Committed to Cultural Diversity
www.portlandobserver.com
April 12, 2000
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Jefferson Dancers shine in California
The Toads Are Back
The T oad’s are back in style for their
seventh anniversary cabaret run. With
their unique brand o f spontaneous theatre
that may make you laugh, may make you
cry, but never let you down. A good time
is guaranteed to all at the show that has
never been before nor will ever be again
The first performance will start April 11
and end May 9. Call 736-1192.
Alternatives to
Growth Oregon
Alternatives to Growth Oregon (AGO)
will hold a Forum, O regon’s Choice:
Endless Growth or Q uality o f Life,
Saturday, April 15,8:30 am .-5 :3 0 pm. at
Portland State U niversity. K eynote
speaker will be Bill McKibben, author of
M aybe O ne: A P erso n al and
Environmental Argument forSingleChild
Families; The End o f Nature; The Age o f
Missing Information; and Hope, Human
and Wild: True Stories o f Living Lightly
on the Earth. Registration fee (includes
lunch) $ 15-35. For more information, call
503/222-0282 or visit their website at
www.AGOregon.org.
The Men They Will
Become
Eli H. Newberger, MD, one o f the leading
experts on child and family development
and author o f the critically acclaimed,
“The Men They Will Become: The Nature
and Nurture o f Male Character” wi 11 be in
Portland for a one day seminar on April 24,
2000. The conference, which shares the
titleofD r. Newberger’s book, will be held
at the Kennedy School in Portland, Oregon
from 9 am. to 4 pm. Dr. Newberger’s book
explores the developmental process o f
building character in boys. Call 503/281 -
6151,ext. 12.
Run, Walk and
Stand for the Earth
The city will be host to a unique celebration
in observance o f the 30lh Anniversary of
Earth Day on Saturday, April 22,2000 at
7:30 am. The three main organizing groups,
the Earth and Spirit Council, the City Repair
Project and The Green House Network,
have planned a series o f participatory
events, including a run to stop global
warming, a human circle around the city o f
Portland, a Mardi-Gras style procession
honoring the earth’s myriad life forms,
tree planting, and a multi-cultural ceremony
and celebration at Pioneer Courthouse
Square.
Blue Sky Concerts
The 1X30 present 25 NW choreographers
in 3 fabulous concerts featuring modem,
ballet, jazz and m ulti-cultural dance
including flamenco, & middle-eastern
dance. The program at the IFCC benefits
the Dance Coalition o f Oregon and the
International Firehouse Cultural Center,
5340 N. Interstate. Tickets are $ 10, kids $5.
For more information, call 293-6195.
Rabbit Romp
Rabbit Romp is a celebration o f spring for
children 3 to 10. Egg hunts occur every 20
minutes in every age group. Games, crafts,
petting zoo, puppets, whimsical displays
and more. Co-sponsored by WB32, Sweet
Tomatoes and Z100. The event will be
held on April 22,2000 at the Oregon Zoo
(4001SWCanyon Road) from 9 am.- 3 pm.
Procession of the
Species
Now through April 20, Community Art
Workshops for the Procession o f the
Species will be held at 49 SE Clay (near
OMS1), Itisness Studio at 3016 NE
Killingsworth and other locations around
the Portland-Metro area. Learn about
ecological issues and other interesting
species facts, while you get help creating
your favorite species for the Procession.
co r the sch e d u le and re g istra tio n
information, call 503/244-2602 or visit
w ww.carthand spirit.org/earthday2000
and click on Art Workshops.
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CONTR1BIJTEDSTOWV
The Jefferson D ancers starred in their
appearance at the by-invitation-only 5,h
National High School Dance Festival held at
California State University, Long Beach last
month. The 14-member troupe received an
instant standing ovation when they closed
the sold -out Gala Concert with RH YTHM IS
THE Key, showcasing the choreography o f
Artistic Director, Steve Gonzales. RHYTHM
IS THE KEY was chosen from 168 pieces
submitted by 67 schools across the nation.
Canada and Australia.
O f his experience dancer BoJohn Disciple
said, “It opened my mind to a lot o f dance
styles and techniques - and gave me
inspiration to see new things 1 hadn’t seen
before.”
The Gala Concert capped two-and-a-half-
days o f performances by the 1,000 student
participants, master classes taught by some
o f the nation’s finest dance instructors, and
auditions for college scholarships.
