EDITORIAL
Application fee ban
deserves approval
All rental and application fees levied on prospec
tive tenants by property management companies
would be prohibited under a bill introduced in the
state House two weeks ago by Rep. Bill Dwyer. I)
Springfield.
This bill should have the full support of every col
lege student at the University who has spent time look
ing for a place to live. Most students and working peo
ple cannot afford the application fees. And when they
are non-refundable. it leaves I’MCs open to charges of
playing clients against each other for fee money.
It’s a landlord's market in Eugene Although most
PMCs claim they don't really profit from application
fees, one spokesperson did admit that her company
was in "business to make money."
A lot of PMCs do their credit checks through the
same credit company, so it is possible a client might
pay a fee three different times just to have a credit
check at one credit service agency. At an average of
about $20 an application fee. this can add up quickly.
Most PMCs are reluctant to disclose costs or profits
incurred through rental fees and credit checks. They
are obviously making money from fees But until re
porters are allowed to look at company books, there is
only speculation on how much.
Besides the application fees, the lack of affordable
housing in Eugene benefits property owners It allows
them to be choosy. Clients on the credit borderline can
be denied as a bad risk simply because there are so
many in line. A lot of people are labeled as credit risks
because of one bad experience, sometimes in disputes
with landlords.
Application fees an; discriminatory because poor
people and low-wage earners can barely afford to pay
rent Applying at three or four PMCs uses money net
essary for rent itself.
Everyone who has rented, or will he renting,
should support Dwyer’s HB23(»8 Call your representa
tive and voice your support to ban application fees
Scrap video arraignments
in Lane County’s courts
People an used of crimes in lame County may be
appearing on television from now on They won't be
on any of the local affiliates or cable, but they will be
seen on video screens in lame County Circuit Court
In .t new system being used by the court, defen
dants are arraigned by video camera while they remain
at the jail. The video arraignment system was designed
to help stretch the budged and prevent escapes The
county favors it because it will save money used to
transport defendants to the court house every Monday,
Wednesday and Friday. and minimize the chances for
escape.
But the system faces opposition from defense lavs
vers who say it dehumanizes the arraignment proce
dures, This opposition is well-founded. The Constitu
tion says the accused have the right to face their accus
ers While this is only an arraignment procedure anil
not a trial, people have the right to actually be present
throughout their own court proceedings.
Obviously an image of someone on .1 screen is not
as personable as the real thing, fudges and prosecutors
should have to face the real person whose fate they are
deciding. To dehumanize people in such important
proceedings is certainly harmful to their rights as citi
zens and as human beings.
It is also questionable that defendants will get full
use of their defense attorneys if they are not even in the
same room with them
One district judge has said the court system needs
to move into the 21st century. But if that means tram
pling the rights of the accused, and turning the system
into an invisible force by removing defendants from it.
then the 21st century will have to wait.
770 INEVITABLE PHASES
OF 7UE GULF WAR
-II
GROUND TROOfS
■ f ' r ' I r
UNDERGROUND TROOPS
LETTERS
Failing system
1 fail to set' why t'liui ation
and health and human services
programs were selei ted for se
vere ( ills, not only here but at
other major universities in On'
goo Furthermore. I wonder
why the possibility of eliminat
ing or shrinking less important
programs like the business
s< hools was virtually ignored
The United States is failing
to educate children, failing to
properly care for the elderly
and failing to come anywhere
close to dealing with poverty
and homelessness
Meanwhile our i apitalistii
system ilirei ts our resoun cs to
ward making money It allows
us to quietly sweep these "do
most it problems" under the
rug Certainly it must be more
important that we provide sbel
ter for a homeless family rathei
than leed the ei iiMium b\ pro
ter ling the business interests of
oil companies and weapons
manufar liners
Universities do not need to
produce young adults whose
r ontnbutions to Irettering sor it
ty will be questionable at most
The country does not need
more people searching for prof
it at any I osl W hat we do tier'd
are people willing to spend
their time tear hing and imprtn
mg the conditions of others
In making these r uts. Ore
goo's university administrators
have illustrated the disturbing
priorities of many people in
this country
Koalani Roberts
journalism
Bowl update
It's the rmi of the thin) quar
ter of the Oil Howl and the
score is tied. USA 27 and Iraq
27 The sands have reshaped
the desert The United States
lias placed in their spec ial
team, the Desert Storm Offense,
and have si ored three touch
downs this quarter, throwing
long bomb after long bomb
I've never seen anything this
persistent Throwing this well
beats Elway or Montana any
day.
