EDITORIAL
Actions, not words win
battle with hate crimes
Several recent incidents of hate crime have given
rise to a statement from the ASUO that it will not toler
ate such acts. Also, a new group called the Racial Ad
vocacy Croup for Equality has been formed to address
discrimination issues.
The ASUO should be applauded for taking such a
strong stance on the issue. And RAGE can be an effec -
tive tool for giving students input into dealing with in
cidents of harassment and discrimination on campus.
However, taking strong stances by saying you will
not tolerate something, and actually being able to do
something about it, are worlds apart. Only time will
tell if the ASUO’s statement is going to be. or can he.
bac ked up with actions.
RAGE also will face the same problem of bac king
up its strong words against hale crimes. RAGE should
concentrate on informational forums and working with
the media to bring specific cases of discrimination —
institutional or personal — to the attention of the press
and the community.
Many people who have never been victims of such
ignorant actions do not understand the seriousness of
them. Just like any other societal or personal problem,
you need to identify it before any changes can be
made. That is why specific cases of discrimination, ha
rassment and bigotry must be brought to the public's
attention.
Everyone on campus with knowledge of such
crimes should report them immediately to the authori
ties or the ASUO.
7
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^Americans
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flome Alone
LETTERS
Interested?
Art' you really a Duck?
I din I swim. 1 quack. I chuckle I am lazy I sun
bathe Sometime* I migrate. I know that 1 have no re
sponsibility to anyone other than myself I am Ameri
can-bred, college-educated and pure-bred.
Sometimes I am a paddle duck Drake Mallard
Sometimes I am a black duck Other times I am a div
ing duck hluehill. canvashack. goldenage
I really like those secluded country places ponds,
marshes, lakes, lake shores, bullrushes. lilly pads,
wildlife refuges and mountain marshes
Do you know you really are a duck?
Hint: Ducks don't work all the time and an* wild
Hating is a top priority.
I.ife would lie easier for me if I had others in my
flock Does this interest you? If it does. I am for now
Donald Moody
Kugene
Reasonable
I was intrigued by your editorial concerning the law
school [ODE. Feb. 13). I agree that "since the Univer
sity has the only public law school in the state, it
would Im> foolish to cut it completely." Below is my
reasoning
I .aw is a field which is vital to the maintenance of a
free society. In so lieing, it is imperative that all mem
bers of that society have a voice in the creation and in
terpretation of the law If just one class or section of
society has these powers, then law can Ik- used to en
slave the others (as with apartheid)
With this in mind, the importance of having rela
tively inexpensive (public) law schools is clear The
study and practice of law must tie open to as great a di
versity of people as possible in order to assure that all
interests will lie addressed. This can only tie accom
plished through cost-accessible law schools
Kyle H. Dukelow
School of l.aw
More than oil
In their letter to the editor [ODE. Feb 14) |im Bridge
and Johnathan Bernstein an- absolutely correct in as
serting that this war is about more than oil
Consider what might have happened had the United
States given the economic sanctions a fair chance to
work According to the World Fact Hook. 1990 (pub
lished by our C l A ), in 1088 agriculture accounted
for less than 10 percent of Iraq's gross national prod
uct. Iraq exported $12.5 billion in crude oil and re
fined products, machinery, chemicals and dates Iraq
imported $10.2 billion in manufactures and food. Iraq
was deemed "not self-sufficient in food output "
Twelve pen ent of Iraq's land is arable, but only A per
i enl of their land is irrigated Sim e the early ltIBOs the
government of Iraq has implemented austerity meas
ures lw< a use of war expenditures
Doesn't it seem likely that the economil sanctions
would have worked? After all. an army cannot fight or
operate without food We would have seen a peaceful
resolution to this conflii t And then what would we
have done to justify our continued military build up
since the end of the Cold War? Do the pro-peace sup
porters realize how hard this has been for our last two
presidents?
