North Dakota Human Rights Coalition
Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights
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North Dakota Human Rights Coalition Working to effect change so that all people in North Dakota enjoy full human rights |
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~NDHRC PAUR Report~ April 28, 2003
Programs ~ Announcements ~ Updates ~ Resources
Hello members and friends of the North Dakota Human Rights Coalition!
In this week’s PAUR Report:
1) NDHRC North Dakota Human Rights Network Conference Cancelled 2) Saturday Peace Demonstration in Fargo 3) Grand Forks Herald Article, Multicultural Awareness Week and Spike Lee 4) Fargo Forum Article, Governor applying last-minute pressure on ‘clear priorities’ 5) Fargo Forum Article, Harassment happens in Fargo schools 6) Fargo Forum Article, Special report: F-M Muslim community enjoying steady growth 7) Fargo Forum Article, Immigrants help elderly 8) Fargo Forum Article, Therapy dogs bring patients smiles 9) Grand Forks Herald Article, Supreme Court to look at age bias case 10) Grand Forks Herald Article, North Dakota Legislature: Home care clients: Spending plan will shortchange service 11) Fargo Forum Article, In-home services program gets OK 12) Grand Forks Herald Article, Study finds benefits in home care hiring 13) Bismarck Tribune Article, Home care clients say cuts cause problems 14) Fargo Forum Article, Adoption myths abound 15) (Reminder) Sisters of the Presentation at Sacred Heart Convent Presents “Peace Studies” (Various Locations in ND and MN)
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1.) NDHRC North Dakota Human Rights Network Conference Cancelled
Due to circumstances beyond our control, the NDHRC cancelled the North Dakota Human Rights Network Conference scheduled on Saturday, April 26, 2003. We will incorporate the from this conference into another conference we are planning for the fall of 2003; we regret any inconvenience. If you have any suggestions for topics or areas of interest for the fall conference, please contact us at humanrights@ndhrc.org or (701) 239-9323.
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2.) Saturday Peace Demonstrations in Fargo
The North Dakota Peace Coalition and the Red River Anti-War Coalition continues to sponsor weekly pro-peace demonstrations in Fargo in front of the Federal Building (657 2nd Ave N) at noon every Saturday - until further notice.
More information is available at the Red River Anti-War Coalition's website: www.rrawc.org
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3.) Grand Forks Herald Article, Multicultural Awareness Week and Spike Lee
MULTICULTURAL AWARENESS WEEK: Spike Lee on war, minorities
A standing ovation greeted award-winning filmmaker Spike Lee as he took UND's Chester Fritz Auditorium stage Monday to talk about politics, life and the pursuit of dreams.
<snip>
Lee even found time to work in a brief reference to universities such as St. John's (N.Y.) and Marquette, which have discarded American Indian nicknames for alternatives. He also alluded to UND's Fighting Sioux debate.
"It's funny, some people just want to keep holding on," he said.
But mostly, Lee's speech was about the destructive power of media, both at home and around the world.
"We dominate the world through our culture," Lee said. "Coke, Pepsi, McDonald's, rap music and rock 'n' roll, it's through media we dominate the world culture."
Lee said media especially hurts minorities through the messages that are spread. He said media is the reason most black men see that their only options in life are to play professional sports, become a rap music artist or sell drugs.
"This model is what many African Americans live by," he said. "Most don't think they have a choice."
Answered questions
Lee said that those trends can be turned around through education and by pursuing a dream that one truly loves, never stopping until it's achieved no matter what others say.
Lee spent about an hour talking to the audience before fielding dozens of questions, ranging in topic from his body of films and the stars he's worked with to his views on affirmative action, gun control and Fox News' Bill O'Reilly.
He told the audience that O'Reilly was hypocritical for lashing out at Pepsi for featuring oft-profane rap star Ludricris in a television commercial and saying nothing about Pepsi's commercials with notorious metal rocker and equally profane Ozzy Osbourne.
He also said that he was pleased to see black film stars Denzel Washington and Halle Berry recently win Academy Awards, but he was not as pleased with the roles for which they were honored. Washington won for his portrayal of a rogue cop in "Training Day" and Berry for her performance as the wife of a death-row inmate involved in an affair with a prison guard in "Monster's Ball."
