Oregon daily emerald., April 22, 1983, Page 3, Image 3

letters
Narrow-minded
In his article “A Waste of A
Season" (April 13), Paul
Danzer asks "how stupid do
they think we are?’ He certain
ly answers his own question
with his incredibly narrow
minded follow-up: very.
Danzer’s article looks at the
Major League sports seasons
of basketball and hockey as
nothing more than a warm-up
for the “second season,” the
playoffs, and that the entire
season is a futile and
pointless venture. It is this
kind of journalistic tunnel
vision that only inspires the
demeaning of the regular
season in these sports
without really looking to the
purpose of these games: as
singular entertainment outlets
for fans of the sports.
It is obvious that Danzer has
attended few if any NBA or
NHL games live. The fact that
the outcome of the contest
has little bearing on the overall
results of the team within the
league is generally lost within
the recreational value of the
match itself. The fans who at
tend the contest are usually
there for the entertainment
received, and pay their money
not to expect the game to have
monumentous effect on the
sports world but to receive en
joyment from watching two
teams of outstanding athletes
play. Sure, the prospect of hav
ing the local team make it into
the playoffs and even having a
chance at the “world cham
pionship” would be nice, but
for this particular evening they
want to have a good time. Is
this an indication of “stupid
suckers”? If so, then Danzer is
not only indicting Big League
winter sports, but all leisure
ventures as well.
Why stop at the NBA and
NHL? NCAA basketball has
slipped into the same mold.
Who would have expected
North Carolina State to make
it all the way to the final four,
much less take top honors?
And yet their inspired play
didn’t come until the regular
season had ended. Try telling
Ralph Sampson or Akeem Ola
juwon that his season was a a
waste of time because he
didn’t go all the way and take
the championship.
In all, the most important
thing to remember is that the
fans are looking for a little en
joyment for one night. And
that the end game is really of
minor importance. Too bad
that fact has escaped Danzer.
Jim Stevens-Alumnus
recreation and
parks management
Lawbreakers
This letter is addressed to
Michael Lysne, who acted with
such great insensitivity to
Manny Hernandez's refusal to
register for the draft.
Who died and made you
God?
The “forefathers” that you
mentioned in your letter of
April 4 were lawbreakers also,
following the dictates of their
consciences, in opposition to
constituted authority of the
times. Would you have turned
them in, also, Lysne?
Hernandez may feel that he
is defending his country's
foundation of ethical values
through his moral refusal to
register. Who is to say that he
is wrong, if he is acting as he
honestly believes is right?
One of the freedoms of this
country is the freedom to find
one’s destiny, short of harm to
others; and you may have done
serious harm to Hernandez by
your callous act of insensitivi
ty: that is, sending his name to
the Selective Service — or
"SS” (ring any bell?).
In the Register-Guard of
April 9, it was reported on
page one that the Dept, of
Justice has advised the Dept,
of Education to stop requiring
male student loan applicants
to certify that they have
registered from the draft. It
would seem that your misplac
ed zeal has put Hernandez in a
very compromising position
with the Selective Service, yet
the basis for your action is not
supported by even the Dept, of
Justice.
To save you a stamp and
some time, I feel it only fair to
advise you that I am a veteran
of active service with the U.S.
Navy’s Third and Seventh
Fleets, and have my discharge
to verify this. That is, if you
feel a need to personally in
volve yourself in the lives of
people who choose to exer
cise the freedoms guaranteed
us in the Constitution.
David Walton
graduate, English Literature
Radioactive
Teledyne Wah Chang,
located near Albany, uses a
metallurgical reduction pro
cess to extract primary
metals. Zirconium, one metal,
is made into fuel tubes used in
commercial nuclear reactors,
nuclear submarine propulsion
reactors and nuclear weapons.
As a result of this produc
tion process, toxic chemicals
and radioactive waste pro
ducts are generated. Such
wastes were produced as
sludges from 1967 to 1980 and
are now stored in two unlined
ponds on the flood plain mere
ly 400 feet from the Willamette
River.
The waste will only be mov
ed if studies conducted deter
mine it is safe to do so. These
studies are to be conducted by
Wah Chang itself.
On February 14, 1983, a
decision by the Oregon Energy
Facility Siting Council to per
mit permanent storage of Wah
Chang’s radiological waste
was contested. It is now
before the Oregon State
Supreme Court.
Until the court makes its
final decision the siting coun
cil’s permit is not in effect.
This allows the State
Legislature to examine the
council’s standards and con
duct in the licensing process.
As a result of this examina
tion, SB416 sponsored by the
Senate Energy and En
vironmental Committee is
before the legislature at this
time.
This bill would modify the
standards, lower the levels of
allowable radium release, pro
hibit the storage of waste
within or adjacent to the
meander zone or flood plain of
a river. The bill also requires
that a site can only be
selected if there are no other
alternative sites currently
available “that would better
protect the health safety and
welfare of the public and the
environment.”
Since the Supreme Court’s
decision probably won’t be
made until this fall, it is im
perative that the Legislature
establish these tougher stan
dards this summer so that if
the Supreme Court does send
the case back to the siting
council, the council would be
bound by the standards which
would better protect the
health of Oregonians. A public
hearing will be held Friday,
April 22, 1983 in Salem. I
strongly urge you to attend the
hearings or contact your
legislator and express your
views.
Jack Kapuscinski
senior, history
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TIME and HARD VORK
ITS ny NEW ECONOMIC POLICV?
STEALAN6 FROM THE POOR fiHD KEEPING [T\