Page?, Portland Observer, February 112 1987
Early Semesters:
EDITORIAL/COMMENTARY
M ore Than A Schedule Change
Racism in "Amerika"
by W illia m E Davis
I W.lliam E D avit it Cbarxettor of Iba Oregon S tale System of Htgltar
Education |
By M ichael S im m o ns, C o o rd in a to r
East W est P rogram
W e 'v e heard a lo t in recent years ab o u t "zero based
b u d g e tin g "
It is supposed to be be tte r because it
creates a b u d g e t fro m th e g ro u n d up, rather than m ere
ly ta kin g last year's b u d g e t and adding to it
In O regon, w e w ill be ad ap ting tha t idea to reb uilding
th e courses and cu rric u lu m o f seven o f our state
sup po rte d, fou r year colleges and universities
This w ill be a sig n ifica n t adder! benefit to a recent
decision o f the O regon S tate Board o f Higher E ducation
to m ove its academ ic calendar fro m quarters to semes
ters
In revising the calendar, and in reducing the num ber
o f courses by at least a th ird , every professor, every
de p a rtm e n t and every cam pus w ill take a th o ro u g h
look at w h a t the y are tea chin g and w hy
It w ill tie the first tim e this has been done, statew ide ,
in the 55 year h isto ry o f the O regon S tate S ystem of
H igher E ducation
The s w itc h to the so called early sem ester system
is sig n ifica n t fo r oth er reasons, as w ell It w ill im p rove
the q u a lity o f ed u ca tio n that ou r sons and da ughters
receive
Under the ne w system , be ginning fall 1990. first
sem ester classes w ill begin aro un d Labor D.iy and con
elude in m id D ecem ber
The second sem ester w ill
Iregm in m id Jan ua ry and run u n til m id M ay I W ith the
e xistin g calendar, classes begin in late S eptem ber and
end in m id Ju n e )
The be n e fits to stu d e n ts
fin a n cia l are nu m ero us
C onsider:
b o th
• Because stud ents w ill en roll for tw o sem esters
rather than three term s, they w ill bu y bo o ks o n ly tw ic e
a year instead o , three tim es I M ost colleg e te x tb o o k s
n o w are w ritte n fo r sem ester lo n g classes, so stu d e n ts
in quarter classes typ ica lly are assigned o n ly part o f the
book )
It is clear fro m the b e g in n in g th a t A m e n k a " is anti
co m m u n ist A B C T V s ne w m in i series takes th e com
p le n tie s o f East W est relatio ns and reduces them to the
sim p licities o f a sh o o t em up w e ste rn
" A m e n k a " is
u ltim a te ly an ad for m ore nuclear arm s and fo re ig n inter
ven tion
• S tu d e n ts, by fin ish in g classes in m id M ay instead
o f m id June, w ill have a b e tte r cha nce o f fin d in g sum
mer jobs
the U N insignia on its u n ifo rm s This p o litic a l assault
on th e U n ite d N a tio n s is surely no accident It is Stan
dard fare fro m the far R ight to characterize th e U n ite d
N a tion s as a S o vie t d o m in a te d co lle ctio n o f in sig n ifi
cant T hird W o rld N a tion s o u t to
get
th e U n ited
S tates and other g o o d , w h ite cou ntrie s
But if the anti C o m m u n ism and a n ti S o vie tism are
clu m sily o ve rt, the racism o f A m en ka is m ore subtle
and d istu rb in g
W h ile there are som e o b lig a to ry Black characters,
n o ne o f the m play m a|or roles In som e c ro w d scenes,
there appear to be no p e op le o f color at all No T hird
W o rld w o m a n appears in the m in i series
W h a t hap
pened to the rich d ive rsity o f peoples and cu ltu re s in
our co u n try? Perhaps o n ly w h ite pe op le stayed on to
m o u rn tfie fall of dem ocra cy?
Now
A m enka im p lie s that the U n ited N ations is
a ctu ally a fifth c o lu m n w a itin g to do the b id d in g of
the S oviet U nion in d e stro yin g the U n ited S ta te s' This
ch a ra cte riza tio n o f the U n ited N ations is n o t sim p ly
a n ti in te rn a tio n a list, it is also racist
W ith A frican Asian and Hispanic o ccu p a tio n tro o p s
repressing the g o o d A m ericans, rap in g and a tta c k in g in
(black! tanks and he lico pters, the U n ited S tates is de
p icte d as a last b a stio n o f de m ocra cy and. im p lic itly
o f g o o d , clean w h ite values
The o ccu p yin g forces
becom e a m e ta p h o r for the w aves o t poor. T hird W o rld
im m ig ra n ts w h o co m e to the U n ite d S tates and "threat
e n " the A m erican m id d le class
The non w h ite races
w h ic h , in the racist . view becom e c o m m u n ists and
m u ltip ly outside o f A m erica s borders, no w collab ora te
w ith the S oviets in order to revenge them selves on
A m e rica
w ealth and exclusive im m ig ra tio n policies
• F aculty m em bers w h o n o w have as little as a week
to prepare be tw ee n term s, w ill have m ore tim e to plan
and revise their courses
• O regon schools w ho*.........
