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 Oregon Daily PO 00* 31*9 tUGCNC QWtGON9.T*&3 The Oregon Daily Emerald pubkshad da->y Monday through Friday du>mg me school yeai and Tuesday and Thursday during in* w«™*i by lb* Oregon Dai'y Etseraid Putvishmg Co Inc .11 ine University o< Oregon Eugene. The f morales operates independenII> ol the Univervly wtti otl<*s at So** 300 ol the ( ft) Mon'ciMki Union ano is a monti# ol the Associated inm*. Tiilim Mueller. Irista Noel, E*en Shaw. E'C* Studemdra. M» *on S«Ao< SAcheie Thompson Aguiar. Amy Van Tuyi. Todd WAass General Manager: Judy B*edt Production Manager : M*heie Bos* Advertising Tom leech Sharon Vat Saws Managers Shanan Bntven OAce Manager J»ie troia Teresa Isabwe. Phil^i Johnson H. Chris Ksno*. Jeremy Mason van V O'Bryan II G*an Oh. Hachaei Trull. Ange lAmdherm, Bnan IA>ndh**n Classified Ban, Merchant. Manager Barry Logan Sharon Sauve Distribution Bratdon AndarSon FAcfc Mannrung Graham Svnpaon Business. Kathy Carbone. Supervisor Judy ConnoSy Production: tngnd tAtht* FhodUchon Coortsnaior Kristm* Granger Dee SAjCobb Stacy ketches Jannitar Boland. Jennifer Smith Newsroom___ J4A-MII Dtspiey Advertising..JAB-37tj Business Olttc* J4A-SSI2 Ctessitled Advertising...-34B-4M1 15 mw Vbu f3xu£D OWK »©W« WMD G«A7fi Fc^ AtMXT OH ^fDfKAl IAMDS? WHO TUt Mtu t&t you.CUNrrow’’ TX> i>J WEAUY&VE a PAMH ft>f?TCte B4Vl«9DNMeNT7^ 'JlV* VXtW* d i OR IS r«»s Just -odd cx Su< vmuc r>yin j» Kxrncs K USUM. ^ Burr LAND TO HAVE ..V To Fly TMCiK WAV ' <£o ON ' 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