editorial
Removal of sign was
the best decision
The fate of the EMU sign has been decided. On Thurs
day, the EMU Board came to a unanimous decision that the
sign should be removed as soon “as is physically possible.”
The Board voted to remove the EMU sign because of the sex
ist nature of the language it uses. For example, the sign,
which is painted on the wall above the EMU main lobby,
says in part that the University should be the “guardian of
the noble in man’s aspiration for the human society” and
that it should be a “leader in the quest for the good life for all
men.”
Last year, when then ASUO Pres. Mary Hotchkiss re
quested that the sign be removed, a storm of controversy
developed. On one side were those who felt that removing
the sign was a form of censorship that could lead to the
removal of other written works at the university considered
to be sexist. Others argued, among other things, that the sex
ist language of the sign reinforced societal values that
denigrated women.
In the case of the EMU sign, such sexism is certainly
clear. The sign implies that the University should be the
guardian of “man’s” aspirations and a leader for the good
life of all “men.” Half of the student population, the half
made up by women, are not a part of a statement that sup
posedly was written to represent the entire University
community.
We support the EMU board in its decision. Any state
ment written to demonstrate the aspirations and goals of the
University should represent the entire University communi
ty. Women must get the respect they deserve as part of this
learning institution.
Current gun control laws
make murder convenient
Americans are often told that one of this country’s most
precious freedoms is the right to bear arms. It is important,
however, to question how this translates into everyday
reality.
Currently, the right to bear arms includes almost
everything from the right to carry a BB gun to the right to
carry an Israeli-made Uzi submachine gun. You can buy
both at almost any well-stocked sporting goods store. You
can also find many other weapons, including the AR-15 and
Mini-14 assault rifles used by Michael Evan Feher in his
shooting spree on Monday at Autzen Stadium. The incident
led to Feher’s suicide, the murder of Olympic sprinter Chris
Brathwaite, and the wounding of University wrestler Rick
O’Shea.
As if that incident wasn’t enough to make some people
question gun control laws in this state, we now learn that
another student was arrested on campus Wednesday with a
concealed .45-caliber pistol. Police also found him to be the
owner of a Mini-14 rifle, the same kind of gun used by
Feher.
It is time for Americans to realize that not all kinds of
freedom are productive or positive. Why should anyone over
the age of 18 be free to go into a store and buy an Uzi sub
machine gun? Why should teflon-coated bullets be sold free
ly over the counter when their sole purpose is to penetrate a
bullet-proof vest? Why should automatic rifles able to shoot
enough bullets to kill 20 people in a matter of minutes be
sold to anyone with the money, provided they don’t have a
criminal record?
Feher didn’t have a criminal record, neither did James
Huberty when he walked into a MacDonalds in San Ysidro,
Calif, in July and gunned down 21 people. Freedom without
responsibility can have a very high cost. Think about it.
emerald
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\kV ' * / III
'WS JUST A HARMLESS LITTLE 1AX EEfoRM SNAKE, Mi'S NOT&Nt* HURT YOU—C'MdN,&T&IN6,‘
letters
Artist’s view
Realize that this letter is not a
defense of a mistake
perpetrated, but a matter of pro
viding some ignored facts, tak
ing responsibility for one’s ac
tions and a matter of personal
integrity.
I am an artist, not a bigot, and
I claim the freedom of artistic
license in my choice of sym
bolism. The Emerald had the
freedom to reject the cartoon
which 1 drew to go with their
editorial about rape on campus.
Readers do have the freedom to
interpret it as they see it; once
again, that is beyond my con
trol. There is no place for
racism, so please don’t project it
into the intent of my work.
Symbolism has been totally
excluded as a reason for my
design. Black expresses the
campus problem of darkness in
a black and white medium of
print. The woman was left
blank, colorless, and featureless
because rape can happen to
anyone. These were placed in
an abstract fashion to em
phasize the symbolism.
