EDITORIAL
U.S. should repay
subjects of testing
From a worldwide perspective the United States is
almost universally considered to bo a stalwart protec
tor of basic human rights. U.S. citizens are not com
pletely immune to rights violations by their government,
but compared with the people of many other nations.
Americans can fool relatively safe.
That being the case, it's extremely disconcerting to
learn that hundreds of Americans wore subjected to
secret, government-sponsored radiation experiments
during the first two decades of the Cold War.
In all, at least 800 people were part of these experi
ments, and a considerable number of them did not know
of their participation, much loss give their consent. Preg
nant women were among the sometimes unwitting sub
jects. Also included were such easily coerced people
as prison convicts, who may or may not have boon free
enough or informed enough to refuse.
Of course, not many people could have been
"informed." After all, the whole point of conducting the
experiments was so that wo could become informed
about the effects of radiation, especially on human
beings. Such knowledge was — and has continued to be
— essential to understanding the risks of nuclear
weapons, nuclear power and nuclear waste.
As in so many other cases, however, the end cannot
justify the means. The government has behaved shame
fully! and Congress should be open to the suggestion
made last week by Energy Secretary Hazel O’Leary: We
should begin a program of compensation for the victims
of these tests.
more are numerous precedents ior compensating
those whose rights were violated by the U.S. govern
ment. One of the most publicized examples of the gov
ernment owning up to its mistakes was the decision
made in 1908 to compensate the thousands of Japanoso
Amoricans who were unfairly Interned in concentration
camps during World War II.
Paying back those victims cost millions of dollars, but
the government was obligated to do so. So it is with the
victims of radiation testing. Although they are smaller
in numbers than those sent to internment camps, their
individual financial claims may be much greater. Their
lives may have been shortened, and the quality of those
lives may have been diminished. And because the radi
ation may affect successive generations (scientists are
divided on this point), the government may be paying
for a long time, and to a lot more than 800 people.
None of this really makes any difference, however.
The United States has already compensated veterans
who were exposed to radiation after the Hiroshima and
Nagasaki bombings of World War II; civilians acciden
tally exposed to atomii testings in Nevada and the Par if
ic islands have also received payment for the govern
ment's mistakes. With this in mind live government
really has no choice but to add this 800 to the roster of
those who have already been repaid.
All this begs the question of whether any amount of
money can really lake the place of good health. But
these people deserve some form of compensation, and
simply saying "sorry" just won't be enough.
Oregon Daily
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LETTERS
Tasking
As a group of students, facul
ty and staff concerned about
racism on our campus, wo have
come together to form the Race
Task. Force. We have gathered
information and want to share
some of the initial responses from
our pilot survey of five of the stu
dent unions We were very
pleased with the excellent feed
back; however, wo were dis
tressed about the experiences
these students reported
In addition, we received con
cerns regarding the Emerald's
reporting We look to you as a
resource for helping us to iden
tify and report harassment, ns
well os to provide responsive and
sensitive reporting. Instead, we
hear of unions' having historical
files of insensitive reporting,
numerous misquotes and. even
in one < use. a union that will no
longer grant interview s with any
Emerald reporter
Our concern grows deeper
regarding your handling of the
story of the University of Wash
ington students and your
response to the criticism. Rather
than defend and attack those who
questioned the list* of the pic
tures. would it not make more
sense to try to understand the
concerns of the students of color
and others concerned about insti
tutional racism?
We expect responsible and
sensitive reporting from our cam
pus newspaper. We hope you
will address these concerns. We
encourage a member of your staff
to uttend our meetings.
Race Task Force
Nine Co-Signers
Discrimination
Stephanie Sisson’s front-page
nows article, “OCA l>ogins... etc”
( ODE. Dec 6, 1993). opens with
an editorial statement that can
not he supported by facts. She
proclaims that the Oregon Citi
zens Alliance leaders compro
mised on their newly initiated
anti-gay Civil Rights Measure for
the 1994 Oregon elections. There
is no compromise. That concent
is incompatible with OCA think
ing. — —** - -
True, the wording of the 1904
measure is less offending. But the
intent remains the same. If
approved by Oregon voters in
1994. this measure, like Ballot
Measure 9 in 1992, would amend
the Oregon Constitution to legit
imize discrimination against a
group of Oregonians. People with
a homosexual orientation, or peo
ple jien eived that way, would Ihs
denied government protection in
areas such ns employment, hous
ing and access to public accom
modations. That is discrimina
tion and therefore
unconstitutional and mean-spir
ited.
Tell World War Il-urn Kuro
pean lews that kinder words
would have made a difference
when they were led to slaughter
Don’t get me wrong. (XIA lead
ers are not Nazis However, they
do use Nazi tact it s. First you de
legitimize a group of det ent. pro
ductive citizens. Then you can
decide on more drastic measures.
For OCA leaders, compromise
is not possible. They base their
opinions about homosexuality
upon misinterpreted passages of
the Bible It is. of course, their
constitutional right to interpret
gpnpture as they please. Howev
er, to codify their prejudices in
the Oregon Constitution is entire
ly another matter. Obviously,
(XiA leaders are ignorant about
the original purpose of a written
constitution. Rights of people
cannot he amended by a popular
vote. On that issue there is no
compromise.
Jacob Veldhuisen
Eugene
4Biphobia9
We are thoroughly peeved by
Rachel Dueker's comments as
quoted in Daniel West's Dec. 6
article on the LGBA. Duekerus
sadly misinformed if she thinks
that bisexuality is nothing more
than a state of "not being able’to
decide between homosexuality
and heterosexuality."
Bisexuality is not a reflection
of confusion, but Duekor's quote
clearly is.
Bisexuality is a complete and
legitimate sexual orientation that
hi no wav requires a decision
between two forms of monosex
uality. Bisexuals may (or may
not) have a definite preference
for one gender, but acknowledge
the potential for attractions to
both.
Bisexuality encompasses both
heterosexuality and homosexu
ality; it is not a state of uncer
tainty as Duekor's comments
seem to imply. Bisexuals are not
fence-sitters or people who
haven't come all the way out of
the closet. On the contrary* to
declare oneself bisexual is to
make a clear decision. Pardon us
if that decision did not place us
into a neat little hox on one
extreme end of the Kinsey scale
As the co-director of the LGBA
Dusker is a prominent and visi
ble figure in the University les
bian/gay/bisexual community.
We expect someone in such a
position to do more to create a
welcoming and safe environment
for bisexuals, as well as for les
bians and gay men. We expect
the I-GBA to function to “increase
the visibility of gays and les
bians" and bisexuals on campus
and not to foster ignorance.
We expect the "B" in LGBA to
stand for something more than
"biphobia."
Kristin Strommer
Anthropology
Pam Clark
Alumna, Psychology
LETTERS POLICY
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