Ijoan nyland .
suitable for comment
Mother’s Day columns and
cards usually say things like:
Thank you Mom for all the
times you chauffered me here
and there. Thank you Mom for
all the great meals. Thank you
Mom for all the emergency
loans.
But, I don’t want to thank
my mother this Sunday for all
those duties that she perform
ed so well and still does.
To be honest, I am uncom
fortable with that role model
she gave me. Like many
women in their 20s, I cannot
bring myself to like the martyr
image my mother portrayed. I
want to ask her repeatedly,
"Why did you do that?”
If I should ever be
somebody’s mother, I do not
want my thank you’s summed
up one day in May. I do not
want the basis of praise from
my children to read: Thank you
for being my slave.
However, I do want to thank
my mother for some things for
which she rarely gets credit.
I would like to thank my
mother for never punishing me
in front of anyone. I can still
hear her saying, “The idea is to
understand what you did
wrong — not to humiliate.”
I thank my mother for being
extremely honest and open
r
about sexuality when I was a
child and adolescent.
I appreciated her attending
all those horrible recitals,
understanding my need for
solitude and encouraging me
to read.
My special thank you
regards a "little lecture" she
gave me before I went to col
lege. She told me not to give
up my dreams for her, or my
father or any relationship. She
wanted me to live my own life
and not to sacrifice. I don’t
sacrifice. Now, I can only hope
she doesn’t find me too
selfish.
My eldest sister says,
“Mom’s legacy is her uncanny
way of making the inevitable,
enjoyable." Well, my mother
does not have a secret handle
on fate and I always have
suspected there is a lot of un
necessary compromising go
ing on under that cheerful
exterior.
I think my mother’s legacy
is her infectious insistence
that one stop, and smell the
roses and let things grow in
their own time.
The wonderful mothers are
women with personalities who
can discern when to nurture
and when to nudge.
letters
Principles
At last Wednesday's Univer
sity Assembly meeting, I wat
ched 176 University pro
fessors vote to “postpone in
definitely" discussion of the
discrimination against gay and
lesbian people which is oper.iy
practiced by an academic
department of this university.
Perhaps thanks are in order.
In two minutes, I got a more
compelling eduction about the
difference between principles
and actions than I have receiv
ed all year — an education I
will not soon forget, although I
wish with all my heart that I
could.
Sherri Schultz
political science, French
Wildeiness
The Forest Service, in con
junction with the Outdoor Pro
gram has a "Wilderness Skills
Trail " on campus Thursday
and Friday. You can go
through it like an obstacle
r
J
course to find out how skillful
you are.
So I said to them:
‘‘I’ve got a wilderness skill
for you. How about standing in
front of a bulldozer?”
The Forest Service official
grinned. The Outdoor Program
representative grinned, too.
Everybody smiles when they
hear that. Because it s so
right.
Because at this moment
people are standing in front of
bulldozers on an illegal, im
moral road that the Forest Ser
vice is trying to hack into the
Kalmiopsis Wilderness.
So if you want to do
something for humanity, for
trans-humanity, and for
yourself, do this: Go to the
demonstration at 12:30 and
3:30 p.m. today in the EMU
courtyard. Go to the Earth
First Road Show tonight at 7
p.m. in 123 Science I. Then get
into your jeans, your boots and
get down to the wilderness
and block that 'dozer!
Marcy Willow
Survival Cantor
Oregon doily
emerald
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II letters
Affirmation
David Herman’s letter enti
tled, "Dissenting,” in which he
explains his reasons for voting
against the University Nuclear
Free Zone Initiative makes a
valid point concerning the
academic freedom of the
physics department. Potential
ly, the freedom of nuclear
physics research could be
compromised. Beyond this
point, Herman’s logic
deteriorates.
The statement, "As long as
the Kremlin wants to take over
the world and the West
resists” is an overly simplistic
assessment of Soviet inten
tions and American policy.
Both states pursue aggressive
foreign policies with the inten
tion of spreading their own in
fluence as far as possible.
Both states use the panacea
of "national security” to ra
tionalize the export of arms to
most of the Third World and
for their failure to find a solu
tion to the Cold War.
Competition among nations
is not in itself a bad thing. But
when the competition takes
place in an atmosphere of fear,
hostility and expanding
military capabilities war
becomes a very real
possibility.
The Nuclear Free Zone in
itiative is an attempt to
alleviate this climate of fear. It
is an ideological statement by
the majority of University
students that they are willing
to take the first small steps
towards peace. More impor
tant, it is an affirmation of our
belief in man's ability to settle
his disputes peacefully, with
the power of diplomacy rather
than the force of bombs How
anyone can be opposed to this
initiative, I cannot understand.
Eric Kellermsnn
senior, history
Established fear
The message delivered by
Arthur Cox during Ground
Zero Week about the nuclear
arms race was not a new one.
What was new was the fact
that Arthur Cox said what he
said. He has been a part of the
American diplomatic
establishment. He has talked
first hand with Russians. He
embodies a sense of the
history of the negotiations to
halt the proliferation of
nuclear missiles.
As he spoke I was aware of
his mood of suppressed fear.
He talked about the Russians'
love for their country. He talk
ed about how much the Rus
sians had suffered — both in
the loss of human lives
through wars and internal op
pression and in their loss of
national pride when forced
to withdraw from Cuba in
1962.
Cox’s fear arises from this
understanding. Because of
this suffering and loss of
pride, Russians will not allow
themselves to be victimized
again. If pushed to the brink by
Pershing missiles in Europe
(which can reach Russian soil
in six to eight minutes), the
threat of preventing undetec
table destruction may leave
them with no other choice
than to fire their missiles
first.
Cox's message was clear.
We have eight months to stop
this act of American military
lunacy. There is no justifies
tion — defensively or
monetarily — for putting Per
shing missiles in Europe.
Let us join with the multitudes
of peaceseekers in Europe
and stop this suicidal non
sense
Stuart Shaw
Waalay Foundation
Uranium mill
The Lakeview Mining Com
pany began mining uranium in
south central Oregon in 1956.
The company stopped its
operation in 1961, leaving
behind 130.000 tons of
uranium mill tailings on 30
acres near the town of
Lakeview. At that time, most
authorities did not consider
the low-level radioactive
wastes to be dangerous. Un
fortunately for the people of
Lakeview, those authorities
were wrong.
The incidence of oatcell
lung cancer in Lakeview (com
mon in uranium miners) has in
creased 10 fold since 1961.
The small town now has the
highest rates of breast cancer
and infant mortality in the
state.
State law does not allow the
storage of most low-level
radioactive wastes in Oregon.
In 1979, however, the
uranium mining industry suc
cessfully lobbied the State
Legislature to exempt uranium
mill tailings from the state ban
on radiocactive wastes. On
May 6 the State Senate Energy
and Environment Committee
will hold a work session on SB
419, a bill which would once
again prohibit the storage of
uranium mill tailings in the
state.
The dangers of these
radioactive wastes are not
restricted solely to the people
of Lakeview. Medford,
Roseburg, Coos Bay and
McDermitt also contain exten
sive uranium desposits.
If you do not want these
areas to become another
Lakeview attend the work ses
sion, write your leg.slator or
call toll-free at 1-800-452-7813
(686-7500 for Eugene/Spring
field residents).
Jan Flaherty
Eugene
letters policy
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priateness
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