Hut not all of the Iraq attack
was lost Scud "The Babe"
Bomber has begun throwing
short passes to any arbitrary
players from ambiguous points
behind tlic line, giving Iraq an
other touchdown The United
States countered this with their
Patriot position of the defense
While talking to both coat lies
earlier. Bush stated that this
would he a "quick sweep " But
this hasn't appeared so because
the players on the sidelines
have seen the College Bowl's
end and the Super Bowl wrap
up The players are also getting
confused; there are Iraqis stuck
in the United Stales' locker
room and vice versa
Coach Hussein asserted that
he will not back down in this
game however lung it t.ikes So
you nun see retirement centers
in this stadium in a while Ke
member the Saigon Bowl? That
was a long game 1 can t re
member who won Or was it
i ailed off due to extensive over
times'1 Isn't the limit five
\ ears?
With the United Slates Inn
mg the momentum, and Iraq
having the ball, the fourth
quarter of a tie game begins,
l)av id Mattison
PPPM
Smoke ’em
Ceorge Bush savs Operation
Desert Storm won't be another
Vietnam: "This time we light
to win
Does Bush seriouslv think
that is all we learned from Viet
nam? Mistakes made m Viet
nam being repeated in the Per
sian Cull are A refusal to l»e
lieve American power is limit
ed. that a United States over-re
liance on tei hnological super)
orit\ is misleading and often
unsui i essful and that by un
derestimating the enemy we be
lieve victory is always immi
Hush draws lessons from
Vietnam while fundamentally
misunderstanding what hap
pened in the first place. The
fat t remains that Vietnam was
an unwinnable war. It had
nothing to do with restrictions
on the military, protests at
home or media coverage How
can Bush say the military
fought with one hand tied be
hind its bat k when U S bombs
dropped on Southeast Asia ex
ceeded the tonnage used in
World War II? In addition to
carpet tiomhing Vietnam with
H-52s. the United States used a
whole panorama of high-tech
weapons ranging from napalm
and Agent Orange to fuel-air
bombs, all of which were un
successful United States in
volvement left 1.5 million Viet
namese civilians and military
dead and !>H.000 U S dead
plus 300,000 wounded. It’s un
reasonable to believe an outside
military force can bring peace
and stability to the Middle East
any more than it could to
Southeast Asia 25 years ago
Bush's claims of stopping na
ked aggression are a smoke
si reen to protect U S. oil inter
ests This is another lesson
from Vietnam: Never believe
everything our leaders say.
Douglas K. Hightower
(ournalism
Crude date
I would like to thank the par
tv or parties involved for the
(rude "Dream date" insert
placed in a few copies of the
I eh 1991 Oregon Oommenta
for I fail to understand wh\
you i hoose to espouse the
views of the College Kepubli
c ans via the Oregon Commnnta
for in consideration of the fac t
that two organizations are not
affiliated with each other In
addition, you show little re
sped for women or the situa
tion occurring in the Persian
(in If by poking vulgar fun at
both.
I am not a member of either
the College Republicans or the
Oregon Commentator, but in
your myopic attack you have
successfully alienated anyone
who may have shared your
viewpoint There are numer
ous, appropriate forums in
which to express your view
You. however, dec ided on a
poor choice
Clark Smith
Student
Sticky
Appreciating what sticklers
you journalists are for accura
cy. shouldn't you start publish
ing daily or strike your middle
name?
Charles O. Porter
Eugene