Portland Observer, M ay 27, 1962 Page 5
Sportsman Hair Design
Eighties present challenge
INTRODUCES TO YOU
★★★
NAILS by DEE
•
•
by Matthew W. Prophet
Superintendent o f Schools
These are d iffe re n t times. The
decade of the 1970s saw a visible un
easiness and mistrust o f Am erica’s
hallowed institutions. G o v ern
ments, schools, big business, the
m ilitary, law enforcement agencies,
and numerous other public institu
tions suffered credibility gaps per
haps as deep as R ichard N ix o n ’ s
during the depth o f Watergate. The
1970s brought a gradual weakening
o f the American economy, as the
stimulus o f the war in Southeast
Asia began to wear o ff, and in fla
tion started to creep its greedy influ
ence into our monthly incomes. The
energy crisis became conspicuous,
as oil producers demanded huge
price increases, thereby aggravating
in fla tio n , and futher greasing the
skids for the downward dive o f the
dollar in international markets. A l
so, the T h ird W orld became more
vocal, more astute in organizing to
demand equality from (he leaders of
the international community. This is
a development to which we have yet
to fully adjust.
A t best, w ith all things consid
ered, the seventies were times o f
trouble. Therefore, the logical ques
tion now is, what will happen in (he
1980s?
This decade will almost certainly
be one o f challenge and opportunity
on new and uncharted grounds. The
1980s will spawn a host o f new civil
rights issues on such uncharted ter
rain as high technology, foreign pol
icy, and energy developm ent. But
for all o f the new developments, the
central issues in the eighties will be
the same central issues which have
been with us in the past. . . racism,
poverty, and the struggle for justice
in American society.
The eighties have begun, as most
decades do, with the firing o f guns
and the saying of brave new words.
A n other year, another decade,
another chapter, a new beginning,
another chance.
And w ith this chance comes a
rush of important questions. These
questions are born o f chances
missed and decades wasted. We
must ask ourselves, what is different
this time? W ill racism, poverty, and
inequality be eliminated this time?
W ill we turn the corner? W ill we sec
the light? Or will the dream, during
tivism.
We get drastic and actually cruel
reductions in n u tritio n program s.
A fte r years o f wrenching efforts to
integrate schools, we get the fin an
cial rug snatched from beneath our
feet in m id -a ir. A fte r raising the
achievement levels o f thousands o f
students who would have been
otherwise lost in the maze o f illiter
acy, the funds for com pensatory
education o f students who are be
hind is being slashed and sacrificed
on the a lta r o f excessive defense
spending.
This is what public education has
received for being the one in stitu
tion in American society which has
done the most to bring the realities
o f democracy in line with the ideals
o f democracy. This is the national
mood.
I f all o f this were not enough,
there is more bad news. The Reagan
Adm inistration has agreed to push
the tuition tax credit proposal.
The tuition tax credit proposal is
a concrete example o f the present
adm inistration’s lack o f apprecia
tion for public education. This pro
posal will rob from the many to give
to the few. The program could cost
as much as $4.7 billion and the bulk
o f the money will go to the people
who need it the least.
Perhaps the most tragic aspect o f
the tuition tax credit idea is the fact
•hat it misrepresents the flexib ility
and quality o f the public schools. As
a function o f national policy and di
rectio n , it says that parents who
think the public schools are poorly
run and inefficient in instruction are
rig h t. A nd the tru th is, they are
wrong.
In the Portland Public Schools, a
parent can find every option and va
riation o f educational program . I f
the neighborhood school does not
satisfy, we have magnet programs.
I f the regular c u rric u 'a r program
does not meet one's needs, we have
basic skill program s and fu n d a
m ental schools. The tu itio n tax
credit legislation suggests that this is
not the case. And that is patently
false.
W here public education is con
cerned, as a very necessary part o f
making a democracy function with
an intelligent citizenry, the present
the decade o f the eighties, once
again be deferred?
The national mood has signaled
the weakening, if not the end, for
some time o f “ liberalism” and "big
government with a helping hand.”
