EDITORIAL Babysitter unjustly curses nomination Only two weeks after Zoe Baird withdrew from the U.S. attorney genera! race. President Bill Clinton's sec ond choice drooped out of the running. The reason? Because her babysitter had been an illegal alien for seven years. (Insert Twilight Zone theme here.) As it turns out. federal Judge Kimba Wood didn't actually do anything wrong. Unlike Baird, she hired her babysitter in 1986. before an Immigration law was passed prohibiting employers from knowingly hiring undocumented workers. As she told Clinton adminis tration officials, sho "complied with all immigration laws" and paid "all required taxes." In light of this. Clinton acted too quickly in dismiss ing Wood. Certainly he wanted to avoid additional embarrassment on the illegal alien issue. Keaction against Baird was strong from both Con gress and I ho public, and asking a woman who knowingly broke the law to become attorney general was a mistake, This was. after all. a brand new administration looking to avoid screw-ups. Saying she wasn't politically viable is understanelable, but not excusable. Hu! Wood was not Zoo Baird. Sho was a qualified candidate with a solid legal bat kground. Her only offonso was following Baird. A Clinton aide admitted her dismissal was not a legal judgment, but a political one. The president has already taken enough heat in the early going to alter any judg ment he makes. But Wood was a good candidate with a clean record. She deserved confirmation proceedings where Congress could have determined her ability. Say ing she wasn't politically viable is understandable, but not excusable. Even Congress criticized Clinton for his quick dis missal of Wood. Sen. Alan Simpson, one of the more conservative voices in (ho Senate, said Wood "was as honest and true as an arrow." Usually when Simpson likes a Democratic choice, she has an excellent chance of confirmation. Another potential controversy surrounding Wood was her one-time training as a Playboy Club bunny in the 19G0s. Though Clinton officials deny this was a far tor in her dismissal, insiders say the administration wanted to avoid embarrassing jokes. The last thing Clin ton needs is a Quayle. The Clinton administration partially defends its action by claiming Wood didn't come clean when orig inally asked about employment records. She apparently dented three times that she had hired illegal aliens, thereby angering the administration when they discov ered the truth. But Wood's actions were excusable given Clinton's problems. Her babysitter was legal, making the term "illegal alien” a hit of a misnomer. Wood deserved more respect than to be dismissed while innocent. Oregon Doily PO 00X )«M lUOCNf OPtGONJiUCO The Otgem f>j»- y F menud » pubr-shed dev, Monday through E'day donng the school vear «od Tuesday and Thursday dunng the wm« by the Oregon OMy Emerald Pubi.sh mg Co Inc . at in* UnrvetsJy ol Oregon, Eugene. Oregon In* I nnakl operates independently ol tn« University with o'trces al Soda 300 ol the t rt> Memory*! Uruon and t a member n* the Associated Press The Emerald * private proparly The unlawful removal o* use ol paper* *a projecu'-Vxi I Editor Editorial Editor Graphic* Editor Entertainment Editor by >ay> Editor: Pal Matach Ja*e Berg Freelance Editor Hope No* sen Mart>n F .after Editorial Editor R>ve<* Janssen Jed Pasiay Sport* Editor Dove Charoonneau FreyaMorn Supplement* Editor Caliey Anderson Night Editor: Jake Berg Associate Editor* Tammy Haley SluMt* Govunmarrt KActneOee. Daralyn Tiappe Commu -My Colleen Pohkg. f*gher education Adminatmton New* Stall: Cnetier Alien. Matt Bender. Jusl>n Broem. Sarah Clan 0y an Coulter Meg Oadoiph. 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The Three Faces of Bob Packwood LETTERS Knew Carson Kd Carson and 1 lived in the some dorm our first year on < .impus, and though vve were by no means t lose friends, he seemed then to possess on in telligence and rationality not always common in first-year college students My communication with Car son since then has been limited to Ins articles in the Oregon Commentator. u journal that I. as a lilwral, frequently find my self at odds with (and there an ilines my summation of that re lationship would tie consider ably less charitable). Despite this, I cannot recall having read anything by Carson that was not infused with an insight and intelligence that enabled me to explore a view point I may not have considered or agreed with I have