Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 15, 1981)
opinion Gay pride Last week a radio show on KLCC celebrating Gay Pride Week was the victim of harassment. Throughout the show the two women facilitating it were interrupted by phone calls which were degrading and threatening. It is upset ting that a program focusing on lesbian and gay culture was so rudely interrupt ed. The community should be aware of this incident which is only an example of the harassment directed at the lesbian and gay community in Eugene. I am looking forward to a time in this society when everyone can be free to live the lives they choose and celebate those choices without being threatened and forced to defend themselves Elizabeth DuBois 1670 Patterson Deceptive politics On Friday, April 10, the ASUO held a rally for Higher Education to inform students about the current funding cri sis. Donovan Guy, a candidate for ASUO president, handed out irresponsible lea flets pertaining to the intent of the rally. He suggested that the rally was not held to benefit the students, but to benefit Richard Wilkens, Vice President of state and university affairs who is also can didate for ASUO president. The fact is that the rally was scheduled months before Wilkens decided to run for pre sident. Apparently, Guy saw it unneces sary to look up this fact. When I ran for the Incidental Fee Committee, Guy also attacked me for being dishonest. In other words, I have seen this pattern before and I do not admire it. For some reason, Guy and Bruce Mills (another candidate) see fit to blast all those around them, and infer that no one is honest. No one in the current ASUO is honest. No one is a good person — except themselves of course. I am tired of this kind of politics. It is not that I deplore Guy and Mills on a personal basis; I deplore their antics. I have certainly heard what is wrong with everyone else (even though the accusa tions are not fact), but I have yet to see either of them suggest to the voter what their attributes are I have yet to see what experience they have. I, for one, would like to see constructive politics take place so the voter can choose between candidates according to their virtues. Richard Wilkens is not a dishonest politician who deceives others in order to meet his personal needs. He is working hard for the student, and has been all year. In fact, he has been working so hard in his current position that he hasn't time to campaign. He is a good person who is truly concerned about students as people. I have worked with him and found him to be intensely concerned about those he represents. I felt it was not only deceiving, but also unfair to make these accusations about Wilkens. He doesn't deserve it. He deserves ap plause. My point in writing this is not only to inform students about these lies, but to also stimulate candidates such as Guy and Mills to inform students of their strengths — not to continue making false accusations about other candidates in hopes of gaining votes. I know where the truth lies, and I hope others will think about it. Kathy Stebner Junior, political science IFC member Political purposes I would like to take time to give Don ovan Guy a response that he doesn’t deserve. At the rally for Higher Education held outside the EMU on Friday, April 10, a flyer signed by Donovan Guy was passed out which said among other things: “Today's EMU rally has been scheduled for political reasons and bears little correlation to the ASUO lob bying effort," and that "There is not one legislative reason for Monday’s 'U of O’ rally day the Capitol to occur at this time.” I suggest that these statements show that Guy has no conception of legislative issues, legislative timing, lob bying techniques and, most importantly, of the crucial importance of what the rally was trying to get across. What amazes me was that Guy thought that other students have as little understanding as he does. Not only does he not understand the Higher Education issue, but by flinging — at the rally he was working to decrease the effectiveness of the rally. In his flyer, which was addressed “Dear Students,” the charge was made that the whole rally was put on to further Rich Wilkin's campaign for ASUO Pre sident. This is absurd. The rally was only a small part of a statewide effort to get AT LAST A J&HflS louor/ cmm, college students up to Salem on April 13. Rich Wilkins is in charge of the lobbying efforts for the ASUO so he’s the one who organized the rally. Wilkins is also the Legislative Coordinator for the Survival Center. There is a danger that in running his campaign Rich could let some of his lobbying duties slide. I have been one of the ones to personally make this clear to him and to caution him against ignoring his job. He hasn’t. In fact, I recently had to tell him that if he wanted to be ASUO president, he’d better get someone to help him on his campaign because he wasn't spending enough time on it. Unfortunately, it was two other can didates who used the ASUO Rally for politcal purposes. Guy to pass out his own brand of constructive criticism and Bruce Mills to pass out a flyer saying that he too thinks that higher Education is important. The issue of funding for Higher Education is too important to let petty student government politics get in the way, and the responsibility of the ASUO president is too great to give it to rookies David Dalkh Senior, biochemistry Director, Survival Center Commie sissies? I’d like to know how James D. Miller, the “psych-vet" (does that mean psy chopathic veteran or veterinary psychologist?) who recently responded to a letter by David Isenberg, defines "helping” the U S. government. If by "helping” the government he means heedlessly supporting its policy of im peralistic intervention in ‘ under developed” countries, then he can in clude me in the category of "commie sissies” who are trying to avoid "service to their country.” David Isenberg and I and all the other "commie sissies" out there who remember all too vividly the atrocities of Vietnam, are painfully aware of how we’ve come to enjoy such a high standard of living in this country today — by a policy of exploitation and imper alism, by fulfilling our so-called "man ifest destiny" at the expense of countless lives. If Mr. Miller could see beyond his par anoia, he might begin to understand that those "gutsy" American men and women who have kept our country "great" have done so, not by helping the repressed as he claims, but rather by helping the government of the United States to keep them repressed As for Miller’s claim that the "cowards return ing from Canada are the same peo ple who stand and watch someone bea ten-to-death and (are) too afraid to help stop it,” I can only respond that he and other macho warmongers like him are the same ones who throughout history have stood by and watched with self righteous satisfaction as human beings were burned to death as heretics. I think Mr. Miller would benefit from living the way the repressed people in El Salvador live. A few days there might open his eyes to the reality of govern ments who terrorize, torture and kill innocent people for demanding their right to a decent living, with the support of the U S. government. The time has come for the American people to relin quish the cherished notion of a “manifest destiny" and to recognize that it’s no longer a simple question of "them" and "us," and that something far more important than our precious stan dard of living is at stake. The only hope for humanity lies in strengthening our respect for all human life, not just that of Americans Paula Barker GTF, romance languages
