J u n e 3, 1987, P o rtla n d O b s e rv e r, P a g e
Rising
Dropout Rates
Minority youth are dropping out of high school at disproportionately
high rates across the country. While the dropout rate for white students is
approximately 20 percent nationally, the rate for Black students is estimated
at 35 percent nationally, and reaches 50 percent in urban areas like New
York City. For Latinos and Native Americans, the picture is even grimmer.
Forty-five percent of Latino students and 48 percent of Native Americans
nationally never graduate from high school —nearly double the dropout rate
for Black students and three times the rate of white students. In urban
high schools, the dropout rates soar as high as 85 percent for Native Ameri
cans and ranges from 70 to 80 percent for Puerto Ricans.
The consequences of dropping out, particularly for minority students,
are grave. Statistics indicate that high school dropouts join the ranks of the
jobless, impoverished and imprisoned at disproportionately high rates. For
many, dropping out insures lifetime membership in American's ' under
class." For example:
• The unemployment rate for minority youth dropouts is as high as 65
percent.
• High school dropouts earn about one third less than those who gradu
ate. Sixty-four percent of Black females and 69 percent of Black males
living below the poverty line never completed high school.
• Only 14 percent of males and three percent of females who landed
jobs after leaving school in 1980 worked in skilled positions. The majority
worked as restaurant workers, clerks, factory workers, gas station atten
dants, etc.
• In 1978, the inmates in local jails were high school dropouts (59 per
cent of whites and 63 percent of Blacks), according to Department of Jus
tice statistics.
High minority dropout rates indicate a widespread failure in American
public schools to educate minority youth. According to a report by the
Center for Third World Organizing's Alternative Policy Institute, the reasons
for this failure include the unequal distribution of resources to inner-city,
minority schools, the implementation of practices such as tracking and
competency testing in ways which discriminate against minorities, and new
"excellence" reforms which raise standards without simultaneously increa
sing support for at-risk students.
by POI Thoma» Hatch,
Diat., Portland.
Navy Recruiting
Federal Employees
n f The Y e a r _
"Totally shocked . . . but honored and overjoyed" was the reaction by
Navy Petty Officer First Class Jimi M. Henderson on his recent selection as
Portland's 1987 Federal Employee of the Year in the Military Category.
Petty Officer Henderson was among six federal employees from Oregon
and Washington who were named winners of Federal Employee of the Year
awards by the Portland Federal Executive Board for outstanding job per
formance and community service.
A Navy Career Counselor assigned to Navy Recruiting District, Portland,
Petty Officer Henderson, is the Recruiter-in-Charge of the downtown re
cruiting station, located as 321 S.W. Salmon St.
"I admit that I was surprised when I found out I was nominated in the
first place," related Herderson, "considering all the Navy talent that is as
signed to the Portland area, so you can imagine my disbelief when I was
actually selected. It was highly competitive and the three officers compe
ting with me were exceptionally sharp."
In winning the military award, Petty Officer Henderson was picked over
an Air Force Lieutenant Colonel assigned to the Portland Air National
Guard, an Army Major attached to the Corps of Engineers, and a Coast
Guard Lieutenant.
Petty Officer Henderson feels proud, and rightly so, about this award.
"I've received letters of appreciation before from civilian groups when I was
recruiting down in Culver City, Calif.," he said. "I even got a few from state
congressmen...but I must say that I hold this latest award in the highest
esteem."
Petty Officer Henderson has become somewhat of a celebrity as a result
of his award. Not only is he acknowledged by passers-by, but he was in
vited to speak to youths at a local recreation center, and he will be inter
viewed in an upcoming local TV taik show. He doesn't seem to mind the
limelight, since his sudden fame also gives a big boost to his main jo b -
Navy Recruiting —by increased Navy awareness in the local area.
"M y office has experienced an increase in walk-ins because of the publi
city generated by the award," Henderson stated. "On a few occasions, I
had to refer some young prospects to Navy Recruiting Stations in their local
areas because we couldn't process them in the Portland station. They said
they saw my picture in the paper and they wanted to talk to me about Navy
opportunities.”
Although Petty Officer Henderson was surprised at his selection, his
work performance and community involvement put him right out front in
the competition.
Not only has he received numerous awards for meeting or surpassing
Navy recruiting goals, but was cited as the number one First Class Petty
Officer of 59 recently evaluated at Navy recruiting District, Portland.
Highly active in the local community, Petty Officer Henderson was a
member of the United Negro College Fund Drive last December and cur
rently serves as a Navy-certified drug and alcohol counselor for the Boy
Scouts of America. He also participates in church drug seminars and is a
member of "Youth Hot Line" with two local Portland churches.
The Navy recruiter, originally from Los Angeles, Calif., entered the Navy
Black Colleges
Face
Extinction
The nation's 105 Black colleges have continuously played a crucial role
in making higher education accessible to the Black community. Although
they enroll just 16 percent of Blacks entering college, they graduate 37 per
cent of all the Black students who finish college, primarily as a result of their
better support and counseling services.
