N ews A round T own
Week in History
Picture this: you’re a college stu
dent, on your way to your next class.
Hearing a noise like firecrackers be
hind you, you turn and find some sol
diers pumping you and several school
mates full of bullets...and the soldiers
are American, supposedly always on
“ your” side of the fight...
This is what thirteen students of Kent
State University experienced twenty
years ago this Friday. Two men and
two women never lived to share their
side of this tragedy; another man re
members My fourth as the day America
turned on him and put him in a wheel
chair for the rest of his life.
Five days earlier, Richard Nixon had
induced America’s gasp of shocked war-
honor by approving the incursion of
Cambodia. Public opinion of the war
went from casual approval (stemming
primarily from faith in the president) to
vehement malcontent. Anti-war dem
onstrations sprouted from seeds of moral
concussions. This was the beginning of
separation in the country, between the
government and the citizens, the em
powered and the powerless. Nixon en
couraged this separation, as did many
other public officials in positions of
"The National Guard was a
symbol of their discontent,
representative to them
of the Army"
power. The president upped his secu
rity in a nose-thumbing gesture to the
public.
Any public protests, exercising the
people’s viable Constitutionally-granted
right to assemble and speak peacably,
resulted in unjust police-dispersing or
arrests. At Ohio State University on
April 30, three students demonstrated
in support of more Black students and
teachers, and the discontinuance of mili
taristic research. On May third, the
police sent 75 people (including child
pediatrician Dr. Benjamin Spock) to
jail for holding an outdoor anti-war
prayer session. College students around
the nation editorialized and rallied.
The city of Kent, Ohio (population
27,000-21,000 of which were KSU
students) cut off its beer supply after the
first few days of rioting. When a KSU
riot against the ROTC became violent,
the National Guard stationed troops at
the campus. The student reaction was
clear: the National Guard was a symbol
of their discontent, representative to
them of the army that invaded Cambo
dia.
On Monday, May fourth, 2000 stu
dents planted themselves in protest on
the football field with the National Guard.
The Guardsmen weren’t enveloped by
the awed respect they usually com
manded; more or less, they felt ridi
culed. As Lieutenant Alexander Ste-
vensen, platoon leader of Troop G,
scoffed, “ At the time of the firing, the
crowd was acting like this whole thing
was a circus. The crowd must have
thought that the National Guard was
harmless. They were having fun with
the Guard. The circus was in town.”
In retaliation for making them seem
foolish, the National Guard inflicted
the death penalty on four students, and
wounded nine others.
The Guardsmen should not even have
had loaded weapons. The guidelines
set out by the National Advisory Com
mission on Civil Disorders and the
Department of the Army dictate that
the issuance of loaded wepons to law
enforcement officials is restricted to in
stances in which the resistance is armed,
and the officials must be unable to
control the situation without weaponry.
This clearly was not the situation. Yet,
the 113 Guardsmen wore gas masks,
bore tear-gas launchers, and were armed
with M -l high-powered rifles (deadly
even at two miles).
General Robert Canterbury “ justifies”
the shootings-m ore than 30 rounds of
gunfire—with this explanation: the stu
dents “ threatened the lives of my men.”
Photographs taken by journalism stu
dents reveal that the protesters were
clearly posing no deathly threat. The
Guardsmen, though pursued by students,
should not have panicked (they were
armed with guns; the students were
n ’t!), and they had an escape route
should they have needed to flee.
Sylvester Del Corso, Adjutant Gen
eral of the Ohio National Guard, claimed
that the Guardsmen opened fire be
cause a sniper from a nearby rooftop
shot at them. However, a reporter from
the New York Times, who was at the
scene, said he “ did not see any indica
tion of sniper f ir e , nor was the sound of
any gunfire audible before the Guard
volley.” Gene Wiliams, a member of
the student newspaper staff, said he saw
the troops turn “ in unison, as if re
sponding to acommand...I saw no snip
ers nor did I hear any shots until the line
by Angelique Sanders
of troops turned in unison and opened
fire.” Additionally, the Guard was not
firing into the air as if at a nearby
rooftop; they shot at the students, and
one-fifth of their bullets made their
mark.
