.Editorial
Groups should tape
endorsement process
So election is without controversy Something will
always come along to put .1 little zest into the proi ess
t stiii11 v its measured in degrees of mud slinging and
back -stabbing
This veai s A SI '() primary and general election has
had its share of heated debate though it didn't even
approach the slime level of hist year Mostly, the con
troversy revolved around the endorsement process
and what was and what might have been said
Specifically, the (deck Kndoisement Committee
was charged with asking “inappropriate" questions
during the ASI C) executive and Incidental l ee Com
mittee endorsement hearings While it is impossible to
prove vv hat was at tually said the preponderance of the
evident e indicate the C.KC and its members wen- in the
wrong
Fine [ hat s over, and now the only thing left is to
debate whether the controversy over the (1F( selet turn
process swayed the elm tion one wav or the other
Chat too. is impossible to tell
F.very student group has the light to endorse candi
dates tor ANl'O elections An endorsement is to sup
port. in writing, someone who best tits youi pi* tore <d
the ideal candidate; someone who shares the same be
n.a. , .... ,1..
Kndorsemeuts an: an important part ot tin* election
procedure (.’acidulates and tickets spend hours in front
ol various "endorsement boards' trying to prove their
worth. Kndorsemonts add character to the election and
provide a wav to get more students involved in the
process.
The CKC controversy indie ales a problem in the
wa\ endorsemrmts are decided. The general public lias
no wav of knowing how .1 particular group reached its
decision on who or what to endorse Only after the
process is complete do voters get an inkling ot what an
endorsement committee is thinking
That has to change Kndorsement hearings need to
he taped and become part of the public record.
To some extent, this is already done. Some groups
keep minutes of their meetings Hut taping the whole
thing would be more accurate, and give the public .1
chance to see how a group came about its dor ision
Now we re not talking about taping the executive
session, where the endorsement committee convenes
and hammers out who its going to bat k That would be
an unnecessary infringement on the group's privacy
But taping the candidate interviews would not be
The best way to avoid a controversy is to make sure
it can’t happen. If the tlKti. and other student groups
who endorse ASUO candidates, will tape their en
dorsements beginning next year, hopefully something
like this year's controversy u ill not repeat ilselt
(liven that, the Dragon Daily h'nierahl vc ill take the
first step l-'or next year's ASI’O election, and even
election after that, the Emoraltl will tape the candidate
interviews and allow any student or group access to
that tape one e the endorsement process is over
\\e urge even group 1 onsidering endorsing < andi
dates to take similar measures Only hv making every
thing upfront and in the open ran we keep controver
sies similar to this year’s horn ever happening again
\nd that will onlv help the elections, not hurt them
The more educ ated the voting ptihlii the better
All in all il was a good election kirk Bailee and
Shelia Slit kel come into the A SI () executive office
with knowledge and enthusiasm lor the job The lit
i out.mis a good mix, previous experiein e and flesh
new insight with representatives from a variety ot
groups on i ainpus 1 Icings worked out well
_letters Policy
The Emerald will attempt to print all letters contain
ing comments on topics of interest to the University
community. Comments must tie factually accurate
and refrain from personal attacks on the character of
others.
Letters to the editor must lie limited to no more than
250 words. legible, signed and the identification of
the writer must 1m- verified when the letter is submit
ted.
The Emerald reserves the right to edit any letter for
length or style
NO, NO.. FIRST
YOU'LL WAVE
TO BACK IT UP
TO THE PUMP..
5
Letters—
Consider this
Hex idealists rvmuht'i!'
