opinion
Eugene task force
looks into towing
Like death and taxes, there are a few things to be certain of
while in Eugene and at the University. There will be long lines at
registration. When you reach the door to the room where your
final exam is being held, you will momentarily forget everything
you studied. And it rains quite a lot in Eugene.
Here's another thing to be certain of — at one time or
another your car will be towed away and impounded.
The city of Eugene can't do anything about finals or the rain,
but they have decided to form a towing task force to investigate
the situation. The city is looking into the matter at the insistence
of a number of citizens who've complained about their cars be
ing towed. It's a common complaint. An Emerald reporter, while
writing the article on towing, was almost overwhelmed by the
number of people who had stories to tell of their cars being
towed.
The city's task force will be reviewing ordinances on im
pounding with the intention of creating better relations bet
ween the city and the towing companies. Almost as an after
thought, they said citizens' attitudes will play an important part
in the review.
Emerald Towing, by their own admission, claims to do 90
percent of the city's impounding. This virtual monopoly may
have lead to the pay-up or shut-up attitude which impoundees
say they face when they try to get their cars back from Emerald
Towing.
While many of the complaints deal with the towing, most
impoundees say they are met with a "tough luck" attitude from
the towing companies.
The over aggressiveness of some towing companies should
be investigated. According to one eye witness the tow trucks
looked like ants on an anthill the night the Jalking Heads were
at the Hult Center. As soon as the concert was underway the tow
trucks appeared. More than a few concertgoers left the Hult
Center to find their cars towed away.
The legalities of towing cars appears to be cut and dried. If
someone parks in a restricted lot, the car will get towed. It's
usually posted. Perhaps the certainness of the towing law
creates the problems with the towing companies, the city and
prompts the citizens' complaints.
Many people park in commercial lots thinking that because
it is after store hours the parking restriction is not in effect and
they will not get towed. They usually realize their error after
their car is gone.
The towing task force might consider utilizing store lots
after hours for parking, especially in areas where parking is
limited. This may take money from the parking garages, but not
if commercial parking lots were zoned for parking where park
ing garages weren't available.
A policy of initial citation and then towing (perhaps after 24
hours) seems to be a better approach to the situation.
A public hearing will be held Dec. 14, at 7:30 p.m. in the City
Council Chambers. At the hearing the city's task force promises
to look into "all sides" of the issue. Anyone who has ever been
towed would be wise to attend.
Ruling the nation
from inside the fort
We are witnessing the building of the citadel — the con
struction of the fortress White House.
Saturday, three-foot-high concrete barriers were installed at
entrances to the White House. The concrete bulwark replaces
sand-filled trucks that were blocking the gates since Thanksgiv
ing. The trucks were in response to unspecified, but "possible"
truck-bomb attacks such as the one that killed 239 U.S. Marines
in Beirut.
White House officials said the concrete slabs were "more
esthetically acceptable" as driveway decor than those tacky (and
certainly messy) sand-filled trucks.
The need for security is understood, but still there's
something disturbing, in this free society, about the White
House now being fortified behind slabs of concrete.
Oregon daily _ _
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letters
Cowardly
Terri Dismuke's letter about the
recent "terrorism" in the campus
area speaks the same concerns
and reactions that always appear
whenever there is a series of sex
ual assaults. That this current
cowardly misognist has not been
caught is indeed “very distress
ing," but if he persists I know
there are many people who will be
willing to assist in his detention.
However, I must take issue with
the statement that we are
"overlooking" this problem, and
with her vigorous conclusion that
some sort of organized protest
should be mounted, "a
demonstration (or whatever is
needed). .." She says, "this issue
affect everyone's lives."
Exactly. We are all, men and
women, affected by rape. So what
makes it an "issue”? Though she
never spells it out, we all know
what the "issue" is: the perceived
culpability of all men for this.
problem.
In "Against Our Will" (1975),
Susan Brownmiller argues that
rape is a sort of conspiracy: that
for some men rape provides a suf
ficient threat to keep all women in
a state on constant intimidation.
(As Dismuke says, "when one
woman is accosted, 50,000 are af
fected".) But this is the terrible ef
fect, not a conspiracy.