Jefferson Dancers who won scholarships for
their dancing excellence are BoJohn Disciple
($4,000 for one year of study, California State
Portland youth featured in national
teen suicide prevention campaign
A ssociated P ress
Ngozi Olemgbe noticed that her childhood
friend started to isolate herself. “She said
sometimes, ‘I just wish I’d get hit by a car’ or
* I just wish I was never bom ,’ “ said Olemgbe,
a 17-year-old student at Benson High School
in Portland.
“I didn’t know how to react to it. I was like,
‘No, don’t say that. There are people that care
about you.’ “
O lemgbe’s mom advised her to talk to her
friend and encourage her to get help.
“It was kind o f scary for me,” said Olemgbe,
whose friend eventually saw a therapist and
now takes antidepressants. “I didn't want her
to be angry with me. But you have to think,
gosh, what if she went through with it? How
would I feel then?”
Olemgbe is one o f 12 metro-area youths
featured in a national teen suicide prevention
campaign launched Monday in Portland by
the nonprofit American Foundation for
Suicide Prevention.
The campaign, “Suicide Shouldn’t Be a
Secret," includes three documentary-style
television spots, two radio broadcasts, and
print and transit ads that urge teens to
intervene on behalf o f a friend who is
depressed or suicidal.
Produced by a Portland ad agency and paid
for by Ronald McDonald House Charities,
the ads were filmed in late January in Portland.
All can be seen locally by the m onth’s end.
“We need to break this code o f silence around
I
suicide,” said Nancy Johnson, who founded
the Northwest affiliate o f the American
Foundation for Suicide Prevention after her
son killed himself in 1997. “If you hear
somebody talking about killing themselves,
don’t laugh it off. Seventy-five percent of
kids who kill themselves had told someone.”
Most often, it’s another young person.
Nationwide, more teens die from suicide than
any natural cause, and in the Northwest, it’s
the second-leading cause o f death among
young people. Oregon and Washington rank
in the top 20 states with the highest teen
suicide rates.
For the past decade, an average o f 75 Oregon
youths between the ages o f 10 and 24 have
killed themselves each year. Each day, about
two youths between the ages o f 10 and 17 are
treated in an Oregon emergency room for a
suicide attempt.
Nationally, about 90 percent o f adolescent
suicide victims had at least one diagnosable
mental disorder when they died, according to
data from the suicide prevention foundation.
And the mental health problems that precede
suicide often are treatable, especially if
detected early, said U S. Surgeon General
David Satcher, who was in Portland on
Monday to kick off the campaign.
“There’s still this stigma and shame and blame
surrounding mental illness," Satcher said. “I
will tell you in no uncertain terms that just as
things go wrong with the heart, liver and
lungs, things go wrong with the brain. They
(Please see ’Portland* page B4)
University, Long Beach; full scholarships to
Alabama State University and American
D ance F e stiv a l) and Jo n te M oaning
(Scholarships to Nashville Ballet; Bates
College, ME; Temple University and Pointe
Park, PA) Accepted to Jacob’s Pillow Summer
Dance Festival in Lee, MA, were Kasia
Whilhelmi and Johnny Sorensen-Jolink. Other
Jefferson students have been invited for
additional auditions.
“I love the nervous, excited energy and joy
they bring to the world,” said Gonzales, former
Jefferson Dancer in his first year as Artistic
Director.
Gonzales is taking the dance program to new
heights o f cutting-edge choreography and
excellence.
In the fifteen years since his graduation from
Jefferson, Gonzales has performed and taught
master classes around the world.
Area resident can seethe nationally acclaimed
Je ffe rso n D ancers at th e ir annual
performances on May 4,5 and 6 at the Newmark
Theatre, 1111 SW Broadway in downtown
Portland.
Tickets ranging in price from $ 10.50 to $ 16.50
and are now available at all FASTIXX ticket
centers.
Urban League selects Jim
Francesconi for board
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tor J iit . P uri lasd U bm R' lr
T he U rban L eague o f
Portland has selected Jim
Francesconi to serve on
their board o f directors. He
was previously on the board
from 1991 to 1995 and has
strong ties in the African-
American community the
Urban League serves.
Francesconi will use his
time on the board of d irectors
as another opportunity to
w ork
to
stre n g th e n
education and employment
o p p o rtu n itie s for low
income and minority youth.
“We have to take the guns
out o f our kid’s hands and
re p la c e
them
with
paychecks” he said. “All
kids deserve equal access
to a good education and the chance to work hard towards a bright future.”
“During this economic boom, the Urban League wants to make sure that no one is left
behind and that the citizens o f NE, especially African-Americans, can share in the
wealth creation that is occurring in the city and region," said Francesconi. “I am proud
and pleased to participate.”