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J une 14, 1995 • T he P ortland O bserver
R. E E R
Both Business And Careers Begin
With Affirmative Action Of Some Kind
by
P rok . M< K inlei B urt
tional o rig in is recognized as and
declared to be a c iv il right.
may file a w ritten and ve rifie d com ­
plaint.
This article, published exactly
fifty years ago in the “ Negro D igest,"
This declaration is the heart o f
the New f o r k State law against dis­
tells when and where the legal assault
on jo b discrim ination began. We are
reminded that despite the passage o f
so much time, none o f 95% o f the
crim ination w hich was signed by
Then comes an investigation by
one o f the commissioners who must
try to settle the matter by conference,
co n cilia tio n , and persuasion. I f this
e ffo rt at m ediation fails, there fo l­
lows a hearing before three other
G overnor Dewey on the 12th day o f
last March. A t that time, the gover­
nor made the fo llo w in g significant
jobs described in the “ U.S. D ic tio ­
nary O f Occupational T itle s” is held
by an A frican Am erican (state Lists).
And in respect to business enter­
prises, less than 5% o f those listed in
the “ U.S. Standard Industrial Classi­
fication M anual" are operated by
b lacks-yet, today, 50 years later, the
moral and legal avenues to th e “ Am er-
ment. Even in this field certain ex­
ceptions are made. Social clubs and
fraternal, charitable, educational, or
religious associations or corporations
ican Dream” are under attack as nev­
er before.
not organized fo r private p ro fit; per­
sons in the domestic service; and
"The population o fN e w 'Y o rk is
about one-tenth o f the population o f
the United Sates. L iv in g in N ew Y o rk
are persons o f every race, creed, c o l­
or, or national o rig in to be found
anywhere in the country. I f we solve
the race problem in New Y o rk , we
are taking a great step tow ard solving
the race p roblem everyw here in
concerns w ith fewer than six em­
ployees are not included.
America.
To solve the race problem in
New Y ork, m achinery was put into
operation July I . For the first tim e in
Am erica, the opportunity to obtain
employment w ithout discrim ination
because o f race, creed, color, o r na­
statement, “ Today we are witnessing
an act w hich gives reality to the great
principles o f our country."
This N ew Y o rk law applies p ri­
m arily to d iscrim in a tio n and em ploy­
Its coverage is therefore not so
board as to make it unworkable .
It is s u ffic ie n tly inclusive, how ­
ever, to cover most employees in
New Y o rk State.
<-
The law applies to employers,
labor organizations, and employment
agencies. It lists certain unlaw ful
employm ent practices and provides
for the establishment o f a fiv e mem­
ber com m ission fo r its adm inistra­
tion and enforcement. Its operation
is simple. I f I refuse to give a man a
jo b and he claim s discrim ination, he
members o f the commission. Then i f
it exists, I am ordered by thecom m is-
sion to cease and desist from this
unlaw ful em ploym ent practice. U n­
der these conditions, I may institute a
ju d ic ia l review. I f 1 am then found by
the court to have practiced d is c rim i­
nation and refuse, in defiance o f the
court, to desist from such practice, I
may be held g u ilty o f a misdemean­
or.
The tw o most important features
o f this law are its m ediation and
educational provision. Conference,
co n cilia tio n , and persuasion are re­
quired at the outset and the records o f
our Federal FEPC and the N ew Y o rk
State W ar Councils Com m ittee on
D iscrim ination in Em ploym ent show
that w ell over 90 per cent o f cases o f
this kind can be and are being settled
by peaceable discussion.
M ore im portant s till is the board
educational program in the law. Pro­
vision is made fo r the creation o f
advisory agencies and co n cilia tio n
councils, local, regional, o r state­
Project Independence
wide. These agencies and councils
are to enlist local com m unity effort
and they may promote programs o f
form al and inform al education. In
thisw ay, the fu ll force o fN e w Y o rk ’s
great educational system is to be
enlisted in a common e ffo rt to e lim ­
inate discrim ination because o f race,
creed, color, o r national o rigin.
To be sure, this New Y o rk law
against discrim ination deals prim a ri­
ly w ith discrim ination in em ploy­
ment. But I want to point out that i f
we can elim inate discrim ination from
the fie ld o f employment, we shall
have gone a large share o f the way
toward rem oving it generally.
M oreover i f this program can
succeed in New Y ork, a distin ct con­
trib u tio n w ill have been made to ­
wards solving A m e rica ’ s race prob­
lem. We in N ew Y ork note w ith
satisfaction the sim ila r forw ard step
w hich has already been taken by New
Jersey. We note also that other states,
including Massachusetts, C onnecti­
cut, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania,
O hio, M ichigan, Indiana, Illin o is ,
W isconsin, M innesota, C olorado,
and C a lifo rn ia have been consider­
“ Project Independence was a g ift
to me,” said Felicia Garrett. “ It came
at a perfect time in my life and helped
me understand m yself and my values.
I feel more empowered as a woman
and more confident in myself.”
Portland Community College o f­
fers Project Independence as a tuition-
free program that aims to help women
become economically self-sufficient.
