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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (July 11, 1985)
editorial Courts keep church and state separate The Supreme Court and a federal appeals court saw the light. During this year, the courts have maintained the wall of separation between church and state. After allowing a Pawtucket. R.h nativity scene to slip through the cracks, and ruling that parents of children attending parochial schools can receive tax credits, the Supreme Court, to the dismay of the Reagan administration and some church leaders, halted the seepage of religion into public affairs. An Alabama law that called for a moment of silence for prayer or meditation in public schools was condemned by the Supreme Court by a vote of 6-3. Next, the high court ruled that states cannot force private employers to allow employees to refuse to work on their Sabbath day. This, the court decided, would give an advantage to religious employees over their non-religious counterparts. The next two decisions eliminated programs in New York City and Grand Rapids, Mich, in which teachers paid by the taxpayers taught classes in parochial schools. And a Louisianna law that required that creationism be given the same emphasis in public schools as evolution, was struck down by a federal appeals court Monday. The dissolution of the law. which was the last of its kind, puts an end to the use of public funds to teach creationism as a science. The rulings were based on interpretations of the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment, which piu hibits the government from the ‘establishment of religion.” However, the wall may start to crumble if Attorney General Edwin Meese 111 is appointed to the Supreme Court , which he may be. if a vacancy arises during the Reagan ad ministration. In an address to the American Bar Associa tion’s House of Delegates Tuesday. Meese attacked the Supreme Court’s decisions on religion. He said that the pur pose of the Establishment Clause was to ’’prohibit religious tyranny, not to undermine religion generally.” Meese’s potential appointment is significant because both rulings on whether or not teachers paid with tax dollars should be allowed to teach in parochial schools were decid ed by a slim 5-4 majority. If given the chance. Meese could be instrumental in swinging the pendulum back towards the right. The rulings indicate that the courts, particularly the Supreme Court. want no part of the Reagan administration’s desire for “accomodation,” in which the administration has asked that the government extend itself to cooporate with religion. The Supreme Court will have the opportunity to reiterate its rejection of the right-wing policy when it decides during its next term whether or not high school students should be allowed to meet in public school classrooms to read the Bible and pray. Keep up the good work. Ban of weapons research was wise committee decision A University Campus Planning Committee decision Tuesday to ban research at the proposed Riverfront Research Park in which the results, direct or indirect, would serve “to destroy human life or incapacitate human beings.” was a wise one. The wording of the decision, even though it does not prohibit classified research, eliminates military or weapons research. The decision appears to be a response to community dissent expressed against the park during a city council hearing Monday night. Many of those opposed to the park feared that it would become a haven for military research. We hope that the committee decides to include the deci sion in its final recommendations, which are expected to be presented to University administration in about 10 days, and that the park, which could foster economic growth, will not be tainted by military research. Letters Policy The Emerald will attempt to print all letters con taining fair comment on topics of interest to the University community. Letters to the editor must be limited to 250 words, typed, signed and the identification of the writer must be verified when the letter is turned in. The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for length or style. Letters to the editor should be turned into the Emerald office, Suite 300, EMU. n If w'G 6om6 t> HWf ftJMEK w Kt School, Someone^ Going To Wave TbSEf it^ PO€ KK^rr commentary -W* Science and technology should not serve weapons development Yte.THAT^ wwwikp N>f ^v/a6' ... Some people, facing the over whelming threat to humanity posed by weapons technology and by the massive applications of other technologies, such as pesticide spraying and nuclear power, before their long term ef fects are understood, feel that science is a criminal activity. They are right, but have rarely thought through what it is that is