EDITORIAL
Campus campaign
exhibits dirty side
This year s ASUO Executive campaign is off to a row
dy start after the discovery that vice presidential candi
date Diana Collins Puente may have violated student
government guidelines by working as the ASUO multi
cultural advocate fall torm while not enrolled as a stu
dent at the University.
The idea of Collins Puente possibly deceiving the stu
dent body is bad enough. After all. the wages from her
position came from student fees, which are supposed to
be distributed among student groups for student con
cerns. Collins Puente's employment as a non-student
would bo wholly unethical.
But even more interesting is the fact that Leslie War
ren and Mark Johnson, the opposing ticket to Collins
Puente and running mate Eric Bowen, were so eager to
divulge dirt on their opponents.
Warren and Johnson made sure a letter to the editor,
referring to Collins Puente's fall-term enrollment, was
turned in to the Emerald. They did not write the letter
but were acquaintances of the person who did. Warren
and Johnson came to the Emerald office to inquire about
the status of the letter. The letter, which appears in
today's issue, spurred Emerald News Editor Jake Berg to
contact the University registrar about Collins Puente’s
enrollment status fall torm.
Monday, Warren learned tho Emerald wus working on
a news story about her opponent and asked that it run
before Tuesday's ASUO debates. The Emerald does not
work as a public relations firm for any candidate and ran
the story Tuesday only because it was newsworthy —
not becauso it was requested.
There's nothing illegal about Warren and Johnson's
actions. But it does raise the question of whether candi
dates should concentrate on smearing their opponents
instead of running an Intelligent campaign. If Warren
and Johnson do have credible solutions to problems on
campus, they should concentrate on spreading their own
ideas to the student body, not attar king others through
dirty tactics.
On iho positive side. Warren and Johnson have shown
a natural flair for politics. Finding dirt on your oppo
nents is an age-old campaigning technique that marks
the true professional. Warren and Johnson could be the
real thing — although that’s not necessarily good.
At the very least, they could have been more careful.
Can you imagine George Bush personally calling The
New York Times editors and asking whether they were
printing the draft story on Bill Clinton? Ho would have
a low-level aide do it instead; the liability is less evident.
That doesn't mean it’s ethical to have an aide do the
dirty work for you. it’s just cleaner.
This editorial is not Intended as an endorsement of
either the Bowen/Collins Puente or the Warren/John
son ticket. Each campaign has valid points to make and
an agenda to push. However, the canaidates should con
centrate solely on their own campaigns and lay off the
dirty politics.
Oregon Daily
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JUST
COMMENTARY
Passover: celebration of freedom
By Jonah Bookstem
l yTonday. April 5 began
or Passover. We Jews, friends
and strangers recount the story
of the exodus of the Jews from
slavery In Egypt to freedom. We
choose spring to celebrate free
dom. Freedom from slavery,
freedom to live our lives free
from any oppressors or instru
ments of oppression, freedom
from intolerance and freedom
from harassment During
Passover, we discuss and hope
for freedom for all peoples.
In light of this holiday, it is
interesting that Stephanie Sis
son chose a public forum [ODE,
April 5) to continue the oppres
sion of two groups who have
been victimized lor centuries:
homosexuals and Jews In doing
so. she those a time-worn
method, using Christianity as a
litmus test to |udge others'
actions
Her column reeks of anti
Semitism. intolerance to homo
sexuals. and it only does her and
Christianity a disservice
She writes that there has been
a disservice done to her New
Testament because in recently
published condemnations of
homosexuality it has been left to
obscurity. She then states. "To
be honest. I don't take the Old
Testament laws very seriously.
Those laws were given to the
Jew*s.( One of them prohibits tat
toos Give me a break!) But the
New Testament, which concerns
itself with more Christ-like
behavior, 1 take very seriously
Homosexuality is a chosen
behavior. And it is wrong."
Thanks for the honesty. If I
remember correctly, though,
wasn't Jesus a Jew?
