May 18. 2005__________________________________________ ' J J o r t l a t t f c © b s C V U e r ________ ______________________________________ Page A3 What do you think about the American Idol scandal between judge Paula Abdul and former contestant Corey Clark? It’s just a bunch of publicity. Paula Abdul is sexy and has a right to do what she wants. If he consented, he should keep it out o f the media. It takes two to tango. Elishua Goldsby Customer service agent Innocent until proven guilty. It’s all politics. Look at all the celebrities that have shady backgrounds - no one cares about them. Kristen Katz Courier I don’t know if it’s true. If it is then they should find a new judge. People like Clark always want something for nothing. Joe Mack Arnold Banquet server photo by K atherine K ovacich /T he P ortland O bserver Writing instructor Samuel Irving works on a Japanese poem with fifth grader Brianna White at King Elementary School. If she had no involvement then she should be allowed to remain a judge. If she did have relations with Clark then she needs to extricate herself from the competition. Brian Hall Associate product manager I think it’s weird that Clark brought this up right before his album comes out. I think if it was really an issue it would have been brought to our attention before. YusufWord High school student Writing to Survive continued from Front instead o f other vehicles that could use that would be deroga­ to ry .” This y e a r’s classes begin June 20, with w riting w orkshops fea­ turing poetry, autobiographies, fiction, academ ic work and hip hop for ages 12 to 17. L ast sum m er, Irving said, the program “produced a great wealth o f know ledge to the kids.” More than 150 youth were involved. Prim ary goals o f the w ork­ shops include exploring the cre­ ative process, im proving w riting the sam e w ay.” B eyond getting out current techniques, strengthening la n ­ guage and reading skills, enhanc­ feelings, Irving said that keeping ing artistic developm ent and ex­ a jo u rn a i can help keep a person in check about their personal am ining publishing options. E xpressing oneself on paper, growth. “It’s important for them to write acenturies-old practice, isn ’t like talking to a friend or school coun­ it dow n so a year later they can look back and see this is where I selor. “It’s a freedom in words. There cam e from. It’s ju st a stepping are no boundaries, there are no stone to healing,” Irving said. Even for those who suspect restrictio n s,” Irving said. “You can ju st w rite w hat you feel. A th ey ’ re unable to w rite creatively lot o f people such as m yself, I or academ ically have surprised can w rite b etter than I can e x ­ them selves with Irving’s direc­ press it verbally. C hildren are tion. His approach to teaching, he said, is com forting, friendly, free and creative. He says kids often say they can ’ t write poetry and don ’ t know how to describe their feelings, but “W hen I ju st have them sit down and w rite, the feelings ju st com e out.” For more inform ation on w ork­ shops, dates and prices, visit w w w .po etry lifelin e.co m . Each w orkshop is lim ited to 20 stu­ dents. Irving encourages those who w ould like to see a disad­ vantaged student go through the courses to sponsor a child. THE fcrtf Taste, o f Summer S a tu r d a y & S u n d a y * 1 1 a m - 5 p m The fnerwifaest store in totori. E A S Y & C O N C O R D IA N E 3 3 r d