Emerald Er(Llt01*l<l.l
Daily
Health center needs *
fee to remain open
Rising health care fees are not a local problem. On
the national level, skyrocketing medical costs are forc
ing lawmakers to take a careful and critical look at our
current health care system.
University students can see the problems in Ameri
ca's health care community right in their own back
yards. Starting next fall, the University's Student
Health Center will institute a $5 fee for each student’s
initial semester visit.
While the temptation is to meet the new fee with a
chorus of "Oh no, not another increase," the proverbi
al "Rig Picture" must be taken into account. The $5
fee was not planned: It is a needed increase to keep the
Health Center operating.
Staff salary increases are part of the reason for the
new fee, but the main reason is to cover the $100,000
hole the Health Center put itself in when thousands of
students needed measles vaccinations. When the epi
demic hit the University earlier this year, administra
tors decided to give discounted and free measles shots.
At a cost of $ 17-1H apiece, the health center inoculated
0,000 students.
It s impassible to criticize the Health Center for try
ing to prevent a full-fledged medical epidemic at the
University By giving the reduced-cost and free vacci
nations. the Health Center thwarted what could have
been a very bad crisis. The Health Center deserves
praise for its actions, and now it’s the students’ time to
help the health center.
The $r* fee is a one-time-per-semester deal, so the
most a student will pay during the year is $15. Not
much, considering what the health center has to offer.
However, while students should understand why
the fee is being instituted, they should also recognize
that the increase is a symptom of the woeful national
health care system. For a supposedly civilized nation,
the United States’ medical care system is still stuck in
the dark ages. Medicare. Medicaid, and similar pro
grams are good, but do not even come close to solving
the problem.
The Student Health Center is doing its part to give
students affordable health care. But as medical costs
continue to soar upward, it may not lie able to continue
its current level of service. If that happens, students
may not be able to afford to be sick anymore
Millions of Americans can’t pay for health care. If
something isn’t done soon, fee increases like the one at
the Health Center will become commonplace.
This doesn't mean we approve of the crackdown.... Now, how much
interrogation and surveillance equipment are you gonna buy?"
Occupancy drop should be examined
Fur the first time in a long while. Uni
versity Housing seems to have plenty of
room lor everyone who wants to live in the
dorms or in family housing
According to figures released List week,
the housing department has an 88 percent
occupancy rate, compared to '.14 percent .it
this time last year. And when several apart
ments became available in family housing
recently no one was on the waiting list to
take them.
Administrators in the housing depart
ment see a number of different factors pro
viding relief in the housing crime h that has
plagued the campus area in recent years.
The department itself has purchased more
dormitory housing, such as Riley Hall, to ac
commodate the record-size incoming classes
of the last few years
The l.TI) free-ride bus program makes it
possible for students to take advantage of
less expensive housing farther away from
campus. And next year’s enrollment cap
means fewer students will compete for hous
ing.
The housing department should take a
good look at these factors before moving
ahead with its plans to construct more fami
ly housing this fall.
As more non-traditional students enroll
.it the University and the "average” college
student becomes older and more likely to
have a family, the demand for family hous
ing may very well increase.
And the University administration’s de
cision on the definition of domestic partner
ships, which should be released any time,
could also boost the demand for housing at
the University if the ruling makes unmarried
couples eligible for housing benefits.
It these events come to pass, the depart
ment's plan to build more housing is justi
fied and the calculated risk it is taking will
likely pay off. Hut if this term's lower occu
pancy rates represent the beginning of a
trend, housing officials need to reconsider
their plan.
And the only way to find out if the drop
in occupancy represents an exception or a
new rule is to talk to current residents, ex
amine the needs of incoming students and
take a look at national and regional trends.
Letters
Judging life
Ronald Rousseve's sugges
turn |()/>/- Mav 1!1) that \vr list*
a "quality of 111«*'' premise to
support Ixith pro i lion e and
pro-euthanasia positions tails
to make important distinc tions
between the beginning and tile
ending of life* furthermore. a
polic v of predic ating life* as
worthy based on its mate hing
"a set of c riteria for human
ness " rather than the innate
sanctity of life, is wide open to
abuse
There are at least three differ
riici’s between the pro c hoice
and pro-euthanasia positions
outlined b\ Kousseve first, a
woman c boosing to abort is de
ciding not to end tier own life,
but the life in hei womb Sec
ond. unborn life is not suffer
mg from a "hopeless condition
of painful deterioration " Haiti
er. the embryo, then fetus, is
developing at an astonishing
rate heartbeat .it J4 days, brain
waves at -f t days complete
ears, fingers, toes at 4‘i days
etc Third no tec hnoiogic at
marvels of modern medi( ino"
are needed to support healths
life m the womb
Besides, induing life, espe
cially someone else's life, to be
worth living based on a
personhood test is a dangerous
tai h We know unborn life is
subject to extinction The im
plii ation for other lives that fail
to demonstrate such "qualities
ol actual personhood" as the
abilitv to "relate i aringh to
others, and the life" is obvious
In our i ontemporarv American
culture which undervalues its
women, children. elderly,
poor, disabled and rat ial mi
norities, thoughtful people
should have grave reservations
about the quality of life pose
t ions
Kathleen Freeman
(.raduate student
Sex work
Feminists have been split tor
a while on the issue of porting
rapln Is it the exploitation of
women who have few other
good economic i limccs' Or is it
<i woman's right to choose any
work she wishes' The first
group wants stricter laws and
the second is rallying for de
i riminali/atinn of all areas ot
se\ work
I have some loyalty to troth
sides Hut what 1 don't embrace
is the attitude presented by )en
ny Kane \OI)h', May 25) Her
tetter is victim blaming, and it
perpetuates the idea that if
women want to end their op
pression they need only "com
mand and earn respect " If it
were that easy to do. none of us
would he oppressed
Hut we are! And I think some
ot that <an he seen in the por
nography industry which is
predominantly run by and ser
s n ing men, while it is women
posing and being berated by
the men and women with atti
tudes like that seen in Kane's
letter
Let s think about our sisters
when we speak Women should
be uniting and supporting each
other rather than placing
blame on them which ih-en
fraih hises us
Tiffany Burge
Sociology
Free will
In response to Jeff Sparks
lOOt:. May 21). lust because a
person expresses a freedom of
i hoice doesn't mean the
world's best selling book is
wrong God gave us free will,
you know
Karl Gosnell
Kugene
For Oerther
Pollution is largely an eco
noink issue llius. the primary
wav to make polluters stop
their crime is through econom
ic sanctions. This takes two
forms. First is boycotting prod
ucts made from environmental
destruction. The second is fines
levied against the perpetrators
The reason why the second
mechanism is not effective is
because there are no laws
against pollution. It is because
existing laws are either not en
forced or are enforced with a
minimum of fines. Simply,
there is no reason for a criminal
to stop breaking the law. it the
law does not significantly affect
the criminal.
1 am glad that at least one
candidate for governor, the Lib
ertarian candidate Dr Fred
Oerther. supports increased
fines and stricter enforcement
Jason Damisch
Eugene
-—Letters Policy...
! tic Lmvrahl will attempt to print all letters contain
in'.; comments on topics of interest to the University
community.