In her attempt to lie cute and
Christ-like, she has. on the eve
of the holiday of freedom, slan
dered the Jewish community.
the weeklong Jewish
celebration of Pesach.
Who gave her the right to judge
tlie Jewish guide to life that has
preserved the Jewish communi
ty for more than 3.000 years?
From where does she gain this
overwhelming sense of superior
ity that has empowered her with
the right to condescend and
insult the Jewish and homosex
ual communities?
It just so happens that the hol
iday of Passover comes from the
Torah (the term we Jews use to
refer to our holy scroll). The
Torah teaches Jewish people
how- to celebrate their freedom
from slavery, which is done by
setting aside the week for feast
ing and remembering the hard
ships of slavery and oppression
Perhaps this is just one of those
"Old Testament" laws Sisson
finds useless
Passover is celebrated by more
Jews than almost any other Jew
ish holiday It is a unique cele
bration with contemporary
meaning and purpose. It is a
chance to gather as a communi
ty and with family It is a chance
to be thankful for freedom from
the bonds of slavery, which
plagued our ancestors And it is
a chance to always remember
people throughout the world
who are today not free from
slavery.
Annually, we commit our
selves to freeing alt people from
oppression; for as long as some
one. somewhere, remains in
bondage, we believe that we
cannot ourselves he truly free
This year we must think of the
victimized men. women and
children in the Balkans, the
starving Sudanese, indigenous
peoples of the Amazon rainfor
est who are being murdered.
Arabs and Jews who are at each
other's throats, the islanders of
East Timor who are being liqui
dated by the Indonesian govern
ment. migrant farm workers
being exposed to dangerous
chemicals and living in degrad
in# conditions — and the list
tragically continues
So let me return to Sisson's
intolerance of homosexuals in
light of Passover. In Oregon, we
narrowly defeated a ballot mea
sure only half of a year ago that
would have deprived a segment
of the population fair and equal
treatment. Thankfully the mea
sure failed, but it reminds all of
us that intolerance and igno
rance are strong forces in our
society. Through her unenlight
ened, Christian-based egoism,
Sisson is continuing that trend.
By her vitriolic attack on the
homosexual community, couch
ing her moralistic judgment in
pseudo-scientific: language and
New Testament quotations (i.e
that homosexuality is purely
choice motivated and is a sin),
she has demonstrated that she
uses the Bible to support big
otry. intolerance and ultimately
oppression — a purpose I doubt
it was created for
Although she is "afraid that
homosexuality is becoming an
accepted lifestyle in our soci
ety." and that it will keep
“someone (Sisson) loves" from
being "a follower of Christ," 1
am afraid her movement of
Christian fundamentalism is
intent on destroying the freedom
of women to choose, the free
dom of Jews to live in a society
that accepts minorities and the
freedom of homosexuals to live
free from prejudice and harm
But in conclusion, I will thanV
Sisson. She hus reminded me,
on the eve of Passover and with
her "General License" to be self
righteous from a walled island
of ignorance and simplicity, that
I have a life's worth of labor in
this world until all people,
including her, are free.
Jonah Bookstein is an under
graduate in independent studies
and a member of the Jewish Stu
dent Union
LETTERS
Student?
I am writing to voice my con
cerns regarding Diana Collins
Puente. Is she a student? There
is information circulating to the
effect that Collins Puente was
not a registered student during
fall term
1 find this shocking. Did she
not occupy a student-subsidized
position during fall term? I am
told by numerous sources that
she was paid for holding the
ASUO multicultural advocate
position and also a Building
Community student mentor
position.
If this is. in fact, true, I would
like to know why she was paid
and how I can get some of the
money this University is throw
ing around.
Are we supposed (o cast our
votes for someone that finds the
pursuit of money more reward
ing than the pursuit of an educa
tion? What kind of leader would
she be7 With these traits, she has
the potential to be a politician,
but not one that I would vote
for.
Matt Gougier
Fine Arts