Nixon, in his usual political hypoc
risy, altered his opinion in coordination
with public empathy: originally having
called the student dem onstrators
* ’bums” , he did an about-face and said
he hoped that “ this tragic and unfortu
nate incident will strengthen the deter
mination of all the nation’s campuses,
administrators, faculty, and students alike
to stand firmly for the fight which exists
in this country of peaceful dissent...”
Ohio Governor James R hodes-
whom, in coordination with Watergate’s
mastermind Richard Nixon, sent the
National Guard to Kent State in the first
place-also did a 180 and said in a
telegram to (then F.B.I. director) J.
Edgar Hoover, “ Today is the saddest
day I have known as Governor.”
The Kerner Commission, which in
vestigated some 1967 riots the National
Guard was involved in, said the NG has
little militaristic training and no com
bat experience and might easily panic
or misunderstand orders. A former
member of the commission stated:
“ Practically no National Guard force
in the United Stated today is getting
enough training to enable them to pro
vide the quality of performance required
in these tough situations.”
Major General Winston P. Wilson, Jr.
said: “ W e’re deeply concerned any
time a life is lost. Those guys were
given a job of restoring law and order.
That’s what they were called for. They
were doing their job as best as they can
do.” Apparently, shooting and killing
students is the best they can do.
Ironically, the May fifth issue of the
Wall Street Journal, which carried the
story of the KSU incident, also carried
a full page that deemed Ohio the best
location in the nation, and went on the
denote the merits of Ohio, including
education.]
Over 700 colleges closed in sympa
thy with the KSU incident, and many
remained closed for the whole quarter.
Public excitement died down in 1973,
when the U.S. withdrew from Vietnam.
The lesson of governmental power, and
the separation between governing offi
cials and the citizens, is one that should
remain with us on this anniversary of
the Kent State University tragedy.
VO A Receives
Substance Abuse Contract
Volunteers of America Oregon, Inc.
(VOA), a non-profit social service
agency, was awarded a 40-bed alcohol
and drug treatment contract from the
Multnomah County Division of Com
munity Corrections. The contract is the
first to be awarded in response to the
Public Safety Levy approved by voters
last fall.
The 90-day treatment program for
men is scheduled to open by October 1,
1990. It will target sentenced offenders
identified by the courts, probation offi
cers, or presentence investigators.
Offenders will be sentenced to the pro
gram instead of serving prison or jail
terms.
Jim LeBIac, President of VOA, said
the nature of the substance abuse pro
gram with the offender population
mandates a comprehensive approach.
“ This includes holding the offenders
accountable fortheiractions, providing
treatment, and giving them skills to
become productive members of the
community.”
County commissioner Gretchen
Kafoury, who announced the award,
agreed. “ We need to address the fact
that 70-75% of the arrestees in our sys
tem have substance abuse problems.
The goal o f this program is to reduce
their recidivism.”
Each person sentenced to complete
the program will receive a thorough as
sessment and individual trcatmcntplan.
Program activities will occur 7 days a
week. At a minimum, each resident
When was
the Iasi time w u mrt a pute1 who g ,«
out of h e wav io vhetkilr «ntenang .*t the
converoetM* of the cnme « d im ’ d r who pas
Monaleh hdnwe. that « u t o n n g c u t w . the
dnuNe ohertiw of preventing repetition < / the
cnme and bnngiiig restitution io the victim
of the crime’
Such a iik I rc »Judge Michael Marne.
will be scheduled for one hour o f indi
vidual counseling, 15 hours of struc
tured, therapeutic group counseling, and
10 hours of classes or workshops re
lated to education, employment, life
skills, and self-help groups.
Each resident will have a discharge
plan which focuses on housing, em
ployment, and family support. After
completing the program, residents are
expected to continue in weekly group
counseling and support sessions and
drug testing for six months.
“ With the courts and probation offi
cers helping enforce the 90-day stay,”
explained Cary Harkaway, Program
Manager of the Community Correc
tions Division, “ we expect that 70% of
the enrollees will complete the pro
gram and meet the majority of the ob
jectives in their treatment plan.”
