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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 17, 1985)
Page 4, Portland Observer, April 17, 1966 S oon AS THE artificial H eart is in place , sjart the pocss oowwctHce A6 EDITORIAL/OPINION THE MÉDtA TRE VJOCVÇ - S tats , WJoipç V AAHXCAt vioeos, H uman j N T t a u r ANGLES Jackson spoilers missed boat raro would not have been the nation’s first fe male vice-presidential candidate. W h ile M o n dale and G ary H art were squabbling during the Democratic candidate debates, Jackson stuck to issues and interjected early on that he would There is an insidious move by the Democratic Party and the m ass/white media to rewrite the involvement, influence and actions o f the 1984 presidential candidacy o f Jesse Jackson. It started two weeks ago w ith Democratic loser W alter M on d ale’s public resentment o f Jackson. “ I tried to treat the first Black candi date for the president o f the U nited States w ith dignity and accept the seriousness o f that candi dacy,” M ondale stated in an interview with the Washington Post. “ I d o n ’t believe Jesse treated choose a female running mate. H ad it not been for Jackson, the Democratic party would not have had the progressive foresight to squarely oppose apartheid. Had it not been for Jackson, Rep. M argaret Carter would not be down in Salem leading the fight to divest state funds out o f South A frica . H ad it no, been for Jackson, M a y o r Bud C lark would not be in C ity H a ll, because the electoral glow from the R ain bow C oalition gave him those percentage points needed to defeat the incumbent in the prim ary. T he m ass/white media negatively portrayed Jackson in every newscast. The media over reacted to M inister Louis Farrakhan due to their ignorance o f Black culture. Farrakhan preached me in an equivalent w a y .” M on d ale’s sour grapes has tainted his percep tion o f Jackson’s participation in the presidential campaign, and his remarks are an insult to the only voting bloc w ho stayed w ith his candidacy — the Rainbow C oalitio n . It was M on d ale who ignored the jobs, peace and justice issues o f the Rainbow C o alitio n . W hile M on d ale was boring audiences to tears, Black nationalism — a concept older than A m erica’s white male interpretation o f democ racy. Jackson once joked that if he were to walk on water the media would say he could not swim. As members o f the Rainbow Coalition, it’s our responsibility to interpret Jackson’s influence jumped across continents, nations and states. M on dale remains what he was throughout the campaign Jackson elevated the passive presidential cam paign into an active mode as he secured the re lease o f L t. Robert G oodm an from Syria. Also, on a mission o f peace to C u ba, Jackson gained the release o f 14 Americans. , f M on d ale wants to blame anyone for his defeat, he needs to blame himself and his staff. Even A ndrew Young, who was booed at the Dem ocratic N ational Convention for urging support for the racist duel prim ary system in the south which locks out Blacks, observed M o n d a le ’s staff by calling them , ” A bunch o f — a loser. Jackson was the first major candidate o f color who carried the concerns o f the progressive, low- income populace as his campaign platform. For that he has earned his place in history as a champion o f the people, while Mondale has earned the nght to s m art-a-ed white boys. You can’t tell them any thin g.” This is why M ondle lost. H ad it not been for Jackson, Geraldine Fer be remembered as a spoilsport. Black, A frican studies in transition at PSU by Nathaniel Scott " In a world that is indeed one global village, strong international ties are critically important. . .for individ uals who are trained in international economics and politics, and the lan guages and cultures o f those regions,” states a brochure from Portland State University’ s (PSU’ s) International Studies Program, despite the fact that Africa is excluded from the program. The International Studies Program has been heavily criticized for not in cluding A frica in its "global village" concept. And one PSU professor, D r. W illiam " B ill” Little, associate pro fessor in the Black Studies Depart ment. labeled the affair "a n overt act o f institutionalized racial discrimi nation." The program’s areas o f concentra tion: East Asia, Central and East Europe, la tin America and the M id dle East, was made public the latter par, o f 1984. But according to the program’ s director. Dr. Earl Rees, "T h e program was put together over a period o f several years." He added that, in his opinion, A frica was ex cluded because "when dealing with programs you must keep in mind that money is attached.” The implication was that (a) the Black Studies De partment could not put together an A frica Studies specification without hiring new faculty, and (b) that the main emphasis o f the program is "East Asia.’ ’ W illiam Paudler, dean o f the col lege o f liberal arts and sciences, in a letter to the Observer on Jan. 4, wrote: "T h is system o f budgeting for Higher Education is designed to pre clude offering low enrollment courses and to encourage cost efficiency.’ ’ the letter outlined and compared the Black Studies Department’ s "student credit hours per faculty member” (courses and number o f students taught) to "th e average faculty mem ber in the college o f liberal arts and sciences." White, Paudler said, ex ceeds the Black Studies Department by a ratio o f three to one. Darrell M illner, head o f the Black Studies Department, said, “ We (the Black Studies Department) have never said that African studies should be ex clusively Black Studies." Aside from that fact, the compon ents necessary to implement a concen tration on A frica are at PSU: A nthro pology, Urban Studies, one or two courses in the English department, and other areas at PSU that teach African or African related courses. No hiring, no additional money; just implementation. But to quote one who wishes Ic remain anonymous: “ One has to wonder about the purpose and the in tent o f the institution (PSU).” Dr. Candice Goucher, Black Stu dies' only female faculty member, teaches in her African History class, that “ A frica is the birthplace o f hu manity.” She maintains that the ear liest evidence o f human origin comes from Africa and that makes A frica the continent with the longest evi dence o f human history. Moreover, she teaches that "Lucy,” the skeletal remains o f a teenage girl, dates to 3.5 m illion yeas ago. And anthropology, in its teaching, says man crawled onto the shores o f A fri ca when he emerged from the sea. Yet! " in a world that is indeed one global village,” the cradle o f man's civilization is excluded. Calvin Henry, president o f Ore gon’s assembly for Black A ffairs, said, “ (The exclusion o f Africa) shows where the heads o f the people are; some steps should be taken to include African studies into the program ." He added that public education is paramount to a free society. According to Dr. Joseph Blumel. president o f PSU, a committee is being developed to determine whether or not A frica should be included in the International Studies Program The purpose o f the committee, he said, "Is to look at what resources we have (and if there aren't enough re sources available) to look at how much it would take to get it (the A fri can segment o f the program) going.” Blumel said the committee will be gin working this spring quarter. He added that he hasn’ t appointed any one to the committee because he is still waiting for recommendations. So, as the saying goes: the ball is in their court: "W e are going to be com mitteed to death." But, Calvin Henry maintains “ ac countability” is the key thing He emphasized that we (Blacks) are not consistently out there pushing our needs; and that most definitely we need to sell our needs to the rest o f the country. Henry believes that strong com mitment is needed He maintains that the legislature meets in Salem and that's where lobbying should take place. (Someone else suggested in the March 27th edition o f the Observer that Blacks need to “ mainstream .” ) "A fric a is very important to the well-being o f the United Stales,” Henry insisted. And without a doubt, A frica and Black Studies are impor- tant to PSU. Portland Observer ill Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association *1 », a’•'!