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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 11, 1991)
EDITORIAL Police already have powers they need riic Oregon House passed a bill last week allowing police officers to stop, question and detain people tbe\ believe are about to commit a crime Hep. Kevin Mannix. I)-Salem. said be sponsored the bill because Oregon is the only state that won’t al low polite officers to approach and question .1 person who is about to commit a crime According to Mannix. under current law. it a po lice officer sees someone in a dark alley at 2 a m the officer c annot stop that person and ask what they're doing Wrong! Police officers already. have the right to stop uid question siispii ions individuals if there is re.i suitable cause Instead of enacting more legislation to nit lease polit e powers, the state should better define the word "suspicious" as it applies to behavior The\ should also im rease the training and education of po lite officers .is to police rights and limits when stop oing and questioning people Of course, for the entire system to work, citizens must better edui ate themselves as to their ow 11 rights it stopped by a police officer for "suspicions ai livity 01 lor appearing to he "about to commit a crime Everyone agrees police should be allowed to light t rime and criminals as effectively as possible And il all policeman were perfect crime lighting "robot ops" without human flaws such as rat ism or personal bi ases, this law would he fine But as the beating of Rod ney King in Los Angeles proved, the police department is made up human beings just like the rest of society. (Jiving police the right to (mil over anyone they think might be about to commit a crime is gist too much power Will suspicion mean die cop doesn't •hink people of color should tie in particular neighbor hoods after hours? Will people driving less expensive automobiles he tree to roam through the "good side ot town"? Why open up the laws so police could more easily justify such cases? The large majority of policeman are honest, up standing citizens. But in the interest of civil rights and fair treatment for everyone, they do not need more power House Bill 2921 just increases the ambiguity surrounding the policy of what constitutes suspicion. More importantly, in light tit the terrifying, yet en lightening. incident in Los Angeles, citizens should have some role in overseeing claims of police harass ment and abuse Instead of giving police more power, local governments should create a police review board an independent commission made up of citizens and police officers who would review police actions and policies. Unfortunately. HB 2921 does not address review hoards, just police powers. Some legislators have said the hill Inis a fair chance of becoming law . hut tin* hill still has to get through the Senate for approval Two years ago the Oregon Senate defeated .1 similar hill, .mil it should he ilcle.iled again I’Le mole power one group 01 l ives, the grealei ( Inlin e it li.is to .ilinse il Oregon DAILY EMERALD I’ » > H.n ► ujcnc t h ** W' • <411 14ft "II «... » , < «*•..-• **#o M !». ■* j- * «■ *• •»-* i ; ®* * * • ■» ■» <'■« [ » , I rn+ia ’ f I*'1 ' . ■ ** ‘'l» > ■»«■*''» ‘ I "<•; ’ ( •'.#-*>1 • ■ I • 1 lr,<P »*•’> '• • ’■ " <•» "•*' ,r '* * '*'« I '■ *vt » a ' '■ c As* * at**! rr\« I - •* ‘ *• , **' -''<• ? > #» t <Mo* A , c »V M*n*y..vy | I JtltM Po-.Ul fdtllX O'Apt** • I d<to* In T ow<* I *«» C/w *1, B>'*' »* f Him I dilw 1 dtlo-.* » jJ.'Uw Sp<xl« I <*»»©* I I dilo* taito* *!K*nA* N ** LETTERS POLICY The Oregon Daily Enwrald will attempt to print all letters i ontaining cniuments on topic s ot interest to the 1'niversity community. (Comments must lie fa* tuall\ a* * urate and refrain from personal atta* ks on the f.tun a* ter of others la'tters to the editor must be limited to no more than 250 words, legible, signed and the identiti* alien ol the writer must be verified when the letter is submitted The Emerald reserves the right to edit am letter lor length or stvle / Tf ( »C( \y A LETTERS What’d we do As responsible i itr/.eiis of .1 (ountry which lias just "won' a war I think, we need to know vsh.it we (ini to tins defeated 1 ountry of people Cnfortunate ly tins reijuires the exertion oi some effort com ern and saiti f 11 mg some personal time i know it's a (wither hut trust me. it s important It's important to know that the I ' S vs.is not as <k i urate as tliev had hoped with their "surgical' bombing of Iraq High schools marketplaces neighborhoods and Iraqi civil 1 a ns were the targets of many of our allied bomhs Why was this information not on the news7 for some rea son the I' S government did not think that the American