opinion_
Police may abuse
task force plan
The Emerald holds reservations regarding the city of
Eugene's recommendations on vagrancy as they may have
special impact on University students and residents of the West
University neighborhood.
Transients have been an ongoing problem for the city.
Following a prelminary research report in January on the tran
sient problem by Mark Lindberg, the City Council formed a task
force and studied the problem with an eye toward finding
solutions.
After eight months the task force presented a 16-page report
with 24 points intended to alleviate the transient situation. For
the most part the 24 points deal with the transients and vagrants
who frequent the downtown mall area, city parks and live in
abandoned buildings in certain sections of the city. These areas
appear to be the most "blighted.” Though the emphasis of the
task force push against vagrants isn't in the campus or West
University area, it still leaves us a little queasy.
The Emerald's objections initially stem from the classifica
tion of "vagrant" or the other term "transient." No where in the
final report are these terms defined. Perhaps the omission was
the result of an oversight. Perhaps the city believes the terms too
difficult to adequately define. Flerein lies the problem.
An early study (in November 1982) also by Lindberg, the
basis for the final report, profiled vagrants as the homeless,
"deinstitutionalized," teen and pre-teen runaways. While this
profile is more than likely true in some cases, it lacks the
specifics to define what is a vagrant or a transient.
According to the Oxford American Dictionary, 1980, a
vagrant is "a person without a settled home or regular work."
We don't mean to make light of the plight of transients, but
that is a definition befitting a large number of students. And a
transient, defined as "a temporary visitor or worker," could also
be a student at this University.
Nitpicking for a specific definition serves only to point up
how generalized is the conception of transients and vagrants,
this generalization bothers us — and has bothered Dave Fidan
que of the Eugene American Civil Liberties Union.
Fidanque's group was appeased when the citation-in-lieu-of
custody provision was written into the task force recommenda
tions. The ACLU was concerned over "selective enforcement."
However, the Emerald's concern stems from the possibility
the Eugene police may not be selective in their enforcement.
The difficulty with the primary emphasis on the Eugene
police controlling the vagrant and transient population is that it,
after a fashion, allows them carte blanche to stop and cite any
person or groups. This does not imply Eugene police would
abuse this authority, only that the backing of the vagrancy task
force recommendations seem to advise them towards
indiscrimination.
The West University neighborhood is noted for its mix of
people. On 13th Avenue on any given evening there are any
number of lifestyles on view, from hippies, punks and conser
vatives, to Greeks and tweedy academics. What's to prevent
Eugene police from citing as vagrants anyone that happens to be
"hanging-out" on 13th Avenue? What's to prevent police from
searching the individuals while they are detained?
Police harassment of people with a lifestyle individual of
ficers may not approve of is a very real possibility.
There are also people who live hand-to-mouth, the bag
ladies and sidewalk philosophers, who are for the most part
harmless. Some of these characters have been living a transient
existence for many many years. A number of these people are
not a "blight," but are colorful characters whose friendship with
University area students enriches their lives. The police could
continually harass and cite these harmless characters until their
fines put them in such a position they are jailed.
Overall, we applaud the recommendations of the vagrancy
task force. There are some excellent humane aspects among the
24 recommendations. The expansion of shelter facilities for the
homeless and alcohol detoxication centers for the street
alcoholic show a consideration unlike any other city. The coor
dination of social services, if successful, could help transients to
find work and become settled.
But, we hope that this spirit of consideration for others is
foremost in the minds of Eugene police as they patrol the
University area.
r
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letters
Socialism
Last year, OSPIRG, a Ralph
Nader supported "public interest
group," was cleverly voted man
datory student financial support.
Through a carefully worded
ballot, this organization managed
to gain even the financial support
of students opposed to this group.
No voluntary support here — they
have us by our pursestrings (or
wallets) whether we like it or not.
Sure we voted on it. But if we had
been given the option, a majority
of students would have voted for
voluntary support of this
organization.
