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
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