P age B?
A ugust 31, 1994 • T he P ortland O bserver
Lackland
Air Force
TEEN'S IN TROUBLE
Oregon’s Teen Suicide Rate Soars
B etw een 1990 and 1992,
I Oregon’s teen suicide rate reached
I its highest point ever, with 40 young
I Oregonians killing themselves in
11992 alone. Thousands more con-
[sidered or attempted suicide, ac
co rd in g to a recent state study .
The Oregon Health Division
I study estimates that more than one-
I fourth ofO regon’s high school stu-
|dents, roughly 38.000, seriously
I considered suicide during the year
I prior to the 1993 survey . Eleven
I percent o f the state’s high school
J students, or 15,000, attempted sui-
I cide, including 4.600 who received
I medical treatment for suicide at-
I tempts, according to estimates.
Oregon’s young men were four
I to five times more likely to die as a
1 result o f suicide than their female
I counterparts, according to death cer-
I tificates. But, survey results show
I young women more likely to con-
I sider or attempt suicide than young
I men. This difference can be traced
1 largely to method. 70 percent ofthe
I teen and pre-teen suicide attempts
I that resulted in death involved euns.
And guns, the survey shows, are
much more common among males
than females.
State Health O fficer Kathy
Gaffney sees the easy availability of
guns among teens as the beginning
o f a solution: “ We must keep guns
out ot the hands ofour young people.
At the same time,’’ she said, “ More
caring adults, listening to youth and
guiding them, could reduce anxi-
et ies that too often lead a teen toward
suicide.”
The Health Division report on
teen suicide is based primarily on the
most recent Youth risk Behavior
Survey. In the survey, which is part
o f a national student poll conducted
every two years, 2,620 students from
25 Oregon high schools responded
to questions on topics ranging from
nutrition to suicide attempts. The
students were almost evenly distrib
uted by gender.
Oregon teens who attem pted
suicide commonly reported other
risky behaviors. Among those w ho
said they had attem pted suicide:
• 67 percent smoked more than a
NYCAP-ROPHE
Community Wellness
Center
pack o f cigarettes a day.
• 64 percent were threatened or
injured with a weapon at school
more than five times during the
previous year.
• 55 percent had consumed alco
hol on at least 20 days o f the
previous month.
• 55 percent had ever injected
drugs.
• 53 percent had been pregnant
more than once or had caused
more than one pregnancy.
A nother link betw een su i
cide attem pters was a history o f
physical or sexual abuse. S tu
dents who had been physically
or sexually abused w ere four
tim es m ore likely to attem pt
suicide than those who had not
been abused.
F inally, s e lf esteem played
a role in suicide attem pts. S tu
dents who described them selves
as very overw eight, very u n
derw eight, or near the bottom
as students were m uch m ore
likely to attem pt suicide than
their classm ates.
T he m ed ia c a lle d them
"gang m em bers,” the program s
that w orked with them called
them “ case loads,” the com
m unity that grieved their loss
called them “ o ur c h ild re n .”
And w hile all o f those term s
have relevance and m eaning,
many o f us knew them p erso n
ally and by their nam es: Roy
Booker, Ram one Peck, C edric
C ovington, Jerom e Piggy, John
Sw eet, M anson B ran ch ...th e
list goes on!
We spent countless hours
to g e th e r talk in g about th eir
dream s and what m ight be. We
lau g h ed to g e th e r, c rie d to
gether, prayed together. But
before they could turn that cru
cial corner com pletely away
from gangs, they were robbed
o f th eir young lives.
Graduate
T hey all had th in g s in
com m on. They were all vic
tim s o f gang violence. They
were all young African Am eri
can m ales. They were all vic
tim s o f the disease o f drugs
and alcohol and mental stree
disorders. They were all vic
tim ized by another young Af
rican American males addicted
to drugs and alcohol and ex
hibiting the same mental stress
disorders.
Until now there did not
ex ist a com prehensive su b
stance abuse and m ental health
facility to address their needs.
A year ago two com m unity
activ ists heard their cry and
responded to meet their need.
The effort is called NYCAP-
ROPHE (H ealing) Community
W ellness Center.
Airman Laureen Z. Prasad
Lackland Air Force Base, San
Antonio-Airman Laureen Z. Prasad
has graduated from Air Force basic
training here.
During the six weeks o f training
the airman studied the Air Force
mission, organization and customs
and received special training in hu
man relations.
In addition, airmen who com
plete basic training earn credits to
ward an associate degree through the
Community' College of the Air Force.
Prasad is the d au g h ter of
Chankrika and Fawiza Prasad of6909
N. Denver, Portland.
Shaping Children’s Values - Where Do We Start?
by
Bi are H arris
Kids and violence, gangs,
I drugs in schools, confusions
I that school children have
about sex, children giving
I birth to children—these all add
I up to a terrifying social reality.