The seeds of rape are believed
to lie in childhood, with molesta
tion and abuse being consistent
factors. An incrreased awareness
about the inappropriateness of ex
treme physical "punishment"
within the family would probably
reduce all sorts of violent crime,
including rape.
But there is no reason to call for
a general consciousness-raising
among men simply because one
sick criminal moves to town. The
vague and insulting implication
that men somehow tolerate rape
or that we could reduce the pro
blem through peer pressure is
political crap that is based on
anger and understandable frustra
tion, not-reality.
Let's face it, men are also
responsible for almost all rob
beries, burglaries, kidnappings,
and homicides. Yet these are not
treated as indices of relative
gender virtue, but as anti-social
anomalies against which we have
long-standing legal traditions. (If
these laws are not adequate, then
that is indeed an “issue" to be
raised.) .
Another Emerald letter writer
wonders about how we might
“compel" or provide for "re
quired . .. rape prevention/self
defense training." Perhaps he will
be happy when all women carry
their keys in their fists or find a
pair of attack-dogs necessary for
jogging, but the prospect saddens
me. I wonder if the problem really
warrants the mobilization of
vigilant anxieties among the entire
“female population"?
To view the very personal
crimes of an individual as sym
bolic acts in a scheme of gender
conflict may be the rapist's ra
tionale, but it should not be ours.
It would seem to divert our atten
tion from the real and specific
sources of the problem, and of its
real extent. I hope most women
know that almost all men can be
socially trusted, and relied upon
to help catch these singular
criminals.
Charles Pearson
senior, history
Refusal
I appreciated Bill Kitteridge's let
ter of Dec. 2, responding to one of
the points I had made in a recent
letter criticizing Melissa Barker's
ongoing effort to file a lawsuit
against the federal Solomon
Amendment. His letter was a real
eye-opener for me; I had, indeed,
misunderstood Barker's legal
reasoning.
I had naturally assumed that
Barker was trying to make a
serious argument that the
Solomon Amendment was
preventing her from getting finan
cial aid. It seems that Barker is
against filling out the Solomon
Amendment form, period,
regardless of whether this would
resullt in her being denied federal
funds (which, of course, it would
not). Hence, it is not the Solomon
Amendment, per se, that is
holding up her grant — it is her
own refusal (for no good reason)
to fill out the required form in
dicating that she is exempt from
registration.
But I wonder, if Barker doesn't
feel like filling out the required
form, why doesn't she likewise
refuse to fill out all other required
financial aid forms? Then, when
her grant does not come through,
she can claim that the financial aid
paperwork is a violation of her
constitutional rights.
No, I am still not sold on
Barker's argument. Why doesn't
she just fill out the form — mark it
"EXEMPT” — and get her financial
aid, instead of wasting time and
effort trying to create a civil rights
issue where none I'eally exists.
Thomas Karter
sophomore, history
One of these
This is in response to Debbie
Howlett's column about Dan
Cohen. Cohen received the
Bowerman Scholarship because
he deserved it, not because he
was on the scholarship Review
Committee. I know, because I was
the other student on that
committee.
When I joined the committee, I
asked Carol Richard of the Finan
cial Aid Office if I could apply for a
scholarship. She said that was
very acceptable and that most
students on to committee were
outstanding and very worthy of
scholarships. I feel that Cohen is
one of these people.
It would not have been ap
propriate for Cohen to "step
down from the committee"
because at the time of selection
we were basically finished with
our work. If Howlett questions the
selection process, I suggest that
she become a member of the
committee. She can then help
decide the process and read over
400 applications. For the time and
effort this committee devotes to
an honorable selection process, I
am very offended by what Howlett
is implying.
lennifer El/ing
junior, finance
Propaganda
A note to Debbie Howlett: Your
article asking for Daniel Cohen to
resign was about as worthless as
fiction can get. You had better
clean up your act before students
ask for your resignation. I don't
want my money spent on any
political propaganda such as the
Emerald. I'm sure others don't
either.
Stephen Hansen
architecture
Reasons
Since the Emerald Editor evidently
lacked the intelligence to deter
mine any reasons for Reagon's
reelection, I found 10 valid
reasons that should have filled the
blank space in Monday's issue.
1) Reagan advocates free enter
prise, the most efficient and
equitable economic system. His
opponents advocate the ineficient
and ineffective welfare state.