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suitable for comment
He didn t want me to see him
pluck and eat berries from the
bushes outside the EMU
Quickly he stufted the ones he
had m*o hts ta**ered coat poorer
and waked oft
And I know that hungry
Stranger is only one of many
citizens bareiy surviving in
E ugene — ar>d everywhere
Th s morn 'g t read about
trsytis _ tobfess homeless
too proud tor chamy wats —
•mo 're under leeways in Los
A--ge es Descriptions of **o
notd-uos «n Eugene last wee*
•ead suspioousiy «e that of
desperate jobless peop+e The
food banks and charity organ
zations are hooded with cans
for 3*0
The calls for help are being
mef Prom Un versify students
faculty and staff saving aJ! but a
handful of 300 duct's and geese
in the Mi trace to 18 000 more
pounds of food this year than
ast year temg given to Port
land s St Vincent de Paul
Christmas baskets
Money however is tight and
chanties note that gifts and time
are more plentiful It makes
sense — few people have extra
cash Most people can ma*e
time
Twefve days are eft for giving
time gifts food or money to
someone or charity before
Christmas
Perhaps rt's the ego involved
n charitable giving that makes rt
sc gratifying — having "more
than someone else Charity
can be insurance coverage 'If
m ever that down on my luck, I
hope someone helps me out ”
On less cynical days giving to
the needy is a sigh of relief —
‘ na admission that we depend
on each other some to a greater
extent No ego involved
ft crossed my mind the other
day to ask that 25-30 year-old
hungry citizen if he would like a
sandwich or something But I
imagined the worst of him and
walked on
letters
Reluctant
Thts is a reluctant response to
Margaret Laurine'9 question
(Emerald Dec 10) about
whether the fundamentalist
preachers on the courtyard
need be allowed to fill the air —
and her ears — with their words
and ideas
I don t like being screamed at
either not that I take it person
ally I do, however, believe
speakers should be allowed to
speak A university is public
property, but it is also one of the
few places in this society where
divergent ideas can collide in
relative freedom Collisions
frequently make a lot of noise
The audience on the courtyard
is subject to the noise of colli
sion but is surely sturdy enough
to survive
The real issue is exactly as
Laurine states it Freedom of
speech is a value we give lip
service to (no pun intended). It
is mainly a protection afforded
the speaker The value placed
on this protection, especially at
a university, protects everyone
even if it means putting up with
disagreeable or repulsive ideas
Would we really have it any
differently?
It may no longer be in vogue
to believe in the free
marketplace of ideas, or in the
inherent rationality of people
trusted to make the "right"
choices In fact, given the
human capacity to be
profoundly irrational in almost
any context, belief in the ul
timate triumph of truth in a free
and fair fight with un-truth
wiirrn awfully naive
Despite thus, I still believe free
speech means suffering the oc
casional babbling of people with
whom I do not agree (It usually
seems like babbling to me')
There is always the chance they
will present an idea that has
some value
So, yes, free speech does
mean having this version of
Christianity "shoved down our
throats We needn't be convert
ed unless something in us
requires it The same holds for
any ideas promoted on the
courtyard
It isn't an easy thing to put up
with but then, who said it was
supposed to be9
Raising this issue agains is a
way of using free speech to ad
vocate repression of free
speech. Yet, even this is pro
tected from repression It is
open to debate
I am thankful for that
Doug Stanfield
graduate, journalism
Duck thanks
Many thanks to the communi
ty of Eugene, the University
Physical P'ant, Lane County
Animal Regulation, the Outdoor
Program and the students who
responded so quickly to the cry
of the ducks in the Millrace last
Friday
Without your generous help,
we could not have gotten the
ducks out of the millrace as
quickly we did
Survival Center
I letters
Presentation
I would like to express my
aopreu ation to Michele Matas
sa for a well-written article
Agency, anti-draft spokesmen
differ on federal ruling s effect
The young reporter m a profes
sion which often has problems
fairty representing the views of
those who do not blindfy accept
the corporate-media image of
America as a benevolent mili
tary giant effectively presented
the essence of what I had sad
I do have minor objections to
the sentence indicating that I
agree with Selective Service
Unit Commander Michael s
statement." registration
must go on as usual
While legally eighteen year
olds may be required to register,
that law is both a denial of in
dividual rights guaranteed by
our Constitution and a rejection
of the principles of the Declara
tion of Independence
It acknowledges that the
conscience of the individual
with rts unique interpretation of
the essence of life (God),
supercedes the power of the
state One is required only to
have decent respect for h»s or
her fellow citizens
Ron Phillips
CORD
Christmas list
The evolution of language s a
fascinating subject and tells us
much about the peoples whose
languages are studied Several
of our political leaders and na
tional administrations have
made distinguished contri
butions to language evolution
Pres Ronald Reagan, although
in office only a brief two years
has already shown great
promise
Here are my suggestions as to
actions communities might un
dertake in the Christmas spirit,
to bring a greater degree of
good cheer and well-being to
thesr citizens
In honor of Pres Reagan I call
it My Reagonoid Christmas
List AH of you can doubtless
think up further helpful ideas
1 Children's Safety Enhan
cement Loaded handguns
should be given to all the chil
dren in our third to fifth grade
Sunday school classes with the
explanation that we are giving
them these guns so that they will
never be used
2 Safety of the streets The city
council should direct that all
streetlights and other outside
lights be turned off at night This
would conserve energy, save
money and make it safer for
citizens to walk the streets at
Oregon dotty
emerald
The 0*900 Oe*y timer**} it pubfithed Monday through tridar
except dumg ana* nee* and racahon* by g«e Oegon Da*y
Emerald Pubtwhmg Co at the Unwerpty gt Oregon Eugene
Of* 97403
The Emerald operate* independency ot the Umwerpe* am*
ofhee* on he *vrd hoor ot the Ert> Memorial Oreon and • a
member of the Annotated fh*n
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night since muggers and po
tential rapists could not see
them as well
3 Toward fuller employment
and job security: The city should
fire all its non-essential em
ployees, such as parks, plan
ning, and maintenance person
nel. and give the money saved
to the richest citizens in town —
explaining to the people laid-oft
how this will stimulate the
economy and promote fuller
employment and increased job
security
Bayard McConnaughay
Drunk driver
The holiday season is soon to
be upon us Unfortunately, this
means alcohol consumption will
be increasing This also means
the number of drunk drivers on
our roads will be increasing and
many innocent people will be
murdered by these menaces to
society
What can we do to combat
this problem? Plenty
People who come into con
tact with intoxicated individuals
should try to persuade them not
to drive But if persuasion fails
then one should call the toll-free
number set up by the Oregon
State Police for reporting drunk
drivers That number is
1-800-452-7888 In reporting a
drunk one should describe the
drivers' vehicle, give the license
number and the location of and
direction the car is traveling
You are not required to identify
yourself
By reporting a drunk driver
you might save the lives of one
or more innocent people the
drunk might crash into while he
or she is on the road
Mlcheel Cross
Springfield
letters policy
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priateness
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