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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Dec. 29, 2010)
December 29, 2010 ®*t* $3ortlanò ©bseruer Page 15 Respecting Differences Advertise with diversits IlKPordahd Observer Call 503-288-0033 c o n t i n u e d f r o m fr o n t e d u c a tio n , a n d , W a lla c e s a id , school d istric ts co u ld lose state funding if there is no an a n ti-b u lly ing policy in place. P ortland P ublic S chools recently step p ed up its an ti-b u lly in g efforts w hich focus on prev en tio n to c re ate a safe and w elco m in g clim ate w here students are not w o rry in g ab o u t how they w ill be treated by th eir peers. B ut w ith 201 school districts in the state, the co alition has a big challenge ahead o f them in trying to see that the legislation is enfo rced across the board. The Safe Schools A ct is especially im portant now , as aw areness o f bul lying am ong teens has increased in recent m onths, escalated after the reports o f at least five young m en A cco rd in g to the survey: w ho com m itted suicide as a result o f N early tw o -th ird s o f stu d en ts peerharassment. This prom pted “Sav rep o rted that they felt unsafe in age L ove” colum nist D an Savage school b ecau se o f th eir sexual o ri and his partner to start the It G ets en tatio n , and m ore than a third felt B etter cam paign, w hich involves ce unsafe b ecau se o f th e ir g en d er e x lebrities, politicians, and citizens tell p re ssio n . ing their stories o f being bullied w hen T w en ty -n in e p ercen t o f L G B T school-aged, and how their lives are students m issed a class at least once, better now. and 30 p ercent m issed at least one A ccording to the 2009 N ational day o f school in the past m onth School C lim ate Survey, a 10-year b ecau se o f safety co n cern s; c o m study do cu m en tin g the experien ces pared to only 8 p ercen t and 6.7 p er o f le s b ia n , g a y , b is e x u a l a n d cent, resp ectiv ely , o f o th er seco n d tran sg en d er students, nearly 9 out ary school students. o f 10 L G B T students experien ced T h e g ra d e p o in t a v e ra g e o f s tu h arassm ent at school in the past d e n ts w h o w e re m o re fre q u e n tly y ear and nearly tw o-thirds felt u n h a ra ss e d b e c a u se o f th e ir sex u a l safe b ecause o f th eir sexual orien ta o rie n ta tio n o r g e n d e r e x p re ss io n tion. w as a lm o st h a lf a g ra d e lo w e r th an R e le a s e d in S e p te m b e r, th e fo r stu d e n ts w h o w e re le ss o fte n stu d y fo u n d th a t 8 4 .6 p e rc e n t o f h a ra s s e d (2 .7 v e rsu s 3.1 p e rc e n t). L G B T s tu d e n ts re p o rte d b e in g Increased levels o f v ictim ization v e rb a lly h a ra ss e d , 40.1 p e rc e n t w ere related to in creased levels o f r e p o r te d b e in g p h y s ic a lly h a d e p re ssio n an d a n x ie ty and d e ra s s e d a n d 18.8 p e rc e n t re p o rte d creased levels o f self-esteem . b e in g p h y s ic a lly a s s a u lte d a t T h o u g h P o rtlan d is the first m a sc h o o l in th e p a st y e a r b e c a u s e o f jo r city in the n ation to elect a gay th e ir sex u a l o rie n ta tio n . m ayor, O reg o n as a w hole is no t as In Loving Memory ads($portl<tfidob Joy Wallace stands up to bullying in schools during a visit to the Q Center, a community facility for gay, lesbian, and transsexual youth on North Mississippi Avenue; and as the chair o f the Oregon Safe Schools and Communi ties Coalition. Z------------------------ \ State Finn* Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61/10 Ernest J. Hill, Jr. Agent 4946 N Vancouver Avenue, Portland, OR 97217 503 286 1103 Fax 503 2861146 ernie.hill h5mb@statetarm com fam ilies, teachers, and students alike. T o learn m ore about the safe schools coalition, visit its w ebsite, o re g o n s a fe s c h o o ls .o rg . EMMANUEL Church of God in Christ United 4800 NE 30th Ave. Port land OR 97211 503-335-8772 You are cordially invited to worship with us in these services: Sunday Service Sunday School 10:00 A.M Y.P.C.E. 6:30 PM P a sto r & W ife - B ishop & M rs. A .L . W right W orship S ervice 12:00 N oon E vangelistic Service 7:00 P M . Weekday Service T uesday N ight: B ible Study 7:00 P.M. Friday N ight: R egular Service 7:30 P.M. P ray er M eeting & Sem inar: M o n d ay - F riday 12:00 N oon Take Action Get Tested Multnomah County Health Department's j HIV C o m m u n ity Test Site offers | confidential HIV te stin g w ith or w ith o u t yo u r nam e | j James Lee Combs Sr. F uneral services for Jam es Lee C om bs Sr. , w ho died D ec. 12, 2010, w ere scheduled W edn es day, Dec. 29 at 11 a.m. at Em m anuel T em ple C hurch, 1033 N. Sum m er. C om m ittal services w ill follow at S kyline M em orial G ardens. H e w as b o m June 25, 1942 in D eS oto Parish, La. H e w orked as a m aintenance sup erv iso r fo r the H ousing A uthority o f Portland. C o m b s and tw o sons; K enneth H e w as a v o lu n te e r m an ag er, C o m b s Sr. and Jam es C om bs. coach and board m em ber for the A rran g em en ts by C ald w e ll’s, R iverside L ittle League. H ennessey, G oetsch and M cG ee Survivors include his wife, Vera Funeral H om e. servcr.com 24 Hour Good Neighbor Service® M ark W ashington / T he P ortland O bserver photo by accep tin g o f gay m inorities, as was ev id en ced by the anti gay m arriage passage o f M easure 36 in 2004. G a y rig h ts a c tiv is ts p o in t to W ash in g to n ’s safe school efforts and C alifo rn ia ’s G ay-S traight A lli ance N etw o rk as national m odels o f w ays to provide safe and secure co m m u n ities fo r yo u th that are free from harassm ent, violence, and d is crim in atio n o f any kind. T he O regon Safe Schools and C om m unities C oalition has m odeled its m ission on the tw o organizations and has recruited affiliations with Portland Public Schools, the Port land A ssociation o f Teachers, the Portland Council Parent Teachers A ssociation, the O regon chapter o f the A m erican Civil Liberties Union, the Sexual M inority Y outh Resource C enter, and dozens o f other groups to w ork tow ard ending prejudice and hate-m otivated violence, while creat ing safe schools and com m unities for in at these locations: I Downtown Com m unity Test Site Call 503.988.3775 for an appt. Mon I Thurs | Fri | 426 SW Stark St., 6th Floor, | Portland, 97204 j j w it h th is c o u p o Northeast Health Center n” Just walk in I Tuesdays | 5:30 - 7:15 pm ! 5329 NE MLK Jr. Blvd, 2nd Floor, | Portland, 97211 | Se habla español: other interpretation by appointment.