EDITORIAL
System encourages
foolish promises
Americans have turned the political system into an
art form.
Candidates for the party nomination scratch and claw
their way to the top. stopping at nothing to destroy each
other's reputation. Once the party nominee is finally
selected, he or she throws around unrealistic promises
like confetti, hoping at least a few will hit the mark.
President Clinton is the latest in a long line of politi
cal artists. He was elected in November by voters will
ing to trust his judgments. He wasn't a desperate
back-stabbor, like Bush, nor a phony grandstander. like
Perot. He was a genuinely committed dreamer with a
vision for America.
Back to reality. Clinton won't fulfill anyone’s promis
es for awhile because they're impossible to fill. He
promised big things — too big — unattainable in this
country’s economic climate. Ironically, without those
promises, he may have lost the olection.
Clinton now admits he probably won't cut taxes for
the middle class because the country can't afford it. No
one should be surprised. The country could never
afford it, but it was nice to think it could.
Clinton's college-aid plan, which would allow stu
dents across the nation to pay for their education
through community service, is losing its steam. Rather
than launching a nationwide initiative, Clinton appar
ently will recruit only 100.000 students for the pro
gram. The nation has neither the money nor the
resources to employ millions of college students.
"it's the economy, stupid." was Clinton's pet phrase
during the campaign, and he promised to focus his poli
cies toward economic concerns. Vet his biggest deci
sion so far was to strike down the military gay ban.
Although the move certainly took courage, it wasn't the
country's most pressing problem and perhaps didn't
warrant the immediate attention Clinton gave it.
The point is not to deride Clinton's efforts, for he has
made some admirable moves in his brief tenure. Both
his abortion rights and family leave legislation were
long overdue, and his progressive ideals will probably
allow for many similar programs.
The point is that voters should no longer complain
about broken campaign promises when they participate
in a system that encourages them. Bush promised not to
raise taxes in'1988. He aid anyway. Clinton promised
not to raise taxes on the middle class. He probably will.
Clinton would not have won had he told the country
what it needed to hear. Perot made his pitch, but the
last thing anyone wanted to do was pay a huge gas tax.
Walter Mondale campaigned on a tax increase eight
years ago — and lost by a landslide. In order to get
things done, you have to get elected. And to get elected,
you have to lie.
So don’t be surprised or upset that Clinton is break
ing promises. It’s a prerequisite to the presidency.
Without unattainable promises, the American public
won't pay attention.
Oregon Daily _
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LETTERS
Incense
I was incensed to read the
article glorifying the extremely
unhealthy methods employed
by University wrestlers to make
weight (ODE , Feb. 5)
Significant weight fluctuation
is hazardous, even for those in
"top physical shape" who are
"closely monitored "
In addition, self-starvation,
dehydration and excessive exer
cising comprise some of the
dangerous behaviors associated
with bulimia and should not be
glamorized, regardless of the
reason behind this pursuit.
Christina Shepherd
Eugene
Foaming
Do you wan* to he able to bring
your children up on this planet?
Polystyrene foam never biode
grades Therefore, it takes up
valuable spate in our landfills
forever. It is lethal to at least 50
known species of birds
Chlorofluorocarbons. which
destroy the ozone layer. are
released when certain kinds of
polystyrene foam is produced,
and polystyrene foam recycling
is not economically feasible.
We should follow others like
Portland. Salem. Minneapolis.
Berkeley, Los Angeles. Santa
Monica. San Diego and Tempe to
name a few.
Like them, we (an curb the use
of polystyrene foam to help
ensure our planet can support
our children and our children’s
children.
OSPIRG is leading a coalition
to stop the use of polystyrene
foam, and we need your support
We will continue with the
cleanup.
Chuck Edson
OSPIRG
Checkpoint
The University Office of Pub
lic Safety spent $43,000 on a
booth located in the middle of
the road in front of Oregon Hall.
OPS said the purpose of the
booth is to "reduce traffic.”