n o w I iir iliiim s
w ith on ly a qu arter o f the n a tio n 's colleges and univer
sities, w ill ,oin 54 percent of higher e d u ca tio n in s titu
lio n s e n rollin g 65 pe rcen t o f U S stu d e n ts using the
early sem ester system
The revised calendar w ill a ffe c t O regon S tate Uni
versity, P ortla nd S tate U n iversity, the U n iversity o f
O regon, th e three regional colleges in A shlan d. La
G rande and M o n m o u th , and O regon In s titu te o f Tet h
n o lo g y in K lam ath Falls, the on ly u n a ffe c te d pro gra m s
w ill be those at P ortla nd s O regon H e alth Sciences
U n iv e rs ity tti.it o p e ra te on a year ro u n d sche du le and
the UO law scho ol, w h ic h ad op te d early sem esters in
1972
In m aking the tra n sitio n , w e w ill w o rk closely w ith
fa c u lty m em bers and stud ents on the cam puses as w ell
as w ith other inte rested gro up s sta te w id e
A num ber o f O regon c o m m u n ity colleg e presidents
have to ld us they also favor the early sem ester system
W e w ill w o rk not o n ly w ith them , but also w ith p u b lic
e d uca tion al and
• Q uality o f in s tru c tio n w ill be streng then ed tiecause
stu d e n ts w ill be exposed to courses longer 15 weeks
in ste ad o f o n ly ,0 weeks This m eans stud ents, having
m o re tim e fo r library research and w ritin g protects,
w ill learn in greater depth
sch o o l o ffic ia ls to ensure th a t the change is as o rd erly
as possible
Even as w e alter the academ ic calendar w e w ill con
tinu e to be sensitive to the needs o , stud ents w h o w ill
b e n e fit fro m takin g som e c ourses o f shorter le ng th
For stud ents, for taxpayers, and for q u a lity educa
tion , the early sem ester system w ill deliver b e n e fits far
be yon d m erely revising the academ ic c alendar
• S tu d e n ts w ill b e n e fit fro m added in stru ctio n a l tim e
re su ltin g fro m the e lim in a tio n of one cycle of class re
gistra tio n s. one "d e a d week and one final exam week
• C am pus ad m in istra tive costs w ill be reduced be
cause one re g istra tio n cycle w ill be elim inated
The m o st deeply racist ove rto ne s appear in th e depic
hon of the occupation forces, ho w e ver
Instead o f
using tier o w n boys M o th e r Russia relies on surrogates
for the d irty w o rk o f o c c u p y in g and repressing the Uni
ter) States, n o ta b ly A frica n s. Asians and Hispanics
These tro o p s m ake up the
U n ited N ations Special
Service U n its
w h ic h e n fo rce the o ccu p a tio n under
Soviet d ire ctio n
The vie w er p re su m a b ly is to assum e that these tro o p s
c om e fro m A ng ola, V ie tn am Cuba N k aragua and
other S oviet '< lien, states
The im p lic a tio n is that
these n a tio n s possess no a u to n o m y and w ill |u m p at
S o vie t co m m a n d s
This fits w ith the Reagan d o c trin e
tha t T hird W o rld co u n trie s w h ich oppose U S p o licy
are sim ply p a w n s o f th e S oviet U n ion
(The ob vio u s
so lu tio n is aid to b o g u s freed om fig h te rs in Nn ara
qua A n g o la and K am p uch ea I
In A m en ka
th e Russians are bad. but th e y' e bad
in a civilize d' w ay The o c c u p a tio n arm y, o n the oth er
hand, sho w s no evide nce o f m o ra lity at all
In one
scene m th e scrip t th e (w h ite ) sister o f the hero des
cubes being raped tiy several o c c u p a tio n soldiers
Blac k Asian and H ispanic
A m en ka re in fo rce s the
c o m m o n stereo type ttia t w h ite w o m e n are in co n sta n t
(fancier o t r.ipe tiy T hird W o rld m en
A n o th e r tru ly lu d ic ro u s aspec t o f th e story is th a t the
arm y o f o c c u p a tio n is a U n ite d N a tio n s fo rce w earing
Point and Counterpoint
H ittin g our screens in a p o litic a l atm osphere ty p ifie d
by cu ts in pro gra m s for the poor enorm ous increases
in arm s and m ilita ry bu dg ets, and the de stabiliza tion of
g o ve rn m e n ts in A n g o la and Nicaragua. A m e n k a " ad
vances the id eo log ica l agenda o f the far Right
Of
course it does so in a sugar coa ted form , A BC insists
this is Jus, e n te rta in m e n t.
