Page A4 3d ie Jlortlattò (¡Observer March 12. 2003 O pinion 1 hc Portland Observer Opinion articles do not necessarily reflect or represent the views of The Portland Observer E d it o i -I a -C h i i f . P u i l i s h i i Charles H. Washington C 1 1 < T i v e D 1 1 e c T o i Paul Neufeldt USPS 959-680 Established 1970 E d it o i Michael Leighton A s s o ciATK E d i t Wynile Dyer o i 4747 NE Martin Luther King, Jr. Blvd., D is t iiiv t io h Portland. OR 97211 M A N A G K I W i i t c i , P h o t o g ia ih f i Mark Washington David Plechl Posrnxsrra: Send address changes to Portland Observer P0 Box 3 1 3 7 , Portland. OP 9 7 2 0 8 P e rio d ic a l Postage paid In P o rtla n d , OR ■ S u b scrip tio n s are $ 6 0 .0 0 par year 5 0 8 2 8 8 0 0 3 3 • FAX503-2880015 • EMAIL: r i^>DQrtlandQbserver.cQm , ads@Dortlandobsetver.com The Portland Observer welcomes freelance submissions. Manuscripts and photographs should be clearly labeled and will be returned if accompanied by a self addressed envelope. All created design display ads become the sole property ol the newspaper and cannot be used in other publications or personal usage without the written consent of the general manager, unless the client has purchased the composition of such ad. © 1996 THE PORTLAND OBSERVER ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. REPRODUCTION IN W HOLEOK IN PAR I W ITHOUT PERM ISSIO N IS PROHIBITED. The Portland Observer-Oregon's Oldest Multicultural Publication--is a member of the National Newspaper Association-Founded in 1885, and The National Advertising Repte- sentative Amalgamated Publishers, Inc, New York, NY, and The West Coast Black Publishers Association • Serving Portland and Vancouver. O ur Future Cannot Wait E lijah E. C ummings On April 1, the United States Su preme Court will hear oral arguments in the Uni versity of Michigan’s voluntary efforts to include African Americans, Hispanic Americans and Native Ameri cans within its highly-selecti ve under graduate programs and school o f law. The Congressional Black Caucus has filed a brief with the court express ing our support for the university. We are deeply gratified that scores of other House leaders, including Democratic Congressman Elijah E. Cummings Leader Nancy Pelosi, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Chair Ciro Rodriguez and The Supreme Court should give these facts Asian Pacific Congressional Caucus Chair very careful consideration. David Wu of Oregon have joined the CBC in Contrary to President Bush’s inaccurate thisjust and critical cause. assertion, the University of Michigan's admis There are two central issues for the court to sions process does not reward unqualified resolve. a p p lican ts-an d it is not based upon quotas. Do we truly believe that the fair and inclusive Rather, the university awards minority appli representation o f all Americans within our cants 20 additional points on a 150 point scale major, publicly-funded universities is no longer -th e same number of additional points that are a “compelling state interest” that justifies vol allocated to Caucasian students from low- untary actions to move us closer toward that income families. goal? If ethnicity were to be entirely replaced as Can we devise methods to achieve that a factor in college admissions by the economic representation that are even more “narrowly background o f the applicants - as some have tai lored” than the mod- su g g ested -racial di est commitments that We have not created a versity would plummet. the U n iv e rsity o f "level playing field" in A computer simulation Michigan has made? of incoming students at When it considers preparatory education. Now, the University of Cali its answers to these opponents of affirmative fornia at Berkeley has questions, the Su action want to keep predicted that the num preme Court should ber of black students lay to rest the oppo Americans o f color off the would drop by 60 per nents’ inaccurate as public university playing field cent if socioeconomic sertion that “these af altogether. status were the only firmative action poli — Elijah E. Cummings, chair of the permissible consider cies may have been Congressional Black Caucus ation. necessary 30 years ' We also know that ago, but the playing field is fairly level today.” the minority students who ha ve studied at world- The court cannot avoid the racial and ethnic class uni versities like Michigan’s live up toour realities of I ife in this country. highest aspirations. They make substantial contri The Education Trust has found that this butions to the weli-beingoftheircommunitiesand nation's poorest schools - the schools that often rise to national leadership. African Americans and Hispanic Americans If the Supreme Court rules in favor o f the disproportionally attend - receive the least university’sdiversity p rocess-as we believe amount