(Ehe JInrtlanò (fìbseruer
January IS. 2003
Page A3
E ducation _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Students Rally Against Budget Cuts
Students hope to
raise $487,000
to save outdoor
school
. “Outdoor
School is one o f
the rare
opportunities
to have a real
impact on sixth
graders lives, ”
D avid P lechl
T he P ortland O bserver
by
A boisterous group of stu
dents rallied downtown Satur
day to save Outdoor School from
Portland School District budget
cuts.
“It’s a great experience that
every kid should have,” said
Lars B urkholder, a middle school
student. “It’s nice to get out of
the classroom and meet other
kfds from other schools.”
The program connects sixth
grade students from local el
ementary schools with middle
and high school aged mentors.
Then twice a year, the sixth
graders get to spend two weeks
with their mentors in an outdoor
educational environment.
Adrian Lebrasseur, a student
at Grant High School, said out
door school takes the pressure
off the educational process.
It s so nice and comfort- Ni/ina Mason-Cam pbell (second from right) and o th e r students
a, 6 jV« v ° ne IS aCLL,1tin^ ’
she said. You can make a fool
Outdoor School from Portland School D istrict budget cuts.
- Ana Quiroz, Outdoor School
student leader
photoby D avid P i . echi .ZI' he P ortland O bserver
sing during a rally downtown on Saturday to save
Holiday Did Not Come Without Turmoil
continued
ordinance forcity workers laterthat
year!—
At that time. Commissioner Dick
Bogle criticized his colleague
Mildred Schwab for voting against
the holiday. She retorted that the
law favored some workers at the
expense o f others, the very thing
that King had fought against dur
ing his life. Ultimately, through in
tense negotiations, the issues were
resolved in time for the first celebra
tion of Martin Luther K ing’s birth
day in January 1986.
The battle continued in other
states.
The Arizona legislature adopted
the holiday in 1987, only to have it
repealed by executive order of mav
erick G ov. E van M echam . A
Superbowl planned for Phoenix was
moved, and the state lost hundreds
of millions o f dollars in convention
and tourist business, before the holi
day was finally readopted in 1992.
Emotional
Journey
continued
I nformation S essions
from Front
from Front
leader” w ho drew people to him
“like a m agnet. “W ithout him, I
d o n ’t think we w ould be w here
we are today,” he said. “As h u
man beings w ere naturally look
for leaders. Every so often som e
body special com es along. M ar
tin L uther King was one o f those
p eople.”
W eber is w hite, a factor that
g e n e ra te s a c e rta in cu rio sity
when he speaks on black history,
but he says it also “opens a lot o f
doors for m e.”
He thanks D arrell M illner, the
A frican A m erican historian at
Portland State University, fo rg iv
ing him a great deal o f help and
encouragem ent.
“ My real goal is to help gener
ate m ore interest on the part of
both black and w hite p eople," he
said.
“The stories behind m any suc
cessful black people are both
am azing and exciting. They are
also dow n right heart w renching.
I am brought to tears on a regular
b asis.”
à
“With this
holiday, Dr.
King takes his
of yourself and no one cares.”
City Commissioner Erik Sten,
Liel Goldschmidt, Mayor Vera
Katz and Gov. Ted Kulongowski
have all given their endorse
ment to the group.
The rally kicked off a month
of fund raising in hopes of rais
ing $487,(XX) by Feb. 15 to save
the program. Franklin High
School students have already
pledged $600.
Benson High School senior
William McCloskey has been to
Outdoor School half a dozen
times as a student leader and is
optimistic the students will be
able save the program.
“W e’re feeling pretty posi
tive that we’ll be able to raise
the money in time
fo r
Trillium Charter School
A N e w P ortlan d Public
K -12 C h a rte r
School
T hursday J anuary 1 6 at 7 : 0 0 p . m .
M onday J anuary 2 7 at 7 : 0 0 p . m .
■
at 116 N.
P age S treet
T rilliu m seeks to create an en viro n m e n t o f
Independent learning w ith in a small
school, small m ulti-age class setting.
Learn how our focus o f Com m unity,
Urban and Global Studies encourages
cross-age relationships, social awareness and critical
thinking.
place as the
father o f the
second
American
revolution, the
revolution fo r
civil rights, ”
Alternatives...Choice... Change
FOR INFORMATION AND APPLICATIONS CALL
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H. & B. Too
In 1 9 8 6 C oretta King (left) w itn e s s e d th e signing o f th e Martin L uther
King Holiday into law by p re sid e n t Ronald Reagan.
New Hampshire, the last hold-
out, adopted the holiday in 1999.
Given the turmoil ii^enacting the
holiday in Oregon and elsewhere,
- U.S. Sen. Edward
Kennedy speaking on
the day the Martin
Luther King Jr.
Holiday into law
NOW OPEN
there was special significance to
Gov. A tiyeh’s pronouncement as
he signed the holiday into law:
"Black people have many virtues,
but I don’t think any exceeds their
patience. Ournational shame is our
benign neglect ofthe blacks among
us,” Atiyeh said.
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