Fashions Show
Held
Memorial
Poem
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PORTMND OBSERVER
Volume XV, Number 35
July 3,1985
25c Copy
Two Sections
I u»»< ■»«•<•»
Abuse Among
Children
•One out o f every len hoys and one
out o f every four girls are sexually
abused before the age of sixteen
• Between 80 and 85 percent of
young sexual abuse victim s were
abused by someone they know
a
friend or relative o f the fam ily, tor
example
•O ne-third o f adult abusers were
victimized when they were children
•90 percent o f sexual abusers are
men.
• In 15 stales teachers are legally
mandated to report any suspected
sexual and physical abuse or child
neglect.
• 1.8 million children in the United
Stales are currently missing
•There are 7 m illion “ latchkey"
children in this country
youngsters
who go home to empty houses each
day and are easy targets lor abduction
or abuse.
These are just a few ol the lacts
about child abduction and abuse,
Guatemala Elections Coming Soon
By Robert Lothian
Guatemala hasn’t been making
the headlines lately despite continu
ing repression o f a popular insur
gency there.
But with civilian elections coming
up in November, Guatemala will
soon be in the headlines with Nica
ragua and El Salvador, Central
America expert M ilton Jamail said
in Portland last week.
Jamail, a professor at the Univer
sity o f Texas and co-author o f Gar
rison Guatemala, is teaching a sum
mer course on Central American
film and politics at Portland State.
He has visited Guatemala 10 times.
"Election is the magic word in
Guatemala." said Jamail. Truly
free elections could usher in a period
o f democracy, but unfortunately,
that is not likely given Guatemala's
history, he said.
In 1954, a popularly elected presi
dent was toppled in a CIA-sup
ported coup . In the 30 years since
then, the popular movement tor
democracy has been continually
suppressed, elections rigged, and
opposition leaders assassinated by
the hundreds. As many as 175,000
Guatemalans have died in violent
rounds o f popular upheaval and
vicious repression since 1954, said
Jamail.
Repression in 1966-68 involved
U.S. green berets and bombings of
U.S. made napalm. Up to 10,000
civilians died at the hands o f the
efficient Guatemalan m ilitary then,
but only 100 guerillas, according to
Jamail.
That episode pales in comparison
with the genocide o f 1981-82, when
an estimated 75,000 Guatemalans,
mainly Indians, died in a scorched
earth campaign. Over 400 villages
were wiped o ff the map and one
m illion Indians displaced out o f the
country's total population o f 7 m il
lion, Jamail said.
In the last few months, leaders o f
a mutual aid group searching for the
disappeared have been assassinated.
“ Looking for the disappeared is in
itself a subversive act,” said Guate
mala's president, according to
Jamail.
" I n short, Guatemala is at w a r,"
and the election could end up a
meaningless exercise under the c ir
cumstances, he said.
An ominous aspect o f the repres
sion is the destruction o f the once
vibrant Indian culture, Jamail said.
Indians are forced to live in model
villages watched over by the m ili
tary. They can’t grow corn, and
they can weave but not wear their
distinctive garments, according to
Jamail.
" I t ’s an attempt to take the cul
ture away because the government
knows the culture is the strength of
the movement."
Incorporation o f the Indians into
the movement for democracy is the
most significant event in Guatemala
Education is It Misunderstood
By Nathaniel Scott
Education, everyone agrees, is
important. In most cases it separates
the have and the have nols. And it
ranks high on the social scale with
law abiding fieople. But there seems
to be a serious misunderstanding
about what constitutes education;
especially among the m ajority o f
Blacks who attend Portland State
University. For some strange reason
they seem to think that all it takes to
become educated is to spend time in
classrooms and listen to the philoso
phy o f different professors.
Most Blacks who attend PSU pro
fess to be students; not knowing
that students are a worthless bunch.
They are not engaged in the chal
lenge o f being or becoming scholars;
that which demands respect in any
and every setting that has to do with
learning.
PSU’s Black professed students
attend classes, take notes, and re
gurgitate on exams and when and if
they graduate, they graduate as BS
or BA clones.
E X A M P LE : Colleen M cElroy, a
Black woman who heads the crea
tive writing department at the Uni
versity o f Washington came to PSU
to share her skills and knowledge.
