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News PSU Jimi Shelter continued from page 1 tral precinct. Currently, campus security officers already have the authority to perform “stop and frisk” and can arrest people if they have probable cause; however they aren’t allowed to carry guns, and aren’t considered full peace officers under Oregon law. Two PSU security officers who spoke at the forum said that in particularly volatile situations they feel underpre- pared. They also pointed to their inability to provide welfare checks on students. The officers testified that if a gunman were on campus – unarmed officers would be powerless to stop him. Under the proposal, some of the security team would undergo an 18-month training headed by Portland Police to become sworn officers. At the Nov. 24 protest, protestors called for alternative safety measures. “PSU don’t militarize, that’s not safety in our eyes!” and “invest in things that make us safe!” filled the air from the crowd of nearly 80. Speakers called for additional funding into more lighting on campus, phones, campus escorts, and mandatory conflict resolution classes for students, among other suggestions. Tom Hastings, a PSU professor of conflict resolution, spoke at the rally; he says he is never in support of guns. “The last thing we need is these guys and gals with guns,” he says. Because PSU’s incoming freshman class is set to be the most diverse the school’s ever had, Hastings believes con- tinual policing on campus could also lead to profiling of students. “We’re getting more people of color and we’re getting more international. People know when they’re marginal- ized, profiled, and targeted, they are more likely to be a victim of the police than to be helped by the police. That is increasingly going to be the case at the PSU campus.” The university said response time for the city’s police bureau in a non-emergency situation can be up to 20 min- utes. If there were an active shooter, the armed police officers assigned to the university could respond within 60 PHOTO BY SUSAN FRIED ‘The last thing we need is these guys and gals with guns’ Clay Elias hendrix and his mother Janie hendrix sit in the new Jimi hendrix themed bus shelter on 23rd Avenue and Massachusetts Street. The Jimi hendrix Park Foundation, The Friends of Jimi hendrix Park, and King County Metro Transit unveiled the new shelter on Nov. 19. seconds, the university claims. It should be noted that the PSU campus is less than a mile from the police’s downtown precinct in downtown. Members of the Board pointed to data suggesting that the police presence would be light, compared to other universi- ties its size. ‘People know when they’re marginalized, profiled, and targeted, they are more likely to be a victim of the police than to be helped by the police’ Referencing the recent high school shootings at Marysville-Pilhuck near Seattle; Reynolds just outside of Portland; and November’s Florida State University gun- man, PSU spokesperson Scott Gallagher says there is a benefit to having armed officers on campus. The final decision on whether to add police will be hand- ed down earliest by the PSU Board of Trustees Dec. 11. Gallagher says, when if passed it would be at least 6 months after the date before armed officers would be on campus. Cancer continued from page 1 According to Salem Health, 75 percent of lung cancer cases are diagnosed at stage three or four, when the chance of survival is less than 15 percent. Screening for high-risk patients like Reed has doubled the number of patients whose cancer was caught at stage one. Early screening is even more important for African Americans, says Boutin. “There is a gene that makes you more sus- ceptible to developing lung cancer,” Boutin said. “So for the same number of pack years, an African American is more likely to develop lung cancer than a Caucasian and much more likely than Hispanics.” The gene, NQO1, which is currently being studied, appears to make the carcino- gens in cigarettes more active. Despite lower rates of smoking, African American cancer rates are higher. The disease is more likely to strike at an earlier age for African Americans, but African Americans are less likely to be diagnosed and treated early. Even worse, Boutin says tobacco compa- nies are specifically concentrating on young African Americans with smoking advertise- ments and hip-hop competitions. “They are actually targeting a population patients are between 55 and 74 years who have had a minimum of 30 pack-years of smoking who are current smokers or who have quit in the last 15 years. When the Institute began the screening program in January of 2013, there was no ‘For the same number of pack years, an African American is more likely to develop lung cancer than a Caucasian and much more likely than Hispanics’ that is at a higher risk to get them addicted to this substance.” The Salem Cancer Institute program offers a LDCT scan, education and follow- up for $99. Scholarships are available for those who can’t afford $99, paid for by the Salem Hospital Foundation. Eligible code to bill for the procedure and no health insurance coverage. Boutin said the radiolo- gists in Salem have been donating their time and expertise. Since then, Medicare has created a code to pay for this procedure and other insurance companies have either created a code or modified an existing code. Boutin says Medicare should start paying for screenings some time after February 1, 2015. These billing changes may lead to more widespread availability of LDCT screen- ings. For Boutin, the most important preventa- tive measure to take right now is to stop smoking. “If you are already smoking, do whatever you need to do to quit,” Boutin said. “Tobacco is not anybody’s friend, in the African American community it’s even more deadly.” For Reed, her LDCT screening has given her a new lease on life that she wants to share with others. “Be confident that it has a real probability of saving your life,” Reed said. “I paid 99 dollars; it was the best money I have ever spent.” Chavis continued from page 1 bers. Chavis, a pastor in the United Church of Christ, has served as vice president of the National Council of Churches in 1988; he was also was elected the youngest executive director of the national NAACP in 1993. Canned goods and boxed meals will be collected for the Martha Terrell Food Pantry, which is located on Northeast 8th At the age of 24, Chavis became one of the Wilmington 10, a group of teenagers and civil rights activists wrongly convicted of firebombing a grocery store in the city in 1971. Avenue and is available to any resident of collecting donations of newly purchased clothing, especially coats. The Skanner News Martin Luther King Jr. Breakfast is Monday, Jan. 19, 2015, from 8:30-10:30 at the Oregon Convention Cen- ter. Get your tickets on our website, www.theskanner.com. that area. For the first time, we will also be December 3, 2014 The Portland and Seattle Skanner Page 3
