EDITORIAL
I
Roberts picked the
lesser of two evils
In an expected move Gov. Harbara Roberts en
dorsed a proposed $(>()() annual tuition sun harge for
students attending state colleges next year
Although it was had news lor students. Roberts
had no other alternatives It would have been nice to
hear her stand up for students and sa\ she could not
support the proposal, but it would have done more
harm than good The tuition sun harge is expected to
raise S.'Ui million oi the S74 million the higher educa
tion system has to < lit from its budget
Without the sure harge. even more programs would
have to be slashed from universities and colleges
throughout the state Higher education would be crip
pled and possibly sent into an irreversible downward
spiral as fewer and fewer students would want to at
tend Oregon schools
Until public higher education is funded in some
way other than property taxes, the sur< barge is the
only way out So plan on forking over an extra $200
per term plus a proposed 0.7 percent tuition increase
Next year college students will be asked to shoul
der a financial burden no students in the past have
been saddled with It is certainly unfair That is the
point students must make with legislators and voters of
this state
Youth’s hair is none
of school’s business
It is hard to believe that hair length is still c ontro
versial in some parts of the* United States Hut tor a lit
tle four year old boy lacing a trauma most of us never
will, it has become a battle for his public education
rights.
Joshua Care ia. .1 four-year-old Texas youth, missed
two days of school last week after officials contend that
his hair violated the public sc hool’s dress code. Regu
lations prohibit students from having hair longer than
falls below the c ollar.
loshua has a ponytail, the kind kids wear nowa
days. with short bangs and hair c ropped c losely above
the ears 11is hair hasn’t c aused any hygiene problems,
but it does raise 1'irst Amendment questions His par
ents aren't trying to cause- trouble or make a political
statement by not having their son's hair 1 ut. they made
a vow to Cod to let it grow until Joshua is cured of can
e ei
! lw ( hild's attornev is seeking .in exception to the
rule. c I.inning loshua's hairstyle is protei ted as reli
gious expression under the (^institution
It's ()K for si hunts to have dress codes to the extent
that students are wearing clean clothes and have
hathed bodies However, in a publii school system
there is no room for am restrictions covering dress or
appearanc e not harmful to the other students As long
as |osluia’s appearanc e does not interfere with the edu
cation of others, school offic ials have no right to tell
him how long it c an be
America is supposed to be the great melting pot of
people and cultures No one group of administrators
should decide what is and is not proper appearance lor
attending a publicly funded school.
It's too bad Carnahan Elementary School officials
i an t have a little heart. If they are going to try and en
force such discriminatory rules, at least this four-year
old boy with cancer deserves a little slack
Who knows what effect this situation will have on
Joshua? Television cameras and reporters have inter
viewed him about his plight, and he realizes it has
something to do with the length of his hair
Mis mother said that because Joshua's health im
proved dramatically after making the vow. she will
abide by her promise until he is completely cured.
Making promises to Cod is not an everyday procedure
for challenging public school regulations, but any ac
tion that might humanize the school officials in Pharr,
Texas is worth a try
PARDON ME
7
MIG-HT I mauiRE
mi RE TO F\ND
A MARINE OR TWO?
Sorry.
i don't Know
V ii.fl
WELL,FOR A SMART BOMB
tou'RE RflitlR SlilPID! |
oH.fEAH? FOR F»U FIRE
tOU'VE eoTA LOUSY ,
'JWpATT'i
LETTERS
Choice office
As <i co-director of Students
for Choice, the campus pro
choice organization, I feel as is
il is inv responsibility to re
sponci to Matt Kniric h's letter
[()!)[■:. Peb H)
Students for Choice shared
an office- with the- College Re
publicans during fall quarter.