in a global economy it is extremely difficult, if not
impossible, for a country sm h as Iraq to survive for
very long when trade has been i ut off After all. it does
take a lot of resounes to maintain an army (like Hu
sein's) That is why President Bush had to act so
quickly
And I think that Bridge and Bernstein belong m the
Persian Gulf right now So do us a favor and go volun
teer. guys
|anet Borschowa
Eugene
Doesn't fit
The Emerald's letters policy states that "comments
must lie fac tually an urate and refrain from personal
attacks on the character of others ” I'm writing lie
cause Meredith Kaplan's letter {ODE. Feb. 2) appears
to violate this policy
Kaplan accused l)r Ron Wixman of the Geography
Department of: “Academic dishonesty." "shoddy
scholarship." a "soft belly" (perhaps this is a meta
phor) and of being a "false expert." Is this the sort of
correspondence the Emerald seeks when it asks writers
to "refrain from personal attacks"?
Kaplan says "Wixman has never lived in the Middle
Fast, does not speak a Middle Hastern language and
has never published on the Middle Fast in a scholarly
journal " To lie factually accurate. Wixman has lived
in Egypt. Morocco and Turkey He speaks Turkish and
has done scholarly research on Middle Eastern affairs.
I admit I'm not familiar with Wixman's publica
tions But how are they relevant? Are only those
who've published allowed to speak at this university?
More than 200 people felt Wixamn had something
worthwhile to say Surely our judgment of his "exper
tise” has some value.
If Meredith Kaplan disagrees with what Wixman
said on the causes of the conflict in the Middle East. I
encourage the discussion and I would applaud the Em
erald's decision to air that discussion But printing a
letter which seeks to defame is a disservice to the Uni
versity community. I am deeply disturbed at the Emer
ald's decision.
Alan Rice Osborn
GTE, Geography
Don't be fooled
In their letter to the editor [ODE Feb. 14). Jonathan
Bernstein and jim Bridge conclude that it is ignorant
of war protesters to believe that the Persian Gulf War
revolves "around materialistic gains, such as oil, rath
er than a war for democracy and freedom."
To this, gentlemen. 1 would have to say that if
you're looking for ignorance you need only to look at
each other Don't Ik* fooled by the promises of democ
racy; instead stay w ith the promises of capitalism.
It's not you or 1 who decides if America goes to war
or not; it's the upper class, that one percent of the pop
ulation in the United States that has the key to the po
litical gate They are the "special interests" that tell
the hounds what to do.
Oil fuels their money machine. Without it the pro
cess of the machine comes to a halt and their power
position is in jeopardy. Do you think the upper class
wants to lose their social status? I don’t think so.
As far as your conclusions on world peace, whose
world peace do you mean? Is it that “new world or
der" thing again, i.e. Bush's way of pacifying the
world through his own brand of tyranny and suppres
sion Please, let us not forgot Panama.
Lastly, to the question of freedom I would have to
say. yes. 1 do believe in freedom. The kind of freedom
that doesn't kill in the name of its political ideology or
world peace.
Don't let patriotism or nationalism cloud your eyes
or the issue.
lay B. Johnson
Sociology
A guy like this
Why did Saddam Hussein think he could get away
w ith invading Kuwait?
We knew that Iraq was having a border dispute with
Kuwait and on July. 25, 1990, according to the Seattle
rimes (Jan. lb). Ambassador April Glaspie received
the following written instructions from the secretary of
state, approved by the president, to deliver the follow
ing message to Hussein: " We will not become in
volved in a border dispute with Kuwait and we take no
position on this dispute." According to Ohio Repre
sentative Mary Rose Oakar, Glaspie is now incom
municado.
Why did President Bush give the green light to Hus
sein in July and then a few weeks later start calling
him a "Hitler"? Was Hussein set up by Bush?
Now Bush wants the Kmir of Kuwait restored to
power (status quo ante). The Emir is not the American
way of life — 70 wives, seven personal 747's, and sole
owner of Kuwaiti Oil Company with half of the oil
money going into his personal pocket.
Are America's sons and daughters to be sacrificed
for a guy like this? Men Rhode.
Willoughby, Ohio