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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1986)
Editorial Reviewing of news wrong role for IFC The Incidental Fee Committee recently placed content requirements on the ASIJO publication The Record. We believe that government has no business determin ing the content of publications. Within the past year, student government officials have attempted to affect the content of all three major campus publications. Emerald ad policies came under question by ASUO President Lynn Pinckney and IFC member Cindi Kim. Thursday night The Record was told it must publish at least two articles each issue about ASIJO programs. The Commentator's budget was recently cut because of its editorial content. The most recent IFC decision regarding The Record il lustrates the problem. The IFC chose to place certain restrictions and re quirements oh The Record for the 1986-87 fiscal year. If The Record does not comply, its money will be cut off by the IFC, Some of these requirements are perfectly acceptable. They deal with frequency and size of the publication. Great. We look forward to seeing The Record more regularly. The IFC also requires that The Record publish a minimum of two articles per issue about ASIJO programs. The IFC decided that it will release money to The Record on a per-term basis, contingent upon review of the paper bv the IFC. Once the IFC decides to fund a publication, content is none of its business. Federal courts have consistently said that the First Amendment prohibits public universities from cutting fun ding for campus newspapers for reasons of content even when the publication receives public funds. The IFC may "review” The Record as much as it likes, but it cannot refuse to release money because of something The Record prints or doesn't print. We hope The Record uses most of its space and energy to inform students about ASIJO program and government issues and activities. That’s what it can do best. We also hope that if its staff wants to investigate other issues, they will, without fear of losing funding. Investigate the IFC. Investigate the University ad ministration. Investigate the Emerald. The Commentator should do the same. Whenever the government determines issues to be discussed and viewpoints to be expressed in the media, the people as a whole lose the ability to criticize the government ind challenge majority views. Even in the microcosm of the University, newspapers — all of them — should bo left free to perform their traditional informative, investigative, nitpicking, boat rocking role. Some have areas of special emphasis, but the government should not force them to make certain editorial choices. The IFC may choose to fund only certain broad types of publication. It can choose, for example, to fund only newsletters or only opinion journals. It must then define "newsletter” and "opinion journal" in such a way as to ap ply a precise standard to every publication that receives in cidental fee support. It has not done so. and we don’t believe it can or should. If the IFC tries to separate fact from opinion, it will fail. If it tries to install itself as campus arbiter of taste, it will fail. We look forward to seeing both the Oregon Commen tator and The Record serve the campus community next year, free from IFC "review." SwRWuu 5 A WIN-WIN kPROFOSA!-. Letters Gay statistics In my years of extensive reading about current economic, political and social issues. I have encountered many funny smelling statistics which upon closer investigation turned out to be based on highly dubious statistical methodologies. Donna Nelson's assertion (ODE. May 12) that "one in every 10 people is a gay or les bian and one out of every four families has a gay or lesbian member" has that same funny smell about it. I have seen these statistics cited dozens of times during the past few years, yet I have not once seen anyone cite the source from which they were drawn. In fact, I doubt whether most of the people who use these statistics know either their source or the statistical methodology that was used to compile them. Who compiled these statistics? Where was their population sample drawn from and what was the size of that sample? Finally, what wore some of the assumptions behind the study, and what type of ex trapolations were made from the data? If somebody would provide me with answers to these; ques tions. I would be much obliged. Until I do get some answers. Oregon Daily Emerald The Oregon Daily Emerald la published Monday through Friday except during exam week and vacations by the Oregon Daily Emeraid Publishing Co , at the University o' Oregon, Eugene, Oregon. 