Born Shelton Jackson Lee, Spike Lee is best known for small independent works such as "She's Gotta Have It" and the Oscar-nominated "Do the Right Thing" as well as the $33 million blockbuster "Malcom X." He is also a video music director, author and professor at New York University.
<snip>
Reach Dodds at (701) 780-1110; (800) 477-6572, extension 110; or at ddodds@gfherald.com
<snip>
View full article here
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4.) Fargo Forum Article, Governor applying last-minute pressure on ‘clear priorities’
Governor applying last-minute pressure on ‘clear
priorities’
BISMARCK -- Gov. John Hoeven hinted Tuesday at a showdown with the Legislature over money for human services and education.
Senate Majority Leader Bob Stenehjem said it won’t make a difference.
With the session a few days from ending, Hoeven said there is not enough money in the Department of Human Service budget for the elderly and disabled.
And he dislikes the lack of teachers’ raises in the education bill.
The North Dakota constitution bars governors from threatening vetoes, so the state’s chief executives find ways to talk around the word.
“These areas need to be fully addressed by both the Legislature and the executive branch before the legislative session adjourns,” Hoeven said, suggesting several more times that lawmakers “fully address” his issues.
In past weeks, he’s also called the Legislature’s work on those items “unacceptable.”
<snip>
View full article here
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5.) Fargo Forum Article, Harassment happens in Fargo schools
Harassment happens in Fargo schools
Harassment is a problem in most American high schools, and Fargo Public Schools are no exception. The Fargo Public School District defines harassment as any offensive word, inappropriate touch or discrimination of sex or race. A district survey taken in March of 2000 states that 68.8 percent of students in grades 10 through 12 have either been harassed or have seen harassment. These statistics didn’t surprise North Principal Andy Dahlen.
“It isn’t frequently brought to our attention, but I am not naïve. I know that there is harassment going on in our school, and I will always try to stop it,” Dahlen said.
Administrators are there to help the students. Dahlen feels that students don’t often bring harassment to their attention for fear of retaliation, which is considered harassment too. Even though more than half of the student population claims to have been harassed or seen harassment, some teachers don’t see it as an issue.
“Harassment isn’t a large problem at North. Ours is (on) a smaller scale, just like most schools around here,” North English teacher Anne McSparron said.
North has worked with the other schools in the district to come up with an effective policy regarding harassment. The policy is printed in the student handbook and is separated into three areas: the general statement, the definition of harassment and discrimination and sexual discrimination/harassment. The Fargo Public School policy regarding harassment is taken seriously.
<snip>
View full article here
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6.) Fargo Forum Article, Special report: F-M Muslim community enjoying steady growth
Special report: F-M Muslim community enjoying steady
growth
When a handful of Muslims purchased an old Jehovah’s Witness Kingdom Hall for use as a mosque in 1994, Abdu Bashir never expected to see the Fargo building packed.
“I felt it was the ideal size forever,” he said. “Now it is too small.”
There are about 575 Muslims in Fargo-Moorhead, according to the Religious Congregations and Membership survey of 2000. That number is low, say local Muslim leaders, a criticism that mirrors that of national leaders as well.
Local leaders estimate the Muslim population in Fargo-Moorhead to be between 2,000 and 3,000. More than 500 people celebrated the end of Ramadan, the holy month of fasting, last year, said Dr. Ahmer Qarni, president of the local Islamic Society.
“And that celebration landed on a work day,” he said, meaning many couldn’t make it.
The figures from the survey are based on Muslims affiliated with America’s more than 1,000 mosques. Not all Muslims go to the mosque.
This is the first time the study, which has been published nearly every decade since 1956, attempted to estimate the Muslim population. But in 1990, the Fargo-Moorhead Muslim population was negligible.
<snip>
View full article here
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7.) Fargo Forum Article, Immigrants help elderly
Immigrants help elderly
Zaklina Vucic has worked as a part-time housekeeper at Villa Maria Nursing Home in south Fargo since January. But she’s hoping that job will soon come to an end.
She wants to become a certified nursing assistant or CNA.
