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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Nov. 12, 1981)
■r» Franc»« Schoen-Neeapaper Rooi U n iv e rs ity o f Oreron L ib ra ry Eugene, Oregon 97403 Race Results Page 11 Nation Building in Israel Terror in Guatemala Page 4 Page 2 PORTLAND OBSERMER Portland Observer Volume XII Number 5 250 Per Copy 'Kids will be my number one priority.' In the '80a kids w ill be Num ber One. School Board member Herb Cawthorne welcomea achool superintendent-designate Or M atthew Prophet to the Portland School District (Photo: Richard J. Brown) Coalition hits immigration plan C a llin g Reagan's proposed “ guest w o rker” plan for Mexican nationals “ legalized slavery,” the newly form ed Oregon C o a litio n Against the Reagan Im m ig ra tio n and Refugee P lan, denounced the adm inistration’s proposed changes in U.S. immigration policy. The Reagan plan includes: •C re a tio n o f an experim ental guest-worker program that would bring 50,000 Mexican workers each year. These workers could not bring their families and would be ineligi ble for social services. • O ffe r tem porary w ork permits to all undocumented workers who have been in the U.S. since January I , 1980. Those who remain on tem porary permits for ten years, paying taxes but receiving no social ser vices, could become eligible for per- mancnl residence status or to bring their families to the U.S. •Im pose fines on employees who kno w in gly hire undocumented workers. •Expand the Border Patrol. •In cre as e annual M exican and Canadian immigration quotas from 20,000 each to 40,000 each. •Attem pt to gain Mexican help to stem the tide o f refugees fleeing re pressive governments, mainly from El Salvador and Guatemala. •O rder the Coast Guard to inter cept vessels suspected o f carrying Haitian refugees (in effect since Sep tember 29, 1981). There has been widespread oppo sition to the proposal by Hispanic organizations and labor groups. Ramon Ramirez, Secretary of the C o a litio n , said the guest w orker program — which would be the la r gest in the w orld’s history— is pat terned a fte r the old Braccro P ro gram that was used fro m 1942 to 1964 and kept Mexican workers in v irtu a l slavery. A lthough these w orkers w ould pay taxes, they would have no legal rights and no access to social services. They would be in constant danger o f deportation should they challenge the working conditions or attempt to organize. Those workers who remained in the U .S . for ten years w ithout re turning to Mexico, and who during this tim e do not have the right to have their families with them, could then q u a lify for perm anent resi dence. H owever, there arc 32 rea sons for which they could be dis q u alified and even if they met all (Please turn to page 4, column 4) AG politicizes federal courts Attorney General W illiam French Smith has pledged to use the powers o f his office to ensure that the fed eral courts become attuned to the p o litic a l realities o f the “ Reagan mandate.” He said the A dm inistration will seek greater judicial restraint in such areas as school desegregation, a ffir mative action, environm ental pro tection, and prisoners rights, tio n ally dubious and unwise in tru sion upon the legislative domain” in broadening the definition o f indivi dual rights, Sm ith said, “ The groundswell o f conservatism evi denced by the 1980 election makes this an especially appropriate time to urge upon the courts more princi pled bases that would reduce ju d i cial activism.” 1 Smith has committed the Justice Department to move the law o f the land tow ard Reagan’ s principles. “ S im ply p u t, consistent w ith the C o n s titu tio n and the laws o f the U nited States, the Departm ent o f Justice intends to play an active role in effectin g the principles upon which Ronald Reagan cam paigned.” The A tto rn e y G eneral said the Adm inistration is working to iden tify “ those big areas in which the courts might be convinced to desist from actual policy-making” so that “ errors o f the past m ight be c o r rected” and “ past trends might at least be halted.” Smith is concerned about federal court decisions over the past 40 years that have broadened the inter pretation o f fundamental individual rights guaranteed by the C onstitu tio n . “ They now include the First Amendment rights and the right to vote in most elections— the rights mentioned by the Constitution. “ In addition, however, they in clude rights th a t, though deemed fundam ental, were held to be only im p lied by the C o n s titu tio n . The latter group, which has become a real base fo r expanding Federal Court activity, includes the right to m arry, the right to procreate, the right o f interstate tra v e l, and the right o f sexual privacy that, among other things, may have spawned a rig h t, w ith certain lim itatio n s, to have an abortion___ " A t the very least, the multiplica tion o f implied constitutional rights, and the unbounded strict scrutiny (Please turn to page 4, column 4) “ Kids w ill be my num ber one p rio rity ,” D r. M atth e w Prophet, Po rtlan d ’s new Superintendent o f schools told the pub lic M o n d ay evening. The thing that counts is what happens to kids. There will be a delivery system that will have one priority, one objective, one goal— to maximize the opportunity for learn ing for every child.” D r. Prophet was in t n uced to the public by School Boat J C h