Now we have OSPIRG using
their ill-gotten funds to fight a
legal battle to keep themselves on
campus, all the while sapping off
the financial veins of the student.
They have accused the College
Republicans of unethical tactics in
merely trying to give the students
back the right to keep their
money if they so wish. Is it
unethical to oppose socialism' If
not, then where has the CR been
unethical?
The function of student govern
ment is not to force students to
become financially involved in
quasi-political groups. The ASUO
should be representing the
students in the most democratic
way possible, including reserving
to the students the freedom to
decide for themselves as in
dividuals which groups they wish
to support and how "socially
aware" they want to become.
OSPIRG is not entitled to our
money even though they would
have us believe so. Even if one ad
mires OSPIRG, one still can see
the unfairness of requiring all
students to support a group that
perhaps 60 percent of us would
support voluntarily. If OSPIRG is
legitimate, they will be able to
gam the support of the student
not through the show of political
force but through their works.
Students who agree with this
viewpoint should show up at the
ASUO Constitutional Court hear
ing the first week of October to
denounce mandatory fees.
Brandon Shepard
Angered
As a host in the New Student
Host Program, I was more than a
little surprised by and angered at
ASUO Vice Pres. Kevin Kouns
speech at our Sept. 19 grand in
augural activities. Kouns seized
upon this opportunity to give a
speech that was totally out of con
text with the spirit of NSHP and
the event.
Granted, Kouns made some
valid points about the need for
greater student involvement in
side and outside the University.
But these points were over
shadowed by his implications that
such needs will generally go un
challenged and by his gloomy
outlook for the future. In a Sept.
27 article, Kouns stated, "the
underlying message of the whole
thing is hope." I got no such im
pression from his speech nor did
anyone else I talked to.
The intent of NSHP is to help
new students feel comfortable at
the University and to let them
know people here care. The pro
gram is important because the
start of the school year is a time,
when encouragement can be very
meaningful to new students who
might be confused, frightened or
unsure. It is also a time when
discouragement can be very
detrimental to a person, and he or
she drops out of school. Then
their chances in Kouns' real world
become even worse.
It is apparent Kouns failed to
realize or even care about the con
sequences of his remarks, which
raises some serious questions
about his abilities as a student
leader.
Christopher Core
junior, journalism
Watt now?
lames Watt has done it again.
His most recent bluhder
denigrated women, blacks, Jews
r
and the disabled, it is not the first
time that Watt has stuck his foot
in his mouth and it will probably
not be his last.
Unfortunately, Watt does more
than verbally offend minorities
and other persons. Since 1981 in
his role as Secretary of the In
terior, he has blatantly favored
corporate interests at the expense
of our environment. His most re
cent attack on the environment in
volves leasing millions of acres of
federal coal lands at a fraction of
their true cost. It was in the con
text of this latest attempt at en
vironmental degradation that
Watt made his much publicized
remark putting down women and
the other minorities.
Watt has received a large
amount of well-deserved adverse
publicity for his sexist, rascist,
anti-semitic and insensitive
remark. The outcry, however, is
misdirected. Watt's attacks on the
environment and his bigotry are
representative of the attitude of
the entire Reagan administration.
The EPA's mismanagement of
Superfund monies, the U.S. policy
in Central America, increases in
nuclear and other weapons,
favoritism for the rich over the
poor — these policies and others
reflect the current character of the
U.S. government.
If James Watt resigns as
Secretary of the Interior, his
replacement may be less obvious
in his or her attacks on the en
vironment. The result; however,
will be the same. Whether they be
James Watt, Ann Burford, William
Ruckelshaus, David Stockman,
Alexander Haig or Caspar
Weinberger, it makes no dif
ference. So long as Ronald Reagan
is president, the environment,
women, blacks, Jews, the disabl
ed, the poor, and other minority
and traditionally power-poor
groups will continue to suffer
while the rich grow richer. Remov
ing James Watt is a step in the
right direction, but nothing will
really change until Pres. Ronald
Reagan is also gone.
Ian Flaharty
lack Kapuscinski
Eugene
1
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