■# I.-Í.1 C C 3
i i V o r a l t y
•**■ »
o f O r- to n L i b r a r y
• • *? n e , C»*-¿’ OB 3 7 4 0 3
Observer circulation
manager dies
W e regret to announce
that M rs. Helen H endrix,
C irculation M anager o f the
Portland Observer for fifteen
years, died at her home
W ednesday morning
M rs. H endrix had been
with the Observer since its
inception in 1970.
She was a member of
Bethel A M E Church.
A King Day
holiday?
See below
Volume XV, Number 16
February 13, 1985
25c Copy
Two Sections
\
>
U of O law dean resigns
in protest of hiring process
by Landa Duke
G RASSROO T NEW S. N . W . - " I t
would be the worst form o f hypocrisy
for me to complain and criticize the
practice in general while remaining
silent when I see it happening at the
school where I am Dean.”
With these thoughts in action, Der
rick Bell, Dean o f the University o f
Oregon Law School, resigned Feb
ruary 7th because his faculty refused
to hire an Asian-A m erican woman
who was the final candidate for a
teaching position.
" I'v e been concerned that m inori
ties who may not be perfect in quali
fications arc not being hired any
m o re ," Bell said, adding that the
candidate had more potential for the
job than he had in 1969 when he was
hired to teach at Harvard I-aw School.
"T h is was not a m atter o f overt
discrim ination. The m ajority o f the
faculty was ready to give me the go-
ahead to offer this woman the job. It
was the procedure that excluded her,”
Bdl explained.
The procedure Bell objected to
was the Law School's "substantial
objection" rule. I f a candidate meets
with questions or protest, a job offer
is withdrawn. In this case the faculty
committee recommended 3-2 to hire
the wom an, but three faculty members
raised "substantial o b je c tio n " and
other faculty members decided this ap
pointment should not go forward.
"Collegiality was more important
than hiring this candidate. I don 't
think this kind o f thing would have
happened 10 yeas ago and I d on 't
think it should have happened today.
If I have any integrity at all, I had to
submit my resignation to separate my
self from the process,” Bell added.
Ironically, the University o f O re
gon has an Affirmative Action policy
that states when a qualified person of
color is a finalist for a position, the
DERRICK BELL
job should be offered to him or her.
Former Dean Chapin C lark said a
feeling of sadness blanketed the school
because of Bell’s resignation, "B u t I
wish Dean Bell had discussed it with
our school president. The school will
evaluate this rule, but under this rule
many minorities, including Bell, have
been hired.”
C lark called Bell's reasoning an
honest difference of opinion. " I do not
think it's fair to say the processes of
the school are at fault. After all, we are
the first State la w School in the coun
ty to hire a Black Dean "
Bell agreed with the premis that the
federal government had retreated
on its coinitment to A ffirm ative Ac
tion. “ But Affirmative Action did not
start with the federal government. It
started with an outcry from the com
munity. The federal government and
other institutions simply provided a
vehicle that was more convenient for
them than helpful for us. W hen we
stopped, they stopped."
Bell w ill serve out the rem aining
term as Dean and plans to continue
teaching at the school. " W e are all
motors of A ffirm ative Action When
the motor dies the vehicle stops. W hat
will be required, regardless o f what
the federal government does or does
not d o , is for people who are con
cerned about fairness to remember
that they are the motor. I feel that I am
a part of this motor, too. I did what I
thought I had to do.”
Bell, 54, a form er H arvard Law
School professor, became dean at Ore
gon in 1981. He has also served as a
deputy director of the O ffice of Civil
Rights in the U .S . Dept. of Health,
education and W elfare , and he is
known for taking outspoken stands on
busing, South Africa and filter issues.
Bell w ill serve as dean at the law
school through June and then stay on
as faculty member.
Ron McCarty's ethics questioned
Lyron Cox, 7 years old. pitches tha baN at the basket during a carnival bald at tba Salvation Army
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)
lack So. Africans pan Kennedy
U N IT E D N A T IO N S - A Black
South African nationalist group M on
day dismissed Sen. Edward Kennedy's
recent South African visit as a "con
science-washing exercise” o f little help
to Black people there.
The P an -A fric an ist Congress o f
Azama issued a statement at the U nit
ed Nations charging that "the evils of
apartheid.........do not require to be ex
amined but rather effective solutions
worked out to totally eradicate this
abhorrant system.”
Azania is the Black African name
fix South Africa. Apartheid in South
Africa's system of racial separation.
" T h e people o f A zania are not
concerned about Sen. Edward Ken
nedy’s personal abhorrence o f apart
heid, precisely because he is a public
figure in the United States and a legis
la to r," said the statement from the
P A C , which seeks the overthrow o f
the w hite m in o rity governm ent in
South Africa.