“It’s a job where you can help somebody,” Vucic said as she practiced giving a manicure to a fellow student in a CNA training class. “That’s really a gift to yourself.”
Over the years many new Americans have trained to become CNAs. At the end of an 80-hour course, they must become certified.
Nearly all pass the skills test where they demonstrate they can perform duties for residents in long-term care, such as feeding, dressing and bathing.
But many new Americans struggle to pass the written portion of the test.
“It has been more of a vocabulary issue than a knowledge issue,” said Bonnie Herman, program manager at Moorhead Adult Basic Education.
For example, during training, students will discuss what to do if they see another employee hit a nursing home resident. If the test, however, uses the word “slap” instead of “hit,” students who aren’t native English speakers may become confused.
<snip>
View full article here
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8.) Fargo Forum Article, Therapy dogs bring patients smiles
Therapy dogs bring patients smiles
JAMESTOWN, N.D. -- Ferbie grew up on a farm near Windsor where, like many other Shetland sheep dogs, he was to spend his life herding cattle. But Ferbie lacked the herding instinct.
And when Ferbie began teaching another farm dog how not to herd cattle, his owners called the James River Humane Society to see if it had room for him.
Kaye John, president of the society, had been looking for a Sheltie to train as a therapy dog. Ferbie was adopted immediately and, at age 3, he moved to Jamestown for a new career.
John, who works with preschool children at Head Start, had seen therapy dogs brighten the days of people in hospitals and nursing homes.
“I saw what these animals could do for the elderly people,” John said.
John got help from Missy Powers, a Jamestown College student and former dog trainer at Great Plains Assistance Dogs. During her first visit, Powers spent 20 minutes assessing Ferbie’s temperament.
She found he was a gentle, quiet dog. She believed he could be a valuable therapy dog once he overcame his shyness and mastered basic obedience lessons.
Powers said Ferbie must excel at obedience because children at the Anne Carlsen Center and residents of nursing homes are not physically able to control a dog.
“He must obey every command the moment it is given,” Powers said. “He must be the best behaved dog on the planet.”
<snip>
View full article here
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9.) Grand Forks Herald Article, Supreme Court to look at age bias case
Supreme Court to look at
age bias case Associated Press-04/21/2003
WASHINGTON -The Supreme Court agreed Monday to look at whether middle-aged workers can sue their employers for treating older workers better.
About 70 million U.S. workers are 40 or older, roughly half the nation's work force. They can sue under a federal discrimination law when younger colleagues get preferential treatment because of age.
James J. Brudney, a professor specializing in employment issues at Ohio State University's law school, said the case the court agreed to hear next fall raises an interesting question at a time when workers are aging: "Can 40-somethings be victims of age discrimination when 60-somethings are advantaged?"
At issue is a benefits change at a division of General Dynamics Corp., which makes battle tanks and combat vehicles for the military. Under the change negotiated in a union contract, only longtime workers over age 50 as of 1997 could receive full health benefits after they retired. Before 1997, all workers with 30 years experience could retire and receive free health insurance.
An appeals court ruled the company could be sued under the 1967 Age Discrimination in Employment Act, which protects people over age 40 from age bias.
<snip>
View full article here
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10.) Grand Forks Herald Article, North Dakota Legislature: Home care clients: Spending plan will shortchange service
NORTH DAKOTA LEGISLATURE:
Home care clients: Spending plan will shortchange service
FARGO -Michelle Zentz is blind, the result of the diabetes that also required her to have pancreas and kidney transplants. To help her continue living at home, she signed up for state-funded services that help her with such everyday chores as cleaning, paying bills and reading the mail.
The home-care program provided transportation for the 37-year-old Zentz to run errands, and a nurse who came to her apartment for checkups. But program cuts have changed Zentz's routine.
She must visit a clinic for blood checks and rely on friends to drive her for errands. The transportation aid has stopped.
"They used to bring me to the bank, grocery shopping and the post office," she said. "Now, I either have a friend help me or I don't go out."
She is one of more than 1,300 people who receive home care services through two state programs, called SPED and Expanded SPED. The acronym stands for Service Payments for the Elderly and Disabled.
