A p ril 18, 2001
Page A 4
(Ftp? Jlnrtlanb Oibseruer
as Opinion
Puritani)
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Alcohol Often Least Talked About Threat to Our Lives
(The
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O regon . P ariaership E xecl -
i in e D irector
USPS 959-680
Established 1970
ST A F F
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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.
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