of state and local funding. President that it must - the Court ’ s message wi 11 be one Bush and the Congress acknowledged this of a future America that is unified, capable and fact when we enacted the “No Child Left strong. Behind" legislation-an initiative, I should note, However, if the opponents of inclusion pre that we have yet to fully fund. vail in the Supreme Court, that will also send a We have not created a “level playing field” message to the tens of millions o f American in preparatory education. Now, opponentsof young people who look like Congressm an affirmative action want to keep Americans of Rodriguez and me. color o ff the public university playing field The Court would be telling them, in effect, altogether. that some groups in Am erica must always Today, fewer than 1-in-10 Hispanic Ameri follow while others have the exclusive oppor cans goon to college and African Americans tunity to lead. attend college at only one-half the Caucasian . That would be a profound error. O ur chil rate. Credible research concludes that, with dren are this nation’s future— and our future out affirmative action, the percentage of Afri can no longer wait. can American students being educated on Rep. ElijahE. Cummings, D-Md., serves as many campuses would drop below 2 percent. Chair o f the Congressional Black Caucus. LOTTERY NOW OPEN by OPAL SCHOOL A unique Portland Public Schools Charter Elementary located at C M 2—Children's Museum at Washington Park, across from the Zoo & ■ N O T U IT IO N for morning preschool & kindergarten ■ N O T U IT IO N for grades 1 - 3 ■ T R A N S P O R T O P T IO N S include public transport, car pools, and self-transportation O pal School—a program of the Children's Museum—will serve Pre-K through 3rd-grade students (ages 3 -8 years old) in Fall 2003, with additional grades added in subsequent years. Students living in the Portland Public School District are selected through an open lottery. To get a lottery application, stop by the Children's Museum or call (503) 471-9900. All applications must be postmarked by 5 PM Monday, March 31, 2003. CoverThe Un in su red Week Monh 1016. 2003 H ealth F air Free and open to the public! The public is invited to a health fair on Wednesday, March 12 in Pioneer Courthouse Square where free screenings and educational materials will be available as part of a week-long series of events to bring greater awareness about the plight of the more than 41 million Americans and 440,000 Oregonians without health insurance. Screenings and information include: S Blood pressure & diabetes screening S Children’s Health Insurance Program enrollment info S Disaster Preparedness S Fitness S Foot care & massage WHEN: S Hearing & eye exams S Nutrition S Oregon Health Plan enrollment info S Senior Rx drug assistance info ...and much more! Wednesday, March 12th 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. WHERE: . Pioneer Courthouse Square Downtown Portland Cover the uninsured Week (CTUW) is a nationwide grassroots effort to highlight the urgency that action must be taken now to address this growing health care crisis. For more information about the health fair* or any other Cover the Uninsured Week event in Portland, please call: 503-226-9353 or log onto www.covertheuninsuredweek.org The health fair is sponsored by the Oregon Association o f Hospitals and Health Systems Raise Revenue for Vital Services In an address to the National Alliance of Mental Illness at the state Capitol, state Sen. A vel Gordly called for state legislators to act immediately to raise revenue to help Orego nians with mental illness and other medical needs. “We have reached a point in this state where, with the budget crisis getting deeper and darker every day, the only way through this is to get more revenue. That means tax reform now,” said Gordly, D-M ultnomah County. “Not five months from now or three years from now. It must happen now.” As an example. Gordly supports a proposal to increase beer and wine taxes and dedicate some of the new revenue to support for mental health services. Gordly has made mental health issues atop legislative priority and is one of the founders of the legislative Mental Health Caucus. She said mental health parity is “long overdue.” “ Now more than any o ther tim e in our history, the state o f O regon and our Nation must have a mental health system that works for all who need it,” G ordly said. She urged m em bers o f NAM I to rem ind legislators that their constitutional responsi bility includes levying a tax when there are insufficient revenues to support state ser vices. “ Hold your legislators accountable to the oath they each took to uphold the co n stitu tion, not the ’p led g e ’ they took to get elected,” she said. Advertise with diversity in ^Jortlanh (Observer call 503.288.0033 or email: ads @ portland observer.com 4