1 don’t regret drawing the car
toon because 1 know that
awareness of the dangers of rape
is an honorable intention. I have
no desire to control how the
“picture worth 1000 words”
can be alternatively interpreted.
However, I do have regret for
the social conditions in this
country today that make many
emotions raw concerning
minority issues. When will we
learn to be people first and then
be proud of our individuality?
Barbara Bending
Eugene
Irresponsible
Enough is enough! Ever since
the editorial cartoon “Organize
for a Safe Campus” was
printed, letters have appeared
in the Emerald protesting it as
racist and sexist. One letter
even claims that “violence
against black women is still not
taken seriously.” At best, this
statement is a misconception of
the truth, at worst, an inten
tional lie.
The cartoon was meant to
draw attention to the recent in
cidents of rape on this campus
and suggest common sense
methods of avoiding such at
tacks. It is a sad but true reflec
tion of our society that women
and men should not walk alone
in certain locales after dark.
This editorial cartoon was
worth a thousand words in con
veying this message. Any other
twisted symbolic interpreta
tions are rubbish and do
nothing to help educate the
public about personal safety.
Did it ever occur to those who
objected to this editorial cartoon
that the “black hand” may have
been intended as a symbol of
darkness and evil? Did these
vocal objectors ever consider
that the man and two women
walking together may have
represented friends walking to
class? Unity? Safety in
numbers? Obviously not. In
stead, these people chose to
assume the worst; referring to
the hand as a symbol that only
black men rape white women,
and that men should lead
women. Absurd! It is precisely
this kind of irresponsible, ac
cusatory action which spawns
racist and sexist attitudes. The
press is very powerful and those
who use it should be responsi
ble enough to think through an
issue before speaking about it.
Dave Edlund
Chemistry
Hacking away
Regardless of whether the
“Black Handed Cartoon” was
symbolism or racism, an
oversensitive nerve has ob
viously been hit.
Shall we rally to remove Sir
Walter Scott’s “Ivanhoe” from
our shelves because the "Black
Knight” represents evil?
Should we outlaw any history
book that refers to the “Black
Plague” of Europe? A more sen
sible course may be to
acknowledge that the black
evil, white-good symbolism
(evolving from darkness-light)
existed long before racial
distinctions, and isn't
something we can or need to
change. But we can change the
attitudes of people who need to
be enlightened. (Can 1 use that
word?)
Thoreau said "There are a
thousand hacking at the bran
ches of evil to every one that is
striking at the root.” I implore
you to abandon the majority.
Bob Salt/
Eugene
Self-serving
In Monday’s Emerald (Nov.
12), there appeared a commen
tary from David Sarju (director
of the Black Student Union) and
an editorial addressing last Fri
day’s editorial cartoon. The car
toon pictured an ominous black
hand attempting to grasp a
woman in the night and showed
two women walking with one
man under a lighted area. The
intent was to contrast the cur
rent fear of rape that shadows
women here on campus with a
depiction of how better lighting
could improve the situation.
What concerned me about
both writings was the misinter
pretation of the cartoon and the
diatribes that followed. Yes. the
cartoon showed a hand that was
black, but entirely black. The
palm-side of the hand should be
white if the artist wanted to
depict a black man’s hand. The
use of dark figures has always
been an effective means of il
lustrating evil, and rape is cer
tainly that. Mr. Sarju was quick
to agree on that point, and his
criticism was specific to the car
toon. 1 would also agree that
some modification would have
been appropriate.
The editorial was self-serving
and went overboard in its at
tempt to reconcile itself to the
issue of racism, and for their ad
mission of guilt in printing the
cartoon. The issue of racism
should be present in our minds,
but better use of the editorial
could have been directed to the
grave problem of violence in
our community.
This reaction is an example of
not being able to focus on issues
as they ure. Should the cartoon
have hud a representative of
each race and nationality? Ob
viously not, since the issue con
cerned the violence of rape
Continued on Page 3A
Fridayi November IB; 1984