*» */ The Portland O b t t r r t r fU S P S 959 M O l is published «vary Thursday by Ewie Publishing Company. Inc.. 2201 North Killing* worth. Portland, Oregon 97217, Pott Office B om 3137. Portland, Oregon 97208 Sacond claea poeteje pard at Portland Oregon Subscriptions: »15 00 par yaer in the Hi-County area Post m a tte r Send addrett change* to tha Portlend Observer. P 0 MEMBER 283 2486 B om 3,37. Portland. Oregon 97208 AMoeJaMon - Founded 1MS A lfre d L. Henderson. E d itor/P ublisher A l Williams, G e le ra i Manager r PORTWND OBSERVER National Advertising Representative Am algam ated Publisher*. Inc N aw York » 1 5 ,or one veei »25 tor two years B om 3,37 PortlanrIOR 97208 i i m T Sneer ClTV Apt state ZIP Z X < 5 z □ O t ; 5 * L— ~j X, m V) CZ) “S H X * o -4 > 33 tí ~ College education: For the rich only? A long I he C o lo r Line by Dr. M anning Marable Perhaps the best index o f social inequality is the accessibility o f higher education to people o f color in the United Stales. After his reelection. President Reagan proposed the elim ination o f student loans from families earning above S32.5OO per year, and an annual ceiling o f for federal loans to all eligible students. This ef fort is yet another indication o f how far we have declined from the popular consensus o f two decades ago con cerning the necessity o f providing access io higher education to all. Desegregation campaigns o f the I96fh forced white public and p ri vate academic institutions to permit the enrollment o f Black students for the first time. The numbers o f Black faculty, administrators and students also increased dramatically at white schools in the North and West. Such gains were not simply the product o f the demise o f Jim Crows, but occurred due to expanded federal financial loans to low and moderate income students. Philanthropic agencies, pressured by the Civil Rights and Black Power movements, belatedly provid ed millions o f dollars in grants and scholarships to Black students. Since the late 1970s, with the national re treat from the "Second Reconstruc tio n ," the pressure to accelerate Black educational opportunities was re tarded. and during Reagan's tenure the tide has been reversed The per centage o f Black high school seniors going directly into four year colleges has fallen sharply. The latest trend on campuses, the shocking increases in tuition fees, will also have a direct impact on m i nority education. At a time when inflation has cixiled o ff for several years, college costs continue to climb The Ivy I eague schools lead the way. Princeton University’s overall costs fo r tuition, room and board w ill be $14,940 next fall;Yale University, $15,020; Brown University, $14,765; Dartmouth College, $14.860 Other elite, private institutions are charging roughly the same fees, if not more. This year’ s tuition and fees at the Massachusetts Institute o f Technolo gy cost a staggering $16,130. Wes leyan University in Connecticut plans to increase student charges next year by 8.5 percent, to $14,440; Stanford University is hiking fees 7.5 percent, t o $14,893; St. Lawrence students will face costs o f $15,376, an increase o f 7 percent. Higher tuition costs arc less severe for state supported institutions, but nevertheless remain quite sleep. The University o f Connecticut at Storrs, for example, plans to increase in-slate charges to $4,226, and out- of-state fees w ill go up to $6,776 The costs o f attending a public college in the U.S. now average $5,000, and private college average costs slightly exceed $9,000. Since 1980, college costs have been higher than the over all rate o f inflation by 21 percent at public schools and 29 percent at pri vate scflools. Not surprisingly, a debate has en sued over the high costs o f higher edu cation. The median while fam ily in come at about $28,000 annually can't provide the $60,000 needed to get one studenty through Stanford. Yale or Princeton. And given that the Black median family income is below $15,000, most Black households can't even come up with the tuition, room and board lees at most state colleges. Only the upper classes can a fford to finance for their children the best education money can buy. Conservatives who retain a barely concealed contempt for "liberal arts" and the principle o f educational op portunity for all are now advocating the application o f "Reaganomics” to resolve the college crisis. Instead o f increasing federal student aid pro grams, conservatives urge colleges to tighten their collective belts and to lower costs. Journalist Tim othy Noah, writing recently in the New York Times, suggested that profes sors’ salaries should be frozen " fo r a year or tw o to bring college costs in line” ; that the number o f classroom teaching hours per professor should be doubled; and that the administrat- tive costs be slashed " t o a more rea sonable level by firing the more super fluous assistant deans.” College ad ministrators counter that faculty salaries actually fell 19 percent be tween 1970 and 1980, and to call fo r a pay freeze would drive many re