Ur had put bumper stic kc-rs on
the office door urging students
to "vote no on H and It)
There were no bumper stie kc-rs
with the "yes on H and 10"
message posted on the dour, as
prune h suggested
The issue of choice is a non
partisan one While the Nation
al Republic an party platform is
anti-choice, the state platform
takes no position on the- issue
We received a great deal of sup
port from the Ich al chapter of
Republicans for Choice during
elec lions
I am not attempting to ad
dress the other issues in Pru
ne h's letter, but rather to point
out the diversity of support that
the- choir e issue has m this
c ommunity
Sara Stankev
Co-direc tor. Students for
(choice
Valuable
Not withstanding vour obvi
ous lai k of awareness i om ern
ing the respectability of the law
si hool. I found your editorial
on the American H.ir Associa
tion situation appalling (ODE,
Feb lit)
Granted the law school cur
rently has financial difficulties,
as do now all the departments
at this university, yet your dis
regard for the high quality legal
education still being received
by many at the school shows an
editorial board with horse
blinders on. as well as display
ing a complete lack of sensitivi
ty to the dilemma the entire
University faces I find it horri
fying that a student organiza
tion such as the Emerald dares
to make value judgments on the
viability of one program over
another.
fohn McDonald
haw student
Measurements
I am shocked by the apparent
callous disregard for our young
people This "emergency" is a
farce designed to force Orego
nians to vote for a sales tax
after which time. I'm sure suffi
< lent money will he "found" to
continue your education.
The Governor's 1991-1993
Recommended Budget calls for
more funds to l»e spent All of
the hoopla is obviously a care
fully orchestrated hoax Gener
al Funds call for $750 million
more, reflet ts an increased
growth of $H52 million, etc...
etc I would suggest you order
a copy of the 1991 1993 Recom
mended Budget from the Kxec
utive Accounting Division, 155
Cottage St N F . Salem. Ore
97310 and draw your own con
clusions.
Don't take my word for it
or anyone else's for that matter
Velma Hartwig
Eugene
Number’s up
1 would like to (jet a list of
phone numliers of all the hand
wagon war supporters that
have written in praising the
war and "president" Hush, so 1
ran give them a rail when I get
drafted I am sure they would
lie happy to take my place sinc e
they have been so enthusiastic
about kic king Hussein's butt
I guess I would lie doing
them a favor by letting them go
m my place, they would be get
ting the chance to show their
support in the most direct way
possible. If you support the
war. light it yourself. Leave me
out of it
I)uug fames
Architecture
No respect
Hey Mike Russell, Hudson
Van Curnn is entertaining. I
like it Hut turning Bill the Cat
into a pseudo farmer is not
|ODE, Feb. 8). There is a lot
more to fanning than milking
cows, spitting chew and sitting
around the shop making fun of
college students who draw car
toons So please, show them a
little bit of respect
Bill t anning
Architecture
Remove blinders
Not everyone who suffers is a
victim; not every victim is en
tirely innocent While our
troops may suffer, it is the Iraqi
people who are their victims.
While Israelis may he victims
of Iraqi bombings, they are very
guilty of oppressing Palestini
ans for two generations The
absence of pure black and
white issues in the Persian Gulf
War policy and participants,
does not. however, excuse us
from making ( lear. unequivocal
moral judgments
While I may empathize with
the fear, loneliness and ((infu
sion of young U S. soldiers in
the Middle Hast, I cannot "sup
port our troops" .is instruments
of war. trained and willing to
kill — and currently doing just
that
i value the iiieals expressed
by our Constitution and Hill ol
Rights. 1 cannot adhere to a
blind patriotism that presses
me to uncritically support .1
president whose polit ies I find
not just ill-advised, but racist,
elitist, arrogant and blood
thirsty.
Our founders' sought to en
sure that open debate would al
ways counterbalance any po
tential autocrat's despotism.
While I am appalled by the
roiling bigotry of some that
have turned the words "peace
lover" into an epithet, I am
equally distressed by those who
profess to agree that this war is
wrong and yet, for the sake of
"community consensus," re
fuse to name the evil and op
pose it.
Barbara A. Keller
Alumnus, Architecture
LETTERS POUCY
"Hie dngon LMly Emerald will attempt to print all
letters containing comments on topics of interest to the
University community. Comments must be tactually
accurate and refrain from personal attacks on the char
acter pf others.
1,1,11 . " >1
Monday, February 18, 1991