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
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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.