editorial
Seat belts are good;
mandatory law is not
There is no question that using seat belts saves lives.
Numerous studies have carefully documented that use of
seat belts has substantially reduced the number of deaths
and serious injuries resulting from automobile accidents.
According to the University of Michigan Transportation
Research Institute, wearing seat belts reduces the chances of
being killed or seriously injured by 50 percent. Other studies
reveal similar findings.
Why then oppose a mandatory seat belt law in Oregon?
Because people must learn to take responsibility for
themselves. Government should not take that responsibility
for them. People should be encouraged to wear seat belts,
they should be informed that seat belts saves lives, but they
should not be forced by the state to wear seat belts.
The Oregon House was right when it voted on Wednes
day against sending a mandatory seat belt measure before
voters next May. Strong public opposition to a mandatory
seat belt law indicates that voters would likely kill such a
measure at.the polls. The entire push for a mandatory seat
belt law should be abandoned by the House. Dragging it out
further is a waste of time and money.
Even if such a law were enacted, it would be hard to en
force. How would a police officer be able to tell whether so
meone is buckled in while the vehicle is moving? Even more
_ important is the question of whether government
should be allowed, in the words of Rep. Andy Anderson, R
Roseburg to intrude “on our personal liberties and our per
sonal life.” A mandatory seat belt law cannot be equated
with other road safety laws such as those that forbid drink
ing and driving. The latter has the potential to affect other
lives besides that of the driver. The former is strictly a per
sonal issue.
People need to decide for themselves whether or not to
wear seat belts. They need to take responsibility for their
own lives. We urge Oregonians to “buckle-up for safety.”
Refusing to wear a seat belt when it is possible to do so is
both careless and foolish. The choice, however, must remain
a personal one. It should not be made by the government.
letters
Keagan nominee has an
*impressive ’ background
Vernon Walters, President Ronald Reagan’s nominee for
U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, is likely to impress a
lot of senators at his upcoming confirmation hearing. He has
served under nearly every president since World War II,
speaks eight languages, and has extensive international
experience.
There is another side of Walters, however, that most
Americans know very little about. His diplomatic-military
portfolio reads like a visitor’s list to “hot spots’’ of the
world. For example, Walters was military attache to Rome in
1961 when Italy’s coalition government was in danger of
collapse. Walters advocated U.S. military force to keep the
Socialists from coming to power. He was military attache to
Brazil during the April 1964 military coup which ousted
democratically-elected President Joao Goulart. He was also
the deputy director of the CIA at the time of the 1973
military overthrow of Socialist President Salvador Allende
in Chile. The list goes on. In 1981, Reagan appointed
Walters U.S. ambassador-at-large, sending him to some 100
countries to “promote” U.S. policy. Reagan claims that
Walters is highly qualified for the job of U.S. ambassador to
the United Nations. Given his past history, it seems that
Walters is just the kind of man that Reagan likes — a staunch
anti-communist who believes in overthrowing governments
in the name of “national security.”
i ....... ...—— ...
Oregon doily
emerald
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Paaa 2A
Great loss
This is to express my deepest
sorrow and tears for the great
loss of Dr. Albert Szymahski,
who had so much more to give
yet, through knowledge, com
passion, and friendship, left so
much behind.
This campus will never be the
same for those of us who knew .
his energy, dedication, and
ideological perserverance, and
how it derived only from . his.
continuous devotion to' “the
people.”
As one of the many who. were
inspired by his comradery, his .
willingness to stand up for his
convictions amidst all advert
saries, and his ultimate belief in
the human race (“there is only •
one race”), I will not forget. ■
To those who shared his sup
port for all minorities, workers,'
global economic and. social,
equality, human -rights arid
Third World struggles against'
tyrannies and imperialist ex-:
ploitation, his work can only
live through our actions. And to
the few who knew his. utopia
and heart behind the ■
mind. .. may his vision live on. .
If only to remember
you.. .words...unity
“we shall overcome” .
carry on.. . carry on
to those who understand
five stars against
the shades of red
the lion’s roar
of peasants
as workers who pulled
the thorns before us
how hammers pounded loud
at the loneliness
of his knowing
that sickles only rest
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until the reaping
of harvests brought forth
through rebirth in the spring.
... if only to have said goodbye.
Leslie Shaheen
Friend/Student
Courageous
Looking back to trace rny in-.
' tellectual development I cannot
■ help noticing the tremendous
influence of . Professor Albert
-Szymanski. Al was courageous
and dignified to be insightful'of
social- injustices in the U:S. and .
elsewhere. His commitment to
social change was a channel for
his genius in expression of •
tyrannies and oppressions in
the Third World- by the
economic and; political struc
tures 'of the West. Being a
powerful, lecturer, he continual
ly exposed the various avenues
of manipulation, that .the
capitalist systeio uses to
, legitimize and perpetrate its ex
istence, such as.schools, the
media,, and the corporations.
The coherence and- precision .of.
his analysis is an undisputable
fact. His absence is greatly felt. ■
How can a man of such high
aims, achievements and energy
that influenced many be so
lonely and incapable ’ of com
municating his heart? .
The soul is hard,
roughed-up,
lonely,
It cries from inside
and no audience outside.
Perhaps this is how he felt
before pulling the trigger.
With love and respect,
Babak Abbasiadeh
Sympathy
This tragic death has left a
deeply shocked and grieving
university community. I extend
my deepest sympathy to Pro
fessor Szymanski’s family in
New York, his colleagues in the
sociology department and the
many students to whom he serv
ed as an inspiration in both
academic and personal ways.
The University has lost a fine
professor and many of us have
lost a great friend.
Michael Earl
History
Warm heart
After 1 arrived at Albert
Szymanski’s office for an after
noon meeting, I read a note
taped to his door which said
simply that Professor Szyman
ski was dead. Feeling too shock
ed to cry, I later attended a
gathering of faculty and
students to process some of that
• shock and grief. Some of the
feelings expressed in that short:
meeting should be shared with
the University community as a ■
whole.
• A1 Szymanski was a man • si
often at the center of controver -
sy, yet even his most ardent
critics cannot deny him a
distinguished place in his field
as a person of dedication and
passion for seeking of.truth.-.For
his students; he made sociology •. ..
. the compelling, questioning
discipline that it is intended to ,.
be. He brought to the classroom
an intense and brilliant intellect -
coupled with a warm heart that
too few people ever .took time to
see. . ‘
A1 Szymanski was respected
and loved,.and he will be miss
ed. His legacy is the countless
* students, . including myself.
'whom he has inspired to
become sociologists. Seeking’
answers to' difficult questions
was a double—edged sword in
A1 Szymanski’s short life, but
the spirit of this bold and pas
sionate thinker will ^ live on.
Regardless of what anyone may
have thought of his politics,
Szymanski brought eloquence
and power to his field, and his
work has a provocative message
for all who wish to understand
oppression, bigotry, and
violence. It is important to pay
tribute to the contribution made
by this prolific scholar. His pas
sion for understanding will live
forever.
Mark Nallia-Tone
Senior, sociology
For A1
"In a clearing stands a boxer
and a fighter
by his trade,
And he carries a reminder
of every glove that
laid him out
or cut him
till he cried out
in his anger and his shame
I am leaving
I am leaving,
But the fighter still remains.”
— Simon and Garfunkel
Goodbye, we’ll miss you.
You always made the picket
lines.
Jolene Sieinsen
Humanities
17pt/iair Marrli *1 1 QR^