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April 7, 1999
ÍJift ^orManò (©bseruer-------------------------
Page 7
TAKING FROM THE CREAM OF THE CROP
B y J oy R amos
A fte r p la c in g 4,h in th e S ta te
Boys 4A b a sk e tb a ll to u r n a m e n t,
Je fferso n high school’s in d iv id u al
placem ents in state rankings at best
was an honorable m en tio n .T h at was
a “h a rd blow ” for them a fter defeat­
ing all th re e #1 team s th ro u g h o u t
Olivia Collier, one of O regon’s best
tr a c k ru n n e r s tra n s fe r re d o u t of
Jefferson to Benson High School in
h er senior year. Normally, any student
beyond th eir sophom ore year is not
allowed to transfer to Benson. Officials
T h e re is n o o th e r sch o o l d is tric t
w ith in O re g o n th a t allow s a th le tic
re c ru itm e n t by co ach es like P o rt­
at Benson had to make Collier an ex­
ception and “b en d ” the rules for her
to play sports.
T h e s y s te m a tic d is p e r s a l o f
Je fferso n high sch o o l’s o u tsta n d in g
a th le te s h as b e e n a lo n g s ta n d in g
p ro b lem th at reveals a c o rru p t a th ­
letic system su p p o rted by th e school
d istrict. Jeffe rso n has h ad its best
college playing potential.
an d b rig h test ath letes strip p ed from
It was another insult am ong many
th e school, conspiracy-style for th e
against Jefferson high school. T h e less
p a st tw enty years by way of d eseg ­
obvious has been the “d irty” practice
of coaches luring Jefferson’s best ath ­ r e g a tio n a n d b u s in g law s. E v en
letes into th eir school’s sports pro­ J e f f e r s o n ’s a tte n d a n c e a re a h a s
ch an g ed . C lose to th e cam pus are
gram . Typically, athletes are given
S haver an d C o m m ercial St. w hich
prom ises of more playing tim e and a
a r e n o w a p a r t o f G r a n t h ig h
“b etter” education.
An estim ated 180« Jefferson stu­ sch o o l’s b o u n d aries.
A th le t ic t r a n s f e r s o u t o f
dents have transferred out of their at­
Je
ffe
rso n have o c c u rre d for years
tendance boundaries. O f that num ber,
lik
e
“q u ie t” tr a n s a c tio n s . I t h a s
many were athletic instead of academi­
o
n
ly
b een a lo calized p h e n o m en a .
cally-related transfers.
the state.
N one of Jefferso n ’s team m em ­
b e r s w e re r e p r e s e n te d in th e
rankings of 1“, 2nd or 3ri All Staters.
T h is is difficult to conceive consid­
erin g th a t these players have good
la n d has.
If Jefferson was able to keep their
talen ted pool of basketball athletes
from tran sferrin g out to o th er Port­
lan d A rea h ig h sch o o ls, th e 1999
M en’s Basketball All League would
read differently. It would consist of a
“D ream T eam ” o f players - m aking
J e f f e r s o n a n u n b e a ta b le fo rc e
T h e academ ically-poor stu d en ts
w ho transfer for ath letic reasons are
p o ten tial victim s of a system th a t
may n o t look o u t for th e ir fu tu re
a n d w ell-being. T h is is especially
tr u e in sc h o o ls th a t g r a n t s p o rt
p riv ile g e s to a th le te s w ith low
G.P.A.s. N ot all schools pro v id e the
tu to rin g , after-school and S aturday
school program s for these acad em i­
cally challenged athletes. Tragically,
th is leaves th e m ill-p re p a re d for
h ig h er ed u catio n .
thro u g h o u t th e state.
T he lax attitude by the Portland
Public School System concerning this
issue is part of the problem . C orrect­
ing it would involve two things: dis­
couraging athletic transfers and requir­
ing athletes to meet basic academ ic
standards to play.
I f th e s e b asic p o lic ie s a re a p ­
p lie d “ acro ss th e b o a rd ” , it w ould
p re v e n t a th le te s fro m b e in g u sed
o r u s in g an irresponsible a th le tic
sch o o l system th a t d o es n o t tru ly
serv e th e m .
PGE - Enron Foundation
presents
«
C oncert A
C on cert B
May 6 & 8
May 8
May 7
May 9
8 PM
2 2 PM
8 8 PM
2 2 PM
PM & 7 PM
Newm ark Theatre
Portland C en ter for the Perform ing Arts
T.chets Avadabi* at * * *
PCPA Eo» OMice ’ ’ ’ 1 SW Broadway
All ^ te d M eyv’ r
50
Outitrls 7 ,4
XX
’ 4 50 / W 50
Al' Seats Reserved
The 1
□
C o a lit io n
TtuN FR C TTY B LU E S F E S T IV A !
Saturday, April 10, 1999, 6:30 - 12:30
Crystal Ballroom, 14th Avenue at West Burnside
"S w inging T he B lues "
Lily Wilde and Her Jumpin' Jubilee Orchestra
Norman Sylvester Band with LaRhonda Johnson,
Renato Caranto, and Sonny Hess.
Bill Rhoades and Alan Hagar
The Jim Mesi Band with Mel Solomon
The Linda Hornbuckle Band
The Lloyd Jones Struggle
Shoehorn
Ticbota
M u .U « H U n iu n rn , t u n . « . , Houno o f S ound.
C r y .« , - U r o o n . Bon O fttc.
A b o n eflt for t b . PortU nd Rainbow C o liH o n . c o -.p o n M r .d b , t b , C c . d . B .« o . A ..o c i.,i o n
Marshal! Haskins is the head coach of Jefferson High School’s Varsity Boys
Basketball team.
CBA m em b ers receive 11 discount