• * •
Birth control critical
to teen-age education
The National Research Council, the prestigious working
arm of the National Academy of Sciences. Tuesday issued a
report calling for better information about and easier access
to contraceptives for teen-agers.
The report suggested starting school-based birth control
clinics, increasing sexual education with an emphasis on
contraception and encouraging, but not requiring, teen
agers to seek parental consent for abortions.
The report's findings are good measures for combatting
a problem many people are often afraid even to consider.
Teen-age pregnancies have a significant impact on
society — $16.6 billion in Federal Medicaid and food stamps
in 1985 alone went to support families with a teen-age
mother.
More importantly, teen-aged mothers are at high risk for
health complications and face severly limited career oppor
tunities if they chose to give birth.
In the United States a million teen-agers become preg
nant each year, and almost half of them give birth. Simply
hoping that teen-agers will stop being sexually active is not
a solution.
Informing teen-agers of their sexual responsibilities and
helping them avoid the crisis of teen-age pregnancy is im
portant where they spend most of their time and meet most
of their friends — at school. The school-based birth-control
proposal is fundamentally sound.
Secretary of Education William Bennett called the pro
posal a “dumb idea.” saying that common sense suggests
school-based birth control clinics might prompt students to
become sexually active.
We are disappointed Bennett did not see that common
sense suggests enough students are already sexually active
that a problem exists, and a school-based birth-control clinic
might prompt students to begin to think about the respon
sibilities of being sexually active.
Give safe drivers credit
without pulling them over
We wish the Springfield police happy holidays and
thank them for the thought, but their Christmas-season pro
gram of stopping “execeptionally safe” drivers to present
them with gift certificates is not a good idea
While safe drivers should be credited for wearing seat
belts, driving at the speed limit, keeping their vehicles in
good repair and the other criteria the officers are watching
for. drivers should not be stopped unless they are breaking a
law.
The officers will discontinue their attempt to issue the
gift certificate if the driver does not notice or stop, and this
year the officers will only honk their horn and flash their
headlights rather than using their emergency signal as they
did last year.
These measures make the progam better, but there is
still a stigma attached to being pulled off the road by a police
officer; many motorists will be embarrassed and
inconvenienced.
As a public relations effort, the police officers would do
better to simply be courteous to the violators pulled over for
legitimate reasons.
Alternately, the officers might make note of a safe
driver’s licence plate number to mail the certificates, then
honk ard wave without stopping the driver.
Alt rigm, |Qd... you'll got thu Rambo Commando SOt'
Good food
Thank goodness for dorm
cafeterias!
Ben. the sophomoric,
vegetarian philosopher (ODE.
Dec. 9) is another spoiled child.
Mas he made food suggestions?
Did he volunteer to be on the
food committee?
For about $3 a meal, it's an of
fer we can't refuse, in fact, we
would be quite surprised if it
isn't the best deal in town. Care
to open the cafeteria to the
general public and see what
happens?
Dorm cafeterias are conve
nient. We eat when we want,
how much we want with variety
and choice; more often than not
there is something palatable
included
Dorm cafeterias allow us to
focus on our studies Not many
of us look forward to the
amount of time it takes to
prepare meals
Dorm meals allow us time to
relax with our friends. We look
forward to the meal times we
share together
Sure, there's an occasional off
night. Vegetables are sometimes
overcooked But is it a rip-off?
Oregon Daily
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No way! Ben, if you can find a
better deal, take it!
Though it may not be socially
acceptable to say so — thank
goodness for dorm cafeterias?
McClure Hall
First floor
Undeserving
How on earth can the Univer
sity give a Pioneer Award to
Ken Kesey?
Anyone who has read his arti
cle in the June Esquire could
find no reason to honor him for
“the spirit of independent
thought and individualism."
He shows none of that in the
article.
Rather — like any other Bible
thumping. anti-gay bigot — he
derides gays as the cause of
AIDS (1 thought it was a virus)
and complains about how hard
it has made it to “pick up
girls."
kesey says that AIDS came
from monkeys and then laun
ches into a confused statement
about what (k>d says about
screwing animals, and how to
use crankcase oil. kesey then
compares his "girls’’ to jelly
beans. and says that he has
more “jellybeans-' than gays
do.
Sound like a Pioneer? No.
Bigots have been around for
ages It isn’t often, however,
that this pillar of learning
decides to give what used to be
e prestigious award to one.
Scott Seibert
Counselor
Letters Policy
The Emerald will attempt to
print all letter* containing fair
comment cm topics of interest to
the University community
Letter* 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
On the brink
We balance on the brink of
the ultimate disaster.
The government should be a
"rumor control” agency, serv
ing as the "clearing-house" for
digesting and distributing infor
mation. It should be in
vestigating matters affecting the
populition. examining the
relative data and delivering the
product thereof in a truthful,
open manner to the people, and
it should implement any correc
tive measures necessary for pro
tecting the public from harmful
practices.
Instead, it has become a pro
poganda machine of profes
sional liars, whose only aim is
to establish elaborate decep
tions designed to serve the
special interests supporting the
people in office.
Such corruption is resulting
in the destruction of the health,
security and general well-being
of the nation and ultimately the
entire world.
The government represses
any meaningful social progress
It greedily feeds off perpetuated
divisions (such as racism, sex
ism and religious bigotry), turn
ing "we the people" against
each other.
This diverts attention from
itself, the true source of the
harm and threats. It can be
viewed as an indentured ser
vant of multi-national power
structures, employing debts,
threats and all manners of in
genious webs of deceit.
These multi-national struc
tures own and control the na
tional and global media as well.
We are not alone. All nations
harbor these bums.
Only when we are purged of
such decadent polluters of the
truth can we then uchieve har
mony, peace and a just and
stable security for humanity.
Tommy Walen
Kugene