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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Nov. 5, 1981)
opinion_ TAC stifles athletes instead of encourages It’s time to end the hypocrisy of The Athletics Congress and its unrealistic views on amateur athletics Albero Salazar's outspokenness against TAC is representative of the discontent a majority of American athletes are feeling TAC as a governing body determining athletes' amateur standing does more to prevent the achievement of athletic excellence in this country than any other official body Salazar, now standing in the limelight because of his stunning victory in the New York Marathon, freely admits he makes his living by running. As well he should Salazar's running c \H ability is a gift, and he has trained for years to sharpen it Running is one of the things Salazar does better than almost any other human Yet he, and other athletes, are forced to accept financial compensation through under-the-table methods The quasi-legal cashing-in first-class plane tickets, holding clinics, attending photo sessions, giving endorsements and taking secret prize money are means athletes eke a living from sport It must not rest easily on their conscience And each time they do so they jeopardize their amateur standing with TAC. TAC is the governing body; if athletes lose their amateur standing they can no YAF explained With all the rhetoric going around the campus about what YAF stands for, I feel it's time I explained what we really believe in YAF is not, as so many believe, the baby of the corporate entities In actuality, many of the established corporate giants have long fought against our princi ples They don’t like us treading on their toes when we call for an end to the governmental regulations which have allowed them to maintain their oligopolistic posi tions in the marketplace When we call for a return to the true definition of Adam Smith s "Invisible hand" theory, they see the threat of increased competition and market determined price levels, rather than the government induced competitive standards they’ve pushed for We believe in the traditional values of the American family that the majority of Americans believe in, values that America was built upon, but that a small cohesive band of liberals have circumvented because they think they know best what Americans want The recent Reagan landslide victory proved them wrong We believe that international communism is a cancerous disease that threatens to destroy our way of life as we know it, including the economic and political freedoms we all enjoy If anyone is really interested in our beliefs, read our literature, rather than merely listening to the lies and innuendoes put forth by the Dave Isenberg’s of this campus who would rather see everything torn down than to see anything constructive accomplished Jerry L. Peyton Chairman, University Young Americans for Freedom Simple workingman Thank you campus security for your new ruling to cut bicycle locks. Oh, I'm so happy about it I can hardly sleep at night Oops, I’m sorry — let me introduce myself My name is Ekib Feiht, and I’ve been working in Eugene for several years because Eugene is such a great place for my type of work You see, I’m a profes sional bicycle thief Yep, I am sorta' embarrassed to admit it, but I make my living (which was rather modest until Campus Security changed all that) by stealing nice, shiny bicycles, remodeling them slightly and then selling them somewhere else Sure, maybe it's a little immoral, but, hey, I need to eat too Well enough of the boring details of my job Let's get to the reason I'm writing this letter Stated simply, I just want to extend my sincere appreciation to Campus Security for making my job a whole hell of a lot easier Thanks! When I received word that you guys (Campus Security) were going to start getting wild with boltcut ters and hacksaws by cutting locks and impounding bikes in an attempt to get all them students down at the "U" to buy funky green stickers for $2 a piece, I thought to myself (ever so slyly, of course), Ah-ha' here’s my big chance! So I immediately rushed down to a local used store and invested in some flashy duds I got a nice tan shirt, some groovy green pants, a pair of spiffy black shoes and a shiny new badge (the badge I got at the dime store for only $ 39). I am now all set I don’t have to wear my old trench coat to hide the boltcutters any more1 I just walk around campus, all proud as hell, and act like I know what I’m up to I start cuttin' locks and grinnin ' It's great fun If anyone questions me (or my behavior), I just smile real big and say, ’I work for Campus Security, and this here bike ain't got no little green sticker Sorry " That usually shuts 'em up I then chuckle (slyly, as usual) to myself and take the bike to my shop Believe me, I am getting rich at a fairly rapid rate I owe this all to Campus Security Oh, I'm so excited! Thank you so much, Campus Security, you guys is sure sharp Gregg Kleiner Senior, Journalism Setting straight This is in response to Jim Lake's letter of Oct 30 Actually, we would like to thank Jim for setting us straight. The guys here at the frat were wondering why we re all members of the Elks Club — (isn't everyone) It's also true that athletes are over-abundant in our house; why, we even have basketball rims over the toilet seats. We re not only pro-Reagan, we worship him We've got rug burns on our knees to prove it Of course, that’s after we drink our nightly case of beer each Lake was also right on target when he said that we get laid every time we have a party; we do whether we want to or longer compete in TAC sanctioned events This is a deplorable double-bind for athletes It's odd that after athletes spend four years competing at the collegiate level, sacrificing time and money, working always toward improvement, it comes to naught when their eligibility runs out How many athletes are just verging on great ness as their collegiate eligibility ends? How many athletes never attain their full potential because the simple economics of sur vival dictate they forsake competition and find lucrative employment9 That employment becomes the mainstay, and their athletic compe tition becomes secondary, if not given up totally Some athletes, the lucky few like Salazar, are picked up as "consultants” to shoe or athletic wear manufacturers What of those who aren’t the cream of the crop and can’t find backing while they train9 TAC is in actuality stifling athletic competition in America TAC needs to look to the keen com petition in Europe where athletes' amateur stand ing is not so narrowly defined and realize that to offer incentives (economic or otherwise) serves to encourage competitors The better the fieid. the better the quality of the competition and the better the winners TAC should comprehend that Amer ican athletes are having a difficult time keeping pace with Europeans The slipping of American standings in international competition and the Olympics is evident It all goes back to allowing athletes to make a living at their sport while they are reaching the heights of their physical abilities A system of government subsidy may not be ideal and runs against the American grain A system that permits outright prize money and compensa tion for competing is probably the best Salazar is right to call TAC "thieves and hypocrites ” But may we add TAC is reprehensible in its total disregard for the livelihood of the athletes it governs not, because it's mandatory We d like to thank you again Jim, but we ve got to hop into our "Trans Ams" with our sorority girls" and head over to "Dad s for our weekly allowance " The filthy rich men Delta Tau Delta Cover-up Interested in a new wrinkle in the bike impound ment scam7 1 went down to purchase my tidy little sticker, protesting loudly to the busy clerk behind the desk, was given my sticker and a receipt, walked out of the office and split The only thing is, they neglected to collect the $2 So I’m grinning about that! (I don't like this bike registration scheme anyway I think it stinks ) But a few days later I get a letter from the Safety Office; they re taking the $2 out of my student deposit cause I never paid But I've got the receipt! Says paid in full Well I go over to the Business Office and complain Can they just arbitrarily take money out of my deposit? I've got my little receipt So the Business Office calls Campus Security, and they say what really happened is I ran out of the office without paying (Not true ) The way to read that is, somebody in the Safety Office made a boo-boo, and they're trying to cover their tracks I m a coward I know, and should fight to the bitter end to keep my $2, but I think I'll just forget the whole thing before they break out the bolt-cutters Jim Stangel Freshman, undeclared letters policy The Emerald will accept and attempt to print all letters containing fair comment on issues, ideas and topics of interest to the University community The letters must be limited to 250 words, signed, and the identification of the writer must be verified when the letter is turned in to The Emerald offices, EMU 300 The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length, style or content Publication is dependent upon the space available
