Portland Observer M arch 19,1981 Page 7
ACT-SO holds motivation meet
Sports Talk
By Ron Sykes, Sports Editor
Benson’ s Techmen closed the
Oregon A A A boys tournament by
posting a 74-71 basketball victory
over the crowd favorite H illsboro
Spartans. Coaches throughout
Oregon believed all year that
H ills b o ro w ould capture the title
and ranked them No. 1, until they
were upset by C entral C atholic.
These same coaches failed to vote
Benson in the top 10 until five weeks
had gone by and the Techmen were
rolling over everyone in sight. It was
only after Benson demolished
Lakeridge, the No. 7 team by 30
points, did they finally open enough
eyes around the state to garner
enough votes to break through.
Most coaches in Oregon believe the
P .l.L . is just a bunch o f run and
gun players dom inated by Black
players, which prompted Benson’ s
Dick Gray to say after capturing the
title, “ not bad for an undisciplined,
selfish, c ity team. Those refined
gym rots o f ours showed them how
to play the game.” Gray was un
doubtedly upset over the way some
coaches regard his team and the
P.I.C.
Not to reprimand our fine Oregon
coaches, but it would certainly be
nice i f they would open their eyes
and minds to the fact that good
basketball and talented players do
exist in the P .I.C . Sure the P .I.C .
entry from Jefferson was blown out
early by Hillsboro, but that was like
one small area in Portland; the Jef
ferson district against the entire city
o f Hillsboro.
Jefferson just doesn’ t have
enough athletics to choose from ,
therefore, making their chances o f
having the much needed big people
fo r lesser than the large area o f
Hillsboro.
And when the tourney MVP was
announced, my vote was fo r Ben
son’ s Gregory West. Greg came
through after facing so much adver
sity throughout his senior year. The
bone chips in his ankle that sidelined
him after six early games did not
prevent him from displaying his
talent. Some athletes probably
would have quit after being a star
ter, and then being replaced in the
lineup by a ju n io r. But, not this
young man. Greg has been a battler
throughout his athletic days.
Remember this young man is a 14
year pitcher in the Irv in g Park
Senior League.
One day Greg was on the mound
and having a little d iffic u lty . The
bases were loaded, and there had
been a few errors now o f which were
W est’ s fa u lt. When the manager
halted play and called West to the
sidelines to replace him on the
m ound, and a lte r a b rie f conver
sation Greg said, “ Just leave me in
and I’ll get them out.” The manager
did and Greg fulfilled his promise.
T hat’ s what this young man was
then and apparently is now. I know
because I was the manager. Also on
the PNB team was Grant’ s A ll-C ity
guard Terrell Cage, Benson’ s A n
thony Camel, and form er G rant
ace, D arryl M otley, w ho’ s now in
the pros, Andre H urst, G rant
basketball, and Eric Ross, Grant
basketball.
These fine athletes excelled on the
diam ond as they now do on the
hardw ood. There’ s some small
college somewhere in this land that
can certainly use a West or Cage on
their team. H illsb o ro guard Dean
Derrah did not live up to his A ll-
Star billing despite scoring 26 points
in the final game. Derrah, who has a
scholarship in a lay-a-way at OSU is
perhaps a step slower and a day late.
At 6-4, he had an advantage playing
guard in high school. But, he'll Find
things a lot tougher in the PAC-10.
And just got to believe that Jeffer
son's M arshall Haskins can play
somewhere. Haskins is intelligent
and has m oie moves than Bckins
Van Lines.
So, the Beavers chocked again,
this time losing to Kansas State, a
team they were favorite to beat by
9'/i points. But, can you really feel
sorry for a team that only scores 48
points, as the Beavers did? Certainly
not. These Beavers are not losers
and should be proud o f their ac
com plishm ents. The best team
d id n 't win last Saturday at Pauly.
We’ ll remember the good times and
let those U C L A fans at Pauley
remember last Saturday. The best
collegiate basketball conference?
The Big Ten. As o f this writing they
had M in nisota, Purdue, and
Michigan alive in the N IT , and In
diana making a good showing in the
NCAA. Sure they lost Iowa, a tour
ney fa v o rite , but that was five
representatives. Take LSU now to
win it all.
AC T-SO , the A fr o Academ ic
C u ltu ra l Technological S cientific
O lym pics, w ill be holding a
M otivation Gathering. It w ill begin
at 7:00 p.m ., at the M att Dishman
Community Center, 77 N.E. Knott,
on Tuesday, March 24, 1981. At the
gathering, the ACT-SO committee
w ill proudly present Ms. C ynthia
Hodge as the evening’ s guest
speaker. Ms. Hodge is the first and
only practicing Black female dentist
in the State o f Oregon.
This event w ill be open to all
students, teachers, parents, coun
selors and any other interested per
NEW!
Cell TalU
THE 25 HOUR
CONTACT LENS
IS HERE
By Asmar A bdul Seifullah
aka Joe West
As the weather changes from the
chilly grip o f winter to the warming
welcome o f spring - so changes the
attitudes o f inmates. Prison is a very
seasonal kind o f place. During the
cold, rainy months the prison and
its inmates seem to hybernate. They
feed upon stored energy as Decem
ber greets the new year and A p ril
showers welcome the flowers in
May. Like a bear coming out o f its
den to return to its hunting grounds
the prison population return to the
big yard, the hunting ground.
Already there are indications o f
the tension and stress the long hot
summer w ill bring. The lines are
being drawn, territories are being
claimed. The girl boys are painting
themselves with mascara, they are
tin tin g their hair, adorning them
selves for the ho-stroll. The muscle
freaks w ill discard their shirts and
flex th e ir muscles fo r flesh man
tans. The Blacks prepare to
lo w /rid e in invisible el-dogs and
marks-sevilles w ill be in abundance
this year. There will be little worries
about the price o f gas or how far a
dollar w ill go. The blow pipes and
o u tfits w ill be fille d w ith pure
cocaine and heroin as the prison fat
cats prepare to relive old memories.
