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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Feb. 23, 1987)
Editorial Hayward expansion should move slowly Few people question the merit of renovating Hayward Field. The track is in sorry shape and needs to be widened; the spectator stands also are in need of a face lift. But the in troduction of House Bill 2800, sponsored by state Rep. David Dix, D-Eugene, has raised our eyebrows. For the past few weeks, Dix has been championing a proposal that would go beyond merely expanding the field. The outline of his project not only includes widening the track, but also calls for the construction of a weight room, trainers’ facilities, press boxes, a warm-up track, increased seating and a new scoreboard. To fund this project, Dix has called for the State System of Higher Education to issue revenue bonds to the tune of $2 million. Some University officials have questioned how the school would go about paying back the bonds — this ques tion has yet to be answered by Dix, but he insists that the University would not be soley responsible for funding the debt. University adminstrators are acting wisely to approach this scheme with caution. Dix’s bill is a tall order, and on the surface it sounds like a fantastic idea. Who would be against constructing the finest track and field stadium in the state? But again, the problem lies in how to fund the thing, and this is where the freshman representative may be doing a little political grandstanding. The proposal has a lot of brawn, but it is short on brains. Last week, city, county and University officials met with Dix and attempted to come up with solutions for fun ding the bonds. Predictably, no headway was made. The issue of raising ticket prices for athletic events was discuss ed, and the prevailing wisdom is that it won't work. And it won't. For example, football and basketball ticket prices are already high, and raising them would undoubtedly discourage some fans from attending, thus making the price increase negligible. Moreover, half of the proceeds from athletic events go to the visiting team, so any gains in ticket revenue would have to be split. Dix himself admitted in creasing ticket prices only would raise $40,000 at the most — nowhere close to the $3.5 million needed to complete the project he envisions. Dix has discussed other revenue-raising means, among them would be a tax on major track and field events as well as increasing the city’s hotel and motel tax. But Dix has yet to provide any details about how a ’’track and field tax” would be implemented, and the city has been extremely leery of raising hotel and motel taxes in the past. Chances are that it will be just as leery if the idea of raising taxes comes up again. However, Dix does not deserve all the criticism; as he has pointed out, House Bill 2800 has received bipartisan support in both houses of the Legislature. We encourage efforts to expand the track facilities — if it can be done. Problems will no doubt arise if projects that are too big are put forth with too much haste. Dix, his bipar tisan supporters, city, county and University officials should work together cautiously and carefully to come up with a feasible plan if the University is to avoid funding a financial Tower of Babel. Eakdt DepuKMafr or SDI lss w PRficeperasj » r-_ rr'inin Bi... Early DeFUJYMeNT OF me AIRFLANe. . Letters Budget cuts Bonneville Power Ad ministration is experiencing revenue difficulties and an energy surplus due to over zealous planning for future load growth. Oil is cheap, and California utilities find it more economical to run existing oil/gas-fired generating facilities versus buying BPA power. Additionally, the Northwest's aluminum industry is in a slump, resulting in huge lost sales of BPA power. In an effort to cut costs, BPA has con sidered raising rates and cutting back the conservation budget. A budget cut could have some serious implications. While an energy surplus cur rently exists in the Northwest, this situation could change rapidly. A rise in oil prices, an improvement in the regional economy, or a low-water year could easily change the surplus into an energy deficit. None of the above are unlikely, and BPA should keep these things in mind, especially when con sidering the conservation budget. Conservation should be view ed as an energy resource in itself as a way of meeting future load growth. Actually, the Nor thwest Power Planning Council recommends that conservation be utilized first above all other Oregon Daily Emerald The Oregon Daily Emerald la published Monday through Friday except during exam week and vacations by the Oregon Daily Emerald Publishing Co., at the University of 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 property The unlawful removal or use of papers is prosecutable by law. General Staff Advertising Director Susan Thelen Production