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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 18, 1989)
-Editorial Offering ideas for Ctark/Wyckoff exec Andy Clark and Scott Wyckoff will officially as sume the duties of ASIJQ president and vice president one week from today. We want to sincerely wish them well in beginning their term of office. While we admit that Clark and Wyckoff weren't our first choice for the job. they did impress us enough to make us believe they will be able to do the job. and do it well. One prerequisite of doing any job well is having a good solid plan of what needs to be done. This was one area that was a Clark/Wyckoff weakness during the campaign; too many times, the pair demonstrated a thorough understanding of the problems facing the campus but failed to provide adequate solutions or plans to remedy those problems With the transition time they have had. we hope they have come up with solid ideas and programs. For whatever it's worth, we'd like to comment on ideas they have already proposed, offer new suggestions and mention some continuing concerns. • Dealing with the administration The one crucial di lemma Clark Wyckoff will fate next year will la* in dealing with new University President Myles Brand. As this year will set the tone for future administra tion ASUQ relations, it is likely that the success or fail ure of the Clark Wyckoff executive will be measured by the precedent they set. Indie ations i oming from Ohio State are that Brand will be an able president genuinely concerned about the University: that is. there is no reason to fear he will be another Nat Slcuro, the controversial former presi dent ol Portland State. This is good news, and it somewhat eases the concerns we had regarding (’lark/Wyckoff*s plans During the campaign the two expressed too much willingness to take the administration's line in issues. Their attitude seems to he that they can work with the administration to smooth things out. Well. yes. com promise is sometimes good. But it is important that Clark and Wvi kofl remember that their position is noI to mediate disputes between the administration and students (hey are there to represent the students. And there are some student concerns, such as student control of incidental fees and housing, that they sim ply must not budge on • Reaching disenfranchised students. This was a real strength of the Clark Wyckoff ticket. Several times over, they demonstrated an awareness of the need to reach out to students. Their idea to meet with dormi tory presidents is laudable, so is their proposal to meet regularly with the heads of the various student unions. In fact, the "Minority Policy Statement” they pub lisher! during the campaign is a solid platform The only thing needed here will be to follow through But even the methods ('.lark W yckoff intend to use may not be enough to reach all students. What aland off-campus students, for example? Clark Wyckoff so far haven't adopted the “Executive Advisory Panel." a cabinet of student representatives, that was an excel* lent proposal of the Hughes Kirk team. Here’s another idea. At University of Washington, the student body president moves his desk outside to the student union courtyard one afternoon every week This is an excel lent way to add approachahility to the office: maybe Clark would be willing to do the same. • Lobbying for student concerns. Once Clark Wyckoff have <i good idea of what students want, which we fully expect them to do. they will likely find that their constituents want continued lobbying on ongoing con cerns — child care, racism control, campus safety, computer registration, additional housing, student control of incidental fees, ad infinitum ClarkWyckoff didn't express any deep commit ment to lobbying through Oregon Student Lobby or the United States Student Association. They should learn u> develop such a bond. The fact is. OSL and USSA art; verv good at what they do, and the impact those lob birrs have is much more than ('lark Wyckoff can accom plish alone. The task of guiding the ASUO bureaucracy can sometimes hi; daunting, but Clark Wyckoff can take some heart that, with their overwhelming success in the primary, they do appear to have the students be hind them. They can do the job. But they should take advantage of all the means and suggestions offered to them to help them do that job. OSL and USSA are two such means. OU.V/ELL, beat^h. beatsm \ —Letters Scarce Reason is si art e these days. Many people are using, in stead. questionable ideas and assertions that rest on rhetoric or antagonism rather titan sound principles and careful thought An extreme example is i’timelia Settlegoode's attack (OI)K. April 17) on William Moore She assesses Moore with incorrect presumptions and attac ks his charac ter with out evidence or reasoning, in clear violation ot OUK policv (if April 25: win was this printed?) Other responses to Moore's letter are civil but not sound Susan Price (OI)K. April 21) reasons linm an admitted opin ion without substantiating >1 Limi'ii Upshaw (ODE April 211 criticizes Moure lor "ill flirting" his principles on oth ers. hut inflicts hors upon linn, i ontradirting herself On another front. Ilert Tryba (ODE. April UH) not only misin terprets m\ letter (ODE. April 14) hut distorts his evidence, quoting Bible* verses out of con text in outdated English, in venting contradictions that do not exist under c loser scrutiny These .ire examples of a gen eral trend reasoning which is inconsistent, fallacious, or de pendent on uncertain presup positions. Fundamental values are ignored, vet they are usual ly the root of pioblems Inter change without common fun damental assumptions is hound to reach disagreement Buildings with different foundations seldom share the same roof. I have seen many current social, political and philosophical issues argued ve hemently on rooftops, to little avail. Honest "building in spec tion” hum the ground up might gel better results A.VI. Sauerwein Music No support Imagine my shock and sur prise* when I read in the Emer ald's editorial on May 8 that the ODE 'support(s) gay and lesbian rights " Wow! Really? How nice for the (-'morale). What form does this "sun port" take? Money? Well. no. l)oes the Kmerald staff partici pate in lobbying our congress persons for gay rights? No. Well, they must at the very least write artic les and editori als presenting the- gay and les bian community in a fair, accu rate light, right? No. in fact, thev only report on sensational and negative aspects and even go so far as to attac k the legiti mate concerns of gays and les bians; worse, they often fail to report anything at all so that tin- sensitive egos of heterosex uals will not be- offended If th.it is support, no thank you. I won't have any Didn't your parents teach you not to lie? Scott Shoup Asian studies Perks What has the Athletic De partment done for my educa tion (besides making it cost inure)? Mike Sw anson Student Isolated? Recently, a lot of people have told us that the Greek system is Hood hut nets had press from a few isolated incidents. Well, those "isolated incidents" are piling up fast, guys and gals The mattress incident is per haps the worst, showing how fiats are willing to treat their own Should the victim decide to press charges, kidnapping and reckless endangerment are two that are very serious and shouldn't he hard to prove A few dangerous kooks c an turn up in any organization, but the test is lun\ the organi /ation deals with them Will Sigma Alpha Kpsilon expel its members who perpetrated this crime, or w ill they see it as a "harmless prank"? II SAK tries to sweep this un der the rug. the rest of the Greeks should ostrai ize the whole fraternity. If the (.reeks do nothin#, they are condoning their violent brothers, and the University should disenfran chise them. You gotta start cleaning your own houses. Scott Jamieson Eugene Spectacle With so many heavy issues facing America now I find it a pitiful spectacle of students ri oting in tin? streets near a party, lust look at the clout Chinese students have over the destiny of their country! We need a rev olution here to change some of the ills in our society, but riot ing lor the sake of rioting is juvenile and a waste of energy and public resources. Grow up! Ililde K. Cherry Kugene No dignity I've always wondered how' fraternity boys go through the week of degradation and hu miliation known as "initia tion." only to arrive at the con clusion that. "I love these guys, they're my brothers!" "Poor fools," I always think to myself. No self-respect. No dig nity. Kach term 1 hear new stories about the latest techniques in humiliation, but I've never heard one I ike the SAK "fun” of May 1 I don't know whether this cruel stunt was for initia tion. or simply an act of broth erly love, but I do know that it made me sick. I hope that the victim ot this incident has the courage to stand up lor himself and press charges against the "men" in volved I hope, for the sake ot his own pride and whatever max be left of his dignity, that he isn't out there somewhere saying. “They physically and mentally abused me in front of everyone! Cod, I love these guys, they're m\ brothers!" Michael Keep Rhetoric and communication