Portland State Magazine Winter 2011

Portland Scace Magazine wants to hearfrom you. E-mailyour comments to psumag@pdx.edu or send them to Portland Scace Magazine, Office ofUniversity Communications, PO Box 751, Portland OR 97207-0751. We reserve the right to editfor space and clarity. Naming racism I don't usually write co editors, bur che article in Portland State Magazine, "Color Matters," (fall 2010) really got me going. I cake exception with the statement from Curry-Stevens char "our progres– sive identity (city of Porcland) gets in the way of naming racism." I have co say, we are nor a racist city. We helped elect a presi– dent of color for God's sake! In her previ– ous statement Curry-Stevens names the real reason for the disparity of wealth in Portland: education. Bue somehow it gees lose in all che race talk. As she stated, one-third of che county's people of color have not gradu– ated from high school vs. 7 percent of whites. That is the root cause of poverty, not racism. People unprepared for che workforce will not find work no matter their color. Ignorance knows no race. The article also highlights Binh Le, son ofVietnamese immigrants. He's of color. Couldn't speak English when he enrolled at David Douglas. He sought our opportunities. Didn't wait for hand– outs. Takes education seriously. Studies hard. Gees good grades despite culture shock. Goes co college. Gees a good job. 111ac's the way co gee out of poverty. And it has nothing co do with race. Tom H. Stanley 'Thank you for representing important ethnic groups in your fall 2010 issue. I remember, distinctly, the disparity between ethnic groups. I may be only one-quarter Nez Pierce, bur am proud of my heritage and have studied it closely. I was so plea ed ro read about Judy BlueHorse kelton and see honest research results for Mulrnomal1 County. I left Oregon in 1963 for the army and for eventual employment in California. I cherish my education at Portland Scace with wonderful teachers like Marjorie Muiriden. Congratulations for revealing such an incredible research report. Bob Stolte '62 This article resonated with my experi– ences at Portland Stare as an Alaska Native (and American Indian). I am Inu– piar from a remote village in Alaska and am also Salish-Kootenai. I graduated in record rime with a lengthy multi-metl10d dissertation and in high academic stand– ing. PSU sics on indigenous land and routs its respect mrough cl1e Longhouse; however, I was discouraged from apply– ing for anyrning ocher than me Regional Research Inscicuce where I had worked for four years. I have applied for several positions [at PSU] since I graduated and have never been interviewed. Mary j ean Longley '84, EdD '98 Regarding your article "Color Mat– ters," excellent message for all European Americans co consider. However, I object loudly co the writer's use of rhe word white when referring co European Americans. Re-write your article and substitute as follows: African American with black, Latino with brown, Asian with yellow, and Native with red. Are you as offended as l am to read mis? Stop using white co reference European Americans. Joyce Brustand Gordon '85 (First-generation Swedish-Norwegian and mother of three Asian American children) More questions on GE crops I appreciate the study of the effects of genetically engineered (GE) crops from a farming perspective ("Harve c of Questions," fall 2010). I am wonder– ing if there is research on the effects on tl1e human body. I am chinking about all the dysregulared digestive traces and heartburn-filled stomachs chat are need– ing pharmaceutical produces chronically. Is this coincidental? Cheryl Lowe '70 Aloha from paradise, otherwise known as che GE seed capital of the world. All me major chemical companies inhabit land on che west side of Kauai, growing and experimenting with GE seeds on unused sugar cane fields . We hear the comment, "we chink," conscancly when questions about water quality and weeds are concerned. This is an island and if something goes wrong it's contained. Wonderful for them, not so wonderful for us who live here. I was quite interested in a third-parry analysis of GE seed production, as we only hear the "company line" and dis– senters are unfavorably viewed as extrem– ists. What doe the future hold? Good question, however chose of us who live on Kauai will probably know first. Teri Freitag MEd '86 WINTER 2011 PORTLAND STATE MAGAZINE 3