97403 The Emerald operates Independently of the University with offices on the third floor of the Erb Memorial Union and is a member of the Associated Press The Emerald Is private properly The unlawful removal or use ol papers Is prosecutable by law Oenerai Staff Advertising Director Production Manager Classified Advertising Assistant to the Publisher Susan Theten Russell H Steele Vince Adams Jean Ownbey Advertising Sales David Wood Sales Manager John Boiler. Jessica Cederberg, Michael Gray. Laura Goldstein, Robin Joannldes. Carlos Lamadrtd, Marcia Leonard. Shawn Leuthold. Catherine Lilia. Shawna Reed. Kathy Stein, Joan Wildermuth, Laura Willoughby Production Vince Adams. Kelly Alexandre. Lynne Casey. Shu Shing Chen. Ellen Cross. Storm! Dykes. Manuel Flores. Shannon Gaither, Ross Marlin, Mary May. Rob Miles. Angie Munir, Charts Parker. Ken Parrott, Jennifer Peterson. Geoff Ratnville, Michele Ross. Alyson Sim mons. Gregory Tipps Editor Julie Shipper* Managing Editor Michelle Bience News Editor Jolayne Houtz Editorial Page Editor Alan Contreras Assistant Editorial Page Editor Scott Harding Sports Editor Photo Editor Fnday Edition Editor Sidelines Editor Night Editor As socials Editors Community/Politics Student Government Student Activities University Aftairs General Assignment Robert Collias James Marks Sheila Landry Allan Lazo Michelle Brence Lisa Loving Stan Nelson Kim Kaady Chris Norred Mike Rivers Reporters Sean Aimak sr. Ton me Dakin, Deborah DeYoung, Craig Harris. Tom Hill, Kim Kaady. Jell Lutzky, B J Thomsen Photographers Lynne Casey. Shu-Shing Chen, Mans Cor vallis. Steve Gibbons. Ross Martin. Karen Stallwood. Mike Wilhelm News and Editorial 666-5511 Display Advertising and Business 666-3712 Classified Advertising Mb4343 Production AM-4361 Circulation 686-5511 though, I am going to assume — based on my past discoveries of phony statistics — that these are simply one more example of statistical hype which strategists for the gay "rights” agenda have found useful to cook up and inject into the public debate. Tom Visoky journalism Don’t print hate Your published "Letters policy" states that "the Emerald will attempt to print all letters containing fair comment on topics of interest to the University community.” Do you truly believe the hateful at tack on lesbians in Monday's ODE constitute fair comment? (I am referring to the letter under the heading, "Such a Deal.”) I don't believe you would print such venomous words if they were directed at any other minority group. Would you print a letter caricaturing blacks and calling them "niggers”? Would you print a letter ridicul ing jews and calling them "kikes” or "Christ-killers”? Of course not. because these would not be fair comments, and you would be taking into considera tion the sensitivities of the maligned group. Please take lesbians' and gay men's sensitivities into con sideration in the future when you decide whether or not to print a piece of hate mail. Please don't give the authors of such cruel words the satisfaction of seeing their letters in print — you give their bigotry and hate a legitimacy they don't deserve. Please apply the same standards you would in the case of any other minority. I am a lesbian. Can you im agine how I feel when 1 read such mocking taunts and sneers? Sometimes I get angry — but the main feeling is pain and sorrow. It is very hard to be different, and hated by strangers for just being me. Please try to understand how you hurt people when you publish such letters. Mary Ann Martin AIDS opinion Dan Menlow's attack on Mike Cross and Lori Parkman is shallow and trite (ODE, May 14). He claims that they are spreading “Multiple Un truths." vVhere? Menlow never refutes them logically, he mere ly offers an opinion. Fact: Homosexuals are direct ly responsible for over 72 per cent of all diagnosed AIDS cases. There is no argument around this. Fact: A cure for AIDS is not forthcoming. Our federal tax dollars are being wasted on this plague because the virus is mutating all the time. With each mutation doctors and scientists must start from scratch. Unless a federal quarantine is enacted, AIDS will continue to flourish unchecked until an ex termination program or a cure for the virus is discovered. A cure is unlikely. It is not unrealistic to imagine a world like that of "Dawn of the Dead" where zombies*eat humans. AIDS is similar — we can’t help these people and their disease spreads. Homosexuals serve no real function in society. They don’t reproduce to ensure survival of the species and their disease kills people — they have a negative effect. I'm not attacking gays because they are abnormal, I'm merely pointing out the real consequences we face with our existing attitudes today. 1 will gladly debate any and all members of the Cay and Les bian Alliance in a public forum on this topic. Dan Goulet Letters Policy The Emerald will attempt to print all letters containing 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, let ters to the editor should be turn ed into the Emerald office. Suite 300. EMU.
