EDITORIAL
No one is required
to tell truth to media
Tho Son. Bob Packwood soxual harassment scandal has
taken a turn for tho bizarre. A coalition of Oregonians
allogo Packwood defrauded voters by lying to reporters,
and that he should not have been seated by the Senate.
Soxual harassment is a serious issue, yet these charges
are so absolutely ludicrous they stand to tarnish the impor
tance of the harassment charges.
Because he lied, the charges claim, tho junior Oregon
senator dofraudod Oregon voters who supposedly may
have voteed for Packwood'* challenger Democrat Les
AuCkiin. had they Iwen aware of the harassment claims.
The basic flaw in this now charge is tho belief that peo
ple are required to tell tho truth to the media. Obviously,
this is patently false. No person, regardless of his or her
position m society, is required to toll the truth to reporters,
even if they're from The Washington Post.
There is only one instance when a person is required
to tell the truth and that is under oath, such as in a court
room. And oven then, the Fifth Amendment permits a
person to refuse to incriminate himself or herself. Yet this
is exactly what the spon
sors of these new
charges are claiming
Packwood should have
done.
University law school
associate Professor
David Schuman was
quoted in an Associated
Press story as support
ing a test that would
allow for a politician's
No person,
regardless of ms or
her position In
society Is required
to toll the truth to
reporters.
removal if the candidate "directly and undeniably lied"
about a "verifiable historical fact" and the lie "in all like
lihood" altered the outcome of the election.
Aside from the fact that every person has a right to lie
to the media and that the media's inability to verify a "ver
ifiable historical fact” is the media’s problem, it is high
ly presumptuous of any governing body to make a deci
sion bnsod on the "likelihood" of a different vote, judging
from history, government's powers of clairvoyance are
questionable at best y
Under these new proposed guidelines, a female can
didate would be required to disclose that sty* had an abor
tion ufter being gang-raped, bocauso the disclosure could
influence the anti-abortion vote even though it bears no
relevance to her ability to serve. If President Bill Clinton
had lied about having evor triod marijuana, under these
guidelines he, loo. could be removed from office.
If the rides committee agrees to hear this case, it stands
the chance of setting a new standard to which politicians
must be held (and virtually none can meet). And if they
penalize Pack wood for violating this new standard, they
will opon the floodgates for the retroactive application of
this new standard upon all politicians —- anarchy is a
rules committee hearing away.
The media are not government-sanctioned institutions
to which any person, citizen or politician, is beholden.
Lying to the media is virtually a sacred, time-honored
political tradition in this country — and it's legal.
Oregon Daily
Emerald
The Oregon Oaty lm«M 4 put>r.yh«d duty Monday through ffday during the achoot
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LETTERS
Money problems
I, like many students, am
coming up to that all-important
graduation time. It-* that won
derful time when students get to
celebrate the accomplishment of
graduating front college by cere
moniously receiving their diplo
mas. all at their own cost.
One would think that after
spending more than $20,000 at
this institution, the University
could at least cut the bill for the
final graduation ceremony
($24.50 with cap and gown)
However, it would not appear as
though the University has the
interest of its graduates in mind.
In addition to the commence
ment ceremony fee is the S25
processing fee that must be paid
with the "Intent to Graduate"
fonn by every senior. So the total
cost to you. if you want to grad
uate and be in the official cere
mony. is $50 — quite a surprise
to those of us who thought last
term's tuition was the last hunk
of cash we would be dishing out.
More important-than these
amounts is the principle of the
whole thing. This school seems
to have little, if any. considera
tion toward my once-in-a-life
time ritualistic departure from
it That’s not the kind of treat
ment that would warrant a great
deal of financial support from
its alumni on down the line.
I didn't expect the personal
touch private universities give
their graduates to be given at a
university this size. One would
believe, however, that at the end
of four long years of hard work
and great expense, the Universi
ty would at least give the cour
tesy of a final ceremony to its
graduates.
Todd Harris
Psychology
Embarrassed?
I am writing in response to
the simple-minded, poorly
thought out. insensitive editori
al (ODE. May 7) written by ?
Well, the author must have been
too intimidated by some
unknown force to write a letter
or commentary that would have
forced upon him or her some
sort of accountability.
The Ernumld assumes the stu
dents at the May 5 rally are the
only ones concerned with the
issue and the rest are "at least
apathetic ... if not opposed (to the
requirement)." Well. I. for one,
wan in class at the time and
rushed over a* soon as I was let
out. So. there goes your first
point.
You say the most embarrass
ing part was the manner in
which (associate professor)
Robert Proud foot stormed out of
the assembly. Hmmm? Who was
it embarrassing for'' Native
Americans' Racial/ethnic
minorities? Supporters of the
requirement?
Or was it embarrassing for
those who supported the water
ing down of the amendment? Or
for those who didn't and still
don't understand why the lan
guage used during the assembly
and the lumping together of our
identities is so offensive7 I can
only thank. Proudfoot for bis
actions that motivated mu todo
the same.
The Emerald says the only
reason there is confusion over
the two classes is the problem in
distinguishing race and ethnici
ty. Wrong. It's not confusion. It's
insensitivity and ignorance,
"hooded" in talk of exclusivity
and anti-Semitism to delay the
passing of the motion
Erika Armabury
Women'a Diversity Program
Respect history
It is ironic to me that on Gnco
de Mayo, a day when we cele
brate a short-lived victory of the
oppressed over their oppressors,
we would have to listen to igno
rant. racist, so-called "professors"
at the University Assembly deny
the entire history of oppression
in this country by stating that
only African-Americans have suf
fered any kind of racism in this
country, and that although the
rest of us are "minorities,'* we
have been, nonetheless, advan
taged minorities.
That the experiences of
Asian-/Pacific-American. Chi
cano/Latino and Native Ameri
can people have been la|gely
exaggerated, that these people
have not been truly excluded
from society, is equivalent to
denying the Holocaust ever hap
pened — which I'm sure many
professors at this university
would like to do.
The issue of anti-Semitism
•has been almost completely
ignored at this university, and
yet one of the only professors
who has addressed it by creating
a class called "Blacks and lews
The American Experience," is
the same professor who has now
been targeted as anti-Semitic for
supporting this requirement.
The voices of hatred that rang
out Wednesday are only a con
tinuation of our experience at
the April 7 assembly and reflect
the terror that many members of
the dominant society have of
being forced to deal with the
true history of this country, a
history that incorporates all of
our contributions.
Diana Collins Puanta
Sociology
Relief
I would like to offer this brief
letter as an alternate entry to all
the redundant bitching that usu
ally goes on about budget cuts,
cultural awareness and whatnot
Instead, let me ask a question
Did anyone else get the chance
to see the fantastic lightning
show that took place east of the
Eugene-Springfield area Sunday
night? If there is an encore per
formance, I suggest the view
from the section of Birch Street
that overlooks Springfield.
Scott Klemp
English
Senate bonding
I would like to suggest that the
Robert's Rules of Order quoting,
budget nitpicking, secret-ballot
desiring body currently known
as the University Senate change
its name to something that more
accurately reflects its true nature
— Congress of Cowards.
Qretchen Adams Bond
History
LETTERS POLICY
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