Editorial
Approve all city
ballot measures
Loral voters faro an interesting < hoice of city ballot
measures in next Tuesday's primary election The nu
clear free zone debate, urban renewal, taxation of
downtown businesses; all are scheduled to be resolved
May lr>
So without wasting any more time, here are the Or
(tgoii Dnilv Hmrrulii endorsements for i ity ballot meas
ures;
First up is Ballot Measure 20-01. the city charter
amendment to create a stronger nuclear free zone Af
ter months of ptiblii squabbling, the issue will finally
be dei ided. yea or nay
Putting the nuclear tree zone in the <:it\ charter
will prevent the city count il from tampering with it In
1 9H<> and 1088, voters approved a similar measure,
only to watch local lawmakers water it down to just a
symbolic gesture
Voters don't want the type of industry nuclear
weapons bring. Yes. Kugene does need an influx of
new businesses, but contributing to the military-indus
trial complex is not the answer Kugene residents don't
like atomic; weapons or nuclear power plants, and they
shouldn't be forced to accept them.
It's hard not to endorse a measure that has already
passed twice before b\ landslides It's even harder to
turn down a bill that is trying to preserve Kugene's
non-industrial atmosphere. So. it gets our vote and it
should get yours too Vote yes on Measure 20-01
Ballot Measure 20-02 is an amendment to the 1908
Urban Renewal Plan for the downtown area in effect,
it updates the c ity's plan for redevelopment
Voting down 20-02 will mean the 1908 plan will
remain in effect Doing this would be a major mistake
The downtown area desperately needs renovation and
redevelopment, and it shouldn't be forced to do it on a
22-year-old plan Times have changed since' then, and
urban renewal needs to be fixed to reflect this
While businesses are bolting from the downtown
area, this is not the time to send a message that Kugene
won I support its merchants Vote yes on Measure
20-02
A third issue in trout of the voters is Ballot Meas
ure 20-0.1; a property tax for the Downtown Develop
ment District in the amount of $182,450 for 1990-91
The money would be used to improve parking
business rec rnitment and retention, as well as market
ing the importance of the downtown area This is an
annual tax that has been approved every year since
1978. and it is one of three taxes imposed on the DDD.
Measure 20-1)9 dues not represent an increase over last
y ear's tax level
Continue to renovate the downtown area Vote ves
on Measure 20-09
r
WEVED0NE1T/
WE'VE KEPT BRMM
CEUSAUVEIN
AWSH'
NOW, IP WE CAN
JUST KEEP THEM
ALIVE IN HEPS ■
Striking Koreans deserve U.S.'s support
Before student protests in South Korea
got headlines in the United States' newspa
pers, there were other demonstrations. The
protests were not about the reunification of
North and South Korea, or the withdrawal of
I 1 S troops from the border Worker strikes
were popping up in the oountrv's industries.
< ailing attention to the appalling treatment
of mane of Korea's laborers.
Labor conditions in South Korea .ire
wideK known to be among the poorest in
the world Manx workers are at their posts
in Korean factories Ilf or more hours a das
seven dass a week All of this is tor about
$10 a lias Also do< umented are the oci upa
tion.il hazards and illnesses plaguing Korean
svorkers
This is the i lassit scenario of svhat hap
pens in a countrx that is rapidly developing
its industrial strength, as Korea has been in
recent sears Indeed, similar working condi
tions could and mans sas still c an be
found in the United States during the Indus
trial Resolution.
Labor problems in Korea are particularly
interesting bei ause of how (lies’ reflect on la
bor problems all over the world Multi-na
tional corporations (mans ot them American
ami Japanese) take advantage of poor eco
nomic conditions in developing countries
sue li as Korea and use those; conditions as an
exc use to pav workers next to nothing and
work them to death.
