EDITORIAL
Time for Bush to
consult Congress
President Bush has upped the ante in the Persian
Gulf. Rather than rotating troops out of the Gulf when
240.000 more Americans are deployed there, he has
decided to leave all troops then? and add to the force.
While the rhetoric directed toward Iraqi leader
Saddam Hussein hy Bush has died down after last
week's election, the decision to increase the size of the
force is an ominous sign.
The larger force indicates the chances that offen
sive action will la* used have increased. It will be more
difficult —• and expensive — for the United States to
wait for economic sanctions to work when the size of
the force in the region has been doubled.
Hush says he wants to make clear to Hussefn that
the United States and other members of the United Na
tions mean business He seems to believe that having a
large enough farce to attack Hussein will accomplish
this
But d could be possible that Hussein is counting
on opposition to war by those in the United States, in
order to thw.n1 an American war effort. It is the same
tactic used by the North Vietnamese
Now more than ever it is time for Bush to gain
Congress' support lor his Middle Hast at tions Only by
going through the proper political channels will Bush
get the support that is needed in these situations
If he cannot get that support, then he should at •
copt tir.it middle-class and poor Americans don’t want
their sons and daughters dying in another questionably
motivated war
It is time tor Bush to toll the public the truth about
this conflict The rallying call he gave about standing
up to "naked aggression" worked well to get the ap
proval of Congress and the public, when Iraq first
stormed into Kuwait.
Americans, however, .ire not going to buy the;
"world's policeman" excuse if the c risis turns out to
be a long, drawn-out affair. As blood is shed, that ex
cuse will not motivate and bring the country together.
Bush needs to tell the public the true economic
motivations behind the: United State’s stance in the
Middle East and let Americans decide if the lives of
their youth are a fair price to pay for accessible ami
cheap oil
Move the bowl games out of Arizona
Reactions to Arizona voters rejection of
Martin Luther King's birthday as a state hol
ida\ by a 51- to 4‘t-percent margin have
reached the football field.
It the teams picked to play in the Fiesta
Bowl in Arizona object to the location, or
ganizers of the game have said they would
move the prestigious bowl to jack Murphy
Stadium in San Diego. NFL Commissioner
Paul Tagliabue has also said he would rec
ommend that the 1‘t‘l.t Super Bowl location
be moved from the Phoenix area.
This is .1 step in the right direction. Mar
tin Luther King certainly is one of the most
important figures in American history. His
accomplishments are as great as any other's
in the history of the world. The rejection by
Arizona voters is a slap in the face of every
thing for which he worked
King is not a role model and hero for
blacks only. His efforts to make positive
changes in a nonviolent manner should be
respected by all people. His dreams of a
world of equality for everyone cross all
boundaries of race and religion. He was a
person whom every American should adu
late. Celebrating his birthday is the least this
country can do to honor this man.
In fairness, the people of Arizona have a
right to say no to the holiday. And the peo
ple in the rest of the country have the right
to say no to Arizona.
Boycotting Arizona functions will send
the strongest message possible to citizens of
the state. What they did will not be looked
on favorably by the rest of the country and
they will feel the ill effects of their decision.
However. If citizens of Arizona want to re
main isolated, that is certainly their choice.
LETTERS
Editor's note: because of the
number of letters the hmerald
luis received regarding the
Grateful Dead controversy, we
w ill he unable to print them all
MV have chosen letters that we
believe typify the general ideas
expressed The remainder of
the letters will be forwarded to
the office of Dan Williams. I 'ni
versify vice president for ad
ministration. Hoorn fohn
son Hall
Double Dead
The ruling regarding the
Crateful Dead being banned
from Autzen Stadium because
it "doesn't re fleet positively on
the University" seems to me to
invoke the age-old maxim
called the* "double standard."
Contrary to that decision,
many people believe that Crate
fid Dead shows are positive,
and the far t that they have
played successfully and \Mth
little incident emphasizes that
fact
I was born and raised in Ore
gon, went to and graduated
from the University, and partic
ipated in the athletic program
while a student
The (hateful Dead concerts
certainly represent a different
cultural statement than a foot
ball game, but the similarities
as to the* size* of the crowd and
the number of problems seems
In lie about tlie same
Their type of dress, length of
hair and modes of transporta
tion probably differ from a font
ball game, but overall the quali
ty of entertainment. coopera
tion from fans and authorities,
and enjoyment of the event is
as least equal to the football
games.
I believe the University's as
sessment of the situation is a
little off-base, and that the spir
it and good times associated
with Urateful Dead shows, and
the efficient operations of these
events has been a major plus
for the University
The shows ret elved national
media coverage and the re
views were excellent, both on
the Dead and on the communi
ty.
In view of these positives. I
hope the University will ret (in
sider this ban.
David T. I.eiken
President
Double Tee Promotions
Not the Dead
Win .ire Dead fans being
punished for vet another exam
ple of violent t nminalitv on the
part of the Ureek system? San
dra Bennett, one of the toil
t erned citizens opposed to the
Dead, should realize her son
died a! a University fraternity
in tho same manner as a lot of
people who have enough mon
ey to snort a good portion up
their nose
In the presence of his "broth
ers" Bennett died not because
of the Grateful Dead, hut be
cause lie was ignorant to the
fact that not only does cocaine
make people obnoxious, it also
strains the heart If Bonnet
lived in a culture where knowl
edge and responsibility wore
valued instead of bigoted igno
rance. he might have stumbled
onto a "drug awareness" booth
on campus that would have ex
plained to him w hy only peo
ple with too much money do
coke Me may have been told
about more appropriate sub
stances for recreational use
such as marijuana By pretend
ing all drugs are one and the
same (evil), which intelligent
people know isn't true, and by
offering only one rhetorical
blurb, "drugs are bad," people
get hurt even killed It is ig
norance about drugs that kills,
and bigotry that oppresses.
Michelle E. I.oew
Freni h and Women's studies
Deadbenies
Not to blow raspberries at the
Dm k's vii torv over UCI.A. but
when was the last time the
goalposts were torn down or
women physically abused and
harassed at a Grateful Dead
concert ?
Dean Backus
Alumnus
Deadly cuts
As much as I am annoyed by
anti-drug hysteria dictating
what cultural events I may en
joy. 1 am more annoyed by the
probability that revenues lost
by banning the Grateful Dead
will be made up at the old
chopping block.
The usual victim will be the
humanities because these disci
plines are unwelcome in a com
modity-dominated society
While Dan Williams seems to
l>e concerned about what is
"central to our purpose as a
university.” it is clear he con
siders football to be at least as
central as science ami more
central than humanities
Autzen Stadium rarely fills to
capacity while our classrooms
are overcrowded to pay for
football scholarships. Despite
its enormous deficit the Athlet
ic: Department never has to con
sider making athletics strictly
intramural.
Yet, when the money runs
out in the general university,
the administration hacks away
at sections, classes and depart
ments in the humanities with
out mercy.
IjjI’s have the Dead play next
year and use the proceeds to
fund an African Studies pro
gram. it's time to kiss the
Athletic Department and its
deficits goodbye and start liv
ing up to our purpose as a uni
versity — education.
John Higgins
journalism
LETTERS POLICY
The Oregon Daily Emerald will attempt to print all
letters containing comments on topics of interest to the
University community. Comments must be factually
accurate and refrain from personal attacks on the char
acter of others.