VOA currently operates the Wom
ens Residential Center (WRC), a simi
lar program which treats 52 female
felons at a time. In just over two years
of operation, the WRC has assisted ap
proximately 250 women.
Kafoury applauded VOA’s national
reputation for excellence and its dem
onstrated record of achievement. “ The
more we can do to reduce the depend
ence of these offenders on alcohol and
drugs, ’ ’ said Kafoury, * ‘ the more we do
to promote public safety and reduce
crime. I’m grateful to the voters of
Multnomah County for approving this
program.”
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1
Selfishness: The Evil that Destroys
Relationships And Friendships
by Ullysses Tucker, Jr.
Webster’s defines "selfish” as “ too
much concerned with one’s own wel
fare or interest and having little or no
concern for others; self-centered. 2.
showing or prompted by self interest..
When I reflect on the relationships
taken on over the years, they either
worked because there was no selfish
ness involved or failed because one or
both parties were selfish. People can be
very selfish at times or frankly, all the
time. Be it in the work environment, in
relationships, or in their individual life
style. How many times have you (or
know someone) entered into a relation
ship with another person knowing that
it lacked compatibility, spirituality, in
tellectual substance, but dealt with it
anyway?
Examples: You knew that he was
married, but you dated him anyway?
Or, you knew that your feelings for her
were “ zero” , but she had a very nice
body? For whatever reasons, be it sex-
ual/physical attraction, money, or other
materialistic trappings-people can end
up with others for very selfish reasons.
“ Flexing” one’s ego can hurt people,
too, because the other person may care,
feel, or desire the relationship to work.
Did they ever have a chance when the
other person was just killing lime? It is
morally wrong and emotionally abu
sive to consciously hurt or deal with
other humans this way.
When I look at my past behavior, I
am also guilty of the above mentioned
abuses. I can recall being selfish, non
compromising, aloof, unavailable at
times, a jerk, and uncooperative on pur
pose. Why? Because I knew that the
relationship was not going anywhere.
Despite the feelings of the individual, I
did not want the relationship or encoun
ter to work. I totally lacked regard for
that individual’s feelings. Not that I’m
40,000 Toys Recalled
Nationwide
A hazardous toy identified in a re
port from the Oregon State Public Inter
est Research Group has been recalled
nationwide the United States Consumer
Product Safety Commission has an
nounced. The OSPIRG study, “ The
1989 Dangerous Dozen: Unsafe Toys” ,
was released in November 1989.
The recall involves approximately
40,000 toy truck sets manufactured by
Henry Gordy International of Planfield,
N.J. The toy sets, Eggscavators Toy
Trucks, were recalled because they
contain small parts which pose a chok
ing hazard to children under age three.
"M any toy manufacturers pay scant
attention to product safety,” charged
Jon Stubenvoll, OSPIRG’s consumer
advocate and author of the report. “ Year
after year, young children are need
lessly injured and killed by toys which
violate federal standards.”
Toys containing small parts that have
play value for children under age three
are prohibited by federal regulations
from being marketed to this age group.
“ Yet toy manufacturers continue to
recklessly put children at risk from this
choking hazard,” said Stubenvoll.
attempting to justify my behavior, bull
was new to this particular city, lonely,
and knew very few people. The attrac
tion was purely sexual, no question
about it and I pursued the situation with
that mentality.
As mentioned last week, people know
when they think that a permanent mate
is within their reach or in their life.
People also know when the relationship
is not going to work. I knew in the
situation mentioned above that it was
not going to work, but 1 indulged any
way. All I cared about was my needs,
selfish desires, and wants. Had I been
more sensitive, I may have found out
that she had needs also.
In many ways, people “ hang out”
or “ buy time” with others because
their life might be empty and unful
filled. My suggestion, today, to people
with these tendencies or behavior pat
terns is to learn how to just be friends
with people, period. It is real simple
advice. However, the “ sex thing”
always gets in the way, (In the movie,
“ When Harry Met Sally” , the issue of
whether a man and a woman can be
friends without sex was debated). I be
lieve that there can be friendships with
out sex. The problem? Most males
equate their manhood with their sexu
ality and some women allow them to
get away with this behavior.
