EDITORIAL
Individual element
must be in system
The human element gone'' In America' The sup
posed land of the free and brave?
That’s what some judges are saving about federal
sentencing guidelines meant to make prison sentences
more understandable and more uniform.
The mandatory guidelines, which took effect in
November came almut as a result of rallying on
both sides of the political spectrum to better the legal
system's method of setting punishment.
Liberals pushed for change stating that heavier sen
tences fell disproportionately on lower income and dis
enfram hised individuals, while conservatives rallied
for longer more definite sentences
The strongest point these guidelines have going for
them is the fact that they
could eliminate unwar
ranted disparity whim
similarly situated offend
ers go into different ( ourt
rooms and end up will)
vers different sentences
Ilere. the sentence oh
viously depends more on
the mood and i ondition of
the judge/jtirs than the a<
tnal evidence In this ( ase,
guidelines i ould on I v
help m forcing the judge
to settle in .1 i (insistent
way.
In the end, the
supposed
security of die
guidelines aren't
quite the fair
trade when it
comes to
eliminating
individual case
evaluation.
However, the guidelines undeniably steal the Ini
man element from the judges' sentencing procedures
liven in the most similar persecutory setting, there .ire
variances Unless the judge's right to examine and re
gard each consideration is protected, the sentencing
procedure could turn into a inn hanistii rubber stamp
session
The guidelines have also i logged up both trial and
appellate court proceedings because each detail of the
case must be evaluated in guideline ese Sentences
must now be based on a complex formula, including
the seriousness of the crime and the offender's i riminal
history.
In the end, the supposed security of the guidelines
isn't tjuile the lair trade when it comes to eliminating
individual case evaluation (.ranted, every American
judge doesn't brandish the traits necessary to fairly
evaluate each case. Many are biased in areas ranging
from race to gender to income generation; some are
crooked themselves.
It's understandable these guidelines were born to
make the judicial system more fair. But to do so simply
by slapping on a new set of rules doesn't answer the
problem.
Oregon Dial\
Emerald
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LETTERS
Not given
The linuTuld m i• n11 y printed
an interesting letter about r«»[>«•.
tint you need not be ,i ft>(i>ail<> to
be raped At I t I yvas raped
I In- loi .il polu i- laughed nif
out of their olfit <■ .mil I'v e
Mini' lift'd on thfir half list
Something is .is taken (null me
nut olffri-tl. nut given (thf guy
tiiil not make it h.u k hum Vift
mini .ilivt')
The important wort! is given
.is in permission. not taken,
.is in t If.ii i titling (tiff I.inning
li.i'l or strip mining Aren't
thfsf signs of rapii7 A funny
thing about it is tlif Uihlf tails
it thf original sin I hf apple
was taken not given Isn't capi
talism desi ribed as taking all
you t an get7 bunny. isn't it
Steven Reiter
Eugene
Relief
I am writing in response to
recent criticisms ol the I'niver
sity s Measure '> niferentiutn
1 have watched in the past
year as ASliO spending habits
have tome to light flexible
payrolls, tens ol thousands ol
dollars in stipends, and thou
sands more earmarked lor stall
retreats 'l l ! somehow we still
manage to he spending 111 the
red lor the c urrent budget Offi
cials and comptrollers have
proven they have more money
than they knoys what to do
with, while, at the same time,
assuming students' resources
are limitless and that they i an
continue to dip deeper into our
pockets
Now y\ e have a chain e lor re
lief I'he referendum sponsored
by Don King and Holly Fergu
son would cut the ASl'O budg
i-1 bv 10 percent Critical
groups claim their services
would have to Is- < ut, but their
real i out ern is that their (are
tree spending would he cur
tailed Willi enrollment figures
going down, lees will lie going
up, unless vs I vote olherw Ise
i’ass the referendum and
elect h mg and Ferguson
Matthew Chism
Finance
Cry babies
I would like to take issue
with the lutirrulJ article of
April H entitled (lavs angr\
with movie portrayals.' As a
gav man, I led guv people un
ion sensitive when seeing
themselves m unflattering situ
utiuns in films or in the media
We are barely out of the closet
.is a group, therefore, many of
m\ gav brothers and sisters
would rattier see themselves
presented only m positive rela
tionships and situations How
ever, the real world of movies
doesn't work that wav, and un\
group could protest Holly
wnod s stereotyping and gencr
uh/utKins
Hie lesbians find the bisexu
ality and image of women as
killers in Dasir Instinct repug
nant Well, it is repugnant
However, it is a well-construct
ed picture and a well-made
thriller 1 have asked my
straight friends if. after seeing
the film, they are affected in
their feelings about lesbians,
and they say, "No, it's just a
story If I were a police detec
tive. using the same logic us
angry gays," I could protest
the movie's image of detectives
as killers, drunks and cocaine
addicts with no sexual morals
When we as a gay cornrnuni
LETTERS POLICY
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l 'Diversity community.
Letters to the editor must be limited to no more than
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length or style.
tv iirc no longer threatened by
our portrayal in films, then we
have been assimilated as part of
this culture The guv communi
t\ is as diverse as the straight
r (immunity we are artists,
loggers, dor tors, ministers, drug
dealers, prostitutes vve are
good and had. living normal,
productive lives as well us lie
mg m prison
I'm tired ul my guv commu
nity's "cry-baby” attitude when
we are portrayed in less than
favorable Iighl
Mike Walsh
Eugene
Suck up
Are you serious? I can't be
lieve what I'm reading As we
.ill know, student government
will undergo elections soon,
and the candidates must lx- get
ting anxious But yesterday, a
flyer was handed out to the
greek system that blew my
mind
Don King and Holly Fergu
son. one of the four teams run
fling for the ASUO executive,
tried to use scare tactics to at -
cumulate votes I'm appalled
Do they think the greek system,
or anyone else for that matter,
is naive or iriser ure enough that
they would have to listen to
warnings from them7 Warnings
claiming that every single other
candidate is against them?
Come on now Running lor
ASUO office is for the lienefit
of all of us as a whole I have
seen other candidates show
their promising intentions to
ward greeks and everyone else
equally King and Ferguson —
do you think the greek system
is not intelligent enough to see
vote begging through brown
nosing?
I am very much in support of
all the University organiza
tions. hut what worries me is
why any candidate who wants
to run my ASUO would be so
busy writing these kind of fly
ers that thoy may be overlook
ing the truo importance and
reasons behind running an area
of the University student gov
ernment.
Tina Lavy
Student