a ir man F ran k M c N a m a ra . D r. Prophet, who was selected from a field o f one hundred, said he con siders it a “ singular p rivilege” to have been chosen by the school board and the com munity. Stating that he has been impressed by the quality and interest o f the staff and the community people he has met he indicated that something is occur ring in this city in public education that is not happening in many other parts o f the country. W hile public schools are being buffeted by criti cism there are some absolutely out standing programs in public educa tion.' ” 1 will not k t the Portland School f>i*lrictdown in any w a y .: .and wilT measurably contribute to the better ment o f opportunity for every single student.” In a subsequent press conference. Prophet said he values the exper ience and service o f Interim Super intend! D r. James F en w ick, who was also a can d id ate fo r superin ten d en t, and w ill ask him to stay with the district. H e w ill expect to reorganize the s ta ff structure o f the d is trict in a way that will best suit his style and theory o f management. “ When you come in new and inherit an organiz ation, everyone knows what’s going on and you don’t . ” When he reor ganizes, “ I will know what is going on. I am ultimately responsible.” ‘I will measurably contribute to the betterment o f opportunity fo r every single student* —Matthew Prophet He does not expect to immediate ly replace principals or adm inistra tors, but there will be changes in as signments. Keeping in mind that the education o f children is the primary goal, the central office staff must set the example and provide the atm o sphere. “ Anyone in the central o f fice has to set an example, to p ro vide needed support to teachers. Teachers need to believe the admin istration is fully committed. Every one in the C en tral O ffic e must be sensitive to needs and dedicated.” Principals and administrators will be guaranteed due process: they will not be judged on inuendos and charges from other staff or the com munity. When he has determined a p rin c ip al or a d m in is tra to r’ s per form ance is not ap p ro p ria te, that person will know what is wrong, will have an opportunity and assistance to conform. “ It all exists fo r k id s .” H e w ill find out what is happening and what is not happening— what in the school system prevents the proper delivery o f services to help children learn. He will look at student learn ing and work backward from there, designing the d istrict to meet the needs o f the students. The district should put in place a ll o f its re sources so there would not be a sin gle child who does not have the maximum opportunity to learn. D r. Prophet will remain with the Lansing school d is trict through M arch in order to assist with a tax levy election scheduled for Febru ary. He expects to take the helm o f the Portland district on April 1. A l though contract negotiations are not com pleted, no d ifficu ltie s are ex pected. Prophet will accept a three- year contract with a beginning sal ary o f $62,500. D uring the interim he will spend approximately 30 days in Portland, visiting every school tiLtalk with stu dents and staff, talking with indivi duals from the community and gov ernment, and making a thorough as sessment o f the district’s needs. “ I will make a very intensive study o f the school system and form definite conclusions; I won’t make hasty de cisions, but I ’ m not relu ctan t to make decisions.” Community saves local library Grassroot News, N. W. — The pos sible closure o f North Branch Public L ib ra ry, located at 512 N o rth Kil- lingsworth, was averted by the ac tive involvem ent o f various mem bers o f the community. Last month the lib ra ry Ifad a series o f m inor c rim in a l incidents which sparked fear and concern among its users. " I t seemed like everything hap pened at once. First, cars were brok en into, elderly ladies were harassed and there was m in o r van d alism ,” M ary G riffin , Head Librarian sum marized the problem. This resulted in the library being closed for four evenings. Sharon M cC orm ack, a represen tative from Neighborhoods against C rim e , told how the com m u nity changed the situ ation . “ A fte r the head librarian contacted me I got in touch w ith H u m b o ld t N eig h b o r hood Association. The A m erican Muslim Mission, P .C .C ., Jefferson H igh School, and the U rb an League. Our M ain purpose was to reduce victimization and restore the nighttime hours. “ It appears to be more o f a fear o f crim e than incidents. However that fear becomes just as real as if crime was occurring. Various indivi duals from com m u nity groups stayed at the library during the even ing hours to counteract the situ a tion.” Because o f the in p u t received, Mrs. G riffin stated that now every thing is back to norm al. ” 1 believe that only a few were c om m ittin g these acts. I have been at this branch for 13 years and we never had this happen.” Mary Griffin, Head Librarian of the North Branch Library, is avail One concern, which is the a fter- able to halp patrons with thair reading needs. math o f this temporary crime wave, (Photo: Richard J. Brown) is lack o f use. The North Branch li brary is a large facility which is open hours. Every month the library has drens. R em em ber, a fa m ily that to community groups during library special sessions for adults and chil- reads together will live forever. I