McElroy writes about Black culture,
Black heritage. Black freedom;
Black love. But most o f her Black
goodness was showered on a white
audience. But I need not apologize
to M cElroy because she undoubted
ly knows this new generation o f
Blacks believe they have always
been free. They believe they are
free now. They believe Blacks have
always had the right to eat where
they want; shop at their leisure, and
look any man in his eyes and call
him a damn lie. They don’t under
stand ( if they have read) The Color
Purple; The Souls O f Black Folk;
Go Tell It On The Mountain; Their
Eyes Were Watching God; Brown
G irl Brown Stone, Native Son; Up
Above My Head, or any o f the other
Black literature that talk about the
Black experience.
Andrew Salkey has written 34
novels; he writes about revolution;
change; end to oppression. And he
too came to PSU. He limped on a
foot minus all five toes and stood in
pain for almost two hours sharing
his beautiful Black soul. He sang
poems for Black people and moaned
sympathy for
Black America;
women, Africans and oppressed
people. But not one o f those self-
proclaimed Black students heard a
word he said; they were busy " r u n
ning it d ow n" and "lo lly gagging"
about nothing.
And then black beautv stormed
PSU with tales o f southern life:
cotton fields and how old folk
(women) weaved tales into patterns
o f love; bringing hope and aspira
tion through the birth o f woman
hood and hacking out trails of learn
ing that talk about traditions and
survival. But they didn’t hear you
either, Joyce Carol Thomas. They
were too busy Linger popping and
talking about jerrie curls; making
believe they are being Black and
scholarly. (PLEASE READ B-CAB
OR AAS when the next issue o f the
African Forum comes out). And to
add insult to injury, those so called
Black students won’t support the
anti-apartheid movement at Port
land State. They are too busy ta lk
ing about "where its a t" and "ch ild
did you hear what old (what’ s his
face) did?”
W eill I ’ll tell you what old what’ s
his face did. He died for your op
portunity to heap shame on his
memory. And in the memory o f
what he stood for, I ’ll match the
sentiments o f those you think are
educating you: O N LY SCHOLARS
ARE RESPECTED. And to be a
scholar means you have to read
books, listen to lectures, visit librar
ies and get involved with the learn
ing process: not rely on the philoso
phy o f professor him or her,
since the Spanish conquest 400 years
ago, Jamail said. Destruction o f
the Indian culture is something the
Spanish couldn't do, hut which
present day dictatorships are at
tempting.
People are organized and aware,
the opposition waits for an opening,
he said. "T h e question is, how do
you overcome the terror. The waves
o f terror are directly in response to
the strength o f the popular move
m ent."
Jamail said he feels energized by
the strength o f popular resistance
when he visits. "Guatemalans are
really amazing at finding new forms
o f resistance."
He described a past election when
voters expressed their dissatisfac
tion by turning in blank or dis
figured ballots amounting to 20 per
cent o f returns. "W hen the winner
o f an election is a blank vote that
really says a lot about the country,"
he said.
New Lottery’«
Oregon Lottery Director, Robert
W. Smith, today announced the
start o f a new "instant w in " ticket
game as the Lottery’s Jackpot Prize
remains unclaimed at $6,839,747.
The colorful tickets for Game
Two, with a new theme o f “ The
Sky's the L im it,” went on sale to
day at 12:01 am, from more than
2,900 Lottery retail outlets state
wide.
Game Two features an "instant
w in” prize o f twice that in Game
One — $10,000. And, like its pre
decessor, Game Two uses the $100
instant win ticket, in pools o f 167,
for entry into the Jackpot Prize pre
liminary drawing frm which 10 con
testants are chosen to spin the Jack
pot Prize Wheel.
The odds o f winning in the 30-
m illion tickets o f Game Two are
much the same as in Game One. In
Game One there was a potential o f
16 pools o f 10 contestants to spin
the Jackpot Prize Wheel; there are
12 in Game Two.
Director Smith also announced
that Game One, with the theme of
"P o t o f G old,” would officially end
Sunday, July 7th. "B u t. there is still
as good a chance now o f winning
one o f those instant win prizes as
when the game started," Smith said.
(Continued on paga 10)
highlighted on '•Protecting Our C hil
d re n ," a hall hour TV special pro
duced h\ the American federation of
I cachets to address the growing
alarm among parents and educators
about these problems.
Because c hildren arc usually too
frightened to disclose abuse, the A H
lists danger signs for parents and
teachers that could indicate trouble:
•a child misses school or is fre
quently tardy.
