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PORTLAND OBSERMER
V o lu m e X V II,
N u m b e r 17
M a rc h 4, 1987
25C
Principal Denies Racial Tensions At Whitaker
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by Jerry Garner
W hitaker doesn't have a racial problem like other schools in the district
We have our share of fights During some of these altercations, students
may use racist remarks Such incidents are infrequent at W hitaker
The above sta'em ent was made by Don Starr principal of Whitaker Mid
die School in Northeast Portland Starr made these com m ents to the Ob
server in regard to recent news stories reporting that racial tensions were
running high at Whitaker
Starr discounter! the rumors about the Feb 5th incident at the school
involving a w hite W hitaker student and tw o Blacks In the incident, the
W hitaker student was beaten by the Black youths aboard a Tri Met bus
Com m enting on the incident, Starr said, "S om e W hitaker students w ho
witnessed the altercation on the bus told me that our student started the
incident after he used racial slurs in conversing w ith the other youths The
tw o Black youths were not from Whitaker
Starr feels that the situation at Whitaker has been blown out of propor
tion by the news media and some groups in the com m unity "T he fact is
that some o f our kids do get involved in fights, but all of the other non
students are causing problems In fact they're com ing here to be specta
tors and just causing the group to be larger than w h.it it needs to b e ," Starr
said
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D on S ta rr. P rin c ip a l a t W h ita k e r M id d le S c h o o l
P h o t o b y R ic h a r d J
B ro w n
As a example of outside instigations at W hitaker, Starr recalls that on the
date of the Tn Met episode Portland School Police cleared away many
non W hitaker students from the campus, including one 19 year old
He
said the reason so many outsiders come to his school is due to the tim e
W hitaker dismisses its students and its location
W e are the only m iddle
school in the city that dismisses our pupils at 3 30 In addition, our location
142nd and K illingsw orthl is a transfer point for many students from other
schools Some of these students, while w aiting for their bus, venture on to
our campus and some start trouble "
Starr was asked if there was any truth to the rumors reported by some
news media that W hitaker students were carrying weapons He replied,
That rumor is untrue Our students do n 't carry weapons in the school.
This rumor started after the Tri Met thing The school police confiscated
some knives, clubs, and tw o plastic toy guns, and nunchankus from some
kids However, the youths were not from Whitaker " Starr said any time
students tiring toy guns into the school, and they're seen by teachers,
they re confiscated and disposed of
Starr said he can assure W hitaker’s parents that their children are safe
during si hool hours
W e provide a secure atm osphere for the student in
an effort to education them W hitaker is the only middle school in the city
at i redded by the Northwest Association of Schools and Colleges
Phillips Applauds Courts Decisions >
The recent U S Supreme Court s decision upholding the rights of |udges
to order employers to tem porarily use strict racial quotas in prom otions as
well as hiring to couter past discim ination against Blacks was priased by
Robert E. Phillips, M ulnom ah County A ffirm ative A ction Officer
The
ruling by the Court reaffirm s its support for the concept of affirm ative
action, and that remedial measures are |ustified to correct past discnmina
tion and imbalances in the work forces " '
A lthough the high court reaffirm ed its support for affirm ative action, the
vote was only 5 4 Phillips was asked to com m ent about the possibility that
in the fu tu re the C ourt could reverse itself in its support for affirm ative
action He replied, "There is chance that President Reagan may have the
opportunity to appoint some new members to the Court before his term
expires However, if this occurs, I do n 't think the revamped Senate Judi
Ciary Committee w ould confirm any appointees w ho are too far to the right
or w ho are insensitive to civil rights "
The Court ruling was based on an Alabama case that was brought before
the Court by the state protesting the decision of a federal district judge s
orders requiring Alabama to prom ote one qualified A frican American troop
er for each w hite state trooper because of Alabam a’s history of discnmina
ting against Black state troopers in hiring and prom otions
A lthough Phillips said the Supreme Court's decision was a victory for
African Americans and other minorities, he feels a recent ruling by the 9th
U S Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco w ill have a far greater im
pact on m inorities in the w orkplace In that case, the 9th Circuit Court ruled
that m inority workers w ho were handicapped by subjective hiring standards
did not have to prove intentional discrim ination. "T h e C ourt's decision is
im portant because it says that subjective or objective testing can be consi
dered discrim inatory if it has a "dispaned im p a ct" on m inorities based on
the result of the te s t," Phillips said
He said neither court rulings will have an im pact on M ultnom ah County
because the county is in compliance w ith federal guidelines for affirm ative
action and equal em ploym ent opportunities
The rulings, however, will put additional pressure on the city o f Portland
The city has been criticized recently for the low numbers of m inorities and
women employees The city is under federal orders to come up w ith an
R o b e rt E P h illip s M u ltn o m a h C o u n ty A ffir m a tiv e A c tio n O ffic e r
affirm ative action plan The city had a plan in the early 70s but repealed it
According to John W oods, the city s personnel director, the city should
Photo by Richard J Brow n
have an affirm ative action plan that meets federal guidelines by lato
sum m er.
