harry esteve
Sexist language
We writers are proud of our
command of the English
language. In fact we often get
downright arrogant about it.
So when we are told that
something is the matter with
the way we write, we get
mighty defensive — especially
when our writing is labeled
"sexist.”
I’ve seen the collective
hackles rise when someone
points to a sentence like: “If a
student misses more than five
classes, he will fail auto
matically," and tells us it
helps perpetuate sexism.
By traditional English stan
dards, there is nothing wrong
with the sentence. But by
other standards that sentence
and countless others like it
place women in subordinate
roles to men, making them
seem less important or even
nonexistent.
When Jean Ward, a jour
nalism professor from Min
nesota, spoke to a group of
University journalism pro
fessors about sexism in
newspapers, she faced the
kind of defensiveness I’m talk
ing about.
The professors pointed out
textbook grammar rules and
demanded workable alter
natives. After all, it is hard for
conscientious, liberal edu
cators to be told they have
been perpetuating the oppres
sion of women.
Ward didn’t have all the
answers. When put on the
spot, she couldn’t think of an
eloquent way of asexually
labeling the head of a commit
tee. Should it be chairperson?
Chairwoman?
Too often the usage turns
into chairman for the males
and chairperson for the
females.
Ward primarily wanted the
people who teach writing
habits to future journalists to
think about teaching them
genderless language.
The Emerald has similar pro
blems, although it is our policy
to avoid sexist language as
often as possible.
We call the heads of a com
ittee “chairer.” And we’ve
taken a lot of grief for it. Peo
ple aren’t used to seeing it,
and it “sounds” strange when
they read it. But it gets the
point across, without resor
ting to a sexual suffix.
We try to use a lot of plurals.
Instead of, “A student will fail
his class," we usually say
‘‘students will fail their
classes.” It's just as accurate,
although the sharpness of the
story’s imagery might suffer.
Unlike many major
newspapers, we don’t use
courtesy titles for men or
women. If we write a story
about law school dean Derrick
Bell, he is simply called Bell
on second reference.
When Jewell Bell was nam
ed as director of the Univer
sity’s Council for Minority
Education, she was called Bell
on second reference, not Mrs.
Bell, or Bell, wife of Dean Der
rick Bell. When we use wire
copy we try to edit out all the
“Mrs.”s and “wife of”s.
These are small steps
toward sexual equality and I'm
sure we re not entirely consis
tent with our policy. It’s hard
to break defensive writers of
bad habits.
But it is a part of the
solution.
letters
Humanitarians
I have a couple of questions
for readers to ponder.
1) Where we'e all the
humanitarians who are deman
ding an end to aid to El
Salvador on May 20,1981 when
our government authorized the
Export-Import Bank to extend
$121 million of credit to com
munist Romania so they could
modernize their nuclear power
system?
2) Where were the the
demonstrators shouting "end
aid to repressive regimes’’
when our leaders gave over
$300 million to the com
munists leadership in Poland
last year?
Maybe a few answers might
be: 1) These people favor giv
ing our money to communist
r
oppressors but not to people
fighting communist threats
because they favor communist
takeovers, 2) Religious and
political dissidents who've
been massacred by com
munists were just
troublemakers and not entitl
ed to "people" status thus
justifying their demise and
making it morally acceptable
to assist communist govern
ments, 3) Those people pro
testing aid to El Salvador
would protest aid to the Soviet
empire if they were more in
formed as to what's going on
in the world.
You decide. What motivates
those who panic when we aid
an anti communist country yet
keeps them so quiet when we
give assistance to the
communists?
Douglaa Qrman
^.EVANGEi
CHURCH6,1
f GOOO ^ EPHF
•0AM NUOtAR ARMS
WORKSHOP
11 AAA EXAMINING THE
N ATONAL DEREWi
NOON STOP THE GODUtS)
CyWAlESPORJESU!
I PM EL SALVOR
am®®SS"*
isser®
letters
Soft-cover
OK, most of us hear at this
place of higher education
don’t like to waste money. But
the passers-on of this educa
tion most times insist on
ordering hardcover textbooks.
We figure here at Watson Hall
in the residence hall system
that this is unnecessary. For
instance, a book called
"Understanding Social
Psychology” published by
Dorsey Press goes for $21.32
but would undoubtedly go for
$4-$5 less if it was a softcover.
So let’s here at the Universi
ty boycott hardcover books
and force the publishing com
panies to go soft. If we take
the lead, other universities will
follow and we'll bring the
publishers to their knees. So
let’s do it.
