Editorial
Drug-testing opinion
will ease controversy
The University is referring the legal controversy sur
rounding the Athletic Department’s new drug-testing policy
to the Oregon State Attorney General, seeking a formal opi
nion on issues raised by opponents of the policy.
Seeking such an opinion is a logical step in the ongoing
debate surrounding the policy, and we applaud the ad
ministration for taking this step.
Opponents and supporters of the policy are basically
deadlocked at this point, and the possiblity of the questions
raised ending up in a lawsuit are unacceptably high. Thus it
is beneficial to seek mediation from an off-campus source,
the attorney general.
It was also wise for the adminstration to use the sugges
tions of the ACLU and the ASUO Office of Student Ad
vocacy, the chief opponents of the policy, in formulating the
questions sent to the attorney general.
A key issue is whether formal rule-making process
guidelines apply to the implementation of the program. We
hope the attorney general believes the program, which has
severe implications for athletes’ educations and civil rights,
is distinct from other participation and training re
quirements, which have not been put through the formal
rule-making process.
The request also asks for opinions on the constitutional
issues rasied, such as whether the consent forms every
athlete must sign are valid, and whether participating in
athletics is a right or a privilege. Hopefully, the attorney
general will uphold students’ rights in regards to these ques
tions as well.
We stress our earlier position that while the University
is dealing with questions surrounding the policy, the policy
should be temporarily suspended for those athletes who feel
it is a violation of their rights.
That suggestion is even more feasible now, because such a
suspension would have a fairly clear duration — six to eight
weeks for the attorney general to develop his opinion — and
a clear resolution. Furthermore, if the attorney general’s
opinion holds that the policy or its implementation is im
proper, the University will face additional liability if the
opinion supports athletes’ objections.
In the interest of fairness to athletes who are directly af
fected by the questions going to the attorney general, let the
athletes play while the questions are being resolved.
Resolution is badly needed in this case; asking for the
attorney general’s opinion is an honest and welcome at
tempt to resolve the controversy surrounding the drug
testing policy.
Y
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miME PRESIDENT
WERE REAtVTO IOOKPX
HIS BUDGET PR0R9SAIS
Letters
Alleviate woes
I noticed in Friday’s letters
that Jeff Selis is frustrated with
our arena-style scheduling
(ODE, Jan. 9). The Mowing
step-by-step process should
alleviate such w'oes.
1) Spring. ’87: Get your
packet and put it in your
backpack. Go to Ixist Packets
and pretend that you’ve lost
your packet. Proceed to
schedule in the spring with that
newly-made packet.
2) Fall, ’88: Retrieve last spr
ing’s original packet from your
backpack and pre-schedule
with it as if it were for the fall.
Here's where you avoid the rush
as you can select your courses
as early in the afternoon of the
first day of scheduling as you
wish.
3) Fall, ’88: When you’re free
to collect your actual fall
packet, do so; then proceed to
retrace your steps of earlier that
day or the previous day.
4) Fall, ’88: When told that
the classes that you wish to
select are full, simply show
them that you are indeed on the
list and that they forgot to stamp
your packet.
Some final notes. It’s impor
tant to pretend when called
upon, but try not to overdo it. It
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helps to even look a little con
fused. Learn how to roll with
the punches of bureaucracy.
Register drunk.
Tim )aques
Senior
Change major
Michael Cross should change
his major to creative writing. He
has style and a vivid imagina
tion when it comes to defining
terms such as '‘Darwinism”,
"evolutionary” and "secular.”
To aid the unwary who might
accidently take him seriously:
Darwinism is a theory of
biological and not social
change. Attempts to apply
theories formulated for the
physical sciences to the social
sciences generally result in
some fairly strained analogies at
best.
Furthermore, extinction due
to maladaptation is the natural
result of a particular evolu
tionary trend; to call it “anti
evolutionary” is absurd.
While Cross’s notion of
“secular” seems a bit odd, his
suggestion that "secularism” is
genetically transmitted is truly
novel.
Finally, I would like to point
out that the secular adherents of
many of the world’s major
religions stand a better chance
of reproducing than non-secular
members, as many of the latter
are required to (or voluntarily)
practice celibacy.
Hiawatha
Graduate, music
Thank you
Sunday, Jan. 11, 1987 will
always hold bitter-sweet
memories for me.
1 was in a very serious auto
accident on Highway 126 near
Cedar Mats; had it not been for
my wearing a seat belt, 1 would
not be here today. Please think
twice about whether to buckle
up when traveling.
The people 1 encountered
were all wonderful: the
emergency ward staff at Eugene
Clinic, the owners of the pro
perty on which I crashed,
.friends, and family. Thank you
all for your kindness, sensitivity
and support.
1 would like to thank in par
ticular the two men who helped
me right after the crash. When
the first man said he smelled
gas and I was trapped inside, he
must have sensed my panic and
began to calm me.
He was very encouraging as
he pulled me from the wreckage
and checked my injuries. He
assured me 1 was going to be
okay, and he helped prevent me
from becoming hysterical. If
you’re reading this — thank you
so much, you’ll never know
how much it meant to me.
The second man who rushed
me to the hospital was also
great. His training as a special
education instructor at Spr
ingfield High School must have
directed him to keep me awake
and distract me from the pain
and realization of what had hap
pened. Thank you for your in
sight and compassion.
People who say that goodwill
in humankind is lost are wrong.
To all the wonderful people
who assisted me on that terrible
day, thank you so very much.
Karen Stone
Education
Faithfully
Much as I admire Sean Ax
maker as a film reviewer —
something I can say of very few
others in the same field — I
think he should perhaps give
credit where credit is due.
His review “The Mosquito
Coast” (ODE Jan. 8) seems to ig
nore Paul Theroux’s extraor
dinary novel, which was
transferred faithfully —
strengths and weaknesses — to
the screen in Peter Weir’s direc
tion of Paul Schrader’s
screenplay.
Michael E. Stamm
Graduate secretary,
English department