EDITORIAL
Hungry won’t benefit
from students’ strike
Hunger is a real problem. Fasting is an artificial solu
tion. The more than 10* University students who are
reportedly fasting in support of the hungry should keep
that in mind.
The fasting students are protesting Congress' abolish
ment of the House Select Committee on Hunger. Leading
the charge to restore the committee is Rep. Tony Hall. D
Ohio, who began his hunger strike Monday and will
reportedly continue it for at least four weeks.
Members of OSP1KC and the National Student Cam
paign Against Hunger and Homelessness announced
they will follow suit and go without fowl for at least 2-t
hours.
Worthwhile as their cause may bo. they are confusing
action with productive action Much as sleeping in the
hMU l.ourtyard lor ono
night does nothing to fur
ther the cause of the home
less. going without food for
24 hours does nothing for
hunger.
These students would do
infinitely more good by
spending their 24 hours
collecting and distributing
food for the homeless.
Organizing food drivos, as
OSPIKG has done in the
past, is the most effective
tool in combating local
hunger in the short term.
And because the hunger
This style of one
time, short-burst
publicity is not
going to raise
public awareness
about anything.
What is needed is
a long-term,
heavily exposed
local campaign.
strike is also a snori-ierni event, mat unit? snuuiu uw
spent as productively as possible.
The participants no doubt hope their actions will
spark public: awareness about hunger in America.
Although the hunger strike will receive some media cov
erage. its impac t will not last long enough to become
back-page news.
This style of one-time, short-burst publicity is not
going to raise public awareness about anything. What is
needed is a long-term, heavily exposed local campaign.
Unfortunately, such a campaign is unlikely to origi
nate from the University. Groups such as OSPIRG
attempt to cover too many issues to be truly effective
on any one issue. With their limited resources, these
groups might do bettor to select those battles in which
they can bo most effective.
Another flaw with the hunger strike is the students'
attempt to turn hunger into a separate issue, apart from
homelessness, unemployment, drug abuse, domestic vio
lence. etc. All those issues make tip*a social dragon
whose fires are burning the lower class of America.
Attacking only one of those problems is like only
attacking the dragon's tail, attempting to kill it piece by
piece.
Finally, the hunger strike participants need to keep
one very painful, yet very real, fact in mind: Their
hunger strike is temporary. They can quit at any time.
L
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LETTERS
'Playboy' art
Though must people tend to
disagree with the present« of
any pornography on tins t ain
pus, I tend to feel there are
indeed several levels of pornog
raphy, some of which are
at ceptabie I know there is a fine
line between art and pornogra
phy. but I believe the pictures in
Playboy are at tually art
being the mildest of the so
i ailed "men's magazines," P/m
hoy does its host to represent
women fairly The pictures are
displayed as art Not once in any
Playboy issue I have read have I
seen women in any form of
tiegrading poses that would
t ause me to view them as just
oh jet Is of sex
To the contrary. 1 tend to put
women on a pedestal, anti I rec
ognize the fact that the human
hods is a beautiful thing and the
"revealing'' of it is not harmful
unless it is shown ns purely a
sex oh|oct (i.e unnecessary pos
es).
I respei t the women who vol
unteer for this honor, and I see
them as what they are: young
women seeking success in life,
just like the rest of us I hope
they are strong enough to
believe what they are doing is
right, even against the adversity
they will face. 1 admit this
should not I'm* the path for all
women, and I also respect that
choice
But until Playboy starts doing
things to show men a false
image of women and their Ih»ou
ty . I will always be there to sup
port the magazine and the
women who pose for it
Stephen Frost
Biology
Hunger priority
On Man h 31. the voice of the
hungry in this nation was
silenced On this day. the House
Select Committee on Hunger
was alioltslied by Congress with
out a vote. Congress expressed
concern over the tragedy taking
place in Somalia, but it was the
hunger committee that took
action, leading to the creation of
a U N post equipped to respond
to humanitarian crises.
Congress has turned its back
on providing people with the
most basic right — the right to
food. Worldwide, one person
dies from the causes of hunger
every 40 seconds, and in this
country, 27 million people rely
on food stamps
This problem is growing dra
matically and cannot be
ignored, especially by our repre
sentatives in Congress
Monday. Congressman Tony
Moll began a four-week fast to
bring attention to the crisis and
to call on Congress to make
hunger a national priority.
OSPIRG and the ASUO, in con
junction with the National Stu
dent Campaign Against Hunger
and Homelessness, joined Mall
with a one-day fast Monday.
We thank those who joined us
in this symbolic gesture and
em mirage you ull to participate
Sign the petition urging Con
gress to make hunger a national
priority, and feel free to fast
with us any time between now
and April 14. when we hope to
hand Congress 250.000 petition
signatures For more informa
tion. tall 340-4377.
bet's make hunger a national
priority
Jim Treioar
OSPIRG
Backward belief
Stephanie Sisson's commen
tary {ODE. April 5) did more to
expose her own prejudices than
it did to further her 100-percent
jesusapproved anti-homosexu
al stance
Aside from the offensive tone
of the column as a whole. I
found one passage to lie the
most unsettling. When listing
the "issues surrounding homo
sexuality." Sisson cited several
recent debates involving the gay
community, including the mili
tary ban and the vote on Ballot
Measure 9. However, at the end
of the list (in an attempt at sub
tlety') she added, "the continu
ing spread of AIDS” to the list of
"homosexual issues
Not only does this statement
seem to indicate the backward
belief that the gay community is
solely responsible for the spread
of AIDS (a falsity many of us
have been prone to believing at
one time or another), hut it
echoes a real danger and igno
rance that permeates American
society.
People like Sisson will con
tinue fornicating with the oppo
site sex. safe in the knowledge
that God is on their side, while
their ignorance continues to
endanger themselves and oth
ers. Though Sisson will most
likely deny this was the intent
of the passage, it seems the rest
of her column does much to
substantiate her homophobia
and lack of awareness in issues
concerning sexual diversity.
So woke up Sisson, because
those beautiful boys down at the
Torn Metzger School for Way
ward Youth may seem straighter
than the bumper on a '78 El
Camino, but continued igno
rance of the demographics of
AIDS in the United States could
be America's undoing.
Squire Bozarth
Law
Sign petitions
Two petitions ore being circu
lated among students to bo
placed on the ballot for the
upcoming University elections.
The first is to create a multi
cultural center. The center will
promote a sense of community
by giving voices to the diverse
cultures present on our campus
Signing the multicultural center
petition would give students the
chance to establish on enhanced
level of cultural awareness out
side of the classroom
The second petition is to
establish a Sexual Assault Fund
This fund would provide money
for survivors who are unable to
afford u sexual assault exam at
the Student Health Center The
confidentiality and anonymity
of the survivor is assured in the
program
Most of us have seen the dev
astating effe* Is of sexual assault
on the survivor Imagine the
pain of being raped and not
being able to afford an examina
tion. Show compassion for our
fellow community members by
signing the Sexual Assault Fund
petition.
Both petitions were initiated
and organized by ASUO Execu
tive candidates Eric Bowen and
Diana Collins Puente It is very
uncharacteristic of candidates to
act on promises before an elec
tion. Bowen and Collins Puente
do this with their pledge to pro
mote safety and cultural diversi
ty
The two programs they are
trying to. pass show that the
Bowens/Collins Puente cam
paign is based on action. If
either of the two petitions speak
to you, then sign them. Also,
vote for the two leaders who are
already showing us that cam
paigns can be based upon ful
filling promises.
Chris Grady
Political Science