Geoff Ellsworth
soph, romance languages
Hazing
I was pleased with your arti
cle "Bill Outlaws Hazing,"
However, there are a few
points of clarification I would
like to make.
Statewide awareness of this
potentially dangerous practice
is the reason for this bill. No
one sets out to hurt anybody
and that is why they are called
hazing accidents.
Also, in regards to your
quote, "He (Nappi) says he
does not know of any specific
instances of violations at
Willamette or other univer
sities" Is misleading. There
are reports of hazing going on
at all campuses. The Universi
Oregon doily
emerald
The Oregon Daily Emerald i* published Monday through
Friday eacept during a a am ween and vacations. hy the Oregon
DaMy Emerald Publishing Co al the Uniyeraity of Oregon.
Eugene. OP, #7403
The Emerald operate* independently of the University
with office* on the third floor of the Em Memorial Union and is
a member of the Associated Press
Editor
Managing Editor
N«w* Editor
Assistant Naws Editor
Editorial Page Editor
Photo Editor
Sport* Editor
Attociata Sports Editor
Entertainment Editor
Night Editor
Associate Editor*
Mtghar Education
Department* and School*
Student Government
Eeature*
Polities
Student ServtcesfCommumty Affair*
General Staff
Advertising Manager
Ciaastfied Advertising
Production Mervegsr
Com roller
Merry E Steve
John Mealy
Marian Green
Cort Eernetd
Joan Hyland
Bob Belter
Mike Riptingar
Paul Dancer
Jonathan Single
Frank Shaw
Sandy Johnalona
Frank Shew
Richard Burr
Sean Meyer*
Michele Mates**
A lets Zak
Darlene Got*
Sally Offer
Victoria Koch
Jean Ownbey
ty of Oregon, Oregon State
University, and certainly
Willamette University are not
exceptions.
We think it is safe to
assume that there is some
validity to these reports. The
reports cover fraternities,
sororities, and other campus
organizations.
The purpose of this bill is
not to accuse or punish any
specific organization, but to
make them aware of hazing's
potential dangers. In no way
does this bill focus on the
Kappa Sigma Fraternity on
your campus, it only ex
emplifies the consequences
involved.
We hope to have the sup
port of every Interfraternity
Council and Panhellenic
throughout the state in endor
sing this bill. We believe it is
an excellent way for them to
show their commitment to
eliminating these dangerous
and outdated practices.
Steven Nappi
president, Delta Tau Delta
Willamette University
Tax money
The Eugene City Council's
November hearing to recon
sider its renaming of Eugene’s
Center for the Performing Arts
was a farce. A display of
upper-class solidarity and the
eating of toads. The most
subservient were the members
of the Council who sold out
their constituents a second
time by unanimously
upholding ;heir original act of
betrayal
Heaping insult upon injury,
r
the Council has recently
decided to use taxpayers’
money to bail out the Center
which is running nearly
$20,000 in the red after six
months of operation. (A
strange reversal of finances:
Late in 1982 the iocal press
told us that the Center was
earning $14,000 per month).
The discomforting news of
the deficit was accompanied
by the information that the
Center could easily run at a
loss for several years. Will the
Council make an annual dip in
to the taxpayers pockets to
keep the Center in the black?
Thanks to Eugene tax
payers, a local lumber baron
and his lady, a munificent and
humble pair, have a monument
to themselves in their own
lifetime. Let them rescue their
monument from its debts. The
barony will likely profit from
the tax write-offs.
News of red ink flowing at
the Center was followed close
ly by the revelation of
•weaknesses” in its book
keeping system. Neither the
Eugene Register-Guard nor
electronic news sources went
into great detail about the
nature of these weaknesses.
Are they due to mere inept
ness? If so, are the inept still
keeping the books? Or does
the problem go deeper? As r
self-designated “Citizen of its
community” does the Guard
care? Is the Oregonian the on
ly state newspaper pubic
spirited enough to do in
vestigative reporting?
Guido Paiandri
library
letters policy
The Emerald will attempt to print all letters containing fair
comment on topics of interest to the University community
Letters to the editor must be limited to 250 words, signed
and the identification of the writer must be verified when the
tetter is turned in to the Emerald office. The Emerald reserves
the right to edit any letter for length, style or content.
Your turn is an Emerald opinion feature submitted by
members of the University community. "Your turns" must be
limited to 500 words and typed This editorial column will not
be edited by the staff, but selection will be based on appro
priateness
Letters to the editor and "Your turns" should be turned into
the Emerald office, Suite 300 EMU
Unsigned editorials appearing in the Emerald are based
upon die majority opinion of the editorial board.