EDITORIAL
Legislature facing
more than budget
Monday marked the opening of the 1993 l.ogisIa
live Assembly, which promises to be one of the most
biting — and pivotal — sessions in memory
It is no secret the Oregon Legislature will lx- faced
with filling the $1.3 billion hole in Oregon’s 1993-95
general fund budget. In addition, the public has reacted
negatively to suggestions of a sales tax. leading many
lawmakers to emphasize budget cuts over lax in
creases.
Exactly bow those budget problems will bo solved
is up in the air. One thing, however, is certain: It will
require a strong leader and a great decal of compromise
on both sides.
both the House and the Senate are facing interest
ing circumstances The Senate is controlled by Demo
crats. Yet members have been unable to replace Senate
President John Kitzhabor splitting their votes evenly
l>etweon Sen. Grattan Kerens of Eugene and Sen. Joyce
Cohen of Lake Oswego.
Taking the time to pick the right leader is a wise
idea. Given the problems before this Legislature, any
body less than a workaholic will probably not be able
lo got the )ou aone mu
there is also something to
Im said for firm and imme
diate decision making.
Senate members need to
unite behind one person
and follow that person's
load. If the Senate cannot
agree on a loader, it will
be nearly impossible to
agree on a budget.
The Legislature also
has a sizable freshman
If the Senate
cannot agree on
a leader, it will
be nearly
impossible to
agree on a
budget
class. Of its 00 members, 26 are new. Many lawmakers
will not know their way around the system, and some
may lack the pars pin live and experience to act strongly
in the state’s l>est Interests.
On the positive side, however, this freshman class
was not around for last year's pathetic backbiting epi
sode, which ended up killing Barbara Roberts' sales tax
proposal before it even got to the voters. New memtmrs
must learn from the old members' mistakes.
A third factor promising to shake up the session is
GOP control of the Mouse. The GOP has shown a fond
ness for budget cuts rather than tax increases, much to
liberal Democrats’ dismay. A split may (>« arising be
tween the two bodies that could last through 1993. In
light of Roberts’ frustration with the Legislature, which
intensifies legislative chaos, the budget may never be
completed.
All factions will eventually need to sit down and
compromise. As in all politics, there will be extreme
positions on both sides. Some may want a sales tax,
others may not. Only one thing if irtain: What people
want is no longer an issue. It is down to what people
need.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
P O 80* 315$ EUGENE OREGON §7403
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( YOU’RE ON YOUR
OWN AGAIN, KIPS'.
...WE'RE OFF
ON ANOTHER
JUNKET!
OPINION
Slipping in a winter wonderland
All snow1 That wonderful
white fluffs stuff So fun
to s< oop up. mold into .1
giant hall and hurl into sour
friend's face or any stranger
on a mountain hike tor that
matter
Friday's snow lull seemed to
change just about ever) stu
dent's plans tor the night, as
mini snowball riots erupted
hl(M k alter bloc k around i am
pus
Determined gangs of students
walked miles, trekking through
neighborhoods to find and join
in the packs of frenzied snow
ball throwers
Onte established solely he
hind barricades ol unluckv
cars, the hens\ fire fa'gan. with
snow tialls accompanied by
lien e fiattle c ries tilling the air
Anyone foolish enough to
venture out on a bike- quickly
got caught in the cross fire from
both warring sides been inno
cent passershv bet ante moving
targets, and only the* ones sell
ing "ale ohol liearing" were let
through, as d they were a Unit
ed Nations c onvoy
Though fighting was tierce,
both sides occasionally called
truces in their skirmish and
united against a common en
emy the LTD fnis
However, the romance be
tween Oregonians and snow
seems to lie fleet ins!
Students arrived on campus
Monday morning to find side
walks transformed overnight
into slabs of ice The oiu.e lot
ion ball-like snowliails turned
into dangerous mim-ue pai ks
All around me I heard students
tiegin to hitch.
It's interesting. Everybody
just loves the snow when thev
can happily pelt eai h other
w ith it for a night Hut it stif ks
around for a few dins and all of
a sudden it s a nuisani e
Heing from Colorado. I can’t
help but notice a few glaring
snow faux pas being committed
b\ virgin snow trekkers There
are general dos and don'ts of
handling the snow And it s
time to shed some light on the
subject.
First of all. driving in the
snow is ii lug thing with Orego
nians.
It seems the white stuff ap
pears on the road and magical
Iv everyone is terrified, c reep
ing along at 5 mph Cninled. it
it's i< y out, or if it s dumping
snow (us it did Friday night),
staying off the road is a good
idea
Hut if the* snow is along the
side of the road driving that
slots (list isn't nec t-ssary
Along these same lines, it
seems the opposite occurs
around stop signs Instead of
antic ipating the stop sign and
sloysing down. I've seen car af
ter i .1 r accele rate into the stop
sign and then at the last minute
slam on its brakes These mo
torists wonder tshv they end up
in the middle of tin* intersec
lion yvhon they finally skid to .1
stop
Damn those 11 y roads
They II get y on ey cry time
And a note to pedestrians in
regard to cars Be alert at all
times Not even lor a sec Olid
should you let your guard
down yvhile walking the haz
ardous streets Vou never know
when some idiot motorist will
slide into your path When it
snows, the motorists have the*
right of way or you get
moss ed down
Also, it doesn’t hurt to lend a
helping hand if you see a car
desperately spinning its wheels
at a stop sign while standing
completely still The most com
mon sight in Boulder the day
after a storm is seeing masses of
do-gooders giving cars a Icttle
push to help them along their
it y way
Speaking ol going along your
ii y wav, what roads an* to mo
torists. sidewalks are to stu
dents — a nightmare
There is nothing so undigni
fied .is slipping on ail icy side
walk One tends to try and
catch oneself, causing move
ment akin to a Broadway shim
yylmli attracts the attention of
anyone and everyone around
you. Indeed, people lot) yards
assay like to stop and ysatc h the
slum Will he make it7 Will he
If you bite it, don't
fight it. Just go
with the flow. Fall
quickly and escape
just as fast, with
only your
companion to
notice and gloat.
catch himself7 Usually the an
swer is no.
Meanwhile, you’ve only pro
longed the agony and attrai led
an appreciative audience, as
the laughter w ill indie ate to
you when you sheepishly pii k
yourself up
Solution: It you lute it. don't
light it (list go with the flow
Fall quickly and escape just as
fast, with only your companion
to note e and gloat
Which brings me to another
tip for companions of slippers
First, never try to catch vour
falling companion You'll only
i reate an even bigger scene for
everyone to laugh at.
Secondly, never, ever, laugh
at your friend who falls. Be
cause just guess who will Imi
next.
A general rule to follow
when venturing out is to al
ways watch where you step,
and try to avoid the ice. If that
means (oh my gosh!) walking
OFF the sidewalk, then do it
Because if your thoughts wan
der for even a second away
from your main objective, you
will find your ass on the side
walk so fast you won’t know
what hit you
Finally, about the snow in
general, try and FN|()Y it Stud
ies have shown that bitching
about it does not make it melt
any faster Make a Slurpee or
something. Soon the skies will
cloud over and tin- usual tor
rents of ( old rain will wash the
snow away.
Then the only thing to slip
on will Ih- the mud
//ope .Vea/.son /s /ree/ani e ed
itor tor the Fmeraid
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