never seen evidence of rai ism or homophobia in his writing, and 1 consider Corson to be one of the few "conserva tive” writers fulfilling the potential of rightist thought to contribute a bn lam ed exchange of opposing ideas so key to our education. To convict him through mere association with morons who prodma- tripe such as the "bull dyke-' cartoon {Commentator. December 1092) is grossly unfair and goes against the ideals of personal liberty that we on the left claim to trumpet. I wish him luck in his new posi tion. Jamie Bakum English Strike two Kudos to Emerald sports edi tor Dave Charbonneau Although modesty must have prevented hint from admitting it, Charbonneau scored a media coup by getting interviews with the 18-year-old • guests-- of some Portland Trail Blazer players from the controversial night in Utah. lie found out, for example, that "these girls were looking to score just as much as the play ers were.-- that "you know they were looking for attention," and (hat "they stayed when things got hot. and they consented" [GDI:, Feb 2) Charbonneau lias i leered up any possible confusion regard ing one "girl's" statement that she felt frightened and intimi dated into having sex. and the puzzling medical evidence of vaginal trauma. 1 can appret iate Charbonneau not wanting to make the rest of the media feel bad. but next tune why not be brave and at knowledge his soon es? After all. some less astute Emerald readers might jump to the con clusion that Charbonneau is simply convicting the vii tints out of prejudice and promoting sexual stereotypes, and basing his article on an outdated rape mvth — "She must have been asking for it " It was only the Emeralds re cord of journalistic integrity that clued me in to the only possible explanation Charbonneau was actually re peating what the "guests" had told him. Good job Now they can call off the trial Steve Ramseur Sociology Not confirmed This is in response to a Ian lift Emerald artii le, “University < ites OPS officer w ith harass ment violation." concerning a complaint of sexual harassment in the University Office of Pub lic Safety This complaint has been the subject of a thorough investiga tion. in full complianc e with all applicable University policies and procedures covering allega tions of sexual harassment Although personnel matters must remain confidential and specifics on individual cases cannot he provided, we wish to note, significantly, that this investigation did not confirm all the details reported in the Emerald article The University is committed to providing a safe and we lemm ing environment that is resjiect ful of the rights of all members of our community in the com ing weeks, we and others will be making a renewed effort to reucn i miiui-iih, i«i< ultv and staff with information on tin* nrrtn of resources that already ovist on our campus to help those who fool they have boon victimized bv sexual harassment Linda King Alison Baker and five co-signers University Affirmative Action Administrative Council Strike three It seems that the foundation of this nation's legal system no longer ovists 1 once hoard that those accused of a crime wore innocent until proven guilty. But according to the enlight ened Dave Charbonneau, "Blaz ers go mall hopping for fun." and Rondine Niki Rouch, “Shed myths" {ODE, Feb. Z). • this idea no longer applies Everyone has heard of the alleged Portland Trail Blazer scandal, yet Charbonneau and Rouch have already cracked the i aso for the Salt Lake Cit\ dis trict attorney It seems Charbon neau knows for a far t these girls did have sev with alleged Blazer players Was he in Salt Lake ' Did he party with the Blazers? And Rouch has at road \ deter mined these girls were gang raped I was not there, and nei ther were Charbonneau and Rouch Maybe the girls consent ed to sex, or maybe it's a big story. The only thing we do know for sure is that our legal system says anyone accused is innocent until proven guilty. And come to think of it, none of the Blazers have officially been accused of any crime Yet Charbonneau sees fit to assess guilt and at the same time demean the entire Blazer orga nization. Just what we need is another journalist pointing fingers and deciding the truth for us. It is this thinking, as expressed by both Charbonneau and Rouch. that sends thousands of inno cent people to prison every year. But. hey. those two know the real story, or at least they want us to believe so. Jason Porter Management