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About Portland observer. (Portland, Or.) 1970-current | View Entire Issue (Aug. 31, 2016)
Page 4 August 31, 2016 Parents Call Rap Music Ban Racist Portland school bus policy under fire C ervante p ope t he p ortland o bserver A memo sent out to Portland Public Schools bus drivers stipu- lating that rap music was not ap- propriate on school buses leaves parents concerned of an underly- ing racial bias. “The stations that are deemed inappropriate include any reli- gious, rap music or talk show programs,” the March 9 memo from PPS senior director of transportation Teri Brady reads, by Providing Insurance and Financial Services Home Office, Bloomington, Illinois 61710 Ernest J. Hill, Jr. Agent 4946 N. Vancouver Avenue, Portland, OR 97217 503 286 1103 Fax 503 286 1146 ernie.hill.h5mb@statefarm.com 24 Hour Good Neighbor Service R State Farm R Subscribe ! 503-288-0033 Fill Out & Send To: Attn: Subscriptions, PO Box 3137, Portland OR 97208 $45.00 for 3 months • $80.00 for 6 mo. • $125.00 for 1 year (please include check with this subscription form) Name: Telephone: Address: or email subscriptions@portlandobserver.com L egaL N otices leaving only five stations the dis- trict feels are safe to play while transporting students. Of the suitable options, pop stations 103 FM, 106.7 FM and 97.1 FM were at the top of the list, followed by country station 98.7 FM and jazz station 89.1 FM. A copy of the memo was ob- tained by Colleen Ryan-Onken, a white parent to a senior at Roo- sevelt High School, who shared it with fellow parents that also shared her outrage. “I think it’s overtly racist and leaves out two of our major com- munities in our music choices,” Ryan-Onken told the Oregonian. Ryan-Onken also pointed out You Can Now Text 911 C ontinued froM p age 3 that someone in need would add an emoji or smiley face to their cry for help, Bledsoe says the possibility is more likely than one would think. “There’s a big variety of emoji keyboards in this day and age and so sometimes people might, with language barriers or translation issues, think that they can trans- late or give us information where they might not know the word for it,” says Bledsoe. “That might be a situation where someone might try to use an emoji and try to com- municate information to us. But it Fixing the Taps C ontinued froM f ront until all school kitchen faucets are deemed safe. Vegetables like lettuce and brussel sprouts will come to school kitchens prewashed and essentially ready to serve, eliminating the need for faucet-run water. “We are still evaluating fixtures for lead used for food preparation, but the number one priority is get- ting our kitchens back in order,” says Westling. She also says that PPS is working with a consul- tant regarding upgrading kitchen pipe systems with the hopes of having the issue resolved by the next school year. Grains and starches, such as rice and mashed potatoes, will be cooked using a rotation between vegetable broth, meat broth and outside sourced wa- ter. Students with religious or dietary restrictions for food will have vegetarian options made available daily, according to Westling. Additional problems regarding the District’s wa- ter lead levels involve school community gardens, which is somewhat addressed in a joint statement released by Portland Public Schools and the Oregon Health Authority. “The amount of lead delivered to soil through water is quite small compared to the amount of lead how Latin music isn’t even men- tioned and how certain topics covered in country songs make it just as offensive as rap can be. Portland Public Schools spokeswoman Courtney Westling offered a response. “We regret the way this was communicated. Our intent is to limit student exposure to reli- gious teachings, profanity and violent lyrics,” said Westling. “The transportation department will be revising its guidance to bus drivers shortly to be more inclusive of different genres of music.” Exactly when this revision will be happening has not yet been disclosed. doesn’t work, unfortunately, yet, in the 911 sector.” She reiterates being precise with messaging and location de- tails without any multimedia at- tached because “if someone says ‘help’ or ‘I need help’ and then sends us an unhappy face, we won’t even see the ‘I need help.’” People are encouraged to always call 911 first (or use relay services or TTY) whenever possible. already present at background levels in soil. Other potential sources, such as lead-based paint chips and dust, represent a much more significant contributor to soil lead concentrations,” the statement reads. “In general, garden plants do not absorb signifi- cant quantities of lead. However, it is important for people to wash vegetables and hands after gardening to reduce possible exposure to lead in soil, which is the major potential source of lead contamination on produce.” PPS is still discouraging use of community gar- dens due to spigots containing lead that may have fed water into the gardens. Westling says the District has no intentions to shut down their near 75 commu- nity gardens, but that vegetables grown in them will not be used in school kitchens. Vegetables from schools’ community gardens will not be used again until untainted cold water fix- tures can be secured to safely wash garden produce. PPS plans to continue updating concerned parents and the general public through videos, newsletters and posted signage like they have already exercised since the lead issue became such a hot topic. Communication on the topic is available in En- glish, Somali, Vietnamese, Russian, Chinese and Spanish, though Westling says interpretation is available for additional languages as well. “We’re really trying to hit people from all angles with communication since not everyone receives in- formation in the same way,” Westling says. Advertise with diversity in Need to publish a court document or notice? Need an affidavit of publication quickly and efficiently? Please fax or e-mail your notice for a free price quote! Fax: 503-288-0015 e-mail: classifieds@portlandobserver.com The Portland Observer The Portland Observer Call 503-288-0033 or email ads@portlandobserver.com