The election o f Ronald Reagan has
brought, at the very least, a new era.
The nation's leadership has become
more hardened and indexible, more
cold and unsympathetic.
In this n atio n al posture, social
welfare programs must be reduced.
This feeling is being turned into pol
icy by people who are unconcerned
about the plight o f those less fortun
ate in our society. The moral major
ity calls programs and services de
veloped during the sixties and seven
ties “ complete failures.*' But most
o f the people in the moral majority
have no way o f measuring the suc
cess or failure o f such programs and
services. They never saw the depres
sion in the black community during
the 1950s and 1960s. They never saw
the black com munity before com
m unity action program s were de
veloped, or the progress since. They
have no understanding o f the skill
levels o f black youth p rio r to the
creation o f (he opportunities indus
trialization centers. And they do not
know what has happened since. So
cial w elfare program s are being
fram ed by a “ sting** operation
which is setting them up to look like
nothing but failures, when the real
ity is just the opposite.
Schools aa caaa In point
The public schools o f this nation
are a case in p o in t. F or the past
twenty years and more, this nation
has demanded that the public
schools forge good citizens, feed the
hungry, compensate for social dis
advantages, alleviate prejudices, in
still sacred values, discipline the un
ruly, buttress the unstable, inculcate
an appreciation for the arts, trans
mit a common culture in the midst
o f diversity, incorporate youngsters
with physical or mental handicaps,
and exalt the life o f the mind.
A ll o f this has been demanded at
a time o f skepticism toward the pub
lic and a d w in d lin g o f economic
support. But our needs remain the
same. Despite all o f this, the nation
al government responds with nega
Washington Hot Line
by Congressman Ron Wyden
Earlier this spring, I sent a ques
tionnaire to Third District residents
asking their opinions on the
economy and other issues o f con
cern to Oregon and America. Near
ly 17,000 people responded Follow
ing are highlights o f those re
sponses.
Taken as a whole, the responses
to the questionnaire reflect a great
deal o f concern for the directions
the current Administration is head
ed in.
For exam ple, in response to a
question about whether the A dm in
istration's legislative program is ba
sically sound, or whether m ajo r
changes are needed, 59 per cent o f
those responding said they believed
major changes are in order. Only 17
per cent believed the program is ba
sically sound, while 22 per cent be
lieved more time is needed to deter
mine whether the program w ill
work.
Other questionnaire results show:
•78 per cent o f those responding
believe that budget cuts have been
more u n fa ir to some groups than
others, while 19 per cent believe the
cuts have been fa irly distributed
across society.
•T o help reduce the budget, 68
per cent would first cut defense
spending. The majority (51 per cent)
would m odify the tax cut as a sec
ond step to reduct the deficit.
•67 per cent o f the respondents
t'ormol/lnformul
Sorvien
Classic French
Cuisine
Wine Consultation
— Butler Services
— Hartending
support reauthorization o f a strong
Clean A ir Act, while 29 per cent be
lieve requirements of the Act should
be relaxed.
•Asked to identify the statement
which most accurately reflects their
views on defense, 44 per cent said
they support a strong defense but
believe there is a great deal of waste
in the A d m in is tra tio n 's defense
budget which could be cut. 7 per
cent said the A d m in is tra tio n , by
calling for sharply increased m ili
tary spending, is headed in the right
direction. 45 per cent believed both
o f the other alternatives commit too
much money to the m ilita ry , and
that some o f the money should be
spent instead on domestic social
needs.
•68 percent o f those answering
the questionnaire said they do not
believe In te rio r Secretary James
Watt is headed in the right direction
in taking stands in favor o f
economic development when some
say those stands jeopardize the
environm ent. 20 percent said they
believe W att is headed in the right
direction.
(Z Health and Human Services’
Secretary Richard Schweiker has
proposed dropping the requirement
fo r annual inspection o f nursing
homes, hospitals and other health
care facilities. What do you think o f
this proposal?
A. I am very concerned about the
implications for quality o f care.