Manager Wayne Michael Lotttnvllle Classified Advertising Alyson Simmons Assistant to the Publisher Jean Ownbey Advertising Sales: Peter LaFleur/Sales Manager Teresa Acosta, Brent Collins, Beryl Israel, Janelle Her mann, Laura Goldstein, Catherine Lilja. Rick Martz, Joseph Menzel, Peter Miller, Joan Wildermuth News and Editorial Oiaplay Advertising and Business Classiliad Advertising Latter Perfect Qraphics Production Circulation 686-5511 686 3712 686-4343 686 5511 686-4381 686 5511 Editor Managing Editor News Editor Spectrum Editor Spectrum Assistant Editor Editorial Page Editors Sports Editor Photo Editor Spectrum Photo Editor Graphics Editor Night Editor Associate Editors Community Politics Higher Education / Administration University Affairs Student Government Student Activities General Assignment General Assignment General Assignment Michelle Brence Lucinda Dillon Michael Rivers Stephen Maher Stanley Nelson Michael Drummond Angie Muniz Capi Lynn Michael Wilhelm John Giustina Lorraine Rath Michelle Brence Jolayne Houtz Nick Reed Chris Norred B J. Thomsen Carolyn Lamborson Sarah Kitchen Karen Creighton Dennis Fernandes Scott Maben Reporters: bean Axmaker, Mary Courtis, Gary Henley, Janet Paulson. Photographers: Sherlyn Biorkgren, Shu-Shing Chen, Maria Corvallis. Derrel Hewitt, Bobbie Lo, Dan Wheeler Production: Michele Ross / Ad Coordinator Kelly Alexandre. Elizabeth Asher. Ronwin Nicole Ashton, Virginia Baniaga. Sandra Bevans. Sara Briscoe, Shu Shing Chen, Janet Emery, Lisa Haggerty, Donna Leslie. Curtis Lott, Kelli Mason. Mike McGraw, Rob Miles, Angelina Muniz, Julie Paul, Ingrid White, X Kang Xie resources in meeting future needs. Unfortunately, conservation is something that cannot be brought “on-line” immediate ly. Therefore. BPA must realize the lead time involved in these programs and maintain their present structure should the need arise to utilize conserva tion as a resource. BPA will take written com ments until Feb. 27 (Donna Geiger. PO Box 12999, Portland. OR. 97212). Bruce Philbrick Survival Center Woman's right In reading the responses of Mary Sullivan and Barbara Tur rill to Jeff Hoyt’s letter on Feb. 6 (corrected on Feb. 13), it was in structive that both women found it necessary to write, although each claimed Hoyt’s letter was somehow “amusing.” The quote by Rosemary Bott cher is a powerful one, and 1 can understand why these women felt the need to respond. A substantial portion of their let ters. however, was essentially an attack on Hoyt that appeared to be based solely on his gender and did not deal with the issues he raised. One often can see people who argue that abortion is a moral alternative to giving birth at tempting to disguise the reality that an innocent human life is brutally destroyed each time an abortion takes place. The in sistence on the euphemism “pro-choice" by Ms. Sullivan reveals just such an attempt to hide truth with words. In an address delivered at the University of Manitoba in February 1978, Janet E. Smith made the following comments: “A woman who sets her rights, the supposed right to privacy or right over her own body, above the life of another human being is saying that a woman's rights are superior to human rights. She has put herself above the human race, she has made herself the executor over life and death. Is that a woman’s right?” William Moore Music school Preferences This will be my last contribu tion to the current letters forum on the topic of agnosticism ver sus religious faith. Previously I indicated that ” psychological compartmen talization” is one undesirable consequence of partitioning off various sectors of human ex perience as sacred turf — and, therefore, not to be examined with the same quality of rational scrutiny which a university brings to bear on other areas of concern. Now because religious doc trines like virgin birth, resurrec tion, immortality, and a God operating in the universe — when carefully examined — are found to be of questionable veracity, religiously inclined people can "accept” them only on non-rational grounds. In this context, "faith” means believ ing in propositions for which there is insufficient evidence or rational justification. An agnostic (like myself) argues that no one KNOWS whether a God exists; whereas Nelson Farrier (ODE, Feb. 12) states that he has determined “that there is a God” — and William Moore (ODE, Feb. 12) suggests that I re-examine my motives? Some years ago, 1 came across an essay by Leo Rosten titled “The Myths By Which We Live.” In it, Rosten identified clearly the motive to those who are genuinely dedicated to the life of the mind, when he ex plained that the function of the thinker is to challenge what seems irrational in the “search for the truth, no matter where it leads; and to try to find what it is — not what you want it to be, or hope it to be, or prefer it to be.” Ron Rousseve Counseling psychology professor