I We are faced with a generation
I spinning wildly out of control.
The majority o f youngsters are
I now affected. According to a sur-
I vey by the Joseph & Edna Joseph-
Ison Institute of Ethics. 61% o f all
I high school students say they have
I cheated on an exam once or more
[during the last year. As well, 33%
[admit to having stolen form rela
tiv e s at least once in the last year.
•
z
>• : 1
<
Whether it is kids owning guns
Ito threaten and. on occasion, kill
[their classmates, whether it is high
[school students joining in “Spur
| Posse” games that keep track of
[how many different sexual con-
J quests the players can rack up, or
[ whether it is simply lying and cheat-
[ ing, these are ail the symptoms of
I one fundamental disease-the moral
| decay in society.
Or perhaps moral decay is the
wrong way to describe it. More fac
child tends to write what has been
different works o f literature to im
Horton said that because the
tually, at least where our children are
written already.”
part ethical values.
booklet
outlines moral values com
concerned, the biggest problem since
Today, the good news is that
Many school systems are devel
pletely
based on common sense,
the 1970s has been the utter lack o f
schools are beginning to get back
oping their own curriculums that
children
respond to the publication
instruction in morals and values in
into the character development busi
focus on such things as civic respon
in
an
enthusiastic
and dramatic way.
our schools. The idea back then was
ness in a big way. In this, they have
sibility, respect for oneself and for
They
learn
that
right
conduct is the
that children should grow on their
the overwhelming support o f par
others and respect for the natural
only road to building happy and
own and should be encouraged sim
ents. A 1992 study showed 86% of
environment.
successful
lives for themselves,
ply to decide for themselves what
Americans favored schools teaching
However, whether any of these
both
now
and
in the future.
they should believe.
moral values while only 12% were
approaches will work is still open to
“
The
Way
To Happiness’ is
"[This was] based on a material
against the idea.
question. “Effective moral teaching,
the
vital
educational
tool that has
istic idea that he development o f the
However, working out the best
or character education as it is some-
been
missing
in
the
large
majority
child parallels the evolutionary his
way to build character and to instill
timescalled, involves more than sim
o
f
our
schools,”
said
Horton.
“For
tory o f the race; that in some magical
important values in our children still
ply teaching children the difference
several
years
now,
the
booklet
has
way, unexplained, the nerves’ of
lies ahead. We have learned in recent
between right and wrong,” said Glen
been
working
to
instill
moral
val
the child will ripen’ as he or she
decades that recognizing problems
Horton, campaign manager o f The
ues and build real character in the
grows older and the result will be a
in our school system does not mean
Way To Happiness Foundation, a
few
schools where it has been in
moral, well-behaving adult,” author
that these problems are easily fixed.
non-profit organization dedicated to
cluded
as part of the curriculum. In
and humanitarian L. Ron Hubbard
There are a number o f ideas about
restoring moral values in society.
the
classroom
setting, it has a track
pointed out in the w idely distributed
the best way to teach moral values to
“Children, and especially teenagers,
record of resounding success. So
booklet “The Way
children in the classroom. Some
need to have a reason to do right and
why not simply include the booklet ■
To Happiness.”
schools have started to use videos
not do wrong, a reason that makes
in more ofour school curriculums?
"A lth o u g h the th eo ry is
that show the terrible consequences
real sense to them. They have to be
“It would be a tragedy if an
disproven with ease—simply by no
of dishonesty, intolerance and crime.
motivated by more than the simple
other
generation was lost while
ticing the large criminal population
One, for instance, starts out with the
fear o f getting caught because they
school
systems experimented with
whose nerves somehow did not ripen-
vivid, highly dramatic street arrest
never think they will.”
various
approaches to character
-it is a lazy way to raise children,”
o f a teenager.
For almost a decade. The Way
education.
We need something our
said Hubbard. “A child is a little bit
In another approach, Kevin
To Happiness Foundation has dis
children
will
respond to now, not in
like a blank slate. If you write the
Rayan o f Boston University has de
tributed "The Way To Happiness”
10
or
20
years
time. From all the
wrong things on it, it will say the
veloped a school curriculum that
booklet to a growing number o f
evidence
I
have
seen, that some
wrong things. But, unlike a slate, a
makes character education part of
schools, civic groups, parents and
thing
already
ex
ists-’The
Way to
child can begin to do the writing: the
everyday teaching. This relies on
children across the country.
Happiness.’”
