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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Oct. 6, 1987)
Continued from Page 2 legislatures could not limit its availability. Bork disagrees with this ex pansion of judicial authority. He has written that "Roe v. Wade is an unconstitutional decision, a serious and wholly unjustifiable judicial usurpa tion of state legislative authori ty.” And he's right But the larger question is not simple. If the abortion ruling usurped the role of the state legislatures, then didn't many of the civil rights rulings also do that? Complicating the question of judicial authority vs. legislative authority is that legislatures, since its members are voted by majorities, can be unjust toward minority con cerns Given the temperament of a certain era and place (for ex ample, Mississippi. 1962) perhaps the authority of state legislatures should lie usurped by a "higher power," such as the Supreme Court The argument over Bork's confirmation is not simple. Bork is probably politically con servative. His statements about abortion, homosexual rights, the death penality, and other divisive issues, offend liberals like Ted Kennedy But it is un fair to assume that Bork lacks the integrity to separate his per sonal views from his respon sibilities as a judge. As Maurice Holland, the University’s clean of the law school, has testified. Bora is a formidlble scholar, with a keen legal mind, and has been a responsible judge whose decisions on the Circuit Court of Appeals have been well within the mainstream of judical thinking. Hut such an astute evaluation falls on deaf ears. Liberals fear Bork because they see him as a man who will oppose their ef forts to enact change through the courts rather than the legislatures. As a result, they have over-simplified and distorted his views, taking them out of their proper legal context and placing them within the more explosive socio-political context. It is a tactic that is like ly to work. Cruising Continued from Page 1 *» "Since all the other things don't work, that is an approach we haven't tried yet. and I think we should,” Mason said. "I'm not totally callous about their needs. My problem is where do you put such an event without it affecting people who live there," he said. In presenting the proposed ordinance to the commission. Mason outlined the recent history of the "Gut." Since 1974. the city has undertaken such measures as barricading streets, talking to high school classes, publishing a "gut cruisers guide," and selectively enforcing laws, in order to eliminate problems cruising has created The efforts have met with little success. Mason said. "The selective enforcement, in my opinion, has always been a band-aid approach." he said When police eliminate traffic congestion in an area off Willamette Street, it soon becomes a problem elsewhere, he added. The problems associated with By GARY LARSON Although their descendants firmly deny this. Neanderthal mobsters are frequently linked with the anthropological treasures of Olduval Gorge. t.r«|>hi< by Urr«tn« Hath cruising include hit-and run in - cidents. assaults, rapes and the selling and use of drugs. "The youths themselves are victims down there," he said. According to Mason, a city at torney has reviewed the propos ed ordinance, and "his feelings are that it's not a ordinance that violates the Constitution.” At the present time, the local chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union is studying the ordinance, said Christine Donahue, neighborhood liaison for the City of Kugene. Financial aid definition of independence changed The federal government has once again altered its definition of an "indepen dent student." but this deci sion probably won't affect many students, according to Edmond Vignoul. student financial aid director for the University Previously, students could only be classified as in dependent if any of the following conditions applied: • turn 24 years old before (anuary l. 1987. • are an orphan or ward of the court. • am a veteran. • are a graduate or profes sional student not claimed as an exemption on parents' ll.S. income tax return for 1987 • are married and not claimed as an exemption on parents' U S income tax return for 1987. • have legal dependents other than a spouse. • were not claimed as an exemption on parents' ll.S. income tax returns for 1985 and 1 9 B ti an cl can demonstrate self sufficiency during l‘)B5 and I'lHti by showing evidence of an an nual income of at least $4,000. not including finan cial aid Now, however, students can Include financial aid as a resource in showing an an nual income of at least $4,000 “Students are being given the illusion that they are go in g to receive more assistance as a result," Vignoul said. "That's not the case.” “The new definition isn't much different than what it was before," he continued "We don't expect many more students (to qualify as independent), and if there are. we certainly have the manpower to handle them." Vignoul also said that most students should know about the change, and if they have questions they should talk with an advisor in the Office of Student financial Aid. 2li0 Oregon Hall. Convocation Continued from Page l While Kill/ agreed with the president's assertion that the Constitution did have ramifica tions for the rest of the world, he took issue with Reagan's overt praise, contrasting that view with Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall's, who earlier this year called the Constitution an "imperfect document," ni u n u ni c n t u o u s social transformation.' Katz concluded t>y saying. “In tli ink i hr about the bic entennial, it seems to me ap propriate to praise the framers and the document. And in do ing that, we have to be realists, and we have to tie committed to the notion that it is the capacity of tiie Constitution and the coil ‘The Constitution stands as a bulwark against revolution on the one hand and legislative sovereignty on the other’ — Stanley Katz Uuoting Marshall, katz said. 'The government (the founding fathers) devised was defective from the start, requiring several amendments, civil war and stitutlonal system to adapt itself to a radically changing nation.” This ability to adapt to change is the Constitution's greatest asset, Katz added ADVERTISE RIGHT NEXT TO The FAR SIDE, DAILY! 38,750 Readers will see your business! Call 686-3712 • For Details
