OregonLive’s article on Catlin Gabel’s privilege draws two clashing viewpoints, unpacks elite agenda

By Emma Song ‘22

Articles from KOIN, Oregonlive, Rolling Stone, etc. have amplified stories of the elitist, uncooperativeness of the Catlin Gabel School (CGS) administration pertaining to sexual abuse allegations, vaccination clinics, and hypocrisy of the administration.

CGS’ most recent criticism came from their vaccination clinic held on November 8th, 2021. The clinic was small, run by student, parent and faculty volunteers, aiming to vaccinate elementary kids due to the change in age group, aged 5-11. The vaccines were provided by Dr. Maureen Mays, who had previously attempted holding clinics at Portland’s public schools, but turned to CGS once her offers were turned down.

Although the clinic was not widely advertised as an opportunity for the greater Portland community to have their kids vaccinated, Ken Dubois, the director of CGS public relations, asserted that 40% of people vaccinated were not from CGS.

The clinic drew criticism from the Portland Community, spurred by an Oregonian article by journalist Aimee Green, titled “How an elite private school vaccinated 70% of its young students as families elsewhere struggled to find COVID shots.”

The headline itself attracts clicks, as vaccinations are imperative for safety against the COVID pandemic, however receiving it ahead of the curve is a privilege. The combination of CGS’s elite and scandal ridden reputation in Portland, with an unsavory claim of alienating the lower income community, served to evoke waves of critique from an event seeming harmless from the administration’s perspective.

“The headline captured the inherent tensions at play in the article.” said Therese Bottomly, editor of the Oregonian commented.

Green’s article resulted in an outburst of reader response. Some directed critique of the striking headline and negative spin.

In a response letter written by Bottomly, she mentioned a few reader’s opinions.

“‘Catlin Gabel can’t win,’ wrote one reader. ‘When they take the initiative to get students vaccinated, the progressives don’t like it and The Oregonian supports them.’”

Others criticized CGS, agreeing with Green’s interviewee Amy Moran, an immunologist at Oregon Health and Science University.

“This is just privilege at an unbelievable level.” She stated

This clash of criticism frames CGS as an elite organization, the target of attacks from both sides. Reader opinions in Bottomly’s article directly criticized the Oregonian’s take, however, they seemed to miss the elitism commentary Green embedded within her article.

“The clinic was open to anyone for completely free. This article is quite misleading. I understand you’re a writer that wants to get attention but is this really the way to do so? I don’t think so.” tweeted user @Poor_cs_player

Comments like these focus on the fact that CGS had an option offered to them and took that chance. They did not intend to cause an uproar about privilege, and aimed to take this opportunity to encourage vaccination within the student body. That is what responses stressed; however, Green took a different perspective. Looking at the situation from the eyes of those who struggled to procure appointments, publicized towards everyone in the city.

The exclusivity of the event is what propelled the story. Green emphasizes that CGS prioritized its own students. Keeping the clinic’s publicity to a minimum ensures that the school’s patients may receive theirs, preserving a high vaccination percentage within the school community. Although Dubois assured that the clinic was open to everyone, that is a requirement for all vaccination clinics; they cannot turn anyone away.

One can see the implications and inherent privilege demonstrated by Catlin community members. The school vaccinated a majority of its students a couple days after Portland started widespread inoculation of that age group.

However, these informed claims of Catlin’s privilege were written far down the article. However, one thing to note is the full Oregonian article is behind a paywall. This led to many readers only reading the headline, prompting the divisive reactions.

Readers who were subscribed for paid stories earnestly responded to the greater theme of the article. Bottomly’s response letter also incited further discussion.

“I received nearly 40 long, thoughtful emails, most from readers thanking me for getting them to think about the concept of privilege.” Bottomly commented.

I implore readers to understand the intention behind Green’s article. She fairly represented Dr. Mays, and incorporated both sides of the story. The sole headline insinuates an attack against CGS, which provoked readers to voice opinions, especially to defend the school’s actions. Those with subscriptions who read the article with intention understood the greater commentary Green emphasized.

As a student at CGS, my experience with the article straddles both sides. When I first read it, I was surprised and confused why a major news organization would criticize Catlin’s small clinic. Didn’t seem newsworthy. The elitism commentary seemed like a weak claim just to use CGS’s name again in another negative article. However, through writing this article I read the piece several times, looking through an unbiased lens, rather than a Catlin student, and I picked up on the greater criticism Green embedded.