•a child has unexplained injuries.
•a child is sleepy at school.
•a child is cither very tlinchy c
too clingy.
•a child cries easily.
•a child is destructive or excep
tionally passive
•a child exhibits low sell-esteem,
lo r further inform ation about
"P ro tê t ng < tut < hildren" write
Inside Your Schools. I he AMerican
federation ol Teachers, 555 New
lersey Avenue, NW, Washington,
D.C. 20003.
Neighborhood Improvement
By Robert Lothian
Northeast low income neighbor
hoods arc in the middle of planning
how millions in Federal Housing
and
Community
Development
funds w ill be used Io improve their
communities.
Eliot, Humboldt, Boise, Sabin,
Vernon and King arc the Northeast
neighborhoods that qualify. How
much each w ill receive has not been
determined, but $9 m illion is alio
cated for the entire city, down from
$13 m illion last year, said Peggy
Scolnick, HCD public involvement
coordinator.
Scolnick has been conducting a
series o f meetings with neighbor
hood associations to explain the
process and gather ideas for neigh
borhood improvements. "W e're
trying to encourage broad com
munity in p u t," Scolnick said
Planning should be completed by
the end of 1985 and work started in
July, 1986, she said
HCD funds in the past base been
used for housing rehabilitation,
street paving, installing street lights
at problem intersections, planting
street trees and park improvements
“ I ’ m finding that unemployment,
abandoned housing and trash arc
problems common to all areas,
said Scolnick "A lso , programs lor
youth are needed in all neighbor
hoods.”
The community input process is
important to make sure that neigh
borhood residents agree with im
provements, according to Scolnick
Some HCD funded projects have
received criticism, including the
traffic diverters in Boise neighbor
hood and the Union Avenue im
provement.
Residents are encouraged t< till
out a 7 page H C D neighborhood
opinion survey, said Scolnick.
At a recent Sabin Community
AssiKiation potluck and brainstorm
session, residents put forward doz
ens o f ideas for the HCD funds:
rehabilitation o f commercial build
mgs at 15th and Prescott and be
tween 13th and 15th on Ercmonl,
supervision in Irvington Park, more
street trees, a tool library, upgraded
bus shelters, unplugging street
drains, no more Union Square type
development, and removing aphids
from street trees.
Only a handful of the ideas w ill be
implemented, but together, they
form a picture o f community needs
useful for a long term improvement
plan, said Scolnick.
Oser 200 Sabin houses have been
fixed up with HCD funds in the
form o f Portland Development
(. ommission loans Other successful
HCD projects in Northeast include
the realignment ol 15th Avenue at
Prescott Street, a signal installed at
7th and Alberta, a school crossing
stop light at 15th and Shaver, many
street trees planted, and improve
merits at Irving and Alberta Parks.
Some of the priorities this year
for Sabin arc housing rehabilitation,
removing old cars, neighborhood
clean up and park improvements,
said Don Bount, president o f the
Sabin Community AssiKiation.
" I here is a lot of substandard
housing stock west o f 15th and I ’ m
under the impression that that’s at
least partly responsible for the crime
problems that we have,” said Blount.
l or more inform ation and to fill
out a I K D neighborhood opinion
survey, call Peggy Scolnick at the
Northeast Neighborhood Office,
248-4575.
Urban League Opposed Reynolds
WASHINGTON, D.<
1
National Urban League in testimony
recently before the Senate Judiciary
Committee vigorously opposed the
nomination of W illiam Bradford
Reynolds as AssiKiate Attorney (<cn
CTal o f the United States saying that
he was ’ 'u n fit to hold an office that
would increase his powers and his in
fluence in the government’ s depart
ment most concerned with protecting
and enforcing m inority rights
Speaking for the N U I , John I
Jacob, its present, said the agency's
position was based on M i Reynolds
"record as head ol the Jusn c D e j'm
mem’ ( ivil Rights Division, and on
the extraordinary positions he has
taken " ii kev is.ues affecting the civil
rights it bhn ks, women and other
minorities.”
Mr J acob continued:
" Ih e burden ol the record o f M r
Reynolds' stewardship o l ihe C ivil
Righis Division indicates that he has
presided ovei the weakening o f feder
al civil rights enforcement efforts,
h.i actively impelled efforts to reme
dy civil rights violations, and has
undermined civil rights principles
established by the C ongress and the
Judu la ry ."