Editorial
Election campaigns
need more time
Once again it is time for the ASUO elections. And once
again the election process is plagued with a number of
distinct and troubling problems. However, this year the
somewhat understandable organizational delays found in
previous elections have been aggravated by a time crunch.
Fortunately we have an answer.
With the primary elections on April 15 and 16 — only
three weeks after spring break — there simply is not enough
time for candidates to prepare an effective campaign. This
hurts all those involved, especially the student body.
A delay in the production of the elections packet has
slowed the actual filing and campaigning process. Because
the Constitution Court had to reapportion the Student
Senate and the Election Board had to change and reword
several of the rules, the packet was not issued until March 4.
It is usually out by mid-February.
The deadline for filing was on Friday. Trying to
organize and evaluate the campaigning until the deadline is
impossible because most candidates file at the last minute.
Typically, candidates also do not file for a position until
the election packet is available because it contains the
guidelines for the entire election process. It would be more
reasonable to move the deadline up and therefore create
more time for campaigning.
Currently there is only two or three weeks of heavy cam
paigning. According to the packet there is an informational
meeting for all candidates this afternoon. This is only two
weeks before the election and does not leave enough time for
candidates, especially last-minute candidates, to organize
and run their campaigns effectively.
These time constraints also stop students from effective
ly reviewing the candidates. The average student must put
in extra effort to keep abreast of each candidate’s platform.
Reviewing each candidate takes time, time that is not
available in two short weeks.
Problems also have arisen from the confirmation pro
cess for ballot measure wording. All measures must he turn
fid in and confirmed by the Constitution Court by this even
ing; no petitioning or campaigning can begin until the wor
ding is approved.
But not all groups know this. Recently a group on cam
pus began to gather petitions for their measure before the
Constitution Court reviewed the wording.
The measure now could be declared invalid, but
because they did not know the measure had to be confirmed,
it will go through. Obviously, a clearer, more organized
system needs to be developed. Mistakes like this will only
happen again if the guidelines are not clarified.
These organizational problems occur every year. Unless
something is done they will continue to happen — at
everyone ’s expense.
The Election Board needs to plan ahead and allow more
time to campaign. It can either move the filing deadline back
or move the elections up. Granted, it is difficult to find dates
everyone can agree on, but more time must be allotted for
the candidates to get campaign information and to prepare
their campaigns. If this is done, the student body will
benefit from a clearer and stronger election.
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Fool for you
I have never been one of those
people to make a fool of myself
writing letters to the
newspaper, hut the disrespect
you show the president is ab
solutely outrageous.
He was elected two times by
overwhelming majorities, and
right or wrong we should stand
by him. What kind of person, or
newspaper, would lash out at
him in his hour of need?
Any fool can see he is not
senile. We elected him as an ac
tor. and should never for an ins
tant let down our guard. He
knows what he is doing, which
is more than I can say for you?
I. for one. do not want to
know the despair of armies,
space beams and shifting
economic forces beyond con
trol. so please, do decent people
a favor, and stop blowing up the
Iranian Contras in our faces. 1
say. and I speak for many, who
cares? Anyone can sincerely
forget.
Thelma Crimp
Eugene
Knee jerks
Brandon Shepard’s rebuttal to
my recent letter on bibles
displays the typical fundamen
talist knee-jerk admonishment
“take the Bible on faith” while
ignoring nearly every specific:
point I raised.
He assigns to my remarks
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conclusions that I never reached
and never addresses the main
issue: Which version of the Bi
ble is he defending? Only when
this is clear can the question of
reliability be discussed.
I never said the church
created Scripture but that it
selected it from a large body of
equally valid writings available
at the time.
The apocrypha (literally
“hidden” books) were “hid
den” precisely because they
were excluded from “official”
scripture by the
religious/political establish
ment and suppressed. (And in
cidentally, official Scripture
also abounds in “historical and
geographical inaccuracies,” if
taken literally.)
The principle “when in
doubt, throw the book out”
stinks. Why should anyone
have the right to decide what
another is allowed to read?
As to the Nag Hammadi tests
being a hoax, numerous Chris
tian scholars, citing extensive
historical evidence, seem to feel
otherwise. These texts are
among the earliest dealing with
Christ's teachings.
No. Mr. Shepard, accepting
the fact that many different
books are called “the Bible” by
many different people doesn't
make me a cynic. That I find
biblical writings to combine
history and myth, fact and
allegory, in no way implies that
I find them valueless. The per
son who has no doubts is either
a fool, or morally corrupt: He
thinks he is privy to God’s
thoughts.
Hiawatha
Music graduate
We can repent
I he Bible states, “Know ye
not that ye are the temple of
God. and that the Spirit of God
dwelleth in you. If any man
defile the temple of God, him
shall God destroy; for the tem
ple of God is holy, which tem
ple ye are,” (1 Cor. 3:16 — 17).
The Bible also tells us we
were created in the image of
God. We are definitely of great
value, every one of us.
Shouldn't we treat ourselves in
the same way?
People can choose to live in
consistent with God's ways.
However, in doing so, we
sentence ourselves to misery by
ignoring God’s plan. There is.
fortunately, hope for those trap
ped in various vices. One can
repent, give up the sin and call
on God for strength and
guidance to overcome. With
God, nothing is impossible.
God’s commandments were
not given to limit us. On the
contrary, through living accor
ding to God’s will we can enjoy
happiness and our horizons will
be limitless. God’s path is the
way to true freedom.
Elaine Beam
Springfield
Once a human...
Recently, a baby was taken
from its mother’s womb, had
surgery performed on it to cor
rect an ailment, and then placed
back in the womb until it was
delivered full term.
This must really create a
serious moral problem for the
pro-abortion activists claiming
human status and protection
shouldn’t be granted a baby un
til birth.
By every definition this baby
was born during surgery. So
shouldn’t this baby have been
protected by law? Of course.
But then this baby was put back
in the womb. By pro-abortion
logic that made it non-human
again — having no rights. This
baby only changed
geographical location, yet its
entire legal status was altered.
Was this baby non-human,
then human, then non-human
again, then human again at
birth? No! It was human, just
like the millions of babies
aborted since Roe vs. Wade,
long before the birth process.
Biology tells us this, our legal
system used to tell us this, and
common sense dictates that
abortion is much more than
removing a “lump of tissue.”
If life began at birth, then
would a saline abortion be
wrong if done when labor con
tractions first begin? What
about the day before that, and so
on.... When is the baby deser
ving of protection? What day
should the abortionist’s hunting
license be null and void?
Gayle Atteberry
Eugene