people would like to hear about these atrtx ities Nevertheless tliev are a re.ditv for the survi vors We know about the tortured Kuwaitis hut most Ameru alls don’t know about the < harred Iraqis The entire C in If War is a tragedy and for A merit ans to treat it as a victory is blood thirsts and ignorant There is evidence of what we did to Iraq file journalist and former 1 s Attorney (leneral. Ramsev (dark made a video showing mm h of the destroyed 1 ivilinn life in Iraq This video is i ailed Now here to Hide bill has not been allowed on the major television networks t all vour local news stations and demand the airing of tins shot king dm umentary The film will also be shown on 1 am pus so look (or aunounr e ments You owe it to humamtv \ndrea Alirell K nglish Doesn't mix In response to the artit le Ameru ans friendly. not triends 1OIV Apr -1) book around this 1 nmpus and you vvill lind many different ethnii groups representing many nationalities Dutch, Her man. Afrit an Norwegian. Japa nese, Trem h. Chinese and Mexu an fhis campus is a veri table nest of ethnic and nation al diversity During my experienc es here in the United Status .is .1 japa ni'M1 t'xi hange student. 1 have attempted to enhanc e mv un derstanding of American rul lure i have found American i ulture to he fast mating offei mg one unique experienc e nttei another I have apprec iated crhservmg the lilierated spirit of Ameri cans and so have other foreign ers Foreigners are eager to in tegrate liberating prim iples with their own 1 ultural valves However, in opposition to our 1 uteri ultural attitudes, many American students have ethnoi outri< attitudes The C S has heen heralded as a "great melting pot" diverse ethnic groups integrating with eac h other t 'nfortunatelv, it has heen my experience that Americans, when given an opportunity to expand their know ledge of nth er countries simply turn their 1 heek.x the other way The purpose for exchange students is not only to broaden the mind of the foreigner, hut also to open up new opportum ties for the natives to meet in ternationals Instead of a melting pot. America is actually stew verge tables and me.it. using spar a in the same bowl hut always dis tinct and never one ka/ Negishi Psychology Rocked system The ret ent findings regard ing li t ( hair and ASl'() presi dential candidate Mike Colson add further turmoil to a system nic ked with strife. Our student government taies diverse problems, the least of which lieing the seven budget diffic ulties brought on by Measure 1) A11 ASUO exec u live plai ed in doubt by allega tions of unethical conduct will he ineffective in dealing with sue h problems An effective student administration must provide a united front rather than f.u tionali/ed politic al con troversy Thus, we feel that Colson should do the right thing and withdraw from the ASUO pres identiul race Placing greater pressure on an already tenuous situation. Colson will In- unable lo provide the leadership re quired to steer the University through these troubled times Colson should show the stu dents of the University that he really (ares Hy withdrawing he will place the future of the University above his own per sonal interests Frances Stern Dennis Westlind Students Prescription Someone altered a resident e hall restroom sign to read "vvomvn" instead of women, .md Teresa Knezek is upset [ODE, Apr t) She can't under stand why many womyn i house to ( hange the tradition al spelling to show that we are independent beings in our own right and not mere appendages ol men knezek resorts to sari asm un supported by logii to make her point She suggests that to he a feminist is to say. I am so weak and helpless in the tai e of the ( ruel oppression perpetual ed by our cruel, patriarchal so i iety that I demand spei lal treatment (and perhaps a heavy dose of prcsi upturn tranquiliz ers) to soothe my inflamed poll tit al sensibilities Those who believe this paro dy is simplistic or inaccurate must not try to argue knezek claims to have heard it all, and doesn't want to listen to any one with a different point ot view 1 know there's no point in de bating with the close minded knezek. so I won't try Hut 1 do have one suggestion for her She should consider changing her major to something besides psychology Or failing that, she should stay out of the mental health professions once she graduates It makes me really nervous to think that someone with the at titudes she professes might someday have the power to force prescription tranquilizers (or worse treatments') on those whose politic s she disagrees with. If she finds the existence of graffiti so profoundly upset ting, she might consider that lieing a janitor is an honorable job Betsy Brown Kugene