Bob Koch: Too New to Rate?
BOB K O C H
N o rth e a s t P o rtla n d is n o t re c e iv in g its fa ir share o f
H o u s in g and C o m m u n ity D e v e lo p m e n t fu n d s ."
P h o to by R ic h a rd J B ro w n
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Calling on the leadership of Northeast Portland to unite in its advocacy
role for econom ic and social development in the area, newly elected City
Commission Bob Koch attem pted to dow nplay the controversy surroun
ding the Beech Street Project by stating, "Once the confusion dies down,
roles will become m uch clearer w hich will enable us to get on w ith this pro
ject and others w hich are planned for N.E. P o rtla n d ."
In the February 23rd interview . Commissioner Koch also challenged small
businesses to continue to play a positive role in the area's future
"O ur
greatest success w ill com e from small businesses across Northeast Port
la n d ," he stated "T hose businesses and com m unity leadership, divided or
not, Black or w hite, are needed if we are going to uplift this com m unity "
"Northeast Portland is not receiving its fair share of Housing and Com
mum ty Development fu n d s ," Koch stated "We need to create new oppor
tumbes and apply for the m axim um dollars available This city is ripe for an
economic infusion w hich could occur w ith in tw o or three years Subse
quently, organizations, groups and neighborhoods need to start planning
now ' The Commissioner said he has asked the Portland Development
Commission to review its budget to determine if there are any funds avail
able that could be shifted to N.E. Portland.
Asked if he w ould be w illing to play a role in helping to resolve the Sabin
N eighborhood co n flict, Koch responded that he was already involved to
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some extent and w ould be w illing to expand his involvem ent if asked
Citing a lack of resources as one of the prim ary reasons for the conflict,
the Commissioner reflected back on previous years, recalling the dollars
available w ith the former Portland M etropolitan Steering Committee
IPM SC) "A s a former board m em berf, I can recall the board sitting dow n
frying to find programs to spend the money on. Now a days, we are trying
to determine w hich programs are going to tie reduced or defunded simply
because the money is not there A divided com m unity cannot com pete for
federal d ollars."
Blaming his recent pension plan fight and disputes w ith Mayor Bud Clark
as contributing factors to the recent low performance rating given City Hall
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leadership by pollsters, Commissioner Koch indicated that after tw o
m onths on the job, he now has the opportunity to concentrate on his role
as Public Utilities Commissioner "N egative public reaction to those pro
blems are understandable. The public has a right to expect better perfor
mances from elected o fficials
Koch described his relationship w ith the
Mayor as "cooperative and im proving ”
The Commissioner pointed out several projects pertaining to water and
sewage disposal scheduled to get underway in N E Portland Contracts
w ill be awarded and w ill involve m inority participation, he announced
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