I
Perhaps a new era of student political activism is
dawning if the results of the annual meeting of the United
States Student Association in Atlanta are any indication.
The University was represented by Kevin Kouns, Bill
Snyder and Patricia Stuart of the ASUO. They, along with
students leaders from colleges and universities across
the country, predicted that Pres. Ronald Reagan’s cuts in
financial aid, his legislation requiring draft registration to
receive aid and the administration’s stand on the situation
in Central America will motivate students to take a more
active role in politics.
We hope this is the case, but remain more
pessimistic than hopeful.
Former United Nations ambassador Andrew Young,
now the mayor of Atlanta, spoke to the conscience of the
students. ‘‘I saw this country turn to the right and I blame
students for that," Young said. “I saw this country move
forward when students entered the civil rights movement.
By the same token, I think all of that came to an end
because of the inaction and callousness and insensitivity
of young people.” Not many at the meeting disputed
Young’s analysis. Not many can dispute that when
students turned their back on social concerns there was
little done to correct the ills of society.
Gregory Moore, the newly elected president of the
student association, directed the group to become more
visible in local, state and congressional election cam
paigns in 1984. The student leaders wisely agreed.
Students do not have as great an impact in a national cam
paign than they can have in a state representatives race.
According to Moore, in this way students can support
candidates they identify with and not have to choose be
tween the lesser of two evils.
What will aid students in becoming a more respected
voting group is the student association’s "legislative
scorecard” which evaluates Senators and Congressmen
on issues such as education spending, tax cuts and the
nuclear freeze. A failing grade in a category important to
students might be the margin needed to oust a politician
ignorant of student concerns.
The three ASUO delegates were elected to the
association’s board of directors. They are committed to
bringing the issues of financial aid, employment and civil
rights to University students. It doesn’t take much for
University students to be involved — simply listen to the
issues, register to vote and vote. Is that more than
students are willing to give?
opinion
Student leaders
look to issues
Verdict apt
in RCYB case
The Emerald applauds the Oregon Supreme Court's
decision to overturn the arson conviction of Nancy
Whitley, a member of the Revolutionary Communist
Youth Brigade. Whitley was convicted of first-degree ar
son in the Lane County Circuit Court in 1981.
The conviction stems from an incident in the EMU
Ballroom where Victor Tomseth, a former Iranian hostage,
was speaking. Whitley and the late John Kaiser set fire to
a gasoline soaked yellow ribbon as a political protest.
While we do not condone the RCYB’s reckless en
dangering of lives during Tomseth’s speech we under
stand that they intended the act as a symbol of protest.
This seems to be behind the Court’s overturning the
conviction. They ruled that burning the yellow ribbon did
not fall under the strict legal definition of arson. The pro
secution would have to prove monetary value to the pro
perty damaged for arson to apply.
We agree with Whitley's attorney that the conviction
didn’t have political overtones. However, Whitley, being
politically-oriented, said the trial was a "political
railroad.” It may serve Whitley to note that the conviction
was legally not politically overturned. That the arson
charge had the greater penalty instead of the lesser penal
ty of endangering may perhaps have been politically
motivated.
Throughout the trial and the appeals that followed
the RCYB tried to defend their action and reverse the
subsequent conviction saying it came under the protec
tion of constitutional free speech. That point, if argued,
would have been a difficult one to resolve. It was a ge
nuine political protest that turned dangerous because of
rash thinking. If the RCYB was guilty of anything in the
yellow ribbon incident it was stupidity
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debbie howlett
editor’s note
There isn’t anything I like better than spen
ding the day doing nothing, no working, no
thinking, no nothin’. This summer the Lane
County judicial system afforded me many days
to do nothing.
Before any of you conjure up the image of
“editor as convict,” I'll state emphatically that I
wasn’t behind bars, although at times I felt as
though I might as well have been.
I was a victim of my own self gratifying
need to be a ‘ good citizen." I was called to jury
duty and had neither the brains nor foresight to
wiggle my way out of it.
Every time I brought up the subject of jury
duty, people offered their impressions of the
excitement of lengthy murder trials, of being
sequestered, of Perry Mason looking them
square in the eyes and announcing the
murderer’s true identity tout de suite.
Wrong. Any hopes for a glamorous trial are
shot down after the first voir dire.
The only jury I served on during the entire
month (most people only served on a few trials)
lasted six hours. It was a murder trial, of sorts.
A young man shot a neighbor’s dog because he
thought it was chasing his uncle’s cattle. The
jury ended up listening to the whole case, down
to the most intricate detail only to end up
deliberating three hours and finally, concede to
the judge and the rest of the world, that we six
reasonable adults, could not agree.
This was certainly not the most glamorous
day in my life, although it might be a bit more
glamorous than showing a two year-old steer at
the county fair.
The rest of my tenure as a Lane County
juror was spent in the jury assembly room, leaf
ing through December’s Reader's Digest, trying
to find a joke column I hadn’t read three times.
But I was Keeping fast company, several Univer
sity professors were hunting for the Reader’s
Digest I guardedly held in my lap.
My name was called to go through the voir
dire selection process in one other instance.
The first voir dire I didn’t “pass” was a bar
room brawl. I was a little pissed, because it at
least sounded more interesting than dead
dogs.
The attorney for the defense, this psuedo
European looking nerd, looked me square in
the eyes and asked me, with some lilt to his
voice, if I was a feminist. “You see,” said the
man in a fatherly voice that didn’t sit well with
his 35 year-old appearance, “this case involves
a man hitting another man because he insulted
his wife.”
“Yes, I’d consider myself a feminist,” I
answered in my sweetest Yes-l'm-a-feminist,
crawl-under-a-rock-if-you-don’t-like-it voice.
He said "thanks" and went onto the next
juror. As it turns out I was the first person
bounced from that jury.
Aside from feeling rejected (A trauma I
think I’ve recovered from already), I wondered
about the whole process of jurors and jury
selection.
It is flawed in some respects, but it does
offer as fair a trial as can be expected, and it
gives the citizens (well, the ones registered to
vote, anyway) the opportunity to be a part of the
system in action
I was glad for the opportunity to see “the
other side” of the trial process. Maybe when I
cover my first trial for a newspaper, I’ll under
stand it better
I got more out of the experience than just
insight though. I was able to do literally
nothing, twice a week, without feeling guilty.
II letters
Overripe
A petition to legalize the
drug marijuana in Oregon is
being circulated. If you are
hooked on this poisonous
hallucinating narcotic, you will
be expected to sign the peti
tion. If not, look up these
words in your dictionary:
hemp, marijuana, cannabis,
hashish and cannabin.
This noxious weed was
outlawed internationally 50
years ago. as was done with
heroin about ten years earlier.
Now — do you want our
children to be exposed to this
poisonous narcotic?
And remember the Com
munists creed — if they can
corrupt one generation of
young people the nation will
fall into their hands like an
overripe fruit.
George Trumbo
Oakland, OR.
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