Increasing difficulties have beset Black colleges in recent years. A de
clining national student pool coupled with growing competition from pre
dominantly white institutions have pushed the colleges into dire financial
You may be eligible for a waiver of tuition and fees
to any of Oregon's eight public, four-year colleges and
universities.
The State Board of Higher Education recently
approved making annual awards to 146 first-time
freshmen.
The awards will be available to selected Oregon
Blacks, Hispanics and Native-Americans who meet
regular admission standards.
SEVENTH A N N U A L
¡A uction !
The awards
The awards will waive tuition and fees, worth about
$1,500 a year.
The awards are renewable for a total of five years to
students who maintain a 2.0 college GPA, earn at least
36 credit hours annually, and make satisfactory
progress toward a degree. Over a five-year period,
each award is worth more than $7,500.
I $ I
for sc h o lar s
B E N E F IT A U C T IO N D I N N E R
Who is eligible?
CO LLEGE
S C H O L A R S H IP S
FOR
OREGON W OM EN
For Fall 1987,146 awards will be available to
eligible Blacks, Hispanics and Native-Americans.
Students from these minority groups are eligible if
they meet the campus's normal admission standards.
Which campuses?
S U N D A Y , J U N E 14, 1 9 8 7
THE H IL T O N H O T E L
D in n e r :
6 :0 0
O r a l A u c tio n :
7 :0 0
A U C T IO N E E R :
D O N A T IO N :
The awards are available for the eight campuses in
the Oregon State System of Higher Education.The
campuses are:
• Oregon State University, Corvallis;
• Portland State University;
• University of Oregon, Eugene;
• Eastern Oregon State College, La Grande;
• Southern Oregon State College, Ashland;
• Western Oregon State College, Monmouth;
• Oregon Institute o f Technology, Klamath Falls;
• Oregon Health Sciences University, Portland (for
nursing, dental hygiene and medical technology
students entering at sophomores).
D AR C ELLE X V
M U S IC B Y : THE G R A H A M
CRACKERS
$ 2 0 /p e r » o n
(T a x d e d u c t ib le - in c lu d e s w i n e w i t h d i n n e r )
FU R T H E R IN F O R M A T IO N
2 8 4 -5 5 3 2
A
.MERICAN BUSINESS W OMEN'S ASSOCIATION
I
in June 1973 and is an ex-Navy Hospital Corpsman and Boatswain's Mate.
He was designated a Navy Counselor in June 1986 and is on the Navy s
Career Recruiter Force. Petty Officer Hednerson is married to the former
Robin Wilson of Portland. They have three children-M ichella (8), and
five-year-old twins Jimi II and daughter Sparkle.
Awards available for minority students
PO R TLAN D ROSE C H A P TE R 'S
4 :3 0
awards fo r being selected as P ortland's Federal Employee o f Year
(M ilita ry ).
Photo by PH2 C. M eeks. USN
Your key to college?
straits.
Black colleges are also facing legal efforts to 'diversify' the racial com
position of their students, or, as Charles Whitaker, associate editor of
Ebony Magazine, describes it, to "whiten Itheml up.
Tennessee State
University (TSU), for example, is contending with a 1984 federal court set
tlement requiring the school to achieve a goal of 50 percent white enroll
ment. Students at TSU are protesting in opposition to what they see as an
effort by whites to wipe out historically Black colleges. Greg Carr, presi
dent of TSU's student Government Association, describes the situation
this way: "First they bring in white administrators, then they bring in more
white students, then they raise admission standards and the tuition. Be
fore you know it, what was a Black school is gone."
S ile n t A u c tio n :
7
I
Oregon: A quality choice
Oregon's state colleges and universities offer
excellence in scores of disciplines, ranging from
accounting and anthropology to urban affairs and
zoology.
Their national leadership is documented in fields of
study as diverse as Architecture, Business, Education,
Engineering, Forestry, Journalism, Music,
Neuroscience, Oceanography, Surveying.
The campuses themselves range from a large
university in metropolitan Portland to small colleges in
peaceful, non-urban areas, with plenty of exciting
opportunities in between.
Even as freshmen, students have a chance to study
with professors who discovered some of the
knowledge they will be learning. Each campus offers
unique opportunities for learning, discovering and
preparing for a successful future.
Why this award?
The 146 awards were approved (1) to encourage
Oregon's minority high school students to do the hard
work of preparing for college, (2) to increase the
numbers of fully qualified minority students on
Oregon's campuses, and (3) to broaden the cultural
diversity for all students. Minority students selected
to receive the awards will be asked to help the
campuses improve services and support for minority
students as well as meeting with middle school and
high school minority students to talk about college.
How do I apply?
Applications are available from counselors at your
high school, from the Admssions Office on the
campus where you want to enroll, or by writing Office
o f Academic Affairs, P.O. Box 3175, Eugene, Ore.
97403. Applications should be mailed by June 19,
although those mailed after that date will be considered
if awards still are available.