A ll o f th is com es at a tim e w hen racist violence (such
as th a t in H ow ard Beach and sou thw e st P hiladelphia!
and rat ist p a ra m ilita ry o rg an izatio ns are g ro w in g w ith in
the U n ite d S tates
A m e n ka ' neatly feeds this dom e
Stic racism
A t the same tim e, it also lends resp ectab ility to a
w o rld view w h ich suggests that indig en ou s challenges
to U S foreign po licies in the Third W o rld are all in
spired and directed by M o sco w
tim a te
and hence are illegi
A m en ka s vision o f bo th A m erica and the w o rld
is thu s fa ta lly flaw ed and deeply racist It is not "e n te r
tam ing
by B e tty Harris Garner
Local c o m m u n ity w o rker and educator. B e tty Garner,
w rite s a ne w co lu m n for P ortla nd Observer readers
The co lu m n is to e n lig hten the c o m m u n ity on various
A n n e tte stated tha t she h.is alw ays been in vo lve d
w ith p ro m o tin g the c o m m u n ity
M y first adverture
was the fo u n d in g o f the "R o se C ity C o nn ection
fro m
w h ic h I resigned in O ctober 1985
I started g e ttin g
in vo lve d
w ith
my
local
n e ig h b o rh o o d
g ro u p
IS I.H N A ) . I (eel th a t the issues o f dru gs, educ a lio n
people, events, and o p p o rtu n itie s th a t a ffe ct ou r city
This p a rticular co lu m n is de voted to the
“ SAY NO TO DRUG S”
Com m unity Campaign
etc . w as m ore im p o rta n t This is w h ere I c an prepare .«
our y o u th for scholarship pro gra m s
Local c o m m u n ity residents and S I.H N A (S abin
Irvin g to n H e igh ts N e ig h b o rh o o d A ssociatio n) are |oin
m g hands on February 14, ,987 to " S A Y NO TO
D R U G S " by h o ld in g a Lipsing event
T his event is
spearheaded by A n n e tte Petett For m ore in fo rm a tio n
a tio u t tim e and place for this event, call 287 9825
I u n d e r s ta n d t h a t th e M o t o w n L ip s in g e v e n t
s c h e d u le d f o r F e b ru a ry 14 1987 is b e in g h o s te d b y
t w o M C s. o n e o f w h ic h is P a ts y B a in e A n d r e w s
C a n y o u te ll m e w h e th e r o r n o t sh e is a p r o fe s
s io n a l m o d e l a n d d o e s sh e h a v e her o w n a g e n c y ?
Our c o m m u n ity , w ith in the last five years, has been
face d w ith a da ng erou s in flu c tu a tio n o f undesirable
ha b its
These ha b its have bean handed d o w n to our
y o u th w h o w ill becom e the fu tu re o f to m o rro w
Our
c ity , P ortla nd , is n o w faced w ith a drug p ro blem that
has ve n tu re d in to ou r ne ig h b o rh o o d s and in to our
schools
It has com e closet and closet to e lim in atin g
the g o o d fa m ily b a ckg ro u n d th a t O regon w as once
k n o w n for
Patsy A n d re w Baines is a pro fe ssio nal m od el
In an
in te rv ie w w ith Patsy, she to ld me the fo llo w in g
I
started o u t m o d e lin g as a ch ild at Lipm an b W o lfe Co
in P ortland, O regon This w as th ro u g h G loria LaVonne
M o d e lin g A g e n cy
From there I w e nt to Jo h n Robert
Pow ers for a m ore pro fe ssio nal experience and w o n
various na tion al and in te rn a tio n a l titles Yes. I do have
a m o d e lin g co m p a n y
It's caller) "T Bone Produc
tio n s ." You can c o n ta c t Patsy th ro u g h Jo h n Robert
Pow ers A gency
Y ou ng a d u lts have m ig rated to our C ity fro m Cali
form a and have in fe cte d our yo u th w ith ch o co la te
dream s, w e ap ons, and general m isco n d u ct Our police
are aw are o f th e situ a tio n , and the y are d o in g the best
th e y can to stay on to p o f the situ a tio n It is a trem en
do us shock!