Paid child care is available dur­
ing the program’ s classes. And suc­
cessful completion o f the program
brings 10 college credits. New cours­
es begin every three months on the
PCC Cascade Campus.
Garrett graduated from Project
Independence in the fall o f 1993 and is
now scheduled to enter the college’ s
alcohol and drug counselor program
this fall.
Yolanda McCorvey is presently a
student in the program. “ I credit Project
Independence for helping me focus in
on my interests and cla rify where I ’ m
going,” McCorvey said.
Project Independence has proven
itse lf as a doorway to employment and
training opportunities in a safe, sup­
portive and caring environment, col­
lege o fficials said.
Un graduation, some students
have gone straight into the jo b market.
Others have opted for short-term train­
ing or continued on to various PCC
professional-technical career pro­
grams.
Two free orientation and in fo r­
mation sessions w ill be held this sum­
mer .
The sessions are scheduled M on­
day, June 26 from 2 p.m. to 3 p.m. and
Tuesday Aug. 8 from 10 a.m. to 11
a m. Both events take place in Penn
Hall, Room 101 on the Cascade Cam­
pus at 750 N. K illingsw orth. For more
information call the PCC Women’ s
Resource Center at 978-5249.
Local Students On U. Of
P. Dean’s List
Several local students were named to the 1995 spring semester dean’ s
list at the U n ive rsity o f Portland.
The College o f Arts & Science named Patricia Beckman, Junior,
ing legislation o f the same nature and
o f the same kind o f b ill that is now
before the Congress o f the United
Karen Carleton, ju n io r, Kara C oulter, senior, Sarah Jurgensen, sophomore,
and M onica Linde, senior.
State. We hope that these sister states
w ill soon fo llo w our example.
Kathleen Laskowski, senior.
The School o f Business named Denise Fischer, sophjom ore, and
The School o f Education named A p ril Cannon, senior.
Saluting 85 Years Of Fine Arts Education
The seventh annual A rt Futures
benefit fo r the P acific N orthw est
College o f A rt paints a fresh picture
A lu m n i and Friends o f the Pa­
c ific N o rth w e s t C o lle g e o f A rt
(P N C A ) plan the seventh annual A rt
Futures fo r Saturday, June 17, 1995.
From 6 p.m. to m idnignt, guests can
m ingle w ith students, alum ni and
acclaimed N orthw est artists in the
co llege’ s Pearl D is tric t Sculpture
S tu d io s at N o rth w e s t 13th and
Kearney. O ver 100 pieces o f art w ill
be auctioned to benefit student fi­
nance programs at PNCA.
From its humble beginnings in
1910, the P acific N orthw est College
o f A rt has evolved into a w e ll-kn o w n
and respected college o f art. Today,
over 260 students are enrolled in the
college’ s Bachelor o f Fine A rts pro­
gram, and hundreds o f others take
part in continuing education and ex­
tension classes. Recently, P N C A
granted 43 degrees to the largest
graduating class in its 85-year histo­
ry-
A s one o f seven m useum -affili­
ated art colleges in the United States,
P N C A thrives as a center o f creative
expression. C o m b in in g art funda­
mentals w ith contemporary methods.
many P N C A graduates go on to be­
come pro'fessional artists, designers
and gallery owners.
P N C A involves the entire com ­
m unity by o ffe rin g free lunch hour
“ Speaking o f A rt” lectures, exten­
sion programs fo r ages four and up
and the Y oung A rtis t Project O ut­
reach program fo r at-risk youth. The
college’ s W entz G allery is open to
the public, m onthly e x h ib itin g w ork |
by alum ni, faculty and students.
In the face o f governm ent cut-1
ing programs. The annual A rt Fu­
tures event provides a much-needed
boost to student finance programs.
P N C A A lu m n i and Friends hope to
Students need a 3.5 grande point average to be named on the dean’ s
list.
raise $40,000 at the 1995 fund-rais­
er.
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celebrates its..:
backs on educational and arts fu n d -|
A Balanced
Investment
In The
Future.
see more than ju s t drivers.
There's a dedicated team of mechanics, dispatchers,
supervisors, planners, analysts, adm inistrative
support personnel and more. They keep Clark County's
transit system going, 365 days a year.
After 100 years of serving people’s financial needs, we
know something about preparing for the future.
Talk to your career counselor about the professional
and technical skills you need for a career with
For example, we know that a strong future depends on
C-1 RAN, or any other transit system.
diversifying your assests— that’s just sound business
practice. I hat s why at U.S. Bank we view our workforce
C-TRAH
P.0. BOX 2529
VANCOUVER, WA 98668-2528
as the asset it is, an investment in the future.
U.S. Bank is an equal opportunity employer.
Is an Equal Opportunity Employer, M/F/D.
360-696-4494
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ing, P N C A , like many other colleg­
es, struggles to fund its rapidly emerg- I
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C T R A N ...
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The School o f Engineering named Scott Reis, ju n io r.
The School o f N ursing named D avid B loedel, senior, Catherine
G ordon, senior, and Kathleen K rider, senior.