EDITORIAL
Guilt by association
cannot be justified
It was wrong when Sen. Joseph McCarthy did it in the
1950s. and it is still wrong today. Guilt by association
has begun to re-emerge In recent months, very visibly so
at the University.
When McCarthy held his hearings on communism, he
attempted to eviscerate everybody who may have ever
come into contact with a communist. If they had. or if
they refused to answer, they were implicitly labeled as
"red’' or a "pinko" and were societally blacklisted.
And Americans thought it was justified. It was "polit
ically correct."
At the University, throe recent incidents have given
a new life to this very ancient evil, two of which Involve
fraternities and one involving the Incidental Fee Com
mittee.
In November, a Phi Kappa Psi fraternity was singled
out as a bastion of rape and sexual abuse after a pledge
allegedly raped a University student. The day after the
protost. we acknowledged the need for discussion and
awareness surrounding the issues of rape and abuse in
the greek system. But labeling the Phi Psi membership,
and through extrapolation, the entire greek system as
advocates of rape, is wrong.
Last week, members of the IFC attempted to prevent
nominee Ed Carson from being confirmed by the Student
Senate because of his affiliation with the Oregon Com
mentator.
Because the Commentator is conservative. Carson was
portrayed as being homophobic and racist. Never mind
that they could give no evidence to support their claim.
Carson was conservative, all conservatives are homo
phobes and racists, therefore Carson is too. The ludicrous
nature of this twisted logic deserves little analysis oth
er than to say — it’s wrong.
Wednesday, the Lesbian, Gay and Bisexual Alliance
had ckpross conference concerning the alleged assault of
a bisexual man end his heterosexual friend.
The IjGBA, along with others at the press conference,
made it known that the alleged attacker is a pledge at the
Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity, as if there is some cor
relation between the fraternity and the suspect s alleged
actions.
Further, they demanded the student be de-pledged by
the house and that he be expelled from the University.
Even more troubling is the accusation that the SAE fra
ternity and its members are somehow resixmsible for the
actions of all individuals associated with it.
If the arrested student lived in a dorm, would the LGBA
blame the dorm residents? If he lived in an apartment,
would the LGBA hold the apartment complex's residents
responsible? Of course not. So what makes fraternities
such an acceptable target for this type of overt discrim
ination?
Yes. discrimination. The LGBA, as well as the Phi
Psi protesters, are acting on perceived stereotypes of fra
ternities and their members. As much as the LGBA dis
likes the stereotyping of homosexuals as dysfunctional,
sexual predatory perverts, so do the fraternities dislike
the similar labeling of their members. It's not justified,
even if it is "politically correct."
Oregon Daily
Emerald
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LETTERS
Ideological error
This letter is in response to the
Feb 10 editorial in the Emerald
concerning the* California
Supreme Court decision last
week about student funding of
'■ideological" organizations.
The editorial assumed OSPIRG
would have been affected if this
decision was made in Oregon,
but this isn't true. CALPIRG was
not mentioned in the California
decision at all. If this battle came
to Oregon, OSPIRG would also
not be affected by it — simply
because we am not an ideologi
cal organization
The editorial also mentioned
the PIRGs in c onjunction with
"using student fee*, for a partisan
organization." which is blatant
ly false. OSPIRG is a 501 C3 cor
poration, which means we
cannot endorse candidates for
any office and we cannot work
on ballot measures
The use of the NYP1RG case in
this argument was also unwar
ranted I-egal counsel looked into
the NYPIRG decision and came
to the conclusion that the case
does not apply to OSPIRG — the
case didn't even threaten
NYPIRG. Its PIRG chapters are
still as active, healthy and legal
as ever.
It is critical that we receive the
corretf information. We. as stu
dents. have a right to fund orga
nizations in the public interest.
Let us not get hung up on these
debates; let us continue to create
and endorse organizations like
the IFC and OSPIRG to empow
er the student body.
Shannon Vamay
Vtca Chairwoman
OSP1RG
Decisions
The question of whether a fetus
should be treated legally and
morally as a human being is not
a scientific question but a ques
tion of values.
Although a fetus does have a
complete set of human DNA. it
lacks many other characteristics,
particularly before the second
trimester, that we would think of
as essential to a human being —
such as self awareness and the
ability to interact with others. It
has not even developed many of
the physical aspects of a human.
There are good reasons not to
treat a fetus like a human being,
but in order to make the ethical
decision, people will need to
consider the values at stake here.
What is more important to us:
The right of a fetus to develop, or
the right of n woman to control
her own body and her own life?
Is it more w rong to think of a
fetus as a non-human when it
comes to the fetus' rights, or to
force women to bear children
when they don't want to? Easy
access to abortion has been a nec
essary part of all effective pop
ulation control programs in the
world to date. What is the high
er good, to give fetuses the right
to develop, or to have effective
population control so the people
of the world an avoid the con
sequences of overpopulation —
war, famine, disease and a ruined
environment?
Ben Iglauer
Eugene
Dog at large
One day I was walking my dog
when l fell I was being followed.
I glanced behind me and recog
nized what I thought was one of
Eugene's finest jogging toward
me I glanced around looking for
a crime in progress but didn't see
any bikers riding on the wrong
side of the street.
I was initially confused ut why
he was following me when it
became clear he was actually a
Lane County Animal Control
Officer. After some small talk. I
learned that officer Berry was
eager to inquire about my knowl
edge of leash laws. I was touched.
He wandered all the way over
here to save the neighborhood
from my unbridled pooch
To preserve the moment, he
took out a piece of pretty, pink
paper and scribbled on it while
asking me some questions. He
then gave me the paper and I
noticed the infraction stated,
"dog at large."
I immediately realized the seri
ousness of what just happened
and scolded my dog for forget
ting her leash. Then 1 turned to
officer Berry and thanked him.
I’ll nover forget the warm feeling
in my heart when 1 waved to him
as he chugged back to his vehi
cle.
1 think of officer Berry often
and look forward to seeing him
in court when 1 arrive to pay for
the infraction. I want to thank
him again for protecting society
I also want to offer him my apolo
gies. After all, it probably isn't
his fault he couldn't be a real
police officer.
Scott Klemp
' English
Carson man
fudging from some of the let
ters 1 have read in the Emerald
recently. Ed Carson is racist, sex
ist and homophobic. This is
l>eoause he is the managing edi
tor of the Oregon Commentator.
which has printed racist, sexist
and homophobic pieces.
The implication is that if Car
son wen* a truly enlightened per
son. he would have prevented
the publication of such trash.
VVuit a minute, isn't that censor
ship? It would seem that the First
Amendment is a double-edged
sword and not subject to the
whims of the "politically cor
rect." I could go on but I feel a
sudden urge to listen to "Cop
Killer."
Andrew Haldane
Political Science
IFC thanks
On behalf of everyone associ
ated with the 1993 Public Inter
est Environmental Law
Conference, we would like to
thank the Incidental Fee Com
mittee for its more than generous
donation to this year's confer
ence.
We would like the IFC to know
that its support has ensured this
year's conference will be the bust
ever, and that our very special
indigenous guests, who are the
centerpiece of this year's confer
ence. will all lie able to come and
share their knowledge and
vision.
Again, we want to thank the
IFC for its generous support. The
conference, the law school, the
University, and most of all us. the
students, are the true beneficia
ries.
David Evans
Karl Qrabowskl
Contractors
1993 Public Intarast
Environmental Law
Conference
LETTERS POLICY
Letters to the editor must be limited to no more than 250
words, legible, signed and the identification of the writer must
be verified when the letter is submitted.
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style.