It is tim e tha t w e all |Oin hands and say " N O " Drugs
and irre puta ble behavior m ust go .
If you k n o w o f
a n yo n e w h o is ab u sin g the m se lve s a n d /o r a tte m p tin g
to get som eone in volve d illegally, it is your d u ty as a
citize n to get in vo lve d
D o n 't w a it u n til it hits your
h o m e P rotect our c ity and y o u th Call you local a u th o
nties im m e dia te ly!
M a r v in M im s a n d L o y c e T im a re t w o c o n te s
ta n ts in th e L ip s in g R e v ie w
H o w d id th e y e a c h
g e t s ta r te d ?
Loyce Tim , o rig in a lly fro m Florida, w ill be im ita tin g
A reth a Franklin She began her Lipsin ging stardo m at
G eneva's. fo rm e rly a n ig h tc lu b in N o rth ea st P ortland
M arvin M im s is g o in g to p o rtra y M id n ig h t Star M im s
like M s T im 's, w a n ts to be a singer "T h e rave is Lip
sing I love to sing, so I decided to do w h a t ever there
is a dem and for
M arvin is 21 years o f age, so let s
look for him in the near fu tu re
G ood luck to b o th o f
you'
H o w did A nn ette P etett get involved w ith the
local version of a M o to w n Lipsing Review? It's
my understanding that she is coordinating the
event.
Next wnak Community Ix a ilr ii
oui rtMdxrx are wnti
In write
in with a question
M abe sure you send a sxlt addressed stamped
onyelo(>e should you wish a confidential ie|«ly
by B a rry
n
E c o n o m ic L ib e rty
a n d th e C o n s titu tio n
s,eci.
In a 1905 dei ision IL o c h n e t v N ew York) the U S
S uprem e C ourt invalid,Heel a N ew York law th .it im
posed a m a xim u m ,0 hour w o rkd a y for w o rke rs in ba
kenes and confer tion an es The c o u rt m a ,o rity asser
ted that the la w im p ro p e rly in voke d the state s p o lil e
(tow er (pow er to p ro te c t the he alth safety and w elfare
of th e p o p u la tio n ) to de prive em ployees and em ployers
of then rig h t to enter freely in to t ontrac t and in so d o in g
vio late d the 14th A m e n d m e n t of the U S C o n s titu tio n
whn h says that a state t an no t deprive any p i'is n n of
life lib e rty or p ro p e rty w ith o u t due proc ess of law
By tfie 5th A m e n d m e n t the due proc ess c lause also
applies to the U S C ongtess
The m ,i|o n ty o p in io n in Lot finer fias not survived
Sine e the m id 1930 s the c o u rts have appro ved state
and federal legislation th a t res,ne ts the econom ic liber
ties o f in d ivid u a ls in a variety o l w ays S uch le gislatio n
includes, but is not lim ite d to e n a ctm e n ts th a t regulate
w a ge s and pot es tfi.it lim it w o rk in g hours tha , resine t
e n try in to certain businesses and o ccu p a tio n s, ttia t pre
vent the sale of certain g o o d s or service to foreign ers
tha t p ro h ib it fo re ig n in ve stm e n ts in certain co u n trie s
that force farm ers to lim it produc lio n that restnc , the
use o f real p ro p e rty, and tha t take the private pro
p e rly o f som e in dividu als in order to con vey it to other
in dividu als
Challenges to such le gislatio n have com e to na ug ht
because the co u rts have in te rp re te d generously the
po lice p o w e r o f the states a n d the c o n s titu tio n a l po w e r
o f Congress to re g ulate in te rsta te and fo re ig n corn
m erce
In m ost instances the co u rts w ill n o t su b sti
to te their lo d g e m e n t for tha t o f a legislative body it
is en ou gh for a state or local g o ve rn m e n t sim p ly to de
Clare th a t a law is in th e in te rest o f the he alth and w el
fare o f its citizens, or fo r Congress to assert th a t an
a c tiv ity a ffe c ts in te rsta te or fo re ig n com m e rce, for tfie
la w to pass c o n s titu tio n a l m uster
G ove rn m en t in te rfe re n ce s w ith or d e p riva tio n s o f
in d ivid u a l eco n o m ic libertie s are at od ds w ith the n o tio n
o f a free m arket e co n o m y
But m o d e rn co u rts have
fo llo w e d the lead o f J u s tic e O liver W e nd ell H o lm es in
his dissent in the Lochner case w h en he declared tha t
the C o n s titu tio n w as n o t in te nd ed to em b o d y a p a rti
Support Our Advertisers!
