EDITORIAL
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ofnewAutzen policies
Thereana few new policy dungs* liar AiitteaSti
dium that ten* shook! taka notice of.
Smoking and umbrellas have bean harmed from the
stadium ana than haw bam several measures taken to
try and raduca tha amount of alcohol oonsumptloa bjr
Tbs Athletic Department has said H la relying on
the honor system to make sum that the smoking and
uwiwrih bans work.
With no threat of being removed from the stadium
or facing the humtUatlan of being told, tike a child, to
“knock it off” the smoking and umbrella changes
might go unnotioed.
However, extra security guards have been hired to
Slice die stadium, and It will be interesting to see
w nicotine addicts respond to requests to extinguish
their butts.
The Athletic Department might And that they were
better off before the policies were in place.
Everyone has the right to watch a game without
having to inhale the by-product# of someone else*# ad
diction, but non-enforced rules will do little to guaran
tee that right.
people who don’t think it is inconsiderate to open en
umbrella in front of rows of other fans probably won't
be stopped by a harsh word or two from those fellow
fans.
The reasons behind the tougher drinking lews ago
honorable. Then have been many instances of people
being stopped and ticketed for drunk driving while re
turning from games at the stadium.
The Athletic Department hes said it wants to en
courage fans to act more responsibly . So they have cut
the amount of time allowed for tailgate patties from
five hours to four. The amount of time that beer will be
•old in the Alumni Tent has also been reduced.
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Charities deserve use of payroll deductions
A recent editorial in The Register-Guard
claims the United Way is under challenge
from groups that want to“horn in on payroll
deductions."
Why should the United Way be the only
charitable organization that county workers
can use payroll deductions for?
Several environmental groups chal
lenged this policy earlier in the year, caus
ing Lane County commissioners to eliminate
all charitable payroll deductions, including
those for the United Way. However, the
Lane County commissioners restored United
Way payroll deductions while outlining reg
ulations that exclude most other organiza
tions.
Other charities have gained access to
state and local government offices, and ac
cording to The Register-Guard editorial, this
is not good.
To be fair, there is nothing wrong with
United Way. The fact that 84 cents out of ev
ery dollar goes to services is a goal all chari
ty groups should reach for. But getting con
tributions from payroll deductions elimi
nates the need for a lot of administrative
costs such as fundraising.
The money raised by United Way stays
in Lane County which is also another posi
tive aspect.
But workers can decide for themselves
which charities they want to donate to
through payroll deductions. Just because
Tony Baker, editor and publisher of The
Register-Guard, is assistant chairperson of
this year's county drive, is no reason for ex
clusion of other worthy groups.
LETTERS
Shade trees
In your Aug. 7 issue. I read
about the work being done to
malign Agate Street between
13th Avenue and Franklin
Boulevard. The one question I
had as I was reading the article
was, are the trees on the medi
an strip going to he cut?
The article told me every
thing else a new pumping
station is being constructed, a
parking lot is being closed, traf
fic signals will t>e upgraded
and the islands and turn lanes
will la’ reconfigured.
It did not occur to me that
"reconfiguring islands " meant
cutting down the beautiful
trees which so often had
shaded me against a hot sun as
I stood waiting for the signal at
Franklin to turn. I saw these
trees for the last time on Thurs
day afternoon, Aug. 9, the day
before they were cut.
Given the concern that Fu
gene residents have about trees,
I find it interesting that your ar
ticle did not mention outright
what the fate of those trees
would be The omission almost
appears intentional. If it was,
then your publication is a self
serving propaganda sheet that
has no business being financed
by the tax payers of Oregon.
Robert B. I.offt
Eugene
Taxing
Five years research in Eugene
suggests religious influences in
our public universities, too
long unchallenged, extend to
adversely affect all aspects of
our society, including Supreme
Court justice, evidenced by the
recent “Equal Access" decision
that allows student organized
and led religious clubs on pub
lic high school campuses exac
erbating danger to satisfactory
achievement in mathematics
and science in American edu
cational systems. Theist reli
gions are inherently tyrannical
and anti-intellectual.
For three generations, uni
versities in Oregon and some
other states have allowed theist
religious encroachment onto
public campuses prejudicially
miseducating students either
by commission or omission.
At a recent lecture in Eugene.
Benton (ohnson. University of
Oregon sociology department
head and religious cult expert.
suggested a course, “Athe
ism." elaborating rationalist
understanding, would be a de
sirable addition to social sci
ence curricula, and affirmed
the espousal of skepticism by
many, if not most, University
academics. Johnson described
how North Carolina's governor
congratulated graduates during
his graduation long ago giving
each a Bible. Johnson, never
theless. asserted the old, false
theological "argument of uni
versal consent": “No culture or
society has ever been found
without some concept of dei
ty." providing classic evidence
how religious influence mis
leads people.
Alan Charles Kors in "Athe
ism in France, 1650-1729"
(Princeton University Press,
1990) documents many letters
from early Catholic missionar
ies to superiors in Europe de
scribing native tribes in North
and South America, as well as
"heathens" in China who had
no concept of "God," yet prac
ticed exemplary, moral, ethical
conduct among themselves and
with neighboring people.
White, Anglo-Saxon, protest
ant. professors dominating the
University of North Carolina
faculty were, evidently, less re
ceptive of Catholic sources and
scholarship than public institu
tions serving Catholic popula
tions in the north.
Religious bias undermines
the integrity of secular educa
tion in ways that amaze objec
tive observers. Let's not martyr
the intellects of citizens on the
altars of the superstition and
faith. Vote no! on ballot meas
ure 11 which provides tax cred
its for biased sectarian educa
tion.
Bert Tryba
Eugene
Selective birth
Dave Frohnmayer's televi
sion advertisements announce
he would be a good governor,
protecting Oregon's present
and future citizens.
However, he belongs to the
pro-abortion advocacy and does
not even support the desirable
parental notification proposal.
So, if elected he would be a
governor to those citizens se
lectively allowed to be born
The Oregon Citizen’s Alli
ance group, recognizing the
various trends that have eroded
the values in this country in re
gard to the merit and apprecia
tion of children, parenting and
human life in general, have
nominated a conservative
minded man to run for gover
nor. He is Independent Al Mob
ley. He will get my vote.
I will also vote for measure 8
which would ban abortion with
the three exceptions of rape, in
cest and to save the life of the
mother.
Betty Undley
Pleasant Hill
LETTERS POLICY
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