tHlTC
ommunity
a le n d a r
C
Trick or Treat on
Alberta Street
C h ild re n and fam ilies are in
v ite d to atten d T rick o r T re at
on A lb erta S treet on H allo w
een. B ring a bag for safe treats
an d v isit sto res from 4 p.m . to
6 p.m . A co stu m e c o n test w ill
be held at 7 p.m . F or m ore
in fo rm atio n , co n tac t W inona
at S cary M o n ster M usic by
calling 503-282-6608.
Meet A.C. Green at 11th
Annual Halleluja Carnival
i
J
T h reetim eN B A W orldC ham -
pion A .C . G reen o f the Los
A ngeles L akers will be at N ew
B e g in n in g s C h ristian C e n te r
Halloween carnival from 4 p.m.
to 10 p.m . N ew B eginnings
will o f fe r ‘unlim ited p lay ’ tick
ets for $4. B ring a can o f food
to help feed the h u ngry and
get $1 o ffa d m issio n price. For
more in formation cal1,503-762-
6268.
Spooktacular Halloween at
Kennedy ‘Ghoul’ School
The K ennedy School welcomes
little goblins and ghouls for
trick-or-treating from 4 p.m. to 6
p.m . H allow een enthusiasts o f
all ages can stick around for the
W illam ette Radio W orkshop’s
liv e r a d io b r o a d c a s t o f
“ D ra cu la” in the renovated
gym nasium from 7 p.m. to 8:30
p.m. N o cover w ill be charges.
Bewitching Corn Maze
C elebrate the H allow een sea
son by roam ing the tw ists and
tu rn s o f th e co rn m aze at
K ruger’s Farm M arket. This
y e a r's m aze features a witch on
a b room along w ith other
spooky surprises. Call for de
tails. K ruger’s Farm M arket,
17100 S. W. Sauvie Island Road,
1 !6 m iles straight across the
Sauvie Island Bridge. Call 503-
621-3489.
Catlin Gabel 58th Annual
Rummage Sale
In the last 58 years, the annual
C altin G abel rum m age sale has
raised m ore than five m illion
dollars in financial aidforC atlin
G abel students. This year the
huge four-day sale will take
place at the Porltand Expo C en
ter, 2060 N Marine Drive, in Halls
A a n d B . T he sale opens Thurs-
day,O ct.31 from 5to9p.rn.w ith
a 25% m arkup. Regular prices
start on Friday, Nov. 1 from 10
a m . to 9 p.m ., Saturday, Nov. 2
and Sunday, Nov 3. For D irec
tions or inform ation call 503-
297-1894 ext. 423.
October 30, 2002
www.portlandobserver.tom
Committed to Cultural Diversity
(Observer
SECTION
B
De La Salle North Works
School mixes diversity with internships, college-prep
by W vnde D yer
T he P ortland O bserver
Is De La Salle North Catholic High School
really the school that w orks?
Just ask M att Powell, the school’s founder
and president.
“Y eah, this is a real strange place,” Powell
said.
By strange he m eans the year-old school
com bines rigorous college preparatory w ork
w ith an innovative corporate internship pro
gram that pays for 70 percent o f the stu
d en ts’ tuition by placing them out into the
w orking w orld. W hile m ost area schools
have cut school days and shortened the
school year, De La Salle N orth boasts a
lengthened school year to m ake up for class
tim e lost w hile its 148 sophom ore and fresh
men w ork one full eight-hour day a w eek at
local corporations.
W here else can you find 14 -a n d -15-year-
olds w orking for law firms, d o cto r’s offices,
brokerage firm s and banks?
O nly at one other school in the country,
that is until De La Salle North Catholic opened
its doors last fall.
For five years, C hristo Rey Jesuit High
School in C hicago w orked to bring college-
prep education to a low -incom e area in co m
bination w ith a unique jo b -sh arin g program
to cover a m ajority o f the school ’ s operating
co sts.
C orporate sponsors contracted w ith the
school and the school provided a team o f
students to fill each clerical position the
com pany had to offer. The school designed
a block schedule so students could work
one day o f the w eek at the jo b site w ithout
m issing classroom time. T his enabled stu
dents to gain valuable work experience and
pay their tuition w ithout sacrificing after
school or w eekend hours that could be spent
on hom ew ork o r w ith friends.
Powell w anted to establish a neighbor
hood high school and thought the sam e
m odel could be applied in north Portland. He
said the dem ographics and a high drop-out
rate in north Portland is strikingly sim ilar that
o f inner city C hicago.
“This area is traditionally underserved -
by the church and the state," Powell said.
