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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (May 21, 1992)
EDITORIAL Spector of child abuse Is everyone’s problem It seems every day. another one happens. A de fenseless baby either killed or maimed, a victim of child abuse. It would be difficult to come up with a more hei nous crime than that of killing an infant. Last year in thd supposed Land of the Free. 1,338 children died from child abuse — half under the age of one. Lone County is not immune from the epidemic. In the past 14 months, four children were killed and an other horribly injured. Need more evidence? Between 1985-91. Oregon avoraged 15 child abuse deaths per year. In 1992, that number has already been reached, and we haven't even gotten to the halfway point. What is going on? It seems the more focus put on child abuse and the more wc understand the psychological and envi ronmental reasons for it, the more it happens. Most likely, as we get a deeper awareness of the problem, we’re finally recognising the true amount of child abuse cases. There aren't necessari ly more occurrences — we iust aren’t passing the blame off on ’’accidents" or uny such nonsense any Blaming It on a small segment of the population/ as soma am apt to do, Is pointless, careless and Just plain stupid. So what can bo done? Is more governmental ovcrwutch needed? Is Increased bureaucracy the an swer? No. Increasing the system would make it more un wieldy than it already is. What needs to happen is more communication between the schools, police and sociul workers — the people who traditionally deal with child abuse cases. The symptoms of a potential abuser are quite easy to sec. Poverty, alcohol or drug abuse, and a history of domestic violence are just some of them. Put people in stressful situations, add the pressure of a newborn child, and disaster might not bo far behind. But child abuse happens regardless of social strata. It happens among everybody. Blaming it on a small segment of the population, os some are apt to do. is pointless, careless and )ust plain stupid. As an individual, take a pro-active stance regarding child abuse. If you see a suspocted case, report it to the authorities. If you have children and know you have a temper, seek counseling before it becomes a problem. Recognize your own shortcomings and see that they don't impact your children. In addition, pressure the local, state und national governments. Convince the politicians this is an issue that needs to be addressed. Let them know if they do nothing about it. they won't be politicians much long er. Oregon Daily f» O ftO« V‘,3 iuuINf • HI ..Ofc V id Tha Oagon Daay E mar ad • puDOahad daay Monday through f nday dunng ina tcftoai «•» and Tuaaday and Thund* dunng tha aomrrvar by lha Oagon DaJy E mar aid PuWahmg Co Inc. ai tha Unwanay ol Oagon. Eugana. Oagon Tha Emarau oparaaa nOapandanOy ol *» Unwaraay a*h oBmaa at Suaa TOO oltna Ero Monona Unon and a a mampar ol dia Aaiocaad Praaa Tha E mar aid a prvaa proparty Tha unlawlul ramoual or uaad papan a proaaaaaM byiaa sssi: OrapMraCdHw twmlnwm Mw Catfaa OtnM E«MH E«H<x JaM Pmiay Sparta Uaoi layna Lakaka* In Touch Edkoi MtfM EO’Oi Jana Barg tuna uounan DonPatars Jaka Barg kkka f ataman S»t<*ttl ao«ernm*nt/AclMUM: Dmatyn Trapp* Community: Tim N*t* High** Education: Administration: Cam* Oannaai Faaturaa Lu fciliagan Raportma: Tammy Batay. Mandy Baucum. Da»«J Chmoonnoau. Jayson JacoOy Rnms Jans tan. Oam Koappmg. Kirawn Luca*. Hop* I*Hmh CoMan Pon*g Copy Edaor*: Dan Claim. Fmd Magnv Paul MMwrson. Snatta Man*. Kathy Snanoc* Photographer*: Sol Ha run an. SAcham Smndttr Darkroom Technician*: Simon* Bon*. Know* Gtangm. Mas Mono. Enc l>t><3**«. Todd want Advoniaing: Shann Barvmx Joan BrMay. Saw Dana. Loan* F*. D*«J Gauntiaa. Jm« t*r Huctun*. Tam l**ch. Calfwnn* Roy*. Duttm Stadal. Vdu ToMn. Sharon Vai CtMsamd: Peggy McGmn. Ilamgrr Man Curt* Snw* lormuo ■uamaaa: Kathy Carton*. Stpmvoor Judy Cormo*y Production Ingnd Who*. Production Coantrmk* Conn* Fnm. Susan Head. Dm McCoc*. Stacy HAtehwi. J*nn.