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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 11, 1982)
I Impetus provided It's so simple, it might insult the intelligence of the average college student You walk up to the table You fill out the form. There are some tough questions, like: Name? Address? Political party affiliation? — things like that Then you stick a stamp on it and drop it in the mailbox. Ta da! You're a registered voter All this week our pals in student government will be working hard to get students to complete the above And folks, they're not doing it for their health In the past, student turnout at the polls has been atrocious Even during important elections such as the one coming up Nov. 2, the percentage of student voters could be counted comfortably on one hand Student volunteers will be pleading with passersby to stop at tables in the EMU, outside the University Bookstore and in the dorms They know that the decisions made during the coming elections will have a crucial impact on higher education. They want to make damn sure that students have a say in those decisions. Take a minute to register. Within two weeks, Lane County will mail you a little green card that tells you where to vote Then comes the important part Students have a vested interest in voting, believe it or not. Issues such as the nuclear arms freeze, the property tax limitation and the election of our next governor could easily be decided by as few as 10,000 votes or less There are approximately 50,000 students in Oregon’s state system of higher education Less than 5,000 usually vote. Funny things happen when a large number of students make it to the polls Politicians start spending a little more time on campus finding out what students are thinking, and where they want the state's money spent. Student lobbyists find themselves with something they’ve always wanted — influence Legislators begin to legislate with student inter ests — and votes — in mind. Suddenly, we exist This week, the ASUO will provide the pens, the forms and the impetus In November, why don’t we provide the votes? opinion 1 letters Obsequity The taxpayers of Eugene had their faces rubbed in dirt twice in one week First, in a surprise move, the City Council, in per haps the swiftest action in its history, changed the name of the Eugene Performing Arts Center. Then the Eugene Register Guard, a newspaper that calls itself "a citizen of the community,” betrayed that community by defending the Council's action, (Editorial, Sept 29). 1 cort fernald sidelong glances There is no progression without contraries William Blake I have long held the particular notion that contradictions make a person infinitely more inter esting rather than wishy-washy Contradictions magnify the complexitites of a person's character Without the dispar ate, conflicting — and yes, even hypocritical faces of a person s character the robotic mentality — singlemindedness — domin ates I have cultivated my own var ied and sordid contradictions and now find much comfort and amusement when people give that distinctly American "Huh?" when I contradict myself Contradiction can be viewed as growth instead of confusion — at least I like to think so It should come as no conundrum that the world is not black and white Often the distinctions are foggy and we grope blindly r through the gray What your fingers contact in the obscure light should be grasped and held — and discarded when something else is revealed Strange as it may be, my life has become cluttered with "things.” At times I have been plagued always by a virgule It's an inexorable pattern to my ex istence I have never been one "thing" so much as one '"things” simultaneously I have been a writer/jour nalist, a lover/friend, a man/ boy, and so on A virgule is a piece of punctuation — another of those odd inky marks in the English language that con founds readers and writers alike A virgule separates alter natives, such as and/or It separates successive divisions as well. It seems so much better to couch my contradictions with a punctuation mark I am honest to a fault, yet guilty of the in sidious practice of pretense on ly because of its practicality So be it — I am an honest/liar Politically, I have held to my virgulean contradictions for a very long time I am a rational anarchist — I enjoy throwing a brick through the dark glass and letting the searing light burn in This nonsensical society causes wounds that need to be cauterized Contradictions are more than expedient They are more than just quirks of character that make one more interesting Contradictions illustrate the ability of the human personality to change and adapt They pre sent choices which indicate some sort of advancement — and it matters not whether it is progressive or regressive, only that it is not static Cultivate your contradictions Those beliefs you hold near and dear today you will contradict tomorrow and eventualy shed for greater contradictions in the future 1 Oregon daily _ m emerald The