Say you saw it in the
cular e co n o m ic th e o ry, w h e th e r o f p a terna lism and the
org an ic relation o f the in d ivid u a l to the state, or o f lais
sezfaire W ith due respect for the great H olm es. I beg
to disagree
Portland Observer!
B ritish eco n o m ic re g u la tio n o f the colon ies w as in
large m easure the cause o f the A m e rica n re vo lu tio n
M ore ove r, th e C o n s titu tio n w as w ritte n in an intellec
tual atm osp he re charged w ith the free m arke t ideas o t
A dam s S m ith s "W e a lth o f N a tio n s ", pu b lish e d in ,776
The C o n s titu tio n w as designed to lim it th e govern
r
m e n t's p o w e r over the pe op le and to a vo id c o n ce n tra
PORTWND OBSERNER
■ B 0 < e g .>
■
L
■ *
New
liter
Publ shers
Assn, ih o n
M
w h ic h lim its g o ve rn m e n ta l searc ties and seizures, in the
due process clauses o f the F ifth and Fourteenth
A m e n d m e n ts and in the F ifth A m e n d m e n t w h ich ex
pin illy p ro h ib its g o ve rn m e n t takin g o f private p ro p e rty
for public use w ith o u t jus, com p en sation
Firs, A m e n d m e n t prohibitions against g o ve rn m e n t
a b rid gin g freedom o f speech and the press, or o f the
right o f people to peaceably assem ble and p e titio n the
g o ve rn m e n t for redress o , grievances, are as im p o rta n t
for ei o n o m ic as for politic ,il freed om s Taken tog ether
w ith the e xp lii it references to p ro p e rty rig hts and w ith
the general fra m e w o rk o f go vern m ent set fo rth in the
C o n s titu tio n it is hard to believe that its w rite rs had
any o t h e r vision than a f r e e society and free eco no m y
in w h it h in dividu als are free to associate, c o n tra c t and
use their p ro p e rty la w fu lly w ith in the fram ew ork o f a
lim ite d go ve rn m e n t
This liberta rian vision has no, been fu lfille d
Apt
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g o ve rn m e n t w ill use th e p o w e rs it has been given by
the c o u rts to fu rth e r im pede our eco no m ic freed om s or.
instead, to refrain fro m using those po w e rs in order to
co n tin u e w ith the process o f d e reg ula tion tha , has be
gun under Presidents Carter and Reagan
Siegel is professor o f e co n o m ics at the U n iversity o f
O regon
Portland Observer
Th* TSurtaad rvicxrsw (USPS 9 » 9Bt)i n i« c * V w i »van, ,
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Xiaooarron ■ Eoundatf IM S
Legis
lators backed by c o u rt decisions, have au thorized mas
sive in tru sio n s in to p rivate eco no m ic affairs and have
de prived p rivate in d ivid u a ls o f their p ro p e rty and their
freedom to c o n tra c t
D o cu m e n tin g the process by
w h ic h this state o , a ffa irs has com e a tio u , w o u ld take
far m ore space than is available hen? The b o tto m line,
ho w e ver, is th a t w e have in fact b u t no, in w o rds, a
far d iffe re n t C o n s titu tio n than we had 200, 100, or even
50 years ago
R e gu latio n has by no m eans destro yed eco no m ic
freed om s in the U n ited S tates
Free and c o m p e titiv e
m arkets exist in m any p ro d u c ts and services The im
p o rta n ce o f such m a rke ts for our eco no m ic develop
m en, is s h o w n by th e explosive g ro w th o f high tech
in d u strie s and the rapid exp an sion o f air travel and
fina ncial services tha, has resulted fro m dereg ula tion
M oreover the spur o f fo re ig n c o m p e titio n is fo rcin g
m any o f our tra d itio n a l in du stries to m odernize
The pra ctica l q u e stio n fa cin g the na tion is w h e th e r
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lio n o f po w e r by dispe rsing it over the Presidency, the
Congress and the C o urts
The p ro visio n s o f the C o n s titu tio n that bear m ost
d ire c tly u p on econom ic liberties are in A rticle 1 Sec
lio n 9 and 10 that p ro h ib it Congress and the states fro m
passing ex post fa c to law s in A rticle 1, S ection 10 th a ,
p ro h ib its s t a t e s fro m passing any " aw im p arin g the
o b lig a tio n o f co n tra st
in the F ourth A m e n d m e n t,
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a . M ..
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H iilium s, G enera! M anager
288 0033
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