >?
(Continued from page 1 col. oj
For the high budget the figure is
$30,217 and fo r the low-incom e
budget it is $12,585. Although the
new figures have not been released
yet, the A F L -C IO estimates the
budgets should be $14,(KM), $23,000
and $34,500.
Yet the average wage-earning
fam ily o f fo u r, w ith one fa m ily
member employed, would have an
income o f $ 12,464 -- less than the
minimum required.
On the low income budget, food
costs make up about 36 per cent o f
the expenditures; housing costs are
about 22 per cent; medical care is
about 11 per cent.
W hile employees in the private
sector fail to earn what is necessary
to support their families adequately,
real pay in the public sector has
declined According to a:i A F l-C IO
report, average earnings fo r state
employees (nation-w ide) have
decreased by 38.7 percent, while the
consumer price index has risen 47.5
per cent. Wages o f county and
m uniciple workers declined even
further.
During the first half of 1980 state
and local governments that are un
der collective bargaining provided
an average wage increase o f 7 per
cent, while in fla tio n reached 14.7
per cent. The actual rate o f decline
o f real wages in the first half o f 1980
was 6.7 per cent.
W hile recession in tne u s
destroys the job market, it also a f
fects corporate earnings. Propped
up by earnings o f over-seas opera
tions, the US based multi-nationals
are predicting lower earnings
abroad. The International Monitory
Fund says the economy o f Western
Europe w ill expand only 1 percent
this year, compared to 2 percent last
year. Compounding that problem is
the loss in value o f the d o lla r as
compared to other currencies, which
means that a U.S. company selling
aboard gets fewer dollars for a given
volume o f sales. Many Am erican
corporations - other than o il - are
preparing fo r smaller p ro fits and
therefore smaller re-investments this
year.
While unemployment was rising
in this country, U.S. multinational
corporations and th e ir a ffilia te s
spent $47.4 billion on plants abroad
an increase o f 23 percent from
1979. The Reagan adm inistration
plan to cut funds to the Export-Im
port Bank, which aids U.S. com
panies that do business abroad, is
expected to cause more
c o r
porations to shift their production
facilities overseas.
President Reagan predicts his new
economic plan will "p u t the nation
on a fundam entally d iffe re n t”
course o f high growth and lower in
fla tio n . His economists predict a
one per cent increase in “ real” gross
national product this year, 4 per
. cent in 1982 and almost 5 per cent in
1983 and in 1984. At the same time
inflation will slow from 11 per cent
this year to 5.5 per cent by 1984.
This is far more optomistic than
most private economic forcasters,
who although they see strong
growth in the next few years doubt
that it will be as quick as the Reagan
administration predicts.
W hile
President
Reagan’ s
economic projections are positive,
the U.S. Departm ent o f C om
merce’ s index o f leadng economic
indicators delcined slig h tly in
December. Seven o f the ten in
dicators declined, including orders
to factories fo r new goods, con
tracts for new plants and equipment
and issuance o f b uilding permits.
Factory layoffs and average work
week o f m anufacturing workers
held even. Other components that
co ntribu te d to the decline were
money supply, stock prices, change
in crude material costs, and change
in liquid assets.
Although a one-month drop o f .8
per cent, after six months o f slight
rise, is inconclusive in detecting a
trend, the drop bears on the views o f
many analysts who belive another
slowdown may lie ahead.
High interest rates and shortages
o f mortgage money are not isolated
factors but are symptons o f an
economy in trouble. Since 1965,
savings, investments and produc
tiv ity have declined. This is com
bined w ith growing government
deficits, inflation and recession.
In this economic environm ent.
Blacks continue to struggle to pro
tect gains made in the last twenty
years. In fla tio n , unemployment,
high interest rates, and decrease in
p ro d u ctivity rates have had a
devestating effect on Black workers.
Black employment is further a f
fected by relocation o f businesses
from the central cities; competition
for jobs from undocumental
workers and white women; high
unemployment; lack o f basic skills
necessary to cope w ith the
technological jo b m arket; and
discrimination.
In spite o f employment figures,
college enrollment among Blacks in
creased by 92 percent between 1970
and 1979. The proportion o f Black
adults who where high school
graduates rose 20 percent, as com
pared to a 10 percent increase o f
whites. About 13 percent o f Blacks
25 to 34 years old, completed four
years or more o f college.
A d d itio n a l evidence that refute
the “ free lunch” include:
- 52.3 percent o f Black fam ilies
own their own homes compared to
68.8 percent o f the U.S. total. •
- 68.1 percent carry life insurance,
compared to 67.9 percent o f the
U.S. total.
11. 1 percent carry life insurance
o f over $50,000, compared to 10.7
percent o f the U.S. total.
- 1. 1 percent have invested in U.S.
Treasury notes compared to .9 per
cent o f the U.S. total.
4.5 percent bought encyclopedias,
compared to 2 percent o f the U.S.
total.
President Regan said, “ Inflation
and unemployment are threatening
the American way o f life as never
before. Free lunch?
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