Page 6 Portland Observer, May 6,1982
METROPOLITAN
Linda Ware, Vernon student, shows her mobile to instructor Michael Dente.
Talented and gifted show
The 2nd annual Talented and
G ifted Festival, T A G Fest, w ill be
held on Thursday, May 13th, from 4
pm-8 pm, at the School D is tric t’ s
education center, 501 N . D ixon (2
blocks north of the Memorial Colis
eum).
The festival will provide a special
opportunity for Talented and Gifted
students in the Portland Schools’
T A G program to share their work
and talent with fam ily and friends
from the community.
The T A G Fest w ill include four
hours o f displays, presentations and
performances. Student-made films
will be shown and paintings, draw
ings and sculpture exhibited. Stu
dents w ill dance, sign, debate and
discuss to demonstrate for friends
and parents what they have learned
this year in their T A G classes.
There are 3,000 T A G students in
the Portland Public Schools repre
senting every Portland school and
all grades, kindergarten through
high school. T A G students are those
students who have been identified as
having superior ability in the intel-
lectual/academic area or the visual/
perform ing arts. T A G students a t
tend special classes, called C h a l
lenge classes, during the school
year.
T A G students have participated
this year in over 500 Challenge class
es. These classes develop a variety of
skills and cover a wide range o f sub
ject m atter. Some o f the classes
which have been o f special interest
to T A G students are Electronics,
C reative Problem Solving, L a n
guage and C ulture, Computer Pro
gram m ing, C reative D ram atics,
Science Fiction W riting, Animation,
Philosophy, Sculpture and G en
etics. Student work from these class
es w ill be on display at the T A G
Fest.
A ll T A G students, their families
and friends from the community are
invited to attend the T A G Fest.
Joe Uris
City Council
registration
opens
Registration is now open for the
summer camping season at the Port
land A rea C ouncil o f C am p Fire,
Inc. Camping sessions are available
to members and non-members from
June through A ugust at C am p
F ire ’s two resident camps and five
day-camps.
Sessions for the resident camps
are one week. Transportation to and
from the resident camps is provided
by bus from the Lloyd Center area.
Cam p Namanu is located just out
side o f Sandy, Oregon, in the foot
hills o f the Cascade M o u n tain s .
Program s at N am anu include
swimming, hiking, crafts and out
door skills.
Camp Kwoneesum, the Council’s
other resident camp, is just north o f
Washougal, Washington. Included
in the camp’s 1,800 acres is a large
lake for canoeing, swim m ing and
the teaching o f sailing.
Five day-camps exist in the Port
land Metropolitan area, from Camp
Adahi in Forest G rove, C am p Lo-
wami in Beaverton, Cam p Tolinda
in St. Johns, Camp Wekio in South
east P ortland to Cam p Nadaka in
east M ultn o m ah C ounty. Sessions
are eight days, four days each week,
for two weeks from 10 am to 3 pm.
T ra n s p o rta tio n to and fro m day-
camps must be provided.
Day-camp registration is open to
any girl entering the 2nd grade to
the 7th grade, fall o f 1982. Boys en
tering 2nd, 3rd or 4th grades, fall o f
1982, may also attend day-camp.
Camp Namanu is open to girls en
tering 2nd grade through high
school, fall o f 1982. Boys entering
2nd grade through 4th grade, fall of
1982, may attend also.
Girls entering 8th grade through
high school in the fall o f 1982 are
welcom at Camp Kwoneesum.
For more inform ation or a camp
brochure, call the Camp Fire office
at 224-7800.
Joe Uris supports
community police review—
my opponent, Mildred
Schwab, does not.
Joe Uris will work for jobs, greater
community power and equal rights
for all.
Joe Uris—a breath of fresh
air in the stale corridors of
government.
Jo« Uris for City Commissioner Com mit,aa. Richard B S o lo m o n , Trees.;
-
p.o. box 12881, Portland, OR 97212
A WOMAN'S PLACE
A COLLECTIVELY-RUN FEMINIST BOOKSTORE
Portland's largest selection
o f women's books & records
free lending library;
inform ation & referral
10-8 M
10-6 T-S
12-4 Sun.
2349 SE Ankeny
236-3609
Juvenile prostitution in Portland
by Harris Levon McRae
“ I was 13 years old and ran out of
drugs and needed more. I supported
myself by dating [selling sex] in ho
tels. 1 did it for about three years
and decided to leave— 1 wasn’t feel
ing very good about myself.”
