EDITORIAL
Roberts refreshing
change in politics
II is not often that a candidate comes along who
has remained relatively untouched by hard-ball poli
tics. Barbara Huberts is that rare exception
Huberts' grass-roots campaign has recently taken
off to catch front-runner Dave Frohnmayer because of
her ability to speak for the people. Koberts is far from
the typical career politician. She began her political ca
reer because she wanted to change something that she
believed was wrong. She did not got into politics as a
career move. Her non-politician's attitude could prove
to be her greatest asset in the governor's office
The willingness to put for
ward a plan that she believes
in, even if it is politically un
popular, has already become
apparent. She caught a lot of
heat when she came out in fa
vor of Ballot Measure 4's pro
posal to close Trojan nuclear
power plant early in her campaign.
Her willingness to come out with new ideas and
worry about the political fallout later will make her a
dynamic governor who gets things done.
Frohnmaver, Roberts' main opponent, is a hard
working. bright individual. But he suffers from the di
lemma that afflicts most consummate politicians, lie is
a "thinker" rather than a "doer Before making any
decisions he carefully weighs what the public's re
sponse will he. and how' that will effect his career.
Frohnmayer’s cautious, personal-career-saving atti
tude will prevent him from making the strong and con
troversial steps necessary to reform public school and
higher education funding, properly tax relief or timber
crisis solutions.
Roberts' atypical political attitude a'so means she
is more accountable and willing to take responsibility
for herself and her subordinates. When mistakes her of
fice bad made almost forced most of the ballot meas
ures from this year's election. Roberts admitted respon
sibility and said she would do whatever it took to rein
state the measures, no matter what the political reac
tion.
Rather than worrying how each decision she makes
will effect her re-election bid in four years. Roberts
will do what she thinks is right for Oregon. This kind
of refreshing freedom from poll-reaction politics is
what Oregon will need to make the tough decisions
necessary to mend our current problems.
asMSSR.
Space needed for ‘none of the above’
The anti-incumbent hysteria has not
spread to the Line County Commissioners
races this year.
Three of the four races consist of incum
bents running unopposed. Elli Dumdi. Steve
Cornuechia and Jack Roberts will all be
elected because they have no opposition on
the ballot.
This presents a dilemma of what voters
can do in a single candidate race in which
they don't like the candidate.
All races, even those with more than one
candidate, should have an extra punch-hole
at the bottom of the voting card — one that
says "none of the above."
Voters should feel confident about vot
ing for a candidate. Hut currently voters can
only show disgust by leaving a certain race
blank. This implies that voters don’t care.
But a no-vote would distinctively imply
displeasure for one candidate or a whole
slate If candidates running for office unop
posed received more no-votes than ves
votes. than it’s time for new candidates.
No-votes are listed on ballots in Europe
an government systems. Also, heads of state
can be removed by elected bodies with a
simple vote of no confidence.
While we have recall initiatives in Ore
gon for elected officials, it takes question
able or illegal acts to rile people enough to
recall such representatives. We have no re
course to deal with basic incompetency of
representatives.
Anil it takes a really major screw-up for
elected officials to impeach or censor a fel
low legislator. The voters need a better
method of supporting candidates’ positions
and agenda once elected.
If enough elected liars, cheaters and
pork-barreling swindlers received no votes
on the ballot, it would encourage more hon
est candidates to run. And get elected.
LETTERS
Take the class
I'm beginning to l*elieve that
no woman should leave this
campus without taking Women
Studies tot It is imperative
that women understand what
fortes in our culture create a
climate in which rape is per
milted to happen
In a letter [ODE. Oct. 22). a
woman's advice to other wom
en regarding catcalls was “ig
nore it If you can't, you're
weak.”
Women themselves must un
derstand that catcalling is a so
cial practice that treats women
like ohiects It allows men to
view women as an object and it
makes women feel unsafe and
vulnerable Catcalling is a brick
in the foundation of a rape en
vironment.
Victim-blaming. making
women feel as if they're at fault
for feeling unsafe in a country
where one out of (/lire women
gets raped, is another brick in
that foundation
Please women, let's educate
ourselves about our situation
We need to help eai h other, not
< all each other weaklings It's a
mutter of survival
|o Trigilio
(•raduatc philosophy
Satan’s behind it
Here's a response to |im
Me Rover's letter [1)1)1-. (ht
22\. regarding Mike Russell's
"Hudson Van Huron" comit
Next term, why not try a new
class: English it 05 "Satire
A thermonm lear pocket pistol
designed to burn fields? Yeah.
th.it sounds like a frightening
new trend to me I think I smell
Satan behind this one
No doubt |esse Helms, that
glorious bastion of freedom and
decency, will be doing some
thing to stop this evil soon
unless, that is. Hudson plans to
use the pistol to light up ciga
rettes.
McEver. please find a genu
ine problem to address, a de
serving person to insult I
would further request that you
find out what it is like to lie
gratuitously ridiculed and in
sulted before you start doing so
to others
Russell, keep up the good
work I really enjoy your strip
■mil 1 hope you won't Irt this
pelt v i arpmg laze \ou
Finn |nhn
Knglish
Vote to recycle
As national environmental
l('.i(ii*rs, we art* writing to ex
press our strong support for the
Oregon Recycling Ad Meas
ure (i on the Oregon ballot this
November Passage of Measure
ti would represent a major envi
ronmental breakthrough that
might well have national impli
cations for recycling policy in
the 1990s.
Measure ti is a path breaking
initiative because it will reduce
packaging waste one of our
most serious problems today
at the same time it will create
new markets for recycled mate
rials.
With ( urbside programs in
creasinglv constrained by the
lack of markets for collected
materials, the key rei v< ling
( hallenge of the -<H)s will lie to
increase industry to use more
recycled material in pat kaging
The Oregon Recycling Act
meets that challenge.
We understand frum cam
paign finance filings that >10
percent of the money raised to
oppose Measure t> has come
from national companies, pri
marily in the chemical and
plastics industries, and that
money is being used for televi
sion ads that claim Measure (i
will ban thousands of products
and damage public health.
The only function of false
claims like these is to mislead
and i onfuse people about a rea
sonable recycling law. We
know because we face the same
tactics from the same compa
nies in their efforts to block en
vironmental progress at the na
tional level. We encourage Ore
gonians to separate fact from
fiction and vote yes on fi.
Members of Clean Water
Action. Environmental Action
and eight other environmental
groups
Misinformed
Regarding vour no on 8 and
10 editorial (Ol)k'. Oc t. 2it)
It's obvious the editorial
writers attend classes here .it
the University they're gross
ly misinformed.
I have included some reading
materials to try to rec tify this
sad situation, but knowing that
ignorance fails to see itself. 1
doubt it w ill get read
You want voters to “leave
the decision-making to the per
son who is going to be affected
by those decisions.” That's
hardly possible when unborn
children are unable to vote.
The only “choice” they get is
to die by an unspeakably horri
ble mutilation or acid-like solu
tion burning and poisoning
them.
Hut I suppose that's Ok since
you never actually see what
happens.
How' does it feel to regurgi
tate whatever you have been
told instead of searching for the
truth
Deborah Martin
Student