December 29, 2010
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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
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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 |
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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.