The question remains, is there a cure
for the individuals (both men and women)
who involve themselves in relation
ships for all the wrong reasons?
Yes, there is a serious cure for those
who have this mindset. Simply put,
what goes around comes around. One
of the biggest emotional/spiritual awak
ening of my life occurred when I finally
met someone, who I thought would be
the last woman in my life. Talk about
being excited, supportive, open, honest
and com prom ising-I was the model
mate! Problem though, she dealt with
me like the earlier situation I described
regarding my own behavior. It was
then that I realized how I made some
one else feel. I was hurt and lost, just
like the person I treated unfairly prior to
her.
Today, I would much rather have a
good woman friend (without sex) than
to ruin a good friendship with sexual
advances or sex. Some things are better
just left alone. It goes (men and women)
both ways. On the other hand, there is
no substitute for maturity.
One of my favorite verses in the
Bible (Matthew 12-Verses 35-37) serves
as a reminder that you should always
have good intentions with people and
treat them right
“ A good man (or woman) out of the
good treasures of the heart, bringeth
forth good things and a evil man (or
woman) out of the evil treasures of the
heart, bringeth forth evil things. Ver
ily, I say unto you that every idle word
that men (or women) shall speak, they
shalt give account thereof in the day of
judgement. For by thy words thou shalt
be justified, and by thy words thou shalt
be condemned . . . “ Simply put, you
can do/speak wrong now to other hu
man beings, but in the end you are
going to pay. You can do wrong now
and pay later or do right now and be
rewarded in the end. Which do you
prefer?
Writer’s Note: By no means am I a total
expert on relationships. My opinions
are based on my own experiences. If
you as a reader have experience that
relate to the various topics I’ve dis
cussed over the last few months, feel
free to drop them off at the Portland
Observer or mail them. Thanks for
your support.
Marcus McKinley: Education Is Key To
His Success
Whenever Marcus McKinley looks
at his two and a half year old son,
Marcus Jr., he thinks about the influ
ence his own father has had on him
throughout life. As a minister, the elder
McKinley stressed to his son the impor
tance of maintaining self-dignity and
self-respect, respecting others, close fam
ily ties, and believing in God. His
father’s influence has helped him to
develop an attitude conducive to to
day’s lifestyles and social patterns, and
has enabled him to adjust and learn how
to deal with the demands of working
with youth.
Moving to Portland from Albany,
N.Y. at age 9, Marcus quickly dis-
coverd that if he was going to succeed
in life, education was going to be the
key. He attended Sabin Grade School,
Washington High, and Oregon State
University, graduating in 1974 with a
B. A. in social sciences. Prior to attend-
ning Oregon State, Marcus was a stu
dent with the University’s Upward Bound
program after being introduced to the
opportunity in high school. He credits
Upward Bound with being somewhat
instrumental in his college preparation.
Currently employed at Nero & As
sociates as a Job Corps counselour,
Marcus loves working with youth and
notes that many of them who can bene
fit from Job Corps are “ not bad, not
unredeemable.” Job Corp is a great op
portunity for youth who, for many rea
sons, may be in a situation that isn’t
providing adequate education or skills
to get a job.
McKinley recruits out of the Urban
League office at 10 N £ . Russell every
Tuesday and Thursday from 8:00 a.m.-
5:00 p.m. (280-2600) on other days, he
can be reached at 225-1941.
JOHN
UNI
FOR
GOVERNOR
OREGON’S CHILDREN NEED A QUALITY EDUCATION!
As Governor, John Lim will strive to make
our schools the best in the U.S.!
OREGON NEEDS WHAT JOHN LIM SUPPORTS!
Stable, consistent funding of education through a moderate sales
tax coupled with a reduced and capped property tax
jX
Empowenng administration and teachers with increased student
supervision
jX
Diverse curriculum that challenges and prepares young people
academically and vocationally