Almost every metropolitan com
munity in the country has some ju
veniles, male and female, involved
in prostitution and Portland is no
exception. P ortland is also no ex
ception when it comes to the failure
o f many o f its citizens to recognize
the existence o f this exploitation and
abuse o f children.
There is a demand b; people who
like to have sex with children that
creates this exploitative business.
There exists a mentality which justi
fies access to a c h ild ’ s body for
cash, and there will always be kids
needy enough to satisfy the demand.
Usually, the entrance into prosti
tution is a gradual process. Most o f
ten the key event is when a young
person runs away from home and
has no other alternative place to stay
or legitimate means o f support.
Children involved in prostitution
run away from home and enter into
"the life” for many reasons: lack of
parental guidance, family problems
like drugs a n d /o r alcohol abuse,
lack o f fin an cial assistance from
parents— the list goes on and on.
“ I ran away from home and I
needed some money I met this guy
who was a pimp and I hung out for
a little while. After about a week he
threatened to jump on me. He never
did though. 1 got into prostitution
because I couldn’t just lay around
the streets like some bum.” one girl
related.
I f the child does not fin d help
they w ill often turn to drugs and
crime as a way o f life.
"Y o u have money going through
your fingers, drugs going through
your fingers----- I t ’s better than sit
ting at home with your parents and
dealing w ith all their hassles and
problem s,” a 16-year-old form er
prostitute said.
When a child is alone and scared
on the street, the offer o f an adult’s
help and advice can easily lead them
to th in k that they have fou n d a
friend. Adults acting as pimps, cus
tomers, and friends frequently ex
ploit young prostitutes emotionally
and physically. A young prostitute
can expect to be beaten, robbed,
and raped.
" I agreed to date this one guy and
we headed o f f to his room . There
were five other men there waiting
when I got there. They took turns
raping m e .. . , ” one girl said, shak
ing her head w hile p a in fu lly re
calling the incident.
Almost 100 teenagers were arrest
ed for prostitution in the Portland
area last year. The high prostitution
involvement areas for juveniles are:
14th and Sandy, Union Avenue, In
terstate Avenue, Fourth and Yam
h ill (the " c a m p ” or the " w a ll” ),
and 8th and E. Burnside. The ma
jo rity o f these kids are between 13
and 16 years o f age, with the aver
age being 15. N in ety per cent are
runaways.
A ccording to Janice B a rre tt,
counselor for the Options Program,
which aids ju v e n ile prostitutes,
"M ost o f them have run away from
home permanently by age 14 or 15
and most had not gone beyond the
8th grade. You end up w ith a kid
who is sexually or physically abused
and many times they are dealing
with grief over the death o f a loved
one. They run away and the way
they survive is by snatching purses,
turning tricks and theft.” Options is
part o f the Multnom ah County Ju
venile Court System.
Several business owners are com
plaining that juvenile prostitution is
ruining their business. One person
who owns a business near “ the
camp” (4th and Yamhill) claims his
business has decreased by 30 per
cent. His customers are being prop
ositioned and vandalized, and even
robbed at knife point. Consequently
customers are refusing to p atrw ize
his business at night. Much o f this
activity involves male prostitutes
COBI
^>H
LO llGCtlO A
1
who p ro b ab ly o u tn u m b er fem ale
prostitutes 2 to 1.
“ You wanna make some extra
money? I can show you how —
there’s nothing to it ,” one boy said
before getting in a car with a lone
man and driving o ff.
Customers o f juvenile prostitutes
are men who come from all social,
econom ic and c u ltu ra l back
grounds. They prefer young sex
partners, boys or girls— sometimes
both. The customer accepts no re
sponsibility for the crime he is in
volved in— child abuse.
“ There are a whole lot o f men
who fantasize about having sex with
young girls,” Janice Barrett said.
The way the law stands now it
makes no d ifference whether the
prostitute the customer picks up is
an adult or m inor, the charge is the
same. A customer could be charged
w ith T h ird Degree Rape, which is
sexual intercourse with a female un
der 16, but it is hard to get a convic
tion if the female has been involved
in prostitution for a while.
As for juvenile male prostitution,
the majority o f the men involved in
it identify with the gay community.
Since both the customer and prosti
tute are dealing with gay feelings,
most teenage male p ro stitu tion
takes place in the atmosphere o f the
gay male culture.
Many times, however, the proce
dure for involving a young male in
prostitution often included physical
and verbal abuse.
A juvenile arrested for prostitu
tion is charged in the same manner
as an adult, except he goes to juven
ile court instead o f jail.
I f parents can’t provide parenting
services, if homes are unsafe, etc.,
the children are com m itted to the
Children’s Services Division (CSD).
