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About The skanner. (Portland, Or.) 1975-2014 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 4, 2012)
www . tHESKANNER . COM J ANUARy 4, 2012 P ORtLANd , O REgON V OLUME XXXIV, N O . 1 25 CENtS I NSIDE High Cost Loans page 4 Queen Latifah page 5 Financial Resolutions C hallenging P eoPle to S haPe a B etter F uture n ow Kids, Jails and Reform page 6 OccuprOtest New report gioves justice advocates hope for new ideas By Helen Silvis of The Skanner News PHoto By LISa LovINg T his week the State of Oregon is slated to release a report on sentencing in the criminal justice system. The Commission on Public Safety started work last August, charged with looking at how to streamline the state’s $1.4 billion correc- tions budget without hurting public safety. Experts who spoke Dec. 9 at a Multnomah County conference on children and teens in the criminal justice system, argued for a complete policy rethink. We need to take a more holistic approach,” said Judge Patricia Martin. “What if we thought of juvenile court like an emergency triage.” Under Measure 11, Oregon teens who commit serious crimes are charged and sen- tenced as adults. But that approach found no support from Martin and other experts, who said harsh sentences do nothing to help trou- bled kids become responsible adults. Judge Martin said families should be assigned one judge who deals with every problem facing that family, whether the issue is neglect, abuse or delinquent behav- ior. “Our judicial system is segregated. The problem is my families and kids don’t come segregated,” Martin says. Juvenile courts should be able to call on experts in mental health, education, drug treatment: whatever a family needs to deal with all of its problems, and legal issues in one place. “And if we can have drug courts, why not mental health treatment courts?” she said. A juvenile and family judge in Cook County, Ill., Martin is President of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. She has seen thousands of kids and families go through the court sys- tem. Most of those young people would become productive citizens with the right help, she says, but the justice system sets Members of the Occupy Movement came out in force two days before Christmas to protest Fannie Mae corporation’s auction on the Multnomah Courthouse steps of an adult foster care facility owned by Angela Hill. Hill, front row second from left, won a reprieve; no one bid on the property, so it remains in foreclosure, giving her more time to find a resolution – and protesters more time to plan further support. Freedom Rider History Embraced Roosevelt High School Students Embrace Freedom Rider History By Faye Powell Special to The Skanner News F ifty years ago on May 4, 1961, thirteen black and white, mostly young activists boarded buses in Washington, D.C., bound for New Orleans. Their mission was to challenge the segregated seating on interstate transporta- tion that existed throughout the Deep South. They were well schooled in the philosophy and techniques of nonviolent protest See rEForm on page 3 INDEX News ................2,3,6,8 Opinion .....................4 A & E ......................5,7 Bids/Classifieds ..........7 and keenly aware that they risked injury, even loss of life, by their actions. Before the end of the Freedom Rides that year, 436 individuals from all across the United States had joined the movement. The resulting scale of violence against the activists that occurred, particularly in Alabama, shocked the nation and ultimately helped break the back of racial segregation not only in public transportation but also in other areas of public accommodations. During the month of January, a “Freedom Riders, Fighters & Writers Exhibit” created by Roosevelt High School students in partnership with University of Portland students and in col- laboration with the traveling PBS “Freedom Riders” exhibit, will be installed for public view- ing at many Portland locations, including: North Portland Library Jan. 9-11; Portland Community College-Cascade Campus Jan. 12-13; Mt. Olivet Baptist Church, 8725 N. Chautauqua Boulevard Jan. 15; Highland Christian Center, 7600 NE Glisan Street for the Martin Luther King Day Celebration Jan. 16; University of Portland Jan. 17-20; and Roosevelt High School Jan. 21-24. A formal gathering and recep- tion honoring the participants will be held at Roosevelt High School at 7 p.m., Jan. 23. See FrEEDom on page 3 Some Skeptical about U of O Study University of Oregon Study Leaves Some Skeptical By Bruce Poinsette Special to The Skanner News U niversity of Oregon researchers recently released a study that con- cluded the football team’s success reduced male students grades relative to female grades. It also questioned the alloca- tion of subsidies to the athletic department. The study utilizes a survey of 53 percent of students who have attended UO for two or more years, and suggests males are more likely to increase alcohol consumption, decrease studying and increase partying when the football team is doing well. “There’s nothing you can do unless you change the culture of the university,” says UO student Tyree Harris. “How many rush- ing yards can the science department get?” In addition to the survey, researchers col- lected fall term GPA data from 1999 through 2007. During mediocre football seasons the researchers found a relatively small gap between male grades and female grades. However, during seasons like 2001 and 2005, where the ducks went 11-1 and 10-2, respectively, the gender gap widened. See StuDy on page 3