*> Round. J*nrv*r Sman. Ann* SMphanson. J*m*r V*w C*n*ral Manaow Judy Rwdl A4v«tMng Ouwtai ftym H Coppadg* Nnnmn-J4MSU ■min ill OflKi-***-M1J Production Mmmqm Men#* hom Dtoydoy AdvortMtng_144-J7I2 CUoodtod A d»ortitnfl-XMM1 1 MY PERFORMANCE \NA£> MISERABLE TWS SEMESTER NEVERTHELESS, I DEMAND S mT MY COMPENSATION BE AN A-PLUS. 1 1HE mm Of k FUTURE CORPORATE CEO OPINION Perot’s buffets win hands down THE FINE PRINT BY DON PETERS For (ho post (hroo months, everybody has Inson so se rious. It's election time, and all que ries run to the same tune What's your stance? What do you think about this issue? And so on All are valuable questions, but there comes a time when the seriousness needs to stop. Election night, for instance. I really do love politics. To mo, election night is like a gi gantic sporting event without the Astroturf. Drama, conn from-bohind victories, cheering crowds. So where else would I be on Tuesday night except down at the Lone County Fairgrounds, scoping out the election scene. And while my follow Journal ists (worthy, one und all) were busy usking the important “is sue questions," I had a little more time to focus on another aspect of election night: The food If you've never been down to an election headquarters, I'll give you a piece of advice. Co hungry. Some of the spreads the candidates put out wore un believable. Sumu went for the basic pop corn and chips while other in dulged in cheese squares, fruit or vegetables. And I, with noth ing bettor to do. graded the can didates on their food selection. So without further chit-chat, hero are the First Annual Peters Flection Night Snack Awards: First Place — hands down to tho Ross Perot campaign. Those people went all out. renting one of tho side rooms off of tho con vention hall. A voried buffet spread, pleasing to eye und pal ate. It must have been expensive I asked Jim Halo, one of the lo cal coordinators for the Perot campaign, if good ol' Ross had kicked In for the grub. "No." Hole said. "Perot hasn't spent a dime in Orogon VVu just wunled to have a party to get to know each other.'* And if Perot gets on the bal lot in November? "We'll bo back," Hale said. A small suggestion, Ross: Texas barbecue. $100 million can go u long way. Floor Award — City Council candidate Tom Slocum. The Slocum campaign went healthy, opting for fruit over deli slices. Was the healthy approach a campaign themo? "I don't think so," Slocum said. "But after climbing up and down hill and dale during the campaign, wo needed healthy food." Twina — State Rep. Sam Dominy and state Sen. Bill Dwyer. The two camps had identical food choices — cheese, crackers, chips and sal sa Coincidence, collaboration or conspiracy? Is this the start of another political scandal? Catergate, perhaps? Mike Dubick, Dominy's cam paign manager, denied any connection with the Dwyer group. "We just went conservative," Dubick said. Conservative? A Democrat In Lane County? "Only on the money we spent," Dubick said. Others were more pragmatic about thuir choices. County commissioners Jerry Kust and Jack Roberts, who both won re el action, said campaign work ers had picked out the food. "I'm at the mercy of my han dlers in food matters," Roberts said. “How much can you got for a S100?" Rust said, defending his fruit, chips and salsa spread. The pass-it-off-on-the-cam paign-workers strategy was used a lot Mayoral candidate Mary Burrows (popcorn, chips, cookies) said if it had been up to her, "we would have had more cheese." "I don't know how to choose food," she admitted. "1 leave the big decisions like that to Tm not a chip person because then you have to bring dip, and It Just goes on and on.’ — Debra Ehrman candidate othors." Dobra Ehrman, running for district court judge, was the only candidate to break away from the chip rut She brought pretzels. "I’ve always been a pretzel fan,” she said. 'Tm not a chip person because then you have to bring dip, and it just goes on and on." Some candidates didn't both er with food. Mayoral candi date Izzy Whetstine passed out buttons, not brie. "I came down here aftor din ner." Whotstino said. "1 just didn't want to eat any more." However, I didn't rely solely on my tastes to hand out the awards. After a careful screen ing process, I was able to find two impartial observers and askod them to make a “best food" choice. "Ruth Bascom,” said outgo ing mayor Jeff Milter. "Sne definitely had the best salsa." Chris Chandler, a reportor for KVAL-TV. said she hadn’t eat en anything, but from a purely visual stance, stale Rep. candi date Cynthia Wooten was the winner. "Hers was the best," Chand ler said. "She brought cheese and crackers. That whole chip thing-not." And there you have it. Don Peters is an editorial editor for the Emerald.