Under Secretary Schweiker’s pro
posal, hospitals w ith a history o f
compliance with health and safety
rules would be subject to regular in
spections only every three years;
nursing homes with good records,
every two years. Homes with poor
records allegedly would be inspected
more o fte n , although inspectors
would no longer be required to re
visit problem nursing homes within
90 days to check to see whether defi-
cincies had been corrected.
Secretary Schw eiker’s proposal
also would turn over accreditation
o f nursing homes from state agen
cies to the Joint Commission on Ac
creditation o f Hospitals.
The dangers for patients in these
proposals arc obvious. Nursing
home patients are some o f the most
vulnerable people in our society.
Many arc without family or friends
to advocate on their behalf—-w ith
out a spokesman to ensure they have
the best possible care, and that at
tention is paid to their health and
safety.
A n nu al inspections were in s ti
tuted to help guarantee such basic
necessities to nursing home patients.
By reducing the number o f required
inspections— and by placing accred
itation o f homes in the hands o f a
p rivate g ro u p — we open the door
fo r increased abuses. A nd that is
something we cannot tolerate.
Hava tha N aw Porlland
Observer dallvarad Io
your bom a aacb w a a k -
Subacrlbal
Tuxedo
Catering
B A R TL E TT BERLIN
CRIMPERS
503-226-4606
D in n e r for 2-12
old town
appointments:
208 n.w. couch
227-4228
I
mood o f the nation is wrong. The
tuition tax credit is just a concrete
exam ple. As a public p o licy, it is
evil. M artin Luther K ing, Jr., once
said, “ W hen evil men p lo t, good
men must plan. When evil men burn
and bom b, good men must build
and bind. When evil men shout ugly
words o f h atred , good men must
commit themselves to the glories of
love. When evil men seek to perpe
tuate an unjust status qu o , good
men must seek to bring into being a
real order o f justice.”
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
• • •
Our challenge
And this is our challenge. It is the
challenge o f the eighties. It is the
challenge for Portland.
Portland has a chance now to re
verse this trend o f negativism at the
local level. In a remarkable display
o f confidence and hope for the fu
ture, citizens approved the proposed
new tax base for our schools on May
18th.
This election was as important to
the C ity as to the D is tric t. It is a
mandate to continue to provide ex
cellence in education for all children
in all schools. Equal educational op
portunities are the guideline for the
future.
We can now push ahead with real
izing the student achievement goal
and engage in long-range planning
to im p ro ve the q u a lity o f the
schools.
Portland has met the challenge,
but we cannot relax.
O u r im m ed iate task is to begin
building a cooperative spirit in every
part o f this community. It is a task
which the Board o f Education and
the Administration must take as se
riously as possible.
No aspect o f the community can
be ignored. No socio-economic class
can be forgotten. N o problem can
be faced with indifference. N o aven
ue can be left untraveled to bring the
good people o f this city together
around one most important goal. . .
the preparation and development o f
our children.
vopeyes
with that
Original New Orleans
Flavor
I’VE GOT GREAT LEGS!
3 Locations To Serve You:
5949 N.E. Union Ave.
3120 N.E. Union Ave.
283-9542
281-2628
g
g
«
2320 S.E. 82nd Ave.
«
* • • •
•
•
•
•
•
•
774-9651
• • • • •
•
•
•
•
•
• • •
Fantastic Furniture Sale
at Discount Prices
at Lloyd's Interiors
Act now.
Additional oinms
Mrtfs arai baile, S14 per set.
A d ditio nal $10 o f f on purchase o f tw o chairs when you present this ad.
The original G old M edal
director’s chair, w ith the price
that made it famous and the
qualities that made it a star, is
back. By popular demand.
In natural varnish or white
enameled hardwoods, w ith 16
colors o f canvas seats and
backs.
Take one: $39
Take two: $69
Ready?
A ction!
¿highest
Q w ity
aW¿st
LLOYD'S INTERIORS
1714 Northeast Broadway, P ortland, Oregon 97232. 284-1185.
5°7o discount fo r cash.
»