Oregon Daily Emerald is published Monday through Friday, except during exam week and vacations, by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co at the University of Oregon. Eugene, OR, 97403 The Emerald operates independently ol the University with offices on the third floor of the Erb Memorial Union and is a member of the Associated Press News and Editorial 6I6-5S11 Display Advertising and Business 555-3712 Classified Advertising SS5-4343 Production 655 4381 Circulation 536-5911 Editor Harry Esteve Page 2 Managing Editor News Editor Assistant News Editor Editorial Page Editor Photo Editor Sports Editor Associate Sports Editor Entertainment Editor Nigtit Editor Associate Editors Higher Education Departments and Schools Student Government restores Politics Community General Staff Advertising Manager Classified Advertising Production Manager Controller John Healy Merian Green Cort Fernald Joan Nyland Boh Baker Mike Riplmgar Paul Da.uer Jonathan Siegle Cort Fernald Dabble Howiett Sandy Johnstone Pic hard Burr Sean Meyers Mlchaie Matassa David Brown Darlene Gore Sally CHfAr Victoria Koch Jean Ownbey In an editorial of Oct 1, the Guard as much as admitted that the Council's methods were less than honorable Its editorial of Sept 29 mistakenly asserted that the meeting at which the Council had put a price tag on naming the Center had been well publicized. It had not Without the inconvenient pre sence of opponents, the Coun cil was able to offer the Center's name to the highest bidder The Council had acted dishonora bly; yet, the Guard upheld the Council's action Whence the rewards of obsequity? When the voters of Eugene were asked to commit 18.5 mil lion tax dollars to the Center, nothing was said about naming it for a major benefactor In deed, most of those who voted for the Center must have been confident that it would receive a name much like the one first given it It was after the citizens of Eugene had signed over their money for years into the future, that the council elected by those citizens decided "it would be proper” to name the Center for a major donor, (Guard, Sept 29) Bringing up the naming or Autzen Stadium (Guard, Sept 27), is an irrelevant rationaliza tion That "facility” was not paid for with tax monies; nor was it voted on by Eugene taxpayers The Guard, in its editorial of Sept 29, tells of facilities in Toronto and Baltimore "named for people who have big bucks Are there not similar centers named for the cities in which they are located? Is the Guard guilty of selective researching? And what if the day comes when the City, supported by the Guard, has to go back to the people for additional funding for the Center? What then? While the citizens of Eugene are grateful to those who gave sums large enough to be classed as major donors, the giving by these benefactors does not hurt them as much as property taxes hurt the "minor” donors Those with the "big bucks" should heed the precept of Jesus "When you give alms, sound no trumpet before you " (Matt 6:2) G|ve the name of the center back to those who contracted the biggest commitment the citizens of Eugene Quldo Paiandri Library Controversy I am tired of dull letters to the editor, so I am throwing down a challenge to everyone out there who feels the same way. I hope someone will start some raging controversies, so the letters to the editor are interesting to read Let’s make them all one paragraph, so we can read more of them. Here are a few possibilities: all Christians are nitwits, bring back Al Haig, let's censor the Emerald, owning a car is immoral, and marriage is for the birds Surely someone can do better than this Mary Flinders Half a salute The student editor of the University newspaper wrote an article condemning the appear ance of the city of Springfield It was a "ripping” article, said the president of the Chamber of Commerce The mayor is now apprehen sive as to "what the University is all about," Weyerhauser may cut off their generous grants No one said he was wrong, just that he shouldn't offend certain people The editor, Harry Esteve is entitled to half of a salute The other half is due him in three years when he publishes in the real world an article that makes the mayor, the Chamber of Commerce or some big cor poration mad When he is successful in do ing that while working for a media that cannot offend those advertisers who wish to contin ue ripping off the public or those public relations persons or those slick city fathers — all at a time that he is restricted to the traditional targets politicians and movie stars — and still makes those big shot snobs mad, then he will know, as I have known for many years, "What the University is truly all about." It is all about free speech with out tear The University is where I learned to be obnoxious, many years ago A half of a salute to you, Harry, I'll look for your name in three years it I'm still around, but please don't talk that way about Klamath Falls — we've got class Sam McKeen Klamath Falls Monday, October 11,1982