Recipients and advocates say they fear the Legislature's human services spending plan will make it tougher for the elderly and disabled to get care in their homes. Less money for home care, they say, will cost more in the long run because it will lead to more expensive nursing home care.
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View full article here
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11.) Fargo Forum Article, In-home services program gets OK
In-home services
program gets OK The Forum - 04/16/2003 BISMARCK -- A revamped version of a program that provides in-home care to elderly and disabled citizens got final approval in the Legislature Tuesday.
But disagreements remain over how much to spend on it.
SPED, or Service Payments to the Elderly and Disabled, is designed to keep low-income people living in their own homes, which is far less expensive to state government than institutional care.
The several-year-old program provides help with bathing and personal care, housekeeping, meal preparation and other services.
“That’s an important program. It keeps people out of nursing homes,” said Carol Olson, executive director of the state Department of Human Services.
Senate Bill 2083 rewrote income and asset tests for SPED, a controversial issue in the first half of the Legislature.
Critics said Senate amendments threatened to throw 450 recipients off the program.
<snip>
View full article here
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12.) Grand Forks Herald Article, Study finds benefits in home care hiring
Study
finds benefits in home care hiring
WASHINGTON - People with disabilities who rely on Medicaid to pay for help bathing, eating and housecleaning were much happier under an experimental program that let them hire the helpers, a study concludes.
Medicaid, the health care program for the poor, traditionally hires people to assist some 1.2 million people with disabilities who need help with basic activities of daily life. Under an experimental program, patients get the money directly and decide how to spend it. They can hire whomever they want to help provide care, including friends and family.
"Apparently, (participants) find that having intimate care, such as help with bathing and dressing, performed by a person of one's own choosing is much more satisfying that having it performed by a stranger," said the study, released Tuesday, by researchers at Mathematica Inc.
The program, called "Cash and Counseling," is running in three states, and the Bush administration would like to see it spread further. The study, published on the journal Health Affairs' Web site, examined consumer satisfaction in Arkansas' program. Future research will examine other aspects of the program and will look at its implementation in the other states, New Jersey and Florida.
<snip>
View full article here
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13.) Bismarck Tribune Article, Home care clients say cuts cause problems
Home
care clients say cuts cause problems
Associated
Press Writer – 04/21/03 FARGO --
Michelle Zentz is blind, the result of the diabetes that also required her to
have pancreas and kidney transplants. To help her continue living at home, she
signed up for state-funded services that help her with such everyday chores as
cleaning, paying bills and reading the mail.
<snip>
View full article here
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14.) Fargo Forum Article, Adoption myths abound
Adoption myths abound
More than 100,000 U.S. families adopt every year, meaning that 2 to 4 percent of all families in the country have at least one adopted member. In order to adopt, a family must file with an adoption agency, which reviews their request.
“It’s really important that people don’t rush into adoption because the decision is permanent and another person’s life depends on it,” senior Greg Blaufuss said.
Many misconceptions exist about the details of adoption. Legally, it is the when a child ceases to be a child of her or his birth parents and is considered the child of another family. This used to mean a complete severance of ties between the child and the birth parents, but that stipulation no longer exists.
To further test the adopting family’s resources and dedication, adoption requires a large financial investment, including about $3,000 for the final step if arranged by a public agency or a public-sanctioned agency.
<snip>
View full article here
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15.) (Reminder) Sisters of the Presentation at Sacred Heart Convent Presents “Peace Studies”(Various Locations in ND and MN)
Sr. Yvonne Nelson has begun a Peace Studies program at the Sacred Heart Convent. Lectures will take place at the Presentation Center through May 30.
View Schedule of lectures here.
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***Member Reminder*** Please keep us in mind for your group or church social action/social justice meetings! We’d be happy to provide a presentation at a meeting or provide newsletter articles for your organizations.
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Do you have a Program, Announcement, Update or Resource that you would like shared on our weekly PAUR report? If so, please send an email to AndreaDeegan@NDHRC.org and we will do our best to accommodate you.
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North Dakota Human Rights Coalition P.O. Box 1961 Fargo, North Dakota 58107-1961 Phone: (701) 239-9323 Fax: (701) 478-4452 Email: humanrights@ndhrc.org
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