searchers and teachers out o f the pro fession, especially in the natural sci ences. Many universities are spending millions o f dollars to improve their computer programs and libraries; others have been forced to compen sate fo r reductions in federal funds. Top college administrators’ salaries are also usually well below those o f chief executive officers o f firms which have comparable budgets. So the solution is not massive cost-cutting. The only realistic strategy would be first, to expand federal student loan programs at low or no interest rates to all prospective students. Federal in vestments in "hum an capital" yield long-term dividends, in the form o f higher taxes and productivity. Sec ond, new federal programs which guarantee funds based on need should be developed for households earning less than $20,000. Third, political pressure must be applied to colleges to maintain tough affirm ative action goals in the recruitment and reten tion o f m inority and women student», faculty and staff. I f such measures aren’t taken, the percentage o f Black and la tin o students who complete four year programs at universities will fall sharply before the 1990s. A cuj lege education should not be for the rich alone. Dr. Manning Marable teaches p o litical sociology at Colgate University, Hamilton, New York. "'Along the Color I m e " appears m over HO news papers internationally. Letters to the Editor The Observer welcomes letters to the e d ito r. Letters sh o u ld be typed o r neatly printed and signed with the a u th o r's name and address (a d dresses are n o t p ublished). We re serve the right Io edit f o r length. M a il to : P o rtla n d O bserver, P. O. Box 3137, Portland, OB 9720H Stop unfair bank practices The Portland Observer w at estat». ned m 1970 OH w t CENûVt THAT AS PACT OF THE OPERATO*/ MJRAT ABOUT THE PATIENT'S P P J V K -Ÿ ? To the Editor, An unfair banking practice exists in Oregon. It is called the "bank float" and under it, a bank can put a hold on a deposited check and not allow the customer access to those funds for a certain period o f lime. Sometimes this hold can be too long and I think this is not only unfair but it is an in convenience for students, senKH citizens, and other fixed income citi zens. I am a college student and I had trouble with my bank at the beginning o f last term. I deposited a check into my account and was told there would be a 14-day hold on it. I waited 14 days before writing any checks on that money but my checks still bounced because the hold had been extended without notifying me. I was spared from paying late fines for my tuition only through the generosity o f triends I can see where other people may have trouble paying bills, etc., when holds arc placed. This is particularly un fair since the banks have use o f the money one or two days after deposit. I have heard of a bill that would solve the problem o f hank customers being inconvenienced. The bill, being supported by the Oregon Stale Public Interest Research Group (OSPIRG), would set reasonable hold periods for Oregon banks. Although many bank ers contend that check-holding and long float periods are not a problem in Oregon, I know several people who have had problems similar to mine. I urge anyone who has had prob lems with a bank, savings and loan, or credit union holding your checks for lengthy periods o f lime (i.e., over a week) IO write lo OSPIRG at 027 SW A rthur St., Portland 97201, so they can show legislators that there is indeed a problem. Is the bank float a problem in Ore gon? We know best. JE N N Y P O L A K O V McKenna: "Thanks' To the Editor, I want to express my deep appreci ation and thanks to The Observer and Mr. Jernigan fo r the recent awards bestowed upon me and three o f my players. Belive me, it is an honor to be the recipient o f The Observer's "Coach o f the Year” award. The Observer is a paper I read regularly, use in my classes at Grant and is a paper whose integrity I respect. It means a lot that our efforts at Grant are recognized by a vital part o f the community we try to serve. I gratefully acknowledge and accept the award in the name ol my players and my two fine assistants, Ms. Brenda Skinner and M r. Jefl Gamble. 1 also want to acknowledge the work o f M r. Jernigan. His coverage o f the P .I.L . and, in particular, ot women's basketball has been great and offers encouragement to young women who often work at and play sports in anonymity. T O M M cK E N N A Women's Basketball Coach Grant H.S.