SCHOOL LUNCH
> 5 ; .
r« . , • ✓
Candy’s a Sweet Finale
To a Brown Bag Lunch
News USA
(NU) - Go ahead. Put a couple
o f pieces of candy in those lunch
boxes when the kids go back to
school. Experts say learning to eat
candy in moderation may help chil
dren develop lifelong healthy eating
habits.
The best way to teach kids about
healthy eating is by example, the ex
perts say. When they see parents en
joying candy in m oderation, they
learn not to view it as a “forbidden”
item, but as a treat that can fit into a
nutritious, balanced diet.
What is im portant is to send a
message about when candy is ap
propriate. For some kids, after lunch
is an appropriate time.
The best lunch-box treats are
wrapped candies made from natur
al ingredients, like Brown & Haley’s
Almond Roca, the popular butter-
crunch confection coated with
chocolate and diced almonds.
• ■ » •
.< Í
Teaching Good Habits
Actually, candy may be better for
you than you think. For instance,
chocolate contains no animal fat and
is low in cholesterol. And a I 1/4-
ounce milk chocolate bar has just 13
grams of fat.
To use candy as a way of teach
ing kids about such adult responsi
bilities as eating healthy and budget
ing money, here are some suggestions
from the Chocolate Manufacturers
Association and National Confec
tioners Association.
• At stores that display candy at
the cash registers, let kids select
some candy from the candy aisle.
That way. you’ll avoid an argument
when you get to the checkout line.
• Fo keep snack attacks under
control while watching TV, share a
family-sized candy bar or pass
around a bag of miniatures. A box of
chocolates, like Brown & Haley’s
luxurious Belgian Cremes, is a fun
way to cure the munchies during a
special event.
• At the start of a long trip, give
each child some change and let them
know how many stops you plan to
make along the way. Let them de
cide how and when to spend their
money.
• Let the children be in charge
of their own spending money on
outings to the beach or ballgames.
What they buy and how fast they
spend their money should be their
decision.
Internet: Treasure For Investors
(NU) - The vast information su
perhighway known as the Internet
is becoming easier to access, offer
ing computer users a smorgasbord of
information and resources.
Founded more than 20 years ago
as a U S. military research network
and expanded to connect mostly aca
demic institutions, the Internet is the
w orld's largest com puter network.
An estim ated 20 m illion people
across the globe use it to exchange
electronic mail, pursue special in
terests. search databases and do busi
ness. About 150.000 new subscribers
join the Internet each month
For investors, the Internet offers
some real treasures. Fund companies
Y
f*
■ I *•
1 1
are logging on using NETworth, a
new financial and business informa
tion package. At least 40 fund fami
lies currently are on-line, including
Bull & Bear which offers eight mu
tual funds and discount brokerage
services.
Using NETworth, fund groups
can offer investors marketing bro
chures. advertisements and their en
tire prospectus Investors who sub
scribe to Internet pay nothing to
access the material.
A number of popular services, in
cluding America Online, offer access
to the Internet. NETworth's Internet
address is netwoHh.galt.com.
I
rp
PearBear Goes Back to School
With the Kids
By Maggie André
(NU) - It's back to school time,
and across the nation, school nutri
tionists and parents are making re
newed efforts to help America’s kids
eat healthier.
Among their shared goals are less
fat and sodium in lunchroom menus
and more fruits and vegetables over
all.
To support nutritional education,
the Oregon Washington California
Pear Bureau created a program last
year for school lunch facilities and
classrooms, built around the charac
ter called Pear-
Bear. Because
life-long food
preferences of
ten begin at a
very early age.
the project was
aimed at chil
dren ages 5
through 9. However, it quickly be
came apparent that bears are popu
lar with older children too.
The program centers on an edu
cational poster about good eating and
a book series called “The PearBear
Chronicles, and includes coloring
contests, children's cooking classes
and other activities that make learn
ing about nutrition fun.
A new nutrition poster and the
next in the series of children's story
books is being introduced this year
through classrooms and lunchrooms,
as well as retail stores.
For the PearBear poster and the
first book ot "The PearBear Chron
icles," send a proof of purchase for
three pounds of USA pears and $ 1.50
tor postage and handling to: OR WA
CA Pear Bureau, Studio B5. 813
S.W. Alder, Suite 601, Portland, OR
97205-3182.
I
UJAAMA
Distributors
7050 N. E. Martin
Luther King Jr. Bivd.
Portland, Oregon 97211
Is now looking to train
youth ages 13-17girls/guys,
to learn the business o f be
ing an entrepreneur thru
B.H .P. Youth B usiness
Oppt.
This w ill be an earn
while you learn opportunity.
Must apply in person after
you phone fo r an appoint
ment at 503-285-5286. I f no
one is in clearly leave your
name and phone number
after the message and we
will call you to set up an
appointment.
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