The t'nited States should he setting an
example of how workers can live and thrive
in a democ racy Instead, its multi-national
corporations are shipping jobs overseas, at
tracted by the cheap labor marked. This ex
ploitation c auses American workers to lose
their jobs, and workers in developing coun
tries to lose1 their health and well-being
With the economies of different coun
tries becoming more and more interdepen
dent. the1 interests of the1 worker should have
the- attention of world governments, particu
larly the' t'nited States Although it may be
awkward to do so with the- anti-U S. demon
strations taking place there; now, our govern
ment need to show its support for the inter
ests of Korean laborers bv applying political
pressure, economic sanctions, or. in the1 case
of Americ an companies abusing their Kore
an workers, making them get their proverbi
al acts together
—Letters
Knew the risks
It's Iiiiu' lor some people to
ta< c tlif fat I that llu' only per
son responsible for the death of
benjamin Linder is benjamin
Linder
He freely went to a war zone
to live and work in support ot a
Communist dictatorship while
a rebel group, the LIIN was
working to overthrow that dii
taturship It was dangerous and
he should have known the
risks
It is time to put the lies ot the
[■ SL\ bell i in I and help ('.humor
ro build a democracy in Nicara
gua
Kri< Li kman
Stud ent
For shame
tin several occasions I oh
served that our country's Hag
was being lelt on the flagpole at
the I Ml' all night long
Aftei hunting the man re
sponsible to see to the flag's
|irupi*r cart’ and use, I asked
him if it ssas tin? University s
pulu s to raise the tl.iy* and
leave it up until it rots Merv
Whitaker who is in i barge of
the MMl "s i ustodial and main
tenant e t.isks informed me this
was not the University's policy
and that the matter would he
dealt w ith
Well, at 1 1 p m on Mas a.
our 11.<y; was still up on the
pole
It is the intention of this let
ter to embarrass W hitaker into
seeing to it that proper i are and
respect is accorded to our sy 111
bo I of freedom and our way of
life It this tails, ms next stop
sx'ill be Mvles brand's office
Kir hard Diggs
Student
Responses
\s a lesbian, I am respond
mg in general, to the letters to
the editor which appearedin
the Orrgon Kmera/i/ in re
spouse to (las bride Week
first, what gives you the
right to deny mi* lhe basil hu
man rights to have sex with the
person I lovt* talk about has ing
sex or liisplav my love openly?
Secondly homophobia is an
irrational tear oi lesbian and
ga\ sex It ranses prejudice and
hatred toward lesbians and
gavs Heterosexual sex is unap
pealing to me. however. 1 don't
find it disgusting or think von
don’t deserve to express it
finding lesbian and gn\ sex
personally unappealing is not
the same as finding it disgust
mg and worthy only of hiding
If vou feel the latter, then you
are homophobe . period
Thirdly, capitalism and com
munism are not equivalent !)e
mocrac \ presumes equality and
capitalism is based on in
eqilalit\ Capitalism grew un
der patriarchs, where men be
lieve they have the right, based
on 2.1)00 year old religious dog
ma. to dominate women and
the earth for profit Bei a use les
bians and gavs pose a threat to
this male domination, patriar
i hal religions have labeled us
"sinners" worthy of persecu
tion Don't tell me capitalism
has spared m\ life
Finally until we create a
world w here people are equals,
where the hierarchies of men
over women and nature do not
exist, then lesbians and gas
w ill he persei uted 1 am talking
about a truly democratic, femi
nist so< ialist world, not male
dominated hierarchical "so
( ialism'' w hu h exists today
Kirsten Henjum
Ceramics
Bestseller
The world's most popular
book refers to homosexual
''love" as "vile affei turns"
(Romans 1 _M>|
Karl Cosnell
Kugene
Vote Nicholson
It is extremely important for
University students to get out
and vote this time As a group,
we can make a significant dif
ferem e in the Slay lf> elec (ion
We can make .1 strung state
ment about democrat \ and
peace Our current represent a
live in the c itv council lias
worked repeatedlv to destroy
the nuclear free /.one that we
approved twice in previous
landslide ballots His name is
Koh Bennett, and he is a major
developer in the area
I feel his actions have been
loosely disguised efforts to un
dermine representative democ
racy to attract nuclear weapons
industries to Kugene for the
sake of industrial development
This should not be allowed
It is time tor a 1 liange in the
city government, and in the
wav the nuclear weapons in
dustry overshadows the people
of the world.
1 strongly urge all students to
use this unique opportunity to
think globally and act locally,
and elect Paul Nicholson to
represent the University pre
cinct on the city council
Chris Thompson
Biology