EDITORIAL
Court made correct
decision on districts
Monday's U.S. Supremo Court decision striking down
racial gerrymandering will have far-reaching offocts on
the American political front.
In a 5-4 vote on the last day of the session, the court
said districts in which electoral boundaries were drawn
for ethnic reasons violated equal treatment statutes for
voters. But the decision has created more problems than
it has solved.
First off. does the decision sound a death knell for all
“majority-minority" districts, or just the ones that bla
tantly disregard any semblance of geographical order?
Monday’s case centered on two congressional districts
in North Carolina, created
at the urging of the Justice
Department after the 1990
census. Though 22 percent
of the state's residents are
black, the entire delegation
was white. In order to
equalize the delegation on
ethnic lines, the North Car
olina legislature hewed out
two new districts, and
blacks were elected in both
of them
The problem: The dis
tricts were not like tradi
The court did not
deny tho right for
ethnic districts to
exist; it merely
affirmed that
such districts
must fall
between logical
boundaries.
tional "majority-minority"
on os in which zigzagging boundaries enclosed largo
black or Hispanic communities. Instead, for example.
North Carolina's new 12th District snaked along the
Interstate H5 for 160 miles. linking one small black com
munity to another.
While opponents of Monday's decision will scream
that the Supreme Court just took a giant step backward
on equal rights, such is not the t ase. The court did not
deny the right for ethnic districts to exist: it merely
affirmed that such districts must fall between logical
boundaries.
Congressional districts should have something in com
mon other than race. The residents of North Carolina's
12th District did not have the same regional goals or
ideals — they just had the same color of skin. Such acts
do not ini rease minority empowerment: they foster
resentment, stereotypes and racism.
Yes. whether it be traditional or reverse, racism is still
the denial of a group's civil liberties by another.
Districts should reflect area demographics as much
as possible. Obviously, the two districts struck down
bv the Supreme Court did not do that. They were mere
ly politically expedient measures done to fulfill a Justice
Department requirement while not upsetting the other
district boundaries.
Oregon Daily
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LETTERS
Brave new world
Oregonians watt.hod the
promised ftO-day deadline for a
solution t<> the timber grid lot k
pass Now we must wait indefi
nitely for President Clinton's
new administration and army of
scientists to answer to those
whose jobs and communities
are threatened
Science has apparently
become n religion of the new
guard Humanity has not been a
priority of the ft()-day decision
making process that is expected
to result in tremendous job loss
es.
Wit are entering a "brave new
world” where scientists have
free rein lo decide how and
where we will live, work and
play Human needs take Iasi
place lo the need to study Indef
initely where people can no
longer work and live It is a
frightening concept And our
politician* seem afraid to chal
lenge the new untested si tence.
even though sc lentifu: theories
are, by definition, just educated
guesses.
Whatever happened to com
mon sense? We are throwing
away family-wage job# in the
name of science, as if it is a new
religion that we must embrace if
we are to be politically come t
We now face a school budget
crisis, and it is no coincidence
that we are having a timber cri
sis at the same time. Schools
receive millions of dollars every
year in timber receipts, which
have also been cut dramatiiailly
as a result of timlier gridlock in
the courts.
lean Sjogren
Koseh. iH
Stay public
I am a student at the Universi
ty. and I am writing you this let
ter in hope that you will consid
er my opinion in making a
decision almut the future of our
school.
I believe that our school
should absolutely not be con
verted into a private school. For
one thing, ihe price would go up
even further, and the majority of
students are already on financial
aid
The community of Eugene
would crumble due to the status
of people attending the Univer
sity The school itself is very
important to me as well as all
the other students Nobody
wants to see it t hanged
Thank you for your time
Please take this matter into
account
Stephanie Keisberg
English
Memorial fund
Juno ll. 1 . my son John
Alfrud S< hwab. a former class of
'93 junior, died in a tragic acci
dent In Ins honor, the family
ties established a memorial fund
via the University Foundation
and the history department in
his memory
Kac.h year, a deserving student
in the history department yyill
fie awarded a scholarship to fur
ther his or her education
1 would like you to please
publish an article that
announces the one year anniver
sary of his death and invites all
ami any interested friends, stu
dents and colleagues to cun
tribute donations to John's fund
in his memory.
Approximately $700 is still
needed before the funds can be
awarded. The family would
very much like to see the schol
arship begun and keep John's
memory preserved on the Uni
versity campus.
Plase help us raise the
remaining money so some
deserving student can be
rewarded. All contributions can
lie made to:
University of Oregon Founda
tion. John A Schwab Memorial
Scholarship Fund. P.O. Box
334fi, Fugene. OR. 97403, Attn:
C. Cole.
Thank you tor your help.
I.inda Schwab
Delray Beach. Florida
Close Up
Orego^ias much to he proud
of especially its young people.
As the coordinator for the
Close Up Foundation's program
in Oregon. 1 have recently had
the opportunity to work with
4(it) high si Itool students and
teachers representing 50 Oregon
schools who traveled to Wash
ington. D C,, to investigate the
Working ot the federal govern
ment
While here, the groups had
the opportunity to see that
Washington is more than a city
of marble facades and distant
bureaucrats. The students
shared their views with many of
these people and with students
from other areas of the country.
The 23-ycar-old Close Up
Foundation is the nation's
largest civic education organiza
tion With educational programs
serving thousands of middle
and high school students and
teachers, the Foundation teach
es the participants how democ
racy works — and how to make
it work for them
Also, the local congressional
delegation has been equally sup
portive in helping to show all of
the students that democracy is
not a spectator sport and for it to
survive, all of us must become
active participants.
To all who helped make this
experience possible, 1 say
thanks.
(Tirissy Brunner
Oregon Outreach Coordinator,
Alexandria. Virginia
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COMfcfcAn
TH^nkvouM
TWANffVOU
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