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PAGE 2 ■ MAY 23, 2008 viewpoint TECH PEP
THE DEMISE OF DIVERSITY
BY RICHARD PIKE & ZACH KEIRSEY
rpike@techpep.org
zkeirsey@techpep.org
It’s an average gloomy overcast day in Portland, but
possibly a bit more so inside Benson’s doors. Within
these chipped and dull orange double doors, there are
a few select students wanting to change the way the
administration has done its business this year, the year
we and the other seniors graduate. What we are proposing
isn’t too much; it’s more of an obligation to
the administration to see this plan go into action. I
am of course talking about the Diversity Assembly. We
have seen a Diversity Assembly during school all three
years I’ve attended Benson. So this year, when a rumor
spread that the diversity assembly would be happening
after school, we were quite upset, along with
at least 213 other students who signed a petition we
created against the assembly being held after hours.
These signatures, collected in four days by five strongwilled
students wanting what we’re sure more than
213 students wanted. By weeks end, we collated the
petitions, copied them, and turned the original copy
in to interim co-principal Susan Schenk for review.
What she said astounded even us, students at fully
aware of the craftiness the administration was capable
of. If you doubt the guile of the administration, just
look at our situation with Christie Plinski. I rest my
case.
“Well this is all great, but I don’t think a diversity
assembly is even scheduled.”
So what we are dealing with is not that a diversity
assembly will be happening during school, but even
if its happening at all. Clearly, we needed to investigate
further. What better person to talk to than Ms.
Figueroa herself, the coordinator of the diversity assembly.
Talking to her proved to be a success, because we
actually got an accurate answer, with proof to back it
up. Ms. Figueroa told us that a diversity assembly had
been planned, but due to the feelings of the diversity
committee about having an after school assembly, cre-
ated a conflict ultimately leading to the relinquishment
of the mere idea of even having the assembly.
She also told us that there may be a solution; all we
have to do is talk to the administration to schedule a
time and date. This is easier said than done.
So we traveled to the administration office again
to speak with Mrs. Schenk. Upon talking to her she
was just as, if not less helpful than previously. She told
us that even if it were to happen, the parents of the
students would be upset and it would be extremely
difficult to notify the parents by sending flyers home
with the students. In spite of Mrs. Schenk’s comment,
we are aware of the auto-dialing system at the school
used to notify parents on the telephone, which is actually
much more efficient than the latter. She also
told us, that for anything to happen, we would have to
speak with Mr. Phillips, because he is in charge of the
situation, not she.
The next day we spoke with Mr. Phillips, and he
said he would arrange a meeting about the Diversity
Assembly and the petition with Mr. Olczak. We tried
to follow up on our meeting with Mr. Phillips but every
time we came to the vice principal’s office he was
either busy, absent, or in a meeting. It was only on the
29th of April that we finally were able to speak with
him again. He told us that the diversity committee had
dropped Ms. Figueroa as their advisor, and that the
diversity committee had until the morning of the 30th
to produce a timeline for the assembly. He said if this
failed to happen, a Diversity Assembly would not happen,
and because of how late it has been scheduled,
even if a timeline surfaced, it would still be after school.
The administration has shown an extreme lack of
self-confidence, and ill consideration for the success
of their students, and for the traditions that go on here
at Benson. Their seemingly purposeful unhelpfulness
has greatly contributed to the struggles at making a
diversity assembly transpire. This might be because
the busyness of the administration, or the fact that we
do not have a real principal, nevertheless this Benson
tradition has a great possibility of ceasing to exist.
COLUMN
“Fair” Less Square?
BY ANNIE CHEN
achen@techpep.org
There has been talk, as reported by various news sources, that Tri-Met
is considering big changes to the MAX after a recent attack on a MAX
rider in Gresham. One of the biggest changes would require either eliminating
fareless square or limiting the hours from 7 a.m. - 7 p.m.. The
thought is, I believe, that many of the unwanted users hop onto the train
in fareless square.
That may be true but the majority of my MAX rides have seen little to
no problems, so I wouldn’t be able to give a first-hand account. Sure, I’ve
seen homeless people hopping on at Lloyd Center and using the train as
a temporary shelter or begging for change to have food in their stomach
for a day. Overall, there have been no drastic problems to where things
need to be changed at all.
The more I think about it, the more I think interfering with fareless
square is a bad idea. First and foremost, downtown is designed around
public transit and pedestrian traffic and there is a lot going on after the
hour of 7 p.m. A lot of people use the MAX to get to downtown and do
their shopping without the hassle of finding parking in the crowded
downtown streets or having to pay $7.50 for parking. Eliminating fareless
square is only going to increase number of people, as those who live near
it are no longer going to take public transit but instead get in their cars
and try to find parking.
In related news, downtown’s economy derives on public transit like
the MAX. Downtown Portland may not be that bad compared to other
densely populated cities but it is still not the best place to drive a car. This
is why the MAX is put in an area like this; to provide the public with an
easier way to get around downtown, or other destinations without having
to worry about wasting gas looking for parking closest to the store
they are shopping at, or having to worry about parking meters.
Finally, unless I’m mistaken, crime isn’t a huge issue on the MAX
downtown. It’s out in Hillsboro and Gresham; both areas which are well
outside fareless square. Tri-met should try and catch those breaking the
laws of the MAX. These people would include those who do not pay the
MAX fare and assault other MAX riders, like the MAX rider in Gresham
who was attacked.
This of course will have to lead to hiring more fare inspectors, which
initially will lead to higher cost, but that’s how it is when people do not
obey the law. When people do not pay their fare, Tri-Met loses profit and
still have to raise the fare to catch up with the fares that were not paid.