—Letters
Explanation
Conservative libertarian stu
dents held an open organiza
tional meeting Jose Cornejo
Rossi attended and expressed
interest
Another meeting was held to
ratify a group constitution. Act
ing President Robert John ex
plicitly informed Rossi the day
before the meeting elections
wouldn't be held. Many inter
ested students hadn't received
notice required by the tempo
rary constitution.
Rossi insisted on elections,
and offered to pay dues for
those wishing to vote Elections
were held and Rossi was elect
ed president. All references to
"libertarian" or "conserva
tive” in the constitution were
replaced with leftist dogma,
and association with the na
tional Federalist Society was
deleted.
Several members split and
held an open meeting to form a
group in line with conserva
tive/libertarian ideals and the
national organization. Rossi
complained to Dean Holland,
alleging racism. Holland found
political motivation, not racial.
Rossi filed a complaint with
the affirmative action office, al
leging discrimination by Hol
land in connection with Feder
alist Society activity. President
Olum appointed an investiga
tor. who concluded “1 have
found nothing to substantiate
Mr. Rossi's claim that the dean
acted in a racially discrimina
tory manner." Olum found the
report "careful and thought
ful" and denied Rossi's griev
ance against Dean Holland.
In a memorandum regarding
Rossi's grievance, the ASUO
stated that while the "ASUO
still has concerns" about the
Federalist Society and suggests
the society "make every at
tempt to be inclusive to people
of diverse cultural backgrounds
... the ASUO can find no con
clusive evidence that your or
ganization has acted in a racial
ly motivated manner.”
This is what was meant by
"rejected" (ODE. April 28).
Fred Wheeler
Robert |ohn
Federalist Society
Not endangered
1 just couldn't resist correct
ing Brandon Shepard's poor
logic in his letter to the Emer
ald (ODE. May 5). He says that
“enviro-feminists" care more
for spotted owls than human fe
fuses because “1. Spotted owls
are worth more than humans,
or 2- Knviro-feminists don't
like the responsibility for self
gratifying sexual acts."
(By the way. Brandon, if one
is in favor of preserving a spe
cies. it does not necessarily fol
low that one is also pro-choice,
or vice versa. You manufac
turer! this connection Do try to
keep your issues straight.)
Environmentalists care for
'ho earth, the source of all our
lives. Human beings are not an
endangered species for want of
habitat. But if we continue to
reduce the diversity of life on
this planet, homo sapiens
might well show up on the fed
eral list of threatened or endan
gered species.
Think, Brandon. Think of
how fragile our planet is. how
fragile our interdependence
with plants and animals is.
how it could all go away, and
then where would we be?
Kuthann Maguire
Eugene
Cute 'n'fuzzy
To the misguided students
who disrupted the final portion
of an otherwise fascinating lec
ture by a guest lecturer on the
topic of research into the elec
trical synaptic hearing re
sponses of barn owls:
Your behavior was inappro
priate at best, and has no place
in a University classroom dedi
cated to the exploration and ex
planation of scientific truths.
You were not, 1 believe, en
rolled in the class. Yet you took
it upon yourselves to force your
"protest” into my time. I
study. I work and 1 sometimes
struggle to maintain my perfor
mance in my stuilies. 1 do not
need someone to take precious
minutes from classtime I have
paid for. Even if 1 agreed ani
mal research was wrong, or
that the distinguished professor
was somehow a tool of a shad
ow'y Navy plot to undermine
America's freedom. 1 would
still not wish to have my time
stolen in such an immature
manner.
Yes. protest what you do not
agree with! Disagree and bring
injustices to light! Hut not in a
classroom where dedicated stu
dents have other tasks to tend
to. If your cause has merit,
right-minded students will nat
urally gravitate toward it, and
support it, without having their
noses rubbed in it. You have
done a disservice to the cause
you try so vehemently to es
pouse. Many of us in that class
room iire now hostile to you.
because you have so little re
speot for our rights A good
day's work for cute 'n' fuzzy
animals' rights7 I think not
Karl Weslerholm
Senior, history
Unfair solution
Jennifer Freyd's commentary
on child care (OI)K. May 5J of
fered solution* to a symptom,
not a problem The problem is
that our male-oriented society
is becoming more so. while
women are demanding the
chance to lead a decent life A
symptom is the lack of time to
care for children, due to men
who are too busy hogging the
pie to think about anything else
and women who are busy try
ing to get a sliver.
Children become adults, and
each year of childhood has the
same impact on a person as 10
years of adulthood. As a survi
vor of child abuse. I believe the
number is much greater when a
child is abused Our future
should be treated with care
But who really cares? I lost
my liest childhood friend to her
father's forced job relocation
Try telling that to the employer
and see if he cures
I'm sure I'm not the only one
who knows this overpopulat
ing. stressful, inflationary peri
od is no time to have children
Why do some people have chil
dren first and then complain?
I may never have children,
because I'm too economically
disadvantaged and I know it I
don't want to pay other peo
ple's child care. They get the
benefits of having children, but
want everyone to pay the costs.
Women shouldn't have any
more children until men accept
equal responsibility for them
Meanwhile, government-subsi
dized child care is a needed, al
though unfair, solution.
Alice Berry
Kugene
Multiverse
In response to Bert Tryba's
Forum article on the University
religious studies department
(ODE. May 4). let me address
just two points
Tryba paints the department
of religious studies as nothing
but a recruitment program of
the established religious insti
tutions and theological schools.
Nothing could be further from
the truth than this egregious
statement
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No particular religion or reli
gions have ever exerted any
ideological influence upon this
department, nor has the depart
ment ever attempted to influ
ence this community ideologi
cally Our influence, if any. is
strictly perspective!, just as
women's studies, ethnic stud
ies. Marxist studies, and so on
those as yet still voices in
the wilderness of the modern
university have enormously
changed our ways of seeing
things I would certainly appre
ciate Tryba's genuine concern
that the minority voice of athe
ism must lie heard Hut this is
no reason to distort the image
of our department as he does.
Secondly. Tryba's advocacy
of atheism is one thing; his
manner of presenting it is quite
another Mis argument ironical
ly smacks of the very funda
mentalist disposition he at
tacks. monomaniacally ob
sessed with the single reality.
Me assails theism for exam
ple. as if he were arguing for
rationalism against irrational
ism In this day and age of plu
ralism. he seems to be blissful
ly oblivious to the fact that,
more often than not. we must
negotiate with many different
forms of rationality. We no
longer live in the universe but
the multiverse. For atheism to
tie humane, it must be tem
pered with pluralistic sensibili
ties.
Hee-lin Kim
Acting department bend
Religious studies
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