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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 28, 1987)
Letters the Housing Department sees fit to propose a week of bac chanalian activities ranging from jello slurping and jello wrestling to jello kicking and jello tossing. We deplore this abuse of jello and implore all students, faculty and staff to protest, through non-violent means. JAW. We thank you for your support. Don Araey. pre-journalism Matt Uhre. biology Bravo I have to say “bravo!” to Douglass James for bringing up the problem of pedestrians vs. human-powered vehicles. I know that it can only be a drag trying to walk down the sidewalk through a maze of cyclists and skaters. However, one point that he didn’t make infuriates the hell out of bicyclists who obey the traffic laws — that being pedestrians in the bike paths. Mr. James, I’m sure that you don’t do this, but next time you’re walking between Univer sity and Alder on 13th Avenue, check out how many of our fellow students act completely oblivious to the 15 mph, 180 pound-plus projectiles that are required to remain on the bike path. These supposedly illiterate ones (after all, the path is clear ly marked) walk in, sometimes stand in, the middle of the path, affording no possible means of passage for bikes. Not all bikers are guilty, Mr. James, nor are all pedestrians saints. Bikepaths are for bikes, as sidewalks are for walkers. Let’s try to remember this. Chris Ramko Student Dialogue I am grateful for the initiative of the Muslim Students Association in bringing about the recent Muslim-Christian dialogue concerning the understanding of Jesus. I believe it is very important for Christians to recognize the significant role of Jesus in Islam (although for Muslims, Moham med is still the ultimate prophet). I also believe it is helpful and constructive for Christians and Muslims to discuss their com mon interest in Jesus, and many other common points of faith, in a time when there is so much hostility between Americans and citizens of the Middle Kast (most of whom are Muslim). I hope that continued Muslim-Christian and even M u s I i m -1 v vv i s h - C h r i s t i a n dialogue can further reconcilia tion and better understanding, both so needed in our world. Norman Metzler Adjunct associate professor Germanic studies Screaming After reading Michael Cross* letter “Statistics'* (ODE. Ian. 26), 1 stuck my head out the window to vent a little frustra tion with a nice healthy scream; the window jarred loose and struck me. Suddenly, every window on the street flew open and faceless forms appeared, screaming, as if the world was coming to an end. Could it be that these peo ple were screaming for the same reason? Or for the opposite? Perhaps, I thought. 1 should reread Mike’s letter. Just maybe there was some profound point that I hastily overlooked. The knock on the head did me some good. 1 began to see the light. Angels were singing. Wow! How informative! it was full of vital “Statistics'*. Names and titles of dignitaries and their works, even the Wall Street Journal! Impressive The coup de grace: his point about the food surplus that plagues American farmers. I^t me see if I got this straight — U.S. farmers produce an excess of food, so that means that 5 billion people aren’t enough and they all have too much to eat. Wow, how could I be so stupid! And I suppose because Dow Chemical has a surplus of 2-4-D, there must lx; a shortage of corn worms. Now I get it. Suddenly I felt a sharp pain in my neck, and 1 realized that I was dreaming, and I quickly acknowledged the unfortunate reality that the number one pro blem in Eden is the over population of the human race. Patrick Clancy Eugene Portrayal “Imagine a country called ‘Amerika,* “ the ads say. This, of course, refers to the upcom ing miniseries on ABC in February. “Amerika”. The plot of the story is not im portant; the more subtle underlying meaning is, though. This meaning is that the Soviet Union is an evil empire and has an interest in taking over the United States. The portrayal of the Soviet Union as the evil force in the world should be upsetting to anyone who wishes for world peace. To make the Soviets seem .is the bad guys while we are in tin* midst of trying to en sure tin* existence of both coun tries in the future, makes ab solutely no sense and is highly contradictory. We cannot on the one hand he talking to the Soviet Union about ultimate peace in Geneva, while on the other we allow such anti-Soviet propaganda to be broadcast. To first bring about peace in any situation, one must first recognize their adversary as a person, with the same basic rights as any other person. The rabid anti-communism that underlies "Amerika” treats the Soviets as nothing more than heatless robotic "commies” out to take over the world and destroy all freedoms. To show anyone you wish to have peace with in such a light only serves to thwart any efforts for peace. In