editorial
Bad ordinance
Monday, the Eugene city council took another step
toward passing an ordinance which is aimed at stopping
prostitution. But in trying to stop prostitution, the ordinance
may also result in arrests of some persons engaged in
activities which are not criminal and having nothing what
soever to do with prostitution.
The wording of the ordinance is vague enough to allow
police officers to arrest anyone, male or female, for loiter
ing. The ordinance specifies that anyone who “repeatedly
beckons to, stops, or attempts to stop, or engages pas
sersby in conversation” may be suspected of prostitution.
It doesn’t stop there: anyone who tries to stop an au
tomobile may also be suspect. Limits on police powers are
not clearly indicated in the ordinance.
Although the ordinance is aimed at prostitutes, police
officers will have the power to arrest hitchhikers and casual
loiterers. That opens the door to a lot of arrests based on
little evidence, and extends the police powers far beyond
what is advisiable.
Police will, however, have to give the detained person
an opportunity to explain his or her actions. But if the
officer doesn’t like your explanation, then you will probably
end up explaining yourself in court. That kind of harrass
ment opens the door to arrests of innocent people. The
inconvenience and embarrassment resulting from an un
warranted arrest is more than anyone should have to put
up with.
Another point against the ordinance is that it probably
will not solve the prostitution "problem.’’ In recent years,
prostitution in Eugene seems to have become more or
ganized, with more pimps controlling tlie prostitutes. Pros
titution itself is a victimless crime; the prostitute and the
customer engage in an activity with the knowledge and
consent of both. With pimps entering the picture, the victim
is the prostitute, not the customer. The ordinance, al
though it does make pimping an illegal activity, will not
work directly against the pimps.
An alternative which might solve that problem would
be to legalize prostitution. Licensing of prostitutes would
not only make prostitution less burdensome to the com
munity, but it would also help alleviate a serious health
hazard—venereal disease, which could be checked by
regular health examination. However, given the feeling of a
majority of the council members and of the community, that
solution doesn’t seem likely.
At any rate, the use of an ordinance which will place
the rights of all people in jeopardy isn’t the right way to go
about solving the problem. The city council will have an
opportunity to change the ordinance when it comes for a
final vote on Oct. 24. The city council must develop a
solution which will work more directly against the pimping
problem, not one which will step on the rights of everyone.
The proposed ordinance must be changed.
V.
y
Letters
Book prices
Last Friday, your headline wri
ter spoiled an otherwise accurate
sind fairly positive story by Karen
Kangsis with the headline: “High
textbook prices rip-off or
not?—Bookstore policy frustrates
students." Nowhere in the article
wsis there mention of any policies
of the U of O Bookstore that frus
trate students. The complaint
about buy-back policies for used
texts was directed at the Univer
sity of Hawaii, which pays only
20%. The U of O Bookstore, by
contrast, pays students one-haif
of the purchase price on used
texts.
The Bookstore is a non-profit
corporation controlled by a Board
of Directors elected by its
membership—made up of all the
students and faculty on this cam
pus. Blame for the high price of
textbooks should probably be
placed on the publishers—not on
the Bookstore. Anyone who is in
terested in keeping the price of
texts down is encouraged to assist
the Board of Directors and the
Bookstore’s manager, Jim Wil
liams, in exploring ways to con
front this difficult and serious prob
lem.
As a member of the Bookstore
Board of Directors, I know we all
would be happy to receive any
Page 4 Section A
suggestions of ways in which the
Bookstore might be improved to
better serve the needs of the Uni
versity community.
Write or phone Board members
or management at the Bookstore,
or attend a monthly Board meet
ing such as the one to be held
tonight.
Mark Cogan
Senior, Political Science
Open discussion
I am concerned about the arti
cles, and the related advertise
ments, describing the various lec
tures, workshops and symposia
on the Bakke case. The heading
for the publicity has been “If
Bakke wins—you lose”; all of the
articles have discussed the ac
tivities as a day of protest against
the Bakke decision in the Califor
nia Supreme Court.
But when I wets asked to be a
member of the panel for the sym
posium, it was made quite dear
that this was to be an open dis
cussion of the issues, with a free
presentation of each speaker’s
point of view. It was surely never
indicated that the speakers were
partidpating in a move to “over
turn the Bakke dedsion.”
My own views do, in general,
•opinion'
The neutron bomb and Europe
Submitted by
JACK ROBERTS
3rd year Law
The Emerald’s recent editorial opposing the
neutron bomb fails to take note of one of the most
important factors in the decision whether or not to
develop this weapon — the military situation in
Europe.
For years the NATO powers possessed a clear
military superiority over the opposing Warsaw Pact
forces. Today, this is no longer the case. Many
studies have shown a serious imbalance in favor of
the Warsaw Pact now exists, and the trends indicate
an even greater superiority of conventional forces in
the future.