vmi i iin i flange ill'1 wot Id
\ci‘il proot •' < Mi«m k out the
liver logged forests ox erfloxx
ing toxii landfills. at ul rain,
polluted art and water sup
plies We have already i hanged
the world Who’s responsible? I
am and so are you 1 m\ tie you
to list vour iiit leddile personal
power to change the world lot
the better
You i .in do that by buying
bulk goods with a minimum ot
pat kagillg. and in ret volatile
t ontainers Then actually ret \
t le them It s easy and you'll
save money, too Irx buying
unhleai bed paper no dioxins
to poison our water and or
gamialh grown vegetables
which are bettei lor you and
the earth
(Consider walking, biking, or
taking the bus instead of tiny
mg whith releases poisonous
i erbon monoxide that makes
ai id rain and destroys our for
ests anil ozone layer It you
must drive take some friends
along and try to avoid using
your car's A < ys hit h releases
harmful fluoroi arbons
1-nvironrnentalism is not only
tor people yyho wear
Hirkenstoi ks and tie dyes and
it isn't something you only
need to be i out erned about one
Karthday a year It's tor anyone
yylro depends on our planet for
survival, and the time to make
the change is nov\ Our failure
to do so t (institutes suit ide
Hrather Goodwin
Pre-journalism
Take a step
Two wars ago minontv fat:
ulty memliers. students of color
and far ulty were very aware of
the condition of non whites,
women and non Kuropeans in
the 1' S and at the University
joint'd together to propose the
new ract1. gender and noti-Ku
ropean American general stud
ies requirement
Our tarn11\ agreed with the
notion that our students need
tti he exposed to the emerging
other other than white, other
than malr and other than Kurn
pran-Americ an <it some
point m their lives, it only to
obtain a small understanding of
i ulturul understanding and ap
prei lation that is consistent
w ith .1 liberal edut ation
I fullv agree with this dev el
oprnent While I am still skepti
i al of some of the proposed
ionises. 1 am fully behind such
a move as it will strengthen our
student Ixidv
\s Kenneth Liberman e\
plained "Students of color
want to he understood by their
i l.issinates; thev want to redui e
the number ol enquiring stares
addressed to them in the P1.C
elevator and improve intercub
lural communu ation " foreign
students want to improve the
quality of their interaition with
American students And Amer
ii an students i an benefit from
this inter.ii turn as well
We really need to educate
our students to the tremendous
differences in the world Ore
gon students are not racist, .is
Liberman says Instead, they
are "ethnocentric.." With tfit*
newly emerging global econo
my of cooperation, ethma en
trism will only hinder prosper
ous relations
The University should take
its role m educating students
more seriously This is definite
ly a step in the right direi turn
Michael (Uilson
Student
Register
Students must register now if
we are to make a difference in
the Nut lear Free Zone issue.
This is a prime opportunity for
us to at t locally and have a na
tional and global impact
Kugene is a leader in the Nu
clear Free Zone movement; the
outcome of this election will
have national and international
significance The student vote
t an change tilt- course of the
election. Precinct 213. the Uni
versity campus, is key in the
NFZ vote
Almost all students on cam
pus are eligible to vote Sur
prisingly. most are not properly
registered: and many do not
even realize it Because of re
stn< live stall' laws, it Vim
moved, the Post (Mtii e lias no
tified tlie Elections Office and
vour registration lias linen i an
eeled Students are espei ia 11 \
vulnerable to these restri< live
law s
Don't be a vie tun Register
tod. iv
It you are unsure of your reg
istralion status, register again
Registration forms abound on
campus Remember, vou live in
Eugene and are subject to Eu
gene laws You should not he
e\i hided from the polite al pro
i ess \Ye can make our votes
count lot a 11 \ and globally
Diane Sepii h
Eugene
Smelly
I'm surprised that the Oregon
l)<iil\ Emerald < (insiders this
year's ASI'O elei lions
"clean " Perhaps they didn't
read their April 20 issue where
they accuse the ldeck Kndorse
ment C.ummittee of irresponsi
bility. H\ using hearsay evi
deni e gathered by a reporter
who didn't attend the event in
question, the Emerald laum hod
a scathing attack on llreeks in
general
1'his occurred on the final
day of voting, and can he seen
.is a direct attempt by the Enter
aid to sway the election in fa
vor of the candidates they en
dorsed. Kthicaliv, it smells like
the Emerald has been playing
in the mud for too long
The Emerald didn't even
print (>Kt- chairman Tim Ross'
comments at an April 20 press
conference, where he refuted
the Emerald's ( barges. Hut sev
oral representatives from the
Emerald attended the press
conference, perhaps to clear
their conscience.
The Emerald's actions smell
even more like censorship In
the Soviet Union of the past,
when a thousand people saw a
IJFO. the press told them they
didn't Perhaps that attitude
has permeated tin* office of our
campus daily.
Patrick Perkins
Student
Monday. Anril 110. 1000