The P A C said it needed instead a
total end to all trade and other rela
tions with South Africa.
KW
“ Anything short o f comprehensive
mandatory sanctions against the apart
had regime constitutes, in our view, a
conscience washing exercise," it said.
Aides to the Massachusetts Demo
crat said his visit to South Africa ear
tier this m onth, at the in v ita tio n of
Nobel Peace laureate Bishop Desmond
Tutu, was to gather information first
hand about the country's apartheid
policies.
Blacks frequently protested the
senator's appearances with noisy dem
onstrations
Bill Introduced to make King
birthday Oregon state holiday
State Representative Margaret Cart
er today announced the introduction
of a bi-partisan House bill to establish
a state holiday to honor the Rev. Mar
tin Luther King, Jr., civil rights leader.
Nobel Pece Prize w inner, and black
American clergyman. "W e are honor
ing Dr. King, a black American who
taught love, respect and brotherhood
among all Am ericans regardless of
race, religion, national origin or politi
cal affiliation. The bill also will bring
O reg o n ’ s com m em oration o f D r.
King's birthday in line w ith recent
national legislation signed by Presi
dent Reagan," Carter said.
T h irty -o n e members o f the 60-
member House joined in sponsoring
the legislation Sponsors include repre
sentatives Agrons, Banzer, Bauman,
Brogotti, Bunn, Burrows, Burton,
C alouri, C am pbell, Cease, Eachus,
Gillis, Hanlon, J. H ill, L. H ill, Hool-
ey, Hosticka, Delna Jones, Kopetski,
Kotulski, M ason, M ille r, Peterson,
Rijken, Roberts, Springer, T arzian,
Van Vliet, W h itty, and Young. Sup
porting groups include the Oregon As
sembly for Black Affairs, the Oregon
rainbow Organizing Committee, and
the Oregon Black republicans
¿eST:
by Robert Lothian
Another state legislator from Port
land is being questioned about his
ethics.
Ron McCarty, a Democratic repre
sentative from Northeast Portland,
falsified inform ation on unemploy
ment compensation report form s,
and owes the state $387, according to
a state hearings officer.
McCarty deliberately falsified dates
and listed his w ife's tax consulting
business as a possible em ployer, ac
cording to the hearings officer. M c
Carty replied by saying he made a mis
take about the dates and that his wife's
business was as good as any other and
there was nothing wrong with using it
as a job contact.
The state hearings officer found Mc
C arty to be "evasive and argumen-
tive" and “ not a credible witness.” His
use o f G ood News Tax Service,
"owned or operated by himself or his
wife is a sham,” the officer continued,
because M cCarty would have known
whether there was a job opening in
conversations with his wife.
M c C a rty , a perpetual candidate
who ran for officer (including Port
land School Board) every two years
until he won in November, is a state
licensed tax consultant. He described
the proceedings against him as a "kan
garoo court."
M cC arty is also being pursued by
the Oregon Dept of Revenue to make
good on a wage claim filed against him
by a former employee of a tavern Mc
Carty once owned. The original amount
of the claim was $85 in 1972, but it has
increased to $600 because M cC arty
has refused to pay the claim, and says
he won't.
The Dept. o f Revenue could gar-
\
nishee M c C a rty ’ s tax returns, but
M cC arty said he will make sure that
lus income tax refund is insufficient to
pay the claim, although he acknowl
edged that his property lax refund
might be garnisheed.
Oregon Bureau o f Labor and In
dustries staff that originally dealt with
M cC arty on the claim described him
as "profane, abusive and hostile."
In another case. Representative Pal
G illis, a Portland Republican, was
censured recently by the Oregon House
of Representatives. Gillis admitted un
authorized use o f a letterhead o f the
American Association of Retired Pcr-
sons during his campaign and mis
representing his educational back
ground in the Oregon V o ter’ s Pain
phlet. Gillis blamed the Democrats for
his bad publicity.
His actions are now under investi
gation by a Marion County grand jury
for possible election law violations, but
so far no legal action has been taken
against McCarty.
Apparently in response to the M c
C arty and G illis cases, the Oregon
Legislature is forming a Citizens A d
visory C om m ittee on Legislative
Guidelines to review procedures for
investigating campaign misconduct.
Serving suggestions.. .
Congressmen Ron Wyden (DI of Portland and Bob Smith (Rl of Pen
dtoton participated In eprogram that allowed them each to talk to folks
In the other's district Monday. Feb. 12. Wyden and Smith ware pouring
coffee and chatting with customers at Devlin's Cafe In North Portland
(Photo: Richard J. Brown)