An indication of what this means was given by a
NATO report completed last year. It estimated that, in
the event of a sudden attack on West Germany, the
invading forces would be across the Elbe in three
hours and could reach the Rhine within 48 hours, all
before the NATO forces could be assembled and
deployed at full strength.
At this point an American President would have
three alternatives: 1) continue to fight a conventional
war, with little chance of success: 2) launch a
strategic nuclear attack against Moscow, with the
knowledge that a retaliatory strike against American
cities would be forthcoming; or 3) utilize smaller tacti
cal nuclear weapons against the invading forces.
It has long been American policy that the third
approach — use of tactical nuclear weapons —
would be the appropriate response to an attack on
NATO. However, with a recognition of the speed with
which an advancing army could overrun Germany
came the realization that the use of such weapons
would necessarily result in massive destruction of
German cities and territory, not to mention the inevit
able civilian casualties and massive radioactive con
tamination. Thus the use of tactical nuclear weapons
has become less and less a viable alternative.
Enter the neutron bomb. It is essentially a low
yield hydrogen bomb with the heat and blast effect
drastically reduced and without the lingering radia
tion which created the horrors of Hiroshima and
Nagasaki. Although it is not true that the bomb would
kill people but leave property undisturbed, the total
collateral damage, both to property and civilian popu
lations, would be far less than with existing nuclear
weapons.
In the context of a European war, the neutron
bomb could be used against enemy troops in oc
cupied territory without necessitating the destruction
of Bonn or Frankfurt, and without rendering the coun
tryside a virtual hotbed of radioactive potson.
It is argued that precisely because the neutron
bomb is less destructive than other nuciear weapons
it is more likely to be used, and will thus lead to an
escalation into a full-scale nuclear war. Yet the main
justification for the neutron bomb is that, because of
its effectiveness, it will be less likely that it — or any
other weapon — will have to be used.
To the extent that the use of the neutron bomb is
more "Thinkable" than its counterparts, and to the
extent that it is perceived as a weapon that we will
actually use if necessary, it is therefore a more credi
ble deterrent and more likely to help avoid a situation
in which the only alternatives are nuclear annihilation
or surrender.
In the end, the case for the neutron bomb is not
based on a desire for more efficient and effective
warfare. It is the need for a credible deterrent which
will make less likely the outbreak of war or of miscal
culation leading to war. The question is not whether
we want war or peace, but what is the best means of
preserving the peace: reliance upon our own military
strength, or reliance upon the good intentions of the
Soviet Union.
favor the goals which the Univer
sity of California is trying to
achieve. But the case presents
serious constitutional and moral
issues, and there are arguments
on both sides which require the
most thoughtful discussion and
consideration. It isn’t all that easy.
As far as I am concerned, I am
participating in a discussion and
examination of a deeply important
problem, not in a protest meeting
with a predetermined position.
Paul Olum
Vice President for Academic
Affairs and Provost
Smoke alarms
An article in the Oct. 6 issue of
the Emerald points out that smoke
alarms have been installed in
apartments at Westmoreland but
that there are no plans to im
mediately install the alarms in the
Amazon Housing Project. John
Thorpe, former director of
Married Student Housing, of
fers the rationale that the Amazon
project has to be “one of the safest
housing problems in the city.” In
the past, when University adminis
trators wanted to intimidate ten
ants, it was hinted that the project
might have to be razed at any time
because of the substandard con
ditions.
Now that the rent at Amazon
has been increased to around 70
per cent of the Westmoreland
rates, the University has suddenly
discovered that Amazon needs
very few improvements and that it
already stands as a model hous
ing project.
The issue of smoke alarms is a
major concern to Amazon ten
ants, one which will be discussed
by the Amazon Family Housing
Police Board in the next few
weeks. As a result of the rent
strike we have been able to insti
tute a procedure by which tenants
will be involved in making such
decisions rather than relying on
the fiat of John Thorpe.
For the present, we would like t
remind the Housing Ofifice that
the Landlord and Tenant Act
(ORS 91.770) requires a landlord
to provide an environment that in
sures “safety from the hazards of
fire.” There are no fire alarms of
any kind in the single story units at
Amazon and this alone could
qualify Thorpe’s description of
Amazon as one of the safest hous
ing projects.
Thorpe defends Housing Office
inactivity on this problem by stat
ing simply that things are "up in
the air" at this time. The installa
tion of smoke alarms at Amazon
has been in the planning, or at
least in the promising, for many
years. It is time the Housing Office
acted.
Amazon Tenants Council
Carol Mason, Pres., and
four co-signers
Letters policy
The Emerald will accept and try
to print all letters and opinion col
umns containing fair comment on
ideas and topics of concern or
interest to the University commun
ity. Letters and opinions will be
run on a first-come, first-served
basis. Both letters and opinions
must be typewritten, using 65
character margins, and should be
triple-spaced. Letters and opin
ions must be signed and the au
thors major or faculty status
noted.
Wednesday, October 12, 1977