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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (April 18, 2001)
A p ril 18, 2001 Page A 4 (Ftp? Jlnrtlanb Oibseruer as Opinion Puritani) * * Alcohol Often Least Talked About Threat to Our Lives (The |Llortíanh (©bseruer O regon . P ariaership E xecl - i in e D irector USPS 959-680 Established 1970 ST A F F E d it o r P C in h ie f , u b l is h e r C h a r le s H. W a sh in g to n E d i t o R L arry J . J a c k so n , Sr. B M u s in e s s anager G ary A n n T aylor A sst P ublisher M ich ael L eig h to n C opy E d it o r Joy R am os In the never-ending blitz o f m e dia interest surrounding kids and drugs, it often seems com m uni ties have barely a m inute to catch their breath from one ‘epidem ic’ to another. L ately the m edia has been flooded with stories about Ec stasy and Raves. Newsweek re- portsonthedangersofO xycontin and Vicodin. Families and com m unities are inundated with new information about the latest drugs, their dangerous effect and their connection to teens. It’s important to raise aw are ness when drugs invade our com munity. However, in this frenzy, we must not lose sight o f the fact Judy Cushing that alcohol rem ains the single largest threat to O regon’s kids. The truth is that alcohol is the m ost prevalent, least talked about threat to our hom es and com m u nities. W e take it for granted that adults keep beer and wine in the home, often only for a social oc casions or holidays. W e rarely think about how our behavior is a model for our kids. How m any o f us really stop to have a family discussion about the alcohol in our hom es— what it is, its effects, and what it means — with our kids? April is Alcohol A w areness Month. It’s an opportunity to high light our commitment to prevention and treatment o f alcohol abuse. Here are some tips for raising alco hol awareness in your home and or community: Talk with your kids. We know that in households where parents talk to their kids about alco hol. kids are far less likely to drink. Prom and graduation time are the perfect opportunity to have a fam ily discussion in your home. Model M isuse o f M ascots a Serious Problem O utrage am ong the A m eri can -In d ian com m unity over the m isuse o f cultural sym bols as sports m ascots has prom pted the U .S. C om m ission on C ivil R ights (C C R ) to consider w ith holding federal funding to pub lic elem entary, m iddle and high schools that refuse to adopt a n o n -o ffen siv e im age. E lsie M eeks, the first A m eri can-Indian com m issioner on the C CR , suggested that the com m ission recom m end that civil- rig h ts e n fo rc e m e n t a g e n c ie s help elim inate offensive im ages and the use o f such term s as “red sk in s” or “ red ra id e rs.” “ S chools have a re sp o n sib il ity to edu cate th eir students, not p erp etu ate m isre p re se n ta tions o f any cu ltu re o r p eo p le,” M eeks said. M eeks, a m em ber o f the Pine R idge R eservatio n in South D akota, also w orks for the Lakota fund, prom oting b u sin esses a c tiv ities on re se r vations. C ynthia K ent, a re p re - sentative o f the C ouncil on N a tiv e A m eric an M in istry e x pressed h er concern that the use o f cu ltu ra lly o ffen siv e im ages is a serio u s problem . “ A l m ost one th ird o f U .S. schools use som e kind o f in digenous re lig io u s s y m b o l, im a g e o r nam es,” she said. “ H a lf o f these are e le m e n ta ry sch o o ls. O ur children are not m asco ts— this has got to sto p .” A ccording to the In terfaith C en ter on C o rp o ra te R e s p o n s ib ility (IC C R ), f C r e a t iv e D ir e c t o r R o b ert P a rk er 4 7 4 7 N E M a r tin L u th e r K in g, Jr. Blvd. P o rtla n d , OR 9 7 2 1 1 5 0 3 -2 8 8 -0 0 3 3 F ax 5 0 3 - 2 8 8 - 0 0 1 5 e-m ail n ew s@ p o rtlan d o b server.co m a 4 » cription@portlandobBener.com good behavior. Your behavior can be the model your kids follow for the rest o f their lives. D on’t leave alcohol in un-moni- tored areas around your home. Invite a prevention speaker or counselorto your school, business, or community center. If you or someone you know has a problem or has questions about alcohol, call the confidential, toll- free HelpLine at 800-923-HELP. Teens can also get free confiden tial informational 877-553-TEEN. Alcohol-related death remains the number one killer o f teenagers in Oregon. More than suicide, more than any other drug, alcohol is pub lic enemy number one when it comes to teen deaths. Now is the time to talk about alcohol with our families, ourchil- - 1 i th e r e a re m o re th an 3 ,0 0 0 sch o o ls using im ages o f A m eri can In d ian s; N ew York state sch o o ls m ake up 135 o f those institutions. R