These scenes are traditional. They
are part o f prison life and they will
reoccur year after year.
L ittle worry need be given to the
above description o f what is to
come. I t ’ s what isn’ t rehearsed that
worries many o f us. The young-
bldods are on the scene. They
are still filled with expectations o f
youthfulness. Their manhood isn’ t
easily supressed as the older more
experienced cons. They’ ve got
something to prove to themselves
that can only be expressed in terms
of the young buck displacing the old
buck. The young and restless have
come to Oregon State Penitentiary
ind their growing pains w ill be felt
throughout the entire institution.
W ith the summer sun comes the
realization o f all the things missed,
denied...postponed. The men w ill
remember old love affairs and how
the summer sun was warm and
pleasing on their bodies. They w ill
remember and they w ill rebel
against the state imposed enslave-
ment-of their dreams.
As the yard fills and the heat
beats down upon them they w ill
become b itte r and angry. The
staleness o f prison life w ill magnify
itself tenfold. The lack o f adequate
space w ill be a factor, was to what
could be a very hot and violent
summer. Racial prejudice w ill be a
focal point in whether or not the
prison explodes. H istorically most
prison disturbances have taken
racial connotations after things get
ro llin g . Such could be the case at
Oregon State P enitentiary this
summer. In essence, there are many
things to be considered as we look
tow ard the com ing o f summer.
Foremost in our minds should be
the overcrowed prison conditins and
the projected continuance o f these
conditions. If in fact something isn’t
done to ease the overcrowding fac
tor, court orders and stays o f court
orders w on’ t be w orth the paper
they are written on.
It is tim e fo r the public to re
evaluate its position on prison
re fo rm .
It is not really clear
whether or not the loss o f lives in
side o f prison is a considered factor
in the overall scheme o f things.
True, society needs to be protected
from hardened criminals, but in so
protecting the property and lives o f
the free, equal protection must be
given to those prisoners who are
honestly seeking rehabilitation and
productive lifestyles. To sacrifice
many because o f the deeds o f a few
is a very fa ta lis tic approach to
problem solving. We must begin to
look fo r more options to in ca r
ceration and we must also learn to Z
id e n tify those prisoners who can
return to society w ith o u t causing
risk to the safety o f the community.
Sure we can build another prison
and another after than but that only
means that we w ill be able to lock
that many more people up. The
BEC shows family films
By Nyewusi Askari
In a move to offset the absence o f
films dealing with Black family life,
the Black Educational Center, w ill
present the first in a series o f Black
educational, family films, beginning
March 22, 1981.
The first film , "N o th in g But A
Man, ” stars Abbey Lin co ln and
Ivan Dixon. It is a moving drama of
the personal struggle o f a southern
Black fam ily. A young, Black
railway worker gives up a good job
to marry the preacher's daughter.
His em otional adjustm ent to the
age-old problem o f earning a living
to support his family becomes more
d iffic u lt because the place is
Alabama and the man w ill not play
the expected “ Negro” role.
C om pletion and showing o f
"Nothing But A M an” was done in
1964, and although hailed as a
" C la s s ic " by many film critics,
it was never given the wide exposure
o f its white counterparts. Neverthe
less, the film remains an important
educational tool for those attempt
ing to learn what Black life (Black
people) is all about. "N othing But
A M a n " is not a "B oggte On
D o w n " film . It is not about the
street life movement, but rather a
rare, cinema glimpse in to the
sometimes "invisib le " movement o f
the Black fam ily.
The film w ill be shown at C on
cordia College, Fine Arts Building,
N .E. 27th and H ighland at 3:30
P.M., and at 7:30 p.m. Admission is
adults $2.00 and children $1.50 (un
der 12). Funds from the film will be
used to support the Black
Educational Center and the con
tin u a tio n o f Black film s in P o rt
land.
Be concerned!
Be informed!!
know the facts!!!
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ONLY $10 PER YEAR
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Portland Observer
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overall goal o f the system should be
to return people to society that can
function within it. Let us hope and
pray that sanity w ill return to our
system instead o f the paranoia that
now stands in our way. Human
values must begin to out weigh
property values, people must
become more im portant than the
dollar as was illustrated in the return
o f the American hostages. “ Don’ t
forget that prisoners are people too -
and that some o f us are very much
hostages o f a system that has never
made room or opportunity for us!
May A llah guide and protect us
and may we find the straight way.
sons. We urge a ll A C T-S O p a r
ticipants to attend. Dessert w ill be
served.
The AC T-SO program is spon
sored by the N A A C P and is par
tia lly funded by a $3,000 challenge
United States National Bank Grant.
This is an excellent chance for the
community to show their support o f
this program and their continuing
support fo r the youth o f the com
munity, who are making a positive
attempt for theirs and our future.
The AC T-SO co m p e titio n w ill
take place on May 6th. Winners will
compete at the N A A C P N ational
Convention in Denver in late June.
After years of waiting, the extended wear contact lens is on the market
and we have it
In stock, ready for you.
Work. play, sleep Remove the lenses weekly or monthly
but remove
them when you please The continuous wear contact lens means
trouble free carefree vision for you
224-5367
C o n ta c t Lens Clinic of P ortlan d
P ortlond M e d ic a l C enter
Dr James H Y oim Optometrist
Dr Philip Stockstod Optometrist
Vi*o 0 - 1 M o w
f mane mg Av< »k,M
r - » y r
an Af< m-vw-1 C i i V