"W e d o n ’t w ant to be labeled as a poor kids
school, but here are a lot o f fam ilies looking
for som ething different in north Portland.”
De La Salle North Catholic sophomore Luke Johnson (from left), President Matt Powell, Corporate Internship Program
Director Michael Jacobson, sophomore Mary Miller and freshmen Irene Ambrose and Kayla Keagbine wait in front of the old
elementary school turned high school on North Delaware Avenue. These students are employed at local banks, brokerage
firms, doctors offices, law firms and even international corporations like Nike.
PHOTOS BY
W ynde D yer /
T he P ortland
O bserver
De La Salle North
Catholic High students
paint banners for a spirit
rally. The college
preparatory school's
148 freshman and
sophomore students
spend one day a week
working for local
businesses to offset
tuition costs.
So Powel I decided to give them w hat they
w ere looking for. An old C atholic elem en
tary school and parish on North D elaw are
A venue was the perfect location. The school
w as centrally located in the north and north
east Portland geography he w anted to serve
- an area with a drop out rate o f around 40
percent. T he surrounding Kenton neigh
borhood w as supportive o f the school’s
goals and the building needed relatively
little renovation.
“ It w as a real turn-key," Powell said.
“There aren’t a lot o f vacant buildings around
that w ould accom m odate us like this.”
W hen last y ear’s freshm an class filed in
the doors, the student body diversity could
hardly go unnoticed. De La Salle North
C atholic has as m any m inority students as
C aucasian and a close balance o f m ale and
fem ale students. A lthough m any students
are adm itted from area parochial schools, 55
percent o f the high sch o o l’s students are
not C atholic and more than h alf o f them
receive financial aid to cover the rem aining
part o f their tuition.
How arc those students doing one year later?
A sk sophom ore Raphael Deem.
W hen his grandparents told him they
continued
y^
on pane 86
REACHING FOR RESPECT
Hip Hop Fans Fight for Turf
by D avid P lechi .
T he P ortland O bserver
A fter he saw a couple o f black-ow ned
clubs shut dow n and a few m ore threatened
w ith closure, D avid Parks thought he had
better do som ething about it.
Parks organized a com m unity forum Sun
day night to exam ine issues surrounding
hip-hop clubs and the black com m unity that
often frequents them. A bout 75 people at
Thermometer Exchange
T hose co n cern ed about the
safety o f their m ercury ther
m om eters can trade them in for
new digital ones at a therm om
eter exchange and im m uniza
tion clinic sponsored by the
O regon N urses A ssociation
and the Oregon Center for Envi
ronm ental Health. C om m unity
m em bers can learn about the
dangers o f m ercury exposure
during the exchange from 10
a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, Nov.
2 at the Lents C linic, Pilgrim
Lutheran Church, 4244 SE 91"
clubs dow n and is blind to the issues o f a
cultural gap.
“ If there are problem s, the O L C C figures
it is easier to get rid ofclubs than to work with
the culture connected to the clu b s," Parks
said.
He said clubs, artists and prom oters
should have a w orking dialogue with police
and governm ent officials.
"Y oung black crow ds are not savages,"
‘F Bro' defends the
culture surrounding
hip-hop clubs and
music while encour
aging club goers to
“keep themselves in
check“ to avoid
trouble with authori
ties and to keep the
music going in
downtown's clubs.
Multicultural Meal
The W oodlaw n United M eth
odist Church will hose a Fall
Festival M ulticultural Meal in
conjunction w ith a cactus and
succulent plant show on Satur
day, Nov. 2 on the com er o f N E
15 and Dekum. The plant show
begins at 11 a.m., dinner will be
served from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Cost
is $5 in advance by calling 503-
289-0284, S6 at the door plus
and extra dollar for desert.
k
photos by D avid P i . echi / T he P ortland O bserver
David Parks listens as other hip-hop artists, dj's and dancers address racism
and discrimination in the nightclub scene.
I
I
tended.
Parks says a general lack o f cultural un
derstanding dates all the w ay back to the jazz
clubs o f the 20s, culm inating in undue per
secution and targeting o f people o f color by
police and city officials.
“ All w e ’re asking for is the right to have
a good tim e," Parks said.
Parks argues that the O regon L iquorC on-
trol C om m ission is instrum ental in closing
Parks said. “Their music should be respected
and nurtured like other form s o f m ainstream
m usic."
Art H endricks, an A frican A m erican city
official, said people in city governm ent are
w illin g
to
h e a r th e ir c o n c e r n s .
“ W e’re not in the business o f putting
businesses out o f business," he said.
continued
y^
on page R5
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