The question is — is there traf
fic? I have been at the Universi
ty for almost two years. I have
never seen any traffic problem
that would take $43,000 to solve.
More than that, this tiny booth
is going to cost more money in
the future The labor and main
tenance of the boost are long-term
burdens for OPS and the Uni
versity OPS said the money it
spent on the booth came from
parking fees and tickets Obvi
ously. the source of monay is not
very reliable
ii next year OPS (.an t get
enough money, what will they
do with the booth and the person
who sits m the booth to "reduce
traffic"7 Is OPS going to ask for
money from the University7
There is one more problem
Because OPS put the I tooth ill the
middle of the road, there is not
enough space for hikers Maybe
this is a good way to push bikers
to ride on the sidewalk so OPS
can give more tickets to fill that
money pit.
Chun-lung Huang
Leisure Studies and Services
Misplaced brains
I am writing this letter in
response to the editorial on Feb.
4. titled "Mandatory gun law first
of many steps." It would be use
ful to political discussion if the
Emerald staff would treat Rep
Liz VanLeeuwen as if she had
actually thought about, and had
justification for. presenting this
legislation to the Oregon House
(known wastes of the House
aside), rather than assuming she
is hopelessly stupid.
It is entirely conceivable she
was inspired bv such models as
Kennesaw. Ga . where in 19Hf>
crime dropped HU percent in the
one-year period following the
adoption of similar legislation.
Although l feel such legisla
tion is at best impractical for
our state, it would be interesting
for (Emerald editorial editors)
Martin Fisher and Rivers
lanssen to do some research to
back their opinion for the edito
rial. rather than take the easy
route of nay-saying by writing
poorly constructed parallels to
the proposed situation that
don't approach being funny.
The underlying assumption
of my proposed course of action
is the readers are intelligent
enough to formulate opinions
based on hard information To
cause people to think, rather
than to use a editorial as a soap
box. ought to be the goal of an
editorial editor.
It appears the clouds inhabit
ing the elevated strata of arro
gant commentary also cause the
misplacing of brains.
Jeff Merten
History
Confusing
The new manned booth on
13th Avenue is a good idea. I'd
like to see the traffic jam because
it is set away from the? main road.
Agate Street. The personnel will
be restricting traffic, but at least
the University is trying. Good for
them.
What 1 really would like to see
is the bike lanes repainted
between Agate and University
streets so cars are not driving in
mv riding lane And where it is
a one-way. keep the hike lanes
separated to the sides of the road,
not both of them off to one side.
It can lie very confusing. Thank
you,
Brian Erickson
Organizational Management
Pro-Carson
As a foreign student here and
a colleague of Ed Carson, 1 find
the comments by Incidental Fee
Committee members Steve
Masat and Zoe Pargot and for
mer member Barbara Rodgers
totally absurd.
Having been working and
staying in the same residence
hall (Riley Hall, 1991-92) with
Carson, I don't consider him a
"racist” or a “homophobe" as
they have labeled him.
This demonstrates how con
servative the 1FC attitude is for
opposing the confirmation of
someone who could bring new
ideals and a different perspec
tive. Is the IFC afraid of a little
change? If the University pro
motes diversity, this is one
point of promotion.
Is diversity limited to a cer
tain group with a certain norm
in the IFC, or does diversity
consist of various attitudes that
create many values and issues
for advancement? Carson
shouldn't be judged on his
political views, but rather on
his ability to get the job done.
Having talked with Carson on
international issues. 1 believe
Carson possesses a wide knowl
edge on international subjects,
not only in the Western hemi
sphere, but Asia as well. Not
only has gained respect from
me. but from other foreign stu
dents who also know him.
The IFC plays a main role in
promoting diversity because of
its funding control to various
organizations on campus. If
some members of the IFC
believe Carson is unacceptable
because of his different political
views and just want to select
one of its own, then the IFC is
just another N.A.T.O — No
Action, Talk Only.
Vincent Chin
Pre-business