conclusion. I hope you that watch this program will take a deep look at its true meaning. Then ask youself, does America truly wish for peace in the Soviet Union? Eric M. Latham Sociology Freedom Social activism seems to be in vogue today. People are willing to embrace any ideal, no matter how idealistic, demeaning or just plain idiotic. Some will argue the abortion issue for hours over how soon after conception the fetus is technically “alive." Don’t they realize that the real issue is ex tended government control ver sus freedom of personal choice? And what about all of these Eugene peaceniks? They seem to think that growing long hair, wearing beads and faded denim, smoking pot and spouting cute slogans will save the world. But these people won’t pro vide any real answers, opting instead to pursue their own educational program of bumper stickers and tie-dyed T-shirts. Campus feminists have pro gressed so far since the early 70s that they don’t even need men anymore. One of these “women” went so far as to sug gest that all men should be done away with and replaced with sperm banks. The latest argument rages over the issue of underpopula tion. Certain elements seem to think that the United States and Western Europe are running dangerously low on people. They cite AIDS deaths, surplus food and bonuses for children!?) as certain signs that the Western world will soon be devoid of life due to apathy and sexual deviance. One look at growing population rates shoots this theory down. Do these peo ple read census reports? Freedom of expression is the right of everyone, but it’s terri ble to set* these Stupid People in Action abuse this right. As a concerned member of the ASUO Incidental Fee Commit tee, there is something that I would like you to strongly think about. The simple fact is that in cidental fees are a tax put on you by the State Board of Higher Education ($K1 per term). (liven that the money is a tax, let me ask you this: When was the last time that you beard of tax money being used for political purposes? This is the problem with the Oregon Student Lobby, which we fund in the amount of $25,000 per year. This group lobbies the state Legislature in our name as your personal representative. An example of 1»» »/» » »»» i * 2839 Willamatt* i * J !»»»»«»»»»■» | |osh King Political Science Purposes what I mean is the recent governor's merit-based scholar ship proposal for colleges to help stop hrain drain on Oregon campuses. Since incidental fees must be paid by all students, we now fall into a question of free speech. According to the June 1985 Oregon Attorney General's opi nion dealing with the legal use of incidental fees, "When in cidental fees are used for political or ideological ad vocacy, this action now establishes an infringement of the First Amendment interests of students who disagree with those viewpoints...." In your name, the OSL is right now arguing against the pro posal that many of you think is long overdue — the merit-based scholarship. In light of the recent attorney general's opinion, the use of 1FG funds to support the OSL is now seriously in question. As one of your representatives on the 1FC, 1 would like to hear your comments on this matter. Ron E. Munion 1FC member Greek GYROS Sandwich $ 2 • 2 5 with coupon Soasonod bool on hoi pHo brood, rod onlono, troth tomalooa, ntly yogurt tauco STUPE IT EATERY • 1219 Aider 40< Valuo THE SHOW CAN’T GO ON WITHOUT YOU! We need YOCI to arrange campus wide events for 1987 88 such as — REM, Sonia Johnson, Talking Heads, Shadow Fax, San Francisco Mime Troupe, Alex DeGrassi, G. Gor don Liddy, The English Beat & the Neville Brothers. CONTRACT with national and regional artists & lec turers that reflect current student interests. PROGRAM dances, noon gigs, dance & theatre, art exhibits. Beer Gardens, comedy, feature & indepen dent films & the Willamette Valley Folk Festival. LEARN about yourself and others by developing valuable life-long skills. SUPERVISE and organize a security crew. APPLY for a position with the Cultural Forum — Popular Music Small Concerts Film/Video Heritage Music Contemporary Issues/Speakers Events Crew Performing Arts Visual Arts Positions begin Spring term ’87. Stop by the Cultural Forum office, EMU Suite 2, for informa tion and application. DEADLINE for applying is Friday, February 13th. I 1 he l Mil Cultural Fotum is an i Equal Opportunity/AHu motive I Action Employer J||| r Private Hot Tub Rentals Hours: Sun-Thurs 12 noon - 2 a.m. $9/hour Fri & Sat 12 noon - 4 a.m. $ 10/hour Daytime rate (including weekends)—12 noon-5 p.m. $6/hour Rales for 2 people STUDENT DISCOUNT Mon-Thurs evenings $1 off rental with student body card. •Stereo rooms available at no extra charge “CONTACT LENSES. More than meets the eye.” Bring this ad in for a FREE consultation and screening WOODY LINN f.cls a Certilit\l Contact Lenso Spei'iahsts Since 197) Located at the * On the corner of 14th and Pearl Call 687-2522
