October 3, 2012
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IN S ID E
R eligion
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Page 3
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pages 8-9
O pinion
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C alendar
page 10
F o o d
pages 12, 23 m
Portland Parent Union founder Sheila Warren (right) with her husband Ronald Warren and grand
daughter Paris Warren work to end school suspensions and create alternatives for youth at risk o f
being pushed out o f critical learning opportunities.
Push for Alternatives
Parents work
to end school
suspensions
M E F R O»
page 13
C ari H achmann
T he P ortland O bserver
by
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OREGON
FOOD
BANK
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H ealth
pages 14-15
T he Portland Parents U nion in
vites the public to attend a m eeting
on Saturday, O ct. 6 in northeast
P ortland to ed u cate and d iscuss
alternatives to school “p u sh o u ts,”
a description for the disp ro p o rtio n
ate num ber o f m inority youth w ho
are suspended o r ex p elled from
school by zero-tolerance policies.
In support o f the “ N ational W eek
o f A ction on School P u sh o u ts,”
p aren ts, stu d en ts, ed u ca to rs and
advocates from across the country
are taking action to expose the crisis
o f children being left behind and
advocate for in-school alternatives.
A ccording to the g ro u p ’s “S o lu
tions not S uspensions” initiative,
every year, 3.3 m illion students in
the U nited States are suspended
from school, causing them to m iss
critical learning tim e as well as o p
portunities to grow and succeed.
R ecent federal data show s that
black and L atino students, and stu
dents w ith disabilities, are d isp ro
p o rtio n ately targ eted by su sp en
sions. T hey are also likely to be
punished m ore severely than w hite
students for m in o r m isbehaviors,
contributing to the achievem ent gap
and high d ropout rates for these
stu d e n ts.
T he parents argue for a m orato
rium on suspensions and e x p u l
sions, citing a school-to-prison ed u
cational track and ju v en ile ju stice
system that too often fails to serve
continued
on page 5
Input Sought on PCC Leadership
College FCHCheS
w ill involve the college board, K illingsw orth St. Feedback can also
O
faculty, staff, students, and m em - b e p ro v id e d o n lin e a tp c c .e d u /p re si-
out in search for b n e u rs
^roac^er cornrnunhy- a den A t. national recruitm ent w ill take
m b er o f events w here staff, stu-
nCW DreSldent
dents and the public can learn m ore place from N ovem ber through Janu-
r
T he public and key stakeholders
will help shape the search for a new
president at Portland C om m unity
C ollege. Dr. Preston Pulliam s, the
current p resident, will be retiring in
2 ° 13-
PC C has com m itted itself to an
open and inclusive search process
about the search process, and share
thoughts about the challenges PC C
faces in the years ahead are sched-
uled.
C om m unity forum s started M on-
day and another session is p lanned
for T hursday, O ct 4, at 4 :3 0 p.m . at
the M oriarty building on the PC C
C ascade
C am pus,
705
N.
ary. T he PC C B oard plans to bring
the fin alists to the co lleg e next
spring w hen com m unity m em bers
w ill have an o th er opp o rtu n ity to
m eet and provide input on the can-
d id ates.
Pulliam s has served as P C C ’s
The D epartm ent o f Justice is seek
ing com m unity input tow ards e f
forts to reform the Portland Police
B u reau ’s use o f force, crisis inter
vention, and officer accountability
policies.
T he U. S. A tto rn ey ’s O ffice for
the D istrict o f O regon, in c o n ju n c
tion w ith the Special L itigation S ec
tion o f the Civil Rights D ivision, will
host a com m unity conference call
w ith m em bers o f the public on both
W ednesday, Oct. 3, and T hursday
O ct. 4 from 6 p.m . to 8 p.m.
T o participate, dial the follow ing
toll-free number: 1 -800-369-1772, and
w hen prom pted by the operator,
provide your nam e and the passcode
“ P ortland.”
Last m onth, the Justice D ep art
m ent announced its findings o f a
com prehensive investigation con-
continued y f on page 5
C onsumer
I R eport Comment on Police Reforms Wanted
M
pages 20-21
C lassifieds
page 32-33
continued
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on page 5