A Modest Counterproposal

[November 12th, 2008]

The water temperature at Buckman Pool last Saturday afternoon during its women-only swim time was a comfortable 85 degrees as Rosemary Hammer traversed the lanes alone in a bikini.

“Look, I’ve got the whole thing to myself for $3.50,” Hammer said, referring to the admission price at the Portland Parks and Recreation pool in Southeast. “I’ve got the luxury of kings and queens.”

The placid setting for Hammer’s weekend retreat belies the simmering conflict that preceded her solo swim. And Hammer, a 52-year-old elevator operator at Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, is not exactly the Portlander the city’s parks department was expecting when it inaugurated its women-only swim time at Buckman last month.

Last spring, a group of Somali women led by Lul Abdulle asked Portland Parks and Rec to adopt a women-only swim time to accommodate Muslim women and girls whose customs forbid them from being seen in swimsuits by men. So that the swimmers could wear regular bathing suits without appearing immodest, Abdulle also asked that the special sessions be staffed only by female lifeguards (see “Making Waves,” WW, July 30, 2008).

Deputy City Attorney Lory Kraut initially advised denying the request, for two reasons: Anti-discrimination employment laws would prohibit giving jobs only to women, and accommodating religious customs could violate the First Amendment if it appeared the city was endorsing Islam.

Some WW readers also objected, but on different grounds. “When people of any group move to another country, they should abide by the laws and rules of that country, state and city,” Joan Frazer wrote online. “We cannot, nor should we, accommodate a special group whose religious customs set them apart.”

Following Kraut’s findings, Lisa Turpel, a parks bureau manager, started working with Abdulle to find an alternative. On Oct. 4, the city started offering separate two-hour sessions for both men and women on Saturdays at Buckman Pool, turning what had been a request for a religious accommodation into a new program open to everyone regardless of faith. City attorneys approved the move.

“They assure me this is certainly well within the confines of what we’re allowed to do,” Turpel says.

Advocates for immigrants and refugees in Portland applaud the move. “I think it’s great,” says Kayse Jama, executive director of the local Center for Intercultural Organizing, who is also Somali.

But news of the change has been slow to spread. Only one or two people have shown up at the men’s and women’s sessions so far, according to city officials. They’re expecting the number to grow, however, and they’re giving the program at least three to six months before they reassess it.

“When you start a new program, it takes some time to build,” says Beth Sorenson, a parks department spokeswoman.

Abdulle couldn’t be reached for comment to answer why the program has started so slowly.

In the meantime, the new program costs the city about $60 a week to pay two lifeguards to work for four hours total.

Ronault “Polo” Catalani, a coordinator with the city’s immigrant and refugee program, is working with a group of Somali women to arrange for a swimming instructor to offer informal lessons at Buckman during Saturday women-only sessions.

Until then, Hammer may have the pool to herself, although that’s not what she wanted. “I think it’s clever of the city to figure out how to do it,” Hammer says. “And I hope more people come.”