ichard M ills, com m issio n e r o f N ew Y ork state ed u catio n , said this is a p ro b lem . “ The use o fN ativ e-A m eri- can sym bols or d ep ictio n s as m asco ts can becom e a b arrier to b u ild in g a safe and nurturing sch o o l co m m u n ity and im p ro v ing academ ic achievem ent for a ll,” M ills said. •« Budget for the Wealthy, Not the Poor E d ito r 's n o te: The f o l lo w in g is an o p in io n p ie c e fr o m T he R e g is te r -G u a r d in E u g e n e on B u s h ’s b u d g et: T h e firs t b u d g e ts p re se n te d b y new p re s id e n ts say m uch ab o u t th e ir id e o lo g ie s , v alu es, v is io n s a n d p rio ritie s . T h e p ic tu re th a t e m e rg e s m o st c le a rly from P re sid e n t B u s h 's first d e ta ile d sp en d in g p la n is o n e o f a le a d e r d o g g e d ly d e te rm in e d to cu t tax es, p rim a rily fo r th e w e a lth y , at th e e x p e n s e o f p ro g ra m s th at serv e all A m e ric a n s and are m o st n e e d e d b y th e p o o r. I t ’s s c a rc e ly s u rp ris in g th a t B ush w a ite d fo r C o n g re s s to leav e to w n b e fo re re le a s in g h is b u d g e t. I f th e e v e n ly d iv id e d S en ate h ad b ee n m o re fu lly a w a re o f th e p o te n tia l c o s t o f B u s h ’s huge tax cut, law m ak ers w ould h a v e b e e n ev en b o ld e r th an th e y w e re in s h rin k in g it from $ 1.6 trillio n d o w n to $ 1.2 tr il lion. T h e p r e s i d e n t ’s b u d g e t fo rc e d him fo r th e first tim e to d e ta il th e s p e n d in g re d u c tio n s n e c e s s a ry to a c h ie v e h is tax cu t, and th o se re d u c tio n s are so b e rin g in d eed . T h ey ra n g e from re d u c tio n s in fu n d in g fo r c h ild re n ’s h o s p ita ls , lo w -in c o m e e n e rg y a s sista n c e an d co m m u n ity p o lic in g to cu ts in c h ild -a b u se p r e v e n tio n , in n e r - c ity e c o n o m ic d e v e lo p m e n t, e n v iro n m e n ta l e n fo rc e m e n t, h o u sin g an d jo b tra in in g . T h e B ush b u d g e t p ro v id e s s t a r k c o n t r a s t w ith th e p r e s id e n t’s re a s s u rin g rh e to ric ab o u t c o m p a s s io n a te c o n se rv a tism — th e n ee d to re v i ta liz e in n er c itie s , to “ leav e no ch ild b e h in d ” a n d to be a g o o d ste w a rd o f th e e n v iro n m e n t. dren... our communities. Ask yourself this question, if one-in-four kids age 12 in Oregon used alcohol in the last month, is your child one o f them? Wliile other drugs assume the media spotlight, alcohol continues to be the accepted, sexy, danger ous drug— that nobody talks about. You can have a huge and lasting impact on the biggest drug influ ence Oregonians face. Make the time to talk to your family during Alcohol Awareness Month. Judy Cushing is Executive Di rector o f the Oregon Partner ship. Oregon Partnership is a statew ide non-profit organiza tio n d e d ic a te d to s u b s ta n c e abuse prevention and treatment referral. Clinton Gets Mixed Grades on Civil-Rights W hile form erPresidentC lintonof- ten dem onstrated leadership on civil- rights issues, he also m issed a lot o f opportunities to affect change, accord ing to a report card issued by the U.S. C om m ission on Ci vil Rights last week. Clinton received high m arks for using executi ve orders to prom ote non discrimination in federal programs and funding, and for improving the diver sity o f the federal courts and govern m ent offices. B ut he lost points for failing to address racial disparities in capital punishm ent and forblundering on the issue o f gays in the military. “President Clinton w as an active participant in efforts to eliminate dis crimination o f all forms,” the report said. But the shortcom ings o f his ten ure m ean his prom ise to build a “bridge to one A m erica” w as, ultimately, “a prom ise only partly fulfilled.” The report also recom m ends ways the Bush administration can continue “the nation ‘ s com m itm ent to equal op portunity under the law.” T he C om m ission on Civil Rights is a bipartisan and independent agency originally established under the Civil Rights A ct o f 1957 and then re-estab lished undertheCivilR ightA ctofl 983. ad s@ po rtlan d ob server.co m P ostmaster : Send address changes to Portland Observer PO Box 31 3 7 Portland, OR 9 7 2 0 8 Periodical Postage paid in Portland, OR Subscriptions are $60.00 per year D E A D L IN E S FOR ALL SUBMITTED METERIALS: ARTICLES: Monday by 5 p . m . ADS: Friday by noon The Portland O bserver w elcom es freelance subm issions. M anuscripts and photographs should b e clearly labeled and w illbe returned ifaccom - panied by a s e lf addressed envelope. 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