criminal, and in what sense. Today more than half of the scientists, engineers and techni cians of the world are working in some phase of weapons development. Most of the rest are working to enhance the pro fits of various corporations. This is not because weapons and corporate profits are the most interesting things around, or the most socially useful, but because that is where the money lies. The scientific community has sold itself to the merchants of fear, greed and death. Even those of us not working in weapons development share in this guilt insofar as we tolerate this kind of work among our colleagues, and allow them a respected place in scientific associations, and in our society. Selling oneself has trad‘d tionally been termed prostitu tion. Today’s prostitution of science is far more immoral and damaging to society than is pro stitution in the the usual sense. it puts into the hands of weak., flawed, all too human. in dividuals. and even into the hands of error promt computers, the power to exterminate humanity, and render our planet unfit for higher forms of life — a power and responsibili ty no one should have. The most universal. mark, of criminal activity is secrecy, or. as we st> .euphemistically call it in more sophisticated circles, classification. No scientist should even con-, sider participating, in any classified activity, whether governmental or private. Those who are doing such work should be shown no respect by their colleagues or anyone else, As our power to change the world and to destroy ourselves increases, the necessity for con ducting all major activities in a completely open and ethical manner becomes ever more critical, as does the need to restructure all authoritarian power structures that operate from the top down for the benefit of elite minorities. Science, as now practiced, is the most criminal activity yet to manifest itself among people. Human attitudes are the all important critical element in the world crisis we face today —? our attitudes towards ourselves, towards others. towards other .living things and ■ . I towards the world we live In. No technology can save a socks-' tv riddled with pathological at* * fe lit tides such as fear. haft*. «r: rogance^ selfishness, distrust, lack of concern for others and jack of good- humor? and •pa tient t* High technology will only ^osunr a more prompt destruction of such a 'society. * -V. A society with heafthy at titudes ctin Ik* a viable society and a satisfying society With dr .*,, without high-technology.' . . ■ Science, guided by( fear.*.ahd • selfishness, and directed largely toward pei^inal. corporate.'na tional, ' or racial aggrandize- • . ; • nient. will certainly destroy us and forcloe®=fdrever the -dream, of a good life on earth- . -Science, guided by. love, pa tience, good will and concern' 0 -°] for the well being of all peoples and all living things, by a sense, of curiosity, adventure, wonder . - and excitement, and carried on ■ in a completely free open man ner, can liberate humanity from most of the woes which beset it. it can free the human mind and ; -1 spirit for adventures and achievements now hardly /I dreamed of. By Bayard McConnaughey Hayard McConnaughey has beeti a biology professor at the ' • f Iniversity for the past 35 years. Oregon doily emerald The Oregon Daily Emerald Is published on Tuesdays and Thursday during the summer session except during exam week and vacations by the Oregon Daily Emerald Pu Ashing Co., at the University of Oregon, Eugene, Oregon, 97403 The Emerald operates independently of the Universi ty with offices on the third floor of the Erb Memorial Union and is a member of the Associated Press. The Emerald Is private property The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law General Staff Advertising Director Production Manager Classified Advertising Assistant to the Publisher Susan Thelen Russell Steele Vince Adams Jean Own bey Advertising Sales Tim Clevenger, Michael Gray, Nancy Nielsen, David Wood. Production: Vince Adams, Kelly Cornyn, Storm) Dykes, Kathy Gallagher, Kelly Neff, Michele Ross, Peg Solonika, Karen Stallwood, Colleen Tremaine, Hank Trotter. Editor Managing Editor, News Editor Editorial Page Editor Entertainment Editor Photo Editor Night Editor Associate Editors Administration Higher Education, Community Student Activities Features Julie Shipper) Oiana Elliott Michelle Brence Sheila Landry Karen Stallwood Shelia Landry Kirsten Bolin Scott McFetrldge Julie Freeman Marty Schwarzbauer Reporters Sean Axmaker, Robert Colllas, Allan Lazo, Linda Hahn, Chris Hazen Photographers Steven Gibbons, Jim Marks, Ross Martin, Hank Trotter. News and Editorial Display Advertising and Business Classified Advertising Production Circulation 6M-5511 MS-3712 MS-4343 MS-4381 686 5511