C SD handles assignments to foster
homes.
“ CSD is not the answer for most
o f these kids. You can’t just take
them and throw them into a family
situation,” Janice Barrett said.
" In some circumstances there is
no loving family. Kids get all kinds
The Newest Name in Ultimate
Face Colors iririjie Northwest
Or
m
.iif ,i
u S hi
o f messages fro m their fam ilies.
Sometimes the family moves and the
kids have no idea where they went,”
Janice’s co-worker Adrian Navarro
added.
Pimps and other street people
take advantage o f these situations
by trying to give the teenagers a
glamorous picture o f being a prosti
tute.
" I like to turn out the young ones
because they do what they are told. I
treat ’em right— like little queens,”
one man said.
“ Ages o f pimps are getting a lot
lower. W e know 14- or 15-year-old
aspiring pimps. Some o f them have
experienced the same kind o f back
grounds as the prostitutes,” Janice
Barrett noted.
Most o f the kids involved in pros
titu tio n have put themselves up to
an awesome task— survival in the
streets. M any o f these kids sell sex
only when they need money for
food or shelter, and then only long
enough to raise that money.
For the youths that are taken in
by the glamour and money prostitu
tion is supposed to b rin g , it isn ’ t
very long before they realize how
hard and unrewarding being a pros
titute can be.
" I wanted to try something new—
it was fun some o f the tim es. I
stopped and asked myself, ‘ Is this
kind o f fun all I want out o f life?’
So I q u it,” one girl said.
W hy is it hard to leave prostitu-
ion?
“ I did n ’t have anyplace to go to
get help.”
“ I f you have a pimp, he makes it
hard for you to leave.”
“ I t ’s the only lifestyle that you
know and it is hard to change your
friends and places you hang o u t.”
Lack o f com m u nity awareness
and the " I d o n ’ t care” attitude o f
most adults when it comes to chil
dren having to sell sex to live, just
contributes to the business o f prosti
tu tio n . It w ill take much greater
public awareness and specialized
education in the schools to deter
youth from prostitution.
Harold
Williams
The Person,
Community
Worker,
Candidate
“Your Best Choice” _____ _
.
Believing that “ education is the way.” Harold did not get his
education and become contented with his success, instead he investigated
I ways to use his accomplishments to help his fellow man and improve the
I community, which was the inception o f Portland State University’s first
satellite campus. In I968, Harold convinced thcn-President Gregory
Wolfe, that given the opportuniy he could, and did develop the fastest-
growing most viable community based educational institution in the
state. Beginning with a total budget o f $30,000 dollars and a staff of
I three, Harold set out to fulfill a commitment to provide an educational
I opportunity for all who wanted a second chance at obtaining a formal
I education. The Portland State University Education Center opened its
I doors with 15 students and four classes in a storefront. One year later
enrollment leaped to 550 students, 20 volunteer faculty members (from
I the downtown campus o f PSU) and over 22 volunteer tutors both
graduates and undergraduates. To make education an affordable dream
come true for those in the Albina and surrounding area, Harold set the
tuition at SI .00 per person for a year for the high school equivalency
courses and $6.00 for three (3) college credit hours.
As a community-based educational institution, the Educational Center
I was open to all members of the community regardless ol race, color,
creed, or origin. In fact the first year’s enrollment was 55% White and
45% Black, ages ranging from I6 lo 4 5 years. By the time Harold
resigned in 1973 enrollment had reached 1,500, 22 member staff and over
fifteen (15) college courses. Many blacks received their GEDs and began
I work on their B.S. degrees, some even went on to complete master’s
I degrees and several started Ph D. programs all as a result o f H arold’s
I desire to give back to the community some of the support given to him.
I In other words Harold always remembers from where he’s come.
In 1975 Harold was appointed by Governor Bob Straub as Oregon’s
I first Affirm ative Action Director, where in the first year he brought over
350 blacks in state Government in jobs other than secretaries and janitor,
and a total o f 650 persons were hired that year. Harold Williams
authored Oregon’s first A ffirm ative Action Plan.
As a means o f keeping the community abreast o f what was happening
in the state regarding Affirm ative Action activities, Harold wrote a
weekly column for the Portland Observer “ fro m the Eyes of M r. W .,"
covering an array o f issues concerning the community
SEE NEXT WEEK’S ISSUE—
1
HAROLD WII.I IAMS
"YOUR BEST ( HOK | "
Paid tor by ,h« C om rralim ,o Elect Harold Williams, Ginger Sharp Treasurer 249 8360
PQ
Box 1275, Portland, OH 9 /2 0 7